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."

Here's a great Team-Up!

Fangbone #1 in Scholastic Book Club

The April issue of the Scholastic Book Club flyer has Fangbone #1 in it. It's the "Lucky" edition, aimed at grades 2-3.

Deep thoughts...

Book #3 is done!

"Fangbone! The Birthday Party of Dread" is done! It will hit stores in August. This one's got some really odd stuff in it. I'm especially fond of the Bouncy Castle Monster! Just a note, the fonts in the above piece are not final.