we interrupt this blog...

...for a special report from this past weekend's baltimore comiccon!


okay...

we'll get right back to your entries in the perhapanauts scary halloween contest on friday, but first we wanted to take a moment to bring you the latest news--and photos--from this past weekend's fun at the baltimore comiccon!

sadly, the batteries in my camera were going when we got there and things were going so fast that i didn't get a chance to get any new ones and take any real pics of my own. so most of these are grabbed from others and i thank them for sending them over.
first, from brian, here's a shot of the perhapa-gals--trish, suzanne, and sharon--just before they blew out of the con to go get their nails done.







on saturday we met young caleb morea and his parents, john and mindy. john told us that caleb LOVES impulse--that they had read every issue together!--and that he was gonna come by on sunday to show us his awesome impulse costume!
unfortunately, caleb couldn't make it the next day--but he sent the REAL IMPULSE in to see us and get out picture taken with him! what a thrill for me as a renowned impulse writer and craig as a celebrated impulse to meet the boy himself and chat a while...















(note: impulse is waving so fast that his hand is a blur!!)


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

it's spooktacular~!!

oh, and if, for some reason, you had forgotten to mark it on your calendars, today is the day that the perhapanauts halloween spooktacular oozes onto the stands at your local comic shop! featuring three haunting tales to help you get your halloween on, this special issue also touts four thrilling covers that, if you haven't seen 'em yet, are spread out for you here below!

our plan was to have all four covers proudly presented in every single issue--but some miscommunication with the printer resulted in variant covers anyway...i guess they just couldn't understand why we would want to give it all away for free! (well, for $3.50, but you know, ALL for one price...) we apologize for the confusion and hope that you'll enjoy the stories in a darkened room with the wind howling through the eaves and a branch scratch, scratch, scratching at the back window...

...either that or with some candy!

have fun!



craig rousseau cover!





francesco francavilla cover!





mike ploog cover!





matt pott cover!






smell ya later~!
todd

haps halloween contest: brien powell's "perhapanauts halloween cover!"

okay...

well, we had an incredible weekend down at the baltimore comiccon with "the family" (more on that tomorrow...), and i had hoped that sharon and i would've been back early enough yesterday for me to post monday's blog and the latest entry in our perhapanauts scary halloween contest.
but we got back later than we planned, mostly 'cause of new jersey.
yeah, i said it.
happens every time.
is new jersey's inability to put up correct signage a way to boost their state's income by getting you turned around and lost in one of their quaint and charming townships and have to spend your money there on gas, food, and ultimately, directions?
sharon came up with a fantastic perhapanauts tale about this that i'm making her write for an upcoming post...

i love ya, jersey--i really do.
but ya gotta do something about your signs.

so we got home late.
and i thought i'd post yesterday's contest entry today and get back on track tomorrow.

so here is my longtime friend, brien powell's "perhapanauts halloween cover!" i met brien, gosh, i dunno how many years ago, must be ten at least, at heroes con where he gave me several of his wonderfully fun mini comics that soon became a staple of my plane ride home from charlotte each year. brien is incredibly prolific with his various characters and their adventures and it's always a nice come down from the hustle and bustle of a convention.
craig and i got to see brien in baltimore this weekend too and told him that his entry was great and that it would be up yesterday. sorry for the delay brien, but here it is. hope you all enjoy it!





thanks, brien!
great job!

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

halloween is coming up quick, perhapa-gang, and i'm really trying to get in the mood. so here are a few scary pics to start with! if YOU find anything creepy or spooky in the way of a frightful pic, send it along so that we can all get in the spirit of the season...!



i always throw away the seeds...cool!





halloween can be sexy too...!
(i wasn't going to make the "jumping her bones" comment--you guys can do that in your heads...)





and...really? i'm a huge halloween fan too, but whaddaya say the other 364 days ...?

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

my birthday

so, yeah, saturday was my birthday.
and thanks to all of you who sent me birthday wishes on facebook or by email, they were warmly received.

but i had told my two best friends NOT to do anything about it, that i really didn't want a fuss made and that i'd actually be kinda pissed if they did. i'd hoped that we could leave it just another day, another saturday, another day at a convention.
so sharon and i come into the convention hall on saturday morning to have george perez and stuart immonen and michael golden and renee witterstaetter all pass us by in the crowds, big smiles, with big happy birthday greetings from each! sonuvabitch! how did they know? i managed to hold onto kelly dale as she gave me a birthday kiss and a hug and asked her who told. she wouldn't break.
until i finally got to the table and saw that matt and suzanne had gotten there early...
...and that this poster was tacked up in the center of our booth wall!



...matt wearing that sheepish grin of his, hoping that i wasn't really as mad as i looked.

nobody listens to you on your birthday.

a short while later, while we were still setting up, two lovely ladies--one with stunning magenta hair (kim, right? i never got to come over and see your artwork...) appeared in front of me asking me to sign...their postcards.
sure, what postcards...? hey, lemme see that! what the–?

craig, already deep in a con sketch, just looked over at me with hjis own grin and said, "happy birthday, sucker."




more haps halloween contest tomorrow!
if you still haven't entered--send it in!
smell ya later!
todd

haps halloween contest: brian mulcahey's "bite-mare!"

okay...

so sharon and i are out the door, on our way down to baltimore to meet up with craig and trish and matt and suzanne and rod and leanne and kelly and lauren and...
you get the idea.
come and see us at the BALTIMORE COMICCON! we're there all weekend and we'll be doing tricks!

did i mention brian?
brian will be there too! but before he left, he sent me this rockin' entry for the perhapanauts scary halloween contest! and this one, i think, you will need all weekend to digest! ah-ah-ahhh! (did that sound like the count? i was trying to sound like the count.)

and before i go; for those you you who have yet to send me YOUR cool entries, get 'em in! we still have a few weeks 'til halloween and i'm dying to be scared...!!
enough about me...

