And The Winner Is...

Howdy folks!

The results are in for the "What Did The Halloween Kid Wrangle" Drawin' contest and you guys drew your faces off! Thank you to all the artisits who entered, each piece was enjoyable. I hope everyone will keep drawing because you will only get better and better and one day my drawing hand will get tired and I'll need help creatin' more books! So are you ready to see the winners and the rest of the drawings, pardners? Here we go!

First up is the announcement for the ages 1-12 category. A drumroll please.... The first place prize goes to the creative and talented, Evelyn Anderson from San Francisco, California, U.S.A!

Comments: This 7 year old Artist (with a capital 'A') submitted this scaley, spikey, stitched-up, gnarled-tooth, blood-shot eyed, horned monster! It's a good thing The Halloween Kid wrangled up this crazy thing! A wonderful job Evelyn! Fantastic! Extra style points for adding your own dark castle in the background WITH moat!

You won: An original inked 8 x 11 in. HALLOWEEN KID drawing by me

An original one-of-a-kind HALLOWEEN KID mask

A signed and sketched HALLOWEEN KID book. Congratulations!

Ages 1-13 Runner Up: Angie Age:9 from Bakersfield, California, U.S.A.!

Comments: I received a lot of drawings from Bakersfield, California- good job Bakerfield!- and this one stood out for me. This mean little witch with nasty mole and wicked unibrow seems so upset that she is captured by THE HALLOWEEN KID. Nice coloring job on top of that. Great job Angie! Angie did not originally have her last name on the entry form, so I had to do a little investigating...
You Won: A signed and sketched HALLOWEEN KID book and poster! Congratulations!

Ages 13-18: Winner: The ghost of THE HALLOWEEN KID capturing a ghost!

Just kidding! For some reason I did not receive a single entry for this age category. Because of that, any entry would have been an instant winner. And now what you've all been waiting for...

Ages 19+: WE HAVE A TIE!!! This was a tough category because I received some nice submissions and because no one entered the ages 13-18 category I'm doing this: Both tie entries will receive a prize!

Joshua Smeaton Age: 35 from Tampa, Florida, U.S.A. ties with Xavier Loza Age 28 of Santa Barbara, California, U.S.A..

Comments: Joshua Smeaton submitted this fun drawing of THE HALLOWEEN KID wranglin' up Michael Jackson in zombie form, as found in Michael Jackson's THRILLER video.  A fun idea that was nicely drawn, posed, and lighted- Just look at the glow that the moon shines on M.J. and the shadows created- Nice! On top of that, was colored with colors and background similarly found in the HALLOWEEN KID book- Great job Joshua!

You won: An original hand drawn HALLOWEEN KID Trick-or-Treat Bag drawn by me

And a signed and sketched HALLOWEEN KID book. Congratulations!

First Place: Xavier Loza Age: 28 from beautiful Santa Barbara California, U.S.A.!

Comments: I love the evil HALLOWEEN KID Doppelganger  that Xavier drew and the nice little details like shabby tube sock horse with crooked tree branch! I also love that even as a villain, he has rose colored cheeks. The evil version even has an official HALLOWEEN KID trick-or-treat bag- that's just twisted! Great job Xavier!

You won: My original inked drawing of the entry form with my version of what THE HALLOWEN KID wrangled.

And a signed and sketched HALLOWEEN KID book. Congratulations!

Ages 19+ Runner Up: Alexandra Brace Age: 27 from London, United Kingdom!

Comments: Alexandra submitted this candy stealin' spooky clown. If you look closely that clown has fangs-scary! Nicely rendered, as well!

You won: A signed and sketched HALLOWEEN KID book and poster. Congratulations!

Winners: please email me your mailing addresses so that you will receive your prizes! 

Thanks again to each and every one of you for entering your lovely creations. You made this a really fun and memorable experience and I hope you had a good time drawing. And now here are the rest of the drawings. Enjoy!

