Diamonds are a Girls Worst Enemy - Pg. 12

Man, drawing comics is HARD. Why does anyone do this?

JailED

A piece in a recent edition of The Stranger looks at opportunities for male prisoners to acquire their equivalency diplomas while serving their time...and wonders why the same opportunity is not extended to female inmates.

Diamonds are a Girls Worst Enemy - Pg. 11

Got the next few pages pencilled, so they should roll out a little faster as I can scratch out time to ink 'em!

A Sale on Commissions!

It's been a little quiet around the ol' studio recently, so I've decided to launch my own little stimulus program in the form of a deal to my blog readers. I'm offering the next half-dozen sports uniform pin-up girl commissions for 15% off, $215 rather'n the usual $250. I next to NEVER offer deals on the sports commissions (mainly cause I can't afford to), so if you've had your eye on one…now's the time!

The discount will be good until I hit six commissions, or until next Wednesday, the 25th, whichever comes first. Shoot me an email (via the link on the sidebar) to discuss details and whatnot!

In addition to the examples all over the blog, there are a bunch of 'em in this gallery on my Flickr page, and this post from a few years back pretty adequately describes the process! Thanks!

The Matador

A fun story from Virginia Living, about Jorce Carillo, a matador from Tijuana who had his pocket picked on a 1962 visit to Washington DC, leaving him penniless and stranded, and the kind samaritans at the Woodbridge, VA Greyhound station who donated some dollars and cents toward the bus ticket that would enable him to make it to Atlanta and his relatives.

Buc-some Beauty

I've given a lot of love to my teams here on the blog... the Penguins especially, but also the Steelers, Team USA and even the VCU Rams. The Pittsburgh Pirates, unfortunately, have mostly gotten the short end of the baseball bat, having been miserable since before the internet was invented. But with the team sitting in first place (!!) coming out of the All-Star break on the strength of an amazing first half, the fortunes of the Bucco faithful might, I dare say, be beginning to change. We'll see you in October.

Keeping Up

Busy times around Casa de Atom-Bomb lately, between birthdays, power outages, national holidays, babysitters on vacation and 24-hour stomach viruses...but I'm hoping to get at least a page or two of the strip up before the week is out, along with some other goodies. Don't stop believin'!

She-Hulk!

A comic book cover illustrated for a benefit for my pal Kerry Talbott, who's dealing with cancer. The book was auctioned off along with a bunch of others a few weeks back, and you can peep some of 'em here!

Never really paid too much attention to the "blank cover" phenomenon, but I must admit it was kinda fun to work on!

Diamonds are a Girls Worst Enemy - Pg. 10

FIGHT!

Look Ma, I'm on the Teevee!

I was contacted last fall by the fine folks at PopMark Media on behalf of Ameri-Dry, a leading basement waterproofing company based in Maryland, about creating a super-hero-type character/pitchman for use in all aspects of their identity, from their website, to their service vehicles, to television commercials.

Right away, I felt like "grim and gritty" would be the wrong direction to go with this character, envisioning more of a 1950's type, working-man super guy... more All-Star Squadron than Image Comics... almost corny, to some extent. I did a few sketches, and ultimately came up with this:

I know, right? A few tweaks (and proprietary conversations) later, and we have a corporate mascot! 

I then designed a few more characters and illustrated some keyframes, before sending them off to be animated by the guys at Resolution Post, resulting in these two commercials, which are now running in Baltimore and Knoxville, TN!

Look ma, I'm on the teevee!

Heroes Con 2012

Wow, how is it that something you've been looking forward to for over two years can sneak up on you? Still, that's what I'm looking at. I'm talking, of course about Heroes Con, which'll be kicking off right around this time tomorrow morning in loverly Charlotte, NC. I missed last year's show, thanks to this handsome little bastard, which means I'm more anxious than usual to see all my fans and comics pals, do a crapload of commissions, and get some con deals!

This year's show is extra special, too, as I was honored...HONORED...to provide the artwork for the official Indie Island t-shirt. I'm really stoked about how it turned out, I hope you like it too. You can get 'em at the show, in both men's and ladies' versions, and who knows, I might be able to make a few available on the blog next week. Also, I'm submitting the original art for the shirt to the must-attend Heroes Con Art Auction Saturday night, so you can take this little comics-lovin' gal home with you in all kinds 'a different ways!

Anyway, I'll be there all weekend in a J Chris Campbell/Brad McGinty sandwich at AA-546 on Indie Island. There'll be a bunch of new to Heroes books like Old-Timey Hockey Tales and Teeny Bikini #7 and some just plain old new for real books like Bluelines and Ghost Story. Lots of new prints, too, and the second set of Legion Ladies prints. Honestly, I'm bringing the whole damn store, so if there's something you want, it's for sale. If you want to give me a heads up on a sketch or commission you might like to have done, drop me a line in the comments as well!

