2011 Year in Review

This was one of the worst years of my life. Hands down. Just a non-stop stream of crap that never relented. Boo to this year. Let's get this one over with and move on to the next one.

The only things that got me through this year were my Brother and the 24 Comix in a Single Year Challenge. The scene in Monster King #6 where Broken Tea Cup pulls the Clown out of his bottomless depression is loosely based on how Bro pulled me out of similar abysses this year.

So, yeah, not the happiest year this year. But I've got to learn to start focusing a little more on the positive, and since the most positive part of this year was the 24 Comix I produced, let's just round em all up and do a run-down on that stuff, shall we? Oh, and if you think any of these books sound cool at all, head over to www.torcpress.com and buy one or two. Couldn't hurt, right?

1. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #10- The 2nd Part of the "Pyramid" story arc was probably the best part of the whole arc. There's Ner0, my attempt to mishmash Dr.Doom with Iron Man with Caligula. There's the Giant Snakegodmonster. There's a Cosmic Vision that's a part of the whole "Quest for Omnichronus", which is great. There's the return and sudden transformation of Broken Tea Cup, which would prove to be key to the whole year. And there's Cactus Joe with THREE HEADS. Yeah. One of my best.

2. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #11- The Conclusion to the "Pyramid" story arc had some really great stuff in it. There's an excellent fight with a Giant Snakemonstergod. Cactus Joe finds internal harmony amidst his own warring soul (oh, that I could find the same). But the best moment was the reunion of Brothers, a moment I feel encapsulates why I'm more than just some guy doing weird stuff and violence. There's a heart to these comix, amidst all the insanity. The last part of the book is admittedly a little awkward, and is mostly just set up for the future as well as "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" and "Cosmic Love". But ultimately, this issue is really strong and a great wrap up to one of my best story arcs.

3. Monster King #1- Oh, MK1. It's awkward and odd and clumsy and the art is iffy and the colors are iffy and the cover's terrible and there are days where I wish I hadn't bothered to even publish it. BUT, there's some neat stuff here. I like the Crying Tree and the Giant Spider quite a bit. Also, chronologically, this marks the beginning of "The Quest for Omnichronus", which was my story-within-my-stories for the Year. So there's that.

4. Cosmic Love #1- Ah, my Kirby homage. Kinda. This wasn't my strongest issue. I felt like the plot was lacking, and there wasn't enough action. BUT, there's some really cool stuff in here (a running theme). I really feel like, even with the art being my awkward attempt at mimicking Kirby, that the Art in this issue is some of the best art in a TORC Press comic all year. There's some just beautiful stuff in this comic. Also, the "Trip Out" Sequence was one of my favorite moments of the year. This entire series was Painfully Underrated on the Con Circuit.

5. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #12- When I started HFSAC, I Knew I Had to do an "ICE" issue. So that's what this issue was. The Fudgeheads have gotta climb a snow covered mountain in order to prevent Ner0 from getting his hands on another Aetherial Parasite. There's an appearance by El Gorio and Lab Bunny. The art is quite nice. I'm very proud of the art on this issue. It's a good, solid issue. Also, the cover is exactly what I wanted it to be. I wish it had sold a little better on the Con Circuit.

6. The Clown & Tea Cup Show #1- I had a number of "cheats" this year to give me an advantage. Several of the books on this list so far were Produced last year, but were PUBLISHED this year. I know it's a semantics argument, but believe me, when you're trying to do 24 books in a year, BY YOURSELF, you'll take any cheat you can get. Anyway, the point is, TCTC 1 was created mid-way through 2010, but wasn't published until early 2011. This book, quite simply, is what I like to call Pure TORC Press. What I mean by that is that, Only Joseph Morris could have made this book. No one else anywhere else would have (0r could have) made this comic. Besides being Pure TORC Press, the book is also really, really good. Arguably, the third best book I've produced this year. I love everything about this book. And as an added bonus, it was one of the Best Selling Books I had on the Convention Circuit this Year. I don't know why, but people gravitated to this book.

7. Cosmic Love #2- Believe or not, I consider this to be the BEST Book I Produced this Year. I'm the only person that thinks that, but I stand by it. The Cover is Beautiful. The Art is Beautiful. There's the entire history of Kikki Fortune. There's a funny Ping-Pong Match. There's Ultradolphins. There's a Fight with a Giant Space Worm. There's Space Sex. There's more pieces of the Omnichronus Puzzle. There's an Excellent "Trip Out" Sequence. And that's all Crammed into one 24 Page Issue that Somehow Doesn't Feel Cramped. That's how you do Comix Right. The only bad thing about this comic? It didn't sell for Crap on the Convention Circuit. Groan.

8. Monster King #2- Just like MK1, there's so much wrong with this comic that I don't feel like wasting any more time talking about everything that's wrong about it. Here's what's right about it. Mike the Butcher. The Undead Samurai is officially introduced here, and he was one of the best new characters to come out of the TORCverse this year. Also, there's some good fight scenes.

9. Sideshow- Another cheat, this time because the book was only 8 Pages long. I know, I know. Anyway, this comic was a failure. It's not a bad comic, in fact, I like it alot. It's just a failure because I wanted this comic to draw people into the TORCverse. I thought between the short, introductory story and the Coupon on the back, people might want to enter this strange little Universe I've created and...Stay awhile. That didn't happen. Needless to say, it was kind of a bummer.

10. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Lucky #13- Everyone stumbles occasionally (actually, I stumble all the time), but when it's come to HFSAC, I have generally been swinging for the fences with every issue, and most of the time I've hit Home Runs. Not this issue. This issue is a clumsy mess. It's a filler issue (and I HATE Filler Issues). It's all set up with no pay day. AND the Cover SUCKS. This is the only time all year where my Muse led me completely astray. Only recommended for TORC Press or HFSAC Completists.

11. Monster King #3- On the other hand, MK 3 is Pure TORC Press at its BEST. I still personally prefer CL2, but MK3 gave the book a run for its money as my best book of the Year. First off, the Art is great. The Cover is great. The Colors are ultra-hi-fi psychedelic pretty. There's four new characters who are introduced in rapid fire succession. There's a guy with a TV for a head and a psychedelic monster and a talking frog and a Thing with No Flesh. As an added bonus, unlike CL2, MK3 Sold Really, Really Well on the Convention Circuit. If you want to try out TORC Press, this is probably the best issue to introduce you to my Personal Aesthetic.

12. The Clown & Tea Cup Show #2- Another Cheat, this was my 24 Hour Comic Book from Last Year. This is a surprisingly good book, especially when you consider the time frame in which it was assembled. After all of my homages to Kirby, this was my homage to Ditko, with our heroes getting lost in a Dr. Strange-esque Dimension full of Bizarre Monsters and what not. Also, inexplicably, this one sold really well at conventions. For some reason, the whole 24 Hour Thing was Selling Point. Don't ask me how that works.

13. Cosmic Love #3- Not my strongest issue. When I started this issue, I had hopes that it would be a strong follow up to CL2. It wasn't. It was bumbly and fumbly and awkward and the cover didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. BUT, there's some nice stuff here, floating around amidst the awkward. There's an Aztec Psychic Dolphin. There's some hints about CL4. There's Octopo-Man (more on him in CL5 next year). Um, that's about it. Like I said, not my strongest issue.

14. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #14- Ahhh. The return of aliceislost. I mean, okay, she popped up in TCTC1, but this is her first real appearance in quite some time. That alone makes this book quite good, but then there's lots of other great stuff in here too, like the Lost Lands (always fun to draw) and a giant diseased dragon. Good issue, good cover, and a great set up for the stellar Issue 15. Also, the Clown experiences some good old fashioned heartache.

15. SDF: Pulp 2011 Special- Uh. I sometimes wonder if I should have published this issue. It's kind of unnecessary, really. And the art is rushed (intentionally, but still). But, there's still some cool stuff in here. I love the drawing of the Clown and Penguin riding around on a Goofy-looking Cartoon Horse. That almost makes the book worthwhile alone. Plus, there's Dr. Dendull. And a Giant Tree Civilization. Not my best, but not bad.

16. Monster King #4- There's a lot of good things about this issue, but I'll admit, right off the bat, that I should have spread this issue out over two comics. Too much happens too fast, and it sort of sinks the drama of the story. Having said that, I LOVE the first part of the book. "Why are we riding Pigs?" "Why aren't you wearing Pants?" Hahahahaha! I sometimes wonder what my Muse is smoking when she makes me write this crap.

17. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #15- The excellent conclusion to the "alice's Apple" story arc, and, by and large, one of my best from this year. Great cover, great art, great story. There's a Giant Dragon, killer fight scenes, and more Dr. Dendull. The only awkward part is the epilogue at the end, which goes a little longer than it needs to. Other than that, one of my strongest this year.

18. Super Duper Fun Comic 2011 Special- A fun little All Ages Comic I wrote while being stuck in an airport for 8 hours. It's not very deep, but it's cute and silly, and sometimes that's all you need from a book.

19. Cosmic Love #4- Probably the most Important Comic I've Produced this Year, Narrative-wise. I've been waiting to tell this story from the very beginning. And I think I did a pretty good job of it. The last piece of the Clown's origin falls into place.

20. Monster King #5- This issue...there's nothing wrong with this issue. It's an important issue. It's a Key Issue in the overarching Narrative. But it's also a very sad issue, and one that I did not enjoy creating at all. That is all.

21. Super Duper Fun Comix Bowling Special- Conversely, this dumb little comic was a hell of a lot of fun to create. Unapologetically silly and ridiculous, this fun little comic had me dinking around with a different art style, as well. Not Essential, but still a lot of Fun, if you're in to fun.

22. Monster King #6- Things go from Abyssal Darkness and creep back towards the light. The final issue of Monster King left us with one, simple message: Your friends are the people who've got your back when everything else has fallen away. Other than that, solid issue, and a fair enough send off to an uneven series.

23. The Clown & Tea Cup Show #3- My mad last dash for the finish line. And, oh, what a beautiful mad dash it was. This issue is just odd. There's no explanation for anything that happens. There's Strippers turning into Dinosaurs. Why? I don't know. There's another Cosmic Vision, and we get a vague glimpse at Omnichronus. Kinda. There's this whole thing at a Factory, and then the Factory comes Alive. And then there's that quiet little walk through the desert. A really great comixwork. Even if it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and the artwork looks like I was on crack. I was not on crack. Now, whether or not my Muse was on crack at the time, that's her business, not mine. Also, I managed to seed in some glimpses of the Future that I may never actually come back to. To me, every issue of TCTC is what COMIX SHOULD BE. (Not Comics or Comic Books or Webcomics. Comix are an entirely different animal, and they are MINE.)