Ages 1-12:

Artist: Unknown From: Parts unknown. THE HALLOWEEN KID has wrangled a terrifying half-bodied prehistoric creature. Although he may be smiling, don't overlook the frightening teeth count!

Jessyca Rodriguez Age:9, Bakersfield, California. Comments: Jessyca shows THE HALLOWEEN KID wrangling a spookly floating pumpkin. Nice starry background Jessyca!

Ashley Decuerva Age:9, Bakersfiled, California. Comments: Don't be fooled by this cute looking creature for it is pure evil! Good job Ashley!

Dylan Age:7 from Salt Lake City, Utah. Comments: Dylan shows THE HALLOWEEN KID lassoing a creepy mummy. I like how he depicted the bandages and I liked the eyes. Good job Dylan!

Jennifer Age:10 from California. Comments: Jennifer depicts this footless creature caught y THE HALLOWEEN KID. I like Jennifer's use of a word bubble.

Jonah Mingo Age:5 from Salt Lake City, Utah. Here, Jonah depicts THE HALLOWEEN KID capturing one of them sneaky GOODY GOBLINS from the book. Jonah shows great promise as an artist doing this at age 5!

Joshua Age:9 from California Comments: Joshua depicts THE HALLOWEEN KID wrangling up a great pumpkin (Whether its THE Great Pumpkin is still being debated by scholars) Joshua shows a nice use of space with his pumpkin patch and background and I like the cat and bat he added. Joshua will be a force to be reckoned with as an artist! Good job Joshua!

Eduardo Vasquez Age: 9, Bakersfield, California. Eduardo did a nice drawing of an original creation. I like al the 'x's' on the costume and the fact that he's blue. I also like the background he added. Eduardo will be an amazing artist! Great job Eduardo!

Andrea Santiago Age:9, Bakersfield, California. Comments: Andrea submitted this nice drawing of THE HALLOWEEN KID wrangling up some tasty treats. Looks like he even scored WHOLE candy bars- a trick-or-treat treasure!

Oliver Anderson, Age:4, San Francisco Comments: Oliver was the youngest entry and just look at his spooky creation! Oliver is off to a great young start with his drawing career!

Luno Age:5 from beautiful Oakland, California. Comments: Luno submits a scary hairy long-legged monster! Good job Luno!

Ages: 19+

Justin Babb Age: 26, St.Paul, Minnesota Comments: Justin entered a drawing contest for my comic, PABLO'S INFERNO years ago. He's still drawing and getting better and better. Here, THE HALLOWEEN KID wrangling EL CALAMBRE: the greatest Mexican wrester that ever lived (in my comic, at least!) Thanks for the crossover drawing Justin!

By the single nome de plume 'Goose',  also from the mighty Oakland, California. Comment: Another entry from Oakland California. This is a creepy multi-eyed and tentacled monster that I would not want to cross paths with! Nice drawing with nice use of the space! Good job Goose!

COMING SOON: A HALLOWEEN KID costume contest for the youngsters. Get ready!

~Rhode

"What Did The Halloween Kid Wrangle?" Drawin' Contest!

Click on entry form image to enlarge, then print, and draw!

Howdy Pardners!

Announcin' the official "What Did The Halloween Kid Wrangle?" Drawin' Contest! Sharpen them pencils & crayons because we are about to have a drawin' jamboree! For those of you who have picked up THE HALLOWEEN KID book, you know that The Halloween Kid loves him some Halloween and he wrangles anybody who stops others from lovin' it. All you have to do is print out this here drawing entry form and draw yer face off!

