The Wham Bang Comics revolution starts in less than two weeks with the premiere of our first title, Two-Fisted Adventures 1.
It's a good read. It's interesting, it shows some real talent, and it's the start of something wonderful -- us coming to you with our fantastic characters on a regular basis. Night Owl is going to rock the house and Genius, John Doe, and the Sentinels of Freedom won't be far behind.
We're looking forward to nurturing our new relationship with an audience. We're going to keep doing what we do until our comics are read far and wide. In at least two languages.
What's on the horizon? A Spanish-themed comic book with Spanish-themed characters published in both English and Spanish. There will be English and Spanish versions of ALL our comics after that issue premieres.
What's now? Two-Fisted Adventures, of course! We're selling it on www.comiXpress.com and hopefully it will be proudly on display for our Nov. 2 debut date!
I love those ComiXpress guys. They do super work. They really do. Hardest working folks in show business.
BTW, we've been increasing our friend base on our MySpace page. I was looking at our friends meter on it the other day and noticed it was up to "616" people. Which is kind of eerie if you're a Marvel Comics fan and know that "616" is the title commonly used to refer to the main Marvel universe.
Next week, we'll be posting the cover to our first issue along with two of the inside pages so you'll know what you are getting. And we'll continue to bring you our monthly webcomic. Don't worry. Jason and I have at least six months worth of them safely backlogged.
Read us, please enjoy us, and then write us to give us your feedback, okay?
Thanks.
Sincerely,
BEN TINSLEY
Publisher
Wham Bang Comics
Friday, October 26, 2007
BEN TINSLEY: Getting close
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
BEN TINSLEY: We're almost there!
As we stated in previous blog entries, Diamond Distributors declined to pick up Wham Bang Comics' premiere issue, Two-Fisted Adventures 1. Therefore, we have decided to distribute over the Internet, and the fantastic and talented printsmiths at ComiXpress have graciously agreed to list us sell us from their online comics shop.
It won't be quite as gratifying as walking into a comics store and seeing our comics on the shelf, but ComiXpress has a stellar reputation for quality. Hopefully with the advertising thrust we have planned for Nov. 10, our magazines will still be in the hands of many, many readers.
We're adding something special for our new customers: an additional two pages. Two-Fisted will say "50 pages" on the cover, but those are just the pages you're paying for. The additional two will contain our best two Night Owl webcomics -- FREE -- as a "thank you" for starting us on our publishing journey. We hope that doing it this way will give readers a taste of the young Texas shaman superhero in both long story and short story form. From us to you. Respect.
I'm hoping we get our comic out there far and wide. It's been in the works for awhile and frankly, the entire process of just getting it off the ground has been exhausting. I've been calling our art director, Jason Dube, every work day for updates on how the process is going with the printing and technical jazz and whatnot. I'm fairly certain I'm driving him crazy.
Here's to the end of the beginning.
Sincerely,
BEN TINSLEY
publisher, Wham Bang Comics
Friday, October 12, 2007
BEN TINSLEY: Kids! Want a free comic book?
We at Wham Bang Comics are about to publish our first issue ever. The Wham Bang Comics universe is about to become known to anyone who wishes to read our stuff.
That's the good news. The bad news is that Diamond has decided to pass on picking up that issue, Two-Fisted Adventures 1, for distribution.
Oh, well. That sucks, but it also provides us with more good news: We really don't have any real reason to delay any longer. We're moving up our launch date to Nov. 5!
Soon, we will be selling copies of our very first issue over the Internet.
So, to celebrate our launch, we will be offering free copies of Two-Fisted Adventures 1 to the first five kids whose parents email us at btinsley@mycingular.blackberry.net. We'll even pay the postage!
That's the first FIVE children. Parents: remember, we will need you to tell us how old your kid is, what grade he or she is in, and that sort of stuff. Plus, any feedback about the comic will be welcome and posted on this site.
If we get any further inquires after that number we will consider handing out more, if supplies allow.
So write us! Looking forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
BEN TINSLEY
Publisher, Wham Bang Comics
btinsley@mycingular.blackberry.net
Thursday, October 11, 2007
BEN TINSLEY: Even more from the fan fiction career of Christopher Blaine
Justa Lotta Animals:
The Batmouse – Cry of the Hentress
By: Christopher W. Blaine
e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: The characters and situations contained in this story are ©2003 by DC Comics Inc. and are used without permission for fan-related non-profit purposes only. This original story is ©2003 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced in part or as a whole without the express permission of the author.
I watched in horror as my parents were slaughtered before me, killed for the change in their pockets. I remember the face of their killer, the small eyes and pale beak. The weapon still smoking, held in a black-feathered hand.
That night, Bruce Waynermaus died a horrible, slow death from drowning. He drowned in the tears of a child.
When the last one had dropped from his whisker, he realized then and there that he would forever be changed and he accepted it. He accepted it with a cry and shaking fist.
