Back to the ol' drawing board!

Where the heck have I been for the last couple of months, you ask? I really just needed a little break from the demands of Zombie Marge and thought I'd take a week off. But the time slipped away and there hasn't been a new strip since June! That's about to change. New strips are on their way. But on a bit more reasonable, twice a month schedule. The weekly output was exciting, but impossible to maintain for long. I simply wasn't getting anything else done and burned out quickly.

Don't think that I've been goofing off. I completed two new books, Cap'n Catnip #1 and SHAM Comics #4. I will post more about both of them here as soon as they are ready for sale. I've also spent a great deal of time bringing all my comics over to our new printer, KaBlam. Most of the books on the left side of the page are now available from Indy Planet. Click on the covers to be taken to the site.

Thanks for everyone's patience in my absence.

Episode 35

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When last we saw Marge, she was in police custody and investigating a strange disturbance at the old Gummfungus farm...

UNMAIMED LOVE part 8

And there you have it. Just like in life, the story didn't end happily ever after for anyone but Disney.

UNMAIMED LOVE part 7

UNMAIMED LOVE part 6

UNMAIMED LOVE part 5

UNMAIMED LOVE part 4

UNMAIMED LOVE part 3

UNMAIMED LOVE part 2

It should also be pointed out that Frazetta colored his own work on this story, which was an unusual practice for the time. Even with the limited color palette at he disposal, he still did an exceptional job.

UNMAIMED LOVE part 1

The original story appeared in Personal Love #32 in April 1955 as "Untamed Love." Often cited by comic historians as one of the finest drawn stories of the golden age, it is obvious that Frank Frazetta was not interested in telling a typical love story. The romance takes a back seat to adventure in the lush jungle setting. An interesting side note was Frazetta's choice of models for this story. He used his friend Al Williamson as the central character. Williamson was close friend and, like Frank, was a young artist just breaking into the comics field at the time. Al would go on to produce amazing comics, including one of the best versions of Flash Gordon outside the original news paper strip.

As I mentioned the other day, most of these romance comics from the fifties have fallen into the public domain and are fair game for a smartass like me to use them as I see fit. In my rewritten version of the story, the action takes place in Anaheim, California in 1954, just months before the grand opening of Disneyland. In fairness to Walt Disney, who was a difficult boss, by all accounts, there are no stories that paint him as a womanizer. Except this one.

Stop by every day this week for a new page of Unmaimed Love!

Behind the scenes

I thought I’d take a minute to pull back the curtain and discuss some recent events that are affecting the Zombie Marge strip. It’s been busy over the last few weeks, and by busy I mean disruptive. Since I started the Mothman storyline on March 15^th, I  have posted a new strip every Monday like clockwork. But there will not be a Marge strip this Monday. Life has gotten in the way.

Several weeks ago I began serving jury duty, which is proving to be much more intrusive than I would have guessed. I’ve used up my cushion of strips I had built up. I need to draw more as time allows.

Also a few weeks ago I got the news that ComiXpress was closing it’s doors suddenly and unexpectedly. Most of the books listed on this page were printed at ComiXpress, so that meant I had to scramble to find another printer to do the job. After much research, I've decided to print all the books with KaBlam and offer them for sale through Indy Planet and Indy Planet Digital.

But this will take time, the printer files from ComiXpress are not compatible with the specifications for KaBlam. This means that each and every book needs to be remade to the new specs. And that takes time away for the weekly strip. Currently only two links on this page are active. The Little Olden Book is already available from Indy Planet and Zombie Marge #1 is available, as of today. I will continue to place books one at a time until I have them all up. Stay tuned.

So, no Marge for a week or two as I get ahead again. But you don’t have to go empty handed. In its place I will post a very special SHAM Comics story, featuring an amazing artist you might have heard of. Frank Frazetta did a handful of romance stories in the mid-fifties. All have fallen into public domain. One of them appears in SHAM Comics #2. But the most famous by far was “Untamed Love.”  It was more of a lush jungle adventure than a typical love story.

So beginning Monday, and appearing every day next week, stop by to read my take on this fantastic story. See you then.

Episode 34

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Episode 33

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Oh, no!! There's trouble brewin' at the ol' Gumfungus place!

Episode 32

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Hey, isn’t that the guy from that thing? Why, yes. Yes it is. That’s Patrolman Kelton as played by actor Paul Marco, who appeared in Ed Wood’s “Bride of the Monster,” “Night of the Ghouls,” and, best of all, ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space,” his finest performance. It seemed fitting for Officer Kelton to join Marge in her quest for aliens, for reasons that will become obvious later. Marco died in 2006. To learn more visit his website at: http://www.winvisual.com/marco/index.html

Episode 31

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Well, there you have it! Definitive proof a zombie can beat a bunch of Men In Black. But can a law-abiding zombie like Marge get the best of the cops? Join us next week to see.

