UPDATE! In 1976, 50 years ago today, I painted a whale on a San Francisco firehouse. The S.F. Art and Fire Commissions got upset because I didn’t get permission. I just painted it. I told the story here. After I left S.F. the whale somehow became an icon for S.F. mods and scooterists.
Scooterists, I’m told, would start and end their rallies at the whale. The mural and the firehouse are long gone. Aaron Stapley, a member of those subcultures emailed me to ask about the whale. Then Aaron did something unbelievable!
To celebrate the blue whale’s 5Oth anniversary, Aaron and friends recreated the whale in San Francisco!
Aaron emailed yesterday, “We couldn’t let this amazingly serendipitous occasion pass without taking things to a satisfactory conclusion. I assembled my team of intrepid whale fans and set a plan in action to resurrect your painting at 1/4 scale this Labor Day Weekend to mark the 50th anniversary of his creation. Phase 1 involved identifying a new home – mine” to be exact- thereby sidestepping any nay sayers in the planning department.”
“I redrew him as faithfully as possible, and then transferred the image by hand to several sheets of 8’x4’ pressure treated plywood. The silhouette was cut out with a handheld jigsaw. We painted the large areas (1 gallon of Benjamin Moore white and 1/2 Symphony Blue) on top of my garage before bringing the front sections inside for the crucial line work. I knew I’d never get the it exactly the same but did my best to capture the spirit.”
” As of today, he’s floating happily above the Pacific Ocean and will remain there for many decades to come. Oh, and we decided he needed a name. Kevin was the logical choice and seems to fit his disposition well. Tomorrow we have small ride organized to officially welcome Kevin to his new home.”
“Oh, and we decided he needed a name. Kevin was the logical choice and seems to fit his disposition well. Tomorrow we have small ride organized to officially welcome Kevin to his new home.” – Aaron
Aaron Stapley at home
Aaron and crew, Thank you so much! I am stunned, amazed, delighted by your work!
Out of the blue I got an email from Aaron Stapley. Aaron rode with San Francisco’s mod scooterist scene in the 1980’s, a scene I knew nothing about. I lived and worked in SF in the 70’s. By 1980, I moved back to my native N.J. and was tending bar in Hoboken.
Aaron, his son, and his 1960 Lambretta in the Mission, San Francisco, August, 2026
Aaron asked if I was the Kevin McCloskey who painted the life-sized whale mural near the Haight. I told him the story of the project and he wrote back, “I can’t tell you how much excitement your wonderful bit of back story about the whale has generated within our community of 80’s mods and scooterists.” Apparently the whale was a witness to a unique scene and subculture. Aaron sent me pages from the zine, Scooter Rage 3, Jan 1988, announcing a rally at “The Whale Building.” Again, this all news to me.
From a web page ‘Lost murals of San Francisco’
So here’s that story. In the spring of 1976, I asked the SF Fire Commission for permission to paint the whale mural on an old fire house. Meeting after meeting I was bounced off the agenda. A city attorney told me to get lost. I decided to paint it without permission over Labor Day weekend, figuring the city hall minions would be out of town on vacation. I bought 5 gallons of Sherwin Williams blue and 2 gallons of white. I rented a 30 foot ladder. My future wife Patt and roommate Frank Sweeney helped paint. The whole thing cost me under $200.
Mad Scooter Rally, circa 1988 photo courtesy Aaron Stapley, SF, CA
After I painted the whale, the SF city attorney told me I could be charged with an illegal addition to a municipal building.
The SF Examiner and Chronicle both covered the story of the dispute and called me a “‘guerrilla artist.” A TV reporter asked me, “Are you willing to go to jail for your whale?” I stuttered and hesitated for a bit before I said “Yes.” The reporter deftly edited out my hesitation, and added volume to my “YES!” I sounded quite brave and was a neighborhood hero for a bit. The City of SF relented, dropped their threat of legal action, warning me never to touch any other city-owned walls or else.
Photos courtesy Aaron StapleySan Francisco mod fashion circa 1988.
The whale is long gone, but it warms my heart that it was part of the mod scooter scene a decade after I left San Francisco.
