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Along with a number of other cartoonists, Ill be contributing art to the trading card set which will be part of Tom Scharpling's 2010 WFMU fund-raising marathon premium. In other comics-relatedness, Matt Fraction will be in the DVD he's putting together. Here's the pitch, taken from the Friends of Tom message board. if you're a Best Show or WFMU listener, please consider donating if you already haven't. Oh, hi there! It's Tom. We are into Week Two of the WFMU fundraising marathon. If you’re not aware of it, this is how the station raises money to stay on the air. The station is 100 percent listener sponsored. We don't run ads and we don't take corporate funding or government grants. And that's what keeps the station 100 percent freeform, letting me do something as willfully stupid as The Best Show On WFMU every Tuesday, letting me and Jon Wurster do our thirty-five minute calls without commercial interruption or editorial feedback from anyone at any point. It's not cheap running a radio station, especially one that streams the show on the internet 24/7 (at www.wfmu.org) and maintains an extensive archive selection of virtually every show I and every other DJ have done in the last eight-plus years. My second and final Best Show for the 2010 marathon is this Tuesday March 9th between 8-11 PM EST. And if you're a fan of Scharpling and Wurster or me or the people who call or the guests I have on or the podcast or freeform radio or stations that shouldn't exist in the face of all the corporate creepiness, it's a cause worth supporting. If we don't reach our goal of 1.2 million dollars by the end of the marathon, we are In Trouble. If you want to throw some support, please call 800-989-9368 or pledge online at www.wfmu.org BETWEEN 8-11 PM EST ON MARCH 9th! In addition to your money going to a worthy cause, you get a lot of stuff back. Everybody who pledges 75 bucks or more automatically gets The Best Show On WFMU’s 2010 CHUMP STEAMROLLER FUN PACK. I've been cranking on this thing for awhile and it's going to be AWESOME. But first let me tell you about the show on Tuesday March 9th between 8-11 PM EST. We are going to have two awesome guys in the studio helping to raise money. The one and only PATTON OSWALT is going to be on hand with the hilarity. And if that's not enough, the comedic force of nature that is JOHN HODGMAN also be LIVE IN THE STUDIO! There are going to be surprises galore and it is a guaranteed night of non-stop fun. Now the details about The Best Show On WFMU 2010 CHUMP STEAMROLLER FUN PACK. The first item in the Fun Pack is the first ever BEST SHOW ON WFMU DVD! It's a full-length DVD called FANTASIA IN BEST SHOW MINOR, and it's going to be amazing. It features stuff you're never going to believe. Here are some of the people who are going to be involved in the DVD: PATTON OSWALT TED LEO PAUL F. TOMPKINS ZACH GALIFIANAKIS FUCKED UP TIM AND ERIC JOHN HODGMAN AIMEE MANN SCHARPLING AND WURSTER YO LA TENGO KURT VILE MATT FRACTION TODD BARRY JASON WOLINER And SO MANY MORE. There's going to be puppets. Animation. Scharpling and Wurster stuff like you've never seen before. Travelogues from callers like Fredericks from New Port Richie, Julie from Cincinnati, AP Mike and more! Seriously - there are so many people working so hard on this thing. It's gonna be legendary. And when the marathon is over, this thing is COMPLETELY UNAVAILABLE. The second part of the Chump Steamroller Fun Pack is a set of BEST SHOW TRADING CARDS depicting your favorite callers and characters from the show. They are being designed by Chris Moses and Joe Allen - two guys who have done amazing jobs with previous Best Show projects - and they are outdoing themselves on this! We're lining up artists - for starters Michael Kupperman, Danny Hellman, Evan Dorkin and Brian Musikoff are on board - and they gonna be jaw droppingly great. And again, these cards will be GONE FOREVER if you don't pledge DURING MY MARATHON SHOWS! Last but not least, the first ever BEST SHOW BUMPER STICKER. Also awesome and also available ONLY BY PLEDGING DURING MY MARATHON SHOWS. Once the marathon is over, THEY ARE GONE FOREVER. There are pledge levels at $150, $365, $500, $1000 and $3000, and the station takes care of you big-time with a TON of awesome prizes and shirts and CDs that you can’t get anywhere else. And unlike that PBS or NPR crap, WFMU’s premiums are all top-notch and well made – who hasn’t seen a cool WFMU t-shirt in their travels? And everything is 100 percent TAX DEDUCTABLE! And as an added bonus, anyone who pledges $1000 gets something special just from me. It's a secret. Seriously - I know I'm being vague here but trust me on this one. I've got something JUST FOR YOU. I'll make you happy with it - I PROMISE. We will also be drawing for three AMAZING GRAND PRIZES at the end of the show. Grand Prize #1 is a COMPLETE MONTY