Hairball!

The edge of the negative space...

Hey folks, sorry it took so long to get back here. Had to take a break from the comic. Now, back to work! So here we have the negative spaces cut out of the bone mass. The edge that has been cut now must be colored black  (it's kind of hard to see here). If this image was placed on a flat surface, the white lines from the cut may be visible in a reproduction. If the edge is colored, then it is camouflaged. I use the sides of one of my old brushes to paint the black in. You have to be careful not to get any ink on the drawing itself---so I usually paint it in from the back side of the drawing.

Enter the Worm

Hey folks! I've been busy working  on my graphic novel. I've still got a ways to go before it will get finished. And once it does? Who knows if I'll even have enough money to get it published.
Happy New Whatever!
Chew

Seven

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 ...

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 ...

Flex Fantastic is back!

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

– Jeff Tuffenstuff

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



Kip Klondike

Here's the promotional art (and possibly the cover) for Kip Klondike, my little comic book project for the rest of this year. I will post a few panels here or there, depending on my progress. Uhm ... oh yeah! Before I forget. Expect this blog to undergo some drastic changes very soon. All I can say is ... it's gonna look better. A lot better. Possibly a store too?


Muar har har har ... koff, koff!


- Jeff Tuffenstuff

Superbad ...

Like Chew, I'm taking a small break from Carnage Cream. So if you liked the weird wackiness and just plain strangeness of the characters in Flex Fantastic ... Gilbert Goo's for you. My posts will be a bit more sporadic for the rest of the year. I'm focusing my energies on a new project, which if everything goes according to plan, I will debut at Fluke next year. Wish me luck!


- Jeff Tuffenstuff

Creamy Goodness

A giant slime mold cultivated and grown over a century in old Zwieback's castle. No one can remember exactly why the project was started or what it was for. When the slime mold was accidentally rediscovered by Kaweezel, a young wizard-in-training, it was locked away in the lower levels of the catacombs, trapped and left to rot for all eternity. But rotting is something mold seems to thrive on ...


Beware the secret door. Beware!


- Jeff Tuffenstuff

Cream of the crop

Don't venture too far inside Darkwood. They're watching. Of all the dangers inside the old, rotting forrest, the Narcissians may be the most dangerous. Well, according to them anyway. Narcissians believe they are the most evolved (and therefore, most superior) species in the known realms. The words arrogance and narcissism come from their language. Along with anger issues and a healthy dose of xenophobia, the Narcissians are the last thing a group of weary adventurers want to run into. It's a good thing their borders are clearly marked ...


- Jeff Tuffenstuff