Author: Ethan Nicolle

Just been working on the upcoming pages of this story and they are some of my favorites.  This story definitely has its own flavor that is for sure.  It is another one of those, similar to the Ultimate Battle and Bat Warthog Man that could really go anywhere at this point. 

Just a reminder that I am taking orders for commissions until November 25th, so if you want one, please order now!  I have already raised enough to buy a new computer, so THANKS to those who have already ordered.  From here, whatever I make goes toward Christmas presents for the family.  Like I said, I will stop the orders at 100, and we are about 2/3 of the way there, so get your orders in as soon as possible, because you may not have until Friday.

And please don't forget to take a look at the store when you are doing your Christmas shopping.  It full of cool stuff.  There's also the Pop Funk Axe Cop tees and Munchkin Axe Cop that are sure to brighten anyone's holiday.

Alright I think I covered all my bases.  Happy Thanksgiving, have a great time with your family or friends.  See you next week!

Ethan

Hey everybody!  For the next ten days I'm doing this:

Maybe you were, or were not around last year to experience my Christmas commission extravaganza, but I have decided to do it again this year.  Basically, I never sell original art/sketches/commissions online, but for the the next 10 days I will, and at a pretty dang fair price.  I do this to raise money for Christmas presents for my family, but this year I am hoping I make enough to buy presents AND buy a new work computer.  I have been using the same machine since Chumble Spuzz volume one and this one crashed recently and has been showing steady signs of death.  Plus it is just really slow.  I will cut it off at 100 orders, so if more than 100 people order before the 25th, the sale will end early.

The pencil commissions will be the same price as last year, but I have upped the price on ink commissions and have added a super snazzy option: Walnut Ink.  Walnut Ink is a rare medium that I love to work in.  It is a very rich sepia ink that you have to see in person to really appreciate, but here are a few scans of Walnut Ink Axe Cop art I did as samples… (click to enlarge)

Obviously the walnut ink paintings are more work for me, so they cost a good amount more, but as of now, no one owns one of these.  It will be a pretty rare and special gift and I'll do you a custom one if you order it by November 25th.  In any case, one thing that happens when I do these sketches all in a marathon like this is they start getting really good because I get into a zone, so these will probably be even better then if you caught me at a convention (and I don't do Walnut Ink at cons!).  So please, make your Christmas better, make my Christmas better, and make my family's Christmas better.  Buy a commission!!

Also, if you did not already know it, Munchkin Axe Cop is in stores!  Check  out this review over at Wired.com.

That's it for now.  See you at Bearmageddon if you are following it. 

Ethan

If it's not yet obvious, this character was very much inspired by Bolt.  Also, Malachai loves the movie “Underdog” and has been trying to work under dog into the script for a while now.  He finally got his “Super Man but a dog” character.

If you haven't been following the Twitter/Facebook feed, the first Bearmageddon shirt is now available:

I don't know how you can go wrong with an Octo-Bear t-shirt.  It's a great gift for Dad this Christmas.

I'm still working on that new mini-series.  We settled on a title.  I'm going to leak it here, right now, even though it won't be out for a long time.  The title of the Bad Guy Earth follow-up miniseries is: Axe Cop. President of the World.

If you read the Bad Guy Earth miniseries, then you know by the title that this miniseries will pick up right where Bad Guy Earth left off.  If you haven't read Bad Guy Earth, well, have a spoiler.  That's what you get for being a Johnny-Come-Lately.

Munchkin Axe Cop should be out any day now, if it is not already.  Also, I plan to do another barrage of Christmas commissions like I did last year, so get ready, I'll announce it soon.  I am hoping to raise enough for a new computer AND Christmas.  That is quite a goal I know, but it's worth a shot.  Thanks for reading, and thanks to Kailey for coloring!  See you next week (or tomorrow at Bearmageddon).

Ethan

I wrote this blog, then lost it.  But here is my RecomMonday for this week:

I was already in a hurry to write the last blog that totally evaporated, so I will just say this: look this book up, it is an AMAZING read.  I know that most of my recommendations have been art/creative related but the point of recommonday is only to recommend things, this I HIGHLY recommend.  It's an INSANE true story of one Navy SEAL surviving after a huge fire fight with hundreds of Taliban in Afghanistan.  The first half of the book is about SEAL training which is intense enough, but the second half is about the fateful mission where Marcus Luttrell went out with three of his close friends and Navy SEALS and only he came back alive.  My description is not doing this book justice.  It is one of the greatest true stories I have ever read.

