MIKE AND MINDY... LOONY FOR LIFE!!!

Welcome back CRAZIES!!!  Well, we've reached the end of another month...  In a few days at least!  But for all intents, August and Summer is just about over.  Believe me the abundance of early pumpkins is making that VERY clear!  But there's still a little time for some fun in the Sun, so how's about we see what guest fun has been floated our way this time?  Enjoy...

Would ya look at that?  It's our old pals Mike & Mindy drawn by the amazing Sean Foley Hall!  Sean is the amazing artist behind such fun titles as Dirk Brody and Agnes From S.P.A.CE.!  He's also a good friend and amazing guy.  When a fellow friend needed help last fall, Sean did not hesitate to offer commissions as a means of raising funds.  Well, I just couldn't pass up getting some original art from Sean, not to mention helping a dear friend, so I ordered two pieces: One for me and one for our friend as a birthday present.  The top piece is obviously mine and with Sean having already taken Bubble Fox to new heights in last year's guest month (And believe me he raised the stakes further this year!), I just had to get his take on Mike and Mindy in one of their funniest moments!  And, not surprisingly, Sean delivered big!  Sean reminds me a lot of Jack Davis in that he can draw these really detailed and realistic characters and yet still make them feel lighthearted and cartoony.  It's an amazing skill and I get lost in his art constantly!  As for that other drawing?  Do some snooping around Twitter or BlueSky and you'll catch a glimpse at one of the funniest cartoons ever drawn!

And that's a wrap for the month of August and the season of Summer!  And yes I'm aware Fall doesn't actually start until late September, but when there's already Halloween decorations out and the smell of pumpkin spice permeates the air, it's kinda hard to think about beaches and BBQ's at this point!  Luckily, I do have some cool, colorful art coming next month to bridge the seasons, so be sure to come back next week and see how it all starts!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

BUBBLES AND TROUBLES!!!

We are back!  Hard to believe the spooking season is literally knocking on our door already!  Granted, it's already been Halloween at most arts and crafts stores since before the 4th of July even, but that's neither here nor there.  It's still summer dammit and as such, it is the time for summertime fun!  Childhood fun!  And what's more childhood than blowing bubbles?  Popping balloons you say?  According to Professor Google balloon popping is indeed considered a tradition of sorts, albeit an old one, but it still counts!  Can the two pastimes be combined with Bubble Fox fan art?  Scroll down and find out!

Uh oh!  Looks like that darn silly Bubble Fox has gotten some more of his friends into some danger involving helium and sharp objects!  Given his reputation, you'd think more pals within the realm of webcomics would be very wary of hanging out with Bubble, but I suppose some lessons must be learned firsthand!  Those claws look sharp too!  Might be time to start thinking about burping or farting boys because those are the only other options for escape!  Geoff Munn's been a pal for years, having first connected on Twitter and thankfully keeping things going on BlueSky (Geoff's the one who gave me an invite code!).  His comic, #Parenting, has long been a favorite, highlighting the silly, often surreal things one encounters while raising children.  From yard peeing to kazoo irritants, the comic covers it all!  Geoff's boys were all little dudes when he started, with his youngest not even being born yet!  Now they are all maturing into slightly bigger dudes with personalities as wacky as their old man's!  I should also note that my favorite trope of this comic is how each boy starts out with dot pupils that grow into full-on eyeballs as the characters age!  It's small touches like that that add to the humor and sweetness of Geoff's work.  When Geoff began offering commissions earlier this year, I knew I had to get a piece with Bubble interacting with his characters, and he delivered BIG!!!  Thanks again Geoff!  You, Bubble and the boys have never looked so buoyant!

Well, another week down as we march towards Fall.  But I promise we'll end the Summer on a high note, so come back next week for a DOUBLE dose of fun as Bubble PUMPS up the laughs!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

AND THE FOX ROLLS ON!!!

Well, after ten weeks, we've finally returned to normal here at the CRAZYVERSE.  Returning from the insanity that is Comic Con is never easy, but much like Christmas, we'll love it even more when it comes back next year.  Besides, we're still celebrating the 10th Anniversary of BUBBLE FOX!!!  Amazingly enough, I'm still getting fan art of that wily old critter all these months later, so I figured I'd take some time this month and share a few more pieces with you fine CRAZIES!  Not a bad way to close out the summer eh?  Enjoy...