PYTHON DVD set AUTOGRAPHED BY TERRY GILLIAM! Grand Prize #2 is the MISFITS BOX SET - one of the greatest bands ever, with all their stuff in an amazing coffin-shaped box! Grand Prize #3 is a ROBERT POLLARD/BOSTON SPACESHIPS super set! If you win this, you will get a ton of Boston Spaceships vinyl, a limited BS block print that is as yet unavailable and a 7" test pressing of an upcoming single with a printed sleeve - there are only FIVE OF THESE IN EXISTENCE! Everyone who pledges 75 bucks or more will be in the running for these prizes, but you can only be in the running by pledging DURING MY SHOW! And if you want to support the station but don't have the money right now, YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY YOUR PLEDGE RIGHT AWAY! The station sends you a bill in the mail and you can take care of it later. You can structure your payments in EASY MONTHLY INSTALLMENTS! But the important thing is pledging and being a part of something Good in a world that is filled with Too Much Bad, especially in These Troubling Times. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO CALL OR PLEDGE ONLINE DURING MY SHOW, I will gladly write the pledge up myself. You can email me your information - name, address and pledge amount - and I will fill it out myself. All addresses and information is completely confidential and is not sold or distributed in any way shape or form, so don't worry about your privacy. Write me at toms@wfmu.org and I’ll take care of it. And PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS! Put it on Facebook and Twitter and MySpace and maybe even Friendster if you can still remember your password. Post it on like-minded message boards! Tell co-workers and friends and family members and whoever! The station has a huge mountain to climb this time, but we can do it if enough people step up to the plate and pitch in. THE FACTS: Tuesday March 9th between 8-11 PM EST PATTON OSWALT and JOHN HODGMAN both LIVE IN STUDIO THREE GRAND PRIZES - Misfits box, Terry Gilliam-signed Monty Python DVD set, Boston Spaceships mega-pack including rare test pressing! CALL 1-800-989-9368 or PLEDGE ONLINE at www.wfmu.org on TUESDAY MARCH 9th between 8-11 PM EST and be counted! Thank you! Tom Scharpling.' |
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The third season of Yo Gabba Gabba! premieres today on Nickelodeon at 10:30 am (PST/EST) with the episode Circus, featuring Weird Al Yankovic and Sarah Silverman. Tuesday's episode, Bugs, was co-written by Christian Jacobs and Sarah and I, as was Superhero, which airs on Thursday. We haven't seen Bugs yet and didn't know who any of the guests were (Tim Armstrong --!), so we're looking forward to seeing it tomorrow. Oh...that's right, we don't have cable. Ha ha. Well, we look forward to getting a copy of the episode from someone at the show as soon as we can so we can see it. And the other episodes as well, hopefully. Anyway, here's this week's schedule -- four new episodes, and two of them "ours". Plus, the return of Super Martian Robot Girl! Peachy keen! Monday, March 8 307 CIRCUS The characters help Weird Al the Ringmaster make a circus in Gabbaland! Brobee learns to be a clown, and everyone gets to perform. The BLACK KIDS perform "What's Up Clown?" Guests: Weird Al Yankovic, Sarah Silverman, the Black Kids, Mark Mothersbaugh, and Mates of State! Tuesday, March 9 313 BUGS Muno takes us on a bug tour of Gabbaland! Plex shrinks the characters down to follow the Oskie bugs to their underground world where we meet the Queen Oskie Bug and watch eggs hatch. WEEZER performs "All My Friends Are Insects!" Guests: Weezer, Mark Mothersbaugh, Tim Armstrong of Rancid as Mr. Cactus, Gina Ribisi as Queen of the Oskie Bugs, Black Moth Super Rainbow and a Travis Barker Remix! Wednesday, March 10 304 DOCTOR Toodee gets sick and needs to rest. The doctor visits and everyone helps Toodee feel better. OF MONTREAL perform " Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast" Guests: Anthony Bourdain as Dr. Tony, Of Montreal, Biz Markie, and Swound! from the UK. Thursday, March 11 306 SUPERHERO Toodee rallies up the troops to play Superheroes. We meet Mos Def as Super Mr. Superhero who helps rescue a lost monster. Devo perform "Watch Us Work it!" Guests: Mos Def, Devo, Super Biz Markie, The Aquabats!!, and Robert Bobbert from Apples in Stereo. |
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Indeed it is. We've put seven more pieces of HOF art up on eBay -- a large Milk and Cheese b&w pin-up, a small Milk and Cheese color drawing, a page of Dork #11 fun strips (with a Milk and Cheese cameo), three Fateball character designs from the Craptacular B-Sides, a 2-page I Love You Beth Cooper strip (along with unused pages and layouts for the strip), a page of Biff Bam Pow drawings, and a Kamandi page from the Bizarro World anthology. Also, Sarah's put a Tonner Lois Lane porcelain doll on the chopping block at far less than it retailed for back in the day. Get in on the action or just take a look here. As always, these auctions are approved by the Human Fly, but I'm too lazy to go upload his picture right now. Trust me, he so approves! |
