Crafty Bastards!

So the Ullman clan took a nice little jaunt up to the nation's capital for the Washiington City Paper's fantastic Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts fair last weekend. We drove up on Saturday afternoon (didn't want to leave too early, as we were making our first non-grandparents overnight trip with the midget, and you just never know how a three-month-old is gonna react to a whole mess of unfamiliarity) to Brooke's BFF Alycia's house, smack dead in the middle of the gritty city. Had a fine dinner of Gino's East Deep Dish Chicago Pizza (delivered directly from the restaurant in Chi-town) with Alycia, her husband Jim, her brother Aaron and mom Linda, who are just about the nicest goddamned people you could ever hope to meet. Later, not even a close, exciting Florida-Auburn football game could keep me from falling asleep by a little after ten.

A little after nine the next morning, the girls dropped me off at the Marie Reed Learning Center in Adams Morgan to get ready for the show. The whole shebang is held outside, and the weather was fantastic. I checked in with PopIdiot pal Kelly Alder and threw my table together. I had some new goods to sell (Cartoon Cuties stickers and button set, Atom Bomb Bikini #5) , and I was really anxious to see how they'd do with the public.

The next seven hours are a blur of confusion, conversation and commerce. The people really turned out for the show...it was crowded all day long. So crowded, in fact, that aside from a few trips to the Port-o-let, I didn't have a single chance to walk around and check out the other booths. It was a madhouse. It was a mad-hizzouse! Brooke, Evie and Alycia showed up at around noon after grabbing some lunch, as did my BFF Billy Burg with his wife Laura and little girl Addie. Unfortunately, with all that was going on, I didn't get to shoot the breeze too much...but it's always a treat to see the guy!

A little before five, I closed up shop and packed up my things for the return trip back to Richmond. Evie, who'd been an absolute trooper all weekend long* needed a bottle and a diaper change, so we stopped at a Burger King along I-95 and decompressed a bit. Good thing too, because without food in our bellies and a clean diaper on the midget, the hour we spent in crawling traffic twenty minutes north of Richmond might've resulted in disaster or homicide, rather than just abject frustration.

*Really, I can't say enough about this kid. In the face of all kinds of visual stimulation and a sea of loud noises, not to mention being held by like twenty different people in the space of 24 hours, Evie kept her cool completely, never got more than a little fussy, never freaked out and screamed...she just did her thing, napped here and there, smiled a lot and basically showed everyone that she's the cutest baby ever. How lucky am I?

Stick-toitiveness!

As I mentioned in Saturday's post, my stickers are printed and have arrived in my hot little hands! I'll be updating the Merch page of robullman.com eventually, but for now, if you're interested, you can order them right here using the PayPal links provided below!

Screen-printed on high-quality vinyl, these stickers are UV coated and designed to take a beating, holding their color without fading for upwards of five years! Each is $1.50, with an additional fitty cents added to cover postage and fees. Stick 'em anyplace that could use a little cuteness!

And remember, if you were one of the first five responders to my focus group a few weeks back, you have a free sticker coming! Email me your address and your choice, and I'll get it out to you pronto!


Buy Creamsicle Sticker! (2.00)

Buy ZigZag Sticker! ($2.00)

Buy Both! ($3.50)

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together

Crafty Bastards is tomorrow in D.C., and just in time, my shipment of stickers arrived and my copies of Atom-Bomb Bikini #5 made it back from the printer! So, I'll have a ton of cool new stuff for sale! If you're gonna be in or around our nation's capital this weekend, you owe it to yourself to check it out. It's gonna be sweeeet!

Seeing Red

From the upcoming Atom-Bomb Bikini #5:

Bright Eyes

From the upcoming Atom-Bomb Bikini #5:

TV Time

It's Sunday night, and I can't decide which I want to watch less: The piece of shit final season of THE SOPRANOS winning a dozen Emmy Awards, or the piece of shit New England Patriots winning another football game. Guess I'll dick around all night on the internets instead.

Speaking of the Patriots, they really seem to've decided to own this cheating thing...I was shocked to see this t-shirt for sale on their website the other day!

Coming Soon

Shooting for an A

From this month's "Olden Times" in Virginia Living Magazine:

"As the students of Campbell County’s Union Hill School arrived for the start of classes in the fall of 1932, they were armed with the critical supplies required for the coming year: books, clothing and, of course, their Winchester rifles. They would put the weapons to use almost immediately, mounting an aggressive attack on an insidious school enemy. Mice and rats were running rampant throughout the campus."

