Alligators Everywhere

My latest comic, Alligators Everywhere, is online over at Act-i-vate.com.  It was written by Chris Miskiewicz and is part of his Animals Everywhere series.

Everywhere is a monthly animal disaster web-comic anthology published exclusively at ACT-I-VATE! where  you wake up to find that millions of a single species have appeared Everywhere around the world at the same moment. What happens and what does it mean when the natural world has gone wrong?  In Alligators Everywhere, a veteran gambler takes us through memory lane of Las Vegas’s heyday just as a plague of alligators wreaks havoc inside of a casino.

This 10 page story marks the first time I've produced a comic entirely on the computer.  I am currently working on a post about this new process (complete with successes and failures), so check back soon!

To read selected press about EVERYWHERE! please visit: MTVGeek, GNYC, Talking with Tim, and i09.com.

Art for Women of Wonder Benefit Auction

Big Barda, Relaxin' Tough

I did this 9"x12" ink wash drawing of Big Barda relaxing on her throne for the annual Women of Wonder Day auction which benefits the SAFE in Hunterdon, NJ.  SAFE is a great organization that helps survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. You can be present for the silent auction this weekend, Oct. 28-29, or you can bid online this week up through Saturday.  Find out more information on how to bid by clicking here for the official website!

Among my favorites up for auction is Nick Abadzis's version of Big Barda.

Trip to Guatemala

I've failed to post a video I made while on vacation in Guatemala this past August.  The trip was fantastic and relaxing with lots of hiking and good food at Lake Atitlan.  I had ample time to put to use the slow motion camera I received for my birthday as well as the new time lapse attachment I got for our digital camera.  I guess I was aiming at creating my very own version of Koyaanisqatsi only this time with the fantastic music of Dan Deacon in place of Philip Glass.  I very much like how it turned out!

Slow Motion Movies

Here are my first two experiments with the Casio Exilim slow motion camera I got for my birthday.  It's a fairly cheap camera and therefore only shoots in standard definition, but it sure is fun to experiment with.

The first video I took at my old studio I shared with Nick Bertozzi.  This was in the middle of the summer while Nick was deep inside drawing, inking, and coloring a 380 page graphic novel.  I like to think I captured some of his madness.  The music is by Daft Punk from the Tron soundtrack.

As you can see the low light can look a little grainy so I was excited to take the camera up to Canada where we spent the weekend with friends out on a lake. This footage was much better. The music is from Sigur Ros's excellent track "Festival".

And last but definitely least, I filmed a super low quality experiment on my iPhone with the free Super 8 app. I downloaded the app the same day that I got a pair of new shoes and so I thought I'd capture my journey from my house to the studio. You can catch a glimpse of Mr. George O'Connor at the end.

Jim Hanley's Signing Photos

Front Row: Simon Fraser, Benjamin Marra, Michel Fiffe, Pedro Camaro, Joe Infurnari, Tim Hamilton, Rachel Freire, Vito Delsante    Back Row: Me, Mike Cavallaro, Kat Roberts, Ulises Farinas, George O'Connor, Kris Mukai, Dean Haspiel, Conor Hughes, Hyendo Park

A big thanks to all the people that came out to Jim Hanley's Universe for the Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies signing.  We sold a lot of books and had a blast doing it!  Check out my photo wrap-up below.

Jim Hanley's store front

Dean knows that Mike has what it takes to sign a bunch of books.

As usual, Fiffe added some color to the event.

Joe attempted to draw a unique Savage Dragon fin in each book.

Apparently no one wanted George O'Connors signature so he started free-stylin'.

It was a solid two hours of autographs and sketches!

Kat doing a custom sketch.

Dean-- no stranger to a Jim Hanley signing.

An odd couple?

A focused Mike Cavallaro...

Happy customers!

Fun for the whole family!

I had a blast!  Thanks everybody!

Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies Signing

Jim Hanley's Universe is hosting a signing in honor of the Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies Collection release.  A huge lineup of cartoonists will be there! It's this Wednesday, July 20th from 6:00 - 8:00pm at Jim Hanley's, 4 W 33rd St (across from the Empire State Building).

