dennmann brand

A Few Pictures from the Amazing Arizona Comic Con

2012-01-10T14:58:00.000-08:00

Andy Bohn and me

I look good when I hustle comic!

a plate I drew on at de la Cruz Bistro

Jesse James, Jeff Pina and me

Eric Mengel and Me

The show went well.

Nice seeing both old and new fans.

SOLD OUT of

the Cousin Harold Special.

Hope to see you all next year or

sooner (maybe the Phoenix Comicon?)

-denny!

Cousin Harold Special Preview

2012-01-02T10:52:00.000-08:00

Available only this weekend only at

The Amazing Arizona Comic Con

Limited to 60 copies - $1.00 each

Cousin Harold Special

2011-12-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

The cover for my

AMAZING ARIZONA COMIC CON

EXCLUSIVE MINI-COMIC

A Little Interview

2011-11-23T18:46:00.000-08:00

Comic Book Interviews did a little piece with me.

This Weekend!

2011-11-23T18:42:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, November 26th,

I will be making 2 appearances

at local comic shops

in the Phoenix Metro area.

First at Jesse James Comics

for MAD from 11am-4pm

Then it's over to Drawn to Comics for

the Brightest Saturday Event 5-11pm

I hope to see you at one of these great events.

DesignerCon 2011 Memories

2011-11-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

Hard at work drawing in a fans sketchbook.

This young fan traded me a pin, she created, for

a Harold sketch. I think I made out on that deal.

Sketching on the back of a CHEESE mini.

My most successful book to date.

The booth set up and ready to go!

Drawing what would be my favorite piece of the day.

Harold and Fester - Best friends.

Another view of the booth.

What to draw? What to draw?

Sometimes a blank page is the most challenging thing.

A good time was had by my whole crew

(myself, brother & son) at this years Designer Con.

DesignerCon 2011

2011-10-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

Once again I will be heading out to

Pasadena, California for the annual DesginerCon

This will be my second appearance at the show.

For those of you who get there early, you will

find a limited edition copy of FREE CHEESE in the

DCON Goodie Bags. Stop by Booth 216

to get a free sketch on your book or

to pick up copies of my other fine products.

DEATH

MONEY

CHEESE

Unite and Takeover (Regular Cover)

Unite and Takeover (Tucson ComicCon Cover)

Lollygaggin' Adventures

Get That Chicken

I will have copies of all the books listed above
and more (some are super limited)
so stop by Booth 216 early

to pick up your copies or
just to say "Hi!" and watch me draw.

Cousin Harold Starts Today!

2011-10-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

Click the Picture and Enjoy!

A Little Video of ME

2011-09-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

This was shot last year on 24hour Comic Book Day as I created the original CHEESE story starring Harold.

Assembling the HAROLD TRILOGY Hardcover

2011-08-21T17:35:00.000-07:00

I have been promising to show the process that

I'm using to make my Harold Trilogy Hardcovers,

so here it is!

After photocopying the pages I sew them together.

Next I use basic Elmer's glue to glue the

spin together. I usually let this sit over night

and give it a second coat when I wake up.

Then I glue the body of the book to end papers. I use

glue sticks to do this, they still give me some moisture

wrinkles, but far less than with the liquid glue.

The I use the liquid glue to glue the cardboard to the cover stock.

In this case the cover stock is brown paper bag paper.

Next I glue the body of the book to the cover.

Let it dry.

And finally use stencils to spray paint on
the cover logo and information.

I found the process I used through a writer friend,

Hamish MacDonald who does a podcast DIY Book.

Here is his handout for quick and dirty book binding.

take care,

-denny!

Unite and Take Over gets PRESS!

2011-08-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

Regular Cover

Tucson Comic-con Cover

The little kickstarter that could is turning into a big project
and I'm very proud to be a part of it.

This book has received quite a bit of press.
Check out what has been said about it at --

MTV Geek, Bleeding Cool, Paste Magazine,
Robot 6 (featuring my art in the article), The Guardian,

ABC Dig Music, The New York Observer,
Phoenix New Times, Tucson Weekly
and I even heard that this week's Entertainment Weekly
has a blurb? (though I have not seen it yet.)

Second Vector Drawing

2011-07-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

Used a bit of Photoshop to help me finish this one.

I really like the hand this time.

First Vector Drawing!

2011-07-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

I spent several hours at the Steam Crow factory yesterday learning how to draw using vectors.

This is my first vector drawing, not to bad? Look out world!!!!!

Cousin Harold is Coming!

2011-07-17T17:44:00.001-07:00

Unite and Take Over

2011-06-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

I will be contributing a 4 page story to the Unite and Take Cover tribute book.

The cover is by Jason Pederson

and those are 3 panels from my story.

-denny!

Press - This is What People are Saying About ME!

2011-06-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

In the last month I have gotten quit a few different pieces of press.

DIY BOOK Ep. 23 interview with Hamish MacDonald. We talk about my thought behind the comics I make. Had a great time doing this interview. My vocals are kind of load, first time using Skype and did not know how loud to talk.

My Jenny Spookawski strip was including in a story run at Bleeding Cool.

And final the Denise Meredith included me in one of her Examiner pieces about the Phoenix Comicon where I was a guest this year.

Wow! What a month May was.

take care,

-denny!

Wow! Phoenix Comicon Wrap Up

2011-06-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

The con came and went so fast, I didn't even have a chance to finish my pre-con updates.

MONEY (Part 2 of the Harold Trilogy)

Jenny Spookawski #0 (a sketch/design book)

Booth of these books plus my other con offerings are available for mail order through my store.

I did several drawings during the con of characters from CHEESE and MONEY. This drawing was for the Hero Initiative - I hope it found a good home.

Also I have been updating Jenny Spookawski regularly. If you are not reading, why not give it a try?

take care,

-denny!

Phoenix Comicon Offerings Part 2

2011-05-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

The new edition of CHEESE (my sold out mini-comic) will be available at

the Phoenix Comicon. This edition has a couple extra/edited dialog balloons

plus I rework some of the art and added tones so that it would match the sequels.

Sequels? Check back tomorrow for more information.

Phoenix Comicon Offerings Part 1

2011-05-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

First up this year is a trade paperback collection of my Lollygaggin' Adventures strips. This 100 page book collects all of the Lollygaggin' Adventures strips from 2010, plus a handful of pin-up by some excellent independent creators and a sketchbook of the Lollygaggin' that might have been. Pick this book up for only $15 at the Phoenix Comicon!

JENNY SPOOKAWSKI IS HERE

2011-05-14T20:36:00.000-07:00

Follow her adventures 3 times a week at JennySpookawski.com

DEATH COVER

2011-04-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

Coming to the TUCSON COMIC CON!

MONEY COVER

2011-04-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

Coming to the PHOENIX COMICON!

CHEESE COVER (NEW EDITION)

2011-04-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

Coming to the PHOENIX COMICON!

Promo Image for my Appearance at Jesse James Comics this Saturday.

2011-03-24T17:18:00.000-07:00

A GET THAT CHICKEN STORY from NORMAL

2011-03-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

This story was done for a zine called NORMAL. Not sure if it ever was released

FREE CHEESE COVER

2011-03-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

COMING FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2011

CHEESE IS SOLD OUT!

2011-03-06T16:58:00.000-08:00

Wow! It seems like just yesterday that I printed up my 24hr comic as a mini and started to sell it. And then they were all gone. That's right CHEESE is officially Sold Out and I will not be reprinting it in this form again, (well at least not exactly the same.)

