Loose Cruse: The Blog

That’s Me All Over

Howard — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:04:27 +0000


Some pictures I’ve drawn have been surfacing lately for all the world to see, namely… (1) The just-published May issue of *The Commonwealth* (a printed manifestation of the multi-faceted, public-affairs-forums-fostering, non-profit Commonwealth Club of California, has arrived sporting the cover art I told you I was working on several weeks ago while juggling home renovations and a death in the family. And there’s an online version of the complete magazine that midwesterners, southerners, and easterners can access should time pressures prevent them from hopping a jet to California to chase down a copy of their own to read. (2) My cover art for the December 21, 2006 issue of *Birmingham Weekly* (one of several covers serializing J’Mel Davidson’s "Destroy All Santas") was picked up for inclusion in *Comic Art Now, an attractive hardcover book by Dez Skinn* (with Tim Pilcher on board as Commissioning Editor) that showcases a dazzling international array of comic book artists. And following fast on the heels of the British edition issued today by iLex Press will be an American edition of the same volume coming later this month from HarperCollins.

Meanwhile, the flesh-and-blood version of me (as opposed to my published cartoon manifestations) had a good time yesterday at the Norman Rockwell Museum’s Comic Art Festival that I blogged at you about several days ago.


My slideshow was appreciatively received by a friendly audience, I’m happy to say, and I enjoyed the chance to see several of my comics-creating colleagues again — in some cases for the first time in many years.

Ready To Party!

Howard — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:52:39 +0000

	OK, Martha Thomases, you’ve gotten me in the mood for next Saturday with this installment of Munden’s Bar that you’ve written for ComicMix this week!

The only question is: Will the atmosphere at the Norman Rockwell Museum’s May 3 Comic Art Festival this weekend be deliciously raucous, like the sword-brandishing melee depicted in Martha’s strip (see above) as illustrated by Joanna Estep? Or will the scene at NRM by one of high-spirited but manageable collegiality like the opening party so many comics-lovers enjoyed when the museum’s enthusiastically received *Lit Graphic: The World of the Graphic Novel* exhibit opened last November? Below: The roving camera of Jeremy Clowe, Communications Assistant at the museum, snaps a moment of opening-reception collegiality featuring ComicMix’s Editor-in-chief Mike Gold, Mark Wheatley, Marc Hempel, me, and exhibit curator Martin Mahoney.


I also learned today that several video clips of me, taped by Jeremy last fall at the Lit Graphic press reception as I fielded reporters’ questions about Stuck Rubber Baby, have recently been posted on YouTube as part of the Rockwell Museum’s publicity push for this Saturday’s festival. (Click here or on the image at right to see me in all of my glorious loquacity.
	Yes, now you folks who have never met me can at last get an answer to that question that’s been nagging at you for years: Just how much of a southern drawl does Howard Cruse have? Anyway, the museum has sent me their anticipated lineup of activities for next Saturday, so I’ll pass them on here for the benefit of any of you who are likely to be in or near Stockbridge on the 3rd thinking, "Gee, a comic arts festival would really hit the spot right around now." Comic Arts Festival at the Norman Rockwell Museum Saturday, May 3 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. An exciting day of workshops, lectures, book signings, and conversation with noted comic artists and historians in celebration of LitGraphic: The World of the Graphic Novel. Got mini-comics to swap? Here’s a good place to exchange ‘em. *Refreshments will be served, and lunches will be available for purchase.* 10:00AM Welcome to the Norman Rockwell Museum Curator of Education, Tom Daly, and LitGraphic Curator, Martin Mahoney 10:30AM Graphic Novels: An Illustrated History A lively visual history by Robin Brenner, librarian and Eisner Award Juror 11:30AM Drawing in the Galleries An On-Site Demonstration with graphic novelist, Lauren Weinstein, whose original illustrations for Girl Stories are on view. 11:30AM-4:00PM Wet Ink! Create and Post Your Own Comic Art: A drop in, hands-on workshop with Jack Purcell, comic book artist and educator 12:00PM Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels Author and library director David Berona will offer an illustrated look at his new book 1:00PM Creating Comics: A Conversation with Marc Hempel and Mark Wheatley The two comic creators, whose art for Breathtaker is on view, will discuss their work with comic art collector and historian Warren Bernard. 2:00PM Howard Cruse’s Comics Vault Artist Howard Cruse will offer personal commentary on his comic art, which currently is on view 3:00PM Collecting Comics Personal viewpoints on collecting by Scott Eder, founder of the Scott Eder Gallery and Comic Book Art Dot Com 4:00PM Book Signing with David Berona, Robin Brenner, Howard Cruse, Marc Hempel, R. Sikoryak, Mark Wheatley, and Lauren Weinstein 4:30PM-5:30PM Carousel and Wet Ink Reception A series of comic slide shows by artists, with illustrator and cartoonist, R. Sikoryak, and graphic novelist Lauren Weinstein. Join us for refreshments! Plus the All-Day Mini Comic Exchange Share your art with fellow artists and comics aficionados. Tables will be available for your use. Festival admission is free with regular Museum admission. Children 18 and under are free. Please be advised that graphic novels sometimes address adult subject matter. Parental discretion is advised. For more information call 413-298-4100 ext 260

