Fecal Matters

A cartoon I did for The Hawaii Independent about how Honolulu is, once again, inundated in smelly, poo-poo water (500,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled onto Waikiki beaches and shorelines alone - the entire island has "brown water" warnings posted at all beaches). The cause? Less than 4 inches of precipitation. Now I know that's not an insignificant amount of rain, but if we can't even handle 4 inches in 6 hours without our sewers exploding diarrhea water all over our streets and beaches, what happens when we get another 40 days of rain scenario like we did back in 2006? What happens when we add an estimated 20,000 new residents to the urban core over the next 25 years? 

If we don't fix the sewer infrastructure now, we may very well be up a literal shit river in a canoe with no paddle. We have very few politicians who will actually fight for better sewage infrastructure. Our councilmen joke that infrastructure is "not sexy." Well it's also not funny, and it's vitally important; so stop joking about it and actually do something, please (like drawing a cartoon about it).

INhonolulu 3.0

We just switched our lifestyle and entertainment website INhonolulu​ over to a new platform (again!). The new platform gives us a new, slimmed down, simpler look, and does a lot of great things for us structurally as well. At the same time, it does sacrifice some of the "flair" of our elaborate Wordpress template.

Sweet Jesus Christ though, I'm so happy not to be using Wordpress anymore. It's like suddenly having a bed that isn't infested by bedbugs after having slept in one for roughly a year-and-a-half. Maybe that's an exaggeration but, if so, it is a slighter exaggeration than you might think. Which reminds me: I need a new bed.

We're going bat-shit overdrive on Pow! Wow! 2015 coverage and I'm personally playing both Deltron albums back-to-back on repeat getting ready for next Tuesday's performance at The Republik. The image above is of local musician Mike Lundy's "Tropical Lightning," the debut press from Roger Bong's new Aloha Got Soul record label. It's rare groove goodness.

"Bottom line is, just keep trying things 'till you find the way that works." - some asshole

Do Not Judge Us

"It takes a weak heart to judge one another." - Groundation

Working with a new WACOM Cintiq 24"

Shots of me working on an album artwork project with my new WACOM Cintiq 24" - prior to getting this technological beast, I was using an old, but trusty, WACOM that had no screen. It's live-drawing area was a gray square, forcing me to look at my monitor to see what I was drawing, rather than be able to focus on my hands.

This made line-work in particular take much longer than it needed too (constantly having to redraw lines that didn't quite come out right, and then shave those lines down with the eraser tool after). It also made working on art projects much more frustrating than need be (9 of 10 doctors recommend their artists use Cintiqs).

Speaking of doctors, using the old WACOM, which could only be laid flat on a desk that is, really, at a terrible height for my own ease of use and comfort, was giving me some serious Carpal tunnel syndrome in my right wrist (a combination of the height and angle of my arm and the extreme pressure I was exerting to keep those lines on target without being able to see what I was really doing). The new Cintiq, as you can see, is mounted on a stand that allows one to rotate the Cintiq to a comfortable angle. Placed on a new desk, it actually allows me to stand while I draw, which is also a relief for my back.

“A man of purpose is a man on an assignment.”

Episode 1, Page 1: First Born Pencil-work

Episode 1, Page 1 initial pencil layout for my in-the-works graphic novel: First Born. Can't believe I'm actually drawing it finally. 6 years since the initial idea, 2 since the initial season 1 writing and now I've got 1 page of pencil work. Woohoo!

The state of Hawaii's elected representatives

Looking at the gaggle of Congressional District 1 candidates rushing to try and fill Colleen Hanabusa's soon-to-be-vacant seat (as she attempts to supplant Brian Schatz from his seat in the U.S. Senate), it's hard to know who to vote for. None of them stands out as a particularly strong candidate. Some have had lots of experience sitting in legislative bodies, but have accomplished little, while others are idealists and reformers who have never held elected office and are much too likely to burn bridges and make enemies, preventing any of their reforms from ever taking place.

Looking at Hawaii's history of elected representatives, either from the Territory or the State of Hawaii, we have had titans of politics sit in Congress and fight for Hawaii in the past. Robert Kalanihiapo Wilcox, Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, Samuel Wilder King, Jack Burns, Dan Inouye, Tom Gill, Patsy Mink: for better or for worse, these men and women fought hard for what they believed was best for Hawaii. Although not every idea they implemented was a success, not everything they accomplished has survived, and not all that they believed in turned out to be in the best interest of Hawaii's people, they still got shit done. These are the figures that shaped modern Hawaii, as representatives to Congress and, as was the case for several of them, as governors and U.S. senators as well.

