Beer Gardens

Stuff... and more stuff.

2010-08-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

So, somehow, I have completely ignored this blog for the entire year.

Whoops.

I can take the easy way out and say, "Oh, I've been swamped with work" and leave it at that... and since I have been swamped with work this year, I'm going to that. It has been a very busy year, after all.

The Spring saw our largest Emerald City Comicon ever, leading it to grow into a full 3 days for next year. Several books from Micro Brew Comics and Rorschach Entertainment were debuted at the show; Steve Lawlis: Zombieville USA #3, Doctor Zombie #3, and Dallas McCoy #00.

Spring beget Summer, and that brought on the preparations for the newest Seattle convention, the Jet City Comic Show. This new show is a companion piece to ECCC, focusing more on the local scene.

Still, a lot of work goes into putting these shows together, and putting these shows together at the same time running a small chain of retail shops... well, needless to say, it puts a damper on one's free time.

Oh, and on top of that, there's the family... Mackenzie and Trent have had birthdays, Mac has had another Kung Fu tournament (3rd Place is Sparring!), Anniversaries, Family Outings, and a whole lot more!

With all of this going on, it's been near impossible to be on top of this blog along with all of the other sites and social networking that needs to be done.

So, with that in mind, I'm going to try and refocus this blog... a separation of Church and State, so to speak. Updates for the cons and books will be on their respective sites, while I will use this blog just for the family updates.

I was just contemplating deleting this blog all together, but I like having the family stuff up here, available for friends and family that like to keep apprised. So, for the time being, we're going to try this out and see if it works...

-Brian

Yikes!

2010-01-05T22:38:00.000-08:00

I know... It's been way too long since I last made a post here...

In my defense, I have been swamped with work for Emerald City ComiCon, The Comic Stop, Micro Brew Comics, the newly formed Jet City Comic Show, and more. Still, excuses are excuses. So, let's catch us up, shall we?

Over at The Comic Stop, we are currently working towards our general growth as a company. We now have 3 successful locations, and we are considering opening a 4th shop in the next year or so. On top of this, we now have a "full staff". It is no longer just us owners/managers at the shops, but two full-time employees and two part-time employees.

The 8th Annual Emerald City ComiCon is nearly here, just a couple of months away. We've sold out of space again, our lineup of guests borders on the amazing, and we are well under way to have our best year ever. Expect this show to blow up, Big Time, in the near future.

Speaking of shows... Since I don't have enough work to do, I have created a companion show for ECCC called Jet City Comic Show. This new show is a local 1-day show coming up in the fall, a full 6 months after ECCC. This new show will focus on the creative local talents and publishers and organizations of the Pacific Northwest, and well as spotlighting several out of town Special Guests.

Following that, the comics biz has been busy. From Micro Brew Comics, I am looking to have Steve Lawlis: Zombieville #2 and Adventures of Doctor Zombie #3 ready for ECCC, as well as a couple of prints. From my old stomping grounds of Rorschach Entertainment and Modern Pulp Comics, I have the final issue of Sprecken: Kalabus Rex (issue #4) coming out, and it looks like we might even have Dallas McCoy #0 (a prologue issue) done, too. I'll have more on all of this in the next few weeks...

Over at the homestead, the only big event was the shared birthday (on December 11th) between Jack "Lucky" Meredith and myself. My little man is now 3 years old, and cleaned up with a fat pile of Ben 10 action figures and clothes, and a couple of Batman Brave and the Bold action figures. He's become quite the little super-geek.

Well, that's enough catching up... next time, I'll talk about beer...

-Brian M.

Quattro = One

2009-09-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a bit quiet on the MBS front these past couple of months. We've been slowly working on getting stuff together, but nothing have progressed to the point that a "post" was warranted.

However, two things on the Home Front have taken place that are definitely worth mentioning:

1) Dana's Birthday!
The Littlest Man of the Clan, Dana (AKA Quattro, Moose) just turned the Big 1 Year Old last week... He's growing up fast, in size and skills. Walking, running, eating by himself, fighting in underground Baby Fight Clubs, etc., he's got it all covered!

2) Mackenzie's Kung Fu Tournament!
A couple of weeks ago, Mac entered her second Martial Arts Tournament, competing in Kata (style and technique) and Sparring (hitting other little girls). Last year, she pulled in 3rd place in Sparring, but this year, she brought home the Gold! Mac snagged 1st place, and against a larger group of competitors than last year.

Blue Shift Pages

2009-07-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

One of the projects that I've been working on for a while now is Blue Shift, the sci-fi project I am co-writing with Gigi Edgley.Well, as with many projects, so many things can affect the progress of it being made. For this book, we've had a couple of "roadblocks" that have impeded said progress.

Well, hopefully, we should have a "convention" edition of the first issue by November. Sidney Lima is currently working on the first issue, and he is doing a great job of it. As proof of his awesomeness, here are the first 4 pages of the first issue...

-Brian

Doctor Zombie - The Song!

2009-07-05T00:30:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I got in touch with this incredibly talented "Band of The Future" called We Wrote The Book On Connectors, the creators of Mustache Rock! This local band offered a very interesting service; a song writing service. So, after a few emails with the guitarist/singer/heart-breaker Mike Votava, they got to work on what is the coolest comic book promo ever -- A Theme Song!

Yes, you heard me right, folks! WE came up with a theme song... for Doctor Zombie! No longer will you have to read your Doctor Zombie comics in silence!

This awesome song can be downloaded for free at their website, and while you are there, you can check out a TON of other free songs that they have to offer.

To listen to it, just press play on the embedded Quicktime player below...

-Brian M.

Another ECCC passes...

2009-04-13T23:17:00.000-07:00

The 7th Annual Emerald City ComiCon had come and gone, leaving me a tattered wreck of a man, a veritable shell of humanity that has been tossed aside by the teeming masses...

...ahem...

Sorry about that. I tend to get a little "dramatic" when it comes to ECCC. It's a huge deal for me, being of the of the top guys that puts it on. It's a large part of my life, and has become so large that it is literally like having a second job for 6-9 months out of the year, just to put it on for a single weekend. The stress from just putting on the show is enough to turn hair gray.

Anyway, besides striving to have a successful show (in terms of attendance, services, etc.), one of the most important things for me to accomplish is to put together as many personal projects as I possibly can. I usually do 1-3 projects/books for Rorschach Entertainment, but this is the first year that I also set up under my personal label of Micro Brew Comics. Of course, the subtle irony of this is that I am usually far too busy to be behind a table and promote any of these works.

That's where the family comes in. This year, the wife was put in charge of running the Rorschach Entertainment booth, which allowed her watch over our 9-year-old daughter Mackenzie as she promoted our latest issue of The Adventures of Doctor Zombie. Together, they pulled off an awesome weekend for all of us, selling over half of the stock that we had for the show.

So, what did we have, you say? I'm glad you asked. We introduced two new MBC books, plus buttons and a limited edition print.

First, we had The Adventures of Doctor Zombie #2, which continues the stories of the Doctor Archibald Zombie and his assistant Marigold Murray, as penned by my talented daughter Mackenzie. In fact, this issue has a double dose of awesome, with two stories drawn by two different artists. In the first story, our regular artist Erik Thompson illustrates what happens when Doctor Zombie and Marigold try to spend the night at the movies, especially with a vengeful magician named Chuck lurking in the shadows. In the second story, we have guest artist Ryan Cody (Villains, Popgun, Hurricane Kids) showing what happens when an irate Dinosaur tries taking his anger out on the city Doctor Zombie is sworn to protect.

We also had copies of The Adventures of Doctor Zombie #1, for those that missed out on the book back in the Fall...

Second, we have a brand new Steve Lawlis book! Steve Lawlis: Zombieville USA #1 continues the tales of Steve Lawlis and his pal Pete Redshirt, agents for the Department of Horror Intervention. In this first of three issues, Steve and Pete are called to a little town in the middle of nowhere to deal with a strange zombie infestation. Expecting a town out of Resident Evil, imagine their surprise when they find a peaceful little burg straight out of Leave It To Beaver. This series is not only drawn by Erik, but he is making his debut as writer. It's good stuff, kids.

Third, we had a limited edition print (only 20 made!) called DOCTOR ZOMBIE & STEVE LAWLIS FIGHT A GIANT APE WITH CYBERNETIC PARTS AT THE SPACE NEEDLE! Drawn by regular Doctor Zombie / Steve Lawlis artist Erik Thompson, this bad boy of a print sold for just $10, and we only have a couple of them left.

Finally, we introduced our first button set, featuring Doctor Zombie and Marigold Murray. We did 60 sets of these, and have less than 20 left.

Oh, and over on the Rorschach Entertainment side of things, we released the third issue of Sprecken: Kalabus Rex. Only one more to go!

As you can see, I had my hands full over the last couple of months, getting all of this ready... of course, this is only the beginning. Wait until next year! We'll be hitting hte convention on an official capaciy, with a full library of books and goodies. Now, I just need to figure out a way to be in two places at once...

-Brian

The Fam!

2009-03-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

So... it's been a while since my last update, thanks to a very busy life pre-ECCC,which has consumed my time. With that in mind, here's a quick re-cap of what's been going on.

