Blasting

Hello all. I've been hard at work on my book. It's a part of the Black Worm (the title of which will remain secret for now). I've been working on this comic for a number of years. How many, I still cannot figure out. The main narrative is at least four years old. There are earlier portions that date back to about ten years ago. There are many other elements that may be even older. I'm sure it will make more sense if you ever see it. 
At the rate that I'm going (that was just a gunshot down the street) I'm averaging a page a week with a steady job. That means I'll be dead before I finish. I hope those gunshots do'nt get any closer. The above image is a component of one page. It wo'nt look as fuzzy as this in the final product, however. That is my main character taking a stroll through a dilapidated town. 
Oh well....I guess I'll keep pushing onward. See you around another blasted new year....


Ch E w

Here it is! Just in time for the cold season!

C...H...E...W...

Roman Holiday

2011 Oktober Fluke Report

OKTOBERFLUKE WAS ... well, to be honest it wasn't awesome. It was okay. Here's the good, the bad and the ugly:

The Good: We tabled next to Patrick and Robert (The Fluke Organizers) and had some very interesting conversations about children, music, racism, Spiderman and mutants. Later, I saw the cover that Patrick drew for Athens' Flagpole Magazine. It looked really good. Kudos.

The Poptober Fair venue in Athens' Civic Center was a huge space. Chew and I created a new table display, and I have to admit, our table looked pretty good. Before we left Athens, we had pizza and beer at Little Italy – the slices are thick, huge, cheesy and cheap. My kind of place. 

The Bad:  I have to admit that I have, until now, always taken Patrick and Robert's efforts to promote Fluke for granted – the Flagpole coverage, the posters and flyers everywhere, a venue in the heart of downtown Athens, cheap admission for the general public, their social network updates ... the list goes on and on. It's no wonder that attendance for Fluke has grown every year. Unfortunately, the folks who organized the Poptober Fair did not do the same ... 

The venue was in the basement level of the Civic Center. There was no access to this venue except for a side street, half of which was closed for construction and the other half was used periodically for fund-raising marathons. There were no signs. No posters. No advertisement. No ads or coverage in Flagpole. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. If you didn't already know about this fair, you weren't going to stumble across it. And if you did go, you had to pay $5 at the front door. The attendance was poor. I don't think anybody did well (except the vintage record swap guys).

Oktoberfluke was Fluke's ugly little step-sister. And that's okay. They can't all be winners. I am not placing any of this at Patrick or Robert's feet. I just never realized how much they did to make Fluke successful. Thanks guys.

The Ugly: Headaches, nausea, no sleep, and the loooong dark drive back home.

And Finally: I am really looking forward to Fluke 2012. She's pretty. She's tall. And best of all, she puts out. A lot.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by, bought books, or said hello. We'll see you again next year!

Chew, feel free to add your two cents when you get a chance.

Optimistically and understandingly yours,

Jeff Tuffenstuff

Duhh!

Don't be shy. We don't bite (hard). Stand around, chat, get to know us, buy our stuff, bring your friends, talk shop, or whatever! We look forward to seeing you ... 

It's Fantastic!

It's the first collaboration between Jeff Tuffenstuff and Chew! It's Flex Fantastic ... a hero's journey through murky, nebulous and watery folds to find his sidekick, Klepto the flying-wonder-dog! This is the one that started it all. Buy it and finally read what everyone is hardly talking about ... Oh Vey!

'Tis the Season ...

It's the Hairball Christmas Special and the holidays are just around the corner ... so, buy someone this book already! It's perfect stocking stuffer for someone geek-chic and weird. Because you care. You really, really care ...

Oh No He Diddin' ...

Oh yes he did! Now if this depiction of hillbillies is too close to home ... well, then you probably shouldn't pick up Chew's Hillbilly Chic. It's grody. It's grimy. It's got a headless chicken. And lots and lots of Hillbillies. Did I mention the headless chicken?

