IF HE ONLY HAD SOME RAID!!!

Well, it's the middle of the month and Fall is more or less officially upon us.  Things are obviously a bit different this year, but some things are still the same.  Pumpkin spice everything has permeated store shelves.  Sweaters are starting to be worn outside in some places.  Some folks, like me, are even starting to put out their Halloween decorations!  Some traditions are still safely happening and will continue to happen, just like my weekly art posts!  So scroll down if you're feeling brave enough and enjoy...

Sheesh Cowardly Lion, even my mom isn't THAT scared of a little spider!  Even if the Wizard had been a real wizard, I doubt he could've helped this beast!  Another Animal Alphabets entry, the Cowardly Lion represented the letter C in this round.  This wasn't one of my more sophisticated efforts, but it did get a pretty good reaction on Twitter, so that was cool!

Another week passes into history here at the CRAZYVERSE.  Be sure to come back next week for the long short of this month's posts.  Until then, stay safe, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

LBCC... WELL, IT WAS NICE TO GET AWAY AT LEAST...

Welcome to October CRAZIES!!!  The haunting month is upon us!  And because it's a month full of spooks and masks and costumes, what better way to start things off than with a trip to Long Beach Comic Con?  Yes, it happened over a month ago, but I already had September's posts queued up.  Plus, it just fits the theme of the month better.  So let's cut the jibber jabber and get too it!  LBCC is a go!  Enjoy...

IT, the feel good family movie about a murdering clown!  This is both adorable and frightening! 

Excellent dudes!  I get the feeling we'll be seeing a LOT more Bill and Ted cosplay in the coming years.  Hopefully, someone will finally do some Rufus cosplay! 

Live wrestling returned to LBCC this year and thankfully, Jim Cornette wasn't there to witness it!  As you may have noticed, the wrestlers were dressed up like comic book characters WHILE wrestling!  The legendary manager isn't a big fan of such things and he likely would've entertained the fans in a different way had he seen it!

After years of hoping, I finally saw some Steve Urkel cosplay.  Next time, somebody needs to do Urkelbot cosplay! 

Not to be outdone, this lady did Punky Brewster cosplay!  The 80's are taking over y'all! 

This is Laughing Sal.  She was once a part of the long defunct Long Beach Pike amusement park which sat across the street from where the Long Beach Convention Center now sits.  She was a very early form of animatronics that more or less gyrated and jiggled as a laugh track played behind her.  There are roughly a dozen of these left and this particular model is among the very few that's still in pristine condition.  She now resides in the lobby of the Convention Center and was drawing a bit of a crowd throughout the con. 

The Empire might have been more successful with Ghostrider's bike! 

John Hammond spared no expense on his gear for the con! 

I don't think it would be wise to steal a Power Ranger's baby brother, Jareth! 

Probably the best pic of the show!  Pennywise and little Skeletor!  Remember that story a few pics back about Laughing Sal and the Long Beach Pike?  Well, the Pike also inspired another feared figure: Old Bony himself, Skeletor!  You see, like many seaside amusement parks, the Pike had a haunted house, only, their's had a REAL skeleton in it!  One particular kid was scared out of his wits during a visit to the park and never forgot the image.  He later became an artist at Mattel Toys and used that vivid memory as the basis for He-Man's greatest foe!  Wild, no?

For decades, sailor suits were a feared and dreaded part of childhood.  Now, kids are wearing them willingly for sight gags.  My how times have changed!

Their wedding reception was killer! 

He was the champion my friend! 

The Planetteers!  These two were awesome.  They cleaned the entire floor of the Convention Center!

Attendance may have been startling low at LBCC this year, but the quality of the costumes was as amazing as ever! 

WUBBA LUBBA DUB DUB!!!  WE'RE GONNA SAVE THE REBELLION MORTY!!!  YOU AND ME!!!  AND GET THAT BLUE MILK!!! 

MORTAL KOMBAT!!! *Techno Music Hits* 

Even the Rescue Rangers are no match for the power of the Dark Side! 

Punisher War Machine.  Nothing legally stopping this now! 

Krampus was there to remind everyone that Christmas isn't too far off! 

In years past, there were dozens of fan groups at LBCC.  This year, there were only two: The Mandolorian Mercs and the R2 Builders Club.  Needless to say, many of us were baffled at the lack of fan groups.  They're a staple of every con.

Totally visible eyes aside, this Black Manta costume was pretty cool!

No, that's not a Howard Stern cosplayer hanging out with Garth.  But we can dream, can't we? 

We wrap things up today with some amazing Wizard of Oz cosplay!  Was hoping I'd see more of it at cons this year, given that it's the 80th anniversary of the film and the 100th anniversary of L. Frank Baum's passing, but the costumes I did see were awesome and these folks were no exception!

And that was Long Beach Comic Con 2019.  I'm not gonna lie folks.  This year's show was a HUGE let down.  Attendance was down dramatically, major vendors that used to be there every year were gone and the size of the show shrunk.  About two hours into the last day, I gave up and met my family at Disneyland instead where, amazingly enough, lines weren't bad at all!  I honestly don't know what happened.  Three years ago, I didn't want to leave.  This year,  I ran out of things to do within the first hour of the show.  Part of the problem stems from them moving it to the beginning of September where they have to compete with several other shows across the country that bring in higher attendance, which in turn takes away many vendors.  I'm not an expert, but I honestly believe the easiest fix here would be to put LBCC back in mid-to-late September where it thrived for the longest time.  It may be time to bring in a new organizer as well, like Wizard World.  Their Anaheim shows were a blast and they are very well run.  Will I be back next year?  It's hard to say.  I love Long Beach and it's a fun weekend away.  But it's not cheap and it's hard to justify going when the show just isn't growing.  We'll have to see how things go.  I'll always remember the good times if not.  Fingers crossed!

