I've been asked as to the origins of the characters, as it's been speculated by several readers in the past that they are bugs or rodents, and not human at all. However, while there *was* a mental image of an old cartoon character that inspired how I *see* chester slim in my mind's eye, the character isn't based on anything I've ever seen anywhere before. Even franklin was borne from the depths of my imagination with one exception: his name. The name was inspired by an old Twilight Zone episode, where an obsessed man plays a battle of wits with a seemingly possessed slot machine who calls to him by name: "Franklin". That is the only inspiration for my franklin, and that's where the resemblance stops.
The story pretty much wrote itself as I sat at my computer, with some of the wildest notions popping into my head as stream-of-thought, so I threw it in with nary a second thought. What I remember most was the fun I had while writing it, and the initial 'WTF' responses from friends, one of whom said she wanted to spray them with bug spray and so forth, because she hated them so much. In fact, her first response was the best: "Too weird for me". With that, I knew 'chester slim and franklin' had arrived!
Enjoy the 2nd part and I'll be back next week with a different short story.
Meanwhile, we'll keep posting more about our brilliant new collections that we've recently acquired, which feature some wonderful old comics from the 1940's, 1950's, 1960's, 1970's and 1980's!!
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"chester slim and franklin eat at the diner" part 2 ~
"the great escape!"
black marvin stood aghast, his furrowed maroon brow filling with anger. "hey!" outstretched, gloved hands waved in ruthie's direction as she maneuvered across the floor, her tray nimbly perched atop carefully manicured fingertips.
"in a minute," pausing, she glanced back. "you think you can blow in once every other fidelday and it's 'hey ruthie gimme a kiss! ruthie, how 'bout an ale and melòn y toupeé to go!' it's 'ruthie this' 'n 'ruthie that...' it's gettin' so i'm tired of hearing my own name! how about you gimme some space?" with that, she returned to her course, having never so much as lowered the tray to rest an appendage.
"oh bliss, franklin ol' chum, the steaming delectables have arrived!" chester slim clasped his hands together in anticipation, his face an expression of glee. his incisors and foreteeth bit down on his lower lip as he tucked an old piece of newsprint into his black lapel collar... until he noticed ruthie's oblique stare. "um... it's the slush sauce..." he self-consciously muttered, eyes shifting hither and yon. "red tie...i don't want stains..."
"whatever," the waitress pertly replied, then fixed her gaze on franklin. "you?"
"oh no. oh, no! no, i am a meticulous eater, aren't i a meticulous eater, chester slim?"
"that you are my rodentiary friend!" chester slim fixed one eye on ruthie's blue one. "he'll leave you a clean table, madam, or my name's not chester slim."
slowly tilting her head to one side, she winked once. "good."
suddenly, black marvin appeared from behind the waitress, a gap-toothed grin seemingly large enough to swallow the plates and chester slim whole. "good!" he bellowed. "now that that's outta the way, where's my thankless kiss?"
"for once will you let me be," her eyes flared as the angels of request slowly encircled the pair, preventing her extrication from the situation.
"what's your problem? i go out of my way to see you... and here's how i'm greeted?" he grabbed her arm as the abyss between his teeth widened. "you got a lot of nerve, ruthie!"
the angels murmured, nodding in agreement, with "you tell 'er, marv" and words to that effect.
"i'm at work, you sludgeface... lemme go!" pulling away from marv only served to tighten his grip as she banged against the booth table in distress. that is, until chester slim broke the moment.
"will someone please..." everyone stopped to look at chester slim shriek. "...let us eat?"
but it was too late for franklin, who was flexing his left claw at the biker. "why don't you... back away from the waitress and give her the space she so vehemently requested?" franklin rose to meet marvin nose to nose as marv's compatriots shuffled in closer.
marv sneered at franklin. "your seconds are numbered! all six of 'em!"
• •
ràzule was a miserable chef, not because his food was without zest, but because he hated cooking. inheriting the diner at age twelve, his father went the way of many, eating the barrel of his shock gun during the drought of '86 when food was in short supply. from that day forward, ràzule lived alone, working long hours at his stove, filling the bellyfuls of others as they fled through. looking out the pass through, he couldn't help but overhear the exchange. ràzule never liked black marvin or his gang. but even more, he hated watching the morsels he had slaved over grow cold because of a dredge like black marvin! reaching for the nearest sharp implement, ràzule chopped into the bloody carcass laid across his block before stepping through the double doors.
