Frozen Toes

Big bad cold front hit Illinois over the weekend, turning my house into an ice box. The floor, especially, is ice cold. I've been doing what I can to keep working on my various projects while avoiding frost bite. Funfunfun.

Boolah and I caught "Pan's Labrynth" over the weekend. Great flick. My only complaints are that it was a little slow, and I wish there were more sequences in Pan's World. Other than that, very cool, very dark flick, and the scene with the dude with no eyes was worth the price of admission alone. Check it out if you get a chance.

Boolah also loaned me a copy of the first "DMZ" trade. I can see why people dig the book, it's good. Not really my cup of tea, but good nonetheless. The two biggest complaints I had were with the amount of content and some storytelling problems. Content wise, the book felt short. Not sure how many issues were in the trade, but I read the whole thing in about a half hour, while watching TV. And I'm not a very quick reader. Storytelling wise, I got lost on a number of panels throughout the book. Some of the blame could be placed on the colors, which are intentionally murky, and partly on the art, which can confusing, especially since most of the characters are wearing similiar clothes. This is just further proof of my argument that Storytelling is the Great Lost Art Form of the Comics Medium. Anyway, if you're into urban warfare, journalism, or deep seated politic meditations, check out DMZ.

A New Era Dawns

Okay. If you haven't read it yet, scroll down to the previous post, "End of an Era" and read it.

Everybody caught up? Good. Moving on.

The thing about the sawmill job was that is always a nice safety net. It was always there, my odds of getting fired were fairly slim, it paid the bills, and when I needed time off to go to a Convention, my boss/Dad was cool with it. Sure it was a crappy drone job, but it was safe. Also, I was working in the family business, which bears a certain false nobility with it. While I worked it, I didn't need to worry about whether or not the comic made money (which is good, cause it doesn't).

Now, the job that's always been there isn't there anymore. Which means I've gotta get a new drone job to pay the bills. And, to tell the truth, I don't want a new drone job. The loss of my job at the sawmill I've come to a sudden, vaguely scary realization: I'm sick of working crap jobs when I should be using my creative abilities to make money. So, that's my new goal. Within the next two or three years, I'm going to try to find a way to make money and survive using my skills/talents/creativity. Here's some ideas I've got. If anyone has any tips, suggestions, or whatever, then please feel free to e-mail me or drop a comment on the blog.

1) Publish more comics per year. Pros: Less wait between issues for my handful of readers. More stuff to sell at Cons. If I can build up a big enough fan base, I'd be making more money. Cons: Not sure if I can meet an increased workload. Printing is expencive. Fear of stagnation. Only so much room in my house to store back issues.

2) Attend more Conventions per year. Pros: Most of my money comes from Conventions. Good place to continue building my fanbase. Good excuse to get out of the house. Cons: Cons cost money (table, food, hotel, promo materials). Some Cons yeild decent paydays, some don't.

3) Get My Comic into Indy Friendly Comic Shops. If anyone out there has a local comic shop that they think would be receptive to stocking SDF, Please E-mail me! Pros: Possible source of new readers. Cons: Good luck making any money. Finding places that'll stock SDF is easier said than done.

4) Commisioned Work/Freelance Art Jobs. Pros: Might make some extra money. Cons: Jobs will probably be few and far between. Having to draw stuff I don't wanna draw.

5) Merchandise. I'm thinking about starting up a side website where I can sell T-shirts of my own design (TORCverse and non-related), as well as other stuff, like original artwork and other nicknacks. Pros: Might make some extra money. Might expose people that wouldn't normally be exposed to my work. Cons: Websites cost money. T-shirts cost money. Not sure how to promote something like that.

6) Write a Novel. Pro: Potentially lucrative payday. Coming with ideas is a cakewalk. Cons: Writing a novel takes a lotta time. Good luck getting published.

Anyway, those are my early ideas. Well, I'm off to hunt for a job until I figure out how to make this crap work.

End of an Era

Before we get started, the new issue of SDF is now available. Details are up on the previous post, or you can order it at www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html.

I'm not entirely sure how old I was. I was either 10 or 11 (probably 11). Anyway, I remember I was lying on the couch, watching TV, when all of the sudden Dad showed up at the door. This was a bit unusual, as I don't really ever remember Dad being at the house before 4. Sure, it was summer, but it wasn't like Dad ever got a summer vacation. Summer vacation was for kids, not grown ups.

"Throw on some clothes you don't mind getting dirty son, you're going to work," Dad said.

"Huh?" I said.

On that day I became an employee of Morris Wood Products Inc. Every summer and some holidays I would work at the Mill while all the other kids were having fun. It was me, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, Ma, and some hired hands at first. Then Grandma and Ma stopped working there a year later, but Bro joined up (I never wanted to work at the mill, but Bro was actually excited to start work there) which made things a little more bearable. We also had to work on the farm in the summer, driving tractors and stuff. That sucked. Eventually Dad fired all the hired hands cause they were lazy bums (that's right, at the age of 13 I was a better worker than a pack of adults), and the sawmill operation became pure family. When I got my license I would come in and work at the Mill for an hour after school let out. When I quit college, I went to work full time at the Mill (I also almost went insane in less than a year. It's funny, I could handle full time work for three months at a time, but the first time I had to work more than that was more than I could handle). I've been working full time there ever since.

