January 31 -  Howdy!  Well, partner, we've come to the end of the Western Comic Book Character Trail here in the ol' WOMP-Blog.  I've talked a bit about cowboy comics and movies and such over the last few weeks (somehow, amongst the many rants about not posting anything), but I haven't even scratched the surface of the topic, have I?  Still, the subject has served to inspire me to think a little about cowboys and Pop Culture all month.  For example, when I wrote about Hopalong Cassidy being my Dad's favorite cowboy character, I started wondering just who my favorite was.  My quick, gut reaction was to say "Gene Autry," but this month's listing of Western comics characters has reminded me of just how pervasive cowboys have been in my life.  I can't exactly remember my first Western-theme comic book, but I think that it was probably Jonah Hex (or Weird Western, or whatever comic in which he was originally featured).  I've long been intrigued by this odd character, a classic anti-hero which had many profound influences on me (one need only look at the scars on my character Vladic's face to see that).  In fact, one Jonah Hex story, from the tail end of the series, is among my all-time favorite comics stories.  Drawn by the incomparable Gray Morrow, it was a beautiful wrap-up issue, set in the present day, which gave Jonah a historical context, as well as a death that was just as unexpected, unique, and memorable as was his life.  Of course, that was all thrown out the window with the sci-fi Hex series which soon, unfortunately, followed.  Still, I'd have to put Jonah onto any list of my favorites.  When I was writing about my cowboy hat, I mentioned Tom Mix.  To be fair, the hat is actually styled after one worn by Ken Maynard, but few people have ever heard of him.  He, like Mix, was a Silent Era cowboy film star.  Where mega-star Mix was laconic and square-jawed, Maynard, a rodeo star and stunt rider with Buffalo Bill and the Ringling Brothers Circus, seemed more like a bewildered back-up quarterback who was suddenly put into the big game.  He had a horse named Tarzan, a warm smile, and a genuine "Aw, shucks" attitude.  Unfortunately, he also had severe alcoholism, which drained him of his career, fame, money, and, eventually, his life.  In his declining years, he lived extremely modestly, supported financially by a mysterious benefactor...Gene Autry!  Despite the ignominy of his final years, the memory of his stellar career places him on my favorites list, too.  Oh, and speaking of Tom Mix, he's got to be on the list somewhere as well.  Mr. Mix was the real deal, man.  He saw action in the Army during the Spanish-American War, went AWOL to marry a girl, became a crack-shot Texas Ranger, was a champion rodeo star, and worked as an actual, honest-to-goodness cowboy before finding screen fame.  Heck, he was even one of the pallbearers at Wyatt Earp's funeral!  Of course, a good "Western" star needn't have ever been a cowboy.  William S. Hart, yet another HUGE Silent Era star, was a Shakespearean actor before finding fame as a rootin' tootin' big screen gunslinger.  Where other such stars were cowboys first and actors later, Mr. Hart just did it the other way around.  Even at that, he became a cowboy by immersing himself in Western culture.  He was a stickler for detail, resulting in a legacy of nearly documentary-level authenticity in his films.  He also became one of the earliest collectors of Western memorabilia, preserving for History such items as Billy The Kid's six-shooters.  Also, it's noteworthy that he was the first cowboy star to actually retire.  Where Mr. Maynard faded away, and Mr. Mix died in a very strange car accident, Mr. Hart was able to film an emotional "good bye" to his legions of fans.  For that moving sign-off alone, he, too, makes my list of favorites.  Another on that list would have to be the lovely Dale Evans!  I so admire her, and think that she became a great role model for both girls and boys, in spite of a very rocky start.  As a fourteen-year-old kid, she was married.  By the time she was 17, she was divorced, married again, and the mother of a little boy.   Even after two more unhappy marriages, she still had that certain "spark" that lit up a room whenever she sang...for singing was everything to her.  Her film career started in much the same way that it did for any other aspiring starlet in Hollywood's Golden Age.  Bit parts, B-Movies, and featurettes were her stock and trade, and may have been her lot for the remainder of her filmography if not for meeting Roy Rogers.  Both on screen and off, the sparks flew between them, and, after her final divorce, she married the King of The Cowboys.  This happy union lasted for decades, only ended by Roy's passing in 1998.  In the intervening years, Dale dealt with much, including a studio publicity deception which hid her early motherhood by calling her son her "brother," and the tragic deaths of three of her children.  With grace, talent, and inspiration drawn from her faith in God, Dale Evans not only overcame these events, but bravely talked about them publicly at a time when it was not only unheard of, but inspiring to others.  In fact, she turned these experiences into a series of books, many of which were best sellers (my favorite is Angel Unaware, a wonderful, touching book).  Oh, and she wrote the song The Bible Tells Me So (a Sunday School favorite), and one of the most famous of all cowboy songs, Happy Trails!  Speaking of "Happy Trails," I guess I should be wrapping this up for tonight.  Before I did, I wanted to mention one more cowboy; my Great-Grandpa Lee Bloxham!  Although I can only barely remember him, I do remember that he had been an actual, working cowboy, although I don't know much more than that.  Maybe someday I'll learn more about him, and then I'll write more about him (as one of my favorite Western characters?), but I have to be moseying along now.  So, until we meet again, here's your final Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Roy Rogers!

January 30 -  Again the site hosting the WOMP-Site had some sort of trouble, but, now (just moments before I must go in to my dread "real" job, of course) the problem seems to have been fixed.  On a whim, I thought I'd try to post something here on the ol' WOMP-Blog before I go, but it never occurred to me that I would be able to!  I guess I'll just post your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - El Diablo!

January 29 -  So, what would have been the 29th's Western Comic Book Character Of The Day?  Johnny Thunder!

January 28 -  I'm pooped!  Again!  Look, I try - oh so hard do I try - to post something here other than "I'm tired."  The problem is that my weakened physical state is not only the most pressing issue after a day like "today" (it's 9:30AM on the 29th right now, hour twenty-three of being awake), it's also the reason that I don't have the energy to write about much else anyway.  Originally, that's why I came up with the "...Of The Day" feature, just to have something to post.  Still, that seems like too little.  Much in the way that I try to draw at least a little bit every day, I should exercise the "words" part of "words and pictures" too.  So, I know that I have to figure out a way to do so right here in the ol' WOMP-Blog...just not tonight, OK?  I'm pooped!  Here's your awesome Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Tom Mix!

