News, News, and News

In case any of you don't know already (and most of you do by now) I got engaged over the Holiday weekend to my girlfriend of almost two years now, Meilani Sitin-Butts.  Needless to say, I am a happy dude, and I'm a looking forward to the wedding, which will be sometime in 2016.

Also, as a graduation gift for my gal, I got a personal Facebook.  So, yeah, you should be able to look me up on Facebook now and friend me and all of that nonsense.  It is worth mentioning though, that I only got the Facebook so Mei and other members of my family can tag me in stuff.  I have no plans of doing anything on Facebook at all.  The TORC Press "corporate" Facebook is still up and running as well, so for brief news and announcements, I would suggest continuing to head there.

All of SDF #9 has been added to the Patreon site at www.patreon.com/torcpress.

Lastly, I've decided to give myself the rest of the week off in order to fully enjoy the holidays.  So, no new comics or nothing.  I hope to hit the ground running next year.  I've got a ton of ideas for TORC Press next year, but I need to accept that I don't have all the time in the world to implement them.  Sometimes you've gotta chill.

Bad Rapture Concluding Pages

The Final Two Pages of Bad Rapture:

And that's how Bad Rapture Ends.  I will freely admit, I don't like this ending at all.  I've been sitting on this ending for two or three years now, dreading the moment when this lengthy series would be completed and I would have to end the book the way I've ended the book, but here it is, the trigger pulled, the game over.  Boolah wrote an ending that was nicer and more optimistic, but it wasn't... it wasn't the right ending.  This is the right ending, for good or ill. 

And on that downer note, I am taking Christmas week off, so nothing new will go up here or on the Patreon site at www.patreon.com/torcpress.  I recently added the other chapters of Bad Rapture as well as Pulp Horrorshow v. 4 to the online store at http://www.torcpress.com/store/ so feel free to check that out.  We will pick up with the Bad Rapture Epilogues hopefully on Monday, December 29th.  If not it'll be the next week.  Whatevs.

Happy Holidays to one and all!  Later.

New Stuff in Store & New Comix

Here's the Page of Bad Rapture Omega that was supposed to go up today:

This is page 22 of Bad Rapture Omega.  Pages 23 and 24 go up tomorrow, which will bring an end to Bad Rapture (not counting the Epilogues).  I believe this is the longest continual story I've ever created.  I'd like to take a moment to Thank my Co-Writer, Scott "Boolah" Bayler for al of his incredible work on this massive crossover.  I tossed the poor guy into the deep end of the pool, and I really feel like he came through with flying colors, even when I was running around changing things and moving stuff around (like I did on this page...sorry dude).

In other news, I have added a bunch of comics to the Online Store at http://www.torcpress.com/store/

There's Pulp Horrorshow vol. 4 Special which is packed with 3 new stories.  It's $2.00 plus a $1.50 S&H.

Also new in the Online Store is Skull Mob #5, which is the 3rd Chapter in the Bad Rapture Saga.  Its' 24 Pages in Full Color for $4.00 plus $1.50 S&H.

And then we've also got SDF #9, which is the 4th Chapter in Bad Rapture.  It's also 24 pages for $4.00 plus $1.50 S&H.

I've also added some new stuff to the Patreon site at www.patreon.com/torcpress.  Subscribing for a buck a month will get you all sorts of exclusive content.





Anyway, other than that, I'm taking Christmas week off from Online Stuff.  So no new stuff next week.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 21

Well, I dropped the ball yesterday.  So, here's yesterday's webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 21.

My internet is running slow today, so I don't have much time to ramble about this page, which is unfortunate, because all I wanna do is Rant about this page.  Instead I'll settle for this:

Suck it, Vertionce!  You go to Hell, and you Die!

Bad Rapture Omega Page 20

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 20.

We're just about at the finish line.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 18-19

First first off, all of us here at TORC Press would like to congratulate longtime TORC Press friend Clint Bassinger on his recent wedding to longtime sweetheart Lindsey Whittle.  Congrats, and I hope you have a great honeymoon and a lovely marriage.

Secondly Second off, there's a new page of "Clown & Penguin" 0 up for subscribers on the Patreon at www.patreon.com/torcpress where we finally find out what happened to Kikki Fortune.  Hint:  It's not pretty.

Thirdly Third off, my goal for the week is to finish up Bad Rapture Omega so I can take Christmas week off.  So, without further ado...

Today's Webcomix:

Bad Rapture Omega Pages 18-19.

This is actually two pages which form a double page spread.  So, BOOM!  Two pages down on a Monday no less.

