Last Gasp for 2010

Welp, it's New Year's Eve. I've got a Party tonight, and I'm hosting a party in two days. My house is a wreck. I'm in my PJs. I'm heading to Evansville in an hour or two to make reductions and score whatever comics might have come in. I've read a few "Best Comics of the Year" List, so I'm gonna try some new stuff, maybe. I need to diversify a little. Read some new stuff. I'm getting too insulated.

I'm in a very weird place in my life right now. I worked really hard this last year. Really hard. I produced a lot of comics. Some were good, some were excellent. But what came of it? A little bit of pride, I suppose. A body of work to display at conventions. Most importantly, I've got a bunch of ideas out of my head. That's nice. A lot of people don't get this, but if I don't placate my Muse, she'll... I can handle all of the crap that comes with being me. What I can't handle is not creating. Nothing will destroy me faster than being creatively stagnant.

But at the same time. Where the hell am I going? I'm not even a blip on the radar. No one's talking about me. I work the same Cons year after year, and I get those one or two people that have read my stuff and dig it and buy some more and that is awesome and it keeps me going and if you're one of those people and you're reading this run on sentence, I'd like to take a second to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'd have called it good by now if it weren't for you folks, few though you are. And it's not about the Money (although breaking even would be swell) or the Fame (although it wouldn't hurt my feelings, especially pretty ladies) or the Critical Acclaim (although showing up on a Best of the Year List couldn't hurt sales...). It's about making the comics I want to make, the way I want to make them. But when you've got a head like mine, I swirling vortex of nonstop creative ideas, there's only so much you can do. So what do I do? What do I focus on? Do I stick with the current plan, with the semi-monthly books and the web comic and all of that, or do I shelve that stuff and produce something (like an original graphic novel) that might get me noticed. Get me on the radar. Or do I accept that at the end of the day I don't care about some stupid radar, and what drives me is seeing the Clown and Penguin's journey through to the end. Obscurity or Potential Payday? Should be a no-brainer. Should be.

And then there's the work. I work something like 60 to 80 hours a week. I hemorrhage money like it's going out of style. This year is a blur. I've got, like, three or four good memories from the whole year. A couple of nice little road trips. A few good times with friends. A few Wrestling shows. Some good Conventions. I'm 32 years old, and I've been on 2 dates in my life. That's a bummer. I've never left the country. I haven't even been to most of the other States in America. I've only been on a few plane rides. I really isolated myself this year. I didn't go out much. My friends are married, or they've got careers. Or kids. Or both. Or all three. Me? I consider comics my career, but how can you call something a career that doesn't pay the bills? No wife. No girlfriend. No kids.

Or am I just being a fucking pussy? Hell, man, more money more problems. Romance? Pft. The odds of finding some chick that doesn't drive you nuts and screws you over is one in a billion. Kids? My Ma's a teacher. I know how kids are getting stupider and fatter and more rebellious with every passing generation. Even if I had a good kid, that kid would probably end up like I did, tortured until he was an outcast weirdo that can't cope with normal life. Maybe I've just got this one shot to create something really cool. A comic that's many comics. A story about two guys finding their way through the universe. A wild, raucous road trip through the endless horizon of the infinite full of punching and explosions and sex and tacos and bad jokes and Heaven and Hell and all points in-between. Maybe all of this talk about money and fame and loneliness and recognition is just my fear talking. Maybe I'm afraid to do the one thing I really want to do. The only thing I ever wanted to do. I do have a habit of shooting myself in the foot right when I'm on the edge of something good.

Maybe the lesson I really should have learned from School and Church was that, maybe what's out there isn't really worth my time. When Preachers stab you in the back (repeatedly), something has gone dreadfully wrong with humanity. And School? I have spent my entire Adult Life trying to figure out why they hated me. Why they felt the need to drag me down. It was their fault. It was my fault. It was no one's fault. It was the System's fault. We're all animals. Blahblahblah. Who even cares anymore, right? The past is the past. And, yeah, people are fucked up. Always have been. Always will be. Hell, ancient people used to feed their kids to dogs, and the Chinese drown their girl babies, and people in America go off and leave their newborns in the apartment for three days while they're off scoring drugs and the neighbors complain about the smell and the cops show up and there's a dead, bloated baby sitting on the counter. Nothing will kill a man's faith better than Church (Hell, if the Atheists were smart, they would ENCOURAGE people to go to church. That'd kill religion faster than a bunch of rhetoric about Religion being responsible for war or some other bullshit). But it's not all bad. There's cherry pie and warm conversation and yoga class and sharing a good joke with friends. There's holding your baby nephew in your arms. There's the drive from my house to St. Louis in my new car with the "Magical Mystery Tour" in the CD Player. There's hanging out with the gang watching some new HBO show and trading snarky comments. There's HFSAC 7.

And there's my mind. It's bad and it's good too. There's the paranoia and neurosis and the second guessing. There's my stupid ideas about stuff that I don't really know much about. There's the Hate. And not just for everyone that's hurt me, man, but there's this endless well of hate I've got for myself. Every stupid mistake I've ever made echoes through my head, day in and day out. And all of that stuff is bad. No doubt. But there's the good, too. The good memories, the handful of good things I've done. Some things click for me easier than they do for most people. I can make cognitive leaps that most people can't. It makes me look like I'm smart even though I'm not. And my imagination. It's what gets me through, always has, always will. I see things most people don't. And I don't mean in a crazy, delusional, hallucinogenic way. I've got an entire Universe in my brain. That's kinda exciting.

I don't have any answers anymore. I think that was the point of this rambling nonsense. Maybe I'm trying to come to some conclusion. Figure out where I'm going. It's a New Year tomorrow. It's as good a time as any to try something new. So now what? Stay the course? Make more comics? Make less comics? Give up on comics? Start drinking? Search out my soulmate? Go Buddhist? Sell all my possessions and walk the Earth having adventures?

I dunno.

I do know I've got some cool ideas for some new comix...

See you next year.

2010 Year in Review

With a few exceptions this was, by and large, a Rotten Year. A lot of it was the crap that went down with Ma, which I won't go into detail about here, but that pretty much sucked the life out of a good chunk of the year. Dad's luck was pretty rotten, too. I suppose that's the downside of being in a fairly close-knit family, when your family's having a bad run, it affects you as well.

On my end, my year was, quite frankly, kinda empty. If you ignore TORC Press (and don't worry, I'm not), my year basically amounts to a handful of Road Trips, the acquisition of a new car (which I am really happy about. Love the Dangermobile Mk II), I started taking yoga classes late in the year, and I had my usual bout of crazy mood swings. This was also the year I gave up Organized Religion once and for all. That sucked ass and left me with a big, fat whole in my life. I may have worked too hard this year. I spent a lot of time in the studio toiling away, cranking out comics, and isolating myself from the world. In retrospect, maybe I shoulda got out more. I dunno.

The best comic of the year was "One Piece", with honorable mentions going to "Batman and Robin", "Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne", and "Joe the Barbarian". Best Movie was "Inception" (probably won't get to see "True Grit" until next year, if I'm lucky) with honorable mentions for "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" and "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (easily the most underrated film of the year). Best TV Show was "Bored to Death" just because it was no one else's best TV show, and because I loved every second of it. Honorable Mentions go to "Community", "Modern Family", "How I Met Your Mother" (the Street Race was Legen-wait for it-dary), "Psych", "Burn Notice", "Running Wilde" (already Cancelled, of course), and HBO's great new show "Boardwalk Empire" (further proof that Steve Buschemi rules). Oh, and when it was on "Batman the Brave and the Bold" was Awesome-awesome. Also, "Phineas and Ferb".

TORC Press had an interesting year. I think I put out 18 Comics this Year. Take a second to appreciate that, if you would. One Man. 18 Books. One Year. Not bad, right? And none of them were bad. And some of them, namely, "Death Nouveau Ep 2", and issues 3, 6, 7, and 9 of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" were among the Best Damn Comix I've Ever Made Ever. Ever. I didn't just fart stuff out this year (well, okay, some of those issues of SDF: Pulp mighta been a little dicey), I worked my ass off and put out some real quality work. Hell, even my legendarily impossible to please Father actually really enjoyed "Walt n' Sped Comix" 1 (that should be a sales point: Approved by David Morris). We worked a lot of conventions this year. Some went good. Some went bad. I still couldn't find a way to make a profit, no matter how hard I tried. This was also the year where I figured out how to make my website work. That was nice, but it still didn't result in an increase in Sales or Exposure, so once again, the internet proves to be horribly overrated. Still, TORC Press was the highlight of my year.

All in all, 2010 coulda been a lot better, and it coulda been a lot worse. As it stands, I'm cautiously optimistic about 2011.

Monday Business

First off, hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. Mine was quite nice. Scored lots of swag, including a bunch of TV on DVD I wanted, as well as a bunch of TPBs, including the entire Grant Morrison "Batman" run I skipped out on. Now the whole "Batman & Robin" arc makes a lot more sense. I also finally possess Takashi Miike's "Gozu", which I'm extremely happy about. So, yeah, good Present Run.

In this morning's TORC Press Newsreel, the first Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Collection is just about ready to go. I've repurposed all of the pages and prepared a new Front and Back Cover. I've also tried to go over Ka-Blam's various FAQs with a fine tooth comb to see if there's anything I'm missing. I'll be sending the book to the printers at the beginning of the New Year, so once again, if you're a regular TORC Press Reader, and you want a copy, please give me a heads up so I can add extras to the Print Run.

Wrapped up Mystery Book 2 over the weekend, as well. Now all I have to do is get reductions made and ship the book off to the Printers before I do something stupid, like killing the project. I really like the book right now, so as long as that continues I should be good.

As soon as the New Year starts I need to start pinning down my Convention Calender for the year. I've got some real good leads, and I'm already signed up for STAPLE and SPACE in March. Gotta book a plane for STAPLE yet.

Once again, the last page of MONSTER KING Issue One is up at the Main Site at www.torcpress.com. On New Year's Day (after I come out of my New Year's Coma), we'll be starting a New Issue of Monster King and dumping all of the current pages, so get it while the getting's good. Although, don't worry, the Print Version of MONSTER KING 1 is on its way in early 2011.

A couple of times this year people on the Convention Circuit compared my work to something called "Skeleton Jelly". I looked up this Skeleton Jelly and saw no resemblance. Like Bro says, people need stuff to compare stuff to.

Merry MONSTER KING Christmas

Merry Christmas Cats and Kittens! We've got a new page of MONSTER KING up over at the main site at www.torcpress.com or go to it directly at torcpress.com/mkex.html. This is the last page of the first issue. After this we'll be reloading with the first page of issue two.