Episode 30

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At last, the Men In Black have arrived! But these MIBs, unlike the ones in the popular films, are not here to help. In fact, they are not quite human! Certainly, they are from no government agency on this planet. Most of the literature dealing with this phenomenon suggests that these mysterious creatures as closely related to the UFOs that they are “investigating.” They are often described as having a strange appearance, wearing clothes and driving cars that are out of date, yet in pristine condition. They sometimes have difficulty speaking or breathing. Some sound as if the words they say are only memorized and are foreign to them. Some reports mention that they do not move their lips but their robotic-like voices are heard telepathically. Simple concepts are unknown to them, and they generally act strange. They come and go quickly, leaving no trace.

That describes these MIBs. The poor dopes don’t realize what they are up against, never having threatened a cranky old zombie before. Join us next time and see who intimidates who.

Episode 29

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Now it’s a party! The Grays have arrived, let the fun begin.

These little creatures have been popping up for decades. They were first described in literature by H.G. Wells in his 1901 book The First Men in the Moon. They were frequently portrayed throughout the 1930s in science fiction pulp magazines, like Amazing Stories. But by the early 1950s, they were closely associated with UFO-related phenomenon. Stories of the Roswell crash include claims that small pilots were recovered in the wreckage.

Many cases of alien abduction include these greys carrying out the tasks of experimenting on helpless victims. As if they were not already ingrained into pop culture, they got a boost in popularity in 1987 in the book, Communion by Whitley Strieber, who claimed repeated visitations from them.

Extraterrestrial anal probers or mass hallucinations? Whatever these strange creatures may be, it seems likely that they have had many disguises down through recorded history. Could this same phenomenon be responsible for stories of angels, demons, fairies and leprechauns? Could be! Could be!

Episode 28

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One of the common elements of the alien abduction encounters is the trip in the space ship to other worlds. It was first suggested in the 1930s in the science fiction pulp stories. Then abruptly in 1946 the fiction became real when George Adamski began seeing flying craft regularly in and around his home at the Palomar Mountain area. George was an unremarkable Polish immigrant who settled in California and an avid reader of pulp magazines.

On November 20, 1952, Adamski claimed he was given a ride in a flying saucer by a friendly Venusian named Orthon. He wrote about his voyages in many books. He was never deterred by those who insisted he was a fraud. Until his death in 1965, George made a successful career lecturing about the experiences.

Since we are touching on all facets of the UFO phenomenon, it’s only fair that Marge gets a lift in an alien craft. For a zombie, she gets around. Next week, Marge has a close encounter of her own. Will there be any probing involved? Join us and see!

Episode 27

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Though less well known to the general public, holes in the ice are a phenomenon closely linked to UFO appearances. Like crop circles, large perfectly round holes in the ice have appeared in areas of unexplained activity.

Fortean author Ivan T. Sanderson made the connection between UFOs and bodies of water in his book “Invisible Residents” in 1970. While others were watching the skies for signs of the unknown lights, Sanderson speculated that their point of origin was below the oceans. He saw the strange craft as a terrestrial phenomenon and tied it to the appearances of elusive monsters like the Loch Ness monster and other strange lake creatures.

This seemed like a dramatic entrance for Marge’s first encounter with these unknown forces. I also wanted this flashback to be a different style than the rest of the story and chose to render it entirely in Adobe Illustrator, without ink lines and in a blue monochrome. Her tale continues next week.

Episode 26

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Boy! Compared to last week, was this strip ever hard work. But loads of fun. I don’t think there’s been a Zombie Marge episode with as many different characters on one page.

From the beginning, I’ve dropped hints that Purgatory Park, and Tanglefoot Cenetery in particular, were special locations that just invited the paranormal to come on in and make itself at home. Strange things are always happening there. That’s why Marge is so comfortable in the town. Suddenly all that paranormal activity has taken the form of unusual lights in the sky and all the related phenomenon. The locals have gathered at the pub to swap stories of the latest odd events, in this case, the UFO sightings and extraterrestrial visitations. Everybody is trying to one-up the others. It seems like the whole town has had some sort of unexplainable experience or another. But Zombie Marge has them all beat. With a little luck, this story will try to get around to answering all of these various mysteries. Except maybe how to make a proper Manhattan. The truth is out there!

Episode 25

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Oh boy! This new format is liberating. I'm moving at such speeds that I'm seven strips ahead already. At this rate I should be able to post once a week, at least until I slow down.

