DECEMBER! how did that happen already? 9:57 AM

I did not see that coming. not one bit. I was slowly adjusting to being cold in November and out of no where- BAM. December. Ugh, that'll not do, mainly cause I have way too much stuff to do!

Well, Enjoy this page from my Zombie Cat relaunch!

Bleeding Cool Comics Art Brooklyn! 9:21 AM

So I'm slowly tumbling back into consciousness after surviving Comic Arts Brooklyn- It was an awesome show. I sold more books and silkscreen prints in a one day show that I've sold at weekend long shows so kudos to Desert Island for making this show happen!

Above is Jen Tong and I at CAB.

In other news- I'm in a group show called Picture in Picture at the Launchpad Gallery that's been written at Bleeding Cool- check that out here

SUPER UBLER WASCHBAER! 12:39 PM

Yep, A Super Nasty Raccoon is up to no good! Just finished screen-printing this bad boy this morning and will the prints for sale this weekend at CAB and hopefully if I don't keel over from exhaustion- another brand new spanking poster too! see you there!

above is the photoshop mock-up I did pre-printing followed by the actual prints- red actually turned out warmer- go GO ROCKET RED!

Happy Halloween! 3:09 PM

I just finished scanning all of the inked pages from the first issue of the relaunch of my Zombie Cat series- appropriately on Halloween. I'll be producing a limited edition handmade early release of the book for Comic Arts Brooklyn- till then enjoy this freshly inked page!

Isometric Craziness 1:54 PM

Been working on a new print that I'll debut at CAB. Here is the base for that drawing.

Special Limited Edition Zombie Cat #1 will be Released at CAB 3:38 PM

I'm almost there. The long awaited relaunch of of Zombie Cat is almost here. I'll have a very special edition for CAB. I'm going to be silkscreening a special cover and limiting this handmade edition to only 100 copies. After that it's off to the printers! so get your copy at CAB!

The days are just packed... really. 6:14 PM

Things have been great round these parts. News, what's new? I'll be illustrating a new book about the Civil War for Little, Brown, and Co. The book is about the "Bad Ass" people and events that occurred during the civil war- so moments of incredible bravery or unbelievable insanity or mix of the two. That and finishing a new comic for CAB and new silkscreen prints- might try to screen a tote bag. I have got my hands full!

This Raccoon will go with the varmint from the previous post once I assemble them into a silkscreen print

Post SPX Recovery- CAB on the Horizon 2:02 PM

SPX was fantastic. Good people, good comics, and good times. Can't beat that. Next up Comics Art Brooklyn which should be just as good without having to drive five hours. 

Above are the inks for a silkscreen print that I'll being doing for that festival.

SPX bound! 4:32 PM

Ho Bethesda! That didn't come off nearly as well as saying it. Tomorrow I'll be making my way south to exhibit at the Small Press Expo! I'm not going alone- I'll be accompanied with my trusty- well sort of trusty studio mates! Tory Sica, Jen Tong, and Kim Seilbeck- and we're bringing a sidekick this year- the one and only Anuj Shrestha! so come by and check out my stuff! I'll have new prints and comics and all sorts of fun!

The page above is from comic fight!Fight!FIGHT! which I'll be selling there!

See you there!

What is Best in Life 12:16 PM

I was looking at a blank page in my sketch book pondering what I might draw next- what haven't I drawn before? what would be a challenge to draw? fun? different? Obviously. there are things that I usually draw- monsters, fantasy, animals. my usual fare- then it dawned on me. I've never drawn the barbarian- THE BARBARIAN. so here's my rendition of Conan illustrated to what he would say "What is Best in Life"

Let's Get KRAKEN! 8:35 AM

Groan, Yep. That's a terrible blog post title- what's done is done and I have no way of changing the past... If you're anywhere near New York, I am sorry for you and I hope that you have a fully functioning AC 'cause it's very definition of these lyrics : "Hot town, summer in the city, Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty, Been down, isn't it a pity, Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city, All around, people looking half dead, Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head" I walked outside yesterday and immediately hated myself for doing so. 

