the empty bell

new location

2011-01-31T14:20:00.001-08:00

i'm relocating this blog.
direct browsers to http://toddbotblog.tumblr.com/ for further updates!
you can always head directly to toddbot.com also

new year, new toddbot

2011-01-27T17:38:00.000-08:00

I just uploaded the new design for toddbot.com - there are still things that need tweaking, but everything should be up and running. If you encounter any broken links, just let me know! I'm working on a few exciting projects already this year - illustrating a book with my friend Dan Goodsell, finishing the Nicolas Cage comic, and recording a full length Seamonster record. Also, Seamonster will be performing at the Chrysler Museum of Art on February 24th. Lastly, I'll hopefully be resuming daily updates on this blog very soon!

toddbot.com

it is christmas eve

2010-12-24T20:13:00.000-08:00

and my little charlie brown tree and "fireplace: visions of tranquility" vhs are working their holiday magic in the corner of my tiny room. merry christmas and happy new year to everyone!

Seamonster at Attucks Theatre Dec 4th

2010-11-28T18:19:00.000-08:00

A brief Q & A:
http://www.altdaily.com/features/music/artist-profiles/qa-with-rise-up-artist-seamonster.html

Information about the show:
http://www.altdaily.com/features/music/music-shows/introducing-the-rise-up-the-757s-music-showcase.html

Seamonster as drawn by Jeffrey Brown:

seamonster on tour!

2010-11-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

At long last...

2010-10-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go?? After weeks of note making and brainstorming, I finally managed to put aside a few hours for drawing. What I managed to complete in that time is page four of Nicolas Cage! The Comic Book Experience, which you can peek at below. When we last saw Mr Cage, he had just discovered a prize in his Bran Flakes...

In a biography of Nicolas Cage I found at the library, I learned that he is an admirer of Chow Yun Fat, at one time even sporting a fake mustache on set and asking "does this make me look like Chow Yun Fat?"

In other news, Seamonster will be on tour for most of November, dates are on the myspace here: myspace.com/seamonstersongs

Also, I've added Tuesday Moon to the shop page again while supplies last! Snag one here: toddbot.com/shop.html

werewolf comics

2010-09-22T23:02:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Moon etc

2010-08-22T04:49:00.001-07:00

Somehow, it seems Tuesday Moon is all of a sudden being read online by a whole lot of people!

I'm not sure how it happened, but I have been so encouraged by folks writing me about it, so thank you to you all. I drew Tuesday almost three years ago, and it has made my day getting so many nice emails about it this week. I am really hoping to get the book back in print as soon as possible.

In the meanwhile, I am continuing the slow process of archiving my books here on toddbot.com - Valentine: A Cautionary Tale should be posted very soon.

Also, I am still forging ahead with Nicolas Cage! The Comic Book Experience. My goal is to have that finished by October if at all possible. Keep an eye on the facebook page for updates on that one.

Lastly for now, I will be at the Baltimore ComiCon next weekend at the Kids Love Comics area with Jimmy Gownley, so if you're in the area come say hello!

nicolas cage! the comic book experience

2010-05-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

Despite everyone's generous pledges, we did not reach the Kickstarter goal on July 4th. But do not mourn, rejoice! For there is another way... click below for PLAN B!

CLICK HERE for PLAN B

Here are the pages I managed to complete during the Kickstarter process. More to come in the very near future!

I wanted to draw something to serve as an example of what a comic book about Nicolas Cage would be like. I used the fact that Nicolas Cage recently dyed his hair platinum blonde to "get closer to his Celtic roots," and that he owned a few castles (the depicted castle is ACTUALLY one once owned by Nicolas Cage) and that when he was a kid he thought he could transform into Ghost Rider (and he later did on the silver screen) - I thought it would be amusing for him to get hair dye in his eye and turn into Ghost Rider out of Cage rage...

Here is the second sample page. I thought it would be fun to run with Nic-as-Ghost-Rider for a few more panels, since a person with a flaming skull is rarely seen talking on the telephone. Also, I've long wanted to make this joke about a sequel to The Rock. I read an interview where Nicolas Cage said that it is actually his skull on fire in the Ghost Rider movie - that they scanned his skull through his head to make that effect. With that in mind, I tried to keep the skull here looking like one that would sit comfortably beneath the skin of cartoon Nicolas Cage...

