Two Left Feet: A (Mostly) True Story

Click to enlarge

The true part is that I rebroke my foot recently while Masheka was still in his left foot cast. The not-true part is that it was intentional--having a broken foot SUCKS. And HURTS!

Note: I rarely use photo references when drawing myself, but I needed them here--these are quite accurate recreations of how I broke my foot, the giant stack of pillows (complete with cats) I used to keep it elevated, etc. I even donned a wool coat in 80ish degree heat to pose for panel three!

P.S. Yes my foot is all blue and nasty under the cast--or it was last time. I'm sure it will be again when they remove the current cast.

Masheka's 2007 Movie Hell in Review

Just in time for the New Year, Masheka reminisces about 2007's move monstrosities.

Masheka Toon: Rejected Sidekicks and Henchmen

Masheka sez:

Behold my latest cartoon in the latest issue of UVC Magazine, The Urban Voice in Comics. It's all flipped because, I dunno, sometimes I like to make ya work for it.

The Masheka News

Masheka's not a blog addict like me, but he has a new cartoon up and a lot of other news at What Masheka Did.

Watch Me Read My Cartoons: Video from Green Brain Comics Signing

Couldn't make it to one of our book signings? Now you can experience it on the internet! Jon Hickey Productions put together a fantastic video piece of our June 9 signing at Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, in which you can see me reading some cartoons from Attack of the 50-Foot Mikhaela! and telling behind-the-comics-scenes stories:

Mikhaela Reid and Masheka Wood at Green Brain Comics part 1
Uploaded by jonhickeyproductions

And here's the Masheka Wood portion of the presentation:

Masheka Wood and Mikhaela Reid at Green Brain Comics part 2
Uploaded by jonhickeyproductions

Send Masheka some love!

(Photo Credit: Márta Fodor)

The Glyph Comics Awards ceremony is tonight from 7-9 p.m. at the African-American Museum of Philadelphia (it's the kickoff party of the awesome East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention). My other half, the amazing Masheka Wood ("Not Just Knee Deep"), is nominated for the Rising Star award, and he's got the jitters, so send him some love by leaving a nice comment on his blog! (And don't forget, Masheka's book Deep Doodle is coming out soon, so save your pennies!)

If you're not familiar with Masheka's work, he has some examples in his blog. Get Dubya's tips for dealing with black people, watch Soul Man II, learn what CEOs do with their $13,000 a day, attend a Purity Ball and shiver in your socks at the justices of "Supreme Court 3000"!

Mikhaela (and Masheka) featured in press on Other Heroes

The Associated Press did a brief piece on the " OTHER HEROES: African American Comic Book Creators and Characters" show currently up at Jackson State University in Mississippi, and they called me today to ask for permission to use a photo of my cartoon from the exhibit.

(Just in case it's not already clear from my photos and self-portraits, I'm not black--I was included in the show because I frequently draw black characters, and the show was about black comics creators AND characters. I explained this to the photographer and suggested he might want to use a different image, but he said he wanted to use it anyway and he was also using images from two of the black cartoonists from the show, Kyle Baker and Mshindo Kuumba).

Anyway, here's the photo of my cartoon "Let Them Eat Toxic Sludge" on Yahoo News. Fun facts: I drew the cartoon at 3 a.m. after coming home from a 2005 Katrina benefit show featuring Dave Chappelle, Q-Tip, Dead Prez and Talib Kweli.

Update: The Freedom Gravy cartoon was also used to illustrate a more detailed story in the Jackson Free Press, and they fittingly discussed my work and Masheka's work (not to mention Keith Knight's work--go CWA!) in the same paragraph:

Almost every viewer should find something in the show that resonates. My favorites include a poster by Mikhaela Reid advertising “Freedom Gravy,” the Bush-family solution to the post-Katrina food shortage in New Orleans and coastal pollution problems all at once. “Let Them Eat Toxic Sludge!” the poster proclaims while a wrinkly, pearl-wearing Barbara Bush offers a green spoonful of Freedom Gravy to a young black girl, saying, “Open up dear—I’m sure this is much nicer than what you people are used to eating.” Also interesting is Masheka Wood’s “Ask CEOs” comic strip, where she asks hideous white male CEOs “How do you spend your $13,000 an hour?” Replies from the executives range from the hilarious—“Imported cashmere wipes for my delicate buttocks.”—to the disconcertingly realistic—“Oh ya know, buying politicians and whatnot.” By juxtaposing both types of answers, Wood asks a pointed question: “Which is more outrageous: Cashmere butt-wipes or buying out politicians who are supposed to represent our best interests?” Also noteworthy for his biting political and racial satire is Keith Knight, whose understated visual style allows his wry observational genius to shine through.

Masheka's book cover: Deep Doodle

Shhhhh, I'm on Masheka's computer so I can give you a sneak preview of his book cover! Click to enlarge and see if you can find the tiny Masheka, Mikhaela and Riley (our cat) doodles.