Bad Rapture Alpha Page 10

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 10.  First half of a Double Page Spread.

Not a lot to say about today's page, outside of this being the heart and soul of a "Pajama Party" comic, the double page spread featuring all of the assembled characters. 

Well, I guess I got two notes...

There are a trio of kids on the upper left.  One is the kid that gave the Mystery Man a Baseball Bat, the second is Coby (who we talked about yesterday), and the third is Tommy Hawk, a kid with Wings who wants to be a Geek Hero when he grows up.  Tommy has made a couple of cameos in earlier issues of SDF.  These kids won't be involved in anything, they just wanted to peek in on the big gathering, cause that's what kids do.

I think I got the term "Pajama Party" from Kurt Busiek, when he was referring to other Crossovers/Events.  I think he meant the term in a derogatory way, sorta like you have all of these characters in colorful costumes and all they do is stand around and most of them don't really contribute.  But I like the term.  Pajama Parties are fun.  So, from here on, anytime I do a crossover book, and I've got a page where characters from different books are all hanging out on the same page, that is now a "Pajama Party" page.

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 9

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 9.

The Pajama Party continues.  On the top panel in the right hand corner we've got PlatOmega, Tei Harlequin, and Electric Cherry from HFSAC, as well as the Chupacabra and Puzzelor from SDF.  The two dancing guys in Panel 2 are Los Super Hip Bros from HFSAC, while the Monk in the Japanese Mask is Priest Shiki, the resident priest of the Community (he has a brief cameo in SDF 3).  The kid in Panel 2 with the Black Hair and Black Eyes is Coby Cane, who is the son of Candy Cane and Zombie Chick.  Candy Cane & Zombie Chick were both members of the original Skull Mob and died fighting Ortex during the Candy Colored War.  There is a small group of orphans living in the Community, and Coby is sort of their leader.  Coby is a big fan of Geek Heroes, so having all of these Heroes show up on his doorstep is a pretty good day for him.  The guy with the big red hair in Panel 4 is Killboy from SDF. 

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 8

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 8.

And so begins the Pajama Party portion of our crossover, as various characters from throughout the TORCverse are being drawn together for some as yet unrevealed purpose.

If you're new, the characters on the Bottom Page from Left to Right are:  Doc Brummer, Spookshow (from SDF), SOL (who last appeared in SDF, and is not "physically" at the scene, instead he is present in his Fire Soul form), Chery, Octopus Jones, Doom Eagle (from SDF), Death Moth (from Skull Mob), Cactus Joe the Clown & Pengy Penguin (from The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club), and Tea Cup (also from HFSAC).

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 7

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 7.

And so we do a little backtracking to the last pages of HFSAC 22, Skull Mob 4, and (some page around the middle of) SDF 8, as we see the Man in the Moon and the 3 Angels pulling together the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club, the Skull Mob, and the Community Watch Group.

And yes, I love this page because it was easy.  There was a time I would have tried to redraw all of these panels.  Now I am old and tired, so I just Cut and Pasted.  Huzzah!

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 6

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 6.

Well, we now know that the Man on the Moon is also the guy in the green hoodie from HFSAC 22, Skull Mob 4, and SDF 8.  Other than that, I really like Panel One.  It's a very Kirby Panel.

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 5

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 5.

You might recognize the three Female Angels on this page.  The little girl appeared on the last page of HFSAC 22, the Old Crone in the robe appeared on the last page of Skull Mob 4, and the Adult Lady in the business suit appeared on page 6 of SDF 8.  They are Good Angels, not the Bad Angels we're used to seeing.

I'm doing a lot of experiments with this comic.  One thing I'm trying out is Digital Lettering, which, given the Chicken Scratchiness of my Lettering, is probably long overdue.

Other than that, check out Panel 4.  That panel is awesome!  I just bumbled into that by accident.

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 4

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 4.

Bad Rapture as a comic has been gestating in my brain for close to 2 years now.  The concept came to me not long after I started the current version of "SDF".  Despite this, my co-writer Boolah has contributed a lot to the comic.  For starters, the original title was actually "Rage of Angels".  I kicked that title to the curb when I realized that title was originally the title of a Glory/Angela crossover from the 90s.  Whoops, I did an accidental Liefeld swipe.  Boolah came up with the title "Bad Rapture", which I liked almost immediately, so that's what we ended up calling the gig. 

All the stuff on the Moon is Boolah as well.  I never really put much thought into the Moon, but it makes sense that if Ortex already controls all of Earth (except for one tiny, magical forest), that they would want to expand outward (which is what Corporations do, they consume and grow.  That's all that they do!).  And it makes sense that in the pursuit of eventually colonizing (or more accurately, industrializing) the Moon, that Ortex would plant Pop-Up Turret Guns on the Moon's surface to deal with any potential Alien (or Clown) Outsiders.

It's all perfectly logical if you think about it.

Anyway, I like this stuff on the Moon, and we'll end up back on the Moon later, so there's that.

