Thursday, April 27, 2006

Art Update 04-27-06!

Big news, boppers!
The first few inked pages of "Up Jumped the Devil" are in and Bill "The Inkslinger" Wilkison has really knocked 'em out of the park!
What Bill's done with my pencils is nothing short of awesome!
For those of you living in caves, "Up Jumped the Devil" stars jazz trumpeteer/fix-it man Big 'Fro Brown, the creation of Robert "Hollywood" Swinton.
Almost a year ago, I picked up Hollywood's "Blow: Avenue of Escape" at the '05 SPACE convention in Columbus, Ohio and just had to get involved with this gun-totin' jazzman.
After a few emails, Hollywood was gracious enough to let me run with this unique character.
Enjoy!
Page One

Page Two

More pages will be trickling in soon.

And while we're on the subject of the Inkslinger, I finally finished his art request. He wanted drawing of (shudder) his cats. If this drawing makes no sense, visit Bill's website or blog.

"Cats...Why did it have to be cats?"

Keep it here, boppers.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Big Wordy Update!

Geeks In SPAAAAAACCCCEEEEE!!!! (Thank you, Mr. Hensen)

Well, boppers, it's that time of year again. For me at least. The convention season is upon me. My first appearance for this year will be at SPACE along with almost every member of the Orange Tablecloth Front. If you have no idea what SPACE is, this must be your first time on this blog. If this is your first time on this blog, what are you still doing reading this? You're not likely to find any Asian porn, so move along. But, to those of you gentleboppers cool enough to frequent my lil' ol' blog, you know the score. This year, SPACE is May 6th and I can't wait. I met a lot of cool people there and I can't wait to see them again.

Following SPACE, yours truly will be at Detroit at the Motorcity Coicon on May 20th. I'm only attending that one as a fan, which is a first.

For those of you dying to know what's going on with Up Jumped the Devil, look for it's very own blog, which will be listed along with all my other links. Tentatively, it's titled "Down With Mr. Brown," but that may change.

My buddy Nik ran this particular questionaire over at his blog, aptly titled The Good, the Blog & the Ugly and I felt compelled to do likewise. He's right, it's a total blog-type thing to do, but here goes:

1. What time did you get up this morning? Roughly 6:30
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds are a girl's best friend and man's best friend is a dog. I've had more good dogs than diamonds.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? "Bruce Almighty," I think. I don't go to the movies much. Ray Bradbury was right. Home entertainment is creating a world of isolationists.
4. What is your favorite TV show? "Robot Chicken" or "Squidbillies." I can't make that kinda choice.
5. What did you have for breakfast? I think it was a doughnut. Whatever it was, it was partially hydroginated and I say if your gonna hydroginate something, only do part of it.
6. What is your middle name? Trouble.
7. What is your favorite food? Probably burritos.
8. What foods do you dislike? Pizza. Yeah, I'm a communist, I know.
9. What is your favorite potato chip flavor? Uh, potato, maybe...?
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Either Franz Ferdinand or Thin Lizzy's "Vagabonds of the Western World."
11. What kind of car do you drive? None. I still think they're just a fad.
12. Favorite sandwich? Anything with bacon & swiss on it.
13. Favorite item of clothing? Right now, it's my Sgt. Rock T-shirt.
14. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would you go? Sweden or Indy. I got friends in both places.
15. What color is your bathroom? Crayon.
16. Favorite brand of clothing? None.
17. Where would you retire to? Sweden, but I suppose should vacation there first, huh?
18. Favorite time of the day? Any time I can spend working on comics.
19. What was your most memorable birthday? My last one. I've seen pictures, so I'm sure I had fun.
20. Where were you born? Hell's Creation, IN
21. Favorite sport to watch? I hate sports.
22. What fabric detergent do you use? Whatever's on sale.
23. Coke or Pepsi? Hawaiian Punch.
24. Are you a morning person or a night owl? I rarely sleep.
25. What is your shoe size? 11
26. Do you have any animals? No, just kids.
27. Any exciting news to share with family and friends? I quit my job to work on comics full time. Is that big enough?
28. What did you want to be when you were little? The Bionic Man.
29. What is your favorite flower? Martha White (Thanks, dad).

