Today's episode of Ask Axe Cop is all about Battle Cries.

I forgot to mention that in Calgary they sat me right next to web comics legend Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics.  We had our own little spot, hidden down by the big Red Skull banners.  This is the guy who makes a living on a comic that uses the same set of panels every day, and I think they are clip art.  You could either scoff, or be amazed at the fact that he can pull that off.  See… I like to think it takes a special touch for me to make what I do out of Malachai's thoughts, but I know that there are other artist/writers who could do just as good, and some much better.  I think there are very few people who could look at the same 6 panels every day and write a new comic that entertaines an average audience of something like 80-90 thousand people.  Laser high five to Ryan North  Not only that, but he created Project Wonderful, which is the company that runs all the ads on this site, and it really is wonderful.  To illustrate even further the genius of Ryan North, he sold out of everything he brought the first day of the convention, so that night he went to Wal Mart and bought shirts, underwear and puffy paint and made another set of merchandise just writing snappy sayings onto cheap garmnets.  He almost sold out of all of those too.  He's like the MacGyver of the comic world.  He can't draw, but he dominates many who can.  Any time someone whines they can't be a success in comics because they have no drawing skillz, I will direct them Northward.

Other than that, I am excited for tomorrow, because we're going back to Baby Man.  For now I am going to keep alternating between the Baby Man and Lobster Man plots probably page by page.  We'll see.  There may be times when the Baby Man story gets a few continuous pages, because it is basically all written and there is a lot of room for me to play, so when the Hasta Mia/Lobster Man plot is lacking input from the boss, I can fill in the space with the Baby Man chase story.  I may lay the whole thing out differently whenever it all goes into a book, but for now a lot of it just depends on how much material I can get from talking with Malachai.

To those of you who have ordered sketches, I am REALLY SORRY it has taken so long for them to get to you.  I am going to try to get the rest of them done, packaged and shipped out by tomorrow.  Thanks for being patient.  To the rest of you… people basically stopped buying sketches when we switched to Topatoco.  Either people don't realize there is still a sketch shop here or you got spooked by the problems we had with the store.  Well, I can assure you we've taken care of the problem, but if you are worried about it, just pay using paypal- all that info is taken at Paypal's site and we don't get any of it.  If you want to talk about other methods of payment, custom sketches and requests, whatever… just send me an email.  I am flexible. 

Thanks for reading Axe Cop, see you tomorrow!

Ethan

I have returned from Calgary a happy man.  My first trip ever to Canada was a good one.  I sold everything I brought, I sold a lot of sketches and met a lot of very nice people.  You Canadians are a friendly bunch.  But you came here to read the latest episode, not me gushing about a great time up North.

I do have to tell you that over the weekend a new podcast got started called CHOP CAST.  It is the first ever Axe Cop fan cast and it's a lot of fun.  The guys who do the show do a great job and if you are a lover of the Axe Cop universe you will love this show.  Check out the links to follow them in Twitter and Facebook and send them emails.

Well, I don't know if I will be doing any more conventions until San Diego.  I have a trip to plan… a trip up to spend a while with Malachai in person so we can really get some writing done.  I have noticed a lot of people who read the comic are from Seattle.  If there are any events (or if a comic shop or someone would like to set up an event) between now and July that we could be a part of, let me know.  I know we missed Emerald City because it happened so close to Axe Cop's birth, but I'd like to explore the idea of a little road trip to Seattle while I am up there, and who knows, maybe Malachai can come.  Thanks for reading!

Ethan

Word up homies…

Ok so, to answer a few questions about today's episode first… yes, I stuck Jhonen V in for a cameo along with a few other comic artist friends who are a little less well known.  The bearded guy on the bench is my good friend Ryan Agadoni who is a comic superstar, he just hasn't put a book out yet.  The guy in the back with a bit of a beard is Josh Kenfield who has helped me with coloring on various projects and is also a swell guy.

And yes, the eggs are exploding.  I thought it would be self-evident but this is Axe Cop, anything could be happening. 

As for Calgary, if you plan on stopping by to see me I will be at booth 502, near the entrance.(I'll be off to the right when you come in the main entrance).  it looks like they stuck me in with the web comics guys.  I always used to avoid the web comics section so now I guess I have to shake hands and admit I have joined the club… and along with that admit web comics really are the future of comics I think, at least to some extent.  I had said I would be sharing a booth with Doug, but that was a misuderstanding, they actually gave me my own table. 

