Off Registration
TM
April/May 2014
Shawn Shawn Aldridge Aldridge off-Background off-Background
Captain Hook: Captain Hook: Impugned Gentleman Impugned Gentleman
Ricky-Marcel Ricky-MarcelPitcher Pitcher&&Todor TodorHristov Hristov
RED ICE part 2 part 2
Scott Scott O. O. Brown Brown && Horacio Horacio Lalia Lalia
Fantomah Fletcher Fletcher Hanks Hanks
Off Registration April/May 2014
Contents
Off-Background: Shawn Aldridge pg 6
Comics: Excerpt from Go
Getters
pg 10 Captain Hook, Impugned Gentleman pg 20 Fantomah: “The Super Gorillas” pg 32 Red Ice, part 2 pg 40
Eagle’s Eye Review by Paul pg 51
Hanna
Founder & Publisher April Brown
Editor in Chief Scott O. Brown Reviews Paul Hanna Photography & Design April Brown Digital Content April Brown Cover Art Daniel Govar Contributors: Shawn Aldridge, Christopher Peterson, & Nick Johnson Excerpt from Go Getters #1
Fletcher Hanks (as Barclay Flagg) Fantomah, “The Super Gorillas”
Ricky-Marcel Pitcher & Todor Hristov Captain Hook, Impugned Gentleman
Scott O. Brown, Horacio Lalia, & Stuart Chaifetz Red Ice, part 2
OFF-REGISTRATION is trademark and copyright © 2014, Bronco Ink Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Free pdf subscriptions are available by contacting subscribe@off-registration.com with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. For permission to reprint any portion of this magazine, please write Bronco Ink Publishing, LLC at publisher@off-registration.com. “GoGetters” copyright © 2014, Shawn Aldridge & Chris Peterson, “Captain Hook, Impugned Gentleman” copyright © 2014, Ricky-Marcel Pitcher & Todor Hristov “Red Ice” copyright © 2012, Scott O. Brown. “Fantomah” is in the public domain, originally published in Jungle Comics #4, 1940.
Dear Loyal Readers, Thank you for downloading this month’s Off Registration! Shawn Aldridge was gracious enough to talk about his career and his latest comic GO GETTERS! For the comics professionals in our readership, the Harvey Awards are selected exclusively by creators – those who write, draw, ink, letter, color, design, edit or are otherwise involved in a creative capacity in the comics field. The Harvey Awards are the only industry award both nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. OFF REGISTRATION, and our creators’ stories, qualify for the following categories this year: Best Anthology: OFF REGISTRATION - Bronco Ink Publishing, LLC Best Cover Artist: Daniel Govar - OFF REGISTRATION Best Online Comics Work: OFF REGISTRATION - www.off-registration.com Best Single Issue or Story: Any of our contibutors’ stories! You can refresh at http://broncoink.com/off-registration/ Ballots are due by May 19, 2014. http://www.harveyawards.org/2014-nomination-ballot/ We hope you enjoy reading it as much we did putting it together. And don’t forget to visit our sponsors, FOS Comics and Single Bound Studios! Sincerely, April Brown Publisher/Owner
by: Scott O. Brown
Off-Background: Shawn Aldridge pitch to Monkeybrain and needing an idea. I also needed an artist. That’s where Chris comes in. We had been working on a few things before and worked well together. He seemed like a natural fit. We went back and forth until one of Chris’s old sketches gave birth to the idea of GO GETTERS. We took the initial idea that the sketch spurred, tossed in a bunch of influences, put it in the oven, and out popped gorilla biscuits.
Shawn Aldridge is a comic book writer, letterer, and occasional colorist. His most notable work is his creator-owned series, VIC BOONE, an IGN Editor’s Choice, A Best of 2011, and the Stumptown Comicfest’s Reader’s Choice Award. His current series is GO GETTERS at Monkeybrain. He was generous enough with his time to sit down with us and discuss his career and upcoming wor.k. 1) Hi, Shawn! We’re glad you could take a few minutes to chat with us at Off Registration. Let’s get the basics out of the way: For our readers who aren’t familiar with you or your work, what’s the lowdown on Shawn Aldridge, comics writer? One paragraph or less. Go. The short answer would be—I write comics most people have never heard of. Ha. Longer answer is I’m the writer and creator of the sci-pulp series VIC BOONE and writer/co-creator (w/Chris Peterson) on the Monkeybrain series, GO GETTERS. I’ve also done work for the anthology series FUBAR. Future works I can’t talk about coming soon. 2) I want to talk about the new comic you’ve been spreading around the interwebs lately: GO GETTERS. How did that come to be? How did Chris Peterson and Nick Johnson get involved? And will the story be finite, or is it an engine for more? GoGetters came about from getting the chance to
Nick was brought in by Chris to relieve some of the art workload. He was a great addition. I think his colors fit the book really well. They make it pop on several levels. 3) You’ve been very active on the digital end of comics, from your ill-fated Zuda entry up to GO GETTERS today. Has it been a conscious choice to court an audience online first, or simply taking advantage of opportunities arising where they might?
