JEEPERS CREEPERS!!! THE GREAT PUMPKIN'S BACK FOR MORE!!!

Welcome back to Round 2 of the Crazy Cartoon Experiment 2!  We're wrapping it up today with some more great takes on a figure more mysterious than Dr. Claw even: The Great Pumpkin!  So sit back and relax as we finish up yet another successful experiment!  Enjoy!

 First up, we have CCE newcomer Frank Haba of Jailhouse Comics.  Frank did this delightful take showing that blockhead Linus sleeping through his big chance to finally see the Great Pumpkin!  Oh well.  Guess there's always next year.

Next up, my little "brother" from England, Harry Rickard, delivered this piece!  The Wizzo founder never ceases to amaze me with his awesome talent and humor,  skills I sorely lacked when I was his age!  Even more amazing, Harry didn't even know who the Great Pumpkin was!  Apparently in Europe, Snoopy is the Icon, NOT the rest of the Peanuts gang.

 Next up, The Code Crimson co-creator Elizabeth debuts in the Crazy Cartoon Experiment with this ultra creepy take on the beloved Gourd!  I really love the colors on this one.  And the Spiders and Ants in the background add so much more to the creep factor!  Simply brilliant!

 Next is another CCE newcomer, The Wizzo Comic's Hannes Smit!  A simple approach, Hannes is a good friend of Harry's who wanted in on the CRAZY fun.  I firmly believe in the "More the Merrier" theory, so we brought him on board!  Between this kid, Harry and FT, we got a pretty good youth movement coming up through the Crazy Cartoon Experiment!  Maybe one of these days, one these kids can take it over for me!

 One of the favorites from the first CCE, Austin Verburg is back and putting his characters through even more insane lunacy!  I really do love the Austin's Inferno comics and this one follows the usual stories to a tee! (For those of you unfamiliar, Tori, the girl getting strangled, is usually suffering one mishap after another in the strips!  Even in the CRAZYVERSE, she can't catch a break!)  A fun fact about Austin: He's the only person on the Planet that likes Doritos Locos Tacos more than me!  

 Jamie Cosley came back to play again with this fun little piece, introducing Cody The Cavalier into the Crazy Cartoon Experiment.  Cody's a very fun comic and Jamie's a remarkable artist and writer.  His work never fails to bring a smile to my face.

 Another favorite from CCE1 has come back, Crosstown Comic's Adam Pilkington!  As you can see, his dog survived the cactus encounter and has now deflated back to his normal size, only for the group to encounter another CRAZY plant!  I assure all of you the next CCE will have NO vegetation in it!

 Back from the CCE1 is Brendan Boughen from Cartoons By Jim.  It seems the Great Pumpkin's not only great in stature but great in taste!  Shawn Granger also devoured the prized gourd as well!  I just feel bad for poor Linus.  I get the feeling he witnessed the GP's capture!

 Australian cartoonist Caanan Grall of Max Overacts, the undisputed MVP of the CCE1, delivers yet again on this one, proving that not all great things need to be huge.  Naomi Jardine had a very similar piece last week as many of you may recall.  Caanan's pretty amazing.  The poor guy threw out his back, and still found time to work on this!  We all owe you one dude!

Shawn Granger of Daddy's Girls is back again with an updated version of last week's entry!  Shawn wanted another crack at hand-coloring and delivered this piece to me this morning!  The Great Pumpkin sure looks delicious, doesn't he!  The tones on the pie are perfect, almost as if light is actually bouncing off of the surface.  Another solid effort!

And there we have it!  Another Crazy Cartoon Experiment has come and gone!  A big thanks to all the artists who took part in this CRAZY idea.  You guys are awesome and your support of these "Experiments" is overwhelming!  I'm proud to have you all as friends and would go to bat for any of you!  I hope you all had a great time and I look forward to working with you all in the Crazy Christmas Experiment!  Stay 'tooned!

Well folks, that's all for this week!  We'll be back next time with an all new Mike and Mindy and a very special Mushrooms featuring The History Twins' creator, Francesca Testin!  She wanted a prize for fininshing the CCE2 first, and Mike and Mindy promised to deliver!  Anyway, take care and I'll catch y'all later!  Oh, and have a fun and safe Halloween!

IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CRAZYVERSE!!!

Halloween is around the corner y'all!  And what better way to celebrate than to offer up another round of the Crazy Cartoon Experiment!  We got some awesome pieces to show here!  So many in fact that we are once again splitting it up in two!  So sit back and grab some popcorn, because the show's about to begin!

The subject this time around was "The Great Pumpkin!"  That oh-so-mysterious Gourd that's been talked about for so long but never seen!  Ol' Linus has been hoping for nearly 50 years now that he'll show up, so we here at the CRAZYVERSE! decided to finally let "Blanket Boy's" dream come true!  Or perhaps... HIS NIGHTMARE!!!  Let the CRAZINESS commence!

To kick things off, my good pal (and CCE veteran) Matt Gross from CAAATS! did this wicked piece!  Gotta love that shape-shifting shadows pouring out of the Great Pumpkins mouth and eyes!  Begs the question: "Would you really wanna encounter this guy in a pumpkin patch on a dark night?"

We have yet another CCE veteran and very good friend up on deck, the wonderfully talented and openly Canadian Warren Frantz of OFF SEASON!  Warren, like me, is a wrestling fan and decided to give the Great Pumpkin a more heroic look!  I can see him now, wrestling in Mexico, forming a tag team with La Parka!  They can both come out dancing to thriller! 

Next up is Canadian artist Naomi Jardine, a newcomer to the CCE and the creator of Flatland!  Naomi did this wonderful spin showing that sometimes, great things come in small sizes.  Try telling that to kids still irked over the "Fun-Size" candies they get every Halloween!  Love the look on Linus' face!  It's like his whole belief system's been shot!

And now we get to my entry!  I have to admit, I'm a little embarrassed I didn't finish this quicker.  I'm the one running this thing for crying out loud!  Clearly, I need to get my priorities in order!  Anyway, my inspiration was Ichigo's initial Hallow form from the manga Bleach!  I'm very proud of this piece!  I don't think I've ever put this much detail into the design of a character.  I'm particularly proud of the vines growing off of the Great Pumpkin!  I wanted to give him an organic and fluid feel!

Next up, we come to England's Simon McLaren, yet another good friend doing his second CCE tour!  I love this bit, depicting the Great Pumpkin as a rotten, destructive kid!  I also love how he uses the word "Mum!"  You Brits get all the cool words!  I feel so darn uncultured!

Canadian Superstar Kim Belding, the genius behind Picpak Dog, makes a return to the CCE with this hilarious take on the Great Pumpkin!  Kim was one of the artists that really stole the CCE1!  Everybody loved his hilarious take on it, and he shows he hasn't lost his form after delivering another winner with this one!  Everybody loves a poop joke after all!

And now for a little sentiment.  Jason Platt of Mister and Me, as well as an actor, director, writer, chef, juggler and all around good guy, delivers this beautiful piece paying tribute to the wonderful man that made it all happen in the first place, Peanuts creator Charles Schultz.  Jason's another CCE veteran and a very good friend.  As a veteran stagehand, I was thrilled to have an actor become a fan and friend!  While working, you'd be amazed out how rarely the two worlds actually interact on stage!

  

And now, another CCE veteran!  The lovely and talented Michelle Hernandez of Kat Daycare!  Michelle went the scary route with this one, and I love it!  She's got such a great style.  Almost like Bill Waterson!  I mean, look at Linus' hair in that last panel.  I think he and Sally are gonna need a fresh pair after this night!  It seems many people feel that if Linus ever actually met the Great Pumpkin, he should probably regret it immediately!

Next up, some new blood!  Spud Comics creator Lonnie Easterling presented this piece which he dubbed: "Pumpkin the Great!"  Now this was outside the box! While most of us took the scary route, Lonnie went the extra mile and literally made the Great Pumpkin GREAT!  I'd take orders from that Gourd!

It's a family affair this time as Alpha Ballistic cartoonist Miguel Hernandez, brother of the aforementioned Michelle, makes his CCE debut with this brilliant entry!  His Pumpkin is Great in size and is now being contested by a squatter who's lost his Peach!  I grew up on Roald Dahl, so this rose pretty quickly as being among my personal favorites! 

