Mike Dawson Comics

This is a few years old, but I was just thinking about Gelatinous Cubes today, and was reminded of it. It’s some fan-art I drew based on my friend (and Ink Panthers co-host) Alex Robinson’s short Lower Regions. I would love to one day draw a full-length Gelatinous Cube story myself, as I recall this was a fun picture to put together.

Three new pages posted. It’s Tony’s turn to save the bowling ball from the bottom of the lake. How does it go for him?

The Ink Panthers Show! t-shirts are now available to buy online. Just click here and order with PayPal. These are good quality shirts. Not the kinds of things you buy and then are only good for sleeping in or using when you’re at the gym.

Here’s some pictures of Alex and I modeling the t-shirts at the recent Live event. See how nice they look? See how happy we are in them?

I’ll be adding a permanent link to the t-shirt store to the sidebar on the official Ink Panthers page.

In all seriousness, this was a fun little project, and big thanks to our friend Peter Bonavita for making it happen. I think we’ll do some more shirts as things progress. We’ve got some concrete ideas for other designs already percolating.

Pics of us in the shirts taken by Alex Erde. See more of his photographs here.

The Ink Panthers venture out of their Lair, and setup a brand New Lair in the back of Bergen St. Comics, and then a big crowd of people shows up at the New Lair to hear what the Panthers are discussing this week. There’s Slush Pile Topics, special guest stars Miss Lasko Gross, Amy Adams, and Mike’s wife Aliza, and then there’s trivia, and laffs galore! Comments Welcome!

Subscribe in iTunes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Three new TROOP 142 pages have been posted to the site. It’s the last day of the week, and the final day of Merit Badge classes. What requirements are left to fulfill?

One last reminder!

Sunday, August 22, 11AM-2PM
Bergen Street Comics
470 Bergen Street
Brooklyn, NY, 11217
(718) 230-5600

Join me, Alex, and iFanboy’s Josh Flanagan for a live taping of our special anniversary 57th episode! We’ve been furiously brainstorming topic ideas and special treats, so please come out. There’ll be Mimosas, Juice Boxes, and Blue Sky Muffins. Dogs and kids are welcome, so expect the conversation on stage to get drowned out by the sound of my daughter yelling in the back of the store and pulling books off shelves the whole time!

This year’s Ignatz Award nominations were announced this morning, and I was shocked and surprised to learn that TROOP 142 had received a nod in four different categories. The Ignatz Awards are a festival prize voted on by the exhibitors and attendees of the Small Press Expo, held every year in Bethesda, Maryland.

If anyone is going to the show, and is a fan of my work, please consider voting for me in any of these four categories:

Outstanding Artist
Outstanding Series
Outstanding Mini-Comic
Outstanding Online Comic

If you’ll excuse me getting all “emo” for a minute, this is actually a really big deal to me. I’ve been around comics for a while, but my work has never really been nominated for anything before.* Also, SPX is such an important show to me personally, and played a huge role in my development as a cartoonist. I first traveled down there in the late ‘90s at a time when I was only just learning about a wider-world of comics, outside of the Mainstream companies. With the exceptions of the cancelled 2001 show and 2009, I’ve never missed a year. SPX introduced me to so much work I’d never seen before (a more difficult feat to pull off in those dark-pre-internet days), as well as so many great cartoonists.

So yeah, this is super-exciting – and even if I don’t win anything, I really do feel great to have been nominated!**

Three new TROOP 142 pages have been posted, dealing with some of the fall-out from the previous night’s hair-spray incident.

OK, so who would win in a fight? Mike? Alex? Or, the Desert Panther, Tony Consiglio? The smart money is on Mike winning in a fight against both Alex and Tony, but they disagree. Listen to the new episode, as we make our cases. Comments Welcome!

Subscribe in iTunes

And a reminder, on August 22nd come join us as we record Episode 57 live in front of a studio audience!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I think the best thing about being a voracious comics reader is being aware of lots and lots of great cartoonists who’s work I am totally into. The next best thing is that you can buy prints and even original artwork from many of these cartoonists at very, very reasonable prices. I have quite a lot of comics-art hanging up around the apartment. Here are some things that I’ve got on the walls:

Print by Matt Forsythe. I got this at TCAF two years ago.

Print by Phil McAndrew. I pointed out to Orli that the man has a big nose. Now she’s calling it “Big Nose Man”. I am worried I’ve just taught her to remark on people’s notable features.

Print by Onsmith. I actually got this a long time ago, at an SPX. I really like it, but I couldn’t find a great picture of it online. I bet there is one, I probably just have to look harder.

Original art by Vanessa Davis. This is called “Sleepies”. I just got it this week. I think I’m going to hang it in Orli’s room as a reminder of what she’s supposed to be doing in there when I put her in the crib (“Look at those ladies, Orli. They are being good and going to sleep”).

Print by Kate Beaton. I just got this too, and I have to get a frame for it before I can hang it up. This will probably have to go into my study, because of the cursing and all that. It cracks me up though. A very funny strip.

I’m going to SPX in early September. Not sure if I’ll be squatting at someone’s table, or just walking around. I am fine with either one. I am hoping to get another print or even more original art while I’m there. That’s one of the best things about those shows for me, because so many comics and books I can buy in one of the great comic stores we’ve got here in NYC.