Archive for July, 2008
Interviews
Thursday, July 31st, 2008I’ve added a new section called “Interviews, etc” on the left column. There are a couple of online interviews, the first one done with Suzanne Tobin of the Washington Post when they picked up Pooch a few years back. You may note thinly disguised questioners Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine) and Darby Conley (Get Fuzzy) having some fun with the queries. I’ve also linked to the podcast interview I did (for those who feel they need a full hour dose of my soothing, supple voice) and a link to the Pooch Wikipedia page (for which there is a standing invitation to all Pooch affectionados to tinker away on).
And here’s another advance panel:
Poncho Under The Knife
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008This is the series that was taking place when the Hong Kong paper cut Pooch to make way for Sudoku and got in trouble with fans of the strip. As I understand it Pooch disappeared the day after Poncho was lying in bed at night contemplating life and wondering if he was going to die (bottom strip shown below). Couldn’t have been more perfect timing as far as leaving readers hanging and prompting maximum response. The HK paper brought Pooch back and found some other place for those nasty, comic-destroying Sudoku puzzles.
Cat Catapult Design
Sunday, July 27th, 2008Here’s another take on the Cat Catapult sent in by Gerald Lippert. Excellent use of available items, and I especially like the signs pointing the direction of the final destination. You do the dogs proud, G.L!
Scary Halloween Costumes (Dog Style)
Thursday, July 24th, 2008From the “Trivia” thread, here is the strip in question. I did a Halloween Sunday years earlier where all the dogs were dressed as various things that are frightening to dogs — many of your trivia question guesses were represented in that one. I’ll post it closer to Halloween time. 
Boomer and Poncho Chow Down
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008Another advance panel, this one from a daily, so it won’t be as long before it shows up within its proper framing. I’m finding snipping these panels from the strip they’ll appear in very interesting, gives them a different perspective.
Poncho Look-alike
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
Latest, here.
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
Pookie Miles submitted by Cheryle, Louisville, KY
11 year old Boston Terrier, described as “amazing and spunky.” Not exactly Poncho qualities, but she’s got Poncho’s eyes.
More Jaws
Monday, July 21st, 2008As I mentioned this other Jaws strip (which predates the Jaws strips below) was originally written for an earlier comic I developed called “Plank” (which I will fill you in on when I finally get to the next installments of “My Path To Syndication” — long overdue, I know) and as I said I don’t think it fits very well into the Pooch Cafe world. It’s a joke almost any characters in any other strip could have made, perhaps much more appropriately than a young dog. As a colleague pointed out as well, that super-scary Jaws shark music surely emanated from a stringed instrument larger than a violin, but that’s another matter.
Penance Comic Book
Sunday, July 20th, 2008Quite a while back – 10 years plus, in fact – a friend introduced me to Sean Wise, a lawyer living in Ottawa who had an idea for a comic book series which was, essentially, a “Law & Order” for superheroes, and he was seeking an artist to collaborate with. I thought it was a sweet idea, and we had a blast coming up with this series together. Ten years ago bringing real-world elements into superhero books was still novel.
Alas, none of the comic companies bit, in some cases they had similar series already underway, and our concept went into hibernation. Sean made a vow that one day, no matter how long it took, our book would see print.
Well, that day took 10 years, but he was true to his word. About a year ago a Canadian company called Arcana became interested in the project. By this point I’d become much too busy with other things to participate any further, so a new artist and writer were assigned to bring our concept to light. And the results are in. The concept doesn’t seem as novel these days, but I still think it’s a fun little tale. For all my early efforts and enthusiasm about getting into superhero comics, I never managed to break in and finally moved on to other things (as you may know), so it’s a gas to finally have my name on a superhero comic book, along with Sean, who has become a dear friend, and as it turns out, a fulfiller of vows. (Cool cover by Greg Horn, eh?)
JAWS!
Thursday, July 17th, 2008Below is a series of strips about Poncho taking Fish to the movies. For some reason that ignores what year it is “Jaws” is playing (must be a rep theater, which would also explain why they let a dog and a fish in without question). Like many others I saw this movie when I was still young and it scared me for life, removing my ability to swim comfortably in the ocean or listen to the cello. I did a Sunday back in year #2 with Poncho representing my childhood fear of the movie. I had originally written this for another strip I created before Pooch, and I don’t think it fit well into the Pooch world so didn’t include it in any book (at least I don’t think I did). I’ll post that later. Here, in the meantime, is the Fish/Jaws series:
Painting
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008Nothing Pooch related today, but as I’m sure none of you know I dabble in the painting field from time to time. Here’s a sample:
Purse Poo Poo
Sunday, July 13th, 2008Here’s a panel from an upcoming Sunday showing Poo Poo in his “natural environment,” and wearing his famous pink bow once again. Poor little guy.
Animal Fears
Saturday, July 12th, 2008Here’s one of the rough ideas I came up with for MAD that didn’t float their boat. I’ve found that even though MAD has felt sympatico enough with my humor style to invite submissions and print some of my meanderings, some of my favorites have not made the MAD grade. This one rough, some of you may recall, I turned into a Pooch Sunday a few months back.
Postcard
Thursday, July 10th, 2008Here’s another postcard I did for Sharper. This was derived from a series done back in year one (I believe) where Carmen gave Chazz two tickets to Vegas for a birthday present and Poncho assumed Chazz would take him. Poncho was already brushing up on blackjack techniques before Chazz could break the news to him. Poncho then had to stay in a kennel, which he likened to a prison. He brought a suitcase full of cigarettes with him to use as currency on “the inside”, then tried to escape with another dog by carving a fake pistol out of soap.
Were-Hamster
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008Occasionally I do some character design work for animation. This is a “were-hamster” (yup, a a hamster that turns into a flesh-eating monster during full moons) that I did for Nelvana for a show called “Fusers” (which I don’t believe made it to air). 
Poo Poo Look-Alike
Sunday, July 6th, 2008
Poo Poo Look-Alike
Sunday, July 6th, 2008
Princess Poppy of Rue Chateaguay (Poppy)
What a Poo Poo-esque name. The pink bow adds a nice touch too.
Father’s Day Card
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008This adorable card came to me from blog fan NinaGeeka, a card in spirit from Poncho to his “father” on Father’s Day. It’s one of those cards where the image changes if you view it from a slightly different angle. Technology seems to have progressed, as there are now 5 separate images as the Poncho-esque mutt pops up from lower screen and tilts his head charmingly. I scanned it out of curiosity to see what would appear. Thanks, NG!
