[00:00:07]
GOOD AFTERNOON, AND, UM, WELCOME, UH, TO THE HASTINGS LIBRARY.
I WANT THANK, UH, DEBBIE QUINN, HEAD LIBRARIAN AND THE FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY AND JOANNA REISMAN WHO DID THE, UH, POSTER.
UM, AND, UH, IF YOU'RE NOT A MEMBER OF THE FRIENDS, I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU JOIN.
UH, YOU, UH, PUT ON GREAT PROGRAMS LIKE THIS ALL YEAR ROUND, UM, ON THE SCREEN, IF YOU'VE WALKED PAST MY GARAGE ON NORTH STREET SINCE COVID AND SEEN THE, UH, GARAGE BAY DOOR OPEN ON A WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND WONDERED WHAT THE HECK WAS GOING ON IN THERE, IT, UM, WAS AN ITERATION OF THIS GAME, WHICH, UH, STAN CAPTURED IN MY LIVING ROOM ON RIDGEDALE AVENUE 20 OR 25 YEARS AGO.
UH, THE TOWER RIDGE POKER CRONIES, IT'S A NICKEL DIME, UH, QUARTER GAME.
AND, UH, HE DID THIS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES WESTCHESTER SECTION.
UH, I WON'T READ IT, BUT, UM, ALL THOSE CHARACTERS ARE MOSTLY STILL AROUND AND, UH, STILL PRETTY WACKY.
UM, I, UH, ACTUALLY MET STAN, UM, WHEN I WAS AN EDITOR AT ADWEEK.
HE WAS DOING A STRIP FOR US, AND HE'D COME IN EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT WITH HIS, UM, WEEKLY OFFERING RIGHT ON DEADLINE.
AND, UM, WE BECAME, UH, GOOD FRIENDS BACK THEN.
UH, BUT OF COURSE MOST OF YOU KNOW HIM FROM THE VILLAGE VOICE DAYS, 1974 TO 95.
UM, AND, UH, IF YOU WERE LIKE MY WIFE, DEIRDRE, UM, NOT ONLY DID YOU READ IT EVERY WEEK, BUT YOU PROBABLY LOOKED TO SEE IF YOU WERE IN IT
AND, AND, UH, WHEN WE WERE BOTH COPY BOYS AT THE DAILY NEWS IN 1976 AT THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, UM, SHE ACTUALLY WAS STANDING NEXT TO A GUY WHO'S WITTY REMARK MADE THE STRIP THAT MM, YOU KNOW, THAT WEEK.
BUT, UH, CARTER, SHE'S REGRETTED EVER SINCE THAT SHE WASN'T IN IT.
UM, BUT, UM, WITH THAT, UH, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO, UH, TO STAN, UH, TO GIVE US THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, AND WHY OF HIS GUARANTEE THAT ALL DIALOGUE IS GUARANTEED.
LET ME, UH, GET THIS OFF THE, THE SCREEN, THAT WORD EVERYTHING
AND YOU GOTTA GO TO THE, I THINK YOU'RE IN BUSINESS.
OH, WAIT, WE GOT A, THERE YOU GO.
THE, UM, HIT THE, UM, OH, THERE IT'S, YEAH.
SEE IF, IF I CAN MAKE THIS WORK.
WELL, THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR COMING.
UH, SOME MAY KNOW WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT, AND OTHERS, THIS IS THE BOOK, BY THE WAY, YOU REALLY SHOULD DO SOME WEIGHTLIFTING BEFORE TAKING IT ON.
I DIDN'T EXPECT IT TO BE THIS BIG.
IT'S 275 WEEKLY COMIC STRIPS THAT RAN IN THE VILLAGE VOICE FROM 74 TO 95.
BUT WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT? UM, BY THE WAY, WE'RE GOING BACK TO A TIME WHETHER EITHER YOU OR YOUR CHILDREN OR YOUR GRANDCHILDREN MIGHT BE IN THIS AUDIENCE.
UH, SOME OF WHOM WILL REMEMBER THIS AND OTHERS WILL BE MYSTIFIED.
UM, AND WHAT HAPPENED WAS I WOULD GO OUT, I'LL GIVE YOU A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON HOW THIS ALL CAME ABOUT.
'CAUSE I WAS DOING THINGS, WHICH TODAY IS QUITE COMMON, WHICH IS GRAPHIC NOVELS AND GRAPHIC NONFICTION, BUT THERE WAS NOTHING LIKE THAT BACK IN.
AND, UH, SO NO, UH, I MEAN, TELEPHONES HAD WIRES CONNECTED TO THEM, AND SOME OF THEM HUNG ON STREET CORNERS ON POSTS.
AND THE WORLD ITSELF, AS WE KNOW LATELY, IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM BACK THEN.
SO I'M JUST GOING TO HIT SOME SLIDES, TALK A BIT ABOUT HOW THIS ALL CAME ABOUT, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT, UM, I'M NOT FROM NEW YORK.
I'M FROM PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.
AND SO NEW YORK WAS THE BIG DEAL FOR ME.
I LEFT PROVIDENCE BECAUSE WITH A DEGREE IN THE, FROM THE RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN, BUT NOT A CLUE WHAT TO DO WITH IT.
AND IT WAS, IT WAS, THIS WAS STARTING IN THE LATE FIFTIES.
[00:05:01]
TAUGHT WAS TAUGHT THEN WOULD REALLY HAVE RELEVANCE IN THE REVOLUTIONARY TIMES THAT WERE COMING.THESE OFTEN WILL BE PANELS FROM, UM, COMPLETE STRIPS, BECAUSE AS YOU SAW WITH THE ONE TOM PUT UP, IT'S JUST IMPOSSIBLE TO READ A WHOLE STRIP ON THE SCREEN LIKE THIS.
MOST OF 'EM WILL BE TAKEOFFS LIKE THIS ONE.
SO HE CAME TO NEW YORK, MAYBE.
YEAH, NEW YORK IN, IF IT'S MANY, MANY MOODS.
AND WHEN LOOKING TO DO SOMETHING, AND OF COURSE THE FIR, I DON'T KNOW IF SOME OF YOU HAVE TRIED NEW YORK OR COME FROM NEW YORK OR WHATEVER, BUT YOU, YOU, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY CONTACTS, YOU START ANY WAY YOU COULD.
SO MY FIRST JOB, MY FOLKS SAID FOR THAT, YOU WENT TO ART SCHOOL,
UH, THE SECOND ONE I GOT FIRED FROM.
AND THE THIRD ONE, I BECAME THE ART DIRECTOR OF A MAGAZINE CALLED CLIMAX, WHICH ISN'T WHAT YOU MIGHT THINK IT IS,
ANYWAY, AND THEN BY CHANCE, I FELL IN THE NEWSPAPER WORLD OF NEW YORK.
THE NEW YORK HERALD BACK FAR ENOUGH.
YOU HAVE A MEMORY OF IT WAS THE BIG COMPETITOR TO NEW YORK TIMES, IN MANY WAYS, FAR BETTER AND BETTER WRITTEN NEWSPAPER THAT, UH, SURVIVED UNTIL LATE SIXTIES I ARRIVED.
BUT IT WAS THE CENTER OF THE SO-CALLED NEW JOURNALISM.
IT IS WHERE ALL OF THE REVOLUTIONARY JEWS, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER THE NAME OF JIMMY BRESLIN AND TOM WOLF, YOU PROBABLY KNOW HIM.
THOSE WERE THE PEOPLE, UH, WERE WRITING AT THE TRIP IN THOSE DAYS.
AND I WAS JUST ENMESHED IN THE EXCITEMENT OF WHAT NEWSPAPER LIFE IS LIKE.
MY JOB WAS TO RUN THE, UM, I WAS THE ART DIRECTOR OF THE BOOK WEEK, WHICH WAS A VERY FAMOUS BOOK REVIEW SECTION THERE.
AND THE NEW JOURNALISM WAS SOMETHING ABOUT ME IN A WAY.
IT WAS USING, YOU MIGHT SAY, THE TOOLS OF, UM, FICTION WRITER AND THE EMOTION OF THE WRITER, THE REPORTER TO CHANGE WHAT HAD ONE SPIN, AS TOM SAID, WHO, WHAT, WHERE, AND WHEN TO SOMETIMES THE FIRST PARAGRAPH WAS COLOR.
IT WAS BRINGING YOU INTO THE STORY.
SO THAT'S, THAT WAS MY BACKGROUND.
IT FOLDED, UH, IN THE LATE SIXTIES.
AND I WENT TO THE, UM, NEW YORK TIMES, HAD A FEW JOBS THERE AS ART DIRECTOR, INCLUDING THE, THE, UM, LAST JOB, WHICH WAS, UH, ART DIRECTOR OF THE TIMES SUNDAY MAGAZINE.
SO IT WAS A BIG DEAL, AND I DECIDED THAT, UH, IT WAS REALLY TOO CORPORATE, AND I WAS BEGINNING TO REPEAT MYSELF FROM THE HERALD TRIBUNE.
AND SO IN MY FOOLISHNESS, I LEFT.
MY POOR PARENTS NEVER REALLY RECOVERED FROM THAT ONE, AND WENT BACK TO FREELANCING, AND THEREFORE WAS LOOKING FOR WORK AND WENT TO THE VILLAGE VOICE, WHICH WAS, AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, AS REVOLUTIONARY IN ITS OWN WAY AS THE HERALD TRIBUNE WAS.
SO, UH, THIS IS, UM, I TRIED TO BE AS ACCURATE AS POSSIBLE.