...my friends, i give you...

brian mulcahey's "BITE-MARE"!



PAGE 1

TITLE: Todd and Craig’s The Perhapanauts in “Bite-Mare”

CREDITS: brian mulcahy–– words frank frazetta –– pictures rico –– colors

PANEL 1

DESCRIPTION The setting is a Victorian era bedroom. Molly, in human, not ghost, form, is sitting up in a big canopy bed. She is dressed in an empire waist nightgown and her hand is reaching up to the small gold cross hanging from a delicate chain around her neck. Her gaze is blank, as if she is in a trance.

BALLOON Come to the window (word balloon comes from off panel)

MOLLY yes

PANEL 2

DESCRIPTION Molly is now out of the bed and walking toward the window. The window is large and similar to a set of french doors with multiple panes of glass and opens from the center like a set of double doors. Across the window is a string of garlic. There is a full moon and we can make out a Dracula shaped silhouette just outside the window. We see that the cross is now in her hand dangling from a now broken chain.

BALLOON Open the window (word balloon from the Dracula shaped silhouette on the other side of the window)

MOLLY yes, I will

PANEL 3

DESCRIPTION Molly has swung open both sides of the window using both arms. We see that the act of opening the window has broken the string of garlic. We still only see the figure outside the window in silhouette.

PANEL 4

SILHOUETTE Invite me in?

MOLLY yes

PAGE 2

PANEL 1

DESCRIPTION Straight on shot of Choopie in full Bela Lugosi - black tux with tails, white vest, shirt and bow tie and long black cape with red satin lining – floating in through the now open window. Choopie’s arms are reaching toward Molly and his fangs are visible.

CHOOPIE I vant to drink your blood

PANEL 2

DESCRIPTION Tight shot of Molly and Choopie. Molly’s eyes show that she is still in a trance. She is leaning her head to one side, exposing her neck as Choopie descends upon her, his fangs poised above her flesh, ready to strike.

PANEL 3

DESCRIPTION Camera pulls back. MG, in Victorian garb, but still wearing his signature sunglasses, is now in the picture thrusting a large wooden cross between Choopie and Molly causing Choopie to recoil, floating back and away from Molly.

CHOOPIE ARRRRGH! Curse you Van Helsing

MG Back! Back into the twilight you vile creature!

PANEL 4

DESCRIPTION Choopie’s expression has now changed from one of fear and disgust to one of his classic puzzled looks.

CHOOPIE Dude! It’s the 1890’s and the middle of the night, what’s up with the sunglasses?

PAGE 3



PANEL 1

DESCRIPTION Camera pulls back for a wide shot that reveals Molly’s Victorian bedroom is, in actuality, a movie set. We now see that Choopie has been floating thanks to a set of wires hanging from a boom arm above the set. Big, dressed in classic Director’s gear, comes striding onto the set.

BIG CUT!

BIG Yeah, MG, babe, can we lose the sunglasses?

PANEL 2

DESCRIPTION A make up woman appears at Molly’s side and start’s freshening up her face while two crew members help to lower Choopie to the ground. MG and Big are talking to each other.

MG But, Biggie, the sunglasses are my ‘thing,” and the gals love them.

BIG But don’t you think the ladies would love it even more if they could see your beautiful . . . say, just what color are your eyes anyway?

MG My eyes, why they’re . . .

PANEL 3

DESCRIPTION Arisa, doing her best Ari Gold impersonation, arrives at MG’s side dressed in a very expensive looking suit holding a legal looking document.

ARISA A mystery and they’re going to stay that way. Those sunglasses are part of MG’s new “Mystery Guy” line of eyewear that we are debuting when the movie opens and they’re staying on, it’s right here in his contract.

PANEL 4

DESCRIPTION Big, the contract in his hand, looks down at it incredulously.

BIG Son of a . . .

PANEL 5

DESCRIPTION Big turns to a young man with a ball cap pulled down over his eyes, wearing a long army surplus looking jacket and holding one of those black and white scene clappers.

BIG Get me Joann at the Studio, I want to know what genius thought a character who always wears sunglasses was a good idea!

NIX Right away, Mr. Big

BIG On second thought, nix that idea and just bring a bottle of Hammerskold schnapps, to my trailer.

PAGE 4

PANEL 1

DESCRIPTION Molly is standing wide eyed and looking a little lost in the middle of the panel as Choopie, MG and Arisa, with Arisa wrapping her arm around MG’s and Big and Nix walk out of the panel in different directions.

CHOOPIE I need pie

BIG Serenity now, serenity now, serenity now.

ARISA Let’s go back to your trailer.

MG It’s like you can read my mind.

MOLLY Guys? Hey, guys, like, what about . . . the scene?

PANEL 2

DESCRIPTION Molly is now standing alone on the set, looking a little down.

MOLLY Oh man, sometimes I feel like I’m invisible, like no one can see me.

PANEL 3

DESCRIPTION Nick and Jim, a/k/a Todd and Craig, have walked on to the set.
Both men are very well put together, very metro-sexual

NICK Well, we can see you, Molly.

JIM And, Sweetie, we thought you were wonderful.

MOLLY Yeah, but like you guys have to say that, you’re my agents.

PANEL 4

DESCRIPTION Close shot of Nick

NICK Yes, but that doesn’t make what we say any less true.

PANEL 5

DESCRIPTION Molly, a big, happy smile on her face, gives Nick and Jim, a big, exuberant hug.

MOLLY Awww, thanks guys, you two are like the best Dads a girl could ever have.

PAGE 5

PANEL 1

DESCRIPTION Tight shot of Molly,’s face, her eyes are closed and she has a big happy smile.