I wish I had time to say more because this book deserves it, but just read the description:

On a clear night in late June 2005, four U.S. Navy SEALs left their base in northern Afghanistan for the mountainous Pakistani border. Their mission was to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader known to be ensconced in a Taliban stronghold surrounded by a small but heavily armed force. Less then twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive.

A six-foot-five-inch Texan, Leading Petty Officer Luttrell takes us, blow-by-blow, through the brutal training of America's warrior elite and the relentless rites of passage required by the Navy SEALs. He transports us to a monstrous battle fought in the desolate peaks of Afghanistan, where the beleaguered American team plummeted headlong a thousand feet down a mountain as they fought back through flying shale and rocks. In this rich , moving chronicle of courage, honor, and patriotism, Marcus Luttrell delivers one of the most powerful narratives ever written about modern warfare-and a tribute to his teammates, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

This book stuck with me for days after I read it.  I can't begin to imagine going through what these guys, and especially Marcus went through.  I can only say I am thankful there are guy like this out there because if the military only had guys like me to defend the country we'd be in pretty sad shape.  Thanks to all members of the armed forces for your service.  We talk a lot about heroes here at Axe Cop, but real heroes exist and we should read their stories. 

Ethan

Ok, at least one.  He doesn't have a name yet, but he is a little English Bullpup.  Welcome to our new storyline.  HUGE thanks to Kaily Frizzell for coloring this story.  Yes, it will only be posting once a week on Tuedays while I work on the new miniseries for Dark Horse, but it will be in color, and it will feature all of those dog characters people seem to like so much.  Axe Cop will play a role in this story, so it is an Axe Cop story, but the dogs will get more face time than usual.

Well it was Halloween last night and a few fans sent in some very amazing costume renditions from Axe Cop.  Here are three favorites:

Kurt Larson as Axe Cop with the Best Fairy Ever.

Valerie Paquin sent shared this picture of Axe Cop and Uni-Avocado Soldier!  I am pretty sure this is the first Avocado Soldier costume I have seen.  I love it!!

and possibly my all time favorite just for it's “D'AAAAWWWwww!!!” factor:

This is Martin Garner and, I assume, his kid. He posted the pic next to Axe Cop and Wexter of easy comparison.  There was no official Halloween Costume contest this year, but I am pretty sure this would win. In fact, Martin, send me a picture of you and your son not in costume and I'll work you in as “extras” on a future page.  You deserve it.

If you dressed up Axe Cop-themed this Halloween, please send me pics!  You can email to info at AxeCop.com or post them on the Facebook page.  You can also be on the lookout for the official licensed Axe Cop Costume at Halloween Outlets for next year… or just to wear.  Why not?

Well, I'll see you next week with more Dogs.

Ethan

Knowing that “the Dogs” is not quite ready to start drawing, I wanted to get something new posted this week.  I wanted to do a new Halloween episode but I have been in need of a lot of new material from Malachai on the new miniseries and I didn't want to spend a whole session with him working on something else and losing that time.  So I went through old answers he had given to me in the past that I had not use, and I totally forgot I had this haunted house episode waiting for Halloween.  I had him fill in a few blanks today on the phone and I got to drawing.

I know the one of the favorite aspects of Axe Cop is simply getting into his little 7 year old mind and finding out how it perceives things.  I love that aspect on this episode where he really digs into what is scary.  I think he nails it pretty good… in fact I think that whole disco set up would be an awesome start to a haunted house.  I think someone should do that.  I also love that the ghost and mummy need grenades to really fill out their scariness.  And the devil baby.  It really needs no comment.

He actually gave me a LOT for this answer so I crammed as much of it as I could on one page.  A few things I really wish had made it in did not, but maybe when I do my director's cut some day I can work them in.  For now, here are some of the other features of Axe Cop's House of Horrors.

-Pictures of Axe Cop chopping off heads on the walls

-evil Wexter

-A Ghost Zombie Mummy Vampire

-instead of a werewolf… a real wolf.  A real wolf is scarier.

-a zombie on a pogo stick with a gun.

-a zombie with a knife stuck in its head that eats its own brains from inside it's own leaking skull.

-a ghost mansion room

-if the patrons watch the DVD they were given of their traumatizing experience, their nightmares and uncontrollable crying will continue for an additional 6 months for kids, and 3 months for adults each time they watch it.  Constant pants wetting is also part of the trauma
.

Looking back on some of those I really need to draw them.  It just came down to fitting it all on a page.  A lot of Axe Cop stories and answers have fun extra stuff like this.  I hope one day to make a book of all that stuff, illustrated and presented in pieces just as bonus material.