After the positive reaction to CHEESE, I decided to follow it up with 2 other books MONEY and DEATH. After I started to work on MONEY, I saw a couple of places that I could improve CHEESE (after all if was created lickity-split in a mad 24hr rush.) And in the middle of creating MONEY, I had the idea for FREE CHEESE.

So when are these projects set to come out?

FREE CHEESE will be available at my Free Comic Book Day 2011 appearance.

CHEESE (reworked) will be available at my Phoenix ComicCon 2011 appearance.

MONEY will be available at my Phoenix ComicCon 2011 appearance.

DEATH will be available at my Tucson ComicCon 2011 appearance.

Self made HC will hopefully be ready for DesignerCon 2011.

Take care,

-denny!

THE LOLLYGAGGIN' ADVENTURES COVER

2011-01-23T19:34:00.000-08:00

COMING SOON!!!

FLYER FOR THE MY APPEARANCE AT CAB COMICS

2011-01-13T18:25:00.000-08:00

HAROLD SKETCHES FROM THE AMAZING ARIZONA COMIC CON

2011-01-13T18:15:00.000-08:00

OCHO BOOTLEG!!!

2011-01-04T20:19:00.000-08:00

My newest creation with the help of some of Arizona Finest Independent Comics Creators. The OCHO Bootleg goes on sale this Saturday at the Amazing Arizona Comic-Con! The book contains work by myself, Glen Curren, Andy Bohn, Shawn Demumbrum, Derrick "Dadicus" West and Jean Arrow. Stop by and pick up a copy, before Eric Mengel has them all Shredded!

-denny!

Malve & Me

2010-12-06T16:37:00.000-08:00

My pal Mike Malve (owner of Atomic Comics) and Me in out spiffy GET THAT CHICKEN T-shirts!

What Am I Up Too?

2010-11-29T18:23:00.000-08:00

I have a ton of projects in the works and feel like a circus clown doing a juggling routine. So here is a quick update on what is happening in the World of dennmann.

Get That Chicken - Just finished a 4 pager for a new zine called Normal. Will update with info on how to get a copy as soon as I know that info myself. (If you are publishing a zine or mini and would like to include a Chicken strip, hit me up and I will try my best to get something together for you.)

NaNoWriMo Competition - I knew going into this that it would be tough, but I didn't think it would be this tough. Between 2 conventions, creating a handful of comic pages and a holiday weekend - I did not get very far. However, I really enjoyed writing prose and will continue the story through until the end. My goal is to start updating with a part every Thursday until I'm done with the story. (We will see how this plays out.)

The Lollygaggin' Adventures Trade - This is the item that has probably suffered the most. I finally started to assemble it this past weekend. I'm not sure why it had taken a back burner slot in my life, but it has. I've now moved it to the front and will attempt to get it together and printed by March of 2011. Still looking for a few full color pin-ups of either the Cowboy or the Rockstar (or both) for this book. Send me a message if you are interested

The Ocho Bootleg Issue - My pal, Eric Mengel, sent out a call during the summer for some short Ocho stories. Many people agreed to do one, but never got them completed (including myself.) I have decided to hi-jack the project and put together a bootleg issue in time for the Amazing Arizona ComicCon. (So I need the stories by January 1st.) I'm looking for either 4 page or 8 page stories to include in this book, that featuring Ocho. The stories need to be PG and if there is anything I think might be offensive, I will just black bar it out. Contact me if you have any questions.

Jenny Spookawski - I'm working on the story and characters behind the scenes. I have been sharing a little on Jenny's Twitter feed, but for the most part I have been just doing style tests. Many of the things I tried on the new Get That Chicken story, mentioned above, will be used to create this new strip. I'm very excited about this project and plan on launching the strip midway through May 2011.

MONEY (the sequel to CHEESE) - The layouts for the story are done. I plan to spend one day a month drawing them out (plus any extra Monday holiday's off from work.) Hopefully this will be done in time for the Phoenix ComicCon.

As you can see my plate is full, but I'm having the time of my life creating comics. Looking forward to all that 2011 will bring me, but first I have to wrap up 2010.

take care,

-denny!

New 'GET THAT CHICKEN' Coming Soon!

2010-11-28T18:22:00.000-08:00

A new Get That Chicken story is being wrapped up as I type this. Here is a sample page. The 4 pager will appear in a zine called Normal. I will get you the information on how to get yourself a copy of this zine, as soon as I know how.

For now - ENJOY!

take care,

-denny!

DESIGNER CON FOLLOW UP

2010-11-22T18:41:00.000-08:00

I had a great time and met a ton of cool new people at Designer Con 2010. Here are some Photo and Videos that people are sharing online. I made it into the Spanky Stokes Video! (For a short second or two.)

LA WEEKLY PHOTO SLIDE SHOW

DESIGNER CON FLICKR

SPANKY STOKES VIDEO

I will add more pictures and video as I come across them.

-denny!

DESIGNERCON 2010

2010-11-15T06:13:00.000-08:00

If you have some free time this weekend and as anywhere near Pasadena, California this Saturday November 20th, I hope you will stop by the DesignerCon 2010.

I will be tabling at Booth #309. (map)

take care,

-denny!

COWBOYS vs. KAIJU - PART THREE

2010-11-14T18:15:00.000-08:00

-3-

Lucky makes his way into town on the back of his pony Eugene with F. Thomas sitting in his lap. The first thing that any one sees when entering this town is the good old town welcome sign, which reads ‘Welcome to Prickly Pear, enjoy your stay and be careful, we wouldn’t want you to get stuck.’ The sign also includes a population claim of 1001. Now lucky isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he thinks that number is a little high and I would have to agree with him on this one. I would venture to say it is closer to 101, than 1001. Also on the lower left hand corner of the sign is the word ‘Established’ but the date that usually follows has been weathered off.

Lucky rides straight through the main street of Prickly Pear until he comes to Pete’s Place, the saloon were the object of his affections, Lucey Lymont, works. Lucky is a man of habit and nothing is going to change that. Each time he enters to his first destination is this old saloon. He then sits patiently on the back of Eugene while he looks in the window to catch a glimpse of Lucey before dismounting and entering the establishment. Today was no different. He sat on Eugene’s back with his eye fixated on the window of Pete’s Place for what seemed like five or ten minutes and in that time no Lucey. Where could she be Lucky’s heart began to sink as he felt a tug on his arm.

Now I might be a tough guy, but I still know better than to tug on the arm of a cowboy while he is sitting on his horse, or in this case pony. But if you do not know any better take this a fair warning and be prepared for the worst.

“What in the?!?” Lucky gulps as he draws for his gun, turns his head and aims at whatever might be tugging at his arm.

“That’s a pretty big pistol you got there cowboy, are you prepared to use it?” a voice with slow southern drawl and just a hint of a lisp says to Lucky.

Lucky’s eyes light up like a pair of 17-carat diamonds, “Alice!”

“Ya shoulda known better not to startle a man like that,” Lucky states, as he re-holsters his pistol, “Ya never know what mighta happened.”

“And just what would you do, you big tough cowboy?” Lucey response to Lucky’s threat, “You’d be mighty sad if you had shot me.” Lucey knows that she has Lucky wrapped around her finger. She knows that this man would do anything for her. She also knows that she is not ready for any of that.

“Say what’s that smell?” Lucky asks as he dismounts his pony, “Stinks like rotten burnt eggs.”

“Not sure,” Lucey says as she takes a step toward F. Thomas with her hands outstretched, “could be whatever made that large bang over there beyond town, just before you showed up.” Lucey smiles as she holds the cat to her face, then starts to laugh, “Whatever it was, it sure scared the Duggan Brothers something fierce.”

“The Duggans,” Lucky’s face turns down, “what did them boys do this time?”

