As longtime readers of this blog know (if the two years I’ve been posting entries to it can be considered a "long time"), I spent much of 2006 drawing a 14-installment webcomic at the behest of Adobe Systems, Inc.

That incarnation of Mark the Art Guy was created solely for web display and could only be viewed by visitors to the Adobe’s web site. But now, in celebration of the recent release of Adobe Creative Suite 3, the newest incarnation of its flagship software, Adobe has decided to bring out an appropriately updated version of my Mark series—this time as an honest-to-god 16-page comic book printed on actual paper.

SPECIAL TIP FOR MY DEVOTED BLOGPALS: Despite the fact that CS2 has now been supplanted by the new CS3 upgrade, some (though not all) of the original CS2-oriented Mark episodes can still be viewed by clicking here. If you’re curious to see what the series was like in its initial form you may want to grab a look before somebody at Adobe wakes up and deletes these on account of outdatedness.

She comes north! She goes back south! Then north again; then south again! Where will jet-setter Evelyn Sedarbaum eventually decide to settle?

At age 94 it hasn’t been easy for Eddie’s newly-widowed mom to decide where she wants to put down her post-Harold roots, and she’s changed her mind already several times.

The current and presumably final verdict is that the pleasure of breakfasting every morning with her son and son-and-law trumps any competing comforts that the Sunshine State can offer. And considering what wonderful company Eddie and I are, can anyone question that her decision is the right one?

Below left: Eddie escorts his mom to her new home. Below right: Yikes! That staircase from street level to front yard suddenly reminds Evelyn of one reason she had thought life might be easier in hill-less West Palm Beach! Well, life is full of trade-offs, isn’t it?

I also managed to somehow meet the daunting cluster of deadlines that had devilishly conspired to coincide with Open Studios: I completed my grant application for the funding needed to produce more issues of the North County Perp; I completed a Minneapolis-based illustration assigment that was due yesterday; I compiled this month’s issue of the Cruse Art Newsletter; and I somehow stayed on top of the cartooning course I’m teaching this semester at MCLA.

But back to our big citywide art extravaganza. More than 86 artists showed off their work in locations all over North Adams for two whole days, an organizational feat not to be sneezed at. (Here’s to you, Sharon Carson, for steering that unwieldy ship into port.) Not that I personally experienced much of the event’s scope, given that I spent all of Saturday and Sunday anchored to my own exhibit at 107 Main Street and could only spend time admiring the work of the six who shared that space with me (see below). Those six were plenty good company, though, and the room stayed awash in good vibes and mutual admiration the whole time.

Gratifyingly, the mounted blowup of "A Zoo of Our Own," my comic strip about gay animals (which I brought along on a last-minute impulse), turned out to be an unexpected hit when it was placed in the storefront window, attracting a steady stream of gawkers on the sidewalk, many of whom may well have never before contemplated the point of view of a homosexual hippopotamus. (You’ll find the whole strip, adapted for web viewing, by clicking here.) In the window to the left of my comic strip was one of "Skeets" Richards‘ gorgeous landscapes, a vision also difficult to pass by without stopping for a close look. Between our two showcased eye-catchers, we succeeded in slowing down the sidewalk strollers and tempting them to drop in and see the exhibits awaiting them indoors. John Sherman, whose creative skills are equalled only by his marketing instincts, concocted this ploy.

I’d be remiss if I quit without introducing you to my talented gallery spacemates from 107 Main Street, starting with…(clockwise from below left)

William LaBerge—cabinetmaker. His catalog wows everyone who thumbs through it, and you haven’t lived till you’ve sat in one of Bill’s exquisite chairs.

J. ("Skeets") Richards, Jr. —painter. This guy spent decades teaching high school physics, then morphed into a landscape master after retirement.

Wes Pecor II —wood hand-carvings. A master craftsman, Wes says he "draws with wood."

Dorothy ("Dot") Ransford —auctioneer, appraiser, and art framer. No web site for this gal, but you can email her if you want to talk business.

Gus Jamallo—Folk artist (and full-time barber). Drop by 475 Union Street in North Adams for a haircut and a look at his saw blade paintings. Gus will swap art tales with you from first clip to final talc.

