Pico the Parrot — Strip #5: The Battle of William Tangletoy

Pico the Parrot — Strip #4: The Sleeping Pad Incident

Pico the Parrot — Strip #3: Parrot Thirty

Pico the Parrot — Strip #2: The Tyrolean Mountain Dachshund

28 Days of Pico — Day 28: Dog Beach

Day 28.

This is Dog Beach.

Twenty-eight days ago I introduced you to Pico. Today I give you this.

Every dog on this beach is hand-drawn. The surfers, the swimmers, the chess players, the poodle under the umbrella, the Doberman who clearly owns this stretch of sand, the dachshund — yes, that dachshund — still digging her hole in the lower right. The biplane. The lifeguard stand. The fire hydrant, which is there for obvious reasons.

I drew this in the style of P.D. Eastman because there is no other style for Dog Beach. Go, Dog. Go. Big dogs, little dogs. Red dogs, blue dogs. Dogs on waves. Dogs playing cards. Dogs tanning on towels, which I did not think dogs did until I went to Dog Beach and watched them do it.

Dog Beach is one of the oldest off-leash beaches in the country. It sits at the north end of Ocean Beach, right where the San Diego River meets the Pacific. On any given morning it is the happiest place in San Diego. Possibly in California. I have never seen a bad day at Dog Beach. I am not sure one has ever occurred.

Pico knows this beach. He knows every dog on it. He would tell you he is their mascot, which the dogs have neither confirmed nor denied.

This image will be a 30″x10″ print. It will be one of the most San Diego things I have ever made. I am proud of every single dog in it.

That is twenty-eight days. Twenty-eight illustrations, characters, stories, and moments from the world of Pico the Parrot. Thank you for following along. Thank you for backing the campaign. Thank you for caring about a loud green bird from Ocean Beach who is very certain he matters.

He does.

— Stooge

28 Days of Pico — Day 27: Face Plant

This is the final scene of Pico the Parrot # 4, The Battle with William Tangletoy. In Scene 1 he is drinking water peacefully, but his tail knocks the parrot toy and causes it to ring. Scene 2 Pico regards the toy with discontent…annoyance. In scene 3 he attacks the toy to teach it a lesson. In scene 4 his attacks have reached a furious pitch, only for Scene 5 — Face Plant. Pico inexplicably fell head first off the perch. This is based on a true story.

28 Days of Pico — Day 26: Skater Josh as a Parrot

Today’s contribution is a commission for a friend. He wanted me to draw Skater Josh as a parrot, perhaps pico’s cousin. Who is Skater Josh? An O.B. Legend. Kind of a bad boy who skateboards everywhere he goes in O.B. Pico generally travels by backpack. My initial problem was drawing Pico carrying a skateboard and wearing a tee-shirt is that pico is a bird. He neither rides skateboards nor wears tee-shirts. So, I needed an anthropomorphic avatar of Pico. This drawing is what I came up with. This guy represents O.B., San Diego, and Parrot Republic just like Pico.

28 Days of Pico — Day 25: Pico vs. William Dangletoy

Today’s frame comes from “The Battle of William Dangletoy” which is going to be frame 6 of 7 of Pico the Parrot #4. Who do you think comes out on top in frame 7?

28 Days of Pico — Day 24: The Sleeping Pad Incident

The other day, Ella and I were chilling in the van. I was cooking on the two-burner stove and she was sitting on the bench seat. Pico flew over to the shelf where he got interested in a rolled-up sleeping pad. It’s soft foam and it must’ve seemed very enticing to the little green guy. I said to Ella “Pico’s up there with your foam pad. Next thing you know he’s tearing into it and boy was he making quick work of it. So I said, “Boy! He’s making quick work of that thing.” She jumps up there and takes it from him, saying “No Pico, that’s not yours.” She looks at me and said “Of course, you do nothing.” Stirring the pasta I said, “I’m narrating!”

28 Days of Pico — Day 23: Pico and the Surfers

Today I give you a look back at Pico’s illustrative origins. This was the second complete drawing of Pico that I made. Obviously I’ve made tremendous strides! This was my first scene associating Pico with OB. I still like Newport Ave and the pier in the background. Also, Pico’s yellow mop is already developed.