BIG FAT BLOG

According to Tom Scioli's blog, as I type this on Tuesday, August 28th, 2012, this would have been Jack Kirby's 95th Birthday.  I barely knew who the King was before he died.  I've spent a good chunk of my adult life digging up the King's work like some kind of Comix Archeologist.  I've obsessively studied Kirby's work, watching his evolution as a writer and artist over the 5 Decades of his Bombastic Career.  I could ramble here all day about Kirby (actually, I kinda want to... remember that scene in "The Eternals" where the lead Celestial displays the Circuit on his thumb that contains the formula for the extinction of the entire populace of planet Earth?  Wasn't that the single most awesome thing ever?  Or the "Glory Boat"?  Or the "Pact"?  Or... oh, I'm doing it, aren't I?), but I've got a ton of ground to cover.  So let's go.

We here in TORCland continue to do our webcomic thing.  SDF is up and running, with our heroes trying to hold their own against a trio of headhunters jacked up on Unstable Mutagen.  I know, I know, it doesn't make any sense, just enjoy the wild violence, okay?  Anyway, the latest page can be viewed at http://www.torcpress.com/sdf3-2.html. 

The latest page of our dark comic, Pulp Horrorshow: DirTown, is also up and running.  Before I start talking about it, head over to http://www.torcpress.com/ph2-9.html and check it out.  Now. let's Ramble a Bit. 

So... awhile back, I introduced a group called The Skull Mob, which consisted of just about every heroic character in the TORCverse.  They showed up in Monster King a little and were referred to in some of my comics from last year.  In Monster King I alluded to the Skull Mob declaring a Candy Colored War on the Forces of Evil.  They eliminated some of the lesser threats (some managed to sneak away, like Dr. Dendull), and then set out to destroy Ortex.  Some members of the Skull Mob didn't participate (the Clown's Butterfly Mob and aliceislost were not present, along with a few others).

Now, a good writer would have showed the Epic Confrontation between Ortex and the Skull Mob.  Unfortunately, I'm not that guy.  I knew the outcome of the Battle, and I couldn't bring myself to show it. 

Y'see, the Good Guys Lost.  Big Time. 

Now, if you've got "Death Moth" or if you've been reading between the lines on a lot of my books, you already know all this.  If you haven't caught on, sorry to spoil things.  But like I said, it wasn't much of a surprise, because I skipped clean over the whole fight.

Anyway, if you refer to PH Issue 2 Page 9, you'll find 5 Severed Heads decorating the Wall of Jack DuPre's Office in Ortex Tower.  These are the Heads, impaled on spikes ala Game of Thrones, of the Division Leaders of the Skull Mob.  Some of these guys you might know, some you might not (actually, most of you don't.  Who am I kidding?  No one reads my comix...).  Anyway, here's the Dead Folk from Left to Right:

Bad Jack- Leader of Skull Mob Division 3 (the Shadow Mob).  Most notably seen in "SDF: Pulp".  If you've read "Death Moth" #1, you might be confused how Bad Jack is running around in that book, while his head is decorating Jack DuPre's office.  Welp, Bad Jack's got a brand new body, simple as that.

Cosmico Rex- Leader of Skull Mob Division 4 (the Colorful Mob).  Most notably seen in "SDF: Pulp". 

El Exclamation Point!- Leader of Skull Mob Division 2 (the Mask Mob).  One of the most prominent characters in the TORCverse is dead.  Yep.  That's him.  Dead as Disco.  Not coming back.  I really liked El Exclamation Point!  Why did I kill him off?  Off panel no less.  I don't get it.

Gemini Aqualung-  Okay, this guy's kinda obscure.  He hasn't really been seen since the olden days of the Xerox comics.  Also, he wasn't a Skull Mob Leader.  His Division, uh, Division 8, the Pig Mob, was actually led by Johm Smythe.  But Johm Smythe was a Nuclear Man, so when he died, he completely blew up.  Aqualung's head was collected as a substitute.

Halloween M@n-  Another moderately obscure character, we haven't really seen this guy since the original "SDF".  The former sheriff of Mosquito Village and the Leader of Skull Mob Division 7, the Halloween Mob, also died during the Fight.  I also liked this guy.  It's too bad to see him gone.

