This story takes us back a little further than we’ve gone before: all the way to April 1991. It’s the first (and one of the few I’ve ever done) comic in this series with dialogue, speech bubbles and the like: something to work on! But there’s still two more to come, which I’ll post later this week.

Speaking of which, I’ll be back in Minnesota in just about 13 hours, which means that it’ll be time to get back to work. Classes start on January 4th, and I’ll try to maintain a MWF updating schedule without affecting quality. The first Winter issue (5th overall) of the Carleton Comics Journal will be printed on the 8th, the Friday of first week. Some ideas are brewing, and while I’ll probably print some of the comics I’ve posted here during Winter Break, rest assured that there’ll be some new material from me, and plenty from others.

Title indeed lifted from the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ song of the same name. The time: July and August of 2001. The place: Midwest/Western United States.

Bonus points to those who recognize “Big Lou” somewhere in this comic.

This next one was featured in the 3rd issue of the Carleton Comics Journal. For reference, I should add that this one takes place the morning of December 13, 2004, and that the previous (Graduation) took place in May 2004.

I’ll be leaving for Florida later this afternoon, but will continue to update over this and next week until all 6 of the pages from my Comps are up. And I’ve started planning more in this story: there’s definitely a growing universe in there that I’d like to explore. See you Friday!

Back after a week’s hiatus, it’s time to post the remaining 6 pages from my Comps. Here’s the first, titled “Graduation”:

Well, it’s been a few weeks since it was due, so it’s about time to begin putting my Comps up here. For those not in the know: in the Studio Art department of Carleton, Comps is a final project, usually worked on in the fall or winter, that students complete for a faculty review at the end of the term. Then, students may continue to work on it (or something entirely different) for the spring’s Senior Show (scroll down for links to past shows). My finished work consists of three painted maps and six ink-and-watercolor comics pages. Here’s a view of the complete installation, which was in the main gallery in Boliou until yesterday:

And another view, with gallery space for reference:

Finally, here’s links to close-ups of the maps:

• Great Lakes Region
• Lower Lake Michigan
• Milwaukee (near General Mitchell International Airport)

A word on materials and such: the acrylic paintings were done on masonite panels from a previous project, the Figural Map of the Continental United States. I’m pretty sure I used the bottom three panels for these maps. The panels within the maps were drawn with sharpie on mylar, a semi-translucent paper, and were then nailed to the maps, floating about a quarter inch off the surface of the maps. Here’s a side view for reference:

That’s about it for the maps. I’ll post close-ups of the comics in the days to come.

Back by popular demand, it’s “Swingin’” Sid O’Malley! First introduced in this post, you can find pages 1 and 2 of his story in issues #3 and #4 of the Carleton Comics Journal. And now, here’s part 3:

Animal Collective (the band behind my favorite album of the year) just put out a five-song EP, Fall Be Kind. You can check out the cover art on the link there. I’m not a huge fan of blurry photography. So I made my own.

It’s a little retro, probably much more so than Animal Collective goes for on a day-to-day basis. But it was a fun exercise in Photoshop/Illustrator.

I drew the original in sharpie, which you can find after the jump.

So I drew that freehand, and then colored it digitally. I was trying to emulate Chris Ware’s style, especially the following cover:

(Images taken from the Carl Hammer Gallery’s website). Gotta love Ware! I was also trying not to incorporate outlines into the drawings, which I think succeeded in some parts (the trees) but could have been helpful with the text. Anyway, I just want to get past this without anyone suing me for copyright issues. But I think I’m in the home clear. Adios.

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been on a comics run, posting comics left and right with absolutely no regard for not posting comics or things that aren’t comics, like music lists. The run has been cut short, for now is the time for me to share with you my Top Ten Albums of 2009! Following the lead of one TJ Matzen, who recently numerated his picks, I’m going to list, in ascending order, my Top Ten Albums of 2009. I hope you’re ready:

10. The Hazards of Love – The Decemberists

• The Decemberists explore the fine line between overwrought concept album (each song contributes to the larger, mythical story arc), and a work with a few clearly outstanding pieces (“The Rake’s Song,” “Repaid”) that can stand alone. Each track flows seamlessly into the next, and recurring motifs, musically and lyrically, help to tie the entire album together, in addition to the narrative. Guest vocalist Shara Worden (the forest queen) steals the show from Decemberists’ frontman Colin Meloy, although his voice is generally not responsible for the band’s successes. I’ve unfortunately not been able to see The Decemberists perform live in the last few months, as I’ve heard that they play the album in its entirety at shows, guests and theatricality all included. Give this one a 7.4/10.