Baltimore Postgame

Had a great weekend at the Baltimore Comicon....I haven't been since the show's infancy back in 2001, and its evolved into a pretty amazing, fun show. J Chris and I were talking about how one of the best things about it is that, like Heroes Con (and unlike those awful Wizard shows and, increasingly, San Diego), it's all about comics. Odd that that should be the exception rather than the norm, but that's this crazy business for you.

Anyhow, with J Chris a little under the weather and me wanting to do nothing more than have an uninteruppted night's sleep for the first time in ten weeks, we decided to avoid the festivities of the Harvey Awards Saturday night and just hang out at the burrito place next to the convention center, drink some sodies, and catch up on everything. It was pretty awesome.

Bal'mer Comicon

I don't know why it always seems to happen this way, but it always does. I've been so busy taking care of the midget this week that I completely forgot to mention that I'll be exhibiting at the Baltimore Comicon this weekend! I'll be driving up and sharing space in Artist's Alley (Space # 95-96, to be exact) with the lovely and talented J. Chris Campbell. I'll have all of my comics on hand to sell, along with Lurid.com T-shirts, buttons, and tons of original art. I'll also be doing as many sketches as time and fatigue will allow! Unfortunately, my stickers won't be arriving from the printer in time to have them at the show...but watch this space for details about how you can order them later this month, or pick them up in person at Crafty Bastards or SPX!

It'll be my first trip to Baltimore since becoming hooked on THE WIRE, which, while I don't think I'll be signing up for the Reality Tour anytime soon, has given me a strong affection for the city...as opposed to the deep, burning hatred I've long felt for their NFL team, the Ravens.

Tool Time

Back in 2001, my wife and I took our first trip together, to New York City to visit some friends. One day while strolling about, we stopped into this great stationery store in midtown and, among other things, I picked up a 6"x9" Cachet Ecru sketchbook. I thought the off-white paper was really cool and would be fun to draw on. Since then, it's been my sketchbook of choice. I've gone through about a dozen of these sketchbooks since buying that first one. I've bought a few at the bigger (7"x10") and smaller (5"x7") sizes too, just to switch things up a bit (the big one is especially fun to mess around with), but the ol' 6"x9" is the one I constantly carry around. Any idea I have, every illustration I do (not to mention every strip in Lunch-Hour Comix), pretty much begins here.

They're a little hard to find, so I buy them one or two at a time via mail order from Dick Blick. I somehow just can't even stand to sketch on plain white paper anymore, so I don't want to risk running out and having to settle for something else. I'm always trying out new stuff, but I'm pretty picky about my art supplies, and I tend to find something that works and stick with it.

The spread. My goal is to trade them for a house in France someday:



Looks somewhat impressive all stacked up, I guess:



I always stamp the date inside the front cover I begin a new book. I'd never remember otherwise:

Granny Panties

From 2005's Atom-Bomb Bikini #4...old lady underwear never looked so good!

31 Days

I said at the beginning of the month that I wanted to do a post every day in August...and except for one night where the weather was supremely uncooperative, I pulled it off! For some bloggers, that's no big deal and pretty much the status quo. But for a lazy artist like myself, it's reason to celebrate! Thanks to J. Chris Campbell for matching the post-a-day challenge and look for the posts to keep a-coming as I try to stick to a pretty regular three times a week schedule from here on out! Have a great weekend, all!

Heads and Hips

Tomboy

A letter writer in this week's Savage Love describes her problem thusly:

I’m a high-school girl with big problems. All my life I’ve worn boy clothes and had male friends, mainly because I’m into “male” things like video games and geek stuff. As high school approached, Mother Nature flipped me off with DD breasts and hips that would make Shakira jealous.

I tells ya, sometimes these spots almost draw themselves.

Focus Group

So, in the grand tradition of artists like Coop, I'm thinking about making some stickers. With any luck, soon that unadorned notebook/laptop/bumper will sport a shiny new girlie drawing by your old pal Chappy. Here's the thing...they're kind of expensive to produce right at first (in fact, I'll probably only be able to make one design at the outset), so I'm coming to my dear readers for a little input as to which one you'd like to see made. I've narrowed it down to about four candidates ,which I'm showing here. The sticker'll be printed in full-color on clear vinyl (meaning everything but the figure will be transparent), about 3"x4", and durable enough to withstand the elements if placed on car windows, etc..

What do you think? Wouldja pay a buck/buck and a half for something like this? Would it help to have some kinda snazzy retro packaging? Would you rather get three or four of 'em all at once for five bucks? What design do you like best? I fear I've already missed the deadline that'll enable me to have them for Baltimore Comicon, but if I place the order by early next week I'll have 'em for Crafty Bastards, SPX and mail order. Also, I'll shoot the first five responders to this post (who give me some solid input, 'natch) a sticker gratis once I get them printed up, so come correct, y'all!

