Crawdad Jones'

The reviews are in...

2011-09-27T05:08:00.000-07:00

...on my 2nd children's book coming out Oct. 11, called "The Day Roy Riegels Ran the Wrong Way"! Here's where you can find it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Day-Roy-Riegels-Ran-Wrong/dp/1599904942, and here's the review:
"Gutman showcases an infamous blunder in college football history in this play-by-play recap of an incident in the 1929 Rose Bowl between the University of California and Georgia Tech. When a player dropped the ball, Riegels, California's center, grabbed it and ran determinedly — toward the wrong goalpost. Riegels realized his error at the one-yard line, but the mishap cost his team the game. The two-tiered narrative juxtaposes the breathless voice of the radio broadcaster ('Folks, I've never seen anything like it in all my days!') with dialogue between a contemporary boy and his grandfather, who's telling his grandson about Riegels's gaffe. With a muted palette that reinforces the period feel, Talbott's mixed-media cartoons approach caricature, depicting the characters' horrified expressions with an exaggeration that nods toward vintage comics. Gutman (Casey Back at Bat) notes that a humiliated Riegels jumped back into the game and performed well, underlining a message summed up neatly by the grandfather: 'It just goes to show that mistakes are not the end of the world.' Ages 4 — 8." Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

FINITO!

2011-05-10T05:01:00.000-07:00

The Big Bang cover is all tucked in and put to bed. I'll let you know how to get a copy when somebody tells me!

KW update--COLOR!

2011-04-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

Here's where I'm going with the color on the cover--not sure about a lot of it so far, but we'll see what shakes out.

Knight Watchman cover update

2011-04-28T19:01:00.001-07:00

Updated look at Knight Watchman cover. I'll be replacing a head or 2 and doing some sfx to give it some mood, but I'm happy with the inks, anyway.

Gotham City

2011-04-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

Pittsburgh will make a great Gotham City. The giant stone jail in the middle of the city would make a nice Arkham Asylum with Wayne Tower overlooking.

Knight Watchman in progress

2011-04-23T06:59:00.000-07:00

Here's the cover, already in progress (one of the many projects I need to wrap up). The rest of the book is done and ready to go. Once the cover is done, I'll post where it can be purchased for a very reasonable fee.

2011-03-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

Here's the cover sketch to a book I'm doing for Big Bang Comics. As soon as the cover is done, the book will go on sale. Details to follow.

Press hat, Richmond Magazine

2011-02-12T07:28:00.000-08:00

Here's a spot illo I did for Richmond Magazine a month or so back. I never pass up an opportunity to draw a fedora with a PRESS card in it.

Bully!

2010-07-13T06:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick illo of Teddy R. done as a quick promo for a children's book I'll be working on the second half of the year.

Mr. Monster demo UPDATE!

2010-03-07T20:34:00.000-08:00

I think I'm done here.

Mr. Monster demo

2010-02-27T06:17:00.000-08:00

This is a Mr. Monster drawing I did as a demo for my Imagery for Sc-fi and Fantasy class. It's done in colored pencil and gouache and there's about 2 hours in it so far. I like the way it's headed, so I think I'll go ahead and finish it up between paying jobs.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

2009-12-24T07:49:00.000-08:00

Think outside the bubble

2009-03-04T17:01:00.000-08:00

make custom gifts at Zazzle

OSCARS 2009

2009-02-22T12:13:00.000-08:00

Here's how the Oscars '09 piece turned out.

Lil Wayner

2009-02-19T13:24:00.000-08:00

Caricature of Lil Wayne done for the Grammys a few weeks back.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln!

2009-02-12T14:43:00.000-08:00

This showed up on page 1 of the Times-Dispatch this morning.

Coast to coast, baby.

2009-02-10T16:40:00.001-08:00

Went to the New York City Comicon last weekend and ended up on The Today Show. So I got that goin' for me.

Which is nice.

Oscars!

2009-01-29T17:05:00.000-08:00

These are some rough sketches for a story about how Oscar is showing a tendency to eschew the big-budget blockbusters in favor of smaller art films. The top image is just a real rough color sketch to sell the idea, the bottom image is the same image with refinements.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY!!

2008-12-23T18:59:00.001-08:00

Halloween Fun FINAL!

2008-10-29T16:24:00.001-07:00

Special thanks to my Graphic Essay class for some great suggestions!

Halloween!

2008-10-24T17:05:00.001-07:00

Here's a sketch I'm working on for next week--comments, suggestions welcome!

E has a new home!

2008-09-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

"E" can now be found here!

I'll still be posting updated work here, but you can now go to Amalgamated Artists to see the E-dude's adventures in an easy-to-read picture box format.

YEATH!!

E strikes back!

2008-09-04T11:55:00.001-07:00

Labor Day Special!

