ArmorQuest

One of the current projects I'm involved with is been working behind the scenes with the fine folks at Rising Star Studios on their property, ArmorQuest. We’ve been kicking various things around with ArmorQuest for a while and we’re now at a point to start getting this material out there. We've recently launched the website, ArmorQuest.com, and have just released our first digital graphic novel, ArmorQuest: Genesis.

ArmorQuest tells the story of a young man named Timothy who finds himself on a quest to join the ranks of the Emperor’s elite force, the Knights of the Way. He sets out with nothing but a sword, a pair of allies, and a hope to one day return home as a hero and save his friends and family from the threat of the dragons. He faces many challenges and dangers on his journey, but through it all, he learns to rely on the tools of the Emperor, the armor of the Knights of the Way.

The story begins with ArmorQuest: Genesis – a graphic novel now available for digital download through Amazon and iTunes. Written by Ben Avery with fantastic art by Sherwin Schwartzrock.

ArmorQuest ebook Trailer from Rising Star Studios on Vimeo.

For more information on ArmorQuest: Genesis and to read a preview head on over to: ArmorQuest: Genesis

Z Graphic Novels

The project that has consumed most of my time and creative energies for the past six years has reached completion -- the final volumes of the Z Graphic Novels are now available!

It’s been my pleasure to serve as Managing Editor over this line of six 8-volume, manga-sized graphic novels. Adding up to over 7,200 pages material, this is most likely the largest amount of faith-based comic material produced in America under one brand. But as impressive as that may sound, what really counts are the stories themselves. Each series in the line has a unique look and voice, and they are all geared to slightly different audiences, yet each one touches on many crucial aspects of the Christian life such as faith, family, forgiveness and redemption. The creative teams poured their hearts into these books and it really shows through.

Here’s a brief rundown of each series:

Hand of the Morningstar

With dynamic characters and pulse-pounding action, Hand of the Morningstar puts a twist to the concept of the typical super-hero story by tackling the nature of hero worship in today’s media-saturated, relativistic culture.

Kingdoms

A generational saga that traces one family’s account through Israel’s exile into Babylon and their return home. Kingdoms draws upon the rich history of Israel and masterfully places many of the leaders and prophets from the Old Testament in historical context.

Manga Bible

Adapted from the Korean Manhwa series. A little silly at times, but always reverent, The Manga Bible presents the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, in an engaging format for young readers.

Son of Samson

Son of Samson takes a look at one of the most famous Judges of Israel as this fictional “son” of his struggles to grasp with the seeming inconsistencies in Samson’s life. Son of Samson features lively action and art that draws the reader into ancient Israel.

TimeFlyz

Exploring the nature of self-identity and family, TimeFlyz is a high-energy adventure as the TimeFlyz and their human friend, Laurel, try to put a stop to who – or what – is kidnapping history’s leading scientists.

Tomo

Putting new found faith to the test, Tomo presents the story of a young girl and her destiny to bring restoration to a kingdom crippled by deception. With fun characters and a fantastic setting, Tomo appeals to readers of all ages.

These books are available at your more discerning bookstores and online retailers, as well as through my Amazon Store: Bud's Bookshelf.

Excelsior! 'Nuff Said?

My friends at New Creation Now are serializing a comic that’s been quite a while in the making. The comic is titled Ragged Capes and it takes a look at the motivations of several super-hero archetypes and how even their most righteous acts can only be considered dirty rags – or in their terms – ragged capes.

I was asked to write one of the chapters and so I took the opportunity to flesh out one of the characters I’d been playing around with called Excelsior. I formed Excelsior in the Bruce Wayne/Batman or Tony Stark/Iron Man mold -- that is, a very wealthy, intelligent and powerful man who was driven to go that extra step to help people out (well, to help people out in a super-powered suit, that is). In the process, he’s become my Solomon character, someone who has it all but has drifted away in a spiritual sense. Anyway, that’s my background for the character and I tried to work it in as much as I could within the seven pages I had available. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to devote more attention to him, for now however, this story will have to suffice. This story is titled "Breakdowns" and focuses on an encounter between Excelsior, my symbol of order and propriety, and the anarchist, Rave.

