Touch me. Touch me like you didn't touch me last night.

One of my favorite things I've ever drawn. Judging by the notes on the back of the paper, it was 1997, when I was "learning" French.




Another that makes me smile, one I did during an art jam with my brother Matthew:





Then we have an adorable cover from a 1992 manga magazine.



And why is the back so interesting? Can you tell who that is?



I'll give you a hint: he's Japanese.

Love,

benjamin

Right, so here's what you get today, kids.

First, it's the last of the JAM COMIX that my brother Matthew, Lovely Wife Sara, and I.

The first one is me, Matthew, and Sara.



This one is just me and Matthew:



Then, it's finally time for another of the Photos Of My Life.

I'm still taking requests for them, and now that more time has appeared in my life, maybe I'll even do them more frequently.

In any event, vespere_tonkan asked for photos of my favorite bowl or mug. This is my favorite mug.

I saw it at a local art / craft thing about a year ago. I desperately wanted this thing, but I didn't have my wallet with me. The lady didn't sell stuff online, so I knew I'd blown my chance to get it.

Imagine the awesome, then, when I opened a birthday present from Lovely Wife Sara later that year and found this dinosaur looking at me.






Again, I'm still taking suggestions for photos of my life.

Right, that's it for now. Have a good Friday.

b

First, a jam comic by my brother Matthew and me:



Finally another HERO A DAY, as well as A SPACE EPIC JAM COMIC by Matthew, Me, and Lovely Wife Sara!


For kristinkannibal, a terrifically horrible drawing of CRUELLA DE VIL...



And now...JAM COMIX! (Matthew says those are squirrels in the first panel)



Order: Matthew, me, Sara, Matthew, Me, Matthew, Me, Sara
Who do you love, kids?!

b

So, remember when I mentioned that Brother Matthew and partner Todd are on their Round-The-World trip? And that they were going to try to blog about it?

"Dear Followers of Benchilada,

The blog is indeed active (and I am quite proud of myself for it). www.GoStarfish.net

Matthew, brother of Benchilada"

It's in lovely little bite-sized chunks that are informative, interesting, and funny. And there are photos. Make sure you click on GO TO ARCHIVES, as it only shows something like the five most recent entries.

SAMPLES:

"It is fascinating how someone can ride a bike in traffic, carrying an umbrella with a baby on board.  I would try it, but I would have to either steal or rent a baby, neither of which sound like good options.  Plus, I’d be wet."
                                                                                                                                                                          


"Yeah, I’m wearing big wooden shoes.  And you’re not."
                                                                                                                                                                            

"No matter how much traveling I do (which, incidentally, is a lot, but never enough), there will always be things in other cultures I do not understand.  On German TV right now is a topless woman hosting some kind of late night call-in game show.  I had heard about these shows from friends, and I am certain it is more fun to watch than an infomercial for a Garden Weasel, but I am still not certain that I understand. When I can figure out how to block out her boobies, I’ll post a photo."


"In German, the word "fahrt" is used often. For the less mature among us, it always elicits a laugh when the mild-mannered tour guide says "fahrt. Plus it's on signs all over the ity. HA!"

REASONS TO HATE MY BROTHER MATTHEW, CHAPTER ONE:

Says he:

"I'm going around the world.

In less than 80 days!

For less than 80 days!

I thought about Journey to the center of the earth, but that's so been done
before.

Here’s the scoop.  Todd & I had these buckets full of frequent flier miles
we’ve been saving up for a “Round the World” trip.  It’s one of those
rewards that I thought was a joke:  “sure, you can take an around the world
trip for free.  The next availability is January 5-14, 2011.  Can I book
that for you?”  Well, it’s for real, and we’re really doing it.

We both got about 7 weeks off work, and we should actually have our jobs
when we return.  We were able to get employee rates almost everywhere
(except for some random nights here & there).  Of course, this will entail
many different airlines and many different airports… including at least a
dozen I haven’t been to.  How sad for me.

We’ll leave on May 6th, and our destinations will include:  Prague, Munich,
Salzburg, Stockholm, Bergen (Norway), Singapore, Ko Samui (Thailand), Luang
Prabang (Laos), Honolulu, and Houston.  Then a day after we return, we’ll
come up to Illinois (June 22nd or so).  At that time, we will be broke, but
happy.  Todd will be ready for a two-week nap.  I’ll be ready to wash my
clothes & get on another airplane.

Our airports include (Sorry I have not memorized all these airport codes
yet.  That is a major goal of mine, as you can imagine).  I’ll try to do
them in order:  Amsterdam, Prague, Stockholm, Oslo, Bergen, Paris,
Singapore, Ko Samui, Bangkok, Luang Prabang, Seoul, Tokyo, Honolulu, and
Houston.  And the airlines include:  Continental, KLM, CSA Czech, SAS
Scandinavian, Air France, Korea, and Northwest.  How very cool.

Now I just have to get shot for typhoid, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, malaria,
and assorted cooties.  Plus I have to figure out how to pack 1 backpack for
7 weeks.

I’ll come up with a website for my adventures, and blog as I go, as I am oh
so techie.  Or maybe not."

A partial history of our two days in Houston.
A number of pictures and a few words about it.

WARNING: A few NSFW photos.


Okay, I'm sleepy and need to get a plane in a few hours.

[EDIT: Wrote that last night, plane leaves in 3 hours]

G'night, more some day later.

b

My brother Matthew is batshit insane.
I received the following e-mail from him, regarding FWMA:3

-------------------------------------

"I'm working on fucking with your art. I'm exploring the lesbian angle. So far it's something like this:

Plot summary:

Short-haired stereotype girl walks into the diner in a vinyl miniskirt. The long-legged waitress walked over. Girl says she'd like a grilled cheese.
With mustard and pickles. How about some tuna? asks the waitress. I like tuna, don't you, she says. Girl says, No, just pickles and mustard. Then the waitress hikes up her skirt, jumps up on the table, rubs her crotch on girl's face and says. How can you pass up tuna?" Degrades into lesbian porn, finishing with the immortal line, "you naughty girl, you better come on my finger."

OK, maybe I'd better not fuck with your art right now."

-------------------------------------

benjamin
Whose whole family is crazy as something that's really crazy

My brother Matthew cracks my ass up. Here's his version of FWMA:2, and it's funnier than George W. Bush on a Tilt-a-Whirl after two corndogs and three lemonade shake-ups.

---

(  Here is your story...complete with the happy ending you always wanted. )

I wanna know why this fucker doesn't submit his shit to places that...umm...accepting writing from mental patients.

b