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.