We will guard your body, but you’ll have to walk your own dog.

Art Clokey, the creator of that adorable, pointy-headed green glob of clay, Gumby, passed away on January 9th. This is a pretty significant (and sad) loss for the world of pop culture, in general, as I am not alone in having fond childhood memories of watching the surreal and imaginative adventures of Gumby and Pokey. And even recently, I’ve enjoyed the trippy all-ages comics about the clay boy and his clay horse by Bob Burden and Rick Geary. But it only just occurred to me how big a role Mr. Clokey played in the creation of Division 18 (and the old soul didn’t even know it)!

Think about it: if it weren’t for Clokey, we wouldn’t have Gumby, and if it weren’t for Gumby, we wouldn’t have Gumby parodies.

And if not for the original Gumby parody–a foul-mouthed, womanizing, chain-smoking creep in an 8-foot-tall, green-plush costume, who pals around with a dopey sidekick–would Jimmy the Snake have ever crawled his way out of the stinking depths of my subconscious?!

So, thank you, Art, wherever you are!