Comic: Malika Ali's Mouse Ward- "Pool Party!"

The ultra-gifted Malika Ali invited me to adapt a scene from her wonderful screenplay for her art show this past summer- stealing from the flyer for said show, it's best described as "a mixed media cinema and art exhibit," and I was proud to be among so many talented people interpreting her work, several of whom I'm also proud to be friends with... From the press release:

"Mouse Ward: The Amitripyline Experiment is a dually narrative and sensory experience featuring video & audio installations, typography, works on paper, photography, performance, digital, edible, and comic art."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AbYchZK0n7M

http://www.studiomutt.com/

Comic: Biker's Ghost

Whoa, been a while since I've had anything new on this blog, and google's totally changed the editing layout so hopefully this will show up okay... Here's a comic I did about a year and a half ago... It was featured in an art show put on by the talented ladies known collectively as Little Lift and individually as Sara Brum (a.k.a. Stickylift) and Andrea Shear. I like the way I inked all of the hair. So it's got that going for it. Click to enlarge, y'all.

Comic: Pekar

I admit that it was a fantasy of mine to illustrate a story for Harvey Pekar... Obviously, that will never happen, but much worse than that- we will never have any more American Splendor or any new Pekar comics.

I didn't know the man (or "our man") personally, so I can't claim the sadness that his loved ones must feel, but like any other fan, I wish he could've stuck around a lot longer.. 70... That's too young, especially for someone who would've provided us with what he did best for decades to come. Selfish, I know...

Whatever he lacked in eloquence he made up for with honesty, and his lowest points as a writer are higher than what I could ever hope to accomplish. Harvey Pekar was strange, wonderful and imperfect, just like the best of 'em.

Click to enlarge-


For those interested, the artists I've attempted to imitate in panels 2-6 are: 70's R. Crumb, 70's Greg Budgett/Gary Dumm, Gerry Shamray, Josh Neufeld, Frank Stack, and the stick figures of the man himself. "Attempted" is the key word.

Redo: Is that good?

If all goes well, my zine will physically exist within a month, printed in glorious black and white and in the hands of whoever's interested... In addition to some brand new material, I've also been redoing some older comics, in cases where I still like the idea but the bears don't look right to me anymore. I used to make them much thicker, and though that's probably more bear-like, they don't really match the rest of the material, and plus I thought it would just be fun to redraw them. Here, in part to prove that I am in fact, like, doing stuff, is one of the redos, alongside the original. I'm not sure that it really looks all that much better, but I'm happier with the new look.

Click to enlarge the newly slim, lipo'd version-


..and here we have the old version from a couple years ago-


They kinda look more like mice now, or at least less like bears.. Maybe dog-bear-mice.

Roughs: zine sketch, sculpey

You would be seeing two new comics here very soon, but they're being saved for my long-awaited (by me) zine, which I'm trying to have ready to print by the end of next month.. In lieu of such zine-exclusive material, here's a glimpse into the near future...

Here's a rough version of a sketch inspired by someone else's dream (thanks, Rebecca). I'm going to redraw and fancify it a bit, with the intention of using the final version as the back cover of the zine-


Also, I've been messing around with sculpey, and though most of what I've made has been scrapped and balled back up, once I have a couple more pieces baked that I'm happy with, they should be appearing here soon as well. Here we have a crude, off-model bear head from a month or two ago, my first ever test attempt at using sculpey-



ps- blogger doesn't think "fancify" is a word, apparently. It is-
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fancify
pps- Mmm... fancified hamburger. Thanks, Webster.

Comic: What to do if you find a cockroach in your bathroom

Originally drawn as two separate pages, but I think it looks better as one big square..

Click to enlarge.. and you might need to magnify again if you're using a browser that resizes images (it's kind of big)-

Maybe I should have put "gigantic cockroach" in the title instead... Based on true events, and that thing was HUGE.

Comics: Ziegfeld

Doing a G*rfield parody is pretty old hat by now I guess.. I'm aware that it's been done in several ways, but just let me get this out of my system.

Click to enlarge, bringing this grand idea to life-


Perhaps I could make a plush one for your van window, with a suction cup at the end of a little noose. Adorable!

