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!!!

Teddy and the Yeti & Mr. Massive sketch cards by Ken Hunt!

While at the Wagon Wheel Comics booth at the Baltimore Comic-Con, artist Ken Hunt was magnanimous enough to draw some familiar characters on blank Teddy and the Yeti sketch cards!  The Yeti is above and Ted is immediately below:

Ted has a little bit of that Kirby flair to him, doesn't he?  Things are looking good in any case.  Now, I'd be happy to keep any and all of these cards for myself in a steel vault for the rest of time...but I suppose if anyone would go to the Teddy and the Yeti store and buy at set of 18 cards (plus the convention promo card!) for a meager five bucks, well, then I might just have to part ways with them.  Just saying.

Even Mr. Massive got into the action!  Ken did a great job with all three of these, but this one might capture the character best of all.

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

Superdogs, The Dark Knight Rises filming schedule, John Watkins and more!

- One post of mine that gets frequent attention is "Who Owns Superman Ice Cream?", which questions the legality of Kroger's name for their red, yellow and blue ice cream.  Unless there's been an upswing in desire for a dessert treat based on the philosophy or Friedrich Nietzsche ("God is Dead Cookies and Cream", perhaps), it's probably something that Warner Bros. and DC Comics know about but decide to look the other way.

I was shopping for, well, meat the other day, and I came across the above package of hot dogs - "Superdogs" with Superman's "S" shield logo stamped right on the package.  It's not even a variation of the logo, it's the exact comic book S that we see on the Man of Steel.  Interesting stuff.

- The "Captain Mal" art by Sammy Gomez that I won at a screening of "Serenity" made it on to i09's website a few days ago, under the heading "The Coolest Firefly Art in the 'Verse".  It was not only awesome to see the art I own online with a link back to this blog, but there were lots of other great pieces of art on display as well.  And it all made me miss Firefly/Serenity even more.  Sigh.

- "Smart Alex" McKinley wrote a nice blog about the Mr. Massive/X-Plosive Comics Kickstarter project that my friend Artboy_X is heading up.  I've never met Alex before and I have no idea who he is, but he had this to say about, well, me:

Mr. Massive, by Michael Oeur and Jeff McLelland, chronicles the adventures and misadventures of a boy who uses his superpowers as any typical boy would- particularly if he never had an Uncle Ben Parker telling him, "With great power comes great responsibility." Given Jeff McLelland's previous work on a variety of comics including Teddy and the Yeti, the zaniness of his "stupid" Youtube show Franks and Beans, and the premise of Mr. Massive, I think it's safe to say we'll see hilarity ensue.

To hear someone I don't know talk about Franks and Beans makes my head spin a little bit.  I don't even mind that he spelled my name wrong (it happens, I understand).

- Great day in the morning, "The Dark Knight Rises" is almost upon us.  As you can see from the above Post-Gazette photo, the bat-logo shone upon downtown Pittsburgh recently in anticipation of the start of filming, which begins...any day now!

The website onlocationvacactions.com printed a comprehensive list of just where the movie will be filming - apparently, the studio sent letters to homeowners in the area to keep them aware of what would be happening (so they won't, you know, call the police if things start blowing up a half a mile down the road), and someone decided to put it online, much to the appreciation of you and me.

Here's part of it - go here for the complete list: http://www.onlocationvacations.com/2011/07/16/the-dark-knight-rises-filming-locations-in-pittsburgh-august-10th-20th/comment-page-1/

In the coming weeks we will be visiting all of the businesses and entity in the area effected but our proposed activity in order to ascertain the best way of minimizing are impact. We are also working with building managers in the area to facilitate tenant access to properties. Our goal is to make this a positive experience for everyone involved and we would like to address your individual concerns, no matter how small. Please do not hesitate to call us with any questions at our cell phone numbers listed below. 

Throughout our preparation, filming and restoration periods, Security guards, Pittsburgh Police Officers and production assistants will be visible during our film shoot to insure public safety as well as address any immediate concerns you may have about the filming.

If what is on the website is an exact transcription of the letter that actually went out, I think I'll gouge my eyes out in response to the grammar.  "Minimizing ARE impact"?!?  Perhaps they meant that recently released Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randle El would be rampaging the streets of downtown Pittsburgh.  Perhaps.

