SAD TIMES DUDES...

Normally, this week would be "Comics Week" here at the stuff, but some recent events have postponed them until next week. It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my cousin, Ivan Santana, 31. Ivan was an easy going guy who loved music, painting, video games (He had every system and console ever made!) and Gundam robot kits. Sadly, he also had some issues with mental illness and substance abuse that often led to him doing some bad things. In recent years, however, he made attempts at getting better and even reconciled with his family. Admittedly, I hadn't seen Ivan in almost eleven years, but I always prayed for him and hoped he would get better. I know now that he is in a better place and probably chilling with our Tio Jose. The lasting impression I will always have of my cousin is his smile, because he always had one. Never in my life did I see him frown, yell or even threaten anybody. Even now when I think about him, I don't think about how sad it is that he's gone. I think about all the awesome times I had with him; wrestling around, going surfing, playing hide and go seek or just plain hanging out. He was always able to cheer me up, no matter how down I was and I thank God for giving me the chance to know and get close to him.

Where ever you are Ivan, and I see you sitting on a cloud somewhere tinkering with one of your Gundam Models, just know that your cousin loves and misses you.
-Jon

Ivan loved "Weird Al" Yankovic, so in his honor, I present his best video "Headline News", a send up of a bunch of goofy crap that happened between 1992 and 1994. "Mike and Mindy" and their One-Shot Pals will back next week. Take care folks, and always remember to love and look out for one another. You only get one shot at life, so make it count.

MUPPET MADNESS!!!

Hey folks! I actually had something really big planned for this week, but neck hurts and I've got a really busy week coming up. (Needless to say, I won't be updating next week) So instead, I present to you this muppet mash-up.

I'm not sure who did this, but it is outrageously funny and very well done. Being the supportive person that he was, I'm sure Jim Henson would have approved. It's been twenty years now since he left us, and this world is still a much better place for his having been here. We miss you Jim.

I'll end this post with yet another question I've been asked about the Shockmaster. It's hard to say why people are so interested in this flop gimmick, but I get more feedback on that post than anything else. I guess because it was just so funny how it all went down, and because of how mind boggling the whole thing was. The only other thing I'll say about it is that we should be happy it happened before the Vince Russo era. Had that been the case, there would've been a series of matches pitting the Shockmaster against the banner he tripped through, only to have them eventually form a tag team!

Take care y'all! Enjoy the video!

FINALLY, SPINAL TAP! IN LEGO!!!

It's video week here at the stuff, and I recently discovered this gem on youtube. Many props to the dude who animated it. And if I might suggest, there are a lot of us who would love to see Lego Stonehenge!



Anyway, it's been a frustrating few days. I shipped my pieces for the AfterCon event, but FedEx only delivers between 10am and 12pm, and nobody's been around to claim the package. I'm about ready get my drawings and hand deliver them! I guess we'll see what happens.

Anyway, that's all for now. Later!

FINALLY, SOME CARTOONS!

Well, I'm back. Sorry about the lack of updates lately. I've been really slammed at work, which isn't a bad thing. Self-publishing ain't cheap and neither is gas, so I need the money right now.

In what little spare time I've had recently, I've been really tripling my efforts, working on the cartoons for this site, some pieces I'm doing for a benefit this summer (more on that in a second), and a book I've been working on for over a year now. In fact, I've been working on this book for so long, that readers will be able to see the evolution of my style as they thumb through the pages. A part of me thinks I should go back and redo those early stories, but I also feel that art is an ever evolving process and that nothing should ever end the way it begins. That and I'm also really lazy!

Anyway, I'll end the talking part of this post by promoting the first annual Aftercon event. It is an art show that will be taking place during the San Diego Comic-Con this summer, and yours truly has been invited to contribute some artwork! And since that probably didn't excite you, there will be pieces done by real artists, including Phil Yeh, Hermann Mejia, Matt Lorentz, Steve Breen and Ray Bradbury, plus many more! All proceeds benefit the Shel Dorf Artist Fund, named in honor of Comic-Con co-founder Shel Dorf, who sadly passed away earlier this year. The fund itself helps selected high school and college students who want to work in comics and animation. It should be a great event, and I'm really looking forward to it. At the moment, a website and blog are still being worked on to promote the event, so as soon as they become available, I'll post the links.

Well, it been great talking to all of you, but I got to get goin' here. And please, feel free to leave comments on my comics, especially if they're positive ones!

PARTY ON, DUDES!

*NOTE: This was the last of three pieces originally rejected by MAD Magazine. Now that they're going bi-monthly again, maybe I should give it another shot?

BACK FROM ANAHEIM!

