The Jamar Nicholas Blog

COMIC BOOK DINER 42: Productivity

2012-01-29T15:34:00.002-05:00

Productivity– Jamar, John and Rich discuss getting organized, ways to speed up comics work, and focus on getting creative– How much DOES dental work cost?

CHECK OUT EPISODE 42!

FIRST APPEARANCE OF 2012!

2012-01-04T18:51:00.000-05:00

More MORE NYC Comicon 2011 Interviews!

2011-12-19T13:02:00.002-05:00

Comic Book Diner #38 - The Boys Are Back in Town

2011-10-26T21:33:00.000-04:00

Listen here or subscribe on iTunes!

Rich Faber John Gallagher and I catch up after a long break as we talk up NY Comic Con,we tease some interviews and more!

Video: More NYC Comic Con 2011

2011-10-25T18:25:00.000-04:00

More JN at NY Comic Con. I think there's 2 or 3 more of these!

Video: Jamar Nicholas @ NY Comic Con 2011

2011-10-18T18:49:00.000-04:00

Video by my new pal Palle Schmidt, all the way from Denmark! Go check out his site and his great new IDW Graphic Novel, Devil's Concubine.

NEW YORK COMIC CON: 10/14-10/16

2011-10-13T17:09:00.004-04:00

Swing by the COMIC BOOK DINER booth #2933 and meet me this weekend - from Friday to Sunday. Mention the blog! Get a sketch! Buy something! Bring something and get it signed!

See Jamar ON THE WALL September 2

2011-08-09T22:45:00.002-04:00

On the Wall

September 2 – October 16

On the Wall: Works by Anita Allyn, Marta Sanchez, Christian Herr, Jamar Nicholas, Mauro Zamora, and Nami Yamamoto
Guest exhibit curator: Robert Raczka
Art-in-Progress day: Friday, Sept 2 | 11am – 7pm.
First Friday receptions: Sept 2 and Oct 7 | 5pm – 7pm
On the Wall is a non-traditional exhibit for which 6 artists are being invited to make artwork directly on the walls of the gallery. The exhibit is designed to include aspects of spontaneity, artistic risk-taking, artist/audience interaction, and ephemerality. The artwork will include painting, drawing, collage, and mixed media. During the Art-in-Progress day and First Friday reception in September, the gallery will be open to the public allowing people to observe the artists at work towards final completion.

Check out the site!

Pre-Order LEON: PROTECTOR OF THE PLAYGROUND

2011-08-03T18:09:00.001-04:00

Set to debut at New York Comicon in October, you can get in on the ground floor via my KICKSTARTER campaign, Take-Two.
There's less than 20 days left to have the chance to appear in the book, or even become a character! Lots of cool backing options so check it out.

THE ART OF SEQUENTIAL 2011

2011-05-31T23:24:00.000-04:00

HEY ALL!

If you live in the Philadelphia area and get down with the cartooning/comicking, I am the juror (in good standing!) for the Philadelphia Sketch Club's ART OF SEQUENTIAL gallery exhibition. Mike Manley and I were involved with the inaugural show a few summers ago and it was a great time. You should submit!

And if you don't know what the Sketch Club is, For Shame! It is only the oldest continuing artist's organization, which housed some of the greats behind its doors, like Thomas Eakins, N.C. Wyeth, Benton Spruance and on. This is no rinky-dink hole in the wall, and I'm honored to be a welcomed member.

>>
Cartoon and Sequential Art Exhibition at the Philadelphia Sketch Club June 5th through 12th 2011.

Juror: Jamar Nicholas

Cash Awards in each category.
The Philadelphia Sketch Club has extended the deadline for entries into the Art of Sequential Exhibition. You can submit work on line at www.sketchclub.slideroom.com 3 entries for $30.

The deadline for submission is Friday, June 3rd at midnite!
Categories are: Sequential Comic Page, Sequential one- page story or comic strip, Cover Art, and Character Pin Up Art.

Artists reception and awards will be on Sunday June 12 from 2 to 4 PM , with the awards presented at 3 PM.

You can hand deliver work to The Philadelphia Sketch Club on Saturday June 4th between 1 and 4 PM. Single walk in entries will still be accepted on Saturday for $15 each.

The Philadelphia Sketch Club is located at 235 S. Camac Street in Philadelphia. The work will hang in the Sketch Club upstairs gallery through June 12th .

A PDF of the exhibition prospectus is available here - click the link and download the PDF!

For more info on the Sketch Club, visit the site here.

2011 GLYPH COMICS AWARD WINNER!

2011-05-29T00:18:00.001-04:00

Story of the Year
Fist Stick Knife Gun; Geoffrey Canada, writer, Jamar Nicholas, artist

.

Best Male Character
Geoff, Fist Stick Knife Gun; Geoffrey Canada, writer, Jamar Nicholas, artist

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Rising Star Award
Jamar Nicholas, Fist Stick Knife Gun

I AM BLACK SCI-FI

2011-05-26T18:07:00.000-04:00

LEON: PROTECTOR OF THE PLAYGROUND GN: Support!

2011-05-08T20:50:00.000-04:00

VIP at ECBACC

2011-04-19T21:46:00.002-04:00

DWAYNE McDUFFIE

2011-02-24T01:05:00.000-05:00

Not much to say that hasn't been said already, but legendary comic writer Dwayne McDuffie passed away at the age of 49. It's always sad and unfortunate when things like this happen, but there's not a lot of people that have done what he's achieved in comics with the skintone he had.

Dwayne and I share mutual friends, and I've shared pleasantries with him, and finally meeting him face-to-face at the ECBACC show in Philly a few years back - I was a little stunned by how tall he was, and how . . . chill Dwayne seemed to be. It was that professional, mainstream polish that I hadn't seemed to have mastered - how to walk among us but be totally in your own space, clearly comfortable with yourself to the point you made others smooth down their shirts. Something that I didn't understand at the time, but that something makes people call you 'sir' to your face. Respect? Reverence. Somewhere in there.

I sometimes went to his website forum and marveled at how many people came to him just to listen to his words. But it wasn't like he was trying very hard to make people think he was interesting - he just did his thing. Like I have aspired to do my whole career.

Most importantly, Dwayne opened up doors for people who look like me in comics. He fought battles on muddy slopes for people who try to do what I'm trying to do in comics. He clicked on a flashlight and ran it over the dark corners of the bias, ignorance and head-scratchingly dense world of comics and asked questions that we all wanted answers to - and wouldn't leave until he got an answer, or until they made him leave.

That's a swagger that I'd love to wear into a room like Dwayne did. He lifted us on his shoulders and carried us, even if it wasn't his full intent. I believe he just wanted to tell a good story, by any means necessary.

Thanks for Doing Your Thing, Dwayne.

JAMAR & FSKG NOMINATED FOR GLYPH COMICS AWARDS

2011-02-20T23:05:00.001-05:00

Pretty cool!

I'm up for a few GLYPH Comics Awards this year, along with FIST STICK KNIFE GUN in several categories.

Also the BLACK COMIX book that I was featured in won a special achievement award already! You can see me mention that here. That's a great honor!

Full list of noms below:

Story of the Year
Afrodisiac; Jim Rugg, co-writer and artist; Brian Maruca, co-writer
BB Wolf and the 3 LPs; JD Arnold, writer, Richard Koslowski, artist
Fist Stick Knife Gun; Geoffrey Canada, writer, Jamar Nicholas, artist
Unknown Soldier: Dry Season; Joshua Dysart, writer, Alberto Ponticello, artist
Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty; G. Neri, writer, Randy DuBurke, artist

Best Writer
JD Arnold, BB Wolf and the 3 LPs
Geoffrey Canada, Fist Stick Knife Gun
Joshua Dysart, Unknown Soldier
Mat Johnson, Dark Rain
Jim Rugg & Brian Maruca, Afrodisiac

Best Artist
Denys Cowan, Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers
Christian Dibari, Pale Horse
Simone Gane, Dark Rain
Richard Koslowski, BB Wolf and the 3 LPs
Jim Rugg, Afrodisiac

Best Male Character
Afrodisiac, Afrodisiac; created by Jim Rugg, co-writer and artist, & Brian Maruca, co-writer
BB Wolf, BB Wolf and the 3 LPs; created by JD Arnold, writer, Richard Koslowski, artist
Cole, Pale Horse; created by Andrew Cosby & Michael Alan Nelson, writers, Christian Dibari, artist
Geoff, Fist Stick Knife Gun; Geoffrey Canada, writer, Jamar Nicholas, artist; based on the life of Geoffrey Canada
Moses Lwanga, Unknown Soldier; Joshua Dysart, writer, Alberto Ponticello, artist; inspired by the character created by Robert Kanigher & Joe Kubert

