TV time again

today (dec 28) at 7pm i'll be on TV again. local access, BCTV if you live in the berks county area. i'll be talking with reading eagle art critic ron schira about comics (presumably mine, but who knows) and there's an excellent chance i will say something ignorant or embarrassing. or... ignorant AND embarrassing, why choose just one? you can see what i'm up to.

if you don't live in the area, you can go to http://www.bctv.org/bctv/watch_live/wl_bctv/ to watch a live stream.

cheers!

nothing like a cuppa...

...when fighting alien hordes.

something (non-dare) that i'm working on. i'd probably be done, but mice tried to burn my house down this weekend.

no, that is not a metaphor.

the 5th dare day of xmas!

the dare detectives should be in bookstores today!!!

buy it now! or later. now is better!!!

cheers to simon

the 4th dare day of xmas

yes, i know the counting is all off. whacha gonna do about it?

dare days of xmas 3

an old street, away from the tourist traps,

in tropical southgate. from the kula kola caper.

this is actually one of my favoritest drawings ever.

unfortunately, it was stolen (along with a bag full

of other art) from NYCC.

the 2nd dare day of xmas

here's day 2!

in a later case, the DD go undercover to investigate a psychedelic band dabbling in mind control. as you can see, sarah learned everything she knows about punk from my little pony.

pearl harbor

holy crap! when i think of wonder woman, i think of this:

also, space amazons.

DARE DETECTIVES #1 is about to hit stores!

ah... winter. that magical time of the year, when a young man's fancy turns to panda gangsters and haunted casinos...

and to cater to the underserved panda-gangsters-and-haunted-casinos demographic, archaia has released the dare detectives mostly first case, "the snowpea plot".

the 208-page trove of wonders will be available at bookstores on the 19th, just in time to buy your special someone 2 copies for christmas! why 2 copies? because that's twice as much money for me, and that 100ft tall robot mme. bleu isn't going to build itself!

it was going to be 102 feet, but that would have been ridiculous

so to celebrate, i'm going to post dare art each day for the 12 dare days of christmas. each will be high-res, so feel free to download them, print them out, make them into screensavers, sneak them into your portfolio, etc.

ps - if you hate bookstores, "the snowpea plot" will also be on sale at comics store on the 28th. of course, by then the books will all be sold out, and people will be using page 183* as a new and indestructible national currency, so don't miss out!

cheers!

ben c

ps -- aaah... fergit it, i can't wait that long! it'll just have to be 18 dare days of christmas. or 11. whatever, i draw ninjas specifically so that i don't have to math stuff!

*ha ha, i'm just kidding. it's going to be page 185.

poison

feel like crap and everyone in my family

is sick right now and no sleep and boo hoo.

commission, 11x17"

happy thanksgiving!

i'm giving thanks for a lovely wife and children with no criminal record.

so far

ps - this is the path from vaudeville to lantern abbey

ugh

been felling sick for the past several weeks, no energy, either. more of those oz motivational posters.

blurg.

more from the cartooning class

hi all! more from my class. i suppose i should mention, by the way, that i'll be teaching another round of the class starting in january, and anyone who lives in the berks/lancaster area who is interested can sign up through the yocum art institute.

anyway, talking about placing figures in space/drawing figures in perspective, which segued into POV and shot composition:

of course, these are not exhaustive -- they're just supplements for the actual class -- but i'm thinking of putting together an "advanced! cartooning" book or something, after manga is done.

kids

nothing fancy, just a doodle of my girls and toby.

yes, toby the dog is named after toby taylor. but in all fairness, toby taylor was originally chosen as a great puppy name, since the character is like an overgrown puppy. it's all very "circle of life".

or something completely different.

design, posing, and body language

these are some notes i drew up for my current cartooning class.

i used DD's arch-foe red dingo, who i have only recently figured out how to draw.

he is a manic and grandiose character, so he was a perfect example for showing changes in body language for depression, elation etc that need to look exciting, while essentially being static poses.

the stages go from right to left, because i am left-handed and everything i do is backwards

if you have my earlier sketchbooks, or the uberfolio, you can see plenty of examples of the attempts i've made at red dingo over the years.

i actually have dozens of pages of these expressions/poses, it seems i went from total block to artistic diarrhea. enjoy the mental image!

red dingo is enjoying it

the bar poses are from a scene in "the kula kola caper". don't worry, kids, it's just ginger ale!

and vodka.

