Rogue Nerd

something unfolds

2012-01-25T14:21:00.000-08:00

What is this? Could it possibly be...a new comic?

Adriana thinks she is special for making one paltry 2-page comic during all of 2011. We'll see if she ever scans it and posts it online so you can actually read it...

Pre-Occupied

2012-01-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I took a weekend jaunt to NYC to visit Occupy Wall Street. I wanted to pay my respects and see how the birthplace of the movement compared to Occupy Los Angeles. I was hoping I'd meet other teachers in New York and talk with them about what they think can be done to fix the education system.

I reached Zuccotti Park less than 24-hours before the police cleared everyone out. The mood was nothing like the Burning Man-esque hippie gathering depicted by the mass media. It felt solemn, organized. Various groups (Socialists, Anarchists, Libertarians, etc.) had set up information tables distributing literature explaining their viewpoints. The tent city was bustling quietly and protestors engaged in friendly, serious conversation with visitors.

When I arrived, I wasn't sure what to do with myself. It felt weird to take photos like a tourist, and I wasn't planning on pitching a tent and joining the occupiers for the weekend. As I walked around the park with my friends, the answer revealed itself.

insert "the pen is mightier than the sword" reference here

Joshua Boulet is a comics artist from Texas who came to New York to document the occupation with ink and brush. I stopped to admire his work and we talked for a long time. He showed me the beautiful drawings he had been working on for the past few weeks, which were his contribution to the movement. I can't think of a more sincere, relevant way for an artist to participate. Joshua was the only artist I met at Zuccotti Park that day, and it was definitely an auspicious bit of serendipity. He reminded me that I'm on the right track as both artist and educator.

Check out Joshua's versatile work on his website. You can purchase his Occupy prints here. He's also working on a book called Draw Occupy Wall Street that's already over one hundred pages.

I decided to go back to school to become a teacher because I want to be part of the positive change our nation's public education system irrefutably needs. I'm in alignment with the goals, values and ideals of the OWS movement, and support those across the country who have been camping out to help create a unified voice for change. Though most occupiers have been evicted from their protest sites at this point, I'm proud that so many individuals have been invoking their constitutional rights to protest greed and corruption. Those who do it creatively are the most productive, in my opinion.

Tree Huggers Update

2011-12-03T00:33:00.001-08:00

My Tree Hugger is a drama queen, of course...

(digital drawing and photos by moi)

She loves to look down from her pedestal...

fraternize with the locals...

...and she's always ready for her close up.

Au revoir, mes amis!

http://sundial.csun.edu/2011/11/tree-hugger-art-project-draws-attention-to-campus-food-garden/

http://www.csunsustainability.org/

Learning to teach is an Odyssey

2011-11-17T17:48:00.001-08:00

I struggle to become a good teacher. The uphill climb feels pretty steep and I realize I need a lot more training before I reach the summit. I may break down into tears from the pressure, but I'll never give up because just when I'm ready to throw in the towel, magic happens.

Sometimes you get those perfect days where everything just works. You're reminded that you're doing what you're supposed to be doing.

Today was one of those days, and days like today make it all worthwhile.

Comics class at Odyssey Charter School in Altadena

through Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock.

Photos by the lovely Joanna Waterfal

Oh, Say Can You CAEA?

2011-11-17T01:12:00.001-08:00

A couple weeks ago I volunteered at the California Arts Education Association conference in Bakersfield. This is an annual gathering of state art teachers (not to be confused with this gathering) to share "news, community, best practices and advocacy gathered in the arts."

The lady from Sargent Art was delayed in China (or was it India?) so yours truly was charged to run Sargent's vendor booth all weekend. I didn't mind because I got to play with fun new mediums such as liquid metallics and space-age sculpting goo. Have you guys seen these multicultural crayons? I hear they're all the ~~race~~ rage:

While I was baffled at the demographic (where were all the educators my age? why are there no men or people of color? why are art teachers primarily white women?) I was equally compelled by the incredible warmth and generosity buzzing about the halls. In the true spirit of community and collaboration, I was gifted with enough amazing stuff to pack my car. Art supplies, tee shirts, textbooks, posters, worksheets and lesson plans galore...I left the conference with my arms full—not to mention my heart and my brain.

