OPEN A "BOX" OF "MONSTER" LAUGHS WITH THE CRAZY CARTOON EXPERIMENT 6!!!

Is it really that time again?  You bet ya!  So let's not waste anymore precious seconds and dive right in!  It's the CRAZY CARTOON EXPERIMENT 6!!!  The theme was A Monster Cereal Box Cover, so lets see what my CRAZY Cartoon Pals came up with, shall we?  Enjoy...

Kim Belding, Picpak Dog

 CCE veteran Kim Belding is back and finally got in first with this absolutely terrifying cover featuring the scariest monster there is: SKRILLEX!  Side effect do include an unhealthy love of dubstep and techno music!

Me.  Um, yeah...

 Here's my entry into the CCE!  Finally managed to finish early for a change and work in one of my beloved monsters!  This piece also marks a first for me: This is the first ever piece I've ever completely inked digitally.  A rather odd feeling, but I'm pretty happy with the turnout.

David Hurley, Don't Pick The Flowers

David Hurley makes his CCE debut with this funny cover!  Suzanne's always concocting something, usually with frightening results!  This time, her experimenting has paid off!  Just hope that cloud don't eat ALL the flowers!

Tim Green, Vinnie The Vampire

 Tim Green comes back to the CCE with the monster to scare all monsters: SUNNY!!!  Trust me folks, she may look cute, but you don't ever wanna cross this little terror!  Especially if you are A Negative!

Warren Frantz, Off Season

 Canada's CRAZIEST cartoonist returns to the CCE with this wacky creature from the Canadian Great Lakes!  Many an outdoor hockey player has gone missing from swimming to close to the holes it has left in the ice!

Scott Warren, Crunchy Bunches

 Scott Warren makes his CCE debut with this rather spirited piece!  Given that his comic is all about cereal mascots, he seemed like a perfect fit for this experiment!  He's also one of the folks who helped inspire this theme: It was a Crunchy Bunches comic last year about aliens getting the Halloween Cereal Mascots to help them take over the Earth that fanned the spark of an idea into a raging fire!  Thanks again Scott!

EW Crowe, The Hat And The Fat

 

 EW Crowe returns to the CCE with a piece that's destined to keep most of us awake tonight!  Never stare at a gorgon!  Bad things will happen!  Oh wait, it comes with a blindfold?  Cool!  In that case stare all you want!

Dawn Griffin, Zorphbert & Fred

 After a long hiatus, the great Dawn Griffin returns to the CCE!  She is the other artist who helped inspire this experiment when she did a Z&F cereal box cover theme for a fan art contest (Which I won!)  When I saw this in my inbox, I flipped my lid it was so awesome!  Then on Twitter, Dawn informed me that through wild coincidence, another artist did a shirt with a similar theme!  The whole point behind the CCE is to see how different/similar artists think.  Having seen this and the shirt, I feel it's merely proof that not only do great minds think alike, but so do creative minds too.

Stephen Conroy, Australia

And finally, another newcomer to the CCE, Twitter pal Stephen Conroy, whose Monster has taken on a life of his own, defending other cereal monsters from harm!  Stephen's a pretty cool dude and hopefully will have a site of his own soon so ALL can check out his awesome artwork!

And so ends another CRAZY CARTOON EXPERIMENT!  What's that?  You demand another theme already?  OK, fine!  Here it is:

Draw your (Or your favorite) web comic character(s) as demented parade balloons!

That's right folks!  Why should the mainstream have all the fun every Thanksgiving?  So grab some helium and give your toons the Macy's Day treatment!  The deadline is NOVEMBER 19TH, 2014, so PLENTY of time to do this!  Huge thanks to Tim Green from Vinnie The Vampire for coming up with this Experiment's theme!  And, as always, KEEP IT FAMILY FRIENDLY!!!  This is an all-ages site so NOTHING graphic or adult in nature!  Other than that, have fun!

That's all for now folks.  Next week, something a little different as Mushrooms gets the top billing this month thanks to a special challenge from my good pal Warren Frantz.  So until then, take it easy and I'll catch y'all later!

FROSTY'S BACK!!! THE CCE CONTINUES!!!

Welcome to Part 2 of the CRAZY CHRISTMAS EXPERIMENT!  We got some more great entries in to put the final touches on this holiday CRAZINESS!  So sit back, strap on your snow boots and get ready to enjoy the show!  Frosty's here and ready to get this party started!

