Brown Jug Flu was rampant at the academy that semester.

Foxes & Boxes – 40

by on June 5, 2017 at 12:51 am
Chapter:
Characters: ,

Boxes wants it on record that she is NOT a thief, OK? Despite her knowing how to take out a locked door with ease. It’s just one of those things you pick up at mage school, y’know between studying for the necromancy exam.

Speaking of thieves and the like, I read Road to Perdition last week. The graphic novel, not the movie with the guy from The ‘Burbs. I saw the movie, years ago, but didn’t remember much beyond the broad strokes and the comic being a Lone Wolf and Cub homage. I enjoyed the comic, as it had a very unique art style, which fit the gritty story, I think.

Give Lone Wolf and Cub a read too. It is gorgeous, and even though I don’t get all the cultural stuff at times, it’s a captivating read.

One the other end of the comic spectrum, in terms of tone at least, I picked up Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula from the library. It’s cute! And funny! The title caught my eye and I decided to give it a read (I’m eager to read anything which is remotely in the same genre/style of what I’m doing with Foxes & Boxes). Hooray for my local library having an amazing comic book and graphic novel selection.

I think this week’s comic is the last one before I really started paying attention to my panel count. This doesn’t mean I won’t have a page with eight, nine, or ten panels in the future. I will, I’m sure. But, I’ll be more mindful of when I do so. Today’s page is another example of one I could have probably split into two pages, with panels one through four being their own page.

Related Foxes & Boxes comics – Foxes and Boxes – 7, Foxes & Boxes – 16, Foxes & Boxes – 20

Comic Transcript – Foxes & Boxes – 40

fox: can you pick the lock?

boxes: me?! I’m a mage not a thief!

boxes: didn’t you learn how at the adventurer academy?

fox: wooooooo

fox: uh, I was sick that semester.

boxes: sigh, step aside!

SFX: Freeze

SFX: Smash

SFX: Creak

boxes: after you!

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New Stickers From MOO!

by on May 16, 2017 at 12:13 am
Posted In: Blog, News
clattertron stickers moo

Stickers!

I decided to up my stickers game recently and ordered a batch from MOO.com. As someone who draws a lot of colorful cartoon characters, stickers are a great item to sell in artist alley at comic conventions. They’re easy to transport, don’t take up a lot of table space, and are colorful eye-catchers.

The Old: Home Made Stickers

Stickers are a steady seller for me in artist alley. They’re easy to make and I can sell them for cheap (lately 2 individual stickers for $1). I was making my own at home: I bought sheets of sticker paper for my printer and cut them out myself.

Continue Reading

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Watch My Comics.Community Podcast Free Comic Book Day Interview

by on May 11, 2017 at 12:50 am
Posted In: Blog, News
daniel j hogan video interview

GAZE UPON ME

The Comics.Community Podcast crew also attended the Free Comic Book Day fun at Summit Comics & Games. Lucky for me, the Comics.Community Podcast decided to interview me for a short video.

You can watch the video below or on YouTube if the embed isn’t working.

While I was the first one interviewed, I recommend watching the rest of the video to learn about some of my fellow Lansing area artists.

This interview thankfully went much better than my first attempt at a Facebook Live video on the Clattertron page earlier in the day. Oh so awkward. But charming. I hope.

Free Comic Book Day at Summit Comics & Games went great! Comic book fans flooded the local shop and kept me busy for my shift.

I gave out free cartoon sketches for kids during my time (11AM – 2PM), and cranked out a bunch. I don’t know how many exactly, but if I had to guess it was easily in the neighborhood of 30 drawings.

Thirty drawings, in three hours. My trusty Pentel Pocket Brush Pen was practically smoking by the end of the day (I even had to load in a new ink cartridge after an hour or so).

Reload! Reload! #fcbd #drawing #freecomicbookday #clattertron

A post shared by Daniel J. Hogan (@clattertron) on

Sadly, I didn’t get any photos of my sketches because I was too busy drawing and handling sales (looking back, I probably should have brought a helper to handle sales).

One of my favorite parts of Free Comic Book Day is how it routinely shatters the bogus belief that girls and women don’t read comics or like superheros. Or that girls and women shouldn’t be into “boy” stuff. Tell that to the little girl in an avengers shirt who asked me for a sketch of The Hulk. Or the several girls who wanted a Batman sketch.

And so on.

Probably my favorite request of the day was to draw the Hufflepuff crest (from Harry Potter) for one of the girls in attendance.

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Free Comic Book Day: See Me At Summit Comics & Games on Saturday

by on May 4, 2017 at 12:29 am
Posted In: Blog, News
free comic book day 2017

Free Comic Book Day is May 6, 2017. Image by Rian Sygh, via freecomicbookday.com.