9. Noble Beast – Andrew Bird

• Andrew Bird’s fifth solo album is good. He is, as always, a talented multi-instrumentalist (guitar, violin, whistling) and songwriter. Noble Beast comes full circle, from the opener “Oh No” to final track “On Ho,” and while the intervening songs are all of a caliber, both in craft and substance, that we’ve come to expect from Andrew Bird, my biggest complaint is that the album lacks the important sign of artistic development. It’s as if, since performing as a solo artist, and maybe 2005’s Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs, Bird has hit a plateau, his ability to write good songs consistent, but not exploring new territory musically. I hope we’ll see that in the future. Nonetheless, Noble Beast is an excellent album, with a few stand-out tracks: “Fitz and the Dizzyspells,” “Nomenclature,” “Anonanimal” all come to mind. I give this album a 7.6.

8. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Phoenix

I like it when bands don’t self-title their debut album, but instead wait until they’re more well-established. Phoenix not only did that, but managed to reference arguably the most famous Classical composer in the same album title. There’s something charming about a band that suggests that they’re right up there with Mozart, whether sincerely or as a joke. The Classical-inspired elements of the album don’t end there: the lead single, “Lisztomania,” refers to German composer Franz Liszt, specifically audience response to his piano performances. The highlight of this album is “1901,” Pitchfork Music’s 228th-best song of the decade, and one of the better uses of a repeated “hey-ey-ey” in the chorus I’ve heard in quite a while. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix gets a 7.7 from me.

7. A New Tide – Gomez

A New Tide is most similar to Gomez’s 2006 release How We Operate. The group has matured, and mellowed over their 11 years in existence. A New Tide lacks the Southwestern-inspired faux-blues riffs of Bring It On, or the more traditional alt-rock energy of Split the Difference, but the album is more coherent than Gomez’s last few releases. With three main vocalists and songwriters in a five-man group, that’s no small feat. Past albums, while having more hit singles than A New Tide, also had more lulls in pacing, and more songs that felt incomplete. The 2009 release, on the other hand, stands as a single work that shows how well the group functions. The last song, “Sunset Gates,” is marvelous, and a perfect way bring the album to a close. I give A New Tide a score of 7.8/10.

6. Tonight: Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand

Tonight is a concept album, similar to but less cohesive than The Decemberists’ The Hazards of Love. Rather than the album being a larger narrative, though, each song on Tonight relates to the theme of the partying life, and all that comes with it. The music is more synth-based than Franz Ferdinand’s earlier guitar-driven dance rock, but in turn, that much more danceable. Apparently one of the tracks, “No You Girls,” uses a human skeleton for percussion. Pretty dark, eh? The bass/synth breakdown at the end of “Lucid Dreams” is wonderful, although it feels a bit like it should be the last track and the album continues for two songs afterwards. While it is much better than 2005’s You Could Have It So Much Better, this album doesn’t quite live up to the band’s debut album. However, Franz Ferdinand continues to show progression as a musical group, and Tonight is overall a success. I give it an 8.1.

5. Bitte Orca – Dirty Projectors

Breaking into the top half is Bitte Orca, the latest release from Dirty Projectors. I have to confess that this is the first album of theirs I’ve heard, but I’m starting to explore their earlier work and am liking what I hear. Bitte Orca (taking its title from the German word for ‘please,’ and, you know, what Shamu is), while standing at only 9 tracks long, has a lot of sounds on it – boy, does it have a lot of sounds. The driving beat of “Stillness is the Move,” the gentle guitar of “Two Doves,” the alternately abrasive and welcoming harmonies of “Useful Chamber” – it’s all there. Dirty Projectors defy classification as a group. Bitte Orca defies classification as a piece of music. 8.6/10!

4. I Think We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat – The Brighton Port Authority

Norman Cook (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim) is the driving force between The Brighton Port Authority (BPA), whose debut album was released this February. Cook produces the songs and collaborates with a different, often British, vocalist on each track, ranging from relative unknowns such as Olly Hite and Pete York to superstars David Byrne and Iggy Pop. The first track I heard, “Toe Jam,” with a great music video to boot, features Byrne and British rapper Dizzee Rascal. Cook embraces pop, evident in the radio-friendly “Seattle” and “Superman,” but is willing to experiment (“Jumps the Fence”). The eclecticism of this album wins me over, and two of its music videos are my favorite of the year. I award this album 8.8 points out of 10.

