Mr. Massive Saves the Universe! webcomic

Several months ago, I started working on a webcomic featuring one of my favorite co-creations, Mr. Massive.  For those who don't know, Mr. Massive is a comedy about a 15-year-old boy who becomes a  superhero and does really selfish and stupid things with his powers.  It plays right into my sensibilities.

The opportunity to work on this came out of the blue, and I never really knew how long the wheels would keep turning.  Eight strips and nine pages in, I'd say that this is probably all we'll get out of this concept.  That's a shame, because I was really having fun with this.  There's plenty more written (Mr. Massive even gets off the planet and into Universe Saving), but who knows if the accompanying art will ever surface.

Even so, it seems a crime to waste all of this work, incomplete as it is, so I'm posting the first nine pages of "Mr. Massive Saves the Universe!" for all to see and, perhaps, enjoy.  Mr. Massive is, of course, co-created by Artboy_X, and he provided layouts for these pages.  The only name I (frustratingly) got for the artist was "RJB"; I never spoke to him (her?) directly and to this day I don't know just who that person is or where he (she??) hails from.  But the art is really energetic, simplistically cool and I enjoy the heck out of it.  I wrote and lettered the thing.

These were originally supposed to be released one at a time, which is why there's a title and credit section on each strip (with the exception of the first, which was supposed to be released along with the second).  Read these comics!  And enjoy them!!!

Great day in the morning! The website returns.

The official Teddy and the Yeti website has been absent from the Internets for a fairly inexcusable amount of time, but I'm happy to say that as of last Friday, the site is back up and running with a few small tweaks and upgrades.  At first glance, it doesn't look too drastically different from what came before, but I like to think that things are a little more streamlined this time around, and that I've cut out some of the fat that was there before.

One page I added was an interview page, which compiles the interviews that I've done here on the blog and in the printed comic.  It serves as an archive of sorts, I suppose, and should make the search engines happy.

The store has seen probably the most changes over the previous iteration, hopefully all of them for the better.  Most notably I've added both the trading cards and the crochet Yetis as items to purchase; all of the categories should be easy to navigate.

I've also added a section with webcomics and updated the comic preview section.  Scrolling through these sections, though, tells me that I still have some work to do on the site.  It's not perfect by any means and browsing though these pages will tell you why.  Some pages (like the above "Eye of the Beholder" image) are easy to read, but others are not, and that's something I've got to remedy before I'm happy with it.

Overall, I'm thrilled just to have a damn website back up and running, especially with the Baltimore Comic-Con coming up this weekend.  There are certainly still some bugs with the new design, some of which I've found out for myself already, but there are others I'm sure I'm still missing.  I hope that if you, faithful reader, do decide to check out the new site and find something you don't like or think should be changed, you'll do me the favor of leaving me a comment right here on the blog or e-mail me you thoughts at wagonwheelcomics@gmail.com.

And in case anyone's forgotten (it's been a while, I know...), the address for the main webpage is www.teddyandtheyeti.com.

Q&A with "Artboy_X", part 2

Today I finish our much anticipated q&a with Artboy_X, in which I unfairly try to corner him into drawing some Teddy and the Yeti, and he expertly dodges it.  Seriously, it was impressive.  Here we go!

JM: Tell us a little bit about this X-Plosive Comics anthology you'd like to put together. What is your overall goal with it? What do you hope to accomplish?

X: The X-Plosive Comics anthology will introduce characters from the X-Plosive Comics Universe. I’ve been a comic book addict since the 7th grade - since then I’ve had this burning fire to share my stories and characters with the world. My goal is to create stories that are unique and entertaining; with the help of my comic book creator friends I hope to stand toe-to-toe with Marvel and DC and bring peace to the world - via our comic books.

JM: In addition to Mr. Massive and a few other short projects, one that stands out to me is Bloodspade (beyond the fact that its name contains the word "Blood" like so many Image books from the 1990s). Tell us a little bit about the character - what makes him stand out?

