curiosities

I got up this morning, looked out the window and saw that the latest snow storm had sprinkled more magical goodness on the streets. The storm had just started yesterday and overnight had covered the streets twice to transform the town into a winter wonderland. 

I got a crazy idea. It all started with WOOLY WILLY. WOOLY WILLY (below) is a retro game where magnetic shavings can be moved with a magnetic wand to add ‘hair’ to a bald character. I didn’t want it anymore and had thought, days prior, to just strategically place it out on the streets for someone to find and enjoy it-to give WOOLY WILLY a second life. I had thought about just placing it outside, but hadn’t, and WOOLY WILLY was just laying on the floor… Then, I saw the snowscape in the morning and that’s where inspiration struck! The view outside looked like a well-staged Christmas scene. I knew that I had a roll of Christmas wrapping paper still left over from the Holidays, along with tags, ribbon, etc. I thought it would be neat to build little snowmen through the city streets with gifts like WOOLY WILLY, because it’s so much more fun to unwrap something that to just find it-I feel. So it began. 

 A small trip to the store and a couple of bucks later I had, Bunny Paratroopers, Spiderman and Dora bubble-making kits, a movie trivia game, all of which were each around the price of a dollar. The only thing I ’splurged’ on was SCULPTURADES (blue box above $4.99)- the supplemental game piece for the game CRANIUM, where players get a card with a word and then have to try to sculpt what is on the card; for other players to guess. I tried to keep the costs of this mission low and make it more about the experience, but I’m a sucker for things that encourage creativity! On top of those gifts, I added a little inked doodle to the gift batch along with a 98 cent frame.

My roommate was home because his work at the neighborhood school had been cancelled because of the snow. He heard the sound of tape whirring and wrapping paper crinkling coming from my room and asked what I was up to. I told him what I was planning and he wanted to come along. 

photo by Chris Robinson

Originally a solo mission, it helped that he came along because at one point, when I was making a snowman, I was attacked by snowball snipers from a high-rise building and hadn’t even noticed. My roommate saved my life! I guess the kids home from school had some inspiration of their own.

This was the first small snowman set up. It was near our place by this walkway where the trees and the weight of the snow had formed an icy cavernous path. I set up the first little guy there. I was hoping for someone to stumble along and notice the little snowman if they were paying attention, but could just as easily pass it up.

I didn’t have much for decorating other that twigs and pieces from an abandoned, trashed, purple umbrella, which I cut to make scarf pieces out of.

Some snowmen sported a straw hat (my roommate’s idea, after I ran out of head wear!)

Some snowmen even had fashionable bottle cap hats…

And towards the end, some hardly had anything at all. I had ran out of props!

photo by Chris Robinson

photo by Chris Robinson

We had fun doing the mission and I just hope people have fun finding them!

~Rhode

Hello friends!

As you can see with the lack of posts, I’ve been a bit swamped, but hopefully soon I will be able to share some good news about the things that I’m working on… But, first up, as mentioned in the previous post, I printed a small run of new SKELETOWN t-shirts, 33 of them to be exact. There was a bit of a printing problem with the pink on these, which may not be noticeable to anyone else, but because I know what it’s supposed to look like, I’m letting these go for a reduced price of $10 (reg.$18)- while supplies last!

These Photoshopped images will best explain what happened. This is what they were supposed to look like:

But they turned out more like this:

And here’s the sizing and placement:

    

Sizes:

Small Medium Large

   

So if you are interested, you can pick them up here or at skeletown.com. As always, I thank you for your support!

Okay, not too much else to share for now aside from that, but here’s a recent try at doing some watercolors, something I haven’t done in awhile, but hope to do more:

and below, is a quick ‘thank you’ sketch for my friend Daniel of Steamcrow, who recently went above the call of duty and assisted me with some tech support. This is one of his wonderful creations, a vending machine robot, that I destroyed in doodle form!

More soon, thanks for visiting!

~Rhode

Hello all,

It’s been a busy time, but here’s a peek at the goings on:

First, this is a painting (unfinished?) that I recently uncovered while going through my storage. All I know is that it was painted around Halloween time, two years ago, maybe…

Here’s a peek at a pin up I did for an upcoming MONSTER COMMUTE comic collection by my friends over at Steam Crow. Colors provided by the mighty Jenny Hansen!

Most of my time recently has been working on Melvin Beederman #8, the last book in the series. It’s a bittersweet end to a series that I had so much fun working on and I can’t believe it’s over. I just turned the inked pages yesterday to my publisher and I’m going to miss working on this series. I remember when my editor called excited to offer me the book which was submitted by then, first time author, Greg Trine and pulled from the feared “SLUSH PILE”- where manuscripts go to die! Unsolicited manuscripts are piled at the publisher’s waiting to be read. I had always heard rumors of these mysterious manuscript piles where stories float in Limbo or go missing, but here, 8 books later is proof that it is possible to be selected from the pile! There is hope for first time authors! Anyway, here’s a peek of the Melvin Beederman #8 cover without the logos. It’s been a fun ride!

Books are available here!

