For those who are “Not in the Know” every third Thursday of the month, a group of cartoonist descend upon Cosmic’s Coffee Shoppe in St. Paul, Minnesota to concoct a jam comic*. The staff at Cosmic’s have been gracious hosts despite the “uneasy tension” between the cartoonists, gamers**, and LARPers***. This last Thursday we said farewell to Kevin McCarthy; one of the three “founders” of the St. Paul cell. He is moving to Milwaukee where he will motivate, perhaps through violence, the Cream City Cell**** to post their jams.

I’ve posted our last two jam comics below. You can click on the images below, which will link you to the PDFs directly, OR you can check out Cartoonist Conspiracy Dot Com and find the jams there. Want to start up your own cell, it’s easy! Just follow this link: Start a Conspiracy in Your Community

Please Note:
* jam comic - a collaborative effort to create a comic in a defined, usually short, amount of time, with few formal regulations.
** gamers in this instance refers to those generally playing World of Warcraft while we sit at the coffee shop and draw.
*** LARPers - Live Action Role Players - a group of individuals that attempt the craft of socializing by enacting various scenes and, sometimes, dressing up as characters found within a role playing game; in this instance it refers to people who think they are vampires.
**** Cream City Cell - also known as the Milwaukee Cell - who belongs to this cell? Does it even exist, or is it a myth? I’ve never seen anything posted on the Cartoonist Conspiracy site other than a cute little community link in the right sidebar. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Come one come all to the St. Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy Jam this Thursday, August 21st, 2008!

Just mere hours after the “Great Minnesota Get Together” (a.k.a The Minnesota State Fair) opens its gates a few miles up the road we will be putting together a jam comic. You in?

Oh, you’re going to actually GO to the Fair? On opening day? Hmmm…

Well, if you’ve had your fill of Fried Hotdish on a Stick and are tired of walking past the 4H building for the sixteenth time, come on down, join us, take a load off, and enjoy an iced coffee.

The jam will be at:
Cosmic’s Coffee Shoppe
189 Snelling Ave N.
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Northwest corner of Snelling and Selby)

Sometimes we get froggy and head on over to grab a brew at:
O’Gara’s Bar and Grill
164 Snelling Ave N
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Southeast corner of Snelling and Selby)

Just bring some drawing utensils, an idea for the jam, and a few bucks to get a tasty beverage — the baristas really do appreciate that. Any pre-jam ideas/topics can be posted here.

Congratulations to the St. Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy Cell for once again creating an entertaining jam comic! Also, thanks to myself for posting it in a timely manner — our brethren across the river have yet to post a new jam comic in a little over a year, I think.

Like Russia and NATO, our uneasy truce with the LARPers* nearly dissolved when one of their members continued to do horrible impersonations of Andrew Dice Clay** — or was it The Fonz***? At any rate, Jon Sloan**** was about to show them as he termed, “a Live Action Sa-Bom Jim Ass Whoopin”. However, seeing as how he would be the only one of us pansy artists to actually do something about it, he thought otherwise and opted out.

In somewhat unrelated news, the St. Paul cell members are still waiting to hear back from the Cream City Cell***** on whether or not they are going to post their jams — or better yet whether or not they actually exist.

I’ve posted our latest jam comic below. This month’s title was “Fact or Fiction at The Minnesota State Fair: AAAAAAAAAYY!” The “AAAAAAAAAYY!” is a contribution from our Andrew Dice Clay lovin’ cross-coffee shop rivals. You can click on the image below, which will link you to the PDFs directly, OR you can check out Cartoonist Conspiracy Dot Com and find the jam there.

Want to start up your own cell? It’s easy! Just follow this link: Start a Conspiracy in Your Community. Are you one of the many rival cells that we trash? Maybe you should do something about it and post something here.