I suppose now is as good a time as any to ramble a little about the whys and hows of Monster King. When I started fixing my website, one of the things I wanted to add to the site was an online comic. I didn't really like the disposable nature of the previous online comic I did, so I wanted to do something a little more... integral. At the time I started tinkering with the webcomic, I was working on an Original Graphic Novel (which I've since trashed... I'm an idiot). The (since aborted) OGN was set pretty far down the road, chronologically, and I got the idea to have MONSTER KING (which was actually originally called "SDF: Dance", by the by), serve as a lead-in to the OGN, slowly introducing many of the characters and concepts that would be found in the OGN later on. The original plan was to do a series of short, sorta Graphic Novels that I would serialize on the web as a webcomic, and then release in TPB form. That way, there would be this trail of Graphic Novels leading into the release of the Big, Fat OGN. Brilliant plan, right?

Have I mentioned I'm an idiot?

I should know by now. NEVER MAKE LONG TERM PLANS. EVER. I can set things up. I can drop hints. I can seed ideas for later. That's fine. But making a plan that will come together over time? Stupid. Never works for me. My head is like a whirlwind, always swirling and changing and rearranging.

So, I wrote the script for the first issue. It was around 40 or so pages. I went to put the first page online...aaaand.... not so surprisingly, the black and white and grey page didn't seem so spiffy. What's the point of an online comic if it doesn't catch the eye, right? So, I colored it up. Bingo. Spiffy. Of course, now I've got a new problem. It's in color, so when I release it in comic form, it's gonna cost me a fortune to print. I could have done the print version in BWG, but that would be lame, wouldn't it? Plus, after awhile, I was specifically drawing the comic for color, which would have made a change in format even worse. Now what? Welp, another format change, obviously. I decided to turn the "first issue" into two 24 page issues. Simple, right? Wrong. I wrote the first issue in a rambling, drifting style, without concern for length. I went through the script looking for a good place to break the issue in half. The best place turned out to be Page 25. Goofy? Sure, but all I had to do was use page 25 on the Inside Back Cover. No problem.

Anyway, like I said, somewhere in the process, the Original Graphic Novel got killed. So, suddenly, Monster King isn't leading anywhere. I liked the first two issues though, and still wanted to see them in print. So, I continued to plug away at Monster King, figuring that I'd kill the Online Strip/Book after Issue Two.

But like I said, my Brain is a swirling tsunami of madcap ideas. And I came up with something new. I don't wanna talk about it much, because, well, again, my plans will change a hundred times before any of this comes to pass. Long story short, I know what I wanna do with Monster King, and it will continue past issue 2, so there's that.

Oh, and don't feel too bad about that lost OGN. A lot of the ideas from it will pop up in other places. It's gonna be cool, baby.

Monday Ramble

Hey. It's Christmas week. Woo. Let's see what we've got today.

Made it up and back from Evansville with time to spare this weekend. That was cool. A lot of the usual suspects showed up for the CQCA Meeting. We've got a new contest going on that I plan on intentionally tanking. Should be fun.

HFSAC 10, HFSAC 11, and Monster King 1 are now currently all at the Printers. HFSAC 10 should be available in early January, while the rest will be available at other times. Mystery Book 1, Issue 1 is finished, but I haven't decided when to scan it and send it to the Printers. Mystery Book 2, Issue 1 is almost completely Pencilled, and a good chunk of the Inks are done. The first HFSAC TPB is almost ready to go. I need to repurpose the pages from issues 5&6 and color the cover. I'll probably put that in the pipeline in early, early January.

Also, once again, the latest pages of MONSTER KING are up on the main site at www.torcpress.com. The MK site reloads at the beginning of the New Year, so keep that in mind.

I'm almost kinda happy to be going back to work today. This being trapped inside thing was starting to get to me a little.

Also, if I don't get a chance to blog it before then, a Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

New Monster King and Other Stuff

"You Get Away from Him!"

Right-o. We're a little early this week, but thanks to the ice, I'm still more or less Cabinbound, so we've got MONSTER KING up a little early. Head on over to the main site at www.torcpress.com or head over to www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html to check out Pages 23-24. The last page of Issue One, Page 25 goes up next weekend. After that, Monster King reloads for Issue Two, and all of the pages that are currently up will go buh-bye, so get em while the getting's good.

In this week's edition, the Clown gets ticked off, and the Giant Spider has a very, very bad day.

While I'm on the subject, I'll be sending the first issue of MONSTER KING to the Printers either today or tomorrow. We'll see how that works out.

Before I forget, I also am working on a collected edition Trade Paperback of Issues 1-6 of the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club. This TPB will NOT contain any new material (besides the cover, obviously). I will be producing a relatively short print run of the book, primarily for the purpose of selling the book at STAPLE and SPACE in March. If you are a regular TORC Press reader (and this includes my Bro and other pals) and you want a copy of the TPB, please contact me through the usual channels so I can increase the Print Run accordingly. Thank you.

With another day iced in, I'm trying to decide what else to do today. I'm also trying to decide whether I want to risk driving to Evansville for the CQCA Meeting on Saturday. Supposedly, the highways aren't that bad, but it's still a two hour drive in dicey conditions, and I need to be back in time for a Family Christmas Dealie that night. Have I Mentioned I HATE Winter?

Frozen Doom

So, this is gonna one of those kinda Winters. Bitter, hard, and totally out to ruin everything for everyone. The Sawmill really gets it in this kind of Winter. Hydraulics don't like the cold. The conveyors get buried under snow. And ice. Lord, the ice. We lost two days to the snow and the ubercold. It finally cleared up enough to work on Wednesday, although it took us most of the morning just to get things running enough to actually work. So, we got a half of a day in. Now, I don't like my job at the Mill by any stretch of the imagination, but I know that Dad's gotta pay the bills (which includes my paycheck, dur), so losing a bunch of perfectly good work days to snow is no good for any of us.

So, today, I get up, bumble over to the window, look out, and everything looks kosher, so I go about my morning rituals. Around the time that I'm throwing on my pants, I get a call from Dad. Turns out we got SHEET ICE overnight. So, I've probably got the morning off, maybe the day. Which, normally, would be cause celebre around here. But we've already lost two days, plus it's Yoga night in Olney.

Long story short, this is gonna be a long, rotten winter. And it's not even January yet.

Frozen Ramblings

Right-o. Still frozen today, so if we Sawmill it'll be later on. So, I've got some time to ramble it appears.

Everyone wants everything to be one thing, y'know? He's a good guy. He's a bad guy. He's rich. He's poor. There is a God. There is no God. We came from Monkeys. There is Global Warming. There is no Global Warming. The Democrats have the Answer. The Republicans have the Answer. All Politicians are Corrupt. Blahblahblah.

What a load of Crap.

Nothing is One Thing. I mean, I'm never gonna believe in Evolution as the be-all-end-all answer to How Everything Works, because there's too many big, fat holes in the theory. For something based on Chaos it's so...Organized. Like, maybe, there was a Hand involved in it, y'know? At the same time, I never understood, even when I was a Baptist, why we had to sit around and discount or try erase Evolution. For starters, it's the prevailing Scientific Theory, which means it should be taught in schools in Science class (how is that NOT a Duh?), and frankly, a lot of it makes sense.

Oh, but that's too wishy-washy. We gotta Stand for something, don't we? Cripes.

Like I said, it's a Load of Crap. Hell, nothing displays that better than our stupid ass Two Party System. I know the Democrats suck. I know this. Hell, even at the absolute height of Obamamania I knew, deep down, that the Democrats were gonna drop the damn ball the very second they got in office. But what's the alternative? The Republicans? Hahahahaahaahahaha!!!! Democrats are screw ups, but Republicans are the Anti-Christ, soullessly devoted to the collapse of humanity and the rise of the Apocalypse.

(And even then, I'm falling into the Age Old Trap of Oversimplification. After all, I'm sure there are competent Democrats, and Republicans that are decent people. Surely)

We always want everything boiled down to the simplest terms. Have you watched those stupid 24 Hour News Shows? It's all Headlines and the most basic information. When a Sports Team Loses, it's always the fault of one guy. That LeBron Guy didn't work hard enough. The Quarterback had a rough day. The Pitcher sucks. Blahblahblah. Never mind that there's an entire team of people playing the stupid game too.

Even the most simplistic crap is more complex than it appears. Take those horrible "Transformers" movies for example. Stupid action films? Sure. But they're also an ad for a bunch of cars and toys and that one Actress that I used to think was hot until I heard her talk and then I was like, she's not hot anymore (I like how movies can be ads for People now. That's funny. Interestingly, Matthew McConehey pioneered the trend.).

Jack Kirby didn't do simple. People always try to streamline the King down to this or that, but there was no this or that with the King. He did Superhero, Sci-Fi, Horror, Western, Romance (invented that genre, actually), Humor, and just about every other genre in comics. His style evolved over time. There was the stringy, wild, rough and tumble look Kirby's strips had in the 40s. There was the beautifully drawn 50s comics and the dynamic strips of the 60s. The 70s are the most often imitated of Kirby's styles, with their thick, blocky figures and explosive action. Hell, even in the 80s, the end of Kirby's career, there was an experimental approach to Kirby's storytelling. "Thor" wasn't just a superhero action comic. It was a Mythological, Grand Cosmic Epic with elements of Action, Humor (Volstagg cracks me up), and even Romance (man, that whole Jane Foster thing went on forever, didn't it?). The Fantastic Four was barely a superhero comic. It was a Sci-fi comic about Family and Exploration. Fighting bad guys was just kinda incidental. The Fourth World was a Cosmic comic, a War comic, a comic about different forms of familial connections, a Romance comic (from time to time), and one of the most bad ass action comics ever made. It was also one of the first true Megatexts (which is a Rant for another day).

Hell, I read in an Article once, that one of the reasons why the High-and-Mighty Comics Literatti have perpetually turned their collective noses up at Jack Kirby is because he didn't settle into one genre and his work was so hard to pin down. Man, that's one of the things I like about Kirby.

Maybe it's my problem. I think too much. I break things down. I like mashing up genres. I like combining different things. I like when something doesn't have an easy definition. I don't want the easy answers. I like when I don't entirely "get" something. I like being left with questions. But I'm a weirdo.

That's why I'm drawn to the movies I'm drawn to. David Lynch, Takashi Miike, David Cronenberg, all guys who don't create simple, easy to explain, easy to understand films. You can't really explain a David Lynch film in a single sentence (except for maybe "The Straight Story", and even that one is more complex than it appears on the surface).

That's why "SDF" was hard to promote. What was it? There were Action strips, but they were strange affairs with blood and horror and cartoon animals. And then there was a Walt n' Sped strip. Then there was something really odd, like aliceislost or Broken Tea Cup. And none of that is easy to sum up in a thirty second soundbite that you're blathering to a perfect stranger in a crowded convention full of people.