There's some heads missing from the wall.  Like I said, the Clown's Division, Division 1, the Butterfly Mob, wasn't in the fight.  King Dark, the leader of Division 5, Eyenigma, is also missing.  Of course, it's hard to collect the head of Living Darkness.  (Also, he may not be...totally dead.  Maybe)  Akuma Boy, the leader of Division 6, the Anarchy Mob, is also missing for some reason.  We'll get to that one sometime in the future.

Long story short, this page fully illustrates something I've been hinting at for a while.  The Heroes are Dead and Ortex has Won Everything. 

The two characters that appear on this page are also pretty important.  In the Olden Days of the Xerox Comics, I used to have little cut away segments with these two guys.  When I started doing my "For Real" comix, I wanted to Ortex (and the two men that run it) in the background.  But now that Ortex is in the forefront, it was time to bring them back.

The douchebag in the white suit with the pony tail is Johny Styles.  He actually popped up briefly in an issue of "The Clown and Tea Cup Show" #2, I think, as well as "Monster King" #5-6.  Styles is the Executive Vice President of the Ortex Corporation.  That basically makes him the second most powerful man on Earth.  He may look like a pussy, but he's a total bad ass (again, check out MK 5-6 for how scary this guy can get).  He's a half breed Human/Demon.  He's also married to the Clown's old roommate/love interest, Voodoo Dolly.  Which nearly killed the Clown.

The big, angry looking fellow with the widow's peak is Jack DuPre, also known as the Deathbringer.  He is the BIG EVIL of the TORCverse.  He's the Dr. Doom of the TCV, except in this case, he's actually won the whole damn game (Poor Doom.  How has he never actually completely conquered the world?).  DuPre is also a half breed Human/Demon, which is one of the reasons why DuPre and Styles get along so well.  DuPre's Father is Cthug, who is the Lord of Hell.  DuPre's goal is to unleash Cthug from Hell.  To do that, he needs to open the Locke City Hellgate, which is really complicated.  We'll cover more of that another time.  The Deathbringer is the most powerful man on Earth, not just because he is the President and CEO of the Ortex Corporation, but also because he can destroy an entire city block with a wave of his arm.

It's time to stop pussyfooting around.  It's time to start bringing the Bad Guys into play.  It's time to start moving this story along.  I plan on wrapping this thing up when I'm in my 50s or 60s after all.

I was gonna Rant about how I've decided to stop buying Marvel or DC comics, but it's totally Bed Time.  Another Time.

Cheezquest 2012

Welp, my month of Roadtripping continues today.  Bro and I are gonna work half a day at the Mill, and then we're gonna hit the road with Boolah for Cleveland, OH, where our ultimate goal is to acquire the Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich.  What are you doing with your life?  Cause this dude is driving 8 hours for Grilled Cheez.  Yeah.

Anyway, I'll be gone all weekend, but the next page of SDF is ready to go for Monday, so fret not.  Once I get home I need to start buckling down and getting some work done on a bunch of different projects.

Later.

SDF #3 and Death Moth

First off, "SDF" is back up and running.  Issue 3 Page 1 is up and running at http://www.torcpress.com/sdf3-1.html.  The story picks up right where Issue 2 left off, with the Puzzelor attempting to protect a member of the Community from a trio of punks jacked up on Unstable Mutagen.  Always fun.

In additional addition, we've added a new comic to the Online Store.  It's called "Death Moth", and... it's messed up.  Death Moth continues the story of Bad Jack, who debuted in "SDF: Pulp" and was last seen in "Monster King".  It's a story about revenge and horror and resurrection.  It's ADULTS ONLY.  I can't stress that enough.  There are things in here that once you see them, you can't unsee them.  It's 24 pages in Full Color for $4.00 plus $2.00 S&H.  You can check out a preview over at:  http://www.torcpress.com/dmprev.html.

Anyway, it's off to the Mill. 

