Hope everyone had a happy Super Bowl. Of course, thinking about it, I suppose Steelers fans didn't...but whatever. Here's our current Production Updates:
The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club: Issues 1-11 are currently available in the online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. If you're new to TORC Press or have never tried us out, I'd like to take a second to recommend Issues 9 through 11, the "Pyramid" story arc. It's a good starting point and an excellent story arc. Issue 12 is completed, but, due to the weather, I've been delayed in my attempt to get the book to the printers. Hopefully, I'll be able to get it rolling sometime next week, which will put its estimated release date sometime in early April. The Deadline for Issue 13 is the last Friday in March. I haven't even started on that one yet. The Trade Paperback Collection of HFSAC 1-6 is currently at the Printers. I should have copies before Convention season.
Monster King: The Print version of Issue 1 is available in the Online Store. Pages 1 through 16 of Issue 2 are currently available for viewing at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. The rest of Issue 2 is completed. The entire issue will be serialized online by the end of February, after which, I will send the book to the Printers, which will put its release sometime in April as well. I've got enough pages of Issue 3 ready to go to get me about midway through March. I'm currently trying to work up enough pages to get me comfortably through to the end of March.
Mystery Book 1: Issue 1 is currently at the Printers. I'll be unveiling the book at STAPLE and SPACE this year, and then I'll make it available online and will start the mad hyping nonsense. Issue 2 is currently in production. I'm about halfway through.
Mystery Book 2: Issue 1 is currently at the Printers. I'm unsure if I'll have the book in time for STAPLE, but I should have copies for SPACE. I'll probably unleash it online in mid-April. Issue 2 is already completed (it was my 24 Hour Comic...), but I won't be sending that to the Printers until Summer, because I only intend on producing a couple of issues of this book a year.
The Dr. Orphyus Project: Bro is currently working on Producing a DVD which will feature all of the videos from the DOP's second album "An Introvert". If you didn't already know, I do all of the animated videos for the DOP, and I'm really proud of the work I did on the Introvert album in particular. If all goes according to plan, he'll have copies available before I go on the Convention Circuit (and, yes, I'll have copies to sell at most of the shows I'll be going to), and more importantly, before he goes on tour in Europe. That's right, cats and kittens, my little Brother is getting ready to rock out across Europe! How awesome is that? Anyway, I just finished working up the logo for Bro's next album, "Death Jazz", which I believe has a Summer release date. In addition, I'll be producing at least one new video for the DOP before he leaves next month. I haven't started work on that yet, unfortunately.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Ice, Snow, and MONSTER KING Hype!
"Oh Crap! The Eggs!"
Welp, before we get to the Hype (and there's a fair amount of it), I hope everyone made it out of the Ice Storm okay. We didn't get it too bad. We lost power for about six nonconsecutive hours, but I was asleep for most of it. Man, oh man, I am sick to death of winter. Every blankety blankin' day I get up and work outside in weather that's 20 or less. Every day. Every freakin' day. We're all running out of patience for this crap. Oh, and it's snowing again today. I was gonna go to Evansville today, but now I'm not sure. I'd rather not end up in a ditch the day before the Super Bowl. Actually, I'd rather not end up in a ditch period.
Anyway, it's Saturday, so that means it's MONSTER KING Time! This week we've got pages 14-16, featuring the return of Hassan i Phantom and his annoying Marionettes. There's lots of smashing and a fair amount of blood. Fun!
Speaking of Monster King, the first full print issue of MONSTER KING is now available for sale in our online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. If you dig the webcomic, you can help support it and ensure its continued existence by picking the book up. It's colorful.
And speaking of new comics, Issue 11 of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" is also now available. It's the conclusion of the "Pyramid" story arc, it's got a giant Snake Monster God thing, Cactus Joe goes crazy (or at the very least schizophrenic), and we get the story on Broken Tea Cup's sudden, mildly inexplicable transformation. It's a great comic and a great story arc. And, yes, I know I'm biased. So?
So, a few folks have mentioned they've been having trouble keeping up with the comings and goings in TORCville lately, mostly due to how much Myspace sucks nowadays. (Sorry, Myspace. I'm aware that I've posted a copy of this blog on you, but let's face facts, your sad attempts to regain relevance have only made you somehow more obsolete.) The simple solution to the problem is to just stop by www.torcpress.com once a week. Not only does MONSTER KING update once a week, but any time the BLOG updates, I'll now be clearly marking that on the BLOG Link. Plus, right up on top is the NEWS section with all of the latest, up-to-date TORC Info.
As we wrap things up for the morning and try to decide whether I wanna roll the dice on a trip across state in a possible snowstorm (groan), let's talk Conventions, shall we? My Convention Schedule for 2011 Looks like this so far:
STAPLE- March 5-6-- Austin, TX- Status: Confirmed and Plane Tickets Purchased. Notes: It's a long trip, but totally worth it, as this has become a yearly favorite of mine. Not only do I get away from the crappy Illinois weather for a weekend, but the crowds are great. I'll be there both days.
SPACE- March 19-20-- Columbus, OH- Status: Confirmed. Notes: My favorite show of the year. I'm not sure what will happen now that it's on the same day as C2E2, but who cares? SPACE is great.
Gem City Con- April 1-- Dayton, OH- Status: Confirmed. Notes: Geez, I'm starting to think I should buy a house somewhere in Ohio. I spend a lot of time in that state. Anyway, a friend recommended this one day show, so I thought I'd check it out. The table was affordable, so now matter how I do, I'm not out too much.
Free Comic Book Day- May 7 -- Comic Quest in Evansville, IN- Status: I think I'm in. Notes: My closest "Con", I've been setting up at Comic Quest for...4 years(?) now on FCBD. Sometimes I make some okay scratch, and it's nice to be within driving distance from home.
Minnesota Spring Con- May 21-22 --St. Paul, MN- Status: I've Contacted People. Awaiting Confirmation. Notes: A friend recommended this show to me. Also, I may be able to say hi to an old friend while I'm up there.
Derby City Comicon- July 16-- Louisville, KY- Status: I've sent my money out. Awaiting Confirmation. Notes: Clint gave me the info on this one. The drive's not too bad (three hours, give or take), so I should be able to work the show and drive home on the same day. Nice.
