Special Announcement

Okay, so I am cheating a bit since it is now Friday, December 2, and this should now be a "December" news section. I'll fix that up soon.

Tomorrow is the big moving day! And, since the cable/internet company we are dealing with down there in Dayton is apparently waaaaaaaaaaay too busy during the holidays to actually give anyone their utilities, we will be completely without internet access until Wednesday, December 7 at about 5 pm or so. I might be able to sneak into a library or the school lab to check my e-mail before that Wednesday, but I can't make any promises. I know I won't be able to make any updates to this site until then, so just be patient and check back Wednesday night, okay?

Rudy went to the apartment yesterday and picked up the keys, did a walkthrough, turned on the thermostat and the water heater, and snapped a few pictures. This apartment complex is only 6 years old, and apparently the tenant that lived in our unit before us had been there since the beginning so there is virtually no wear and tear at all. They also repainted the walls and ceilings and recarpeted the whole joint, so it's almost like we're moving into a new unit. Here are a few pictures...



This is what the apartment complex calls the "planning center." Space for a big desk or table near the entrance. Our unit is kind of odd in that we are on the second floor, but the stairs leading up to us are actually inside our apartment. Our door is down on the first floor. It's all carpeted and nice, with a landing and everything. I've never seen anything quite like that before.



Part of the living room area, the entrance to the patio, and a partial view of the stair area leading up to our living space.



The other half of the living room area with the gas fireplace, the patio entrance, and more big white walls.



This is our dining room, I guess. Room for a table and chairs, and a lovely window bench that Rudy has already announced she will be filling with her collection of UglyDolls and Friends With You dolls.



The kitchen. The cabinets are kind of ugly, but there is decent counter space, which has been sadly lacking in every place we've lived for the past 6 or 7 years.



Our bedroom is much bigger than it looks. And that is a big-ass walk-in closet.

So that's it. Please send us positive vibes for the move tomorrow. So far, everything has gone relatively smoothly, and we would love to keep it that way. See ya next Wednesday!

Matt K.

Tuesday November 29, 2005 -- 3:07 p.m.

First, some very good news. Rudy is back on her feet and feeling much better. She got up at 6 a.m. for work today, but prior to that she spent 32 out of 36 hours asleep. And all she did when she woke up was eat a bit of jello and dry toast or drink a bit of ginger ale. She is weak and wobbly, but the nausea has passed and so has the pain.

That's all for today. I've got a bunch of phone calls to make, and more laundry to do before we pack things up. Moving day is now only 4 days away.

Matt K.

Monday November 28, 2005 -- 11:38 a.m.

Man, what a week. I guess I'll do this all in reverse order, sorta.

First, this...



This is getting to be kind of ridiculous. I think the emergency room is starting to know us by name now. It's like we walk in and just tell them "We'll have the regular." Poor Rudy got very very ill yesterday afternoon. She was really brave and stuck it out as long as she could, but she could not stop throwing up and the frequency was increasing. She started getting ill at about 3 p.m. on Sunday and by 7 p.m. she was running to the bathroom every 15 minutes to vomit. Honestly, it became really frightening and I was extremely worried about her. She was already showing signs of dehydration and had the chills as well. We went to the emergency room and a few quick tests showed she was suffering from rather severe viral gastroenteritis, which she probably picked up from some filthy animal at the Mid-Ohio Con comic book convention, where the two of us were working all weekend. Anyway, at the emergency room they pumped her full of 2 IV bags of saline solution in about 60 minutes and gave her a wonderful anti-nausea injection which stopped the vomiting and sent her off to the Land of Nod. After about an hour more, she was given a prescription for anti-nausea medication and discharged. Fortunately I had quite a bit of the very same anti-nausea drug left over from my kidney stone adventure earlier in the month so she did not even have to wait for me to fill the new prescription. I gave her a pill and got her settled in, and other than waking up at 5 a.m. to take another pill, she has been sleeping for nearly 12 hours. The medication causes drowsiness, and she was so drained and exhausted from all the vomiting the day before that she just had no energy left at all. I imagine I will be spending most of the day taking care of her and finding broth, jello, and ginger ale for her to consume until her stomach is back to normal.

