JAMMIN' INTO THE NEW YEAR!!!

And we're back!  Hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas and aren't too sad it's all over.  I'm actually kinda happy the Holidays are passing.  Two-and-a-half months of nonstop Christmas programming can be a lot sometimes!  I'm also happy to see 2013 end.  This wasn't a very good year for me on a personal level.  Many trials I'm afraid.

Creatively speaking, however, 2013 had many things for me to be proud of at least.  I put out some very funny comics, made many new friends, launched a new book and did fairly well at two of the three Cons I exhibited at.  Life's all about silver linings folks.  Gotta take the good with the bad.  I'm alive, still making comics and having fun while doing it.  Can't ask for more than that.

There's much to look forward to in 2014.  More hilarity from Mike And Mindy and Mushrooms are on the horizon and Bubble Fox will officially launch in the coming month!  And let's not forget, the animation Kickstarter with Kim Belding of Picpak Dog!  I know we've talked about it on our sites numerous times, but I promise it's gonna happen.  Just gotta catch up with real life first is all.

A rather large announcement is also coming towards the end of January.  This one's not gonna be easy to make but is a necessary one.  But more on that when the time comes.  2014 is shaping up to be a busy year already.  Hope y'all are ready for the ride!

But enough on 2014 for now.  Let's send 2013 off on a good note.  It's time to Jam... ART JAM that is! I took part in a few of art collaborations this year, and here are the results!  Enjoy...  

 First up, this piece for Jackie Williams' Festival Of Robots Art Jam!  Had a lot of fun with this piece featuring two robots relizing they exist.  It was only the second time I've ever drawn robots!  Thanks again Jackie for giving me such a fun opportunity!

 Next up, another piece for Jackie, this time for the Trick And Treats Art Jam!  I can't give away too much on this one other than it features a character from a story I'm doing that is literally YEARS away from being seen!  So stay "Tooned!"

Last up, we have "Cactuar" from Edgar Recinos' Final Fantasy Art Jam!  Really loved doing this goofy character.  Given my CCE history, guess it was a given I'd pick this one!

Well folks, that's all for now.  I'll be back next time with a new Mike And Mindy that's "Bursting" with excitement for the new year!  Until then, take care, have a fun and safe New Year's Eve and I'll see y'all in 2014!

GUEST ART FOR CHRISTMAS!!!

One more week to Christmas!  I got my CRAZY Christmas Tree up and decorated and am just about done getting all my CRAZY Christmas gifts bought!  Yes sir, it's gonna be one CRAZY Christmas if you haven't caught on yet!

In keeping with the Holiday Spirit, I thought I'd share some awesome Fan Art I received recently from some amazing Twitter pals!  Enjoy... 

 First up, this great sketch of Mike from my good pal Daniel Barton of the always hilarious Goober And Cindy!  Love how Mike retains his gigantic eyes!  Thanks again Danny boy!  May Holland fair well next Summer!

Next up, this beautiful piece from Elora Lyda, who gave Mike and Mindy such a feisty but cute look!  If you've never checked out her artwork before, do yourself a favor and click the link!  Your life will be richer for it!

Well folks, that's all for now.  I'll be back next time with some fun stuff to help combat post-holiday depression!  And speaking of holidays, remember that there's still time to make a difference this Christmas!  Donate food, clothes or toys.  Give money to the poor.  Deliver holiday meals.  There are MANY ways to help!  Don't be a Scrooge this holiday!  Take care, have a very Merry Christmas and I'll catch y'all next time!

ONE CRAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!

Welcome back!  Christmas comes ever closer, and the gift shopping is getting even more frenetic!  But I made it out alive, and what better way to celebrate than with a new comic!

The Christmas season chugs on here at the CRAZYVERSE, as the Mushrooms gang heads far north to search the Holiday spirit!  Santa's in the mood too... Just make sure to have a gas mask handy...

Holy smokes!  Santa dropped a Yule Log in the porcelain punch bowl!  Perhaps this year I'll leave some Pepto and Tums out for the Jolly Old Elf! 

Well folks, that's it for this time.  Frankly, I'll be lucky if ALL I get is coal in my stocking after that comic!  I'll be back next time with some awesome fan art I've received recently!  Until then, take care and remember to help others this holiday season.  Catch y'all later! 

