Feeling Punchy
 Growing up with puppets myself, I got curious one day and looked into the meaning behind the infamous Punch and Judy story, performed by puppeteers as early as the seventeenth century. I've always wondered what it was all about. To summarize: Punch, in a fit of jealousy, strangles his infant child. When Judy witnesses this she fetches a big stick and tries to kill Punch. Punch, however, fetches an even bigger stick, and beats his wife to death. When he tosses the two bodies out of his window he attracts the attention of a passing police officer, who arrests Punch and locks him up in prison. The rest is an allegory, showing how Punch triumphs over all the ills that flesh is heir to. (1) Ennui, in the shape of a dog, is overcome; (2) disease, in the disguise of a doctor, is kicked out; (3) death is beaten to death; and the devil himself is outwitted.

Oh yes, and did I mention that this is a popular puppet show performed for KIDS? Heh heh...
Scary Monsters...

A childhood obsession I had which has died down "somewhat" in my adult years, has been the habit of drawing a lot of monsters and freaks.

I had a particular fondness for drawing the "classics"... which were still being shown on television on Creature Features Presents... the living dead, mummies, Frankensteins monster and especially the Wolfman. Why? I'm not sure. Perhaps some things are better left unanswered.
Super Creeps...

No thanks to modern medicine and damn blasted political correctness, we don't get to see a lot of bonafide circus freaks these days! But there was a time you couldn't throw a stick without hitting one of these glorious examples of chromosome defect!

You might've heard of Schlitzie, one of the circus sideshow stars of Tod Browning's cult classic, FREAKS (1931) - well, here's Schlitzie's vocal coach and mentor, Schlotsky The Pinhead!

For some, Halloween parties are "come as you are"...
They sure don't build 'em like this anymore!
Okay - I know, I know! But puppet or no puppet - this chick is hot! Heh heh... This is my Photoshop rendering of Fransesca, Dr. Baron Von Frankenstein's sexy assistant from the Rankin/Bass stop-motion animated movie "Mad Monster Party." I loved this movie as a kid - still do! It contained great renditions of all the classic Universal monsters I'm so fond of - designed by Jack Davis (another Mad magazine artist I like) and contained the voice of the late, great Boris Karloff as the Doctor. Oh, and yes, as for Fransesca here, her sultry voice was Gale Garnett. Click on the detail for a bigger picture.
The Doctor is IN(sane)...
While going through some old cartoons for the Moldies But Goodies page, I came across something I had written as a 16 year old kid - a little limerick about a mad scientist, Smash and his monster friends. It's a silly thing, yes - as I was prone to be quite silly back then (ahem!) but it instinctively prompted me once again to draw this new rendition you see here...

For you sketchbook purists, I've included the penciled version too! Take a look-see!

Just further evidence I was an odd kid. That's me and my buddy Lloyd. I'm the furry one.

Only one thing worse than coming across a wolfman... and that's coming across a wolfman with a bad attitude!

Below: I take it this is what wolfmen look like when they go club hopping - heh! heh! (note the earring and the snappy Miami Vice jacket!) He probably wouldn't get very far without the shoes though. Special thanks to my good friend Mark, aka Indiana Suede, who helped with the coloring on this one!
Rest in Pieces...

Ravaged by time and rescued from the bottom of my old portfolio case I found this - a rather ambitious marker and colored pencil drawing I did some time, long ago.

Referenced throughout - various pastimes and projects... a dilapitated briefcase of books filled with drawings, Jzero's origin, my superhero friends Spooky and Supersnooper, my cat Venus, and The Undead - a home-made horror film.

If none of this seems to make sense to you, don't fret... I don't get it either.

A Reoccurring Nightmare
An oldie but goodie I found and recently scanned for the internet - this is the comic book story of Buzzsaw which I did with my friend Lloyd a few years back. The both of us wrote it, and with two drawing tables - facing head to head - we completed this entire comic in a couple of long exhausting nights. It was intended for publication but at the last minute we decided not to give it to the shyster who wanted it - who turned out to be more crooked than the evil Uncle Fink featured in the story. The comic is hysterical. Lloyd and I could barely draw our own comic pages without shaking with laughter. We had a really great time doing it. Even today, the mere mention of the name Buzz Saw brings a smile to our faces.

You Axed For It!
After the internet debut of BUZZSAW I decided to put out another comic of mine - The Horror of Tiddlyville - another oldie but goodie. The story this time around: One timid little man's explosive reaction to a large, abusive wife, a town full of laughing hecklers, and a meat grinder! (Yes, you heard that right... meat grinder!) I particularly got into THIS one - inspired heavily by the underground comic scene and the old black n' white Warner Comics "Creepy" and "Eerie" - I threw every delicious horror cliché I knew in there. It was LOTS of fun!

And For The Third Course...
Looking to complete the internet comic trilogy which included it's predecessors "BUZZSAW" and "THE HORROR OF TIDDLYVILLE" I dug up Yummy Yummy Yummy, I Got Jimmy In My Tummy - another oldie but goodie of mine about a disturbed young man who is unable to curb his insatiable addiction to cannibalism. My buddy Lloyd and I were so tickled by this story that at one point we actually recorded an audio version of it on cassette tape - similar to one of our favorite old-time radio programs, E.G. Marshall's Mystery Theater!

Listen to our commercial for it here...

Goodbye Shlumpy

This is just a little drawing I did for a site that no longer exists; Shlumpy The Clown's Favorite Links - which was hosted by the now defunct AOL Hometown. Just putting the word "clown" into the title apparently drew throngs of curious web surfers - who soon found themselves submerged in endless internet poop.

...and for that I offer my sincerest apologies!

A creepy court jester.
Perhaps more frightening than entertaining?!!