The Avengers Assemble @ Gallery 1988

***UPDATE #2***

If you're heading to San Diego for Comic Con 2013, you can purchase this shirt exclusively at the Marvel booth (#2329)

***UPDATE***

I am so proud to be a part of this!! Marvel has announced their upcoming exclusive merchandise for New York Comic Con 2012 (Oct. 11 - 14) including this artwork in T-Shirt form! Read more about it below for more info!

http://marvel.com/news/story/19489/marvel_celebrates_new_york_comic_con_with_exclusive_items

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This is kind of a huge deal for me...

It's no secret that I am a fan of Joss Whedon. I have created artwork based off of several of his creations including Firefly, Dr. Horrible, and most recently, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I am extremely honored to be a part of this show as both a fan of Whedon's work as well as a huge Marvel fan.

On May 4th, 2012, Joss Whedon will unleash his most ambitious project yet with Marvel's The Avengers. The night before however, Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles is holding a very special art exhibition put on by Marvel and Disney featuring some very talented people.

I am very proud and very honored to present my artwork for The Avengers show at Gallery 1988:

A limited number of signed and numbered prints will be available exclusively at Gallery 1988. You can get them in person through the weekend (if they're still available) and online. CLICK HERE! Sorry folks, all sold out.

Along with prints will be a framed album complete with Captain America's shield for the record! I had a fun time creating this one. I am a huge Weezer fan and I knew that they had released The Red Album on red vinyl so I tracked one down and put a white circle in the middle to create the shield look. Below is a mock-up of what the framed album looks like. There is only one of these in existence, so hopefully a lucky person gets to take this home with them after the gallery opening.

image courtesy of Collider

I also created an album back complete with track listing just for this blog. The artwork below will not be for sale, I just got really into what I was working on:

I am very excited for this show, and as you can see by the list below, there are some very talented people involved with this.

I'd like to thank Marvel, Disney, and Gallery 1988 for the opportunity to create some artwork for this event. It really is so awesome to be involved with a project like this. I'd also like to give a special thanks to Joss Whedon for all of his hard work and dedication to telling stories in the way he does.

Marvel's "The Avengers" assembles in theaters everywhere on Friday May 4th

Artists Assemble at Gallery 1988 on Thursday May 3rd and it's only open through the weekend folks so hurry on down, otherwise you might make the Hulk angry, and you won't like him when he's angry.

"Assemble"
Thursday May 3rd, 2012
7021 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
http://www.gallery1988.com
http://marvel.com

To purchase prints of my previous artwork, head on over to my Etsy store and take a look around!

Memes @ Gallery 1988

***UPDATE*** Prints are available to purchase by clicking HERE!
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Dear Gallery 1988,

Happy Birthday. It's been 8 wonderful years you've been alive and this world is a better place for it. Thank you for being you. You always have unique shows with some very talented people, and you've been kind enough to bring me along on your adventures. This is my 12th show with you guys and I couldn't be happier to celebrate two of my favorite things, Gallery 1988 and The Internet.

See Mom? All of that time I spent online wasn't a complete waste... I'm happy to present my latest creation for Gallery 1988's upcoming show "Meme's":

"Straight from the World Wide Web and into your hearts comes the new hit album "Haters Gonna Hate" from The Internets! Now you can sing along with hit songs such as "Friday", "Trololo", and "Bed Intruder Song". Join the lemonparty with some old friends, hide yo kids, hide yo wife, and listen to The Internets, they're never gonna give you up!"

And the album back complete with track listing and some super geeky references to the origin of the internet:

A limited number of prints of the album cover will be signed and numbered, available to buy at Gallery 1988 Melrose as well as online through their website: http://nineteeneightyeight.com

Front and back prints will be available unsigned through my store.

If you're in the LA area, you won't want to miss this show. Details below!

"Memes" at Gallery 1988
Friday May 4th 7-10pm
7020 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
http://www.gallery1988.com 

May the 4th be with you.

