Posted: 11 Oct 2011 11:26 AM PDT I was at the mall the other day and all of the stores had their holiday stuff out. At first I was indignant. "What the...?! Already? We're just barely into October!" Then I began to think about putting together gifts for my clients, and almost instantly I went from "too soon" to "OMG! THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING!" After some deep breathing and brainstorming I'm feeling better about the gifts I'll be sending out, but in case you're in the same boat I was, might I suggest a novel idea for your holiday giving? Cartoons! Andertoons is now selling both framed hand drawn original art, and premium matted prints of all of my cartoons. They're the perfect unique gift for that hard to buy for client, co-worker, boss, friend, or family member. And there are thousands to choose from, so you're sure to find something that's just right. Think about it, it's a piece of art, it's a conversation piece, and it's a good laugh to boot. And I can pretty much guarantee you'll be the only one getting them a cartoon this year. I'm offering any cartoon in my inventory as both framed hand drawn art and as matted prints. Here's what they look like and some info on each: Framed Original CartoonsMatted Cartoon Prints |
New Cartoons Up! Posted: 11 Oct 2011 08:14 AM PDT  |
Avengers Trailer Posted: 11 Oct 2011 08:11 AM PDT Hoo hoo, baby! So can't wait to see this! |
Halloween Cartoons – Witches Posted: 11 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT Every year I get the standard Halloween costumes at my door. You've got your ninjas, your superheroes, your princesses, but my favorite is always the witch. Put a sweet little girl in a black robe and pointy hat and I'm shoveling out candy like there's no tomorrow. So, with trick or treating right around the corner, I thought I'd share a cauldron full of my favorite Halloween cartoons involving witches. Enjoy:  I tend to do a lot of tech humor, so when I made a list of Halloween topics to write about, a witch's "spell" immediately suggested "spellcheck" to me. That being said, I have not idea how that would work. Does it involve the cauldron somehow? The stirrer? Some other device? See, this is why its better not to think too long about cartoons.  Another cauldron comic. But this time our witch apparently has her own cooking show. Which kind of makes sense. Spells are always full of ingredients, instructions about cooking times and methods (bubbles and toil), they sound very much like recipes. But for me the last sentence, "Tune in next week when I'll be fattening and baking children I find in the forest," makes this cartoon for me. I labored over those 16 words for a good long time. And I'm glad I did because they still make me laugh.  Again with the Halloween tech! Apparently my witches are quite modern. The tricky part on this one is drawing something small and generic enough to not bring any particular device to mind, but recognizable enough to read visually quickly. Its also a little punny, but just barely.  This cartoon is a good example of one of my favorite writing tricks. Take an oddball character and insert them into a very normal setting and see what happens. The name "Helga" was the sticking point on this one. What's a good witch name that's not too jokey? Hazel? Too Warner Brothers. Esmerelda? Too long. Elphaba? Too showy. I'm still not convinced that Helga is the absolute best choice, but, as the saying goes, sometimes you just have to name your witch and move on. Wait, that's not a saying at all. Well, that's it. Be sure to check out all of my funny Halloween cartoons! |
Posted: 12 Oct 2011 07:00 AM PDT I could not believe this when I first saw it at The Brothers Brick: |
Figure of Speech. Posted: 17 Oct 2011 03:46 AM PDT    Total confusion this week. First cartoon changed into second cartoon, then new cartoon drawn, but cartoon 2 used for contest. Should probably gone with cartoon 3, but it's too late now. Shall post it after the voting ends, so everyone can say how much better it is, and how they would have voted for it, if only I'd posted that one. Think I thought about this one too much.   |