I just finished page three. This one was a little trickier since I had to decide which direction to take the story. I didn't want to keep him as Ghost Rider since it is a Nicolas Cage comic, but I wanted to keep him in his castle a little longer, so in the end I opted for breakfast cereal. Since a theme of Nic's latest films seems to be epic quests and codes that only he can decipher, I wanted to spur things in that direction - so his cereal contains a mysterious prize...

Also I recently made these banners, so feel free to add them to your websites and point them to Plan B - and you can follow this project on Facebook as well! NC! TCBE on FACEBOOK

The original Kickstarter page can still be viewed here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/toddbotdotcom/me-you-nicolas-cage-the-comic-book-experience

Destin, FL - 2008

2010-05-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

made this tonight.

tell everyone you know!

2010-04-29T12:53:00.001-07:00

2010-04-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

ra ra riot

2010-04-25T22:54:00.000-07:00

seamonster got to play a crazy festival with these fine folks last night.
today i am drawing them for daytrotter, as they are about to embark on the daytrotter barnstorming tour.
if the tour comes anywhere near you i highly recommend checking them out. their live set is really good.
this was my second version of pencils. after i inked the first i just wasn't very thrilled with it, so started over haha - click the images to see a bit more, as this blog layout crops the pic for some reason

here are the inks!

and here is the colored piece!

my favorite bowerbirds song

2010-04-15T09:13:00.001-07:00

the greatest man that ever lived

2010-04-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

new drawings for sale

2010-04-08T09:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.etsy.com/shop/adriantoddzilla

2010-04-05T20:01:00.001-07:00

2010-04-04T19:28:00.001-07:00

2010-03-09T09:22:00.001-08:00

2010-03-01T22:32:00.001-08:00

2010-02-28T12:14:00.001-08:00

2010-02-22T09:57:00.000-08:00

2010-02-04T14:48:00.001-08:00

why buddy holly formed the crickets

2010-01-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

redesigning life part two

2010-01-29T19:34:00.000-08:00

after seeing my redesign for "away we go," a friend requested i make a new sleeve for "miss potter." it seems the fact they photoshopped ewan mcgregor's mustache off on the cover has caused much misery. so i figured, why not? my mom loves that movie.

redesigning life

2010-01-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

2010-01-28T19:39:00.001-08:00

picasso - war and peace

2010-01-27T22:28:00.001-08:00

Tonight I worked in my sketchbook on the third issue of Reading War and Peace.

The opening scene that developed was myself having a conversation with one of the book's characters, which degenerates into a slight argument before calming to friendly mockery.

While creating it, I was not sure how I felt about the way the scene progressed.

Earlier this week I went to the library and checked out nine books, many of them large hard-bound art books.
Several volumes of Matisse, a gigantic Andy Warhol retrospective, and the sketchbooks of Picasso.

When I got home this evening, I opened the Picasso book and the first thing I saw was this quote, of all things relating to a series of his work entitled, War and Peace:

"When I worked at the painting War and Peace and the series of drawings, I picked up my sketchbooks daily, saying to myself: 'What will I learn of myself that I didn't know?' And when it isn't me anymore who is talking but the drawings I made, and when they escape and mock me, then I know I've achieved my goal."

I think I am on the right path.

2010-01-21T20:16:00.000-08:00

thrifted

2010-01-20T11:07:00.000-08:00

vincent van gogh

2010-01-18T11:30:00.000-08:00

i just posted this crayon drawing of vincent van gogh to my etsy shop.

an interesting bit of art news, this is believed to be a photograph of van gogh:

this photo was found in an antique dealers shop in massachusetts, bought for $1, and taken for forensic image comparisons. it eventually was evaluated at the h.c.lee institute of forensic science, university of new haven, and the conclusion was "in all probability, this is a rare photo of vincent van gogh as an adult."

in other van gogh news, some art historians now claim that gauguin may have actually been behind the loss of Vincent's ear.