Total Carnage ...

Yes, we have the entire comic featured in our comics section of this blog, but it's not really the same as owning it. The feel of smooth paper in you hands, the smell of ink, the shiny metallic staples gingerly impaling the book's spine ... uhm, too far? Besides, don't you want to own the book that will have a sequel so huge it's taken us over a year and a half to plot the stupid thing? Of course you do.

Dunn Dun Dunn ...

This one is one of my favorites. This issue of Hairball is devoted to Oink's grade school crush. Chew has knocked this one out of the park. And it's kid friendly to boot. Buy it for a kid. Buy it for your kids. Buy it for yourself. JUST BUY IT! (Okay, I admit, it's not exactly subtle advertising, but c'mon ... the book is really that good)

Curse of Cupcakes ...

Yes, of course you should buy Chew's latest foray into the critically acclaimed Hairball series (who's the critic? Me!). A fuzzy, spoiled creamy cheese frosting curse on you for taking so long to pick up a copy (special solicitor's note: all hexes are removable upon purchase at the Globster Press table).

The Daddy of all Sequels ...

The epic collaboration between Chew and Jeff that reached a climax so chilling, so powerful ... well, okay. Maybe it's not that chilling. In fact, our hero Flex Fantastic isn't even in half of the book. But a city gets destroyed, a goddess is reborn and we introduce S.M.A.C.K.: the sorriest and worst bunch of super powered men ever assembled. Oh, plus there's a special cameo from an old friend. And our fan-favorite ... Klepto the dog. Ruff' said.

Here's Johnny ...

We're comin' ...

That's right. We're gonna be at Oktoberfluke this year! And we've got goodies. You know you want 'em. Question: how do you feel about folk art? Well, your opinion's not that important. Wanna know how Chew feels? Then come by and pick up Fokey Dokes ... 

Meet the Witch

Well, there's not much to say. Things have been extremely busy here in the Land of the Globster. Life has been doing it's thing where it seems to prevent us from working too much on our comics. We are trudging on, albeit very slowly.
Good news, though. We will be attending OktoberFLUKE in Athens, Ga. on Saturday October 15. It will be a part of the Athens Popfest...which will include many, many bands, the Indie Craftstravaganzaa, FLUKE Mini-Comics and Zine Festival, and the Secret Record Swap.
I believe we will be located in the Classic Center. Here's a link!
http://athenspopfest.com/

Be there or be.....

Chew

Star Warts Part Two: When sand crabs unite...

It's part two of the Star Wars challenge....
Cheese and I originally did this several years ago. At the time, I was still drawing with technical pens. I had a knack for going on and on and sometimes overdoing it with those things. Plus, I was also beginning to have serious pains in my hand (I have since switched over to brush, and now actively fight against my desire to fill up every nook and cranny with lines).
When we originally thought it up, it was "Which character would you be in that universe?" We really could'nt figure out, so the challenge became "If you could be anyone, anything in that universe....who would you be?"
I decided to go for something utterly ridiculous and wondered 'what would happen to a sandperson should they fall towards the dark side? Are they capable of such a thing? Are they already there or are they not intelligent enough to'....bah! I went with it. There you go. Evil sandperson. He's a rat.

AND....as it so happens, I never cared for the names of the Sith in the Star Wars universe (Darth SIDIOUS? Please! What about Darth Bored? They are that silly). I wanted something with a little flash that might indicate that there are more THAN JUST TWO SITH IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE. SOME ARE HIDING OUT IN PLACES YOU ARE NOT EXPECTING AND....

Oh yeah, I have issues about the whole series. I'm old and jaded and ranting....

Chew.

Star Wars Challenge: Ova Skado

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Chew and Mr. Cheese challenged one another: If you could be anyone in the Star Wars Universe, who would you be? They showed their finished drawings to their friends, and all were amazed ... 