“Nothing that this girl couldn’t handle,” Lucey sets the cat down and then pats Eugene on his head, “Now let’s get the Sheriff and my father and go find out exactly what that is over there.”

COWBOYS vs. KAIJU - PART TWO

2010-11-12T07:38:00.000-08:00

-2-

High Noon, see what did I tell you at the beginning of part one, in town at the local saloon, Pete’s Place. A couple of ornery men are stirring up a little trouble for the lunch crowd.

“Say little lady,” a big dirty man, with enough facial hair to make a nice throw rug, slurs at the young female bar maid, “those are some nice pancakes you’s got there. Any chance of you slidin’ on over here and covering yourself with maple syrup and butter?”

“Hee-hee Brother Bo, you can’t be talking to her like that,” another dirty man, with more facial hair than he last one, mumbles, “You know her poppa is a preacher now. You might end up in Hell, for just thinkin’ those type of thoughts.”

“You’s kidin’ me right Brother Bill. He has to be kidin’ me, ain’t that right Brother Bob,” says the man with the throw rug beard looking over at a man who is just as dirty as him, except for his face, which is clean shaven.

The clean-shaven man sits quietly as the barmaid walks past behind the counter. As she passes, he knocks over his fork onto the floor right behind her. The bar maid bends over to pick up the fork and as she does this he lifts himself off his stool ever so slightly and peeks over the counter at the bar maid, as she picks up the fork.

“Hahaha, well if you’d look at that. Brother Bob does have a pulse,” says the man with the most facial hair.

These three men are the Duggan Brothers. Bo, Bill and Bob are the names that their momma gave them. They are a trio of hoodlums and troublemakers, but lack any guts to do anything really serious. They tend to just give those that can’t defend themselves a real hard time.

Bo Duggan is the oldest of the three boys, by a couple of years. He is a dirty unkempt man, who believes showering is for girls and sissies. If you could get near him, this would be verified almost immediately. His clothing is also dirty, with holes littered about. It appears that once a shirt, or pair of pants for the matter, gets too holey he just puts another one over the older one. Looking at Bo, you would swear that he has at least few shirts and a couple pairs of pants on, he’s all puffy. Bo also has a hefty size beard, as was said early if he shaved it all off one could make a sizable throw rug out of the hair, maybe even an afghan blanket. Bo also tends to be the loudest of the three.

Bill Duggan is the middle boy, he also might be the dirtiest of them. While his birth certificate states that his skin is white, he actual complexion in more that of charcoal. He also has the largest beard out of the three boys, hanging to somewhere in the vicinity of his waist. Looking more like an average cowboy than his other two brothers, Bill wears a pair of jeans and a dark blue shirt covered with a black vest. The vest has a couple of badges on it, but they are so dirty that they look more like stains, than badges. He tends to speak in a twisted sort of logic, that only he and his brothers understand.

Bob Duggan is the baby of the group, quite a bit younger than his two brothers. He is also the most well groomed. He looks to have had a shower and shave with in the last couple of weeks. His clothing looks pressed like a banker or town dignitary. Unlike his brothers, Bob is one of very little talk but a whole lot of action. He’s also razzed regularly, by his brothers, for being a killjoy and bringing them down when they’re having their fun.

“Let’s just say, I would rather not have to deal with that girls poppa,” says Bob as he lowers himself back onto his stool. “That was mighty nice Lucey, thank you for picking up my fork after I dropped it. Sorry about that ma’am.”

Oh yeah, the bar maid, that’s Lucey Lymont, the one from Lucky’s dream. She is a young girl with long locks of platinum blonde hair. She is wearing an ankle length blue dress than ends with frills and lace. Lucey is very tall and slender, but as Lucky says, ‘she has curves in all the right places.’ She is also the daughter of Pastor John C. Lymont Esq. the 3^rd, the local preacher. Lucey only works at Pete’s Place for the cash, which she is putting away. So that sooner, rather than later, she can strike out on her own and make something of herself in this world. She doesn’t believe that she needs a man in her life and wants to prove it.

“Hey, Brother Bo maybe lil’ Bobby has the right idea’r,” says Bill as he fills his fork with food, “Oh Lucey, pick this up for me, won’t cha?” Bill flings the food onto the floor right in front of Lucey.

“You might be right Billy,” Bo says as he loads his fork with food and the flicks it across the room, “After you get that cleaned up Lucey, there is a little more over there.”

“And over there.”

“And there.”

“Oh and did I mention there.”

The two boys take turns flinging, flicking and flopping food around the saloon, which quickly clears out all the other customers. During all these shenanigans, Brother Bob just shakes his head.

Suddenly there is a loud boom from outside and the three boys lose all color in their faces, even the charcoaled Brother Bill looks almost white again.

“What was that?” asks Brother Bob.

“Oh, that ain’t nothing,” Lucey says waving her hands as if it’s really no big deal, “it’s probably just Lucky, he’s due back into town today.”

“L-L-L-L-LUCK-KK-KKK-KKY?” All three brothers stutter at once.

“Yep, that’s what I said.. L-U-C-K-Y, Lucky,” Lucey likes to toy with the boys once she knows she has the upper hand. “And you know he won’t take kindly to the way you have been talking to his girl.”

I know, I know, earlier I was stated that Lucey says that she didn’t need a man, but she has a soft spot for Lucky. She’s not ever sure why herself, but something about this man makes her feel a little girlier inside.

“Hurry brothers, we have to skedaddle outta here and quickly,” says Brother Bob as he grabs his two brothers by their shirts and pulls them toward the door. The three quickly exit the premises and disappear into town.

Lucey looks out the window of the saloon to see if it really was Lucky, but all she sees is a large smoke plume beyond the rear of town.

COWBOYS vs. KAIJU - PART ONE

2010-11-10T17:55:00.000-08:00

-1-

It was high noon, seems things always happen at high noon out west, as “Lucky” Luigi Linguini stopped for a short siesta, before heading into town. Lucky liked to give the appearance that he was always alert and ready for action, so he naps a whole lot. A quick nap recharges one’s soul and well being, at least that is what he believes. Lucky has been a cowboy for a long time, ‘as long as he can recall’ he will respond when asked, and over that time he has developed many superstitious behaviors. One of them is his quick nap before returning to town, under a tree, that he calls Bertha.

This tree, Bertha as lucky refers to it, is humongous. With a trunk bigger than any house and standing at least three stories high. Bertha is an oddity out west, where most of the trees look more akin to giant bushes, this tree appears to be a close relative of the great California Redwood. As for the name, Bertha was Lucky’s mother, she was a rather large lady. Lucky states that, as a boy, in his mother’s arms is the last time he ever-felt safe and secure. He also points out that the day his mother left this world is the same day that he became a cowboy. So you could do the math, if you were a learned person and calculate just how long he has been a cowboy. Oh but then you would need to know when his mother had passed, and Lucky has never revealed that information.

Being a tough cowboy and all, Lucky does not travel alone. Another one of the superstitions he has acquired over his time as a cowboy. He believes you should always travel in groups of three. So along with him on his journeys is his trusty horse, Eugene. It has never been clear why he calls his horse that. Some believe that it might be his father’s name, which would make sense given that he tends to use names of those close to him. But in all the years of him being a cowboy, Lucky he has never even mentioned his father. It is as if he never had one. Eugene is not actually a real horse, but rather a black pony. Lucky believes that a pony is smaller and thus faster than any horse. From time to time, Eugene has pulled Lucky’s hiney out a situation of two, so he may be right about that.

