Yarrr...it drives me nuts

Needed a more lighthearted approach today.  Figured I'd knock out a request*

It's been an 80's onslaught of late.  Actually, this one made me think of my old Garbage Pail Kids.  I wish I had a DeLorean, so I could go back and do some of the artwork for them.  Maybe I'll try my hand at one anyway.   

*This one was requested by my donkey-riding canadian friend. Scurvy pirates never say die. Wait...that's Goonies.  Scurvy pirates say die all the time.

Apologies to Jim

I scratched this out today and immediately regretted it.  Why?  It made me sad.  And think too much.

I'll explain. 

A long time ago I observed something about the Muppet-verse.  Of all of the original muppets, Rowlf was the only one who appeared to be a success.  Think about it...Miss Piggy just wanted to be beautiful, Gonzo just wanted Miss Piggy, Fozzy just wanted to be funny, Kermit just wanted to make a show that didn't fall apart at the seams...the list goes on.  They're all inherent failures.  

Except for Rowlf.  He's a fantastic pianist, and appears to be living the dream.  A while back, I found out I was not a unique and special snowflake, and that someone else had this same revelation.  Scott Kurtz did a comic about it, and in doing so coined the term Muppet Jesus.  Which, as a side note, I still want to do a piece on.  But that got me thinking.  What if Rowlf wasn't the exception to the rule?  What if he was, in fact, the most tragic example. What if he had a dream that had nothing to do with playing a piano, but never pursued it?  What if he took the job as a part-time gig, and now wonders where his life went?  At least the others attempted and continue to strive for their goals.  All the dog can do is bang on the ivories and howl at the moon when it all gets too real.

These are the things I think about.

Will work for gold bars and diamond rings...

Well, here's a quick piece that I can dedicate to my old friend, RCA. Thanks for the support, and keep the requests flowin'.  Ain't nobody makin' Pitfall Harry jump...

It'sa me...

 

This is a drawing I've always wanted to do, and I'm just now getting around to it.  It turned into a 2 AM calamity, so there is quite a bit I would do differently.  No undo button with markers though.  I could Photoshop it, but that would kind of go against the reason I'm doing these in the first place.  

We'll call it version 1-1.

Splinter was never human.

 

I've been a Turtles fan since the original Eastman and Laird days.  To this day I remember Being at the Quo Vadis Theater watching the movie, and feeling my first pangs of nerd-rage  as the incognizant masses raised on the  cartoon or the Archie's comic said things like, "That's wrong, Splinter was Hamato Yoshi, not his pet rat..." Still makes me a little twitchy.  

 That said, I've been drawing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles since the mid 80's.  This is my first one in probably 15 years though.  It was mostly an excuse to use some new marker colors I picked up at the art store that day, but the 11-year-old in me was also really anxious to see how cool it would end up.

I realized two things in this venture: 

1.  I need to get back to figure drawing, my anatomy has gotten weak.

2.  I have no idea what the actual anatomy of a mutant turtle is...teenage or otherwise.  I was just making stuff up.

Nope. You're all kinds of wrong.

 

This is one of my favorites.  

You can see them thinking, " What the heck are you?   You don't make sense in my world.  I have no context for you..."

I was done in a time of great argument, frustration, and distress.  I needed someone to identify with, so I made them.  

Is that creepy or awesome?  

Zuni Hunting Bear

 

This was partially inspired by the short story Prey by the great Richard Matheson.  Though now looking at it, I'm not sure if it's scratching it's little head adorably , or saying something about butsing a cap.  

Teddy Ruxpin best watch his back.

Sometimes a beanie is just a beanie...

This guy was done at a friend's* house in Grand Rapids.  We were visiting for the weekend and I was jonesin' to draw a dinosaur after playing with his son's toys.  We were listening to the ballgame and somehow he ended up with a Detroit Tigers beanie on his head.  That's it.  

I wish there was more to the story.  

*I didn't forget that you wanted this, J-dubs.  Just wanted to get it scanned in first.

Sometimes they just ain't buyin' what you're sellin'

 

Sometimes the only way I get through a day is to vent on paper. This was such a day.

And I hate birds.

Not afraid of 'em...just hate 'em.

Isaac the Monster

My son and I were watching Monsters Inc. and I thought it would be fun to make our own.  Gave me a chance to bust out my new markers.  He named it Isaac.

Go figure. 

Old Inks

These have been floating around the interwebs for a while, but Daddy needs some content, so here ya go. I have stories for each of them, and I'll probably end up sharing them all.  But not at 4:55 in the morning. Ya'll can wait.