Boolah and I both had the same idea for this page, except when I designed it, I had it set up in a flat, horizontal way, so that the Dawnchilde was on the Left, Octopus Jones was in the middle, and the Vertionce was on the far Right (that sounds kinda political, but that wasn't what I was going for).  Boolah thought it would be more appropriate to have this set up, where the Dawnchilde is in the center of the page, drawing everyone's attention, since his birth is kind of the whole point of the whole crossover.  I eventually conceded that he was right, although I did move the Dawnchilde over a little so that his face won't get lost in the staples when I assemble the Print Edition.  It's so weird that I gotta actually think about Logistics every now and then.  I hate Logistics.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 17

Over on the Patreon I finally finished this week's page of Hot Fudge Pulp, which features poor Mister Halloween having a full-blown existential crisis in the void of space.  For only $1 you can subscribe to me on Patreon and read Hot Fudge Pulp as well as other exclusive comics.  It's pretty cool.  That's www.patreon.com/torcpress

In additional addition, there's one last day to score completely original TORC Press pen n' ink artwork on eBay.  You can either get This Cover or This One.  Bid now while the bidding is good.

Today's webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 17.

This page is pretty much all Boolah, so of course it's loaded with all sorts of Cool Ideas that I didn't think of, like the Mystery Man using his Absolute Control power to get Cheryl to finally Push the baby out.  Or the Giant Beam of Light erupting from the Earth's surface.  Y'know, cool stuff.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 16

First off, if you want to score some original TORC Press artwork, I did a couple of original Sketch Covers for the Comic Quest Creator's Alliance that are now available for bidding on eBay.  If you're interested you can find them at:  HERE and HERE.  Note:  The shop set the prices on the sketch covers, not me.  Also, there's apparently only about 2 days left to bid on em, so get em while the getting is good.  Both covers feature early previews of some upcoming costume redesigns as well, so that's pretty cool.

Anyway, today's webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 16.

Excerpts from a Script Conference:

Boolah:  So, what does the Vertionce look like without his helmet on, anyway?

Joseph:  I ain't really decided yet.  I'm thinking maybe, because he's so consumed with self-righteous fury, that maybe his Head and his Eyes are on fire.  What do you think he should look like?

Boolah:  I dunno.  He's an angel, right?  So maybe he's just really handsome.

Joseph:  Maybe.  I dunno.  I think I'm gonna go with the fire thing.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 15

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 15.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FINALLY!

BOOOOOOOOM!

Suck it, Vertionce.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 14

Over on the Patreon is a new page of my "Lost" comic, "SDF: Cyclopean", which features me drawing Old One Eye's face with possibly the creepiest expression I've ever drawn on anyone's face, ever.  Not sure if that's a selling point.  Anyway, that's www.patreon.com/torcpress.

Today's webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 14.

One thing I like about the "Uninked Pencils" approach that I use for the Vertionce on this page, is that it really seems to capture the Vertionce's anger and desperation better than traditional inks would.  I think the charcoalyness also makes the Vertionce look creepy and imposing in Panel 2, despite the terribly awkward pose I put him in.

Other than that, even without his sword, the Vertionce is still extremely deadly.  On this page he's attempting to use his Angel Bullets attack, which, if you'll recall, was what killed Darlene Munroe in HFSAC 23 and Sally Mander in Skull Mob 5.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 15

I'm still playing catch up from the holiday weekend (plus last week at work was a beast), so this week's Patreon exclusive page of Hot Fudge Pulp is gonna be a day or two late.  In the meantime,  a new page of "Clown & Penguin" #0 is up, as it appears the Clown's dire situation becomes more-so.  Check it out at www.patreon.com/torcpress.

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 13.

It should come as no surprise that the Vertionce's crotch is armor plated as well.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 12

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 12.

Right.  What makes this page awesome is the sheer ridiculousness of it.  If you put it in context, over the course of Bad Rapture we've seen the Vertionce's Sword, Enmarkos, kill numerous people, shatter a forcefield being held together by 4 Powerful Psychics, shatter the Clown's Cosmic Hammer, and break Death Moth's seemingly unbreakable Shield.  And yet, in this scene, the Mystery Man blocks a shot from the Sword using a worn out baseball bat he got from some kid 8 hours ago.  How?  Why?  The Answer is simple, it's Comix, Baby!

Also, now that Giant frickin' Sword has been tossed away, I don't gotta draw it no more.  Wooooooo!

Bad Rapture Omega Page 11

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega.

Since I've got nothing interesting to say about today's page, I've got some space and time to ramble, so let's ramble.  If, for some reason, there are any aspiring comic artists out there who just happen to be reading this, one of the things they don't really tell you about comics is that, much like animation, you're gonna be drawing the same characters over and over and over and over again.  So, make sure that 1) your character designs aren't too complicated and 2) make sure you enjoy drawing a particular character over and over again.  I say this because I have been drawing the Vertionce for 5 Consecutive Comics, and I really can't stand drawing this guy anymore.  Seriously, I hate this guy.