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Sarah is tutoring me on uploading images to Flikr, and so I finally have all the monsters I've drawn for Emily in a nice, neat little set for folks to see. Hopefully I'll have a few more done soon, I think I have a few ready to be colored. Next week I learn how to use the DVD player. |
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Some really good news this week for the H.O.F: Sarah learned yesterday that two Yo Gabba Gabba! episodes we co-wrote (with Christian Jacobs, aka The Bat Commander) have been scheduled to air on Nick Jr during the Season 3 premiere week starting March 8th. Keen! So, unless we hear differently, keep an eye out for "Bugs" on March 9th, and "Superhero" on March 11th. The March 8th premiere episode will be "Circus", with guest star Al Yankovic as Ringmaster (see a preview clip of the episode here), and other announced guests for Season 3 include Sarah Silverman, Anthony Bourdain, Weezer and Of Montreal. According to the YGG! website the airtime for the episodes is 10:30 am EST/PST, with, I'm sure, repeated airings throughout the week/schedule. I assume they're going to run them on Nick Jr, but the site simply listed "Nickelodeon". I'm sure you folks can figure it out. We haven't seen "Bugs" yet, but we have seen "Superhero" and we think it turned out really, really well. The guest stars are Mos Def (!), The Aquabats (!), and Devo (!!! -- energy domes in full effect!) (btw, please take a moment to participate in Devo's new Color Study). Plus! Biz Markie does a Beat of the Day, and the jingle segment features the superhero design work of about two dozen artists and cartoonists, including comic creators/H.O.F. friends Zander ("Boom-Boom") Cannon and Todd ("World Wide") Webb. I think Jordan Crane was on the credits list as well. Crazy, huh? Crazy, yes! We had a B-L-A-S-T (that spells "good time") working on this episode, we got to put a lot of character cameos in the episode, a few Sentai visual references, we designed a new character suit, and we also wrote and art-directed the Story Time segment, which features the return of a certain super-heroine some of you might remember from Season 1 (Hint: She's "here to help!"). One of the best/most fun experiences we've had in our "T.V. Careers", and I think it shows on screen. Everybody really pulled it together and made this a pretty swell episode. See for yourself next month, and bring the kids. In comic-book news, by now all the design work for the Beasts of Burden hardcover collection should be finished, and the book is either on its way to the printer or on the flight deck. Jill and I are very happy with the way the book looks and I'd like to thank Tina Alessi at Dark Horse for her design work for it. I cannot wait until June to hold a copy in my hands. For those of you not sick of hearing about the series, there's what I think is a pretty interesting interview with Jill Thompson and I up now at Newsarama. It covers some things I don't think we've discussed before, especially some matters that fall into Jill's domain. The interview can be found here. Thanks to Chris Arrant at Newsarama for helping us spread the word. Oh, we also have some more stuff up on e-Bay, Sarah's put up a slew of vintage sewing patterns up for auction, as well as copies of the retro-style/culture magazine Atomic. Auctions are ending soon, you can see them here. More of our holdings will be on the chopping block soon, possibly some more art and Japanese toys, depends on how work and snow falls in the next few days. Otherwise, there's some light at the end of the chunnel as far as the script I'm working on goes, I recently got to work with Hilary Barta on a short piece of mayhem, and next month I'll be juggling art duties on a Bongo strip while working on another script. Fingers crossed everything comes out even, as they said in Bread and Jam for Francis. We might actually make it out of 2010 alive. Over and out. |
