"Weird Al" Yankovic in "Eat It", a FUBAR comic by McClelland, McMunn and McComsey

Read the story for free here!

I've been involved with FUBAR for about five years now, and there are a lot of stories that I'm proud of and enjoyed working on. A while ago, I wrote a story featuring Elvis Presley and the many conspiracies surrounding his death. It ran much longer than I had planned, so it was eventually decided that it could support its own single-issue book, which soon grew to a full 32-page issue to be filled out with a few backups. These backups would all focus on musical artists. I almost made the biggest mistake of my life (possibly) by not putting two and two together and writing one of the stories about "Weird Al" Yankovic. But soon enough I came to the obvious conclusion and the eight-page short "Eat It" was born.

The story itself might just be the easiest thing I've ever written in my entire life, as the inspiration was of course there. I tried to add in as many references as I could and sent the script off. Jeff McComsey provided the pencil roughs before sending it off to Jim McMunn for the finished art. I lettered the final product, which I'm very happy to see completed. McComsey and I decided to show the entire "Eat It" story online, and you can read the whole dang thing for free here: http://imgur.com/gallery/17maB/new

The entire issue, titled "All the King's Corpses" and featuring an Elvis cover by Danny Cruz and Paul Little, while be solicited in Previews soon. In addition to the Elvis and Weird Al stories by me, there's a Jim Morrison story by Michael McDermott and Will Perkins, a Waylon Jennings tale by your friend (and mine) Larry Franks and Kelly Williams, and a new Combat Quiz by Jennie Wood and Williams.

When I was at the Baltimore Comic-Con a few months ago, Jeff McComsey surprised me with the eight pencil roughs, all framed up and looking great. I was really taken back. This is hanging up right behind my computer, actually, so I'm looking right at it as I type this.

Not only that, but soon after, Jim McMunn was kind enough to send me the original page art for the story. Here are a few images of that.

Jim finished all of the artwork digitally, so the physical pages are in different states of completion. They look just fantastic and I'm absolutely thrilled to have them in my possession. This was a passion project that will hopefully have some appeal for others as well. I'm so glad that I finally got to write a Weird Al story. I'm even more grateful that some friends helped out and that it turned out as good as it did. I hope you all enjoy it as well!

Addendum: Sometimes I think, "what can I title this post that might make it show up earlier in search results?" Or, "if someone sees an image from this post on a Google search, how can I try to make sure he or she knows that I had something to do with this?" (this usually occurs when I am shouting into the void). And then, a title like the one at the top of this post is born. Carry on.

Support the FUBAR: By the Sword Kickstarter! (please)

This has been a few years in the making.  The FUBAR: By the Sword trade is finally ready to print.  Kickstarter has been kind to us in the past and we're offering a number of rewards that will hopefully make this version a successful one.  FUBAR: BTS contains stories from the individual issues (including the "Guts and Glory" one shot) along with some all new material from a few dozen independent creators.

The campaign went live a few weeks ago and it proved to be a poplar one from the start.  I took a screenshot of when it reached the magical 2099 mark:

Now we're into stretch goals as we wind down the campaign.  They include some bookmarks, book plates, and trading cards so far, and the one I'm most excited about is an all-new 32-page issue that features musicians titled "All the King's Corpses".  Here's the cover, by Danny Cruz and Paul Little:

The lead story, drawn by Rob Croonenborghs, features Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon as they team up to take on the zombie menace.  I'm kind of enamored by Elvis's more mythological features, so I had a lot of fun writing it.  The book also has stories about the Doors, Waylon Jennings (written by Larry Franks) and another entry by me with art by head honcho Jeff McComsey and featuring "Weird Al" Yankovic.  I hope that it's received well.

If you feel like contributing to the campaign, here's the direct link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1607639297/fubar-by-the-sword

It ends in just over a week.  Get some new FUBAR while you can!

Teddy and the Yeti pinup by Danny Cruz!

