Nothing to Sneeze At

I was born with asthma and I've always had allergy problems. It's no surprise that I would work these problems into my comics. This could be the earliest example of me incorporating personal experience into my comics. This was done subconsciously not intentionally (I was only 11 for pete's sake).

Slick And Pals Week

It's time to take a trip back in time to 1986. Ronald Reagan was president. People were looking to the sky to spot Haley's Comet. And I was drawing comics. Slick comics. I've redrawn these using my Wacom tablet. I attempted to trace these as accurately as possible to retain the horrible line quality of the original artwork. I also hand lettered these. Finally, I added a splash of color just for fun. Enjoy these Slick And Pals comics.

Geek Out

This weekend, I'll be attending the Dallas Comic Con. It's no San Diego Comicon. Hell, it's not even Wizard World, but for this geek, it'll do in a pinch. This show is one of four small comic cons in Richardson, TX. These shows are small but they always have lots of surprises, cool stuff and great deals. Plus, while I'm in Dallas, I plan on visiting Half Price Books. If that's not enough, I'm gonna see a movie at Studio Movie Grill, where you can eat dinner, have a beer and enjoy dessert while you watch a movie on the big screen. It should be a blast.

Schulz's Blue Period

Here's an alternate version of the Peanuts comic book cover that I made for the excellent Covered blog recently. Inspired by Picasso's blue period, I decided to make an all blue version of the cover. I think I might like this version better than the one posted on Covered. Then again, blue IS my favorite color.

Cool Beans Man Episode 7: IN COLOR

It's the latest episode of the one and only Cool Beans Man, a new web comic by Sir Kenny Keil (with coloring by little ol' me). Kenny is a super-talented cartoonist who is very busy these days. He's also spearheading a Kickstarter project to fund the publication of his Tales to Suffice book. Please make a pledge to this worthwhile cause. The great thing is that if you make a pledge and Kenny meets his goal, you get cool stuff like prints, comics, name recognition (no crummy tote bags like they give away on PBS). Plus, he's doing a great new webcomic with Chris P Reilly called Apple Bit Newton, which is absurdly hilarious. Kudos, Kenny.

Guilt Trip

From Slick Funnies Book 1, Vol. 1

Originally created November 23, 1987

Ok. It's a cheesy gag. But it's a CLASSIC cheesy gag.

Wild About Takes

From Slick Funnies Book 1, Vol. 1

Originally created Nov. 23, 1987

As a kid, I watched A LOT of cartoons. (As an adult, I still do.) I loved it when cartoon characters would do a wild take. You know, when their eyes would pop outta their head. Those gags always made me laugh. It's no surprise that I worked those gags into my early comic strips.

City Slickers

From Slick Funnies Book 1, Vol. 1

Originally Created Nov. 23, 1987

Jake always looked a little weird when I drew him in a front view pose. I could never get his hair to look right. I really like Jake's expression in the first panel.

Soda Jerk

From Slick Funnies Book 1, Vol. 1

Originally created Nov. 20, 1987

I've never liked diet sodas. I just can't get used to the bitter aftertaste. A few years ago, Coke made a soda called C2. I liked it, but they discontinued it. Coke Zero tastes good, but I'd rather just drink a good old-fashioned Coca-Cola.

Slick Funnies Week

from Slick Funnies Book 1, Volume 1

Originally created November 16, 1987

This week, I'll be posting some classic Slick Funnies. Remember, if the art in these comics may seem a little crude, keep in mind I was 12 when I drew these.

In this strip, Eek uses his ventriloquism skills to freak out Jake. The "Plop" gag is a rather dated cartoon device that dates back to the early 1900s. It isn't used much anymore, but it is a very effective and humorous way to illustrate the act of fainting. Also, there is a very dated pop culture reference in the first panel. The Coke can is saying "SPRITZ!" That is a reference to the 80s TV commercial for some soda that I forget. If anyone can remember, feel free to comment.

Triskaidekaphobia

Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13. Paraskavedekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th. I have to admit I've always had a slight aversion to the number 13. Today's illustration was done for a magazine article on the subject of the phobia surrounding Friday the 13th. When I drew this, I tried to mimic the style of a 1950s magazine cartoon. The man was drawn by hand with pen and ink. The typography and coloring was done in Photoshop. And to my fellow Triskaidekaphobics out there, take it easy. It's just a number.