Beaten Out by Miss Peach

Howard — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:46:57 +0000

…and appropriately so. Mell Lazarus’s genius was waiting to shine; the Alabama kid needed seasoning.

But what a thrill it was for a twenty-year-old to have a newspaper syndicate interested enough just to ask for a second set of samples.

Tunes and ‘Toons at Penn State

Howard — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:34:10 +0000


Above: Me holding forth this Monday in Penn State’s Foster Auditorium. I was briefly a grad student at Penn State University forty years ago. My stay at PSU in the fall of 1968 was funded by a Shubert Playwriting Fellowship, and a couple of my short plays (one of which can be found on this very web site) even made it onstage as part of the theatre department’s Five O’clock Theatre student workshop series. Personal issues quickly derailed my attempt to be a Very Good Fellow that fall, unfortunately, and I fled to New York over the Christmas holidays before making much of a dent in my Shubert money. Despite the inauspiciousness of my grad school career, though, I had a mostly good time at Penn State during my brief stay, the odd depression and panic attack aside. I forged several enduring friendships, helped paint the set for a main stage production of O’Neill’s Ah Wilderness, and even made good grades somehow in the courses I took. So despite the fact that so much time has passed since then that not a single inch of the campus I encountered looked remotely familiar, I nevertheless felt a definite twinge of nostalgia when I returned to PSU last weekend at the invitation of Eileen Akin, coordinator of PSU Special Collections Library’s Audio-Visual Collections and Fred Waring archives, who asked me to give a talk as part of the Graphic Novel Speakers Series she spearheads. Below: Eileen and I commune with cartooning greats in the Waring collection’s Cartoon Room

	Music fans whose tastes include works that pre-date Buddy Holly will hear the name Fred Waring and think of the smooth orchestral and choral sounds that emanated from America’s radios, televisions, phonographs, and concert stages thanks to Waring’s legendary conducting skills and the voices of his touring choral colleagues, the Pennsylvanians. What I had forgotten about until I walked into Eileen’s office was Waring’s similarly legendary devotion to the cartoon art form and its practitioners. An honorary member of the National Cartoonists Society and the host of annual NCS golfing retreats at his Shawnee-on-the-Delaware home base, Waring was the regular recipient of thank-you art from his legion of grateful ‘tooner friends. Hence the "Cartoon Room" at Penn State, because of which the PSU library’s Waring archive is as notable for its walls full of framed cartoon originals that almost nobody has ever seen as for its long shelves of Waring choral arrangements and displays of fascinating memorabilia from the decades during which Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians graced music-lovers with their unforgettable performances and broadcasts. Below: Just one of the reasons why Eileen Akin’s lair at PSU is a feast for any cartoon-lover’s eyes.

On The Campaign Trail

Howard — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:51:22 +0000

Eddie left yesterday to spend two weeks as a volunteer in Barack Obama’s field operation in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. This gives me a perfect opportunity to show off two cool portraits of Obama created this year by two friends of mine. The painting directly below is by Zina Saunders, who has a whole array of her similarly deft portraits currently displayed on her web site….