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 3

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 3.

Not much to say about today's page.  We have a man hanging out on the moon.  Happens all the time.

I will say this though, when I save my Bad Rapture Alpha pages on the computer, I use the initials, so they end up being saved as "BRA".  Ha!

Bad Rapture Alpha Page 2

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture Alpha Page Two.

About 3 years ago I was working the excellent MCBA Springcon in St. Paul, MN (a show that, regrettably, I haven't been to for a couple of years now, partially due to other engagements cropping up, and partially due to the fact that the show is a heckuva long drive).  I was sharing a table with a fella I just met, the excellent John Hoban (check him out HERE), and we hit it off pretty good.  So we talked about this and that and whatnot, and somehow we got on the subject of inking.  And he mentioned that he doesn't use traditional inks.  Instead he simply scans his pencils into the computer and darkens everything up in Photoshop.  My response was, of course, "You can do that?  Caveman confused!  Me use fire to cook Pterydactyl meat!"Anyway, I filed the information away for later and moved on with my life.

Flash forward to the present.  Lately I've been hearing the brilliant Tom Scioli talk a lot about Digitally Inking his Pencils.  I'm not sure if it's the same technique or not, but the idea intrigued me.  With Bad Rapture Alpha I was trying to decide what Art Style to use on the book, and I thought maybe now would be a good time to do a little experimentation.  So, for this book, I'm doing extra dark pencils, scanning them without Inking them, and then adjusting the Levels (thanks for the tip Bailey!) in Photoshop.  I'm also trying some new techniques with the Color as well.  I'm not sure how well any of this will work, but Old Boy says ya gotta try, right?  After all, Stagnation Equals Death.

Bad Rapture: Alpha Page 1

Today's Webcomic:

Bad Rapture: Alpha Page 1.

Since there's not a lot to say about today's page, let's talk a little about the nuts and bolts of Bad Rapture: Alpha.  Bad Rapture: Alpha is a 25 page comic that will run Monday through Friday for the next few weeks, obviously on a Page-a-Day output. 

The book came together like this.  I had the basic plot in my head for quite awhile now.  I told Scott "Boolah" Bayler about it in a bar several months ago.  He came up with his own version of the plot.  We then set down in a sorta-Greek restaurant and mapped out the basic per-page rhythm and the overall plot points.  He sent me a Script.  I dug the Script, but decided it needed two or three minor details added.  He added them and sent me the revised script.  I gave the revised Script the big ole thumbs up, and we were off to the races.

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 17

Today's Webcomic:

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 17.

Yeesh this page is colorful.  This is like the absolute antithesis of all of those muddily colored books that blanket the store shelves.  Anyway, the main little comment I have is that you will notice that you can kinda see what Heaven looks like in the background (such as it is).  The "Streets of Gold" have been shattered and broken, and Ortex has replaced the Gleeming Spires and Towers with Smoke-belching Factories.  Heaven has become nothing more than another Cog in Ortex's Military/Industrial Complex.  Woof.

Anyway, this page concludes the Bad Rapture Prologue.  I'll be taking the rest of the week off to rest and chase my own tail.  Next week, "Bad Rapture: Alpha" starts, and will run much SDF #8 has, which is to say, one new page a day, Monday through Friday.  Bad Rapture Alpha is around 24 pages, so it will run a little longer than SDF #8 did. 

The Calm Before the Storm is over.  The Storm of Angels begins on Monday.

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 16

Today's Webcomic:

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 16.

I will freely admit, I used some Cut & Paste to assemble today's page.  I'm not proud of it, but it was a huge time saver, so there's that.

The Female Angel in Panel 5 is Romiel, who is the Vertionce's sidekick.  You might remember her from The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #20-22.  She sorta served as the Vertionce's voice of reason.  The Golden Angel is Beauty, who fought against Cactus Joe the Clown waaaaaaaay back in "Truth or Consequences "Monthly"" #3-4.  The Angel with the Giant Head is The Cryer.  His only previous appearance was in human form in a comic I never published, so this is the first time we're seeing this guy.

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 15

Today's Webcomic:

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 15

One of the things I haven't mentioned yet is that besides doing the script for this issue, Boolah also did all of the Layouts/Thumbnails for the issue as well.  So, little stuff like the Polaroid on that one page, and tilted panel on this page were courtesy of him.  Pretty cool stuff.

And, again, I would not wanna have to work for Xipe Topec.

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 14

Today's Webcomic:

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 14.

We haven't seen Killboy and Spookshow in awhile, have we?  I do know that several issues back (SDF #2 maybe?  I'd look it up but I'm typing this in my pajamas at 5am, and I just don't have the drive) I had Killboy mention that he had special "benefactors".  Welp, turns out that those Benefactors are in fact, Xipe Topec and the Vermin Angels.  The same guys who control the (second) Skull Mob.  Speaking of Skull Mob, it's now pretty clear how Spookshow survived the Candy Colored War as well.  The Vermin Angels must have scooped him up out of the Void and made him work as their operative on Earth.

