THANKS BATTON!!!

Hey folks! The above drawing was done by the great Batton Lash (Archie Comics, Supernatural Law). I met Batton last weekend at the Adams Ave. Street Fair here in San Diego. He keeps his studio at the ARTLAB on Adams and was a very nice guy. While talking with him, he quickly sketched this portrait of me! I must say, it's always kind of weird to see yourself in cartoon form. Aside from my own self-caricature, this is only the second time that anybody has ever drawn me (The other one was done as part of a group caricature back when I was the humor writer at the Southwestern Sun.). I really love this drawing, although I must admit, my right cheek isn't quite as squiggly. Thanks again for the drawing Batton, and for the kind words of encouragement you gave me. I'd been having some self-doubt lately, and talking with you definitely helped!

Well, September is at an end here. Normally, I'd be posting tomorrow, but I got a super busy weekend ahead of me (Four shows in four days at three different venues!), so I'm doing a quick little update today. I found this little gem on youtube a while back, and it still cracks me up to no end. Enjoy...

As a fan of both anime and the classic Popeye cartoons (The Fleischer Popeye's, not the Famous Studios ones!), this video is great on so many levels. I think we can all relate with Popeye's reaction to his first exposure to anime.

Well, I think I'll wrap it up for this week. I'll be back next time with an all-new Mike And Mindy, a haunting new Mushrooms and even more Halloween fun to help get everybody in the mood. Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

LAND OF CONFUSION!!!

Hey folks! Just a quick update today. Not much is really happening right now, so I thought I'd share with you one of the greatest music videos of all time, Land of Confusion by Genesis.

Man were those puppets creepy looking! I mean, look at them! They make H.R. Puff 'N' Stuff look like Fraggle Rock by comparison! Still, it's an amazing video made even more amazing not just because it still holds up well after 25 years, but because the message is still very much relevant. I guess it's up to my generation to set things right again.

Well, that's all for now. With September coming to an end, and Halloween officially upon us, I'll post something next time to get everyone in the mood. In the meantime, take care, and I'll catch y'all later!

MAKE SURE IT'S THE BOMB!!!

Hey folks! It's been a crazy six days here! After nearly three weeks of not working, I've finally gotten my cash flowing again. My job ain't always easy, but I can't argue about the pay. Plus, it's nice to have a flexible job that still gives me the time to work on my comics. Especially since I just entered a contest that the San Diego Union-Tribune is holding to find a new cartoonist. I probably won't win, but given the looks of some of the comics that are currently being published in the paper, I'd say my chances have to at least be somewhat good. Wish me luck!

Anyway, I have nothing interesting for you today, so instead, enjoy this "HIGHLY" entertaining song, courtesy of Travis Meyer and the Muppets...

Damn! Beware of that stuff that Johnny owns! By the way, I do not in anyway support or endorse drug use. I do find drug humor funny though! (Would you expect anything less from a dude that grew up in the generation of Halfbaked and and Chapelle's Show?)

Well, I'm gonna have to cut out for now. I still got one more day of work and a very busy weekend ahead. I'll be back next time with some more shenanigans. Until then, I'll catch y'all later!

COWABUNGA DUDES!!!

Man has it been a wild week! Between work, cartooning and a massive power outage that hit San Diego (and quite a few other places) last Thursday, I wasn't sure I'd have time to do this today. But luckily, here I am, ready to answer the many questions I've gotten from younger wrestling fans since last Monday night. So let's all take a short break from reflecting and listen in as I solve the mystery of the Super Shredder.

Not surprisingly, the CM Punk/Kevin Nash program on RAW is turning a lot of heads, with Punk very quickly becoming the next Stone Cold here. Having already called Nash on his previous failed gimmicks (he's yet to mention Master Blaster Steel for some reason), Punk had to really dig deep for his latest insult, and boy did he come up big. THE SUPER SHREDDER! Who was the Super Shredder you ask? Was this another WCW brain fart of the early 1990s? Well, not exactly. Although Nash was in WCW at the time, the Super Shredder was the mutated form of the Shredder that Nash played in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle 2: The Secret of the Ooze. What? Don't believe me? Well, here's the proof:

Ya know? The only question I ever had about this movie was if the ooze only mutated organic material, how is it that the shredder's armor mutated as well? My God! I just questioned the logic of a twenty-year-old kids movie! It's official, I've lost it! Amazingly enough, a lot of people don't remember this film, which is surprising given that it came out in 1991 and was wildly popular, despite having almost no name talent in it. They also show it on ABC Family on a fairly regular basis, so you'd think somebody would at least know about it. Of course, it also spawned Vanilla Ice's only other hit: Ninja Rap. I'd post it, but I'm just not that mean a person.

