Weekly Dose if Mark

Sunday, July 5th 2026

Allen Gladfelter spent his time at Freelance Fandango working on a sketch for The Return of the Living Dead movie poster, which will be playing at The Grand Cinema in the near future. We joked about how I would be sitting right next to him, selling my version of the poster and enamel pins. His poster, which of course features the infamous “Tar Man,” is looking pretty good. Larry, Stowe, and I all provided comments on how he should add color. To smooth the transition, I hope he makes the image look moist. More than anything, Tar Man is a drippy character.

I spent my time working on another “I Dreamt” comic. Stowe commented that he’d gone through the process of setting up his online payment via the Weekly Volcano’s payment software system. I didn’t get my request to do so until later in the week, probably because I’ve decided to accrue advertising credit rather than receive a cash payment.

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Pierce County issued a request for submissions of utility box artwork. I submitted two designs a couple of years ago, and one of them was accepted. I was going to resubmit the second design, but realized I might improve my chances of being accepted by entering a maximum-length format rather than a minimum-length one. The maximum length would allow the image to wrap around one or two secondary boxes, a feature of some utility box placements. This decision required me to spend a few hours retooling the layout, and that, of course, led to another hour of changing the colors on some elements and “improving” the image. I submitted my art. The final deadline isn’t until July 8th, but I thought it would be better to get it in early rather than tempt fate. I kept messing around with GAP (Grants for Artists Projects) concepts, and my waffling put the application on the back burner while I dealt with immediate projects, so I missed the deadline.

Driving home with Larry after Fandango, I asked him about the four-inch-long scar on his hand and finger. Larry settled into one of “those” stories. You know the ones, a special story that takes a minimum of twenty minutes to tell in the lavish detail required from years of honing. I was regaled with a summer adventure along a river involving teenagers being teenagers, kayaks, doctors who were not biologists, a five-dollar bet, snakes, critters, yelling, hospitals, and a very fortunate series of events that followed a few poor choices. And I want so badly to tell the story here, but it’s not my story to tell. It’s Larry’s story. He’s even created a mini-comic about it and promised to show it to me at the next Fandango.

I saw something on the Tacoma Art Listserve. It announced an Artist Roundtable Meetup at The Mothership. I knew The Mothership was this location of the Tacoma Night Market, not to be confused with Tacoma’s Haunted Farmers Market. I wanted to take a look at the space and get a sense of whether vending there would be either profitable or fun, hopefully both. When I got to the location, a sign was on the door saying to call to have it unlocked. Another attendee joined me as we waited for the key to turn. The gathering was made up of half a dozen young artists. All of them are young, at least to this old fart. The main topic of conversation was a group project to paint murals on plywood and then mount those on the side of the Mothership. But there was also discussion of the Pierce County utility boxes and other local projects. A date was set for the paint-by-numbers party in August. A few in the group have been meaning to attend Freelance Fandango out of curiosity to see what it’s like. So maybe I will see some of them there before I show up at the Mothership again.

An hour into the discussion, Scott Nelson made an appearance. He’d brought some show and tell. His work is a shallow diorama inside a picture frame. Picture a balance scale with its two cups holding rifle trophy figurines with dinosaur heads shooting at each other. The laser blasts from their guns are indicated by colored string. A third figure topped the scale. I couldn’t tell whether it was intended for prayer or for praise of the figures below. I mentioned to Scott that it reminded me of the sequel to “Iron Sky.” Scott had never heard of the movie, so I briefly described the plot of Nazis, who have been hiding on the moon since WW2, invading the Earth in flying saucers. I’ve yet to see the sequel, which I believe has a hollow earth filled with reptoid-riding dinosaurs. I might be mistaken. Scott raised an eyebrow and added the film to his watch list.

This Fourth of July marked our 39th Anniversary. Normally, Krista would cook one of my favorite meals, Chicken Katsu. But this year she had a craving, and we went to Katsu Burger instead. A Tacoma location recently opened up. She went with a basic Tokyo with just a hamburger, shredded cabbage with sweet mayo, and Katsu sauce. I went for the Ohaiyo Gozaimasu with pork, bacon, egg, lettuce, pickles, tomato, red onions, mayo, and katsu sauce. We also had some korokke, which is a fried potato cake. We didn’t do anything but lounge about and watch anime. Oh, we also ate ice cream. Our anniversary gift to each other was an ice cream machine. Krista is lactose intolerant and is trying dairy-free recipes. So far, we have tried Strawberry and Chocolate Banana. The former being truly outstanding. Waiting for testing is a dairy-filled rocky road meant for yours truly.

