Half-Masked

I was warned by a friend of mine that I should not have watched Lucky Star immediately after Azumanga Daioh. His concern is valid. Just about any other anime is going to look worse in the shadow of my favourite television program. But I’m kind of glad that I saw it second. Maybe in some alternate universe, I saw this show first and even liked it more than AD, which is a thought that twists my stomach.

After seeing this addictive youtube video on the subject, I felt compelled to check it out.

Ha! Ha! Theyre using the internet!

The first episode was a real hurdle towards a positive outlook for this series. The pacing is disjointed and stretched, and there are few establishing shots or any sense of cohesion connecting one scene to the next. There is rarely breathing room.

And the blather. These girls talk and talk and talk and talk. About food and video games and homework and nothing. They go on for damn near 10 minutes comparing, in great detail, how they eat a certain piece of food. And believe me, I’ve made that sound far more engaging than it really is. I’d say this is a realistic portrayal of a conversation, but it’s not exactly riveting. Lucky Star tends to rely on long, go-nowhere dialogue and references to other shows(one might call it a Japanese Family Guy, so to speak). I appreciate the idea(especially after so many hours with the over-exaggerating Tomo), but the approach itself leaves me wanting something with more structure… Or maybe there’s too much structure? Maybe Lucky Star is too close to the realistic jibber-jabber of real life? If Azumanga Daioh is down-to-earth, then Lucky Star is subterranean.

The fact that it has a truly awful theme song/opening isn’t making it easy for me. It’s almost unbelievably bad, and I’d call it the biggest deterrent for inviting new fans to this series if it weren’t so inexplicably popular.

I’m also not too keen on the crazy hair colours these girls have. I spoke too hastily when I complained that Azumanga Daioh’s characters looked too similar. The reason their hair styles and colours are not ridiculous is because they don’t need to be. Their experiences and charm shine through. The characters here aren’t quite so vibrant, which makes me think they have more interesting hair colours in some attempt to compensate. They’re all roughly the same size too, which made me appreciate the designs for Yomi, Sakaki and Chiyo a little more. Although I think that’s the point. The girls here are understated, but in different ways.

Even the animation leaves something to be desired. So much is re-used even in the first eight episodes. The characters appear to have two facial expressions: eyes halfway open and eyes transformed into square caterpillars(which I assume is supposed to represent them being closed). And those eyes seem vacant and lifeless. I’m having a difficult time coping with the fact that everyone in this show looks like a 5 year old as well, considering the subject matter of their conversations. It’s almost like watching Disney’s Fillmore.

(This makes the bath-house scene in episode 6 an especially unpleasant experience for me, as there is almost no attempt to censor the things that warrant censoring more than anything else.  It’s never quite pornographic, but it gets WAY too close to it for me. I’m no prude, but this feels really wrong. I would be amazed, astonished, and even a little disgusted if this show has already made its way to America, and more so unchanged.)

Most of the daily rituals of interest sort of blur together. When they go to the beach in Azumanga Daioh, it’s an event. Here it seems less important, something meager and passing. While Chiyo and Osaka feverishly await the next culture festival, Konata and her friends describe the disappointments inherent with the festival being run by whoever suggested the theme. It also means effort for Konata, and having to stay at school to help organize which cuts into her Anime-watching time. They find a way to suck all of the fun out of it.

I was ready to call this one a lost cause…

But I won’t. This is a decent show once it gets rolling, even when it hefts its flaws along for the ride. I think a lot of this has to do with the character “Konata”.

There was another girl in this picture, but she doesn't matter.

Here is a girl who is truly sure of herself, and sure of the people and things she has encountered in her short life. Her eternal calm, penetrating intelligence, playful remarks and otherworldly voice have lingered in my head and have found permanent residence there. She has a way of saying something that sounds both lighthearted and cynical at the same time. She does not doubt herself, but she understands her limits, and acknowledges that their world is not the parade of happy cliches that we are used to in standard Anime. This depressed me a little, but also greatly appealed to my pessimism. This was not the reaction I was expecting when I saw cheery-coloured pictures of this show beforehand.

She seems like the most content character I’ve seen in a cartoon. She never appears to lose her temper, or become excited or panicked. She is at peace, but does not come off like a new-age hippy. Maybe the reason she pokes and prods at the other characters isn’t for the purposes of teasing, but to get them to fully unleash their potential to be just as satisfied with life and themselves as she is.

