Beeswax

The Woman in Red

2012-01-15T14:39:00.003-06:00

I drew this awhile ago as an unsolicited submission to Project Rooftop. I don't know if it was rejected or forgotten, or if no one could muster any enthusiasm for an obscure and ill-defined character, but I like the drawing, and so: POST!

The Woman in Red first appeared in March 1940's Thrilling Comics #2, and is, you know, a woman who wears a red.

There were a number of Golden Age women decked out in evening wear, masks, and guns, and only their color schemes to set them apart. But the Woman in Red appears to have been the first, and red is certainly the certainly the choicest color for derring do.

I love the look of evening wear as action-suit, but went for a more practical approach. And turned the gun into some kind of PEW-PEW-based super power.

And Bean boots, why not?

Autumn Faerie

2011-12-31T21:55:00.002-06:00

I drew this for the Adorable Progeny, who steadfastly refuses to be impressed by anything I draw. This piece fared no better than any of the others. The wings, apparently, are all wrong.

Tin in Winter

2011-12-28T22:16:00.003-06:00

Eleven

2011-12-18T20:37:00.002-06:00

Wardrobe

2011-12-16T21:12:00.000-06:00

Cosmic Hobo

2011-12-12T14:29:00.002-06:00

I sure do like Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor. It's a shame so few of his performances survive.

Amelia Earhart, Fearless Flyer

2011-12-05T21:22:00.005-06:00

I drew this for an upcoming collaboration between Project: Rooftop and my new favorite thing, The Thrilling Adventure Hour.

The depiction of Ms. Earhart is based more on Autumn Reeser, the actress performing her in the serial than on the historical personage. Sadly, I don't have a snapshot of her with this drawing the way Dean Trippe has one of John DiMaggio holding his.

Links:
Listen to Thrilling Adventure Hour: Amelia Earhart, Fearless Flyer, “VIVE LE REICH?”
Autumn Reese
Project: Rooftop

Happy Birthday, William Blake!

2011-11-28T10:12:00.002-06:00

This image is from a 2006 story, and is still available for free Internet perusal over at ImageTexT.

More Fake Comics: Marvel Tales #1

2011-10-13T19:50:00.006-05:00

Continuing the ersatz fun, Jon Morris' DC Fifty-Too has turned its sights on Marvel. I love the Golden Age dynamic* between the Sub-Mariner and the original Human Torch. And so:

*Dynamic, meaning "Friends who punch each other an awful lot."

Marvel Universe Too: What If...
My earlier fake comics [1, 2]

2011-10-05T07:37:00.000-05:00

Pippi Vs. Pirate

2011-10-04T19:22:00.002-05:00

This isn't how I was supposed to spend my morning, but sometimes, you just have to draw Pippi Longstocking dueling with a pirate.

2011-09-30T10:51:00.001-05:00

2011-09-29T18:43:00.000-05:00

2011-09-28T09:54:00.000-05:00

Bad Dogwood

2011-09-27T19:03:00.003-05:00

This was supposed to be an engaging element in a design I'm working on. But it wasn't.

2011-09-24T15:34:00.000-05:00

I feel inordinately pleased...

2011-09-22T21:15:00.001-05:00

with this little drawing of a trail of smoke.

2011-09-22T08:44:00.002-05:00

2011-09-21T13:07:00.001-05:00

Actual quote, actual costume.

2011-09-18T19:38:00.001-05:00

Getting Older

2011-09-17T14:16:00.001-05:00

A little birthday doodle for The Enthusiast, Chris Haley.

If you know anything about Ancient Egyptian art...

2011-09-15T08:00:00.002-05:00

then this image will make you want to never stop slapping me.

One Day...

2011-09-09T09:24:00.002-05:00

...The Western Lands, in all their monotonous glory, began to fade.

