Minions Fan Art (and bonus Minions for you!)

From the beginning my philosophy has been that "Minions at Work" is a cartoon site that happens to use action figures, not an action-figure site that happens to have cartoons. In other words, my goal is to make this entertaining for anyone with a bit of pop-culture awareness, not just people who (like me) collect action figures. But given the unusual nature of our format, it's hard not to have things blur sometimes. For example:

Tom Brooks, who I know from my action figure discussion lists, sent me the attached cartoon and a suggestion. As you can see, Tom had followed my basic "recipe" and kitbashed (that's hobby-talk for combining existing parts to create something new) his own set of Minions characters. Let's just call them No. 1A and Number 13A. Tom was headed to "Joelanta" this weekend. Joelanta is one of the country's premiere shows for GI Joe and 1/6th action figure collectors, held in Atlanta, Georgia, and he wondered how I'd feel if he shot some photos of his Minions at Joelanta, in essence, providing some "on location" reports.

After some discussion about how we'd go about it and his getting an okay from the Joelanta organizers, I gave Tom the okay. We decided that he'd shoot some interesting shots, then send them to me for editing and captions. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I figured if the geek content was too high for the general audience here at Minions at Work,, I could post them on my hobby blog (pure action-figure geek content, visit at your own risk) One Sixth.

But as it happens, what I've gotten from Tom so far is really good stuff, and I think we can do some jokes suitable for general audiences. So come back here all this week for a series of special "Guest Minion" panels from Joelanta.

And as a preview, as a thanks to the Joelanta folks for their cooperation, I did a special Joelanta tribute Minions cartoon for them. You can find it on the Joelanta blog here.

So buck-up, Minions fans. In addition to your regularly scheduled Minions, you're going to get a whole bunch of bonus content this week! Thanks to Tom, Joelanta, and all the nice folks there who helped Tom get his shots (to be named later).

#27 - Minion Lore

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Share the Minions at Work link with a friend right now! Come on! You know it's the EVIL thing to do! Click the envelope icon below and just type in their email-address. Do it! Don't make us let loose the dinosaurs!

And Now, a Special Message from minion Number Two


(Note: The opinions expressed by Minion Number Two are his own, and do not reflect those of the staff, management, cast, crew, or anybody else remotely connected with Minions at Work.)



Hey! Can't you see I'm off the freakin' clock here!

But yeah, before you start your complainin', we freakin' know that the "All I need is a tall ship" line comes from the poem "Sea Fever" not "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner." Did you know it until you Googled it, you wussie? Probably not. I'll bet you thought it was from Star Trek! What a loser!

Anyway, this is "The Rhyme of the Ancient minion," not "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner." Can't you freakin' read?

I bet you've never even met the Ancient Minion, have you, freakin' moron? Now, get out of my face-mask. Geeze.

Minions #26 - Till the "Cows" come home

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Click the envelope icon below to share this Minions at Work cartoon with a friend! Keep sharing the link!

Minions #25 - Two Minions Walk into a Bar

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Goofy jump-suits. They just seem to go with the job.

Note that we've added the little envelope icon to the bottom of each post. Clicking on these makes it easier to email your favorite "Minions at Work" cartoon to a friend. Try it now!

Minions #24 - Trickle Down

Special Labor Day, late-summer blockbuster!

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Minions #23 - Store Insecurity

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Sorry I'm so late this week. Actually, I had this week's panel done a week early, but internet connection issues have kept me from uploading it until now.

Please share the link with your friends.

Minions #22 - Mineralogy 101

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As always, please share this link with your friends...

Notes from Steve: Well, I hope the joke is worth it. Some of these are more trouble than others. I spent a ton of time cutting "shell casings" from brass rod to scatter on the floor, that barely show up in the picture, and manufacturing splintered bits of door-frame to toss around. Then there was the matter of tracking down an appropriate piece of green crystal. Thanks to my wife Chris for raiding her stash of craft-beads to find me something (and sorry honey, about the big glass bead I dropped and broke).



Next week: Evil Shopping! (Unless I come up with something else first.)

Minions #21 - Heel!

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Meanwhile, those with a taste for black, topical, humor are invited to check this new parody movie poster on my writing blog, J. Steven York's Multiplex of the Mind.

Next week: Something. The inventory is again depleated I think, so it's time to shoot some new panels. I've got ideas waiting. It's just a question of which one(s) I'll set up.

Please pass our link to your friends.
http://minionsatwork.blogspot.com/
or if that's too hard to remember, you can always link in through our web page at:
www.yorkwriters.com
Thanks!

