Someone got a tattoo of a Teddy and the Yeti character

I was talking to my friend Karin Rindevall a few days ago, and she passed on a link to something I never really expected to see - it appears that someone has decided to mark his body with some Teddy and the Yeti artwork for the rest of his life.

Back in 2010-ish, I made a set of (very popular) Teddy and the Yeti trading cards. The original set contained 18 cards, though I've added a few to it in the intervening years. One of the last cards was of a character from the cover of Teddy and the Yeti #3, which I named "The Space God". It was an obvious homage to a Jack Kirby Celestial-like creation, and it was originally designed by Tom Scioli in his Kirby style when he drew the cover. Anyway, I naturally liked the design, and even though I've never published an actual sequential story with the Space God (there's a script), the character got a card, and Karin drew it. The art is above.

And here are some further shots of the tattoo. The new artist made some changes, flipping the image around and giving the character a can of spray paint, but the overall image is, well, pretty clearly based on the original card art. It's part of a larger space scene that goes down the person's arm, including other more recognizable characters like Earthworm Jim and Bender from Futurama.

The picture was on a Facebook page for a tattoo parlor in Australia, of all places, apparently run by an artist named Steve Yoda. This was the info Facebook had for me. I suppose I could send the shop a message to try and get more info if I'm ever up late at night pondering the meaning of the universe.

This is not to say that I'm upset about having the image used without my knowledge - I'm honestly just curious to learn how the person found the image in the first place. The Space God is a pretty obscure character by any definition, and I'm a little surprised that Teddy and the Yeti, even with the marvels of the Internet(s), has ever filtered into Australia at all. It's a pretty cool image and I hope that everyone involved is happy with it - the guy has to live with it forever now. That's pretty crazy!

2014's first (and greatest) installment of RANDOM NOTES! (Teddy and the Yeti, Toonseum, Hero Initiative art, Pac Man, Beast Wars, Franks and Beans and MORE!)

Well, hello there.  It's been a while but it's time to wind The Yeti Speaks! blog back up with a heaping helping of RANDOM NOTES!  In all caps.  Let's get started!

- I got a nice Christmas card from friend of the blog and one of my favorite artists, Karin Rindevall!  The card contained a nice greeting from Teddy and the Yeti.  Thank, Karin!

- I backed the Kickstarter Campaign for Chipolo...which is basically a tag that links to your phone.  If you lose stuff, and it's within a certain range, you can find tagged items by looking for them on your mobile device.  I had the opportunity to label the different tags...and I went the obvious route.

- I took another trip to Pittsburgh's Toonseum recently and had a nice time.  Here are a few pictures from the jaunt!

I might have shown this picture before (from my last trip), but I love that Mark Schultz dinosaur with the Pirate hat.  Classy.

A fun surprise was seeing a page from one of my favorite issues of "What If...?" on display.  Despite this page being filled with Captain America, it was a Fantastic Four-centric issue.  The angry cap in the last panel really spooked me as a kid.

If only I had animation and comic art to possibly contribute to a future Toonseum gallery...such as...*cough*...this newly framed animation cel of the Thing from the 1960s FF cartoon!

The Thing artwork isn't the only item I had framed.  I also got my ticket sheet from the 2006 MLB All Star Game under glass.  It's been a long time coming and I think it looks really nice.  I had to buy partial season tickets for two years just to get the opportunity to buy All Star Game tickets.  It was a fun time, though, for sure.

- I got a few items of original art in the mail.  The first is a series of rough sketches from Pittsburgh's own Tom Scioli!  The image on the right is a Brian Hitch-inspired team shot of the Fantastic Four.  The image on the left, I assume, is a goof, but still pretty cool.  There were three more equally cool FF images included in this art buy.

- I recently renewed my Hero Initiative membership for 2014.  Included in my "thank you" package was an original sketch card - and just my luck, it was the Thing by Marvel Two-in-One artist Alan Kupperberg!  What a find.

- A few weeks ago, I posted about the closing of California, PA-area comic shop Evil Genius.  Since the store was closing, I had to haul away my Ms. Pac Man arcade cabinet, but lucky for me, I didn't have to toss it in the river.  The game is now sitting comfortably in McMurray at Pittsburgh Comics!  It was a trial, of course, getting it there (just because the game is not particularly light), but I hope to house it there for years to come.  If you visit Pittsburgh Comics, be sure to say hello.  To the video game cabinet.

- As I was taking the game from Evil Genius, I made one last find and picked up this early '90s-era Marvel comic box.  On the very top is a nice image of the Fantastic Four.  The box itself has certainly seen some use, but I managed to reshape it fairly well once I got it home, and now it holds all of my comic convention programs and related material.

Oh, and here's a picture of my cat sitting in it.