BALLOON Ms. MacAllistar . . . Molly . . . (balloon comes from off panel)

PANEL 2

DESCRIPTION Camera pulls back to show Molly standing in a 1950’s farm house kitchen dressed as June Lockhart from the old Timmy and Lassie TV show. The young man with the ball cap pulled down over his eyes, wearing a long army surplus looking jacket, is standing beside her and holding one of those black and white scene clappers.

NIX We’re ready to shoot whenever you are.

MOLLY What? Oh . . . Yes, yes I’m, like ready.

PANEL 3

DESCRIPTION Tight shot of the black and white scene clapper banging shut. On it is written the following: “Episode: Timmy’s Down the Well, Again. Episode 6, Scene 6, Take 6”

BALLOON Cue the mutt . . . and Action! (balloon from off panel)

PANEL 4

DESCRIPTION Choopie, on all fours running like a dog, bursts through the back door to the kitchen.

CHOOPIE Arf, arf, arf, arf.

MOLLY What is it girl? What’s the matter? Is it Timmy? Is Timmy in . . .

PANEL 5

DESCRIPTION Molly crouches down and places her hands on either side of Choopie’s head to steady it to get a better look. She and the reader can now see that there is blood dripping off of Choopie’s fangs.

MOLLY Wait, is this blood? Like, this was not in the script. Does anyone have the script?




PAGE 6

PANEL 1

DESCRIPTION Arissa, still dressed as MG’s agent, approaches Molly holding out to her an open script.

ARISSA Here you are, Mols

PANEL 2

DESCRIPTION Molly is looking down at the script in her hands, a puzzled look on her face. On the left hand side page of the script is just the word “EKAW” and on the right hand side, just the word “PU!” Arissa is staring intently at Molly, while around them, the farm kitchen set, including Choopie, is starting to fade away.

MOLLY Arissa, I . . . I don’t understand.

ARISSA Yes you do, Mols, you have to. Look again.

PANEL 3

DESCRIPTION Molly and Arissa are now totally surrounded by the dark and appear to be floating. Arissa is now dressed in her Blue Team uniform and Molly is in her sweat pants and “Boo” t-shirt. On the left hand side page of the script, the word now reads “WAKE” while the word on the right hand side now reads “UP!”

MOLLY Wake up?

ARISSA Yes, Mols! Wake Up,

PANEL 4

DESCRIPTION Molly is now floating in the dark alone, expect for a large pair of sinister, beastial, burning eyes, floating ominously in the dark behind her.

ARISSA WAKE UP, NOW! (Rather than in a balloon, Arissa’s words float in the darkness around Molly.

PAGE 7

PANEL 1

DESCRIPTION Molly’s bedroom at Bedlam. Molly is lying in bed, her eyes now wide open staring in shock at the cat like creature with bat wings sitting on her chest. The creature is the same ghostly light blue as Molly in her ghost form and it’s eyes show surprise that she is awake as they stare back at her.

PANEL 2

DESCRIPTION Molly sits bolt up right in bed sending the creature flyng into the air. As soon as the creature is off of Molly’s chest, its color changes from Molly’s light blue to its natural black. In the background, we can see MG, Choopie and Big bursting through the door. MG is in the lead with an electrified net in his hand ready to be thrown over the creature, Choopie is brandishing his Mess-You-Up gun and Big is taking up the rear to block the door to prevent the creature from escaping.

MOLLY AAAAAHHHHHHHH!

CHOOPIE GET IT, MG, GET IT!

PANEL 3

DESCRIPTION MG, having successfully gotten the net over the creature, is lying on the floor, holding the net down to prevent the creature from escaping. Choopie is standing on MG’s back aiming his gun at the creature. In the background, at the door, Big has moved to one side allowing Arissa to enter the room. Molly is now knelling at the end of her bed looking down at MG, Choopie and the creature.

CHOOPIE Go ahead, punk, make my day.

MOLLY What is that thing?.

PAGE 8

PANEL 1

DESCRIPTION Arissa is now sitting on the bed beside Molly as the boys haul the creature out of the room. MG and Big are carrying it with Choopie bringing up the rear covering it with his gun.

ARISSA It’s a Psychic-Vampire, Mols. It feeds on energy instead of blood and you, being almost pure energy are like an all you can eat buffet to it.

MOLLY Oh . . . and, like, ewwwww!

MOLLY It looked like a cross between a cat and a bat, what’s up with that.



PANEL 2

ARISSA No one really knows, Mols, but most likely its cat-like appearance is what gave rise to the old-wives tale about cat’s sucking out a baby’s breath or soul.

ARISSA Sorry I had to enter your mind uninvited, Mols, but it was our only hope of saving you.

MOLLY No worries, Arisa, but why couldn’t you guys just bust in and grab it?

PANEL 3

ARISSA Psychic-Vampires control their victims by manipulating their dreams. They show you your heart’s desire so that you don’t notice you are being drained dry until it is too late.

ARRISA When the creature connected with you, it somehow affected the materials your room is made out of and created an impassable energy barrier. Big figured that waking you would break the connection and the barrier.

PANEL 4

MOLLY Wow! And you say that the dreams the psychic-vampire caused me to have showed what I wanted most in life.

ARRISA Yes, why, what did you dream about.


PANEL 5

DESCRIPTION Molly gives Arissa a big hug

MOLLY You guys, Arrisa, you guys.


FIN

The Perhapanauts™ Copyright © 2009 Todd Dezago & Craig Rousseau.
All Rights Reserved. All characters featured herein and the distinctive
Likenesses thereof are trademarks of Todd Dezago & Craig Rousseau.