Footnotes:
* LARPers - Live Action Role Players - a group of individuals that attempt the craft of socializing by enacting various scenes and, sometimes, dressing up as characters found within a role playing game; in this instance it refers to people who think they are vampires who and horrible at doing impersonations of obscure Jewish actors.
** Andrew Dice Clay - A comedian made famous in the 1980s and early 1990s by a standup routine that consisted of insult humor directed at women, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. “The Diceman” is not somebody I would be really interested in impersonating, but then again I am not obsessed with vampires either.
*** The Fonz - One of the more important characters of the popular sitcom Happy Days, which ran from 1974 to 1984. The Fonz, played by Henry Winkler, was a leather jacket wearing, Italian-American mechanic, who later, was part owner of Arnold’s restaurant, who made residence in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the 1950s.
****Jon Sloan is an independent comic creator based in the Twin Cities. Jon creates the comic McCarthy and Amado need to do something about this!

Image courtesy of NASA

Well, we didn’t die due to the Large Hadron Collider a couple of weeks ago, so you should really come on down to the St. Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy Jam this Thursday, September 18th, 2008!

You didn’t get sucked into a black hole when they powered it up, right? Well, I have news for you, the first real tests aren’t going to happen for another month or two. So, what is keeping you from showing up? Scared that the economy will crumble? Horsepocky! It already has! Might as well do some drawing before anarchy and/or Doomsday sets in!

The jam will be at:
Cosmic’s Coffee Shoppe
189 Snelling Ave N.
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Northwest corner of Snelling and Selby)

Sometimes we get froggy and head on over to grab a brew at:
O’Gara’s Bar and Grill
164 Snelling Ave N
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Southeast corner of Snelling and Selby)

Just bring some drawing utensils, an idea for the jam, and a few bucks to get a tasty beverage — the baristas really do appreciate that. Any pre-jam ideas/topics can be posted here.

For those that couldn’t wait, the latest St. Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy Jam Comic has been posted. Thanks to the contributors that decided to take a break from the nice weather we were having to come and join us.

Also, thanks to the nice weather, which kept the LARPers* at bay, for the most part. Instead of gaming inside Cosmic’s, they’ve found a not-so-secret backdoor to the deck, where they can fantasize about biting each other’s necks.

Next month’s jam will mark the one year anniversary of the off-shoot, rebelious, trash-talking St. Paul cell**. Any and all are welcome to join us! In fact, I dare those that live in the Twin Cities and have yet to attend a St. Paul jam to show up. I can’t say you’d be glad that you did, but at the very least you would have challenged my dare.

Speaking of challenging dares, I corresponded with both Kevin McCarthy*** and Amado “Arex” Rodriguez**** about the status of the Milwaukee Cartoonist Conspiracy/Cream City cell*****, and, well, it looks like it might happen. Stay tuned as I continually harrass them until the dream becomes a reality.

It was nice to see our cross-town rivals, the Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy cell, which is also the first Cartoonist Conspiracy cell, have the time and guts to post one of their jams. I noticed that Kevin Cannon****** of Big Time Attic fame has posted the last two jams and I must say they are rather classy. Kevin implements a little tool I like to call page numbers******* at the bottom of each page. Way to go Kevin!

I’ve posted our latest jam comic below. This month’s title was “How to End the World in Ten Days.” Special thanks goes out to Ryan Dow******** for coming up with the title. For those who haven’t been reading Ryan’s online graphic novel “Weekends With Carl,” you should be ashamed. It is a great read and is updated Wednesdays and Sundays. In order to view the jam, you can click on the image below, which will link you to the PDFs directly, OR you can check out Cartoonist Conspiracy Dot Com and find the jam there.

Want to start up your own cell? It’s easy! Just follow this link: Start a Conspiracy in Your Community. Are you one of the many rival cells that we trash? Perhaps you are a LARPer and would like exact some “internet revenge.” If so, maybe you should do something about it and post something here.