I’ve done a lot of painting in my lifetime, but none as large as the whale. I’m touched that something I made in 1976 is fondly remembered by the S.F. mods and scooterists. Thanks, Aaron. He wrote this week to say, “It hit me that we’re days away from what would be the whale’s 50th birthday!” Labor Day Weekend, 1976- Labor Day Weekend, 2026. 50 years swam right by. Vroom! Vroom!
According to Publisher’s Weekly ” Kickstarter has become the dominant crowdfunding platform in the comics space, with some 3,414 projects raking in a total of $46.5 million in 2024. That year, more than 67% of comics projects were successfully funded—the highest success rate by category of any type of Kickstarter project.”
Over the years I’ve backed 36 Kickstarter projects, some launched by my former illustration students. Usually, I back at the digital level with an outlay of $10-$20.
I’m backing the Outlaw’s Apprentice by Chris Schweizer. His Kickstarter is a case study on how to craft a successful campaign. His drawing and storytelling are brilliant, too. His goal was $2,500. He’s now reached over $35,000, more than 1400% of his original goal.
This campaign ends Friday, July 31 at 12:39am
Like most Kickstarter campaigns the Outlaw’s Apprentice has stretch goals, various add-ons at different levels, and Chris has blown past all but one. That means my modest contribution will get me a map, paper figures, stickers and a keychain, besides the book. His one remaining stretch goal is a noble one. If he reaches $40,000,(and I bet he does), Chris is donating a copy of Outlaw’s Apprentice: Broken Blade to every public library in Kentucky, as well as every public middle school and high school library in Kentucky that requests one. (This campaign ends Friday, July 31, 2026 at 12:39am
Daniel Patrick McCloskey (BeanCan Dan) is my son and he has a Kickstarter ending shortly,August 1, 2026. He’s had one graphic novel, Cloud Town, published by Amulet/Abrams in 2022. Despite glowing reviews Abrams passed on the sequel, so Daniel launched a Kickstarter. He met his initial goal of $1500 on day one. He’s up to $4,254 with a week to go at the time of this writing.
The main characters in Friends in Stormy Weather are high schoolers, so the book is designed to look like a school composition book. Daniel’s most unique stretch goal is a glow-in-the-dark friendship bracelet. Last I heard Dan’s original shipment of bracelets got lost is customs, but he will figure that out.
Daniel was recently interviewed by Henry Chamberlain on the Comic Grinder podcast. The Comic Grinder and The Comics Beat both had nice things to say about Daniel’s Kickstarter.
Dan’s Kickstarter can be supported for as little as $10. That gets Friends in Stormy Weather Part 1 and Part 2 in Digital/ PDF format + a thank you in his email blast to hundreds of readers!
At the ALA Convention in Chicago I tabled at Artist’s Alley next to Tim Fish. His new mini-comic project involves redrawing minis he originally drew in 1993, over 40 years ago.
I found this project mind-boggling, so I found the recorder app on my phone and asked Tim to explain it.
Q: What’s the story with redrawing your 1993 Arché Lady mini-comics ?
Tim Fish: It was largely a project to amuse my friends when I started. And I amused myself and just sort of put something out to the universe, and I kept the series going for 100 issues. But really, it’s only 1993 that still makes me laugh and has some merit. So I redrew the first issue, the very first story, I thought, ‘WOW! The bar for improvement is so low! This is great!’ and I kept it going. I’m now on book 5 of 7 from 1993.
Q: Wow! is right, It’s different, but it’s more than just the zipatone and your improved drawing skills. The point of view on the new version is way more complex.
Tim Fish: The perspective, yes. Some detail, yes. I’ve really focused on page layout, panel layout, composition over the years. I’m pretty much entirely self-taught in the realm of art. Writing is where I’ve had all my formal education. Drawing is not my strong suit.
Q: And did you change the writing, the text, much?
Tim Fish: No, no, very little. I tried to stick to the original script as close as possible. Yeah, unless I wanted to highlight something differently because I would go through the projects and remember- Oh, I didn’t want to draw this panel in 1993!- but now I do. So, I edited to the script to expand certain parts of the story and contract others.
If the story was so bad, like, embarrassingly bad, or doesn’t hold up in 2026. I just skipped it and drew a new brand new story. But otherwise, I really tried to stick exactly to the script. it’s not like a panel by panel. Sometimes I compress and contract.