THE SIXTH AVENUE BETWEEN 11TH AND 12TH STREET, IN THE MIDDLE OF A, AS YOU CAN SEE, A TERRIBLE, AND THAT WOMAN ON THE LEFT WAS ACTUALLY THERE, HOMELESS WOMAN SINGING IN THE FACE OF ALL THAT.
I WENT TO THE VILLAGE VOICE RUN BRIEFLY BY CLAY FELKER AND MILTON GLASER.
IF EITHER OF THOSE NAMES, CERTAINLY MILTON GLASER WOULD MEAN A LOT TO MANY OF YOU.
UM, THEY DIDN'T BELONG THERE, AND THEY DIDN'T STAY OUT LONG THAT THAT LONG, BUT THEY WERE REDOING IT.
AND I WENT TO, BY CHANCE, WHEN I KNEW THEM, BECAUSE I HAD BEEN DOING SOME ILLUSTRATIONS FOR NEW YORK MAGAZINE AND SAID, UM, HOW ABOUT IF I GO AROUND TOWN THINKING ABOUT THE HERALD TRIBUTE, AND I'LL JUST LISTEN TO PEOPLE, SKETCH THEM WHERE THEY ARE, AND I'LL, I'LL DO A PIECE.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? AND HE SAID, IT'S A GREAT IDEA, BUT DO IT WEEKLY AS A COMIC STRIP, BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THAT COMIC STRIPS ARE CIRCULATION BUILDERS.
AND I WENT, YOU KNOW, ONE GUY, ALL I HAD WAS, UM, THIS, I DIDN'T HAVE ANY RECORDING EQUIPMENT.
ALL I HAD WAS A PATENT PEN, GO AROUND TOWN AND DO IT.
BUT BECAUSE IT WAS A GIG, I SAID, I'LL TRY IT.
IF IT LASTS ONE WEEK OR TWO WEEKS, WHY NOT? SO THAT'S HOW THIS WHOLE THING HAPPENED.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, AT THE SAME TIME, UH, YOU RECOGNIZE THIS PLACE.
MANY OF YOU ARE PERHAPS COMMUTERS, UH, WHICH I BECAME ALSO, IT WAS A KIND OF A BACK TO THE EARTH MOVEMENT IN THOSE DAYS IN THE SEVENTIES.
[00:10:01]
TO MOHEGAN LAKE, NORTHERN WESTCHESTER.UH, THERE WAS A COMMUNE RIGHT UP THE STREET AND AN ASHRAM ABOVE THAT.
BUT I WASN'T MADE FOR, UH, TO CUT SHRUBS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, REPAIR ROOM, MANY OF YOU DO ALL THE TIME.
UH, SO EVENTUALLY I MOVED BACK FIRST TO DOBBS FERRY, AND I HAD BY THEN TWO KIDS, TWO LITTLE KIDS WHO STARTED IN SPRINGHURST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
AND THEN WE CAME MOUNT HOPE AT RIGHT AT WHERE OVERLOOK CROSSES MOUNT HOPE.
AND THAT'S WHERE MY KIDS FINALLY, UH, UH, UH, GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL.
AND, UM, AT THAT POINT, THE CITY WAS TOO STRONG A DRAW.
I THOUGHT IT WAS EASY ENOUGH TO READ.
THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED ON A COMMUTER TRAIN FROM HERE TO NEW YORK CITY.
CAN YOU IMAGINE 3 25 FOR AN ON-PEAK TICKET TODAY? AND IN THIS ONE, UM, IF YOU WANNA PAY OFF PEAK FARES, YOU CAN EXPECT THE PRIVILEGE OF ARRIVING EARLY.
HE WAS A HALF AN HOUR LATE ON THAT TRAIN.
I DON'T KNOW HOW FAR THIS IS REACHING.
SO MY JOB NOW BACK IN THE CITY, AND I WAS LIVING, THIS IS, THIS TOOK PLACE AT SIXTH AVENUE AND 12TH STREET, AND THAT'S NEW YORK CITY.
THIS WAS A FIVE BOROUGH BIKE RACE.
AND THAT WAS MY PARTNER AT THE TIME, JANET, WHO WAS A BORN CHEERLEADER.
IT WAS FIVE OR SIX IN THE MORNING WHEN THE, UH, BIKERS WENT BY THAT PARTICULAR CORNER.
BUT THAT WAS MY JOB TO, UH, SOMEHOW GO OUT.
NOW, I, I WAS A PRETEND REPORTER.
I KNEW MY JOB WAS TO NOT MAKE UP ANY IDEA OF VERBATIM.
WELL, I'LL TELL YOU BECAUSE IT'S WHY THAT IS NOT ACCURATE.
SO I HAD MY, I I COULD DRAW REAL WELL.
THESE WERE FROM, THAT LITTLE PAD WOULD JUST SKETCH FOLKS LIKE YOU.
UH, UH, AND TOM WAS RIGHT IN ONE SENSE, BECAUSE VERY OFTEN, LIKE WITH DEIDRE, WHO ALMOST WAS MY READERS WERE MY GUYS WHO WERE BOTH READERS AND THE PLAYERS IN THE COMIC STRIP.
SO IT HAD A NATURAL BUILT IN GIMMICK ATTACHED TO IT, SO I COULD DRAW.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT, UM, EACH ONE OF THOSE PACKS, THAT WAS ME COVERING EVENTS.
WHAT I STARTED DO, I OF COURSE, OVER, UH, LISTENED IN WHENEVER I COULD, MOVIE LINES, WHATEVER THEY WERE.
AND EVERY PLACE I WENT, I WROTE DOWN EVERYTHING PEOPLE COULD SAY.
SOME OF YOU MAY BE JOURNALISTS AND KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING.
THIS IS THE RAW MATERIAL OF WHAT YOU DO.
UH, EACH ONE OF THOSE WAS ONE COMIC STRIP, BECAUSE I KNEW THAT SINCE I WASN'T MAKING TO LAST, AS LONG AS THAT EVENT HAPPENED, EVEN TO THE LAST PERSON, AND SOMETIMES I'D THROW IN A RESTROOM, YOU NEVER KNEW WHAT YOU WERE GONNA HEAR IN A RESTROOM.
SO THIS WAS NEW YORK IN THE SEVENTIES, A TIME OF COLOR SESSIONS, THE HUMAN IMPROVEMENT MOVEMENT.
UH, TOM WOLF SAID, UH, ABOUT THE ERA, UH, IT WAS THE ME DECADE.
EVERYBODY SEEMED TO BE INVOLVED IN SOME VERSION OF FINDING A NEW SPIRITUALITY OR A CULT, OR WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE.
AND THESE WERE ALL, THIS IS A SHEET METAL IN, IN, UH, CENTRAL PARK.
I RETURNED THERE A FEW TIMES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SUMMER, AND IT WAS PERFECT FOR ME BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING EXCEPT HANG AND DRAW WHAT I LOVED TO DO, WHICH IS PEOPLE LIFE, BASICALLY.
AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE COMMENTS, AND I SAY B******T BEFORE, UH, PEOPLE GO INTO ART, BECAUSE IT'S AN ACCEPTED WAY TO FAIL, WHICH RESONATED WITH ME IN PARTICULAR, KIND OF STUPID TO BE A HEALTH NUT IN THE SIXTH SOCIETY.
THESE ARE NOT NEW YORKER PUNCHLINES, THAT THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE.
THEY WERE ME TRYING TO, AS MUCH AS I COULD FROM MY IGNORANCE AS MUCH AS ANYTHING ELSE, COVER A WORLD THAT WAS BRAND NEW TO ME.
AND SO EVERYTHING WAS, UH, KIND OF EXCITING.
SO THAT'S HOW IT ALL STARTED, EXCEPT THAT, OOPS, THERE WAS A LITTLE CHARACTER.
IF YOU, IF YOU, THE BOOK THAT'S FOR REAL.
UH, IF YOU GET THE BOOK, THERE'S A LITTLE CHARACTER WHO OFTEN INTRODUCES THE STORY.
HE, IT IS CHARLIE BROWN TYPE, AND HE NEVER SAYS MUCH.
[00:15:01]
UH, I HAD A MUSTACHE IN THOSE DAYS.I WAS LITTLE, AND MY NOSE LOOKS LIKE A THAT.
AND, UH, UH, SO HE'S THERE TO KIND OF TAKE MY HAND.
I MEAN, THESE ARE COMIC STRIPS, BUT EACH PLAY, EACH WEEK, I TOOK YOU SOMEPLACE DIFFERENT.
SO YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHERE YOU WERE GOING NEXT WEEK.
IT WASN'T LIKE ONGOING SIMILAR CHARACTERS WEEK AFTER WEEK.
SO THIS GUY KIND OF INTRODUCED YOU TO WHERE WE WERE GOING.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT HE'S ABOUT.
I ONLY HAD ONE ASSIGNMENT THE WHOLE TIME, THE WHOLE 20 YEARS.
AND THAT WAS THE VERY FIRST COMIC STRIP I DID.
CLAY FALKER, WHO WAS THE OWNER PUBLISHER OF NEW YORK MAGAZINE, A VERY SMART, UH, SOPHISTICATED GUY, BUT DEFINITELY UPPER EAST SIDE, SAID, WHY DON'T YOU GO TO BLOOMINGDALE'S
SO I WENT, SPENT AN EVENING, YOU KNOW, NOW YOU WANNA MAKE, UH, SALESPEOPLE NERVOUS, HANG OUT AT BLOOMINGDALE'S WITHOUT BUYING ANYTHING.
THIS IS ONE PIANO FROM A BIG PANEL, WHICH I, I HUNG OUT AND, AND DID THAT AND DELIVERED THIS THING TO THE VOICE.
NOW, THIS WASN'T CLAY AND MILTON WHO HIT AND RUN, AND THEY LOOKED AT THIS THING AND SAID, WHAT IS THIS? AND I SAID, WELL, UH, IT'S, UH, I WENT TO BOOMIE, BLAH, BLAH, THIS REAL PEOPLE SAYING REAL THINGS.
AND THEY SAID, ARE YOU CRAZY? IT'S A COMIC STRIP.
EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS A LONG TIME AGO.
BESIDES, HOW CAN WE, HOW CAN WE CHECK THAT YOUR, UH, THINGS, YOUR QUOTES ARE ACCURATE? THAT'S OUR JOB, IS TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS FACT CHECK.
HE SAID, WHAT ARE WE GONNA CALL IT? WELL, I DON'T.
SO THEY SAID, WE'LL CALL IT REAL LIFE FUNNIES.
THAT'LL GIVE PEOPLE AT LEAST A CLUE.
AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL PUT YOUR NAME UP FRONT SO IT'S NOT OUR RESPONSIBILITY, AND WE'LL CALL IT VERBATIM.
NOW, YOU KNOW WHAT VERBATIM MEANS? THIS IS ACCURATE.
IT'S AUTHENTIC, BUT IT'S NOT VERBATIM, REALLY, BECAUSE I HAD TO LEAVE STUFF OUT.
THERE WAS STUFF THAT JUST, THERE WAS NO ROOM FOR IT.
BUT VERBATIM, SORT OF CAUGHT THE IMAGINATION OF A LOT OF PEOPLE.
I WENT TO BLOOMINGDALE'S ONCE MORE.
DOTH VADER WAS, UH, SIGNING POSTERS,
AND THIS WILL GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT MANY OF MY, THIS IS A FULL COMIC STRIP.
IT'LL GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE.
IT'S SORT OF LIKE A, YEAH, A TWO DIMENSIONAL DOCUMENTARY, REALLY.
SO IF YOU, UH, GET THE BOOK
IT'S NOT THE PUNCHLINE EXACTLY.
I MEAN, I NEEDED, IF NOT PUNCHLINES, AT LEAST A SUMMATION OF SOME SORT FOR THESE THINGS.
AND THIS WHAT REALLY CAUGHT MY ATTENTION.
AT ONE POINT, DARTH HAD TO TAKE A BREAK, A LUNCH BREAK, AND THEY SAID, DARTH, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO EAT? AND HE SAID, GET ME A TUNA ON WHY? RIGHT? ON A TAB.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.
I HEARD SOMEBODY SAY, TAB, IS THERE STILL A TAB? I DON'T EVEN KNOW.
SO MY JOB WAS NOT ONLY OVER HERE, BUT TO GO PLACES.
THIS BEING THE SEVENTIES, THE SINGLE SCENE WAS PRETTY STRONG.
NOT THE COMPUTER DATING OF TODAY, BY ANY MEANS.
I SAID THIS, I WENT TO RAP SESSIONS.
I SAID THIS TO A YOUNGER PERSON.
WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO? NO, NOT RAP MUSIC.
RAP SESSIONS WAS A WHOLE DIFFERENT THING.
THESE WERE PEOPLE WHO WOULD GET TOGETHER.
THIS HAPPENED TO BE AT THE UNITARIAN CHURCH AT THE UPPER WEST SIDE.
WE WOULD GET TOGETHER AND REVEAL.
AND ALSO IT WAS SINGLES AGAIN.
THEY'D REVEAL ENOUGH OF THEMSELVES.
MAYBE SOMEBODY HERE WAS AT ONE, UM, IN ORDER TO, IN OVER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES AND TEA AFTERWARDS, MAYBE MAKE A CONNECTION THAT, THAT.
SO THAT, AND YOU KNOW, JUST BECAUSE, UM, MY HUSBAND CALLED ME A MALT, IT DOESN'T MEAN I HAVE TO JUMP IN A GLASS.
WHY? I WROTE DOWN SOME AND NOT OTHERS.
IF THE SAME EVENT I WAS AT, WE PROBABLY WOULD'VE TOLD VERY DIFFERENT STORIES.
AND THEN THERE WAS THE, UH, TOUGHER SINGLES SCENE, WHICH WAS SINGLES BARS.
I COULDN'T BELIEVE I HEARD THIS ONE,
BUT WHAT'S, WHAT'S NICE ABOUT THE LONGER QUOTES IS IF THEY REALLY WORK, I COULD TRACK IT.
I COULD, IT WOULD STICK IN MY HEAD.
I HAVE NO MEMORY, BUT IT STUCK IN MY HEAD LONG ENOUGH.
AND WHAT I WAS MOST PROUD OF WITH THE, WITH THIS TYPE OF STUFF, IS THAT, UM, I GOT THE CLOTHING RIGHT.
THAT GUY ON THE LEFT IS CLASSY, RIGHT? DEFINITELY GETTING THE BALL A LITTLE, BUT IT'S NOT GONNA KEEP HIM FROM HAVING LONG HAIR, SIDEBURNS, MUSTACHE.
[00:20:01]
ALL HAD ONE THEN GUYS DID.AND THE BIG OPEN COLLAR SHIRT WITH THE PROB, PROBABLY A GOLD CHAIN
I'M GONNA KEEP BLABBING, UH, DEBBIE YELL IF I, I'M, BUT THIS WAS A COLLECTION A BUNCH FANS OR BELIEVERS OF UFOS
THIS IS, AGAIN, ONE PANEL FROM A BIG STRIP.
IF YOU WERE A BABY IN A WOMB AND SOMEONE INSERTED SOMETHING IN THERE, YOU'D SAY, OH, THERE'S A UFO
AND MY JOB WAS TO, AS A REPORTER, NOT COME IN WITH PRECONCEPTIONS IF THEY WANTED TO BELIEVE THAT THAT WAS MY JOB TO DO AS GOOD A JOB.
AS I REMEMBER AT THE END, I TRIED TO FIND SOMETHING AT THE END TO SAY TO READERS, OKAY, WE'RE LEAVING NOW.
AND THIS GUY WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS INTERESTING.
IT WASN'T THE USUAL BUNCH OF KOOKS HERE TODAY.
SO THAT WAS MY JOB RUN AROUND TOWN.
I GOT PAID FOR IT MORE OR LESS.
AND THERE WAS STILL PROTEST MOVEMENTS.
IT WASN'T THE SIXTIES ANYMORE.
IT WASN'T REALLY THE CIVIL RIGHTS ERA.
BUT, UM, UH, STILL THERE WERE PROTESTS.
AUNTIE NUKE UP HERE AT BUCHANAN.
I REMEMBER, UM, WALL STREET PROTEST, IRS PROTESTS IN THIS CASE.
THE, THIS IS, IN A WAY, THIS IS A BIOGRAPHY OF THE BOOMERS.
YOU MIGHT SAY, THIS COMIC, THIS BOOK, UM, THE HIPPIE ERA WAS GOING ON WALL STREET AND BROADWAY, AND THEY WERE PROTESTING DOWN AT WALL STREET.
AND, UH, WHO THEY WERE PROTESTING AGAINST WERE THE PEOPLE, THE WORKERS IN WALL STREET.
WE CAN HAVE A CREATIVE SOCIETY BASED ON PEOPLE NOT PROFIT.
IT WAS JUST A WONDERFUL COMING, COMING TOGETHER OF THE ATTITUDES OF, UH, THE SEVENTIES AND A LITTLE BEEN OF THE EIGHTIES THROWN IN THERE.
THAT'S ME BEING BOOTED OUTTA THE WAY BY A COP ON HORSEBACK
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS WHETHER NOW OR AFTER.
IF, IF YOU WANT, PLEASE FEEL FREE.
THERE WERE SOME, UH, AND IT WAS THE SEVENTIES, WHICH MEANT IT WAS PUNK ROCK AMONG OTHER REVOLUTIONS.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHEN WENDY WILLIAMS UP FRONT, UH, RICHIE STOTZ IS AT, HE WAS ABOUT SIX AND A HALF FEET TALL IN THE DRESS.
HIS BIGGEST PROBLEM WAS GETTING NYLONS THAT WERE LONG ENOUGH FOR HIM.
BUT I COULDN'T HEAR AT ROCK CONCERTS.
SO THERE ARE NOT A LOT OF ROCK CONCERTS, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE VERY IMPORTANT IN THE BOOK.
BUT BACKSTAGE IS, AS I, THIS STRIP IS ALSO ABOUT WHAT IT WAS LIKE BACKSTAGE, WHERE THEY HAD TO GET THE EQUIPMENT READY.
THEY WAS GONNA SAW, SAW THE, UH, GUITAR STAFF.
I THINK THAT WAS CBGB BY THE WAY, TO MENTIONED.
WELL, CARTER CAME TO NEW YORK TO, UM, ENLIST THE LOCAL POLLS, DEMOCRATS IN HIS CAUSE.
AND, UH, OBVIOUSLY, GOVERNOR CARTER DOESN'T BOTHER YOU THAT THE SUPPORT FOR THE NEW YORK ALLOCATION IS SO LATE.
AND HE SAYS, CLASSIC CARTER, THAT REMINDS ME OF A BIBLICAL STORY,
BUT WHAT I ALSO LOVE TO DO IS COVER THE MEDIA, BECAUSE THEY WERE SO VULNERABLE AND SO PROUD OF THEMSELVES.
SO THOSE TWO GUYS, UH, ONE IS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE BEGINNING OF THE CONVERSATION WAS, BUT THE END WAS, UH, WELL THEN YOU'RE A PROPAGANDIST, NOT A COLUMNIST.
AND THE GUY SAYS THAT YOUR CATHOLICS IN THE AUDIENCE WILL BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THIS EVEN MORE.
THAT DISTINCTION, LIKE MOST JESUIT DISTINC DISTINCTIONS LEADS NOWHERE.
