Jerzy Drozd

Teaching Artist and Cartoonist. He/him. When life is feeling heavy, I enjoy creating and sharing stories of cute heroes showing extraordinary courage.

Guest Hosting Ben & Zack’s Monster Market!

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My friend Zack Giallongo was kind enough to ask me to sit in for co-host Ben Hatke on episode 11 of the Monster Market podcast. We discussed six of our favorite monsters from literature (which I interpreted a little loosely, at least for one of my picks.) We discussed them, then drew them. Here are my picks:

The Un-Man, from C.S. Lewis’ Perelandra.

Baba Yaga, the ambiguous witch mother.

And the Linen Monster from M.R. James’ Oh Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad.

We also talked about our own monster creations, and my entry was the Living Doll from The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue:

You can see Zack’s entries here.

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TPD 346 – Characters: Taft

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I’m talking aggressive battle tortoises on this edition of Thunder Punch Daily. Why is Taft a tortoise, and why does he walk on all fours? And how is he inspired by my younger brother?

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Let’s Make Cursed Objects Together!

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This Saturday, August 3, marks the one-month countdown to the release of The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue, and I’m celebrating with live streams where we can collaborate to make some spooky drawings!

For those who are new to Doctor Baer, he’s a dealer in occult objects. My middle-grade graphic novel is the story of how this spooky archivist learns to become an adventurer when his collection is released into the world. So the objects we make could be items in his collection!

I’ve been making these drawings at various events this summer. All I ask is that you show up with the following:

  • A spooky or silly story from your life (I can handle heavy materials, but for the purposes of this live stream I ask that you keep it on the light side)
  • A description or picture of a beloved object you own or owned

You can use the form below to send me the info I need to draw your custom cursed object. You can tune into the live stream to watch it come together, and I’ll even mail you the drawing when it’s done.

Next Live Stream is scheduled for August 17 at 3pm EDT!

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TPD 345 – Characters: Wilhelmina

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It’s time to talk about another character who shows up in The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue. But this time I turn to talking about one of the villains, who happens to be the character I relate to the most viscerally.

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TPD Special – Marketing Your Personal Work Like a Pro, with Rob Stenzinger

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In early July 2024 my old friend Rob Stenzinger visited me in Columbus, and we found ourselves having the kinds of discussions we recorded for the Lean Into Art cast. Particularly topics surrounding our projects we’ve been working on for the past two-to-three years and how we’re thinking about marketing them. So we turned on a mic and captured some of the thinking we’ve been doing.

We set up pretty hastily, so the audio quality isn’t what we had on Lean Into Art. But the gentle, thoughtful approach to art-making topics is all there. I hope you enjoy it!

Links mentioned:

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New Summer and Fall Comics Workshops!

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If you live in Ohio and know young people who love making comics, I have some exciting news for you. I’m leading a week-long minicomic camp in Wooster, OH for the Buckeye Book Fair starting July 21:

Buckeye Book Camp

If you’re around the Worthington area you can register your young artist for my 5-week workshop series, Minicomic Challenge:

I have more workshops and events for autumn 2024, which I’ll be posting soon on my classes page.

You can also get updates on my workshop schedule by subscribing to my calendar:

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Pickles is Ready for Promo

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https://www.youtube.com/@madebykokoro

A piece I worked on during my trip to San Diego for the American Library Association Annual Conference. It was a fun trip where I got to promote Doctor Baer to librarians, reconnect with friends, and check out the San Diego Padres’ baseball park (sadly, they weren’t playing at home that weekend).

It’s feeling like book tour/promo mode is officially underway, and it’s a wild feeling. I’ll have more reflections to share in text and in future Fabulous Secrets microcasts.

My thanks to Chloe Cordero for the color assists on this piece.

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TPD 344 – Characters: Pickles

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It’s time to talk about the most cheerful adventurer in The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue. But is her joyful presence performative, and is there more to her than laughs?

Here are the first drawings of Pickles from October 2014:

Here’s a PDF of the first Pickles and Taft minicomic, which also features Doctor Baer villain Gallus Lugubrious.

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TPD 343 – Characters: Doctor Baer

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I’ve always been fascinated by sage heroes, but my relationship with them has changed from childhood to adulthood. In this Thunder Punch Daily I explore how these characters influenced the character of Doctor Baer himself.

Links mentioned:

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