And finally, if you have a few minutes, check out this piece from Rob over at Panel Patter, talking to a bunch of Heroes Con vets about why they love it so. Also, if you happen to be going to the show, then for god's sake check out this list of dining recommendations Heather Peagler has put together...it's a must read!

So I'll see you this weekend, right? Awesome.

Diamonds are a Girl's Worst Enemy - Pg. 9

Last page before Heroes Con!

Diamonds are a Girl's Worst Enemy - Pg. 8

The good news is, boards to screen, this page has required the least amount of edits and cleanup. Bad news...nine days since the last one. Ye gods!

Atom-Bomb Bikini Playoff Challenge: The Results

Well, Monday night the Kings finished off the Devils, so the time has come to announce a winner in the Atom-Bomb Bikini playoff challenge as well. It was a crazy year...with all the upsets and a completely unexpected final four (not to mention the LA Kings inexplicable transformation into the '77 Canadiens), it didn't take many correct picks to slide into contention for some prizes!

To review the scoring...I awarded 1 point for each correct conference final team predicted, 2 points for each Stanley Cup final participant predicted, and 3 points for picking the Cup winner. Out of a possible 11 points, readers Craig W., Elliott S. and The Dave Show finished in a three-way tie for first place with 4 (yes, 4) points apiece. Now without further ado, let's pick a big winner!





Congratulations to Elliott Smith! He'll be receiving all kinds of cool stuff, including a custom piece of original artwork by yours truly of a pinup girl wearing the jersey of his favorite team (the Devils, maybe), along with a copy of the Atom-Bomb Bikini book, a copy of Old-Timey Hockey Tales, and a pack of Atom-Bomb stickers, a signed "Hockey Socks & Skates" print by Katie Sekelsky and a super-comfy, 100% made in the U.S.A t-shirt from the wonderful folks at Original Retro Brand ( have several of these myself, and trust me, they're the tops!) Our two runners-up, Craig W. and the Dave Show will receive the books and stickers! 


I want to congratulate all our winners, and thank all of my great readers for entering the contest! I especially want to thank my kind prize-providers, Andy at Original Retro Brand and Katie Sekelsky, and encourage you to visit and patronize their respective sites! 


Til next spring, when we'll do this all again!

Pittsfurrgh

This Savage Love classic goes out to all my pals in Pittsburgh today. If you see someone in a bright, colorful costume downtown this weekend, DO NOT LET YOUR CHILDREN APPROACH FOR A PHOTO.

Playoff Challenge Business

I need The Dave Show and Craig W to get in touch with me, ASAP!

Diamonds are a Girl's Worst Enemy - Pg. 7

Whew... falling behind a bit recently, but the next two pages are about ready to go after this!

Night of Honky-Tonk Angels III

Pals and gals, if you're in the Richmond area and are looking for something AWESOME to do tomorrow night, June 2, might I suggest The Night of Honky-Tonk Angels III show at the Canal Club. It's a benefit for the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation, featuring bands, music and cars, and it should be a rollicking good time. What could possibly be wrong with an entire club filled with folks who are absolutely dedicated to boobs?


For my part, I was thrilled to be asked to handle the poster design and illustration, and I'm very happy with how the art turned out. The original art will in fact be auctioned off at some point tomorrow evening, so you can own this illustration of the lovely "Angel", our official mascot for the event. There'll be a few other items featuring Angel for purchase as well.


You can find out more via the NOHTA blog or on the Facebook... So c'mon out, for goodness' sake, and tell 'em Chappy sent 'cha!

Stanley Cup and Cheesecake 2012 - Stanley Cup Finals

If you need proof of how unlikely a Stanley Cup finals matchup this is, look no further than the picks submitted by the readers of this blog on the first day of the playoff just seven short weeks ago. No one came close to picking a correct final four, with only about 15% of readers getting even one team right. I know I have plenty of Kings and Devils supporters among my fans, and few of them even felt comfortable with the homer pick. Keep that in mind next February, when you're tempted to plan a parade... or a funeral.

So, the Kings and the Devils. Los Angeles brings a staggeringly good 8-0 road record into Newark for games one and two. If they can continue this good fortune, a California Cup is all but assured. I suspect New Jersey will hold serve, however, and at least gain a split in the first two games, and that this series will go a long way. Both teams are speedy and can score, so it oughta be fun to watch!

The Devils knocked off some big-name goaltenders on their way to the final, but at no point in the playoffs did either Bryzgalov or Lundqvist approach the performance of the Kings' Jonathan Quick. I look for him to be the Conn-Smythe Trophy winner, and for the Stanley Cup to go to the Kings in six.

UPDATE: Now the image above is available as a print!

Diamonds are a Girl's Worst Enemy - Pg. 6