Special thanks to the nicest person of all time, Mark from Pacon Creative Products. Homeboy hooked me up with a bunch of wonderful and unique crafting supplies, including some nifty discontinued sculpting items that I can't wait to use in my first classroom.

Talk about great customer service....

he even delivered everything to my car for me. What a guy!

Art 485: Studio Problems in Teaching Crafts

2011-10-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

Learnin' how to teach is serious business.

Shot on Fernando Maludo's Canon Rebel T1I
with an 18-55mm macro fisheye lens attachment.

not too shabby

2011-10-18T01:25:00.000-07:00

My first student teaching assignment:

Intro to Art – 4th & 5th Period – STEM Academy

@ Helen Bernstein High School, Hollywood, CA

Objective: Create an original character using the basic elements
of art (line, shape, color, texture, value) on the paper toy template provided.

Awesome toy design project c/o readymech.com
Awesome character designs c/o 9th-12th graders of STEM Academy

Happy 10th Anniversary, Gothtober!

2011-10-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, everyone' favorite interactive Halloween web calendar has been bringing you creeps and ghouls the best seasonal clicks for a whole decade now.

This year's theme is "chain restaurants," and the head candy corn Julianna Parr has whipped up enough blue plate specials to choke an army of hungry zombies (it's true, they eat more than brains).

Each day of the month offers a different story, video, animation, recipe, how-to project or artwork, replete with sounds and downloads, hoots and hollers. Most are great for kids of all ages, but some may be truly haunting. Click at your own risk...BWA HA HA HA HA!

Click on Tuesday, October 18th for "Ghettoblaster Disaster," a gore-tastic webcomic created by my good friends Furious Georgette and Bill Wolkoff. It's a parody of Christine and a bit of a gross-out gore-fest, so hold onto your lunch...

http://www.gothtober.com/

p.s. I love second chances!

Tree Huggers

2011-10-13T00:57:00.000-07:00

I just found out that Cal State Northridge has a "green" initiative, the Institute of Sustainability. Since the CSUN Arts Education program is totally awesome, we're participating in a fall event inspired by Polish artists Agnieszka Gradzik & Viktor Szostalo's Tree Hugger Project.

Our assignment: build an all-natural, tree-abiding figure (aka "Tree Hugger") out of found organic materials (twigs, leaves, vines, etc.) bound only with raffia.

Results thus far have been a tad Blair-Witchy, but it's still a ton-o-fun. We're going to hide them around the campus grounds and have a party next month (I think near the Botanical Garden?). More to come as the project progresses.

Alex Garcia's gettin' twiggy with it

"Be the change..."

2011-10-12T23:44:00.000-07:00

This famous quote — attributed to Mahatma Gandhi — is the central theme this session for the P4K teen program. With knowledge and inspiration gained from visiting creative professionals, field trips, art and writing activities and weekly blog reflections, our intimate group will decide how THEY can create positive change in their own worlds.

Oh, hai Shay <3

We're just getting started, but the goal is to self-publish a zine of original artwork, photos and text by mid-November and pass it out to members of the community. Check out the teens' blog every week to see where they've been and where they're going:

http://www.p4kteen.blogspot.com/

Peace4Kids Taking Over the Nation

2011-10-12T22:59:00.000-07:00

For the past 3 years, the kids over at the Boys and Girls Club of Watts/Willowbrook have been kind enough to let me dork out with them, volunteering and teaching various art workshops. Peace4Kids, the organization I work with, has taught me the meaning of community as family.

It's been a true joy watching the smart 9-year-olds I first had for comics-making class grow into even smarter 12-year-olds, and I look forward to seeing them each Saturday from 9-2. They've become my family and I don't know where I'd be without them.

This year, our sessions have been extended from 6 to 9 weeks, giving us more time to develop longer-term projects and work on ongoing community goals. It's heartening to have a consistent space with such a radsauce group of committed creative people on board.

NHM, I miss you already!

2011-08-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

pros and cons

2011-08-11T01:03:00.000-07:00

This year at San Diego Comic Con, all I did was sleep in. And eat. And go shopping. There's something to be said for that, but here's hoping for more comix-making in 2012!