Best Female Character
Aloya Rose, Unknown Soldier; created by Joshua Dysart, writer, Alberto Ponticello, artist
Nola Thomas, NOLA; created by Chris Gorak & Pierluigi Cothran, writers; Damian Couceiro, artist
Sarah, Dark Rain; created by Mat Johnson, writer, Simone Gane, artist
Scout Montana, Shadoweyes; created by Ross Campbell, writer and artist
Selena, 28 Days Later; Michael Alan Nelson, writer; Declan Shalvey & Marek Oleksicki, artists; based on the character created by Alex Garland for the motion picture 28 Days Later

Rising Star Award
Nicholas DaSilva, Dread & Alive
Carl Herring Jr. & Tod Smith, The Enforcers
Brandon Howard & Sean Mack; The Revolutionary Times
Jamar Nicholas, Fist Stick Knife Gun
Geoffrey Thorne & Todd Harris, Prodigal: Egg of First Light

Best Reprint Publication
Cold Space TP, BOOM! Studios
Superman vs. Muhammad Ali Deluxe HC, DC Comics
Unknown Soldier: Dry Season TP, DC/Vertigo

Best Cover
28 Days Later #6, Tim Bradstreet, illustrator
Afrodisiac, Jim Rugg, illustrator
Cold Space #1, Jeffrey Spokes, artist; Juan Maruel Tumburus, colorist
Unknown Soldier #15, Dave Johnson, illustrator
Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty; Randy Duburke, illustrator

Best Comic Strip or Webcomic
The K Chronicles, Keith Knight, writer and artist
Marty’s Diner, Dmitri Jackson, writer and artist
The Revolutionary Times, Brandon Howard, writer, Sean Mack, artist
Solomon Azua; Jake Ekiss, writer and artist
World of Hurt, Jay Potts, writer and artist

Fan Award for Best Comic
Azrael: Angel in the Dark; Fabian Nicieza, writer, Ramon Bachs & John Stanisci, artists
Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers; Reginald Hudlin, writer, Denys Cowan, artist
Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural; Rick Remender, writer; Jefte Palo, Gabriel Hardman & Alessandro Vitti, artists
New Avengers: Heroic Age – Possession; Brian Michael Bendis, writer, Stuart Immonen, Wade von Grawbadger & Art Adams, artists
New Avengers: Luke Cage – Town Without Pity; John Arcudi, writer; Eric Canete, artist

The poll for the Fan Award will go up next month at the ECBACC website (www.ecbacc.com/wordpress). Fans are encouraged to vote for their favorite black comics from the five nominees listed, or to submit their own with a write-in choice. All write-in ballots must be sent to rich.watson@gmail.com with “Fan Award” in the subject line. IMPORTANT: The write-in ballot is ONLY for choices NOT listed on the poll. ANY WRITE-IN BALLOTS WITH ANY OF THE FIVE NOMINEES ALREADY ON THE POLL WILL BE DISCARDED AND WILL NOT COUNT.

In addition, for the first time, the GCA Committee announces the creation of the Chairman’s Award, a new award given in special recognition of a work in any media outside of comics, including but not limited to books, television, film, or the Internet, that illuminates the black comics experience in an exceptional manner, and also broadens and deepens the growing body of knowledge about black comics worldwide.

This year, the GCA Committee bestows the award to the book Black Comix: African American Independent Comics Art and Culture, by Damian Duffy & John Jennings, a reference book spotlighting over fifty different independent black comics creators from the past quarter century. The release of this book was accompanied by a gallery exhibition in New York containing artwork from some of the book’s featured artists.

The GCA ceremony will be held May 20, 2011, in the Skyline Room of the Free Library of Philadelphia, Park Central branch, as part of ECBACC, which will take place at the Crown Plaza Hotel Center City, in Philadelphia, PA, May 21, 2011.

About the Glyph Comics Awards:
The Glyph Comics Awards recognize the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year. While it is not exclusive to black creators, it does strive to honor those who have made the greatest contributions to the comics medium in terms of both critical and commercial impact. By doing so, the goal is to encourage more diverse and high quality work across the board and to inspire new creators to add their voices to the field.

The awards were founded in 2005 by Rich Watson as a means to provide news and commentary of comics with black themes, as well as tangential topics in the fields of black science-fiction/fantasy and animation.

2011

2011-01-02T21:31:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

I had a great 2010 and hope to streamline and cut and cut and trim the fat of my life, literally and figuratively this year. I'm very excited about it.

Here at the blog, because I have a bunch of avenues online (again), I'm looking to do more insightful dialogue here, something that I don't share anywhere else on the web. I've always been intrigued by the mind of creative people, and since I have The Facebook for quick hits of information, and The Twitters for witticisms and brain dumps, This can be a place for deeper things, or items you can't find in other places.

Onward and Upward.

Jamar featured in Philadelphia Daily News (Again)

2010-12-14T22:05:00.000-05:00

Photo by AUSTIN LEE

I'd like to go on record to say that all the times I've been in the newspaper, it's never been because I killed somebody.

Celebrate with me and read this feature covering FSKG and also some of my background and why I'm doing the work I'm currently involved in.

Happy Thanksgiving from JN and the COMIC BOOK DINER

2010-11-26T15:27:00.000-05:00

I missed Thanksgiving - but the intent is still there!

Head over to my weekly Podcast, COMIC BOOK DINER and check out what myself and John and Rich are doing.

18 episodes are already up since I last spoke about the CBD, so get yourselves caught up - on the site, or subscribe for FREE on iTunes!

Fist Stick Knife Gun in December 2010 EBONY MAGAZINE

2010-11-24T18:12:00.001-05:00

Look for my book in the Holiday Buyer's Guide section of this month's EBONY MAGAZINE. Buy it now! Then go buy my book! It makes a great gift for someone in your life who needs to make better choices, or for those who need to understand that life isn't as easy as they may think.

Indie Cred All-Star Redux

2010-11-15T00:09:00.001-05:00

I have been asked to be in a group show with several of the creme de la creme of indy comics at the Arlington Arts Center in Virginia. The show will be on view until next year, so you have no excuse. Click the link to see my name with several others.

I can't wait!

PARTY CRASHERS

Comic Book Culture Invades the Art World

NOV 19, 2010 - JAN 16, 2011
Opening reception: Friday, November 19, 7 – 9 pm Members only preview 6 - 7 pm
For a press release, click here.

PARTY CRASHERS mashes up comic art and contemporary gallery culture, and features artists who pass back and forth between the two worlds. This massive two venue show results from a crosstown collaboration between AAC Director of Exhibitions Jeffry Cudlin and Artisphere Gallery Director Cynthia Connolly. The show’s two independent halves feature different types of work: Connolly’s show presents fine artists who mimic the appearance of comic art; Cudlin’s show at AAC contains: alternative comic artists who also show their original pages and drawings in art galleries; fine and comic artists working side-by-side on a national curated project (Creative Time Comics); and fine and comic artists creating avante-garde, purely abstract sequential art without words or recognizable imagery.

This is what you must do.

2010-11-09T00:15:00.001-05:00

Deviant Art

2010-08-19T23:24:00.001-04:00

I've been hesitant for years to be active on Deviant Art, an online "Facebook for Artists", but after some hand-wringing I decided to give in.

At the top of my blog, you can see a slideshow with images that I currently have in my gallery on DA. It's a quick way to see some of my work without the need to fistfight through navigation here.

Hope you check me out.

JAMAR FEATURED IN COFFEE TABLE BOOK

2010-08-18T00:32:00.000-04:00

image: John Jennings

I've had the good fortune of being featured in the new amazing coffee table book,

BLACK COMIX: AFRICAN AMERICAN INDEPENDENT COMICS, ART AND CULTURE.

That's a mouthful, but what you see here is a snapshot of what authors John Jennings and Damian Duffy saw as a missing piece in the comic book puzzle: where the voices of African American cartoonists were and if they're being heard.

Maybe you've never thought about where the black indy comics folk are, but now you can. I'm honored to be in such company.

The book is on sale and available at Amazon, so scoop it up!
Also, check out some of the other fine work John and Damian are responsible for.

COMIC BOOK DINER

2010-08-08T19:28:00.000-04:00

My good pals Rich Faber, John Gallagher and I have started a new podcast called the COMIC BOOK DINER. Find out from three guys who've been around the comics industry in different avenues for years and listen to us talk shop and go over the ins and outs of being in the comic book industry.

This isn't a "Who's stronger? Hulk or Thing?" podcast - there's none of that stuff here. No Comic Book Reviews - this is news you can use if you are trying to get into the comics industry, or already exist in it.

New episode of COMIC BOOK DINER is up live! Listen at the site or on iTunes. Let me know what you think.

Take Charge: Changing a Community One Block at a Time - Geoff Canada

2010-07-20T23:40:00.005-04:00

JAMAR IS BACK! FSKG News and More

2010-02-28T18:38:00.004-05:00

FIST STICK KNIFE GUN: Pre-Order it now on Amazon.com

Been away for some time and I'm slowly making my way back onto the information superhighway - I'm taking my time to merge, and checking the GPS frequently so I don't get lost this time.