24. The Clown & Tea Cup Show #4- The last Ace up my sleeve. My last Cheat. My 24 Hour Comic Book for 2011 was the Last Comic of my 24 Comics in a Single Year Challenge. Poetic, right? TCTC 4, as stated before, is COMIX in All Caps. As good as TCTC2 was, I think I like 4 better. It's just so crazy and odd and fun. There's Music (there's so much Music in my Comix, which is weird, 'cause you can't hear anything in comic books). There's fighting. There's more Ditko-esque Dimensional Nonsense. There is my single favorite Page I Drew All Year, and I Drew it at 11:54 at night! Think about it, I Drew the 15th Consecutive Page of a Twenty Four Hour Comic shortly before Midnight, and it was a wonderful piece of ComixArt. In fact, if you want to humor me, head over to http://www.torcpress.com/tctc4prev.html and check out the Second of the Two Pages that Pop Up. "After I Smash Your Face in, I'm gonna Grab Me a TACO!" Ha. Oh, there's also, "We Gladly Go to Hell to Suffer for the Crime of Making Pussy Music." Maybe not the purtiest comic ever, but great Comix nonetheless.

So, let's see. Here's the Head Count:

New High Water Mark for Me as a Creator: 3
Excellent Comix Work: 7
Good, Solid, Enjoyable Comix Work: 9
Um, Not Bad, but not my Best: 4
Crap: 1

All in all, not bad. I mean, Marvel and DC would Kill for those kind of numbers, right? It was probably a bad idea to try to create that many books in a year, but at the same time, some of my all time favorite comix came out this year. I did some really strong work, and really grew and developed creatively, and I managed to cover a lot of ground in terms of my Narrative this year. I didn't finish the Quest for Omnichronus this year, but I did Seed the Narrative throughout a lot of the Comix I produced this year. And I set myself up to wrap up the Quest early (hopefully very early, if I get off my Dead Ass) next year.

So, yeah, good year. If you ignore everything else that happened in my life.

24

I figure that it's somewhat appropriate that my 24th Comic Published this Year would be my 24 Hour Comic from this year. Yep, ladies and Gentlemen, Impossible Challenge Completed as I bring to you "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #4. It's 24 (there's that number again) Pages in BWG for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H.

Basically, when we re-introduced Broken Tea Cup as the Clown's brother, we established him as a Heavy Metal Musician, but we haven't got around to actually seeing him perform. That's where this issue comes in. Broken Tea Cup has a gig at a Dive Bar, and Cactus Joe, Pengy Penguin, and the rest of the Gang are there, ready to watch the Heavy Metal Viking rock the house. Unfortunately, Luther Dirge, who has developed something of a hatred for BTC after "Monster King" #4, shows up with a bunch of Demons and an Evil Band full of Sell-Outs. Thus, we end up with a raucous Battle of the Bands, which, of course, escalates to a Full Scale Battle. In the meantime, the Clown & Penguin get lost in a strange parallel dimension.

It's a lot of fun, and you can check out a preview over at http://www.torcpress.com/tctc4prev.html.

Now that my Insanely Stupid Labor is Over, it's time to bring an End to the Third Era of TORC Press, and move on to the 4th.

4th, eh? Fourth World?....hmmmmmm....

New Pages of MONSTER KING, Plus MK 6 Now Available!!!!

"Y'know, after the Day I've Just had, I'm Just Not that Hungry."

Anyway, that's it for MONSTER KING. The last two pages are up for viewing up at http://www.torcpress.com/mk21.html. The issue only clocked in at 22 pages for some reason. I blame poor planning. Anyway, this is the END of Monster King. I'll be leaving the strip up for the rest of the year, and probably into January or February. I'll probably start a new strip sometime in Spring, unless my plans change for the billionth time.

Anyway, anyway, if you've enjoyed Monster King, the entire series is now available for sale in the online store at http://www.torcpress.com/store.html. Yep, the 23rd book I've published this year, Monster King #6 is now available for sale, exactly the same day the book wraps up online. So there's that. It's $5.00 plus $1.50 S&H, it's in full color with a neato cardstock cover. The inside back cover is blank, so if you buy a copy then I'll do a nifty sketch on that. Just let me know what you want.

The final comic of the 24 Comix in a Single Year Challenge, "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #4 will be available on Monday.

Where TCTC 3 Came from

So, for those of you who don't know, the 22nd book I've published this year, "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #3 is now available. You can head over to www.torcpress.com to score a copy. Here's a bit of a story on how that came about.

So, earlier this year, my Brutha Buzz put out a Killer new "Dr. Orphyus Project" album called "Death Jazz" (Free Plug: If you don'ts got a copy, head to http://www.thedrorphyusproject.com/ and score a copy. I command it!). One of the bestest tracks on this great album is called "Bud & Earl", which is a Project remake of the song "The Tale of Bud & Earl" from Bro's old days with his old band "Fustercluck". It was pretty much a given that I was gonna do a video for the song, so I did. I basically merged some thematic elements from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (both the movie and the book) with elements from me and Bro's life and smashed it all together using my faux-Ralph Steadman art style. The end result was ultimately one of my favorite videos to date.

Anyway, I dug the video so much, that it occurred to me that I could do something of a cross over with it. As such, I took the basic plot elements of the video, changed the main characters from obvious stand-ins for me and Ryan to Cactus Joe and Broken Tea Cup (who, in turn, are obvious stand-ins for me and Ryan) and added a few extra elements to fill up the remaining space. The end result was pretty darn cool. There's all the usual TORC Press insanity, some brotherly bonding, and I even managed to sneak in some (possible) sneak peaks of what I might be up to next year.

Other than that, tomorrow we've got the end of MONSTER KING, as well as the release of the 23rd TORC Press comic of the year, Issue 6 of Monster King.

The Clown & Tea Cup Show #3 Now Available!

It's Monday, and I'm tired, but I've got work to do! The 22nd Comic I've Published this Year is "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #3. What is it about? It's TCTC Baby! It's Crazy, it's weird, it's goofy. It's about the friendship between the Clown and the Penguin and Broken Tea Cup. It's about Strippers turning into monsters. It's about strange visions and cosmic beings and walking factories. It's a heckuva lotta fun. Check out a preview over at http://www.torcpress.com/tctc3prev.html. Woo. Tired.

RIP Joe Simon, New MONSTER KING, and the Skull Mob

"Wait. What War?"

Before we get started, all of us here at TORC Press would like to express our condolences at the recent passing of the legendary Joe Simon. The co-creator of Captain America, and Jack Kirby's artistic and writing partner from the 40s through the 50s, Simon's most impressive trait (besides his business acumen, a rarity among us artistic types) was his offbeat perspective, that led to such oddball (and utterly cool) comics like "Fighting American" and "The Fly". He will be missed.

In other news, we've got the second to last installment of MONSTER KING Issue 6 up and running starting over at http://www.torcpress.com/mk17.html. Page 19 has just about every character I've ever created crammed into one page.

So, let's talk about the Skull Mob.

Originally, the Skull Mob was inspired by "The Bulletproof Coffin" and the cartoon "Batman the Brave and the Bold". Batman TBatB got my brain running on the idea about how in the cartoon Batman was everywhere. He was running around in Space, and he was a member of the Justice League and the Justice League International and was the leader of the Outsiders all at the same time. I thought it was neato. So I decided to throw the Clown and Penguin into all of these different situations with all of these different teammates. When I did Monster King #3, I threw the Clown & Penguin into this new group called the Skull Mob. The other members were inspired by the comic "The Bulletproof Coffin" which was this killer comic about these warped Golden Age Superheroes, so I kinda ran with that and came up with this little group of Gold Age Inspired TORCverse characters.

Somewhere along the line, I got the bright idea to have the Skull Mob be more like the Avengers or the Justice League. Basically, a big fat team of heroes where, sooner or later, just about everybody is a member. I then got the idea to divide the Mob into different divisions of Five. So, for those of you that are in the mood for some heavy duty anal retentive nonsense, here is the entire rundown on the Skull Mob.

Skull Mob Division One:
Colors: Orange and Black
Nickname: Butterfly Mob
Members: Cactus Joe the Clown (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.1. The Unkillable Clown Faced Killing Machine), Pengy Penguin (first appearance: The Bunnyville Experiment. Mute, blue Penguin), Broken Tea Cup (III) (first appearance: Watchdogs #1/SDF: Crumpled Planet. Chaos fueled Heavy Metal Robot), Mike the Butcher w/Kolby Koala (first appearance: Monster King #2, Undead Samurai Warrior and a sleepy koala), Johny Eraser (first appearance: The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #11. Superstrong redneck bunnymon), and Rakka the Witchdoctor (first appearance: Sideshow. Masked witchdoctor).

Skull Mob Division Two:
Colors: Yellow and White
Nickname: Masked Mob
Members: El Exclamation Point! (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v2.1. Masked, metaphysical detective!), Agent D (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.5(?). Hi-tech, armored secret agent), Armageddon Clock (first appearance: Monster King #3. The Dashing dandy of Doom), Dr. Z (first appearance: Monster King #3. Mystic surgeon of mystery), and The Kingfisher (first appearance: Monster King #4. Fishmon vigilante who really hooks criminals).

Skull Mob Division Three:
Colors: Red and Black
Nickname: Shadow Mob
Members: Bad Jack (first appearance: SDF:Pulp #1. Undead vigilante and master of Black Science), Beelzebub Joan (first appearance: Sideshow. Cyborg homunculus wasp woman), The Puzzelor (first appearance: Gulatta! #1. ?), Spookshow (first appearance: Gulatta! #3. The Avenging Wraith), and Mr. Hex (first appearance: Monster King #3. Baseball bat wielding masked psychopath).

Skull Mob Division Four:
Colors: Blue and White
Nickname: Colorful Mob
Members: Cosmico Rex (first appearance: SDF:Pulp #3(?). Cosmically energized cat-man), aliceislost (first appearance: SDF: Crumpled Planet. Unique, wandering changeling), Run-No-No-Run and Stop-Go-Go-Stop (first appearance: Anarchy Bootleg. Dancing Fools), and Riddle Bug (first appearance: Monster King #3. Masked Insectmon Vigilante).

Skull Mob Division Five:
Colors: Green and Purple
Nickname: Eyenigma
Members: King Dark (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.4. Living darkness and the greatest fighter in the world), Phantom Butterfly (first appearance: Gulatta! #4. The cowboy with a thousand faces), Creepshow (first appearance: Gulatta v2.1. The hyperactive poltergeist), The Masked Platypus (first appearance: Gulatta! #4. The duck billed, web footed avenger of the night), and Sparrow Girl (first appearance: Gulatta v2.1. Bird themed female vigilante.)

Skull Mob Division Six:
Colors: Blue and Red
Nickname: Anarchy Mob
Members: Akuma Boy (first appearance: Gulatta! #1. An American Punk possessed by a Japanese Chaos Spirit), Lady Luna (first appearance: The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #3. Warrior Woman created by the Goddess of the Moon.), Namo Redrum (first appearance: Gulatta! #3. The Gentleman Monster), Medusa Tina (first appearance: Gulatta! #3. The Gorgon with a heart of gold), Johny Payday (first appearance: The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #3. Money making fishmon), Mini-Toro (first appearance: The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #3. The world's most agile minataur), and Shinobi Crow (first appearance: The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #3. The crowmon master of ninjitsu).