I did also run into a few of my more famous and prolific colleagues, Kiyoshi Nakazawa and Bwana Spoons, whose awesome booth was jam-packed full of eyeball-exploding art, comix, toys, zines, shirts and ceramics. They reminded me that I have a lot of work to do if I ever want to be a real cartoonist when I grow up.

diorama drama

2011-08-11T00:46:00.000-07:00

being insects: compound eye masks and citra sippers

designing an ecosystem: the classic diorama

my goodness, how time flies!

2011-08-11T00:40:00.000-07:00

Has it really been five months since my last blog post? So much has happened since then!

After my first semester at CSUN I began an amazing summer working at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles and the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits.

As a new instructor for Adventures in Nature discovery camp, I've been having a blast teaching a different subject theme each week to awesome 3rd & 4th graders. Sessions included Insect Investigators, Pleistocene Naturalists and Dino Descendants (just to name a few), and the campers have been schooling me in a thing or two.

Vertebrate paleontology, ornithology, polychaetes, myriapods, herpetology, the butterfly pavilion, the pregnant plesiosaur in the new Dino Hall...I think I'm geeking out more than the 8 year-olds.

Oh, by the way:

tender college lurve

2011-03-16T01:25:00.000-07:00

I drew this while riding the bus. Gotta try that more often.

2011-03-06T03:16:00.000-08:00

white manxiety

2011-03-06T03:11:00.000-08:00

be true to your school

2011-03-02T03:38:00.000-08:00

CSUN is radical. No, really...the School of Education is awesomely progressive, calling for a total blow-up of the status quo and a nationwide curriculum upheaval. Um, this school has a Mission Statement, a Vision Statement, a list of Strategic Goals AND a Conceptual Framework which are totally in alignment with my values as a human being. Some snippets:

"Foster a climate in which the meaning and implications of diversity are continuously defined, examined, and addressed."
"Solve problems, make decisions, facilitate change, and produce knowledge in new and creative ways."
"Engage in inquiry about what it means to be an ethical and caring professional."

Unheard of! Love it!

Aaanyways, since I love to make WAY more work for myself than is bodily necessary, I decided to do this mini-comic for one of my little 5-point homework activities.

The Class: Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 417 – Equity & Diversity in Schools.
The Assignment: Define your cultural self, and don't be PC about it!
Me: Really? Okay, I'll give it a shot...here goes...

Let me know what you think!

linkage

2011-03-01T01:40:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's fun to google yourself and see what shows up. Tonite, I found this article, which links to one of the more favorite comix I made for gURL.com back in the day. It made me nostalgic for a good number of reasons:

http://www.nonfictioncomics.net/2010/09/hey-ladies/

Not too shabby.

While I was there, I found a new site that caught my attention, The Comic Book Project. This looks like a fairly recent educational arts & literacy learning initiative, with kits and materials published by Dark Horse (the biggest "indie" comics publisher) and workshops sponsored by the Center for Educational Pathways. Sounds great to me! I'm all for using comics and manga to help bridge the literacy gap, so I will be keeping a close eye on this program in coming years. The site has lots of good photos and galleries of student work from schools and libraries around the country.

http://www.comicbookproject.org/

o say can you CSUN?

2011-02-24T02:13:00.000-08:00

Oh, hai. It's been a while.

A former student of mine recently reprimanded me for being a neglectful blogger. While I was shocked to learn that anyone was actually following this thing, it was just the kick in the pants I needed.

I missed you, Nerdegade. Did you miss me?

In January, I entered the credential program at California State University, Northridge to become a full-time licensed public school teacher. CSUN has one of the best education programs in the WORLD, and every moment is jam-packed with new challenges. Gosh, it feels great to be using more of my brain. I've never been so inspired, and I've never been so ludicrously busy.

My days are spent in the secondary school classroom (that's grades 6-12), and my evenings til 10 pm are spent in class. My life hasn't been this consumed since I dated that bipolar guy...except this time there's an amazing future to look forward to.

