Sucker Street in progress

Coming soon — Sucker Street!

Sucker Street in progressPictured on my drawing table: the first few pages of Sucker Street, my forthcoming webcomic. I’m preparing a printed version of the prologue for purchase this Saturday at the MSU Comics Forum. Then, beginning in March, I’ll be running the ongoing series here on fridge-mag.com, releasing a page a week until…oh, I dunno, however long it takes. Maybe the rest of my life?

This is a departure for me. As a minicomics creator, one of my personal challenges has been to tell a self-contained, one-shot story in 1-12 pages. Sucker Street, by contrast, will be a long-form serial with a sprawling cast of characters and multiple, interwoven story arcs. While I always intended for it to be a big story, I resisted doing it as a serial. Believe me, I tried to compress this big world I’ve created down to a single book, or even a collection of books. I’ve come to accept that this just isn’t that kind of comic.

Yeah, yeah, I know. You want me to get to the part where I tell you what the comic’s about. Okay, fine. It’s about a close-knit neighborhood in a floundering Michigan municipality (a fictitious one, although my home state has no shortage of live models to work from) and the people who live and work there.  The setting and a couple of the characters first appeared ten years ago (in very primitive form) in a 24-hour comic called A Quest for Quiet Cat Toys. The full comic’s there at the link, but it’s not required reading. A lot of changes have happened on the street since then.

Anyway, after 4 years of digging in my heels, I’m ready to step out of my comfort zone and release this thing into the world, page by page. Chapter One needs another rewrite and I still haven’t fully scripted Chapter Two or anything beyond. And— just between you, me and the internet—that kinda freaks me out. In a way, though, it’s nice to know I’m still capable of being freaked out by cartooning, after so many years doing it. I’m looking forward to this new adventure and hope you’ll join me. I’ll let you know when the comic goes live!

A Return to Forum

MSUCFheaderAnnouncing a new addition to the schedule: I’ll be participating in the Artists’ Alley of the 2014 MSU Comics Forum in Lansing, MI this February 22nd. The forum actually kicks off on Friday the 21st with keynote speaker Stan Sakai, so come both days if you can!

I haven’t set up in Artist’s Alley for this show in a couple of years and I’m looking forward to coming back. I’ll have minicomics which haven’t shown there before; including, if all goes according to plan, a brand new comic (the first in a brand new series)! Things are brewing here at Fridge-Mag HQ. More news soon.

Bands of Ball Point

Two New Ball Point Comics!

Er… They’re relatively new, which is to say I did these months ago and I’m just now getting around to blogging about them. Sorry about the delay.

bands_promoFirst up, my first big Ball Point book (“big” being a relative term; it’s a 16-page minicomic, 4.25″ x 5.5″), The Bands of Ball Point. For this book, I had fun digging into my running list of fake band names and doodling groups of people posing for what might be PR photos.

Not only is Bands the biggest, fattest book in the Ball Point series, it’s also the most expensive! Yes, this’ll set you back a whole dollar. Go to this page for ordering info.

BoBPromo

The Bugs of Ball Point is a bit more traditional for the series; doodles of imaginary insects, all printed up at about the size of a good-sized bug. I’ll be posting excerpts to this page soon!

Not My Small Diary #17: True High School Comics

 

Baumann_NMSD_17excerptSee that picture? That’s an excerpt from my piece in the latest installment of Delaine Derry Green’s anthology comic, Not My Small Diary. It’s a great issue on the whole, and it’s in perfect-bound paperback format for those of you who don’t like staples. Plus, it’s apparently required reading for an upcoming class at Penn State. 55 cartoonists share true stories from their high school years. Only $7. You know you want a copy. Buy one here.