SCRAP METTLE LIMITED: ALL SOLD OUT

All 25 copies are gone...these went quick! Thanks to everyone for the support! I'll do a limited edition of the next book, as well, due out for SAN DIEGO. More info soon!

With Steinbeck and Ricketts

Good job, Petey

Tearin' up the East Bay

in the works...

Hey, lookit them bears

interlude!

So as a brief interlude from the art, let's have a look at another project i'm in the middle of with my Dad...a 1931 5-Window Ford Coupe! You can track the progress as we get 'er rolling over the next few months at the Number 63 Blog! Enjoy!

WHEN SYSADMINS RULED THE EARTH

It's available now at finer comics specialty shops everywhere! I did a cover for Cory Doctorow's new series FUTURISTIC TALES at IDW, based on his sci-fi writings. Cory is infamous for creating the notorious BOING BOING website. You can grab the original now, too, available at Graphic Collectibles.


More soon!

ORIGINALS

Hey everyone-

Sorry for the long gap between posts...I've been away in Italy doing research and trying to catch up. Still, there's some news: GRAPHIC COLLECTIBLES has some of my originals for sale. Now's your chance! Go to it!

pre-order THE MAGIC PICKLE!

They're on their way...two new MAGIC PICKLE books, ready for pre-order from Amazon. Scholastic Books' GRAPHIX imprint is offering new MAGIC PICKLE stories for the first time in six years, with the release of MAGIC PICKLE AND THE PLANET OF THE GRAPES and MAGIC PICKLE VS. THE EGG POACHER. These new books are chapter books, meaning very heavily illustrated prose books, written and illustrated by me. They were incredibly fun to produce, and they're a great expansion of the Magic Pickle mythos. They'll be available at shops in March of 2008, but you can pre-order now. Jully 2008 will also have the rerelease of the MAGIC PICKLE graphic novel, souped up with FULL COLOR by the amazing Jose Garibaldi. So that's 3 MAGIC PICKLE books for 2008. Now you know three more reasons I've been so darn busy!

More soon! I'll try to post the covers shortly.

SOUTHPAW for the Alzheimer's Association

Esther Pearl has been working with the fine folks at Maverix Studios to organize an art auction to benefit the Alzheimer's Association later this month. The Maverix auctions are first rate affairs and always have a wide variety of cool artwork available to bid on.

If you live in the Bay Area, come by to bid on some great artwork for a good cause. I'm contributing these two SOUTHPAW pieces.

Art Auction benefiting the Alzheimer's Association
Saturday, Sept 29, 6-9pm
Maverix Studios
1717 17th Street
San Francisco

ANCIENT BOOK LIMITED: They're off!

Finally, they're shipping today. Thanks to everyone who ordered for their patience. I'll be contacting a few of you directly to double check some shipping information, but the bulk of them went out a few minutes ago.

With that, THE ANCIENT BOOK OF MYTH AND WAR is completely sold out. We're not supplying any more copies to our distributor, because we're really and truly out of them. Thanks for grabbing one, if you did, and if you DIDN'T, grab the next one you see at a shop or online. It might be the last!

Work has begun on THE ANCIENT BOOK OF SEX AND SCIENCE, and we're planning a REALLY cool ancilliary product with a REALLY cool third party for this launch next April. Keep yer eyes peeled on the blogs for more info soon. Some preview images will be posted as we go. There will be four volumes of THE ANCIENT BOOK when we're all done...

Also just finished up some work for SCHOLASTIC, some new MAGIC PICKLE projects, which will also hit next year. With the 3 MAGIC PICKLE books, THE ANCIENT BOOK OF SEX AND SCIENCE, and a secret project or two, there are at least FIVE new books slated for 2008 from me, so lots to see coming up!

Thanks again to everyone for your patience. It means the world. It's been a tough, busy couple of months.

New York for Nick

For those of you that have ordered the limited ANCIENT BOOK, the wait is almost over. Books should officially ship in the next few days. Thanks SO much for everyone's patience...and sorry for all the delays...I'm shipping two new MAGIC PICKLE books to Scholastic this week as well, in addition to Pixar duties, family time, and some other projects, including THE ANCIENT BOOK OF SEX AND SCIENCE, which is now underway. Folks waiting on the last few SCRAP METTLE limiteds will have a week or two more to wait, I'm afraid. In the meantime, here's a painting for my pal Nick.

RIP Mike Wieringo

I'm absolutely shocked. Mike was one of the first pros that ever wrote me to let me know what he thought of my work, unsolicited and full of praise, ten years ago when I started SOULWIND. A truly kind man.

Matt Brady has more at NEWSARAMA.