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I don't usually get too worked up over awards and stuff (well, unless you count my occasional rants about the failings of most awards programs), but I have to admit I geeked out a bunch to find out earlier tonight that Beasts of Burden got a nomination for Best Horror Comic Book of 2009 in the 8th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. And Beasts of Burden is by Jill Thompson and Evan Dorkin and that's me (the one with the totally ass name), so, cool and huzzah and yay for us! One for the home team! Or whatever. We're not a home team. I don't know why I wrote that. The Rondo Awards seem to be a very easy-going, cool fan awards program. I found out about it last year because a website I follow was nominated (The Horrors of it All, a great horror comic blog, it's been nominated again this year for best site) . What's nifty about the Rondos is that winners get awards that feature the sculpted likeness of Rondo Hatton, who appeared in several Universal horror pictures and is known primarily through his role of The Creeper in House of Horrors and The Brute Man. And who wouldn't want a cool-looking little Rondo Hatton bust with their name on it sitting on their bookshelf? Well, a lot of folks, I guess (my mom wouldn't like it, but she's not nominated, so ha-ha on her). But I sure as hell would love one. So, yeah, for a moment I totally geeked and thought I had a shot at a little Rondo Hatton bust. Then I looked at the rest of the nominees more carefully and realized Jill and I are up against folks and projects like Mike Mignola/Hellboy and Eric Powell/The Goon...so, oh, well. But, hey, we got nominated! And my mom didn't! If folks want to vote in the awards, all they have to do is go here and follow the instructions, it's open to everyone but ballot-stuffers, the undead and my mom. Of course I'd appreciate any support shown for Jill and I and the series, but I'm not pushing it, these things go the way they're gonna go. I'm not clearing space on the shelf, if you get me. As for myself, I realized I can't really vote in most of the categories because of my extremely limited media exposure -- I can vote for best website (Karswell's The Horror of it All, he busts his buttons scanning and posting great old horror comics), maybe best audio site, and a few of the visual/nostalgia-based categories. But I haven't seen any of the movie or tv nominees -- I know, what kind of geek am I, anyway? An overwhelmed, no-cable, no-time geek, that's what kind. Hopefully I'll catch up sometime soon, I'm dying to plop down on the couch and watch some horror movies, classics, clunkers, 70's, 80's, recent...it's been a drought. Meant to actually post something about horror flicks tonight but got sidetracked by this and some other things. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow I'm not looking forward to, but what can you do. I sold another short Bart Simpson script to Bongo today and that gave me a boost. The "secret" projects are shaping up and hopefully will be announced sooner rather than later, they're moving along okay, the first is almost finished and I'm pretty excited about them. I also saw the finished art on a short anthology strip I wrote and it looked really nifty. So, things are bouncing around here at the H.O.F., which is always a good thing. I think. "Bouncing around --?" What the hell does that mean? Ugh. |
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Sorry my posts of late have mainly consisted of e-Bay auction alerts, things have been busy, we're getting a lot done, in-between shoveling and parenting, and culling the coffers is one of the things we're concentrating on right now. I can't actually discuss most of the projects I'm working on until I'm given the high sign by the publishers, so, nothing much to report there for the time being. Oh, I did do a few illustrations for Mad #503, did I mention that already? And I sold a 2-page script to Bongo for the Bart Simpson book. I also have something I wrote scheduled for MySpace Dark Horse Presents, can't say much more than that, I guess. Dark Horse did send Jill Thompson and I a batch of the design work for the Beasts of Burden hardcover today, that was cool. I think it's looking pretty swell, it's going to be a nice package. We were able to use some nice quotes some nice folks said about our nice book. I got to see the sketchbook section, most of which I've seen before, but there were some nifty page layouts and pencils by Jill I hadn't. My afterword isn't terribly stupid or lame, just lame enough. Anyway, we do have more stuff from the H.O.F. vault up on e-Bay, in addition to the zippos. None of our own stuff, this time, just stuff we collected, including all seven issues of Comic Art Magazine, a bunch of issues of Illustration Magazine, some rare mini comics (including Dash Shaw's Love Eats Brains 1-3, Marc Bell's Mojo Action Companion Unit), some 90's issues of John Porcellino's King Cat), a rare David Mazzucchelli story in D&Q vol 2, Phil Sueling NYC comic con booklets with head sketches from several 70's-era creators, some toys, blah blah blah. Some of the comics I have doubled up in collections (Porcellino, Henderson), some I just don't need to have in a box I never look at. It's all gotta go! Clearance! You can check out the latest auctions here. And as a "thank you" for your patience and support, here's a sketch of The Wrecker, yelling "Blaaaaa!" like Brock Lesnar. It's not much, but it's all I have at the moment. And, hey, it's The Wrecker.  As always, these auctions are "fly-approved". 