IT"S CRAZY CHRISTMAS TIME!!!

 As Slade once said sang: "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIT'S CHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAAAAS!!!!!"

Yup!  The merriest month of the year has arrived!  So let's skip ahead to the festivities shall we?  Mike and Mindy are out looking for the CRAZY Christmas Tree, and think they may have found a winner! Time to head on down to the lot...

 Wow!  Talk about a harrowing experience.  Next time they probably shouldn't shop at an Ent lot!  Cheer up kids, I hear they still do a gift exchange in prison!

And now, a late entry from last week's Crazy Cartoon Experiment Rewind, this one from Christina Wald, http://christinawald.blogspot.com/!

Loved the inspiration for this piece!  Christina had mentioned being heavily influenced by The Great Gatsby, and for that I'm thankful!  She delivered a truly wonderful entry!  Thanks again Christina!

Well folks, that's all for this week.  We'll be back next time with a new Mushrooms that will certainly land a lump of coal in my stocking!  And remember folks, we're at a time of year when people are going without, so please think of others.  Donate to charities and food banks.  Give to toy drives.  Drop a dollar in the Salvation Army bucket.  Every little bit helps.  Take care, and I'll catch y'all later!

IT'S TIME TO REWIND... WITH THE CRAZY CARTOON EXPERIMENT!!!

Well, it's been an awfully long wait, but the CRAZY CARTOON EXPERIMENT is back!  And just in time for that long Thanksgiving week!  So everybody grab a plate and enjoy this extra big helping of cartoon goodness!

Due to the large volume of entries, and the fact that a few folks did multiple entries, I've split it up into individual artists and will try to keep the commentary to a minimum, so enjoy!

Lynn Adams, lynnadamsillustration.co.uk

 That poor dog!  Don't think I'll ever look at a cork the same way again!

Jim Haas, Nate The Robot

 Does this mean love is bloated instead of blind?

Ashley Taylor, loveashleydesigns.tumblr.com

Ladies and gentlemen, now presenting the World's cutest Cactus!

Kevin Parham, Another Comic Strip

 

Anybody else thinking *BOOM* here?  Thinking outside the box!  Ashley and Kevin deserve a ton of credit for creativity here.  A helium-filled dog DOESN'T necessarily mean an inflated dog!  Good work guys!  

Chris Grady, Lunarbaboon Comics

 Damn snowmen!  Always leaving puddles in bad spots!

Corey Davies, The Grind Comic

 Smashing pumpkins.  A teenage global phenomenon!

Jackie Williams, dessinez.tumblr.com

 Without question the sweetest entry in this experiment!  Absolutely love Jackie's take on Linus and Lucy!

James Point Du Jour, CoffeeRoll.com

 I try not to play favorites, but this strip is my favorite of this CCE!  I love James' take on Mike and Mindy!  And in true M&M fashion, their plan fails!  Love it!

Kim Belding, Picpak Dog

 The King of the CCE returns!  And boy did Kim deliver, hiting all four themes in one shot!

Nicole McCurry, Ecadian Chronicles

 

 Fire and Ice and Magic... ALWAYS a lethal combination!

Rebecca Horn, Penguin Capers

 Not even steel-plated bloomers are enough to stand up to super powerful Dog Farts!

Next up, Nathalie Kokke (studioafh.nl) was awesome enough to do THREE entries:

 Wonder what cactus he took a bite out of!

 Talk about a Great Pumpkin?!

 Somebody had a rough night!

Another triple entrant was kind enough to take part!  The wonderful Wendy Caston!  wenartgal.blogspot.com

 That blockhead Charlie Brown ALWAYS gets in the way!

 How do those gourds get so big?

 Those silly kids!  Mike and Mindy will never learn there's no such thing as easy money!

Bearman, Bearman Cartoons

 I can hear Frank Zappa laughing now!

Brian Simpson, omnomables.blogspot.com

 I'm playing favorites once again here because I REALLY loved this strip!  Mindy has never looked more evil!  Mike's an even bigger dummy than Linus!

Dave Wessels, Bad Boy Comics

 And we're back to the helium dogs!  Lord only knows how these mutts got into this predicament, but I hope Mr. Wessels will be kind enough to "fill" us in some day!