Footnotes:

* LARPers - Live Action Role Players - a group of scary individuals that attempt the craft of socializing by enacting various scenes and, sometimes, dressing up as characters found within a role playing game; in this instance it refers to people who love Halloween, think they are vampires, are horrible at doing impersonations of obscure Jewish actors, and can somehow manage to be outdoors without combusting into ashes.
** St. Paul cell - an International Cartoonist Conspiracy cell started in October of 2007 by Kevin McCarthy, Bud Burgy, and Daniel J. Olson. Thus far only two of the three original conspirators remain as Kevin decided to move to the land of milk and cheese.
*** Kevin McCarthy - a comic book writer, artist and editor that began working professionally in 1995, and, despite his better judgment, continues to write, draw and edit comic books.
**** Amado “Arex” Rodriguez - is an indie comic creator who released his own graphic novel Heavee Underground in 2007, and, along with Bud Burgy, has helped build the Muscles and Fights empire. Amado is also known for being a huge music fan and Bruce Lee geek.
***** Milwaukee Cartoonist Conspiracy/Cream City cell - apparently it is not a myth, but rather an idea that has yet to take fruition. We have been promised that it will begin producing jams at some point in the future.
****** Kevin Cannon - a well respected, all around nice guy that recently self-published his online graphic Far Arden to much fanfare. Word has it that movie rights for Far Arden have been sought out by Vivid Entertainment.
******* page numbers - a formulated plan of procedure for a group of numerals to facilitate a consumer of literature to depict printed sheets of paper in an orderly fashion.
******** Ryan Dow - a web cartoonist whose webcomic “Weekends with Carl” tells the tale of a sometimes awkward relationship between the two main characters “Ryan” and “Carl.” It is often assumed that the character “Ryan” is in fact the author. However, there is much dispute to this assumption as the character “Ryan” is a mild mannered person, while the author has a horrible temper and tends to be extremely violent.

The Dow has been crazy these last two weeks, and this time I am not talking about Ryan! Come and forget about your 401K, if you have/had one, and jam with us! Just bring some drawing utensils, an idea for the jam, and a few bucks to get a tasty beverage — the baristas really do appreciate that.

The jam will start promptly at 6:30 and run until…whenever.

To join us come to:
Cosmic’s Coffee Shoppe
189 Snelling Ave N.
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Northwest corner of Snelling and Selby)

Afterwards we will most likely get a jump on the next GREAT DEPRESSION and head on over to grab a brew at:
O’Gara’s Bar and Grill
164 Snelling Ave N
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Southeast corner of Snelling and Selby)

In the meantime, if you have any ideas or just want to chat about the upcoming jam, please follow the link!

Thanks to all that helped celebrate the one year anniversary of our off-shoot, rebelious, trash-talking St. Paul cell by jamming out at Cosmic’s Coffee on October 16th, 2008! We even had a newbie show up, which is always nice to see! Please, show up next time too! In fact, bring your friends!

Last October, Kevin McCarthy, Bud Burgy, and myself (Daniel Olson) met at Cosmic’s to crank out a four page jam entitled “Tussles and Tights” - an homage to the great Muscles and Fights anthology. This year, with Kevin (now living in Milwaukee) and Bud (now living in a cave somewhere?) gone, I was the lone original. Although I was not alone! Scott Gallatin, Ryan Dow, Meredith (didn’t catch your last name), Roy T. Cook, Jon Sloan, and Tom (still can’t remember your last name) joined me as we descended upon the coffee shop to jam out and possibly rumble with some LARPers. To those that showed up this past month and those that have joined us before, I thank you. As stated in the past, any and all are welcome to join us!

An update on the status of the Milwaukee Cartoonist Conspiracy/Cream City cell…..is still forthcoming. Hey, McCarthy and Amado we’re still waiting!

I’ve posted our latest jam comic below. With the election just weeks away, this month’s title was “Presidential Smackdown (and also featuring) We Spent the Bailout on Pizza and Beer.” In order to view the jam, you can click on the image below, which will link you to the PDFs directly

Want to start up your own cell? It’s easy! Just follow this link: Start a Conspiracy in Your Community. Are you one of the many rival cells that we trash? Perhaps you are a LARPer and would like exact some “internet revenge.” If so, maybe you should do something about it and post something here.

