Summer Sketchbook

I was just putting away a sketchbook that I had finished up over the summer, and I had remembered a question that a student had asked me during a school visit.  He wanted to know what kinds of things I keep in my sketchbook, and I had told him that I keep quick drawings of real things...(Here's some chairs and umbrella at the local swim club.)

More involved drawings of real things...(He's our tote bag filled with things to use at the swim club.)

Drawings of imaginary things...(Some goofy monsters for a picture book I'm thinking about.)

Notes and little drawings about stories I am working on...(Some ghouls and text ideas for a zombie book I'm trying to figure out.)

And sometimes I simple just use the pages for writing...(Some dialog/text from another story that I am trying to work through.  Good luck reading that chicken scratch.)

Fangbone!

I was looking at some of my stats and realized that I hadn’t been blogging nearly as much as I had last year.  In truth, I’ve been very busy with writing, drawing and visiting schools.  I thought I’d do one big post to talk about Fangbone.

Books #1 and #2 came out in January, published by G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Book #1 tells the story of how Fangbone comes to our world, and makes friends with Bill, and how he deals with the day-to-day life of a third grader.  Fangbone is determined to build his own army, and at the same time, he is taught the ways of “Bean Ball” and helps his class out in a pinch. 

Book#2 is about a mysterious egg that arrives from Fangbone’s world with instruction for hatching.  Bill, Fangbone, and all of the other kids in their class join in to take care of the egg, in hopes that it’s a dragon.  The class is also preparing for an “Extinction Pageant,” and their entry, The Dodo Bird, doesn’t quite make the grade.

Book#3 came out in August, and features Bill having a curse put upon him.  The curse ensures his doom at the hands of a giant beast called “The Crusha.”  Fangbone and Bill are also preparing their entry in the school’s “Invention Convention,” and hatch a plan to trick the monster, and get a good grade on their invention at the same time.

I designed Fangbone! for boys, and especially boys who hate to read.  I knew I had done my job when I started getting letters like this… “Then this week he came home with Fangbone. Well, my son was so excited to read, and I was so interested we read it together. Thank you for getting my son to read a book. The librarian is new and I found out she is starting a graphic novel section.  I think she found and saved Fangbone for my son!”

Below are some reviews from around the web...

School Library Journal

Jen Robinson's Book Page

Wired/GeekMom

The Library at the End of the Universe

Books4yourkids.com

Currently, there are plans for more Fangbone!  but I can’t talk about them until contracts are signed.  So there will be more, but he just might be showing up in a different way.

I hope you take the time to read some of these reviews, and hopefully seek out a copy Fangbone! to read.  It’s available through all major chains, independent, and online stores!

---Mike

"Exhilarating!"

"I would definitely invite Michael back to our school.  He was appealing to all grade levels K-5.  The way in which he kept students attention with interaction and participation, as well as his motivational presentations, was absolutely exhilarating!"

David Hamilton
Turnpike Elementary School
Troy, NY

Astronaut #14

While cleaning my studio I found this piece of marbled paper I made with some students during grad school.  I couldn't let it go to waste.

Last Kids on Earth

For a long time, I've wanted to do a book that would be about the last kids on earth.  It would be a sorta kinda like a cross between "The Road Warrior" and "Lord of the Flies."  But the kids would be clever, like "The Little Rascals," or even "The Magic School Bus" kids. And, it would have to be funny.  But that's where I keep hitting a wall.  How do I get rid of most of the people on earth, but still keep the laughs. It's not like I can just have some sort of vague apocalypse, and follow it with a rim shot just to keep people chuckling.

So right now, this "Last kids on Earth" thing is just a  notion.  Hopefully, the notion will  turn into an idea.  Then the idea will launch the story.  However, it is my firm belief that ideas have to catch you while you are working.  They won't come while sitting around, and they certainly won't come while sitting around trying to come up with an idea.

So, in the meantime, I draw.  I just get a sense of how this would look and feel.  I like some of these little warriors.  They look as if they could take on the world. And they may have to.  I don't know yet...

Rock and Roll Mummies!

