Skull Mob 2-14

Today's, um, Spooky Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 2.  Page 14.  www.torcpress.com


Happy Halloween, Cats and Kittens!  Out here in the Midwest the weather is supposed to be touch and go, and super windy, so stay safe out there while you're haunting the graveyard!

Skull Mob 2-13

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 2.  Page 13.  www.torcpress.com

I'm having one of those weeks I have where I'm just out of it.  I'm gonna blame the see-sawing temperatures.  Ugh.  Wanna go back to bed.

HFSAC 20-2

Today's Webcomic:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 20.  Page 2.  www.torcpress.com

This is the first half of a double page spread.  Kirby liked to use Double Page Spreads on the 2nd and 3rd pages of most of his latter day comics, especially in the second part of the Seventies.  I continue the tradition.  Also, I got to draw Ultrdolphins on this page.

HFSAC 20-1/HFSAC 19 Now Available!

Today's Webcomic:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 20.  Page 1.  www.torcpress.com

I made a poster of this page and gave it to Mei for our 10 Month Anniversary. 

Anyway, also, we have this:

Issue 19 of the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club is now available in Print Form (which is far superior to reading it on your computer).  It's $3.50 plus $1.50 S&H, and it features the crazy battle with that giant squid with a god complex, Levitone.  Copies can be purchased at the main site at the link above.  Help support the cause.  Buy a fun Fight Comic today!

Pulp Horrorshow Volume 4 Issue 1 Page 1

It's Sunday, so why not let us put a brand new webcomic for a brand new comic.  Because why not?

Pulp Horrorshow.  Volume 4.  Issue 1.  Page 1.

In October of 1999 I was in an odd place.  I was 21, which isn't that big of a deal when you don't drink alcohol, I was living with my parents, working full time at the family sawmill, and I had graduated in the Spring from the local community college with a completely useless Associates in General Studies.  In short, my life was going nowhere, and I was well aware of that fact.  Early in the month, Fate stepped in.  I was at the comic shop in Effingham (a mere 45 minutes from my house.  Obviously it would be closed within a month or two, never to reopen) when I discovered and immediately purchased a "Create Your Own Comic" Kit.  At that moment, I gave myself an Ultimatum.  I would actually make a comic for Realsies and get it printed in some form, before the end of the month, or I would bury my dream of making comics forever and do something else with my life.  It took the whole month, but in the end I had finished "Pulp Horrorshow" Volume 1 #1, and I got it printed at a Kinkos in Carbondale, two hours from my house. 

The first Pulp Horrorshow was an ugly, crude, poorly written, poorly drawn comic book.  But it was mine, and I loved it.  I had defeated my Ultimatum and found out what I knew all along.  I really, really loved making comics.  So, I continued making comics.  I drove 2 hours to Carbondale every time I finished a book, and I worked to improve my art and writing.  Pulp Horrorshow was a 24 page, Black and White Anthology comic that featured two to three strips about my "SlasherHero" characters (That was my own weird little genre, which were Superheroes mish-mashed with 80s Horror film Monsters) and usually one Silly Cartoon strip.  Cactus Joe the Clown made his official debut in issue 1.  I gave copies of the book away to friends and family.  Pulp Horrorshow went for 6 issues from Oct 99 until around July of 2000.  I stopped producing the book after I went to Wizard World Chicago looking for someone else to publish me, and everyone telling me I sucked.  I got a little depressed and dropped every book I was working on.  I eventually started back up, making a new comic called "Truth or Consequences Monthly" (which wasn't monthly, at all).  My insane quest continued, with Pulp Horrorshow buried in a shallow grave.

Time passed.  I bought a house.  I printed comics for Realsies at a Real Printer (in Evansville, STILL a two hour drive away.  Sigh.).  I started attending comic book conventions across America, and believe it or not, sold comics to people that weren't related to me.  My book at the time was SDF, which was a series of One Shot 48 page Anthologies.  Me being me, I wanted to make more comics.  I had started a silly comic called "New Super Duper Fun Comix", and I wanted to do an Adults Only comic to kinda balance things out.  So it was time to resurrect "Pulp Horrorshow".