January 27 -  Well, I'm back from drawing caricatures at the telethon.  I raised $220.00!  Yes, I'm tired, but not "too."  Even so, I am basically heading directly to bed now...although the first broadcast episode of Star Trek, (Where No Man Has Gone Before), is on Nick at Nite right now, so I may be tempted to stay awake at least one more hour.  Before I retire for the evening, I did want to impart a little sage advice to any young guys who aspire to careers as cartoonists; learn how to draw caricatures...because the majority of your customers will be pretty girls.  That's all I'm saying...except that I will add that I wish someone had given me that advice when I was a boy.  Hmm.  You know what else I wish someone had told me?  That you are never so old as when you are talking to a sixteen year old girl.  Except, perhaps, when your little sister's classmate introduces her grandson.  Ugh.  Anyway you want to slice it, tonight has made me feel very old and tired.  I think now I'll just clutch my cane and head off to my hospital bed.  Before I do, though, I wanted to give you whippersnappers your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - The Ringo Kid!

January 26 -  Of course, it's always something.  I was zipping right along, coming very near to finishing the inks on that full-page Oz drawing that I was talking about in the last entry.  I had a "crick" in my neck, so I "cracked" it by turning my head sharply.  CRACK!  It worked, but I immediately got a strange toothache that encompassed all teeth, upper and lower, on my left side!  Of course!  I must've pinched a nerve or something.  I had to leave the drawing only a couple of hours shy of completion, just to try to recuperate.  Oh, and WOMP H.Q. is devoid of all painkilling medicines.  Of course!  It's not because of some sort of protest or plan, but, rather, because I'm too forgetful to purchase any more when I'm at Wal-Mart.  So, I have spent the latter part of my day suffering quietly while The WOMP Staff has been at a basketball game with the only car (of course).  I'm in too much pain to continue working, so I've been trying to get some rest.  I have a long day ahead of me as I will be drawing caricatures for the telethon.  Hopefully, I'll be better by then (or will have some ibuprofen on hand).  As I have spent these last few hours in peculiar pain, I've done a little surfing of other blogs on the Internet.  I've not really done that in a couple of years.  I've learned some things, too...

Top Ten Things I've Noticed About Non-WOMP-Blogs

10) Most blogs have no point whatsoever.  And I mean none.  Zip.

9)  Most blogs allow/encourage comments from readers.

8)  Few blogs benefit from comments from readers.

7)  The third-most common blog topic is illness (hmm...just like my own entry tonight).

6)  Other blogs are seldom humorous.  Intentionally.

5)  The second-most common blog topic is shopping ("I just bought this..." "I got a new...").

4)  Many bloggers are wannabe writers (this makes sense, I guess).

3)  Many blogs are able to incorporate images (I can't do that yet, although I'm still working on it).

2)  Few blogs are as verbose as The WOMP-Blog.  The WOMP-Blog's total word count for 2006 was 129,788 (with a high of 14,326 words in July, and a low of 5,655 in January).  A sampling of the archives for a few "competing" blogs reveals an average monthly word count of about 1,800, for an annual total of 21,600 words (six times less than The WOMP-Blog).

1)  The most common blog topic is the infrequency or insubstantiality of the entries themselves.  So it's not just me.

So, what will I do with this information?  I don't know.  I'm still in pain, need to shop for ibuprofen, and have no idea what nor when I will post in the future.  Ugh.  I think it's time for this little WOMP to get some sleep.  Here is your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Tex Ritter!

January 25 -  I am typing this in the late afternoon of the 26th, but, just for me, let's pretend that it's still the 25th, shall we?  I'll post again later in my day, but, now, I want to tell you a little about the Oz stuff on which I've been working.  Thanks to Official Friend of WOMP, Marcus Mebes, I have had enough excellent reference to draw what I thought was a historically congruous Dorothy.  I spent most of the day designing her, her dress, and her hair.  By about 10:00PM, I had an excellent concept of the "Mundt Dorothy," so I felt energized to enough to begin a large, full-page illustration featuring her and a character that I created from descriptions.  I penciled and wrestled and worked and reworked that piece until, voila, it came together in a satisfactory way.  I still want to find a way to add some sort of detail (the setting is a cave, so I might add stalagmites, stalactites, or cobwebs), but, otherwise, I'm fairly happy with it.  The next step will be inking, which will take about ten to twelve hours (just a guess), so I didn't start that last night...especially since, as I looked up from my drawing board, it was actually 6:00AM...and I was exhausted!  That's why I didn't post anything, by the way.  Now, I'm going to get back to it.  I hope to get done tonight, but I will remember to take a WOMP-Blog break this time!  Now, here's your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - The Rawhide Kid!

January 24 -  OK.  So I skipped another day (and almost a second one, as you may read in the "January 25" entry above).  What can I do to make it up to you?  I can post what should have been your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Monte Hale!  But, that doesn't seem like enough.  I should do some sort of penance for my transgression.  Hmm.  How about I tell you something embarrassing about myself?  That should set the karmic scale back to "even."  Ooh...and there are so many choices.  I guess I'll go with my recent weight gain.  If you have seen the awards presentation images on the fallfire.org site, you might have noticed that I'd dropped 65 pounds in the months just before.  I'm ashamed, and, yes, embarrassed to say that I've put 40 of that back on since then.  I could blame the Holiday Season (a familiar scapegoat), but the truth is that I started to slip long before that, and now, a month later, I no longer have the convenient excuse.  It's no fun being fat, but it's so much more embarrassing to be fatter...again.  There.  Are we even now?  Good.

