Downsizing the news

Have you ever noticed how the newspapers are downsizing? I mean REALLY downsizing...


...size matters.
























Don't forget to come to the fall Chapter meeting in Sioux Falls.
And don't forget, the Disney Toonfest wants your cartoons. Just send two, please. ("And matte 'em!" That's from Paul Fell.)
Thanks gang!

"MARCELINE NEEDS ART"

Dear Fellow Cartoonist:

It’s time to start gearing up for the 11th. Annual Walt Disney Hometown Toonfest in Marceline, MO, the little town where Walt spent part of his boyhood. Each year we celebrate Walt Disney’s life and work with this small-town festival that includes a parade, presentations by several nationally-know cartoonists, and a cartoon exhibit.
Website for the Toonfest is...

This year’s Disney Toonfest will be held Friday, September 18 and Saturday, September 19. As always, all events are free and open to the public.

If you have exhibited your work in previous Toonfest shows, we appreciate your participation and hope that you will be sending in two or three pieces of your work again this year. If you haven’t sent work to the Toonfest cartoon exhibit, we hope you’ll consider becoming part of our growing list of cartoonist exhibitors.

Here’s the details:

All work should either be matted or mounted on mat board or mounting board. We are no longer able to exhibit work that comes in unmated or unmounted.

While we will accept cartoon submissions right up until the day we hang the show (Thursday, Sept. 17) it will make our lives a lot easier if you can have it at the Toonfest Offices by Monday, September 14.

1- At the end of the Toonfest exhibit we will ship your work back to you at no charge.
2- Please be sure that your contact information is on the back of each piece.
3- Suggested number of cartoons: 2-3.
4- The Disney Hometown Toonfest reserves the right to refuse to place work in the show that we consider inappropriate for inclusion in a family-oriented event.

Please send cartoons for the Toonfest exhibit to:

Walt Disney Hometown Toonfest
207 N. Main Street, USA
Marceline, MO 64658
Phone: 660-376-WALT (9258)
Email: toonfest@sbcglobal.net

Kaye Malins email: kaye.malins@toonfest.net
Barb Boyd email: barb.boyd@toonfest.net

We will look forward to seeing your work in this year’s Toonfest cartoon exhibit!

Paul Fell and Mike Edholm
Toonfest Exhibit Coordinators

PS - If you sent artwork to the Lake Okoboji exhibit back in April, that work will be exhibited at the Toonfest and shipped back to you afterwards.

It's time for the Fall Chapter Meeting...

It's time for the NCS North Central Chapter's fall meeting. This year we will be gathering in beautiful downtown Sioux Falls, SD.

Ken Alvine is riding herd on the event and has asked that you contact HIM directly about hotel reservations. He's managed to get a terrific rate but he needs to know who among us needs a room and for how many and needs to know by August 15 (not later)! Contact Ken at kenalvine@qwestoffice.net

Here are the details:
October 2–3, 2009

Schedule:
Friday, Oct 2, Afternoon — "Cartoon Career Day," Lincoln High School Library from around 1:30 or 2:00 until about 4:30 p.m. Afterwards there will be a pizza party in school cafeteria.

Saturday morning - Oct 3, 9:30 - noon — Cartoonist presentations.
Chris Browne, along with Dave Mowder (Hallmark Cards in KC) and yours truly. Downtown Zandbroz Bookstore lecture room. Jeff Danz (owner) will provide doughnuts, coffee etc.

Lunch — There's a great little diner down the street with patio seating.

Saturday afternoon from 2:00-4:00 p.m. — Book signing at Zandboz bookstore downtown. Paul Fell has his new "Husker Nutz" book. Jeff Koterba has a book coming out. Tom Richmond has a new MAD book coming out. Saturday is also the "Festival of Bands" parade downtown. After the parade many will stay downtown and visit Zandbroz a very popular and arty bookstore.

Saturday evening — Carroll and Chris Browne have invited Chapter members to a gathering and dinner at their home.

Registration:
Because of all the things going on in Sioux Falls that weekend I had to make some decisions on rooms early.

1. Holiday Downtown. The room rate for us is $89.00 per night. (Open rate is $119.00.) There are ten rooms reserved for Friday and Saturday night. Please let Ken Alvine know if you will be attending no later than AUGUST 15.

There's a registration fee of $20 that will cover food and misc. fees (bail, etc.)

I'm outa here!

Off to Montana for a few days, visiting family, and threatening the trout in the Madison River.
Back soon.

The top image is the view from the deck. The bottom image is my aunt and uncle's home with a river running through it...
(Maybe we should think about Montana as a possible meeting place. Hmmm?)

My New MAD Book!

MAD is publishing this book next month, the first book featuring original content from MAD since the days of the MAD paperbacks! This one is a hardcover, 96 pages and will be out late next month. You can pre-order it today!

Congrats Mike Edholm...

... Our new fearless leader. Mike is the new NCC chapter chairperson as of May 24th. Thanks for taking on the responsibilities, sucker... er.... I mean, buddy!

Currently in the works....

Enjoy.

Report from the 2009 Hollywood Reubens

I got back from the Reubens in Hollywood the other day. My wife and I had a *terrific* time! If anyone is interested, I've posted a report with some photos over at my blog.

Can't wait for next year.

Newspapers aren't going away....

They're just getting a lot smaller. This is the first in a series that I'm working on for Star City Blog.
Enjoy...

He loves to sneak through poop and slime....

For the past several months, I have been working with Shea Butler and Cheryl Cain on little project that has great potential. Shea approached me through our mutual friend, Sandy Veneziano, and asked if I would be interested in doing character development and illustrating a story that she and Cheryl wrote. After I read the script and wondered what kind of trouble I'd be getting in, I agreed to create UNDERCOVER COCKROACH, SECRET AGENT 69. I won't go into the slimy (and I do mean slimy) details here, but let me lead you to the website www.undercovercockroach.com. There all the grizzly details will spew forth and you will see why UC-SA69 will go where no other secret agent will go. A word of caution though — don't read the story if you've just had a big meal. (I can vouch...)