Free Comic Book Day Bun Toons! YAY!

It’s Comic Book Day! Like Easter and Christmas and Losing your Virginity all at once! Only with comics!

I have arisen this morning and left my home within minutes…no time for an original Bun Toon (the rules are very strict…I gots to do ’em the morning I get up, folks and folkesses!) But….since it is…

…there is a feast of FREE COMICS here on the Bun Toon, for you to enjoy.

We’ll start with the Rules:

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Okay, sure, that was a free cartoon on my website, but what about a free Ty Templeton Spider-Man comic book at my local store?

We have you covered there as well…

Apparently, if you pick up the new Rocket Racoon Free Comic Book from Marvel, it includes a back-up story by me and Joe Caramagna from the Ultimate Spider-Man Adventures series.   That’s the first page of a rollicking space adventure up there, and you can have the rest of the story FREE at any participating comic store!

Wait!  You want more free?  Here’s a complete Spider-Man story by Ty Templeton and Dan Slott!

Yeah, that’s from about three years ago, but if I posted anything more recent without permission, Marvel would vaporize my backside.

If you’re in the Toronto/Brampton area, come and watch me give out free comics in person at:

Stadium Comics at Shoppers World Brampton (Hwy 7 and Hwy 10, more or less)  

With all the traffic problems in Toronto, it’s probably an easier drive that anywhere downtown.  Come and see me…anyone under ten years old gets a free sketch!  Adults must pay through the nose and call me Lord Highmaster.

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THANK YOU, AL FELDSTEIN

When I was eleven years old, I saw the movie THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE with my mom, and felt very grown up to have seen a film with swearing in it.  A couple of days later, I saw this issue of Mad Magazine and had enough money on me to buy it.

At eleven, I was already waaay into comic books, and drawing, and I couldn’t get over the idea that a comic book had a painted cover that looked sort of like Norman Rockwell had painted it.  But…oh my…the interior artwork…

I copied every artist in this book over and over again.  Tried to paint that cover with acrylics and draw like George Woodbridge and Mort Drucker and Dave Berg and Paul Coker Jr. and Bob Clarke and Angelo Torres and Al Jaffee and everyone involved in this issue.  I couldn’t believe the level of artistic skill on display in a comic book that made me laugh like a monkey when I was eleven.

So I got the next issue and the next…and immediately I was a subscriber.  It was the first magazine I ever subscribed to.  The first issue that came in the mail had THIS cover:

In this age of the internet, it’s hard to understand the level of subversion involved in this cover.  I understand it was banned in a number of stores and even a few American states wouldn’t let it be displayed within their borders.   Take that, developing taste in pop culture!

Mad Magazine rather quickly became a cornerstone of my personality.  At the age of 20, when it first occurred to me I might actually have the skills to make a living in this biz, I sent samples of my work out to Playboy, the New Yorker and Mad Magazine (it never crossed my mind to work on Super-heroes at the time, I was a gag cartoonist…)

All three magazines rejected my work (as they should have, the work was terrible), but the rejection from Mad Magazine was a treasure to me, because it was signed by Al Feldstein, editor.  It was like an autograph, and the rejection hung over my desk for years, somewhat proudly.

Al Feldstein: Grinning mischievously after rejecting me, the callous bastard.

We lost Al Feldstein this week at the age of 88.  I never got a chance to meet him in person, but he absolutely changed my life when I was eleven, and kicked me in the pants when I was 20.  He retired when I was about 25, so I never worked for him…but…

This was the first issue of Mad Magazine to include my art.

I finally got to his magazine.  Thank you Al Feldstein, for ruining my life with your sense of humour and subversion, and forcing me to become one of the Gang of Idiots.  It’s all your fault!  I could have been a plumber!

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Not another one!

R.I.P. Efram Zimbalist Jr.

This silver haired devil had the coolest name in show biz.

A television staple throughout my childhood on FBI and a number of other shows, I always dug this guy’s off-beat name and too-handsome-for-the-room mustache.

But the world of Batman knew and loved him as the voice of ALFRED PENNYWORTH, butler to the cave.

“anything else you need cleaned up, Master Bruce…?”

Thanks for all the memories, Efram.

Ty the Guy OUT!

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For last week’s Bun Toon about Fanboys and their difficulties with Fangirls, click here…

For the Bun Toon archive, click here

 

 

 

Shameless Plug Returns!

Look how shameless he is! With the raised hem on those SHORTS?!?

I didn’t get to where I am in the fast moving world of celebrity (with the starlets, the free flowing booze and constant gifts of semi-precious stones) by being a wallflower.  So today I shake my tail feather for a couple of projects that you might not have known I’ve been doing lately.

SKINNY STEVE ROGERS!

First up, is a comic I co-drew for Marvel Comics as a give-away at Kiehl’s Drug Stores in the US, Captain America:  Transformation and Triumph.  I did the flashback sequences in the 40s featuring Skinny Steve – and even got to draw an iconic “transformation sequence” into the super-soldier (who says ya can’t have fun at yer job?), with lots of reference to show how Kiehl’s at 3rd Avenue and 13th Street in New York used to look.

Back in the war, the world was sepia toned. My parents told me.

The script was written by William Harms, with the lion’s share of the art by Angel Unzueta who drew the pages that take place in the 21st Century with modern Cap. Check the USA Today article for details on how you can get a copy. We don’t have any Kiehl’s up here in Canada-land so I’m hoping someone snags me a copy or two and sends them to me!  (That’s a blunt hint, there…)

QUANTUM AND WOODY!