You wouldn't believe it, but when I took Malachai to Universal Studios (thanks for the passes Dark Horse!) the ride he was most scared of was the Simpsons.  He loved the Mummy and Jurassic Park.  He was more terrified of that fake cartoon roller coaster ride than actually dropping at the end of Jurassic Park.  You will probably see the Jurassic Park inspired part of this episode.

I had mentioned before that my old books Chumble Spuzz volumes 1 and 2 were available at SLG for under $4.  These are full length trades that retail for around $13 normally.  Basically, they have too many and no one had been buying them.  Last time I told you guys about this the books went out of stock in a day.  Well, they are back in stock so please buy them up, because SLG is going to be throwing some things overboard and the ones that don't sell will be pulped. 

Well, hopefully by next week I can get this new story rolling.  The new miniseries has become quite a bit more epic than I even imagined it could be… it's more complex and hard to fit together than Bad Guy Earth and I have had to do a lot of struggling through the various plot fragments with Malachai to try to get it all to fit together.  I am excited though… I wasn't sure how to follow up Bad Guy Earth, but now I am confident we have a great follow up coming together.  Thanks for reading, and thanks for you patience as things have slowed down here a little.  It's all for a good cause.  Happy Halloween, and if you are in Southern California come see me at Long Beach Comic Con this weekend!

Ethan

Well, I come with a surprise and an apology.  My apology is that the new story arch is not yet ready to be drawn.  I have a lot of the pieces, but I need to talk to Malachai to connect the dots and figure out more of the story before I am comfortable drawing pages.  So, I did this… I made this teaser image / cover.  The new story is going to be called “Axe Cop in: The Dogs”.  It is a story that starts off with the dogs (Ralph Wrinkles, Presty the Pug, Army Chihuahua and a new dog character) all teaming up and going on a mission.  The bad guys… well, they are Siberian Witch Doctor Cats.  Axe Cop does take a leading role in the story but the team of the dogs is also a big part.  That's all I will give away for now.  It is destined to be one of the weirdest Axe Cop stories ever (and that's saying a lot), but it will also be really fun to draw.  I have been working on the character designs for this one and have had a great time.  So this is your surprise.  I know I have never done cover images for online Axe Cop stories, but why not?

This is also one the first published Axe Cop drawing I have done using a traditional brush and ink.  I won't do the full story that way, but I am going to start doing splash pages in ink so I have some originals to sell.  This one will be for sale eventually.  If you think you HAVE to have it, email me your offer.  Otherwise I'll probably put it on Ebay down the road some time.

The other cool bit of news is that Kailey Frizzell, who has been coloring the character bio images for me, has agreed to color this story.  So, while it will be a one page per week story because I will be working on the new print miniseries AND Bearmageddon AND possibly another book I can't talk about AND other stuff I can't talk about…  so yeah, it will be slow moving, but it's Axe Cop's first online full color adventure!

So take this as a “coming soon” and a “thanks for your patience”.  I may be posting another guest episode next week if this thing is not yet ready to launch.  Whatever the case, I'll see you next Tuesday and be looking forward to THE DOGS.

Oh yeah, and if you missed yesterday's blog, you may have missed that I did a “Comics On Tees” shirt for Threadless of a Robot fighting a Sea Monster.  You need it!

Ethan

It's RecomMonday!!  I have two recommendations (or 7 depending how you count…).  The first recommendation is mainly because these shirts were just released today, and I drew one of them.  Threadless.com does these series of tee shirts called “Comics on Tees” and I was invited my my friend Jhonen Vasquez to participate in this series written by him and drawn by him, Becky Cloonan, JR Goldberg and myself.  It was an honor to be among such talent and I did my best to measure up.  My assigned shirt features a robot fighting a sea monster.  I think it turned out pretty cool.  You can buy all four, or individual shirts right now at Threadless!

As a side note, I have also put a “donate” button up over at Bearmageddon which will give you access to an exclusive Octo-Bear wallpaper.  My computer is on its last leg and I really need to buy a new one, so all help is highly appreciated!

Now for the real RecomMonday entry, I present to all aspiring creators my favorite series of books on writing around… Save the Cat!

When I first moved down here to the Hollywood part of California, I met with my manager Peter at the Gotham Group.  I had recently had my first TV show pitch optioned by Cartoon Network and, because that had set the ball rolling, I moved down to California.  When I met with Peter, I tried to explain my other story ideas to him, and as I struggled to put them into words, he wrote on a card and handed it to me.  He had written the words “Save the Cat”.  He explained that this was a great book not only on writing, but on being able to pitch your story in a way that people will want to read it.