Wizard World Chicago- August 11-14-- Rosemont, IL- Status: Haven't sent my money yet. Waiting for Tax Refund. Notes: My only Illinois show. How screwed up is that?
Cincinnatti Comic Expo- September 17- Cincinnatti, OH- Status: Haven't sent my money yet. Notes: I don't know why, but there's a lot of shows in Ohio. Go figure.
Nashville Comic and Horror Fest- October 1-2- Nashville, TN-- Status: Need to contact promoter for prices/availability, then send money. Notes: I've worked this show for a few years now. This year it's back at the Fairgrounds, which is nice. We do nicely here.
Right now I've got nothing in June (groan), and I'm debating whether or not to work Mid-Ohio Con (Ohio, again? Really?) in November. If Clint wants to split a table, I'll probably do it. Otherwise, I could skip that one. I don't plan on working shows during the months of December through February.
Welp, before we get to the Hype (and there's a fair amount of it), I hope everyone made it out of the Ice Storm okay. We didn't get it too bad. We lost power for about six nonconsecutive hours, but I was asleep for most of it. Man, oh man, I am sick to death of winter. Every blankety blankin' day I get up and work outside in weather that's 20 or less. Every day. Every freakin' day. We're all running out of patience for this crap. Oh, and it's snowing again today. I was gonna go to Evansville today, but now I'm not sure. I'd rather not end up in a ditch the day before the Super Bowl. Actually, I'd rather not end up in a ditch period.
Anyway, it's Saturday, so that means it's MONSTER KING Time! This week we've got pages 14-16, featuring the return of Hassan i Phantom and his annoying Marionettes. There's lots of smashing and a fair amount of blood. Fun!
Speaking of Monster King, the first full print issue of MONSTER KING is now available for sale in our online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. If you dig the webcomic, you can help support it and ensure its continued existence by picking the book up. It's colorful.
And speaking of new comics, Issue 11 of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" is also now available. It's the conclusion of the "Pyramid" story arc, it's got a giant Snake Monster God thing, Cactus Joe goes crazy (or at the very least schizophrenic), and we get the story on Broken Tea Cup's sudden, mildly inexplicable transformation. It's a great comic and a great story arc. And, yes, I know I'm biased. So?
So, a few folks have mentioned they've been having trouble keeping up with the comings and goings in TORCville lately, mostly due to how much Myspace sucks nowadays. (Sorry, Myspace. I'm aware that I've posted a copy of this blog on you, but let's face facts, your sad attempts to regain relevance have only made you somehow more obsolete.) The simple solution to the problem is to just stop by www.torcpress.com once a week. Not only does MONSTER KING update once a week, but any time the BLOG updates, I'll now be clearly marking that on the BLOG Link. Plus, right up on top is the NEWS section with all of the latest, up-to-date TORC Info.
As we wrap things up for the morning and try to decide whether I wanna roll the dice on a trip across state in a possible snowstorm (groan), let's talk Conventions, shall we? My Convention Schedule for 2011 Looks like this so far:
STAPLE- March 5-6-- Austin, TX- Status: Confirmed and Plane Tickets Purchased. Notes: It's a long trip, but totally worth it, as this has become a yearly favorite of mine. Not only do I get away from the crappy Illinois weather for a weekend, but the crowds are great. I'll be there both days.
SPACE- March 19-20-- Columbus, OH- Status: Confirmed. Notes: My favorite show of the year. I'm not sure what will happen now that it's on the same day as C2E2, but who cares? SPACE is great.
Gem City Con- April 1-- Dayton, OH- Status: Confirmed. Notes: Geez, I'm starting to think I should buy a house somewhere in Ohio. I spend a lot of time in that state. Anyway, a friend recommended this one day show, so I thought I'd check it out. The table was affordable, so now matter how I do, I'm not out too much.
Free Comic Book Day- May 7 -- Comic Quest in Evansville, IN- Status: I think I'm in. Notes: My closest "Con", I've been setting up at Comic Quest for...4 years(?) now on FCBD. Sometimes I make some okay scratch, and it's nice to be within driving distance from home.
Minnesota Spring Con- May 21-22 --St. Paul, MN- Status: I've Contacted People. Awaiting Confirmation. Notes: A friend recommended this show to me. Also, I may be able to say hi to an old friend while I'm up there.
Derby City Comicon- July 16-- Louisville, KY- Status: I've sent my money out. Awaiting Confirmation. Notes: Clint gave me the info on this one. The drive's not too bad (three hours, give or take), so I should be able to work the show and drive home on the same day. Nice.
Wizard World Chicago- August 11-14-- Rosemont, IL- Status: Haven't sent my money yet. Waiting for Tax Refund. Notes: My only Illinois show. How screwed up is that?
Cincinnatti Comic Expo- September 17- Cincinnatti, OH- Status: Haven't sent my money yet. Notes: I don't know why, but there's a lot of shows in Ohio. Go figure.
Nashville Comic and Horror Fest- October 1-2- Nashville, TN-- Status: Need to contact promoter for prices/availability, then send money. Notes: I've worked this show for a few years now. This year it's back at the Fairgrounds, which is nice. We do nicely here.
Right now I've got nothing in June (groan), and I'm debating whether or not to work Mid-Ohio Con (Ohio, again? Really?) in November. If Clint wants to split a table, I'll probably do it. Otherwise, I could skip that one. I don't plan on working shows during the months of December through February.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Two New Comics? Madness!
TORC PRESS ATTACK!
That's right, it's February, and even though there's supposed to be a Killer Ice Storm comin' straight for us, the valiant folks here at TORC Press are continuously undaunted in our quest to unleash the strangest, funnest, most kickingest comix around. Long story short, we've got two new books available in our online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. First off, we've got the first issue of "Monster King", as previously seen in online webcomic form. It's in bright, garish full color, and features the Clown and Penguin battling a variety of threats while desperately trying to take a leisurely stroll through the forest. I'll admit, it's a little pricey at $5, but again, it's in full color (which is the one and only cause for the price hike). If you've been enjoying the webcomic, help support it by picking up the hard copy. Pwease?
Also now available is Issue 11 of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club". The third and final chapter of the "Pyramid" trilogy features the Fudgeheads in a desperate struggle with a gigantic, seemingly unstoppable, Snake God/5th Dimensional Parasite. It's a wild issue, and also continues the unexpected return and even more unexpected transformation of Broken Tea Cup. There's a free preview of the book up at www.torcpress.com/hfsac11prev.html. Or you can just buy it sight unseen from the online store as well. That works too.
