Posts made in March, 2011

SNitLoE April Fools

Posted by on Mar 31, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments

For April Fools Day I thought I’d treat my SNitLoE readers to a false ending that was only slightly more of a disappointing cop-out than the final season of LOST. From the writing point of view, I think we can all agree that there’s pretty much nothing worse than the “it was all a dream” ending. Don’t worry, kids, I’ve got a much better conclusion in store.

From the artistic point of view, there are two fun things about this page. I got to redraw Tonya’s bolting-awake pose from page 38. That page was drawn around November of 2009, and it’s pretty obvious my drawing as gotten a lot better.

Tonya’s head used to be basically a guitar pick with a face, which is how I had been drawing womens’ heads ever since high school. I’ve got a much better understanding of the skull now, and I’ve done a good job eschewing the cartoonist’s problem of “chronic C-mouth,” even if many of my mouths still don’t look quite right. My below-the-neck anatomy has improved too, as Tonya now has a torso and not just shoulders coming out of her boobs. In fact, I like pretty much everything about this second drawing better. And I had damn well better, since it’s the result of more than a year’s worth of practice! However, I already see things that need a lot of work in the more recent drawing -the muscles of the arm (I am still faking it), the folds in the sleeve, something about the way the nose connects to the upper lip. There are so many places where “not quite right” is almost worse than “completely wrong.”

There is a panel on this page about which I have no complaints:

Though there are many figures in government I dislike, Jan Brewer is the first politician since President Bush the very sight of whom actually triggers in me revulsion. This has nothing to do with her actual appearance – she’s basically a standard issue older white lady, with perhaps whiter teeth than most. No, my revulsion stems entirely from Gov. Brewer’s passage of the racist SB 1070 law, her inexcusable fearmongering, and her absurd and xenophobic lies. (I also don’t like her regressive tax policies, her cancellation of crucial state benefit programs like AZ children’s health insurance, or her shameless complicity with the private prison giant Corrections Corporation of America, but unfortunately none of these practices make her unique among U.S. governors.)

There are a lot of funny things about Brewer on the internet, funny videos of her getting tangled up in her own idiotic rhetoric, often to the point where she just totally shuts down and stares blankly like a moron… giving a certain Alaskan a run for her money in the race to be the most unqualified gubernatorial ditz.

But remember, George Bush also said and did a lot of stupid, amusing, ridiculous things. Neither Bush nor Brewer are idiots. And as a Christian, I don’t maintain that either of them is in any constitutive sense evil. But they are both totally incorrect in their beliefs. Bush and his ilk wreaked havoc on the last American decade, and it’s people like Brewer, with their careless alarmism, who could potentially destroy this one.

HAHAHAHA SORRY, THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AN APRIL FOOLS POST AND NOW ITS DEPRESSING INSTEAD OF FUNNY.

I suppose the lesson I want you to take away is that, if your state elects (or, sigh, re-elects) a governor like Jan Brewer, you should figure out a way to impeach him or her. Failing this, you should draw a comic book where all the bad guys are beefy immigration cops/ corporate prison guards and the good guys are square-jawed immigrant rights activists.

Read More

Edna Mode Birthday Card

Posted by on Mar 25, 2011 in Blog, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Here’s a birthday card I made for my friend Tamar, who is a big fan of Edna Mode from The Incredibles. As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, I don’t consider myself to be very adept at drawing characters designed by other people, unlike some of my artist friends who are very good at it. But I think I did a little better here, after scrutinizing some screencaps from the movie and rewatching Edna’s scenes on YouTube.

Of course, Edna Mode is (c) Disney, Pixar etc. But maybe I could make some money marketing this as a birthday card!

Read More

Going Off the Rails on a Crazy Train

Posted by on Mar 25, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments

Though beardless Theo’s confrontation with the railroad men is one of my favorite parts of this story, it’s definitely an example of a place where I could have done more research. The problem was not a scarcity of reference material, but a superabundance of it. The train dorks of America have amassed so much great information out there on the history of U.S. railroads that, rather than choosing some of it, I opted to read none of it… besides, I had a comic to draw!

(a cool map of the now defunct Santa Fe Railroad, from 1891.)

One unfortunate result of my laziness is that the fictional railroad described in SNitLoE is frankly preposterous. At the end of the 19th century, Lubbock, TX was still not even a spot on the map, nor was Tuscon, AZ much better. It is true that a hypothetical railroad between these two nowhere towns would indeed pass approximately through the Las Cruces/ White Sands area, but why would it? An actual ladder into the sun would be more useful.

“I’ve listened to the preachers, I’ve listened to the fools, I’ve watched all the dropouts who make their own rules.” – Ozzy Osbourne, “Crazy Train,” summarizing my comic.

Read More

BADASS ST. PATRICK!

Posted by on Mar 16, 2011 in Blog, Uncategorized | 1 comment

BIND UNTO YOURSELF THIS, BITCH!!!

(Before I decided to make this a comic-book cover, I wanted it to be a movie poster.)

“Larry, baby! Got a new idea for St. Patty’s Day. Yeah, I know, who can care any more? He’s an old dead saint, grey beard, lotta robes. The kids ain’t exactly beating down the doors for this fella’s autograph, am I right? So here’s how I see it: we go darker and edgier. Think “300” meets “Anaconda,” in 5th century Ireland! Ol’ Pat himself is three parts Kratos from “God of War” and one part Boondock Saint… a total badass! He’s gotta rescue the pagan princess from the coils of a cobra voiced by Sean Connery – she’s Keira Knightley from “King Arthur,” but with a D-cup. A comical CGI leprechaun? Sure, I guess that’d work. Howabout I give Marlon Wayans a call? Think it over – we’ll do lunch!”

By the way, the black-and-white original for this picture, though flawed (what’s with his right arm? You call that foreshortening?) is still probably one of the best things I’ve ever drawn. Because of this, and because I am broke as a 5th-century pagan, I am selling it on my etsy page for $25. Consider snatching it up! Proceeds will go toward the health insurance I have to buy because I don’t live in Ireland.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone. I hope it’s BRUTAL!!!!1!

Read More

Ten Minute Robert La Follette

Posted by on Mar 12, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments

I’m working really hard on some elaborate SNitLoE scenes and a pin-up for St. Patrick’s Day right now, so I don’t have much to post besides this quick sketch of famous Wisconsin senator Robert La Follette. This guy was amazing! I feel his spirit must still somehow be stalking the capitol building in Madison, as the protesters and workers occupying the building honor his legacy by fighting for union rights, and Republican legislators trample his grave.

Wisconsin brought our nation its first workman’s comp program, its first unemployment insurance program, its first statewide election primaries, and its first state income tax. Looks like it’s your turn to lead the way again, cheeseheads. Stick it to the bastards… the nation and the restless spirit of “Fighting Bob” are watching.

Below: results from the 1924 presidential election. La Follette had 17% of the popular vote!

Read More