RIP Harold Ramis. This tribute cartoon caricature is in remembrance of a very funny guy. The writer behind such classics as Animal House, Caddyshack, Stripes and of course Ghostbusters.
A funny man who will be missed. My heart goes out to his family.
It was announced today that Nestle has voluntarily recalled two varieties of Hot Pockets. For those who follow comedian Jim Gaffigan, you may know that he is known for his bits about loving Hot Pockets.
*** SPOILER ALERT – DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU PLAN ON WATCHING THE FINALE OF DEXTER ON SHOWTIME – SPOILER ALERT ***
So today’s cartoon is in honor of the series finale of one of my favorite shows – Dexter. For eight seasons on Showtime audiences have grown to love a serial killer with a code of ethics. As horrible as he may have been, the writers continuously pit Dexter against even worse baddies forcing you to root for Dexter each season. Of course nothing could ever top the fourth season and its finale starring John Lithgow as the Trinity Killer. If all you know of Lithgow is his work in Third Rock from the Sun, then you will be even more creeped out about his run as a malicious serial killer and father. So of course many fan sites are saying this was a weak season and quite a few are disappointed with the ending.
SERIOUSLY…THIS IS WHERE THE SPOILING BEGINS:
Some thought he should finally get the happiness he craved with Hannah, the first person to finally put something in Dexter’s heart beside his Dark Passenger. Others thought he should have killed himself as he boats off into the eye of the Hurricane. Many claim this was the weakest of all the seasons (I disagree as I think it was Season 6 with the exception of the last three episodes). This was no Trinity Killer with my heart racing through half the episodes but it had some definite strengths and a couple weaknesses but those were limited to two plot points.
First, Hannah is a wanted fugitive and knows that there are people actively looking for her. No hat, no haircut, no dye job? Dexter producers, Scott Buck and Sara Colleton have an explanation here in this Entertainment Weekly article but it still didn’t make sense for Dexter not to at least buy her a wig.
Second, if nothing else Dexter learned in the fourth season that his inaction has just as many consequences as his actions. Because he chose not to kill the Trinity Killer when he had the chance, it ultimately ended up in Rita being murdered. Fast forward to this season and the same situation was put in front of Dexter with the Brain Surgeon. Dexter’s inaction led to the Brain Surgeon ultimately being responsible for Deb’s death.
Outside of these points, the season did a good job of creating a sense of moving onward for many of the rest of the cast including Hannah finding out about Dexter’s “death” online while in Argentina. Though I have to admit I was waiting for Masuka’s daughter to do something really crazy.
In the end, Dexter realizes that the only way to keep from hurting the ones he loves is to avoid human contact and move to where his interaction with others is limited. So we see him in the final scene as a loner bearded lumberjack. My wish is that if they ever make the series into a musical, my cartoon will be an inspiration and it ends with Dexter singing the famous “I’m a Lumberjack” song by Monty Python.
Seems Secretary of State John Kerry flubs on the mic almost as much as Vice President Joe Biden. But the difference is, Kerry might have stumbled into a way that forces the hand of the Obama administration thus preventing the U.S. involvement in Syria. More details at the NY Times article.
Many may remember the line used and abused by the right when Kerry said “I was for the war before I was against it” referring to Iraq. Now it looks like he may have to change his mind again as Russia tries to call his bluff.
So it is no secret that the wife and I are fans of wrestling (and no you wouldn’t know it by looking at either of us). WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley has parlayed his second act into being an exceptional writer with multiple best sellers and now doing stand up acts all over the world. Several months ago I looked on his website to see if he was coming to the area but nothing. I do follow Mick on twitter (and you all know how lazy I am about checking twitter anymore) but I happened to see a message from him on Wednesday night talking about being in Cincinnati the next night. WHAT??
So of course we were in and I had to whip up a special caricature for Mick. Made one for him and one for me hoping he would sign it. Well….
