New York Jurascals: Looking to the Hudson

In JURASCALS, the rascally Jurassic dinosaur named William is trying to help Lina discover more about her world. In December he took her to the library to pick out "any" book, preferably one about "JURASCALS" but instead she picked out a book on the Hudson River. Now, William needs to find some way to teach Lina about the Hudson River and he knows HE can't get there himself. What's the solution? Find out in January!

Christmas 2012

I am cross posting this from my In Torrington Today blog (intorringtontoday.blogspot.com)

Christmas 2012: It’s a Tuesday and a light frosting of snow covers the city, creating the picture perfect landscape the way black and white musicals always depicted Christmas.

The children arise an hour before sunrise and excitedly review the treasures under the tree, patiently waiting approval for their imminent onslaught of the wrapping paper.  The Christmas lights on the tree shine only half as brightly as our children’s eyes and as a coffee and tea is respectively made for Daddy and Mommy, the go ahead is granted and son and daughter unwrap their presents with sounds of joy.  Our daughter happily hugs a doll and she says she loves her; she had wanted a “sister” for her other beloved doll. Our son excitedly exclaims “HOT WHEELS” with every car inspired toy he receives.  The cat and kittens wisely keep their distance despite their natural curiosity until the pandemonium subsides and the colorful wrapping can be examined more closely by their feline eyes.

Such peace and wonder seems almost too perfect to be real.  It recalls Christmases past when I as a child ran downstairs with my siblings in wondrous elation and discovery.  In the peace and contentment that follows, I quickly draw a little sketch to capture this Christmas.  The drawing has flaws; I can see the imperfections in the muted water color and in the not so straight lines.  While it dries, I begin to write for I do not wish to lose this moment in time.  While at the computer I look out the window to find my neighbor’s son who’s visiting from out of state is shoveling our walkway.  I stop to wish him a Merry Christmas and give our present to his folks to him.

Egg Nog can be shared for breakfast this one day a year and my son says, “Egg Nog please” so I pour two small cups for both children. My daughter returns to her Candyland game with the kitten and my son returns to his racetrack. My wife curls up in bed for a well deserved nap.

I want to say something profound, some phrase or moral to end this vignette but nothing I can think of can top the beauty of simply describing the day.

So I’m left with simply saying I am grateful for the opportunity of this day. 

 I say “Thank you” to God and “Merry Christmas to one and all”.

 

Christmas in Torrington 2012

RADIO INTERVIEW 12/18/2012 6:10PM (EST)

The radio show will be streamed on www.wapj.org so even if you don't live in the Torrington area, you're welcome to listen in (and if you plan on doing that, send me an email at rascals@jurascals.com or leave a facebook comment on facebook/jurascals or comment here or SOMETHING!) because that would be great!

We'll be talking about comic strips and how they relate to the newspaper industry: the past, present and future as I see it. We'll discuss In Torrington Today (my torrington blog) the JURASCALS comic strip that's published in New York and Nebraska newspapers!

We'll discuss the burgeoning art movement of World Class Regional Art and I hope to share some shout outs to some great local artists/artisans!

I'll go on approximately 6:10pm (EST)

Tune in!

Another Nebraska Newspaper Joins Jurascals!

That's two Nebraska newspapers providing JURASCALS comic strip to their readers and more newspapers are considering!  This is BIG NEWS friends (perfect because we're dealing with dinosaurs, those rascally Jurassic ones are really BIG themselves!)

So THANK YOU SIDNEY SUN TELEGRAPH! Check them out at http://www.suntelegraph.com/

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Two quick cartoons. The first is a drawing I like from the Nebraska series of Jurascals. And I like those words better than any of the others I've used!
The second is for my In Torrington Today blogtoon.
Happy Thanksgiving!

JURASCALS: NEBRASKA first week!

I'm not going to post all of the comics for the Nebraska Jurascals online but I will share in this blog post and perhaps a few other weeks as they go just to provide a sample. In this first week, we set the stage for the massive exploration of Nebraska! For next week: (11/19 through 11/24) McCook Daily Gazette readers can enjoy Dinosaur and Skunk's development of a plan and then a flight to Nebraska!

In the  mail I just got to hold in my hand the front page article featuring the story behind JURASCALS!

Here's a photo!

MCCOOK, NEBRASKA!!!

Exciting news: On 11/12/2012, JURASCALS will begin a run in the McCook Daily Gazette. Check out the McCook Daily Gazette on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mccookgazette  or their website http://www.mccookgazette.com/

I'm so excited to have JURASCALS published in Nebraska.  After all, I was very fortunate to fall in love with a beautiful Nebraskan so many years ago and now I've been blessed with two wonderful children who have a Nebraskan heritage! We've been fortunate enough to visit my wife's side of the family over the past decade plus and I've had the extreme pleasure of traveling this great state in the Great Plains.  It has always spoken to me and I am at my most prolific (artwise) when I am there.