January 23 -  I only sorta missed posting yesterday's WOMP-Blog.  I didn't just blow it off.  I instead spent most of my usual blogging-time redesigning and updating the Nifty Links page (check it out...it's all OK now)!  By the time I had finished, I was so tired that I took a little break...which, of course, led to a narcoleptic lapse that lasted until I straggled back from unconsciousness this morning.  Not that reporting about my sad little life to you, my friend, is that big of a deal anyway.  I did have some actual news, though.  I've been asked to paint another mural, of sorts, for our local museum.  This one will be a long (sixteen foot) backdrop for a scale-model train, part of an upcoming exhibit marking the 150th anniversary of the coming of the railroad to Prairie du Chien.  That should be fun.  I'm a little frightened by it, especially in trying to budget and plan for the materials.  Even so, this task isn't much different than those from my days with the community theater (or theatre, if you will).  Oh, and, speaking of upcoming art projects, I should mention that I will once again be drawing caricatures at our local annual Telethon this Saturday (hmm...I guess I should update the Appearance Schedule page now as well).  If you're in the area (and Heaven only knows why you would be), stop by after 5PM at the Bluff View Middle School...but bring money!  This is a charity event, so give, give , give!  Anyhoo, I wanted to follow up a little on my revelation that I have (or at least once had) a "Magic" superpower.  I'm reminded that it also coincided with constant, nearly debilitating deja vu.  These episodes frightened me greatly when I was a kid, then scared me in a different way when, as a young teen, I learned that deja vu may be a sign of an impending stroke (and, might I point out that my Mom has had two strokes).  For some reason, I always "paired" the sense of "I just saw this" with the "Magic" game.  Both seemed to be unexplainable, preternatural "gifts."  At least "Magic" was a game that I chose to play.  My deja vu came often and unexpectedly, and sometimes lasted for nearly a minute.  You might imagine why this was, as I characterized it above, nearly debilitating.  It got so bad that, by the time I was about fifteen or so, I would actively try to disrupt the onset of a deja vu episode with loud, sudden outbursts of incoherent, incongruous freeform ranting.  As soon as I began to get that "wait a minute...I've already done this" sense, I'd shout something like "PINK ELEPHANTS SIPPING BIRDBATH WATER WITH PETER TORK, PURPLE WIZARDS DANCING ON THE MOON!!"  It worked, too.  Better still, the incidents of deja vu became less and less frequent.  I'm down to just two or three per year, from a high of about four per week when I was in high school.  Even so, I use my experience with deja vu, and my memories of playing "Magic," to help imagine what it may be like to have a superpower.  Part curse, part gift.  My personal empathy for, and emotional connection to, the concept of superpowers is rounded-out with an analogy - or observation, really - that I made many years ago (from around the "PINK ELEPHANTS" period) that being artistic is like having a superpower.  Certainly that's the way many people treat it.  Having the ability to draw or paint or sing or write or whatever, especially creatively, is very much like being able to shoot fire from your hands or lasers from your eyes.  So, to recap, when I wrote my comics, I approached the concept of superpowers as being some sort of mash-up gumbo of time-bending brain-disease, creepy metaphysical game, and mysterious artsy-fartsiness.  Yep.  That sounds about right.  Just like Peter Parker's Uncle Ben said, "And with great power comes...YELLOW FROGS PLAYING DRUMS FOR AL GREEN, CATS LOVE DECAF COFFEE!"  Ugh.  I think I'm getting so tired that I'm not making much sense (so what's my excuse the rest of the time?).  I think I'll just leave you now with your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Rin Tin Tin!

January 22 -  Yoips!  I skipped another day (sort of...see January 23 entry).  Oh, well.  Here's what would have been your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Silver!

January 21 -  So it's to be the Bears and the Colts in the Super Bowl, eh?  And just who called that at the beginning of the season?  Hmmm.  Could it be...ME?! Yep.  I'm a genius.  Go ahead and just say it; "John, you are a freakin prognosticating genius."  Of course, I had no idea that I'd be right, and I actually expected to be completely wrong (especially when the Saints looked like they were Super Bowl bound).  The whole thing has reminded me of my secret superpower.  Yes, I have a superpower.  No, really.  I could be "on the list."  Let me set the stage for you.  Back in the fabled time of Long Ago, when I was just a little WOMPling, my sister and I would play a card game that we called "Magic."  Basically, it entailed having one of us split a deck of cards into two piles, face down, while another would choose a pile from the pair.  The un-picked pile would be discarded, then we'd repeat the process with the pile we'd chosen, and so forth until there was just one card left.  Then the "dealer" would look at that card, while the "guesser" would guess what it was.  And we always did.  Every time.  It didn't matter whether I was the guesser or the dealer, the "Magic" worked both ways.  I don't know how one even could cheat in such a game, but I know with 100% certainty that I never cheated.  While I can't vouch for my sister...well,  I take that back.  I will vouch for my sister.  Isn't that what big brothers are supposed to do?  I just don't see how she could have cheated either.  I've thought that we might have subconsciously seen the card in the reflections on each others' eyeballs (I didn't yet wear glasses at the time) or in other reflective material, but we covered that at the time, as we sometimes didn't even LOOK at the card until the other had guessed it.  Explain THAT!  We played the "Magic" game several times, but not too often because, well...it was creepy.  Also, my sister always thought that I should be the guesser, so I did so about 75% of the time.  This also made "Magic" kind of boring, to be honest.  I mean, we knew that it wasn't normal to be able to do something like that, but we didn't understand just how abnormal it was.  To us it was just a card game, like Go Fish or Old Maid...only with a bit of the mysterious mixed in.  Since those days, we have both wondered just what the heck was up with "Magic."  Was it ESP?  Was it just between us, or could we do that with anyone?  Today, as my totally out-of-the-blue Super Bowl prediction came true, I wonder what other "Magic" I might still have up my sleeve.  Hmm.  I won't make a prediction for the big game (I'd have a 50/50 chance of being right anyway), but I will say this; mark July 17th on your calendars.  I can't say what's going to happen, but I can say that it will be big.  Just remember, on the 18th, to write to me and say "John, you are a freakin prognosticating genius."  Now, here is your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Champion!

January 20 -  Hey!  Still pretty busy, but less so with fun art stuff, and more with normal "price of living" stuff.  Whatever.  Now, I'm heading back to it.  Here's your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Trigger!

January 19 -  When last we saw our hero, he revealed that a crime had been committed in his front yard, but what was it?  Our story now continues with Episode 68 of...

As The WOMP Turns

OK, so it's probably a good thing that I was too tired to talk about what happened yesterday.  Since last night, I've talked to the police twice, and they say that the investigation is still on-going, so I shouldn't talk about it too much.  But, well...I can't tease a story like this and then not tell you something about it.  So, in a nutshell, I feel like I can tell you that someone apparently drove recklessly through our yard, shearing our mailbox off at the ground, before speeding away into the night (except that it happened at about noon...but you get the idea)!  I'll also offer that this was not an "accident" in the same sense as was my own mishap earlier, but that I'm sure that it wasn't exactly what the perpetrator had in mind, either.  Any more about this will have to wait, I guess.  Sorry!  On an ironic note (and I must add that I have no idea whether or not it actually is ironic), the jerk drove through the exact spot where I always parked the WOMPmobile.  Had the car not been in that accident, it would have been totaled anyway, with probable injury to the jerk.  Which reminds me to tell you that the WOMPmobile is dead, Jim.  In fact, it's already gone to that great junk-heap in the sky.  I didn't have the chance to remove the license plates or take any last photos or anything.  I didn't even get my old key back.  And I miss it already, the dumb car.  It was the family vehicle for 14 years, and it bore the scars of that distinction, including incredibly worn seats, ancient pine needles in the trunk, faded State Park stickers on the windshield, and a blistered Top Cow Comics sticker on one side window!  I guess I loved that stupid car, and, if I were high from the fumes that leaked from its engine, I'd say that it loved me, too.  I'll move on, eventually, but now I just want to remember the WOMPmobile as it was; a piece of junk.  That I loved.  Here's your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Zorro!