Liberty Belle, Issue 2 (still not really)

2011-09-07T20:45:00.005-05:00

Here's my second not-at-all-a-real-thing cover for Liberty Belle. Not much to add, except:

1. The G.I. Giant that Belle is riding is meant to be a reference to G.I. Robot, and I imagine there being a whole battalion of them marching right behind this one.
2. I like the idea of Ma Hunkel equipping herself differently for every adventure, building a bluer-than-blue-collar knight's arsenal as she needs it from whatever domestic and industrial scraps she can get her hands on.

Liberty Belle, Issue 1 (not really)
DC Fifty-Too

And a couple nice notices:
Project: Rooftop Approved: Joel Priddy’s “Liberty Belle #1″ for DC Fifty-Too
Comics Alliance: The Latest From 'DC Fifty-Too', the Indie Take on the DC Relaunch

Oh, and as long as I'm cutting and pasting links, Comics Alliance also ran my Peabody and Pond drawing as part of their ongoing Best Art Ever (This Week), which was awfully nice of them.

Office Hours

2011-08-28T20:54:00.002-05:00

well spent.

This gentleman is unimpressed.

2011-08-24T21:30:00.001-05:00

Please try again.

Liberty Belle, Issue 1 (not really)

2011-08-20T19:29:00.007-05:00

As the creeping hand of totalitarianism stretches its covetous grasp across Europe, one peerless woman dares toll the resounding, clarion peal of freedom! With the oppressive forces of darkness encroaching around her, Liberty Belle lives only to fight and to let her message ring: let us live to make men free!

PLUS: Back on the home front, matchless Ma Hunkel cleans up the mean streets like an unstoppable cyclone of blue-collar justice!

Jon Morris, all-around creative dynamo, wrote with this fun project idea:

Once DC started releasing the cover images of what the New DC Universe would look like, it got me wondering what the New DC Universe would look like ... if it were out of DC's hands.

And, well, this is where I went. Benito Cereno was kind enough to carefully craft some fake solicitation text for the issue.

I enjoyed drawing this so well that I immediately drew a second issue's cover. I'll post it after it goes up on the DC Fifty-Too site.

The composition is based on the poster below. Hopefully, this reads as informed reference and not as low-down swiping.
The original is, of course, a much better piece of design, but mine has Ma Hunkel hefting a giant wrench.

DC Fifty-Too
DC's actual Fifty-Two
Some thoughts on the design choices for the new DC 52 [1, 2, 3]
Liberty Belle
Ma Hunkel
My previous take on Liberty Belle (Man, sometimes I draw noses waaaaay too long, but can't see it until it's too late)
My previous take on Bell of Splendid Awakening, who is vaguely referenced above by one of the small figures to the left of Libby
My previous take on Ma Hunkel
Jon Morris

Peabody and Pond

2011-08-07T21:27:00.003-05:00

Imagine the line "Come along, Pond," in Mr. Peabody's voice.

Sounds right, doesn't it?

Monkey Punch Dinosaur

2011-07-18T14:45:00.003-05:00

Sometimes, monkeys do this. Apparently.

Sabbatical Watch: The family and I are now comfortably ensconced in State College, PA, and I'm happily drawing away. Hopefully these drawings will turn into something I can show off, soon.

Memphis Roller Derby

2011-06-28T14:31:00.005-05:00

Here's a dandy little re-use of a drawing that I put on this blog a couple years back.

Medusa was drawn as a potential Fist-a-cuffs combatant.

Fist-a-cuffs was a fun little cartoon game run by Sam Hiti.

I drew a lot of fist-a-cuffs characters.

The poster was designed by Kevin Reuter.

In other news: I'm about five days away from moving to Pennsylvania for a six month sabbatical. If you are—or know—a cartoonist in the general road trip radius of State College, PA, let me know!

40

2010-12-09T11:31:00.004-06:00

So, I got older. And then people drew things. Really wonderful things.
Siphne Sylve
Kong Wee Pang
Rory-Ann Austin
Michelle Duckworth
Adam Gustavson
Victoria Maxwell
Kayla Cline
Stephanie Windham
Nick Conbere

Shane McDermott
And Michael Force, wrapping things up with a reminder of where all these birthdays are leading.