Minions #20 - Admiring the Decor

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Remember to check the archives for previous "Minions" toons you may have missed. Keep spreading the link!

Next week: More dinosaurs!

Minions #19 - Hands Up!

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All celebrity action figures are impersonated...

Minions #18 - MinionMobile

Special thanks to my daughter, Lynette, who suggested the idea of Minion Drivers Licenses.

Minions #17 - Walking the Dinosaur

Notes from Steve: I'm especially pleased with how this one came out. You may have noticed that I've started adding titles to the panels, so you can find your favorites more easily. I'll be retroactively adding titles to all the earlier panels as I get round to it.

As always, please share our address with your friends!

Minions #16 - Warning Label

(Note from Steve: I hate to revisit "The Machine" so soon, but my recent vacation has left my Minions cartoon inventory a bit thin. Hopefully, I'll find time to shoot some new stuff this week and bring a little more variety to the party! We aim to please.)

Minions #15 - Lunchtime

New here? You can view any toon full-sized by clicking on the image. Additional panels can be found in previous monthly archives. Locate them in the sidebar to your right.

Minions #14 - Evil Machine

See you after vacation...

Update from Steve: After this was posted, somebody asked, "is this generating email, or luncheon meat?" I answered: "Why not both? Tasty and annoying!"

Minions #13 - Bed Check

Unlucky, or not?

I'm going on vacation for about 10 days, so the next Minions post will take place on Wednesday of this week. Then a new panel won't be likely be posted until the following Monday. Same number of new toons, just a different schedule.

As always, if you like the Minions, please share the address with your friends. Minions love company!

Musical Minions

The Minions don't have a theme song (yet, anyway), but until then, I have something that will do. My friend Sean Prescott recently introduced me to singer/songwriter Jonathan Coulton. How have I never heard this guy before? Imagine you mixed the DNA of Weird Al, Tom Lehrer, plus everyone in Smash Mouth, then throw in South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, then ran it all through the blender, you might produce a mutation that sounds a little like Jonathan Coulton. This guy is officially (I'm not making this up) the Contributing Troubadour for Popular Science magazine.

Anyway, drop by his web page and check out the (currently free) MP3 download of the song "Skullcrusher Mountain" from the album "When Tradition Meets Tomorrow." (You can also listen to it directly on the web page.) There's also an alternate acoustic version on "Other Experiments," that you can listen to for free, but it will cost you a buck to download. Hey, it's a buck well spent.

I'll go so far as to suggest you grab some of his other music while your there. Go on. Spend a little money. You won't regret it. (My favorites include "Code Monkey," "re: Your Brains," "Millionaire Girlfriend," "Betty and Me," and "I Feel Fantastic."

Be warned that a few cuts ("The First of May" comes to mind) may not be considered family/office friendly, but they're in the minority. Have fun!

Minions #12 - Feeding Time

Houston, we have a dozen...

Don't forget "Mechwarrior Dark Age #20, Trial by Chaos," now in bookstores.

New Book from Minions creator J. Steven York

Greetings, comrade-dudes!

I am totally cutting into my vital pretzel-break time to bring you the important news of a new novel just released, written by Minions creator J. Steven York! Is called "Trial by Chaos," which pretty much describes the morning I've, I will tell you! This is his second novel in the Mechwarrior Dark Age series, set in the ever-popular Battletech universe.



I am totally urging you to run right out and buy this book on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, Powells, or ask for it at your local book retailer.

No. Wait. I must totally be thinking like management if I am ever to be promoted. Do not ask. Demand this book.

You will be all like: "if you do not order this book from the nearest distributor, I will use my orbiting solar-death-mirrors to reduce your world to a blackened ball of carbon!" And they'll be like: "But we have it on the shelf right over here." And you'll be like, "oh, I never know if books like this are shelved according to series or author name." And they'll be like, "yes, different stores do it different ways, but there it is." And you'll be like, "well thanks for your help. Sorry about the solar-death-mirrors thing." And they'll like rip off their rubber disguise mask and shout, "but we've tricked you into revealing your evil plan! Now you can never succeed, Minion No. 1!"

I have just been busted in my own, imaginary scenario. That is so lame.

Just buy the book, because Steve pays the bills here, and without your support, you know what this means: mustard-cutbacks. Buy it for me. Buy it for my pretzel.

Later, dudes. Salty-buttery goodness totally awaits.

Minions #11 - How to be a Minion #1 of a Series