Hark, A Vagrant!

Hark, a Vagrant: Nancy Drew 1

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:43:57 -0700

Gorey covers were so fun, I thought I'd give another kind a spin. When I was about 10 years old, I was put in the hospital for about two weeks. The only things they had to read there were the entire collection of Nancy Drew books, and I think I must have read all of them at that time.

I'm almost done moving, you guys. I will be so happy when it's done! Hopefully things will slow down then, and I can get back to more dependable updates. I got to spend some important family time before I left, because it becomes a rare and precious thing once I leave this province. I made some comics during my visit, you can see them, here. With much love to my mom and dad.

In other news, the charity fundraiser is going so well, thank you to all who have contributed so far! But there is still time, and we can do a lot more! Here is the information again:

The fine charity organization Women for Women. is linked to this event - The Run for Congo Women. It's a series of running events held in different cities, with the proceeds going to help Congolese women rebuild their communities. How awesome! Conveniently, I am moving to New York just before the run there. So I am doing it! Would you like to join? We started a team - Liz Baillie and I (and check out her comic if you're unfamiliar!) - and it's called 'Team Comics.' So original. You can register here, just be sure to join our team in the form, if you want to come with us! Or write to me is you have any questions! Or heck, go on your own. It's only a 5k run, not a crazy marathon, so don't worry about being super athletic! Just come out and have some fun, and we can raise some money for a good cause.

For those who would like to sponsor us with donations, you can do that here. As I say on the fund raising page there, to be able to do something as a community of artists and readers is truly wonderful. So, let's try!

Hark, a Vagrant: Join Or Die

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:46:44 -0700

buy this print!

A little comic update. I love political cartoons, I love studying them. And at times, as you may recall, I enjoy poking fun at them. They're almost as fun as statues.

Times have been pretty busy, I am moving to New York soon. So I am excited! But ah, the moving stresses.

But don't let me sit here wailing to you about this and that, let's have some news!

One, prints. The Charlie Chaplin poster I created for Janus Films and the Criterion Collection is now for sale as a print! Also, a reminder that prints are for sale through this site now! Just go to the archive page and you will see!

Two, I am excited to tell you that I have some comics in this month's issue of Harper's Magazine. That's the September 2010 issue, just to be clear. They are back-to-school comics and they were a lot of fun to make.

And three, lastly, and perhaps more importantly, this:

I was recently spending time on the website for the organization Women for Women. What a fine charity that is. I was so moved, I donated right away.

Women for Women is also linked to this movement - The Run for Congo Women. It's a series of running events held in different cities, with the proceeds going to help Congolese women rebuild their communities. How awesome! Conveniently, I am moving to New York just before the run there. So I am doing it! Would you like to join? We started a team - Liz Baillie and I (and check out her comic if you're unfamiliar!) - and it's called 'Team Comics.' So original. You can register here, just be sure to join our team in the form, if you want to come with us! Or write to me is you have any questions! Or heck, go on your own. It's only a 5k run, not a crazy marathon, so don't worry about being super athletic! Just come out and have some fun, and we can raise some money for a good cause.

For those who would like to sponsor us with donations, you can do that here. As I say on the fund raising page there, to be able to do something as a community of artists and readers is truly wonderful. So, let's try!

Hark, a Vagrant: Jackson

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:27:23 -0700

buy this print!

Ah, Andrew Jackson. Love him or hate him (and these days my money is on the latter), you can't deny that he was a fascinating man. He did some good things. He did a lot of bad things. And it's not like in his time, no one thought to duke it out with him over it all. The man had so many musket balls in his body you could stick magnets to him.

He strikes me as a figure not often talked about anymore when it comes to celebrating the history of the Presidency, regardless of fact that he once was (still is? depends on where you are maybe? no idea) prominent among the 'greats' and his long, weird face is on every 20 dollar bill in your (American) wallet. I mean the man is visible. I could be wrong too, seeing as I am not an American. But you don't really want to bring him up the way you would Washington or Roosevelt or whoever, because you don't want to open that can of Indian-Removal-Act worms. At comic shows I ask people sometimes to pick a favorite president to draw, it's almost never Jackson. I, like many others, can admire a few things about Jackson. But not the package. He did what he thought was good and right to do and he made himself something out of nothing, but he was a hard, racist man, and he doesn't get to be a hero anymore. In a way I am glad that he's such a conflicting figure, because most of the time you can't have it one way or the other. Not all of our historical leaders deserve Nobel Peace Prizes decorating their houses, not all of our heroes get recognized for the wrongs they did like Jackson does.

In non-Jackson news: Prints of the pieces I did for the Law and Order show are available! As well as prints from many other great artists!

Hark, a Vagrant: X-Men, Wonder Woman

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 20:20:50 -0700

buy this print!

Ah, superhero comics!