I will say that "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" is a Lot easier to promote. You start with "It's an Adventure Comic" and right there you've got a bit of a hook. Something simple for the casual passerby to latch onto. Then you can dig under the surface a little bit. Tell them about the odd characters, and the surreal environments. Tell them about the Space Whales and the Giant Monsters and the pointless dance numbers. And if you haven't lost them by then, you might pick up a sale.

Where am I going with this? I dunno. Just rambling I suppose.

I guess that's been my problem for the last few years. What I'm looking for isn't simplistic or easy. I liked the debate that "Inception" provoked. I liked how everyone had different theories. I liked how some people despised the movie because it didn't fit their simple definition of this or that. I liked how I ran the movie through my mind backwards and forwards for days. About the only thing that bothered me was when people would dumb it down by calling it "A Special Effects Extravaganza". Groan. Special Effects were about as far from the point as you could get with that film. At best they were just part of the puzzle. Same old same old.

That's part of what drives me to work the way I work. There's so little out there that interests me (I gotta wait, what, 5 years between Lynch films? There's only two comics by Grant Morrison every month. I do watch a lotta TV, though). I make up for it by making the kinds of comics I wanna make, the way I wanna make em. That way at least there's something I like out there.

HFSAC 9 and Random Ramblings

Welp, this is gonna be a rough winter. It's already stupid cold, and now we've got our first, serious, screw up people's plans snow. On the bright side (sorta), we're not even gonna bother sawmilling until at least noon, so there's that. So, whatta we got today?

As I've obsessively hyped already, we've got a new book for sale over in the online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. It's the 9th issue of the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club, and it's the start of an exciting new arc called "The Pyramid". It's also the last book I'll be putting out in 2010. I'm not sure what my overall count for the year has been, but I think I've put out close to 18 books this year. That's nothing to sneeze at, even if several of those books were only 9 pages long. Since comix were pretty much my entire life this year, I'll probably do a year end wrap up in a week or two where I yammer about all the books I've put out this year.

On the production end, HFSAC 10 is currently at the Printers. The interiors of HFSAC 11 are done (which is nice. The last time I did a three issue story arc, "SDF: Honorless Dogs", it didn't come out anywhere near on time). I've got enough MONSTER KING material to get me to February, which is also nice. With the work on the Pyramid arc wrapped up, I'm going to take the rest of December and January off from the Fudgeheads. The plan is to line up the two "Mystery Books" I talked about earlier, get the Spring issue of "Gulatta!" started, and get some more MONSTER KING material together.

What else? Uh, wanna watch "True Grit" when it comes out. Also need to watch "Black Swan", but good luck on me getting out on time to catch that one. I've got a couple of conventions lined up for next year, and I'll start lining up others as soon as the New Year starts. Oh, and my Christmas shopping is done.

New MONSTER KING and HFSAC 9 Hype

Heyo, it's Saturday, so that be MONSTER KING day! Head on over to www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html or just start at Page 21 at www.torcpress.com/mk9.html. This week we've got a Giant Spider. What else do you need? It's a GIANT SPIDER! The world needs more Giant Spiders in it, damnit!

Also, if you didn't know, we've got a brand new book all ready to go in the Online Store. It's the 9th Kickin' Issue of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club". You can acquire it at www.torcpress.com/store.html or view a Freebie Preview over at www.torcpress.com/hfsacprev.html.

It's Saturday, I'm in my PJs, I've got nowhere to go for a few hours, I've got plenty of time to work on today's pages, so let's talk the new issue of HFSAC, shall we? This is one of those stories that started as something else and evolved into this. That made no sense. Basically, back when I started SDF, I devised a Team Book consisting of a group of characters from SDF. In the first story arc, they fought Dr. Dendull (oh, Dendull, how little I've gotten to use you...), and in the second arc they get whisked off to this bizarre version of Egypt and have an adventure involving a Lost Pyramid. Unfortunately, because SDF was such an uphill battle (48 Page Comics are a lot harder to make than you think they are), my little kick ass JLA wannabe Team Book kept getting pushed back farther and farther and farther, until, eventually, there was no SDF and one of the characters went away and I had a handful of neato little stories that never happened. In the meantime, I had a few of my trademark breakdowns, stuff got shuffled around, blahblahblah, and in the midst of that chaos the incredible awesomeness that is The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club was born. So, I started putting the puzzle pieces of the book together, and I remembered the little Pyramid story, and I was like, hey! That'll work just fine in this new book.

In truth, the Pyramid arc barely starts in this issue. A lot of what I had dreamed up for that arc really starts in Issue 10. In this issue there's a lot of stuff that I needed to wrap up before I could move on to the Pyramid. For starters, after Issue 8 we kinda left poor Agent "?" hanging in the lurch. So we had to reintroduce her right off the bat. Then we had to deal with that whole Cactus Joe/Agent "?" thingie that was gonna go one way and then it went another way because I never know what's gonna happen. Then, there's this thing with El Exclamation Point! that comes out nowhere, and it's kinda pivotal. And Hassan i Phantom (from MONSTER KING, no less) pops up out of nowhere (there's a lot of out of nowhere in this issue, really).

And there's Dolphin Bees.

So, yeah, it's a cool issue, and the start of a new three issue story arc. Tag along. It'll be fun.

Issue 9 of the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Now Available

Hey! Let's release another new book! Why not?

Issue 9 of the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club is now available from TORC Press. Huzzah! I could sit around yammering about it here on the blog till the cows come home, or I could shower you with a bunch of links to the Main Site where you can learn more about it, and save the blog hype for a time when I'm less pressed for time.

First off, we've got a brand new Hype Center specifically dedicated to the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club at www.torcpress.com/hfsac.html. For Hype specifically related to Issue 9, go to www.torcpress.com/hfsacprev.html, which includes a two page Preview of the book, as well as a write up. We've also added Bios for Los Super Hip Bros to the Cast section at www.torcpress.com/lsb.html. And lastly, if you dig what you see and wanna support the cause, head to our store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. I was a busy little webhead this weekend.

And now it's off to freeze to death at the Sawmill. Huzzah!

New Monster King and My Books in 2011

"Huh. Giant Spider Web Full of People. Of course."

Right-o. It's Saturday, so it's MONSTER KING time. Pages 19 and 20 are up to bat at www.torcpress.com/mk7.html. This week our heroes encounter a Giant Spider Web, and where there's a Giant Spider Web...

Also, don't forget we've got a new book for sale, "Walt n' Sped Comix" #1 is available in the online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html.

We should also have some more new stuff on Monday.

Hey, while I'm sitting around the house watching "The Penguins of Madagascar" and not working, it's time to take a look at what books we'll be running in 2011, okay?

SDF: Pulp- I decided to start with this one, mostly because I'm done with this one. "SDF: Pulp" was an interesting experiment, but at the end of the day, it was a failed experiment. It just didn't work. The four page story format didn't work. Bad Jack and Cosmico Rex didn't work. The $1.50 price point didn't work. It sold okay, but the profit was crap, and a $1.50 isn't gonna go a long way toward covering the cost of a table at a Convention, y'know? I've decided that Issue 5 is as good a place as any to end the book, because it only leaves the Cactus Joe vs. Vlad story dangling, which, hopefully, I'll wrap up later on in another book.

Gulatta!-- My all ages superhero book always does nicely, and I think it has a little following. I plan on doing two books a year. Issue 3 will hopefully come out in Spring, and Issue 4 will maybe hopefully come out in Fall.

Walt n' Sped Comix-- My other all ages book will come out once a year. Maybe in Summer or Fall. Depends on my schedule.

MONSTER KING!-- Right. Two new pages will continue to come out online every week. I'll compile 12 pages at a time, then reload. Once an entire issue has been compiled (which should happen by the end of the year...) I'll send the book off to the Printers to make a hard copy. Maybe people will buy it. Hopefully. That is kinda the point of the whole putting it online thing, is that people will buy the book after reading it online.

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club-- My flagship book. The thing which I've been kicking butt on all year. We'll be rocking this book for quite some time. In fact, we've got a killer three issue story arc coming up very soon. I'm not sure how many issues I'll be putting out next year yet. I'm shooting for a minimum of six, but we'll see if I can crank out a few more. Also, early next year I plan on releasing a trade paperback collection of the first six issues.

Mystery Book 1-- So, I have this bad habit of working very, very hard on certain books, and then never actually publishing the damn things. I'm stupid like that. Anyway, if I actually get around to it, I'm going to be doing a book that will collect those lost issues. Not sure how many issues will come out, or how many I'll release next year.

Mystery Book 2-- If you know anything about me, you know I am always working on some crazy new book (see Mystery Book 1). Anyway, I'm working on a book on the side, right now. If it works like I think it will (crosses fingers), it'll be coming out in early 2011. No guarantees though. I will give you a little hint on the book. Think "Cosmic".

New Web Stuff and Walt n' Sped

Right-o. It's not MONSTER KING day, yet (that's tomorrow), but we've added some new stuff to the main site at www.torcpress.com anyway. Pretty much everything has to do with our new book, "Walt n' Sped Comix" #1. Under the link marked "PREVIEWS" we've added a brand new preview center. Admittedly, the only book we have a preview for right now is Walt n' Sped, but that will change over time. Anyway, make sure to check out the two page preview and plot synopsis of the new book, and if you like what you see, throw us a little love over at our online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html.

Spinning Tornado Kick!

Walt n' Sped Comix Now Available

Walt n' Sped Comix #1 is now available from TORC Press! It's an 8 Page Black and White comic with a Color cover for $1.50 plus a buck S&H. It's available either through our online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html or by sending a check or money order for the proper amount to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824.

As usual, I'm putting the cart before the horse here. I mean, who's gonna wanna order the book without finding out what it's about, right?

Well, Walt n' Sped Comix is a cute, silly, slapsticky, All Ages book featuring several of my "Funny Animal" characters. There's Walt, a tall, overalls wearing, talking, orange cat who equates fishing with a religious experience, and Sped, a psychotic, perpetually grinning, naked, little dog who likes hot sauce and mass destruction. Joining this offbeat cast is the returning Frimpy, the world's most unluckiest cartoon character, and the newcomer, Penny Platypus, who serves as yet another new member of the ever growing Platypus family. In this installment, our heroes attempt to build a rocket car with ridiculous results. It's fun.

Other than that, I plan on doing one issue of Walt n' Sped a year. It's a fun book, but it's not really where my focus is at right now.

I'll be working on rigging up a Preview Page for the book later this week.

Saturday Equals New MONSTER KING!

"Was that Real or a Dream?"

