Mesmo Delivery Packs a Whalop!

I've just been punched upside the head by a comic book. Mesmo Delivery, the debut full length comic by up-and-comer Rafael Grampa arrived today after what seems like months of waiting. And MAN was it worth it!

I don't recall exactly how I first noticed Grampa...maybe through Drawn. Probably through Becky Cloonan's blog. Whatever. The point is, I found his blog, and I was floored by what I was seeing there. I scanned the Portuguese, trying to figure out where I could buy his stuff, searched the Internet, looking for ANYTHING he had done. For months, there was nothing. Finally, one of those posts gave me a title...Mesmo Delivery. One quick Google search and PayPal purchase later, the deed had been done...Mesmo Delivery would be arriving at my house in 3 to 5 business days.

Wow, was it worth the wait. Mesmo is one part Grindhouse and one part Hard Boiled. It's one part Twilight Zone, one part Fight Club. It's a greasy, filthy, beautiful mess of a book that starts off going one direction and then totally flips you on your rear as it takes you out of your comfort zone and rubs your nose in all it's gory, freaky goodness. It's unlike anything else out there, and the artwork is so beautiful you can get lost in it. I can't wait to see what Grampa will do as a follow up to what was obviously a labor of love. Do yourself a favor, check it out as soon as you can. Then spread the word...we have to encourage this man to keep doing what he's doing!

She Branded me with Science!

Ok, this was just too cool, and I had to post about it. It's a website, ok? Filled with tattoos....but not just ANY tattoos!? Oh nO! They are tattoo's that are all science themed.

For example, here you got yer basic tattoo of glycolipid A:



Which is followed by this caption:

A biochemist writes, "Here is a picture of my science tattoo, which is a stylized structure of glycolipid A, the preformed glycolipid membrane anchor precursor I discovered as a graduate student some 20 years ago. At that time, membrane proteins that were anchored via glycolipids, rather than transmembrane protein domains, had just been found and this was the first precursor to be reported. The structure is simplified but basically correct, although considerable artistic license has been taken with bond lengths and angles."

...I KNOW, right?! How freaking sweet is that?! Check this one out:



You know what that one is? It's a glottal stop. The symbol for the sound you make when "stop the airflow by pressing your vocal cords together, build up pressure from the lungs, and then release the vocal cords with an audible burst."

I mean, the site if FILLED with them!

To be honest, I've always wanted a tattoo, but never really felt strongly enough about anything that I wanted it to remain burnt into my skin for the duration of my life. But these people are freaking awesome. They've found their thing, they love it, and they have stained their skin with the weirdest crap ever. I wish I was one billionth as cool as this guy:



Do you know what that is? It's the atomic symbol for testosterone.

Rock on science freaks!

Post-It Note Project: Accomplished!

Hooray! February 1st is here! I can't explain it, but I've really been looking forward to doing this project. I've just needed an excuse to do something frivolous and fun.

Unfortunately, this has been an insanely busy week. My poor wife had some minor surgery (don't worry, she's fine...though I think she's starting to go a bit stir crazy!) and I've had to take care of the poor girl. Luckily, I was able to get three post-its doodled upon before the end of the day. So, after dinner, I head down to the local Wal-Mart to pick up some brownies, and to leave what I hope are seen as happy little surprises throughout the store. (Don't ask me why I was fixated on leaving these things at a Wal-Mart...it just seeemed like the perfect place to do this)

There was no question where my monkey was going to go, of course. I wish the photo was clearer, but I like to think that he's happy, surrounded by his favorite fruit.

My spaceman has confused "The Rock" terribly. Poor Dwayne just can't understand why this spaceman would want to cover his tu-tu'd dog's face. Sorry Rock, spacemen can sometimes just be like that.

Talk about Rock! He was my favorite, and I figured all the hippy ice cream would enjoy some kick-ass rockin' for a while. Stand back, Willie!

Man, that was fun. I may just have to make this an annual event. Or monthly. Or when I get bored. We'll have to see....

Thanks again to Fiona for proposing this really fun project!

Post-It Notes Project, Feb 1st

This Friday, February 1, there is a really cool project going on, started by blogger Fiona Harding, called the "Post-It Notes Project". The idea is really simple, and it sounds like a ton of fun. The object is to simply doodle on a stack of Post-It Notes, and then leave your drawings in random locations around the globe, documenting it all in pictures. Then, send the pictures to Fiona, and she'll post them all on her blog!