So join us next time as the town is buzzing about all the strange events. Even Marge has a story to tell.

Episode 24

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Buckle up! Here we go! The first thing you’ll notice is that I redesigned the format of the strip. While I liked the looks of the Sunday comic page-style I was using, it was a great deal of extra work to restack it for a comic book page. It was also very restrictive to write and draw as well. This opens up new possibilities of layout and storytelling. Look for more innovative narrative as this tale goes on.

A couple of weeks ago, I admitted to not having an ending for the Hawking story when I began posting it. That is not the case this time out. I’ve plotted this little epic completely from start to finish. Which is not to say that there isn’t some room to improvise in the middle. We will see.

The story will last most of this year. I intend to give it the space it deserves to play out. Everything will change by the end. Enjoy the ride!

Happy Ides of Marge!

As if Zombie Marge wasn't paranormal enough by herself, suddenly, Tanglefoot Cemetery becomes a hot spot for UFO activity. Marge finds herself caught up in unfathomable events, too big for her to handle. Join her for a joyride of alien abduction, lost time, cattle mutilation, crop circles, cryptids, snallygasters, grays and Men In Black, all led by the mysterious Mothman. Is he here to help Marge, or…?

Join us next week for the first episode as Marge Madness continues.

Episode 23

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And here we are, at last, at the final episode of this storyline, as we quickly approach the one-year anniversary of the strip. I want to thank my faithful readers who've stuck it out. It's been a fun year, full of ups and downs. I have big plans for the next series of stories, but with this episode, I wanted to bring everything back to the status quo. Valuable lessons are learned and the after life returns to what Zombie Marge calls normal. But her version of normal won't last for long.

Stop by on March 15th to celebrate the Ides of Marge and get a little peek at the new adventure.

Episode 22

 

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It seems like the strip is settling back into a regular schedule as my arm continues to heal. This story line is winding down and a new adventure begins on March 15th.

For those of you who like to see behind the curtain (you know who you are), I will admit that I had no idea how this story was going to end when I started it. It's a terribly unfocused way to work, but it produces some surprising results often. But back in September I attended an Ad Club luncheon where we viewed award-winning work from around the world. Included in the commercials and campaigns was a documentary on the making of the Tupac hologram at the Coachella festival. It was a tailor-made solution to my Hawking problem. Marge wouldn't have to actually eat Stephen's brain after all.

Episode 21

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WHAT?! Confused? Don't worry. Someone much smarter then me will be on hand next episode to explain it all. I'm working hard to get the strip back on some kind of regular schedule. This story is nearly finished as we approach the one year anniversary of Zombie Marge Comix. A new story line takes Marge in an unexpected direction beginning March 15th. Join us for the Ides of Marge. And in the meantime, watch the skies!

Happy New Year!

Poor Marge! She really had her heart set on the world coming to an end in 2012, right up to the last minute. Have a happy and safe New Year!

Sneak peek 2013

Normally, I work throughout the year on various projects with the goal of finishing them by December and publishing them for the new convention season. So, what's in store for 2013?

First up is Midnite Matinee Comics #1. I've been working on this project off and on for the last couple of years and it's finally finished. The idea was to recreate the Saturday afternoon movie experience of yesterday. The book takes films from the public domain and rewrites them for satire in a photo funnies style. It begins with a super violent Rickey Rodent cartoon, a government propaganda film, "Hemp For Victory," and a chapter of a movie serial, "Bolt Uprite & The Crossdressers from Space." The feature presentation is "Island of Lost Gorillas," a bromantic comedy/action/horror/ musical adventure starring the comedy duo Wanker & Goombah as a pair of familiar looking lounge singers stranded on a mysterious LOST island with danger at every turn. I will be posting links for ordering and preview pages soon.

SHAM Comics #3 is nearing final edits and should go to press within a couple of weeks. This time out, it's an anthology issue featuring "Skunky McGee" the smelliest private eye ever. Several short horror and sci-fi tales are included, such as "The Girl of my Screams," "Hilda Hogthrottle's Haunted Honeymoon," and "The Planet of the Pooches." The issue also features the epic story of "Conad the Aryan Barbarian" as he goosesteps across the ancient world. Rounding out the issue are some new ads for old products, like the Gahoon, government surplus Body Bags, the Buck Wilde Bully-in-a-Minute Method and live animals through the mail. Watch the blog for more news on this one.

Finally, production is nearly complete on "Zombie Marge Comix & Stories." All the strips from the past year have been reformatted into a comic book with other new features like zombie-related ads, pin-ups, interviews and behind-the -scenes stuff. I will be posting more on this comic as it nears publication.

