Another Day, Another Dollar

Out here on the south side of Peoria it is still HOT! Also my summer of being a creator is over because my day job started this past week. And as Murphy's Law states, things are finally starting to happen as I'm now at a loss for time.

- -- Wrapped up a couple of new Space Monstas figures this week.

Zack Zombie is now out there in the world. The character will be featured in the next Space Monstas storyline. He is also one of the original 7 planned figures.

The Invisible Astronaut. I came up with this figure idea after I started making the Space Monstas figures. I had planned on holding off on making him, but then I got several other ideas and I realized by the time I got around to making this figure I would have a couple handfuls of other ideas. So I was a little stuck because I needed to get through the original 7 figures that I had planned. Then I remembered how the Boba Fett figure was introduced into the world, as a FREE figure. So I decided to make the Invisible Astronaut my first free figure. All you have to do is purchase 3 Space Monstas figures at one time and I will include an Invisible Astronaut for FREE (while supplies last).

These figures were released on Instagram and in person yesterday and already 2 people took advantage of the buy 3 get IA FREE deal. The figures will be up in my online store by the end of the day today.

- -- Working hard on Cousin Harold. The Harold at the circus storyline starts up again shortly and I'm very excited about it. Many pieces of this storyline were inspired by the Japanese manga magazine Coro Coro. Check out what is happening with Harold and friends 5 days a week here. 

Those are the projects that I'm working on personally at the moment. However I have been invited to start working on a podcast (today we record the first episode). I have been invited to contribute to a redraw project (hopefully doing my page next weekend). And there are other things in talk.

Take care,

- denny

SDCC - Thanx for an Awesome Time

Well I'm back on the south side of Peoria where is is HOT, but just a week ago I was in San Diego for the annual San Diego Comic Con. I had a great time and spent way too much money.

- -- People say SDCC is not about comics any more, but the above box was empty when I started the weekend. Sure the whole convention is not about comics any more, but if you are looking for comics there are tons of them to be found. I bought a nice stack of Kirby's FF and Thor books, a new Charles Burns book, a couple of mini-comics and a bunch of miscellaneous comics. I also picked up a couple of Ashley Wood books which were to big for the box.

- -- One of the best parts of this years SDCC was doing the Space Mummy Figure Drops. This was tough to do in the convention center with so many people and security, so most of the drops happened off site. I also did a couple drops in Arizona before leaving.

I basically provided a couple pictures to hint at the location of the figure via Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

The best place to drop the figures turned out to be the garage where I was parking my vehicle. During one of my trips back to drop off some of the comic I had purchased, I ran into a guy on the elevator. He noticed my shirt and then told me that he knew who I was and was on the hunt for the Space Mummy figure.

His name was Daniel and he was one cool dude. It was so Awesome to meet someone on the hunt for one of my figures. This 10-15 minute meeting was my highlight for the convention.

I hooked Daniel up with a couple of Space Monstas comics to go with his new figure. 

- -- Maybe the second highlight of the show was handing out Cousin Harold comics Friday morning at the start of the show. My wife and I handed out 200 books in 10 minutes to a bunch of happy con goers. Great Times!

- -- I'm not a big fan of cosplay, but these guys are my favorites (and also close friends). Always great to see them at shows.

I'm sure I could go on and on about SDCC, it is my favorite show each year. But it is over and I have to wait another year for a new adventure. That also means I have to get back to work.

- -- Which means it's back to making figures and comics. wrapping up Zack Zombie and the Invisible Astronauts this week. I'm sure I will have a few more pictures to share next week. On the comic front. I'm back to working on Cousin Harold and the circus storyline. I'm also doing a page in a special project for a friend (will share more once the page is complete).

That is all for this week.

Take care,

- denny 

I'm a Bootlegger!

It has gotten really HOT out on the south side of Peoria.

So this week I attended a mold making seminar at Reynolds and they had us introduce ourselves and state what our interest was in mold making. i said "Denny and I'm a Bootlegger!" I really like that title, Bootlegger. Makes me feel a little sinister. Oh well on to what I have been doing, which is mostly Bootlegging.

