Author: Ethan Nicolle

I think this is the first hand-inked Axe Cop page ever.  The middle panel and the large bottom panel were inked using sumi brushes and ink.  I had a lot of fun with them though I am a little rusty.  If anyone wants to jump on buying this art, email me your offer, otherwise I will probably put it up on eBay or have it at a con down the road.

Tauhid Bondia sent me this amazing Axe Cop fan piece.  Beauitful!

That's all I've got for now.  I totally forgot to mention that on January 29th we hit the 2-year mark for AxeCop.com being online.  Woohoo, two years down, here's to another.  Been too busy to make a big deal about which is a good thing right?

Ethan

…or should I say cats?  My favorite thing about Axe Cop is the explanations.  One reason Malachai is always ready to do whatever he wants when he tells a story is because he isn't threatened by having to explain something if he puts it in.  If he needs to explain it, easy.  Witch cloud, red diamonds, next question.

The other night, Jason Brubaker (creator of reMIND, a comic I recommend once on RecomMonday… remember those?!) had Doug TenNapel and me over to his home to do an in person interview.  It's the first time Doug and I have done a podcast together.  It was a lot of fun and I think one of thebest interviews I've ever been a part of.  We covered a lot of ground and went very in depth.  This is just part one!

Also, the cover I did for Ninja Turtles can now be seen!  Doing something Ninja Turtles-related has been a bucket list item for a long time.  I had a lot of fun revisiting the characters who had such a huge impact on me as a young artist.  Noah Maas (my colorist on Bearmageddon) did the coloring on it.   This cover will be a ariant cover on issue #9 of the new IDW series coming out in April.

I think that's all I've got to say for now.  Stay tuned over at Bearmageddon.  Things are heating up in the story and I will be unveiling a new feature on the site tomorrow where readers will be able to be part of the comic.

Ethan

Ah, another week off.  Thanks Tom!  Here is the second part of the guest episode starring Axe Cop and Super Charlotte.  I love this.  I think the moment Spider Mouth uses his power is my favorite.  Thanks again to Tom and his neice for this special guest episode.  It's truly classic.

As I mentioned last week, check out Tom's band Lich King and his awesome art!

We'll pick back up with the Dogs next week.  See you then!

Ethan

As I warned last week, this week and next week's updates will be this two part guest episode by Tom Martin and his neice, Charlotte.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.  To me Tom hits all it out of the park in multiple areas.  The timing, the art, the conveying of a story told by a child… he captures it.  I don't know why Tom isn't drawing comics full time, this stuff is excellent!

I just finished the first issue of the upcoming Axe Cop print miniseries this weekend.  I'm so much more excited about it now that this first issue is done.  I can't wait to release the cover. 

If you enjoyed Tom's work, please check out his other stuff.  On top of being an artist, he is in a thrash metal band called Lich King.

And that's that.  We'll find out what happens next in a week!  Thanks Tom!

Ethan

You didn't think these cats would go down that easy did you?  They have only begun to fight. 

You are probably wondering how they became mummies, and where those red glowing diamonds in their chests came from.  All that will be explained, but the next two weeks I am going to give this story a break and feature a two-part guest episode by a guy named Tom Martin who managed to make one of the funniest guest episodes I have ever seen, written by his 7 year old niece.  I need the break, because Christmas set me back quite a bit and I really need to focused on getting the first issue of the new Axe Cop print miniseries done so I can get another check on its way.  Usually I do a few pages of each comic I am working on, but for now I need to reach a certain amount of pages on this project as soon as possible then I can get back to normal.  You may be bummed, but trust me on this, this guest episode feels like the real thing, Tom and his niece pulled it off.

For those of you in Los Angeles, you may remember that we did an “Axeiversary” last year at the end of January at Melt Down comics.  We are going to do an event again this year, but I am moving it to the release of Axe Cop volume 3 because I don't have the time or funds to put together an event right now.  So stay tuned, if you live in southern California, we will have another event.  Last year's was a blast and I hope to have just as much fun this time around.

Munchkin Axe Cop seemed to be a huge hit over Christmas.  Steve Jackson says it has been one of the best selling Munchkin games.  My family played an impassioned game of Munchkin when I visited, and though we kept getting the rules all wrong, it was still fun.

So, I'll see you next week with the first of the two part guest episode, then we will get back to the Dogs.  Have an Axe-tastic week.

Ethan

The title of this blog refers to an unused Ask Axe Cop answer I got from Malachai where I asked how Axe Cop would pastor a church.  He didn't have a lot of material for that one beleive it or not, but he did say the congregation would sing “We All Love Jesus in the Happy New Year” over and over.  I don't know if that is a real song.

