HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Well kids, Halloween is now upon us, and Halloween Countdown 2008 is dead.

It was a blast posting a Halloween themed illustration every day this month, and I am rather proud of myself for being able to do so without missing a single day! I've also had a blast looking at all the fellow participating bloggers' entries. A lot of people put forth a lot of effort and they all deserve a round of applause!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by, if it was for one day or for all thirty one, and a special thanks to all who took the time to leave such nice comments. It's good to know that my drawings are appreciated.

So without further ado, as the Countdown strikes zero, here's my final Halloween themed illustration for 2008:



Hard to believe there was actually a time when a sunken-faced zombified Michael Jackson wasn't a redundancy.

Happy Halloween everybody! Now go get that candy!

Halloween Countdown 2008 Draws Its Last Breath

Tomorrow is Halloween! That can only mean one thing for Halloween Countdown 2008: DEATH!

Any last words, Halloween Countdown 2008?

It's Pronounced "Eye-gor."

What better way to celebrate day 29 of Halloween Countdown 2008, and the last "hump-day" before Halloween, than with Igor?

Of course this is no ordinary Igor. This is Igor ala Marty Feldman, from his famous role in Mel Brooks' Young Frankentstein!

Rise of the Great Pumpkin

Day 28 of Halloween Countdown 2008 is searching for the most sincere pumpkin patch!


It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown has been a holiday staple for over forty years. It just aired again tonight, so I watched it for at least the thirty third time in my life (that's all the Halloweens I've lived through so far.)

Snoopy's rise from the pumpkins, being mistaken by Linus for The Great Pumpkin himself, is probably my favorite moment.

Okay... Show Me

Day 27 of Halloween Countdown 2008 will run you down and squish you flat!


This is Christine, the '58 Plymouth Fury from the classic John Carpenter movie based on the classic Stephen King novel of the same name.

Watch what you say about her...she's real sensitive. Oh, and if you see her coming, try not to run down the center of the street.

Watch Out for the Boogie Man!

Halloween Countdown 2008 shakes it's moneymaker on day 26!

When I was a kid my parents and other assorted adults would warn me to watch out for the "Boogie Man."

I don't know if this "warning" was meant to scare me or save me. One thing is for sure, it was never followed up with any sort of explanation.

So in my little head, with my limited worldly knowledge and experience, I envisioned the "Boogie Man" to be some hippie dude walking around in a perpetual state of "boogie."

In my mind's eye he came out as a cross between Jesus and Tommy Chong, complete with robe, bandanna, sandals, and long hair and scraggly beard. Shaking his ass.

He didn't really seem all that threatening. You would probably spot him coming a mile away, and you could darn sure outrun a guy shaking his ass while he came after you.

Which Witch is Which?

What would Halloween be without a witch?

Day 25 of Halloween Countdown 2008 is gettin' ugly!

The Greatest Monster Hunter of All Time

Can you believe it's already day 24 of Halloween Countdown 2008!

Only one more week until Halloween!

Unbelievable!

Equally unbelievable is the fact that I've been able to draw and post a Halloween themed image every single day this month. Let's see if I can keep the momentum up for seven more days.

Whew.

Today I bring you the greatest monster hunter of all time, Simon Belmont, from the classic Nintendo video game Castlevania!


"Crack that whip!"

Betelgeuse Betelgeuse Betelgeuse

It's Showtime!

It's also day 23 of Halloween Countdown 2008, and there's only eight days to go until Halloween night!

I hope you have your costume ready...or to be more economically accurate, I hope you can still afford a costume.

But there is a bright side, kids - Tootsie Cassa-Roll all November!

(awww Mom, leftovers AGAIN?!?!)

Full Moon Fever

Day 22 of Halloween Countdown 2008 needs a shave.


I guess since I already posted Teen Wolf this would be...I dunno...thirty something wolf. You can tell by the extra pounds.

Boo to You

Day 21 of Halloween Countdown 2008 nearly didn't make it!

I've been feeling artistically uninspired the past few days, and have had some pretty heavy things to attend to. When October began I had a backlog of Halloween illustrations in case of such a situation arising...but I've now used them all up!

