Coming Attractions

Soon, I'll have a couple of new books coming out--at long last! Seems like I finished these forever ago. That's how the world of print/book production works. But it wasn't so long ago really. It's been a full few months, these past.


First up, is MIGHTY CASEY. This is my pal James Preller's retelling of the old Thayer poem. But I'm here to tell you, the results ain't nearly so glum. It's good, funny fun. I even got to draw a kid peeing against a fence in the outfield (no lie). But in a classy way.



Second up, is TOOT TOOT ZOOM!. This is the great Phyllis Root's pic book about a lonely little fox who has no friends. He jumps in his car and shoots up the mountainside to find some. There are good results. And there are disastrous results. I got to draw the car plummeting off the edge of the mountain (no lie). But it's classy.

I hope you'll save some room in your memory banks for when these come out. MIGHTY CASEY is set to "drop" March 3 from Feiwel and Friends. And you can find/buy/pre-order at amazon.com right here. Though, if I may be so bold, I strongly recommend/ask you buy/order through your local, independent bookstore!

TOOT TOOT ZOOM! is out April 28 from Candlewick Press. Amazon here. Local, independent bookshop, please!

More on these in the coming weeks...

Mr. Mom

Remember that Michael Keaton/Teri Garr ditty that came out in mid-80's? He gets canned from his job, so the missus has to save the day and be the breadwinner--a big-time ad agency exec. Keaton picks up stay-at-home Mom duties--fouling up laundry, dinners, taking care of baby. It all works out. Little bit sexist, but generally harmless fun.

Today, that's me. Not the sexist. The Mr. Mom. Julie's maternity leave just ran out, so I'm officially stay-at-home dad/illustrator. Today, day 1.

Romy's a real sweetheart, so it's going well. We miss Julie though, that's for sure. We were a team. A three-piece deal. {sigh}

Such is life.

The life of Mr. Mom.

Richard Thompson is GOOD.

One of my xmas/hanukkah gifts this year was a recently published, collected comic strip by Richard Thompson called CUL DE SAC. I first heard about Thompson and CUL DE SAC on one of my fave comics news sources, The Comics Reporter. It was a while ago. Since then, I've peeped in on Thompson's blog time and again, and I've occasionally looked in on his strip online. It's syndicated, but not all over the place. It should be. ALL over the place. This is the best mainstream strip I can remember since CALVIN AND HOBBES. It's hilarious, super-smart, and the best drawn thing I've seen in a freakin while. Bill Watterson even does the foreword on the book, saying pretty much the same stuff. It's sharp, wise, and kid-friendly like PEANUTS or CALVIN, absurd like BLOOM COUNTY, and drawings that'll knock your socks off like Ralph Steadman or somesuch. I really loved when, early on, he was coloring with watercolor. But that stops several pages into the book. I assume he quit to save time and it was probably a pain from a production standpoint.

At the request and permission of no one, I will hereby reproduce some of my favorite strips from this book, starting with the cover (click images to zoom and get a better read).