- -- The stickers arrived for my Invisible Astronaut release.

So when I originally conceived the Space Monstas figures/universe/idea, I came up with 7 figures and stories that went with those figures. These stories were going to take me 3-4 years to complete. As I started to make figures I began to get addition ideas for figures and stories. How would I add these figures in befor I even got through the original 7? Well how did they add Boba Fett to Star Wars? He was a FREE send away with 5 proof of purchases. 

So I have decide to take that idea and play with it. Each year I will be adding a figure to the Space Monstas Universe via FREE with Purchase. Sure you can buy the Invisible Astronaut when he is released, but you could also just get him for FREE if you purchase 3 other Space Monstas figures from me (while supplies last). What a deal, right? I also have a short story featuring the Invisible Astronaut, that I'm hoping to get to after I wrap up the story I'm working on now.

- -- Production on the Zack Zombie figure and Invisible astronaut is happening daily, This heat is killing the amount of pours that I can do at a time because the resin is curing so fast. So I'm pouring 3 parts at a time, which means I'm getting about one figure poured every hour.

I did have a chance to finalize the card backers for both of these figures.

Zack Zombie and the Invisible Astronaut are scheduled to be release the last Friday of July at this point.

- -- Cousin Harold strips are being produced at a rate of about 5 a week. Really enjoying Fester and Lea's first case together storyline. The strips will start running later this week or early next week. Also started producing a Cousin Harold book to hand out at SDCC this year. More information on this book in the next couple of weeks.

Okay that is about it for now. Have a GREAT week!

Take care,

- denny   

Things are Not Always as They Appear to Be

It's getting HOT out here on the southside of Peoria in Arizona. Expecting 120 degrees on Tuesday. Looks like I will be spending a lot of time inside making comics and figures.

So this week I had an experience at the gym that reminded me that "Things are Not Always as They Appear to Be!" The nice elderly woman on the elliptical never to me told me that she does not like to workout next to me because of how fast I go and the amount of calories that I burn. Those that know me, know that I'm a big man with a weight problem. I'm over 100 lbs over weight. I would like to lose about 75 lbs and I would be happy. I go to the gym 5-6 days a week and workout really hard (I'm a beast, really), but I love sweets. So every pound that I work off I put back on eating donuts, cookies and ice cream. This summer I'm doing a little better and actually losing weight because I'm eating less sweets. However I'm not happy with myself at the gym and I always feel like I could have worked out harder. So where this lady sees someone who is successful, I feel like I'm not even close to being there.

The same could be true for comics and figure making. I make a ton of things each year and people make comments that they wish they could produce like I do. However I'm always thinking I can do more. This has been my main thought this summer so far, becaus eI have been a little lazy in the creation department. But things are still getting made at a fairly steady pace. I have 2 figures in production, with a third/fourth starting soon. I'm about halfway through Cousin Harold 13. I also have a few pages of the next Space Monstas book drawn. So while many people see what I do and think that I'm successful, I feel like I'm not even close to being there.

- -- Production is in full swing on the Invisible Astronaut and Zack Zombie.

Hoping to drop these figures at the end of July. Both will be $40 or there is a special deal for the Invisible Astronaut figure.

The Invisible Astronaut will be FREE with the purchase of 3 other figures (while supplies last).

- -- Cousin Harold comic production is in full swing. I making 5-6 strips a week. About halfway through issue 13. If you have not check out the strip lately there is a ton to read here.

- -- Some big plans are in the works for Space Monstas. Working on a FCBD edition fpr next year, which will guest star someone else's character. Very Excited about this, but probably will not be able to share anything until early 2018.

Also working on the next Space Monstas story, where the Space Mummy fights a bunch of asteroid zombies. This story is going to be a little long (the goal is a 100 page mini-comic), so I'm planning on dropping some preview mini-comics along the way. More info to come.

Okay that is about it. I still feel like I should be doing more, maybe that is what makes me look a bit more successful than the next guy (even though I do not think this). I do however think that I'm a BEAST when it comes to creating things and at working out.

Hope you all have a great week,

- denny