Would ya look at that!  Our old pal Kim Belding is back yet again to give Bubble some more of his fun brand of cartoony love!  I could obviously (And have!) go on for hours about how wonderful Kim is and how much I love his comics and art, but frankly I'm running out of synonyms!  Kim, you know I love ya buddy, and I hope the married life is proving to be a fun one so far!  I also love that longtime Bubble Fox costar, Mr. Gully, appears alongside Bubble!  Mr. Gully is based off of another longtime friend in the cartooning world, teacher and Off Season creator Warren Frantz.  Warren's been a dear pal to both me and Kim all these years with lots of cartoon play between all of our characters.  Who could ever forget the infamous Root Beer Wars of 2012?!?  And as far as Bubble lasting longer than Calvin & Hobbes?  I'd obviously never put myself at THAT level, as C&H's output still dwarfs mine, but it's pretty incredible to consider the mileage I've actually gotten out of BF.  I never thought I'd have so many stories to tell when I first came up with Bubble.  It was all pretty much on a lark even!  That he's lasted this long and has so many fans...  It's very humbling.  I only hope someday that people will look back on Bubble and pals and put them in the same league as Calvin and his best bud.  Thanks again Kim.  You are the Hobbes this Calvin badly needed!

That's all she wrote for this week, but we'll be back next time for some very well-rounded laughs from another longtime friend of the CRAZYVERSE who wanted to help celebrate Bubble's big milestone, so be sure to come back and check it out!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

COMIC CON 2024... CAME, SAW, CONQUERED!!!

Well, we've come to it at last.  The conclusion of the CRAZY Comic Con Countdown 2024...  It's never easy to type up this particular post because it more or less means that Con Season is over for me, especially now that Long Beach Comic Con has officially been cancelled (Yeah, I was still mulling over whether I should go or not).  But not all hope is lost.  The holidays will be here soon enough to keep me and many others preoccupied while we wait for WonderCon, which is less than eight months away!  But enough about that.  Y'all came for the biggie!  The pride of San Diego!  The time has come for us to take one last trip back to the San Diego Convention Center for a final lap around the exhibit hall and surrounding offsites.  We went big with this post, so hold on to your Batman Underoos and Code Red Mountain Dews, because the CRAZY Comic Con Countdown is set to launch!  Enjoy... 

I don't know Apollo. You couldn't even take on Ivan Drago!

The DragonBall World Tour returned to the the Marriott Marquee for the fifth straight year!  I actually spent the bulk of Preview Night there, collecting swag and taking pics!  The lines moves fast at this one and the giveaways are always worth it.  Easily among the best run offsites at SDCC.  Hopefully they'll keep coming back.

Ultraman had a VERY large presence in the exhibit hall this year with two dedicated booths and several panels on the schedule as the very first Tokusatsu hero has returned to pop culture in grand fashion!

Spongebob is celebrating his 25th Anniversary this year while Nickelodeon celebrates 20 years of bleeding the franchise dry!  This sculpture/fountain, which looked for all the world like poor Spongebob is receiving the enema to end all enemas, also doubled as a refill station for water bottles.  Incidentally, Nickelodeon itself turns 45 this year.

Speaking of anniversaries, Rainbow Brite turned 40 this year and is still rocking her colors as vibrant as ever!  She even gave me some Star Sprinkles!  Which I promptly wasted while trying to add color to some old Three Stooges shorts!

The Petco Park Interactive Zone returned with its usual fair of food trucks and fun free experiences!  Although I did get to walk around it for a little bit, I sadly didn't have time to try any of the experiences being offered.  Was a busy year to say the least.

Abbott Elementary returned to Comic Con this year with a truly fun and efficient offsite that left many smiling!  Ava Fest was a carnival complete with a big ass slide, ball pit and swing ride!  I was impressed with the line management of this one as they simply let people in (After signing a liability waiver of course) and left everyone to their own device.  And wouldn't;t you know it?  Crowds moved through fairly quick!  Imagine that?

Nice to see Chilindrina and Chavo hanging out again!  I'm sure Don Ramon would approve!

The Lounge!!!  Paramount+'s infamous offsite that's nearly impossible to get into without a reservation and wasting an entire day away in the standby line.  I was determined to try it anyway, so I got there early Friday morning and was shocked to see the standby line so small.  As the hours wore on and the line got longer, I remember being thankful I was among the first 15 people in line that day.  Even more surprising, the line for people with actual reservations never got any longer than 20 people the entire time I was there.  As it came time to open, a lady named Katya walked by and informed the standby line that her friend couldn't make it and she had an extra ticket.  One is indeed the loneliest number, but in this case, it served me well because I was the only loner in the standby line and she got me in early!  And even better?  Within ten minutes, all the people that had been waiting with me in standby were let in too as folks missed their reservations!  So we all won!  The experience itself was pretty cool with activations from Star Trek, Spongebob and Ninja Turtles among others.  I did get some cool swag and some delicious lemonade.  Overall though, it's hard to justify missing out on a day in the exhibit hall for an experience that lasted less than an hour.  Always weigh the risks and rewards when choosing offsites.

Cliff Vandercave and Sharon Stone!  Easily my favorite cosplay of Comic Con this year!  I'm a big fan of obscure character cosplay and these two nailed it, choosing the villains of The Flinstones live action movie!  They said I was the only person to get it, though I'm sure others figured it out as well as the day went on.