Skull Mob Division Seven:
Colors: Dark Blue
Nickname: Halloween Mob
Members: Mr. Halloween (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.1. The pumpkinheaded protector), Doom Harvest (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.4. Primitive Plant Monster), Asylum (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.3. The hockey mask wearing flesh juggernaut), Candy Cane (first appearance: Truth or Consequences Monthly #1. The prisoner of Purgatory and the idiot savant of murder), and Zombie Chick (first appearance: Truth or Consequences Monthly #1. Um, a Zombie Chick).

Skull Mob Division Eight:
Colors: Dark Green
Nickname: Pig Mob
Members: Johm Smythe (first appearance: SDF: Perfect/Ugly. The not-so-retired Atomic Cop), Gemini Aqualung (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.3. The mysterious master of Technomagick), Shirac (first appearance: Super Duper Fun Comix (v 1): Killing Machine #2. Rough and tumble claw handed detective), Xavier Mystery (first appearance: Truth or Consequences Monthly #4. Psychic detective with an unpredictable anatomy), and CutUp (first appearance: SDF: Drifter's Rhapsody. Rotting flesh Golem).

Anyway, I was gonna do more with the Skull Mob, but I'll be honest with you, those ideas never really came together. Still, it was nice to see them all together, at least once.

Anyway, here's who's not in the Skull Mob:

Characters not in the Skull Mob because they're DEAD: Pale Man (First appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v.1.1. The half-demon monster hunter. Killed by the Deathbringer), The Crimson Enigma (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v. 1.1. The gun-toting predator of evil. Killed in the Mosquito City War.), Arcadie Sabat (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v.1.2. The Samurai Exorcist. Killed in the Mosquito City War.), Psychodriver (first appearance: Truth or Consequences Monthly #1. A Psychic Warrior. Killed by the Deathbringer), Pom-Pom Girl (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.2. The Genetically Engineered Cheerleader. Killed by Princess Perfection (there's a reference to this in Monster King #5)), Aphrodite Midnight (first appearance: Super Duper Fun Comix: Bristol. The NuAge Goddess of Torture. Killed by Princess Perfection), Mystery Woman (first appearance: Super Duper Fun Comix: Killing Machine #1. A mysterious woman. Killed by Minor Demons), Kanabub Abul (first appearance: SDF: Very Odd Jobs. Bizarre Scorpion Monsterman. Killed by the Founder's Cult), Lydia Sukuvent (first appearance: SDF: Very Odd Jobs. Cyborg woman. Killed by the Founder's Cult), Doom Eagle (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v2.1. Freakish superhero wraith. Killed by the Bob Mafia), and Secret Soldier (first appearance: SDF: Drifter's Rhapsody. Undead Cyborg Soldier. The Greatest Superhero ever. Killed by the Vampire God Lord Vlad).

Characters not in the Skull Mob because they're God-like Beings who can't be involved in such matters: King Smooth (first appearance: SDF: Strange Patterns. ?), Xipe Topec (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v.2.2. Dark Lord of the Vermin Angels), Darkwatcher (first appearance: Cosmic Love #2. The Prophet of Omnichronus), Abyssal Dragon (first appearance: SDF: Drifter's Rhapsody. The Space God of Righteous Destruction), Dawn Phoenix (first appearance: The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #15. The Space Goddess of Hope and Inspiration), and Proteus Platypus (first appearance: The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #8. Technologically Brilliant Space Platypus and leader of the Waterbearers).

Characters not in the Skull Mob because they're Mercenaries or just didn't want to join up: El Gorio (first appearance: SDF: Perfect/Ugly. Fleshless, moral-less, four armed Mercenary Outlaw), Lab Bunny (first appearance: SDF: Very Odd Jobs. Genetically mutated Kung fu Bunny Rabbit), and Kikki Fortune (first appearance: Cosmic Love #1. Alien assassin and whore).

Also, obviously, none of my "silly" characters are in the Skull Mob.

So, there's that. Too much information, right? I dunno.

The Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Bowling Special is now available

Almost forgot to load this one up. "The Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Bowling Special" is now available from TORC Press. It's 16 Pages in BWG with a Color Cover for $2.00 plus $2.00 S&H. It's a fun little All Ages Comic about Bowling and helping a friend out of a jam. It features Cactus Joe and Pengy Penguin, and it's drawn in an intentionally cartoony style. You can check out a Preview at http://www.torcpress.com/sdfcbprev.html.

Three Comics to go to Complete my Challenge. One of them was delivered today. The other two are supposed to ship next Monday.

More Random Notes on a Random Sunday

It's kind of a lazy Sunday, so let's Rant some more, y'okay?

I picked up the new issue of Shonen Jump to discover something largely unexpected but still somewhat...annoying. Basically, the long running magazine will be ending its Print Edition in April (well, March really) and will be going purely digital. I'm not horribly surprised. Magazines are a dying industry to begin with, and throw in a recession, and the slow death of the Manga Market in America (funny, considering how many people I see dressed up as Naruto characters every time I go to a Con), and you have a recipe for the demise of Shonen Jump. I find the end of Shonen Jump annoying for a wealth of reasons. For starters, I don't really pay attention to Manga like I used to, and SJ was my only real exposure to the Medium nowadays. Secondly, I liked the monthly dose of "One Piece", a manga that still stands as one of my favorite comics being published today. Thirdly, the loss of the American version of Shonen Jump basically Sinks my theory that the Manga Format is viable in an American Market. I thought that SJ had proven to be a highly successful enterprise, and I had hopes that others would follow it, but that apparently won't be happening.

On the other hand, the loss of Shonen Jump won't affect me all that much. I've already been picking up the One Piece Trade Collections. Basically, instead of getting small doses of One Piece every month or two, I'll be picking up a new collection every...four to six months? I wasn't really reading any of the other manga that were running in Shonen Jump. I never liked any of the various Yu-Gi-Oh strips, I never got into the new strip Psyren, and it eventually became impossible to keep track of the billions of characters that populate Naruto and Bleach. Seriously, I just got through reading the latest installments of Naruto, and it made my eyes roll up into the back of my head because I couldn't keep track of what was going on. It's so confusing it makes "Final Crisis" (which I just reread today, on a whim) look coherent by comparison.

This seems to continue the seemingly inevitable trend of the death of the monthly comic. All of the major (and most minor) comic publishers are starting to introduce more and more accessible Digital Comics. A lot of the Independent Publishers have abandoned the "pamphlet" format for the better payday of the Trade Paperback (or Fancy Pantsy Hardcover). Fantagraphics openly derides the "Pamphlet" (oh, by the by, I HATE that term) nowadays, and they're not the only ones who have given up on the format. Most of my friends are strictly Trade Readers. Fitchie only reads Trades. Bro's gal Mary is a Trade Reader. Boolah mostly reads Trades (although he still reads a fair amount of monthlies as well. There's no real rhyme or reason to which comics he reads in which format either. I should pick his brain on the subject next time we roadtrip). Bro doesn't read many comics, but the ones he does are in the Trade format. He openly prefers the Trade format because, since he's not a lifelong comic reader, he finds it easier to follow the threads of a story when he reads it all in one dose (in fact, he's ran into that problem with some of my comix, namely loosing track of what happened from issue to issue). Hell, I even read a few comics in Trade only format, like "Madman" and "Godland".

And I'd do a whole thing on Webcomics, but that doesn't interest me right now.

I'm not gonna deny that the traditional comics format has its faults. One of the worst things about comics is the Ads. I hate Ads. And, yes, I know that every TORC Press comic has an ad for Ka-Blam in the back. What can I say? I get a discount for including the ad. I'm not made of money. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that, the ads mess up the reading experience. You're going along, reading your favorite comic, and then you've got to skip a page, or two, or four to get through some stupid ads. Hell, I remember when they promoted the Matrix online game, there's was a frickin' six page booklet in the middle of every damn comic. On the other hand, some comics stick all the ads in the back. Which is swell in a way, but then you get to the end of the story, and you've still got half the book left, and you feel ripped off.

The other problem with monthlies nowadays is that most comics are Written for the Eventual Trade Collection. This oftentimes makes entire issues anemic or borderline pointless. Plus, I mean, it's kinda silly to buy a comic if you're better served to score the collection six months later, right? There's other annoying things about the monthly, like how Big Events will interrupt your monthly reading experience. Or rotating art teams coming in and out of the book.

The Big Guns (and some of the smaller guns) still use the Traditional Format because they still have a large enough audience of Guys Like Me who came up on the Monthly Comic and still love that experience. Plus, they serve as Commercials for the Eventual Collection. Like I said above, a lot of companies have abandoned the format entirely. And webcomics people generally don't bother with the "Pamphlet" format (although that's not set in stone either), instead collecting their webcomics installments in the more profitable Trade Format.

But down here in the dark depths of the Small Press, we generally don't have much of a choice. Although I've noticed that several of my compatriots have switched to the Trade Format exclusively, most of us still do things old school style. The reasons why are pretty obvious. 1) Trade Paperbacks, while more potentially profitable, are also more expensive to produce in the first place. 2) A Trade Collection takes longer to produce (and if you're anything like me, you'll never finish the damn thing in the first place because you'll have a billion new ideas that will ultimately replace the idea you started with), which means you could spend a year (or two, or three, or five) sitting around with no new product to sell. 3) If you're a No Name Nobody, it's a lot harder to sell a $10 Trade Paperback to people who are totally new to your product than it is to sell a $3 "Pamphlet". (Of course, selling that $3 floppy isn't exactly a walk in the park, while we're on the subject) So, yeah, we still like our regular comics down here in the depths.

The Question I find myself Asking, ultimately, is this: How do I make the Most of the Regular Comix Format? How can we make the regular comic a worthwhile reading experience? What can we do to make it superior to the Trade, or at the very least, not completely redundant to the Trade? I recently thought that the brilliant "King City" was a shining example of the Possibilities of the Traditional Comix Format, but then they announced the Trade Collection, which will contain all of the neat little novelty stuff that was in the Comix. Sigh.

Something for another time, perhaps.

Could just not bother with the Trade collections entirely. On the other hand, I kinda want some neat Trade collections to put on my bookshelf that I don't actually own, but one day I want a bookshelf with a bunch of my books so I can say, "Look! I did stuff! See? I've got a whole bookshelf!"

Ponder, ponder, ponder...