Mackenzie hit the big "9" mark two weeks ago. She's now quickly working her way up from Child to Tween, but not in a bad way, so far. She had a another mellow birthday this year; some fine gifts (including the much-in-demand Easy Bake Oven), dinner out with the family, and cupcakes and cookies for her friends at school and Kempo.

Dana (AKA "The Moose" AKA "Quattro) just hit hit 6 month mark. Needless to say, he's a big boy. He's pushing 20 lbs and is around 2 feet in length. At the rate he's going, he's going to be bigger than his brother Jack in no time.

Speaking of Jack... Lucky is getting so much better with his words and sentences. Of course, most of the words that come out of his mouth theses days are "Batman", "Justice League", "Flash", "Superman", "Doctor Who", etc. The boy is definitely showing his true geek colors.

With Emerald City ComiCon coming up, I'll be making another post soon to fill everyone in on what is going on with Micro Brew Comics, Mackenzie's Doctor Zombie series, and more...

Pepper Jones by Shane White

2009-02-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

Another sweet pinup for Blue Shift just appeared in my email the other day! This fantastic piece is by the super-talented Shane White, who was the artist on the recent Image book, The Overman.

Head over to his website and check out the awesomeness that is Shane's art!

Blue Beetle!

2009-01-20T20:44:00.000-08:00

Oh. My. God. This is going to be so awesome!

Pepper Jones by Edward Pun

2009-01-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest piece of artwork to come in for the Blue Shift project that I working on with Gigi Edgley. It's by the incredibly talented Edward Pun, who recently did a cover for Dallas McCoy (check it out here).

Is it a cover? Is it a pin-up? I'm not sure yet, but what I do know... it's awesome.

Lucky's Second Time Around

2008-12-19T13:36:00.000-08:00

Yikes! This post came a week later than I hoped... that's what I get for being so damn busy...

So, Last Thursday (December 11th) was Jack's 2nd birthday and my 700th birthday, as we share the same date of birth, for those unaware. This is a good thing, as this will mean that I am now GUARANTEED cake for my birthday for the next 10-15 years. This is what we refer to as "wicked awesome".

Jack (AKA Lucky) made out nicely with a few solid gifts, such as a toy laptop (hopefully, he'll leave the home computer alone now...) and a box full of DUPLO Legos (as seen in the picture above), which he loves to play with. The boy is a natural builder.

Oh, and for the record, Jack is nearly naked due to the fact that just had his cake, which got everywhere... besides, he actually likes running around like a jungle boy.

A few days later, we got hit with a ton of snow here in the Seattle area, actually stranding the family and I at our house. As anyone who lives in a quiet residential area knows, these are the worse roads to try and traverse after a snowfall. They are just one giant slab of ice. Still, the kids managed to enjoy some time outside, as Mac took her little brother Jack out for some Winterland Action.

Speaking of little brothers, the littlest addition to the clan has hit the 3 month mark. Dana (AKA Quattro) has earned himself a new nickname -- The Moose. That boy can eat! He has been packing on the weight and size. He is already wearing 6 month clothes... but I'll save that for another post...

Pepper Jones by Brian Churilla

2008-11-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

Although the book itself is in still pre-production, we still have the occasional pin-up rolling in for Blue Shift. This exciting piece was done by the uber-talented Brian Churilla, whose work can recently be seen in Rex Mundi, The Engineer, and pin-ups for such books as Fear Agent!

For more of Brian's work, check out www.brianchurilla.com!

Sir Mix-A-Lot, Knight of the Realm

2008-10-16T11:05:00.001-07:00

I have my pal Jim to thank for little piece of Awesomeness (and the guys at Robot Chicken, of course), who knows my love of Sir Mix-A-Lot knows no bounds...

Dallas McCoy Cover Art

2008-10-10T16:17:00.000-07:00

I've been threatening to put out a Dallas McCoy miniseries for ages, but it looks as if we are finally getting to the point of starting production on it. Before the miniseries kicks in, though, we are going to put together a Zero Issue, containing 2-3 short stories plus some other goodies. For this issue, we contracted the services of the very talented Edward Pun to do the cover.

Here is the evolution of said cover, starting with the initial sketches.

Once Edward turned these in, I briefly went over the various designs and picked out the one I thought was best for Dallas (which turned out was Edward's first choice, as well).

Later, I received these awesome pencils for the cover.

Seeing nothing wrong with it, I gave Edward the Green Light to finish up the piece. Shortly, he sent me the colored version. After a quick inspection and a minor color change, the final edition was delivered.

And there you have it. The finished artwork for Dallas McCoy #0, which will hopefully be done in time for next year's Emerald City ComiCon.

Doctor Zombie Update!

2008-09-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a week since we debuted The Adventures of Doctor Zombie #1 at the Comic Stop and Bell-Con and we are just about sold out of copies!

The response to the book at the shop was amazing. We blew through 20 copies before my shift ended, so I brought more later that evening when Mac and I showed up for her Kung Fu class. As of yesterday afternoon, there are only 2 copies of the book left at the shop.

At the convention, Mackenzie showed the world that she was made for this business. Sitting with the Rorschach Entertainment tables, Mackenzie (along with the artist for the book, Erik Thompson) rocked the show by selling every copy of the book (the majority of what was left of the print run) that we brought for the show. She worked the crowd like a born salesmen, yet was completely upfront and honest about everything she said; no conning anyone. When the show slowed down, she actually grabbed copies of the book and went out onto the show floor and sold them to the other exhibitors, creators, and attendees. It was pretty amazing to see her at work.

Currently, this print run of the book is pretty much done. There are only a couple of copies at the shop and less than 10 copies that will be available online at Rorschach Entertainment later this week.

Mac, Erik and I would like to thank everyone at the shop and the con that took a chance on the book. We would really love to hear any feedback any of you may have, so please leave a comment or email us at microbrewstudios@gmail.com.

We are currently working on issue #2, which we hope to out before Christmas, and we are planning on at least 2 more issues after that. If they do well, we will be looking to re-release them in color on a national scale by submitting them to other publishers or through Diamond ourselves.

Doctor Zombie debuts!

2008-09-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

The Adventures of Doctor Zombie #1 is finally back from the printers!

As some of you may already know (but let's recap for those that don't), this new book was written my daughter Mackenzie. After expressing interest in writing her own story, I encouraged her to put one together using one of her favorite characters, Doctor Zombie. Well, the story was a fun little romp filled with action, romance, and what I like to call "3rd grade Science".

I took her story and scripted it, handed it off to my artist Erik Thompson, and several months later, we have an all-ages comic about a dead scientist and his loyal assistant fighting demons and poor dating choices!

The Adventures of Doctor Zombie #1 will officially debut this weekend at Bell-Con, Bellingham's newest comic convention, but we will have copies at the Lynnwood Comic Stop this Wednesday for anyone that wants one. Anyone that wants to reserve a copy (many of you already have, thanks!) just needs to let me know, via email to the shop, a call, or even a comment.

The Adventures of Doctor Zombie #1 costs only a measly $2.50 and there are two covers to choose from (Good Guy Cover and Bad Guy Cover). Oh, and if anyone would like to have their copy signed by Mackenzie, let me know. She has been practicing her signature for the last couple of days just for this.

Quattro is in the house!

2008-09-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

On September 13th at 4:10pm, Dana Benjamin Alan Meredith was born, punching in at a full 8 pounds, 8 ounces and 21 inches in length. He beats out his older brother Lucky by a pound and a couple of inches. Of course, Lucky has almost 2 years on him, so it evens out.

As with Lucky, we gave a nickname to the baby before he was born, due mostly to the fact that we had no idea as to the sex of the baby this time around. So, the baby was dubbed Quattro, as in the number four. I'm actually having a hard time calling him anything else.

Our time in the hospital was record setting; in on Saturday morning, out by Sunday afternoon. Once the actual labor kicked in, it was over in 20 minutes (just like with Lucky) and everything went perfectly. Quattro passed all tests with flying colors, and Amy bounced back like a trooper, so we cruised on out of there in no time.

The last couple of days has been spent trying to get the household into a new working rhythm. We finally got used to there being three kids; now the new baby gums up the works (but in a good way). It's going to take a little time to find a new flow to taking care of Quattro while there is still Lucky, just barely out of babyhood. Still, all in all, it should be a lot of fun!

Dave Lister 1992-2008

2008-09-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

Dave Lister was my cat of 16 years. Only a few people, aside from family, even knew I had a cat, but he was an important part of my life. I received him the day before I moved to Seattle for college, when he was only 6 weeks old. He's been with me through 2 colleges, 7 homes, 6 jobs, 3 kids and 1 marriage.

He died today.

Dave was always a big cat, strong and meaty, with a strange meow and a loud purr. We often referred to him as an "urban cow", due to his big size and funny spots. He loved to run around the neighborhood, and loved to sleep on the porch. He even loved sneaking into the neighbor's house to eat their cat food, that is, until they got wise and closed up their cat door.

This summer, he started losing a lot of weight. At first, I paid no mind to it, as he was an old cat and not as active as he once was. Last week, though, his left paw started swelling. He seemed okay, otherwise, as it was not hurting him. However, it did not go away after a few days, eliminating the thought that maybe he was bit by a spider and was having an allergic reaction, so Amy and I took him into the vet this afternoon.

