Salty 'Ham Jam: Salty 'Ham Slam 12

Our twelfth official council was severely pleasant. We were at the J again, and we had a chipper group: Tim Rocks, Frank Cummings, Tim Spinosi, Ben Faucher, and Ed Abernathy. And we welcomed first-timers Jennie Cole and Sean Finn. And non-member guests Fred Jarmon and Brad Strickland. And there was me, Chris Garrison.

Left to right: Tim Spinosi, Sean Finn, and Frank Cummings.

Tim Rocks assists aspiring cartoonists by modeling his perfect, cartoony thumb joints ...

while at the same time eating feta cheese on a rice cake. Yecch!

Left to right: Fred Jarmon, Ben Faucher, and Brad Strickland.

Jennie Cole, hard at work. She was dolled up, because she had a hot date after the slam! True story.

The usually present but seldom photographed Ed Abernathy.

I forgot to take a picture of myself, so just trust me when I say I looked phenomenal.

Everybody discussed computer programming, the looming death of newspaper comics, the foibles of Cartoon Network execs, and all the other stuff cartoonists love to talk about. Then we got down to some drawing.

Frank Cummings drew this ghoul from Irish folklore: The Snicker-Snee.

Then Frank Cummings drew this disturbing illustration, based on a brutal tale told by Ed Abernathy.

I drew a few quick and lazy caricatures:

Chris Garrison's attempt at Sean Finn.

Chris Garrison's attempt at Ed Abernathy.

Chris Garrison's attempt at Tim Spinosi.

Chris Garrison's attempt at Frank Cummings.

And we even tried a couple of comic jams:

Fortune Teller credits:
panel 1 by Chris Garrison; panel 2 by Tim Spinosi; panel 3 by Tim Rocks; panel 4 by Brad Strickland; panel 5 by Ben Faucher.

Mystery Box credits:

panel 1 by Chris Garrison; panel 2 by Jennie Cole; panel 3 by Fred Jarmon; panel 4 by Sean Finn; panel 5 by Frank Cummings; panel 6 by Chris Garrison. Why is it that boxes always turn out to have heads in them?

As usual, we snacked on Oreos, Nutter Butters, and Chips, Ahoy! cookies. Then, Ben and Jennie got into an arm-wrestling match. Unfortunately she broke both his arms and, inexplicably, one leg! He was rushed to the nearest hospital. Well, not rushed, exactly. Let's just say transported. For those of you who missed it, you really should have been there!

All tolled, everybody had fun at the slam, and there was much mingling. So join us, won't you, for the NEXT Salty 'Ham Slam! (as yet unscheduled) (official members and invited guests only, please)

Oh, and you can look back at previous slams, here: