ed conversations 1

Ed is no longer just a black and white comic! He's got color now. This is the first in a series of different one panel comics I'm doing for Ed and the business warriors. I should also have rabbit comics up at some point. enjoi!

it's christmas time again

It's Christmas time again. We've seen snow fall from the sky already out here in Idaho. Thanksgiving is over, even if it's just a few days out. With the end of Thanksgiving it is time to put up the Christmas Tree. Luckily this is the first Christmas I have with my wife. We decide that it was time to buy a tree yesterday. We got a small four ft. tree from walmart and then decorated it last night.


Here we are getting ready to put the ornaments on:

I was lucky this year. I got to put the star on top of the tree. I've never got to do that before.

Unfortunately the first try was not the best. Poor little tree didn't like the weight of the star.

Luckily we finally got it all together and Allison was able to light the tree! Now that is just awesome.

Look it's the McLean's in front of their very first Christmas Tree! How awesome is that.

Christmas has come to the McLean home a little early in my opinion, but it's still the best thing ever. Merry Christmas to everyone.

comic junkie

I love comics and I can’t get enough of them. I don’t just like the spandex heroes jumping building from building either. I really enjoy independent comics, which I know can be superheroes, but at the same time a lot of them are not. I have been reading this one webcomic by Jon Adams called Truth Serum. This comic is a satire on world viewed through really bad heroes. These heroes never do really any good, which makes it even funnier. I was first exposed to Truth Serum when I bought one of the graphic novels about three years ago. This graphic novel was written before the web comic came out. Then recently I bought a new graphic novel. This one took the events of Bush presidency and showed how some of ideas were not the best. Comics are the best. They can look at anything and make statements about them that other might not be able to make. For one most people don’t care about comics, so they get away with a lot of things these days, since they got freedom of speech again. They just got that back in the late nineties. The major two at least did, the small companies never bowed down to the illegal sanctions of the government. I go off in so many tangents it’s not funny. I’m just an odd ball at times. One comic I read this year that was amazing is Satchel Paige Striking out Jim Crow. This comic is a view of how Satchel Paige was able to play baseball with white people viewed through the eyes of another player was forced into retirement from an injury. Of all the comics I’ve read this year, I would say this is the best. It’s a true story about a great man that many people might not know. Plus who doesn’t love a baseball comic? They don’t make many of them.


Comics are a medium that are not explored enough in the US. They can be so many different things. They don’t just have to be about superheroes fighting supervillains. They can be educational tools. If I wanted to teach someone something I would think that comics could have a powerful source to do that. In other countries comics are more than just entertainment. In Japan they have history comics. One of them that I read about was a comic about the invention of noodles in a cup. A small thing I know, but who would want to read about it when you have comic that talks about it. All I am saying is that comics need to be embraced more. I might not be the best source for this, being a comic junkie myself. It’s like asking a crack addict if crack is good for them. I would say my comic addiction is as bad being a crack addict, just ask my parents or wife. I have so many comics and spent thousands of dollars on them. I still wouldn’t want them to give them up. Comics are the best. I made my points, go read comics.

For your enjoiment an ed the business warrior sketch:

one month

One month today. I have been married a whole months as of today. It’s strange to think I’ve only been married to Allison one month today. It feels like we’ve been together so much longer than a month. I would have thought we were at a year almost, but that would be impossible. So here we are one month into our marriage. I remember our single ward bishop telling us that if we could make it through the first five days we could make it through anything. Another person told us that if we could survive the first five years we would be set to go. I really don’t believe either of them though. The first five days with Allison were to amazing to even think about leaving. I was in total bliss. How could I not make it through the first five days? I know that’s the honeymoon stage and I’m sure I’m still in the honeymoon stage because I can’t imagine a world without Allison. In five years I have no clue how I’ll feel. I will be a different a person. I will be future Michael and future Michael is not me. It’s a Michael that could be a better husband and person all around or he could be a new jack the ripper. Future Michael is a scary thing to think about, because I should know him, but I don’t. That’s not the point; the point is how does making it through five years guarantee that you’ll never break up? It doesn’t. That’s all I’m saying. I know marriage isn’t easy and that I’m always going to have to work at it. That doesn’t make me mad or sad. It’s just a fact of life. I’m really happy for the fact that I am married, that I do have a wife. My wife is amazing. I couldn’t ask for a better person to be married too. The future can hold so many things. I never saw myself married to Allison two years ago when I first meet her, but past Mike had no clue who future Michael was going to be and who he was going to love. I’m so lucky that I did decide to fall for my love. She has brightened my world a hundred time a million. I never want to be without her again. This past month has been the best month of my life. It hasn’t been perfect, but it has been better than anything I’ve ever experienced before. To Allison, thank you for one magical month. I can’t wait to spend the rest of all my months with you. I love you, Michael.

