Hot off the press: “Visions of Oz”

As I was putting together “Beyond the Emerald City”, I toyed with the idea of making a proper catalog to document the show. Not sure how well merchandise would go over in that environment, I opted for something a little simpler as a souvenir…

I came up with a quartet of themed minicomics, and they do a pretty good job of capturing some of the flavor of the work in that show, featuring collaged artwork, comic panels, and pencil drawings celebrating the breadth of L. Frank Baum’s characters, as drawn by Oz illustrators W.W. Denslow and John R. Neill (filtered thru my own style, of course).

• Smeary Soapbox Press-ents #23 features some favorite characters associated with the Emerald City.

• Smeary Soapbox Press-ents #24 focuses on Jack Pumpkinhead and The Sawhorse.

• Smeary Soapbox Press-ents #25 spotlights The Scarecrow, his corncob castle, and the patchwork girl Scraps.

• Smeary Soapbox Press-ents #26 completes the tour of Oz with a visit to Nick Chopper’s tin palace.

You can purchase copies of these 8-page minis at my popup shop at Playhouse on the Square, where I’ll be with artist Martha Kelly on Saturday, December 10, 2022, from 10-1:30. Can’t make it? You can also order copies by mail via my Square store (or old school mail order; direct order info on my Contact page) for just $6.00 postpaid in the US.

Beyond the Emerald City!

Long-time Watusi readers will recall that my characters and I spent a great deal of time in the Land of Oz for an extended comic adventure. While I haven’t completed making the revisions to that online comic for its print edition, I do have an opportunity to showcase some of the work from that epic alongside other Oz-inspired artwork this fall at Playhouse on the Square!

Made up of a selection of comic pages from my story, along with other Oz-inspired artwork, my “Beyond the Emerald City” show will be on display from October 14-December 28, 2022, in conjunction with Playhouse’s staging of “The Wizard of Oz”. That fortuitous timing (pointed out to me by someone else, since I had totally missed the opportunity it presented) was just too good to pass up, even if it meant completing work for the show on a tighter schedule than I’d have liked. Pushing deadlines can work when it comes to publishing comics online, but my paintings need time to cure before varnishing! Still, it all came together, and has made for what I think is a really satisfying show.

When I decided to make a comic set in the Land of Oz all those years ago by bringing my talking dog Watusi & his friends into interaction with Oz characters & settings in the public domain, I didn’t realize just how much fun I’d have playing in that sandbox! While I was familiar with the movie, once I read the later books in the series I came to have a real fondness for its wide cast of characters and an appreciation of L. Frank Baum’s world-building skill. Plus, those books are darn fun to read, chock full of wordplay & puns, much of which is still clever and humorous over a century after they were first written! Rereading illustrated editions whenever possible, I especially appreciated the design sensibilities of original Oz artist W.W. Denslow, and found his work to be an inspiration for my own treatment of the characters. Much like Baum’s written descriptions of the cast, they were so well designed visually that there was no need to “update” them! If you ever get a chance to read a color reprint of the original Denslow-illustrated edition, with its whimsical character designs and luscious two-color spot illustrations and full-page plates, you’re in for a treat! The second Oz artist, John R. Neill, had a more refined illustration style that I didn’t connect with as easily as with Denslow’s cartoonier art, but his lanky characters certainly influenced my take on Jack Pumpkinhead…

Admittedly, this show– a fan art love letter to the novels– is more comfort food than a palate-expanding meal … but sometimes mac & cheese is just what one needs, isn’t it? My hope is that viewers will find the work in this show an intriguing first step into (or a happy reminder of) the wide, wondrous world of Oz beyond the Emerald City! Like in my treatment of familiar Oz characters and settings in my own story, I hope this show has enough “Ozzy” touches to bring joy to those already familiar with Baum’s novels and piques the curiosity of those who aren’t … yet!

If you’re in the area, you are invited to join me for an artist reception from 5-7 p.m. on the play’s opening night, November 11th, 2022.

“The Emerald City.” Collage, digitally recolored, 10″ x 8″, 2018.

“The Monkey King.” Mixed media on panel, 24″ x 18″, 2022.

“The Grand Parade”, or ,“Caninemania.” Ink drawing w/ digital collage, 13″ x 7.5″, 2017.