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

see ya monday!
smell ya later!
todd

haps halloween contest: hob goblin's "perhapanauts halloween"!

okay...

our second entry here in the PERHAPANAUTS SCARY HALLOWEEN CONTEST is from my old friend and fellow paranormal researcher, jared ather (working here under his seasonal pen name...) jared created two pieces for the event; a spooky, ethereal depiction of our resident bigfoot, chupacabra, and mothman and a more fun image of choopie in one of his favorite costumes. without further ado, i give you

hob goblin's "perhapanauts halloween"!







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

our baltimore comiccon perhapanauts exclusive!

...well, maybe not entirely exclusive...
but you'll be able to pick yours up first at the con this weekend!
that's right, i'm talkin' about our second in a series, way-cool, awesome PERHAPANAUTS BUTTON featuring KARL, the MOTHMAN!! just a buck a piece, if these are anything like the CHOOPIE BUTTONS from last year, they're gonna sell like hotcakes! and if you can't make it to the show, the karl button will be available through our perhapanauts store sometime in the very near future!



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

The Mike Wieringo Scholarship
and
The Mike Wieringo Humane Society Booth at Baltimore


as you all know, two years ago, matt and suzanne created the mike wieringo scholarship at s.c.a.d. and, as always, will have their table right next to ours to help raise monies for the fund.
also, present at the entrance to the baltimore show, will be the mike wieringo humane society booth, raising money for the humane society in mike's name as mike cared so very much for all animals all around the world.
this year, exclusive to the baltimore comiccon, matt and i will be offering the TELLOS print below, drawn by mike, inked by rob stull, and colored by paul mounts. you can get this 8.5 x 11 print for a donation of $5 at the RINGO Scholarship table or from 12-1 on saturday at the humane society table!
this print is exclusive to the show and won't be available anywhere else. come and support one of these great causes!




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

smell ya later~!
todd

haps halloween contest: nic carcieri's "pukwudgie"

okay...

i've been getting ALL KINDS of awesome submissions for the PERHAPANAUTS SCARY HALLOWEEN CONTEST and i just can't wait for you to see these! i've got some great stuff from brian mulcahy, jared ather, warren newsome--and the entries just keep rolling in! you got one?! get it in here!

our first entry is from our pal, nic carcieri--aka portal comics on the boards--with a spooky tale filled with that great new england flavor! ladies and gentlemen, i give you, nic carcieri's

PUKWUDGIE







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

as noted here last week, craig and i are getting all geared up for marc nathan's BALTIMORE COMICCON this coming weekend so if you're gonna be in the baltimore area, come on down and say hey--we'd love to see ya!
i had also said that i would be hosting a panel called "SPOTLIGHT ON NICK CARDY" put together by our pal, roger ash. sadly, though, nick took a little spill outside his side door the other day and, while he didn't break or sprain anything, he is quite sore. and for a guy going on either 89 or 90 (we really don't know which...) we thought it would be best if he stayed home and got some rest and give his muscles time to heal properly. (it's too bad 'cause he and i had worked up a little vaudeville routine with a soft shoe dance and everything...well, it'll be even better next year...!)



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

the answers to your
"five for friday"

1. name all five "apes" movies in order.

planet of the apes (1968)
beneath the planet of the apes (1970)
escape from the planet of the apes (1971)
conquest of the planet of the apes (1972)
battle for the planet of the apes (1973)

2. what was the name of the orangutan in "every which way but loose"?

clyde

3. what was the name of the ape in dc's "angel and the ape"?

sam simeon

4. what legendary comics artist created "monkeyman and o'brien"?

art adams

5. what was the name of the 1980's matthew brodrick film that garnered so much trouble from the humane society over the treatment of the monkeys?

project x

* extra credit~~ name the monkees!

mickey dolenz, davy jones, mike nesmith, peter tork

more on wednesday!
smell ya later~!
todd

thursday's bitch

okay...

happy friday, perhapa-pals!

so my dvr can only record two shows simultaneously. which is awesome. except on thursday nights.

thursday nights--once my favorite night of television--is now a bane to me. how could you do this to me, thursday night? how could you betray me, my old must-see-tv friend?
i mean, i'll never miss that nbc line-up of great comedy--the office, the returning-this-week 30 rock, those great weekend updates, community seems funny so far, and parks and recreation actually had me laughing out loud last night...
sharon got me hooked on grey's anatomy a few years back and now add the new flash forward (jury's still out), makes abc the second night to save.
and now fox moves fringe to thursday...

so i go into the bedroom and i dust off the vcr and i try to remember how to turn it on and what a tape looks like and then, of course, how to freakin' program the thing...then, the tape is old and the picture rolls and i miss the episode comepletely---unless i want to watch it like that.
is this what it's come to? pretty soon i'll have to use a remote control that is actually attached to the tv by a long black wire!! or maybe adjust the rabbit ears and hope that i can pick up the signal. or, what else...read?!?!
(and i should--we ALL should--but that's for another post...)

so thank you tv, for making my once wonderful, enjoyable relaxing thursday into a total frustration.
oh, and by the way--that's sarcasm.

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

some of you may have noticed that, over the past month or so, i've headed off several of my perhapablog posts with these images of choopie, big, karl, and molly--


CHUPACABRA





BIGFOOT
SASQUATCH




MOTHMAN





GHOST


the idea is branding. getting the images of our favorite cryptids (and one apparition) out there into the public arena where, hopefully, some curious surfers might check 'em out. i figure if i post and label these images enough, eventually they would be the images that come up when you google chupacabra, bigfoot, mothman and soon become a familiar icon for each creature. i dunno--maybe i'm wasting my time...
but it couldn't hurt.

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

i'm running late, but everyone's been asking where the trivia is these days, so i jumped back and grabbed a vintage ape "five for friday" for you all to have fun with! hope you dig 'em!


"five for friday"

1. name all five "apes" movies in order.

2. what was the name of the orangutan in "every which way but loose"?