Excelsior is (c) 2009 Bud Rogers - art is (c) 2009 Bill Maus

The story was written by yours truly and it was drawn by Bill Maus with colors by Lisa Hutchinson. The first page is up now and new page will become available every week.

Caught in the act

Gary Martin and Sergio Cariello, the creative team on Son of Samson, were gracious enough to include me (the humble editor) in the creator bios at the end of their books. The bonus for this was that Sergio Cariello would be producing a caricature for my presentation. It took me awhile, but I finally got a photo to him and in no time at all, he turned this image around.

One of my favorite things about it is the notes included on some of the rejected tablets (yep, my words coming back to haunt me). Anyway, I hope you all get a kick out of this.

Art (c) 2009 Sergio Cariello

If you haven’t yet, you’ve got to check out the Son of Samson series from Zondervan. It’s a rip-roarin’ action packed series packed with spiritual truth.

HeroTV: CAPES

The comic that really got me going on this stuff is now online for free over at WOWIO. I had been working on various things for a good ten years prior to HeroTV, but this was my first time wearing the editor’s hat and managing two writers and ten different artists under the framework of a single story clicked for me. This was also the project that gelled things between me, Ben Avery and Sherwin Schwartzrock and led to the formalization of Community Comics as an actual business entity.



HeroTV is a superhero satire/adventure that examines the concept of a hero in today’s media-crazed culture.

Is it by might? Is it by power? What makes a hero?

In HeroTV: CAPES we travel alongside a team of reality-show camera operators as they document the day-to-day activities of Metro City’s superheroes. But events of the day take an interesting, and quite telling, turn when Professor Graviton arrives and holds the entire city hostage.

HeroTV: CAPES features the creative talents of Ben Avery, Darren Brady, Sherwin Schwartzrock, Bud Rogers, Jeremy Zehr, Kneon Transitt, Jesse Hamm, Brian Proctor, Bill Webb, Joey Endres, Eric Jansen, Don Kelly and Jonathan Koelsch.


Originally Published in June 2003 by Community Comics
HeroTV is (c) and TM 2008 Ben Avery

Cool stuff online!

Sorry that I’ve been neglecting my blog lately, but I’ll make amends with that over the next couple of weeks with what’s been keeping my away. For now, however, I want to mention a couple of new projects that have caught my eye.

The Plague Doctor’s Sanctuary

The Plague Doctor is a new story concept that’s being developed by my friend and frequent collaborator Ben Avery and Tim Baron. Ben’s told me a bit of the background for this project and I was instantly hooked.

Here’s an excerpt from Ben’s welcome to The Plague Doctor’s Sanctuary:

This is the home of the Plague Doctor, one of the sole survivors of the world-wide Lotus Plague. Here you will find images, notes, manuscript fragments, and other information about this enigmatic man who changed the course of history for an entire world in the face of absolute devastation. The archaeologists for The Plague Doctor Project are constantly unearthing new artifacts about this man and his world. It must be some sort of elaborate hoax, for these events never happened. And yet, the glimpses into his terrifying world are fascinating. And the evidence seems so authentic . . .

It’s interesting to see how this world is developing and how the story is taking shape.

The Plague Doctor is (c) 2008 Ben Avery artwork is (c) 2008 Tim Baron

Prayer Pups
by Jeffrey Smith

Click on Image or HERE to see a larger version of the comic

Prayer Pups is (c) 2008 Jeffry Smith

According to its website Prayer Pups is an exclusive comic strip aimed at churches and Christian organizations to provide a fun and exciting new way to spread the word of our Lord Jesus Christ. Each episode of the comic strip leads our four-legged friends to a lesson in God’s ways, to a study of Scripture or to a conclusion based on Christian principles. And it’s always done with humor.