3. Veckatimest – Grizzly Bear

TJ’s top album of the year makes #3 on my list. I saw Grizzly Bear at the end of September in Minneapolis, a great show with a Carleton-heavy audience, to my pleasure. Veckatimest, the follow-up to 2006’s Yellow House is exquisite, at once familiar-sounding but offering a glimpse of something mysterious, like its namesake island. The album’s first single, “Two Weeks,” saw significant radio play, and served to draw in more pop-inclined listeners to Grizzly Bear’s unique mix of traditional and experimental sound. The sublime chorus of “While You Wait for the Others” after the bridge might well be the best moment in music of the year. Each member of the band contributes significantly to the album, from singers Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen, to bassist and woodwind player Chris Taylor and drummer Chris Bear (his real name). Veckatimest is hard to beat, and I give it a final score of 9.4.

2. Bromst – Dan Deacon

My favorite album art of the year, and an awesome, intimate but extremely energetic and fun show (at The Cave, no less), Dan Deacon not only met, but exceeded expectations based on 2007’s Spiderman of the Rings. From the slow fade in on the appropriately-titled “Build Voice” to closing track “Get Older,” Bromst continuously delivers enticing, strange sounds and rhythms in which to find yourself. I can’t hear “Of the Mountains” without remembering the interpretive dance performed at the concert in October. The glottal, vocal breakdown in “Snookered” marks an extraordinary point in the song and album: the fine combination of live recordings and computer-generated sounds that’s become Dan Deacon’s signature. In between electronic rhythms and noise, he even records a player piano, re-wired specifically for the album. Even the all-female vocal “Wet Wings,” eerie and haunting, layers over and over Steve Reich-esquely until you can hardly tell that the sounds were originally sung. That track is followed by “Woof Woof,” (Deacon obviously has a thing for alliteration), which samples a sound you might hear on a children’s toy keyboard, and which fits in perfectly. Bromst, a near-masterpiece, gets a 9.5/10: quite excellent.

1. Merriweather Post Pavilion – Animal Collective

What can I say about Merriweather Post Pavilion that hasn’t already been said by thousands of hipsters? To begin, 9.7/10. For sure. Anyway. Shackled with an unfortunate January release date, the album was hailed from the beginning as one of the best of the year, and it remains the most cohesive, well-crafted, consistently impressive work of the last twelve months. The title pays homage to Animal Collective’s home of Baltimore and its Gehry-designed concert venue. Each track on the album is sample-based, with some guitars and percussion (and a delightful jaw harp on “Lion in a Coma”). Stylistically, it is closer to band member Panda Bear’s 2007 album Person Pitch, and the band’s 2008 EP Water Curses, a transitional collection of songs. The lyrics in some songs are as impenetrable as ever, but others, especially in the singles “My Girls” and “Summertime Clothes” are downright heartfelt. “Bluish,” it must be said, might be the most romantic song Animal Collective has released to date. The arc of the album is strong, leading the listener from one musical idea to the next until the swooning “No More Runnin” gives way to the opening lyrics of “Brother Sport”: “Open up your, open up your, open up your throat”. The joyful six-minute track, a discourse on expressing one’s self in times of suffering and, implicitly, the importance of family (a theme in the album, see “My Girls” and “Daily Routine”) is the perfect ending to this album. The rhythmic break, punctuated with Avey Tare’s refrain “Whoo!” finally lead to the song’s closing chorus, a fade out stating that “You’re halfway to fully grown… won’t help to hold inside.” Some have called Merriweather Post Pavilion a tremendous step forward for Animal Collective. While the album does showcase their commitment to artistic growth and a tangible maturity on the part of the band members, I prefer to think of it as something more visceral and emotional: something that couldn’t be held inside. A long-awaited release.

Some of you are familiar with Jim/”Juice”/Jimmy D.

There will be more of J. Pronomowicz.

Oh hey everyone, it’s a whole new two-page True Story About. This time, the “about” refers to Graffiti, not in the broader, more general sense, but rather a specific instance of it. It happened one day in… well, I’ll let the story speak for itself.