Also, if you're gonna design a character with a ridiculously Giant Helmet, don't give him a ridiculously giant sword as a weapon because the Logistic Nightmares of it all will haunt you endlessly.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 10

Over on the Patreon at www.patreon.com/torcpress we've started up another new "Lost Comic" for all of our $1+ Subscribers.  "Cosmic Love" finally returns with its 5th and Final Issue.  The story bridges the gap between the events of "Cosmic Love" #4 and The Untold Tales of Clown & Penguin back-up strip in "Clown & Penguin" #1.  Yes, I know how confusing my continuity is.  You should try living in my brain sometime.  Anyway, a new page of Cosmic Love #5 will go up every Wednesday until the book is finally complete.

Meanwhile, back in the here and now, here's today's webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 10.

I'm trying to remember whether it was me or Boolah who came up with idea to break Death Moth's Shield.  I feel like I broached the topic, but I also feel like I remember Boolah asking me what the Shield was made of.  My answer was something like, "Death Moth's Shield is made of a rare 6th Dimensional Metal that looks like Rusted Up Junk but is actually harder than Titanium Alloy."  Or something like that.  Regardless, I figured if the Vertionce's sword could break the Clown's Cosmic Hammer, Mr. Happy, it could probably shatter Death Moth's Shield, which never even got a clever name.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 9

Over on the Patreon, for subscribers, we've got another page of my long Lost Comic, "SDF: Cyclopean", where we check with Pengy Penguin back home, and I spend the whole time wondering why my style was so line-heavy yet so thin back then.  Yeesh, so many lines. 

Here's today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 9.

With the Clown out of commission, all we've got left to defend the Med Tent are Octopus Jones and the Death Moth.  Also, it's really hard to draw someone chopblocking someone else in the knee.  Really hard to draw.  Also, also, note how the Vertionce is drawn SDF style at the top of the page, and Skull Mob style at the bottom.  Part of me worries that these stylistic shifts will be jarring for the reader, and part of me thinks that absolutely no one will notice.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 8

Aaaaand we're back.  I'm feeling a little less overwhelmed and a little more ready to go.  I've got exactly one month to bring Bad Rapture to its Conclusion.  Let's do this thing.

Before we get to today's page of Bad Rapture, though, over on the Patreon site at www.patreon.com/torcpress we've got two new pages up for our Subscribers:

Clown & Penguin #0-  Kikki Fortune, the Clown's one time lover, makes her surprise return.  What is she doing at the life or death struggle between the Clown and Deathbringer?

Hot Fudge Pulp #1-  Mister Halloween makes his escape from Heaven, but what is left for him?

Anyway, you know the drill, if you wanna view these excellent exclusive comics online, just head to the Patreon site at the above address and pledge a buck.  Simple.

In the meantime, here's your free page of Bad Rapture Omega:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 8.

Let's take a moment to really appreciate the significance of this moment, shall we?  Cactus Joe the Clown has been appearing in comics continuously for the last 15 Years.  I have created over 100 comics (at last count, I was on Comic #121), and the Clown has been in most of them, and of the ones that he's been in, he's been in some sort of life or death struggle in virtually all of them.  And yet, despite that, the Clown has only been Defeated in Battle a grand total of FIVE times.  Out of what is quite possibly hundreds of fights over 15 years, the Clown has only really been taken down on five previous occasions.  So this utter, crushing defeat, is, in fact, something of a rarity for our hero, who has otherwise had a pretty good run overall.

Thanksgiving Break

So, the original plan was to keep the webcomics rolling through Thanksgiving week, but, quite frankly, I am too busy and too tired.  Work at the SawMill has been killing me lately, so I'm shutting down operations until Monday of next week so I can rest up and get back to doing what I do the way I do it.

Anyway, a Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

Bad Rapture Omega Page 7

Over on the Patreon, at www.patreon.com/torcpress, our Lost Comic, "SDF: Cyclopean" continues, as the Clown sinks deeper into Old One Eye's trap.

Onward, to today's webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 7.

Not much to say about today's page.  I added the first panel because we didn't actually show what happened to Romiel, and I also thought it would be funny to just show a hole in the ground with her wings sticking up out of it, as if she'd been hammered into the ground.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 6

It's Thanksgiving week, and even with the chaos of the holidays, we're gonna try to keep everything on schedule here at TORC Press.  We'll see how that goes.

Over on the Patreon we've got some pivotal pages for our $1+ Subscribers:

Hot Fudge Pulp:  So, this whole time we've been doing Bad Rapture, the point of it all is that Ortex has taken control of Heaven.  But we haven't really bothered to show Ortex Heaven (outside of that one Splash Page in "SDF" #8).  Well, over in "Hot Fudge Pulp" we get to experience firsthand what happens when a Demonic Corporation makes a Hostile Takeover of the Afterlife.  Hint:  It's not so much fun.

Clown & Penguin #0:  Completely outgunned by the Deathbringer, Cactus Joe the Clown hatches a desperate plan.