Two things I screwed up on this page:  1) The perspective is wonky.  Part of that can be blamed on the bizarre physics of the Outer Abyssal Rim/Negative Energy Dimension, but part of is was just that I screwed up because Perspective isn't my strong suit.  I shoulda made the head on the yellow guy in the foreground bigger.  That would have sold it better.  Also, because Spookshow has Transluscent Skin, I should have drawn a vague image of the other side of the chain wrapped around his mid-section.  So, my bad.

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 13

Today's (heh-heh) Webcomic:

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Page 13.

Sometimes simplicity is bliss.

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 12

Today's Webcomic (on time this time):

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 12.

Okay, here we go...

Darlene Munroe (the lady in the first panel, just so we're clear), first appeared in Pulp Horrorshow vol. 1 #...it was somewhere in the 4-6 arc.  She was a (honest) New York Detective with a nose for the supernatural who was brought in by the (corrupt Ortex controlled) Locke City Police Department specifically to track down the "criminal" known as the Clown.  She made a couple of one page appearances back in the olde Xerox Comix days, and that was it.

Flash forward to the debut of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club".  The original group consisted of Cactus Joe the Clown, Pengy Penguin, Los Super Hip Bros, El Exclamation Point!, and a mysterious female character in an iron mask named Agent "?".  In HFSAC 7, Agent "?" shed her mask (and everything else for that matter) for the first time when she and the Clown had a brief fling while floating helplessly in the abyss.  In HFSAC 8 we discover that Agent ? is actually Detective Darlene Munroe, and we learn her whole history, including how she is also a Waterbearer Agent, a secret organization of peacekeepers who patrol our solar system.  Agent ? is kicked out of the Waterbearers, gets a new set of Liquid Metal Armor, and becomes Agent D.  Although originally I thought she was gonna be the Clown's Love Interest, something weird happened and somehow she fell in love with El Exclamation Point! instead.  This drove a bit of a wedge into HFSAC, creating tension between the Clown and the new Agent D/EEP! Power Couple, and generally led to the breakup of the original version of HFSAC.

El Exclamation Point!, Agent D, and just about every geek hero I had created formed a super-Super Group called The Skull Mob (the original version, the one that appears in the current comics is the second version).  The purpose of the Skull Mob was to wipe out all of the Evils plaguing TORCverse Earth.  Unfortunately, the Skull Mob launched a full-on assault on the Ortex Corporation and were completely wiped out.  El Exclamation Point! was killed, and Agent D was the only survivor (well, kinda, King Dark survived by hiding a small portion of his Darkness Body inside a corpse, Spookshow survived cause he was already a ghost, and the Puzzelor survived because... honestly I don't know.  The Puzzelor is a mystery to me).  Obviously, Darlene Munroe did not escape unscathed.  She lost an arm (why do my characters always lose their Left Arm?  What's up with that?), and has a scar over her left eye.  She ultimately hid in the Community, disguising herself as "Mr. Mystery" (an intentional Gender Misnomer).

Occasionally when Darlene needed to help people, she would disguise herself as El Exclamation Point!, both as an homage to her dead lover, and also as a way to keep the spirit of the old Skull Mob alive.  If you read SDF #4 or 5 (can't remember which), then you will she her appear as El Exclamation Point! and save the children of the Community.

So, that's her story.

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 11

Today's Webcomic was Uberlate due to technical difficulties beyond my control.  But we're rolling now:

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 11.


If you've been reading SDF, you should recognize the Puzzelor, but you might not remember the mysterious "Mr. Mystery".  If you'll go back and review "SDF" #2, there is a brief scene where Doc Brummer visits an enigmatic person who is all wrapped up in bandages.  After Doc Brummer leaves, the Puzzelor appears in Mr. Mystery's workshop, and they have a brief "conversation".  Obviously, these two know each other... but how?

I'm not sure if there's any significance to the playing cards on the table.  Boolah's script specifically said "8 of Spades, Ace of Diamonds, and Queen of Hearts."  Not sure why.

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 10

Today's Webcomic:

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 10.

Again, I had forgotten that I mentioned the idea for these pages to Boolah, so when I got the script I was delighted to find this ridiculous and hilarious sequence.  The Polaroid photo is a nice touch, and completely Boolah's idea.

Heh.  GOOOOOAT!

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 8

Today's Webcomic:

SDF #8/Bad Rapture Prologue Page 9.

Heh.  Where to even start on this one.

I forgot about this two page sequence.  I think I mentioned it to Boolah once and then promptly forgot about it.  So I was actually surprised when I read the script and this sequence was in there.  I really love this page though.  It's so odd.  I can't wait for an issue where we actually get to see that Red Octopus Thing in action.  That'll be fun.  Anyway, in Panel 2, the guy on the left is Boolah, who is inexplicably embarrassed by this page.  I think this page is awesome myself.