Catching my breath

Beach bird. . . a little something in watercolor.

Keeping it brief, it's been a wierd change-of-season for me, as a lot of stuff as happened, and with that also brings about the hope of new things - good things, sometimes bad, but also things that become life-altering.

Not too long ago, my pal Mike Manley and I went down to North Carolina to say goodbye to a friend. That saturday, we all packed up the truck and went to the beach to clear our heads and to enjoy life. I can't say that I've had a lot of perfect days, but that may have been close.

Missing Ringo - sharing stories

It’s been tough trying to whittle down my thoughts to write out something about Mike. I have so many memories and great times in my head, but right now, my head is a huge mess, so I apologize if this doesn’t read that well.

Mike never had the ego of somebody who held his lofty position in the industry, or ever made you feel like you weren’t good enough or high enough on the food chain to breathe his air – he was an amazing, warm, REAL good person whom I feel very blessed to have had the pleasure of calling a friend.

After the news I got Monday morning about his passing away, I’ve run through an amazing range of emotions, and every day since, I’ve woken up and my mind keeps trying to disprove that this is real. I keep reading tributes and these amazing pieces about Ringo, and all of this cements something that I always tried to tell him – hell, all of his friends did – that he had NO idea how much people love and respect him. He was a beautiful person, who loved nature and animals, his friends, art and comics - all that they stood for and what they could be one day.

Out of many, a few things about Mike that we shared were a love of laughter, jokes and stuff that wasn’t comics. I would spend long hours on the phone with Mike talking about the Carolina Panthers’ football team, HBO cable shows or just making stupid voices and making each other crack up.

I know that Mike was down a lot, and sometimes I would just leave a silly message or joke on his machine when he wouldn’t pick up the phone – sometimes I could just feel that he was home, he just wasn’t in the mood to rap. And I was cool with that, but I would still let him know that I was thinking about him, and that he could call me back whenever he got around to it.

The thing the hits me the hardest about Mike’s passing is that we just talked to him – my girlfriend and I – last Saturday, the 11^th, the day before he died. I had been out of the loop with a lot of friends for about a month’s time because of work, and I wanted to spend Saturday procrastinating from cleaning my house, and calling buddies sounded like a great way to while away the afternoon. Mike and I talked for about 90 minutes, and we chatted about everything under the sun. I remember he mentioned that he just got a new SleepNumber Bed, and I said that I hoped he looked better than Lyndsay Wagner does in those commercials! That rolled into a 5 minute laugh-fest of monotone testimonials from Ringo, spoken in a slow teleprompter-style, about the wonders of this miracle device and how he’d never be the same. After I asked him what his SleepNumber was, we then jokingly asked what his cat, Charlie’s was. He shrugged it off and said that Charlie never slept on the bed, and then he laughed and admitted, “Ok, it’s 39”.

Mike was really funny. I don’t think he let on in public how quick with a joke he was because he always seemed to enjoy just listening and soaking in what was around him. Given the chance, he would have me crying with laughter. Now I’m just crying.

I miss you, Ringo.

Mike Wieringo 1963-2007

I know I haven't posted a lot, and I don't expect a lot of people to read this, but I had to put something up.

It came out today that one of my best friends in and out of comics, Mike Wieringo, passed away yesterday. He was 44.

It's really tough to read all the stuff about him all over the internet, but I'm glad - he was as I've always said, one of the sweetest human beings I've ever met, and I am honored and proud to have him as a friend. Nobody could ever say a bad word about him and no one ever will.

That's enough for now.
I'm already missing my buddy. Love you Mike.

WIZAAH WHIRRRR PHILLY

WIZARD WORLD PHILADELPHIA - Phila. Convention Center, June 15-17, 2007

It's that time again, but this time, I'll be back behind the table where I'm supposed to be. But only for 3 days - they can't oppress me!

I'll be down in my hometown, the place where you don't look up - lest you get knocked down, that rough and tumble burg, Philadelphia, PA, for Wizard World Philadelphia.