X: First off I would like to state that yes I am a BIG fan of Image Comics and Rob Liefeld books! I basically grew up on CyberForce, WildCATS, YoungBlood, Spawn, WetWORKS, Savage Dragon and many other books from the 90s. Rob Liefeld may not draw hands or feet properly but his designs are second to none - and his art bleeds excitement.


BloodSpade is a book that dares to ask the question, “who will save our super heroes?” A serial killer is on the lose and he specializes in killing super heroes. The police protect our neighborhoods, the CIA and FBI watch over countries, super heroes save the world, but who will save the super heroes? BloodSpade is in development and continuously evolving as we speak, but that is the basic premise. 

JM: Now that you are an adult, do you continue to eat all of your vegetables when you have dinner?

X: Broccoli and cabbage are my favorites. Actually, I am a big fan of healthy eating, but once in a while I will reward myself with a bucket of cookies & cream ice cream or a large pizza. My full-time job requires me to stay lean and mean. The world depends on it... 

JM: You used to live out in sunny California before moving to the East coast. What do you miss most about southern Cali?

X: Living in the Long Beach/Los Angeles area made it a lot easier to check out all the local conventions. The San Diego, Long Beach, and Los Angeles comic conventions were 30 minutes to two hours away. But, seeing how 99% of my family resides in Southern Cali, and me being away for so long, I would have to say that family is what I miss most...and of course the weather, oh and this may seem a little odd but I do miss the traffic on the 405 and 91 freeways. (just a little)

JM: THE WORLD IS WATCHING, so you must be honest: will you draw a pinup for a future issue of Teddy and the Yeti? You know it'd look great.

X: Yes, Yes I would love to draw a pin-up for Teddy and the Yeti. It is already on my bucket list! Just need a little lead time...how about two years? (WELL DONE, SIR! - JM)

My pursuit of a successful career in the comic book industry started in 1996 (when I sent out my first submission to Marvel and hundreds of other publishers). Fast forward to 2011 and I find myself with my first interview. I think I’m making good progress.

And that's it for this round of Yeti Q&A.  The X-Plosive Comics anthology has its Kickstarter page here...check it out: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2028284042/explosive-comics-black-terror-mr-massive

Q&A with "Artboy_X", part 1

I've known the mysterious, talented and mysteriously talented "Artboy_X" for quite a few years now, having working with him on various projects, most notably the Mr. Massive character.  I recently sent the X (as I like to call him...from now on) a list of questions, and he sent me back some answers.  Most of them are funny, and all of them are interesting.  Here's the first part of my interview with Artboy_X:

JM: This first question is one that many people (or perhaps just me) have been wondering about for years and years: where did the name "Artboy_X" come from? Is there any significance to it? Are you perhaps in the witness protection program?

X: If I was in the witness protection program, I think I would go with a name that was closer to “normal”...like Joe Brown or Joe Momma. Something that would not draw too much attention. I’ve always been a big X-Men fan and so everything I create must have an X in it...or else I’m not happy. In my world, any name, logo, or title that incorporates an “X” is automatically cool in my book. For example: eX-con, eXcalibur, eXtra, eXtra-ordinary, eXtreme, XXX, Triple X, eXample...you get the idea. X is just cool.

JM: What was the process you went through in first designing Mr. Massive? What were your influences for the character design?

X: My ultimate goal was to keep it simple and hopefully achieve that iconic feel of yesterday’s heroes such as Captain America, Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man. I started with a rough ball point pen sketch and when I went to color it - everything just came together.

JM: Mr. Massive is played out as a comedy. Why do you think the character lends itself to funny stuff rather than more serious storytelling?

X: The name lends itself well to a comedy, in my opinion. In our reality, today’s America and world...what would be the first thing on your to do list if you just found out that you (a 15-year-old boy) had powers that would rival that of Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, Captain America, Thor, Green Lantern and the X-Men (first class)? I don’t know about you, but a visit to our neighboring galaxy would be first on my list. I understand with great powers comes great responsibilities, but kids will be kids. Mr. Massive is a kid gifted with the powers of gods. Also, I think we just need more funny books in the funny book industry. Why so serious Batman? Why? 

