New email signature.

Upside Down: A Vampire Tale is Out!

THE END IS NEAR!

It's been a fun couple of years on Blogger, and it's time to shut down this blog and complete my move to Wordpress. Thanks for your comments and support. You can count on seeing more of the same comics, illustrations, music and process posts at http://www.jesssmartsmiley.wordpress.com.

If you'd like to join my monthly e-newsletter, just message me at jess.smiley@gmail.com, with 'SUBSCRIBE' as the subject heading.

THIS BLOG ENDS DEC 31

I've been blogging regularly at jesssmartsmiley.wordpress.com for the last several months and will be deleting this blog at the end of the year.

Thanks for your comments and support---it's been a lot of fun. See you on Wordpress! Also: if you'd like to join my monthly e-newsletter, just message me at jess.smiley@gmail.com, including SUBSCRIBE as the subject heading.

Thanks again!

Carols (for Christmas 2011)

Carols (for Christmas 2011)

THE CHAIN GANG

(reposted from my new blog)

THE CHAIN GANG is a hilarious 1,000-page ultra comic about a group of unwanted and forgotten bicycles led by Poppa Wheelie that band together to wreak havoc on the world, one neighborhood at a time!

Instead of waiting years for me to draw all 1,000 pages, I’m going to be releasing The Chain Gang in 24-page monthly issues. Each month will welcome a new limited-edition (only 100 copies) issue of The Chain Gang’s ongoing, sprawling epic as they battle in junkyards, wrestle dogs, avoid the police, jump over people’s houses, and ride inside whale skeletons. They’re breaking all the rules and will stop at nothing in their quest to spread their trouble!

I’m launching the first issue on Kickstarter, where I’ll be selling the first issue until the end of September, and working on issue #2. Money raised from Kickstarter will be used for printing & shipping costs, distribution to get The Chain Gang in comic and bookstores across the globe, as well as advertising on websites and in comics & magazines. It’s the real deal, folks!

I’ll be posting more about The Chain Gang in the next few weeks, but for now you can check out the project on Kickstarter, or watch this video I made with my boy last night, describing the project:

DINO RUN

GRAPHIC NOVEL

My first graphic novel, Upside Down: A Vampire Tale, is being published by Top Shelf and you can pre-order all hard-bound 144 pages for just $10 here.

WEBSITE!

New website here!

Free Comic Book Day!

Friends: I have some great news! I know how bummed you've been about this weekend. It's been such a tough week and you've been losing sleep thinking about how you could possibly make up for the week's terrors, but I have just the thing...

SNAKE OIL! It'll cure what ails you and send your rheumatism down the drain!

Also: I'll be drawing pictures and selling things at Dragon's Keep this Saturday at 10am as part of Free Comic Book Day! More info here.

Help Make A Book! Part II

There are just 6 short days left to make "A Map in the Dirt" into a beautifully printed book!

Now is the time to tell all your friends about the sweet rewards: sketchbooks, original artwork, the book, the giant coloring poster, music, and the new personalized 24x36" poster filled with drawings of you and your friends or whatever you want!

http://kck.st/bH6PPT

Odes to Animals

I've just finished up a short series of five portraits, this time the subject is animals. The portraits are odes to some of my wild friends, including: Brown Bear, Sparrow, White Tailed Deer, Fox and Jack Rabbit. I've surrounded them with some of their own loves as well as some of my own.

My friend was leaving his house the other day to go feed birds in the park. "I love animals!" He smiled. He pointed to his shirt, which was teeming with bears and trees and wildlife. "See?!" He gave me his 10 pound sack of bird seed and said, "You know what you can tell about a person that loves animals?" He paused and I tried to understand the question. "...They love people even more." He gave me a hug and we went our separate ways.

Animals have a soft and mysterious place in my heart. They seem to know something we don't and we've been given the unique responsibility of caring for them and sharing this world with them. These portraits are my small attempt to capture their majesty and mystery.

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I'll be turning one of my five portraits into a beautiful letterpress print. Please vote for your favorite here.

Interview

Tonight I'm being interviewed by Dungeon Crawlers Radio! I'm really nervous and am not sure if I should make up a fake voice to use on the radio or my own, regular plain-old-Jess voice...

I dare you to call in and ask questions!

FREE CONCERT SATURDAY

FREE CONCERT

SATURDAY, MARCH 27

7-8:30PM

BORDERS IN PROVO

starring this song

A Map in the Dirt (update)

Bleeding Cool News and Super Duper are helping spread the word about A Map in the Dirt! The project is at 18% and there are 43 days left to get a copy of the book.

In other news: Noah and I are sick, sick, sick! We've had 2 hours of sleep the last three nights and Noah's been throwing up. We both have ear infections and, as of last night, I have Pink Eye. We've been watching The Princess and the Frog over and over and over again. The music is great and the story is a lot of fun. It makes being sick a more bearable experience :)

"A Map In The Dirt" For Sale!

You can buy your very own copy of A Map in the Dirt here for just $15!

This project has been a long time coming and it's finally wearing skin :)

Help Make A Book!

"A Map In The Dirt" Reviews!

The fine people at Avoid the Future shared this great review of my short comic A Map in the Dirt:

http://avoidthefuture.blogspot.com/2010/03/preview-map-in-dirt-by-jess-smart.html

Rachel Dukes (comics artist and owner of Poseur Ink) shared this kind review:

http://poisonrational.livejournal.com/232898.html

In other news, I got to share my thoughts on plagiarism in Pikaland 7.

CONCERTS

I have a couple of shows coming up to share the songs from Things That Light Up. Come listen and grab a free songbook!

THURS. MARCH 11

MUSE MUSIC

7:30 PM $5

WED. APRIL 7

GURUS CAFE

8-10PM FREE

A Map in the Dirt

This is the cover to a 15 page short story in comics form I just finished. The story is called A Map in the Dirt and follows a group of animals fleeing from a common threat. It's been selected for publication within the next couple of months by the always friendly Grimalkin Press, which should give me just enough time to finish some other things...

" love the foot prints! (although I dont like the little indian guy as much...sorry) other than that looks cool"---Rachael

"your straight from smoke signals. "---Eliza