Hamburgers, Wrestling, and, of course, Comix

So, Brooks and I hit the road for Indianapolis, IN for the Chikara Pro Wrestling show on Saturday.  After finding the venue, we set sail for nearby Carmel, IN in order to get that most wondrous of things:  A Good Burger.  We found the place, about a half hour away from the venue, nestled in a quaint but happening little community.  Bub's Burgers and Ice Cream is a little joint which has more seating on the outside than it has on the inside.  Luckily, with just two of us, it was quick and easy to get a table.  Now, the gimmick with this place is that they have a burger called the Big Ugly Burger, which is a full pound burger.  If you eat one, you get a picture on the wall, eat two you get a bigger picture, eat three you get a very large picture, and if you eat four you get a full sized poster.  For the record, there was no way I was eating one burger, let alone four.  Nope, I got me the 1/4 lb. burger.  It's pretty simple, no fancy toppings, just a burger, bun, cheese, with lettuce, tomato, and pickle on the side (who needs that crap).  I went ahead and got pepper jack cheez and jalepenos and loaded up with ketchup and mustard.  Turns out I didn't need the extra stuff.

Because this was the Best Burger I Have Ever Eaten in a Restaurant. 

I've had burgers with better toppings.  I've had better burgers at home and at cook outs.  But in terms of pure, simple Burger goodness, this was the best burger I've ever had.  It actually reminds me quite a lot of the End of "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #1.

Anyway, back to Indy we went, and we hit the Chikara Show.  And it was awesome.  Fun, exciting, silly, strange, beautiful.  There was a eight man tag that was incredible.  Mike Quackenbush went nuts.  I'm in love with Saturyne (did I just type that...ignore that last line).  It was great.  I picked up a DVD and a new Wrestling Mask to add to my collection.  I was happy.

In TORC Press News, we'll have be starting a new Issue of "SDF" on Monday, and if I can stop myself from taking a nap, I'm gonna try to add a new comic to the Online Store at www.torcpress.com today. 

Oh.  And the following is an experiment.  Dark Knight Rises.  Adventure Time.  Um, what else is popular?  Glee?  That should give me a good litmus.

I am Doing Stuff

First off, a big ole thank you to everyone that came out and supported TORC Press at the 2012 Wizard World Chicago Comicon.  I truly appreciate it.  Speaking of support, I'd like to take a moment to thank some of my fellow Small Press Soldiers in the Trenches.  There's John Hoban, who produces an excellent comic called "Apocalypse City" and a sick parody comic called "Night of the Smurfing Dead" (you can find his work on the Facebook, I believe).  Also, Jon Michael Lennon, who produces the utterly messed up anthology, "Product of Society".  I truly admire his complete and utter lack of self censorship.  Whatever messed up crap he wants to draw, he draws.  Nice.  Anyway, you can find him at www.cheeselordcomics.com.  And lastly, there's Greg & Fake, who produce these bizarre paintings that I really dig.  They're also branching into full fledged comicking.  Lemme see if I can find a website...I'm sure they're on Facebook.... can't find a website.  Anyway, they do cool stuff.

Second off, there's a new page of "Pulp Horrorshow: DirTown" up for viewing over at:  http://www.torcpress.com/ph2-7.html.  It's pretty emo.  I apologize in advance.  Still, I tapped into some legitimate stuff for this page, so there's that.

I'm tired, so as usual I'm blogging with my brain on fizzle-fry.  Blurble-blurg.

Oh!  I remember!  My next and last Convention of the year is the Nashville Comic & Horror Festival in Nashville, TN on October 6-7.  I should probably contact my cousins so I've got a place to stay.  Anyway, I'll be there doing my thing, shilling my comix, and making bad jokes about people's costumes.  Yeah, you heard me you goofy cosplay people.  I make fun of you as soon as you're outa earshot.  You never buy anything anyway.  Except that one guy in the Joker costume.  You're cool in my book.  Also, that guy dressed up like the main character from the Hitchhiker's Guide.  Why can't I think of his name?  Damnit.