This looks like a pretty good year!

Episode 20

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Zombie Marge and her friends move ever closer to their meeting with Stephen Hawking.

Episode 19

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It’s been over a month since the last Zombie Marge comic went up, so I guess I owe her loyal readers an explanation. I’ve tried to stick to a bi-weekly schedule for the strip, and for the most part have managed that. But a month or so ago the arthritis in my shoulders, that I had learned to tolerate, moved suddenly and dramatically down into my right arm. This made drawing painful, if not impossible. But I worked on this episode in little bits and pieces when I could, while I sought some help. I’m on the mend, not quite back to normal, but having longer and longer periods of drawing time each day. I'm nearly back up to speed and should have the next one up within two weeks. I've missed posting. It's  good to have this one finished at last.

How To Go To The Doctor-part 3

There you have it! Mary and Dr. Futternutz hope that you learned something and that you will use these simple steps the next time you have to go to the doctor.

How To Go To The Doctor-part 2

Here's more good advice from Mary Generic and Dr. Futternutz. We hope this is of help to anyone who is having trouble going to the doctor. You're welcome!

How To Go To The Doctor–part 1

Thank goodness Mary Generic is a smart girl who knows how to go to the doctor the proper way. Or does she? Pay attention, maybe we can all learn something.

I'm completely fascinated by these bland filler stories they used to run in the backs of old comics. My take on this story is not too far off from the original; "Between You & Your Doctor" that appeared in Young Doctors #5, September 1963. Tune in again tomorrow for more words of wisdom from Mary and Dr. Futternutz.

Doctor, it hurts when I do this.

This was supposed to be a Zombie Marge weekend. I was all prepared to go full steam into the next episode. But, when the inspiration to write hits, I’ve learned to just get out of the way and go with it. So instead of Marge, my time has been spent on my side project, SHAM Comics. I’ve posted some here before. In a nutshell, I take old comics and rewrite them as cynical, satirical, post-modern tales of angst and heartbreak. The fun never stops.

While I was researching pre-code romance comics for SHAM #2, I came across an interesting sub-genre of medical comics. For a couple of years in the early 60s, medical drama was all the rage. Ben Casey and Dr. Killdare were on TV and General Hospital was a daytime hit. Charlton was one of the few comic companies to capitalize on this trend. They published a series of titles depicting the lives of young doctors and nurses (all white) in the exciting world of modern medicine. However, as this was an outgrowth of their romance comics, the books focused on the love lives of the main characters. The results are highly entertaining. When the doctors are not busy giving cigarettes to their patients, they are in some broom closet making out with the nurses. The nurses are strong, independent types, except when they are mooning over the doctors. There is also had a very high percentage of people bringing guns into the hospital and patients trying to jump out high windows. As I said, they are highly entertaining.

A bit more research revealed that these comics are in public domain and therefore a prime target for the SHAM treatment. For the past few months, I’ve been collecting these comics wherever I could find them. I’ve amassed a nice little pile of them. That’s a few of them above. The Young Doctors cover on the far right was the one that convinced me this was comic gold. So SHAM Comics #4 will be the all-medical issue, titled “Calling DR. SHAM.” In addition to Dr. Studley Sham, it will feature “Niki Nookie, Night Nurse,” “Dr. Fingerman-Two-Fisted Proctologist” and “Dr. Lance Girth-Hardboiled Plastic Surgeon.”

With no new Marge strip this week, I thought I’d share one of the first completed medical stories. So tune in tomorrow when Ms. Mary Generic teaches us all “How To Go To the Doctor.”

Episode 18

   

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Good things come to those who wait. Or in this case another installment of Zombie Marge, this one with a bit of exposition. At last, a freakin' explanation as to why Marge seems a bit sharper than your average, run-of-the-mill zombie.

Hey, where's my Zombie Marge comic?

Today is an all-Zombie Marge day. I'm running behind on Episode 18. I should be posting it, but I just starting to draw. Life gets in the way of the undead sometimes. So I've locked myself in the bunker to get caught up. But the truth is, it will be a few days before the next installment will be ready. For now, enjoy this ad from one of Marge's lucrative endorsement deals. If you're looking for a fun place to spend what seems to be an eternity, Marge recommends visiting Purgatory, voted the Crappiest Abusemant Park in America.

Tales from the Dealers Table!