2008-08-28T18:46:00.000-07:00

A new page of E to last you all through the long holiday weekend! A great way to kiss the summer goodbye! Yeath!

Another page already?!

2008-08-16T16:14:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know, crazy times. Not my favorite page, but it moves the story along. Wish I'd drawn a better beastie. He looks better on the next page, anyway.

More EEEEEEEEEEEEEE

2008-08-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

BUGHEAD

2008-08-05T17:46:00.001-07:00

Another day, another meeting.

Guard Dog

2008-08-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

Done during a meeting (not the photoshop color part). Good boy.

S'no monkey like a snow monkey

2008-07-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Sketches!

2008-07-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some sketches done during meetings last week. KIDS! Never work in an office!

E is for Epic!

2008-07-25T15:39:00.000-07:00

New page from the E epic is up! Not my favorite page, doesn't have much flow and some of the drawing is kinda wonky, but it moves the story along. If you want to see the whole stinkin' story up to now in order, you can find it here

E, Episode 4, pages 2,3

2008-07-21T16:32:00.001-07:00

Not much talking on this page, but I promise, these guys start flapping their gums like there's no tomorrow on the next page! Promise!

Easter in July!!

2008-07-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a little late, but I finally got a chance to finish what I started back in March. Enjoy.

E RETURNS!!

2008-06-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

Enjoy!

Vote for this guy!

2008-06-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

If you're just itching to play the Zuda game again this month, vote for this guy. He's an excellent artist and a good egg.

E's not dead...he's just resting.

2008-06-09T18:26:00.001-07:00

Friends of E--just a little piece of in-progress E art to let you know I'm still working on the project. I was hoping a contract from DC would move E to the front burner, but I have other projects that actually pay, so I have to do those first. If you'd like to be on an E updates mailing list, send me your e-mail and I'll try to let you know when something new is up. In the meantime, if you're checking in and would like to show some love for the E-dude and his pals, please drop a comment. More soon!

Best wishes,

The Crawdad

E--The Lost Pages

2008-05-30T05:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, there's actually only one, but this is the cover art for the star-crossed, ill-fated, poorly conceived E/Beaverman crossover. It would've shaken worlds and junk, but it's just too volatile, times being what they are and all. Anyhoo, thanks to those who supported the E cause at Zuda--I hope we end up 3rd because that would be nice and ironic. If you haven't voted yet, find 500 of your best friends and sign 'em up!

E sketches

2008-05-28T05:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some sketches where I finally knew where I was heading with E (more or less). These weren't from the same page originally, I just threw them together for this page. Anyhoo--enjoy!

E's nightmare!!

2008-05-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

My good friend Clayton Cooke did this piece of E fan art, and I give it a big YEATH!! Not sure this will appear as part of the story, but it's so disturbing I had to share it with the world! If you're out there, Clayton, make sure you tell us what the heck you were thinking when you created this wondrous monstrosity! YEATH!!

E's Last Stand!

2008-05-26T20:05:00.000-07:00

This is the last week of the Zuda competition, so it's time for one last push! If you haven't voted, what're you waiting for? A 3-eyed guy's life hangs in the balance! Thanks to all of you who have supported the cause! YEATH!!

YEATH!!

2008-05-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

My good friend Diego Tripodi did this "E" piece and I'm all goofy about it! YEATH!! You can catch more of Diego's graphic goodness at this address:

http://diegotripodi.deviantart.com/

Evolution of E jumps the track!

2008-05-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

I don't remember the exact chronology on this, but at some point I ditched the "humans in danger" thing, and had this idea for this opening scene. It may look familiar to you. I was also trying a slightly different inking style, and I wasn't sure about E's costume, but I think this one was really a trainwreck. But you'll see I got closer on the robot design, though I hadn't firmed up exactly why E needed sidekicks or what purpose they served. Glad to say, eventually I did. Anyway, here's the last piece of full art before i got it right (IMHO, anyway). Enjoy.

More Evolution of "E"!!

2008-05-23T06:32:00.000-07:00

These pages represent the next whack I took at fashioning a comic I'd enjoy creating. At this point, I stuck with the setting being Richmond and the bad guys as basically 2-legged dragons. I ditched the knight angle, but still tried to impose that sort of heroic feel onto it. I remember considering at one point if E should have a lance.But I think the idea of the humans being hunted and eaten was just too melodramatic a concept for the goofy characters I'd created--it seemed to me the comic would always be fighting itself over what it wanted to be. At this point I also added sidekicks. I thought he needed them in this story just for some added fun and weirdness, but they play a much more vital role in what "E" finally became (in my head, anyway). Anyway, here's as far as this idea got, and even though it didn't work, it moved the whole idea along quite a bit. Enjoy.

