HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! LOOK TO THE FUTURE!!!

Well, we've come to the end of another one.  2021 certainly got off to a very rough start, and there were some very rough times that occurred all throughout.  But compared to where we were at this time last year, I think we are heading in a better direction.  Vaccines exist, variants are being contained and life is starting to return to some form of normal.  We all have the power to make this better.  I will continue to do the best I can at being part of the solution and hope that these improvements will continue.  In the past five months, I've returned to work and am making more than I ever have per month, returned to theme parks and comic cons and have even learned new artistic abilities and skills that are really upping my cartooning game.  It's a good start and in 2022, I'd like to keep that going.  I hope y'all will continue to join me for these adventures and that we can all have some fun together.  So here's to 2022 and the hope it brings.

That's a wrap on December and 2021.  Come back next week as we kickoff the future right with a look at Comic Con Special Edition.  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all in 2022!  Happy New Year CRAZIES!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS CRAZIES!!! WATCH FOR DROPPO!!!

We have reached it at last!  CHRISTMAS!!!  Well, in a few days at least as today is the 22nd, and Saturday is the 25th, but do any of you honestly care?  We're so darn close now we can practically taste those roasting chestnuts they're always singing about!

My tree is up and trimmed and hopefully has been spared from any kitty exploration (Harry's actually pretty good about Christmas trees as opposed to when he was a kitten).  It's a busy week for all, especially with so many of us actually being able to gather again.  So how's about we skip the small talk and go straight to the art, sound good?  Enjoy...

Uh oh!  Look out!  It's a greasy dude in a green leotard and doctored pilot's helmet holding a Wham-O Air Blaster!  Actually, it's just Voldar from the cult classic Santa Claus Conquers The Martians.  A long time staple of the public domain, this "gem," and that's a term I use VERY loosely here, got a second lease life in 1991 when the crew from Mystery Science Theater 3000 got ahold of it and went to town!  It would eventually become among the series' benchmark episodes and to this day is often included in many fans' holiday viewing schedules, which is good because this polished turd is practically unwatchable WITHOUT the added commentary!

That's all I got for this week.  Be sure to come back next time as we close out the month, and the year, with some simple art and a message of hope!  As Christmas is still a few days away, I would again like to remind all of you to please help others.  Donate food, donate clothes and toys, drop some spare change in the Salvation Army bucket, every little bit helps!  As the song says "Think of your fellow man, lend him a helping hand, put a little love in your heart!"  The world really can be a better place if we just try.  Until next time, take care, stay safe and Merry Christmas.  I'll catch y'all later.

POSSUM PACKED!!!

We are back!  Little over a week to go before the big man himself makes his famous run!  No you goofs, not Kevin Nash, Santa Claus!  How many stories do you know of Santa blowing his knee out while taking a step?  Exactly!  As we all patiently wait for Christmas to arrive, there is plenty to see and do, all while STILL be cautious and safe!  Things have improved a lot since last December and we need to do our best to keep that momentum heading in the right direction.  But since you're looking at this page right now, chances are you're not out and about, so I may as well make it worth clicking the link!  Scroll down and enjoy...

Poor Sap.  The product of a well-meaning but VERY overprotective mother, this bundled marsupial often doesn't get to enjoy the festivities of season as much as his friends do as he simply can't move!  Still, at least hypothermia and pneumonia won't be any threat to him.  Now if only his outfit had a built-in bathroom!  This piece again comes from my first Illo_Advent attempt on Twitter.  I often try to keep these daily art challenges simple as there are time that I might have work and thus not much time to draw.  Last year, obviously, that wasn't much of a problem.  But still, drawing everyday with the intent of posting can be a chore, and I'd rather have fun drawing something simple and silly rather than rip my hair out trying to create a masterpiece.

And that's all she wrote for now.  Next week's the big Christmas post, so be sure to come back and get your virtual gift!  Until then, take care, stay safe and please donate toys, food and clothing to those in need this season.  It honestly doesn't take much to make somebody's holiday happen for them.  Catch y'all later!

UGLY SWEATERS: WORSE THAN YOU KNOW!!!

Welcome back CRAZIES!!!  The march to Christmas is on!  Have you started your shopping yet?  I actually haven't yet!  Usually I would've been halfway done by now, but a little thing called Comic Con Special Edition occurred Thanksgiving weekend and kept me a bit preoccupied at a time when deals were gonna be at their best.  Yeah, I let bargain prices slip away, but it was totally worth it!  CCSE was a blast and I promise I'll have a full review of it up in January!  But for now, we're sticking with the holidays!  I know y'all are itching to see some new art, and I just happen to have some!  So quit scratching and start scrolling!  Enjoy...

The dreaded wool Christmas sweater.  Itchy as all get out and uglier than a baboon's ass as my beloved Nana used to say, it seems that no kid can truly escape them.  Little Wendy here discovers firsthand just how nasty these inanimate beasts really are.  It's like the sheep's revenge for shanking its fur!  Today's art, along with most of the art this month, comes from my first foray into Illo_Advent, a Twitter art collective that challenges artists from all over to make a Christmas or holiday themed drawing every day in December leading into Christmas Day itself.  Some years have been easier to do than others.  One theme even led to my first, and only so far, picture book!  As of this typing, I don't know what I'm gonna do yet, but I'm confident I'll come up with something!