- I got this Avengers-themed card for Valentine's Day, which includes all of the movie Avengers...and the Falcon.  The message is interesting..."Hope your day is a HIT!"  Nothing says "I love you" better than a metaphor for being punched.

- In case anyone was wondering if I still make comics, here's a panel from the upcoming "Naked Man at the Edge of Time" one-shot.  Pencils by Kurt Belcher, inks by Alan Gallo.  I'm still considering whether or not this will be colored or just grayscaled.

- Keen readers of the recent Thunderbolts #20.NOW (what a weird numbering system) will notice this veiled "Weird Al" Yankovic reference.  I wonder what the third song is.

- Hey, let's list some links to cool comic book-related websites.  The first is for the Longbox Graveyard, which took the time to review and rank every single issue of Marvel Two-in-One, which is no easy feat.

It also brought us this image of the Thing saying "It's clobberin' time!" in Spanish:

Our second link is of the ever-popular "I Love the Yeti" site, which recently updated the Yeti timeline...

If you look at the very end of the "00s" line, you'll see the Teddy and the Yeti version of the Yeti.

Henry, if you're reading this, keep up the good work, and also take a look at this Garbage Pail Kids yeti...

Our last link goes to Multiversity Comics, for writing a very interesting and thought-provoking article titled "Comics and the Diminishing Role of Artists in a Visual Medium", linked here without comment.

- One of the many commercials to air during the blowout that was Super Bowl XLVIII was a trailer for the new Transformers movie.  Transformers 2 was so bad that I've given up on watching any further installments in the series, but the trailer was interesting in that it included mechanical dinosaur Transformers.  This is probably just an adaptation of the G1 dinobots, but wouldn't it be cool if it was instead a reference to Beast Wars?  Yes, it would be cool.  Very cool.

- Here's an image that has been sitting on my desktop for far too long.  It's the Fantastic Four as Angry Birds.  Great.

- Your friend (and mine), Larry, went to the Royal Rumble a few weeks ago...and sat next to Ben Roethlisberger of your team (and mine), the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Here's video evidence.

- Speaking of Larry, there's some new content on the Franks and Beans website.  You should check it out, because...it's Franks and Beans, guys.  That should be enough of a reason.

The haul, 2011

One of the last things that Christmas should represent is overt commercialization - secular or not, Christmas should be about more than the crass act of consumption.  That being said, for Christmas I got stuff.  Stuff that I was excited to get.  So I'm showing it off, knowing full well that the emperor has no clothes, to extend a metaphor.  Gaze upon these works, you mighty...and despair:

I got a boatload of graphic novels this time around.  That's right, enough graphic novels to load a boat with!  Depending on the size of the boat.  Anyway, here we have the Dylan Dog collection, volume 2 of Joe Casey and Tom Scioli's Godland, and the highly anticipated Habibi by Craig Thompson.

Also among the stash is The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb.  It's astounding that someone who has spent his life creating psychedelic, counter-culture underground comics can put something like this together and have it look so incredible.  It's ironic that this just might become his best-known work.

I've now got three of four of the Hellboy Library Edition collections.  It's beautiful stuff.

I got some cool Thing-related merchandise as well, including a Thing shot glass that is just awesome.  And I landed a Thing Squinkie without having to buy the entire damn set.

I got some DVD swag, too!  Season one of Conan: The Adventurer, Volume six of Futurama, Weird Al's Alpocalypse HD collection of videos, and the first collection of Adventure Time, a show I'm loving more and more with every episode.

Rounding off the display of cool stuff is a Magic Mouse for the Mac, some brand new Shrinky Dinks (pre cut?!  What the heck!!), and some Pac Man crafty figures.  Pac Man and his ghosts were made by my friend Vicki, who has a photo blog here.  Vicki did a bunch of video game themed figures that would totally sell for cash money on a site like Etsy.  Seriously, Vicki, open up a store.  And make me some Yetis.  I SAID DO IT!

I hope that everyone out there had a wonderful Christmastime.  Here's to 2012!

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.

"Eye of the Beholder" webcomic with Ruben Cordero, page 5

Merry Christmas, blog-o-sphere!  I hope that everyone has a wonderful day and that, though it's cliche and completely unrealistic, we can one day live in a more peaceful world.  Here's hoping.

I'm posting page five of the "Eye of the Beholder" story today for all to see.  I should have put this page up earlier, and there's really no excuse for the lag, as the story has been complete for, oh, seven years now, but them's the breaks.  I hope we all can enjoy it nonetheless.  Page five is when the crazy stuff starts to happen, like sudden visions of floating old men.  I always thought the bed was a little out-of-place in this scene, but it doesn't take anything away from the story.