Lucky also travels with a sidekick of sorts, his trusty partner F. Thomas, a white cat. F. Thomas makes a great lookout while Lucky takes his naps, and has been know to cause a distraction or two, in times of need. F. Thomas was a gift from Lucky’s late mother on the last Christmas she was alive. His mom named the cat, and Lucky just called the cat Thomas, but once him mother had passed, he remembered that she called the cat by two names, with Thomas being the second name. All he could recall of the first name was that it began with an F, so F. Thomas it was. Lucky has risked his life on numerous occasions to save F. Thomas hide, but the same is true in reverse for the cat. You could say Lucky has been lucky to have the cat by his side on several instances.

That about rounds out this little traveling posse of Lucky’s. Now it is time to get down to siesta-ing or whatever the verb form is. Lucky hunkers down at the base of the tree and lowers his hat over his face. Lucky has a full black mustache that hangs from the corners of his mouth to his chin. His skin is browned like leather, from being in the sun the majority of the time. He has a full head of hair, black also, which he usually wears pulled back in a ponytail. Lucky is to wearing button up plaid shirts, red in color. His pants appear to be jean material, covered in leather chaps, which almost match his skin color. He’s also a big fan of the steel toe boot. Currently his boots are black, although he once had to settle for a dark brown pair, which he claims were the best boots he had ever owned.

As Lucky nods off to sleep, his trusty horse and sidekick stand guard and watch over him. Lucky does not share much personal information about his self, but he does talk quite a bit about this reoccurring dream he has. He is living in a house, no longer a cowboy. He now mines gold on his property to make ends meet and do they ever meet. Even though he has a pond full of gold, just beyond of his porch, he still gets up ever morning and mines for gold. He tends to spend a couple of hours out in the mine at the crack of dawn, while his wife and kids are asleep inside the house.

No Lucky’s not currently married, for all you single ladies out there, but he does have his heart set on a special lady, one Lucey McLymont. So you better have some good game if you wish to get this cowboy’s attention. Lucey is a bar maid at the saloon he frequents in town, also the daughter of the town’s pastor. However even though her name is Lucey, Lucky always refers to her as Alice. He states that she looks exactly like he imaged Alice, from the Alice books by Lewis Carroll, that his mother would to read him as a small boy. Lucey was beautiful with long blonde hair, rosy cheeks and a tall slender figure that curved in all the right spots. She was smart and witty also, traits that Lucky felt most females lacked.

As for the kids, Lucky always dreams of a set of twins, one boy and one girl. The boy he calls Addison, he says the name was Alice’s choice and the girl, Novena after the prayers he used to say at his mother’s bedside as she was dying. In the dreams the kids’ ages will change, although they are never babies. He claims that he hopes for twins to get all of those baby years out of the way in one swoop. And states that the ages of five to thirteen are where the real fun happens. Before five, kids are too small to do anything with and after thirteen, they want nothing to do with their parents until they become adults. Both children have blonde hair also, but Addison’s tends to get dark if he is older in the dream.

The dreams also include his trusty pony, Eugene and his sidekick F. Thomas. The family home has a small barn build on one side of it to house Eugene. There are several windows that connect the barn to the house so that Eugene may peek in on the family happenings, through out the day. F. Thomas has quite a bit of space to himself in the house, as well. There are many dressers, beds and bookshelves to hide behind or on top of, but the cat usually is found at Lucky’s side or in his lap.

In his dreams once the family awakes and he smells breakfast, Lucky will clean himself up and spend the rest of the day with his family. That is the point where this dream is interrupted by a loud boom followed by F.Thomas scratching violently at Lucky’s chest.

“Stop it boy, I’s awake,” Lucky’s mumbles at the cat.

The cat continues to scratch at Lucky’s chest.

“I said… I was awake, what in tarnations is the matta with ya? Cat?” Lucky hold the cat up by the extra skin on the back of it’s neck, “and what is all that dang noise you’s is makin’? Sounds like ya broken into a dynamite shed again and accidentically set off a couple of sticks.”

Now he is looking the cat straight in the eyes, “you don’t have no’s dynamite do ya, cat?”

While looking at F. Thomas, he catches a glimpse of something reflected in the cat’s eye and quickly turns around. There just over beyond the rear of town is a smoke plume filling the air.

“That there smoke, wasn’t there when I feel asleep, was it?” he questions the cat and waits a second as if he was expecting and answer back.

“No it wasn’t, was it?”

“We better git into town and see what is happenin’, wouldn’t ya say F. Thomas?”

Lucky then pauses again before packing up his things and mounting Eugene to head into town.

My NaNoWriMo Story

2010-11-08T18:32:00.001-08:00

Starting Wednesday November 10th. I will be updating this Blog (every other day) with pieces of my NaNoWriMo Story. Below is a Logo Teaser. ENJOY!

CHEESE - 24 hour Mini

2010-11-07T19:44:00.001-08:00

My 24 hour mini-comic CHEESE did big things at this years Tucson Comic Con. Thanx goes out to all of you that picked up a copy, I nearly sold out of the 60 that I brought to the show.

I will be working on more stories featuring the characters from the CHEESE book (I have a good idea for the next story.) Once I have 16 pages, I will release another book (keep your eye peeled.)

Also the CHEESE book will be available for purchase online, shortly.

take care,
-denny!

Horrible Little People Sketches

2010-11-01T18:13:00.000-07:00

Sketches from my Horrible Little People story with Eric M. Esquivel of Modern Mythology Press.

Enjoy!

-denny!

NaNoWriMo Challenge Starts Today

2010-11-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

I spent a little time this morning writing an outline. My plan is to write about 2000 words each day when I do write and try to double that on a couple of weekends. Sound Plan?

I also hope to start posting parts daily. starting next Monday.

Now off to have dinner then write.

take care,

-denny!

A Couple of Covers

2010-10-30T10:11:00.001-07:00

My pal Eric Menge l does a cool mini-comic called OCHO and I have the honor of being his cover colorist.

Ocho #14 . Ocho #15

Both will be Available at the TUSCON COMIC-CON, Where I'm told Eric and I will be giving a little talk on making mini-comics.

take care,

-denny!

A New Look

2010-10-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

I'm re-spooking the Blog!

In honor of my new strip Jenny Spookawski! (coming May 2011)

I know it's a little ways off, but I have to start somewhere. Over the next 6-7 months I will be updating you on the progress of the new strip, sharing designs and talking about all the other project I have cooking.

Speaking of project several things are going on at this time.

-The Lollygaggin' Adventures trade is in development. I'm hoping to release it in February 2011. Still looking for a couple of full color pin-up to include in the book.

-Working on a 2 page story with Eric M. Esquivel of Modern Mythology Press

-Working on some new GET THAT CHICKEN material, which should see print in the new zine - Normal

-I am participating in this year NaNoWriMo Challenge

-Making some new comics featuring Harold and the characters from my CHEESE 24hour mini-comic

So I'm a busy boy, but still hope to start updating this blog regularly with art, project info and just my random thoughts.

take care,

-denny!

GET THAT CHICKEN T-Shirt Design

2010-10-25T20:14:00.001-07:00

A New GET THAT CHICKEN Story

2010-09-05T07:52:00.000-07:00

This story was created for Tosh Delaney's Strips mini-comic anthology. I also printed up about 50 B&W mini-comic copies, that I have been giving out at my in store appearances. The goal was to make the story misprinted looking. Enjoy!

take care,

-denny!

Day Job Started Back Up This Week.

2010-08-06T20:16:00.001-07:00

I will be busy prepping and planning for my day job, as well as finishing up 2 Lollygaggin' Adventures strips each week. Which probably means the blog will suffer a little. I will try to update as often as possible.

I'm looking at doing a re-design in October and starting to push the blog a little more as an online magazine with articles written to inspire, infuriate and inform. I hope to have a handful of articles under my belt before this re-design and continue them on a regular bases from then on.

take care,

-denny!

