Benny & Sid Presents Chapter 15 of the new serialized graphic novel The Hummer -- The Final Chapter

This marks the last chapter in the graphic novel "The Hummer."

By Glen Bledsoe

(Your City, USA) - This marks the last chapter in the graphic novel "The Hummer." I hope you've had as much fun reading it as I've had creating it. As it turns out it's also the 199th comic I've made for Salem-News.com. I started four years ago this coming August.

The first one hundred comics were under the title of "Nota Bene" and the premise was that the comics represented events in parallel universes. They were thinly disguised satires of America under the Bush Administration.

The 101st comic transitioned into a series based on the idea of a couple of guys named Benny & Sid hacking into Salem's digital billboard system and posting social criticism messages for drivers to view as they rolled by.

Over time the format gave way to serialized graphic novels. "The Truant Officer," "The Insidious Futoko" and finally "The Hummer" were so born. "The Truant Officer" is now available in comic book format with the other two soon to follow.

With issue 200 I'm trying something different. I'm going to put aside the comic format for a bit. My interest in photography pushes me in a different direction. The purpose of the artist is to prod his viewer to see the world through different eyes, to notice things overlooked. We live in our communities but often ignore the most interesting qualities about them because they grow too familiar. My new series "Your City, USA!" will show you your own community as I see it. Using HDR photography and other techniques I hope to re-familiarize you with the richness of the Pacific Northwest.

I hope you will join me next week with the first installment of "Your City, USA!"

==============================================
Leonardo (Glen L. Bledsoe), Salem-News.com cartoonist, was born and raised in Indiana. He graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago for several years. Glen made his home in Oregon in the early 80's where he continues to enjoy the mild climate and lack of sales tax.

He and his wife Karen have published seventeen books together for the school library market. Glen has written extensively on the issues of technology and education for the National Education Association and other Leonardo (Glen L. Bledsoe) publications. When he is not creating this unique cartoon series, Glen is either teaching, writing a novel, composing music, or reading.