That's all for today.  Be sure to come back next week for some laughs that have been stuffed to the brim!  Until then, take care, stay safe and please think of others this holiday season.  Toy, food and clothing drives are all in full swing and need help, so please do what you can!  Catch y'all later!

WELCOME TO THE HOLIDAYS!!! WATCH YOUR STEP!!!

Welcome to December CRAZIES!!!  Last month of the year and among the most festive times of the year!  Christmas is certainly looking more traditional this year than last, and will hopefully stay that way!  I'd like to say that Comic Con Special Edition was totally badass, but as of this writing, it hasn't happened yet!  It will certainly be different, but I'm confident it was an awesome time and I promise pics WILL be coming in January, meaning my blog will finally get noticed again!  But enough about that.  We're in full Holiday mode here at the CRAZYVERSE and are kicking things off right with some really gross art!  Enjoy...

Kids usually want the moon and then some for Christmas.  Quite a few are privileged enough to have their every whim catered to even.  But regardless of societal status, few kids ever truly think their gift list through, like the little girl who pined for a hippopotamus for Christmas.  Sure, it would be cool to have one as a pet...  Until you have to clean up after it!  You think scooping dog poo is degrading?  You're really gonna turn red after your friends see you shoveling hippo crap into a wheelbarrow!  Yeah, I think I'll stick to smaller, more legally attainable pets from here on out.

Week one of December is down!  What does next week hold?  You'll have to come back and see for yourself!  But I promise it'll be fun!  As always at this time of year, please think of others and help out those in need.  Donate today if you can!  Until next time, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

BUBBLE FOX AND TOM TURKEY: REACHING NEW HEIGHTS AND NEW LOWS!!!

We've come to it at last: THANKSGIVING WEEK!!!  I've written this weeks ahead of today's actual posting, but I know I'm excited as all get out!  Aside from my favorite holiday being tomorrow, I know that I'll also be somewhat busy setting up Comic Con Special Edition, which begins Friday!  It's scaled back compared to the regular summer show, so I probably won't get the hours I usually do setting it up, but it should still be enough that I can actually not sweat the December slowdown that's coming.  Hopefully I also won't be dragging my feet on the art front like I have the last two months and have everything queued already by the time this actually posts!  But enough about that.  Bubble and pals bloated into grotesque parade balloons isn't enough to satisfy your artistic needs today.  Y'all crave substance too, and I am gonna deliver!  So scroll down and see if Tom Turkey managed to pull off another victory this year!  Enjoy...

That wily bird always manages to stay a few steps ahead!  Billy and Dorothy might wanna switch to ham next year.  Ol' Tom Turkey clearly has their number!  But the Brat Twins and common sense are like oil and water.  After they get out of that mud and clean up, they'll likely got right back to scheming on ways to get that turkey in their bellies!  What does the future hold?  You'll have to come back next November and see!

That's a wrap on November of 2021!  But don't feel too sad.  We're kicking off our Christmas fun next week!  Is there really any better way to literally start the first day of December?  Of course not!  So come back and let the holly jolly begin!  As I've said in recent recent weeks, plenty of donation centers are open now and all looking for donations for those in need, so please help if you can!  For those heading out for Black Friday shopping, please be safe and courteous.  After more than a year of being cooped up indoors, people are more on edge than ever, so please let kindness reign supreme this weekend.  I would urge the same for those attending CCSE this weekend.  It's a smaller show and, as of this writing, isn't even sold out yet, so everybody should have plenty of elbow room this time around.  And even if we don't, just be patient and understanding and follow safety protocols.  There's no reason why can't have a fun and safe time at all functions this weekend.  Until next time, take care, stay safe, have a VERY Happy Thanksgiving and I'll catch y'all later!

TOM TURKEY: FASTER AND MORE FURIOUS!!!

Hello CRAZIES!!!  One week!  We are ONE WEEK away from Turkey Day, aka, Thanksgiving!  But, as excitement mounts, I must remember that preparations are underway not just for the holiday, but also for the coming of Comic Con Special Edition!  After more than two years, I'm finally gonna get to go to a major Comic Con again!  It's not gonna be as big as the regular summer show, probably more akin to WonderCon in Anaheim, but it should still be fun and could be a big thing for San Diego if it takes off, especially for stagehands like myself who don't get much work during the last five to six weeks of the year.  But more on that next time.  Right now, our focus is on Tom Turkey and his battle with the Terrible Tykes!  Last week, Tom exposed Billy and Dorothy's weak spots to the world, along with their unmentionables!  Has Mr. Main Course gone too far?  Scroll down and find out!  Enjoy...

Well, he has certainly got their attention now!  Tom seems pretty confident, but humans as a rule tend to be faster than turkeys!  The Brat Twins have been after this prized poultry for three years now and finally seem to have him within their grubby grasps!  Could Ol' Tom Turkey finally be heading to the dinner table?  Come back next week for the potentially messy conclusion of the current chapter!

That's all we have for this week, but be sure to come back next time as we conclude Tom Turkey's latest adventures as well as send November off on a VERY high note with Bubble Fox and pals!  In the meantime, be sure to give to those in need this holiday season as donation centers are now open!  Until next time, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

TOM TURKEY: SCARING THE PANTS OFF BULLIES LEFT AND RIGHT!!!