January 18 -  Hey there, gang!  I've pushed myself to the edge tonight, so I have to just get some sleep.  Tomorrow, maybe I'll have the energy to tell you about the unexpected excitement that we had at WOMP H.Q. earlier today.  Here's a tease for you; our front yard is now a crime scene!  Really!  Tune in tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion.  Here's your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Vigilante!

January 17 -  How are you today?  Doing well, I hope.  I'm up to my neck in art work, so I don't have much time to post anything, but I did want to quickly tell you a couple of things...

1) By sheer coincidence, I saw O.F.O.WOMP Dr. William Waite on the street today.  He was in town to register his puzzle-making business so that he could get a tax ID number, etc..  We had a nice "catch-up," wherein I learned that his web-site, to which I have always offered a link on the Nifty Links page, has been hijacked!  He no longer has any control over his own site, nor even his former business name!  His new business name shall remain a literal trade secret until it's official, at which time I will post a new link.  Until then...

2) Don't click the links on my Nifty Links page.  I haven't updated it for some time, and many links (like Bill's) may have changed.  I'm "collecting" new sites to link, including those of many Official Friends of WOMP, like....

3) Tim Seeley!  His book, How to Be a Comic Book Artist (Not Just How to Draw), has finally been released...I think.  There sure seems to be a lot of buzz and press about it all of the sudden.  I'm hoping to find a copy somewhere whenever it actually hits the stands.  Oh, and speaking of "hitting" things...

4) It looks like the WOMPmobile is a goner.  Although no official report has yet been filed by the insurance appraiser, the guy at the garage relayed to me that the diagnosis was "terminal."  Because everything in an insurance claim must be priced out at retail value (not the savings one might get by using spare parts from a junkyard), the damages to the car came to something like $2,300.00, while the car was valued at a generous $800.00.  Even using "pre-loved" parts, and ignoring scratches and dings, the repair costs could exceed $1000.00.  Oh, well.  I guess it wasn't going to live forever...except in my heart.  Speaking of "my heart," I guess...

5) I'm going to be getting a lot of heart-healthy exercise in the near future, as I will now have to do a lot of walking.  Sigh.  But maybe someday, on one of those walks, another beat-up old car will follow me home.  If I get to keep it, I promise I'll take super-good care of it and fill it with gas and clean up after it and love it!  I promise!  And I already have a name picked out; WOMPmobile 2!  Oh, and while we're talking about names, before I go, here's the name of...

6) Your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Tonto!

January 16 -  I know that this is not a NASCAR blog.  Heck, it's barely any kind of blog, but it wasn't originally designed to discuss racing, and, for the most part, that's the way it has gone.  But tonight...tonight I have to talk about today's loss of NASCAR giant, Benny Parsons.  How can I describe him to you?  Well, "BP" was voted as one of the 50 greatest drivers in history, which, by itself, would ensure noting his passing.  He was also the 1973 Champion, one of only a handful of men to achieve this highest honor.  Among his many awards, he also earned an Emmy for his work as a broadcaster, the role which, honestly, most of today's fans recognize.  Let's face it; the face of NASCAR is now young.  Even though BP was only 65 when he succumbed to a brief battle with lung cancer, probably about half of the racing fans of 2007 were born after Benny's '73 championship, and many of those were born after he'd retired in 1988.  No, it's as the wise Everyman in the announcers' booth for which Mr. Parsons will probably be best remembered.  And that's a role he thoroughly enjoyed.  He became NASCAR's Grandpa, doling out sage advice and robust humor culled from a lifetime of living his dreams.  Back in the day, when powerhouses like Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough dominated the Middle Age of what is now the fastest growing sport, BP was just Benny the cab driver.  He'd grown up near the famous Rockingham track, and, years later, with a local Rockingham team, he swapped his cab for a stock car on the national circuit (today known as the Nextel Cup).  Not only did he have some racing successes, but somehow, some way, he was able to compete for the championship with drivers who had national sponsors and endorsement contracts.  Even more remarkably, in an era of gigantic egos and weekly brawls, he was even tempered and uniformly respected by his peers.  In 1973, he'd accrued an unlikely early points lead in the season-long contest, only to see that lead dwindle toward the last race of the year.  That final race, held at his hometown Rockingham track, has become one of the greatest in history...even though Benny finished nowhere near First Place!  The race started with Benny just a handful of points ahead of Yarborough, but, with the crowd cheering on their local hero, it looked like he'd ward off the challenge.  Then, just an unlucky thirteen laps into the race, BP got caught up in a wreck!  His car was so torn up that he was exposed through the bare roll-bars!  He limped into the pits, and, with his destroyed Chevy, he parked the hopes of winning that championship.  Then, something happened (doesn't it always at this point in the movie?).  A crew member from a competing team came to help the rag-tag group of Rockingham guys.  Then another ran over with some replacement sheetmetal.  Then another came, and another...until BP's car was surrounded by a sea of colorful crew uniforms.  In just a few laps, and against all odds, this group of fierce competitors had repaired BP's ride just well enough for him to get back on track to limp home with a 28th place finish...which earned him just enough points to win the championship!  Can you imagine?  Benny Parsons never lost that respect, that love, from the NASCAR community.  He may not have been the flashiest racer, and he definitely wasn't the richest, but, today, in the wake of his passing, he has left NASCAR much darker and poorer.  I, a mere fan, will always remember his genuine smile, his brilliant racing insights and analysis, and his "regular guy" demeanor.  I want to extend my sincere condolences to the Parsons family, and to my fellow fans. 

Benny Parsons

1941 - 2007

Here is the Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - The Wyoming Kid!

January 15 -  This is just about my luck; I survive a car accident with nary a scratch, then, just a couple of days later, I'm writhing in debilitating pain...from shoveling out my driveway!  I threw my back out today, and now, at only midnight, the pain is so intense that I just have to give up and go to bed.  So stupid.  Oh, well.  Here's your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Dale Evans!