Her most common target is Kagami(one of the purple-haired twins), who is the comic foil. She’s morally responsible and more independent than her associates, be it through obligation or instinct as the “older” of fraternal twins. They rely on her to get them through homework and tests they would never wrap their heads around on their own, and she observes this as an inescapable, though no less disappointing burden she must bear. Konata, meanwhile, tries to un-starch this shirt. She sees her as someone who needs to let go of her secrets and her reputation and just accept that she’s not as uptight as she tries to be. Konata has no misconceptions about her Otaku nerdiness or her lousy work ethic, she’s certainly okay with that. I think she’d like her pals to be as free as her.

Kagami sees it a little differently: She thinks Konata could achieve much more in her life if she buckled down and put in the effort. Here are two girls who think the other would be a lot happier if they defied their nature. They reminded me of the central characters in ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’, although I’m sure a more pleasant ending will be supplied here. This is their show. The rest are just along for the ride.

Konata is also about tapping into her friend’s behaviour, seeing what makes them tick, and mischievously triggering a response that tickles her. This is something she’s picked up from years of playing dating sims. She thinks if she chooses just the right branches of dialogue, those around her will be unveiled. She’s on a skewed wave-length, and this in turn warps an otherwise unremarkable show into something deceptively entertaining. Because of Konata, I’m able to view these character’s flaws and exceptional traits more clearly, and the same can be said for the triumphs and shortcomings of both this and AD. In such a short time since I’ve started watching, she’s opened the way for this show to sneak under my skin.

I don’t expect to do nearly as many articles for Lucky Star as I have(and will continue to write) for Azumanga Daioh, but I will see it through. I don’t think it will be a better show either, even though Konata’s observations ring truer to me than the mood of AD. I might prefer apples over oranges, but both appeal to my tastes.

END OF LINE

~A.H.

Something I’ve noticed with certain anime programs is that they are often accompanied by music CD’s featuring songs composed specifically for the characters, and even sung by their original voice actors. From the looks of it, this tends to happen more with the school-related programs, although I’m sure the giant robot shows are not immune to this treatment.

Now, normally, in the rare events where I should stumble upon this music, I immediately retreat, cringing myself into a knot. So it speaks to Azumanga Daioh’s quality where even it’s attempt at “character songs” are not immediately met with fear and disgust by yours truly. The compositions aren’t too complicated and they’re a little processed, which is probably right for these characters. This, combined with some truly mesmerizing instrument choices makes them unusually addictive for me. Not exactly the kind of stuff I’d boast as being on the iPod I don’t own because I’m not a gullible idiot soon parted from my money, but that’s more my problem than this music.

Not the not-buying-an-iPod thing. That’s your problem, you morons.

Now, I am going to link to youtube videos which feature some of these songs I speak of. Be forewarned: They all contain the dreaded moonspeak of the Orient. I usually don’t have a problem listening to them(again, and again, and again), but I totally relate to the awkard, embarrassing feeling one might have here. It can be pretty jarring to hear music in a language that is strange, unfamiliar and thus almost comical to our perspective. If this is the sort of thing you can’t stand, don’t be a hero. This article ain’t for you.

The following are some of the choice songs that I found myself listening to in multiples of a lot, despite the almost complete gibberish of even the translated lyrics. If you do like what’s here, it would be wise to search for means to purchase the cd’s they originate from. And if anyone gives me crap for endorsing this stuff, then I will balance it out with some Dream Theater and call it even.

(click the song titles for links to youtube videos)

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“Moi Moi Encore“

You could reasonably call this one “Tomo’s Theme”. Fast, energetic, with more than a hint of ska. But this is accompanied by an intro with what sounds like more naturally occuring instruments. Possibly bamboo or something equally plant-like, with a sound somewhere between wind and percussion. Gives it a little bit of class, and the audience certainly likes it as you can hear their giggles in the track.

—–

“Sorezore no One Way“

Now, I’m the kind of man who avoids anything remotely sounding like country music like the plague, but this works for me for some reason. You’ve got damn good vocals to thank for that, I think. Rie Tanaka really is something.

—–

“Raspberry Heaven”

The closing theme for the show. Gotta love the intro to this outtro. It’s got a good rhythm to it, not to mention the use of string and synth instruments that is just right. And the singers. You’ve got one with the soft, pleasant voice one expects from a song like this, but her companion brings a weird and joyful sound that the music -needs-. Interesting voices, these two. I think their band is called “Oranges and Lemons”, or “Apples and Oranges”… Something fruit-related.