A little of both. I didn’t seek out digital, but was never opposed to it. I think when you’re first trying to make a name for yourself, opportunity should trump everything. It should always be about getting your work out there. Digital is a great way to do that for a number of reasons. The best reason is that you can sell an issue of your book anytime, anywhere. You always have a copy of it on you (unless you’re adverse to technology). There’s no convincing anyone to go to a comic shop they may or may not have. 4) There are thick chunks of pulp in your writing, from VIC BOONE to your current project. What appeals to you about that style of writing? What influences do you draw from? What is your process?
I think it fits the kind of stories I like to tell, or the ones I’ve told so far. Big action held steady by good characters. And there’s just so many avenues it can go down, genres. Yet no matter the genre, it is still about characters being viewed through a lens of how they react to extreme situations. Sort of environment building the person. Bloodsport is my only influence. Everything I write is an homage to it, the greatest American movie ever made. Sometimes other stuff filters in, too. Chester Himes and Dashiell Hammett are there in VIC BOONE. GO GETTERS is adventure pulp filtered through 60-70s Hannah-Barbera cartoons. Heck, even Lassie.
Submissions Guidelines: We are always looking for short stories of all genres! Your submission should contain the following 1. A typewritten cover letter with all contact information (name, e-mail address, address, and phone) clearly printed on the TOP of the page. Introduce yourself and move on with it, we don’t need your résumé. Also, if you DO NOT include an e-mail address with your submission, you WILL NOT receive a reply. Also, this is a good spot to give us a short, one-sentence description of your story. 2. Email FULLY COMPLETED pages. We’d like to see your completed story if it is twelve pages or less. If it’s longer, show us AT LEAST twelve pages that are complete and lettered, and let us know how long it is. If we like it, we’ll talk. We prefer full color or gray tones to straight black & white. We won’t turn down something brilliant, but keep that in mind. 3. If submitting a serial, send over a ONE PAGE, synopsis of the overall STORY. We want a synopsis of the ENTIRE series or story arc not what is just happening in the pages that you send over. As concisely and as succinctly as you are able, TELL US THE STORY, make us interested, and KEEP IT SHORT! We don’t want a lot of serials, so to be honest, unless you are the second coming of Neil Gaiman (or Neil himself), please stick to short stories. Send your submissions to: submissions@off-registration.com Want your comics covered in a future issue of Off Registration? Email editor@offregistration.com with your query.
My process is kind of all over the place. My first notes and such are so many scribbles and random words, it’s pretty much only decipherable by me. But in general, I take whatever the initial idea is and build out from it. That usually starts with the main character(s). I roll them around in my head for a while, thinking of possible scenes in the book to see how they react, who they are. It’s good to know them before getting to set in story, because you never know what choices they’ll make. After getting the characters solid, it’s just filling out as much story as I can. That’s followed by breaking it down into issues/pages. Finally, sitting down and making it a script. 5) Speaking of VIC BOONE, when do we get to see more of it? Do you have any long terms plans to continue to explore the character and his adventures? I’m looking at bringing Vic Boone back. I’m currently exploring the best way to do that. I’m leaning toward continuing his adventures online through Comixology or as a weekly web-series. Then perhaps Kickstarter print editions. But before all that, I have to find an artist. Hopefully, this happen all happens or begins to happen before the end of the year. If nothing else, I at least have to finish THE FLY WHO LOVED ME. 6) Do you have any other projects coming up? Chris and I have another story or two to tell. I’m also working on a few new pitches with some other artists. And there’s a thing I can’t mention yet, but that I’m overjoyed about. 7) One last question: If you had only one story left to tell, what would it be, and who would you want to draw it? The very last Vic Boone story, “Death Rides a Rocketship.” Steranko. Steranko. Steranko. Thank you, Shawn! Thank you for speaking with us and for the preview of GO GETTERS #1! Download your copy of GO GETTERS #1 here!