January 14 -  Hey there!  I'm awash in Oz work right now, and I've got a serious problem.  I'm dealing with illustrations for two different projects, so I've been working very hard on researching, imagining, and sketching the various Oz characters that I must draw.  There are familiar ones, like Toto and The Wizard, as well as lesser-knowns, and new characters created for, and introduced within, the stories I'm illustrating.  One character, though, surprisingly fits all three categories; Dorothy Gale!  Probably the most famous Ozite (and she did move to Oz at some point), Dorothy is, nevertheless, the most illusive...at least in terms of what she looks like.  As a character, she was created by Denslow (who drew here as a cherubic blonde), altered by Neill (who depicted her as a lithe, bobbed-hair blonde...most of the time), portrayed by Garland (with wide eyes and very dark hair), and then depicted by literally hundreds and hundreds of other artists as she entered public domain.  Generally, she is shown with black hair, a result of the poor quality broadcast, and repeated showings, of the memorable MGM film, The Wizard of Oz (although Judy Garland's hair was actually a sort of chestnut color in the film, it read as "black" on most TV sets for decades).  That movie has cemented Dorothy's "look" in the minds of most people, but less so with hardcore Oz fans.  Still, how can I not at least acknowledge the last seventy years or so of Dorothy-development?  And what does she wear?  How tall is she?  How old is she?  Ugh!  If this were any other character, I'd just use a little of this and a little of that to come up with my own "take" on her (much like I did with The Wizard), but Dorothy is arguably one of the most important characters in American fiction...I can't take that too lightly.  The source material isn't much help, by the way.  Especially the words of L. Frank Baum.  Whether by design or accident, Mr. Baum was not too specific with Dorothy's description.  This may have been simply because he wanted the readers to imagine her for themselves.  Whatever.  All I know is that, for a sixth-rate illustrator over a hundred years removed from the character's first appearance, this is proving to be quite the challenge.  Which, by the way, also means that I'm having fun!  This is the kind of stuff that keeps me going.  This is my Rubik's Cube, and there is nothing more satisfying than figuring out how to unscramble a really difficult puzzle like that.  The process can be taxing, aggravating, even depressing, but, man-oh-man, when you solve it, it's awesome!  Right now, I'm up to "aggravating," so I have a while to go.  Wish me luck!  Here's your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - The Lone Ranger!

January 13 -  Not much for ya tonight.  I did want to mention that last night's "regularly scheduled" Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Hopalong Cassidy, was my Dad's favorite.  Unlike my Mom, who didn't have a TV in her house until she'd been married, Dad was a young viewer during the Golden Age of Television.  My Grandpa brought a TV set into the Mundt household in about 1950.  It was one of those behemoth Philco units, twice the size of a Buick...and with about the same quality reception.  After the requisite antenna was placed on the roof and connected, the entire family (and a few neighbors) gathered around as Grandpa turned the set on.  And nothing happened.  Then, according to Dad, a dual hum - part high pitch and part low buzz - began...first quietly, then louder as a white milky image began to appear on the screen.  To Dad's amazement, it was William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy!  He was riding Topper at full speed, right toward the gathered Mundts and friends.  Now, these were not people from the Dark Ages or anything, so no-one gasped or ran from the room, but everyone went "Oooh" just as if they were watching fireworks.  Dad says that he was surprised at how well the picture came in...one of the few things that worked as well at home as it did in the store window.  Within days, Hoppy became his favorite character, and he owned at least two different issues of Fawcett's Hopalong Cassidy comic.  In fact, most of Dad's comic books were Westerns.  Of course, all of those comics are "gone" now, having long ago been "protected" by dropping them down inside the walls of my Grandparents' house from the attic (so, yes, somewhere within that house, which still stands, there presumptively are oodles of classic Golden Age rarities, including the first 3-D comics with yet-attached glasses!  UGH!).  He read 'em all, but he had two favorites; Hoppy (who is still #1 for him), and tonight's Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Red Ryder!

January 12 -  Let me start by saying that I'm OK.  In fact, considering the very narrowly missed disasters, I'm great!  It's been a long day, but, before I pack it in for the night, I thought I should tell you that I was in a car accident today.  Like I said, I'm OK, but the trusty, rusty WOMPmobile is not so good.  Here's what happened.  After seeing The WOMP Staff on her lunch break, I was entrusted with "the good car," but only with assurances that I would retrieve The Staff later in the day.  I drove home to WOMP H.Q., and parked in the garage.  Before I closed the garage door, I thought "I wonder if I can get the WOMPmobile to start?"  As you may remember, that's an iffy proposition.  I jumped in and started the twenty minute process of coaxing, berating, praying, and swearing, and, lo and behold, I finally got it to turn over.  It was sputtering pretty badly, so I decided to take it around the block to "smooth it out."  That helped a little, but I could tell that I needed to go a little further.  I drove around the nearby graveyard, which leads to a nice country lane (Vineyard Road, to you PdC locals).  That's a road that's nearly unencumbered by other traffic, yet is also one which is posted with highway speeds (not that the WOMPmobile could go much over 40 mph anyway).  So there I was, happily driving along when my old nemesis, Freezing Rain, decided to coat just one little "dip" with an invisible layer of misty ice.  Fortunately, I had planned to turn around just about there, so I was only going about twenty miles per hour when I realized that I no longer had the power to slow myself!  Things did not "go into slow motion" or anything cool like that, but I did have the time to guide my poor car away from the tree-covered fifty foot drop on the left, three feet past a fifteen foot drop off on the right, two feet from a powerline pole, inches away from and between a cement-based mailbox and a fence line pole, and into the hillside just six inches below yet another powerline pole!  I was, of course, wearing my seat belt, so I was fine, but, as I found out later, I'd hit a loaf-of-bread-sized rock directly on the "trigger" for the airbag, so - POOF - I had a lap full of stinky pillow.  That seemed strange at the time, considering that there was no real sudden jerk or stop (I'd scrubbed off most of my speed by then, having traveled about, oh...100 feet maybe?).  I scrambled out, assessed everything, and realized that I, and the car, were OK...except that the car had blown the driver's side front tire and that I was hung up on some stupid rocks.  Within a few minutes, a county truck driver, who was ironically spreading sand and salt on the road, drove up.  He jumped out to check on me, and the two of us tried like heck to free the car from those stinkin' rocks, but to no avail.  He radioed in for help, then continued on his way.  Then the mailman drove up.  The look on his face was pretty good as he saw me and my car so perfectly wedged between all of the nasty obstacles.  I assured him that I was fine, and he continued on his route.  The county worker returned after he'd completed his tasks, and we worked on freeing the car some more.  I realized that the flat kept the body too low to the rocks to move it, so I had to get out the little "donut" and change the tire.  I had that about half done when a county deputy showed up.  I gave him all of my information and such, and he kept his flashing lights on while I worked on the tire.  Soon, I was able to jack the car back down...onto a completely flat spare.  Oh, well.  The truck driver had gone back to work by then, so we decided that I'd have to have a wrecker come to pull me out.  That took forever for the guy to get there, it seemed...especially since it was nearing the time that The Staff expected to be picked up from work!  The officer let me use his cell phone to call her so she could make other arrangements.  Oh, was that a fun call.  Anyhoo, the tow truck finally appeared, and, with one slow yank, he pulled the car off the rocks and out of its snare.  Because of the deployed airbag, I was not legally allowed to drive it, so it had to be hooked up and towed home (of course, it had a flat tire anyway).  The poor old WOMPmobile, looking not much the worse for the wear, is now sitting at a repair shop, awaiting a repair/damage estimate for the insurance claim.  I guess it may be financially stupid to repair the beast, but the engine was purring like a kitten while I carefully repositioned it in the shop's parking lot.  And I'm OK.  I am thankful for that...and, even though I already thanked each of the people who helped me out today, I want to publicly say "thanks" again to all of them.  Now, though, I think I'll call it a night (especially since it is actually almost 8:00AM on the 13th as I type).  In addition to tonight's regularly scheduled Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Hopalong Cassidy, I'd like to add a special Ironic Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Rocky Lane!