where i lived, and what i lived for

2010-01-16T21:25:00.000-08:00

this is what my work area looks like most of the time. it is a corner of the little room i occupy. i don't usually do my drawing here though, that most often occurs at fairgrounds coffee. but i check email, record music, color comics, and all that right here. i am here now.

checklist of things on and around desk which may or may not be visible in photograph:

- "make art" wallpaper on laptop (i made as a daily reminder to keep creating)
- fortune cookie fortunes taped to rapidly deteriorating desktop monitor (such as "stop trying to do, just do it," "a great man never ignores the simplicity of a child," "if you work hard, good things will inevitably happen,")
- white abe lincoln and black abe lincoln (part of my abe lincoln collection)
- pink flamingo (one of two: mr mingo has the other one)
- the goldfish and bob as drawn by craig thompson (one of the nicest and most talented cartoonists on earth)
- red ryder carbine action airshot rifle (ad for, and actual gun)
- "nighthawks: 1942" by edward hopper (a gift from my dad when i moved away from home, e.h. is one of my favorite painters)
- drawings by cartoonist friends tom hart, scott mills, brian ralph, dave kiersh
- photo of thom yorke and ticket stub from 2008 radiohead show (it was amazing)
- a stapler shaped like an owl
- out of focus photo of my grandparent's living room (pray for their health)
- sheriff of texas badge (gift from weston "i'm not JUST a drummer" dupree)
- candy cigarette boxes collected from around the country (and one pack of bubble gum cigarettes from my friend sarah carter)
- ticket stub for 1973 allen ginsberg poetry reading (found tucked inside an old beat poetry book i bought on tour in pennsylvania)
- snow globe of shoeless joe jackson (souvenir from "field of dreams" in dyersville, iowa)
- postcard of kid dressed as astronaut
- bowling pin (from my friend pia's antique store in ct)
- amazingly odd painting of weird dog in golden frame (christmas present from two of my favorite people)
- shins poster signed by james mercer (i drew a flyer for them many years ago)
- antique little red airplane
- fabric sunglasses case (made by my lovely girlfriend)
- "yummy pops" box (from the gas station i used to work at)
- underwood typewriter (from my favorite antique store in athens, georgia)
- weird photo by marcel dzama (from "they might be giants" album art)
- chattering teeth
- treasure chest containing hundreds of crayons (gift from my mom)
- unopened packs of "the rocketeer" trading cards (bought with my sister in a rhode island thrift store)
- photo albums (polaroids from 2007 and 2008 tours)
- dvds (pete & pete, freaks & geeks, wes anderson films, michel gondry films, arrested development, old monster movies, music documentaries (arcade fire, galaxie 500, flaming lips, wilco, et al), godard films, mst3k, etc etc)
- a few loose cds (daniel johnston, thom yorke, animal collective, cat power, magnetic fields, wolf parade, talking heads, etc)
- water bottle (from seamonster show at elon university in north carolina)
- "marbles" postcard advertisement from phoenix records in waterbury, ct
- "who what when where why how" die from the mcsweeny's shop in san francisco
- tiny keith haring paintings on a folding box toy
- wooden human figure statuette (nobody ever uses those they just look cool)
- tape dispenser (double sided, for pasting up mini-comics)
- tiny electronics: guitar tuner, digital recorder, ipod, flash drive, cable adaptors
- really funny typewritten note from my friend kelsie mcnair, which i framed
- lots of books (immediately within reach: "the art spirit" by robert henri, "city poet: the life and times of frank o'hara," "my adventures as an illustrator" by norman rockwell, "krazy kid's food" by my friend dan goodsell, "the clouds above: extra fancy edition" by jordan crane, all of john porcellino's books, "war and peace")
- x-ray spex (they really work)
- old copy of "happiness is a warm puppy" by charles schulz
- spinning comic book rack (mostly full of comics by friends)
- "pick up sticks" game
- hand painted spotted dog figure (from my best friend's wedding)
- wind-up "creature from the black lagoon" toy
- framed vintage postcards and children's 45 artwork
- aging hi-speed dual cassette recorder
- printer
- pink glowy lantern
- headphones
- dust

interview with gold robot records

2010-01-16T10:46:00.000-08:00

fantastic record label gold robot (along with royal rhino flying records, and martyrs of pop) is releasing the new seamonster ep "two birds" in march. here is a podcast interview with hunter, where he discusses all things gold robot.

click here

i'll have more info regarding two birds very soon.

new crayon drawings for sale

2010-01-16T09:50:00.000-08:00

http://www.etsy.com/shop/adriantoddzilla

2010-01-15T22:59:00.000-08:00

the atmosphere. aah.