We are back CRAZY faithful!  The countdown to Thanksgiving is on at 15 days and counting!  I'm currently stretching all of my clothes out to allow for maximum capacity come dinner time on the night of Turkey Day itself!  But enough about that.  You clearly came to see what Tom Turkey's gonna do next and I intend to deliver!  So scroll down as we move on to the appetizer course now that everyone has arrived and taken off their coats!  Enjoy...

Huh...  And all this time I thought that getting your pants scared off was just and expression!  The Brat Twins' pants weren't only scared off, they were scared stiff even!  This is why you gotta go easy on the starch in your laundry!  Dorothy and Billy were looking for revenge, but Ol' Tom Turkey found them first!  Are the Brats about to get bopped or has this wily bird gobbled up more than he can waddle?  We will find out next week!

And that's it for this week, but fear not!  More Tom Turkey tomfoolery is coming up next time, so be sure to stop by and take a look!  In the meantime, please donate to needy causes this holiday season.  Food, toys and clothes are greatly appreciated and help more than you can imagine!  Until next time, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

TOM TURKEY IS BACK!!! GOBBLE GOBBLE!!!

Welcome to November my CRAZIES!!!  Boy what a difference a year makes!  Things weren't looking too good this time last year, and while we still got a ways to go, much progress has been made in this battle against the virus.  Fingers crossed that the good news keeps coming!

As many long time readers can attest, I am absolutely FANATICAL about Thanksgiving!  The food, the family, the parade, the MST3K Marathon... I love it all!  Turkey Day has long been my favorite holiday, though most of society treats it as "Gift-less Christmas" these days.  But here at the CRAZYVERSE, we treat this holiday with the utmost respect that it truly deserves, and starting this week, we have yet another exclusive tale starring that angry bird, Tom Turkey!  Those Brat Twins are back and looking for even more revenge after Tom first turned them into child dirigibles and followed that up by turning them in child projectiles!  The war is far from over as we catch up with the turkey and giblets!  Enjoy...

Well, Billy and Dorothy are back to normal size after spending an extended period of time inflated beyond belief.  And those once scrawny bellies of theirs can probably handle a bird as big as Ol' Tom is now that they've been stretched!  Tom doesn't seem too concerned.  What ace does he have up his feathered sleeve?  We'll have to come back next week and see!

That's all for today folks, but the story's just getting started!  Be sure to come back next week and see what Ol' Tom Turkey stirs up next!  In the meantime do take care and maybe think of others as the holiday season approaches.  Many shelters, food banks and toy drives are already open and looking for donations and every little bit helps.  Even some loose change in the Salvation Army bucket makes a big difference, so give today!  Until next time, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

WHAT'S THE BUZZ?!? HALLOWEEN OF COURSE!!!

We have come to it at last!  HALLOWEEN 2021!!!  Things have certainly changed a lot from last year when Halloween was more or less cancelled.  Thankfully, things are looking up and continuing in a fairly positive direction as of this writing.  But as we are now less than four days away from All Hallow's Eve, I think some spooky art is in order, don't you?  I mean, Bubble Fox as the Hat Box Ghost is pretty cool, but I think the CRAZY faithful deserve a little extra in the spirit off the holiday, so scroll down and enjoy...

 BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ!!!  Bees are terrifying enough, but Zombie bees?!?  Yeah, I'd be running for nearest industrial size can of Raid if I saw them!  The "Zombee" was I believe a Pinch Punch Post theme that I drew some time ago, 2016 by my signature.  Several friends have often chastised me over my fear of bees so I decided to appease them by drawing one.  Needless to say, they weren't impressed.  I thought the Zombee was pretty funny and I'm not totally anti-bee.  I even built a bee house for native bees in my backyard!  I just don't like getting stung!  That and honey is totally gross.  It's their vomit for crying out loud!  Keep that in mind while munching on Halloween candy Sunday night!

And that's a wrap for the month of October 2021!  I hope you enjoyed the spooky monsters and art.  We'll be back next week to kick off Thanksgiving month with some more hijinks from that wily old bird, Tom Turkey!  Until then take care, stay safe and remember to be vigilant Halloween night.  Keep the little ones close and make sure the candy given is meant for little ones.  Also, follow local ordinances.  Halloween's a time for masks anyway!  Until next time, catch y'all later!

HUBBA BUBBA HALLOWEEN GRUBBA!!!

We are back and getting ever so closer to the witching hour!  Seriously, we're little more than a week away!  Hopefully you fine CRAZIES are making the final adjustments to your costumes and practicing proper trick-or-treating etiquette.  Remember kids, a pillow case holds MUCH more candy than those cute little pumpkin buckets your mom makes you carry!  But enough about that, it's time for some art!  Enjoy...

YO GRUBBA GRUBBA!!!  These colorful monsters LOVE to party!  The Grubba is also known as the glow monster because of its love of black lights, hence the reason you always see then wearing neon colors.  If there's a rave to be had during halloween, you will find a Grubba or two hanging out on the dance floor, busting moves as their wardrobe shines!  The last Monsters Go theme I'm posting this month (Don't worry, I still have a few more for next year), this one was probably my favorite to draw.  I've always been big on colors, so this one was a given that I'd take part.  It was also cool to work on a character that doesn't have many curves.  Everything's so round and bouncy in my art.  I liked drawing some sharp points for a change!

That's all for now but we'll be back next week with DOUBLE the spooky art to celebrate Halloween and close out October properly.  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

NUMSY'S HERE AND READY TO TRICK-OR-TREAT!!!