On to the topic at hand: Here's my fully functional "Kraken" silkscreened accordion book which I'll be selling at conventions all over the country- next big one is SPX so I hope you'll drop by and say "Howdy" in Bethesda!

150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg 12:10 PM

on July 1st, One hundred and fifty years ago one of the most decisive battles of the American Civil war was fought. The battle last for three days and at the end there were nearly fifty thousand casualties- nearly eight thousand people and three thousand horses were dead (amazingly only one civilian died during the battle of a stray bullet). On July 4th of 1863, The Confederate Army retreated and the Army of the Potomac slowly pursued.

A couple of years ago I wrote and drew a graphic novel about the battle and the dedication in which Lincoln delivered his address called simply "Gettysburg" you can pick it up here

I did this sketch to commemorate the anniversary.

Last Day of Monster Challenge ends with Bat Cat! 1:18 PM

Well, it's come to the end- my birthday week monster challenge. The last one is every dog's nightmare- the CAT BAT. nah nah nah nah CAT BAT! I'll need to this again!

Another Strange Creature 1:43 PM

Day 6 Monster Week. They keep getting stranger don't they? I don't even know what subterranean terrible swampy place one would find this nightmare, but I don't want to go there. One more day to go!

Snakey Weird Centipede Monster 3:49 PM

On the fifth day I created... I'm not really sure what this is. I imagined it living in the desert skittering about, darting over rocks, and killing without mercy. This is day five for the monster week long challenge done.

Monter FOUR 2:56 PM

Well, we're over the hump for the week long monster challenge. I"m calling this guy Frog Face for now, I really wanted to play with the idea of something that used it's arms for mobility and it's feet to manipulate things. It came out all right, but not my favorite so far.

Day 3 of the Week long Monster Challenge 3:24 PM

My third day and another monster. I was going for a floating jelly fish skull, but my studio mate Aya ruined it by saying it looks like an ice cream cone- "a cone formed of entrails!" I cried but a cone nonetheless. It's a floating ice cream cone of DEATH!

Monster TWO 2:18 PM

Here in all of oceanic horror is monster two of my week of drawing monsters! As of the moment I'm calling him... her? most likely it? CRAB CAKES. Which, yes. strangely makes me hungry. Tomorrow another Monster to come!

Monster of the Day 2:26 PM

For the next week- as long as work allows I'm going to try put up a drawing of a monster every day- Starting today. I haven't come up with a slick name for this guy yet. right now he's just the four armed freak.

Outlander Commercial 12:53 PM

I storyboarded this Outlander commercial earlier this year at First Ave. Machine. Cars used to be a bit of challenge for me draw- Early on, I was told that cars are basically rectangles with wheels- maybe a few cars in the 1970's come even close to making that statement true, but for the most part my experience is that are squished egg like shapes with all the sharp edges filed down. That said, I've become pretty good at drawing cars and in this case SUV's.

Below are some samples from the boards I drew for this commercial

Exquisite Grand Comics Festival 1:36 PM

Big sigh of relief. I've exhibited at my last comic festival for the season until SPX this September (which I should have a whole new selection of comics and prints). The Grand Comics Festival was the perfect way to end the season. It was totally laid back with an excellent selection of exhibitors and great location. Pat Dorian really pulled it off and I look forward to the next Grand Comics Fest!

These are a couple of the Exquisite Corpses that I did with Anuj Shrestha, Kenan Rubenstien, J.T.Yost, and Jen Tong during the festival

Grand Comic Festival T-shirt Debut 1:15 PM

Yeah! Freshly printed and ready to wear. I just go these from Pete's Silkscreen shop in Williamsburg (or Italian Greenpoint if you're old school) and he did a wicked job. I'll be debuting/selling these shirts at the Grand Comic Festival this weekend. Come by and pick one up!

That's my studio mate Aya Kakeda modeling the shirt!

Good Doggie 3:16 PM

Here are the inks for my latest illustration. It's called "Walking Cerberus" Not quite fully rendered as of yet, I'm going to something with the background and color it. 