“The Thinkers.” Graphite on paper, 8″ x 10″, 2022.

“Just Do It!” Ink drawing, 12.5″ x 7.5″, 2019.

“Wicked Witch … and Her Hat.” Acrylic on two panels, 12″ x12″ & 18″ x 12″, 2022.

“Jack’s Pumpkinhouse.” Ink drawing w/ digital collage, 10″ x 8″, 2019.

“Tin man on the moon.” Graphite on paper, 10″ x 8″, 2019.

[January 2023 UPDATE: included below is the landing page that ran on this website for the duration of the show.]

“Beyond the Emerald City” is an exhibition of my OZ-themed comics & artwork, on display Oct. 14-Dec. 28, 2022 at Playhouse on the Square, 66 South Cooper St., Memphis.

• Please join me for an artist reception on Nov. 11, 5-7pm!
• I’ll be sharing a popup shop with artist Martha Kelly on Dec. 10, 10am-1:30pm!
• To read “Watusi in Oz”, start here. You can read the newest Watusi comic here.

On stage: “The Wizard of Oz” (Nov. 11 – Dec. 22) – get tickets here.

Other art on exhibit at Playhouse on the Square is by Priscilla Cunningham, Gerecho Delaney, Suzanne Evans, and Martha Kelly.

Hot off the press: an Astrokitty adventure!

The newest of my 8-page minicomics has been a long time coming, but I think it turned out better because of its long gestation period! Smeary Soapbox Press-ents #22 is an actual comic story (as opposed to my recent “art” minis), and an all-new one, to boot! Written and drawn by me, it features Joel Pfannenstiel’s Astrokitty character (who was also the mascot of his late, lamented comic shop of the same name), and was intended to be the jumping-off point for other Lawrence-area cartoonists to continue the story. Alas, as so many of us (including myself) moved out of the area, that’s unlikely to happen. Who knows, maybe Joel will pick up the baton and make some of his own comics again…

Interested in having a copy of your very own? You can get Smeary Soapbox Press-ents #22 (an 8-page minicomic) from me by mail, postpaid in the US for just $1.00 … or by becoming one of my Patreon patrons during June 2022 at the Correspondent or Art Lover level … plus, joining (at any level) gives you immediate access to other online bonus comics, including a full-color Human Spring adventure!

[January 2023 UPDATE: I’ve closed my Patreon page.]

Hot off the press: Watusi #41!

It’s canine vs. contraption when Watusi accepts the challenge of Professor Harvey’s latest invention: the Motilizing Reclivator! Also featuring the talents of jam comic stalwart Keith O’Brien in the full-color one-pager “April Showers Bring…”

This issue’s main story is a substantially expanded version of a decade-old webcomic storyline, and I enjoyed the chance to punch up the rhyming (not a strong suit for me) part of the story a little. Expanding the artwork, on the other hand, was harder than I expected; it might have been faster to have just redrawn it! Even though it took a long time to put all the finishing bells and whistles on this new issue, I’m pleased with how it turned out and think you might enjoy it, too!

Watusi the Talking Dog #41 is a 16-page black & white digest w/ full-color covers; ask for it at your comic shop of choice, or get a copy by mail via my Square store (or old school mail order; direct order info on my Contact page) for just $3.00 postpaid in the US. Prefer digital? You can find it on my Gumroad store (for $2.00 US), too!

You can also get a copy by becoming one of my Patreon patrons during the month of June 2022 at the Correspondent or Art Lover tier– plus, joining gives you immediate access to online bonus comics, including a full-color Human Spring adventure!

[January 2023 UPDATE: I’ve closed my Patreon page.]

Dreaming the pandemic away?

If 2021 had any sort of theme as it relates to my publishing output, it’s been wrapping up projects that had origins in previous years (or previous decades), and my newest collection of comics is no different: Fever Dreams began life as a collaborative project back during the pandemic summer of 2020.