2010-01-15T17:07:00.000-08:00

my girlfriend had to take a meteorology class this semester, and every time i saw the word "atmosphere" on her papers i thought of this old commercial:

this actually exists

2010-01-15T11:34:00.000-08:00

from the vaults

2010-01-14T17:05:00.000-08:00

i used to have a massive collection of children's books and young adult novels from days gone by. when i moved into a (much) smaller space, i had to get rid of a lot of things. boxes and boxes of my books ended up scattered at various thrift stores (back from whence they came) but i took time to scan some of my favorite mysterious covers. since reviving this blog, i thought it might be fun to post them here from time to time.

swarm and create

2010-01-14T10:11:00.000-08:00

my good friend felix schlater is attempting to design something every day this year. for anyone who would like to keep up with his efforts, click here. his most recent piece was inspired by one of my musical projects, fox hands. take a peek:

there was a rabbit in my front yard tonight

2010-01-13T21:37:00.000-08:00

it made me think of dust bunnies. had to share this.

2010-01-12T11:26:00.000-08:00

the art spirit

2010-01-11T22:18:00.000-08:00

Self-education, only, produces expression of self.

Use the ability you already have, and use it, and use it, and make it develop itself.

-- Robert Henri

i am resolved

2010-01-07T08:28:00.001-08:00

i don't usually make new year's resolutions, but this year i did.
my goal is simply to create more art. drawings, music, design, comics, whatever.
to that effect, more crayon drawings are for sale in my etsy shop!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/adriantoddzilla

new fox hands music

2010-01-07T08:22:00.000-08:00

on new year's eve 2009 and new year's day 2010, i recorded these songs in a tiny room.
they've been available on myspace since the first, but i'm only just now getting around to posting them here.

http://www.mediafire.com/?cwlzmn4ydit

the making of rimbaud strip number two

2009-12-07T20:06:00.000-08:00

notes and panel outlines - i make lots and lots of notes regarding various ideas for casual poet strips. especially ones using historic figures as stand-ins. in this case, i was using arthur rimbaud. everything rimbaud says in this comic was taken directly from his writings, be they poems, stories, or letters. i do condense, and sometimes restructure their sequence, but what he is depicted as saying is always based on fact. however, it is also carefully chosen to mirror my own thoughts or experiences. when i get close to the drawing stage of a particular strip, i like to rule out and ink in the panel borders first. it makes me feel like i've completed something, and also helps me start visualizing the pacing of the page.

pencils - sometimes i will do thumbnails of a page in my sketchbook, but most often i like to just dive right in once the strip has been written. i start by blocking out the lettering, so i know how much space i have left to draw in. this also allows for one final round of editing the text of the page. as i'm putting down the lettering, i think about what will be happening visually in each panel. i then pencil everything light and fast. lately i have had a lot of monologue based strips, so it is important to me that the characters perform some sort of action - for this strip since rimbaud is still out and about in the countryside i settled on catching a falling leaf.

inks - again, i start with the lettering and word balloons. like the panel borders, this gives me a sense of completion. then i go through the page and ink in the characters, and finally the backgrounds. once the pencils are erased, any inking mistakes are retouched with a whiteout pen, and its off to make a reduction at the photocopy place so i can fit it on my scanner to color in on photoshop.

correction: i noticed after coloring this page that i incorrectly placed rimbaud's wound on his right hand. in fact, he was shot in the left. many apologies for this error.

reading war and peace

2009-11-23T17:05:00.000-08:00

for those who are still unaware, my most recent project is titled "reading war and peace" - i am currently reading said tolstoy novel and drawing a comic strip about my life during the process of doing so. the first two issues are currently available in the newly updated SHOP page at toddbot.com for a mere three dollars each!
get em while they're hot!