—–

“Time Pavement”

One of Osaka’s themes, just as strange, kooky and wonderful as the character it accompanies. I’ve rarely heard an odder collection of sounds applied to a single song. A cukoo-clock’s chirping and ticking. Harpischord. Frittering electronic sounds befitting fireworks. And like the other songs on this list, there is a quick and effective use of violin and guitar sounds that hit just the right spot/notes. All of this, led by the humble and dreamlike voice of Osaka’s voice actress, fit each other like a glove. And despite the lyrics making little sense to me personally, the music and presentation really communicates the pure eccentricities of this character. To this day, I haven’t a clue what “Time Pavement” could mean even symbolically, but it doesn’t hurt this song’s appeal.

—–

“Kaze No Iro March“

Ah, the one that started it all. This is the song that convinced me to further explore the show. There’s a reason for that. It’s not particularly grandiose(not that any of the songs in this show are). It’s a song boiled down to the core components, and offers something incredibly catchy and enjoyable to listen to in the process. It’s a good-hearted song that quietly infiltrates the mind and soul.

In fact, the Live version is also pretty nifty.

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END OF LINE

~A.H.

Does your child play Dungeons & Dragons listen to Rock & Roll music play video games? THEN HE COULD DIE THIS VERY SECOND!!!

(By falling out of a tree, but STILL, OOH SCARY MUSIC AND CLOSE-UPS OF PEOPLE WHILE THEY PLAY CALL OF DUTY GOD WE ARE SUCH AWESOME JOURNALISTS!)

In all seriousness though, I wonder where Washington honouring Child’s Play, a massive annual outpouring of generosity on the part of people who play video games fits into the CBC’s view of gamers as hypnotized, morally-ambiguous addicts, slaves to this new devilry known as “Nintendo”.

Ditto to that new bill in Utah being pushed by He-Whose-Name-We-Dare-Not-Speaketh.

END OF LINE

~A.H.

Episode 19 is an example of Azumanga Daioh, maybe even anime at its finest. It features the main cast as usual, but there’s a particular focus on the Phys. Ed teacher Minamo “Nyamo” Kurosawa. We follow a day in her life, starting with her enduring one of those phone calls from a mother poking and prodding at her young daughter to find a husband, even going so far as to arrange a date for her. This back-and-forth, even more grating due to her mother’s polite wording and tone leaves Nyamo increasingly bitter as the day goes on. It festers along the way, growing in resentment, even amidst such distractions as traffic. “What is she talking about? I’m still young!” But as we later find out, it’s not because she disagrees with her mother. Sometimes the most aggravating fact is believing someone else is right. She accepts this revelation only after some heavy drinking.

Three of the girls fall asleep on the roof of the school at lunch, and are late for their gym class. They practiced yawning when they discover that is a talent Osaka has which she can call her own. They are punished by their gym teacher, and she mentions this to Yukari later. Here is a shot I liked. There is a man’s head in the background, more detailed than other background characters. A teacher, most likely. He never appears in the series again, but our attention immediately goes to him. Without saying a word he manages to play off of Nyamo’s conversation, and the timing in which his purpose is fulfilled is spot-on. It is also infectious, I should warn.

Then we switch back to the school girls. All but Kagura meet in the library to find a certain book, but they spot her running laps around a nearby field. Yomi explains later that they somehow ended up just talking. She says this with a smile. It’s not a common sight to see people who, despite their craziness so thoroughly enjoy each other’s company. Kagura doesn’t make it to a lot of their adventures, I’m guessing. She spends a considerable portion of her free time training and running and exercising. It’s not that she never stops, like Tomo, but like Chiyo, she wants to be in a farther place in her life than she’s been able to reach this far. Yomi regards later on that she is a little jealous of people who can direct so much focus on a single goal.

This episode, already magnificently directed this far, has one of my favourite shots in the entire show. At night, Chiyo and Kagura are looking up at the falling petals of a cherry blossom tree. Behind that is a lamp-post with two lights. Two girls, a source of light above them and a tall vertical plant between them. Two lights at the top, separated in the middle by the pole. The light source is at the top of the screen, and both of these girls sit in relative darkness and looking up, as they discuss where they want to go in life and where they are currently.

