Drawn by me!
This is a collection of books drawn by me and unavailable anywhere else.
Do you love hilariously absurd comics?
Are you looking for a book that doesn't take itself too seriously?
Are you ready to laugh your butt off at the absurdity of it all?
Then you'll love these very weird books.
How NOT to Invade Earth is an absurdist comedy about an alien that blows up the moon and gets Venus and Earth involved in an interplanetary war.
I drew this book all the way back in 2015, but have only been able to bring this book out now due to the help of Cammy Lapka, who agreed to letter and design the book for me so it can FINALLY be released from my archive.
This year has been all about releasing books deep in my archive, and this is the last one that I've been sitting on for years.
This book is pure comedy. If you like my other books, you will probably like this one, too. However, I'm not a great artist, so you'll have to get through that...first...I guess...yeah.
AND it's all-ages appropriate.
I think kids will like it, cuz it's super weird. However, it's really for kids of all ages who like weird things.
It's seriously so weird, y'all.
Wait, didn't you say you drew a second book?
I did!
How NOT to Invade Earth is my second book.
The first one is called Gherkin Boy and the Dollar of Destiny. It's about a pickle that falls into a black hole and sets out across the universe to get back home with the help of a lecherous fork, a one-eyed alien, a naked professor, and a felonious stick.
It's a glorious love letter to weird. It's basically weird for the sake of weird.
Please note, while How NOT to Invade Earth is all-ages appropriate, Gherkin Boy and the Dollar of Destiny is DEFINITELY not.
Why would you do this?
Good question. I like yer moxie.
Years ago, when I was a young comics human, I wanted to get more insight into what it took to actually draw comics.
I had been doodling free crappy drawings at shows for years, but I thought the only way I could really learn what it meant to draw comics was to DRAW comics.
In doing so, I decided to draw a comic book. I know, bananas logic, right?
So, I did.
However, since I can't really draw well, I decided that I would have to make books that turned into the skid of my art level, and thus, Gherkin Boy was born.
And then...the oddest thing happened. I would take it to shows and Gherkin Boy SOLD.
It wasn't my bestseller, but it was successful enough that I decided to do another one.
Enter How NOT to Invade Earth.
I drew the book years ago with every intention to letter the book and release it, but then life happened, and, well, it slipped and slipped and slipped as other things came up, and I started getting a name through my other work.
Then, when I finally had an opening, I feared releasing it because I have very little confidence in my own art. I thought that maybe people would just hate it, and then me, and so, I shelved it again, and again, and again.
Now, I feel like I have enough of a fanbase to share this very, very, very weird part of myself without fearing (too much) reprisal. I know this book won't be for everyone, but it's very personal to me.
I'm very proud of it.
I know it's very odd, and it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I know there are a lot of people that loved Gherkin Boy, and if you love my work, I hope you'll check it out as well.
It's a real weird ride.
These two books are EASILY the weirdest things I've ever made, with maybe the exception of Worst Thing in the Universe, but I think this one is even weirder, honestly.
Seriously, maximum weird.
A funny story...
There's a really weird story about this book's production. As I mentioned above, I drew this book in 2015 with the intention to letter and release the book relatively soon after. Then soon became months and months became years.
Which wouldn't have matter except...
...I never wrote a script for the book.
So, when I went back to finish this book, I had NOTHING except the finished pages. I had to write the whole of the script from scratch, which makes this a collaboration between 2015 Russell and 2020 Russell, which makes this book even weirder.
Additionally, you will find a couple more books in this collection.
I'll Kill You is a sci-fi book heavily influenced by Invader Zim, and drawn by me during 24-hour comic day some years ago.
F*ck this Webcomic is a collection of the free crappy drawing I've done at shows over the years, colorized and bound.
You'll also receive audio commentary for How NOT to Invade Earth and Gherkin Boy and the Dollar of Destiny.
AND, as a bonus for ordering from my web store, you'll also receive both the 2015 and 2016 Awfully Cute Sketchbooks I made while preparing to draw these books.