"Pulp Horrorshow" vol. 2 #1 popped up in the Fall of 2007.  It was a 24 page Black and White comic with two stories and the first full color cover in TORC Press History (wellll, some of the early Xerox comics had really crude color covers, but this was the first Professionally Printed comic with a color cover).  It was also the first comic I got printed through the online printer Ka-Blam (which I suppose marks the beginning of TORC Press's "Bronze Age", if you wanna stick random labels on this nonsense, which of course I love to do).  The book was my first experiment with an Adults Only book, so it mostly had some boobs and cursing and a little foul language (well, and lotsa violence, but I was already doing that in all my books anyway).  Thematically, I was inspired by Ditko's Charlton work, so the two stories were "Doom Eagle" (recently resurrected in the new SDF, small world) which was an incredibly warped version of Ditko's Blue Beetle, and "El Exclamation Point!" which was an obvious homage to Ditko's Question.  The book was weird.  Really, really, really weird.  There was a spaceship that looked like a fetus (seriously, what is wrong with me), a two headed naked goddess, a man with a crescent moon for a head, violence addicted sex fairies, a robot shark, and a guy with a giant bird head coming out of his neck.  I did another issue a few months later which featured the debut of Xipe Topec and the Vermin Angels (who appear prominently in "Skull Mob").  And that was that.  I'm not sure why I dropped the book.  I think I got my heart broke sometime around them and dropped all of my books.  Of course, that led to the original incarnation of the "Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club", so it wasn't all bad.

Last year I revived Pulp Horrorshow again.  This time around, I was experimenting with creating a comic that was fast and crude, sorta like the Underground Comics I was into at the time (I'm not really into that stuff now.  That was a short-lived, very odd phase).  I also wanted to show what life was like on Earth for the people that live in the cities under the rule of Ortex ("Clown & Penguin" took place in outer space, "Death Moth" was about the Death Moth's battle with Dr. Dendull, which precluded any conflicts with Ortex, and "SDF" was about refugees living in a forest outside of Ortex's control).  The new volume of Pulp Horrorshow lasted for 4 issues and introduced some new characters, most notably the Chupacabra (currently appearing in SDF) and Renee K-9 (who's a member of the Skull Mob).  It was black and white, which used to be my thing, but nowadays it just seems drab.  It wasn't a bad series, but I wasn't thrilled with it, and it was kind of a mess.

So, anyway, I had the idea that as a celebration of my anniversary, every October I would start a new edition of Pulp Horrorshow that would run for 2 to 4 issues.  So that's where we are now.  We'll be introducing some new characters, and I'm gonna be doing a Black, White, and Red thing as a slightly more colorful version of the classic B&W that is a Pulp Horrorshow tradition.  It'll update on Sundays.  So there you go. 

SDF 6-10

Today's Webcomic:

SDF.  Issue 6.  Page 10.  www.torcpress.com

I'll be at Halloweenfest at Comic Quest in Evansville, IN today.  Halloweenfest is an attempt to create a Mirror-Version of Free Comic Book Day.  Although FCBD is one of my best shows of the year (take that as you will), last year's Halloweenfest was... well, it was basically me and a couple of my comrades-in-arms standing around doing nothing.  So, maybe this year will be better.  Either way, it's a good excuse for me to go get a Burger at Red Robin or Five Guys, so it's not a total loss.

SDF 6-9

Today's Webcomic:

SDF.  Issue 6.  Page 9.  www.torcpress.com

Pretty much everything I need to say on this one is in the NOTES section of this page on the Main Site.

Skull Mob 2-12

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 2.  Page 12.  www.torcpress.com

Skull Mob 2-11 + Sol

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 2.  Page 11.  www.torcpress.com

And here's a new Sol Page:

Sol.  Issue 1.  Page 3.  I apologize for the sheer crudeness.  Sol is evolving, finding its voice.  I was shooting for something similar to what Tom Scioli is doing with the incredible "Satan's Soldier", but Tom is awesome, whereas I am a humble sawmill hand.

Oh, and if I can post it...

I don't know if that worked or not.  If it did, it's a tiny piece of a video I did for the awesomest band on the planet, The Dr. Orphyus Project. 