Compare them to our current selection of choices and it seems the quality of our politicians, both in terms of leadership as well as sheer political skill, has declined. This is the argument that is made in a soon-to-be-published essay on the Hawaii Independent for which this illustration was created to accompany. Once the article comes out, the link will be posted. Where is our modern day Wilcox? Where is our Mink? I hope to see them enter the political arena soon.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Yes, that is the Dome of the Rock in the last panel, converted into the Thirty-Meter Telescope. If this incredibly sacred mosque in old Jerusalem, built in 691 AD on the Temple Mount site where the second Temple of Jerusalem once stood, were to be converted into the TMT, a lot of people would lose their shit. The name is derived from the site's significance to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths: the rock it is built upon, known as the Foundation Stone, is sacred to all three religions. We hope that by drawing a giant telescope coming out of such a holy place, we remind people that Mauna Kea is just as sacred to Hawaiians. #MaunaKea #WeAreMaunaKea #TMTshutdown #TMT #aoleTMT #BulldozeYourOwnTemple

For there are indeed valleys low enough.

Ozymandumbass

All that you need to know about this comic is wonderfully encapsulated in Sam Laird's article on Mashable. Of course, if that doesn't do it for you, there is, literally, a metric shit-ton of news on this, largely from Europe and the Middle East because, well, America doesn't generally give a shit about soccer. At least not during the NBA finals.

By the way, you might notice that this comic was created not entirely just by me, which is mostly why it's a lot better than the first three. No really, having someone you respect in your field (comics, in this case) vet your work first will make it much better. When that someone is your Freshman year roommate who kicks ass at being hilarious, and actually takes fairly large segments out of his day to work on the script with you, the comic is going to be cash. Or at least, collectible Magic the Gathering cards. Which could be sold for cash.

Thanks so much to Vince Fitzgerald for whipping this comic into shape and helping me with several more in the works. For you, the reader, I hope this means more laughs and more insight into this crazy world of ours.

Reporting in Honolulu, but not necessarily paying all my attention to it, I'm Will Caron. Thanks for reading.

Watch less T.V.

Burnin' Down the House

Hopefully a fairly self-explanatory comic. We now have four heavy-weight political contenders for the office of Governor: incumbent Neil Abercrombie (D), James "Duke" Aiona (R), David Ige (D) and Mufi Hannemann, who just declared his official entry last week as the newly formed Hawaii Independent Party candidate.

But honestly, the capitol building could literally be burning down and these guys still wouldn't stop being politicians. I really don't know who the best choice would be among them. Abercrombie has proven that he doesn't keep his promises (a new day in Hawaii my ass); Aiona is supposedly a stand-up guy, but he's probably still too close to the Hawaii Republican Assembly view point when it comes to equality and helping the working class (which is to say he won't); Ige is fairly unknown, other than the fact that he's managed the state budget for awhile as head of the Senate Ways and Means committee; and Mufi (former Honolulu mayor) is, by many accounts, a vindictive bully, albeit an efficient one.

All I know is, none of these talking heads are really who I'd want to see as Governor, but at least the choices are better than they are in Idaho.

Not a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but not far from it.

Why couldn't they have taken Rush Limbaugh instead?

You might have seen the dozens of celebrities, including Michelle Obama, that have tweeted pictures of themselves holding up a #BringBackOurGirls sign, in support of the 300 or so Nigerian school girls that were kidnapped by radical Islamist and terrorist group Boko Haram.

Of course, holding signs isn't going to bring a happy ending about on its own, but it helps raise awareness and might help build a critical mass of people who actually give a shit. Once this critical mass of shit-givers is achieved, maybe the Nigerian government (which has been doing a horrible job of handling the situation) will actually get its ass in gear and go after the dirt bags.

Speaking of dirt bags, Rush Limbaugh (naturally) felt it was more important to find something to criticize Michelle Obama over than to be an actual human being, and made fun of the First lady's hashtag picture saying, "look how sad and pathetic she looks." Well, Rush, I think you'd look pretty sad and pathetic if it had been you that had been kidnapped. Unfortunately we weren't that lucky.

If you're like me, you watch The Daily Show as often as possible and, if so, you probably saw the episode where John Stewart goes after Rush for being such a dick. He came up with the hashtag #FuckYouRush, and I intend to help get as many people using that tag as possible... by making a comic about it.

