New Classes, new interview

I’m teaching two Continuing Ed classes this fall: Mondays at the SVA and Tuesdays at the 92nd Street Y. You can browse curricula/registration links here:http://www.tomhart.net/teaching/

The classes are pretty similar, though the 92nd Street Y class is much more about comic strips, and the focus will be on short form much more than the SVA class.

I’ve also been refining my teaching pages a bit more. There’s a page of recommended books there now, and other links I’ve been trying to gather and organize. Do not miss Samm Schwartz! Master of the suit!

Finally, a new interview with me is up at The Daily Crosshatch: http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2007/08/13/interview-tom-hart-pt-3-of-3/

Billy Joyce, RIP

My mother’s father died this month. Billy Ray Joyce- a terrific guy. A thin, wirey strong man with great hair who liked to talk more than most other things. Claimed to be 1/16 Cherokee. Born in Oklahoma, most of his life spent in either Witchita KS or Joplin MO. His stint in WWII was spent mostly in Algeria, where he layed down tar and built runways for Allied planes. Got Asthma as a result but the 40 years smoking didn’t help either.Visited every state in the union in his RV (except HI.) Spent years nursing his wife - my grandmother- through Alzheimer’s disease. This picture of him with the beard he took himself, soon after my grandmother’s death. The beard was his way of grieving. He was a good guy.

Angry Criminal back online

I was recently digging through old web files and finally found a working copy of the Flash version of THE ANGRY CRIMINAL.

See! Stabbings (1), yellings (lots), smoking, snide and angry comments, great grimaces, pauses and gestures. I love this comic; I’m really proud of it.

http://www.tomhart.net/criminal/

Trashistan Overrun Chapter 3

This week’s strips advance the “Trashistan Overrun” story a little bit- the characters welcome an onlooking, possible citizen, while Dennis (now named Wormster in honor of a Donald Phelps misreading) makes his commitment to getting to that empty lot.

Writing this while watching Nosferatu, listening to Joe Frank, and finishing a cartoon for late August. Just read Jim Shepard’s version of the creation of Murnau’s film.

Recent grad, Margo Dabaie

Go read my essay about recent SVA grad, Margo Dabaie, at the Daily Crosshatch.

http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2007/08/06/tom-harts-sva-spotlight-margo-dabaie/

Rockabilly Kid

Not a lot to say about this week’s strips except I’m fond of them. I thunk up the idea of a pre-teen or young teen brand manager a long time ago, and realized he needed a very discernable style. Even if cliched, his youth would make it unique and thus he would have a brand. Kind of like Mini-Kiss. It had to be Rockabilly.

I doodled another “brand manager” for the past few months- a robotic alien looking thing, but when I put all his lines (except “chasing the kitties” maybe) into the Rockabilly Kid, it came out much funnier.

There are a number of stylistic errors: the ringed t-shirt first and foremost. Those errors are mine, and not the Kid’s, as his sense of the brand is flawless.