Hey everyone! I apologize for not getting out a Sketcharoo last week, but to sorta make up for it, this week’s illustration kinda has a quasi-special bonus (of sorts). Along with the illustration above (which I’m sure requires no further comment), I’ve included below the original drawing the Sketcharoo was based on. That’s the joy of illustrating in the computer, you get to keep the original drawing in pristine condition in the inevitable event that the Smithsonian wishes to display it. Seriously, these are the thoughts that go through my head when I draw. Oy.

Well, without further ado…

Interesting, no? It’s like peering behind the magician’s curtain and seeing the tiny, tuxedo-wearing demon that pulls the strings. Also, if you look closely, you can see the bottom of the feet of the Celibate Sasquatch from last Sketcharoo above Batman’s head. Man, the Smithsonian’s gonna LOVE getting this sketchbook page!

She’ll get you into a house, even though you’ve got terrible credit? That’s just evil.

CONTEST UPDATE: In other news, there’s only one week left to get in your submission for the Contestaroo! And while I am absolutely loving all the entries I’ve got so far, I heard through the grapevine that you guys might like to have a clue to guide you in your punnery. And while I’m a bit hesitant to clip the wings of your creativity, I shall relent. So here it is, your very own rhyming clue:

While taking jabs at politics and things like that is fun,

it puts you on the wrong racetrack for finding the right pun.

You’d be advised to check the size of the auto-driving fowl,

compared against the elephant that feathered hunter prowls.

And get your mind off GOPs and Dems, try instead Sisyphus,

for that’s no eagle, but an ancient bird from well known myths.

BUT I’VE ALREADY SAID TOO MUCH! Hopes this helps! Remember, if no one gets the real title, the best pun still wins, so if the above clue was gibberish to you, don’t be afraid to toss it out and come up with something else entirely.

And happy punning!

This poster was illustrated by Pascal Blanchet, a man whose abounding creativity leaps right off the page and kicks the viewer in the face. It was created in response to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s “bare-bones approach to arts-funding” (to quote Canadian author Yann Martel, who has decided to protest in his own unique fashion). Oh, for those of my readership who don’t know Harper’s reputation, he’s basically the George Bush of Canada. Yeah, that bad.

Now, as a red white and blue-blooded, bald eagle making out with, Iraqi-invading under false pretenses American, I have been appalled time and again to discover my favorite cartoons and cartoonists are –good lord,choke!- Canadian. “The Cat Came Back,” CANADIAN. New Yorker-esque cartoonist extraordinaire Seth, CANADIAN. “Ren and Stimpy” creator John K, CANADIAN. Chester Brown, CANDIAN (okay, so considering his magnum opus is a biography of Louis Riel, I saw that one coming). I suppose when the weather constantly forces you indoors, you have to find something to do with your time.

Well, here’s a salute to those hard-working Canadians artist, and here’s hoping Harper and his conservative cronies will get their TimBits handed to them this coming election.

For more Pascal Blanchet, who makes amazing comics himself, go here. You will not be disappointed.

Well now! Due to the overwhelming response to the last post (8 comments! New record!), I have decided to start posting a weekly sketch from the deep, slimy, bat-infested vaults of my old and current sketchbooks (you wouldn’t believe how much extra they charge for the sketchbooks with the vaults). Above you’ll find the very first Monday Sketcharoo sketch, dating from around a year ago. I started with the drawing of the tube of glue, and then decided to add the rest of the elements. And in case you couldn’t tell, that’s a caricature of myself (no, the guy next to the bird).

The really interesting thing about this sketch is it uses eerily similar motifs I employed in a comic I had done 2 years prior (posted below), drawn as part of the admission paperwork I had to complete when I applied to the Center for Cartoon Studies. Pretentious art babble, a bird art connoisseur, turtlenecks and goatees employed as signifiers of one steeped in the contemporary art world… it’s all there. Yet it took me a full two days to realize that I’ve done this all before. I guess it just goes to prove that old adage: “Good artists copy, great artists steal, and lousy artists just reuse the same dumb gags they made two years earlier.”

Hope you like poop jokes!

Wasn’t that… special?

Anyway, today I’d like to introduce you all to my best friend Brian’s latest infuriatingly terrific accomplishment: “Brian and John“! “Brian and John” is one of those quirky webcomics whose comedy engine is fueled by the true-to-life, whimsical observations of the strip’s two real-life protagonists. And then adds dinosaurs, robots and shotguns. So it’s kind of like “Cathy,” only with dinosaurs, robots and shotguns. And humor. Here’s the latest strip:

It’s updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and since you surely have better things to do with your brain then remember to check their actual site three times a week, just add it to your Google Reader and be done with it.

As for me, I’ve been doing a lot of fun illustrations for Her Interactive, exactly ZERO of which I’m allow to show you until the new Nancy Drew PC game is out in October. So, to justify this blog’s continued existence, I’ve been considering starting to post a new sketch every week. These would be half-finished pencil renderings, drawings done in a style I don’t usually work in, quickie watercolors, etc… basically a grab bag from my sketchbooks with the occasionally commentary. I dunno, how would that sound to you guys? If I could get… let’s say FIVE non-wife readers of this blog to support that, I’ll start doing it. Just lay done yer thoughts in the comments section.

Okay! That’s all from me.

In other news, a short comic I did for Bluewater Comics has recently been released. You can find it (if you must) in the back of “Ray Harryhausen Presents Jason and the Argonauts: The Kingdom of Hades” #2. And don’t be fooled by the fact that my name does not appear on the cover or the masthead, or that the cover clearly states the bonus material at the back of the comic is a “Pin-Up Section” of Harryhausen original art. No, don’t be fooled by all this. Because my comic is really there.

That is all.