The Story of Sombrero Friday
So, I meant to write up this little tale of how I came up with the title "Sombrero Friday" awhile back, but I got distracted or something. But it's a lazy Sunday morning, and I don't need to start making tortillas for a bit so...
A quick disclaimer: I truly do think Sombreros are cool. I personally prefer to wear a fedora or a bandana on my own head, but that's just me. Still, you gotta admit, sombreros are kinda silly looking, and make for absolutely great visual comedy. If I have offended any sombrero enthusiasts (spell?), then I apologize.
A few years back, Boolah, Bro, and myself went to Watson/Effingham to visit out buddy Shafe. Now, off the top of my head, I dunno whether Shafe was still living with his Ma, or whether he was visiting from up north. Actually, Shafe ain't all that important to the story, so it doesn't matter. We get to Shafe's Ma's house and knock on the door. Shafe's Mom answers the door, takes one look at our ragtag little trio, smiles a little, and then shouts, "Brian! The Three Amigos are here!" I dunno whether she was mocking us or not, but I considered it complimentary. I'd always liked the Three Amigos myself. (Side Note: If we were the Three Amigos, then Boolah is Chevy Chase, Bro is Steve Martin, and (not surprisingly) I'm Martin Short)
Flash forward a few years. I'm brainstorming ideas for my Xerox comic, Super Duper Fun Comix (the predecessor to SDF). At the time, the main story followed the quartet of Cactus Joe, Pengy Penguin, Walt, and Sped. I thought it would be funny if I had a story where my little quartet had to work to earn money. I was gonna have em do Odd Jobs (Side Note #2: This idea would eventually evolve into the lead story in SDF: Very Odd Jobs). Remembering the Three Amigos bit from years ago, I thought it would be hilarious if the Quartet called themselves the Four Amigos and ran around wearing Sombreros while they were working. Unfortunately, the handful of Four Amigos stories I worked up in my head never came to fruition...
Flash forward a few more years, and I'm brainstorming ideas for SDF. I came up with an idea for a story where Cactus Joe, Pengy, Voodoo Dolly, Walt, and Sped were out fishing in the backwoods, and then they got attacked by a pack of drunken rednecks (Side Note #3: Frimpy would eventually be added to this story, mostly because I thought Frimpy would fit in nicely with this little group. Not to toot my own horn, but I was right.). Now, the idea of a killer clown, a human voodoo doll, an intelligent blue penguin, a cat in overalls, and a dog that can't stop smiling all going out to the Southern Illinois backwoods and fishing (with old school homemade fishing poles no less...) would be ridiculous enough for most people. Not me. I knew something (besides Frimpy) was missing. Then, in one of those inexplicable flashes of inspiration, I remembered the Four Amigos bit. The idea of seeing the somewhat serious character of Voodoo Dolly in a sombrero alone would be worth the price of admission. (Side Note #4: As if that's not silly enough, look closely at Walt. You'll notice he's wearing his trademark hat underneath the Sombrero)
There was just one problem. Why were they doing this? They needed some reason. Again, flash of inspiration gave birth to "Sombrero Friday". It was like Casual Friday for alla the Cubicle Folk, taken to the next bizarre level. It was perfect, and it gave me the title for the issue as well. Plus, over the course of the issue, the joke actually evolves further. And it all started with Shafe's Mom.
And for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, head over to www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html so you can score your own copy of Sombrero Friday. Anyone else notice how I've been whoring up the main site more often lately? What's up with that?
A quick disclaimer: I truly do think Sombreros are cool. I personally prefer to wear a fedora or a bandana on my own head, but that's just me. Still, you gotta admit, sombreros are kinda silly looking, and make for absolutely great visual comedy. If I have offended any sombrero enthusiasts (spell?), then I apologize.
A few years back, Boolah, Bro, and myself went to Watson/Effingham to visit out buddy Shafe. Now, off the top of my head, I dunno whether Shafe was still living with his Ma, or whether he was visiting from up north. Actually, Shafe ain't all that important to the story, so it doesn't matter. We get to Shafe's Ma's house and knock on the door. Shafe's Mom answers the door, takes one look at our ragtag little trio, smiles a little, and then shouts, "Brian! The Three Amigos are here!" I dunno whether she was mocking us or not, but I considered it complimentary. I'd always liked the Three Amigos myself. (Side Note: If we were the Three Amigos, then Boolah is Chevy Chase, Bro is Steve Martin, and (not surprisingly) I'm Martin Short)
Flash forward a few years. I'm brainstorming ideas for my Xerox comic, Super Duper Fun Comix (the predecessor to SDF). At the time, the main story followed the quartet of Cactus Joe, Pengy Penguin, Walt, and Sped. I thought it would be funny if I had a story where my little quartet had to work to earn money. I was gonna have em do Odd Jobs (Side Note #2: This idea would eventually evolve into the lead story in SDF: Very Odd Jobs). Remembering the Three Amigos bit from years ago, I thought it would be hilarious if the Quartet called themselves the Four Amigos and ran around wearing Sombreros while they were working. Unfortunately, the handful of Four Amigos stories I worked up in my head never came to fruition...
Flash forward a few more years, and I'm brainstorming ideas for SDF. I came up with an idea for a story where Cactus Joe, Pengy, Voodoo Dolly, Walt, and Sped were out fishing in the backwoods, and then they got attacked by a pack of drunken rednecks (Side Note #3: Frimpy would eventually be added to this story, mostly because I thought Frimpy would fit in nicely with this little group. Not to toot my own horn, but I was right.). Now, the idea of a killer clown, a human voodoo doll, an intelligent blue penguin, a cat in overalls, and a dog that can't stop smiling all going out to the Southern Illinois backwoods and fishing (with old school homemade fishing poles no less...) would be ridiculous enough for most people. Not me. I knew something (besides Frimpy) was missing. Then, in one of those inexplicable flashes of inspiration, I remembered the Four Amigos bit. The idea of seeing the somewhat serious character of Voodoo Dolly in a sombrero alone would be worth the price of admission. (Side Note #4: As if that's not silly enough, look closely at Walt. You'll notice he's wearing his trademark hat underneath the Sombrero)
There was just one problem. Why were they doing this? They needed some reason. Again, flash of inspiration gave birth to "Sombrero Friday". It was like Casual Friday for alla the Cubicle Folk, taken to the next bizarre level. It was perfect, and it gave me the title for the issue as well. Plus, over the course of the issue, the joke actually evolves further. And it all started with Shafe's Mom.
And for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, head over to www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html so you can score your own copy of Sombrero Friday. Anyone else notice how I've been whoring up the main site more often lately? What's up with that?
1 Comments:
You forget. My mom doesn't know the meaning of the word mock. Hence, no mocking. hehe
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