My publisher, Beacon Press has released the cover for my book! It's already listed on Amazon, as well as some other places. Pre-Order a copy now! The book hits the streets in October, but I have to bang pots in the street now. No time like the present.

Check in frequently, as I update you to the progress my book is taking, and also events I'll be at. Since I've posted last, I've created a Facebook Page, since it seems that most of civilization is hanging around there - you can follow me on that thing, and I'm going to try and keep the content different from here. I honestly don't want MORE places to have to try and keep track of - that's a huge part of the reason I took the internet vacation in the first place, but I have this new book to promote, so I don't mind as much right now.

I will be appearing on the First Person Arts' WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT panel on March 9, 2010. Tickets are on sale so go see me live and on stage! I will be talking about the process of adapting a memoir into a sequential narrative format and will be using big words.

I've also had a handful of interviews in the past week, so I'll update you to those as I see them.

It's good to see you again!

AWAY NOTIFICATION

2009-04-27T00:46:00.002-04:00

I will be away from this blog and other personal internet endeavors such as my Twitter, etc. until January, 2010. If you would like to keep up to date on what I'm doing, or follow my projects, please sign up for my newsletter, which I will keep updated during this time. I may pop up in other places, but you'll know all about that if you sign up for the newsletter.

Thanks for your support! See you in January!

Jamar

Come see Jamar on stage!

2009-03-24T20:38:00.003-04:00

Why Am I Not Famous?!?
Come see Philadelphia’s only live comedy talk show, hosted by 2008 Philly’s Phunniest winner Kent Haines. This month, Onion writer Mike Drucker and comic book creator Jamar Nicholas join Kent for an evening of hilarity and mirth. BYOB!

Why Am I Not Famous?!?
8pm, Wednesday, March 25th
The Shubin Theatre – 407 Bainbridge Street
Tickets $5 – BYOB!

HVD!

2009-02-14T21:53:00.002-05:00

Jamar Gets a Book Deal!

2009-02-10T21:46:00.004-05:00

The big story of the past season is that I am proud to announce that I will be illustrating a 150+ page graphic adaption of Geoffrey Canada's FIST STICK KNIFE GUN: A Personal History of Violence in America.

You can read more about the acquisition as my publisher, Beacon Press gives some quick PR treatment.

Also here is my first blog post on the Beacon Broadside, Beacon's blog.

I will be posting there during my time creating the book and updating the readers with illustration progress reports. I'm real happy about this, and hope that while you're waiting for me to finish drawing, you snatch up the original memoirs.

I'm very proud to be attached to this project, and hope you check out what Geoff Canada is talking about. If you live in NYC, you probably already know who he is. Peep the Youtoobs. Even the president knows what's up.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Geoffrey Canada

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Funny Political News

Christian Bale Parody
Joke of the Day

T.O.N.Y.: Tapped Out on New York?

2009-02-03T19:28:00.002-05:00

Look for my interview with my new pal Bryan Lee O'Malley in the next issue of DRAW!
You can't miss it - it's on the cover!

Hey you motor scooters!

So I have on my itinerary, a trip to the lush metropolis of NYC this weekend for the New York Comic Con, but it may not come to pass. If I do, it'll be on some secret-squirrel in/out type episode - where I exit a cab at the Javitz in slo-motion, my scarf flipping out behind me all Michael Bay style. There might even be doves. I can settle for white pigeons in a pinch.

In any rate, If you're there and you see me, then you saw me. Comic cons for me, besides work and pressing the flesh with the fans, are micro family reunions, where I see old friends for maybe the only time in a year. It's tough to not go.

One thing that's gonna be there is Bryan Lee O'Malley and his 5th Scott Pilgrim book, which I'd like to scoop up, as I love what he's doing right now in his career. I had the chance to interview him a while back for DRAW! magazine, which you may know by now, I put my thing down in from time to time. Mal was real cool and I can't wait for the issue to come out, which I think will be sometime this month. I'll let you know when it drops, but if you're at the con, go check out my pals at the Twomorrows booth, who publishes the magazine and have wonderful people working for them that love the medium of comics.

Are you following me on twitter? You need to be. That'll be the quickest way to see my moves these days - like if I'm on my way to NYC!

LEON: The Anti-Leon League

2009-02-03T18:03:00.003-05:00

Click the image for Size Uppinmization!

Hey!

This is my latest LEON strip, for Delaware County Magazine. This one introduces a bunch of new villains, and ones you'll see a lot more of soon! I think I hit a few home runs in this strip, as I've gotten some great compliments on it.

LEON: Back to School

2009-02-03T17:56:00.003-05:00

Click the image for biggimizing!

LEON: Protector of the Playground strip from the fall - nothing like new Back to School clothes!

This strip quickly introduces PRINCIPAL PRINCIPLE. He's got his own story that you'll see as we move ahead. Actually the first appearance of the Principal was in my first LEON story, an 8-pager that appeared in EVEN MORE FUND COMICS back in forever-ago. Try to scoop it up now for barter!

LEON from the holidays!

2009-01-25T22:22:00.004-05:00

LEON for the holidays.

I'm a few behind, so I'll try to put a bigger drop of strips up soon...

Jamar E. Nicholas: HANDSOME GENIUS!

2009-01-18T22:04:00.003-05:00

Hey yo!

Yours truly was a recent guest on my good friend Anthony Kingdom James' ill pod/blogcast called THE HANDSOME GENIUS CLUB. I am now a Handsome Genius, so you have to live with it. Please visit his site, and listen to Kingdom and I rant about the Eagles/Steelers meeting in the superbowl (NOT GONNA HAPPEN NOW - THANKS IGGLES!), the best cheesesteak in Philly, and my cartooning career so far. Also a great spoiler that I haven't put on the blog yet, so if you pay attention, you'll hear what it is.

Kingdom's interviews are filled with geekitry like comics, sports, videogames, professional wrestling and some light cussing, so be warned that I may drop a bomb or two.

So go listen to this week's podcast and tel me what you thought.

Boogaloo Under the Hood (REMIX)

2009-01-08T11:53:00.001-05:00

From 2005:
>>
Happy Holidays.

So todays post, I thought would be good about giving thanks, and all that. I'm real thankful for a lotta stuff, like my good friends - civillian and comic book pals alike.

Another thing I'm thankful for, was the opportunity to work on DETECTIVE BOOGALOO over at superstar Kevin Smith's moviepoopshoot.com site. I have nothing but great things to say about the crew there, and I'm still friends with them. Editor Chris Ryall (The same Chris Ryall who is now head honcho at IDW) gave me free reign to do whatver I wanted and never had a bad word to say about me or my stuff. He's a saint. Now go buy IDW comics!

Going with that train of thought, I was cleaning out my files and found a row of tutorial files that I probably did for my old group, the Indy Cred All Stars. This was for the second strip from the Detective Boogaloo run on poopshoot, and back when I was putting a WHOLE lot of time into each strip. Not that I didn't put the time in - but I was still the virgin, and wanted to make sure I represented every week. I believe these used to take me around 10 hours to do. What killed was

a) I still didn't know the characters well, so I was still trying to find the right voices and look for them

b) I was still teaching myself how to color digitally

c) 'stuff just takes time to do'.

Also, that I went through a couple of stages each strip. Basically when you do your own stuff with no other hands in your cooking pot, you're essentially drawing the same thing 3-4 times. From roughs, to tighter roughs, to layouts, to penciling, to inking, to coloring, to lettering, there's a LOT of steps in there. Just pray that the computer demons don't decide to freeze your system at 3:00am. I LOVE when that would happen. SAVE EARLY SAVE OFTEN!

Anyway, what I have brought to the class today, is a little dialogue on how I approached the strips at the time. Look for new Boogaloo stuff at the begining of the year, as I'm planning on restarting the property.

Figure A here, is what my general roughs 'version one's' turn out to look like. I have an idea of where I wanted the strip to go, so I'd set out to lay out the page/s and block in some notes I had to myself, so I wouldn't forget them later when I was inking. As you can see I had 2 pages here, which got turned into 1 page. I forget why now - probably because of time constraints. A lot of things get shaved down by not having enough time or energy to do something else. If you can look closely at that rough up top, I have a couple of gags on Ice Tre's 40 bottle, - like calling it 'Assed Out 800', a play off of Old English 800 - more effectionately known in the outer provinces as "Old Gold", "8-Ball" or "OH EE". Anyway, I cut it out because I just didn't think it was necessary. I cut out a lot of stuff, like I was gonna have Ice Tre' rapping in the strip, so I wrote out a couple of bars for him to spit in the recording booth, but again, Cut. There's a lot of cutting that comes into my strips when I did them every week - I had more ideas in my head than room to fit them all.