It’s the first one in this series that I’ve written outside of area code 55057. Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good weekend.

Howdy! It’s been a few weeks since the last update, but with good reason. My Comps, as of one week ago today, has been turned in and not failed by the Studio Art professors! Cause for celebration, I would say. And what better way to do it than by posting the pages from the most recent, and most extravagant Carleton Comics Journal (cover designed by Kailyn Kent)? Let’s get on with it, then:

• Page 1 (Table of Contents)
• Page 2 (Interlude, p. 1)
• Page 3 (Interlude, p. 2)
• Page 4 (Interlude, p. 3)
• Page 5 (Interlude, p. 4)
• Page 6 (Interlude, p. 5)
• Page 7 (Human Waste)
• Page 8 (Swingin’ Sid)
• Page 9 (Hyperman #2, p. 6)
  
• Page 10 (Hyperman #2, p. 7)
• Page 11 (Hyperman #2, p. 8 )
• Page 12 (Hyperman #2, p. 9)
• Page 13 (Hyperman #2, p. 10)
• Page 14 (A Hole)
• Page 15 (Austin Hall)
  
• Page 16 (Without Definite Direction)
  
• Page 17 (Potential)
  
• Page 18 (Rocket, p. 1)
  
• The Back Cover

The issue, due to financial constraints, was unfortunately printed in black-and-white:

Financial constraints that will be solved come Winter Term, hopefully. In the meantime, our motto remains “Small donations are appreciated.” Until then, enjoy what joys late November and the month of December have to bring. One of those joys includes the Scott Collection’s resuming updating! See you on Friday.

It’s the Friday of an odd-numbered week in the Carleton trimester calendar, and you know what that means… another spanking issue of the Carleton Comics Journal! This week’s issue, while shorter than the previous, is no lacking in comic goodness: it features the work of freshman Jon Kittaka, who came out of nowhere and kicked us in the metaphorical testicles with his Hyperman comic, the first five pages of which appear in this issue, to be concluded in two weeks. Also featured is senior Austin Hall, whose comic raises a lot of interesting questions. Example: can you live with your uncertainty? That’s just one of them! I also put two comics in there, in addition to an ad seeking submissions. Next issue will be the last of Fall Term, and we hope to feature every artist who has been published already, in addition to a handful of new ones. But I’ve gone on for too long already. Here’s the cover, followed by links to each page:

• Page 1 (The Contents of This Issue)
• Page 2 (Hyperman #2, p. 1)
• Page 3 (Hyperman #2, p. 2)
  
• Page 4 (Hyperman #2, p. 3)
  
• Page 5 (Hyperman #2, p. 4)
  
• Page 6 (Hyperman #2, p. 5)
  
• Page 7 (Ad for Submissions)
  
• Page 8 (Returning) (rotated for ease of viewing)
  
• Page 9 (The Funky, Sexy Beginnings of “Swingin’” Sid O’Malley)
  
• Page 10 (Without Definite Direction)
  
• The Back Cover

To give you an idea of the scale, and the outrageousness of this cover, here’s a special image:

And, like Patrick says, “See ya in two weeks!”

It’s been a full year since I linked to all the sketches from Lenny Dee’s Fall ‘08 show, Welcome to Lenny Dee Town. Now another fall show has come and gone, leaving in its wake chuckles a-plenty. Thanks to Henry Moskowitz for use of his camera, my brother Jim for filming, and Nathan Riemer for tripod and putting the video on YouTube. Not coincidentally, you can find links to all the sketches on YouTube just below!

1. I’m a Mac
2. Bros (here titled “Don’t Trust a Bro”)
3. Custody
4. Mario & Order
5. Building a Party (currently only sound, no video… hopefully to be remedied soon)
6. Just Dance
7. Morning Television
8. Happy Hour (same problem as “Building a Party”)
9. One and a Half Men
10. Telekinetic and Telepathic Bros (in the program titled “Telekinetic Bros”)
11. Study Break (again no video)
12. Requiem for a Breakfast
13. Heavily

And the program from the show:

Dee-rector’s commentary to come soon!