I stumbled across this charming and clever strip a few months ago and quickly added it to my daily list of sites to check out. It reminds me of classic Peanuts in tone. The fact that one of the lead characters is a Pug doesn’t hurt either - those little critters are my weakness.

7 Seconds and a Dead Fish

I’m happy to announce that we’ve been able to post Jesse Hamm’s inspirational indy comic, 7 Seconds and a Dead Fish, at WOWIO -- and it’s available for FREE!

7 Seconds and a Dead Fish
Story and art by Jesse Hamm



7 Seconds and a Dead Fish tells the story of a young man as he tenaciously clings to his faith when the religious system he has been brought up in has turned its message to merely speak to the tenets of the government. Jesse’s excellent black and white artwork captures the bleak landscape and atmosphere of the story, while his expressive style imbues the protagonist with strength and hope. It’s a small press classic that exemplifies intelligent inspirational comics.

Free Comics!!!

We at Community Comics have recently entered into an agreement with WOWIO to present our material on their site for free downloading. WOWIO books are free because sponsors pay authors and publishers on your behalf. It’s a win-win scenario. You do need to register with WOWIO before downloading any material, but the process is very easy.

We currently have 2 titles available:

Legends -- Story and art by Sherwin Schwartzrock.

Legends presents the story of “Korah’s Rebellion” from Numbers 16 in a very dynamic manner. Witness the mighty power of God in action when tensions arise in the wilderness as Moses is openly confronted by opposing clans.

This is the comic that took the Christian comics community by storm when it debuted back in 2000. From out of nowhere, a new talent burst upon the scene, and his name was Schwartzrock! Sherwin Schwartzrock had been working as a designer for about 15 years before his attention was turned towards comics and he produced Legends in his spare time. Since then he has been a major contributor to the Christian comics community, helping out numerous publishers and building Community Comics along with Ben Avery, Darren Brady and myself.

Legends also includes the back-up story “Good News” by Ben Avery and Sherwin Schwartzrock.

The Thieves -- Story by Ben Avery with art by Paolo Libunao

The Thieves is a look at the greatest story ever told, but told with a twist, focusing on the men who were hung on either side of Jesus.

Three bandits find themselves in over their heads when a robbery turns into the murder of an important Roman citizen. Suddenly, everything spins out of control as one faces losing his family, another faces losing his freedom, and all three face losing their lives at the hands of the Romans. It's a story of love and hate, revenge and redemption, hopelessness and hope.


Please feel free to bookmark our Publisher’s Page so you can check back from time to time. We will be adding more of our Community Comics titles as well as some very exiting titles from other Christian creators.

TOMO takes the Bronze!

Tomo Volume 1: I Was an Eighth-Grade Ninja has just been awarded the Bronze Award in the Comics and Graphic Novel category of the Moonbeam Children's Books Awards.

The Moonbeam Awards are designed to honor the year's best children’s books, authors and illustrators, and to bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators. Their ambition is to support children's book publishing and to promote childhood literacy and life-long reading.

One of the more significant aspects of Tomo's placement is that these awards are not CBA related, but draw from the large pool of mainstream material. There is a separate category for Religious works, but the Comics and Graphic Novels category is completely open.

Congratulations go to Andrew Simmons, Ariel Padilla, Tom Bancroft and Rob Corley of Funnypages Productions for producing such an excellent book. It's a pleasure to work with them.

Read more about Tomo here: www.zgraphicnovels.com/series/tomo.php

Silly Daddy Online

Joe Chiappetta (or Joey Chips as he is sometimes called) has been drawing his Silly Daddy comic sine 1991, the year he became a father. It’s gone through several incarnations since then, beginning as a photocopied and hand stapled zine and moving all the way through to trade paperback collections of his comics. He even won the Xeric Award in 1998 for his for his graphic novel, Silly Daddy: A Death in the Family. One of the most amazing things about following Silly Daddy through the years and the formats is tracing Joe’s life, not only as a father, but as he came to Christ. He has now made the internet Silly Daddy’s home as a daily webcomic at: http://joechiappetta.blogspot.com/.

