Joseph's Rants

Limbo

Joseph Morris — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:10:00 +0000

Okay, I've been neglecting this blog. Again. The truth is, I'm kinda in the middle of some stuff right now, and things around me are gonna be in flux until... May? Anyway, I have plans of eventually getting on the ball with a number of different things, but for now, a lot of stuff is gonna be up in the air.

My Influences: Stephen King

Joseph Morris — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:01:00 +0000

I've decided I'm gonna do a series of blogs on the writers, artists, and directors that have most influenced my work. Today I start with Stephen King. Although critics have never been a fan of King, from the moment I picked up "The Stand" I was pretty much hooked on King's work. Brilliantly described visuals, nuanced and believable characters, fast paced action, and natural dialouge are all parts of King's approach, and all things I've tried to learn from. What follows are the books that have most affected me as an artist, and all come highly recommended.

It- Well, duh. Crazy monster clown anyone? Besides the obvious, what really drew me to "It" was how the story starts out as a simple monster story but eventually expands into this wild, cosmic adventure. Transforming the mundane into the cosmic is a theme I'm continually trying to evolve in my own work.

Insomnia- This one is another one of those "starts very small and then gets freakin' huge" stories that I really enjoy. There's a monster in this one that has influenced the design of several of my characters as well.

Needful Things- I loved this story about a small town that rips itself to shreds thanks to the manipulations of an evil man/sorceror. I haven't written enough about small towns, which is kind of a shame.

Nightmares and Dreamscapes- My favorite King short story collection, period. Lots of great stuff, stories about raining carnivorous frogs, an H.P. Lovecraft homage, a story about a Rock and Roll Town from Hell, and ect. I've probably borrowed lots of little things from this one.

The Stand- First King book I read. Probably has a general influence on my approach to writing and dialouge throughout my work.

The Gunslinger Series- I hope to tell a big, fat, cosmic/fantasy/sci-fi/horror series one day. That would be fun.

On Turning 30

Joseph Morris — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:07:00 +0000

As I stand on the edge of 29 and look into the abyss that is 30, some thoughts occur to me. So, here's a list of things that won't change about me when I enter full blown adult-hood:

1) I'm not changing my wardrobe. I like the way I dress, and I don't see any need to give it up in order to become more hip or, conversely, to look more my own age. Bah.

2) I'm not becoming cleaner. I'm a messy guy at heart, and becoming a little older isn't gonna change that.

3) I'm not gonna get desperate and hit the bar scene trying to pick up a mate. I hate bars.

4) In fact, I'm really not changing anything about me at all. So, there you go. 30 can go screw itself.

Friday Notes

Joseph Morris — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 11:53:00 +0000

Lessee what's going on in the world of Geek Culture today.

Movie Notes: Nothing going on from the initial scan. Still haven't caught Sweeny Todd, and with the way things are looking this weekend, probably not gonna catch it this weekend either.

"There Will Be Blood" is playing in Saint Louis this weekend. Damnit. No time.

Wrestling (and MMA) Notes: There's an ROH PPV today and a UFC PPV tomorrow. I have no idea what's going on on either show. Wow, I'm just a font of information today, aren't I?

TORC Notes: Gulatta! #3 is currently being shipped to me. SDF: Honorless Dogs #2 is paid for and is in the printing process. New Super Duper Fun Comix Book B is in Production, and I'm trying to get a headstart on my next couple of projects as well.

Random Notes Before Breakfast

Joseph Morris — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:18:00 +0000

Only got two New Year's Resolutions. 1) Be less of a jerk. 2) Publish as many comics as my time, energy, and budget will allow. Good luck.

Watched the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" movie. Not so good really. I loved the first three seasons of the show, but damn have they totally lost whatever it was that made this franchise enjoyable. Ironically, "The Simpsons", a franchise just about everyone had given up on, put out a hell of a good movie that reminded me why I'm a fan in the first place. So there's that.

I'm trying to decide whether or not to reintroduce my weekly columns to this blog or not. Dunno. Without a theme, this blog tends to get forgotten, which is too bad. I've been writing on this one much longer than the myspace blog.

I really need to get my own computer. Seriously.

I slept well last night. That's pretty rare.

Games I wanna score for my new Wii:

Legend of Zelda
Metroid
Metal Slug Collection
One of those Rayman games
When it comes out I need to score Super Smash Bros Brawl
Super Paper Mario

In Conclusion...

Joseph Morris — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 11:34:00 +0000

...2007 was a mess. A car wreck. A bumbling, stumbling amateur ballet, with me trying to clumsily pierroett my way across an uneven stage. Man oh man did I suck this year. Nothing but disappointments and wrongdoings and stupidity.

The upside? There were a few. Even though I didn't publish as many books as I wanted (Damn you Honorless Dogs!), the books I did produce I was pretty proud of. Also, I did fairly well on the Convention Circuit this year. I'm nowhere near a profit yet, but I did okay. I also helped produce a bunch of videos for Bro's band, the Dr. Orphyus Project, and I'm proud of that work as well. Other than that, Boolah got married off, and Bro moved into his newly acquired house. So, I guess the year wasn't a total loss.

Addendums:

On my Top Movie List I Totally Forgot:

10. Hot Fuzz- Simon Pegg and Edger Wright return with a killer follow up to their previous film, "Shaun of the Dead". Fuzz is a loving satire of every good and bad action movie ever made (especially and inexplicably Point Break and Bad Boys 2). Funny, gory, bullety, and not just a retread of "Shaun". Great stuff.

As for next year...

...I don't wanna talk about it yet. I've got plans, but if 2007 taught me anything, it's that plans tend to blow up in my face. "Honorless Dogs" will see completion eventually (really), and then we'll see where we go from there.

2007 Year in Review: Comics

Joseph Morris — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:30:00 +0000

Yeesh. Year's almost over, and I've still got some more things to look back on. So, here's what I thought about comics in 2007. Note: It's hard to remember what came out this year or last year or whatever, so just bear with me.

THE GOOD

Los Bros Hernandez continued to rock the Indy comics world with "Love and Rockets" and Gilbert had a handful of side projects this year as well. The "Hellboyverse" took shape this year, as Mike Mignolia wrote (but unfortunately didn't draw) a new Hellboy mini, a couple of BPRD minis, and a Lobster Johnson mini (Hell yeah!). Alan Moore briefly reemerged from retirement for "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: the Black Dossier", which was really cool. Other than that, the only new thing that really stuck with me was Doug Tenapel's new OGN, "Black Cherry". Other than that, DC unleashed the newly remastered "Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus" of which I now have the first 2 volumes. Nice.