“THANK YOU” TO ALL OUR
KRANTZ
CONTRIBUTORS! With these individuals’ and comics shops’ help, we were able to introduce Horacio Lalia and Jorge Morhain’s amazing comic to a new audience! In no particular order:
Tres Brown Omaha Perez Panagiotis Drakopoulos Marc Riemer FAbulicious Pete Hurley Someone YEH @Dreadnaut Roman Cantarero Kourosh Keshavarz Tom B Dean Watts Craig Hackl John Damn Seven Siobhan McNally Diana Paprotny Peter McQuillan Steve Loiaconi Francis Waltz Ib Rasmussen Jamo Hanlan Andrew Saxby Faisal A. Qureshi Brandy Grote Ferran Xalabarder JD Schwengler Lee Freeland Jessie Reno Lazer Spangler Suzanne Samson Mandy Wultsch
Andy Grossberg Marc Bryant SOB II Joe Kontor Daniel Laloggia Chris Hutcheson Mal Jones Thomas Gagnon Anonymous Reader Chad Kristian Guy Thomas Kevin LaPorte Eric Graves Alan B. Nogueira Villainous Lair Comics Jim Lesniak Mecca Anime Chris Call SANTO Dan Grendell Bill Beckwith Ben Applegate Robin Babe Draper Stonechiper C. Bacher David Tai Scott Forgue Dominic Duggan James Barron Scott J Grunewald Matt Martinez Kelsey Lianne
Gregory Hecht Matthias Kraft Anonymous Reader ComicSpectrum.com Charlie Smoke Mike Meltzer Ali Ovissi Wim Keppens Myles C. Allen AMAROK-SOOKGAH Fadi Fahem Ricky-Marcel Pitcher Deborah Charron
If you missed the Kickstarter, watch this space, and we’ll let you know when and where KRANTZ is available next month!
GoGetters #1 (excerpt)
Writer/Letterer: Shawn Aldridge Artist: Christopher Peterson Colorist: Nick Johnson
Captain Hook, Impugned Gentleman
Writer: Ricky-Marcel Pitcher Artist: Todor Hristov Letters: Scott O. Brown
To be found herein, the correctional memoirs of Captain James Hook.
Of course Hook is not the name of my birth, but rather a persona forced upon me, wherein lays the purpose of this tome.
My humble shipping business was again raided this very week by those juvenile brigands, led by a young reprobate announcing himself as ‘Peter Pan’.
My honest, brave and loyal crew attempted to chase them off without bloodshed, but Pan and his ‘Lost Boys’ were intent on violence. I myself was forced to face their leader in combat...
...and after a short exchange was left with no recourse but to take his life. Naturally, he was not the first and doubtless will not be the last.
I have no doubt that the survivors gathered round a Godless campfire that night and anointed a new ‘Pan’, as they always do. Their true leader an insidious and perverted troublemaker whose name I shall not commit to parchment.
These ‘lost boys’ are common criminals, degenerate scum. I have heard it said that they partake of the forest mushrooms until they reach delirium...
...engage in wanton orgies, boy and girl, boy and boy, boy and beast!
These heathens have grown past being human. They plague this industrious enclave of the new world with their mindless savagery.
Alas, despite their proclivity for violence and inability to fight dexterously, their ranks can never be exhausted.
Their group perpetually grows, abducting youths and attracting runaways from the port village and other local communities, including the nearby native tribes.
Corrupting the vulnerable with the unholy fungus of the land, stolen wines and despicable, vile lies!
Their hatred of me is as inexplicable as it is inefficacious for their health. As once a family man, it is of course my furthest most desire to harm a child, but when his life and business are threatened, how else should a gentleman protect himself?
The reason that the keeping of this record has become necessary is the insipid spread of the most foul lies and slander against my good name.
The most false, imaginative, diabolical and untrue retelling of events has begun to appear around the island towns, on crude posters, scurrilous etchings and recently, even printed pamphlets.
A sick and twisted version of history where the various ‘Pans’, told here as a single, near magical messiah, have outdone and defeated my own person on a multitude of occasions.
I am a decent, industrious, Christian Englishman.
As a man of honour, my concern is that these lies, fanciful though they are, may gain credence in the popular imagination. I served with valour in her majesty’s navy, rising to the rank of Captain, and it was only the losing of my hand to a Moorish pirate off the Barbary coast that led to my honourable discharge, on grounds of incapacity.
It should be noted that the pirate was a grown man...
...and met with a far worse fate than I have inflicted on any of the child ‘Pans’.
CAPTAIN! WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!!!
LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU THINK | ENJOY SPILLING THE BLOOD OF CHILDREN?!
| THINK YOU ENJOY THE SOUND OF YOUR OWN VOICE, CAPTAIN CODFISH!
HOLD YOUR TONGUE BOY, OR |’LL MAKE YOU REGRET YOUR NONSENSE.
