FOOD FIGHT!!! WHY WOULD WARREN FRANTZ ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN?!?

Another day, another guest comic!  And today, things are gonna get a bit messy.  You see, ages ago, Mike and Mindy made a trip up north to meet Gayle and Gloria, two of the stars of the hockey-centric comic, Off Season, created by the Personable Purveyor of Poutine, Warren Frantz!  Things initially got off to a great start between the tykes until little Gayle made the mistake of claiming that Canadian bacon was better than ham.  Well, M&M would not stand for such blasphemy and things have been rocky ever since!  Hoping to broker some kind of lasting peace, Warren invited the Buoyant Brats back up to Canadian to have lunch with their "Frenemies," and, well, things didn't quite go as planned.  Enjoy...

Uh oh!  Not only does NOTHING get ketchup and mustard out, but they messed up Mindy's hair!  I get the feeling this is far from the end of this battle.  Let's just pray Mike and Mindy don't come back with their helium tanks!  Heaven help the Golz family if they do!  Warren Frantz is among my dearest friends.  He's a husband, dad, coach, teacher, hockey player, cartoonist and renowned kindersmurf wrangler!  Frankly, I can't figure out how he finds time for it all!  As some of you will recall, I released my first picture book this past holiday season and Warren's students largely worked as my test audience with great results!  He's a true pal and a hilarious cartoonist!  It's because of Warren that "Fartcoustics" and "Gubble Bum" now exist in the comics lexicon!  Thanks again Warren, not only for the guest comic, but also for being such a great guy and role model.

And that's it for today.  We'll wrap Week 2 up on Friday with a guest comic that's truly "Magical."  So be sure to come back and check it out!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

KICKING OFF CHRISTMAS WITH A LITTLE BIT O' CHAOS!!!

WELCOME TO DECEMBER CRAZIES!!!  And with that, welcome to the Christmas Season!  I know, it's been Christmas at every department store since October, but now it's okay to proudly display that ugly sweater with the light-up snowman you have hidden in your closet!  You wanna know what goes good with an ugly Christmas sweater?  A funny Christmas book!  And I just so happen to have one now available on Amazon!  Yup!  I have officially crossed over into the realm of picture books with my first offering, the hilarious Wendy's Christmas Chaos!  Peppertown star Wendy had been in hiatus long enough, so last year, she leapt from the comics to the pen and ink drawings of my ill_advent theme.  Well, actually, it goes a bit deeper than that.  You can say it all started back in 2016...

I had never taken part in anything like Inktober or illo_advent before, so this year marked a first.  For those not in the know, both take place on social media platforms, usually Twitter and Instagram, and you just post a drawing a day throughout the duration.  Both have themes, but some, like me, just do our own deal.  Since I was new to the concept, for ill_advent, I just did a bunch of random Christmas scenes involving the CRAZYVERSE characters.  One such drawing had Wendy eyeing a gift she couldn't open yet (See above image).  Two years would pass and I just kept coming back to that image and it always felt like more could come from it.  Fast forward to 2018 and suddenly I have a revelation: EVERY page for the 25 days of illo_advent would be part of a story!  Far from groundbreaking as many people have done it already, but this was a breakthrough for me.  I'd longed to get back to drawing Peppertown, but time just wasn't on my side, and this seemed like a good way to at least get little Wendy back out in the open.

In the end, I had a blast drawing it!  The art and story got a great reaction from the Twitter CRAZIES and generated a lot of interest in seeing it as a book.  A few days after Christmas last year, I took a good long look at things and agreed I did have something there.  In addition to posting art, I'd also posted a rhyme with each piece of art that I'd tweeted out and found that to be enjoyable too.  So the decision was made: Wendy's Christmas tale was gonna be a book!  But first, some things needed to be fleshed out a bit...

Funny as it was, 25 pages wasn't going to be enough for this tale.  Granted, it didn't need to be much longer than it already was, but some gags did require some setup pages, particularly the beginning.  If you go back on Twitter, the story literally just starts right before the madness ensues!  So the work began and new art and rhymes were created!  The above art, for example, was not originally in the illo_advent feed.  With everything drawn and corrected, all that was left was to put it all together and publish it!  That's a story I'd rather not talk about though.  It was a learning experience to say the least, but I'm through it now!