OZ motivational poster

cleaning up some old files and found this. there are more.

*#&#*! winkies.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

obviously, i was going to post this yesterday.

unfortunately, we've been sans internet since friday, thanks to the blizzard. and i just realized that starbuck's has free wifi. if only they had blankies for nap time...




i'll post more stuff from the witch's house later.

what the hell, ben?

no, seriously... what the hell?

pictured: what the hell?

NYCC commissions 4

playing doctor, 11x17

NYCC sketches 3

2 more con sketches. dr strange is roughs for an 11x17 pic that i'm working on.

the bottom is a random doodle, based on a tattoo artist i met. i didn't actually see her punch the red skull, but come on.

pictured: come on

also, howdy again to everyone i met, and everyone i met again! i didn't get to visit all the tables i wanted to, but here's hoping for next time!

also, to sarah from nebraska/massachusetts: i still didn't see your art!

(as a general note, everyone should be carrying art on them at all times.)

NYCC commissions 2

catwoman pencils

catwoman inks

wonder woman!

more to come...

NYCC commissions 1

finishing up some others...

starfire

babydoll

NYCC and sketchbooks

howdy all!

at NYCC and my head hurts and i'm feeling sick and i'm having a blast! great seeing so many old friends again, so many talented artists too! must go to sleeeeep, but...

if you emailed me about sketchbooks and have not heard back (and you know who you are), don't fret! i'm working through the list slowly, but there have been so many orders for both SB14/15 and my older sketchbooks, that i am printing more of everything and there shall be sketchbooks aplenty, and little timmy will get his christmas goose, after all!

next week i'll also be posting prints for sale, tried that out at the convention and it is going swimmingly. and of course everyone knows that art just seems so much more real if someone is willing to give you money for it and stick it on a wall. amirite?

just some con arts to make this post bearable.

ps - if you were in martin's class, thanks again for having me, and i hope i didn't turn you all into terrified cynics. that's what graduation is for!

yawn... even more junk for NYCC and beyond!

did i mention i'm going to be at NYCC? let's, for the sake of this one-sided conversation, assume that i did not. GUESS WHAT GUYS? I'M GOING TO B--

oh forget it. you obviously already know, my charade it is a failure!

ok, now that we've cleared the small talk, on my incredibly small table at NYCC, in addition to sketchbooks and mostly free postcards and con sketches, i will also have original art and prints. i have already been putting things together, but tune in because this is where you can do your part for the cause.

what would you like to see? and by "see", of course i mean "pay me money for". i will have original at from WW, dare, pinups, and odds and ends. if there is anything more specific you are interested in, let me know so i can bring it. or if you won't be there, drop me a line anyway.

ditto for prints. i'll have the gojira print, along with some art from oz and dare and st michel and a few odds and ends, but if there's any little piece of mine that has a special place in your heart (hopefully on the ventricular side), let me know and maybe i can slip that in.

also, a few clever people have reserved con-sketch time. these are the sort of on-the-spot-johnnies i'm proud to associate with. my time isn't even remotely valuable, but still i never seem to have enough of it, and you gotta lock that down.

just like mrs veal.

more sketchbooks

hm. well, it turns out i have vastly underestimated many things in my life, such as the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie roll (3 and a half, you bastard owl), or how many people really hate seeing cartoony comics (all of them).

turns out, i also underestimated the number sketchbooks needed to bring loving harmony to the world. or at least to the corner of your bookshelf. so i'm reprinting my last batch of sketchbooks, SB11BIGGEST DARE, SB12HEROES, and SB13LES FEMMES IMAGINAIRE.

it will take about 3 weeks to get them printed and shipped.

SB11 interiors

SB12 interiors

SB13 interiors. the actual art isn't censored, but i didn't want to cause trouble online. i mean, naked girls on the internet, yikes.

like the new book, these are each 80pp, $15.

you can email me:

ben(at)daredetectives(com)

be sure to include your address so i can get back to you with the s+h. (the shipping and handling cost something, but the love is free.)

