TORC Press News

Early Convention Schedule

2012-01-24T14:23:00.000-08:00

Aaaaahhhhhh....

I'm starting to feel it again, baby. After I wrapped up the 24 Challenge, it was like all the air went right out of me. The Convention Season was over, the Challenge was over, and all I had left was my misery from the last year, welling up from inside and choking me out like a jobber in a UFC match. I limped through December, and with the first month of the New (and possibly Last...bumbubum...)Year already half empty, I have been in a funk of a funk. But getting out on the road and hitting Murfreesboro and talking to people and selling some books has started to get the gears a turnin'. The blood a pumpin'. To steal a line from Duran Duran, I'm Hungry Like the Wolf.

Right now I am slowly regaining momentum on "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #16. I am also working on a brand new video for The Dr. Orphyus Project for the song "Zach" off of the killer album "Death Jazz" (http://www.thedrorphyusproject.com/). In the meantime, I've got some irons in the fire on some other stuff I can't talk about yet, and I'm trying to get my taxes done as early as possible. One of the other things I'm a doin' is trying to shore up my 2012 Convention Schedule. So, here we go:

March 10-11: Metropolis Comicon- Metropolis, IL-- I'm finally gonna get to work a show in the Home of Superman! Nice! After taking a break for my Birthday Month, it will nice to work a show that's only a three hour drive away in my home state.

April 21-22: SPACE- Columbus, OH-- My favorite show of the year. I love SPACE, and always feel it is a criminally underrated show.

May 5: Free Comic Book Day- Comic Quest in Evansville, IN-- I always enjoy this mini-convention hosted by the excellent Comic Quest over in E-ville. The group I'm in, the Comic Quest Creator's Alliance, is making plans to go all out this year. Should be fun.

May 19-20: MCBA SpringCon- St. Paul, MN-- It's a long drive (my longest of the year), but a nice show nonetheless. Also, free steak!

June 30: Derby City Comicon- Louisville, KY-- A quick three hour drive and a one day show means that I don't gotta pay for a hotel room. Snazzy!

I already figure July is dead for me. Moving on...

August 9-12: Wizard World Chicago- Rosemont, IL-- I haven't paid for this show yet, but I probably will before the end of February. Technically, this is my biggest show of the year.

Nothing in September so far.

October 6-7: Nashville Comic and Horrorfest- Nashville, TN-- I haven't paid for this one either, but it's pretty much a no brainer. I've been going to this show for years, and I always do nicely at it. Plus, I get to hang out with my cousins.

Unless I find something for November, that's probably where my Calender year will end. That puts me at 8 shows this year (counting Murfreesboro). I might add a couple more to the mix later (I'm still waiting to hear back from one show...). If anyone out there is reading this blog and would like TORC Press to appear at a Convention or Event, please feel free to contact me about it.

Murfreesboro this Weekend

2012-01-18T03:11:00.000-08:00

The Convention Season starts early for me this year, as I will be at the Murfreesboro Anime and Comicon this Saturday and Sunday, January 21-22, 2012, in Murfreesboro, TN at the Clarion Inn. Details can be found at http://www.comiccitytn.com/Nashville_Comic_Con.html. Since a lot of the books in the 24 Comix Challenge didn't even come out until After Con Season Wrapped Up last year, this will be my first opportunity to hype a bunch of my killer diller new books, like the two issues of "Super Duper Fun Comix" or the latest issues of "The Clown & Tea Cup Show". So there's that. Anyway, if you're a fan, and you're in the area, stop by and say hi.

NOMAC

2012-01-12T19:26:00.000-08:00

It was pretty much a given that DC would be canceling titles eventually with their whole "New 52" campaign. It was also pretty much a given that "OMAC" would be one of the titles to get the axe. The skuttlebutt was that despite the fact that everyone that read OMAC loved OMAC, there was only, like, six or seven of us reading the book. It was apparently the worst selling of the new books. The other books are a bit of a mixed bag. "Men of War", "Blackhawks", and "Hawk & Dove" were all fairly obvious. Men of War lacked any real background, at least in title anyway, and War comics haven't sold effectively since...the 50s. Blackhawks had the disadvantage of being too obscure for its own good, coupled with being a book about (yawn) planes. As for Hawk & Dove, well, they were never that popular to begin with, and Rob Liefeld's just not the draw he used to be (despite a sudden, almost inexplicable resurgence of presumably nostalgia fueled popularity). On the other hand, I'm a little shocked about the cancellation of "Mister Terrific" and "Static Shock". Both books featured minority characters (which, I think was part of the whole New 52 initiative), both of which were fairly visible (Static Shock had his own cartoon for awhile, as well as being the most noteworthy of the Milestone characters, while Mister Terrific has something of a cult popularity, plus he was prominently featured in a handful of episodes of "Justice League Unlimited). I heard mixed reviews about both books, but there seemed to be a number of people that were fans of both comics. Guess there weren't enough of them.

As for OMAC's cancellation, there were several factors that probably contributed to it:

1) OMAC was probably Kirby's most obscure creation. The character doesn't have a lot of name brand value. I think there were 9 issues of the original series, a one shot in the 80s, that terrible post-Infinite Crisis series (which didn't last long either), some brief appearances in "52" and "Final Crisis" and this new series. So, yeah, not very visible.

2) OMAC was always too wild for the general populace. Even this new series, which was only about 25% as crazy as the original, was still too crazy for public consumption.

3) OMAC was totally different than the comics that are popular today. Namely, there was action and stuff happened and it was all exciting. Which is nothing like everything else being published today where everyone stands around and talks and stuff.

4) Lastly, I loved the comic, which is a guaranteed way to kill a book.

What annoys me about OMAC getting the ax is that there are so many other DC books that are just so bland and horrible and boring, like "Nightwing", that it's almost a crime to kill off OMAC.

Oh well. On the bright side, "Frankenstien", "Animal Man", and "Swamp Thing" are still around, so there's no reason to abandon DC in a fit of juvenile rage just yet.

Still, not happy about this.

Production Updates Because I've Got Nothing Better to Yammer About

2012-01-09T03:08:00.000-08:00

Welp, right now I am trying to slog through the remaining books of Era 3. I'm currently focusing on "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #17, and I'm about halfway through that one. I've got a start on "Cosmic Love" #5, but I'm suspending work on that until HFSAC 17 is done. After I get HFSAC 17 done, I'm gonna start the script for HFSAC 18.

In the meantime, I've got to rig up a new video for the Dr. Orphyus Project. I've got the basics figured out, just a matter of getting my ideas in gear and doing the heavy lifting.

Huh. Not much of a blog entry here.

A Frickin' Ton of Comic Book Reviews

2012-01-08T05:22:00.000-08:00

Bought a ton of comics. Let's do a bunch of really vague reviews. Here we go:

Kirby Genesis: Captain Victory #1- Dynamite Comics- Sterling Gates, Wagner Reis- So, this was a mistake. This comic is a frickin' low water mark for comics. Just bad. The artwork is so bad. So bad. I can't even really critically appraise this comic because the art is so dull and poor and boring and bad that I can't even... and the story tries to flesh out the Good Captain's backstory, but it's all kinda stupid and lame and oh man this comic sucks. Dynamite should be ashamed of themselves.

Defenders #2-Marvel- Matt Fraction, Terry Dodson- Why? Why do I keep wasting my time on Matt Fraction? Just because everyone else thinks he's the Second Coming doesn't actually mean he is. Anyway, the Defenders go up against a Z-Grade group of villains, look like chumps, the Surfer stills has ears and looks like a useless wussy, and everyone blathers incessantly. I'm done. For real this time. Done with Fraction. Done with this comic. Done. I'm not buying Issue 3, damnit. Really, I mean it this time. Sigh.

Vengeance #1-2- Marvel- Joe Casey, Nick Dragotta- Y'know. I have no idea what to make of this comic, and I kinda like it. There's, like, a billion things going on in this book, and I have no idea what any of it means or where any of it's going. And I kinda wanna read the rest of the series just to see if it actually comes together or not. The art is serviceable. Oh, and it's got the Inbetweener, who was in one of my all-time favorite Silver Surfer stories. Back when the Surfer didn't have ears and actually did cool stuff. Ah, the good old days. Which has nothing to do with "Vengeance", just thought I'd mention it.

The Cape #3- IDW- Jason Ciaramella, Zach Howard- Soooo, I picked this one up because some folks online recommended it up pretty good in some year end lists. .... It's not a bad comic. The art is great. Very nice. But, I mean, it's kinda slight. There's some flashbacks and one thing happens. Now, don't get me wrong, that One Thing that happens was Super Crazy Cool. But, I mean, there were a Ton of Super Crazy Cool stuff in most of the books I dug this month. This is comics, baby. The game is to stuff these babies. That sentence probably won't sound good out of context.

Haunt #19-20- Image- Joe Casey, Nathan Fox- Huh. More Joe Casey. When did I become a fan? Anyway, let us begin. WOWZERS!!!!! I've never read any of the previous issues of this series, I know very little about. And I don't care. These two issues were killer. Nathan Fox is another artist to come out of what I'm calling the "Paul Pope School", which is a big old thumbs up in my book. The art is wild and kinetic and beautiful. The only downside is that you occasionally gotta squint to follow the art, but it's a small price to pay. Anyway, um, this is great crazy wonderful comics wonderfullness. I am really surprised by this.

iZombie #21- DC/Vertigo- Chris Roberson, J. Bone- We've got a guest artist this issue, and there's some neat little revelations. I'm still trying to decide how much longer I wanna stick with this comic. It's nice. Really nice. But I'm starting to get a rather ridiculous stack of comics going on. I need to make some cuts, and I'm trying to decide whether this comic is kicking it enough to stay with. Another issue or two, at least.

BPRD: Hell on Earth: Russia #4- Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Tyler Crook- Wow. I love this series. There is just some bad ass stuff in this issue. Fitchie, if you happen to be reading this blog, you are gonna love this story arc when it gets collected. Trust me.

Red Lanterns #5-DC- Peter Milligan, Ed Benes- Sigh. Speaking of possible cuts. This one has been on the fence for awhile, and I think I'm gonna have to drop it. The story just isn't really moving quick enough. It's not a bad series, but it's never really risen to match the promise of that first issue. I feel kinda bad about dropping it.

Stormwatch #5- DC- Paul Cornell, Miguel Sepulveda- This comic just never seems to stop getting better. There's just a ton of wild and crazy in every issue, and you never really know what's gonna happen next or where any of it is going. I like that. Unfortunately, Paul Cornell's leaving the book after Issue 6, and I can't imagine anyone following his run.

Batman #4- DC- Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo- Speaking of nice comics that are nice, but I'm a little on the fence on because I'm buying too many comics and even I can only keep track of/afford so much, Batman is nice. The writing's quite good and Greg Capullo's art is excellent. But the next issue is going to have to be full tilt, or I may be out.

Justice League Dark #4- DC- Peter Milligan, Mikel Janin- One of the reasons I don't mind dropping "Red Lanterns" quite so much is because I can read JLD and get my dose of Peter Milligan madness. I really dig the sheer insanity and chaos of this comic. Also, the art is really pretty.

Batwoman #4- DC- J.H. Williams III- Best looking comic out there. Always worth reading for that alone. Story's not bad, either.

Action Comics #5- DC- Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert- A new version of Superman's origin and some full on craziness at the end. Intriguing.

Swamp Thing #5- DC- Scott Snyder, Yanick Paquette- I really dig this comic. Beautiful horror monster stuff. Also, I like the parallels with "Animal Man". Speaking of which...

Animal Man #5- DC- Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman- Things just keep getting worse for the Baker family, but on the bright side, no one's dead yet. The Rot has proven to be one of the most exciting and brilliant concepts to emerge in Comics in awhile. I am perpetually floored by how unexpectedly good this comic is.

Wonder Woman #4- Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang- Speaking of being floored by an unexpectedly good book, Wonder Woman never ceases to amaze me. Great art, great story, Wonder Woman is exciting as a solo character, which I've never seen before. I love the mythology stuff. Great comic.

Batman Inc.: Leviathan Strikes #1- Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham, Cameron Stewart- The puzzle pieces start to fall into place, and we get some trademark Morrison craziness. It's nice to have this comic back.

Frankenstien: Agent of SHADE #4- Jeff Lemire, Alberto Ponticelli- Holy Crap! This is just non-stop comics goodness. This and OMAC make comics worth reading. Speaking of which...

OMAC #5- DC- Kieth Giffen, Jeff Lemire (that guy again? He's everywhere!), Dan (Does he actually contribute?) Didio- Ladies and Gentlemen, my favorite regular comic being published monthly right now. This month, OMAC fights Frankenstien. This makes me happy. Very, insanely, hideously happy. Stuff blows up. Buildings are torn apart. They throw cars and trucks at each other. AND we get a little plot advancement and some hints at the bigger picture (New Gods! They're totally hinting at the New Gods! I'm freaking out! Aaaaahhh!). Fun, dumb, crazy, bizarre, and awesome. And the art is killer. Best comic out there. Period. Which may explain why it's the worst selling comic at DC right now. Sigh.

TORC Press Plans for 2012

2012-01-03T14:20:00.000-08:00

Welp, it's a New Year (thank God), so it's time to start concocting a plan of attack for the newly born year. Here's a quick look at what I'll be doing, without giving away too much or announcing anything before I'm 100% sure that's what I'm gonna do.

1) Wrap Up TORC Press Era 3: Era 3 has been the shortest but most prolific era in TORC Press History. It's also been fairly chaotic and full of false starts. Sales have been all over the board, and despite my best efforts, my flagship book, "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club", has failed to gain or sustain a visible or vocal readership (although I would like to say that those of you that have supported HFSAC since it began back in 2009, Thank You Very Much. I sincerely appreciate the support you've shown the book. Now if only there were more of you). Sales aside, I feel like I've said what I need to say with this Era. So I'm wrapping things up and moving on to Era 4. In order to finish Era 3, I need to complete Issues 16-17 of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" and Issues 5-7 of "Cosmic Love". Issue 7 of "Cosmic Love" will serve as the "Bridge" between Eras 3 and 4.

2) Lock Things Down to Two Semi-Regular Books and a Webcomic: Okay, this one may be a bit premature, considering I have thought and rethought this over and over and over again. Basically, as of right now, I want to do two, Print, Adults Only Comic Books on a Semi-to Bi-Monthly basis. One will be in Super Psychedelic Hi-Fi Mind Blowing Color, and the Other will be in Brutal, Ugly, Dark as Dark, Black & White. To complement the two books, I'll be doing a new General Audiences/More or Less All Ages Webcomic that will HOPEFULLY serve as a catch all for all of my other ideas and PREVENT me from trying to start up a new book every month. The Plan will be to eventually do a Print version of the webcomic that will contain strips that were Online as well as Completely Original Material that wasn't on the webcomic. Sort of a best of both worlds type of thing. I won't be talking about any of the aforementioned books until they are ready to launch, although I will say that I intend to try to launch the New Webcomic on my Birthday, which is February 9th.

3) No Holds Barred: You might have noticed that I mentioned that the two above books are gonna be Adults Only. Not "Mature Readers" or whatever. Basically, I just want the freedom to do whatever I want, Audience be Damned (no offense to my audience, of course). If I wanna get freaky deaky then I can get as freaky as I wanna get. I'm tired of reigning myself in. This is Underground Comix, damnit! R. Crumb never worried about content restrictions. Why should I?

4) Era 4 is Gonna Be Weeee-iiiirrddd: Um. I do odd well. I do odd better than I do normal. "The Clown and Tea Cup Show" was one of my best sellers this year, and that series is super weird. So, I'm just gonna rip the knob off the dial and see how far down the old Rabbit Hole I can go this year. Let's get just super bizarre.

5) Having said that, I'm gonna wear my Old Fashioned Comix Love on my Sleeve: So, now that I've got you thinking that I'm gonna create a bunch of William S. Burroughs inspired Porn, let me take a moment to say that this year will still be about Superheroes. Or at least my variety of oddball superheroes anyway. My comix are about the Battle Between Good and Evil, and I stand on the side of the Angels, even in the darkest of times. I love Hero Costumes and Superpowers and Punching and Explosions and Crossovers (although I'm tired of the Big Epic variety we get all the time nowadays...) and all that crazy stuff. Just because I'm gonna get odd this year doesn't mean I'm abandoning my Kirby roots. Oh no.

Other than that, I've got some interesting strategies this year that I'm not prepared to talk about quite yet.

Also, I'm already shoring up my Convention Schedule for 2012. I'm currently confirmed for Three Shows, and I plan on adding at least Three to Five Shows before the Year is up. I'm excited, I am.

2011 Year in Review

2011-12-31T06:47:00.000-08:00

This was one of the worst years of my life. Hands down. Just a non-stop stream of crap that never relented. Boo to this year. Let's get this one over with and move on to the next one.

The only things that got me through this year were my Brother and the 24 Comix in a Single Year Challenge. The scene in Monster King #6 where Broken Tea Cup pulls the Clown out of his bottomless depression is loosely based on how Bro pulled me out of similar abysses this year.

So, yeah, not the happiest year this year. But I've got to learn to start focusing a little more on the positive, and since the most positive part of this year was the 24 Comix I produced, let's just round em all up and do a run-down on that stuff, shall we? Oh, and if you think any of these books sound cool at all, head over to www.torcpress.com and buy one or two. Couldn't hurt, right?

1. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #10- The 2nd Part of the "Pyramid" story arc was probably the best part of the whole arc. There's Ner0, my attempt to mishmash Dr.Doom with Iron Man with Caligula. There's the Giant Snakegodmonster. There's a Cosmic Vision that's a part of the whole "Quest for Omnichronus", which is great. There's the return and sudden transformation of Broken Tea Cup, which would prove to be key to the whole year. And there's Cactus Joe with THREE HEADS. Yeah. One of my best.

2. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #11- The Conclusion to the "Pyramid" story arc had some really great stuff in it. There's an excellent fight with a Giant Snakemonstergod. Cactus Joe finds internal harmony amidst his own warring soul (oh, that I could find the same). But the best moment was the reunion of Brothers, a moment I feel encapsulates why I'm more than just some guy doing weird stuff and violence. There's a heart to these comix, amidst all the insanity. The last part of the book is admittedly a little awkward, and is mostly just set up for the future as well as "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" and "Cosmic Love". But ultimately, this issue is really strong and a great wrap up to one of my best story arcs.

3. Monster King #1- Oh, MK1. It's awkward and odd and clumsy and the art is iffy and the colors are iffy and the cover's terrible and there are days where I wish I hadn't bothered to even publish it. BUT, there's some neat stuff here. I like the Crying Tree and the Giant Spider quite a bit. Also, chronologically, this marks the beginning of "The Quest for Omnichronus", which was my story-within-my-stories for the Year. So there's that.

4. Cosmic Love #1- Ah, my Kirby homage. Kinda. This wasn't my strongest issue. I felt like the plot was lacking, and there wasn't enough action. BUT, there's some really cool stuff in here (a running theme). I really feel like, even with the art being my awkward attempt at mimicking Kirby, that the Art in this issue is some of the best art in a TORC Press comic all year. There's some just beautiful stuff in this comic. Also, the "Trip Out" Sequence was one of my favorite moments of the year. This entire series was Painfully Underrated on the Con Circuit.

5. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #12- When I started HFSAC, I Knew I Had to do an "ICE" issue. So that's what this issue was. The Fudgeheads have gotta climb a snow covered mountain in order to prevent Ner0 from getting his hands on another Aetherial Parasite. There's an appearance by El Gorio and Lab Bunny. The art is quite nice. I'm very proud of the art on this issue. It's a good, solid issue. Also, the cover is exactly what I wanted it to be. I wish it had sold a little better on the Con Circuit.

6. The Clown & Tea Cup Show #1- I had a number of "cheats" this year to give me an advantage. Several of the books on this list so far were Produced last year, but were PUBLISHED this year. I know it's a semantics argument, but believe me, when you're trying to do 24 books in a year, BY YOURSELF, you'll take any cheat you can get. Anyway, the point is, TCTC 1 was created mid-way through 2010, but wasn't published until early 2011. This book, quite simply, is what I like to call Pure TORC Press. What I mean by that is that, Only Joseph Morris could have made this book. No one else anywhere else would have (0r could have) made this comic. Besides being Pure TORC Press, the book is also really, really good. Arguably, the third best book I've produced this year. I love everything about this book. And as an added bonus, it was one of the Best Selling Books I had on the Convention Circuit this Year. I don't know why, but people gravitated to this book.

7. Cosmic Love #2- Believe or not, I consider this to be the BEST Book I Produced this Year. I'm the only person that thinks that, but I stand by it. The Cover is Beautiful. The Art is Beautiful. There's the entire history of Kikki Fortune. There's a funny Ping-Pong Match. There's Ultradolphins. There's a Fight with a Giant Space Worm. There's Space Sex. There's more pieces of the Omnichronus Puzzle. There's an Excellent "Trip Out" Sequence. And that's all Crammed into one 24 Page Issue that Somehow Doesn't Feel Cramped. That's how you do Comix Right. The only bad thing about this comic? It didn't sell for Crap on the Convention Circuit. Groan.

8. Monster King #2- Just like MK1, there's so much wrong with this comic that I don't feel like wasting any more time talking about everything that's wrong about it. Here's what's right about it. Mike the Butcher. The Undead Samurai is officially introduced here, and he was one of the best new characters to come out of the TORCverse this year. Also, there's some good fight scenes.

9. Sideshow- Another cheat, this time because the book was only 8 Pages long. I know, I know. Anyway, this comic was a failure. It's not a bad comic, in fact, I like it alot. It's just a failure because I wanted this comic to draw people into the TORCverse. I thought between the short, introductory story and the Coupon on the back, people might want to enter this strange little Universe I've created and...Stay awhile. That didn't happen. Needless to say, it was kind of a bummer.

10. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Lucky #13- Everyone stumbles occasionally (actually, I stumble all the time), but when it's come to HFSAC, I have generally been swinging for the fences with every issue, and most of the time I've hit Home Runs. Not this issue. This issue is a clumsy mess. It's a filler issue (and I HATE Filler Issues). It's all set up with no pay day. AND the Cover SUCKS. This is the only time all year where my Muse led me completely astray. Only recommended for TORC Press or HFSAC Completists.

11. Monster King #3- On the other hand, MK 3 is Pure TORC Press at its BEST. I still personally prefer CL2, but MK3 gave the book a run for its money as my best book of the Year. First off, the Art is great. The Cover is great. The Colors are ultra-hi-fi psychedelic pretty. There's four new characters who are introduced in rapid fire succession. There's a guy with a TV for a head and a psychedelic monster and a talking frog and a Thing with No Flesh. As an added bonus, unlike CL2, MK3 Sold Really, Really Well on the Convention Circuit. If you want to try out TORC Press, this is probably the best issue to introduce you to my Personal Aesthetic.

12. The Clown & Tea Cup Show #2- Another Cheat, this was my 24 Hour Comic Book from Last Year. This is a surprisingly good book, especially when you consider the time frame in which it was assembled. After all of my homages to Kirby, this was my homage to Ditko, with our heroes getting lost in a Dr. Strange-esque Dimension full of Bizarre Monsters and what not. Also, inexplicably, this one sold really well at conventions. For some reason, the whole 24 Hour Thing was Selling Point. Don't ask me how that works.

13. Cosmic Love #3- Not my strongest issue. When I started this issue, I had hopes that it would be a strong follow up to CL2. It wasn't. It was bumbly and fumbly and awkward and the cover didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. BUT, there's some nice stuff here, floating around amidst the awkward. There's an Aztec Psychic Dolphin. There's some hints about CL4. There's Octopo-Man (more on him in CL5 next year). Um, that's about it. Like I said, not my strongest issue.

14. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #14- Ahhh. The return of aliceislost. I mean, okay, she popped up in TCTC1, but this is her first real appearance in quite some time. That alone makes this book quite good, but then there's lots of other great stuff in here too, like the Lost Lands (always fun to draw) and a giant diseased dragon. Good issue, good cover, and a great set up for the stellar Issue 15. Also, the Clown experiences some good old fashioned heartache.

15. SDF: Pulp 2011 Special- Uh. I sometimes wonder if I should have published this issue. It's kind of unnecessary, really. And the art is rushed (intentionally, but still). But, there's still some cool stuff in here. I love the drawing of the Clown and Penguin riding around on a Goofy-looking Cartoon Horse. That almost makes the book worthwhile alone. Plus, there's Dr. Dendull. And a Giant Tree Civilization. Not my best, but not bad.

16. Monster King #4- There's a lot of good things about this issue, but I'll admit, right off the bat, that I should have spread this issue out over two comics. Too much happens too fast, and it sort of sinks the drama of the story. Having said that, I LOVE the first part of the book. "Why are we riding Pigs?" "Why aren't you wearing Pants?" Hahahahaha! I sometimes wonder what my Muse is smoking when she makes me write this crap.

17. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #15- The excellent conclusion to the "alice's Apple" story arc, and, by and large, one of my best from this year. Great cover, great art, great story. There's a Giant Dragon, killer fight scenes, and more Dr. Dendull. The only awkward part is the epilogue at the end, which goes a little longer than it needs to. Other than that, one of my strongest this year.

18. Super Duper Fun Comic 2011 Special- A fun little All Ages Comic I wrote while being stuck in an airport for 8 hours. It's not very deep, but it's cute and silly, and sometimes that's all you need from a book.

19. Cosmic Love #4- Probably the most Important Comic I've Produced this Year, Narrative-wise. I've been waiting to tell this story from the very beginning. And I think I did a pretty good job of it. The last piece of the Clown's origin falls into place.

20. Monster King #5- This issue...there's nothing wrong with this issue. It's an important issue. It's a Key Issue in the overarching Narrative. But it's also a very sad issue, and one that I did not enjoy creating at all. That is all.

21. Super Duper Fun Comix Bowling Special- Conversely, this dumb little comic was a hell of a lot of fun to create. Unapologetically silly and ridiculous, this fun little comic had me dinking around with a different art style, as well. Not Essential, but still a lot of Fun, if you're in to fun.

