Author: Ethan Nicolle

I decided to draw this episode because it sounded easy to draw and I didn't have a lot of time.  Once I dove in I realized this was going to be a lot more work than I thought.  I believe the way we wrote this one is I pulled what I had in my pockets out and Malachai went from there deciding what Axe Cop would carry around.  My favorite part is how we now have three new fairies who have separate jobs, including the keyhole fairy.

Well, I am not going to blog a bunch because I want to get this thing posted.  I will mention that I received an early copy of this in the mail and it is the most beautiful book I have been involved in yet!  I can't wait for you to get your own copy when they hit shelves in October!  You can preorder on Amazon or TFAW now (tfaw makes us more money and gets you the book quicker)!

Also, new Bearmageddon page went up today as well. 

See you tomorrow with more Axe Cop (barely) Babysits Uni-Baby.

Ethan

This story could have just as easily been called “Axe Cop and Dinosaur go to Magic World”.  I actually had to call Malachai and try to get more Uni-Baby related story out of him because the story in the beginning literally was basically they lock her up ith the abusive cyborgs and go to Magic World.

As I mentioned at the end of yesterday's RecomMonday post (and please read it, this is one of my favorite things ever) I got to be Kris Straub's first guest on his new Humor Authority podcast.  We basically discussed comedy, creating comedy, trying to understand why things are funny and what works and doesn't work.  I think it was interesting if you are into that sort of talk, and Kris is a pretty dang funny guy.

I guess I better get to work on tomorrow's Ask Axe Cop.  Also, we are having some issues because we switched to a new server yesterday, so if you run into anything let me know.  Right now the thing we are trying to get fixed is the comments… you can't coment because it asks for a captcha entry but doesn't show you a captcha image.  Hopefully it will be fixed later today. 

Ethan

Sorry for the late posting of this blog.  We switched to a new server last night and after a few hiccups in the transition I am finally able to post.  Today I bring you my first movie recommendations yet!  I am recommending to you two movies that go hand in hand.  Troll 2, and the movie that was made about Troll 2 called Best Worst Movie.  I am actually going to recommend BWM first, because I think that even if you are not a fan of really bad movies (and Troll 2 is very bad in the best way possible), BWM is the documentary made about the film 20 years later by the now all grown up guy who was the child actor and lead role in Troll 2.

The story goes that a movie called “Goblin” was made in Utah by some Italian film makers using inexperienced locals as actors.  It was eventually released as “Troll 2” even though there is not a single Troll in the entire movie.  The movie was listed as the very worst movie of all on RottenTomatoes.com.  But about 17 years after it was released in the 80's, it found a cult following that became very dedicated and enthusiastic.  The unknown actors who had been involved in the movie started being contacted by film festivals and screenings and it became a real phenomenon.  I have been to a Troll 2 theater screening and it's an awesome experience.  The movie delivers moment after moment, it is hilarious without ever meaning to be. 

So while all this is happening, the guy who played the kid in the original film was now a grown up film maker and decided to do a documentary about the whole thing.  He interviews all the people involved in the film and in so doing takes an amazing snap shot of the different kinds of characters you will find all over this earth, especially in the arts.  It is a true slice of life.

I see the film as comparing three kinds of artists.  There are people like the incredibly lovable actor George Hardy (now a Dentist in Alabama) who are dedicated hard workers but they have a realistic view of themselves and the world around them.  They can laugh at themselves, they can see outside themselves and they know that there is more to life than the art they are involved in.  They love art, but they love people too.  They love others and have some humility in their hearts.  Then there are people like the director of the film who have allowed their passion for being creative close them off from the rest of the world.  The man is dead serious, and he dogmatically sees his work as this Casa Blanca masterpiece.  He hates the laughing and he can not seem to see the humor or admit he made a terrible movie, and it is also obvious that he has a low view of other people. Like so many other artists I meet in this industry, he lets his craft make him believe he is some how on a higher level.  There are also the people who are just downright crazy- completely wrapped up in their own heads and lucidity is as far from them as you could imagine.  Their perception of reality could not be further from the truth.  Yet, the characters are all lovable, and they are all real.  It's fascinating and it is literally one of my all time favorite movies, and probably one of the only documentaries I would put in my list of top ten favorite films if I were to make such a list.  Trust me, if you see this movie you will get an instant man crush on George Hardy just like I did.

