[publication] screwhead at hot metal bridge
Thirteen years ago at a family reunion in Connecticut (it may have been Christmas, or possibly Thanksgiving, or maybe just summer vacation), my uncle, musician and composer Doug Katsaros, played a tape of cartoons for us of a new show that featured his original music. The cartoon was goofy and satirical and hilarious, and we couldn't stop watching (I think he had the first six episodes on that tape). It featured superheroes, but no superheroes I'd ever heard of; sometimes ineffective, sometimes causing more destruction than the villains they were hoping to stop. A fantastic send-up of the entire genre, and it made me howl with laughter.
The show, of course, was The Tick.
After that, I followed the show religiously, first on Fox, then on Comedy Central. It quickly became one of my favorites. During a marathon, I taped something like ten shows in a row, and every so often when I needed a pick-me-up, I'd put the tape in, and the enthusiasm of the Big Blue Goon would put me in a better mood; sadly, as with many of my things, I had to get rid of the tape before the big move, although I notice that both seasons one and two are now on DVD.
Anyway, this is all to say that when Carolyn Kellogg mentioned the theme of "headless" in her call for entries for Hot Metal Bridge #2, my brain went straight to that goofy cartoon show. Thankfully, the editors at HMB took the story I sent them, and the issue went live today.
My contribution: "Screwhead."
I would often, when watching the cartoon series “The Tick,” wonder about a certain henchman, the one with a giant thumbscrew for a head. Not fortunate enough to warrant his own super-villain moniker, he is simply named Dean. Gifted with incredible strength used for the bidding of City crime boss Chairface Chippendale, Dean can go toe-to-toe with The Tick, bending a steel ladder around the hero’s frame, or holding him in a bear hug while other villains pummel the Great Blue Hope in the stomach. But Dean is always defeated, usually outwitted or outfoxed, because having a giant thumbscrew for a head is not really conducive to a life of intellectual rigor.
Probably my least categorizable piece of fiction: part-memoir, part-fanfic, part-pomo-self-examination, part-working-class-lament. And all in 1200 words! My first publication in a more "literary" venue, and it shares electrons with contributions from George Saunders, Brian Evenson, Daphne Gottlieb, Roy Kesey, Kevin Moffett, Christopher Bakken, Kate Burgo, Erin Fitzgerald, Tod Goldberg, Kevin O'Cuinn, Jack Pendarvis, Justin Runge, Richard Siken, and Patsy Zettler.
If you're interested, do that clicky thing.
Spoooooooooooooon!
The show, of course, was The Tick.
After that, I followed the show religiously, first on Fox, then on Comedy Central. It quickly became one of my favorites. During a marathon, I taped something like ten shows in a row, and every so often when I needed a pick-me-up, I'd put the tape in, and the enthusiasm of the Big Blue Goon would put me in a better mood; sadly, as with many of my things, I had to get rid of the tape before the big move, although I notice that both seasons one and two are now on DVD.
Anyway, this is all to say that when Carolyn Kellogg mentioned the theme of "headless" in her call for entries for Hot Metal Bridge #2, my brain went straight to that goofy cartoon show. Thankfully, the editors at HMB took the story I sent them, and the issue went live today.
My contribution: "Screwhead."
I would often, when watching the cartoon series “The Tick,” wonder about a certain henchman, the one with a giant thumbscrew for a head. Not fortunate enough to warrant his own super-villain moniker, he is simply named Dean. Gifted with incredible strength used for the bidding of City crime boss Chairface Chippendale, Dean can go toe-to-toe with The Tick, bending a steel ladder around the hero’s frame, or holding him in a bear hug while other villains pummel the Great Blue Hope in the stomach. But Dean is always defeated, usually outwitted or outfoxed, because having a giant thumbscrew for a head is not really conducive to a life of intellectual rigor.
Probably my least categorizable piece of fiction: part-memoir, part-fanfic, part-pomo-self-examination, part-working-class-lament. And all in 1200 words! My first publication in a more "literary" venue, and it shares electrons with contributions from George Saunders, Brian Evenson, Daphne Gottlieb, Roy Kesey, Kevin Moffett, Christopher Bakken, Kate Burgo, Erin Fitzgerald, Tod Goldberg, Kevin O'Cuinn, Jack Pendarvis, Justin Runge, Richard Siken, and Patsy Zettler.
If you're interested, do that clicky thing.
Spoooooooooooooon!