Well, it’s been six months since I made parole... no wait, make that seven

First things first—if this is the first time you’re visiting my blog, I bet I know what you’re wondering;  This guy must be a really big fan of ‘Orange is the New Black’.  Haha, yes!  I just finished Season 3 and I’m ready to add it to “ApacheDug’s Top Ten TV Shows of All Time”, it’s THAT good. 

Okay, I’m not REALLY on parole (but for some reason, it does feel like it).  It’s just that my 20 year sentence of hard labor at UPMC was cut short six months ago and I was reminded of that fact today during the final OITNB episode.  An inmates ID number gets switched accidentally in the computer system with another who is set for release.  When they hand the wrong inmate a pile of civilian clothes and a bus ticket, does she say “Oh wait, this isn’t my prison id number”?  

Hell no!  She says “Thanks it’s been real” and vamooses!

Hours later, after the prison admins have realized their blunder and go to the bus depot where she was dropped off to begin their search, they find her still sitting there.  The warden asks her why she didn’t get on a bus.  She says “I had no place to go.”   He says “Then why’d you leave??”

She gives him a “duh” look and reminds him she really had no choice.

That’s pretty much how I felt last December, when I was shown two doors & one of them said DO EVEN MORE and the other said EXIT.  Did I have an exit plan in place?  Yes, but not for this date.  Was I emotionally & financially ready to go?  Not really. 

But what choice did I have?  I vamoosed.

Anyway, I suppose that scene at the bus depot just struck a nerve or something.  I’m not looking to go back to prison work anytime soon, but I suppose I am wondering what I’m going to do with the rest of this so-called life.  

Wondering… not worrying!  There’s a huge difference.  

Our hearts belong in outer space: The final pages of the Amazing Argo!

Well, here it is—what you’ve been waiting for, the end of the ride on the Amazing Argo!

In case you skipped over the previous chapter, an ancient virus from the undersea city of Atlantis has turned me into a vampire; while I’m on the hunt for blood, Shawn is now on the hunt for ME—with a vaporizer gun!

Meanwhile, the Evil Empress & Myorg are back, and aboard the Argo to exact their revenge—not knowing of the hot mess they just landed into!

TIME FOR A DISCLAIMER:  The artwork in the final couple pages gets suspiciously better & not wholly original; I’d begun thinking that the villains in our adventures shouldn’t look as goofy as Shawn & Doug, and so I turned to (the much better drawn) women in comic books for my inspiration.   I really wish I’d just stuck with my own style.  And on that final note….

Chapter 6:  In Love with the Myorg!  (After the thrilling conclusion to chapter 5, of course)

Nest time: There is no next time!  Shortly after I did this last drawing in the summer of ‘87, I got another job and a new place to live, & began making plans to go back to school.

I’ve often wondered how things turned out for Doug & the new Myorg, maybe someday I’ll return to the Argo & finish the adventure!

Thanks for reading!

The Vampire, the Witch & the Wardrobe… Chapters 4 & 5 of the Amazing Argo!

You didn’t think I was through yet, did you?  Not to worry, we’re getting there!  When we last left our adventuresome pair, they’d just returned from 1957—only to find themselves on the ocean floor!  So what else are they going to discover down there? 

These next pages made me feel downright squeamish to read again after all these years; maybe I’m getting soft in my older years, but I can’t believe I’d threaten harm on my poor sister—even if I was a bloodthirsty vampire. 

Shawn for what it’s worth, I’d happily go back & edit these if I could.  And on that sincere note.. let the adventure continue!

 

Chapter Four:  Beware the Curse of the Vampires from Atlantis!

Nest time:  What does my sister have in mind?  And how does the Empress & Myorg fit into all this?  Come back for the thrilling conclusion & more as I share the final pages of these adventures!  See ya then!

Gotta get back in time… here we go with Chapter 3 of the Amazing Argo!

Can you believe this is still goin’ on?  Okay, when we last left my sister Shawn & yours truly, the whole Nervosa thing was finally behind us and all was right with the world once more.  Filled with confidence, I promised Shawn to get her back home in time—even if it meant going BACK in time to do it.

This chapter was clearly inspired by the latest Star Trek movie at the time, ‘The Voyage Home’ where they do the old ‘slingshot around the sun’ routine to break the time barrier.  (And it looks like another popular movie worked it’s way into the story below, as pointed out by my sister.)   Let the adventure continue!

Chapter Three:  Here Comes the Sun!

Next time: Terror awaits our submerged siblings in “Beware the Curse of the Vampires from Atlantis”!  See ya then!

It’s time for a reality check… Chapter Two of the Amazing Argo!

When we last saw Doug & Shawn, they were forced to follow the maniacal Nervosa back to her homeworld—to save Earth from her icy clutches! 

(Click here if you haven’t already read it)

NOTE: I thought about omitting this chapter, as my sister activates a “Reality Shifter” which propels us into—gasp!  REAL LIFE.  (At the time I was broke & living in my friend Dan & his wife’s attic, and working part-time at a restaurant, as seen below.)  I had a lot of free time on my hands—pretty much like I do now, obviously.  Oh well, enough with the chit-chat… let the adventure continue!

Chapter Two:  Stop the Ride, I Want to Get Off! 

Next time:  Our favorite pair of Argonauts do a little time-trippin’, in “Here Comes the Sun”!   See ya then!

Once upon a time, I had this spaceship… Chapter 1 of the Amazing Argo!

In case you didn’t already know, as a kid I was about as nerdy as they come.  I loved spaceships and monsters, and devoured every comic book I could get my hands on.  I also tended to do a bit of doodling, and used to draw this comic book called “The Amazing Argo”.

The Argo was a spaceship that I kept in orbit above the Earth, which no one knew existed besides myself and my sister Shawn (who was always along for the ride—even though I had to drag her along).  Anyway, a few months back I was lucky to happen upon some of those drawings so I thought I’d share ‘em here for posterity!

DISCLAIMERS GALORE:  These scans aren’t the best, the artwork has faded a bit & the pages are brittle.  (And yes, the baddie with the green hair was a villainess from DC comics, she was in my goofy-ass stories for many years.)  These were drawn over a period of time in the early 80s, mostly for fun and my sister’s amusement.  And finally, I never intended to share ‘em with anyone, so this could get embarrassing.  I never claimed to be an artist, though I dreamt about it enough!

I plan to share these pages in a series of posts, so I hope you’re ready—let the adventures begin!   (Click on each image to enlarge)

Chapter One:  The Sky is a Circle (and I have no idea where I came up with that title)

Next time: The adventure continues with the naughty Nervosa, as Shawn says “Stop the Ride, I want to get off!”   See ya then!