Teddy and the Yeti #4 cover by Pat Olliffe and Karin Rindevall!

This has been a long time coming.  Teddy and the Yeti artist Duane Redhead is 20 pages in to the 22 page lead story in T&Y #4, so this issue looms on the horizon.  As such, I thought that it would finally be time to show the finished cover (minus, of course, logos and the like).  This cover comes straight from longtime Spider-Girl artist and fellow Pittsburgher Pat Olliffe, who put together what is honestly the first story-specific cover for the series.

Pat both pencilled and inked this work, while familiar face Karin Rindevall provided the colors.

I've been holding on to this file for a long time, it seems.  It's nice to let it out for some air.  It'll be even nicer to have it printed and in my hands.

Superman, meet Nietzsche

My lack of recent posts can be accounted for by the simple response of "it's that point in the semester".  I know, I know, that's no excuse, for who else will write about amazingly important things such as how the Thing can totally beat up the Hulk (he can, you know)?  Spring break is on the horizon, though, and I'm looking forward to being able to catch up on a number of things, comic related and otherwise.

In the meantime, and in a not-necessarily-unrelated moment, I took this picture a couple weeks ago (before I got a new phone, to boot) of a bookshelf outside of my fourth floor English classroom at a college that is currently, and thankfully, employing me.  The bookshelf contained a number of items, from a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica to some pottery to a stapler chained to the wall, but it was obviously the cheaply made Superman action figure that caught my attention.  I then saw what it was placed next to, and I got a chuckle out of it.  I'm sure you, anonymous reader, will as well.

FUBAR: American History Z promo #1

You have been warned.

(Art by Steven Black.)

The Journal of Morphology - another publication with words and pictures

A bit of good news came my way yesterday when I learned that my wife had her manuscript accepted to the Journal of Morphology, an academic journal that deals with...what, science?  I guess.  It's well over my head.  The title of her work is "Microvascular Patterns in the Blubber of Shallow and Deep Diving Odontocetes", which, and I'm sure you can gather, should be a thrilling piece of excitement from first page to last.

I like to think of myself as "the writer" when it comes to the two of us, but it's obvious that this piece of work is much more impressive than anything I've ever done in similar fashion...which gives me some perspective, I suppose.  Of note, though, is that the article contains an image of a pig...an image of a pig that I totally drew.  This means that I am also a published artist (of great skill, naturally).  I am disproportionately proud of this.

Here's the necessary copyright information, as "the man" now has the rights to the article and what it contains: "Microvascular Patterns in the Blubber of Shallow and Deep Diving Odontocetes", S. McClelland, et al, Journal of Morphology, copyright 2012, published by Wiley-Blackwell.

This is excitement of academic proportions.

The Ferryman

I know that this will come as an incredible shock to some, but not everything I write gets published.  I know, right?  Unbelievable!  But it's true and I can accept that.  That makes it all the more surprising, then, when a script I wrote has some life breathed back into it after a long time on the proverbial shelf.  Case in point: The Ferryman.

The Ferryman is a zombie sci-fi story that I finished writing...well, more than a year ago, to be kind.  I wasn't expecting anything to come from it when out of the blue, artist Mario Wytch, fresh off our FUBAR story, sent me the artwork you see here: a couple mock covers and the first and third pages from the script.

At this point, you're probably thinking about how "the Ferryman" is the best title in the history of comic books, to which I can only squint my eyes and nod my head purposefully...and also say that there's a chance, if I can think of something (ANYTHING!) better, I'll change it.  But for now, the title remains.

This is not to say, naturally, that this book will be completed and published at any point...ever.  But there's a chance, and we're a few significant steps closer to that being a reality than we were just a week ago.

As a writer, it's always exciting to see new art, especially from someone as talented as Mario.  This is certainly no exception.  If this project moves forward in a meaningful way, I will update the progress here.  I'll keep my fingers crossed.

A new photo shoot; new Magic Bullet; Thing vs. Hulk; Franks and Beans and more!

- I think I'll just post the above picture to all of my blogs, or on anything I publish, anywhere.  That way when readers see it, I'll create a level of intimacy by virtue of my gentle staring from in front of a wall of comic books.  That's soothing, right?  A picture of Jeff McClelland looking at you from a comic shop?

This image is part of a project being undertaken by my friend Vicki, who is creating a portfolio of images of people doing what they do at work.  Apparently, I stand around reading comics, which is terrifyingly close to real-life truth.  You should all check out Vicki's website here: http://morisuphoto.blogspot.com/

The picture was taken at McMurray's Pittsburgh Comics.  On the wall behind me is a copy of IDW's Hawken by Ben and Tim Truman.  I wish I had a segue for my next item, but, oh well.

- Oh, look!  It's IDW's Hawken by Ben and Tim Truman!  Both gentlemen have contributed to FUBAR at one time or another, and now the crossover runs the other way, too, as Jeff McComsey (layouts, colors), Dominic Vivona (pencils) and Steve Becker (inks) put together the above incentive cover for Hawken #3, which is on sale very soon!  The book is a western horror tale and it's worth picking up.  So pick it up!