a day in the life of a robot

2009-11-22T11:29:00.000-08:00

a few weeks ago i was contacted by the creator of "lifebot" - seems he stumbled upon an old comic strip of mine and wanted to use it on his website. take a peek at this blast from the past, as it helps promote technology of the future:

lifebot

also, i have been gradually updating toddbot.com - you can now read "tuesday moon" in its entirety on the "comics" page!

fixin uppin

2009-11-21T00:46:00.000-08:00

this past week i finally started cleaning up toddbot.com - its got a nice clean new look and i'm working on getting it filled up with some new content. particularly the comics page - i am making it possible to read all of my books for free online, with the option of donating after reading, and of course the books will still be for sale in print form whenever possible. "tuesday moon" is up there now.

also, i am on twitter, so follow me on there as well if ya like!
www.twitter.com/toddbotdotcom

just moments ago i finished assembling the second issue of "reading war and peace" so look for that to pop up in the shop or over on the sidebar of this here blog in the next day or so!

more drawings on etsy

2009-11-11T18:33:00.000-08:00

a few things:
i just posted some more crayon drawings to my etsy page - take a gander!

esty

and i finally bit the bullet and got a twitter account, so follow me there!

twitter

in music news, the new seamonster ep is just about finished.
and on the comic book front, the second installment of reading war and peace should be ready soon, and i've started making notes for new pages of KITES as well!

a short video and new art

2009-10-28T18:16:00.000-07:00

the fine folks at crashlander studios did short interviews with comics creators at the baltimore comicon this month. here is one they did with me - neato! (but they got my website url wrong - its toddbot.com not todbott haha)

also, i just uploaded some new drawings (such as the one below) for only five dollars to my etsy shop!

robbert bobbert and the bubble machine

2009-09-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

here are a few links about robbert bobbert!
my friend dan goodsell (imaginary world comics/mr. toast) pointed out the first one to me on an animation blog:

cartoon brew

this one is neat because there's reviews from actual kids:

twinfatuation

and here's an interview with robert:

babble

a lost list recovered

2009-08-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

often when walking around town, i discover odds and ends and discarded papers.
sometimes i find something that i am compelled to hang on to for a while for some unknown reason.
i think sometimes forgotten items have some disguised aesthetic value which appeals to me.
when she was very little, my sister cara used to pick up those yellow plastic bands which sometimes are wrapped around heavy packages.
everyone would say "put that down! it is garbage!"
cara would say "i found treasure!"
sometime last summer, ashley and i were leaving a grocery store when i found this list on the ground in the parking lot.
i stuck it in my pocket thinking "maybe i'll scan this and put it on my blog."
a full year later, unpacking in my newly rented room, and in the bottom of a box of oddities here again is the very same scrap of paper.

up the street

2009-08-27T10:00:00.001-07:00

recently moved a ways up the street, and am just about settled in at last.
many thanks to those of you who ordered a book or cd!
hoping to get toddbot.com updated with a bunch of stuff soon.
i've been thinking about putting full stories online, as well as reprinting some things...
quite possibly a tenth anniversary edition of "the goldfish and bob"
we shall see...
worked a little bit on the story outline for "kites" and got two more pages of "junebug" finished this week.
trying to squeeze in time for art whenever i can.

commissioned artwork

2009-07-29T21:36:00.000-07:00

thomas hall requested a pin-up of his awesome character "robot 13" and here is a tiny version of what i came up with. this was a fun piece to draw, since it has both a robot AND a sea monster in it! haha
if you would like to commission a piece of artwork, email me at the_stockboy (at) hotmail (dot) com

dinosaur skulls

2009-06-30T15:30:00.002-07:00

i haven't updated in a while...
been very busy with cruddy day job...
but also very busy working on new comics.
i will try to have some new pages posted soon (working on three books side by side.)
as always, there is art for sale at adriantoddzilla.etsy.com, it would help a great deal if you were to purchase some :-)
here is a smattering of recent sketchbook scribblings and whatnot.

