Word up homies…

Ok so, to answer a few questions about today's episode first… yes, I stuck Jhonen V in for a cameo along with a few other comic artist friends who are a little less well known.  The bearded guy on the bench is my good friend Ryan Agadoni who is a comic superstar, he just hasn't put a book out yet.  The guy in the back with a bit of a beard is Josh Kenfield who has helped me with coloring on various projects and is also a swell guy.

And yes, the eggs are exploding.  I thought it would be self-evident but this is Axe Cop, anything could be happening. 

As for Calgary, if you plan on stopping by to see me I will be at booth 502, near the entrance.(I'll be off to the right when you come in the main entrance).  it looks like they stuck me in with the web comics guys.  I always used to avoid the web comics section so now I guess I have to shake hands and admit I have joined the club… and along with that admit web comics really are the future of comics I think, at least to some extent.  I had said I would be sharing a booth with Doug, but that was a misuderstanding, they actually gave me my own table. 

This morning when Doug and I went to the airport he tried to use an expired passport to get on the plane and it didn't work out.  So Doug had to stay home and find the right passport and I had to fly up to Canada all by myself.  I have to admit it was awesome having an open seat next to me on the plane.  I spread out and worked on Axe Cop's power struggle with Lobster Man. 

Oh yeah and if you were hoping to get one of those Wexter prints, as I mentioned, I won't have them, but I will have some other stuff and will be doing paper ink sketches for $15-20 (much lower than my online prices).  For more info on the Calgary Expo go to http://www.calgaryexpo.com/

Ethan

This is the first time I have done a two part Ask Axe Cop, but Malachai's answer was so long on this one it was meritted.  I scraped off all the extravegent details and got it down to two strips.  Here is the second one:

I If you want a deleted scene… the way Axe Cop acquired the Nintendo DS goes like this:  On the last day of his job, he killed a bad guy who had a jillion bucks.  He bought a Nintendo DS and every game.  Chronologically I don't know how this works, but there you go.

I am going to cram in and get tomorrow's page done since I will be on the plane to Canada tomorrow.  To those of you who might be seeing me there, just to let you know… that print I posted yesterday may not be available.  Jenny works outside when she screen prints, and there was rain for two days this week which messed things up.  I'll let you know as soon as I know if we will have them or not.  Not that it should change anything.  You should still visit my booth.

Until then… thanks for reading Axe Cop.

Ethan

Today's Ask Axe Cop got such a long response from Malachai I am going to break it up into 2 or 3 parts.  Here is part one:

Today Malachai called me and talked my ear off for a couple hours.  This is after quite a dry spell.  I had been a little worried about the next chapter, but after today I am excited.  I don't know what he was on, but whatever it was, I need to find it and I need to make sure he is taking a lot of it.  I'll have to try various energy drinks on him.  Whichever one works the best I will try to get as a sponsor.

Tomorrow, the next chapter begins.  It will be titled “the ULTIMATE BATTLE” which is the title Malachai chose today.  See you then!

Ethan

Head Choppers, your patience has paid off.  Chapter 3 has finally begun!

I have no clue where Malachai got the name “Hasta Mia”.  If you need a pronunciation, it sounds italian… hasta rhymed with Pasta, and Mia is like the girl's name.  Hasta Mia.  It's fun to say.

Now, I have something else awesome for you if you are anywhere near Calgary in Alberta, Canada.  I will be at the Calgary Entertainment Expo this weekend with my good friend Doug TenNapel (creator of Earthworm Jim, Catscratch, Creature Tech and a ton of other stuff).  

I will be bringing a new print I made of the “Axe Cop and Wexter VS. the Moon Bad Guys” image and selling it for the first time ever.  This print is limited to 100 and is a 2 color screen print by another good friend of mine, JR Goldberg who worked on Jelly Fist with yet another beloved friend, Jhonen Vasquez. 

Here is the print (click to enlarge)

If you are not going to the Calgary Expo, don't fret, these will be available online eventually.  And also, the full color print of this image is still in the works.  I still have some things on it I need to touch up but it is looking beautiful.  Lots of stuff to do!!  So stay tuned, tomorrow we continue with Axe Cops typical day, and on Friday we continue THE ULTIMATE BATTLE.

Ethan

The bad news is I got set back quite a bit from the convention this weekend and the new episode for today is going to be postponed til Wednesday.  There will still be a new Ask Axe Cop out tomorrow… but the good news is this:  Ask Axe Cop motion comic #1 is out today, and it collects questions 1-3.

Thanks to Scott Fedor, Promo Scape, Dave DeAndrea and all the other guys involved in making this episode possible!  You'll get to hear another Nicolle brother in this episode.  Our brother Isaiah does the voice of Jeff and the hotel guy. 

Now, this is hilarious.  After you watch this video, listen to Dave DeAndrea losing it  trying to recite the lines of Axe Cop as he talks about eating only cake.  It's strange to hear Axe Cop cracking up.

Thanks to everyone who came by the booth at Wizard World in Anaheim this weekend.  This was honestly a very slow convention, but it was great to finally get out and meet some head choppers.  If you didn't notice, the home page has a new layout and there is now a section that lists appearances… I will be at the Calgary Entertainment Expo next weekend, so if you live near Calgary, come see me and Doug TenNapel at booth A 08.  The site does not say I will be there, but I promise you I will be.  I was sort of a last minute additon.

