First Congo Kids' Messages - 6/21/2015

This was shared in this week's First Congo "Congo Beat" newsletter.  Want to know more about helping the community?  Want to know what it REALLY means to spread the love of Jesus?  Want to know a bunch of really good people?  Come check out First Congo!!!

Superman Celebration 2015! SuperMule returns to Metropolis!!

Everyone knows our favorite large-scale celebration in our favorite small town is Superman Celebration!!  Muley has a lot going on this year (and Kevin doing something), and now you can see what he's doing in his schedule below, or check the full schedule for everything going on because there are TONS happening.  Hopefully, you will be there!

Superman Celebration Official Page
Superman Celebration Schedule

Muley's Schedule
Friday June 12th
11am     Puppetry for Television Panel (13+) - Kevin
3:30pm  Muley and Friends' Show - Muley and Friends
4pm       Kids' Costume Contest - Muley co-hosts with Joan

Saturday June 13th
10am     Puppet Making Workshop - Kevin
1pm       Muley and Friends' Show - Muley and Friends

(June 21 is the 49th Kids' Message at First Congo, by the way!)

And here are some awesome SuperMule comic strips to get you in the mood...

I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story - Ready For Download!

At conventions, I'm asked about what inspired me as a kid to do what I love to do.  Well, a few things, actually; but, if we consider people involved one of them was Jim Henson and the Muppet characters of Sesame Street as a driving force to puppetry.  8am or 3pm, I could watch them daily on our local Memphis PBS station, WKNO Channel 10.  I loved all the classic characters: Ernie and Bert, Grover, Cookie Monster, Count von Count, Oscar, and I would light up when that giant, down-covered yellow mass of joy walked onto the screen:  Big Bird!

I would take my records and knew each one well enough that I could set the needle down at the right spot, and perform a fantastic puppet show using my Sesame Street and Muppet Show puppets.  To see the kind of puppets I am talking about, visit David Maxine's blog about his classic toys collection.  Of course, along with Kermit, the star of my puppet shows would be Big Bird!

You may remember a while back that I was supporting and promoting the documentary "I Am Big Bird" because, after all, I'm a huge fan of both Spinney and the Bird.  I'm often heard saying, "Big Bird makes me happy."

Now, the project is complete and is ready for download from the good folks at Copper Pot Pictures.
CLICK HERE to purchase your download.

For starters, HERE is the interview I did in 2012 with Chad Walker and Dave LaMattina, two of the creators of the project.  It's fun and, per usual, off the wall (when am I ever ON the wall?).

It feels like forever that I've anticipated the release of this long-deserved tribute to a great actor, Caroll Spinney, and his career.  But, the wait has been worth it.  This is the honest story of a man's life, touching on moments we fans remember or may have no clue about (the Space Shuttle Mission, for example), and shows how love and support from family and friends can drive a man toward his success.  So much is explained about his own wonderment of the world and how that translates back to our favorite yellow bird.

Be certain you download the film, and go see it at theaters if one shows up near you.  You will be glad you did!

Supporting web links follow.  Click this image for the official website.

I Am Big Bird - the Facebook page.
Caroll Spinney Official Website.
Copper Pot Pictures.
Sesame Street.

The Muley and Friends Show: Easter Eggheads. Premieres Easter 2015!

Click on the image to learn more about the program!

The show times are:
Sat:
9:32 The Muley and Friends Show: Easter Eggheads
12:34 The Muley and Friends Show: Millionaire Magazines
4:03 The Muley and Friends Show: Easter Eggheads

Sun:
2:04 The Muley and Friends Show: Easter Eggheads 
3:35 The Muley and Friends Show: Millionaire Magazines 
4:01 The Muley and Friends Show: Easter Eggheads

Retro-Mule: Comic Strip Film Viewer, Pt. 2

Last week, you learned about the Comic Strip Film Viewer invention that went nowhere once I created it.  Yay!!  Even as a kid I knew a bad idea after I wasted time on it.



The third item of interest in all this was the creation of a story called Ghost of the Galisteins.  It appeared in two versions (as far as I know, I thought for a long time, until I found this receipt tape artwork, that there was only this one version of the story).  We'll share the second version of the story later; but, let's visit this for now:



(Keep in mind:  this is pencil artwork from 1983, so it is HARD to read.)

Unlike last week's post, these you read normally: LEFT to RIGHT!

Here is the second telling of the story, apparently also from 1983:

 

 

You see that little zig-zag on the top of the pages?  In the 80's I titled everything under Williams-Mule Productions.  That was the mix of a W and M to create that zig-zag.  I also like that I gave this a Collector Item indication, and that "from now on there will be a special comic strip."



Everyone knows how I love for stories to tie-in.  In Holly Springs, MS, where I grew up, there was a plantation called Strawberry Plains.  As a kid, I thought it was named that after a family, so I added a rich family to the MuleyVerse whose last names were Strawberry.  The eldest of the bunch hated sitting still, so Ms. Strawberry would work and do odd jobs around town.  You may remember her name appearing in the "Buford Adopts a Kitty" story in part 6 and part 7.



A final note:  Though I grew up in Holly Springs, MS, and that was the home base of operations for all the characters in the MuleyVerse, a few years ago I changed the name of their city.  I felt that giving the city a state would make some folks feel 'not at home' while reading it, and struggled with what to do for years.  Then, riding home from Kentucky and Lexington Comic and Toy Convention, we passed a sign that read Bonnieville!  That was the new name, because I could use that to also name the city after my mom.  And, so it was that Holly Springs, MS, in the stories became Bonnieville, USA.

