Dr. Seuss via Stephen Gammel

Quick interruption! I know I said I wouldn't, but I think you'll like this one.

One of my favorite blogs, the School Library Journal children's book blog Fuse #8 was asking artists to Re-Seussiffy Dr. Seuss. Meaning illustrating a Dr. Seuss in the style of another well-known children's artist. I went with one of my absolute favorite children's illustrators, the terrifying Stephen Gammel (of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark fame.)

Oh man, did I love those Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books. They came out right when I was in grade school. MORE Scary Stories, the second book, came out when I was in fifth grade. I got into a fight in the school library--an actual physical fight--over the library's only copy.

You will not find scarier illustrations in ANY book. Those pictures are AMAZING. Profoundly gruesome, nightmarish images. And they were in books meant for little kids.

If you don't know these images (and you should--the books were HUGELY popular) do a google image search for "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark." You will get an eyeful.

Anyway, here is my Re-Seussifaction via Stephen Gammel:

Link over to the Fuse #8 blog to see the other entries. There's some great stuff.

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-19

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-18

Have a good weekend! Also, I discovered a sad truth about myself and this blog. If I post a non-story post that says a story post will come later that day, 9 times out of 10, that later story post ain't coming.

Movie News Alert!

I'll have the next installment of Taco Hell out later tonight. I've been slow with the posting-by-five schedule. Let's make it easy and just say the posts will go up at SOME point each day.

Anyway, a little news alert popped up for me today about THE DEVIL YOU KNOW movie. Long (very long) time blog readers may remember back in 2007 when my first picture book, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW was optioned by Shawn Levy, the director of the Night at the Museums and Real Steel.

The first screenplay was written by the guys who wrote Chicken Little for Disney. I met one of the writers, Steve Bencich, he was very cool. It was then passed on to Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant (writers of Night at the Museums, also from Reno 911, also also from The State) I met Ben Garant at ComicCon in 2008 and he was very cool too.

I haven't heard much since. Any news I hear comes from me scouring the internet for news--nobody calls me to give me an update. That's fine with me. They renew the option every other year, and each time I get a nice check. It's been six years (and three checks!) So my hope is that they keep renewing it for another six years, then finally make the movie!

Anyway, this is all backstory. Today I came across this news via Collider. Here's the snippet if you don't want to link over:

Levy also spoke a bit about The Devil You Know, which is an adaptation of a children’s book:

“It was a [Thomas] Lennon and [Ben] Garant script, they wrote Night at the Museum, [then] Mike Schur who runs and created Parks and Recreation rewrote it for us. We now have a new draft and I suppose it’s kind of a VFX comedy of theNight at the Museum ilk, I don’t think that would be one for me to direct just because as you can now see, I’m way over-extended. So that’s one where I think I’ll start by trying to cast the female lead because I think it’s a really juicy moment for comedic female stars.”

The book by Nathan Hale tells the story of a family who trade in a pesky devil living in their home for a mysterious tiny lady that offers to take his place. The mysterious woman soon proves to be an even bigger problem than the previous pest, as she unpacks numerous boxes filled with demons of all shapes and sizes and begins to redecorate the house with alternate necessities, like a lake of fire and brimstone in the kitchen.

The female lead that Levy is talking about is presumably the mysterious Ms. Phisto, and the story sounds like it’d translate well into an entertaining family film. I’m encouraged by Schur’s involvement as I think Parks and Rec is one of the best shows currently on TV, so I’m anxious to hear more about the project. Given that Levy is taking himself out of the running as director due to over-extension, it sounds like the film might be fairly close to moving forward sometime soon.

Pretty interesting, huh?

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-17

I sure like drawing these monster Hondas.

Hey, guess who just finished illustrating the complete Old Testament. It was me! 324 full-color illustrations spread over 108 pages. Aye carumba!

In retrospect, I wish we'd done the Old Testament second. Now all the fun-to-draw stories are behind me. No more lion's dens, fiery furnaces, boats full of animals etc.

So long, you wacky Old Testament.

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-16

Happy Presidents Day!

Just when the secrets of Taco Hell were about to be revealed--here comes a Presidents Day post!

Fear not, the end is near on Taco Hell, I won't make you wait any longer. After today, it'll be a race to the finish. And, unlike the horrible LOST finale, all questions will be answered! The story will tie up in a neat, taco-flavored bow (crispy, with a packet of Mild Sauce.)

Anyway, here is a Presidents Day sneak preview of one of this Fall's historical graphic novels.

Flex those memory muscles and see if you can guess which famous American President is featured here.

Taco Hell Drive Thru Part 2-15

Phew! That was close. I totally forgot to do today's post. Friday's post has always been finished Thursday night. I'm still getting used to this schedule. But I got the Friday post out just under the clock--with ten minutes to spare!

I'm heading out to see the Secret World of Arrietty (aka The Borrowers) this weekend. I have medium expectations. Yes, it's a Studio Ghibli--but it's not directed by Miyazaki. This is the first non-Miyazaki Studio Ghibli movie to get wide theatrical release in the states. I've seen every Miyazaki American theatrical release on opening weekend. All the way back to Princess Mononoke. It's fun to go opening weekend, because the crowd cheers when the Totoro logo pops up. Plus, Miyazaki has said that if this one does poorly in the states, he'll end his deal with Disney distribution. So go see it this weekend! (Even if it isn't a true Miyazaki.)