3. what was the name of the ape in dc's "angel and the ape"?

4. what legendary comics artist created "monkeyman and o'brien"?

5. what was the name of the 1980's matthew brodrick film that garnered so much trouble from the humane society over the treatment of the monkeys?

* extra credit~~ name the monkees!

have a good weekend!
smell ya later!
todd

old hag phenomenon

okay...

i realize that this time of year, what with kids going back to school and the days getting shorter (and shorter and shorter, doesn't it seem...?), that it's easy to forget doing a little something fun for yourself--and for us! this is just my quiet little reminder to grab yourself a little "me time" and write up that short story or get the crayons out and do up that quick pin-up for our perhapanauts halloween contest! i have a few entries already and plan to start posting them next week for all to enjoy and admire! and maybe have nightmares over... so get on board the haunted hayride and show us whatcha got! it'll be fun!

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

i'm still pretty beat from all the reunioning i've been doing these past few weeks and so i went over to YOUR TRUE TALES at about.com and borrowed this account of an old hag encounter.
for those of you not familiar, the old hag phenomenon--also known as the old hag syndrome--is one that has been recorded all over the world and usually involves the subject waking up in the middle of the night to find an old woman seated or standing beside the bed. sometimes there is a physical connection, most times not. the kick of it is, almost all reports describe this crone in exactly the same way; and ancient and dirty old woman, usually surrounded by a foul odor resembling death.
while most say that their encounters are terrifying and that the woman is sinister and menacing, some have claimed that she appears in order to assist or warn the subject of impending trouble.

anyway, here's scott's tale...


Old Hag Encounter
BY SCOTT D.
By Stephen Wagner, About.com

I have had several old hag encounters, and they continue to this day. My first encounter occurred when I was 21 years of age. I was staying the night at my then-girlfriend's house in Pemberton Near Wigan in Lancashire in the U.K. It was a warm June night in 1983 and I had just settled down on the couch. The house was a two-bedroom house and Sandra's parents were soundly asleep in the room opposite hers. Sandra had a mongrel dog called Trixie that slept on her bed.

As I said, it was a warm night and the humidity was high, making sleep difficult. About a half hour after everyone had settled, I heard footsteps padding down the carpeted stairs. My first thought was that it was Trixie and I waited with my eyes closed for her to lick my outstretched hand. As I waited, I felt the cushions of the settee depress as if someone was sitting beside me. I remember grinning, thinking that Sandra had sneaked down stairs and my luck was in. I waited for a moment for the customary caress of my cheek, but when it didn't come I opened my eyes.

From the light of the street lamp that shone through the curtains directly outside, I saw that I was alone. Then, an overwhelming sense of terror and danger swamped every fiber of my being. My limbs became instantly stiff and paralyzed, as did my throat and mouth. I couldn't even murmur, and yet all my senses -- sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste -- were fully alert. The most obnoxious stench of putrefaction filled the room, making me gag, as if something big and dead was rotting and decomposing beside me. A huge and deadly weight seemed to crush my chest, making it impossible for me to expand my lungs in order to draw breath. But all-pervading was that overwhelming sense of menace and evil.

The whole episode lasted only moments, but it felt like a lifetime. Then, as suddenly as it started, it was gone. I stayed awake all through that night and prayed for dawn. I have had other attacks like this since, but now, because I'm used to them, I can instill an inner calm within myself and the attacks are less severe because of this.





if you wanna check out other personal accounts of encounters with the weird, head on over to paranormal@about.com where stephen wagner puts up an awesome selection of scary stories each month from folks just like us!
anybody got a story they'd like to share...?

http://paranormal.about.com/od/trueghoststories/a/true_tales_09t.htm


gotta go~!
stuff to do!
smell ya later!
todd

bear with me

okay...

well, i'm once again recuperating from a wonderful reunion this weekend and, to the spectator gang or the ex-spectators or the dutchess expatriates or whatever they're calling us, thanks so much for a great time! it was so good to see you all!

but i'm truly beat today...
and my stomach hurts from laughing so much--reunions are a great ab workout!


and one last time, wendy--thanks for all you did.

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

so with the fall/autumn and halloween season swiftly approaching, i am sitting here looking at a flurry of awesome-looking horror movies that are coming out and promising myself that i'm gonna get out to see at least a couple of them.
(and wishing that matt and christian lived just down the road...)

a month or so ago, matt sent the trailer to this "this-could-actually-happen" film, carriers, that matt cleverly, hilariously labelled, "captain kirk meets captain trips."

the posters pretty much spell it out, and the trailer will make you shudder a bit...




i'm also looking forward to seeing jennifer's body--although screenwriter/producer diablo cody said that it did miserably at the box office on it's first weekend out--and the 2012 movie called, uh...2012. (though i've heard that that one doesn't really engage much of the real controversy and prophecies of this looming date of change... just the big disaster parts of it.)

pandorum looks really creepy.

but the one i'm dying to see is this one, paranormal activity. yes, it was shot on a blair witch budget and, yes, it's being marketed with a cool voyeuristic viral ads--but so waht? man, i love that shot-on-video look--to me it makes it all seem realer, like you're right there! i loved cloverfield--shaky camera and all! it's being released very small, with surveys online to get you to demand it come to your home town...i'm betting--and hoping--that it'll come close, 'cause i can't wait to see this!





that's it for today!
i gotta go!
smell ya later!
todd

does this blog make me look fat...?

okay...

not much to tell today. i've been trying to get a lot done this week so that i can go to my second reunion this weekend with a clear conscience, happy that i got all my work done. got a few more pages to finish on an ant-man script, but after that, i'm good to go.