January 11 -  I've made my decision.  Remember that aggravatingly drawn out and needlessly mysterious "decision" that I was contemplating recently?  Remember how annoyingly cryptic I was about it?  Well, I have not only made a decision in the matter, but I've decided to share with you just what it was all about (and it's really just so stupid).  Basically, in a nutshell, I was thinking of dropping the "Esquire" from the end of my name.  My decision has been to stick with it for now.  Yes...I know that, on the one hand, this site is www.johnmundtesquire.com (probably can't change that now), and that, on the other hand, my "Esquire" is a purely self-appointed title anyway, so why would I worry about, or even think about, dropping my E-S-Q?  For that matter, what the heck's the deal with that little addendum anyway?  Let me take you back, back, back in time to the dark age known as the late 1970's.  I was just a little kid then, a mere Esquirt.  I had an adolescent inkling that I wanted to do something, be something, other than become some sort of worker drone someday.  I briefly considered actually becoming a circus clown (Emmett Kelly being my idol), then I remembered how much fun I had creating my own little comics.  I decided to become a comic book guy!  And, even as a prepubescent pup, I could see that there was only one obvious obstacle standing between me and success; a lack of enough syllables in my name!  Yes, for some unknown, insane reason (that still has the ring of truth to it), I imagined that additional syllables would pave the way to fame (not talent, hard work, connections, financial backing, luck...nor any of the other factors that I'd never have anyway).  John.  Mundt.  John Mundt.  Blah Blah.  I may as well be named "John Boring," but even THAT has more syllables than "John Mundt" (not to mention the confusion that would arise from sharing a last name with one of the all-time comics greats).  Using my embarrassing middle name, Cornholio, was not an attractive option.  Imagine my excitement when I saw "Esq." on Bugs Bunny's mailbox!  After a little "Esquire" research in the family dictionary, I added the title to my name.  And, just like that, I became John Mundt, Esquire...for the next thirty years.  By 1980, I was adding "Esquire" to my signature (along with the current year), and listing myself as John Mundt, Esquire, on everything that bore my name, including school reports, gym clothes, and my little handmade comics.  I felt that the moniker-suffix gave me a sort of memorable quality.  For better or worse, that's been true.  Along the way, though, I've fought many unnecessary battles over my "Esquire," most notably with financial institutions and the DMV.  And for what?  Extra syllables?  John Wayne didn't need extra syllables.  Nor did Jack Cole, Tom Cruise, John Ford, Charles Schulz, Jim Brown, or Stan Lee...although, now that I think of it, many of those people did add syllables to their names in the form of nicknames ("The Duke," "Sparky," "The Man," etc.).  Anyway, the struggle for Esquirecceptance was at first fun, then annoying, eventually stupid, and finally, today, so far removed from whatever odd reasons from which it all began, that the fight has become incredibly ridiculous and tiresome.  Most people actively drop the "Esquire" from my name anyway, which is fine...although it is no less idiosyncratic nor self-indulgent than the Elliott S. Maggin or Scott Shaw "!" or the E.E. Cummings and Catherine Yronwode lowercase (self-applied name modifiers which are always honored).  It's like I got a strange tattoo when I was eleven, and now I'm stuck with it.  Recently, I have been thinking about how to move forward in my life and career.  I want to turn a page, or a corner, or whatever one is supposed to turn when he is also turning 116 years old.  Dropping "Esquire" just seemed like a logical place to start.  "Esquire" is a title, most often applied to lawyers, which derives from the squires of old (olde?).  Squires are attendants to knights, helpers of those who are seen as worthy.  Squires did this as the first step to becoming knights themselves.  I've been "e squire" for many years, giving assistance to others while waiting for my own big chance.  Symbolically, I wanted to "graduate" to knight.  Not that I was going to call myself "Sir John Mundt" or "John Mundt, Knight," or anything.  I just wanted to have a break from the Esquire battle.  I shelved this internal discussion last month, but, today, it all came back to me, for no real reason.  I just sat down with the particulars of what this decision would entail.  It would be no big deal to drop it from my professional credits.  Most people couldn't care less if I wanted to call myself Mary Worth, Esquire.  Likewise, it wouldn't affect the people in my life.  I don't, and never would, ask people to refer to me as "John Mundt, Esquire," preferring instead the syllabically-challenged name I was given at birth.  No.  The big problems would come with justifying why, after three-quarters of my life, I was reverting to just plain old "John Mundt."  That's when it hit me; I would just be trading one fight for another.  I'd be spending the next thirty years trying to explain why I used to be "John Mundt, Esquire!"  I decided I'd be better off fighting the fight to which I'm accustomed.  Besides, for better or worse, for thirty years, and for dozens (if not hundreds) of "knights," I have been, and will continue to be, John Mundt, Esquire.  And there it is.  Now, here is your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Gabby Hayes!

January 10 -  Me skip day.  Me suck.  Here Western Comic Book Character Of Day - Kid Colt!

January 9 -  Hey there!  I'm coming to the end of a very productive day...which is good, of course, but exhausting.  I've been working on some of the bigger projects that I've had on my very unscheduled schedule for some time.  It feels good to be getting to the bottom of lists and piles, doesn't it?  I don't mind being this tired when I can also feel at least a little sense of accomplishment.  Hopefully, I'll continue this productivity trend throughout the week, but now it's time to just wrap this entry up with your bullwhipping Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Lash LaRue!

January 8 -  Happy Birthday, Elvis!  Since I know that you read the ol' WOMP-Blog every day, Mr. Presley, I have a special "gift" for you.  In addition to tonight's regular Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Bat Lash, I have a surprise; a bonus entry!  So, here it is, Elvis Presley's Favorite Western Comic Book Character - Ethan Edwards (John Wayne's character from Four Color #709, the 1956 comic book adaptation of The Searchers)!