For those of you not in the mood to shop online, here's a more technical, snail mail run down:
Monster King Issue 1 is a Full Color, 24 Page Comic featuring some exaggerated violence for $5.00 plus $1.50 S&H. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Issue 11 is a BWG, 24 Page Mature Readers (mostly cursing in this particular issue) Comic for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H. Either (or both!) can be acquired by sending check or money order for the proper amount to:
TORC Press
c/o Joseph Morris
330 S 5th St SW
Clay City, IL 62824
The Impossible 24 Comix in One Year Challenge Counter: 3 Comix Published.
Viva la TORC Press!
That's right, it's February, and even though there's supposed to be a Killer Ice Storm comin' straight for us, the valiant folks here at TORC Press are continuously undaunted in our quest to unleash the strangest, funnest, most kickingest comix around. Long story short, we've got two new books available in our online store at www.torcpress.com/store.html. First off, we've got the first issue of "Monster King", as previously seen in online webcomic form. It's in bright, garish full color, and features the Clown and Penguin battling a variety of threats while desperately trying to take a leisurely stroll through the forest. I'll admit, it's a little pricey at $5, but again, it's in full color (which is the one and only cause for the price hike). If you've been enjoying the webcomic, help support it by picking up the hard copy. Pwease?
Also now available is Issue 11 of "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club". The third and final chapter of the "Pyramid" trilogy features the Fudgeheads in a desperate struggle with a gigantic, seemingly unstoppable, Snake God/5th Dimensional Parasite. It's a wild issue, and also continues the unexpected return and even more unexpected transformation of Broken Tea Cup. There's a free preview of the book up at www.torcpress.com/hfsac11prev.html. Or you can just buy it sight unseen from the online store as well. That works too.
For those of you not in the mood to shop online, here's a more technical, snail mail run down:
Monster King Issue 1 is a Full Color, 24 Page Comic featuring some exaggerated violence for $5.00 plus $1.50 S&H. The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club Issue 11 is a BWG, 24 Page Mature Readers (mostly cursing in this particular issue) Comic for $2.50 plus $1.50 S&H. Either (or both!) can be acquired by sending check or money order for the proper amount to:
TORC Press
c/o Joseph Morris
330 S 5th St SW
Clay City, IL 62824
The Impossible 24 Comix in One Year Challenge Counter: 3 Comix Published.
Viva la TORC Press!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
New MONSTER KING and Thoughts on 2011
"This is the part of my Fantasy where I Kill You."
It's Saturday, Cats and Kittens, so that means it's MONSTER KING Time! Once again, we've got three pages up for your viewing pleasure, namely Pages 11-13. You can view them at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. After some comments/complaints on how I ran Monster King previously, I am going to Post Issue 2 in its Entirety this time. We'll see how that goes. Basically, I'll serialize the entire book, then leave it up for a week in its entirety, then leave it up for an additional week where I'll put up Page 1 of Issue 3, then I'll take Issue 2 down the next week. Like I said, we'll see how that goes. Of course, the best way to keep up is just to swing by www.torcpress.com once a week to check out the new pages. It's more fun than Facebook (which is not a very bold statement for me to say, cause I hate Facebook more than just about anything).
I've been thinking about stuff a lot lately. I had a strange, wishy-washy, ramble of a blog just before the New Year, where I was trying to figure out...everything, really. I still haven't really figured anything out, to tell the truth. There's a lot about my life that's swell, that I'm fine with, that's great. And there's a lot of crap that sucks. But the question I find myself confronting is this: Does the stuff that sucks in my life suck because it really sucks, or does it suck because I want it to suck? Am I wasting away in a Desert alone, or am I just standing in a lush, green lawn staring at my neighbor's lawn and going "I wish I had their lawn". (And, for the record, I'm speaking metaphorically here. Anyone who knows me knows I could give less than a crap about my lawn) What do I really want out of life? I mean, really, actually, truly want.
The answer is simple, really. My name is Joseph Morris. I make comics, and I eat tacos. Everything else is a ridiculous illusion conjured up by my psychotic mind. So, let's focus on that, and let God and/or the Universe deal with everything else. So:
1. I eat tacos. That one's easy. Got that one covered.
2. I say that I'm the Bizarre Human Comix Machine. That's not an idle boast. I produced 18 Comics last year. This year, I intend to top that. I, Joseph Morris, the Bizarre Human Comix Machine will produce 24 Comix this Year or Die Trying. Simple as that. And that's NOT counting Reprints or Trade Paperbacks of reprinted material. And I'm not gonna go farting out a bunch of crap either. Yeah, not everything's gonna be the greatest thing since sliced bread, and not every comic's gonna be a home run. But as long as I can keep up the quality of, say, HFSAC 9-11, on a regular basis, then I'm not gonna have anything to be ashamed of.
Anyway, that's the plan: 24 Comic Books in 2011. Because I can.
(Side Note: I'm already ahead by 2, and it's only January)
3. Inner Peace. That'll be tough, considering that I'm still adapting to that whole, I don't go to Church anymore, thing. I'm lonely a lot. I work a day job that takes a pretty rough toll on me, physically and mentally. I've got pretty serious self esteem issues. How do I fix it?
Dunno yet. I've got some ideas. Just gotta keep tinkering with it. I'll either figure it out or fall apart. What else is new, right?
It's Saturday, Cats and Kittens, so that means it's MONSTER KING Time! Once again, we've got three pages up for your viewing pleasure, namely Pages 11-13. You can view them at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. After some comments/complaints on how I ran Monster King previously, I am going to Post Issue 2 in its Entirety this time. We'll see how that goes. Basically, I'll serialize the entire book, then leave it up for a week in its entirety, then leave it up for an additional week where I'll put up Page 1 of Issue 3, then I'll take Issue 2 down the next week. Like I said, we'll see how that goes. Of course, the best way to keep up is just to swing by www.torcpress.com once a week to check out the new pages. It's more fun than Facebook (which is not a very bold statement for me to say, cause I hate Facebook more than just about anything).
