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I know the odds are long on this, but if there’s someone out there chilling to some John Denver right now then you’re set because that’s the soundtrack I had in my head when I put this page together. Something breezy and outdoorsy and retro. Go ahead. Spotify those mellow jams.

Our story so far: It seems some time ago a naturalist stumbled upon a totem pole that UTOB readers should be familiar with (pp 19, 37). And it seems like this naturalist resembles someone seen in a Polaroid photo discovered in the possessions of a solitary sasquatch. Discovered, as you know, by a lost dog who’s desperate to get home. Why am I reminding you of all this? Because we’re going to take a short break from Bigfoot and Scout and follow this flashback for a while to see where it leads us. Told you things were gonna get weird. Will this little diversion answer any nagging questions you’ve had about Bigfoot? Could be. But remember, wherever this leads us, it’s all about enjoying the journey.

One last thing I want to mention. This weekend my handlers will be strapping me into a tuxedo and dropping me off at the Reuben Awards. They call them “The Oscars of Cartooning.” As you may know, Untold Tales of Bigfoot is up for Best Online Comic, Longform and I really couldn’t be more thrilled. That said, I have no expectations of winning, but I’m still grinning ear-to-ear about being nominated in the company of two other fantastic webcomic creators.

One of my fellow-nominees is Pat Lewis, friend and creator of Muscles Diablo, a comic about a tough guy battling his way through the seedy underworld of organized monsters. Not mobsters– monsters. It’s fun and family-friendly and if Pat wins the award I’ll be the first one on my feet for the standing O.

My other fellow-nominee is Meredith Gran, creator of Octopus Pie. This is a long-running webcomic about twenty-somethings in Brooklyn navigating their way through life and relationships . It’s a fantastic comic with a huge following that I’ve read and enjoyed (though it’s not for kids) and Meredith is equally deserving of this award.

So there you have it. Three comics up for a prestigious award and I love all three of them. Sure, I’m partial to Untold Tales of Bigfoot, as many of you readers might be, and I’m thankful for all the support you guys have given me. You’re all part of the reason UTOB has gotten as far as it has. But if I don’t get to go up on stage and make a speech, I’ll still be thrilled just to be there. There are four or five other Pittsburgh artists up for awards that night PLUS friday we have cartoonist karaoke in the lounge and I’ve been practicing my Elvis routine. Reuben or no, it’s all about enjoying the journey. : )  -v

Thanks for stopping by. I’d love to hear what you think of the comic. Just remember, Untold Tales of Bigfoot is for grown-ups and kids. So let’s keep the comments appropriate.

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When my close friends preview this strip before I post it and they tell me it makes them sad, I feel like I’ve done my job. I hope it makes you sad, too. In a good way. To enhance the effect, put on some weepy orchestral music like I do and let the tears flow.

Okay, now for some controversy! A friend of mine who spends a lot of time outdoors recently suggested to me that rattlesnakes don’t climb trees. We were discussing, of course, Bigfoot’s brief encounter with a reptile back on page 18. I told him that my research suggested they do climb trees, though not often, and asked where he got his info. He said, and I quote, “I’ve just always heard that.” So I went back over my research and still found links suggesting rattlesnakes can climb trees (California Department of Fish & Wildlife say so, so do these folks and these people) and this is just one of the videos I located of the phenomenon. Believe it or not, I actually do try to research this stuff when I can. I mean, what do I know from snakes?

But I also found the subject was brimming with controversy and many people believe that rattlers cannot climb trees. There were compelling arguments from both camps. So, while my initial research does bear out my storyline, I started worrying about people getting stuck on an odd, insignificant detail like this. I’d rather people focus on the story and not on herpetological controversies. So I made the executive decision to replace the rattler with a generic snake if only to remove any hurdles that may prevent budding snake enthusiasts from enjoying the actual story. You can see the changes in this before/after image. So yeah, while my research tells me rattlers climb trees, Untold Tales of Bigfoot is really in its first draft form and I don’t mind making a call like this in service to the story. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one. Or the Bigfoot.