All in all, I could not be happier with the book!  The colors are great, the action is fast paced and the rhymes are pretty darn good if I do say so myself!  The above and below pics were illo_advent originals that have now been colored and polished and look even better on the printed page!

For those who aren't on Twitter, the Cliff Notes version is Wendy's not patient enough to wait until Christmas morning to open her presents and gives in to peeking, only to learn that her gifts have been charmed by elves to prank her any time she tries to peek early.  After catching the elves, she tries to trick them by disguising herself as Santa Claus, leading to disastrous results from the clearly-not-buying it elves!  What follows is a cat-and-mouse chase that culminates in a harsh but earnestly learned lesson about patience and karma!  It's a fun tale for any age, even the grownups!  So be sure to pick up a copy!  It's now available on Amazon and even qualifies for FREE shipping with a certain purchase amount!  Not a bad deal eh?  So pick up you copy of Wendy's Christmas Chaos today!  It's the perfect counter to the sappy Hallmark holiday specials!

Before I end this week's post, a HUGE thanks goes out to Joshua Hauke and Warren Frantz for their help as I created this book.  Both gave me a ton of advice throughout the whole process, especially on the cover art and Warren, being a Kindergarten teacher, tested it out on several grade levels at his school.  It was a huge relief when he reported back that the kids loved it and wanted another story!  Tell the Kindersmurfs that I'm happy to oblige, Warren.  But they have to take a lesson from Wendy and be patient!  I'm blessed to have such great pals like Warren and Josh.

And that's all for now folks.  Posting a bit earlier than normal this week so that I can get the marketing machine up and running, hence the reason you're seeing this on Monday.  We'll be back next week on our normal Wednesday schedule with some more Holiday fun!  As always at this time of year, try to think of others.  There are many out there who won't have such a merry Christmas without a little help, so please donate to food, toy and clothing drives,  Even some spare change in a Salvation Army bucket can make a world of difference for some.  Share the love this holiday!  Anyway, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

WONDERS OF THE WEB: WARREN GETS CRAZY!!!

And we're back!  We're taking a metaphoric journey to the Great White North these next two weeks as we celebrate a couple of great characters from the land of Maple and Molson.  I'm talking, of course, about Canada!  Thanks to Twitter, I have many friends and fans up there.  Given some of Canada's legendary shows like You Can't Do That On Television, SCTV and Kids In The Hall, I guess silly and irreverent comics like Bubble Fox and Mike & Mindy fit like a glove with Canadian readers.  I'm very proud to have so many wonderful friends up there and hope I did two of Canada's funniest character some CRAZY justice.  So who's up first?  Scroll down and find out!  Enjoy...

Why look who it is!  It's the hippest, happeningest, hungriest, hockey-playingest character in ALL of Web Comics!  Its Gully Golz of Warren Frantz's always hilarious Off Season!  And you know he's ready for action because he's got his officially-sanctioned BrOlympics singlet on!  Whether he's fighting possessed tails, monster zambonies, dogs with gubble bum or kids trying to amplify farts through acoustic guitars, there ain't a whole lot that Gully can't handle, even a rousing round of Helium Hockey!

And so ends the mid-month post for this August of 2018.  Time just keeps flying by here, but we're gonna keep on truckin' because we must!  Our Canadian salute concludes next week as dumpster dive with a beloved and legendary figure in Web Comics.  Who is it?  Come back and find out!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

THE CRAZYVERSARY IS BACK, STARTING WITH WARREN WORKIN' WEEK 2!!!

WOO HOO!!!  We're back and ready to roll again with week two of the CRAZYVERSARY!  We got a lot of funny guest comics planned, so let's dive right in with the third in a series of guest strips involving another pair of CRAZY kids, Gloria and Gayle Golz of Warren Frantz's Off Season!