Following the precedent set by TJ’s Feeding Milk to Chickens, it’s time to commemorate my blog’s one year-iversary (which was actually on October 21st)! This is the (official) 68th post of The Scott Collection, which collects all the previous ones into one extensive directory/list, to make your perusing all that easier. If you see a title/description you like, go ahead and click on it! I certainly won’t hunt you down and stop you. My personal favorites are in bold. Here’s what the first 67 posts have covered:

1. New-ish Blog (10/21/08) – An introduction, and already an apology for not having updated this blog since I got it the previous June. Links to the now mostly-inactive Dreams of People You Will Never Meet, and to TJ’s blog (see above).

2. T-Shirt Design: Lenny Dee Spring ‘08 (10/22/08) – A repeat of a post from The Scott Collection’s predecessor blog (no link included; seek it out yourself… hint: it’s on WordPress). Links to the old Lenny Dee website (worth a laugh), the IMDB page for No Country for Old Men, and a photo from Lenny Dee’s Spring ‘08 softball game.

3. Photo Every Day – In Progress (10/23/08) – Now irrelevant, after a post from this July (read on). Includes a now-broken link, since the update.

4. Foamcore “Cube” (10/24/08) – Some low-quality images of a project from Career Discovery Summer ‘08. A post that I probably worked on that summer, but didn’t get around to until last October. Also poor organization of the images. I got better.

5. Marcel Dzama (10/26/08) – A profile of artist Marcel Dzama, based on a short research project I did for my Painting and Drawing class. Includes links to a few galleries, and to David Lefkowitz’s website, with whom I worked this summer. This post also ends my consecutive four-day streak. Sticking to a posting schedule, as you may have gleaned, is not my strong suit.

6. Welcome to Lenny Dee Town (10/27/08) – Links to the Lenny Dee’s YouTube channel, and to the individual videos from the Fall ‘08 show. Image of the poster (ironically Photoshopped, I assure you), designed by me and Lisa (the blog of whom has now not been updated for several months). Fun fact: this fall’s Lenny Dee show was last weekend!

7. Inside Lenny Dee Town, Pt. 1 (10/28/08) – Oodles of links and insider goodness. First links to the Lenny Dee blog/website. A map of Lenny Dee Town.

8. Inside Lenny Dee Town, Pt. 2 (11/6/08) – The first full week without a post! A continuation of the previous post, wrapping up the commentary on Welcome to Lenny Dee Town. Our fall show last year (and in most years) was, in my opinion, our strongest. That should get you excited for the upcoming post linking to videos of this fall’s sketches!

9. An American Orgy (11/21/08) – An in-progress preview of my Painting and Drawing class final project. Images here and here.

10. Painting Final Project (11/23/08) – And then I finished it! This was my biggest (physically and creatively) project of last fall. Links to details thereof. The painting in its entirety:

11. Van Dyck Reproduction (11/24/08) – Another project from the Painting and Drawing class. A little anti-climactic. Link to the painting, and to some other works by Van Dyck (link not included since they’re a bit boring).

12. Diary: 1994 (11/26/08) – I found this when I got home for Thanksgiving last fall. It’s the text from a page (the only existing one, in fact) of a diary I tried to keep when I was just under 7 years old. It’s cute, and a little prescient. Excerpt: “i FORGOT TO TELL YOU i’M A REAL ARTiST. i DREW LOTS/OF PiCTURES.”

13. Winter Break Preview (11/28/08) – Written just before I left for my two-week study program in Vienna. One of my many undescriptive travel paragraphs.

14. Arrival in Vienna (12/6/08) – My only post, thus far, written overseas. Includes a few photos from the initial few days in Vienna, and my thoughts on whipped cream in Europe.

15. Vienna: The Sketches (12/17/08) – A gallery of the drawings that I did while in Vienna. Includes sketches of architectural spaces, other students on the trip, and studies from Viennese works of art. To date, my watercolor sketchbook from Vienna is the most complete, coherent one I have, and has a special place on my bookshelf.

16. Vienna: Other Sketches (12/19/08) – I also lent my sketchbook to the other students on the trip a couple of times, to allow them to express themselves creatively. The results were largely ambiguous.

17. Back in Minnesota (1/04/09) – Happy new year! I wrote this shortly after returning to Minnesota from New Zealand, which I unfortunately never got around to writing about. Lisa has some great pictures on her blog, though, which you can find here.

18. Leslie David Baker Sighting (1/8/09) – In O’Hare International Airport, waiting to fly to New Zealand via LAX, I saw Leslie David Baker (who plays Stanley on the American version of The Office) exiting the plane. It was exciting enough to blog about a few weeks later!