while last week was my high school reunion, this week's is the reunion of a much smaller group--our old theater and school newspaper gang from college. most of us were theater jerks and we all worked on the school newspaper--the spectator--mostly 'cause it was a good place to hang out. this reunion was put together--single-handedly, i might add--by my friend, wendy, the same wendy that is now OUR wendy who graces us with her presence here on the blog! wendy made all the arrangements to make it happen and i can't wait to see everybody! thanks for doing all of this, wen--i know it's gonna be a great time!

so today's blog is really just a jumble, a bunch of images that i've grabbed off the internet here and there 'cause i thought they were cool for one reason or another. a couple of them i've had bouncing around on my desktop for months, not knowing what to do with them. but here they are--maybe you'll think they're cool too...?!


i love to see the power of nature, whether it be rain storms, snow storms, thunder storms, hurricanes, monsoons...this isn't a tornado, but a dust devil. i think the difference is that a dust devil starts from the ground up. i don't know. but it sure looks cool.






design/proposal for a futuristic, environmentally friendly floating city by belgian architect, vincent callebaut called lilypad. i'd go there.







back in the 60s, marx struck a line of goofy, wacky, deranged looking (a la big daddy roth's dragster racing rat fink) sports figures in plastic and they were all the rage. i saw this one--rocko the champ--on ebay and picked it up for less than the cost of shipping. my nephew tyler saw it and now it sits on the top shelf of his school locker, reminding him that he's a winner everyday. only, when i say winner, i mean loser. you're a loser, tyler, and you should read your uncle's freakin' blog! i read the stupid crap you write on your stupid facebook page! ass!
tyler took this picture of rocko and uses it as his facebook icon.






they just don't make movie posters like this anymore! no, i didn't save it for the sexy, deerskin bikini-clad cave babe. i love this poster 'cause it has all of the awesome qualities that made great B movie posters from the late 60s and early 70s groovy! the incredible artwork--you just don't see original artwork like that on movie posters...or in any advertising anymore...sad.)! that bold, striking title! that in-your-face challenge to SEE! SEE! SEE! listing all the many qualities of the picture! also, look at her hips!
they don't make hips like that anymore...!






if you own a computer and get email, i'm sure you've seen the guys who do the amazing street art/chalk art, creating these amazing optical illusions right there in the street. i liked this one 'cause it seemed a bit more ominous than most of those other shiny, happy, funny ones.

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perhapanauts halloween contest!---update!
oh, so--just so you know--i received our first two entries in the perhapanauts halloween contest already...a story and a picture. i'll begin posting them as them come in starting on october 1st. so if you were thinking, "man, i really oughta do something for that." now's the time to start! can't wait to see what y'all send in!
boo!


have a great weekend!
smell ya later!
todd

writers and artists!! the perhapanauts halloween contest!!

okay...

while i'm currently more excited about my SECOND reunion in as many weeks coming up this weekend--i can't wait, either, wendy!!--i'm also trying to get work done on the final issue of casper, another issue of marvel adventures ant-man (ultron!!) (sorta...), the next arc of perhapanauts excitement (of course!), and a few stories for the comics version of the all-new, kid-tastic, cartoon smash sensation--The MARVEL SUPER HERO SQUAD!! you can catch the show on saturday mornings on cartoon network and see some of your favorite marvel characters in some of the silliest stories yet! it's lotsa fun and I'M having lotsa fun pretending i'm six again (really, not a big stretch...) and having the hulk use modok as a pinata! i'm honestly not sure which issues my stories will be in--but the first issue of the comic is in stores now!-- i'll letcha know when my own batch of silliness begins...!



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

SPOTLIGHT ON NICK CARDY!
at the Baltimore ComicCon!

it's only two and a half more weeks until the big ol' baltimore comiccon and i am also working on a presentation/panel with nick called SPOTLIGHT ON NICK CARDY! if you're going to be at the show, make sure you don't miss this once in a lifetime event! now, for the first time ever, YOU can hear the amazing story of this amazing artist's amazing career! nick will reflect on his early days as an artist, his years at dc, his work on classics like aquaman, the teen titans, and brave and the bold, and his process behind the creation of some of the most iconic and dynamic comic book covers the industry has ever seen!
come and help us celebrate the legend!







also, i told nick there'd be more people at his spotlight than at the one for neal adams...

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

from the 6th GRADE HUMOR Dept.



somebody should tell them...

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

THE CONTEST!

so i mentioned a few weeks ago that we should have a halloween themed perhapanauts contest and open it up to both writers (short stories, poems, haikus) and artists (pin-ups, covers, short strips). a few of you responded positively, so let's make it official!

the rules are simple--create a halloween-themed piece featuring one or more characters from the perhapanauts. it can be scary or funny, creepy or crazy, trick or treat. we will run entries as they arrive, deadline for contest is wednesday, october 28th. a panel of judges will choose a winner in each category, the winner will receive a signed copy of the perhapanauts : triangle trade, a perhapanauts t-shirt, and some other perhapanauts loot. all are welcome to participate. have fun.
there ya go! get out those pencils and imaginations!
let's make this a scary halloween!

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

smell ya later!
todd

montauk monster in panama...and more pig...

okay...

rich sent this over to me on friday and, though i had already posted the pig/prank story (more on that below), i just couldn't wait to share this breaking cryptid news!!!

check this craziness out--!!


New 'Montauk Monster' spotted in Panama
A mystery creature reportedly beaten to death by a group of teenagers in Panama is the subject of much speculation on the web.


Photo: TELEMETRO

The beast's hooked claw may indicate that it was a sloth
The beast's hairless, rubbery body and revolting features have drawn comparisons with the Montauk Monster, the still-unidentified animal photographed on a New York beach last year.
According to reports in Panama, the teenagers spotted the creature crawling out of a cave while playing in the town of Cerro Azul north of Panama City.