Another huge waste of time on my Comic Con Friday was Hulu's Animayhem activation!  Was there cool swag?  Yeah.  Were the photo ops fun?  Yeah.  Should it take three hours or more to wait and experience this?  HELL NO!!!  Flat and simple, there is no reason at all this offsite should take as long as it does, especially considering that several of the shows are either no longer relevant or just plain not popular (Seriously, NOBODY wanted the Solar Opposites swag!).  Even worse, my group was never given the donuts we were promised!  If it comes back next year, I'll likely skip it.

Batman always come prepared when out surfing with his Batboard, Bat-Trunks and Bat-Shark Repellant!

The FX Lawn.  Some loved it, some hated it.  Easily the most coveted swag of SDCC this year came from The Bear activation within, with the What We Do In The Shadows umbrellas being a close second.  While the experiences inside were fun and immersive, I feel line management could've been much better for this one as well.  In the past, they just let people in at their leisure and it all worked out.  This year, not so much.  I waited two hours just to get in then waited another hour just to get my umbrella!  Why was the wait so long?  Because some dudes were scribbling your name and a stick figure drawing on the umbrellas with Sharpies!  A friggin' kindergartener could done the same deal quicker and just as sloppy (Believe me, these guys aren't gonna be in Artists' Alley anytime soon!)!  Still, I made some friends while waiting in line, so it all worked out.  

A Tiger and his Boy, out on another adventure!

The Adult Swim lawn was back and bringing the fun as always!  I had hoped to get in, but it took so long to get through the FX Lawn that AS became another casualty of my swag hunt.  By the time I got there, the line stretched towards the boardwalk.  There's always next year...

Strawberry Shortcake loves her some Godzilla!

The cast of Jurassic Park had a heartfelt reunion with their biggest costar!

Another offsite oddity at Comic Con this year, The Penguin Slushy Truck!  This pic was taken on Preview Night before it opened, but every time I walked by this thing during the show, there'd be an insanely long line and workers standing inside the truck just looking confused by it all.  All they had to do was hand out eight ounce cups of knockoff Slurpees.  How friggin' hard is that?

Doctor Who and Star Trek teamed up for a fun little offsite featuring costumes and props from both legendary SciFi series!  Nothing too immersive, but still a nice break from the blazing weather outside!

Peanuts returned to their usual spot with a fun museum/shop that looked at the history of their holiday specials and even had a fun photo op in Charlie Brown's kitchen as Snoopy and Woodstock attempt to make Thanksgiving dinner out of toast and popcorn!  Just outside the museum, guests could sit in a shaded spot and watch the latest special before being locked away for AppleTV subscribers only!

The very fun and VERY immersive Planet Of The Apes offsite!  The line rarely went longer than 20 minutes and the staff just straight had their crap together!  I even got to have my picture taken with a live hawk!  Easily among the best run offsites at SDCC this year!

Can't really post this without talking about the elephant in the room: The Gaslamp Fire!  One of the buildings on 5th Avenue near J Street, where several offsite activations were in full swing, caught on fire.  Exactly how it happened is still under investigation as of this writing, but thankfully it was contained fairly quickly, though the staff at the Penguin Lounge offsite did have to be evacuated and the actual show was postponed for several hours.  Anything really can happen at Comic Con!

These fine young men came to Comic Con to learn about AI!

Lastly, we'll end the post on a happy note with some folks dressed as happy characters: The Flintstones!  Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty were there to promote their amazing new alternative fuel source: FEET!!!

And that was Comic Con 2024!  It was a wild time for sure, packed with swag and a few exclusives.  I still can't believe I did all the things I did this year!  I was pretty exhausted heading into the show.  I'd had little rest between SDCC and the show before it, ESRI, while also dealing with a home renovation that was complicated by a sinus infection.  By the time Comic Con ended, I was past my physical limits.  It ain't easy coming to grips with the fact that I'm not a young man anymore.  The day job's taken a toll over the years, and it's really starting to show now.  What does this mean for next year?  Well, we'll have to wait and see as it's time to re-verify again.  It's a process that always rattles me, even more so now as it's all online now, and I'm just not good with tech.  I have other ways in, but I'd rather not be that guy, the type that takes advantage of connections.  It just doesn't feel right.  The form's been submitted, so it's all up to fate now.  One way or another, I'll be back and it'll be great!

And thus wraps up the CRAZY Comic Con Countdown 2024!!!  I hope you all enjoyed these last ten weeks of looking back at the Cons of recent past!  I do enjoy looking back and seeing how things have changed over the years and I promise no matter what happens with my pro status, I will be back next year with another edition of the Countdown, two of them even as WonderCon's not too far off!  Be sure to come back next week as Bubble Fox takes center stage with more art celebrating his 10th Anniversary!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!