Wow girls!  Melons and Mallets?  How'd y'all know that's one of Mike and Mindy's favorite games?  That was very thoughtful and messy!  Next time, they'll introduce y'all to another favorite past time of theirs: Connect Pies!

I've sung the praises of Warren Frantz on this site many times over the years.  Recently even!  For those of you new though, Warren is my hockey-playing, poutine-snacking, beer-swilling, moose-barbequing big "brother" from the magical land of Canada, where the football fields are more than 100 yards long and farting is appreciated as the sophisticated humor it truly is!  He's also just a one of a kind guy, probably the most decent man I know.  Warren's done many guest strips in the past, all involving friendly competitions between our respective "Kids."  This time, the four decided to play together, which may be for the best given what happened the last time they all got together as seen in this guest comic I did for Warren last year.  Thanks again Warren and I promise, Mike and Mindy are always happy to come out and play.

Well, that's all for today, but fear not!  We're coming back tomorrow with a touching toon from Andrea Hatch that'll leave y'all "Breathless!"  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all tomorrow!

NEW YEAR, NEW FORMAT, NEW FANS!!!

WELCOME TO 2015!!!  And the new format!  No, the CRAZY Stuff ain't going anywhere!  It's just gonna be without a few familiar faces for a while is all!  so let's dive right in and start the new year off right with some new art for all to enjoy!  Or hate!  Totally your call!

First though, a little backstory here.  There are two wonderful groups on Twitter called Daily Doodle and Sketch Dailies.  Each weekday, they give out a topic for all to draw and post back for Twitter users to enjoy!  Well, I've amassed a rather large amount of rough pencil drawings over the past year, and many pals have asked me if I'd ever ink and color them.  Well wonder no more, because this week starts the beginning of the fruits of my labor!  Each week, unless otherwise noted, I'll be presenting a different inked and colored sketch of my various Daily Doodle and Sketch Dailies efforts!  Note that I didn't do every topic that they've posted nor will I be posting the original pencil drawings.  Those can be seen on my Twitter page and frankly, I liked them so much, I simply traced over them on my lightbox with a pen!  Sometimes you just can't beat the original!  With that said, let's get started and I hope you enjoy!

The very first one I got to do was the "Three Little Pigs" theme for the Daily Doodle.  No rhyme or reason here.  Just trying to be my silly self is all.  I do remember drawing the original maybe an hour or so before I had to head up to Anaheim to start setting up for WonderCon.  All I know is, the Big Bad Wolf will likely think twice before messing with any other pigs!

And now for some REALY cool news!  My ever so awesome pal Warren Frantz (Off Season), has introduced Bubble Fox to his students at the school he teaches at!  He took the infamous Dragon's Tale storyline and broke it up into story time for several classes!  All the kids loved the tale but felt bad for the poor dragon as he had no name.  Well, Warren and me cooked up a plan and held a Name The Dragon Contest for the kids!  I was stunned at the amount of entries I got (Over 100!), all of them amazing!  But alas, there could only be one winner, and I'm proud to say a 3rd grader by the name of Kaleb took top honors with the powerful name of Malfor!

(Here's Kaleb with his prize pack and Gully himself, Warren Frantz, celebrating Kaleb's prize pack as my video image rambles on in the background!)

I gotta tell ya, I've never been prouder as a cartoonist!  To have all those kids love the comic really filled my heart with joy and could not have come at a better time for me!  I was especially pleased that the kids were all tickled over Malfor being a blue dragon! (Bubble's a black and white toon, so the imagination's gotta be used heavily there!)  And then the news got even better when Warren sent me these from the kids:  

FAN ART!!!

Bubble Fox in the Hot Tub yelling "Hot Bubbles!"  This was from one of Warren's 1st Graders! 

This piece of M&M fan art is from a little Girl named Kaylee!  See? Those two will never truly be gone from here! 

Kaylee also did this homage to a sketch card one of the runners-up received in the contest!  I tell ya, Warren's got some very talented kids at his school!

I'm still beaming from all this fanfare!  Thank you so much Warren for organizing this and for being such a great friend!  And thank you kids for being such good students!  Bubble loves all of you and has LOTS more in store in the coming year!

