DAILY MONSTER 100 (of 100)

Good morning. Thank you for being here for the big finale---Number 100---The last of the Daily Monsters. But before we get to that, let me direct you towards yesterday's amazing stories. Everybody's just kicking ass on these last few creatures. It's such a pleasure to see such great posts from all of you---new contributors, monster stalwarts, and returning champions alike. Please take some time to read the entries. They're worth your time:

We also got some cool fan art from Érico Lebedenco of Brazil

and the first entry in the Make Your Own Monster series from long-time monster contributor Sam B.

This new line of monsters was suggested by Charlotte Saylor: You post one of the inkblots in a downloadable file that people could print and draw the monster they envision. No argument here. You can download the first ink blot here, print it out, manipulate it on the computer, draw on it, animate it, make it into a piece of sculpture. Let the monsters come out any way they come to you. Have fun! (And when you're done, send me a file and I'll post a little gallery for each blot here on the site once a week.)

Now... please meet Monster 100. I hope you'll like it. I made it especially for you. It's got a few little surprises up its sleeve, not the least of which is a sweet little Monster Coda composed and performed on the viola especially for the occasion by frequent monster contributor Logan Hasson.

I started this project on November 19th as a way to pass the time while a few publishers were mulling over a book I had proposed to them --- just a little something to keep my mind off of things. I thought that some of my friends might enjoy it and check in every once in a while, but within a few days I was getting lovely comments from all of you.

You started naming the monsters, SpeakUp and Ze Frank linked to the site, around Monster 11 the first little monster stories started appearing, and on December 07, 2006 at 01:47a.m. here be simon posted his first epic (for Monster 19), paving the way for what has become a mid-boggling collection of stories. (I can't wait to read them all again to put together the book. I already have plans to graph out everybody's posts over time... but I'm getting ahead of myself.)

Since then, I've been looking forward to a fresh batch of stories every morning and you've never let me down. It has been an entirely unexpected pleasure. I never saw it coming and I can never thank you enough for the truly lovely experience you've given me over the past 100 days. It's been an absolute delight to meet all of you and I hope the monsters will bring you as much good luck as they've brought me.

One last time, I will ask you, please:

I will keep posting, of course, and there will be plenty of news on the book and on some new 344 goodies in the days to come. All of you who've asked about the original drawings and about prints and T-shirts, please make sure to check in every now and again. Or put yourself on the mailing list and I will send you the news when it happens. And of course, the Weekly Monster will make its first appearance in April.

If you'd like to hear me talk about the monster project, the two monster books, and some new 344 projects, check in on Von Glitschka's Illustrative Designer Podcast. We did the interview on Day 70, but it just went live today, so it's a bit of a time capsule.

For now, I hope that you've enjoyed yourself with the Monsters and that,
even in their absence, you'll remember that 344 LOVES YOU

Comments

[russell]

Arthur says hello and thanks for the monsters. And he wants to know when we'll have another book to read.

Good work Stefan. Really good work.

[Brooke N.]

The mother is so blessed to give her birth. She is following the trend of her ancestors. She leaves her young.

This is cyclical.

Much dispute over the traditional manner in which the mother leaves her young to hatch and then live on her own. They call this species to arms. The species has only its history. The species is a tradition and a tradition of traditions.

We change with our language.

The species began as a transient group, wafting from one page to another, flipping and giddy with life. Like the evolving game of telephone, the message changes, the message changed, and the species no longer supports its young. No need. Someone else comes along and pokes the egg, prods it, learns it. Someone else supports it. This is trust. This is communal. In the purest sense. The community of the species forwards it and prods it and forces it to become what it is. There is no definition, there need not be finality. The species live on with the help of the world.

It is born again and again in the palm of the sky.

[Frances]

Breeding monsters had never been the career he'd envisioned for himself. There had been a smooth path laid out for him in printing: his great granddad (the late Mr. Gutenberg) had invented the printing press after all. There was something good and solid about spreading "The Witches' Hammer" across the European continent. Until the day fate chose to cross his yellow brick road with inkblots.
Their biggest press (nicknamed "The Monster") had been spewing out pages and pages of "The Witches' Hammer" for the French market, when the operator noticed big trouble: almost every page was stained with thick drops of ink that leaked across the page when he tried to brush them off. The Monster was defective. While his workmen worked around the clock to save the leaking press, Gutenberg's great grandson took it upon himself to search for pages that could be rescued. The less that had to be reprinted, the better. They were working on a tight schedule here.
Deep into the night the printing press owner leafed through pages and pages, looked at inkblot after inkblot, wondering if there was just one page that could be saved. But every page was the same: ink spattered like blood of a dieing animal. The owner realised he was ruined. With watery eyes he stared at the pages scattered across the floor, tables and chairs of his study. He sighed. If only his precious Monster hadn't abandoned him... The only monster he had allowed to live in this world.
Before his tired eyes the blots on the pages started to shift and change. They grew bigger, getting hands and feet. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his view. The shaking only awakened the creatures, making them hop from page to page.

