Strange Tales II Process

Comics Alliance has a great sampling of process art from a variety of comics (including some from my story) from Strange Tales II (above Ivan Brunetti, below Farel Dalrymple).

The collection (the cover designs for which I posted here) comes out this week, so have at it.

MoCCA 2011

In a last minute addition to increasingly nutty travel plans, I'll be attending this year's MoCCA Festival in New York, April 9th and 10th. I'll be signing at Fantagraphics table and will occasionally be at Random House's, where rumor has it some conglomeration of pages/print-outs resembling my new book will be found. More exact signing times, etc. will be posted when I have them.

Henson of Id

Jim Henson and company's 1969 interpretation of The Wizard of Id (a cartoon which, writing aside, I've always loved for the line quality) in puppet form. Wow.

(via Mike Lynch)

Through Thursday: Sale on the Store

I've been feeling bad about the lack of updates here on the old blog, so to once again extend a sort of olive branch, I'm running a sale through the end of Thursday on everything on the Forlorn Funnies Store. Same as last time, it's 20% off everything. That includes original art... And that includes the cover art for my next book, Life with Mr. Dangerous. That art will be taken down after Thursday, sale or no sale. So if you're interested in getting it and getting 20% off, have at it. After that it, it will be sent to a gallery, and the price will inevitably be higher.

To get 20% off of your entire order, just enter discount code FFMAR24.

And as for updates... well... someday soon I'll be talking about all these things in the works. Someday.

Game Over 4 Art, For Sale Online

If you missed the opening for Game Over 4 and can't make it to the gallery, you can still purchase the artwork from the show. My pieces from the show: Untitled (presenting a conundrum for our beloved spheroid hero Pac-Man) and Hello, Inky (pictured above) are available for... however long they're available. There's a mound of geekery available, so peruse the whole gallery to decide how to adorn your walls appropriately.

C2E2, This Saturday

Today marks the beginning of C2E2 in Chicago and I'll be joining in the frenzy, albeit briefly.

While I'll be walking around today looking around at old toys and back issues of "Jimmy Olsen" and "Dotty Dripple and Taffy," I'll be sitting in one place taking your complaints and signing your dog from 2 to 4 tomorrow. I'll be housed by the reputable people of Chicago Comics, booth 526 (according to the current floor plan). Stop by, say hello, and demand that I stop using that high pitched voice when I talk with your dog.

Why did you bring so many dogs anyway?

Once More, from The VP

To indulge in one more bit of moral perspective, I thought this short but extremely heartfelt screed from Joe Biden was perfect. Biden's not known to prevaricate, and this time it served him – and the cause of the workers – for the better.

400 and Millions

To be overtly political for a moment (though I think it's more about morality and ethics than politics): Michael Moore gave a speech that I think is worth listening to. The truths he's saying here have been said by many others many times over, but hearing it told to a crowd in Wisconsin is especially meaningful.

Also worth viewing, with a few more laugh lines: Mr. Stewart over on The Daily Show has some well-chosen words about the inverted world of riches and work in an increasingly disparate class system in America.

More on So-So

Over at Chronicle Books' Blog there's a brief interview with me and a few more pictures of the upcoming collection So-So Heroes. Also: I mention Don Knotts and Airwolf, as is only correct and good to do.

Color Proofs Galore

A heap of color proofs are littered on my side table right now from the upcoming Life with Mr. Dangerous (from Random House/Villard) and So-So Heroes (from Chronicle). Have a gander. One of the proofs from Life with Mr. Dangerous in this shot is 1 of around 30 pages of comics that never appeared in Mome or anywhere else. Needless to say, those will get extra attention in the proofing stage.

And peeking around the corners are a few of the studio's scattered toys, one from Meltdown (though that one was purchased in Chicago at Quimby's), one from Friends with You, and a little Snoopy head that if you rotate its ear shows you different single panel Peanuts cartoons through a window in the back of his skull. Why that last one was ever produced, I don't know, but it's one of my favorites.

A Poster, Sampson Style

How do you do a poster? This is how you do a poster.

From the unending crotch kicking that is Johnny Sampson.

Game Over 4

On Friday, Giant Robot San Francisco will open the doors on Game Over 4, a show inspired by video games and their various pixelated worlds. I contributed last year, and am honored to be included again this year.

This time around I had Pac-Man on the brain, due in no small part to google's somewhat recent distraction. And I loved the Pac-Man cartoon. And I had... the record? Yes, I had a Pac-Man 45. And a Sesame Street disco album. That and murder mysteries went a long way toward making me whatever I am today.

I won't be able to make it to the opening, but I'm sure it will be an amazing gathering of arcade and basement born enthusiasm. Here's the skinny:

Game Over IV at GRSF, March 4, 2011 - March 30, 2011
Reception: Friday, March 4, 6:30 pm - 10:00 pm
618 Shrader Street San Francisco, CA 94117

Artists include swell people like Esao Andrews, Jeffrey Brown, Farel Dalrymple, Little Friends of Printmaking, Jeremy Tinder and a heap more.

Our Secret Mayor

A digital high-five is deserved to my friend Dan Sinker of Punk Planet, Cell Stories and now Twitter fame, for the revelation that he is none other than Pretend Rahm Emanuel. Dan has come out of tweeting anonymity to admit he's the man behind the profanity-laiden and oft-followed@MayorEmanuel account: he spoke with The Atlantic, and from the looks of a bazillion re-posts and following stories, everyone else was listening.

Way to go, Dan. Way to fucking go.