I'll be in the Artist Alley section, table 1509 (Write that down - because every time I hear somebody say 'Dude, I couldn't find you!' Well here I am.)

I'll be bringing along some stuff from the vault, namely Detective Boogaloo Casefiles, Original Art, Copies of my Philadelphia Cartoonist Society Anthologies, and possibly some Grosse Adventures books, and some surprises! You're just gonna have to come through and find out what they are.

Can't wait to see you! Maybe we'll head out for a steak afterwords.

And yo, don't embarrass me! Remember: "Fries next window"

Back to the Future

What's up Party People!

I've been away for a while - so now that it's the summer grind, I'll try and put more info down on here - especially since I see my soldiers in the street, asking when I'm gonna update. I don't want that kind of pressure, so I'll just keep posting drops here.

Anywho, I have a LOT of stuf to drop, plus a lot of pictures of events past, that I was too busy to even talk about, because I had to go do them. I'm looking at at least a few weeks of getting you up to speed - all 4 of you that check my blog out.

So here's something cool I just saw - Here's the cover to #3 and the last (as far as I know) Grosse Adventures Book that I'll illustrate for Tokyopop. The street date for this I believe is July. . . but I'm not sure. I think before Comic-Con.


Take it easy out in these streets, cousin!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY AGAIN?! WHERE'S THE TIME GO?!

Remember that post from last year? About how cool this event is? HUH?!

Come on, what are you really gonna do today?

Right. You're gonna SAY you're gonna clean the bathroom, but you're just gonna sit on the couch and watch that marathon of O.C.

Why don't you come on out to see me and say Hi, and get some FREE COMICS in the process?

I'm going to be at my fave comic shop of all time, Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark, Delaware today for FCBD and will be representing, doing sketches, and promoting my latest illustration thing, THE GROSSE ADVENTURES, a smelly chapterbook series from Tokyopop.

Come on down and join in the Cinco De Fun ya'll!

Get all the details here. If you don't know what Free Comic Book Day is, go here anyway.

Or here.

Happy Birthday to Me and other madness

Whattup ya'll! Just popping in to give you some linky goodness, then bounce. It's how I'm rolling today.

Today's my birthday, so when we look back on this day in history, at least they can say I blogged. That's gotta count for something right?

Well here's some stuff for you.

In the land of Detective Boogaloo, I updated the site with a lovely birthday card from my pal Mike Wieringo.

In the land of the Fat Wonder Woman Blog, well, I haven't done anything yet, but I will. In a minute. Don't rush me!

In the land of Tokyopop, the ends of the third volume of THE GROSSE ADVENTURES is on my table. That should be done soon-soon.

In the land of other stuff, well . . . other stuff is going on. Can't tell you yet.

Oh yeah! Thanks for you all who came and saw me at the NY Comic Con. Fun was had, and I even had a impromptu signing at the UVC MAGAZINE booth - a new comic magazine that's going to cover the black voice in comics and pop culture. Look for some big news from my camp on them soon.

I'll have more plugs soon, but chew on that for now.

This Weekend: NY COMIC CON!

This weekend (Saturday and Sunday) look for me (All 4 of you) at the New York Comic Con! I'll be floating around bothering my comic pals, posing for photo ops, shaking babies and kissing hands.

Also you can find me at the TOKYOPOP booth on Sunday signing, sketching and that whole deal promoting THE GROSSE ADVENTURES.

Come give your man Dap!

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!

Get Grosse!

Yo.

So here's the little book I've been working on - THE GROSSE ADVENTURES VOL 2: Stinky and Stan Blast Off! for Tokyopop.

Tokyopop has a 'young readers' line of chapter books - well, I think it may just be this book and AGENT BOO. Anyway, if you have kids in 3rd-4th grade, get them this.

