REVIEW: "This Little Piggy GETS EVEN!"

It is with great pleasure that your friends at

Comic Creators United
recommend completely the great collection
from Francis Bonnet and his "Suburban Fairy Tales".

"This Little Piggy GETS EVEN!"

Add 100 pages of an outstanding cast and fun
 that never stops along with several sweet story arcs
throw in great writing, art, a rad egg and a Pied Piper
that will make you laugh every time
and you've just read a winner.

It's a slice of the life that we all wanted.
 We join the gang at home and in school as they deal
with their enchanted youth. What could go wrong?

Just ask Little Pig #3...
He's the one running from the wolf.
Look over there it's the Frog Prince. Go on kiss him.
Pinocchio tells it like it is...he has to.

I found that once I started reading this collection
I had to finish it right away.
That's how I felt in my youth reading "Peanuts",
"Family Circus" and the like.
"This Little Piggy GETS EVEN!" brought me back.

Francis in his wisdom has also included
 from his sketchbook a love story.
A frog, a puppet and "Red" work it out in a story 
that's presented to us in its raw state.
It works. As the reader and comic fan
 I thought it was a nice look at the creative process.

The following strips are also in their rough state
 and are not included in this collection.
They are a gift from Francis to all of us.

Don't miss this collection.
Click here for your own copy.
And...
Follow the gang three times a week here.



It was a thrill to be able to review this great book
Francis bonnet has a winner on his hands.
CCU loved it.


 

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Denver Brubaker – Cartoonist

Denver Brubaker Presents

Denver Brubaker is a freelance cartoonist from Ann Arbor, MI.

 He is the creator of the Tales of a Checkered Man comic strip

 which made its internet debut on April 6th 2010.

ALL IMAGES CLICK LARGER 

 

TOACM is Denver’s love-letter to everything he loves about comics –

 mixing the 3-4 panel humor strips with the pulpy adventure serials.

 His main character; a caped, mask-wearing mystery man,

 has just begun his life as a crime-fighter and is learning

the ups and downs the hard way with the reader looking on.

Denver has drawn comics for as long as he can remember.

 This included a weekly comic strip in his college newspaper

 called Alligator Man on Campus.

 He actually drew the sketch that would later develop

into his patterned-protagonist way back in 1989!

He self published a handful of TOACM comics

 in the late 90’s and mid 2000’s.

Denver uses a mix of traditional and newer digital methods

 to produce TOACM. He typically writes full scripts,

 then pencils and inks his strips by hand on Bristol board –

 he colors and letters his work in Photoshop and Illustrator.

 Denver thinks digital tablets are neat and all,

 but doesn’t see himself switching to them anytime soon.

 He likes the tactile feel of paper and pencil

 and enjoys ink-stained hands.

Some of Denver’s favorite comic artists are

Mike Allred, Jeff Smith, Sergio Aragonés,

Mike Mignola, Bruce Timm, and Jack Kirby.

TOACM has gained some kind words early on:

“This work is just stunning and I cannot wait to see more.”

-BRIAN DOUGLAS AHERN (Bumpkin Buzz)

"I really dig The Checkered Man!
Solid art with fun puns! That's the best and rarest team-up going!"
-CHRIS YAMBAR (Bart Simpson Comics / Mr. Beat)

“…off to a great start!”
-DAVID PETERSON (Mouse Guard)

“LOOKS fantastic--very cool style, crisp and clear work…”
-TODD DEZAGO (Perhapanauts / Tellos)

“Great stuff!”
-RICHARD STARKINGS (Comicraft / Hip Flask)


Currently, TOACM runs twice a week with
 new comics posting on Tuesday & Thursday.



Denver is always open to taking on commission work
 and suggests that you contact him at
 thecheckeredman@gmail.com
 for more information.

What can we add that the experts haven't already said...

swoop in with new artwork any time you're ready.

CCU is quite down-to-earth so heights won't be a problem.

Thanks for sharing this fine toon and come back soon.

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William Agosto is "Knot Rite"

William Agosto's

"Knot Rite"

I'm a graphic artist with a flair for cartooning.

 My cartooning work has been published in the UA Journal,

 Lighthouse Digest, and cgmagazine (Celebrating Greyhounds).

My work has been seen in corporate and union newsletters.

 I've worked in a variety of companies in their respective art departments.