- Paul Tucker recently finished our short story, "John Watkins: Phantom for Hire", and it is fan-friggin-tastic!  We're currently making a few small adjustments before we try to get it in front of some faces.  Paul has a really great blog where he's broken down much of his process for this story, and you owe it to yourself to check it out at http://tuckercomics.blogspot.com/.

- And now, a few non-comic related items.  First, as you can see in the screenshot above, I made it into the trailer for a movie.  Not just any movie, mind you, but a movie with an embarrassing title; one that I have to preface with "it's not a porno" every time I tell people about it.  It's actually a Saturday Night Live movie - or at least it has a number of actors from SNL in it.  It's called...sigh..."A Good Old Fashioned Orgy" and it's going to be released in September.  I was an extra on the set in Wilmington, North Carolina in 2008.  Here's the trailer!

- Lastly, congratulations to friend of the blog (that's not entirely true) Sidney Rice on his signing of a $41 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks, losers of Super Bowl 40 to Jerome Bettis and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The Seahawks come to Heinz Field the second week of the season - September 18th - and I wish him the best of luck.  But I hope his team loses...badly.  I do.

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

Mr. Massive on Kickstarter

A few days ago, I happened upon a link that told me, much to my surprise, that Mr. Massive will soon be appearing in a new anthology from Explosive Comics.  I'm a bit out of the loop for the time being, but I have a good feeling that this story will be the one included:

Well, I mean, that's not the whole story, but it's a clip from something I worked on a few months ago and would make the most sense for a book that features a number of different characters.

The book currently has a page up on the Kickstarter website, which is designed to raise money for various projects (in this case, a comic book anthology).  I checked it out and it even has a backer at this point!  So that's interesting.

I'll try to find out more about this project and figure out exactly what the plans are for Mr. Massive and the rest of the book, and report back here when I have a better idea.  In the meantime, here's the website address for the Kickstarter fundraiser: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2028284042/explosive-comics-black-terror-mr-massive

Feel free to check it out and, if you're so inclined (one of the "rewards" is a custom action figure), throw some money at it.  To be continued.

P.S. Oh goodness, there's a 45-second video of me on there talking about Mr. Massive.  Hide children, lock doors.

The blog is mobile! Plus, Mr. Massive CGI, FUBAR and more!

- Technology is an ever changing beast, my friends, and if you don't keep up with it...well, you're liable to be left behind, like...Napster or something.  Oh, wait, Google tells me that Napster is still around.  Really?  Huh.  That's nice.  Anyway, this blog recently took a small leap forward as I was able to update it for mobile devices.  So if you're reading this on an iPhone or some equivalent piece of technology, it now is simpler and easier to read.  Fantastic.

- Hey, and speaking of rampant, unwarranted self promotion, Blogger was also helpful in pointing me to the site www.wepostalot.com, a site where a lot of people go to...uh...well, hope that other people will find and read their blogs about random things.  I joined up and put links to a few posts I thought were interesting (they're all interesting, right??), and what do you know?  Those posts got a bump in readers almost immediately afterwards.

This picture from the Motor City Comic Con is floating around the Internet, thanks to the site www.conpictures.com.  This site collects pictures from various comic conventions and posts them online for all to see.  It seems localized to the Michigan-Ohio-Pennsylvania area right now, but I suppose that just means there's room for growth.  Check 'em out and send them some pictures of conventions you've been to if you can.

- I got this image in my e-mail a few days ago of a CGI version of Mr. Massive and his alter ego, Andy Vann.  I will be honest here - I have no idea what it's for, but it does look pretty cool.  I'm not crazy about Mr. Massive's explosive hair, but the rest works and overall it's pretty intriguing.  If there are more...I'll show 'em.

- My new FUBAR story (with artist Mario Wytch) is slowly coming together - this is an image from the fourth page.  The FUBAR guys are in Philadelphia this weekend for a Wizard World convention, and from everything I hear things are going very well.  Volume II is out in August for the Baltimore Comic-Con!

- If you're looking to apply in person for the new Batman movie filming soon in Pittsburgh, today's the last day!  So get to it!

- Lastly, I just got the complete series collection of Beast Wars in the mail and woo! is it cool.  It comes with a comic that serves as the official prequel to the series, new special features, and oh yeah, 52 episodes of the best Transformers series ever produced.  Buy it.  Buy it!!  Beast Wars!

Pictures from the Motor City Comic Con, part 1

Well, the 2011 Motor City Comic Con is a thing of the past, and now all that's left are the memories, the cool swag, and pictures.  Let's take a look at some of the latter, shall we?