Next Appearance

2010-07-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

This Saturday I will be at Jesse James Comics from 1-5pm with a ton of other awesome artist to help Jesse celebrate. This shop is slowly becoming one of my favorites in the valley. Always finding cool old books, at great prices. Stop by and say "Hi!" if you have a chance.

Take care,

-denny!

SDCC Plans

2010-07-21T13:07:00.001-07:00

Busy Busy Busy, But LOVING Every Minute!

2010-07-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

Thankfully my day job doesn't start again for about a month. The comicking does not stop, not that I'm complaining.

A New Avengers Cover Sketch.

Sketch card for El Monstrou

Color covers by me for my buddy Eric Mengel's next Ocho mini-comic.

This week I will be doing guest strips over at Monster Commute, it has been discribed as Shark Week (only with Goblins). And while you're there check out some of the other awesome guest strips that proceeded me. Great stuff all around.

Also This week I have an appearance at Atomic Comic Metro for X-men Day. So stop buy and get one of my scribbles on the cover of your new X-men #1. (Hopefully they will look as cool as the Thing avengers cover, fingers crossed.)

I'm currently working on a NEW Get That Chicken story for publication in the Strip mini-comic.

And don't forget Lollygaggin' Adventures every Tuesday and Thursday.

As I said, "Busy Busy Busy, but LOVING every minute!"

take care,

-denny!

What is Twitter Good For?

2010-06-17T21:59:00.001-07:00

New Discoveries! Plan and Simple!!

First - A cool new webcomic, Gronk! by Katie Cook. It's a story of a monster who wasn't scary enough for the other monsters. Cute and Fun. My only disappointment was that the comic is in B&W, but the ads for it were in color.

Second - An awesome letter from John K to a young aspiring cartoonist made it's way onto the web. Pretty awesome stuff.

Third - Artist Christopher Uminga does some really awesome stuff. I was introduced to him through some super-hero drawing being shared on Twitter, but found that he also creates some really cool original art. I would love to see his "Kids That Like to Fight" drawings done as a comic strip.

As for me - I'm hard at work on a secret project, which should be revealed very soon. Plus, I'm working hard to keep my strip, Lollygaggin' Adventures updated (every Tuesday & Thursday). Over the next couple of weeks, I will be starting on a new Get That Chicken 5-6 pager, which will be in color for the first time. Oh and the GET THAT CHICKEN book is for sale, get it while the gettin' good!

Take care,

-denny!

Here's What They're Saying About Me...

2010-06-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

Since the Phoenix Comicon many nice things have been said about me and my work. I though I would take a second to highlight some of these nice comments.

It started with a couple quick shout outs in Comicon follow up posts by Glen Curren, and Sam Laggren

Then a tweet from Thomas Hall which stated, "Meant to ask you- does your art have a conscious graffiti influence? I see kind of Graffiti meets Berkley Breathed..." Yes! and thank you for the great comparison. I have always enjoyed graffiti and Bloom County is a personal favorite.

Madame M also mentioned my works similarities to graffiti in her blog post.

Also a quick reference in Eric M. Esquivel's Bleeding Cool column. (Including some color samples by me.)

Finally the great Henry Barajas did a fine review of my GET THAT CHICKEN book. He had the following to say about my book "This comic reminds me of the time when 'funny' was when the slingshot fires backwards and ground mail ships in seconds."

Now back to the grind and turning out even better work. Check Lollygaggin' Adventures ever Tuesday and Thursday to see what's happening.

take care,

-denny!

Phoenix Comicon Recap Part 5 (of 5)

2010-06-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

I would like to start with a none comic item. At the Phoenix Comicon, I tabled next to Eric Torres. Besides being a fine gentleman, Eric also created a terrific card game titled, Iconica (from the world or Rynaga). The art on the cards is worth the price alone. Eric was kind enough to give my son a set of cards, which we have since played and enjoyed several time. Eric is also having a Game Night at Red Hot Robot on June 19th if you are interested in checking the game out for yourself.

I received several mini-comics in trade at the con and would like to give these fine creators a shout out. 1st - Second Hans Smoke Vol. 3 by Christian Filardo (sorry no web address). 2nd - The Big Z by Rick Larsen. 3rd - Fresh to Death by Sam Spina. I also picked up a full size comic titled Extraordinary Tales of Lazer Woman & Strong Girl by an up and coming young lady, Jean Arrow. The Phoenix Comicon was filled with Cool Stuff!

The final item for this week is my partner in crime, Eric Mengel's new book, Ocho: Kill the Blue Man. Eric has been hard at work for the last 15 years, continuing the adventures of his main man, Ocho. With each mini his art and storytelling abilities improve. If your have not had a chance to read any of Eric's work, I suggest you pick this one up ASAP. Eric also handed out a great flip-fold book featuring the first 7 pages of the next Ocho story.

Well that's it for this year's Phoenix Comicon, See you all again next year!

Take care,

-denny!

Phoenix Comicon Recap Part 4 (of 5)

2010-06-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

At the con I finally found a couple of books by Angela Montgomery and Sam Laggren, better known as Chu Chu Chums. I originally met these two at the 2009, 24 Hour Comic Day at Spazdog Comics. Besides the work they did that night, I had not seen any comics by them until the con. These two minis made me want to get back to work and pump out a mini comic or two. Awesome stuff! I found out after the show that they had other minis for sale at their booth. I wish I would have picked them up, maybe in Tuscon?

The Phoenix Comicon also gave me a chance to meet one of Phoenix Local legends, Ryan Cody. I have only been following Ryan's work for about a year, since stumbling upon one of his comics at a local comic shop. In that year, I have worked very hard tracking down most of his other work, including a score at Hero Comics of his 4 issue Villains series for only $4.00! At the con, Ryan was selling an excellent sketchbook, which I snapped up quickly.

Ryan also does a Daily Sketchjam blog with some great images. I think Marvel comics should have him pencil a NEXTWAVE series after seeing his sketch of The Captain a couple of weeks back.

Wow, the Con was huge and I still have one more day.

Until tomorrow....

-denny!

Phoenix Comicon Recap Part 3 (of 5)

2010-06-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

Today I think I will start with a new find from the Phoenix Comicon.

I have never heard the name Meredith McClaren before but one look at her 3 minis had me reaching for my wallet, ready to spend my hard earned money. She had 3 books available at the show: A sketchbook from 2009-2010, Chase and Anya and Spider. While they were fairly quick reads, her art asks to be viewed slowly and multiple times. She utilizes a super clean line, tones and soft colors. Awesome stuff!

(Meredith McClaren)

The second item today is not a new find. I originally purchase The Green Monk by Brandon Dayton back in December 2009. The book was excellent, Brandon's art is even better. The Phoenix Comicon gave me a chance to meet Brandon. However after reading the Twitter follow ups, post con, most of the other creators did not even realize he was at the con.

More tomorrow...

-denny!

Phoenix Comicon Recap Part 2 (of 5)

2010-06-01T14:29:00.001-07:00

For the rest of the week I will take a look at some of the Comic Booty I picked up at the Phoenix Comicon.

First - I wold like to mention a book I picked up down in Tuscon at the Tucson Comic-Con by my pals Eric M. Esquivel of Modern Mythology Press, Horrible Little People. The book made a proper splash at the Phoenix Comicon. These boys are on the rise and they have mad talent, check them out.

Next - A big shout out to Madame M and her Super Vamp strip. She had a ton of cool goodies: candy blood, t-shirts and also debut a Super Vamp comic in the shape of a coffin. Cool stuff! If you haven't checked out Madame M's work, you are missing some fun stuff.