I've been cut. I've bled. Had my hands, fingers, and feet crushed. Twisted my ankle twice (I think it was the same one). Froze in the winters. Nearly sweat to death in the summer. My allergies would go berzerk at random and nearly cripple me. Over the last couple of years I've had serious asthma attacks in winter. I've worked so hard I thought my arms would fall off.

But hey, it's not been all bad. I always got paid on time. We had an hour long lunch break, and we either ate at Ma and Pa's place, or at Grandma's. I got to work with Bro, as well as my Dad and my Grandpa.

And then, a couple of weeks ago, it all ended. Y'see, for a sawmill to operate, we need logs. We were buying logs off of this one group, but then they stopped bringing us logs, but they kept saying they were gonna bring us logs, but they didn't cause they're liars. So we started getting logs off of another crew. But then they stopped bringing us logs. We couldn't find any other loggers, so we tried going to the woods and getting our own logs. Unfortunately, the excessive precipitation has prevented us from going to the woods. So, we're out of logs, and we've got no new logs coming in. Translation: Out of Business.

So, for the first time in my life (for all intents and purposes) I'm unemployed. What now? Not sure. More on that in my next post.

Back in Business!!!

It's finally back from the printers! It's finally up on the site! It's finally here! Woo-Hoo!

SDF: Foul Business is now available from TORC Press. It's 48 Pages of Hard hitting, high flying, Black and White Mayhem in the atypical TORCverse manner. It's $5 (plus $1.50 S&H), and be acquired either online at www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html or through the mail. If you're doing mail order, please send check or money order to:

TORC Press
c/o Joseph Morris
330 S 5th St SW
Clay City, IL 62824

So, surely you're not gonna buy this issue sight unseen, so, without further ado, here's the TOP 10 Reasons to Score a Copy of SDF: Foul Business

10. We've got a year long promotion where if you purchase any of our comics, you get some cool free stuff. Free stuff is cool.

9. A brand new Demon is introduced in the Cactus Joe story, as well as a crazy new monster.

8. The King Smooth story features some really interesting art.

7. The longest Me & Buzby strip to date appears in this issue.

6. If you liked the sample of Lab Bunny you got in "SDF: Very Odd Jobs", then you're gonna love this longer story.

5. Buzby asks the Cast the Question: If you could own your own Business, What would it be?

4. It's got a brand new King Smooth story. Course, like most KS stories, it doesn't really make any sense....

3. Voodoo Dolly looks extra hot this issue.

2. So, for his entire existence, Cactus Joe the Clown has been hunted by the Ortex Corporation. If you're anything like me, you've probably asked yourself the question, "Why doesn't Ortex just try to pay the Clown off?" This issue answers that question in a fairly definitive way. Also, this issue contains info on Ortex's Master Plan (which, if you're one of the five people who've been reading my Xerox comics for the last 7 years will come as no surprise).

1. Pengy will cry if you don't buy a copy.

Funny, He Looks Older than that

I almost forgot. Stupid me.

I'm not sure what month this becomes official, so I'm just gonna celebrate it the whole year. What am I celebrating, might you ask? Why, it's Cactus Joe the Clown's Ten Year Birthday! That's right, the Point Man for the TORCverse is officially One Decade Old! Huzzah!

Anyway, to celebrate, I plan on releasing plenty of Clowncentric issues of SDF this year. Also, for the Rest of the YEAR all orders, beit Snail Mail or Online, I recieve will have some random bit of Cactus Joe related whatever included with the order. Maybe it'll be a sketch. Maybe it'll be one of my old Xerox comics. Maybe I'll just draw CJ's face on a napkin with a marker. Regardless, you order anything for the rest of the year, you'll get something else with it.

Plus, when I celebrate the TORC Press 8 Year Anniversary in October, I'll probably theme the shindig after the Clown.

Anyway, it's been Ten Years of Spontaneous Mutations, Lost Limbs, and Bad Luck for our Clown Faced Hero. Here's hoping for at least Ten More.

Random Notes Take 2

Hey! Let's see if this one will publish...

We're back in the woods again. Groan. I've only been out there for a half of a day, and I'm already exhausted.

New Years was a blast. We fried up a ton of food (Fried Oatmeal Creme Pies are awesome!), watched some movies, played some Cranium, and all in all had a great time.

Gotta a lot of work to do going into the New Year. Still gotta finish Bro's house though...

The original post was longer, but I'm typing this over lunch, so I gotta keep it brief.

Random Notes in the 07

Everyone survive the New Year okay? Cool.

Best Christmas Gift in '06: I got a Tortilla Press. Woo-Hoo!

Thankfully, my Brother is a funny drunk. Not so thankfully, that meant that after he got plastered he spent a large chunk of New Years running around nekkid. It's a little weird spending part of the night trying to avoid looking at your Bro's gear. Anyway, other than that, had a killer time over New Years. We fried up everything (Fried Oatmeal Creme Pies are to die for), and I won both Cranium (with my unstoppable tag partner, Fitch) and Simpson's Life. Good night that was.

No New Years Resolutions this year. Couldn't think of anything really pertinent that needed fixing that I'm not already trying to fix.

Recently discovered a really great Indy Wrestling Promotion based out of Pennsylvania called CHIKARA. Besides featuring top notch wrestling, CHIKARA is a very offbeat and funny promotion. Most of the wrestlers wear Lucha style masks, and some of the wrestlers have very offbeat gimmicks. Anyway, if you're into wrestling and are looking for something new, check em out at www.chikarapro.com.

Happy New Year Cats and Kittens!!!