The home for everything Smash!
If there's one thing Inktober needs, it's a little bit of vampire. (Here's where a garlic necklace would come in handy!)
Click here for more Inktober artwork.
To see more of Kyle's artwork, visit his website. Or follow him on Tumblr.
Today's Inktober picture pays tribute to poor Jack Torrance, as played by Jack Nicholson in The Shining. We like to imagine he's still hanging around the old Overlook Hotel, clicking away on his typewriter: "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
Click here to see Kyle's other Inktober drawings.
To see more of Kyle's artwork, visit his website. Or follow him on Tumblr.
Kids, close your eyes a minute. Things are about to get scary! For today's Inktober drawing, Kyle paid tribute to Pinhead, one of our favorite horror movie bad guys, from the movie Hellraiser. Don't worry — Smash wouldn't let this creep get within a foot of any of you!
Click here to see Kyle's other Inktober drawings.
To see more of Kyle's artwork, visit his website. Or follow him on Tumblr.
For Kyle's second Inktober picture, he paid tribute to a modern classic: Bernie Wrightson's illustrations for Frankenstein. We used to pore over our copy of this book when we were younger, and Wrightson's stunning illustrations were a major early influence for Kyle's artwork.
Click here to see Kyle's other Inktober drawings.
To see more of Kyle's artwork, visit his website. Or follow him on Tumblr.
Created by the ultra-talented artist Jake Parker, Inktober is a new tradition for artists, who draw and post a new illustration each day. This year Kyle is giving it a shot — and since it falls on one of our favorite times of the year, he's working a Halloween theme into his pictures. Click here to see Kyle's other Inktober drawings.
To see more of Kyle's artwork, visit his website. Or follow him on Tumblr.
Today marks one year since the publication of Smash: Trial by Fire! And Smash brought some cake to share with all of you...
Uh, hmm, sorry about that. We'll get that mess cleaned right up. Anyhoo...
Our graphic novel has had a remarkable first year, earning rave reviews and prizes like the 2013 Oregon Spirit Book Award and a Children's Choice Book Award.
Kyle and I have made appearances at classrooms, bookstores, and comic conventions, where we've gotten to meet enthusiastic Smash fans and introduce our 10-year-old superhero to some eager new readers, as well.
From the bottoms of our hearts, we want to thank all of our readers and fans for making this first year so fantastic. Thanks for reading! And huge thanks to everyone who's helped us get the word out about Smash — we couldn't have done it without your support.
We're excited to see what the future brings!
To celebrate our first anniversary, here's the blog tour we took to kick Smash off:
Random Chalk Talk — Guest Post on the evolution of SMASH from webcomic to book.
Powells.com Book Blog — Guest Post on the birth of Smash, featuring the scandalous true story how we designed and created the character.
Who R U Blog — Q&A with Kyle and me talking about what it's like to work together as brothers and other titillating tales.
Book Bitch — Exclusive interview with none other than Smash himself! (Plus a surprise guest.)
Cynsations — Guest Post, "Graphic Novel 101" — how we make the comic.
Green Bean Teen Queen — Guest Post about the magic of libraries and how they helped create a certain pint-sized superhero.
Charlotte's Library — Guest Post featuring a comic titled "The True Origin of the Brothers Bolton." Yes, it's all true!
Hooked On Books — Guest Post featuring the SMASH playlist, for the perfect soundtrack to accompany the book!
Bildungsroman — Q&A with Kyle and me.
— Chris A. Bolton
Smash has accepted the ALS Icebucket Comic Challenge!
Now he's passing it on to our fellow panelists from this year's Emerald City Comic Con: Shelli Paroline of Adventure Time and The Midas Flesh; Jake Parker of Missile Mouse and Skull Chaser; and Chris Giarrusso of G-Man fame! Warm up your pencils, guys — the icewater is coooooooold!
The Icebucket Challenge is a fun way of raising awareness about the fight against ALS, also called "Lou Gehrig's Disease," which is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
Click here to donate money to the ALS Association to help win the fight!
Update, 8.22.14: The brave, talented, and soggy Chris Giarrusso has answered the call of the Icebucket Challenge on Twitter.
Sorry we haven't posted much the past couple of weeks. Things may stay quiet for a little while as we work behind the scenes to create some great new SMASH material. We're also building toward a big announcement that we hope to make VERY SOON. So, please be patient!
And if you want to make sure you don't miss anything, add your email address to our newsletter signup on the right-hand margin. Yep, right over there! ---->
We'll keep our newsletter subscribers updated on everything new and exciting in the world of SMASH! (And no spam!)
It's been nearly a year since SMASH: Trial by Fire was published by Candlewick Press. And what a year it's been!
In just nine short months, we've received a flurry of fantastic reviews and numerous award nominations, including winning the 2013 Oregon Spirit Book Award.
And now comes word that SMASH is a winner of the 2014 Children's Choice Book Awards! From their website:
The reading list kids pick! Each year, 12,500 children from different regions of the United States read newly-published children's and young adult trade books and vote for the ones they like best!
The Children's Book Council has overseen the awards for over 70 years.
Kyle and I couldn't be more honored to be selected by the most prestigious group of judges in the world — actual kids!
Huge thanks to the Children's Book Council for promoting such a worthy endeavor — and, of course, to all the young readers who voted.
If you haven't gotten a copy of SMASH: Trial by Fire for yourself or a young reader in your life, click on one of the links in the right-hand margin and order now. It's the perfect summertime read. And if you don't believe us, just ask the kids who voted!
We've been looking forward to a team-up of Ben Hatke's fantastic Zita the Spacegirl with our super-powered 10-year-old hero. Let's hope the combined powers of Smash and Zita can keep the galaxy safe!
To see more of Kyle's artwork, visit his website.
Or follow him on Tumblr.