We are back!  Halloween is getting closer and hopefully y'all are finding ways to have fun still.  I have all of my decorations up and have made my yard extra spooky this year:  I hired my neighbor to sit out front in a rocking chair and cackle at passerby!  She's pretty darn spooky I tell ya what!  But enough about that, you came for some art!  So let's jump right in!  Enjoy...

HEEEEEEEEEEEERE'S NUMSY!!!  Straight from Monsters Go, Numsy's also known as an arrowhead monster as he darts straight for the candy bowls every Halloween!  It is unwise to leave treats unattended when he's around!  Numsy was fun to draw and presents another unique creation as he also has no black outlines, despite having a black on him still.  I like the reverse coloring.  It's something different.

Another week down as we march towards fright night, but fear not!  I've got another post ready and waiting for next week, so be sure to come back and see what spookiness awaits!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

HALLOWEEN IS COMING, WOBB WOBB WOBB!!!

Welcome to October CRAZIES!!!  The Spooking Season is upon us!  Things have certainly improved a lot since this time last year and I'm particularly excited for the return of a more traditional Halloween, though current safety protocols will still be closely followed.  Costumes, decorations, tricks and, of course, TREATS!!!  We got it all here at the CRAZYVERSE and are looking forward to giving y'all some long awaited spooky fun!  With that said, let's get the art show started!  Enjoy...

The Wobb!  Also known as the amoeba monster, this spirited creation was dreamed up by the Monsters Go art collective on Twitter, which took kids' drawings of monsters and challenged artists to draw it in their own styles.  Always looking to sharpen my skills, I took part for a little while and had a lot of fun putting a CRAZY spin on these marvelous monsters!  The Wobb is particularly interesting as it's among the very few pieces I've done that has no black outlines on it.  Great use of primary colors though!

That's all for today, but be sure to come back next week for more monster fun as we approach the witching hour!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

CHOMPING AT THE BIT!!!

We have reached it at last... The end of September!  And you know what?  That's okay!  Halloween is rapidly approaching and looking like it might be halfway normal this year!  We also got the BIG holidays coming too, but more on that when the time is right.  You know what time it actually is though?  Time for art!  So let's do this!  Enjoy...

Poor, poor child.  Piranhas can't be reasoned with!  When are we gonna call them what they really are: River Hornets?  The last theme of the Daily Doodle's Weird Pets Week from November 2014, piranhas was another one that I read it and immediately knew what I wanted to do with it.  Some themes just really grab ya, and this was one of them.  All the animal themes were fun to do.  I'm not a fast artist by any means, so I look back and these and am stunned that I came up with gags so quickly.  Maybe I need another daily art challenge in my life?  They certainly kept me on my toes.  Maybe in the future somebody else will start one up?

 

And that's a wrap for September 2021!  But fear not, for October starts tomorrow, and next week, we'll kick the spook factor into high gear with some monster laughs!  So be sure to come back for a scream or two!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

OCTOPUS' GARDEN!!!

Time...  It just keeps slipping by don't it?  It's not totally bad though as the Spooky Season is upon us!  I do loves me some Halloween, but for now, I just gotta be a little more patient!  Anyway, let's get to the art, shall we?  Enjoy...

I'd like to be...

Under the sea...

In an Octopus' garden... 

In the shade...

Sorry, had to work a little bit of Ringo in there.  He was my favorite Beatle after all!  Octopi are highly intelligent creatures.  Why, Paul the Octopus at the Munich Aquarium even successfully picked the winners of every game from the 2010 World Cup!  Octopi are also very affectionate, though cuddling with one is not recommended.  Besides being kinda slimy, they're also quite the huggers!  The Daily Doodle's Weird Pets Week theme continues with one of my favorites from the whole thing!  When they said octopus, I knew exactly what I wanted to do and it is a hoot if I do say so myself!  And don't worry.  Ol' Octi let the boy go just after his face turned as purple as Octi is!

 

Another week down as we march towards the finale, which is next week now that I look at the calendar!  So be sure to come back and see September of 2021 off in grand fashion!  You'll be chomping at the bit I'm sure!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

PRETTY IN PINK!!!

We are back and it is the exact halfway point through September!  It seems the older I get, the fast time seems to pass.  Wish all the associated bull crap we are all going through would pass just as quickly, b ut that's neither here nor there.  Y'all want some art, and I just happen to have some!  So let's go!  Enjoy...

Flamingos. Big, pink and oh so smelly!  A zoo ain't a zoo without a flamingo pond, and you always know when you've arrived there when smell hits you at the front gate!  Even a few hotels and theme parks keep them on hand for visitors.  Knott's Berry Farm even had a flamingo pond once upon a time!  Today's art is from Weird Pets Week, a Daily Doodle theme from November of 2014.  There's no real story behind this piece.  Just something I did on the fly really.  For the last few years, a wayward flamingo has been making the salt flats of Imperial Beach his spring/summer home.  Considering that flamingos AREN'T native to the Pacific Ocean, it is quite the head scratcher that this colorful bird somehow wound up here.  Nobody knows how he flew so off course, but he's been a welcome visitor ever since.

That's all she wrote for this week, but we'll be back next time with some art that you'll really get a squeeze on!  So be sure to come back and see!  No pressure though!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

SISTER'S SLEEPY SLOTH SLEEPS SLOVENLY!!!