All ages welcome! Anybody can participate, please spread the word! Entries can be black-and-white or in color, but bein' creative is what counts here! RULES: All entries must be received by September 30th at high noon. Please scan (kids, you might need and adult to give you a helpin' hand with this part) all entries at 100dpi (to keep the files small) and email to rhode (at) pablosinferno (dot) com. (please write like a regular email address using @ and a . ) Please label your drawing- "Halloween Kid Entry" before attaching to email. By entering you are giving permission to show your drawings online. Only one entry per person. Winners will be announced in early October (please visit the site for more updates) Here are the prizes (for now, there may be some additions in the upcoming weeks):

Ages 1-12:

1st Place:
-An official original one-of-a-kind drawn Halloween Kid Mask.

-An original Halloween Kid inked drawing by me (coming soon)
-A Halloween Kid book signed by me

Runner Up:
-A signed and sketched Halloween Kid book
-A signed and sketched Halloween Kid Poster

Ages 13-18

1st place:
-The original drawing used for this contest along with my drawing of what the Halloween Kid captured (This will be revealed when the contest is over)

-A Halloween Kid book signed and sketched by me

Runner Up:
-A signed and sketched Halloween Kid book
-A signed and sketched Halloween Kid poster

Ages 19+

1st place:
An original one-of-a-kind two color Halloween Kid Trick-Or-Treat (8 x 10 inches) bag drawn by me (8x10 inches) Suitable for hangin' or for trick-or-treatin'!

-A Halloween Kid book signed and sketched by me

Runner Up:
-A signed and sketched Halloween Kid book
-A signed and sketched Halloween Kid poster

That's it for now folks. Remember to check back here for the actual date that winners will be announced and everybody's entries will go up. Also, keep checking for possible additional prizes. And don't forget: Have fun!
~Rhode

The Halloween Kid Has Landed!

Shown: a free card available at rhodemontijo.com 

8/31/10 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:  Coming real soon in September- an all ages HALLOWEEN KID drawing contest with prizes galore! Also, a HALLOWEEN KID costume contest for the youngsters in October! Get ready!

Howdy folks,

It has been a bit busy lately, but I have lots of news to share. First, THE HALLOWEEN KID is officially out! I continue getting reports from those who pre-ordered the books and their arrival to homes. Books should be in stores, hopefully in the Halloween section or available online at places like at AMAZON .

THE SAN DIEGO COMIC CON has come and gone and aside from me getting sick, Jamie Baker and I had one of our better shows! Thanks to all who came to the booth and took a chance with picking up some of our items, while there was plenty to choose from on the epic convention space. I nearly sold out of all the advanced copies of THE HALLOWEEN KID, coming home with only a handful of books. I did not anticipate that kind of response. Thanks so much to everyone who picked up a book!

I have a few HALLOWEEN KID posters left over from the convention and I am making them available here, while supplies last. I will sign each poster and dedicate them (optional) if you fill in the space provided below. Poster measures 16x20 inches and is on glossy UV coated stock paper. $5.00 + $4.95 priority mail shipping. (Available in the U.S. only- sorry!) Note: If you can't see the Paypal button right below to purchase, please click here .

Signed to: (Optional)

There are also still a few SKELETOWN signed and numbered limited prints available, as well. Only 100 made. $20 + $4.90 priority mail shipping. The print is a two color screenprint on quality paper and printed by Bloom Press. (U.S. only) Note: If you can't see the Paypal button right below to purchase, please click here .


*Shipping Note: If for some reason you place an order for more than one print and/or poster and get charged twice for shipping, I will refund the shipping overcharge before completing the Paypal transaction.

More HALLOWEEN KID news: I've updated my site rhodemontijo.com with lots and lots of FREE HALLOWEEN KID goodies like this HALLOWEEN KID IRON-ON and OFFICIAL MASK. You'll find coloring pages, mazes, secret messages, pumpkin carving stencils and more- all free! Click image below to take you straight to all the goodies!