22. Monster King #6- Things go from Abyssal Darkness and creep back towards the light. The final issue of Monster King left us with one, simple message: Your friends are the people who've got your back when everything else has fallen away. Other than that, solid issue, and a fair enough send off to an uneven series.

23. The Clown & Tea Cup Show #3- My mad last dash for the finish line. And, oh, what a beautiful mad dash it was. This issue is just odd. There's no explanation for anything that happens. There's Strippers turning into Dinosaurs. Why? I don't know. There's another Cosmic Vision, and we get a vague glimpse at Omnichronus. Kinda. There's this whole thing at a Factory, and then the Factory comes Alive. And then there's that quiet little walk through the desert. A really great comixwork. Even if it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and the artwork looks like I was on crack. I was not on crack. Now, whether or not my Muse was on crack at the time, that's her business, not mine. Also, I managed to seed in some glimpses of the Future that I may never actually come back to. To me, every issue of TCTC is what COMIX SHOULD BE. (Not Comics or Comic Books or Webcomics. Comix are an entirely different animal, and they are MINE.)

24. The Clown & Tea Cup Show #4- The last Ace up my sleeve. My last Cheat. My 24 Hour Comic Book for 2011 was the Last Comic of my 24 Comics in a Single Year Challenge. Poetic, right? TCTC 4, as stated before, is COMIX in All Caps. As good as TCTC2 was, I think I like 4 better. It's just so crazy and odd and fun. There's Music (there's so much Music in my Comix, which is weird, 'cause you can't hear anything in comic books). There's fighting. There's more Ditko-esque Dimensional Nonsense. There is my single favorite Page I Drew All Year, and I Drew it at 11:54 at night! Think about it, I Drew the 15th Consecutive Page of a Twenty Four Hour Comic shortly before Midnight, and it was a wonderful piece of ComixArt. In fact, if you want to humor me, head over to http://www.torcpress.com/tctc4prev.html and check out the Second of the Two Pages that Pop Up. "After I Smash Your Face in, I'm gonna Grab Me a TACO!" Ha. Oh, there's also, "We Gladly Go to Hell to Suffer for the Crime of Making Pussy Music." Maybe not the purtiest comic ever, but great Comix nonetheless.

So, let's see. Here's the Head Count:

New High Water Mark for Me as a Creator: 3
Excellent Comix Work: 7
Good, Solid, Enjoyable Comix Work: 9
Um, Not Bad, but not my Best: 4
Crap: 1

All in all, not bad. I mean, Marvel and DC would Kill for those kind of numbers, right? It was probably a bad idea to try to create that many books in a year, but at the same time, some of my all time favorite comix came out this year. I did some really strong work, and really grew and developed creatively, and I managed to cover a lot of ground in terms of my Narrative this year. I didn't finish the Quest for Omnichronus this year, but I did Seed the Narrative throughout a lot of the Comix I produced this year. And I set myself up to wrap up the Quest early (hopefully very early, if I get off my Dead Ass) next year.

So, yeah, good year. If you ignore everything else that happened in my life.

24

2011-12-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

I figure that it's somewhat appropriate that my 24th Comic Published this Year would be my 24 Hour Comic from this year. Yep, ladies and Gentlemen, Impossible Challenge Completed as I bring to you "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #4. It's 24 (there's that number again) Pages in BWG for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H.

Basically, when we re-introduced Broken Tea Cup as the Clown's brother, we established him as a Heavy Metal Musician, but we haven't got around to actually seeing him perform. That's where this issue comes in. Broken Tea Cup has a gig at a Dive Bar, and Cactus Joe, Pengy Penguin, and the rest of the Gang are there, ready to watch the Heavy Metal Viking rock the house. Unfortunately, Luther Dirge, who has developed something of a hatred for BTC after "Monster King" #4, shows up with a bunch of Demons and an Evil Band full of Sell-Outs. Thus, we end up with a raucous Battle of the Bands, which, of course, escalates to a Full Scale Battle. In the meantime, the Clown & Penguin get lost in a strange parallel dimension.

It's a lot of fun, and you can check out a preview over at http://www.torcpress.com/tctc4prev.html.

Now that my Insanely Stupid Labor is Over, it's time to bring an End to the Third Era of TORC Press, and move on to the 4th.

4th, eh? Fourth World?....hmmmmmm....

New Pages of MONSTER KING, Plus MK 6 Now Available!!!!

2011-12-24T07:12:00.000-08:00

"Y'know, after the Day I've Just had, I'm Just Not that Hungry."

Anyway, that's it for MONSTER KING. The last two pages are up for viewing up at http://www.torcpress.com/mk21.html. The issue only clocked in at 22 pages for some reason. I blame poor planning. Anyway, this is the END of Monster King. I'll be leaving the strip up for the rest of the year, and probably into January or February. I'll probably start a new strip sometime in Spring, unless my plans change for the billionth time.

Anyway, anyway, if you've enjoyed Monster King, the entire series is now available for sale in the online store at http://www.torcpress.com/store.html. Yep, the 23rd book I've published this year, Monster King #6 is now available for sale, exactly the same day the book wraps up online. So there's that. It's $5.00 plus $1.50 S&H, it's in full color with a neato cardstock cover. The inside back cover is blank, so if you buy a copy then I'll do a nifty sketch on that. Just let me know what you want.

The final comic of the 24 Comix in a Single Year Challenge, "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #4 will be available on Monday.

Where TCTC 3 Came from

2011-12-23T12:14:00.000-08:00

So, for those of you who don't know, the 22nd book I've published this year, "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #3 is now available. You can head over to www.torcpress.com to score a copy. Here's a bit of a story on how that came about.

So, earlier this year, my Brutha Buzz put out a Killer new "Dr. Orphyus Project" album called "Death Jazz" (Free Plug: If you don'ts got a copy, head to http://www.thedrorphyusproject.com/ and score a copy. I command it!). One of the bestest tracks on this great album is called "Bud & Earl", which is a Project remake of the song "The Tale of Bud & Earl" from Bro's old days with his old band "Fustercluck". It was pretty much a given that I was gonna do a video for the song, so I did. I basically merged some thematic elements from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (both the movie and the book) with elements from me and Bro's life and smashed it all together using my faux-Ralph Steadman art style. The end result was ultimately one of my favorite videos to date.

Anyway, I dug the video so much, that it occurred to me that I could do something of a cross over with it. As such, I took the basic plot elements of the video, changed the main characters from obvious stand-ins for me and Ryan to Cactus Joe and Broken Tea Cup (who, in turn, are obvious stand-ins for me and Ryan) and added a few extra elements to fill up the remaining space. The end result was pretty darn cool. There's all the usual TORC Press insanity, some brotherly bonding, and I even managed to sneak in some (possible) sneak peaks of what I might be up to next year.

Other than that, tomorrow we've got the end of MONSTER KING, as well as the release of the 23rd TORC Press comic of the year, Issue 6 of Monster King.

The Clown & Tea Cup Show #3 Now Available!

2011-12-19T20:28:00.000-08:00

It's Monday, and I'm tired, but I've got work to do! The 22nd Comic I've Published this Year is "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #3. What is it about? It's TCTC Baby! It's Crazy, it's weird, it's goofy. It's about the friendship between the Clown and the Penguin and Broken Tea Cup. It's about Strippers turning into monsters. It's about strange visions and cosmic beings and walking factories. It's a heckuva lotta fun. Check out a preview over at http://www.torcpress.com/tctc3prev.html. Woo. Tired.

RIP Joe Simon, New MONSTER KING, and the Skull Mob

2011-12-16T18:09:00.000-08:00

"Wait. What War?"

Before we get started, all of us here at TORC Press would like to express our condolences at the recent passing of the legendary Joe Simon. The co-creator of Captain America, and Jack Kirby's artistic and writing partner from the 40s through the 50s, Simon's most impressive trait (besides his business acumen, a rarity among us artistic types) was his offbeat perspective, that led to such oddball (and utterly cool) comics like "Fighting American" and "The Fly". He will be missed.

In other news, we've got the second to last installment of MONSTER KING Issue 6 up and running starting over at http://www.torcpress.com/mk17.html. Page 19 has just about every character I've ever created crammed into one page.

So, let's talk about the Skull Mob.

Originally, the Skull Mob was inspired by "The Bulletproof Coffin" and the cartoon "Batman the Brave and the Bold". Batman TBatB got my brain running on the idea about how in the cartoon Batman was everywhere. He was running around in Space, and he was a member of the Justice League and the Justice League International and was the leader of the Outsiders all at the same time. I thought it was neato. So I decided to throw the Clown and Penguin into all of these different situations with all of these different teammates. When I did Monster King #3, I threw the Clown & Penguin into this new group called the Skull Mob. The other members were inspired by the comic "The Bulletproof Coffin" which was this killer comic about these warped Golden Age Superheroes, so I kinda ran with that and came up with this little group of Gold Age Inspired TORCverse characters.

Somewhere along the line, I got the bright idea to have the Skull Mob be more like the Avengers or the Justice League. Basically, a big fat team of heroes where, sooner or later, just about everybody is a member. I then got the idea to divide the Mob into different divisions of Five. So, for those of you that are in the mood for some heavy duty anal retentive nonsense, here is the entire rundown on the Skull Mob.

Skull Mob Division One:
Colors: Orange and Black
Nickname: Butterfly Mob
Members: Cactus Joe the Clown (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.1. The Unkillable Clown Faced Killing Machine), Pengy Penguin (first appearance: The Bunnyville Experiment. Mute, blue Penguin), Broken Tea Cup (III) (first appearance: Watchdogs #1/SDF: Crumpled Planet. Chaos fueled Heavy Metal Robot), Mike the Butcher w/Kolby Koala (first appearance: Monster King #2, Undead Samurai Warrior and a sleepy koala), Johny Eraser (first appearance: The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #11. Superstrong redneck bunnymon), and Rakka the Witchdoctor (first appearance: Sideshow. Masked witchdoctor).

Skull Mob Division Two:
Colors: Yellow and White
Nickname: Masked Mob
Members: El Exclamation Point! (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v2.1. Masked, metaphysical detective!), Agent D (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.5(?). Hi-tech, armored secret agent), Armageddon Clock (first appearance: Monster King #3. The Dashing dandy of Doom), Dr. Z (first appearance: Monster King #3. Mystic surgeon of mystery), and The Kingfisher (first appearance: Monster King #4. Fishmon vigilante who really hooks criminals).

Skull Mob Division Three:
Colors: Red and Black
Nickname: Shadow Mob
Members: Bad Jack (first appearance: SDF:Pulp #1. Undead vigilante and master of Black Science), Beelzebub Joan (first appearance: Sideshow. Cyborg homunculus wasp woman), The Puzzelor (first appearance: Gulatta! #1. ?), Spookshow (first appearance: Gulatta! #3. The Avenging Wraith), and Mr. Hex (first appearance: Monster King #3. Baseball bat wielding masked psychopath).

Skull Mob Division Four:
Colors: Blue and White
Nickname: Colorful Mob
Members: Cosmico Rex (first appearance: SDF:Pulp #3(?). Cosmically energized cat-man), aliceislost (first appearance: SDF: Crumpled Planet. Unique, wandering changeling), Run-No-No-Run and Stop-Go-Go-Stop (first appearance: Anarchy Bootleg. Dancing Fools), and Riddle Bug (first appearance: Monster King #3. Masked Insectmon Vigilante).

Skull Mob Division Five:
Colors: Green and Purple
Nickname: Eyenigma
Members: King Dark (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.4. Living darkness and the greatest fighter in the world), Phantom Butterfly (first appearance: Gulatta! #4. The cowboy with a thousand faces), Creepshow (first appearance: Gulatta v2.1. The hyperactive poltergeist), The Masked Platypus (first appearance: Gulatta! #4. The duck billed, web footed avenger of the night), and Sparrow Girl (first appearance: Gulatta v2.1. Bird themed female vigilante.)

Skull Mob Division Six:
Colors: Blue and Red
Nickname: Anarchy Mob
Members: Akuma Boy (first appearance: Gulatta! #1. An American Punk possessed by a Japanese Chaos Spirit), Lady Luna (first appearance: The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #3. Warrior Woman created by the Goddess of the Moon.), Namo Redrum (first appearance: Gulatta! #3. The Gentleman Monster), Medusa Tina (first appearance: Gulatta! #3. The Gorgon with a heart of gold), Johny Payday (first appearance: The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #3. Money making fishmon), Mini-Toro (first appearance: The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #3. The world's most agile minataur), and Shinobi Crow (first appearance: The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #3. The crowmon master of ninjitsu).

Skull Mob Division Seven:
Colors: Dark Blue
Nickname: Halloween Mob
Members: Mr. Halloween (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.1. The pumpkinheaded protector), Doom Harvest (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.4. Primitive Plant Monster), Asylum (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.3. The hockey mask wearing flesh juggernaut), Candy Cane (first appearance: Truth or Consequences Monthly #1. The prisoner of Purgatory and the idiot savant of murder), and Zombie Chick (first appearance: Truth or Consequences Monthly #1. Um, a Zombie Chick).

Skull Mob Division Eight:
Colors: Dark Green
Nickname: Pig Mob
Members: Johm Smythe (first appearance: SDF: Perfect/Ugly. The not-so-retired Atomic Cop), Gemini Aqualung (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.3. The mysterious master of Technomagick), Shirac (first appearance: Super Duper Fun Comix (v 1): Killing Machine #2. Rough and tumble claw handed detective), Xavier Mystery (first appearance: Truth or Consequences Monthly #4. Psychic detective with an unpredictable anatomy), and CutUp (first appearance: SDF: Drifter's Rhapsody. Rotting flesh Golem).

Anyway, I was gonna do more with the Skull Mob, but I'll be honest with you, those ideas never really came together. Still, it was nice to see them all together, at least once.

Anyway, here's who's not in the Skull Mob:

Characters not in the Skull Mob because they're DEAD: Pale Man (First appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v.1.1. The half-demon monster hunter. Killed by the Deathbringer), The Crimson Enigma (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v. 1.1. The gun-toting predator of evil. Killed in the Mosquito City War.), Arcadie Sabat (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v.1.2. The Samurai Exorcist. Killed in the Mosquito City War.), Psychodriver (first appearance: Truth or Consequences Monthly #1. A Psychic Warrior. Killed by the Deathbringer), Pom-Pom Girl (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v1.2. The Genetically Engineered Cheerleader. Killed by Princess Perfection (there's a reference to this in Monster King #5)), Aphrodite Midnight (first appearance: Super Duper Fun Comix: Bristol. The NuAge Goddess of Torture. Killed by Princess Perfection), Mystery Woman (first appearance: Super Duper Fun Comix: Killing Machine #1. A mysterious woman. Killed by Minor Demons), Kanabub Abul (first appearance: SDF: Very Odd Jobs. Bizarre Scorpion Monsterman. Killed by the Founder's Cult), Lydia Sukuvent (first appearance: SDF: Very Odd Jobs. Cyborg woman. Killed by the Founder's Cult), Doom Eagle (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v2.1. Freakish superhero wraith. Killed by the Bob Mafia), and Secret Soldier (first appearance: SDF: Drifter's Rhapsody. Undead Cyborg Soldier. The Greatest Superhero ever. Killed by the Vampire God Lord Vlad).

Characters not in the Skull Mob because they're God-like Beings who can't be involved in such matters: King Smooth (first appearance: SDF: Strange Patterns. ?), Xipe Topec (first appearance: Pulp Horrorshow v.2.2. Dark Lord of the Vermin Angels), Darkwatcher (first appearance: Cosmic Love #2. The Prophet of Omnichronus), Abyssal Dragon (first appearance: SDF: Drifter's Rhapsody. The Space God of Righteous Destruction), Dawn Phoenix (first appearance: The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #15. The Space Goddess of Hope and Inspiration), and Proteus Platypus (first appearance: The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club #8. Technologically Brilliant Space Platypus and leader of the Waterbearers).

Characters not in the Skull Mob because they're Mercenaries or just didn't want to join up: El Gorio (first appearance: SDF: Perfect/Ugly. Fleshless, moral-less, four armed Mercenary Outlaw), Lab Bunny (first appearance: SDF: Very Odd Jobs. Genetically mutated Kung fu Bunny Rabbit), and Kikki Fortune (first appearance: Cosmic Love #1. Alien assassin and whore).

Also, obviously, none of my "silly" characters are in the Skull Mob.

So, there's that. Too much information, right? I dunno.

The Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Bowling Special is now available

2011-12-12T18:55:00.000-08:00

Almost forgot to load this one up. "The Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Bowling Special" is now available from TORC Press. It's 16 Pages in BWG with a Color Cover for $2.00 plus $2.00 S&H. It's a fun little All Ages Comic about Bowling and helping a friend out of a jam. It features Cactus Joe and Pengy Penguin, and it's drawn in an intentionally cartoony style. You can check out a Preview at http://www.torcpress.com/sdfcbprev.html.

Three Comics to go to Complete my Challenge. One of them was delivered today. The other two are supposed to ship next Monday.

More Random Notes on a Random Sunday

2011-12-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

It's kind of a lazy Sunday, so let's Rant some more, y'okay?

I picked up the new issue of Shonen Jump to discover something largely unexpected but still somewhat...annoying. Basically, the long running magazine will be ending its Print Edition in April (well, March really) and will be going purely digital. I'm not horribly surprised. Magazines are a dying industry to begin with, and throw in a recession, and the slow death of the Manga Market in America (funny, considering how many people I see dressed up as Naruto characters every time I go to a Con), and you have a recipe for the demise of Shonen Jump. I find the end of Shonen Jump annoying for a wealth of reasons. For starters, I don't really pay attention to Manga like I used to, and SJ was my only real exposure to the Medium nowadays. Secondly, I liked the monthly dose of "One Piece", a manga that still stands as one of my favorite comics being published today. Thirdly, the loss of the American version of Shonen Jump basically Sinks my theory that the Manga Format is viable in an American Market. I thought that SJ had proven to be a highly successful enterprise, and I had hopes that others would follow it, but that apparently won't be happening.

On the other hand, the loss of Shonen Jump won't affect me all that much. I've already been picking up the One Piece Trade Collections. Basically, instead of getting small doses of One Piece every month or two, I'll be picking up a new collection every...four to six months? I wasn't really reading any of the other manga that were running in Shonen Jump. I never liked any of the various Yu-Gi-Oh strips, I never got into the new strip Psyren, and it eventually became impossible to keep track of the billions of characters that populate Naruto and Bleach. Seriously, I just got through reading the latest installments of Naruto, and it made my eyes roll up into the back of my head because I couldn't keep track of what was going on. It's so confusing it makes "Final Crisis" (which I just reread today, on a whim) look coherent by comparison.

This seems to continue the seemingly inevitable trend of the death of the monthly comic. All of the major (and most minor) comic publishers are starting to introduce more and more accessible Digital Comics. A lot of the Independent Publishers have abandoned the "pamphlet" format for the better payday of the Trade Paperback (or Fancy Pantsy Hardcover). Fantagraphics openly derides the "Pamphlet" (oh, by the by, I HATE that term) nowadays, and they're not the only ones who have given up on the format. Most of my friends are strictly Trade Readers. Fitchie only reads Trades. Bro's gal Mary is a Trade Reader. Boolah mostly reads Trades (although he still reads a fair amount of monthlies as well. There's no real rhyme or reason to which comics he reads in which format either. I should pick his brain on the subject next time we roadtrip). Bro doesn't read many comics, but the ones he does are in the Trade format. He openly prefers the Trade format because, since he's not a lifelong comic reader, he finds it easier to follow the threads of a story when he reads it all in one dose (in fact, he's ran into that problem with some of my comix, namely loosing track of what happened from issue to issue). Hell, I even read a few comics in Trade only format, like "Madman" and "Godland".

And I'd do a whole thing on Webcomics, but that doesn't interest me right now.

I'm not gonna deny that the traditional comics format has its faults. One of the worst things about comics is the Ads. I hate Ads. And, yes, I know that every TORC Press comic has an ad for Ka-Blam in the back. What can I say? I get a discount for including the ad. I'm not made of money. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that, the ads mess up the reading experience. You're going along, reading your favorite comic, and then you've got to skip a page, or two, or four to get through some stupid ads. Hell, I remember when they promoted the Matrix online game, there's was a frickin' six page booklet in the middle of every damn comic. On the other hand, some comics stick all the ads in the back. Which is swell in a way, but then you get to the end of the story, and you've still got half the book left, and you feel ripped off.

The other problem with monthlies nowadays is that most comics are Written for the Eventual Trade Collection. This oftentimes makes entire issues anemic or borderline pointless. Plus, I mean, it's kinda silly to buy a comic if you're better served to score the collection six months later, right? There's other annoying things about the monthly, like how Big Events will interrupt your monthly reading experience. Or rotating art teams coming in and out of the book.

The Big Guns (and some of the smaller guns) still use the Traditional Format because they still have a large enough audience of Guys Like Me who came up on the Monthly Comic and still love that experience. Plus, they serve as Commercials for the Eventual Collection. Like I said above, a lot of companies have abandoned the format entirely. And webcomics people generally don't bother with the "Pamphlet" format (although that's not set in stone either), instead collecting their webcomics installments in the more profitable Trade Format.

But down here in the dark depths of the Small Press, we generally don't have much of a choice. Although I've noticed that several of my compatriots have switched to the Trade Format exclusively, most of us still do things old school style. The reasons why are pretty obvious. 1) Trade Paperbacks, while more potentially profitable, are also more expensive to produce in the first place. 2) A Trade Collection takes longer to produce (and if you're anything like me, you'll never finish the damn thing in the first place because you'll have a billion new ideas that will ultimately replace the idea you started with), which means you could spend a year (or two, or three, or five) sitting around with no new product to sell. 3) If you're a No Name Nobody, it's a lot harder to sell a $10 Trade Paperback to people who are totally new to your product than it is to sell a $3 "Pamphlet". (Of course, selling that $3 floppy isn't exactly a walk in the park, while we're on the subject) So, yeah, we still like our regular comics down here in the depths.

The Question I find myself Asking, ultimately, is this: How do I make the Most of the Regular Comix Format? How can we make the regular comic a worthwhile reading experience? What can we do to make it superior to the Trade, or at the very least, not completely redundant to the Trade? I recently thought that the brilliant "King City" was a shining example of the Possibilities of the Traditional Comix Format, but then they announced the Trade Collection, which will contain all of the neat little novelty stuff that was in the Comix. Sigh.

Something for another time, perhaps.

Could just not bother with the Trade collections entirely. On the other hand, I kinda want some neat Trade collections to put on my bookshelf that I don't actually own, but one day I want a bookshelf with a bunch of my books so I can say, "Look! I did stuff! See? I've got a whole bookshelf!"

Ponder, ponder, ponder...

I'm rereading Jack Kirby's "4th World Omnibus" Collection for, like, the second or third time this year. Man, I love those comics. That scene in "The Forever People" where Desaad has captured the team, and he's leering over Beautiful Dreamer's paralyzed body is easily one of the creepiest scenes in all of comics history. Although Kirby was more of a Plot Guy than he was a Character Guy, the 4th World has some of my all time favorite characters ever. Orion, the raging warrior lost between two worlds. Mister Miracle, the peaceful escape artist perpetually trapped in the tempest of war. Big Barda, the Amazonian Warrior woman with a heart of gold. Metron, the cold seeker of knowledge. Desaad, probably the sickest bastard Kirby ever dreamed up. Kalibak, the horror that Orion should have become. Mantis, the moron with the power to rip a planet apart. Granny Goodness, the old woman who would gleefully rip your nutsack off just for the hell of it. And Darkseid. There's a reason we keep coming back to Darkseid, no matter how many times we kill him off or get rid of him. Darkseid is primordial evil. A being of cold, stone-like darkness so pure, and yet complex, that we can't seem to escape his shadow. And all of that cool stuff. Boom Tubes. Magnetic Roads. Mother Boxes. Dog Riding Soldiers. Floating Cities. Apokalypse and its Fire Pits. And it's all so beautiful and strange and ugly and right and wrong. Raw, but so Refined. I dunno.

Random Notes on a Random Sunday

2011-12-11T05:43:00.000-08:00

So, once again, I give Matt Fraction a try, and I am disappointed. "The Defenders" just didn't click with me. I wanted to like it, I really did. It was just, well, not for me. Also, once again the Silver Surfer had ears. Most people can't draw the Silver Surfer well anyway (Side Rant: Okay, since when did the Scrawny Ass John Buscema/Moebius version of the Surfer become the "Official" way to draw the Surfer. Last time I checked, Jack Kirby created the character, and Kirby drew the Surfer as Raw Power. As far as I'm concerned, THAT is the Official version, therefore, anyone that draws the Surfer as a Scrawny Wussbag Automatically is a Sucky Hack), but when you can't draw the Surfer well to begin with, and then you slap some ears on him, well, it just sucks. Sucks, I say.

Conversely, the new "OMAC" series shouldn't be a good comic. From a purely critical standpoint, the comic should suck. But, I say unto you, that verily, OMAC is muchly Awesome. (why am I writing like that?) Because OMAC has Alligators with Exploding Neon Laser Faces. Never seen that before.

Also, super excited about the upcoming OMAC/Frankenstien cross over. That is gonna be a BEATDOWN.

Speaking of which, I'm really amazed at how many of the New 52 DC Comics I've stayed with. So far I've only dropped "Nightwing", "Batman & Robin", and "Demon Knights". I'm on the fence with "Red Lanterns" (the every issue has some neat stuff in it, but I feel like the whole thing is kinda plodding along) and "Batman" (not sure if I'm enjoying this whole Secret Society of Owls thing... we'll see how Issue 4 goes). But everything else I'm reading I'm truly enjoying. My current DC stack consists of: Justice League (it's just fun), Action Comics (great stuff, truly enjoyable, I like what they're doing with Steel), Animal Man (every month this comic just blows me away. I did not expect this comic to be this good at all), OMAC (see above), Stormwatch (WOW! This one gets better with every issue, and it started off pretty damn good), Batwoman (pretty), Frankenstien (OMAC's only real competition for Best Book of the New 52), Swamp Thing (this one is just solidly excellent. Also, it makes a great companion piece to Animal Man), Resurrection Man (Wild Supernatural Stuff, didn't expect to like this comic, but it's great), Wonder Woman (Who knew this comic would Actually Live Up to the Hype?), and Justice League Dark (solid comic, but it needs more Shade. Yes. More Shade the Changing Man. Make it happen, Milligan). 11 Books on my Killer List, and 2 on my Iffy List? That's pretty good compared to the One Comic I was reading from DC.

