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September 25, 2008

Worlds collide in Sid Couchey's imagination

By SUZANNE MOORE

ESSEX -- For Sid Couchey, the lines between fantasy and reality have always been a bit blurred -- at his own instigation.

Sketching out comic book pages starring Little Dot, Little Lotta or Richie Rich, he often dropped in references from his own little world.

The Essex Marina. A view from above of the Essex County Fair.

Just last year, a fan of the Harvey Comics characters of yesteryear told Couchey he'd once stepped into a Willsboro drug store to buy a comic book.

On the first page was a cartoon pharmacy called Foley's, and the guy did a double take.

"He said (to himself), Wait a minute, I'm in Foley's,'" Couchey chuckled.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Richie Rich, Dot and Lotta aren't counted on the U.S. Census roles, but they have long been familiar faces in Essex and its environs.

So, too, is Rascal Raccoon, who Couchey brought to life for a Vermont campaign against drugs and alcohol. Other critters star (many of them local folks in the form of cartoon animals) in the comic books the artist and author Morris Glenn dream up some years to send as Christmas greetings.

Essex really teetered over the reality line recently when a painting of the community appeared on the cover of the summer/fall issue of The Harveyville Fun Times.

Not that anyone unfamiliar with Couchey's work would recognize the acrylic piece as Essex. In shades of blue and purple and pink is the artist's rendition of the town in the year 2169 or so, complete with pneumatic tube transport, zipping spaceships and futuristic towers.

As always, though, there's the real right along with the imagined -- local landmark Split Rock, Lake Champlain and a tiny ferry heading for Vermont.

Fun Times Editor in Chief/Publisher Mark Arnold was delighted to use the Essex painting as cover art, for just recently the magazine began color production.

"We had just put the standard characters like Casper and Richie Rich over and over," he said in a phone interview from Saratoga, Calif.

But now, with color, he said, "we wanted to do something different."

If it were said that Couchey is a man on a lifelong quest, that would be his goal.

Who else would invent the First Ball Pitchers' Hall of Fame to forever immortalize (tongue in cheek) his own experience tossing out the first ball at a Cleveland-Expos game?

Or present his town with a painting foretelling how it would look some 200 years hence?

That work hung for years in the Town Hall -- it's on loan now for the Couchey exhibit at Willsboro Heritage Center Museum that runs through Columbus Day.

Couchey considers both venues a compliment to his work. He sees its placement as magazine cover as an honor to his town.

"The thought of little old Essex hitting the big time just tickles me," he said.

Inside The Harveyville Fun Times issue is extensive coverage of the artist, with interviews, numerous photographs and examples of his work. And the next issue will feature more Couchey gems.

"They said send some pictures," he chuckled. "I sent a whole bunch of stuff, never dreaming this."

It was the cover art that got him dreaming up other typical Couchey ideas, however.

"I got to thinking it would be fun for Essex to be sister city (to Harveyville)," he said.

Essex Supervisor Ron Jackson put the request in a letter sent off to Arnold, who didn't skip a beat, considering the idea.

"Sure," he said.

The "fanzine" editor is of similar makeup to Couchey, working a "real" 9-to-5 job yet on the side keeping alive comic book characters with his 18-year-old publication, Web site and the Harvey originals exhibit now at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. He saw no difficulty in pairing actual Essex with a virtual city peopled with citizens that include Casper The Friendly Ghost, Baby Huey and Little Dot.

In fact, Arnold quickly dreamed up the kind of artwork Couchey might execute to commemorate the union -- Essex and Harveyville divided by a high wall that has just been breached, revealing one to the other.

"We've been right next door all along," Arnold supplied a suitable tag line.

The sister city label will appeal to his fellow citizens, Couchey said, add the kind of "bizarre spice" to life that they appreciate.

"We have a bunch of old timers that have a very good sense of humor," he said. "We've got some pretty sharp characters, too."

Without a doubt, he's one of them, Arnold said.

"He is a kick to talk to. I'm always amazed about how much energy he has and how much enthusiasm."

So what happens now? How will Couchey mark this momentous event in Essex history?

"I'll get our supervisor and all of them lined up and have some sort of ceremony," he said. "All kinds of things come to mind, without even trying."

smoore@pressrepublican.com

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