Category Archives: Clowns

Hans and the Talking Bear

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Hans discovered that he could speak                                                                   with a bear who turned up in his flat last week,                                            as once he got past his initial dread,                                                                     he understood all that he said.                                                                                They hit it right off, like lickety-split,                                                                   just laughing and joking and shootin’ the shit…                                             ’till the bear got hungry and ate his head                                                         and now poor Hans is dead.

***This is another illustration/poem that didn’t make the cut for our new book, ‘Bludgeon the Clown’.  It’s easy to see why the image didn’t make it (it’s not very good).  It was originally commissioned for a story in Analog Magazine back in 2008…but I had hoped the publisher would find a way to keep my amazing poem in the book.  Oh well, that’s out of my hands – and the whole thing is coming along splendidly.  -Marsha

Briny Brown

Briny Brown-81Briny Brown was a giant clown,                                                                       roughly the size of a tiny town.                                                                               We know this now ’cause he tripped and fell down…                            and flattened the place to the ground.

From the heiney of Briny,                                                                                              a clown quite tiny,                                                                                                             emerged, disheveled and slimy.                                                                                 As he staggered around, he said with a frown,                                                 “Holy crap!…I’m alive!!  Go’ blimey!!!”

***It’s tax day in America, the day on which none of us can evade complicity.  -Marsha

Poop.

POOP-new sticker-78 A Really Bad Poem

A really bad poem is one without rhyme.                                                            It sounds really awkward every single…recitation.  (time)                      It’s meter and beat are uneven and base.                                                      Just rhyming won’t do it, it needs a good – bouncy rhythm and a spot-on, neeto-keen…..pace.                                                                                      And don’t forget poets who make up new words,                                          who clutter the page with “scruffulous” turds.                                                 A really bad poem just might make you cry.                                                       Not like…from “feelings!”  but a poke in the eye.                                            Yeah, a really bad poem will poke out you’re eye,                                          will stomp on your toes and might make you…..screech                            like a howler monkey! (cry)                                                                                         But a really bad poem is funny sometimes                                                          if you get past bad meter and horrible rhymes.                                               A really bad poem might just be crap                                                                  ’cause the person who wrote it’s a horrible chap.                                       You might just not care for their poetic shit                                                    and feel like you just want to…..GAG.  (spit)    

***I’ve paired ‘A Really Bad Poem’ with our new “POOP.” sticker design just in time for our first Comic Con of the year.  John and I will have a table (with a load of new orig. art prints and stickers) at the NJ Horror Con and Film Festival, March 31st to April 2nd, in Edison NJ.  Find it online at;  http://www.newjerseyhorrorcon.com/.  Come find us at the show.  -Marsha   

 

Doug the Slug

Doug the Slug-77 

Doug felt sluggish sitting through another mind numbing meeting.  Boring people, like him, in boring suits, like his, sat around the conference room table giving boring briefs on their departments.  Doug’s section had nothing to report, he was only there to fill his boss’ seat while he was off golfing.  They droned on and on like lazy bees;  “Turn to page 68 and review diagram 123g…” and “good news in marketing assessment accounts payable, see the bar graph in addendum 6…” and Doug was too hyped up on caffeine to fall asleep like Bob from Legal.

Then…..he had a funny feeling.  Not a laugh out loud feeling – a strange, funny feeling…and the last thing he heard before it all went sideways was another inane comment from Alice, the CFO;  “…and sales were sluggish again last week…” and POW!!

A drip formed on the tip of Doug’s nose and slid off onto his tie, which he noticed was already flowing like liquid into his lap.  He watched as his fingers dissolved into sludge and his hands turn to pulp.  He felt his hair and eyebrows melt, his skin go flubbery and sag and finally his whole head collapse into an eggy mess down his torso before everything sploshed down into a viscous puddle of goo around his shoes (which didn’t take part in the transformation for some reason).

Funny thing is, he doubted that anybody in the meeting even noticed what had happened.  Perhaps everyone there was melting like him…but he doubted it…he could still hear Alice droning and Bob snoring.

***I think melting in meetings was the best part of working in corporate America, surpassed only by exploding like a hamster in a microwave just to see the mess all over everybody’s boring suit.  Happy Spring everybody.  -Marsha  

Liam the Clown

Liam-75There once was a clown named Liam,                                                                  so small it was hard to see ‘im                                                                                     ’till I stomped him flat                                                                                                      with a colorful splatt.                                                                                                      Now, I wouldn’t want to be ‘im.

***We posted this one ’cause it was an easy one as we prepare our new book for publication.  ‘Bludgeon the Clown’ will (hopefully) be out by May 1st and we’re working around the clock to finish it.  This image is from our ‘Creepy Clown Coloring Book’…but we posted another version back on Jan. 12th 2016.  I’m not a big fan of John’s work but I really like this one…it makes me hungry for seven layer nacho dip.  -Marsha

Suspected Clowns

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Skippy the Jester came with a grunt.                                                                   Leopold came with a smile.                                                                                            Pat came juggling big squishy balls                                                                         in a highly provocative style. 