According to my calender, "SDF" returns to work on Monday, August 20th.  I should probably draw something.  Also, don't forget to check out my killer new (and by new I mean it's been around since May and I'm only just now promoting it online) comic, "Clown & Penguin" #1.  There's a Preview at http://www.torcpress.com/cnpprev.html.  It's a great comic.  So great, in fact, that I'm not gonna say something goofy to counteract that statement.  And speaking of Clown & Penguin, I've finished most of the Pencils on Issue 2, and I've just completed Page One.  Sure, it's a long way to go before I'm done, but a Journey of 32 Pages starts with a Single Page, right?

Clown & Penguin, Pulp Horrorshow, and Chicago

Where to start?  First off, our hero will be in Chicago this weekend at Wizard World Chicago.  The show runs from Thursday through Sunday, and we'll be there all four days promoting and selling books, as well as T-shirts and art prints and anything else we can make some scratch off of.

One of the books we'll be selling is "Clown & Penguin" #1.  It's a great book, it's (sorta) brand new, and you can check out a preview at http://www.torcpress.com/cnpprev.html.

And, lastly, we've got a new page of "Pulp Horrorshow: DirTown" up for the viewing.  This series has turned into sort of a Guided Tour of the World According to Ortex, so it's become this very dark, very dismal kind of thing.  This page features more decapitations.  Hurray!  Anyway, you can view it at:  http://www.torcpress.com/ph2-6.html.

Anyway, have a nice weekend, and if you're in the greater Chicagoland area, drop by the show and say Hi.  Why not?

Clown & Penguin #1 Now Available

Okay, this loverly little book has actually been completed, and I've been promoting it since SPACE back in...April (?), but I haven't really gotten around putting it up on the website or promoting it.  But I figure with Wizard World less than a week away, I might as well get it up on the sight. Long story short, "Clown & Penguin" #1 is now available from TORC Press!  Huzzah!

So, what is "Clown & Penguin" and why should you score a copy and bask in the unending brilliance?  Good question.

"Clown & Penguin" #1 takes place one year after the concluding issues of TORC Press Era 3 (The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #17 (still unpublished), Monster King #6 (published and available), and Cosmic Love #5 (still unpublished.  I know, I know).  In the missing history, Cactus Joe the Clown and Pengy Penguin have somehow evolved into powerful Cosmic Beings.  At the same time, a Ginormous Unstoppable Engine of Extinction called an Armageddon Titan has launched a full fledged assault on the primitive and largely defenseless people of the planet Mercury.  Our heroes have arrived on the planet to stop the Titan.  Sounds simple enough, right?  Well, ain't nothing easy when you've got to battle a 6th dimensional tower of unrelenting evil, especially when the only route to victory is to battle the beast from the inside.

There's a lot of stuff going on in this one.  There's all sorts of crazy monsters, there's Robot Angels, there's the return of Cactus Joe's Crew, the Butterfly Mob (Broken Tea Cup, Mike the Butcher, Kolby Koala, Johny Eraser, and newcomer Cactus Jill the Harlequin), there's Spaceship Battles, and there's the return of one of Cactus Joe's Oldest and Deadliest Villains.

PLUS, there's a short Bonus Strip that fills in some of the missing backstory.  In "Untold Tales of Clown & Penguin Part One" we witness Cactus Joe and Pengy Penguin arriving at the Mysterious Barrier of Omnichronus.

PLUS, PLUS there's a One Page Strip where I argue with myself.  Yep.

You can check out a preview on the Main Site.  Either head over to www.torcpress.com and click on the Cover Image of "Clown & Penguin"#1, or you can go directly to the preview at http://www.torcpress.com/cnpprev.html.  You can purchase it directly through the Preview Page, or you can score a copy from the Online Store at http://www.torcpress.com/store.html.  OR, you can order a copy the Olde Fashioned Way through the Mail.  The book is 32 Pages in FULL COLOR for $5.00 plus $2.00 Shipping & Handling.  If you wanna score a copy, send a Check or Money Order for the aforementioned $7.00 to:

TORC Press
c/o Joseph Morris
330 S 5th St SW
Clay City, IL 62824

Long story short, "Clown & Penguin" #1 is a great book, and a great step forward in the continued evolution in TORC Press.  I am extremely proud of this book.  That is all.