Parody
Red Titan and the Floor of Lava
Hey, you know how they say that good things come in threes? Sounds like an arbitrary number. But there are some good things that DO come in threes: three-ring circuses, three wishes granted by genies in fairy tales, three Back to the Future movies, three Marx Brothers who were actually funny (sorry, Zeppo, you contributed nothing to the act). That sort of thing.
Here’s another good thing associated with the number three: I’ve written three Red Titan graphic novels. Well, so far, anyway. The first two Red Titan GNs came out last year. (I wrote about that in a previous blog post.) And I’m writing THIS post to tell you that the third one, Red Titan and the Floor of Lava, is out now. It was illustrated by Patrick Spaziante.
Red Titan is the superhero alter ego of YouTuber Ryan Kaji (who can be seen on the Ryan’s World YouTube channel).
And while the Ryan’s World videos are shot in live-action, the Red Titan shorts are animated. The Red Titan graphic novels are illustrated in a colorful, lighthearted style similar to that of the animated shorts.
All three of the Red Titan graphic novels are set in the Ryan’s World universe. They were all published by Simon and Schuster’s Simon Spotlight imprint, and they’re part of the Ready-to-Read Graphics line.
I had a ton of fun writing these books. I tried to give them a sort of “classic kids comics” vibe, similar to those Little Dot stories Harvey Comics used to publish. Or Sheldon Mayer’s Sugar and Spike comics (published by DC back in the day). That’s what I was going for, anyway.
Here’s the official publisher description of Red Titan and the Floor of Lava:
“Red Titan and his friends want to have a picnic, but…the floor is lava! Will Red Titan be able to use his super strength and his scientific observational skills to save the day?”
More info HERE.
BTW, if you’re interested in checking out the other two Red Titan books I wrote, you can find out more about the first book (Red Titan and the Runaway Robot) HERE.
And you can find out more about the second book (Red Titan and the Never-Ending Maze) HERE.
A few weeks ago, I was a Swamped by Croc!
Happy New Year! Hope you’re having a fantastic 2022 so far!
A few new developments I wanted to share:
Recently, I wrote a Batman children’s book called Swamped by Croc, which is out now! The book was illustrated by Francesco Legramandi and Gabriella Matta, and it was published by Penguin Random House!
Here’s the official publisher description for Swamped by Croc:
“Batman follows the criminal Croc into the dark waters of the Gotham City swamp-but will the swamp’s quicksand prove to be as deadly as his foe? Young Batman and DC Super Hero fans will love the action as their favorite super hero battles the monstrous villain in this full-color storybook that features more than 30 stickers!”
Speaking of Batman: Back in 2019, I wrote a MAD Magazine story called “What If Batman Were Actually 80 Years Old.” It was illustrated by Pete Woods. More recently, “What If Batman…” was reprinted in MAD Magazine #23 (the Batman-themed issue), which is out NOW, and which is cover-dated February 2022! Pete and I both put tons of Easter Eggs into this story. Robert Pattinson even puts in an appearance! (Seriously!) You can see Tom Richmond’s cover art for the issue HERE.
What else? Oh, here’s something: Last year, I wrote a humor piece for Weekly Humorist, called “Thanks To The Pandemic, Nobody Cares That I’m A Centaur.” Earlier this month, it was selected as part of Weekly Humorist’s Best of 2021 List.
And last but definitely not least: I made a video about the history of Jews in animation for the Union for Reform Judaism’s “RJ On the Go” platform. The video is called “Drawing the Line,” and it’s viewable until January 31st. Check it out!