We are back!  How back are we?  Well I just said it didn't I?  Isn't that good enough?  It's not?!?  Alright, fine!  I guess I'll have to post some art then.  That ought to prove that we are in fact back and not just imagining things!  So let's get the ball rolling!  Enjoy...

Funny.  Usually it's the pets that pick up bad habits from their owners, not the other way around!  This is another piece from the Daily Doodle's Weird Pets Week from November 2014.  This particular day's theme was a sloth, so it just seemed like a natural to have it involve some silly sleeping!  Sloths are actually pretty darn adorable if you've never seen one up close, especially baby sloths.  They literally just sleep all day!  Can't imagine them being all that difficult to raise and take care of.  They're like living plush toys!  I had hoped to paint the backgrounds of this one using watercolors, but chickened out.  It's a new medium I'm trying and need a bit of practice with still, so I just Photoshopped the background colors in.  Paint Bucket's a marvelous tool for cartoonists just looking to do something quick and flat!

That's it for this week, but come back next Wednesday as we celebrate the halfway point of September with a particularly colorful bird!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

THE ALLIGATOR IS READY TO SNACK!!!

Welcome to September CRAZIES!!!  A lot has changed in the last few weeks.  Besides the Fall season now being here, I am BACK to work!  It has been a very long 18 months, but thankfully they started me off slowly, so I was able to ease into things in a smooth manner.  Will it last?  Only time will tell, but so far things have been working out.  Guess it's all up to fate for now.

But enough of that junk!  It's time for art!  And all this month, I've got some special pieces to show, but more on that in the commentary!  Enjoy...

That Rex.  Always gotta be munching down on those poor frogs!  Doesn't he know that frogs cause gas?!?  This art is VERY old, almost seven years even!  Way back when, there was a daily art collective on Twitter called the Daily Doodle.  Every day they'd put out a theme and artists from around the world would take part and draw said theme.  It was a lotta fun to do and required quick thinking.  Due to time constraints, I'd always do my entries in pencils, figuring I'd ink them in later.  After a few years, it became difficult to keep up with daily drawing challenges and Daily Doodle quietly bowed out.  A good many of those original pencil sketches eventually did get polished and wound up on this very blog, especially in the immediate post-M&M years.  But even I didn't always have time to go back and ink/color things, so for most of the last several years I've just been posting already completed art from other collectives because, well, it's just quicker.  But with me having August off from producing Bubble Fox comics, now seemed like a good time to revisit these unfinished sketches and finally give them the polishing they deserve!  This particular week back in November of 2014, the daily themes were kids with weird pets, with alligators being first!  I had a lot of fun with this one.  As a kid, I was terrified of alligators, despite living in a city where they don't naturally live in the wild.  I eventually got over my fears to the point where I wanted an alligator as a pet!  Needless to say, it never happened, but at least the kid in the cartoon had more luck!

That's all for this first partial week of September!  We'll be back next Wednesday with some more goofy kids and their equally goofy pets!  It's great to be back in the Fall!  I don't know what the future holds, but things are looking somewhat up with holidays approaching.  Just gotta count our blessings amongst the craziness.  Until next time, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

HASHTAG, GEOFF'S AWESOME!!!

We come to the end of another month in the year 2021.  Hopefully things are looking up more than they were at the start of the month.  I'm looking forward to the Fall.  Besides the coming holiday season, we might actually get to have festivities this year!  Not to mention, the Comic Con Special Edition scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend!  I'm pretty excited!  Besides the fact that it's Comic Con, there's also the simple fact that this show is giving me and my coworkers work at a time where things are usually pretty slow.  You'd like to think that all the various Christmas shows would offer work, but in truth, most of the shows that do happen are a day or two at best and the ballets and shows that do run longer only need a few people to actually work them, so a big show like a comic con or a medical expo, something that runs between 7 and 10 days can make a world of difference during a slow month.  But for now, it's still August, so let's end the month on a hot streak!  Enjoy...

Who's that suave man with the child kazoo band?

GEOFF!!!

YOU DAAAAAAAAMN RIGHT!!!

Sorry, couldn't help doing a Shaft riff there!  Today, the CRAZY honors go to another dear pal from the webcomic community, Geoff Munn, creator of the hilarious series #Parenting.  Based largely on his own experiences as a husband and father of three boys, Geoff's comics are always a hilarious read, as anyone who's read the Kazoo story can attest!  His comics are a good example of how the best fiction really is just the truth exaggerated a bit.  Like me, Geoff's also big on 80's toons and toys, so it wasn't hard for us to connect and become friends!  He's a good dude in every respect!

And that's a wrap on August 2021!  Come back next week as we start September and the Fall season off in the CRAZIEST way imaginable: With more art!  Okay, so it's not that CRAZY, but this is a blog!  Text and pics are my only options!  Until next time, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

BLAAAAAAAAAAAAART!!!

Halfway through August CRAZIES!!!  I know it sounds like a bummer, but summer vacation's kinda pointless when you don't go to school and have a job with flexible hours, but enough about that!  Time to BLAART!!!  Excuse me, there seems to be some interference.  It's time to BLAAAAAAAART!!!  What the?!?  Who or what keeps taking over my keyboard?!?  Scroll down and find out!  Enjoy...

