Complete Heterochromia

Boxcar Astronaut #105

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! The greatest team project the backyard gang has undertaken has begun. Everybody is pitching in to build a "space station"... well almost everybody. It seems Ben feels more at home standing around barking orders rather than doing any of the heavy lifting. How does his labor force feel about his "management style"? Check out this week's All New Boxcar Astronaut to find out!

Boxcar Astronaut #104

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! Construction is about to begin for the new "space station" in the backyard. This massive project is going to require every one of the backyard gang to pitch in. Just what does everyone bring to the table? Find out in this week's All New Boxcar Astronaut!

Boxcar Astronaut #103

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! There are big plans brewing in the imagination of our little would be astronaut, Ben. This week, his plans are finally revealed! What does a boy who already has a cardboard spaceship build next? Check out an All New Boxcar Astronaut to see Ben's concept drawing of his "low orbit" space station!

Boxcar Astronaut #102

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! As we learned last week, sometimes it's nice to stop and smell the roses. This week, while helping Ben draw pictures, Devin stops and smells the markers! He quickly learns that this may not be the best of ideas as things around him begin to look a little strange. Check out the trippy action in this week's All New Boxcar Astronaut!

Boxcar Astronaut #101

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! As you all know by now, Ben has always had his sights set on the fantastic world of outer space. This week, however, our starry eyed dreamer takes a moment to recognize the amazing wonder that can be found right here on Earth. It's a nice, peaceful look at life in the backyard in this week's All New Boxcar Astronaut!

Boxcar Astronaut #100

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! This week over at BoxcarAstronaut.com, we bring you a milestone, the 100th Boxcar Astronaut strip! And what do we have in store for this momentous occasion? Why a look at the boys in their younger days. Ben finds an old picture of himself and Devin and the boys take a moment to realize how far they've come, as only children can do. Check it out the comic as well as some other special treats for this week's 100th All New Boxcar Astronaut!

Boxcar Astronaut #99

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! It's an art show for the backyard gang this week as they move from behind the fence to out by the street to show off their drawing skills. Everyone with thumbs is out on the sidewalk making drawings with chalk. It makes for quite the eclectic display as each drawing reflects the artist's personality. Witness the fun in an All New Boxcar Astronaut!

Boxcar Astronaut #98

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! As you can see, Diogee is at it again. He's running down that poor squirrel that pops up in the backyard every now and again. But, just when it looks like Diogee has lost he prey up a tree, in walks Robot. Now, together, canine and automaton, they combine to form an unstoppable force that no squirrel can escape! Check out the action in an All New Boxcar Astronaut!

Boxcar Astronaut #97

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! Everyone knows how Robot always shows up the boys by outdoing them at everything they try. Well, this week it's Caveman's turn to be outdone by our mechanical friend. Poor Cavie is trying his hand at the simple ancient craft of rock stacking only to have Robot show up and steal his thunder right at his proudest moment! The amazing automaton learns a very valuable lesson, however, when Caveman shows him that not everyone likes being shown up. Witness Caveman and Robot's "rocky" relationship in this week's All New Boxcar Astronaut!

Boxcar Astronaut #96

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! Last week, Devin made his dramatic return after suffering with chicken pox. Now, as the boys catch up, Devin is concerned that Ben might have caught the ailment. Ben, however is confident that he is immune. But, is he? DUM DUM DUUUUUMMMM!

Boxcar Astronaut #95

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! Devin has been gone for quite some time suffering with chicken pox and poor Ben has been trying to occupy his play time without his best friend. But, has Ben gone off the deep end? Has the loneliness driven our hero mad? You be the judge in an All New Boxcar Astronaut!

P.S. Check out the cameo by Clovis, the surly teddy bear from Imagine This!

Boxcar Astronaut #94

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! While Devin is stuck at home suffering with chicken pox, Ben is in the backyard suffering with boredom. One of the All Time Great cures for boredom is building stuff with the classic children's toy Lego blocks, and that's just what Ben decides to do. His one mistake, though is inviting Robot to play along. You know Robot can never resist a chance to outdo poor Ben. See what happens this time in an All New Boxcar Astronaut!

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Just a little Christmas chuckle to brighten you holidays! Enjoy!

Boxcar Astronaut #93

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! Poor Devin has been stricken with that dreaded childhood malady, chicken pox. Now, as he suffers, he faces the ultimate question, to scratch or not to scratch. Sure, we all know that scratching chicken pox is bad news, but it's sooooo itchy, who can resist? Watch Devin struggle with this most irritating dilema in an All New Boxcar Astronaut!

Boxcar Astronaut #92

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! When last we left the backyard gang, we witnessed Ben's horror as he learned about Devin's case of the dreaded CHICKEN POX! Now we see the aftermath of this revelation. Is Ben overwhelmed with concern for his sick buddy? No, of course not! He's worried he might contract the pox himself. Watch as Ben seeks help from Robot, and as usual, regrets it!

Boxcar Astronaut #91

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! Ben, our little space hero is sulking. It seems he hasn't seen his buddy Devin in quite some time and he's feeling lonely. Where could Devin be? That's just what Ben sets out to find out, although he may not like the shocking answer! Check out this week's All New Boxcar Astronaut to see what we mean.