If you've perused the blog, you might come across the tab about the 5 books (8 page little books), one of which is called We Can Go To Omaha. This was my first drawing of the dinosaur. My daughter loved this little book because OMAHA is  a great word for kids who are learning to read O-MA-HA.

Throughout my travels through Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota,I learned more and more of the Great Plains region and gained an appreciation and respect for the pioneer and frontier spirit that still permeated the foundation of this part of Midwestern culture.  So I wondered how could it be that there weren't any comic strips that featured this wonderful community. I had an opportunity with my JURASCALS comic strip for AUBURN to have the characters travel to Nebraska, thanks to a recommendation from my editor who thought the trip could be food for Jurascals thought!  Yes folks, as a creator, I do listen to my editor! Thanks, Jeremy!

From this story, I now can tell a larger, expansive story, that mirrors the expansive night sky over Crawford, Nebraska. Yes, the story will have silly parts and one-off jokes but the overall story is something I hope the readers will really enjoy.

If you have a newspaper in the Great Plains state, or have a newspaper in an agricultural-based community, I encourage you to reach out to me (email: RASCALS@JURASCALS.COM) because this is about to be THE one comic strip that's specifically for you.

Here is a link to the news article about me in the McCook Daily Gazette that printed today 11/12/2012. Thank you Dawn!!!
Great news for @jtimothyquirk's comicstrip:http://www.mccookgazette.com/story/1912872.html …

Getting there is half the...well half of something

Dinosaur and Skunk are on a trek through Nebraska. They begin a NEW adventure on 11/12 which I'm excited to share with you in the next post! Below are some photos of western Nebraska (go Longhorns!) Yep, Dinosaur will be trekking from east to west on his journey. 

LOOK! CORN! Our Vacation in Nebraska

Our family's summer vacation was enjoyed in the great state of Nebraska, a bountiful source of inspiration. Whether it was savoring a fish dinner in Bee, Nebraska or passing a speeding train deep in the Sandhills in the west, each moment became a cherished memory.

From the Seward County historical society in Seward to the Robert Henri Museum in Cozad, to the home of Willa Cather in Red Cloud to the Mari Sandoz cultural center in Chadron, there is much to learn in this Great Plains state. 

I'm drawing in Chadron here

So it occurred to me that the rascally Jurassic dinosaur from Auburn, New York would be a "fish out of water" here in Nebraska and would be a story worth sharing. I have always wanted to depict a Nebraska story since my first visit and Jurascals is the perfect vehicle for it. So with that in mind, in the next few weeks we'l be building up to a grand adventure for our readers-so get ready and hopefully you'll say with me, "
"LOOK CORN!"

Poetry Adventure 4: Meeting Longfellow

In this segment 6/21 through 6/30, Lina and Dinosaur travel to the WayInside Inn to meet Henry Longfellow and the Five of Clubs. The Five of Clubs was a group of influential individuals from the Boston area including Senator Sumner.  At the end of this meeting, Dinosaur inadvertently challenges Longfellow to a Poetry Slam competition And that will begin the next segment, an homage to Paul Revere's ride-Jurascals style!

 

It should be noted that as Jurascals actually prints in black and white, not color, I decided to work in black and white again until such time that the print edition becomes a color edition!

Jurascals Poetry Adventure Part 3

So in this installment I've added 8 comic strips representing 6/12 to 6/20 (missing the Sunday of course) of the print edition of Jurascals. In the story Lina and Dinosaur finally get off the boat and land in their first destination: POEMIA, NY.  In Poemia, they discover that Poetry is the celebrated art form and it's so they'll have to learn something about Poetry before they leave!

The above "Welcome to Poemia has a quote from Emily Dickinson. Our family visited the Emily Dickinson house in Amherst, Massachusetts and we all learned a lot and enjoyed the visit. The comic strip also serves a dual purpose as it was a shout out to my friend Christine Leary, an artist from Massachusetts, who has a pet turtle named Houdini. Houdini makes an unannounced visit here.

The basis of the outside of Poemia is an old German town of Laufen (at least the gate-I extrapolated from there). The above is a shout out to my friends in Sodus Point, NY, specifically Michele H !

In the next installment (which will represent 6/21-6/30, Lina and Dinosaur will travel within Poemia to the WayInside Inn to meet none other than Henry Wadsworth Longfellow himself and the famous "Five of Clubs".  Check back soon!

Jurascals: Poetry Adventure Blog 2

Long Day's Journey into night-for this next grouping of 6 comicstrips, I approached the idea of heading into night time to signify that Lina and her Dinosaur are really heading out on an amazing adventure, though granted it might be the kind of "Max and the where the wild things are" perspective of time (in and out of weeks etc)/

The above was a shout out to my longtime Jurascal-pals the Fingerlakes SPCA-CNY at Auburn who are actually having that fundraiser :)

And of course the above one is a favorite of mine. The purpose of this adventure is to discuss poetry and so comicstrips like this allows me to put these classic poems on the canvas of the Jurascals landscape.

Will post more soon!

Note: if you like it, consider liking Jurascals on FACEBOOK/JURASCALS!

Thank you!