New CCS Links: The Class of 2011

Scroll down and look to the right and you’ll see the newer and more complete links section. There used to be another section labeled “blogroll” that was just stuff I liked or friends with blogs, but I’m tired of deleting inactive links. So for a while at least, the only links will be to the pages of my classmates. The class below us is quite a fine group as well, but we’re going to be graduating soon and we need to maintain our pack mentality. If you’re curious what kinds of comics come out of this tiny town, these links are a good start.

New Comics and Post #200

First, I just wanted to alert you to the posting of the first nine pages of my new comics story, Bittersweets and Bittersharps, (part one, two, and three) on CartoonPicayune.com. After Sunday there’ll be even more comics there, and in color!

Also, this will be my two-hundredth post on the old Josh Kramer Blog. Three and a half years of my life are semi-regularly represented here, including these posts that for some reason have become the most trafficked parts of this site:

1. Russian Tattoos in Eastern Promises — I really don’t know why this is so popular. I guess it speaks to the power of meta-tags and writing about something super specific. If you’re one of the only writers about something, you can be close to the first hit on google. Total: 7,408 views

2. An Open Letter to the Fans of “Hancock” (Spoilers) — I guess I just wrote this post at time when it was popular to shit all over this movie and I got linked somewhere. Goes to show that the posts you toss off with the least forethought can sometimes turn out to be most popular. Total: 3,566 views

3. Tempio Maggiore di Roma (The Great Synagogue of Rome) — This kind of thing is perhaps this blog at its best. The post isn’t intensely reported journalism or anything, but it is fueled by intense and sincere interest on my part. What surprised me the most was that multiple pushy older Jews tried to get me to facilitate their visits to this place in the comments (no, not my Uncle). Total: 1,586 views

4. Arnulfo Is a Real Name of Someone Who Speaks Spanish — Probably my favorite post on the blog. This is a funny story with the best business card ever as an artifact to it. I was probably too hard on Doc, who I haven’t even seen since high school and I remember as being and excellent teacher, but I love that the comments section is still active and fiery. Total: 1,199 views

Audiobooks

Please listen. This actually took way less time to make than I thought, so if you like it, let me know in the comments. Thanks.

Root Hog, or Die: It’s back!

This is the third installation in an on-going series at the Josh Kramer Blog.

27. Fontifier. This site is just an incredibly easy way to make a typeface out of your own handwriting for only $9

28. R. Kelly — Double Up (where was I when this came out?)

29. Playing public radio over wifi anywhere

30. persimmons

31. moxicopy, and Print-On-Demand in general

32. small town classified ads

33. Louie

34. “General Patton” by Big Boi

35. cooking utensils hanging on the wall

36. Big Franklin’s Junto

37. Generation Kill

38. The WTF Podcast (start with Ira Glass)

39. Thanksgiving! Have a good one!

Making progress on comics. Only a few pages left to pencil (this picture is a little old). Here are some penciled pages with notes from my advisor. More on this soon. Eat good this week.

Cartoonpicayune.com launches for real December 1! Sign up now to be a cool early adopter.

The Beef Steak Calendars Are Here!

Yes, the calendars have arrived, and they are in b-e-a-utiful color. I really recommend Moxi Copy — great price, great quality. We just could not have afforded to print this calendar here at the school or even at a local copy shop.

Canto was nice enough to gather up links, which I will reproduce here:

“Each month in the Beefsteak calendar is lovingly illustrated with a collaborative piece of all-new color artwork by a disgusting number of talented individuals: Rio and Yours truly (Canto), Pat Barrett and Jesse Mead, Kevin Uehlein and Ben Horak, Casey Bohn and Tom Casteel, Jai “Effin’ Canadian” Granofsky and Monty, Nick Patten and Carl Mefferd, Andy Warner and Billage, Randall Drew and Dakota McFadzean, Cat Garza and Jon Fine, Josh Kramer and Jan Burger, Max Mose and Paul Swartz, and last but only least in terms of free testosterone, Katie Moody and Melanie Gillman. (Damn, that was a lot of links.)”

Yes, it was. Thanks! If you’re gonna look at one, I say click on Kevin’s name. Pricing is $6/$7 (w/shipping) or $10/$12 with the ladies calendar. Email me to buy one.

In other news, I’m starting to draw another big comic, which I’ve got up on my wall. I’ll be retaking this picture as I post over the next month. It’s taken me a while to do all the researching, reporting, writing, and thumbnailing, but now I’m actually drawing. Fingers crossed for having pencils mostly done by Thanksgiving.

Finally, I’ve been filling cartoonpicayune.com, with more content. I don’t think I’ll begin blogging on there until December, but if you like what I’m doing here, I’d really appreciate you signing up your email address to keep up with the other site, which will kind of become my creative life after CCS. Emails will be infrequent, and funny!

Press Roundup, an Announcement, and Some Pictures

So, because I said there would be, here are some pictures from my trip to Thistle Hill farms earlier this month. Compare the comic to “the real thing,” if you dare. See all the pictures larger at my flickr.

Also, this week has kind of been absurd in terms of the outside exposure I’ve been getting. Some of it is kind of bizarre, but all of it is pleasant, so here’s the rundown:

1. Last Saturday, local talk radio station WNTK. aired an interview with me and Beth talking about CCS. If you’re here, you will probably be surprised if you look and see some of the syndicated shows that this station plays, but on weekends a very nice woman does a local show called Twin State Journal and we were on it. I never heard it, and there is no link, but supposedly it went well.

2. On Sunday, an article about me was on the front page of the Rutland Herald! It was the last article by Dan Barlow, who helps run the excellent Trees & Hills Comics Group (website’s not working so here’s the facebook group). The article came out great.

3. At some point this week, the Harry and Potters Sleep Over Show came online, and I’m in it with Beth, Pat, Ben and my friend Zach. You’re just gonna have to watch that. I’m not mentioned by name here, but these guys RULE hard enough to tour Scandinavia, so I thought it was worth putting here.

4. And yesterday Culture Magazine, which is THE cheese periodical, reposted my cheese story from last week. Sweet, right?

Oh, and I’m not making a big deal out of this yet, but I’m launching a journalistic comics zine, and you can sign up on the super-awesome-early-adopter mailing list at cartoonpicayune.com.

Time to get back to work! More pictures below.