Even though we still have to put up with you, Rush, while innocent school girls are being held captive, at least I can make myself feel a little better about it by imagining what that stupid, pathetic face of yours would look like if you had been kidnapped, and then drawing it.

#FuckYouRush

Introducing "In Honolulu" 001: Golf Corrupts

This is the first strip I'm classifying as an "In Honolulu" strip. Unlike TSASOTM, In Honolulu will not generally feature consistent characters or any semblance of plot progression. It will simply be.

The name is derived from my online magazine INhonolulu which, together with my work for The Hawaii Independent will form the backbone of my idea-mining (idamining).

In fact, this first strip was created along side a story I wrote for the Independent about ethics violations among city employees. The strip also appears as the accompanying image for the story post, which can be viewed here. What I found most interesting is that there were around 40 city employees that took "gifts" of free food, drinks and golf from a company here in Honolulu, many of which reimbursed the company immediately, thus avoiding penalty. But there were a few who didn't. But this Ethics Commission report singled out the employee who used a sick day to play golf as the one who deserved suspension. Because the other gift-recipients used vacation time, they still got to play on the naked pizza trampoline.

And yes, there really is a Cheese-rolling Festival in Gloucestershire, though I (unfortunately) have never attended. It involves chasing wheels of cheese down a rather steep hill. Each year there are several broken bones, ruptured organs and putting-out of eyes. You win if you catch the cheese and your prize, naturally, is more cheese.

The primary goal of In Honolulu will be to highlight the absurdities of what goes on in this city, vis a vis politics, news, nightlife and lifestyle. The artistic style has also changed from a moderately realistic, comic book/manga feel to a straight-up-and-down web-comic look, clearly influenced by my favorite web comic, Penny Arcade.

Other comic-related news is that I will be sending some editorial cartoons to Civil Beat for a trial run at becoming their new in-house cartoonist to replace John Pritchett, who's work--in my opinion--has really gone down hill in the past 3-4 years.

There will be more... something.

Pow! Wow! 2014 Finished Murals

My photos of the finished Pow! Wow! Hawaii 2014 murals down in Kakaako can be found here.

Kensuke Ishida #3

Kensuke Ishida is the main character in the manga First Born, which is currently in the early production stage for the first "season." Still working on his final appearance.

Hammer Head

Hawaii Politics

Ahh Tom Brower. The State Representative from Waikiki and Ala Moana spent the beginning of the week as a hammer-wielding vigilante, smashing shopping carts left abandoned (and sometimes still in use too) by homeless people in his district. Brower said he was tired of the eye-sore caused by the stolen carts and frustrated by a lack of action on the part of the city.
For a lawmaker to take the law into his own hands, though, is a bit--comic worthy?
So Brower thinks he can just smash all our problems until they're gone. Homelessness? Check. How about a blazing fire? Well, he'll sure give it a swing...
Brower said yesterday that he would hang up his hammer and cape and call his vigilantism quits. Some advocacy groups and other organizations have called on the House to take disciplinary action against Brower, saying his actions were highly inappropriate for a state lawmaker. To which, Brower replied by smashing a coffee table in half.

Splintered Paddle

Hawaii Politics

Honolulu City Councilman Stanley Chang introduced a bill in September that would, essentially, make lying down on the sidewalk in Honolulu's three special business districts illegal. 

Yesterday, the most recent draft was deferred in committee by a vote of 3-2, meaning it will die unless another new draft is created.

Overall the reaction to the bill stalling was positive here in Honolulu. Opponents say that the bill is unconstitutional, as it violates the law of the splintered paddle--Kanawai Mamala Hoe--part of the Hawaii State Constitution, and that it targets the homeless specifically. Supporters, many of whom are small-business owners, say the bill is necessary, as many of the homeless in Honolulu sleep in front of stores in Chinatown, Waikiki and the Capitol District and can be disruptive to business.

I wondered what King Kamehameha the First, the creator of Kanawai Mamala Hoe, would think about Stanley Chang's bill. I wondered what other solutions would be viable other than opposing Kanawai Mamala Hoe. And then I wondered how people would react to an image of Chang prepping to splinter another paddle over the old King's head. So many questions...