First up, Flatland creator Naomi Jardine, who did this strip showing the danger of falling asleep during a snow storm!  Gotta wonder if the Original Frosty was inspired by a similar event?

 Making his CCE debut is Casey At The Bat creator Bob Glasscock, who envisions Frosty being used as a tool to help pick up some ladies!  I can see how keeping the drinks chilled would be a benefit, but seriously, a puppy works far better!

 Next, Austin's Inferno creator Austin Verburg is back for his Third go around in the CCE!  Austin took his inspiration from the recent Man Of Steel poster, the Superman revamp that'll no doubt be WAY more violent than it needs to be because Zack Snyder's directing it!  Even so, the thought of Frosty being arrested is quite believable. Let's face it, If he really existed, he probably WOULD get locked up for being a grown (Snow)Man that plays with children!

 Daddy's Girls Cartoonist and Three-Time CCE Superstar Shawn Granger is back with yet another gem!  With a dog involved, you gotta wonder if the dreaded "Yellow Snow" will eventually come into play here?  I give Shawn a ton of credit. I initially wasn't going to do a Holiday-themed CCE, but he talked me into it, and I'm glad he did!  Honestly now, look at all the fun we've had with this!  Thanks again Shawn!  You are the Guardian Angel of the CRAZY CARTOON EXPERIMENT!

 Next up, a CCE newcomer! Carlo Jose San Juan of Callous Comics sends us this piece showing that Frosty coming to life would no doubt be a mixed bag of emotions as everybody seems to have a different take on it!  I like how the adults are in black and white and the kids are in color.  It's like the kids have enough innocence left to still suspend disbelief.

 Frank Haba of Jailhouse Comics is back with a literally wicked take on how Frosty came to life!  After all, if robotics and magic can't bring Frosty to life, than Witchcraft's your last option!  So all hail Cthulhu Frosty!

 Making his return to the CCE is Power Theater's Alex Callard!  Here, he take a theoretical approach as to whether or not that happy, jolly soul really exists.  Perhaps there WAS some magic in that Old Silk Hat!  For a better look, click the link above.

 Next up, me good chum Simon McLaren offers up this all-too real piece showing how Frosty deals not only with the effects of Global Warming, but a society that just plain doesn't give a damn anymore! I swear I spent ten minutes laughing at the "Skateboarding Cats" panel!  Guess I shouldn't have been surprised from the Man who's totally killed it in the last two CCE's!  Too funny!

 Hannes Smit of jolly old England (And The Wizzo) sent in this bit showing a couple of hopeful tykes that are still willing to believe!  Who knows?  Perhaps a Christmas miracle is in store!

 Next up, my little "Brother" from across the pond, Wizzo Founder Harry Rickard, sent in this heart-warmer showing Frosty as a sad soul who just wants to have some fun and getting his wish granted by a kind Fairy.  Hmmm... This sounds awfully familiar.  memo to Frosty: Steer clear of ANY anthropomorphic Foxes and Cats.  They may steer you the wrong way!

   

Next up, English cartoonist and CCE newcomer Nathan Viney of the Web Comic Tomothy and Pals gives us this VERY realistic version of Frosty the Snowman!  Apparently, Frosty wondered into Arizona or something!  Somebody better get a mop!

And last but not least, Life... After Death creator Carlo Ostrout rounds out the Experiment with this take that shows Frosty being far more aggressive than we've know him to be!  Perhaps THIS Frosty was made in New York!

Well folks, that does it for this round of the CCE!  We had a lot of great submissions and a lot of variation!  We also had some international flair as many friends from England, Canada, even Puerto Rico stopped by to have some fun here!  Only cartooning can bring folks together in such a manner!  I'm quite proud of the effort and hope that everybody enjoys reading these as much as we all enjoyed creating them!  

With that said, be sure to tweet me or leave comments as to WHO you'd like to see be named MVP of the CRAZY CHRISTMAS EXPERIMENT!  We'll have the results next week, along with the MVP's of the first two CCE's!  Your voice matters, so let it be heard!

Alright folks, that's all for now!  I got a very SPECIAL post coming on Sunday, so stay "'Tooned!"  In the meantime, take care and PLEASE take some time and donate to the needy this Holiday season.  There's still time to do so and every bit helps, even if it's just a dollar in a Salvation Army bucket.  Make a difference this Christmas.  Until next time, I'll catch y'all later!  