ANYWAY, I'm totally going to post some comics totally soon. In fact, here's a little somethin'-somethin' right now...it's a page from a mini comic I've been working on for my class on Equity and Diversity in Multicultural schools. I promise to post all 16 pages before summer ;)

p.s. I'm still working on that one-point perspective...

our bowel movements, fresh off the press

2010-11-28T01:27:00.000-08:00

Robyn Chapman's Make *w00t!* was reviewed by The Comics Journal *thrills!* and my comic got a little mention *gasp!* I guess this is my first review, like, ever. Thanks again, Robyn!

READ IT!

so close, you can almost taste it

2010-11-17T02:03:00.000-08:00

just...not quite.

I hate missing deadlines...

2010-10-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

sigh...it'll get done eventually

rant...er, i mean paper review

2010-10-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

This Webcomic I've been toiling over for the past couple months has been an excellent learning experience. I'm pushing myself farther than usual and I think my rendering has improved since last year...yay! But one glaringly negative part of this process, which is unfortunately one of the most essential elements, has been the paper I'm drawing on: Strathmore 500 Series plate-surface bristo l...boo!

For years I made my comics on whatever generic office paper I could scam from freelance jobs (oops, did I just say that?). My experience was mainly in Webcomics and I wasn't thinking about preserving the original art, so my process was heavy on the cut & paste. I would end up doing most of the work "in post," as they say here in Hollywood.

Elements such as body text, lettering, sometimes entire replacement hands and heads and backgrounds, were drawn outside of the panels in the margins or on a different piece of paper altogether, and everything was scanned, assembled, colored and refined in Photoshop. It wasn't until I attended a summer workshop at CCS in Vermont that I was clued in to the value of penciling and inking your comics as tight as possible on a nice piece of bristol and drawn at twice the output size of the final publication. Not only are also they cool to keep around just in case you get famous and they make great teaching peripherals, but making comics this "proper" way SAVES SO MUCH TIME.

Now, about this paper. I was stoked to get a free sample pack of 24 sheets, because this stuff is pricey. However, it's taking me hours longer than usual to clean my pages up in Photoshop, and I blame this paper. The plate surface is just WAY too smooth. I don't normally like any tooth in my paper, but this smoothness is ridiculous.

First of all, blue pencils are useless on this surface. I'm extremely heavy-handed when I draw, but with the blue pencil I could barely see a line on the page. I wore down 6 or 7 of them before I gave up and switched over to graphite...which I never do. Being as heavy-handed as I am, as well as super anal and eraser-happy, my pages tend to be an overworked mess. I'm not saying messy is bad, but the messier the page the more computer clean-up is necessary. When you do too much work in Photoshop, you lose that nice hand-drawn quality to your images. Not so good, in my opinion.

Next, despite Strathmore's claim that the 500 Series bristol is "ideal for pencil, pen and ink," I don't know what kind of ink they were thinking of because the surface is simply dreadful for my inking tool of choice, my beloved Pentel brush pen. The ink practically floats on top of the paper like motor oil on the LA freeway, and we know that's a Very Bad Thing. It wasn't long before my lines actually started to bleed into the paper, which was perplexing because isn't the whole point of the plate surface to have no tooth? Perhaps it's just not very durable.

It is also not conducive to working with assorted materials such as white-out pens and Microns. I tend to switch around from tool to tool and the 500 Series seemed confused by this. That's the only way I can describe it. Different inks and graphite do not integrate well on this paper, if that makes any sense.

To make a long story...uh, long, I do not believe Strathmore when they say that this paper is "recommended by sequential art professionals and award-winning artists." I'd like to have a word with any sequential art professionals who really use this stuff. Anyway, I gotta get back to work!

what a tease

2010-10-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, so my Gothtober comic is going to launch a little late...before Halloween for sure!

I'm not going to be one of those lame bloggers who posts excuses like, "Ooooh, I haven't had as much free time this month to work on my epic interactive choose-your-own-adventure Web comic because I'm working full time at Disney AND teaching two classes, PLUS my friend got married last weekend and I swear it's like everyone's birthday..."

Nope, totally not that girl.

I promise it will be worth the wait.

New Comic launches October 28th!

2010-10-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

you might want to turn your sound down for this one...

