ufo from ernie~!

okay...

is it groundhog's day yet?

i feel like that right now; that i've been in hibernation for the past few weeks ( did i hear someone say months? ) and it's now my time to pop my head up and see if the sun is out.

truth is, i really have been hibernating. after a wonderful trip down to virginia to see mom and dad wieringo and then go spend new years with matt and suzanne, sharon and i came home and i underwent some neurosurgery to correct a couple of shifted vertebrae that were starting to compress my spinal cord. if you've been following our pals rod and leanne hannah's facebook page, you'll know that rod had virtually the same surgery on the same day at the same time!! matt was the first to realize this and bring it to the attention of our little perhapa-family and the too-coincidental-to-be-coincidence sent a shiver up everyone's spine...
...except rod and me; we were on some serious pain-killers...

anyway, that's where i've been, in a neck brace, on a long-ish road to recovery, trying to read a lot (finally finished stephen king's 11/22/63, now onto the conqueror worms by brian keene that matt lent me--along with a stack of comic books and graphic novels...), watching too many movies and tv, and trying to sit at the computer and actually get a little writing done. which is hard.

anyway, no excuse for being absent, but our pal ernie cooper lit a match under my butt this morning by sending me this way- cool story about a possible ufo found on the floor of the baltic sea near sweden.


apparently, a team of divers found this enormous disc shaped object with their sonar back in august, the size of it compared to the wingspan of your average 747. there are 'tracks' showing how the thing apparently slid/crashed into the sea floor.








but rather than hear this stuff from me second-hand, check out this cnn report and hear what it's all about...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_wgMa3iils


thanks, ernie!
awesome story!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

while i haven't been very excited about much these days, i am excited that it looks like we're finally gonna have the long-awaited, long-frustrated TELLOS COLOSSAL Vol 2 hit the shelves in march!! after YEARS of tracking down and compiling the various materials for this massive tome--a sister book to the aptly named Tellos Colossal Vol 1--IMAGE tells me that we are on schedule and that the book looks great!





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




that's it for now--
i'm going back to sleep.
smell ya later!
todd

more haps previews...

okay...


continuing our very brief look at some of the cool perhapanauts stories and projects we have in store for you,
here are a couple pages by matt and christian that might give you a little hint as to where the three of us are gonna be taking karl and choopie,,,











and here are a pair from what i am more and more referring to as our tenacious sub-plot by myself and the very kind and talented eric henson--a tale with a monster so big, it couldn't be contained in a single back-up story...!






...inks by michael babinski~!


more coming soon~!
smell ya later!
todd

...coughing up blood this morning

okay...

whenever i hear the phrase, "is it dead?", whether it be on tv, in a movie, in a conversation, whatever, my brain immediately fills in with a line from one of my favorite monty python skits; when asking his harsh and terrifically ugly wife if the jugged-fish she wishes to serve him for breakfast is actually dead, the roughly-dragged terry jones screeches, "well, it was coughin' up blood this morning."

we spent new years with the wieringo's--which was awesome!--and during one of our many long and rambling conversations, i asked matt, what with everybody facebook and tweeting all over the place these days, was blogging dead? we both went back and forth and i think we left it at a sorta kinda maybe...

i'll admit that i've been wondering for a while now if anyone is really reading anymore. i used to feel that we were having a big discussion, a fun, and curious conversation, but i think i lost the momentum a year or two ago and just haven't gotten it back. that's okay. all things must pass...

that said, the initial motivation behind the blog was to keep any perhapa-fans out there up-to-date on the latest perhapa-doings and i will definitely continue doing that--whether y'all like it or not... : )

we've been talking for a long time about the next perhapanauts story arc and, while i thought that it was going to see publication sometime around now, we've been delayed here and there over the past year (the largest delay being the possibility of producing a perhapanauts motion comic--a project that had us quite psyched--and busy!--for a few months there but ultimately has been scratched due to some unforeseen mismanagement) and things slowed down from time to time along the way...

but we ARE all working hard on this/these stories and, just to whet your appetites and keep ourselves honest, i thought it wouldn't hurt to start out the new year with some sneak peeks at some of the wonderful stuff these wonderful artists/friends have been putting together for us...

i'm gonna be off my feet for a couple weeks here and don't know how often i'll be able to add more, s'gonna be erratic, but let's start out with a couple pages from the first issue by craig...


here's page one of the saga we're calling the australian adventure: danger down under!



