Don’t make MINIon #0562 angry, you wouldn’t like MINIon #0562 when he’s angry.
Category: Blogposts
Posts not connected to a comic… sometimes information, sometimes just ranting, it’s a bit of a gamble when you read these.
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1682
Hippity Hoppity Happy Easter!
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #0723
So I met this couple on the road during MTTS 2014 and as part of my not having to socialize I brought my sketch pad along to the evening event in Reno and doodled. I ended up drawing a lot of MINIons for people and one of them was a MINIon Marine… Getting the basics right is easy, but having a retired Marine living across the street, I know there are specifics (even when talking about ex-marines vs. retired marines- and I probably got it wrong.) When I drew this in Reno I googled the Marine Corp insignia so that I got that right. The good thing about my doodles is they are black and white, pen and ink, that’s all. When adding color, you get an entirely new dimension to mess up. I probably should have taken a picture of the drawing to make it easier- doh!
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #0157
I’m not sure if I have the correct variety of apple for this one… but that’s an easy enough fix.
When we study tall tales my students read about the pioneer who brought apples to Oregon… it is a rather interesting story, the version we read (Apples to Oregon) is told by his daughter who lets the reader know that his family, may not have been as important to him as his cargo of saplings. As with many tall tales there is some basis on fact, but I doubt he really named his kids after kinds of apples.
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #0055
ZOOOOOOOOM!!! When creating personal MINIons sometimes it is hard, and as I have said before the difficulty is trying to meet everyone’s expectations. When just drawing for drawing’s sake I can make mistakes and there isn’t an issue. When I draw for someone (even when I don’t charge money) I always worry. Maybe it’s because I have a very low self esteem (I was raised in a time where everyone didn’t get a trophy for showing up). Maybe it’s because I’m a geek and an introvert and do have trouble in social situations. Maybe it’s because I’m a teacher and have been told how worthless what I do is- over and over and over again. Second child? Possible. there are lots of reasons, but in the end it’s my problem, and I just hope I do the best I can.
MINIon #0055 gave me more than enough information to draw a MINIon. Enough, in fact, that I almost redrew Cecil when he was cosplaying trying to cover every geek group possible. In the end I went with the number- 55 for inspiration. For those in the MINI community you know that even though every MINI is a MINI Cooper – that they all have a numeric designation (the first MINI was the R-50, I drive an R-59, Sue drives an R-56 and the latest model is the F-56). The R-55 was the Clubman, one of the many MINI designs that “ruined the brand forever” 😉 The Clubman is the one that’s a bit longer and has barn doors instead of a hatchback. I have no problem with it, frankly- it’s one of those hidden gems in the MINI line. Besides the R-55 this MINIon works in aviation, and is a pilot… the plane he flies (hopefully) is the one in the MINIon’s hand which also has the number 55 in its name (I may need to change the color after this posts).
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #0643
Sun Wukong, the monkey king…. c’mon you knew he had to be a MINIon.
In college I actually took a few classes (they were required to graduate since I didn’t play sports). One was “World Literature” which, at the time I thought would be a little different. So when I got the reading list with books like “A 100 Years of Solitude” and “Monkey” it made me realize I wasn’t on Ceti Alpha V anymore. I did learn enough to be able to drop a few titles in the middle of a conversation so I might sound well read, when Star Trek references didn’t work. I did actually enjoyed some of the titles, including “Monkey” a retelling of the classic Chinese tale “The Journey to the West.” No Cecil was not modeled after this character, but then again, the subconscious is a strange thing.
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1960
So you know this was one I had to do. I thank my friend Jim McClain for posting a sketch card he had done of Groot. I decided I needed to do something similar for fun.
As for “Guardians of the Galaxy…” yes, I did like the film (I really haven’t seen a Marvel Studios film I haven’t liked & no, I haven’t seen Iron Man 3). It has not caused me to buy all the Guardians of Galaxy LEGO sets, comic books, lunch boxes, t-shirts, etc… I do like Skottie Young’s work and have picked up his Rocket Raccoon. This was just a good old fashioned fun film and actually caused me to go back and reread the Rocket Raccoon mini series from the 80’s which was stranger than I recall. I also bought the first “Nova” trade paperback on a suggestion, which was great and included Rocket. I’m curious as to what will be on the new mix tape… because they have set the bar very high.
I have drawn my share of raccoons in this comic and at cons (one of the only big drawings I actually have sold), but this is about Groot… who debuted in Tales to Astonish #13 in 1960.
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1964
Hey all you swinging cats (figuratively speaking, not literally- that would be cruel)! The people responsible for the issues with the first posting have been sacked. I still have no idea where a lounge singing MINIon came from, but it’s cool. Especially now that it has actually posted.
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #0088
In the land of weird cult movies there are a few that crawl into your very soul and never leave… Unfortunately, I have seen way too many of these. Buckaroo Banzai- Across the Eighth Dimension is one of those films. If you have not seen the film, I do recommend it if you are looking for weird 80’s cult science fiction, did I mention weird? It is one of those films that kinda shaped my life a little bit and I’ll throw out a quote every so often even though it is lost on most people, the one that most people know is “Remember, no matter where you go, there you are.” I prefer some of the more wacky ones from Dr. Emilio Lizardo (John Lithgow). One of the great parts about the film was it didn’t go into any backstory, it expected the audience knew who Buckaroo Banzai and the entire supporting cast were. You knew about the World Crime league, you knew the weird (did I mention weird?) relationship between Buckaroo and Peggy (I mean Penny). They dropped you into a story and expected you either knew everything or would figure it out… did I mention weird?
On a side note: When I was growing up I used to go to the Los Angeles Comic Book & Sci-Fi Convention that was held at the time at Ambassador Hotel, it was maybe $3 to get in, so it was pretty cheap and no where near my teenage stop and think point, unlike many conventions now days. This was basically my place to buy stuff that I might not find at the nearest comic shop, being Los Angeles, studios usually dropped by to push new films and give out SWAG. One time it was Buckaroo Banzai and they handed out headbands. I have no idea where my headband has gone, I used it in college when I was a pledge in a fraternity, and passed it on from there.
Here are the end credits just to give you a taste… did I mention it’s kinda 1980’s weird?
A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1975
“It’s just a jump to the left…” Old people (like me) have fond memories of weird stuff. I remember going to the midnight showing in high school and trying to be cool – I had read a book about this movie and studied harder than I had for most tests to make sure I didn’t stand out as uninformed. This actually contributed to my first all nighter, when my friends and I tried to get to the theatre before midnight and were late… definitely an adventure that led to me getting a curfew. Now people can skip the whole, thrown toast, or squirt guns and watch it in the privacy of their own homes… which is absolutely no fun at all. Most films lose very little when taken out of the theatre, this one, loses everything that makes it special. For the record this MINIon posting has nothing to do with the current issues in Indiana.
Ok maybe a little bit 😉