Okay, now that we’ve cleared up the snake controversy, I should probably let you know about next week’s UTOB. For those of you enjoying the story as it’s rolled along for the last few months, be warned — once Bigfoot and Scout go through that tunnel in the cave, everything changes. Yup. When you stop by this site next week (or receive the update in your email), things might feel (and look) a little different. Why? Can’t tell you. But as they say in the sasquatch biz, this is where we separate the men from the Bigfoot. -v

Thanks for stopping by. I’d love to hear what you think of the comic. Just remember, Untold Tales of Bigfoot is for grown-ups and kids. So let’s keep the comments appropriate.

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Flap flap flap. I think we have pretty solid evidence that Bigfoot’s concept of dangerous is a little murky sometimes. But I wonder how far off he is with this “friend” of his. Flap flap flap.

Housekeeping: I’ve been made aware that sometimes UTOB doesn’t send to a few of you on the mailing list. I’ve dug into the guts of the site and tried to figure out why that is, but I’m at a loss. It seems hit or miss and I don’t know why. I know most of you are receiving it every week but for those of you getting skunked by the internet, I hope you’ll come back every wednesday to join Bigfoot and Scout on their adventures.

No fan art this week, so I thought I’d show you some of the process steps from this week’s page. First step, the layouts. I never know specifically what the characters will say or do when I start. I just have a general idea of what needs to happen in the story. So I rough in what I think might work, both pictures and words, and the result is this sloppy mess.
This is the pencils/lettering stage. At this point, I’ve looked over my chaotic layouts, decided what stays and what goes, and I letter the page in Adobe Illustrator. I use that framework to do a more polished rendering of the characters and background.

Next step is inking everything digitally. For those that have asked/wondered, I use a Wacom 9×12 tablet. It still doesn’t feel as natural to me as a regular pen or brush, but I’m working on it. This whole thing is an experiment, after all.

Finally, for fun, this is what the comic looks like when it’s just flat color — before the shadows and highlights go in. At this stage, Scout doesn’t have his brown coat and he looks kind of naked and funny. To me, anyway. It’s the little things that keep me going. See you next week. Flap flap flap.-v

Thanks for stopping by. I’d love to hear what you think of the comic. Just remember, Untold Tales of Bigfoot is for grown-ups and kids. So let’s keep the comments appropriate.

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Been a busy week. Some non-Bigfoot assignments have pushed me behind my time a bit  — how dare they! I’m hoping a few all-night drawing marathons here in the cave will prevent me from having to skip a week or take a small hiatus. But you never know. Consider this a friendly warning and hope for the best.

Do you recognize these strange characters I’ve drawn here? Of course, it’s Jeff and Ellie from the space-themed webcomic Ellie On Planet X by James Anderson and they’re part of this week’s fan-art exchange. You can see my whole piece by clicking here, but what I really want to show off is the UTOB fan-art Jim did for me. So scroll down and take a gander.
James Anderson has a very loose, painterly style that, in the vast landscape of webcomics, really stands out and grabs your attention. His comic, Ellie on Planet X (about a very cute robot exploring a distant planet and its inhabitants) is fun, quirky and always a visual treat. Jim was nice enough to surprise me with this Bigfoot and Scout fan-art a few weeks ago and I absolutely love it. It really captures the sweet friendship between these two that you know is lurking right beneath Scout’s nervous rants. It took me a while to reciprocate, but I did finally manage to churn out an Ellie comic of my own (in mock-Jim Anderson style). Rocket on over to Ellie On Planet X to check it out as well as Jim’s fantastic comic.

Next week: Find out what the heck’s up with that photograph. -v

Thanks for stopping by. I’d love to hear what you think of the comic. Just remember, Untold Tales of Bigfoot is for grown-ups and kids. So let’s keep the comments appropriate.

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Secret.

See you next week. -v

Thanks for stopping by. I’d love to hear what you think of the comic. Just remember, Untold Tales of Bigfoot is for grown-ups and kids. So let’s keep the comments appropriate.

