105. Babs on the Prowl

Personal work, 2013, graphite with digital tones

Horsin' around with Matt Humphrey's Batgirl design. Maybe next time I'll get those long, skinny limbs on model, huh?

101. For the Love of Mice

Excerpt from For the Love of Mice, 2008, ink.

A few years ago I attended the annual PNCA comics intesive, instructed by Jessica Abel, Matt Madden, Daniel Duford, and Peter Bagge. Following the workshop, I contributed to a class collection of short stories we titled Intense.

I continue to be fond of my story (a couple of framed pages currently hang in my son's bedroom, in fact). I doubt I'll ever reprint the tale, though. Shall we post it here for posterity?

098. Barbaric Elf

Barbaric Elf, 2012, ink with digital effects.

This is a commissioned piece for indie RPG publisher Trey Causey. Trey had the good taste to request a savage elf in line with 1970s post-apocalyptic classics like Elfquest and Wizards.

094. Need a New Computing Device

Ailing Device, 2012, graphite.

I'm in the market for a new computer and, perhaps, some peripheral devices. Care to recommend your setup or, perhaps, the setup you long for?

My current setup: PC laptop purchased several years ago when our household desperately needed a new computer at a reasonable price. Machine still supports day-to-day tasks just fine but, man, does it get slow when running Photoshop, etc. Currently no peripheral devices aside from external hard drive.

A couple of nagging questions:

• Better to buy a less expensive "workhorse" and instead invest in a nice tablet?
• Mac or PC? I've had both in the home; the pragmatist in me feels no real preference for either. Convince me.

I welcome your suggestions, opinions, etc. Thanks in advance for the thought food.

Tatoo, 2011, ink with digital color.

Here's my submission for the current Bristolwhip topic, tattoo.

One panel gag, 2011, mixed media.

Have you heard about Bristolwhip, your new favorite art collective? I'm very flattered to be in the company of such fine folks.

The gag above is my submission for Bristolwhip's inaugural topic, cyberpunk. Gritty, no?

Holiday card design, 2010, mixed media.

Season's greetings! I hope 2010 treated you kindly.

Nutmeg's Lotus Wash, 2010, graphite with digital gray tones.

The drawing above was inspired by the drawing below ...

Nutmeg's Lotus Wash, 2006, graphite with digital gray tones.

... which was, in turn, inspired by a visit to the Lan Su Chinese Garden in downtown Portland.

P.S. If you soon find yourself in Astoria, Oregon, visit the Lunar Boy Gallery, where there’s a group show to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Goonies (which was filmed in Astoria). My pal John Hoffman is a contributor to the show, which runs through July 3.

Excerpt from Fannie Firecracker, 2009, ink with digital color.

Stumptown Comics Fest 2009 is a fading memory. Kudos to Stumptown staff and volunteers and thanks to my PNCA comrades, with whom I shared a table.

I was only there half the weekend but I didn't pass up the chance to purchase cool stuff directly from cool folks like Alec Longstreth, Maris Wicks, and Liz Prince. It was nice also to meet Joe Quinones, soon to be beloved by Green Lantern fans everywhere.

Following its Stumptown premiere, the Fannie Firecracker fold-out mini-comic is now available to you, my web community!

Specs, revisited: Eight colorful panels printed on cardstock. Measures 5.5 inches by 4.25 inches folded, 5.5 inches by 17 inches unfolded. Hand-decorated wrapper. Price three dollars ($3) U.S., plus shipping and handling.

Fannie Firecracker Original art and fold-out comic, 2009, mixed media.

Ready to sell! Here's a first look at Fannie Firecracker, the eight-panel fold-out comic my clever co-conspirator Liska and I prepared for Stumptown Comics Fest 2009!

Liska and I knew early on that we wanted to present our fold-out comic as a small, crafty package. Liska volunteered to decorate envelopes to hold the comic. A great idea!

Cornered by Decorated Envelopes!

We guarantee your copy of Fannie Firecracker will contain:

• Eight (8) colorful panel-pages
• One (1) hand-decorated envelope
• At least three (3) instances of silly innuendo

One hundred copies of Fannie Firecracker will be available for three dollars each this weekend at Stumptown Comics Fest in beautiful Portland, Oregon. Run to Table 2 and snag your copy! See you there!

