Goofy #94 - Desk

It's very early Saturday morning, I haven't had my coffee yet, I didn't get paid yesterday, I have to go to work in a couple minutes and then I have to attend a funeral. I found an old doodle that matches the mood. This is from 20 years ago, I would guess judging from the equipment and my lack of glasses.
(Felt tip on scrap paper.)

Goofy #93- Cannes

Today is a rough sketch for an illustration I did about 20 years ago for a local video rental business. The company specialized in foreign and art films and they needed a humorous illustration for their catalog. If I remember correctly, the gist of the drawing was "experience the Cannes film festival without leaving home."
(Rotring drawing pen on drawing paper.)

Goofy Bonus #23 - CGS Episode 300 Poster

Another bonus image for your ass! Here's a faux movie poster for Episode 300 of the Comic Geek Speak podcast. For more info go here or here. (Revised 4/16/07)
(All Photoshop baby!)

Goofy Bonus #22 - Grendel-Prime Commission

Hey, more commission sketch bonus goodness! I was asked to draw a humorous version of Matt Wagner's comic book character Grendel-Prime. Unfortunately I was totally ignorant in all things Grendel. After much research, I found a point in the story that I thought could be made humorous. This sketch depicts Grendel-Prime on the run with the boy he is duty-bound to protect. Kids being kids, I thought it would be funny to show the moment nature calls.
(Micron pen, brush pen, brush and Sharpee on Bristol board.)

Goofy #92- Loud Boy!

A relatively new doodle today. While driving around in the car with my buddy Vince, we tend to scream and yell a lot. All that shouting led to the creation of a character named "Loud Boy" by Vince. Since that moment all the screeching was done in the voice of the fictional Loud Boy. This sketch was my initial attempt to capture L.B. in all his deafening glory. Check out Vince's wacky Marvel podcast with David Price at Bullpen Bulletins.
(Felt tip pen on scrap paper.)

Goofy #91 - Game Show Hostess

About 12 years ago, the company I work for attempted to break into the educational CD ROM market. We delivered a lot of text-based content peppered with sounds, video and animation. It all looks very crude now, but back then it was cutting edge. I was able to do a bunch of cartoon characters that appeared here and there on the disc. One of the characters was a Vanna White type game show hostess. I made a ton of sketches and a handful made it onto the disk. This image is a scan of an old wax-print proof, the only sample I have from that project. Of all the hostess sketches I created, the few that were selected had to have the tops of their gowns redrawn to show less (more like NO) cleavage. Go figure.
(Rotring drawing pen on drawing paper, scanned and colored in Photoshop.

Goofy #90b- Pumpkin

The second of the pumpkin doodles. I don't know if it's customary everywhere else, but here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Halloween jack 'o' lanterns eventually end up smashed in the street. If not thrown there, they're placed there by rascals to be run over by cars. I give you the day after Halloween from the pumpkin's point of view.
(Felt tip pen on scrap paper.)

Goofy #90a- Pumpkin

A two sketch series to start a new week. I did these doodles about 20 years ago right around Halloween time. I wanted to examine the holiday from the poor helpless gourd's perspective.
(Felt tip pen on scrap paper.)

Goofy Bonus #21 - Punisher/Captain America

As a special Easter Sunday bonus, here's a sketch I did in the wake of events in Civil War #7. After Captain America surrenders to the authorities, he removes his mask. In the issue, Frank Castle (aka. the Punisher) picks up the mask, fueling speculation that he would don the red, white and blue. With that in mind I quickly drew this sketch. After seeing some of the promo images from the future issues of Punisher War Journal, I wasn't that far off.
(Micron pens on scrap paper, scanned and colored in Photoshop.)

Goofy #89 - Three Kings

I don't have an Easter specific doodle to post today, but I do have one for Christmas. Close enough. This doodle was done for an acquaintance serving in the first Gulf War. This was well before the movie of the same name.
(Felt tip pen on scrap paper.)

Goofy #88 - Promotion

I did this sketch back in '93 for the company newsletter. I've reworked the text to eliminate the name of the company.
(Rotring pen and Rapidograph pen on drawing paper.)

Goofy #87 - King Ding

Don't even ask me from which twisted and dark part of my brain from which this sketch sprang. It apparently disturbed me so much I never inked it. The pencils are just creepy enough. I guess this was done about 10 years ago. I can't tell for sure because I blocked it out of my memory until I found it in the pile 'o' drawings.
(Pencils on scrap paper.)