Sometimes I like to paint zombies

I have a problem.
Sometimes, I like to paint zombies. Bloody, gory, sometimes silly, but zombies nonetheless. I love zombies. They're one of the only horror antagonists that can be absurd and terrifying at the exact same time. I love the theories behind various zombies too and the mixture of occult and bio-warfare they conjure. I also love the idea that, individually, they're no big deal, but in a massive group (or herd as they're called in AMC's The Walking Dead) they're nearly impossible to escape.
Plus, they're just really fun to draw!
I was asked to do some zombie illustrations for my buddy James Charisma's magazine Abstract, for a Zombie Survival Guide story.
I only managed to do this one. Unfortunately, James felt his publisher would find the illustration too violent and asked me to redo it.
Some of you may know that Hawaii is currently in the midst of s special session of Legislature to decide on a Marriage Equality bill. As political correspondent for the Hawaii Independent, I've been busy at the Leg every day last week and (likely) every day this coming week as well, so I told James I wouldn't have time to redo anything. Which means the poor zombies in this image would never get to be admired without this blog.
Anyway, the original concept for this image was "Go Mobile" as in, find a vehicle and drive through the herd, killing as many zombies as possible—or at least that's how I interpreted it. Maybe the killing part I made up. But I mean, come on, what else do you do when zombies attack? Invite them to a game of Backgammon? I don't think they'd understand the strategy very well.

The Monolith

Now that the Hawaii Independent has published it's first tablet magazine issue, I can upload the cover art I did for it to my blog! 

"The Monolith" was commissioned to go with a piece by veteran reporter Gerald Kato about public authorities like the Hawaii Community Development Authority or the much hated and now-revoked Public Land Development Corporation. Donovan Dela Cruz was included in the bottom right corner specifically because he was (is) Mr. PLDC - the others, Gov. Abercrombie, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, Stanley Chang, David Ige and Ikaika Anderson are all either pro public authorities or are running for the important 1st Congressional seat of Hawaii soon and will have to decide where they stand on public authorities for their platforms - I can already take a guess.

Kato discusses the origins of public authorities and Robert Moses ("The Power Broker" is a book that should definitely be read by anyone at all involved with government, planning or communities - so everyone) to contextualize what's happened in Hawaii since the 1970s and, especially, today. 

I'm not necessarily against public authorities, which can partner more easily with the private development sector to sometimes accomplish great works for the people. The problem is really oversight and accountability. The authorities act as a buffer between the public and government which allows for fudge-room, shady dealings and easy ways out for officials. 

Below is a link to the excerpt from Kato's piece. The rest you'll need to read in the tablet magazine which is available on iTunes for a mere $1.99. It's like the Atlantic or the New Yorker for Hawaii.

"The Authority," by Gerald Kato: http://hawaiiindependent.net/story/the-authority

Couch beneath the heavens

Getting into that Corel Painter again. Still pretty hard to figure out which brushes do what since they're all named obscure things like "wide, flat, wet brsuh" — super helpful. I'm also still not sure if I should be trying to use layers at all, or if I should try to do it traditional-style and just paint everything right onto the canvas. 

This piece accompanies a poem written by Kelsey Amos. Hopefully they both get selected to appear in Hawaii Review Issue 79. Still waiting to hear.

UPDATE: Hawaii Review selected Kelsey's poem and my painting to appear in HR issue 79! Look for it at the end of the Fall semester.

Daft Experiments from the Moon

Wow, I really need to do a better job of posting my art right after I finish it, otherwise I forget to do it, months go by, and by then I don't always even like it anymore - defeats the purpose of a blog, to be sure.

Well I'm working for a new place now that Weekly exploded, which also gives me more time to do stuff like this piece. I wrote a review of Daft Punk's Random Access Memories for INhonolulu Magazine which will go live this coming Friday. This is original artwork I created to go with it.

DMC Hawaii Thumbnail

I'm writing an article for the Honolulu Weekly this time, but somehow I managed to get art involved too.
The story is about Disproportionate Minority Contact in Hawaii's Juvenile Justice System - Native Hawaiians account for 40% of youth involved in the JJS here.
UH Manoa's Dept. of Urban and Regional Planning helped put out a report with suggestions on how to fix this and I put together an article explaining all that.
This image is a thumbnail I did for an image I think I'll use to accompany this article. The editor of the Weekly asked for an image of troubled youth, and since the story is abstract, and not about any one youth in particular, I decided to obscure the face with heavy shadows that should hopefully also add a lot of mood and emotion.
However, it is still a news story, so we don't want the image to color the story too much, since it is fabricated (the image, not the story). We'll have to see what happens. I may have to revise before I can start painting for real.