" 'zere a problem?" ringlets of red fluid dripped from the edge of the blade. "if so, 'haps i can help you wit' it?"
"this ent none of your concern, ràzule, so back off! why'nt you get lost in your pantry an' leave this pipstweak to my tender mercies? less'n you want some too?"
chester slim nudged franklin with the tip of his boot as marv edged away to confront ràzule. reaching into deep pockets, chester slim pulled out folded bits of wax paper. unfolding them, he carefully placed sweet meats n' morsels on the paper and folded the edges until not even an odor could escape. looking up, he saw marv swing a chair over his head, hollering something about the cook's charred insoles as franklin edged back against the table. deftly, he took a sealed container out of one pocket, sliding it across the table to chester slim, who then poured his slush sauce into it before popping the lid on securely. each delectable packet found a home in the depths of chester slim's coat while ruthie yelled hey, hey! as the cook and the biker brawled in the center of the crowd.
rising out of the booth, chester slim eased up next to franklin and whispered, "methinks it's best we depart these unhappy surroundings, my friend, before trouble finds us once again."
the blade found its way through the arm of one angel, who screamed as his limb clattered, twitching to the floor. "i'll fix you, you frockling hess merchant!" someone yelled.
"i would have to agree with you, chester slim." franklin looked at the waitress, now standing on a chair holding a sauce pan, threatening anyone who came near. "might we ever come this way again, do you think?"
"it's hard to say," chester slim replied. "it depends on the outcome. and the survivors..." just then, the door chimed open, a flurry of blue and tan uniforms rushing into the diner. "oh say, someone must have contacted a constabulary or three."
the last uniformed officer held the door for the two as they slowly inched their way outside. "how do. thank you, fine sir," chester slim remarked with a grin before the officer joined the fray.
outside, the air was crisp, the sky black as tar, and marv's chopper was just waiting for someone to claim it. "shall we?" chester slim motioned.
"in fact, we shall," franklin reached into his jacket's breast pocket. "the key. trust me, black marv'll never figure out where it went!"
"very adept," chester slim smiled. "but...how...?"
"in all the commotion, he never felt it leave his vestment. grog, am i good or what?"
franklin climbed on behind chester slim who gunned the chopper's engine. "fret not," declared chester slim. "in a short while, we shall finish our delicious repast -- in silent reflection of the one with whom you are smitten, if you like."
"thank you, chester slim. that is a most kind offer." the bike lurched forward toward the dirt road and home. " 'bye, ruthie," franklin whispered.
as the vehicle disappeared along the horizon, one by one its taillights faded from view. inside the diner, the sound of shattering glass, ràzule shouting obscenities in a heretofore unheard of tongue, and shock gun blasts smearing the walls with angels' brains - for what seemed like hours - filled the air, as ruthie's screams echoed in the night.
next time -- "chester slim and franklin go to the movies" part 1
Originally posted to MySpace on Wednesday, September 03, 2008 3:28 PM
"the great escape!"
black marvin stood aghast, his furrowed maroon brow filling with anger. "hey!" outstretched, gloved hands waved in ruthie's direction as she maneuvered across the floor, her tray nimbly perched atop carefully manicured fingertips.
"in a minute," pausing, she glanced back. "you think you can blow in once every other fidelday and it's 'hey ruthie gimme a kiss! ruthie, how 'bout an ale and melòn y toupeé to go!' it's 'ruthie this' 'n 'ruthie that...' it's gettin' so i'm tired of hearing my own name! how about you gimme some space?" with that, she returned to her course, having never so much as lowered the tray to rest an appendage.
"oh bliss, franklin ol' chum, the steaming delectables have arrived!" chester slim clasped his hands together in anticipation, his face an expression of glee. his incisors and foreteeth bit down on his lower lip as he tucked an old piece of newsprint into his black lapel collar... until he noticed ruthie's oblique stare. "um... it's the slush sauce..." he self-consciously muttered, eyes shifting hither and yon. "red tie...i don't want stains..."
"whatever," the waitress pertly replied, then fixed her gaze on franklin. "you?"
"oh no. oh, no! no, i am a meticulous eater, aren't i a meticulous eater, chester slim?"
"that you are my rodentiary friend!" chester slim fixed one eye on ruthie's blue one. "he'll leave you a clean table, madam, or my name's not chester slim."
slowly tilting her head to one side, she winked once. "good."
suddenly, black marvin appeared from behind the waitress, a gap-toothed grin seemingly large enough to swallow the plates and chester slim whole. "good!" he bellowed. "now that that's outta the way, where's my thankless kiss?"