Q: It’s pretty close to page by page.
TIM FISH: Yeah, and it’s really fascinating to look back at something you did over 30 years ago, there are things about I can see now in hindsight. Like, oh, I was clearly going through something at the time, not dealing with something, and it’s bleeding out into the art and the story. So it’s kind of a bizarre experiment to go back so thoroughly and look at your life and your art.
Q: It’s a document of who you were then, and that’s way cool way. Let’s see, did I record this? I hope so. (Note: Interview lightly edited for clarity.)
Tim Fish
Tim Fish is a busy guy. He’s working on his PHD in the form of a graphic novel at the University of Limerick, Ireland. You can support him via Patreon and learn more about his remarkable work by visiting TIMFISHWORKS.COM
Last week was “Read Across America” week. Children’s book authors and illustrators, like me, get lots of invitations to visit schools. I visited 4 different area schools.
I like to leave a work of art as a gift for each school. I draw their mascot and frame it for the library. On Monday I presented at Blue Ball Elementary. Their mascot is a really cute Bassett Hound. On Tuesday I visited Brecknock, home of the Bulldogs.
Wednesday was New Holland Elementary, home of the Spartan Hawks. That’s a red-tailed hawk wearing a Spartan Helmet. He actually has a name, “Tails.”
Here’s the version of Tails I found online. I skipped the cape.
So far, so good. Fun to draw. Friday I was scheduled to visit Brandywine Heights Elementary School in Topton ,PA. Their mascot is a bullet. Some parents once asked if a bullet mascot makes sense at an elementary school. Other parents prevailed and the bullet remains the school mascot.
From Brandywine’s “Bullet Mat Club” Facebook page.
These wrestling trophies show the historic “Bullet Man.” Recently, the bullet man has replaced with a graphic design version of a red, white and blue bullet.
I chose not to draw an angry bullet for my elementary school friends. I took the Brecknock Bulldog, flipped him and added a discreet bullet dog tag. The kids were delighted with my “Bullet, the Bulldog.” I told my teacher hosts they are welcome to use my drawing any time they like.
Wild About Capybaras!coming May, 2026 will be my 7th TOON book. I want to share my cover sketches. If you are not an illustrator, you may be surprised to see how many sketches I did. This is almost the cover…
My editors liked this idea best, but, they didn’t like the cartoon balloon. They didn’t like the fruit on the capybara’s snout! They didn’t like cut paper landscape! They didn’t like the swimmer! Capybaras are often depicted with yuzu, a fragrant citrus used in Japanese baths. The editors had a good point. Yuzu is not something a Capybara would find in the wilds of their native South America.
Scroll to the bottom to see the final cover. Meanwhile, here are some early sketches. Luckily, the swimming pool idea (below) got rejected. It’s looks like a swipe from Bill Peet’s Capyboppy! Believe me, I never saw Peet’s sweet 1966 book about his pet Capybara until after I finished my book.
Other ideas I played with included this one had two yuzus! The stacked animals recall one of my favorite tales from the Brothers Grimm’s, The Bremen Town Musicians.
Another, simple one. I still kinda’ like this one…
Another…
Another…
Finally, This is the cover. TA-DA!I didn’t do the lettering, which is great. I painted the landscape instead of using cut paper. After eliminating the swimming capybara, I added the Amazonian water lilies and a little frog staring up at the capybaras.
Kids know more about capybaras than most adults do. These TikTok stars, the world’s largest rodents, are quite amazing. If you want to learn more, you’ll want to get the book. I’m looking forward to doing more school visits in 2026. I already got my capybara shirt!
Thanks to The American Library Association’s Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table for sharing this photo of me at The Kutztown Public Library.
More info on my other TOON books and my school and library visits can be found here.
I brought my sketchbook to the Santa Gathering, Lancaster, PA. The 4-day Santa convention is an incredible event with over 100 professional Santas. There are vendors of custom suits, designer beards, belts, and buckles. I go to meet other Santas.
Santa Ken is a charming fellow and one of several African-American Santas in attendance. He’s a Vietnam vet and a former disc jockey who worked for radio stations in Newark, NJ, and New York City.