Well, that's all for this week folks.  We'll be back next time with a new doodle for your art appetite!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

THE CRAZY CARTOON EXPERIMENT IS BACK AND FULL OF "HOT AIR" THIS THANKSGIVING!!!

WELCOME TO TURKEY DAY!!! Sadly, I can't offer you a marathon of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes, but I can offer you great fans more bags of gas than congress!  The CRAZY CARTOON EXPERIMENT has returned!  And this time around, the theme was "Turn Your Characters Into Demented Parade Balloons," and boy did my pals in the web comics realm deliver!  So sit back and enjoy the seventh installment of CARTOON CRAZINESS!!!

First up, Picpak Dog creator Kim Belding crosses the finish line first…  Again!  The Pink Pooch was already pudgy enough, but luckily his ears had room to spare! 

And here is my entry!  With Bubble being part of the CRAZY family now, he wanted in too, and immediately came to regret it!  And so marks the final time Mike and Mindy will ever be inflated.  A somber moment for sure! 

 The next entry comes from good pal Thomas Barnett of the always hilarious Li'l Miesters!  Even in balloon form, Bean the cat has it out for poor little Ned!  Or rather "Big" Ned this time around!

Next up is my brother from another mother -And Country!- Warren Frantz of Off Season!  Warren's been dealing with Helium a lot lately.  After all, it was him that took my Helium Challenge joke seriously and thus created a Twitter sensation!  And it appears one of Gully's handlers has been hitting the Helium hard himself! 

Tim Green makes his CCE return with his Puffed Parade of Pals from Vinnie The Vampire!  Can't help but feel bad for poor Vinnie here.  He's the only one in that bunch that DIDN'T deserve this!  And Belfry may very well be the first ever inflated cartoon bat!  And how did Bob the Bulldog escape this same fate?  As Tim explained it to me "Bob's nobody's balloon!"

Ben Starzec of Dogs, Ducks And Aliens makes his CCE debut with a more traditional approach to a parade balloon.  And trust me, these two totally ran rough shed over the Macy's Parade last year after doing the "Doomsday Device" on Clifford the Big Red Dog!

 Next up is Darrell Toland of Stix And Bones is also making his CCE this go around by pumping up his crows Mo and Jinx!  The two greatest magpies this side of Heckle and Jeckle!

 And now, making his long awaited return to the CCE, Jason Platt of Mister And Me!  Jason's whimsical style always amazes me, not mention makes me insanely jealous!  And if you look closely enough, you might even spot two familiar faces hovering above the crowd!

And now, we have another new recruit for the CCE, Rex Garnett, Sr. of Dutch 'N Pals!  Clearly this is a parade balloon that doesn't like sharing the spotlight with other windbags!

Another old pal, Jamie Cosley of Cody The Cavalier, makes his long awaited return to the CCE!  Jamie may be the best kids' cartoonist in the country today and it's always a pleasure to have him on board!  He also assured me the Cody Balloon is filled with the gas from 5,000 cans of Pepsi! 

Scott Warren of the awesome and nostalgic Crunchy Bunches is also back for another round of CRAZY CARTOON madness!  And not surprising, Munchy forgot to patch certain spots!  Must've been Grimace seeking revenge! 

EW Crowe of The Hat And The Fat is back and giving notice to the Snoopy Balloon: His parade-hogging days are over!  Mighty Mouse Balloon, you're next!

Up next, making his LOOOOONG awaited CCE debut, the amazing Mark Stokes of the groundbreaking web comic Zombie Boy!  After three years of begging, Mark finally joined the party and delivered Balloon Gorr!  No doubt the ZB cast is thankful REAL Gorr isn't that big! 

Next up is another CCE repeat offender, the great Matt Gross of CAAATS!  Today he brings Balloon Olive and Balloon Hazel, probably the most evil parade balloons ever!  Seriously, these look like the kind of balloons the Joker would've sprung on Gotham in the first Batman movie! 

