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I was up in Toronto last month for the recording of four of the six CROGAN ADVENTURES episodes (based on my graphic novel series) that Decoder Ring Theatre is putting together for their 2013 Summer Showcase, and while I was there Gregg (the show's director, producer, and, in all cases save the Summer Showcases, writer) mentioned how he'd like to collaborate on making some paper figures for the Red Panda Adventures (possibly my favorite franchise, and certainly the one in which I'm the most emotionally invested - think the Shadow as if it were seamlessly integrated into a Tracy/Hepburn zinger romance) done the same way as my Sherlock Holmes figure series. I thought it was a great idea. He sent me a list of the characters he wanted to see, along with short descriptions of each (descriptions that were both concise and funny; even with Gregg has an audience of one, he never fails to deliver). Based on those, my own thoughts on the characters, and my limited knowledge of the voice actors' physical appearances (with the exception of Harry Kelly and Dr. Chronopolis, who I doubt look anything like their real-world counterparts), I worked up this batch. Hope you like 'em! I believe Gregg plans to make these available in the not-too-distant future. Check the news page of Decoder Ring Theatre to keep up with any such developments, and be sure to give it a listen! And don't forget to tune in next summer for THE CROGAN ADVENTURES Summer Showcase!
I
know that there are some people who want to collect one page from every
Crogan story published. Well, I’m going to be doing a story for the
Graphic Textbook, a collection of comics that teachers will be able to
use to tie the stories into the national core curriculums for a number
of disciplines.
Mine is going to be called THE BLACK BRIGADE, and
will feature Charles Crogan and his interactions with a veteran 24-man
commando unit during the revolution war comprised of Black Loyalists,
most if not all of whom were escaped slaves. The story will take place
during a battle, and will, I hope, carry the same mix of action and
historical feel that defines the other stories in the series. It will
also get comics into schools and into the hands of kids, helping to
ensure a new generation of readers and fans, a necessity to the future
of the industry.
Now, if you are of a mind to collect a page from
each story, as I know some are, I highly recommend that you contribute
to the project’s KICKSTARTER campaign. A lot of money has to be raised –
65,000 – for the sheer volume of copies being printed and to pay us
artists a fair page rate. Getting this page rate means that I don’t have
to sell the originals to make the whole project financially feasible; I
can donate the pages to make the project happen. I am donating six of
the ten. The other four will NOT be for sale, at least not in the next
few years. When I’m old, who knows. But for the foreseeable future,
these six pages will be it.
For $125 dollars – just $25 more than
I’ve BEEN charging for pages – you get one of these pages, and a copy
of the book (plus a digital copy). It’s a great way of helping a
worthwhile project, and a way of getting a new Crogan story that will
OTHERWISE NOT EXIST. So. Six pages available. Actually, five – one’s
been secured already.
Please follow the link below if you’re
interested. I’ll even send you a small sketch sized to be put in the
textbook when you get it. You can find out all about the project, and make donations at different levels with different incentives, here.
Below are some costume and character designs for the story. Enjoy!
(Click the image for a full-sized version)
I talk a lot on here about how much I love Decoder Ring Theatre, and at least one of my readers listened (the rest of you should, too!). Maka Takahara and his two daughters commissioned a drawing of the show's flagship characters, the Red Panda and the Flying Squirrel. I recently got to meet Gregg and Clarissa, the voices of the characters, and tried to incorporate their features (albeit through the haze of memory and cartooniness) a little into the designs.
Here’s the other half of the Hat Creek Cattle Co. (though, if you take into account Pea Eye, Deets, and Next, he’s really only a fifth, and if you count the drive hands then the fraction becomes even more confusing), Gus McCrae, one of (if not THE) finest characters ever to emerge from the western genre. To be fair, I haven't yet read Monte Walsh, which I hear is quite deserving of the title.
I'm working my way through McMurty's Lonesome Dove again for the second time since November, and am about halfway through. I started reading it to get a fixed description of Captain Call - whose only physical characteristic, as far as I've found, is that he's "barely middle-sized" - and just kept on going. It's tempting to just draw white-bearded Tommy Lee Jones, but as most any character with facial hair is described as having it, I decided to leave my Call clean-shaven. He's riding his roughly-monikered mare and carrying his Henry.
If you haven't read it, or seen the movie, I recommend both.
After being good about posting nearly every day for quite a while (what, 3 months)? I have let an entire month slip past with no updates. I traveled for about two weeks straight, and since then have been too heavy with research and projects to get any public-ready art completed. My apologies!
Anyway, I'm going to try and be better about posting regularly again. I've done a lot of drawings in advance... I've just been too busy to post 'em! Here's this week's Wizarding Wednesday, to get me back on the wagon... Draco Malfoy!
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