Tom The Dancing Bug Blog

Boing Boing Bugs Fixed.

Boing Boing has now fixed the Tom the Dancing Bug pages, and note that there is a new link to the Tom the Dancing Bug index (the old one is now defunct):

 

http://boingboing.net/category/tomthedancingbug/

TOM THE DANCING BUG T-SHIRTS

create & buy custom products at Zazzle

 

 

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A very, very early God-Man Adventure

If anyone at the San Diego Comic Con finds an original of this very early, "Bronze Age" God-Man comic, please pick it up for me.

 

 

To comment, please use facebook or twitter (#tomthedancingbug). 

THIS WEEK'S COMIC

Read "Harry Potter and the deathly Deficit" here!

 

Bonus Billy Dare

Here's another comic about the weird disconnect Americans have between exposing kids to violent entertainment vs. any kind of sexual content or nudity.

 

You have no idea how happy I was when I thought up the title of this chapter.

 

A Note of Clarification on Fat Earl v. Scalia, J.

In general, I don't like to comment substantively on my comics, but I do want to make a quick explanatory note on this week's comic.

 

My point is not that I think it's wrong to allow the sale of violent video games to children.  If I was in charge of Everything, I'd probably not allow any prohibitions on these sales, and leave it up to parents to monitor what their kids are buying and using.  That said, I think, given all the other restrictions on the liberty of children we allow, taking away their right to purchase very violent materials wouldn't be our worst decision.  (Plus, you know that even the mildly motivated among them would get their hands on it anyway!)

 

What I think is absolutely insane about this new case handed down by the Supreme Court, written by our favorite action-hero, Justice Scalia, is that the current state of First Amendment jurisprudence is now basically that:

 

(i)  You can't prohibit the sale of violent video games to children of any age, no matter how horrific, shocking and sadistic the violence.

 

BUT

 

(ii) It's fine to prohibit the sale of sexually provocative material to minors, no matter how mild the sexual content, even a mere flash of nipple or buttocks.

 

This stark dichotomy is a reflection of a pretty sick culture that glorifies violence and even sadism as entertainment, prosecutes three simultaneous wars while most citizens barely notice, and actually debates whether or not torture is a valid information-gathering technique.

 

**************

 

UPDATE:  This reminded me of this blog post I wrote a while ago.  An amazingly hypocritical movie poster controversy involving "Saw V" and "Zack and Miri Make a Porno."

This Week's Comic

It's a First Amendment Throwdown in a Cheez E. Chainsaw's!  Who will win:  Fat Earl or Judge Scalia?  (hint:  Judge Scalia NEVER LOSES!)

 

Click HERE to read!  (don't click here or here.)

 

Google Plus would have put Vincent over the edge.

Wondering if I have to re-do this comic to include Google Plus.

 

Fat Earl's "Expressive Conduct" Nudie Shack

For no particular reason, here is Fat Earl's "Expressive Conduct" Nudie Shack.

 

By the way, this would absolutely work.

 

A Special Announcement Regarding Tom the Dancing Bug's Harvey Award Nomination

Now that the dust has settled, I'm going to need to revise my original take on these Harvey Award nominations.  (See "It's In the Bag, Boys.")  It appears that in the first blush of competition, I said some things about my colleagues that are factually untrue, which I do not believe, and which I now regret.  They are a fine group of accomplished and brilliant artists, and I'm truly honored to be nominated with them.

 

That being said, and now that I've had time to learn exactly what the Harvey Awards are, and how the voting works, I'm going to say that I STILL think I'm going to win this thing.  You see, apparently the award is granted based on a popular vote of comics professionals.  And that is critical, because there is one important quality that separates me from the other four nominees.

 

The four other nominees are far too classy to actively campaign for this award.

 

I, however, plan to campaign frenetically.  If you follow me on twitter or facebook, brace yourself for a barrage of crass pleas for votes.  If you don't, you'll nevertheless see me canvassing for votes in trade publications, website comments sections, letters to the editor, and the crowd behind Al Roker on The Today Show.

 

Now, you may ask, "Is this some kind of self-promotional ego-trip?"  To which I reply: "Ha!  Far from it!"  In fact, this will be an extended piece of performance art, in which I ironically "seek" an award, but my motive is solely to illuminate the folly of a popular vote in matters of art in particular, artistic award competitions in general, and the inane commercialization of American culture as a whole.

 

And if my relentless campaigning leads to a Tom the Dancing Bug win against this illustrious competition, will I not have made my point?

 

So, if you are a cartooning/comics industry professional, please vote for Tom the Dancing Bug and urge your colleagues, friends and neighbors to do so as well.  Thank you for your time, and God Bless America.

 

Vote here NOW!