"for once will you let me be," her eyes flared as the angels of request slowly encircled the pair, preventing her extrication from the situation.
"what's your problem? i go out of my way to see you... and here's how i'm greeted?" he grabbed her arm as the abyss between his teeth widened. "you got a lot of nerve, ruthie!"
the angels murmured, nodding in agreement, with "you tell 'er, marv" and words to that effect.
"i'm at work, you sludgeface... lemme go!" pulling away from marv only served to tighten his grip as she banged against the booth table in distress. that is, until chester slim broke the moment.
"will someone please..." everyone stopped to look at chester slim shriek. "...let us eat?"
but it was too late for franklin, who was flexing his left claw at the biker. "why don't you... back away from the waitress and give her the space she so vehemently requested?" franklin rose to meet marvin nose to nose as marv's compatriots shuffled in closer.
marv sneered at franklin. "your seconds are numbered! all six of 'em!"
• •
ràzule was a miserable chef, not because his food was without zest, but because he hated cooking. inheriting the diner at age twelve, his father went the way of many, eating the barrel of his shock gun during the drought of '86 when food was in short supply. from that day forward, ràzule lived alone, working long hours at his stove, filling the bellyfuls of others as they fled through. looking out the pass through, he couldn't help but overhear the exchange. ràzule never liked black marvin or his gang. but even more, he hated watching the morsels he had slaved over grow cold because of a dredge like black marvin! reaching for the nearest sharp implement, ràzule chopped into the bloody carcass laid across his block before stepping through the double doors.
" 'zere a problem?" ringlets of red fluid dripped from the edge of the blade. "if so, 'haps i can help you wit' it?"
"this ent none of your concern, ràzule, so back off! why'nt you get lost in your pantry an' leave this pipstweak to my tender mercies? less'n you want some too?"
chester slim nudged franklin with the tip of his boot as marv edged away to confront ràzule. reaching into deep pockets, chester slim pulled out folded bits of wax paper. unfolding them, he carefully placed sweet meats n' morsels on the paper and folded the edges until not even an odor could escape. looking up, he saw marv swing a chair over his head, hollering something about the cook's charred insoles as franklin edged back against the table. deftly, he took a sealed container out of one pocket, sliding it across the table to chester slim, who then poured his slush sauce into it before popping the lid on securely. each delectable packet found a home in the depths of chester slim's coat while ruthie yelled hey, hey! as the cook and the biker brawled in the center of the crowd.
rising out of the booth, chester slim eased up next to franklin and whispered, "methinks it's best we depart these unhappy surroundings, my friend, before trouble finds us once again."
the blade found its way through the arm of one angel, who screamed as his limb clattered, twitching to the floor. "i'll fix you, you frockling hess merchant!" someone yelled.
"i would have to agree with you, chester slim." franklin looked at the waitress, now standing on a chair holding a sauce pan, threatening anyone who came near. "might we ever come this way again, do you think?"
"it's hard to say," chester slim replied. "it depends on the outcome. and the survivors..." just then, the door chimed open, a flurry of blue and tan uniforms rushing into the diner. "oh say, someone must have contacted a constabulary or three."
the last uniformed officer held the door for the two as they slowly inched their way outside. "how do. thank you, fine sir," chester slim remarked with a grin before the officer joined the fray.
outside, the air was crisp, the sky black as tar, and marv's chopper was just waiting for someone to claim it. "shall we?" chester slim motioned.
"in fact, we shall," franklin reached into his jacket's breast pocket. "the key. trust me, black marv'll never figure out where it went!"
"very adept," chester slim smiled. "but...how...?"
"in all the commotion, he never felt it leave his vestment. grog, am i good or what?"
franklin climbed on behind chester slim who gunned the chopper's engine. "fret not," declared chester slim. "in a short while, we shall finish our delicious repast -- in silent reflection of the one with whom you are smitten, if you like."
"thank you, chester slim. that is a most kind offer." the bike lurched forward toward the dirt road and home. " 'bye, ruthie," franklin whispered.
as the vehicle disappeared along the horizon, one by one its taillights faded from view. inside the diner, the sound of shattering glass, ràzule shouting obscenities in a heretofore unheard of tongue, and shock gun blasts smearing the walls with angels' brains - for what seemed like hours - filled the air, as ruthie's screams echoed in the night.
next time -- "chester slim and franklin go to the movies" part 1
Originally posted to MySpace on Wednesday, September 03, 2008 3:28 PM
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