83-year old Santa Fran is also a veteran. He was in the Air Force. He travels up to Pennsylvania from his new home in Florida every year. He is a big fan of Allegiant Air as they have special perks for vets. Years ago, an agency sent him on tour as Santa in Indian Territory in Oklahoma.
Santa John and his wife Sylvia have a mission. They distribute free Christmas books to anyone who promises to get them into the hands of children. He ,too, is a veteran. He served on the USS John F. Kennedy, the last non-nuclear powered aircraft carrier.
Santa Dan has a great smile and great beard. When complimented on his beard, he said, “I’m just lucky.” He was a school teacher for years and wasn’t permitted to grow a beard until he retired. He said he never knew he could grow such a good beard.
While most of the attendees were Santas, there were a number of Mrs. Clauses present.
I kept sketching during the lectures. Skip Bowers of Mason-Dixon Santas gave some frank advice. Personally, as a mall Santa, I remain secular and so never mention Jesus. Skip, however, is also a paster so some of his advice was more suited for Christian youth groups.
He also told us the best answer when a child asks, “Santa, What’s your favorite cookie?” The answer -“Round.” Skip made another good point, – Santa should use the term “pro-bono” rather than “free’ on those occasions you are willing to work for a charity.
Speaking of pro-bono, Santa Jimmy Smentana of Minnesota donates his time each Christmas season to a railroad museum, the Jackson Street Roundhouse, in St. Paul.
The Santa Gathering Talent Show was memorable. I never heard “Jesus Take the Wheel!” before. As my old friend Santa Middy noted, it’s easy to be a convincing ventriloquist when you have a bushy mustache.
There were some glitches with the sound system, so the sock hop didn’t go as well as expected.
We had Bingo and Christmas Trivia. The hardest trivia question was this: Who wrote The Haunted Tea-Cosy: A Dispirited and Distasteful Diversion for Christmas? I’m not going to tell you. I got it wrong. I did win a Snickers bar for getting 6 of 10 questions right.
It wasn’t all fun and games. Well, mostly it was. There was an educational lecture on reindeer husbandry by Cassandra from Spruce Ridge Reindeer Farm.
When I asked my wife, Patt, if she wanted to come to a Santa convention. She said, “Let’s see, Do I really want to be in a room with 100 overweight bearded extroverts? -No, You go, have fun” And I did!
It is a paradox. Santa is Santa, yet each Santa is unique. Santas wear all sort of hats. Yes, Santas do tend to be extroverts. But who wants to go to an introvert convention?
My favorite hat was the red Greek fisherman’s cap worm by Santa George Grasic. He got it at a Santa event many years ago and has never seen another one since.
So glad I brought my sketchbook to collect my memories of the Santa Gathering. Portraying Santa is an odd job, but it is also a calling. If you can make another person experience joy, you are likely to experience joy yourself. Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas!
The Society of Illustrators , NYC, hosted “TheBologna Children’s Book Fair as the Epicenter of International Illustration.” Illustrator Steven Guarnaccia paced the floor and delivered a rousing pep talk about the BCBF (Bologna Children’s Book Fair.) The room was packed to capacity with famous illustrators including Leslie Cober , president of the Society. Much of the crowd seemed to be newly minted MFA students, many from my alma mater, SVA.
Steven, the best dressed illustrator in NYC, is also bella Bologna’s biggest booster. In a country famed for its food, he insisted Bologna is the foodie capital.
LIBRERIE COOP Bookstore. A modern bookstore with medieval walls. Photo by Janna Morishima
Steven waxed poetic about the people, the architecture, the magnificent bookstores, and the camaraderie of book lovers.
Steven Guarnaccia, Maria Russo, and me.
I ran into Steven several times at BCBF 2025 where I had the privilege of manning the TOON Books table at the fair’s “Comics Corner.”
Steven Guarnaccia and Elena Pasoli, BCBF Director took questions.
Elena Pasoli, director of the BCBF, explained how Bologna has supported the fair for 60 plus years. The University of Bologna is the oldest university in the western world. The Fine Arts and Education faculty at the university and at other Italian schools are key partners. Bologna (population 400,000) may not be not as big as Milan or Rome, but it punches above its weight. It has numerous museums and galleries, and pop-up art events to coincide with the fair.