AND JOHN LINDSAY, UH, TALK ABOUT JOHN LINDSAY DOWN THERE AS WELL.
THE SEVENTIES, WELL, ALWAYS, BUT SEVENTIES IN PARTICULAR, SEX WAS COMING OUTTA THE SHADOWS COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET.
THERE WAS ALL KINDS OF, UM, EVENTS IN WHICH, UH, THE EROTIC BAKERY, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS WAS THE, UM, PINK PUSSYCAT BOUTIQUE ON WEST FOURTH STREET.
AND, UH, THEY SOLD SEX TOYS AND OBVIOUSLY A COUPLE FROM THE SUBURBS WHO WERE PRETENDING THEY KNOW EVERYTHING, THE GUY.
BUT THE REASON BESIDES JUST SAYING THAT, UM, SEX IN THE SEVENTIES WAS OF A CERTAIN SORT.
IT ALSO WAS TRUE IN THE EIGHTIES, BUT OF A WHOLE DIFFERENT, UM, ATTITUDE.
I WAS ONLY COVERING THE EVENTS.
[00:25:01]
FOCUSED ON IT.BUT THE REASON I HAVE THIS, UH, STRIP ALSO IS BECAUSE THAT WOMAN IN THE UPPER RIGHT LOOKED EXACTLY LIKE I SKETCHED HER.
UM, 20 OR SO YEARS LATER, I GOT AN EMAIL FROM LONDON, AND THE PERSON SAID, I'M NOW AN OLD BLOKE IN A TWEED CAP.
BUT THAT WAS ME BECAUSE OF YOUR COMIC STRIP.
YEARS LATER, I FELT I HAD THE COURAGE TO TRANSITION.
HE'S NOW A SUCCESSFUL MARKETER IN LONDON.
THE BACKSTORIES ARE A LOT OF FUN.
UH, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THEM.
HE WAS, THE FATHER WAS AN ALCOHOLIC, AND HE, HE, PETER WAS FRIENDS WITH THE SON IN SCHOOL.
AND I WAS, THIS IS TWO THIRDS OF THE COMIC STRIP.
I WAS TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO PETER, WHO YOU, WHO ALWAYS KNEW MORE THAN I KNEW, UM, WHAT WAS ABOUT WITH, UH, JOHN'S FATHER.
AND PETER, UH, SAYS, YEAH, YEAH, I KNOW THAT STUFF.
WELL, LIKE EATING SWEETS WHEN THEY SHOULDN'T.
WHAT'S IT CALLED? WELL, IT'S CALLED EATING SWEETSS.
I CAN'T, ONE THING I DON'T EVER WANT YOU TO BUY IS RIVER.
WHAT'S THAT? GOT THERE WITH SWEETSS? NOTHING.
WE CAN MOVE ON FROM, UH, THE PROBLEM AND THE REASON, ONE OF THE REASONS WE WERE UP IN WESTCHESTER WAS BECAUSE THERE WERE NO KIDS IN THAT DEMOGRAPHIC.
SO IT WAS NOT CONDUCIVE FRIENDLY, UH, IN NEW YORK CITY.
THIS IS ANOTHER, I WON'T GO INTO ANY OF THE DETAILS, BUT THIS, THIS IS EST.
YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THAT, UH, WHATEVER YOU CALL IT.
UM, THERE WERE PEOPLE GOING AROUND ADVISING, UH, BEING INVITED INTO PRIVATE HOMES TO PRESENT WHAT EST WAS REALLY ABOUT.
AND THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED HERE.
THERE'S ONLY ONE COUPLE PANELS OF A BIG STORY, BUT THE, ONE OF THE WOMEN WHO WERE INVITED, FRIENDS OF THE PERSON WHOSE HOUSE WE WERE ALL IN, UH, SAID, WELL, WHAT DO YOU DO IN THE TRAINING? YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD ABOUT THE TRAINING.
EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS COVERED, BUT WHAT HAPPENS? WELL, I JUST TOLD YOU.
WELL, TELL ME WHAT YOU WANNA KNOW.
TALK TO YOUR NEIGHBOR OR GO TO THE BATHROOM.
WHAT'S SO THRILLING ABOUT THAT? YOU HAVE TO CONFRONT THAT YOU'RE NOT BEING HONEST.
PEOPLE HAVE SAID TO ME, UH, DID YOU EVER GET IN TROUBLE? YES, SURE.
I ALMOST, UH, I WAS ONCE, UH, A, A, A TRUE BIKER WAS BEARING DOWN ON ME.
THIS WAS A, THE OLD COLISEUM AT A CONVENTION OF BIKERS AND, AND GUN OWNERS AND, AND FANS.
AND I WAS THERE, ACTUALLY DIDN'T END UP IN THE BOOK, BUT, UH, I WAS HANGING OUT.
I WON'T, IT'S A LONG STORY WHY, BUT IT HAS TO DO WITH THE, THE GODFATHER MOVIE,
ANYWAY, HE'S BEARING DOWN ON ME AND I'M THINKING, WHAT DOES A REAL REPORTER DO? DO HE, DOES HE EAT HIS NOTES? I MEAN, I WASN'T, AS IT TURNED OUT TO BE.
BUT IN THIS CASE, MACY'S, EVERY YEAR COMING UP TO CHRISTMAS, HAS, UH, A TRAINING FOR ELVES TO ASSIST WITH THE SANTA CLAUSE.
SO I JOINED THE TRAINING ONE DAY, AND I DON'T KNOW WHY SHE DOESN'T HAVE A NOSE.
UH, AND, UH, SHE DIDN'T REALLY, UH, AND I DID A COMIC STRIP BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE THAT DAY TRAINING TO BE AN ELF.
WELL, THE MACY'S BUSINESS DEPARTMENT WENT NUTS.
YOU, I MEAN, IT'S LIKE DOING AN INSIDE STORY ABOUT COCA-COLA OR WALT DISNEY OR SOMETHING.
AND SO THEY YELLED AT THE, UH, VOICE BUSINESS DEPARTMENT, BUT IT WAS THE VOICE OF THE BUSINESS DEPARTMENT CAME AT THE, UH, MANAGING EDITOR AND SAID, AND HE, YOU KNOW, THE VOICE WAS A SERIOUS NEWSPAPER.
THEY WERE BREAKING SERIOUS POLITICAL NEWS ALL THE TIME.
THEY HAD LAWYERS WIND UP AT CLOSING NIGHT ON A REGULAR BASIS TO READ EVERYTHING.
SO THE IDEA THAT MACY'S BUSINESS DEPARTMENT WASN'T THE WORST OF ALL POSSIBLE SITUATIONS, BUT I, I DID GET IN TROUBLE ON THE MONEY SIDE, NOT ON THE PHYSICAL SIDE.
[00:30:01]
DIDN'T REALLY, UH, HEAR THAT, DID YOU? OR YOU DIDN'T REALLY GO THERE? THAT DIDN'T REALLY HAPPEN.THERE'S SOME STUFF, THERE'S SOME THINGS IN THIS, UH, BOOK I'M NOT BRINGING UP.
WE'RE ALL MORE, UH, CONTROVERSIAL THAN OTHERS.
SO, WHILE SOME ARE FUN, THERE ARE SOME THAT, UH, I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY COULD PLAY.
I WAS TALKING TO A, UH, I GAVE A TALK RECENTLY.
A FRIEND OF MINE, UH, TEACHES, UH, UH, SO I TO LOOK AT, AND THERE WERE A COUPLE SLIDES IN THERE THAT AREN'T IN THIS ONE.
WELL, YES, THE, UH, PINK PUSSYCAT BOUTIQUE IS IN THIS ONE, BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER.
AND HE SAY, YOU CAN'T RUN THAT.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF IN THIS BOOK THAT ARE ABOUT A TIME, WHICH BACK, AS FAR AS IT IS, IS STILL A LOT FREER WHEELING THAN I THINK MUCH OF WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY FOR ALL OF THE LANGUAGE YOU CAN READ EVERY PLACE.
ANYWAY, SO I GET ON THIS PUBLIC BUS, AND I'M HEARING THESE TWO VOICES IN THE BACK, YOU CAN SEE.
AND I THINK, WELL, I'M GONNA GO SEE THIS, THESE PEOPLE WHO THEY ARE.
COMIC STRIP IS SIMPLY IN ANIMATION.
WE GET TO, I GET TO THE BACK OF THE BOOK, THE BACK OF THE BUS.
IT'S ONE CRAZY OLD LADY DOING THE VOICES IN DIFFERENT SOUNDING TONE.
SO THAT'S JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA THAT, UM, I CAN'T, UH, I COULDN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP.
I DID NOT ONLY COVER, UH, REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC CONVENTIONS.
I HUNG OUT WITH, UH, HOMELESS PEOPLE, BECAUSE THAT WAS PART OF THE WORLD.
THEN, AS IT IS NOW, THIS GUY WAS CAMPED OUT, LOOKING JUST LIKE THAT, RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, I THINK HE THOUGHT, UH, ON THE SUBWAY ENTRANCE, UPTOWN SUBWAY ENTRANCE AT SIXTH AVENUE AND WEST FOURTH STREET, FILLED WITH BOOKS.
AND AS MATT, JUST WHAT YOU CAN, BY THE WAY, SIX MONTH DEPOSIT, SEVEN POINT 25%.
UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT HISTORY HERE TOO.
THIS IS REALLY LIKE PRIMARY SOURCE MATERIAL.
BUT THERE WAS SOME THINGS HE SAID, YOU KNOW, HOMELESS PEOPLE ARE JUST NOT, UH, ALL THE SAME.