The show was great (ok except for that one guy). His featured act before him was hilarious with several topical references and then Mick got on stage. For about an hour he told stories of his career and some of the funnier events of such. It was less a stand-up act and more a hilarious one man autobiographical show. At one point he even took some questions from the audience. In wrestling, Mick is known as the “Hardcore Legend” and thus explained that he is proud that when you google the phrase, he comes up in the search results and not a porn site.
If you are a wrestling fan, the insights into some of your favorite wrestlers of today and yesterday and what goes on behind the scenes will be all you need. But he also recognizes that not everyone that comes to the show knows who he is and makes sure to explain just enough that everyone stays entertained.
The only gripe I have is that he probably isn’t making as much money as he could with the way they have his merchandise table set up. Included in your ticket was 90 minutes before the show of meet and greet where Mick was sitting at a table signing autographs, taking pictures and selling merchandise. While he had someone helping sell the merchandise, people are there to see him first and merch second. I would suggest moving the merchandise table earlier in the line (in our case outside the venue) so people can peruse and buy it without feeling rushed and then go in with their swag for Mick to sign. Check out his site for showtimes in your area.
BONUS
I got home this weekend to find a package from one Jande Rowe, cartoonist extraordinaire at Aedre’s Firefly. She promised a “Bearman” picture and certainly delivered. I love the colors, the detail and time spent on this. Add one to my cherished toons list. Thanks Jande!
So I am working on some caricature studies of different celebrities/well-known persons. First up was Sir Richard Branson of Virgin fame. I hope when I am his age my hair looks half as good. Why hasn’t he put out Virgin hair care products?
Any celebs you think it would be fun for me to tackle? Let me know in the comments.
Sometimes a caricature just comes together quick as in the case of Cleveland Hero Charles Ramsey. He was the neighbor of the guy that kept three women captive in Cleveland for 10 years. So I figured he deserved his own cartoon tribute along with this classic line he told the reporter interviewing him after the rescue.
I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms…either she’s homeless or she’s got problems.
This is what I love about not having a set schedule as I can pull these things off quickly to react to news of the day. Must have struck a cord because I shared this on Facebook last night and actually got some shares from that damn site. Seemed to be a hit on G+ too.
Bill Cosby was one of the first actors considered to play the part of Doctor Who in a Warner Brothers film based on the famous BBC television series.
Prior to any trip via car/plane I need reading material. So for this trip I picked up the 25th anniversary edition of Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader. One of the stories talked about how during the dead times of the Doctor Who franchise, the BBC sold the film rights to Warner Brothers. In the late 80’s/early 90’s, Bill Cosby was Americas favorite dad and doctor. So WB supposedly approached Bill who turned it down. The film was eventually made in 1996 but not by WB and it starred Paul McGann.
I tried to find some additional evidence but so far only thing I could find was an obscure reference to an Entertainment Weekly tidbit from an edition prior to them posting anything on the web. Either way, Doctor Who fans would probably be up in arms.
Love the book though. It is like my on the go edition of the Friggin Loon and Madhatters ie information that is interesting but really doesn’t make you any smarter haha. Check out their website at http://bathroomreader.com or buy the book.
Don’t forget, the Charity Challenge continues through May. Thanks for all that have participated so far.
So here is my continuing efforts at trying new things related to drawing. This is my caricature version of Peter Dinklage, known to Game of Thrones Fans as Tyrion Lannister. You can see the beginnings as a simple pencil sketch, then I added watercolor and ink to the image and finally pulled it all into Photoshop to color it.
This is probably the longest I have ever worked on one image, only because I am learning some new techniques as I go. Might tweak the color some more but here is where it stands now.
We interrupt Australia cartoons to show you the latest Zombie from Byron Rempel…..Bearman Cartoons! Yep me (well my green haired personification). And even better he recorded the process. Check it out.
Check out Byron’s Etsy Shop and his Google+ Profile to find out how to commission him to Zombify you.
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Another amazing Google Plus Caricature artist has released a book. Alex Gallego’s book “The Art of Alex Gallego” is now available. Check it out.
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Finally, in honor of Roland Perez’ 8th (yes I said 8th) child being born, I did a guest cartoon for him at Metal Jaw Comics .