Two girls. Two lights. Two soda cans. Two unfulfilled ambitions. They see themselves in a development stage, beneath brighter years yet to come. This moment is mirrored later between two of the other cast members, but have their brightest years passed?

Back to Nyamo: she and Yukari are meeting a friend of theirs at a fancy restaurant. Their friend “Eiko” is a Business-Woman. She wears a Suit, works in an Office, and has a Cell-Phone. She handles Paper-Work, and Clients, and Something Boring and Soul-Crushing, but with a Big Honking Salary that dwarfs her friends in astonishment on the opposite end of their booth. She describes her job as “yelling at those beneath her while her bosses yell at her”. The lack of eyes gives her an inhuman look, probably something sacrificed along with a social life for her work. Nyamo is usually shown as the more mature and level-headed teacher compared to her co-workers, but here she’s placed in the same environment as someone who’s life makes hers look almost childish in comparison. Though Eiko’s seems much more empty than Nyamo’s, she doesn’t see it the same way.

Eiko offers Nyamo a job. Nyamo kindly rejects the offer, although she admits she’s never imagined being offered any sort of life outside of the one she’s made for herself. The very idea of the option knocks her off her guard. Yukari then becomes protective, but once again we learn it is not for selfless reasons. Despite that, it’s times like these where it’s good to have such an immature and spontaneous spirit in your corner.

Later, she mentions to Yukari how little she’s changed over the years. In no other moment between these two did I see the envy in her words. Yukari often makes fun at Nyamo’s lack of romantic accompanyment in her life, and it is here where Nyamo faces another truth that chisels away at her. The pressures of finding a significant other (before Crossing The Rubicon) have gotten to her. And somehow, as much as Yukari and her mother feed that, I doubt they are the source. And somehow still, Nyamo and Yukari’s friendship begins to make an odd bit of sense here, in a Prince And the Pauper sort of way. The two get drunk and watch the petals fall from the trees, and in the summer of her youth Nyamo considers an important decision.

There is great humour in this episode as well. This is Chiyo’s first night outside by herself at such a late hour. She is off to the corner store to buy some erasers, and honestly believes that she is safe from the nighttime scariness so long as she is within the radius of light under each street lamp. She makes a mad dash for her life in the darkness separating them, until her newest companion offers to escort her. Her “greeting” to Kagura is absolutely perfect. And there is a sub-plot that features Tomo discovering something slightly cute and slightly pathetic about her oldest friend.

The cinematography, as I’ve explored several times now but it bears repeating,  is something special. It’s not overly dramatic or artistic, but there is a very careful amount of thought for angle, colour and time. There is a surprising, even meticulous amount of detail and direction here for those who seek it. I am unsure how much of this is the influence of the manga author or the series director, but in any case, this is an exceptional episode of an already outstanding series.

In Episode 19, we are given insight into several young women of varying levels of inner happiness, and by the end they are all a little wiser as to which direction will lead to expanding that. There’s no shortage of outside influences that seek to complicate our lives, but nothing is more detrimental to our contentment than ourselves.

Before heading back to their homes for the night, Kagura asks her new pig-tailed friend a question: “Is it strange that I’m stressed out by something I love?”. Who’d have thought a question could answer so much?

END OF LINE

~A.H.

I went to the dentist’s today because I found an exposed nerve in one of my back teeth. Now, because my mouth is a circus of horrors, they also discovered an impacted wisdom tooth and a tooth right next to the one I went in for that was just as bad, if not worse. And that’s just on my lower right mandible. I was given 4 shots of Novocaine, which did little besides turn me into even more of a drooling idiot than is par the course.

And yet the most annoying part was on the complimentary ceiling-mounted television, where Regis and Kelly were entertaining their special guest: Larry the Cable Guy. I’ve had root canals less awful than that experience.

Now the big reason why I hate going to the dentist is because all of the saliva clogs up in the back of my throat. I have to move my tongue out of the way of the very sharp metal instruments, which collects saliva and that sucky little vacuum thing never seems to get it. And this following Monday, they’re going to continue but with the assistance of the laughing gas.

I’ve got a deathly fear of needles and dentistry, and I hate the ridiculously long time I have to sit and nearly drown while someone drills out the nerve endings in the rotting stone-henge that is my jaw. But the gas is what I hate the most. I HATE losing my grip on consciousness. I prefer to be alert, even if it’s through pain. This is why I don’t drink, or get high or any of that. I prefer awareness, and I will fight tooth and nail(well, nail at least) to find a way around that. Any time I am not truly awake might as well be death, as far as I’m concerned.