Other than that, we wrapped up "Pulp Horrorshow Volume 4" last week, so to replace it we're gonna start posting a Brand New Lost Comic "Cosmic Love" #5.  Anybody remember Cosmic Love, and how it just kinda vanished?  Well, I was halfway through the final issue and never finished it, so now I'm gonna finish it to fill up some holes in the storylines.  New pages will go up on Wednesdays, and will be exclusive to Patreon subscribers.

Speaking of which, you can check me out on Patreon at www.patreon.com/torcpress.

Now for today's webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 6.

Back in "Truth or Consequences 100" (my 100th Comic.  It was a hoot) Octopus Jones demonstrated the ability to grow 4 additional tentacles with which to attack with.  So on this page we see that ability at its apex as OJ uses his 6 Tentacles to pummel Romiel into the ground.  POWPOWPOW!

Bad Rapture Omega Page 5

Before we get started, Pulp Horrorshow vol. 4, which I started LAST YEAR, finally wraps up over on the Patreon site at www.patreon.com/torcpress.  I'll be working up the print edition sometime soon, hopefully.

Today's webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 5.

I had almost forgotten that back in SDF #6, I had established that Octopus Jones's Super Suit is Fireproof.  I remembered and was like, "Boolah!  The Super-Suit is Fireproof!  We can use that!  Raaaaah!"  So Boolah worked this nice sequence into the script where Romiel, who as we all recall, Barbecued Arrowhead II and Alea back in Bad Rapture Alpha, now gets her comeuppance.  Comeuppance is apparently spelled with two Ps.  Who knew?

Bad Rapture Omega Page 4

Over on the Pateron at www.patreon.com/torcpress the Jester Kidd strip from Pulp Horrorshow v. 4 finally wraps up. 

Onward with today's webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 4.

If you haven't read "Truth or Consequences: Amigos" my 24 Hour Comic from last year, then you might not get why the Clown calls Death Moth "Donny", and Death Moth calls Clown "Mick".  If you do have a copy of that comic, I think it's explained within the first couple of pages.  Also, it's cool that the way I drew the Clown Energy Blastin' looks kinda like how Ron Lim drew Energy Blastin' in the old Silver Surfer comics I grew up with.  A little.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 3

Before we get started, over on the Patreon site we have the concluding page of the Big Wulf story from Pulp Horrorshow vol. 4.  Interestingly enough, that same page went up on this blog months ago, but this is a modified, slightly edited version with a different ending.  Anyway, you don't have to be a subscriber to check this one out over at:  www.patreon.com/torcpress.

Here's today's webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 3.

It's Showdown Central time, as the Clown and Death Moth square off with the Vertionce, while Octopus Jones has to deal with Romiel.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 2

Before we get started, over on the Patreon we've added another page to our LOST comic "SDF: Cyclopean", where Cactus Joe and Voodoo Dolly find themselves knee deep in Old One Eye's Trap.  Anyway, www.patreon.com/torcpress

On with Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 2.

I think, in my original Head Draft of Bad Rapture, the Vertionce's sidekick, Romiel (the chick with the Red Ribbon covering her eyes), was supposed to be defeated back in "Skull Mob" 5 along with the rest of the Evil Angels.  When we actually got around to producing Skull Mob 5, though, the issue was already packed to the gills with action, so Romiel got a reprieve.  As such, she's lasted two issues longer than she was supposed to, which actually became a bit of a conundrum when it came to writing this issue.  After much Brainstorming, we decided to have her make a Mad Dash for the Med Tent while the Vertionce duked it out with the Clown and Death Moth.

Bad Rapture Omega Page 1

Okay, I'll freely admit I spent most of last week recovering from 24 Hour Comic Day.  I'm feeling better now, so we're back in business, running on all cylinders and whatnot.  If you're a Patron of my Patreon site at www.patreon.com/torcpress we've got two new exclusive pages up this morning.  In "Clown & Penguin" #0, the Clown's battle with the Deathbringer goes south quickly, while in "Hot Fudge Pulp" we learn what happened to Mr. Halloween after he died.  Again, you can only view these comics online by pledging a measly dollar, so support the cause and all that jazz.

Speaking of supporting the cause, if you donate $5 a month to TORC Press, you get a cool 8 page Black n White comic as well.  This month's comic is the second issue of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Adventure Comix" which has the bestest name of any comic in the history of ever.  Here's the cover:

And Here's the First Page:

The story is about the newly revived Mister Halloween teaming up with a new character, Shiv, as they do battle with an army of Box-Headed Monsters in the Asteroid Field.  It's not available in the online store, and you can only get a copy either by tracking me down at a Con or by subscribing on the Patreon, because I'm trying to make this Patreon thingie work and still give people some great Bang for their buck.

Anyway, without further ado, let us begin the Concluding Chapter of Bad Rapture:

Bad Rapture Omega Page 1.