So I had to come up with something new today. I nearly forgot and went to bed instead, and even when I remembered I had that moment of "blah."

But I then remembered, it isn't just about me. I've got those twelve followers over there on the right to consider as well! ;)

So at first, still feeling "blah" about the whole thing I figured I'd just draw a couple eye holes on a white piece of paper and call it a ghost.

Funny, but not very inspired.

I knew I needed to bring something better. I threw down some sketches...then literally threw them down, towards the trash can, before I fell back on my original ghost idea...with a twist.


Just an unassuming ghost you say? No big deal you say? All that blabbering about your life and this is all you can do for us you say?

Maybe...but wait...there's more!

Hold this card up to the light, and voila...



I drew a skeleton on the back so it'd shine through! Neat!

So even when I'm uninspired I'm still pretty clever.

You're welcome.

Now off to bed.

Mommy? Where are you? Where are you?

Day 20 of Halloween Countdown is heeeerrrrrreeeee!

Having had a similar experience as a child (true story) this scene from Poltergeist has always been my favorite.

I used to get up very early in the morning and sit in front of the TV, very close to the screen. I did not turn the TV on. It was off, but in the reflection of the screen I could see myself, the room and furniture behind me, and people moving about the living room. If I turned around there was no one there, just an empty room.

So I would sit staring for an hour or two at the TV screen and the people in my living room until my Mom woke up and told me to turn it on.

I told her I could see people. I was probably four or five.

She's probably glad I'm not crazy.

Just a Brain in a Jar

Day 19 of Halloween Countdown is nothing but a brain in a jar.

Yup, that's it. Nothing more to see here today. Move along.

A Strange Case

Halloween Countdown 2008 continues!

Day 18 is comin' atcha' from both sides - with the good Dr. Jekyll and the hideous Mr. Hyde!



Hyde and Hare - Funny bloopers are a click away

This Island Blog

Day 17 of Halloween Countdown 2008 is invaded by this guy from the 1955 Sci-Fi classic This Island Earth, known as a Metaluna Mutant.

I don't know if he's a mutant cabbage or a mutant bollocks, but either way I wouldn't want to bump into him in a dark alley!

I Want My Mummy...

Day 16 of Halloween Countdown 2008 wraps up with this here mummy.

And a joke:

"What's a mummy's favorite type of music?"

"Wrap!"

Ha!

The Devil Made Me Do It

Can you believe it's already day fifteen of Halloween Countdown 2008?!?!

To mark such a monumental milestone, today I did a devilish little illustration.

I've always envisioned the Devil as a sort of hedonistic sophisticate, much like Hugh Hefner.

Altogether Oooky

Day 14 of Halloween Countdown 2008 introduces you to everyone's favorite lamp, Uncle Fester!

Monday the 13th!

Day 13 of Halloween Countdown 2008 slashes onto the scene with the most violent hockey goalie of all time.

Blah! I Vant to Suuuck Your Bluuud! Blah!

Blah!

I Ain't Afraid of No Ghost!

Materializing into Day 11 of Halloween Countdown 2008 is everyone's favorite class five full roaming vapor, Slimer!

Hey, that pizza is supposed to be for my lunch! Give it back! Give it ba...AAAack!

Ugh...he slimed me.

Bzzz buzz-buzzz BZZZZ!

Buzzz ten of Buzzaween Buzzdown 2bzzbzz8 buzzes into buzz with a buzz-buzz of buzz buzzbuzz...

Buzz...buzz? Buzz?

BUZZ! BUZZZZZZ!

Heeeelp meeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

I'd Rather Be Fishing...

Transitioning slowly from my last post back into Halloween Countdown 2008, Day 9 brings you the Creature from the Black Lagoon, with a big grin on those fish-lips of his.

Must...Post...Smiling...Superhero...

Aaaarggh! All this grim, dark, dismal Halloweenie stuff is getting me down! I just had to draw a bright grinning superhero to get focused again!

Plus a smiling dolphin.

Aaaaahhhhhh, I feel much better.

Now I can get back to the Halloween Countdown!

:D

What's Up, Doc?