Footnotes:

You should really know all of this stuff by now.

St. Paul Jam - Thursday, November 20th, 2008

Come and celebrate regime changes and the wholesale slaughter of turkeys by jamming with the St. Paul Conspiracy cell this Thursday! Just bring some drawing utensils, an idea for the jam, and a few bucks to get a tasty beverage — the baristas really do appreciate that.

The jam will start promptly at 6:30 and run until…whenever.

To join us come to:
Cosmic’s Coffee Shoppe
189 Snelling Ave N.
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Northwest corner of Snelling and Selby)

More not than often we head on over to grab a brew at:
O’Gara’s Bar and Grill
164 Snelling Ave N
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Southeast corner of Snelling and Selby)

In the meantime, if you have any ideas or just want to chat about the upcoming jam, please click here!

St. Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy Jam Comic - November 2008

I must say, turn out for this jam was a bit sparse. Some might say that can be expected due to the holidays. You know what I say? COME ON!!! PARTICIPATE! If Ryan Dow, Jon Sloan, and Mike Toft were all able to make it to Cosmic’s this last Thursday, then YOU certainly can make it to the next jam! What’s that? You don’t live near Twin Cities? Well, you can be excused. As for the rest of you, barring any previously accepted excuses, COME ON!!! PARTICIPATE!

In fact, this marks the first time that none of the original members of the St. Paul Cell didn’t make it! Shame on Bud Burgy and Daniel J. Olson! What the hell were the two of these guys doing that gave them the idea that they didn’t need to show up for the jam!? Think you’re special? Geez!

An update on the status of the Milwaukee Cartoonist Conspiracy/Cream City cell…..is still forthcoming. Hey, McCarthy and Amado we’re still waiting!

For the sake of curiousity, I wonder what other groups regularly post on the Cartoonist Conspiracy blog other than Minneapolis, St. Paul, San Francisco, and 7000 BC (Albuquerque/Santa Fe). Anybody else out there? I vaguely remember seeing some news from Columbus, Ohio earlier this year. Chicago has a cell? The third largest city in America and we don’t hear anything out of them either? WTF? COME ON!!! PARTICIPATE!

I’ve posted our latest jam comic below. With Thanksgiving right around the corner and the country nursing a political hangover, this month’s title was “A Democratic Thanksgiving.” In order to view the jam, you can click on the image below, which will link you to the PDFs directly

Want to start up your own cell? It’s easy! Just follow this link: Start a Conspiracy in Your Community. Are you one of the many rival cells that we trash? Perhaps you are a LARPer and would like exact some “internet revenge.” If so, maybe you should do something about it and post something here.

Footnotes:

COME ON!!!! PARTICIPATE!

St. Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy Jam! This Thursday, December 18th, 2008!

Tired of the holidays yet? The cold? The pressure to consume? Me too. Come join the St. Paul cell of the Cartoonist Conspiracy and Krampus this Thursday and blow off some steam! Just bring some drawing utensils, an idea for the jam, and although I already complained about pressuring consumption, please bring along a few bucks to get a tasty beverage — the baristas really do appreciate that.

The jam will start promptly at 6:30 and run until…whenever.

The meetings are open to anyone who wants to draw with us, and the results are posted here sooner rather than later.

To join us come to:
Cosmic’s Coffee Shoppe
189 Snelling Ave N.
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Northwest corner of Snelling and Selby)

More not than often we head on over to grab a brew at:
O’Gara’s Bar and Grill
164 Snelling Ave N
St. Paul, MN 55104
(Southeast corner of Snelling and Selby)

Bus info here.

Any questions? Ideas for the jam? Don’t have a clue who or what Krampus is? Please discuss on our message board.

We hope to see you!