Ever since I saw the results of this challenge, I've wanted to throw my hat in to the ring and see what I could come up with. 


I fell in love with Jaxxon when I was a kid. The idea of a six-foot green bunny kicking ass in the Star Wars universe spoke to me (I want a maquette and I want him to appear in Clone Wars). Jaxxon is a Lepi (a species, which to my knowledge, were created during the original Marvel Comics series). So I drew Ova Skado, a Lepi on the run, stealing medical equipment from the Empire, to sell to Jabba the Hutt, so he can feed his youngins' and, if there's some credits left over, fix up his modified Speederbike and get a sweet paint job to impress all of the skanky strippers at the next unsanctioned Pod Race on Tatooine. I guess he's ...


... wait for it ...


Fast and Furry-ious


– Jeff Tuffentstuff

It's been a while, I know-know-know, but we're here, so let's go-go-go...

This is a well known saying coined by the famous Dwarvish therapist, Lord Hari Hullfire. Lord Hari was much in demand during the Hydrid War. The shock of seeing such hideous creatures threw many a warrior into instant gag reflexes.  Oh wait, we have'nt delved into that little bit of Bistran history yet, have we?

                     

---------------------------------------------------CHEW

Work Station One

Is'nt it great when the simplest things turn into some of the most difficult and time consuming?

Chew.....

Thirty Hours: The HeroesCon Report

I slept horribly last night. It seemed like every hour I would wake up and I'd start to hum "Lovin' Every Minute of It" by Loverboy. It was a big hit back in 1985. The 1980's sort of set the theme for our trip to Charlotte, North Carolina to visit HeroesCon.

Thursday morning of last was an especially hectic one for me at work. Lunch rolls around...and so did the road! Off we went, North/Northeast to those succulent 80's sounds. We talked a lot, which was good, because that trip was (THANKFULLY) uneventful. Not really much to see, aside from Atlanta and a couple of lakes.
We stayed at a skanky motel somewheres in the wild wastelands of southern Charlotte. If ever there was that movie hotel you did'nt want to stay in because of all the hijinks you knew were going to happen there, that was it. But nothing ever happened. Except for insomnia.
I swear, the ick in that room was palpable.
Then we went out to eat that night. Food, and hearty grog (at least for me), and hanging out and then the bottom of Jeff's water glass just comes right off. The whole bottom half of it. Water and ice all over everywhere!
The Con. Got there early. Coffee, bagel, long lines. Tickets. Waiting, waiting, waiting. We finally get in and it's a big room full of comics as well as the people who make them and the people who sell them. I gotta tellya, after having visited DragonCon frequently for the past dozen years, it was nice to finally see a con devoted to comics (nothing against DragonCon, really. It can be a lot of fun).
We saw Patrick Dean and the guys from Fluke and said hi. Then went over to see Chris Schweizer. He had a really great booth set up. They had lots of cool stuff to go through!
There were a lot of other other guys whose names were familiar-both big and small. Neal Adams, Becky Cloonan, and Farel Dalrymple  are a few examples. Then there were some people who were supposed to be there, but we either did'nt see them, or we temporarily hit a blind spot where that person's existence was just passed over. Like they had an unintentional cloaking device! Or maybe it was intentional.

Plus, they had actual cels from Akira! We could see those.

We tooled around. Went and had a pizza with a bunch of yuppie-types. Went back and sat in on a lecture given by Chris Schweizer. It was the comic book Composition class that we never had in school! It gave us some stuff to think about. Thanks, Chris!
Then....we hit the road.
To Charlotte and back, in thirty hours!


Chew

Flex Fantastic is back!

Not really. But he did get some new stuff though.

– Jeff Tuffenstuff

Dr. Mullet: Redneck M.D.