JM: Who are some of your artistic inspirations?

X: I learned early in my art career that, as an artist, you can’t just limit yourself to learning from other comic book artists. So I try to keep my eyes on all forms of art and artists from other industries. When I first had the idea of becoming a comic book artist, I would reference the work of Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, Whilce Portacio, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane and Erik Larsen. I’ve always been a big fan of the team books and the mainstream style of the time.


Here is a short list of the artists who inspire me in my growth as an artist and pursuit of my individual style: Jae Lee, Bart Sears, Rags Morales, John Paul Leon, Larry Stroman, Dale Keown, Brandon Peterson, Alex Ross, Joe Mad, Albrecht Durer, Michelanglo, Rapheal Sanzio, Donatello (and all the other Ninja Turtles), Bruce Timm...I can go on and on but I have a questionnaire to finish.

JM: You are currently an artist who is enlisted in the US Army. Do your fellow soldiers ask you to draw things often? Tattoos, perhaps? What kind of stuff do you design for your comrades-in-arms?

X: Yes, the request for tattoos never end. It's a good thing I graduated from the D.A.R.E program...and mastered the ability to say no to friends and associates. But things changed once they started offering George Washingtons and Benjamin Franklins as a sign of their eternal gratitude. I’ve designed t-shirts, logos for some of the units and a couple tats. One thing that I am proud of is the mural of Transformers I did on the back wall of a classroom in Virginia in 2007.

I'll stop there are finish this interview in just a couple days, in which I'll ask Artboy_X about Image comics and vegetables (not necessarily in the same question).  In the meantime, you can check out the Kickstarter page he's set up for an X-Plosive Comics anthology here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2028284042/explosive-comics-black-terror-mr-massive

Thing sketchbook, part 2

Here's another installment from my award winning* Thing sketchbook - five entries that I've managed to collect over the years.  There are some great ones included in this batch (check out the first one by Tim Bradstreet!), and another where I need some help with the artist's name.  Let's begin with the showing and the telling:

Tim Bradstreet - Pittsburgh Comicon 2003

Tim Bradstreet (perhaps best known for his Punisher covers) gets the prize for "best intimidating image" for this book.

While sketching, he mentioned several times that he was looking forward to taking in a Pirate game while he was in town.  I then asked him if he knew that they were terrible.

Michael William Kaluta - Pittsburgh Comicon 2003

A few people were getting sketches from Mr. Kaluta as I stood in line toward the end of the day, and he told everyone that he could draw two types of sketches - good ones that would cost money, and not-so-good ones that were free.  You can guess which one I opted for.  He used a can to draw the sunset.

Jimmy Palmiotti - Wizard World Philadelphia 2004

It took Jimmy all of 30 seconds to draw this (nevertheless impressive) sketch, proving to his friends that it could be done.  "Start with the brow and go from there," he said.

Wizard World Philadelphia 2004

This artist (whose name is John, though I forget his last name...and it's such a distinctive signature!!) happened to be sitting right next to Jimmy Palmiotti at the Wizard World show, so I just passed the book on to him.

I mentioned that he could draw any version of the Thing he wanted to - helmet Thing, pineapple Thing, etc. - and he replied that he hadn't enjoyed the Fantastic Four book since Jack Kirby left.  I thought to myself, "wasn't that like 35 years ago?!", but I didn't say anything.

In either case, "Thing in Love" is a pretty good one.

Artboy_X - Wizard World Los Angeles 2005

My buddy (and Mr. Massive artist) Artboy_X has a code name.  I don't know why.  Anyway, I got him to add a sketch to the book, which my wife thinks looks a lot like Wolverine.

That's good for now, eh?  I've got a bunch more, so look for another entry soon.

*It hasn't actually won any awards.  But it is deserves to.  Oh, how it deserves to.

Mr. Massive Saves the Universe!

I rarely write for comics without at least the hope that it'll one day see the light of day in some form or another.  Most of the scripts I write, though, invariably sit virtually on my hard drive for some time while I dream away that those words will one day turn into comics in the truest sense.  The script to the art you see on this page was written, like, a month ago.  I was pretty surprised to see this art in my inbox earlier today - in a good way, of course.

