Video: Jamar Nicholas @ NY Comic Con 2011

Video by my new pal Palle Schmidt, all the way from Denmark! Go check out his site and his great new IDW Graphic Novel, Devil's Concubine.

2011 GLYPH COMICS AWARD WINNER!

  Story of the Year
Fist Stick Knife Gun; Geoffrey Canada, writer, Jamar Nicholas, artist

 .

Best Male Character
Geoff, Fist Stick Knife Gun; Geoffrey Canada, writer, Jamar Nicholas, artist

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 Rising Star Award
Jamar Nicholas, Fist Stick Knife Gun

VIP at ECBACC

DWAYNE McDUFFIE

Not much to say that hasn't been said already, but legendary comic writer Dwayne McDuffie passed away at the age of 49. It's always sad and unfortunate when things like this happen, but there's not a lot of people that have done what he's achieved in comics with the skintone he had.

Dwayne and I share mutual friends, and I've shared pleasantries with him, and finally meeting him face-to-face at the ECBACC show in Philly a few years back - I was a little stunned by how tall he was, and how . . . chill Dwayne seemed to be. It was that professional, mainstream polish that I hadn't seemed to have mastered - how to walk among us but be totally in your own space, clearly comfortable with yourself to the point you made others smooth down their shirts. Something that I didn't understand at the time, but that something makes people call you 'sir' to your face. Respect? Reverence. Somewhere in there.

I sometimes went to his website forum and marveled at how many people came to him just to listen to his words. But it wasn't like he was trying very hard to make people think he was interesting - he just did his thing. Like I have aspired to do my whole career.

Most importantly, Dwayne opened up doors for people who look like me in comics. He fought battles on muddy slopes for people who try to do what I'm trying to do in comics. He clicked on a flashlight and ran it over the dark corners of the bias, ignorance and head-scratchingly dense world of comics and asked questions that we all wanted answers to - and wouldn't leave until he got an answer, or until they made him leave.

That's a swagger that I'd love to wear into a room like Dwayne did. He lifted us on his shoulders and carried us, even if it wasn't his full intent. I believe he just wanted to tell a good story, by any means necessary.

Thanks for Doing Your Thing, Dwayne.

Fist Stick Knife Gun in December 2010 EBONY MAGAZINE

Look for my book in the Holiday Buyer's Guide section of this month's EBONY MAGAZINE. Buy it now! Then go buy my book! It makes a great gift for someone in your life who needs to make better choices, or for those who need to understand that life isn't as easy as they may think.

JAMAR FEATURED IN COFFEE TABLE BOOK

image: John Jennings

I've had the good fortune of being featured in the new amazing coffee table book, 

BLACK COMIX: AFRICAN AMERICAN INDEPENDENT COMICS, ART AND CULTURE.

That's a mouthful, but what you see here is a snapshot of what authors John Jennings and Damian Duffy saw as a missing piece in the comic book puzzle: where the voices of African American cartoonists were and if they're being heard. 

Maybe you've never thought about where the black indy comics folk are, but now you can. I'm honored to be in such company. 

The book is on sale and available at Amazon, so scoop it up!
Also, check out some of the other fine work John and Damian are responsible for.

Come see Jamar on stage!

Why Am I Not Famous?!?
Come see Philadelphia’s only live comedy talk show, hosted by 2008 Philly’s Phunniest winner Kent Haines. This month, Onion writer Mike Drucker and comic book creator Jamar Nicholas join Kent for an evening of hilarity and mirth. BYOB!

Why Am I Not Famous?!?
8pm, Wednesday, March 25th
The Shubin Theatre – 407 Bainbridge Street
Tickets $5 – BYOB!

T.O.N.Y.: Tapped Out on New York?

Look for my interview with my new pal Bryan Lee O'Malley in the next issue of DRAW!
You can't miss it - it's on the cover!

Hey you motor scooters!

So I have on my itinerary, a trip to the lush metropolis of NYC this weekend for the New York Comic Con, but it may not come to pass. If I do, it'll be on some secret-squirrel in/out type episode - where I exit a cab at the Javitz in slo-motion, my scarf flipping out behind me all Michael Bay style. There might even be doves. I can settle for white pigeons in a pinch.