Gothtober 2010 presents: HAUNTED BOOM BOX

Now in its 9th year, the spookily popular Halloween countdown calendar GOTHTOBER brings all you guys and ghouls 31 days of interactive Web fun. From videos and recipes to poetry and cartoons, visit Gothtober.com http://www.gothtober.com/ and delight in daily downloads while you work on your Lady Gaga costume. Desk jobbers rejoice! For hours of creepy, kooky entertainment, you can even view the archives all the way back to 2003.

Last year's choose-your-own-adventure comic was quite a doozy, but this year I've upped the ante by collaborating with my dear friend and eerily gifted writer (as well as husband to my wife) Bill Wolkoff for an extra-gory story of love and loss entitled "Ghettoblaster Disaster." I'll be drawing as my alter ego Furious Georgette, so turn the boom box dial on October 28th to choose your fate!

creature feature redux

2010-09-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

Class is back in session!

photo by Jaime Clarke

Make (it happen)

2010-09-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

Robyn Chapman's new anthology Make (8 artists, 80 pages, 3-color silkscreened cover) premiered at SPX last weekend (someday I'll make it out there), and she shares some insightful tidbits about self-publishing (including printing techniques, paper choices and pricing) on her blog. Robyn's comics and zines (such as Hey, Four Eyes!) are always beautifully hand-crafted and have little surprises inside that make them very satisfying objects to read and hold. She creates a more elevated form of mini-comic.

http://makecomics.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/make-a-closer-look/

sketchy sketch

2010-08-10T22:05:00.000-07:00

I did get a little doodle time in at Comic Con the other week...

MAKE

2010-07-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

Robyn Chapman has launched a new site called Make: Comics About an Intimate Act. Yours truly is thrilled to be one of the first contributors, and I can't wait to see how it all comes out (pun intended?). Robyn is a Xeric-winning comics artist, publisher and professor at the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont, known for her meticulously lovely hand-screened mini-comic collections and the True Porn anthologies.

Self-portrait by Robyn Chapman,

in homage to the great Aline Kominsky-Crumb

Comic Con Crazytown!

2010-07-25T00:22:00.000-07:00

Howdy, nerdegades! Just checking in from lovely San Diego where I'm finishing up the best (that is, thee FUNNEST and MOST EPIC) weekend ever at the 36th annual Comic Con International. The brilliant Jennifer Juniper Stratford and I are blogging the con for BUST magazine, which has given us free reign. We've been documenting the tribes and subcultures via photo and doodle of what has now gone beyond mainstream to become the largest event of its kind. It's nothing short of a glorious geek frenzy and I'll share more of my splurges and exploits soon.

Getting jiggy with Luke Cage was only the beginning

pure gold

2010-07-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning out my garage and unearthed a folder of drawings and comics I made back in grade school. Here are the least embarrassing of the pile, for your amusement.

First, we have "Jenny & Barnabas," a cartoon about a brother and sister who like to torment each other. From the looks of things, I'm guessing this is from the late 80s when I was reading a lot of Garfield. Please note the dot matrix printer paper:

Next up, we have a lovely illustration for a junior high fiction series I wanted to write emulating the Babysitter's Club formula. Like many kids who grew up without the interwebs to entertain them, I used to write and illustrate my own stories. This was 1990, so I was 12 or 13. I really wear my influences on my sleeve, huh?

Finally, we have for you a drawing I made in 1986 at the tender age of 9. The caption reads "The Jones Family, The Box on Fairlane Avenue, Detroit." Classism is learned early on, folks!

exquisite corpse

2010-07-15T00:28:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, my friend Eric and I taught a rad class in Watts called Creature Feature. It was a mixed-media art workshop where the kids created fantastical beasts and non-traditional self-portraits.
One of our biggest triumphs was getting them to collaborate, which we achieved through an exquisite corpse exercise. At first they thought their drawings were ugly, but once they saw them up on the wall they wanted to do it again and again! Photos by Kim Garcia.

Artejah and Jerry experiment on Eric

sewing creatures

magic hand

exquisite corpse

this one's a real head-scratcher

Tasha and Rontianna chillin'

worms!