THIS GUY IS TELLING ME HE WENT TO HARVARD AT THE CLASS OF 58, WAS KICKED OUT FOR STEALING A STATUE OR SOMETHING.
AND HE SAID SOME OTHER THINGS.
HE SAYS, I CAN, I CAN READ THE, UH, GREEK AND LATIN.
SOME OF THE THINGS HE SAID MADE ME WONDER, REALLY? THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON.
WELL, IT TURNS OUT HIS NAME IS PIERO HELLER.
AND HE WAS PART OF THE INDY WARHOL CROWD.
HE WAS EXPERIMENTAL FILMMAKER AND PRETTY RENOWNED EXPERIMENTAL POET.
HE WAS A CHILD ACTOR IN ITALY, UH, AFTER THE WAR, I THINK A HOLOCAUST BACKGROUND FAMILY.
I'M NOW FRIENDS WITH BOTH HIS SISTER AND HIS DAUGHTER, WHO HAS CREATED A DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOUT HER RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM CALLED THE INVISIBLE FATHER.
BUT THERE WERE MOMENTS IN HIS LIFE WHERE HE WAS VERY, UH, PRODUCTIVE.
AND I, I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, THESE WERE PEOPLE WHO WERE ARRIVING WITH MBAS.
THEY WERE NOT LIKE THEIR OLDER SIBLINGS, NOT, THEY WERE NOT PART OF THE HIPPIE GENERATION AT ALL.
AND THEY ALL SEEMED TO KNOW EACH OTHER.
SO I DID TWO POSTERS, AND I, I, I CAN SEE IT'S A LOT OF WORDS ON BOTH OF THEM.
UM, THEY ALL KNEW EACH OTHER, AND THEY KNEW WHY.
AND THEY COULD TELL WHO THEY WERE BY THEIR BACKGROUNDS, THEIR CLOTHING, THEIR CHOICES, THEIR RELATIONSHIPS, SHIPS.
SO THIS IS A LITTLE, LITTLE BACKGROUND ON, UM, THAT WORD, WHICH REALLY I THINK WAS COINED RIGHT AROUND THIS TIME.
YOU'LL HAVE TO GET A HOLD OF A BOOK AND LOOK AT SOME OF THE DETAILS.
MAYBE YOU'LL IDENTIFY WITH SOME OF IT.
THE MBAS ARRIVED IN THE EIGHTIES, AND MANY OF THEM WERE WOMEN.
WOMEN WHO WERE GOING INTO THE WORKPLACE FOR THE FIRST TIME.
THEIR MOTHERS DIDN'T, THEIR MOTHERS HAD KIDS FIRST, THEN MAYBE WENT BACK TO SCHOOLS, OR THEIR GRANDMOTHERS.
THESE WERE WOMEN WHO WENT STRAIGHT INTO THE CORPORATE WORLD TO COMPETE WITH MEN.
AND THEY, AND I GOT TO TALKING, THAT WAS ME JUST LISTENING TO THIS.
A WAS SHOCKING 'CAUSE SHE WAS MORE OVER THE TOP
[00:35:01]
THAN I HAD ANTICIPATED WHEN WE STARTED THE CONVERSATION.SHE HAD SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT ARTISTS IN THE OTHER PART OF THIS TRIP.
NOT ONLY DO THEY HAVE POWER SHOULDERS, THEY WERE IN THE GYM FOR THE FIRST TIME.
MAYBE I'M TALKING ABOUT SOME OF YOU, UH, GOING INTO THE GYM FOR THE FIRST TIME.
BUT I MEAN, CERTAINLY THERE WAS A LOT MORE OF IT THEN THAN BEFORE THAT.
BUT YOU LOOK AT THE, UH, WOMEN, YOUNG WOMEN OF TODAY, THEY'RE SUPREME ATHLETES, MANY OF THEM.
BUT I THINK THIS IN A WAY, MAYBE THIS IS THEIR MOTHER, I DON'T KNOW.
BUT THIS IS, I FELT WHERE IT STARTED.
BY THE WAY, THE WOMEN IN THE, UH, PREVIOUS, UH, PANEL HAD NO USE FOR THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT.
SHE'D HAD A, UH, WOMEN'S MOVEMENT TEACHER AT, UH, IN COLLEGE, AND SHE HAD, SHE DIDN'T BUY IT AT ALL.
UM, IF, UM, IF, UH, THE SEVENTIES WAS THE ME DECADE, THIS WAS THE, UM, THIS WAS A TIME FOR COCAINE ON WALL STREET.
UH, IT WAS ALSO THE TIME OF CRACK.
BUT THAT WAS A DIFFERENT CROWD.
AND IT WAS MY JOB TO CHRONICLE IT AS MUCH AS I COULD.
SO IT WASN'T, IT WASN'T, I WASN'T LOOKING FOR JOKES OR HUMOR.
YOU CHANGE A LOT OVER 10 OR 15 YEARS.
THIS IS, UH, I RUN THIS FOR ANOTHER REASON TOO.
UH, THIS IS, AS I SAY, ONE, ONE PANEL OF ABOUT 12.
UM, THE PICTURES ARE ONLY UNTIL THE LAST PANEL WHERE YOU SEE THE TALKER FOR THE FIRST TIME.
THE PICTURES ARE ONLY HOW ONE WOULD GO ABOUT.
IT'S LIKE A, LIKE A, A LESSON, HOW TO GO ABOUT PREPARING YOUR COKE.
BUT THE WORDS ARE NOT AT ALL ABOUT WHAT HE WAS DOING SO MUCH AS WHY HE WAS IN LOVE WITH COCAINE, BECAUSE IT FUELED HIS BUSINESS ON WALL STREET.
I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF OBVIOUS.
HE HAD THREE OR FOUR FLIGHT WALKUP, AND HE WAS DYING OF AIDS.
I TRIED AS MUCH AS I SAID, TRIED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO COVER ALL THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF LIFE THAT WAS GOING ON.
UH, THEN WHAT WAS INTERESTING, A VERY COURAGEOUS GUY, WHAT WAS INTERESTING ALSO ABOUT HIM WAS AS HE WAS DYING, HE WAS GOING UNDERCOVER FOR A BUNCH OF JOURNALISTS WHO WERE TRYING TO GET THE GOODS ON A, A, UH, A DOCTOR WAS SELLING PHONY, HIV MEDICINE.
UH, IT WAS ALSO THE LATE EIGHTIES.
SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE BEEN AWARE OF THAT.
REMEMBER IT, THIS, THE SQUATTING MOVEMENT KIND OF BECAME A BIG DEAL IN THE LATE EIGHTIES.
THERE WERE A LOT OF WAREHOUSE BUILDINGS, UH, IN THE EAST VILLAGE, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE LANDLORDS WERE WALKING AWAY FROM, THEY COULDN'T SUPPORT 'EM AND COULDN'T MAKE ENOUGH OF A PROFIT.
SO THEY WERE SIMPLY WAREHOUSING THEM, HOPING IT EVENTUALLY HAPPENED.
THE REAL ESTATE GUYS WOULD DESCEND.
BUT FOR THAT MOMENT, THESE WAREHOUSE BUILDINGS WERE BEING TAKEN OVER BY HOMELESS PEOPLE, BY POOR PEOPLE, BY PROTESTORS, ADVOCATES.
UH, AND SO I THOUGHT, THIS IS A STORY.
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY PERIOD OF TIME HERE WITH THIS STRIP, I HAD A BEAT.
I MEAN, THE TV CAMERAS WOULD SHOW UP DURING THE PROTEST, AND THEN THEY WERE GONE.
BUT I GOT TO HANG OUT WITH A LOT OF THE, UM, SQUATTERS AND PEOPLE IN TOMPKIN SQUARE PARK WHO WERE SLEEPING THERE.
THIS WAS AN OLDER COUPLE, REX AND ROSEMARY WALLS, UNLIKE MOST OF THE OTHER SQUATTERS I KNEW, HE'S AN OLD, GRIZZLED OLD GUY FROM THE WEST.
AND THEY WERE SQUATTERS, BUT THEY WERE, AND YOU KNOW, THEY WERE EATING OUT OF DUMPSTERS, BUT THEY WERE REAL KIND OF A LITTLE BIT LIKE PIERO.
THEY, THERE WAS SOMETHING MORE TO THESE GUYS.
ONE OF THE THINGS HE SAID WAS, YOU KNOW, MY DAUGHTER IS THE GOSSIP COLUMNIST FOR NEW YORK MAGAZINE.
AND THEY WENT, YEAH, RIGHT, RICK.
SO ANYWAY, I CALLED BEING A GOOD PRETEND, UH, JOURNALIST.
I WENT AND CALLED THE NEW YORK MAGAZINE.
I GOT JEANETTE WALLS ON THE PHONE.
SHE THOUGHT I JUST WANTED TO GET A PLUG IN HER GOSSIP COLUMN.
I SAID, JEANETTE, THIS GUY CLAIMS TO BE HER, UH, FATHER
[00:40:01]
AND AND MOTHER.AND THERE WAS THIS DEAD SILENCE BECAUSE IT WAS TRUE.
AND SHE'D BEEN HIDING IT FOR YEARS BECAUSE SHE WAS TRAVELING IN PRETTY HIGH CIRCLES AT THAT POINT.
SHE KNEW THEY WERE THERE, BUT SHE WAS TRYING TO KEEP IT QUIET AROUND THIS TIME, PARLEY, AND SHE'S TALKED ABOUT THIS.
SHE ASKED ME IF I WOULD FICTIONALIZE THE SCHOOL SHE WENT TO, AND I THINK SHE WENT TO BARNARD, MAYBE.
AND, UH, THE MAGAZINE SHE WORKED FOR, WHICH I DID, I SAID, I DON'T RUN A COSTUME COLUMNIST.
