A Kevin Cannon sketch of Finn, the hero of "Adventure Time." Says Cannon: "I drew this last month while writing the first script. It's not going to be published anywhere, just something I doodled to get me in the mood to write!"
Open the next few issues of the "Adventure Time" comics, and you'll find the words of Minneapolis cartoonist Kevin Cannon.
Cannon will be the creative mind behind the antics of "Adventure Time" characters Jake and Finn in issues 70 to 73 of the comic book based on the beloved Cartoon Network series.
The opportunity "came out of the blue," said Cannon, whose illustrations have frequently run in the Star Tribune.
Kaboom!, the publisher behind the comics, approached him after an editor read Cannon's graphic novel "Far Arden," published in 2009. Despite this being "old" in graphic-novel years, Cannon's work apparently stood out.
"Kaboom! saw the humorous and weird elements of 'Far Arden' and thought they'd translate well," he said.
The first issue will come out in a few months and tell the beginnings of a tale of Jake and Finn escaping their cleaning duties, at a cost. The pair consults a witch to make "doubles" of themselves that keep doubling. After much mischief, their home has been overrun by Jakes and Finns.
Cannon said it was a mix of fun and stress to write the story. It definitely entailed research -- he binge-watched the show.
"You get to be the mouthpiece for these characters who are so beloved," he said. "You want to be an accurate voice for them, so I went back and watched as many episodes as I could to refresh my head about the plots, and (note) the little sayings of all of the characters."
Cannon is currently writing Issue 72. His most recent book was "The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy."
Issue 66 of Adventure Time is on stands now.
