For the Charles Bruce Foundation’s (CBF) tenth anniversary, artists came together to produce a coloring book filled with their tribute art- each with their own representation of WAM! the Spaceman. In that book, Chad drew an illustration portraying the day his parents adopted him.

Chad’s science fiction passion merged with his love of artist phenom, Peter Max, to create a mascot for the social justice S0l c3 dedicated to supporting the arts and the artists who create them. WAM! the Spaceman was born in this original iteration illustrating the moon landing symbolizing WAM!’s first appearance in a CBF publication.

One of the CBF spaceman’s earliest space vehicles was shaped like a holiday stocking decorated in the style of Chad’s greatest artistic influence – Peter Max. Chad Bruce credits Max for inspiring him to create an innumerable number of illustrations which include Max-style exploding planets.

In the early days of the Charles Bruce Foundation, the organization created artwork for holiday celebrations. WAM! the Spaceman journeyed to the moon only to find an enormous Nutcracker carefully positioned and paying homage to the monolith in Chad’s favorite film,
200 7: A Space Odyssey.

As the years went by, CBF’s mascot started “popping up” in illustrations to delight the kiddos who colored his image. This WAM! in the Box was a particular favorite.

Children who were born in the 1950s, as well as space travel history buffs, may recognize
that WAM! is pictured bursting through the bulkhead of one of NASA’s Gemini rocket ships.

In 2020, the COVIDl 9 pandemic sent children home from school and into lockdown. WAM! leapt into action, destroying the SARS-CoV-2 virus as it approached a planet he’d sworn to protect.

An homage to Peter Max surrounds WAM! in the Box as the space man emerges from NASA’s Lunar Excursion Module (LEM).

Back to 2001: A Space Odyssey- but this time the monolith is intact. What’s a clever artist mascot to do? Why, paint a mural on it, of course. We bet that Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clark would approve!

After a hard day’s work, WAM! and his sidekick – Booboo – settle in for a nap. This is Booboo’s first appearance with WAM!. It’s also the first time that CBF’s signature, largest annual event is featured in a drawing. For more information on #memorialblanket go to memorialblanket.org

By 2022, Americans had come to understand the vital role played by first responders. To emphasize the importance of emergency personnel, WAM! takes an  ambulance rocket to nurse poor Booboo who has been knocked down by a cosmic space bug.

Also in 2022, Chad illustrated A Magical Halloween written by Phyllis Orenyo. This playful tale of children trick-or-treating featured a youngster wearing a WAM! the Spaceman Halloween costume. Mayhem ensues and WAM! gets knocked around in the storyline. If you’d like a copy of A Magical Halloween – or any Charles Bruce Foundation publication – they are available wherever books are sold. Or Jeff, our favorite local bookseller, can help at WhistleStoppers.com

2023 – holy smokes – 10 years of the Charles Bruce Foundation!

If you’re looking for a WAM! the Spaceman video game, you’ll have to wait a little while longer. But, we’re working on it! The image on the Game Boy screen was created as an homage to the style of the late, great Wallace Wood. If you or someone you know likes to create online content, we’d love to have a chat. Just take a moment and reach out to epicjourney10@gmail.com for more information.

A patio fence at WAM!’s favorite deli makes a great place to hang the Charles Bruce Foundation banner.

We Want You! is a tribute to an old-timey U.S. recruiting poster featuring Uncle Sam. We used our We Want You! poster to recruit blanket makers and other types of volunteers for our memorial blanket project. Learn more at memorialblanket.org

WAM! taking a selfie on the moon!

When Chad was a young boy, his dad bought him a toy spaceship. He loved that Golden Sonic spaceship and – starting in 2024 – it came back to life in various WAM! illustrations. The original Golden Sonic was created in 1957 by Tigrett Industries in Jackson, Tennessee.

Another enormous influence in Chad’s life is music. This  llustration pays homage to an album cover (33 rpm – for those who still use  turntables and not downloads) that featured a giant stone ear! The band was Iron Butterfly and the illustrator, another great Chad  Bruce influencer, Armando Busich.

When Chad was a young boy, his dad bought him a toy spaceship. He loved that Golden Sonic spaceship and – starting in 2024 – it came back to life in various WAM! illustrations. The original Golden Sonic was created in 1957 by Tigrett Industries in Jackson, Tennessee.

There’s been a fair amount of chatter lately about adding one person or another to Mount Rushmore, WAM! decides the matter once and for all! Clearly, the assembled audience approves.

Booboo and WAM! share a relaxing moment on an imaginary planet prompted by a dream about a tree farm populated by unusual organic forms inspired by a 1977 shape study that Chad started while at the University of Wisconsin.

No series of drawings by Chad Bruce would be complete without a trip to the USS Enterprise – original series, of course.

While seeking the source of a planetary disturbence WAM! encounters the Guardian of Forever in the original Star Trek episode – The City on the Edge of Forever.

Mid 20th century science fiction held a sacred spot in cartoons. WAM! and Booboo take a break to watch one of their favorites, The Jetsons, just ahead of its new live action release.

WAM! marvels at the central city on Eminiar VII from Star Trek: The Original Series episode – In the Wink of an Eye. This creative city-scape was also used in A Taste of Armageddon.

Finally, WAM! and Booboo have a chance to relax and go on vacation. They ventured to Orlando to visit with their favorite space-exploring mouse.

While at Disney World, WAM! and Booboo hopped on some TRON light-cycles for a thrilling ride.

Probably some of WAM!’s most important work is as the mascot for CBF’s Homeless Remembrance Blanket Project (#memorialblanket). Over the last six years, thousands of artisans have hand-crafted nearly 10,000 blankets for display.  Afterwards they are gently folded then given to folks in need.

In its second year, #memorialblanket placed more than 18,000 square feet of handmade blankets on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

Year after year, the blanket display has traveled the United States. In 2024, CBF created a massive blanket display at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Because, really, you don’t need to sit down with Ben Franklin to know that without a home, no one is truly independent. And yes, this was WAM!’s first official visit with an American historical figure.

In 2025 the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless invited #memorialblanket to Denver
where we placed an entire city block’s worth of blankets on the road flanked by the Colorado Capital and the Denver City County building. The number of volunteer hours has risen to more than half a million!