A Tribute to Hitchcock @ Gallery 1988

*****UPDATE #2*****

Prints are now for sale:

Buy - Psycho

Buy - The Birds

Buy - North By Northwest

The framed prints are sold out. 

***** UPDATE *****

I will have 30 prints for each film available signed and numbered. Prints are 5x7 and fit perfectly in matted frames as seen in the pictures below. Prints will be $25 each and framed artwork (Signed and numbered as AP's 1/1 each) for $50 each. 

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Gallery 1988 is THE place in Los Angeles for Pop-Culture art shows. I have been fortunate enough to have been involved in quite a few shows with them over the past few years. This year marks a record for me with 10 shows at Gallery 1988 in 2012!!!

Earlier this year I was in the "Adult Swim" show and last month "Is This Thing On? 2". The next show i'm so proud to be a part of is "Suspense & Gallows Humor: A Tribute to the All-Time Greatest" at Gallery 1988 in Venice, CA.

Alfred Hitchcock was a true master. His work was so chilling and visually captivating, there are many options for an artist to interpret his work, which is why i'm so excited for this show! Below is my contribution.

In the 80's Nintendo was a dominant force to be reckoned with. Had Hitchcock been just a few years behind I'm almost certain that Nintendo would have jumped on the chance to make video-game adaptations of some of his most iconic films. I'm almost certain that their game boxes would have looked a little something like this:

A very limited number of these prints will be available exclusively at Gallery 1988's Venice location as well as online through their website.

There are over 100 artists participating in this show and it's sure to be an excellent event. If you're in the Los Angeles area you should definitely make it a point to come on out to Venice. Details below.

"Suspense & Gallows Humor: A Tribute To The All-Time Greatest"
Friday, April 13th (How appropriate...) 7-10pm
Gallery 1988 - Venice
214 Pier Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90405

A to Zombie

I recently started a new blog dedicated to the ABC's of surviving a zombie apocalypse. A few years ago I came up with a plan. Everyone should have a survival plan if you want to survive. Now i'm working on a handy guide that will help you and your loved ones (provided they aren't infected) prepare.

"A - Zombie"

"A to Zombie" is an alphabetical guide that I started mainly as an artistic exercise. I wanted to work in a style drastically different than most of what I do on a daily basis. An A - Z list is a great way to build a body of 26 pieces, it also allows for your subject matter to be pre-determined so i'm never just staring at a blank page.

It's a lot of fun to incorporate the letters into the words and composition, I hope you tune in.

Head on over to A to Zombie and check back often! You never know, someday your life may depend on it...

The Fellowship

"Pack your Lembas bread and get ready to leave The Shire behind with The Fellowship! The new album "One Ring" will take you on an epic journey there and back again. With hit songs such as "You Shall Not Pass" and "Po-ta-toes", your ears will RING with delight. So bring your axe and your sword and listen to The Fellowship!"

-The Fellowship album front-

-Track listing for "One Ring"-

I created this piece just purely for my love of The Lord of the Rings. I originally had planned to do a bit of an ode to Sgt. Peppers by trying to include as many LOTR characters as possible, and I soon realized that what I love about the films is this group of men, wizards, hobbits, an elf and a dwarf that set out on the ultimate quest of good vs. evil.


The hard thing about coming up with a track list is that there are just too many good quotes. There's even a hidden one which only an elf would know.


Get ready for an Unexpected Journey by ordering a print today!
Prints of the album front are available at my Etsy Store! Just click HERE

Gallery 1988 - "Is This Thing On? 2: The Weird Year"

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UPDATE 2/28/13

Well, after a year of being homeless, my artwork has finally made it's way into the hands of this handsome beast (that would be the guy on the left...)

photo courtesy of Team Coco

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This is going to be awesome!

I love stand-up comedy. My parents had a great vinyl record collection, so as a kid I got to listen to some great comedy records. One in particular I remember pretty vividly was Steve Martin's "A Wild and Crazy Guy" which featured Steve Martin in a white suite with bunny ears on the cover. To me, there is no better comedy film than "The Jerk". I don't remember when I first saw the movie, but I was pretty young, and it was pivotal in shaping my sense of humor.

