College Follies is now on the shelf at comic shops in Winston-Salem!

On the shelf at Ssalefish (the older issues are behind issue four)

College Follies is on the shelf at both local comic shops in Winston-Salem! All four issues and their variant covers are on the shelf at Ssalefish Comics, 3242 Silas Creek Pkwy in the Toys R Us plaza, and Burke Street Comics, 825 Burke St just off of Fourth Street. Ssalefish carries a wide array of new comics, figures and collectibles along with vintage toys. Burke Street specializes in vintage comics, toys and collectible with a great selection of Bronze and Silver Age Comics. The city is lucky to have both and I'm honored to have my comic of their shelves. So if you're within driving distance of Winston, come get you some College Follies! Those too far away can still get the digital versions or order print copies here.

On the shelf at Burke Street

Creating Issue Three's Variant Cover...Psychoboy Goes Plastic!

So Lavender Ranger's figure started its life as one of the current Green Ranger figures that's out now. It's a standard 5 inch Power Ranger figure, with the typical bulked-up build they give them in the toys. While they may be inaccurate as hell for the show, it's pretty damn perfect for Psychoboy's build and since Psycho is essentially wearing a recolored Green Ranger outfit, it meant the body just needed a new head and morpher and the rest would be repainting.

So I bought the figure at Walmart and shot it over to Brain Funk of Mad Lab Customs. I saw his stuff at the last Winston-Salem Comic Con and was impressed. His prices were potentially very affordable so I contacted him a couple months ago on Facebook. He said it would be no problem and he thought he could get it to me in the time frame I was hoping for. So I him sent some designs and notes on Lavender Ranger with the unenviable challenge of translating my 2D character into a 3D figure.

I got the figure Friday afternoon. I had already done all the text and logo work on the cover and found an appropriate background that looked like an alien environment (extraterrestrial environments were usually the settings for the old Power Rangers toy commercials). I just needed to put the figure in.

So I opened it and tested the figure's abilities and limitations quickly. Then I did a variety of shots trying to find the right one. He came with a custom painted Chainsaw of Justice (which he's shown  using in one panel of the comic's "show opening"). It looked really damn cool when he held it. But I figured that the chainsaw on the cover might confuse readers (since it's not a very Power Ranger sort of weapon) and give them the impression he uses it in the story itself.


So I narrowed it down to more traditional action figure poses and picked the one I liked best. I cut out the background, put it in and made a bee line to the office to send it off to the printer in time for this Saturday's convention. From receiving the package to completing the cover, it was about an hour and a half.

I'm happy with the results. The cover is like a Power Ranger figure meets Robot Chicken. It's available as a digital comic on Amusedom and in print at conventions. The figure will be in my display at conventions, starting with this Saturday's Winston-Salem Comic Con. Come by and say "hi" to little Lavender Ranger!

Issue Three Variant Cover...Lavender Ranger, The Figure!

So at long last the variant for issue three's Power Ranger parody story is done!

It features a figure of Lavender Ranger aka Psychoboy. No, Bandai isn't adding him to their line up of Legendary Power Ranger figures, this is a one-of-a-kind custom figure I had created by Mad Lab Customs.  I'll show more shots of the figure and go into the creation of the cover tomorrow.

Issue three is currently available on DriveThruComics and will be out at some point on Comixology, but the only place to get the variant edition as a digital comic is Amusedom.com. The variant edition will also be available in print at conventions and should be at my next one on Sept. 13 at the Winston-Salem Comic Con. Little Lavender Ranger will be keeping me company at conventions so you can check him out in person. And, yes, kids,  that is a custom Chainsaw of Justice in his right hand. Life is good.

Issue Two is off to the presses!

 Issue two has been sent off for print. I'll have copies of both the regular and variant edition for $2 at Jay & Eddie's Comicbook Show on July 19th from 10 am-4:30 pm at Quality Inn and Suites, 2008 S. Hawthorne Road, in Winston-Salem. I'll also be selling $5 prints of the issue's variant cover. The issue should also be out on Amusedom and DriveThruComics that week too.

