Scratch- Tales from the Cactus Lounge

I’m loving the development of my new character, the scratch you can’t itch.” When you wrote this on your blog a while back you acknowledged the two of you. Funny and serious, whimsical and sad, well grounded and the dreamer, home body and traveler.

It jumped out at me bringing in a few literary and cartoon characters to mind. Scratch, the alter ego persona, pied piper, sage and seer. A sought after adviser with all and no advice to give. I drew this up borrowing heavily from the look of Harvey Pekar/R. Crumb “American Splendor”. It’s an interpretation , Scratch and his Tales From the Cactus Lounge with zero interpretation needed.

Scratch is the trickster sage. In this instance Scratch is to Tony Clennell who “Mr. Natural” is to R. Crumb, or who “The Chink” is to Tom Robbins (see “Even Cow Girls Get the Blues pub. 1976) “The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe”, no one actually talks like that.  While you would write it, you wouldn’t likely say it in conversation. Scratch on the other hand , it’s part of his everyday vocabulary.

So above you have been reading a portion of a note from DH with Christmas card to follow of a story board of Scratch- Tales from the Cactus Lounge. Doc wondered who DH was?? Scratch wondered who DH was??? Todays note from DH got me dreaming that maybe Jack and me will take off to Paris for the winter to write the Gospel According to Scratch. I’ll send the red wine soaked parchment home to DH to illustrate. It’s be another million seller. That will be 2 million in the cellar.