The Sherlock Witch

2010-12-07T22:15:00.003-06:00

Superhero Cocoa asked for literary mash-ups of the Scarlet Witch, and I went all Holmesian. Mostly on account of the tweed.

I like her hat.

Who's the Scarlet Witch?
What's Superhero Cocoa?
How about Project: Rooftop?

Turner D. Century

2010-12-01T21:07:00.003-06:00

For no reason other than I'm delighted to learn about him, here's a drawing of Turner D. Century, Marvel's proto-steampunk super-villain.

Wikilink

Pippi Longstocking

2010-10-05T21:13:00.005-05:00

The Adorable Progeny is such a fan.

NYCC

2010-10-05T10:05:00.007-05:00

So, I'm breaking my recent streak of seclusion and going to an actual comics show. I'll be on a panel on Friday on adapting public works into graphic novels, and generally hanging out around the Harper-Collins booth, promoting The Gift of the Magi.

I haven't been to a show in while, largely because I've been busy being a father. But I'm also profoundly uncomfortable at conventions. You know how, when you're hosting a party, you can't enjoy it because you're making sure everyone is having a good time and there's enough ice and no one is doing anything unspeakable on the carpet? Conventions are basically me feeling like that for 3 days. I need to take Chris Haley lessons on how to enjoy these things. As it is, the only time I feel comfortable is when people come up to me and ask me to draw something.

So, please, if you see me, come up and ask me to draw something.

Also, if you have any advice on where I can find some good whitefish, let me know. I do like some nice whitefish salad on a bagel.

The New York Comic Con

Chris Haley enjoying a Con (fast forward to around 3:10)

The Loftiest Company I'll Ever Find Myself In

2010-09-22T11:23:00.005-05:00

My work is going to be in a show called Ink Plots: The Tradition of the Graphic Novel at SVA. But, check out some of the big names: R. O. Blechman, Sue Coe, Will Eisner, Edward Gorey, Burne Hogarth, Ben Katchor, Harvey Kurtzman, David Mazzucchelli, Jerry Moriarty, Gary Panter, David Sandlin, Walter Simonson and Art Spiegelman.

I choose to go to SVA because it kept showing up in the bios of all my comic book heroes, and this show looks to be an incredibly comprehensive collection of their work. And I'll actually be in New York during the shows run, so I'll get to see it. Can't wait!

Ink Plots: The Tradition of the Graphic Novel at SVA

Nova Novarum

2010-09-18T11:41:00.004-05:00

Internet pals/real-life grade-slaves over at Superhero Cocoa have been having all kinds of fun drawing superheroes. The latest: a mythological take on Nova.

Nova was apparently a pretty controversial choice, because most people hadn't heard of him, and the rest think he's kinda lame. But I was delighted. My childhood contained one well-read copy of The Man Called Nova.

Well, maybe two. The cover of issue #21 looks pretty familiar.

I remember that I didn't care much for his supporting characters. His dad had a creepy Seventies beard. I held particular contempt for the idea that his little brother had built a robot Sherlock Holmes. The robot itself was fine, but eight-year-old me knew it was crazy to think a high school kid could build one. To do that, you'd have to be, like, twenty-four.

But Nova was cool. He flew around, he had a shiny helmet, and he could shoot things with his fists. That's pretty much all any eight-year-old could ask out of life.

Nova on Wikipedia
Superhero Cocoa

Project Sketchbook

2010-09-08T14:28:00.004-05:00

Forgive the crappy cell phone snaps:

Project Sketchbook blog
Project Sketchbook in the Memphis Daily News

Metamorpho

2010-07-30T11:23:00.003-05:00

A bunch of Metamorphos are getting together over at Project: Rooftop to celebrate Nate Bellegarde's birthday. Join them, won't you?