January 7 -  I love Western comics.  Heck, I love Westerns!  Back in the day, I spent many nights watching classic old cowboy movies on TV...many of them two or more times.  I've seen every Three Mesquiters film as many as five times.  Although I've watched dozens of Roy Rogers movies, I probably haven't seen all of them (especially since his TV show was like a series of short films), but I'm pretty sure that I have seen every Gene Autry film that still exists, including his TV series episodes.  Same thing for The Lone Ranger, Hopalong Cassidy, Sky King, and more.  Of course, I've seen films from more recent years as well, but there is something special about that period, from the dawn of film to about 1955, that I just can't get enough of.  The same thing goes for comics.  Those sometimes formulaic and silly cowboy comic books, that filled newsstands and magazine racks during The Golden Age, have a special place in my heart.  But why?  I suppose that their predictable repetitiveness offers some sort of comfort to me.  But there is more to it than that.  Westerns, like superhero comics, are also full of symbols and deeper lessons, if you choose to look for them.  My favorite example comes from the cowboy caricatures of the good guy wearing a white hat, and the bad guy wearing a black hat.  Black hats have long represented evil, but what's up with the white hat?  Well, early Westerns were created during a time when many people were living lives in the shadow of the era of actual cowboys.  Yes, there are still working cowboys in this day and age, but, back then, folks could more directly relate to the sense of "just yesterday" that Western comics, movies, pulps, and other popular media depicted.  They offered a nostalgia for a time when Grandpa, or even Dad, was young.  As such, they distilled the core, pure elements of the cowboy mythology into iconography.  So, again, what's up with the white hat?  White cowboy hats have been seen as symbols of virtuous purity, or simply a way to tell two guys apart during a dust-up, but the truth, I believe, is much deeper.  First of all, most white hats weren't white.  The Lone Ranger's was, but his was part of a costume, rather than a day-to-day hat.  Even at that, cowboy superstars, like Autry and Rogers, often wore dark hats anyway, in spite of what people imagine.  No, most "white" hats were somewhere between grey and tan, and merely read as "white" in black and white films, or in black and white daily comics strips.  Color comics of the era didn't have a lot of subtlety, so "un-black" hats were often left devoid of color, which, under ideal circumstances, seemed to be white.  The "lesson" of the white cowboy hat, though, didn't come to me until I actually bought one for myself!  I got it from the River Junction Trading Company, a traditional men's "dry goods" store in nearby McGregor, Iowa.  These folks operate as if it's 1890, offering everything from authentically styled clothing reproduced from vintage patterns, to boots and hats styled from antique examples.  I love that shop, and have spent a lot of time hanging out there, just absorbing the look and feel of it.  Eventually, I just had to break down and purchase a cowboy hat.  Now, in today's world, everyone who has ever heard of Johnny Cash (who bought his stage wardrobe from River Junction, by the way), seen a Harley Davidson motorcycle, or sorta remembers Dale Earnhardt, considers him-or-herself to be a rebel, so black hats are the most prevalent.  It seems like everyone wants to look mean and scary when they play dress-up (which is what wearing a cowboy outfit is, unless you are a 1910 cowpuncher).  Me, though?  I wanted the "white" hat.  If I'm going to play make-believe, I want to be Tom Mix.  With that in mind, I bought an absolutely beautiful Mix-like hat that can only be described as "ten gallon."  It is ridiculously, perfectly, a caricature of a good guy hat, and I love it!  It's not the kind of thing that could be worn every day, even by Cowboy O' Western, but I have taken it out of careful storage on occasion, wearing it for special events and as part of a Halloween costume.  During one of those events, I noticed that the hat had a mysterious, greasy, black stain on it.  UGH!  I take such good care of that hat.  I can't imagine how it happened.  Even after trying to clean it by every acceptable method known, the stain remains.  That's when it hit me; the white hat represents virtue in the face of dirty reality.  Keeping a hat "white" (a challenge that our first-half-of-the-Twentieth-Century predecessors would have understood first-hand) would have been seen as symbolic of keeping true to higher ideals in a world of negative influences.  Moreover, it could be said that black hats are just "white" hats that have dirtied over time, succumbing to "the dark side."  This is a lesson which constantly strikes me as I think about greater crises of morality, like the war in Iraq; it's hard to keep your white hat white.  If you're not careful, before you even know what happened, you're wearing a black hat, and no amount of cleaning can make it white again.  This is just an example of the lessons that cowboy comics, movies, and such can provide.  I think, then, that the thing I like most about Westerns is that, in spite of their hokey plots, exaggerated action, and penchant for the ridiculous, they offer an opportunity to think about larger issues in a different, insightfully old-timey way.  Well, here's your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Jonah Hex!

January 6 -  I have a teensy favor to ask of you.  Please go back and read the January 5th WOMP-Blog entry.  Really.  It's important.  I'll wait here for you...........................Done?  OK, I posted it so late in the day that I might as well just waited until now, but I'm glad that I didn't.  Since writing that post, I've witnessed the online comics community's slow reaction to the news...and they all, ALL, missed the point!  Every non-C.B.G. post keys into Maggie's fancy new "Senior Editor" title as if it's a true step up, not a deserved step aside.  Granted, this is still a nice bit of news for her, but, in the hail of congratulations raining down from comicdom, she alone receives the accolades, leaving poor Brent out in the cold.  It's like he's Charlie Brown ("I got a rock") or Rodney Dangerfield ("No respect...no respect at all").  Of course, I'm biased (Brent being awesome and all), but did I misinterpret something here?  Wasn't this a passing of the torch?  Or was it just a game of musical chairs (with Maggie getting a nice comfy rocker)?  I guess I defer to Brent.  He's not prone to hyperbole (usually), and he implies that this change was not just a graduation, but an Inauguration.  While the C.B.G. will always bear the unmistakable editorial cattle-brand of the Thompsons (and Alan Light, I suppose), it's now Brent's baby.  Maggie is now the C.B.G.'s Senior Consultant (or "Grandma," if you will).  Somehow, though, everyone outside of the CBGXtra.com contributors and "posters" see only Maggie's name in the press releases.  I guess that's to be expected.  She has been the rock, the Mom, of comics fandom for decades, so that's whom everyone knows.  Brent has dutifully remained "back at the ranch" while she has been the public face, representing C.B.G. at comics conventions and in the wider press.  How great it will be when people start to accustom themselves to Brent!  That will be pretty cool!  So, be warned, comics fandom; there's a new Trail Boss in town!  Go get 'em, Chief!  Now, here's your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Scalphunter!

