Blue Moon Blog

We’re working on the sixth poster for the National Kidney Foundation, a campaign we began in the Fall of 2006, as I mentioned in January. We’re pleased we just received word that the campaign will extend further with three more posters, with hopes and plans for beyond.

It’s gratifying that the comics poster series has been well received and is effective, using comics to increase awareness, diagnosis and treatment of Kidney disease. It’s been a pleasure working with Sam, Kieran and Alex at the BryantBrown agency. Here’s to many more!

Click away to view poster #5, just added to our Major Works section.

The last couple Fridays, I spent the afternoon with bunches of kids from K-8th grade for school Career Days, teaching cartooning. My daughter, Laura’s eXtreme Day at middle school was last week, and yesterday was Kid’s College at Emily’s elementary school.

It’s always a blast, as nearly all kids at this age love drawing, and have plenty of ideas and imagination, and most haven’t yet learned ways they shouldn’t draw. I start these sessions with a quick overview that like them, I was always drawing as a kid, and wanted to do it when I grew up. After briefly showing them some of the comics, book and projects I’ve worked on, I get them drawing, and together we come up with various ways to draw the main features of the face: eyes, nose and mouth. It’s a ton of fun to watch them piece these features together at different sizes on a variety of face shapes. Before our session’s done, they’re all character designers, with a start at creating stories for their new characters.

I’ve been doing these sessions since I began my career, at least a few times each year. It’s gratifying to pass on a little of what I’ve learned over the years, and to receive those packets afterwards with all their crazy drawings! See you in the funny pages, kids!

The comics show Sunday was a lot of fun, if a little chilly. Seems fitting, as the two-day show last October was sweltering and sweaty. Go figure. That’s Minnesota weather for you. I got a good reaction to the Bedbugs ABCs mini-comics, and to Bedbugs in general. Now I’m brimming with ideas and plans for our li’l yellow pals, with an eye towards the to-be-expanded-and-enlarged two-day show this October 4 & 5.

My daughter, Emily joined me and sold out of her homemade Funky Munky Kookies. Friend and superhero artist, Doug Mahnke has the empty cookie bag to prove how fast they went.

Good ol’ Zander Cannon was on hand, as usual, with his similarly-named studio mate, Kevin Cannon (not pictured). Both guys are always so nice to do sketches for my girls — thanks, guys! Zander has the dubious distinction of being a Trollords fan; thanks for the early support, Zander! These two are beginning another graphic novel project, so have three that will be released in 2009. Look for Kevin’s Far Arden, coming out this Friday, and read their Big Time Attic blog, always a treat, including Kevin’s report on this very same show.

I just realized I’ve known MCAD teacher and 11-year Batman inker, Terry Beatty for almost thirty years! Where did the time go, Terry? Mostly spent at the drawing board, I guess. I’ve been a guest to a couple of Terry’s classes and caught up with a couple of his students at the con. Terry’s got a blog, too, and shows off some mean sculptures at Terry’s web site.

Joel “Mojo” Moen was one of the first fans I met after moving up to Minnesota from Chicago fifteen years ago. I’ve always enjoyed chatting it up with Mojo, now for several years as a pro inker himself. He’s currently inking a story penciled by pal and fellow storyboard artist Peter Krause.

Sam Hiti was kicking back near the end of the show. A bold a prolific cartoonist, he’s busy on a 250-page graphic novel. Order his Tiempos Finales and other books or sketches at the Sam Hiti web site.

Many other folks were at the show, but I didn’t have my camera handy for shots of Dan Jurgens, Gordon Purcell, Jeff Limke, Cedric Hohnstadt and others. Maybe this Fall?

A more upbeat Monday post than a couple weeks back, thanks to this color abstract painting my daughter, Laura did for school. One thing that’s so cool about abstracts; they can be rotated to work a few different ways, sometimes even provoking a different emotional reaction in the viewer. Check Laura’s own page on this site for another view of this painting. How do you think it differs from this view?

One of the perks of working at home is that I’ve been able to walk my girls to the bus most mornings, and be here when they arrive home from school. As long as they’re interested, I’ll take advantage of the opportunity, ’cause I love it and simply ’cause I can. It seems both girls like it, and may even appreciate it more when they’re all grown up. You can’t buy that kind of time together, and can’t beat the power of those personal rituals.

Since second grade began for Emily last September, while she and I have been waiting for the bus nearly every morning, we play catch. In an act of defiance against the frigid cold and harsh Winter, we toss back and forth a 16″ softball ’til the bus arrives at our driveway. We’ve experimented with and have honed a handful of trick tosses and catches, with high or straight throws, and a variety of spinners. With all this practice, Emily’s improved skills and confidence, and during the cold months, no less. We’ve played catch whether it’s been below zero or during a blizzard. It helps keep us warm, or busy, at least, and we have a blast.

When we see the bus coming, I send her off with a mantra: “Be good; work hard; be smart; have fun; and most all — be cool!”

Her trusty bus driver, Troy is always friendly and fun. The mornings wouldn’t be the same without him. Troy whisks all the kids off to school, and it’s back to work for me.

It was weird watching baseball on TV opening day last Monday, with big, fluffy snowflakes falling here in Minnesota. We got 4-5 inches that day. And though it all melted during the rest of the week, we got a little more snow yesterday. It’s Spring, can’t Winter take a hint?!? They’re out there playing baseball, for gosh sakes! And I see I’m not the only one who feels this way:

One great thing about comic strips is how they can sum up or comment on a mood or idea so quickly; in and out. The first features Nancy, currently drawn by Guy Gilchrist. Blog nod: Heidi MacDonald’s The Beat. The second: I receive Mutts comics every day via email. It’s easy for you to do the same to read regularly Patrick McDonnell’s timeless strip. Lastly, of course, features good ol’ Charlie Brown in an edited Sunday Peanuts strip from late March, 1956. You gotta admire that kid’s tenacity…or is it stubborness?

