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Another weekend cliff-hanger--or cave-hanger, I guess.

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Books on Sale! Sale on Books!

Another Amazon price temporary drop! This time on two books Paperback RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE ($6.00!) and the hardcover THE DEVIL YOU KNOW ($5.75!)

I figure everyone here already has these books, but hey, they make super gifts! Who's mom wouldn't enjoy a copy of THE DEVIL YOU KNOW for Mothers Day?

UPDATE! Holy cake! YELLOWBELLY AND PLUM GO TO SCHOOL is also on sale for $6.80! Now that is a steal! Yellowbelly's been getting harder to find, and I can't imagine they have many at that price. I think I'm going to buy a few. Hot diggity! (Thanks for the tip, Anonymous poster!)

You could get all three books for under $20!!!

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Roadtrip!

I'm annoyed by those "Family" bumper stickers, you know, the ones with a sticker for each parent and child--sometimes even the pets. I've always thought they were..I don't know, annoying. (Hey, what bumper stickers aren't annoying?) Well, my kids absolutely LOVE them--they've been begging me to put them on our car's rear window (maybe if I could find some LEGO minifig ones...) they haven't won yet, I'm sure I'll cave at some point. And here's proof, the family in this story has them.

I saw a matinee of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON yesterday--what a cool movie, I got a giant kick out of it. I don't know why the vikings had Scottish accents, though. I imagine if they tried it with Nordic/Swedish accents everyone would sound like that Swedish Chef muppet. Anyway, fun movie--LOVE the design of that main black dragon. Have a good weekend!

So Where's Today's Post?

Uh...in honor of..."Administrative Professionals Day" we are not having a--what? That was YESTERDAY? Good grief, then I have no excuse. Wait, what? Earth Day? Earth Day's today?

Fantastic!

In honor of "EARTH DAY" we are not having a post today. Because of the EARTH DAY. Hooray!

I am glad that we have a earth.

(I love dropping the "an" before a hard vowel word. A earth, a egg, a elf. Comedy gold. A elf. That always makes me laugh.)

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Running a little late today. Lots of panels on this one. You have to use a lot of panels when you can't use any words.

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Oooh, the title is revealed! That was fun. How often to you get to start reading/watching something without knowing what the title is? That was fun!

But wait, you say, what water park? Erg, maybe I revealed the title too early on. Oh well, if this were a book, you'd know the title before even starting. Just wait and see. Have a good weekend!

Finds (JWP3)

"Scientific Discovery is as Close as Your Own Back Yard" (JWP 2)

Doc Paleo's Junior Archaeologist Dig Set (JWP Part 1)

That's right, I said it yesterday--a brand new story starts today!

Just to change things up I'm drawing this one on paper then scanning it. I've neglected the traditional half of my studio lately, 12 BOTS was full digital. I haven't worked on paper for two months.

This new story is both dialogue and narration-free--but that's not to say word-free. I've always wanted to do a "wordless" style picture book, but fill the illustrations with signage and ambient text, like the label on the box here. The story is told wordlessly, but there is still text everywhere. We'll see how it goes!

Space Station Yellowbelly and the Dark Sub LAST DAY!

And there's the thrilling conclusion to the Dark Sub story. I'll start a BRAND NEW STORY tomorrow. One that doesn't involve me, Yellowbelly, Chester or Submarines! Hooray!

It has been a real whirlwind for the last few months, but I am slowly getting back on track. Back to the fun Lewis and Clark/Pinniped Party type of stories that I started the blog with.

Also, I discovered a HORRIBLE THING! So terrible, a full page of CALAMITY JACK icon portraits that I haven't gotten to yet! I am so sorry, if you did the CALAMITY JACK photo contest thing and have not yet gotten your custom avatar, you are probably on this list. I appreciate your patience and will start getting those out ASAP. YIKES!

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WonderCon Wrap-up

So here is the awesome panel at WonderCon last weekend.

Traci Todd, senior editor at Viz was our moderator. Along wth a great bunch of editors and comic creators. See Jennifer Holm's Babymouse site here, Dan Santat's site here, Debbie Huey's Bumperboy here and the Viz Kids publishing line-up here.

It was very interesting to hear what everyone had to say about kids comics and the publishing world around them. Some highlights:

There aren't enough comics for kids, the comics market seems to be more for grown-up readers now.

Comics are, of course, a great way to get early readers to pick up a book.

Jennifer Holm used to dress up as Babymouse for school visits, and her illustrator (also her brother) dressed like a locker with a squid inside of it!

Some of the best ideas come when you are driving your car.

And there's not a whole lot of difference between making a picture book and making a comic book (it just takes longer.)

So that's what you missed. Thanks to everyone who was there, and especially, thanks to Jennifer Holm for inviting me!

Also, while wandering San Francisco, I found a HOT RAPUNZEL STATUE! If I was an eccentric millionaire (which, heaven help me, I will be one day) I would buy this statue and have it delivered to Dean and Shannon Hale to keep on their doorstep.

Post Pending!

Hi everyone! I've been away at WonderCon in San Francisco for the past few days. I pre-loaded the last few comics to go up automatically. I didn't, however, pre-load a comic for Wednesday, and I just got home from a day of airports and misery. (BTW if you ever have a layover at the Long Beach Municipal Airport you will no longer fear death. Worst airport ever. And I used to fly in and out of the Ozarks regularly.)

Anyway, it is 12:53 am, I just stumbled through the door, I will have today's comic up, but later in the day. I'll also tell you all about WonderCon. Bear with me.

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A classic weekend cliff-hanger! Ooh, I can hear you biting your nails.

Quick announcement to anyone who's going to WONDERCON in San Francisco this weekend, I'm speaking on a panel on Sunday afternoon:

3:00-4:00 Thrilling Comics For Kids!— Comics created specifically for the younger set are one of the fastest-growing parts of the industry. Creators and industry insiders discuss the current state of the field, including Nathan Hale (Rapunzel's Revenge), Jennifer Holm (Babymouse),Debbie Huey (Bumperboy), Jann Jones (editor, VIZ Media), Ethan Nicolle (Axe Cop), Dan Santat (The Domesticated Four), Traci Todd (senior editor, VIZ Kids), and Eric Wight (Frankie Pickle). Room 232/234

Fantastic line up! I can't wait to hear what they all have to say! Have a great weekend!

Space Station Yellowbelly and the Dark Sub 2

Anyone out there doing "Script Frenzy?" Seemed like a great plan back when I was doing NaNoWriMo...we'll see what happens. By the way, I pride myself in not indulging in any obligatory April Fools Day internet shenanigans. No false announcements of a YELLOWBELLY animated TV show, or Rapunzel book 3, or a THE DEVIL YOU KNOW movie (oh wait, that one's real) just business as usual.

Speaking of THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, there is a terrific deal to be had at Amazon right now; THE DEVIL YOU KNOW hardcover for $6! That's a steal, especially considering that book's getting to be pretty hard to find. Catch one while you can!