Here are two miscellaneous doodles:

Finally, available next week, this new Skeletown, two-color T shirt design. Please go to SKELETOWN.COM for updates! Update: The Skeletown Preview book is just about sold out. There are only a handful left!

That’s it for now. More soon…

Thank you for visiting!

-Rhode

While waiting to get feedback from my publisher, I was able to sneak in some time to work on this sculpture. It was fun, but short lived. I probably won’t finish ’till after Halloween, but I wanted to share the first pass here.

Thank you for visiting,
Rhode

Hello Everyone,

I’m happy to introduce my latest project: Skeletown! Skeletown is something that I’ve had in my head for a while and has had a few incarnations over the years through sketches, prints, and shirts, but I’m happy to announce my first self-published full-color book: Skeletown. In Skeletown every day is the Day of the Dead/ Dia de los Muertos. Inspired by classic children’s books and decorative Mexican folk art of Dia de los Muertos, Skeletown introduces characters Skully, Skelly, and Wilfredo the worry doll.

For a peek into the world of Skeletown please visit skeletown.com!

Skeletown, a preview book that introduces some of the townspeople, will be available at this years San Diego Comic Con on July 22- 26, along with a few goodies. The first printing of 150 will be sold at Comic Con and if there are any remaining copies, I will make sure to make them available here!

Rhode

Don’t forget to visit the new Skeletown site!

I’m very excited to announce that I’m releasing my latest mini comic T-T-TARTAMUDO online for FREE! This was originally published on October of 2008 and I’m happy to make it available here for everyone. This is the first time I’m doing this and I hope you’ll enjoy it. Click on the link below for viewing:

T-T-TARTAMUDO

I’m hoping I can do this with PABLO’S INFERNO at some point and have the whole series online for free. If anybody has some ready-to-go HTML code for comics viewing that they’d like to share or would be up for putting it online, please let me know!

Thank you,

-Rhode

There’s a hand-pulled noodle place that my friends and I like to go to and we have become some sort of regulars there. Sometimes there’s a kid that works there, my guess would be he’s around 10 or 11 years old. I feel it’s really because of this kid that he makes us feel like regulars there, because he helps his parents at the restaurant sometimes by taking our order. He ALWAYS remembers what we like to order. He usually will put in the order for us and then goes back to doing what he was doing, which is normally working on his homework or reading. Good kid.

I don’t know why, but I thought that he must do this everyday when he gets home from school and wouldn’t it be cool if we “accidently” left some TOP SECRET documents behind, for some plans for a cool robot or something. Something that maybe he would get a kick finding and reading. I know I would’ve enjoyed that as a kid! I presented the robot documents idea to my friend Jason one day on our way over to the noodle place, and as soon as I told him he said he was in! Jason has helped me with my antics before. When we got to the restaurant that day, the kid placed our order and went right back to burying his face in a huge book that said REPTILES on the cover. That’s when Jason said to me, “It has to be a robot snake!” A few days later I get an email from Jason with the TOP SECRET copy to V.I.P.E.R.R:
_____________________________________________________________________________________

C’fied — Docket# 336710023 ; Test# 223410002

CODE: CHAO CHAO MENG

THIS DOCUMENT IS FOR GOVERNMENT EYES ONLY. EVERYTHING INCLUDED HEREIN IS CLASSIFIED AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH. ABSOLUTELY NO COPYS, PHOTOGRAPHS OR NOTES ARE TO BE TAKEN OF / FROM THIS TEXT WITHOUT GENERAL T. MAGNUS PERMISSION, APPROVAL AND PRESENCE. ANY PERSONS READING THIS NOT A PART OF SPECIFIC CODE # 2099864892 DO NOT HAVE CLEARANCE AND SHOULD IMMEDIATELY STOP ALL ACTIONS AND READING OF THIS DOCUMENT.
——————————————————-
THIS DOCUMENT CONCERNS THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SPY CELLS PROJECT# 134310002 FROM HERE ON OUT DESIGNATED AS VENTRICLE INTERCEPTION PROSTHESIS EVOLVING RETINA REPTILE (V.I.P.E.R.R.)

Dr. Edgar Scholentsky designed and modified the original prototype. The cells are made of an organic skin harvested from cadavers. They are run by nano-machines and are capable of adaptation to any / all severe environments. V.I.P.E.R.R.s are able to transform size and locution, modifying through speakers, the change of pitch and vocal tones of whomever is speaking from a remote microphone linked up to the device. The V.I.P.E.R.R. is first and foremost a medical and/or war device disguised as a snake / serpent / worm. The V.I.P.E.R.R. can grow in size of 12 feet and shrink microscopically, entering the heart and monitoring the waves and bodily functions of enemies or allies. It is a spy probe which can be ejected from any altitude, dropped onto any surface. Housed in an exoskeleton consisting of modified osteodermal membranes, pre-hatching allows the V.I.P.E.R.R.s to be housed in any condition and under any weight rigors or pressures including air and underwater pressure. Though the V.I.P.E.R.R.s are “alive” in that they are made from re-animated flesh, the robotic nano-machines housed within supply all the commands and needs of the said device.