Silly Daddy is at times absurd and at times touching, but always fascinating. Joe present’s life as he sees it or imagines it to be (or sometimes should be), and his cartoons provide a remarkable insight into contemporary times.

Here’s a small sampling if his cartoons:

All art is © 2007 Joe Chiappetta

Check out more at: Joe Chiappetta is Silly Daddy

Tempest - A Benefit Comic

Being in the midst of hurricane season, I was reminded of the Disaster Relief benefit comic we put together several years ago in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Tempest.



Tempest is the story of an artist, a normal man who writes stories of heroics and tragedy. But surrounded by news of tragedy and disaster, confronted with his own limitations, and facing the lifting veil of innocence, he is forced to ask some difficult questions, starting with, "What can I do ... I'm just one man ..." It’s a story of hope in the face of pain; beauty in the face of evil; strength in the face of solitary weakness.

Tempest was one of the more personal projects that Ben Avery, Sherwin Schwartzrock and I worked on, and we were blessed to work with a phenomenal group of artists who contributed their time and talents to this story such as:
* Randy Green (Witchblade, Emma Frost)
* Javier Saltares (David's Mighty Men, Ghost Rider, Wolverine, GI Joe)
* Sherwin Schwartzrock (ArmorQuest, Deal with the Devil)
* Sergio Cariello (The Lone Ranger, Son of Samson, Sojourn, Batman)
* Mike Worley (Bongo Comics artist, caricaturist)
* Tom Bancroft (Big Idea, Disney, Opposite Forces)
* Phil Hester (Ant Man, Nightwing, Green Arrow, The Wretch)
* Mario Ruiz (Samson, Testament)
* Gary Shipman (Pakkins' Land, Amazing True Life Stories)
* Darren Brady (Handel’s Messiah, HeroTV)
* Tim Kane (Supercrazy TNT Blast)
* Jesse Hamm (Good as Lily, Bitten Apple, Savage Daisies)
* Nate Watson (Blue Water Productions)
* Gary Martin (The Moth, Nexus)

Copies of Tempest are still available - either in printed form or as digital downloads.
* In print from Community Comics for $3.50 plus S & H.
* As free digital download from Wowio.
(Will require signing up with Wowio - but you’ll get access to many free books and comics - it’s a pretty good deal.)

All proceeds from the sale of Tempest or received from the Wowio downloads (and we do receive payments for each download) will be donated to the Disaster Relief efforts of the Salvation Army. The need is always there and so is the Salvation Army.

Rabbi Encounters

I'd like to point everyone over to Rabbi Encounters, an excellent web comic by Rob Woodrum.

Rabbi Encounters (c) 2007 Rob Woodrum


In Rabbi Encounters, Rob Woodrum updates the encounters Jesus had with people throughout the Gospel accounts in a very effective manner. This works so much better than a straight "what if Jesus came today" approach; those tend to raise many more questions than they answer. The main focus in Rabbi Encounters is how the people are affected by their encounters with the Rabbi. In the stories to date, we have seen encounters with an Army commander, a man suffering from AIDS, a woman at the laundromat, and a diminutive thug named Zack. Rob's presentation of these familiar stories is very fresh and unique and provides a springboard for self-reflection as we see modern applications to these encounters.

ZGraphicNovels.com is up

The Z Graphic Novel site is fully up and running: www.ZGraphicNovels.com .

The site has previews of the books, info on the creators, and plenty of other neat items, like this:



One thing I would like to draw everyone's attention to is the Featured Artist Showcase on the Exclusives page. We will be showcasing a different downloadable comic each week. The comic will also lead readers to a survey to let the publisher know what type of comic material to consider for future releases. So check out the comics and let 'em know what you think.