That's all for now folks.  We'll be back next week with art celebrating the mood of the season!  So get ready for a monster of a time!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

TOP OF THE WORLD MA!!!

We've come to it at last, the end of the Yellow Brick Road and, coincidentally, the month of May.  But we can't end our trip to Oz without visiting Dorothy now, can we?  Of course not!  So let's dive in and see how traumatized this poor kid is after going through all that!  Enjoy...

As I mentioned last week, I think Dorothy should've figured out a bit sooner that the Wizard was a fraud!  Then again, he had the entire world convinced he was a powerful sorcerer through nothing more than smoke and mirrors.  Maybe the Wizard was smarter than he let on to?  Either way, Dorothy was probably better off not going with him, given his track record.  Frankly, she should've been even more pissed after learning Glinda could've sent her home right from the start as opposed to sending her on a trip through a dangerous forest with three complete strangers while a psychotic witch tried to kill her over a pair of shoes.  Surely there are easier ways to teach kids that a boring home life isn't so bad?

And that's a wrap on our stroll through the Marvelous Land of Oz!  Sure hope y'all enjoyed this CRAZY take on these beloved figures of literature!  Come back next week as we take another break from art for something VERY special!  What is it you may be asking?  Oh, only the kickoff to the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN!!!  Nine weeks straight of past fun at the best show on Earth!  So be sure to come back!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

RUBY RED EMBARRASSMENT!!!

We are back and better than ever!  How do I know this?  Because my Better-Than-Everometer" told me so!  We've almost reached the end of the Yellow Brick Road, but one obstacle still stands in our way; literature's original badass, the Wicked Witch of the West!  So let's dive in cannonball-style and splash her away!  Enjoy...

And here I thought red went with everything!  It's always been a sticking point with me over how the witch was killed.  A simple drop a water causes witches to melt!  If I were Dorothy or her pals, I would've been super pissed to have gone through all of that only to find out we could've spit on her in Munchkinland and been done with it all!  And further more, shouldn't Glinda or the Wizard have known that she was easy to kill?  The Wicked Witch of the West's death should've been the dead giveaway that the Wizard was a fraud!  And also, why the hell would you wanna wear a pair a shoes made of solid gemstones?!?  They couldn't possibly be comfortable?  Not to mention, their street value could've made the witch a millionaire!  Who cares about Dorothy and pals when you're rich?  Wow!  Those are some huge plot holes that need filling in!

And that's all for today!  One more post to go in our Oz countdown, so be sure to come back next week to meet a kid who's gonna need a bit of counseling once she gets back to Kansas!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

COWARDICE IS COURAGE!!!

And we're back!  Midway through May and still off to see the Wizard!  Today we meet a cat who's afraid of his own shadow, the Cowardly Lion!  Why is he always so scared?  I'm gonna go out on a limb and say traumatic childhood experience.  But enough with the phony diagnosis.  I'm not Dr. Phil after all!  Let's get on with the show!  Enjoy...

Hmmm...  Well, it's either a traumatic childhood experience or he's just a straight up wuss!  The Cowardly Lion has long been a favorite among the Oz faithful, maybe because he makes us feel better about our own insecurities?  Regardless, it's not an Oz art month without him, so laugh, if you will, at his irrational fear of everything!

Another week down!  We'll be back next time with a look at a woman whose desire to steal a pair very impractical shoes leads her down a steep slope of self-destruction!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

THE HEART OF THE MATTER!!!

Welcome back CRAZIES!!!  Our trek down the Yellow Brick Road continues with the original Iron Man, the one and only Tin Woodsman, or Tinman for those that only watched the movie.  So let's cut the chit chat and dive right in!  Enjoy...

I don't think that heart's gonna work dude.  On the plus side, studies prove that dark chocolate IS good for the heart, so maybe Tinman's on to something?  I chose to go with the book depiction of the Tinman because I always found that version of him to be more whimsical.  As much as I love the classic MGM film, I always felt the Tinman's look was a bit of a let down compared to the Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion.  These days, it'd be done with computers, although 1985's Return To Oz achieved the effect through puppetry created by the group that would eventually become the Jim Henson Creature Shop.

And that's all for today!  We'll be back next time with a big cat that's sorely lacking a little bit of courage.  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

IF HE ONLY HAD AN ESCAPE!!!

It's March!  Can't believe we are two months into 2017 already!  So much is coming up, but I gotta stay focused!  We'll start with the art.  That's always a good route to start with!  And this month, we're on the Yellow Brick Road to the marvelous land of Oz!  With a bump or two in said road.  Anyway, enjoy...

Easy there Batman!  That's the wrong Scarecrow!  This one only wants a brain, not extended cameos in Christopher Nolan films!  Two years ago, the Daily Doodle did an entire Oz week.  Having long been a fan of the movies and books, I jumped at the opportunity to draw some Oz art.  As soon as they announced the theme, I knew exactly what I wanted do with my Scarecrow art.  Just couldn't pass up an opportunity to have the Dark Knight wreak havoc upon one of Oz's most beloved citizens!  Luckily, no brain means no concept of pain!

And that's that!  Week one of March is in the bag!  We'll be back next time with another new pal that Dorothy met on her trip to see the Wizard.  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!