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Scout’s nerves are on edge. Four or five life-threatening close calls would set anyone off on a rant. Maybe whatever’s in that back room of the cave will calm him down. And maybe I will buy a pet dragon and fly to the moon.

Guess what? More fan art this week. This time I got a little something from Wouter Goedkoop, a cartoonist in the Netherlands who’s behind the space-adventure comic, Captain Wayne and the Unexplained Dimension. Here’s a cropped version of the piece I did for Wouter, now let me explain it.
As you can see below, Wouter (who sent me this awesome fan art out of the blue) created a mash-up where Bigfoot and Scout are observing his characters, Cpt. Wayne and Gina, after they land on Earth. Wouter’s style is always bright and colorful with a futuristic edge to the designs. I thought it would be fun to reverse the camera angle on his piece and recreate the same moment from another perspective. To see my Cpt. Wayne fan art, just click here and don’t forget to check out Cpt. Wayne and the Unexplained Dimension.

I should also note here that Wouter recently celebrated one full year of Cpt. Wayne online. It’s not easy sticking to a schedule and putting out consistently good work like he does, so it’s a remarkable accomplishment. As you can see from Wouter’s own announcement, Bigfoot made the party along with some other webcomic favorites.

That’s all this week, folks. But stop back next Wednesday to find out what lurks in the dark recesses of the cave. -v

Thanks for stopping by. I’d love to hear what you think of the comic. Just remember, Untold Tales of Bigfoot is for grown-ups and kids. So let’s keep the comments appropriate.

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Crumbcakes! That was close! Looks like Bigfoot finally got the message — and not a moment too soon for Scout.

Hey, my unbelievable lucky streak with the fan art continues! This is a cropped image of my drawing of the Mighty Monocle. You can click here to see it in all its pulpy, 70s comic magazine goodness, but first let me tell you about the man behind the monocle.
The Mighty Monocle is a superhero created by D.M.Rolfe, an award-winning cartoonist from across the pond who’s got a classic, newspaper-strip style that’s just timeless. His comic about a bumbling American hero tasked with fighting crime in the U.K. is a humorous take on both superheroes and life in Great Britain. A couple weeks ago, Rolfe was kind enough to send me, out of the blue, this hilarious and wonderfully drawn Bigfoot/Star Wars gag you see down below. After you’re done laughing at Rolfe’s gag, head on over to The Mighty Monocle site to see my fan art and catch up with Rolfe’s crusading expatriate. -v

Thanks for stopping by. I’d love to hear what you think of the comic. Just remember, Untold Tales of Bigfoot is for grown-ups and kids. So let’s keep the comments appropriate.

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Sweet Baby Corn! Those are slugs not junebugs! This is where that vaunted “hunting dog training” Scout keeps talking about really comes in handy. These two would make a pretty good team if they weren’t constantly dragging each other into dangerous, life-threatening situations. Thank goodness Chet and Wayne are such lousy shots.

As I mentioned last week, Untold Tales of Bigfoot has been nominated for the National Cartoonists Society Divisional Award for Best Online Comic – Long Form. Win or not, I’m still overjoyed at the nomination and lay some of the credit on you guys for coming back every week, reading the comic and keeping me honest.

And I’ve got more fan art for you this week! This is a snippet of the fan-art I did for Jack Slade, creator of Scaredemy. Click here to see the whole thing. But before you do that, let me tell you a little about Scaredemy and the fun Bigfoot piece below.

Scaredemy is a brand, spankin’ new webcomic about a young boy attending a private school for monsters and other oddball characters. Jack Slade actually sent me this mash-up of Bigfoot dressed in a Scaredemy school uniform months ago, but I held onto it until there were enough Scaredemy episodes to sink your teeth into. And now that Jack’s introduced Wolfric (the little wolf-boy in my fan art), now is the perfect time to jump in and start reading his fun, creepy comic. Jack’s got a rich, colorful illustration style and his comic is family friendly. Check out Scaredemy right here!

One more comics-related thing this week. I wrote and drew a goofy little fill-in guest comic for Sean McLean over at LOOP. LOOP is a comic about a time-traveler from the future stuck in the distant past and Sean, if you recall, has some Untold Tales of Bigfoot fan art in the fan art gallery! So take a gander at that and when you’re done head over to LOOP and check out my guest comic!

