IT'S HERE!!! FORK IN THE ROAD IS NOW AVAILABLE!!!

After many, many, many delays (Some of which had me banging my head on the wall!) my book, Fork In The Road: The Crazy Collection Volume 1, is NOW AVAILABLE!!!  So why not be a sport and get a copy?!  After all, the holidays are here and this book makes a great Stocking Stuffer for the kids! What's that you say?  You don't know how?  Well fear not true believers!  You see that nice new tab at the right side of the page? That'll take y'all straight to the CreateSpace store where you can pick up YOUR copy now!  Go ahead!  I can wait.  Really I can!

Now that you're back, let me just say thanks for picking up a copy!  It really was a labor of love and I'm so excited that Fork In The Road is finally available!  I now feel like a real cartoonist!  I hope that you'll enjoy the book and pick up some of my future volumes!  Now that that's been said, on with the show!

Well, Thanksgiving's over, and that can mean only one thing: IT'S TIME FOR THE CRAZYVERSE'S ANNUAL CHRISTMAS OVERKILL!!!  So hang your stockings and pour the egg nog, because the Holidays are a comin'!  And I'd like to kick things off by saying...

IIIIIT'S CHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAASSSSS!!!!!

Today, we've set the Wayback Machine to 1973 so we can party on with the English rock group Slade and their Yuletide smash Merry Christmas Everybody!  No real need for any backstory here.  Simply put, it's a hard rockin' Christmas song, and it kicks ass!  'Nough said!

My good pal Harry Rickard, also of England, was of the opinion that Americans HATE this song.  I assured Harry that this song is in no way hated by Americans, primarily because a vast majority of us had never even heard of it!  I myself heard it for the first time four years ago while still a Senior in College.  I was at the SDSU library while in between classes, hogging up a computer from somebody that no doubt needed it more.  As I trolled youtube for viral video Utopia, THIS song was among the most popular that day.  So I gave a listen and was hooked for life!  So here it is Harry: WE LOVE THIS SONG!!! Well... at least this American likes it.  And so does FT!

Well, that's all for this week.  I'll be back next time with a heartwarming new tale from Mike and Mindy and a very special piece I did for the San Diego Blood Bank's annual Chargers Blood Drive!  Plus, some more Christmas fun!  So check back next time and take it easy!  And please pick up a copy of my book!  The cover image near the top right side of this blog will take you right there!  Anyway, that's enough shilling for now.  Take care and I'll catch y'all later!

IT'S THE LONG BEACH COMMISSION SPECIAL!!! AND A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM SOME OLD PALS!

Happy Thanksgiving CRAZYVERSE!  Normally, I post on Thursdays, but given that Thursday's the big day, AND I got a bunch of work to do in between now and then, I decided to post a little early this week so I can focus on the tasks at hand!  With that being said, here's a VERY special post featuring some of the commissions I did at the Long Beach Comic and Horror Con a couple of weeks ago!  It's not many, but I still had a lot of fun doing them, so enjoy!

First up is a Jubilee sketch I did for a fan who's Sketchbook Theme was "Women of Marvel!"  I gotta admit, I was bit stunned to be asked to do this, given my cartoony style, but the guy said he wanted me to do it for THAT very reason!  I had a lot fun with this one and it was cool to do an action pose for a change.  In hindsight though, I probably shouldn't have given her such huge knockers.  They're a bit distracting!

Next we have "Schizo" Fran of Garbage Pail Kids fame!  Once again, this came about from a fan who made up custom sketch cards in the hopes of getting different artists to do their take on the only kids CRAZIER than Mike and Mindy!  A two-headed character was an interesting challenge, but I think I handled it pretty well.  I wish I'd gotten his e-mail.  I would've liked to have seen some of the other GPK interpretations.

Up next, Gir form Invader Zim!  I always do free sketches for kids at Cons.  No child should ever have to pay for a sketch, and I'm happy to do it!  This was done for a little girl who loved the show and specifically wanted a sketch of Zim's clinically retarded robot dog!  Glad I could make it happen!

This was a dream sketch for me!  Aside from being a HUGE Earthworm Jim fan, his creator, Doug TenNapel, is one of my Twitter followers!  So imagine my joy when someone asked my to sketch the Grooviest Worm in Gaming!  What made this even cooler was that as I sketched this piece, people took notice and started stopping by my booth and checking out my book, which led to more sales!  To quote Jim himself: GROOOOOOOVY!!!

This last sketch was done for a little girl that specifically wanted to see something funny happen to Mindy!  Needless to say, I was more than happy to send her "Flying!"  It's funny, but this is only the second time anybody's asked me to draw my own characters.  For some reason, that was an even bigger thrill than the other requests!  Perhaps it's a sign that Mike and Mindy are starting to get an audience!

And now, a very special Thanksgiving treat to the faithful fans of the CRAZYVERSE! (And any new visitors to these CRAZY reaches!)  Enjoy!

Anybody who knows me knows that I was a HUGE fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 when I was a kid!  I watched it every Saturday night from the time I was six, when my Aunt Marisa introduced me to this brilliant show, 'til around 1993, when original host Joel Hodgson left the program (It was such a thrill to meet Joel at Comic Con a few years back!).  Anyway, between 1990 and 1996, Comedy Central used to run a Marathon of MST3K during Thanksgiving weekend called the "Turkey Day Marathon."  It varied over the years, with 1993 being 34-hours straight! (This was back when Comedy Central was still cool) I remember being so angry at my Mom for making me miss the last one because she wanted to see the Macy's Parade!  Alas, it's just a memory now, with youtube being all that keeps these old promos alive.  Luckily, quite a few episodes are available on DVD as well as streaming sites!  I hope some of my younger readers will be inspired to seek out this show and discover it's awesomeness!