Cover design for Fannie Firecracker, 2009, ink with digital color.

Oh, my! Here's a taste of the something I'll be serving at Stumptown Comics Fest 2009! Visit Table 2, where I'll be stationed (at least half the time) with my Intense comrades.

Also, our original work from the Intense collection continues to hang through the month of April at Backspace in Northwest Portland. Stop by said nook and have a look!

Excerpt from For the Love of Mice, 2008, ink.

Thanks to all the friendly folks who visited Bridge City Comics last Wednesday to help us celebrate the release of Intense! Thanks also to Mike and the Bridge City staff who allowed us to occupy their fine establishment for a couple of evening hours.

During the month of March, original work from the Intense collection (including the page to which the silly panel above belongs) will be displayed at Backspace in Northwest Portland.

Come by the evening of Thursday, March 5, when several of us will be present for First Thursday opening of our show. I do believe our work will be hanging in the rear gallery. See you there!

My Drawing Space, 2009, digital photographs.

Here's a peek at the li'l corner where I draw. I hoped some of the panel content would be visible in the right-hand photo but I can only see the vaguest hints of pencil drawings.

Event notice! For those of you in the Portland area, I invite you to drop by Bridge City Comics on the evening of Wednesday, February 25. My fellow Intense collection contributors and I are holding a small release party for the book. Maybe I'll see you there?

Jessie Bazata, Cover Art for Intense Collection, 2008.

Remember that li'l comics collection I mentioned a few months ago? Well, Intense is here, it looks splendid, and it's jam-packed with entertaining stuff (see November 17, 2008 post for a peek at my contribution to the book).

Fellow contributors include:

• Ezra Ereckson
• Chris Hazell
• Randall Jahnson
• Marco Kaye
• Jefferson Powers
• Gregory Tozian
• Kevin Uehlein

Other Intense info:

• 48 black-and-white pages
• Special 20-page mini-comic
• Intro by Jessica Abel and Matt Madden

Thanks in particular to contributors Jeff Powers (who collected the material and prepared it for print) and Greg Tozian (who selected the printer and negotiated the job).

Dreaming about your very own copy of Intense? Send an e-mail message to hellouloo [at] jonmcnally [dot] net and I'll reply with confirmation of availability, price, etc.

Portland Tree Lighting, 2008, digital photograph.

Happy holidays to you and yours!

Excerpt from For the Love of Mice, 2008, ink.

In the previous post I mentioned that I'm joining several cohorts from the PNCA comics intensive to collect stories we conceived during Jessica Abel and Matt Madden's leg of the course. Yesterday we turned in our work for assembly. It was great to see the finished pages, cleverness all around!

I think the book should be ready for sharing mid-December. At that point I'll try to tempt you with a copy. In the meantime, please enjoy the first scene from my contribution to the collection (above).

Superman Despises Your Meaningless Existence!, 2008, mixed media.

Holy cow! I can't believe my luck!

I managed to get my hands on the spread pictured above, which features the following items:

• a super-rare Action Comics cover
• a page of crisp original art
• a pristine pair of finger-puppet playsets

Here's a closer look at the page:

Detail of Superman Despises Your Meaningless Existence!, 2008, ink.

What's that? Doesn't look authentic?

Okay, okay, you got me!

These items were created during the second leg of my PNCA comics intensive. Prompted by an excerpt from My Dinner with Andre, we explored visual narrative on and off the comics page. Local artist Daniel Duford guided our exploration.

Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Batman created by Bob Kane. Superman and Batman, the distinctive likenesses thereof, and related elements are trademarks of DC Comics.

Jenn Erik, 2008, ink with digital color.

Here's another contribution to the tribute thread over at the ol' Drawing Board. This one's for forum member Ed Reynolds, who (once upon a time) was nice enough to include me in a self-published comics anthology.

Li'l Punky, 2008, ink with digital color.

Last night I hurriedly drew this so I might contribute another image to the tribute thread over at the ol' Drawing Board. This one's for forum founder Shane Glines.

Lovely Cadaver, 2005, graphite with digital color.

A year or two ago I used this image to print some bookmarks. Since that time I've included one or two with this or that parcel. Recent bookmark recipient John Hoffman drew a most Lovely Cadaver and sent it my way. Thanks, John!