Comments for Sidewalk Bubblegum Political Comic Cartoon Strip

Comment on Contact by E

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:40:01 +0000

Yes, this is the one, thanks so much!!!!!!!!!! Finally, I can posted in my FB. Thanks comrade and solidarity, E

Comment on Contact by Glauber

Glauber — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:16:54 +0000

Maybe the user “E” is referring to this one: http://www.nyu.edu/projects/ollman/images/cartoon01.gif

Comment on Comic Strip Tutorial by Clay Butler (The Sidewalk Bubblegum Guy)

Clay Butler (The Sidewalk Bubblegum Guy) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:22:08 +0000

Thanks for the history lesson Dillon!

Comment on Comic Strip Tutorial by Clay Butler (The Sidewalk Bubblegum Guy)

Clay Butler (The Sidewalk Bubblegum Guy) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:16:23 +0000

That would probably work but at that point I’d be more inclined to just empty and clean it.

Comment on Comic Strip Tutorial by Doug C.

Doug C. — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:57:34 +0000

Maybe if you sealed the pen inside a bag, like with a Foodsaver vacuum bag, then it won’t dry out?

Comment on Comic Strip Tutorial by K. Nelson

K. Nelson — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:15:25 +0000

Thanks a lot for the article.

Comment on Comic Strip Tutorial by Dillon

Dillon — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:41:56 +0000

Hello, a little history on the Reform Refograph. Reform was a company in Heidelberg, Germany that made writing instruments, fountain pens, technical pens and such. They belonged to Mutschler who merged with them in the 30’s. They made excellent fountain pen nibs and actually provided nibs and nib assemblies to many large pen manufacturers. (FYI, most fountain pen manufacturers do not make their own nibs). They even made a few lower cost fountain pens in the 70s to Mont Blanc such as the Caressa, Carrerra, and Turbo. They made the Refograph some time in the 70s. I’m not exactly sure when, but I can ask my German friend who lives in Heidelberg. The company went under in 2003. In case you are looking for good technical pens, my personal favorite is the Staedtler Marsmatic 700. I like it somewhat more than the Refograph. The Rotring Isograph and Rapidgraph (incidentally a completely different pen from the Koh-i-noor Rapidograph) are also quite good. The Faber-castell TG-1S is ok, but not as good in my opinion. I never was a fan of the Koh-i-noor Rapidographs though. They are not as high quality and do not seem as precise as my Staedtlers. I’ve also had leaking problems with the Koh-i-noor pens as the air-feed channel is not as carefully designed as the other pens I have mentioned.

Comment on You Are Now Entering The Twilight Zone by Clay Butler (The Sidewalk Bubblegum Guy)

Clay Butler (The Sidewalk Bubblegum Guy) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:16:08 +0000

Fair enough but I’m sticking to my guns on this one. The strip of course is about wanting to have it both ways. In Santa Cruz and really all of the Bay Area, the “I’m spiritual but not religious” mantra is the norm. To an atheist or human secularist it is a nonsensical distinction. They still have a belief system based upon unsubstantiated claims which is never a good thing regardless of how you frame it. So to me, spiritual people want all of the fun stuff of having religion beliefs without any of the sacrifice, work, standards or dogma. It also allows them to distance themselves from the more distasteful aspects of formal religion. So , as a non-believer, the “I’m spiritual but not religious” stance is a cognitive dissonance technique and a big cop out similar to the “I’m a vegetarian but I eat fish and chicken” statement.

Thanks for writing though. I always enjoy other people’s interpretations of my strips as they are written in isolation to please myself. The reader then reads it isolation without the benefit of being in my brain so the strip will have different meanings to them….and sometimes even the opposite of my intended meaning.

Comment on You Are Now Entering The Twilight Zone by Steve M

Steve M — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:50:19 +0000

Actually the spiritual but not religious stance is logical. There is a huge difference between the two. One involves forced dogma, a destructive influence in politics and world events, institutional racism and persecution against gay people, and so on and so forth. The other is merely a belief in universal love and connectedness, and a feeling that there is something in existence that is greater than ourselves.

Of all of your cartoons this is the only one that didn’t seem to make sense, given your apparent world view. Regardless, keep us the good work.

Comment on Comic Strip Tutorial by Clay Butler (The Sidewalk Bubblegum Guy)

Clay Butler (The Sidewalk Bubblegum Guy) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:35:55 +0000

Hello Terry.The first thing I check when I have this problem is my ink level. You just may be out. If the levels are good and you’re not using Ultradraw or another high end non-clogging ink, it may be drying out. If you’ve been using it regularly I’d say those are the two most likely issues. However, if the ink quality and level is good you probably just need to take it apart and soak it in some hot water for a while and clean it.