Goofy Bonus #20 - Batmen Commission

This commission sketch tries to answer the question, "What would Jim Lee's All Star Batman say to Frank Miller's Dark Knight?
(Micron pen and brush pen on Bristol board.)

Goofy #86 - Marty 'n' Stinky Show

Now this is wacky. This quick sketch was done just after I let college. Some friends and I thought it would be a hoot to do a TV show featuring a human and a dirty sweat sock as co-hosts. We came up with the Marty 'n' Stinky Show. Well the idea wasn't that shitty since the concept has been used a handful (pun intended) of times since. Age is taking a toll on the markers and paper, the yellowing and bleeding are very apparent in this one.
(Markers on scrap paper.)

Goofy Bonus #19 - Animal Man Commission

Here's a commission I did for Braxton on the CGS forum. He requested Buddy Baker aka. Animal Man. I put Buddy in the unfortunate vicinity of Dave Wachter's pigeon guy from Fiendish Fables.
(Micron pens and brush pens on Bristol board.)

Goofy #85 - Rachel

One last baseball related doodle. Back when I first started working for my current employer, we had an company softball team. One of our opponents that year was a team comprised totally of Jewish women. Before we played them I wondered what their cheering section would look like. Well I can tell you they didn't look like my doodle and they very nearly kicked our gentile asses.
(Felt tip on drawing paper.)

Goofy #84 - Swing

To continue the baseball theme another day, here's a quick pencil sketch I did while on the phone. I know the pose is completely improbable, but I still thought it was cool and funny.
(Pencil on note pad.)

Goofy #83 - Big Hat

Since today was the opening day for my beloved Philadelphia Phillies, I dug deep in the pile of drawings to dredge this one up. It's yet another self portrait done eons ago of me wearing the Phillies cap of the period. The Fightin' Phils went out today and immediately lost the first game. Go team!
(Ballpoint pen on scrap paper.)

Goofy #82 - Manager

Okay, ESPN thinks today is the opening day of Major League Baseball. Everyone knows that it's not really opening day until the first pitches are thrown in Cincinnati and Detroit. To mark this false occasion, here's a sketch done a number of years ago. I don't know when exactly, but I figure it was after seeing the Natural.
(Felt tip, ball points and pencil on scrap paper.)

Goofy #81 - Elvis Urp!

One again I mine that comedy treasure trove known as Elvis. I've got an uncomfortable preoccupation with the King, I don't know why. This doodle was done on a post-it about 15 years ago.
(Rapidograph pen on post-it.)

Goofy #80 - Germs!

I did these sketches when I was working for the ad agency 20 years ago. One of our customers was a local hospital and they wanted to do a booklet on germs and infection. They wanted to keep it light-hearted by using cartoons, so I drew tons of them. These are some the germs that didn't make the final cut, but are my favorites. Most of them are evil germs or germs-gone-bad. The family was supposed to represent how quickly infections can multiply. I like it so much I think I'll color it sometime soon.
(Rotring drawing pen on drawing paper.)

Goofy #79 - Burnt Hair

This doodle was done back in '91 after one of our PCs exploded when I touched it. No lie, all I did was lay a hand on it and a sudden static discharge blew something in the computer. It also zapped the monitor, a scanner and a waxer that were all on the same circuit. The power stick the computer was plugged into actually melted a little.
(Felt tip pen on scrap paper.)

Goofy #78c - School Stuff

The third of this series illustrates the old parable of the blind men and the elephant. Each man touched a different part of the elephant so each came away with a different perception. One thought it was like a snake, another thought it was like a tree and so on.
(Rotring drawing pen on drawing paper, stated with Zipatone tints added.)

Goofy #78b - School Stuff

This image was supposed to represent making sure your audience understands your topic. What better way of showing that than reading from an English book written in colloquial English? We colonials are so clueless. The clothes and the mullet once again date this photo. Hey look, that one kid is wearing a Ken O'Brien NFL jersey. I based the teacher on one of my former bosses.
(Rotring drawing pen on drawing paper, stated with Zipatone tints added.)

Goofy #78a - School Stuff

The next three drawings will be a series. The three were done for a textbook years ago. This first drawing was about concentration. I was supposed to portray a young teacher reading to her class while illustrating what her pupils where actually thinking. The mullet and the leggings in this drawing will give away the era it was published.
(Rotring drawing pen on drawing paper, stated with Zipatone tints added.)