Oh, has anyone else noticed that Marvel started off doing a bunch of big event Crossovers that were really easy to describe (Civil War=Superheroes vs. Superheroes, World War Hulk =Hulk vs. Everybody, Secret War =Superheroes vs. Aliens disguised as Superheroes, and Dark Reign=Supervillains pretending to be Superheroes), then they did a couple of Big Events that were Virtually Impossible to Describe (Um... Siege is about Asgard falling to Earth for no good reason, and then Norman Osborne attacks Asgard for some reason and then superzzzzzzzzz...., oh and then there was Fear Itself which was about Odin's brother (Odin has a brother? Wha?) who makes a buncha Thor hammers and gives them to people for some reason and there's the Red Skull's daughter (wait...now the Red Skull has a daughter? Wha?) and shezzzzzzzzzzz....). Apparently Siege and Fear Itself sucked so much that Marvel has gone back to the Old Method of making up Big Events that are easy to describe. Case in point, their next Event is "Avengers vs. X-Men". That's the name, and that's what it's about. Simple. It will probably do very well. I won't be reading it of course, but lots of other people will.

While we're on the subject, ain't like, half the X-Men members of the Avengers already? Maybe that's the point of this nonsense. "Who will Wolverine side with?" But isn't Wolverine already the leader of two X-teams? I'm confused already.

Also, enjoying the new "Russia" story arc in the BPRD.

The new "Muppet" movie is great. I laughed at everything and felt like I was 6 again. Nothing wrong with that. I hope.

All my Christmas Shopping is done. Only one of my presents hasn't shipped yet. Other than that, I'm gonna spend this week working on some stuff and getting my house ready for my annual Christmas Party, "A Very Cactus Christmas".

As stated before, new comic goes live on Monday. I should get that ready to go.

New MONSTER KING and Whatnot

2011-12-10T06:12:00.000-08:00

"Did Someone Get the Number of that Truck that Hit Me?"

Ah, MONSTER KING. We've got Pages 13-16 of Issue 6 up and running starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk13.html. After the life-sucking darkness of the previous pages, we finally start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The theme of this week's brand of insanity is: Y'know when you get really, really depressed, and you don't think you're ever going to come out of it, but then your friends pull you out of the abyss (kicking and screaming sometimes). And even though everything's not okay, at least you feel like you can keep going, y'know? Anyway, that's this week.

Other than that, I've got lots of stuff cooking right now, and as long as I can keep breathing (that's gonna be tricky enough), I can hopefully get a few things knocked out this weekend.

Oh yeah, there'll be a new book on Monday. In fact, to meet the 24 Comix Challenge, I need to release 4 more books before the end of the year, which essentially means that I gotta release one book a week for the rest of the year. So there' that nonsense.

Cosmic Love 4 Now Available

2011-12-05T03:06:00.000-08:00

Ah. It's Monday, so it's New Book Time. I suppose. Why not?

"Cosmic Love" #4 is now available from TORC Press. It's 24 Pages in BWG for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H. You can score a copy online at www.torcpress.com/store.html. There's a preview at www.torcpress.com/cl4prev.com. Or if you wanna buy it the old fashioned way, send a check or money order to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824.

So, what is it about?

Well, see that's the problem. I can't really do anything to explain this issue, except to say that this issue is essential, story-wise. Quite simply, this issue finally fills in that last gaping hole in the Clown's History, as we find out where the Blood Sample that created the Clown came from.

New MONSTER KING and Old Hype and New Thoughts

2011-12-03T05:48:00.000-08:00

"Enough Distractions! I WILL HAVE MY PRIZE!"

4 New Pages of MONSTER KING are up and running over at http://www.torcpress.com/mk9.html. This week we've got Pages 9-12, and we're hitting the climax of our sad little story. The Clown is broken, but Skull Mob Division 4 have managed to hold their own (sorta) against the Ortex Elite Squad. aliceislost has a brief (and very sad (something of a running theme)) confrontation with her "old friend" Voodoo Dolly. Also, it turns out that the Clown's allies may not be quite as dead as they appeared. Hope springs anew in the Darkest of times. Anyway, check that out.

Also, also, if you weren't aware, our Insane Comix Barrage has yielded quite a few new comix of late. Over at www.torcpress.com we've got the Print Editions of Monster King Issues 1-5 all available for sale. We've got a great new All Ages Comic in "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Edition". "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" is up to Issue 15. And on Monday we'll have "Cosmic Love" #4, which changes everything.

Meanwhile, if I haven't stated it before, Issue 6 is the final issue of Monster King. It's been an interesting experiment, and it's allowed me to move the story forward some (at least Issues 5-6), and it's yielded one of my all time favorite comix (Monster King #3), but it's also been stifling, and the webcomic format is so limited, and I really have no way of telling if anyone is ready it, because the only quantifiable way to gauge the success of the webcomic is with the sales of the Print Edition ONLINE. Sales which are, for all intents and purposes, nonexistent. Originally, I was going do a brand new webcomic next year, but the question I find myself asking is this: Why bother with a format I don't personally enjoy if it's not going to garner me additional sales and/or readership?

So, for the all of nobody reading this blog, I ask you this, and please feel free to respond either here or at my e-mail or on the Facebook: Are you reading the webcomic? If you are reading the webcomic, are you enjoying the webcomic? If you are reading and enjoying the webcomic, is there a reason why you're not purchasing the Print Editions, such as, "I'm waiting for the next time I see you at a Convention." or "I don't like ordering stuff online" or "I would, but your online store sucks" or "I would, but I'm broke, and Five Bucks is too expensive for my tastes." OR, "Why bother ordering online when I've already read the book online."

Anyway, long story short, if you've got any feedback at all out there in Computerland for me, please let me know.

Also, even if I don't have a new webcomic next year, I intend on having plenty of regularly updated online content available next year. I ain't going anywhere. I've just gotta find a method that works best for me AND my small readership.

Where the Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special Came From

2011-11-29T18:26:00.000-08:00

Right. In all the swirling chaos that is...well, my life right now...I'm gonna be putting out a ton of books and doing crazy stuff and I know stuff's gonna get lost in the shuffle, but these books are important to me. They come from places and mean things. Here's a story about one of the new ones.

So, back in the old days of the original "Super Duper Fun Comix", the stories were about Cactus Joe, Pengy Penguin, Walt, and Sped having these odd little adventures. I liked the way these weird characters that had no business hanging out together just all kinda clicked. Of course, the stories eventually got violent and crazy and someone would try to kill the Clown and blahblahblah. Time passed, and I did "SDF" where I separated out the old quartet. Cactus Joe and Pengy became this bizarre duo, while Walt and Sped went back to their roots as a comedy duo. But every so often I'd put the old gang back together, like in "SDF: Sombrero Friday". I also occasionally liked doing silly little stories when I could. Like "The Great Race" or the two issues of "New Super Duper Fun Comix" I did. I like silly little stories from time to time. I mean, not everything can be an Epic, right?

Anyway, I did a silly little All Ages story with Walt n' Sped late last year, and I had planned on doing one Walt n' Sped special a year. But this year, when I was starting to think about the idea, I found myself missing those old stories with the Clown & Penguin hanging out with their old buddies, Walt n' Sped. So, that's what I decided to do. I decided to throw Frimpy into the book because, well, I empathize with Frimpy. That guy's got no luck, just like me. I also dropped Penny Platypus into the book for no real good reason. Maybe I needed a female character. I dunno.

After that, I just needed something for them to do. My brain said innertubing. I've never ever been innertubing. Hell, I've never been rafting or kayaking or any of that crap. But I can imagine going innertubing, especially with my pals. Drifting downstream. Relaxing. Shootin' the breeze. Sounds cool, right?

I had my premise, now all I needed was the script.

Enter the Houston Airport.

Thanks to an 8 hour delayed flight, I got trapped in the Houston Airport. Now, I don't know if you've ever been trapped in an airport for what is, for all intents and purposes, an entire day, but it is boring. Very, very boring. You can only run around and ride monorails and eat overpriced terrible food for so long before you're about ready to blow your brains out.

So, I did the only thing I could think of to do. I went to work, doing what I do best. I happened to have my little Composition Notebook and a pen, so away I went. I wrote/thumbnailed the entire story in the airport while hanging out. That's probably why it's such an odd duck. There a weirdly Biblical theme to it, as a Giant Fish shows up and swallows up a couple of our heroes. There's also a completely out of left field spiritual moment in the dead center that's not funny or anything. But there's a lotta funny stuff throughout, though. Sped's dialogue cracks me up every time I see it. And it's silly and breezy and odd. It's pretty good for a comic written in an airport while I was feeling about as lonely and alone as one dude can possibly feel.

Oh, I also, somewhat ironically, wrote my awkward attempt at a porno comic while in the airport as well. I'm not gonna be publishing that one though.

What? I was lonely.

Anyway, if you found any of the above Rant even remotely interesting (and I can't see how you did, considering the whole thing was largely incoherent), then head over to www.torcpress.com and check out the "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special". Yep.

Monster King 5 Now Available

2011-11-28T16:21:00.000-08:00

Heyo. I haven't even had the time to really hype the "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Edition", and now I've got another book out. Yeah. Anyway, the Print Edition of "Monster King" Issue 5 is now available. It's $5.00 plus $1.50 S&H with Full Color Interiors and a Color Cardstock cover. If you read it online, you know the drill, but if you didn't, then, basically, it's about the worst day of the Clown's life. There's violence and sadness and crazy stuff. Also, the Inside Back Cover is Blank, so if you buy a copy, then make sure to leave me a comment that tells me what you want me to draw a sketch of on the back. So there.

My allergies are killin' me.

The Bob Mafia

2011-11-27T06:12:00.000-08:00

Alrighty. Before we get to today's Rant, if you haven't read the latest pages of MONSTER KING, make sure to head over to http://www.torcpress.com/mk5.html and read the latest installment. It's okay. I can wait. I'll just read some old Jack Kirby Fantastic Four comics.

...

Oh. You're caught up? Good. Let's continue.

I came up with the idea for the Bob Mafia back in... High School(? Maybe earlier, but who's really counting). The idea was a pretty simple one. I basically came up with this theory that, for some reason, Big Old Fat Guys had a weird tendency to be Mob Bosses. There's Marlon Brandon in the Godfather, there's the Kingpin from Marvel Comics, not to mention The Blob (okay, not a Mob Boss, but bear with me here) and Mojo from the X-Men. There's the bad guy from Dune (that guy was ultra fat AND creepy as hell). And, of course, good old Jabba the Hutt from Star Wars. Anyway, the idea I kind of came up with was that "What if there was this big, intergalactic mafia that did every illegal thing that could be done (Slavery, Drugs, Prostitution, Weapon Smuggling/Selling, Extortion, blahblahblah) across hundreds of Planets across the Entire Galaxy and the entire operation was controlled by a Race of Big Fat Alien Monsters who were so fat that they couldn't move on their own and needed Machines to Move, and they all came from the Planet Bob and they were all named Bob." A pretty simple idea, when you get down to it. Anyway, the idea just kinda sat inside my brain for years, and as I started making comics, I kept trying to find the right time to bring the Bobs into the Story.

The Problem is, I never really found the right time to bring them in. They just sorta danced around the edges. One of the Bobs actually popped up in the first TORC Press comic ever, "Pulp Horrorshow" vol. 1 #1, but he got killed by the Crimson Enigma. There were mentions and hints of the Bob Mafia in "Truth or Consequences Monthly" #5-6. In Era Two, the Bobs continued to get some slight mentions. If you read closely enough, you'll see references to them in "Pulp Horrorshow" vol 2 #1-2 and "SDF: Honorless Dogs" #1-3 (in the back-up story featuring El Gorio and Lab Bunny). I always had intentions of doing more with the Bob Mafia. It just never came together.

Some quick Fun Facts about the Bob Mafia:

1) All of the leaders of the Bob Mafia are named Bob and come from the Planet Bob. They are differentiated by number. The lower the number, the higher the Rank in the Mafia. For example, Bob Mk III (who appears in this week's MONSTER KING) is the Third Highest Ranking Bob in the Entire Universe. Makes sense, right?

2) Chuddo Snudd (who also appears in this week's MONSTER KING), who you might remember as the corrupt mayor of Big Town, IL in my comic "Gulatta!", was always secretly a member of the Bob Mafia. His real name is Bob Mk IX. His goal on Earth was to gradually take control of Big Town so that the Bob Mafia could use the city as an Outpost for the Bob Mafia's various Illegal Activities on Earth. Sure, they were pretty much using Foster City, IL for the same purpose (as well as a few other places, see the upcoming "Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #16-17 for more on that one), but, y'know, they're a Mafia, which means they're greedy by definition. Anyway, if things with "Gulatta!" woulda continued and went they way they were gonna go in my brain, there would have been a full fledged War between Chuddo Snudd and his army of robots vs. Eyenigma. Of course, that ain't gonna happen now, but, whatever.

3) The rank and file members of the Bob Mafia are divided into two categories. The lowest ranking members of the Mafia are a group of Clones called S.I.M.P.S. (Synthetically Intelligent Mass Produced Soldiers). If you look closely at Page Five, you'll see a bunch of Bald Guys wearing Groucho Glasses. Those are SIMPS. They are expendable and stupid and are only really good at following orders and shooting guns. The next rank up is reserved for people from the local planet that have joined the Mafia. In the case of Earth, that would be Human Criminals who work for the Mafia. The next rank up are the Guppies.

4) Millenia ago, the Bob Mafia conquered and enslaved an entire planet full of Fish People (called Fishmon). During the War, one race of Fishmon betrayed their people and sided with the Bob Mafia, essentially leading to the enslavement of the entire Planet. These traitorous Fishmon became known as Guppies (yes, I'm aware of how silly this is. Shouldn't you come to expect this from me by now?). As a reward for their treachery, the Bob Mafia made the Guppies Top Ranked Soldiers in the Mafia. The Green Skinned Guys in Suits with Machine Guns in the foreground of Page Five of MONSTER KING 6 are Guppies.

Anyway, I never really got around to doing any of that in the Comics. And I'm getting ready for the NEXT THING, so I was like, screw it, let's get rid of these guys. So that's what happens in the most recent pages. The Bob Mafia's Earth Branch gets Wiped Out. Honestly, kinda glad they're gone. It's not healthy to sit on an idea for over a decade and not really use it.

From Darkness to Light

2011-11-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

Something pretty devastating happened to me last week. It was one of those things that just absolutely messed me up. So, I spent the rest of the week just trying to drag myself through the days, pretending to be in passable shape. I wasn't. Anyway, I decided to take a week off from TORC Press to get my crap together. Last night my "Depression Fever" finally broke, and I feel like enough of a human being to get back to doing my thing.

So, onward and upward. First off, we've got Pages 5 through 8 of MONSTER KING Issue 6 is now up for viewing, starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk5.html. Pages 5-6 feature the other Skull Mob Divisions dealing with the Bob Mafia once and for all (more on that later this week), while in 7-8 we see Skull Mob Division 4 (which consists of Cosmico Rex, Run-No-No-Run, Stop-Go-Go-Stop, Riddle Bug, and aliceislost) step in to fight the Ortex Elite Squad while Cactus Joe continues to be broken.

Annnd, we've got a new book! With the 24 Comix Challenge winding down, we'll be putting out a lot of books between now and the end of the year. Anyway, the new book is "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special". It's a fun little 16 Page BWG Comic book with a Color Cover for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H. It's All Ages, so anyway can score a copy. The story is pretty simple: Cactus Joe, Pengy Penguin, Walt, Sped, Frimpy, and Penny Platypus go out innertubing and crazy things happen. There's a Free Preview up at: http://www.torcpress.com/sdfcprev.html

So there you go. New MK Pages. New Comic. Check em out.

The Ideas Behind the Pages

2011-11-16T03:15:00.000-08:00

I've slowly been getting over system shock from the 24 Hour Comic Challenge, so I haven't really had much time or energy to get on the ole blog and do some hypin'. Figure this morning's as good a time as any.

"The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #14-15 came from two places. First off, I missed aliceislost. I missed the character, I missed the environment that she lived in, and I missed the tone and feel of her world. I wanted to dabble in that a little again, and the Fudgeheads gave me the opportunity to do that a little. The story also developed a very weird, almost Biblical vibe, as our heroes are trying to steal an apple from a massive tree hidden behind a giant wall. Instead of a serpent offering them the apple, though, there's instead a giant serpent (er, dragon) trying to stop them. Oh, this is also another book where the Nefarious Dr. Dendull pops up and causes trouble. So that's just an added bonus.

The first four pages of "Monster King" 6 are about me dealing with my own feelings of depression, and my self destructive need to "give up". It's not the Clown's most heroic moment, and considering how I've been a rather loud advocate of heroism in comics, it seems like a pretty hypocritical set of pages. But they come from a real place. I have days where it feels like my Demons have me completed cornered and that there is No Hope, and that I might as well throw in the towel. The good news is, that I don't. I guess, maybe, this story is sorta my attempt at dealing with those issues.

I bought four boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. It's Thin Mint time!

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Issue 15 Now Available

2011-11-14T20:03:00.000-08:00

What was I talking about? Oh yeah. New Comic. It's Issue 15 of the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club. It's y'know. A comic. There's fighting and a dragon and man I'm tired and feeling odd right now. Screw it. Let's hype this another time. It's a good book, though. Details at www.torcpress.com/hfsac15prev.html.

It really is a good book. I don't mean to sound underenthused. I'm quite enthused. There's some really good artwork in this issue, and aliceislost guest stars, and there's some interesting character developments. And there's more strange visions.

I should probably get some sleep.

The 24 Hour Comic Book Challenge Results

2011-11-13T19:21:00.000-08:00

The Game: Create, Write, and Draw a 24 Page Comic in 24 Consecutive Hours.

The Location: Comic Quest in Evansville, IN.

The Time: 11/12/11 starting at 10am and ending at 10am on 11/13/11

The Players: "The Unstoppable Comix Juggernaut" Joseph Morris and "The Crazy King" Clint Bassinger.

The Fuel: Lipton Green Tea with Citrus and as much chocolate as I could cram into a bag. Also, chips.

The Strategy: This year, I decided to write, pencil, and ink Each individual page before moving on to the next page. This means that, in theory, I would need to write, pencil, and ink a minimum of one page every hour in order to make the grade.

Page One- Completed at: 10:30am. Notes: First page in under an hour? Hell yeah. Next!
Page Two- Completed at: 11:07am. Notes: Page two in about 30 minutes? It takes longer to get a pizza. Fear my awesomeness.
Page Three- Completed at: 11:44am. Notes: Knocked out another page in less than an hour? Jeez, this is gonna be easy.
Page Four- Completed at: 12:49pm. Notes: Okay, it took me a little over an hour. Not bad. Still on schedule.
Page Five- Completed at: 2:18pm. Notes: Huh. Big time jump there. I think I took a food break. Pulled pork sandwich. Yummy. Need to pick up the pace a little.
Page Six- Completed at: 3:14pm. Notes: Back on track. One hour. Nice.
Page Seven- Completed at: 4:11pm. Notes: Keeping a good rhythm.
Page Eight- Completed at: 4:47pm. Notes: 30 minutes on the nose. Yeah baby!
Page Nine- Completed at: 5:34pm. Notes: Looks like I'm keeping a good stride. A little under an hour.
Page Ten- Completed at: 6:36pm. Notes: Another hour. Another page. Moving on.
Page Eleven- Completed at: 8:33pm. Notes: Suppertime! Pizza! Green Tea! More chocolate!
Page Twelve- Completed at: 9:01pm. Notes: Splash Page! Super fast! Super Easy! Cleared it in 30 minutes! Back on track.
Page Lucky Thirteen- Completed at: 10:07pm. Notes: Yep. Got my rhythm back, and I'm Over the Halfway Point with a Full Twelve Hours to go. Not bad.
Page Fourteen- Completed at: 11:08pm. Notes: Huh. Still staying consistent.
Page Fifteen- Completed at: 11:54pm. Notes: Splash Page #2! Under an hour! Also, this page is easily the most F****D page of the entire book. I award myself bonus points for how ridiculous this page is.
Page Sixteen- Completed at: 12:22am. Notes: Hey, it's the next day. About thirty minutes. No fatigue? Really? I'm up WAY past my bedtime here.
Page Seventeen- Completed at: 12:57am. Notes: Another page in about thirty minutes! What am I, Superhuman?
Page Eighteen- Completed at: 2:36am. Notes: Ooooooh. That's not good. Apparently I took a pretty big break here. Ironically, this is one of the crappiest looking pages in the book, despite the fact that it took longer.
Page Nineteen- Completed at: 3:44am. Notes: Another splash page. That saved me some time. Another really nice page. At 3am. That's odd.
Page Twenty- Completed at: 4:44am. Notes: Another hour. Another page. If memory serves, things were getting bad right about now. This page is sort of mixed. Half of it sucks. Half of it is awesome. Meh.
Page Twenty One- Completed at: 7:38am. Notes: If you would, please compare the time on Page Twenty One to the time on Page Twenty. THREE HOURS! Crap! Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you: THE WALL. Yep, I completely ran out of gas shortly after finishing page Twenty. So, I took a nap. Also, it's worth mentioning, that after I woke up (feeling much like humanoid manure), I decided to pencil all of the pages that I had left, and then go about inking them. You might notice that the pages are completed pretty fast and furious at this stage. Also, for reasons I can't fully explain, I totally HATE this page. Don't know why. It's not a bad page, in retrospect.
Page Twenty Two- Completed at: Um...Forgot to write it down. Whoops. Notes: Home stretch.
Page Twenty Three- Completed at: 8:02am. Notes: Another splash page, possibly finished within fifteen minutes of the last page. Also, I really like this page. I looks really good.
Page Twenty Four- Completed at: 8:18am. Notes: Hahahahahaha!!! Done! With TWO HOURS to Spare! Hahahahaha!!!!

Anyway, that was that. I left the shop, went back to my hotel, slept for five hours, showered, ate a Burger, and went home.

Oh yeah, Clint was still working when I left. He still had a TON of pages to ink. I wonder if he finished?

MONSTER KING 6 Begins

2011-11-10T18:43:00.000-08:00

"Okay. I'm done."

I'm off to E-ville tomorrow to set up for 24 Hour Comic Book Day, so I've gotta get MONSTER KING up online, like, now. The first four pages of Issue 6 are now available for viewing starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk1.html. Things continue to go to hell for the Clown. But maybe there's some hope in the end. Hell, I hope so.

Meanwhile, in TORC PressLand, let's see what nonsense we're up to...

Monster King: We just finished Issue 5, which is already at the Printers. Issue 6 is starting, and I've just sent the entire issue to the Printers, like, an hour ago. Issue 6 is the final issue of the series. A new webcomic will be starting in 2012.

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club: Issue 15 just came in from the Printers. I'll be making it available on either Sunday or Monday. I've got Issue 16 scripted, and I've started the Pencils.

Cosmic Love: Issue 4 is at the Printers, and I've started the Script for Issue 5.

The Clown & Tea Cup Show: I really didn't figure I was gonna do another Issue of this series, but, lo and behold, Issue 3 is done, and I'll be sending it to the Printers soon. I plan on doing Issue 4 as my 24 Hour Comic on Saturday/Sunday. I know that kinda breaks the rules, but that's what I do, baby.

Incidentally, if I get those last two issues of TCTC to the Printers before the end of the month, then I'll have completed the Completely Impossible 24 Comix in a Single Year What Was I Thinking Challenge.

I'm good at being a Fool.

Voodoo Dolly

2011-11-07T03:15:00.000-08:00

Voodoo Dolly first appeared in "Pulp Horrorshow" vol. 1 #5 (I think it was issue 5, it's too early in the morning to go through my stack of old Xerox comix to know for sure). Voodoo Dolly is a human Voodoo Doll, which basically means she's a living conduit for powerful magicks. She's also an extremely skilled and highly agile fighter. When she first shows up, she was a prisoner of the Ortex Corporation. Because Cactus Joe the Clown had been raising a ruckus and had recently stolen the Eye of Cthug (a very crucial item to Ortex's plan to bring the Apocalypse to Earth), Johny Styles was forced to employ any and every means at his disposal to capture the Clown. Thus, Voodoo Dolly was sent out with the promise that she would receive her freedom in exchange for the Clown's head. To ensure her cooperation, a Control Collar was placed around VD's neck. In "Truth or Consequences Monthly" #5, Voodoo Dolly viciously attacked the Clown in the Locke City Sewers (interesting location now that I think of it...Full Circle). The Clown, recognizing the Control Collar, decided not to fight back, but instead disarmed the Collar, thus freeing Dolly from Ortex's Control. The Clown immediately fell in love with Dolly, while Dolly, conversely, seemed to barely have any feelings beyond mild gratitude toward her savior (in retrospect, this should have been a sign). At the first opportunity, she disappeared, leaving the Clown alone once again.

Voodoo Dolly briefly reappeared in "Super Duper Fun Comix: Strange Encounters", but wouldn't show up again until "SDF: Strange Patterns". With no money and nowhere else to go, Dolly turned to the only person she knew she could trust, the Clown. Cactus Joe, of course, let her immediately move into his place, which caused some tension between CJ and Pengy Penguin, who didn't trust Voodoo Dolly initially. For the remainder of Era Two, Voodoo Dolly was a companion to the Clown and Penguin, sharing in many of their adventures and troubles. But it wasn't exactly smooth sailing. The Clown kept making awkward attempts at romanticizing Dolly, but Dolly made it clear (repeatedly) that she didn't dig him that way. Groan. In the appropriately titled "SDF: End of an Era" Voodoo Dolly meets a "Nice, Normal, Handsome Guy", falls in love with him, and gets married. She exits as suddenly as she appeared, leaving only a little, handwritten note telling the Clown that She never loved him, never would love him, and that she never wanted the Clown's dangerous, rough and tumble life. Needless to say, that Hurt our Hero quite a bit.