The first book was illustrated by my main man of height and importance, Mike Norton, and I'm rolling in with 2 and (on my desk now) #3. Props due to Mike, who always looks out like a Eagle Scout on his Paper Route.

Oh yeah - the main hook of the books is about farting. Lots of it.

Go cop it at your local bookstore or amazon. Good luck finding this at your comics shop.

APPEARANCE NOTE: I'll be freezing my nahmean's off at NYC Comic Con at the end of the month promoting the book, so you should be able to see me at the TPop booth getting ignored as soon as people realize I'm not the MBQ Guy*.

* Respect to my man Felipe. Go Buy MBQ! It's dope!

Grosse Art!

A quickie then I'm out - Afternoon Delight!

One of my favorite illos from the book I just worked on from pencils to tones.

camphone test

just a little moblog test. Carry on. . .

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.

Now Ask Yourself Homeboy, WHY IS THAT?!

So what's good, everybody?



Happy New Year and all that. Don't eat that, my man - you gotta watch your diet. I see you over there!



I'm over here trying out some new publishing tools. It may help me blog more often. (or not)



Just to give you guys a heads up - you should be able to pick up my latest thing, I've been working on a chapter series for publisher Tokyopop, and the new book that just came out, THE GROSSE ADVENTURES VOL 2: STINKY AND STAN BLAST OFF! and the drawin's by me.



The first volume is by your pal and mine and friend of squirrels, Mike Norton. The second is by me.



Since this is a chapterbook for 3rd-4th graders, don't be shocked - this ain't a big eyed blood and swords tale. But there's lots of farting.



Yeah, farting. It's really funny too. I wish they made stuff like this when i was in the 4th grade.



So tell me if you see it out there. Word.



See ya around!





Technorati Tags: Tokyopop, Grosse Adventures

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In Philly tonight? 11/10? OH WORD?! Come see me!

Come see me and other philly cats on the wall!

PHILADELPHIA CARTOONIST SOCIETY MEGA ART SHOW
AND BOOK RELEASE PARTY AT SOPHI GALLERY - NOVEMBER 10,
2006

This show of various artworks is the culmination of a
year's work put forth by the Philadelphia Cartoonist
Society. "Will Draw For Love" is both the namesake of
this eclectic collection of works and the title of the
PCS's sophomore publishing effort. The exhibit will
feature works from more than a dozen of the areas best
cartoonists, with styles ranging from cartoons and
comics to graffiti and fine art. The group consists of
local artists interested in seeing their work
published as well as lending a hand to help local
charities.

Being a grassroots, blue-collar organization, the
Philadelphia Cartoonist Society will have these works
priced to sell. Everything from works on canvas to
works on cardboard will be on display. Along with the
art on the walls there will be copies of the PCS Book
1 and 2 as well as solo published efforts from this
group's talented list of members. Furthermore, there
will be holiday cards for sale that were designed
exclusively by PCS members (with some of the card
proceeds benefiting a local children's charity). There
will also be a performance featuring the musical
stylings of Mr. Bob Dix, a longtime PCS member, and an
interactive "jam piece" to commemorate the evening.
All in attendance will be encouraged to participate.
The Philadelphia Cartoonist Society isn't just about
making art and showing it off, it's about helping the
community, reaching out to area artists and rekindling
the creative spirit in everyone.

Show Opening: November 10th from 7pm - 11PM
At Art at Sophi, 13 th and Carpenter Streets

List of artists displaying: Jeffro Kilpatrick,
Christian "Patch"ell, Christine Larsen, Melissa Lomax,
Kyle Margiotta, Jacob Lambert, Amanda Lewis, Andrew
Hart, Mister G, Marc Damicis, Scott Derby, Jamar
Nicholas, Dave Perillo, Tom Whalen, Trip McKeogh, Bob
Dix and Kristy.

www.artatsophi.com

ABOUT THE PHILADELPHIA CARTOONIST SOCIETY

The Philadelphia Cartoonist Society (PCS) is a local,
grass-roots group of artists established in 1997.
Their purpose is to keep inspiration for cartooning
flowing between local artists. They do this by
promoting, sharing employment opportunities, and
offering support and advice for local cartoonists.
Philadelphia Cartoonist Society members love to
barbeque and work on group projects. They also love
to help local charities.
>>

Word. Come through and do that damned thing. I think it's free!