Anyway, I think we all know Nash's story from here. Went to the WWF, became Diesel. Went back to WCW, started the NWO. Came back to the WWF, blew out knee twice. Made a couple of movies. Went to TNA, left TNA, now back in WWF/WWE. And just to put some rumors to rest, Nash's "firing" was part of the show. You see, he's about to shoot a movie, but the production company's insurance will only cover injuries suffered on set. So until the shoot is over, he can't wrestle. It's a pity really, because this thing with CM Punk was really getting over too. Oh well. We'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.

That's all for now. I'll be back next time with some more goofiness I'm sure. Until then, y'all take care now and never forget the fallen.

JUST IN TIME FOR LABOR DAY, IT'S MIKE AND MINDY!!!

Well, we're back and ready for another fall season! Yep, that means a new school year, a slew of new, really crappy TV shows and another season of football! Or, if you're a Chargers fan like I am, another great regular season that will likely lead to yet another disappointing finish in the playoffs. Oh well, at least the holidays are coming up.

Well, I see no need to stretch things out any further. You people want to see some cartoons, so pull up a chair and have at 'em!

Truth be told, I try to avoid gross-out gags, but not because I think they're wrong. I am a dude after all, so bathroom humor usually does get a chuckle out of me. No, the reason I try to avoid them is because they are simply overused in today's media. Gags like the one above used to be done as a means to shock or amuse people. These days, it's so common place, most people probably won't even flinch! Thanks a lot South Park.

Ah, the misery of childhood! Heck, my school couldn't even afford jugs or kazoos! All our band had were those stupid recorder things that you always had to play Hot Cross Buns on! And given some of the subs we had over the years, I'd of much rather been taught by a bum!

I had a chance to stop by the SoCal Comic Con in Oceanside last weekend. It's a very small but fun show that had some great artists hanging out. A few of these dudes were kind enough to put their spin on Mike and Mindy for me. So once again, I present to you the Mike and Mindy Guest Gallery!

This piece was done by Chris Moreno. In addition to doing this great illustration, Chris taught me the joys of a kneaded eraser! I love the can and banana peel thrown in for added emphasis. This is definitely one of my favorites.

Tony Fleecs did this awesome piece. I love how he gave it the look of a title card from a 1940's cartoon. In a way, Mike and Mindy do owe some of their inspiration to Tom and Jerry, although they're not nearly as violent. I also love the shading. If there is any one skill I wish I could pick up, it would be shading.

Tone Rodriguez is responsible for this piece. Tone, as it turns out, is a huge wrestling fan, and really got a kick out of my Wrestlecrap splash page. We spent nearly an hour talking wrestling, totally oblivious to the fact that there was a line of people waiting to get sketches from him! To all who were waiting, sorry about that. When two marks get to talking, we just get lost in the wild world that is professional wrestling!

This last piece was done by Tom Hodges. Tom does a lot of stuff for Star Wars and Disney and was a very busy man at the SoCal Comic Con. Everybody wanted a sketch from him, and it's easy to see why. I mean, look at the portrait above; Mike and Mindy look like total badasses!

Well, that's all for now. I'll be back next time with an all new wrestling post, one that I'm sure will make your heads spin. I'd like to once again thank everybody at the Artlab for being so welcoming. Artlab is a weekly meeting for all types of artists, and I've really enjoyed hanging out with everybody and getting feedback on my comics. They've also been posting some of my cartoons on their site, of which I'm very appreciative of. If you'd like to know more about some of the Artlab's events, check out their sites at www.artlabsd.com and www.artlabonadams.com.

Until next time, I'll catch y'all later!