I'll probably be posting my post-its here too. I'm thinking a trip to Wal-Mart is in order. I'm not sure why, but the thought of leaving a little post-it of a martian in the bread aisle over there makes me smile. =)

15 (Painfully) Unforgettable Cartoon Theme Songs

I shouldn't be posting. I really shouldn't. It's late, and I've got TONS to do this weekend.

Instead, I made the mistake of checking Drawn!, and found this gem...15 (Painfully) Unforgettable Cartoon Theme Songs.

It was obviously created by someone a bit younger than me, who has fond memories of cartoons like "Mighty Max" and "Pro Stars" (what the heck?) But after having listened to every entry on the list, I'm now humming the "Animaniacs" theme to myself, and desperately wanting to watch an episode of "Batman the Animated Series". (And where is my "Pinky and the Brain" entry!?..."They're Pinky and the Brain! Pinky and the Brain! One is a genius, the other insane. They're labrotory mice. Their genes have been spliced! They're Pinky, Pinky and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Braaaaaaaaain!" - Pure Genius!)

My Supergirl...

So, there have been all these drawing memes recently, that I really wanted to get in on, but when I saw the talent posting there, I could never squeeze one out in time.

So, this week, I finally got around to just playing with a Supergirl re-design, and came up with something kind of fun. (Click the image for a little bit larger view)

The idea stemmed from this: "Who the hell is going to go out and buy / make a costume?! Even for aliens from another world, one would think that crimefighting gear should be comfortable. Like clothes you wear to work out in." So, I thought about what people wear to the gym, threw on some Chuck Taylor's for good measure, because they are always cool, and there you go. Supergirl.

Monsters By Mail!!!

So, Len is having a baby. Unfortunately, he's a poor artist. How to pay the bills?

Easy! Send people monsters in the mail!

For $20, send Len one word, and he will draw a monster based upon that word on a 4x6 card, record the entire thing on video, mail you the card with your monster on it, and post the video of the creation process on YouTube!!!

Freakin' genius.

Captain America is Dead...

I was surprised at the amount of attention this kicked up. So what? Cap is dead. He'll be back, people! It's a comic book!?! Does the name Doomsday mean nothing to you!? (er...probably not, I guess.) He killed Superman. Yeah, Superman died. Don't worry. He's back. Which is my point.

Seriously, though, it seems like EVERYONE is talking about this. But leave it to Stephen Colbert to put it all in perspective.

When comics meet politics. That's good stuff, there.

Wow!

When I first started this blog, I listed Sean Esty as a major inspiration. (see here) So you can imagine how honored I was when I found that he had LINKED TO ME! Somehow, he had found the original post I had made over at my livejournal blog, and he really liked my fan art! (GOD, I wish I would have finished that bird now!)

Anyway, let me just re-iterate....if you haven't checked out Marooned yet, you are missing out. It's a beautiful thing. Can't wait to see where it goes!

Thanks again, Sean!

My first shirt and the World Series of Pop Culture!

I just created a shirt for my wife's trivia team! That's right...Kathleen is heading off to Chicago to try out for VH1's World Series of Pop Culture!

They are the Ambassadors of Quan. They wanted a shirt to reflect all the different aspects of Quan...Respect, Love, Community and (of course) the MONEY! (Show me the money!)

It's late, and I'm tired, but it's been a long trip to get from the original idea ("Honey, could you design a tee-shirt for my team when we try out for the World Series of Pop Culture?") to the shirt you see today. I would kind of like to document that process, but I must sleep at some point this evening, and that should probably be sooner rather than later, so I will leave you with this slick-o post of my tee-shirt design.

In other words, "To be continued"...

BOOM!!!!

Oh my gosh, I love this.

Fireworks factory explodes. Found on Google Video



I so badly want to know what this reporter says at the end, so I know the cameraman is fine...because it looks like that could have ended badly. But WOW is that fun to watch!

Check that Crazy Cat!

I always wondered who they got to do those hip little characters for cocktail napkins. Now I know!

Seriously, though, this is a truly inspiring video. Splatters of paint in the hands of the artist known only as Elio turn into the greatest little characters! I love what he does with the TV!



One critique, though...HOW THE HELL DOES HE HOLD HIS PEN LIKE THAT!?! It hurts my hand just to watch!!!!!

(found on Drawn!)

Linerider...or What I Spend My Day NOT Doing

It's such a simple, simple thing. Draw some lines on the screen. Press Play. Watch your little dude on a sled (with a stylin' scarf) barrel down the lines you just drew.



All day, I sit. Forcing myself NOT to play with this site. Cigarettes are less addictive.

Go here. Click Play. Or watch the movies that other people have made of their tracks, to give you some ideas of the possibilities.

Just make sure you don't have anything to do for the next few hours...