Pigeon talk

I am mildly obsessed with pigeons, yet for all my years of close observation I'd never seen them mating...UNTIL TODAY!

Whenever I see a pigeon puff up his neck, I invariably stop to take a gander. The puffed up neck and quick rushes toward the female usually indicate he's ready to get it on. However, it seems to me that the puffed up neck can sometimes be used to show aggression - territorial, food guarding or otherwise. I can't begin to count how many times I've watched the puffy neck advances, but I have never ever seen it work out for the poor guy. Anyhow, I digress...

So, instead of the traditional puffed up neck, today I saw two pigeons seemingly kissing! Lulu, Pony and myself stopped in our tracks to watch. I couldn't tell if they were passing food between their beaks or just kind of locking beaks, but I was fascinated. As I watched, the female squatted down into a little brown bundle. The male hopped on her back, arched his back and flapped his wings. It was strangely adorable, and I realized that I'd just witnessed some pigeon copulation.

In related news, on a previous walk I saw three (3) different pigeons collecting twigs for their nests. I watched one of them fly onto a third story window ledge, hobble under an air-conditioning unit and present his twig to the mama pigeon lying in their nest. Then, later on that same walk, we watched a squirrel abscond from a garbage can with a taco shell. He kept a close eye on us from the safety of a tree while nibbling away. City critters!

What's Happening? Good TImes.

The aftermath of MoCCA has left me mostly doing boring stuff like updating my mailing list, sending out review copies of new books and sending out lots of orders.

I've moved my mailing list to MailChimp.com which will allow me to send hi-faluttin' fancy-pants email blasts that look like webpages. The only drawback is that they're not keen on my manually entering contact information (they want the recipients to do it themselves to avoid being accused of spamming), so help a guy out and sign up here, even if you were on my previous list: link to mailing list form
I'm also working on a new comic that will collect some of my dreams involving celebrity cameos (Roseanne Barr, Arnold Schwartzenegger, Henry Rollins, MC Hammer, Tom Waits, Dick Cheney, (sort of) Bill Cosby, Chris Ware, The Golden Girls, and yes, another appearance by Snoop Dogg!). If you liked "Tales of Good Ol' Snoop Doggy Dogg", you'll probably like this one, too.

Otherwise, we're just kickin' it with Lulu Mae-hem over here at the Yost household. She got her first kiss(es) last week, which was documented and is available for viewing on FaceBook. It's an understatement to say that she was into it. Here's a photo of her giving you the finger.

MoCCA 2010

This was my second year selling at MoCCA (and 9th year attending). Seems like they worked out a lot of the kinks from last year. For the record, I didn't mind the heat last year, but since most everyone else did, it was a wise move to change the fest to April. My biggest complaint this year was the astronomical cost of the tables. Fortunately, it seems that the organizers took this into consideration since next year's tables cost nearly $50 less. I just hope that doesn't translate into higher ticket costs for attendees.

I didn't get to attend any of the panels, but since Brian Heater was at the helm I'm sure they were fantastic. I get paranoid about leaving my table, because I feel like that's when someone I want to see will stop by. Luckily, I was there when one of my favorite babies came by for a visit. Lulu is a much more savvy business person than I am, and her visit lead to increased sales until she needed to nurse. I guess comic geeks can't handle a little discreet bosom bearing.

As you may know, Birdcage Bottom Books put out this year's collection of Ben Snakepit's diary comic. Since Ben doesn't put his name on the front of the books, this led to many misidentifications. I guess it's the fact that we both have chin-strap beards, because we aren't really similar in any other way, physically. One kid insisted that I sign a copy of Snakepit even though I repeatedly insisted that I wasn't Ben.

Anyhow, it was a lot of fun hanging out with Victor, the Supertalk crew and the Rabid Rabbit crew. As always, I met lots of talented and friendly folks and left with a healthy stack of new comics.

Losers Weepers #2 is here!

I can't believe I've finally finished it! I just got the pages and covers of "Losers Weepers #2" back from the printer. I'll be assembling and trimming them over the next couple of days, and they'll be ready for MoCCA this weekend.

They're available for pre-order on the Birdcage Bottom Books website. Here's a little synopsis for you:

This mini-comic continues the fictional narrative thread woven around real life found letters, notes & journals. In the first issue, a newly sober homeless heroin addict relapses after bumping into an ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. Social anxiety causes him to act out and murder another drifter in a fit of rage. This second issue focuses on how the death affects the family of the murdered vagrant.

Nora Yost is two!

Still scrambling to get Losers Weepers #2 finished in time for MoCCA. I'm about four pages away from being done! Me n' the indomitable Victor Kerlow will be sharing a table again, and we are lucky enough to be neighbors with Supertalk Enterprises and Rabid Rabbit! All talented and somewhat hygenic individuals!

In other news, my little niece Nora turned two years old last week. I made her this little card:

Shout-out on Secret Identity Podcast!

Matman & Brian from Secret Identity Podcast were kind enough to give me a shout-out during a piece on the upcoming MoCCA fest here in NYC. Secret Identity is a twice-weekly show they do to ostensibly escape their wives and nerd out on comics for a while. They're going to come by my table for an interview during the show. They both seem like laid-back friendly & funny guys, so I'm looking forward to it. Plus, they compared my work to Tony Millionaire, so I'm predisposed to like them.

Here's a transcript of what they said about me (but don't be lazy, click on the link above and listen to the show):

"One of the great things about the MOCCA Art Festival is walking into the show with about 200 creators. Most of them you don’t know who they are or what they do, so you are introduced to a ton of new and unusual stuff. At the same time the worst thing about this show (from an interview standpoint) is being overwhelmed by all the new faces and their creations.

One of the new faces (at least to us) at this years show is artist / writer J.T. Yost. The more we dig around about J.T. the more we like. J.T. is an animal lover who does Peculiar Pet Portraits. These are paintings of your beloved pets in cool poses. Not only are they cool, but proceeds go to animal friendly organizations. He is a gifted writer, whether it be his comics or his blogs. He is an exausted new father and he is a brilliant artist! J.T. has a very untraditional look that serves whatever project he’s working on. In his book ‘Losers Weepers’ he reaches down visually to the pits of human despair (drug addiction) yet in ‘Tales Of Good Old Snoop Doggy Dogg’ he draws with a much more humorous look. But whatever the project is; comics or sketches on his website, it all has the same fun feel and style. He is very much in the Kyle Baker or Tony Millionaire (Maakies and Sock Monkey) mold of visual storytelling.

On his site, you’ll find a bit of everything. Not only does he do peculiar pets, but will also paint your beloved (animal or human) with incredible detail. He has a great collection of holiday and greeting cards and some incredible prints including one that could help your marriage."

Paws For Charity Book

I've been invited to contribute to a wonderful project by Sara Harley called "Paws For Charity". She puts out art books, calanders and cards full of animal-themed artwork by a variety of artists (photography, painting, etc.). ALL proceeds are donated to a different charity each year. This year they will be going to Avon Breast Cancer Crusade.

The sample pages of the book I've seen so far have me very intrigued. They look beautifully designed, and the artists are all hand picked. It seems that she does not invite just anyone who does animal themed work, but artists she actually likes.

Here you can see a promotional poster (My painting of Wilfredo the chihuahua is in the center column, 2nd from the bottom) and the back cover (photo by Melissa McDaniel). I am really in love with that back cover photo.

So, everyone buy one of these books when they come out. It's for a great cause!