January 5 -  Well, the secret's out!  Official Friend of WOMP, Brent Frankenhoff, has been promoted from Managing Editor of the venerable Comics Buyer's Guide, to Editor!  That's right, he's the head honcho now (part of why I have most recently referred to him as the C.B.G. Trail Boss).  The effervescent and indispensable Maggie Thompson, Editor since the Late Paleolithic, is still going to be hanging around, now as Editor Emeritus, or Honorary Editor, or Queen of Hearts or something, while Brent becomes only the fourth Editor that the world's longest running publication about comics has ever had (Alan Light, Maggie and Don Thompson were the others).  Click HERE to read the official announcement, review the posts commenting on the story, and see a funny photo of Brent wrestlin' the C.B.G. out of Maggie's hands (although unintentional, I'm sure, you gotta admit that it does sort of look like that...hee hee!).  I completely echo all sentiments about how Brent so deserves this promotion (as does, for that matter, Maggie, who has spent the majority of her adult life worrying about deadlines), but I wanted to do something special for him as well.  That's why Brent has supplanted The WOMP Character of the Week, as the Official WOMP Friend of the MONTH!  Click HERE to be taken to the WOMP-Site's Main Page to see that (it's not much, but it's all I got).  Also, as long as I'm "honoring" Brent, I'll also honor his request to let you all know that nominations are now being solicited for the annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards!  Click HERE for more info about that!  See that?  Even in the face of a historic honor, Brent is all business.  Way to go, Mr. Editor!  Can I call you "Chief" now?  Well, here's your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Latigo!

January 4 -  I know you don't want to hear it, but I am just so stinking busy...and tired (don't forget "tired")...that I really don't have the time nor energy to post anything tonight/this morning.  Sorry.  Maybe tomorrow, after many of the deadlines will have passed.  Sigh.  Well, here's your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - The Ghost Rider!

January 3 -  No entry.  I suck.  Here's the Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Blueberry!

January 2 -  I know it...I'm overly sentimental.  That's no surprise to me.  One need only see the many saved leaves collected on walks with my lovely wife (The WOMP Staff) to understand that.  So, why am I shocked by my own actions last night?  Let me set the stage for you.  The Staff was away from WOMP H.Q. for about an hour, so I took advantage of the time by completing a few noisy tasks around the house.  That included hanging some art on the newly exposed "wall" (the side of a very large bookshelf).  One of those was artwork that my Dad painted while he was in high school.  It depicts a profile of the Abraham Lincoln element of Mount Rushmore.  It's pretty cool, made all the more interesting by it's unique status as Dad's only remaining artwork from my his youth (he gave the rest to an early girlfriend...this painting survives because he'd given it to my Great-grandmother before that).  Anyhoo, I found a nice spot for the painting, pounded in a little nail, then put Mr. Lincoln in place...crooked.  I straightened him up, but he still slowly slid back to off-kilter.  I flipped the painting over and quickly saw that the "eye" that was screwed into the back of the frame was way off of center.  Without thinking about it very much, I just unscrewed the eye, centered and attached a new picture-hanger, and - voila - Mr. Lincoln is properly squared away.  And that was that...or so I thought.  With pride, I later told Dad about displaying his painting, only nonchalantly mentioning the re-centering bit.  Instead of a smile, as I'd expected, Dad grimaced.  He explained that the eye had been attached to the painting's frame by my Great-grandfather, just days before he died.  Dad has long known that the painting hangs crooked, but, when it was returned to him after my Great-grandmother's passing, he couldn't bear to do what I had just done, feeling that it would be an offense to his Grandpa's memory.  UGH!  I rushed over to the little garbage can where I'd thrown the eye, retrieved it, and swapped it out with the new hanger.  Now, as I look at the skewed painting, I see that Mr. Lincoln seems to be looking down, as if in thought or remembrance.  And that's the way that four generations of my family have seen it, so who am I to buck a tradition like that?  Like I said, I am overly sentimental, even about a tiny eye-screw, but can you blame me?  Oh, well.  I know that I've got "issues," but at least they are harmless.  Oh, speaking of "harmless," I should point out that I harmlessly mistook my Jazma Online interview as the last of 2006.  A couple more were posted just after mine.  Jazma must be on West Coast Time, because I checked the site well after midnight here in the Midwest and made the determination that I was the last.  And, speaking of interviews, I just watched a fantastic extended interview with comic book great Phil Jimenez on my local PBS station!  That was a surprise!  It was a wonderful, funny, sensitive, deeply-personal look into one of the most influential artists in the biz today.  In many ways, the story of his struggles for acceptance of his lifestyle reminded me of the ages old fan-boy complaint that comics aren't accepted by the world at large (one which Mr. Jimenez echoed).  In fact, Erik Larsen just posted a strong reiteration of that lament, even going so far as to "out" celebrities who are privately, but never publicly, comic book fans.  I've been on both sides of the fence about this myself for two decades, first as a vehement activist bent on spreading the Words and Pictures, then as a dejected frontline grunt who wished nothing more than to be left alone, far from the fight.  Now...now I don't know.  There are many advantages to being a community unto ourselves.  But it's only natural to want to be accepted by everyone, not just by the likeminded.  Some reasons are practical, but most are deeply personal.  I think that I'm so wishy-washy now because I see that every advance the comics-artform has made in general acknowledgement has come at a dear price.  Some things, which had always seemed intrinsic to comics, are gone now, except in collection and recollection.  Whether these changes are positive, negative, necessary, or pointless, I can't say.  Things always change, that's just what they do.  But some changes, whether they are as monumental as worldwide acceptance of comic books, or as insignificant as removing an eyescrew, can change things in ways that we might not intend, nor even understand until it is too late to change them back.  Yes, I may be overly sentimental, but, again, can you blame me?  Hmm.  Now, here's your Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - The Two-Gun Kid!

January 1 -  Hello, everyWOMP...and 2007!  How was your New Year?  After I had a stint at the dumb "real" job, we here at WOMP H.Q. stuck with our own New Year's tradition by watching the The Twilight Zone marathon on the SciFi Channel before passing out from exhaustion (and old age?).  Also, we watched the classic Packers/Bears game, which sure looked like Brett Favre's last.  That was pretty emotional.  Otherwise, 2006 snuck away from WOMP with little fanfare.  Mid-day on the 1st, I finally completed my 2006 In Review report, which, if you didn't read it, can be seen by clicking the big link above.  Tonight...er, this morning (it's already 8:00AM on the 2nd as I type this...man, I've got to get to bed) I have been so busy with odds and ends that I really don't have the time to post much of anything.  I did want to tell you that my Jazma Online interview has been posted (click HERE to see it), the last one of 2006 I believe.  While there, check out the also recently posted interview with O.F.O.WOMP Tim Seeley!  Neat!  Also, I wanted to kick off this month's "...Of The Day" feature with one of the most famous, and a personal favorite Western Comic Book Character Of The Day - Gene Autry!