First off
Congrats to Molly Crabapple on winning 2 Emmys!
I don’t have a Wikipedia page. Here is Frederick Harper’s Wiki page. I should tell people it really is me. Wikipedia don’t lie! Born November 24, 1863. That’s right, I’m a spry 162 year old always up for a good game of Cricket! Many years ago I saw Molly hustling with all her other friends who were also starting the struggle of making an art career. An acquaintance of hers wrote a little entry on the new Wikipedia site. She wrote one about someone she knew. There’s a lot to read about her now more than 20 years later. Including her winning two Emmys for an animation she did with her friends Max and Jim. One was for “Best art direction” and for “Best graphic design”. My page, on the other hand, does not exist to this day. HA! I am too mysterious to be defined by Wikipedia!
Things happening that I should be promoting!!! Here’s one. Tromafest 2025. I will have a table and books set up at the great Mahoning Drive-in Theater in the middle of no-where, Pennsylvania July 19th. Not my most flattering photo, but I think if you saw me in person you’d probably recognize me… as an aside: I was in an art supply store the other day. This woman with a large outgoing personality comes up to me for some reason as I was eyeing some gouache. Her partner and young son are right behind her and in her outdoor voice says “Excuse me, you look like you are a professional artist! are you?” I said “I am". She pushes onward, what do you do? Where would I see your art? I showed her the latest Toxic Avenger that I had in my bag. She freaks out with more decibels than necessary and while maintaining that volume, asks me what my name is, who are you in the comic book, and no way! You did this!!!!!!!!???????? as she points at the cover. I quietly nodded. At a volume you would yell at a dog who just shit on your bed, she asks me to prove I am the guy who I said I was. Do I have some ID she could see? The look in her eye was all serious but everything about her speech, body language, and her partner and young son both staring at me in helplessness, said she was very nice yet excitable. I told her she didn’t have to believe me but she could have the comic. She realized what she had said and in a more normal volume said that she was going to google me.
An important one: The first issue of the on-going series of Toxic Avenger came out July 9th and should still be on the stands unless they’ve sold out. I would encourage everyone who reads this to be a squeaky wheel to your local comic shop to order extra copies of the next issue! In my head I imaging you, yes you! jumping up on the counter near the register like the scene in Pulp Fiction and screaming “Any of you pricks move …” Okay, that might get you a stern talking to by someone in law enforcement. Maybe just ask politely if they could order more so you may purchase our entertaining Toxic Avenger literature when the next issue is ripe. I am accumulating a lot of covers. So far I’ve sold two. I am willing to sell all! My rent ain’t pay’n itself!
A fun trailer! Toxie.
Matt Bors and I get interviewed by S.W. Conser for KBOO audio. It’s about an hour long.
I don’t know why anyone reading this might care, but in August I’m dragging the winner of two Emmys, Molly Crabapple, to Erie, PA for my 40th high school reunion. It’s a 7 hour drive from NYC and Molly hates cars, Erie, and my best friend Mike who still lives there. So we’re going to have a wonderful time. Venturing out of our “liberal bubble” here in NYC is always informative if not shocking sometimes. Molly usually sees things I miss since I grew up in that environment. I usually cash in all my brownie points to get her to go. Fortunately she likes my brownies. My ability to cook, not so much.