Unfortunately, the pandemic affected everyone’s creativity & productivity in different ways. I know I struggled quite a bit, and still seem to be suffering from lack of focus. My partner in that project had a hard time coming up with a body of work– or even sharing works in progress– and eventually we let that idea of a collaboration go. For better or for worse, I’m not one to easily let go of a project once I’ve got work done for it, and I decided to produce a collection of my pandemic- inspired dream comics. I’m glad I did, and hopefully this will help me put the pandemic behind me (at least creatively; given the news of yet another variant spreading across the world, I don’t think it will be behind me in real life for quite some time) and help me move on to more positive work in the future… 

Fever Dreams features dream comics with all your pandemic and dystopian “favorites”: face masks, murder hornets, shambling zombies, visits with friends far away & friends long gone, plus the end of the world a time or two. I’m really excited with how it turned out, and I enjoyed producing its more elaborate finished form, including color stock, color accents on the interior art, and a full-color dust jacket cover!  Turning those fevered dreams into comics reminded me of how much I used to enjoy doing two-page comic “singles” back in the 90s, so I included a couple of those that matched the tone of Fever Dreams, turning one into an actual promotional single that I used as a bag-stuffer during last month’s Crafts and Drafts event. (That event, by the way, was really encouraging, giving me the chance to once again see my work connect with people in a way I haven’t been able to in far too long.) I was pleased with how that single turned out, too, even if I didn’t do a blatant enough promotion of Fever Dreams on it. Another thing to work on for next time…

Fever Dreams is a 16-page black & yellow comic w/ color accents and full-color cover dustjacket; trim size 5.5 x 8.5″. You can get a copy by mail via my Square store for $8.00 postpaid in the US. You can also get a copy by becoming one of my Patreon patrons during the rest of 2021 at the Correspondent or Art Lover level (plus, joining (at any level) gives you immediate access to other online bonus comics, including a full-color Human Spring adventure)!

[January 2023 UPDATE: I’ve closed my Patreon page.]

Release The Dragon!

It’s past time to share the news about the release of my latest comic, one my collaborator and I have been working on for quite a while: The Dragon Templar!

 It is the depths of the Middle Ages, the era of the Crusades… A time of expansion for both populations and empires, the Universal Church is committed to laying claim to the Holy Land… The legendary Knights Templar are Rome’s agents on the ground protecting traveling pilgrims and battling the Saracens, all the while harboring in their midst a power they can’t fully understand…

Writer Brad Starnes and I talk a bit about the genesis of this medieval adventure tale in the book itself, but I want to share here how excited I am to be working on this project in tandem with another creator. Even if it can draw the process out a bit, having someone else involved in this project’s creation has helped push us both, and the creative give-and-take adds a level of excitement that I don’t get when writing and drawing stories on my own. We plot out the story ideas together, then I draw it, giving storytelling notes in the margins that Brad then works into his script (what comic nerds call “the Marvel Method”). I’m really happy with how well this worked in our first issue, and Brad did a great job, raising the bar above what I could accomplish on my own! While I’d hoped we would have a second story ready to go before we released the first issue, we’d waited long enough and decided to release the first story into the wild to see what response it garners! Since I wanted to play up the Monster Market release of Monster Melee in October, I’m finally able to shift my focus to this project, one I’m thrilled to finally get into print and into the hands of readers! In the future, I guess I need to do a better job of scheduling my releases so they each get their moment to shine. Always something to improve upon, I guess…

The Dragon Templar #1 is a 12-page black & white standard sized comic on ivory stock w/ full-color cover; ask for it at your comic shop of choice (our list of retail partners is kept up-to-date on the Dragon Templar website), or get a copy by mail via my Square store for $5.00 postpaid in the US. You can also get a copy by becoming one of my Patreon patrons during the rest of 2021 at the Correspondent or Art Lover level (plus, joining (at any level) gives you immediate access to other online bonus comics, including a full-color Human Spring adventure)!

My plan, by the way, is to release a print alongside each issue of The Dragon Templar. Until I get my act together and figure out how I want to ship oversize prints, tho, you’ll need to get them from me at one of my in-person events. Like Crafts and Drafts, coming this November 13th to Crosstown Concourse…

[February 2022 UPDATE: Brad and I were featured guests on Lin Workman’s “Drawing Funny” podcast. It was a really good interview & you can listen to it here.]
[May 2022 UPDATE: a digital version of this issue is available from my Gumroad store!]
[November 2022 UPDATE: Print and digital version of this issue are available from IndyPlanet.com; please note that the IndyPlanet edition is printed on white paper.]
[January 2023 UPDATE: I’ve closed my Patreon page.]