I thought with Bad Rapture Omega it might be interesting to use a combination of techniques to present the material.  So, the Clown is inked in my faux-Kirby/HFSAC style, Death Moth is inked in my Sloppy Ink style, Octopus Jones and the Med Tent are inked in my Sharpie style, and the rest of the page isn't inked, but is instead taken directly from my Pencils.  I'm not sure if will work or not, but I think it looks neat.

SDF 9-24

Today's Webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 24.

That's wraps up SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4.  The Med Tent is exposed, and all we've got left to protect Cheryl and her baby are Octopus Jones, Death Moth, and a busted up Cactus Joe the Clown.  Also, the Mystery Man is back.  So, maybe there's some hope yet.

We'll be starting Bad Rapture OMEGA, the Conclusion to the Bad Rapture Saga, on Monday.  Be there or be square.

And now, a brief excerpt from a Joe/Boolah script conference, or as I like to call it "Why working with me can be a weird experience":

Boolah:  So, I figure at some point the Chupacabra recovers and Teleports everyone on the Moon back to Earth to join in on the final battle.

Joseph:  Whadaymean?  The only one who's gonna be in the final battle is Cactus Joe.  Everyone else is taken out.  Chupacabra is unconscious, and Tea Cup and PlatOmega are in shut down mode so their bodies can repair themselves.  I mean, PlatOmega has to rebuild his entire lower body!

Boolah:  But you want the Clown in final battle?  How does he get down from the Moon if he doesn't have the Chupacabra to teleport him back?

Joseph:  That's easy!  You just point your hands down and start Energy Blastin' until you're flying like a rocket.  Then once you've escaped the Moon's gravity, you simply aim yourself at Earth and rocket yourself in that direction until Earth's gravity does the job for you.  Eezy Peezy Lemon Squeezy!

IMPORTANT NOTE:  From this conversational excerpt, you should all feel sorry for Boolah for having to wade through my bizarre excuse for logic all the time.  Seriously, I only make sense to me, a sad truth that my Mei has been forced to deal with as well.

SDF9-23

Before we get going, we've been able to play a little bit of catch up on the Patreon site at www.patreon.com/torcpress.  There's a new page of each of our "Lost" comics, "SDF: Cyclopean" featuring the beginning of the battle between the Clown and Old One Eye, and "Clown & Penguin 0" featuring the beginning of the battle between the Clown and Deathbringer.  So, lotta battles there, and they can only be viewed by subscribing a measly dollar on the ole Patreon. 

Anyway, today's Webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 23.

It was Boolah's idea to have the last (or in this case, second to last) page of HFSAC, Skull Mob, and SDF end with the central protagonist swearing vengeance on the Vertionce.  It's a cool idea and serves as a thematic link between the three comics.  Anyway, we've just about wrapped up SDF 9.  Last page is tomorrow.

SDF 9-22

Still having trouble getting the Engine running after 24 Hour Comic Day.  All I got done last night was today's page, so the only new stuff on the Patreon is replays of the Skull Mob Chapter of Bad Rapture.  Hopefully I'm feeling a little more on the ball tonight.

Anyway, today's webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 22.

Heh.  I love this page.  Any page that involves the Vertionce getting punched in the face is a good one to me.  We're in the final stretch, and it looks like only Octopus Jones is left to try to save the day.

SDF 9-21

Before we get started, a few odds and ends to sort out.

There's nothing new on the Patreon this morning.  New stuff on the Patreon will either go up tonight after I get home from the Mill, or tomorrow morning.

Second up, I did complete my 24 Hour Comic.  It's solid and got some cool moments.  It's actually HFSAC 24, so it won't be up for viewing until after Bad Rapture concludes.  My 24 Hour Comic Day Shout Outs go out to:

Comic Quest in Evansville, IN, the Best Darn Comic Shop on the Planet, for hosting the even and giving us a bunch of tables to work with.  You guys are the bestest.

My Co-Writer and Pal Scott Bayler for rolling with me to 24 hour Day and making sure we got home okay.  He wrote and drew the 10 page "SDF #0" comic during that time (which will also be available after Bad Rapture Concludes) and banked some script pages for the Bad Rapture Conclusion.  The dude had a very productive night.

Clint Bassinger and his fiance, Lindsey Whittle.  Clint, as always, was my fellow 24 Hour Warrior, who spent the night working on and completing his new comic "Skull Spy" (the name alone makes me want a copy), while Lindsey not only spent time documenting Clint's work, she also ran errands for everyone all day and was a lot of help.

And lastly, a shout out goes out to the various members of the CQCA that popped by either working for awhile or just offering words of encouragement, including Josh Hicks, Big Bad T, John Sergesketter, the Young Family, Nathan Gerten, and the Straw Man David Branstetter.

Anyway, on with the Comicness:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 21.

We started with... I don't know... a LOT of Heroes, and now we've only got one left.  That's not good.