OH! Also in the balding reporters hand, he has a copy of 'The Sauce' - my riff on THE SOURCE magazine. In Bling City, Ice Tre is the Alpha Rapper, so he's always on covers to the big magazines.

Ice Tre' got defined in this strip, where I wanted him to be an amalgalm of every 'pretty thug' type that was in Hip Hop at the time. Tho he looks most like Nelly, he's not supposed to be Nelly - but he can be if you want him too. He's Fiddy, he's everybody. An ebodiment of where my head was at about the music at the time. Every rapper had some sort of gimmick, so instead of the band-aid like Nelly had, I gave him football eyeblack under his eyes, and ice cubes instead of diamonds on his ears. Also his gold medallion is a gold ice tray, with real ice cubes in it. Now in hindsight, I never showed him using it - maybe when I bring the strip back, we'll see him make himself a drink and crack ice in the glass from it. Now that's pretty funny.

I remember a while back reading some dood on a message board who tried to snap on me about Tre' and how it had been 'done before'. People take things so literally - I've always tried to avoid the obvious joke and go a little deeper. Sometimes I succeed - sometimes I don't, but Tre', cheesy name in all, I really dig. His name is SUPPOSED to be bad. DUH.

After I did the rough stage, what I normally did was go over the stuff I was gonna keep in a felt tip marker of some sort (I'm known for being a 'whatever's in front of me' type of inker - I don't care, if it makes a mark I'll use it) and tighten up the rough. After that, on 11x17 Strathmore Bristol, later on smaller stuff, I'd lightbox the tighter roughs in blue col-erase pencil, and then ink it. I think for this strip I used all microns, and maybe some other stuff for the thick outlines. I'm not a huge Micron mark - I use brush nowadays just as easily as a techpen - it really depends on what kinda line I'm going for. Then I ruled out the panels.

Another little tip - I HATE ruling stuff out. I'd rather just free-form it, because when I do use ruled lines, it seems like I have to now follow that ideal through the rest of the process. There were a lot of times where i'd rule out my panels, but not use a straight edge to ink it - just to keep it loose.

I also pulled out the old zipatone and laid in that pattern behind Tre's head just to break up the flow of the layout. I love mixing the oldschool with the new. Zipatone is almost impossible to find besides that manga stuff - but to me, the original zip and Chartpak is where it's at.

After the inking is done, I'd go into Photoshop (6 I think I had at the time) and drop all the colors in . When I felt up to it, I did my 'Disney Style' meaning I'd do color holds on the outlines of the characters. Later on - I'd stop doing this because it'd take me HOURS to finish a strip at the color stage. I'm no coloring genius, and I traditionally don't color like everybody else - like I don't do 'Flats' and all that stuff - I just go in there and attack the page until it's colored with the palette that comes with Photoshop - no tweaks or brushes. I still work like that.

As you can see at this stage, I'm just laying in the color - no words yet.The FINAL stage is doing the lettering, which I did as well in Photoshop. I know it's best to do the stuff in Illustrator, but doing a weekly strip for me was more about getting it done than how you did it. Photoshop is faster in this case. Now if this was for print and I was doing a book, then yeah I'd do the lettering in Illo, but this is just getting zapped to 72 DPI and it works good enough. BOOM.

And there it is - the quick and dirty Boogaloo strip. Hope you enjoyed the little look into the way I work(ed). I'm looking forward to starting up Boogaloo again, because I miss it - and somebody's gotta put a foot up hip-hop's ass.

Might as well be me.

2009 THE NUMBER ANOTHER SUMMER (winter)

2009-01-04T22:22:00.004-05:00

SOUND of the funky drummer!

What's going on! Another year down, and I kept pretty much on the low-low the last couple of months of 2008, so what can you do?

I have thought about doing a 2008 recap, on all the stuff I didn't blog about, so if I haven't done that before February, you may not see it.

I've started a pretty robust mailing list you can join (look up and to the right) to keep up on my breaking news that doesn't fit on the blog, so keep your eyes peeled.

If you look at my 2008 NY post, I had a lot of stuff to promise - this year is all about cutting the fat - streamlining my process, my deal, and what I spend my time on that's of most importance to me.

Hope you can join me on the journey - it's gonna be interesting!

ONE.

BRAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNS

2008-10-31T08:01:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloween Ya'll!

Here's another run of my infamous Halloween sketches drawn on small paper treat bags. Enjoy the horror!

After the Phillies won the Series, watching all of those people in the street flipping over cars and looting, got me in a zombie apocolypse mood.

5000.

Moleskinin': RE-UP

2008-10-17T10:15:00.001-04:00

Colored that piece from before a few days ago.

Daily Moleskinein'

2008-10-14T20:05:00.003-04:00

Some warmup zombie loving for your cartooning oven.

OogalooBay IrbyKay OtsDay

2008-10-12T13:45:00.002-04:00

LEON: Enter: Chalmers

2008-09-16T21:09:00.005-04:00

In this strip, I introduce CHALMERS, A kid in Leon's grade who is the archetypical 'rich kid'. Well that's a stretch - he's more the Ralph Kramden template - the kid who's always scheming on how to make a buck. Here we see some of Chalmer's design chops.

I took this act on the road and brought a buncha Leon strips to a local school and the kids ate it up. I did a lotta Chalmers sketches. They liked the kid who loves money. How interesting is that?

Anyway, you're gonna have to click on that image - it's crazy small right now.

UPDATE: I realized that I put a newer strip first. It's cool to see how I'm getting used to drawing Leon and he looks a bit better in the strip below. Also Chalmers is the first classmate to make two appearances in the strip so far.

APPEARANCE ALERT!
I'll be appearing at the Baltimore Comic Con at the end of the month. Mark your calendars!

LEON: Enter my darling Clementine

2008-09-13T19:31:00.005-04:00

One of my other fave LEON strips is where I introduce CLEMENTINE JUSTICE, the nosy overachiever one-upper, always-the-last-worder kid from Leon's school, Antonio Hardy Elementary. Clem is the captain of the Hall Monitors, a group you'll see more of as the strip progresses, and maybe more when it opens into new formats. One thing with the monthly strip, is that there's not much room to keep a daily setup since it's one strip a month, you need to keep it fairly open-and-shut, story-wise. That's a lotta hyphens!

As you can see, she also has an admirer, a kid I didn't name, but JUICEBOX sounds good right now.

LEON: Protector of the Playground

2008-09-13T19:18:00.004-04:00

Yo yo.

So I've been doing my kids' comic, LEON: PROTECTOR OF THE PLAYGROUND in Delaware County Magazine for close to a year now, and never really got around to putting the strips on my blog. Here's the first one, and I'll post more as I get the second.

I really enjoy Leon, and it gets great reviews from kids and adults alike. I will be at the Baltimore Comic Con at the end of the month, (More info to come) and I will be on a LEON kick while I'm there. Come through and get art!

Here's the first strip. I enjoyed the colors on this one.

Warm-ups for the Fall

2008-09-10T23:46:00.003-04:00

Here's a little Boogaloo to get back in the swing of things - done with a prisma marker and a hand-made brushpen.

More on LIVE LIVE LIVE!

2008-08-31T01:08:00.002-04:00

I'm gonna keep hitting you over the head with this.

Here's the WHYY youtube clip that wouldn't load on the last post.

The last part with the squid? That's . . . that's not our show.

LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! Coming next week

2008-08-29T21:52:00.003-04:00

Puppets like you've never seen them before!

Hey gang! Here's more press on the event I'm putting in on next week. There's a new poster that may be a little suggestive, but it's puppets, so Caveat Emptor.

>>

From this weeks CITY PAPER:

LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! Hoity Meets the 'Hood

LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! Hoity Meets the 'Hood teams the urban puppeteers at Little Bunny Voodoo and hip-hop cartoonist Jamar Nicholas. We know LBV's 2007 Fringe offering, Late Night at the Tiki Bar, was a visual delight. To quote CP's review: "We could watch these puppets watch paint dry," and we've been following Nicholas' street-smart hip-hop comix for years. The concept here is a "design mashup" with LBV's Alisa Sickora Kleckner and husband Chris Kleckner working with Nicholas to bring his creations to life. "They took my half of the project and really gave my ideas wings," says Nicholas. --Brian Howard

Read it:

read Puppets at the FRINGE: on WHYY

They interviewed me as well, but they TOTALLY LEFT MY WHOLE PART OUT. :pout:

Anyway, it's coming, and there's nothing you can do about it. If you're in Philly, come check it out. It NEEDS to be seen live.

2008-08-29T21:30:00.001-04:00

SUPERIOR FLOOR SYSTEMS: Notes from the group show

2008-08-24T15:31:00.007-04:00

Remember a few threads back I went on about the tile I was creating for the group show SUPERIOR FLOOR SYSTEMS, at Exclamation Gallery? Well I did, it was done, and it got lookeded at. My pals over at the gallery posted a neat look into the show along with plenty of pics and a great video. See if you can find mine.