I've been a night person for a long time. When I was 13, I remember turning on the TV to watch a new show with a tall red-headed guy. I loved "The Simpsons" and I knew he used to be a writer for the show, but aside from that... I knew nothing about Conan O'Brien. His sense of humor was like nothing like Leno or Letterman, I was instantly a fan.

When thinking of what to do for "Is This Thing On? 2" I immediately thought of Conan O'Brien. I grew up watching Conan all through high-school, college, and then long nights of working in the video-game industry.

I always loved the characters that would appear on Late Night so I decided I had to narrow down to a manageable list. Sorry fans of Shoeverine or The Gaseous Wiener.

"Conan and The Conandos"

I had a really fun time putting this one together. I tried to fit in my favorites, Pimpbot 5000 will always hold a special place in my heart.

Here's a look at the "Tracklist":

If you get the Puppies in Melons reference, you're officially awesome!

For the gallery I've created a framed album available exclusively at Gallery 1988:

A detailed look at the record label:

As if it needed to be said, NBC really did a huge disservice to comedy with what they did to Conan. In the end though, he still has a great TV show over on TBS, and for that, the world is a much better place with Conan O'Brien.

I'll be selling a limited number of signed prints as well as the framed album. They're only available through Gallery 1988 so get to it!

To purchase a print, click here!
To purchase the framed album, click here!

Oh. P.S. This guy is going to be hosting the gallery opening:

That's right. The Man. The Myth. The LEGENDARY... Weird Al Yankovic. My first album I ever owned was a Weird Al album. My first concert? Yep... Weird Al. To say that I worshipped this guy growing up would be an understatement. I was obsessed with everything Yankovic, My parents took me, my brother, and sister to see UHF on opening night. We were the only ones in the theater and my family loved every second of it. Weird Al Yankovic is a living legend and it's going to be a dream come true to meet him. If you want to meet him too check out the details below.

"Is This Thing On? 2: The Weird Years" at Gallery 1988 on Melrose
Friday, March 9th 2012
7020 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
http://www.gallery1988.com 

Head on down to Hollywood, pack yourself a twinkie-weiner sandwich, and come see some excellent artwork from some amazingly talented artists.

Adult Swim @ Gallery 1988

Adult Swim is coming to Gallery 1988 Friday January 13th! They've kindly asked me to participate in the group show. I'm admittedly not 100% familiar with all that Adult Swim has to offer, but I do love me some Venture Bros. So it was pretty clear what my subject matter would be when I was asked to be a part of the show.

Venture into awesomeness with The Venture Bros. and Friends!

A very limited signed and numbered print run will be available exclusively through Gallery 1988.

If you're an Adult Swim fan and you live in the Los Angeles area, you definitely don't want to miss this show.

Adult Swim @ Gallery 1988 Melrose
Friday January 13th, 2012
7020 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
http://www.gallery1988.com

Buffy and The Scoobies

*******UPDATE*******
Coming Monday, February 13th to Teefury for 24 hours only!!

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2011 has been an excellent year. I was able to participate in some excellent Gallery shows, most notably "Crazy 4 Cult" at Gallery 1988 where I debuted my "Sing Along with Dr. Horrible" album. I also got to participate in a great charity event for Equality Now where I got to meet Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day.

I worked with Teefury to raise money for Maurissa Tancharoen Whedon and her Walk for Lupus Campaign, and in return I got some AWESOME stuff in the mail from some pretty awesome people:


As the great 2011 draws to a close, as does my series of Whedon inspired albums with my latest piece:


I created this artwork for one of the most important people in the world to me. My new Fiancé Kristin. She is amazing and there are so many reasons why I love her. One of which is that she was wearing a batman t-shirt when I proposed to her. She also happens to be a HUGE Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan. When she came into my life, she brought Buffy along with her. I had seen and loved Firefly, Dollhouse, and Dr. Horrible, but I had yet to experience Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Well now I am happy to report that I get it... Buffy is pretty awesome. It may have taken a while, but by the end of 2011 I will have finished all 7 seasons of Buffy.

