When Opposites Attract
Originally uploaded by M1khaela.
Honestly, this wasn’t really about fundamentalists or Reaganites, I just wanted to draw a cartoon with a freegan in it. And despite a recent violent and prolonged personal bout with food poisoning, I support freeganism–there’s a lot of good, edible food that gets wasted–just not for myself and my delicate digestive system!
News Break
Originally uploaded by M1khaela.
We honeymooned in Provincetown on Cape Cod, and this cartoon is only half-true. I actually made it the whole time without reading a newspaper, and my mom refused to give me any news over the phone.
The Benefits of Bedbugs
Originally uploaded by M1khaela.
Apparently these little beasties are back in NYC. But no need to fret!
Regrettable Wedding Trends
Originally uploaded by M1khaela.
I’m only half mocking. If I thought our cats could have handled ring bearing duties, I might have considered it. We didn’t have any candles, but we did break a glass and get picked up in chairs, and it was super, super fun.
My book Attack of the 50-Foot Mikhaela is one of the premiums in In These Times magazine’s fund drive (along with a magazine subscription and a Noam Chomsky book). As part of the campaign, they’ve done a nice little interview with me where I ramble on about what makes me mad and what keeps me drawing (it’s certainly not the money or fame!).
Give some money and get some books!
The dummies yelling during Patreaus’ dog n’ pony show inspired this cartoon, with an assist from the goofballs on Mass Ave with the “Honk to Impeach” signs. You’d think after forty years these attention whores would realize no one’s listening. Sure the media should’ve reported the vast protests during the run-up to this war, but anyone who thought they would deserves a condescending pat on the head from me.
Matt’s post about 9-11 conspiracy theories says everything I would have.
Tonight: Cambridge, 7pm. You should check out Mikhaela and Masheka’s slideshow in Central Square. If you’re going, why not join me at The Field before the 7pm show and we can all head over as a herd of drunk nerds. RSVP in the comments so I can save a seat for ya.
Here’s some extra content since I’ve been neglecting the blog for a while now.
Some of you might know I take a lot of reference photos of myself for my cartoons. You can click this creepy animated GIF to see what this week’s cartoon would look like if I left the reference photos in there. I had a real plunger, but had to “imaginate” the bucket.
Next Week: I don’t know yet.
At the Stumptown Comics Fest I’ll be moderating the Peter Bagge panel. I think it’ll be more like a public interview than a panel since he’s the only participant.
Any suggestions for questions I should him? Anything anyone wants to know? Anything I should avoid or be careful of? Thoughts? Notions?
This panel almost didn’t happen. People at Fantagraphics expressed anxiety over me moderating a Fantagraphics panel. I e-mailed Peter and told him I was planning on playing it straight and that I respected his work. He gave the green light. And yes, I do respect his work and I do plan on playing it straight. To be honest, I’m nervous in a fan-boy sort of way. It’s going to be fun.
Reverend Rall
Posted by Mikhaela Reid
You may know Ted Rall as a cartoonist, columnist, editor, graphic novelist, radio host and/or Central Asia expert. But he’s had quite a few other odd jobs over the years, as he chronicled in one of my favorite sections of Revenge of the Latch-Key Kids: stock trader, investment banker, taxi driver…
And now, wedding officiant! On Sunday, Sept. 2, in Lowell Massachusetts (birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution and American labor movement!), Ted officiated my wedding to fellow Cartoonist With Attitude Masheka Wood. Note the official cartoonist wedding Hello Kitty binder. For the most part, Ted played it straight and serious (and sweet!), but his introductory remarks were classic Rall:
When Masheka met Mikhaela, the rivers ran red with blood. Swarms of locusts filled the skies. The dead walked among us….no, wait. That was when I officiated at George W. and Laura Bush’s wedding.
His remarks were a big hit with the friends and family–all agreed it was the best wedding officiant speech they’d ever heard.
This was not the first case of an editorial cartoonist performing a marriage of other cartoonists–Cindy Procious and Clay Bennett (both of whom were in attendance at my wedding!) were married by fellow cartoonist Dennis Draughton.
