Entries by johnmanders

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Moon

Here’s a night-time scene from Let’s Have A Tree Party! The sun’s gone down and the animals say ‘hi’ to the moon. Thumbnail sketch, tight sketch, some shots of the painting in progress and the final illustration.

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To the tree!

Here’s the copyright/dedication spread for Let’s Have A Tree Party! from Candlewick Press. It’s the first big image you see, so this is the establishing shot. It tells you where the story takes place.

On the move

Hey, Gang—this evening at 6:00 I’ll be at Queen City Café & Gallery (The “Q”) in Titusville Pennsylvania for Regional Writer’s Night. I’ll be reading my book, The Really Awful Musicians! If you live in northwestern Pa, please drop by.  Next week on Tuesday March 27 at 6:00 I’ll be at Cranberry Elementary School (also […]

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Jack’s daddy’s recipe book

Unlike the original Jack and the Beanstalk where Jack is a thief, in Jack and the Giant Barbecue the Giant stole Jack’s daddy’s recipe book long ago. Jack beards the Giant in his barbecue shack so he can get it back. Here are thumbnails and tight sketches as art director Anahid Hamparian and I worked out […]

Lieutenant Blueberry

Here are a couple of panels I really like from L’Homme Qui Valait 500000$ (The Man Worth $500,000) drawn by Jean Giraud. This is one of the stories in the Blueberry collection.

Jean Giraud,1938-2012

I encountered the work of French cartoonist Moebius in Heavy Metal magazine when I was in art school. I didn’t realize until later that Moebius was Jean Giraud, who drew the Lieutenant Blueberry comics I loved from high school. A fantastic talent. RIP.

A lovely visit

Thank you, Mrs Goldberg and the Deer Run Elementary School PTO for inviting me out to Dublin, Ohio for a visit on Wednesday! I hope everybody had as much fun as I did.

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The jukebox with a broken heart

In the great old mediæval fairytale, Jack & the Beanstalk, Jack steals a golden harp from the giant’s castle. Eric Kimmel‘s update, Jack and the Giant Barbecue, sets the action in west Texas and replaces the harp with a jukebox. I have to admit she’s my favorite character in the story. This poor, neglected jukebox […]