Shown: Halloween Kid Iron On #5 available at rhodemontijo.com 

Shown: Print your own Official Halloween Kid Mask! rhodemontijo.com 

Here are some recent reviews of the book:

The first one that came in was a really sweet write up from THE SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Spoiler Warning: This gives away how the book ends. Skip this one if you'd rather be surprised:

“YEE-HA-LLOWEEN!” is the battle cry of the Halloween Kid, who rides his stick horse into suburban anytown USA and rids the place of all manner of Halloween-hatin’ varmints. Text written in cowboy lingo enhances the rootin’ tootin’ fun as the Halloween Kid lassos toilet-paper mummies, leaf-pile ghosts, and the Giant Miami Werewolf. When the Kid meets his match in the greedy Goodie Goblins, the local children rescue him for a change, bringing the tale to a sweet and satisfying conclusion. This rollicking story projects a delightfully retro style and sensibility, aided by black, white, and orange brush-and-ink illustrations reminiscent of cartoons from the Eisenhower era. A treat for storytime as well as for independent reading and a must for Halloween picture-book collections.–Amy Rowland, Shelter Rock Elementary School, Manhasset, NY

Next up was KIRKUS REVIEWS:

When pumpkin-suckin' vampires and other Halloween hoodlums threaten holiday fun, the Halloween Kid, who "loved him some Halloween," keeps the peace. He's so successful, they stay away for years--until the Goodie Goblins show up, and it looks like his skills are so rusty he won't be able to stop them! Who can save the Halloween Kid? While Montijo's plot may be a bit shopworn, his storytelling and stylish graphics more than make up for this. His old-time Western dialect drops gs with abandon and introduces to a new generation such fabulous vocabulary as "varmints" and "[o]oh-wee" as it drawls along. The brush-and-ink illustrations are digitally colored in oranges and yellows and manipulated to present a worn finish, and the 1950s cartoon aesthetic is completed with the Halloween Kid's Lone Ranger mask. "Yee-haw"--er, "Yee-HA-lloween!”


KIRKUS REVIEWS are tough sometimes. They blasted my first book, so I have to take this one as 'not-so-bad'

The latest comes from PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY review:

When Halloween tricks get out of hand, it's time to call the Halloween Kid, a cowboy bandit with a black mask and flying hobbyhorse. Every year, he fearlessly wrangles "pumpkin-suckin' vampires" and tickles "leaf-pile ghosts," but when goblins run amok, he may have met his match. Grainy vintage-style illustrations in mustard and orange evoke autumnal nostalgia, with a nod to old westerns: " `Y'all keep trick-or-treatin' now, ya hear?' and with a wink, he rode into the moonlit sky." Ages 3-6. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Also, I recently updated Skeletown with a few new drawings. I try to keep Skeletown growing by adding a few new images every so often, so please visit
skeletown.com to check out the latest.

I recently found these rocks that looked bone white, so I had an idea...

Last, but not least, check out the latest GIANT ROBOT MAGAZINE #66 that has an article about the free crayon portraits and short stories that Jason Jaworski  and I occasionally do out on the street.

Photo by Mark Mulhern

Thanks so much for reading. More to come real soon!
~Rhode

The Halloween Kid Reprinted!

I went to my previous apartment today and my old roommate told me that a package had arrived for me. I had no idea what it was, but it was from my publisher and it was slightly heavy. I opened up the package and there were two of my HALLOWEEN KID books inside. This confused me. They had already sent me a few advanced copies and here they were sending me two more. I then opened one of the books and there was this little green index card-sized note inside.