19. The Hits of 1996 (1/22/09) – The first three months of this year were a very productive time for me. Trying to stick to a 24-hour-per-week drawing schedule, I made a lot of miscellaneous, uncategorizable work this winter. This is one of those (although I have to admit, they are all great songs).

20. You Know, From The Shawshank Redemption (1/25/09) – And a lot of other movies, too! This drawing was also featured in the second issue of the Carleton Comics Journal.

21. Scott Donaldson(s) (1/28/09) – Another group of line drawings of people’s faces. This post raises some issues about drawing from indirect observation, with the Internet as a dividing medium. With Google Street View, I can make a detailed perspective drawing of a city I’ve never been to. Pretty pretty cool!

22. Little Four Eyes (2/9/09) – An illustration for a banner of a website I did. The site is run by one of the reference librarians at Carleton, and continues to be updated regularly. Includes an initial draft of the banner.

23. Boy With a Toad (2/18/09) – Title references the Iron & Wine song Boy With a Coin (I think). This post tells the story of Bartleby, Lisa’s and my first toad. Includes a watercolor painting from the previous fall, and a photo of Bartleby. As of June, we have another, named Horatio, who’s also special but in a somewhat different way.

24. Jameson vs. Scott: #1 (2/25/09) – The first in a series that has yet to expanded upon. Includes mine and Jameson’s variations on the Hancock movie poster. Someday we’ll Photoshop competitively again. Until then…

25. Mayfair Mall, Wauwatosa, WI (2/28/09) – A watercolor painting/drawing of a tower in the mall complex near my home, and a preview of things to come. I included the work here in Carleton’s Junior Show of last year, and Milwaukee is still very relevant to my current comics work, and Comps.

26. Lenny Dee Goes There (3/2/09) – Links to the winter show. The program from said show. I had gotten a haircut the day before I posted this.

27 and 28. How Lenny Dee Went There, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 (3/3/09 and 3/6/09) – You know the drill!

29. Summer Break 2009 Preview (3/9/09) – Big news about my summer plans, and getting ready for the end of winter term.

30. Life Drawing: Sketch for Final (3/10/09) – Similar to the “American Orgy” post, this is a preview of my final project for Life Drawing. Interestingly, the preview here really is just a sketch (conceptually), in that it was not used physically in the actual final project.

31. Alone In Canada (3/14/09) – My Life Drawing final project, and the first post for which I advertised via Twitter. These are still some of my favorite works from this calendar year, and almost certainly the three that best showcase my watercolor skills (until, perhaps, the end of this term). The paintings themselves:

32. The Table (3/16/09) – In this post is a collection of photos from the Woodworking class’s end-of-term show tables. A photo of my table, which now resides in the Senior Studio in Boliou, is below:

33. Ben Folds at The Eagles Club (3/21/09) – A review and setlist from a Ben Folds concert I attended in Milwaukee over spring break. Some analysis over the setlist, not all positive. My brother was there too!

34. Airstream Driver (3/25/09) – Another music-related post, this one including a painting I did while bored during spring break. It’s a theoretical single cover for the Gomez song Airstream Driver. Also a picture of a regretful man.

35. Spring Term ‘09 (3/27/09) – Two paragraphs about my intended plan for Spring Term. It became the least regularly updated months for this blog, for several personal reasons. Fortunately, around the beginning of this summer, I got back on track with blogging and with my life.

36. A Drawing: 1 (4/13/09) – The first of a short series.

37. A Drawing: 2 (5/20/09) – The second of a short series.

38. Lenny Dee: You’re Outta Line! (5/22/09) – Links to the videos from Lenny Dee’s spring show (the longest but also most hit-or-miss). Check out the program.

39. Los Politicos (5/30/09) – Tim (of Lenny Dee fame) directed a play entitled Los Politicos. I made the poster for it.

40. The Lens: Senior Portraits (5/31/09) – In the style of “Hits of 1996″ and “Scott Donaldson(s),” I drew portraits for each of the graduating seniors who worked on Carleton’s Politics and Culture magazine, The Lens.

41. Power Outage (6/11/09) – An apology and excuse for not updating more.

42 and 43. Lenny Dee Is Outta Line, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 (6/18/09 and 6/26/09) – More exciting Dee-rector commentary!

