Well folks, I was tickled pink (or at least an alien green) when I opened up my email this evening and found this wonderful bit of Monster-ania from the super-talented (and pulp scholar) Francesco Francavilla, artist of the great Zorro comic put out by Dynamite Entertainment!
If you haven’t seen Francesco’s work, do yourself a favor and take a gander at his Pulp Sunday site…it’s an incredible tribute to all things weird and pulp! His current Halloween posters are out of this world.
It’s rare to find a photo of Doc at all…most of the pictures of him were censored or confiscated for national security…and it’s even rarer to find one of him portrait-style AND autographed!
This little gem turned up at a flea market in Kansas City, according to the ebay seller, who had little idea of what he was selling. I got it for a steal! The writing says “Dwight - Thank you for your hospitality. Gratefully, Doc Monster 4/28/57″
Who would have thought that someone in the modern day would make a webcomic about this long-lost piece of american history?
What? You haven’t seen it? Haven’t registered and voted for it??
Well, the Zuda competition so far (these three days have seemed like a year!) has been fantastic. Not just because of the competition itself, but because talented people suddenly pop out of the woodwork AND DELIVER AWESOME FAN ART! Such as below:
This was sent to me this morning by Sam Little, creator of “Untrue Tales” a great comic site! Sam also had some darned nice things to say about Doc on his Untrue Tales Blog as well! Didn’t he do a great job of capturing the sheer savior faire that Doc expresses in difficult times? Kicking butt, taking names….and always impeccably dressed! Thanks so much, Sam!
Now, for even more art to satisfy your eye’s tastebuds (…ewwwww!), here’s another lobby card that my friend Anthony Schiavino whipped up. Ain’t it grand??
That’s right! I’m proud to announce that DOC MONSTER is part of October’s Zuda Comics competition! I’ve been busting at the seams to tell people, and now I can let it all out.
What a rush!)
Honestly, there are some great comics in this month’s line-up, so head over to Zuda Comics, read them, and then do the participants a favor….register (yes, I know) and vote for your favorite! The winning contestant gets PAID to produce a year of the webcomic for your enjoyment. How cool is that?
It’s very cool.)
In case you’re wondering, I’m working on that top image of Doc to commemorate the occasion (aside from having champagne with dinner tonight), and I’ll be showing its progress as I go along. I may even do another YouTube video…that was pretty fun!)
So, we’re off. I’ll be watching the show pretty closely….I hope you will too!
I just had to share this little bit o’ goodness from my good buddy Eric Nocella Diaz at Argonaut Resins! They cook up all kind of custom-made vinyl toys, and they’ve got a creepy set of monsters in their line that I really enjoy. If you want one on the cheap…they’re running a contest where you can have a chance at winning THE DESTROYER shown above! Sweet!
Hey guys! It’s been a while since the last post, but I can promise you that I’ve got some interesting stuff coming! Things will be hopping here, shortly.
In the meantime, my friend Anthony Schiavino (purveyor of all things pulp) shared a link to this nifty little chart below:
It shows the relationship of sizes of your favorite movie monsters! It’s from the folks at the Screen Rant, and I think that it’s pretty darned awesome.
I’m sure that Doc’s size would weigh in at the low side of the scale…unless it measures EGO….in which case, there’s no chart big enough, baby!
Thanks again to pulpiteer and designer-extraordinaire, Anthony Schiavino, we’ve got some more great, movie-themed artwork to show for Doc Monster!
Lobby cards were common in the 1950’s through the 70’s as a way of showing additional scenes in movies that were showing in a particular theater…and after putting together the retro movie poster, we couldn’t resist doing lobby cards!
I will be releasing a new lobby card regularly over the coming days, and I plan to have a few printed that I can give to special fans.
Here’s a teaser poster of my Zuda comics submission: “DOC MONSTER in SHADOW of the SKIES!” Pretty darned retro, ain’t it?)
Actually, it wouldn’t be here if not for the fantastic design skills of pulp comic creator Anthony Schiavino, who has his fingers on the pulse of all things pulp! Thanks for taking my art and making it sparkle, Anthony!