THE BAD

At one point in time, Warren Ellis was my favorite comic book writer. Nowadays, not so much so. I mean, I still read some Ellis comics from time to time, but my rabid fandom of all things Ellis has passed me by. I dunno whether I'm just not cynical enough anymore (a distinct possibility) or whether I'm still pissed about Ultimate Extinction (a very distinct possibility) or whether Ellis has simply lost his edge (less likely). Regardless, I found myself only reading a handful of comics from Ellis's large output this year, and of those, I only really enjoyed a few. Bummer.

THE UGLY

Civil War made me Dislike Marvel alot.

The Death of Captain America made me HATE Marvel.

"Silver Surfer: Requium" made me swear that it would be a Cold Day in Hell before I read another Marvel comic ever again.

2007 Year in Review: Movies

Joseph Morris — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 11:05:00 +0000

Let's not waste our time on all the movies that sucked. Let's stick to the ones that ruled. Also, I can't cover films I missed or haven't watched yet, so no "Sicko", "There Will Be Blood", "Sweeny Todd", "Persepolis", and ect. So, without further ado...

THE NINE FILMS I WATCHED IN 2007 THAT RULED ENOUGH TO PUT ON A LIST

9. 300- Balls to the wall, hard hitting, gritty translation of Frank Miller's beautiful graphic novel. Muscles, blood, naked women, more blood, freaks, severed limbs, more blood, and the inspiring tale of a small group of born warriors using courage and intelligence to stand toe to toe with an army much greater than them in numbers.

8. The Simpsons Movie- Wow. This was really funny. Really, really funny. I thought it would suck, but it didn't. Apparently, the Simpsons writers have been saving their comedy gold for this flick. The scene where Homer attempts to escape from the townsfolk nearly put me on the floor laughing.

7. Paprika- Easily the best animated film of the year (you heard me Ratatouille), Paprika was a strange, twisting mindbender with beautiful animation and a twisty turny plot. Strong characters and intriguing cases of multiple personality round out this animated tour de force.

6. Pan's Labrynth- Guillermo del Toro's dreamworld may be dark, but the real world of Revolutionary Spain is far darker. Beautiful, haunting film. The scene with the dude with eyes on his hands redefined the word awesome. For example, "How awesome was it?" "It was dude with eyes on his hands awesome."

5. The Darjeeling Limited- Sad yet funny tale of three inept, yet rich, brothers who bumble across India on a train trying to figure out there lives in the wake of their father's death and their own personal tragedies. Great acting, good story, beautiful cinematography. Gotta love Wes Anderson.

4. No Country for Old Men- Blood and dust. The Cohens get back to "Blood Simple" and "Fargo" territory with the ULTRA DARK tale of a cowboy that finds a satchel of money and gets chased by the most baddest ass killer since Mr. Shush. The ending will either make you love or hate this film. Since it's on my list, you can guess my reaction.

3. Eastern Promises- Speaking of Badass, Viggo Mortensen gets into a knife fight in a bathhouse. And he's buck ass naked. Besides having one of the most brutal fight scenes in cinema history, Eastern Promises is a gripping meditation on the lengths men will go to in the name of power, family, and justice. Incredibly complex characters, and dark, uncompromising story, great acting, and an absolute tour de force performance by Viggo. David Cronenberg is the Man.

2. Grindhouse- WORDS CANNOT FULLY EXPRESS HOW MUCH I LOVED GRINDHOUSE. It was not a movie. It was an EVENT. And not one of those phony-baloney events like the Transsuckers movie was. I mean, a real, honest to goodness, I can't believe I get to watch something so awesome event. I loved all of the Fake Trailers (Werewolf Women of the SS! Don't! Machette! Thanksgiving! These films need to be made! Please!) I loved the cheezy ads. I loved the atmosphere. I loved the double feature approach. I loved Planet Terror! Rose McGowan being all bendy with an AK-47 replacing her leg! Zombie Soldiers! Severed Balls! Decapitation by helicopter! Quentin Tarantino as Rapist #1! Blood! Gore! Death! Killer soundtrack! Awesome cast! Dr. Bloche with his needles of death! More stuff I can't think of! I loved Death Proof! Kurt Russell is smooth, then he's a psycho, then he's a coward! I loved the cars! HOTTEST CHICKS IN A MOVIE EVER DEAR LORD WHERE DID THESE WOMEN COME FROM JUNGLE JULIA DRIVES ME NUTS! Best car chase since the Blues Bros! Brutal Car Crash! More Killer Soundtrack! Do you hear me Butterfly? Many miles to go before you sleep.

So, if that's Number 2, what could possibly be Number 1? As if you have to ask...

#1! INLAND EMPIRE

Holy crap. No movie got me more excited. No movie effected me more while I watched it. No movie excited me more while I watched it. No movie had me thinking about it more after I watched it. Laura Dern puts on the performance of two life times as a series of interlocking women in trouble. Her performance alone would put this film on the top nine. But then, we add David Lynch to the mix, and the whole things explodes. For starters, the whole thing was filmed with a handheld digital camera, yet the film looks way better than Transsuckers did. Beautiful cinematography, so bright in parts and so horridly dark and spooky in others. Then there's the plot, quite literally constructed piece by piece, day by day. There was no complete script. Yet somehow, the whole thing holds together, and ultimately stands as the most intriguing and profound movie of the year. The soundtrack. Dear Lord the soundtrack is so unnerving. I loved it! So many scenes almost made me freak and start screaming histerically right there in the theatre. And then there's the Rabbits. The Rabbits drove me nuts. Again, it was just this thing that sparked my mind and lit up my imagination, and just got me excited about... well, everything. This wasn't a movie. It was so much more. My best film of the year (even if technically it came out last year...)

2007 Year in Review: TV

Joseph Morris — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:26:00 +0000

Righty-o. I watch a lotta TV. Here's the shows I dig, grouped by Channel. You might note that there's a lotta popular genre shows not on the list, like Lost, Battlestar Galactica, and Heroes. Typically, I didn't get in on the ground floor on that stuff, so I didn't bother trying to play catch up. So there's that.

CBS-
How I Met Your Mother- Terrible name, terrible concept, terrible theme song, Hilarious show. Consistantly one of the funniest shows on TV. The Slap Bet Episode in Season 2 was GOLD, and the Slapsgiving follow up in Season 3 was a worthy successor.

Big Bang Theory- The first time I watched this show, I hated it. Unfortunately, there was nothing else to watch in its time slot, so I kept watching. The show grew on me like a fungus. The likeable dork became more likeable, the irritating dork became funnier (Dear Lord he's freaking hilarious towards the end), and the chick somehow got hotter and wore less (Huzzah!). This show will probably be a casulty of the Writers Strike. Bummer.

ABC- Nothing. Like I said, I'm too far behind to watch Lost.

NBC-

My Name is Earl- Not always funny, but always worth watching. Earl is a well written show with a great cast of characters that includes important life lessons that don't seem bogus or preachy. Always a favorite.

The Office- Funniest show on TV. Season 3 was PURE GOLD. Season 4 is off to a great start. I wish the Writer's Strike would come to a conclusion so they could start work on new episodes.