Backing up a few days, Thanksgiving was wonderful and relaxing for us. We invited Sean McKeever over and had dinner with him and Rudy's brother Arnell. All of us missed our families quite a bit, but it was still nice to share the evening with good friends, and Rudy prepared an absolutely incredible meal. I tried to help but she wouldn't really let me do much of anything so I kind of fiddled about all day.

Friday was just a relaxing day and we didn't do much of anything at all. I drew a little bit, caught up on a few emails (even though there are still more to go) and watched a movie with Rudy. That night was the Great Ogre Gathering, a party that Gib and Daryn, owners of the Laughing Ogre comic book shop where I work, throw every after-Thanksgiving Friday. It is sort of a kickoff for that weekend's Mid-Ohio Con comic book and pop culture convention, where Rudy and I chip in and help the store at their booth. The party is always an interesting event because it is a mix of comic book professionals and fans just milling about eating, drinking, reading comics, and hanging out. Rudy and I enjoy it because we get to spend some time with friends that we don't get to see that often as well as those we see weekly. It was nice to run into Aaron Fitzwater and Angela P. there, and even Jenni U. made it out which was cool. Cris M. was as intriguing as ever, and she is always a pleasure to talk to for both Rudy and I. Hopefully we will be seeing more of her in the future. I took a bunch of pictures, and here is the link to them (which will open in a new browser window)...

CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES AND COMMENTARY FROM THE GREAT OGRE GATHERING

We woke up bright and early Saturday so we could help out at the Mid-Ohio Con. I won't say much about it because honestly I'm not really too fond of these kinds of conventions, or some of the personalities that attend them. However, Rudy and I still enjoy helping out at the Ogre booth, Gib (one of the owners of the Laughing Ogre) is a great guy that takes care of all his employees extremely well, and we get to goof off with friends all day too. I had to moderate at 2 panels which was an interesting experience. The first was called "I, Creator" and covered the financial, legal, and practical aspects of launching a comic or comic strip. The guests on that one were Tom Batiuk (creator of "Funky Winkerbean" and "Crankshaft"), Chuck Satterlee (Speakeasy Comics), Pam Bliss (creator of "Dog and Pony Show" and others), Doug Paskiewicz ("Arsenic Lullaby"), and Matt Feazell, ("Cynicalman" and more). The panel went okay, and there was some interesting information exchanged. As always, Tom Batiuk was very knowledgeable, helpful, professional, gracious, and a pleasure to talk to. Tom is actually an Ohio native, and he came to speak to my 5th grade class way back at Central Middle School in 1980. I still remember that to this day, and he vaguely remembers it as well, which is kind of cool. He is really a class act, and I always enjoy spending some time with him.

My other panel was called "Hulk's Mash" (get it? "Hulk's Mash" sounds like "Hulk Smash!" ha) and had Paul Jenkins (Sentry, Inhumans, Revelations, Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk, and more), Sean McKeever (Gravity, Sentinel, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Megamorphs and more), and Peter A. David (Incredible Hulk, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and more). I already know Sean but had never met Paul or Peter. Paul Jenkins was quite a decent guy, and truly funny as well. Rudy and I spent some time chatting with him on Friday night at the Great Ogre Gathering party and he was far more genuine and charming than we had expected. I felt that Peter A. David, on the other hand, was every bit as arrogant, self centered, belittling, and pompous as I had expected. The panel hit some rough spots at times, but Sean and Paul remained effortlessly professional, positive, gracious, and glib and truly helped me smooth over some of the bumps in the road. Big thanks go to both of them for making my job a little easier.

Sunday was a quieter day, with only one panel (honestly, the details are fading even now). Mostly all I remember was Rudy getting so sick and actually having to leave early. I did take some pictures at the convention, again mostly of friends and a few of the panels, so check 'em out in a shiny new browser window by clicking the link below...

CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES AND COMMENTARY FROM MID-OHIO CON

I did get a few sketches on Sunday as well, which I will post tomorrow. Mostly I am just glad the week and the holiday and the weekend are over. Things have just been so stupidly busy and I am so far behind on even talking to friends, plus we have a big move coming up in 5 days and I am concerned about Rudy getting better so I am signing off for now. I'll post more tomorrow.

Matt K.

Monday November 21, 2005 -- 10:24 p.m.

Fitzwater is apparently too cool to have a "links" page.

Matt K.

