I just posted some photos and commentary over on the Dimestore/Small Press Idol site that shows the process I go through when creating a comic book page for The Associate. If you’re interested you can check it out HERE!

Greetings from rainy, but pleasantly cool, Minnesota!
For the next few posts I’ve decided to follow the lead of fellow Dimestore Small Press Idol compeditor, Erik Hendrix and break down what went into the pages we submitted for round three.
Speaking of the Small Press Idol, why not throw a vote Erik’s way, right after you vote for us!
Ok, enough with the obligatory begging for votes and on with the commentary…

I’d like to begin by stating these posts will primarily focus on Michael’s pencils and some easter eggs while leaving comments about the story vague so as to avoid spoilers.
Ok, so let’s clear up the first spot of confusion; this is not the first page of Issue Zero, it is in fact page 5. Mike chose these three pages because he felt they would be the most compelling, both visually and from a story standpoint, without giving away too much about the rest of the issue. As I’ve stated on this blog before: I whole-heartedly agree with his choice and I cannot wait to see the issue completed!
Next, I’d like to share a little history of the real Fergus Falls State Hospotal/Asylum.
We based the asylum in our story on a real life hospital in Fergus Falls, MN. Fergus Falls is located on I-94 in western/central Minnesota. For some great photos of the de-commissioned hospital go here. Mike and I plan on making a road trip to the hospital next month, expect a full travel log to be posted here on our blog.
The hospital, thanks to Mike’s fantastic pencils, really succeeds in it’s role as a gateway as well as a classic haunted house “set”. The idea was to use their journey from the front door and through hospital’s cavernous halls and yawning shadows to indicate Dey and Cain are moving into another world, and yes, it is also just plain spooky.
As I had it written, as the panels progressed down the page they were to slowly draw into more of a close up pov in an attempt to artificially create tension. Mike, whether intentionally or sub-consciously, understood that longer “shots” would be more effective allowing the two to be dwarfed by the scale of the rooms, as if they were literally walking into the belly of the beast. This perspective is also more interesting visually allowing for more variety in the shot angles and panel composition.
While I’m on the subject of visuals, the first thing I noticed about this page was the (what I will refer to as) the scrawling effects. I’ve read people see them as “film scratches”, I saw them as a kind of indication of “background-noise”, or the psychic scarring in the ether of the place. Maybe Mike will comment himself on what he saw them as, but I loved it.
Michael and I talk often about making sure each of our projects has a visual style and tone all it’s own, and I feel it is safe to say The Associate has suceeded.

Up Next: Page 6

(Just a quick note: this is a column, with some additions and alterations, that I have posted elsewhere.)
When I was a 5th and 6th grader my interest in reading comic books bloomed into an obsession. I read everything the $10 my mom would give me could buy, and in the mid-80s that could be a healthy stack of comics; I even bought a few Archie digests…yeah, that’s right, The Archie Digest.
Amid a flurry of comics that included such titles as: Detective, Legion of Superheroes, X-men, Teen Titans, Mad, Cracked, The Avengers, Fantastic Four, and anything Spiderman a few books have always stood out for me.
What follows is a short list (lists…everyone loves lists…) of my favorite individual issues from that period. These are not by any means the best comics I read, but are the ones I read and re-read and read again.
Enjoy.

1) GI Joe #21. (1984)
Stormshadow, Snake Eyes, Scarlette, and Destro! What else do you really need in an issue of GI Joe?
I literally read the cover off this comic. A completely unique issue of the series, written and drawn by Larry Hama, which came from nowhere to blow my little 5th grade mind.

2) New Mutants Special #1/ X-men Annual #9 (1985)
These two issues followed a seperate two issue Alpha Flight/X-Men cross over and feature some of Chris Claremont’s best “X-book” writing as well as (IMHO) Arthur Adams’ very best penciling (no one ever drew Warlock better). I just re-re-re-read these comics on a car trip this weekend and they still kick my ass! These comics, as well as the Alpha Flight/X-men cross over, were collected in a trade paperback titled “X-Men: The Asgardian Wars”. However you do it, find these books and read them!

