“I’ve been writing and drawing children’s books for a while now, and there are few things more rewarding than creating a story that makes a child want to read.” – J. Robert Deans
Artist, Writer, Cartoonist, Punster, and… The Thin Man obsessive?
I doodled all my life. During a nearly ten-year career selling comics, I would relax by drawing them, eventually starting my own web comic. CRASS FED COMICS featured a cow, a penguin, a peculiarly sketchy style, and my rather eclectic sense of humor. Less than a day after being laid off, a silly idea struck me: a cow lost in space.
That idea became MOO THOUSAND AND PUN, my first picture book, and the first in the SHAKES THE COW picture book series. Shortly afterward, I created THE BEAR FROM AUNT, a series of mid-grade spy adventures featuring a koala, Stanley, as the titular character. Since then, I’ve created a series of solo gamebook adventures (STEER YOUR OWN STORY), serialized short stories inspired by 1940s mystery films (DASH & DOTTIE), tales of thieves-turned-adventurers (THE COUNTESS), and more, all of which are set in the very real and made-up land of Grand Punwick, where all of my characters live… in other words, not just in my head.
I regularly collaborate with my wife and Kidlet on various books (THE MOOSELAMBS storybooks), toys, and comics (THE MIGHTY HIPPOFARTAMUS) for our Deans Family Productions imprint, Crass Fed Kids.
And, as you should have gleaned from the header, I watch the 1930s/40s Soft-boiled Noir Film series THE THIN MAN waaay too much. How much? Try once a week since 1990. Check the math, and you’ll find…it’s a lot.
MY BLOG HAS MOVED! The (IN) Complete Resource to Virtually Nothing is now hosted on my PATREON page as part of the Free Membership tier. You don’t need a credit card or password to sign up, just an email address! (You will also receive occasional posts with artwork or book previews, too!)
BOOKS
I have created or co-created several series, including picture books for toddlers, chapter books for gradeschoolers, short stories and novellas for preteens, and even solo adventure gamebooks for older readers. These are just my most recent releases – for a complete selection, plus more information on each title, visit my BOOKS page.
You can buy our books via our BOOKSHOP.ORG affiliate page. ALL sales made through this link give a portion of sale proceeds to a fund which helps independent bookshops stay open in the shadow of “big box” shops.
ARTWORK
Before making children’s books, I was writing and drawing a web comic called “Crass Fed Comics,” largely inspired by the newspaper strips of my youth. I was also taking commissions and generally drawing goofy stuff, which ultimately led to a certain series of adventures for a certain bovine. Below are a few of my more recent pieces. You can check out a broader sampling of my portfolio, and order a commission of your very own, from my ARTWORK page.
I am currently OPEN for commissions! Email me via the ABOUT page to discuss your wishlist!
SERVICES
I have over fifteen years of experience in writing, editing, and design and am available for independent work in those fields, as well as Small Business Consulting work, and more. Read about those services and more on our business site, DEANSFAMILYPRODUCTIONS.COM. You can also send me an email inquiry about those services and your needs via my CONTACT page.