I'm rereading Jack Kirby's "4th World Omnibus" Collection for, like, the second or third time this year. Man, I love those comics. That scene in "The Forever People" where Desaad has captured the team, and he's leering over Beautiful Dreamer's paralyzed body is easily one of the creepiest scenes in all of comics history. Although Kirby was more of a Plot Guy than he was a Character Guy, the 4th World has some of my all time favorite characters ever. Orion, the raging warrior lost between two worlds. Mister Miracle, the peaceful escape artist perpetually trapped in the tempest of war. Big Barda, the Amazonian Warrior woman with a heart of gold. Metron, the cold seeker of knowledge. Desaad, probably the sickest bastard Kirby ever dreamed up. Kalibak, the horror that Orion should have become. Mantis, the moron with the power to rip a planet apart. Granny Goodness, the old woman who would gleefully rip your nutsack off just for the hell of it. And Darkseid. There's a reason we keep coming back to Darkseid, no matter how many times we kill him off or get rid of him. Darkseid is primordial evil. A being of cold, stone-like darkness so pure, and yet complex, that we can't seem to escape his shadow. And all of that cool stuff. Boom Tubes. Magnetic Roads. Mother Boxes. Dog Riding Soldiers. Floating Cities. Apokalypse and its Fire Pits. And it's all so beautiful and strange and ugly and right and wrong. Raw, but so Refined. I dunno.

Random Notes on a Random Sunday

So, once again, I give Matt Fraction a try, and I am disappointed. "The Defenders" just didn't click with me. I wanted to like it, I really did. It was just, well, not for me. Also, once again the Silver Surfer had ears. Most people can't draw the Silver Surfer well anyway (Side Rant: Okay, since when did the Scrawny Ass John Buscema/Moebius version of the Surfer become the "Official" way to draw the Surfer. Last time I checked, Jack Kirby created the character, and Kirby drew the Surfer as Raw Power. As far as I'm concerned, THAT is the Official version, therefore, anyone that draws the Surfer as a Scrawny Wussbag Automatically is a Sucky Hack), but when you can't draw the Surfer well to begin with, and then you slap some ears on him, well, it just sucks. Sucks, I say.

Conversely, the new "OMAC" series shouldn't be a good comic. From a purely critical standpoint, the comic should suck. But, I say unto you, that verily, OMAC is muchly Awesome. (why am I writing like that?) Because OMAC has Alligators with Exploding Neon Laser Faces. Never seen that before.

Also, super excited about the upcoming OMAC/Frankenstien cross over. That is gonna be a BEATDOWN.

Speaking of which, I'm really amazed at how many of the New 52 DC Comics I've stayed with. So far I've only dropped "Nightwing", "Batman & Robin", and "Demon Knights". I'm on the fence with "Red Lanterns" (the every issue has some neat stuff in it, but I feel like the whole thing is kinda plodding along) and "Batman" (not sure if I'm enjoying this whole Secret Society of Owls thing... we'll see how Issue 4 goes). But everything else I'm reading I'm truly enjoying. My current DC stack consists of: Justice League (it's just fun), Action Comics (great stuff, truly enjoyable, I like what they're doing with Steel), Animal Man (every month this comic just blows me away. I did not expect this comic to be this good at all), OMAC (see above), Stormwatch (WOW! This one gets better with every issue, and it started off pretty damn good), Batwoman (pretty), Frankenstien (OMAC's only real competition for Best Book of the New 52), Swamp Thing (this one is just solidly excellent. Also, it makes a great companion piece to Animal Man), Resurrection Man (Wild Supernatural Stuff, didn't expect to like this comic, but it's great), Wonder Woman (Who knew this comic would Actually Live Up to the Hype?), and Justice League Dark (solid comic, but it needs more Shade. Yes. More Shade the Changing Man. Make it happen, Milligan). 11 Books on my Killer List, and 2 on my Iffy List? That's pretty good compared to the One Comic I was reading from DC.

Oh, has anyone else noticed that Marvel started off doing a bunch of big event Crossovers that were really easy to describe (Civil War=Superheroes vs. Superheroes, World War Hulk =Hulk vs. Everybody, Secret War =Superheroes vs. Aliens disguised as Superheroes, and Dark Reign=Supervillains pretending to be Superheroes), then they did a couple of Big Events that were Virtually Impossible to Describe (Um... Siege is about Asgard falling to Earth for no good reason, and then Norman Osborne attacks Asgard for some reason and then superzzzzzzzzz...., oh and then there was Fear Itself which was about Odin's brother (Odin has a brother? Wha?) who makes a buncha Thor hammers and gives them to people for some reason and there's the Red Skull's daughter (wait...now the Red Skull has a daughter? Wha?) and shezzzzzzzzzzz....). Apparently Siege and Fear Itself sucked so much that Marvel has gone back to the Old Method of making up Big Events that are easy to describe. Case in point, their next Event is "Avengers vs. X-Men". That's the name, and that's what it's about. Simple. It will probably do very well. I won't be reading it of course, but lots of other people will.

While we're on the subject, ain't like, half the X-Men members of the Avengers already? Maybe that's the point of this nonsense. "Who will Wolverine side with?" But isn't Wolverine already the leader of two X-teams? I'm confused already.

Also, enjoying the new "Russia" story arc in the BPRD.

The new "Muppet" movie is great. I laughed at everything and felt like I was 6 again. Nothing wrong with that. I hope.

All my Christmas Shopping is done. Only one of my presents hasn't shipped yet. Other than that, I'm gonna spend this week working on some stuff and getting my house ready for my annual Christmas Party, "A Very Cactus Christmas".

As stated before, new comic goes live on Monday. I should get that ready to go.

New MONSTER KING and Whatnot

"Did Someone Get the Number of that Truck that Hit Me?"

Ah, MONSTER KING. We've got Pages 13-16 of Issue 6 up and running starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk13.html. After the life-sucking darkness of the previous pages, we finally start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The theme of this week's brand of insanity is: Y'know when you get really, really depressed, and you don't think you're ever going to come out of it, but then your friends pull you out of the abyss (kicking and screaming sometimes). And even though everything's not okay, at least you feel like you can keep going, y'know? Anyway, that's this week.

Other than that, I've got lots of stuff cooking right now, and as long as I can keep breathing (that's gonna be tricky enough), I can hopefully get a few things knocked out this weekend.

Oh yeah, there'll be a new book on Monday. In fact, to meet the 24 Comix Challenge, I need to release 4 more books before the end of the year, which essentially means that I gotta release one book a week for the rest of the year. So there' that nonsense.

Cosmic Love 4 Now Available

Ah. It's Monday, so it's New Book Time. I suppose. Why not?

"Cosmic Love" #4 is now available from TORC Press. It's 24 Pages in BWG for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H. You can score a copy online at www.torcpress.com/store.html. There's a preview at www.torcpress.com/cl4prev.com. Or if you wanna buy it the old fashioned way, send a check or money order to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824.

So, what is it about?

Well, see that's the problem. I can't really do anything to explain this issue, except to say that this issue is essential, story-wise. Quite simply, this issue finally fills in that last gaping hole in the Clown's History, as we find out where the Blood Sample that created the Clown came from.

New MONSTER KING and Old Hype and New Thoughts

"Enough Distractions! I WILL HAVE MY PRIZE!"

4 New Pages of MONSTER KING are up and running over at http://www.torcpress.com/mk9.html. This week we've got Pages 9-12, and we're hitting the climax of our sad little story. The Clown is broken, but Skull Mob Division 4 have managed to hold their own (sorta) against the Ortex Elite Squad. aliceislost has a brief (and very sad (something of a running theme)) confrontation with her "old friend" Voodoo Dolly. Also, it turns out that the Clown's allies may not be quite as dead as they appeared. Hope springs anew in the Darkest of times. Anyway, check that out.

Also, also, if you weren't aware, our Insane Comix Barrage has yielded quite a few new comix of late. Over at www.torcpress.com we've got the Print Editions of Monster King Issues 1-5 all available for sale. We've got a great new All Ages Comic in "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Edition". "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" is up to Issue 15. And on Monday we'll have "Cosmic Love" #4, which changes everything.

Meanwhile, if I haven't stated it before, Issue 6 is the final issue of Monster King. It's been an interesting experiment, and it's allowed me to move the story forward some (at least Issues 5-6), and it's yielded one of my all time favorite comix (Monster King #3), but it's also been stifling, and the webcomic format is so limited, and I really have no way of telling if anyone is ready it, because the only quantifiable way to gauge the success of the webcomic is with the sales of the Print Edition ONLINE. Sales which are, for all intents and purposes, nonexistent. Originally, I was going do a brand new webcomic next year, but the question I find myself asking is this: Why bother with a format I don't personally enjoy if it's not going to garner me additional sales and/or readership?

So, for the all of nobody reading this blog, I ask you this, and please feel free to respond either here or at my e-mail or on the Facebook: Are you reading the webcomic? If you are reading the webcomic, are you enjoying the webcomic? If you are reading and enjoying the webcomic, is there a reason why you're not purchasing the Print Editions, such as, "I'm waiting for the next time I see you at a Convention." or "I don't like ordering stuff online" or "I would, but your online store sucks" or "I would, but I'm broke, and Five Bucks is too expensive for my tastes." OR, "Why bother ordering online when I've already read the book online."

Anyway, long story short, if you've got any feedback at all out there in Computerland for me, please let me know.

Also, even if I don't have a new webcomic next year, I intend on having plenty of regularly updated online content available next year. I ain't going anywhere. I've just gotta find a method that works best for me AND my small readership.

Where the Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special Came From

Right. In all the swirling chaos that is...well, my life right now...I'm gonna be putting out a ton of books and doing crazy stuff and I know stuff's gonna get lost in the shuffle, but these books are important to me. They come from places and mean things. Here's a story about one of the new ones.

So, back in the old days of the original "Super Duper Fun Comix", the stories were about Cactus Joe, Pengy Penguin, Walt, and Sped having these odd little adventures. I liked the way these weird characters that had no business hanging out together just all kinda clicked. Of course, the stories eventually got violent and crazy and someone would try to kill the Clown and blahblahblah. Time passed, and I did "SDF" where I separated out the old quartet. Cactus Joe and Pengy became this bizarre duo, while Walt and Sped went back to their roots as a comedy duo. But every so often I'd put the old gang back together, like in "SDF: Sombrero Friday". I also occasionally liked doing silly little stories when I could. Like "The Great Race" or the two issues of "New Super Duper Fun Comix" I did. I like silly little stories from time to time. I mean, not everything can be an Epic, right?

Anyway, I did a silly little All Ages story with Walt n' Sped late last year, and I had planned on doing one Walt n' Sped special a year. But this year, when I was starting to think about the idea, I found myself missing those old stories with the Clown & Penguin hanging out with their old buddies, Walt n' Sped. So, that's what I decided to do. I decided to throw Frimpy into the book because, well, I empathize with Frimpy. That guy's got no luck, just like me. I also dropped Penny Platypus into the book for no real good reason. Maybe I needed a female character. I dunno.

