Boxcar Astronaut #99

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

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

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 #92

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

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 #83

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! Curiosity, we all know what it did to the cat, but what about curious little boys? Ben has a way of making a pest of himself when it comes to learning more about Robot. This time, though he learns a valuable lesson, sometimes you should just take "no" for an answer. See what we mean in this week's All New Boxcar Astronaut!

Boxcar Astronaut #75

Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! This week marks the 75th installment of Boxcar Astronaut, in which we find Ben and Devin playing with an all time favorite item, bubble wrap! We all know popping bubble wrap is fun and addictive, however, as the boys soon learn, is best enjoyed in moderation. Witness what happens when Robot gets his hands on a roll of bubble wrap in this week's All New Boxcar Astronaut!

Boxcar Astronaut Sketchbook #3

(This post was originally published on 4/6/08 at BoxcarAstronaut.com)
Welcome, once again, fellow astronauts to another peak behind the scenes at Boxcar Astronaut! I have a few treats for you this time with a couple of pieces of early pencil art from the production of this strip.

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This first one is the scene where the boys first interact with their newly reactivated automaton buddy. It goes all the way back to strip # 14.

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Next is the pencils from exactly 40 strips later, strip # 54. For those of you that have been reading along for a while may remember that one as the "lightning strikes" strip, this shot being the aftermath.

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And almost last, I have here an early design drawing of Devin.

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In every sketch book entry I like to throw in something a little different. This time I posting a little sketch I did of the Hulk. I've been in a Marvel mood lately what with the fantastic Iron Man film and now the new movie about ol' Jade Jaws! This might be my favorite summer blockbuster season yet.

Boxcar Astronaut Sketchbook #2

(This post was originally published on 5/4/08 at BoxcarAstronaut.com)
Welcome to another installment of the Boxcar Sketch Book! I know I haven't updated this section in a couple of weeks, but I've been hard at work bringing you these top-notch, terrific tales of whimsy and adventure we like to call Boxcar Astronaut! Rest assured, though, fellow astronauts, I do have more treats for you in store. This time out, I bring you three never before seen (outside of my apartment, that is) sketches.

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This one is an early marker sketch of Ben from way back in 2006 when I was developing the characters. This was the one that made me say "Eureka! I've got it!" Everything else evolved out of this look.

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Here is a pencil drawing of Ben and his faithful co-pilot, Diogee. This was done at the same time as the classic "Ben holding his whiffle-bat sword in the air" image that graces our header, promotional material, and even some t-shirts. I wanted to do some well rendered iconic drawings to set the tone as we were developing the strip. I think this shot sums up Ben and Diogee in that they're together as always, yet clearly seeing the world from different perspectives.

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And lastly, this is just a random sketch I did to pass some time and take a bit of a break from drawing children and robots. This little lady is Jenny Everywhere*, internet open source comic sensation. For those of you unfamiliar with Jenny, check out the Shifter Archive Project for some history. Now, I have no plans to do a Jenny Everywhere comic of my own, but, I do think she's a neat character and is fun to draw. If you want to see a really fun Jenny comic that's going on now, check out the Jenny Everywhere Chronicles done by the great Benj Christensen of I Am Geek fame!

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*The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition.
This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere,
in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed.

Boxcar Astronaut Sketchbook #1

(This post was originally published on 4/6/08 at BoxcarAstronaut.com)
Greetings, Fellow Astronauts! I'm your friendly neighborhood boxcar artist, Marc Lapierre here with a brand new section of the ol' Boxcar Astronaut website called the Sketchbook. In this section, I'll be posting all sorts of fun stuff. Periodically, I'll be bringing you early concept designs of you favorite Boxcar characters, rough pencil art of some of you favorite moments from past strips, and anything else I feel you might get a kick out of. So watch this space, you never know when I'll post something new! And now, dear Boxcar fans, I present to you a glimpse into the inner workings of your new favorite comic strip.
-M

This here is a very early concept sketch for our favorite automaton. Robot went through several different design possibilities before I fell in love with this version.

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Here we have Ben and Devin's first meeting from strip # 2.

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Ah, good ole Diogee! Even in this early design sketch, he's as loveable as can be.

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