retro mike

It’s Saturday morning and I can’t help but think of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I loved that show growing up as a kid. I would not recommend watching the 80’s cartoon today. It is horrible, even for my standards. I can’t believe my parents didn’t go crazy just listening to it. Still twenty years later I still love those little green guys. This year is their 25^th anniversary; a huge milestone for any independent comic book. To honor the cartoon shows that have been aired they made a special Turtles Forever movie. It was on the CW this morning and it was excellent. It was awesome if you love the turtles and watched both cartoon shows, which of course I did. Turtle Power!

The show made me think about who I am. Lately I’ve been studying different communication topics in school; one of them is the effect of television on kids. The books say that television is horrible for kids. That the television sets take away all creativity from them. That goes against everything I hold to be true. The television was my best friend as a kid. I loved G.I. Joe and Ninja Turtles so much. If anything those shows gave me an over excited imagination. If you look at what I do with my spare time and even school time that should be evident. I draw comics and come up with crazy idea of thinking all the time. By the reasoning of the readings I’ve been doing things I should not be able to do. Any of the creative thinking I do should be impossible. I should be a mindless drone who is happy just watching other people live their lives. The way television work is the fact that we are able to view other people and not have any consequences. They want you to believe that you’re a peeping tom. You’re not. I know I’m not. I’m Michael McLean! and I love television. Someday I hope to make my own television show. I don’t know what it’ll be, but you know it’ll be awesome.

What I’m trying to say is that television is not bad for kids. Now if you let them watch six or seven hours a day maybe that might be, but who really has that much time? I don’t even come close to that. It might have something to do with the fact that I love make comics, movies, and greeting cards. Oh yes I’m currently working on all three. You should check out my kick-butt ed the business warrior comic. It’s off the hook. It’s kind of like I want to do all these things because I see all these awesome things on television that I would want to do that too. It’s my personal muse. I think I’ve made a point. Let your kids watch cartoons, especially the ones from the eighties. They’re the best. Go JOE!!!

the lonely octopus

The octopus. What is it about that creature that makes me so happy? The long tentacles that have suction cups on it? The crazy colors they can be? The fact that they live in the ocean and there is no way in heaven or hell you’ll get me down in there? The octopus. It is one of God’s mysteries, like winter or ninety degree weather. We could ponder the reason for octopi for decades and never know the true meaning or we could just go get a hamburger. I’m always looking for a good hamburger. So the mystery of the octopus and why I am driven to draw it will remain a mystery. A mystery as deadly as the werewolves.

twenty-five facts

I know this is a little old and I posted it on facebook last year, but i thought it was good, so it's coming here to blogger now. I also haven't updated since i originally made it, so if it seems out dated it is. - michael

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. I was born in Iowa, but I tell everyone I’m from Indiana; but no one remembers Indiana anyway.

2. I deeply love comic books, I spend more money on comics than any person should.

3. I love to draw. I draw mostly comics about my life, but I have dreams of drawing bigger and better comics someday.

4. I love watch good TV commercials, not lame ones like local car commercials, but good ones. They just make me feel happy. I really like the ones with a storyline that goes through looks on commercials, like the country crook hands commercials. They started single and ended up married with a kid. Great stuff.

5. I really like meeting new people, but I hate talking to new people. I always want to meet new people, but I never know what to say. Plus I don’t feel like I can be myself around new people for a while.