And now, in Monster King #5, Voodoo Dolly is not only back, but she's working for the Ortex Corporation and trying to kill the Clown. Why? What drove her to this? We'll find out next week, as Monster King #6, the final issue of the series begins. Sometimes it's better not to know...

Betrayal

2011-11-06T05:12:00.000-08:00

I hate betrayal. I hate the idea, the concept, the act. I hate everything about it. But betrayal is a part of human nature. We often times betray each other unintentionally. "I didn't know that would hurt him so much." "I wouldn't have done it if I had known that would have broke her heart." "I didn't realize..." When I was a kid, I had an annoying habit of tattling on people, government sanctioned betrayal, if you will. Not a fond memory, but sometimes you've gotta face facts. I'm human just like everyone else, sad but true.

Betrayal is all over the Bible. By definition, the concept of Sin is a betrayal of God. Adam and Eve betray God by eating of the forbidden fruit. Cain betrays Abel by murdering him. Jacob betrays Esau by stealing his inheritance. Joseph's brothers sell him into Slavery. The Israelites repeatedly betray God by turning to False Idols and False Gods. Judas betrays Jesus into the hands of the Romans/Pharisees. Betrayal always has its consequences. Adam & Eve allow Sin and Death to enter into the world. Cain is marked and forced to walk the world as an outcast. Isaac spends most of his life on the run, desperately trying not to be slaughtered by his brother. Joseph's brothers, the fledgling Israelite Nation, end up become Slaves themselves under the command of their brother. Every time the Israelites screw up, they end up paying for it. And Judas? Hung himself from a tree while his 50 pieces of silver clanked about the ground below.

Looking at the bigger picture, though, sometimes a betrayal can have... unforeseen results. Jacob and Esau eventually reconcile, and Jacob's bloodline becomes the more noteworthy. The Israelites time in Egypt allows them to survive a time of great famine.

As for the Betrayal of Jesus, the Blood Sacrifice of Jesus Christ was necessary to open the pathway for the Salvation of Mankind (I didn't mean to turn this into a Sermon or anything...I was just trying to point out how betrayal is an almost primordial instinct. Also, if you don't believe any of the stuff above, don't worry about it, just view it as metaphor, right?).

It's like that one Conspiracy Theory about how Franklin Roosevelt knew the Japanese were going to bomb Pearl Harbor, but he kept the knowledge to himself to ensure it would happen, thus bringing the US into WWII to stomp some Nazi ass. Was it right? Was it wrong?

The more I think about it in the cold light of morning, there is nothing good about a betrayal. It's never a "necessary evil". It's ugly and horrible and wrong, and the only thing we can do is survive all the ugliness that follows and salvage what we can afterwards.

Betrayal is all over the TV right now. From Celebrity Divorces to Reality Shows that Reward you for Betrayal, there is no escaping the old Knife in the Back. We've been watching "Boardwalk Empire" on HBO, and that show is nothing but betrayal. People screwing each other over for the sake of greed and petty jealousy. It's pretty sad, really.

I understand betrayal quite well. My back is full of metaphorical scars. If you look closely enough, you can still see an old, rusty knife sticking out of my back, buried there by one of my closest friends. Decades later, we both try to pretend it's not there, but... we both see it. There's always this mild tension between us, barely palpable but still there. As if we're both just waiting. "When will he pay me back for what I did?" he thinks. "When will he bury another damn knife in my back?" I think. Like I said, we get along mostly by not talking or thinking about it.

I'd like to say I quit Church because of a betrayal. But I didn't quit Church because of A betrayal. I quit Church because of LOTS of Betrayals. When I was a teenager, we had this Preacher, and, long story short, we found out this guy was a Pathological Liar. That's right. We hired a guy to speak on The Truth, and he was mentally incapable of telling the Truth. How messed up is that? In the Baptist Church we're trained at a young age to believe that a Preacher is Chosen by God to serve as a Shepherd to the Church. Needless to say, I didn't really believe that after that incident. Two Preachers later, and we get a guy who was a Dangerous Sociopath with Rage Issues. When we FIRED him (another important note, Baptists almost Never Fire a Preacher. A Preacher's gotta pull a pretty stupid stunt to get fired in a Baptist Church. After all, we don't fire our Anointed Messenger of God lightly (rolls eyes in disgust)), we literally hid the womenfolk to ensure he wouldn't try to harm anyone when we delivered the news (I am not joking about this). When we did deliver the news, we went en mass, just to be safe. Yeah. The next Preacher? Screwed me over (and used another guy to do it). Screwed my Dad over. Publicly Humiliated my Brother (multiple times). Chased off several long time families. And when his tenure ended, he engineered a Civil War within the Church that basically destroyed us. And yet, still we few survivors soldiered on (Faith is funny like that). The next guy not only tried screwed me over, he tried to get My Dad to do his dirty work for him. I had to sit there and convince my Dad that A) I didn't mind the knife protruding out of my back and B) that he shouldn't quit going to Church. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't. Because the next guy was the straw that broke the camel's back. He is a lazy, greedy, liar and a thief and an idiot, and I just couldn't bring myself to listen to the garbage spewing out of his mouth anymore. So I quit.

I talked not too long ago about how my most recent relationship unexpectedly crashed and burned over the course of a single phone call. That one hurt. Still does. It's the suddenness of it. The unexpectedness. You think everything's going fine (even if you are covered in itchy bug bites that you got from going hiking with her, which was her damn idea in the first place), and then BAM! Someone you cared deeply for is now someone you despise, and there's this little piece of you that's dead inside, and all you can do is survive and move on.

So, yeah, Betrayal sucks. Just ask the Clown, as someone he has cared really very deeply for has just literally buried a knife in his chest. The last four pages of Monster King 5, featuring one of my least favorite moments in TORC Press History can be viewed at http://www.torcpress.com/mk21.html.

I should do something life affirming today. I'm kinda bummed now.

A Dark Day for Cactus Joe

2011-11-05T06:10:00.000-07:00

"No."

She was always going to betray him. Deep down inside, I always knew it was going to happen. I wanted them to live happily ever after. To get married and have kids. Nice house, picket fence, the whole nine yards. That was what I wanted.

But at the same time, I knew better. She was always so cold and distant. So self centered.

So, yeah, I knew this was gonna happen sooner or later. Doesn't mean I gotta like it.

The last four pages of Monster King #5 are available for viewing starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk21.html. The worst day of the Clown's life to date starts now.

New Book, New Con, New Updates

2011-11-02T03:15:00.000-07:00

So, I got the Print Version of "Monster King" #4 in yesterday, and I thought, "Screw it. Let's just add it to the online store." So I did. Issue 4 of MK is now available for sale in the online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. There's no preview or anything, since it was available for free viewing online, like, a month ago. For those of you that didn't read it in its original form (or are forgetful), the plot's pretty simple: Luther Dirge, the Lawyer from Hell, attempts to Corrupt the Clown's friends and allies. While everyone's stuck in the belly of a Giant Monster. That looks kind of like a red version of the desert from the Roadrunner cartoons. It's 24 Pages of full Color Mayhem for $5.00 plus $1.50 S&H. You can score it at the store at the link above, or just mail me a check or money order at: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824. Also, the Inside Back Cover is Blank, so if you order a copy, please include the name of a character that you would like a head sketch of.

Don't forget that "SDF: Pulp 2011 Edition" is also currently available.

I'm official for the Murfreesboro Anime and Comic Con in Murfreesboro, TN on January 21-22, 2012. So, if you're reading this, Cousin Rachel, clear me out a spot in the guest room. This will be my first Convention of the year. Details at http://www.comiccitytn.com/Nashville_Comic_Con.html. The only other Con I'm currently confirmed for is SPACE, which is April 21-22, 2012 in Columbus, OH. Details on that one can be found at http://www.backporchcomics.com/space.htm. According to my little notebook, I've got Seven other possible Conventions I may attending next year, but I may delete a couple (and a few may not go through after all...), so there's no telling how many shows I'll be working next year.

Production Updates: "Cosmic Love" #4 went off to the Printers on Sunday. The "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Bowling Special" went off to the Printers last night. Both should be available in December. Currently working on "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #3. "Monster King" #5 wraps up on Saturday, and I'll be sending it to the Printers ASAP. "Monster King" #6 starts next week. I may prep the whole book and send it to the printers before I have the whole comic solicited online. Not sure.

SDF: Pulp 2011 Edition Now Available

2011-10-31T03:18:00.000-07:00

Hey, I've got another comic out. Who knew? "SDF: Pulp 2011 Edition" is now available from TORC Press. It's 24 Pages in BWG with a Color Cover for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H. You can either purchase it in my online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html or send a check or money order to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824. There's a preview of the book at www.torcpress.com/sdfpprev.html.

So, what's it about?

Well, if you've read issues 4 and 5 of MONSTER KING, or if you've got a copy of "Sideshow", you might have noticed a character running around called Rakka the Witch Doctor. Welp, this is the story about how Cactus Joe and Pengy Penguin met Rakka. It's also a surreal western. It's also got an appearance by the notorious Dr. Dendull. It's kinda all over the place, really. Drawn in my down n' dirty Ralph Steadmanesque style, this is a comic about Bullets and Blood and Horrible Body Metamorphosis and Hidden Kingdoms. It's a fun read.

Johny Styles

2011-10-30T05:11:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading the latest installments of MONSTER KING, then you've seen Johny Styles by now. He's the blond guy in the cool looking white and red jumpsuit. He's the guy with the sword who cuts off Cactus Joe's left arm. Let's talk about him a bit.

If you're one of the handful of people that have been reading my comics since Era One: the Xerox Era, then you should be familiar with Johny Styles. In the olden days, Styles popped up all the time. He was kind of the middle man, setting up the various monsters and threats that would attack the Clown throughout "Pulp Horrorshow" vol 1 and "Truth or Consequences Monthly".

When we moved on to Era Two: the Violent Sitcom Era, Johny Styles kinda disappeared. I wanted the Ortex Corporation to be more mysterious, so I kinda hid the two major players, Johny Styles and Jack DuPre (we'll see more of him very soon as well). Most of the people (all five or six of you) who started reading my comix during Era Two never even saw Johny Styles.

Since the start of Era Three: the Adventure/Kirby Era, we've also not seen a lot of Johny Styles. He has a very brief cameo in "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #2, where he's seen manipulating the hot chick who attempts to kill our trio of heroes. Later on, at the end of "Monster King" #4, after Luther Dirge fails to kill the Clown, Johny Styles appears with his personal entourage, the Ortex Elite Squad, declaring that they will Kill the Clown. Now, in MK 5 we see that promise in action, as the Johny Styles led Ortex Elite Squad have smashed through the Clown's allies and have given the Clown one of the nastiest beatings he's received in awhile.

But who is Johny Styles?

Johny Styles is the Executive Vice President of the Ortex Corporation, which basically makes him the #2 guy in the most powerful Corporate/Political/Military Organization on Earth. In terms of sheer physical power, he's also one of the most powerful members of the Ortex Corporation. His power is obviously eclipsed by Jack DuPre, and the only other character who can match him in terms of power is Zarathon (or perhaps Levitone after he's consumed a ton of souls...). Johny Styles is a half demon, which means that his mother was a human, and his father was a human whose body was under full possession by a Demonic Spirit. Despite his rank within the Ortex Corporation, other demons treat him with derision due to the fact that he's a "half breed". Johny doesn't give a damn what others think of him. He's a living embodiment of Pride and Vanity, and he's perfectly satisfied with himself. Styles is very detached, very cool. He doesn't care about the lives of humans or other demons. He doesn't care about the Planet. He doesn't care about "Climbing the Corporate Ladder", cause he's already at the top. Johny Styles only cares about three things in the Universe. 1. Accomplishing the Ultimate Goal of the Ortex Corporation, which is to bring about the Armageddon. 2. Loyally serving Jack DuPre (despite the fact that Loyalty is a not a trait typically associated with Demons, Styles is 100% faithful to DuPre). 3. Well, that third thing will be very apparent, very soon.

Johny Styles has a human form and a demon form. His human form possesses super human strength, speed, and agility. He is a master swordsman (as demonstrated by the fact that he was able to hold his own against Mike the Butcher, even briefly), and has mastered dozens of fighting styles. As demonstrated on Page 20 of Issue 5, Johny Styles can Regenerate at will (just like the Clown... yipe!). He also is a master of Black Magic. And we haven't even seen his (More Powerful) Demon Form yet.

His name is Johny Styles, and he's one of the most powerful beings in the World. He won't stop until he's claimed the Clown's head. Stay tuned to Monster King for more insanity.

No Sleep Till MONSTER KING

2011-10-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

"I've Gotta Save My Friends!"

Jeezum Crow, I've got no time anymore. It's Trick or Treat Night in Clay City, and I've had no time to really enjoy things. I picked up candy and a cheap mask back on Wednesday, and I handed out the goodies and it was all a blur. On the bright side, I had just about the right amount of candy to go around. Usually I have a ton of leftover candy, but this year, I've just got a small handful that'll last me about a week (instead of a month). There were lots of kids this year.

Anyway, it's MONSTER KING time. A little early, again, due to me going to E-ville for the CQCA Meeting tomorrow. Anyway, you can check out Pages 17-20 starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk17.html. It's been a little while since Cactus Joe has gotten a royal ass kicking, so that's pretty much what happens here. The Ortex Elite Squad have the upper hand, and that's bad news for our Hero.

Issue 5 wraps up next week. After that, we're straight through to Issue 6.

Here's the rundown on what we've got towards the 24 Comix Challenge:

16. SDF: Pulp 2011- Just got it in from the Printers. I'll make it available online on either Sunday or Monday.

17. Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special- It's at the Printers, and I've paid the Invoice. According to my Calender, I should have copies by mid-November.

18. Monster King 5- See above.

19. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club 15- Currently at the Printers. I think I've paid the Invoice. Should be available in mid-November.

20. Monster King 6- Work is completed.

21. Cosmic Love 4- Work is completed. I'll be sending it to the Printers hopefully before the end of the weekend.

22. Super Duper Fun Comix Bowling Special- Work is completed.

23. The Clown & Tea Cup Show 3- Pencils are done. Gonna try to finish it before the end of next week.

24. This is a floater slot. I could do HFSAC 16 (which is scripted), but I may sub in my 24 Hour Comic Day Comic (which I'll be doing on November 12).

There ain't no rest for the wicked.

MONSTER KING and Mid-Ohio

2011-10-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

"Looks Like You're All Alone, Little Clown."

It's a little early, but it's MONSTER KING time. Things are looking bad for the Butterfly Mob as the Clown's allies are eliminated, and the architect of this attack is finally revealed. The Bad Mojo begins at http://www.torcpress.com/mk13.html.

In other news, I'll be at my last Con of the year, Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus, OH this weekend. I'll be doing my thing like I do my thing. We'll see how it goes.

12 Years...

2011-10-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

School Sucked. Don't get me wrong, there were good moments, sure. Little victories. But, for the most part school was isolation, humiliation, disappointment, torment, betrayal, and other crap. The Key to my Survival was quite simple: I was going to make comics. Graduate from High School, go to College, become a more well rounded individual/artist, start dating, graduate college, and make comics (and since this was the mid-90s, I still had a hope of becoming Rich & Famous through comics as well. Oh, the innocent days of my youth).

There was just one problem. College Sucked. The humiliation, torment, and betrayal were gone, only to be replaced by More Isolation (largely my own fault, by this point I was a full scale introvert), accompanied by tons of boredom and lots and lots of bills I couldn't afford. The only thing I liked about College were the Art Classes. In retrospect, maybe I shoulda just went directly to some Art School, instead of wasting my time at University. Who knows? Regardless, when the first year wrapped up, I was done.

So, off I go to work at the Sawmill. Now, I had worked at the Mill for years before then, but I had never worked at the Mill for a full year, let alone during the Winter. Wow. It was a whole new level of Suck, let me tell you. I got my ass kicked, AND we were building Mom and Dad's new house (usually in the evenings). And I was going nowhere. Because I had no plan. I mean, how DO you Make Comics, anyway? I screwed around, doodled, made up new characters, and just kinda...wasted my life. I needed to escape the Mill, just for a little while.

Enter Community College. CC gave me the opportunity to work at the Mill part time, the classes were easy (I paid ZERO attention and passed everything. Even Aced a few classes), and I got to take some Art and Creative Writing Classes. Not Bad. I went for a year, and after it wrapped up... well, I was right back where I started. What was I supposed to do? I worked at the Mill, doodled, and devoted too much time to Final Fantasy VII. My buddies started up a Backyard Wrestling Organization (the much lamented New Wave Wrestling Alliance), and I joined in. But I was still going nowhere.

In October 1999, I was in a comic shop in Effingham (it was a nice little shop, even if it only lasted a couple of years), shopping around when I saw it. "The Create Your Own Comic Kit". There it was. All those years of having no idea what to do, and here was a big fat box full of supplies and information.

The joke is, I hesitated. I just stared at the box for awhile, not sure whether I really wanted to make this leap. Life had beaten me to a pulp by this point. I wasn't special. I wasn't interesting. I wasn't anything. I was a blue collar sawmill hand who still lived with my Parents. I sucked. I couldn't make comics. Why even bother?

And why not? Sure, I was a loser. But how big a loser would I have been if I would have not even tried, right? From the Age of Nine I had been wanting to make comics. Now was my chance. Screw it. So, I bought the box, and I decided that I would make One Comic Book, so I could at least say that I had fulfilled my dream before consigning myself to a lifetime of Loserdom and Mediocrity.

So I made a comic. Drove to Kinkos in Carbondale and got a bunch of copies made. Gave em away to friends and family. Loved it. Made another. And another. I just kept making comics, because it was the only thing in my life that made sense. I tried sending out a submission to a few Companies. Got rejected. Kept making comics anyway. Got better. Bought and renovated a house (that slowed me down a little). Moved into my house. Said, screw it, it was time to do this for real. Created SDF. Took it to a real printer. Went to my first Convention. Actually Sold Comics to People that weren't related to me. Had a buddy make me a Website. Made more comics. Went to more Conventions. Sold more Comics. Experimented with stuff. Switched printers. Took over my website (eventually) and started a new Webcomic. Just kept doing what I do.

My name is Joseph Morris, and I am the owner and operator of TORC Press, the Bestest Damn Comix Publisher that No One's Ever Heard of or Cares About. I've been slugging away making comix for 12 Years now, and I get a little better each year. Comix are my life, and I love it. I don't plan on stopping any time soon. In fact, I've got a great plan for next year.

Personally, I can't wait.

Mid-Ohio Con, 12 Years, and Production Updates

2011-10-17T03:10:00.000-07:00

Right-0. First off, I'll be at the recently purchased by Wizard Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus, OH this weekend. I'll be sharing a table with my longtime comrade-in-arms, Clint Basinger of Cosmic Moustache Comics. Details on the show are at http://www.wizardworldcomiccon.com/wizcon.html.

Also, in all the craziness surrounding the 24 Comix in a Year Challenge, I totally forgot that the month of October marks the 12 Year Anniversary of TORC Press. Who knew? I'll probably wax philosophical about that later in the week.

Speaking of the 24 Comix Challenge, Here's Production Updates:

"The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club": Issues 1-14 are available in the online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. Issue 15 is at the Printers. I plan on starting the script for Issue 16 tonight.

"Monster King": Issues 1-3 are available in the online store. Issue 4 is currently at the Printers. Pages 1-12 of Issue 5 can be viewed at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. I completed Issue 6 this weekend. So that's the end of that.

"Cosmic Love": Issues 1-3 are available in the online store. Issue 4 is completed, but I'm not sure when I'll have time to send it to the printers with the convention this weekend. Maybe Friday morning? I'll start the script for Issue 5 just as soon as I've completed HFSAC 16.

Other Stuff: "SDF: Pulp 2011 Special" is at the Printers and should be shipping...sometime this week. "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special" got sent to the Printers yesterday. The "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Bowling Special" is within four pages of completion. I've also started work (barely) on "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #3.

Right now, I need to finish SDFCB, TCTC 3, and HFSAC 16, send all that to the Printers as well as MK 5-6 and SDFC, to complete the Completely Impossible, What-Was-I-Thinking, 24 Comix in a Single Year Challenge. HFSAC 16 will be the killer.

MONSTER KING and the End of Gulatta

2011-10-15T06:13:00.000-07:00

"Black Hole Palm!"

Ah. It's Saturday, so that means it's MONSTER KING time! This week we've got Pages 9-12, which can be viewed starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk9.html.

This week, we veer off course a little to tie up some loose ends. For those of you that remember it, I did this comic called "Gulatta!" a while back. It was moderately popular, and I had plans for the series, including an eventual wrap-up. Unfortunately, I just couldn't... I lost interest. I know, I suck. That's the problem with having too many ideas in my brain. If I'm not 100% into it, it's hard to keep up. Throw in the fact that I make comics alone, and I work full time in a sawmill, and excuses, excuses, excuses. You know the drill.

But one of the things that's always bothered me about the way I do things, is that I never really wrap up many of my stories the way I want to. I just kinda drop stuff and move on to the next thing. I did manage to wrap up SDF, sending the book off with a sad, poignant little ending. Anyway, I wanted to take the time to bring some of my dangling stories to some sort of conclusion. The idea I came up with was, quite simply, "What if the Skull Mob decided to destroy the Status Quo, and wipe out all of the villains I've concocted over the years?" So, that's what I did. This isn't really how Gulatta was gonna end (it's a lot more violent and a lot shorter), but it is similar.

What I think is kinda funny, now that I think about it, is how this little ending is different from how most superhero comics work. I mean, usually, the bad guy does something horrible, THEN the good guys have to thwart the plan (if there's anything left to thwart) and bring the bad guy to justice (just so he can come back and commit some other act of evil a year or two later).

In the case of the latest MK, our heroes smash into the villain well before he can complete his scheme, and the results are rather...ugly. I, personally, prefer more proactive heroes myself. That's just me.

The other handy thing about all of this, is that it's quite handily setting me up for WHAT'S NEXT. Because there's always something cooking up there.

Toldos & Rakor

2011-10-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

Right. If you haven't been there yet, go ahead and bring yourself up to date on Monster King, over at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. I'll wait. Everyone up to date? Okay.

Toldos & Rakor, who appear in those pages, debuted way back in the beginning in "Pulp Horrorshow" v0l. 1 #2. Their first full appearance was in Issue #3. They popped back up in "Truth or Consequences Monthly" #4-6. They returned in "SDF: Perfect/Ugly" with another little scheme to kill the Clown, then went with a full tilt attack in "SDF: Honorless Dogs" 1-3. The Clown's killed 'em TWICE. They're annoying that way.

I created both of these guys back in...High School? I think it was High School. They've always been mid-level demons designed to menace whoever my main character at the time was. They weren't always a duo. In fact, I'm not sure when they became a duo, but it made sense when they finally came together.

Toldos is a Toad Demon. The idea came from that whole "Raining Frogs" thing that pops up every so often (there was an episode of the "X-Files" that I clearly remember where it rained frogs as a precursor to a series of demonic activities. Also that one Stephen King short story. I love that story). Toldos is strong and has supernatural leaping abilities. He likes to leap into the air and crashland on his enemy, with devastating results (check out "SDF: Honorless Dogs" 3 for an example of how nasty that attack can be). He's also got a long, prehensile tongue that's coated in a powerful acid. Toldos's weaknesses are that he's slow and stupid. Very stupid. I have no idea why Toldos says "Yes" at the end of all of his sentences. I didn't write that.

Rakor's a Rat Demon. That one's pretty obvious. Rats have always been associated with Plague, Pestilence, and Black Magic. Rakor possesses superhuman speed, has razor sharp claws, and can vomit up a thick, black goop that's chock full of diseasey nastiness. Rakor also knows a variety of powerful Black Magic Spells and Curses. He's also fairly clever, which makes up for the fact that Toldos is dumber than a box of rocks. Rakor is not as strong or as tough as Toldos, though. Oh yeah, Rakor also has a powerful sense of smell, which is why he's been able to track down the Clown on multiple occasions (Fun Fact: The Clown smells like Cotton Candy and Sawdust).

The Toldos & Rakor we've seen in the comics aren't the "real" Toldos & Rakor. Their Real Bodies are still trapped in Hell. Their Demonic Spirits are Free to Roam the Earth (thanks to the fact that Ortex constantly summons them back). Their Spirits can take Possession of the body of anyone that's sold their soul to Ortex. Since Ortex currently rules the world, that's a pretty big list of possible bodies. Anyway, that's why they get killed and come back all the time. It's not like the Joker where he "slips away" at the end. Nope, they die, and then just get summoned back into new bodies, usually with some new screwball plan to kill the Clown.

Anyway, long story short, Toldos & Rakor, the Assassins from Hell, have been drafted into the mysterious Ortex Elite Squad. They've got experience fighting the Clown, and they won't stop until he's Deader than Dead. Needless to say, "Monster King" #5 is gonna be a rough ride for our Hero.

And there's still two other members of the Elite Squad waiting in the wings.

Monday Production Updates Before (Groan) Work

2011-10-10T03:09:00.000-07:00

Whada we got today...

"The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club"- Issues 1-14 are now available in the online store at www.torcpress.com. Issue 14 just came out, and you can view a preview at http://www.torcpress.com/hfsac14prev.html. Issue 15 is completed and has been sent to the Printers as of yesterday. I need to write the script for Issue 16 sometime this week.

"Cosmic Love"- Issues 1-3 are available in the online store. I finished Issue 4 last week, and I'll hopefully be sending it to the Printers before the end of the month. I'm not gonna worry about Issue 5 until I get the rest of my "Mad Dash" books done this month.