YOU’D BETTER WATCH OUT, | THINK | HEAR OLD TICKTOCK COM--
|S THIS WHAT YOU WANT? |S IT!?
YOU CAN BE PAN NEXT.
NO, YOU!
SMEE, TAKE THE BODIES TO THE TOWN CHAPLAIN FOR PROPER BURIAL. SEE THAT THEY GET A TOMBSTONE AND A PRAYER SAID.
WELL, BACK ABOUT YOUR WORK THE REST OF YOU! AND WILL YOU PLEASE KEEP THE PERIMETER MORE CLOSELY GUARDED!
WHAT’S THIS PARCHMENT ON HIM, CAPTAIN? |T’S ADDRESSED TO YOU— | MEAN... GIVE ME THAT!!!
‘
,
?
‘
. ,
‘ ‘
,
,
. .
Even the most genteel of persons has a limit to the provocation that they can withstand from their own daughter--
SMEE! ROUND UP SOME MEN AND RIFLES.
WE’RE GOING TO HAVE WORDS WITH MY DAUGHTER.
THE END
Fantomah “The Super Gorillas”
Story & Art by Fletcher Hanks (as Barclay Flagg)
Red Ice, part 2
Writer: Scott O. Brown Artist: Horacio Lalia Colors: Stu Chaifetz Letters: Scott O. Brown
TO BE CONTINUED...
Eagle’s Eye Review By: Paul Hanna Paul Hanna is a cartoonist who lives in Massachusetts. His interests include basketball, baseball, and finding a bigger role for comics in academic libraries. Follow him on Twitter at @paulhanna.
GOGETTERS #1 Writer/Letterer: Shawn Aldridge Artist: Christopher Peterson Colorist: Nick Johnson Monkeybrain Cover Price: $.99 “…and it has a monkey in it. What more do you need?” It is a little odd to think that in various situations, various permutations of the above quote have been said in earnest hundreds of times by comics fans about many, many different comics titles. Having a token ape character is pretty much a sub-genre in comics at this point, even more so than in other media. Look at movies like Project X (with Matthew Broderick), Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Every Which Way But Loose, The Barefoot Executive, and The Hangover Part 2. There’s even the evilly adorable monkey from Raiders. There are more, but the list is still limited. On the other hand, there appear to be
a ton of monkeys in a ton of different comics, especially in the independent scene. Comics just embrace monkeys more, it seems. Issue one of Go Getters, by Shawn Aldridge, Christopher Peterson, and Nick Johnson, faithfully follows the time-honored tradition of putting apes in comics. Maya Diaz and her giant white gorilla, George Harrison, are Go Getters. People hire them to get stuff, whether it involves recovering stolen treasure or saving captives. It is pretty basic plot stuff, and Maya seems to be a character who prefers a life uncomplicated with details. Aldridge is certainly aware of the level of simplicity he wants for the story in issue one, as Maya cannot even stay awake during the obligatory expository dialogue sequence about the rare coin she is hired to recover from a thief who believes he is descended from Egyptian royalty. Go Getters keeps it so simple, in fact, its compelling quality comes from wondering whether the story can maintain this level of freewheeling simplicity, or if the story will gradually become more complex as a consequence of Maya Diaz’s naivete. The character development is pretty limited here in the first issue; the basic concept makes for a really boiled-down plot, allowing the character dialogue plenty of room to make with the jokes in order to capture the reader’s attention while the plot advances. While the plot is pretty bare, it is not necessarily missing anything; it is reallyends up being a strength of Go Getters, not a weakness. The overall execution is efficient, with an elegant pace and the pages balanced. When a scene changes, a new page always begins. Dramatic action is punctuated with a splash panel or page. Important actions are punctuated with close-ups – a foot pressing a car brake, a punch to the face. This is all really fundamental comics storytelling stuff, but it is the foundation of why Go Getters succeeds as a first issue. The art by Peterson and
Johnson is impressive in this regard, carrying the story to the very last page with a natural energy; the linework and page compositions are undeniably the soul of the story. As a complete work of art and story, Go Getters issue one does have a certain quality, a style of coolness as only the comics medium can define it, with monkeys and guns and kicking and exploding. In comics, where the writer can write anything that the artist is able to draw, the result is sometimes something that can feel excessively far-out or over the top, which can result either in a product of pure gleeful parody, or something that becomes the punchline of the joke it tries to make. Go Getters does not fall in the latter camp, but it is not in the former, either; it is not satire, but it self-aware enough. Regardless, that the creators are taking risks the boundlessness of the comics medium allows in the first place is something respectable – and cool – in itself.
Rising soon from BRONCO Ink
Carlos Diaz & Claudio Ramirez’s
ViETZOMB