3) Detective Comics #550 (1985)
In this stand-alone issue the “origin” of a common Gotham thug is told via flashbacks as he is chased across the rooftops by The Batman. I’ve always felt that this story, which allowed us to follow the chain of events that lead to yet another zero level thug’s encounter with Bats, was far more gripping and interesting than most any that featured a marquee hero/villain.
Oh, and there was a back-up Green Arrow/Black Canary story written by some guy named Alan Moore at the end of the issue.
Side note: there was an issue of “The Invisibles” that was very similar to this one (I forget the number), that told the origin of a masked henchman before he is killed by King Mob.

4) Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #1 (1985)/ Who’s Who in the DC Universe #1(1985)
After reading these two series I began writing lengthy bios for characters I’d dream up when I should have been doing homework. This is a habit I have carried to this very day; and you can be sure all that practice came in handy for Small Press round #2!
Oh, and yes, when the final issue of Marvel Universe came out I layed them all end to end…sad I know.

5) Cerebus #80 (1985?)
My first trip to a comic book store (as opposed to a drug store or grocery store where I’d been getting my comics for years) in Grand Forks, ND yielded this comic. I bought it, despite the price ($2 was alot in ’85!) because I liked the art, and it became my first glimpse of a comics world outside of the capes and cowls of Marvel and DC. It was also my first step in a direction towards reading the more “adult” comics that were lurking just over the horizon. Without it, I’d probably have missed The Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, The Sandman, Hellblazer, and a slew of my all time favorite books which would come out over the next few years.

So there you have it true believers, my five favorite comics from my formative years. I’d love to hear what comics sparked your love for the medium! Hell, I’d love to hear from you for any reason, so drop a comment or visit us on Facebook and DON”T FORGET TO VOTE!!!

To vote go here, log in, navigate to the top of the page and click the “Yes-I am a fan and want to read more” button.
We’d like to thank everyone in advance for their vote, and don’t forget to vote daily!

Here are the three pages we submitted; we will also be posting them to our Associate page on Facebook.

To enlarge the thumbnails click on the page you wish to view three times until it is maximized.
Why have we submitted three pages from the middle of the comic?
Well, round three required us to submit any three sequential pages from our 12 page “issue zero”, and these were the three Mike chose. I think they kick ass and cannot wait to see the other nine pages finished, but that will take Mike a few more weeks.

If you want to download the new pages to your computer you need to do a few things.
First, go here (it may be easier to open this link in a new window so you can still follow these instructions).
Next, scroll down and click on the “add to cart” button on the right hand side.
Then click the green “order now” button which will bring you to a screen that will ask you to log in, just use the email address that you used to register for the forum (where you vote) and the password you use to log in.
On the next screen read the “terms and conditions” (if you wish), click the box that says you agree with them then scroll down and click the “continue checkout” button.
Ok, almost done, click confirm order (ignore all the payment info as the download is free) the next page will have a big “you’ve checked out!” message, scroll down and you’ll see a message that reads “To download your files click the download button and choose “Save to Disk” from the popup menu.” Under that to the right is a button marked “download”. Click that button and you can FINALLY view the new pages…whew! The files are in the .PDF format so you will need Adobe’s Acrobat reader to view them.

Thanks again for your support, and keep watching this space for more updates!

First, I must sadly admit that I have completely fallen off the wagon and relapsed into eating at Taco Bell. Guh.
In other, slightly less gassy news…
Mike has finished the first page of our round three submission for the Small Press Idol contest. I can’t share it yet, contest rules you know, but trust me when I say it kicks some serious ass! You all can be sure we’ll let you know when the pages go live in the next couple weeks.
Finally, I’d like to express mild suprise at how much I enjoyed the new Star Trek (or Star Track as the locals call it) movie. After being so desperately let down by the various “blockbusters” over the past year (I’m looking squarely at you Mr’s Lucas and Speilbergo and your bloody crystal skull) it was a pleasent suprise.
Don’t forget to follow Hulk’s Twitter at: twitter.com/hulkvsbizarro. I know I know, but trust me, there’s nothing more pathetic than gamma powered sulking.

