I was at Time Warp comics Saturday morning to sign things and draw stuff for "Free Comic Book Day".  I always kind of dread this event.  On one hand it makes me feel like a real cartoonist, but on the other hand I really don't belong there.  I don't draw superheroes and most of the kids aren't old enough to read and/or understand my work. 
The day got a big boost when I saw that I was seated right next to John Porcellino whose work I really like and who I'd met once before at APE in San Francisco.  He had a lot of good advice and similar insights about cartooning and the psychology behind most cartoonists.  One of my favorite moments was when a guy asked us to draw Felix the Cat.  We both started drawing and realized that we had no idea what Felix really looked like.  We tried to figure it out, and john scrawled a little cat face that didn't look like Felix(well not exactly).  About half an hour, out of the blue he says, "Y'know, I'm starting to think this is a really good picture of Felix the Cat.

I really had fun talking with him and his wife.  We laughed a lot.  A little boy asked him to draw Superman, and I watched him do one in his style.  I thought it was great, but the little boy looked confused.  Later he told me he was "shaking inside" while drawing it!  I was asked to draw a lot of superheroes, and I tried, but they felt like failures.  My favorite drawing was one I did of Nightcrawler.  I only had what I'd remembered from the X-Men movie posters, so I just made it up and the kid was laughing and said he liked it anyway.
After John left I was pretty bored and I was getting a little surly.  I was sitting there doodling and a guy came up who thought I was doing caricatures and said, "Hi, oh, are you doing someone right now?"
I said, "Yeah, your mom." without thinking.  He cocked his head, then started cracking up.  I was glad he didn't kick my ass.  I started doing a caricature of him and he interrupted me - "Think you could draw me like this so I don't have a double chin?"
I said "It's a caricature, I'm supposed to be making fun of you!"
"I know, it's just-I hate it!"
I erased it and he was happy.  The next guy who was about 60 walked up and said, "I have a lot of ideas, but I can't draw, so I'm looking for an artist to work with."  Now, if you're any sort of cartoonist you hear this all the time, so I was trying to say no without hurting his feelings.
"I write and draw, and I don't really do superhero stuff, like-"
"Well, I used to be into super heroes, but now (dramatic pause) I'm into Jesus!"
Shit.....I told him to get in touch with Chick Publications and he left.  I left shortly thereafter.

Here are some sketchbook pages from the last week.  I'm also writing a script for my next comic!  I've never written a script before, I usually just have a general idea about where the story is leading, but I want to have everything worked out this time.












 

I think it's my self best portrait ever, it sorta looks like me, but more importantly it conveys what it's like to be me!
Ha!  Don't forget to check out Comix Magazine!

Hey, I've been out for awhile, but I'm back! - With uh...a paltry two page update.....More exciting projects coming soon!  I've got a new custom toy on the way, and I'm gearing up for an appearance at free comic book day.  I'm learning how to draw superheroes for all the kids that'll be there.  One more sketchbook page after the cut.

Todd at Joy Engine posted these photos of my custom kayak helmet.
I had a harsh deadline, and so I stuck with b+w, but I think it turned out well despite some flaws in craftsmanship. I used decals of some designs I had done in the past, and hand painted some of the goofier details.

PURE WHITE HELL! Thanks to TB for taking the photos!

Here's the design from the front of the helmet, minus the pink splotch...

Joy Engine has posted a lot of photos from the Toy show last Saturday night. I had three pieces in the show. The turn out was insane, and there were tons of cool custom toys and interesting people. Check it out Here.

This is a repaint of a Hawaiian tourist bust I found at a garage sale.  I'll be adding to it soon.

Here are some photos of my latest Munny.  I painted the features and insignia on a piece of bristol board with watercolors and ink.  I then scanned the artwork and printed it onto decal paper.  I used electrical tape to mask because it's stretchable and makes good curves.  I still have to touch up a couple of spots on the body, then I'll be done!

Suzanne Pleshette has died from respiratory failure at the age of 70.  She was hot stuff, too.  That is until those horrible wardrobe people on the Bob Newhart Show got a hold of her.  There's a great gallery of her over at RetroCrush that you should check out.

Here are some more shots of my customized Munny figure.  I used decal paper to shrink down some of my original illos and add them to the hat and skatedeck.  Looks cool!  More after the cut!

"Munny" is a do it yourself art figure that stands about 7" or 8" tall.  It's made of vinyl and can be worked on with all types of media.  For my first one I decided to stick with my beloved black and white.  I basically treated it like any other art project, pencil, then india ink.  Then I sprayed it with acrylic clear coat.  I think it turned out okay, but I've learned a lot and have big plans for my next one.

Mike Libby found a dead beetle one day, and thought it looked like a mechanical device.  So, he took the next logical step and dissected the beetle and replaced its parts with miscellaneous gears and electronic parts.  The result is InsectLab, his collection of "cybernetic" bugs in glass display cases, ready to be stared at for hours.
They're beautiful, and they'd almost seem quaint and old fashioned if there wasn't something so scary about them.  I wonder if this fits in with the concept of the Uncanny Valley?

Japanese artist Take-G is making beautiful wooden figures made up of interlocking pieces of different types of wood.  It's amazing work, not only for the craftsmanship and process, but the end result.  A pop culture toy from a futuristic past, and made well enough to be passed down to your children.

Was it really that bad?  I saw it in the theater, and just last night on DVD, and I really liked it both times.  It's raunchy and exploitative, gory, tense and manages to pay homage to B-movies of the past.  Blood, sex and Techniolor!  Lots of dumb, mean rednecks getting slashed, what more can you ask for?   I think it's his best movie.  I'm just surprised to see that it got a 26% on Rotten Tomatoes and a lot of the reviewers seemed to talk about the original as a masterpiece, which it most definitely was not.  Let's be honest.  It was boring.  It was! 
I'm normally in agreement with critics as far as movies go, but this...Whu??

What's your take?