I've been thinking about stuff a lot lately. I had a strange, wishy-washy, ramble of a blog just before the New Year, where I was trying to figure out...everything, really. I still haven't really figured anything out, to tell the truth. There's a lot about my life that's swell, that I'm fine with, that's great. And there's a lot of crap that sucks. But the question I find myself confronting is this: Does the stuff that sucks in my life suck because it really sucks, or does it suck because I want it to suck? Am I wasting away in a Desert alone, or am I just standing in a lush, green lawn staring at my neighbor's lawn and going "I wish I had their lawn". (And, for the record, I'm speaking metaphorically here. Anyone who knows me knows I could give less than a crap about my lawn) What do I really want out of life? I mean, really, actually, truly want.
The answer is simple, really. My name is Joseph Morris. I make comics, and I eat tacos. Everything else is a ridiculous illusion conjured up by my psychotic mind. So, let's focus on that, and let God and/or the Universe deal with everything else. So:
1. I eat tacos. That one's easy. Got that one covered.
2. I say that I'm the Bizarre Human Comix Machine. That's not an idle boast. I produced 18 Comics last year. This year, I intend to top that. I, Joseph Morris, the Bizarre Human Comix Machine will produce 24 Comix this Year or Die Trying. Simple as that. And that's NOT counting Reprints or Trade Paperbacks of reprinted material. And I'm not gonna go farting out a bunch of crap either. Yeah, not everything's gonna be the greatest thing since sliced bread, and not every comic's gonna be a home run. But as long as I can keep up the quality of, say, HFSAC 9-11, on a regular basis, then I'm not gonna have anything to be ashamed of.
Anyway, that's the plan: 24 Comic Books in 2011. Because I can.
(Side Note: I'm already ahead by 2, and it's only January)
3. Inner Peace. That'll be tough, considering that I'm still adapting to that whole, I don't go to Church anymore, thing. I'm lonely a lot. I work a day job that takes a pretty rough toll on me, physically and mentally. I've got pretty serious self esteem issues. How do I fix it?
Dunno yet. I've got some ideas. Just gotta keep tinkering with it. I'll either figure it out or fall apart. What else is new, right?
Saturday, January 22, 2011
MONSTER KING Fun
"This is REALITY."
I'm not gonna take up a lotta space today, cause if you haven't read it yet, please scroll on down to my lengthy blog entry on "The Megatext". It basically explains my theories going into TORC Press in the year 2011.
Anyway, it's Saturday, so that be MONSTER KING time! We've got another three pages up, Pages 8-10 which can be viewed at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. These pages are bad news, and end on a potentially disastrous cliffhanger. What'll happen next? Well, we'll see next week.
Also, don't forget, "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" Issues 9&10 are now available at www.torcpress.com/store.html. These are the first two parts of the three part "Pyramid" story arc. The final part, Issue 11, will be available on Tuesday, February 1st (which I can definitively say now, cause the book came in yesterday, and I gotta say, it looks loverly), so keep a heads up for that.
Viva la TORC Press!
I'm not gonna take up a lotta space today, cause if you haven't read it yet, please scroll on down to my lengthy blog entry on "The Megatext". It basically explains my theories going into TORC Press in the year 2011.
Anyway, it's Saturday, so that be MONSTER KING time! We've got another three pages up, Pages 8-10 which can be viewed at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html. These pages are bad news, and end on a potentially disastrous cliffhanger. What'll happen next? Well, we'll see next week.
Also, don't forget, "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" Issues 9&10 are now available at www.torcpress.com/store.html. These are the first two parts of the three part "Pyramid" story arc. The final part, Issue 11, will be available on Tuesday, February 1st (which I can definitively say now, cause the book came in yesterday, and I gotta say, it looks loverly), so keep a heads up for that.
Viva la TORC Press!
Friday, January 21, 2011
The Megatext
Here we go.
You've got Mini-comics. A mini-comic can be a little one joke gag, or an intimate piece of self expression/autobio, or they can even be a massive, epic work of art, or all points in between. Same with webcomics. Some are little jokes, and some are sweeping epics, and most are somewhere between. And you have the slowly dying comic strip, telling their jokes or their little stories, day by day and week by week. Then there's comics. The comic book. You can have a one shot. A one time story that could be anything, big or small. My buddy Clint is the King of the One Shot, cranking out these strange, funny, surreal ideas, and then moving on to the next one. You can do a mini-series, a finite thing, three or six issues long. Tell a longer story. Something self contained. A lot comics best stories were mini-series. "Watchmen", "The Dark Knight Returns", "Maus", blahblahblah. Then there's the finite series. Even longer. Potentially more room to explore more facets of the story. Still largely self contained. Still its own animal. Again, some of comics most significant works fall into this category. "Sandman", "Cerebus", "Bone", ect. Then there's the Infinite Series. The series that just goes on and on and on until someone decides to call it quits. There's nothing wrong with the Infinite Series (despite the bad rep they've gotten lately), hell, it's been the modus operandi for comics for years. Lots of cool stuff have come out of these huge, lengthy, unwiedly behemoths. Think about it for a second. The same "Thor" comic that had all of those beautiful Kirby stories is the same "Thor" comic that had Walt Simonson's epic run. I followed the 3rd "Silver Surfer" series for over 100 issues, and some of those comics are still among the best comics I've ever read, ever (although to be fair, the incomparable Ron Lim provided the artwork for the better majority of that run...). Then there's the Universe. A bunch of Infinite Comics that all take place within generally the same place and generally the same time featuring characters that may or may not interact with each other if the opportunity arrises. Universes have gotten a bad rap lately, but they're cool things. I like the idea that Daredevil can run into the Silver Surfer. That's a goofy thought. One of the cool (or not so cool, depending on your perspective) things about a Universe is that it can give rise to the Cross Over. A Cross Over is an interaction between different Characters from different Comics. Sometimes they can be simple, short, fun little things, like "The Cosmic Norseman vs. New Super Duper Fun Comix". Or they can be big, epic, multi-month affairs that span an entire Universe, affect multiple characters and books, and have some sort of lasting impact on the overall Universe. Stuff like "The Infinity Gauntlet" or "Final Crisis" or "Unity" or whatever. There's a billion of em nowadays. Despite how much Impact a cross over has, a cross over is something that comes and goes. The comics that were involved move on with their lives. Hell, "Civil War" ruined Marvel Comics for me, but I'm pretty sure almost everything from that big, stupid Crossover has been written out. No one remembers that Peter Parker's Spiderman, Iron Man's not a Super villain anymore, Captain America's not dead. Hell, do they even still have that stupid Superhuman Registration Act nonsense anymore? Probably not. I suppose that's ultimately the problem with Crossovers. Not matter how much they try to matter, they're eventually lost in the sands of time.
