This one goes under "how did I forget to post this before now?" Because I have categories like that, in a filing cabinet, next to my desk. Whatever.
Jeff Lafferty is not only a great artist, and not only a great guy, but he's a great artist who's a great guy who has drawn Teddy and the Yeti before. He's also drawn Doom 2099 for Marvel. I wonder if he gets tired of me saying that, because it's not like he hasn't done other, more impressive things in the years since then...but I guess I just can't let some things go.
A while back, I commissioned Jeff to draw the above image of our favorite cryptozoological adventuring duo. I eventually used the finished product for a series of trading cards that I gave out at Comic-Con. Jeff sent me the final piece, which I promptly had framed:
I wrote about this briefly at the time, but since then, Jeff has created a YouTube video that shows off his process in creating the image (with some of that space age time lapse video, too), and it's worth a look, even a few years after the fact (and he name checks Franks and Beans!). Thanks again to Mr. Lafferty for producing such a fantastic image of these characters!
It's been a while since we had some random notes here at blog central, and the masses have been clamoring. I am, of course, but a humble servant, so here we are with more thoughts about a bunch of stuff, most of which is actually comic related. And also Franks and Beans. Away we go!
- Ben Cooper was a company that made popular Halloween costumes a few decades back, and for a while they had a licensing agreement with Marvel Comics to produce costumes based on some of their more popular characters. One of those costumes happened to be of the ever-lovin' Thing, and I managed to land one of my favorite non-pornographic website in the world, eBay, for a great price.
The costume and box have some scuffs to them, but overall these are in nice shape and I'll be happy to wear this costume to every Halloween party until I die and also if I ever decide to start committing crimes. I have a feeling, though, that if I would ever start to go down that dangerous path, the goodness and rightness of the Thing would pull me back before I was too far gone.
This costume is, of course, hideous (though the mask is surprisingly well done), but this is part of its charm. Ben Cooper, as I said, made a number of costumes and all of them were embarrassingly simplistic and/or ugly, but this was the style of a kids Halloween costume in the 1960s, '70s and '80s and I love this find. I appreciate the sticker on the box, as seen above, that tells you just how one is supposed to wear the costume. Thanks, B.C.
- I've gotten a few pieces of art framed recently at the Wood Street Frame shop in Pittsburgh, and they've done a good job at what I've turned in so far. The latest item is Jeff Lafferty's original Teddy and the Yeti art, which I'm relieved to say that I've finally got behind glass. Much of what I have framed tends to be big and therefore a little cumbersome, but this here is small enough that I can close my hand around it, which should make finding a place for it much easier.
- If you're a fan of the NHL, then you're aware the city of Montreal exists in real life. They have hockey there, and they speak French. And also the goaltender for the Canadiens has the Tick on his goalie mask.
Dustin "Tic" Tokarski is enough a fan of his nickname and the popular '90s cartoon that he decided to emblazon his helmet with the big blue hero busting out of the side.
This isn't the first time he's done it, even. He spent last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning and put the Tick on that helmet as well. If I had to choose, I'd say that the Lightning helmet is my favorite of the two, as the blue works better as part of the overall scheme.
Should I...should I send this guy a copy of the Free Comic Book Day issue? Maybe we'll become fast friends.
- There are a couple new Kickstarter projects going on right now that feature work from friends of the blog. First, Paul Tucker is teaming up with Tim (Hack/Slash) Seeley and others to work on a project called "Mini Comics Included", which takes its cues from those little comics that would be packaged with action figures most famously in the 1980s (He-Man springs to mind). There are six tiny comics in all and Paul is drawing two of them! The've got some great rewards up for grabs so check out the page and back it if you can: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1168046118/mini-comics-included-0
The other Kickstarter project I'm backing is a short film adaptation of FUBAR head honcho Jeff McComsey's "American Terror"! I inquired about how much I would have to donate to play a role in the short of someone who gets killed, but alas, the film is in post-production and the fundraiser is just to get it over the hump. Regardless, you can check out the American Terror page here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2097901631/american-terror-short-film
- I bought an early issue of Marvel Team-Up a few months back with Spider-Man and Mr. Fantastic teaming up to, I don't know, battle evil or something. I thought the first page credits were pretty funny - specifically the inking credit. At first I thought that it was a charming reminder of the "seat of your pants" attitude that must have reigned at Marvel in those early days, but then I remembered that there are still plenty of books out there today that employ four or five (or more) inkers for a single story.
- Lastly, it's been a while since I've posted any new Franks and Beans. So here's our 58th episode, "A Watched Pot"! Enjoy! Or just watch it. Please.
A little while ago, I posted the black and white version of the above image by the great Jeff Lafferty. Now I'm happy to show the colored, final version and shed a little more light on the future of this art. As I mentioned, I'm going to make this a connecting, two-card set. I've decided that I'm going to have these printed out to give away for the first time at the San Diego Comic-Con, which is just a little over a month away. I'll still have the standard promo card by Antonio Crespo, but this one will be a little bit special. Once the show dates get closer, I'll reveal just what purpose these cards will serve.