After that, I just needed something for them to do. My brain said innertubing. I've never ever been innertubing. Hell, I've never been rafting or kayaking or any of that crap. But I can imagine going innertubing, especially with my pals. Drifting downstream. Relaxing. Shootin' the breeze. Sounds cool, right?

I had my premise, now all I needed was the script.

Enter the Houston Airport.

Thanks to an 8 hour delayed flight, I got trapped in the Houston Airport. Now, I don't know if you've ever been trapped in an airport for what is, for all intents and purposes, an entire day, but it is boring. Very, very boring. You can only run around and ride monorails and eat overpriced terrible food for so long before you're about ready to blow your brains out.

So, I did the only thing I could think of to do. I went to work, doing what I do best. I happened to have my little Composition Notebook and a pen, so away I went. I wrote/thumbnailed the entire story in the airport while hanging out. That's probably why it's such an odd duck. There a weirdly Biblical theme to it, as a Giant Fish shows up and swallows up a couple of our heroes. There's also a completely out of left field spiritual moment in the dead center that's not funny or anything. But there's a lotta funny stuff throughout, though. Sped's dialogue cracks me up every time I see it. And it's silly and breezy and odd. It's pretty good for a comic written in an airport while I was feeling about as lonely and alone as one dude can possibly feel.

Oh, I also, somewhat ironically, wrote my awkward attempt at a porno comic while in the airport as well. I'm not gonna be publishing that one though.

What? I was lonely.

Anyway, if you found any of the above Rant even remotely interesting (and I can't see how you did, considering the whole thing was largely incoherent), then head over to www.torcpress.com and check out the "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special". Yep.

Monster King 5 Now Available

Heyo. I haven't even had the time to really hype the "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Edition", and now I've got another book out. Yeah. Anyway, the Print Edition of "Monster King" Issue 5 is now available. It's $5.00 plus $1.50 S&H with Full Color Interiors and a Color Cardstock cover. If you read it online, you know the drill, but if you didn't, then, basically, it's about the worst day of the Clown's life. There's violence and sadness and crazy stuff. Also, the Inside Back Cover is Blank, so if you buy a copy, then make sure to leave me a comment that tells me what you want me to draw a sketch of on the back. So there.

My allergies are killin' me.

The Bob Mafia

Alrighty. Before we get to today's Rant, if you haven't read the latest pages of MONSTER KING, make sure to head over to http://www.torcpress.com/mk5.html and read the latest installment. It's okay. I can wait. I'll just read some old Jack Kirby Fantastic Four comics.

...

Oh. You're caught up? Good. Let's continue.

I came up with the idea for the Bob Mafia back in... High School(? Maybe earlier, but who's really counting). The idea was a pretty simple one. I basically came up with this theory that, for some reason, Big Old Fat Guys had a weird tendency to be Mob Bosses. There's Marlon Brandon in the Godfather, there's the Kingpin from Marvel Comics, not to mention The Blob (okay, not a Mob Boss, but bear with me here) and Mojo from the X-Men. There's the bad guy from Dune (that guy was ultra fat AND creepy as hell). And, of course, good old Jabba the Hutt from Star Wars. Anyway, the idea I kind of came up with was that "What if there was this big, intergalactic mafia that did every illegal thing that could be done (Slavery, Drugs, Prostitution, Weapon Smuggling/Selling, Extortion, blahblahblah) across hundreds of Planets across the Entire Galaxy and the entire operation was controlled by a Race of Big Fat Alien Monsters who were so fat that they couldn't move on their own and needed Machines to Move, and they all came from the Planet Bob and they were all named Bob." A pretty simple idea, when you get down to it. Anyway, the idea just kinda sat inside my brain for years, and as I started making comics, I kept trying to find the right time to bring the Bobs into the Story.

The Problem is, I never really found the right time to bring them in. They just sorta danced around the edges. One of the Bobs actually popped up in the first TORC Press comic ever, "Pulp Horrorshow" vol. 1 #1, but he got killed by the Crimson Enigma. There were mentions and hints of the Bob Mafia in "Truth or Consequences Monthly" #5-6. In Era Two, the Bobs continued to get some slight mentions. If you read closely enough, you'll see references to them in "Pulp Horrorshow" vol 2 #1-2 and "SDF: Honorless Dogs" #1-3 (in the back-up story featuring El Gorio and Lab Bunny). I always had intentions of doing more with the Bob Mafia. It just never came together.

Some quick Fun Facts about the Bob Mafia:

1) All of the leaders of the Bob Mafia are named Bob and come from the Planet Bob. They are differentiated by number. The lower the number, the higher the Rank in the Mafia. For example, Bob Mk III (who appears in this week's MONSTER KING) is the Third Highest Ranking Bob in the Entire Universe. Makes sense, right?

2) Chuddo Snudd (who also appears in this week's MONSTER KING), who you might remember as the corrupt mayor of Big Town, IL in my comic "Gulatta!", was always secretly a member of the Bob Mafia. His real name is Bob Mk IX. His goal on Earth was to gradually take control of Big Town so that the Bob Mafia could use the city as an Outpost for the Bob Mafia's various Illegal Activities on Earth. Sure, they were pretty much using Foster City, IL for the same purpose (as well as a few other places, see the upcoming "Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #16-17 for more on that one), but, y'know, they're a Mafia, which means they're greedy by definition. Anyway, if things with "Gulatta!" woulda continued and went they way they were gonna go in my brain, there would have been a full fledged War between Chuddo Snudd and his army of robots vs. Eyenigma. Of course, that ain't gonna happen now, but, whatever.

3) The rank and file members of the Bob Mafia are divided into two categories. The lowest ranking members of the Mafia are a group of Clones called S.I.M.P.S. (Synthetically Intelligent Mass Produced Soldiers). If you look closely at Page Five, you'll see a bunch of Bald Guys wearing Groucho Glasses. Those are SIMPS. They are expendable and stupid and are only really good at following orders and shooting guns. The next rank up is reserved for people from the local planet that have joined the Mafia. In the case of Earth, that would be Human Criminals who work for the Mafia. The next rank up are the Guppies.

4) Millenia ago, the Bob Mafia conquered and enslaved an entire planet full of Fish People (called Fishmon). During the War, one race of Fishmon betrayed their people and sided with the Bob Mafia, essentially leading to the enslavement of the entire Planet. These traitorous Fishmon became known as Guppies (yes, I'm aware of how silly this is. Shouldn't you come to expect this from me by now?). As a reward for their treachery, the Bob Mafia made the Guppies Top Ranked Soldiers in the Mafia. The Green Skinned Guys in Suits with Machine Guns in the foreground of Page Five of MONSTER KING 6 are Guppies.

Anyway, I never really got around to doing any of that in the Comics. And I'm getting ready for the NEXT THING, so I was like, screw it, let's get rid of these guys. So that's what happens in the most recent pages. The Bob Mafia's Earth Branch gets Wiped Out. Honestly, kinda glad they're gone. It's not healthy to sit on an idea for over a decade and not really use it.

From Darkness to Light

Something pretty devastating happened to me last week. It was one of those things that just absolutely messed me up. So, I spent the rest of the week just trying to drag myself through the days, pretending to be in passable shape. I wasn't. Anyway, I decided to take a week off from TORC Press to get my crap together. Last night my "Depression Fever" finally broke, and I feel like enough of a human being to get back to doing my thing.

So, onward and upward. First off, we've got Pages 5 through 8 of MONSTER KING Issue 6 is now up for viewing, starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk5.html. Pages 5-6 feature the other Skull Mob Divisions dealing with the Bob Mafia once and for all (more on that later this week), while in 7-8 we see Skull Mob Division 4 (which consists of Cosmico Rex, Run-No-No-Run, Stop-Go-Go-Stop, Riddle Bug, and aliceislost) step in to fight the Ortex Elite Squad while Cactus Joe continues to be broken.

Annnd, we've got a new book! With the 24 Comix Challenge winding down, we'll be putting out a lot of books between now and the end of the year. Anyway, the new book is "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special". It's a fun little 16 Page BWG Comic book with a Color Cover for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H. It's All Ages, so anyway can score a copy. The story is pretty simple: Cactus Joe, Pengy Penguin, Walt, Sped, Frimpy, and Penny Platypus go out innertubing and crazy things happen. There's a Free Preview up at: http://www.torcpress.com/sdfcprev.html

So there you go. New MK Pages. New Comic. Check em out.

The Ideas Behind the Pages

I've slowly been getting over system shock from the 24 Hour Comic Challenge, so I haven't really had much time or energy to get on the ole blog and do some hypin'. Figure this morning's as good a time as any.

"The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #14-15 came from two places. First off, I missed aliceislost. I missed the character, I missed the environment that she lived in, and I missed the tone and feel of her world. I wanted to dabble in that a little again, and the Fudgeheads gave me the opportunity to do that a little. The story also developed a very weird, almost Biblical vibe, as our heroes are trying to steal an apple from a massive tree hidden behind a giant wall. Instead of a serpent offering them the apple, though, there's instead a giant serpent (er, dragon) trying to stop them. Oh, this is also another book where the Nefarious Dr. Dendull pops up and causes trouble. So that's just an added bonus.

The first four pages of "Monster King" 6 are about me dealing with my own feelings of depression, and my self destructive need to "give up". It's not the Clown's most heroic moment, and considering how I've been a rather loud advocate of heroism in comics, it seems like a pretty hypocritical set of pages. But they come from a real place. I have days where it feels like my Demons have me completed cornered and that there is No Hope, and that I might as well throw in the towel. The good news is, that I don't. I guess, maybe, this story is sorta my attempt at dealing with those issues.

I bought four boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. It's Thin Mint time!

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Issue 15 Now Available

What was I talking about? Oh yeah. New Comic. It's Issue 15 of the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club. It's y'know. A comic. There's fighting and a dragon and man I'm tired and feeling odd right now. Screw it. Let's hype this another time. It's a good book, though. Details at www.torcpress.com/hfsac15prev.html.

It really is a good book. I don't mean to sound underenthused. I'm quite enthused. There's some really good artwork in this issue, and aliceislost guest stars, and there's some interesting character developments. And there's more strange visions.

I should probably get some sleep.

The 24 Hour Comic Book Challenge Results

The Game: Create, Write, and Draw a 24 Page Comic in 24 Consecutive Hours.

The Location: Comic Quest in Evansville, IN.

The Time: 11/12/11 starting at 10am and ending at 10am on 11/13/11

The Players: "The Unstoppable Comix Juggernaut" Joseph Morris and "The Crazy King" Clint Bassinger.

The Fuel: Lipton Green Tea with Citrus and as much chocolate as I could cram into a bag. Also, chips.

The Strategy: This year, I decided to write, pencil, and ink Each individual page before moving on to the next page. This means that, in theory, I would need to write, pencil, and ink a minimum of one page every hour in order to make the grade.

