I just received an e-mail from John Glynn of Universal Press Syndicate regarding Charly and Company. They’re passing. His reason was that the strip is too much of a Dilbert clone. Charly = Dilbert, Sock Puppet = Dogbert, Wade = Wally and Sue = Alice. I’m glad that he took the time out of his busy schedule to write to me, and his input really means a lot.

The bottom line, I think, is that he’s right. Obviously, I didn’t intend to make a Dilbert clone, but it happened nonetheless. Maybe I’m just out of original ideas, or maybe I’m just not an original thinker. To be brutally honest, part of me wants to leave Charly hiding in the bathroom and move on to something else.

That’s how I feel right now, anyway.

I went out to my car today to find that someone had gotten in and rifled through everything. They went through the glove box, the center console, my roadside safety pack, and the trunk. I can only assume they were looking for something of value, but lucky for me, I have nothing of value. Well, there is a 20 roll pack of toilet paper in the trunk.

I’m trying to be funny, but it is a little frightening to know that strangers were in your car going through your stuff. What’s weird is that I’ve lived in much higher crime areas than where I am now, and have never had a problem before. That and the fact that my car is parked right under a streetlight in a little, quiet cul-de-sac, this is the last place I thought that something like this would happen.

Proof that anything can happen anywhere, I guess.

Norm Feuti, creator of the popular, syndicated comic, Retail talks with Tom Racine on Tall Tale Features Radio about cartooning and his new web comic, Gill.

Be sure to check it out here, or download it in iTunes.

One subject that’s held my interest for years is the existence of extraterrestrial beings and the UFO phenomenon.

One of my favorite authors on this subject is Stanton Friedman. Stanton is a nuclear physicist who has worked on many top-secret government projects, and an authority on the UFO phenomenon; particularly the event that occurred at Roswell, New Mexico back in the 40s.

I just got his latest book, Flying Saucers and Science - A Scientist Investigates the Mysteries of UFOs, and it’s a fascinating read so far.

Now, a lot of people think I’m a kook for believing in this stuff, but after taking a hard look at the research that’s been done; the credibility of many eyewitnesses (military and civilian); and the flimsy arguments put forth by many of the naysayers, it’s tough for me to deny that there’s something to this.

So, I thought I’d put out an informal poll to see what your thoughts are about the UFO phenomenon. And if you’re interested in this subject, I urge you to pick up Stan’s books; Crash at Corona and Top Secret/Majic.

According to my calculations, Thursday’s strip is number 85, which means I’m rapidly approaching 100. I should do something special to mark this little milestone - something to show my appreciation to everyone who reads these little scribblings. I’ll have to put my thinking cap on.

I got my first rejection letter today from Creators Syndicate. I imagine that the rest of my attempts will come back in the negative as well. So, seeing as how Charly & Company likely won’t ever see print on the funny pages, my choices are to keep going or try a new idea.

My gut tells me that I simply missed the syndication boat, and with the state of the newspaper industry now, I’m guessing that it’s not coming back around for another pass.

I’ve had some weird ideas for the character, and the strip, and I think I’ll try them out now that I don’t have to worry about appealing to a mass audience (I don’t think I was ever a mass audience kind of guy anyway.)

So, if things get strange, consider yourself warned.

I admit that I’m suffering from campaign burnout. This thing has been going on for a long time, and I’ve tried my best to pay attention to it all. I’ve watched the debates, I’ve done my homework, argued with other people about the candidates, and watched both sides duke it out. Quite frankly, I’m glad it’s almost over.

Next Tuesday, I’ll go vote, and then come home and watch the results roll in over the rest of the evening. Come Wednesday, I’m going to unplug from it all regardless of who wins. I just need a break from politics for a good month or two - maybe more.

So, after the election, I’m going to bury my head in the sand for awhile. I’ll tackle the stack of books that I’ve been meaning to read, I’ll veg out with some video games or mindless TV shows and I’ll put more focus onto Charly and Company.

How about you? Are you sick of politics yet? Are you ready for a break?

When I started to do comics, my first attempt was a Far Side rip-off. After that, I decided to tackle a traditional comic strip. This was my first effort. It was titled Oh Brother and focused on a single mom raising two boys (I know the one kid looks like a girl, but it’s a boy, trust me. And no, I can’t explain what’s going on with his hair.) It was pretty stereotypical, with the older brother being smart and studious, and the younger brother being overly rambunctious. The bulk of the humor came from the fact that mom had to work, while the older brother was in charge of keeping the house in order.

I submitted it to all of the syndicates and the late, Jay Kennedy of King Features was nice enough to correspond with me over several revisions to get it up to a professional level.

All of the major syndicates passed, but a small, startup syndicate called Future Features decided to offer me a contract. Unfortunately, they went belly up before they could get any of their features into the papers.

So, enjoy this trip down memory lane with me.

The Shield is one of the best dramas on TV, IMO. This is the last season and I can’t wait to find out what happens to Vic, Shane and the rest of the people in the barn. I’ve set up a topic for the show in the forum. If you’re a fan of the show, come on over and let me know what you think.

Thanks to the good people over at Tall Tale Features, I have a brand new forum set up for Charly & Company. I’m open for talking about almost anything, doesn’t have to be comics related. I’ll put up a direct link at the top of the site, but in the meantime, you can go here.

And the best news is; you don’t have to bring a housewarming present.