Behind-The-Zines #14
Action Geek #14 was created immediately AFTER Laura &
I broke up. She called on July 5th, let me know she was too
stressed, out, had too many issues, not enough friends of her own
in the Northampton area, etc. and didn't feel ike she could really
go out with me or anyone else at that time. We have communicated
briefly since then. She got all pissed off about the initial cartoon
I did called "My Neighbor Otaku" which summed up alot of
the feelings I had after having been dumped. She pretty much told
me to "fuck off", and that she never wanted to hear or see me again.
Who says my comics don't have any real impact?!?
Anyway... Here's Action Geek #14...
The Cover (AG14)
Created from an appropriated old Popular Mechanics cover.
At my work, I hear way too much about Golf and there's even a co-
worker who's in the process of getting divorced, whose unemployed
deadbeat of a soon-to-be-ex doesn't work, but still manages to play
golf every day or so.
Inside Cover (AG14)
Probably the FIRST piece of art I did that survived the immediate
crushing that Laura dumping me felt like. I drew alot of stuff, inked
them, hated them and threw alot of stuff away. I think that this
inside cover adequately covers my feeling of anger, bitterness,
and disappointment...
Dumped (AG14)
Pretty self-explanatory story about my personal feelings
regarding being dumped by someone I loved dearly.
In the background of page 7, you can actually see the initial story I was
going to run, called "My Neighbor Otaku".
Adventure Superstars (AG14)
Let me just say that it's about time someone made action figures of ANY/ALL
of these classic Hanna Barbera characters... especially the Herculoids.
24 Hour Party People (AG14)
Jonathan, Stephanie & I went to Cambridge to see this movie. It talks about
the history of Factory ecords, Manchester, UK in the early post-punk/
pre-new wave 80s, Tony Wilson, Joy Division / New Order, Happy Mondays
and basically the love of a specific time & place in music history... Great film...
Marshall Law (AG14)
Great violent comic book hero(?) from the 80s/90s that I thought I'd revive,
but I'm afraid the story may devolve into a mini-expose/history of Marshall Law
rather than a real full-fledged story. We'll see...
Union Station idea (AG14)
A big point of controversy in Worcester is what to do with this big money-pit
called Union Station. Is it a transportation center? Is it a way to
connect and redesign and revitalize the city? Well, I thought that connecting
the station with the nearby failing outlet mall via a people-mover walkwaybridge.
It probably won't happen. But I thought I'd put the idea out there anyway...
DIY Karaoke (AG14)
An excuse to picture the forever-defunct VIP Disco Lounge in Worcester
which has een closed (probably) more than I've actually been alive. Combine sheer
nostalgia with biting sarcasm directed toward club promotion, the ill-conceived
Arts District in Worcester (which is right around the corner from the VIP)
and alot of silliness and you get THIS comic...
Shaving (AG14)
There are ads on tv for shaving cream or razors or something and they show this
guy free floating in a space capsule or just shaving in front of the mirror at home
and in both instances, sexy babes show up and lavish him with attention and feel his
cleanly shaven face and are probably longing to do more... then I wake up from my
delusional tv haze and realize that they are only commecials. Do sexy babes show
up when YOU shave? Not in my house...
Gobler Toys & Star Wars (AG14)
Just go to Gobler Toys
and get the WHOLE story on this amazing story of an amazing company.
The Rest (AG14)
Atari Games, Sexy Artgeek Grrrrlz, Toy Mentions and Dad's column are
all standards in the Action Geek canon (one of my favorite words
of late). No real explanation is REALLY necessary.
Final Note (AG14)
As usual, alot of work and anguishing over things went into creating
Action Geek #14 and on top of the break-up stuff, the feeling lonely
stuff and all that, I've had OTHER stupid issues to contend with that I haven't
done anything of in cartoon form (yet).
ROOMMATES - Basically I shouldn't have roommates. I'm too stuck on
having my stuff stay exactly where I've left it. I like living on my own, unless
it's someone I'm dating. And I THOUGHT I was helping my friend Jodi by allowing
her to stay at my place, in my spare room for a mere $50/week while she was
between living situations. (She was going to move into an apartment with some
other woman in August, but construction wasn't finished on something, so she
had to wait until September, and in the mean time needed somewhere to live.
I thought long & hard about this situation, decided to take her in, had her sign a
"Room Rental Agreement" which I thought would eliminate tedious disagreements,
problems, etc ahead of time, but no...
Without getting into all the details, Jodi's transient, quasi-hippie, forever-in-school,
have-the-boyfriend-over-more-times-than-a-GUEST=should-impose-upon-her-host,
laissez-faire lifestyle CLASHED with my work-a-day, shut-in, curmudgeon lifestyle.
The end of the month is drawing near and soon she will impose herself on some other
unsuspecting roommate. I really should NOT have helped in the first place.
MISCONCEPTIONS - Cheryl & I have been friends for a LONG time. But her
boyfriend is STILL new to me, even after several years of having hung out with him
and Cheryl. James is under the MISCONCEPTION that I braggingly wave my money
around, that I'm a fatcat wealthy homeowner who flashes his cash for all to see and
be jealous of and feel bad about themselves about for not being as successful as he
thinks I think I am or something. I'm so sick of hearing these petty comments hurled
at me. I've worked VERY hard to get where I am today (buying a house, buying a car,
having many different jobs along the way) and it's not my fault if other's perceive my
having new clothes, new glasses, vacation funds and whatnot as me bragging or making
people feel like crap about themselves.
I stormed out of Vincent's one night because James again had decided to be
a dick and pull this line about me being all this stuff and I told Cheryl via phone that
I really don't want to hang out with James anymore. She hung up on me. I take it that
whatever James says goes for her, too (I'll believe this until I'm proven otherwise).
I miss hanging out with Cheryl. I miss having her as a friend. And I wish that James had
the ability to grow up and mind what he says a bit better. Hey, I don't have to like his
friends who obsess about sex, breast augmentation, three-somes and other Jerry
Springer topics and I don't have to dumb myself down or hide the fact that I like being
who I am just because (perhaps) James doesn't like how his life is going. As I've told MANY
people... I need LESS people in my life to make me feel bad about myself.