I could not believe my eyes! THE HALLOWEEN KID, a month away from even coming out, was getting a second print run! What great surprising news! I couldn't believe it. This has never happened to me before! My first kids book, CLOUD BOY did get a second printing, but it was months and months after it had come out, but here with THE HALLOWEEN KID getting reprinted before it even comes out, was the craziest news! My heart was racing when I read that little note, it's the smallest note, but I read it over a few times to make sure I wasn't reading it wrong and constructing things in my head. All I can say is THANK YOU SO MUCH, if you pre-ordered the book, YOU DID WONDERS! Thank you friends, librarians, book sellers, parents and children, for taking a chance with the book! I enjoyed the heck out of writing and drawing the story. It wasn't 'till later that I worried about how the book might do. It was a seasonal book after all and would only have a small window of a few months to sell from August to October, but I guess I got lucky. If you are a book dork like me and look for a first printing of a book, there is almost always a small printing history number line on the inside copyright page of a book. It's usually a row of numbers like 1 2 3 4 5 6... or 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2, so if its a first printing, it will have the number '1' in the number line and in later reprints the lowest number is removed. So these same numbers, say in a third print run, will look like this: 3 4 5 6... or 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4. Too much information??? Anyway, back to it- thanks again for everyone who picked up a book!



Now, onto some San Diego Comic Con news! Its just a few days away. My buddy Jamie Baker and I are at the same booth we have been for that last few years- we love that spot! Please visit booth #1329, if you attend the show, it would be great to see everyone. Again, the dates ar July 22-25. Jamie Baker will have his first full color book: Sephilina and here's a peek at some of the new things I'll have at the booth this year. I printed up a new SKELETOWN print, once again with the mighty Bloom Press in Oakland, California, by the powerful Nat. Nat is a perfectionist and it shows in all of his work. If you ever need something printed, this is the guy for the job! This is a very limited screen print run of only 100 made. Each print is two colors and printed on a 16X20 heavy stock paper. It depicts little Skully reading a book and his imagination running wild. Here's a peek at the image (not actual print):



I was also able to print a small run of THE HALLOWEEN KID posters! Full color offset print run of 500 made on glossy stock paper. Measures 12 X 18. Here's a peek:





Finally, I printed a small set of postcards. Each set comes with 5 individual spooky images(+1 free) and are mail-ready. Here's a peek:



We'll have more things at the show! I hope to see you there and if it's your first time going to the show, take it steady and slow and enjoy the ride!

~Rhode

The Halloween Kid Is Coming!

I'm so happy to announce my upcoming children's book, THE HALLOWEEN KID! This will be my second children's book that will be published and it's a big dream come true! THE HALLOWEEN KID is about a mysterious masked boy who wrangles Halloween hoodlums to keep the night safe for trick-or-treaters. All is well for years, that is, until a band of greedy goodie goblins gallop onto the scene - then even the Halloween Kid can use a helpin' hand. This book is 32 pages and will be published this Fall (August 10th) through Simon & Schuster. I'm hoping, however, to have some super advanced copies to sell for the San Diego Comic Con on July 22-25 (will confirm soon!)

For a peek at the book, here's a small book movie trailer: (click image to play or click here)



You can also flip and read through the first five pages here:

Simon & Schuster Browse Inside

Growing up and to present day, I love me some Halloween. I LOVE everything about it!



With children's books, I love going to the Halloween section every year and seeing what's new and I'm happy THE HALLOWEEN KID will be a part of that batch this year.

The book itself was inspired by newspaper articles from my hometown where I read that some kids were no longer allowed to dress up in schools on Halloween and were getting discouraged from trick-or-treating because of fear. I really felt Halloween was in danger, more so than being dangerous. The inspiration for the look of the book came from vintage Halloween decorations that I love and which tend to have limited colors. Most times, the colors off-registered a bit, and some of the vintage decorations are worn and distressed, so I tried to emulate that here. It was also fun writing the whole book in a Western drawl, dropping g's and even using a double negative in a sentence, something that normally publishers will try and correct, but my publisher embraced. I hope it makes for a fun read-aloud book. I really owe the printing of the book to my editor, Kevin Lewis. I feel lucky to have illustrated a few books, but since day one, he believed in my writing and it's because of him that CLOUD BOY and THE HALLOWEEN KID came to life. Thank you Kevin. Now, here's a peek at some of the book's process:

This was the cover to the book mock-up (the whole book quickly sketched in it's entirety with pencilled in story) that I used to shop around the idea to publishers. ( you'll see later that the final cover was pretty close to this):


Here's an interior page sketch:



Here's the same page finalized and in color:



Another interior illustration:



This is a peek at the cover process. Initially I just had the Halloween Kid on the cover, but the publisher felt it should reflect the trick-or-treating part of Halloween as well, which I didn't mind at all. The first cover sketch revision showed a trick-or-treating scenario, with houses and all, but it just felt too busy. We knew we wanted to use black as the cover, but the silhouetted houses were getting lost against that.