That night I died and I was reborn, rising from the pools of blood that surrounded my parent’s sprawled forms. On that night, I became something more than myself.
I became Batmouse.
“New partner?” Jim Gordon Crowe asked, pushing his spectacles up his beak before pulling out a large cigar. He used it as a pointer, directing the Batmouse to the yellow and orange costumed teenager behind him.
“This is Robin,” Batmouse replied, his eyes getting smaller. “Batmouse must always have a Robin,” he replied with a small smile. It was the only time he would do so, except in situations that required the embarrassment of Super-Squirrel. Making the Rodent of Steel squirm brought him great pleasure.
“A duck this time I see,” Jim said, noting the bill on the teenager. The last Robin had been a bear both in form and attitude. He wanted to ask what happened to him, but he felt it was better left unsaid. Bears had it rough in Gotham City as he remembered the death of Jason Toddly Bear, the ward of Bruce Waynermaus. Terrorists had killed the poor boy while he had been on vacation, or so the story went.
Little did the police commissioner know that behind the mask of Robin, Timothy Drake was well aware of what had happened to his predecessor. Striking out to find his mother, the second Robin, the deceased Jason, had traveled to the Middle East where the Jackass, the arch-nemesis of the Batmouse, murdered him. “You’re called sounded important, Commissioner,” Robin said, wanting to change the subject.
Jim gave a harrumph and lit the cigar. “An informant has told us that there’s someone new in town, but we don’t know if she’s friend or fowl, pardon the pun.”
Batmouse nodded. “The Hentress,” he said coolly. “Word is that she may be an operative for the Black Spider.”
“You need to find out since costumed nuts are your specialty,” Jim said. He flapped his arms, shaking some dust from his feathers. “Damn city air.”
Batmouse waved the cigar smoke away from his sensitive nose. “No kidding.”
Jim paid him no heed and continued on. “The Black Spider is on the move, consolidating his power. I understand the Penguin has agreed to merge his group into his.”
Batmouse took the information in stride, betraying no emotion. His only movement was to reach down to his utility belt and open the special cheese compartment. Mild cheddar always helped him think things through. The Black Spider was a mysterious figure that was slowly making his way to the top of the Gotham underworld food chain. Who he was exactly was the big mystery; as of yet, Batmouse still had not confronted the criminal face-to-face.
“He already has the Bronze Tiger and Catmouse on his payroll; he’s forming an army,” Batmouse thought out loud, popping a couple of chunks into his mouth. He chewed on them and then turned to regard Robin. The teenager was busting at the bill to go into action and prove himself. “Maybe I need an army as well.”
“What was that?” Jim asked.
Batmouse shook his head and threw his cape back. “Nothing, Jim; don’t worry, I’ll find the Hentress.”
“I was never worried,” the crow said with a big smile.
“Two years and now you need my help,” Night Owl said in a hooting tone. Hooter “Dick” Grayson had been the first Robin until he and Batmouse had separated after a philosophical argument. Night Owl now operated solo, having recently broken up with his girlfriend, Star Firefox.
“Things are getting bad in Gotham,” Batmouse said, his visage interrupted occasionally by static. Night Owl’s internet connection was bad, as was everything else in his hideout/apartment. Though he had his own money, he chose to life frugally. “I need you to come home.”
“I like New York.”
“You liked New York when you had some warm mammal to snuggle up to on long, cold winter nights,” Batmouse said. Night Owl was about to respond, but the Dark Rat beat him to the punch. “I do keep tabs on my interests. Your woman is gone, the Zoo Titans have disbanded…again…”
“I’m not some little chick that you can order around, Batmouse; I’ve made my own nest, I can fly without being pushed,” Night Owl responded. “You might need me, but I don’t need you. I can stretch my wings here.”
“What about Barbara, Dick?” Batmouse asked, playing his trump card. Barbara Gordon Crowe had been the Batchick, another junior partner to the Batmouse and the first serious love of Night Owl. Only a year before, the Jackass had shot her, putting her into a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Now she aided the Batmouse as the cyber-sleuth Oracrow. “She’d like to see you.”
“She knows my number, Bruce,” Night Owl replied. He turned his head completely around, a trait of his species, and blinked away the tears of regret. He had always blamed himself secretly for her condition. If he hadn’t run away with Kory, perhaps they would have been together when the Jackass struck. Perhaps then he would still be able to fly with Barbara up high…
“I won’t ask again,” Batmouse said. He chewed on a slice of American cheese and Night Owl knew he was getting upset. He only pulled out the slices when the stress was getting to him.
Night Owl had to make a decision. Was he going to prove he was a grown owl by staying in New York, or was he going to prove he was a dutiful son by giving in to the Batmouse’s demands? He turned his head back around and puffed out his chest. “I’m coming.”
“I am a trained warrior, mate.”