Next up we get another CCE rookie, Catbeard The Pirate creator Matt Nelson!  Looks like poor Charlie Brown had a rough landing after Lucy pulled the football away from him last time!  Either that or he's been screwing with Linus all this time!  I have long believed that Lucy Van Pelt is not a child, but a wicked demon that has taken human form!  I really wished he could've kicked the damn ball at least once!  Charlie Brown's whole life has just been one disappointment after another!

We conclude Part 1 of the CCE2 with Shawn Granger's Sophomore effort.  The Daddy's Girls creator shows the aftermath of the Great Pumpkin after he no doubt tangled with the Kite Eating Tree!  Anybody for a slice of some "Great" Pumpkin Pie?  This is an early coloring effort for Shawn and I say great job!  My first go around at coloring my panels ranged from disastrous to just plain starting over!  Like I said on Twitter, it really is trial and error.  You just gotta keep at it!

Well, that's it for Part 1 of the Crazy Cartoon Experiment 2!  Many thanks to the phenomenal artists that took part in this CRAZY deal!  Be sure to come back next week for more GOURD-geous fun with Part 2!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later and somebody please hand me a slice of that "Great" Pumpkin Pie!

IT'S CALLED THE MASH!!!

Hello boys and "Ghouls!"  With Halloween around the corner, I thought I'd hand out a quick little treat to get everyone in the mood!  I've been unimaginably busy this week with the day job, hence the reason  I'm doing a short post, but I've got some cool things coming up very soon, so stay "Tooned!"

In the meantime enjoy this video!


It wouldn't be Halloween without the" Monster Mash," and this dude takes it to a whole new level!  Lord only knows what his power bill must look like come November, but when you do something this cool, I'd say it's worth it!  I can only imagine what he does during Christmas!

And because I'm in a good mood, a bonus treat!


This week, I got to work the Peter Gabriel Concert at the San Diego Sports Arena!  And when I say work, I mean BE A PART OF THE SHOW!  When my boss asked me if I wanted to work the show, I just assumed I'd be running a spotlight or something.  I never imagined I'd become the talent!  It was an amazing experience folks.  I idolized Peter Gabriel as a kid, so to not only work his show but be also on  be stage with him... WOW!  It was a dream come true.  We even got to meet him before the show and I can say he's a really nice fella!  I'd go into greater detail but time is short.  Hopefully, I'll have some pics soon of the costumes we had to wear!

Well, that's all for this week.  Next time, I hope to have something very CRAZY up and running!  Hopefully, the stars will align.  Until then, take care and I'll y'all later!

MIKE AND MINDY: LITERALLY SCARING THE CRAP OUT OF YOU!!!

 Welcome to October!  Fall is finally upon us and that means orange leaves, trick or treating, turkey, and that wonderful vanilla/cinnamon smell that always fills the air!  It is my favorite time of the year, and I can't see any better way to celebrate than to post some new comics!  A full day early no less, and not just because I'm going to be totally slammed with work for the next seven days!

So sit back and hang on tight!  It's Halloween time, so enjoy these Spooktacular new 'toons cooked up in the CRAZYVERSE! kitchen!  First up, the wild pair themselves, Mike and Mindy!

 I must admit, I'm very proud of the way Mindy's alien costume turned out.  I'm not very good at drawing "Scary" monsters, so I was a bit timid when it came to doing this strip.  But it looks pretty good, and it was a nice change up from the "Fuzzy" Monsters I usually draw.  I just hope poor Mike has a clean pair at home!  Maybe Mindy should think twice next time about who she scares and how she goes about doing it!

Up next, a "Bone-Chilling" Mushrooms!

Sometimes, there are some things that are best left unknown.  This is why I always keep my closet door shut!  Besides, it's much easier to get to your clothes when they are all laid out around the floor anyway!

Well, that's all for now!  I got a very busy week ahead, hence the reason I'm posting now instead of Thursday.  I'll be back next time with some more Halloween fun.  In the meantime, take care and I'll catch y'all later!