I know that Kristin isn't the only fan of Buffy, and so I wanted to share this with you. Yes YOU! If you're reading this right now... YOU are awesome. YOU are also very good looking and YOU smell nice.

Hellmouth Records has just issued this press release:
"Fresh out of Sunnydale, here comes Buffy and the Scoobies with their debut album "Chosen"! Choose your weapon and get your blood boiling with heart pounding songs such as "The Big Bad", "Out For A Walk, Bitch", and "Hush". Buffy and the Scoobies take aim at your heart and will have you begging for more. Fortune favors the brave when you are Chosen."


Here's a look at the track listing:


This is what the record label looks like:


Prints of the artwork are available to purchase exclusively through my Etsy store located at joebot.etsy.com
Buffy and the Scoobies front: HERE
Buffy and the Scoobies front and back set: HERE
If you're extra good this year, this design may appear in t-shirt form very very soon.

I always appreciate hearing from fans of my work, so feel free to leave a comment below with your thoughts! And remember what your mother should have told you, if you have nothing nice to say, write it on the internet.

Here's to 2012, let's all hope the Mayans are wrong!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!http://www.teefury.com/

The Legends of Hyrule - Gallery 1988

**UPDATE**
On Saturday, November 19th, this design will be available exclusively at Shirtpunch.com for 24 hours only, then it's gone forever. The shirt will cost $10 (or about 100 Rupee's depending on the Hyrulian exchange rate). So be sure to mark your calendars and tell your friends!

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I grew up playing video games. At the tender age of 5 years old my family got a Nintendo Entertainment System and I got REALLY into it. Mario was great, but then about a year later, The Legend of Zelda came out. I must have sunk months... maybe years of my childhood into roaming around Hyrule, I really should have been granted dual citizenship. From then on, I was a gamer for life.

So when Gallery 1988 asked me to participate in their upcoming Video Game Show, I was beyond honored. Zelda is celebrating it's 25th anniversary this year, so it only seemed appropriate to create a piece celebrating one of my favorite game series. Combining three of my favorite things: Music, Video Games, and Illustration, I followed along my theme of creating retro children's albums for Firefly and Dr. Horrible I decided to set my sights on The Legend of Zelda.

Link and Zelda have taken a break from their adventures. The Princess is tired of constantly being kidnapped by Ganon and Link needed to relax and fill up his heart containers. During some downtime, the two came together and decided to put pen to paper and out of that came The Legends of Hyrule's new album "Songs of Time":



Here's the back of the album and it's track listing:



Click the links below to find out more about the meaning behind the song titles!

Side A:
Heroes of Time
It's Dangerous To Go Alone
Excuse Me, Princess
A Secret To Everybody
The Wind, It Is Blowing

Side B:
Come On!
Grumble Grumble
I Am Error
You Got A Piece Of Heart
Hey, Listen

In addition to prints, I always make one physical album that is mounted and framed. Since all of the Zelda games have shipped on gold cartridges I thought it would be fitting that the album would be pressed on gold records:



Here's the label printed on the record:



This framed album will be available exclusively at Gallery 1988 at the show opening: Purchase it HERE!



The album's Front and back prints will be available exclusively through my etsy store. To purchase high-quality prints, all you have to do is click HERE!.
Signed prints of the album front will be available exclusively at the gallery and online through Gallery 1988's Website.

If you love video games, or at one point in your life you did, then you will not want to miss this show. With about 100 featured artists, the Old School Video Game Art Show is likely to have something that interests everyone who ever picked up a controller at one point in there life.

The Old School Video Game Art Show
Friday Sept. 16th - October 8th
Gallery 1988
214 Pier Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
http://www.gallery1988.com
http://www.joebot.etsy.com

Gallery 1988 - Garbage Pail Kids Show!

Let's travel back in time to 1985. The world was a different place back then...