2010-06-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

sometimes, a panel just works

2010-06-18T00:06:00.000-07:00

sneak peak of a 4-page comic I'm working on

for an upcoming collection published by Robyn Chapman

The Slide

2010-06-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

It's finally finished! That is, if I don't revist the color job on it (which I think I should). This is a story I began months ago for Kiyoshi Nakazawa's class thru Blue Rooster & Meltdown Comics. I finally got off my butt and completed it for the first edition of my dear friend Max Kelly's top secret new zine project/publishing collective (print release date TBD this summer) about embarrassing childhood memories. This is based on a true story, and I think it's one of the cutest stories ever. Enjoy!

now hiring: talented colorist

2010-06-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

If I had any money, I wouldn't be kidding. Artists like Joseph Lambert and James Kochalka make it look so easy! Even though I've been using Photoshop for over 10 years, I still struggle when it comes to coloring my comics. Maybe I shouldn't be using Web-only colors. Maybe I should create a series of personalized swatch palettes for consistency. Maybe I should hand-paint my comics á la Vanessa Davis. Well, whichever way I decide to go, it's all part of the process.

GCC presents "Concord & Glenwood"

2010-05-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

My comics class at Glendale Community College wrapped up on Tuesday and I'm super proud of my students! I had a wonderfully diverse class of all ages and backgrounds, including a storyboard artist, a high school junior and a former member of the Black Panthers.

I wasn't sure how much we could get done in 6 weeks, but as you can see they produced some impressive mini comics. The one on the left with the palm trees is the group's collaborative comic, "Concord & Glenwood" (named for the street corner in front of the school where the class took place). Each student had a spread to show off their work in progress.

Concord & Glenwood

Nobody is Perfect

2.75" x 3.5" mini by OAC

JANE

5.5" x 8.5" mini by Amy D.

2.75" x 2" mini by Heather Combs

Hollywood Zoo

work in progress by Marc Akins

Can't wait 'til the next session starts June 29th. Hopefully the class will continue to be successful, grow and evolve. I'm already dreaming of "Making Comics 2: Electric Boogaloo."

process

2010-05-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have never tried it, making comics is a lot of work. You have to write, draw, design, compose, landscape, costume your characters and direct them into action, create emotion, build tension...

For the past couple months, I've been working on a 5-page story called The Slide. It's the first time I've made a traditional comic for print using a grid layout, and it's making my brain throb. I have ONE MORE page left to finish penciling, and it's due on Monday. I know I'm a huge whiner but this is the toughest challenge I've given myself in a long time.

here's the bottom of page 3

Storytelling

2010-04-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

I've been working with foster youth in Watts for over a year now, and there are no words for how awesome these kids are. Actually, what am I saying? There's a ton of words...inspiring, hilarious, real...

Every Saturday, they motivate me to be a better teacher. A documentary is being filmed on the program, Peace 4 Kids, and I'll try to share more photos and video as I get them.

Jose and his comic book

Antoine and R-Dog

be careful, kids

2010-04-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

2010-04-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

logo for my new rock band

2010-04-23T19:06:00.000-07:00

2010 goals: doodle more, no computer editing, finish that mini comic, learn to let go...

tell all your friends

2010-03-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

diary tunes giveaway

2010-03-04T11:36:00.000-08:00

For the past 8 years, the illustrious Robyn Chapman has organized a radsauce exchange called Diary Tunes, a trading club for sentimental music enthusiasts. I have a couple extra mix CDs leftover from my submission, so I'll send 'em to the first two people who give me their snail mail addresses.

teachy teach

2010-03-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

I'm teaching a 6-week COMIX CLASS at Glendale Community College starting April 20th. It'll be half studio/half discussion, and totally awesomesauce. There are a teeny handful of comics making classes in Los Angeles, but mine will include some comics history as well as WACKY DRAWING GAMES! Everyone needs something fun and educational to do on a gloomy Spring Tuesday nite, so encourage all your friends to sign up.