And if you think I’m done writing about Spring, snow and baseball, just wait….

I began this blog with the site relaunch in mid-December, 2007, with the intention and hope of blogging nearly every day. To tell the truth, I wasn’t sure how I’d do. With work and family and side creative projects, there was no guarantee I’d be able to find the time, rather that this blog would go the way of so many…into stagnancy and obscurity.

Well, I can’t speak to obscurity, but other than taking some days off here and there, in just over three months, the Blue Moon Blog has already reached its 100th post. This blog has evolved and grown over that time, but has become pretty much what I’d envisioned when I wrote the first post. The blog is designed to be an integral part of the larger Blue Moon Studios site, a way for me to keep it fresh and alive, and a reason for you to visit habitually.

I’ve covered new projects, sketches and illustrations from the archive, my various and eclectic popular culture interests and obsessions, tips for creating art and running a home business, and, of course, the latest goings on with the Blue Moon Crew, all of which are easily accessible by category links in the always-present sidebar to the left, so browse away.

I’ve a couple dozen new posts already in the works, so check in, to appropriate an old Chicagoism, “early and often.” And drop a quick comment if and when you’re able, so I know you’re out there. Thanks much to all of you who’ve been visiting daily and commenting, and welcome to you newcomers. We’ll see you again tomorrow.

I’ve returned to the blog a day early to ring in the opening of the new baseball season. A few teams played last night, including the Washington Nationals, who won with a walk-off homer in their new stadium .

Though I rooted for the Cincinnati Reds while growing up in Chicago, I was still a Cubs and Sox fan. And now transplanted in Minnesota, I can’t shake that Cubbie Blue; it seems to be in my blood. The Cubs debut this afternoon if the game isn’t rained out (looks bleak). If they play, though I’m working like crazy, I get to watch while I draw, one of the perks of working from the home studio!

We interrupt this blog, because we need a break and have much too much going on. We’ll resume regularly scheduled blog programming on April 1, and just in time to celebrate our 100th post. See you on the 1st, fools!

Up here in Minnesota, the temperatures are finally starting to rise, the snow is melting and the last week or two my daughter Emily has been asking, “Daddy, do you wish it was Spring?” Yes, I do. Almost here, but it can take its time, as we may not have regular 70+ degree temps for another six-to-eight weeks. So, to help get through this last push, my thoughts turn to baseball. Despite the steroids and scandals and high ticket prices, I feel like a little kid again as each April approaches and spring training begins, and long for the official first pitch, that first crack of the bat.

Over the years around this time, I’ve been reading a baseball book to get in the mood and whet the appetite. If you like baseball at all, you may want to dip into one of these best I’ve found before the ump says “Play Ball!”

Wrigleyworld - Sports columnist Kevin Kudak quit his job to move back to Chicago to live in Wrigleyville, with an intent to attend as many Cubs games as he could during the 2005 season. He found an apartment in the area to share, and bought no tickets in advance, usually snagging scalped tickets just before the game. Filled with fun and funny anecdotes, chronicling his adventures and those of fellow Cubs enthusiasts who make up the obsessed and crazy culture that’s grown in and around Wrigley Field. A quick read, this one’s a must for Cubs and baseball fans.

If I Never Get Back - Out of print for some time, this charming genre melange is now available in paperback. Mixing time travel, romance, baseball and historical fiction in an utterly entertaining fantasy in which the protagonist finds himself playing on the first official baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, and gallivanting with the likes of Mark Twain. I’ve just discovered author Daryl Brock followed up in 2002 with a sequel, Two in the Field, which I’ve not yet read (next year!).

Ball Four: The Final Pitch - Pitcher Jim Bouton chronicles his last days in baseball with this humorous tell-all. Written in the form of a journal or diary, Bouton exposes behind the scenes dugout and locker room anecdotes with no holds barred and self deprecation. Quick, light reading.

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game - Micheal Lewis explores how Billy Beane, general manager of the A’s and a former player figures how to win in the Major Leagues on a small budget. Starting with using mathematical analysis of the game concocted by Bill James and his annual stats newsletter, Baseball Abstract, the book is a fascinating look at creative and imaginative ways a GM can run a small market team.

This year, I’m reading We Are the Ship and The Boy Who Saved Baseball, and both look great so far. The former is a beautifully illustrated overview of the Negro League, the latter a novel actually for ages 9-12, but if the beginning is any indication, there’s plenty for adult baseball fans to chew on.

Of course, if reading isn’t your cuppa, there are many great baseball movies to take in, my favorites being Field of Dreams, The Natural, Bull Durham, Pride of the Yankees, Damn Yankees, Eight Men Out, A League of Their Own, and the lesser known TV movie, Long Gone, starring CSI’s William Peterson, along with team owner Henry Gibson, and his son, played by Teller (he speaks); a perfect casting match. Also worth while are Ken Burns’ documentary on baseball (particularly the first few episodes, before it becomes too New York-centric) and This Old Cub, the recent documentary about former Cub and present-day radio sportscaster, Ron Santo, which covers his efforts to be voted into the Hall of Fame and his struggles with diabetes. Great stuff, written and directed by his son, Jeff Santo.

Grab one of these that sounds up your alley, ’cause it’s almost time to…play ball!