Pac Man FEVER!

click on the image for BIGGERIZING!

Just wanted to show a series of kraft-paper bag art I put together. You've seen my other bag-pieces, here's some new ish. I took the 5 images of Pac and the ghosts and butted them together.

I'm thinking about making a glossy color print of this soon, so. . .we'll see. What do you think?

More Interesting than Professional Wrestling. . .

I'm still around - just busy as all get-out. Here's a zombie for you to look at. I did it on a post-it. Thus, the telling name.

If you're up in Philly tonight. . . 9/16/06

Hey guys -

I'm in a gallery show here in downtown (Center City) Philly for the month, at 2011 Chestnut St. It's a gallery called the ARTAROUND.

It's a group show focusing on comic book creators. This wil be my fourth showing in a gallery, and probably my highest profile to date.

If you're not doing anything Saturday night, stop by for the Artists' reception. It's from 6-9pm, and I'll be there meeting and greeting (and hopefully selling my work off the wall).

Thanks.

Maybe I'll see ya!

See Jdot in Bmore OK? LOLWTFTW

What's up ya'll!

I will be a guest at the Baltimore Comic Con this weekend, held at the (wait for it) Baltimore Convention Center.

In Baltimore.

Maryland.

I will be signing stuff, doing sketches, and being jovial. Stop by and say 'whattup'. I may even give you dap.

I will only be attending Saturday, so if you see a chalk outline at my chair on sunday, I went home, I wasn't killed.

But you never know. I mean... hello. Baltimore.

This is my new "THE!" show. If you live on the east coast, you doing yourself a disservice if you don't come through. EVERYBODY and their mama's gonna be there.

GO SEE THE SITE NOW! I WASN'T LYING!

AYO

Just doing a test with some new program from Google.

I had a very thoughtful blog post that I tried to drop yesterday, but Firefox crashed. That's too bad, now you'll never see it.

Maybe I'll try again, but yunno - it won't be the same.

Maybe we need to see other people. Yeah.  

Diary of a Hot, Mad Cartoonist

WHATTUP WHATTUP. Dap and Bearhugs to my people/s.

Hear ye:

I have come to the conclusion that I have too many internetty outlets. Which sounds great on paper to the guy on the street who would find it 'neat' to be in the connection of things, I have just spread myself a little too thin. For now, in ONE PLACE FOR THE FIRST TIME ONLY, I will list ALL of my internet portals.

1) This Blog.

2) The JNN (JAMAR NICHOLAS NETWORK)

3) My OLD AS DIRT LiveJournal Account.

4) MySpace.

5) I even have a mailinglist!

6) The Fat Wonder Woman Blog.

7) Sweatshop Press, the original flavor. (Not 'Flava' - come on, it's 2006.)

8) Detective Boogaloo Dot Com.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a place or two, [OH YEAH! I had a friendster account, but ... cough] but I guess when you line it all up - yeah, that's a lot of updating. S0 when juggling all of these things, SOMETHINGS' not gonna get posted to. Thus, this blog going for days or more without an update. So I'll leave it up to you - what would you like to see me put here? LJamal gave me a complex when I put up something that wasn't art-related, so I'll put it out there:

Should I:

1) Post whatever I feel like, like the early posts, such as Jamar stories or 'outlooks on life'

2) JUST my art. That's it. Just sketches and stuff like that.

3) Hip-Hoppery: More YouTube goodness, fake gold chains, etc.

Let me know what you're into, and it'll give me a direction to go towards.

OH! Oh snap!

