Bad Luck?

Is bad luck real?

When bad things happen (a flat tire, the Keurig breaking, losing a job), is it because of some sort of karmic payback, or do we just notice these things more because something HAS gone wrong and now we're seeing other things go wrong?

I never thought I had good luck; just the opposite. But, as I look back on my life, I find that I've had some VERY GOOD luck — things that just seemed to miraculously work out for the best.  Time after time.

So, if there's good luck (and we all like to think there is), is there bad luck, too?

Are there forces out there controlling what happens to us — good and bad — and can we affect them?

Does karma really exist?

I used to think so, but I've seen too many "bad" people profit and benefit from their hurtful actions to  think that karmic payback is real.

Do I wish that karma existed?

Absolutely.

It's like believing in God: the deity may not exist, bit it might...so why take a chance?

It's easier to hedge your bets.

Now, can someone tell me how to get rid of all this bad luck? Prayers, incantations, charms — I'm open to anything.

MAD #515 --the big 2-0

My contribution to MAD #515 -- a solo Dork Side strip in the Strip Club section -- marks my twentieth appearance in the humor magazine *.

Who would've thunk it?

I still vividly remember reading MAD in the early 70s, poring over the work of giants like Mort Drucker, Jack Davis, Angelo Torres, Paul Coker, George Woodbridge, Al Jaffee, Sergio Aragones,  Don Martin, Bob Clarke, Dave Berg, Frank Jacobs, Arnie Kogen, Stan Hart, Larry Siegel, Dick De Bartolo, Lou Silverstone, Tom Koch -- MAD's Usual Gang of Idiots. I'd study each word, each figure and line, each article and parody, absorbing them like a sponge.

*I've actually had 29 pieces/articles/cartoons published.

Reader's Digest -- February 2012

My latest cartoon can be seen in this issue, on page 86, to be precise. Woot!

MAD #512

Got a couple of pieces in the latest MAD. Another barf-tastic installment of Projectile Vomit Baby and a gag cartoon with the ever-witty Kit Lively. Images to come soon....

MAD 511

MAD #511 is out and I have a cartoon in the Fundalini Pages. My frequent partner-in-comic-crime, Kit Lively, has not one, but TWO pieces in the mag, illustrated by Peter Bagge and Marc Hempel, respectively (but not respectably).

Movin' on Up(chuck)!

My queasy comic strip, Projectile Vomit Baby, first (dis)graced the pages of MAD in issue 500. There have been multiple installments of the barfy baby, and now he makes his messy mark on MAD's new blog -- The Idiotical -- as part of their regular Strip Club feature.

I'm so excited, I could just puke!

Breaking Old Ground

My sons are in a band -- two, actually (the other is Forever Flux).  

Breaking Old Ground opened for Nine Lashes on July 26, 2011 in Muncie. 

It was BOG's first professional gig and they kicked ass! Love the sound 

-- old school blues rock meets grunge!

.

Hunter Lee (just 16!) channels Jimmy Page on lead guitar; Bobby Nickel 

kills it on drums; Jacob Cooper (rhythm guitarist pinch-hitting on bass) 

provides a solid bottom, and front man David Von Awesome adds the 

final touch with gritty, hard-edged lyrics and vocals.

That's my boys! I'm one proud dad. 

Go to Facebook and like 'em!

MAD's loss is Reader's Digest's gain

MAD passed on a cartoon last month that was just accepted by Reader's Digest.

Cartooning. It's a wild ride.

MAD #510

Idiots of the world, rejoice! The latest issue of MAD is out, and I have a cartoon in the Fundalini section, along with fellow Facebookers J.C. Duffy and David DeGrand. (This is Dave's first time in MAD. Welcome to the UGOI!)

For more MAD madness, check out their new blog, The Idiotical.

Long Story Short

I just discovered a great cartoonist -- Daniel Beyer.

Mr. Beyer has had cartoons published in PLAYBOY, THE NEW YORKER, READER'S DIGEST, and other fine publications.

He's also got a feature on ComicsSherpa and is competing in The Cartoon Studio contest.

I think his work is brilliant, and I'm not just saying that so he'll share some of his magazine contacts with me.

Read Long Story Short and vote for Daniel!