Alright! October is finally here! Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays of the year, so this month every post will include a Halloween themed video. I can't guarantee a weekly onslaught here, as my work schedule is about to pick up, but I do have some great videos planned for when I do post, including another hilarious moment from wrestling's past. So sit back and enjoy one of the greatest songs ever made from one of music's all time greatest bands, Oingo Boingo!
Seriously people? Is there any better way to kick off October than with a Dead Man's Party?
There aren't a whole lot interesting tidbits behind the song, other than it made its debut in the film Back to School, a hilarious romp starring the late great Rodney Dangerfield (It's sad to think that there is now a whole generation of kids out there who don't know about this movie or who Rodney was!). All I know is, if somebody could have gotten Oingo Boingo to play at one of the dorm parties at San Diego State, I might have enjoyed my time there a lot more.
Anyway, enough yapping, enjoy the comics!
There's a lesson to be learned here: be careful who you moon!
Well, that's all for now. I'll be back next time with a funny wrestling post that is truly horrifying!
Until next time, I'll catch y'all later!
First off, sorry about the lack of updates lately. Work has actually been pretty light this month. As a result, I've been taking some time to work on my book as well as some other things that have needed attention, like sorting through all of my Comic Con Swag! (Yes, it takes that long to go through everything.) Although I do plan on posting weekly throughout October, I can't make any promises as my work schedule is definitely going to pick up during the next two months. Hopefully, everything will work out somehow.
Anyway, to make up for the last two weeks, I present to you my all-time favorite skit from Mr. Show with Bob and David: DRUGGACHUSSETTES! I'll go ahead and give everybody a fair warning: THIS CLIP IS NOT FOR KIDS! It actually isn't too terrible, no cussing or nudity or anything like that. But there is a lot of drug humor, so consider yourselves warned. In case you're curious, they are making fun of Sid and Marty Kroft's H.R. Puff 'n' Stuff and Lidsville, a pair of terrible shows from the 70's that were supposed to be for kids, but often had more of a following with college crowds. The Kroft brothers had a whole slew of shows throughout the decade, each more trippy than the last. If you've ever wondered what it's like to be high, just check some of these shows out on youtube, and you'll get a pretty good idea why you shouldn't do drugs (or you can just watch TNA every Thursday, both are pretty good examples).
For those of you who don't know, that's Tom Kenny stripping down to his tighty whities there as Prof. Ellis D. Trails. You may not know his name, but you've definitely heard his voice. He has voiced hundreds of cartoon characters, most notably Spongebob Squarepants.
Anyway, I'll be back next time with some new comics and a Halloween video to kick off October. Until next time, I'll catch y'all later!
Hey folks! I'm posting a bit earlier than usually this week 'cause I need some time to work on my book. My style has evolved considerably since I first started. So much so that I now have to re-draw a bunch of stuff! Eh, if it needs to be done, than it needs to be done.
Anyway, I promised some truly terrible wrestling today, and I'd hate to keep you waiting. I have long contended that the Shockmaster is the worst gimmick ever done. A good argument can be made for the Gobbledy Gooker, but I'll take the shockmaster for the simple fact that he was meant to be main eventer. Do I think there were gimmicks that were even worse? Believe it or not, yes! If anything could top the Shockmaster, it'd be the Yeti. Who was the Yeti you ask? Let's go back a bit to find out.
The Dungeon of Doom was a magnet for crappy wrestlers. Created by longtime heel Kevin Sullivan as a means of destroying Hulk Hogan, the Dungeon was more a less group of goofy gimmicks that consisted of giants, fishmen, cannibals and even a leprechaun! Despite assembling such a motley unit, the Dungeon was never able to rid WCW of Hulkamania, much to the fans dismay. At Halloween Havoc 95, Sullivan decided to up the ante by introducing the Yeti (or Yet-ay, as Tony Schiavoni continually referred to him by).