Art above ©2008 by Zina Saunders …and the line drawing at right is by North Adams artist Sarah McNair, whose many accomplishments include contributing to the *North County Perp*. Art at right ©2008 by Sarah McNair

Eddie and I are hoping that none of the ardent Clinton-supporters among our friends will get bent out of shape by our choice of candidates. Actually, we had a natural affinity for Dennis Kucinich, favored John Edwards in the Massachusetts primary, and wish both Hillary and Barack would pay more attention to some of the ideas at the core of their discontinued campaigns. But Edwards and Kucinich have withdrawn now and life goes on. Since one has to make choices in a democracy, we personally give Obama the edge right now when choosing between two contenders who each comes with drawbacks and strengths. You can bet that we’ll be carrying the Hillary banner proudly in the general election, though, if she ends up copping the nomination. She’s not short on confidence-inspiring qualities (particularly when she lets her better angels carry the day). And we urge present-day Hillary folks to similarly work their butts off to elect Barack if his campaign for the nomination carries the day. Let’s don’t let the White House remain in the hands of the party that’s spent eight long years inflicting more damage on the U.S. than would have seemed humanly possible — even given the track records left by Reagan and Bush the dad. Between Clinton and Obama, we think Omama offers more than his opponent does of what America needs in a leader today. So Eddie has packed his bags and headed to the Pennsylvania hills to act on his beliefs. He does that kind of thing. It’s one of the attributes that made me fall for him 29 years ago.

Our Furniture: Home Again at Last

Howard — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:42:37 +0000

Above: Lulu bestows ardent face licks on ace contractor Roger "Butch" Molloy, one of the new best friends who’ve spent the last couple of months disassembling, then reassembling in different locations, the rooms of our humble abode. That’s plumber Mike Toniatti sitting and awaiting his turn on our sofa, which was returned to us from warehouse exile this weekend.

The renovation of the rest of our house almost finished now, with Evelyn’s room having been completed well ahead of the others so that she could return from Williamstown Commons to a bedroom built just for her.

We wish she could have enjoyed the room longer, but Eddie’s mom clearly loved occupying her bright new private quarters during the final few weeks of her life. She didn’t even complain about all the hammering and sawing that continued to go on just outside her bedroom door. (There’s something to be said for forswearing the use of hearing aids at critical points of one’s post-hospital recuperation.)

My attention now has largely turned, now that I’m finished cover art that I’ve been sweating out through thick and thin for the May issue of Commonwealth Club magazine (the member publication of the venerable public forum organization, Commonwealth Club of California), to finishing up the two talks I’m scheduled to give unnervingly soon—the first being at Penn State University (April 22) and the second being at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge (May 3), in whose Lit Graphic show some artwork from Stuck Rubber Baby (along with artwork by a lot of other graphic novelists) is still hanging. (See my earlier blog entry about that.)

If you’re going to be in either neighborhood on those days, do drop by. It’s so much more fun giving talks when someone’s in the audience!

Assessing the Your Hit Parade Cast

Howard — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:37:15 +0000

Odd Things You Come Across During Home Renovation Nobody under, I dunno, 40 will know what this sketchbook drawing from 1982 is talking about. Sorry about that, kids. I’ll cater to the Youth Vote another time.

	Two quick notes to my blog readers 1. Sincere thanks from Eddie and me for the condolence notes left in the blog’s comments section last week, as well as for similar messages that have reached us by other routes. 2. I’ve lost so much time due to Evelyn’s death (and pressing work that got sidetracked because of her passing) that I may not be able to compose blog entries of any substance for a week or two. To avoid leaving a dreaded BlogVoid during this period, I’ll probably throw up raw, obscure artwork from my past for your amusement occasionally—like the sketchbook drawing above. ‘Bye for now.

R.I.P. Evelyn Sedarbaum (1913-2008)

Howard — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:36:40 +0000

Evelyn left us this evening. She’s been very sick and it was time. We’re glad we have some really great smiles (see my previous blog entry) to remember her final days by.

She’ll be laid to rest next to Harold in Florida. Eddie and I will be flying to West Palm Beach tomorrow or Wednesday to prepare for her funeral on Thursday.

More news later.

In The Blue Bedroom

Howard — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:55:41 +0000

Eddie’s mom has been back home for a couple of weeks now. How’s she doing? Well, Evelyn’s got a lot more recovering to do in the wake of her recent hospitalization and subsequent stint in rehab, which can take a lot out of a 95-year-old.