Here's a great piece of art from another CCE newcomer, Bryce Prevatte of Drake The Cool Vampire!  Bryce deserves special recognition here.  He really helped me out greatly with an awesome gift recently that'll help me with future projects.  He's living proof that there's still good out there. 

Making his return to the CCE is the brilliant James Point Du Jour of many many comics, including Satchel And Duff as seen above.  His art is just amazing in every detail.  Even more amazing?  That it took THIS long to get to a fart joke in one the CCE's!   

Heading to the homestretch is Jim Haas of Nate The Robot!  Clearly female robots are programmed for evil!  Even more wild, how can a balloon be made of metal?!  Thank goodness for cartoon logic!

And finally, we close the CCE parade with another debut, this one from Joseph D. Rodriguez from Wacky Monkeys!  If you've never read this comic, you're really missing out!  It's a visual delight with SOOO much detail in the art and action.  Before you think that's just a really mean little girl up there, read the comic!  Those monkeys deserve worse!

Well, that's all for this one folks.  There WILL be another CRAZY CARTOON EXPERIMENT!  When,  why, it'll be in April!  April, 29th to be precise!  The due date is April 22nd and the theme goes as follows:

Make a poster for a fake death metal band!

Ever notice how most metal bands got wild names?  Here's your chance to come up with your own!  It's single panel, so no need to kill yourself making it!  As always, keep it family-friendly and all-ages!  Hit me up on Twitter if interested and, of course, have fun drawing it!  Special mention goes to Dawn Griffin from Zorphbert & Fred for this one.  It was one of her "Clip Art Fail" posts that inspired it!

Well folks, that's all for November.  Be back next time as we say goodbye to comics' most colorful couple, Mike and Mindy!  Their final comic is sure to be a "Smash" hit that'll make y'all laugh until you cry!  And the new series' logo will FINALLY be released to the masses!  Until then, take care, have a happy and fun Thanksgiving, a safe and quick Black Friday and I'll catch y'all later!

THE HELIUM CHALLENGE: IT'S GETTIN' "BIG"!!!

What's this?  A surprise last second post for September?  You better believe it!  You see, few week's back as y'all may remember, I was challenged by my good friend Warren Frantz of the comic Off Season to the Ice Bucket Challenge.  As a joke, I threw it back at Warren on Twitter and challenged him to the "Helium Challenge!"  Well, imagine my shock when two weeks later, Warren not only took me seriously, but also delivered not one but TWO helium challenge strips, calling out fellow cartoonists Ryan Klassen and Kim Belding, who ALSO accepted and in turn challenged others!  So it would appear we got a "Thing" here, and since Warren and Ryan each did two challenges, I decided to hold my end and do another as well!  Enjoy...

Man that Bubble Fox sure gets around!  And those squirrels were so darn mean to that poor chipmunk. Bubble hates bullies and was happy to give those three chumps a "Well-Rounded" lesson in manners!  When it comes to teaching, Bubble always "Rises" to the occasion!

The guest stars of this comic include Ryan Klassen of the hilarious City Folk, the aforementioned Warren Frantz of Off Season and Ben Starzec of Dogs, Ducks And Aliens!  Ben, you're now on the clock, so have fun bud!  So far, the Helium Challenge is up to EIGHT comics in just a week, with more to coming soon!  What, you may ask, is the point of all this?  Nothing!  We're just a bunch of silly cartoonists trying to have fun and raise awareness of cartoon physics

Are you a cartoonist and wanna take part?  Great!  All you gotta do is draw a comic with a helium gag in it, tag it as #HeliumChallenge on your social media platform of choice, and be sure to challenge up to two other cartoonists in the last panel!  You don't have to be challenged to start and there's no time limit, so go nuts!  And, as always, KEEP IT FAMILY FRIENDLY!!!  Other than that, "Expand" your horizons and have a "Gas!"

Anyhoo, here are the links to ALL the Helium Challenge toons so far:

Warren Frantz Off Season 1

Warren Frantz Off Season 2

Ryan Klassen City Folk

Crispin Wood Small Blue Yonder

Kim Belding Picpak Dog

Ben Starzec Dogs, Ducks And Aliens

Note that these are not exactly in order and more are certain to come!  Sometime down the line, I'll likely do a mega post with ALL the Helium Challenges!  It'll be our "Biggest" (And roundest!) post yet!