.....................................................chew

Fluke 2011 Report (Part 3)

There were several books I picked up or traded for at Fluke and wanted to share these with you (clockwise from the top):


Beard by Pranas T. Naujokaitis: I am so impressed with this book's cover design, it's ridiculous. It's a wrap-around cardboard, screenprinted beard that (when dislodged and pulled from the main character's face) opens to reveal 16 page B/W story that's about a man and his ... beard. A beard that can practically do anything. The ending was hilarious. 

The Beast Mother by Eleanor Davis: I've heard nothing but good things about this book. I finally purchased a copy and I have to say it lives up to it's reputation. The story is somber, well paced, thoughtful and a little icky (but in a good way). It's just well done. Oh and the cover ... screenprinted, die-cut goodness. Inspiring.

Chalk Talk by Lauren Sparks: I can only assume that this was a class project completed at SCAD based on the opening credits of the book. I really liked it. It's short and sweet, maybe a little too short but I found the story and art to be very engaging. I've seen really bad examples of inkwashes in a lot of self published comics. Washes can make the art look too dark or muddy. Lauren on the other hand, shows an amazing amount of control and her characters really pop from the background. This book was a good trade. Thanks, Lauren!

Eleanor Davis' Sketchbook Beouija: I've become a fan of her work. Check out her website.

The Fluke Anthology: A free give away at Fluke for all attendees. I've mentioned this one in my previous post, but if you're attending a mini-con and happen to see this book ... buy it. Besides featuring "Harold," a five page story drawn by Chew and myself (shameless plug) it features "Robot Love" by Joey Weiser and "Sasquatch" by Kevin Burkhalter and Falynn K which are my favorites in this anthology.

And ...

Rashy Rabbit by Josh Latta: I love Josh's character design. His characters are so well thought out and distilled, he can't mess them up. They gesture wildly, have great body language and display a wide array of emotions. Great inks too. Josh's work is very reminiscent of Spirou and a lot of the older french children/adventure comics (and that is meant as a compliment). It's good stuff.  I can't wait to pick up another book. Go and check it out.


So that's it for Fluke report. See you there next year!


– Jeff Tuffenstuff

Many Ghosts of Ohia

The last few weeks have been tumultuous to say the least. I was finally able to go on vacation back to the old homestead in Ohio, which was good....but also a little sad. Things have changed so much up there. I return feeling totally unfocused and unable to concentrate. My mom, who went with me, has expressed the same sensation.
What's interesting is that a comic that I've been working on for years  has a segment that takes place in this area. I ended up seeing some of the places I've been drawing from a twenty-plus year memory. It's more depressing than I remembered, but it was also cold and rainy. Plus, we went to a nursing home and a couple of cemeteries to visit our ghosts. What do you expect, after all?
The good news is that my long lost brother, Viruss,  and I have reconnected! It's only been twenty-one years. He's basically a bigger version of me. Our brains work in a similar manner. Heck, we even have the same hairstyle! That means there are two of us running around. You should be afraid...cuz we really do'nt care what you think about us.
I also met my two younger cousins and was big brother to them for an evening. Lots of tree climbing and hill walking. It was kind of nice to just sit in a big, green field of grass and hang out. We skipped stones in a mud hole and found the skeleton of a cow that was struck by lightning.
So, really, the good definitely outweighed the bad. Thank god for those three guys up there (and my brother's new family) because all of that other stuff was a little tough.
I leave with more resolution about finishing my book and dealing with the Black Worm.

I'm just a little unfocused for the moment...

Chew

Fluke 2011 Report (Part 2)

The chronicle continues. In pictures. A special thanks to Roger for taking these ...

Chew and Jeff in front of 40watt

Inside the 40watt club

Chew, Klay and Jeff 

The Fluke 2011 Report

What can I possibly say to sum up our experience at Fluke this year? It was ... AWESOME! Alright. So on with the report:

I got up at 3:45 A.M. to get ready and pick up Chew and Klay Hillz. After several cups of coffee and a few good-morning-I'm-to-tired-raise-my-hand-high-fives we left Columbus and headed for Athens at 5:15 A.M. We rocked out to Chew's new and soulful 80's mix-tape: Horseradish Hairnets Part I (featuring the likes of Hall & Oates, Prince, Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson, and Sheila E.). We stopped for Gas and Donuts and discussed Geek topics. We finally arrived in Athens at 8:30 A.M. (I'm sure we could have gotten there sooner, but I obnoxiously observed the speed limit -- sorry, Klay).