Steven spoke about mind-blowing art that would never be published in American children’s books. A case in point was the art from the Baltic nation of Estonia, the Guest of Honor for 2025.
The kid-friendly exhibition of Estonian Illustration.
Estonia’s booth at the fair displayed scores of new books. By the end of the fair, many of the Estonian books sported bookmarks bragging of international rights negotiated at the fair. Elena explained this is the essential reason the fair exists. It is a “rights fair.” Agencies and publishers flock to Bologna to make deals. Oddly enough, though it is a children’s book fair, children are not in attendance in the exhibition halls. There are, however, plenty of concurrent events where children are welcome.
One of Bologna’s palaces, the PALAZZO D`ACCURSIO had a wild kid-friendly exhibition of plywood cut-outs based on Estonian children’s book illustration.
Work of Priit Pärn, Estonia
Bologna has unique cultural institutes like Hamelin. A team from Hamelin was also in NYC to explain how they support of the fair. They are instrumental in highlighting international illustrators and especially comics creators. They arranged nearly nonstop panel discussions on all aspects of comics. In fact, Hamelin invited me to speak on a panel on “Comics in the Classroom.” One of many panels I enjoyed was about comics in South America, something I want to know more about.
Juan Pablo Fajardo of Colombia speaking of his publishing house Piedra Tijera Papel at one on many panels.
Back to NYC. The audience had plenty of questions for Steven and Elena….
Steven Guarnaccia and Elaine Pasoli
“What if we work in comics and zines?” Steven responded that he ‘s taken students from both his Parsons illustration classes and from his comics/zine classes to the fair. All manner of students found the trip inspiring. “When I started as an illustrator in NY, there were specific sorts of illustrators,” said Steven, ” There were book cover illustrators, editorial illustrators, comic book artist. Some might cross over a bit, but in the rest of the world illustrators don’t stick to these sorts of silos.”
Steven joked that the audience should look under their chairs for a ticket to Bologna 2026. I must admit I reached under my seat.
An illustrator asked, “Are you suggesting we just go to Bologna? Doesn’t your publisher have to send you?” Answer from Steve and Elena was, “Just Go! “
Janna Morishima’s Bologna Book Fair Budget
“What does it cost ?” The actual fair admission for illustrators is 22 Euros, roughly $25. Great, but what about travel and lodging? Literary agent Janna Morishima piped up to share she did the fair for under $1300 in 2024. (She happily admits to being a very frugal traveller.) Above is her budget from her 2024 Bologna trip posted at Kids Comics Unite. Janna’s whole illustrated Bologna 2024 journey can be found here.
Catiebelle Bulmer, Illustrator and Kutztown University grad.
P.S. I was surprised to find one of my former Kutztown illustration students went to the fair. I asked Catiebelle Bulmer to share her impressions. She wrote, ” This was my first time attending the Bologna Book Fair, and it was completely soul-filling. I left feeling wildly inspired—not only by the incredible talent on display, but by the reminder that there’s room for all kinds of illustrators in the children’s book world. The wide range of styles, voices, and storytelling approaches made it clear that there’s no one “right way” to be an illustrator. I came home with a renewed sense of purpose and am now working on a children’s book of my own—one rooted in themes of identity, inclusivity, and environmental stewardship. It’s colorful, heartfelt, and meant to help kids feel like they belong in their bodies because their bodies are part of the natural world, and that world is worth protecting. The most memorable part of the city was absolutely the food (I mean, Bologna!), but at the fair itself, nothing topped the chaos and community energy around the Illustrators Wall—it was like a living, breathing collage of creativity.”
The Illustrator’s Wall. Photo by Catiebelle Bulmer
Catie sounds every bit as enthusiastic about Bologna as Steven and Elena. If you are an illustrator, or hope to be an illustrator, a pilgrimage to Bologna is the trip of a lifetime.
I’d never been to Italy and didn’t expect to visit. Françoise Mouly, the founder of TOON Books, was invited to the 2025 Bologna Children’s Book Fair. As luck would have it, she had a conflict and asked the Book Fair if she could pass the invitation on to me.
So, I represented TOON Books in the magnificent city of Bologna as a guest of the fair. It was a feast for the eyes. TOON Books had table at the Comics Corner where I met brilliant comics publishers from all over the world, including Colombia, The Philippines, and Brazil.