In the meantime, check out how awesome this is!! I'm pretty excited about it. Jeff is mailing the original art, and oh man, I think I'll have to make some room on the wall for it. It's really something.
Feast your eyes on the opening salvo of what is certain to become a great piece of Teddy and the Yeti art. Jeff Lafferty, a friend and a great artist, is putting together this double sketch card of our favorite robot-snowman combo. The plan is to have it out for Comic-Con in July. Exactly how I'm going to use it is something I'm still considering.
I know I say this every time I mention the guy, but Jeff once drew Doom 2099 for Marvel. I've always been a big fan of the 2099 line, so this project becomes even more exciting to me. Jeff, I know you'll eventually read this, so let me toss this out there for all to see: if I ever meet you in person, I am going to force you to draw the Thing 2099 for me. Under threat of violence if need be!!
Nothing like open threats over the Internet. Oh well.
There's a link to Jeff's website in the "links" section of this page, but if you haven't been there yet, do yourself a favor and check it out. Jeff does a lot of great work and posts updates on his various project regularly. Click the following link to get to his site: http://jefflaffertyillustration.blogspot.com/, and while you're at it, check out his store where you'll find lots of pop culture art prints.
I'm excited to see this coming along. Thanks, Jeff!
I've struggled with the idea of Kickstarter for a while now. Kickstarter is a website that brings creative projects to a public forum - if you'd like to work on an artistic project but don't have the funding, you can pitch your idea to the Internet community at large, set a proposed monetary goal, and if enough people like your idea (and are willing to pledge cash money to back it up), your project gets a cash infusion, allowing you to create while having the money to not starve while doing so.
I'm a very large proponent of "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is", but seeing some of the projects that have far exceeded individual goals, it's hard to keep a decent perspective. I've been involved, in a tangential way, at least, with projects that have fallen into this category, which makes it even more tantalizing.
To give an example, the second volume of FUBAR had a very successful Kickstarter campaign, raising an eye-popping $6015 in efforts to cover publishing and distribution costs. Several guys involved with FUBAR are working on putting together an animated short for the small press Atomic Robo series, and if you thought the FUBAR numbers were impressive, wait until you read this: as of March 8th, and with 34 days to go, the project has raised over $48,000 and shows no signs of slowing down.
This is, of course, almost fairytale in the sense that I can't really comprehend what just short of 50 grand would mean to any number of projects I would like to take on.
And there are further, even more unbelievable examples to note. A quick search on the Kickstarter home page reveals that a video game project named "Double Fine Adventure", with five days to go, has raised over two million dollars toward its goal. Kickstarter is literally making millionaires out of creators. This is unreal.
These projects owe their success, of course, to high quality pitches and reward structures that give interesting, unique "gifts" to those who fund them, and the above examples are all well conceived and created by talented individuals. I don't want my astonishment to be misconstrued as resentment. I'm sure all of the creators involved in these projects deserver their success.
In the field of comics, I stumbled upon a proposed comic titled "Screws Loose", which recently reached its funding goal of $3200. The comic is set to be published by first-time author and college student Jeremy Melloul from Portland. While the money certainly pales in comparison to the two million and change the video game proposal received, we're talking about an unknown comic book property by an unknown, unpublished author. That's impressive in its own right.
This brings me to my current dilemma. I love making comics. It's just as rewarding as I always thought it would be, if not more so. The constant struggle with making comics as a small press guy has nothing to do with the creative aspect of it - it is, of course, money. It takes a lot of money to pay artists, print and distribute comic books, as it does for anyone in a similar situation. And now along comes a website that gives daily examples of comic projects being fully funded before the pencil even hits the page.
The question then becomes, "why don't I do this with Teddy and the Yeti?" Duane Redhead is a hard working sonofagun, and he really puts his heart into every single page, and you are going to be knocked on your butt when you see issue #4, but the fact is that there would be more Teddy and the Yeti to read if Duane could make more than the pittance he's getting from working on this book. And Kickstarter allows for the possibility that we could not only have fun doing what we're doing, but have enough cash to do it on a regular basis.
It seems like this would be a no-brainer, but I find several stumbling blocks on the way to this proposal. Perhaps most importantly, I don't want money to come before creativity. I realize that the two aren't mutually exclusive, and that it's not a perfect analogy, but I don't want be beholden to who pays the bills the way newspapers or network television stations are to advertisers. I want to create and have that creative process unimpeded by questions of who I have to make happy beyond myself and those I'm working with. I don't want to "sell out", which I suppose is the rallying cry of plenty of unsuccessful people who try to cling to a sense that what they do is important.
If I'm being honest with myself, I'll admit that I also don't want to fail at a Kickstarter campaign in case it'd burst the illusion that what I do actually does matter. If I handle everything myself, I can go about things the way I've always done, selling at conventions and book signings and holding out hope that people are actually warming up to the things I'm doing, where a Kickstarter campaign that falls through carries with it a certain mark against not only the project, but the person behind that as well. I don't want to seek validity through attention or sales, but it is there, one way or the other.