Uh oh!  It would seem that one of the Goblins from Dana Simpson's Phoebe And Her Unicorn has escaped and is jumping comics pages again!  One of the sweetest and funniest comics in the funny pages today,  Phoebe is the brainchild of cartoonist and illustrator Dana Simpson.  A silly tale about a little girl who happens upon a unicorn after a rock skipping accident, Phoebe and her unicorn, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, go on all sorts of fun adventures and encounter a whole host of wacky characters, from a candy-barfing dragon to a sphinx that decides to guard Phoebe's door to selfish unicorns that inflate themselves with helium in an effort to rise up to the sky and hog the sun for themselves!  Phoebe and Marigold meet all types, including goblins, who in this universe are depicted as impish, gremlin-like creatures that cause all sorts of mischief and are only capable of speaking in BLAARTS!!!  I'm not fluent in it myself, but BLAART is now a part of the comics lexicon, and that truly is a great gift that Dana's given to us, among many others!

That's all for this week.  We'll be back next time to end August on a high note with a possible kazoo solo or two!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later! 

MOOSE MAKES MEL!!!

 Welcome to August Week 2 CRAZIES!!!  Summer's starting to wind down, which is kinda sad as this summer was actually relatively normal, but there's always a silver lining.  As of this writing, work is starting to come back and by the time this posts, I might actually be back on the job!  Fingers crossed dear readers!  But enough about that.  I've got more fan art to share, so let's get to it!  Enjoy...

Hey kids!  Look!  It's a moose!  But that's not just any moose, it's Mel the Moose!  What makes him so special?  Are you kidding?  He's a moose that plays hockey and wears a scarf!  Those two factors alone make him a badass!  Mel is one of the stars of City Folk, one of MANY hilarious web comics created by Ryan Klassen, one of my dear Canadian pals!  Ryan's comics are hilariously written and drawn and feature a whole host of wacky characters getting into all sorts wild situations, from Mel the Moose and his beaver pal Foster to an actual talking butt named Toots!  Ryan's comic output is so prolific that it's nearly impossible to keep up with him sometimes!  Between Ryan and Kim Belding, MAD legend Sergio Aragones has some serious competition in the fastest cartoonist category!  Ryan's one of my oldest pals in comics and has done several guest strips over the years for Mike & Mindy and Bubble Fox.  Anytime his toons pop into my Twitter feed, it's good times.

That's all for now.  We'll be back next week with a look at a rather bizarre being, one that David Bowie might not have kept in the Labyrinth even!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

COMPLETE CORGI CONTROL!!!

Welcome to August CRAZIES!!!  Sadly, no Comic Con recap this year, because, well, stuff.  Things are slowly starting to head back in the wrong direction again, but I'm confident we'll get back on the right track, but that's neither here nor there.  Art has returned to the CRAZYVERSE!!!  So let's just cut to the chase, shall we?  Enjoy...

It's a bird!  It's a plane!  No!  It's Rylee, the Guardian Corgi, aka Heavenly Kibble!  Faster than a speeding cat, louder than a squeaking toy and stronger than stale Pedigree, Rylee is the creation of cartoonist Joie Foster, a dear friend from the con circuit who's making quite a name for herself these days, not only in comics but in animation too!  Her comic series, Heavenly Kibble: Guardian Corgi, is a fun all ages read about a corgi and her human fighting to save the world from evil!  What I like about this series, besides the fact that it's silly as all get out, is that there are a lot of great homages and nods to classic anime and manga, namely Sailor Moon.  I also like the fact that Rylee, the corgi in question, is not anthropomorphic.  She's drawn as a realistic dog, a stubby little corgi who can only go as fast as her short legs will take her!  I met Joie back in 2014 at WonderCon.  We were in the same aisle and became fast friends with a mutual love of cartoons, 80's nostalgia and the sad fact that neither of us had much luck that year, though our luck would change and quick!  We also share an interest in wacky clothing, as I tend to wear funny novelty shirts while Joie wears funny novelty pants!  Between the two of us, we've probably put a few Spencer's employees though college!  One of things I miss most about cons is seeing all my pals that I literally only get to see at shows maybe once or twice a year.  Hopefully next year, we can all get together again for some comics, food truck staples and silly clothes!  Until then, keep those corgis rocking Joie!

That's all for today.  Next week, come back and we'll do some moose stuff.  What does that entail?  Hell if I know?  We don't have moose in San Diego, though my nephew eats like one, such bad table manners that boy has!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

A BERRY GOOD TIME AT KNOTT'S BERRY FARM!!!

 

Hello my CRAZIES!!!  Another July has come to an end, but it had to be better than last July at least!  I mean, 2020 set the the bar pretty low, but any progress is better than no progress.  Last year, all I could do was sit in my house and pray for the best.  This year, I can actually do stuff.  That's a pretty good change I think.  I even got to visit one of my favorite places to go, Knott's Berry Farm!  Last year's 100th Anniversary had to be postponed to this year for obvious reasons.  But it's on now and the whole park is decked out and ready to party!  So put on your cowboy hat, strap in and get a slice of boysenberry pie because we are heading up the 5N to Buena Park!  Enjoy...

The Calico Mine Ride.  Knott's first dark ride that actually had some input from Walt Disney!

Charleston Circle, home to the fountain from Hello Dolly.  This area of the park is currently known as The Boardwalk but was previously known as the Roaring 20's.  Despite the upgrade, there's still a lot of 20's motif all around.

