Jetpack Piggy Jam Comic

I participate in a local drawing group which is awesome. We meet regularly, we discuss our projects, we show off artwork, and we draw comics as a group. The group consists of four members: Jeremy Johnson, Travis Eck, Jeff Welborn and me. Up until recently, we named our group 4 After 5. At a recent meeting, we discussed the possibility of adding more members, so we decided a name change was in order.

After much discussion and brainstorming, I proud to announce we've settled on a new name:
The Drawing Board.

Here's one of our latest jam comics. This is how the jam comics work. One person draws the first panel. Then, someone else draws the next panel. And so on. The panels were drawn by (in this order): Travis Eck, Jeff Welborn, Jeremy Johnson and, last but not least, me.

Captain America Auditions

To commemorate the release of The Avengers in theaters, I present to you: the never-before-seen Captain America Auditions. Art by Travis Eck.

The Complete Alien Abduction Jam

Based on actual events.

Alien Abduction Jam Part 8

Here's the final panel of the Alien Abduction jam comic. Today's panel is by Jeremy Johnson.

Alien Abduction Jam Part 7

Here's panel seven of the Alien Abduction jam comic. Today's panel is by Jeff Welborn.

Alien Abduction Jam Part 6

Here's panel six of the Alien Abduction jam comic. Today's panel is by me.

Alien Abduction Jam Part 5

Here is panel five of the Alien Abduction jam comic. Today's panel is by Travis Eck.

Alien Abduction Jam Part 4

Here is panel four of the Alien Abduction jam comic. Today's panel is by Jeremy Johnson.

Alien Abduction Jam Part 3

Here is panel three of the Alien Abduction jam comic. Today's panel is by Jeff Welborn.

Alien Abduction Jam Part 2

Here is panel two of the Alien Abduction jam comic. Today's panel is by me.

I chose to switch things up by illustrating the alien's dialogue rather than writing the dialogue. Whenever I'm working on a jam comic, I always like to incorporate off the wall ideas. The goal is to create a creative challenge for the next artist who has to draw the following panel. It's fun stuff.

Alien Abduction Jam Part 1

Here's another jam comic created by Jeremy Johnson, Jeff Welborn, Travis Eck and me. I'll be posting a panel per day. Today's panel is by Travis Eck.

4After5: Deck These Halls

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Artwork hanging on the walls.

This November 25 - December 18, local art collective 4AFTER5 is proud to present “Deck These Halls” as a part of Christmas in Roseland 2011. The American Rose Center's Welcome Center will showcase holiday-themed work of cartoonists Brad Campbell,Travis Eck, Jeremy Johnson and Jeff Welborn throughout the Christmas season.

Take a break from the holiday rush and take a relaxing stroll through Christmas in Roseland. Don't forget to stop by Welcome Center and check out our holiday art. Above is a sample of one of my Roofus Christmas strips.

4After5:Deck These Halls

Baby, it's cold outside. So come in from the cold and check out the new 4After5 exhibit! 

This November 25 - December 18, local art collective 4AFTER5 is proud to present “Deck These Halls” as a part of Christmas in Roseland 2011. The American Rose Center's Welcome Center will showcase holiday-themed work of cartoonists Brad Campbell,Travis Eck, Jeremy Johnson and Jeff Welborn throughout the Christmas season.

Take a break from the holiday rush and take a relaxing stroll through Christmas in Roseland. Don't forget to stop by Welcome Center and check out our holiday art. Above is a sample of one of my Roofus Christmas strips.

4After5: Deck These Halls

Deck These Halls With Cartoon Artwork, Fa-La-La-La-Laaaa, La La La Laaaaaaaa!

This November 25 - December 18, local art collective 4AFTER5 is proud to present “Deck These Halls” as a part of Christmas in Roseland 2011. The American Rose Center's Welcome Center will showcase holiday-themed work of cartoonists Brad Campbell,Travis Eck, Jeremy Johnson and Jeff Welborn throughout the Christmas season.