Oh, side note, nobody's dead on this page.  They're all just unconscious.  Pengy and Tei are Cocooning Up, cause that's what injured members of HFSAC do.

SDF 9-20

Today's Webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 20.

Welp, there goes the Forcefield.  Since I never really bother to explain it in the comic, here's a little Commentary Track Plot Exposition.  You might notice that the entire Forcefield Team is reeling from the impact of the Vertionce's blow.  You might also notice the Red Lightning Bolt thingies I've drawn in.  In my mind, holding up a Forcefield is kind of like holding up a Brick Wall.  You've got to use all your strength and concentration to keep this wall from falling down.  And then someone takes a Mack Truck and smashes into the wall you were trying to hold up.  That's what the poor Forcefield Team have just experienced.  Not fun.

I am doing the 24 Hour Comic Thingie this weekend at Comic Quest in Evansville, IN.  My plan is to update the Twitter every so often with details, so if you follow me on Twitter, make sure to tune in every now and then to see how I am doing.

SDF 9-19

Today's Webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 19.

And so it came to pass that Octopus Jones was forced to abandon Cheryl in her time of need, in order to save her, in her time of need.

SDF 9-18

I'm gonna delay the final pages of Pulp Horrorshow v.4 for a week or two.  Give myself a little time to figure out what I'm doing and wrap the series up properly. 

Today's Webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 18.

Time is running out.  The forcefield is cracking, and we've got so few Geek Heroes left.

Oh!  We're doing 24 Hour Comic Day this weekend at the Best Darn Comic Shop on the Planet, Comic Quest.  No Sleep till Brooklyn, er, I mean COMIX!

SDF 9-17

Today's Webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 17.

When I think of a Forcefield, I always view it as something between a solid and a liquid.  It's solid to resist impact, but at the same time, things like air, light, and sound can pass through.  So when the Vertionce punches the Forcefield on this page, you can see it both crack and ripple.

SDF 9-16

Welp, it's November, the month of crazy big bills and unpredictable weather, but just because this month ain't as much fun as last month, don't mean we're not putting stuff up on the Patreon.   This morning over on www.patreon.com/torcpress we've got a couple of new comic pages up exclusively for subscribers:

Hot Fudge Pulp:  If you ever wondered how Sheriff Halloween died during the Candy Colored War, today's page has your answer.

Clown & Penguin 0:  The Battle between the Clown and Deathbringer begins.

Whatta we got today in Free Comix Land...

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 16.

The only heroes left to defend Cheryl are the Forcefield Team.  That's not good, cause we started out with, like, 30 guys.

SDF 9-15

Over on the Patreon we've got a new page of Pulp Horrorshow vol. 4/Mad Fox:  http://www.patreon.com/creation?hid=1139824

And now for today's webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 15.

TORCTOBER wraps up on something of a sad note as we bid farewell to Killboy, who has now been exploded beyond all hope of being patched up.  Of all the members of the Community Watch Group, Killboy was the one I never really got a good handle on.  He was hard to draw, and there wasn't much to his character beyond the fact that he was rude and loved a good fight.  Still, it's sad to see him go.  Still, still, I think he got a pretty good death, so there's that.

Geeks Left Standing to Protect Cheryl:  Tei Harlequin, Pengy Penguin, Priest Shiki, Scout the Angel, Octopus Jones.  Jeeeeeez, we had a much bigger cast when we started.

SDF 9-14

Today's Webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 14.

I think Boolah and I both knew that when the Puzzelor died (is he dead?  Who knows with the Puzzelor...), he would shatter into a cascade of puzzle pieces.  So we were on the same page from the get-go on that one.

Things are looking pretty bad for our heroes.  We've really got virtually nobody left.  Wait!  There's still hope!  The charred and roasted body of Killboy is still alive somehow!  Surely he can save the day!

SDF 9-13

Today's Webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 13.

This page was all Boolah's Design/Idea.  It's pretty darn cool.  I think Boolah's thumbnail version had more puzzle pieces and the Puzzelor did a lot more cool flips and stuff, but all the extra pieces didn't fit on the page so great, so I added the two bits where the Puzzelor dodges Fireballs Mario-style.  Boolah's version also had Puzzelor executing a Shoulder Tackle on Romiel in Puzzle Piece 2, but I went with a Jump Kick because I couldn't really figure out the logistics on how to draw a person who always has his hands in his pockets shoulder tackling someone.  The point I'm trying to make is that Boolah designed a really cool page. 

SDF 9-12

Over on the Patreon at www.patreon.com/torcpress we've been uploading some of our "Lost" comics from times past.  "SDF: Cyclopean" is an issue of the original run of SDF that was completed but never made it into print cause I'm a weirdo.  I've been posting it on the Patreon as a bonus for anyone pledging a buck or more.  It's weird for me to reread the book, because I haven't done "Street Level" in awhile.  It's also been a long time since Pengy Penguin was completely powerless, so rereading a story where he is just feels weird to me.