Frank the Bunny here, reminding everyone about our "Face The Question" contest. The response has been pretty good so far, but there's still plenty of time to enter if you haven't done so already.

Don't fear if you have no artistic talent either, and don't feel you can't enter because you're so damn good you'd win if you drew with your left foot, because the winner will be judged on criteria so broad and diverse I cannot begin to describe it. In fact, no one knows what will win or why it'll win, so just enter the contest and cross your fingers!

Oh, and to sweeten the pot, not only will the winner receive the awesome Question ATC illustration, but they will ALSO receive two additional ATCs of Bubba's choosing! That's THREE original ATC illustrations from the amazing BubbaShelby! Wow, I'm all a-tingle!

In the meantime, we hope you are enjoying Halloween Countdown 2008, and we encourage you to check out all the groovy participants in the links to the right.

Finally, there are no limits on how many times you can enter the contest, so go ahead and submit as many as you like!

We now return you to your regular scheduled program.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For...

...this guy right here.

I feel like an idiot, but it wasn't until I actually drew this guy that I realized he is based on Munch's famous painting.



Yeah I know, the movie is called Scream, and it came out over a decade ago, and the killer's ghostly visage has been a Halloween staple ever since, but I never put two and two together until now.

My Heart is on Fire...

...Elvira!



As a kid, I thought it was very odd that the Oak Ridge Boys would write a song about the Mistress of the Dark. I always envisioned a bunch of $#!t kicking good 'ol boys going gaga over Elvira in some made for TV movie like "The Dukes of Hazard go to Hell."



(P.S. - I now know that this song is not about THE Elvira, but as a kid I wasn't so sure.)

Is it a Robot? Is it a Monster?

Apparently it's both. Day six of Halloween Countdown 2008 brings together two destructive forces that force destruction together! A robot...and a monster...combined!

Day Five is For The Birds

Flying into day five of Halloween Countdown 2008 is this seagull.

Nothing scary about a harmless seagull, you say? Tell that to Mr. Hitchcock.

I Slam in the Back of my...

...Drag-U-La!!!!



Roaring into day four of Halloween Countdown 2008 is one of the hottest undead vehicles around! Dragula is Grandpa Munster's coffin-based dragster, as designed by George Barris (of Batmobile fame.)

Rob Zombie even wrote a song about it, unfortunately he was forced to use the Munster's Koach for the video and not Dragula.

Wolf! Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!

Teen Wolf!

Halloween Countdown 2008 hits day three with the hippest teen-aged werewolf since Michael Landon - Michael J. Fox's Teen Wolf!



When I was looking for movie info online to make this post I also discovered that Teen Wolf was written by Jeph Loeb, who also adds to his credits Smallville, Heroes, and many comic book masterpieces including Batman: The Long Halloween. Funny how it all comes back to comic books around here ;)

She's alive...aliiiiiveeee!

Halloween Countdown 2008 continues!


Having previously posted the big green guy himself, I knew before we got too deep into October, he'd need his blushing bride by his side. Although I did the monster in color, I thought it'd be funner to create his bride with the old black and white movie feel.

BTW, this card is part of my current sale on eBay, among a couple other Halloween themed pieces.

Welcome to My Nightmare, Whoahohaoh!

The Halloween 2008 Countdown has begun! Be afraid, be very afraid!!!

Longtime viewers of Art by Bubba Shelby are used to seeing smiling happy colorful superheroes and other such cartoony nonsense here on this blog.

Well boo to you!

Because for the entire month of October... it's no more Mr. Nice Guy!

Mwahahhahaaahahahahaaaaaaaaaa!

(cue music)



For our first day of the countdown I present the Master of the Macabre himself, Alice Cooper!


Born Vincent Damon Furnier in 1948, "Alice Cooper" was first the name of the band, and would later be adopted by Vincent as his own. From Wikipedia: Early press releases claimed that the name was agreed upon after a session with a Ouija board, during which it was revealed that Furnier was the reincarnation of a 17th century witch named Alice Cooper. However, it is now widely accepted that this story was in fact a publicity stunt - Cooper in later interviews confirmed that the name actually came out of thin air, conjuring an image of "a cute and sweet little girl with a hatchet behind her back."