The new old ride, Knott's Bear-y Tales!  Previously it was Voyage to the Iron Reef and before that, Kingdom of the Dinosaurs and before THAT even, the original Bear-y Tales!  This building has had a LOT of facelifts over the years.  Of the all the rides that were in this building, the original Bear-y Tales is the only one I never rode.  and the "75-86" sign on the water tower marks the years the original ride ran.

In honor of the park's 100th, they've set up photo ops of former rides near their old locations.  This one honors Wacky Soap Box Racers.  Never got to ride it, but many fondly remember it.  I did ride its successors.  Windjammer had a notorious reputation.  Oddly enough, the one time I rode it, it actually worked just fine.  Guess I was there on a good day!  Xcelerator I've only been on once and learned a harsh lesson about squishing myself into a ride I was too tall for!  That was a first for me!  Still a fun ride though.

This photo op honored The Haunted Shack, a bizarre building where the impossible became possible!  Only got to see the real deal once, the highlight being my teacher's son walking up a wall sideways!  Many wild rumors surround the Shack's closing but in reality, it closed for not being ADA compliant.

The stage at Calico Square currently sits where the Haunted Shack once was.  As a stagehand, I gotta admit, it's a pretty impressive setup.  On this particular, the Peanuts Gang was on stage with some random teenage employees doing the opening medley from Moulin Rouge!  

This room is one of the old buildings that happened to have a bunch of the old Kingdom of the Dinosaurs props in it!  Totally stumbled upon this by accident!  Definitely made me wonder what they're doing with this, as none of the windows were blocked off.

In the early days of the park, before there were any rides, Walter Knott had all sorts of stuff laying about the property in an effort to keep guest entertained while they waited for their table at the Chicken Dinner Restaurant.  Apparently one of those thing was an actual steam-powered steamroller.

There's not a whole lot left of the old berry farm at this point, but if you know where to look, you can still find some of those legendary boysenberries growing!

Finally, we got the original Knott's K!  For over 40 years, this iconic uppercase letter stood at the top of the Sky Tower, lighting up the Buena Park sky at night.  This year, they replaced the old K with a newer, more energy efficient one that uses LED technology.  The old one is currently being used for photo ops!

And that concludes our look at Knott's Berry Farm!  A far more affordable option than nearby Disneyland, Knott's is the world's oldest theme park, a title they stumbled upon by accident!  Disneyland may've been the first to directly go in with the idea of actually theming a park, but Knott's formed in a completely organic way more than a decade before!  It's a wonderful place with fun rides and amazing food.  Their Christmas theming is also awesome.  I look forward to future visits to the Farm!

And that's a wrap on July!  I hope y'all enjoyed the pics.  I just wanted to do a little something different this month is all.  The art returns next week, and also next month, I might actually be going back to work!  We'll just have to see how it all goes!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

PLANTING THE PERFECT PUMPKIN PLANTER!!!

 

Welcome back!  Halfway through July and halfway through Summer!  Normally, I would've been hyping Comic Con this week, but fate just won't give us any breaks.  So instead, we'll be taking a look at a really labor intensive project I worked on towards the end of May!  It involved some bricks, sand and an awful lot of bad words!  What project was this you ask?  My above ground pumpkin patch!  I mean, the pic above should've been the dead giveaway here!

A little backstory before we dive in.  For a better part of 18 years, I've tried to grow pumpkins, having only had one successful, sizable pumpkin grow, ironically enough from a seed that had sprouted inside of another pumpkin!  Two years ago, I dug out a pit in my backyard and lined it with chicken wire in an effort to keep gophers out.  For the most part, they grew, though none ever got any real good size to them. Things were looking really good last year until some bastard gopher actually went up and over the chicken wire and laid waist to my entire patch!  Of the 14 I had, it killed eight of the vines right away while the other six eventually withered, giving me six piddly little pumpkins.  This year, I decided I'd beat the gophers at their own game.  With a few supplies and a LOT of patience, I built an above ground planter!  It took roughly five days to do, and two of them was just buying the bricks and sand.  To see just went into this little endeavor, scroll down and read along!  Enjoy...

First off, I had to dig out the old soil and chicken wire and then refill the entire pit and tamper it down.  This took some doing, and actually led to me really hurting my back.  Kept me in bed for three days even. But the journey was under way!

Next, I picked a new spot for the planter not far from where the old one was.  I wanted more walking room around the planter so I could more easily water and tend to the rest of my plants.  Once the spot was found, I got digging and trenched it out!

With the trench dug, I filled it halfway with paver base, which is sand with a lot of stones and gravel mixed in so that structures eventually going over it will have stronger footing.

After that, I filled the rest with sand so that when the bricks were laid, they could simply be tapped level with a rubber mallet.  A task the should've been easier than it was!

After that, I laid out the the chicken wire and covered it with river stones to help with drainage.  Then I began laying out the bricks!  Leveling these things was a pain because even with the sand there, my lumpy ass yard just wouldn't cooperate!  It also didn't help that NONE of these bricks are the exact same size as advertised.  For those of you planning your own projects involving bricks, just know that perfect level is pretty much impossible because of the aforementioned size deal I just spoke of and close enough really is the best you'll get.  And that's okay.

Lastly, I filled the planter in with soil and planted my pumpkins!  The pic at the top of the page is much more recent and shows just how far they've all come!  In all, I got four different types of pumpkins (Jack-o-lantern, Connecticut Field, Casper and Giant), two types of cucumbers, (Sumter and Spring Burpless), marigolds and a zucchini growing and thriving in the planter!