And not all worthy projects are funded. Jeff Lafferty, friend of the blog and guy who at one time drew Doom 2099for Marvel (I can't emphasize how awesome I think this is) had a campaign to fund his stop motion movie, Curse of the Wolf's Heart, fall short of its goal. I realize that what he's doing doesn't appeal to everyone, but how does something like this fall through the cracks when so much else out there is getting thousands and thousands of dollars in pledges?
I suppose that what I'm looking for is some honest feedback from those in the know. Ultimately, if I do something like this, it's going to be because I have a project that I believe in (Teddy and the Yeti, of course, falls into this category) and I think I can put together a good enough pitch as to not embarrass myself, up there on a virtual stage in front of the world. What will come of this? I honestly don't know.
My last post about Andromeda Jones, in the matter of two weeks, became the most-viewed post in this blog's entire history (take that, Pop Culture Connection!). While this is most certainly because my friend (and yours) Ruben Cordero put a link to it on his Twitter page, which was then re-tweeted by Todd Nauck, artist of the page I wrote about, I nonetheless feel that it is my duty to kowtow to the masses by showing more Andromeda Jones art. Some of this is ages old and some of it is newer, but almost all of it is going to be printed sooner rather than later.
One of the things I like about Teddy and the Yeti is that it gives me the opportunity to print other short stories that otherwise don't have an outlet, and Andromeda Jones is the best example of this that I have. I printed the five-page "Message in a Bottle" story, with art by Ryan Stegman, in issue #1 because I had been sitting on it and trying to do something with it for what seemed like forever. And wouldn't you know it, I actually got mail that mentioned the story.
At the time, the Todd Nauck one-page story was the only usable sequential art that I had at my disposal, so to make it worthwhile for a future T&Y issue, I wrote another short story to appear with it - a three-page deal that artist Nick Acs and colorist Paul Little worked on. The first page for that story is at the top of this post, and I think it turned out well.
I then went looking through my old files and found some other art that I had almost forgotten about, such as this pinup by Chris Whetzel. I'm currently having this inked and colored and I plan to use it as the back cover for the issue the two stories are printed in, just like how Teddy and the Yeti #2 had a back Mr. Massive cover (coincidentally by Todd Nauck).
It should be noted that I've since changed the character's costume to make it a little less skimpy (or otherwise known as "just like every other female comic book character's costume", which I've tried to break away from), but hey, you work with what you have. It looks nice in any case.
There are a few other pieces of art that I'm holding onto, such as the above pinup by Eric Pugh and the sketch below by Jeff Lafferty, but I don't have any hard and fast plans for either right now.
The Todd Nauck story, the Nick Acs story and the Chris Whetzel back cover will probably show up in Teddy and the Yeti #5 or #6, wherever it works out best. It almost feels like spring cleaning, finally showing these things the light of day.
Look, here's proof that I am actually working on the main website redesign! From this screenshot you can see just how drastic the changes will be - that's right, the menu bar will be listed VERTICALLY! Holy crap, what unbelievable updates will I come up with next?!
In the meantime, though, here are a few websites that I've recently come upon that should hold your interest until teddyandtheyeti.com gets back up and running (you can still read them afterwards, too...it's not a contest):
- I found The Baseball Card Blog while looking for the article "Oh, no! Not another boring interview with Steve Carton!" by Diane K. Shah online (a great read in its own right) - the post "The Most Boring Card Ever Made" came up, and boy, is it a doozy.
I collected baseball cards right alongside comics until about 1995, when the bottoms dropped out of both industries (and, probably not coincidentally, the Pirates were in the beginnings of their tailspin from relevance). Getting to see these cards again in this format is both nostalgic and engaging, and the writing on this site really draws me in - it takes a humorous look at another industry (along with comics) that probably takes itself too seriously.
- Jeff Lafferty once drew Doom 2099 for Marvel, and that automatically makes him awesome. He and I semi collaborated on a few things several years ago, but I lost track of him after a while. I recently discovered his art blog, though, and it seems that he's back and better than ever.
You'll find lots of art on Jeff's site, mostly in the form of sketch cards, but what I find most impressive is the webcomic he's starting to put together, adapting Robert E. Howard's famous story, "Conan and the Frost Giant's Daughter", a favorite Conan tale of mine. (http://jefflaffertyillustration.blogspot.com/)
- I spent the weekend of the New York Comic Con in a booth next to Christiann MacAuley, creator of the website Sicky Comics (http://www.stickycomics.com), and since the show has ended, I've become a fan. While much of the site is an overload of cute, there's an R-rated undercurrent that makes a lot of the jokes subversively funny. Below is quite probably my favorite of the bunch:
- Lastly, your friend and mine, Larry, is selling some Dukes of Hazzard 1/144 scale cars on eBay. It's the entire set of ten cars, apparently! Help him out and place a bid so he can take the money and use it to buy more Dukes of Hazzard memorabilia. Seriously, he's almost got it all, and he might as well get to the finish line. And while you're at it, check out Larry and my Franks and Beans website, which is newly updated with 48 (FORTY EIGHT!) episodes and a new layout...though I still have to figure out how to get the logo back up.
- Oh, and I recently applied for a table to the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International. The end.
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