Years later he found himself watching inkblots grow on paper, and caressing new-born monsters. This one was his favourite. She'd given him many eggs that hatched into monsters to admire, monsters that would never make it into "The Witches' Hammer", and that would make their big Monster-Mama proud.

[Schlockading]

This final monster
Leaves his world behind
In order to see what else lies
In the world outside.

Not exactly a rhyme, but hey, good enough?

It's been fun, Stefan. Ever since Monster 37 (when I first found the site), it's been great to see a new creation every day. And it's not like it's ending or anything. It just won't be an a daily basis. Thanks again.

[Danielle]

I wish it were 344 Monsters..

Monster 100 is in my top favorites though. That ought to cheer her up, after she laid another one of her magnificent eggs. Her life has been consumed into laying eggs for her endangered family. She has no time to care for her own babies and must trust them to grow up by themselves. A sad life for her. To cope with the pain, she is able to travel around the world laying eggs wherever she pleases. It's always hard to describe to new people how her children are like, since she's never seen one properly grow up. Maybe one day her family will never face extinction again, and they could organize a big Monster reunion.

[Beth Lawrence]

What does this mean? Are you done? Please say it ain't so. I don't know about the story of the egg, but my story is this. I just turned on a computer for the first time Jan 1st 2007! and within a few days of surfing the web I came across your site and I have been so delighted by your drawings and creations. I even sent out a group email telling everyone I know about your site! Keep it up! the world really does love and need eccentric people, and dude you fit the bill!

Love Beth

[Terry T.]

Don't fear, Beth, the monsters aren't gone forever, they are just moving to a new time table. If I am not mistaken (and often times I am, but perhaps not this time), they will be going to a weekly release, rather than the daily.

Don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for the book that will collect all 100 of the daily monsters and their stories. There were some real hum-dingers these past few months.

On a related note: I feel like I am suffering from withdrawal not writing a story for the last couple of days...

[Sam B.]

I know what you mean Terry. I never developed any of the epic-length stories that you consistantly procured, but I feel the story withdrawl as well. Im glad they'll continue weekly though.

[melissa]

Great job, Stefan! You rock for bringing all of these monsters to life! We will miss them...

[Patrick M]

The spiritual heirs of John Nevil Maskelyne would no doubt take issue with the adjective “spiritual”, but nevertheless, here they are: a group of magicians, experts, textperts, choking smokers and skeptics taking time off from their endless pursuit of rogue billet readers to meet in Conference Room A of a Holiday Inn in Fresno to puzzle out the existence of Monster 100. The more taxonomically inclined ask, is Monster 100 a monotreme?

The case for: He has hair and he just laid an egg.
The case against: Teeth.

The prevailing opinion, then, is that perhaps the egg-laying is just some clever legerdemain (“legerdederriere”?) on 100’s part. He does bear a passing resemblance to Ricky Jay, or at least something Ricky Jay would be interested in (they say broadsheets begin to resemble their owners). Where is Ricky Jay, anyway? Shouldn’t he be here? They put the video on a loop and they determine: there is some funny business going on with that second sheet of paper. Perhaps that’s how it was done? But no one can pinpoint it exactly. Murmurs from the crowd: “Eggs are common enough magician props”; “Nothing up my sheaves”; “Regardless, man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe.”

And then someone says, quietly: “The great mentalist, The Amazing Dunninger, once said there is one primary rule in the fakery of spirit mediumship” (one assumes that this extends to Magical Egg Apparition); he continues: “And that is, to concentrate upon persons who have suffered a bereavement.” The speaker looks around the room: everyone there is suffering a bereavement, for 100 is the last of the Daily Monsters. The magicians look around at each other for a moment and then shuffle sadly out of the conference room. They’re in no state to crack this one, and anyway, Martin Gardner is going to do a Power Point about the time he had a fistfight with Uri Geller and they don’t want to miss it.

As they file out, the video is still on a loop, and that Logan Hasson viola piece comes up again as the last magician is turning off the light. Listening to it, he can almost put some words to it: “I am the Eggman. They are the eggmen. I am the walrus,” but then as immediately as it starts to make sense, he has lost it again, and so he snaps the lights off at last.

Goo goo g’joob g’goo goo g’joob.

[CTF]

i love the work. when i was a kid i would draw monsters and cartoons out of shapes.