After a few tests, they told us that his weight loss was easily fixed (just a thyroid problem), but the real issue was his labored breathing, something I had not noticed before. It seems that Dave was hiding the fact that he was really sick, that fluids were filling up his lungs and his abdomen. So sick, the vet told us even with critical care and tons of money to spend, he was not likely going to get better.

I won't go into the details of what was wrong exactly, but it was very serious and he would not have lasted much longer. As much as it pained me to do it, I had to opt for the choice of putting him down. At the rate he was going, he would have literally drowned within the week.

It was one of the hardest choices I've ever made.

Dave was always more than a pet to me; in fact, I never really thought of him that way. He was my pal. He will be missed.

Doctor Zombie is off to the printers!

2008-08-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

Issue #1 of The Adventures of Doctor Zombie is finally all done and off to the printers! He should see copies of the book in about a month. Mackenzie and I will officially "debut" the book at Bell Con 0n September 27th. Here are the two covers for the book...

GOOD GUY COVER

BAD GUY COVER

Liquid Science!

2008-08-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

Behold the might of science gone mad, via the 3rd grade...

Kyle and TJ @ Hotwire

2008-07-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

Last night, Mackenzie and I headed over to the Hotwire Cafe to catch Kyle Stevens and his equally-talented buddy TJ Sherrill play a rare acoustic set. As always, they both rocked and brought in a lot of new people for this little (but very cool) cafe. TJ played a couple of my favorite songs from his latest album (buy it now!) and Kyle rocked it with his Geek out by playing a couple of his pop-culture songs, The Mario Cart Song and Tony Stark. He also pulled out his cover of Billie Jean, which I think he does better than the original artist.

Kyle and TJ finished off the night with a duet of a new song they both wrote last year called Mexican Jail. This song rocked all sorts of socks off. I must have a copy of that in the iPod. (That's a subtle hint, right there, Kyle... get to it.)

A pleasant surprise, my buddy Todd Downing (writer, director, musician) made the trek from West Seattle to catch Kyle play, as well. Kyle and Todd are in talks about the use of Kyle's music in an upcoming movie called Duo, in which one of the characters is based off of me. I didn't talk to him a whole lot. I was a bit tired and just needed to chill, but he was also with his new girl and daughter, so I didn't want to intrude on the family time.

Also at the show was Mike Miller, representing for the Comic Stop by sporting one of our brand new store t-shirts (INSERT SHAMELESS PLUG -- They are available at all of our locations! Boys and Girls versions for only $15 each! -- END SHAMELESS PLUG). Kudos to you, Mike, and shame on everyone else from the Comic Stop Social Club for not appearing. You will be punished.

Black Leather Rose

2008-07-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, I was bushwhacked by other writers (those far craftier than myself when it comes to hunting down other writers) and participated in a Round Robin writing exercise.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a Round Robin is when one writer writes one chapter of a book, then another writer writes the next chapter, and so on. The only real rule of such an exercise is that you must follow up on what the previous writer(s) did, otherwise, anything goes.

Well, this particular book was called The Black Leather Rose and was a pulp-ish sort of spy adventure. We only got 5 chapters into this book before we all were called away on other business.

I was always a bit sad that we never finished it, as I really enjoyed writing my chapter and thought it was pretty decent. So, with that in mind, I've decided to post my chapter, just to get it out there for others to read. Obviously, it may be a bit hard to follow, as it's not the beginning of the story and may lack the context one usually needs to jump in. Hopefully, though, you'll all enjoy.

#####

Chapter Three: Will the real Black Leather Rose please stand up?

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Brandon Stokes was in the middle of his female soccer team dream (one of his favorite recurring dreams; number six on his Top Ten List) when the banging on the front door of his duplex apartment slammed him awake. He sat up with a jolt, his heart pumping a mile a minute, as the memories of the 6’3” blonde goalie wearing nothing but a red sports bra and black leather cleats faded back into the mists of his subconscious mind.

“Toke! Open the damn door!”

The adrenaline pumping through his body shocked his senses awake, awake as the rest of him was now. Although he only just heard the voice at the door, it seemed real familiar, cutting through the remains of the fog in his brain.

“Damn it, Toke, open up! It’s an emergency! Get your skinny ass up out of bed!”

Yep. The voice was indeed familiar, and the use of the nickname given to him by his pal Cromwell Rollins pretty much cinched who owned it. The voice belonged to a petite and gorgeous Asian female named Kim Lee Soong, Cromwell’s latest girl-toy. The lucky bastard. Brandon couldn’t even remember the last time he had a date, let alone a girlfriend.

For a moment, Brandon contemplated staying in bed and going back to sleep. After all, it wasn’t even one in the afternoon yet, way too early to be up and about. But, knowing Kim as well as he did (even though he had only known her for a short time, she made an impression on him), not answering the door would certainly result in it being kicked down or a window being smashed in (again). With those kinds of choices, Brandon chose to err on the side that would cause him the least amount of damage, physical and financial.

He wearily got out of bed and slipped his feet into a pair of blue slippers with the fuzz worn off as he yelled out to her. “Just chill, Kim. I’m coming!”

“Hurry up!”

Throwing on a threadbare plaid robe over his trademark black t-shirt (Hanes Classic 100% cotton; only $6.49 for a two-pack) and boxer shorts with pictures of various beers, Brandon shuffled down the hallway, stopping momentarily to look at his reflection in a mirror hanging at a slight angle. His shoulder length brown hair was a little tousled but not out of control, unlike his goatee, which was in dire need of a serious trim. Also, the dark circles that were permanently parked underneath his eyes had receded to a light purple-gray; this was about as presentable as Brandon got these days.

Feeling he was more than decent enough to show in his unexpected guest, Brandon unlocked his deadbolt and grabbed the handle, but never got the chance to actually turn the knob. As soon as she heard the door being unlocked, Kim slammed the door wide open; knocking Brandon down into one of the many random pile of empty beer cans that cover the floor.

Carrying the bulk of his weight (she’s a lot stronger than she appeared to be), Kim led a semi-unconscious Cromwell through the door and into the back area of the living room designated the dining room, denoted as such by the presence of the large dining room table. “Toke, get up and help me. Crommy’s hurt!”

Brandon brushed a few beer cans off of him and went over to the table. “So, what’s the problem, Kim? Hey, Cromwell, what’s going—holy fucking shit!!”

Brandon was shocked by what he saw; his friend, cover in blood, clutching the towel-covered stump where his right hand used to be. With a single sweep of his hand (with his right, by a sort of eerie coincidence), Brandon wiped his beaten table clear of empty beer cans and bottles, pizza boxes, and other pieces of trash.

“Let’s get him up on the table, Kim.”

“Right.”

Grabbing Cromwell by his right side, Brandon and Kim lifted him onto the table and laid him down. Glancing about, Brandon saw a muddy brown pillow on his futon couch. Snagging it, He gently put it under Cromwell’s head.

“Hey,” moaned Cromwell, making noise for the first time since arriving at Brandon’s place. He sounded better than he looked, but only just by a little. “How’s it going, Toke…?”

Brandon was delicately peeling away the blood-soaked towel to see the extent of the damage. “Cromwell, what the hell happened, man? Where’s your fucking hand?!”

“I had no- I had to fuckin’ cut it off,” whispered Cromwell, “It got infected with the mold. I don’t know how.”

“Mold? What mold?”

Absently caressing Cromwell’s hair, Kim piped up, her voice starting to shake as her own adrenaline rush wore off. “The Black Leather Rose, Toke. That’s what Cromwell told me. He said we had to chop his hand off before it spread any further.”

“What?! You cut off your own hand to stop a mold from growing on it?” Brandon shook his head in disbelief as he continued to look over Cromwell’s wound. “I just don’t get it, man. Why?”

Cromwell coughed, clearing a bit of phlegm out of his throat. “Check my back pocket, Toke. You’ll find a file on it.”

Brandon reached underneath Cromwell, finding a thick set of folded papers shoved into one of the pockets of his jeans. Brandon unfolded the papers and quickly flipped through them, taking no more than fifteen or twenty seconds before putting them down.

“Did you get this from your work, Cromwell?”

“Yeah…” Cromwell was silent for moment, but it was clear to Brandon that Cromwell had more to say, and he didn’t have to wait too long to hear it. “Something happened at work, something really bad. I needed to know what happened, to cover my ass, so I snagged these papers from Dr. Fang’s office.”

“Listen, dude, I’m going to go get my bag, okay? We’ll get this fixed up and then you can tell me all about it. Cool, brother?”

“Cool…”

As Brandon left the room (and out of earshot), Kim sat down on one of the dining room table’s chairs. She leaned in close to Cromwell’s ear, still caressing his hair.

“Cromwell, what are we doing here? I know you and Toke are good buds, but you really need to go to a hospital.” Kim placed a quick peck on his cheek. “Will you please let me take you, baby?”

“Sorry, Kimmy, but a hospital is the last place we want to be. They’d call the cops and the cops would be asking us questions, questions we don’t want to answer.” Cromwell stopped for a second to catch his breath. “We can’t explain why I made you cut off my hand, not without screwing ourselves.”