Page One- Completed at: 10:30am. Notes: First page in under an hour? Hell yeah. Next!
Page Two- Completed at: 11:07am. Notes: Page two in about 30 minutes? It takes longer to get a pizza. Fear my awesomeness.
Page Three- Completed at: 11:44am. Notes: Knocked out another page in less than an hour? Jeez, this is gonna be easy.
Page Four- Completed at: 12:49pm. Notes: Okay, it took me a little over an hour. Not bad. Still on schedule.
Page Five- Completed at: 2:18pm. Notes: Huh. Big time jump there. I think I took a food break. Pulled pork sandwich. Yummy. Need to pick up the pace a little.
Page Six- Completed at: 3:14pm. Notes: Back on track. One hour. Nice.
Page Seven- Completed at: 4:11pm. Notes: Keeping a good rhythm.
Page Eight- Completed at: 4:47pm. Notes: 30 minutes on the nose. Yeah baby!
Page Nine- Completed at: 5:34pm. Notes: Looks like I'm keeping a good stride. A little under an hour.
Page Ten- Completed at: 6:36pm. Notes: Another hour. Another page. Moving on.
Page Eleven- Completed at: 8:33pm. Notes: Suppertime! Pizza! Green Tea! More chocolate!
Page Twelve- Completed at: 9:01pm. Notes: Splash Page! Super fast! Super Easy! Cleared it in 30 minutes! Back on track.
Page Lucky Thirteen- Completed at: 10:07pm. Notes: Yep. Got my rhythm back, and I'm Over the Halfway Point with a Full Twelve Hours to go. Not bad.
Page Fourteen- Completed at: 11:08pm. Notes: Huh. Still staying consistent.
Page Fifteen- Completed at: 11:54pm. Notes: Splash Page #2! Under an hour! Also, this page is easily the most F****D page of the entire book. I award myself bonus points for how ridiculous this page is.
Page Sixteen- Completed at: 12:22am. Notes: Hey, it's the next day. About thirty minutes. No fatigue? Really? I'm up WAY past my bedtime here.
Page Seventeen- Completed at: 12:57am. Notes: Another page in about thirty minutes! What am I, Superhuman?
Page Eighteen- Completed at: 2:36am. Notes: Ooooooh. That's not good. Apparently I took a pretty big break here. Ironically, this is one of the crappiest looking pages in the book, despite the fact that it took longer.
Page Nineteen- Completed at: 3:44am. Notes: Another splash page. That saved me some time. Another really nice page. At 3am. That's odd.
Page Twenty- Completed at: 4:44am. Notes: Another hour. Another page. If memory serves, things were getting bad right about now. This page is sort of mixed. Half of it sucks. Half of it is awesome. Meh.
Page Twenty One- Completed at: 7:38am. Notes: If you would, please compare the time on Page Twenty One to the time on Page Twenty. THREE HOURS! Crap! Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you: THE WALL. Yep, I completely ran out of gas shortly after finishing page Twenty. So, I took a nap. Also, it's worth mentioning, that after I woke up (feeling much like humanoid manure), I decided to pencil all of the pages that I had left, and then go about inking them. You might notice that the pages are completed pretty fast and furious at this stage. Also, for reasons I can't fully explain, I totally HATE this page. Don't know why. It's not a bad page, in retrospect.
Page Twenty Two- Completed at: Um...Forgot to write it down. Whoops. Notes: Home stretch.
Page Twenty Three- Completed at: 8:02am. Notes: Another splash page, possibly finished within fifteen minutes of the last page. Also, I really like this page. I looks really good.
Page Twenty Four- Completed at: 8:18am. Notes: Hahahahahaha!!! Done! With TWO HOURS to Spare! Hahahahaha!!!!

Anyway, that was that. I left the shop, went back to my hotel, slept for five hours, showered, ate a Burger, and went home.

Oh yeah, Clint was still working when I left. He still had a TON of pages to ink. I wonder if he finished?

MONSTER KING 6 Begins

"Okay. I'm done."

I'm off to E-ville tomorrow to set up for 24 Hour Comic Book Day, so I've gotta get MONSTER KING up online, like, now. The first four pages of Issue 6 are now available for viewing starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk1.html. Things continue to go to hell for the Clown. But maybe there's some hope in the end. Hell, I hope so.

Meanwhile, in TORC PressLand, let's see what nonsense we're up to...

Monster King: We just finished Issue 5, which is already at the Printers. Issue 6 is starting, and I've just sent the entire issue to the Printers, like, an hour ago. Issue 6 is the final issue of the series. A new webcomic will be starting in 2012.

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club: Issue 15 just came in from the Printers. I'll be making it available on either Sunday or Monday. I've got Issue 16 scripted, and I've started the Pencils.

Cosmic Love: Issue 4 is at the Printers, and I've started the Script for Issue 5.

The Clown & Tea Cup Show: I really didn't figure I was gonna do another Issue of this series, but, lo and behold, Issue 3 is done, and I'll be sending it to the Printers soon. I plan on doing Issue 4 as my 24 Hour Comic on Saturday/Sunday. I know that kinda breaks the rules, but that's what I do, baby.

Incidentally, if I get those last two issues of TCTC to the Printers before the end of the month, then I'll have completed the Completely Impossible 24 Comix in a Single Year What Was I Thinking Challenge.

I'm good at being a Fool.

Voodoo Dolly

Voodoo Dolly first appeared in "Pulp Horrorshow" vol. 1 #5 (I think it was issue 5, it's too early in the morning to go through my stack of old Xerox comix to know for sure). Voodoo Dolly is a human Voodoo Doll, which basically means she's a living conduit for powerful magicks. She's also an extremely skilled and highly agile fighter. When she first shows up, she was a prisoner of the Ortex Corporation. Because Cactus Joe the Clown had been raising a ruckus and had recently stolen the Eye of Cthug (a very crucial item to Ortex's plan to bring the Apocalypse to Earth), Johny Styles was forced to employ any and every means at his disposal to capture the Clown. Thus, Voodoo Dolly was sent out with the promise that she would receive her freedom in exchange for the Clown's head. To ensure her cooperation, a Control Collar was placed around VD's neck. In "Truth or Consequences Monthly" #5, Voodoo Dolly viciously attacked the Clown in the Locke City Sewers (interesting location now that I think of it...Full Circle). The Clown, recognizing the Control Collar, decided not to fight back, but instead disarmed the Collar, thus freeing Dolly from Ortex's Control. The Clown immediately fell in love with Dolly, while Dolly, conversely, seemed to barely have any feelings beyond mild gratitude toward her savior (in retrospect, this should have been a sign). At the first opportunity, she disappeared, leaving the Clown alone once again.

Voodoo Dolly briefly reappeared in "Super Duper Fun Comix: Strange Encounters", but wouldn't show up again until "SDF: Strange Patterns". With no money and nowhere else to go, Dolly turned to the only person she knew she could trust, the Clown. Cactus Joe, of course, let her immediately move into his place, which caused some tension between CJ and Pengy Penguin, who didn't trust Voodoo Dolly initially. For the remainder of Era Two, Voodoo Dolly was a companion to the Clown and Penguin, sharing in many of their adventures and troubles. But it wasn't exactly smooth sailing. The Clown kept making awkward attempts at romanticizing Dolly, but Dolly made it clear (repeatedly) that she didn't dig him that way. Groan. In the appropriately titled "SDF: End of an Era" Voodoo Dolly meets a "Nice, Normal, Handsome Guy", falls in love with him, and gets married. She exits as suddenly as she appeared, leaving only a little, handwritten note telling the Clown that She never loved him, never would love him, and that she never wanted the Clown's dangerous, rough and tumble life. Needless to say, that Hurt our Hero quite a bit.

And now, in Monster King #5, Voodoo Dolly is not only back, but she's working for the Ortex Corporation and trying to kill the Clown. Why? What drove her to this? We'll find out next week, as Monster King #6, the final issue of the series begins. Sometimes it's better not to know...

Betrayal

I hate betrayal. I hate the idea, the concept, the act. I hate everything about it. But betrayal is a part of human nature. We often times betray each other unintentionally. "I didn't know that would hurt him so much." "I wouldn't have done it if I had known that would have broke her heart." "I didn't realize..." When I was a kid, I had an annoying habit of tattling on people, government sanctioned betrayal, if you will. Not a fond memory, but sometimes you've gotta face facts. I'm human just like everyone else, sad but true.

Betrayal is all over the Bible. By definition, the concept of Sin is a betrayal of God. Adam and Eve betray God by eating of the forbidden fruit. Cain betrays Abel by murdering him. Jacob betrays Esau by stealing his inheritance. Joseph's brothers sell him into Slavery. The Israelites repeatedly betray God by turning to False Idols and False Gods. Judas betrays Jesus into the hands of the Romans/Pharisees. Betrayal always has its consequences. Adam & Eve allow Sin and Death to enter into the world. Cain is marked and forced to walk the world as an outcast. Isaac spends most of his life on the run, desperately trying not to be slaughtered by his brother. Joseph's brothers, the fledgling Israelite Nation, end up become Slaves themselves under the command of their brother. Every time the Israelites screw up, they end up paying for it. And Judas? Hung himself from a tree while his 50 pieces of silver clanked about the ground below.

Looking at the bigger picture, though, sometimes a betrayal can have... unforeseen results. Jacob and Esau eventually reconcile, and Jacob's bloodline becomes the more noteworthy. The Israelites time in Egypt allows them to survive a time of great famine.

As for the Betrayal of Jesus, the Blood Sacrifice of Jesus Christ was necessary to open the pathway for the Salvation of Mankind (I didn't mean to turn this into a Sermon or anything...I was just trying to point out how betrayal is an almost primordial instinct. Also, if you don't believe any of the stuff above, don't worry about it, just view it as metaphor, right?).

It's like that one Conspiracy Theory about how Franklin Roosevelt knew the Japanese were going to bomb Pearl Harbor, but he kept the knowledge to himself to ensure it would happen, thus bringing the US into WWII to stomp some Nazi ass. Was it right? Was it wrong?

The more I think about it in the cold light of morning, there is nothing good about a betrayal. It's never a "necessary evil". It's ugly and horrible and wrong, and the only thing we can do is survive all the ugliness that follows and salvage what we can afterwards.

Betrayal is all over the TV right now. From Celebrity Divorces to Reality Shows that Reward you for Betrayal, there is no escaping the old Knife in the Back. We've been watching "Boardwalk Empire" on HBO, and that show is nothing but betrayal. People screwing each other over for the sake of greed and petty jealousy. It's pretty sad, really.

I understand betrayal quite well. My back is full of metaphorical scars. If you look closely enough, you can still see an old, rusty knife sticking out of my back, buried there by one of my closest friends. Decades later, we both try to pretend it's not there, but... we both see it. There's always this mild tension between us, barely palpable but still there. As if we're both just waiting. "When will he pay me back for what I did?" he thinks. "When will he bury another damn knife in my back?" I think. Like I said, we get along mostly by not talking or thinking about it.