It was hard enough trying not to think about that Family Guy clip where Jesus was mixed up with the show Quantam Leap. It’s not even a very funny clip, but still, that is not the time or place I want to be caught laughing my ass off. I had to think of so many dead kittens just to get through the day. Now they want me to be a giggling twit all through the next appointment? I try not to think of anything funny so that I can keep my head still. This way, the drill doesn’t go into my cheek or the roof of my mouth and stab my brain from below.

I’ve got at least(but definitely not the last) two more appointments in the next 6 days. Hell, I still think I should just get ‘em all yanked out and replaced with a bear-trap. That would be kickass. Chewing food is for chumps anyway. STRAWS ALL THE WAY, BABY!

END OF LINE

~A.H.

Just a heads up, there probably won’t be a comic this week. Too much stuff going on right now. Most of it related to dentistry. I always feel too unmotivated to draw anything immediately after coming back from the dentist, but today was a special type of agony. Last Friday, I didn’t feel any pain at all after that appointment. Today I had two root canals, and I barely felt it happen. Then when I got home, the right side of my mouth was in such unbelievable pain that I couldn’t talk to anyone or do anything but writhe about, groaning. Came pretty close to screaming as well. I’ve had bad days before, but this was just unusually brutal. People always tell me that a root canal is a horrible, painful experience. I’ve never had any problems with a root canal -during- the procedure, due to the novocaine. But perhaps they were referring to that delightful slice of hell that follow, when that same freezing wears off. A consistent, growing torment that intensified any time I spoke, walked, ate, moved, breathed, did anything and/or did nothing.

Thank Xenu for aspirin. I can’t remember the last time I’d been in that much pain. Maybe it was making up for the lack of misery from the previous appointment?

And I was given too much of the temporary filling stuff, so now my jaw doesn’t close right. The right side stops before the left. An imbalance. This isn’t the first time this has happened either, and it’s got to be one of the more annoying experiences out there.

Still can’t have solid foods or chew on the right side of my mouth. Which is too bad, because those are the only teeth worth salvaging at this point. Eating with the left side is just grinding food between two rows of cavities.

I am a horribly, ugly man. And I deserve every second of it. Maybe if I hadn’t been such a lazy piece of shit and just brushed my teeth growing up, I wouldn’t be in this mess. I’m going back Friday, and I just naturally assume given the status of the rest of my mouth that I’ll be going to the dentist well into Christmas. And I hate everything about it -EXCEPT- the actual dentistry!

I hate the long wait to the next appointment looming overhead, an oncoming train I can’t leap out of the way from. I hate gagging on my own saliva buildup that the sucky-thing never seems to get all of. I hate having to sit and keep my mouth WIDE OPEN LIKE I’M REALLY SURPRISED OR SOMETHING for “45 minutes”(translated: an hour and 15 minutes). I hate the drooling and the numbness that doesn’t go away for 2 hours. I hate the awful pain in my jaw and gums for the 2 hours after that. I hate my fucking goddamn teeth!

Selfish reasons to skip this week’s comic? Can’t say I disagree. While I’m sure many of you can handle this sort of thing with more grace and dignity intact, I don’t even want to think about picking up a pencil right now. This was a particularly shitty day, one that left me with little motivation to do anything besides holding my cheek and cursing to Gods that don’t exist for bestowing me this disgusting, rotting mouth of mine.

…In other news, I saw Excel Saga today. I don’t know why it took me this long. Illpallazo trying and giving up on learning to play an electric guitar made today a little bearable.

I’m going to go watch House now. This will also help improve my mood.

END OF LINE

~A.H.

I have seen Wall-E three times in the last 2 days. This was of my own choosing, and that number would have increased if I were not too deprived of sleep on that first day.

That said, I now understand the appeal of R.O.B. in Smash Bros. He is a poor man’s Wall-E, and this does not mean I will enthusiastically main him from now on. But I cannot in good conscience continue to hate one and love the other. I will store and accumulate that contradiction for future endeavours in hypocrisy.

END OF LINE

~A.H.

