Short Run, Seattle, Saturday the 3rd!

This is where I'll be all day this coming Saturday! Comics, Zines, Art Books, Animation, Yes! Sean Ford and I will be slinging Secret Acres books and eating snacks like crazy. Come visit us and tell us things.

Floating World Comics, Thursday, November First!

I'll be at Floating World Comics in downtown Portland, Oregon from 6-10 pm on November first! I'm hanging some original art on the wall, drawing in copies of The Understanding Monster Book One, and giving a slide show talk at 8 pm. You can check out more details here. I'll only be in Portland for a day, but I'm going to have fun hanging out in one of the best comic shops ever and hopefully I'll get to see lots of good friends throughout the insanity of the evening. There might be no sleep.

Interview with the Comics Reporter

It was great to get interviewed by Tom Spurgeon on his Comics Reporter site. He asked some thorough technical questions about my process in the last half of the interview that made me have to sit and think for awhile. You can check it out here if you like.

Soil Gallery

 I'm excited about this upcoming art show at Soil Gallery in Seattle. I think it's a great idea for a show. It explores the creative process of 20 artists who will all be at Short Run. It'll feature doodles on scrap paper, brainstorm drawings, and sketches alongside finished pieces. It should be pretty interesting! I won't make it to the November first opening because I'll be doing a book release event at Floating World that night in Portland, but I'm planning on checking it out the following day when I take the bus up with some good friends.

 Here's a ripped out page from a random sketchpad that's in the show. It's probably one of the loosest drawings I've done that I'm actually still happy with. The bird of excitement has infiltrated the palace of boredom!

Here's another doodle from the show. I have so many crazy piles of fast little drawings like this lying around. It was fun to have an excuse to dig through a few.

hard copies

I finally have some of my own copies of The Understanding Monster, book one! As soon as I have time, I'll be putting signed copies up for sale on my Etsy shop. I'll also be packing as many as I can in a suitcase next week and bringing them to Seattle for ShortRun on Saturday the 3rd!

run through, kick, throw into the air, rake in to piles, jump in

Gentleman Werewolf for sale

I just now put this portrait of a Gentleman Werewolf up for sale on my Etsy Shop. I've been running behind on keeping my shop well stocked, but I'm planning on having plenty of new prints, books, and originals up in time for the holidays. Until then though, we have this here fine fellow who's looking for a good home. He's good with kids and kind to animals.

Mountain Sage Acupuncture

My Wife is having the grand opening of her new Acupuncture clinic today from 3pm-5pm at  the Warehouse Mall at 725 W alder street, suite 1 in Missoula. It's been a busy time! It's a beautiful space and I'm super excited for her. Plus, it's just a few blocks from my studio, so it's been easy to pass our little guy back and forth. I made some hand drawn signs for her clinic like this little one pictured plus a giant one for the waiting room.

Page 45 review

Stephen L. Holland at Page 45 wrote a really thoughtful review of The Understanding Monster Book One. It's been kind of strange and wonderful to hear other people's takes on this book. Making it was such a bizarre and personal process, I was actually kind of terrified to let anyone read it. It's a relief to know that it's reaching people who are willing to engage with it and contemplate the details. I love making comics and more and more I just want to be able to make them full time. Reviews like this definitely make me think that maybe I'm on the right track.

Articles and slideshow talks!

The Missoula Independent just ran a review/article by Mack Perry about The Understanding Monster to promote the slideshow talk/ book signing I'll be doing tomorrow evening, Friday the 19th, at 7pm at Shakespeare & Co. Huge thanks to Niki Vanek for the digital projector loan. I've gotta save up for one of my very own so I can project images anywhere and anytime. It's all happening, it's all coming true!

The Projects

Anyone in or near Portland who wants to take part in something new and amazing should come and check this out. The Projects is a new kind of experimental comics and narrative arts festival. Instead of the focus being on buying and selling comics, the focus is on collaborative projects, workshops, and performances, put on by some of the most creative people in comics.This is the kind of stuff that should be happening all the time in the future, if the future knows what's good for it.  I wish I could be there this year, but I'm already making a trip out to Portland for my book release at Floating World the day after Halloween and then up to Seattle for Short Run, and I can't be away from my awesome 10 month old little fellow for too long. This is hopefully the first year of many, so next year I'd like to plan something to contribute!

photo of a photo

I had to include a photo of my workspace for an upcoming art show, so I took the opportunity to take a second photo before sending it off with my art. I love working in my new space in the Brunswick building here in Missoula. There've been artist studios here since before I was born and it's nice to feel like I'm part of that history. I haven't been in here very long yet, but it already feels like a place where I can really focus. A big window, an electric teapot, power snacks, music, and all the right art supplies. It's a dream come true!