2010-01-21T15:22:00.000-08:00

the return of the ghetto quickie comic

2009-12-21T13:58:00.001-08:00

JD reminded me that i'm long overdue for a new cartoon. he is so right.

mail and stuff

2009-12-01T19:31:00.000-08:00

i really like mail. if you send me stuff, i'll send you stuff. i just sent this little guy to one Mr. Billy Vasquez and by golly, he's going to love it.

new direction

2009-11-30T22:49:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a quickie weekend comics class with Giant Robot artist and all-around badass Kiyoshi Nakazawa and will be trying something new: all quill & ink, no computer! But first off my goal is to pencil 4 pages by this weekend. Easier said than done when you work at a glacier's pace...literally...I'm freezing, here, kids.

2009-11-30T22:37:00.000-08:00

fave Gothtober panels

2009-11-30T16:38:00.000-08:00

just sayin'...

coming soon...

2009-11-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

nerdegade blowout sale

2009-11-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

For the precious few of you who don't already have one, now's your chance to buy your very own copy of the 2008 Nerdegade mini, a 16-page introduction to the wacky world of the Rogue Nerd (yours truly). All you have to do is send me one measly American dollar and I'll mail you one of the last remaining comics along with a couple 1-inch Nerdegade buttons for your pinning pleasure. Hurry! Operators are standing by...er, send me an email.

Attention Guys and Ghouls...

2009-10-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

Gothtober is here! Check out today's "choose your own adventure" comic by yours truly, Furious Georgette. Warning: not suitable for children, parents, grannies, puppies, or anyone with a sensitive stomach.

Gothober sneak preview

2009-10-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

I'm tickled to be a part of Gothtober, an annual Halloween countdown calendar that features a different artist each day. I've been working on a choose-your-own-advenure comic, which promises to be full of chills and thrills, among other things. It launches Tuesday, October 13, so stay tuned!

2009-10-02T22:49:00.000-07:00

2009-08-29T13:07:00.001-07:00

2009-08-26T21:45:00.001-07:00

challenge

2009-08-25T18:08:00.001-07:00

ccs summer workshoppin'

2009-08-04T17:56:00.001-07:00

got to get the hang of this new brush pen

2009-07-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

2009-07-06T23:45:00.001-07:00

super duper shapes of sweetness!

2009-07-06T23:41:00.000-07:00

Yo, bloggaz! Czech this link to download a free zine that featurez one of my dopest doodlez: http://superduper.shapesofsweetness.com/2009/07/05/free-doodles-ii/. Thankz, Corey Thompson! I'll stop talking like a dork now.

Let's Talk About Specs

2009-05-28T22:55:00.001-07:00

Here's my contribution to the third installment of Robyn Chapman's epic zine about glasses, "Hey, Four Eyes!" It's a beautiful, handmade book with a silkscreened cover and it's chock full of surprises. I'm honored to be included amongst such awesome artists as Jon Chad, Colleen Frakes, Joseph Lambert and Alec Longstreth! You can buy a limited-edition copy by emailing Robyn: chapman@cartoonstudies.org

2009-05-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

hair karma

2009-05-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

2009-04-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

Second favorite drawing of all time

2009-04-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

2009-04-15T23:10:00.001-07:00

2009-04-15T22:41:00.000-07:00

coming soon...

2009-04-10T18:38:00.001-07:00

old office drawings

2009-04-05T23:25:00.001-07:00

i love making absurd comics on the company clock.

"radd-ish"

"croc"

"cheap"

looky what i found

2009-04-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

eastside joke

2009-04-03T01:26:00.000-07:00

(thanks, markie)

2009-03-06T07:55:00.000-08:00

sorry i'm being a bum

2009-03-04T21:54:00.001-08:00

2009-02-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

2009-01-16T19:32:00.000-08:00

Grossest. Story. Ever.

2009-01-08T12:30:00.000-08:00

you might have noticed that my latest comic has mysteriously disappeared from gURL.com. apparently there were some scheduling issues and it actually wasn't supposed to go up until later this month. gURL is now owned by Alloy Media + Marketing (the same company that brings us the lovely Delia's catalogs) and is going through some major changes. the comic will be back up eventually, but in the meanwhile i've posted it here for your enjoyment :

2009-01-02T00:47:00.000-08:00

2009-01-01T23:37:00.000-08:00

my friend sam complained that i never draw him

2009-01-01T23:33:00.001-08:00

grody to the max

2008-12-26T09:13:00.001-08:00

yay, my most recent comic has been posted on gURL.com. check it out and let me know what you think, but be warned: you might find it disturbing. so tell all your friends, especially if they are teenage girls!