"Monster King"- Issues 1-3 are available in the online store. Issue 4 is currently at the Printers. Issue 5 is currently being serialized at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. You can currently view the first 8 pages. I have penciled and inked over half of Issue 6. I intend to finish the book before the end of this week.

Other Stuff- I need to write the script for "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special #2" sometime soon (maybe this week if I've got time). Other than that, I plan on doing another issue of "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" sometime soon. So there you go. Not too impossible, right?

Way too Many Reviews

2011-10-09T07:12:00.000-07:00

"50/50"- Starring Joseph Gordon Levitt (yay!) and Seth Rogan (boo!)-- Right. JGL has cancer, which sucks. This movie is billed as sort of a comedy, with an emphasis on "sorta". It's kinda sad, really, and the recurring themes of loneliness and isolation hit a little too close to home for me. Kinda bummed me out, really. Still, Joseph Gordon Levitt is excellent as always, and Seth Rogan's just collecting a paycheck so he can smoke more weed, like always. As an added bonus, the always excellent Anjelica Houston is in it as Levitt's overprotective mom. Not bad. Worth watching.

"Snarked!" #1 by Roger Landgridge- The continuing adventures of the Walrus and the Carpenter as they try to scam their way through life in (not really) Wonderland. This is great, good old fashioned cartooning, and it's based on the various works of Lewis Carroll. So, yeah, lovely.

"iZombie" #18 by Chris Roberson and Jay Stephens- Hey! Guest artist! They great Jay Stephens drops by Zombieland to give us a neato little flashback about the old guy monster hunter. Not an essential issue, but fun nonetheless.

"Baltimore: the Curse Bells" #2 by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, and Ben Stenbeck- Lord Baltimore continues the hunt of the one eyed vampire that ruined his life. Plus there's evil vampire nuns and a really screwed pregnancy involving lots of blood. Creepy fun.

"RASL" #10 by Jeff Smith- I hate to say this, but this issue is kinda painfully skippable. I've really liked this series, but the (long) wait between issues coupled with the occasional slow issue like this one is making me think I should just wait for the Collection Edition of this one.

"Stormwatch" #2 by Jefff Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda- Wowzers! Issue One was just kinda okay, but this issue... Man, oh man this issue is awesome! Just crazy, bizarre stuff from one end to the other. Plus, Monsters! And the Moon tries to kill Earth by throwing giant Monsters at it. I lub eet! Can't wait for next issue.

"Red Lanterns" #2 by Peter Milligan and Ed Benes- It's a little slow, but this little issue delves into the horrors and immorality of war in a fairly deft manner. Then Atrocitus vaporizes a guy with his Acidbloodpuke. So, yeah. Digging it.

"Animal Man" #2 by Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman- I didn't love Issue One as much as everyone else, but I still liked it enough to pick up Issue Two. Glad I did. HOLY CRAP! Monsters, Tears of Blood, Monsters, the Red, Monsters, and a solid story with great characterizations. Apparently Lemire has decided that it's Game On.

"OMAC" #2 by Keith Giffen and Dan Didio- Sigh. Kevin Kho is a whiny little nobody who wastes our time for some of this issue. Then an Absorbing Man rip-off shows up and starts wrecking stuff. So Kho is forced to turn into OMAC. Then there's much Smashing, including OMAC dropping a building on the notAbsorbing Man, which is Smash Directly our of the Kirby Smash Playbook. Also, there's some actual Plot Exposition. So what did I think? Reread the sentence about OMAC dropping a building on a dude. Do you need anything else from your comics? I don't.

"Action Comics" #2 by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales- Oh Lex Luther. You've got Superman right where you want him. Now can you hold onto him long enough to exterminate and dissect him? Well, if he could it wouldn't be much of a series, would it? This comic makes me smile. I read it, and I just get this goofy smile through the whole comic. I think happiness is a pretty good review, right?

"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: 1969" by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neil- Hmmm. I gotta admit, I'm not sure what to think of this one. On the one hand, I honestly can't remember much of anything about "The Black Dossier" or the previous TPB (except that I HATED it), so I kinda felt a little lost with this one, cause it makes a lot of references to that stuff. Plus, there's a ton of references to literary and pop culture stuff, most of which I don't get, which kinda detracts. Plus, the ending sucks ass. And, once you get down to brass tacks, there's really not much here, just kind of one event and a bunch of bickering between the three lead characters. Wow. This is not a very favorable review. Still, it's got some cool psychedelics, and there's lots of sex and nudity. I am a fan of those three things.

"One Piece" vol. 58 by Eichiro Oda- Every year, Marvel and DC put out a Big Ass Crossover featuring all of their characters, chronicling a massive Battle between the forces of Good and Evil, where usually someone dies at the end. It would be cool, if they didn't do it Every Damn Year, and the Death at the end is completely meaningless because the Dead Guy usually comes back to life within a year or three. Plus, there's almost never any real quantifiable effect on the world at the end (or if there is, it's rearranged again when the next Event starts). By contrast, the Paramount War in Eichiro Oda's "One Piece" is not only a massive epic conflict that is utterly breathtaking in its scope and execution, but the Deaths at the End have real impact, because the characters that Died were important, and we know they're not coming back, ever. Plus, the Paramount War has a real impact on the world of One Piece, one that is still having an effect on the story. Volume 58 is just about in the middle of the conflict, as Luffy continues his attempt to free his brother Ace. One of the two major deaths that result from this war comes at the end of this volume, and it's a heartbreaker. One Piece is pretty much better than just about everything else out there. Easily my most favorite manga ever.

MONSTER KING and the CQCA Workshop

2011-10-08T03:30:00.000-07:00

"We are the Ortex Elite Squad, and We have come for your Head, Clown."

Oh man. Oh man! This is bad news! Things didn't start good over in MONSTER KING Land, and they're not getting any better. Within the first four pages, Broken Tea Cup and Johny Eraser got Taken Out, and now that the Ortex Elite Squad has revealed themselves, things are only going to get worse, and worse, and worse. This isn't a bushwhacking, it's a massacre.

Anyway, it's Saturday, so that means new MONSTER KING. We've got Pages 5-8 up starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk5.html. All four members of the Ortex Elite Squad step out of the shadows, the true identity of two of them are revealed (which, if you're a long time TORCReader, is BAD News), and the Butterfly Mob loses another player. Not good! Not good!

Other than that, I'm on my way to Evansville, IN in a few hours for the Comic Quest Creator's Alliance Meeting/Workshop. We're going to try to get as much material as we can for a new book. The theme is sci-fi (not syfy...groan), and after doing some uncharacteristic thinking on the subject (normally these things just come to me) I finally came up with my story idea. So that's good. I think I'll watch "50/50" while I'm in town. I really dig Joseph Gordan Levitt, but I really Hate Seth Rogan. So my odds of liking the film are, well, 50/50.

Ha.

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Issue 14 Now Available!

2011-10-05T03:18:00.000-07:00

It's new Comix Time! Why not?

That's right, cats n' kittens, Issue 14 of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" is now available from TORC Press. After the rather...oddness...of last issue, this time around we're back to good old fashioned adventuring, as the Fudgeheads travel to the mystical Lost Lands in search of the mysterious Spiral Apple. And if you're in the Lost Lands, it's pretty much a given you're going to run into aliceislost. That's right, the Classic TORC Press character (and easily my most popular female character ever) returns with more than just a brief cameo. Huzzah!

Anyway, HFSAC 14 is the first half of a brand new 2 part story arc. It's a BWG 24 Page Comic with a Color cover for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H. You can view a preview online at http://www.torcpress.com/hfsac14prev.html, or if you don't need further convincing, pick it up online at www.torcpress.com/store.html. OR you can always send a check or money order to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824.

Everybody Dance Now! Bamp! Bamp-bamp-bamp-bamp!

Back from Nashville

2011-10-03T03:12:00.000-07:00

I am home from Nashville, safe and sound. Had a decent little show and a nice weekend.

First off, thanks to everyone that came out and supported the cause. That goes doubly for the small but loyal group of already existing TORC Press Readers that swung by and picked up new books.

Secondly, but not secondly in importance, a big ole Thank You to my cousins, Rachel and Katie for giving me a couple of lovely places to crash, as well as feeding me over the weekend. I really appreciate it. I would expound your virtues further, but it's 5am and my brain is mush.

Anyway, had a solid show. I finally sold that Faux Animation Cell I've been carrying around for a little over a year. It was a really excellent piece, and I'm glad it's finally found a home before I damaged it from dragging it around for years and years.

My friend and co-conspirator, Clint Basinger of Cosmic Moustache Comics was also at the show. Didn't get to hang with him much, but he seemed to indicate that he did okay.

Anyway, it's another cold-ass morning, and I've got some lumber stacking to do soon. This evening I'll hopefully be putting the finishing touches on "Cosmic Love" #4. I need to script HFSAC 16 and MK 6, cause I'm gonna need to start pencils on both sometime this week. MAD DASH!

Oh, picked up the last of my New 52 Picks, Justice League Dark over the weekend. There's deadly flying witches' teeth, so I'm in. Also, Shade's crazy. So I'm double in.

Nashville and New MONSTER KING

2011-09-30T06:17:00.000-07:00

First off, we will be at the Nashville Comic & Horror Festival this weekend, doing our thing. Details can be found at http://www.comiccitytn.com/Nashville_Comic_Con.html.

Also, we've got a new issue of MONSTER KING just starting up. You can view the first four pages of Issue 5 starting at http://www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. It's pretty simple, there's two pages of plot exposition and character stuff, then Everything Goes Horribly Wrong. And they don't stop going wrong. They just don't. This is gonna be one of those Blood n' Guts type of Issues. Enjoy!

Anyway, I need to start getting ready to roll. Later.

Monday Production Updates while Wore Out

2011-09-26T03:12:00.000-07:00

Right.

Before I forget again, I will be at the Nashville Comic & Horror Fest this weekend. I'll be there both days, all day. Information can be found at http://www.comiccitytn.com/Nashville_Comic_Con.html. Now all I need to do is start getting ready for it.

Also, this is the last week for Monster King Issue 4. Read it while the reading is good, cause Issue 5 will come storming in on...well, Friday, actually. It'll be a little early due to me leaving for Nashville. Of course, all of this is assuming I can access my website's account. It's been acting flaky since yesterday.

Here's what's going down in TORCtown (all of which you can check out at www.torcpress.com):

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club: Issues 1-13 are available in the store. Issue 14 is being shipped to me as we speak, in theory I should have it before Nashville, and will probably make it available online next week, after I get back. Issue 15 is completed. I will send it to the printers the second I get time to Photoshop it.

Monster King: Issues 1-3 are available in the store. Issue 4 was sent to the Printers on Friday, should be available sometime in October. Issue 5 is completed, and the first 4 pages are colorized and ready to go online. I plan on scripting Issue 6 soon.

Cosmic Love: Issues 1-3 are available in the store. Issue 4 is halfway done. I need to pencil the rest of the book this week, and hopefully get some inks done as well.

Other Books: "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special" is completed, and I'll hopefully send it to the printers in a couple of weeks. I've got ideas for another SDFComix Special, as well as Issue 3 of the Clown & Tea Cup Show.

DC New 52 Round 3 & 4 Reviews

2011-09-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, before we get to the reviews, again, MONSTER KING 4 goes away at the end of this week. Anyway, here's some quick, non-DC reviews.

Pigs #1- Image- Nate Cosby, Ben McCool, Breno Tamura- A Russian Sleeper Cell hidden in Cuba awakens and begins wrecking havoc in the US. Meanwhile, some cops play "The Usual Suspects" trying to figure out what the hell's going on. This is the kind of comic lots of people will enjoy. It's got a bit of police procedural and a bit of the whole espionage/intrigue thing going on. Unfortunately, this comic is not for me. I don't like the premise, the characters, the art, or the dialogue. Again, others will like this. I did not.

Snarked #0- Kaboom!- Roger Langridge- Despite Mark's recommendations, I never got around to reading Langridge's "Muppet Show" run. Anyway, when the guy went on his own and created something new, I was like, why not? This is neat. Cool art, off beat characters, and it's loosely based on "Alice in Wonderland". I'll be picking this one up when it officially debuts next month.

Butcher Baker the Righteous Maker #6- Joe Casey, Mike Huddleston- I've been on the fence with this comic. I like the art, I like the ideas, but there's too much...posturing, and that kinda annoys me. But this issue. This issue is bad ass. The art kicks ass from one end of the book to the other, and the story rolls fast and furious, not treading water like some previous issues. Very cool.

BPRD: Hell on Earth: Russia #1- Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Tyler Crook- Liz is gone, Abe's in a Death Coma, so all that's left is Johann and Kate, who get shipped off to Russia to deal with more insane crap. It's BPRD. It's great. There's horrible stuff and some new characters. Should be fun.

Love and Rockets New Stories 4 by Los Bros Hernandez- Do I even need to bother? IT'S LOVE AND ROCKETS! GO BUY A COPY!

Okay, on with the DC New 52 Reviews.

Nightwing by Kyle Higgins, Eddy Barrows, and JP Mayer
Why I Picked It Up: I've always like Nightwing as a character, especially the series from several years ago, so I thought I'd make this one a dark horse.
What Happens: Dick Grayson gets back into being Nightwing (based in Gotham this time), fights some bad guys, and visits his old circus.
What I Thought: Easily the weakest DC book I've picked up to date. This comic isn't bad, it's just mediocre. Having said that, there's stuff I liked, like Nightwing's new costume, and the voice narration by Dick. There's several definitive differences between Dick and Bruce, and that is solidly expressed here. The action sequences try to live up to the potential of the acrobatic lead, but, honestly, the art can't keep up.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2: Sorry. It's just not strong enough. I'm out.

Batman & Robin by Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, and Mick Gray
Why I Picked It Up: Bruce and Damian as the Dynamic Duo. Worth a shot.
What Happens: We've got another bad guy scrubbing Batman Inc. members. Bruce and Damian try to learn to work together, to mixed results.
What I Thought: There's some good stuff here. The character interactions between Bruce and Damian are the main show here, as well as the polarity of their approaches to crime fighting. There's some neat stuff, but the art isn't to my tastes, and not enough resonates with me.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2: I'm not super psyched, but I think I'll give it a shot. It needs to knock the ball out of the park next issue, though.

Red Lanterns by Peter Milligan, Ed Benes, and Rob Hunter
Why I Picked It Up: I dig Peter Milligan. Also, if I was a Lantern, I'd be a Red one. RAGE!
What Happens: There's some killing, and we get Atrocitus's origin, as well as a search for meaning.
What I Thought: Here's the Bad News- If you know next to nothing about the Red Lanterns (and I don't), this is not a very good introduction. Most of the characters are ill defined, and the actual properties of the Red Lanterns are not really explained. Having said that, the art is really good, perfectly suited for the subject matter. There's violence, crazy stuff, and the Red Lanterns are a gang of Monsters. And I love Monsters. Also, Atrocitus is really cool. Honestly, Milligan has a very difficult task, trying to turn a gang of violent cosmic sociopaths into the lead characters of a series. And, he pretty much succeeds.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2? Yeah. If nothing else, I'm hoping I'll learn more about everything next issue.

Resurrection Man by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Fernando Dagnino
Why I Picked It Up: Wasn't gonna at all, but there's been some really strong reviews for this book online, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
What Happens: Resurrection Man dies a couple of times and there's Demons and Angels and evil debutantes.
What I Thought: Wow. Totally surprised by this one. It was great. Just great. I mean, there's Demons and Angels and Evil Debutantes, and great writing. Right up my alley.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2? I'm in like Flynn. More Please.

Batwoman by J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman
Why I Picked It Up: J. H. Williams III
What Happens: Batwoman is chasing the Mexican Spirit known as La Llorna (which I first heard about in Love & Rockets (Full Circle)). She also has sidekick troubles.
What I Thought: Okay, like Red Lanterns, this is NOT a good introduction issue. I missed out on the JH Williams Batwoman stories from Detective, so I really don't know anything about Batwoman at all, and this issue doesn't really do a good job of introducing me to her or her world. Having said that: J. H. Williams III.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2? Again. J. H. Williams III. IN.

Demon Knights by Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves, and Oclair Albert
Why I Picked It Up: Wasn't gonna, but I liked Cornell's "Stormwatch". Plus, it's got Etrigan.
What Happens: We get Etrigan's origin. The Demon Knights kinda come together to fight a massive army led by Mordred.
What I Thought: This book moves so fast, you almost can't keep up. Which I like. We've got a great cast of characters, kinda sorta being drawn together. The art's pretty good too. Also, Dinosaurs.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2? Yep. The Demon and Dinosaurs? Yep.

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. by Jeff Lemire and Alberto Ponticelli
Why I Picked It Up: I loved what Morrison did with these characters in his Seven Soldiers series. Also, I wanted to try more Lemire, especially after how good Animal Man was.
What Happens: A town is invaded by monsters. Frankenstein and SHADE have gotta stop it.
What I Thought: I loved everything about this comic. I loved this comic from page one on. Frankenstein's leading a team of Monsters. I loved this comic.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2? I loved this comic. Give me more monsters.

Wonder Woman by Brian Azzarello and Clint Chiang
Why I Picked It Up: This one has been seriously hyped since Day One. I gotta admit, I was curious if they could actually make a decent, let alone excellent, Wonder Woman comic.
What Happens: Mythology goes wrong. Very, very wrong.
What I Thought: Wowzers. Wowzers. Man, this is the real deal. This is a comic for me. Wowzers.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2? I'd buy it right now if I could.

Batman by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, and Jonathan Glapion
Why I Picked It Up: This is another one that's been very strongly hyped. I dug Snyder's "Swamp Thing", and I was curious how Capullo would hold up after leaving Spawnland.
What Happens: Batman stops an Arkham prison break, then gets dumped into a new mystery with a very out of left field suspect.
What I Thought: The best Bat book I've read to date. Still, I'm not sure it lives up to all the hype. There's a lotta people online calling this the second coming, and I'm not as in love with it as that. Having said that, I really enjoyed this book. Well written and the art's great. There's some really cool concepts floating around. Snyder is dancing around in Morrison territory in terms of pure concept, and he's doing an impressive job.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2? Yeah.

What's the verdict? Nightwing is out, and Batman & Robin's got another issue to impress me. I'll read Batwoman as long as J.H. Williams is doing the art. Demon Knights and Batman were solid enough to keep reading. I was absolutely shocked by how good Resurrection Man and Wonder Woman were. Red Lanterns and Frankenstein are my kind of books. Gotta say, I'm digging this Reboot.

The Last of MONSTER KING 4

2011-09-24T05:34:00.000-07:00

"There it is, the Legendary Flying Taco Stand!"

Welp, there it is, folks, the last two pages of MONSTER KING Issue 4. Pages 23 and 24 can be viewed starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk23.html. It's a silly little conclusion to this bizarre little story.

Anyway, there ain't no rest for the wicked. Issue 5 will be starting up next week. We're mixing things up again. The plan is to delete MK 4 next week and release 4 Pages of MK 5 every week until that issue wraps up. So get Issue 4 while the getting is good.

Also, the Dr. Orphyus Project is performing live tonight at Friends & Company in Charleston, IL. The show starts at 9. I think I'll be meeting Bro and Fitchy in Mattoon around 6:30 or so. This is the last stop on Bro's 2011 Midwest World Tour. Should be a cool show. I think Bro will be performing 4 new songs from his soon to be released album, "Death Jazz". All 4 songs will feature videos that were created within the last year, two of which were created shortly before his tour. All of em feature artwork and animation by yours truly. This will actually be the first time I've seen two of the new videos in action, so I'm pretty excited.

Anyway, I'm off to Evansville. The CQCA Meeting got canceled, but I've still gotta pick up close to a dozen New DC Comics, get Reductions done on a buncha books (including the aforementioned MK5), and pick up a present for a friend's kid. From there it's off to Charleston for the aforementioned show. Gonna be a long road type of day.

Battle Plan Part 2

2011-09-19T03:09:00.000-07:00

So, a couple of posts ago I was discussing my strategy for completing my "Completely Impossible What Was I Thinking 24 Comix Published in a Single Year Challenge". Since then, I've done some thinking, and I've revised my battle strategy a bit. I know which books I need to do to finish the challenge, and, more importantly, I know my time frame. If I can complete all of these by the end of October, I should be able to deliver everything to the Printers with plenty of time to spare before the year runs out. So, here's my To Do List:

14. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club 14- Currently at the Printers.
15. Monster King 4- I need to Colorize and release the last two pages online, then I need to work up a cover, and send the whole thing to the Printers.
16. SDF: Pulp 2011 Special- Currently at the Printers.
17. Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special #1- Completed last weekend. Needs to be reduced, Photoshopped, and Delivered to the Printers.
18. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club 15- Completed this weekend. Needs to be reduced, Photoshopped, and Delivered to the Printers.
19. Monster King 5- Completed this weekend. I need to get reductions made. I will begin releasing MK5 in 4 Page Installments around October 1st.
20. Cosmic Love 4- Script is Done. Pencils and Inks are started.
21. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club 16- I've got nothing but a plot in my head.
22. Monster King 6- I plan on writing the Script for this one soon, maybe this week.
23. Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special #2- I came up with the plot for this one a few days ago. Should be fun.
24. The Clown & Tea Cup Show 3- This one will be my Hail Mary. I plan on saving it for last, not writing a script for it, and knocking the whole book out in a day or two, similar to a 24 Hour Comic, except I get to sleep somewhere in the middle. I've got a vague plot in my head at least.

So there you go, I've got a little under a month in a half to produce a little over 5 1/2 Books. Kirby wouldn't have sweated that on his worst day.

Just About Done with MONSTER KING 4

2011-09-17T05:12:00.000-07:00

"Have I Mentioned I HATE Walking?"

Well, Broken Tea Cup may not be all that thrilled, but MONSTER KING Issue 4 is just about done. This week, we've got pages 21-22 starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk21.html. With both Old One Eye and Luther Dirge failing in their attempts to kill the Clown, the Ortex Elite Squad has arrived to finish the job! Who are they (actually, long time readers should recognize Johny Styles, Executive Vice President of the Ortex Corporation), and why are they such a deadly threat? Well, you gotta wait for next Issue to find out. In the meantime, our heroes are wandering aimlessly through the desert looking for...what? Who knows? It's TORC Press, and it's best to not bother asking questions.

In the meantime, we're smashing and bashing our way through to the end of our Impossible 24 Comix in a Year Challenge. This weekend, we're inking Monster King 5. We should have HFSAC 15 done by the middle of this next week. Cosmic Love 4 is scripted, and pencils are started. We'll start inking it after we're done with HFSAC.

Oh, and before I forget, Bro is on the Road right now. That's right, the Dr. Orphyus Project is Live and on the Road, tearing it up across the Northern Midwest. They should have wrapped up a show in Appleton, WI last night, and they'll be in upper Wisconsin (I think) tonight. The tour wraps up a week from today in Charleston, IL, which is where I'll finally be able to catch up with Brutha Buzz. Bro's got two Brand New Videos that I made for him on this tour. I look forward to seeing them Live next week. All of us here at TORC Press (which, again, is just me) wish the brave men of the DOP (which, incidentally, is just Ryan and his "tour manager" (aka Drinking Buddy) Fitchy) the Best of Luck on their Tour.

Battle Plan

2011-09-12T03:18:00.000-07:00

I think it was back in January that I declared the "Completely Impossible, What Was I Thinking, There's No Way I'm Gonna Pull This Off, Publish 24 Comics in a Single Year" Challenge. I Challenged myself to do this for a lot of reasons. I was depressed and needed something to keep me going was a big part of it. Also, I'm so tired of the Apathy I see all around me. It seems like I'm constantly seeing the Real World beat people down. I watch people give up on their dreams all the time. At conventions, every year, I talk to people about making their own comics, and I offer advice and information and encouragement, but it's extremely rare to see those people pick up the torch and run with it. So, my Impossible Challenge was kinda for me, and kinda for all the other Dreamers out there. A Never Say Die Anthem for all the would be Believers.

Well, we're into Month NINE, and let's see how we're doing. I'm recovering from a broken heart and spider bites on my ankles. Lots of other obstacles have gotten in my way, from my extremely aggressive convention schedule to good old fashioned exhaustion. Long story short, with the Publication of "Cosmic Love" #3 (available for sale at www.torcpress.com), we (and as always, when I say we, I mean me) have knocked out 13 Comix this year. Now, that's a respectable number. In fact, that's over a year's worth of material produced in less the a year. BUT, it's also 11 Books short of my goal, with only FOUR months left in the Calender Year. To make matters even more Impossible, Technically, I need to wrap things up before the end of NOVEMBER, because the Printers have a One Month Turn Over Rate. So, technically, I only have THREE MONTHS to Produce ELEVEN BOOKS.

So, yeah, I'm screwed.

But, if I'm going down, I'm going down fighting. Unlike some people, I don't run away at the first sign of trouble.

Here's the breakdown. "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #14 is at the Printers right now. That's 14. I just sent off a brand new book "SDF: Pulp 2011 Special" yesterday. That's 15. I've got another book, "Super Duper Fun Comix 2011 Special" ready to go. That's 16. "Monster King" 4 will be going to the Printers in a week or two. That's 17. I'll have "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #15 finished before the end of the month. That's 18. I just finished the script and have started Pencils on "Monster King" #5. That's 19. That's Spitting Distance.

If I do the 24 Hour Comic in November, that's 20. I need to do "Cosmic Love" #4 next. That would be 21. That leaves me with 3 Slots that I'm currently not sure which comix I'll fill with. I may fast track "Monster King" 6, and speed up the release of the weekly installments, in order to wrap that series of up and bring the count to 22. After that, it would just be two books.

Hell, I can do two books in my sleep.

Impossible? Bah.

Rockin' Down the MONSTER KING Highway

2011-09-10T05:51:00.000-07:00

"HAHAHAHA! A Demon that's Afraid to Die? Now THAT is Funny!"