Montalban came in his polka dots.                                                                     Willy came wearing a dress.                                                                                          Mimsy came bouncing and shaking in white                                                      but left an absolute mess.  

Timothy came in a Santa suit.                                                                                       Bob came dressed as a cop,                                                                                            shoving his night stick in everyone’s face                                                             and no one could make him stop.

Bill the Mime came with Sissy the Clown.                                                        Do they come any weirder?…..Please!                                                              But when the guy with the camera came,                                                     they all came in close and said: “CHEESE!!”

***This post was originally published back in June last year…but I did a reuse because John read this poem, along with two others, at the art opening on Saturday (I was too nervous to do it).  The show, ‘Art & Poetry HA HA!’ at The Rectangle Gallery was fantastic and very funny.  It was a poetry reading followed by a reception for the visual art show – the kind of show that could change the mind of any poetry hater.  All the art was great and we got to meet a few of the other artists.  We really should do more of them.  There are pictures posted up at www.therectanglestudio.com.   -Marsha

Art & Poetry HAHA!

 

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Tepid the Clown had really bad gas.                                                                    He made ’em strong, and made ’em to last.                                                     He could fly around town propelled by his ass,                                       could leap a tall building with just one blast.

But ran out of luck with a wet squirty one                                                     and at ten thousand feet he was done                                                              and hit the street like a jelly-filled bun                                                             but, by golly! Wasn’t that fun?!!

***I may have posted this one last year but here is again…see, the darndest thing happened recently when the owners of The Rectangle Studio & Gallery invited us to be part of their inaugural ‘Art and Poetry HAHA!’ show.  I figured they must be crazy people if they liked John’s horrible clown illustrations…but John will be reading a piece or two of My work too, so they obviously have good taste.  The show is on Saturday, Feb. 25th at The Rectangle Studio & Gallery, 540A Freeman St., Orange, NJ 07050.  Open mike is at 6:30p (RSVP only) and open house is from 7:30p to 10p with froo-froo wine and snacks.  Find it online at http://www.therectanglestudio.com/.  -Marsha 

Zebulon the Wizard

Zebulon-71Zebulon The Wizard

Piscataway, NJ. Zebulon the Wizard (formerly Joey the Clown) was about as common as clowns come…but with a knack for burgling.  He was the best: clever, adaptable, insightful – qualities still highly regarded by the clown community.  Once a petty thief, Joey changed his stars by stealing a magical Christian spell book from a secret Vatican warehouse. With the recipes in his new book, he was able to build a ‘time cauldron’ through which he could reach forward – or back – in time and steal more stuff…..better stuff.

Zebulon let me use his cauldron a few times to document some of the great  historic clowns from the deep, dark, misty past.  Its how we know so much about Saint George the Clown (from 299 A.D.) and Barge the Giant (circa 1330).  Zeb got me a Tubakazoo for Christmas last year, its a popular folk instrument from the year 2232.  It makes a (terrible) whining wheeze like the sound of a horse being strangled…while gently farting (I got him that red wizard costume).

***”Zebulon” is a page that just got cut from the latest draft of my new book ‘Bludgeon the Clown.’  I’ve trimmed it down from 186 pages to 100, so I can keep production costs low enough to sell it to real people.  I hope to have it published and ready to bring to Comic Cons in the spring.  John and I thought it would be harder to cut our own beloved writing and art out…..turns out there was a lot of crap and fluff and redundancy in the older drafts.  The new book is better now and Zebulon will work better in a different project.  The image was originally a commission for a 2 page spread for an issue of Analog Magazine.  -Marsha

Monster Truck

Monster Truck-70Flippy the Clown drives a truck.                                                                    What a big ugly mean stupid fuck!?!                                                                        He tools around town                                                                                                     running poor people down                                                                                         ’till his tires are pasted with muck.

***Oh damn!!!  I had a scathing political piece to share this week about our new worst president, ever…but John didn’t have a decent image of a train wreck for me to use, so I had to settle for this.  Never mind, this one is a page from my new “Creepy Clown Coloring Book.” You can find it (and buy it) on Etsy, just follow the link to our website above.  Thanks.  -Marsha

Jiggy the Clown

Jiggy the Clown-68Jiggy the Clown was spotted one day                                                                  tasting forbidden fruit,                                                                                               dancing around wearing nothing at all                                                                except for a business suit.                                                                                           They raided his place and chased him down                                                  ’till Jiggy was out of breath,                                                                                        then bound and twisted his guilt and shame                                                 and hanged poor Jiggy to death. 

***Hooray!  Its inauguration week.  We’ll soon swear in the next worst president…ever.  I don’t need to be cynical, its not as if this hasn’t been percolating now for decades.  Anybody who takes an honest look at history will tell you (if you can stand to listen).  The real question is: What are you going to do now?  -Marsha