Ever since attending the New York Comic Con, I've had a better appreciation for webcomics and what they can accomplish.  If nothing else, they seem to be a great way to gain attention, and I've seen how that can pay honest-to-goodness dividends in the long run (first hand, at that - the Wagon Wheel Comics booth was directly across the aisle from Dr. McNinja).  It's one of the reasons I wanted to post the "Eye of the Beholder" story on this blog.  So when artist and enigmatic nameholder Artboy_X returned from overseas and wanted to resume working on our co-creation Mr. Massive in some capacity, my thoughts immediately went to webcomics.  Being a comedy/spoof (one that relies on a lot of silly jokes at that), Mr. Massive works pretty well, I think, in short bursts.

What you see in this post is just preliminary work - who knows where this will ultimately go (so, you know, don't get your hopes up just yet) - but I hope you'll agree that it's nice to look at.  The first two pieces of art are not by Artboy_X, and in fact, having just received the art I don't even know the name of the artist who put them together, which, of course, I need to remedy.  But the energy and style strikes me as something fitting for the character and the jokes I ultimately want to tell with and through him.

Naturally, I will keep everyone updated on the progress of this project, whether you want to be kept aware or not.  I will!  It's inevitable.  For now, I hold out hope that someday soon we'll have a Mr. Massive webcomic to promote and another fun writing exercise become a reality.

The image above is by Artboy_X and obviously is the basis for the first panel in the image at the very top of this post.  It's something of a parody of a similar iconic Superman image, hopefully used for obvious effect.

Teddy vs. the Yeti by Artboy_X!

It's been a while since I've posted anything about Teddy and the Yeti.  That's not to say there's nothing to write about - in fact, there's progress being made on the next set of issues and I hope to be able to post some interior artwork for that in the next few days, which is exciting stuff.

In the meantime, your friend and mine Artboy_X, co-creator of Mr. Massive, drew this pinup on his new Genius tablet.  It's a unique interpretation of the two and I'm happy to see it!  Artboy_X recently returned from a stint in Afghanistan (glad to have you back, fella), and we've been talking about putting a few short Mr. Massive strips together for the web, tentatively titled "Mr. Massive Saves the Universe!"  We'll see where these next few weeks and months take us, but I'm excited to see where it goes.  Enjoy the pinup, all.

San Diego memories (in Greek)

With the 2010 convention season approaching for me, I went looking for an article I wrote for the website Comicdom Online after the 2006 San Diego Comicon.  My buddy Artboy_X and I, wide-eyed and still wet behind the ears (as opposed to now where I am old and bitter), brought Mr. Massive to the con - and immediately got overwhelmed by the grandeur of it all.  I'm expecting more of it when we take Teddy and the Yeti to the New York Comic Con this year, though hopefully we'll all be a bit more prepared.

Comicdom Online is primarily a Greek website, so I have no idea why I got to publish an article there - really, the artist of the book just e-mailed me shortly after and said "write something for these guys", and I did.  I wonder if the site's regular readers went to my article and had no idea what it said.  I realize that it's more likely for people from Greece to speak English than it is for Americans to speak Greek (we're kind of jerks like that), but still...I have no idea what most everything else on the site is saying.

The picture links are down on the article, but I've reposted most of them in any case, and you can see some here and here, if you click the links.  You can read the actual article here, with my tips on convention-ing for those sitting behind a table.  Yes, sigh, I called it "An Explosive Point of View" because the name we gave the 'company' was "Explosive Comics".  Don't judge.  I'll paste the first paragraph or two here; be proactive and read the rest on your own.  Do it.  Do it!

To put San Diego's 2006 Comic-Con International into perspective would be a difficult task from any standpoint, but seeing as this was my first encounter "behind the table", so to speak, the undertaking seems an even greater challenge. Growing up near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, my initial experiences with comic book conventions were limited to yearly visits to the Pittsburgh Comicon, the name being fairly self explanatory. The Pittsburgh convention continues to be a well coordinated and enjoyable show, but my perceptions of what a convention could be were shattered the first time I ventured to the other side of my state for Wizard World's Philadelphia convention, as the fanfare and sheer size of the venue left me feeling lost in wave after wave of exhibitors and both established and burgeoning companies.