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Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies Collection In Stores Now

Cover by the man himself, Erik Larsen

The collected TWISTED SAVAGE DRAGON FUNNIES is in stores now! This oversized, full color, 144 page book collects all 12 short stories released as backups in this past year's Savage Dragon monthly comic plus 8 all new stories by some great indie artists.  iFanboy has a nice little write-up with more info.  USAToday gave it a mention, too!  Stop by your local comic book store to buy it, and if they are sold out, you can purchase it online.  I've made a full roundup of the stories collected and their creators after the jump.

Whales Everywhere

I did a little lettering on the latest edition to Chris Miskiewicz's Everywhere Anthology.  This time it's Whales Everywhere with art by Ashley Quigg.

Claimus Flees Manhattan Concludes

You know me, I can't resist a rearview portrait that breaks the frame!

I previously mentioned that I illustrated the six-part story Claimus Flees Manhattan by Ken Wohlrob.  Now you can read the final three chapters over at Undie Press.

DrawBridge Studio

I've recently moved into a new studio over in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn.  The new studio is called DrawBridge and it takes the space of the former Deep6 Studio.  From left to right the members are:  Simon Fraser, Robin Ha, Tim Hamilton, Yours Truly, and Mike Cavallaro.  Together with our next-door neighbors at Hypothetical Island, you can see daily warmup sketches at the DrawBridge Blog.  (I've posted a sketch or two here in the past.)

MoCCA Wrap-Up

Nick Bertozzi, Nathan Schreiber, and Yours Truly in our old frontier style family photograph.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the MoCCA Festival last weekend.  This year was a great success for me as I either sold out or nearly sold out of all of my new offerings!  Indeed, after selling out of my Clean Streets comics on the first day, I had to leave the Strange Tales Release Party early on Saturday night to go home a make more for Sunday!

My table fully stocked.

Thanks again to Tim Hall for a great partnership on Haberdash Vol. 2!

A book for all ages.

And also a big thank you to Amelia at Sugarbuilt Cookies for her awesome Haberdash-inspired hat cookies.

There were a lot of people with great hats that stopped by the table.

And for all you people that thought the cookies were too beautiful to actually eat:

I believe her actual words were, "Wow, these taste great too."

And I'd be remiss if I didn't share this photo I took on Friday night taken at the First Second party.  The party was on the 10th floor in a room at the pointy end of the Flatiron Building -- a great party with a great view!

Haberdash Vol. 2, Clean Streets, Cookies, Oh My!

This weekend I will be debuting Haberdash Vol. 2 at The Museum of Comics and Cartooning Art (MoCCA) Festival.  Like its predecessor, Volume 2 is an 18 page mini-comic featuring ink drawings of odd people wearing hats paired with a vignette penned by writer Tim Hall.

I will also be selling a watercolor version of my short story, Clean Streets, originally published online by Smith Magazine as part of their Next-door Neighbor series.

Like last year, my table will feature custom designed hat-themed cookies made by Sugarbuilt. The crowd favorite Diving Helmet from last year will be joined by newcomers Crown, Newspaper, Captain's, and Top Hats.

The show goes from 11-6 on Saturday and Sunday at the Lexington Armory in Manhattan.  I'll be at table C12 with Nathan Schreiber and Nick Bertozzi -- stop by and say hi!

MoCCA Fest 2011

I will be at the MoCCA festival again on April 9th and 10th.  Once again, the indie comics expo will be held at the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Ave (between 25th and 26th St) in Manhattan.  Come by and say hi!

Marvel Strange Tales Vol. II Hardcover

Marvel Strange Tales Vol. II issues 1-3 have been collected in a fancy hardcover which is now available at your local comic shop.  You may recall that I colored a few pages of this fantastic anthology.  Read more about that here: Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3.

Claimus Flees Manhattan

Claimus is a bit paranoid.

I've been remiss in posting about some illustrations I did a couple of months ago for the short story Claimus Flees Manhattan written by Ken Wohlrob.  The story is being released in six parts by Undie Press.  Each part has its own illustration, and so far the first three have been made available for your reading pleasure.  Read part one by clicking here.

Above you can see the images for parts 2 and 3 -- Claimus's apartment and his deodorant.  (I was stunned to find that Aromeo didn't already exist as a brand of deodorant!) Claimus was such an entertaining character to illustrate and there were an abundance of images that leapt to mind while reading.  Also check out the great original music Ken wrote to accompany the story.

