Since we published the very first issue of BONESTRUCTURE so many years ago, people have asked us annoyingly and repeatedly, "Who the hell IS Arlie C. Bonestructure?" That's a difficult question to answer, as even HE doesn't seem to quite know. But we can recount a bit of his odd history.
Not much is known of his natural parents, but he seems to have been born as Donald Q. Clinton. He seems. however, to have been misplaced while on a camping trip in the Panhandle Mountains of Texas at the tender age of two. Abandoned, he was reared in the wild by a den of hedgehogs. At the age of five, a scouting party dicovered him scavenging in the ruins of Camp Kickapoo which had recently suffered an unfortunate serial killer incident. There were sharp sticks glues to his body and, when approached, he rolled up into a ball and tried to stick anyone who came near.
He next resided in the Our Mother of Holy Brain Damage Orphanage until adopted by Roscoe T. Bonestructure, the flange manufacturer.
Arlie showed an interest in literature at an early age, producing as his first work, an emulation of Dickens titled SCROOGE AND THE MINESHAFTS OF MARS. Impressed by this burgeoning talent, Roscoe sent Arlie to the best schools: Kinky Friedman Elementary, Panther Whiz Jr. High, Doolittle High School, and finally to his own alma mater, the Institute of Morology.
Arlie's first publication was a two sheet, TALES OF THE JIMMY HOOTERS, an emulation of 30's pulpzines. Encouraged by the success of this, he quickly followed it up with HOOTERVILLE HIJINX, BUBBA AND THE PEBBLES OF DOOM, STICKS AND ROCKS, HEDGEHOG MONTHLY, and his big moneymaker STAR ARGUMENTS. He had, in short, created a publishing empire unheard of since the heyday of Horace Bumfinger and the infamous BALLYHOOTER scandals.
But Arlie C. Bonestructure was consumed with one burning question: When they ship styrofoam, what do they ship it in? To answer this question, he published his first issue of DAILY BONESTRUCTURE, the eponymous magazine that created circles in the waves of literary sycophancy. In concert with his soulmate and best friend, Crystal Layke, he published four more issues, as well as the subsidiary publications REALLY REALLY WEIRD STORIES and TALES FROM THE HEDGEHOG BURROW. Unfortunately, Crystal went insane due to a tragic merkin fire and Arlie was unable to continue due to depression, disingenuousness and general ennui.
Now however, in order to overcome his tragic loss and desperate loneliness, Arlie has acquired an Earthcore 986FX2MMDD800 computolator and, fortunately, discovered the Mindbender DIDDLYWHOOP DISCIPLINATOR BACKPAGE HTML editor. His thought turned immediately to the age old question of styrofoam. He determined to resurrect BONESTRUCTURE in a new shape and format, but with the same concepts and dreams. Arlie now lives in Amarillo with his yearning dreams and poignant memories of Crystal, a cranky dishwasher, two friends, a job working with toxic chemicals and a large family of cockroaches which take care of his house. The townsfolk believe him to be insane, but as he is rich and powerful and owns two of the three local television stations, they choose to call him eccentric.