Skull Mob 4-8

Skull Mob.  Issue 4.  Page 8.

Here we have the first of three Flashback Pages chronicling some of the history between the Hawksmoth brothers.  Is it sad that I spent almost a half hour last night trying to find a copy of one my older comics so I could figure out whether I spelled it "Hawksmoth" or Hawkesmoth"?  Eventually I gave up and just went with "Hawksmoth".  I'm pretty sure none of my readership is that picky when it comes to continuity.

Skull Mob 4-7

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 4.  Page 7.

Huh, it appears there's not a lotta brotherly love between the Death Moth and Doom Eagle. 

HFSAC 22-2

Today's Webcomic:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 22.  Page 2.

I draw Kirby crackle kinda weird.  The way I do it makes it look kinda like a lava lamp type of thing.

HFSAC 22-1

Today's Webcomic:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 22.  Page 1.

And so we're off and running with a new, exciting issue of the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Omni-Clown is doing his Death Ray Eyebeam thing, and we're all having a good time.

Oh, while we're at it, the Print Edition of HFSAC 21 is ready to go.  I don't have the cover image web-ready yet, and since it is early, and I'm brain dead, I'll save it for tomorrow.  Regardless, you can score the book from me any time you want.

Skull Mob 4-6

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 4.  Page 6.

Death Moth and Octopus Jones at this point have a little bit of history together.  They first met, albeit briefly in "SDF" #5 when the Death Moth just shows up in the Community and helps the Community Watch Group in their battle with the Clinic's Dr. Strangler.  Death Moth and OJ didn't get a lot of time to socialize during that issue (they were too busy fighting horrible monster, of course), and, in fact, Octopus Jones never even found out the Death Moth's name.  They were officially introduced to each other in "Truth or Consequences 100".  Presumably, they had some time to hang out and talk and socialize during the "Bowling Segment".  Most recently, the two hung out together playing Asteroid Mini-golf in "Truth or Consequences: Amigos", which is also where they developed their nicknames for each other (Death Moth is "Don" and OJ is "Goof".  If you want an explanation for that nonsense, order a copy of the book.  It's really cool.  E-mail me at cactusfnjoe@hotmail.com with "I wanna buy stuff" in the subject line, and I'll send you an invoice).  So, that's why OJ and DM know each other.

Waitaminute...

Death Moth and Doom Eagle are brothers!?! Whaaaaa?

Skull Mob 4-5

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 4.  Page 5.

I've really grown to love these Wild Brawl Splash Pages.  If done right you can convey a lot of information in what is, essentially, a single panel.  If you look closely, you can see Death Moth kill 3 Ortex Soldiers simultaneously.  That's cool.

HFSAC 21-16

Today's Webcomic:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 21.  Page 16.

Sometimes, you get an image in your head, and it has to stay there for a very long time until it finally gets to leap out of your head and enter the outer world.  Such is the case with today's page, where the idea for "Omni-Clown" has been brewing in my brain almost from the moment I conceived of the new version of The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club last year.  I love this page, it's totally Silver Age. 

Anyway, that wraps up Issue 21 of HFSAC (whew!  Thought this issue would never end).  We'll be picking right up with Issue 22 next Monday, and we'll have the Print Edition of #21 ready to go by then as well.  This freight train is a rollin', baby!

HFSAC 21-15

Today's Webcomic:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 21.  Page 15.

This page finally gives us the payoff to that one page scene with Omnichronus a few pages back.  One of the concepts that I really wanted to work with when I created this version of HFSAC was, "What if you worked for a truly benevolent god-like being?"  A lot of times, when you see "Gods" in comics (or other types of fiction) they can be fickle or downright nasty.  I mean, how many times in the Jack Kirby run on "Thor" alone does Thor get punished by Odin for some minor offense or misunderstanding?  Odin punishing Thor is the entire premise of the first "Thor" movie for cryin' out loud.  We always hear about the Wrath of God or the Wrath of the Gods, and mythology is rife with the gods punishing their servants just as readily as their enemies.  When the Silver Surfer decides that us humans are just a little too noble to get wiped out by Galactus's hunger, Galactus responds by marooning the poor guy on our planet (Ironically, in the Surfer's eyes we suddenly went from being Noble to Insane Apes... dear God, that Surfer solo series was some whiny crap).  One of the reasons for the crisis of faith that has plagued me for the last five years or so comes from the fact that I can't reconcile the concept of a God that is supposed to be my "friend" who simultaneously subjects his followers to a virtual calvacade of trials, tribulations, and full on beatdowns with the promise of a "perfect afterlife" being the reward at the end.  It just seems bogus when you get right down to it.  I mean, I don't go around kicking my friends in the balls and then go, "Hey, don't worry about it, I'll buy you some ice cream three years from now."

So, I wanted to create the concept of a benevolent god-like being in Omnichronus.  A creature that was mysterious and remote and removed, BUT at the same time treated his followers well and looked after and cared for them.  Hence, the Golden Butterfly.

Skull Mob 4-4

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 4.  Page 4.


After yesterday's heaping helping of death, suddenly we have Doom Eagle and Octopus Jones from SDF literally smashing their way through this issue of Skull Mob with a squad of Ortex Soldiers hot on their tails.  What is going on here?

Skull Mob 4-3

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 4.  Page 3.