Well folks, that's all for now!  I'll be back next time with the start of the annual HOLIDAY OVERKILL!!!  Until then, take care, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving, and PLEASE don't go too CRAZY on Black Friday!  No present is worth fighting over!  Anyway, catch y'all next time!

THERE AND BACK AGAIN: A WEEKEND AT LONG BEACH COMIC AND HORROR CON!!!

Well folks, I'm back!  Sorry about missing last week.  I'm afraid some sad times fell upon me recently, and I needed some time to recover and reflect.  But, life must continue and I must move forward.  So now, I present a belated report on my trip to the Long Beach Comic and Horror Con!  Enjoy the pics!

My humble abode for the weekend!  I even got a new Booth Sign made up for the occasion!  All in all, not bad for a second try.  I sold nine copies, up from my Wondercon totals, and got to walk around a little more, thanks to a more relaxed atmosphere.  Unfortunately, I was next to the guy who did Superman: Doomsday, and the line for his booth blocked me out most of the weekend.  He wasn't a very neighborly chap either I'm sorry to say.

 A rare look at Artist Alley as it's being put together!

 Doctor Who, A wildly popular show that I've never even seen!  Seriously, is it about time travel or something?

 Casey Jones, the Boba Fett of the Ninja Turtles Universe!

Nintendo Man!  It's like my early childhood glued to a bulletproof vest!  This dude is an Awesome Cosplayer!  I've seen him at a few SoCal Cons in recent years, and he's always got something new and totally random!  And yes!  That IS the infamous POWER GLOVE on his right hand!

 Peter Solo and Giant Chicken Fett!  It was bound to happen sooner or later at a Con!

 I don't think I need to tell y'all just how popular she was during the weekend!

These folks really "Brightened" my weekend!  Not only did they buy a book from me, they came back the next day to tell me how much they enjoyed it and how they couldn't wait for book two to come out!  I tell y'all, it really made me feel good to hear that.  As an indy cartoonist, this really is a labor of love, so to get a compliment like that, it really warms the heart!   The WHOLE family dressed as Rainbow Brite characters, and the little girl was absolutely adorable.  She kept thumbing threw all my books and got a big kick out of them!

 If this guy offers you gum, DON'T take it!

Never underestimate da power of da SCHWARTZ!!!  Lord Helmet is back!  And no, I didn't catch him playing with his dolls again!  Photos don't do this costume justice, because his helmet had a built-in megaphone so his voice could project!  Somewhere, Rick Moranis is smiling!

"Hello my baby!  Hello my darlin'!  Hello my ragtime gal..."  Oh God I was laughing so hard when I saw this!  Without question, the most creative cosplay of the Con!  Cosplayers of America, here my plea: WE NEED MORE SPACEBALLS COSPLAY!!!

 I'll tell y'all, it was refreshing to see a Wolverine MINUS the moobs for a change!  It gets kinda gross after a while!

 Just in time for Atari's 40th Anniversary, Lego Batman, meet Lego Pacman!  This booth was pretty cool.  They had a BUNCH of Lego models set up, include a replica of Magic Mountain's "Superman The Escape" ride!

 No, that's NOT Gangrel!  It's one of the Ghost Twins from the Matrix Reloaded, a perfect example of how NOT to continue a franchise!  Such a pity.  These guys could have been great villains too.

Rocksteady tries to get some last minute shopping done before the Con ended.  Would it've KILLED him to stop by MY booth?!

All in all, it was good weekend.  I finally got to meet Joshua Hauke, creator of Tales of the Brothers Three.  At San Diego Comic Con this year, we just kept missing each other, but luckily, his booth was near mine, so we finally met up!  Also got to catch up with other friends like Sheika Lugtu, Mike Collins, Batton Lash and my Wondercon neighbors, Dawn and Clint Wolf!  I'm heading back to Wondercon in the Spring, so maybe we can all hang out again! 

And that does it for this one folks!  I'll be back next time with a special post featuring some of the Commissions I did up at Long Beach, including two that have become personal favorites of mine!  And I'll try and get it up a bit earlier this time since Thanksgiving is next week.  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

MIKE AND MINDY: READY FOR LONG BEACH!!!

 Alright folks!  You read that top image right!  I'll be at the Long Beach Comic and Horror Con THIS weekend, November 3-4, 2012!  I'll be selling copies of my book, Fork In The Road: The Crazy Collection Vol. 1, doing sketches and just plain having fun!  So stop by, say hello and (SHILL ALERT) help me pay my bills!  I should also note that I'll be doing FREE sketches for kids 12 and under and will give out some FREE prints to those who buy a copy of my book (While supplies last of course)!  And if you catch me with one of my Prized Masks on, take a pic!  It's a Con after all!  It's gonna be an awesome weekend folks, I hope to see y'all there!

And with that being said, a quick look at the calendar shows me that it's the first Thursday of the month.  And as we all know by now, that means only one thing: COMICS WEEK!!!  So sit back and relax, as Mike and Mindy "Reveal" their latest adventure!  Enjoy...

 Talk about having a "Trick" up your sleeve!  That Mike is one good magician!  He's certainly brought new meaning to the term "Comic Strip!"  Just hope his legs are as fast as his magic!  And don't feel so bad Mindy.  At least your undies don't have any hearts or goofy-looking polkadots on them!

Well, that's all for this week folks.  I'll be back next time with a recap of the Long Beach Comic and Horror Con!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!