My man DT Washington, a brother I knew from WAY BACK in the wayback machine, with Waylon Jennings and Marlon and Damon Wayans, sky sky skypaged me and gave me some nice words about my work and did SOME HOT BOOGALOO SKETCHWORK.

Man, it's the greatest feeling when people like something you created so much, they'd put their time into drawing.

Thanks man! Go check out his blog, and we'll Keep Getting Up.

5000.

Go check out Ringos' blog

My man Mike Wieringo just dropped the nicest words about me (AND A COOL SKETCH) over at his blog today. Go check it out. He's the bestest!

DETECTIVE BOOGALOO DOT COM

We're LIVE, baby!

Man, I'm real proud of this site, and I hope you all enjoy what I got for you down the line - it's gonna be a wild ride, young nephew!

http://www.detectiveboogaloo.com

Let me know what you think!

Just a quick hit. . .

Yo.

Just to let you know, I've been a busy bee lately. Here's some quick hits for you to keep in mind.

NEW BLOG! I know, I have no sense. Go peep the BBWW: Fat Wonder Woman Blog where I post scans of my collection of what it sounds-like.

DETECTIVE BOOGALOO LAUNCHES SOON! Man, IT'S ALMOST JULY! . . .

I've been cleared for landing! I'll be a featured guest at the Baltimore Comic Con in September, so buy your tickets! Don't front! And by the time that comes around, I'll have crazy stuff for you to blow your cash on. And what better than your pal Jamar?

And here's a little somethin' to take you into the weekend. . .

Rich Watson Gets Me.

I've roundaboutly known Rich Watson since the beginning of my story in the comics 'industry', which would start in 1997 or so. I bought one of Riches' mini comics, CELEBRITY, at my first SPX and loved it. I also dug that here was another black dood, out here trying to do this comics thing. I later went on to find out there's a lot more of us in the trenches, and that's always good, not for me, but for the industry - having different outlooks and voices opens the world up to new ideas.

Speaking of such, Rich has a very cool blog called GLYPHS, where he writes about African Americans and other people of color in the entertainment (comics mostly) world. He did a review of Detective Boogaloo a year or so ago, and I think he may be the first person to legit GET Boogaloo and write about it on the internets:

". . .All of this is meant to be buildup for me explaining why I like Jamar Nicholas’ strip Detective Boogaloo. It’s an original concept, to begin with – a hip-hop Columbo, basically. But it’s also evocative of what made old-school hip hop fun, within the context of a cops-and-robbers story. Rappers old and new love boasting of their prowess on the mic, to the point where they make themselves at times seem like superheroes, so it’s no big surprise that Boogaloo and his nemesis Ice Tre have superpowers. The art is obviously heavily influenced by graffiti art, an underestimated yet integral component of the hip hop movement back in its nascent period, and I especially love seeing the clothing styles, old and new, represented in the strip (albeit with slightly altered brand names). And while there is a tongue-in-cheek element to the writing, it is impossible to not recognize the love for hip hop – true hip hop, not the artificial kind manufactured by Madison Avenue and MTV and Hollywood and corporate radio – within it as well."

You're good people, man. Go visit his blog and show him love. Also, here's the rest of that blog entry here-just scroll down, cousin.

HOW IS IT TWO WEEKS LATER?

Shee, I live in a time tunnel.

Here's some sketches: A random marker comp on the back of a art supply store bag, and a Boogaloo study, getting those oldschool macked out poses back down.

Im case you didn't know why the doods used to pose in such stiff gestures, you were trying to emulate a grafitti character come to life, thus the freezeframe poses like the B-BOY STANCE and others. Cats still mug for the cameras the same (kinda) but now insteada the peace sign, doods throw up their affiliations.

There's my hip hop moment for the day.

DETECTIVE BOOGALOO DOT COM IS UP

It's taken a long time, but it's finally almost here.

Detective Boogaloo.com is up, and will unlock next month. Please join me on what I hope will be a great, great adventure.