Finally - The last item for today is a book by two friends of mine, Thomas Healy and Albert Morales from Fiction House Mafia and their book El Monstrou. I have been waiting to read this book for several months and will still have to wait a bit more. But to wet my appetite, they had an Ashcan Edition of El Monstrou available at the Comicon. After seeing the ashcan, I realized that this book is going to be big and I do mean BIG. I think it might even be able to compete on the national scene. Albert's art is awesome and I cannot wait to see the finished book. I'm not just saying this because the two are friends of mine, I was totally shocked by how good this book looked. (Below is the cover and one of the interior pages.)

Well that's all for today. Check back tomorrow for more goodies from the Phoenix Comicon.

Take care,

-denny!

Phoenix Comicon Recap Part 1 (of 5)

2010-05-31T22:17:00.000-07:00

Wow the Phoenix Comicon was bigger than ever this year.

I would like to take some time this week to recap some of the events and my finds of the weekend. Starting with two great things that happened to me.

The 1st was when I met a fan of my work, who has been reading Get That Chicken since my mini-comic days. This was a priceless moment for me and made the whole weekend worth it.

The 2nd was the Webcomics Academy panel with Daniel M. Davis (creator of Monster Commute). Daniel has been a mentor to me over the last 10 months and I was thrilled that he shared this panel with me. Below you will find the handout notes, we provided to the crowd in attendance. It was basically a chat back and forth where we elaborated on the topics listed in the notes. A great time was had by all.

(My notes)

(Daniel's notes)

Also this weekend I finally met Thomas Hall, the other half of the creative team behind Robot 13 and Blacklist Studios (I had met Daniel Bradford previously). Both of these guys are gentlemen and create some awesome comics. If you haven't had the chance to read an issue of Robot 13, I suggest that you pick it up (and their next project King looks to be even better).

I will be back daily with other new finds to share.

take care,

-denny!

PS, Don't forget the Get That Chicken trade is available for online order.

GET THAT CHICKEN Trade Paperback

2010-05-09T17:38:00.001-07:00

.

The wait is over. GET THAT CHICKEN - Burgeoning Burst the trade paperback, collecting the online Get That Chicken strips from 2009, plus stories from the Meanwhile Mini-Comic, Pin-ups and a sketchbook section, is finally available. 132 pages of goodness can be yours for only 14.95!

Order and Enjoy,

-denny!

Free Comic Book Day Follow-Up

2010-05-02T20:47:00.001-07:00

Wow! I had a great time at Atomic Comics Paradise Valley during Free Comic Book Day. The staff was awesome and the fans that showed up were super cool. Thanx to Mike Malve and Thomas Healy. Below are a couple of the sketches I did yesterday. The Madman was one of my favorite and my Spideys kept jumping off the table. (Side note: drawing characters on the spot was very tough. I tried my best, but sometimes that just wasn't good enough.) My favorite sketch of the day was of 3-D Man, that I did in someone sketchbook (wish I would have taken a picture.)

Thanx to Atomic Comics for having me out. Also thanks to the following stores for being there for me to buy comics at All About Books & Comics, Hero Comics (thanx for handed out my Get That Chicken minis), Stalking Moon, Drawn to Comics and Jesse James Comics. The Phoenix Area has some great store owned by even greater people. Thank you all!

Now it's onto making more comics. Lollygaggin' Adventures is updated every Tuesday & Thursday. I'm hard at work on several other side projects. I will let you know where to find the work when it's available. Oh and my first trade paperback collecting all of the Get That Chicken material from last year should be available to order by the end of the week.

take care,

-denny!

Jenny Spookawski Promo

2010-04-27T22:24:00.001-07:00

Let me know what you think!

-denny!

Free Comic Book Day Warm-up 4

2010-04-27T18:54:00.001-07:00

Today's warm up sketch - THE JOKER!
Enjoy,

-denny!

Free Comic Book Day 2010

2010-04-27T18:47:00.001-07:00

This Saturday, May 1st 2010, I will be at the Atomic Comics PV location doing sketches for the Hero Initiative on these cool Atomic Sketch Cards! Stop, say "Hi!", donate and pick up some cool free comics.

Also I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but I should have a proof copy of my Get That Chicken trade on hand!

take care,

-denny!

Free Comic Book Day Warm-Up 3

2010-04-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

My wife picked Spider-man! He is kinda rough to draw at first, now I think I have him down.

Channelling -> Ted McKeever, Humberto Ramos and Jim Mahfood.
Enjoy,

-denny!

Free Comic Book Day Warm-Up 2

2010-04-20T19:46:00.001-07:00

Today, my daughter picked The Hulk! I tried to work a little looser than yesterdays Penguin sketch. After all it is a sketch. I was hoping to channel some crazy love child of Jack Kirby and Ted McKeever in this drawing, with maybe a splash of Simon Bisley.

Enjoy,

-denny!

Free Comic Book Day Warm-Up 1

2010-04-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

So for Free Comic Book Day this year I will be appearing at the Atomic Comics Paradise Valley store from 12-5pm. Part of appearing is doing sketches for donations to the Hero Initiative (I believe that is the organization.) So as part of a warm-up/practice for the event my wife & children will be giving me different characters to draw over the next 2 weeks. Tonight, my son picked the Penguin. The sketch did not turn out as bad as I feared it might.

Take care,

-denny!

Lollygaggin Adventures Samples

2010-04-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

If you haven't yet, please check out my new strip Lollygaggin' Adventures. Below are some samples of the strip.

Read - Enjoy - Pass It On,

-denny!

My Process

2010-04-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

I always enjoy when artist give you a behind the scenes look at how the create. I feel energized once I realized even the pros have to work up to their final drawings. Below are 3 of the stages I use to create my comic.

First - there is the rough, which is usually scribbled really quick with a pencil or pen and then inked with a sharpie. I don't own a light box so the sharpie helps me transfer the image.

Second - there is the pencils. This drawing is usually pencilled and then inked with a sharpie. Some days I wish I had a light box.

Third - there are the inks. I tend to call them rough inks, because I will do final inks after I scan the image into the computer. Rough inks are done with a brush/brushpen and microns.

The other stages not shown are Fourth - scanning, Fifth - Coloring and Sixth - Lettering.

Hope you enjoyed!

Take care,

-denny!

Sorry! - MagCloud Follow up!

2010-03-31T15:59:00.001-07:00

I received my mangled magazines from MagCloud today. Wow! They (MagCloud don't package well and FedEx sucks at taking care of and delivering packages. My magazines are a mess and I'm pissed off!

So I flipped through my magazines.

Ikon #5 - Who thought that a graffiti magazine with some blurry and blown up pictures was a graffiti magazine. Ikon #5 looks like a couple of high school kids put it together, pure garbage.

Bran and Panties - This magazine was a little better (still mangled, thanx again FedEx). Some of the comics strips were funny. Some nice drawing of bras and panties and good shots of girls in actual bras and panties. I enjoyed this book.

Overall, I would NEVER order from MagCloud again. The packaging of the magazines were very poor. I would also NOT use MagCloud to print my work, due to the quality and packaging of the magazines.

Sorry for even mentioning this company!

We live and learn!

-denny!

Tuesday Night Sketching - Jenny Spookawski

2010-03-26T23:10:00.001-07:00

Above is an updated Jenny Spookawski Logo I worked on this week. I'm planning to create about 12 pages and shop the Jenny Spookawski property around to publishers.

Above are some sketches of the new design for Jenny. I did these Tuesday night during my sketch and development session. I thought I hit upon a good look for her that I liked. More to come!

take care,

-denny!