Shelter of Wings

A new website is up for Lisa Hutchinson's woderful manga series Shelter of Wings, and I just have to spread the word. Check it out: Shetler of Wings

And here's just a small tatse of Lisa's beautiful artwork:

Shelter of Wings (c) 2007 Brethren Entertaiment
artwork (c) 2007 Lisa Hutchinson

The Z Graphic Novels are coming!

Zondervan's line of Graphic Novels are coming close to their release date. Zondervan's marketing department has been shopping them around the general and CBA book outlets since last November, but the books have just recently been listed in Diamond Distribution's catalog for shipping to comic outlets this July.

Here’s a rundown of the titles included in Zondervan’s initial launch. Each book is in the "Manga format": 5" x 7.25" of B&W art with approximately 150 pages of story content.

The Manga Bible: Books 1 & 2
A translated collection of the Korean Manwha Bible, packaged by Lamp Post, Inc.

The Bible is larger than life, and kids will love reading its stories told through the graphic storytelling of Korean manwha. Readers will enjoy learning the Bible’s characters and landscapes portrayed through this cutting-edge style of art now popular around the world.

Tomo Books 1 & 2
Book 1 written by Rob Corley, Book 2 written by Jim Krueger, Art by Arial Padilla

Hana would be like any other thirteen-year-old immigrant trying to fit into life at an American school, but she also battles hostile, animal-like warriors from the dimension of Argon Falls. In discovering secrets about her identity and her past, Hana bravely faces both her enemies and her destiny, tutored by her grandfather sensei, as well by a shape-shifting creature named Tomo.

Son of Samson Books 1 & 2
Written by Gary Martin with art by Sergio Cariello

Samson’s mighty son Branan traces his famous father’s footsteps as he battles the Philistines. Throughout the different episodes, with both humor and action, he learns about God’s purpose for his life and inherited strength.

TimeFlyz Book 1 & 2
Written by Ben Avery with art by Adi Darda

Laurel’s ordinary life changes to extraordinary when cyborg flies shrink her down and take her on the adventure of saving the world. Racing through and against time to famous places of the past, learning about history and faith, Laurel discovers that even an average girl like her can make a valuable contribution to a team.

Kingdoms Books 1 & 2
Written by Ben Avery with art by Mat Broome

1 & 2 Kings and 1& 2 Chronicles tell the history of Israel and Judah following the Davidic dynasty through the exile in Babylon. Against this historical backdrop of the rise and fall of maneuvering kings and warring empires, the fictional series Kingdoms traces the saga of the dedicated advisor Iddo and his descendants. As he remains loyal to the memory of the just King Josiah and labors to keep his nation faithful to the Lord, Iddo struggles to protect his own family—including his son, Berekiah, and later his grandson, a young prophet named Zechariah.

Hand of the Morningstar Books 1 & 2
Written and Illustrated by Mike Miller

With the world watching, the opposing forces of super-powered beings clash in battles that reveal whether those who serve the elusive Morningstar, said to be a wise and powerful heavenly creature, fight for the cause of good or evil.

For more information on these, go to: www.zgraphicnovels.com

Feed My Starving Children Comics

Here are some new comics from Sherwin Schwartzrock for the ministry, Feed My Starving Children.

Feed My Starving Children in a non-profit organization committed to feeding God's starving children hungry in body and spirit. Their approach is simple: Volunteers pack nutritious meals made up of rice, soy, vitamins and dehydrated vegetables, and they partner with relief organizations worldwide to distribute these meals to starving children.

Community Comics has been given the opportunity to help spread the awareness of Feed My Starving Children and to encourage the volunteers to continue their work with this very worthwhile organization. We would also like to open up the opportunity for other artists, companies or studios to provide art for future two-page comic flyers. A small amount of room at the bottom of each comic will be allowed to promote the artist/company/studio's website. For the cost of producing 2 pages of comic art, FMSC will guarantee distribution of 80,000 flyers directly to Christian teens. The flyers will be kept in circulation for successive years, so the promotion could reach 500,000 teens by 2008.

Please contact Sherwin Schwartzrock if you’re interested in learning more about this unique opportunity.

Feed My Starving Children