Here's a link to the gallery Flickr site, as well! Thanks gang!

The Illest Collabo since that guy and the other dude. . .

2008-08-21T00:15:00.005-04:00

My man TOOBZ cordially invites you to:

Please join me as I collaborate with puppet troupe LITTLE BUNNY VOODOO to bring forth the illest Fringe show ever! Would love to see you there if you find yourself in Philly (for you out-of-towners) next month.

Also, we were interviewed by WHYY Public Radio about the show, so once I find out when that airs, I'll pass the info on to you.

Click here for our Philly Fringe show info.

NOTE: Just to be clear, the show is at THE INSTITUTE, not the Walking Fish.

Thesaurus is Colored.

2008-08-09T17:02:00.002-04:00

bad joke. I felt like giving that sketch some pigment.

WATCHING THE DETECTIVES: Dissecting Detective Boogaloo Pt I

2008-08-09T12:10:00.008-04:00

Now that I've been streamlining my deal over here at the JN Studios, it's been easier to put things back in place, to put some stuff in order. Some things that have been in the works or have fallen to the wayside find their place again. One thing I wanted to focus on for the JHAAJ gawkers is my place in Hip Hop Culture, and all that stuff that comes with it.

One of my properties, DETECTIVE BOOGALOO: HIP HOP COP has always been my study on my life and love of Hip Hop, and what boils down is a dialogue on 'Old vs. New School' Hip Hop and all that goes with it. Some people who enjoed my webcomic just enjoyed the pretty colors, or 'like a breakdancing detective'. That's cool. Do You. The strip, at least in my mind, had a lot of layers, and one is the idea of Hip Hop broken down into sections of eras, and along with that, come fashion/lifestyle examinations. One character in the DB Universe is contact and Ill Intel Copper: THESAURUS JONES. (Click here for his first appearance) Thesaurus' look is of mid-late 80's fashion and ideals - like the 80's Rap Scene blew up in his closet. He also comes correct with the illest High-Top Fades, Flattops, Boxes and Trigonometry Haircuts.

figure 1: Black to the Future

What's really interesting to inspect, is that I came up with Thesaurus, probably in 2000 or somewhere around there. He used to rock a Theo Huxtable Shag, but when I intro'd him into the comic, I thought he Box would be a little more culturally and visually revelant. It's bugging me out that the 80's have finally come up on the fad/culture dial, and now I'm seeing young teens out in the streets rocking them again. Apologies to whomever this image got jacked from. Respect due, Internets:

Figure 2: What Comes Around Comes Back Around Again... Again

Now, That's great and all, and is amusing to see kids go nuts with this outlandishness, but the 20-year-later Jamar has to stow the 'fad' part of this and just see it for what it is. I think the olny difference was when it happened the first time, is that it was the first time. "You had to be there" really applies to what's rocking out there in the streets. Thesaurus' character is a keeper-of-culture, and has an important place in the DB universe. I wonder, when I bring Boogaloo's adventures back, if he'll be seen the same now that you can look out the window and see some kid looking just like him.

SHOOK ONES PT. III.I

2008-08-08T15:06:00.002-04:00

Finished...

SHOOK ONES PT. III

2008-08-08T14:17:00.002-04:00

Painting on a floor tile for a group show... SUPERIOR FLOOR SYSTEM for my pals at Exclamation Gallery.

mobile test.

2008-08-05T23:28:00.002-04:00

2008-08-05T23:21:00.000-04:00

ITS DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE! TAKE THIS.

Noodles before Bedtime

2008-08-04T02:31:00.003-04:00

just some doodle-y stuff from the cabinets before I turn in. Have Have Have Fun!

You can get with this/You can't get with that

2008-08-03T19:47:00.003-04:00

It's been a while between posts, so here's something to gnaw on:

I just deleted my Myspace account.

I just deleted my LiveJournal account.

More to follow. Soon, there will be only a few places on the intenerds to find my updates. Simplification is the New Black. Get up on that.

ONE.

DRRRRRRRRRROP!

2008-06-17T20:18:00.002-04:00

Yo. I've been in radio silence for a while for a few good reasons, that I don't need to get into, since there's only 8 of you that come here. Just say that if you need to see whats' on my mental river on the daily, check the twitter to your right or sign up to follow the leader (chikka chikka).

I have some stuff to drop here in a few, because people keep asking me, 'where can i see your stuff!?'. I'm very easy to Google. It'll usually point you here, or to another of my 22 websites.

So I'll leave you off with some old Detective Boogaloo art, this was for a t-shirt design for a long-sold out ICE TRE' tee.

T'Challa!

Free Comic Book Day AGAIN!

2008-05-01T18:19:00.003-04:00

Man, another year down!

Look for me along with my comic-drawing pals as we'll be holding it down this Saturday at Captain Blue Hen Comics, making dreams come true for FCBD!

You know the drill. Also feel free to use the labels on the right to read about FCBD's gone by.

See you there!

Noo Yawk Cahmekahn and TOKYOPOP

2008-04-15T20:42:00.003-04:00

Hey what's good!

This weekend I will be on site at the NY Comic Con in lovely Manhattan. I will be on a signing schedule, so here's my whereabouts as they are. Between these times, find me galavanting around bothering my famous friends and posing for photo ops. One of the places that you can kick it with me will be at the TOKYOPOP Publishing booth, #1321. You can't miss it, because it'll be the size of a small continent. I'm on the schedule for a couple of things so check me out!

TOKYOPOP APPEARANCE & SIGNING SCHEDULE

Saturday April 19

12:30-1:30 PM
Creating Art for Manga Panel at TOKYOPOP booth #1321
(Drew Rausch, Jamar Nicholas, James Barry, Joanna Estep, Lincy Chan, Maximo Lorenzo)

Moderated by Hope Donovan

Sunday April 20

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 PM

Humor and Manga Panel at TOKYOPOP booth #1321
(Amy Reeder Hadley, Jamar Nicholas, Maximo Lorenzo, Svetlana Chmakova, Steve Buccellato)

Moderated by Lillian Diaz-Przybl

I'll be in some other spots as well, but I gotta stretch these posts out somehow. Come back soon!

Are you ready?!

2008-04-14T20:52:00.002-04:00

Moleskine Treats For Tired Feets

2008-04-07T21:26:00.003-04:00

Feeling froggy after getting my legs under me a little bit today. Might as well mark the day with another Moleskine drop. . .

Shadows of the future. . .

2008-04-07T21:12:00.002-04:00

Something sketchy to keep 'em guessing. . .

The Black Billy Crystal?

2008-03-25T20:24:00.006-04:00

We're jussumen that rock the mic!

So I'm back on board to host the GLYPH awards this year in Philly, coming up in May. Check out the PR posted last week for it - it's big news!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JAMAR NICHOLAS RETURNS AS HOST OF THE GLYPH COMICS AWARDS

The Glyph Comics Awards Committee is proud to announce that Jamar Nicholas will return to host this year's awards ceremony at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC) in Philadelphia. Nicholas, a Philly native, is best known for his hip hop comic strip Detective Boogaloo, as well as his autobiographical series The Jamar Chronicles. In 2007 he hosted the Awards for the first time, delighting the audience with his unique brand of humor while serving as emcee of the evening's entertainment, which also included performances by spoken word/rap artists Grayson Board, Randy Moore, and Brother G.

"I'm very excited about having the opportunity to host the 2008 Glyph awards, and am honored to be asked," says Nicholas. "I had a great time hosting last year's awards, and to have it take place in such a historic institution as the African American Museum makes it even greater."

"We really couldn't ask for a better host," says Committee Chair Rich Watson. "Jamar's local, he's a cartoonist himself, and he's funnier than anybody hosting this thing has a right to be, so we hope to have him as our go-to guy for a long, long time."

The Awards ceremony will be held Friday, May 16 at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the night before ECBACC, which will be held the next day, Saturday, May 17, at Temple University's Anderson Hall.

The Committee also wishes to remind everyone that the poll for the Fan Award remains open until March 31. Everyone is encouraged to head over to the ECBACC website (http://ecbacc.com/wordpress/?page_id=76) and vote for your favorite black comic from 2007.

About the Glyph Comics Awards:

The Glyph Comics Awards recognize the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year. While it is not exclusive to black creators, it does strive to honor those who have made the greatest contributions to the comics medium in terms of both critical and commercial impact. By doing so, the goal is to encourage more diverse and high quality work across the board and to inspire new creators to add their voices to the field.

The awards are named for the blog Glyphs: The Language of the Black Comics Community at Pop Culture Shock (http://glyphs.popcultureshock.com), started in 2005 by comics journalist Rich Watson as a means to provide news and commentary of comics with black themes, as well as tangential topics in the fields of black science-fiction/fantasy and animation.