Go lookit the frontpage, and bookmark it. AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS! I need to get my blowup on so I can live like Elmer J. Fudd, Millionaire.

www.detectiveboogaloo.com

LINKAGE: Jim Borgman Blog

Just want to get the word out that ultra-awesome cartoonist Jim Borgman has a blog and it's really worth sinking your teeth into if you're a cartoonist, process junkie or just a fan of his work. Jim is the workhorse who produces editorial cartoons for the Cincinatti Enquirer and also co-creates ZITS, in your funny pages every day.

You may recall I interviewed him in DRAW! Magazine a few issues ago, and I think it may have been the smoothest conversation I've had for the magazine. We chatted like teenaged girls for a long time, and I don't have enough words to explain how sincere and humble Jim is.

I hope I don't get slammed for posting these, but that's the internets for you. Go read!

I'll be back soon with a recap of Wizard World, the show I won't set up for, that's in my own city.

See? NOW I Gotsta Cut'cha.

Another old spot illustration for a now-dead magazine. Hope that's not a trend! Anyway, can't talk for long, it's crazy busy over here in the land of rainbows and talking mailboxes. Gotta go. Leave me some comments, and maybe I'll see you at WW Philly this weekend! Open Neck No Respect!

DITC: DJ Clueless and the perils of Freelancing

Here's some old stuff I did for a music magazine called... um... man, I don't remember what it was called. [Oh yeah, DJ MIXED Magazine. Sez so in my files] All I DO remember is this:

1) I never saw the issue of the magazine when it came out

2) It took them FOREVER + 1 day to pay me.

After I threatened to sic my 'legal representation' on them, they finally coughed up my check. Needless to say I never did more work for them, but thems, unfortunately, are the breaks. It stinks when you do good, QUICK work for clients, then they get all new up on you and forget to pay YOU! The light bill ain't gonna pay itself. I DO remember drawing this on Christmas Eve and Day, because the client NEEDED NEEDED NEEDED IT quickfast. Freelancers don't get vacations, my man. Remember that.

In any event, this was a wordless comic showing our hero going to the music seminar, trying to break into the world of professional (club and turntablism) DJs, and meeting DJ CARL COX, a pretty big fish in the DJ world.

Some of it I thought was funny - most of it has 'huh' moments from the clients script for it, and I was too young to try to help him figure out how to make it flow better. I did what I could and got out of there.

Also at the end here, I added the 'sleeping on the beach' panels from 1 page, as I took them after I did them all and digitally rearranged them. I always liked them. So if you see something repeated, that's why.

YO! STEAK WIZ WITH*

* Translated into how you're supposed to order a Cheesesteak with Cheese Wiz and Onions in a fine south philly establishment.

Steak = The sandwich you want.

Wiz = Cheese Wiz. Replace 'Wiz' with 'Provolone' if you prefer.

With, or better said 'Wit' = Onions. WITH onions, or Wit'out is NO onions. Come on, you're almost there!

This image is suspect. I believe it was shot at a reputable establishment, but the photographer must be from out of town. no one eats them from the side like that.

As a philadelphian, for what it's worth, an authentic one is supposed to be ordered from under a yellow light, from a window you walk up to. Your local Hardee's or SubWay does NOT make Philly Cheesesteaks. Don't freaking kid yourself.

World's Finest (Like Supes and Bats up here) can be found at these shows. You gotta love 'em though. And it's not that bad. Philly doesn't crawl with the costumed types because they'd be fighting FOR REAL on the Orange Line trying to get to the show in one piece. That's how we do in the 2-1-5.

OH! Also, Wiz World Philly is what me and my people call the Wizard World show that'll be in town next weekend, where you shall see yours truly. I won't be set up, but as usual, if you see me, and want a sketch, I'll do one for you by bogarting someone elses table and sitting right on their girl to do it. I'm just that nice.

Some dood made a song about cheesesteaks. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. And just in case you wanted to know, go to Tony Lukes. Pat & Geno's is for the drunk and desperate.