2009-06-30T15:30:00.001-07:00

2009-06-30T15:29:00.004-07:00

2009-06-30T15:29:00.003-07:00

2009-06-30T15:29:00.001-07:00

2009-06-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

KITES

2009-05-29T10:49:00.001-07:00

nickeloooodeon

2009-05-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

remember those old claymation commercials on nickelodeon? and the one with the singing dogs? those were just fantastic.
i had some comics in the may issue of nickmag...

from the archives

2009-05-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

don't forget: new stuff is up in the etsy shop!

going through old notebooks i found these panels... i believe the event in question was at a book store up in massachusetts with my good friend kyle mingo...

some new stuff

2009-05-02T11:42:00.001-07:00

i just posted a new limited-edition mini-comic "ghost pop" for sale at my etsy page!
www.adriantoddzilla.etsy.com

there is also a new extinctosaurs drawing there, and more things to be added soon, including pages from some of my older comics!

seamonster's "the ascension of archibald balloonhead" and fox hands' self titled records are both for sale on itunes! snatch em up!

i also have limited quantities of seamonster cd-rs for sale at toddbot.com/seamonster

and fox hands cds for sale at myspace.com/foxhands

if you are interested in commissioning a piece of artwork, now is definitely the time to do so! send me an email and let me know what you are looking for!

as far as new books - the "side b" anthology should be hitting shelves in a comic shop near you this summer, "kites" is in the works, and i am currently scripting a big book called "junebug" about the 2007 cross country seamonster tour.

and speaking of tours, thanks to everyone who came out to see seamonster on last weekend's mini-tour! it was a great success and lots and lots of fun!

optical atlas

2009-04-22T23:36:00.000-07:00

doing a mini-tour over the weekend to promote the upcoming seamonster seven inch "oh appalachia" - here is a very nice write-up from optical atlas, the e6 blog:

http://opticalatlas.com/?p=1895

if you can make it out to one of the shows, i will have cd-rs of rough cuts of a few new songs, copies of both archibald balloonhead and the white whale ep, a few rarities discs left over from the show with jens lekman, robbert bobbert and the bubble machine, as well as a few copies of the fox hands ep, and a brand new mini-comic "ghost pop" - along with remaining copies of tuesday moon, the goldfish and bob, and the casual poet book from 2005.

richard dreyfuss approved

2009-04-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

i got to show richard dreyfuss himself these sketches from over a year ago that include jokes about richard dreyfuss. he got a kick out of them and suggested "why not 'richard dreyfuss: best kisser?'"

negative ghosty

2009-03-31T16:35:00.001-07:00

new casual poet page is up at toddbot.com
pretty soon i will have two new minicomics and a bunch of new music available, and probably some etsy art as well.
seamonster is doing a mini tour at the end of april, so i am gearing up for that.
also will have eight comics in the may issue of nickelodeon magazine!
i got an opportunity to meet the ever-talented richard dreyfuss last week, and will post another blog entry about that tonight. i don't have my scanner handy or i would do that right now haha
here is a nifty negative of the newest casual poet page - i like that it is still readable with so few lines!

Good Morning America

2009-03-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

right here!

KITES

2009-03-03T11:03:00.000-08:00

also, robbert bobbert's good morning america appearance was bumped to THIS sunday - so watch for it!

robbert bobbert and the bubble machine

2009-02-23T20:13:00.000-08:00

here are some web-exclusive clips about robbert bobbert and the bubble machine by ABC news!

ABC Amplified: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=6934215

ABC World News Webcast: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=6941291

and be sure to tune in to good morning america on march first!

new stufffffff

2009-02-18T16:13:00.000-08:00

my first full length seamonster record, the ascension of archibald balloonhead, is now for sale on itunes, thanks to my new label, gold robot records!
if i did this right, you should be able to order the album by clicking the below link:

seamonster on itunes!

robbert bobbert and the bubble machine is in stores now!
robert will be on good morning america february 22nd talking about it!

wired magazine's blog just did this write-up and posted my "how to draw robbert bobbert" video too - check it out!
http://blog.wired.com/geekdad/2009/02/post.html

several new drawings are up for sale on my etsy page!
some spring-themed animal drawings (birds, a bear) and one of captain kites!
get them right here!
adriantoddzilla.etsy.com

also, i have a one page story in the upcoming music-themed anthology Side B, coming out this summer!
read more about the book (which also features contributions from jeffrey brown and jim mahfood) right here:
http://www.poseurink.com/sideb/

local heroes

2009-02-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

an amazing new comic shop recently opened here in norfolk called local heroes. the owner, greg, is super cool and i am so thrilled he is here. the local news did this little spot about the shop, and greg was kind enough to mention me - here's the clip!

wandering....