As I've mentioned (over and over), this story was printed in Dark Horse's Strip Search collection.  There were 17 other stories included in the book (one split up into four parts), and as is always the case with anthology-type books, the quality was varied.  There were plenty that I thought my and Ruben's story could stand up to, just as there were some that I thought blew our particular tale out of the water.  Below are some of my favorites:

Alcoholism Spaceman by Ben Stenbeck
The title for this story is actually very literal: it features outer space, flying (floating?) sharks, and rampant alcoholism.  To be honest, this entry was a bit short on story, but WOW!  Look at that art!  It's just beautiful.  The colors nearly melt off the page.  Ben has worked on some stories at Dark Horse in recent years, and it's easy to see that he deserves it.

Mighty Skullboy Army by Jacob Chabot
I've mentioned before how much I love the Mighty Skullboy Army, which has a collection of stories out through Dark Horse.  Jacob (Jake?) does humor well - both his writing and art lend itself to it.  Strip Search was how I first became away of the Skullboy Army, and I've since become a big fan.  I can see this concept taking off and making it big one day.

Haunted Cipher by Eric Haven
Strip Search split five different editions of Haunted Cipher throughout the book, and each was a one-page delight.  Some were darker than others, but all were extremely entertaining and usually parodied a different concept - the one pictured above was an obvious sendup of something like Aesop's Fables and was funny, but the one spoofing the old Charles Atlas comic book advertisement and the "girlfriend lie detector" strip were genius.

Insomnia by Nir Paniry
This entry did the most with the least, I thought.  There's only one sentence of text throughout the entire story, but it still comes off as a touching, sweet tale of the value of companionship.  The main character, I think, looks like Art Garfunkel, which has no bearing on what I think of the story.

The Seneschal by Tom Scioli
What, you didn't think Tom Scioli only did Teddy and the Yeti covers, did you?!  Ah hem.  In any case, it's easy to see by the page above Tom's prodigious talent and uncanny Kirby style of artwork.  The Seneschal just exudes energy and creativity.

You, Robot by Nicholas G. Perks
I'm not sure what it is about this story that does it for me - I think it's the simplicity in both art and storytelling.  The artwork reminds me of Jerry Ordway's, which is to say it's got a classic feel to it.  The story has a twist that isn't necessarily unpredictable, but it's different and it deserves some credit for that alone.

Tangerine by Ron J. Wimberly
This story was another that took a minimalist approach when it came to text.  The story was again a bit simple, but it let the reader's imagination fill in most of the blanks, which is sometimes hard to do (for me, anyway).  The artwork was very fluid and seemed to combine both Western and Eastern influences.

That's it for now.  Look for page six early next week!  For real this time!  I think.

THE PARTY NEVER STOPS!

The Teddy and the Yeti 2010 tour (check out that alliteration!) makes one final stop before exploding and perhaps maiming all involved.  I'll be appearing at the Pittsburgh Comic & Collectibles Show one week from today (November 14th) at the Century III mall New Dimension Comics store.  Also attending are "guys you might have actually heard of" like Jim Shooter and Ron Frenz, Teddy and the Yeti cover artists Tom Scioli and Pat Olliffe (come get a copy of issue #3 signed!), and a bunch of other jerks outstanding citizens.

I'm not entirely sure of the hours for the show.  This is something that I should know.  I'll find that out soon.  In any case, I'm sure it'll be over early enough to get home and watch the Steeler game at 8:20.  So...stop by.  Here's the website!  http://www.ndcomics.com/1110show.html

And here's the same bio that I've used the entire year!  Perhaps I should change it up for the next show...supposedly in 2011.

what I got in the mail today

Today was a pretty big day all around - for one, it was the first day of the Pittsburgh Comicon, and things went well.  I'll toss up a few pictures from the show soon - right now, though, I thought I'd show off my great big mail day, and perhaps everyone can be jealous.  It's okay if you're not, though.

First on the list is the grand debut of Teddy and the Yeti #3.  UPS delivered this on Wednesday, but I finally got to the boxes today.  The books turned out really well - both the 'regular' cover that you see above, with art by Tom Scioli, and the 'convention exclusive' edition with a cover by Jorge Correa, Jr.  I'm thrilled with the quality, really.  Just take a look at the inside:

After coming home from the convention's first day, I found the following waiting for me:

Etsy's Punkvixen sent me a few stuffed Yeti dolls that she put together.  After a few adjustments made since the previous model, I will say that I'm really pleased with how these came out.  I'm taking them to the con tomorrow, where I can hopefully send them to new homes.

Artist extraordinaire Paul Tucker surprised me by sending some of his books, including a copy of Borderland from Viper Comics.  Paul drew the Mr. Massive story in the back of issue #2, in case anyone forgot - and this stuff is no less impressive.

And lastly...

I got my shipment of Futurama toys in today - four in total.  So take that, PuzzleZoo!  I managed to snag all the figures I was missing.

All in all, a pretty spectacular mail day.  Pittsburgh Comicon, day #2 is tomorrow.  Time for sleep.