Before we get to today's strip, one of my favorite publications is celebrating it's 25th anniversary.
Zyzzyva, a journal for writers and and artists on the West Coast is celebrating by republishing 25 authors who made their debut in the magazine. One of the stories being reprinted is "The Ballad of Mari-Ada and Junipero" by Oliver Broudy, one of my favorite short stories and a story that inspired me to write just about every other short story I have ever done. I bought
Zyzzyva #51 back in 1997 and I read it just about every chance I got because all the stories are so honest and in your face. Reading these stories made me realize what short stories can accomplish and I have been writing them ever since. You can read excerpts from
Zyzzyva #86/87
here and visit the main site
here.
HA! Brutus is a hen-pecked husband! Gladys works Brutus like a slave while she's on vacation at
Rancho Relaxo. Her orders are going into deaf ears as the lost fourth panel reveals the scene two days later of an angry Gladys towering over a sweating Brutus as he stammers "But I swear I didn't hear you say 'polish the china'."
