retired at 8

no, the post title does not refer to my bedtime last night. i stayed up until 10, but couldn't make it through "battlestar galactica." we tivo-ed it, so i'll try and watch it tonight.

the title refers to our son, who at 8 yesterday announced to us that he is retiring. we gave the matter a serious face and grave response to his face, but after he had turned his back we hid our smiles behind our hands and chortled, "retired!"

let me 'splain. no, it would take to long. let me sum up (that was an obscure reference to 'the princess bride' in case any of you caught it). around thanksgiving, h thought up a heroic new character that he called "x". he briefly considered making a film about x, or writing a screenplay or novel about x, but since he already has other characters in development in those genres, this time he chose to tell the story through a comic book. he proceeded to get a piece of construction paper and several pieces of white paper, folded them in half and stapled them down the spine, and the series of "x and crabby" was born. kindly, he gave his sister credit on every single book as a co-creator, although she had nothing to do with any of them. if she did, the comic would surely have contained more dogs and wolves than it currently does.

i need to tell you that h is really an idea man. his ideas are grandiose, and he needs to execute them quickly lest he forget them before they make it onto the paper. thus, detail and execution are often lost in the process of his creativity. maybe someday i'll convince him to treat his ideas as "sketches" so he could more fully flesh them out later, with more attention to coherence and detail. for now, i wish he would include a brief synopsis at the beginning of each issue so i might have the slightest idea where the story is headed!

anyway, he's been hard at work on these comics-- sporadically-- ever since. above is an example of a page from issue #2: "say cheese and be happy, pappy!" just so you'll have an idea of what's going on around here. yesterday, he sat at the kitchen table... diligently scribbling away on "x and crabby #11: the master." upon completion, he placed it on the shelf among the other issues, and announced his retirement. oh, not to worry. he's just moving on to other projects now... and maybe someday he'll return once again in "x and crabby series 2." come out of retirement, if you will.

after all, he's only 8.