The Suncoast Inkslingers met Sunday and below are the results of our ‘Cartoonersize’. This months ‘Cartoonersize’ was to combine a number of elements that I provided: Groucho Marx (On the 30th anniversary of his death), Elvis (He was a lounge singer back in the 40s or something) and an item pulled from a card stack: A Comic Book Convention. Four Inkslingers participated:

Dan Smith
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Ron Johnson
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Sioux Hart
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Rob Smith, Jr.
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Just finished this third book of Hope in a row. Though better written than Arthur Marx’s book, this book does have a very disturbing streak.

The author, Lawrence Quirk, is as hell-bent to tie Hope in with homosexuality as Marx was to tie Hope with philandering. Marx was better able to sorta kinda give time and place of the philandering. Quirk casts veiled references that Hope is homosexual and then heartily condemns Hope for being involved with jokes that he feels are anti-homosexual. Gags like Hope in dresses or dance outfits, referencing wanting to hang around women than men, etc. are enough for Quirk to write that Hope was anti-homosexual. Clearly, the homosexual angle was how he sold the book to publishers as a different book than others written about Hope. It’s pretty far-fetched. Quirk in the last few pages is pretty much flailing his arms like Ian Holm in the robot out of control scene in the film ‘Alien’ about Bob Hope and homosexuality. Quirk would have been more believable in his writing about this if he had bothered to have covered even a tenth of the bed hopping Arthur Marx claims or if he had written about Hope’s two adopted daughters becoming lesbians also as Marx claims. And what’s with the cover considering all of this.

Also, though Marx writes against Hope’s being a Republican, he also writes it more as it being part of a biography of a person. Quirk gets into anti-Reublican tirades and swerves into non-Hope issues. In other words – He needed an editor!

Sandra and I attended the first meeting of a new writers group organized by writer Lucy Tobias. It was a quick hour and a half and we wrote lots. The plan is to meet once a week for now. Above is a drawing of Lucy –  A so-so likeness.

We met at Chelsea Coffee in Chelsea Square in Ocala, which once housed Pizza Inn long, long ago.

After a very busy day I met with my old friend and collaborator, Ken Culotta. To the right is a sketch I did of him Tuesday night. We tend not to collaborate as much since the Ocala move. We did some political discussing and then started talking about a comic strip project I’ve been working in when time permits. After about an hours talk about the strip Ken came up with a brilliant solution to what may have been a bigger problem with the project than I thought. His idea alters the current structure of the strip but also streamlines and sharpens the focus of the concept. It’s folks as incredibly creative as Ken that can look at anything and recognize and come up with creative solutions to issues the creator may miss while bogged down into the actual physical creative process. Thanks, Ken!

 Ken is a creative genius that the Disney Company, whom he works for, has yet to see or use even a sixteenth of what he’s capable of. I’ve known Ken since high school. We created a comic strip in the 1980s and we worked on political cartoons until recently.

Drew more caricatures today at a different event. Here’s the very last fellow I drew. I had to get this out quick, so it’s a pretty simple drawing. The fellow likes to cook, sample wines and enjoys a good steak.

This ended seven hours of straight drawing at two different events. Was I pooped! But there was still more to do! See the next posting!

I drew quite a few caricatures at an event today. I thought I’d include a person and the drawing. The lady was born October 31st and is fascinated with ghosts, mythical creatures and outer space doings. She also is a railfan. She loves to go to the Winter Park, Florida, train station and watch trains when she can.

I took that info, along with my knowledge of the Winter Park train station, the history of the tracks and of Henry Plant who many years ago helpped establish train travel through the area,  the park across the tracks, the sometimes forward squirrels in the park, and a random space alien observing it all.

The ol’ car konked out Saturday morning. A trip to the repair shop happened this morning. The car is in the process of having it’s first major repair since I bought it a few years ago. The drawing is of one of the repair people at the car shop repairing someone else’s car.

I visited my old friend/cartoonist/caricaturist, Charles Treadwell, at the Disney Village Marketplace (or whatever they’re calling it today). We talked about his various projects and other art stuff. Charles has been very prolific from drawing caricatures, comic books and creating storyboards. Charles is by far one of the best creative thinkers I know.

I also briefly visited with Jack Marler, also a caricaturist but also an otherwise incrdible fine artist.

Here’s a drawing of Charles capturing one of a myriad of expressions he’s capable of.

Was in the Tampa Bay area Saturday and nabbed some goodies from the Alessi Bakery in Tampa. The bakery has been around for 95 years and though it has reduced it’s bakery output in the last year in favor of bacoming basically a place for take-out meals, what’s left of the bakery items are still outstanding. If you’re in the Tampa Bay area ya gotta check out the Alessi Bakery.

Here’s a quick sketch with quick color of an apple turnover I picked up there.

The intent of my visit to the endodontists office was to get a root canal. However, after the doctor did some poking around, x-raying and other study, he determined that I didn”t need a root canal. I walked out of the office trying to let go of all of the preparation I had inwardly made for intense pain. Soooo, I spun by nearby Beefy King for one of their incredibly good roast beef sandwiches!

The drawing is of the computer screen where thay viewed my x-rays. There was a clear plastic bag over the keyboard for some reason.

I’ve been indulging in some reading of the great Mr. Bob Hope. I started with his 1954 ‘Have Tux, Will Travel and continued on to ‘The Secret Life of Bob Hope by Groucho’s son, Arthur Marx.

It was great to read so much of this comic legend! However, ‘Have Tux,..’ is clearly written by his gag writers. Too many set ups and punch lines. It would also raise the question of how true it is. Marx’s book claims it to be mostly false. It seems to me to be generally true with the details left for your imagination. In the book Bob Hope certainly seems like a nice guy who did some struggling to get where he was. Yet, it was pretty speedy. If you can find this book, though long out of print, it is definitely a fun read!

Arthur Marx is out to skin a hide. I’m not sure if he was just trying to spice the book by the head hammering of Bob Hopes infidelities or that Hope could almost have been looked upon with a psychological problem involving his need for the female of the human species.

‘The Secret Life of…’ surely fills out Hopes life from the ending of ‘Have Tux’ in ’54 to 1993, but it also contradicts and illuminates Hopes obsessions with fame and women. Marx claim is that Hope had a gal available somewhere into his eighties. Hmmmm…. Have to wonder about that.

The Marx book is a better written book and I flew through the hundreds of pages quickly. Both are a great study of a man, his career in humor and the ease of letting everything get run over by the bus carrying the first two.