6. I hate being alone, but I don’t like groups of people. I always want to be hanging out with people when I’m alone, but then when I am all I can think about is all the cool stuff I could do at home by myself.

7. I like nerdcore hip-hop, I even have tried making a few of my own nerdcore tracks.

8. I hate making phone calls. It has something to do with my anxiety.

9. I love text messages. They are so cold and impersonal, yet they can say so much.

10. I don’t believe in having a favorite anything. I change so much so quickly that I can’t say one thing is my favorite forever. It just depends on the mood I’m in at the time. I enjoy to many things to have a favorite anything.

11. For the last year my favorite color has been green. I literally just bought like seven green shirt since I really embraced this color. Before that my favorite color was blue for a really long time.

12. My top movies would be (in no certain order): 1. Stranger Than Fiction 2. High Fidelity 3. Shawn of the Dead 4. Hot Fuzz 5. First Sunday (wow I didn’t even see that coming) 6. Lock Stock and Smoking Barrel 7. Star Trek: First Contact 8. Hot Rod 9. Forgetting Sarah Marshall 10. Empire Records

13. I say, “That’s what she said” way too much.

14. I love mcdonalds double cheeseburgers, but starting to enjoy the mcdouble a little more. It only has one slice of cheese instead of two.

15. I’ve worked at Arby’s, McDonald’s, Burger King. And Chicago Connection. Way to many different fast food places.

16. I graduated with a graphic design degree when I was 19 and worked as a graphic designer at OfficeMax (the copy center) and Health Care Excel. For a couple of years.

17. I like making short movies. I just made a stop-motion movie that was awesome.

18. I like action figures. I have a large collection back at my parent’s house. I’m trying to not buy so many here in Idaho.

19. I have five sisters and one brother. They’re the best.

20. When I was young, I never wanted to be anything but a father. When I say young I’m talking my teens. I still have no idea what I want to do with my life other than someday be a father.

21. I really like punk music. I’m not talking about emo punk that they have now. I’m talking about rancid, boucing souls, mxpx, nofx, and blink 182.

22. If I had to give a favorite song, it would be Surf Wax America by Weezer. Since I start listening to music when I was in my teens, I’ve loved that song. It’s the one song that always makes me happy. I don’t l know why either.

23. I don’t care about sports at all, never have.

24. I’m named after this random person is Manhattan, KS that was friends with my parents. His name was Michael Bradshaw. I always tell people I was named after Michael Jackson though. Then I tell them my parents want to mess me up, which is a total lie, unless you learn my middle name.

25. My middle name is Merriam.

i heart nerds

I am a nerd. I have no problems with the fact that I love comic books and know more about science fiction movies than football. I have always been a nerd and always will be. My nerdiness helped me land the hottest girl I’ve known. Yet my nerdiness comes from an odd source. I believe it comes from my love of nerds candy. I’ve been eating those sweet candies since I lived in Iowa. That would be my entire candy eating life. Over this beautiful Halloween season my wife and I bought candy to give out the tricker treaters. In the end no children ended up at our place (just like I wished). So now we have a ton of beautiful candy to eat. Could life get any better? One of the candies I picked to eat was nerds. I love those little candies. This got me thinking about why do I love nerds candy? It goes back to living in Cedar Rapids, when my father was the Parks Director for the city. I remember going to different sites as a kid with him. This was when I was quite young so I’m not sure what kind of buildings they were, but they had candy. That was the best thing about going out with my Dad on his calls. You would get candy at the different offices. One of the main candies they all seemed to have was nerds. They came in the small box with just one flavor, but it seemed like a ton of candy. All these delicious candies in a perfect sized box for a kid. I loved those candies, I still love those candies. It was a little frightening going to some of those building with my Dad, but the nerds made it worth it. I’m sure some of the buildings were maintenance buildings which have scary machines in them. In the long end of the story, my father is the reason I’m a nerd. He feed me so many of those nerds candies that I had no chance of being anything else. Good thing my wife loves my nerdiness or else I would have to do something about it.