Well, I'm back from the Wizard World Convention in Anaheim, and it was an awesome experience! I made many new friends and saw a lot of cool stuff. And I spent way more money than I should Have! But it was all cool. The staff at Wizard and Toy Fare Magazines did a great job, and if they ever want to set up shop in San Diego, just in case our Comic-Con takes off, they are more than welcome to.

A big thanks goes out to the many people I met and got a lot of positive feedback from, including: Matt Lorentz, Phil Ortiz, Primo, Verne Troyer, Erika Eleniak, Bill Roshia at Shocker Toys, TJ Sulliven, Rebecca Hicks, Bill Farmer, Billy West, Chris Smith, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMar, Jennifer Hale, Catherine Taber and Angela Lee. It was great to meet all of you and I hope to meet all of you again in the future.

An extra special thanks goes out to Scott Shaw!, Phil Yeh, Rob Paulsen and Ruben Martinez. Ruben did an awesome drawing of Charlie Brown as a zombie for my sketchbook and was very complimentary of my drawing skills. When I told Rob that Pinky and the Brain had a big following in my union, he broke into his Pinky voice and thanked all of us for our hard work. He's a class act and a kind man. Scott and Phil gave me a ton of advice and pointers about my work and how to better myself, especially Phil. We had two very long conversations that have really fueled my imagination and make me want to try harder. He even invited me to a party he's throwing at the San Diego Con this summer. My new goal now, is to be a part of his Winged Tiger series, as well as his guitar charity. You are a great man Phil, and your advice and help was immeasurable. I won't let you down.

That's all for this week. Time permitting, I'll be back next week with some wrestlecrap for all of you. By the way, the real site, www.wrestlecrap.com, has posted a ton of their classic reviews in honor of their tenth anniversary. I highly recommend checking it out while it's still up. Trust me, they are all hysterically funny. In the meantime, later!

But first, here are some random shots from the convention.

The Batmobile getting push started after the jumper cables failed.

The dude with the afro was freakin' hilarious!

The Evil Cheerleaders, always a welcome sight!

The Voice Artists Pavilion; more characters than you can shake a stick at.

Some of the Costume Contest Participants. They were all great.

Homless Woman, one of the Funniest bits ever.

Count Chocula puts in an appearance (and handed out "TEAM CHOCULA" buttons).

As does Count Mumenstien.

The Ghostbusters were well represented...

Which made the Gingerbread Man move in for a closer look.

Catwoman and the Big Boy defy gravity for a quick bite.

The crappy wide-angle lens on my camera doesn't do justice for the group of people that showed up in a whole slew of classic Batman costumes, which later included Mr. Freeze and the Mad Hatter.

Luckily, some of them were willing to pose for closer shots (The "G.O.O.N." costume was my favorite.).

Fresh from being vindicated, Ghostbuster Ray celebrates with Darth Vader and some Stormtroopers.

Some custom Stormtrooper helmets.

Members of the Saber Guild, a very nice bunch.

"THAT'S THE POWER OF LOOOOOOVE!"

A MOMENT WITH MR. SHOW

Greetings loyal readers (all three of you)! I come bearing a video gift to you all. But first, a quick recap of the Blackeyed Peas concert I worked this past Saturday. Usually, whenever a rap show comes to town, us stagehands dread it. Not because we don't like rap music, but because nothing ever goes right on the calls. Whether it be incompetent road crews, egotistical rap artists or fans that are really stoned and unruly, they just aren't any fun. But the Blackeyed Peas really had their act together. Besides having a nice road crew, they also had an awesome set up, with a stage that was like a giant transformer! All in all, I can't say enough nice things about them.

Now onto the video:


Mr. Show with Bob and David was a great show that was well ahead of it's time. This skit was actually the second of three that also featured "Mayostard" and "Mustmayostardonaise". They were all hysterically funny, and there will be more Mr. Show posts in the future, I promise.

I'm afraid I won't be posting next week, as I'll be at the Wizard World Convention in Anaheim. I'll be back the following week with pictures from the convention.

Sadly, I have to end this week's post with the sad news of the passing of former WCW/WWF star Chris Kanyon. He was a terrific wrestler and great interview, whose talent always shined through the many crappy gimmicks that WCW bestowed upon him (Anybody remember Mortis?). We'll miss you Chris. Party on dude!

CARTOONS CARTOONS EVERYWHERE!

Well, it's Easter time here at the stuff, so I'll keep it brief today with some comics for you fine people. I'll be back next week with a video, a review of the Clash of the Titans remake, and a recap any interesting things that might happen this week at the Black Eyed Peas concert I'll be working at (every rap concert I have ever worked has been a colossal headache, so we'll see if this one will be any different). See y'all next week! Oh, and before I forget...