New Sun

2010-06-29T19:19:00.003-05:00

There are encounters that change nothing.

BABY SNAKE ROBOT!

2010-06-27T13:35:00.001-05:00

Baby Snake Robot!

BABY SNAKE ROBOT!

BABY SNAKE ROBOT!

BABY SNAKE ROBOT!

New Sun

2010-06-07T21:54:00.001-05:00

Each would be an exultant if he could...

New Sun

2010-06-04T20:14:00.003-05:00

We believe we invent symbols.

New Sun

2010-06-02T15:24:00.003-05:00

Memory oppresses me.

New Sun

2010-06-01T22:07:00.001-05:00

It is possible I already had some presentiment of my future.

Krakka-BOOM!

2010-05-29T21:43:00.002-05:00

I thought I should try drawing my own version of my Facebook pic.

The original, here, is a panel from Amazing Man Comics #12 (1940).

You know what?

2010-05-26T21:29:00.003-05:00

I need to get back to drawing.

We'll be bestest friends for ever and ever and ever.

2010-04-01T09:20:00.001-05:00

Check it out! I've got a new job!

Resolved

2010-01-01T21:45:00.002-06:00

What with fatherhood and all, my sketchbook habit has lapsed pretty miserably in the past couple years. AND SO: I hereby resolve to draw something in my sketchbook everyday of The Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Ten.

I doubt many posts will come out of this project, however. I reserve every right to fill this thing with super-shitty drawings that I'd be embarrassed for anyone to see. That pretty much being the whole point of sketchbooks.

Guest Strip

2009-12-30T13:45:00.003-06:00

The jolly lads over at Let's Be Friends Again let me play in their sandbox. Click on over!

As an aside, I did, like, 12 drawings of Wellington to get his likeness down, and yet he barely appears in the strip. And he's drawn so small that he doesn't really look like much of anybody. But wasting major effort for minor effects is the hallmark of a true artiste. Right? Isn't it? Please?

Nobody Expects...

2009-12-25T19:57:00.002-06:00

The Spanish Mech-Armada!

My Trendy Contemporary Luster

2009-12-20T12:47:00.004-06:00

This is dangerously close to counting as another life goal achieved: The New York Times ran a brief, positive mention of The Gift of the Magi, today.

Lately though, genteel poverty and bank runs aren’t so quaintly distant. Joel Priddy’s eye-catching adaptation of O. Henry’s classic Christmas tale, “The Gift of the Magi” (about a cash-strapped young husband and wife who sacrifice to buy each other decent gifts), feels positively up-to-the-minute. And that’s not only because it is a trendy graphic novelization, but also because its drawings evoke the contemporary luster of two-stops-past-Bedford hipster paupers.

It doesn't quite count for life-goal-purposes because it's not in The Book Review. I used to spend a lot of time illustrating other people's reviews there, so it features specifically in my authorial ambitions. But still, pretty danged happy-making. Thanks to Corey at Burke's Books for bringing this to my attention!

Gift of the Magi updates

2009-12-04T12:04:00.002-06:00

Beeswax foreign correspondent Curt Franklin supplied this snapshot of Gift of the Magi in Parisian comics shop.

Last night's signing at Burke's Bookstore was great: lots of people lined up the whole time, most with stacks of three or four books to give as presents. Assuming that's the scene in every bookstore in America for every night until Christmas, I'll soon be retiring to pursue that life of debauchery I've heard so much about.

And then, this morning, I actually made it onto the local morning TV show, and that seems to have gone well enough. From my side of the camera, at least. For all I know, I had a toddler-sized handprint in blueberry jam on my forehead the whole time. No one mentioning it, because I'm an artist and they thought it was my thing.

Pugilistic Pose

2009-11-30T20:54:00.003-06:00

This, hilariously enough, is the image that The Commercial Appeal ("The only honestly named paper in America," says Ralph Nader) pulled off of this very blog to illustrate the announcement of Thursday's book signing.