UM, SOON AFTER THAT, SHE IN EFFECT, CAME OUT, AND MANY OF YOU WILL KNOW THE BOOK SHE WROTE, THE GLASS CASTLE, CREDIBLE STORY OF, UM, HER GROWING UP YEARS WITH THESE CRAZY PARENTS WHO WERE THEMSELVES VERY BRIGHT AND PRETTY WELL EDUCATED, BUT ALSO INSANE, UH, AS PARENTS.
UH, JEANETTE WALLS WAS NICE, AND SHE REALLY APPRECIATED THAT.
UH, IN FACT, SHE, THERE WAS A MOVIE BASED ON THE NOVEL, AND, UH, WOODY HARRELSON PLAYED HER DAD.
AND SHE GAVE WOODY THIS COMIC STRIP AS THE BEST EXAMPLE SHE COULD COME UP WITH OF WHAT HER FATHER, 'CAUSE HE WAS A GENTLEMAN TOO, AS WELL AS BEING.
HE WAS BACKING DOWN DRUG DEALERS WHO WANTED TO TAKE OVER THAT PARTICULAR SQUAT AND TURN IT INTO A DRUG SUPERMARKET ALL BY HIMSELF IN THE FACE OF GUNS AND, AND BRICKS THROWN THROUGH WINDOWS AND WHERE THERE WERE WINDOWS.
AND, UH, HE ACTUALLY SAID THAT, WHICH WAS KIND OF CLASSIC
HOW DO YOU MAKE UP THAT STUFF? UH, UH, I'M GOING ON A BIT.
WE GO, UM, BOBBY FULLER RAN A, UH, THEATER COMPANY CALLED THE, UH, HOBO THEATER COMPANY.
AND ONE OF THE SQUATS AND THE, UH, HOMELESS PEOPLE WERE, UH, THE ACTORS.
AND THEY BECAME QUITE FRIENDLY WITH BOBBY.
AND, AND, UM, UH, HE DID A FEW COMICS ABOUT HIM AND THE HOBO THEATER COMPANY.
HE AND I ARE WALKING ALONG 10TH STREET IN THE PARK ONE DAY, AND A BUNCH OF, UH, PROTESTORS COME RUNNING BY.
AND BOBBY SAID, WHERE YOU GOING? THEY SAID, WE'RE GONNA TAKE OVER THIS ABANDONED BUILDING, WHICH WAS RIGHT NEXT TO WHERE WE WERE STANDING RIGHT NEAR THE PUBLIC LIBRARY THERE.
AND, UH, HE SAID, UH, WE'RE GONNA TAKE IT OVER.
AND BOBBY SAID, CAN WE COME ALONG? AND HE SAID, THEY SAID, OF COURSE.
SO WE WENT RUNNING UP THE STAIRS AND, UM, BARRICADED OURSELVES IN, IN THESE GUYS DID IN A THIRD OR FOURTH BACK APARTMENT.
AND THERE'S, THEY'RE HANGING BANNERS OUT THE FRONT, CHALLENGING THE COPS WHO WERE ACROSS THE STREET IN THE PARK, ROUSTING, HOMELESS PEOPLE LIVING IN REFRIGERATOR BOXES.
AND BOBBY SAID, AND THESE GUYS SAID, WE'RE GOING TO ARREST YOU ALL.
AND BOBBY SAYS, I, I, I DIDN'T SAY IT, BUT HE'S WEARING THIS KIND OF SLING ACROSS HIS CHEST.
YOU, I'LL EXPLAIN WHY IN A MINUTE.
AND, UH, BOBBY SAYS, I, I CAN'T, I CAN'T AFFORD TO BE ARRESTED.
I SAID,
SO WE BOTH CLAMORED OUT DOWN, EVENTUALLY DROPPED DOWN OFF OF A, UH, ONE STORY BUILDING AROUND THE CORNER IN AVENUE B.
I PULLED OUT MY PAD LIKE I WAS JUST COVERING THINGS.
BOBBY RUNS TO THE CORNER TELEPHONE BOOTH, SPEAKING ABOUT THAT.
AND HE GETS ON THE PHONE TO MARYBETH HIS WIFE.
NO, IT TURNS OUT THAT HE'S GOT A TWO MONTH OLD BABY IN THAT LING.
AFTER CHE GUVERA GIVE YOU AN IDEA ABOUT MARYBETH AND BOBBY'S POLITICS.
HE SAID, WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH FORMULA FOR ME TO GO TO JAIL WITH BOBBY DIED OF BONE CANCER.
I LOST TRACK OF, UH, CHAA AND MARYBETH.
I ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT HAPPENED TO BABY CHAA DURING COVID, WHICH WOULD'VE BEEN 30 YEARS LATER.
I GET A EMAIL FROM A TATTOO ARTIST IN AUSTIN, TEXAS WHO SAYS, I'M HAVING A SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR MY WIFE CHAIR.
THEY HAVE TWO LITTLE KIDS TOO.
AND WE HAD A ZOOM SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR CHE FOR, UH, CHEA, WHO'S NOW FRIENDS ON, UM, SOCIAL MEDIA, OF COURSE.
UM, AND, UH, SHE SAID TO ME, I NEVER KNEW MY FATHER.
BUT MY MOTHER GAVE ME YOUR COMIC STRIPS AS A KIND OF FAMILY ALBUM.
SO THAT'S, UH, PROBABLY MY FAVORITE BACKSTORY.
[00:45:02]
THERE WERE CHARACTERS.THERE WERE MORE CHARACTERS THEN THAN NOW.
OR AT LEAST THERE'RE OUT IN PUBLIC MORE THEN THAN THEY ARE NOW THROUGH A MORE DANGEROUS, PERHAPS THIS WAS THE RUG MAN, I CALL HIM, THAT HE WOULD WRAP HIMSELF ON A RUG REMNANT AND RELY ON A PUBLIC SIDEWALK TO BE STEPPED ON, ESPECIALLY IF NOBODY KNEW THAT THERE WAS SOMEBODY INSIDE THAT ROW RUG.
NOW HE HAD HIS PROBLEMS, OBVIOUSLY, AND HE WOULD GET EXCITED WHEN HE FELT PEOPLE BEING STEPPED ON.
THIS WAS AN INTERVIEW, AND THE ORIGINAL, UH, STORY IN THE BOOK IS HOW I CAME TO MEET HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE.
BUT HE BECAME, IN THOSE DAYS, WELL KNOWN AND SOMEWHAT SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE CLUB OWNERS WOULD HIRE HIM TO LIE IN THE ENTRANCE TO THE CLUB, AND THEY'D PAY HIM TO DO THAT.
'CAUSE EVERYBODY KNEW HE WAS UNDER THERE AT THAT POINT.
I REMEMBER VISITING HIM AT A BAR ONCE WHERE HE WAS BEHIND THE BAR AND THE BARTENDERS WERE RUNNING BACK AND FORTH ON TOP OF HIM.
HE ONCE SAID THAT, UH, HE, UM, HE WOULD REMEMBER JANE FONDA EXERCISE TAPES.
SOMEBODY, HE WANTED TO HAVE A STEP TAPE IN WHICH HE WOULD BE THE STEP
UH, THIS IS, THIS IS JUST, UM, SORT OF COMING TO THE END, UH, OF MY, THERE WERE A LOT OF, THERE'S NO WAY TO COVER THIS BOOK IN, IN THIS TIME.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE EARLY NINETIES WAS IMMIGRATION WAS INCREASING, ESPECIALLY FROM ASIA.
AND THIS HAPPENS TO BE, UH, STORY.
I TRIED TO, UM, CAPTURE THE WORLD THAT HE WAS LIVING IN AS WELL AS THE CONCERNS.
UM, HE HAD, IRONICALLY, IN A WAY, IMMIGRATION TODAY IS AN EXTREMELY CONTROVERSIAL SITUATION, THEN OPEN.
AND THERE WAS EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT, UM, ARE BEING CLOSED DOWN.
I TRIED ALSO TO COVER THINGS THAT YOU DON'T THINK ABOUT WHEN ATMS FIRST WERE SET UP.
AND THERE WAS, ONE HAPPENED TO BE, I LIVED IN THE WEST VILLAGE AT THIS POINT.
THERE WAS ONE ON CHRISTOPHER STREET THAT I WOULD WALK BY ALL THE TIME.
I THOUGHT, WHAT'S IT LIKE TO BE A GUARD AT ATM? AND, UH, IT WASN'T FUN FOR THIS GUY, BUT HE NEEDED THE JOB.
HE DREAMED OF HIS BEING ABLE TO LEAVE AND GO BACK TO JAMAICA, WHERE, SO THAT, I MEAN, WAS JUST, I THROW THIS UP TO SAY THERE WERE, I TRIED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO COVER AS MANY DIFFERENT WORLDS THAT EXISTED THAT I COULD GET AT.
IT WASN'T VIETNAM OR A LOT OF OTHER PLACES, BUT IT WAS THE PLACE THAT I COULD, I KNEW THE LANGUAGE.
UH, ONE LAST, UH, UH, SOCIAL THING THAT WAS GOING ON IN THOSE DAYS WAS ART WAS SKYROCKETING.
ART WAS SKYROCKETING IN PRICE.
AND SOHO WAS THE CENTER OF, UH, THE HIP ART SCENE.
THESE WERE, THIS IS THE LOCAL WAS HERE, THE, UH, SO I JUST HUNG OUT IN THE GALLERIES AND, UH, DID A STRIP ON THESE TWO PEOPLE.
HE, OF COURSE, WAS GOING TO, UH, UM, CLAIM IT AS A, UH, BUSINESS DEDUCTION, WHATEVER.