Hot off the press: a one-sheet war!

“This is the story … of seven monsters … picked to be in a comic together … find out what happens … when monsters stop being polite … and start killing each other: Monster Melee!”

After a soft debut at September’s Memphis Zine Fest 6 (my first IRL event in nearly two years, where I demo’d the folding/trimming on this book to its socially-distanced attendees), Monster Melee is getting its wide release as part of October’s Monster Market, which I think will be a good fit for it. Or at least as good as can be in a virtual shop where people can’t pick it up and play with it…

See, this minicomic is a little different than my usual Smeary Soapbox Press-ents minicomics: while this is also made from a single sheet of paper, it’s a sheet that’s not bound, but rather folded to achieve its book-ness. This summer I took an online RISO workshop from the fine folks at Outlet PDX where I was reminded of this folding format and decided to give it a try. I’ve never used it before because it’s generally done with a letter size piece of paper, yielding what to me feels like a too-small finished book, but their example started with an 11×17” sheet (as mine does), which folds down to the familiar minicomic size, and I was off and running…

Interested in your own copy? You can get Monster Melee (8 two-color pages on blue stock; trim size 5.5 x 4.25″; unfolds into 11 x 17 poster) by mail via my Square store for $3.00 postpaid in the US. You can also get a copy by becoming one of my Patreon patrons during October 2021 at the Correspondent or Art Lover level (plus, joining (at any level) gives you immediate access to other online bonus comics, including a full-color Human Spring adventure)!

[January 2023 UPDATE: I’ve closed my Patreon page.]

The secret (finally) revealed!!

Revealed at long last– the secret origin of Watusi the Talking Dog!! Or maybe “originS” is more accurate, as told in this collection of comics by me, Matt Corrigan, Steve Peters & Daniel Heredia, Steve Skeates, Drew Boynton, Nate Corrigan, Larned Justin, Tom Cherry, Billy McKay, and J.B. Winter!

This “untold origin” project is one I’ve had on the back burner for a shamefully long time; it fell into the cracks when jam comic participation dried up before this invitational issue was filled up and other projects pushed to the fore. But it’s finally complete, and I’m really happy with how it turned out!

Watusi the Talking Dog #40 is a 16-page black & white digest w/ full-color cover; ask for it at your comic shop of choice, or get a copy by mail via my Square store for $3.00 postpaid in the US. You can also get a copy by becoming one of my Patreon patrons during the months of May/June 2021 at the Correspondent or Art Lover tier– plus, joining gives you immediate access to online bonus comics, including a full-color Human Spring adventure!

[January 2023 UPDATE: I’ve closed my Patreon page.]

A horrific year, reflected in drawings

As you might guess from its cover, the latest issue of my Smeary Soapbox Press-ents minicomic series is another “art” mini, collecting drawings from the pandemic year of 2020. It’s no big surprise that 2020 was a difficult year (I’m sure you know why), and that mood of impending doom was reflected in my drawings from that time. Lots of monstrous images, including ghosts, murder hornets, and silent era horror movies.

Interested in your own copy? You can get a copy of Smeary Soapbox Press-ents #21 (an 8-page minicomic) from me by mail, postpaid in the US for just $1.00 … or by becoming one of my Patreon patrons during April or May 2021 at the Correspondent or Art Lover level … plus, joining (at any level) gives you immediate access to other online bonus comics, including a full-color Human Spring adventure!

[January 2023 UPDATE: I’ve closed my Patreon page.]

Celebrate the 901!

The membership of the Mid-South Cartoonists Association are back doin’ what we do, this time celebrating The Good, the Bad, and the Sketchy about our own hometown! Memphis may be known for Blues, BBQ, & Beale Street …. but it’s much more than just that! This issue kicks off with my own 3-page “The Legend of Robert Church”, and includes comics & art by Kevin L. Williams, Grace Smith, DaMarco Randle, Jim Palmer, Michael Irby, Charlie Forrester, and Jason Negen; Beale-tastic cover art by Charles Ettinger.

The Good, the Bad, and the Sketchy #6 is a 20-page black & white digest w/ full-color cover, and is available in the area at 901 Comics and Comics and Collectibles & by mail via my Square store for $4.00 postpaid in the US.