And then there's the Megatext.
The Megatext is a bit of a rarity. Megatext isn't really a term anyone uses. It's one that I kinda came up with recently. A Megatext is weird, cause it's smaller than a Universe (oftentimes taking place within the greater context of a Universe), but bigger than a Crossover. A Megatext is Finite, but it's so big it can seem Infinite. I guess I should try to explain this a little better.
A Megatext is a singular story, told by a single Writer (or Writer/Artist or Writer, Artist Team) using multiple individual Comic Books to tell the story.
Got that? Well, let's throw some examples out there.
The first Megatext I've come across was created by the King, of course. Jack Kirby's "Fourth World" in my opinion is the first Megatext (or at the very least, the first one I'm aware of). "The Fourth World" is the story of the Cosmic War between New Genesis and Apokalyps told from four different perspectives, "Jimmy Olsen" (yeah, I know), "The New Gods", "The Forever People", and "Mister Miracle". "The Fourth World" was never completed, but it was intended to be a Finite thing. One giant Mega-story that ran through multiple books that would eventually come to a conclusion. And it was so damn cool when it got running. Wish Kirby coulda finished it.
The more I think about it, the more Megatexts I've started to come across. Paul Pope's "THB" is a Megatext. There was the regular THB series (still not completed...damnit), as well as a number of ancillary THB comics that supplemented the greater THB story, such as "Escapo", "THB: Parade", and a variety of other big and little comics. One story, one creator, multiple books, multiple points of view. Megatext.
Mike Allred's "Madman" saga is a Megatext. Frank Einstein debuted in one of Allred's pre-Madman anthologies. Then he became Madman in "Madman", and we've seen close to a dozen different Madman comics since then from "Madman Adventures" to the Madman crossover with Superman to Madman becoming a regular character in the Madman spin-off, "The Atomics" to the recent "Madman Atomic Comics". Again, lots of comics, one story, one creator.
What got me started on this thought process, of course, was Grant Morrison. Pope and Allred, I don't think were consciously trying to create a Megatext. In the case of Allred, Allred moved between a bunch of different publishers (uh... lessee, Tundra, Dark Horse, Oni, and Image off the top of my head. Didn't he self publish for a little while?). I think Pope was just kinda like me, stabbing around in the dark, experimenting with different stuff. But Morrison. Morrison has been experimenting with the actual concept of the Megatext for awhile now. I think it started with "New X-Men". "New X-Men" wasn't a Megatext, but it was the first real stab at one. "New X-Men" was a Finite series within the greater context of a long running Infinite Series Franchise, namely the X-Men. Morrison's run was a singular thing, referring to the past X-Men works without being controlled by them. It's one big story, but it's a story told from many, many different angles. Throw in the veritable army of artists that worked on the book during Morrison's run, and you begin to get a very Megatext vibe. Morrison's first real Megatext was "Seven Soldiers". The story behind "Seven Soldiers" was the war between the Sheeda and Human History. But it was a story told across a string of books, each one with a different perspective, and artist, and protagonist. And again, it took place within the greater context of the DC Universe, featuring a bunch of pre-existing or re-imagined characters, but it was its own self contained story. Morrison has done the same with his Batman run, which has run across the regular long running "Batman" book, bounced into "Final Crisis", dovetailed into both "Batman and Robin" while simultaneously running through "Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne" and now morphing into the (extremely exciting) "Batman Inc."
So, why am I wasting your time with this excessive dissertation on Comics and blathering about some vague concept that I made up about a couple of months ago? There's a point. Bear with me.
When I started, I was making a Universe. That was the point. I was not making a Universe cause I wanted a Brand, or cause I wanted to score a licensing deal with some Underwear company (although I would wear Cactus Joe Underoos in a heartbeat...), or cause I wanted to "Beat" Marvel and DC. I created a Universe cause it was fun. It was cool. I loved Marvel (back then), I dug DC. I wanted to do my own version of that. Why not? At least I had my own spin on it. It started as a mesh of Super Hero comics with Slasher film Monsters, then I took that and combined it with Hannah-Barbera and William S. Burroughs to get this cooky, surreal, actiony, funny, odd, horror thing. But I got caught up in Universe building, over and over again. I gotta do this comic, cause I need to create these characters to present this end of the Universe. I gotta do that comic to present this little corner of the Universe. I need a Superman. I need a Batman. I need a Spiderman. It's not weird enough. It's not actiony enough. Actiony is not a word, by the by. I was just throwing out ideas with no substance, no direction. I was throwing crap at walls to see what would stick. And no matter how many times I would create something new, it was often hollow. Where was it going? I didn't even publish a lot of the stuff I did. "Sickness Valentine" sits in a pile in the corner of my studio. "Cogs in the Machine" never got finished. I've got the reductions for an entire book ready to go, but it'll never see print cause it didn't work. I hate to say this about it, but "SDF: Pulp" didn't work. It was a noble effort, it was a cool experiment, and there was some cool stuff in it (Issue 2 is an absolute must-have in my opinion), but it didn't work. The Cactus Joe story was going nowhere (slowly) and Bad Jack didn't work. Bad Jack was gonna be my Donald Duck or my Batman. And I tried really hard to make him work. But he didn't work. Like so many of my experiments and attempts, it just didn't work.
So what did work?