“But, Crommy, why come here? Brandon’s a nice guy and all, but he’s a drunk. We need to get you some real help.”

“I prefer the term burnout, thanks.”

Startled by the sudden appearance of Brandon in the room, Kim shot up straight in her seat. “Oh! Toke, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just, well, Cromwell insisted we come to you for help and I just don’t see how you can…”

“It’s okay. I am a drunk, among other things, but I do have a few good qualities.” Brandon placed a black leather satchel on the table, right next to Cromwell. He started pulling out several pieces of medical equipment. “One of those being I’m pretty handy with sutures.”

Cromwell managed a grin. “Toke used to be a doctor, but then he made some hotshot doctor look bad and got his ass booted.”

“I was in my first year of residency, “Brandon said as he finished laying out his equipment, “when I chose to ignore the orders of the attending physician. I saved a kid from dying by his negligence, but he was a popular doctor and someone had to take the blame for putting him in danger in the first place.”

“I didn’t know,” said Kim, quietly. “So, you can help Cromwell?”

“Oh yeah, no worries. The cut was clean. You missed the bones in the wrists, so I should be able to sew this up with no problem.”

Cromwell asked, “Can we get this over with then?”

“Sure, man.”

Brandon moved the makeshift bandages off the wound, dropping them on the floor into an open pizza box (which once housed a large pepperoni and sausage pizza, according to the various leftover tidbits). He then grabbed a small syringe and a glass vial.

“This here’s a local anesthetic, dude. This is to help you with the pain.”

Cromwell spat out a small chuckle while raising his bloodied stump into view. “Ha ha… I think you’re a little late for that, Toke. The pain’s already died down to a dull throb.”

Brandon filled the needle with the contents of the vial, and then he stuck the needle just above the open wound, numbing the area around the injury.

“That’s not exactly the pain I was thinking about, dude. I gotta disinfect the wound.”

“Oh. Oh, crap…”

“Yep.”

Grabbing a bottle of alcohol (one of the few in his house not meant for drinking), Brandon unscrewed the lid and dumped the contents on the open wound.

Cromwell screamed, loudly, and then passed out.

As Kim watched in a mixture of horror and curiosity (the same way people do when there’s a horrific accident on the freeway; they can’t help but look at what happened, regardless of how disgusting it is), Brandon finished cleaning the wound and sewed it closed. Satisfied with the work, Brandon bandaged the stump with clean gauze.

“There, that should do the trick. We’ll need to keep checking it, make sure it doesn’t get infected, but he should be fine,” said Brandon, as he started putting his medical equipment back into his bag while Cromwell moaned slightly, starting to wake up.

“Thanks, Toke. Sorry I doubted you.”

“Don’t be. I doubt myself all the time.” Brandon snapped his bag shut. “But I’ll tell you what, I could sure use a drink after all that. You?”

“Hell yeah.”

Cromwell opened his eyes, the color returning to face. “Make one for me, too… vodka. It’s number one on my list right now…”

“Sure thing, dude.”

Brandon turned to leave, but Cromwell grabbed him with his one good hand. “Wait a sec… we need to talk about the Black Leather Rose, Toke. If it got out…”

“Dude, just relax. We will, I promise. Let me just get our drinks, and then we’ll plan our next move.”

“Okay, sure.”

While Cromwell rested, Brandon led Kim into the kitchen. As dirty as the living room (and the rest of the apartment, for that matter) was, the kitchen was surprisingly clean. Sure, there were empty bottles of whiskey, beer, vodka, and more on the various countertops, but the sink was unexpectedly empty of dishes and the counters had no appliances whatsoever. Of course, it’s not all that surprising once you realize that Brandon was not exactly the kind of man that cooks.

“I keep all the good stuff in here,” said Brandon, as he opened a pair of cabinet doors. Inside, there were two shelves full of various hard liquors, ranging from whiskey to rum to vodka to gin to tequila. He had enough alcohol to open his own bar.

Pulling down a bottle of Grey Goose vodka, Brandon pointed to another cabinet. “Glasses are in there, Kim.”

Kim reached into the other cabinet and snagged three of the half dozen or so glasses. Unlike the other cabinet, this one was mostly empty and did not have any shelves. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a small toggle switch, semi-hidden in the front upper corner of the cabinet. “Hey, what’s that for?”

For the first time this morning, Brandon grinned. “Ah, that. Well, remember when I said I had a few good qualities? That’s one of them.”

Kim shook her head slightly, not understanding. “I don’t get it.”

“Here. Let me show you.”

Brandon flipped the switch and a secret panel at the back of the cabinet opened up, revealing a small cache of weapons. There were a few throwing knives and a dozen pistols of various types posted on the wall, as well as several boxes of shells. Most prominent was a pair of chrome-plated Smith & Wesson (Model #5906) 9mm semi-automatic pistols which hung dead center of the cache.

Kim was stunned for a second. “Holy shit… do I even want to know why you have those?”

“Probably not, but I have a feeling that we’re going to need them.”

“I hope not,” said Cromwell, as he appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. He had a clammy look about him, with a few beads of sweat trickling down his forehead, but he was looking pretty good for a guy who just had his hand cut off. “I’m going to have a hard enough time explaining this missing hand to everyone, especially at work, without having to explain us running around with guns.”

All of a sudden, as if a light had been turned on, a puzzled look appeared across Brandon’s face. “Say… where is your hand, Cromwell?”

DEA Agent Joe Sanford and his erstwhile partner, Patricia ‘Pepper’ Hurley, stood on the front porch of Cromwell’s dingy apartment building. Although the remains of the concrete goose named Bruce (may he rest in peace, or is that pieces?) were certainly cause for curiosity, the fact that Cromwell’s door was slightly ajar with a suspicious red-colored smudge above the handle was positively more fascinating.

“Well, I’d say this looks… interesting, to say the least. What about you, Pepper?”

Inspecting the pile of crushed concrete covered unceremoniously with a yellow jumpsuit, Pepper looked up at Sanford with a quizzical, yet playful, look set upon her face. “I’ll say. Isn’t this the suit that Uma Thurman wore in the Kill Bill movie? It looks like it’s made for a duck or something.”

“I’m not as concerned about that as I am with the open door and that smudge. I’d bet a hundred bucks that red smear is blood.

“Oh, and Bruce Lee wore it first.”

Pepper smiled. “You’re such an old man, Joe. Get with the times. Uma’s in, Bruce is out.”

Sanford returned the smile. “Shall we get back to work?”

“Okay, fine. Let’s get the formalities over with so we can go in.” One hand on her holstered Colt Defender (model O7000D) .45 ACP automatic, Pepper moved to the open door and gently knocked on it, taking care not to cause it to swing back inside. “Mr. Rollins, Agents Hurley and Sanford here. We’re with the DEA. Can we come in?”

Seconds passed and they received no answer.

“Well, that’s enough time for me, Joe. Let’s go in.”

Grinning like a smitten schoolboy, Sanford motions for Pepper to take the lead. “Lead the way.”

Pushing the door open with her foot, Pepper removed her gun from its holster and entered the apartment, weaving through the clutter and mess perfected by years of bachelorhood. Sanford followed right behind her, moving a bit more casual than Pepper, and certainly not as technical.

Although a by-the-book agent, he was never one for adhering to exact procedures, such as how to enter someone’s residence. Besides, Sanford found it hard to concentrate on those procedures while watching Pepper go through her usual tough-as-nails swagger. It was a thing of beauty.

He did, however, unclasp the leather guard strap on his own holster, which housed his Smith & Wesson (Model #673) .38 snub-nosed revolver, ready to pull it out at a moment’s notice.

Pepper called out to no one in general and one person in particular, hoping to get some sort of response; perhaps even something to shoot. “Mr. Rollins? Are you home? The door was open.”

Pepper moved down the hallway towards the two bedrooms, with Sanford in tow. She entered the first bedroom (Cromwell’s spare room, where he kept his old comic collection, among other things) on the left. Sanford took one last look at Pepper, and then continued on to the main bedroom straight ahead.

Once inside, Sanford took one look at the state of the bed and knew Mr. Rollins had recently gotten laid. “Good for you,” Sanford whispered.

“What was that, Joe?” Pepper said from the other room.

Still looking about the room, Sanford noticed a single drawer open in Cromwell’s dresser. Knowing that a person usually has all of the drawers closed or all of them in disarray (depending on their personality types), Sanford opened the drawer as he replied to Pepper. “I said it looks like Mr. Rollins had a real good time last night. What do you have?”

“Nothing. Just a guest room that’s being used as storage. This guy’s a bit of a pack rat.”

The drawer was a typical sock drawer; it had socks in it. But, there was one single sock with an unusual bulge that stood out. Sanford grabbed the sock and opened it, revealing a large amount of cash bundled inside. Raising a single eyebrow (one of his favorite things to do), Sanford pulled out the wad of cash and started counting.

Pepper stood in the doorway, holstering her gun. “Hey, did you find something?”

“Here, look at what I found in his sock drawer.” Sanford tossed the bundle of money to Pepper, who flipped through it.

“Nice. What’s this…? Four, five grand? That’s a lot of scratch for a janitor to be sitting on.”

“Yes, it is.”

“You thinking it’s a payoff for stealing that missing vial?”

