Toe Jam

It's almost here!

I'll be the first to admit, I had my doubts about Toe Jam. I just wasn't sure if he and the toenail fairies could be done justice on the pages of a graphic novel. But boy was I wrong. You can see how much heart has been put into every single page of the book by everyone working on it and my dad, the author.

Being lucky enough to see a preview of the book, I can wholeheartedly say it's a must-read. Everyone who reads Toe Jam and The Toenail Fairies becomes enGROSSed with the story and the very, individual characters. It's great to see it all come together after all the hard work and endless hours I have seen being put into creating the book. Hopefully we'll get the book delivered this Friday so everyone can enjoy it ASAP!!

- Caitlin Nielson

TJ Busts a Move on the Floor

Whew!  We've got about a week and a half until the Toenail Fairies release their stanky, foul odor on the world! This has been a grimy ride with lots of late nights and stinky visits from Teej and the guys, but it's all been worth it.

This picture is me surrounded by all of the artwork before I sent it to Brian in Minneapolis. I feel lucky that my arm survived all of this!

It's been so intense, I've even been dreaming of toenail fairies... or was that really them? Hard to tell.

-Michael

Toe Jam hits the wall!

Well it's April 5th and we've got the entire book up on the wall at Brian's studio. Michael has been pumping through some amazing art from his studio Chicago. Now we're polishing TJ's story, the art direction and arguing over what parts make it into this book and what parts go into ... well, we'll just have to see where the other parts show up!

Delivery date from André and Gaétan ... our two new best friends at our printer in Montreal, Transcontinental: April 25th!

- John

Wierd, Odd, Strange Sighting...

Whoa, guys. 

It's late.  VERY late (have a look at the time of this post).  I was lucky enough to be visited again tonight by the Toenail Fairies.  While we were discussing the important difference between a Corn and a Bunion, I saw (and smelled!) something strange hiding in the shadows by the Toenail Fairies' spacecraft (The Hytoe).  I've stayed up extra late so I could draw this little beast while it was still fresh in my memory. 

Anyone have any guesses?  What IS this thing????

-Michael

Rucas rocks the reek-o-meter!

Awesome day yesterday testing book spreads with kids. That's Brian asking, "Better A or Better B?"

We were trying to get a read on how "dirty" the spreads could be without losing legibility. The answer came through loud & clear: "The grosser the better, but not so gross that I can't read the story."

Then we asked: "Which toenail fairy stinks the most?"

Rucas rocked the reek-o-meter with insights like this: "I think Rucas would stink the most because he looks very lazy and because of all of his layers and equipment."

So did that stop anyone from wanting to go home with a Rucas hoodie? No way. We ran out of those!

- John

Mood Check!

Need your help here ... TJ, Korn, Gout and Rucas have described the moldy but magnificent mood on Planet Fungeye to us over and over again. We think we've got it narrowed down to one of these two book spreads:

Let us know which one you like better ... click on the "Comments" button below to cast your vote. Thanks!

- John

First spread created

Awesome work, Brian and Michael! First test spread is very cool.

Toe Jam Storyboard

The more you hang with TJ and The Toenail Fairies, the more amazing their story gets. (Guess that's natural since they've been dying to tell their story to any human who would listen since the beginning of their time!)

So working with Michael's sketches, Brian's rough layouts and pages and pages of nasty toenail tales that they shared with me, we storyboarded the whole epic adventure. (That's me revising something I didn't get right about some toenail disease Gout told me about.)

After we sit with all pages up on the wall for a while, the story starts to come together, the illustrations flow like magic and TJ and The Toenail Fairies finally start to feel like, "Ya, they got our story right!"

It's been a putrid privilege working on their story so far. Michael, Brian and I can't wait to share it with kids everywhere when the book comes out April 1st. (And I can't wait to use a few of those gazillion frequent-flier miles I've racked up with all those trips from Earth to Planet Fungeye and back!)

- John

The Toe Nail Fairies Visit Me Here

     Just like John, I've got my special space, too.
     One night, I noticed that the Toe Nail Fairies liked to buzz by this window in my apartment on their way to visit the neighborhood kids.  Luckily, it's a really big window, so I have the chance to catch them before they get too far away.
     After a few chat sessions, I decided to set up my drawing table, stereo, and art supplies there.  It's worked out perfectly.  They stop by every once in a while to listen to music and make sure I'm representing their stinky kind in just the right way. 
     You can see I was half-way through drawing Rucas in this picture.  I had to wait until the next night to finish because I couldn't quite remember just how bulky that little dude is.    

-Michael

Connecting with Toe Jam at The Loft

Everyone needs their special place to write – and to connect with muses, spirits and fairies of their own liking. My spot? It's behind a few creaky, concealed doorways in the Writers' Studios at The Loft in Minneapolis. It's actually where Toe Jam and I first met. That makes it a very special place for me – and a very smelly studio for writers who visited after our chats.

- John