Merry Change-Bots

Just in time for the holidays, there's a new Incredible Change-Bots book - Incredible Change-Bots Two Point Something Something, which is full of previously published shorts, hard to find mini-comic stories, and more. And the video above is for the Change-Bots FlipBooKit, which is on display and available now at Grumpy Bert in Brooklyn. 

San Diego Comic-Con

Once again I'll be at San Diego Comic-con this year. Most of the time you'll find me at the Top Shelf booth #1721, where I'll also post my schedule of where I'll be when. I might forget unless you ask, but I'll have these free sketch cards courtesy of Things From Another World to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. I'll complete the sketch card with the head of your least favorite Change-Bot, or you can head to the Threadless/CBLDF party on Thursday night and bid on the completed original art I made for the card, featuring the beheaded Balls.

Change-Bots Art Show Live Now

Even if you missed the opening to the big Change-Bots Two art show in Brooklyn, you can still go check out the art through June 23. And if you're not in New York, you can always take a look at the digital version of the show here. If robots aren't your thing, the Scott Eder Gallery also has other artwork of mine available for purchase, including art from Cats Are Weird.

Incredible Change-Bots Two Art Show

This coming Friday will be the opening of my Incredible Change-Bots Two art show at the Scott Eder Gallery in Brooklyn. The show will feature all the art work from the latest Change-Bots book, as well as a host of large drawings I've been working on since last fall - large character portraits, Electronocybercircuitron, a giant battle scene and more. There'll also be a special Change-Bots print for sale. I'll be there for the opening, and Saturday night I'll be at Desert Island signing.

Free Comic Book Day!

This Saturday I'll be at Comix Revolution in Evanston for Free Comic Book Day. In addition to all the usual Free Comic Books from the bigger publishers, Comix Revolution will have a special Change-Bots FCBD 16 page minicomic, collecting all the Change-Bots interviews that won't be appearing in any of the Fan Club newsletters.

Change-Bots Retrun

Head out to your local comic shop today for the release of Incredible Change-Bots Two. If you're in Chicago, you have something like a hundred comic shops to choose from, including Challengers, where I'll be signing tonight. If you're in Portland, you can wait until Friday night when I'm at Floating World, as well as Saturday and Sunday at Stumptown. Of course, I'll have Change-Bots Fan Club memberships available too. It's still the March newsletter right now, because I've spent the past week working on taxes.

Change-Bots 2 at C2E2

This weekend I'll be at McCormick Place for C2E2, where Top Shelf (booth #810) will debut Incredible Change-Bots Two. I recently finished "Bew! Bew! Bew!", the 15"x21"(apx.) Change-Bots battle drawing I've been working on for the Change-Bots Two art show at Scott Eder Gallery in May, so stop by Scott's booth (#728) to check it out (as well as a spectacular collection of other artists' work). I'll also have a few copies of the letterpress Oscar minicomic, some of which was on display at the MCA Chicago's "New Chicago Comics" exhibition earlier this year, as well as Change-Bots Fan Club Memberships, the Process minicomic, and hand-drawn trading cards.
If you're in San Francisco instead of Chicago, head over to Giant Robot for their Game Over 4 art show to see my Balls Patrol.

Change-Bots Fan Club 2.0

Incredible Change-Bots Two will be out sometime in the next month, along with the first volume coming back into print. There's a new Change-Bots Fan Club offer - the new offer doesn't include the fancy drawing the original offer did, but it's also cheaper. You get a hand letter pressed membership card (your choice of faction), and the current month's four page newsletter which includes fun facts, a comic strip interview with a Change-Bot, a one page comic, a bonus fun page, and a small drawing of your favorite Change-Bot. There'll be a different newsletter for each month while the offer is available (until the end of 2011). The first newsletter's bonus page is a cutout pattern to make your own paper Rusty. I colored and assembled one to show how it looks - he even does a low tech incredible-change.
Details on how to join below; I'll also have limited quantities on hand at conventions and signings. Paypal is also now accepted - paypal to the same email listed on the form.
Please note to clarify - the membership includes the current newsletter only; I may try to have some email version of the whole set available to send out at the end of the offer, but costs are prohibitive for sending out physical copies every month.