Scrubs- Kinda jumped the shark last season. This season has had its moments, but I'm kinda glad they're wrapping this one up.

Life- One of the few "Cop" shows I actually watch, mostly because I really like the main character, Detective Cruise, an ex-convict who was wrongly imprisoned and as a result of a big ass lawsuit is a millionaire. The main character's conflicting persona (he's attempting to follow the path of Budha, but still wants to find the people who framed him and get revenge) drives the show and keeps it interesting.

FOX-

House- A rough end to last season and a rougher beginning to this one made me almost give up on House. But this season started to pull itself back together towards the end, and I really enjoyed the last couple of episodes. The Magic Panty Stealing Episode reminded me why I watch the show in the first place.

King of the Hill- Love the show, but it's hard to find it on the damn schedule half the time. Also, I'm usually busy on Sundays. Still, when I watch it, it's usually excellent. The recent Co-op episode was genius.

The Simpsons- I had kinda given up on the Simpsons recently. But I caught a recent episode or two, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Sure, the Golden Years have passed, but it's still a pretty good show.

USA-

Monk- Adrian Monk, a multi-phobic detective with OCD, is a character for the ages. Always entertaining.

Psych- Fun show that's on after Monk so I don't bother changing channels.

Sci-Fi-

Dr. Who- I was never a big fan of Dr. Who as a kid, cause the Daleks scared the crap out of me. Now I think the show is awesome. Go figure. The new series continues the traditions of the original with updated special effects and concepts. The Highway to Nowhere episode was probably the best single episode of a TV show I've watched in YEARS. The season ender, which featured a PARADOX MACHINE and the chick saved the world with a story, left me giggling like a school girl. In a good way.

Nickelodian-

Avatar the Last Airbender- Surprisingly good quasi-anime cartoon on Nickelodian. Consistantly one of the most fun, exciting, fast paced, and intelligent shows on TV. On Nickelodian. Go figure. The recent Day of Black Sun episode was a barnburner.

Spongebob Squarepants- Yes, once again, Nautical Nonsense be something I wish. And yes, I drop on the deck and flop like a fish. Shut up.

El Tigre- Fun cartoon about a bunch of Luche Libre-esque Superheroes and Supervillians. The lead character, El Tigre, has to choose between doing good or evil, or trying to find the rare comprosmise between the two. Favorite episode to date featured an Underground Supervillian Race that bore more than a passing resemblance to SDF: the Great Race (which, in turn, was a blatant rip-off of the Wacky Races, but I digress).

Cartoon Network- NOTE: If there's nothing else to watch on TV, I'm probably watching Cartoon Network. It's my Go-To channel.

Ed, Edd, and Eddy- My most favorite CN show ever came to an end this year with an excellent episode where nerdy Double D accidentally becomes the school bully. I love this show and truly hate that it's done.

Squidbillies- My favorite Adult Swim show, there's so much wrong minded insaness going on here I don't even know where to start. Giant donkey penis hats, moonshine made outa pine cones that'll turn you blind, Monsters, holding Santa Clause hostage, shotguns, pigs addicted to meth, and well you get the idea. Love it.

Metalapocalypse- Wow. The music on this show is awesome. Also, the show's really good. How'd that happen?

2007 Year in Review: Wrestling

Joseph Morris — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 11:26:00 +0000

Oh Wrestling. The fake sport I love more than any real sport. It was a wierd year for me as a wrestling fan. This was the year I completely abandoned mainstream wrestling. I didn't watch the WWE (I had to wrack my brain to remember who won the main event at Wrestlemania this year) at all, and I abandoned the ECW offshoot late last year (damn you, Bobby Lashly!). Even with CM Punk winning the ECW World Title, I couldn't bring myself to return to ECW. Once bitten, twice shy. The madness surrounding the late, formerly great Chris Benoit also left me pretty cold. But I don't wanna talk about that. TNA wasn't worth watching this year, with the company abandoning (is that my word for the day?) quality wrestling in favor of moronic story lines. In addition, TNA's promising roster of young talent was pushed aside in favor of former WWE wrestlers with nowhere else to go. It was pretty sad really.

Was Wrestling Society X this year or last year? It only lasted about a month, so there's not much to talk about, outside of the fact that it gave some mainstream exposure to some Indy talent. Meh. MTV sucks.

So, without any mainstream wrestling, I spent most of the year paying attention to the Independants. My main focus was ROH and Chikara, but I also watched a little IWA: MS, CZW, PWG, and NWA.

ROH continued to put out the highest quality pure wrestling product in America. Great wrestling, period. ROH lost a lot of talent this year to the WWE and TNA (which means they're doing something right...). The list includes Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Homicide, Matt Sydell, Jimmy Rave, and Colt Cabana. In addition, Austin Aries was out for a chunk of the year due to contract disputes with TNA, Bryan Danielson was out with a shoulder injury from last year, and no sooner than Nigel McGuiness wins the World Title than he suffers an arm injury and is out of action for most of the rest of the year. Oh, and Mark Briscoe damn near killed himself. Despite all of this, ROH really stepped it up this year. They toured the world, having shows in the UK and JAPAN (!). They got on Pay Per View, giving them a nationwide platform to display their talent. They even recently released a couple of mass market DVDs. I watched quite a bit of ROH this year. Besides the three PPVs they've released, I watched a fair amount of videos (I never had the money to buy em at the live shows, but my friends did, and we tend to network our wrestling DVDs). I also attended every live ROH show in Chicago this year, except for the Man Up PPV taping (we were all either working or at a wedding at the time). I got to see Mike Quackenbush wrestle live (Woo-Hoo!), I got to see Chris Hero vs. Nigel McGuiness, Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA, and I got to see Colt Cabana's final ROH match. I also got to see the Briscoe Bros pretty much tear the house down all year long. In other words, it was a very strange, but very good year to be an ROH fan.

I also became a big Chikara fan this year. This crazy little family friendly promotion from out of Pennsylvania was a welcome change from the moronic, lewd nonsense of the Bigger promotions, and the admittedly too serious for its own good ROH (not that I'm knocking ROH, it's just that man can't eat steak every day. Sometimes he needs something else. That made no sense). Chikara mix of colorful masked characters, internationally influenced wrestling styles, wacky almost cartoon-like story lines, and matches that range from scientifically brilliant (anything with Mike Quackenbush, Chris Hero, or Claudio Castignoli) to hilarious (I laughed my butt off at so many Chikara matches this year, it's hard to pick a single one that stands out. The Colony vs. the Olsen Twins from Anniversario comes to mind). I bought several Chikara DVDs from Smart Mark Video this year, and Chikara even released a mass market DVD which I scored as well. It was all great stuff, and I could probably yammer on and on about why I dig this promotion, but I've gotta eat breakfast.