Take a peek at this awesome new Teddy and the Yeti artwork from Danny Cruz!  Danny's a rising star in the gaming and comic industry, recently working on titles like G.I. Joe for IDW...but c'mon, folks, we all know him better as the guy who sat at the Wagon Wheel Comics booth at the 2010 New York Comic Con, right?  Right?!?  I have photographic evidence of this, Danny.

Danny was nice enough to put this together for T&Y and I'm thrilled to have it.  If you haven't seen more of his work, you can check out his deviantART page here: http://dannycruz4.deviantart.com/.

Thing sketchbook, part 8

I look at these additions to the vaunted Thing sketchbook and I think to myself that these might just be the best group of five in the entire book.  Then I think that I tend to think that about just about any group when I see them.  It's still worth mentioning, though.

Let's take a look at the goods, shall we?

Dominic Vivona - New York Comic Con 2010

I met up with fellow FUBAR creator at the New York Comic Con and foisted upon him the first challenge I'd ever posed for the book.  Whenever someone does a sketch, I make sure to tell them that they can do whatever version of the Thing they'd like - but they usually end up drawing their version of the classic, cigar-smoking Thing.  That's not bad, mind you, but I decided to add some variety to the book and ask Dominic to draw the much-maligned She Thing, formerly the second Ms. Marvel.

Dominic had a heck of a time with it, drawing a couple versions before settling on what you see above.  He did a great job with the costume (check out the sash!), and the flowers are a nice touch.

I'm not going to go near the "Female Thing" line.

Jacob Chabot - New York Comic Con 2010

Jacob and I each had a story printed in Dark Horse's Strip Search anthology a few years back.  Since then, he's really made a name for himself with "The Mighty Skullboy Army" and several Marvel projects like "X-Babies".

Jacob did a short story in a recent Strange Tales miniseries where the Thing and the Human Torch grow mustaches, and I mentioned how much I liked it to him before handing him the book.

I bugged Jacob way too often during the day as I had plans to give the book to one more person - probably to the point where he hates me now - but wow! Look at that artwork.  It's got a speech balloon and everything!

Danny Cruz - New York Comic Con 2010

Danny spent the weekend at the Wagon Wheel Comics booth for last year's New York Comic Con.  I planned on asking him to draw in the sketchbook earlier, but he didn't end up getting a chance until there was about an hour left in the show.

I asked him to draw another variation of the Thing - the spiky "Pineapple" version from when he was powered up for a bit - and he really delivered.  Rarely does the Thing look so mean!

C. Martin Croker - Xcon World 2010

You might recognize the name C. Martin Croker from his work as both an animator and a voice actor - he's played Zorak and Moltar on Space Ghost Coast to Coast - but he's also a big fan of Ben Grimm (and Kirby creations in general, though who isn't?).

I spent a good deal of time chatting with him and distracting him from doing other work over the three-day mini convention, and on Sunday I got him to draw this beauty for me. I love the brow on this one.

Thomas Scioli - Pittsburgh Comic & Collectibles Show 2010

Tom Scioli is best known for his work on the Image Comics Godland series, where he channels Jack Kirby every issue.  Tom also drew a cover for Teddy and the Yeti #3, so it was great to meet him in person.

Knowing how Kirby-esque Tom's artwork is, I asked him to draw an "early" Thing (when he looked more like a monster and less like an awesome rocky guy) and he drew this piece reminiscent of 1961's Fantastic Four #1 - the torn spacesuit is a great touch!

That's 40 total sketches I've shown so far, and we are just about caught up with the entire book - I've got one more sketch after these, so I just might wait to show it until I get more (hopefully soon).  This sketchbook is something that I started on not much more than a whim, but has quickly become one of my more prized possessions - not just because of the artwork itself (though there is that, too), but because of all the great stories and memories behind them.  I've decided that if my house ever catches on fire, this is one of maybe two things not living that I'd try to get before jumping out of a window or whatever.

