Hello everybody. I know it's been too long since my
last Bruno mailing and everybody's probably grumbling about
the book at this point. Well, the layout is finally finished
and I have an appointment to go to the printers on tuesday
to clear up the few specifications. The release date I'm
setting officially, is June 8th. I will send out another
e-mail on that date as well.
Besides that, I have just a bit of news which might
interest some of you (he mentions coyly), that I'm starting
the strip again on June 1st. Well.... After the attention
I've recieved, from "Newsbyte" and from "Wired" (look for
that one in the sept 1998 issue, pg 159); and the from the still
steady activity on my page; and, most importantly, from the
continued stream of fan mail; I've reconsidered my position.
You see... I have a different comic strip idea (Sheppard and
May) that's pretty damn exciting, and I'm sure would make
the syndicates drool, but frankly, Bruno is just plain
better. More real, more exciting to work on, and requires
(from me)a lot more "hope" than I've invested in her in the
past... something that wouldn't be a bad idea for me to try
and do now. Not to say I can predict where this will all go,
but I'm giving it another try.
I do have a request for you all though. I want you all to
pretend you're my twelfth grade english teacher, "Mr Russo".
I know you all enjoy the strip (why else read it) and respect
it, but often the best criticism can be towards something
you respect, because it's something you feel "worth"
ciriticising. So, immediately after this e-mail I'll be
following it with a sort of "essay question list" or "prompt
sheet" which you can ignore, but might be helpful to provide
a loose (or tight if you wish) framework. This will help me
analyze the strip. To see if the expression I've intended has
been successfull, or has it been a flop. The medium of daily
"comic strip" definately has some years on it, but not a lot
which relates really to what I'm doing. I only hope to express
clearer my vision which I strive to communicate. If you don't
want to do this... that's fine to. Don't sweat it. But thank you
in advance if you get the chance.
And my life? I've been extremely busy lately, and it's
been pretty exciting. I just recently traveled from
Massachusetts; to Minneapolis, Minnesota; to Anchorage,
Alaska; and then to Berkely, California. It was mostly
visiting friends and family, though some dancing, hiking,
and lots of eating was involved. But it was so great. Take
Kim for example: not only did we connect so exceedingly well
emotionally and mentally on this visit, listen to this story
of her strong will and impetuousness. After announcing she
would be quitting her job in eight months or so, she managed
to get both a raise and (if she stays the full eight months)
a bonus; and from there, she'll be doing a solo trip to the
outbacks of Australia. How's that for an inspired person? Of
course, if you ask her what she wants to do with her life,
that's another story....
Oh, and I'm soon to be buying a computer so that I can
work on my web page and respond to e-mail without abusing my
company's computer usage policies. And I'm as well looking
into buying a car so I can go on more crazy adventures like
the ones I vicariously experience through Bruno. We'll see.
Anyhow, until next time, thank you all for your
continued support. You all have made it so much more worth
it for me, I can't express how gracious I am. And I hope you
enjoy the enclosed drawing.
5/18/98 get out your red pens......
feel free to unnecessarily elaborate on any question. As
well, if any question you feel was covered already, feel
free to skip it. Any information will be helpful and
interesting.
BRUNO SPECIFIC
Do you feel sad for bruno's inability to escape her own
hang-ups? Do you find this to be a bad quality of the strip
which frustrates you, or essential in expressing her
uniqueness?
Do you think Bruno represents the lost youth of today, or a
timeless feeling of isolation that we all experience at
points in our life?
Do you view bruno and/or myself as a sort of specimen, of an
intriguing exciting person who is fascinating because they
don't understand the world and have very little ability to
cope with it? Do you feel she, if you knew her, might
frustrate you to no end for this reason?
THE OTHER CHARACTERS
Any thoughts about the change of dynamics of Bruno's
original core group of friends (Lenny, Susan, Randall and
Jay) none of who would have changed in other "traditional"
strips? Do you feel on unstable grounds with no consistent
secondary characters? Do you think bruno manages to hold the
consistency of the strip in this light?
Who is your favorite character(beside bruno), and why?
What character do you enjoy the "interaction" of (between
them and bruno) the most, and why?
Do you think I kind of "wacked-out" with Jay's recent
Marriage? With Stanley's son's ghost? Do you think going
this far into bizarreness or into the supernatural ruins the
"realness" of the strip, or do you think that it gives it
more depth?
GENERAL
Is there anything that turns you off about the strip?
Anything you'd like to see more of?
What are your favorite two "adventure" or "series" and why?
Do you think the last half year was too serious and
downbeat? That I should balance it out more?
Is there anything in the collections (if you've bought one) that
you'd like to see that I haven't included?
And, anything else? You can be as harsh as you can be.
I promise not to take anything personal here. Is there anything
that bugs you at ALL about the strip?
5/18/98 bruno mailing