HFSAC 19 Wrap Up

Last Page of HFSAC 19:

That wraps up Issue 19 of what is once again my longest running comic.  Issue 20 starts on Monday.  I'll have the print edition of Issue 19 ready to roll on Monday as well.  So there you go.  www.torcpress.com

SDF 6-8, HFSAC 19-15, and Goodbye Wizard

Oops, forgot to update the blog on Saturday, so, newish SDF:

SDF.  Issue 6.  Page 8.  And now today's AWESOME Page:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 19.  Page 15.  www.torcpress.com

Anyway, this weekend was my last big show of the year, and my last "BIG" show for the foreseeable future.  Make no mistake, I had a lovely weekend.  I got to hang out with my cousins (What up Rachel and Katieeeeeeee!!!!!) and my nephew Jack (Jackie-Boyee!), which was awesome.  They fed me Tacos, which was Awesome.  And on Sunday, at the show, I got to sit around and talk comics and movies and everything else with my good friend Mark Griffin of the illustrious "Quake" Zine.  So, in that respect, it was a nice weekend.

But man oh man I am done with these big shows.  There was a time when the Table Prices were manageable and there were enough people that liked Indy comics that you could afford to go to these big shows, lose some money on expenses, but still feel like it was worthwhile.  Nowadays, the prices are too dang high, and no one wants Indy comics anymore.  And this isn't sour grapes or anything.  If you were to walk the Con floor, in Artists Alley, you would find very, very few people making Independent Comics.  The few that are Hide their books behind stacks and stacks of "Prints" and Artwork and trinkets.  Why?  Because everyone else knows that Indy Comics don't sell anymore.  I did a head count, and I only found about 5 other Indy Comics at the whole show.  It's a bad scene, man, and I just don't wanna be a part of it.  If people want to shell out $10 for a Xeroxed piece of paper that cost $1.50 (or less) to produce, and pass up a 16 page full color comic for $3.50 (you can literally buy 3 TORC Press comix for almost the same price as one "Print", which is 48 Pages of Full Color Material, instead of ONE PIECE OF PAPER), then more power to them.  You can't hang a comic on the wall, I guess.

People just don't wanna read comics unless they got Spiderman in em, even if Spiderman isn't even Spiderman anymore.

And it's not just Wizard, for the record.  C2E2 was just as bad, and as much as I hate to say it, I got stuck next to a "Print Guy" at APE in San Diego last year and watched as he sold stacks and stacks of "Prints" ripping off Pulp Fiction and Iron Man and every other recognizable property under the sun.  Meanwhile, some kid read an entire issue of "Clown & Penguin", cover-to-cover, right in front of me, seemed to enjoy the experience, and then walked away without even spending a buck fifty on an issue of "Pulp Horrorshow" as compensation.  That was a pretty low moment for me.

And I gotta say I'm tired of the low moments.  I'm tired of the whole scene.  So, I'm gonna do my little thing here on my little website.  I'm gonna make all the comics I wanna make, the way I wanna make em.  And I'm just gonna work 2 or 3 smaller shows a year.  I'm gonna be at Halloweenfest at Comic Quest in Evansville, IN this weekend, and then my calender is clean until my favorite Convention, SPACE in Columbus, OH.

And that is that.

SDF6-7

Today's Webcomic:

SDF.  Issue 6.  Page 7.  www.torcpress.com

Currently sitting around my cousin Katie's house.  I'll be heading to Wizard World Nashville eventually.  That is all.

Skull Mob 2-10

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 2.  Page 10.  www.torcpress.com

I have absolutely no time this morning.  I haven't even sent Mei her morning e-mail yet.  I leave for Nashville later this evening.  Luckily, this is a Bad Guy Page.  I hate Bad Guy Pages.  Necessary Evil.  Pft.

Skull Mob 2-9

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 2.  Page 9.  www.torcpress.com

I'm having one of those stare at the computer blankly type of mornings.  I've got Wizard World Nashville this weekend.  I don't really wanna go, but on the bright side I get to see my cousins, my nephew, and my buddy Mark.  So, there's that.  Webcomix will update as usual, unless I can't get wifi somehow.

HFSAC 19-14

Today's Webcomic:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 19.  Page 14.  www.torcpress.com

The only note I've got for this page that I haven't blabbed in the NOTES section yet, is that if you look closely, you can see a rim of grey around the edge of Omnichronus's hands and mouth, and his eye is grey instead of the traditional blazing yellow.  This was designed to represent how de-energized Big O's 3-D form has become.

HFSAC 19-13 (SDF #4 Now Available!)