San Diego's show, then, is the next step upward from that experience. It is wonderful and it is overwhelming. It is incredibly taxing but it is supremely worthwhile.

Ms. Monster ad

Ads have always been a part of comics (they fostered my love of sea monkeys), and as I've said before, one of my greatest thrills in putting Teddy and the Yeti together is selecting a few ads to put in each issue.  I don't want to overdo it, of course, as I'd rather reserve most of the space for...you know...comics...but there are always a few things I want to show off to the world that don't fit in otherwise.

One is, obviously, Franks and Beans (new episode up today, kids), but I'm not always so selfish or at least self referential.  Issue #1 had an ad for Digital Webbing's Fist of Justice as well as a big, back cover ad for the Hero Initiative -  which allowed me to say "hey!  Captain America is in my book!" and not be a liar about it.

Issue #3 gives me the opportunity to toss in the above ad for Ms. Monster and her website.  I first met Ms. Monster and the B-Minus crew at 2006's San Diego Comic Con International, where we had booths side by side.  The group  works together on a television show that airs in San Francisco (and if I'm not mistaken, they were on at one point in Salem, Massachusetts).

Ms. Monster is something of an Elvira-style throwback character, reminiscent of "Chilly Billy" late night horror movie hosts, and her enthusiasm for her craft (as well as, uh, guts and entrails) really shows through in everything she does.  Beyond all of this, she and the others are AWESOME, so that should be reason enough to check out her website and browse through the wares.  I've got volume one of the show's DVD set, and it looks like volume two is up and ready to order.

The picture below is from the '06 San Diego Con - if you can manage to look past the blue woman in the center, you'll see on the left someone, his mouth agape, holding up a copy of Mr. Massive #1 - that would be Ratha, the artist and co-creator of Mr. Massive.  As people were snapping pictures (including this one, which later showed up on Ms. Monster's website), Ratha said "hey, free advertising!" and shot his arm up just in time to get this ridiculous result.  I'm not sure if anyone other than me ever noticed this when looking at Ms. Monster's pictures, but perhaps that's why I find it so funny.

As an aside, I really like Ms. Monster's blue and orange color scheme.

Other stuff, part 3 - Mr. Massive

Mr. Massive isn't a project that I'm actively pursuing right now, but it'll always have a special place in my heart because it was the first full-size book I actually took the time to work on from start to finish and self publish.

The character himself is something of a spoof of DC's Captain Marvel or maybe even the more obscure Prime - he's a kid who turns into a superhero with unbelievable powers, except he uses them for all selfish reasons and very few of the right ones. Think of a superhero with attention deficit disorder and you're on the right track.

The theme of the book is pretty much straight up comedy, which I'm a huge fan of but can realize that it's difficult to find an outlet for such a concept. The picture at top is probably the best work that artist and co-creator Artboy_X (I'm not sure if he's still calling himself that) has ever done - he certainly took his time and got all the details right. The book itself is one that I can still read and get a chuckle from, and I'm notoriously hard on my own work after I'm a little bit removed from it, so that tells me that something was right with it.

I'm taking the time to mention this because Mr. Massive will be featured in the backup story to Teddy and the Yeti issue #2, which I'm currently getting ready for print. The short story features art by the illustrious Paul Tucker and you can find a preview in the comics section of the main site.

Some characters that I work on or try to develop lose steam after a while, but I find myself able to write down new jokes for the big guy pretty much any time I give it a chance. Maybe some day I'll get to return to this character.

Speaking of 2099...

Here's a sketch of Spider-Man 2099 that my buddy, the enigmatic "Artboy_X" (mysterious!) drew for me last year.  The man is returning to the states in just a few weeks after spending a year in South Korea as part of his Army training.  It seemed appropriate to post this now.  How flexible you must be, Miguel O'Hara!