This morning when Doug and I went to the airport he tried to use an expired passport to get on the plane and it didn't work out.  So Doug had to stay home and find the right passport and I had to fly up to Canada all by myself.  I have to admit it was awesome having an open seat next to me on the plane.  I spread out and worked on Axe Cop's power struggle with Lobster Man. 

Oh yeah and if you were hoping to get one of those Wexter prints, as I mentioned, I won't have them, but I will have some other stuff and will be doing paper ink sketches for $15-20 (much lower than my online prices).  For more info on the Calgary Expo go to http://www.calgaryexpo.com/

Ethan

I would rather not say a thing and just have you see today's episode totally clueless was to what you are in for:

There is a story behind this.  Back when Malachai was in his dry spell, I started to draw a page where Baby Man is chasing a duck.  All I had was the first 3 panels of this page.  He called me that day and gave me matrerial so I put the “Baby Man Chases a Duck” story idea on the back burner.  When he called me the other day and he was in hyper story mode, I brought up the idea.  I said “hey Malachai, so… I started drawing this page where Baby Man is chasing a duck.”  He paused, and then he started laughing really hard.  He asked why Baby Man is chasing a duck, and I said “i was going to ask you that.”  And so we wrote the Baby Man chases a duck story out, and it is epic… I can't wait to draw the rest of it.

Well I'll be on a flight to Canada when you read this.  it turns out those prints I was hoping to have for Clagary didn't get made, but I will still have stuff to sell, and I will do sketches at a lower rate then my online costs.  Other than that… I haven't really figured out how I will manage to get a new page done for Monday with all the running around I will be doing, but I am going to shoot for the stars and hope for the best.  Monday we're back to the lobster man scene.

Have a great weekend!

Ethan

This is the first time I have done a two part Ask Axe Cop, but Malachai's answer was so long on this one it was meritted.  I scraped off all the extravegent details and got it down to two strips.  Here is the second one:

I If you want a deleted scene… the way Axe Cop acquired the Nintendo DS goes like this:  On the last day of his job, he killed a bad guy who had a jillion bucks.  He bought a Nintendo DS and every game.  Chronologically I don't know how this works, but there you go.

I am going to cram in and get tomorrow's page done since I will be on the plane to Canada tomorrow.  To those of you who might be seeing me there, just to let you know… that print I posted yesterday may not be available.  Jenny works outside when she screen prints, and there was rain for two days this week which messed things up.  I'll let you know as soon as I know if we will have them or not.  Not that it should change anything.  You should still visit my booth.

Until then… thanks for reading Axe Cop.

Ethan

Head Choppers, your patience has paid off.  Chapter 3 has finally begun!

I have no clue where Malachai got the name “Hasta Mia”.  If you need a pronunciation, it sounds italian… hasta rhymed with Pasta, and Mia is like the girl's name.  Hasta Mia.  It's fun to say.

Now, I have something else awesome for you if you are anywhere near Calgary in Alberta, Canada.  I will be at the Calgary Entertainment Expo this weekend with my good friend Doug TenNapel (creator of Earthworm Jim, Catscratch, Creature Tech and a ton of other stuff).  

I will be bringing a new print I made of the “Axe Cop and Wexter VS. the Moon Bad Guys” image and selling it for the first time ever.  This print is limited to 100 and is a 2 color screen print by another good friend of mine, JR Goldberg who worked on Jelly Fist with yet another beloved friend, Jhonen Vasquez. 

Here is the print (click to enlarge)

If you are not going to the Calgary Expo, don't fret, these will be available online eventually.  And also, the full color print of this image is still in the works.  I still have some things on it I need to touch up but it is looking beautiful.  Lots of stuff to do!!  So stay tuned, tomorrow we continue with Axe Cops typical day, and on Friday we continue THE ULTIMATE BATTLE.

Ethan

Today's Ask Axe Cop got such a long response from Malachai I am going to break it up into 2 or 3 parts.  Here is part one:

Today Malachai called me and talked my ear off for a couple hours.  This is after quite a dry spell.  I had been a little worried about the next chapter, but after today I am excited.  I don't know what he was on, but whatever it was, I need to find it and I need to make sure he is taking a lot of it.  I'll have to try various energy drinks on him.  Whichever one works the best I will try to get as a sponsor.

Tomorrow, the next chapter begins.  It will be titled “the ULTIMATE BATTLE” which is the title Malachai chose today.  See you then!