More of the Evolution of "E"

2008-05-21T18:59:00.001-07:00

Here are some sketches from around the time I was trying to figger out what kind of comic I wanted to do. I always liked heroes with goggles (and really, friends--who doesn't?), so I started messing around with some designs. At some point, I came up with the name "Mister E", only to find later that DC had come up with that name about 20 or so years before. Still, I felt I was heading in some kind of direction, so I went with it. I also got around to sketching some armored characters and thought maybe I wanted a monkey in my story. After seeing the results and realizing it was a crummy idea, I scrapped it. Anyway, here are the sketches.

The evolution of "E"

2008-05-21T04:38:00.000-07:00

Years ago, I wanted to create a comic that happened in my adopted hometown of Richmond, VA.I had this vague idea that it would have a kind of modern knights vs. modern dragons theme to it. The basic idea was that earth had been invaded and run underground, but in their darkest hour, the knights would show up and save the day. Not terribly original, I know, but at the time it seemed like a good idea. So I worked up the first page, staging the action in front of a local monument (the Arthur Ashe monument, for no other reason than I liked the shape of the base). The idea of having the story take place in Richmond carried over into "E", so that's why I'm showing you this. So here's the first page.

Then I realized that I hadn't actually designed the armor yet, so I should probably do that.But once I started designing them, I decided I didn't like the idea, and headed in a different direction. More on that a little later today.

OMAC, page 9

2008-05-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

Here's the last OMAC page. I did these quite a while back, but I'm glad I still like them. Hope you've enjoyed seeing them (the 3 of you who have come by to look, that is).

NEXT! The early "E" pages! I dug deep into the vault to find these, and I think you'll find them fascinating, just fascinating! Enjoy!

OMAC, pages 7 and 8

2008-05-15T05:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, almost done with the OMAC stuff. I'll be putting up more directly related "E" stuff in the next couple of days. Some of it's so wrong-headed, it's funny. Anyway, here are 2 more pages (last comes tomorrow).

2008-05-14T12:33:00.001-07:00

OMAC, page 6

2008-05-14T06:12:00.000-07:00

Splash page of the villain later used in my "E" comic. Those tubes aren't just there for decoration!

Smile!

2008-05-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

This doesn't have anything to do with the ZUDA competition, but this is a piece I just got in a local show that opens next month. Doubt very much I'll get any work from it, but it was a fun piece to do.

OMAC, page 5

2008-05-13T06:10:00.000-07:00

Here's page 5 of the OMAC submission. Not much new here as far as things you might also see in "E", but if anyone's following the pages, it'd be a shame to leave one out! Enjoy.

OMAC, page 4

2008-05-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

Brother Eyes saves the day, and we get a better look at the villain that I designed for this submission that we see later in my "E" strip.

OMAC, page 3

2008-05-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

Here's the 3rd page of the OMAC pages (just like it says above! I'm not lying!). Here we see OMAC up to his neck in little green morons before Brother Eye steps in. Enjoy.

OMAC, page 2

2008-05-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

Page 2 of my OMAC pitch from back in the day. You can see the tv sets that appear in the final screen of my ZUDA entry, and you get a better look at the villain, who's a lot like the one that ended up in the story. You can also watch the hero get dog-piled by a bunch of little green guys with really bad teeth. ENJOY!!

It all began with...OMAC!!

2008-05-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

This and subsequent posts this month will relate to my "E" web comic currently up at .

I did this OMAC submission years ago, but as you might be able to tell, some of the elements from this submission made their way into the E strip (big monsters, weird little guys attacking en masse). I also was trying to capture some BIG Kirby action, which is more apparent in the regular comic format I did this in. I'll put more pages up in the following days.

2008-05-07T05:06:00.001-07:00

Michael T. Gilbert's Mr. Monster

2008-05-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

This is a drawing of Mr. M I did a few years back, just for fun. Had the pleasure of doing a story with Michael years and years ago, and he's the kind of guy you wish all your favorite creators were like--a real nice guy. Some have noted that my "E" strip reminds them of Mr. M, so a gold star for them!

ZUDA!

2008-05-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

http://zudacomics.com/node/426

Happy Easter!

2008-03-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

This is a fun little piece I'm doing for Easter.

Whuzzat?

Easter was what weekend?

Ol' 3-Eyes UPDATE

2008-03-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

Another day, another meeting...

2008-02-29T19:54:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I don't pay attention in meetings...

2008-02-28T20:02:00.000-08:00

sketches 'n' junk

2008-02-27T05:05:00.000-08:00

Here's a new alien head I'm working on right now. I'm not sure this isn't something that could be done better in Photoshop, but I still enjoy doing actual board work with gouache and colored pencil, and I still like the overall effect. If I can find the time, I may go back and do this same sketch digitally. My home computer is so incredibly slow I have a hard time getting any rhythm going with the Wacom, so that gets frustrating real fast. My work computer is faster, but they're not paying me to flesh out alien heads most of the time. Enjoy.