(written by Mark Brill)

The Cartoonists League of Absurd Washingtonians is leaving 2011 behind in a busy cloud of dust as we work our way through several year-end projects! In October CLAW was represented at the “Beyond Crayons & Finger Painting 2.0 Youth Art Project” event hosted by the B2 Fine Art Gallery in conjunction with the Tacoma Art Museum, the Museum of Glass.

The CLAW continues to expand as it welcomed Member #18, Michael Daley to its ranks during the Open Swim event in October! The theme of the artwork created at the event was Halloweenies. The results were as enjoyable as they were disturbing!
In November, our final Member’s Only meeting for the year took place at the usual Comic Book Ink venue. Plans were discussed for the upcoming Great Yearly Ceremony!

GREAT GIFT IDEAS to SUPPORT LOCAL CARTOONISTS

Winterfest on Sunday, Decemeber 4th at the Tacoma Art Museum will feature CLAW members doing sketches and selling their wares.

Dragons!

In preparation of Tacoma’s First Night Celebration, the many talons of the CLAW will be drawing dragons. Keep an eye out for them here, on FeedTacoma, our member’s blogs, and other locations between now and First Night. Further details of Dragon CLAWs at First Night will arrive as the date draws near.

Another White Elephant

The final Open Swim of 2011 will be held on Wednesday the 14th of December at the Amocat Cafe at 625 St. Helens Ave, Tacoma, and it will be our annual “White Elephant Gift Exchange”! Anyone who brings a gift (wrapped please, since unwrapping them is half the fun) to the event can participate. Numbers will be drawn, gifts will be stolen and re-stolen. (But don’t worry–everyone involved will end up with a gift!) And laughs will be had by all! Gifts are supposed to be either around $10 or something fun and amusing from one’s Closet-of-Abandonned-Presents-Past. Festivities begin at 7:30 PM.

In 2012, the Open Swim meetings will be moved back to their original dates of the forth Wednesday of each month and will be held at a new location: Dorky’s Bar Arcade! The address is 754 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402. Come join in the fun!

YEARLY END OF THE WORLD CLAW RITUAL

Finally, the C.L.A.W.’s GREAT YEARLY CEREMONY is also coming up at the beginning of 2012. Monday, January 2nd, in fact, and will again take place at the wonderful Knights of Pythias “Castle Hall” Temple, located on Broadway in Tacoma’s Theater District. Tickets for the event will be sold at several retail venues around town, such as Comic Book Ink and Dorky’s. Please see the CLAW website for further details in December. It will be a gala event featuring a cast of several and costing tens of dollars! New Council of Four Eyes members will be inducted, official “Friends of CLAW” will be honored, a MUCH-faster-than-last-year’s slideshow will be presented, and most importantly, there will be cake! Don’t miss out! Additionally, it should be noted that all proceeds from the purchase of GYC tickets will go into the CLAW Students Scholorship Fund!

MORE VIRTUAL WONDERS!

You can find us, and see CLAW members work on our CLAW DRAWS sketchbook, Facebook page and Flicker group.

October 20th, THIRD THURSDAY at AMOCAT CAFE 7:30 pm

Come prepared to DRAW DRAW DRAW your favorite HALLOWEENIE !  Whatever you think that means.  By popular vote the winners will get their pick of LEXX cult classic Canadian science fiction DVD’s.  Maybe even witness a few CLAW new member swearing in ceremonial rituals!  We will post all artwork to the CLAW DRAW site.

Outrageous #occupytacoma fun! See you there, Comrade.

24 Hour Comic Day Report – Status AWESOME!

Of the Competing CLAW talons ALL members met the challenge to complete 24 pages in 24 hours!

1. Larry (aka Thorax O’Tool) – [pages not live?]
2. RR Anderson – WYATT JAMES, BOY DETECTIVE
3. Stowe + Kevin – Wango the Wallaby: Trouble in Console Town 
4. Mark Monlux – Stickman’s Tips for Having A Table at a Comic Book Convention
5. Michael Daley – Insomnia Bites
6. Mark Brill – The Mad Man from Planet Zatar!

Check out the finished comics linked above. These are truly dark economic times for the friends of CLAW so donations to our Young Cartoonist of the Future Scholarship fund not as frequent this year… but all the more special, which brings our grand total up into the $500’s. Thank you so much for your donations!  If you showed up to the event and made a donation, you got to take home one of these incredible mystery monkey tile original artworks:

Extra-extra thanks to Mr and Mrs. Izenmania who showered us with delicious home-made baked goods. Godamnit I love these people so much. Just look at these young patriots, they love freedom and well fed cartoonists…

see how happy I am?

See full set of Mark Monlux photos here.  THANK YOU WEEKLY VOLCANO FOR YOUR MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE!

THANK YOU STAFF OF COMIC BOOK INK! the power of the universe flows through you all!

IN OTHER NEWS…

CLAW is considering formation of a sub-support group within our body of Cartoonists specifically for Cartoon/Comic-strip writers.  Here is what we have so far:

• Writers who join the CLAW would be known as Quills.
• Their dues would be $60 a year, not $70
• They would not have a vote.
• They would be judged on their body of work in which they have shown actual collaboration with a cartoonist.
• They can only be sponsored by cartoonist, or a sponsor would be appointed for them via the four eyes if they pass four-eye assessment.
• Four eyes will determine the leader of the quills, just as all leadership is determined by the four-eyes.
• The leader of the quills will be given the title of Alpha, and regarding duration of leadership, will follow the same rules as the other leaders of the CLAW. Past Alpha will be referred to as Omega.
• Letters will be assigned Quills. There can only be one Alpha symbol worn, Omega’s can wear their symbol as long as their members.
• It’s suggested that Quills would wear berets instead of fez.

NEXT CLAW Sketchbook Open Swim

Theme: “Halloweenie!”  at Amcat Café @ 7:30 pm on October 20^th, 2011 (Third Thursday)

Robot Overlord CLAW T-shirts

(coming soon)

 MISC

• Drawing dragons for First Night  event
• Winterfest event at Tacoma Art Museum (december)
• Friend of CLAW nominations
• Yearly Changing of the Four Eye council ritual at Knights of Pythias Temple
• New Members: Michael Daley and Britton Sukys!