Bucks other than Rogers
About a year ago, I was hired by a Cleveland company to do some work for National City Bank. 
From there, we went through many revisions. Quickly the deer, or "Uncle Buck" became the favorite. He went from being an older uncle to being an older coach to being a younger coach.
The final design implemented a number of changes and revisions.
Coach Buck has appeared mostly in the Chicago area. He's made some personal appearances and been available as a coloring page, too.
Four or More!
After a week-long hiccup to do some business in Burbank, I'm back pumping out the Love and Capes pages. Here's page four, which means I've only got twenty left to go!
Sigh. At least I'm consistent.
This page was tough to break from a writing standpoint. I had a joke which I really liked, but as written, it would break the flow of the story. I wound up swapping Mark for Charlotte, and the whole scene works better now. Not only does the funny still work, but it creates a better transition for the story and, of course, the next page.
Two of a Kind
Next week is the excellent Baltimore Comicon in, of all places, Baltimore. I'll be there at booth #1409, wherever that is. I know the con has expanded in size this year, so I don't
Last year I worked on the Mary Jane Watson Toon Tumbler exclusive. This year I got to work on the companion glass, the Gwen Stacy glass. I like that we were able to keep some of the same design elements as the last glass which helps make them look like a set. I also got to write Gwen's dialogue. She didn't have a famous quote like MJ, so I had to come up with something so they both had dialogue.
Click on the picture and be taken to a larger pic. And be sure to come to the show!
Creature Feature
It's come to happen so much that it's become a truism: The best way to generate work is to leave town.
It's an illustration of Ghoulardi, the Cleveland horror host played by Ernie Anderson, before he became the voice of ABC. "Next, on the Love Boat…" That was him.
He was a little before my time. I was more a Superhost guy. Supe used to show kids' drawings off on his Saturday double-feature show, and frequently showed off mine. That kind of early validation probably got me into an art career as much as anything else.
The House of the Writing Son
I’m sitting in the airport, just waiting to get on my flight back to Clevesburg. And as I reflect back on my time in Los Angeles (cue flashback music) I realize that I can’t wrap up the trip without commenting on my friend, now good friend, Eugene Son. Check out his site. You've probably already seen his cartoons.
Eugene graciously put me up at his house, saving me from a week of staying in an alleyway refrigerator box, which are nowhere near as comfortable as you might think. Eugene wasn’t alone in taking the brunt of my freeloading though, as Mrs. Eugene and their lovely children, Thing #1 and Thing #2 got to experience my presence as well.
They could not have been nicer. Seriously. For example, they’re not coffee drinkers, but the lovely Mrs. Eugene still made sure that there was a fresh cup of coffee for me every morning. I can’t even get my automatic coffee maker to do that. They fed me (well, I might add… man, that was good pasta casserole), housed me, and even let me crash Thing #1’s birthday party, despite the fact that I didn’t bring a present.
In fact, the only negative part of the whole trip was having Thing #2 beat me, fair and square, in a game of Connect Four. I should not be getting beat by someone whose age is less than the name of the game. Seriously, he must be some kind of evil genius kid or something, like that chicken who used to follow Foghorn Leghorn around. Yeah, that’s it.
Leaving Los Angeles
Today I heard the results from the meeting I had on Tuesday, so I can now talk a little more about what happened and why I came out here. But, I hope you’ll understand that there are still more than a few things I have to keep close to the vest.
I was invited out here to pitch a project to a major studio. The pitch went very well, but nothing’s happening, at least not yet..It’s still out there and hopefully we’ll find a place and a way to do it.
Also, there were some other possiblities and potential offers made because of coming out here. One of the principals I was dealing with likes my work, and hopefully we can find some thing to work together on soon. If that happens, you’ll be seeing my name in some interesting places. And, according to people who’s opinions I trust and know more about these things than I do, there’s a lot about the chain of events that show promise.
So, while this was my first trip out to LA for such things, I’ve got a feeling it won’t be my last.
Well, Maybe Just One More
Quiet
Lifter of Heavy Things
The phone still hasn't rung yet, but it's not the weekend, so that doesn't surprise me in the least.
Actually, that's not completely true. My phone has rung for business reasons, but not the ones I'd expected. That's yet another thing I can't talk about though… sorry. As soon as I can, I will.
I did some physical labor today, which was kind of fun. I moved a table for a friend, and it was good to get out and lift something more than pixels. And
This evening, to get out of Eugene's house and hair (which, let me make clear has so not been a problem, I just wanted to make sure it stayed not a problem) I borrowed his car and went to Amoeba Music. Since I'd just been there a couple of weeks ago, I managed to keep well under my normal $100 hit.
I also managed to get a Slurpee. For some reason, the greater Cleveland area has run off all the 7-11's, so road trips like this are when I can get my sugary frozen concoction fix. Yay!
Now I'm winding down my day, watching the news. It rained a little bit today, and that seems to big Big Important News here. The Midwest is getting pounded by mammoth rainstorms, but it sprinkled in Burbank, and that gets the attention.
Oh, and I finished up my portion of Buzzboy. You'll see them littered in this post, too. Click and embiggen!
Killing Time
It's another day of the LA wait.
Waiting
Supersititions like this are a funny thing.
Actually, I have had a little bit of news today... more of progress I suppose than anything definite. Can't complain. And in the meantime, I've inked some more Buzzboy. So click and enjoy that!
Ever Forward
I'm still in LA on my super-secret business trip. Yesterday went well, and there may have been an extra sprinkle of goodness to come out of it, too. Time will tell, and right now I'm spending that time at my friend Eugene's house. (Eugene's a very talented animation writer. You've seen his work and loved it, I'm sure.)
Lest I do nothing, though, which is certainly not this workaholic's way, I've managed to color a couple pages of Buzzboy. Working on a laptop instead of my double Cinema Displays takes a little getting used to, but it's nice to have something to do other than just waiting. The waiting, as Tom Petty once opined, is the hardest part.
And as soon as I can, I'll let you know why I'm out here. Promise.