In any rate, If you're there and you see me, then you saw me. Comic cons for me, besides work and pressing the flesh with the fans, are micro family reunions, where I see old friends for maybe the only time in a year. It's tough to not go.

One thing that's gonna be there is Bryan Lee O'Malley and his 5th Scott Pilgrim book, which I'd like to scoop up, as I love what he's doing right now in his career. I had the chance to interview him a while back for DRAW! magazine, which you may know by now, I put my thing down in from time to time. Mal was real cool and I can't wait for the issue to come out, which I think will be sometime this month. I'll let you know when it drops, but if you're at the con, go check out my pals at the Twomorrows booth, who publishes the magazine and have wonderful people working for them that love the medium of comics.

Are you following me on twitter? You need to be. That'll be the quickest way to see my moves these days - like if I'm on my way to NYC!

Jamar E. Nicholas: HANDSOME GENIUS!

Hey yo!

Yours truly was a recent guest on my good friend Anthony Kingdom James' ill pod/blogcast called THE HANDSOME GENIUS CLUB. I am now a Handsome Genius, so you have to live with it. Please visit his site, and listen to Kingdom and I rant about the Eagles/Steelers meeting in the superbowl (NOT GONNA HAPPEN NOW - THANKS IGGLES!), the best cheesesteak in Philly, and my cartooning career so far. Also a great spoiler that I haven't put on the blog yet, so if you pay attention, you'll hear what it is.

Kingdom's interviews are filled with geekitry like comics, sports, videogames, professional wrestling and some light cussing, so be warned that I may drop a bomb or two.

So go listen to this week's podcast and tel me what you thought.

LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! Coming next week

Puppets like you've never seen them before!

Hey gang! Here's more press on the event I'm putting in on next week. There's a new poster that may be a little suggestive, but it's puppets, so Caveat Emptor.

>>

From this weeks CITY PAPER:

LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! Hoity Meets the 'Hood

LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! Hoity Meets the 'Hood teams the urban puppeteers at Little Bunny Voodoo and hip-hop cartoonist Jamar Nicholas. We know LBV's 2007 Fringe offering, Late Night at the Tiki Bar, was a visual delight. To quote CP's review: "We could watch these puppets watch paint dry," and we've been following Nicholas' street-smart hip-hop comix for years. The concept here is a "design mashup" with LBV's Alisa Sickora Kleckner and husband Chris Kleckner working with Nicholas to bring his creations to life. "They took my half of the project and really gave my ideas wings," says Nicholas. --Brian Howard

Read it:

read Puppets at the FRINGE: on WHYY

They interviewed me as well, but they TOTALLY LEFT MY WHOLE PART OUT. :pout:

Anyway, it's coming, and there's nothing you can do about it. If you're in Philly, come check it out. It NEEDS to be seen live.

SUPERIOR FLOOR SYSTEMS: Notes from the group show

Remember a few threads back I went on about the tile I was creating for the group show SUPERIOR FLOOR SYSTEMS, at Exclamation Gallery? Well I did, it was done, and it got lookeded at. My pals over at the gallery posted a neat look into the show along with plenty of pics and a great video. See if you can find mine.

Here's a link to the gallery Flickr site, as well! Thanks gang!

WATCHING THE DETECTIVES: Dissecting Detective Boogaloo Pt I

Now that I've been streamlining my deal over here at the JN Studios, it's been easier to put things back in place, to put some stuff in order. Some things that have been in the works or have fallen to the wayside find their place again. One thing I wanted to focus on for the JHAAJ gawkers is my place in Hip Hop Culture, and all that stuff that comes with it.

