This poor schlub in the pecker suit got busted for allegedly “disrupting” a graduation. You’d be excited too if you’d just earned an advanced degree in “Novelty Costume Theory.” 

…this is ridiculous. Sugar Bush the Superstar Squirrel?! Really?!! I’m pretty sure Mimi once filed a complaint against Snake for calling her “Sugar Bush.”

 Someone’s getting hit with a baseball bat over this.

Word on the street (specifically, on the corner of Press Release Road and Web Hype Boulevard) is that the Silent Devil himself, Christian Beranek, is part of the troika running the new Disney graphic novel division, Kingdom Comics. Check out the details here and here. 

I have only one question: Does this mean Division 18 is going to Disney World? There’s a certain pantsless duck the Union needs to have a few words with…

For some reason, dressing up kids in novelty costumes has been flagged as a “weird” new trend on Buzzfeed.com. Well, I call it smart parenting! It’s never too early to start training your younglings for a fruitful life in costumed entertainment.

Whoda thunk the creators of The Union of Novelty Costumed Performers would ever resort to hiring a scab to work their biggest event to date? But, then again, you can’t blame us when the guy was willing to work for two bummed cigarettes and a half-eaten cheese sandwich. Why he had a kangaroo costume handy, we may never know…

First round’s on Monkey tonight at Mother Effer’s!

Brett Edwards has the story over at FanHouse. All we can say here is that we could use a guy like Benny in River City!

For our first show behind the table, and with product to sell, the 3rd annual NYCC was a great success! Division 18: The Union of Novelty Costumed Performers was one of the key attractions at the Silent Devil Litte Foot booth #2353. Jeremy and I shared the space with fellow Silent Devil-ite and 2nd Assistant Frat Master General of Super Frat, Tony DiGerolamo, as well as the creative couple behind Little Foot’s latest kiddie title, Crumb Snatchers, artist Evan Keeling and writer Stephanie Butto. Silent Devil and Little Foot shared space at the show the same way they share space in the heart and mind of creator, publisher, wheeler and dealer, Christian Beranek, who was also on hand all weekend, signing copies of the collected Dracula vs King Arthur.

Here are a few photos from the weekend’s festivities:

Me and Tony DiGerolamo were worried during a slow patch on Saturday.

Luckily, things soon picked up… with a vengeance!

Here’s me again, this time with Team Crumb Snatchers at the Americans UK show on Saturday night. Drunk? Check. Tired? Check. Jam-sketching pics of Fat Colossus, our favorite costume of the weekend? Check. 

Jeff Burandt — lead singer of Americans UK.. or just another costumed scab? You decide!

Now THESE are definitely scabs. These Jedi jokers even solicited themselves for children’s birthday parties! Makes us want to slap the midichlorians out of them with a hockey stick!

Me again (that’s what Jeremy gets for bringing his camera!), signing D18 issue 1.

Here I am with issue 3 contributor and friend of the Union, Josh Adams. And what’s that in my hands? Some sweet, sweet art from the in-progress third part of the D18 saga. (More on that at a later date.)

One of the ways we conned enticed people to buy our book was by entering them into a raffle for some of Jeremy’s original art from issue 1. Congratulations to Saturday’s winner, Mark Kick, and Sunday’s winners (pictured above with Jeremy [finally in the shot] and Matt), John Kalafatis and Jackie Smith. (Save that art, kids — it’s gonna be worth dozens someday!)

That’s all for now. Look for more pics and memories from the show as they come, and other news on what’s to come for D18 for the rest of 2008 and beyond. We’re just getting started, people!

Caught a movie on the Netflix this weekend — a documentary called Confessions of a Superhero. It’s about a handful of costumed scabs making a living begging for dollars in front of Mann’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles. The motley gathering of scabs confessing to this quirky lifestyle includes a half-assed Wonder Woman who doesn’t even bother wearing her regulation tiara half the time, a sociopathic George Clooney stunt double from Batman & Robin, a Christopher Reeves lookalike so obsessed with all things Kryptonian that he decorates his hole-in-the-wall apartment from floor to ceiling with Superman crap, and an occasionally homeless dude dressed as the Hulk.