Stretch Armstrong, GI Joe Aircraft Carrier…that was huge!, AT-AT Imperial walker, 12 inch Chewbacca…
In other news there is a new Hulk vs Bizarro posted that was drawn by none other than the Hulk himself!
One more thing, if you are reading this, let us know! Comment on the blog page (you needn’t sign up or use an email address if you don’t want to, but at least use a handle so we know who you are!), Join one of our many Facebook groups (including one for HvB) or email us at info@50footrobot.com. Say hi, tell us what you think of the comics, or even submit fan art, just somehow let us know you are out there!

Exciting times here at the 50 foot robot studios’ secret arctic base! First, Mike is hard at work on the new pages for our round three submission for the Small Press Idol. We’re pretty excited for this project, more updates soon! Also, keep your eyes peeled for the exciting conclusion to the recent HvB arc which will introduce an exciting new character! In fanboy news: check out this great interview with Venture Bros co-creator Jackson Publick. Oh, and don’t forget the merchandise!

Hey, folks. Just wanted to let you know we’ve got a cool HvB Fan Group page set up over at Facebook. Become a member now!

We’ve also let let Hulk loose into the Twitterific World of Twitter. Catch his updates here!

M!

… along with our new HvB Blog style layout. Now it’s easier to navigate past and current strips!
Get in there and dig into some funny comics!

LINK

It’s been a few day since I last posted – there’s been a lot going on here.

We’re wrapping up Round 2 of Small Press Idol this week. We’ve fallen back a few slots in the rankings but we should solidly remain in the top 20 that move on to Round 3. There’s still time to Vote For Us! The Polls don’t close until Thursday Night at Midnight – you can vote “YES” to our message board once per day until then!

Sunday found us scoping out the MCBA MicroCon Comic Book Party at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. It was a fun event with lots of nice folks hanging out. There were many local indie creators exhibiting their wares, as well as a few Industry professionals like Doug Mankhe and Zander Cannon (Also a local gentleman). We gave away some limited edition freebie towels with a kick-ass 50 Foot Robot design print and they did not last long at all!

I’m thinking about taking the art and modifying it for a t-shirt graphic. Anybody interested in that sort of thing? Email me and let me know.

Let’s see, what else is going on?

I finally got the first page almost competed for the “Sweatshop” Horror Anthology titled “The Nature of The Beast”. I’m going to add some texture yet and then the lettering before sending it off to the movie’s director for feedback. Our story will be 8 pages total and appear in a comic anthology promoting their film, “Sweatshop” from Odyssee Pictures.

I’ve got a new layout in the works for our site, beginning with the Hulk Vs. Bizarro pages. It’s a wordpress layout that makes updating and navigating our comics much easier. It’s just about ready for primetime, I just want to add a navigation bar under the main logo at the top. Here’s a sneak preview: LINK.

We’ve begun talks with a startup company about bringing The Adventures of DOCTOR IMMORTALIS to the small, small screen. Small as in iPhone & iPod Touch small. We feel there’s going to be a big future for comics on phones and hand-held devices as resolution and screen size improve and the cost of printed comics continue to sky rocket. Doc Immortalis is a perfect fit for this delivery format and we’re starting prep work on some short stories that we’re calling “Dime Novel Adventures”. These comics will be delivered as 90 Panel books for download straight to the iPhone through the Apple App Store. The first issue will be distributed for free! So stay tuned for that.

I’ve been trying to get caught up with my sketches that I owe our fans. I have an Iceman drawing for Corey, a Van-Art Inspired Unicorn/Barbarian/Mega-man Smurf Massacre for Jimmy, and a Drew T for Drew T. They’re all in the sketch phase, with Iceman furthest along. Should be done in the next week or so.

We’re gearing up for the Next Round of Small Press Idol, with Jason hammering out the script that he’s carrying around in his head for the past couple of weeks. Then I get a couple of weeks to slam out 3 completed, inked and lettered Grayscaled pages. Voting begins May 19th!

Thanks for all your support in Round 2. We’ll need it even more in the next phase!

M!