I'll have some post-con wrap-up news and info on when ANCIENT BOOK and SCRAP METTLE limited editions are shipping soon (ANCIENT BOOKS will ship this week, if I've received your payment). I'm back to work from my break, so things are busy. Thanks for everyone's patience.

2007 COMIC CON WARES: SCRAP METTLE LIMITED!

So here's the scoop: I'll be bringing 16 copies of the limited edition of SCRAP METTLE to Comic Con, for sale to the first 16 people to hit booth 4800 with $100 in hand. This is an addition of 25 total, so the remaining few I'm not bringing, plus whatever's left over, will be made available on the blog AFTER the con. I'm not taking reservations on this one. I want these to be a special item for the people making the trip to San Diego. That said, there are a few that are earmarked for the blog, but VERY few. So watch for more info next week. They'll be available on a first-come, first serve basis.

But for your $100, you get the book signed and stamped on the endpapers, along with an original watercolor painting on the opposite endpaper page (not pictured), and in addition, you get a separate 4" x4" original painting of SOUTHPAW with a vintage car, which you can leave in the book as a bookplate or frame and hang. So, that's the book, plus TWO pieces of original art. Hope you dig it!

2007 COMIC-CON Wares: THE ANCIENT POSTCARDS, THE HAPPY BEAVER, and BELLE du JOUR

Suprise! More info on SHANKPILE!





And on Jeff Pidgeon's blog, there's info on the HAPPY BEAVER toy we'll have at the booth, too. Come quick, we've only got around 100 for the con!



And of course, there's BELLE du JOUR, Bill Presing's amazing offering, featuring a limited edition with a fully painted bookplate. Info at Bill's blog!

PIXAR MOTORAMA

Friday, July 20th marked the 7th annual Pixar Motorama. My 1951 Ford F1 was a part of the show. It's a project my dad and I have been working on for a year and a half or so. This truck (and the process of working on it) plays a major part in the autobiographical (no pun intended) book I'm working on now, ALONG THESE FIERY PATHS, which you'll hear lots more about soon, since it's in production. We're in the middle of a 1931 Ford coupe next. At any rate, here's a pic I found online, and a link to the photoset where I found it on Raphael Suter's blog. The Motorama was a blast...Jay Ward, one of the founders of Billetproof and all-around cool cat and co-worker, runs the thing, along with the way-cool Asphalt Invitational we attended the week before. Thanks Jay!

COMIC-CON WARES 2007: PT. 2

Hit me early at booth 4800. These are hand-made and painted wooden sculptures I did just for the show. No reserves on these guys...price to be determined...

SCRAP METTLE: The Bud Plant Edition

I'll be announcing the official limited edition soon...but here's a more affordable option where you still get something special. It's exclusive to Bud Plant, this signed bookplate, and no extra cost, from what I hear. Inquire at www.budplant.com!

SCRAP METTLE has arrived!

Clocking in at 400 pages, SCRAP METTLE arrived on my doorstep this morning. These are the advanced copies, folks, the ones I'll have on hand at San Diego. They go for $40 a pop at the booth, where I'll be happy to sign and contribute something original, or you can still get the best deal in town at Amazon. I only have 50 of these things at this point, and probalby only 30 of those for sale, so come QUICK to booth 4800.

There's also a limited edition bookplate coming from Bud Plant, if you'd like to order something more unique through them, and I'll have VERY limited editions available soon for $75 a pop. An edition of either 15 or 25, I haven't decided yet. I'll keep you posted over the next couple of days.

THE ANCIENT BOOK: LIMITED EDITION

NOW IS THE TIME! Order the limited edition before they're GONE. There's only 50 of these guys, signed by myself, Lou Romano, Don Shank, and Nate Wragg, numbered, and featuring a unique original painting in the inside front cover by me. The paintings were "built" using carved styrofoam stamps with details by bush. No two are alike, and the design will change for each set of ten books. These are numbers 11-20. The stamps will be "shelved" after these are completed, so these images are indeed unique.

$50 each, plus shipping. Limit 2.

E-mail crazymorse*at* sbcglobal.net if you want one or two. I'll reply with details on how to pay. Some available at San Diego Comic Con, first come, first served.

COMIC-CON WARES 2007: PT. 1

The YELLOW BIRD ukuleles

Three hand-painted Hohner soprano ukuleles, featuring a yellow bird in honor of one of my favorite uke tunes, YELLOW BIRD. These puppies will play OK, but they're more for lookin' at, really. You can reserve one now for pick-up at San Diego or I can send it out, if you like, Fed Ex, at an additional cost. Pick it up at the con and I might even play you a little something! They'll come varnished and strung, ready for action.

$350 each

E-mail me at crazymorse *at* sbcglobal.net if you want one!

More soon...