The filmmaker, Matt Ogens, does a really good job of humanizing these copyright-infringing pan-handlers who pass their days loitering outside a Hollywood landmark harassing tourists. There’s obvious comedic value in the premise (grown adults walking around in goofy costumes), but there’s also some serious pathos.  

The star of the documentary is Superman Chris. Superman Chris is so comfortable in his costumed skin that you never really have to worry about him. He’s portrayed as the old guard of these scabs — the guy who trains newbies on how to work the crowd, how to not get arrested, and how to respect the of what they do. He shows great wisdom for the illusion of novelty costumed performance, especially in the scene when he’s training fat Ghost Rider. (Their exchange, in a nutshell: “Ghost Rider doesn’t smoke”/”But he’s made of fire…”/”Well, he doesn’t smoke cigarettes.”) But most importantly, Superman Chris has love. There are plenty of uber-geeks walking around all day in their superhero tights and decorating their walls with action figures… but not all of them find that special someone who will accept them for who they are, most likely be willing to have intimate relations with them, and even be willing to sit in the other room while they bring a chick dressed up like Wonder Woman back to the apartment for a mid-afternoon shower. Superman Chris has that special someone and you know he’s better off because of it.

On the other hand, the fact that wanna-be Wonder Woman accepted the invite from Superman Chris to go back to his creepy Superman-infested apartment for a mid-afternoon shower is one of the reasons I’m pretty sure her story is headed for a tragic — or at least porny – end. Her little-girl-lost storyline doesn’t quite make it to any of the expected rock-bottom scenarios within the film’s duration, but you can’t help but assume the star-spangled hot pants are just a transitional step on her inevitable road to ruin.

The one who does self-destruct during the film is psycho Batman. We take a trip with him to the gun range. We get to see footage of him being arrested for an altercation that involves the illegal use of a port-o-potty and Chewbacca coming to his aid (in the fight, not the toilet). And we sit in on a therapy session where, in full costume (cowl included), he confesses to murder!!!

The one cat who makes it through the film with most of his dignity still intact is homeless Hulk. Here’s a guy who was living on the streets for 4+ years, had the vision and foresight to save up his pennies and buy a full-body Incredible Hulk costume, almost dies from heat stroke on the same steamy day Superman and Wonder Woman are off showering together, and then, by the end of the film, gets a call from his agent telling him he’s actually scored a lead role in a legit movie. And, while homeless Hulk loses points for not paying dues to the UNCP, he does at least let slip that he’s a card-holding, dues-paying member of SAG — so he respects unions, just not ours.

Confessions of a Superhero is a nice little movie worth checking out — especially if you’re a fan of the novelty costumed way of life.

Addendum from Boss Tony: What is dis crap?! Everybody knows dere’s only one movie worth yer time, an dats The Godfather, parts I ta III. But you can guarantee dis flick will be yer last chance to see any a deez these goofs on Hollywood Boulevard before I send a crew out to L.A. to knee-cap the lot of ‘em. “Waaa Waaa, it’s so hard trying to get by like this” – SHADDAP! If ya wanted steady woik, you’d a taken the Greyhound to River City, instead, sweetheart! But I’ll tell ya what — if dat Batman fella is really as crazy as I’ve heard, we could use a man of his moral caliber in Division 18.

This has sure been a busy week for Division 18. First, after weeks of radio silence, Jeremy crawled out of his dungeon studio to show off some of his sweet issue 3 pencils. And now, The Union of Novelty Costumed Performers is embroiled in a scandal that would make even a New York Governor blush!

It looks like President Bush got a resurrection of his own this past weekend — in his pants! A series of lurid photos have surfaced of the Commander in Cheat romancing one of the Union’s own after an Easter event in Washington DC.

We hate to break it to you this way, G.W., but beneath those luscious lashes and sexy purple nightie is a guy named Frank. We’ve seen him without the mask and we can assure you – Frank is something Jesus definitely would not do!