THEY ARE CONTROLLED BY US AND HAVE NO MIND OF THEIR OWN.
—–
The V.I.P.E.R.R. is a revolutionary and breakthrough device in its evolving shape and eye.
————
[TO SEE UNEXPURGATED / EXPANDED TEXT ON MEDICAL USES AND TEST RESULTS, REFER TO DOCKET / DOSSIER #9177531762]

The V.I.P.E.R.R. was originally designed for medical purposes. After Dr. Edgar Scholentsky discovered he could grow, remotely, the size of the structure he decided to harvest it for both medical and war purposes. When shot or dropped, the V.I.P.E.R.R. is capable of entering a person’s body either by burrowing in the skin, causing no feeling whatsoever or by being inhaled or ingested. Once inside, the retina (eye) of the V.I.P.E.R.R. is able to see and relay back data on the person including vital signs, life-span, medical traits, chemical compounds and brain functions.

The V.I.P.E.R.R. can be worn as a prosthesis as well, changing size to fit and wrap around the waist. Once attached to a person externally, it harbors many security functions:

Immunity against all weather and heightened or super-heightened sounds / frequencies; ///–/// An outer shell which is Bulletproof, Bio-proof, Fireproof, …..
———-
The ventricle interception of the V.I.P.E.R.R. revolves around the facts and numerous tests that in its evolving shape, it can shrink down to microscopic size, entering any organ in order to repair the body / organ from the inside or destroy it.

The V.I.P.E.R.R. uses advanced laser technology and magnetized receptors to extract the metal from the body, rendering the blood and all liquids within the body useless. The patient or recipient literally suffocates on his own bodily fluids as the lungs cave in and the heart pumps out bile. The laser on the tip of the V.I.P.E.R.R., housed next to the camera, emits a light beam capable of cutting through metal surfaces (excluding adamantium and carpith enxcres) and all organic surfaces. Tests show that the laser has a GREEN productivity level capable of cutting through 30 feet of solid rock.

One of the main uses of the laser is for escape. Once inside a body, the V.I.P.E.R.R. can only egress when defecated, vomited or sneezed. It can burrow out of the skin, but this causes discomfort with the patient. However if a patient is dying as the V.I.P.E.R.R. has disposed of it, the liquid within the body, having lost its metal, disrupts the navigable centers of the V.I.P.E.R.R.. The laser turns on, cuts through the flesh / bone / organ and the viper is free to leave in either the same size or larger. Once outside, the navigable ports reactivate.

The V.I.P.E.R.R. is powered entirely by an internal battery which charges and gets the bulk of its energy from the sun, its patient or any heat source.
———
VIDEO / CAMERA / SPY CAPABILITIES:

The V.I.P.E.R.R. comes equipped with a 23.7 megapixel camera capable of taking pictures at any size. The lens contracts with the skin and the mirrors are made of fibers which grow and contract in unison with its evolution / transformation in size.

Video capabilities at this early stage are limited to 20 minutes of recorded data, though the V.I.P.E.R.R. is able to emit and broadcast at secured frequencies a video and/or audio channel.

Due to its ability to evolve / transform size, the V.I.P.E.R.R. is the perfect spy tool. It can fit anywhere and enter any location without a trail behind it or any observation / perception from the outside subject.

FORTHCOMING LIVE FIELD TESTS WILL BE NOTED AND ALL DATA LISTED IN DOCKET / DOSSIER #6194248975

———-END OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTATION————
__________________________________________________________________________________

It was great to read and it inspired me to draw this:

Now we wait for the perfect time to “accidently” leave the documents behind after we eat there and for the kid to hopefully find! I’m hoping that this isn’t a mean-spirited thing because it’s not a real thing, but my friend Jason and I both share the thought that we would’ve loved finding something like this as kids. Hopefully, it just fuels his imagination. If anything, it’ll give him something to read.

-Agent Rhode

I just received word that YOUR BRAIN ON LATINO COMICS has hit the shelves! This is an extensive effort by Professor Frederick Luis Aldama, who set out to capture thoughts from many of the Latino creators involved in the field of comic books. It was one of the most thorough investigations anyone has ever done about the inner workings of my comic book, PABLO’S INFERNO. YOUR BRAIN ON LATINO COMICS also has my buddies, Javier Hernandez from EL MUERTO and Rafael Navarro of SONAMBULO, among many other creators. It is available in hardback or paperback and is nicely discounted on the following link that is direct from the publishers. Here’s the cover and an excerpt from my segment:

Link to YOUR BRAIN ON LATINO COMICS

-Rhode

I was invited by a friend to an event today in Brooklyn where there would be free cupcakes and crafts. Cupcakes and crafts?!- I’m there!

Tucked in a labyrinth-of-a-warehouse was a nice-sized space loaded with enough felt, textiles, string, glue, scissors, markers, button-making machines, googley-eyes, and crayons to make a kindergarten class tremble. Oh, and of course, there were cupcakes! It was a lot of fun sitting alongside others who enjoy making things and enjoy eating cupcakes, it was a great formula. This is what I left there with, it isn’t much, but it made me happy.

-Rhode