MIKE AND MINDY RETURN!!! 10 YEARS HELIUM, BLOOMERS, MAYHEM AND... ASPARAGUS!!!

It's here!  The moment we've all been waiting for!  Mike and Mindy, the tykes that started it all, have come out of cartoon retirement to celebrate ten years of shenanigans, most of it involving helium, bloomers and other assorted mayhem!  The story of M&M is actually a pretty simple one.  After years of doodling and drawing but not really having much direction,  I came up with these two kids who popped up in another series I was working on at the time called Mushrooms.  Their initial appearances were as random kids in one-off comics with no real plans for them beyond that.  Somehow, the thought of a boy and girl duo really appealed to me and after a few more scribbles, there they were: Mike & Mindy!  They informally debuted on the Kids Love Comics blog back in January of 2010.  Ray Friesen, a cartoonist I had met at Comic Con sometime earlier, was kind enough to give me a shot and posted them for me.  After further thought and encouragement, I started what is now known as The CRAZYVERSE the very next month, the blog for all things CRAZY!  Well, if your definition of crazy is my comics, art and convention pics, then yes, all things CRAZY!  At the time, I had no social media presence, so it was a bit of a surprise when M&M started gaining a little bit of traction with fans.  By 2011, I finally added Twitter to the mix and things really took off from there!  In all, Mike & Mindy ran from February 2010 to December 2014.  They appeared in over 60 individual comics, three books, numerous splash pages, T-shirts, sketch cards and even quite a few guest comics to boot!  Although it's been over five years now since they ended, ten years is still a remarkable deal, and so all this month, we are celebrating their achievement!  Today marks the first NEW M&M comic since they ended (The two-page comic that appeared a few years ago had been drawn while they were still going, it just hadn't posted yet).  In addition to today, another new comic will bookend this month and we have plenty of guest comics in between!  So sit back and enjoy this revealing look at Mike and Mindy, as well as another old friend longtime CRAZIES might recognize!  Enjoy...

Dinner and a show?  Who could ask for more?  The Giant, Dancing Asparagus?  Hmm, okay!  You got him!  In addition to Mike and Mindy, this spirited vegetable has also made a return, though he never formally retired.  I just had no real reason to use him in anything after!  The Dancing Asparagus has a storied history.  He was born of the Buns & Wieners Club jam comics and somehow sorta became my character.  Given the content of my comics, I guess a giant, dancing vegetable really wasn't much of a stretch.  As far as personality goes, he really had none.  He literally would just show up and start dancing!  So I guess today's comic is not only monumental in that it features Mike and Mindy's return, but it also marks the first time ever that the Dancing Asparagus has had a job AND a name!  Asparago just seemed like a good fit for a magician/dancer.  As for the gag, I guess Asparago had been watching some Benny Hill or Looney Tunes prior to taking up magic because this is definitely a trick out of those playbooks!  Mike and Mindy seemed to be taking it quite well.  If you can't have an underwear dance party with a giant, mutant vegetable, who can you have an underwear dance party with?

That's all for today.  We got a guest comic on Wednesday that's full of youthful promise, so be sure to come back and check it out!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later and welcome back Mike and Mindy!

WHAT A GAS!!!

Last post of January for the calendar year of 2020!  Wild times CRAZIES, wild times.  We got something HUGE coming next month, but first, we gotta wrap things this month.  So let's dive in and see what kind of fun is in store, shall we?  Enjoy...

Smell that?  That's the smell of fun!  AND sulfur!  And methane!  And a surprising amount of hydrogen!  Is it any wonder farts are flammable?!?  It's a miracle people don't straight explode with all these combustible gasses building up inside!  Today's art was a gift for my pal Peter Rasmussen, and more specifically, his son Oskar.  Pete created the comic Badly Doodled which sees him put Oskar's rather amusing insights of the world to the page as funny and touching cartoons.  Oskar, like most kids, is of the opinion that flatulence is quite funny and often finds new ways to amuse himself and others with it.  This was back when he was turning seven and now, he's about to be 11!  Kids sure grow fast.  Hopefully he'll always keep his childlike glee.  With a cool dad like Big Pete, I'm sure the two of them will keep fartin' around for a while!

And that's a wrap for January!  I teased this back on New Year's Day, but next week, the CRAZYVERSARY returns for the first time in five years with Mike & Mindy's 10th Anniversary! It's a month-long celebration of Helium, Bloomers and Mayhem as the Terrible Tykes celebrate a milestone, complete with Guest Comics and two BRAND NEW M&M comics!  And if you'd like, we are happily accepting fan art on Twitter with the hashtag #MM10!  Just tweet it to my handle @JonsCrazyTweets!  So be sure to come back MONDAY (Early start!) and kick this off properly!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES!!!

We are back and now 17% more CRAZY than last time!  that's an increase of 4%!  Anyway, the birthday art bonanza continues here this month in case you forgot.  All art appearing here was originally posted on Twitter as digital gifts for some truly wonderful friends, and today's no exception.  So sit back, maybe loosen your belts, and enjoy...

Aw Chandra.  Probably no dearer friend than her when it comes to Twitter pals.  She's long supported me and so many other artists with her kind words and quick ordering finger on Amazon.  She's a genuine pal and also makes an AMZING bread pudding too!  Just ask the Ragtags once their food coma wears off!  The real irony here is, it actually wasn't her birthday when I drew this.  One of the bigwigs at the Root Beer Party mixed up her actual birthday and went and told everybody to draw stuff for her.  She was a bit puzzled by it all but still very appreciative for the art.  Frankly, I'm happy to draw Chandra anything anytime she wants!  Her friendship is one of the best gifts I've ever received.