2009-02-10T17:00:00.001-08:00

free fall

2009-02-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

pterodactyl!

2009-02-04T18:27:00.001-08:00

casual poet

2009-02-01T15:56:00.000-08:00

just posted another new casual poet page.
been coloring KITES and really having fun with it.
also working on lots of new music.

more KITES

2009-01-30T22:35:00.000-08:00

introducing the ultimate of sibling rivals, ship's cook and janitor, johnson and johnson...

another page from KITES

2009-01-26T14:15:00.001-08:00

i am beginning to really like captain kites and his giant 'stache and expansive vocabulary...

thus begins... KITES

2009-01-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

so after several weeks of scribbles and notes and hysterical phone calls, i have started to commit KITES to paper. it is the tale of captain hemingway kites and his rag-tag crew of space explorers who crashland on a mysterious dinosaur planet. i decided to just dive right in at the middle of the story and wing it a page at a time. here is what has happened so far...

kafkaaaaaahhhh

2009-01-19T16:39:00.000-08:00

posted another new casual poet page.
kafka's second appearance.
there is at least one more planned for him, though more may work their way in, ya never know...
below is the line art of what will be robbert bobbert and the bubble machine's live show poster.

2009-01-15T11:56:00.000-08:00

just posted a new casual poet page.
i've been working hard on ideas for a new book called kites.
it is a highly ridiculous science fiction story.
there are dinosaurs eating people in it.
i have also (finally) been recording new seamonster songs.
gold robot records is about to release the old record on itunes and whatnot.
lastly, some more woodlands comics about trees are in the works for nickelodeon magazine.
here is a rough idea of what those may be like.

digging through some old files...

2008-12-29T15:26:00.000-08:00

2009 is right around the corner.
are you excited about it at all?
i know it lacks the promise of "THE YEAR 2000!!!!!"
but regardless, i think it will be a fine year.
working on some new comics for the ever-wonderful nickelodeon magazine.
i also am beginning story notes for a new book involving spacemen and dinosaurs, and there should be another new casual poet page up within the next few days.
here is an old drawing of the never-used character the incredible mr. mcnifty.

biscuits

2008-12-16T10:46:00.000-08:00

got a new casual poet page up.
check it out here.
below is a failure from a day when i was bored.
the reason it fails is because the mummy speaks, and the mummy should never do that.

today i am...

2008-12-15T10:59:00.000-08:00

working on ideas for new comics.
feeling inspired.

depth transmissions

2008-12-12T22:40:00.000-08:00

some seamonster news.
signed to a nifty label called gold robot records.
its a swell match, since i am in love with all things robot.
they specialize in limited edition vinyl, so something along those lines will be in the works.
also going to do a digital release of the ascension of archibald balloonhead to itunes and the like real soonish.
also, i have been working hard on redesigning the seamonster website, and it is almost all up and running.
i am making an effort to integrate toddbot and seamonster into one another, yet still have each site maintain its own personality.
anywho, hoping to finish off some new recordings i started a ways back and get some of them into the world in the coming year, along with some new comics.
and speaking of music and comics, i may have a one page story in the upcoming anthology "side b" - a book focusing on art and music in the life of cartoonists.
below are two panels from my untitled submsission.
also, don't forget i have some art for sale on etsy!