-"We Are the World" was the #1 song in the country.
-New Coke is released and immediately despised by everyone (everyone but Bill Cosby)
-"Back to the Future" opens in theaters around the country and the DeLorean becomes the ultimate time machine.
-Windows 1.0 is released by Microsoft, Steve Ballmer suffers from insanity... sorry Nebraska.
-Nintendo releases the NES packed in with Super Mario Bros. to America (my life is changed forever).
-Topps produces a series of trading cards called "Garbage Pail Kids". Parents everywhere cringe in disgust.


Garbage Pail Kids were basically cards that made fun of Cabbage Patch Kids with gross names which most of the time translated to real life teasing of kids that were unfortunate enough to share a name with an existing card such as "Scotty" or "Amy"

I was safe... It's hard to rhyme Joey with anything that's too embarrassing. Slowy and Doughy aren't all that bad... Anyway, coming up in the first week of September, Gallery 1988 is holding a Garbage Pail Kids show! They asked artists to re-imagine their favorite Garbage Pail Kids card in their own style.

I was a huge fan of the 1960's card series "Mars Attacks" which was later turned into a Tim Burton film.



Luckily, there was a Garbage Pail Kids card "Alien Ian" that had been done in this style, and so I was more than happy to work on this. Here's my piece for the show:


The show opens Friday September 2nd at Gallery 1988 on Melrose in Los Angeles and runs through October 1st. I will have prints available to purchase both at the Gallery and through their online store.


Come on out for the opening! It's sure to be disgusting and entertaining!

The Garbage Pail Kids Show
Sept. 2nd, 2011
7020 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
http://www.gallery1988.com

** UPDATE **
Some good reviews of the show! Hayley Williams of Paramore makes an appearance :)
http://thehundreds.com/blog/2011/09/03/grossed-out/
http://dailydujour.com/2011/09/02/seen-garbage-pail-kids-gallery-1988/

Our Lady of Sunnydale Shirt!

!!!!!!! This shirt is now available on my Redbubble store !!!!!!!

Attention all Buffy fans! Yes... that means YOU. I know this is late notice, i'm very sorry, but I've been busy! Comic-Con isn't just going to see itself. I have a new t-shirt going up for sale on Teefury starting at Midnight (Eastern) tonight and 9:00pm (for all of us west coasters). On Tuesday July 26th, you can buy "Our Lady of Sunnydale" from Teefury.com for the very low price of just $10. I spent that on nacho sauce this past week at Comic-Con, so $10 for a t-shirt is a pretty good deal. It's only available for 24 hours so go go go!



(Edit) It seems that the image that Teefury has displayed is burning peoples retinas resulting in hate-filled anger that would make Satan himself proud. These above images more reflect the actual design and the shirt.

Crazy 4 Cult 5: President Camacho

It is a fact that as a society, we are becoming dumber. Mike Judge, creator of the brilliant "Office Space", realized this several years ago when in 2006 he wrote and directed one of the best documentaries on the future. Idiocracy is the story about an average man that in 2005 is frozen as part of a military experiment. He is forgotten about and awakened 500 years in the future where he has now become the smartest man alive due to the dumbing down of the rest of the world. The movie only showed in a few theaters around the country and was was all but ignored by 20th Century Fox's marketing department, as demonstrated by this terrible trailer:



The movie was dumped onto DVD which is exactly where I found it. This movie is definitely not for everyone. My girlfriend Kristin hated it because "of all the trash and stupid people everywhere". How can you not love a movie that contains this scene:



My favorite character from the film is easily President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho A.K.A. President Camacho, a former porn star and professional wrestler portrayed by the always excellent Terry Crews. For this years Gallery 1988 show "Crazy 4 Cult 5" I submitted two pieces. The first one is a Dr. Horrible piece and the other is this tribute to the future President of The United States of America: President Camacho



Signed prints will be available at the show and on Gallery 1988's website!



Crazy 4 Cult 5: I'm Too Old For This Sh*t!!!
July 8th, 2011
7020 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
http://www.gallery1988.com