About ECBACC:

The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC), in association with the Temple University Pan-African Studies Community Education Program, is an annual gathering of comic book creators and retailers who create and sell material that caters to black readers of all ages. In addition to selling their work, they also take part in panel discussions and self-publishing workshops for aspiring creators. The convention is held on the Temple University campus in Philadelphia each May. ECBACC is an outgrowth of the original Black Age of Comics Convention in Chicago, founded by Turtel Onli.

For more information about ECBACC, contact event coordinator Maurice Waters at maurice.waters@ecbacc.com, or visit the official website (www.ecbacc.com).

That's What's Up!

USED TO LET MY TAPE ROCK 'TIL THE TAPE POPPED

2008-03-14T10:42:00.003-04:00

Do your lessons!

Learn your math!

Sketch study for something else going out the door. stretchy arm is a little wonky, but that's entertaiiiiinment. . .

FRECKLED KID

2008-03-13T22:55:00.003-04:00

Little color joint I did as a gift to someone who hooked me up the ill rice paper I drew it on. the prismas bleed RIGHT through the other side, but I loved the effect.

This is a two-fold gift, that will work it's way out into whoever else I need to give art to. I love this stuff!

MAKE WAY FOR THE BOOGALOO BAD BOY. . .

2008-03-07T23:24:00.003-05:00

Who's that lookin' in my window?

BLACK IS BACK. . .

2008-03-02T18:25:00.003-05:00

Even if you haven't seen me, I see you. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Here's a moleskine joint for you. Look for more posts from me this month. Along with some news. I've been crazy busy, almost so busy I haven't had time to catalogue what I'm up to. Let's rectify that.

Also look for another classic full-color Boogaloo strip in the newest issue of UVC magazine this month.

Peace Connecticut!

Jamar Nicholas: INTERNET SUPERSTAR!

2008-01-31T22:51:00.000-05:00

INTERNET SUPERSTAR! is the joint - we stay crispy in milk, son. Click the vid to see me RIGHT IN YOUR FACE talking about the BBWW Blog and pimp some other stuff as well. Thanks to my new ace, Martin Sargent and my man Gator for the look out! This was the inaugural episode, so we make history YET AGAIN. Also hang around to see Tom Green do his thing.

Some Full Page Action in Delaware County Magazine

2008-01-08T18:56:00.000-05:00

Well the posting schedule begins, and we're rolling through it with no bumps.

For you on the other side of the world (or state) who can't get their hands on a copy of this month's Delaware County Magazine, you'll be missing the debut of my new comic strip LEON: PROTECTOR OF THE PLAYGROUND, and also you'd be missing a nice article that was done on me for the occasion. It's a nice piece, tho some things were quoted a little fuzzy, it's awesome nevertheless! Big shout outs to my man Scott Neely, my man Marc Manley who takes the best pictures of my goofy face, and also to the interviewer, Tom Leavy, who was a great guy. I hope we cross paths again soon.

Click on it to get a fullsize view!

The store is OPEN! Boogaloo ILL CRIMES UNIT CASE FILE for the last time EVAR!

2008-01-06T22:55:00.001-05:00

DETECTIVE BOOGALOO: ILL CRIMES UNIT CASE FILE (The Collected Strips)

Hey all! Back again (Told you I'm on the schedule!) and this time I'm trying out some new store stuff. I created the Boogaloo Case File some years ago, back when I was still doing the strip at Moviepoopshoot.com and I just unearthed a little crate of extras that I thought I sold off. Now it can be yours yours yours!

The Case File collects in a neat manilla-file folder, the first 25 strips from the Detective Boogaloo: Hip Hop Cop webcomic, presented in a police format - black and white interior, complete with never-to-be-seen-again (!) insider info on the DB Universe - an official Ill Crimes Unit Rap Sheet on Boogaloos' nemesis ICE TRE, along with an ill forward by then-editor now-editor-in-chief of IDW Comics, Chris Ryall! Yeah, I knew him back when.

It's a real cool package, and every folder is different - I self-stamped and self-coffee-ringed each one of these babies. I've been selling them for years at cons, but now it's time to put this to rest and do the NEXT Boogaloo thing, that I'm not gonna put over yet. . . But you knew it was gonna happen eventually.

The price for this is going to be 10.00 USD, (I know the cover says 5) but I'm throwing in the shipping and I'll personalize it for you and your shorty. That's MY gift to you!

After this dissappears off the front page, I'll put this on the sidebar, and I'll be putting up other things I find in the studio attic as we go through the Great Purge of 2008 - to get ready for THE NEW NEWNESS.

And you can pay with PAYPAL! If you don't know what Paypal is by now, then maybe you don't need to be on the internet yet.

Thanks - let's see how this works.

2008 - The Year of the Poobah

2008-01-06T14:31:00.000-05:00

What's good party rockers!

As referenced by many of my blogging pals, 2008 seems to be a turning point for a lot of creatives that I know, and I'm bunching myself in there as well. Not dealing with the resolution route - 2008 is taking off to be a 'make or break' year for a lot of people, and with that, I'm planning on steamrolling thru this sucker with some bull power.

First up is some structure. I'm fixin' to begin a posting schedule here on the blog, where on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays expect a post from me on the Big Beautiful Wonder Woman Blog, and then on Tuesdays, Thursdays and mayhaps the Weekend, check for new posts here. I'm sure you're all RSS-ed Up here, so you don't have to miss a thing.

I have a million things I need to get out of my head this year, so let's start with one simple one - more updates.

Also, pay attention to the Appearances sidebar, as I'm going to try to stay on top of that this year. I have a signing for Tokyopop next weekend here at the American Library Association 2008 Midwinter Meeting: , but I don't think they let you in unless you're a librarian. Who knew? As one would think, I'll be at the Tokyopop booth signing copies of THE GROSSE ADVENTURES for a few hours. I'm all atitter!

One other thing you should be on the lookout for is another one of my properties, LEON: PROTECTOR OF THE PLAYGROUND is a new comic strip that you can see every month in the Delaware County Magazine!

LEON is the story of a super-hero sidekick in elementary school. It's a lotta fun, and it's all-ages, and I think people of all ages will dig it. You can see the first comic story of LEON in the pages of EVEN MORE FUND COMICS anthology, from a few years back. Dig it up and you'll see me working out the kinks. I'm really proud of Leon!

Along with my great pal Scott Neely, (GLO, Mr. Bundles!) and Mike Manley, we will be bringing you a full page of full-color comic strippy goodness every month in the pages of this super mag!

If you live and love in the Philly/Delaware/Tri-State Area, you can cop this anywhere. There is also an awesome interview with me in the latest issue, as we debut our new strips (Scott debuted ALFIE a few issues ago, but now were all in it to win it)!

I guess this counts as a weekend post, huh? Sounds good to me.

Be Easy!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2007-12-25T00:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays you guys!

Here's to fulfilling your dreams one day at a time.

Jamar 12.25.07
Philadelphia

HEY KIDS! COMICS!

2007-11-30T11:37:00.000-05:00

Come see me on Saturday, December 1st at Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark DE. I'll be signing and doing sketches for the kids and I'll even have something special in tow!

I'll be there with my mansnthem, Scott Neely, kicking up dust!

Be Easy.

UVC - Filled with 80mgs of That's What's Up!

2007-10-15T20:52:00.000-04:00

Hey what's up party people! Just dropping in to give you a little Hap into my mix.

- For a while, I've been putting up color drops into the new UVC - URBAN VOICE OF COMICS magazine, which is what I've heard as a cross between Wizard and Vibe magazine. I called it 'The Black Wizard' magazine, and then got into a silly misunderstanding about there being a market for black wizards.

In any event, Look for the 3rd ep of Boogaloo inside the magazine, and support the cause. ERRRUUUUUUH!

RARRRRRRR.

2007-09-06T00:59:00.001-04:00

A kraft-paper hip-hop zombie done for a commission back in the summer. Snapped with my camera - it's a little fuzzy.

The return of the JDOT 5-SPOT!

2007-08-31T09:24:00.000-04:00

Hey. Here's 5 easy-to-digest bits from the laboratory of Jamar to take you into the weekend. We're over here at Team Poobah trying to get it going for you - so when you see me in your area, you are sated and full. Full of comic-y nougat. (I've been reading too much Penny Arcade blog entries lately.)

Anyway, here's some news for your side of the world.

ONE.
Next weekend, travel on down to the BALTIMORE COMIC-CON where I'll be set up, shakin' the babies and kissin' the hands. This is a sentimental show for me, as we're gonna go all-out, and have a great show and remember our pal Ringo. He was going to be going to this show. He didn't go to many cons, but Heroes and Baltimore. He'll still be there, but on another energy frequency, and right here (taps heart).

Just for that, I'm going NUTS for this show, and going back to old Jamar-Mode! I will have with me, me hopes, a Tokyopop GrossePack, which will include all three of the GROSSE ADVENTURES books that I did with Tokyopop, (With art on the first one by my mans'en'em, Mike Norton). You can also order the books on Amazon.com if you can't make it down, but look for a hot sketch-tie-in if you buy all three from me. I may even throw in some scratch-n-sniffs! I'm nice like that.

