Auchtoon!

“Supremus totus , servo nostrum beneficium” is Latin for “Above all, protect our benefits.”

The comic for this will be published in the October 15 Grand Rapids Business Journal….

Speaking of the Straits of Mackinac, my good friend Jef Mallett is going to swim across this coming Labor Day weekend! Jef is raising money for Mentor Michigan, an organization that works to ensure that all of Michigan youth have ongoing relationships with stable, caring individuals.

Jef is creator of the comic strip, “Frazz.” Jef is also a triathlete and, as such, slightly crazy. Support him, support a worthy cause, and get some cool art out of the deal!

Click here for the whole scoop.

Check this out: “Auchtoon!” appeared last week in the syndicated comic strip Frazz by Jef Mallett. The t-shirt of Frazz is an ever-changing aside, a fun visual easter egg. Jef, as an artist of considerable wit and artistic skill, does this because, well, he can. Brilliant!

And, yes, I did double-check with Jef to make sure I wasn’t just seeing only what I wanted to see — you know, taking my own John McCain Baghdad walking tour. See for yourselves! Then do yourself a favor and click the comics to go to the Comics.com site and read more Frazz!

How appropriate for it to be Sunshine Week — it’s been a rare and wonderful few days of clear skies and 50 degrees here in West Michigan. Unfortunately, it is also quite appropriate in the wake of the FBI’s recent Patriot Act misdeeds and miscellaneous Justice Department shenanigans….

Sunshine Week is a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Sunshine Week is about the public’s right to know what its government is doing, and why.

This, of course, is right in the sweet spot for editorial cartoonists. So in an effort to support Sunshine Week and all that it stands for, the AAEC (Association of American Editorial Cartoonists) had its members collect recent creations for the Sunshine Week website to publish. Check it out:

http://www.sunshineweek.org/sunshineweek/aaec07

A very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year from me and my family:
http://auchtoon.2gtech.com/comics/xmas/2006/

News Bulletin:
Frazz creator Jef Mallett will appear on the nationally syndicated morning radio program, The Bob and Tom Show, Tuesday, December 5th. The show runs from 6-10 a.m. and boasts 5 million listeners.

Jef designed the cover for The Bob and Tom Show’s latest CD, “Manboobs,” a compilation of songs and sketches, and he did the same for their “Operation Radio” CD, which he designed free of charge since the collection was issued through the USO for American soldiers overseas.

Below is a link to the show’s affiliates, so please tune in!
http://www.bobandtom.com/gen3/affiliates.htm

Hey! Welcome to the redesigned Auchtoon! site. The old site was due for an update and converting to a weblog format seemed to be the way to go: more usable, more updatable, and somewhat interactive. Thanks to Dan and Ryan for assisting in the transition. Let me know what you think.

Enjoy!
John