The SuperNova Chile is finally found:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 19.  Page 13.  www.torcpress.com

And while we're at it, SDF #4 is now available as well:

It's 16 pages, full color, and collects Part 4 of the "Longest Day" StoryArc.  There's no Bonus Material, sadly, but it's a wild read, as Octopus Jones desperately tries to defend the Refugee Community from a swarm of deadly Scalpelmen (which I misspell repeatedly in the comic).  It's only $3.50 plus $1.50 S&H and can be bought at www.torcpress.com/store.html.  Picking up a copy is a great way to show your support for TORC Press, and you also get free stuff with your order for the rest of the month, since it's my 14 Year Anniversary.

SDF6-6 (Fixing SDF)

Today's Webcomic:

SDF.  Issue 6.  Page 6.  www.torcpress.com

A couple of years ago, I started three comics around the same time: "Clown & Penguin", "Death Moth", and "SDF".  My approach to the books was somewhat framed around Jack Kirby's 4th World, with Death Moth being the Frontlines/Orion type book, Clown & Penguin was a little inspired by Mister Miracle, as kinda the outskirts book, and SDF was the Forever People book, about the poor folks on the Ground.  SDF was also kinda the Jimmy Olsen book, about the people outside of the conflict who were also inadvertently affected by the conflict.

With the demonic Ortex Corporation consuming the world, slowly turning it into a smog covered industrial wasteland, I wanted to show what life was like for the few people out there that wouldn't submit to the rule of the Ortex Corporation, so I created the Community, a group of refugees living in the last remaining forest on Earth (Side Note: As a counterpoint, I also used "Pulp Horrorshow" Volume 3 to showcase some of the Rebel Groups that tried to directly oppose Ortex (and how poorly things go for them)).  SDF was supposed to be about the various quirky characters living in this environment and their struggles to survive in a world that was constantly out to destroy them.  I decided to try experimenting with the Robert Kirkman style of Infinite Storytelling.  There were no real Art Experiments in this one, I saved that for the other books.

Clown & Penguin and Death Moth morphed into "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" and "Skull Mob" respectively, and it was delightful.  But SDF... didn't work for me.  It trudged.  The only thing that worked was Octopus Jones, who was a character that I really came to enjoy.  With the "Longest Day" storyarc wrapping up in SDF #5, it was time to reassess SDF, and try to figure out how to make it work for me.

1) I didn't like the Robert Kirkman style of storytelling.  Lots of people love the Kirkman approach to writing comics, and it's a very traditional style of comics writing, and that's cool.  More power to you.  But it doesn't work for me.  Writing such a long story arc was just such a trudge for me.  I prefer to single issue to two or three issue arcs, so I decided to revert to that approach.  Issue 6 is a stand alone story, and Issue 7 should be as well.

2) I'm not a huge fan of Setting.  Too much of SDF was supposed to revolve around the setting of the Community.  That stuff is swell for Writers, but I'm a Plot Guy.  I couldn't stay focused on the Setting or the various Quirky Characters that were supposed to inhabit it.  So, I decided to merely have the Community as something of a background and instead focus on all of the crazy stuff that happens to Octopus Jones.  Speaking of which...

3) Octopus Jones is a great character.  He's fun to draw (and more importantly, he's Easy to draw).  He's got neato powers that are dynamic to draw.  He's kind of an Everyman (even if he's a, y'know, Fishman), and as I've been writing him, I've figured out the core of the character:  Octopus Jones is the Guy who is Perpetually in over his head.  With that in mind, I decided to put the focus on OJ, and more importantly, continuously throw him into a series of insane situations.

4) Try something different with the Art.  I wasn't thrilled about the Art on SDF for the first 5 issues.  I liked the way the art looked on my old series "Monster King", so I thought I'd try going back to that style to see if it would work.  I kinda like the look of it so far, but I may try mixing it up with later issues.  If anyone's got an opinion on the look of the series, drop me a line, please.

5) Give Octopus Jones someone to work off of.  The problem with the original version of the Community Watch Group was that you had a strong central character in Octopus Jones, a Silent character in the Puzzelor, a mostly Silent character in Spookshow, and a grumpy, antagonistic character in Killboy.  The mix didn't work, so with Issue 6 I've decided to tweak things a bit.  The Chupacabra has been added to the mix because I like the antagonistic chemistry between him and OJ, and also, the group desperately needed some Muscle.  The fella in Blue (who we'll talk about more in a different blog entry) is there to finally give Octopus Jones the confidant he's always needed.