So, to summarize, screw mainstream wrestling. I'm getting my wrestling fix from the indies from now on.

2007 Year in Review: Politics

Joseph Morris — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:30:00 +0000

Right. The Bush Administration screwed us over and committed a ton of illegal, unconstitutional, impeachable acts, but never got in trouble for it. People got pissed, sure, but nothing really changed. Then the Democrats got control of Congress, and everyone thought everything was gonna change somehow, but it didn't. The only thing that changed was that Bush had to veto a bill every now and then. So that all sucked.

Then there was the Presidential Race. Here's the rundown on that:

Barack Obama- Pros: No real history, seems like a genuinely decent human being (or at the very least has created that impression). Cons: No real experience at all. Has an unfortunate last night. The Right is terrified of him, which means they'll work overtime to ensure he doesn't get the Presidency.

Hillary Clinton- Pros: Ya gotta love Bubba. Cons: She's a lying, cheating, flip-flopping, back stabbing, not afraid to get turned into a cuckhold on national TV cause getting a divorce would look bad for her eventual presidential campaign, bitch. Also, the Right hates her even more then Obama.

John Edwards- Pros: He's the least controversial Democratic candidate (which is a pretty sad if you think about it). Cons: Seriously, who is this guy?

Rudy Guilliani- Pros: He legitamately cleaned up Times Square. Cons: Most of his 9-11 heroics are little more than smoke and mirrors. He's a fascist. He flip-flops on issues faster than Hillary. He kinda scares the living crap out of me. May drink blood.

John McCane- Pros: He's a vet and a former POW. Gotta respect that. Cons: He's crazy (in a bad way), and his blind support of the Bush Administration's moronic (and increasingly costly in both lives and money (seriously, the US dollar's gonna be worth less than the Peso soon...)) War on Terror has pretty much turned him into a pariah.

That Mormon Guy- Pros: Uhhh... Cons: That whole Mormon thing creeps people out. Also, I think he's the jack-off who coined the phrase "Double Guantanamo".

Mike Huckabee- Pros: Dude talks a hell of a good game. Cons: If there's one thing I've learned from being a life long Baptist, it is this-- NEVER, EVER, EVER TRUST A PREACHER. EVER. Especially one who is STUPID enough to believe the world is only 6000 years old.

Fred Thompson- Pros: He's a recognizable celebrity. Also, he's a party animal, which makes him the Republican Billy Boy. Cons: He's a party animal. Can't stay awake during debates. Health issues. He's kind of a joke already.

Ron Paul- Pros: Anti-big government. Anti-government interfearance. Anti-War. Anti-War Spending. He's the only Republican I'd consider voting for. Cons: Anti-Immigration. Standard Republican stances on issues like Gay Right and Abortion (those of you who lean to the Right might consider moving this stuff to the Pro column). There's absolutely no way in hell he's actually gonna get the nomination.

In Summation: It's all one big joke. In the words of the Who, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."

2007 Year in Review: The World

Joseph Morris — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 11:45:00 +0000

Haven't updated this blog in awhile. Wanted to leave the info for "Pulp Horrorshow" up for as long as possible (for all the good it did me). Anyway, it's December, so it's time for our comprehensive annual Year in Review. And what better place to start than the very Globe we live upon.

The World sucked this year. Turn on CNN for more than five minutes and you get a big old fat faceful of how much the world sucked this year. I'd go into details, but it's all a waste of time and energy, and there's better things to blog about. On the bright side, the world sucked last year, too; so at least it's maintaining the status quo.

The Return of Pulp Horrorshow

Joseph Morris — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 11:22:00 +0000

Take 2

Welp, we got Boolah all married off without any real catastrophes or anything. With that very important piece of business done, it's time to move on to new business.

For a quite some time, I've been getting my comic printed at a little print shop in Evansville, IN. They've done right by me. Having said that, I do have to think as a businessman when it comes to this comics nonsense, and awhile back I got a tip from a guy I know over at Comic Quest (an excellent comic shop in Evansville, IN) about a Print on Demand (POD) shop in Kentucky that could print me books up at an even cheaper rate with a faster turnaround, and, better yet, get me a color cover at no extra charge. And they had no minimum print runs. It sounded almost too good to be true, so I hit their website, left my info, and recieved a phone call within the hour. The dude on the other end told me that I could go ahead and bring my material in, and they'd have me copies while I waited. Being unemployed at the time with nothing better to do, I hopped in the car and took off for Kaintuck. Everything worked out pretty much as expected, and by the end of the day I had 100 copies of "SDF: Honorless Dogs #1" with a color cover for about half the cost of what I'd get it printed at in E-ville. Needless to say I was pretty happy. The only catch was this: The next time I wanted to bring my book in, the owner wanted me to scan it and just send it digitally. Gulp. Caveman no do technology. To help me out, the guy gave me a bunch of helpful tips that I wrote down in a notebook.

Then things slowed down. I went back to work at the mill. I got exhausted, which led to depression. Also I was broke. "Honorless Dogs #2" took forever to complete. Months passed. Anyway, one day I was in Comic Quest talking to my contact, and he proceeded to tell me that the Kentucky print shop had recently underwent a change in ownership. Yut-oh. Apparently, not only had they increased their rates, but they were also requiring minimum print runs. Groan.

Now, a smart guy probably would have just went ahead and sent them out their next book just to see how it was gonna turn out and what the damage would be. For some inexplicable reason I didn't. Instead, I decided to research other online POD places. I figured if I was gonna go digital, I might as well play the field a little. I had heard good things about Ka-blam, and had actually met, purchased, and traded for a number of comics from the online POD group, so I was pretty sure they did a good job. Still, I didn't wanna just send out SDF:HD 2 to em, cross my fingers, and hope for the best. Nope, too paranoid for that. I decided it was time for a "test" comic.

Long story short, in a very short amount of time I cranked out "Pulp Horrorshow vol 2 Fall/Winter '07 Edition". This is that Mystery Project I've been blathering about for a month or two. After I finished the work, Bro and I attempted to scan and send it. It took a couple of tries (DAMN YOU COMPRESSION SOFTWARE!), but we eventually got it sent out, and back on Thursday I opened up my mailbox, and 25 copies of the book were waiting for me. And they look just peachy keen.

So, here's the meat and potatoes. "Pulp Horrorshow" is a 24 page B&W comic with a color cover for $2.50. It has a big fat ad for Ka-blam on the back cover, which I admit is very lame of me, but it also shaved off some cash on my price per unit, and Lord knows anytime I can same a little money is a good time. The rest of the book is full content with not one but two (count em 2) stories. "Doom Eagle" is the bloody, death-ray laden tale of a piecemeal vigilante doing battle with a guy with a crescent moon for a head. "El Exclamation Point!" is the story of a masked detective flanked by an army of naked, hallucinogenic butterfly women, who must do battle with an old man with a giant bird head sticking out of his neck. It's kinda out there, so if you're into out there, you should check it out. It's also a little more adult than my previous books, and contains nudity and language of a more adult nature than you usually find in SDF. If you're under the age of 16 (which was about the time I started reading "Mature" books like "Watchmen" and "Sin City", therefore making 16 an appropriate age to start reading such things in my opinion) please don't order a copy, or if you do, at least hide it from your parents really well.

