A Visit To The Pen Doctor

Back in the late 60's and early 70's when I was in Art School (SVA!) and I was drawing cartoons and trying different drawing implements I started out using a Rapidograph.
It was favored by a lot of art students back then. I used it for several years trying the different points... but I was never crazy about it, though I liked the barrel and the fountain pen aspects.
Then... I found the pen supreme! The pen I had been searching for. The pen of pens! It was the PERFECT pen for my drawing style!

So, for several years...all was well. Then, in the late 70's, the pen was discontinued by the manufacturer!!! I managed to stockpile several extra pens and points partly thanks to an art
store Rowland Art Studio, in Concord, NH, whose owner saved them for me! (Can't remember his name he sold and moved in the early 80's, but thank you if you are out there somewhere!). I called Koh-i-noor and was told they didn't have ANY parts or pens anymore. Was there no hope? I babied the pens over the years...but things happen. Points get split. Ink doesn't flow right.

I was down to just a couple of working pens...
even after Friend of Friends Steve bought me a couple for my birthday (!) on ebay! I have written about my search for other equally good pens but none lived up to the flexible lines I needed.
Last year John and I went to the Ohio State Cartooning Conference and we were on the shuttle when I saw that Bill Griffith, creator of Zippy, was sitting across from me. He had beautiful pen lines. I asked him what he used.

(Bill Griffith does not really look like his creation...in case you were wondering)

He said he had had a special pen made for him by a man named Richard Binder who lived in, of all places, New Hampshire! He also repaired pens. He was called the Pen Doctor. So, I immediately contacted him to see about having a pen made. He replied right away and asked to see my drawings. I e-mailed some samples. Once he analyzed them he let me know he could make a pen for me but it might be too expensive (because of the Flexible nib I needed) and to see if I could find an old pen that worked or could be repaired. A friend who is an auctioneer gave me a beautiful pen not long afterwards.

The pen had a flexible point but corroded insides. I took all my non-working pens and spread them out.

It was time to act. I contacted Richard Binder and told him I was sending him all my pens and points for his expert diagnosis and hopefully repair. He was most gracious and said it would take about 16 weeks (!) to fix them all, if he could, and that he would let me know the cost before he did anything. It sounded good to me... so I labeled all the pens:

And packed them up:

I will send them off tomorrow. Tune in in 16 weeks!

Hunger Games Movie

I can NOT wait to see this!!! Thanks, Nico for the link!

The True Story of Horror House!!!!

Halloween Countdown # 9

Last night it snowed! Not what you want or expect at Halloween. Instead of frost on the pumpkin we got this:


We spent the morning shoveling and snowblowing. Spacey came out to act as a cheerleader.

The other cats hunkered down and refused to accept this freaky weather or to put a paw outside the door.  Tomorrow, I end this series for Halloween Countdown with a TRUE HORROR story. Until then...here is another Zombie cartoon in honor of tonight's episode of  " The Walking Dead". This one's  a Chix" toon.

Halloween Countdown # 8

Every year I buy a bag of candy to give out for Halloween. Truthfully...I am buying this candy for myself, which I refuse to admit, because no one ever comes to our house to Trick or Treat. Not just our house specifically...it doesn't seem like anyone goes to the neighbors, either. We live on a long meandering road that has woods all around and might be too scary for kids to walk down  to go house to house. Instead, kids around here do their Trick or Treating in town or in other supervised ways like at the mall. There's also a Halloween parade in town for little kids who go to all the businesses (and to the library). By the time Halloween rolls around and if by chance any kids DO show up... they'll be out of luck because there are only 2 Kit Kats left and the odds are against there being any available on Monday... unless I buy another bag.

 

Halloween Countdown # 7

Halloween isn't just a time to celebrate the scary and frightening. Why not kick back and enjoy a little supernatural romantic treat like the following:

"I Married A Witch" is a charming classic love story starring the very adorable Veronica Lake as the cutest witch ever and the dashing Frederic March. Here's the trailer:

Another romantic film about witches features Kim Novak as a sexy witch.  "Bell, Book and Candle" aslo features James Stewart, Jack Lemmon,  Ernie Kovacs and a slinky Siamese called Pyewacket:

Speaking of cats, let's move on from witchy romances to one about a cat woman. This is the trailer for the incomparable "Cat People", the stylishly noir movie from the 1940s that stars Simone Simon as a cursed girl in love.

So there you have it, some great alternatives to all those slasher movies out there. Grab some of those chocolate treats you've been saving to hand out, turn out the lights and snuggle up to your favorite leading man or lady. You may start a new Halloween tradition!

Halloween Countdown # 6

The Cats love Halloween. Well, every day is Halloween for our cats who are fond of terrorizing anything smaller than they are. If you made a horror movie from a mouse or squirrel's point of view the monster would definitely be a cat. Just today, I kept hearing a scuffling noise. I went to see what was up...and I saw the 3 cats sitting around the wood stove (not in use, yet) staring intently.

I wrangled them all into the library and shut the door. Then I gingerly (great word! And a good spice to use on many occasions!) opened the door and waited. A little face poked out. A flying squirrel!

 I've never seen a live one, sad to say. They get in the attics (we have 2) and the cats get to them first and then all I find are tails and other bits with which I have to use the shovel of doom to toss them out. I am determined to save this one...so I left the stove open, the entry way door and the front door all open so it has a direct shot at freedom. Let us all keep our fingers crossed.