[john asumendi]

It's not easy being last.
I have always been last. But that's not as bad as being the one always being made fun of.
Ever since I can remember, I have been made fun of. Friends, if you can call them that, always made jokes about my rounded head and skinny nose. Heck, I never thought I was that different. And the shorty jokes too. Me short? I'm almost 2' tall!

It was assumed I would always be the last. But then it happened. I surprised them all the day 101 came. No one could believe it! No one had ever made a new one by themselves. But I did! And from now on there will be someone else thats last. Not me, not Mr.100. And I hope 101 has lots of problems with it too. I hope 101 is short, stinky, curly nose, square headed, and RED! Yeah, that's what I hope....
Well, unless he wants to be my friend. Then I hope 101 is just as unique as me.

[Letícia Motta]

Noooo
I love your monsters, man.
Please, don't let us dreaming of them.
I hope you create the next one soon.

Thanks for share your creativity with us!

Hugs.

[TigerLily, CaveDog, PrivateJoe]

Janice is monster 100. Umm... Heh-heh... Snigger... Chortle... Hahah!

She lived in a homey apartment in Alvadora. Every day she would go to work in the Monster Mall as a cashier for MaulMart. Every day she would do the same old thing: "cha-ching, put in..."

Until one day, Stefan Bucher invited her to be on a computer show called "The Daily Monster." Of course, she said, "yes!"

And every day, instead of Janice's friends saying "how's the cashier job in MaulMart?" they would say, "Hey! I saw you on the Daily Monster last night!"

I'm OK, thought Janice. Of course, not everyone thought that. Janice's boss, Mr. Beetledung was actually very jealous of Janice's new fame. He schemed and plotted and tried to think of a way to take Janice's place on the Daily Monster. If something bad had to happen to his little cashier, well, sometimes you've got to spill a little wine while making grapes. Or something.

We'll miss you, Daily Monster! You were fun and inspiring!

[Rose]

To all the monsters of 344,
the ones that had three legs, a snout and more,
you gave us some giggles, we made some new friends,
it's a shame that it so quickly came to an end.

Some were frightning, some were kind,
some could see, and some were blind,
but every single monster had something to give --
their own special story, a reason to live.

From A to Z, they were all unique,
and even though the ending is very bleak,
We shall remember you fondly and love you more and more,
the hideous, the beautiful, of 344.

Hopefully, this won't be the last we hear of you, Stefan. Even though 344 loves us, we love it even more.

... *sob*

- Rose

[Isky]

"We monsters are leaving. Your fancy mate's beds leave us nowhere to sleep at night. Your video games make us nothing that children fear," sighed the last monster from the depths of his absurd turtleneck.
So, the monsters packed, and the monsters sighed, and the monsters took one last look at their old homes. They turned their rough and beloved faces to the West, and faded into the shadows... all but one.
The spokes-monster stood last upon the page, knowing he couldn't stay, but afraid to leave. The committee had voted; minds could no longer be changed... but he would miss Stefan and all the other people who came to peer at the monsters through their glowing windows.
He peered out, and saw the sad faces of thousands, and knew he would be missed. Strangely, this warmed his heart, and he could not remain still. A little jig escaped from his depths. He knew he would not be lonely on his trip. The last to leave, he accepted Stefan's help down from the page, and trundled on his way towards his new home... Somewhere the map called Sityaki, somewhere West in a place called a desert.
He wondered what he'd find there, and his heart soared.
...
It wasn't until they all landed in Las Vegas that they realized junior (or juniorette) had been left behind.
And so ends the saga of the hundred monsters.
And so begins the story of the littlest monster almost alone in a big world. Take care of him Stefan. He's the last of his kind.

[CreateEvity]

I just found out about your site last week through the Very Short List, but I wanted to post to tell you how brilliant you are.
I went back to #1, and watched every single daily monster until 100 (where I'm at now) just to enjoy the artistic genius of it all. I'm amazed at how each ink-spurt inspires you to see and create a different monster, and how intricate your drawings are.
Thank you for creating something fun and beautiful for us all to admire.
I'll post a story to one of the newer ones soon.
:)

[Sue Bebie]

GEDANKEN EINES MONSTERFANS

Eingehüllt in Dunkelheit
Gedankenfetzen
Schwarze Löcher
Laute Stille
Traurigkeit
100 Monster...
Soll das alles sein?
Ende??
Aus???

Das darf nicht sein!!!
Das kann nicht sein!!!
Das wird nicht sein!!!

DAS ENDE MUSS EIN ANFANG SEIN

Welch ein Wunder
nichts verloren...
Drücken
Pressen
Schreien
Yeahhh!!!

101 IST GEBOREN!!!