Cool Beans Man Episode 6: IN COLOR

It's that time again. Time for some Cool Beans, Man. It's a new web comic by Kenny Keil featuring colors by dumb ol' me. Here's one of Kenny's newest Beans comics. To see the most recent Cool Beans, Man comic, visit the AWESOMENOMICON. While you're there, check out Mr. Keil's comics and artwork. You won't be sorry. Also, be sure to visit his Kickstarter project and make a pledge toward his Giant Sized Tales To Suffice book.

Weird Sketch Wednesdays

Here's an sketch for an unused magazine illustration. This is a caricature of a local guy who ran for mayor in 2006. He was a Christmas tree farmer (which explains why he's holding a Christmas tree). It turns out that breeding pine trees doesn't make you a good candidate for mayor. He lost big time. I like that he pinned a campaign button on the tree that he's holding. This guy reminded me of a certain Spider-Man villian which led to my second sketch.

I'm All Atwitter

These days, it's all about social media. I think sites like Facebook is great, but it's only a matter of time before we all move on to the next latest-and-greatest thing. Remember MySpace? NO ONE uses MySpace anymore. We abandoned it. Why? It's essentially the same as Facebook. MySpace is like the once popular nightclub that no one goes to anymore. All the hep cats are at this new joint called Facebook. 

I do like Twitter quite a bit. I like the concept of micro-blogging. Sometimes you feel like commenting on a topic or situation in under 140 characters and Twitter gives you that opportunity. I you like my artwork look me up on Facebook. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @roofus2099.

This magazine illustration was for an article about social networking (duh). It was drawn in Photoshop using my Wacom tablet.

August: A Holiday Wasteland

Poor August. November has Thanksgiving. December gets Christmas AND New Year's Eve. October has Halloween. March and April get to cohost Easter. Does August get a reason to celebrate? Nope. Poor August. One day, I was having this exact conversation with Mike Whitehead, editor of SB Magazine. He liked the idea so much it inspired him to write an entire column about it. This is the illustration that I did for that column. The illustration depicts Easter and Christmas (represented by the bunny and St. Nick) giving the month of August the cold shoulder (due to its lack of holidays). I think the second sketch has a very distinct School House Rock vibe going on. Notice the Easter Egg buttons on the bunny's vest.

Iron Man's Hall of Armor Rejects

Here it is: our Iron Man jam comic. Much like all of our jam comics, I think our cartooning group did a great job. This jam comic was drawn by four artists: panel one is by Travis Eck. Panel two is by Jeremy Johnson. Panel three is me. Panel four is by Jeff Welborn. The best panel / joke here is the incredibly twisted final panel by Jeff. I mean, it's just SO WRONG it's hilarious. I really enjoy making these jam comics. It's such a challenge to improvise an idea / drawing not to mention collaborate with three other artists at the same time. It's fun.

Jam Comic Art by Jeremy Johnson

Here's the fourth and final panel of the jam comic. This great drawing was created by the master of Toomasooba himself, Jeremy Johnson. What's Toomasooba you say? Find out more here. Tune in tomorrow to read the finished jam comic complete with dialogue that you will hopefully find humorous.

Jam Comic Art by Travis Eck

Here's part 3 of the jam comic. Today's panel is brought to you by the talented Travis Eck. I slightly modified Travis' art so it wouldn't give away the joke. Tune in on Friday to see Travis' complete artwork along with the final version of this jam comic. Travis has been working on a new comic book featuring his original character, Hue. Make sure you bookmark his new Hue website for upcoming Hue news.

Jam Comic Art by Jeff Welborn

Here's part two of the latest jam comic. Today's twisted panel is drawn by the incredibly talented Jeff Welborn.

Jam Comic Art by Brad Campbell

OK. Recently, our cartooning group drew a couple of jam comics. Last week, I posted our BP Oil Jam. This week, I'll be posting the second jam comic that we recently drew. Once again, I'll be posting a panel each day. Tune in on Friday for the final comic. Today's panel is by dumb ol' me.

I'm Covered

Original Cover

My Cover

I am very happy to announce my artwork has been featured on the Covered blog. For those not in the know, Covered is a great blog that features various comic book covers re-interpreted by different artists. The artists that are featured on the site range from industry professionals to semi-professional nobodies (i.e. me). Regardless, I'm honored to be featured on this awesome blog.

Enough gushing. I decided to re-interpret a Peanuts comic book cover. Way back when, the comic strip Peanuts was so popular that it got its own comic book series published by Dell Comics. I drew this cover on my Wacom tablet in Photoshop. I tried to work very fast and loose. I think that loose energy is prevalent in the final drawing. My cover is a loving homage to my favorite comic strip, Peanuts, by my hero, Charles Schulz. You can see my cover along with reader feedback on the Covered blog here.