Fearing for the safety as it moved towards them, the youths claim they attacked the beast with sticks before throwing its lifeless body into a pool of water.
They returned later to take pictures of the corpse which were then posted on the website of the Central American country's Telemetro television station.
The images have since bounced around various cryptozoology blogs, with several explanations suggested for what it might have been.
A hooked claw visible in one of the photos has been cited as evidence for the popular theory that the creature was a sloth that somehow lost its hair.
The so-called Montauk Monster provoked intense speculation when photos allegedly taken at the Long Island resort where it was washed up were posted on Gawker, the US gossip website.
It was variously identified as a dead dog, a disused film prop and a marketing stunt, but its remains have never been found.

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as far as the pig goes, here's the follow-up;
initially i said that mike and i were planning on leaving a greased pig in the school that night. ultimately we didn't grease the little football up 'cause we weren't sure that the grease we found would be safe for the little fella. also, we made arrangements with our friend, brent hobson, to have him 'offer' to take the pig back to leib's farm the next morning--so that the little guy's high school adventure wouldn't be too long (or, hopefully, too traumatic!)

so we got the pig in there and, though none of the faculty were hip to who did it, most of the student body were definitely in the loop and mike and ray and i were heroes for the next few days.

and, a few days later, mike went into the darkroom located at the back of the shop--industrial arts lab for all you kids out there--and he and our other pal, bernie o'callaghan, developed the pictures so that mike and ray and i would have one for posterity, to dig out at our, i don't know, high school reunion and relive those glory days. at some point...allegedly...one of the proofs came out a bit blurry and bernie threw it in the trash. mike had been meticulous about making sure that there was no evidence left behind. if you knew him, you'd know what i mean. if you knew bernie...you can SO see him doing this.
eventually, the photography club advisor, mr. brady, discovered the discarded print and took it to the principal, mr. sacco.
who sat on it.
for months.
until graduation.

now i was never what you'd call an excellent student. i learned a lot in school and absorbed, apparently, a lot more than i ever knew, but i was more there for the fun and the socialization. so i was just as shocked as anyone when my name was called and i was asked to come to the front of the group. and then mike's name was called. and then ray's. and would you believe we actually stood there for a moment looking at each other with these dumb looks on our faces before we suddenly realized what it was we had in common...?!

"you may remember," our principal, mr. sacco, said as he addressed the curious crowd, "that our school was honored by a visit from a small pig back in january..."
the three of us just stood there, not sure what exactly was coming down. were we about to be expelled from school forever, now, on the very verge of graduation? booed and humiliated by all? worse, was mr. hryshko going to suddenly appear from the back of the tent (we had our graduation in a tent because somebody burned down our gym) and pummel us in a murderous act of revenge???

"ladies and gentlemen, i give you the three young men responsible for that visit."
a cheer went up from our classmates behind us. laughter and applause were quickly followed by a standing ovation, my dad making eye contact with mike's dad in a moment of true fatherly pride.* the three of us breathed a sigh of relief.

* unbeknownst to us at the time, our dads, as members of the high school basketball team way back when, had brought a cow into the school one night and took it upstairs, knowing that cows refuse to be led downstairs. a harness had to be made and the cow lowered out an upstairs window to get it home.

on the few occasions i had to speak with mr. hryshko following graduation, i tried earnestly to let him know that the pig in his classroom was never meant to be an affront to him in any way. i never felt completely successful in this. at the wake of a good friend's mother, some friends and i were talking with him as he went around the small circle asking what each of us were pursuing in college. when he came to me i tentatively said, "theater and communications."

"really, mr. dezago?", he said. "i would have thought that you would have gone into the field of agriculture or animal husbandry."

the other guys laughed so hard, we got glares from the other mourners.



i had a truly fantastic time this weekend with my old friends and high school classmates at our reunion, reliving that story and a bunch of others. i highly recommend that you go to yours when the time comes--i know a whole bunch of people who are going to regret missing ours in the next few weeks...

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



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

the answers to your
"five for friday"

1. who played the professor on gilligan's island?

russell johnson

2. what was the name of the blues brothers first album?

briefcase full of blues

3. what were the first names of the two czech wild and crazy guys, the festrunk brothers?

georg and yortuk

4. where should the reciprocating variable tumbler go?

up front, just above the primary lead tumbler.*
(*except in a yale guardsman where the variable tumbler is eliminated entirely.)

5. how did the principal find out about the pig...?

well, now you know...

happy monday!
smell ya later!
todd

the senior committee on pranks

okay...

so, i'm talking with my friend, mike johnson, in study hall.
we're trying to decide what we were going to do for our (first) senior prank.
it had to be wild, it had to be crazy, and it had to be practical--no one gets hurt.
mike was the class president, i was the class...clown. we were great friends and big into saturday night live. (a year or so before that i had memorized and learned to recite steve martin's comedy bits word for word and had risen to the top in the high school comedy world.) when we were together, mike and i were the festrunk brothers, the outrageous czech guys who hit on all the foxes and said the word 'buttocks' a lot.
this time though, we were going to be the blues brothers, jake and elwood, on a mission from god--or maybe better, bluto and d-day...although, to tell you the truth, i think we were both belushi...

we agreed that a greased pig would be the best. getting into the school at night wouldn't be a problem. my dad had been a cop in the city when i was little and had confiscated a few sets of really nice lock picking tools over the years and had taught me how to use them. we talked to one of our friends who we knew worked on a farm and we asked him, very secretively, where a couple of young guys like us could find a piglet and if he'd be into helping us 'borrow' one from someone. that's how ray krumenacker got involved.