Just Barely

When the first Change-Bots book was released, Wizard Magazine ran a one page exclusive comic I drew for them. So with Change-Bots Two coming out this March, I thought it'd be great to do that again. Unfortunately, Wizard Magazine announced that it was ending it's run after issue #235. Fortunately, the new exclusive Change-Bots strip made it in! So go to your comic shop and pick up the last issue of Wizard. Maybe two copies, so you can leave one in its sealed bag and open the other one to read about Change-Bots Two. Meanwhile, I drew a few strips for online previews as well - check out Comics Alliance and Comic Book Resources for more appetite wetting action. Er, whetting. CBR also has an interview with me about the new book. Next up, Cat Fancy...

Electronocybercircuitron

Here's a huge drawing of Electronocybercuitron I did for next year's Change-Bots Two art show. Huge for me, anyway, so about fifteen inches by fifteen inches. My scanner isn't that big, so apologies for the poor photo quality.
I've also got a new story you can read online over at the excellent Nashville Review.
Finally, an illustration I did a couple years ago is finally seeing print in the story collection Machine of Death.

Comicon

I was hoping to have finished Change-Bots Two by now, but after moving and other delays I've still got about a dozen pages to go, so the book will have to wait until after San Diego Comicon to be finished.
I'll be at the Top Shelf booth #1721 most of the time, and will have a schedule posted there with when I'll be signing and where. There'll be a few new books out with my work - volume one of the new Fraggle Rock comics from Archaia, Paul Is Undead (with my interior illustrations) and Chronicle will have the new Cats Are Weird book at their booth. I'll also have some copies of Process, hand drawn sketch trading cards, and original art - including artwork from the new cat book. Head to the Scott Eder Gallery booth for a big selection of artwork at booth #4515.
Thanks to my brother Doug, who made this action figure of me for my birthday.

Change-Bots Two

Here's a page from the new Change-Bots book, from script to colors.

Working On Now

I'm starting to draw the new Incredible Change-Bots book. I'm drawing on paper formally part of a hardcover blank sketchbook, which is now a no cover book, so I needed something to carry it. This appropriately themed box happened to be the exact fit.



In addition to the book I can carry all of my extras. On top is a sheet I'm using to test pens on, which will get more use once I start coloring.

Inside (clockwise from upper left): the box, reference pages torn out of a copy of the first book that had printing errors, the sketchbook with panel grid, a pen (new pen to draw this one), the script and pen test sheet, and a Transformers toy package for inspiration.

Change-Bots in Korea

Here's the Incredible Change-Bots, Korean edition. They came up with a pretty awesome cover design, I think.

The Completed Guitar

Here's a couple more pictures of the Change-Bots guitar, from Rob Budinsky at Action Music who put the guitar together.

Incredible Change-Bots Guitar

After a late night working on the guitar, I woke up this morning to finish the last bits, so I could send it off to the guitar shop, who will have just a few days to finish and assemble it into a fully functional guitar. Hopefully it'll be ready for SPX this Saturday...

So far with the guitar

Didn't get as far along yesterday as I hoped, so tonight I'll finish the smaller of the two sections that are left, leaving Sunday to finish the large section so I can ship the guitar off for assembly for SPX. Now I'm off to Windy City Comicon, so if you're in Chicago, stop by...

Change-Bots Guitar Neck

I incredible-changed my mind

After a lot of thinking and not being able to work on it at all, I've changed my mind about decorating this guitar with an autobiographical/music loves theme and gone back to my initial thought of having the Change-Bots on it. The design is inspired by Han Solo and Chewbacca working on the Millennium Falcon, so the guitar is like a secret vehicle or base for the Change-Bots, and you can see them inside it. After pencilling out the design with an HB pencil, I marked the straight lines with blue tape, then applied a really thin coat of white gesso (watered down so the pencils would still show through). Last night I painted the line work black, and today I'll be starting the final painting, using Liquitex acrylics, and should be finished in order to get it to the guitar tech for assembly Monday or Tuesday, which means working all weekend, except for taking a break to sit at my table for Saturday's Windy CIty Comicon. The guitar will be auctioned off by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund at the Small Press Expoin Bethesda, Maryland.

Change-Bots Fan Club Drawings

Over on Top Shelf 2.0, you can see a few of the drawings I did for the original Change-Bots fan club offer. I just finished the drawings for the new limited offer, which is 30 spots, each getting a hand drawn trading card. The trading cards are actually panels which make up a story called 'Balls On Patrol' that will appear in the Change-Bots sequel next year (hopefully next year, anyway).