A huge block of ice was wheeled out to the entance ramp as Hogan began to battle WCW champion the Giant (now known as the Big Show). As the match came to a close, a big melee ensued, at which point the Yeti broke loose, and turned out to be, well... a mummy. I guess the Turner brass didn't know much about their mythological creatures. To say it looked ridiculous would be an understatement, but things got worse when the Yeti hopped into the ring and proceeded to get freaky with Hulkamania!
Mere words are not enough to describe just how horrible this thing was. I don't know about you, but a mummy trying to violate Hulk Hogan is not my idea of good family entertainment! The Yeti didn't last too long and eventually resurfaced as Reese, a member of Raven's flock. The Dungeon of Doom, meanwhile, went the way of most mid-90s WCW gimmicks and disappeared after the nWo showed up.
Well, that's all for now folks. I'll catch y'all later!
Hey folks, sorry about the delay. I had a busy week, working the Melissa Ethridge concert, as well as helping my good friend Tyrell Bodner out with his latest short film. It was an interesting shoot at a flower shop that gave me a chance to do some lighting for film, which I haven't done in almost two years! It also gave me a chance to reconnect with my old pals from San Diego State: Becky, Charlie and Isaac. It was a lot of fun and I now have a much greater appreciation for flower arrangement.
Anyway, for weeks now, I've promised to cover the Aftercon Art Show (pictured above) that I was a part of, so here goes. The Aftercon was a great event. It was a little nerve racking for me at first, being the least-known artist there. But everybody was very kind and gracious to me. Matt Lorentz, Mark Richmond and Wordell Brown, who organized the whole thing, are great dudes and were very encouraging (I had actually helped them set up the gallery the weekend before the show). Jason Reyes and Dave and Doreen Dotson were also very kind people, Doreen in particular. It must have been pretty obvious that I looked like a fish out of water, because Doreen kept me company pretty much the entire time I was there. She was very kind and sweet and even asked me to contribute to her sketchbook! (A hastily drawn Wonder Woman sketch in case you're curious) She made me feel a lot more welcome and encouraged me to join the Southern California Cartoonists Society (SCCS), which I did! I can't go any further without mentioning a couple of Aftercon attendees, Pete and Melissa. This kind couple went to check out the show, and thought highly enough of my work to ask me to draw their portrait in my style. I was very flattered and honored to be asked to do this by a couple of fans, and so it shall always be known that Pete and Melissa were the first people to ever ask me for a sketch and autograph. It was a great experience and I can't wait until next year's show.
If you're wondering why I didn't put more pictures of the Aftercon up, it's simply because I don't know what I can and cannot post in terms of other people's artwork. While it's easy to assume that everybody would be cool with it, I don't know for sure, so rather than risk getting a slew of threatening phone calls from people, I'd rather just let it be. If you want to see some of the other pieces, check out www.sheldorftribute.com or www.aftercon.blogspot.com. You can also check out my August posts to see my pieces again (Always a plus!).
Anyway, I think I've bored you enough for today. Enjoy the comics!
This piece was actually supposed to be in the book I'm working on right now, but since it's taking longer than expected, I felt I should post it while it's still somewhat relevant. The panels are pretty self-explanatory, except for the first one. You see, I started out at Southwestern Community college. One day while walking to class, I came across a dude dressed like a pirate. Given that it was at the Telemedia (Film) Department, it didn't seem all that odd. I figured he was part of somebody's project. That wasn't the case. It turned out he was just some crazy guy who dressed up like a pirate everyday and offered hugs as a way to spread world peace. I can't say he's been all that successful in his quest, but to my knowledge, he's still there!
Well, it's been great, but I got to get going. I got a special request from one of my subscribers to do a really bad wrestling post, one of Shockmaster and Gobbledy Gooker levels. Well, I'm always happy to oblige my fans, and I definitely have a gimmick of epically bad proportions in store for next time.
