SKETCH CARDS
Hopefully enough time has passed that I can make mention of
the latest set I'm working on for Rittenhouse Archives. It's called
"Marvel: Bronze Age", and focuses on Marvel Comics characters that
were created (or at least made appearances) between 1970 and 1985. I spent the
better part of the past few weeks hammering these cards out in time for the
July deadline, and just today I beat it by a month and a half as I Fed Ex'ed
off my cards to Rittenhouse. While I don't think I can show you my cards just
yet, I can reveal that you'll find several Howard the Duck cards, and a nice
pile of Spider-Ham characters, which were so much fun to draw. If Rittenhouse
ever releases a Spider-Ham set, I'll be all over that like a bad hairdo on
Trump.
TEAM CUL DE SAC
Remember me mentioning this one before? Richard Thompson's
awesome syndicated comic strip, "Cul De Sac", has been celebrated in
collection called "Team Cul De Sac", featuring several professional
cartoonists (myself included) drawing their renditions of Richard's characters.
The proceeds from the book will go towards research for Parkinson's Disease,
which Richard is afflicted with. The book has just hit stores and it's already #9 in Amazon's best sellers of comics and graphic novels.
So, what more do you need to hear?! Order your copy now onTeam Cul De Sac's website! You can also bid on the original artwork produced
for the book here, with those proceeds also going towards Parkinson's research.
And if you want the bid on the piece that I created for the book, you can dothat here! If you're a fan of the comic, then this is a must-purchase for you.
And if you're looking to make a difference towards curing Parkinson's, this is
a fun and beautiful way to do it!
COMIC BOOKS
- On sale today is my newest all-ages graphic novel published through Ape Entertainment, "DINO DUCK", conceived by Ape publishers David Hedgecock and Brent Erwin and written and drawn by me. The official description goes: "The race up the evolutionary ladder is on! But the only duck in the Duck Tribe who knows it is Dino! With the monkeys watching and copying his every move (and his fellow tribesmen ignoring him completely), it's up to Dino to drag his people out of the stone age and into evolutionary superiority before the monkeys beat him to it!" You can order it here on Amazon. And you can see a sample page below. Go give it a buy and lemme know what you think!
- I mentioned awhile back that my friend and fellow cartoonist, Evan Shaner, would be the colorist for my first "Bodie Troll" story. Evan just sent me the first coloring sample of my character, Gossamer. Just seeing what he did here proves that I made the right choice, and that I have one hella talented friend.
I'll be unveiling "Bodie Troll" at San Diego Comic
Con next month. So advance thanks to Evan for classing up my line work and
helping me make the best impression!
- I'm still plugging away on writing and art chores on "Old Mc Monster's Haunted Farm" for Ape Entertainment. I should be wrapping up the project by the middle of the summer, with plans for an October release. Here's is a sample panel from the latest batch of pages.
- My good pal Jake Christensen, who maintains the blog, "Childe Jake's Pilgrimage", just wrote a very kind review of my last "Little Green Men" graphic novel, "Small Package, Big Fun" (I didn't come up with that title. Sounds kinda dirty t'me), which came out last February. Give it a read here, and please follow Jake's blog posts. He's a helluva scribe, with a warm, insightful writing style that deserves a good following.
CARICATURING GIGS
I just wrapped up my annual all-night caricaturing gig for
Flushing High School (Flushing, MI)--though I'm fuzzy on the exact anniversary,
it seems as if this was my fifteenth year attending the event. As always, the
parents were nice and helpful, and the kids were fantastic. I drew some good
caricatures based off their great suggestions ("Draw me with a taco head
and fighting a bear!" "Draw me and her as celery and a carrot
swimming in a bowl of ranch dressing!"), and had some really nice
conversations with the kids. Stand-out conversations were with fellow comic
enthusiasts as we gushed over the Avengers movie, as well as a very nice talk
with three Norwegian exchange students about their experiences here and in their
homeland. It's connections like this that I enjoy most about my caricaturing
gigs, and why I keep returning to this particular event. Thanks for another
great one, Flushing High!
This weekend I'll be caricaturing for a graduation party
here in my home town of Ann Arbor, MI. It's rare when I actually get a gig that's
within ten miles of my driveway, so I jump at those opportunities. I owe this
one to my friend, fellow Ann Arborite and fellow cartoonist Dave Coverly
(creator of the syndicated comic, "Speed Bump"), who suggested me for
this gig. As Dave has helped me out on many occasions (he sponsored me for
membership for The National Cartoonists Society four years ago), I owe him many
times over. So thank you, Dave. There's a kidney with your name on it inside me
right now. How you got in there to autograph it, I'll never know...
DEAD DUCK
If you're not following my "Dead Duck" web comic
online, then you hate your mother and think kittens are tasty. If that doesn't
describe you (and damn you if it does), then you better put things right and
start following "Dead Duck". Hilarity waits for no man.
HEY ROCKY, WATCH ME PULL A FOSGITT OUTTA MY HAT
It's no secret that I'm
HUGE Rocky and Bullwinkle fan. I decided I wanted a hat emblazoned with
"Moose and Squirrel's" image, so I ordered a vintage patch online,
bought a ball cap here in town, and had my wife stitch 'er on for me. For those
not in the know, Wossamotta University (or Wossamotta U) was Bullwinkle's alma
mater. And now with this hat, it's my alma mater too. Wonder if I can get the
next college bowl to be held in Moosylvania...?
See you next week!
--Jay
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