Posted: 18 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT Being a cartoonist, I love the fun artsiness of carving pumpkins. I'm not a huge fan of scooping out the the stuff, washing them, cleaning them up when they're done, or, really, anything else, but I love carving them. So, with All Hallow's Eve fast approaching, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite Halloween cartoons about pumpkins!  Being a cartoonist means always having that 1% of your brain awake and on the lookout for stuff to have fun with. This cartoon came from seeing my basketball in my garage. It was set in such a way that the seams lined up and sort of looked like a pumpkin. Then it was just a simple matter of creating young love gone awry. Easy!  I love mixing different things together in my Halloween cartoons. Often I'll combine nursery rhymes, business jargon, pretty much anything to see what happens. For this cartoon I was looking for a way to combine two holidays. I started with the leprechauns and their pot of gold, then started thinking of other holiday items as a substitute. It wasn't long before a pumpkin stood in, and then it took a bizarre turn into the business world. Writing is weird like that sometimes.  I do lots and lots of tech cartoons. The businessman in me will tell you it's largely because they sell well, and that's true, but mostly it's because I'm a huge nerd and I have a weak spot for the latest gadget. So when emoticons really took off and were widely understood, this cartoon wasn't far behind.  It struck me one year while carving with the kids that whatever emotion we chose for the pumpkin was it. And suddenly that's a lot of pressure! Do you want a happy one? Angry? Mournful? Philosophical? Whatever I choose, this pumpkin is stuck. Good thing this therapist is there to help. Well I think I've scooped about as much out of these pumpkin cartoons as I can. Feel free to browse all of my Halloween cartoons! (BTW, don't miss last week's Halloween cartoons about witches!) |
New Cartoons Up! – 10/18/11 Posted: 18 Oct 2011 05:46 AM PDt  |
Awful Superhero Halloween Costumes I’d Love To See – Zebra Batman Posted: 20 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT Yep, Zebra Batman: Batman and Robin encounter a magnetically-powered villain, the Zebra-Man. But a charge from the machine which gave Zebra-Man his powers turns Batman into a "Zebra-Batman" who repels all solid matter, and cannot regulate his powers.Yeah. Anyway, someone needs to make this costume for real! |
Captain Marvel Jr. Ski Jump Paper Toy Posted: 22 Oct 2011 11:27 AM PDT  Andertoons superfan @HalBumble was kind enough to send along some really unbelievable old Captain Marvel papercraft toys! I've scanned in one so far, the above Captain Marvel Jr. Ski Jump toy, and created this PDF so you can download, print, and make it yourself! Enjoy!  |
Are We In a Depression? I plan to return home to Israel on or about November 1st. |
LEGO Catwoman For The Win! Posted: 13 Oct 2011 07:33 AM PDT In case you hadn't heard, LEGO is coming out with some superhero sets in 2012. They've got licenses for both DC & Marvel and if you've read even only a few posts here at the blog you know that I'm fairly giddy about this. Anyway, LEGO's been holding a contest where you submit your LEGO superhero creations and, drumroll please... I won!  Yep, LEGO Catwoman here won me all of the upcoming 2012 LEGO DC Universe sets! Hee-hee! Hee-hee-hee! WOO! See? Giddy! |
My Mom’s Painting Posted: 13 Oct 2011 07:23 AM PDT  My mom retired a while back, and she's gotten to finally enjoy some time following one of her passions, watercolor. She's been on a tear lately, painting furiously and winning awards at some art fairs. Above is her latest and I thought it would be fun to show her off a bit and see where I inherited my art ability from. (Click on the image to enlarge it.) Apparently people have been pestering her for prints of this and previous work. Maybe I'll have to be her manager.  |
Awful Superhero Halloween Costumes I’d Love To See – Bug Catcher Spider-Man Posted: 13 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT This week's awful costume I'd like to see made real is from a toy I used to have on a shelf in my office, Bug Catcher Spider-Man: There's all kinds of awesome details to this costume, so don't miss checking out all my old pics. And, please, someone put this costume in production! |
Cartoons Make Great Holiday Gifts Posted: 14 Oct 2011 08:25 AM PDT  Well now ordering is a piece of cake! Just click on over to my new Gifts page! It's fast, easy & secure, but you only have until December 1st to order! |
the China Israel Connection I'm proud to have been asked by SIGNAL to be the keynote speaker at the inaugural event at SISU. I am also pleased that SIGNAL has invited me to lecture at universities and think tanks across China throughout the second half of October. If all goes right, as you read this, I'll be heading east to Shanghai, Beijing, Henan and Chongqing. I expect to be back in Israel on Nov. 1st. -Dry Bones- Israel's Political Comic Strip Since 1973  |
Superheroes, what are they good for? Posted: 22 Oct 2011 02:52 PM PDT
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