Anyway, that's all for now.  We'll be back in a few days with a New Mike And Mindy to kick off October.  Until then, Take care and I'll catch y'all later!

A BUCKET OF GOOD CAUSE!!!

September is here!  Normally, Mike And Mindy would be appearing this week, but thanks to a challenge by my good pal Warren Frantz, the creator of Off Season, I had to change things up a bit.  You see, for a better part of the last three weeks, people the World over are dumping ice water on themselves to help raise awareness and money for ALS research.  Sadly, a skin condition prevents me from dumping ice water on myself (I've gone into shock twice as a kid from jokers who put ice water in a Super Soaker.  Scary stuff.)  Luckily, cartoon me is perfectly healthy (Although with the weather being so bad right now, real me is tempted to risk it!), and raring to go!  So let's do this!

Why oh why did I let that stupid fox help out?  Well, at least we can make a few bucks extra renting Bubble out as an advertising blimp! It's interesting to note that California is in fact in the middle of a crippling drought, leading many towns here asking locals not to do ice bucket challenges due to water shortages.  Luckily, slime is quite plentiful 'round these parts and no, I didn't use slime because Warren's Canadian!  If that were the case, I would've said "I don't know" first!  Anyhoo, the guests in this strip are Gloria and Gayle Golz from the aforementioned Off Season.  After being challenged by his kids, Warren posted a video of himself taking the ice bath and then challenged me, which leads to this cartoon today!  ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a terrible condition that destroys muscles and nerves.  I've lost a neighbor to it and a former coworker battles it right now even.  If you haven't already, checkout ALSA.org to donate and stop the disease in its tracks.  And please don't just dump water on yourself simply because you think it's a viral video fad.  ACTUALLY donate and help a great cause!

Well, that's all for now.  Mike And Mindy will return next week with their most explosive comic ever... LITERALLY!!!  Until then, take it easy, PLEASE help ALS research and donate at ALSA.org and I'll catch y'all later!

HOCKEY IN BLOOM!!!

Welcome back CRAZIES!!!  Just a short update today.  Was hoping for a guest strip, but looks like things are a bit delayed on that front.  Luckily,  the Stanley Cup playoffs are in full swing, and my old pal Warren Frantz of Off Season happen to send in some great Mindy fan art!

Even in May, Hockey's in bloom... BLOOMERS that is!  Mindy is quite proud to show these off!  Thanks again Warren!  Mindy will be adding these to her "Wall Of Bloomers" very soon!

Well folks, that's all for this week.  Hopefully I'll have some more Guest Fun next time.  Until then, take it easy and I'll catch y'all later!

MIKE AND MINDY: INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT

The CRAZYVERSARY is now underway here at the blog and what better way to celebrate than with some Guest Strips?  So let's get this party started with our first Guest Artist, my CRAZY Canadian "Brother," Warren Frantz!

So Mike and Mindy went over to play with Gloria and Gayle Golz of Off Season and, well, one thing led to another and now a full scale war is going on!  Love the use of different sports equipment, especially the ones that are clearly Canadian! (God I miss that drink!)  Also love how Mindy proudly sports her bloomers there!  She's keeping granny panties fashionable!  And will somebody please tell me where I can get a Mud Launcher?

In all seriousness though, I love this guest strip by Warren.  I've done a couple of Fan Art pieces for him that can be seen here and here!  He's become a great friend of mine through twitter and even sent me a packet of poutine gravy mix and a copy of his book based on his Fam Jam Golf storyline.  Warren's a good man and a great cartoonist.  He was one of the many that came to my aid when I was down last month and for that, I'm forever grateful.  His wife and daughters are also just the most darling people.  Just a great bunch all around.  I'm proud to call all of them friends.

Well folks, that's part one!  Tomorrow, we'll be posting our first bit of Fan Art...  Literally!  So stay 'tooned!  Until then, catch y'all tomorrow!