The Juicy Mother "queer comix" anthology series is the brainchild and pet project of cartoonist Jennifer Camper, who put together the first installment a year ago and is now back with more, thanks to Manic D Press, who stepped into the breach when the first volume’s publisher was forced to scale back its commitments.

With the new book hitting bookstores now, it’s time to party! And as I’ve learned from experience there’s nobody more fun to party with than Ms. Camper, whose been a best buddy of mine since her comic strip "She’s My Two-Timin’ Truck-Drivin’ Mama" popped over the proverbial transom while I was putting together the second issue of Gay Comix in 1980.

So it you’re in or near the Big Apple on Saturday the 13th, hie thee downtown to Bluestockings (172 Allen Street) so you can meet a bunch of the Juicy Mother contributors. Not all of them can be there, of course, but some who will reportedly be making the scene are Diane DiMassa, Ivan Velez, Jr., Joan Hilty, Victor Hodge, David Hooper, Fly, Michael Fahy, Katie Fricas, and Chitra Ganesh.

Meanwhile, if you pick up the book you can also spend quality time with comics by the other JM cartoonists who, like me, can’t make it to Bluestockings this weekend (or if they can, are keeping it a secret so they can make a splashier entrance). They are Alison Bechdel, Tristan Cowen, Jamaica Dyer, Leanne Franson, Justin Hall, G. B. Jones, David Kelly, Robert Kirby, Carrie McNinch, Erika Moen, Sara Rojo Pérez, Karen Platt, Carlo Quispe, Lawrence Schimel, Ariel Schrag, Serpilla, Scott Treleaven, Robert Triptow, and Stephen Winter.

The are more Juicy Mother 2 events to come in other cities, by the way, so mark your calendars if you’re gonna be in Boston on November 4 (4 PM at the Center for New Words) or in Philadelphia on December 1 (at Robin’s Bookstore; check locally for the exact time). I can’t make it to the Philly signing but expect to be at the Boston one (along with Jen and Dianne).

It’s a good thing I enjoy playing with pixels as well as word balloons or I’d be fleeing for the hills in search of serenity right now. (And the nice thing about living in the Berkshires is that those hills are so very near and so very pretty that fleeing to them tends to shed any ambience of unpleasant psychic desperation.)

No hills for Howie, though. There have been fliers, posters, receptiuon invitations, and an incredibly complicated map to compose, the latter item showing where the event’s more than 85 participating artists are going to be showing off their brainchildren next Saturday and Sunday.

Yes, North Adams Open Studios, the annual citywide arts event that I warned you in an earlier blog entry was preparing to roll into north Berkshire county like morning fog into San Francisco Bay, is now but a week away.

Hopefully the word is getting out, because what’s the point of turning Greater North Adams into one long string of artists’ studios on October 13 and 14 unless lots of art-lovers, artist-lovers, and general partiers show up to help keep things lively. The town will be providing free rides thither and yon on its historic trolley, so you’ll only have to park your car once.

To quote the event’s press release, "artists at three historic mills, Eclipse, Beaver, and Windsor, will throw open their studios to welcome local visitors and tourists from throughout the Northeast. In addition, five storefronts on Main Street, Eagle, and Holden will be transformed into galleries, complementing the existing Gallery 51, a special Gallery 51 Annex, Papyri Books, Cup & Saucer, the Flatiron Art Space, North Adams Antiques, Widgets, Kronick Art Studio, and the Chapel for Humanity."

Things will be hopping at nearby Heritage Park, too, where artists will be showing at Northern Berkshire Creative Arts and the North Adams Historical Society. Wanna see costumed historical characters talking about history and the arts? Say no more; the historical society will be ready to oblige. To paraphrase the boast frequently offered by the young Ricky Nelson on the Ozzie and Harriet TV show of my childhood: We don’t fool around, man!

Some extra side events will be adding to the fun at the Beaver and Eclipse mills, like drumming, a children’s drawing wall, a printmaking demonstration, and an ongoing reading by local fiction writers.

And as an extra bonus, you can pick up a free pass to the town’s cultural crown jewel MASS MoCA at any of the Open Studios locations all weekend.