...and here's another one where our remaining members of both blue team and red team meet for the first time their australian counterparts...



a page from the short story goodbye larry with art by the wonderful lauren monardo...




and a quick shot of a smiling karl courtesy matt and christian--more from this tale later...


and more from me later too...
gotta go!
smell ya later!
todd

superhero supply

okay...

a few weeks before christmas, i got the 411 on this stylish website from my friend, dj renzi--via his sister, also my friend, suzanna--zan.

a very cool site featuring, for your enjoyment and perusal, any and all of the various tools and implements, devices and apparati, needed to pursue your career in crimefighting.

below are a few choice images that i purloined from the catalogue of gadgets and gizmos just to whet your appetite, but go check out the website yourselves at the eddress listed below for some fun!


]



















http://www.superherosupplies.com/


enjoy~!


and if i don't see you--and i won't unless you're matt and suzanne, with whom we will be ringing in the new year--HAPPY NEW YEAR~! may 2012 be the best year so far!
smell ya later!
todd

from all of us to all of you~!

more christmas goodness from lauren~

okay...

here's a wonderful christmas card that i got this morning from our own lauren monardo (now lauren gramprey) featuring a choir of singing dogs on the front...




...and a personalized choopie on the flip~!

thanks, lauren~! your card brightens the season every year! : )



be here tomorrow for OUR christmas card to all of YOU!
merry christmas!
sell ya later~!
todd

disturbing christmas

okay...

rich (woodall) dug up these disturbing christmas pictures to make the season merry...
...or a little creepy.




like dressing your pets up in clothes and costumes, i know someone was encouraging this probably very cute little girl to make this demonic face.
cut it out.





mmm, i think i'll just go outside...





(no funny comment)




and, while a bit unsettling--this one doesn't disturb me...






...as much as this one.




hope you're getting in the holiday spirit!
smell ya later!
todd

christmas treasures

okay...

while not, technically, a christmas card, my pal, ellie, found this drawing she did (way back when she was 4) while looking through her christmas stuff to send something to share. i love it and love that she decided to share it with us!



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

also in the sharing mood was our pal, mike estelle, when he sent me this tale of a christmas yet to come (well...it'll be here in 6 days...). here's the back-story to a quirky present he picked up for his mom a month or so ago...


So the story goes like this,

Around the time that SkyLab was hurtling towards the Earth in a fiery mass of metal and electrical components, I was about 4 and my brother was just born January of that year. My mom being 'mildly' neurotic had it in her head that it was going to land on us in a little town called Laurence Harbor here in New Jersey. Figuring it was going to be our demises, and that my parents hadn't gotten around to having us baptized yet, she immediately ran off to have it done, so that when we had all that metal come crashing on our heads in a blazing inferno, we'd not end up in that other blazing inferno. So when it landed WAY the frick over in Australia, we were safe and continued on to this day, with small jokes and laughs at family get-togethers over how crazy that was.