Pages 17 and 18 of Monster King are now available for viewing over at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. Being the boss and editor and head writer over here at TORC Press, it falls to me to occasionally point out when something of Great Significance happens in the TORCverse. Key Moments. Things You Should Pay Attention to. So allow me to get out my Big Red Neon Arrow and point it directly at Monster King Pages 17 and 18. They may not seem like much now, but these pages set the tone for the TORCverse (most specifically the continuing Ballad of Clown and Penguin) in 2011. Just saying.

Also, if you haven't been there in awhile, and you're tired of the nonsense with Myspace (and who can blame you) and since it'll be a Cold Day in Hell before I get back on Facebook (screw that noise), we are now putting NEWS updates up over on the slightly redesigned (but still Simplistic) Main Site at www.torcpress.com. Also, a Carbon Copy of this blog is published over at http://torcpress.blogspot.com/, so there's that.

The 24 Hour Comic

Got up at 5:30am, loaded some Green Teas into a cooler I borrowed from Bro, dropped the dog off at Ma and Pa's place, loaded up on Candy Bars at the gas station, and badda bing badda boom I was off for Comic Quest in Evansville, IN for the 24 Hour Comic Book Challenge.

For those of you that are unaware of the nature of the 24 Hour Comic Challenge, allow me to explain. Created by Scott McCloud of "Understanding Comics" fame, the concept behind the 24 Hour Comic is to create, write, pencil, ink, and letter an entire comic book in 24 Consecutive Hours. For those of you that don't create comics on a regular basis, it takes a lot longer than 24 Hours to make a comic. I'm Superultra Fast, and I need about 144 Nonconsecutive Hours to make a comic. All in all, it's an exercise in Speed, Creativity, Endurance, and Dedication. I had never made a 24 Hour Comic before, but my buddy and frequent partner-in-crime, Clint Bassinger of Cosmic Moustache Comics had made a couple and wanted to do it again in order to clean a few concepts our of his brain. We made arrangements with Comic Quest to host the event, put the word out with other local creators, and we were off to the races.

Unsurprisingly, Clint and I were the only fools foolish enough to undergo this Herculean task. Other members of the Creator's Alliance stopped by over the course of the day, but only Clint and I gutted it out for the 24 straight hours.

Interestingly, both Clint and I decided to cheat a little. Clint walked in with character designs and a full script. I had a Cactus Joe story I wanted to tell, and had a vague concept for it in my head. So neither of us took the clean slate approach.

The Game began at 8:30am on Saturday. Clint started by drawing thumbnails of his entire book. I just barralled into the pencils. My pencil rate was initially somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 Pages per Hour. I vaguely remember taking a lunch break around 1pm with over half my pages penciled. Made the mistake of eating at Long John Silvers. Stomach was utterly disrupted for remainder of the Game. Also, they got my order wrong. Got my pencils done at some point, can't remember when. Started slowing down. Started taking little breaks every two pages. Read the stack of comics I purchased. "Batman: The Return" and "Batman Inc." are AWESOME!!!!

Inking began. Clint's still pencilling. Ordered a pizza from Papa Johns. Bigger mistake. Stomach's too upset from lunch to enjoy greazy pizza. Ugh. Making great time on Inks. About two pages an hour, which is fast even for me. Clint's not sure if he's gonna make it in time. I tell him he needs to cut corners and not spend so much time adding greytones and heavy blacks with his ink wash. Call Bro at Midnight for Moral Support and to find out how the UFC PPV went. Good to hear Bro, but the UFC card was apparently a disappointment, with Lyoto Machida losing to Rampage in a crummy split decision. Resumed inking. Getting slower, losing focus. Clint's playing odd Mix CDs on his little CD player. Doing okay.

Then. At 4am. I. Hit. The. Wall.

THUD!

With pages 19 through 24 left to Ink, I ran completely out of gas. I thought it over and decided discretion was the better part of valor, and laid down on the floor and went to sleep for two hours. Woke up in the middle of the dream feeling crummy but lucid and resumed the Game at 6am with two and a half hours on the clock. Drank my last Green Tea and ate a big bag of M&Ms. Clint was almost caught up to me by now, having inking his comic up to page 19 as well. Worked diligently for the remaining two hours and finished Page 24 (the only truly embarrassingly bad page) at 8:20am on Sunday. GAME OVER. Our Hero Wins! Ten minutes later, Clint wrapped up his last page as well. There were bands and parades and celebrations and dancing girls and monkeys and elephants and dancing girls. No wait. There was none of that. Just two dudes waiting to be let out of an empty comic shop. We waited till 9am, and when no one came to let us out, we locked up and left through the back. I was gonna get a hotel, but my emergency nap gave me enough juice for the 2 hour drive home. So home I went.

My 24 Hour Comic is Called "Dicks for Hire", and is the humorously surreal adventures of Cactus Joe, Pengy Penguin, and another classic TORCverse character starting a Detective Agency. It will be available sometime in 2011.

New MONSTER KING and other Junk

"What the Hell? Another Underground Cavern? REALLY?!"

What a rotten week this has been. Just a continuous beatdown of almost epic proportions. I've even got a great/terrible story from this week, but I haven't had a free second to blog about it, cause I've been running around on nonstop full tilt boogie mode. Go here. Do this. Go there. Do that. It's like being trapped in the lame version of "Grand Theft Auto 25: Boredomland". Anyway, in the midst of this chaos, I still managed to post two new pages of my online comic, MONSTER KING, which are now available for your viewing leisure at www.torcpress.com/mk3.html or you can start with the new index at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. Admittedly, this is a slow week, as the Clown reacts to (literally) falling for this year's running gag, and Pengy discovers some Cave Paintings. Yep.

Speaking of running around like a chicken with its head cut off, tomorrow I am off to my "local" comic shop, Comic Quest in Evansville, IN, to participate in the store's ad hoc 24 Hour Comic Day. I will be attempting a 24 Hour Comic Book, but I will be cheating a little bit and using pre-existing characters and a pre-concieved plot. So there's that.

Oh yeah, also, don't forget that SDF: Pulp 5 is now available over in the online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. It's got Cactus Joe fighting a cool monster and a Cosmico Rex strip. Check it out.

Also, like most people, I am not a fan of the "New" Myspace. Bleh.

SDF: Pulp Issue 5 Now Available

As promised, it's Monday, and we've got a new book up and ready to go in the online store. "SDF: Pulp" #5 is now available from TORC Press. It's 8 Pages in BWG for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H and be acquired directly from our online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html, or through snail mail by sending a check or money order for the proper amount to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824.

Wait. You wanna hear what it's about first? Oh, okay. Sheesh. As usual, SDF: Pulp features two strips in each issue. The lead strip of issue 5, Cactus Joe battles a twisted version of a monster from Greek Mythology, the horrifying Scylla. To make matters even more complicated, the fight takes place in the middle of an underwater cave. And the Clown's not that great of a swimmer. In the back up strip, Bad Jack takes a one issue vacation to recover from his fight with Dr. Dendull, which means that Cosmico Rex gets to steal the spotlight. In a swinging space age strip, Rex does battle with a group of vicious Space Poachers.

Anyway, there's a preview page from the book at www.torcpress.com/previewpage1.html up as well, so check that out. Also, don't forget, we've got two new pages of MONSTER KING available, which can be viewed at the new Monster King Index Page at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html, which also contains a recap section.

And that's that. Got a busy week this week. Got a wrestling match to go to on Wednesday, Yoga on Thursday, and then Saturday and Sunday I'll be at Comic Quest in Evansville attempting the dreaded 24 Hour Comic Book Challenge. Woo.

New Monster King Dudes

"Aw man...Not Again!!!"

It's Saturday, so you know what that means, it's MONSTER KING time! As forewarned, we've cleaned up shop, so we're starting over at Page 13. If you missed anything (and if you did, shame on you), then we've got a new Index Page at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html that not only has a painfully wordy recap, but there's links to the two new pages all ready to go. This week, Cactus Joe unleashes a powerful new attack, and then promptly falls for a running gag that's troubled him all year.

Other than that, I'm doing the worst job ever of cleaning my house. Oh, and a new book comes out Monday. Later.

New Monster King Dudes

"Aw man...Not Again!!!"

It's Saturday, so you know what that means, it's MONSTER KING time! As forewarned, we've cleaned up shop, so we're starting over at Page 13. If you missed anything (and if you did, shame on you), then we've got a new Index Page at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html that not only has a painfully wordy recap, but there's links to the two new pages all ready to go. This week, Cactus Joe unleashes a powerful new attack, and then promptly falls for a running gag that's troubled him all year.

Other than that, I'm doing the worst job ever of cleaning my house. Oh, and a new book comes out Monday. Later.

The Post Mortem

Well, with Convention Season all wrapped up, let's see how things went.

STAPLE: The only bad thing about this show is the travel expenses. Between the airfare, cabfare, hotel, and food costs, I will probably never make a profit at this show. Yet, I'm still signed up for next year. Why? Because the audience at STAPLE is great. They're receptive and open to trying new comics, and you don't gotta pull teeth to make a sale. The boost to my ego alone is worth the trip. Also, I like Texas Chili. The lower price books sold the best (which is supposed to be the point of the lower priced books in the first place), so Gulatta! was probably our overall best seller. HFSAC performed admirably as well.

SPACE: I love SPACE. Again, we lose out on travel expenses, but I love the show because it's all Indy guys, and all the Indy guys are usually pretty cool to each other. I've made more "connections" with other pros at this show than at any other show I've worked. I also tend to spend more on Small Press and Mini Comics at this show than any other, so there's that. We did very good at this show, with HFSAC selling extremely well.

Free Comic Book Day at Comic Quest in Evansville, IN: FCBD at my "local" comic shop went swimmingly. Free table, virtually no travel expense (a little bit of gas money was all), and best of all, we actually sold some comics. The lower priced books performed the best, with Gulatta! and SDF: Pulp selling very well. HFSAC still managed to hold its own, too.

Chicago Comicon: Our most expensive table, but also our best payday. We saved on travel costs by crashing with some of Bro's friends (also got at least one free meal out of the deal as well), so that was good. This was the first show where I brought along some new stuff, like the TORC Press Logo shirt, the TORC Press Poster, and some original, framed paintings. We moved some t-shirts, but that was it. Groan. Still, the comics did their job, with HFSAC selling very well (we had at least two or three people buy the whole series in one felled swoop), and SDFP did good too. I believe we introduced "Death Nouveau: Ep 2" at this show, and it sold very nicely. Strangely, Gulatta! underperformed at this show for some reason. If it wasn't for the super expensive table, this would have been our best show of the year, despite the fact that I thought we were utterly doomed on Friday. That day totally sucked. Saturday rocked, though.