Goofy #77 - Big Head

Back to your regularly scheduled programming. This sketch was done one day when I was bored at work. I have tones of doodles like this one. I must have added some color along the way.
(Sharpee on scrap paper and colored in Photoshop.)

Goofy #76f - The Bible

This final sketch ran multiple times in the ad campaign. The customer liked this one the best. It actually ran in the local Catholic newspaper too. This is the original inked sketch, when it ran in the newspaper, it was stated with Zipatone tints added.
(Rapidograph pen on drawing paper.)

Goofy #76e - The Bible

Here's the next bible story inspired sketch. Technically, it's not a true bible inspired thing, it's more of a biblical movie inspired thing. Ya gotta love Yul Brenner in the Ten Commandments! This sketch was inked, stated and had screen tints added before it ran in a local newspaper ad. One more divinely-inspired sketch in this series to go!
(Rapidograph pen on drawing paper.)

Goofy #76d - The Bible

This sketch was also used in a newspaper ad. There's a finished inked version someplace, but I didn't dig it up when I found these pencil sketches. I really like the pharoh in this one. Once again, the TRA-640 refers to a PC.
(Pencil on drawing paper.)

Goofy #76c - The Bible

This sketch is next in the Bible series and is based on the story of wise old King Solomon. This gag actually made it into a newspaper ad somehow. The TR-640 refers to a PC the customer was selling at the time, an 8086 I believe.
(Pencil on drawing paper.)

Goofy #76b - The Bible

Next in this series is the miracle of the loaves and fishes, courtesy of JC and a PC. Needless to say, this gag wasn't used. Humorless babies.
(Pencil on drawing paper.)

Goofy #76a - The Bible

All the cartoons this week will have a running theme. 20 years ago, when I was working at the ad agency, one of our clients was a local computer company. PCs were very new at the time and the customer wanted ads that pointed out the abilities of a personal computer. Our copy writers thought it would be a neat idea to use biblical era gags to sell the product and they threw the ball in my court to flesh things out. This is the series of ideas I came up with, some used, some not. This first sketch shows what can happen when instructions aren't clear or followed correctly.
(Pencil on drawing paper.)

Goofy #75 - Urk.

It's Sunday morning. I'm sluggish and dim-witted today, so here's a cartoon that fits the mood. A self-portrait blast from the past. The colors aren't holding-up very well on this one, but they match my complexion perfectly today.
(Felt tip and design marker on scrap paper.)

Goofy Bonus #18 - Happy St. Patrick's Day

A couple of goofy-assed Photoshop photos for St. Patricks day.


Marty "The Quiet Man"




and Marty "Michael Flatuence"

And that's my 100th post to this train-wreck of a blog. Ack.

Slainte!

Goofy #74 - Choke

If I recall correctly, I did this sketch after seeing Madonna singing on TV and she started to cough and hack a little bit in the middle of the song. I can't remember the damn show, but this cartoon is proof it did happen . . . in my mind at least.
(Felt tip pen on scrap paper.)

Goofy #73 - Grandpa

Another self-portrait . . . I'm stunned! Back when I was first working for my current employer, one of my co-workers at the time likened me to an old man. They went so far as to call me Grandpa Marty. To show my self-deprecating sense of humor, I whipped-up this sketch. It's eerily close to reality today. Turn down that music and get off my lawn!
(Sharpee, highlighters, and Design markers on scrap paper.)

Goofy #72 - Gumby

This one may be the oldest sketch yet! I did this one while I was still in college 27 years ago. Like most geeks back in those days, I loved Monty Python's Flying Circus. One of my favorite characters from the show was the loud Gumby guy. Look at this doodle and scream, "My brain hurts!"
(Felt tip on drawing paper.)

Goofy Bonus #17 - Punisher Commission

A fresh one for y'all! This is a low res version of a Punisher commission I finished recently.
It's a little deviation from my usual stuff style-wise, but I thought it fit the character.
(Micron pens and brush pens on drawing paper.)

Goofy #71 - Old Vet

This doodle was done after seeing an old vet handing out poppies at the local Walmart.
(Pencil on note pad.)

Goofy #70 - Runners

This sketch was done for T-shirts and advertising for a local 5K run/walk when I was at the ad agency 20 years ago.
(Rotring drawing pen on drawing paper.)