There was already a line at the 40watt club and it continued to grow as we stood waiting. By 10:45 A.M. we estimated about 60 to 70 people were in line trying to get tables. If there is no pre-registration next year, I would really suggest (to anyone reading this and planning on going) to arrive early.  We rented a whole table this year due to Chew's non-stop-I-need-to-create-comics-and-art-all-day-long pathological tendencies (yes, I'm jealous). Yep. That's right. Chew had (count 'em) five new books on display this year. Klay spent the three weeks leading up to Fluke printing Chew's books. Chew's books look amazing. If you haven't picked up a copy, I'm telling you, you're missing out.

Speaking of books, we made it into the Fluke Anthology this year! Our little five-page story is titled Harold and starts on page 12. The anthology features stories by Drew Weing, Joey Weiser, Falynn K & Kevin Burkhalter, David Mack (and many others) and is full of comic book goodness.

Athens was like a ghost town this year (Easter weekend). Not so inside the 40watt club. With an attendance of over 400 people this year, you could feel the entire place buzzing with excitement. We sold, we laughed, had some coffee, and met some really cool people. Chew left for an hour and sold more books during his absence then when he was behind the table (I think it's part of his sales strategy). Fluke wrapped up a little before 6 P.M. and we headed over to Bizarro Wuxtry and sold some more of our books – and immediately spent the money on their graphic novel collection.

We stopped for dinner at Little Italy and attempted to eat a 18"x18" super- thick-deep-dish-crust pepperoni pizza. We're grown men. And we were hungry. We stuffed ourselves and still had two slices left over!

We left Athens at 8 P.M. Chew and Klay let me listen to the original 13 part NPR Star Wars Radio Drama on the way back and I got giddy like a 11 year-old school girl and I was totally geeking out. We stopped for some more coffee (which was horrible), talked about the day and listened to Klay snore softly in the backseat.

I'd like to thank a couple of people before I wrap this up:

Patrick Dean and friends: Thank you for creating such a cool event. Chew and I look forward to coming every year and it's getting better and bigger every single year. You guys have created something special.

Steve: Thank you for the Blake 7 DVD collection. For you to remember our conversation last year and go through all of the trouble ... you rock. Send me your e-mail and address. You're getting free books for life.

Roger (Our fan club president): It's one thing to buy our books when they come out. It's a whole other thing to drive 3 and half hours and bus friends to Athens to support the home team. Thank you. Roger is relocating to New York next week, so we wish him the best of luck and much deserved success.

Klay: Thanks for printing all the books and coming along. It would not have been the same without you. Hopefully, you all will see some of Klay's comics next year (nudge, nudge).

The Car Rental Company: Thanks for upgrading the car for free when you ran out of compacts. The upgrade was a gas-guzzler but it was roomy, quiet and comfortable.

The wives and kids: Thanks for letting us be geeks, letting us go, and sitting patiently as we recount the day's awesomeness in excruciating detail during breakfast the next day.

The Aztecs, Incas and/or any South American Indian Tribe: Whichever tribe started brewing and guzzling coffee first ... Thank you. This trip would have been impossible without drinking large amounts of hot, steamy Java.

And finally:

Thanks to everyone who came by our table. Whether you bought a book, traded or just stopped by to say hello, we really appreciate it and hope to see you next year.

Fluke rocks.

– Jeff Tuffenstuff

 

 

Chew's workin' the table



Our table at Fluke



  

 

Klay's reading his free Fluke Anthology

Club President Roger and Dan