Help Terrorbads On Its Print Run!

Hey, dear readers, just a quick note to let you all know that my buddies Chris Meeuwes and Jeff Manley, authors of Terrorbads, are in the home stretch of their Kickstarter campaign to see the collected edition of their great webcomic see the light of day as a printed graphic novel.

Head on over to their Kickstarter page and chip in to support indie comics!

Cherry Capital Con: You'll Want To Go To There

If you find yourself in northern Michigan this weekend...hell, even if you aren't in northern Michigan but you still have the means...you really should check out the Cherry Capital Con at the Grand Traverse Resort in beautiful Traverse City, Michigan, taking place Friday, May 25 through Sunday, May 27.

There are lot of factors that make this annual comic book and pop culture convention special to me:  it's located where I grew up, there's a friendly hometown feel to the whole experience, I got to work the very first one, and it's a hell of a shindig put on by some great friends of mine.  They set out to make something of this kind happen in northern Michigan, and hey, look!  They made it happen. 

There are so many things happening there this year, I can't really begin to list them all.  Rather than me telling you who's there and what you can do - do yourself a favor and head over to their swanky webpage, then do some exploring.  My friends from Terrorbads and Punching The Clock will be there, and so will artist extraordinaire Ryan Lee, and let's not forget the core of it all, my favorite comic book store in the world, Top Comics - visit their tables and buy stuff!

I'll be there in spirit, but it won't be long before I'm there in person again, basking in what is a constantly-growing, hometown-friendly convention that puts fans first.  Maybe I'm biased, but hey, I fully endorse the Cherry Capital Con.

Now go get a ticket and have some serious fun!

Punching The Clock and Terrorbads

One of the reasons I started this blog was to get the opportunity to showcase comics you, dear reader, should check out.  Sometimes, those comics will come from friends of mine.  So you could call this a plug, but these are regular webcomics from some of my friends back in my beloved Traverse City, Michigan.

If you're thinking "where?", well, after I say "shame on you," I would point you to northwestern lower Michigan and the beautiful aforementioned area where TC sits.  And don't look now, Traverse City is becoming a positive force in the world of comics through its ever-growing Cherry Capital Con and now its budding comic talent.  Seriously, the Traverse City Film Festival has gotten bigger in each of the seven years it's been going.  The Cherry Capital Con has been growing since its inception in 2009 and is someplace top talent wants to go for a stellar convention experience.

So speaking of talent, three friends of mine who reside there have joined forces to produce two very funny webcomics.  From writer Rob Humphrey and artist Jeff Manley comes Punching The Clock, about what it's like to work in a big box retail store and oh, can I identify with that.  Follow new guy Ryan as he is shown the ropes by grizzled vet Jeff, who may or may not have lost his hold on his sanity from working in said big box retail store.  Pop culture references galore, which I always enjoy, and a snappy sense of humor highlight this strip.

Then, from writer Chris Meeuwes and artist Manley comes Terrorbads, a strip about the most unlikely group of supervillains trying to make their mark on the world.  They're just not very good at it.  Bizarre character design and an underdog appeal make this a series to watch.  Will they work well together?  Will they break out of prison?  The series is up to ten issues now, so it's a great time to catch up and see how main character Mick fits in with the other supervillain "wannabes."  You can catch Terrorbads at the Two for One Comics site along with The Bait and Filler Friday.  Keep your eye on these two writers and on artist Manley, whose clean lines deliver a lot of comedy and expression - you know exactly what each character is thinking or feeling.

This won't be the last time I feature Traverse City in my column, whether it's about what the city offers or about my friends there.  And I can tell you, in the realm of comics, keep an eye on this area.

Until next time, folks, happy reading!