Troll 2 is available for Instant viewing on NetFlix.  If you are not big on bad horror films, maybe it won't be for you, but give it a try, and watch it with some friends who are in the mood to laugh.  If it's not for you, don't let that deter you from checking out Best Worst Movie.  It's hilarious and it's profound in many ways.  I absolutely love it and I have watched it and shared it with a lot of people.  I'm sort of a Best Worst Movie Evangelist.

Find out more about both films at www.BestWorstMovie.com

Also, Kris Straub of Chainsaw Suit and Starslip started a new podcast called “Humor Authority” and had me as his guest on the first episode.  You know how most of the interviews I do cover the same ground, ask the same questions and basically say the same thing?  Well this one goes off the beaten path quite a bit, though I will warn you it is probably PG-13 in its language. 

See you tomorrow with the next episode of Axe Cop Babysits Uni-Baby!

Ethan

P.S.  Sorry, the comments section is messed up right now, so until we get it fixed feel free to chime in on the Facebook Page.

So here we are four pages into a story about Axe Cop babysitting Uni-Baby and already he has totally left his duties to a couple of abusive cyborgs.   Uni-Baby no doubt continues to cry and get punched by the cyborgs and Axe Cop just gallivants around Magic World. 

As I said yesterday, some people were pretty disturbed by the baby punching, and I only want to talk about it some more here because I sympathize with that view.  Some of the “goth” comics I was into in my early days of indie comics would have joke where little children were murdered or beaten or tortured and that crossed a line I could not partake in.  I couldn't laugh at a cartoon child being beaten to death, even though it was not real.  The concept in itself is not funny.

But that is because I make a distinction between men and women, children and adults, innocence and maturity, the strong and the weak.  Malachai does not make a lot of those distinctions.  His punching Uni-Baby is an equal opportunity policy.  He'll punch anyone in his comics because he is not thinking with the distinctions that come later, he is just thinking if you are annoying you get punched.  And he is not thinking psycho abusive step dad punch, he is thinking bugs bunny punch.  Punch and Judy punch. 

Malachai may not be making those distinctions, but I make the distinction that he is a child and I am an adult, so we will view these things differently.  I also know that Uni-Baby is a super baby.  She can survive explosions and suffer minor cuts and bruises. 

In general I am with the people who cringe at the baby hostility.  I find it reprehensible coming from an adult.  Those adults have made the distinction, and they have the full knowledge of the evil they are making light of.  Malachai isn't there yet.  So when we laugh at robots punching babies in the Axe Cop universe hopefully we are laughing at the way Malachai thinks in this instance and not literally at the suffering of a fictional infant.

There you go!  That was my Axe Cop Baby Punching Defense.  Have a good weekend and I'll see you next Tuesday! (unless you read Bearmageddon.  Then I'll see you tomorrow)

Ethan

Sometimes you have to steal.  Like when you find the perfect fireman axe and you have some dinosaurs to kill.  Homes may burn, but heads must fall.  Of course Axe Cop doesn't stop there, he helps the firemen figure out what they had been doing wrong all along.  They were trying to chop the fire.  They should have realized that doesn't work.  Fire doesn't have a head.  You can't chop it.  They were pretty shocked to find out how well water works instead.

People were a little disturbed yesterday when Axe Cop stuck uni-baby in a dark room and had her repeatedly punched in the face by cyborgs while he goofed off.  Well, I knew it wouldn't be popular, and I want to dig into why Malachai would come up with that a little more, but I will wait until tomorrow when I release the next episode of “Axe Cop Babysits Uni-Baby” wherein… you guessed it… he doesn't babysit her at all.  She just keeps getting punched.  I think someone needs to start standing up for baby's rights in the Axe Cop universe.