Nashville Comicon: Table prices were higher, but we got to stay the night for free with my cousin (Hey, Katie!), so it worked out okay. Foot traffic was spotty, but we still sold fairly well. This was the ONLY show where someone bought one of my paintings, and it was my first sale of the show no less! That was awesome. HFSAC, SDFP, and DNEP2 all sold nicely. Again, Gulatta underperformed. Also, again, we managed to sell all the issues of HFSAC to at least one or two people. Crazy.

GMX: The good news: Cheap table and free room and board (Hi again, Kaite!). The Bad News: Ssssslllllloooooowwwww foot traffic and a largely unreceptive audience. Having said that, there were a handful of people that tried us out, which was nice, and best of all, there were actually a few people that bought a full run of HFSAC, which blew my mind. Still, there is nothing in this world worse than working a convention by yourself and having no one to talk to and making no sales for four hours straight. That was rough.

Mid-Ohio Con: On the bright side, I split my table with Clint, so the overall cost was mitigated somewhat. On the other and, we were stuck in the absolute worst spot in the whole con. Holy crap, talk about terrible table positioning. Still, we did okay. Gulatta and the other all ages books redeemed themselves, selling very admirably (lot of families at the show, thankfully). HFSAC continued its job of being our flagship title, and SDFP did okay. In truth, I sold more comics to my comrades-in-arms (other Creator's Common guys) than I did to the regular folk. That was odd.

Next Year: I'm already signed up for STAPLE and SPACE, which are both in March of next year. That'll be a rough month. I've got a heads up on some really cool smaller shows that I might try to work as well. I'll probably work Chicago if for no other reason to give Bro an excuse to hang with Brad and Jen. I should try to work at least one Nashville show next year in order to hang with Katie and my nephew Jack. Also, I've heard a lot of good things about Dragon Con, but I'm not sure if I'm in the mood to travel to Atlanta, GA. Also, Clint and I talked about the possibility of splitting a table at some of the new Wizard shows that will debut next year.

I've got new plans of attack. New stuff I'm gonna try. New shows to go to. Buckle up, baby, cause we're going for a ride.

Back from Mid-Ohio

I'm back from Columbus, safe and more or less sound. I'd like to thank everyone that came out and supported TORC Press at Mid-Ohio Con, especially since it seemed like getting people to try something new at this show was like pulling teeth. Woof. Still, we did okay, especially when you factor in how absolutely horrible our table positioning was. When I got to the show, I went looking for my table, and I couldn't find it. I was like, "Where's table 005? The numbers end at 010." Then I noticed there was another, tiny, secret, hidden row on the other side of the aisle, facing the wall. My immediate response was, "We're doomed," (in my best C-3PO voice), but we did okay. Part of what helped was that I split a table with Clint Basinger of Cosmic Moustache fame. Not only did that cut back on my expenses, but it gave me someone to talk to over the weekend (as opposed to GMX where I was not only in a crummy spot with an unresponsive audience, but I also had no one to jabber with). Perhaps the most frustrating part of the show was that a really good table was open and never claimed the next aisle over, but there was nothing we could do to acquire it. Well, I suppose we could have gone all pirate and just taken the table as our own, but that would be rude to all the over poor schmucks stuck in our aisle. But like I said, we did okay, so it's no biggie.

Anyway, that's it for me and Conventions for the year. I've already got a heads up on several conventions for next year, and I've got new plans on how to tackle next year's conventions and hopefully make some extra scratch. It's all a learning process, really. In the meantime, a new book will go live in the online store next week (well, sorta new, I've been selling it on the Convention Circuit for a couple of months now), HFSAC 9 is at the printers, HFSAC 10 is in production, SDFP 6 is ready to go to the printers in a week or two, SDFP7 is written, and I've got 6 weeks worth of material for MONSTER KING ready to go. Whew.

In the meantime, it's back to the Sawmill with me. Yee-haw.

Mid-Ohio and MONSTER KING

Alrighty, I'm a leaving for Mid-Ohio Con in just a few short hours. If I can get out of my PJs. Anyway, it's Saturday and Sunday and details on the show are up over at http://midohiocon.blogspot.com/. Groan. 6 hour drive. Groan.

While I'm gone check out Pages 11-12 of my online comic, MONSTER KING, which are now available for viewing over at www.torcpress.com/mk11.html. Hassan i Phantom unleashes his deadly wooden Marionettes! Also, these are the last pages I'll be putting up before things "reset" with pages 13-14. So enjoy em while the enjoyin' is good.

Also, once again, TORC Press is no longer on Facebook. Screw that noise.

Other than that, hope everyone has a nice weekend in this dismal month.

I Hate Facebook with an Endless Passion

I never liked Facebook. In fact, I think Facebook is the dumbest idea in history. Well, the only things dumber than Facebook are Twitter and People who actually voted for Tea Party candidates. Anyway, despite the fact that I hate Facebook, I am a business. I am TORC Press. I need to use every avenue I can use to promote my work and keep my tiny readership up to date on what's going down with my stuff. So I got me a Facebook. I'd put little TORC Press updates on it. Big whoop. So, I try to log into my Facebook account last night, and guess what? I can't. Facebook tells me that I'm a Security Threat, and that I MAY NOT BE REAL. In order to prove my validity as a human being, I have to give Facebook my cellphone number. I ain't giving out my blankety blankin' number to no stupid computer, and I sure as shootin' ain't giving it out to stupid, worthless, boring Facebook.

Now, never freakin' mind that I've been SPAMMED by Nonexistent People TWICE already on Facebook. Never freakin' mind that all I've done on Facebook is post little updates on my crap and respond to other people's posts on my wall. Oh no. I'm the one that's not real. Me. Joseph Morris. The one and only Bizarre Human Comix Machine. The Blue Collar Scumbag. The Straight Edge Psychedelic Astronaut. The Actual American Original. The man who can do more with a bottle of India Ink than Hollywood can do with Millions of Dollars (Sidenote: I've decided that "Skyline" is a blatant rip-off of the following films: Godzilla (American version no less), Independence Day, The Matrix, and Cloverfield. Not a single original idea anywhere to be found.). But I'm not real. Oh no.

Well, screw you Facebook. I never liked you, and if I could sign into my account I would deactivate you right freakin' now. Since I can't, then let me just say to the two people reading this (Hi, Mark!), that TORC PRESS/Joseph Morris WILL NO LONGER BE USING FACEBOOK AS A RESOURCE. All updates will be made either here on the Myspace/Blogspot Blog, or directly on the website (I'm thinking about adding a news section soon).

Once again, Screw You Facebook.

November Dawn

Alrighty. New Day. New Week. New Month. New Game. Let's Play.

First off, my last convention of the year is this weekend. Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus, OH is this weekend. I'll be there both days shamelessly hawking my wares to anyone stupid enough to get close to my table. I'm sharing a table with my semi-frequent partner in crime, Clint Bassinger of Cosmic Moustache Comics. So there's that.

If you haven't been to the main site at www.torcpress.com in a week or two, we've got some new stuff up. There's my latest book, Gulatta! v2.2, which is available, and there's a one page preview up on the main site as well. In addition, we're up to page 10 of my free, online comic Monster King.

Other than that, I just sent HFSAC 9 to the Printers. It should be available in December, unless something stupid happens. Work has begun on issue 10 (and by work, I mean I've got four pages pencilled and one page inked...). The material for the first full issue of Monster King is also done. Just a matter of slowly unveiling the pages. Speaking of which, pages 11-12 will be going up early this week, because, obviously, I'll be on the road this weekend. "SDF: Pulp" #5 will be available for sale in a few weeks (give or take), and "SDF: Pulp" #6 is completed and will be sent to the Printers when I think I can afford it. SDFP 7 is scripted, but I'm short on Bristol right now, so I'll start work on that one when I've got the pencils for HFSAC 10 and MK2 done.

Woof. I am groggy today. I blame the Nyquil.

Game is Almost Over

"Then we gotta dance, Buckwheat."

Right-o. Same old same old to start. October's almost over, so if you want free art with your online order, you better get while the getting's good.

Anyway, if I ain't yammered about it enough, we've got a new book out, "Gulatta!" v2.2. Over on the main site (www.torcpress.com), we've put the cover to G2.2 up on the front page (takes forever to load). Also, there's a one page preview from the book at www.torcpress.com/previewpage1.html which features the giant crab robot. Because the world needs more giant crab robots.

Also, it's Saturday, baby, so you know what that means. No, not the Victoria's Secret Ad I'm staring at while watching Scrubs. It's MONSTER KING time!!!! Party time!! Exclamation Points!!!!!! Anyway, Page 9 is up over at www.torcpress.com/mk9.html. It's got more with the creepy guy in the top hat, and the Clown gets all serious and stuff. Check it out.

I'm totally running late today. I've gotta be in Evansville by 1 o'clock, and I'm still in my PJs. Woof.

Clock is Ticking

Groan. "Republicans plan 2011 Agenda." That's not the kinda thing you wanna see first thing in the morning. Or ever for that matter. Why is everything a foregone conclusion nowadays? I mean, what's the point of voting if the race is decided months in advance? Bah.

Sorry, the shifting weather patterns have had me all messed up for the last two days. Being force fed disturbing political predictions on a daily basis by my computer is doing nothing to improve my mood.

Anyway, October is winding down, which means the TORC Press 11 Year Anniversary is winding down, which means that our Free Art with Online Purchase promotion is winding down. That's right, Cats and Kittens, as of Sunday evening the promotion ends. The good news is that we've got two great new books that are available for purchase. "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #8 features the origin of Agent'?', while "Gulatta!" vol. 2 #2 features Eyenigma vs. a Giant Crab Robot. So, bop on over to www.torcpress.com/store.html and score a copy while you can still get a free sketch with your purchase.

The follow up to that Headline should have been: "Obama warming up his veto stamp."

Back from GMX

Well... I survived GMX. Somehow. I'd like to thank everyone that took a chance on us at the show and bought a book or more. I really appreciate it. And that's all I'm gonna say about that particular show.

Next weekend we're off to Evansville to try to get caught up with the Comic Quest Creator's Alliance, and the next week it's back to good old Columbus, OH for my second try at Mid-Ohio Con. HFSAC 9 will be on it's way to the printers by (hopefully) this upcoming Sunday. Two new pages of Monster King will go up this Saturday morning, featuring more of the creepy guy in the top hat.

And, as a reminder, if you haven't been by the main site at www.torcpress.com lately, we've got a brand new book in the online store, Gulatta! v2.2, available. It's got crazy monster heroes fighting a giant Crab Robot, so, yeah, it's a fun read. Until the end of the month, anything you purchase comes with free art, so keep that in mind. I think that promotion ends this Sunday, so buy while the buying's good. Also, while you're on the main site, check out my online comic, MONSTER KING. Just because.

