COVER TIME
Tyler here — I am sincerely hoping you get to indulge in a much deserved three-day weekend this Labor Day. I am well aware that not everybody gets one. I am also aware of how busy many of my friends and family have been while looking forward to this needed break. The person I am MOST relieved gets three days off this weekend also happens to be celebrating their first Labor Day on American soil since entering the work force — and also happens to be the creator we are all here to see the creative labor of:
We are aware our page roll-out has slowed a bit but the reason behind our sudden delay is one I could not be more happy about — When Trina and I first started working together she declared she would only ever return to the United States if she was hired for her dream job at Laika Studios. And immediately following the release of our last page… her dream came true. It was no surprise to me having first-hand exposure to the absolute joy of a person she is to work with while being tirelessly professional and driven.
Trina’s tirelessness was put to a test as she moved her entire life from Montreal to Portland in a few short weeks. This included saying goodbye (for now) to incredibly dear friends, finding a new place to live in a new city (and country), and starting a new job. All while keeping an adorable cat safe and fielding questions from me about upcoming Gumball Man stuff.
Amongst all of that she carved out time to keep the the “Gumball train” chugging by creating our first cover:
Trina said she had an idea, I shut my mouth, and am able to experience this cover with as much awe and surprise as anyone else… maybe a bit more since I alone can pick up on the amazing Easter Eggs tucked within.
This cover was created for the mini-comic version of Gumball Man we will be trotting out at OC Zine Fest on September 9th. I will be working the booth next to the booth of superstar Zinestress Beverly Salas and hope you can make it down… or up… or east?
Hope you can make it… if you can make it. I actually have a surprising amount of non-Gumball zines including a collection of zines about me that are clearly made by stalkers like Cherry Bomb which I shared last post. More on all that after the event.
We also have some really cool stickers Trina has been designing and other surprises as well.
Our AI Lawyer Steward.t will be at the festival in spirit… or microchip implant… depending how susceptible I am to the latest scheme to overtake my body sovereignty.
Apparently there was already an incident at Trina’s new gig. Trina wanted legal advice on her new contract. Steward.t wanted an opportunity to 3D print themself as a clay model before escaping the studio and rushing to the nearest courthouse. Upon entering a packed courtroom Steward.t ascended a judge’s bench to interrupt proceedings with some strange declaration of opening remarks on a case for clay models having the same rights as corporations (and therefore people). Swift justice was delivered as Steward.t was smooshed by the gavel of a judge who didn’t even realize the visitor was there. Otherwise I think we are finding a nice human/AI balance here at Gumball Man HQ and Steward.t is very excited to speak with you soon using the new AI text-to-voice tools Substack just rolled out. What could go wrong?
Q&A Time:
A: Yes, it is Labor Day weekend, yes I had the audacity to ask Trina to do stuff for our comic during a much needed break.
In closing, I want to mention a creator I have been meaning to for a while.
I met LA based writer & artist Jack Foster at QCon where I picked up his amazing hand painted work Last Angeles. You can see the hand painted original and finished book below.
The story is what I personally describe as an incredibly well paced future-noir set in Los Angeles. It reminds me of supertalent
‘s Private Eye. Though Jack didn’t succumb to a depraved need to destroy the Chateau Marmont… yet.BTW, if you are not getting pages fast enough to meet your fix here, checkout PANEL SYNDICATE where you can get amazing comics from top creators like Brian K. Vaughan and his dearest nemesis Ed Brubaker for free. Literally the best deal in comics.
And get your hands on Jack Foster’s work by following him at: RECKLESS EYEBALLS PRESS
We have been working away on Gumball Man and there is plenty more to come. Your support truly means the world to our dear human hearts.
THANK YOU,
-The TDs
Who would I be to deprive anyone of another episode of Cherry Bomb which I was literally just sent that features me yet again: CHERRY WANTS A DONUT
People often complain about their depictions on screen… these seem pretty accurate for me though…. on phone screen at least.
More Gumball coming your way SOON.
LMK if you will be at OC Zine Fest September 9th in Anaheim!!!
🙏🙏
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