While I'm here, here's the cover of the third book again, with proper dress and editor cleanining:*
Also look for a Baltimore-Special edition of my first sketchbook, E POOBAH UNUM: IN JAMAR WE TRUST. We're still getting that together over here, but don't sleep - They may go fast!

*I have a small stash of the DETECTIVE BOOGALOO ILL CRIMES UNIT CASEFILES left, that I'm gonna bring through. This is gonna be it until the comic book comes out (!) which I'll talk about in more detail at a later date.

*I will have original art that I want to unload, mainly an almost complete pagecount of my first 'mainstream' gig, RADISKULL & DEVILL DOLL HATES LOVE! comic, done with Devils Due/Image. Come cop this stuff!

*I should also have a batch of 'WILL DRAW FOR LOVE' The second Philadelphia Cartoonist Society jambook that I have some sketch material in.

*OH! Also on the table, we'll have copies of UVC MAGAZINE: The Urban Voice of Comics. I'm doing color-re-ups of the Boogaloo strips in the mag every issue! I think we're up to the 4th strip so far. (That reminds me, I have to turn work in to the editor!)

*ALSO! (again) The latest issue of DRAW! magazine came out, where I interviewed one of my idols, Steve Purcell of Sam&Max fame. We'll have copies of that to cop, so come talk to me about it or make me feel good and let me sign your copy. I'll be set up next to my road-dog Mike Manley, so you KNOW he'll have his Draw!s on hand. [||]

* We are going to be in the KIDS LOVE COMICS! Pavillion, so bring your seeds over and be treated to kid-friendly comics and I promise not to swear in front of your kids.

TWO: I have a Twitter account. See my drops at the top of the blog here, and on my myspace page. Come Follow Me!

THREE: What I'm reading: Freakanomics. What I'm playing: PuzzleQuest on the DS.

FOUR: What I'm waiting on: Graduation, Kanye West.

FIVE: Where I'm at next: SPX in October. But that's another post entirely.

Catching my breath

2007-08-26T23:35:00.001-04:00

Beach bird. . . a little something in watercolor.

Keeping it brief, it's been a wierd change-of-season for me, as a lot of stuff as happened, and with that also brings about the hope of new things - good things, sometimes bad, but also things that become life-altering.

Not too long ago, my pal Mike Manley and I went down to North Carolina to say goodbye to a friend. That saturday, we all packed up the truck and went to the beach to clear our heads and to enjoy life. I can't say that I've had a lot of perfect days, but that may have been close.

Missing Ringo - sharing stories

2007-08-16T15:54:00.001-04:00

It’s been tough trying to whittle down my thoughts to write out something about Mike. I have so many memories and great times in my head, but right now, my head is a huge mess, so I apologize if this doesn’t read that well.

Mike never had the ego of somebody who held his lofty position in the industry, or ever made you feel like you weren’t good enough or high enough on the food chain to breathe his air – he was an amazing, warm, REAL good person whom I feel very blessed to have had the pleasure of calling a friend.

After the news I got Monday morning about his passing away, I’ve run through an amazing range of emotions, and every day since, I’ve woken up and my mind keeps trying to disprove that this is real. I keep reading tributes and these amazing pieces about Ringo, and all of this cements something that I always tried to tell him – hell, all of his friends did – that he had NO idea how much people love and respect him. He was a beautiful person, who loved nature and animals, his friends, art and comics - all that they stood for and what they could be one day.

Out of many, a few things about Mike that we shared were a love of laughter, jokes and stuff that wasn’t comics. I would spend long hours on the phone with Mike talking about the Carolina Panthers’ football team, HBO cable shows or just making stupid voices and making each other crack up.

I know that Mike was down a lot, and sometimes I would just leave a silly message or joke on his machine when he wouldn’t pick up the phone – sometimes I could just feel that he was home, he just wasn’t in the mood to rap. And I was cool with that, but I would still let him know that I was thinking about him, and that he could call me back whenever he got around to it.

The thing the hits me the hardest about Mike’s passing is that we just talked to him – my girlfriend and I – last Saturday, the 11^th, the day before he died. I had been out of the loop with a lot of friends for about a month’s time because of work, and I wanted to spend Saturday procrastinating from cleaning my house, and calling buddies sounded like a great way to while away the afternoon. Mike and I talked for about 90 minutes, and we chatted about everything under the sun. I remember he mentioned that he just got a new SleepNumber Bed, and I said that I hoped he looked better than Lyndsay Wagner does in those commercials! That rolled into a 5 minute laugh-fest of monotone testimonials from Ringo, spoken in a slow teleprompter-style, about the wonders of this miracle device and how he’d never be the same. After I asked him what his SleepNumber was, we then jokingly asked what his cat, Charlie’s was. He shrugged it off and said that Charlie never slept on the bed, and then he laughed and admitted, “Ok, it’s 39”.

Mike was really funny. I don’t think he let on in public how quick with a joke he was because he always seemed to enjoy just listening and soaking in what was around him. Given the chance, he would have me crying with laughter. Now I’m just crying.

I miss you, Ringo.

Mike Wieringo 1963-2007

2007-08-13T19:42:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't posted a lot, and I don't expect a lot of people to read this, but I had to put something up.

It came out today that one of my best friends in and out of comics, Mike Wieringo, passed away yesterday. He was 44.

It's really tough to read all the stuff about him all over the internet, but I'm glad - he was as I've always said, one of the sweetest human beings I've ever met, and I am honored and proud to have him as a friend. Nobody could ever say a bad word about him and no one ever will.

That's enough for now.
I'm already missing my buddy. Love you Mike.

WIZAAH WHIRRRR PHILLY

2007-06-12T08:31:00.000-04:00

WIZARD WORLD PHILADELPHIA - Phila. Convention Center, June 15-17, 2007

It's that time again, but this time, I'll be back behind the table where I'm supposed to be. But only for 3 days - they can't oppress me!

I'll be down in my hometown, the place where you don't look up - lest you get knocked down, that rough and tumble burg, Philadelphia, PA, for Wizard World Philadelphia.

I'll be in the Artist Alley section, table 1509 (Write that down - because every time I hear somebody say 'Dude, I couldn't find you!' Well here I am.)

I'll be bringing along some stuff from the vault, namely Detective Boogaloo Casefiles, Original Art, Copies of my Philadelphia Cartoonist Society Anthologies, and possibly some Grosse Adventures books, and some surprises! You're just gonna have to come through and find out what they are.

Can't wait to see you! Maybe we'll head out for a steak afterwords.

And yo, don't embarrass me! Remember: "Fries next window"

Back to the Future

2007-06-06T09:21:00.000-04:00

What's up Party People!

I've been away for a while - so now that it's the summer grind, I'll try and put more info down on here - especially since I see my soldiers in the street, asking when I'm gonna update. I don't want that kind of pressure, so I'll just keep posting drops here.

Anywho, I have a LOT of stuf to drop, plus a lot of pictures of events past, that I was too busy to even talk about, because I had to go do them. I'm looking at at least a few weeks of getting you up to speed - all 4 of you that check my blog out.

So here's something cool I just saw - Here's the cover to #3 and the last (as far as I know) Grosse Adventures Book that I'll illustrate for Tokyopop. The street date for this I believe is July. . . but I'm not sure. I think before Comic-Con.

Take it easy out in these streets, cousin!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY AGAIN?! WHERE'S THE TIME GO?!

2007-05-05T02:22:00.000-04:00

Remember that post from last year? About how cool this event is? HUH?!

Come on, what are you really gonna do today?

Right. You're gonna SAY you're gonna clean the bathroom, but you're just gonna sit on the couch and watch that marathon of O.C.

Why don't you come on out to see me and say Hi, and get some FREE COMICS in the process?

I'm going to be at my fave comic shop of all time, Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark, Delaware today for FCBD and will be representing, doing sketches, and promoting my latest illustration thing, THE GROSSE ADVENTURES, a smelly chapterbook series from Tokyopop.

Come on down and join in the Cinco De Fun ya'll!

Get all the details here. If you don't know what Free Comic Book Day is, go here anyway.

Or here.

Happy Birthday to Me and other madness

2007-03-18T17:10:00.000-04:00

Whattup ya'll! Just popping in to give you some linky goodness, then bounce. It's how I'm rolling today.

Today's my birthday, so when we look back on this day in history, at least they can say I blogged. That's gotta count for something right?

Well here's some stuff for you.

In the land of Detective Boogaloo, I updated the site with a lovely birthday card from my pal Mike Wieringo.

In the land of the Fat Wonder Woman Blog, well, I haven't done anything yet, but I will. In a minute. Don't rush me!

In the land of Tokyopop, the ends of the third volume of THE GROSSE ADVENTURES is on my table. That should be done soon-soon.