I had some dreams this week:

June 25. #IDreamt of a ghost that would only achieve consciousness when someone wore its morning robe. Like a silent passenger waking in a back seat, somewhat startled by the surroundings.

June 26. #IDreamt my old dorm room flew out of the sky and landed in a field. I wasn’t embarrassed, but surprised when my father walked out of the bathroom in his underclothes.

June 27. #idreamt I was a boy in Africa escaping famine and becoming a boy soldier. I tasted strawberry shortcake for the first time.

June 28. #idreamt my wife accidentally rolled over a curb in a Costco parking lot, on two separate trips, at the same location. She was mortified.

June 29. #idreamt Kevin Boze selected a dozen high school students for a culinary program based on the desserts they presented. Another teacher’s cat allergy made her break out in fur and look like a cat.

June 30. #idreamt life aboard an exploration spaceship was presented like a K-Drama to shape public opinion. The real events were more unnerving.

July 1. #idreamt I was challenged to draw a face using letters of the alphabet. I also submitted two children’s book concepts.

July 2. #idreamt I lived in Texas, wore a white Stetson, and a mustache. I was a consultant to the police, and my office was in the trunk of my car.

July 2. #idreamt I lived in Texas, wore a white Stetson, and a mustache. I was a consultant to the police, and my office was in the trunk of my car.

July 3. #idreamt I was stuck overnight on a private island resort where the staff was costumed as Sasquatch. There were no extra rooms, but I was given a cot.

July 5. #idreamt I was surprised when an ancient bison diorama at a museum came to life and kept nuzzling me with affection. The curator was trying to figure out what to do.

Krista and I finished off a couple more anime.

Otaku ni Yasashii Gal wa Inai!?, aka: Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku!? (2026) 12 Episodes, Rating: 7
Genre: Comedy, Otaku Culture, Romance, School, Seinen

Innocently sweet three-way high school romance.

Saikyou no Ousama, Nidome no Jinsei wa Nani wo Suru?, aka: The Beginning After the End (2026) 12 Episodes, Rating: 7

Genre: fantasy, isekai, reincarnation

Some say that this is a knock-off of another very popular anime. I don’t think it’s the same at all. I think it’s a bit more trope-driven, but with a longer storyline planned than most of the juvenile fantasy.

I’ve watched a couple of movies this week:

76. Cosmic Sin (2021) Rating: 5
I watched this because it was leaving Amazon Prime. I’m going to give it a point because it starred Bruce Willis. Aside from star power, this sci-fi movie didn’t bring much to the table. The exoskeletons on the suits seem awkward, with only an eye on the front half. The alien threat design was inconsistent in its wardrobe logic.

77. Day of the Dead (2008) Rating: 5

I rewatched this movie on Amazon Prime just to confirm I’d already watched it. This remake falls far short of the 1985 original. While homage was played in parts, it lacked the legs to stay firm in my memory from my viewing some twenty years ago. So, I’m knocking it down to five from my previous rating of seven.

78. Doom: Annihilation (2019) Rating: 4
I rewatched this movie on Amazon Prime just to confirm I’d already watched it. This remake falls far short of the 1985 original. While homage was played in parts, it lacked the legs to stay firm in my memory from my viewing some twenty years ago. So, I’m knocking it down to five from my previous rating of seven.

79. The Sheep Detectives (2026) Rating: 4
This movie technically passes the Bechdel Test. I watched this movie with my wife on Amazon Prime. We’d both read the book and knew there would have to be some alterations to fit it into a movie structure. You know that disappointment you feel when you buy some juice, only to see after you buy that it contains only 10% real fruit juice. This film is a bit like that. The scenario and setting are almost the same; the rest is completely different. I was going, “What? What? What?” So, maybe you won’t have the same reaction if you haven’t read the book. But if you have read the book, you’re in for a sh— um, a different take.

80. Ziam (2025) Rating: 4
A zombie film of the infection variety set in Siam, thus the title Ziam. Lots of fisticuffs. I watched this on Netflix.

81. Pizza Movie (2026) Rating: 4
While college was four extremely fun years in my life, I can also say that they were four of the weirdest, most adventurous years, and that some of my days at school felt as strange and cringy as this movie. I give this movie I watched on Hulu an extra point for having a butterfly with a name. Also, I thought this was a horror movie, and while there were exploding heads, weird clowns, and chainsaws, it was more of a larkish comedy.

82. The Locket (1946) Rating: 4
This noir melodrama on HBO Max offers a flashback, within a flashback, within a flashback. This movie explores how childhood trauma ripples through life. Robert Mitchum’s last supporting role before he became a leading man.

More next week,

Mark