 Working on corporate presentations, web site design,

 interactive presentations, animations, and general production work.

My current original cartoon is called "Knot Rite".

 Knot Rite was born from my warped quirky sense of humor.

 Some have called me "not right" due to my sense of humor,

 thus the title of the cartoon. It's subject matter is about anything.

Animals, humans, relationships, puns. Anything that finds

its way into my cranium looking for release in a humorous way.

I continue to sketch ideas for my "Knot Rite" cartoon.

 Currently Celebrating Greyhounds Magazine is running some

 of my greyhound related cartoons. Rhode Island Monthly

 has an article slated for publication in the July 2010 issue

 about me and my cartooning. And I'm always on the lookout

for that next interesting project.

My Web Site:

http://www.agostographics.com

MY BLOG:

http://fromtheinsideofmycranium.blogspot.com/

CARTOONIST FOR CG MAGAZINE:

http://www.adopt-a-greyhound.org/cgmagazine/

Thanks William for giving us an inside look at a pro in action.

We want you back, but not any saner...it wouldn't be right.

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Chris MeaD and Harrison Ambs " Distilled Reality"

They're young and they've got something to say about life...

Chris MeaD and Harrison Ambs

Hi, I'm Harrison. I'm one of the guys on Distilled Reality

(the one with the bitchin' goatee)

-Harrison, No one thinks your goatee is bitchin'.

That's Mead. And I think my goatee is bitchin, so obviously

SOMEBODY does. Therefore your argument is invalid.

-You're invalid. And you don't count, because it's YOUR goatee.

Remember when I drew racing stripes on my shoes because

 I said they would let me run faster?

You told me that my opinion doesn't matter,

 because physics said it couldn't happen. This is the same thing.

Not really. Physics doesn't decide the bitchin'ness of goatees.

Besides, racing stripes don't make things go faster.

-Then why are they on race cars?

Because it looks better on camera, I think.

-Then why do people go to the track,
if the cars look better on camera?

Probably for the same reason that a concert is always better

 than listening to music on a CD in your house.

-Then why don't people do what we did a few years ago

 and trick a band into playing at their party?

Yeah, I can't believe they fell for that.

Or that you were able to make a neon sign

 and turn your place into a bar that quickly.

-You'd figure the fact that it was in an apartment complex

would have given it away, but go figure.

Oh, remember how you got drunk and broke the drum set?

I didn't break it. Don't listen to him.

-Okay fine. Remember how you got drunk and

creatively disassembled the drum set? That was awesome.

 I have pictures of it on my flickr. They were so pissed at you.

Not as pissed as they were at you for not paying them.

-I offered to design their t-shirts! And I gave them like, two drinks.

You gave them two drinks total, not each.

Even I thought that was a dick move.

-Heh, you said 'dick move'.

I think we're supposed to be talking about the comic.

-Nice transition.

Like I was saying, I'm Harrison.

-And I'm MeaD.

Why do you do that?

-Do what?

Capitalize the last letter of your name like that?

-I have no idea what you're talking about.

Anyway, I'm Harrison, that's Mead-

-MeaD

What's the difference?

-The difference in what?

The letter...nevermind. Anyway, we're graphic designers in

Cleveland, Ohio, and we work for an advertising....

seriously, do you pronounce it differently or something?

-What? How can you not tell? You're in the room with me.

But this is text.

-Then how are we talking?

....

-....

What was that? How did those dots get there?

-I don't know, man. I just say we bail and get out of here.

Done.

-----------

Distilled Reality is the story of two post-graduate twenty-something

 graphic artists struggling to keep their independence and

 wonder in a world of conformity.

Some(often)times this gets them into more trouble than it should.

The structure of the comic is divided up between long stretches of

 storylines with the garnish of a few one-off comics here and there.

 We've structured the site and built the updates in such a way

that if you come into a story mid-steam, there's a link available

that will take you right back to the first comic in the series.

This way you're not confused and can easily find your place.

The topics are very much grounded in the real life experiences of

 Harrison and Mead. Now, we've taken certain liberties with it,

but for the most part the central theme is something

that's actually happened with us.

The characters reflect ourselves to a small extent,

but we've tweaked them to nearly the breaking point,

and they've taken on a life of their own.

We kept the style black and white because it focused

 more on the lines and less on the bright colors.

Besides, we deal with color all day, it's nice to have a break.