Grand Comics Festival is coming up this weekend hope to see a ton of people there!

cold, rainy, cold, rainy, cold.... HOT 8:28 AM

May 2013. for the most part you were a sad rainy mess with little hope of any redemption, until yesterday and today when evidently you thought it appropriate to cram what is usually a gradual ascent into humid disgustingness into two days. May went from 50 to 90 in a twenty four hour period.

Lucky for me- so far that is. My studio only gets about an hour of direct sunlight a day and has remained cool and has not needed the ac as of yet.

Speaking of my studio- I just finished this- Chainsaw Kitten. Which I will be silkscreening this summer. This is a companion piece to Samurai Chipmunk

Riso Madness! 3:28 PM

So my studio mate and I bought a Risograph Machine and we've just started exploring it's possibilities- of which I intend to print my mini-comic "fight, Fight, FIGHT" in two colors on. It's kind of like an automated silkscreen machine with transparent colors. Above is one of the pages in which I've already prepped the separations. In theory, it should look like this when printed with a bit being off registration- which adds to the hands on element since I'll have to assemble to whole book by hand!

Post TCAF recovery period 3:59 PM

TCAF was awesome. I'm so glad that I was able to exhibit! It was great fun to go to Toronto with my studio mates- Aya Kakeda, Tory Sica, and Jen Tong (Thanks to Jen's friend Irme for hooking us up with a spectacular hotel) The show itself was one of the best I have ever been to and I'll do my best to get back there next year!

I'm almost out of the post-fest exhaustion pit, enough so to design my next silkscreen print as pictured above! title is "Harpy" I should have it for sale at SPX!

Next Fest? Grand Street comics fest in June! see you there!

TCAF and adventures in Risograph 8:44 AM

In Toronto for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, which is great and exactly like what I'd imagine an alternative universe to be like. It looks a lot like home, people speak the same language, dress is similar fashion, interact, if not maybe a bit too politely, like they do at home, but like any good alternate universe- things- some big, some seemingly insignificant are different enough to throw things askew.

This is no doubt has been enhanced by the fact that I drove almost 12 hours from New York yesterday.

As for the Risograph- which is a machine that my studiomates and I purchased for the soul purpose of frustration and making small-batch comics has excelled at exactly that. We've printed our first book "El Gato de la Muetre" and that will be debuted at TCAF tomorrow which is free to attend so you have no reason other than maybe... maybe

May Day 2:09 PM

It's a beautiful May first in Portland, yep. I'm still in Portland for a few more days and I'm without a doubt enjoying the a more laid back pace of the Rose City (Maybe a bit too much, There's work to be done).

Stumptown comic festival was last weekend and I had a fantastic time there exhibiting. This was quite possibly my most successful festival to date- I debuted my silkscreen prints and they received a great response. I sold out of two! This is a super encouraging and I've got more prints in the plans!

Enjoy the Zombie Ayn Rand- The concept was developed by my friend Adam Guthman and I drew it up.

In Portland for the Stumptown Comic Fest 12:21 PM

I arrived in Portland a couple of days ago to fantastic weather. Sunny and 70 degrees! This upcoming weekend I'll be exhibiting at the Stumptown Comic Festival so if you're around come by and visit and check out all of my new work- including a brand new silkscreen accordion book "Kraken".

Here's a link for tickets and info: Stumptown!

See you there, the image is a snippet from "Kraken"

No end in sight 3:01 PM

I know I already posted this image but I've since recolored it and prepped it for being printed on a banner and I've redesigned the type in the logo. so reposted but better.

Convention Season is here 9:12 AM

So I attended MoCCA this year, no, I didn't exhibit. I just attended as a guest, which was a little bit weird for me. I haven't exhibited at MoCCA for two years ever since they scheduled over the Stumptown comic festival (I had bought tables to both, but MoCCA announced its dates so late that I ended up selling my MoCCA table). I also felt the festival was quickly loosing any appeal for the attendees and the exhibitors as table prices and admission fees rocketed leaving the core creators and audiences being priced out.