In the land of other stuff, well . . . other stuff is going on. Can't tell you yet.

Oh yeah! Thanks for you all who came and saw me at the NY Comic Con. Fun was had, and I even had a impromptu signing at the UVC MAGAZINE booth - a new comic magazine that's going to cover the black voice in comics and pop culture. Look for some big news from my camp on them soon.

I'll have more plugs soon, but chew on that for now.

This Weekend: NY COMIC CON!

2007-02-22T20:11:00.000-05:00

This weekend (Saturday and Sunday) look for me (All 4 of you) at the New York Comic Con! I'll be floating around bothering my comic pals, posing for photo ops, shaking babies and kissing hands.

Also you can find me at the TOKYOPOP booth on Sunday signing, sketching and that whole deal promoting THE GROSSE ADVENTURES.

Come give your man Dap!

SNOW DAY SNOW DAY!

2007-02-14T11:51:00.000-05:00

Hey ya'll. Happy Valentine's Day and all that. Remember - if your S/O is one of those types that for some reason NEEDS this day to be about them, don't screw it up - that's Not a Good Look.

Following that vein - here's my latest stab at bag art - just for the occasion! Just imagine I'm giving this to you, full of candy and stuff. Make the appropriate gutteral sounds that work for you.

Much love to my man Bill Morton on this one - I think I channeled the power of MORTCO.

And I would be remiss if I didn't post one of my favorite wintry illustrations on a day like today. Reminds me about the childhood dangers of the 'hood in winter. Ain't nobody smiling!

Take it easy. One more week to Comic-Con in Noo Yawk, baby!

Get Grosse!

2007-02-05T00:35:00.001-05:00

Yo.

So here's the little book I've been working on - THE GROSSE ADVENTURES VOL 2: Stinky and Stan Blast Off! for Tokyopop.

Tokyopop has a 'young readers' line of chapter books - well, I think it may just be this book and AGENT BOO. Anyway, if you have kids in 3rd-4th grade, get them this.

The first book was illustrated by my main man of height and importance, Mike Norton, and I'm rolling in with 2 and (on my desk now) #3. Props due to Mike, who always looks out like a Eagle Scout on his Paper Route.

Oh yeah - the main hook of the books is about farting. Lots of it.

Go cop it at your local bookstore or amazon. Good luck finding this at your comics shop.

APPEARANCE NOTE: I'll be freezing my nahmean's off at NYC Comic Con at the end of the month promoting the book, so you should be able to see me at the TPop booth getting ignored as soon as people realize I'm not the MBQ Guy*.

* Respect to my man Felipe. Go Buy MBQ! It's dope!

Grosse Art!

2007-02-05T00:35:00.000-05:00

A quickie then I'm out - Afternoon Delight!

One of my favorite illos from the book I just worked on from pencils to tones.

2007-01-24T17:11:00.001-05:00

camphone test

2007-01-21T18:54:00.001-05:00

just a little moblog test. Carry on. . .

That's A Good Look, Bro.

2007-01-15T23:02:00.000-05:00

So I switched up the blog, and even though it's a little dotty - it's on-point. It feels good, so that's what's up.

Look to the left for more linkage and a snapshot on what I'm up to.

And that's word.

Now Ask Yourself Homeboy, WHY IS THAT?!

2007-01-14T21:46:00.001-05:00

So what's good, everybody?

Happy New Year and all that. Don't eat that, my man - you gotta watch your diet. I see you over there!

I'm over here trying out some new publishing tools. It may help me blog more often. (or not)

Just to give you guys a heads up - you should be able to pick up my latest thing, I've been working on a chapter series for publisher Tokyopop, and the new book that just came out, THE GROSSE ADVENTURES VOL 2: STINKY AND STAN BLAST OFF! and the drawin's by me.

The first volume is by your pal and mine and friend of squirrels, Mike Norton. The second is by me.

Since this is a chapterbook for 3rd-4th graders, don't be shocked - this ain't a big eyed blood and swords tale. But there's lots of farting.

Yeah, farting. It's really funny too. I wish they made stuff like this when i was in the 4th grade.

So tell me if you see it out there. Word.

See ya around!

Technorati Tags: Tokyopop, Grosse Adventures

In Philly tonight? 11/10? OH WORD?! Come see me!

2006-11-10T16:04:00.000-05:00

Come see me and other philly cats on the wall!

PHILADELPHIA CARTOONIST SOCIETY MEGA ART SHOW
AND BOOK RELEASE PARTY AT SOPHI GALLERY - NOVEMBER 10,
2006

This show of various artworks is the culmination of a
year's work put forth by the Philadelphia Cartoonist
Society. "Will Draw For Love" is both the namesake of
this eclectic collection of works and the title of the
PCS's sophomore publishing effort. The exhibit will
feature works from more than a dozen of the areas best
cartoonists, with styles ranging from cartoons and
comics to graffiti and fine art. The group consists of
local artists interested in seeing their work
published as well as lending a hand to help local
charities.

Being a grassroots, blue-collar organization, the
Philadelphia Cartoonist Society will have these works
priced to sell. Everything from works on canvas to
works on cardboard will be on display. Along with the
art on the walls there will be copies of the PCS Book
1 and 2 as well as solo published efforts from this
group's talented list of members. Furthermore, there
will be holiday cards for sale that were designed
exclusively by PCS members (with some of the card
proceeds benefiting a local children's charity). There
will also be a performance featuring the musical
stylings of Mr. Bob Dix, a longtime PCS member, and an
interactive "jam piece" to commemorate the evening.
All in attendance will be encouraged to participate.
The Philadelphia Cartoonist Society isn't just about
making art and showing it off, it's about helping the
community, reaching out to area artists and rekindling
the creative spirit in everyone.

Show Opening: November 10th from 7pm - 11PM
At Art at Sophi, 13 th and Carpenter Streets

List of artists displaying: Jeffro Kilpatrick,
Christian "Patch"ell, Christine Larsen, Melissa Lomax,
Kyle Margiotta, Jacob Lambert, Amanda Lewis, Andrew
Hart, Mister G, Marc Damicis, Scott Derby, Jamar
Nicholas, Dave Perillo, Tom Whalen, Trip McKeogh, Bob
Dix and Kristy.

www.artatsophi.com

ABOUT THE PHILADELPHIA CARTOONIST SOCIETY

The Philadelphia Cartoonist Society (PCS) is a local,
grass-roots group of artists established in 1997.
Their purpose is to keep inspiration for cartooning
flowing between local artists. They do this by
promoting, sharing employment opportunities, and
offering support and advice for local cartoonists.
Philadelphia Cartoonist Society members love to
barbeque and work on group projects. They also love
to help local charities.
>>

Word. Come through and do that damned thing. I think it's free!

Pac Man FEVER!

2006-11-09T20:45:00.000-05:00

click on the image for BIGGERIZING!

Just wanted to show a series of kraft-paper bag art I put together. You've seen my other bag-pieces, here's some new ish. I took the 5 images of Pac and the ghosts and butted them together.

I'm thinking about making a glossy color print of this soon, so. . .we'll see. What do you think?

More Interesting than Professional Wrestling. . .

2006-10-05T00:30:00.000-04:00

I'm still around - just busy as all get-out. Here's a zombie for you to look at. I did it on a post-it. Thus, the telling name.

If you're up in Philly tonight. . . 9/16/06

2006-09-16T14:21:00.000-04:00

Hey guys -

I'm in a gallery show here in downtown (Center City) Philly for the month, at 2011 Chestnut St. It's a gallery called the ARTAROUND.

It's a group show focusing on comic book creators. This wil be my fourth showing in a gallery, and probably my highest profile to date.

If you're not doing anything Saturday night, stop by for the Artists' reception. It's from 6-9pm, and I'll be there meeting and greeting (and hopefully selling my work off the wall).

Thanks.

Maybe I'll see ya!

See Jdot in Bmore OK? LOLWTFTW

2006-09-07T17:56:00.000-04:00

What's up ya'll!

I will be a guest at the Baltimore Comic Con this weekend, held at the (wait for it) Baltimore Convention Center.

In Baltimore.

Maryland.

I will be signing stuff, doing sketches, and being jovial. Stop by and say 'whattup'. I may even give you dap.

I will only be attending Saturday, so if you see a chalk outline at my chair on sunday, I went home, I wasn't killed.

But you never know. I mean... hello. Baltimore.

This is my new "THE!" show. If you live on the east coast, you doing yourself a disservice if you don't come through. EVERYBODY and their mama's gonna be there.

GO SEE THE SITE NOW! I WASN'T LYING!

AYO

2006-08-27T01:31:00.000-04:00

Just doing a test with some new program from Google.

I had a very thoughtful blog post that I tried to drop yesterday, but Firefox crashed. That's too bad, now you'll never see it.

Maybe I'll try again, but yunno - it won't be the same.

Maybe we need to see other people. Yeah.