Here’s a little piece of art for an upcoming backup story appearing in the pages of Savage Dragon. It’s my contribution to a story written by Joe Keatinge and illustrated by Mike Cavallaro, Simon Fraser, Tim Hamilton, Dean Haspiel, George O’Connor and the man himself, Erik Larsen. Fans will recognize Caveman Dragon and Dino Dragon featured prominently. Other incarnations will appear on other pages. It’s all part of a series of backups featuring indie cartoonists edited by comics scholar and genius, Michel Fiffe. Keep your eyes peeled!

I’m happy to say that all the interior pages for Mush! Sled Dogs with Issues are done! Now it’s just a matter of prepping the files for print and finishing a cover! Please note that the title design above is not final and will likely change. Thanks for reading!

Mush! Sled Dogs with Issues just crossed another important landmark. All the pages are now colored and I’m moving onto the final stage, sound effects! Stay tooned for more previews!

Members of the New York City-centric Web comics collective ACT-I-VATE will be in the area on Saturday signing copies of their first anthology book, The ACT-I-VATE Primer.  You’ll be able to meet Harvey Pekar collaborator Dean Haspiel (Billy Dogma, The Alcoholic), Simon Fraser (Lilly MacKenzie, Nikolai Dante), Joe Infurnari (ULTRA-lad!, the Process, Mush!), and Washington’s own Jim Dougan (Sam & Lilah, Crazy Papers, No Formula). ACT-I-VATE was founded by Haspiel in 2006 and has been growing tremendously since then, by inviting new cartoonists and offering oodles of free Web comics. You can catch the creators in person at two locations, where you can buy the book and ask such searching questions as “How do you make any money off the Web anyway?” and (for Fraser) “Is living in Brooklyn really better than Scotland?”

Details after the jump:

The creators will be at Big Planet Comics Vienna (426 Maple Ave. East, 703-242-9412) from 2 to 4 p.m., and then at Politics and Prose (5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-364-1919) from 6 to 8 p.m.

Press Release from Mike Rhode of Washington City Paper.

While I was back home in Canada this winter, I had the notion that I would work up a sample page to experiment with some new techniques. Out of that came the above image. Birthed off the brain and coiled past the cortex, this visual orphan is a genetic mess of cellophane and cardboard, large brush swathes, ink drawings and sculpture. Yes, that a real cardboard rowboat. I’ll let you speculate on the narrative source for this Freudian fever dream. Thanks for looking!

This April, Pood will touch cloth. As we get closer to release, I’ll be less cryptic but NOT less scatological. In the meantime, enjoy the above preview. Click image for a full size view.