And don't ever forget - you order fries from the next window, Not here.

Took a coffee break . . .

Here's an old freelance gig - a spot illustration for a magazine long dead now. The colored version of this resides on mt also long dead external hard drive, may it rest in pieces.

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY RAWKS!

Ayo, kid - FCBD was TEH AWESOME! I met lots of new friends and fans, and my pals over at Captain Blue Hen do a great job running an event and making the artists feel like gold.

Doing free sketches for the kids is the best part of being able to use this 'ability' that I've worked on - seeing a kid's eyes light up as they watch your magic trick - taking a piece of blank paper and making something happen out of the blue makes it all worth it (See the figure above, who was going insane over the Scarecrow I drew for him).

The kids are definately what fuels me at things like this - it's such a polar opposite of drawing for some collector who just wants to see if you're worth making an ebay auction out of. You can see it in their eyes - they don't care about the magic, it's a commodity, and that sucks. Being at this comic shop last Saturday make me wish that the industry wasn't so bass ackwards.

In any event, more bloggy goodness can be found on my pal Mike Manley's blog and my newer pal and Mike's assistant Bonaia Rosado, who's doing her own thing. (She just had an issue of TMNT just drop, putting tones down over my pal Scott Cohn's art.)

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! (Saturday the 6th)

So, for all of you out there on the internets, this Saturday, I'll be taking a part in FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, doing sketches and signing and all that silliness at my favorite comic shop in the whole wide world*Captain Blue Hen Comics** in majestic Newark, Delaware.

If you don't know already, FCBD is where comic shops attempt to get people back into the hobby by giving out comics to the masses - that are made ESPECIALLY for that day, and are yeah, F-R-E-E.

So, yunno, if you thought this was about running up in a shop and boosting an arm full of low-digit Fantastic Fours, you can't.

Well, you could, but. . . yunno, let's just not go there. And don't do it where I'm at, because I don't wanna have to come at you like that. Just behave yourself.

Anyway, come check me out. I'll be out there with some of my East Coast bretheren, doing things real big.

*They didn't pay me to say that. And it may not be my favorite, but it's in the top 3. But, yunno, I never thought about it that much. But you should go anyway, because it's a great store. DO IT! GET IN THE CHOPPA!

**Go Fighting Blue Hens! It's a UDelaware thing, U Wouldn't Understand.

2 good
2 be
--
4 gotten

Yo. Fell off the horse, but I'll be back next week. In the interim, here's my idea of Iron Man's next suit - Break Room Armor.

Cop DRAW! #12 AWWWYEAH.

So my good pal Mike Manley, the Monsignor of Mighty Meticulous Masterworks, just released to the masses the new DRAW! Magazine! #12 is here, and I was lucky enough to interview a great talent, MIKE HAWTHORNE in this issue.

Mike Hawthorne is on the blow-up, currently doing HYSTERIA over at Image Comics and making shit you'd wanna read. That says alot these days.

Anyway, go find the issue and enjoy! Mikes marks my third interview, and It's always a blast talking shop with my peers.

SWAB: Sip Water and Build

I came up with that phrase a few years ago when I was at San Diego Comic Con with my home-slice Khalid Robertson AKA BIGSTEELO. When everybody else was trying to wild out like Nick Cannon and get all drunk on 8 dollar hotel beers, Khalid asked me what I wanted to do - how I wanted to treat my evening, and I said, "Man, I'm just trying to Sip my water and build".

That's what I'm trying to do right now - just show some of the art from my drawers of sketches that I have, and give a little insight as to what goes through my crowded head. Love to hear what you think, all 10 of you who come here!

Now on with the sketches. I threw in one redline from one of my Tribune strips.

Remember to SWAB every day, young nephew.

WEEKEND POST: Oh, here it is.

Remeber I showed you that piece I did for Kurtz a while ago, here it is in color. Done with Prismacolor markers and then cut and laid out on cardstock.