Moved on. (?)

By the way, I haven't given up on the zine. (Just put out episode 10). But I haven't been posting what I've been doing with it lately. Also, I've branched out a bit. In addition to the ten issues of Phantom Conversation, I have also done two issues of Rip It Up, one issue of It's Been Strange, and one issue of Surging Intensity. My next project is going to be Bunny Head Squad, a mini with an original collage in every issue. (Those are going to take some time to make!)

For some tabs on what I'm doing check out my MySpace site. It's the only thing I regularly update:

http://www.myspace.com/phantomconversation

Rick

Back cover to episode 7. 

Episode 7 (In its entirety)

Well, I've never just dropped an entire issue in here before, but since I've posted it on half a dozen other sites, I might as well publish it on my own...

Ummm... Here it is:

























Any comments, questions, complaints, suggestions, or desires to contribute? (I would welcome any of these...) Send them here:
phantomconversation@yahoo.com

If I get around to it, I'll post the color versions of these pictures pretty soon... (But don't hold your breath; school has proven to be tougher than I thought it would!)

Thanks,

Rick

The majority of this episode, number 6, (can you believe that I made it all the way to number 6!?!) is primarily focused on the motivations behind writing... Why would anyone really bother to write???

If you want to know the whole story (as opposed to the Hole Story: A Biography of Courtney Love) you'll need to read the book. Send me an email and I'll send you a copy (as long as I have copies left.)

phantomconversation@yahoo.com

But, I am going to break protocol and print just a bit of the text from page 7:"What would be REALLY fun is if someone else made an issue of Phantom Conversation and sent it to ME... (It's pretty goddam easy, just cut up a daily newspaper, write a page or two of rambling nonsense, make 30 copies and mail them to unsuspecting victims...) And then I could have a laugh, make fun of what that person wrote in my next issue and send that out into the void... Sounds like fun, doesn't it..."

Yeah, that would be a hoot! Any takers???

The cover to episode 6. I know this is not an original idea for a visual image, but I rather like it anyway... 

Page 3 or episode 6. This is the third of four images donated to the conversation by Clemente Padin. I'm pretty sure I've included links to his work below... 

A photo I took of some graffiti art in a corridor of the PSU campus. I love this image... 

Just above this post, right up there, are the zombies: Elise, Frankie, and Christian... The first two are mine, the third belongs to a friend...

Back cover to episode 6. 

The heaters in Hell are set on defrost...

Although I complained throughout the entirety of the fourth episode that I didn't know WHEN I would be able to complete the fifth... It didn't turn out to be that long after all...

Because I felt I was slipping into a bit of a formula, I decided to drag the fifth book into a different direction and, pushing aside the artwork for the moment, I focused on writing. Inspired by the film Orwell Rolls in His Grave, I spent four pages ranting and railing... It was quite fun and definitely needed. I hadn't really done much with words yet in the Conversation, which is a strange way to try to converse... But, oh well...

For anyone interested, I still have a few copies of episodes 4 and 5 left, although they are disappearing quickly. (3 is now a goner, if I haven't mentioned that yet.) The episodes are completely FREE (I've never mentioned that before, have I???), I'll even pay the postage (that includes international post!!!) All you have to do is send me an email with your mailing address and I'll drop a copy in the mailbox down the street from my house... My email is:

phantomconversation@yahoo.com

But, if you want a copy of either (or both) episode(s) let me know soon... They never seem to last very long. (And no, I don't sell emails or address or any information to some money grubbing, statistics crunching, government kick-backed, CIA informed agency or company. I'm all for freedom of identity; you do what you want with yours and let me do what I want with mine...)

The wrap-around cover (front and back) for episode 5. If you can't read the bottom it says, "'The NOTHING Episode' zip... zero... zilch..." Of course the concept for this was ripped off from Ray Johnson's performance pieces which he called "Nothings." 

The centerfold to episode 5... 

The mysterious (and potentially lawsuit inducing) cover for episode $... (I mean "4"...) 

A postcard from Poland! (Transformed into page 3...) 

Na...na..na na na na... Paintings in the Centerfold!... These are a couple of color printouts of some scans of two of my acrylic paintings that I taped to a Captain Crunch box... (Complex, eh...) The originals of these two paintings have been mailed off, sacrificed to the gods of correspondence art... 

Page 6 of episode 4 is the second digital image contributed by Clemente Padin. 

Nearly a repetition of the last episode's back page... with one small addition... (And if you can see in the photo, someone IS pointing skyward. I just "dramatized" the object of their attention...)

Episode Three is Complete!

Oh my... the "secret origin episode" has now been completed... The funny thing is, I didn't really talk about the origin of Phantom Conversation as much as I did the philosophy behind why I'm doing what I'm doing... And I pimped everyone within screaming distance (of the pages) to contribute to future issues... AND I threw in some advertisement for my other big art concern: The M.A.R.S. Project...

No... the TRUE origins of the Phant-Con won't be made public until after I die and someone gets their hands on my Nighttime Journal which I keep at the foot of my bed for all of my insomniac scribbling needs...

(Why don't I just use periods???)

(Maybe I think ellipses are more MYSTERIOUS!!!)

Anyway, feel free to take a look at some of the artwork from episode three below. And, keep an eye out for the elusive episode four, coming your way soon! (If you tell me where your way is... How the hell am I supposed to send you a copy if you never give me your address? Use some common sense, will ya!?)

END OF LINE...

The cover to episode three... The ghostly figures in the background, which my wife thought I stole from a Yes album, were actually stolen from the first Blondie record. The mask on the fetal Phantom is based on the mask worn by the old King Features comic strip character called The Phantom... 

Yes, I'm hungry... This image of Edie Sedgwick was taken by the all powerful photographer extraordinare and barber to the stars Billy Name (please forgive), the box of crackers was snipped out of the paper, the words were mine... 

A wonderful image donated to the cause by noted mail artist, Clemente Padin! 

A fun little collage (in my opinion... Although there is something particularly naughty about that advertisement for oranges, if you ask me... That's why I needed to use it in this collage, to contrast the ice-cool of the Umberto Eco - Author in a Bottle advert...) 

The back cover is from a photo taken before my kids' first concert, headlined by our favorite band: the Groovie Ghoulies! They were incredibly nice and indulged both my kids pesterings for signatures... It made their summer! Thanks Ghoulies, and stay Groovie! (P.S. All of the other bands were great, too! Let's see, there was Dateless, Jackmove, Teenage Harlots, and the Teenage Bottlerockets... All wonderful...)