Anyway, I'm gonna try this stuff out and see what works and what don't.  Comix are a perpetual experiment.  That's one of the things that are awesome about them. 

SDF 6-5

Today's Webcomic is a good one:

SDF.  Issue 6.  Page 5.  www.torcpress.com

There are times when I feel down.  Bummed out, y'know?  I sometimes feel like I'm getting nowhere with this whole comic thing, like it's a dead end, and I'm wasting my time.  I feel like I'm never gonna find my audience, that things are never gonna click.  Every so often I contemplate giving up and calling it quits.

Then I draw a page like this, and I get really, really happy.  Comix are a beautiful thing, and I am ecstatic to be making them.

Skull Mob 2-8

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 2.  Page 8.  www.torcpress.com

Today's page is a Flashback.  I pretty much covered everything in the NOTES section on the Main Site.  So there you go.

Skull Mob 2-7

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 2. Page 7.  www.torcpress.com

Not much to say today.  The Print Edition of Pulp Horrorshow v.3 Issues 3+4 is available at the Main Site.  It's my 14 Year Anniversary.  Blahblahblah.

I do find myself wondering though, do you think anyone goes and tries to collect the bodies of dead Ortex Soldiers after they've been killed?  Or do these corpses just end up lying (or in this case, floating) around until they rot away?  I bet that Ortex Soldiers have really great Life Insurance Policies, but the only way Ortex will pay out to the beneficiaries is if you can deliver the corpse.  That would suck if your husband died in space (like the unfortunate soldiers in "Clown & Penguin" #2), and you couldn't collect on his policy because his body was nothing but a thin haze of ash and vapor scattered across the cosmos.

This is a very morbid thought stream I'm on right now.

HFSAC 19-12 (Pulp Horrorshow v.3 #3+4 Now Available!)

Today's Webcomic:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 19.  Page 12.  www.torcpress.com

And while we're at it...

The very first comic I completed, and the first official TORCverse comic was Pulp Horrorshow v.1 #1.  So it makes sense to finally publish Pulp Horrorshow v.3 #3+4 in October for my 14 Year Anniversary.  It's basically got the concluding 3rd and 4th Issues of the webcomic I finished awhile back sandwiched together into one comic.  Which means you get the entire brawl between King Dark and Akuma Boy.  Which is cool.  It's only $1.50 plus $1.50 S&H.  It's B&W.  You can score a copy in the store at:  http://www.torcpress.com/store.html

HFSAC 19-11

Today's Webcomic:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 19.  Page 11.  www.torcpress.com

The Kharma Bullet first debuted in "Monster King" #3.  Originally, Cactus Joe got what looked like a Pink Toy Revolver from a Talking Frog.  This Kharma Revolver shot Bullets with Butterfly Wings which, when they hit the target, exploding in a visible sonic destructive frequency that looked like a giant butterfly.  (I would like to take this moment to once again assure everyone that I am NOT on drugs)  The weapon quickly became the Clown's new Trump Card, an easy (and colorful) way to dispose of difficult enemies.  What I never got around to revealing was that the Kharma Revolver was a Gift from the as-yet-unrevealed Omnichronus.  Anyway, in "Clown & Penguin" we discover that the Butterfly Bullets were incorporated into the Clown's new giant hammer, Mr. Happy.  Mr. Happy was also created by Omnichronus as a gift to the Clown.  This version of the bullet is the finalized, perfected, and most destructive version.  If you look closely, you will notice that you can see Omnichronus's eyes glaring out from the wings (that's new) and the stars/universe forming the body (traditional).  It's a heckuva Trump Card, but nowadays there's limits to what it can do, which will be revealed on tomorrow's page.

SDF 6-4 (The Beautiful Madness of Joseph Morris)

Today's Webcomic:

SDF.  Issue 6.  Page 4.  www.torcpress.com

My greatest strength and my greatest weakness is that I don't stop having ideas.  As fast and as hard as I work, I can never, ever keep up with alla the ideas ricocheting around in my brain.  Awhile back, my girlfriend asked me if I really had enough story ideas to take all three of my webcomics to 100 Issues.  I responded that SDF might be a little iffy, but the other two will be easy.  I have so many ideas for HFSAC that I honestly think I can go way farther than 100.  And I've got entire Skull Mob sagas floating around, waiting for their chance to be brought to life.

