5 Year Anniversary!

Five years ago today, I got married to a wonderful woman, and everything's been uphill ever since. In honor of our wedding anniversary, I thought I'd share the thank-you card image I designed to send to our wedding guests back in 2006. It depicts me and Terra riding off into the future in the antique car that her dad drove her to the ceremony in, piled high with wedding gifts. This cartoon captures the joy and love we felt that day, which has only grown stronger with time. I am presenting it here today as a little "thank you" to Terra for the last five amazing years. I love you!

Super Kids!

I recently created a pair of mini-posters for a couple of kiddos in honor of their birthdays. There was Mairin, who was turning 4, and Eamon, who was turning 3. I was told that Mairin was interested in superheroes like Wonder Woman, but of course she was also into Disney princesses like Rapunzel from "Tangled". On top of that, Mairin is a tomboy who likes to be athletic, so I combined all the elements into a hybrid princess/superhero, that apparently she said looked "awesome". For Eamon, his big interest of the moment in the Pixar "Cars" movies, so I figured I would just keep it simple and go with that theme. It was a fun little project, and I hope the kids enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed making them!

Just Add Ink: Camp Cookin'!

This summer, the Altered Esthetics gallery and the Cartoonist Conspiracy collaborated to create Just Add Ink: A Comic Cookbook. Along with dozens of other cartoonists, I submitted a food-related comic piece for inclusion in the cookbook. My story involves my Camp Roadkill character Hubert the pig and his attempts to show a simple recipe to a bunch of unruly young campers. Copies of the book are still available through Altered Esthetics, either in a printed or a digital form. It turned out to be a fantastic publication and I was thrilled to be a part of it.

My Cousin Dallas: Alone Together

I recently cooked up an album cover for the band My Cousin Dallas. These guys are some good friends of mine from college, and they put together this great little album called "Alone Together". The subtitle is "Songs about pop culture and heartbreak", which gives you a sense of what these dudes are all about. For the cover, I did an iconic, comic book style image of a lonely spaceman encountering another being in the emptiness of space. You can get the album through Amazon or iTunes, or at one of their upcoming gigs.

City Pages Comix Issue: "Life In The Future"

This was my submission for the 2011 City Pages comix issue, which you can read in their online edition here, alongside other great entries from a ton of local cartoonists. Their theme this year was "Life In The Future", which got me thinking about all of our so-called "progressive" ideas that actually look to the past for inspiration.

Comic Jam - May 2011

What is a comic jam, you may ask? Well, picture a "jam session" with a group of musicians, everyone playing off of one another and improvising around a common theme. Now instead of musical instruments, imagine that activity with cartoonists using ink and paper to create a finished comic book. That's a comic jam. Locally, jams are organized by the Cartoonist Conspiracy. They are a great way to keep in practice, meet other cartoonists, and have an outlet for experimentation and creativity in a low-pressure environment. They don't always end up making a lot of sense, but they're always a lot of fun.

Here is a link to the most recent jam I participated in back in May. The theme for this edition was "Monsters From The Id". (my contributions appear on pages 2,3,4,7,and 11... see if you can tell which ones are mine!)

Mullet River

A while back, musician Jack Norton asked me to help design some characters and a logo for a bluegrass musical act he was developing known as Mullet River. Eventually the Mullet River concept morphed into something else and we did not end up using these designs, but I thought I would share them here since I thought they turned out so well.  

All images in this post are Copyright/Trademark - The Zinghoppers Group.

Mullet River logo featuring Curly Mullet - the background evokes flowing water and sheet music patterns. 

Master character design for the Mullet River mascot Curly Mullet, our banjo playing fish friend.

Grandpappy Norton, a wise and jovial old barn owl.

Grandma Norton, a boisterous yet kind lady barn owl.