Take a break from the holiday rush and take a relaxing stroll through Christmas in Roseland. Don't forget to stop by Welcome Center and check out our holiday art. Above is a sample of one of my Roofus Christmas strips.

4After5: Deck These Halls

It's beginning to look a lot like a 4AFTER5 Christmas. 

This November 25 - December 18, local art collective 4AFTER5 is proud to present “Deck These Halls” as a part of Christmas in Roseland 2011. The American Rose Center's Welcome Center will showcase holiday-themed work of cartoonists Brad Campbell,Travis Eck, Jeremy Johnson and Jeff Welborn throughout the Christmas season.

Take a break from the holiday rush and take a relaxing stroll through Christmas in Roseland. Don't forget to stop by Welcome Center and check out our holiday art. Above is a sample of one of my Roofus Christmas strips.

4After5: Deck These Halls

I'm dreaming of a 4AFTER5 Christmas. And you can too. 


This November 25 - December 18, local art collective 4AFTER5 is proud to present “Deck These Halls” as a part of Christmas in Roseland 2011. The American Rose Center's Welcome Center will showcase holiday-themed work of cartoonists Brad Campbell,Travis Eck, Jeremy Johnson and Jeff Welborn throughout the Christmas season.

Take a break from the holiday rush and take a relaxing stroll through Christmas in Roseland. Don't forget to stop by Welcome Center and check out our holiday art. Above is a sample of one of my Roofus Christmas strips.

Jonas Bot 3000

I recently finished another crafty project. My friend and fellow 4 After 5 crew member, Travis Eck and his loving wife had a bouncing baby boy. They were decorating their son's room with a Robot theme. So they asked me, Jeremy Johnson and Jeff Welborn to design a toy robot for the baby room. Over a year later, I finally finished this project (pardon my haste, Trav). Regardless, I think it turned out swell.

I started with a Color Blanks vinyl figure. Then I spray painted the figure with primer and let it dry. Once dry, I spray painted the figure with some Hammered Metal texture paint.

Once dry, I applied black acrylic paint all over the robot's body. Then, I wiped off the excess black leaving some black in the cracks and crevasses of they metal texture. This process is called antiquing. Then I applied some "Blinkies" for the eyes. When you rotate the eyes, they light up! Finally, I added  a decal for the mouth and some small details with a Sharpie pen.

Eyes turned off

Eyes turned on

So there you have it. Since Travis' son is named Jonas, it only seems fitting to name the robot after his master. Jonas Bot 3000 is fully operational and ready to serve his human overlords.

24 Hour Comic 2011: No Autographs, Please

Here's page 4 of my 24 Hour Comic in which I further discuss the finer points of Dallas Comic Con 2011. Lots of convention attendees line up for hours to meet celebrities and/or artists for a chance to get an autograph. I've never been one of these people. I go to conventions for one thing: collectibles.

However, I do think that Travis' pic of him and Stan Lee is priceless. (No offense, Trav!)

BTW, check out Travis Eck's awesome art blog at sivartblog.blogspot.com.

Creator Commentary: The Walter Koenig joke in the first panel is actually a reference to an inside joke between me and my friend (and fellow convention attendee) John Brizzi. Years ago, we attended one of the Plano, TX conventions and we planned to meet Walter Koenig (Star Trek's Chekov). We just wanted to say hi and shake his hand. When we arrived at his table, we were greeted with a hand-written sign that read, "Due to illness, Mr. Koenig will not be here today." We both chuckled at the sign and went about our business.

Months later at Wizard World Chicago, once again Walter Koenig was a guest. This time, John and I got to meet him and he was very nice. We shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. Then, John said, "We missed you in Plano a few months back. They said you were ill."

That's when Chekov got pissed. "ILL? I WAS NOT ILL! They wouldn't pay me so I left," growled Koenig. John and I thought it was hilarious and we still joke about it to this day. It was definitely one of those "had-to-be-there" moments. I'm glad I had the opportunity to immortalize that comic convention memory here in this journal comic.