One of my properties, DETECTIVE BOOGALOO: HIP HOP COP has always been my study on my life and love of Hip Hop, and what boils down is a dialogue on 'Old vs. New School' Hip Hop and all that goes with it. Some people who enjoed my webcomic just enjoyed the pretty colors, or 'like a breakdancing detective'. That's cool. Do You. The strip, at least in my mind, had a lot of layers, and one is the idea of Hip Hop broken down into sections of eras, and along with that, come fashion/lifestyle examinations. One character in the DB Universe is contact and Ill Intel Copper: THESAURUS JONES. (Click here for his first appearance) Thesaurus' look is of mid-late 80's fashion and ideals - like the 80's Rap Scene blew up in his closet. He also comes correct with the illest High-Top Fades, Flattops, Boxes and Trigonometry Haircuts.

figure 1: Black to the Future

What's really interesting to inspect, is that I came up with Thesaurus, probably in 2000 or somewhere around there. He used to rock a Theo Huxtable Shag, but when I intro'd him into the comic, I thought he Box would be a little more culturally and visually revelant. It's bugging me out that the 80's have finally come up on the fad/culture dial, and now I'm seeing young teens out in the streets rocking them again. Apologies to whomever this image got jacked from. Respect due, Internets:

Figure 2: What Comes Around Comes Back Around Again... Again

Now, That's great and all, and is amusing to see kids go nuts with this outlandishness, but the 20-year-later Jamar has to stow the 'fad' part of this and just see it for what it is. I think the olny difference was when it happened the first time, is that it was the first time. "You had to be there" really applies to what's rocking out there in the streets. Thesaurus' character is a keeper-of-culture, and has an important place in the DB universe. I wonder, when I bring Boogaloo's adventures back, if he'll be seen the same now that you can look out the window and see some kid looking just like him.

SHOOK ONES PT. III.I

Finished...

SHOOK ONES PT. III

Painting on a floor tile for a group show... SUPERIOR FLOOR SYSTEM for my pals at Exclamation Gallery.

FRECKLED KID

Little color joint I did as a gift to someone who hooked me up the ill rice paper I drew it on. the prismas bleed RIGHT through the other side, but I loved the effect.

This is a two-fold gift, that will work it's way out into whoever else I need to give art to. I love this stuff!

2008 - The Year of the Poobah

What's good party rockers!

As referenced by many of my blogging pals, 2008 seems to be a turning point for a lot of creatives that I know, and I'm bunching myself in there as well. Not dealing with the resolution route - 2008 is taking off to be a 'make or break' year for a lot of people, and with that, I'm planning on steamrolling thru this sucker with some bull power.

First up is some structure. I'm fixin' to begin a posting schedule here on the blog, where on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays expect a post from me on the Big Beautiful Wonder Woman Blog, and then on Tuesdays, Thursdays and mayhaps the Weekend, check for new posts here. I'm sure you're all RSS-ed Up here, so you don't have to miss a thing.

I have a million things I need to get out of my head this year, so let's start with one simple one - more updates.

Also, pay attention to the Appearances sidebar, as I'm going to try to stay on top of that this year. I have a signing for Tokyopop next weekend here at the American Library Association 2008 Midwinter Meeting: , but I don't think they let you in unless you're a librarian. Who knew? As one would think, I'll be at the Tokyopop booth signing copies of THE GROSSE ADVENTURES for a few hours. I'm all atitter!

One other thing you should be on the lookout for is another one of my properties, LEON: PROTECTOR OF THE PLAYGROUND is a new comic strip that you can see every month in the Delaware County Magazine!

LEON is the story of a super-hero sidekick in elementary school. It's a lotta fun, and it's all-ages, and I think people of all ages will dig it. You can see the first comic story of LEON in the pages of EVEN MORE FUND COMICS anthology, from a few years back. Dig it up and you'll see me working out the kinks. I'm really proud of Leon!

Along with my great pal Scott Neely, (GLO, Mr. Bundles!) and Mike Manley, we will be bringing you a full page of full-color comic strippy goodness every month in the pages of this super mag!

If you live and love in the Philly/Delaware/Tri-State Area, you can cop this anywhere. There is also an awesome interview with me in the latest issue, as we debut our new strips (Scott debuted ALFIE a few issues ago, but now were all in it to win it)!

I guess this counts as a weekend post, huh? Sounds good to me.

Be Easy!