I'm wiped out, but it's off to the Sawmill anyway. There ain't no rest for the wicked. Or sharks for that matter.

Nashville and New MONSTER KING

"Sure. We Do Crazy Crap Like that All the Time."

That's just about it for me this week. I've got 8 hours or so in the sawmill, then I'm hitting the road for Nashville, TN. I'll be at the GMX show Friday through Sunday. Info on the show can be found at http://whatisgmx.net/.

Before I go, I'll just throw some hype out there. First off, pages 7 and 8 of MONSTER KING are now online and available to be viewed. You can start with page 7 by bopping over to www.torcpress.com/mk7.html, or if you're new to the webcomic, start off at www.torcpress.com/mk1.html. In this week's earlier than usual installment, Cactus Joe and Pengy Penguin have a conversation with a Depressed Tree (yeah), and then a couple of creepy guys in fur coats and top hats pop up for no good reason. Welcome to the Rabbit Hole.

Also, although I won't be able to fill any orders till I get back, it's worth mentioning that we've got a couple of new books available. Issue 8 of the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club, featuring the origin of Agent '?', and Issue 2 of Gulatta! (v.2), featuring a Giant Crab Robot, are now available online over at www.torcpress.com/store.html. Go score yerself a copy, and as our thanks, in celebration of TORC Press's 11 Year Anniversary, we'll send you free art with your purchase. Promotion ends at the end of October, so get it while the getting's good, comrades.

Gripping the wheel, his knuckles turned white with desire...

Gulatta v.2.2 now Available!

I literally got this book in yesterday, and since there's less than half a month left in our whole "Free Art with Purchase" promotion, I decided to go ahead and put it up for sale. So, without further ado...

"Gulatta!" volume 2 Issue 2 is now available from TORC Press! It's 8 page All Ages Book in BWG for a measly $1.50 plus $1.00 S&H. It can be ordered online through www.torcpress.com/store.html or you can order it through snail mail by sending a check or money order to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824.

So, what's in it? A giant Crab Robot attacks the laboratory of genius inventor Professor Forget-Me-Not, and it's up to the Monster Heroes of Eyenigma to save the day. It's a wild, brawling, robot bashing good time.

And as we hinted previously, it's TORC Press's 11 Year Anniversary, so anything that's purchased for the rest of the month gets free artwork with it. Huzzah!

GMX and other stuff

First off, I'm heading off to Nashville once again, this time for the GMX or Geek Media Expo. It's a three day show, so we'll see how that goes. Info on the show can be found at http://whatisgmx.net/. I'll be leaving for Nashville on Thursday night after work. Which will affect my work schedule a leetle bit this week.

On the bright side, I've got 5 of my 8 pages for the week done. All I need to do is ink 3 more pages, and I'm gold. Which is good, because I'm going to need to get the next two pages of MONSTER KING online on either Wednesday night or Thursday morning now. I'd also like to add a new Bio entry to the site. So, as usual, no excuse for boredom.

Speaking of MONSTER KING, we're up to page Six, so check that out over at the main site. You can start from the beginning by going to www.torcpress.com/mk1.html.

And, continuing with our trend of mercilessly hyping stuff, the new issue of The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club is now available over at www.torcpress.com/store.html. It's a cool book, and since this is the 11 year Anniversary of TORC Press, anything you order off the main site comes with a Free Sketch. So, there's that.

Marmalade.

Monster King Pages 5-6

"Dude. Am I freaking out, or is that tree crying?"

Pages 5 & 6 of my online comic MONSTER KING are now online. In previous issues, we've had blood and fighting and whatnot. This issue we've got a new Ortex Captain and a talking tree. Yes. A talking tree. Just goes to show you never know what's going to happen in the Torcverse.

Anyway, you can jump straight to Page 5 by going to www.torcpress.com/mk5.html. If you're new to Monster King, then you can start from the beginning by bopping over to www.torcpress.com/mk1.html.

And, since I'm trying to get into the habit of mercilessly hyping stuff, don't forget we've got a new book, "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #8, which is a really cool issue that focuses on Agent '?', and her story. You can pick that up in the online store over on the main site. And also don't forget to don't forget that it's the 11 year anniversary of TORC Press, so anything you order you get free art with your order. Crazy dance party! Hup! Hup!

El Exclamation Point! Bio and More

Blew off a little steam this weekend. Drove around. Listened to some CDs. Got a little lonely. I gotta say, that's the killer right there, the loneliness. You get trapped inside your own head, and there's no one there to pull you out. Oh well, what the hell. I was born a voice crying in the wilderness and it looks like I'm a gonna die that way.

On the bright side, I was reenergized to work on TORC Press stuff when I got home. The only visible product of my work from the weekend is that El Exclamation Point! has now got his own Bio entry over on the main site. Head over to www.torcpress.com/eep.html to learn more about the mysterious, masked, metaphysical detective (alliteration!).

While you're at the main site, www.torcpress.com, Pages 1-4 of my online comic MONSTER KING are also available for viewing (for Free) as well. Aaaaand, while I'm hyping stuff, Issue 8 of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" is now available. There's a free one page preview of that issue up on the main site as well, which features giant alien plant monster things. Aaaaaaaaaand, don't forget, it's our 11 Year Anniversary, so any online (or snail mail) purchase scores you a free Sketch. New online content, new comic, free stuff. Woo!

Things are going good, production wise. Half the inks are done on HFSAC 9, and issue 10 is scripted. SDF: Pulp 5 and 6 are done in the sun on a bun (issue 5 will hopefully be available in November), and I scripted issue 7 last night. I've got at least 12 pages of Monster King ready to go. Feeling good. I've got an ambitious plan of attack that I want to implement next year, but I'm putting things in motion this year. Dig it?

Monster King Pages 3-4

"Spread the word. You can't kill the Clown."

New pages of my online comic MONSTER KING(!) are now available on the main site. You can start with the new pages by going to www.torcpress.com/mk3.html, or if you need to start from the beginning, head over to www.torcpress.com/mk1.html.

In this week's edition, Cactus Joe wraps up his rumble with the Ortex Attack Squad. Uh, that's pretty much it. It's not exactly Shakespeare.

And while we're hyping stuff, don't forget, we've got a new book available. The 8th issue of the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club is now available. It's a cool issue that focuses on the life and times of Agent '?'. There's a free one page preview at www.torcpress.com/previewpage1.html or you can buy it directly at www.torcpress.com/store.html.

And, once again, it's our Eleven Year Anniversary, so anything you buy in the online store gets you free artwork. So there's that.

Anyway, I'm going on Walkabout today. See ya.

A Wee Bit o' HFSAC 8 Hype

Right-o. If you weren't aware, the 8th issue of the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club is now available from TORC Press. It's an issue that I'm quite happy with, since it finally gets around to giving the full back story on Agent '?'. It really fleshes her out and gives you an idea of who she is and why she does the things she does. Also, there are two Easter Eggs hidden in this issue. One of them I won't hint at, because any hint would probably give it away. The second Easter Egg, though, involves the fact that Agent '?' actually existed BEFORE HFSAC 1. If you've got some of my earlier comics, you might be able to find her if you look hard enough. When it comes to writing this stuff, I don't have a concrete, inflexible plan, but I do make plans that do occasionally come to fruition.

Anyway, if you wanna check out a preview page from the new issue, go to http://www.torcpress.com/previewpage1.html. Or if you wanna just score a copy then head over to www.torcpress.com/store.html. Simple as that.

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Issue 8 Now Available

As promised, it's October 4th, and we've got a new book available. It's the 8th issue of the "Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" which recently made its debut at the Nashville Comicon. It's 24 Pages in BWG for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H. It's available through our online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html or through Snail Mail by sending check or money order to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824.

So, what's this issue about? Well, to put it quite simply, this issue is about Agent "?". Unlike a lot of our "Mystery" characters (such as her comrade-in-arms, El Exclamation Point!), there's always been a person underneath Agent "?"'s Metal Mask. In HFSAC 7 we finally saw her face (and everything else for that matter, va-va-voom!), but in HFSAC 8 we really dig into her past. What's her name? Where did she get her armor? Why did she join up with the Fudgeheads? All of these questions and more will be answered in this issue. As an added bonus, long time TORC Press readers (all three or four of you) might be able to catch a little bitty secret I've hidden in this book. Bro couldn't figure it out. Can you?

And, because I couldn't bring myself to do a pure flashback episode, there's also giant alien tentacle monsters, mysterious secret agents, and a new member of the Platypus family pops up. It's a character heavy issue with some extra spice. Like a good burger with some jalepenos on it.

If you need some further incentive to pick up this issue, once again, it's the 11 Year Anniversary of TORC Press, and we're celebrating by giving away free sketches with every purchase. That's right, you buy a copy of HFSAC 8 (or any issue for that matter), and you get a free pen and ink drawing by moi. If you want a specific character, please state who in your order.

Also, also while you're at the main site at www.torcpress.com, make sure to check out the first two pages of my online comic MONSTER KING! All Caps! Exclamation Point! It's two pages of bashing and crashing in full color for free. What's not to love?

We'll have a one page preview of HFSAC 8 loaded onto the main site on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

MONSTER KING!

"And Look at that! The Action's Already Started!"

The wild, reckless TORC Press October attack begins with the release of our new webcomic. It's called Monster King, it's Free, it's in wild, bright, psychedelic Dr. Suessian color, and it can be viewed over at http://www.torcpress.com/mk1.html. There's two pages for this week that can be viewed, and we'll put two new pages up every week from now till whenever.

So, what is Monster King? It's the continuing adventures of Cactus Joe the Clown and Pengy Penguin. Like any Clown and Penguin story, it's Violent and Strange and Occasionally Goofy. It starts as a brawl and will turn into something... different. It's TORC Press bumbling recklessly through webcomics.

Anyway, we'll archive 12 pages on the site at a time. Also, the webcomic will eventually be collected into regular comics format, so if you dig it, and you want a permanent copy, just hang tight.

Oh, I'm not a professional colorist or web guru or any of that junk, so if anyone sees anything glaringly bad about the webcomic, please e-mail me or drop a comment or something.

Aaaand, once again, it's the 11 Year Anniversary of TORC Press. If you order anything through www.torcpress.com from now till the end of the month, you'll get a free sketch with your order. MONSTER KING!

Eleven Years, Baby!

It is October 1st, and you know what that means: It's the ELEVEN Year Anniversary of TORC PRESS! Woo! Party! Streamers! Cake! Balloons! Whee!

