Wizard World Philadelphia 2009
Mark McKenna attended the Wizard World Philly show last weekend to spread the word of Banana Tail to the few that are still unaware of the little monkey.

A good time was had by all. Mark was even asked to do a panel on being a professional comic book artist and gave some tips on comic book inking (click here to see the pictures). Quite a few fans dressed up as their fav characters too. Quite a lot of imagination out there!

See you at Baltimore Con in October!

Click here to see more pics from the con

Leaping Off The Page
Students get the chance to connect with authors, illustrators
By Julie Huss

Last Saturday, Derry Village School Cultural Arts Committee, along with the PTA, hosted a Festival of Children's Authors and Illustrators, bringing together a long list of authors, artists, and families for a day-long session full of activities and literary fun...

Click here to read the full article

Welcome to a new feature called "Spotlight on..."

This new feature was meant to familiarize the Banana Tail fans with an artist who I've befriended and in some way smoke screened over the years. My plan is to get them acquainted with and draw or paint some aspect of the Banana Tail family of friends and tell them they will get rich off of it! Its a brilliant plan, except that now that I've mentioned it here, the banana is out of the bag(Sorry guys)!

Kidding aside, I plan on "Spotlighting on" a new artist quarterly as there are some amazingly talented people on this planet. I think that many of them aren't really "seen" enough, so in my little world of Banana Tail, Im going to try and solve that, so you are all invited to my newest Banana Tail feature "Spotlight on..."

First up...

McManus meet McKennus (click here to read full article)

APPEARANCES ADDED!

Come see Mark appearing at:

Baltimore Comic Con - Oct 10th-11th
comicon.com/baltimore/index.htm

Wizard World Philadelphia, June 19th-21st (Artist Alley - Table 155)
wizardworld.com/home-pa.html

New coloring book pages have been added

Hey, kids! Do you have a picture of Banana-Tail or one of his friends that you've drawn or colored? We'd love to see your pictures. So, what are you waiting for? Click the link below to start coloring away.

Click here to start your adventure

Banana Tail has joined with a new digital home!

Banana Tail has joined with a new digital home! KIDJUTSU.com is an exciting new website for kids that allows a fan to download kids comics and the original Banana Tail storybook as one of them! More then 120 "kid friendly" comic books are available to read for FREE at Kidjutsu!

Take a look at this exciting new home for kid readers! You won't be disappointed!

Banana Tail now a star on You Tube! Check it out!

Banana Tail has recently been added to youtube. Come on over and enjoy the world of Banana Tail Online.

Click here for Banana Tail video

Banana Tail was added to Kid Jutsu

"I recently joined Kid Jutsu, a website where kids can read, discover, and share comics.

You can also find the Banana Tail soft cover there to read for FREE!"

Mark McKenna: Catching A Banana By His Tail

Recently I got the opportunity to sit down with long time professional artist Mark McKenna. McKenna, a 24 year veteran of the comic book industry...."

Click here for full article

Banana Tail Reviewed at Comics Bulletin

Heres a fantastic Banana Tail hard cover book review done by reviewer Alex Rodriguez (the other A-Rod) for Comics Bulletin..."The cover of this book says it all -- this is a fun read for parents and a great time for kids! Banana Tail is the story of a monkey, who since he was a baby was told by his mother "Eat too many bananas -- That's what you will be...."

Read the whole review

Miami Book Fair...One Week Later

WOW!

It's a week after I attended my first Miami Book Fair International and I'm finally coming down from the euphoria surrounding that show. I’ve done many a comic convention in my 24 years of being a comic book pro, but at Book Fair I was a first-timer, there to promote and sell Banana Tail books to the masses. It was the 25th Anniversary of the Book Fair but the inaugural year for the Comix Galaxy to introduce fans to the power of comic books, graphic novels and other related products from our universe.

More then 300,000 book fans attended the show over the 3 day span. The Comix Galaxy tents were set up at one of the entrances, so many of the fans who attended had no choice but to walk through our world to get to the rest of the Book Fair…great idea!

Read More

Full Sail Animation Update!

For those of you who have heard me talk about the animation being done for me by Full Sail University, I was able to pry a 37 second segment of the animation project away from the overseeing teacher Steve Akehurst. Actually, Steve was kind to have an intern work through more then 5 minutes of unedited 3D animation and edit a nice little portion of the work into a nice little trailer.

You will need Quicktime to see this little gem.

A New Comic Book Interview with Mark McKenna.

Banana Tail creator Mark McKenna was interviewed recently about his work on a new Batgirl mini series for DC Comics. For the full interview click here: www.comicon.com/pulse/

Scroll down to McKENNA INKING BATGIRL & OTHER ICONS for a link to the full interview.

Mark recently visited Full Sail University down in Winter Park, Florida to do a presentation for the students on how Banana Tail was created and to discuss his lengthy career as a comic book artist. Mark discussed how the two creative forces merged in his life as well as the background on his home life and college experience.

Read more about Mark's Full Sail University adventure...

KIDS LOVE COMICS! COMIC BOOK DINER—FCBD 2008 EDITION by Gallagher, Sava, Faber, Gownley, & More!

Kids Love Comics! — and here are some c love kids! Featuring fun stories, how-to's, and more, by some of comics' top all-ages creators! John Gallagher's Buzzboy! Scott Sava's Dreamland Chronicles! Patrick the Wolfboy! Roboy Red! Banana Tail — and more! All hosted by Jimmy Gownley's < Rules! characters! Plus: A Super-Cool Guide and Recommended Reading List of the best in Kids' Comics! A great introduction (and helpful guide) to comics for readers of all-ages!

Mark attended Free Comic Book Day at Grasshopper Comics in Williston Park, NY, which is held on the first Saturday in May each year. This year's event was on May 3rd and it was a great success! It's a national event where comic books are given away for free across North America - what a great way to get your hands on some awesome comic books! It went so well that Grasshopper Comic's store owner John, emailed Mark to ask him to come back next year! Visit Grasshopper Comics website.

Im starting the new year by giving all my fans a gift....

I am trying out a new venue for the original Banana Tail soft cover edition on a website called WOWIO.com. All you have to do is click on the banner above and BINGO! Banana Tail pops up for you to download for
F-R-E-E! You do need to register, but its as simple as typing in a name, zip code and email. So if you have been a fan of the Banana tail website and still haven't purchased the book for your kids, do yourself a favor and download the original 32 page book, your kids will brag that you're the best parents in the world(if you aren't already)!

Nobody will bother you, no hidden gimmicks! Just good clean monkey business..... Honest!