Over at the Lair of the Evil DM, the Evil DM posted another list, which he admittedly stole from another site, so I'm stealin' it back (sorry, Bono):

59 Things a Man Should Never Do Past 30:

1. Coin his own nickname.
2. Use a wallet that is fastened with Velcro.
3. Rank his friends in order of best, second best, and so on.
4. Hacky sack.
5. Name his penis his name plus junior.
6. Hang art with tape.
7. Hang The Scream, unless he stole it from the Munch museum in Oslo.
8. Ask a policeman, "You ever shoot anybody with that thing?"
9. Ask a woman, "Hey, you got a license for that ass?"
10. Skip.
11. Take a camera to a nude beach.
12. Let his father do his taxes.
13. Tap on the glass.
14. Shout out a response to "Are you ready to rock?"
15. Use the word collated on his resume.
16. Hold a weekly house meeting with roommates.
17. Name pets after Middle Earth characters.
18. Jokingly flash gang signs while posing for wedding photos.
19. Give shout-outs.
20. Use numbers in place of words or locations, such as "the 411" for information, or "the 313" for Detroit.
21. Hug amusement-park characters.
22. Wear Disney-themed neckties.
23. Wake up to a "morning zoo."
24. Compare the trajectory of his life with those of the characters in Billy Joel's "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant."
25. Request extra sprinkles.
26. Air drum.
27. Choose 69 as his jersey number.
28. Eat Oreo cookies in stages.
29. Volunteer to be a magician's assistant.
30. Sleep on a bare mattress.
31. End a conversation with "later skater."
32. Hold his lighter up at a concert.
33. Publicly greet friends by shouting, "What's up, you whore?"
34. Wear Converse All Stars with a tuxedo.
35. Propose via stadium Jumbotron.
36. Decide anything based on the ruminations of Howard Stern.
37. Call "shotgun" before getting in a car.
38. Dispute someone else's call of "shotgun."
39. Whine.
40. Mist up during Aerosmith's "Dream On."
41. Purchase fireworks.
42. Google the word vagina.
43. Ride a pony.
44. Sport an ironic mustache.
45. Hit 13 against a 6.
46. Organize a party bus.
47. Say "two points" every time he throws something in the trash.
48. Buy a novelty postcard in another country of topless women on a beach and write, "Wish you were here" on it.
49. Keg stands.
50. Purchase home-brewing paraphernalia.
51. The John Travolta point-to-the-ceiling-point-to-the-floor dance move; also that one from Pulp Fiction.
52. Put less than ten dollars' worth of gas in the tank.
53. Keep a minuscule amount of marijuana extremely well hidden.
54. Read The Fountainhead.
55. Watch the Pink Floyd laser light show at a planetarium.
56. Refer to his girlfriend's breasts as "the twins."
57. Own a vanity plate.
58. Whippits.
59. Say goodbye to anyone by tapping his chest and even so much as whispering, "Peace out."

I have to ad #60 myself:
60. Use the word "Hottie" when refering to a girl probably young enough to be your daughter. For that matter, just never use the word "Hottie" at all. Oh, and they were right about "The Fountainhead." The movie was good enough for me.

No pictures this time, boppers. I'll make it up to you next time. Peace out (yeah, I know I said it).

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Yet Another Request!


Here's a little something I did at work (during one of my last days!) for my nephew Ashton who as it turns out is a huge Spidey fan. At 18"x34", it's the biggest request I've done yet. Needless to say I got to enjoy a Sharpie high before it was finished.

Don't worry, Bill, your delightful cats are coming. I didn't forget.

Before I forget, I should mention that Ashton's dad, my brother, is an artist in his own right. Maybe I can talk him into letting me post some pictures of his sculptures.

Keep it here, boppers.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Warning! Shameless Workspace Plug!


I don't know about you, but I love sneaking peeks into an artist's workspace, to see what they have around them when they create. I always feel a weird sense of satisfaction when I recognise something sitting on a shelf. I also wonder if their work area is always as clean as it is in the picture and if my workspace is any indication, there's a reason we take pictures of them. Who can work in an uncluttered workspace? I had a teacher in high school who had a sign on his desk that read "A Clean Desk Is The Sign of A Sick Mind."
So, here it is, my own little corner of the house. I thought it'd be fun to give a shameless guided tour, so here goes:
The poster is a gift from my wife. Yeah, I'm into dragons & wizards. This one's by Richard Kelly, not to be confused with the director of Donnie Darko. To the right is a Goreyesque Bill "Inkslinger" Wilkison original. I saw it on his website and had to have it. Along the shelf, under my Frazetta Battlestar Galactica print, stand Beta Ray Bill, Green Arrow, Tars Tarkis, Frank (of Donnie Darko) and a photo of my late nephew Evan painting a picture for his grandma. Yes, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you, that's King Moonracer from the Island of Misfit Toys standing proudly at the base of my lamp. It once belonged to Arissa. I like to think it's her way of watching me work.
So there you have it. Did it all seem a bit pointless? Well, it's supposed to. It's a blog, for cryin' out loud!
Keep it here, boppers...