It seems like a lifetime ago (I was gonna say just yesterday, but who am I kidding...), that I was standing in that comic shop in Effingham (which closed years ago) staring at that Blue Line Pro "Create Your Own Comic Book" pack, feeling the wheels of my Destiny turn (and I'm seriously not kidding, I felt the pull of Destiny at that moment, like a voice in my head saying, "Buy that pack and start making comics RIGHT NOW or SHUT UP and get a Real Life."). So I bought the Kit, and around 30 days or so later, Pulp Horrorshow volume 1 number 1 was being printed on a copy machine in a Kinko's in Carbondale, IL (which, incidentally, is a 2 hour drive from my house. Even from the beginning I was inefficient).

A lot has changed since then. The first comics were made in my parents' basement, before I owned a home. I think I've gone through all three of my cars during the last eleven years. The original comics were made on a series of Xerox Machines (which is why I called em Xerox Comics), first in Carbondale, then later in Mount Vernon, then later in Evansville, IN. I originally had no idea how to ink, so the inking on the original books was Horrible. The stories were also pretty rotten. I didn't do much with the original comics. I gave copies to my friends and family, who were nice enough to lie to me and say they were "good". I took a few to Sinking Ship Comics in Olney (closed now as well...sigh...) and tried to sell them through the store, but no one bought any. For two years in a row I made "Promo Comics" and took them to Wizard World Chicago, and me and my friends handed them out for free to anyone that would take a copy (you'd be surprised how many people will turn their nose up at a free comic). Oh, and for the first couple of years, the "company" went by its original, long form name "Truth or Consequences Press".

Now? I'm a pretty good writer. I'm a decent artist. I'm a so-so inker. I've found my own creative voice. I've got my own house, my own studio, and I'm on my fourth car. I still work in the Sawmill (some things never change). TORC Press comics are now professionally printed by an online print-on-demand printer. They feature color covers that I make using Photoshop, a program I had not heard of eleven years ago. I have worked Comic Conventions in Chicago, other parts of Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Austin, TX, and Columbus, OH. I'm not sure what my actual comic count total is right now, but it's well over 50. I've got a website, www.torcpress.com, which I kinda sorta know how to operate myself (with help by Bro, obviously). I've always got new ideas, new approaches, new, new, new. I don't do stagnation. And I get better all the time.

Anyway, let's get around to the point of this nonsense, shall we? For the entire month of October, to celebrate our 11 year anniversary, when you order anything from TORC Press, either through snail mail or through our online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html, then you get a free sketch with your order. Simple as that. Please make sure to specify which TORC Press character(s) you want on your sketch with your order. Oh, and when I say sketch, I actually mean a meticulously hand drawn pen and ink drawing on high quality bristol board.

So, yeah, order some stuff, get some free art, and make me work when I should be partying with women with loose morals (yeah, right). Woo!

And, in case you're wondering, there'll be a new book available on Monday, so there's something to pick up.

Y'okay. We're back from Nashville, safe and sound. First off, I'd like to thank everyone that came out and supported TORC Press. We appreciate it, big time. Secondly, I'd like to thank my cousin Katie for putting us up (and putting up with us) for a couple of nights. A free place to sleep certainly helps a lot. Also, we got to play with our nephew Jack, so good times all around.

We had a good, solid show. The Con was in a new venue, so there was really no telling how things were going to go, but Saturday went really well, and Sunday was good enough, so no complaints here. I'm noticing a continuing and disturbing trend at these shows though. There's fewer and fewer Small Press Creators at every show I go to. I'm beginning to believe that perhaps we're becoming an endangered species. I tell you one thing, when I finally go extinct, I'm gonna be like that damn T-Rex at the end of the second "Jurassic Park" movie. You'll see me smashing around a Con throwing comics at people and making horrible howling noises while overpaid actors try to load me onto a boat that will take me off to an island with all the other Small Press guys and gals.

Anyway, thanks to the show, I've got a possible line on a couple of other midwest shows (which I need to look into this evening). I also need to add some more content to the main site at www.torcpress.com. But, before I can do too much of anything, I need to get caught up on my deadline for the week, considering I was in Nashville on Sunday, I didn't have my usual Sunday to get ahead on my deadlines. So I'm already behind this week. Huzzah!

New book goes online on October 4th. I'm trying to decide which project to focus on this week. I'm gonna pick up work on HFSAC 9 when October starts. As usual, I have more ideas than I know what to do with. The endless joy and terror of being the Bizarre Human Comix Machine.

Going Down Nashville Way

Right-o. Just a few hours of sawmilling and then it's off to Nashville to crash at my cousin Katie's for a few days while we work the newly remastered Nashville Comicon. It's Saturday the 25th from 10 to 5 and Sunday the 26th from 11 to 4. We'll be there with our limitless arsenal of comics, doing our thing. Wish us luck!

Whoops, almost forgot, details on the show can be found at: http://www.comiccitytn.com/Nashville_Comic_Con.php.

Pre-Nashville Ramblings

Welp, it's Monday. Whattawegot?

The Nashville Comicon is this upcoming weekend. I'll be there hawking my goods. Details can be found at www.comiccitytn.com.

I'm halfway through my work quota for the week already, which is good considering that I won't be around on Friday or Saturday. I've got a lot of irons in the fire, but I don't feel completely overwhelmed like I did back in the days of the Kaleidoscope.

Having said that, I'm currently toying with the idea of (gasp) hiring another artist so I can produce even more comics. I know no one actually reads these stupid blogs, but if there happens to be any unpublished artists out there looking for work and don't mind working on the cheap, hit me up at cactusfnjoe@hotmail.com. Why not?

I wonder if I've still got free HBO?

Nashville and Other New Stuff

Right-o. Last night's DOP show went great, and I'd like to thank everyone that came out to support the Brotherman in Charleston. Rock on!

Next up, we've got the Nashville Comicon this next weekend. It's September 25-26. Details can be found at http://www.comiccitytn.com/Nashville_Comic_Con.php. I'll be bringing the mini-sketches with me, and they'll be free with purchase.

Also, we've got a new bio up on the bio page. "Gulatta!"'s King Dark and his feathered pal, TuLo TooCan have got an entry up which can be found at http://www.torcpress.com/kingdark.html. Find out more about the world's most powerful vigilante. He can hit you with the awesome weight of gravity itself! BAM!

I didn't get near enough sleep last night.

The DOP Live Tonight!

Right-o. No real TORC Press news to bug everyone with today (although, once again, we've added some new content to the website at www.torcpress.com, and we'll be at the Nashville Comicon next weekend). Instead I'll just mention that my brother's one man band, The Dr. Orphyus Project, will be performing live at Friend's and Co. in Charleston, IL tonight. The show starts at 9pm, and according to the flyer, Altered Existence and Mahgniffe Heathens will also be playing. Should be fun. Bro will be rocking a set similar to his Summer Tour set, which includes new videos from our comic book/CD combo project, Death Nouveau Episode 2 (which, if you don't have a copy yet, can be acquired at http://www.torcpress.com/store.html). Me excited to get my metal on.

Brain Swarm

Right-o. Added a bio entry for Bad Jack to the main site last night. It can be viewed at http://www.torcpress.com/badjack.html. If the idea of an undead superhero who can slice off people's faces sounds like a good idea, then after reading the entry, feel free to swing by the TORC Press online store and pick up some copies of "SDF: Pulp". Why not?

One of the tricky parts about being a Bizarre Human Comix Machine is trying to figure out a regular publishing schedule. I have changed my publishing schedule, like, twenty times this year. I've made at least five or six rough drafts of next year's publishing schedule. The problem is that I'm constantly having an influx of new ideas, while constantly retooling and reworking old ideas, and the end result is a massive cranial traffic jam. In addition, nowadays I spend a fair amount of time intentionally trying to come up with concepts that will either attract people's attention or sell well so I can make some decent scratch. The clock is ticking away on the sawmill, and our hero desperately needs to find his way to the Promised Land or face a fate worse than death: Working full time in some crummy factory in his 40s. I can still do my wild and crazy stuff (in fact, one might argue that's what sets me apart from everyone else), I just need to find a profitable format. (A rabid, regular readership wouldn't hurt, but that's something I can't control, and if you can't control it, why bother worrying about it?)

Anyway, long story short, I had intended to finish the 9th issue of the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club by the end of the month. Unfortunately, I've been thinking about some stuff, and I've realized that if I want to complete a couple of projects within a set time frame, I'm going to need to take a little longer break from the Fudgeheads. As a result, I'm pushing the deadline on HFSAC 9 back until either October or November while I get my ducks in a row.

The good news is that HFSAC 9 will be coming out eventually. The story is written, half the pencils are done, and I've got a few pages inked. It'll start a new 3 issue story arc (that was the other reason I'm postponing the issue, I didn't want to start a new arc and then leave it dangling) that'll feature all sorts of wild new stuff.

Kirby did three major books throughout the 60s: Fantastic Four, Thor, and Captain America. If HFSAC is my FF, then what will be my Thor and Cap? Hmmmm....

New Website Stuff

Welp, despite the fact that I have the computer skills of your average mongoose, I spent a small portion of my weekend tinkering with my website, www.torcpress.com. There's two new additions to the site. First off, there's a one page preview of Death Nouveau: Episode 2 Baroque Western. It's the "Hell Scene" from Page/Track 10, and is one of my most favorite little bits of art I've done ever. You can view it at http://www.torcpress.com/previewpage1.html, and if you happen to dig it and wanna throw a little scratch our way, there's a link to the store just below the art. Yes, I went there.

Secondly, on the advice of my Unofficial Business Manager (what up, Boolah!) I'm going to be slowly but surely adding a Cast section to the main site that will contain information on the central TORCverse crew. Obviously, the first (and currently only) entry is about Cactus Joe the Clown and Pengy Penguin. All of which can be viewed at
http://www.torcpress.com/clownnpenguin.html. I like how colorful and simplistic the image is, myself.

Anyway, if there's anything that needs brought to my attention, please e-mail me about it, or drop a comment on the blog. Thanks.

Other than that, I'm currently working on the 9th issue of the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club. It's half penciled, and I'm up to page 6 on the inks. I've got one book at the Printers, one book ready to go to the Printers (a book that hopefully several people will be happy to see), and our next book goes up for sale the first week of October. Also working on a long form project, just scripted another interesting project (which I'll probably start work on in October), and I had something of a breakthrough on a project that I almost scrapped. So, yeah, no reason for me to get bored right now.

Hype and Random Notes

Right-o. Let's see what we've got this gloomy Saturday morning.

In the hype department, we've got two new books out, "Death Nouveau Episode 2: Baroque Western" and "SDF: Pulp #4". DNE 2 is a comic book/CD combo that's a surreal sci-fi/western/horror story tale of revenge. We're really proud of it. SDF:P 4 is your typical issue of Pulp, in that it's crazy and jam packed with so much crazy craziness that there's no more room for further crazy. You can check em out at http://www.torcpress.com/store.html.

