Picture Book Marathon 2011 - Day 5

Today it's an idea for comics.  It's not strictly a picture book but it is a story for kids.  In a book.  With pictures.  So, yeah.

This story is called "A Problem Involving a Megalomaniacal* Mustache, a Tommy Pugmire Tale."

So let's start with Tommy.

Tommy is smart, funny, a huge dork and generally acts without thinking things through (he's much like me at age 11.)  Tommy has noticed that grownups get to do all the cool stuff, like see scary movies and get tattoos.  So he decides that he wants to be a grownup too.

But Tommy can't figure out how to make anybody believe he's a grownup (the fake ID was a complete bust.)  Then it dawns on him, Facial Hair!  That's the ticket.

So Tommy find this mustache one day.  Where does he find it?  In his cereal box of course.  How did it get there?  That is explained in the actual story and would take much too much room here to explore.

So Tommy slaps that hairy little sucker on his face and starts convincing people that he is actually a grownup.  Things work out pretty well for a while.

But what Tommy Pugmire doesn't know is that the mustache of good fortune is actually an evil mustache.

The evil mustache sends tendrils up Tommy's nose and through his sinuses to wrap around his medulla oblongata.  The 'stache takes over Tommy's body and Tommy is helpless to stop it!  What will happen next?

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I've written it all down and it will eventually get made.  But for right now these sketches will have to do.

What's that you say?  This particular Picture Book idea doesn't seem so slapped together as the others?  That's because I've been working on this one on and off for 2 years now.  Yikes.  Time to get on that.  Just as soon as I finish that e-book I'm working on.

(*see Napoleon or Justin Bieber)

Signs of Things to Come

I don't even want to think about how many years ago I actually started this project or how many times I've started over. But there's good news: this project is fun again. That's exciting.

6th Grade Vocabulary Comics

Last week I visited my wife's 6th grade class to teach them about how comics work.  We talked about juxtaposition and the power of closure and audience participation.  They understood it all pretty well.  Then each kid made their own short comic using their vocabulary words.  (You might notice a lot of repeating words like chameleon and dehydrated.)

I think they did a pretty good job.

Monster Comics

A rough comic I've been working on. I'm going to pretty-fy it up more over the weekend.

A Problem Involving a Megalomaniacal Mustache:  A Tommy Pugmire Story.  

It's a comic book.  It's my BFA final project.  It's finally happening.  This year.  Or I don't graduate.

Also, I finally know what my two main characters look like (more or less.)  Meet Tommy Pugmire and Mr. Narrator.

100 Picture Challenge, Day 14: Silence

A silent comic that still manages to have dialogue.  I make no apologies for the less than tasteful joke; this is how I heard it when I was a kid.

100 Picture Challenge, Day 10: Breathe Again

A bit of comics on this one.  I love comics.  They are much, much work but the payoff is fantastic.  I couldn't have any more fun arting than when I draw comics.  Enjoy.

Bunky is Fully Awesome

This is fun stuff.  I didn't illustrate this; that honor goes to my amiga Michelle Weaver.  I just did the writing.

A word about Bunky.  He is half rabbit and half monkey.  Bunky is a stuffed animal that Michelle had when she was just a wee lass growing up on Long Island.  Bunky moved out west with Michelle and has somehow managed to gain a following of devoted fans.  Joe Olson even made a Bunky fan art.  

Don't ask me how these things happen.  They just do.  Enjoy at your own risk.