ToughPigs – Muppet Fans Who Grew Up

toughpigsOne of the most informative and dedicated Muppet fan site I’ve ever come across is ToughPigs, for Muppet fans who grew up. The slogan is perhaps a bit misleading. I’d rather say Muppet fans who NEVER grew up. Or maybe I’m just speaking about myself…

ANYWAY, I let out a spontaneous WOKA WOKA yesterday when I got mail from Joe Hennes, co-owner, senior contributor, and editor of ToughPigs. They made a spot for my Muppet fan art! It’s great to see the pieces displayed as a whole like that. Makes me want to make more. More I say. More! And I’d love to make a whole exhibiton of Muppet fan art sometime.

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Thanks a million to ToughPigs for featuring my work on your great site, and special thanks to Joe for your support and kind words!

Having fun with the muppets

A cartoonist needs to have some fun every now and then. For no particular reason. When I want to have fun I always return to the muppets. I’ve been discussing starting up a Nordic muppet fan art blog together with a Norwegian colleague. Sorry Norway, but there’s only one possible character to host such a noble project…
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While enjoying myself shamelessly making this picture, I also wanted to learn some new techniques. One was trying to mimick a water color effect digitally. Not sure I succeeded, but I quite like the texture I achieved in the clouds.

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Another technique was importing patterns into cartoon artwork. Never knew how to do that before (it was really easy!). Neither did I know how to give the muppets a furry texture. I’m sure there’s a whole bunch of ways to do it better, but I think my method at least works. This would be my cover for a Muppet Show story featuring the chef. He’s been awarded a price for outstanding achievements in the muppet kitchen (against all odds!), now getting ready for the ceremony.

I would love to draw the muppets professionally at some point. I was really inspired by Roger Langridge’s Muppet Show Comic Books, and some of the other muppet titles from Boom Studios. I also got my hands on the Gilchrist brothers’ first collection of 80’s Muppets strips recently. That REALLY made my day. Digital coloring is great, but nothing beats a well drawn, well inked strip in glorious black and white.

Muppet Comics

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I’ve been in a muppet mood lately. Well, I guess I am always, but more than usual these couple of days. Maybe it’s got something to do with Ryan Dosier’s inspiring blog The Muppet Mindset. Anyway, back in the days, before the digital era, even before the VHS era (in my childhood home anyway), after The Muppet Show stopped airing on TV (early 80s sometime), the only way I could stay in the muppet universe was through drawing muppets (which I did A LOT) and reading muppet comics. In total there were three muppet comic books being released in Sweden, plus a certain world famous newspaper strip.

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From Jenny Craven’s and Graham Thompson’s The Comic Muppet Book 1979 (“Full rulle med mupparna” in Sweden). Graham Thompson seems like the ideal muppet illustrator. I always found the muppets a bit scary. And zany of course. Thompson’s art had both these qualities.

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From Jocelyn Stevenson’s and Graham Thompson’s Muppets at Sea 1980 (“Mupparna går i däck” in Sweden). I wish I had more of a “wild” drawing style, like Thompson’s. Seems like he’s mostly illustrating jigsaw puzzles these days? Is it the same guy? Does anyone know more about this artist? I’d love to get in touch with him and thank him for his inspiration.

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The third comic book The Mild Bunch wasn’t as good as the first two. Don’t know who made it, the art is definitely not Thompson’s. But I wasn’t too picky back then, simply because there was so little to choose from. This panel however is a bit fun for the conscious muppet fan. Do you recognize this group of criminals? Of course you do! They are legendary mupeteers Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson and Dave Goelz! I didn’t have a clue about this back in the days.

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Then there was Guy & Brad Gilchrist’s newspaper comic strip, apparently the first comic strip to be syndicated in multiple countries and newspapers from the very first day. Guy Gilchrist is arguably the king of muppet comics. He managed to stylize the muppets in a way that feels completely natural.

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I used to collect these strips whenever I found them. I cut them out and glued them onto cardboard. Remember, only three comic books came out in Sweden, so I had to make my own.

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Have you ever seen a more beautiful strip than this final Muppets strip from 1986? Guy Gilchrist is an interesting character with many years of experience in comics and music. Read more about him here.

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This image makes me very nostalgic. You can read more about Guy Gilchrist and the Muppets at Muppetwiki.

But we shouldn’t get stuck in nostalgia. Muppet comics are still being produced today! Roger Langridge’s personal interpretation of the Muppet Show is loved by many. There’s even a Muppet Show Motion Comic in the making, based on Langridge’s art.

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I wasn’t too keen on his style at first, but when I learned that Langridge is leaving the series, I ordered the first two issues. I’ve always been a bit late to catch on to things I guess. There are other muppet titles too being released by Boom! studios, like Muppet Sherlock Holmes, Muppet Robin Hood and Muppet Snow White.

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Muppet Sherlock Holmes by Patrick Storck and Amy Mebberson.

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Muppet Robin Hood by Tim Beedle and Armand Villavert Jr.

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Muppet Snow White by Jesse Blaze Snider and Shelli Paroline.

Also, have a look at Dave Alwarez’s muppet art at the Boom! artists gallery. I really like Dave’s muppet strips! According to Dave he made these “just for fun” and as an homage to Gilchrist’s classic muppet strips. Dave has had some muppet cover art published Boom! Lucky Dave…

It would be a dream come true to draw the muppets professionally. I posted some stuff at the Boom! artists gallery in vain hope of catching the attention of some influential boss. Please go there and comment (I prefer positive ones…) to keep my post fresh and high up on the list. And cross your fingers! 🙂

Muppets, muppets, muppets!

For all fellow muppet fans out there, if you haven’t discovered it already, go check out Ryan Dosier’s blog, The Muppet Mindset.

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Ryan is just about the most dedicated muppet fan I ever came across. He writes interesting muppet articles almost on a daily basis. On Muppet Mindset, you’ll find the latest news on muppet TV shows, films, comics and other products. There are frequent interviews with key members of the cast and crew of various muppet productions. I for instance enjoyed  reading about Jerry Nelson recently. Jerry was part of the classic group of Muppet Show puppeteers, performing characters such as Floyd Pepper, Robin, Crazy Harry, Lew Zealand, and many many others. One of Ryan’s ideas is to make his blog an outlet for muppet fans to express their fandom through articles, fan art etc. Yesterday’s post was thus a humble contribution from yours truly.

Triangle vs Saxophone from Andreas Qassim on Vimeo.

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CELEBRATING THE DUCK! (Norwegian style)

This year Donald Duck turned 75, believe it or not. A group of Norwegian fans decided to celebrate the duck by arranging a festival and an exhibition in Oslo called Celebrating the Duck. They invited cartoonists from around the world to interpret Donald as the 75 year old man he is today. The response was so good that they decided to extend the exhibition into 2010 and invite more cartoonists to join. I was very honored to be one of those cartoonists. At the moment we’re around 50 cartoonists included in the exhibition, among them some of my heroes like Bud Grace and Freddy Milton. Below is my contribution. If you’re in Norway next year, keep an eye out for Celebrating the Duck (Norwegian style)!

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MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE AND HAPPY NEW DECADE!