“Could be, but if it is, it’s not enough. That mold is worth millions. Even a janitor should know that. Maybe it’s an advance, or he’s hiding the rest elsewhere. I don’t know.”

“Well, he’s not here, that we do know. Shall we go and check out the next name on our list?”

“Sure. Who’s next on the list, Karamazov or Lipworth?”

Pepper flipped open her notebook to check her notes. “Lipworth. He’s closer.”

“Then let’s go.”

Once again, Pepper was in front, leading the way. As she passed the kitchen/dining area, Pepper saw a somewhat grisly sight and cursed herself for not noticing it when they came in. Stopping suddenly (and almost causing Sanford to run into her; not that he would mind), she pointed to the kitchen table. “Joe. Take a look…”

Sanford followed Pepper’s very lovely trigger finger, which led him to the cheap square table in the middle of the room. On it was an old wooden chopping block with a blood-covered cleaver.

“This assignment just keeps getting better…” muttered Sanford. He stepped closer to the table, and saw that the top of the chopping block was stained dark with blood.

“There’s more, Joe.”

Sanford turned and looked at Pepper, who was inspecting the fridge. On the door and handle of the freezer part of the refrigerator were several smears of blood, similar to the one on the front door.

Sanford walked over the fridge. He looked closely at the smudges, and then turned to Pepper. “I’m thinking I should open the freezer.”

“I’m thinking you’re right.”

Grabbing the handle, making sure he didn’t touch any of the blood stains, Sanford opened the freezer. Inside, sitting on top of an empty box of Hot Pockets (Ham and Cheese) and an ice tray with only three ice cubes, was the severed hand of Cromwell Rollins inside of a Zip-Lock freezer bag.

Pepper and Sanford stared at the hand for a moment, speechless.

Pepper was the first to break the silence. “That’s a hand. That’s a fucking hand, Joe.”

Sanford closed the freezer. He stepped back, took another look at the chopping block and bloodstained cleaver, and raised his eyebrow.

“That’s Rollins’ hand, Pepper. He was infected, and he cut off his hand to save his own life.”

“So, it looks like our theory about Mr. Rollins’ involvement is looking a little more solid.”

“It looks that way.”

“Doctor, what on earth is up with your fridge? This is just disgusting.”

Lipworth was headfirst in a large stainless steel Kenmore refrigerator, trying to find something worth eating. On one side of the fridge, there was nothing but health food, such as tofu, wheat germ, organic vegetables and other inedible stuff. The other side of the fridge was filled with nothing but expired leftovers and condiments. If he didn’t know any better, Lipworth would have guessed a guy lived there, or stayed over enough to mark his territory, so to speak. Dogs piss to leave their mark; guys leave leftover takeout.

“There’s nothing good here at- wait a second, I see something…”

Lipworth hit the jackpot. Hidden behind a week old box of chicken curry was a small bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken (Original Recipe & Spicy). Popping off the lid, Lipworth gave the chicken the official sniff test; nothing vile smelling there at all. He smacked his thin lips and pulled the bucket out of the fridge.

Closing the fridge door with his ass, Lipworth dropped the bucket on the counter and gleefully started rifling through it, looking for a leg or a breast. Finding a real quality leg, Lipworth bit into it with zeal; one would think the man hadn’t eaten in days. Several bites later, Lipworth stopped suddenly, as if he just remembered that he wasn’t alone. He turned his attention back to Dr. Beatrice Karamazov.

“Don’t worry, Doctor, I haven’t forgotten about you. As soon as I get done with my little snack, we’ll get started with your beating.”

Beatrice was sitting in the middle of room, tied to one of her very expensive oak chairs that accompanied her very expensive oak dining room table. In fact, the whole house was expensive, a final gift from her mother (to both of the Karamazov sisters), who passed away a few years ago.

The ropes were tight, cutting into her wrists and rubbing them raw with every move she made. She was still gagged (a rag duct-taped to her mouth), which was just as well, as she really didn’t know what to say. The dried tears on her cheek pretty much said it all.

Lipworth picked the bone clean of meat and tossed it in the trash bin near the back door. No need to be dirty; he was a guest in her house, after all. “That was delicious. There’s nothing better than cold KFC. Well, except cold pizza.”

He moved back over to the counter, near his bucket of fried chicken, and picked up the tire-iron he brought in from his car. Lipworth felt the weight of it in his hands, and it felt good. He was actually getting excited about what he had to do next.

He let loose that nasty little grin of his, the one that made him look like an emaciated jackal. “I’ll be starting on your legs, Doctor, and then I’ll work my way up your torso, ending with your arms. This should only take twenty minutes or so, and then we can get on with the questions.”

Lipworth raised the tire-iron. He closed his eyes, enjoying the moment, and brought it down.

TRRRINNNG!

Stopping in mid-stroke, Lipworth scowled and placed the tire-iron back on the counter. He reached into his coat and pulled out his cell phone.

“This had better be good…” muttered Lipworth as he answered the call. “They went where? Who’s Stokes? Ah, some drunken friend… no, just stay there. Let me know when they leave.”

Out of nowhere came a voice. “Hang up the phone, Lipworth.”

“I’m going to have to get back to you.” Lipworth said as he shut off his cell phone and turned to the source of the mysterious voice.

Lipworth saw a woman standing in the large entryway which led to the recessed entertainment room off to the side. She was dressed in a tight leather one-piece outfit with a silver zipper that ran the gamut from neck to crotch, unzipped to right below the navel. Needless to say, this showed off her ample bosom, in all the right ways. Right above her left breast was an embossment or embroidery of a black rose; it was hard to tell which one it was. She was also wearing a pair of silver earrings shaped like the rose on her outfit. Her strawberry blonde hair flowed across her shoulders and back, accentuating her pale skin.

In her right hand was a Glock 36 .45 automatic pistol, trained on Lipworth.

Lipworth grinned.

“Ms. Rosamund Karamazov. So nice of you to join us. Please, feel free to call me… Dick.”

Lucky Vs The Suicide Girls

2008-06-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

Lucky may be outnumbered, but I don't think he minds. See how cool he plays it...

And yes, he is wearing two different colored socks, because that is how he rolls.

Doctor Zombie, Mac Style!

2008-06-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

About 6-8 weeks ago, before ECCC, I was taking Mac to her Kung Fu lesson, as I am prone to do 2-3 times a week. As we were driving there, she expressed interest in writing a story. I simply told her to go ahead a make one up, as she is quite talented in the Off-The-Cuff-Story-Telling Department.

Picking one of her favorite subjects (Doctor Zombie, see other posts or the Steve Lawlis site for more info...), she immediately weaved a tale called "Marigold's Birthday Surprise". It was a fun little romp as Doctor Zombie and Marigold Murray try to celebrate her birthday, but their plans are ruined when a devil appears and takes away Marigold for refusing to go out on a date with him. It falls to Doctor Zombie to use his genius to create potions in order to save her.

Although the story was short, it was good, really cute and funny. I told a few of my fellow writers, such as Brian Joines (the talented mastermind behind the Indy hit 7 Guys Of Justice), who just loved it. So, with the help of my regular Steve Lawlis artist Erik Thompson, we proceeded to put it down on paper. I turned the story into a 16-page script, and Erik is already halfway done with the artwork. Once we are done with the artwork, we will put this out as a limited Doctor Zombie Special through Rorschach Entertainment.

Mackenzie CANNOT wait to see this book done. Not a day goes by that she does not ask about it. She's only 8 years old, and she's already looking forward to having a comic book of her very own. I think she is plotting to take me out of the picture so she can write more Doctor Zombie stories...

The Road To Emerald City

2008-04-17T23:45:00.000-07:00

This is the time of year when my brain melts.

As one of the 4 Founding Fathers of the Emerald City ComiCon, a portion of the operations of the show (i.e. setting it up, processing all of the info coming and going, design, print, etc.) falls on me. We all have our areas of expertise, and we all bust our asses all year long to make this show happen. However, with less than a month away, TONS of little things crop up that need to be taken care of on a daily basis. Along with a normal family life and work, this makes for a very scatter-brained Brian... hence, the meltiness of my brain, as of late.

Anyway...

Besides the running of the actual show, there has also been certain preparations for the show that I have been working on, in regards to Rorschach Entertainment. As it stands, RE will have a busy year at the show. We have a couple of new books, an artbook (by Sean Dietrich), and a special guest.

After a long delay, Issue #2 of Sprecken: Kalabus Rex finally makes its debut this year, continuing with the original miniseries of Sprecken that I started at last year's show.

I have also lettered the first issue of a brand new RE series called Bolt Magee, created by Steve Lawlis artist, Erik Thompson. It's a great little book by a talented creator, so pick it up if you're at the show.

Lastly, Gigi Edgley will also be making an appearance at the show, sitting behind the RE booth to promote our venture, Blue Shift. Although the miniseries is still in production, she will have the ashcan on hand for sale, as well as a brand new art print (see above) by artist Camilla d'Errico (who will also be at the show).

As for me, I will be running all over the show floor during the event, but I will try and make time to spend at the RE booth when I can.

Don't Mess With The Warrior!

2008-03-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

8th time around!