Cleaning the eMail Box Part 2

2010-03-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

Trying to get all the info that I send to myself out to you. Some of it does not make the cut on second viewing some of it does. Here are some of the choice pieces.

First - Magcloud looks to be a great place for self published and small press magazines. I ordered Bra and Panties and Ikon Issue 6. I will follow up with a full review of the magazines when I received them. Plus info about shipping and the quality of the published materials.

Second - IS NOT MAGAZINE the idea behind this (is not) magazine is bonkers. I read about it in IDN magazine. I would love to create something like this for comics in the Tempe and Tucson areas of Arizona. Who knows!

Third - Designercon this show looked awesome. If there is a 2010 show, I would love to be there. I will have to wait for summer to check my funding situation, but if the money is there, so am I.

Well that's about it today, I'll be back later in the week with part 3 and hopefully the majority of my eMail Box will be cleaned. I have a ton of interview links to read still. Maybe I will post up a list of some of my favorite interviews (probably will have to wait for the summer, busy - busy - busy!)

take care,

-denny!

Cleaning the eMail Box Part 1

2010-03-21T18:29:00.000-07:00

So my eMail Box is literally filled up with eMails that I send myself of cool stuff I've found on twitter, surfing the web, or someone suggests to me.

The first is Noise by Attk. It's a designer art book. While I didn't have the $150+ to purchase Noise 5, I was able to find Noise 4 on ebay for about $40. If you're a designer or interested in design work this book is awesome. Hopefully, I will be able to track down the other books once I'm a famous and well paid comic creator (hahaha!)

The Second is a cool comic lettering tutorial. While this is not the way I make my ballons. I still found it very interesting and informative.

The third is Joe Lambert who has been added to my Comic Peoples links. He has some crazy stuff going on, but I like it.

That's it, more mail later in the week as I get(make) time.

take care,

-denny!

My Process

2010-03-21T07:14:00.001-07:00

I usually start with a rough sketch. Once I get the drawing that I want. I rough over it very quickly with a sharpie. Since I don't have a light box, I use the sharpie to trace the drawing onto another piece of paper.

Once the drawing has been lightly traced, I start to ink. I tend to ink the items that require a straight edge first, like the guns, hat, clothing. This is done with a Micron 08 Pen. I then use a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen to ink the organic parts. I might come back in and do touch ups with a Micron towards the end. I also use white water color paint with a brush and a Uni-ball Signo White Pen to make corrections.

I then scan in the image and mix it with other images to make my panel. I clean the art and then color it. I'm still kinda new at the coloring and am trying to learn new things each week. I've been watching Sheldon Vella's Supertron Livestream to pick up tips. Any suggestion on other's to watch would be appreciated.

I hope to post on here a little more regularly. I have a ton of interesting email finds to share. So look for updates every couple of days, starting today.

-denny!

I Have Issues #64

2010-02-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

Thomas Healy does a fun little comic review show called I Have Issues. He was out at one of the Comic Create Events for the Phoenix Comicon and did an interview with my partner in crime Eric Mengel and I. Check it out at I Have Issues it's episode #64 (The interview starts about 28.5 minutes into the show.)

Enjoy

-denny!

Digital Drawing

2010-02-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

Above is my first attempt at digital drawing. I was using a small Wacom Bamboo tablet to draw on. I attempted several drawing in Photoshop, but was not able to get a finished product that I liked. So I decide to try what I have heard several pros do. draw a blue line drawing inside the computer, ink it outside the computer, then scan it back in. I see some potential with this. Unfortunately I don't have the time to mess around right now with it, but that god for summers off.

Oh and notice it was the chicken I drew, he will be back very soon you can count on it.

take care,

-denny!

Lollygaggin' Adventures

2010-02-14T06:10:00.000-08:00

My new strip starts today. Check is out at www.lollygagginadventures.com

Read - Enjoy - Pass It On!

-denny!

Comic Create Event

2010-02-12T05:10:00.000-08:00

I will be appearing at the next Comic Create Event in support of the Phoenix Comicon on February 21st, 2010 (1-4pm) at Mojo Yogurt and Mills End in Tempe (310 S. Mill Avenue)

I will be joining Daniel M. Davis (Steamcrow), Eric Mengel, Benjamin Glendenning, Albert Morales and Victor Moreno for a day of drawing fun!

Stop by and say "Hi!" if you have the time.

-denny!

Writing Tips

2010-01-31T07:57:00.000-08:00

I follow Jason Thibault on Twitter and he is always sharing great interviews and tips. Here is a collection of writing tips he has shared over the past couple of months.

1) Write Like a Professional Tip - Great outline about the process of writing.

2) Landing a Freelance Writing Job Tip - Some good all around information.

3) Warren Ellis roughing out a script Tip - This is an example of comic writer, Warren Ellis and his process for rough out a script.

4) Warren Ellis scripts Tip - a link to a couple of Warren Ellis' scripts.

Hope you enjoy them!

Take care,

-denny!

Lollygaggin' Adventures

2010-01-24T08:54:00.001-08:00

Here's a quick preview of my new strip, Lollygaggin' Adventures. The strip is set to start on February 14, 2010. However the characters do need to move into their new home. So their might be some surprises between now and then.

More information to come.....

take care,

-denny!

Meanwhile Number Two

2010-01-17T07:36:00.001-08:00

Read - Enjoy - Pass It On,

-denny!

Emptying My Mail

2010-01-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

Since I purchase my Blackberry back in May, 75% of my email is from myself. It contains links to things that I find on the Internet or through Twitter. This week I would like to share a handful of videos that I have found over the past year. Starting with oldest to newest.

1) Jim Mahfood working on Carl The Cat video - This video I saw last summer. My first video seeing someone else working on their art (besides that Comic Creators series from the 90's.) This video made a big impact on me, although it doesn't seem to have changed much of my work style or ethic at the time. (I might have shared this video last summer, but I don't think so.)

2) Gabriel Ba/Fabio Moon inking Casanova video - I found this video shortly after watching the Mahfood one. This definitely made some difference in the way that I worked. I saw these two guys using tools similar to the ones I was using. This video gave me a little more confidence to just ink and not worry too much (something the Mahfood video should have done with his inking style.)

3) Alma short film video - This video has made it's rounds on Twitter and appears to be making a second run now. Awesome little animated short! My only problem is that my computer has not been able to play it all the way through without skipping. I might just have to let it it run through once and try to replay it.

4) Cameron Stewart ink Batman & Robin video1 video2 - I have become a big fan of Cameron Stewart since following him on Twitter. He has shared many tips and tricks. Recently he post a couple short video of himself inking an issue of Batman and Robin. Wow this guy is awesome. Sorry I missed some of his work. I will be purchasing it all from now on.

5) Hitler/Marvel/DC/Deadpool video - I was first in shock when I read about marvel offering a special variant, if retailers gutted DC's Blackest Night crossover issues (50 copies.) When I saw this video I realized many other people were in shock also, include der Fuhrer himself.

Well that's about it. I still have a ton of things sitting in my inbox waiting to be shared. Hopefully, I will get to them all soon.

take care,

-denny!

Weeks 46-50

2010-01-16T19:41:00.000-08:00

Week 46

Week 47

Week 48

Week 49

Week 50

Meanwhile Number One

2010-01-10T08:01:00.000-08:00

Read - Enjoy - Pass It On,

-denny!

Week Fifty-Three

2010-01-03T06:52:00.001-08:00

Read - Enjoy - Pass It On,

-denny!