Fast-forward to November of this year when Karen and I were in Upstate NY for our anniversary weekend. At your (Todd's, that is) suggestion, we went to the little town of Red Hook to go do some shopping. In one of the few antique shops we were browsing the glass cases when I saw what looked like a big piece of amber with a piece of paper or something in it. Upon further inspection it had an actual card in it that said that that piece of 'paper' was in fact a piece of SkyLab. I asked how much it was and while it was a little pricey I thought it would make for a really funny Christmas gift for mom. Karen said I HAD to get it and, that when my mom opened it, that if SkyLab didn't land on our heads then I was definitely going to get hit in the head after she realized what it was. And so after some internal debating, and telling the people that worked at the store the story of it, I got it. And we will be getting mom's reaction on video so that I can remember what happened after the concussion.

thanks, mike!~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i couldn't find anymore really funny christmas cards--and i'm hoping that some of you are keeping your eye out to forward some on to me--but here are a couple images i grabbed off the net. what is it about these absolutely anti-christmas, rebellious and delinquent, juvenile holiday gestures that just crack me up?! i dunno--but i love 'em!












and for any of you who might have been slightly offended by that...
here's a cute little palette-cleanser that i stole from my niece's facebook page! thanks, j.!



happy holidays~!
smell ya later!
todd

the spirit of christmas~

okay...

here are a couple of christmas cards from my collection. this first one is from sharon from our first christmas together as she tried to warn me about kayla's penchant for climbing the tree and ambushing you from it. i didn't believe, at first, that she loved the tree as much as sharon said, but each year when we'd bring the box down from the attic, kayla would get excited and dance on it until we put it up. or just sit on it and glare at us until we did.





and this is one of my all-time favorite cards from last year, from matt and suzanne. speaks for itself.

the inside says, "Hope your Christmas doesn't stink."





in response to my request, rich woodall sent me this christmas card he and matt talbot did for their fans while doing their much-loved, yet highly overlooked book, johnny raygun! awesome card! awesome homage! can you name the classic cover this is taken from?

( by the way, you can still order any of the johnny raygun series from
http://jetpackpress.com/store.html )



a note and a video that you HAVE to check out from our pal, ernie cooper...
merry christmas, ernie!

Hiya, Todd!

So it's not a comic cover...But a friend posted this, and after I got done giggling maniacally, I thought of the perhapablog and all of the Calvin and Hobbes goodness that you frequently post:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq8iyhMFLYE&feature=share

Hope you and yours have a Merry Christmas! May your days be merry and bright, and may strange cryptids infest your Christmas tree come Christmas morn! *grin*

-Ernie


and here is your secret christmas present from our pal, roger ash...

http://youtu.be/DAtZBE5XXFo


thanks, roger!
thumpity-thump-thump!

and thanks to everyone who've sent me fun stuff for the holidays!
keep 'em comin', gang!
smell ya later!
todd

some more christmas covers~

okay...

in response to my request for more christmas images--and my posting of a couple of my favorite christmas comics covers--my friend ellie egleton sent me her picks for favorites...


action comics no. 105 from 1947...



...and the chris giarrusso cover to FIRST CLASS COMIC REVIEW from just last year (although ellie did say that she may be a bit biased on this one since that is her magazine... : )




as we discussed this, ellie threw this one into her picks as well; supergirl and batgirl exchanging their christmas gifts to one another...



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


looking for a clean jpg of the action comics cover, i found these two classic christmas covers featuring supes and st. nick too!









and what about another festive treasury cover from my good pal, nick cardy, circa 1974...? ho ho ho!




what've you got?
smell ya later~!
todd

christmas~

okay...

are ya gettin' into the holiday spirit?

i am.
sorta.

with the fair weather we've been experiencing here in the northeast this winter, our extended autumn made it very easy for the holidays to sneak up on us. i've been caught off guard and am now going into full-on shopping mode, frantic to get out and get the right gift for the right person, while trying to dodge all of the commercialistic aspects of it. a tough job any year, but this year it seems more about the economy than about the actual season of joy and love.

add to that a rather...quietness...in our house since losing sharon's cat, kayla, back in september. we're just not feeling christmas this year and trying not to miss her too much...

so, i'm going to try to lift my--and YOUR--spirits with some fun christmas junk here on the blog!
let's get each other into the spirit and post some fun, funny, or warm and touching pictures and photos and letters and what-have-you! didja get a funny christmas card that you can share with us? a funny holiday email to pass along? do you have some old family photos from your own christmases past? anything...?

to kick things off, here are a couple of my favorite christmas covers--both instant classics and ones that warm my heart!










whadda you got?
send anything you'd like to sharer to me at
todd@perhapanauts.com or brokentuba@yahoo.com

let's make the season bright!
smell ya later!
todd

chito and pocho

okay...

from my friend, jared ather--who will always be kojee to me from our long-gone, but much-loved tellos message boards--this crazy cold-blooded but warm-hearted tale of a boy and his crocodile in the land down under...