The Missoulian

There was a nice little article about my book in this Friday's Arts and Entertainment section of the  Missoulian this Friday by Cory Walsh. He paid me a visit in my studio on Tuesday, then sent me some email follow up questions. It's cool to have folks in town interested in what I'm up to.

Psychotropic Whimsy

Joe McCulloch at The Comics Journal talked a bit about the Understanding Monster again in his This Week In Comics column calling it "One of the profoundly immersive comics of 2012, a demanding work of psychotropic whimsy best experienced by those piqued at the implication of Pixar fusing with Fort Thunder in a happy quantum storm. "
Thanks Joe! 

ToyBoat ToyBoat ToyBoat

I'm not sure when this is coming out, but I did some art for the Portland band, ToyBoat ToyBoat ToyBoat's 10" vinyl release a little while back. They basically sent me a list of things they wanted included in the cover (pipes and wires, submarines, lightbulbs) and I sat down and started drawing. The two circular images are the labels for the vinyl.

cat smile

Themed sketchbooks seem to be a tradition of sorts at comic conventions. I've drawn in tons of them over the last few years. Yoda, Ninja Turtles, Animal from the Muppets, Tennis playing zombies, to name a few. Whenever someone brings a themed sketchbook up to me, it's always fun to look through. There's usually contributions from some of my favorite cartoonists. I can't remember what my own drawings looked like in most of them, it's all a blur, but I just came across this one online from a Cheshire Cat sketchbook. It was kind of cool to see it again. Maybe I should start my own themed sketchbook to take to shows. I'm not sure what the theme would be. Maybe Wizards In Danger or something.

ssspace cadetsss

This is a little drawing I did for the Space Cadets facebook timeline thing. I also just drew a new logo image and the cover to their 6th vinyl release, which I'll be showing you soon. Outer space is the biggest location ever!

pile of postcards

Do you want one of these? I have a whole box of them. Ghost Doctor check up time.

small things

Drawn while at the Festival of the book this weekend.

Festival of the Book

I'm tabling at the Festival of the Book at the Holiday Inn Atrium in downtown Missoula, Montana: Friday Oct 5th, 11am- 5pm and Saturday Oct 6th, 9:30am-5:30. This was the first event I ever tabled at way back when I first started folding and stapling my self published copies of Capacity, so it's nice to be back. If you're in town, come say hi and have an interaction with me. I'm really nice, and I won't be sweaty and nervous like the fellow in the drawing above. At least I'm not planning on it.

Copacetic Comics Review

Here's another nice little write up about The Understanding Monster, Book One by the folks at Copacetic Comics in Pittsburgh. They've been super supportive of my work over the years, so it's nice to hear what they have to say about what I'm doing now. It's such an indepth write up for what's basically a blurb for their web store. It's good to know there's people willing to engage with these weirdo cartoon worlds and come away with some thoughts.

Oak-Escapist

I just got the 5th Space Cadets release in the mail. And I downloaded the music for the 6th release tonight, so I'll be starting on that next week. This new one will be the first full color album. It's been so much fun getting to do all these, and the music is excellent. Making drawings for music that's great to draw to is pretty much the ideal side gig.

Relentlessly psychedelic me

Joe McCulloch at the Comics Journal  wrote a little about The Understanding Monster in their This Week In Comics column and says it's  "Unquestionably the most relentlessly psychedelic comic I've encountered in 2012". Yes! Thanks Joe!

Check it out!

Two of my very favorite artists and awesome friends Have a show of collaborative work opening at SoHitek Gallery in Portland. All the sneak peeks I've gotten look amazing. Everyone in Portland should go!

Book review

There's a review of The Understanding Monster Book One over at BookSlut by Martyn Pedler. It's the first review ever, as far as I know. It's pretty cool to hear someone giving the book a lot of thought! I really had no idea what people were going to make of it, so this feels nice.

sweaters, coffee, were-animals

This little drawing was commissioned by a fellow named Nick for his lady, Suzy. He sent me a list of things she likes and I fit a few together. Drawing sweaters is strangely satisfying. I don't do commissions too often, but this one came along right when I had a spare moment.