Anyway, here's today's webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 12.

So, Spookshow is already dead, so you can't really call this his Death Scene.  But he is a Ghost, and he just got Exorcised/Banished to Purgatory Forever and Ever, so that's close enough.  Regardless, another Geek Hero is gone, and hope continues to dwindle.

Bummer, man.

SDF 9-11

As TORCTOBER winds down, we've got some new stuff over in the Patreon site at:  www.patreon.com/torcpress.

A new page of "Hot Fudge Pulp" is up, featuring a Flashback to the Final Battle at Ortex Tower where the Original Skull Mob fell.  Dark times!

A new page of "Clown & Penguin" 0 is also up, featuring a confrontation between a weakened Clown and the Lord of the Ortex Corporation, the Deathbringer.

And don't forget, pledging $5 a month on Patreon is essentially like getting a subscription to my new, 8 page B&W series, "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Adventure Comix".  So there's that.

And now for today's completely free webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 11.

You had to know given Killboy's aggressive attitude and big mouth that sooner or later something like this was gonna happen to him, right?  Still, ouch.

More TORCTOBER Fun!

It's been a good couple of days.  I mean, work at the Sawmill was a Beast this week, but, y'know, that's how it goes.  Anyway, some cool stuff has happened, so I'm feeling pretty cool.  And it's a good time to feel cool, cause it's TORCTOBER, the coolest month of the Year!

In honor of TORCTOBER and the 15 Year Anniversary of TORC Press, I've started up a brand new series called "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Adventure Comix".  That's the name of the book.  Take a moment.  Really enjoy that title.

That's a darn fine title.

Anyway, HFSACAC is a quick little 8 page Black & White Book, but it's got a color cover.  Speaking of which, here's the aforementioned cover:

Pretty neat, right?  And because I'm in a good mood tonight, here's the first page:

The book features completely redesigned/re-envisioned versions of Jester Kidd (who debuted last year in Pulp Horrorshow volume 4) and the Cosmic Fool (who we haven't seen since... jeez, the Cosmic Norseman crossover I did with Clint?  Wow, that's been awhile).  They fight a monster.  It's totally cool.

Anyway, this book ain't gonna be available in the Online Store, which ain't that big a deal cause only two guys use that stupid thing anyway.  Instead, there's three ways you can score this Short Little Bad Boy:

1) If you've been a Long Time Supporter of TORC Press, and I've got your Address, then I've already sent you out a free copy.  I appreciate all the support I've gotten over the years, and this is just a little Thank you.

2) I'll have copies for Sale for at least the next few Conventions I'm at.  So I'll have some at Comic Quest's Halloweenfest tomorrow for sure.

3) Although this issue is part of the TORCTOBER Celebration, it's also the start of the $5 Reward on Patreon.  So, if you're not a long-time supporter of TORC Press, or you're not gonna see me on the Convention Circuit, you can still get this comic mailed straight to you by Pledging a Lincoln (my state's hero) to the TORC Press Cause.  Future issues of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Adventure Comix" will only be available either on the Con Circuit or by pledging $5 or more on Patreon, so there's that.  November's Issue #2 features Mister Halloween (whose origin we're currently detailing on the Patreon) and the debut of a brand new character.

SDF 9-10

First off, I'll be at the Best Darn Comic Shop on the Planet, Comic Quest in Evansville, IN, tomorrow, selling my comics and doing my thing and hangin' with the CQCA Crew.  I'm not sure how long I'll be there, but I'll definitely be there from 10am until 2pm, so if you're in the area stop by and say Hi and maybe pick up a book or two.  Why not?

Second off, there's a brand new "Mad Fox" page of Pulp Horrorshow up over on the Patreon (we're up to 2 Patrons!  Wooooo!!!).  Check out Mad Fox's team showing off their Mad Skills at:  http://www.patreon.com/creation?hid=1118552.

Third off, here's today's webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 10.

In the midst of all the fighting and carnage and death, I feel it's important that we check in with the Med Tent every so often, because to me, the story of Bad Rapture is really the story of Octopus Jones (aka Jonar Lloz) and Cheryl.  Even if they haven't gotten a lotta screen time.  (Hey, a guy can only have so many panels of Doc Brummer yelling PUSH!)  Anyway, despite all they've been through, this is the first time that these two have openly admitted their feelings for each other.  Better late than never I always say.

SDF 9-9

Today's Webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 9.

With this page, you've got the first instance of someone attacking the forcefield, to so-so effect.  Not sure how strong my storytelling is on this one.  Anyway, the main thing I like about this page is that Killboy finally has his Moment in the Sun.  Killboy's actually been around for several years now, but he's never really had that MOMENT, which kinda sucks, because I try to give every character at least one little moment where they just own it, y'know?  So this is Killboy's Moment, where he actually lives up to his name and splits an Angel in half.  Yay for him.