Ethan

The bad news is I got set back quite a bit from the convention this weekend and the new episode for today is going to be postponed til Wednesday.  There will still be a new Ask Axe Cop out tomorrow… but the good news is this:  Ask Axe Cop motion comic #1 is out today, and it collects questions 1-3.

Thanks to Scott Fedor, Promo Scape, Dave DeAndrea and all the other guys involved in making this episode possible!  You'll get to hear another Nicolle brother in this episode.  Our brother Isaiah does the voice of Jeff and the hotel guy. 

Now, this is hilarious.  After you watch this video, listen to Dave DeAndrea losing it  trying to recite the lines of Axe Cop as he talks about eating only cake.  It's strange to hear Axe Cop cracking up.

Thanks to everyone who came by the booth at Wizard World in Anaheim this weekend.  This was honestly a very slow convention, but it was great to finally get out and meet some head choppers.  If you didn't notice, the home page has a new layout and there is now a section that lists appearances… I will be at the Calgary Entertainment Expo next weekend, so if you live near Calgary, come see me and Doug TenNapel at booth A 08.  The site does not say I will be there, but I promise you I will be.  I was sort of a last minute additon.

Please share the new video with everyone you know.  Episode 2, featuring Uni-Baby and Psydrozon is still in the works, as well as episode 3.  Thanks again to everyone who helped with these videos.  Please visit their web sites and support their businesses if you enjoyed the video, especially if you are in need of video or voice work. 

Ethan

I have a lot to report to you today, but first, here is today's episode of Ask Axe Cop… more fruit, and more killing. 

He actually had answered this question way back when he answered Ask Axe Cop #4, which this episode calls back to a lot.  I hadn't quite figured out how to present it until now, but I knew I really wanted to draw Axe Cop stealing banans from sleeping monkeys in the jungle.  That image alone was worth this episode for me.

Yesterday my good friend Doug TenNapel decided he wanted to go to Wizard World in Anaheim this weekend and invited me to share his booth.  According to him our booth is right by the main entrance so it will be hard to miss us.  I have a writing session with Malachai today at 1pm, but after that I will be headng down to join the fun, selling sketches, prints and posters.  This will be my first Axe Cop convention appearnace, so I hope to see you there! 

In other news, I wrote an article a while back for scrpt frenzy about being creative partners with my 6 year old brother and it is now up.  There is some really fun art in this article I did with Malachai and my sisters.  The big snail drawing is one of my favorite drawings and it is from some scribble Malachai drew on a page when he was 3.  The images at their site aren't very big, so here are thos images a little bigger (click to enlarge):

and… last and probably least, I updated my sketch blog yesterday after going to the zoo with my friend Jenny Goldberg.  If you like animal sketches, check it out!

Have an awesome weekend, I hope to see ytou in Anaheim!

Ethan

The amount of love for Ralph Wrinles has been somewhat shocking, but I love it.  There is a story about Ralph Wrinkles I will share, but after I provide the link to today's episode of Ask Axe Cop, in which we find out what might happen is Ralph Wrinkles owned a space ship and a robot army.

Ralph Wrinkles, as I have mentioned on the Facebook page at times, is based on a toy dog I gave Malachai for Christmas the year before the Christmas we shall now forever know as the Year of the Cop.  I usuall give each of my younger siblings a few presents, and on this occasion I was in the middle of moving down to LA and throwing out all sorts of stuff I didn't need.  I am kind of a horder.  Well I had this stuffed dog puppet who had been sitting in closets since I was a child.  I got him for Christmas when I was 6.  He was a “Wrinkles” brand dog and so I named him Ralph, but I always called him Ralph Wrinkles.  I assumed that Wrinkles was the last name of any Wrinkles dog, and so whatever you named this dog, he or she would be of the Wrinkle family name.

So Ralph was my best stuffed friend for a few years when I was the age Malachai is now.  Malachai kept the name Ralph Wrinkles, and when we were working on Axe Cop he decided he wanted Ralph Wrinlkles to be Axe Cop's police dog.  Of course the family has a real dog named Rofie (full name is Rofie Star… one sister wanted to name it Rofie, the other Star, so they combined the two).  But poor Rofie got overshadowed by Ralph Wrinkles and now Ralph is the big hero of the Axe Cop series. 

There is your history of Ralph Wrinkles.  When I visit Malachai in a month or so I hope to take a picture of us and Ralph to share here.  He's a been a good friend to both of us.

 

Ethan