- I initially thought that the above strip (of which I'm showing just part) would be appearing in the soon-to-be-released Magic Bullet #4, but it now looks like it instead will be part of issue 5.  It continues with the theme of one page stories that the publication is becoming known for; its title is "The Naked Man at the Edge of Time".  The story deals with a naked time traveler.  And yes, that's Gandhi in panels 2 and 3.  My apologies, India...I know that you can be sensitive about that sometimes.

Art for this story, which was very fun to produce, is by Kurt Belcher (pencils) and Jon Sawyer (inks).  I'll post more once the publication date draws near.

- A little while ago, I posted some initial art from a Charles Atlas ad parody that Duane Redhead and I were working on.  As you can see, there's been more progress on this front, as the monster design as been tweaked and an old-time coloring scheme has been added by Rafer Roberts.  I've got the text just about done, and then the page is off to be rendered.  It's turning out very well so far, in my nowhere near objective opinion.

- One of the reasons the Thing is better than the Hulk is because the Thing isn't just some raging, mindless brute.  He's a tough guy who knows how to fight, but he's also no dummy.  The above image is just further proof of that.  My friend Mike Adams took my suggestion for "the Thing beating up the Hulk" (which I suggest often) and put this piece together.  Great work, Mike, and finally, some truth!

- A few interesting website stats caught my eye recently.  First up is this phrase that I found among search terms; that is, someone (obviously I don't know who) found this blog by typing in the phrase "teddy and the yeti promo card 1 price".  If, by some stroke of fortune, that person is reading this post, let me say this: I...I don't charge anything for the promo card.  Seriously, if you reply to this post with a comment, I'll send you one.  For free!  I will.

Now that I sit back and think on this for a moment, another explanation might be that the person searching got a card at a convention and is looking to see if it's worth any money.  Hrumph.  That would be the less desirable explanation of the two.  So I refuse to believe it.

The next interesting search term is above.  Someone found this blog by searching for fellow Franks and Beans collaborator Larry Franks, and we know this person was looking for our Larry, because they even added information on the city and state.  That's weird.  Larry, are you searching for yourself online?  You know I plug www.franksandbeansonline.com all the time.  See?  I did it again!

- Lastly, and speaking of Franks and Beans, here's the highly (?) anticipated and painstakingly produced 54th episode of the probably hilarious Internet comedy show.  Seriously, we worked a long time on this and our entry to the Comic-Con film festival.  I'd like to think that this is one of our better ones.  You watch and decide!  That was not a suggestion.

Let's all go to Butt-Con!

Hey, kids?  Not doing anything this weekend?  Do you like fun, games, collectibles and most importantly butts?  Then hop on down to Butt-Con IV this February 11th and 12th for what is sure to be...wait, what?  It's not Butt-Con, but "But-Con"?  Like a conjunction convention?  Oh, wait.  "But" stands for "Butler".  It's the Bulter-Con.  Oh.  Ooooh.

I bought a few comics this past week from the good folks up at New Dimension Comics, and on my bag was pasted the above flyer.  Now, NDC has been known to put on a good show, and it's run by some great people.  I'm also sure that, as this is its fourth year running, the jokes about asses are played out.  But "But Con"?  Really?  That's hilarious.  Oh well.  If anyone is in the mood to meet R2D2 or Pittsburgh's own Steelman, you now know where to go.  To Butt-Con.

*snort*

Okay, it's still kind of funny.

War of the Independents #3, page 11

Here's an uncolored page from the upcoming War of the Independents #3.  This indy crossover features a bevy (that's right, a bevy) of cool characters, but this page specifically is near and dear to my heart, as it features Teddy and the Yeti in two panels!  Can't pick 'em out?  Here, I'll do all the work for you (grumble):

That's from the final panel (where Ted is unceremoniously getting hit in the head with a rock); they also appear as tiny little figures in the first panel!  I can't wait to see this page colored and the entire issue in all its glory.

From what I'm told, issue #2 of the mini series will appear in stores this month.  Issue #3 is back in Diamond's Previews catalog with an order code of JAN121247.  This issue features Teddy and the Yeti's first cover appearance, with art by Chris Giarrusso, with another by Todd Nauck!  Check it out, kids, and order away!

Hero Initiative renewal swag!

I recently renewed my membership with the Hero Initiative, the comic book charity that helps creators in need...and I got a couple cool things that I thought I'd share pictures of!  I only have the Bronze level membership, which is less than $30 a year, so really...if you like comics, why not send a couple bucks their way?  It's absolutely worth your while, and not just because you'll get stuff in return like the above tote bag (people love tote bags, right??) with the brand new Hero Initiative logo.  Exclamation points never go out of style.

I also got this great sketch card, featuring a rather beefy-looking Human Torch (in this image, he's on his way to the gym to do neck exercises)...so close to the Thing.  So close.  Oh well, any member of the Fantastic Four is all right with me.  Even Ant Man!  (Note: not Ant Man.)

I don't recognize the art style and I can't make out the signature - can anyone help me out with the name of the artist who drew this card?  I love how it's laid out like a comic book page with the lines for bleed.

So, yeah, this blog was just about me promoting the Hero Initiative.  There are worse things to shill for, though, and you (YOU!!) could do worse than helping them out.  You can find out more about them and what they do at their official website: http://www.heroinitiative.org/.