And don’t forget to stop back next week to see if Chet and Wayne’s aim gets any better. -v

Thanks for stopping by. I’d love to hear what you think of the comic. Just remember, Untold Tales of Bigfoot is for grown-ups and kids. So let’s keep the comments appropriate.

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Bigfoot’s way too trusting for his own good. Especially where these two are concerned. Hunting on protected land? Bad form. Technically, that’s poaching. Where are the park rangers when you need them?!

Big news this week! Untold Tales of Bigfoot has been nominated for another award! This time it’s a National Cartoonists Society Divisional Award for Best Online Comic/Long Form. I’m one of only three nominees and I’m thrilled with the honor! Also good news? My friend Pat Lewis, creator of Muscles Diablo and fan art contributor to this site, is also nominated! And so, as you might expect, we now consider each other mortal enemies until the winner is announced. I would also like to point out that Meredith Gran is the third talented nominee for this coveted award. Meredith does a comic called Octopus Pie that I’ve read and enjoyed for a while now. However, fair warning to parents, Octopus Pie is strictly for grown-ups. Thanks to everyone who comes back week after week and makes this fun for me, awards or not.

Speaking of fun, I got more fan art this week! This time it’s from Michael Dambold, creator of the cosmic space/time saga, Gem of Atlantis. First, this teaser image is my version of Michael’s pterodactyl character, Peter. I had a lot of fun drawing this one. To see the rest of it, click here.

But for now, you can feast your eyes on Michael’s version of Bigfoot and Scout, going where no sasquatch has gone before. If you thought Scout’s quest for home was arduous before, Michael’s image adds about a million miles to the journey. Note the twin “foot” engines of that starship in the background. Nice detail. I first stumbled upon Michael via his blog posts about graphics and technology. But I soon found out he’s the creative force behind a number of comics projects. After you take a look at his UTOB fan art, transport yourself over to his webcomic, Gem of Atlantis!

That’s all for this week. Fair warning — I’ll probably be milking this NCS nomination every week until the awards banquet, so be prepared. But for every week I toot my own horn, I’ll also be bringing you some Bigfoot and Scout pages that I’m really excited about posting. So stop back! -v

Thanks for stopping by. I’d love to hear what you think of the comic. Just remember, Untold Tales of Bigfoot is for grown-ups and kids. So let’s keep the comments appropriate.

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Bet you thought we saw the last of Chet and Wayne back at Zeke’s General Store (page 7). Well, they’re back. And it looks like they may be trouble.

This week we have news of a Bigfoot sighting!  A few weeks ago some friends of mine flew out to Colorado and sent me this eerily awesome postcard from the Rocky Mountain National Park. I love the mood of this image (plus, it kind of reminds me of the last panel on page 8). How fantastic is it that Rocky Mountain National Park is using Bigfoot to boost tourism? Now I feel like I should start a collection of cool Bigfoot postcards. But I never leave my house or go anywhere. Dang it! If anyone out there knows of any awesome Bigfoot postcards, clue me in!

But that’s not all I got from Colorado. When my friends returned they handed me the most recent issue of the Estes Park News which featured a story on a possible recent Bigfoot sighting. Are there Sasquatch roaming the woods near the famous Stanley Hotel (of The Shining fame)? Read the article here for yourself and decide. And for a real treat, make sure you scroll to the bottom of the article and view the numerous videos purporting to be footage of Bigfoot in Estes Park.

Well, that’s it for this week. Tune in next week to see what happens with Chet and Wayne. Who knows? Maybe they’ll just turn around and drive home. And remember, if you don’t want to miss a thing, you can always sign up to get Untold Tales of Bigfoot delivered to your inbox by entering your email right here on the homepage, and confirming with the followup email. See you soon! -v

Thanks for stopping by. I’d love to hear what you think of the comic. Just remember, Untold Tales of Bigfoot is for grown-ups and kids. So let’s keep the comments appropriate.