The pumpkins even have a staunch defender, Igbeer, the Fence Lizard!

Not much gets past ol' Igbeer!

And that's how it was done.  It was a LOT of work and I probably sweated off about 20 pounds while doing it, but the effort was well worth it.  I'd like to see a gopher scale two feet of solid concrete without getting caught by an apex predator, of which there are quite a few roaming in my yard!  I got a good feeling about my crop this year!

That's all for today!  Be sure to come back next time so we can wrap up July in a "Berry" fun way!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

THE CRAZY GARDEN GROWS!!!

 

We are BACK!!!  The march to normal continues here at the CRAZYVERSE.  Hopefully y'all are safe and sound and enjoying some summer fun as conditions allow.  Like many folks, I was out of a job when the world more or less closed last Spring.  Frustrated, confused and just plain depressed, I really didn't know where to turn when it became more clear that I wasn't going to be going back to work any time soon.  I tried to turn to my art, but ironically enough, my workplace frustrations is often where most of my inspiration came from, so that kinda hit a roadblock too.  I clearly still got some art and comics out, but for a time, it just wasn't any fun.  By the time last summer rolled around, I turned down an avenue I hadn't considered: Gardening.  I try to grow pumpkins every year, but have little to no success (More on that next week).  With literally nothing else to do, I decided maybe some flowers would be a nice thing to plant too. Not much success came about.  Either I started too late or maybe all those seeds really were just plain bad, but outside of some pumpkins and red knight marigolds, I just couldn't get anything to grow!  I was down, but not out.

This year, things went a bit differently.  I started early, using mini greenhouses made of milk jugs and soda cups that successfully sprouted some seeds!  And as you may have noticed in the pic at the top of the page, it's only grown from there!  Here is some of the rest!  Enjoy...

Among the easiest flowers to grow, marigolds!  Got quite a few of them out there, including jaguar marigolds.  The ones above are red knight and orange marigolds.  On a side note, these flowers are a great form of natural pest control too!

Here we see a native bee, possibly a leaf cutter bee, taking her fill of a zinnia!  Among the few seeds I did successfully sprout last year, zinnias are quite hearty and very colorful!  Pollinators really love them too!

Another very colorful flower I was able to sprout were some asters.  Pretty as they are, I wouldn't recommend them.  They are a pain to get going!

This area I named "Monarch Corner," for the soul purpose of it being a habitat for monarch butterflies and their caterpillars.  Although it eventually did see some colorful caterpillars come about, the monarchs really didn't seem all that interested in this area.  They preferred the other two pollinator spots I set up.

One of the cooler parts of setting up all these plants has been the return of frogs to my yard!  Once upon a time, frogs and toads were all over my neighborhood.  But after the creek beds dried up, they all disappeared.  I've seen a few frogs here and there very sparingly since then, but that's well over a twenty year span.  Since March, I have actually lost count of how many I've spotted!  Hopefully it's a sign of more to come! 

I made sure to include plenty of milkweed bushes in my yard and boy did it pay off!  I had dozens of monarch caterpillars all over the place!  I can't say for sure how many successfully made it to adulthood as their chrysalises blend in quite well with a lot of things!  I was able to witness five of them hatch out though, so that's cool.  I never realized what voracious eaters they are!  They stripped all three plants I had  and seven saplings!  Next year I'll have to make sure I have more milkweed ready to go for these guys!

One of the biggest reasons I planted all these gardens was to also attract native bees in addition to endangered monarch butterflies.  I was successful on both fronts and bees of all sizes came to my yard, like this teeny tiny little sweat bee hanging out in alyssums above.

Green sweat bees, which are considerably bigger, also made my yard a regular part of their pollen search!  Not many people pay attention to the plight of solitary bees.  They are just as important as their honeybee cousins and in some respects, like squash bees, even more important.  They all play an important role.

Out in my front yard, I set up a Bird & Butterfly Corner that saw a wide variety of beneficial bugs show up, and a few bad ones too unfortunately.  These sunflowers especially attracted some interesting visitors...

Like this solitary bee!  I have no idea what type it is, but she was a biggie!  Much bigger than a honeybee, but smaller than a bumblebee!

This is the Pollinator Corner, which is in my back yard on the opposite side of the Monarch Corner.  This area is meant for a whole host of beneficial bugs to come hang out in, and they did!  Ironically enough, this corner and the Bird & Butterfly Corner in my front yard saw far more success in raising monarchs than the actual Monarch Corner has!

We end today with my patio pond, which seems to be a new trend amongst gardeners who can't have actual ponds either because they have no room or a disapproving super!  There's really not a whole lot to it.  I bought a really nice ceramic planter, made it water proof and added river stones, water and pond plants.  And as an added bonus, the water hyacinth that the nursery wasn't too confident about actually flowered!  It even had some stowaway pond snails on it that have kept the pond largely free of algae!  Now if only more frogs would come.

And that's a look at the CRAZY Gardens.  Silly as it sounds, these plants and critters have helped keep me sane during these stressful times.  I'm very happy with all the success I've had with these plants and am already looking at ways to improve upon them next summer.

And that's all for this week.  Next time, we'll take another trip through the CRAZY Gardens with a look at one of the biggest projects I've ever worked on!  A foundation was laid for future crops that will hopefully pay off in the long run, so be sure to come back!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!