Bebel Books of Brazil gifted me a copy of a remarkable little book, Acqua Alta. I guessed right, the title translates as ‘High Water.’ Bebel Books has published over 100 books. Some of them are NSFW, like Suruba para Colorir (Orgy Coloring Book.) Another, a comic anthology about toxic masculinity, BOY DODÓI, is a hit in Brazil.
Acqua Alta is safe-for-work and very lovely book. I’ll share some of my favorite pages. At the end of this post is a link to the entire story.
The story is wordless. A little girl arrives in Venice on a cruise ship. She gets distracted at a mask shop and suddenly she is on her own. No longer part of the throng of tourists, she manages to wander empty side streets.
Look at that partial mask in the upper left corner and how it directs our eyes to the girl. The following page, once she has put on the mask is one of my favorites. So gutsy.
I’ve never been to Venice, but I think I know it because of movies, The Merchant of Venice, Casino Royale, and Don’t Look Now! Don’t Look Now!made a lasting impression on me. Donald Sutherland plays a grieving father who thinks he sees his recently deceased daughter running around Venice. As the little girl in Acqua Alta wandered around I felt uneasy for her because of my personal catalog of Venetian movie imagery. Every reader carries their cocktail of impressions of the great city. I doubt Nik Neves’ intention was to channel a 1970’s horror film.
I want to thank the sisters Bebel Abrue and Manaira Abrue of São Paulo, Brazil for the gift of this Acqua Alta. Bebel is the Editor-in-Chief at Bebel Books. Manaira, art director and designer. Both are brimming with positive energy and deserve the international acclaim coming their way. Find them on Instagram @bebelbooks
ACQUA ALTA : FREE ONLINE! The pictures above are just a sampler of Acqua Alta. The entire book, all 64 pages, is FREE on Nik Neves’ website. Of course, the physical book is a different experience. The printing is exquisite. The cream-colored paper stock is so substantial that each individual page has the heft of a classic post card. It is a joy to savor the visual poetry of Nik Neves.
I’ve told this story before, but one thing Marshall Arisman taught me is that a good story deserves to be retold. In 1984, I was a bartender at the 8th Street Tavern in Hoboken and doing occasional illustrations for The New York Times and The Village Voice. I learned from an ad in the Times that The School of Visual Arts was launching a new MFA program. The chair was Marshall Arisman and the program was then called “Illustration as Visual Journalism.” I applied and met Marshall in his office at SVA on 23rd St. He was wearing a tan cashmere sweater. I did most of the talking. He laughed a bit.
A Radiant Monkey, ink and gold leaf by Marshall Arizona
My application included the requisite 20 slides, some Voice cartoons and not very good travel sketches I’d done in Viet Nam during the war. I didn’t have a Bachelor’s degree when I applied. I convinced Marshall to let me enroll by promising to finish that undergrad degree while also getting my MFA at night in his program.
Marshall seldom used paint brushes. He would apply the paint on paper or canvas with a palette knife, a q-tip swab, or the pop top from a soda can. He smoked unfiltered Gauloises cigarettes even while he was painting in oils.
Drawing by Marshall Arisman 2017
Marshall died in 2022. I wept when I heard it as if I lost family. SVA had an exhibition of his work in their Gramercy Gallery this winter. It closed last week. I am so glad I got to see it. His artwork is powerful and plentiful. The personal memorabilia was also fascinating. I had to laugh seeing his rejections slips, including one from J. Carter Brown of the National Gallery of Art. There were touching anniversary cards drawn for his wife, Dee Ito.
I was not sure I was cut out to be a teacher. I wanted that vanishing (even, then, in 1985) job as a freelance illustrator. Marshall learned of a job as sabbatical replacement for an illustration prof at East Carolina University. He persuaded me to take the job. I taught there for a few years, then 30 years at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.
Photo form the SVA exhibition: “Marshall Arisman: Does That Make Sense?”
I would always tell students what Marshall told us. Think of yourself not as an illustrator, but as the author of your own projects. Make something personal and then find a place for it. Of course, the work does not always find a place, but, at least, it gets done. I think about Marshall often and try to get back to work.
Radiant Monkey, ink and gold leaf, Marshall Arisman
Illustration Concentration 