Boxcar Astronaut #90

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! After all the drama in the backyard lately, it looks like or favorite little mutt is trying to take a nap. Suddenly, it looks as if one of Diogee's fantasies is about to come true! Can it be? Is Diogee going to prove himself a player among canines, or is it all just another wild puppy dream? Check out this week's All New Boxcar Astronaut for our raciest episode yet!

Boxcar Astronaut #89

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! The epic battle is over for now, ending with the mutual laughter of our heroes, Ben and Devin. Now, while the boys are away from their ships, Diogee and Caveman are looking to have a little intergalactic fun. Check out the hilarious results in this week's All New Boxcar Astronaut!

Boxcar Astronaut #88

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! The boxcar spaceship battle for back yard supremacy is on! Ben and Devin have each other dead in their sights. It's a tense battle of wits as the two former companions stare each other down. How will this stalemate end? What will be left after the smoke clears, mangled bodies, bruised egos, or just plain silliness? Yeah, it'll probably end in silliness.

Bond, James Bond

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:38:00 +0000

With the new 007 film, Quantum of Solace, coming out this Friday, I thought it'd be a good time to draw a little character sketch of my all time favorite fictional character, James Bond. This little drawing was done on dark brown paper using colored pencils, a warm gray Tria marker, and a couple of pastels for subtle shading.

I grew up in the Roger Moore era, however, even as a kid I always preferred the Sean Connery films. Connery just seemed like more of a threat. Living Daylights, with Timothy Dalton was the first Bond flick I got to see in the theaters, and I've gone to see every one since on opening weekend. I'm rather excited about this new film because for the first time in 007 history, they've actually made a direct sequel, continuing the story from the wonderful Casino Royale. I can't wait to see more of Daniel Craig's take on the character. With the exception of his blonde hair, he looks and acts the most like the Bond from Ian Fleming's classic novels, even more so than Connery. Any true Bond fan will tell you that the character in the original books is much darker and more nuanced than the cartoon superhero he's been portrayed as for the past 40 plus years. It is the Bond from the books I really enjoy trying to capture in my drawings from time to time. For instance here's a painting I did a few years ago to highlight my favorite book, Goldfinger:

I remember back in the mid nineties when I found my first Ian Fleming book, a worn out old paperback copy of For Your Eyes Only, in a great used book shop in Philadelphia called the Book Trader. It was two creaky floors of mismatched, loosely organized shelves filled with ragged old books, just waiting for curious minds to dig through them. If you were looking for a slick Barnes & Noble shopping experience, this wasn't your place. No, this place had real character, a motley assortment of folks perusing the racks, the heavy quiet of an old library, and the unique smell of old paper and woodwork. Finding what you wanted was more like a treasure hunt, it required patience, perseverance, and a willingness to get your hands dirty. This was the place I first met the real James Bond, and found many other old literary gems I never even knew I was looking for. I guess the point of my nostalgic rambling is sometimes to find the truly interesting, life changing stuff, you need to look past the flashy, glossy, commercialized facade and get some dirt under you fingernails and dust on your knuckles.

Boxcar Astronaut #87

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! An epic battle is on the horizon as the boys each attempt to force poor Diogee to choose sides. Will our lovable mutt stick with his helmeted master, choose to jump aboard Devin's new spaceship, or get distracted by something else and run off? Find out the entirely predictable, yet charmingly hilarious answer in this week's All New Boxcar Astronaut!

Master Yoda

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:00:00 +0000

You know, as much as I love Yoda, I am ashamed to say I can quote more of his philosophical lessons than that of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Confucius, Machiavelli, Jesus Christ and John Lennon combined. It's a sad commentary on the state of the world when you realize I'm not alone in this. Fortunately, I don't need to be some well read, deeply profound, inspirational beacon of humanity to draw pretty pictures. At least I know my place.

Mighty Marvel Sketches!

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 03:12:00 +0000

Ok, it's been a while since I posted anything other than the weekly Boxcar Astronaut strip, but I'm here to change that. In the past few months, my wife and I have bought a house, spent a lot of time on necessary fixing up of said house, moved in to this very same house, celebrated my daughter's first birthday, and went to Disney World all while working our full time jobs, raising our little girl and me putting out a weekly webcomic. Anyway, I don't want to bore anyone with any more excuses, so on to the pretty pictures!

For this post, I bring out a couple of older sketches of two of my favorite mighty Marvel characters I did just for the fun of it. First up is New York's favorite wall crawling menace, the Amazing Spider-Man. Spidey is one of my favorite characters to draw. Many a slow hour at the day job have been spent scribbling the webbed wonder on post-it notes and scrap paper.

Next we have a bit more detailed sketch of the clawed Canadian, Wolverine. I know Logan can sometimes come off as a bit cliche, but when handled right, he's just plain bad ass!

So that's it for now. More sketches to follow soon, I promise!

Boxcar Astronaut #86

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! This week, Devin makes a dramatic return to the backyard, but he's not back for the reason Ben thinks. Watch the tension escalate as Devin unveils his own boxcar spaceship! Can an epic space battle be far behind? Keep reading the most dramatic Boxcar Astronaut story of All Time!

Boxcar Astronaut #85

noreply@blogger.com (Marc Lapierre) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 12:56:00 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! After watching his best friend, Devin, storm out of the backyard last week, Ben is trying to recruit a new "best friend". His first choice is Caveman, but can Cavie fill the void left by Devin? The answer is yes, and then some (physically, at least)! See what we mean in this week's All New Boxcar Astronaut!