I think I'm starting to run out of original poses for these desperate booth shots.  I've probably made this face before...got to come up with some new ones.  In any case, this is perhaps the biggest table I've ever had.  It was nice to be able to spread out, but I think some of the graphic novels got overlooked because they were all the way at one end.  In any case, I was able to lay out copies of the Magic Bullet, Mr. Massive, Teddy and the Yeti, FUBAR, Strip Search, and other stuff with no problem.

Ernie Hudson was at this show.  I'm pretty sure he didn't drive this to get there...but that would have been cool.

Ugh, look at these books.  Fantastic Four #1.  Amazing Fantasy #15.  Avengers #4.  Superman #...whatever that one is.  This is like a list of "books I'll never be able to afford."

A lot of this costume was made out of couch cushions (seriously).

There was an empty table across the row from ours, so Larry decided to set up his own Franks and Beans booth.  I paid him a few visits.

This was a pretty good costume, and it was funny, too.  Weird kid, though.  No offense, weird kid.

Hey, where's the Cesar Romero Joker?  That would have made it pretty much complete.  The Jack Nicholson Joker actually came off creepier than the Heath Ledger Joker, which was an accomplishment.

I'll post more later.  I will!  I promise.

Thing sketchbook, part 5

Here's the next five Thing sketches that I've collected!  These five have a few things in common beyond the obvious: they're all from the 2006 Comic-Con International, and they're all AWESOME.  Check 'em out, with witty commentary on each:

Fiona Staples - Comic-Con International 2006

Fiona Staples was the art half of Markosia's "Done to Death" book.  Ryan Stegman told her to draw ears on the Thing (as I bugged him about doing the same in previous pieces of art), so she did - and then put flowers growing out of his head.  I love the uniqueness of this sketch.

Comic-Con International 2006

I really should remember this artist's name (Scott?), as he sat in at my booth for an hour or so at the 2006 San Diego show.  He had a pinup in Image's Invincible a few months later.

He apparently ran into Rosario Dawson a few minutes before stopping at our booth, and he was kicking himself for not being able to talk to her.  "She was just so beautiful", he kept saying.

Jason Martin - Comic-Con International 2006

Jason Martin (creator of "Super Real") had helped promote Mr. Massive, the book I had at the San Diego show this year, so we chatted a few times over the weekend.  The all blue Thing was a great touch.

Aaron Farmer - Comic-Con International 2006

Aaron Farmer (part of Ms. Monster's illustrious crew) had a booth next to ours at the San Diego show in 2006, and he did this cute rendition in no time flat.  I especially enjoy the Disney-esque look to the words.  This from a mohawk wearing hard core guy like Aaron...spectacular.

Todd Nauck - Comic-Con International 2006

Todd Nauck is a great artist and a really nice guy.  I apparently even cut in line to give him this book, but it all worked out - Todd even drew a really cool Mr. Massive cover for me that I was just able to use in the second issue of Teddy and the Yeti.

More to come, some of which even top these, as hard as that is to believe.

Happy Free Comic Book Day!

I don't usually hit up the comic store on Free Comic Book Day - there are often just a few comics that I want to check out and they're just stuck in my folder at the shop I get most of my comics at, anyway, so I don't feel the need to make the special trip.  Yesterday, though, I wanted to drop off some comics of my own to give away, so I made the trip to Evil Genius Comics in California, PA, which had just moved to a new location...only a few doors down from the old location, but to a new, bigger store.  The new place looks great - much more like an "actual" store, if that makes sense - so I took a few pictures.

The store had a big table filled with free comics, and I added three to the ranks: the Magic Bullet #2, Teddy and the Yeti's Back and a few copies of Mr. Massive.  I picked up a number of the other books being offered, like 2000AD, the Tick, Spider-Man...nine in total, which was more than I expected to grab.  I also bought two Venture Bros. figures which are, for sure, awesome.

I was impressed with the new store's layout.  There's still a bunch of room for gaming, but now there's room for, well, other stuff, too.  Take a look:

Hey, it's the back of Franks and Beans actor Larry Franks!  What a coincidence!

If you're in the California, PA area (it's right across the street from the Cal U campus), I hope you'll check out the new store - it's bigger and, I think, better.  It was a fun day.  Later, I got some food from a local restaurant and found this sign:

It says "public phone", but you can't read most of it because the tree is enveloping the sign.  I think that's fantastic.