It is only fair, I suppose, that the public be warned of my pugnacious proclivities. I'll fight alla y'all.

Also, the TV appearance is back on for this Friday. Maybe. We'll see.

Doodles Done Deliciously

2009-11-30T20:00:00.001-06:00

Doodles Done Drunkenly

2009-11-30T19:57:00.001-06:00

Doodles Done Downtroddenly

2009-11-30T19:55:00.001-06:00

Doodles Done Deliriously

2009-11-30T19:53:00.001-06:00

Doodles Done Derivatively

2009-11-30T19:50:00.000-06:00

New Studio

2009-11-27T14:07:00.003-06:00

I'm writing rent checks again.

Toxic art materials don't mix well with free range toddlers, so I've been limping along without an in-house studio. I tried setting one up at my school office, but an EPA audit nixed that. Now, I've found a perfect little rental exactly halfway between work and home. Can't wait to doll it up and start making art! Or, at least, cartoon pages.

First items moved in: table legs and a framed Will Eisner sketch.

Gift of the Magi Signing

2009-11-26T19:18:00.004-06:00

Wanna buy a copy of Gift of the Magi and then get it scrawled all over by my very hand? I'll be signing and doodling at Burke's Bookstore, Thursday evening, December 3rd, from 7:00 to 9:00. It's part of the Cooper-Young Night Out shindig, so there will be sparkly lights, window display contests, and all kinds of specials at the restaurants and shops. If, you know, me sitting behind a table isn't enough of a draw.

Also, apparently I'm going to be on the television, tomorrow morning. If there's a youtubabale clip, I'll post it here, because you should probably be out Black Fridaying our economy.

edit, 11/27/09: No TV for me. I showed up, but was not on the schedule. Next week, maybe?

Doodles Done Decorously

2009-11-20T19:42:00.001-06:00

Doodles Done Deviously

2009-11-19T12:53:00.001-06:00

Doodles Done Destructively

2009-11-18T20:53:00.002-06:00

Doodles Done Divinely

2009-11-17T21:34:00.001-06:00

Doodles Done Drowsily

2009-11-13T20:54:00.002-06:00

Doodles Done Dashingly

2009-11-12T20:16:00.000-06:00

Doodles Done Defiantly

2009-11-11T19:10:00.000-06:00

Doodles Done Deadpan

2009-11-10T19:28:00.001-06:00

Gift of the Magi

2009-11-10T12:21:00.002-06:00

The MCA faculty show has rolled around again! I have a little bit of an issue with how gallery-centric art schools tend to be, so I amuse myself (and certainly only myself) by sticking mass-market reproductions of my work in these shows.

Also, I'm too cheap to have anything framed.

Doodles Done Dangerously

2009-11-09T20:23:00.002-06:00

Doodles Done Dizzily

2009-11-05T19:53:00.000-06:00

Doodles Done Dirty

2009-11-05T19:48:00.002-06:00

Doodles Done

2009-11-04T19:56:00.001-06:00

One last monster...

2009-11-03T12:57:00.002-06:00

EEEEE! EEEEE! EEEEEzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzip!

Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft...

2009-11-02T20:26:00.002-06:00

Did I mention that The Gift of The Magi is available in all your finest bookstores, November 3rd? Or that it makes the perfect holiday gift in for these troubled times?

Monster Month, part 11

2009-10-26T19:33:00.002-05:00

gurgle wheeeeeeeeeze thump-dump WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Monster Month, part 10

2009-10-20T21:27:00.001-05:00

Monster Month, part 9

2009-10-19T21:00:00.002-05:00

Awr-Ar-Ar-ARF! ARF! slobberCHOMParf!

Monster Month, part 8

2009-10-15T19:39:00.004-05:00

huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

Monster Month, part 7

2009-10-14T19:03:00.002-05:00

QUACK-Wack-Ack! QUACK-Wack-Sliiiiiiiiiiiiitht!

