Hot Donut Salad - Saddam Hussein Made Me Pancakes

These uncolored, unlettered pages are from my comic about Saddam Hussein making me pancakes. This comic is based on an actual dream that I had. It was around the time that Saddam Hussein was captured, so my subconscious brain was probably processing the media images just as my nose was catching a whiff of a neighbor making breakfast...

Whatever it was, after awaking and thinking about it some more, I thought maybe my psyche was trying to reconcile the disparity between Saddam's outward appearance with the actual person that he was. The dream made me realize that he does in fact kind of look like someone's bumbly, grandpa and/or a short-order cook, which kind of works against his whole 'I'm-the-embodiment-of-evil' schtick. 

Summer walks

I took these photos on a recent walk around my neighborhood... 

I saw this amazing huge tree (beech?) in a cemetery. Its roots looked like a claw...

Then check this out. I came across this gravestone of a woman whose first name was "Submit." Can you believe it? That poor woman. It would be bad enough to be born in the 1800's, as a woman, but then to be named "Submit" on top of it? I'd be like, get me out of here.

Hot Donut Salad - Spotlight on Timmy!

By now you might be asking, what IS Hot Donut Salad? What are the ingredients that make this 90-page comic concoction so tasty and delicious? WELL, one of the main ingredients is the characters. Each has a different story line. Although not connected by plot, each story combines absurd silliness with a level of sadness. The wackiness of the characters is what makes this combination work. 

So I thought I'd tell you all a little about each of them. Today the spotlight is on Timmy!  

Timmy is a boy-man character who, for some unexplained reason, is always in his underpants. He's one of those people that you can't tell whether their 'joie de vivre' comes from some kind of enlightenment or were they just dropped on their head early in life.  

Timmy has a lot of bizarre adventures in Hot Donut Salad, usually involving (but not limited to) cupcakes that are either floating in or falling from the sky. His weirdness and naivete are what make him endearing and vulnerable, and are what make you empathize with his whimsical plights.

It's funny though, because Timmy started out as a much darker character. Below is one of my earliest sketches of him, which describes some pretty tragic events as the reason for his 'condition.'

Hot Donut Salad in August Diamond Previews!

Hey everybody! Guess what!  Hot Donut Salad is listed with Undercover Fish Books in August Diamond Previews. So now's the time to run to your local comic book store and tell them you want it in stock! 


About the title and cover design:
I came up with 'Hot Donut Salad' as the title because I thought it sounded like a funny, outlandish, gross recipe consisting of donuts, lettuce, mayonnaise, thousand island dressing, cream cheese, pineapple chunks, and pimentos. I thought it would perfectly suit this collection of strange tales. Granted, none of the stories in HDS are gross, but they are outlandish, and I hope, funny.   


Because the characters in HDS each have their own story line and do not interact, I wanted the cover to depict a scene that would unite them (Timmy, Gina, Bruce, Paul, and Chicken). Once I had 'Hot Donut Salad' as the name and concept for the title, I thought it would be fun to show the characters gathered for a picnic in which it's being served in all its pulsating glory.   

Here on the front cover, Timmy is ladeling out hearty helpings of Hot Donut Salad.

Back cover

Hangin' / Workin' Artcation

I've got a few days of vacation this week, which I refer to as "Artcation" because I use the time to work on art projects, but also hang and relax a little. My new reclining chair is key on the relaxation front. It feels like you're floating on a cloud...

  

This wine, Rex Goliath Pinot Noir, is my summer find and a new favorite. Oddly it's so cheap, yet it doesn't taste cheap. It's light, smooth, and delicioso. I think I'll be sipping a glass or two in the evenings...  

And I'm re-watching this film, Downtown 81, about and starring Jean-Michel Basquiat as himself. It's a little cheesy and homespun, but so inspiring, and I find it fascinating to watch him. You can watch the entire film of YouTube. I love the soundtrack too. Check out this tune, Palabras Con Ritmo by Coati Mundi Hernandez.  

Flowers for Maisie

These are some things I'm loving about this summer...

Flowers of course! I love this color combo: bright orange with lavender,
 

I visited my friend's horse, Maisie. She's so cute! I love giving her treats! 

And my neighbor's echinacea is so beautiful. 

There are tons of these flowers. It grows like a weed. 

My new friend!

Sassy, the neighborhood cat, has become a regular visitor! She's such a petite, sweet thing. She loves to be patted and scratched. She's trying to get me to feed her - I can tell! She knows I'm a total pushover but I haven't caved... yet.... I'll probably get her some kitty treats though... 

It's the best therapy since I lost my best friend...

I won't be ready for a new cat for a while.