And even then, the ideas won't stop.  14 years of tossing out ideas, and I haven't even scratched the surface.  Last week a random thought created an entirely new cast of characters.  Messing around on the Internet gave me an idea for a new book.  I keep telling myself to rein it in, slow it down, but I can't.  I just make comics, even when I can't physically keep up with all the crazy thoughts in my head.

If I had a Clone, first off, we would split up working at the Sawmill, then I would have my Clone build an entirely new comic Universe with three or four titles, then our Universes could have crossovers, and it would be awesome.

(Y'know, in that scenario, it was almost like my Clone was on remote control or something.  I don't think Clones work like that.  Also, if we're both sharing the same Day Job, then we're making the same paycheck, so how can I afford double the Art Suplies?  Hmmmm.  I haven't thought this completely impossible scenario out as thoroughly as I thought I did.)

What's the point of this?  I dunno.  I'm gonna go eat cereal.

SDF 6-3

Today's Webcomic:

SDF.  Issue 6.  Page 3.  www.torcpress.com

No time to chit-chat.  Thanks to a random power outage my alarm didn't go off, so I'm just about late for work.  GOOOOOOOOOOAT!

Skull Mob 2-6 (14 Moments)

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 2.  Page 6.  www.torcpress.com

Once again, everything I need to say is already in the NOTES section of the Main Site, so instead, I've decided to list my Top 14 Personal Favorite In-Comic Moments from TORC Press History.  Since I'm constantly moving forward, a lot of this stuff is new, but there's some Golden Oldies floating around as well.  So, here we go:

Honorable Mention- Dicks for Hire! from "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #2-  Cactus Joe, Pengy Penguin, and Broken Tea Cup form a detective agency called "Dicks for Hire".  This was a real life joke my brother made up, so it was really fun transplanting it into the comics.  I'd chuckle every time I wrote the phrase.

Honorable Mention-  The Bowling Montage from "Truth or Consequences 100".  After barely surviving a series of life or death struggles on the planet Neptune, our heroes are magically whisked away to a Cosmic Bowling Alley where they, obviously, go bowling.  It was a fun, colorful sequence, and Cactus Joe's reaction to scoring a 7-10 Split is priceless.

14.  The Reality Rupture from "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #7-  A Reality Rupture is a temporary pocket dimension created when the boundaries separating dimensions collapse within a localized area of Spacetime.  Physics and logic are meaningless here.  It's one of my favorite plot devices, and the first time you see one is in this comic.

13.  Octopus Jones vs. The Chupacabra from "Truth or Consequences Zer0"-  Okay, I admit, I'm kinda shoehorning this one in so Octopus Jones gets on the list.  Still, the sheer Marvelness of the misunderstanding and ultimate fight between Octopus Jones and the Chupacabra upon their initial meeting is a hoot.  Plus, a new rival was born, one I plan to get back to, very soon.

12.  Cactus Joe vs. Zarathon from "Pulp Horrorshow" Volume 1 #5-6-  This epic fight scene between two immortal fighters, the killer Clown and the demonic Zarathon, still stands as one of my best fight scenes (and I loves my fight scenes).  Just a brutal, hardcore, knock down drag out.

11.  The Final Fantasy Page from "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #18-  The HFSAC crew runs afoul of a Gelatanous Blob, only for the view to switch over to... well, video game mode.  It's a darn funny page and a nice little bit of nostalgia to boot.

10.  Giant Monster Fight from "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #2-  The original HFSAC crew end up fighting a giant sea monster in the middle of the ocean while attempting to purchase a Space Whale.  I believe this is the first Giant Monster Fight in TORC Press History, and it's a pretty cool, pretty crazy fight as well.  My favorite moments is when the Monster eats El Exclamation Point!, who yells as he's falling into its mouth, "I HOPE I GIVE YOU THE S***S!"

9.  Who Ordered a Cow? from "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #1-  If you've never read TCTC #1, please just order a copy.  I can't possibly explain the beautiful insanity of this wonderfully inspired comic.  If you've read it, you know what I'm talking about.