SKETCHBOOK 14/15 ON SALE NEXT WEEK!

howdy action fans!

well it's been a long time coming, but i found a printer and i found a few minutes of free time and the rest is history! starting at NYCC, i will be selling copies of my newest sketchbook. why does it have two names? because it earned them.

one side of the book is art from the critically hated wednesday comics wonder woman, the other side is art from the world's most defective detectives! 80 pages of 100% premium cartooning for $15. i wouldn't call that the deal of the century, except i just did.

i'll have copies of this sketchbook at NYCC. i'll also have the big ol' 130pp "dare uberfolio", which is a reprint of the first four dare sketchbooks — for $15. it's like you're robbing me, only you're handing me money so that doesn't seem like the best comparison.

it's a great deal is what i'm saying.

pictured: a great deal, is what i'm saying

now, you might be one of the few billion people who are not going to NYCC, i understand that. fortunately, the 21st century has personally stepped in to lend a hand, internet style.

if you are interested in either book, you can e-mail me at ben@daredetectives.com to order. in fact, you can order SB14/15 early — it's a pretty small run, so if you want to reserve a copy from the grabbing hands at comic-con, better let me know!

until next time

cheers!

ben c

NYCC

hi all! if you're at NYCC, you can stop by my table in artist alley: L17.

i'll have lots of work to show, lots of work to sell, and you can mock me in real time as i draw con sketches! it's like everyone's birthday at the same time! except mine. my birthday's a few days before.

oh wait. you want to know what that is up there? well, you'll find out soon enough!

freaky tiki

hi all! more info about the dd1 reprint. if you don't remember what the dd1 reprint is (and why should you?) it's all in the post right below this one.

anyway, in addition to development art, the book will include a reprint of the short story "freaky tiki", which i drew in the middle of dd1 as a style test, and which first appeared in an anthology in 2005. i don't think it's been online anywhere since then, so this might be your first time ever seeing it; and if it isn't, just pretend anyway. for me.

here's one panel that manages to succinctly sum up everything you need to know about the story — namely, that it is awesome and why is that tiki zombie fat? do zombies even have a metabolism? there's only one way to find out! (but until we have zombie autopsies your just going to have to read this story instead.)

NYCC in 15 days!

"THE DARE DETECTIVES" RETURNS AT NYCC!

howdy!

remember that time you asked me when more DD was on the way? i thought so.

well, fantastic news for haters of mendacity and lovers of gun-toting-bunnies everywhere! archaia publishing (aka the "mouse guard people") will be delivering full-on cartoon action with new cases of the dare detectives. millions of them.

even as we speak (or more accurately, as i type and you semi-read), pages for the all-new, all-kidnapping, all-kissing, all-tiki-zombie dare sequel are being drawn! with drawings.

"the kula kola caper" pits the world's most defective detectives against world-conquering red dingo, bungling kidnappers, the boss of assassins, and the most annoying party princess ever, sarah kincaid! someone will fall in love! someone else will die! or not! two fierce foes will battle over buffet choices! no really! that part's definitely in there, while the whole dying thing is still TBD!

but wait — you never read the first dare case? or you read it, but you always wished that it was somehow reprinted, as a single, beautiful book on real paper? (yeah, i said it.) archaia loves you almost as much as i do — and let's be honest, i love the hell out of you — so they are reprinting the almost award-winning "snowpea plot" for your personal gratification. the art is big and bright, the jokes are funnier in a larger font, and maria's kicks have never been so... kicky? kickish? well, i'll let the wordsmiths hash that one out, although my spellcheck insists that "kicky" is okay. whatever, computer. and there's bonus art too, because seriously... you know how much of this stuff i have in my desk? so merry christmas. and hey, what do you know...

...the new and improved "snowpea plot" will be in stores just in time for your christmas shopping pleasure!

do you want to know more? yes. yes, you do want to know more. don't worry, i have that covered, too! COME VISIT ME AT THE NEW YORK COMICCON october 13-16! i'll be in artist alley, either drawing or in a fistfight with a hobo (i assume there are hobos in an artist alley.) either way, there will be lots of dare goodies there, including a new sketchbook and a sneak peek at upcoming dare books! knowing me, there will also almost certainly be new prints, from dare and from my other universally beloved work. if you didn't know my work was universally beloved, don't fret — no one else knew, either.

and if you can't come to NYCC, then boo! but i still love the hell out of you, so you know i'll be updating this blog with everything you will want to know, and probably many other things that do not interest you.

because i care.

cheers!

ben c