It be Saturday, so that mean it be MONSTER KING time! We're getting close to the home stretch (jeez, I need to start work on Issue 5...), as this week we've got Pages 19-20. The showdown between the Butterfly Mob and Luther Dirge comes to a rather abrupt conclusion, as we discover that, like most Lawyers, old Luther ain't got much of a backbone. Join in on the fun, starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk19.html.

Also, while we're on the subject, don't forget that "Cosmic Love" #3 is now available in our Online Store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. It's a lovely book chock full of Monster Fighting, Psychic Dolphins, Octopus Superheroes, and other crazy things. It's cool stuff.

I've got work to do. Later.

First Round 52 Reviews

2011-09-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

Here we go.

Justice League #1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee
Why Did I Pick It Up: I didn't want to, Boolah wanted a copy. But me being me, I read it anyway.
What Happens: Batman's chasing a monster from Apokalypse. Green Lantern shows up to help and acts like he owns the place.
What I Thought: So, if you've been paying attention, you've probably heard everyone crap all over this book. Me, I wasn't even remotely interested, but like I said, I picked it up for Boolah, and I couldn't not read it. And, it turns out... this book is pretty damn good. Is Grant Morrison "JLA" #1 Good? Hell no. But it's a fun book nonetheless. And that's seemingly what everyone's missed about this book. It's Vibrant and Lively and Fun and Exciting. Seriously. I forgot mainstream comics could be this much fun (without Grant Morrison attached). Are all of the criticisms leveled at the book accurate? Oh yeah. There's lots of stuff wrong with this book, and I could care less about Jim Lee's art. BUT. I was entertained and surprised. Good enough for me.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2: Actually, I need to score a copy of #1 for myself, but YES, I will try Issue 2. Who knew?

Stormwatch #1 by Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda
Why Did I Pick It Up: Kind of a whim, really. Curiosity on the DC/Wildstorm mash up.
What Happens: We get some background on Stormwatch and a brief intro to the team. The team tries to recruit Apollo. Meanwhile, the Moon is getting ready to attack the Earth. Yeah.
What I Thought: Well, I'm not sure about the art. The backgrounds and the monster stuff looked really cool, but the people looked...off. There was also a lot to process, which is not a bad thing, but a lot of the characters were kinda ill defined, and Stormwatch itself was a little ill defined. But there was some cool stuff here. The Moon Monster was super cool, and Jack Hawksmoor, the Martian Manhunter, and the Midnighter (who has a tiny cameo) all had some really cool moments. I'm intrigued.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2?: I'll definitely give it a shot.

Animal Man #1 by Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman
Why Did I Pick It Up: I've heard good things about Lemire, even though I didn't like "Sweet Tooth", I still felt like giving this a shot.
What Happens: Animal Man hangs out with his family, stops a crazy guy, saves some kids, and has a bizarre dream.
What I Thought: Slow start. Really slow start. I almost gave up on it. Then, there was that dream sequence. I thoroughly enjoyed that dream sequence.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2?: It'll be touch and go, but I'll give it a shot. We'll see if #2 gives me more of the trippy.

Swamp Thing #1 by Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette
Why Did I Pick It Up: I like Paquette, and I've wanted to read more of Snyder's work.
What Happens: Animals are dying in drones. Alec Holland isn't Swamp Thing anymore. There's an Awesome Monster.
What I Thought: Hey, really good art. Nice. The first 52 comic where I actually enjoyed the art. The story's not bad. There's some clever ideas floating around. I loved the monster. A little slow, but not a bad start.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2?: A nice cliffhanger and the promise of more Paquette is enough to keep me around until at least Issue 2. We'll see after that.

OMAC #1 by Kieth Giffen and Dan Didio
Why Did I Pick It Up: Um, it's OMAC by someone who might actually understand the potential of OMAC. That alone was worth a shot.
What Happens: Smashing. Lots and lots and lots of smashing. And monsters.
What I Thought: Okay, let's make something clear. This book, no matter how good it gets, will never hold a candle to the original Kirby OMAC. Okay, do we all understand? Now, having said that...HOLY CRAP I LOVED THIS ISSUE! My only complaint was the inking. The inking was weak. That's my only complaint. My wuv the smashy wonderfulness. Wuv.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2?: OH. HELL. YEAH.

Action Comics #1 by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales
Why Did I Pick It Up: Grant Morrison. Superman. Duh.
What Happens: Young Superman kicks ass.
What I Thought: I couldn't stop myself from having a big, goofy, silly grin on my face throughout this wonderfully fun, beautiful book. The art is a little touch and go, though. Especially the colors.
Will I Pick Up Issue #2?: I literally can't wait an entire month for Issue #2. I want it RIGHT NOW.

So, um, yeah. The DC New 52. Off to a good start. I can't recommend OMAC and Action Comics enough.

Cosmic Love 3 Now Available

2011-09-05T05:04:00.000-07:00

Hey, we got a new book out! Yep, why not? "Cosmic Love" #3 is now available from the fine folks at TORC Press. So, what's it about? Simple enough. Cactus Joe the Clown and Pengy Penguin have to go diving down into the Fifth Dimension to recover a lost memory that might tell them where to go next in their largely amorphous vision quest. Meanwhile, in the "Real World" the rest of the Butterfly Gang, Mike the Butcher, Johny Eraser, and Kikki Fortune, are spontaneously attacked by a swarm of monstrous, four armed aliens (who, if you were paying attention last issue, were a "present" sent by Zarathon (who is Cactus Joe's archnemesis, a Demon from Hell who recently ate the Burning Heart of a Cosmic Spacegod and conquered the planet Mercury). See? It all makes perfect sense.

Anyway, it's 24 Pages in BWG with a Color Cover for $2.50 plus $1.50. Um, I think it's Mature Readers. You can pick up a copy either at our online store at http://www.torcpress.com/store.html or send a check or money order to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824. There's a Preview of the book up at http://www.torcpress.com/cl3prev.html.

Other than that, I've got today off from the Mill, so I'm gonna try to get as much Work done today as I possibly can. Oh! I just remembered, I finished my work on the latest Dr. Orphyus Project Video. I hate to brag, but it's pretty kick ass. Bro should be using both of the new videos during his upcoming Upper Midwest World Tour which I need to write down the dates for because I forgot already stupid memory. So there's that.

Rereads

2011-09-04T04:53:00.000-07:00

I just got paid up for the 2012 Edition of SPACE, the Small Press Alternative Comics Expo. SPACE is one of my favorite shows of the year, a very friendly, laid back show that's chock full of great creators and great comix. It's the only show where I've actually managed to make some legitimate friends. It's a lovely show and horribly underrated.

I've been rereading some stuff lately. I was rereading Bill Sienkowitz's "Stray Toasters", or I should say, I'm trying to reread it. "Stray Toasters" was an odd book that Mr. Sienkowitchz created for Marvel's long buried EPIC line back in the 80s. The imagery from the book has been a definitive influence on my own style, most notably in the creation of Broken Tea Cup (even the name was a subtle nod to "Stray Toasters" as well as Ted McKeever's "Plastic Forks", another influence). The story behind "Stray Toasters" is about isolation, child abduction, madness, and... um, other stuff. The art is the real draw of the comic, as Sinkowickowitchowsky experiments with Art and Storytelling in all sorts of wild and dynamic ways. It's a purty comic, make no mistake. But...it's...well...it's kinda boring. It's not just that the art is so indecipherable that you have to devote tons of effort just to try to figure out what the hell is going on. Okay, that's part of it. But, it's just not a very interesting or entertaining story. To make matters worse the overly complex artwork largely succeeds in distancing the reader from the characters, who probably would be fairly complex and interesting if they weren't portrayed in such a wooden and distant manner. In my opinion, if you want to argue the validity of Substance trumping Style, this book is a good example of how a book that's all Style and no Substance can be weak. All in all, I'm glad I've got a copy, but I think there was a reason why this particular comic has been largely lost to antiquity.

Before I continue, I'd like to note that is possible to create a comic that is visually interesting/experimental that still has a compelling story with deep characters. If you've never read it, Dave McKean's excellent "Cages" is a perfect example of a brilliant marriage of Style and Substance.

I also just reread Jack Kirby's "The Demon". The Demon is kinda odd in that it's the only Kirby creation from the 70s that other people actually did more with than Kirby. What I mean is that, honestly, all of Kirby's most famous creations from the 60s were eventually taken up by other creators and improved upon. (I would like to take a second to note how hard it was for me to make the preceding statement. I am literally gritting my teeth as I write this. But as devoted as I am to the King, there's no denying the success of Claremont's X-Men, Byrne's Fantastic Four, Simonson's Thor, Peter David's Hulk, and...um... I dunno, pick your favorite Avengers writer and insert their name here. I'm partial to Busiek's run myself. Having said that, NONE of those guys have ever matched the Raw Power and Inventiveness of those original Kirby books. Whew, I feel better now.) Anyway, most of Kirby's 70s creations were never successfully improved upon. Lots of people tried, but no one was ever able to get a grip on this horde of bizarre characters and concepts (which, incidentally, is why I'm I enjoy the 70s work so much. It's pure Kirby, and there's nothing anyone else has done to compare it to). Except for the Demon. Lots of people have used the Demon to great effect. He's had Series, Mini-series, and played a minor role in several notable works, including Neal Gaiman's "Sandman" and Alan Moore's "Saga of the Swamp Thing". With the possible exception of Darksied, he's appeared in more Animated Stuff than any other Kirby character from the 70s. And there's probably a reason for that. "The Demon" was an odd duck for Kirby. Most of Kirby's Heroes fell into one of two categories: Die-Hard, Tough as Nails Soldiers Battling the Forces of Evil and Injustice OR Cosmic Hippies Seeking Peace and Enlightenment in a Chaotic Universe. Etrigan the Demon, on the other hand, is a Cackling, Reckless, Vicious Beast from Hell whose only interests appear to be remorselessly slaughtering the forces of evil and serving his master, Merlin. It was a horror series by a creator who had done just about every type of comic, ever, but had only dabbled in Horror.

Rereading the comic, at first, I was about to write it off. It's an awkward book in many ways. And there appears to be times that Kirby's just going through the motions, most notably in a three issue story arc where, once again, Kirby taps into his obsession with Frankenstien's Monster (seriously, one of these days I'm gonna count up how many times Kirby used a "Frankenstien" in his books. In fact, there's a Frankenstien-bit in Kirby's "Forever People" AND "Jimmy Olsen" just a year or two prior). BUT, all criticisms aside, having reread the comics, there's some pretty kick ass stuff in here. First off, NO ONE has EVER designed Monsters the way Kirby did. And the Demon is chock full of cool, crazy, bizarre monsters. The other thing that really clicked with me upon rereading this material was that there is an expertly executed sense of Mood in these comics. Whereas other creators (myself included) would use blood and gore to create a horrific atmosphere, Kirby used Atmosphere to create an oppressively Dark Mood. It's something I didn't really pick up on at first (cause I'm an idiot), but it's there. It's similar, in a way, to those Japanese Horror Films from the Early Millenium. As always, Kirby was ahead of his times. No surprise there.

Also, all the stuff with Klarion the Witchboy was inspired.

I'm also rereading "OMAC". I have no criticism of that series. It's the Greatest Comic Ever Made by Anyone in the History of Ever. Poor Kieth Giffen's got his work cut out for him.

Side Note: I was describing "The Eternals" to Bro once, and I called it "The Greatest Comic Ever Made by Anyone Whose Name Wasn't Jack Kirby". That way I can call it a Greatest Comic Ever while still admitting that it's not quite as good as the Fantastic Four, Thor, the Fourth World or OMAC. Having said that, that scene where the Prime Celestial has the Formula for Eradicating All Life on Earth on HIS THUMB is the single most Awesome Page of Comics Art Ever. Just saying.

MONSTER KING-a-Go-Go!

2011-09-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

Righty-right-right.

It's Saturday, so it's time for new MONSTER KING! We've got Pages 17-18 up starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk17.html. In this issue, Luther Dirge, the Lawyer from Hell's Quest to Corrupt our valiant heroes comes to an abrupt end, with somewhat predictable consequences.

Oh, afore I forget, Page 17 was colored primarily using Watercolors. If you like the look of it, please drop me a line. If you think it looks like Crap, please, PLEASE let me know. I'm experimenting with color right now, trying to figure the approach I want to take next year. So, PLEASE, Feedback. Pretty please? With Sugar on top?

Other than that, work continues on the next DOP video, and I've got a couple of projects to complete. Shouldn't be a boring weekend at least.

Well I Been Workin' in a Coal Mine

2011-09-02T03:25:00.000-07:00

Right.

Work continues on the latest Dr. Orphyus Project Video. All of the artwork has been inked, now it's just a matter of coloring everything in Photoshop, and then assembling the actual animations. I've got a few done, but I got a ton more to do. No rest for the wicked.

New issue of Shonen Jump came out this week, and the Straw Hat Pirates of "One Piece" are very nearly on their way to the New World. Cool stuff.

New Recipe. Click n' Save!

CJ's Killa Thrilla Sammich

Ingredients:

1/2 of a Bagette, split lengthways

Onion and Chive Cream Cheez Spread OR Onion and Chive Pub Cheez

Minced Garlic (I prefer the pre-minced variety that come in those little jars)

Olives, sliced

Pepperoni

Brie Cheez, cut into slices

Instructions:

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees. Open up Bagette. Spread Cream Cheez on bottom portion. Spread Garlic on top of Cream Cheez. Place a layer of Olives, then Pepperoni, and finally Brie on top. Smoosh it all down with the top layer of bread. Wrap in tin foil and place in oven. Let cook for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven, unwrap, and enjoy the salty, creamy, messy goodness.

New Monster King Pages on Saturday.

Random Notes as Life Returns to Normal

2011-08-29T03:23:00.000-07:00

Whada we got today...

I am currently working on new videos for the Dr. Orphyus Project's soon-to-be-released album, "Death Jazz". Yesterday, I completed not only the animation work for one of the videos, but we also filmed some very brief live action segments. It was a lot of fun, basically Bro poured fake blood on my head and we filmed it dripping down past my eyes. It kinda reminded me that I wouldn't mind to actually film something sometime in the future, and we actually kicked around the idea of doing a mini-horror film sometime in the future. In the meantime, I'll be diligently working away on another animated video this week. It'll be a mini-Epic that should be really cool.

Once my DOP work is done, it'll be time to put my nose to the Grindstone and bring my "Kirby Year" to its conclusion. 4 Months to Complete 9 Books. Woo.

Sometimes, you go to the Comic Shop, and you score some pretty damn awesome books. On Saturday, I picked up the final issue of "Hellboy: The Fury" and the final issue (?) of Season One of "Batman Inc", and all I can say is Frickin' Awesome. Despite the fact that the ending of Hellboy was spoiled online WEEKS ago (curse you Internets), the book was still just amazing. It was just beautiful, brilliant comics work. This particular issue was just everything comics should be, all the time. I can't gush enough. As for "Batman Inc.".... I really feel that this series is a legitimate EVOLUTIONARY LEAP for Comic Books. That's how good this comic is. It just makes everything else seem outdated and stale by comparison. Seriously, Everyone should be reading every issue of this book. Twice. While taking notes. So, yeah, good week of comics.

The Spider Bites are slowly receding. I also only mutter "Stupid Bitch" every hour or so, instead of every minute or two. So, yeah, things are returning to the Status Quo.

Heartache? Screw that! MONSTER KING!

2011-08-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

"Nah. Just Kidding!"

Ahhh. There's nothing like new MONSTER KING to take a guy's mind off his troubles. We've got two new pages up starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk15.html. What're they about? Well, in the real world, betrayal is as easy as a phone call. In the TORCverse, though, betrayal is apparently a Herculean task. Luther Dirge, the Lawyer from Hell, has been desperately trying to psychically seduce the Clown's allies, attempting to buy their souls in exchange for their heart's desire. Of course, it ain't been going well for the Lawyer Demon. Having already failed three times, he's only got two possible targets left, Broken Tea Cup and Pengy Penguin. Will he succeed? Tune in to find out.

Also, don't forget, Issue 2 of "The Clown & Tea Cup Show #2" is available. It's a wild trip, baby.

Oh, and this has nothing to do with comix, but I'd just like to say this:

I'd rather be a ridiculous fool than a heartless person with no guts. Just saying.

Fool, am I

2011-08-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

So, I got stabbed in the back this evening.

Betrayal never stops hurting, really. But at the same time, I'm almost disturbingly used to it by now. Ever since that first great betrayal, all the others seem minor by comparison. Still, I put myself out there pretty hard, and got very little in return, except the surprisingly decorative knife jutting out of my back.

What's sad is that I saw it coming. The closer I got to her, the more I felt her retreating from me. I had hoped that she woulda had enough class to stab me face to face, but I suppose she didn't wanna have to wash the bloodstains out of the carpet. Fair enough. That's why God invented cellphones after all.

As for you, you cold little girl with no heart, let me just say I appreciate the advice. I do need to learn to love myself. I need to stop hating myself. Maybe, if you were as smart as you think you are, you could have figured out that you coulda taught me that. But it's too late for that now.

Of course, it's not like you're reading this. I figure you're doing like I'm doing, purging my existence from your life, like I was little more than an odd dream. I'm cool with that. All your e-mails are deleted and your phone number's gone, and I killed my dating profile the day you said you wanted to be my girlfriend, so if you wanna get back on the online dating horse and find some asshole that'll love himself and treat you like shit, be my guest.

BUT, if you are reading this, let me give you some advice. You spend so much time protecting yourself, always looking to escape, to distance yourself, to run. A True Hero doesn't run. A True Hero Protects Others and puts them First. A True Hero is willing to Sacrifice to Help Others, even if it means dropping his or her armor, and taking a bullet.

I'll never become the person I need to be if I keep hating myself. You'll never learn to be the person you need to become if you're too afraid to let anyone in. You've never really cared about anyone, have you? I'm sorry for that.

As for anyone else who happens to be reading this little public sob story, I'd like to apologize. But if I'm gonna get any sleep tonight, I had to get this nonsense outa my head.

As for me, I'm gonna be quiet for a little while. But don't worry, I'll be back in a flash.

After all, I got too much work to do.

The Clown Tea Cup Show #2 Now Available

2011-08-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

Joseph drowsy. Joseph try to do hype for TCTC 2. Joseph not sure he gonna do a good job.

Anyway, shortly before Chicago, we got in copies of our newest book, "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #2. I left a couple at home, which is good, cause we sold out of copies at the show. That alone is a pretty good recommendation, I think.

Anyway, anyway, TCTC2 was the 24 Hour Comic I did late last year. I wrote and drew the whole shebang in about 22 Hours (I took a 2 Hour nap. I know, I suck). It's actually pretty rock on, all things considered.

The book is about our heroes, Cactus Joe the Clown, Pengy Penguin, and Broken Tea Cup forming their own Detective Agency. No sooner than they get their first job, namely tailing an adulterous husband, than they are promptly sucked into a world of Ditko-esque Madness! It's a hoot, I tell you what.

Anyway, anyway, anyway, "The Clown & Tea Cup Show #2" is a 24 Page BWG Comic with a Color Cover for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H. You can view a preview of the book at http://www.torcpress.com/tctc2.html. Or, take a leap of faith and score the book at our store at http://www.torcpress.com/store.html. Don't like the Online Stuff? Send a Check or Money Order to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824.

Think I'm gonna take a nap.

Monday Production Updates Just Because

2011-08-22T15:50:00.000-07:00

Oh, what an odd life. Let's do some Production Updates.

"The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club": Issues 1-13 are available in the online store at www.torcpress.com. Issue 14 was delivered to the printers on Sunday. Should be available in late September or early October. I've got Issue 15 Scripted, and I've got a little bit of a start on Pencils and Inks.

"Cosmic Love": Issues 1-2 are available in the store. Issue 3 is at the Printers. That one should be available in mid-September. I'll start on Issue 4 after I'm done with HFSAC 15.

"Monster King": Issues 1-3 are available in the store. Issue 4 is currently running online at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. I just finished the pencils on Issue 4. I intend to have the entire issue done by the end of the week. After that, I'll start work on Issue 5.

Woof. As far as the "Impossible 24 Comix in a Single Year Challenge" Goes, We've officially Published 11 Comix this year. We've actually got "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #2 back from the Printers. I need to get that one online. So that's 12. Add to that the two books at the Printers, and MK4, then the Count comes to 15. With a little over four months to go, that leaves me with NINE books to publish.

I may be screwed.

Slamma Jamma, New MONSTER KING

2011-08-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

"I Didn't Even Get to do my Sales Pitch!"

It's Friday night, but let's pretend it's Saturday morning, cause we've gots ourselves a new MONSTER KING! Huzzah! This week we've got Pages 13-14, which can be viewed starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk13.html. In this particular episode, Luther Dirge continues his psychic assault on the Butterfly Mob. Will the Lawyer from Hell succeed in his plan to turn Cactus Joe's friends (and family for that matter) against him? If this was a Marvel comic, they'd betray him in a heartbeat. Have I gone all Marvel, where Heroes are no longer heroic, but are a bunch of cowardly, backstabbing, loser, cowards? Have I?

Nah, probably not.

My goal for next week is to wrap up the work on this issue of Monster King. That may be tricky, considering Brotha Buzz has almost wrapped up the work on the next Dr. Orphyus Project album, "Death Jazz". So, I'll be working on the artwork for that next week as well. Tricky, tricky.

Oh yeah, our next show is the Nashville Comic and Horror Festival on October 1 &2. So, I've got a month to catch up on things and maybe rest up a little.

Back from Chicago

2011-08-15T03:19:00.000-07:00

We are back from Chicago. I'm tired and wore out and stretched thin, but otherwise feeling good. All of us here at TORC Press would like to thank everyone that came out and supported us at the 2011 Wizard Chicago Comicon. Regardless of what you picked up, if you gave us a shot, we really appreciate it.

I would ramble more about the show, but it is 5 in the A.M., so nothing I'm gonna say is gonna sound coherent anyway.

Nope, nothing to do but throw on some clothes and head to the sawmill. Later.

Chicago and New MONSTER KING

2011-08-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

"Women? Bunny Women?"

We're about a day away from embarking for Chicago and the big Wizard World show. We'll be there all four days, hawking our wares and trying to make a buck in a doomed economy. In the meantime, as promised, here's a new MONSTER KING! Pages 11 and 12 are available for viewing starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk11.html. They feature Luther Dirge, the Lawyer from Hell, attempting to corrupt Cactus Joe's friends. Will he succeed? Will the Skull Mob sell their souls and sell out the Clown? To find out, tune in, turn on, and rock out!

Anyway, that's it for us this week. Wish us luck in Chi-town! Later.

Countdown...

2011-08-08T03:25:00.000-07:00

Welp, this is nothing new. I've got three days to get ready for Wizard World Chicago, and I'm already behind the 8 Ball. Groan. Right now, I need to go through my inventory and make sure I've got enough copies of everything to make it through the weekend. I've got a stack of sketches to draw up (and I'm trying some new stuff with those... we'll see how well it works). Gotta reload the car. Gotta get change for the money box (can't forget that one). Lots to do, and not a lotta time to do it in. Oh well.

Other than that, Cousin Rachel's Wedding went nicely, and she and her hubby Gabe are off to "Safe" Mexico on their honeymoon. All of us here at TORC Press (and for those of you not in on the joke, "All of Us" is code for Me) wish the newly married couple the best of luck in the future. Huzzah!

Meanwhile, it's off to the Sawmill for this fool.

Goin' Southbound

2011-08-05T04:07:00.000-07:00

Right-o. Well, that's it for me this week. We'll be off to Murfreesboro, TN in a few hours in anticipation of my cousin Rachel's wedding. There'll be food and fancy clothes and more food and blahblahblah. Should be fun.

Anyway, that'll pretty much be my weekend. As mentioned before, I'll have new pages of MONSTER KING up and running around the middle of next week. Then next weekend is the Wizard World Chicago Comicon. Woo-ha!

After that, it's time to duck our head and get some work done.

Feeling Better Now

2011-07-31T05:18:00.000-07:00

Right. A little bit of extra sleep, plenty of liquids, and some time on the road with the radio blaring, and I almost feel like a human being again, as opposed to a raging ball of raging rage. Nice.

So, I've got a full plate, as usual. This next weekend, we've got my Cousin Rachel's Big Wedding. Of course, all of us here at TORC Press would like to take a moment to congratulate our dear cousin on her impending nuptials. Anyway, that'll pretty much take up all of next weekend. As a result, we're just going to postpone the next set of pages of MONSTER KING until midway through the next week. Probably something in the neighborhood of August 8-10. I dunno.

On top of that, we've got the big, fat Wizard World Chicago Comicon the next weekend. That runs from August 11-14. As mentioned before, that show will pretty much be a bloodbath. We'll either do okay, or we'll burn out like an exploding star in a mass of utter commercial failure. Whatever. We'll do our best and hope for the best.

Other than that, I've paid the invoice on "The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #2, so hopefully I'll have that in my possession before too long. I plan on getting "Cosmic Love" #3 off to the printers soon (maybe today). HFSAC 14 is also ready to go. I'm also working on HFSAC 15, but it's slow going due to the heat and the lack of spare time.

Other than that, "One Piece" is ALMOST up to the "2 Years Later" Jump that will move the story on to its next phase. That's nice. "Kirby: Genesis" continues to have its ups and its downs. On the upside, there's this just endless deluge of wild ideas ricocheting around all over the place. That's great. On the downside, there's the terrible page layouts (seriously, they give me a headache), and, again, STATIC, ONE PANEL ACTION SEQUENCES DO NOT DO JUSTICE TO THE KING'S BRILLIANT MULTI-PANEL BALLETS OF VIOLENCE! But, the characters and story are starting to pull together, and I'm definitely intrigued enough to keep reading.

Welp, let's do some Photoshopping.

New MONSTER KING and I'm Outa Juice

2011-07-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

"POOF!" "CLAP!" "TWANG!"