Comic printing update

I'll begin digitally inking issue three tonight but I just wanted to drop you guys this little update. All the preparations that needed to be done to print issue one are done and it has been sent to a digital printer who will be printing a small run for me to sale starting at a convention at the end of April  Both the regular cover and God Awful Variant Cover edition will be available to buy for $3. I'll be selling these at cons and then, once the digital edition is released, I'll be selling them online as well.

 

I also sent off for 11x17 prints to be made for of the first issue's cover. Other prints will be done later, but that seemed to be the most popular and relevant image I had at the moment. The prints will be $5 at cons and will also be available later online.

 

The reformatting for print required me to create extra space around every page (called a "bleed"). The comic wasn't made with this in mind so it's taken some doing to rework the cover to create that space. Photoshop Elements also can't do CMYK (which is the color scheme for print) so I have to run to the office anytime I needed to makes changes to them. It's been a little nerve racking. I just got back from the office, correcting what I hope is my last oversight ( I forgot to put the price on the cover).

 

I've pretty much got issue two ready to go so sending the regular edition, variant and prints of the covers should be relatively painless when I'm ready to do that, which will probably be before the next convention in July.

 

And for those of you who recall, this is supposed to be a digital comic, and yes, it still is. Comixology is still reviewing it and didn't have any updates or estimates on much longer it will take. I'm hoping they give me a response before the con so I can have fliers, etc. announcing a release date on the comic but at this point it may be summer before I hear back. I'd like to think this means they're giving it serious consideration. It's strange in this day and age a digital comic will be available in print before it goes digital.

 

Anyway, all this has been slowing down the work on issue three so I'm glad to finally have it behind me. Onward to new finished pages!

 

 

 

 

 

College Follies: The God Awful Cover Edition!

Didn't have time to draw a page last night and decided to wrap up one last relatively quick image I needed done before checking into print-on-demand. Below is the variant for issue one (the original is pictured to the side). Everything but the word balloons was inked by hand.  I'll see if I can't get the variant covers done in print-on-demand (the price on the cover reflects what the print issue's price will be). If not, they'll be available on Amusedom at the very least. I've been wanting to do this one for awhile....

Are you the type of person who has to who loves to buy variant covers that look like ten minute convention sketches when the regular cover is a spectacular painted master piece? Well, have I got a variant for you that has mastered the art of underachieving! I present to you the College Follies God Awful Cover Variant!

 

Issue Two...The Random Tribute Variant Cover!

A variant cover for a digital comic??? I'm not sure if that even makes sense, but inspiration hit me and I just had to do it.

So when I was creating issue two's cover, one of the references I used was the Captain Power card

back pictured to the right. As I was doing the cover, I spotted a font in Photoshop Elements pretty darn close to the Captain Power logo. I'm a huge fan of the old show and toy line and the idea of doing the cover styled after Captain Power packaging just popped in my head.

It was an irresistible force, I found myself just fumbling around with the cover one morning changing the  background color to red, redoing the logo in that font and making a few other minor changes...and it looked great!

I wanted to take it further and actually mimic the circuit board and sparks in the background.  I put that part off because it would be time consuming to do so, but I knew if I didn't complete the variant, it would feel like I was leaving the issue unfinished. So there it is below. I got to say I love it to death. Say what you will about Mattel in the 1980s, but their package artists and designers were second to none.

I'm calling this a "Random Tribute Cover" since it pretty much makes no sense with the series or story for the issue...just like most variant covers! I've got an idea for a variant for the first issue too I'll do at some point. I'll try to do one per issue as a way to lampoon variant covers.

I should be able to put it up on Amusedom at the very least for anyone who'd rather have this cover when it's released. Even if no one buys it, it's still too much fun not to publish.