Weekly Dose of Mark
Sunday, May 3rd 2026 • 05/03/2026
A new face as Freelance Fandango this week was Tasia Abbatecola. In the past, she’s worked as a children’s book ghostwriter, and now she’s working on a fantasy novel. She was born in Russia, went to school in Italy, and recently lived in South Korea because the language fascinated her. She’s just moved to Tacoma, having only lived there for a few weeks. She saw the Freelance Fandango poster I put up in Artists and Craftsman and decided to check us out. We were more than happy to tell her about the rich art scene in Tacoma, and pointed her to some writing groups that do public readings, like Creative Colloquie. She had her laptop with her and signed up for the Tacoma Art Listserve, a great way to keep informed about creative events, shows, announcements, and happenings in the South Sound area
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Larry Lewis told me what I missed last month by not attending Dune in Seattle. Since it was the 100th meeting, they decided to go big and hold an eight-hour event, and asked the artists to do a two-page comic. And this time, it was going to be printed in a hardback edition.
Larry, took his car in for an oil change last week. And since he has a road trip planned in the near future, he, asked his mechanic to check whether any work would be required to ensure safe travels. The mechanic told him his front brakes needed tending to. So that was an extra expense for Larry this month.
The pharmacist complimented my NASA hat. He, too, is a fan. He told me about when he used to live nearby and would hear the training plane, which they practice zero-G takeoffs in, with a distinctive roar in the morning. He said the most amazing site he saw was a shuttle being ferried by a 747. It was such a unique thing to see. Plus, the angle that was used to get it airborne was also a shock. This was my first time talking to this pharmacist. I’m looking forward to our next conversation.
I had a long working weekend, which started on Friday when I drove down to SeaTac and set up my booth at Crypticon, a horror-themed convention I’ve done for several years. I’ve been doing a larger booth in the main vendor hall, which is more of an expense than tabling in ‘artists’ alley, but allows me a 10-by-10 footprint versus a 6-by-8. Friday, the show starts and runs late from 3:30pm to 8pm. Fridays can be sluggish, but that was not the case for my booth as several of my fans arrived early and were eager to see what new items I had at the table.
David Howard Thornton was the main attraction this year. He plays Art the Clown in the popular “Terrifier” franchise. Earlier in the week I sat down and created a terrifier poster for the show. I would end up selling enough of them to cover my printing costs and have inventory.
The first sale I made was a “The Fog” poster I made about five years ago. The fan said he’d searched all the tables and could not find a single Fog poster, except for mine. Two of the main leads of the movie were in attendance at the show, so I was in a fortunate position to promote and sell my print. The third print that did very well was “Dead Snow,” a Norwegian horror movie featuring cursed Nazi zombies popping out of the snow. There were no actors from the movie in attendance. For some reason, that poster caught people’s eye, and I kept one on the table at all times.
Crypticon gets very busy on Saturday, so it’s nice if I can have a booth buddy assist me. In recent years, Allen Gladfelter has been my buddy. Bribing Allen with breakfast allows us to enjoy each other’s company. He is also kind enough to use his car so Krista would not be carless the entire weekend. This year, we ate at 13 Coins, which I haven’t been to since having lunch there with the late Mark Koffman. We chose the restaurant because it was within walking distance of the hotel, and we thought it would be wise to drive to the hotel and find a parking spot before the lot filled up. There was a sign saying the lot was full, but we ignored the traffic cones and drove in to find a number of vacant spaces, left by folks who no doubt had flights out that morning. I encourage Allen to bring some of his posters to sell. Normally, I’d have him hang his off one of my edges, but this year I was hemmed in so tight he had to make do by adding them to the bottom of my display. Despite his posters being at the bottom, Allen sold a number of his prints. I think Allen is building his own fan base, and they know his appearances are only for one day. Thanks to Allen, I was able to handle the onslaught of the day, and when things slowed enough for one person, head out to hunt down an autograph.
