Fake news. It’s exactly the same as the real news but slightly less absurd.

I want to make more of these but I’ve got too much work this next week and then I’m heading out to my cabin until the end of the month.

I guess the oil spill will still be here when I get back… that’s depressing.

Really, why don’t they just drop a giant boulder on the thing? Bill Nye the Science Guy says we need one that weighs about 6000 tons.

I’m on the road in Portland. I spent the weekend judging regional Student Academy Award submissions and on Wednesday I’ll be hosting a screening of JUMP Society films at the Whitsell Auditorium as part of the Northwest Film Center’s NW Tracking program.

• JUMP Society Screening Info

I’ll have a new comic up later in the day but here are some sketchbook scans until then, a few are from this trip and a few are from before I left.

A girl on the airplane and the view from the window.

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This made my day. It’s a picture of Joel David Moore mimicking one of our comics, you might recognize him as Norm Spellman from Avatar.

A couple weeks ago I received an email from Yolanda Holly, the President and CEO of the Medi-Rub Corporation. She saw the the comic I made about our crew’s soul hollowing experience at the public market annex and noticed a thinly veiled reference to her product.

I was worried she might be writing to threaten legal action but it turns out she has a great sense of humor and went out of her way to snap this great picture at a GBK Productions event the night before the Oscars.

Pat, I am amused by your colorful nature and your humor in which you have chosen to portray the Medi-Rub Massager. Your drawing was brought to my attention by our Alaskan Distributors. I appreciate your support in helping them succeed as they are hard working people, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, etc. You are very creative and an independent movie producer. This may give you a giggle.

Thanks to everyone involved – The Alaskan Distributors who snitched on me, Yolanda who found humor in my work, and to a gracious Joel David Moore for posing in the photo.

I wish more companies acted this way.

Alaska’s economy is often described as a three legged stool, the squeaky leg is petroleum.

What bothers me most about the “Faces of Aces” commercial is that it isn’t just a corporate message speaking to the public, it’s meant to speak for the public. This is the oil industry putting on a clever mask and pretending to be a concerned citizen.

I remember the last time major players in the petroleum industry tried to rewrite tax law, they were caught bribing a good chunk of the legislature. After that, the new tax, ACES, wasn’t quite what they wanted. Never mind that they’re still raking in billions in profit, the big oil companies are standing out on the corner ringing their bells.

The oil and gas taxes are a tough balance and a far more complicated nest than I can understand. I’m just happy that the group funding the “Faces of Aces” advertisement is called “The Alliance.” Their logo is a chain. It just automatically makes them the bad guys, right?

If you need more context for this short bit of satire, please read Krestia’s article at the Anchorage Press – “For whom the bell tolls.”

If you’re interested in Alaska politics you might want to watch some of our other political satire pieces from the past few years.

• Buy Back Alaska
• Frank Murkowski – A Tribute
• Sarah Palin – Relatively Awesome
• Buy Back America
• Town vs. Valley

I love these openers Mike Martinez put together for UAF Nanook Hockey.

Dropping bombs into a volcano? Brilliant! I’ve never been more proud to be a Nanook Alum.

It seems to be an evolving project and I can’t wait to see what comes next year. Personally, I’m rooting for more cold fire and a finale involving a giga-nanook sending the earth into the sun with a super nova inducing slap shot.

Good job Mike!!

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Comics have been temporarily displaced by commercial work and an avalanche of other distractions but I’ll be back at it next week.

The above image is part of a commissioned piece I’m working on. It’s been a great project but way too time consuming. I’ll share the rest of the image once I’m finished.

This week we’re all scrambling to prepare for the JUMP Society Film Festival. Locally made short films on a sesame seed bun. Delicious!

Dad turned sixty this week. He also cut out a bunch of my comics, glued them to sticks and made goofy cartoons out of them. I hope I’m still having as much fun when I’m his age.

Terrible Yellow Eyes is a collection of illustrations inspired by Maurice Sendak’s book, Where the Wild Things Are. The project, organized by Cory Godbey, features beautiful contributions by many of my favorite artists.

• Terrible Yellow Eyes

I thought it would be fun to try drawing some wild things and I actually like the rough pencil sketches the best.

For whatever reason, whenever I try to refine a drawing it seems to lose a little bit of soul. Anyone have any tips on preserving the lively quality of a quick sketch while evolving it into a more finished piece? Maybe I just need to get away from Photoshop and get my hands dirty.

• Max – Draft 1
• Alternate Draft 1
• Max – Draft 2
• Max – Draft 3
• Max – Draft 4

This music video by Sour shows off some imaginative uses of collaborative web cam video.

via Scott McCloud

“Listening and Dancing to Music is AWESOME!!!”

I’m addicted, I’ve come under the spell of Yo Gabba Gabba and I can’t stop myself. It’s four in the morning on a comic night and I’m rocking out to songs about sharing, eating your vegetables, and making friends.

I’ve yet to see an entire episode, I’m just subsisting off youTube scraps for the time being. Join me in my pauper’s feast.

• Mates of State performing “No One Wants to Be Left Out”
• Jack Black visits Gabba World
• Biz Markee’s Beat of the Day
• Rhys Darby from “Flight of the Conchords” Does the Robot

Party in My Tummy VS. The Ting Tings