Here is some BIG NEWS:

PRINTS are now for sale on this site! You'll notice under the comic it says "buy this print!", and clicking on that will lead to the Topatoco store where you can DO JUST THAT. Or you can do it straight from the Topatoco store itself. Amazing! I've been wanting to get this set up for a long time, and now it has thanks to my very good friends Ryan, David and Jeffrey.

Not all the comics are available as prints, but lots and lots are! So take a look. I'm so excited!

Speaking of superheroes though, I'll be appearing in the next issue of Marvel's Strange Tales, along with some pretty heavy hitters! That hits the stands in October, but I can tell you none of these characters are in it, for me.

And now, I'd like to draw your attention to the very fine work that's being done over at Boxer Hockey. The current storyline is quite charming indeed.

Hark, a Vagrant: croquet

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:33:15 -0700

Working, working, weddings

Just to let you know! This week's comic will be late, but hopefully not skipped. I'm working on a few things and have a big ol' wedding to attend. The first of a few. I'm in my mid twenties, so I suppose I can expect in the next couple of years to have every August calendar page scrawled with the words "All Your Friends Are Getting Married, Every Week."

Here is an extra little comic, one I made about Atlantic Canadian literature. Read it, and you too can feel as though you attended a high school in my province! Or, I am told, one of ...many similar rural places.

Hark, a Vagrant: French Revolution Comics

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:09:31 -0700

Happy Belated Bastille Day!

Belated is the only kind of holiday we know around here.

Anyway. Ah, the French Revolution. It's one of those things where the utter madness of it all lends itself to great comedy, and it's been done! Perhaps you've seen the classic Start the Revolution Without Me, or read Dylan Meconis' absolutely wonderful comic Bite Me. Is "madcap" the word we are looking for here? Hmm..

It is, however, one of those events that can be many things to many people all at once. And as in a lot of cases, the comedy we get comes from great tragedy. I almost didn't put in the comic about Madame Lamballe, because once you read her story, you may be as sad as I! But if you haven't heard of her, perhaps now you will know what a brave woman she really was. In any case, there are things delightful and horrifying about the French Revolution, and whatever you learn about it, it's sure to be interesting, above all.

I don't make comics that are history books, but do yammer on about the subject sometimes.

Hark, a Vagrant: Gorey Covers Part 4

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:58:32 -0700

Gorey covers! And St. Francis has a habit of popping up here, wouldn't you say?

I will be part of a Law and Order art show in Los Angeles, organized by the wonderful Brandon Bird. Here is the website for it, and as you can see, I am in talented company! Many of the artists are friends of mine and it's an exciting thing to be in my first gallery show with them.

My Aquaman drawing -the one that was mentioned in the last update and is being auctioned to raise funds for the Gulf Coast clean up- is up and the auction is live. You can see all the other items here as well!

I almost never sell art, and the only times I have done so it has been for charity. Because of this, it usually goes for a lot. But I plan to move in the fall I hope to auction some art on ebay to pay for it, more affordable sketches. That's the plan anyway.

Hark, a Vagrant: Canada Day Lumberjacks

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:31:36 -0700

Happy Belated Canada Day! You'd think I would be more punctual. It's becoming a yearly thing, I think.

I had a little fun with these Stereotype Lumberjacks before while making Canada comics, so I thought I would visit them again. Anyway, what is a celebration of national unity in this country without a little national disunity? It's only proper, traditionally. Unless we win something at the Olympics.

AUCTION UPDATE: The auction is July 5th! And scroll down for a link to a comic you will like.

The lovely Carly Monardo has organized an auction among webcomic artists to raise funds for the Gulf cleanup. This is my donation here, from the eerily on-time comic about Aquaman.

And this, my friends, is the auction website itself, where you can see the auction going down!

Last but not least, not at all, is this. I don't link to comics very much, but I should. I want to point you in the direction of The Meek, it's a fabulous and beautiful comic, you'll love it.

Hark, a Vagrant: batch of comics 8

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:56:59 -0700

Happy Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day! I was drawing Papineaus earlier. In celebration? Maybe that is why there is a comic about the other related rebellion here.

So, take a look at this:

The lovely Carly Monardo has organized an auction among webcomic artists to raise funds for the Gulf cleanup. This is my donation here, from the eerily on-time comic about Aquaman.

And this, my friends, is the auction website itself, where you can check back for an update in July. Be sure you do!

Hark, a Vagrant: Bell and Gray

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:42:16 -0700

How did he get that number! I may have taken a few liberties. The kind that gets me emails warning that while I normally enjoy your comics, I hope you know that you have this completely wrong and now I have no respect for you. Well. I shan't fight you over Bell and Watson having a direct line to Gray's newly developed telephone but there it is nonetheless.

This actually began as a comic about the Wright Brothers and the race for getting the first airplanes off the ground, but in the roundabout way that is my usual method (hardly an effective one), the subject changed completely. Or not completely. Bell, as we know, was in the airplane races as well as the telephone one and probably a bunch of others like the can opener race and the whatever hot inventors at the time were up to. What a time too! I mean, the ipad is great and everything but you imagine being around when someone is inventing telephones and flying?

