IN SQUID WE TRUST, originally uploaded by Ben Templesmith.

Ben Templesmith has one of the most distinct and evocative artistic styles in comics. His most notable works include 30 Days of Night and Fell, and he is both the artist and writer on Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse (my personal favorite), Welcome to Hoxford, and Singularity 7.

This intriguing declaration appeared on his blog yesterday, and about it Mr. Templesmith says,

Future tax doge and excuse for mass murder here we come!

Alright then.

IN SQUID WE TRUST is available as an 11″ x 17″ print (for $14.99) on his CafePress store.

My prize was one of the pins, and I opted for the tie tack option. The pin is made of cold cast bronze and is cast from an original sculpture by CTP contributor Sarah Dungan. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because I featured Sarah’s Industrial Fairytale Etsy shop in last week’s Holiday Shopping Guide.

You can see more of Sarah’s work at sarahdungan.blogspot.com.

Hobo #108: Cthulhu Carl

I realize this might require a little bit of an explanation, particularly if you are not familiar with works of John Hodgman. A modern classic, The Areas of My Expertise is a tome of fake trivia and made-up facts, and one of the many topics covered is that of hoboes—namely their near rise to power, and eventual planetary exodus, during the early decades of the 20th century. Included therein is the list of 700 hobo names, and name #108 on that list is “Cthulhu Carl.” Over the years, artistic interpretations of all 800 of the 700 hobo names (the paperback edition comes with an additional 100 hobo names, you see) have been produced, and you can see them all at E-hobo.com.

Incidentally, this is not my first Hodgman-inspired hobo costume. In the past I have also been Hobo Zero (#13), Fabulon Darkness (#275), and Doc Aquatic (#118).

So, about the costume…

I started at the “hobo baseline”—beard, knit-cap, plaid shirt, and old corduroy pants. (I would have also gone with fingerless gloves, but they were unnecessary for obvious reasons.) Next, I cut a head hole in some decorative netting and wore it like a sarape. Entangled within the net are an octopus, a squid, a crab, and a puffer fish. Funny story: the net came packaged with a real sea star, and as a result it had a strange odor…not quite “fishy,” but maybe “echinodermy??” It added an unexpected layer of olfactory authenticity!

Under my hat, I inserted three fronds from a plastic aquarium plant (the one that seemed to most resemble seaweed) to which I had hot-glued a plastic sea star and squid (you can’t really make them out in this photo, which is too bad). This had an added effect of making it look like I had really nasty dreadlocks.

And finally, the best part, the tentacle arm…

I made it out of one half of a pair of girl’s tights (I was hoping for green, but purple was an acceptable alternative), and a strip of suction cups cut from a bathtub mat. I simply cut a little hole for each suction cup and pulled it through. I’m actually kind of shocked that it worked as well as it did! And it was functional! See how the suction cups firmly grip my pint glass!

Happy Halloween!!!

In the meantime, here is a selection of store-bought cephalopod Halloween costumes:

Pirates of the Caribbean Davy Jones latex mask (by Party America, I think) from my local Halloween Express. The price tag is about $60, but you can get it for about half that on Amazon.

From the same Halloween Express, the full Davy Jones costume (this time by Disguise). In the store, it costs $99.99, but you can get it for $70 at BuyCostumes.com.

Cthulhu mask from Halloween-Mask.com. Currently out of stock.

This awesome tentacle arm was made by The Gaiastore, but tragically it no longer seems to be available. It retailed for a mere $15, so I’m not surprised it sold out!

Child’s octopus costume from Pottery Barn Kids. Retails for $59, but the current online price is $34.99.

Infant costume from CostumeExpress.com. Currently out of stock.

Discontinued “Stuck On You” octopus costume from BabyStyle.com.

Lastly we have “Lil’ Squirt,” which was made for Target by the Charles S. Anderson Design Co. Of all the children’s octopus costumes I’ve seen, this is the one I’d most like to get for Kid Indie Squid Kid. Unfortunately, it was only available for one season several years ago.