Fearless Cairns fisherman Chito prefers to playfully
wrestle in the water with his best pal Pocho - a deadly 17ft crocodile.






The 52-year-old daredevil draws gasps of amazement from onlookers by wading chest-deep into the water, then whistling for his 980 lb buddy - and giving him an affectionate hug.





Chito made friends with the croc after finding him with a gunshot wound on the banks of the Barron River Cairns Australia 30 years ago.
He had been shot in the left eye by a cattle farmer and was close to death.
But Chito enlisted the help of several pals to load the massive reptile into his boat.
He says: "When I found Pocho in the river he was dying, so I brought him into my house
"He was very skinny, weighing only around 150 lb. I gave him chicken and fish and medicine for six months to help him recover.
"I stayed by Pocho's side while he was ill, sleeping next to him at night. I just wanted him to feel that somebody loved him, that not all humans are bad.

"It meant a lot of sacrifice. I had to be there every day. I love all animals – especially ones that have suffered."

It took years before Chito felt that Pocho had bonded with him enough to get closer to the animal.





He says: "After a decade I started to work with him. At first it was slow, slow. I played with him a bit, slowly doing more.

"Then I found out that when I called his name he would come over to me."

At one point during his recovery, Chito left the croc in a lake near his house.. But as he turned to walk away, to his amazement Pocho got out of the water and began to follow him home.

Chito recalls:
"That convinced me the crocodile could be tame." But when he first
Fearlessly waded into the water with the giant reptile his family was so
Horrified they couldn't bear to watch. So instead, he took to splashing
Around with Pocho when they were asleep..

Four years ago Chito showed some of his tricks to friends, including getting the animal to close
His eyes on command, and they convinced him to go public with a show.






Now he swims and plays with Pocho as well as feeding him at the lake near his home in the Lakeland
River north west of cairns Queensland .




The odd couple have now become a major tourist attraction, with several tour operators, including Crocodile
Adventures, taking visitors on touring cruises to see the pair.





On the Crocodile
Adventures website it describes the spectacle as: "One of the most amazing things that no tourist will want to miss, the adventure show between the man and the crocodile."



ONLY IN QUEENSLAND ………AMAZING!!!


that's it!
smell ya later!
todd

look closely...

okay...

so a couple of things happened that derailed my plans last week to get the blog rolling regularly again. good things, but still...it slowed things down here.
anyway, here's a new post. hope you like it.

oh, before i get into that, how ya doin"? are you getting into the holiday spirit? i am trying but have to admit that the rather mild autumn/winter weather we're enjoying up here in the northeast is making it hard to imagine that christmas is just around the corner. it is! get goin'!


some cool images that have gathered on my desktop;
this first one is from our good pal christian--an awesome batman mural that you'll need to zoom in on and study! and i guarantee, you'll find yourself smiling the whole time!
it's dastardly, devilish fun by les mclaine!






you can find les and his awesome webcomic, jonny crossbones, over at

www.evilspacerobot.com



speaking of robots...
also eager to make you get out your magnifying glass is this mesmerizing piece by richard sargent entitled "where's wall-e?"



i find five or six more that i recognize each time i go back and look...




here's a great facebook update from october 31st that makes me laugh every time i read it...






and, because there is nothing funnier than cranky kids in the magic kingdom...







and just because i haven't seen it in a while, here's a great classic from ebay that always makes me laugh...and cringe...





have a great day~!
smell ya later!
todd