Get ready: this Saturday is Free Comic Book Day! (aka FCBD) Once again, I am appearing at Summit Comics & Games in downtown Lansing. Please come visit if you can, there’s all kinds of goodies.

What is Free Comic Book Day?

Free Comic Book Day is the first Saturday in May every year. As the name suggests, you get free comic books. Now, this doesn’t mean your local comic shop will let you walk out the door with a free copy of The Amazing Spider-Man #1. Hardly. What it does mean is, comic book companies produce new, special comic book issues just for Free Comic Book Day. These special one-shot comics are the free comics of the day.

There’s a bunch of titles and they are always worth checking out.

The idea behind FCBD is to lure potential new readers to local comic book shops, especially younger readers. This doesn’t mean long-time readers aren’t welcome. Far from it. There’s a free comic book for pretty much every kind of reader.

Where is Summit Comics & Games?

Summit Comics & Games is in downtown Lansing. 216 S Washington Sq Ste B, Lansing, Michigan 48933.

What Am I Selling on Free Comic Book Day?

The usual!

  • Prints: I’ll have two new cartoon prints, like Mecha Kitty, along with fresh copies of old favorites.
  • Stickers: My usual collection of stickers, with a few new Foxes & Boxes designs thrown in.
  • Buttons: I ordered a fresh batch of buttons from Pinback Buttons, featuring Foxes & Boxes logos and some cartoon art.
  • Comics: My Foxes & Boxes mini-comic (collecting the first three pages), in color. Copies of my Hourly Comics collection from last year (which are comics you cannot read online) are also available.
  • Coloring Books: A few remaining copies of my 2016 coloring book (I did not make a new one this year).

Additionally, as part of Free Comic Book Day, I’m offering free sketches for kids, ages 12 and under. I will try to do paid commissions if I can, but I might be too busy cranking out free drawings for kids. (Tip: If you want a free Random Cartoon, come see me tomorrow night at Arts Night Out)

Summit Comics & Games always puts on a great Free Comic Book Day event, so please come by if you can.

Oh, and might I add: Happy Star Wars Day!

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Arts Night Out: See Me in Old Town Friday Night

by on May 2, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Blog, News
arts night out old town lansing mi

Arts Night Out this Friday! Image via Piper & Gold.

This Friday evening is Arts Night Out in Lansing’s Old Town. My wife Stephanie and I are selling our art at Piper & Gold Public Relations. Joining us is another local artist, Briana McNamara. Art all around!

What is Arts Night Out?

Arts Night Out is a free, family friendly event focused on showcasing local artists at local businesses in Lansing’s Old Town. Think of it as a gallery walk, but where every participating business acts as an art gallery. Several Old Town businesses are participating. You can learn more at myartsnightout.com.

When Is Arts Night Out?

The first Arts Night Out of 2017 is this Friday, May 5th at 5 PM until 8 PM.

Where Will Our Art Be Displayed?

You can find Stephanie and I at Piper & Gold Public Relations, at 313 ½ e. Grand River Ave in Lansing, Michigan. It is right next to Pablo’s, a delightful Mexican restaurant in Old Town (and a personal favorite. Get the torta). Weather permitting, we will be outside in the alley just next to Piper & Gold. You can’t miss us! Plan B is inside the P&G offices.

Piper & Gold is providing refreshments, and I imagine other businesses will do the same.

What Are We Selling at Arts Night Out?

I’m selling my usual cartoony fun stuff:

  • Prints: I’ll have two new cartoon prints, like Mecha Kitty, along with fresh copies of old favorites.
  • Stickers: My usual collection of stickers, with a few new Foxes & Boxes designs thrown in.
  • Buttons: I ordered a fresh batch of buttons from Pinback Buttons, featuring Foxes & Boxes logos and some cartoon art.
  • Comics: My Foxes & Boxes mini-comic (collecting the first three pages), in color. Copies of my Hourly Comics collection from last year (which are comics you cannot read online) are also available.
  • Coloring Books: A few remaining copies of my 2016 coloring book (I did not make a new one this year).

Due to Piper & Gold Public Relations’ generosity, I am doing FREE random cartoon commissions all evening (until 8 PM or my hand falls off). The drawings are 5” x 7” and inked (black and white).

Roll the dice and I whip up a funny cartoon for you based on the result. For free!

Stephanie is selling prints of her paintings and I believe a few originals as well. This is Stephanie’s first time selling her art at an event. Hooray!

If you live in Lansing, please come see us at Arts Night Out at Piper & Gold Public Relations this Friday night, 5 PM to 8 PM!

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