Speaking of ordering, the book IS NOT currently available through my online store. I'm not sure if I'm even gonna put it up in the online store yet. If you do really want a copy, there's two methods.

1) Snail Mail. Just send me a check or money order for $4 ($2.50 plus $1.50 S&H) to: TORC Press
c/o Joseph Morris
330 S 5th St, SW
Clay City, IL 62824

2) Or, you can just order any of my $2.50 books from the online store at www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html and MAKE SURE TO DENOTE IN THE COMMENT SECTION THAT YOU WISH TO ORDER A COPY OF PULP HORRORSHOW!

Anyway, my initial supplies are limited, but I can get more printed up anytime I want to, which is nice. Also, don't forget that you get a freebie with your order as part of our year long celebration of the birthday of Cactus Joe. Huzzah!

Scrunched Up v. 3

Joseph Morris — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 10:57:00 +0000

Alrighty, doing alla my columns in one batch again. This will be my only blog entry this week (on this blog, I might update the myspace blog tomorrow), because from Wednesday on, I'm on Boolah time (his wedding is this weekend). So here's what's what:

Notes from the TORCverse: Remember that Mystery Project I've been yammering about? Well, there's been some progress. Not enough to announce anything, but enough to write about here in the blog. Again, if everything goes well, this will affect when SDF: Honorless Dogs #2 & 3 will come out. So, keep your fingers crossed.

Also, I'm really working hard on having a legitamate publishing agenda for next year. I don't have anything concrete yet, but I have a ton of ideas. I wanna mix things up next year and try alot of new things in the TORCverse, and see how well my new ideas work.

Movie Reviews:

Across the Universe- AtU has quite a few problems. For starters, it's a musical, which automatically means it's cheezy and a little annoying. Also, it's got Bono in it (who we all recently discovered is, in fact, a walking piece of crap). It's set in the 60s (groan), and you can pretty much predict when and where most of the key Beetles songs are going to hit (I was literally running down the list in my head, knowing full well the film was gonna end on "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"). On the plus side, it's certainly not boring. The real reason to watch the film is for some of the incredible visual sequences director Julie Taymor concocts. From an army of needle wielding Selma Hyacks to a Yellow Submarine inspired dance number with a wildly costumed Eddy Izzard, once this film lets its freak flag fly it becomes awesome visual poetry. If you're into that kinda thing (the Army recruitment sequence is especially good now that I think of it) and can stomach the idea of an entire film set to Beetles music (without an actual Beatles performance, I spelled Beteles three different ways), then check it out.

Interesting side note- There was a LOOOONG music video premoting the National Guard before the movie. Ironically, during the movie, there was a sequence where National Guardsmen violently quelled a race riot by gunning down unarmed civilians, not to mention a sequence where Guardsmen beat the crap out of the main characters at a Peace Rally. Funny stuff.

The Darjeeling Limited- Wes Anderson's new film is...nice. That's really the best way to describe it. It's the tale of three brothers on a train in India trying to figure themselves out in the wake of their father's death as well as their own personal problems. I really don't know how else to describe it. It's a good film, I'll definately pick it up for my collection, but it didn't light me up like other Wes Anderson films have. Like I said, it was nice. Damn that's a lousy review. Cinematography is excellent.

Wrestle Rant: Big weekend over in Chikara! Team Fist lost the Tag Belts to Incoherence, and Chuck Taylor lost the Young Lions Cup to a newcomer named Helios (who may be a Yellow Dog Swerve, which is far too complicated to explain here). Also, Chikara's first mass market DVD, "The best of Chikara" will be available in stores everywhere November 6. So, check that out.

And I'm out of time.

Squash em

Joseph Morris — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:53:00 +0000

Been too busy this week to really focus on a blog over on this blog, so I'm squashing my columns together again. Huzzah!

Notes from the TORCverse: Nashville went well, added a new friend or two to my myspace, actually got some feedback from somebody, and might have a line on some new stuff to do. All in all a good trip.

Wrestle Rant: Chris Hero won ROH's annual "Survival of the Fittest" Tournament. Which means he gets a shot at World Champ Nigel McGunness (spell?). Having already seen these two wrestle in Chicago, I can honestly say that this match has all sorts of potential for awesomeness.

Moviecide: The only movie I care about that's out this week is "The Darjeeling Limited". I'm debating on whether or not to make the drive to watch it or not. With Boolah's Bachelor Party next week, I probably can't afford it. All the other movies out this week can go to hell.

Back from Nashville

Joseph Morris — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 10:43:00 +0000

Welp, we're back from Nashville and the excellent Nashville Comic and Horror Festival. We did pretty good for ourselves, made some scratch, got to hang out with our cousins (Rachel now says "y'all"), and we even had some time to hit a haunted house (which was pretty cool). I played it pretty conservative all weekend (I've got insurance due soon...), but I did score a bunch of issues of the Question (80s version) on the cheap, and picked up some DVDs as well (I've got Gator Bait!). Anyway, TORC Press would like to thank Comic City in Nashville, TN for putting on a good show, our cousins Rachel and Katie for giving us free lodging (one of the biggest draws of the show for me is that I don't gotta get a hotel), and a big thanks to everyone that came out and tried out a TORC Press comic. Hope ya dug it.

Anyway, that's it for the 2007 Convention Season. I'm already making plans for 2008, as well as trying to get my publication endevors (spell?) on track enough to finish '07 with a bang and not a whimper. But first I gotta go back to work at the sawmill.

Compile-ablog

Joseph Morris — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 11:15:00 +0000

Okay, my sleep schedule's been a little messed up this week, and it's messed up my blogging. Here's sort of a blog recap:

Moviecide- Alotta so-so to terrible movies this week. The only thing of signifigant interest is Julie Taymor's "Across the Universe" which I don't have time to watch anyway.

Wrestle Rant- I picked up the latest Chikara DVD, "Cibernetico and Robin" last week. It's Awesome, of course, featuring all of the wacky wrestling action I've come to expect from Chikara. The Up in Smoke vs. Olsen Twins match is worth the price of the DVD alone.

Notes from the TORCverse- I will be at the Nashville Comic and Horror Festival this weekend. Details are up at www.comiccitytn.com. If you're in the area, stop by and say Hi (and maybe buy some stuff if you feel so inclined).

Notes from the TORCverse- 10/11/07

Joseph Morris — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:52:00 +0000

Notes from the TORCverse is a semi-weekly column where I hype my independant comic book company, TORC Press, as well as my other projects. You can check me out at www.torcpress.com, www.myspace.com/torcpress, or you can just buy my books at www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html. Ta-Da!