Monday November 21, 2005 -- 8:23 p.m.

Guess what? I just found out that I am a link on the excellent PARTYKA web site. You can see me right here but I am alphabetical by last name so it is in the "K" section rather than the "M" section.

AND I am also a link on the BonGout web site. You can click here and see, but you will probably have to also click the "links" tab at the top and then scroll way way way down to the very bottom.

I know that Kyle Wallace of Fragility Productions also has a link to me, as does Ferret Press, plus I think there is one at Optical Sloth and over at my friend Tom Williams' site too, right here. I'm in the "pals of the oc.c" drop-down menu. I don't know why this all puts such a big smile on my face. I guess it's just something I never expected. It's really kind of nice, especially when these are people, some of whom I have never met, who think highly enough of my stuff to want to point other people to it. And on all of those lists of links I am in some incredibly amazing company. It's pretty cool!

Okay, back to the paper. I'm on the last 2 pages now.

Matt K.

Monday November 21, 2005 -- 12:31 p.m.

Sean McKeever has made my day yet again with this wonderful nugget from yesteryear. As McKeever explains, THIS is what Doom does when he is alone...



You just gotta love Victor Von Doom. I think when we get to our new apartment in 2 weeks I am going to dig through some of my old Marvel Masterworks and Essentials and find some more choice moments like this. Doom certainly had a lot of them, like the "Super Villain Team-Up" where he is actually taking a nap, in bed, with blankets and a pillow, IN HIS ARMOR. (Also pointed out to me by Sean McKeever, so thanks again Sean!)

Back to work. The paper is almost done!

Matt K.

Sunday November 20, 2005 -- 9:12 a.m.

How do these titles sound to you all?

"What Students Want: Generation Y and the Changing Function of the Academic Library"

"The Effect of Bibliographic Instruction on the Demand for Reference Services"

"Undergraduate Perceptions of the Reference Collection and the Reference Librarian in an Academic Library"

"General Information Seeking in Changing Times: A Focus Group Study"

Yeah, I thought so. Me too. In the meantime, please enjoy this picture I drew Thursday night while lab monitoring. And I'll see you all when I am done with this paper.



Matt K.

Monday November 14, 2005 -- 10:22 a.m.

A very very special message from a very very special man!

He says "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....."



Matt K.

Sunday November 13, 2005 -- 9:24 p.m.

Thanks to everyone who checked in on the site, sent me emails, or answered my e-mails from the past few days so quickly. It really helped me feel a great deal better and I'm glad no one is sore at me for what happened. And Stephanie, I just got your email moments ago. Thank you for writing so quickly, even though you are still buried under a miserable heap of work! I will write you back tomorrow morning so perhaps you can check in at your lunch break, if those slave drivers even let you eat once in a while.

Tomorrow will also include several other phone calls to friends old and new as well as packages and letters being mailed out. It will be nice to climb out of the house for a while.

I wanted to pass along this link before I signed off. I have been frustrated for years with the arrogance and occasional tyrrany of Fantagraphics' very own publication, the supremely inappropriately titled "The Comics Journal," which is most definitely NOT a journal. The always amazing Rudy pointed out to me today that there does indeed exist a journal for the study of comics and sequential literature, and rather than being a platform to push a certain publisher's books, argue eternally about the merits of whether Dan Clowes is cooler than Adrian Tomine, and spout bile and venom on everyone not associated with a particular scene, this publication is actually a peer-reviewed academic journal that takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of comics. This kind of thing is truly going to do a whole hell of a lot more to legitimize the study of comics than a rag like...well, you know.

The journal is titled "ImageTexT" and currently exists as an online publication only, although from graduate school I realize that this is a trend for many scholarly publications. The journal originates from the University of Florida, but best of all the contents of each issue are available online. There is some really interesting writing there, and it is all a great deal more balanced, scholarly, in-depth and nuanced than other comics-related publications. Check it out if and when you have the time.

Matt K.

Friday November 11, 2005 -- 11:01 p.m.