I'm a little early, but I'm heading to Evansville for the Comic Quest Creator's Alliance Meeting tomorrow morning, so I thought I'd get MONSTER KING up and running. We've got Pages 9 & 10 up starting at http://www.torcpress.com/mk9.html. This week we've got Action, Action, and the return of Luther Dirge, the Lawyer from Hell (last seen in MK3, and before that Waaaay back in "SDF: Foul Business"). Also, that chick in the Skull Mask is called Witch Doctor. Huh.

Other than that, I really haven't heard any worthwhile news to come out of Comicon International last week. Apparently, the Kirby estate lost their lawsuit with Marvel. Big surprise (insert sarcastic tone). Justice is meaningless nowadays.

Other than that, it's still too CURSE WORD DELETED hot outside. I'm exhausted, I'm frustrated, I'm a bit dehydrated, and the only thing I want more than a good night's sleep is to get into a bar fight for absolutely no good reason. I am in the worst mood right now.

Speaking of People who need punched in the face, our Government continues to completely fail the American People. Ya know, I kinda hope this continual fighting destroys both parties. That would be nice. No more Republicans or Democrats. Just folks trying to figure things out without some kind of tow the line idealism.

Actually, life is going pretty good for me right now. I'm just too BLEEPING fried to enjoy any of it right now.

New MONSTER KING in the Blazing Heat

2011-07-22T17:24:00.000-07:00

"Don't Worry, Ma'am. No Insane Cults will be Sacrificing Women While the Skull Mob is Around."

Ah. Back in Business. We've got two news pages of MONSTER KING up at http://www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. In this issue we get a little bit of action (always good), and a little bit of intrigue (also nice). You might have noticed that Cactus Joe and Pengy's group are called the "Skull Mob". But then on Page 4, we got El Exclamation Point!, Agent D, Dr. Z, Armageddon Clock, and some other guy hanging out in Foster City beating up the Bob Mafia and calling themselves the "Skull Mob". Now, on Page 8 we've got Bad Jack (haven't seen him since "SDF: Pulp"), Mr. Hex, the Puzzelor, Spookshow, and some hornet/wasp chick fighting insane cultist around Mud Village and calling themselves "the Skull Mob". Huh. I wonder what's going on? Do I have a plan, or am I just screwing around? Don't ask me, man. It's not like I know what's going on. I just write this stuff.

Other than that, we're only a few weeks away from the Chicago Comicon. That's our biggest and riskiest show of the year. Obviously, I hope it goes well.

A good night's sleep would be nice.

Back from Kentucky

2011-07-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

Welp, we're back from Kentucky. Had a pretty good show, and as always, I'd like to thank those that came out and supported the cause. In fact, we had more people take a chance on us at this show than at most of the shows I've been to this year. So that was nice.

As always, I'm trying to figure what plays to make based on this last show. Monster King #3 and The Clown & Tea Cup Show #1 seemed to sell the best. Both of those books are REALLY weird. Maybe I'm better off avoiding the mainstream stuff entirely. Or maybe it was just coincidence. The fact that MK3 sold well might mean that Color is a good idea, after all. Or not. Hell, I dunno.

The HFSAC TPB isn't setting the world on fire. Am I not pushing it hard enough? Come to think of it, I still haven't added that one to the store. I'm starting to think that Trade Paperbacks are a bad idea...for us Small Press Guys. They work great for established creators/characters/imprints. But us little guys? I mean, would you spend 10 bucks or more on a book from some guy you never heard of? Well, I mean, I would, but I'm crazy about comix. But you wouldn't, right?

What's bugging me, is that I really haven't been able to move "Cosmic Love" #2 super well. That book should sell like Hot Cakes. It is bad ass. Total. Bad. Ass. And it sells okay. But it should sell better. People should pick that one up, flip through a few pages, and go, "Yes, please." Maybe I need a better sales pitch. Maybe I just don't know what's good and what's not.

Eh, it's all just some crazy crapshoot at the end of the day.

Next show is the Chicago Comicon August 11-14. I'll be working that show like a rabid pit bull. Growl.

Derby City Tomorrow

2011-07-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

If I'm not my usual happy-go-lucky self today, it's because things have not gone well this week. I'm not in the mood to air personal situations on the intranet (at least not right now), so we'll just say I've had enough for now.

So, yeah, no new Monster King this week. We may try to get something out in mid-week. I dunno.

Speaking of I dunno, against my better judgment, I'll be at the Derby City Comicon tomorrow. Run down is at www.derbycitycomicon.com.

Right.

MONSTER KING and More MONSTER KING

2011-07-09T04:52:00.000-07:00

"Y'know Little Buddy, I Kinda Miss the Days when we Just Hung Out at our House and Fought Demons Every Day."

It's Saturday, so it's time for new MONSTER KING! In fact, we've got a double shot today. First up, we've got our standard Two Page Installment of the Best Damn Webcomic Absolutely No One is Reading. This week, we enter the Belly of the Beast, and it's not what we expect at all. But then again, what is ever what we expect in the TORCverse? Anyway, it's not long before things go from bizarre to horrible, which I suppose is something we can expect in the TORCverse. You can start the fun at http://www.torcpress.com/mk5.html.

As an added bonus, Issue 3 of MONSTER KING is now available for sale in Print in our Online Store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. It's 24 Pages in Blindly full Color sammiched between Cardstock Covers for $5.00 plus $1.50 S&H. If you didn't read it in its original online form, MK3 is everything that's great about TORC Press. It's a swirling, smashing, surrealist action explosion that doesn't make a lick of sense and is filled to the brim with bizarre characters and strange situations. There's talking frogs, skinless monsters, Kharma Revolvers, Strange Visions, and a Guy with a TV for a Head. You should read it. If you don't like the online store, you can always send a check or money order to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824. That's right, I want your monies so's I cans eats it.

July 4th Production Updates

2011-07-04T06:53:00.000-07:00

A glorious and happy Independence Day to one and all. Hope you get to blow up stuff good and proper.

Whatta we got today? Production Updates? Yokay.

"The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club"-- Issues 1-13 are available in the online store (www.torcpress.com/store.html). They're super swell. I'm within a few pages of wrapping up Issue 14. I plan on Scripting Issue 15 just as soon as I have 14 done (so, within a day or two). After 15 is done we'll take a little break to play catch on...

"Cosmic Love"-- Issues 1 and 2 are in the store. Issue 3 is done, but I still need to scan it into the computer and send it to the printers. I'll start work on Issue 4 after I'm done with the two parter in HFSAC 14-15.

"Monster King"-- Issues 1 and 2 are in the store. Issue 3 is at the Printers right now, should have copies before I go to the Derby City Comicon later this month. Issue 4 is currently up and running at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. I've got... a little less than half the issue done. I'll script Issue 5 (the first part of a two parter) after I've finished Issue 4.

Other Stuff- As mentioned earlier, I'll be at the Derby City Comicon in Louisville, KY on July 16th. After that, it's Wizard World Chicago in August. I've got the second issue of "The Clown and Tea Cup Show" ready to go. I'm trying to decide when to send it to the Printers. Maybe today. I've got the Script for an All Ages Book, and one page completed. I'd like to finish that book by the end of the year.

My mind is on what's next.

MK 4 Pages 3-4

2011-07-02T09:24:00.001-07:00

"I HATE BEING EATEN!"

It's Saturday, so it's time for new MONSTER KING! We've got Pages 3 and 4 of Issue 4 up and running. Took too long to color. Been on the computer for five hours. I can't feel my right arm. This sucks. Having said that, this week's MONSTER KING continues to be ridiculous and bizarre and fun.

I gotta get off the computer.

Oh yeah, the link: http://www.torcpress.com/mk3.html

Random Notes Before Bed

2011-06-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

Woo. I'm tired. Let's see what we've got.

If you haven't floated by yet, we've got a new comic up in the online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. It's Issue 13 of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club", and it's cool. There's crazy cosmic stuff and the narrative moves forward a bit and so forth.

Also, Monster King Issue 4 is up and running. It's ridiculous and makes no sense. You should check it out at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html.

So, there's the hype. Here's other stuff.

"Hellboy: The Fury" just started. I'm super hyped. While every other comic just treads water or reboots or does big stuff that doesn't matter three weeks later, Hellboy and the BPRD are bringing on the Apocalypse FROM TWO DIFFERENT ANGLES! It's exciting and dark and strange and I love it.

Speaking of I Love It, "Batman Inc." is the best thing being put out in American comics right now. In a way, it's kinda unfortunate that the DC reboot is going to monkeywrench some of what Morrison's doing in "Batman Inc.". But, I kinda approach Morrison's work as kinda existing on its own, so we'll just pretend that BI #1-6 are their own little comic novel, and the relaunched Vol. 2 will be sorta its own novel. Kinda. Anyway, I just read Issue 6, and it's really everything that makes comics worthwhile. So there's that.

So, I picked up "Kirby: Genesis" #0 and 1. Issue Zero is pretty much what everyone else has said, namely, a good start with a lot of potential. Issue One, on the other hand, gets off to a horrible start. HORRIBLE START. The art, although competent, is boring as snail snot. Seriously. Pedestrian. The "real world characters" are Super Lame (to make matters worse, the main character is drawn to look like the actor from the film version of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". Major Sin. Major). The first seven pages are some of the worst comics I've ever had to suffer through, and I've read "Brigade".

Then...

It shouldn't have happened. It makes no sense. But, there on page eight or so, this tiny, watered down, distilled Sliver of Jack Kirby slips into this book...and Explodes Like an Atomic Frickin' Bomb. Just Wild Characters and Concepts Explode Outward in a Million Directions, and we've no longer got some run of the mill comic where nothing happens, we've got an entire Universe slamming facefirst into our faces.

The only thing wrong with the comic (besides, y'know, the pedestrian art and the first seven pages...and all the ads, but what else is new?) is that for a comic with Kirby on the cover, there's not a lot of action. Only one person gets punched in the face. Seriously? Pick up the brawling and slamming and ray zapping, people! Just having people running and posing does NOT a Kirby comic make.

Still, good enough to get me to pick up Issue 2.

I go to bed now.

MK 4 Page 2

2011-06-26T05:37:00.000-07:00

"Why Aren't You Wearing Pants?!?"

Hahahaha! After fighting random power outages, and apparently wrapping up the page before another hellacious thunderstorm hit, we got Page Two of Issue 4 of MONSTER KING done in the sun on a bun. It's funny as hell. Check it out at: http://www.torcpress.com/mk2.html.

Also, don't forget, we've got a brand new comic up in the online store. Issue 13 of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" is now available for Sale. It's a good issue in terms of moving the continuing narrative forward. Plus there's lots of neat stuff in it. You can check out a preview at http://www.torcpress.com/hfsac13prev.html

I'm watching classic Looney Tunes Cartoons.

NOOOOOOO!!!!!

2011-06-25T06:23:00.000-07:00

So, I've got a Comic Quest Creator's Alliance Meeting today, so I thought I would try to get Monster King colorized and uploaded before I set out for E-ville. I was about halfway through with the color process, when the power spontaneously went out for absolutely no good reason. All my progress was lost. Just like that. I would, once again, like to thank Ameren Illinois for being a worthless, crappy, utterly unreliable source of power. Last time I checked, I live in America, not some third world country. Right? I pay my bills on time. There's no call for this.

Anyway, instead of spending the next few hours desperately trying to play catch up, I'm just going to call it good and try again tomorrow morning.

Insert Curse Words Here.

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Issue 13 Now Available

2011-06-20T04:06:00.000-07:00

As promised, Issue (Lucky) 13 of The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club is now available from TORC Press! It's a 24 Page, Mature Readers Comic in Black/White/Grey with a Color Cover for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H. You can order at online at www.torcpress.com/store.html, or you can send a Check or Money Order for the Proper amount to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824.

There is a preview of the Book which can be viewed at www.torcpress.com/hfsac13prev.html.

So, what's it about? Welp, this issue is similar to HFSAC 8, in that it's not really a Slam Bang, Smash n' Grab, Adventurey Issue. Whereas Issue 8 delved into the past, while moving toward the future, Issue 13 is all about propelling the Narrative forward toward Tomorrow. Long story short, at the end of Issue 12, our heroes became separated, and are spread out across the Galaxy, where a part of their Destiny awaits. El Exclamation Point! makes his first real step towards becoming the Servant of Justice he was always meant to be. Agent D embraces the dormant power she's always possessed. Cactus Joe and Pengy Penguin get another piece of the puzzle in their Vision Quest. And the Hip Bros do what they do best...Party!

It's not the strongest issue, but it is an important one, with moments that will (hopefully) echo forward. Probably not a great issue to start reading on, but if you've been following my work for awhile, this issue is a must have.

Also, this issue, I believe, ties with SDF as my longest running series (numerically) to date. I think SDF ran for a total of 13 (mostly 48 page) issues over the course of its 7 year run (not counting Convention Specials and Promotional Comics). HFSAC is only 24 Pages an issue, but we've already gotten the same number of issues in only 3 years. So that's kinda neat, too.

Issue 4 of MONSTER KING Starts NOW!

2011-06-18T08:22:00.001-07:00

"Run Pigs, Run!"

Hahahahahaha! What was I thinking? That's right, MONSTER KING is back, and it's more bizarre and surreal than ever. The first page of Issue 4 can be viewed at http://www.torcpress.com/mkex.html. There's a giant monster, and pigs, and it's just page one and it already makes no sense. I love it!

I'm still learning and experimenting with Photoshop. If you dig what I'm doing, tell me. If you think it looks sucky, please tell me. I'm still learning.

Other than that, Issue 13 of HFSAC goes Live on Monday. Keep on Rockin' in the Free World.

So, What is the Answer?

2011-06-15T03:43:00.000-07:00

So, Bro and I were talking about HFSAC 13 (available on Monday) a day or two ago. It's kind of an odd issue, an in-between issue that focuses more on developing characters and advancing the overarching narrative instead of the usual slam-banginess (which is not to say that there isn't a fair amount of smashing and bashing. This is a TORC Press Comic after all). Anyway, Bro said he enjoyed the issue, but he had trouble keeping track of everything. He couldn't remember all of the previous plot threads, and kept wanting to refer back to previous issues. He thought he might enjoy the series in general if he just read it in trade form. I found that a bit odd, because even though I have been telling longer form stories lately and working to move forward my overarching narrative, I personally feel like each issue of HFSAC tends to hold up well on its own (although, admittedly, issue 13 does kinda push its luck in that department).

Of course, it's worth mentioning that Bro's not an inveterate comics reader. He reads TORC Press comics (because he has to) and some Garth Ennis stuff, and that's about it. He doesn't read issue to issue or month to month, so he doesn't have that mindset. He's not accustomed to holding a dozen or more plot threads in his brain at a time.

But the tricky thing is, Bro is Comics target audience. Well, not Bro specifically, the Non-Comics Reader is who we're trying to pick up and indoctrinate. Hell, that's supposed to be half the point of all these big budget, fancy pantsy movies is to pull in the Nonreaders and get them hooked. But the problem is, the Nonreader, like I said, isn't used to the month to month, week to week, grind. They don't have that mindset of keeping track of what's going on in the X-Men and Green Lantern every month and looking forward to it with bated breathe. Even if you can pull in a Nonreader for awhile, how long are they willing to keep up? The first time they realize they missed an issue of the comic they're reading, they may not bother coming back, or digging around trying to find the issue they missed. They'll just move on.

So what's the Answer? You might think I'm gonna try to promote Trade Paperbacks, but I'm not. TPBs are swell, TPBs are great, and TPBs are the model for where we're going, but they're not the answer. And the reason why is because TPBs aren't regular. Referring back to Bro as our example, I can't remember the last time Bro bought a Trade. Since we've run out of Garth Ennis "Punishers", there's not really anything else to buy him right now for Christmas/Birthday. Without something to regularly keep him interested, Bro has went from being a Nonreader turned occasional Reader, back to being a Nonreader.

In fact, this is a running problem with a lot of creators. For example, I really enjoy the work of Paul Pope. But Pope only puts out a new comic once every two or three years. That's a long time to wait for new comics from a guy I dig. It's pretty easy to forget about someone and their work in that amount of time.

Conversely, my buddy Fitchie is also a Nonreader, but he's actually become something of a full fledged reader in the last couple of years. Why? Because he's a fan of "Invincible" and "The Walking Dead", two books that come out more or less monthly and are collected in Trade form on a regular, consistent basis. He's also a fan of "BPRD", another book that maintains a fairly consistent schedule. Although he'll pick up single issues from time to time, he mostly just buys Trades.

So, then, are Trades the answer after all? I dunno. It's kinda like "Scott Pilgrim". Let's say you're a Scott Pilgrim fan, and you go pick up the books in Bor-whoops, they're almost out of business, Barnes & Noble. You pick up the whole series of TPBs, read them, enjoy them, blahblahblah. Now what? The series is over. It's done. No reason to swing by the Graphic Novel aisle anymore, right?

Plus, I don't like the idea of "Writing for the Trade". If you're gonna Write specifically for the Collected Edition, then why bother doing the regular comics in the first place?

Web Comics (New MONSTER KING on Saturday) don't seem to be the answer, either. I mean, some people make a go of it, and there's been a few out there that seem to develop strong, vocal, possibly even non-traditional fanbases. But they're rare, especially when you consider the amount of material out there (not to mention most people would prefer to mindlessly watch Youtube than shuffle through a static webcomic). Hell, I'm a pretty big Tom Scioli fan, and I have trouble remembering to check his new webcomic, "American Barbarian" every week (speaking of which, I haven't checked his site in a week or two...). Bro has told me that he has trouble keeping up with Monster King, and I don't think any of my other Pals are reading it either. Hell, is anyone reading MK?

So, what's the Answer? Is there an Answer? Should I even bother trying to find the Answer?

Hell, don't look at me. I ain't got no Answers.

More Pointless Nonsense

2011-06-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

So, like I've mentioned earlier, no new Monster King this week. Take this opportunity to read the issue for free now, and, y'know, when it's available in print you could always pick that up anyway, too, right? Right? In the meantime, let's Rant about Marvel and DC for no good reason.

Marvel annoys me. Marvel has annoyed me for some time. All I want out of Marvel is a good "Silver Surfer" series. Or a decent guest appearance by the Silver Surfer. Instead, if the Surfer is guest starring in anything, he gets punked out somehow (or enslaved, or duped, or whatever). The Silver Surfer gets a new mini-series, and guess what? He loses his powers and spends the ENTIRE SERIES running around like a normal guy, whining. I'm just glad I didn't spend any money on this crap. I did spend money on "The Annihilators". I regret that. The Surfer had ears. Seriously. I'm still pissed.

I kinda feel like Marvel is out of ideas, as well. I mean, think about it. When they started kicking out these big "Event" Comics, the books were really easy to explain. They had a Strong, Easy to Understand, Hook, right? "Civil War" was Superheroes vs. Superheroes. Easy, right? Cap punching Iron Man. Iron Man punching Cap. Fight, fight, fight. Easy. (Yes, the series sucked and kinda killed Marvel for me, but you gotta admit, great premise) "World War Hulk" was the Hulk vs. Everybody. So obvious it shoulda been done years ago. "Secret Invasion" was Superheroes vs. Aliens pretending to be Superheroes. Sorta the same thing, but with more paranoia. "Dark Reign" for all of its disgustingness, was easily the most brilliant. Bad Guys Pretending to be Good Guys. Simple, easy to explain, great hook.

And that's when the momentum ran out. What the hell was "Siege" about? Bad Guys Pretending to be Good Guys Fighting Good Guys and Gods. I think. Maybe. What the hell happened in that thing? Norman Osborne finally got his comeuppance, I think? Bah. "Shadowland"? Daredevil becomes a Bad Guy (why? how? what?) and only the street level heroes can stop him because Thor apparently has better things to do and Black Panther takes over for Daredevil for no good reason and in the end Daredevil goes back to being Daredevil in less than a year. Yeah. Compare that premise to some of the others. Bit of a mouthful, right?

And now we've got "Fear Itself" and "Spider Island". What the hell are these comics about? Seriously. Someone tell me. It's like Marvel's been doing so well that they don't even have to come up with a decent premise anymore. It reminds me of that episode of "South Park" this week where the movie previews talk about how people will go watch the films no matter what kinda crap the movie studios crap out.

Oh, and while we're on the subject, apparently, Bucky's Dead Again. So, I guess we can start using the term "Bucky Dead" again, right? Does anything matter in Mainstream Comics anymore?

Speaking of nothing mattering in Mainstream Comics anymore, you've got the DC Line Wide Reboot. Good idea? Bad idea? Eh, little bit of both, really. It's a move that will alienate some of their established readers, that's for sure. But at the same time, let's face facts, cats and kittens, the DCU been a big old fat bag of stagnation for awhile. The only exciting things that have come out of the DCU in the last few years have been Grant Morrison's "Batman" comics and the whole Rainbow Lanterns thingie. Rebooting the whole line, and mixing and matching bits and pieces of the Milestone Universe and the Wildstorm Universe and the Vertigo Characters that used to be DC characters and now they're DC characters again, is actually not that bad of an idea. At the very least it's got people talking about DC again without mentioning the word "Lantern". Plus, historically, the DCU has rebooted a few times already, with stuff like "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and the lesser known "Zero Hour". So, at least there's a precedent.

I just read through the list of the 52 Comics in the reboot, and I think I'm gonna try some of the new books. Here's my Listo: Action Comics (ahem, Grant Morrison's writing Superman again. This one is a super given), OMAC (it will probably suck, but Keith Giffen is co-writing. I like Giffen's work from time to time), Frankenstien (it's not written by Morrison, sadly, but I really enjoyed the character, so I'll give it a shot.), Justice League Dark (SHADE the CHANGING MAN! Woo-Hoo! Written by Peter Milligan! I'm in like Flynn), Animal Man (Might skip), Swamp Thing (I liked what little I read of Scott Snyder's "American Vampire", and Yannick Paquette is awesome, so this is definitely worth a shot), and Red Lanterns (more Peter Milligan, also, let's face facts, if I was a Rainbow Lantern, I'd be a Red one).

The fact that I'm thinking about picking up SIX books from DC (five of which aren't written by Grant Morrison) is a pretty good indication that there's some merit to DC's battle plan. Will it work with other folks? Who knows? Maybe they'll scrap the whole plan in six months. Maybe it'll be a huge success. Hard telling. But in a world where Marvel doesn't even have to bother explaining their series anymore to sell them, DC had better do something. Hell, everyone should do something better.

Actually, I've been thinking about that. And that's my cryptic blog ending for today.

It's Too Hot

2011-06-08T04:15:00.000-07:00

So. It got too hot too fast. That's all there is to it. Too hot. Too fast. It's really screwing me up, slowing me down. I get home at night, clean up, and flop down on the couch, and I am DONE for the night. Needless to say, hot or not, this cannot continue. TORC Press operates the way it operates because of my tireless (hahahaha) work ethic. If I'm laying around on the couch all the time, books don't get done, and if books don't get done, I'm never gonna wrap up my Impossible Kirby Year.

So, yeah, it's too hot. But I can't let that affect me. What else is new?

Monday Production Updates while Groggy

2011-06-06T03:40:00.000-07:00

Welp, the air conditioner is installed, and my parents are away on motorcycle somewhere far away. It must be Summer. Let's see what we've got in the Production Updates department...

(As always, our main site is www.torcpress.com, and our online store can be found at www.torcpress.com/store.html. HYPE!)

"The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club"- Issues 1-12 are currently available in the online store. Issue 13 is currently at the Printers. I expect it to be available in late June/early July. Issue 14 is scripted, and I've (barely) started Pencils and Inks. Since 14 & 15 are a two parter, I'd like to script 15 soon. I should probably bring the script with me to the Mill and work on it over lunch or something.

"Cosmic Love"- Issues 1-2 are currently available in the online store. Issue 3 is completed. I'll be sending it to the Printers around the end of the month. I'll probably script CL 4 after I finish the script for HFSAC 15. CL 4 is going to be a VERY pivotal issue.

"Monster King"- Issues 1-2 are currently available in the online store. Issue 3 can be viewed in its entirety at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. Issue 3 has also been sent to the Printers. Physical copies should be available sometime in July or August. Issue 4 is scripted, and I've started Pencils and Inks. Page One of Issue 4 will debut online on Saturday, June 18th (in theory). I'm in no rush to start the script for Issue 5.

Other Stuff- I've got the script for an All Ages book that I'd like to complete before the end of the year. I currently have one page finished on that. It will be a laid back, but still kinda actiony, throw back to "New Super Duper Fun Comix". I'm also working on something else that sort of fills in some blanks in the story. But I've barely started on it, so it may not even come out this year.

Oh, and sadly, TORC Press is back on Facebook. Groan. It's just my "Corporate" Page. I DO NOT have a Personal Page, which basically means that people can "Like" my page and communicate with me, and I can communicate back, and that's it. I don't like Facebook, I don't want to be on Facebook, but since everyone on the Planet is on Facebook, it's a handy tool to keep my tiny readership informed on the comings and goings of the TORCverse. So there's that.

MK3, CL2, and Sideshow

2011-06-04T05:05:00.000-07:00

"We Heart Tacos!"

First off, we've got the final page of Issue 3 of MONSTER KING up in the Index at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. Old One Eye throws a baby fit, and Luther Dirge (last seen way back in "SDF: Foul Business" (remember that one?)) steps up to the plate to be the next demon to go gunning for the Clown. Meanwhile, our heroes find the legendary Jungle Taco. TASTY!

Anyway, the way this will work is pretty simple. Issue 3 of MONSTER KING will be available for viewing for the next three weeks. Next week we'll have no new pages of MONSTER KING. Sorry in advance. Then on June 18th we'll have all of Issue 3, as well as Page 1 of Issue 4. Then on June 25th we'll be taking Issue 3 down. In the meantime, I'm gonna try to get MK 3 to the Printers before the end of the day.