IT'S THE CRAZY CHRISTMAS EXPERIMENT!!!

 Merry Christmas everyone!  The Holidays are getting ever so closer and what better way to celebrate than with another round of the popular Crazy Cartoon Experiment!  This time around, we went with a Holiday-themed Experiment focusing on Christmas' ultimate "B" Lister, Frosty the Snowman!  The theme was What if Frosty the Snowman Were Real?  Well, some of my pals in the web comics community were more than happy to jump on board with this one, so let's see how folks would really react if that jolly soul really came to laugh and play!  Let the Crazy Christmas Experiment commence!

 First up is new comer Chris Wilson of England!  Another WIZZO artist, he envisioned Frosty being targeted by a bunch of hooligans!  Damn kids!  Chris was the first one to finish this time and totally killed it! Way to go!

 Up next, Vinnie the Vampire creator Tim Green makes his CCE debut with this hilarious take that shows the most likely reaction if Frosty were to suddenly come to life!  The really crazy part about this one is that I myself almost did something similar!  It's wild how alike some of us think.  Guess that's why it's an experiment!

 My CRAZY Canadian brother, Offseason creator Warren Frantz, did this one!  Instead of being scared of Frosty, he realized that the Snowman's tremendous girth could be a huge advantage at the hockey rink!  Frosty's width would make it tough to score on him!  Unfortunately, another harsh reality of life creeps in: The Stanley Cup Finals don't happen until early Summer!

 Next up is another CCE newcomer, Tomversation creator Tom Falco!  Tom envisioned that Frosty is still a jolly soul and would probably just dance his way into society!  He seems to be fitting in quite well.  He even found himself a cute Snowgirl!  

 How good is Zorphbert and Fred creator Dawn Griffin?  She had her submission done a full year before I even thought up the current CCE!  I swear Dawn you're like Prof. X or something!  As you can see, Dawn's Frosty has a bit of a mean streak to him!  A snowman with butt cheeks... What more can really be said about that?

 Well, you all waited patiently, so here it is, My entry into the CCE (Not to mention the latest Mushrooms)!  Frosty's discovered by a pair of Fratboys who decide to introduce Frosty to the brotherhood that is a College Fraternity!  I had to flip a coin on whether to do this idea or my other one.  I'm kinda glad this one won out, especially after I got Tim Green's submission!  I kinda feel bad for going gross in the last panel, but since I went sappy in the last Mike and Mindy, I think it all evens out.

 Kim Belding of Picpak Dog knocks another one out of the park as he envisions Frosty trying to see the World, and learning that there are some places a snowman just shouldn't go!  I feel so bad for that poor lady sitting next to him.  I think she got a bigger jolt than ol' Frosty there!

 Beep Club creator Owen MacRae makes his CCE debut with a more practical way that Frosty could come to life!  Since there is no such thing as a magic hat, robotics are used to bring Frosty amongst the living!  Given the blasters, I think it's safe to assume that a scientist of the "Mad" variety was involved here!

Next up, the lovely, beautiful and ever so charming Michelle Hernandez of Kat Daycare sent in this whimsical piece that shows Frosty living it up with a few friends!  And best of all, FROSTY HAS ICE CREAM!!!  When I saw this, it reminded me of that old Snowman cartoon from Britain.  Michelle has such a beautiful style.  She adds so much to the CCE.

Last but not least, the Grand Poobah of the Buns and Wieners Society, Crashsuit, sent in this animated masterpiece.  Poor Frosty finally comes to life, only to forget that Hot Coffee and Ice are a bad mix!  I've often said that Starbucks is an evil corporation.  This cartoon is living proof!  I urge all of you to boycott these Snowman Murderers now! 

And thus concludes Part 1 of our Christmas fun!  So far, it's been a pretty amazing selection, with hardly any similarities!  You know, this isn't a competition, but I do feel some MVP awards need to be given out!  So in two weeks, I'll announce the MVP's for all of the CCE's thus far!  So PLEASE leave comments or tweet me your feedback!  Your voice matters!

Well, that's all for now!  I'll be back next time with Part 2 of the Crazy Christmas Experiment and some more "Frosty" fun!  And I would once again like to urge ALL of you to please give this Holiday season.  There's plenty of time and lot's of suitable charities.  Please don't let a child go without this Christmas.  Donate today!  Take care and I'll catch y'all later!

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!