Hello. First, I want to apologize. I had no idea that I would be as ill as I was, or be unable to post anything or even answer emails and telephone calls for so long. If I had known that would happen, I wouldn't have gone and gotten all dramatic with the emergency room thing and the wristbands and stuff. I think maybe some of you have been worried and that this might have seemed like some histrionic bid for attention. It wasn't. I really was messed up and am still getting that all sorted out with the doctors. So I am sorry for seeming like a jerk and for not posting for so long. And I am sorry for all the people that I owe emails, telephone calls, visits, and packages to. In no particular order Angela K., Aaron Fitzwater & Angela Perez, Stephanie Wu, Bradley Watson, Charley D., Justin E., Todd Michael B., Mike Leuszler, Gabe Stinson, AZStar78, Kyle Wallace, my mom, my dad, Zack Farquhar, and Johnny Ampersand will all be hearing from me in the next few days. I have so much to catch up on.

As for me being ill, I would rather keep the details off the internet. However if you would like to know what is wrong, just give me a call or email me and chances are I can let you know a little bit. It's probably nothing serious anymore, and there is a very good chance that in a few months I might be looking back on all this and laughing as I climb a mountain somewhere. Keep your fingers crossed though.

While I was sick, I started working on a rough series of drawings that were sort of an attempt to come to terms with what's wrong with me. I also restructured the art and photos section of the web site a little bit to make things clearer, easier to navigate, and more chronological. And there is quite a bit of new stuff too. Here's what's new...

--12 new drawings in the art section entitled "radians." These were the drawings I started when I was the sickest and the whole thing is a sort of personal narrative of how I dealt with this new body I seem to be stuck with.

--A new section in art titled comic art for all the drawings and strips I've done for other anthologies as well as some unpublished and older stuff. Some of it you might have seen, some of it is brand new.

--8 photos I took when I was 8, 9 and 10 years old in the photos section. Most of them are from Florida and the Kennedy Space Center. I found them in a photo album I thought we had packed, and as I looked at them again I realized how much I loved those pictures and how formative they've been in my interests and my own art.

--10 new Holga camera photos in the photos section. Some from late winter, some from New York City this summer, and one from just a little while ago on a long and somewhat chilly nighttime walk.

--6 new pinhole camera photos in the photos section. I had taken out my pinhole camera intending to start using it again a lot more often, and I realized there was a half-used roll of film in there. I exposed the last few frames and had it developed to see what was on there.

--A brand new contact page complete with a ludicrously short and vague bio of me and a different picture. As much as I liked the old collage page, I think it was a little hard to find the e-mail link, so hopefully this will clear things up a bit.

--Finally, I dropped some anchors around the site so now navigation should be easier. For example, before, if you were on the comics page and you clicked on the link to one of the preview pages in issue #3 of "Spudd 64," clicking on the "back to comics" link took you to the top of the comics page and you would then have to scroll back down to where you were before. Now you can click on those "back to--" links and actually be taken to where you were before, with much less scrolling. A small thing, I know, but navigation is much easier and smoother now.

I'm going to be re-posting some of the finished pages of "Spudd 64" issue #4 in the next few days too. There should also be some new CDs, some new photos, and hopefully a few new drawings. I still have 6 more drawings in the radians series to scan and post. Oh, and you might be thinking that I cheated by labeling the strange satellites section as 2005-2006, but I'm not done with that yet and I know I'll be continuing the theme for a little while longer.

I think I covered everything that I meant to. I'm still feeling rusty and muddleheaded, so I'm going to sign off for now. I'll be back either later tomorrow evening or sometime Sunday afternoon. Thanks to everyone who already called or emailed to check in on me. I promise you'll have answers soon.

Matt K.

Thursday November 3, 2005 -- 6:23 p.m.

I went to the emergency room last night shortly after midnight.



I'm home now. My body is leaden with exhaustion and my veins are rivers of medication. I'll come back sometime in the next few days.

Matt K.

Wednesday November 2, 2005 -- 11:26 a.m.

I've got a final exam tonight as well as a final project and presentation to wrap up, so no update for you! I'll be back tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy this photograph of me as a very young child. It was Christmas of 1970. Nice suit!



Matt K.

Tuesday November 1, 2005 -- 7:11 a.m.

Since I've posted so many less-than-flattering photos of Rudy, I thought I would begin this new month by posting a nice normal picture of her. She's been so delightfully tolerant of all my tomfoolery, and has always been able to laugh at herself, so for a short time at least, there will be a truce in the photo war. I love you, Rudy!



See ya tomorrow,

Matt K.