SDF 9-8

Today's Webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 8.

This was a crazy page to draw.  Boolah came up with that crazy tree jump bit on Panel 3, which I am a big fan of (my favorite bit is from the Thumbnails where Boolah wrote "ENVIRONMENT!" by the tree).  I changed the angle a little so there wasn't any confusion as to why Beauty's energy blast didn't blow up the tree.

The other tricky part about this page was the bottom row of Panels.  This, again, was a killer sequence, but it was kinda tricky.  The move the Puzzelor pulls off in this sequence is called a Hurricanrana (more popularly known as the Frankenstiener back in the 80s), which is one of my all time favorite Pro Wrestling moves, but is really, really hard to portray in comic book form.  I think it works though.  The third panel is also a little dicey (which is totally my bad) because Beauty is mostly Yellow and Killboy's Claws are Yellow, so they kinda blend into each other.  I like to keep my palette kinda simple and straight-forward, so that happens to me from time to time (Bro used to notice that when I first started using Color on my covers I always had at least one character whose body was the same color as the background, causing them to vanish).

SDF 9-7

In case you missed it yesterday, Issue 23 of The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club is Available for Sale in the Online Store at http://www.torcpress.com/store/.  It's a cool book and buying a copy is a great way to celebrate TORCTOBER!  Ugh, that was cheezy.

Anyway, here's today's webcomic:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 7.

Again, today's very cool page layout is courtesy of Boolah.  The trickiest part of working with a character like Hunter is that she has no visible face, making it difficult to show that she's been knocked loopy by the Vertionce's headbutt.  Still, looking at it this morning, I think the page works out okay.  In Boolah's notes he kept mentioning having the Vertionce looking like he was either trying to strangle or asphyxiate Hunter, but, again, without an actual Mouth or Neck that was a difficult thing to accomplish.  I think I kinda pulled off the desired effect though.  I think.

The moral of the story is that my bizarre sense of character design can bite me in the butt sometimes.

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #23 Now Available!

It's TORCTOBER, so why not put out a new comic, right?  "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #23 is now available for Sale in the Online Store at http://www.torcpress.com/store/.  It's a book I'm really happy with, and is a great piece of the overarching Bad Rapture puzzle.

Here's the Cover:

The story has already been posted for Free here online on the Blog, but buying a copy is a great way to show your support for TORC Press, and you get a great comic to add to your collection, so it's a win-win. 

Anyway, the story involves the Clown, Tea Cup, PlatOmega, the Chupacabra, and the Mystery Man facing off with the evil Vertionce on the Moon.  It's pretty much nonstop action.  The book is 24 pages for $4 plus $1.50 S&H.  You can pick it up in the Online Store, which I've Linked to above.

Thanks!

SDF 9-6

First off, thanks to everyone that came out and supported TORC Press at Shocktobercon!  We had a good show, and as always, we appreciate people coming out and giving us a shot.  Thanks!

TORCTOBER continues this weekend at the Best Darn Comic Shop on the Planet, Comic Quest, in Evansville, IN for their annual Halloweenfest Event.  Come out to the shop, meet some cool comic creators, and, um, do other stuff.  I'm not really sure what all they have planned.

Over on the Patreon site at www.patreon.com/torcpress we've got a couple of new comic pages for Patreon subscribers:

Hot Fudge Pulp Page 7:  I do one of those increasingly rare for me, Brian Michael Bendis style pages where everyone sits around a conference table and yammers at each other.  It's actually a Flashback to the last days of the Original Skull Mob, shortly before the Infamous Battle of Ortex Tower.  Besides featuring old school Halloween M@n, there's cameos by the original El Exclamation Point!, King Dark, Cosmico Rex (who only had a couple of appearances before he died), Johm Smythe (who only appeared in, like, 2 stories, I think), and Akuma Boy just before he turned traitor.  It's a cool page from a historical viewpoint, although it's really just a buncha people sitting around talking.

Clown & Penguin Zer0 Page 8:  Now that I have the introductory pages out of the way, this comic is actually my 24 Hour Comic from a few years ago that I never published.  It's basically Cactus Joe the Clown vs. the Deathbringer.

Anyway, on to today's page:

SDF 9/Bad Rapture 4/Page 6.

Jeez, where to start.

First off, I wanna remind everyone that I have a writing partner on this series, Scott "Boolah" Bayler.  Not only has been taking my incoherent ramblings and turning out some really cool scripts with them, but he's also been doing the Thumbnails/Layouts for all the comics.  So that cool panel in the middle is all Boolah.  I think my only contribution is the various poses the Puzzelor ends up in.

Also, it's interesting that Boolah remembered that Killboy can stretch his arms out like that in Panel 4.  I forgot he had that ability. 

Other than that, any time I can draw someone Jump Kicking someone else, I am a happy man.