If you haven't yet joined the Axe Cop Documentary Facebook page or followed Twitter, please do.  They will be releasing various photos and video clips as they continue to document this crazy adventure Malachai and I are on.  They just posted a clip they put together to show some of the earliest footage they got with an interview with me about how Axe Cop came into being.  Check it out…

On another note, there is a new Bearmageddon page up today, so please give that a gander as well.  Thanks for stopping by!

Ethan

If Axe Cop's baby sitting methods were ever in question, today I think it is clear, he should only baby sit invulnerable cartoon babies.

If you missed RecomMonday check it out, I recommend a couple great art books.  Also, if you are looking for a new Axe Cop t-shirt PopFunk is now selling 12 new designs in glorious full color!

With that, I'll see you tomorrow with a new Ask Axe Cop where we find out about the fireman who had his perfect axe stolen on that fateful day.

Ethan

P. S.:  Have you checked out the Axe Cop Documentary page on Facebook?  Do it!

It's another RecomMonday!  I am going to recommend a couple of my favorite art books here.  I love art books/sketch books, I keep them all on a shelf right next to me so that if I am losing drive I can flip one open and get a big rush of inspiration.  It is also great to look at how other artists draw certain things that you may struggle with.  They may have found a technique you can use if you yourself are an artist.

I should mention that there is art in these books I am about to recommend that is not appropriate for children, mainly due to violent images.  I just want to be clear on that since this is an all ages web site.

My first recommendation today is Ryan Ottley's new sketch book Violence and Pinwheels:

Ryan was kind enough to give me this thing when I saw him in San Diego, but I would have gladly laid down money for it.  His art is amazingly solid and stylistic.  He does a great job of finding his own style while keeping his art in the traditional realm.  His anatomy is stellar and his lines are surgical. 

My other recommendation is Simon Bisley's the Bible.  This is a book of art from the Bible by Simon Bisely.  I have no idea what Bisley's religious views are, but judging from most of the other stuff he draws (boobs and guns) and the fact that he depicts himself as Satan in this book, I would not guess he is a devout Christian.  He is, however, and artist I have loved for a long time, but usually his art is so pornographic I'd rather not buy it.  This book is some of his most beautiful work, and it is awesome to see some of his depictions from the Old and New Testament rendered out in his chaotic yet masterful way.  He is not trying to give anyone warm fuzzy feelings here, he is drawing biblical imagery without censor or a preconceived notion of softness in all their terrifying glory.  Below is the cover and a couple images from the book… 

That's that!  See you tomorrow with the next installment of Axe Cop Baby sits Uni-Baby.

Ethan

After a recent licensing deal Axe Cop has a new set of 12 full color shirt designs now available over at PopFunk.com.  Go check them out, they are very cool!

Here's you next installment of “Axe Cop Babysits Uni-Baby”.  I think Malachai's logic on this was that if Uni-Baby is only allowed a certain amount of food, she will poop much less.  I guess that could actually work.  It makes me curious if you could eat just the right amount of the right food so that your body makes no waste… and never ever poop again.  I am guessing there is some science hippy out there who has made this their life goal.

Well, I don't much else to say at the moment except I will give you a quick reminder that we have this awesome t-shirt at Hot Topic.

Also, don't forget to check out our section on StickerYou.  You can make custom sticker sheets, picking out characters, colors and sizes.

Alright.  New page of Bearmageddon tomorrow, then the weekend!

Ethan

The truth about tody's question is two people asked it… Sean asked about the Wrestler, and some anonymous person asked about Leaf Man, so I combined the two.  Both are tragic.  Leaf Man is in the circus with a broken heart, and the Wrestler is becoming more and more evil by the moment.

Today is my first day of posting both Axe Cop and Bearmageddon on the same day.  Every Wednesday, at least through the current Axe Cop story arch, with be Axe Bear day.  It will be a day where you get a post on both web sites on the same day.  So why not go over to Bearmageddon and check it out.

Tomorrow I'll bring you the second page of the “Axe Cop Babysits Uni-Baby” story.  See you then.

Ethan