The World’s Worst Super-Hero Team Returns, and ye humble bunny gets to play in the sandbox!  YAY!

For anyone who’s wandered into a comic store in the last few months who has an OUNCE of taste, you may have noticed the return of the best of the old Valiant Universe to the stands.  Well, with the best, must obviously come “the worst”, so the first issue of the all new Quantum and Woody, written by James Asmus and drawn by my buddy Tom Fowler, comes out in July (1oth?), but until then, Valiant Comics and IGN are posting weekly webcomics for the next six weeks featuring the team that’s NOT a couple!  I drew ’em and co-coloured ’em with the missus, James Asmus’ wrote ’em and the internet brings them to you.

Click through to be taken to the original link, and check back each week for the next five installments.

HERO INITIATIVE

WALKING DEAD SKETCH COVER

My latest cover for Hero Initiative charity organization was done as part of The Walking Dead 100 Project. One hundred sketchcovers will be going up for auction over the next few weeks. Check out the link to see all the covers, and keep an eye on the Hero Initiative site as to when they put new covers up for auction (I think they do ten at a time).*

I was in the middle of drawing a fun little Walking Dead spoof for Mad Magazine when I drew this, so there’s a “Mad Mag” flavour to the art.  Just so long as there’s SOME kind of flavour, those Zombies look hungry.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN!

Okay.  This is cheating.  You guys already knew about these, because I plug them all the time, but this is the one that’s on sale coming up!

A cover I’ve always wanted to do…just the punching and leaping, and lots of it!

I didn’t draw the insides (yes, I know, people are up in arms about this all over my neighbourhood), but I still get to play on the covers, and the interiors are really quite well done versions of the episodes.  Well worth picking up for Spider-Man fans.

A friend of mine told me he thought this cover looked like pajamas.  Wait…is that a bad thing?

HUGELY COOL NEW PROJECT

FOR DC

I’m CURRENTLY drawing ___________________________

(information redacted by the publisher)

which is probably the MOST FUN I’ve had drawing a comic in years.

Not kidding.

I’ll let you know when I can let you know what it is.

Ty the Guy

And now, a BONUS PLUG moment.

It’s meant for British Lads, so it’s automatically funny.

 

 

Oh, the Shameless Plug

Because this sort of thing matters to the Super-Skrull

The next issue of Ultimate Spider-Man Adventures is (choke, sob) the last of the ALL-NEW issues until further notice, Friendly Neighbourhood Fans…But we’re heading out with a bang!  And a few zaps and some punching and fun.

Besides fighting off squee-cute Martians with Death Rays, our webslinger battles a mad scientist, a mouthy Nova, and a snarling Super-Skrull, all in 22 pages of Joe Caramanga-Ty Templeton Ultimate Spidey Romping on our way out the door….

So pick it up when it hits the stands, either this week or next (I never know the release dates of these things), and make Joe and Ty and the editor happy, if no one else.

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here now, your BONUS Ultimate Spider-Man Adventures stuff:

HAH!  The comic book isn’t being cancelled, folks, it’s just switching formats,  with interiors generated from screengrabs of the actual animated episodes in future issues.  And delightful editor Elizabeth Pyle is keeping your humble Bun Tooner around to provide a cover or two as we move forward.  So I ain’t leaving the Friendly Neighbourhood quite YET!

In fact, my favourite piece of Spider-Man art I’ve ever done is my cover coming up for issue #16 (I think…).  You’ll see it in a couple of months!

Plug, Plug, Plug. Baby needs new size twelve shoes.

Plug.

Plug.

Spider-Man Plug.

On Sale Tomorrow.  I wrote it (Dan Slott helped).  Matt Clark drew it.  Marvel printed it.  You’re going to love it, I promise.  MOST. FUN. MARVEL. STORY. I’VE. EVER. WRITTEN.

Plug.

Ultimate Spider-Man Adventures #3.  Coming next week.  I drew one of this issue’s interior stories.   Two Spider-Man Comics in two weeks!  Plus:  Spider-Man in the movies, yo!  Spider-Man on the comics’ stands! I’m at pop culture ground zero, fellow babies.

Batman plug.

Plug.

On sale in July.  I drew this one.  The true story of Batman’s creation, finally giving due to BILL FINGER, the REAL creator of Batman.

Plug.

Some pages from Bill  The Boy Wonder.  This scene recreates the moment Bob Kane “created” Batman.

Plug.

Another scene from Bill  The Boy Wonder.  This the moment that Bill Finger explains to Bob Kane how to fix that first version of the character so that people will actually read it.

plug.

On Sale in July.  The Bat-Fan in you needs this book.

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here, now your Bonus Plug:

naughty Halloween revellers ruin it for the rest of us.

Magic Powers Bun Toons YAY!

Look deeply into my eyes, for I know secrets...

Last week’s Bun Toon, I looked back on all my broken promises to myself.  This week, I look forward and promise you all….TOMORROW!!

This might be most most shameless plug ever. (In case I’m not blunt enough, I’ll be working on one of those predictions this year… Self promotion is a sickness.)  See you in the funny papers.

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here now, your BONUS Fortune Teller Comic Book Moment:  The first issue of World’s Finest I ever bought is often cited as the worst story ever to appear in an issue.

I predict you’ll hate it if you read it!

For Last Week's Equally Magical Bun Toon, click the fat bunny in the car.

For Every Bun Toon ever, click the svelte rabbit with the pastry.