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Sarah and I will be appearing at Heroes Con this June, along with a lot of swell folks from the mainstream and indy trenches, I've mentioned this before but now it's official. I am working on a few things and wish I could tell you about them. Honest. Soon, hopefully. I was also offered, and accepted, a sorta odd gig, at least odd for me. Nothing too exciting, just sorta odd. We couldn't get an introduction for the Beasts of Burden hardcover because of circumstances and schedules -- we had someone very cool who was willing but it fell to scheduling matters. We might have a nice back cover quote. I dunno. Speaking of the hardcover, here's the first look at the cover design on Amazon. This is an early placeholder design, but a good indication of what's happening over there in Dark Horse's design department. Scott Allie has been telling me I'll be very happy with the design work he's seen so far, I just wish it was ready for Jill and I to look at because I'm anxious/excited as hell. It's my first hardcover collection, I admit it, I'm a nervous wreck something will go horribly wrong, like they'll print several D&D modules by accident. Vault of the Drow or something. We have some more stuff up on e-Bay of possible interest, prototypes of the Zippo lighters Smoke King/Flame Rite produced in the 90's. We ended up with a number of one-of-a-kind prototypes while we were testing colors and finishes. So, we needed up with odd one-off Zippos of Milk and Cheese, The Devil Puppet and Georgina Riley from the Murder Family, and there's no reason for us to have two dozen or so lighters around. We're keeping a few of the prototypes but will likely sell off what's left over in the coming days. Had a lot of fun talking with Dan Vado and Landry Walker on yesterday's SLG Radio show. My first official slip-and-fall on ice took place today at about 5:30 pm. I was saved from potential serious injury by falling on the garbage bag I was carrying. How can I throw it out now after it saved my life? I closed my eyes while dumping it in the garbage can. I can still hear it, calling to me... Not getting a lot of reading done lately, too much to do. I've been going through some Warren Creepy horror comics since acquiring two volumes of the Dark Horse archives. Emily's been reading a ton of Little Lulu, so we've all been reading a ton of Little Lulu. She shouts "yow" a lot. It's pretty funny. Thankfully she's stopped yelling "Baw!" when she's upset. Finished up the two Rex Libris trades by James Turner (SLG Publishing) and thoroughly enjoyed them. They should've done better, funny, cool, smart stuff. I'd read more if there were more. Also slowly going through an anthology of "continental mystery stories", 19th century spook and dagger stuff from European-type places, some of which have different names these days. Enjoying it, hope to get back to it soon. Whoops - dinner's ready! All for now! |
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We've put up five new pieces for auction: original art pages from Bill and Ted's Excellent Comic, Hellboy: Weird Tales, a Batman/Superman page from the first Bizarro Comics anthology (script by Ivan Brunetti), a Milk and Cheese trading card production 'cel" and a pin-up of the Marvel villain The Scorpion (as seen below). All starting at reasonable prices (imo). You can see the auctions here.  We plan to put more items up throughout the month, fyi. Magazines, fanzines, comics, mini-comics, 70's NYC Seuling comic con programs, probably some toys, possibly some H.O.F. zippos and most likely more art. As always, thanks for looking, and we hope you see something you like during our February cull. Though tired, the Fly still approves. |
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