Hello.

My name is Jason Nocera and I am the creator of Buddy and Hopkins. This comic strip is a combination of my two loves – music and cartooning.

I became involved in cartooning at a very early age. During my early teens, my father would take my brother and I to my grandparents for lunch. While we waited for the homemade spaghetti to finish cooking, we sat and read the leftover comic books my grandfather brought home from his delivery route. Enamored with them, I soon started drawing my own. My first comic strip was published when I was 15 years old. It appeared in my hometown newspaper, The Cromwell Chronicle, and it ran weekly for over a year.

My interest in music started in high school. I received my first guitar – a nylon stringed acoustic – from a nun. (Did you expect her to own a Les Paul?) A few weeks later, I purchased an electric guitar. At the same time, my high school friend, Brian, purchased a guitar and we started jamming and writing original songs. As a result, the Blue Smoke Band was formed, which you can learn a lot more about at Brian's website, www.thebluesmokeband.com.

Buddy and Hopkins launched in January of 2003. It has appeared in national and international magazines, newsletters and various websites around the world. It has been featured on the popular, syndicated Blues radio show, Sunday Night Blues with Beefstew and on the Blues Foundation's main website.

If you are a new reader to Buddy and Hopkins, be sure to check out the Band Bios page to learn who is who. To find out who is currently "playing" Buddy and Hopkins (ie; where to find the latest comic strip), check out the 2007 Tour Dates . If you are interested in purchasing a strip, either for one-time use or for syndication, go to Bookings. If you want to help support the band, check out the Merchandise. Buddy and Hopkins can also be seen on MySpace and ComicSpace!

Thank you and keep on rockin',

Jason Nocera
jaynocera@aol.com

A sample weekly music cartoon strip.