AND SHE WOULDN'T LIVE ANYWHERE BUT SCARSDALE.
AND I JUST HAD DRAWING CARICATURING THEM.
UM, THIS WAS A GUY, HE WAS A GEORGETOWN LAW GRADUATE WHO WAS STUDYING FOR THE BAR IN NEW YORK.
UH, UH, AND, UM, HE WAS HERE BRIEFLY.
AND, UM, SO THE PICTURES WERE ALL ABOUT ALL THE BOOKS THAT HE WAS STUDYING.
UH, A MILLION DIFFERENT ONES YOU HAVE TO MEMORIZE AT THE SAME TIME.
HE WAS TELLING ME HIS PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE, WHICH IS EXTREMELY CONSERVATIVE.
I MET HIM THROUGH A FRIEND WHO WOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH HIM AFTER THIS.
IT WAS QUITE THE OPPOSITE POLITICALLY.
BUT, UM, SO ANYWAY, THIS IS JUST A PICTURE OF THE FUTURE IN A WAY.
AND I GOT A CALL A COUPLE WEEKS AGO FROM THE MUTUAL FRIEND WHO SAID, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS GUY? BECAUSE HE WANTED TO GET TO THE SUPREME COURT.
HE MAY STILL, IT WOULD NOT BE GOOD FOR MOST OF US
UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM? HE'S NOW THE CHIEF LAWYER FOR THE FOX CORPORATION.
IF YOU LOOK UP THE FOX CORPORATION, HIS NAME IS RIGHT UNDER MURDOCH'S ACKMAN MURDOCH.
I DON'T KNOW HOW TO REACH HIM.
[00:50:01]
POINT THIS OUT TO HIM.HE'D PROBABLY LOVE THE IDEA OF
HE'S BEEN CONSISTENT TO HIS THINKING.
ANYWAY, BY THE, UH, EARLY NINETIES, LIFE WAS CHANGING.
THE VOICE WAS GOING FREE, BOOTING A LOT OF THE FEATURES, INCLUDING, UH, THIS, UH, COMIC STRIP.
AND I REALIZED THAT YES, I COULD HAVE KEPT GOING IF THINGS HAD BEEN DIFFERENT, BUT REALLY IT WOULD'VE BEEN A, A DIFFERENT ERA.
COMPUTERS WERE EVERYWHERE AT THIS POINT.
AND, UM, THIS WAS A KIND OF A PICTURE OF AN ERA THAT WAS PASSING GENERATION 94.
SO I FIGURED IT WAS TIME TO GO.
AND, UH, I DID ONE LAST, UH, COMIC STRIP SIMPLY SAYING GOODBYE TO ANYBODY WHO HAD READ ME ALL THOSE YEARS.
I JUST CLIPPED LITTLE PIECES FROM A VARI VARIETY OF, UH, DIFFERENT STRIPS AND SAID, UH, GOODBYE.
SO THAT'S, UM, THAT'S MY STORY
ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CRITICISMS?
WHAT DID YOU DO AFTER THE BOYS SET YOU UP? THE BOYS I KEPT GOING, UH, AS MUCH AS I COULD.
UM, I'VE WRITTEN A COUPLE, FEW BOOKS, UH, CARTOON BOOKS.
IT WAS STILL AN ERA BEFORE THE LATEST GRAPHIC NOVEL, UM, WORLD.
I DID A VERSION ONLINE VERSION OF ADWEEK MEDIA POST FOR A WHILE.
I DID A TRIED TO DO ADVERTISING, BUT ADVERTISING TOO IS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT.
I COULD CALL UP AN ART DIRECTOR IN 1980 AND SAY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TODAY? HE SAY, WELL, WE'RE DOING A PITCH FOR A NEW CLIENT.
I SAID, CAN I COME BY? YEAH, SURE.
ME AND THE COPYWRITER, I WALK IN, SIT DOWN WITH 'EM, AND I WOULD DO A COMIC STRIP THAT RAN AN ADWEEK ABOUT LIFE AND ADVERTISING.
YOU'VE GOTTA GO THROUGH FOUR LEVELS OF PROTECTION BEFORE YOU GET TO THEM.
AND THEN THEY'RE SITTING AT A COMPUTER MEETING SOMEBODY WHO'S NOT THERE NEXT TO THEM.
SO ANYWAY, SO I'VE DONE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
DO DO YOU STILL, DO YOU DO THIS FOR YOURSELF AS WELL? LIKE, DO YOU, DO YOU PROCESS THE WORLD THIS WAY FOR YOUR OWN ENJOYMENT? OR WAS IT JUST, UH, BECAUSE YOU HAD A GIG? IT WAS A GIG THAT CHANGED MY LIFE.
I WAS AN ILLUSTRATOR BEFORE THAT.
I SWITCHED TO, UM, TRYING TO USE THE SAME TOOLS I HAD LEARNED HERE TO DO, UM, COMIC CARTOON HISTORIES.
'CAUSE I THOUGHT, I'LL LOOK IN AT THESE PEOPLE AND TRY TO SUM IT UP IN THE SAME WAY.
IT CHANGED MY, BUT MY HEARING IS GOING
I WAS TALKING TO THESE STUDENTS AT THIS, UH, UH, AT JOHNS HOPKINS THE OTHER DAY.
I SAID, AND THEY ASKED ME ABOUT TODAY, AND I THOUGHT OVER TO YOU GUYS.
UH, I'M NOT, I CAN DO A LOT OF STUFF, BUT I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE.
IT'S JUST, I WAS A, I GOT LUCKY.
IT WAS A MOMENT IN HISTORY THAT'S FIT WHERE I WAS.
I'M STILL LOOKING FOR PROJECTS THOUGH.
UH, I REMEMBER ATTENDING A STAGE ADAPTATION OF REAL LIFE.
HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT? MANHATTAN THEATER COMPANY, UM, RAN IT WITH HOPES OF MAKING IT TO, UM, ALAN MANKIN.
DO YOU REMEMBER ALAN MACON'S NAME? HE AND HOWARD ASHMAN WHO SAID THAT? I DID.
THOSE TWO GUYS WENT ON TO HUGE SUCCESS.
UM, THIS WAS NOT ONE OF THE BIG SUCCESSES, BUT THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED.
IT RAN FOR A MONTH AT MANHATTAN THEATER COMPANY, AND IT WAS MANHATTAN THEATER COMPANY.
AND IT WAS, IT WAS A LOT OF FUN TO DO.
BUT FOR ME IT WAS GREAT BECAUSE I COULD GO BACKSTAGE AT THE CASTING SESSIONS.
I COULD DO REAL LIFE FUNNIES ABOUT THEM DOING THIS PLAY, WHICH HAPPENED TO BE MY WORK
AND I DID DO SOME, I DIDN'T WANT ALAN MACON.
HE PROBABLY DOESN'T WANNA KNOW ABOUT
YOU COULDN'T DO THIS ANYMORE BECAUSE PEOPLE TALK STANDING AROUND NEW YORK CITY ARE DOING THIS.
WELL, I'M ON THE CORNER OF WEST FOURTH.
RIGHT? WHERE ARE YOU? A LOT OF THEM ARE TALKING ON THEIR EARBUD STAFF.
SO YOU CAN OVERHEAR ONE SIDE OF THE CONVERSATION,
IT CERTAINLY, UH, COULD, AND IT COULD BE DONE A DIFFERENT WAY.
I MADE FUN OF A LOT OF PEOPLE BACK THEN.
THERE'S THIS GUY WHO'S DOING, WHAT'S IT CALLED? NEW YORK? NEW YORK, NICO, OR NO? OH, NEW YORK.
THAT IS MY WIFE, SUSAN, WHO HAS MY MEMORY,
[00:55:01]
BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT I WAS DOING.IT'S BECOME VERY BIG AND HE INTERVIEWS PEOPLE ON THE STREET.
UM, BUT MINE WAS KIND OF LIKE, AT A TIME WHEN STUFF WAS WORTH MAKING FUN OF, YOU COULD MAKE, IT COULD BE IMPORTANT.
YOU COULD MAKE BOTH POINTS AT THE SAME TIME.
WAS I MAKING FUN OF THAT GUY WITH AIDS? NO, BUT I WAS TRYING TO FIND A MESSAGE THAT WAS MORE THAN JUST BEING SAD ABOUT IT.
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH AN, AN ARTIST, UM, NAMED
AS A, AS A FINER, IT HAD LIKE A, A POSTER OF ELIZABETH TAYLOR WHEN SHE WAS COMING AND PROMOTING AVOCADOS BECAUSE, SO IT WAS LIKE SATIRE? YEAH, SATIRICAL.
IT WAS CALLED ESCAPE FROM COLUMBUS AVENUE.
AND IT WAS HOW IT WAS CHANGED.
REMEMBER THE SILVER PAL GOING OUTTA BUSINESS.
ANYWAY, IT WAS THE SAME TIME PERIOD.
OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE WERE, IT WAS, THERE WERE A TON OF ARTISTS.
THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN EAST VILLAGE WHO HAVE NOW PRODUCED PLAYS AND BOOKS AROUND THE SAME TIME PERIOD.
AND I DID MYSELF, UH, I KNEW AN EDITOR AT THE TIME WHO SAID, COULD YOU DO A BOOK ABOUT, UM, WHAT YOU'RE LIVING THROUGH? AND I SAID, WHAT I'M REALLY FASCINATED BY IS REVOLUTION, BECAUSE I STOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF SOME OF THOSE PROTEST MOVEMENTS WITH THE COPS AND THE BOTTLES FLYING AND THE PROTESTERS WAVING FLAGS AND INTERESTING.
