TORCWorld PRIME

Since it's Seven Worlds Week, and I'm only doing this Monday through Friday, I figure I'll need to double up on a couple of days.  So, this evening, we have TORCWorld Prime, also known as the Central TORCverse.  This is the original universe I've built over the last 16 Years.  Currently, the Flagship of this Universe is Cactus Joe the Clown, Pengy Penguin, and the legendary Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club.  In addition, there's the perpetually in-over-his-head Octopus Jones, the brutal beast known as the Death Moth, and Prometheon the Firebringer (and we might see these guys in a later theme week.  Maybe).  SOL and aliceislost used to belong to the Central TORCverse, but... well, we'll talk about that later in Seven Worlds Week.  Anyway, the three pages we've got here I've already posted before.  I was briefly working on a Trade Paperback idea that was a little too big, and it was getting in my way, so I dropped it.  After that, I worked up a Streamlined version of HFSAC that I sent out as a Submission to a handful of Comic Book Publishers.  It's been well over a month, so I'm gonna assume my little Submission has been met with rejection.  Anyway, in that time, I've missed HFSAC, and I didn't really like my Streamlined Version (I reserve the right to change my position if a publisher picks me up (Insert Laughter Here)).  So, I thought I would pick up with the story I had left off on with the failed TPB idea, and turn that into HFSAC #7.  I'm not gonna be on a set schedule with this (in fact, as crazy as my life is right now, it could be months before HFSAC 7 sees completion), but I hope to put out a new page or two every so often.  Anyway, here's The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #7 Pages 1-3:

So, here's why I love the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club so much, and why I missed being in this world so much.  And there's a lot of different reasons.  For starters, it gives me a Soapbox to stand on to preach my little messages.  Because the story is about a War between Community-Minded Individualists and a Massive Neo-Fascist Military-Industrial Complex Theocracy.  So I get to let my Lefty Flag fly without just bludgeoning people over the head with it (too much).  Which is good, because I think Art should have a perspective and a message.  I may not agree with Steve Ditko's Randian Philosophy, but I RESPECT the fact that Ditko had the Guts to present his message in his artwork, and attempt to present it in an entertaining and thought provoking manner.  That's supposed to be the point, otherwise, it's all just Shapes and Forms, really.

I also love the comic because it's an Epic, and I loooove Epics.  I love Star Wars.  I love the Lord of the Rings.  I love Jack Kirby's Fourth World.  I love the Infinity Gauntlet.  I love all of that stuff.  And HFSAC is EPIC.  I mean, check out that double page spread up there.  That's some Epic Biz, right?  So far we've had Epic Battles between Massive Armies.  We've had Epic Space Battles.  And we've had Epic Giant Monster Battles.  So, yeah, it's Epic.  Way Epic.  Heck, we even revealed the Secret Origin of the Universe Itself! 

One of the things I hated about the Steamlined version of HFSAC I worked up was that the cast was intentionally very small, to make it easier for new readers to pick up.  Well screw that!  I love the fact that HFSAC has a Huuuuuuuuge Cast.  I mean it is ridiculous!  The HFSAC group has... geez... 21 Space Gods in it?  That's insane!  What is wrong with me?  And then you throw in all the Ortex Bad Guys, and the Crimson Empire, and the Omni-Army, and Tsao & GEAR, and Zarathon, and the Mercenary Union!  It's so complicated!  And I love that!  All those epics I mentioned earlier have massive casts full of characters, and I love creating characters, and HFSAC gives me a massive tapestry to just keep creating all sorts of amazing and bizarre characters.  So I love that.

But what I really love, is that for all that bigness, the book is also really intimate.  Because at the end of the day, this story is the continuation of the friendship between Cactus Joe the Clown and Pengy Penguin, and this bizarre family they have built around themselves.  This is about the Clown's Courageous Bumbling.  This is about Pengy Penguin's Heart.  It's about Taco Parties and Penguin Dancing.  It's about Friendship.  And it's Pure Comics Joy, and I love that.