This is a spread from my next book "Icky Ricky," which comes out next year from Random House.  The boys have made themselves into toilet paper mummies, and then they start playing air guitar, which turns them into rock and roll mummies.  Of course.  The book goes back and forth between using word balloons, and traditional blocks of text.

D.C. Area Signing, August 18

On Saturday, August 18th, I will be signing books at Big Planet comics in Vienna, Virginia.  I'll be there from 11:00 to 1:00.

Later that day, from 3:00 to 5:00, I will be at another one of their stores in College Park, Maryland.

I'll be signing copies of Fangbone, and this original poster created just for the event.  Please tell anyone you know in the area who has kids who love to read!

http://www.bigplanetcomics.com


For more information about Big Planet Comics, and directions to the store, please visit their site.  See you Saturday!---Mike

Fangbone #3, at a glance...

If you have ever wondered what an entire 128 page graphic novel looks like all laid out at once...here it is.  This as the artwork for Fangbone #3, except for the cover and title page.  Thanks to Mike Scowden for the great shot, and to the Leonia Recreation Center for letting us use the Teen Center room.  Fangbone #3 comes out on August 2.

Making a hot mess...

Right now, I'm working on the illustrations for my next series, “Icky Ricky” which comes out in 2013 from Random House.  For these books, I need lots of backgrounds that have sprays and drips and all kinds of messy looking bits of business.  I recruited my two sons, Declan and Gavin, who are good at making messes, to help me out with the process.  We used some traditional spray-paint, watered down acrylic, and even a bit of clean water to get things to drip.  We produced a pile of papers that I can scan and sample the best bits from. 

My favorite piece was created by laying down some rope on the paper, and my son Declan gently spray-painted over it, creating areas of different values and contrast.

Here’s one of the drawings from the book.  The background area uses parts of the rope painted paper.  The type for the word balloon will be added later.

Book #3 is coming soon!

Just for fun...

Sometimes I like to create work that doesn't have anything to do with my books. I don't want to have to worry about it selling, or whether or not it will be reviewed well. I just want to simply create without all of the other nonsense. I had a bunch of Benjamin Moore paint sample bottles siting around in my studio. I wanted to do something with them, but nothing had really clicked. Yesterday I found some old pieces of plywood, and I knew the paint samples would look nice on the wood. Right after the kids went to sleep, I started working, and this is what I ended up with. I'm pretty happy with it, and more importantly, I had fun doing it.

Icky Ricky

While working on Fangbone, I've also been planning another series called "Icky Ricky." Random House will be publishing the books, and they are basically my answer to "Fancy Nancy," however, they are not parodies. This image is for the first book's cover. It's the first non-digitally colored piece I've done since 1997, and I'm really anxious about it. I wanted it to look loose, but not sloppy. I initially tried a photoshop colored version, but the whole "icky" thing didn't really come off too well. There's much more to the cover than this, and hopefully I can show that soon.

Astronaut #13

Wow. It's been over a year since I did my last astronaut. I hadn't planned this for the series, but it fits in well. This is a sketch of an idea that I have for a picture book. When I'm at this stage in developing a story, I like to do a quick piece of art to give me a concrete idea of what I am working on. I hope to do a "finish" of this soon.

A joke cut from Fangbone #3

One of the hardest things about writing a book like Fangbone is cutting gags that I love. This is one that was taken out at the very last minute because we needed to add some information that was important to the plot. And while I love this bit, I was worried that kids wouldn't know what a boil is, and the the whole joke would flop. Hopefully I can use this bit in the future.

The last few panels are blurry because they are still in the book and I don't want them spoiled.

Bad Bill Bill

Sometimes when I have an idea for a story, I like to do a quick drawing of a character from the story so that I can make the image in my head more concrete. While this may look like a finished piece of art, it was only about 2 hours work so I consider it a sketch. I'm pretty happy with it, but it really is a first draft of an idea that can go much further. I also wanted to try a style that was much more bold and stripped down than I usually do. As far as specifics go, it was hand drawn with a brush pen, and color added in Photoshop.

The story is a western that features a bunch of fowl, and as I was drawing this bad guy a name for him came up..."Bad Bill Bill."