Forgetting How To Hold A Fork

Last fall, I did the cover and some inside lettering for the new book, Forgetting How to Hold a Fork (and other momentary lapses of reason) recently published by 826NYC.  From the back of the book:

More than just a nod to Pink Floyd and temporary mindlessness, this short story collection - written entirely by New York City high school students - is chock full of fascinating details and keen insight into the lives of an eccentric cast of characters.

From the tale of the murder-inclined schoolteacher to the description of the New Yorker longing to return to her Haitian roots, the stories keep you constantly intrigued.  Are we destined to repeat the mistakes of our parents?  Why does Sylvia pick her nose?  What happened to Jessica after running away from home?  Find out the answers to all these questions and more in this extremely entertaining collection.

Sometimes painful, sometimes ribald, Forgetting How to Hold a Fork is sure to produce tears, laughter, and that odd mixture of sadness and satisfaction that comes only from reaching the end of an exceptional book.

When I first read the short stories, I was surprised at the quality and maturity of the material written by these high school students.  Definitely check it out! The book is available at the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. for a great price of $10.

*Update: You can purchase the book online over at Matt Singer's site.  Matt is a great artist with a diverse range of interests (my kind of artist!) While you are there, check out his Secret Identity Glasses he designed for the Superhero Store.

For more information about 826NYC and the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. check out this NBC Nightly News story (in which I make a brief appearance):

More in this web-only clip:

Haberdash Volume 2 Announcement

After the success of our first collaboration, Tim Hall and I are working on a sequel for this year's MoCCA festival (April 9 & 10).  Stay tuned for more information!

Hypothetical Island and the F Train Sunset

These past few months I've taken over the desk of Jason Little while he's doing a brief stint on Season 2 of The Ugly Americans.  He is part of the Hypothetical Island studio which is made up of 6 artists including George O'Connor, Joe Infurnari, Kat Roberts, and Reilly Brown.  The room is next door to Deep Six located in the Gowanus part of Brooklyn.  The people are great and it's been a fun environment.

Not long ago, I shot this video on my way home from Hypothetical Island.  While the studio is only a 30 minute walk away, it's been brutally cold this winter, so I occasionally take the train.  Incidentally, the part where the train stops is directly above where the studio is.  Other highlights include, the Verrazano Bridge, a jet en route to LaGuardia airport, the Statue of Liberty, and a few of the bazillion churches in the neighborhoods between the studio and my house.  (You may have to go to Vimeo to watch it full screen to see all the details!)

The music is a mix of Lindisfarne I and II by James Blake.

Miskiewicz's "Everywhere" Announced

"Alligators Everywhere" is a 10 page story I've been working on that will appear over on Act-I-Vate.com in 2011.  From the press release:

Starting February 1st, 2011, EVERYWHERE, a monthly web-comic anthology based on a concept by Andrew Wendel and writer Chris Miskiewicz, will be published exclusively at ACT-I-VATE.com, featuring the art of Andrew Wendel, Rick Parker, Seth Kushner, Dennis Calero, Ashley Quigg, Nathan Schreiber, Maurice Fontenot, Thomas Baehr, Kate McElroy, Bobby Timony, Chris Sinderson, Rodney Ramos, and many more…

Each month Miskiewicz has written a new story with a different animal suddenly appearing everywhere (unique madness ensues).  Hopefully from the logo above, you've surmised that my story features alligators taking over Las Vegas.  The series kicks off this Tuesday with "Horses Everywhere" drawn by Andrew Wendel.

Also check out the March edition of Overflow Magazine which will feature Nathan Schreiber's "Hipsters Everywhere!"

Trip to Turkey

Over the holidays, I had a chance to revisit some video I took on our trip to Turkey last August. Much like my video of our trip to New Zealand, the use of the Flip camera lead to a lot of "art shots" (though I managed to bring a small tripod to help make it a bit more stable). Still, it's a meandering montage that moves at a slow pace -- you've been warned! The music is "Happiness" by Riceboy Sleeps and you can see an HD version by clicking on the Vimeo button below.