What I'm Working On- Okay, that Mystery Project I was working on blew up in my face last week, but then Bro and I have done some work on it, and I think it might come together afterall (fingers crossed). If it does, that will mean that Honorless Dogs #2&3 will finally get out of printing limbo. That'd be nice.

Speaking of HD3, work continues slowly but surely. I didn't get any work done last night do to a combination of a hard day at work, a severe allergy attack, and a severe temperature drop that wiped me out. Don't worry, I'm gonna throw everything I've got into finishing this thing before the end of the year.

Hype! Hype! Hype!
Hey, I've actually got something to hype! I'll be making my Last Convention Appearance of 2007 next week, October 20-21 at the Nashville Comic and Horror Festival. Information (as well as my Myspace "photo") can be found at www.comiccitytn.com. It's a good show and definately worth checking out if you're in the area.

Wrestle Rant- 10/08/07

Joseph Morris — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 10:56:00 +0000

Wrestle Rant is a semi-weekly column where I yammer about various news and whatnots on the Independant Pro-Wrestling scene. Here we go.

The biggest news this week, and probably some of the more important wrestling news to happen in some time, is that Nigel McGiness (oh crap, I don't know how to spell his name) finally won the ROH World Heavyweight title this weekend ending Takeshi Morishima's very dominant Eight Month Title Reign. This was Nigel's third shot at Morishima (I think, or was it his fourth? Good thing I don't get paid for this thing, or I'd actually have to do some research), and he had four shots at previous champ Bryan Danielson, all of which fell short. Nigel started out as a staple of the lower midcard, wowing audiences with his mat heavy European style. He eventually upset Samoa Joe for the ROH Pure title, and promptly turned heel, cheating and using the Pure Rules to his advantage to maintain the belt. Eventually, he ended up in a champ vs. champ feud with Bryan Danielson. During this time, Nigel went back to being face and changed his arsenal up a little. He still had plenty of Euro mat wrestling, but he added lots of stiff strikes to his arsenal, most notably a variety of BRUTAL lariats, one of which he named the Jawbreaker, because he used it to Literally break Jimmy Rave's jaw in a match (you can hear it pop!). For about a year now, Nigel's been one of the most consistant point men for the ROH promotion, putting on a string of great performances. It wasn't a question as to whether Nigel would win the World title, it was really a question of when.

Now that Nigel has the belt, the only question remaining is how long can he hang onto it? The ROH World title has a reputation as being a belt that doesn't change hands very often, but anything can happen. Here's a list of possible contenders:

Bryan Danielson- Former World Champ, and Nigel's biggest rival. Nearly beat Morishima to win the belt back, and now that Nigel's got it, expect Danielson to start hunting him. I don't think Danielson will win the belt back this year, it's just too soon.

Austin Aries- Former World Champ, on a hotstreak since ending his TNA tenure and returning to ROH full time. Doesn't really need the belt, so I don't see him winning it, but he'll probably have some killer title shots (sorry Boolah).

Roderick Strong- Leader of the NRC and top heel in ROH right now. I'm honestly surprised he hasn't won the belt yet. May end up being the guy to take the belt from Nigel.

Claudio Castignoli- One of Nigel's former rivals from his Pure Title days, these two can tear the house down when they want to. Claudio's super popular right now, and I honestly think it's a matter of time before he wins the belt. Maybe not this year though. Expect some great world title matches though.

Chris Hero- Nigel's newest rival, expect Hero to challenge for the belt and lose after a great match (sorry Brooks). If Hero ever captures the ROH World title, it won't be this year.

Other than that, my predictions on the length of Nigel's reign are either very short or fairly long. He'll either lose the belt in three months or less, or if he makes it past that mark, he'll hold the belt for at least a year. Course, that's just my opinion on the matter, not like I know anything.

Moviecide-10/05/07

Joseph Morris — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:29:00 +0000

Moviecide is an angry wail against the film industry which spends ridiculous amounts of money to churn out crap, and then spends even more money trying to convince us that they don't suck. Unfortunately, crap is still crap, and here at Moviecide we sniff out crappy movies just from watching the previews. Enjoy.

Feel the Noise- A dance movie produced by Jennifer Lopez? AUTOMATIC BOOOO!!!

The Heartbreak Kid- It's a comedy, yet I haven't laughed at a single preview yet. Not even a chuckle. Not even a snort. That's not a good sign. Also, I'm allergic to Ben Stiller.

The Seeker: Darkness Rising- Yeesh there's been a lot of fantasy movies aimed at pre-teen boys lately. Apparently someone decided there's a market there. Not being a pre-teen boy or a very big fan of fantasy, this movie is obviously not aimed at me. Maybe if I was twelve years old this flick would look cool.

The Hunting Party- Have I covered this one before? Regardless, this is about a news crew that manages to do what the military can't: Enter a warzone and track down a man wanted by the CIA. Actually looks kinda interesting, and it's got Terence Howard in it as the Token Black Sidekick (that dude is an indistupidiably good actor). Unfortunately, it's also got Richard Gere in it. And I'm allergic to Richard Gere.

The Jane Austen Book Club- The title alone says, "Chick Flick". Boo.

Notes from the TORCverse-10/03/07

Joseph Morris — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 10:37:00 +0000

Notes from the TORCverse is a weekly column where I hype my self published comics and other artistic endeavors. If any of this sounds neat, then please check us out at www.torcpress.com or www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html.

List: Where to Start

So, let's say that you're out there in ComputerLand, you're reading this column, and you'd like to try out one of my odd little comics. Help out the little guy and alla that nonsense. Where do you start? Well, the cool thing about most of comics is that they're pretty much self contained, so any issue is as good a place to start as any. Having said that, here's a quick list full of great TORC Press comics to start off reading.

1) SDF: Crumpled Planet- The first issue of SDF is a pretty obvious starting point. It has the first SDF stories to feature Cactus Joe as well as Walt & Sped, plus it's got the first appearances of aliceislost and Broken Tea Cup. Plus, Cactus Joe gets his brains blown out on page three.

2) SDF: The Great Race- It's a fast, fun read. All the characters in the TORCverse get together for a downhill derby car race. Car crashes abound. It's cheaper than most of my other comics ($2.50) and there's no continuity at all to worry about. The few people who have given me feedback on this issue have universally declared it to be hilarious.

3) New Super Duper Fun Comix- Along the same vein and price point as the Great Race, except this is a beach story instead. Bikinis, cyborg dolphins, giant sand castles, and random monsters all add up to a very fun story.

4) Gulatta! #1- For starters, it's stupid cheap ($1 plus S&H). Second, it's an All
Ages book, therefore it doesn't have any of the cursing, sexual inuendo, or ultraviolence that you'll find in most of my other comics. So, if you've got kids you can leave it lying around the house and not worry about corrupting them too badly. Finally, it's got a cool little story about Monsters fighting Spies, with the twist being that the Monsters are the good guys.

