The keg pump is at half mast....

It was Black Thursday yesterday with two icons in the world of Steve passing from this mortal coil.

First off, actor John Phillip Law passed away at the age of 70. Law appeared in at least two of my favorite sixties movies BARBARELLA and DANGER: DIABOLIK! as well as other quirky treats like THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD and Otto Preminger's totally demented SKIDOO. (I'd forgotten he was in that last one, but it's hard to compete for attention in a movie when you're up against Jackie Gleason on acid and Carol Channing dancing around dressed like Captain Crunch.)



Law was a serious actor with chiseled good looks, but his career never quite kicked into high gear. Maybe it was those slightly crazy looking blue eyes. I mean, check this shit out:



Yow! Then again, I think Law's willingness to get a little nutty with it that added to his charm and made his movies so much fun. "I've had more kicks out of playing far-out things," Law told the Los Angeles Times in 1966. "It's like putting on a funny face and going out in front of people and going, 'yaaaaaa.' " Well put, and if he wasn't quite a household name, at least he had VIP status at the Playboy Club and a young Jane Fonda reached into his junk for her laser pistol. That's a pretty good resume in my book.

On the comic book side of things, cartooning legend Will Elder also passed away yesterday at the age of 87.



Elder is probably best known for his collaborations with Harvey Kurtzman, especially in MAD and on the LITTLE ANNIE FANNY strip for Playboy. (Maybe Hef is joining me in this overall mourning.) Elder pretty much defined the MAD style, what with his chameleon like ability to draw in different artist's styles, his flawless caricature and especially his ability to shoehorn an astonishing number of gags into a single panel. Elder oozed funny the way a southern sherrif oozes meat sweats.



Seriously, if you ever want to take yourself down a peg or two as a comic book artist, just look at Elder's work. Aside from the aforementioned MAD and LITTLE ANNIE FANNY there's also his work on TRUMP, HELP! and HUMBUG as well as some great movie posters and original paintings. The only thing Will Elder couldn'tdo as an artist was suck. You'd do yourself a solid by checking out the man's site.

Cats n' Dogs n' Webcomics Talk

"...dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!"

Dr. Peter Venkman
Ghostbusters



If Bengo and Pug's webcomic Scratchin Post is any indication, the good Doctor was completely on the money. If you're not getting enough insanity from your own pets, or if perhaps you want the insanity of pets without all the peeing and pooping involved in owning them, or if maybe you just want a plain old fun time check this baby out.

Also, if you're like me and you're always scratching your head trying to find a good source of talk about webcomics, check out Bengo's blog Floating Lightbulb for the what's up on what's going down.

Yates brings the AWESOME

People who click links on my sites or are just plain hip to what's going down in this world should be aware of fellow Playground Ghost Chris Yates' madtacular webcomic Reprographics, (If not, FOR SHAME.) but I must also make sure you are aware that it is now available as a book type of deal called Set It To Awesome.

This can only be good news for people who enjoy fun and happiness and little one eyed aliens with twisty things on their heads. This is a perfect opportunity to enjoy Chris' adventures in the fresh aired wifi-less outdoors this summer.

P.S. Includes a guest strip by me.

Where the Hell did that month go?

Oy, sorry folks, things got a bit confused and then I was out of the country but now I'm all back, melanoma-ed and ready to roll.

We finish off our brief cartoon foray into the woods with Froot Pants and The Mouse and prepare for a new phase of the strip which will mix the familiar with the "Huh?"



Available either here or with other fine strips at Jaded Publishing.

Cartoon intermission

I'm taking a brief breather from Helen's road trip for visit with a couple of older Acid Keg characters...

But she will return!



Available either here or with other fine strips at Jaded Publishing.

Meow Yow

A little delayed, but a new strip is up.



Available either here or with other fine strips at Jaded Publishing.

Today we sing with Heino, tomorrow we conquer the world*

I first heard about the Teutonic troubador known as Heino from an interview with Jello Biafra in one of the "Incredibly Strange Music" books from Re/Search publications. (These books went a long way towards seriously effing up my musical sensibility.) Heino's considered something of a national treasure by older Germans and ironic hipster Americans. Heino is certainly a visually arresting figure, what with his tall, oddly shaped platinum blonde hair and his omnipresent dark sunglasses. (Heino suffers from Graves-Basedow disease, which makes his eyes buggy and sensitive to light.)



The most noticeable thing about Heino's music is that it is waaaaay fucking German. I mean we are talking Kraut-To-The-Infinite-Power. Even when Heino is singing one of his many songs about Central and Southern America, there is no doubt of his Deutschland-ness. Seriously, this Octoberfest music could make Utah Mormons drink beer. Heino's baritone will not be denied.

I have a certain affection for Heino, having once made him a guest star in an early comic. Below are a couple of tastes of the HEINO EXPERIENCE.

The men in this first video who are "Singing Mit Heino" have got to be the most dead butch em-effers ever...even the guy with the neck kerchief.



DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! VE VILL MAKE YOU DRINK MIT HEINO!



*The menacing quote used as the title for this post is from the David Letterman Show, on which Heino made an appearance.