For some reason, Myspace won't upload the cover of SDF: P 4. Not sure what's up with that.

Fall is intruding on Summer much quicker than usual. I've actually been wearing my flannel to work in the morning, and I'm wearing a hooded sweatshirt as I type this. I've also experienced a mild version of season change sickness already, as I've been having headaches, mild nausea, and my tongue tastes like sandpaper. Not surprisingly, the allergies have gone berzerk as well. If the damn weather would pick a temperature and stabilize I'll be fine.

Never got around to yammering about it, but I've caught both "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and "Machete" recently. Both have a lot of great Novelty value (and I do so love novelty). Pilgrim is ambitious, riotous, funny, weird, and quite a lot of fun. Easily the most underrated film of the year. My only complaint about the movie was that I really didn't think Ramona Flowers was worth all the effort. "Machete" was cool. It was at its best when it was just Machete violently butchering his way through hordes of faceless thugs, and it kinda gets bogged down in the whole Immigration thing. I've always liked the Iconic nature of the heroes in a Rodriguez film. This one's got all sorts of those kinda characters, from the shotgun toting Padre to the murderous Nun (played somewhat ironically by Lindsay Lohan no less) to the One Eyed Revolutionary She-Devil, they're like superheroes or action figures or characters out of bizarre novel. I dig that.

Comix Reviews:

"Baltimore: the Plague Ships" #2: We get some background on the mysterious Lord Baltimore, there's some stuff set in an alternate WWI (nice change of pace from the usual WWII stuff), and there's some cool stuff with Vampires that look like Giant Vampire Bats. This series is a-okay so far.

"B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth-New World" #2: Kind of a filler issue. Kate has sleep deprivation, Johann and Panya bicker, and Abe hangs out in the woods with the long lost Daimyo. It's funny, just the other day I was wondering what happened to that guy. Stuff will happen next issue.

"Hellboy: The Storm" #3: Hellboy decides to ignore his destiny...again. He runs afoul of one of the Devils (I can't remember which one is which) and gives the Babba Yagga a receipt. Also, the worst thing that could possibly happen happens. I love Hellboy.

"Meta 4" #2: Hey, it's the new Ted McKeever series. But I missed issue 1. Damnit. Anyway, it's McKeever, so it's odd and makes little sense. There's a gun toting aviator chick, an amnesiac astronaut, and a buff, bald, female tattoo artist who can't talk. So, yeah. I'm in.

"Batman" #702: Basically this is a flashback to Batman's trial by death during "Final Crisis". Not much new, but the prose is cool, and the concept that Darkseid's bullet is the "Primordial Bullet" is pure Morrison.

"Batman & Robin" #14: Everything goes straight to Hell. The Joker turns the tables on Robin, Black Mask unveils his master plan, Batman is betrayed, and Professor Pyg gets really, really, really freaky. Kinda hard to follow, but still pretty darn awesome. I can't wait for this series to wrap up so I can re-read the whole thing.

"THB: Comics from Mars" #2: This is a comic that Paul Pope released as an exclusive at the Baltimore Comicon. The publisher, AdHouse Books, was selling leftover copies on their website. If you're a die hard Pope fan like I am, then you might wanna get over to AdHouse's website before they sell out. Anyway, this book is a lovely little bit of novelty featuring an auto-bio story, a bizarre space story, an odd take on Tom and Jerry, some random stuff, and, most importantly, an installment of Pope's surreal superhero story, the Masked Karimba. Glad I ordered it. Trying to fight the urge to steal liberally from this book, which is what happens every time I read a Paul Pope anything. The dude is just too good.

"One Piece" Chapters 561-564: The War between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Navy continues. Luffy has the bad luck of having to fight Hawkeye Mihawk, the World's Greatest Swordsman. Luffy finds a rather ridiculous method of not getting cut up. Meanwhile, Whitebeard is betrayed in the worst possible way, and the Navy springs their trap. The only thing that sucks about this comic is that I've gotta wait another month before the next installment. Kahhhhhnnnn!!!!!

New TV starts soon. Looking forward to "Boardwalk Empire" and the return of Steve Buschemi.

I should start working on stuff.

SDF: Pulp Issue 4 Now Available

"SDF: Pulp #4" is now available from TORC Press. It's 8 Pages of Mature Readers comics in Black and White and Grey with a Painted cover for $1.50 plus $1.00 S&H. You can find it for sale over at www.torcpress.com/store.html. Just scroll on down to the bottom of the store. Or, if you're not into online stuff, you can send a check or money order for the book to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824.

Hm. I appear to have jumped the gun. Never actually said what the book is about. Anyway, like every issue of Pulp, there's two strips inside. In the opening strip, Cactus Joe and Pengy continue the hunt for the villainous Vlad. This time out, they've found themselves stuck (once again) in an underground cave with an army of zombies swarming them. Also, we see the origin of the Clown's mystic whip, and there's a brief cameo by Secret Soldier. Also, also, the one page back up strip this issue introduces us to the nightmarish Vlad himself.

The second strip this issue features our old friend Bad Jack and the conclusion of his fight with the faux Dr. Dendull. Lots of violence and craziness. It's good stuff.

While you're at it, if you haven't checked it out yet, Death Nouveau: Episode 2 Baroque Western is also available. It's a comic book/CD combo that's really cool.

Video Joseph

So, I was Googling myself this morning (tee-hee), and I bumbled across this interview I did at the Chicago Comicon. It's only a couple of minutes long, and can be viewed here: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/08/19/creator-videos-from-wizard-world-chicago/ . I come across as something of a robot, but Bro is charming and personable. We also manage to hype The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club and Death Nouveau Ep 2.

Speaking of Death Nouveau Episode 2: Baroque Western, if you haven't checked it out, you really should. It's the best Comic book/ CD Sci-fi/horror/Spaghetti Western/Metal thing that will come out all year. Guaranteed. You can check it out at www.torcpress.com/store.html.

Our next book comes out on Monday. I am the Bizarre Human Comix Machine.

Death Nouveau Episode 2

First off, if you haven't checked it out yet, we've got an excellent new book/CD combo available called "Death Nouveau Episode 2: Baroque Western". It's a great read and a great listen, and features all sorts of cool stuff, like shoot outs and train robberies and glimpses into Hell. You can find the book at http://www.torcpress.com/store.html. It's right there on top.

Other than that, we're currently up to our ears in stuff here in TORCville. TORC Press will be out in force at the Nashville Comicon on September 25 and 26. We'll be doing our usual thing, namely standing up for hours on end, talking to anybody that'll listen, and selling comics. You know how we roll.

I've got a handful of new books to unveil over the next couple of months.

Work has begun on issue 9 of the "Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club". I'm also working on a couple of long term projects. I would like to unveil one of them in October (conveniently in time for TORC Press's Eleven Year Anniversary), while the other will hopefully be done in time for SPACE next year. Hopefully.

Speaking of SPACE, I signed up for next year's show last night. I did it all online, so here's hoping it all worked out right.

SDF: Pulp Issue 2 Now Available

If you were at SPACE or Free Comic Book Day, then you should have seen this one already. But, if you weren't, then here's another new book! Huzzah!

The second issue of SDF: Pulp is now available from TORC Press. It's an 8 page BWG Mature Readers comic with a painted cover for $1.50 plus $1.00 S&H. It can be acquired either at my online store at http://www.torcpress.com/store.html or by sending check or money order to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824.

Like the previous issue, this one's got two four page strips and a one page bonus strip (a particularly nasty bonus strip this issue to boot). The Cactus Joe strip features CJ and Pengy Penguin battling a Gigantic Skeleton, with an added mini-strip featuring Secret Soldier's Monster Hunting Tips. The Bad Jack strip features Bad Jack fighting a barroom full of thugs. There's also a horrible, yet kinda sexy, mutation. Very Cronenberg/Burroughs.

Dr. Dendull

The nefarious Dr. Dendull debuted in "SDF: Sombrero Friday" in the King Smooth story. He really only has a brief cameo, more of a presence than a character. He pops up later on in a "Liquid Jar" strip, but I can't remember which issue it's in (Lost Jigsaw Pieces, maybe?). With only two (very brief) appearances, Dr. Dendull, somewhat ironically, is one of the more successful villains in the TORCverse, because, as we all know, Villains never seen to have a very long shelf-life in my little universe.

The not-so-good Dr. Dendull returns in "SDF: Pulp", where it turns out he is the object of Bad Jack's hatred. Why? Well, we'll get to that, eventually. In the meantime, let's talk a little bit about where Dr. Dendull came from.

The start of Dr. Dendull comes, like a lot of my stuff from the "Super Duper Fun Comix"/"SDF" era, from the germ of William S. Burroughs. In several of Burroughs's works, there's a character named "Dr. Benway". Unlike most of Burroughs other characters, which typically consist of a name and a vague purpose and little else, Benway pops up enough that he kinda develops into something of an actual personality. Benway is a quack, a hack, a drug dealer, a con artist, a charming manipulative scumbag. He's got his greasy fingers in all sorts of pies. In David Cronenberg's film "adaptation" of "Naked Lunch", Benway pops up early, getting "William Lee" hooked on the Black Mead, then reappears at the end of the film as a the crossdressing, would be world conquering, world class drug dealer, slavemaster. So, yeah, I always liked Benway.

I thought to myself, what if we took the general attitude of Benway, and instead of making him a person, what if he was a living disease? A thinking, living virus that was selfish and manipulative and lived only to make everything like himself. A twisted horror, an anti-doctor who lived to deny the Hypocratic oath. Sounded good, now all I needed was a visual.

I was immediately reminded of Terry Gilliam's "Brazil". If you've never seen Brazil, for the love of all the is holy, watch Brazil. Anyway, in Gilliam's Brazil, one of the main character's best friends is a seemingly nice fella (played by Michael Palin, the cute Python, no less), who works for a Government run group called "Information Retrieval", which specializes in torturing people for information on terrorists (that don't actually exist, interestingly enough). Anyway, when Palin's character is working, he wears this really creepy looking Baby mask. That was always a creepy concept, that there was this horrible, murderous, torturer hiding behind this horrible mask, was, at the exact same time, a loving, happy-go-lucky, family man with a cute little daughter. The image stuck with me, so when it came time to design Dendull, I took a modified version of the Babymask from "Brazil" as the centerpiece. From there I just gave him hospital scrubs and rubber gloves, and I was set.

To witness the horror that is Dr. Dendull, check out my new book, "SDF: Pulp", available at http://www.torcpress.com/store.html. Right-o.