Mark Poutenis has given an explanation for why he has not been able to update his comic “The Thinking Ape Blues” for the last few months:

- “Dearest readers, lemme give you a little explanation as to where the fuck this strip has been the past 3 months… let’s see, where to start… OK, for starters, we had a huge icestorm 2 weeks before Christmas that knocked out power for 2 weeks in my town and it fried my hard drive, preventing me from updating the site. $1500 to have Drive Savers salvage not only all my work from the past 8 years but the past 7 plus years of family photos (before any of you wiseasses say anything, shut the fuck, I’m looking at my back-up drive as we speak).

Then I had my biggest client (that accounted for 60% of my annual income) reneg on a 2 year contract. 10 days before Christmas I get the news that the latest installment check for 8 grand that should have been in my mailbox on the 1st is never coming (fuck you, Ann Taylor).

A week into the new year, The Boston Weekly Dig, my home town paper that has been running TAB since day one, decided the $20 a week they rarely ever even bothered to pay me each week was too much and they dropped the strip, after almost 9 years. The divorce wasn’t pretty.

Then in February, my wife was driven off the road by some kooky person who wasn’t looking during rush hour, which resulted in a her getting mild concusion, a fucked up lower back (thank god it wasn’t worse) and the car got totalled. Great fun with insurance companies and rental car agencies. She’s better now, thanks for asking.

A week later I wiped out running to the car, late to get my son to a doctors appointment, and I fractured my fuckin’ wrist … of my drawing hand. Let me repeat that: of my fucking drawing hand, the only thing that seperates me from unemployable hobos and child molesters. While on deadline from one of my few decent clients. I actually drew 3 pages of advertising art that night with a huge half-cast on my hand and a copy of Helter Skelter ace-bandaged under the forearm (because it was coincidentally the perfect thickness for a wrist rest so I could get the pen angle correct) … because I couldn’t afford to take a week off.

A few days later a goddamn skunk got into our basement on a Saturday night and shot its ass-gas into our furnace area, blowing the stink throughout the whole house, causing us to escape at 11pm. Seriously, Pepi fucking LePew got in my basement, and when I called the non-emergency number at the public saftey building to get info about Animal Control, they sent a whole fucking fire truck to make sure it wasn’t a goddamn gas leak (because houses have been blowing the fuck up all over Massachusetts this winter).

Then a week after that, our hot water heater blew up, and that was about $700 I didn’t need to drop just then. An emergency trip to the vet for the dog’s neck barely merits mention… and finally, I just found out a few hours ago that my neighbor and very dear friend died from a massive heart attack while driving home from work. I think I’ll miss you most of all, Garvey.

As god as my witness, I’m not making any of that up or embellishing it. Seriously, by the time I broke my wrist, we were just laughing about shit, to the point where the midnight skunk exodus was funny. So that’s been how my new year has started. Obama’s super powers of awesomeness haven’t quite gotten to my home, but with any luck, they’ll be here any day.

So what does all this mean for The Progress Brothers…. are they dead? Sleeping? In jail? The short answer is, nope. The long answer is, I don’t know how all this is gonna work out, with no impetus of a deadline from the Dig to make me do a strip every week, but now that I have my fucking hard drive back, have my site back up, I’ll sit down with a bottle of Pinot Noir and a copy of Lord Jim by Joseph Cambell and really think shit over and wait for that mutant twinge I’ve been getting every week since the year 2000 and draw a stupid comic strip that no one will read and put it on my website. Because that’s all I know how to do and all I’ve ever done. I’m not a marketing douchebag like those Penny Arcade fuckwads and I have no concept how to hustle the internet, so with no newspaper outlets left, I’m flying solo and I’m flying blind… or blinder than I have ever been before, but what else is new? I haven’t made dime one on this endeavor for almost a decade, so why start now?

So, gimme another week or 2 to unload the last few comics that never made it on the site, then maybe I’ll have drawn some stupidnew shit that will make you chuckle. Or not. But either way, we’ll be back in business I guess. Spread the word or spread the warning. Thanks for all the emails of concern like I was an old drunken college buddy gone missing after a bad bender in Vegas, thanks for giving a shit, thanks for reading and I hope to entertain you again real soon.”

PURE ROCK FURY
- Mark

…WOW… Makes my belly-aching about skipping updates because of dentist appointments look childish in comparison, don’t it?

It looks like you can purchase stuff from his site. Do consider it. Thinking Ape Blues is one of the better webcomics I’ve had the surreal pleasure of absorbing into my consciousness. Lord knows I’d consider temporarily forgetting my boycott of Pay Pal to help the guy out.

END OF LINE

~A.H.