The return of the JDOT 5-SPOT!

Hey. Here's 5 easy-to-digest bits from the laboratory of Jamar to take you into the weekend. We're over here at Team Poobah trying to get it going for you - so when you see me in your area, you are sated and full. Full of comic-y nougat. (I've been reading too much Penny Arcade blog entries lately.)

Anyway, here's some news for your side of the world.


ONE.
Next weekend, travel on down to the BALTIMORE COMIC-CON where I'll be set up, shakin' the babies and kissin' the hands. This is a sentimental show for me, as we're gonna go all-out, and have a great show and remember our pal Ringo. He was going to be going to this show. He didn't go to many cons, but Heroes and Baltimore. He'll still be there, but on another energy frequency, and right here (taps heart).

Just for that, I'm going NUTS for this show, and going back to old Jamar-Mode! I will have with me, me hopes, a Tokyopop GrossePack, which will include all three of the GROSSE ADVENTURES books that I did with Tokyopop, (With art on the first one by my mans'en'em, Mike Norton). You can also order the books on Amazon.com if you can't make it down, but look for a hot sketch-tie-in if you buy all three from me. I may even throw in some scratch-n-sniffs! I'm nice like that.

While I'm here, here's the cover of the third book again, with proper dress and editor cleanining:*
Also look for a Baltimore-Special edition of my first sketchbook, E POOBAH UNUM: IN JAMAR WE TRUST. We're still getting that together over here, but don't sleep - They may go fast!

*I have a small stash of the DETECTIVE BOOGALOO ILL CRIMES UNIT CASEFILES left, that I'm gonna bring through. This is gonna be it until the comic book comes out (!) which I'll talk about in more detail at a later date.

*I will have original art that I want to unload, mainly an almost complete pagecount of my first 'mainstream' gig, RADISKULL & DEVILL DOLL HATES LOVE! comic, done with Devils Due/Image. Come cop this stuff!

*I should also have a batch of 'WILL DRAW FOR LOVE' The second Philadelphia Cartoonist Society jambook that I have some sketch material in.

*OH! Also on the table, we'll have copies of UVC MAGAZINE: The Urban Voice of Comics. I'm doing color-re-ups of the Boogaloo strips in the mag every issue! I think we're up to the 4th strip so far. (That reminds me, I have to turn work in to the editor!)

*ALSO! (again) The latest issue of DRAW! magazine came out, where I interviewed one of my idols, Steve Purcell of Sam&Max fame. We'll have copies of that to cop, so come talk to me about it or make me feel good and let me sign your copy. I'll be set up next to my road-dog Mike Manley, so you KNOW he'll have his Draw!s on hand. [||]

* We are going to be in the KIDS LOVE COMICS! Pavillion, so bring your seeds over and be treated to kid-friendly comics and I promise not to swear in front of your kids.

TWO: I have a Twitter account. See my drops at the top of the blog here, and on my myspace page. Come Follow Me!

THREE: What I'm reading: Freakanomics. What I'm playing: PuzzleQuest on the DS.

FOUR: What I'm waiting on: Graduation, Kanye West.

FIVE: Where I'm at next: SPX in October. But that's another post entirely.

SNOW DAY SNOW DAY!

Hey ya'll. Happy Valentine's Day and all that. Remember - if your S/O is one of those types that for some reason NEEDS this day to be about them, don't screw it up - that's Not a Good Look.

Following that vein - here's my latest stab at bag art - just for the occasion! Just imagine I'm giving this to you, full of candy and stuff. Make the appropriate gutteral sounds that work for you.

Much love to my man Bill Morton on this one - I think I channeled the power of MORTCO.

And I would be remiss if I didn't post one of my favorite wintry illustrations on a day like today. Reminds me about the childhood dangers of the 'hood in winter. Ain't nobody smiling!


Take it easy. One more week to Comic-Con in Noo Yawk, baby!

That's A Good Look, Bro.

So I switched up the blog, and even though it's a little dotty - it's on-point. It feels good, so that's what's up.

Look to the left for more linkage and a snapshot on what I'm up to.

And that's word.