2008-12-23T22:29:00.001-08:00

2006

2008-12-21T22:40:00.001-08:00

2008-12-09T15:54:00.000-08:00

this guy at work

2008-12-09T14:42:00.000-08:00

2008-12-02T16:41:00.000-08:00

more weird stuff

2008-11-29T00:53:00.001-08:00

i draw really weird stuff sometimes

2008-11-29T00:49:00.000-08:00

11 mini paintings

2008-11-25T00:37:00.000-08:00

last fall i started working on a series of tiny acrylic paintings (1 inch x 2 inches). the theme is "stuff an italian teenager cares about." the plan is to eventually create 144 of them to be presented in a grid of 12 x 12 (12 is my age when i got my first period):

absolutely my most favorite drawing i have ever drawn in my entire life

2008-11-21T22:21:00.001-08:00

i'm your gURL

2008-11-21T08:01:00.000-08:00

i finally have a new comic up on gURL.com! it's about going to therapy and should be featured on the main page for about a week.

gURL is an awesome online teen resource and i wish i had something like it when i was growing up. i do a comic for them every few months and have a couple more coming out soon (maybe by the end of the year?). i have a bunch of old ones posted, which you can find by clicking on COMIX and looking for my name. tell all your friends!

2008-11-16T23:48:00.001-08:00

i really need to learn how to color

2008-11-16T23:42:00.000-08:00

uterus in progress

2008-11-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

i'll have 4 brand new comics up on gURL.com veeeeery soon. here's a working panel from one of them. i won't give away the premise but i will tell you that drawing a cartoon of the female reproductive system is not easy:

teaser

2008-11-07T11:46:00.000-08:00

the magical robyn chapman has invited me to contribute to the latest iteration of her amazing zine "hey, four eyes!" which tickles me to no end. here's a couple of my panels...i'll let you know where you can purchase it when it's released this winter:

purpose, revisited

2008-11-03T16:54:00.000-08:00

Rogue Nerd

something unfolds

Pre-Occupied

Tree Huggers Update

Learning to teach is an Odyssey

Oh, Say Can You CAEA?

Art 485: Studio Problems in Teaching Crafts

not too shabby

Happy 10th Anniversary, Gothtober!

Tree Huggers

"Be the change..."

Peace4Kids Taking Over the Nation

NHM, I miss you already!

pros and cons

diorama drama

my goodness, how time flies!

tender college lurve

white manxiety

be true to your school

linkage

o say can you CSUN?

our bowel movements, fresh off the press

so close, you can almost taste it

I hate missing deadlines...

rant...er, i mean paper review

what a tease

New Comic launches October 28th!

creature feature redux

Make (it happen)

sketchy sketch

MAKE

Comic Con Crazytown!

pure gold

exquisite corpse

worms!

sometimes, a panel just works

The Slide

now hiring: talented colorist

GCC presents "Concord & Glenwood"

process

Storytelling

be careful, kids

logo for my new rock band

tell all your friends

diary tunes giveaway

teachy teach

the return of the ghetto quickie comic

mail and stuff

new direction

fave Gothtober panels

coming soon...

nerdegade blowout sale

Attention Guys and Ghouls...

Gothober sneak preview

challenge

ccs summer workshoppin'

got to get the hang of this new brush pen

super duper shapes of sweetness!

Let's Talk About Specs

hair karma

Second favorite drawing of all time

coming soon...

old office drawings

looky what i found

eastside joke

sorry i'm being a bum

Even More Confessions of a Dork © Alloy Media + Marketing

Grossest. Story. Ever.

my friend sam complained that i never draw him

grody to the max

2006

this guy at work

more weird stuff

i draw really weird stuff sometimes

11 mini paintings

absolutely my most favorite drawing i have ever drawn in my entire life

i'm your gURL

i really need to learn how to color

uterus in progress

teaser