The Clown and Penguin stories, in general, always worked (and yes, I'm aware that I just said that the stories in "SDF: Pulp" didn't work. That was an issue of simplicity and a lack of space to tell the story properly. It wasn't the characters' fault.). And the reason why they've always worked is because I'm invested in these characters. The Clown is essentially me, and Pengy...somehow Pengy makes everything work. Don't ask me how he makes it all work, he just does. I know the general direction the story is going, and I've got new ideas for Clown stories. Always. And we've seen so much evolution with the character over the years. In "Pulp Horrorshow" the Clown was a solo act, a grim and gritty, bad ass, tough guy out for revenge against the Ortex Coporation. In "The Watchdogs" and some of the issues of "Truth or Consequences Monthly" we started to see Cactus Joe as a more traditional Superhero. In the rest of "TORCM" we saw the Clown as a Man-on-the-Run, desperately trying to escape from Ortex and even Angels from Heaven. Along comes "Super Duper Fun Comix", and suddenly, the Clown's got friends, and he's kind of a normal guy (well, again, considering he's essentially me, the term "normal" is a bit of a stretch), even though he's still fighting Monsters and Demons and stuff. That was where Pengy came into the picture, and like everything involving Pengy, it was an accident. But it was an accident that worked better than I ever imagined. From there we moved to "SDF", and what I like to call the Violent Sitcom period, where the Clown and Penguin try to live a simple life in a quiet town only to get attacked by Demons and Robots and Mutants every time they turned around. It was cool. It worked. But it was also a little bit of a rut. Kinda like a sitcom. I did some stuff to break up the monotony like "SDF: the Great Race" and a couple of issues of "New Super Duper Fun Comix" and the Cosmic Norseman cross over. Then along came "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club", and it was like, Whoa Baby! Now we've got something. A nice ensemble cast. Exciting locales. Strange Adventures. HFSAC works. Big time. I'm 11 Issues (well, Issue 11 is at the Printers...) deep, and I'm still going strong. I can probably go to Issue 30 with the ideas I've got right now. And I'm always getting new ideas. But me being me, I couldn't just do HFSAC. Oh no. Gotta keep building that Universe. Gotta keep trying new books and new characters. Gotta keep slamming my head against that damn wall.
Until I had a realization at the end of 2010. I'm not building a Universe. I'm building a Megatext.
Click.
After that, it all started to make sense. My story is not the story of the TORCverse. The TORCverse is the setting. The TORCverse is the context. But the story I'm telling is actually the story of Cactus Joe the Clown and Pengy Penguin. Or as I call it, "The Ballad of Clown and Penguin". And it's a cool story. A big story. A story with many, many different facets. All the old stories are a part of it (I need to collect those in trade sometime), and "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" is part of it, and "SDF: Pulp" (flawed as it was) is part of it, and "MONSTER KING" is part of it. The book I've got at the Printers right now is part of it. It's a story about two guys going toe-to-toe with the entire Universe. It's my story. It's their story. It's TORC Press.
And you don't gotta read the whole thing. That's the cool thing about a Megatext. You didn't have to read "The Forever People" to enjoy the "New Gods". You don't have to read "Escapo" to enjoy "THB". You didn't need to read all of the "Seven Soldiers" books to enjoy any of the individual issues. You didn't have to read "SDF: Pulp" or my new Mystery Book to enjoy "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club".
BUT, the other neat thing about a Megatext is that if you do read the whole thing, you get this big, beautiful tapestry of a story. And that's something only Comix can do. And I love it when Comix can do something nothing else can do.
Viva la TORC Press.
You've got Mini-comics. A mini-comic can be a little one joke gag, or an intimate piece of self expression/autobio, or they can even be a massive, epic work of art, or all points in between. Same with webcomics. Some are little jokes, and some are sweeping epics, and most are somewhere between. And you have the slowly dying comic strip, telling their jokes or their little stories, day by day and week by week. Then there's comics. The comic book. You can have a one shot. A one time story that could be anything, big or small. My buddy Clint is the King of the One Shot, cranking out these strange, funny, surreal ideas, and then moving on to the next one. You can do a mini-series, a finite thing, three or six issues long. Tell a longer story. Something self contained. A lot comics best stories were mini-series. "Watchmen", "The Dark Knight Returns", "Maus", blahblahblah. Then there's the finite series. Even longer. Potentially more room to explore more facets of the story. Still largely self contained. Still its own animal. Again, some of comics most significant works fall into this category. "Sandman", "Cerebus", "Bone", ect. Then there's the Infinite Series. The series that just goes on and on and on until someone decides to call it quits. There's nothing wrong with the Infinite Series (despite the bad rep they've gotten lately), hell, it's been the modus operandi for comics for years. Lots of cool stuff have come out of these huge, lengthy, unwiedly behemoths. Think about it for a second. The same "Thor" comic that had all of those beautiful Kirby stories is the same "Thor" comic that had Walt Simonson's epic run. I followed the 3rd "Silver Surfer" series for over 100 issues, and some of those comics are still among the best comics I've ever read, ever (although to be fair, the incomparable Ron Lim provided the artwork for the better majority of that run...). Then there's the Universe. A bunch of Infinite Comics that all take place within generally the same place and generally the same time featuring characters that may or may not interact with each other if the opportunity arrises. Universes have gotten a bad rap lately, but they're cool things. I like the idea that Daredevil can run into the Silver Surfer. That's a goofy thought. One of the cool (or not so cool, depending on your perspective) things about a Universe is that it can give rise to the Cross Over. A Cross Over is an interaction between different Characters from different Comics. Sometimes they can be simple, short, fun little things, like "The Cosmic Norseman vs. New Super Duper Fun Comix". Or they can be big, epic, multi-month affairs that span an entire Universe, affect multiple characters and books, and have some sort of lasting impact on the overall Universe. Stuff like "The Infinity Gauntlet" or "Final Crisis" or "Unity" or whatever. There's a billion of em nowadays. Despite how much Impact a cross over has, a cross over is something that comes and goes. The comics that were involved move on with their lives. Hell, "Civil War" ruined Marvel Comics for me, but I'm pretty sure almost everything from that big, stupid Crossover has been written out. No one remembers that Peter Parker's Spiderman, Iron Man's not a Super villain anymore, Captain America's not dead. Hell, do they even still have that stupid Superhuman Registration Act nonsense anymore? Probably not. I suppose that's ultimately the problem with Crossovers. Not matter how much they try to matter, they're eventually lost in the sands of time.
And then there's the Megatext.
The Megatext is a bit of a rarity. Megatext isn't really a term anyone uses. It's one that I kinda came up with recently. A Megatext is weird, cause it's smaller than a Universe (oftentimes taking place within the greater context of a Universe), but bigger than a Crossover. A Megatext is Finite, but it's so big it can seem Infinite. I guess I should try to explain this a little better.
A Megatext is a singular story, told by a single Writer (or Writer/Artist or Writer, Artist Team) using multiple individual Comic Books to tell the story.
Got that? Well, let's throw some examples out there.