Thanks!

A. Creamsicle

B. Derriere



C. Comic Book Girl


D. Teeny Bikini #3 Cover

Again With the Barda

Well, hey, if you're gonna draw super-babes, you can nevergo wrong with this sultry Apokoliptian bruiser. I'm not thrilled with it, but it's what I drew today!

W.I.P.

Thong Song

Savage Lovery

Some more Savage Love art, from various columns over the last year or so. These will also be printed in the forthcoming ATOM-BOMB BIKINI #5, which should hit the streets in mid-September!

Classic Zatanna

Nothing beats the fishnets and top hat, but this design from the 70s comes close. Just don't bring up that 80s monstrosity.

Inking Practice

Back to the Babes

Road Trip

The family and I took a little road trip this past weekend, to our old stomping grounds of Greensboro, NC, for Evie's first (of many) visit to see her grandparents. A weekend at the in-laws might not seem like much to get excited about on the face of it, but I really like hanging out with Brooke's parents...they drink, swear and are excellent cooks! Besides, after spending approximately 22 to 23 hours of every day for the last seven weeks in this house, I was thrilled at the prospect of simply having four different walls to stare at!

Thankfully, there was even more than that going on. We drove down Friday afternoon, and Eve was an angel the entire way, sleeping for all three or so hours. Saturday, I drove around to a few of my favorite haunts, including Addam's Art Loft, which always seems to have some odd item that I find indespensable that no one in town seems to carry (in this case, a tiny replacement lead sharpener), and Ed McKay's used books, hands-down the best-stocked used bookstore in North Carolina. They have everything...the usual huge selection of fiction, classics, paperbacks, etc., but they also have tons of used records, CDs, DVDs, and books of every stripe-history, media, cartoons, and of course, comics. I usually bee-line for that section, and Saturday was no different. The finds of the day were a mixed bag...I picked up the first trade of Brian Wood's DMZ, which I've heard good things about but found to be almost unbearably trite and awful, and the first volume of Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers, which made about as much sense collected as it did in single-issue form- which is to say, not much. Some nice Ryan Sook art on the Zatanna chapters, though. In the children's section, Brooke found a well-worn copy of Syd Hoff's classic Sammy the Seal, which Evie will no doubt want to have nothing to do with when she gets older. She also scored the find of the day (and in the kids section, no less): In Me Own Words: The Autobiography of Bigfoot by Graham Roumieu. It's absurd, hilarious, and instantly quotable (everyone, including Brooke's dad, must've uttered the phrase "You shitty cat" at least a dozen times over the weekend) and it's nice to finally own a copy.

Sunday, we actually managed to get away to the movies for the afternoon and caught a screening of SUPERBAD. It was pretty consistently hilarious, and like all Judd Apatow flicks, it had a lot of heart behind the filth. Is this guy on a hot streak or what? I left the film with two thoughts: A, I want to put Evie in a convent already, and B, I want to have me some drinks! So, next up was back to the house for a few beers in the hot tub! The water felt great, as the picture below illustrates quite well. We finished the night up with a dinner of baby back ribs and preseason football. I felt like I was on vacation!



The trip home was not quite as smooth as the trip down...We had to stop for a diaper change and a feeding, neither of which is easy or fun when you have a dog in the car and it's 97 degrees outside. But, that's travelling with kids, I guess. And occasionally, it leads to moments like this:

What I Shoulda Done

The freelance illustration biz being what it is, sometimes deadlines are just too tight and a drawing has to go out the door before you get to really squeeze your mind grapes and come up with the best possible composition. Such is the case with this illo from last January, about a spate of slutty behavior by a couple pageant queens. The illo is totally fine as printed...strong in composition, gets the idea across quite well, I think, and was enjoyed by all. But a couple weeks after I completed it (and cashed the check), it dawned on me that a camera phone snapping a photo of Ms. Nevada's antics would've really sealed the deal. So, here it is again with that little addition made, and with apologies to the fine folks at Las Vegas Weekly for not thinking of it sooner!

Wonder Girl

Cheesecake All Weekend

Blown Away

A massive, persistent storm rolled through central Virginia yesterday, bringing ridiculous amount of rain, wind and overall nastiness and resulting in several power outages and a spotty-at-best internet connection...all of which contributed to my inability to post anything last night. So, I guess the consecutive-days posting streak is broken at fifteen. But don't worry, I'll make it up to you today!

Shampoo

From this week's Savage Love, about a guy who...well, you can probably figure it out!

50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong

Oranges Are Good For You

After all, she looks pretty healthy.