2008-02-28T20:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Mackenzie's 8th birthday. For her, it was a modest and mellow event, considering her past birthdays almost always ended up with an evening at Chuck E Cheese. No night out, just the family at home with a small dinner, some cake, and a few choice presents. As part of my effort to cut back on the amount of useless crap my kids tend to end up with, she got quality over quantity. No crappy toys this year...

Her presents this year consisted of 2 light-weight jackets (one track and one hoodie), a couple pairs of nice jammies, a Hannah Montana music CD, a movie called ROXY HUNTER (about a 9-year-old girl detective), a pair of silver Converse shoes, and the Grand Prize Of Them All, a pink Nintendo DS.

She was very excited about all of them, especially the DS, of course. Like the rest of the family, she loves her Gameboy, and this is the first one she has owned that was not a Hand-Me-Down. All in all, a good day for her...

Octo-Bot!

2008-02-11T09:04:00.000-08:00

Mostly as an exercise in creativity and/or stress release, I have a tendency to start working on designs for no particular reason. With all of the various projects (whether freelance, personal, or work related) I am working on, I find it's a nice break to just play around with something that has no deadline.

One the of the ideas I have been playing with is the "Mighty and terrible Octo-Bot, with its Tentacles of Doom!" (as shown here). This design really serves no purpose, other than being a fun looking image. But, it might make a neat t-shirt design.

Recently, some friends of mine (such as artist Sean Dietrich) have been getting involved with submitting t-shirt designs to sites like Threadless and Design By Humans. I'm not sure how well they've done with those submissions, but considering that those designs that are chosen are printed and paid for, I'm thinking about submitting this design for consideration. However... I'm not sure if this design is strong enough, or if I should drop the words, or change the color. I may play around with it a bit first...

Holy Hot Rod!

2008-01-28T22:45:00.000-08:00

After almost 9 years of driving the same car (my beloved 2000 Dodge Neon), I have taken the plunge and bought a (nearly) brand new 2007 Chevrolet HHR.

With the arrival of my boy Jack "Lucky" Meredith over a year ago, my small but growing family placed a bit of a strain on our vehicle situation. My Neon and Amy's Hyundai Elantra were just not big enough. Oh, sure, we could get around town easily enough with all five of us packed in to either car, but we were packed in. Not exactly a lot of room left for the little things, like space or comfort.

On top of that, my work at the Comic Stop calls upon me to pick up shipments on a weekly basis, not to mention any trip out of town for family or business.

So, with all of that in mind, Amy and I kept an eye out for a new vehicle, preferably something not too expensive, decent gas mileage, and enough room for everyone and everything we would need it to do. Our list of requirements left us with a very short list of cars. One of these cars was the Chevy HHR.

After about a month or two of looking around, Amy found a sweet deal on a used HHR at a nearby dealership. This HRR had only 1,000 miles on it, and was a lot cheaper than other comparable HHRs we found.

After making an appointment to see and test-drive the car (which handled great), we found out the previous owner had just bought it a couple of months before. It turned that his mother suddenly turned ill and he needed a large mini-van to get her around (I believe he traded it in for a Dodge Grand Caravan). We thought about it overnight, and went back in the next day to see what kind of deal we could make. in the end, we got a new car for about $7-8,000 less than had we just bought it brand new.

Of course, the downside to this great deal is that I have car payments again...

Free Comics?! WOW(IO)!

2008-01-17T15:03:00.000-08:00

Apparently, Modern Pulp and the rest of the Rorschach Entertainment titles have gone digital!

James Taylor, publisher of RE, just told me that all of our titles are now available online as PDF downloads from WOWIO. For those of you unfamiliar with the site, WOWIO is an online bookstore that enables people to download all sorts of "ebooks" for free. Instead of a normal "pay to download" system, they use commercial sponsorships to pay creators and publishers. The people have zilch. Not too shabby of a system...

The only drawback I've seen of this site is the registration. In order to download the books, you must register and set up an account. No big deal there, but you have to wait a day or so until they get back to you with account verification before you can download any books. Still, those with a bit of patience (and I know you are out there!) can easily wait a tiny bit before downloading a book.

Each book is in PDF format, so anyone can read it using Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don't have that, just go to the Abode website and download it.

For all of the Rorschach Entertainment and Modern Pulp books currently available, head on over to the RE page at WOWIO to start downloading!

Not With A Bang...

2008-01-01T14:46:00.000-08:00

...nor with a whimper. The new year of 2008 appears with nary a noise, and a few false starts (anyone watching the ill-fated and poorly executed fireworks display in Seattle can attest to that). Granted, it's only been a day, so who knows what this new year will bring.

For me, nothing has really changed. I still have Blue Shift and Steve Lawlis and Sprecken and Dallas McCoy in the works, with other projects festering in the background. I still have the upcoming Emerald City ComiCon to work on, as well as The Comic Stop to run.

If all goes well, the next issue of Sprecken: Kalabus Rex and Steve Lawlis will be out for ECCC, if not sooner. The first issue of Blue Shift is also slated to debut at that show, but may not debut until later in the summer, such as at San Diego or Chicago.

I'm hoping to get the launch of the Dallas McCoy series out by the Fall, as well. And who knows, if all goes well, there may be a Gibson Dent miniseries starting, too. Beyond that, I think I'll keep my schedule open and see what happens...

One Lucky Year

2007-12-11T22:52:00.000-08:00

Today's the day. One year ago, my son JACK CLIFFORD AVERY MEREDITH was born, giving me the best birthday present I've ever gotten. It even beats out the iPod I got the previous year!

My family and I had a simple birthday party for him; some vanilla cake and a few presents for him to play with. We presented him with a cake with candles, sang to him, and blew them out for him. He had no clue what the hell was going on, but he seemed to enjoy it. Lucky is nothing if not curiously happy. Then, we cut him a chunk of cake and let him at it. He was actually rather subdued, not making too much of a mess, as you all can see from the picture to the left.

Afterwards, we opened up a few presents that he received: a toy dump truck for babies, some cool learning blocks, a super-textured moose, and a couple of other things. All in all, not too bad of a night for the Little Man.

Now, sharing my birthday may not seem like a lot of fun to some, but it's actually pretty neat. I have that little extra connection to the boy. There's no way the rest of the family will forget our birthday. Plus, as I'm old and decrepit, I no longer have cake for just my birthday. This way, I'm guaranteed to get cake for now on! Sugar Coma, here I come!

Pulp Refreshed

2007-11-08T22:45:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've made an update concerning my Modern Pulp projects, what with all of my recent time and energy going into Blue Shift, so I figured I'd make a quick rundown on what is going on...

Dallas McCoy

The new Dallas McCoy series is still in the works, but we are now looking for a second artist for the book. Although we have several scripts ready to go, our regular DM artist (Sidney Lima) is now too busy working on the Blue Shift book to get it off the ground. We're looking at an artist now, so hopefully we'll be back on track with this soon.

Sprecken: Kalabus Rex

The second issue of the Sprecken: Kalabus Rex mini-series is still being lettered. I had hoped to have it ready for the middle of October, but I was just swamped with getting Blue Shift off the ground. Now that the preview book is done with, I'll be getting back to finishing it up. By the way, the art shown here was drawn by Pedro Pablo, the artist for this mini-series.

Lucifer Fawkes: North of Here

The final issue of the one-shots, Lucifer Fawkes: North of Here, is still in in production, albeit very slowly. At this point, it really just needs to be lettered, but we're just not certain what we are going to do with this. We may release it as a one-shot for next year, or we may just compile it into a trade with the others.

Gibson Dent: The Amulet of Sa-Ra

This has been bugging me for awhile. I've really been wanting to get back to this character, but I wasn't quite sure what to do. Should I finish the old online story where I left off? Do I rewrite it as a novel? I just could not make up my mind. But, truth be told, neither idea seemed to work for me. However, the thought of rewriting the original online story as a full comic did have a certain appeal. In order to make the deadline on the old online strip, I had to cut out a lot of stuff I wanted to do with him and his supporting cast. So, I may be re-doing this as a straight adventure comic...

Blue Shift Promo

2007-10-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

After a month of post-production, the first printing of the Blue Shift promotional ashcan is done and is being sent back from the printers. It's an extremely small run, only 200 copies, and they are going to be available at the upcoming Farscape Convention in Burbank, CA. on November 2nd-4th. On hand to sell these ashcans will be co-creator/co-writer, Gigi Edgley. She will be signing and numbering these copies.

Any copies left over from this show will be made available at her next appearance at the Big Apple Con in New York City on November 16th-18th.

I should have some copies on hand at the shop for sale later in November, once the dust settles and we take stock of what is left.

Shifting To Blue!

2007-09-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Remember when I mentioned a TOP SECRET project, just over a month ago? One that I couldn't really announce just yet? You don't? Well, here's what I said...

"I am also in the midst of a HUGE new project, a brand new Sci-Fi series that I am co-writing with an As-Yet-Unnamed partner. I'd like to say more, but I just can't... not yet, anyway. I will be able to make a semi-official announcement about this in a little over a month. Believe me, it's going to be as cool as hell is hot..."

Well, the wait is over! I can finally announce that I am working with Gigi Edgley, actress from the hit TV series Farscape, on a brand new comic book series called Blue Shift. Although I can't really get into detail on the actual storyline, I can say that it's a Sci-Fi series involving alien abductions, genetically-enhanced slaves, planetary corporations, midget smugglers, space pirates, and much more!