44. Alcott Park (7/5/09) – Reflecting on past summer jobs, and two drawings that I did the summer before entering Carleton at one of the parks I worked in.

45. Best of 2009, Pt. 1 (7/6/09) – I wouldn’t have bolded this, had it not been for the incredible amount of views this post generated for my blog. I rarely review music (see “Ben Folds at The Eagles Club” or “Airstream Driver”), but apparently, discussing new music is one of the most effective things you can do to be popular (thanks, Pitchfork!).

46. Some Dudes (7/8/09) – An odd gem of a drawing/painting from earlier this summer. My style of portrait drawing with a watercolor twist.

47. Sunflower Smoking Cigarette (7/10/09) – Another odd and/or end that’s now the background of my Twitter page. This kicks off the start of a bunch of digitally-based work.

48. Transitioning (7/14/09) – An introduction to www.scottdonaldson.net (still under construction guys, be patient). I was, and remain, excited about having my own website.

49. “Vectour” Contoured Portraits (7/15/09) – I’m not sure if these works can actually be classified as vector art, which is why I included quotation marks in the title. In any case, it’s digital portraits of myself and Lisa.

50. CarToonJ (7/24/09) – TJ gets the Photoshop treatment!

51. Sketchbook Bonanza! (7/27/09) For a few days, I walked around Northfield and did a lot of line drawings. They are collected in this post.

52. Photo Every Day – 1 Year In (7/29/09) – Link to a video of myself aging at the speed of ten days per second. Despite growing skepticism, I’m still taking these pictures, even as of today.

53. Saw vs. Se7en (8/3/09) – My first, and thus far, only movie review. I noticed the similarities between two films made almost a decade apart.

54. A Dog, A Monarch Butterfly, Metaphor (8/5/09) – This post is important to me because of the new directions it took this blog, and my work in. Cataloguing little events from my life became a way to force myself to draw comics, and the more I did it (even in half-hour or hour works like the first two here), the easier and more natural it became to write stories and draw pictures. These are still some of the favorite comics I’ve done, and I’d like to revisit the first two to refine the art more someday.

55. Turtle Stadium (8/7/09) – A fun random drawing I did one afternoon in Goodbye Blue Monday, Northfield’s premiere coffee house and place to be seen around town.

56. Protagonist: Fish (8/22/09) – Drawn and posted after my August travel to Toronto, New York, and Cape Cod. School was fast approaching, and rather than working on my Comps, I drew this comic, complete with tongue-in-cheek references to my actual Comps in the post.

57. Funky, Sexy Jazzmen (8/24/09) – These three drawings have a somewhat-developed backstory that I want to flesh out more fully over Winter Break. I am working on a one-page origin story for “Swingin’” Sid O’Malley that I hope to put in this week’s issue of the Carleton Comics Journal.

58. Crossing the Border (8/27/09) – Two drawings from my August vacation, the former of which later appeared in the second issue of the CCJ.

59. The Meaning of Numbers (8/31/09) – A two-page True Story, the first that wasn’t about a specific event in my life. My girlfriend finds my drawing of my childhood self adorable. I think it looks a little like Joe Dobrow, a guy I worked with at Hogan Brothers’ this summer. These pages also appeared in the first issue of the CCJ.

60. DoPYWNM… It’s Back! (9/8/09) – In which I claim that Dreams of People You Will Never Meet is back, and will be updated regularly, complete with illustrations. Yeah… my bad.

61. Other Positioning Systems (9/9/09) – An advertisement for David Lefkowitz’s exhibition at the Rochester Art Center. It’s still on display! Get yourself there sometime before January 10!

62. First Day of School! (9/15/09) – I realized not long after this post that it wasn’t fair to myself or to you, my readers, to update thrice weekly if it meant posts like this.

63. Pronunciation Guide (9/22/09) – This one’s funny, and is worth linking to again. Just don’t get my name wrong.

64. Carleton Comics Journal: Premiere Issue (9/30/09) – If you’ve actually read up to this point, you’ve probably checked out the premiere issue already. Am I right? If not, click on that link.

65. Hugo and Grandmama (10/1/09) – A bizarre gem of a comic. Appeared in the second issue of the CCJ.

66. T-Shirt Design: Lenny Dee Fall ‘09 (10/7/09) – A new Lenny Dee T-shirt! Fun fact: I still have to get over to the printers’ to order these. Oops.