Retro-Mule: Comic Strip Film Viewer, Pt. 1

I found a box of odd-and-end type things and was going through it when I realized that I had found old artwork from the early 1980's!  Some things that I had completely forgot about were now here for me to share, and that's what I want to do this week and next.  So, let's start walking down the memory lane.  Quickly.  Walk fast.  I think there are muggers out here....

When I was a little kid, 1983 or so, I took a flat cardboard box and some rolls of receipt tape that my mom brought home to me and created something I thought was neat (at first).

Before continuing: The receipt tape was paper that I could use to draw on instead of my primary tablets.  It was free, and we weren't very financially able to splurge on drawing paper, so my mom supported my drawing habit any way she could.  Even my grandparents who would tear open a paper sack that groceries came in so I could draw on that.  Unfortunately, none of that exists.

Back to my creation:  I thought that the idea was neat to have the comic strips run in a particular order so they could be threaded through a 'viewer' and you could read one frame at a time.  It could be read as horizontal strips, or turned and read as vertical strips.

 The problem I noticed after three turns at this was: If you use it, you have the trouble of going back and rewinding the whole strip.  Plus, to print and sell something like this would be more costly than, say, printing an actual comic book that you have the ease of turning pages to read your story.

This week and next, you'll get a chance to see these three turns from the early 1980's and see why this was not  a very profitable idea.  (To read these, read down, then back to the top.)

In this first strip, you see Muley playing one of my favorite video games, Pac-man, and acting out what I also acted out when it was time to stop playing and move long: Pac-icide.  You kill off your Pac-man, end the game, and head outside to play.


(By the way, read these DOWN, and then back to the top.)

To show that I was aiming for a film strip idea here, you can see the countdown to the next 'show.'

In this strip, you see Kevin and Michelle Rhea.  Obviously, Kevin is named after me.  My best friend as a kid was a girl named Michelle, and everyone said we looked a lot alike so I created twins in the MuleyVerse named Kevin and Michelle Rhea (who, in the stories, are my cousins).  Michelle liked the idea of cartooning and created a character that she later gave to me, although I gave her credit for that character for years and you'll see that character in the next installment.

Here are Kevin and Michelle Rhea.

Note:  I love French's Classic Yellow Mustard, and eat some foods (like hot dogs) just so I have something to put mustard on.  Here, you see Kevin Rhea eating a hot dog slathered in mustard!

Hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane.

Buford Adopts a Kitty - Part 7

Catch up on Parts 1 & 2    Part 3    Part 4    Part 5   Part 6

You already know that the kitten had to go, but we still have to wrap up the story.  Here's the end!

Hope you had fun.

Buford Adopts a Kitty - Part 6

To recap:
Parts 1 & 2      Part 3      Part 4     Part 5

And now, an all-new episode of Buford Adopts a Kitty...even though the kitty is pretty much out of the picture.  I don't like drawing kitties.

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of Buford Adopts a Kitty!

Buford Adopts a Kitten - Part 5

Previous strips in review:
Parts 1 & 2
Part 3
Part 4

And now, ladies and gentlemen (if you're still around), Part 5.

(Click the comic strip to see it larger.)

We're making a round of jokes about allergies, and that's because I have those allergies and it allows Muley and Friends to be ridiculous.  There are ways to take care of those allergies.  Here is a good website that can help.


Stay tuned for part 6!

Buford Adopts a Kitty - Part 4

Visit Parts 1 & 2 and Part 3.

(Click the comic strip to view larger.)

When first planning to adopt a pet, our suggestion is to snag plenty of allergy medicines to begin with.  There are generic medications that keep you from spending all that extra money that you'll need for vet bills and getting holistic pet food.

The second step to the planning is finding where to get the pet.

In our case, Casper wandered into the driveway before a storm as a kitten, and I suckered myself into keeping him.  Wendy was in the middle of the road as a kitten, and she suckered me into keeping her.  Bebe was one of 9 puppies born under the abandoned house next door, and when we took "all" of them to a foster farm, she hid in my house and I got attached/suckered into keeping her.

But, your case may be different.  Consider the pound, consider animal shelters.  There are good animals there that need a Forever Home and love.  You don't have to purchase a full-breed animal to get a good pet, and sometimes rescued animals are not only the best pet, but also they are the pet that gives you the best, appreciative love!

You can also check with your local vet's office as they sometimes have good advice on getting a pet and where to go.

Remember, getting a pet is not a short-term act.  These are called Forever Homes for a reason: when you get a pet, you also get responsibility.  Feeding, cleaning, playing, exercise, activity...there are many jobs in taking care of your pet, and the attention required is exorbitant!  Also, you can have a pet at home, but that pet at home can also be abandoned--don't be that person!

Don't leave them outdoors chained up with no attention, don't leave them without plenty of water and food, don't leave them out in the cold, don't leave them locked up in a small room, don't leave them to their own devices.

Pets need a boss.  Not the "Hitler" kind of boss, but the kind of boss that cares about them and wants everything that is happening and that is going to happen to be a happy outcome for the critters.

So, this post reminds you of the responsibility in providing a Forever Home to an animal.  And reminds you to get allergy meds.

Up next, part 5.