Please share the new video with everyone you know.  Episode 2, featuring Uni-Baby and Psydrozon is still in the works, as well as episode 3.  Thanks again to everyone who helped with these videos.  Please visit their web sites and support their businesses if you enjoyed the video, especially if you are in need of video or voice work. 

Ethan

I have a lot to report to you today, but first, here is today's episode of Ask Axe Cop… more fruit, and more killing. 

He actually had answered this question way back when he answered Ask Axe Cop #4, which this episode calls back to a lot.  I hadn't quite figured out how to present it until now, but I knew I really wanted to draw Axe Cop stealing banans from sleeping monkeys in the jungle.  That image alone was worth this episode for me.

Yesterday my good friend Doug TenNapel decided he wanted to go to Wizard World in Anaheim this weekend and invited me to share his booth.  According to him our booth is right by the main entrance so it will be hard to miss us.  I have a writing session with Malachai today at 1pm, but after that I will be headng down to join the fun, selling sketches, prints and posters.  This will be my first Axe Cop convention appearnace, so I hope to see you there! 

In other news, I wrote an article a while back for scrpt frenzy about being creative partners with my 6 year old brother and it is now up.  There is some really fun art in this article I did with Malachai and my sisters.  The big snail drawing is one of my favorite drawings and it is from some scribble Malachai drew on a page when he was 3.  The images at their site aren't very big, so here are thos images a little bigger (click to enlarge):

and… last and probably least, I updated my sketch blog yesterday after going to the zoo with my friend Jenny Goldberg.  If you like animal sketches, check it out!

Have an awesome weekend, I hope to see ytou in Anaheim!

Ethan

The amount of love for Ralph Wrinles has been somewhat shocking, but I love it.  There is a story about Ralph Wrinkles I will share, but after I provide the link to today's episode of Ask Axe Cop, in which we find out what might happen is Ralph Wrinkles owned a space ship and a robot army.

Ralph Wrinkles, as I have mentioned on the Facebook page at times, is based on a toy dog I gave Malachai for Christmas the year before the Christmas we shall now forever know as the Year of the Cop.  I usuall give each of my younger siblings a few presents, and on this occasion I was in the middle of moving down to LA and throwing out all sorts of stuff I didn't need.  I am kind of a horder.  Well I had this stuffed dog puppet who had been sitting in closets since I was a child.  I got him for Christmas when I was 6.  He was a “Wrinkles” brand dog and so I named him Ralph, but I always called him Ralph Wrinkles.  I assumed that Wrinkles was the last name of any Wrinkles dog, and so whatever you named this dog, he or she would be of the Wrinkle family name.

So Ralph was my best stuffed friend for a few years when I was the age Malachai is now.  Malachai kept the name Ralph Wrinkles, and when we were working on Axe Cop he decided he wanted Ralph Wrinlkles to be Axe Cop's police dog.  Of course the family has a real dog named Rofie (full name is Rofie Star… one sister wanted to name it Rofie, the other Star, so they combined the two).  But poor Rofie got overshadowed by Ralph Wrinkles and now Ralph is the big hero of the Axe Cop series. 

There is your history of Ralph Wrinkles.  When I visit Malachai in a month or so I hope to take a picture of us and Ralph to share here.  He's a been a good friend to both of us.

Ethan

How's Tuesday treating you?  I seem to be having some impressive insomnia lately.  Only problem is I do not have anywhere I HAVE to be, so I am awake night trying to sleep, then I sleep in too long when I should be getting work done.  It's a viscious cycle.

I figured I would add some joy to your day with an Abraham Lincoln: Explosion God wallpaper.   Enjoy!

Ethan

Today's episode of Ask Axe Cop is all about diet and choices about life.

As a special little look into the making of this one, I am including this link to an mp3 of the conversation we had about this question.  I have been recording most of our comnversations but this one was pretty nice and tidy and also shows what I kept and what I left.  For instance… Malachai answered the question for Ghost Cop and for Dinosaur soldier.  His answer for Dinosaur Soldier was so hilarious that I chose it over Ghost Cop. 

Here is the file:  The Making of Ask Axe Cop #25

I hope to do more of those.  I wish I had the one from the Abraham Lincoln episode, but that was on my cell phone and not through my computer where I can record. 

Anyway, we are in the midst of working on the next story.  I should have you a new Ask Axe Cop on Wednesday.  Also, be sure to read the previous couple blogs that went up over the weekend if you missed them about changes with the store.

Ethan

A couple weeks ago a web comics reviewer had a lot of trash to talk about Axe Cop.  I was actually somewhat relieved to finally see a completely negative review.  It was kind of validating.  I twittered the review and apparently he had a lot of backlash.  I did not intend for people to attack the guy but I still am not accustomed to having so many people reading my work.  But the guy in this review accused me of exploiting my little brother and that topic got raised on Twitter and in blog comments.  I remember this guy named Zac saying something about how he would like to hear me answer questions about certain topics having to do with how I get Malachai to keep writing and I said that was an interview I am willing to have with any one, and he said he would like to do it.  We finally got around to it today now that my cough has calmed down a bit on his A to Z Pod Cast.  I do apologize for the sniffling and coughs though.  Overall I think the interview went well and we seemed to cover some ground I have not covered in other interviews.  Thanks, Zac, and to any one who takes the time to listen.  Also, I think the guy at the negative review site has had plenty of response from offended Axe Cop fans, so please don't let this post start another torrent of hatemail for him. Here's the interview…

Ethan