WE WERE ON THAT WALK YESTERDAY, WHICH WAS A LOT OF THOSE SIGNS REMINDED ME OF, UH, BACK IN THE DAY.
UM, SO, UH, I FORGOT WHAT I WAS SAYING.
UH, I DID A BOOK, BUT I SAID, I WANNA GO BACK TO THE FIRST REVOLUTION.
I DID A BOOK, UH, ON THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION USING SOME OF THE SAME TECHNIQUES I HAD USED HERE, MAKING FUN.
ONE OF THE DRIVING FORCES WAS I COULD MAKE FUN OF GEORGE WASHINGTON.
BUT IT ALSO WAS A SERIOUS LOOK AT, FROM A VERY KIND OF LIBERAL PERSPECTIVE OF WHAT WAS GOING ON BACK THEN.
I THINK IT'S CALLED REVOLTING REBELS ONLINE.
COULD YOU SAY MORE ABOUT YOUR, UH, YOUR PEER GROUP? LIKE WHO YOU HUNG OUT WITH? WAS IT MOSTLY OTHER JOURNALISTS, OR WAS IT, UH, YOU KNOW, OTHER ARTISTS AND AND WHO WERE SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT YOU ENJOYED THE MOST? UH, WELL, I WAS AN ILLUSTRATOR.
SO MY, MY CLOSEST CONTACTS, ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS IS RICK MEYEROWITZ.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THAT NAME, BUT HE, HE, HE DID THE NA THE FAMOUS, UH, NATIONAL LAMPOON, UM, UH, POSTER.
WHAT WAS IT CALLED? WHAT WAS THAT MOVIE CALLED? IT WAS, UH, ANIMAL HOUSE.
YOU CAN SEE WHY I'M NOT DOING THIS THING ANYMORE.
UH, SO FRIENDS LIKE THAT MOSTLY ILLUSTRATED, BUT THE PEOPLE I WAS, I FELT CLOSER TO WAS NOT THE ART WORLD, BUT THE JOURNALISM WORLD.
UH, THERE WAS A ONE GUY I ADMIRED A LOT OF SCIENCE WRITER AT THE HAROLD TRIBUNE, EARL U BELL, WHO WENT ON TO BE A TV SCIENCE WRITER WHO SAID, HE SAID, I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
WHICH I GOTTA LOOK UP THAT WORD TOO, BUT, SO I'M NOT GIVING YOU A LOT OF NAMES.
BUT, UM, IT WAS, UH, A COMBINATION OF MY BACKGROUND WAS ART AND ILLUSTRATION AND ART DIRECTING, AND THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE I KNEW AND THE ART DIRECTORS IN ADVERTISING.
BUT IT WAS, IT WAS JOURNALISM THAT I FELT CLOSEST TO.
'CAUSE I WAS DOING STUFF THAT OTHER ILLUSTRATORS DIDN'T UNDERSTAND.
IN THOSE DAYS, THEY WOULD TODAY, BUT NOT THEN.
DID YOU EVER GET CAUGHT OUT, LIKE, LIKE DID GET A TABLE NEXT TO YOU AT A RESTAURANT, FIGURE OUT WHO YOU WERE AND THAT YOU WERE EAVESDROPPING? I DID GET, I NEVER GOT INTO A LOT OF TROUBLE FROM READERS.
MORE OFTEN THEY WOULD SAY THAT WAS, I'D GET A NOTE SAYING, THAT WAS ME AT THAT NEXT TABLE AT SUCH AND SUCH A RESTAURANT.
COULD YOU, IT'S, IT'S FALLING OFF.
MY COPY IS FALLING OFF MY REFRIGERATOR DOOR.
CAN YOU MAKE A COPY FOR ME? I WAS GETTING MUCH MORE OF THAT SORT OF STUFF EVEN TODAY.
UH, THAT WAS ME WAY BACK IN THAT LOWER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THAT PROTEST MOVEMENT, WHICH WAS GREAT.
AND PETE HAMILL SAID THE NICE THING ABOUT YOUR COMIC STRIP AS OPPOSED TO MANY, UM, IS THAT YOU KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE VERY WELL.
AND I THOUGHT, BECAUSE THEY ARE MY SUBJECTS, THEY WERE BOTH, YES,
[01:00:01]
THIS ISN'T THE RIGHT WORD, BUT, UM, I ALWAYS FOUND THAT IS REALLY INTERESTING AND, BUT I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE MAN.WOULD YOU SAY THAT A LITTLE LOUD?
THE GUY WHO DID THAT, AND THANK YOU.
I'M SORRY I CAN'T LIVE UP TO THAT A PERSON OF ANOTHER TIME.
BUT WE ALL CHANGE, RIGHT? UM, IF, YES, UM, I REGISTERED FOR 20 YEARS AND LOVED IT, BUT WHEN WE MOVED UP OUT OF THE CITY, OUR MAILMAN WOULD CONTINUALLY COMMENT ON THE FACT THAT WE GOT THE VOICE IN THE MAIL
SO I DON'T KNOW IF A LOT OF PEOPLE DID
IT HAD THAT REPUTATION AND DESERVED IN ONE SENSE, BUT NOT REALLY.
WHAT THEY WERE DOING WAS BREAKING ALL THE LATEST CULTURAL NEWS.
I READ, UH, TRICIA ROMANO'S BOOK, THE FREAKS CAME OUT TO WRITE, IT'S, UH, A NEW BOOK NOW.
UM, SHE SAID THE WAY BACK IN THE DAY, THEY WOULD NOT NEW YORK TIMES WOULD HIRE JOURNALISM MAJORS TO GO AND COVER THE NEWS.
THEY WERE HIRING PEOPLE WHO WALKED IN THE DOOR AND SAID, I LOVE THIS BAND THAT IT'S AT CBGBS THIS WEEK.
AND THEY'D SAY, COULD YOU WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT IT? SO IT WAS THE REVERSE OF WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE OTHER PAPERS, AND THAT WAS WHAT THE, THE VOICE WAS DOING THAT WAS SO IMPORTANT.
PLUS, UH, GOING AFTER ALL THE POLITICAL STUFF THAT THEY WOULD BREAK, THAT THE TIMES WAS SUPER CAUTIOUS ABOUT.
I MEAN, THEY SET THE TONE FOR, LIKE, NEW YORK MAGAZINE DID REALLY? CLAY FELKER.
THEY SET THE TONE FOR WHAT, WHAT WAS THEN DONE ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND, UH, ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER WEEKLYS AND, UH, UH, CITY NEWSPAPER, UH, CITY MAGAZINES.
UM, HOW DID YOU PULL ALL THE, THE STRIPS TOGETHER? UH, DID, DOES THE VILLAGE BOYS HAVE AN ARCHIVE AND OR DID YOU HAVE 'EM ALL YOURSELF? THAT'S
UH, I KEPT, THEY'RE ALL ABOUT THIS BIG AND, UM, HEAVY PAPER AND, AND IT, IT WAS EASY TO, I KIND OF LIKED WHAT I DID IN THE SENSE THAT I WAS THERE FOR THIS STUFF.
SO I HUNG ONTO 'EM, NOT IN A GREAT SHAPE.
THEY TOOK A LOT OF WORK TO CLEAN THEM UP BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T, THEY'RE FROM VERY, I MOVED AROUND A LOT, SO THEY CAME WITH ME, BUT, BUT WE'RE IN THE CLOSET OR WHEREVER, BUT ENOUGH ORIGINALS THAT I COULD SCAN THEM, CLEAN THEM UP AND PUT THEM TOGETHER FOR THE, UH, PUBLISHER.
I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA ASK ME HOW I MADE THE DEADLINE EVERY WEEK.
PEOPLE SAY, I LIKE YOUR DRAWING STYLE.
THE STYLE WAS DICTATED TO BY THE, BY THE DELIVERY DATE.
DO YOU WANNA MENTION SOMETHING ABOUT BUYING THE BOOK? OH, SO WE DON'T HAVE, UNLIKE THESE USUAL EVENTS, I'M SORRY TO SAY.
I MEAN, I WOULD LOVE IT IF, UH, SOME OF YOU WERE TEMPTED.
WE HAVE ONE BOOK FOR SALE, WHICH MY WIFE SUSAN WILL ACTUALLY WALK YOU THROUGH HOW TO DO IT.
BUT SHORT OF THAT, UM, BARCODE, I SAID THE BARCODE IS HERE.
BARCODE PICTURE BOOK IS A BOOKSTORE IN, UM, DOBBS FERRY.
AND IF YOU WERE TO BUY ONE TODAY, PAY FOR IT TODAY.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A GOOD IDEA.
YOU COULD PICK IT UP AT THE BOOKSTORE.
AS SOON AS THEY GET THEM IN, SHE'S ORDERING THEM NOW.
OR EVEN A, YOU SAID ALLISON MAYBE THROUGH BOOKS.
SHE MAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A STREET VANISHING INK BOOKS AND ALISON MCCABE IS, UH, RUNNING IT.
HER NIECE JUST STARTED APRIL 1ST, SO SHE'S FILLING IT AND SHE WANTS TO OPEN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, SO SHE WOULD LOVE TO, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
I WOULD HAPPY IF ANY OF YOU, IF I, IF I CAN SELL THREE COPIES OR SO OR MORE, I'D BE HAPPY TO COME UP AND SIGN IF THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.
IT'S EASY ENOUGH TO RUN UP HERE TO DOBBS AND I HAVE THE LIBRARY'S COPY.
I DUNNO IF THEY'LL, YOU HAVE THIS, THE COPY JUST TOOK IT OUT.
[01:05:01]
YOU'RE ALL INVITED NEXT DOOR FOR COFFEE AND TEA AND SOME SWEETENED GOODS TO TALK TO.