water and color

2008-12-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

just posted some new tiny drawings at:
www.adriantoddzilla.etsy.com
it has been a busy time.
still on the hunt for a new house.
the weather is much colder.
taking care of one thing at a time.
robbert bobbert and the bubble machine is all finished and should be available in february.
did you all have a wonderful thanksgiving?
ashley and i painted these lines last night for fun:

a musical event

2008-11-07T10:44:00.000-08:00

Saturday November 8th
Sadler Center
Williamsburg VA
doors at 9pm

seamonster
jens lekman

Free w/ W&M ID. $10 to the public.

keepin' busy

2008-10-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

got another new casual poet page up - starring everyone's favorite metamorphosizing author, kafka!
i have been keeping very busy, here are a few little peeks at newer stuff i have drawn. the first is a "press photo" for robbert bobbert and the bubble machine, followed by a show flier for engine room recordings which should be scattered around nyc soon, and lastly a tour poster for my good friend chris bell.
lots of writing and re-writing and thinking and re-thinking going on these days.
i got to scoot up to the baltimore comicon all last-minute style a few weekends ago and do crayon drawings for kids, which was loads of fun.
hope you are all having a super swell afternoon!

2008-10-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

2008-10-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

new comics!

2008-09-06T11:35:00.000-07:00

in case you missed them, i have been uploading new casual poet strips every few days this week! check them out in the casual poet archive.
i am hoping to compile enough long-form strips to put together a book of some kind.
here is one of the more recent comics.

robbert bobbert and the bubble machine

2008-08-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

finally got a new comic on the main page!
it is from a sketch i did almost two years ago in my notebook haha
i have been working on an awesome children's project with robert schneider (from the band the apples in stereo) called "robbert bobbert and the bubble machine" - it should be available sometime this winter!
here is a bit of art from the book which will accompany the record!

new mini-comic!

2008-07-28T09:01:00.001-07:00

head on over to my etsy page to snag a new casual poet mini-comic!
it collects two months of strips from my big cross-country seamonster tour!
there are also lots of tiny drawings for sale there too!

the scoop the skinny the news

2008-07-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

summertime is in full swing here in virginia.
lots of fun and friends and sun and swimming.
it has been a fun filled few weeks.
i am currently working with robert schneider from the apples in stereo (who happens to be one of my all-time favorite songwriters) on a children's record and board book which should be out sometime this fall.
super mega ultra exciting haha
i'll post some art from that when i get a little further along.
just for fun, here is another illustration from "my alien penpal" which my awesome manager james proimos is pitching all over the place.
also, i just added a whole slew of new drawings to my art for sale page on etsy, so grab em while the grabbin's good!
hope your summer is going excellently!

i am a mighty little man

2008-06-11T16:28:00.001-07:00

upheaval

2008-06-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

i have been in the midst of moving from virginia beach to norfolk, and then in august i will be moving from norfolk down to athens, georgia.
the place i am at in norfolk currently does not have internet access, so i do not know when i will next be able to update toddbot.com, but hopefully it will be soon. need to get a new comic up there...
here is a journal entry from the diary of franz kafka i came across while boxing up some books last week. i relate to it. i like it.

"the special nature of my inspiration in which i, the most fortunate and unfortunate of men, now go to sleep at 2 a.m., is such that i can do everything, and not only what is directed to a definite piece of work. when i arbitrarily write a single sentence, for instance, "he looked out of the window," it already has perfection."

also, i have some "fat cat" comics in this month's nickelodeon magazine - the one with indiana jones on the cover

haiku

2008-04-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

by Allen Ginsgerg:

Another year
has past-the world
is no different.

scraps

2008-04-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

i don't write here enough.
rather, i don't "blog" here enough.
this is an amusing scrap from a kid's meal:

i am working on making minor changes to toddbot.com as time allows.
the next theme comic is drawn, but i haven't scanned it yet...
i must admit i am having a great deal of fun with those.
they are kind of keeping me mentally afloat.

empty pockets

2008-04-08T13:57:00.002-07:00

i was emptying some pockets and found these relics from my cross country adventure.
from a record shop in boston, abraham lincoln's house (didn't get to go, but nabbed this postcard for my abe collection), directions from kansas to colorado from a friend, and the most entertaining museum pamphlet i've ever seen.
the new theme comic is up: seeking solace

2008-04-08T13:57:00.001-07:00