New Years News

2010-01-03T06:19:00.000-08:00

I have some big updates for this week. The first one being that Get That Chicken will be going on hiatus and will hopefully be back (with it's own site) in April. But this is not something to get sad about, for 2 reasons, Reason #1 - in mid February, I will be launching a new strip that is a little closer to my heart (more news to come) and Reason #2 - I still have a couple of Get That Chicken strips to share with you.

Today, I have a special guest strip with Cerebus to share with you. The story behind this strip is this - about 15 years ago (before I started my family) I wanted to do comics. I attended the Spirits of Independence stop in Phoenix, Arizona. At this convention, Dave Sim and Gerhard did a Cerebus drawing for me that was to be used as a pin-up on the back cover of my next mini-comic issue. But before I could use this picture for anything, I lost it. Fast forward to late last year, while going through some of my old art and sketches, in preparation for the new strip, I stumbled upon the drawing. At this point I was kinda sad that I never got the chance to use the draw and then it hit me, use the Cerebus drawing in Get That Chicken. So Thanks goes out to Dave Sim & Gerhard for some great memories and an awesome drawing.

On January 10th and 17th, I will be sharing the two stories I did for the Meanwhile minis with you. Both of these stories have only been available in print form. So unless you live in Arizona (or are one of the lucky Australians who got a copy of issue #2) you probably have not seen this work yet.

Then on January 24th I will be sharing a preview of my new strip and announcing it's launch date.

As I stated earlier, I hope to be back creating Get That Chicken strips in March and will start posting them early April.

Oh and don't forget, the Get That Chicken trade is due to be released at the Phoenix Comicon in late May. 2010 looks to be even more jam packed than 2009, hope you will join me for the ride.

take care,

-denny!

Weeks 51-53

2009-12-27T08:05:00.000-08:00

Week 51

Week 52

Week 53

Read - Enjoy - Pass It On!

-denny!

Get That Chicken Trade and Other News

2009-12-27T07:51:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple of weeks I have been hard at work on putting together a Get That Chicken trade, which will collect all of the online strips from 2009 plus some other items. Below is a rough shot of the cover.
I'm a big fan of old miss colored comics, so I figured I would try my hand at it. I thought it came out pretty good for my first color work.

Also I will be making some appearances for Indy Comic Week on Wednesday December 30th. I will be at SpazDog Comics from noon-5pm and then moving over to Drawn to Comics from 6pm-9pm. Stop by and say "Hi!"

Next week I should have some news about an up and coming project that I have been working on for 2010 as well as what's in store for our good friend the chicken in 2010.

The futures looks bright and I can't wait to get started on it!

take care,

-denny!

Checking the Mail

2009-12-12T19:10:00.001-08:00

Before I get to some of the interesting things I have found over the last couple of weeks I would like to update how things are progressing on Get That Chicken. Today I did the layouts for the first 30 pages of my first Get That Chicken trade (to be released at the Phoenix Comic Con in May 2010). I also started to put together the next issue of the Get That Chicken mini-comic (should be done next weekend)

1) I follow Jason Thibault on Twitter and he is always posting interesting information regarding the creation of comics. A couple of weeks back he posted a link to a massive amount of comic creator interviews. I can't get enough of this stuff.

2) Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods Trailer - My all time Favorite writer. I usually don't geek out on this stuff, but I can't wait. I enjoyed the Jack Kirby documentary from earlier this year, but that is about it.

3) Jamie Smart's Bear is back. Jamie is doing a new online strip with his character Bear. I think this little guy is great and find these strips incredibly funny. (I need to find more time to read all of the great material online.)

4) Skottie Young is posting a New Blog Post every weekday this month. The Adventures of Bernard The World Destroyer - Good stuff so far.

5) Ben Templesmith is always supplying interesting and useful comic creating advice. He has pointed me to some great tools to use while creating comics and has provided a progression on the process of creating the Popgun Vol.4 Cover.

And that is about the last month of stuff, besides a whole mess of tips on creating comics, which I have been to busy with the act of creating comics to read. I think that's a good thing.

A new strip is due up in the morning.

Take care,

-denny!

Weeks 41-45

2009-12-06T08:13:00.001-08:00

Week 41

Week 42

Week 43

Week 44

Week 45

Week Forty-Eight

2009-11-29T09:15:00.001-08:00

Read - Enjoy - Pass It On,

-denny!

A Quick Update

2009-11-29T09:08:00.000-08:00

I had planned to empty out my email of all of the stuff I had sent myself to share. but I got a little busy with family this weekend. Plus I squeezed in a megaton of drawing.

This weeks strip wraps up the dinosaur storyline with week 48. On Friday I did layouts for the rest of the strips for this year. On Saturday I inked two and a half of those strips. Should finish the rest by next weekend.

Once this year's strips are complete, I will be re-editing them and re-formatting the files for publication. I plan on releasing a Get That Chicken trade, collecting all of this years work and a few bonuses, in time for the Phoenix Comic Con at the end of May. More news to come.

That's about it for this week.

take care,

-denny!

Week Forty-Seven

2009-11-22T11:02:00.001-08:00

Read - Enjoy - Pass It On,

-denny!

Week Forty-Six

2009-11-15T07:34:00.001-08:00

Read - Enjoy - Pass It On,

-denny!

Jenny Spookawski Ghost Girl

2009-11-14T20:05:00.001-08:00

Jenny Spookawski Ghost Girl the mini-comic is available for purchase, only $2.00 postage paid. Check the sidebar to order. Also the Available is a mini comic, collecting my GET THAT CHICKEN minis and Tales of the Mans, my first published work from over 10 years ago.

take care,

-denny!

Weeks 36-40

2009-11-14T19:45:00.001-08:00

Week 36

Week 37

Week 38

Week 39

week 40

Week Forty-Five

2009-11-08T10:03:00.001-08:00

Read - Enjoy - Pass It On,

-denny!

Tucson Comic Con & Updates

2009-11-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

Just back from the Tucson Comic Con. I had a great time gave out a ton of copies of Meanwhile #1 and #2. Met a lot of new people. Hope those who attended had as great of a time, I know I did. I'm looking forward to next year. Thanks to everyone who stopped by the table, picked up a book, admired the original art, or just chatted for a while. Drop me a note and let me know what you thought about the show.

Next up for me are a couple of appearances for Indy Comics week at Spazdog and Drawn to Comics. I will let you know dates and times as we get closer. A couple of weeks ago I posted some information about this event but listed the wrong date. So here is a re post of that info.

Indy Comic Week, December 30th. I have been buying comics for almost 25 years and have been buy comics on release date for over 20 of those years. In that time I never remember a week without new books. I seem to remember some skip weeks from time to time, but with multi-distributors something appeared to be released each week. But now that there is only one distributor, the stores are at the mercy of this monopoly. So local and national independent comic creators are banding together to help the stores make this week something special. I will be appearing at some of the local comics shops, check back for more information.

That's about all for this week. I need to catch up on some drawing, the Meanwhile submissions are due next weekend and I have not even started. Plus I have to finish the lettering on this weeks GET THAT CHICKEN and post it.

take care,

-denny!

Week Forty-Four

2009-11-01T09:58:00.000-08:00

Read - Enjoy - Pass It On,

denny!

dennmann @ Tucson Comic-Con

2009-11-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

Cover for my new Mini-Comic debuting at the Tucson Comic-Con

If you are in Tucson on November 7th between 10am-7pm, stop by the Tucson Comic-Con and say "Hi!". Admission to the show is free! I will be there with a couple of the Meanwhile Guys handing out free minis and selling my new book Jenny Spookawski Ghost Girl. This book is what came out of the work I did during 24hour comic day at Spazdog.

take care,

denny!

Week Forty-Three

2009-10-25T09:44:00.001-07:00

Read - Enjoy - Pass It On,

-denny!