The first Megatext I've come across was created by the King, of course. Jack Kirby's "Fourth World" in my opinion is the first Megatext (or at the very least, the first one I'm aware of). "The Fourth World" is the story of the Cosmic War between New Genesis and Apokalyps told from four different perspectives, "Jimmy Olsen" (yeah, I know), "The New Gods", "The Forever People", and "Mister Miracle". "The Fourth World" was never completed, but it was intended to be a Finite thing. One giant Mega-story that ran through multiple books that would eventually come to a conclusion. And it was so damn cool when it got running. Wish Kirby coulda finished it.
The more I think about it, the more Megatexts I've started to come across. Paul Pope's "THB" is a Megatext. There was the regular THB series (still not completed...damnit), as well as a number of ancillary THB comics that supplemented the greater THB story, such as "Escapo", "THB: Parade", and a variety of other big and little comics. One story, one creator, multiple books, multiple points of view. Megatext.
Mike Allred's "Madman" saga is a Megatext. Frank Einstein debuted in one of Allred's pre-Madman anthologies. Then he became Madman in "Madman", and we've seen close to a dozen different Madman comics since then from "Madman Adventures" to the Madman crossover with Superman to Madman becoming a regular character in the Madman spin-off, "The Atomics" to the recent "Madman Atomic Comics". Again, lots of comics, one story, one creator.
What got me started on this thought process, of course, was Grant Morrison. Pope and Allred, I don't think were consciously trying to create a Megatext. In the case of Allred, Allred moved between a bunch of different publishers (uh... lessee, Tundra, Dark Horse, Oni, and Image off the top of my head. Didn't he self publish for a little while?). I think Pope was just kinda like me, stabbing around in the dark, experimenting with different stuff. But Morrison. Morrison has been experimenting with the actual concept of the Megatext for awhile now. I think it started with "New X-Men". "New X-Men" wasn't a Megatext, but it was the first real stab at one. "New X-Men" was a Finite series within the greater context of a long running Infinite Series Franchise, namely the X-Men. Morrison's run was a singular thing, referring to the past X-Men works without being controlled by them. It's one big story, but it's a story told from many, many different angles. Throw in the veritable army of artists that worked on the book during Morrison's run, and you begin to get a very Megatext vibe. Morrison's first real Megatext was "Seven Soldiers". The story behind "Seven Soldiers" was the war between the Sheeda and Human History. But it was a story told across a string of books, each one with a different perspective, and artist, and protagonist. And again, it took place within the greater context of the DC Universe, featuring a bunch of pre-existing or re-imagined characters, but it was its own self contained story. Morrison has done the same with his Batman run, which has run across the regular long running "Batman" book, bounced into "Final Crisis", dovetailed into both "Batman and Robin" while simultaneously running through "Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne" and now morphing into the (extremely exciting) "Batman Inc."
So, why am I wasting your time with this excessive dissertation on Comics and blathering about some vague concept that I made up about a couple of months ago? There's a point. Bear with me.
When I started, I was making a Universe. That was the point. I was not making a Universe cause I wanted a Brand, or cause I wanted to score a licensing deal with some Underwear company (although I would wear Cactus Joe Underoos in a heartbeat...), or cause I wanted to "Beat" Marvel and DC. I created a Universe cause it was fun. It was cool. I loved Marvel (back then), I dug DC. I wanted to do my own version of that. Why not? At least I had my own spin on it. It started as a mesh of Super Hero comics with Slasher film Monsters, then I took that and combined it with Hannah-Barbera and William S. Burroughs to get this cooky, surreal, actiony, funny, odd, horror thing. But I got caught up in Universe building, over and over again. I gotta do this comic, cause I need to create these characters to present this end of the Universe. I gotta do that comic to present this little corner of the Universe. I need a Superman. I need a Batman. I need a Spiderman. It's not weird enough. It's not actiony enough. Actiony is not a word, by the by. I was just throwing out ideas with no substance, no direction. I was throwing crap at walls to see what would stick. And no matter how many times I would create something new, it was often hollow. Where was it going? I didn't even publish a lot of the stuff I did. "Sickness Valentine" sits in a pile in the corner of my studio. "Cogs in the Machine" never got finished. I've got the reductions for an entire book ready to go, but it'll never see print cause it didn't work. I hate to say this about it, but "SDF: Pulp" didn't work. It was a noble effort, it was a cool experiment, and there was some cool stuff in it (Issue 2 is an absolute must-have in my opinion), but it didn't work. The Cactus Joe story was going nowhere (slowly) and Bad Jack didn't work. Bad Jack was gonna be my Donald Duck or my Batman. And I tried really hard to make him work. But he didn't work. Like so many of my experiments and attempts, it just didn't work.
So what did work?
The Clown and Penguin stories, in general, always worked (and yes, I'm aware that I just said that the stories in "SDF: Pulp" didn't work. That was an issue of simplicity and a lack of space to tell the story properly. It wasn't the characters' fault.). And the reason why they've always worked is because I'm invested in these characters. The Clown is essentially me, and Pengy...somehow Pengy makes everything work. Don't ask me how he makes it all work, he just does. I know the general direction the story is going, and I've got new ideas for Clown stories. Always. And we've seen so much evolution with the character over the years. In "Pulp Horrorshow" the Clown was a solo act, a grim and gritty, bad ass, tough guy out for revenge against the Ortex Coporation. In "The Watchdogs" and some of the issues of "Truth or Consequences Monthly" we started to see Cactus Joe as a more traditional Superhero. In the rest of "TORCM" we saw the Clown as a Man-on-the-Run, desperately trying to escape from Ortex and even Angels from Heaven. Along comes "Super Duper Fun Comix", and suddenly, the Clown's got friends, and he's kind of a normal guy (well, again, considering he's essentially me, the term "normal" is a bit of a stretch), even though he's still fighting Monsters and Demons and stuff. That was where Pengy came into the picture, and like everything involving Pengy, it was an accident. But it was an accident that worked better than I ever imagined. From there we moved to "SDF", and what I like to call the Violent Sitcom period, where the Clown and Penguin try to live a simple life in a quiet town only to get attacked by Demons and Robots and Mutants every time they turned around. It was cool. It worked. But it was also a little bit of a rut. Kinda like a sitcom. I did some stuff to break up the monotony like "SDF: the Great Race" and a couple of issues of "New Super Duper Fun Comix" and the Cosmic Norseman cross over. Then along came "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club", and it was like, Whoa Baby! Now we've got something. A nice ensemble cast. Exciting locales. Strange Adventures. HFSAC works. Big time. I'm 11 Issues (well, Issue 11 is at the Printers...) deep, and I'm still going strong. I can probably go to Issue 30 with the ideas I've got right now. And I'm always getting new ideas. But me being me, I couldn't just do HFSAC. Oh no. Gotta keep building that Universe. Gotta keep trying new books and new characters. Gotta keep slamming my head against that damn wall.
