Guess who’s here?!
PPJ has a plan! Oh boy! I’m sure it will be fine!
Be the Bear!
Bob T my book will be here soon! Panda
What could possibly go wrong?
4 Replies
Category Archives: Bears on the Road
Meanwhile, Is Josie headed towards Frank, Mikey, and Pookie?
I don’t know. You tell me.
Say what?
Be the Bear
Bob T just one more selfie Panda
Bears on the Run, Bears on the Run…
Fortunately they weren’t the Pookies you were looking for.
Was “Selfie Bear” on her way to Washington DC? I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?
Hi hi hi hi!
Be the Bear!
Bob TI JUST FOUND OUT THERE IS A BEAR CAM Panda
The Woodland Park Zoo Bear Cam shall henceforth be known as the Pookie Cam (at least, that is how it is labeled in my bookmarks.)
Bear Selfies
What reasonably attractive bear WOULDN’T want to take …um…400 selfies?
Could it be Josie? Could she be heading towards DC?
Be the Bear!
Bob T did I get my good side Panda
I’m back! I’m back!!!
I really hate technical difficulties. Was it Mercury in retrograde? Sun spots? Six and Sebben messing with my internet provider? Mittens stealing the entire internet? But for some reason I couldn’t get this website to even open, let alone log in. Fortunately my web guru was able to wave a magical wand or maybe it fixed itself. Who knows?
Anyway, here we are, a day late and a dollar short!
In other NooZ…
Several of you might have noticed that on Twidder I had posted some enigmatic comments about waiting for something. What I was waiting for was to hear whether I had been selected for a short residency retreat for women who write/draw humorous comics.
I know RIGHT?!?!?!?!?!
Well, I finally heard, and to cut to the chase, I was not accepted, but I had a lovely bit of communication with the person in charge, a cartoonist I have long admired and have a lot of respect for. (Am I sucking up if she is reading this? Um…mebbee?) A long time ago, I took an artist’s business practices class, and while I may forget what I went upstairs for five minutes ago, I still remember what the instructor said about applying for things: Apply for everything you are remotely qualified for. While you might not get the thing, you never know who is going to see your work, what connections you will make for the future.
While it would have been really great to go someplace that isn’t home, have the opportunity to work and talk with others who are on the same path, it was great to be validated as being “the real deal.”
and in OTHER Nooz…
The Panda Cub Swap has been released into the world! Written by Beth Bacon and illustrated by moi, it’s the story of Lun Lun and the first surviving set of twins born at Zoo Atlanta.
You can order it from your local book store, your library, or Amazon using this link:
If you enjoy it and are so inclined, writing a short review on Amazon helps other people discover the book. I am so proud of the illustrations I did for the book. BTW, at some point this fall I will be offering the original illustrations for sale, so if you have a favorite one in the book, let me know if you are interested in having it.
Don’t tell Six and Sebben this book is not about them!!!
Be the Bear
Bob T hoping the Democrats can hold on to Congress Panda
The Exciting Conclusion of Our Story
Or is it?
Stories have a way of regenerating as new s**t comes to light! But for now, we are going to call this story done, with this episode.
So Let’s get to it!
It looks like Bikkie made a new friend! Call the building contractor, Tian! We might need to make an addition on to Bikkie’s room. And who does this cub belong to? I guess we’ll find out eventually.
A Little Bit About My Process:
Some stories start with an idea that is floating around on the internet. These nooz stories enter my brain, slosh around a bit, colliding with existing characters, melding with preconceived ideas, and finally plooping out onto the page.
For instance: Where did Frank and Mikey come from?
In the fall of 2018, when it became apparent the the current SCOTUS nominee was even more awful than we thought he was, the thought crossed my mind, wouldn’t it be funny if he was eaten by bears on the steps of the Supreme Court?
Naturally, Mehitabel (being the savvy journalist that she is,) invited the bears for an interview on ZooNooZ. To be completely candid, their personalities emerged with little intervention from me. Honestly, sometimes I think I am merely a conduit through which the various cats, pandas, and other animals that appear in these pages, and speak their own thoughts.
Once here, I could not get the bears to leave, despite very pointed glares coming from Mei Xiang as she dealt with her ever expanding household.
And so it is with all the other characters. Sometimes, they don’t have much to say to me, so I let them just wander around in the background, until they have pressing business with me.
Process:
For those who might be interested, here is how my ‘toons come into being:
Idea > scribbled post it note > write script, seeing if I can fit the action/dialog/cast into a 4 panel strip > rough pencil sketch in my sketchbook to figure out layout > light editing of placement, text > redraw the toon on smooth Bristol paper > ink in panel lines > ink in text> ink in all characters > erase pencil lines when dry > Scan > clean up scan in photo editing program > post on The Panda Chronicles
Whew!
Be the Bear
Bob T I have no classified documents Panda
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough go POOF!!!
Several people had expressed their concern about Bikkie arriving home in time for his birthday. I can only say, time is a very elastic thing in ‘toon world, so it is STILL Bikkie’s birthday as we arrive in today’s ‘toon!
Also, a little POOF can account for many elaborately drawn scenes!
Who could that be?!?!?!?!?!
‘Toon in Thursday for the next exciting episode!
Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda
It’s Lucky Episode 13 of Bears on the Road!
Yes, it WAS taking an extraordinarily long time for them to get off of the ferry so….
PPJ is soooo helpful!!!
I wonder what happens next!
Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda
While we Ignore the Latest Nooz From WaPo…
Very Important Things Are Happening…
Not the least of which are happening on a certain ferry boat which is taking an exceedingly long time to dock in Alaska…
Thanks to ALW for coming up with the name, Kabikkie, which is what PPJ calls her Unka Bikkie!
And…um…you might want to read the breaking nooz on Wa Po about just what Mittens had squirreled away at Merde-A-Lago…
Be the bear!
Bob T Panda
You Would Think There Might Be More Important Things Going On, But You Would Be Wrong
I’m sure Zoonooz will be covering current events soon, but just right now there are more important issues to cope with…
#WhereIsBikkie?
No one is above the law. More on this shocking idea later.
Be the Bear
Bob T Panda