P.S. No, Ted is not an ordained anything or a judge or a sea captain. An obscure Massachusetts law allows a friend or family member to perform a single wedding with permission from the governor—good thing Mitt Romney was no longer in office when I sent in the application!
In a rare double whammy, I neither agree with Atrios nor share in the usual pessimism. Yes, it sucks (incredibly) that SCHIP is going to fail courtesy of monkeyboy. However, on a political level, this is nothing but bad news for Republicans.
For all the intricacies of legislation, most Americans understand that Congress, which passed SCHIP, is run by Democrats, and the President, who is going to veto a program supported by about 80 percent of the country, is a Republican. Also, unlike the sudden disappearance of the word “filibuster” from our national media the moment Pelosi took the gavel, people understand much more clearly what “veto” means. It means the (Republican!) president just refused to let something become a law. The (Republican!) president said no.
Democrats passed a bill funding one of the most popular social programs in our nation’s history. The Republican president vetoed it. Short of 200 million or so Americans sponteneously gaining high-school level knowledge of American government policy by dinner time today, it is going to be very, very hard for right-wing pundits to spin the message as anything but that.
Now if only Democrats could learn this as well for pretty much every other piece of legislation they’ve allowed to be filibustered over the last nine months.
To be part of the Awards, come to the Fest and pick up a ballot with your program on Saturday at the Stumptown Comics Fest. Vote for your favorites, and turn it in by 5:00 pm at the front desk. Join us at the Cosmic Monkey After-Party (Cosmic Monkey Comics, 5335 NE Sandy Blvd) for the Stumptown Trophy Award Ceremony!
The nominees are as follows. More information and links to the works are available at the Stumptown Comics Fest website, http://stumptowncomics.com/.
Outstanding Art
* Bruno #10: Gina, Christopher Baldwin
* Ceasefire, Miriam Libicki
* The Mourning Star, Kazimir Strzepek
* Edison Steelhead’s Lost Portfolio, Renee French
* 12 Reasons Why I Love Her, Joëlle Jones
* Cindy & Her Obasan, Stan Goldberg & Bob Smith
* Usagi Yojimbo, Stan Sakai
* The Escapists, Jason Shawn Alexander
Outstanding Writing
* Finder, Carla Speed McNeil
* Silk Road to Ruin, Ted Rall
* The Homeless Channel, Matt Silady
* Super Spy, Matt Kindt
* Bookhunter, Jason Shiga
* Treachery! A Wondermark Collection, David Malki!
* The Escapists, Brian K. Vaughn
Outstanding Design
* Numb, Joshua Kemble
* The Life & Times of Baby Otto Zeplin, B.T. Livermore
* Silk Road to Ruin, Ted Rall
* The Mourning Star, Kazimir Strzepek
* Super Spy, Matt Kindt
* At Home on the Earth, Brian Oaster
* The Art of Bone, Cary Grazzini
Outstanding D.I.Y.
* Postage Stamp Funnies, Shannon Wheeler
* Jobnik!, Miriam Libicki
* Dumpster #1, Max Clotfelter
* Tales of Inertia, Tom Lechner
* DAR: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic, Erika Moen
Outstanding Small Press
* Little Dee, Volume 2, Christopher Baldwin
* Narbonic Vol. 4, Shaenon Garrity
* Reporter, Dylan Williams
* Raised By Squirrels: Los Alamos, Bram Meehan
* Steve Lawlis: Frankenstein’s Monkey, Rorschach Entertainment
Outstanding Debut
* Little Dee, Vol 2, Christopher Baldwin
* Finder: Sin Eater Hardcover Collection, Carla Speed McNeil
* Dumpster #1, Max Clotfelter
* Pinwheel, Mike Bertino
* Chickenhare: The House of Klaus, Chris Grine
The Stumptown Comics Fest will be held Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 29 - 30, from 10 AM - 6 PM, at the Lloyd Center Doubletree, 1000 NE Multnomah, in Portland, Oregon. Admission is $5 at the door. The special guests for this year’s Stumptown Comics Fest are Matt Wagner, Carol Lay, Peter Bagge, Shaenon Garrity, Mike & Laura Allred, Sarah Oleksyk, and Ted Rall.