While we're on the subject, I really dig this particular Issue of MONSTER KING. I know, I know. I'm totally biased. Still, I'm not gonna lie to you, MK 1 and 2 were solid books, but I don't think they had that essential... whatever the hell it is that makes a TORC Press book really "Click". But Issue 3. MK 3 is a TORC Press book, Big Time. A plot that makes no sense, a talking frog, weird monsters, brand new characters (hell, FOUR brand new characters), Cactus Joe gets some strange new way to kill things, and there's Tacos at the end. MK 3 IS TORC Press at its best. Or at least I think so.

Speaking of TORC Press at its Best, if you don't have a copy yet, I can't recommend "Cosmic Love #2" enough. It's just a fabulous, fabulous comic. The whole fight/chase scene with the Giant Space Worm alone is worth the price of admission. But then on top of it there's a briefly introduced new character (the Darkwatcher, keep your eye on this guy), the life & times of Kikki Fortune (which also features a little smidgen of info on the Bob Mafia, also important), and a cool little Cosmic Vision. Also, there's a couple of games of Ping Pong and UltraDolphins. It's really excellent, and you can check it out at http://www.torcpress.com/cl2prev.html.

Aaaaannnnnnddddd, lastly, we've kinda got a new comic. Kinda. A while back, Bro gave me an idea. Business Cards suck. You give out a billion of em, and no one ever contacts you anyway. Plus, when you're working a show, you'll get a couple hundred people that'll say crap like, "Oh, I just got here, I'll come back later after I've checked everything out" (which is a lie, incidentally) or "I really like your stuff, I'll try to get around later" (and they don't). So, we had the idea to try to kill two birds with one stone. Thusly, I created "Sideshow". It's kinda like a business card. It has all of my contact info right there on the inside front cover. It's got an eight page story that gives you a nice overview of the TORCverse (the art's pretty as well). And, in what could be described as a bold move (and totally my Brother's idea, by the by), there's a coupon for a dollar off of your next Convention Purchase in the inside back cover. All for a $1.50. Not bad, right? The idea is that either A) worst case scenario, people will pick it up, I'm up a buck and a half, and they've got my contact and website info if they wanna try my stuff out later, or B) Best Case Scenario, they pick it up, read it in the hotel room that night, go "Holy crap, this is awesome!" and then they return the next day, show me the coupon, and buy some books. I'm only out a buck, and maybe I pick up a new reader. (Of course, I guess the actual worst case scenario would be no one buys it at all, but what else is new) Worth a shot, right? Anyway, the bad news is, the entire point of the book is for it to be sold "live", so I'm not putting it online. It will only be available at Conventions. So, there's that. Don't worry, I plan on using the book for at least a year, so if you're a reader (all, what, five or six of you....), you can pick one up at the next show.

Cosmic Love 2 and Other Stuff

2011-05-30T04:09:00.000-07:00

Heyo. It's Memorial Day, so we here at TORC Press have decided to put out a new book. It's "Cosmic Love #2", and it is super duper swell. Cactus Joe and the rest of the Butterfly Gang decide to take a little time to relax in the Asteroid Belt. Unfortunately, their R&R is short lived, as a giant Space Worm shows up and tries to devour their ship, the Smile King. Violence and hijinks ensue. There's also a Cosmic Vision, as well as a brief look into the history of the Clown's Love Interest du Jour, Kikki Fortune. It's a really great issue, one of those comics that I think defines everything that's great about TORC Press. So, if you get a chance, make sure to check it out. A preview can be found at http://www.torcpress.com/cl2prev.html, or you can just pick it up in the online store at http://www.torcpress.com/store.html. For those of you who don't dig buying stuff online, you can also send a check or money order for $4.00 to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824.

With the publication of CL 2, we are now 8 Comics deep into our 24 Comics Published in a Year Challenge. I'm gonna have to start stepping up my game...

Had a really lovely Memorial Day weekend. Got to ride around on my Uncle's boat, and generally got a nice chance to relax a bit. Dad (aka, my Boss at the Sawmill) will be leaving on Friday for his big cross country Motorcycle trip. It's always kind of odd when Ryan and I are left to run the Mill on our own. Who knows how that's gonna go.

This week's goal is to see how long I can go without buying groceries.

New MONSTER KING and Random Thoughts

2011-05-27T08:19:00.000-07:00

"Pretty Music."

Yep, we're a little early again, but here's a new MONSTER KING! Huzzah! This week we see the results of a Kharma Bullet, and things near the wrapping up stage. You can view everything at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html.

Speaking of Monster King, I'm still debating how much longer to roll with book. It doesn't seem like too many people are reading it. I've definitely got three more issues that I'd like to do, and I'm already at work on Issue 4. We'll see after that.

I've been thinking about where I'm going with all of this. I'm constantly debating all of this nonsense. I had an idea to do a big Epic. Something big and baroque. Pulling all of my disparate ideas into a single book. I spent most of the week ramming that stuff through my mind. My big fear with that is that it would get too serious. I don't want that. There's always a certain amount of seriousness that comes with action work, but I don't like the idea of doing something that's purely straight laced and square jawed.

As always, I'm not interested in stagnating. I always want to be experimenting, trying new things, new approaches. I never want to just tread water. I don't want to get bogged down in my own narrative, either. At the same time, I need to move the narrative forward. I have to keep the story moving. I don't want to do throwaway stories. It seems like so much of what Marvel and DC fart out is so...pointless. Nothing is moving, it's just Event. Reset. Event. Reset. Someone Dies. Someone gets Resurrected. Blahblahblah. Writers rotating on and off of books. Nothing stays consistent. Boring. I don't want that.

I also don't want to do much more imitating. If my work's not commercial, then why even try to imitate anyone, right? I mean, I know most people would call me something of an original, but there's still my need to "do my Kirby stuff" or "build my own Marvel" or "do my Lynch stuff". I'd like to shake that. Kirby never bothered to do anything the way anyone else did anything. Or Lynch. So why should I?

So, yeah, I've got a lot on my mind, as always.

Anyway, it's off to Kentucky Lake in a few hours for our annual, half-assed family gathering thingie. It's a nice chance to get away and relax, but it's also pretty poorly timed. The last thing I need is to dump some more gas in the tank and eat out for a couple of days.

I wish the weather would stop sucking.

Nowhere Man

2011-05-26T04:17:00.000-07:00

So, I get set down to work on "Cosmic Love" #3, and I've barely got a Panel Inked, when the Storm Siren in Clay City goes off. For a long time. So, I decided to hang out in the living room and wait out the storm. Get a call from Dad about a couple of minutes later telling me the tornadoes are on the way, and I need to take cover. So, I grab Audrey, and we hang out in a little corner of the house and listen to the rain. Eventually the power goes out. The thunderstorms eventually thin out, and after getting an "All Clear" call from Pa, Audrey and I return to the living room, where I proceed to fall asleep in the darkness. I awoke around midnight to find all of the lights were back on. Went to bed.

Not a very productive night. But, on the bright side, I didn't get tornadoed off to Oz, so I ain't complaining.

I'm nearing the end of "Broke Month", which is one of two months out of the year where all my major insurance bills come due at the same time, ensuring I've got no spare cash. It's always a bad month for me. Puts me in a really screwy mood. Of course, last night, I was pretty glad I had Home Insurance, so I suppose I can't complain.

My problem is that there are just so many things I can't figure out right now. And I don't know what to fix first. Hell, I'm starting to think I don't even know what I want at all. I dunno.

See? What did I tell you? Screwy.

Road Weary

2011-05-25T04:19:00.000-07:00

Woof. I feel crummy this morning. Whatta we got?

We're back from the MCBA Comic Show dealie. Obviously. I'd like to do the obligatory thank you to the... five? people that bought books off of us. Again, Woof. Being in my section was like being in a slaughterhouse of the imagination. All you could do was just stand there and watch as people raced up and down the aisles, avoiding us Small Press Scumbags like we were infected with the plague. I'm blaming the economy. People just don't wanna spend money on something new right now. Whatever. Doesn't change anything. I would like to take a second to thank the MCBA folks, though. They put on a grand event, the table was free, the show is very organized (a dude actually led me to my table after I checked in. That's never happened before), and the free steak dinner was dee-lish. Very cool.

Our next show is the Derby City Comicon on July 16 in Louisville, KY. Details to be found at http://www.derbycitycomiccon.com/.

Right now I'm still pretty worn out from the road. I'm going to take a day or two to get my bearings, and then it's back to the Ole Drawing Board. Although this weekend is Memorial Day, so it's time for the Annual Morris Family trip down to Uncle Rodge's Cabin in Kentucky (which hopefully isn't underwater). So maybe I won't be getting much done this week.

Wow. I just can't seem to get going today.

SpringCon, MONSTER KING, and 10 Hours on the Road

2011-05-19T04:17:00.000-07:00

"Hell, no more Ridicerous than anything else that's happened today."

For the record, Cactus Joe has difficulty pronouncing the word "ridiculous". When he says it, it sounds like ridicerous or ridicleeous or reedickerous. So that's why it's spelled that way. It is intentional, believe it or not.

Anyway, we've got new MONSTER KING over at www.torcpress.com. It's Pages 20 and 21. This week, Cactus Joe makes use of the Kharma Revolver he got off of that Frog a few pages ago. That sentence makes no sense taken in or out of context. Anyway, enjoy the continuingly cascading multi-colored madness.

In other news, TORC Press will be at the Minnesota Spring Con this weekend. Details can be found at http://midwestcomicbook.com/. I'll be there both days, doing my thing. This is one of the longer drives I've undertaken for a show (10 hours! Yipe!), but I get to promote the work and hang with an old buddy, so it works out okay for me.

New MONSTER KING and Minnesotta

2011-05-14T05:52:00.000-07:00

"Ha-Cha-Cha!"

Last week, we got a brief glimpse of the last of the Skull Mob characters I'm introducing in this insane issue, Mr. Hex. He speaks gibberish and swings a spike covered baseball bat. So there's that. Anyway, you can find Pages 18 and 19 over at http://www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. We're getting close to the end of Issue 3 now. I'm not entirely sure this issue makes any sense. I'm really enjoying it though.

Other than that, TORC Press will be doing its thing over at the Midwest Comic Book Association's 2011 Spring Con. It's a new show for me, so I have no idea what to expect. Also, it is WAY out of my territory, so there's no telling how I'm gonna do. Still, feeling good. Details can be found at http://midwestcomicbook.com/.

I'm trying to think of something clever to end this on. I got nuthin'.

Monday Production Updates on a Monday

2011-05-09T04:04:00.000-07:00

Welp, another Monday, so it's back to the Mill to get stomped. Let's console ourselves with some Production Updates, shall we?

The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club- Issues 1-11 are available in the online store. Issue 12 just debuted and is available. It's really cool, which is something of a pun, considering it's a snowy mountain adventure. I sent Issue 13 to the Printers last night, which should make that one available sometime in... mid-June I think. Issue 14 is scripted, but I haven't started any of the interior work at all yet.

Monster King- Issues 1 and 2 are available in the online store. Pages 1 - 16 of Issue 3 are available for viewing for Free Online at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. Issue 4 is Scripted, and I've got a couple of pages done.

Cosmic Love- Issue 1 is available in the online store. I have Issue 2 in my possession, but I think I'll wait until later this month to release it in the store. Issue 3 is scripted. I've started Pencils and Inks, and CL3 is currently my top priority, work-wise.

My next Convention is the Minnesota Spring Con at St. Paul, MN on May 21-22. Details can be found at http://midwestcomicbook.com/. That's gonna be a loooong drive. I need to buy some new CDs...

Best Free Comic I Picked Up at FCBD: A Floyd Gottfriedson "Mickey Mouse" comic. I developed a deep and abiding love for those old Mickey Mouse newspaper strips. They feature a more two-fisted, can-do Mickey Mouse than the shameless corporate shill we've come to know and love.

Late MONSTER KING

2011-05-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

"Needle Magic-- Full Dosage."

First off, all of us at TORC Press would like to thank everyone that came out and supported the cause at Free Comic Book Day at Comic Quest in Evansville, IN. Hope you dig the books. Also, we'd like to thank the fine, fine folks at Comic Quest for giving us hard working slobs in the underground a venue to promote our work. Also, free grub. Excellent.

Second off, we've got a couple of new pages of MONSTER KING up over at www.torcpress.com. This week it's Pages 16 and 17. Whatta we got this week? Welp, there's the Fleshless Horror wrecking havoc on our gallant heroes. And there's our heroes wrecking havoc on the Fleshless Horror. Armageddon Clock makes things go explode-y, and Dr. Z unleashes the violent power of Needle Magic. Also, we get the introduction of Mr. Hex and the Skullmobile.

Other than that, I'm only a few burgers away from having tried all the burgers at Red Robin. Yummmmm. I'm not eating that one with the egg on it, though. Ewwwww.

I recently did something I've really wanted to do for a long time. Having accomplished this, I wonder how many other things I can knock out before I croak. I'm thinking about compiling a bucket list and working towards it.

Production Updates on Monday.

Issue 12 of the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Now Available

2011-05-02T04:11:00.000-07:00

It's a new month, so that means it's time for a new comic, right? Issue 12 of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" is now available from the fine folks at TORC Press (and by fine folks I mean just me, of course). It's 24 Pages of Black, White, and Grey loveliness with a Color Cover for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H. It can be ordered online at www.torcpress.com/store.html or by sending a check or money order to: TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824. There's a Free Preview of the book, featuring the cover and two preview pages, available at http://www.torcpress.com/hfsac12prev.html.

In Issue 12, our heroes, the Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club, find themselves climbing up a snow covered mountain in search of the mythical "Lonely Tree". Apparently, if you meditate under the tree, it will show you a vision of your future. Sounds spiffy, right? Well, what should be a simple enough mission turns into an all-out war when our heroes run into another mountain climbing group, namely Lord NER0 and his mutant army! NER0 could care less about trees and visions, he's after the same thing he was after back in HFSAC #10, namely, another giant monster egg! Although our heroes may seem outnumbered and outgunned, it turns out that they receive some surprise help from a pair of dirty, dangerous Mercenaries. That's right, El Gorio and Lab Bunny, last seen in "SDF: Honorless Dogs", make their triumphant return from the depths of limbo to give our heroes a hand. Can our heroes succeed in making war to achieve peace? Or will that armor-plated evil doer, Lord NER0, have the last laugh? There's only one to find out, and that's by scoring the latest exciting issue of... The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club! (echo, echo, echo...)

Hey, I've Been Forgetting Titles Lately

2011-04-30T05:39:00.000-07:00

"We Live in a World of Beautiful Horror, Little Buddy."

Ah, truer words were never spoken. Anyway, we've got new MONSTER KING up and running over at www.torcpress.com. This week we've got Pages 14 and 15 where a lot of stuff happens. A brand new character, the enigmatic Dr. Z, premiers. Also, do you remember a bunch of pages ago, when the Fleshless Horror popped up for one panel, and then we didn't see him again? Yeah, that thing is back, and it's ANGRY.

Other than that, I've finished all of the Pages of MONSTER KING (I love writing that in All Caps) Issue 3. So, that should give me enough material to get through until June at least. Also, we'll be getting Issue 12 of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" into the online store on Monday. It's a good issue.

Guacamole.

2011-04-25T03:56:00.000-07:00

I'm really starting to think I need to put Audrey up in the Garage at night, cause she's been waking me up too early lately. Of course, it's not that big of a deal today, because the Power was out from at least 2pm until 9:30 last night. I'm not sure what the problem was, but Bro and I saw some people working on something or other, so they probably had the power shut off for that. Regardless, that made last night very, very boring. And dark. Instead of working, I spent most of the afternoon/evening napping, and I went to bed at 9. Woof. Anyway, we've done done all our usual online garbage, so let's do some production updates, shall we?

"The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club"-- Issue 12 came in from the Printers last week. I can't believe I'm up to Issue 12. Anyway, I'll be putting Issue 12 in the online store...probably on May 2nd or sometime that week. Issue 13 is over halfway done. I'm gonna try to have it completed by Free Comic Book Day so that I can get reductions done while I'm in Evansville. Issue 14 is Scripted, and I know what's going down in Issue 15. So there's that.

"Monster King"-- Issues 1 & 2 are currently available in the Online Store. Pages 1-13 of Issue 3 are currently available for Free Viewing at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. I've only got about... three or four pages to go and Issue 3 is finished (work-wise). I plan on finishing the book this week. Issue 4 is scripted, and I've got ideas for Issues 5-8 at least. Issue 3 will go to the Printers the same week that Page 24 is made available online, which should be...June 4th.

"Cosmic Love"-- Issue 1 is currently available in the online store, and if you don't have a copy yet, for the love of all that is holy, pick up a copy. It's too damn pretty for you not to have one. Issue 2 is currently at the Printers. I'll probably make it available in the online store in mid-May. Issue 3 is Scripted, and I've got a start on Pencils. I've only Inked Page One, so, long way to go on that issue. I've got concrete ideas that should take me up to Issue 13 and beyond. I'm very confident about the potential of this series for some reason.

"The Clown & Tea Cup Show"-- Issue 1 is currently available in the online store (that's www.torcpress.com/store.html if you're curious). If you dig experimental comix, then it's an absolute must have. Issue 2 (which may or may not be the final issue) is completed. I'll send it to the Printers in... early June I think.

"Sideshow"-- My "Business Card Comic" is completed and has been sent to the Printers. It's an 8 Page Comic that serves as an intro to "The Ballad of Clown & Tea Cup", and also contains all of my contact info. It will only be made available at Conventions, not in the Online Store. I should have copies in time for Wizar-- er-- the Chicago Comicon.

I've also got an All Ages Comic Scripted, but it will probably be awhile before I get a chance to start on that one. Not counting stuff that's currently at the Printers, I am currently 8 Comics Deep into the 24 Comix in One Year Challenge. Considering it's the 4th Month, I'm still pretty much on Schedule. And it's pronounced Shed-you-uhlllllllll.......

MONSTER KING Rules and "The Annihilators" Sucks

2011-04-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

"I Looked So Lonely."

Ah, Saturday. MONSTER KING time. Nice. Anyway, we've got Pages 12 and 13 this week, which you can find at the Main Site at www.torcpress.com. This week, we get some... Windows? And what's behind these little windows? Hell, I don't know. I just write this stuff. Still, pay attention to these pages. I think there's some meaning to all of this. Maybe.

In other news, lost my mind and went, appropriately enough, to St. Lunatic. Bought a ton of comics, most of which were sight unseen. Unfortunately, one of those books were the first two issues of Marvel's new "Annihilators". Oh my God this book is so bad. So woefully bad. So unbelievably bad. So, why am I crapping on this book? Welp, here we go...

First, the premise. The Annihilators are a team of Cosmic Heroes set up to protect the Galaxy itself from Big, Big Evil Stuff. It's the Silver Surfer (the reason I wasted my time and money on this CRAP (eventually I'm just going to have to accept that there's never going to be another good comic with the Surfer in it ever)), Gladiator (eh), Ronan the Accuser (meh), Beta Ray Bill (cool), and Quasar (BOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!). In the first two issues, everyone bickers alot and there's something about Dire Wraiths.

So, why does it suck? Well, did I mention that in the first two issues that everyone bickers constantly? Or that some alien chick in armor makes the entire group look like pussies in the first few pages? How about the terrible art? I mean, seriously, Marvel. You're the top comic book company in America and this is the best you can do? The colors are pale and weak. The art is completely non-dynamic. The art guy can't draw Beta Ray Bill's face to save his ass. Oh, and the Silver Surfer has EARS. EARS!!!!!!!! Rauugh!!!! For the love of all that is holy, the Surfer doesn't have frickin' ears. He's never, ever, ever had ears. MORONS! (And, yes, I'm aware how stupid it is that I'm upset over ears, I'm honestly kinda overplaying it for drama's sake) Other than that, the book is narrated by Quasar. Now, for those of you who don't know who Quasar is, he's a Lame ass rip off of Green Lantern who has died like twenty times. He sucks. Big Time. So, what does he do throughout Issues 1 and 2? Welp, he whines and complains incessantly about HOW MUCH HE SUCKS! I'm not even joking! Also, I don't think Gladiator does anything in either issue. It's just so boring and sad and lame and boring and poorly drawn and the Surfer has ears. Anyway, I regret this purchase, but whatcha gonna do?

Oh, and if you want a comic where things happen, and people don't constantly whine, and the art is...well, it's up to you whether you like my art or not, and half of the book isn't taken up by a crappy back up story about some Raccoon (I forgot about that part, there's like, not much actual content, either), then head over to www.torcpress.com/store.html and pick up my two new books, "The Clown & Tea Cup Show #1" and "Monster King #2". Between the two books there's Robots and Undead Samurai and Violence and Mayhem and Beer and Vans and Bizarre Dreams, and more bang for your buck than anything Marvel's gonna give ya. Yeah, I said it.

2011-04-20T18:55:00.000-07:00

"The Clown & Tea Cup Show" is...

...um...

It's a story about me and my brother. It's about us on the road. It's about the silly stuff we talk about. It's about the odd adventures we've had.

Kinda.

It's a part of the Ballad of Clown and Penguin. It's about the continuing adventures of Cactus Joe and Pengy Penguin, but then we throw Broken Tea Cup into the mix, and aliceislost pops up, and there's a cameo by King Smooth, and there's an Iggy Iguana strip that plays a part. It's another piece of the massive puzzle I'm putting together.

Sorta.

It's an experimental comic. I'm toying with story telling. Seeing what I can try, what I can get away with, what works, what doesn't, and then doing stuff that doesn't work anyway, just because. I'm also experimenting with my artwork. I'm really experimenting with everything. So, it's an experimental book.

A wee bit.

It's me spitting on Corporate America. It's my absurdist Rant about everything that I think is wrong with our Factory Culture.

Ish.

It's "The Clown & Tea Cup Show". It's beautiful, staggering chaos in a world of boring stupidity and order. You should read it. Why not? Info at www.torcpress.com.

New Comix, New Website Stuff

2011-04-18T04:06:00.000-07:00

So, I finally bit the bullet and sat down and did some work on www.torcpress.com yesterday. The main thing I did was tweak the online store. I removed the graphics from the page so everything loads faster now. To make up for that, I added links to the Preview Pages on every entry that's got a Preview Page, and, additionally, I added an "Add to Cart" Button to every Preview Page, so you can purchase a Comic directly from that page. I also split the Online Store into three separate stores. The Main Store has the Current, Core Books, while the other two stores have the older All Ages and Mature Readers Books. In additional addition, I've added two new Comix to the Site. Speaking of which...

Monster King #2 is now available from TORC Press! Yep, the Print Edition of the World's Greatest Psychedelic Action Comic that No One is Reading, is now available to the masses. It collects all the material from issue 2, which features Cactus Joe's battle with an Ortex Captain, as well as the dreaded Hassaan i Phantom, and it features the introduction of one of my favorite new characters, Mike the Butcher (and his perpetually sleeping Koala, Kolby). It's 24 Pages in Brilliant Full Color for $5.00 plus $1.50 S&H. If you are one of the people that's been following Monster King online, please support the cause by buying a copy. Pretty please, with Sugar on Top?

Also...

"The Clown & Tea Cup Show" #1 is now available from TORC Press. It's a 24 Page Mature Readers Comic in Black/White/Grey for $2.5o plus $1.50 S&H. The story starts out simple enough, Cactus Joe, Pengy Penguin, and Broken Tea Cup are rolling across the open highway when they stop for Burgers. Then things just get damn weird. One of the strangest comics I've ever made, this experimental oddity of a book is a must have for any fan of truly underground comix or experimental storytelling. Also, for longer term fans of TORC Press, this issue features the long awaited return of aliceislost and a cameo by the mysterious King Smooth.

Anyway, all of this is available at www.torcpress.com. Rock on.

MONSTER KING in the Morning

2011-04-16T05:11:00.000-07:00

Ah, Saturday. We've got your weekly dose of MONSTER KING all ready to go at http://www.torcpress.com/mk10.html. This week we've got the unfortunate fate of that bizarre, brightly colored, quacking monster, a cameo by Iggy Iguana, and the official introduction of a new character. His name is Armageddon Clock, and he's the dashing, daring, dandy of doom! Another "Mystery Man" in the titanic TORC Press tradition to say the least.

Other than that, I've got the day off, so I'm gonna try to get some work done on my various projects, and I need to get some groceries, and I really, really need to start cleaning my house up. We'll see how much of that I actually get done.

Lost Wrestlers and Random Notes

2011-04-13T04:12:00.000-07:00

Larry Sweeney died the other day. His real name was Alex Whybrow, but we knew him as "Sweet and Sour" Larry Sweeney. He was a Pro Wrestler, and one of the best to appear on the Wrestling scene in the last decade. Sweeney was never the best in-ring performer, but what he lacked in mat skills and speed he more than made up for with his exuberant, over-the-top personality. Sweeney had more Charisma in his pinky finger than most Hollywood actors have in their entire bodies. Sweeney reminded us why we liked the old school of wrestling so much. As a manager he was a genius, running around the ring, distracting the ref, jawjacking with the crowd. During his all too brief stint in ROH, Sweeney even had bogus business cards made up, which he would casually toss at the fans in the front row. Sweeney was also one of the best promo men the business will be probably ever see. His interviews were always gold. Unfortunately, for all his talent, Whybrow suffered with Bipolar Disorder for most of his life. It got the better of him, and he disappeared from Wrestling for awhile. Later last year it looked like maybe Sweeney was gonna make a comeback, but sadly that was not to be, as his mental problems ultimately got the better of him. If there is a bright sad to this sadness, it's that Sweeney had an impressive Indy career, and he achieves an immortality of sorts in all of the various DVDs that feature him as a Wrestler. If you want to see Sweeney at his best, I thoroughly recommend CHIKARA's "Cibernetico Forever" DVD from 2006 (available at www.smartmarkvideo.com). Via con dios, Larry Sweeney.

Other than that bit of sadness, not much to report on this end. Watched most of Season 1 of "Justified" at Bro's place the other day. Mowed the lawn yesterday. Slowly working on my various projects. Not been sleeping well lately. I've got a Wrestling show in Olney to go to tonight. Thankfully, nothing's happening this weekend, so maybe I can play a little catch up. I owe some people some stuff.