"Many Man" sketch card by Danny Cruz

Danny Cruz, while at the Wagon Wheel Comics booth at the New York Comic Con, drew a handful of sketches on sketch cards from the Teddy and the Yeti trading card set.  This is one of 'em, and if I'm remembering correctly, it might be the only one on which he drew an actual character from Teddy and the Yeti (a popular option: "draw me!").

The character on this card...what was his name...it's right there...oh well, I'm sure it'll come to me at some point.  But I finally got a scan of this and I had to share it.  It's a great piece of art and it's awesome to see!

convention sketch by Danny Cruz!

Here are things artist Danny Cruz did at the Wagon Wheel Comics booth during the New York Comic Con:
- ate sandwiches
- heard how much I like the Thing
- drew this awesome sketch of the Yeti!

Okay, he did other stuff, too.  I'm just generalizing.  But check out the sketch!  It's pretty cool and I love it.  That's reason enough to post it here.  So I did!

Check out Danny's deviantART page!

New York, New York! (Comic Con) What a wonderful town! And...Comic Con.

That silence you've been hearing permeate this blog (permeate, I tell you!  It's a metaphor!) over the past week has been the auditory representation of my exhaustion from the recent New York Comic Con.  If that last sentence didn't make much sense, it's because I'm still pretty beat up from the three terrific days I spent at a booth at the show...and what a show it was.  I met a lot of great people, sold a whole bunch of books and other items, and ended up with some cool swag.  It was an eventful time and something I'm really glad I did.

Saturday was by far the busiest day of the weekend - people were literally shoulder-to-shoulder throughout most of the convention (and by "literally", I mean they actually were, as opposed to when people actually mean "figuratively").  It was a bit frustrating to move around on this day, but there was a lot of traffic around the Wagon Wheel Comics booth if for no other reason than there was a lot of traffic everywhere.  I'm happy to say that Teddy and the Yeti  (and Fubar, and Franks and Beans...) got a lot of exposure and got into a lot of hands.  I also managed to hand out a good number of copies to professionals like Todd Nauck, Peter David, David Lloyd, Mark Waid, Joe Quesada, and other people in the industry.

Danny Cruz did a lot of sketches at the Wagon Wheel Booth and made the show even more enjoyable.  He did a few Teddy and the Yeti pieces (and drew a great addition to my Thing sketchbook) that I'll try to post scans of here in the future.  Larry dressed up as Lion-O from the Thundercats and had his picture taken a few thousand times.  People snatched up the crochet Yeti dolls as I knew they would.  I met the creators of the Venture Bros!

It was a great weekend.  It was a crazy weekend, but it was great.  Really, it was, from almost every angle.

This post is quickly spiraling out of control into an experiment in stream of consciousness writing, so I'll wrap it up with the intention of writing more soon.  I'll post pictures from the show starting tomorrow, so look for that as it arrives.  My thanks go out to everyone who stopped by the Wagon Wheel booth to flip through a book, pick up a card, or just chat.  What a fun time.

artist alley

The New York Comic Con - the show that I've been staying up late to get ready for every day this week - begins tomorrow, and it promises to be a really fun time.  If I make it out alive with all my wits, I think I'll call it a win...not that I don't have higher hopes about getting Teddy and the Yeti in front of a broader audience if I can.

Duane Redhead, superstar artist on Teddy and the Yeti, will unfortunately not be able to make it to this show (booooo!) - it's on another continent for him, so go easy on the fella.  But take heart!  Today I managed to get in touch with the supremely talented Danny Cruz (his Conan-esque art is above), and I'm happy to say that Danny will be on hand at the Wagon Wheel Comics booth this weekend.  Danny has a broad, epic feel to his work, and I look forward to getting to sit down and chatting with him over the next few days - and I'll be sure to twist his arm a little and try to get him to contribute to my Thing sketch book (which is approaching legendary status).

If anyone reading this blog is making his or her way to the show this weekend, stop by the booth and say hello!  Pick up a copy of Teddy and the Yeti and get a quick sketch from Danny.  There will be snacks.  Oh, there will be snacks.

Check out more of Danny's artwork at his deviantART page!