Anyway. Poor old Gray. The whole affair is a little shady and still confusing but there is no doubt both men were pretty sharp. When I was little we used to have to take school trips to the Alexander Graham Bell museum in Baddeck where far in the distance, you could see his giant mansion. Apparently, the telephone business is a pretty good gig.

Also. The answer to having things that are incorrect in my comics is, by the way, this: of course they are.

Hark, a Vagrant: batch of comics 7

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:31:29 -0700

Hello everyone!

Another comic update. Man, I was working on a different comic for a couple days, writing and rewriting. Sometimes it seems like such a small thing to get done but it doesn't work out! But I think that comic will have its day. I'll come back to it and the pieces will fit together. Since that day is not today, I got cracking on these instead. A return to some themes and characters that I liked as well!

A little bit of news, I did a poster for Janus Films, who are putting out a Charlie Chaplin film retrospective. Information for the event can be found here, soon, but you can take a look at my poster until then. I've been watching a lot of Chaplin and enjoying his style thoroughly! If this theatrical run is going through your city, check it out, for sure. If you haven't seen much of Chaplin and his work you may well be surprised how well it holds up! If you are familiar, well then, I am preaching to the choir.

Hark, a Vagrant: sketchy comics

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:18:51 -0700

A sketch filler update! These are some little comics I made on my twitter feed. There will be a new comic in a couple of days, but I don't like leaving an update empty for a week. So check back for sure! Man, I have been busy. Some projects maybe I can tell you about later. One I can tell you about now! If you pick up this week's issue of the New Yorker (June 7), you'll find a cartoon I drew on page 55. Very exciting! I've been submitting with my friend Sam Means, who writes them, and you will be seeing more of us there in the future.

And as I mentioned before, this weekend (June 5/6) I am in Charlotte, NC, for Heroes Con. This poster and shirt will be available there! If there are extras, I can sell them here online, later.

And then that is it for conventions, for me, for a while!

Hark, a Vagrant: batch of comics six

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 05:58:15 -0700

Another batch of little comics! That is today's update.

Thing to bring to your attention today: My studiomate here in Halifax, Mike Holmes, does some pretty sweet comics and illustration. One of the series he does is True Story, in which he takes stories people send in and makes comics out of them. So I thought you should check that out! Maybe you have a comic worthy story to send in. You probably do. In case you do, this is his email!

And remember, on June 4/5/6 I will be in Charlotte, NC, for Heroes Con. This poster and shirt will be available there! If there are extras, I can sell them here online, later.

Hark, a Vagrant: Pirates

Fri, 28 May 2010 09:04:20 -0700

I've been drawing pirates. It seemed natural to make comics out of them! Maybe someday I will get to some sweet real pirates, like Jean Lafitte or Anne Bonny or etc etc.

But check it out, this is what I was drawing pirates for in the first place:

That's a poster, and a shirt that will be available at Heroes Con in North Carolina, the first weekend of June! I hope to see you there! The image was colored by my ever talented friend Dustin Harbin.

Another thing to bring your attention to: One of my favorite comics, that I have mentioned here before- Sailor Twain- is having a little contest that I think some of my readers may be totally into.

I leave you now with more pirates.

Hark, a Vagrant: Holmes and Watson 2

Fri, 21 May 2010 05:53:28 -0700

sequel comics! First Austens, and now, Holmeses. You remember the first Holmes/Watson comic, don't you?

Here's the thing about a homosexual relationship between Holmes and Watson: you are never going to prove it. It just isn't in the books, explicitly. It would be rad if it was but it's not so now we are going to have arguments with no end because, maybe maybe maybe maybe. They are like James Buchanan and Willian Rufus King, who I always picture going grocery shopping together because they looked like they were the cutest little old couple, but who is to say for sure? Aside from Andrew Jackson, who had lots to say.

Eventually the idea that these two were hookin' up between the pages gets so popular that people who never read the books will argue, "yeah man of course they were!' That's popular culture for you! I think it's interesting. Between you and me, I much prefer (obviously) Gay Watson to Stupid Watson. What Watson does in his spare time is his business, now solve me some damn crimes, boys!

I would like to direct your attention to this important thing! My friend Joey Comeau of A Softer World fame is not just a comics writer, but a regular(?) writer as well. He will like that snazzy intro I wrote just there. Anyway, he just put out a new book, it's called One Bloody Thing After Another. I have read it, and it is so good, you guys. In fact he used to send me bits while he was writing and I ate them up, waiting for more. That's how much I like it. I am telling you this so that you can also enjoy it! Man oh man, you won't be disappointed.

Oh, and that original Holmes and Watson comic? Would you like to see it animated? These guys are at it again!

hmm, should I talk some more? Why not. Would you like some nice music sounds to brighten your day? These, I was listening to while I worked. A lot of CBC Radio 3. Mellow times.

This one is nice
Very nice one here
ah yes another nice one