Distilled Reality can be found on Twitter, Facebook

and distilledreality.meadsblog.com

CCU can't decide who got the better of that banter...
but it was fun to watch you guys go at it.

Distilled Reality is just as fun to read...and we will.

We look forward to posting more of your wit
and your strips very soon.
Fight it out, and will the last man standing please
send us more artwork!

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Ryan Pagelow's "buni"

APRIL EVENT

PART TWO

Ryan Pagelow

Ryan Pagelow has drawn comics for most of his life.

His work appears in Mad Magazine, newspapers, and online.

He was one of the 10 finalists in the

Comic Strip Superstar Contest hosted by Amazon.com

and also earned the

Charles Schulz National College Cartoonist Award.

When he is not working as a photojournalist,

Ryan draws the comic strips Pressed and Buni.

Raised in Madison, Wisconsin, he worked in Italy and Argentina

before ending up in Chicago where he now lives.

ALL IMAGES CLICK LARGER

Buni is a dark comedy revolving around

a hopelessly optimistic loser bunny named Buni.

The girl he loves doesn’t love him back.

His boss doesn’t respect him,

 and he usually fails at whatever he tries.

 However, he remains unfazed and excited about life

with his endearing snaggle-toothed grin.

Buni was selected as one of 10 finalists in the

 Comic Strip Superstar contest hosted by Amazon.com.

I created this comic strip when I heard about the contest because

 I couldn’t submit previously published comics.

I had only three weeks until the deadline. I needed something quick

and this strip has been in the back of my mind for a long time.

 I have always wanted to do a tragic depressing comic

drawn in a Hello Kitty happy-dappy-doo style. Buni was the result.

I wanted to incite a different kind of laugh
than those normally found on the funny pages.
Less of a ha ha laugh, and more of a “poor guy” laugh,
 if that makes any sense. You just feel bad for the guy.

It’s my first comic that only appears online

and not in any newspapers

 so it feels like I have more freedom to draw the comics

 any way I want,

 though I usually stick to standard daily and Sunday comics sizes,

 just in case. I’m also working in color,

which I normally don’t get a chance to do too often.

I just do what I think is funny.

 There has to be a few more people on the planet

 that have a similar sense of humor.

 Unless, of course, I’m completely insane.

To view more "buni" comic strips visit http://bunicomic.com/.

You are not insane. Well, not completely.
 "Buni" is funi. Watching that fuzzy little guy come back for more
again and again reminds us all to keep plugging away at life.

CCU is rooting for Buni. This strip is already a hit and
we are proud to help bring it to the masses. 
We want to see him win, we do...just not yet.
Thanks Ryan. We'll talk again.

Read more »

Ryan Pagelow's "Pressed"

APRIL EVENT

PART ONE

Ryan Pagelow

Ryan Pagelow has drawn comics for most of his life.

 His work appears in Mad Magazine, newspapers, and online.

 He was one of the 10 finalists in the

 Comic Strip Superstar Contest hosted by Amazon.com

and also earned the

Charles Schulz National College Cartoonist Award.

When he is not working as a photojournalist,

 Ryan draws the comic strips Pressed and Buni.

 Raised in Madison, Wisconsin, he worked in Italy and Argentina

 before ending up in Chicago where he now lives.

ALL IMAGES CLICK LARGER

Pressed is a comic strip for people who love newspapers.

Depicting the people behind the news, Pressed shows a reporter

and local politician butting heads,

 a sportswriter trying to be supportive of the local team as

it loses season after season, a photographer trying to get his shot

 while camera hungry people poke their heads in

 to try to get “on TV” and a frequent letter-to-the-editor writer

 venturing out into the blogosphere.

Pressed also offers a comedic look at the

 wider media landscape of 24-hour news cycles,

 Internet “news” and blowhard punditry, as well as the everyday

office politics of adults confined to shared cubicles.

Started in October 2008, Pressed has run daily in the

Lake County News-Sun in Illinois, online and in

 university papers in Madison and Milwaukee.

To view more Pressed comic strips visit http://www.ryanpagelow.com/.

"Pressed" is a top-notch strip,
but that didn't stop Ryan from going that extra mile
to produce more outstanding fun. 
CCU is proud to bring him back for a second week.

(That's a CCU first)
Monday, April 12th 
You'll meet the one and only 
"Buni"


Don't miss Part Two.

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