We're back, safe & sound, inside the zombie-proof bunker, after a weekend at the Third Annual Cincinnati Comics Expo. And what a show it was! Andrew Satterfield, Matt Bredestege and their crack staff put together a great convention every year, while raising the bar each time. This year was no exception, with great events spread out over two days, plus Friday night's VIP events, if you want to get technical. The attendance was very good and our sales were strong. There's Daryll and myself, above, in the new booth, pushing Zombie Marge on an unsuspecting public. And, what do you know? She was a hit! That's Proofreadin' Dale Trush, below, making an impassioned sales pitch to a pink haired girl.

We had a choice spot in the first row of Artist's Alley, which was front and center on the convention floor, with the larger comic and toy dealers along the right and left sides. It worked for us, as we have very little down time when we we not talking to interested and curious customers. Daryll did get a moment to catch up on his life drawing, below.

And I spotted some great t-shirts and some interesting costumes. "Hey, Mr. Scarecrow! That comic is upside down!"

Now, indulge me while I name drop for a minute. We got to see some of our comic pals, Craig Boldman and Dustin Carson of No Gods. We made some new friends, like Rodney Fyke of Peanut, Puddin' & Jelly, Todd Goodman and Danial Frazier, and Mike Norton of Battlepug. And we had a blast hanging with Jon Lennon and Leo Perez of Cheese Lord Comics from Chicago. Great creators, one and all! 

And a big "Thank you!" to David Leighton, the official Zombie Marge photographer, for some inspired photo journalism.

Episode 17

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This was a fun installment to work on, both the writing and the art. The location offered so many funny tangents. I like to start the first panel with a large establishing shot. In this case, the color rendering looked so good, I erased all my line work. This current series of strips begins to open up Marge’s back-story a bit and explain why she doesn’t quite act like your typical mindless, shambling, inarticulate zombie. We will even touch on her “mission” coming back to the land of the living.

And who’s this smart-mouth kid with the zombie fixation? It’s none other than Skip Wingus! That’s cute little Skip peddling his papers on the cover of Twelve-Way with Cheese at the left of this column. He’s grown into a pasty, sullen, emo tween who listens to The Cure and reads too much of The Walking Dead. And is he ever happy to make the acquaintance of  a real zombie! But how will Marge take to having an actual fan? Stop by in two weeks to see. As usual, to read all the strips, go to the archive in the right column.

SWAG!

We are just one short week away for the Cincinnati Comic Expo and expectations are running high here in the bunker. Zombie Marge will be well represented at the show. Table assignments just came out and we are very prominently positioned in the first row, center to greet the fans as they come through the door. Our new booth graphics will mirror the look of this blog with Marge’s lovely rotting face. I will be in attendance from the Friday night VIP reception, until closing time on Sunday. Joining me at various times during the weekend will be cartoonist extraordinaire Daryll Collins and our own Proofreadin’ Dale Trush, selling our usual array of goodies, Twelve-Way, Little Olden Books and SHAM Comics.

We will also be premiering several brand, spankin’ new Zombie Marge items this time. To tie into the blog, we have a mini-comic that collects the first batch of strips in a great little package. Signed art prints have been popular in the past and this time out we have a new Zombie Marge poster, suitable for framing. Just by stopping by the booth and saying hello, you can walk away with a cool little Zombie Marge pinback button for your lapel. And pick up a trading card while you’re there, both are free.

See you at the show!

Episode 16

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What's that you say? "Where's that new story you promised?" Well, here it is! It features surprise guest genius, Stephen Hawking, and tells of his historic meeting with Zombie Marge. It's set to run for the rest of the year, unless the world comes to an end as predicted by somebody, somewhere! Enjoy!

Episode 15

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This was such a traumatic experience for her; it will be a cold day in Hell before we get Marge back into the theater. Next week, we start a new a new story with a special surprise guest!

Episode 14

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 It occurred to me to censor the zombie heinie, but we’re all adults here, aren’t we? If not, avert your eyes!

Episode 13

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Poor Marge. It's tough to sit through a feature-length film when you're a chain-smoking zombie with a short attention span.

Episode 12

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Good ol’ Marge certainly deserves a night out, doesn't she? But has she made the best choice of movies? I admit to loving the film, but there’s a more practical reason for screening it for Marge and Grubworth. It seems the copyrights were never filed correctly on Night of the Living Dead, so that no one owns it anymore. Or rather, everyone owns it. It moved quickly into Public Domain, which is why you can find so many copies of it in all formats from multiple companies. In my case, it means I can use it without getting into any legal trouble.

The idea behind this series of strips was to run a tribute to the TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000. That’s the last crew of the Satellite of Love, Mike Nelson and his robot pals, in panel 2. Check out their current movie riffing venture at Rifftrax.com.

Since these strips require so much less drawing than usual, I will be posting them once a week through the month of August. A new story line will start in September. Enjoy!