it's like being there
At Thanksgiving, a flesh eater’s fancy turns heavily to thoughts of a dead bird. What better time of year, then, for cartoonist Jay Fosgitt to serve up a pair of them?
Panel from Jay Fosgitt's "Dead Duck." (Image links to higher resolution file)
Meet Dead Duck, the title character of Fosgitt’s debut graphic novel, and his sidekick, Zombie Chick. They work for the Grim Reaper (aka J. P. Yorick); their task is to haul the reluctant chosen over to the other side (aka Rigormortitropolis) by any means necessary.
Happily for us all, bringing in the dead has always been a rich lode for historical references, literary allusions and rude humor.
“Dead Duck” takes off on all three, with riffs on the Salem witch trials, Beatlemania, the Canadian health care system, the Crusades, Punch and Judy, the “Vagina Monologues,” Chaucer, SCTV’s Doug and Bob McKenzie (Fosgitt has great affection for the Great White North), Nazi porn and blaxpliotation flicks, just to skim the colorful surface.
“Dead Duck,” Fosgitt freely advises, is “not profane, but it’s certainly not for little kids.”
The book, published by Ape Entertainment, is due out next month – though Fosgitt is expecting a FedEx delivery of 200 copies to his home today, according to his blog. The weekly comic also has been appearing since February at Apecmx.com. That’s where you’ll find Fosgitt’s commentary on his inspirations for that week’s strip and the technical aspects of cartooning, as well as other observations. And you’ll find Fosgitt at Ann Arbor’s Vault of Midnight on Main Street from 5-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 2, where he’ll talk about “Dead Duck” and sign copies of his book. [Full Story]
[Editor's note: Alvey Jones, an artist and partner with the WSG Gallery on Main Street, will be selling a limited number of Bezonki 2010 calendars and greeting cards at his booth at the Kerrytown BookFest on Sunday, Sept. 13 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.]
Spelling-challenged graffiti on the wall of the former Ann Arbor News building. [Photo]
Bloomberg reports on a UM study that found students who regularly eat school-provided lunches are more likely to be overweight and have higher cholesterol levels than those who eat meals from home. The article quotes UM medical professor Elizabeth Jackon, one of the study’s authors: “We need to partner with schools to help kids in a prevention way, so we don’t have to wait until they’re patients in the cardiologist’s office as adults.” [Source]
The Gov Monitor reports that Gov. Jennifer Granholm is in California meeting with Google executives to push for choosing a city in Michigan to test its high-speed fiber optic network. From the report: “Granholm is encouraging Michigan communities to submit applications for the trial network with several already in the works including, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and Lansing/East Lansing.” The article quotes Granholm: “Google fiber is a perfect fit here as no state can match the exploding new technology investment in Michigan in recent years.” [Source]
A March 1 article on local candidates for state legislative races incorrectly stated that candidates file their petitions to be on the ballot with the Secretary of State. For state House Districts 52, 53 and 54 and Senate District 18, those filings are made at the Washtenaw County clerk’s office. Campaign finance reports for all state races are made with the Secretary of State. We note the error here, and have corrected it in the original article.
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