Until I had a realization at the end of 2010. I'm not building a Universe. I'm building a Megatext.
Click.
After that, it all started to make sense. My story is not the story of the TORCverse. The TORCverse is the setting. The TORCverse is the context. But the story I'm telling is actually the story of Cactus Joe the Clown and Pengy Penguin. Or as I call it, "The Ballad of Clown and Penguin". And it's a cool story. A big story. A story with many, many different facets. All the old stories are a part of it (I need to collect those in trade sometime), and "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" is part of it, and "SDF: Pulp" (flawed as it was) is part of it, and "MONSTER KING" is part of it. The book I've got at the Printers right now is part of it. It's a story about two guys going toe-to-toe with the entire Universe. It's my story. It's their story. It's TORC Press.
And you don't gotta read the whole thing. That's the cool thing about a Megatext. You didn't have to read "The Forever People" to enjoy the "New Gods". You don't have to read "Escapo" to enjoy "THB". You didn't need to read all of the "Seven Soldiers" books to enjoy any of the individual issues. You didn't have to read "SDF: Pulp" or my new Mystery Book to enjoy "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club".
BUT, the other neat thing about a Megatext is that if you do read the whole thing, you get this big, beautiful tapestry of a story. And that's something only Comix can do. And I love it when Comix can do something nothing else can do.
Viva la TORC Press.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Mike the Butcher
We recently introduced a new character over in MONSTER KING (which you can check out over at www.torcpress.com/monsterking.html) named Mike the Butcher. Here's a little ramble on how he came about.
Despite my love of the manga "One Piece", I have, surprisingly, stole/imitated very little from Eichira Oda's pirate comic. But I've always liked the interplay between Luffy and Zolo. Roranoa Zolo in any other manga would be the main character. He's a bad ass Pirate/Samurai/Tough Guy/Swordsman. He's got a cool look, a cool attitude, a cool everything. But in the crazy world of One Piece he's stuck playing second fiddle (or First Mate, as it were) to Luffy D. Monkey, a silly, straw hat wearing, rubber bodied (literally) goofball pirate captain. I think that was kinda where Mike got started.
I also was toying with the idea of giving Cactus Joe a bodyguard. I think that concept started when I was still working on "SDF: Pulp", and I had considered the idea of having Pengy accidentally awaken a halfbreed Vampire that would basically become Pengy's servant/bodyguard. The idea never took, mostly because I just didn't like the idea of Pengy having a deadly living weapon at his disposal. But the bodyguard idea kinda stuck. Now the two of you reading this that read my comix might be asking yourself, "Self, why would a guy who's walking Death like the Clown need a body guard?" Well, the idea I had was that it would be an accidental thing, that CJ would just end up with this strange, powerful, tough guy as his bodyguard for no real good reason.
All I needed was a character that worked. I went through a few ideas before the final version clicked into place. Originally Mike was an alien and carried a Giant Sword. Unfortunately, it's really hard to draw a Giant Sword over and over and over again, so that idea got dropped. Then he turned into a weird mutant rabbit/crab hybrid thing. He could turn his hands into Crab Claws and cut through stuff. That was a neat idea, but it still didn't click. I went back to the halfbreed Vampire idea for awhile, but that didn't take. Eventually, I just simplified things and made him a really, really, really old samurai who was so old that he was basically just a walking corpse who had forgotten most of his life. As something of a shout out to Roronoa Zolo, I colored him green (which also represents that he's kinda moldy/fungusy...ew).
As for the name, it's a combination of "Sammy the Butcher" from William S. Burrough's "Nova Trilogy" and the character of Mike, the One Armed, Shoe Selling, Sorcerer from David Lynch's "Twin Peaks".
So, yeah, Mike the Butcher.
Despite my love of the manga "One Piece", I have, surprisingly, stole/imitated very little from Eichira Oda's pirate comic. But I've always liked the interplay between Luffy and Zolo. Roranoa Zolo in any other manga would be the main character. He's a bad ass Pirate/Samurai/Tough Guy/Swordsman. He's got a cool look, a cool attitude, a cool everything. But in the crazy world of One Piece he's stuck playing second fiddle (or First Mate, as it were) to Luffy D. Monkey, a silly, straw hat wearing, rubber bodied (literally) goofball pirate captain. I think that was kinda where Mike got started.
I also was toying with the idea of giving Cactus Joe a bodyguard. I think that concept started when I was still working on "SDF: Pulp", and I had considered the idea of having Pengy accidentally awaken a halfbreed Vampire that would basically become Pengy's servant/bodyguard. The idea never took, mostly because I just didn't like the idea of Pengy having a deadly living weapon at his disposal. But the bodyguard idea kinda stuck. Now the two of you reading this that read my comix might be asking yourself, "Self, why would a guy who's walking Death like the Clown need a body guard?" Well, the idea I had was that it would be an accidental thing, that CJ would just end up with this strange, powerful, tough guy as his bodyguard for no real good reason.
All I needed was a character that worked. I went through a few ideas before the final version clicked into place. Originally Mike was an alien and carried a Giant Sword. Unfortunately, it's really hard to draw a Giant Sword over and over and over again, so that idea got dropped. Then he turned into a weird mutant rabbit/crab hybrid thing. He could turn his hands into Crab Claws and cut through stuff. That was a neat idea, but it still didn't click. I went back to the halfbreed Vampire idea for awhile, but that didn't take. Eventually, I just simplified things and made him a really, really, really old samurai who was so old that he was basically just a walking corpse who had forgotten most of his life. As something of a shout out to Roronoa Zolo, I colored him green (which also represents that he's kinda moldy/fungusy...ew).
As for the name, it's a combination of "Sammy the Butcher" from William S. Burrough's "Nova Trilogy" and the character of Mike, the One Armed, Shoe Selling, Sorcerer from David Lynch's "Twin Peaks".
So, yeah, Mike the Butcher.
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