It's a small world

This is a strip which emphasises the small size of the Moonbugs home moon. Wow, I just sold a t-shirt on I am so excited, I have made a tiny, titchy, tiny amount of money from the google adds on this page and now I've sold a t-shirt. If you look at this very low amount of money as advertising revenue and a merchandising sale then that makes me a professional comic strip artist, at least in my own mind, and I think that's how I'll be signing into forums from now on. I might wait a little while before I officialy add it to my CV but in my mind the change has been made. I've recently just finnished reading Amrita by Banana Yoshimoto, and it's great. The sort of metaphysical and unusual book I really love. It's not a comic book title, or even comic book related but I like it so much I had to mention it.

Pet Peeves, or Binky

This weeks word on illustration friday is Pet Peeves and this is the strip inspired by it. It's eating me up inside that I had to miss yesterdays strip because we just have so much translation work to do at the moment. I still managed to put together this image in the few free hours II had. I'm planning to work on it and update the post as it improves. Today while eating my usual caramel slice and diet coke over the road at Toby's cafe I was reading a few of the comic strips in the vfree papers there, it's quite intimidating. Anyway today's reccomendation is the special edition of Daredevil. I know what you're thinking but it's an ok movie and the special features on the extra disk about drawing comics and Frank Millers update of Dareddevil that the movie is based on are just great.

More of the Space Mummy

For anyone who's interested there was a space ship inside the kinder egg I mentioned yesterday. This strip has a second installment to the earlier mummy episode http://moonbugs.blogspot.com/2008/03/here-comes-mummy.html Today I would like to mention the slightly old fashioned and sentimental but very well drawn The Spirit, a pulp fiction comic strip hero from way back in the day, long before I was born. I like the spirit because he is very fallable, and I also love the complex and outdated dialog. Great comic book.

Easter with the Moonbugs

Easter has arrived with us again. A beautiful pagan fertility festival celebrated with eggs, rabbits, chocolate and all good things. Right now we have a kinder egg in the hotel mini bar waiting to be opened tommorrow morning, I will report on what lies inside. The Moonbugs are in an easter mood too, with Robodude talking for what I believe is the first time. I picked out some nice scien fiction characters for him to talk with from the bunch that comes with photoshop. I hope that doesn't make things too busy. Today's comic book recommendation comes from Babsi who's favourite has a pouncing tiger on front.

TV Dinner

Again you could say that the influences of Calvin and Hobbes are showing. Bill Wattersons contempt for TV is evident in his strip. I think I have a slightly different take on TV though. Bill never mentioned a show by name, but I think certain shows rise above the ordinary level of the rubbish on TV.
I've included a sort of mention of Desperate Housewives here and I really
think It's one of those shows that rises above.

Here comes the mummy.

Here comes the Space Mummy Caz, you shouldn't have taken his stuff. It was really quite interesting producing this image but it ended up looking much slicker than I intended. My partner in crime Babsi compared it to a disney look, and anyone who has checked in with this comic strip blog should know that I'm much more after a Bill Waterson look! Oh well. I am also trying to find other people on blogger or typepad or whatever who are doing the same thing as this and publishing a comic strip blog. So far I have only managed to find the dilbert creators blog, (another favourite of mine, not for the art of course but for the ideas) and not much else. I'm finding it really hard to sift through all the blogs out there and find really good comic strip blogs to read and enjoy. When I find them I'll do my best to make note of the link and make some kind of blog roll someplace here on this site. That's a project for the future though. Right now just because I mentioned him a link to a Dilbert book.

But what does it mean?

THis comic strip is, I hope, quite arty but at the same time sort of funny. The Moonbugs find an inscription on a wall left by a long dead era in human history. To us an URL is instantly recognisable, but to them of course it's just giberish.

You may have realised that I am totaly into comic books and comic strips and I've decided to share some of my hard won insights and expertise about what is worth a look. To start with an undisputed genius who all comic strip fans must have read, and if not they should go out and get immediately, Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. The influence of this strip on the moonbugs is incredible, right down to me copying the way Bill does his signature. I always loved Calvin and Hobbes and my favourite part was always when Calvin imagined himself to be Spaceman Spiff. The Moonbugs is very much grounded in those Spaceman Spiff adventures. Here's a link to the book where it all started.

Heavy

This comic strip was inspired by the weekly competition run by http://www.illustrationfriday.com/ where the idea is to do an illustration based on a word. This weeks word (unless they have updated it) is heavy. I wracked my brains a little bit and came up with a little joke the Moonbugs characters could do based on the word heavy. It is a little hard on Caz's dignity but them's the breaks.

Raw, medium or well done?

This comic strip was suggested by my part-time vegitarianism. I hate pink bits in a burger, especially after I've taken a couple of bites and if I find a caterpillar in my salad I just freak. All in all a very finacky eater.

It's hard to be a dentist

This comic strip reminds me quite strongly of the sort of illustrations I liked very much as a kid. Children's comics like Whizzer and Chips, and of course the Beano. I am really trying to get ahead with creating these strips so that I can be sure to publish every day. I am feeling confident that at least a little black and white comic strip every day should be possdible.

Movie Star Moonbug

There are celebrities as well as stars on the planet of the Moonbugs. And have you ever noticed that a guy can get cast in a film no matter how old they get. The same is true on the Moonbugs home planet, as you can see in this comic strip. I am really enjoying drawing these, especially the colour versions, which I will do more of when time allows. The fun thing is getting to know the characters. Most were made up by me and my girlfriend in a beer (Hoegarden) fuelled flash of inspiration. Time is a little short at the moment because I'm on holiday in Australia, so I can't complain.

Another Little Bit of Politics

Another political one here. In this comic strip I'm trying to explain how Caz got into politics in the first place. President Monkeybrain is of course intended to echo the superpower president here on Earth, George W. The skeletal character is intended as one of those horrible business lobbyists, buying favours.

The poor robot is made fun of again

This strip has a nice deep black space colour in the background, 
and a mean joke about an unfortunate robot in the foreground.
This was quite an early experiment and since then I have tended
to use more saturated colours. I quite like to use purple for deep
space in comic strips now.

The Moonbugs get Lost

Here we have a comic strip which is influenced by Lost from ABC, of which we have been avid followers for quite some time. Don't worry I, as the artist, don't intend for the enigmatic monster from lost to become a regular character in our comic strip. It was just that I noticed that the monster does not appear in the show as often as I would like. Although Lost is a character driven show, it is the mystery and science fiction elements that appeal to me the most.Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification

A spot of rain

This strip shows that the elements are a problem, even if you live in space. It was one of the first strips I ever did featuring the moonbugs and I'm very proud of it. Although I do sometimes feel guilty for all the trouble I put the poor creatures through.

Mechanical mouse trouble

This strip shows a very colourful and friendly, but hungry moon cat. The moon that the moonbugs inhabit is full of mechanical things, high technology and robots. Fun to play with but probably not good to eat.

A political strip

This strip is of course inspired by the current US presidential shenanigans. It is therefore election time on the Moonbugs moon just as much as back here on earth. And there are no prizes for guessing that senator Mccaintoad here represents the right and evil. Caz, the pink character in the final panel seems to somehow have got himself employed as a spin doctor. Caz is basically a good guy, so I don't see this job working out long term. I have big plans for the Moonbugs, and lots of ideas, so please watch this space and don't be afraid to comment.