If you live in Hollywood, you see people reading these books everywhere.  They became the big hit book series on screenwriting over the last few years and the reason why is they are fun to read and simple to understand.  Unlike a lot of famous books on writing, Save the Cat boils it down and doesn't get into a bunch of Theory and esoteric concepts.  It lays it out.  It's really brilliant.  I was so inspired by Save the Cat that I got on the web site and noticed that Blake Snyder, the author, was going to be doing a small group weekend seminar. I coughed up the cash and signed up.  The classes were limited to only a dozen people and took place in a conference room in Hollywood all day for two days.  I wasn't sure what I was in for but the experience was amazing.

When I showed up, I had this messy, incoherent idea for a story called “Bearmageddon”.  I had written about three incarnations of it… one that took place in the future, one where a father is trying to save his son, and on about some slackers.  I had no idea which one to tell, and none of them were very good.  Blake really helped me turn the story into something I was really excited about, and on the last day after I did my final pitch, Blake said “Congratulations.  You just pitched the weirdest story I have ever heard.”

A week or two later I got the completely shocking news that Blake had died of a sudden heart attack.  This guy who was so full of life and passionate about teaching storytelling showed no signs over passing on any time soon.  It was totally tragic, and as far as I understand, those other 11 people and I took the last class he ever taught.  It was an honor, but a very sad one.

Blake had just been finishing up the third volume “Save the Cat Strikes Back” when he passed.  It came out somewhat recently and I have been reading it lately, which inspired me to post this today.  I know that for people in my neck of the woods (Hollywood) these books are as popular as NASCAR in the South.  But I wanted to share these with you guys because I know that a ton of you are aspiring comic artists and creators and if you want to tell a story, GET THESE BOOKS.  At the very least, get volume one.  You will not regret it.

That's my big recommendation for you this week.  Tomorrow, I have a little surprise for you guys, so I'll see you then.

Ethan

I got another week off here, so I got that whacky guy Jamie Smart to fill in this week.  If you don't know Jamie's work, he is an SLG veteran like me and his head is full of all sorts of madness.  Plus he's British so you get to feel all sophisticated for reading his work.

I really liked this Guest Episode because of how spot-on it nails studio notes.  Of course, if you have never pitched an animated series to a network before, and most people haven't, it may not be as funny to you… but I would submit it is funny enough to the laymen, and twice as funny to the animated series pitcher.  Being that I pitched an animated series today this hit home, though my pitch meeting went amazingly well and was nothing like this comic.

What's funny is, in all the dealings with companies like Dark Horse, Steve Jackson Games… and other companies who are getting involved or have shown interest, not one (yet) has made a fool of themselves and tried to alter Axe Cop in any way like Jamie so perfectly mocks in this guest episode.  Everybody, I think, knows that the moment they do that they just Jenga'd the whole stack.  Pull that one piece out and it all comes down.  I think just about every decision Axe Cop makes is one that would make a studio exec laugh nervously, tap his/her fingers together and say “yeah let's put a pin in that and maybe look at some other options just to keep an open playing field, heh.”  I would love to see Axe Cop in a pitch meeting.

I'm up to my nips in Bearmageddon right now… actually, I am on the last page of the bunch I wanted to get done before I dive into the next Axe Cop miniseries.  I also need to post something up here a week from today.  So much to do… so much, and even more I can't talk about on line.  Don't let the lack of posts right now fool you, I am a busy busy man.

I played my first ever game of Munchkin Axe Cop the other night with my friends.  We had a little get together at my place, I made garlic infused burgers with roasted garlic on top.  I had a couple friends who were Munchkin players and they showed me the ropes.  My mind was not made to comprehend card games I think, but I think I got the hang of it.  The cards by themselves are hilarious, and if you are wondering if it is all real Axe Cop stuff, it is.  There were cards Steve needed us to come up with, so I got Malachai to fill in the cards we needed and I did the art, so there is Axe Cop content in the game that is not in the comic, but it's all totally legit.  It is not altered by the execs like today's great guest episode.  Want to know more about Munchkin Axe Cop?  Read the review of it at Mtv Geek.  You may have never played Munchkin before, but now would be a good time to start.  The game is released Nov. 1st I believe.

And that's another week.  See you next Tuesday!

Ethan

I am a fan of Blair Kitchen's Possum comics. His art style is very lively and reminds me a lot of Sergio Aragones.  I highly recommend his comics.  He did something pretty awesome and here created one of my favorite guest episodes to date.  He had his kids write a comic where his character, the Possum, teams up with Axe Cop.  It is a lot of fun and Blair does a great job of conveying humor.  Read more Possum comics here!

Just a reminder, we have some awesome new tee-shirt designs over at PopFunk.  See you next Tuesday with a new guest episode by Jamie Smart.

Ethan