I'd like to say I quit Church because of a betrayal. But I didn't quit Church because of A betrayal. I quit Church because of LOTS of Betrayals. When I was a teenager, we had this Preacher, and, long story short, we found out this guy was a Pathological Liar. That's right. We hired a guy to speak on The Truth, and he was mentally incapable of telling the Truth. How messed up is that? In the Baptist Church we're trained at a young age to believe that a Preacher is Chosen by God to serve as a Shepherd to the Church. Needless to say, I didn't really believe that after that incident. Two Preachers later, and we get a guy who was a Dangerous Sociopath with Rage Issues. When we FIRED him (another important note, Baptists almost Never Fire a Preacher. A Preacher's gotta pull a pretty stupid stunt to get fired in a Baptist Church. After all, we don't fire our Anointed Messenger of God lightly (rolls eyes in disgust)), we literally hid the womenfolk to ensure he wouldn't try to harm anyone when we delivered the news (I am not joking about this). When we did deliver the news, we went en mass, just to be safe. Yeah. The next Preacher? Screwed me over (and used another guy to do it). Screwed my Dad over. Publicly Humiliated my Brother (multiple times). Chased off several long time families. And when his tenure ended, he engineered a Civil War within the Church that basically destroyed us. And yet, still we few survivors soldiered on (Faith is funny like that). The next guy not only tried screwed me over, he tried to get My Dad to do his dirty work for him. I had to sit there and convince my Dad that A) I didn't mind the knife protruding out of my back and B) that he shouldn't quit going to Church. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't. Because the next guy was the straw that broke the camel's back. He is a lazy, greedy, liar and a thief and an idiot, and I just couldn't bring myself to listen to the garbage spewing out of his mouth anymore. So I quit.

I talked not too long ago about how my most recent relationship unexpectedly crashed and burned over the course of a single phone call. That one hurt. Still does. It's the suddenness of it. The unexpectedness. You think everything's going fine (even if you are covered in itchy bug bites that you got from going hiking with her, which was her damn idea in the first place), and then BAM! Someone you cared deeply for is now someone you despise, and there's this little piece of you that's dead inside, and all you can do is survive and move on.

So, yeah, Betrayal sucks. Just ask the Clown, as someone he has cared really very deeply for has just literally buried a knife in his chest. The last four pages of Monster King 5, featuring one of my least favorite moments in TORC Press History can be viewed at http://www.torcpress.com/mk21.html.

I should do something life affirming today. I'm kinda bummed now.

A Dark Day for Cactus Joe

"No."

She was always going to betray him. Deep down inside, I always knew it was going to happen. I wanted them to live happily ever after. To get married and have kids. Nice house, picket fence, the whole nine yards. That was what I wanted.

But at the same time, I knew better. She was always so cold and distant. So self centered.

So, yeah, I knew this was gonna happen sooner or later. Doesn't mean I gotta like it.

The last four pages of Monster King #5 are available for viewing starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk21.html. The worst day of the Clown's life to date starts now.

New Book, New Con, New Updates

So, I got the Print Version of "Monster King" #4 in yesterday, and I thought, "Screw it. Let's just add it to the online store." So I did. Issue 4 of MK is now available for sale in the online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. There's no preview or anything, since it was available for free viewing online, like, a month ago. For those of you that didn't read it in its original form (or are forgetful), the plot's pretty simple: Luther Dirge, the Lawyer from Hell, attempts to Corrupt the Clown's friends and allies. While everyone's stuck in the belly of a Giant Monster. That looks kind of like a red version of the desert from the Roadrunner cartoons. It's 24 Pages of full Color Mayhem for $5.00 plus $1.50 S&H. You can score it at the store at the link above, or just mail me a check or money order at: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824. Also, the Inside Back Cover is Blank, so if you order a copy, please include the name of a character that you would like a head sketch of.

Don't forget that "SDF: Pulp 2011 Edition" is also currently available.

I'm official for the Murfreesboro Anime and Comic Con in Murfreesboro, TN on January 21-22, 2012. So, if you're reading this, Cousin Rachel, clear me out a spot in the guest room. This will be my first Convention of the year. Details at http://www.comiccitytn.com/Nashville_Comic_Con.html. The only other Con I'm currently confirmed for is SPACE, which is April 21-22, 2012 in Columbus, OH. Details on that one can be found at http://www.backporchcomics.com/space.htm. According to my little notebook, I've got Seven other possible Conventions I may attending next year, but I may delete a couple (and a few may not go through after all...), so there's no telling how many shows I'll be working next year.

Production Updates: "Cosmic Love" #4 went off to the Printers on Sunday. The "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Bowling Special" went off to the Printers last night. Both should be available in December. Currently working on "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #3. "Monster King" #5 wraps up on Saturday, and I'll be sending it to the Printers ASAP. "Monster King" #6 starts next week. I may prep the whole book and send it to the printers before I have the whole comic solicited online. Not sure.

SDF: Pulp 2011 Edition Now Available

Hey, I've got another comic out. Who knew? "SDF: Pulp 2011 Edition" is now available from TORC Press. It's 24 Pages in BWG with a Color Cover for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H. You can either purchase it in my online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html or send a check or money order to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824. There's a preview of the book at www.torcpress.com/sdfpprev.html.

So, what's it about?

Well, if you've read issues 4 and 5 of MONSTER KING, or if you've got a copy of "Sideshow", you might have noticed a character running around called Rakka the Witch Doctor. Welp, this is the story about how Cactus Joe and Pengy Penguin met Rakka. It's also a surreal western. It's also got an appearance by the notorious Dr. Dendull. It's kinda all over the place, really. Drawn in my down n' dirty Ralph Steadmanesque style, this is a comic about Bullets and Blood and Horrible Body Metamorphosis and Hidden Kingdoms. It's a fun read.

Johny Styles

If you've been reading the latest installments of MONSTER KING, then you've seen Johny Styles by now. He's the blond guy in the cool looking white and red jumpsuit. He's the guy with the sword who cuts off Cactus Joe's left arm. Let's talk about him a bit.

If you're one of the handful of people that have been reading my comics since Era One: the Xerox Era, then you should be familiar with Johny Styles. In the olden days, Styles popped up all the time. He was kind of the middle man, setting up the various monsters and threats that would attack the Clown throughout "Pulp Horrorshow" vol 1 and "Truth or Consequences Monthly".

When we moved on to Era Two: the Violent Sitcom Era, Johny Styles kinda disappeared. I wanted the Ortex Corporation to be more mysterious, so I kinda hid the two major players, Johny Styles and Jack DuPre (we'll see more of him very soon as well). Most of the people (all five or six of you) who started reading my comix during Era Two never even saw Johny Styles.

Since the start of Era Three: the Adventure/Kirby Era, we've also not seen a lot of Johny Styles. He has a very brief cameo in "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #2, where he's seen manipulating the hot chick who attempts to kill our trio of heroes. Later on, at the end of "Monster King" #4, after Luther Dirge fails to kill the Clown, Johny Styles appears with his personal entourage, the Ortex Elite Squad, declaring that they will Kill the Clown. Now, in MK 5 we see that promise in action, as the Johny Styles led Ortex Elite Squad have smashed through the Clown's allies and have given the Clown one of the nastiest beatings he's received in awhile.

But who is Johny Styles?

Johny Styles is the Executive Vice President of the Ortex Corporation, which basically makes him the #2 guy in the most powerful Corporate/Political/Military Organization on Earth. In terms of sheer physical power, he's also one of the most powerful members of the Ortex Corporation. His power is obviously eclipsed by Jack DuPre, and the only other character who can match him in terms of power is Zarathon (or perhaps Levitone after he's consumed a ton of souls...). Johny Styles is a half demon, which means that his mother was a human, and his father was a human whose body was under full possession by a Demonic Spirit. Despite his rank within the Ortex Corporation, other demons treat him with derision due to the fact that he's a "half breed". Johny doesn't give a damn what others think of him. He's a living embodiment of Pride and Vanity, and he's perfectly satisfied with himself. Styles is very detached, very cool. He doesn't care about the lives of humans or other demons. He doesn't care about the Planet. He doesn't care about "Climbing the Corporate Ladder", cause he's already at the top. Johny Styles only cares about three things in the Universe. 1. Accomplishing the Ultimate Goal of the Ortex Corporation, which is to bring about the Armageddon. 2. Loyally serving Jack DuPre (despite the fact that Loyalty is a not a trait typically associated with Demons, Styles is 100% faithful to DuPre). 3. Well, that third thing will be very apparent, very soon.

Johny Styles has a human form and a demon form. His human form possesses super human strength, speed, and agility. He is a master swordsman (as demonstrated by the fact that he was able to hold his own against Mike the Butcher, even briefly), and has mastered dozens of fighting styles. As demonstrated on Page 20 of Issue 5, Johny Styles can Regenerate at will (just like the Clown... yipe!). He also is a master of Black Magic. And we haven't even seen his (More Powerful) Demon Form yet.

His name is Johny Styles, and he's one of the most powerful beings in the World. He won't stop until he's claimed the Clown's head. Stay tuned to Monster King for more insanity.

No Sleep Till MONSTER KING

"I've Gotta Save My Friends!"

Jeezum Crow, I've got no time anymore. It's Trick or Treat Night in Clay City, and I've had no time to really enjoy things. I picked up candy and a cheap mask back on Wednesday, and I handed out the goodies and it was all a blur. On the bright side, I had just about the right amount of candy to go around. Usually I have a ton of leftover candy, but this year, I've just got a small handful that'll last me about a week (instead of a month). There were lots of kids this year.

Anyway, it's MONSTER KING time. A little early, again, due to me going to E-ville for the CQCA Meeting tomorrow. Anyway, you can check out Pages 17-20 starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk17.html. It's been a little while since Cactus Joe has gotten a royal ass kicking, so that's pretty much what happens here. The Ortex Elite Squad have the upper hand, and that's bad news for our Hero.

Issue 5 wraps up next week. After that, we're straight through to Issue 6.

Here's the rundown on what we've got towards the 24 Comix Challenge:

16. SDF: Pulp 2011- Just got it in from the Printers. I'll make it available online on either Sunday or Monday.

17. Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special- It's at the Printers, and I've paid the Invoice. According to my Calender, I should have copies by mid-November.

18. Monster King 5- See above.

19. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club 15- Currently at the Printers. I think I've paid the Invoice. Should be available in mid-November.

20. Monster King 6- Work is completed.

21. Cosmic Love 4- Work is completed. I'll be sending it to the Printers hopefully before the end of the weekend.

22. Super Duper Fun Comix Bowling Special- Work is completed.

23. The Clown & Tea Cup Show 3- Pencils are done. Gonna try to finish it before the end of next week.

24. This is a floater slot. I could do HFSAC 16 (which is scripted), but I may sub in my 24 Hour Comic Day Comic (which I'll be doing on November 12).

