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

1988

do you ever wonder what my art looked like in eighth grade? of course you do.

well, now you can consider yourself enlightened, because it was full of pouty-lipped mecha that had visors, sunglasses, and a monocle.

and naked lady tats.

you're welcome, world.

seven stars

too crazed to even think, but a sketch from new sketchbook. from the same world as empress blue and these guys. (and these. and this guy, too.)

c'est manga!

test pages for a french manga...

Fans seem to think that the more lines that go into a drawing the better it is. Actually, the opposite is generally true. The fewer lines you can put into a drawing the quicker it reads, and the simpler it is. [Alex] Toth is one of the few guys who can simplify an illustration to a minimum of lines with a maximum of impact

-jim steranko

BCTV (ben caldwell television)

howdy all!

great news for the 3 of you who wondered when i was going to be on TV, the answer is TONIGHT! ok, i'm only on TV in the berks county PA area, but if you have a computer (like the one you are reading this post on) then you can watch it live at 7pm here:

i'm going to do some classes and workshops at the Art Institute this fall, and having an exhibit aug 4, so the interview is part of the exciting and informative* media blitz that will put my name on everyone's lips (in the greater berks county region, who is watching channel 13 tonight)! i don't know what they will ask me, but since i throw random comments into every conversation anyway, no worries, right?

as for the exhibit... it will open aug4, and feature tons of original art and development notes, etc, plus i will print up some of those WW pages to fill up the whole wall! and there will be prints and original art for sale! and ninjas, too!**

see you tonight! or at the exhibit! or NYCC! and if i don't see you at any of those places, let's just pretend i did AND YOU LOVED IT, ok? thanks!

i'll post more details about the exhibits and classes and some exciting stuff that's coming for new york comiccon!

cheers!

ben c

*i make no guarantees that it will be even remotely informative.

**due to budget constraints, there will be no ninjas.

more exonauts

no time top post lately (or no energy, same thing). here is more from the exonauts, i think you can see a little bit of it on the site.

project exonaut

hi all!

one of the projects i was working on a while back was cartoon network's online "project exonaut" game. some of the art for that is still secret, including all my character (re)designs, but here is a battle scene i drew up that was rendered by massive black. the whole project was AD'd by drawing board regular jeremy vanhoozer:

i'll post more later!

fight like a girl!

amusing myself by thinking of fun graphics to put on shirts