Comic: Bowl for fun and health

Here's a comic I did today.. actually it was yesterday, now that the midnight hour is upon us.

Click to moisten eyes up to four times daily-

..Featuring a hat and facial hair.

Sketchbook: Bear problems

Click for personal thoughts on bear-related matters-


I might start mixing animals up.. or maybe assorted kinds of bears?

..but then does it become an awkward nationality or racial thing?

Comic: How are ya?

Click to ENLARGE, making the pain all too real-


Dogs are great. I don't have one. I want to pet yours.

Comic: Albear Camus?

Click to ENLARGE and reveal the possible nature of your existence-

Not my favorite. Oh well. And for the record: just because I'm on the balcony, it doesn't mean I'm wallowing... I'm usually venting.

I think I may have painted myself into a creative corner with these bears. They're not supposed to specifically be me, i.e. based on real events all of the time, but now I pretty much keep making comics where I (or the bear-version of me) am the central focus. Am I the bear? The answer is usually yes and no, to varying degrees.

Tiny Comic - Cute things

Here's a very quick one that I cranked out today. I said that I wanted to get a comic posted before the holiday week, and so that's what I've done.

Click to enlarge and get your heart so warmed that it might be unhealthy-

Comic revision: Pygmy Hippo with color

Not exactly a new post, but I thought it would be fun to throw a little color on the pygmy hippo comic. I love black and white, but this comic in particular seemed to be begging for some sprucing up, and if nothing else that "leader" panel looks more fully realized.

Click to enlarge and enter a colorful world of hippo-related fancy-


I want to do a quick new comic in the next day or two and get it posted before the holiday week.. If I don't make time, I think my parents have a decent scanner back home so I can at least get it up sometime before Christmas day. We shall see.

Comic: Can I Interest You in a Pygmy Hippo?

A few weeks ago, the world fell in love with Monifa, the pygmy hippo baby born at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia.. So let's start breeding these things faster and in bulk, because we all want one.

CLICK to make the tiny hippos grow up too fast-

Comic: Comic

I made a comic today. I still do that.

Click to enlarge-

I've been pursuing other creative endeavors lately, though there should be more here soon. I don't want this blog to be about how little I'm blogging.

Tiny Comic: Soy Milk

Been a while.. Here's a wee little comic that might just add a small touch of joy to your day. Like a tiny scented candle implanted beside your heart.

CLICK so you don't have to strain your eyes so much-

If I find myself getting upset about something stupid, I think that the best course of action is to make a comic about it in which I make myself look ridiculous (see last post too). Perspective!

Comic: Road rage is sexy

After far too long without one (though I guess that's a matter of opinion), here's another comic, done today.

CLICK to expose your innocent mind to the salty language within (not for the young ones)-

Remember: You shouldn't get angry about that which you can not control or influence.. Some unsolicited therapy for you.

US Presidents with facial hair #1

Only full-on beards and moustaches, sideburns excluded so far (sorry, Martin Van Buren). It might be fun to draw some of the livelier muttonchops in presidential history, but then where do I draw the line?

Abraham Lincoln-


Ulysses S. Grant-


There's a string of facial-haired presidents from Lincoln through Taft, with Andrew Johnson and McKinley being the only spoilers.

I didn't get much drawing/comic-making done in the past two weeks, and I'll blame the conventions for the most part, but also a changing work schedule.. I may continue this series, but I've been sitting on several comic ideas for weeks, and though I've second-guessed them by this point, I'd like to do one as soon as I can.

Flightless birds, stupid hats

Sometimes you get what you pay for, and this blog is free.

Clicking will magnify somewhat-


I haven't posted much this month, but I've got some stuff in the works. I'd like to put together a small zine or something. Hopefully I'll make time to do a new comic this week as well.. We'll see how it goes, with the real job to contend with and all.

Comic: Owls doing stuff

I was going to post this in the morning, but I got back from the Mike Bertino show at Secret Headquarters and I'm awake/inspired, so why not scan this bastard and move onto the next one?

Click to ENLARGE, making the owls so big and lifelike that you may feel them flapping around your room-

I guess I missed my self-imposed deadline by a few days, but the great thing about self-imposed deadlines is that failing to meet them only results in a nagging feeling of self-hatred, and nothing worse.