What about that icky-looking critter in the upper-left corner of the poster, you ask? Well, I’m not one to kiss and tell…….uh, which doesn’t have anything to do with the poster…..but I’m not saying anyway!) You’ll find out, pending approval/rejection of my submission to Zuda.
Speaking of Zuda, I’d be remiss to not mention this really cool piece of Doc Monster fan art done by amazing pulp artist, Francesco Francavilla (artist for Dynamite Comic’s “Zorro”)…
Singularly creepy, isn’t it? I’ll tell you kids, one of the best things about doing your own comic is meeting such great comic folk. Thanks, Francesco! Add another beer to my tab that I owe you!
Sorry for the lack of updates, folks…but I took a week off of art after submitting the comic, and then all heck broke loose at my day job (which is kind of a split-shift job right now). All should be back in order next week, so stay tuned for more artwork to come, and keep crossing those fingers that ol’ Doc will make his way to Planet Zuda soon!
Yay!! I finally finished the lettering/tweaking on the 8th page of the Doc Monster Zuda submission, and it should be sent in tonight. Sorry for not updating as regularly as I should have, but it’s been a big push to get this done.
You can see a peek from page 7 over on the left. He’s got a sinister look going on there, doesn’t he?)
I had hoped to have the submission done in time for my big brother’s birthday (July 23rd), but I just couldn’t pull it off. The inspiration for Doc came from the stories Mike used to tell me when I was a kid…..along with his mild UFO paranoia….so Doc is kind of a tribute character.
So, as of tonight, Doc’s fate will be in the hands of the folks at DC. According to the submission guidelines, the folks there will have 90 days to review the submission and get back to me.
So, what’s next? Well, I plan to take a whole week off of drawing and just enjoy my evenings for a change. After that, I want to do some really cool Doc Monster promotional posters, just in case Doc does make it into the competition….they should have a really swanky, 1950’s vibe, so I’m looking forward to them.
There have been some really cool mentions of Doc Monster of late by the great guys behind the instant-pulp-classic web serial “The Mercury Men“. Haven’t you seen the trailer yet? Here it is!
I know you’ll be seeing more from these guys…..and there will be some cool Doc Monster stuff showing up on their site soon!)
I’ll post updates as I get more information, so wish me luck, pour a glass of your favorite bourbon and WATCH THE SKIES!
Hello, all! It’s been a while since our last update…too long, I say! The good news is that page 6 is in the bag, and I’m working on page 7 as we speak….nearly ready to push the launch button! On the left, you’ll see a pic of Doc in action…can’t show you just what he’s doing, but you’ll enjoy it….it sure looks like Doc is!
Get ‘em, Doc!)
I’d like to take a moment to throw out a big “THANKS” to Geek Syndicate and Atomic Robo artist, Scott Wegener! Brit-Geeks-Supreme, Dave and Barry at the Geek Syndicate Podcast did a great interview of Scott about Atomic Robo, and all things pulp. Scott was kind enough to mention my comic GHOST ZERO, and the Syndicate Duo discovered Doc Monster and apparently fell in love. Go over and listen to parts 1 and 2 now!
They also mention talented pulp artist, Francesco Francavilla (Zorro artist for Dynamite Comics), and I wanted to say that I was fortunate to pick up one of his BLACK BEETLE ashcans, and it is a beauty. Wonderful paper textures, incredible detail, fantastic action and mood.
In other news, pulp writer Anthony Schiavino is cooking up some really nifty looking art on his PULP TONE blog…his Sergeant Zero character has an old-school feel that is really something to behold. Go watch him build it in front of your eyes. He’s got great reviews of the latest comics and movies over there, too!
You’re welcome.)
So…what’s coming for page 7? Well, some artists put alot of themselves into their art…
…and so do I! See kids? It helps to have a knack for acting, and a penchant for vintage clothing!
So, when your Mom asks what you want to be when you grow up, you throw those shoulders back and say..