Frank Haba

That's a mean looking Cactus!  We've had quite the range this time around!  Frank does a lot of kids' book illustrations, and I hope he turns this one into a full story too!  Great job!

Thomas Barnett, of The Li'l Miesters, did these fun strips, two of which haven't been seen yet!

 I feel guilty about posting this one as it hasn't appeared yet, so consider yourselves lucky because your cousin Thomas gave y'all a sneak peek!  To see how the "Hindenburg" storyline began, click here!

 Poor Ned!  That Swiss Miss will really mess you up!

 Poor Linus.  Always the last one to cross the finish line.

And lastly, Bo Bigelow, BoBigelow.com

Poor Frosty!  Suddenly, I really wanna see a Watchmen/Frosty The Snowman animated special!  Come on Warner Animation!  Make it happen!

And there you have it: THE CRAZY CARTOON EXPERIMENT REWIND!!!  I'd like to thank all the artists for taking time out of their very busy schedules to take part.  You guys totally rocked this one, especially the many first time participants!  And don't be too sad it's over.  I already have a new theme in mind and plan to announce it shortly!

Well, that's all for this week.  I'll be back next time with some new holiday fun featuring Mike And Mindy!  In the meantime, take care, have a safe, happy and wonderful Thanksgiving, and try to be courteous on Black Friday.  It's a tough day for all!  Until next time, catch y'all later!

HOLD YOUR BREATH!!! MUSHROOMS IS BACK!!!

Yep folks!  I'm heading back to Long Beach Comic and Horror Con next weekend!  And since I'm gonna be out of town all next week with a pre-show trip to Disneyland, I'm updating now!  Basically, here's how it will all go down:

Saturday, November 23rd through Sunday, November 24th, I'll be in Artists Alley at table 1110A.  I'll be selling books, sketches and sketch cards at the following pices:

• All books $6.00
• 8.5In. x 5.5In. Sketches $5.00, FREE for kids younger 12 and younger
• All Sketch Cards $3.00

ALL commissions MUST be family-friendly, no exceptions!  Other than that, come hang out, have fun and make the Long Beach Con the CRAZIEST one ever!  See y'all next weekend!   

Well, it's time for another serving of Mushrooms!  You'll definitely be left "Breathless" after this one...

Let that be lesson teachers.  Never just assume your students know the procedure!  Better not teach those kids CPR.  They might make someone explode!

Well, that's all for this week.  I'll be back next time with another installment of the Crazy Cartoon Experiment as well as an update on the Kickstarter project with Kim Belding!  Until then, take care and I'll see y'all at Long Beach!

MIKE AND MINDY ARE "SNOW" FUN AT ALL!!!

And we're back!  That belly-bulging holiday I love so much (But tends to be forgotten these days due to Holiday greed) is finally upon us!  Yup!  It's time to get all my ingredients ready for Thanksgiving!  I do love this holiday as it's one of the few times I get to show off my cooking abilities!  Yes sir, gotta go buy some extra big pants and get ready!  Oh wait a sec... It's a new month!  And that can only mean one thing: NEW COMICS!!!

Mike and Mindy are back and ready for some fun in the snow!  Let's check in and see how those goofs are doing...

 Whoa!  Talk about being left out in the cold!  Better get a shovel!  And somebody really should've told Mindy that polkadots and stripes don't mix!  Nobody can accuse her of not having a personal style at least!

Well, I said last time that I had a big announcement, and here it is: In january of 2014, I'm launching a NEW series: Bubble Fox!  It all came about after a chat with Twitter pal Erika Meza brought about the drawings below.

Well, I had so much fun with the character and got such a great reaction that I decided to make a new series out of it!  Not all the details have been hammered out just yet, but I am planning to launch the the first week in January and hope to do at least two strips a week!  It's a pretty big step, but I'm really looking forward to this venture and hope y'all will join along for the ride!

In the meantime, enjoy this amazing Bubble Fox animation that Australian artist, Joe Mettam, did for me!

I gotta say, seeing this was one of the proudest moments of my life.  I never thought I'd get to see one of my characters animated!  Thanks again Joe!

Well, that's all for this week.  I'll be back next time with a NEW Mushrooms comic and possibly some more info on the Kickstarter project!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!