Well, I'm back after a busy couple of weeks setting up a few conventions and trade shows in Downtown San Diego. Although all pale in comparison to Comic Con, the fact is we get some huge shows out here, and some one's got to put them together. I actually have a couple more that I'll be doing over the next three days, hence the reason I'm posting now.
Over the last few weeks, I've been going crazy with wrestling nostalgia. I've picked up some DVDs lately, namely The Best of Monday Night Raw: 1993-1994 and Greatest Superstars of the 1990's. It's funny to see how much Doink the Clown, of all wrestlers, was such a big part of the WWF back then. I'm not saying he was a bad wrestler. In fact, his matches were pretty good. It's a shock, I guess, because a character like that should not have succeeded. I mentioned before that Doink was a bit of a badass. He would do wild things, like hit Crush with a car battery, or throw pies at kids sitting in the front row. He did whatever he wanted to do, and after a while, fans couldn't help but root for him. It was also interesting to note how much they put over Scott Hall, Sean Waltman and Jeff Jarrett on these DVDs. Perhaps an olive branch has been extended?
Of course, not all bad gimmicks are as lucky (Do I really need to bring up the Shockmaster again?). But in the cartoony world of the early-90's WWF, the really goofy gimmicks like Doink, the Repo Man and Papa Shango didn't really seem out of place. In WCW, however, where they prided themselves more on the "sports" side of sports-entertainment, the goofy crap seemed really uncalled for. Given the success that the WWF has having in those days, you couldn't really blame WCW for trying to follow suit. Unfortunately, nobody ever really seemed to put much thought into the gimmicks and angles before throwing them at a paying audience (anybody who sits through a TNA show every week probably knows where I'm getting at here).
I could go on for hours about some of WCW's biggest Flops. Flops like the Dynamic Dudes, skateboarders who didn't skateboard or Van Hammer, a guitar player who couldn't play guitar, although he sure knew how to carry one around. And let's not forget about P.N News, a 300lb. white rapper who, well, just plain sucked. Poor Brad Armstrong was actually one of the most talented wrestlers to ever work for WCW, but for one reason or another he was always saddled with terrible gimmicks. His most infamous was Arachnaman, a Spiderman ripoff that was actually shelved after Marvel comics threatened legal action. His next gimmick? The Candyman, where he came to the ring passing out candy to kids at ringside. You know, I was always taught to never take candy from strangers. And they don't get any stranger than a man in red and white striped tights passing out candy. Of course, all of these pale to the sheer horror that is this little dandy below.
Behold the power of OZ!
For those of you who aren't wrestling fans, that's Kevin Nash. Oz was his first major singles gimmick, right after his run with the Master Blasters (a future post). The little man in the mask calling himself the Wizard is Kevin Sullivan, he himself a purveyor of wrestlecrap. Basically, Ted Turner owned WCW. He had also just purchased the MGM film library. The Turner brass felt that a good way to promote the newly acquired library was to create wrestling gimmicks based on movies, which wasn't new. The Mad Max movies had inspired dozens of wrestlers. This time however, it didn't work very good. The whole thing was just plain weird. In addition to goofy entrance music and the drooping backdrop, there was also the fact that the neon green tights and and silver hair made Nash look ridiculous (when he first showed up in TNA with his now naturally gray hair, I though he was doing Oz again). The contact lenses he wore also didn't help. If anything, it made Nash look like he was on an acid trip, which is how most people who witnessed this thing no doubt felt. Oz didn't last long, and Nash eventually became Vinnie Vegas, a New York thug. When that didn't work, he headed north the WWF, became Diesel, and went on to become a big star. He then returned to WCW as one half of the Outsiders with Scott Hall, thus launching the Monday Night Wars. These days, he works for TNA, probably bracing himself for the eventually bottom falling out. Ted Turner, meanwhile, figured that perhaps creating a new cable channel was a better way to promote his new film library. And thus Turner Classic Movies, or TCM, was born.
Well, I think I've wasted enough of your time for this week. I'll be back next time with some new comics and, I promise this time, a recap of the Aftercon. Y'all take care now, LATER!