Monster Month, part 6

2009-10-13T19:24:00.005-05:00

Glub-BLUB-Chitter-Snicker!

Monster Month, part 5

2009-10-12T20:29:00.001-05:00

Ripple-Dripple-SNATCH!

Monster Month, part 4

2009-10-09T22:30:00.001-05:00

Schlorpety-SPLORTCH!

Monster Month, part 3

2009-10-08T20:27:00.003-05:00

Creakity-Crotchety-CREEP!

Me, in Public

2009-10-08T10:46:00.007-05:00

This morning I did a little drawing presentation at the Adorable Progeny's daycare. I drew of couple animals from the Parade series. Toddlers, it turns out, are a very satisfying audience. They have a lot of enthusiasm, they applaud at the end of each drawing, and if anything looks even remotely like a dinosaur, they're happy.

And what's that sitting on the floor next to me? An advance copy of Gift of the Magi? Why, I hear that makes a great Holiday gift.

Here's a new addition to the Parade, special for the occasion.

Any while I'm posting non-drawings, this is an interview I recently did for Memphis Crossroads Magazine:

Click to see the full image, words and all!

If you're wondering why I'm standing in the Superman pose, it's because I had just punched that hole in wall behind me. For no reason other than to show I could.

Monster Month, part 2

2009-10-07T20:28:00.002-05:00

Snippity-Klickitty-KLACK!

Monster Month, part 1

2009-10-06T20:25:00.006-05:00

Bawk-AWK!

Oh, Crap.

2009-09-29T21:48:00.002-05:00

It seems that I have a Facebook, now.

So, in case you like this blog, but find all the pictures kinda off-putting, friend me! All the mundane anecdotes, none of the art!

Scents of The Spaceways

2009-09-22T10:38:00.002-05:00

Here's something I should have mentioned awhile back: This summer I drew a science fiction epic for Opium Magazine. How epic? It contains the following panel:

Of course, I needed to get epic to compete with the issue's cover, which bore the longest story ever told (approximate reading time: 1,000 years).

Issues available online.

The Golden Age Mighty Tweed

2009-09-17T19:54:00.005-05:00

I, of course, am not the first to don herringbone for the betterment of humanity. Dennis Tweed, two-fisted criminologist, was the original Mighty Tweed. His earliest adventures were recorded in the pulp pages of Spicy Haberdashery, along with classic heroes The Devil's Dandy and Ole King Spats.

The Golden Age Tweed eventually made the transition to comics, appearing as a regular back-up feature in Ready-To-Wear Boy's Dungarees Brand Comics (later shortened to Ready Adventure).

Aw, man. Now I want to draw The Devil's Dandy.

The Mighty Tweed

2009-09-10T20:24:00.004-05:00

Is there, for the geek, any form of introspection more elusive than satisfactorily choosing what your super-powers would be? Sure, everyone wants the deluxe all-inclusive Superman package, but then you become just another hyperbolic everyman. But get too specifically self-referential, and you end up with joke powers like "Cosmic Procrastination."

I think I've come up with a nice, elegant suite of powers that would be fun to have, and not entirely useless if I somehow stumbled across, say, an invasion of Lava Monsters.

Whatever super-powers I had, I'd eschew spandex for a nice green tweed suit.

Now, to the powers:

Flight, obviously. The sine qua non of super-powers, right? You don't want to have to ask Hawkman to carry you off by your armpits every time the Justice League takes off, right?

Forcefield, because I'm a coward. I'm not one to grit my teeth and mutter, "Legs... broken. Lungs... mangled. Kidneys... shredded. Must... keep... fighting!" Also, I assume the forcefield keeps me comfortable in all environments, otherwise my wool-clad self would risk heat stroke the first time I responded to an emergency in July.