5) SDF: Sombrero Friday- Three Kick Ass Action Stories in one 48 page issue. Personally, this is my favorite comic I've done to date. Funny gags, hard hitting action, surrealist absurdism, and all the main characters are running around in Sombreros for absolutely no good reason.

What I'm Working On Right Now-

That project that I hinted at last week is done, and I'm working on doing something with it. If my plans go according to plan, then that will hopefully mean that SDF: Honorless Dogs #2 will end up at the printers in the next month or two. I hope. Of course, if my plans don't work out, then who knows when SDF:HD2 will come out. Also, I have revived the TORC Press Crudeimation Factory after a lengthy hiatus. Bro and I will be working on an Epic Video (that will still look like it was animated by cavemen...) for the Dr. Orphyus Project's last video for the album "Opaque Imagery". If you're a fan of our cheap little videos (insert the sound of crickets here), then keep you're eyes open, as we'll probably have it done in a month or two.

Wrestle Rant- 10/01/07

Joseph Morris — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:41:00 +0000

Welcome to Wrestle Rant, a semi-weekly (I'm making it semi-weekly cause I'm not sure how often I'll have any news worth reporting) column where I comment and report info on the Indy Wrestling scene. Won't see much on WWE or TNA on this column, instead I put my focus on the various independants, which are FAR more interesting. And yes, wrestling is fake, but ask me how much I care. This week, it's all about IWA: Mid-South.

This weekend was the Annual 2007 Ted Petty Invitational. The 24 Man Single Elimination Tournament is held every year in the memory of Ted Petty, better known as "Flyboy" Rocky Rock of the Infamous tag team Public Enemy. IWA: MS is owned and operated by Ian Rotten, another ECW alum, so the connection is fairly obvious. I wasn't at the show, so alla my information has been culled from wikipedia or from their official site at www.iwamidsouthwrestling.com. Anyway, here's some points of interest.

The show seemed to be somewhat cursed this year, with a number of high profile drop outs. Samoa Joe, Low-Ki, Alex Shelly, and Jimmy Rave dropped out due to TNA commitments, Matt Sydell dropped out due to WWE commitments, and El Generico and B-Boy were out due to injury. Despite this, the field was chock full of great indy talent including: Chris Hero, Chuck Taylor, Jimmy Jacobs, Nigel McGuiness, Claudio Castignoli, Human Tornado, Davey Richards, and Mike Quackenbush to name a few.

The show marked the return of another ECW alumni, 2 Cold Scorpio, to IWA: MS. 2 Cold primarily wrestles in Europe and Japan nowadays, and has made something of a name for himself overseas. 2 Cold is still, in my opinion, a pioneer of high flying wrestling, and was the first wrestler I ever saw execute a 450 Splash. 2 Cold made his way to the Quarterfinals before losing to IWA: MS World Heavyweight Champ Chuck Taylor.

IWA:MS Heavyweight Champ Chuck Taylor was forced to defend his title all weekend in tournament matches. He scored HUGE wins over former IWA:MS Heavyweight Champ/ROH regular Jimmy Jacobs, the aforementioned 2 Cold Scorpio (an ECW, WCW, and WWE alumni no less), and the Human Tornado (who was prominently featured in the short lived Wrestling Society X). Not bad for a kid who used to wrestle in Orchardville, IL in front of a crowd of thirty rednecks (myself included).

Claudio Castignoli continued his tournament hot streak by making his way to the finals. He defeated three of his fellow ROH regulars, Nigel McGuiness, Davey Richards, and Brent Albright (all very high profile competitors in their own right).

The big news of the tourney though was that "Lightning" Mike Quackenbush finally won the TPI. Quack is quickly becoming my favorite wrestler on the Indy scene right now (and since I'm only really watching the Indies, that pretty much makes him my favorite wrestler period). The reigning IWA:MS Light Heavyweight Champ, Quack had to defend the belt all weekend as well, defeating Billy Roc, WSX alumni and former PWG Champ "Magnum" Joey Ryan, and former IWA:MS Light Heavyweight Champ Josh Abercrombie. In the finals he defeated Claudio and Chuck Taylor to not only capture the tourney, but also to win the IWA:MS World Heavyweight Championship. "Lightning" Mike Quackenbush is a long time, well known and well respected veteran of the Independant Wrestling Scene. He's been fairly quiet over the last few years, but in 2007 Quack has been running roughshod over the Indy Scene. In 2007 alone he has now won the Chikara King of the Trios tourney (with Jigsaw and Shane Storm) and the TPI. He is also currently the reigning IWA:MS World Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion, the IWA: Deep South Heavyweight Champ, as well as the reigning NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Champion. The Dude's gonna have a full schedule just defending all his belts.

Anyway, long story short, pretty much gotta pick this one up when it comes out on DVD.

Moviecide-09/28/07

Joseph Morris — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 10:45:00 +0000

Righty-o. Moviecide. Most movies suck. I insult them without watching. Ta-Da!

Feast of Love- Groan. Ensemble movie that's supposed to be all moving yet whimsical. Read: Chick flick. Boo. Moving on.

The Game Plan- Never liked the Rock, not even when I used to watch the WWE. Any movie that involves a guy suddenly raising a kid he didn't know he had (with supposedly hilarious consequences) is a recipe for crap. Boo.

In the Valley of Elah- Saw a preview for this one at "Eastern Promises". Looked decent enough. It's got Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron in it, which counts for a lot. Possibly on DVD.

The Kingdom- Groan. I'm pretty sure there's a decent director connected to this one, and it's got a pretty swanky cast, but I'm personally not in the mood for any movie that's got any sort of pro-military we're all running around in some desert hunting A-rabs movie, even if this one does have the rather interesting hook in that the US crew are being backed up by a Saudi soldier (who actually gets speaking lines). Again, though, with the whole Blackwater thingie, my camel's back has been completely broken on the subject of war in desert countries. Pass big time.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters- A documentary about the guy who won the Donkey Kong World Record back in the 80s (and, incidentally, still thinks it's 1988) and the guy trying to dethrone (insert laughter here) him. I really, really wanna watch this one, but it's in St. Louis, and I don't need to watch it that bad. Netflix it in about six months.

Notes from the TORCverse- 09/26/07

Joseph Morris — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:38:00 +0000

Notes from the TORCverse is a new column designed pretty much to blatantly hype my comic book publishing company TORC Press. Really, that was supposed to be the point of the whole blog, but, seriously, I just don't have that much hype in me. I'm gonna try updating this thing on a weekly basis. I plan on having an Essay on the TORCverse, a What I'm Working On section, and a Hype section. Ta-Da!