There ain't no rest for the wicked.

MONSTER KING and Mid-Ohio

"Looks Like You're All Alone, Little Clown."

It's a little early, but it's MONSTER KING time. Things are looking bad for the Butterfly Mob as the Clown's allies are eliminated, and the architect of this attack is finally revealed. The Bad Mojo begins at http://www.torcpress.com/mk13.html.

In other news, I'll be at my last Con of the year, Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus, OH this weekend. I'll be doing my thing like I do my thing. We'll see how it goes.

12 Years...

School Sucked. Don't get me wrong, there were good moments, sure. Little victories. But, for the most part school was isolation, humiliation, disappointment, torment, betrayal, and other crap. The Key to my Survival was quite simple: I was going to make comics. Graduate from High School, go to College, become a more well rounded individual/artist, start dating, graduate college, and make comics (and since this was the mid-90s, I still had a hope of becoming Rich & Famous through comics as well. Oh, the innocent days of my youth).

There was just one problem. College Sucked. The humiliation, torment, and betrayal were gone, only to be replaced by More Isolation (largely my own fault, by this point I was a full scale introvert), accompanied by tons of boredom and lots and lots of bills I couldn't afford. The only thing I liked about College were the Art Classes. In retrospect, maybe I shoulda just went directly to some Art School, instead of wasting my time at University. Who knows? Regardless, when the first year wrapped up, I was done.

So, off I go to work at the Sawmill. Now, I had worked at the Mill for years before then, but I had never worked at the Mill for a full year, let alone during the Winter. Wow. It was a whole new level of Suck, let me tell you. I got my ass kicked, AND we were building Mom and Dad's new house (usually in the evenings). And I was going nowhere. Because I had no plan. I mean, how DO you Make Comics, anyway? I screwed around, doodled, made up new characters, and just kinda...wasted my life. I needed to escape the Mill, just for a little while.

Enter Community College. CC gave me the opportunity to work at the Mill part time, the classes were easy (I paid ZERO attention and passed everything. Even Aced a few classes), and I got to take some Art and Creative Writing Classes. Not Bad. I went for a year, and after it wrapped up... well, I was right back where I started. What was I supposed to do? I worked at the Mill, doodled, and devoted too much time to Final Fantasy VII. My buddies started up a Backyard Wrestling Organization (the much lamented New Wave Wrestling Alliance), and I joined in. But I was still going nowhere.

In October 1999, I was in a comic shop in Effingham (it was a nice little shop, even if it only lasted a couple of years), shopping around when I saw it. "The Create Your Own Comic Kit". There it was. All those years of having no idea what to do, and here was a big fat box full of supplies and information.

The joke is, I hesitated. I just stared at the box for awhile, not sure whether I really wanted to make this leap. Life had beaten me to a pulp by this point. I wasn't special. I wasn't interesting. I wasn't anything. I was a blue collar sawmill hand who still lived with my Parents. I sucked. I couldn't make comics. Why even bother?

And why not? Sure, I was a loser. But how big a loser would I have been if I would have not even tried, right? From the Age of Nine I had been wanting to make comics. Now was my chance. Screw it. So, I bought the box, and I decided that I would make One Comic Book, so I could at least say that I had fulfilled my dream before consigning myself to a lifetime of Loserdom and Mediocrity.

So I made a comic. Drove to Kinkos in Carbondale and got a bunch of copies made. Gave em away to friends and family. Loved it. Made another. And another. I just kept making comics, because it was the only thing in my life that made sense. I tried sending out a submission to a few Companies. Got rejected. Kept making comics anyway. Got better. Bought and renovated a house (that slowed me down a little). Moved into my house. Said, screw it, it was time to do this for real. Created SDF. Took it to a real printer. Went to my first Convention. Actually Sold Comics to People that weren't related to me. Had a buddy make me a Website. Made more comics. Went to more Conventions. Sold more Comics. Experimented with stuff. Switched printers. Took over my website (eventually) and started a new Webcomic. Just kept doing what I do.

My name is Joseph Morris, and I am the owner and operator of TORC Press, the Bestest Damn Comix Publisher that No One's Ever Heard of or Cares About. I've been slugging away making comix for 12 Years now, and I get a little better each year. Comix are my life, and I love it. I don't plan on stopping any time soon. In fact, I've got a great plan for next year.

Personally, I can't wait.

Mid-Ohio Con, 12 Years, and Production Updates

Right-0. First off, I'll be at the recently purchased by Wizard Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus, OH this weekend. I'll be sharing a table with my longtime comrade-in-arms, Clint Basinger of Cosmic Moustache Comics. Details on the show are at http://www.wizardworldcomiccon.com/wizcon.html.

Also, in all the craziness surrounding the 24 Comix in a Year Challenge, I totally forgot that the month of October marks the 12 Year Anniversary of TORC Press. Who knew? I'll probably wax philosophical about that later in the week.

Speaking of the 24 Comix Challenge, Here's Production Updates:

"The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club": Issues 1-14 are available in the online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. Issue 15 is at the Printers. I plan on starting the script for Issue 16 tonight.

"Monster King": Issues 1-3 are available in the online store. Issue 4 is currently at the Printers. Pages 1-12 of Issue 5 can be viewed at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. I completed Issue 6 this weekend. So that's the end of that.

"Cosmic Love": Issues 1-3 are available in the online store. Issue 4 is completed, but I'm not sure when I'll have time to send it to the printers with the convention this weekend. Maybe Friday morning? I'll start the script for Issue 5 just as soon as I've completed HFSAC 16.

Other Stuff: "SDF: Pulp 2011 Special" is at the Printers and should be shipping...sometime this week. "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special" got sent to the Printers yesterday. The "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Bowling Special" is within four pages of completion. I've also started work (barely) on "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #3.

Right now, I need to finish SDFCB, TCTC 3, and HFSAC 16, send all that to the Printers as well as MK 5-6 and SDFC, to complete the Completely Impossible, What-Was-I-Thinking, 24 Comix in a Single Year Challenge. HFSAC 16 will be the killer.

MONSTER KING and the End of Gulatta

"Black Hole Palm!"

Ah. It's Saturday, so that means it's MONSTER KING time! This week we've got Pages 9-12, which can be viewed starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk9.html.

This week, we veer off course a little to tie up some loose ends. For those of you that remember it, I did this comic called "Gulatta!" a while back. It was moderately popular, and I had plans for the series, including an eventual wrap-up. Unfortunately, I just couldn't... I lost interest. I know, I suck. That's the problem with having too many ideas in my brain. If I'm not 100% into it, it's hard to keep up. Throw in the fact that I make comics alone, and I work full time in a sawmill, and excuses, excuses, excuses. You know the drill.

But one of the things that's always bothered me about the way I do things, is that I never really wrap up many of my stories the way I want to. I just kinda drop stuff and move on to the next thing. I did manage to wrap up SDF, sending the book off with a sad, poignant little ending. Anyway, I wanted to take the time to bring some of my dangling stories to some sort of conclusion. The idea I came up with was, quite simply, "What if the Skull Mob decided to destroy the Status Quo, and wipe out all of the villains I've concocted over the years?" So, that's what I did. This isn't really how Gulatta was gonna end (it's a lot more violent and a lot shorter), but it is similar.

What I think is kinda funny, now that I think about it, is how this little ending is different from how most superhero comics work. I mean, usually, the bad guy does something horrible, THEN the good guys have to thwart the plan (if there's anything left to thwart) and bring the bad guy to justice (just so he can come back and commit some other act of evil a year or two later).

In the case of the latest MK, our heroes smash into the villain well before he can complete his scheme, and the results are rather...ugly. I, personally, prefer more proactive heroes myself. That's just me.

The other handy thing about all of this, is that it's quite handily setting me up for WHAT'S NEXT. Because there's always something cooking up there.

Toldos & Rakor

Right. If you haven't been there yet, go ahead and bring yourself up to date on Monster King, over at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. I'll wait. Everyone up to date? Okay.

Toldos & Rakor, who appear in those pages, debuted way back in the beginning in "Pulp Horrorshow" v0l. 1 #2. Their first full appearance was in Issue #3. They popped back up in "Truth or Consequences Monthly" #4-6. They returned in "SDF: Perfect/Ugly" with another little scheme to kill the Clown, then went with a full tilt attack in "SDF: Honorless Dogs" 1-3. The Clown's killed 'em TWICE. They're annoying that way.

I created both of these guys back in...High School? I think it was High School. They've always been mid-level demons designed to menace whoever my main character at the time was. They weren't always a duo. In fact, I'm not sure when they became a duo, but it made sense when they finally came together.

Toldos is a Toad Demon. The idea came from that whole "Raining Frogs" thing that pops up every so often (there was an episode of the "X-Files" that I clearly remember where it rained frogs as a precursor to a series of demonic activities. Also that one Stephen King short story. I love that story). Toldos is strong and has supernatural leaping abilities. He likes to leap into the air and crashland on his enemy, with devastating results (check out "SDF: Honorless Dogs" 3 for an example of how nasty that attack can be). He's also got a long, prehensile tongue that's coated in a powerful acid. Toldos's weaknesses are that he's slow and stupid. Very stupid. I have no idea why Toldos says "Yes" at the end of all of his sentences. I didn't write that.

Rakor's a Rat Demon. That one's pretty obvious. Rats have always been associated with Plague, Pestilence, and Black Magic. Rakor possesses superhuman speed, has razor sharp claws, and can vomit up a thick, black goop that's chock full of diseasey nastiness. Rakor also knows a variety of powerful Black Magic Spells and Curses. He's also fairly clever, which makes up for the fact that Toldos is dumber than a box of rocks. Rakor is not as strong or as tough as Toldos, though. Oh yeah, Rakor also has a powerful sense of smell, which is why he's been able to track down the Clown on multiple occasions (Fun Fact: The Clown smells like Cotton Candy and Sawdust).

The Toldos & Rakor we've seen in the comics aren't the "real" Toldos & Rakor. Their Real Bodies are still trapped in Hell. Their Demonic Spirits are Free to Roam the Earth (thanks to the fact that Ortex constantly summons them back). Their Spirits can take Possession of the body of anyone that's sold their soul to Ortex. Since Ortex currently rules the world, that's a pretty big list of possible bodies. Anyway, that's why they get killed and come back all the time. It's not like the Joker where he "slips away" at the end. Nope, they die, and then just get summoned back into new bodies, usually with some new screwball plan to kill the Clown.

Anyway, long story short, Toldos & Rakor, the Assassins from Hell, have been drafted into the mysterious Ortex Elite Squad. They've got experience fighting the Clown, and they won't stop until he's Deader than Dead. Needless to say, "Monster King" #5 is gonna be a rough ride for our Hero.

And there's still two other members of the Elite Squad waiting in the wings.