Do Not Break the Chain!

In the Comics Inventions course, I’m thinking of reforging this Chain Cartoon from the 1990s.

Back when I was directing the group-strip, Hector, I received a chain letter in the mail. In the course of urging me to send 10 copies to friends, the letter said the most amazing thing: “This letter will bring you luck. This works even if you aren’t superstitious.” That got me. in the spirit that anything could be made into a comic/comics can be made from anything, I took up the gauntlet. Here are highlights: 

The comics medium is itself an unbroken chain of innovations, ideas, and unique voices. Let’s pay it forward. Comics Inventions starts January 31. Join us and/or add your panel to the comments section below (proportional to 3" wide by 2.5" high). 

Do not break the chain.

UPDATE:  I received this wonderful new panel by Jim Siergey.

And here's another by Daan Heemskerk

And another by Rich Arnold.

And here's one by Gary Martin:

Now it's your turn!

Contributors: Babushka, Nick Bertozzi, Kevin Diaz Bryan, Tony Consiglio, Clark Dissmeyer, Patricia Dubrava, Matt Feazell, D.S. Fields, Richard Florence, Brad Foster, Craig Gassen, Scott Johnson, Tim Kelly, Jim Lemons, Monobrain, T. Motley, Michael O’Keefe, John Peters, John Pham, Dennis Pimple, Jason Powers, Mark Putt, Alex Robinson, Joe Shuster (apologies), Jim Siergey, Andre Slob, Brendan Smith, Melissa Stander, Brad Thomason, Maximum Traffic, J.B. Winter, Stan Yan, Pieter Zandvliet.

From the Archive: Hector Goes to Medical School

Here's a comic I published in 2001 in Pablo's Comics Extravaganza, a little anthology we put out in conjunction with a comic art show at a Denver cafe. It features the characters shared by members of the Hector cooperative, Hector and Wilhelmina, plus other incidental characters culled from our various strips.

I still use these characters on occasion, when it feels like the right kind of joke. Here's one that ran recently in The American Bystander #6.

From the Archive: Throwaway Ideas

I get so many of these that the challenge becomes finding fun ways to throw them away. Here's a set from the 1990s,...

...and allow me to repost this one from the same year...

...which was mostly highlights from this project from the 1980s,...

Acme Comics #9 wraparound cover by George Doro from a thumbnail I provided (if memory serves).

...when I got my friends making fake comic book covers which we crammed into our anthology. Editor Dennis Pimple appended an Acme Checklist with summaries of our fake comics. It was fun. Here are more of mine:

Any of these might have been a hit comic, right? Or not. It's probably more fun to imagine for yourself what each comic would've been like. Or not. Either way, I'm sitting on a bunch more of 'em and might toss them out someday. Or not.

The Rumpus

I'm the subject of a substantial interview on The Rumpus.net this week. Please have a look, read about my influences and projects and stuff. Warm thanks to Andrea Tsurumi for the complimentary questions.

New Tragic Strip

Here's a strip that ran in The Brooklyn Rail a couple months back. Open it in a new browser window to read it full size.
Enjoy.

Convention Appearance This Weekend.

If you're in Manhattan this weekend, May 21-22, 2011, come see me at the Big Apple Comic Con, lest I feel lonely.

I'm out teaching on Saturday morning, but plan to be at my convention table by 2 pm Saturday and staying 'til they close at seven, and all day Sunday (10 to 5).

I'll have some misc, comics and artwork for sale. Mostly I plan on sitting and making sketches of goofy monsters and/or sexy girls until somebody decides to talk to me. Do swing by and say hello.

Penn Plaza Pavilion, 401 7 Ave @ 33rd St. Table #1008.