ray thought it would be a lot easier if he went and stole the pig alone--less chance for noise and the other pigs wouldn't get so riled up. so it was agreed that we'd meet him at 8:00. my only job was gonna be getting into the school, which ray was pretty skeptical about, mike said, you just bring the pig, we'll get him where he needs to go.
i can remember mike coming into my house, both of us dressed in dark clothes, our faces blackened like on hogan's heroes, and my father asking what we were up to. the less you know the better, we told him , and drove off into the night. i remember the blues brothers 'groove me' blasting on the radio as the headlights of mike's dad's volkswagen scirroco bounced off the puddles on ackert hook road, reflecting up into the trees, into the night, as we sang and laughed and yelled at each other in ridiculous eastern european accents.

we met ray at the predetermined location, he in a beat up volkswagen of his own. somewhere along the line, ray had picked up a couple friends of his, juniors, mark welch and albert curnan, who had been hitchhiking down the road. apparently, having a pig in a burlap bag in the back seat was too much for ray to keep to himself and the idea of picking these guys up and telling one of them to sit in the back with the pig was one of those can't pass up moments. ha! i woulda done the same thing.

now it was time for me to get us in and i was pretty confident...until i saw that the school had recently replaced the old kwickset locks with these brand new, state of the art, schlage 1150's, the lock that had the reciprocating variable tumbler in the back!! i didn't have a pick that was long enough to reach back there and for just a second i thought we were sunk. then i remembered that far in the rear of the school, outside the building, was a grating that was locked with a basic master lock i had tricked once or twice for kicks and knew that we had a way in.

telling ray--and mark and albert--to sit with the pig in the car out front and wait for us to come to the front door, we went around the back of the school and i popped the lock. unfortunately, it meant that mike and i had to get in through the cinder block tunnels--roughly about 2 feet high and three feet wide--that labyrinthed under the school, housing the big green iron water pipes. so like bronson in the great escape, we crawled the length of the school, roughly 300 yards, and came up in the boiler room.

it took forever.
we were sure that ray and they guys--plus our new little pal--would be long gone.

but they had faith.
we let them in, posed for a picture--mike was in the photography club and terrific photographer--and i picked the lock to the classroom we we going to leave him in. (i will say now, this was never meant to be personal on mr. hryshko. we just didn't want to leave the little guy running the halls of the school--a classroom would be a little more cozy--and we were just trying to figure out which teacher's reaction would be the best. mr. hryshko was the obvious choice.)

it was a good night.


back: me, mark welch
front: mike johnson, ray krumenacker, albert curnan
down front: a pig

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

i don't watch the news, i don't read the news--the only news i get is from jon stewart and that seems to be enough.

i don't watch or read it 'cause:
1.) the news is usually very depressing and at times will make you feel extremely powerless
and
b.) the big news agencies are all owned by major corporations now so you know it's gonna be "corporately edited"...

so i don't get the news and am usually pretty outta the loop.
but i do glance over the AP news i get on my yahoo home page and so i know what they'd like you to think are the top stories of the hour...
anyway, not being a news guy and not being up on all things current, i still would like to introduce this new feature i'm calling

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
this is where i will randomly select a photo from the news feed on any of the ones that come my way, and comment on it.
for example;

this is senator max baucus (D-Montana) who is currently on the finance committee looking into the american health care situation.



my comment:
he looks a lot like the professor from gilligan's island

and that's how that's gonna go.

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

"five for friday"

1. who played the professor on gilligan's island?

2. what was the name of the blues brothers first album?

3. what were the first names of the two czech wild and crazy guys, the festrunk brothers?

4. where should the reciprocating variable tumbler go?

5. how did the principal find out about the pig...?

i'm off to do reunion things.
have a great weekend!
smell ya later!
todd

night of the pig!

okay...


what kind of mood are you in?

if you're in the mood to see something that even i found incredibly disturbing, check out this wonderful story--with picture--of a crazy little parasitic isopod that lives in the mouth of other fish. (yes, i know, technically speaking isopd 's aren't fish, but it just rolled out so smoothly...) rich woodall hooked me up with this as i was eating my dinner last night. thanks, rich.


http://io9.com/5357663/tongue+eating-parasites-attack-fish-near-normandy


and for more fun, make sure that you go back and read the comments on the thread below the story--have a nice nightmare...

also, next to this story, see the snake that was found in china growing a foot out of one side...
some weird stuff here. really.

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

i said last week that i was going to try to avoid too much personal stuff here on the blog and focus more on the paranormal and pop culture, but this weekend is my big--and long awaited--high school reunion and i thought i'd share this little article from my small town's paper from january of my senior year.




Rhinebeck Gazette Advertiser--January
Students Go Hog WIld in Non-Kosher Stunt
What Rhinebeck high school teacher John Hryshko found in the classroom Monday morning was definitely not kosher and probably caused him to cry "foul!"
Bringing an apple in for teacher is a time honored tradition among students, but some prankster evidently thought he'd go one better and brought in pork chops, bacon, and fresh hams for Hryshko. The only trouble was, the meat was still on the hoof.
Hryshko opened the door Monday morning to find a pig in his classroom. From scattered pieces of evidence, school officials deduced that the pig had been there the better part of the weekend. Also in the room was a neighborly note saying that the pig had belonged to Carole Leib of Ackert Hook Road.
High School Principal Jerome Sacco said he expected senior class pranksters were at the root of the escapade and said he was conducting an investigation. He noted that senior prank season usually began about this time every year.
Hryshko has a reputation for being one of the more strict faculty members at the high school. But Sacco said it was hard to tell whether the prank had been directed specifically at Hryshko, since he is not teaching seniors this year.
The room was cleaned up within 30 miinutes of the discovery but it took another two periods to air out the room to the point where it could be used for classes, Sacco said.
The pig, who was returned to Ms. Leib, declined to comment on the episode.


that's all you really need to know for now...

tune in friday for part 2.

have a great wednesday!
smell ya later!
todd