In the end we just simplified, dropped the homes, and lined the trick-or-treaters at the bottom with no perspective.



Here is the final cover with THE HALLOWEEN KID logo designed by Laurent Linn, who outdid himself with the design of this book!



Here's a group shot of characters in the book that I just did for fun. This image is not in the book, but maybe I'll make a print or a poster in the future.



For More Rootin Tootin' HALLOWEEN KID fun and information please visit:

rhodemontijo.com

I will be posting new information, activities and images, as they become available, on that site. There will be free goodies like this HALLOWEEN KID coloring page and maze! (click on the images to enlarge and just hit 'print' on your printer!)





Thanks for reading. More news as the publishing date nears. If you are interested in this book and want to pre-order THE HALLOWEEN KID, you can do so by clicking the link below (if you complete the process through here or at rhodemontijo.com,it would be greatly appreciated!) or look out for the book when it hits bookshelves on August 10th.
Pre-Order here:


More HALLOWEEN KID goodies are coming. Please visit again soon!



Thank you kindly, pardners!
~Rhode

Melvin Beederman: The End?

Yesterday marked the end of a series of books that I had the great pleasure of working on, with Melvin Beederman Superhero #8 hitting the book shelves. A book written by first time author, Greg Trine, about a struggling kid super hero who couldn't leap a building in a single bound, but took him more like six or seven tries. What was supposed to be one book, initially, it was pulled from the infamous "slush pile" (that dark room at all publishing houses with piles of book manuscripts that are stacked high to the ceiling) and was granted an eight book series! That alone should give any aspiring writer hope. I remember getting the call from my editor, she was so excited about the book and was giggling as she explained the rough story line to me. I was immediately drawn to the main character and all of his struggles and soon became a fan devouring each new manuscript like a fan first and then as my illustrating job later. I loved working on this book so much. On top of that, Melvin Beederman took me to cities I'd never seen, when Greg Trine and I went on a book tour arranged by the publisher, and met many new friends because of the book, and for that I am thankful. It had at one time even been optioned to be animated, but never quite made it.

 Melvin Beederman had a good run of eight books, although part of me secretly wished to see what Greg Trine would have written had he known it would be the last, there was/is so much potential in the series, that's for sure! I'm in a bit of a denial about the whole thing, I feel that it may live on in the future, but it's not up to me and for now, it's a bittersweet good bye. If you ever had thought about maybe picking up the book before and maybe passed, now would be the time to give it a chance. It's a treat! A bit biased of a recommendation, but a sincere one. Here's a peek at one of book #8's final scenes of an epic battle inside of a space mall (click image to enlarge):

Melvin Beederman was a blast to work on. Thank you Greg Trine for writing the book with such fun characters with heart. Thank you Reka Simonsen for pairing me up with Greg and for believing in me for the series. Thanks to the designers that worked on the book. Thank you librarians and readers old and young, for giving the book a chance. Thank you Henry Holt & Co. for publishing eight books about a struggling little hero that leaped from the "slush pile" and into homes and schools everywhere!

~Rhode

p.s. for all readers old and new, one last surprise: I had a fun time of hiding a panicking chicken in all eight of the Melvin Beederman books, so if you have the books already, go back and look for the chicken! Some are easier to find than others, but there's one in each book. If you are asking why a chicken, I will quote a wise one that once said "because chickens are funny."

Exhibit A: Panicking chicken