Sorry for the short post this week. Work has suddenly crept up on me, so I only have time for a funny video. And this is a great one. Mash-ups are one of my favorite things to look up on youtube, and the best ones are usually comedies or family films made to look scary (see House of 1000 Muppets or A Christmas Gory or Stoogeback Mountain). This time around, we get to see the serious side of Dumb and Dumber. Now if only someone would do a scary mash-up of The Naked Gun!
Anyway, I hope to be back next week so I can finally do a post about the Aftercon. Nobody else who was there seems to be covering it on their site or blogs, and I'd hate to follow along with that.
Enjoy the video, and I'll catch y'all next time.
Damn! I think the guy who did this mash-up might be onto something!
Anyway, I'm a bit late updating this week. Sorry about that. I've been really busy lately with work and some other things that needed my attention. Still, I'm back now with some new comics as well as all the pieces that I did for the Aftercon. I would have liked to have posted some of the pictures from the Aftercon, but my computer ain't being too cooperative right now. Perhaps next week I'll be able to finally get around to covering this great event. In the meantime, enjoy the cartoons and I'll catch y'all next week. Later!
Although I love this piece, I have to admit, it's not my best coloring job. Lesson to all would-be cartoonists: never do your coloring if it's late and you have poor vision.
This piece is actually quite special. As some of you may remember, my cousin Ivan passed away a couple of months ago. Not long afterward, my niece Camilla, being the great kid that she is, put together a book for our Tia Corina (Ivan's mom) that collected memories from all the relatives about Ivan. He loved comics and cartoons, and loved Comic Con, more than me even. So I felt the best way to pay tribute was in the comic form. Each panel describes a different memory that actually happened, the funniest of which occurred when Ivan convinced me that it'd be a good idea to throw a paint can off the roof of my clubhouse. Needless to say, evidence of this incident still exists on the side of my Tia Lilia's house! Ivan was a real rascal and I still miss him. Party on dude!
This was just the postcard I passed around at Comic Con this year, as well as the Wizard World Anaheim show. It's because of this card that I got into the Aftercon.
This is a piece I did for Phil Yeh as a thank you for inviting me to participate in the Aftercon. Amazingly enough, he remembered me when I gave it to him, even though it had been three months and my hair was about seven inches shorter! Phil's a great guy and his Winged Tiger comics are must reads for anybody who wants to be a cartoonist or writer.
This was one of my Aftercon pieces. Sadly, it wasn't shown for one reason or another. So now, I present it to you, the fans of the stuff in hopes that maybe somebody will appreciate it.
This was a piece that I had submitted for the Comic Con Souvenir Book. Sadly it didn't get in. I had a feeling it wouldn't so sent it into the Aftercon as well. Luckily, Matt Lorentz and Mark Richmond aren't as picky.
My "Peanuts/D.C." piece. This was the one I was most proud of. A lot of people seemed to like it, but alas, it never sold. Oh well.
We have come to the end. This was the piece that actually sold. Granted, it was to my Uncle Victor, but he wasn't the first bidder! It looks like I might actually have some fans out there!
Born and raised in San Diego, California, Jon Esparza is a cartoonist on a mission. That mission? He'll tell you as soon as he figures it out. In the meantime, he graduated from San Diego State University in 2009 with a BA in Film and currently working as a stagehand for the Local 122. When he isn't drawing or putting on concerts, he is usually watching movies, reading or sleeping.
Alright! October is finally here! Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays of the year, so this month every post will include a Halloween themed video. I can't guarantee a weekly onslaught here, as my work schedule is about to pick up, but I do have some great videos planned for when I do post, including another hilarious moment from wrestling's past. So sit back and enjoy one of the greatest songs ever made from one of music's all time greatest bands, Oingo Boingo!
There's a lesson to be learned here: be careful who you moon!
Well, that's all for now. I'll be back next time with a funny wrestling post that is truly horrifying!