Infinite Pockets. Not a flashy power, but incredibly useful both on adventures and in day-to-day life. Imagine having absolutely anything you ever had the foresight to shove in your pocket, immediately available! I don't imagine these as TARDIS pockets—that is, pockets of infinite interior dimension—so much as quantum-cloud translators. Anything placed in the pocket becomes an uncollapsed quantum wavefront, a potential object waiting for me to put my hand in my pocket and bring it back into concrete Newtonian reality. This has the handy side effect of preserving the objects in their original state. So, if I put a straight-from-the-oven apple pie in my pocket, and pull it out ten years later, it'd still be piping hot and fresh.

I'm undecided if I can claim that this power also includes being able to recall all the things I've ever put in the pockets, or if I'd have to keep detailed records of the millions of objects I stashed away.

(Also, I have no interest in being told how poorly I'm treating quantum theory. If radioactive spider-bites don't cause cancer, then quantum theory can give me infinite pockets.)

So, there you have it: I AM THE MIGHTY TWEED!

So, Anyway...

2009-07-24T12:15:00.005-05:00

For those who are wondering why I dropped off the radar for awhile there, I'm pleased to say that I was hard at work. My next book is coming out this November, just in time to solve all your Christmas shopping needs. Everyone selling anything in November says that, but, this time, for real. All your Christmas shopping needs.

You're welcome.

It's an adaptation of O Henry's Gift of the Magi, which was a particularly brilliant selection on my part because everyone on the planet already knows how it ends. I mean, even Amazon blows the whole plot in its product description. But O Henry was a good writer, and there's a lot more in the story than the sequence of events. Plus, you know, I drew a some stuff. Mostly hair.

Glorious Edwardian hair.

Remember when the Fantastic Four beat God with a fancy Zippo?

2009-07-17T20:35:00.004-05:00

Joel Carroll has, for some reason, insisted that everyone draw Galactus. Who am I to deny him?

Basilisk

2009-07-13T10:13:00.002-05:00

Ninety percent of my current reading comes in the form of children's books, these days, and danged if there aren't a lot of lovely cut-paper illustrations in those things. So, you know, I wanted to play, too.

I'm Back!

2009-07-11T21:17:00.002-05:00

And I'm feeling STRONG!

Seriously, if you want to build arm strength, try carrying a growing baby everyday for 16 months. I am a beast!

Joel Spotting

2009-04-29T14:59:00.004-05:00

I appear, in all my pedantic, monochromatic splendor, over at Let's Be Friends Again: The Webcomic For For Friends, The Friends of Friends, and The Friendlier of The Friendless. Nice. The more fictional appearances I make, the more real I feel.

Also, Project: Rooftop has new contest up. Just how naked can you draw Hugh Jackman?

Parade 12!

2009-03-13T08:21:00.002-05:00

Jess Smart Smiley, whose work is both smart and smile-inducing, offers up these three wonderful chimera to the Parade!

I'm so glad that it's still going!

One Year Later

2009-02-27T07:00:00.001-06:00

It's been a crazy, busy, sleep-deprived year of wonder and fulfillment since the Adorable Progeny was born. These panels don't scratch the surface.

Happy Birthday, Beautiful Boy!

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Pulp Writer

2008-12-06T08:22:00.005-06:00

Who is the subject of my latest nerd-crush?
Solomon Kane!

I've been boring the Lovely Wife catatonic, trying explain why this character is so engaging. Here's the breakdown: Before Robert Howard defined the Sword and Sorcery genre with Conan the Barbarian, he first completely subverted it by telling very similar pulp adventure stories starring a prudish, indignant, and completely bad-ass Puritan.

This seems simultaneously ridiculous and perfect. Consider:

The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours.

If Jonathan Edwards didn't ever actually travel the world tearing into brigands and werewolves and whatnot with all the Righteous Fury of a Vengeful God, then it is an accident of history, and we should all be grateful to Mr. Howard for setting it right.