Well, we're down to our final week this month!  2020 is now hitting the terrible twos, but we'll make sure its infant stage ends with a bang, so be sure to come back next week and check it out!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

TAKIN' A RIDE WITH PENGUIN AND PEGACOW!!!

We are back and smack dab in the middle of January already!  Time sure does fly, don't it?  Well, it's flying fast enough that I need to get my post up while it's still relevant!  As I said last time, this month it's all art I drew as birthday gifts for dear pals on Twitter.  We got a real bellyful last week, so this time I thought I'd lighten the mood a bit and soar to new heights!  Enjoy...

  You've no doubt heard of the legendary Pegasus, but have you heard of the mythical Pegacow?  Robert Deans sure has, and today's art was a nod to him on his birthday!  Long looked at as the "Dad" of Twitter, Rob's one of my oldest pals on the site and was very encouraging of me during those early years when I was too scared to even say hello to people.  He was a pal who really helped me come out of my shell a bit and I'll always be appreciative of that.  His logo's a flying cow and he also likes penguins, so for his birthday, I combined the two into one silly work of art!  Hopefully Rob still remembers this.  It was one of my favorites to work on!

That's all she wrote for this week.  Be sure to stop by next time for more gut-busting fun for one of my dearest pals!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

BUBBLE'S BIRTHDAY BELLY BUSTER!!!

*Sighs*

January is really here.  Christmas is now two weeks behind us and 50 weeks away.  Well, actually, 42 weeks away given how retailers work.  But ya know?  That's okay!  There's always something to look forward to each month!  Awards season is here and the Oscars are already looking pretty intriguing!  Shamrock Shakes aren't too far off and Con Season will also be kicking off pretty soon too!  Granted, that last one's still in a state of limbo at the moment, but where there's a will, there's a way and things just work out sometimes.  We can also look forward to some new art from all the wonderful cartoonists out there...  And me!  So let's cut right to the chase, shall we?  This month, I'm going back and posting sketches I've done for pals on Twitter as birthday gifts!  I've done many more than the four coming up, but there are only so many Wednesdays in a month!  Anyway, enjoy...

Oh, Willow.  You know perfectly well that you can't leave giant, delicious pastries out while Bubble Fox is about!  It's beyond tempting fate!  The following art was done for my dear friend Anna Tomlinson and her daughter, Hermione.  Anna and her kids are all big fans of the various CRAZY characters, so I was Happy to draw a little something for one of Bubble's biggest fans on her birthday.  Anna later told me the kids kept close guard over the cake to make sure a REAL fox didn't try to swoop in and take it!  You don't ever come between a kid and their cake!

That's all for today.  We'll be back next week with some birthday art that'll make you wanna reach for new heights!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

HAPPY NEW YEAR CRAZIES!!! CELEBRATE WITH MIKE & MINDY!!!

2020 is a GOOOOOOOOOO!!!  A New Year brings new challenges, new experiences and new feelings.  It also brings back a few familiar faces as our old pals, Mike & Mindy, will be celebrating their 10th Anniversary in February!  And we're gonna be celebrating right there with them with an entire month of guest comics and two BRAND NEW M&M comics!  Their first in five years!  It's been a long time coming and I'm so excited to bring my first comic creations back, even if it is only for a month.  I certainly hope you all will come back and join me for all the fun!  And if you're on Twitter, be sure to show Mike and Mindy some love and tweet some fan art my way at @JonsCrazyTweets using the tag #MM10!  It'll be a party for the ages!

Keeping it short today as I'm sure many of us are recovering from last night.  2019 is gone and I'm ready to move on from it.  I've had worse years, but I've had better years too.  Guess you can say it's a bit of a wash at this point.  2020 brings with it old challenges and new opportunities, and I intend to meet each one head-on.  So let's do this CRAZIES!  Let's make the first year of the new decade one to remember for all the right reasons!

That's all for this week.  We'll be back next time with some fun art to get the New Year rolling right.  Until then, take it easy and I'll catch y'all later.  Happy New Year CRAZIES!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS CRAZIES!!! 2019 STYLE!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS CRAZIES!!!  It's been a long wait, but the big day is here!  Hopefully y'all weren't naughty this year otherwise the elves might be going full-on Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck on you!  Anyway, I'll keep things short today.  It's Christmas week.  We all got some fun things planned!  So let's jump to it!  Enjoy...

The Bumble!  The first time I can ever recall seeing a bad guy outside of wrestling do a face turn (Become a good guy for those who aren't up to speed on their kayfabe).  I always had a feeling he wasn't such a bad dude.  It can't be easy living in the North Pole where the weather's always bad and food is scarce and extremely risky to get.  No wonder he's in a bad mood at the start!  This was another illo_advent entry that got a good reaction on Twitter.  Had a lotta fun drawing this one too.  Certainly one of my easiest coloring jobs to boot!  All in all, the Bumble is A okay!

That's a wrap on this week, this month AND this year!  We'll be back next time with a pretty big announcement concerning a rather spirited pair of kids that'll be celebrating their 10th Anniversary next year, but I won't give it all away here!  So be sure to come back and check it all out!  In the meantime, Christmas is on Wednesday and there's still time to help someone in need, so please be generous!  Have a safe and wonderful Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanzaa and  I'll catch y'all in the New Year!