But she’s happy to be undertaking her recovery in the newly forged, bright blue bedroom and bath that was waiting when she walked in the door. And we’ve been fortunate enough to secure the tender and capable services of Deborah Rock of Deborah’s Home Care, who takes care of Ev’s needs overnight while Eddie and I grab the sleep we need.

Yesterday Evelyn got a courtesy call from Luna Bemis and her mom Jessica, who along with Luna’s dad Andrew (who’s a fellow blogger; by the way; check out his ongoing commentary on movie matters at Cinevistaramascope) have been renting our upstairs apartment since last fall.

While Luna was sublimely gregarious as a three-month-old when the Bemises moved in last fall, she’s been experimenting lately with a new, shy persona. As you can see, having a green stuffed toy close at hand in which to bury your face when a camera gets whipped out comes in handy under such circumstances. (Or maybe she’s just playing peek-a-boo with Lulu.) In the privacy of her home, however, Luna is less camera-shy. In fact, she was happy to show off her excellent taste in literature for her mom’s camera a few weeks ago.

And contrary to any suspicions you may be entertaining, Jessica insists that the picture was candid, not posed, and that Luna copped that particular book off a nearby coffee table strictly of her own volition! Once she’s old enough to blurb instead of burble, I’ll know who to turn to for my books’ back-cover endorsements.

Return to White River Junction

Howard — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 20:32:35 +0000


	Above: A snapshot, taken by cartoonist and CCS Programming Assistant Robyn Chapman, documenting my recent excursion to deepest Vermont with slideshow images, comic art pages, and obscure cartoon artifacts from my misspent youth in tow. On Valentine’s Day I made a return visit to White River Junction, VT, at the invitation of that city’s new creative crown jewel, the Center for Cartoon Studies. CCS, which was conceived, founded, and is now overseen by graphic novelist James Sturm, offers a two-year course of study for aspiring comics creators ready to settle in Vermont and get serious about honing their craft under the tutelage of cartooning professionals like Jason Lutes, James Kochalka, Stephen R. Bissette, and others. This was my second time to swap thoughts about comics with a batch of Steve Bissette’s students. Steve and I go back a ways, of course, having swapped war stories about the comics industry in various settings over the decades. Like hosts of comics fans, I had admired his talents from afar well before we found ourselves conversing face-to-face at assorted events where cartoonists congregate. Steve helped raise my profile beyond underground and gay circles by interviewing me, along with his co-author Stanley Wiater, for their 1992 book Comic Book Rebels, and when Eddie and I first moved to the Berkshires Steve was quick to invite me up to White River Junction to speak to the students in the CCS class he was teaching at that time. I enjoyed myself back then and had a similarly entertaining time this year. Steve amazes me. In his alternate identity as a blogger, he puts me totally to shame. Where does he get the energy? Where does he find the time? It’s been two weeks since I visited CCS and only now am I managing to get my act together to compose a few paragraphs marking my trip. It’s a good thing it’s not up to me to funnel "breaking news" to CNN!

The title of Steve’s blog, *Myrant, is a droll bit of wordplay referencing his presently interrupted but hopefully not permanently extinct 1990s comic series Tyrant. Tyrant’s its cast of dinosaurs was rendered with the same rich textures (as applied to big, scary beings that you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark bog) that had made me sit up and take notice when I first happened upon the Moore/Bissette/Totleben* version of *Swamp Thing* during the ’80s!

Tyrant art ©1995 by Stephen R. Bissette I learned recently that Steve and I both spent time during the 1980s collaborating with one "Jovial Bob Stine," the man who edited and largely wrote Scholastic’s Bananas magazine before mutating into R. L. Stine, the fabulously (and deservedly) successful author of the *Goosebumps* juvenile horror novels.
Were my life and my comics archives not in a bit of disarray right now I would go rummaging through my files to remind myself what Steve and Bob were concocting for Bananas while, thanks to Stine and myself, a succession of unfortunate patients were being abused by a lunatic physician named Doctor Duck on nearby pages.
		Doctor Duck muses on the miracles of pharmacology. Or is it gumdrops?