We ended up in the top 9 in the competition, which is good enough to get us published in an Anthology along with other material AND we’ll be featured on the Cover. Rock on. Thanks a billion times for voting!!!

The Associate will continue. We currently exploring some options for continuation of our story. Check back here for updates. To show you all we’re serious, we’re going to continue to post Associate related news items here along with our other updates and rants

To begin with, here’s a little something extra:
Because I mumbled when I sung the chorus, the Lyrics to THE ASSOCIATE THEME:

All the beast have been put to sleep,
in the evening, can’t you see them?
Words of power lose their meaning,
in the evening, can’t you see them?

All the lies that are my life,
are just cold hands that hold me down,
Cold hands hold me down.

Download MP3
Yes, that’s me on guitar & vocals

Today the third and final, for us anyway, round of the Small Press Idol contest draws to a close. I thought it would be fitting to wrap up my commentary on the three pages we submitted to the contest today as well.
This page begins an important sequence which, over the next few pages, draws Cain into an investigation that will form one of the main story lines for the first season. I’d rather not get too far into details here, but essentially Cain has used the synthesized hallucinogen as a means to view the psychic history, or echoes of the space occupied by the hospital. This page allows the reader to follow Cain as he finds a kind of familiar landmark in the ether from which he can explore the echoes further. What will he find? Well, for that you’ll need to wait for the rest of Issue Zero to be published.
For some insights from Mike on this page, here is a section of a post of his from the Associate’s Small Press Idol forum:

“Jason had a lot of descriptions for this page, but left me the freedom to break down the information into panels. I wanted to show Cain as “walking” through the hospital, symbolizing a journey through a vision. This hospital is most definitely haunted. It’s our belief that all these old institutions are haunted in some way. People would be put in to these facilities and left to rot, and eventually die. Mass, unmarked graves can be found behind these hospitals all over the country.1,000s of lonely dead.
But what Cain sees here are not ghosts.

Jason used the perfect term here to describe it: Echos. A sort of psychic residue left behind by suffering and nefarious deeds. I think it’s safe to say, without giving away the story, that these children have been being experimented on in numerous ways - the why and what of these experiments will be a focus of our first Season’s story arc and tie to much bigger events.

I wanted all the hospital staff to have no faces, but to be a moving blurry image of a face. This is how I think the children would remember the staff in their minds and thus in this projection. The children’s faces are their real faces. They are all deformed and mentally stunted. I wanted them to be sort of creepy, but not threatening, not evil, they are the victims here. Horrible, creepy, disturbed victims…”

So there you have it True Believers! With our commentary and contest wrapped up what is next for The Associate?
Well, I think our Issue Zero will still be published in one of DimeStore’s anthologies, but we are out of the running for the contest’s grand prize: being published as an ongoing series.
Michael and I have pretty much plotted out the first season, which will be something like 24 issues, and have sketched out a basic plot line for season two. When will we begin work on season one you may ask…well, I have no idea. Currently Mike is hard at work on finishing the final HvB strip in the “Hostile Make-Over” story line, plotting out new Dr Immortalis adventures, pencilling Vent, as well as beginning a new project with one of our fellow Small Press Idol contestents. So, I fear the inhabitants if the Associate universe will have to wait until later this summer…at least.
Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to extend our thanks and gratitude to all our fans and fellow contestants who voted and got others to vote for us in the Small Press Idol and Zuda competitions. While we didn’t win, we did learn a great deal and made some new friends in the community.
So, thanks again everyone, and watch this spot for updates and news!

Today is the LAST DAY to Help us retain our Cover Slot!
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We’ve always planned The Associate to be written much like a TV series would be laid out. So, in that spirit, and for the last day of Small Press Idol, I’ve written and recorded an Associate Theme song: DOWNLOAD MP3

On this page Cain and Dey proceed with some chemically assisted psychic forensics. Cain’s use of government cooked hallucinogens has caused confusion amongst some readers, but more on that later.
So, why the drug trip?
Well, I decided to use this device for a few of reasons.
First off, I thought it broke up the necessary, but often clunky, “catch the reader up on the story” exposition. Cain and Dey have already spent several panels gabbing about “off camera events”, so I thought it would be nice to let the reader view the key events that lead to Cain’s earlier involvement at this hospital.
Also, the dream-like quality of the visions let us dress those events in symbols allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions about them. Since these visions set Cain off on a story line that will be very important to the first season, we want to be vague about details while still piquing the readers’ interest.
Finally, my approach to how Cain displays his powers in this sequence has been influenced by the comic series Hellblazer.
(Before I move on: if your only knowledge of John Constantine, the main character in Hellblazer, comes from that awful Keanu Reeves movie… do yourself a favor and read the comicbook. I recommend reading any of the collections that feature the stories written by Warren Ellis or Garth Ennis.)
Constantine is more likely to bullshit or scheme his way out of trouble than shoot fireballs from his bat guano covered hands. The most magickal thing you’re likely to see Constantine do is commune with the dead, or disguise something with a glamour. I’ve always liked that, and while Cain will have some more overt displays of his powers, you can look at this sequence as a kind of nod to the Laughing Magician.
So, does Dey turn into a dog a the end of the page? No, the dog is a symbol of Dey’s character and his “transformation” is a byproduct of Cain coming up on the drug.

Next: Page 7 and what’s next for the Associate

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!