DEAR DINOSAUR - "Big Bad News"

After last week’s incredibly ambitious Dear Dinosaur strip, which featured over 30 characters, we slow it down a bit this week with a little Ryan-on-Dino action as the purpose of the Shadowy Board of Editorial Figures becomes clear.  If you haven’t checked out this week’s strip, head over to www.twoforonecomics.com, read it, and come back!

DEAR DINOSAUR - "Focus Pocus"

Dear Dinosaur Volume IV has begun!  Head over to www.twoforonecomics.com to check out this week’s brand new strips, which starts the most ambitious storyline yet.  Both myself as a creator and Dear Dinosaur as a character will be stretched to the limit in Volume IV, which is titled Jumping the Megalodon!   Once you have enjoyed the paragon of awesomeness that is this week’s strip, hit the jump to read commentary on this week’s jam-packed and incredibly ambitious strip!

MCBA SpringCon - May 18th!

This Saturday May 18th, I will be attending the Midwest Comic Book Associations annual SpringCon in St. Paul, MN!  This is my first SpringCon, though I was a guest at MCBA’s FallCon in October and I have attended their shows in the past as a fan.  These are awesome conventions that are much larger than your average regional show, but still maintain the intimate feel that you don’t get at the larger national-level conventions.  I’m very excited to be part of the event this year!

Below is a list of the prices for the show and information on what I will be charging for sketches.  If you are interested in purchasing a set of sketchcards or a larger commission, please let me know!  I’d like to have as many of these done as possible in advance!

COMICS

Dear Dinosaur (1 issue) $3

Dear Dinosaur (2 issues) $5

Dear Dinosaur (3 issues) $7

MAKEbelieve #1-3         $1 each

Matinee Eclectica         $5

Shakespeare Shaken         $20

ART

11 x 17 Dear Dinosaur pages $10

Dear Dinosaur Vol 1 prints $5

Small Sketches – 6 x 9 $5

(Includes bring-your-own sketchbooks and blank covers)

Medium Sketches – 9 x 12 $10 (preorder only)

Large Sketches – 11 x 17         $15 (preorder only)

Sketchcards         $1

Sketchcard Sets (6 cards)   $5

All sketches are full color.  The medium and large sketches are preorder only, but I would also prefer to do as many small sketches and sketchcards in advance as possible, as I will have a lot of sketch requests during the day. If you are interested, hit me up on Facebook, Twitter, or email!

DEAR DINOSAUR - "Mathemagical!"

This week's Dear Dinosaur is…different.  I'm assuming that all of you have been over to www.twoforonecomics.com to check it out.  If not, go do that now and then come back.  We'll wait.

Are we good?  Ok, let's move on.

So, a few weeks ago I mentioned on Facebook that I was looking for people to draw into an upcoming comic and one of my good friends, a teacher from St. Louis, said that he had student that would be overjoyed at being a "guest star."  We trade some emails and I found out that this young man--the Alex in this week's strip--is a really exceptional dude.  In the last few years, he has experience hardships that no child should ever have to consider and yet, he still approaches life with optimism and creativity.  I won't go into the specifics, but I was moved by this story and inspired by Alex.  And so, this comic was created for him.  It may not be as funny or as silly as the comic normally is, but I think that it has a good message--one that Alex lives by.

Aside from spotlighting this really awesome kid, this strip also drops a major hint at the main storyline of Dear Dinosaur Volume IV, which begins in earnest next week.  Who are those shadowy figures and what plans do they have for Dear Dinosaur?  Come back next week for the answer as I kick off the most ambitious storyline yet!

Since we are dealing with math this week, our soundtrack song is my favorite "math rock" song from Schoolhouse Rock, as covered by Blind Melon!

Support HERO INITIATIVE and guest star in DEAR DINOSAUR!

So, as many of you are aware, Dear Dinosaur Volume IV kicks off this week!  Only of the early strips will include a series of headshots from various individuals and I'm going to use this opportunity to draw some friends, family, and fans into the strip.  I'd like for you to join them!  Here's the deal, I have 12 slots open for these "cameo" appearances and I'm going to give them first-come, first-served for the first 12 people that email me at rlschrodt@gmail.com.  Then, to be extra awesome, I'm going to give away the original 11 x 17 art to one of those lucky people--but only if they make a donation to the Hero Initative. 

The Hero Initiative is an amazing charity that creates a "financial safety net" for comic book creators of yesteryear in need.  Since its creation, the Hero Initiative has granted over $500,000 to industry veterans.  Similar organizations exist in a wide range of professions.  I've been a proud supporter of Hero Initiative for nearly 10 years and I want to use this opportunity to do even more!

So, if you can send me proof that you supported the Hero Initiative in the next week, whether it via single donation, purchasing a membership, or buying something form their store, I will enter you into a drawing for the original art and you'll be drawn into the strip.  You don't need to donate to be drawn in, but you won't be eligible for the giveaway without it.  

Email me a screenshot of your support at rlschrodt@gmail.com by Monday May 13th to be entered!

Happy Free Comic Book Day!

It's FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!  I'll be signing, selling, and sketching at Comic World and Games in Dubuque, Iowa from 10 to 4 today!  Come check it out! And if you can't make it, enjoy a free comic!

This is Matinee Eclectica-era sci-fi story that didn't make the cut!  Enjoy!

DEAR DINOSAUR - Filler Thursday

So, this week’s commentary for Dear Dinosaur is a tad light, mostly because this week’s post isn’t actually a new strip, but rather the original black-and-white art for the Dear Dinosaur Volume III cover.  You can check it out over at www.twoforonecomics.com and then come back here for the “commentary!”

The covers for the printed volumes have all been done in homage to some of my favorite visuals.  The first cover was done as a parody of the infamous Uncanny X-Men #141 cover from the Days of Future Past storyline, while the cover two the second volume was a riff on the original theatrical poster of Pulp Fiction.  This cover is an homage to Abbey Road by the Beatles, with Robosaurus, Ryan the Editor, Krunch, and Dear Dino standing in for George, Paul, Ringo, and John respectively.  

The homage is pretty straightforward.  Ryan is shoeless, as Paul was in the original album cover, and DD is wearing John’s white suit.  The only other special thing I threw in there was the fact that Ryan is wearing a Ryan Kesler jersey, as he is one of my favorite Vancouver Canucks.    That’s about it.

For the heck of it, I’m going to start including “soundtracks” to each Dear Dinosaur commentary.  If for nothing else, it’ll just expose y’all to some pretty cool music.  This week’s song is “Help I’m Alive” by Canadian indie rock band Metric.  The song reminds me of where Krunch is mentally at the beginning of Volume III (plus I envision that she would be a pretty big fan of the band).

Regular Dear Dinosaur strips will return next week with a special “inspirational” strip that serves as a prologue of sorts to Volume IV, which begins in earnest on May 16th.