Adrienne Barbeau is an actress who was in several movies in the ‘80s, including “The Fog,” “Escape from New York,” “Creepshow,” “Swamp Thing,” “The Cannonball Run,” “Back to School,” and “The Amazon Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death.” She’d appear in other movies and series but the ‘80s was a very good decade for her and I’ve seen all of her movies from that era and most of her shows since. I picked a slow time to approach her table and get a photograph. I gave her a copy of my book blockbusters in which I drew her in a scene from The Fog. She opened it and was caught up by my review of Ben Hur. She told me of her first time seeing the movie Ben her he was during a sanctioned school outing to the theater. The movie’s ending was emotionally charged, leaving her in tear up as she left the theater for the entire 90-minute school bus ride home. She found the actress’s performance inspirational and a motivation to pursue action. I then showed her a copy of the movie poster I created for The Fog, which she’d been signing for other people. That reminded him of an interesting story Charles Nelson Riley shared with her at a party way back when. He said that his father also created movie poster art. One day, a man visited his father and did his best to convince him to move to California, but Charles Nelson Riley’s mother was dead set against the idea. Riley’s mother put her foot down, and the family didn’t move to California. The name of the man who tried to convince his father to move was Walt Disney. Charles Nelson Reilly said that his father never left town or the house much after that. Riley became a drunk. I was really pleased with how much time I was able to spend talking with Adrienne. It was toward the end of the day, and for a few minutes, there wasn’t another person in line. Chad Scheres said he, too, had a wonderful time talking to her and getting her autograph.
I drove to the hotel a couple of hours early on Sunday and was glad I did so. I spent the time working on an enamel pin design in the lobby and talking to another artist named Kyo. Kyo has attended Freelance Fandango a few times, but isn’t a weekly regular, as he doesn’t live in town and doesn’t own a car. I have a surprising amount of friends who are both artists and carless. Anyway, we had a great conversation. He met some people at the show who were not only fans but also higher-ups at the agency he works at. So, he might be seeing some recognition and fun projects at work. He travels with an extremely large suitcase that carries his display and merch. Kyo is a small, slim Asian man wearing a white, fuzzy hat that resembles a cartoon wolf’s head. His garb, the giant suitcase, and his surprising strength at being able to maneuver it and the various other items he’s carrying on public transit garner more than a few stares. He’s looking forward to when the new train system to Tacoma is in place, as it will run more often and is much more roomy for his portage needs.
There were a couple of hours on Sunday when I could have used Allen’s help, but overall I did well. The show pulled my best profit of the year so far. The other vendors were reporting good sales as well. Thankfully, I don’t have any shows this coming weekend as I’m looking forward to gathering with the family to celebrate a few birthdays and Mother’s Day.
Alley New
The fence between our yard and the Smiths’ yard has been repaired with all new posts and panels. The old sections were hauled away last week. A large cement truck appeared in the alley and poured the first stage of some foundations at Joe’s old lot. The footprint seems a bit odd to me, and I’m wondering if they’re building three small triplexes. There’s a lot of rebar sitting on the ground, and the odd moat in another section of the plot is still untouched. I think more cement will be on its way once additional forms are constructed.
Here are some dreams I’ve had:
April 25. #idreamt I was working at an outside venue when a ringtail lemur decided to adopt me. I named him Jerry. We later encountered a tiger that thought it was a dog.
April 26. #idreamt a Catholic Church in the English countryside, had a small pond with tiny turtles that were an endangered species. The pond was shrinking each year.
April 27. #idreamt I was solving a mystery by determining the four different hair conditioners the suspects used, and the locations of their vehicles in the parking lot.
April 28. #idreamt I was a drafted war refugee serving aboard a carrier, being reassigned as a General’s secretary. I’d worked with Sandy Bates before.
April 29. #idreamt I was a family man, and while drunkenly burying a family pet, mobsters took advantage and hid a body in the grave - repeatedly. #dreams
Here are some movies I’ve watched:
52. April 28. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (2025) Rating: 6
I watched this non-stand-alone sequel on Peacock. I deducted a point for scenes with flashlights lasting more than 30 seconds. While many of the same characters were brought back for this movie, the chemistry wasn’t as strong. But I’m up to date on the franchise.
53. April 29. Baby Assassins (2021) Rating: 6
I watched this violent comedy on Tubi. Oddly, you can watch the sequels commercial-free on Amazon. The premise is very much like a Manga, but with no high school scenes. They have absolutely no guilt about their work. I found it fun enough, like eating instant ramen.
I was watching “The Ballad of Lefty Brown” on Amazon, but had to set it aside to concentrate on prepping for Crypticon. By the time I went back to resume watching, it had left Amazon’s streaming service, and now I either have to pay to watch it or wait for it to appear somewhere else so I can finish the last 25 minutes.
More next week,
Mark