That said. This year the Society of Illustrators is running the show and promised big changes. I was little hesitant about the Society running MoCCA. Up until the last decade or so illustrators and illustration organizations haven't always had the best relationship with comics. As I do both, I saw that in the past, illustrators have looked at comics as the red-headed, mentally handicapped, physically repugnant, step-child. A lot of that has changed in the last decade. I've seen those changes both in academia and organizations like the Society. Even so, as I bought my wrist band and entered the Armory, I did so with trepidation.

MoCCA was good. The physical and surface changes really were effective. I know that some of the exhibitors thought the aisle separation curtains crowded them in, but they totally eliminated the "flea-market" feel that has plagued the festival since it moved to the armory. Right off that bat, it felt like a professional show and had me reminiscing of when MoCCA was in the Puck Building. This festival was exceptionally organized and with the addition of the gallery in the back it finally lives up to being the festival for the Museum of Cartooning and Comic Art. Well done.

Next up: Stumptown, TCAF, and Grand Street comics Fest.

The Return to ZOMBIE CAT! 3:15 PM

This is a project I've had in the "works" for a long time- started it in 2007. It's had more than it's fair share of false starts and flat out over-worked and over commercialized attempts that turned out terrible (which looking back was inevitable).

Now, I think I've got it down. I've finally developed a storyline that I really dig and hopefully everyone else will too. I'm trying to get this done for Stumptown- it'll be a tough cause there's a lot of work left but that's the goal! I'll update as it goes.

BEHOLD racked and printed 2:58 PM

Printed and done. This is a limited edition print run of 25. I'll be selling it this year at TCAF, Stumptown, and Grand Comics Fest some check it out and get your D&D fluorescent beholder groove on! 

BEHOLD! 4:37 PM

So much silkscreening, so much comic drawing, so much storyboarding. This is not a complaint. Just a bit tired. But let us shake that up with a scourge of every D&D party and oft producer of the dreaded TOTAL PARTY KILL- The Beholder. I screened this guy up today while I watched in amazement as my studiomate Jen Tong ran laps around me at the silkscreen lab. Totally blew my mind and inspired me to try harder.

beer time then sleepy time.

Cheers

New Festival this Summer 11:19 AM

I've been invited to exhibit in a new Brooklyn based "Grand Comics Festival". I think it's going to be good fun and it's a great time when there aren't a lot of other festivals going on (MoCCA used to be in the summer when it was still a festival I liked). So, if you're in Portland for Stumptown, Toronto for TCAF or Brooklyn for the Grand Comics Fest come check my work out!

Chipmunk Samurai colored and printed 12:14 PM

As promised- color version of the Chipmunk Samurai drawing I did earlier in the year. I did this one as an homage to 60's Japanese silkscreened movie posters. It's pretty rare for me to nail the colors as well as I did from the photoshop mock up to the actual prints so I'm pretty happy with the results. I made 40 of these prints and will be selling them at Stumptown and TCAF comic festivals. I might also make a t-shirt out of it since my studiomates said they'd buy one- 

Squid ATTACK! 11:32 AM

Yep, it's been awhile since I've last posted but mind you, I wasn't sitting on my hands- that would make it hard to draw. I'm still silkscreening stuff all over the place and there is no limit to my ambition. I'm currently prepping to make a limited edition run of a four color accordion book that'll feature the artwork posted here. This drawing is just under four feet long and it took me a few days to ink up. Now all that I have do is prep the color separations and design a cover. I'll be debutting this at Stumptown and Toronto comic festivals (They're a week apart and in different countries so I think it's fair to say I'm debutting it at both) SO MUCH MORE WORK TO DO!

In meantime, here's a comparison of the inks and the pencils!

Chipmunk Samurai! 1:55 PM

Happy New Year with a bunch of Samurai Chipmunk drawings. I've been sketching these guys for awhile and I intend to silkscreen a few, Mainly as prints maybe a t-shirt or two.

When I throw some color on these I'll repost them.