For this series, I am handling the writing chores side by side with Gigi Edgley, from concept to plot to script. This is not one of those books where the actor lends his or her name to a book and leaves it in someone else's hands. Nope. She is completely hands on, and she's creating one hell of an exciting story.

For the art side of things, we have recruited one of my favorite artists, Sidney Lima. Those at the top of the class will know Sidney from my Modern Pulp series Dallas McCoy. Sidney is signed on for the first three issues, the first story arc, at the very least. Production on this series begins in about two weeks, but there is an Ashcan book that will be out in November.

I'll have more details on the Ashcan once it is ready for purchase, and I'll be updating everyone as to the progress of this book as we go along.

Proficio!

2007-08-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

Progression is a strange thing at times, moving at its own lumbering or slithering pace. The progress one has can almost be related to that of the "waiting game" attributed to the lives of a detective; most of their time is spent sitting about, waiting for the right moment.

Well, that's how progress feels to me, at least lately it has. A lot of my time is spent moving slowly towards the completion of many projects, either by necessity and design or by fate and chaos. Then, all of a sudden, a whirlwind of creativity and/or timing blows through and massive amounts of work is done on said projects.

That is what has happened in the last couple of weeks. Progress on a large scale. Some projects are coming to fruition, others are getting off the ground with alarming speed.

Anyway, on that note, let me fill you in on some of that progress...

The second issue of the Sprecken: Kalabus Rex mini-series is now being lettered. Like the first issue, this will be a limited printing of only 100 copies under the Rorschach Entertainment label and will be available only at conventions or online. We will debut Issue #2 at the upcoming Bell Con in Bellingham, WA, which will be in October. Once the entire mini-series is complete, it will be re-issued and solicited for release in comic retail outlets everywhere. In fact, the last of the pages for issue #4 are being finished as we speak, so I believe it should be safe to say that we'll be able to officially release the mini-series by Late Spring/Early Summer.

The artwork for the Dallas McCoy mini-series (which has no subtitle; Amy Riddle and I are treating it like a TV season, in which several stories are tied together with subplots, as opposed to one singular story arc) has started. Our artist for the series, Sidney Lima, even did a slight redesign of her outfit for the series (as you can see here).

I am also in the midst of a HUGE new project, a brand new Sci-Fi series that I am co-writing with an As-Yet-Unnamed partner. I'd like to say more, but I just can't... not yet, anyway. I will be able to make a semi-official announcement about this in a little over a month. Believe me, it's going to be as cool as hell is hot...

A Night At The Q!

2007-07-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Only a couple of weeks since his last show, my friend Kyle Stevens played last night as a place called the Q Cafe. Not a club or bar, the Q is a... community center, of sorts. Because of this, the show was All Ages, and I do mean "All Ages", allowing for Kyle's No #1 Fan to attend: Mackenzie Meredith. Being only 7 years old, she's never had a chance to see Kyle play live, but she does love his music and she listens to him all of the time. (NOTE -- Sorry for the crappy pictures... cell phone camera...)

Kyle went on stage around 9:15pm (A little late for Mac, as it was fast approaching her bedtime, but she was so excited that she ended up staying awake until almost midnight). The first half of his show was his usual solo stuff, just him and a guitar kicking ass. The best part for Mac was when he unexpectedly dedicated a song -- "PIGS!", a fun little song that he doesn't play a whole lot anymore -- to her. She was ecstatic (and still is, as she is still talking about it as the Best Day Ever!).

Kyle then turned it up a notch and brought up his new backing band to play out the second half of the show. It had been a while since I had seen Kyle play with a band (back in his Layman's Terms days) and what a difference it made. Kyle has always been amazing as a solo act, but was even better at fronting a band. I was also amazed at the spike in the energy level in the room. The crowd was very attentive and pleasant, but once the full band got started, they were really getting into the show. All in all, a rousing good show for Kyle and for everyone in attendance, including a little girl who got to see her first music show.

Oh, and as a bonus, The buttons that I designed (using a simple logo I worked up) for Kyle arrived from the "printer" just in time for the show. They turned out to be a big hit with the crowd, and especially with Mac, who immediately put both versions on her shirt.

A Musical Surprise!

2007-07-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

Last night, my wife Amy and I had the rare chance to both go out at the same time, sans children. Our plans for the evening were simple; we were going to see our friend Kyle Stevens play an early show down at the High Dive in Fremont and follow that up with dinner and a movie.

We arrived at the High Dive about 30 minutes (around 6:30pm) before Kyle went on stage. We caught up with Kyle, grabbed a beer, and settled in for the show. As always, Kyle put on a hell of a great performance! This guy has a hell of a lot of talent and it shines through every tiime I see him play! After his set was done, we talked a bit, followed by more beer, until it was time for Kyle and his crew to head on out. Amy and I decided to hang for a bit longer, grab a snack before taking off for the rest of our date. It's a good thing we waited about.

As I was finishing my beer and chomping on some fries, Amy was off making new friends, one of which was the friend of a very familiar person. This person was jumping about, along with others, as they set up gear for their show in a couple of hours. He looked strangely familiar to me, but I wasn't sure it was whom I thought it was until Amy brought him over to the table to meet me.

The man in question turned out to be Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America. He was playing that night in one of his side projects, the Feelings Hijackers.

This, of course, came to me as a complete surprise. Especially since I am a huge fan of all of his music, I like to keep on top of his various shows. To think that he was playing there that very night was a hell of a good coincidence!

Those that know me, know I do not play the "fan-boy". I'm not one to go all ga-ga over someone famous. But, there are always a few exceptions to that rule. Chris Ballew would have been one of those exceptions.

Notice I said "would have been". Thankfully, as Amy can attest, I did not geek out or make an ass out of myself (at least, not too much...). He said hi, we talked for a while, we finished off my fries, and then he went about his business, getting ready for the show.

This cinched it. Dinner and a movie went out the window and we stayed for the show, which was just amazing. As anyone who has seen this guy play knows, whether by himself or a side band or with the Presidents, Ballew puts on an exciting and energetic show. Hell, his sound check hours before going on was better than some shows I have seen. Amy and I had such a great time.

Our night out was a bit longer than we planned, nor was it what we planned, but it turned out better than we could have hoped.

Kalabus Rex #1

2007-06-12T18:43:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before, a limited print run of Sprecken: Kalabus Rex #1 was made available back in April for the Emerald City ComiCon. Now that book is available for sale online!

For those of you unfamiliar with this book, it is the first of four issues depicting the "origin" of James Sprecken, on how he left the year 1938 to find himself in the year 2025. This series ties in most of the main Modern Pulp characters, such as Lucifer Fawkes and Dallas McCoy, as well as brings in a few new ones. In a way, this is the beginning for the MP universe.

Oh, and it's written by me, with incredible artwork by Walther Taborda and a sweet cover by Shane White. It kicks ass.

You can buy this issue right now at the Rorschach Entertainment online shop. Plus, it's on sale for only $2.01 (30% off cover price); in fact, all of the other Modern Pulp books in the shop are on sale, as well. And on top of that, anyone who buys a copy of this book will get a free copy of Sprecken: The Destiny Dance, the first MP one-shot published!

6 Months Later...

2007-06-11T10:10:00.001-07:00

My baby boy Jack (AKA Lucky) is now 6 months old. Damn, I can't believe how fast it has been! It seems like he was just born. Here's a picture of him that I just took a couple of days ago with my cell phone...

As you can see, Lucky is surrounded by his favorite toys: some teething toys (he has two teeth so far!), his stuffed monkey Captain Monkeybeard, and his stuffed bear Rupert.

Oh, and the white spot on his chin (which you'll see once you click on the pic) is just drool. The kid drools a lot!

Steve Lawlis Preview Art #3

2007-06-11T10:03:00.001-07:00

Here are some recent pencils from Steve Lawlis artist Erik Thompson for the upcoming Steve Lawlis Spectacular #1...

fanart by flameape

2007-05-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

I got a very pleasant surprise in my email a couple of weeks ago... this sweet picture of our Time-Displaced Detective, James Sprecken.

This bit of artwork was created with a simple mix of pen and ink, along with a healthy dose of Photoshop for color, by the incredibly talented Gregory Giordano AKA flameape. Anyone interested in seeing some more of this guy's work should head on over to his comicspace page or his blog page.

Emerald City ComiCon!

2007-03-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

Looking at my last post, it's been nearly 2 months since I had the chance to sit down and put together a post, a blurb, or even a pimp. Well, now that the eve of the of show is here (for me, that is; I have to set everything up tomorrow for it to be ready on Saturday), I find myself with a sudden calm, a peaceful respite from the VERY HECTIC past two months. At least, enough of one to make a quick update.

For the past 6+ months (more so these past 2), I've been working extremely long and hard on getting the 5th year of Emerald City ComiCon ready to launch. It's been a hell of an experience, again. Badges to design and make, questions to be answered on a regular basis, website to be built and updated, applications to process, signs to design and make, show floor to design, and t-shirts to design and make, just to name some of the things I've been doing. On top of that, I also had my own projects to prepare for the show.