67. Carleton Comics Journal: Issue the Second (10/16/09) – And so we arrive at the most recent post, which by this point has established itself as a sophomore effort in an ongoing series that will hopefully number fifteen throughout the course of this school year. If all goes according to schedule, a third, possibly Halloween-related issue should be released this Friday. Expect a follow-up post soon thereafter!

If you’ve actually read this far, I owe you a lot of thanks, and probably an apology or two for some of the posts. But I hope I keep you stimulated, and that you enjoy my work. The next year will be even more productive and fulfilling than the last. Thank you again.

This issue is even bigger than the last! It features not only Jacob, Kailyn, and I, but also Andreas Stoehr and Narula Bilik. Cover (designed by Jacob) below, followed by links to the pages.

• Page 1 (Itemized List of Contents):
• Page 2 (Morgan Freeman / Crossing the Border) (see here and here)
• Page 3 (6 AM [Excerpt], Pt. 1)
• Page 4 (6 AM [Excerpt], Pt. 2)
• Page 5 (Poison People [Excerpt], Pt. 1)
• Page 6 (Poison People [Excerpt], Pt. 2)
• Page 7 (Poison People [Excerpt], Pt. 3)
• Page 8 (Tale of Beasts)
• Page 9 (Life’s Rich Parade)
  
• Page 10 (Hugo and Grandmama) (see here)
• Page 11 (Mecha-Monkey: A Love Story, Pt. 1)
  
• Page 12 (Mecha-Monkey: A Love Story, Pt. 2)
  
• Page 13 (Mecha-Monkey: A Love Story, Pt. 3)
  
• Page 14 (Mecha-Monkey: A Love Story, Pt. 4)
• The Back Cover

300 issues for this printing. It’s Family Weekend at Carleton, and we’re going to make sure everyone’s uncle and grandmama hears about CCJ. If you’re interested in a hard copy, email me to make arrangements. And, in the interest of tradition, here’s me with an issue at 1:45 AM, Friday, October 16th:

Expect issue 3 to arrive the day before Halloween. Will it be spooky? It just might be.

It’s about time for a new Lenny Dee-shirt! You can find the old, inferior one here. The new, improved one is below:

Here’s the front:

Aaaand the back (an inspirational quote):

New shirts are always exciting! Sorry for the late post but not the exclamation points! Catch you next week!

It’s a little silly, and a little dark. I’m not sure where this one came from. But you might just see Hugo and Grandmama again someday…

This summer, I realized that although several campus publications feature comics as diversions, there’s nothing produced specifically to showcase comics. This is where I come in. Jacob Canfield, a sophomore, and I got together in the early days of this school year to discuss the possibility of such a thing. With limited resources, time, and energy, we put out a twelve-page premiere issue. Also featured are students Kailyn Kent and Jia-Li Tan. You might remember some of my work from a previous post, but rest assured that I have some material in this issue that has not previously been blogged about. Here is the cover, followed by links to each of the pages:

• Page 1 (The Editors:)
• Page 2 (Bill Jenkins, The Truth)
• Pages 3 and 4 (The Meaning of Numbers) (see above)
• Page 5 (The Fall of the Truth / One Wish)
• Page 6 (The Adventures of a Boy Who Is Easily Pleased)
• Page 7 (Poison People [Excerpt], Pt. 1)
• Page 8 (Poison People [Excerpt], Pt. 2)
• Page 9 (The Wound-Up Bird Chronicles)
• Page 10 (Gerald Winkler, Pt. 1) (the novelization of this)
• The Back Cover

Well, it’s getting pretty late, cats and kittens. Jacob and I (and Nathan and Kailyn, thank you very much) just spent the better part of two hours printing and folding an astounding 100 copies of this issue. Not bad for a first run? I hope so. They hit the mean streets of Carleton tomorrow, and time will only tell what the reviews are like. We hope to put out an issue every two weeks, so expect big things… from the Carleton Comics Journal.

And, as proof that this is “for real”:

In 9 months, I will be a graduate of Carleton College. But before that, I have to graduate. And I’ll be damned if they don’t pronounce my full name correctly at graduation. The college agrees, and so they sent out a sheet to all the graduating students that included a pronunciation guide. Here, for Carleton’s and your reference, is that guide (as always, click for larger):