Essay: Cactus Joe's Motivation

I personally think one of the more interesting things about Cactus Joe the Clown is his motivation, or perhaps, lack thereof. In action comics, the Hero always has to have some sort of motivation. Superman is compelled to do the right thing as a result of his upbringing. Spiderman fights crime "Cause with Great Power comes Great Responcibility". Batman and Punisher are both waging war on Crime out of a need to exact Vengence for dead members of their family (although their methods differ quite radically). In the movies, most Action Heroes are either members of some Protective Community (cops, military, Knights of the Round Table, Jedi Knights, ect.) or they're out to rescue some damsel in distress or some such. The Clown's got none of that going on. His memory of his childhood is shot, so that throws out the upbringing. That whole Great Power nonsense is pretty pointless in a world owned by Corrupt Corporations, Greedy Politicians, and Careless Mobsters. Joe used to work the whole Vengence angle, but he got tired of that when he realized he'd never be able to kill enough guys to get his revenge. He's not a cop or whatever, and although he will actively work to protect his friends, he's not out to save or rescue anyone. Hell, he's not even motivated by Pinocchio syndrome, which is the need to return to a normal human state. Cactus Joe likes being the Clown. In many ways, it's the only life he's ever known.

So, what is Cactus Joe's motivation? Quite simply, he just wants to live a hassle free life where he can kick back, relax, do the things he wants, and hang out with his friends. Which is why Ortex make such great antagonists, because those bastards won't stop until they've got the Clown's severed head on silver platter. No matter how many demons, monsters, and guys in fancy outfits Clowny slaughters, they just keep coming. Greed and promotion are the motivating factors of these creatures, and if you don't believe the motivational powers of those things, then just take a good long look at the world we're living in. In a strange way, Cactus Joe has to fight for his right to just hang out and do nothing.

What I'm Working On:

Okay. SDF: Honorless Dogs #2 is done, but I've got a bit of a dilemna involving printers. I'm not sure where I'm taking the book to get printed anymore, which is going to further slow down the whole process. I will work this whole mess out before the end of the year. Really.

I'm about halfway through the pencils on SDF: Honorless Dogs #3, and I've (barely) started the inks. I've finished the pencils on Gulatta! #3, but I'm not working on the inks until I've got SDF:HD 3 almost done. I would like to start work sometime soon on New Super Duper Fun Comix Book B, but I need to order more Bristol first. And I've got some little mystery projects I'm dinking around on, but won't announce until they're done.

Hype! Hype! Hype!

There's nothing really new to Hype right now, but I would like to take this time to remind everyone out there that we are still in the midst of the Cactus Joe the Clown Ten Year Birthday Extravanganza. What that means is that all online (or snail mail) orders that I recieve will also get FREE STUFF with their order. This can range from original art to old, out of print Xerox comics. So head on over to www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html and check it out. This will be the last "Freebie" promotional that TORC Press will do until our Ten Year Anniversary in October 2009, so if you want some cheap free stuff, now's the time. As always, you check us out on the web at www.torcpress.com and www.myspace.com/torcpress.

Wrestle Rant- 09/24/07

Joseph Morris — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 11:19:00 +0000

Okay. Gonna try something new. Random Notes will go up on my Myspace blog. On the main blog, I'm gonna do a Wrestling thingie on Mondays, a column on TORC Press on Wednesday or Thursday, and Friday is Moviecide. We'll see how that goes.

So, this is Wrestle Rant, a weekly column where I yammer about Pro Wrestling. I don't really watch mainstream wrestling anymore, so don't expect any commentary on the WWE or TNA. Bah to that. Instead I'll be focusing on Ring of Honor and Chikara, with occasional side commentary on other indies such as FIP, CZW, IWA: Mid-South, and ect. If you're not familiar with any of these organizations and want to learn more about them, you can look them all up on Wikipedia, the handiest-dandiest info site ever. Let's roll.

Ring of Honor:

ROH had their second PPV this weekend, and it was a barnburner. If you didn't get a chance to catch it, I can't recommend it highly enough, and there should be replays sometime during the week. Most of the PPV came out of Chicago, and if you look closely enough, you can see Me, Fitch, Brooks, and Boolah in the crowd. When I saw myself I looked out to lunch, but I look like that alot, so there's that. Anyway, here's the rundown on the PPV.

The Resilience vs. the No Remorse Corps: Crazy, fast, hard hitting match to start the PPV. Crazy spots, high flying, not much mat wrestling. After the match Austin Aries hits the ring, quits TNA, and rejoins ROH. The building erupts. You can see Boolah spontaneously combust at one point.

Claudio Castignoli vs. Matt Sydell: Great, quick paced match. Anytime Claudio wrestles a smaller, faster wrestler you're in for a good time. This was Sydell's last Major match in ROH now that he's off to the WWE. It's too bad, because I really enjoyed watching Sydell wrestle in ROH. The finish of this match was insane, and if you've got Slo-Mo on your TV, the finish is a good place to use it.

BJ Whitmer vs. Naomichi Marafuji: Hard hitting match. Marafuji is always fun to watch, and Whitmer is one of the most solid performers on the roster. Whitmer's downward spiral continues...

Pelle Primeau vs. Brent Albright: Squash match. Albright annoys me. Moving on.

Takeshi Morishima vs. Jimmy Rave: World Title Match. Rave (who's also gone from ROH now) put up a decent fight against the massive World Champion, but he was no match for the dominant Morishima. Short, hard hitting match.

The Briscoe Bros. vs. Kevin Steen and El Generico: World Tag Title Match. An absolute classic that saw both teams pull out all the stops. The Briscoes are just absolutely amazing. Steenerico kicked ass too, and even though they lost, they still looked like possible future contenders.

From Philly: Nigel McGinness vs. Brian Danielson: Number One Contenders Match. Strangely enough, this was the only truly ROH style match on the card. While the other matches focused on high flying and high impact, this match emphasized stellar mat wrestling. Course, there was plenty of hard hitting as well. Check the Head Butt War between these two. It's completely insane. Awesome frickin' match.

Other ROH Notes: Jigsaw, my boy from Chikara, was recently snnounced as the newest member of Jack Evan's Vulture Squad. This is good news for Jig, as it will give him more face time in ROH, and will also give hime some allies to back him up. Hopefully he can pick up a few wins with this new group and make a name for himself in ROH competition.

CHIKARA!

Chikara's annual Torneo Cibernetico match was this weekend. The Cibernetico is a 16 man Elimination Tag Match that has to be seen to be believed. Claudio Castiginoli, who's been on big hot streak lately, won the match, ultimately eliminating one of his own teammates. I can't wait to pick this one up on DVD. Also, Hallowicked and Delirious, Team Incoherence, picked up their third point, and can now challenge Team Fist for the Campeonese de Parehas (spell?) which are Chikara's tag belts. I don't expect Incoherence to win because Delirious has too many outside commitments, but it should be a hell of a good match.