"Baked Alaska" #37-#40

Time once again to follow below the fold and review another seasonal set of the Baked Alaska series as published monthly by the Alaska Cannabist magazine: Up this post are buzzed mosquitoes, antics under edibles, legendary strains from Central America set to the strains of classic rock, and buttheaded billionaire bovines.

Yeah this one's pretty obvious pun, as I'm still picking off some of the low-hanging fruits as far content goes. I mean hey, it's still fresh & juicy off the vine, but I have been noticing more and more as of late that I'm starting to spin pretty far off the wheel when it comes to coming up with new material. In other words, brace yerselves for some really weird ones that'll start getting posted later on during the year. Or better yet, subscribe/advertise here for the really fresh stuff.

Good thing I don't have the slightest problem with coming across as somewhat slightly ever-so stupid: the really dumb ones (ie "so-bad-it's-good" category) are those are the precious little flakes of gold in the endless streams as I sluice out the nuggets.

Oh and a brief note on the actual science (update: bad link, try a couple other pages here instead: this one and also this one) behind the myth: somewhat similar to the lemmings and living in igloos - this isn't actually anything legitimate. Just doing my duty to disseminate dumb ideas spread some joy.

Next up is a relatively rare format for the funny: every so often I get the chance to spread my wings as it were, and stretch out a little with a multipaneled strip. Any chance to tell a longer story so as to slip in a few more funny scenarios.

This one also features a Fairbanks friend of old and a dispenser of local love and creative juices. And it showcases the diverse range of cultural traditions unique to our neck of the woods. I think that there's gotta be a local tour group who will guide any interested tourist wanting to participate in any of these fun-filled activities. *Just kidding, please don't try any of these at home on your own.

Doing thumbnails off to the side so as to sketch out any potentially problematic portrayals is an old (as in over 500 years old) trick my drawing instructor of many years turned me on to who learned in turn from the original Old Master himself, Leonardo da Vinci.

This was so far the one and only instance of a glitch in the production, pointing up the inherent risks associated with the commercial end of art, when somewhere along the supply chain there's bound to be a random error introduced that might affect the final version - so many variables. Kinda like the occasional shift in registration on the colored Sunday funnies, this issue had a wee little issue with the ratio as it looked somewhat squished. Really why I mention it is interesting that I actually take a lot of liberties in resizing/scaling things but as the artist I'll notice right away if it happens in print. Does the aesthetic effect the humor? Nope - and it's a bonus reason to score either the new book and/or the annual calendars to view and enjoy the work in all its intended glory. Or and make the annual exhibit as well to see a full-sized print and maybe pick up a poster too...

I know I must have mentioned it many times elsewhere across this blog, and I'm quite fond of saying it in presentations whenever asked about where my ideas come from, one of the best things about this job is the sheer eclectic nature of unrolling an idea across wherever it might take you. In other words, I learn so much while researching my cartoons, accumulating vast amounts of trivia and useless data, and so that's gotta be the reason why I forget so much obvious stuff like my anniversary, and/or the significant otter's birthday, to cite two completely random examples. Cough, cough. Anyways, now I know what the flag of Panama looks like, and so do you.

More importantly is the opportunity to remember a classic one, ah, HIT wonder (sorry/not sorry - now I had to turn aside and jot that one down for later) (obligatory hat-tip to the neighborhood joint).

Of course I'm refer, I mean, referring to the timeless tune from the New Rider of the Purple Sage. Bonus trivia in that I hadn't been aware of, or more likely spaced out the Jerry Garcia connection too.

Regular readers will recall my penchant for targeted appeal to obscure demographics, like in this case, fishermen familiar with both the terminology of certain species of salmon and one specific strain of weed all rolled up with some classic rock. This in turn fomented another funny that's way more ridiculous as I caught the proverbial limit on concepts for this run on ideas.

Lastly is one I'm just not gonna spend any more time on than I have to, because - regardless of how funny the cartoon is - the guy is an oversized asshole, as are most megalomaniac billionaires. Nope, not even gonna bother posting the final picture or any relevant linkage either. This is somewhat similar to an occasional accidental overlap with another namesake of the original dessert, which on occasion attracts the wrong audience, and so there is absolutely no confusion over what my exact opinion is about that one either.