Welp, that's it for Flame and Renee K-9.  Death was always going to be a big part of the concept of the Skull Mob.  In fact, most of the characters in the book are, technically, already dead, or have died before.  From the onset I had the idea that these Soldiers were Expendable, and anyone (except Death Moth) could die at any time.  Having said that, I'm sad to see Renee K-9 die in such a sudden and grisly fashion.  She's a character that's been in my head for a long time, slowly changing and evolving, and just like that she's gone.  It's unfortunate.  But, much like the Death Moth's reaction, there's no time to mourn the dead, we've still got work to do.  The horrible, surgically enhanced, Nightmare Monsters won't give anyone time to weep.

HFSAC 21-14

Today's webcomic:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 21.  Page 14.

It is just too cold.

HFSAC 21-13

Today's Webcomic:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 21.  Page 13.

Ouch!  Our HFSAC Heroes take a pretty hard hit on this page at the business end of the Vertionce's Giant Angelic Sword of Doom.  Also, this was one of the easiest pages to color that I've done to date.  I use Colored Inks for most of the regular colors, and Acrylics for the "Special Effects".  So this page has about a pound of yellow acrylic on it.

My Birthday Bash

It's my Birthday.  As I celebrate 36 years of not dying, I had some time yesterday to get some work done.  So let's get to the BLITZ!

Today's Webcomic: 

After an extended break, Pulp Horrorshow, Volume 4, Issue 1 returns with Page 14.

We also put the finishing touches on two new comics yesterday:

First off, we finally finished off our 24 Hour Comic from last year, "Truth or Consequences: Amigos!"  It's a 24 page Black & White Comic for $2.00 plus $1.50 S&H.  I had a bit of a debate as to whether I wanted to leave it in Black and White or Colorize it, but I thought in the spirit of 24 Hour Comic Day, I would leave it B&W.  Anyway, if you've never heard of it before, a 24 Hour Comic is where you Write and Draw a 24 Page Comic Book in 24 Consecutive Hours.  Although I typically take a 2 Hour Nap somewhere in there.  Anyway, anyway, "Truth or Consequences: Amigos!" features Cactus Joe, Pengy Penguin, Death Moth, and Octopus Jones going Mini-Golfing in the Asteroid Belt, and then crazy stuff happens.  It's a weird, wild trip featuring my favorite characters from the Current TORC Press Era.  I can't recommend this book highly enough.  It's a lot of fun.

Next up:

SDF #7 is now available as well.  It's 16 Pages in Full Color for $3.50 plus $1.50 S&H.  It features Octopus Jones and Doom Eagle being dragged off to Venus to have a "Playdate" with SOL the Sunbearer.  Then Raiders attack, bringing a Stone God with them.  It's a cool little issue.

Again, my Online Store is a little bit jacked up right now, so if you are interested in ordering these comics off of me, (and hey, while we're at it, Skull Mob #3 is also available right now) just drop me a line at cactusfnjoe@hotmail.com with "Me Want Buy Stuff" in the Subject Line.  Let me know what you want to order, and I'll send an Invoice.  If you buy in bulk I can save you a little on shipping this way.

Incidentally, this brings the TORC Press Comic count up to 112.  Neato.

Skull Mob 4-2

Today's Webcomic:

Skull Mob.  Issue 4.  Page 2.

I kinda screwed up the storytelling on this page.  By placing the Death Moth's head in the corner in the extreme foreground like I did, it kinda looks like the other members of the Skull Mob are attacking him while his back is turned.  It's an awkward panel.  Other than that, I hope it's obvious that the guy with the exposed brain for a head is a living bomb that explodes in the final panel.  If it wasn't obvious, I have now pointed it out, thus clearing up any storytelling confusion I might have created.  Ta-Da!

Skull Mob 4-1/Skull Mob 3 "Available"

Today's webcomic:

Skull Mob (finally returns).  Issue 4.  Page 1.

Another issue of Skull Mob, another raid on a Clinic Stronghold.  I hope our Horrifying Heroes can hold their own against the terrifying undead menaces that Dr. Dendull has sewn together with his Nightmare Surgery.

Oh, and there's this:

Skull Mob #3 is available for sale...Kind of.  I recently had an overhaul of the Main Site at www.torcpress.com, and, unfortunately, I have no idea how to operate the new site.  Which means I have no idea how to add this comic to the Online Store.  The good news is that experience tells me that I'm not gonna get too many orders in for this.  There's only a small handful of people that order comics from me online, and they usually only make Bulk Orders once or twice a year.  But, if for some reason you want to order a copy of Skull Mob #3 right now (and considering it features the debut of Platageddon, I wouldn't blame you), you can simply contact me via e-mail at: cactusfnjoe@hotmail.com and put "Me Want Buy Stuff" in the Subject Line, and I will send you a Paypal Invoice for the above issue.  Simple as pie.

HFSAC 21-12

Today's Webcomic:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 21.  Page 12.

Ugh.  I hate Bad Guy pages.  I keep telling myself they're necessary, but in our current media society all we ever do anymore is root for the bad guy.  It's frickin' boring anymore.  Anyway, I wonder what Romiel is talking about in Panel 3?  What's a Dawnchilde?

HFSAC 21-11

Today's Webcomic:

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  Issue 21.  Page 11.

What I like about this page is that our team of heroes/borderline space gods are in the midst of this knock-down drag-out fight with this absolute neverending swarm of corrupt robo-angels, and yet they've still got time for conversation and an incredibly corny joke and a good laugh to boot.  Also, we see that Tea Cup still has the old Extendo-Arm trick (which I didn't even know he could do), as well as the time honored and dreaded Sonic Clap.  Also, PlatOmega's Ionic Arm Blaster gets a little more screen time than before.  When I originally conceived of the character, PlatOmega was just gonna be a close combat fighter, but apparently circumstances have forced him to evolve somewhat.