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.