Alley Economy...

We have poor folks searching the alleys behind the houses here in Riverwest, Milwaukee all the time looking for anything of value they can sell. Mainly they come from the "other side" of Holton Street. Some residents complain, but of course they have money and nice houses to live in. Me, I don't complain.

Vietnam--safer than Germany?

In fact I even talk to them, like one fellow the other day with a Vietnam Vet cap on. I said "My wife's half Vietnamese". He said he hadn't actually been in Vietnam but instead was in Germany, and that he suffered from PTSD and Anxiety, further volunteering that these were caused by a rape committed by a higher-up--a sergeant.

The story grew as he explained the suit against the rapist, resulting in a pension for him, the victim. He added that he got off better than another victim in the case, who got a settlement but was also fitted with a colostomy bag for the rest of his life due to the destruction wreaked on his intestines.

Rape in the military is still epidemic, affecting men and one in three women. Then they rape us by taking our wealth away and giving nothing back.

I think that after Wall Street, the Military Industrial complex will be the next focus of protests.

The Hard Lessons...

Did you know there is no word in the English language that is the equivalent of Karma? Not too surprisingly, that's why we use the word Karma.


I recently gave out copies of my two Octavia novels to someone, free, and I may have asked for an opinion or critique, I don't recall precisely what was said. What I do know is that an emailed "critique" did in fact arrive, and that it was neither kind nor positive. Instead of illuminating, it was negative and demeaning. In fact, it was clearly designed not be constructive and helpful but to be destructive and hurtful. You could call it a suckerpunch.

Nowadays I always respond positively when someone shows me something they've done, even if I aesthetically find it distasteful or just plain don't like it. If they ask me technical questions about what might need improvement, I try and give useful answers, and most importantly I try to be kind. I do this on a regular basis with the new online Art Academy that I run via my website, for example.


But it was not always so; in the past, I have given the same sort of cruel commentaries as I just received, disguised as "criticism" but in reality designed to tear down someone else and inflate my own ego.

In the recent Octavia affair, what really hurt was not the critique itself but the realization that I had done exactly the same sort of thing before myself.

And the shame I felt was intense as those Karmic Chickens came home to roost.

Gone For Good...

I've deleted all 288 past Blog entries. I would have liked to have left them, as I do know some people like to read back through them, but as I've just released them in book form that doesn't make much sense, does it?

Confessions of a Comic Book Artist is years' worth of writing, a lot of thought, emotion and hard work. I've read through it myself and am quite impressed with the insights contained there--even if I hadn't written them all myself! It's also illustrated with all the images from the original entries.

A 330-page monster is born.

The main reason to make the book was for readability's sake. I will say that folks at the recent MCBA Fallcon who picked up the book and started reading it had a hard time putting it down. I keep a copy beside my bed, but it's just as good in the bathroom.

In future there will never be more than a few new entries up at a time. The rest will be archived for the next paper edition somewhere around 2014, if we survive that long...