Well if you follow the Facebook or Twitter accounts you may know that I ran into trouble with my laptop over my Christmas visit so I couldn't make anything new last week.  It's ok it, it was a nice break and I had a good time with my family.  I actually made it a point not to use this trip to get Axe Cop material out of Malachai.  I wanted to make sure he knew I still visited just because I love the family and not to get Axe Cop stories.  So we mostly just played video games, though at one point Malachai spontaneously started making up an Axe Cop story and I started writing it down, so I did get some bonus material after all.

I am currently sitting at my new compyter, earned using commission money.   Thanks again to everyone who ordered those. If you ordered one and did not receive it, you should have by now (unless you live in some remote foreign country). I had one person email me who it turned out I totally skipped.  Hopefully there isn't more of those.

Alright, enjoy your installment of the Dogs, it's just starting to get good.

Ethan

I'm heading off for my Christmas visit.  This seems to be happening to me a lot lately but I just typed this blog and lost it so I am going to make this very short.  Enjoy today's page and enjoy the holidays.  I am giving Kailey, our colorist, next week off for Christmas but I MAY draw a special Christmas episode while I am visiting for nostalgia's sake.  Have a merry Christmas and see you next time.

Ethan

I figured that I'd show off some of the Axe Cop related commissions I did during my six days of intense comissioning.  These are my favorites of the Axe Cop related commissions. (click to enlarge)

Axe Calvin and Dinosaur Hobbes:

President Towzerd if he was on a dollar bill (this was an Artist's Choice piece):

I did this one for a guy who said he collects artist's self portraits:

This one is requested blood on the axe, which is unorthdox for Axe Cop's axe to be bloody, but I gave him his bloody axe.  He also requested the bag full of bad guy heads.

I really like this one.  Axe Cop and Handcuff Man team up to fight some bad guys.

This is probably the best non-digital drawing I have ever done of Wexter.  The guy who gets this is a lucky duck:

This was an Artist's Choice piece, so I drew a character from the upcoming Axe Cop miniseries follow up to Bad Guy Earth, named Junior Cobbb:

This is another Artist's Choice piece where I decided to draw a character from the new miniseries.  Goo Cop!:

A little crossover action… Spidey takes Wexter for the day:

And one of my favorites… Baby Man kicking back in a leather chair smoking a pipe.  I did this for Matthew who helps color Bearmageddon.

That's all I've got for now!  If you want to see some other ones I did, check out the post over at Bearmageddon.  But be warned, that comic is getting gory and is not for little kids.

Christmas is coming soon, which is the anniversary of Axe Cop's creation.  It's always a special time of year, even moreso with the history it now holds for Malachai and me.  I'm going to try to get you a Christmas Ask Axe Cop episode the week of Christmas.  See you next Tuesday!

Ethan

Today's page is one of my favorites.  This originated with Malachai and I playing together, pretending to be these cat brothers.  I was on the couch using my ipad and he sat on the floor below me and pretended to have a laptop and the two story cat throne was born.

Anyway, i am not going to type a whole lot becaue the web site has been having some odd database issues lately and I may lose this.  So enjoy today's episode, and if you ordered a commission, they go out today!

Ethan

I just want to give Kailey Frizzell a hand for coloring that work station.  She went above and beyond on that one.

Have you had a chance to get Munchkin Axe Cop yet?  Well here is a new review from ICv2.

Also, volume three is on its way!  It has a foreword by LOST co-creator Damon Lindelof, pin ups by many amazing artists including Rob Schrab, Jason Howard, Birdgit Scheide, Chris Ayers, Kris Straub and the first pin up ever by Mike Nelson of MST3K & Rifftrax (he filled in at the last minute because Skottie Young missed his deadline) I believe it is due around February maybe?  I don't know the exact date yet.  Here is the cover:

This volume collects everything through Axe Cop Babysits Uni-Baby, including all of the Axe Cop Presents stories, the holiday specials, The McNinja crossover and a selection of guest episodes.  It's a nice variety and is very similar to volume one in format, with lots of commentary and insight into each story.  It also collects the Ask Axe Cop episodes from 43-70.

As Christmas approaches, be a good friend/sister/brother/father/mother/baby and give the gift of Axe Cop.  I have just begun drawing the 97 commission orders today.  So far I have 20 done and they are some of the best I have ever done.  I have a lot of fun with these, I get into the Christmas spirit.  I listen to Christmas music, get out the old Sumi ink, my Winsor & Newton and some bristol board and go crazy.  It's a nice break from the Cintiq. though every once in a while I find myself trying to hit “undo”.  I'll post some of my favorites after I finish them all.  Thanks again to everyone who ordered them, and in case you missed the announcement, they went off sale on Friday and are no longer available.

I guess we can move on now and learn about these Siberian Witch Doctor Cats named Iggy and Willy.  Can you guess where Malachai got the names Iggy and Willy from?

Ethan