8.  Eat Shark, Bird Face Old Man! from "Pulp Horrorshow" Volume 2 #1-  I recently reread this comic, and man oh man is it messed up.  Seriously, was I on something when I made this?  Anyway, the highlight moment involves El Exclamation Point! riding a mechanical shark and attacking a man with a giant bird growing out of his neck.  Yeah.

7.  Space Worm from "Cosmic Love" #2-  Cactus Joe and the Butterfly Mob are relaxing in space when a giant Space Worm shows up and tries to eat their ship, the Smile King.  One of my best Splash Pages to date.

6.  The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Issue 19 Page 15- Wait for it...

5.  Ramming Speed! from "SDF: The Great Mud Village Downhill Derby Car Race"-  It's the Great Race, and El Gorio is cheating, using dirty tricks to eliminate the competition.  Sped decides he's had enough and goes all Kamikaze.  It's a funny gag in a funny book.

4.  Dr. Dendull Possesses a Girl from "Death Moth" #1-  I have drawn some really, really messed up stuff in my time, but Nothing compares to this moment from DM 1 where Dr. Dendull... "wears" a woman's body as his own.  Seriously, seriously wrong.

3.  The Brothers Reunited from "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #11-  Occasionally, there are some truly emotional moments floating around in my comics, and this is one of the best.  After years apart, Cactus Joe is finally reunited with his brother, Broken Tea Cup.  It's a touching, yet funny, moment.

2.  Any Time Pengy Penguin Dances.  Because it makes me happy and reminds me why I love comics.

1.  Omnichronus Revealed from "Clown & Penguin" #2-  This jaw dropping double page spread not only features the first full appearance of Omnichronus, Judge of Worlds, in all his technicolor glory, it is also a moment where I get to fulfill a lifelong fantasy, bringing a Galactusesque being into my comix world.  Also, probably the best Art Piece I've done to date.

So, there you go.  That's my Top 14.  Does anyone out there have a Favorite TORC Press Moment they wanna share?

Skull Mob 2-5 (Then & Now)

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 2.  Page 5.  www.torcpress.com

Pretty much everything you need to know about this page is on the NOTES section of the Page Entry on the main site.  So, instead, let's do a TORC Press: Then & Now in celebration of my 14 Year Anniversary.  Why Not?

THEN:  TORC Press was based out of my Parent's basement.  Which was a mess.

NOW:  TORC Press is based out of the studio in my house.  Which is a mess.

THEN:  The Comics were Black & White, and only a few of the early covers were in color.

NOW:  The Comics are all in color, and I'm currently experimenting on different methods of coloring.

THEN:  Cactus Joe was a bad ass, tough guy loner who was a chainsaw-wielding, revenge-seeking psyochopath.

NOW:  Cactus Joe is a more laid back, cosmically enlightened space being with a really, really big cosmic hammer.

THEN:  Pengy Penguin was just a throw away joke character in a back up strip in a comic that I ultimately didn't like.

NOW:  Pengy Penguin is an integral element to the Clown's stories.

THEN:  I would give copies of my comics away to my friends and family.

NOW:  I give copies of the comics to my friends and family, and usually they remember to give me some scratch.  I go to Comic Book Conventions and sell some books here and there.  Once or twice a year someone orders a comic online.

THEN:  I stayed up until 1 to 3 am early single night working on comics.

NOW:  I'm so fast nowadays that I'm in bed by 10, unless I wanna watch the Daily Show.

THEN:  No website.

NOW:  I've got a website, three regularly updating webcomics, a Tumblr, a Deviant Art thingie, a Blog, and a corporate Facebook page.

THEN:  My comics were made on a copy machine at a copy place that was a 2 hour drive away.

NOW:  My comics are made on a copy machine in my house.

THEN:  I loved making comics.

NOW:  I love making comics.

HFSAC 19-10

Today's Webcomic:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 19.  Page 10.  www.torcpress.com

This is one of those hanging on a moment pages, where the next page is the key one.  Still, I always like the Butterfly Bullet.  It's funny to draw.

Today marks TORC Press's 14 Year Anniversary.  I have nothing special or specific planned, but if you order stuff from my online store, I'll probably through in some cool extra stuff.  I'll Rant more about my Anniversary later tonight.