Now, the show is here and it's time to relax, enjoy, and sell some comics!

I've got 2 new books ready for the show this year, Steve Lawlis: Frankenstein's Monkey Special Edition and Sprecken: Kalabus Rex #1, and both of them can be found at the RORSCHACH ENTERTAINMENT booth (#706). I will be in and out of the booth all weekend, hanging out with James Taylor (Publisher/Inker), Sean Dietrich (creator of Fervor and Mess), and Amy Riddle (writer of Dallas McCoy: Starstruck). We'll be doing our best to get these hot little comics into the right hands all weekend!

Also at the show this weekend is Erik Thompson, the artist for Steve Lawlis, who will be located at Artist Alley Table #111. He will have a Steve Lawlis print on hand for sale, as well as plenty of his own stuff, and will be available for sketches all weekend!

So, if anyone gets a chance to come to the show, please do so and stop and say hi!

Sprecken Kalabus Rex Preview Art

2007-02-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

The fourth and final issue of the Sprecken mini-series Sprecken: Kalabus Rex is well into production, as the new artist Pedro Pablo continues to bang out the pages at an amazing rate. Here's a sneak peek at the first three pages of Issue 4...

Doctor Zombie enjoys his work...

2007-02-07T01:34:00.000-08:00

... as one call easily tell by this great pin-up from Erik Thompson! Just another fine piece of art showcasing the Indomitable Doctor Zombie doing what he does best: takin' care of business!

This piece is not for anything in particular, just a cool pic for the hell of it (thanks, Erik!), but it does get me fired up to finish the one-shot storybook I have in mind for this character...

Some Ramblings & Sprecken Artwork

2007-01-08T22:20:00.000-08:00

Now that the holidays are finally over, everything is starting to mellow out and I am getting back into a working groove. I have several projects that require my immediate attention, especially if I wish to have new books ready for the upcoming 5th Annual Emerald City ComiCon.

One of these books will be the Steve Lawlis: Frankenstein's Monkey Special Edition #1. Although originally planned to be released in Steve Lawlis Super Special #1 (and it still will be), I've decided to release a Black & White version of this story for the con in order to help promote the upcoming miniseries, Steve Lawlis Spectacular. Time permitting, I am also hoping to have a Doctor Zombie coloring book out at the same time, but I'm not holding my breath.

The other main book I am hoping to have ready for the con will be Sprecken: Kalabus Rex #1. This book is actually ready and in the can, but Rorschach Entertainment has been holding off releasing it because the miniseries is not complete, as there has not been an artist for the final issue... until now.

We just signed on an artist named Pedro Pablo to wrap up the Sprecken origin miniseries that was started by Walther Taborda. In fact, it was Taborda that recommended Pedro, who is an equally talented artist and can imitate the the style set by Taborda so closely that it will be very difficult to tell the difference. (Check out the samples of his artwork that are attached!)

Anyway, now that we have an artist signed on and working on the final issue, I am hoping that we will be able to release a limited edition copy of the first issue.

Also for Modern Pulp Comics, we will be releasing Lucifer Fawkes: North of Here, the final issue in a series of one-shots for the Supernatural Watchdog.

So far, those are my immediate plans for books, but I do have a couple of other ideas floating in my head. I may have more stuff ready, but I'll be happy to get these done...

More Pics of Jack!

2006-12-28T23:48:00.000-08:00

I've had a lot more people asking to see more pics of Lucky, so here they are...

Say hi to Jack!

2006-12-13T21:31:00.000-08:00

On December 11th at 6:20pm, Jack Clifford Avery Meredith was born, coming in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces and 19 inches in length. Jack (or "Lucky" as we have been calling him for months before we settled on his name) is my second child; Mackenzie (my 6 year old girl) is my first.

Although the actual birth was quick, the time at the hospital was not. We spent nearly a day in the hospital before the actual labor kicked in (which only took about 15-20 minutes). Afterwards, we spent the last couple of days waiting around while the doctor and nurses monitored the baby and ran some various tests. Finally, they gave Amy and Jack a semi-clean bill of health, and we're now home.

The picture on the top left is of Jack as we put him to sleep this evening, just about an hour ago. Notice how the binkie has fallen out of his mouth...?

Doctor Zombie Ad

2006-12-09T09:51:00.000-08:00

One of the ideas I had for the upcoming Steve Lawlis Spectacular was a series of fake ads in the same vein as the old Hostess ads from the 70's and 80's. The first one we did (Erik T. and I) starred the indomitable Doctor Zombie and his faithful assistant Marigold Murray squaring off against a pack of truly vile French zombies.

This ad also shows Doctor Zombie in his first appearance, but certainly not his last. More details on the good Doctor Z can be found on the Steve Lawlis website.

Dallas McCoy Prologue

2006-11-25T21:40:00.000-08:00

Since time has slipped past me in the last few weeks, I thought I would make a quick update and show a few upcoming pages for the Dallas McCoy Prologue, a ten-page online strip slated for next year. This story serves as a simple prelude to the original oneshot, Dallas McCoy Starstruck, and the upcoming miniseries. It's written by Amy Riddle and drawn by Sidney Lima, the artist for Dallas McCoy Starstruck.

Page Five

Page Six

Page Seven

Steve Lawlis Preview Art #2

2006-11-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

Here are the first three pages (in pencil) of the back-up for the Steve Lawlis Spectacular #1. The story is called "What a Nightmare" and is drawn by super-talented Dario Carrasco.

And yes, that is Pete Redshirt (Steve's partner) in a dress...

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Steve Lawlis Preview Art #1

2006-10-31T22:58:00.000-08:00

Here's a sneak peek of Steve Lawlis Spectacular #1, page 3 and page 6. The artwork is by the aforementioned Erik Thompson...

Page 3

Page 6

Steve Lawlis Update #1

2006-10-31T00:19:00.000-08:00

I originally announced the upcoming release of my new series of comics, Steve Lawlis, many months ago. Now, with the new blog, I figured it was time to start updating those announcements again.

1 - Steve Lawlis Spectacular
A 3-4 issue mini-series, Steve Lawlis Spectacular will contain 2 stories per issue, with one main story continuing throughout each issue and a short one-shot backup story.

The main story will be about Steve, Pete and Babe as they first arrive in Roulette City, as they deal with their first case. It won't exactly be an origin story, but it will explain a lot about who they are and where they came from. The back-up stories will focus on each of the main characters, showcasing them on their own. There will be one for Pete, Babe, and Steve, and if the series goes to 4 full issues, there will be a Doctor Archibald Zombie story.

The main artist for the series, Erik Thompson, has completed half of the artwork for the first issue, with the rest to follow shortly. Dario Carrasco, who is doing the back-up story for the first issue, is also about halfway done.

2 - Steve Lawlis Super Special
Erik Thompson just turned in 24 pages of Steve Lawlis Super Special, the one-shot to follow the miniseries. The artwork is for the main story of the book called "Frankenstein's Monkey". There's still some miscellaneous artwork to be done and we still need to get this colored, but the majority of the art for this book is now done.

I'll be posting some art for both of these later...

Secret Agent X update!

2006-10-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

Today in the mail, I received a handful of copies of Secret Agent X: The Man of a Thousand Faces Volume One. I have to say, besides being slightly buzzed on the feeling of finally seeing months of hard work pay off, I am quite impressed by the overall quality of the package. The paper stock, the binding, the cover, etc. -- it's all damn good.

In fact, I sold all of the copies I had within a couple of hours of putting them out in the shop.

It's time for me to get more.

Secret Agent X is back!

2006-10-13T09:41:00.000-07:00

After many long months of hard work and secrecy by all of those involved, Secret Agent X: The Man of a Thousand Faces Volume One is now complete and ready for purchase!

This new book contains four brand new stories of action and intrigue, continuing the tales of one of the greatest pulp spies ever! The tales included are Skeleton-Men of Calcutta by Kevin Noel Olson, The Cult of the Walking Dead by Mark Justice, The Red Mercy by Steven Atkins, and The Cold Touch of Death by yours truly, Brian Meredith.

The book is edited by Ron Fortier (Brother Grim, Gibson Dent, Green Hornet, Mr. Jigsaw) with illustrations by Rob Davis (Dr. Satan, Hounds of Hell).

The book is now available for purchase at http://www.lulu.com/content/459506.

What happened to the forum?

2006-10-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

Once the forum for Micro Brew Studios and Modern Pulp Comics, Beer Gardens has now evolved into the "blog" that you see here. Yes, it's true, I have indeed jumped on the bandwagon!

The reason for this change is actually pretty simple: the forum sucked. Now, I don't mean the content or the design of the forum was bad; not at all. The problem lied with the forum iteslf. The damn thing was far too susceptible to those freakin' robot spamming things. God, I hate them! I was just getting too tired of having to trim those little bastards out of the forum on a constant basis. So, with that in mind, I just locked it up a few weeks ago, until I could come up with a new solution.

Around that time, I was asked to join one a new blog devoted to the pulps and their creators: The Pulp Factory. Seeing how this blog essentially working like a forum, I figured this just might be the solution to my problem.

So, here we are... Beer Gardens will still serve the same purpose: to spotlight my projects, post news concerning said projects, and even the occasional rant.