Batmouse nodded, his ears wiggling slightly. He sat in the lotus position, Swiss chunks in his left hand, and cheddar in the other. The Tasmanian devil in front of him breathed deeply before beginning to speak again. “We have nothing to discuss.”
Batmouse nibbled the Swiss. “You are dangerous without training. You have the will, but lack the patience to escape the maze. Under my tutelage, you will become better.”
“Crikey! Do you really believe that rubbish? I gots the System in me noggin’,” the other mammal said, pointing to his skull. “No stupid muskrat…”
“Mouse.”
“Whatever. Tazrael does not need to be trained by the Bat, mate…or Mouse,” the devil said as he stood up. “I’ll handle the Black Spider and that’ll be that!”
Batmouse shook his head and stood up as well, putting the cheese into his utility belt. “Nobody does anything in Gotham without my approval.”
Tazrael stepped closer and Batmouse noted the glint of light on his fangs. He was a powerful adversary who Batmouse was considering making his reserve. There was always the possibility that someone would build a better trap and a new Batmouse would be needed to protect Gotham City. “Fine, mate,” the devil said, turning his back to the Dark Rat. “You take care of the problem yourself. Jus’ don’t be crawlin’ back to old Taz when you get your bum handed to you!”
Batmouse spun around and left the room immediately. The monks of the Order of St. Bernard bowed as he walked by, a sign of respect for the warrior that he was. He had hoped to recruit Tazrael for his new “family”, but the other mammal was simply too independent.
He would simply have to make do with what he had.
Oracrow tapped some keys and opened a channel. “Fried Chicken to Lady Bird,” she said into the microphone. She tapped her long beak as she waited. Behind her, Robin played with his hand-held video game. Batmouse had sent him over to get a status report from Oracrow’s Birds of Prey, a private investigating group.
Currently, she had Black Canary searching the warehouse district for any signs of the Hentress. The Fowl Fatale had been hanging out in that area for the past week or so and Batmouse was hoping to use the BoP group to cover more ground for him.
“Lady Bird here, flapping around in the fog,” came the reply. Robin moved in a little closer to hear. It was recently revealed he had a large crush on the Canary (who was also a duck, secretly Dinah Drake Lance) and had volunteered to be here in the hopes of meeting her. “Have you seen the new cute partner Batmouse has?” she asked.
Barbara smiled. She had clued her partner in on Robin’s crush earlier. Both thought it was cute but also realized that Robin wasn’t all that young and one day he was going to be a striking mallard, firm in feet and long in bill.
Very long in bill it was hoped.
“Quiet, Dinah, he might hear you!”
There was a quacking chuckle on the other end that was soon interrupted by the deep baritone voice of the Batmouse. “Less chatter and more flying.”
Batmouse put the binoculars down and peered across the pier to the other side. His eyes were not reliable in this fog, but his sense of smell was something different. He could detect the Canary fluttering around to the west in an area frequented by the Warf Rats, a local street gang. He suspected, however, that the Hentress, whom he believed he could smell across the way, was after bigger fish.
This part of the pier, these four warehouses, were owned by the Penguin. Actually, it was owned by a company that the Penguin owned through a henchman. Given that the Penguin was now allied with the Black Spider, that meant this was mobster territory.
Several toughs, bulldogs and weasels, were milling about and Batmouse could sense that something was about to happen. Most likely a major arms for drugs deal. The Black Spider was planning on taking control of Gotham the hard way with guns blazing.
A car pulled up and shut its lights off. An otter stepped out, smoothing back his slick hair with a hand and exchanging elaborate handshakes with the weasels. After a few minutes of that, the otter moved to the trunk and opened it. “Night vision,” Batmouse whispered and the lenses in his cowl switched to an ultra-enhanced view. His vision was now twice as good as it would be in normal light and he zoomed in on the open trunk.
Several weapons could be seen piled up ranging from simple handguns to advanced laser rifles. One of the thugs brought over a suitcase and handed it to the otter. More handshakes were exchanged and then all hell broke loose.
The scream was something between a rooster and a banshee, the leather clad Hentress roaring in rage from atop the other warehouse. She was a magnificent specimen of chicken, with a black crown and powerful wings. Her costume was tight against her plumage and it left no question about her figure.
Aiming a wicked-looking crossbow at the otter, the Hentress fired. Batmouse cried out “No!” and then let his batarang fly. His weapon deflected the crossbow quarrel and then returned to his outstretched hand. The thugs were already moving, pulling out guns and firing at both the Hentress and Batmouse.
“I need you,” Batmouse said as he pulled his cape over, letting the Kevlar absorb several rounds before he made his move. Like his namesake, the hero literally flew through the air and came down hard into the crowd of criminals. The Hentress who was delivering chops and punches like a pro joined him.
Night Owl wasn’t far behind, swooping down and grabbing a weasel with his feet. With a deft move, the weasel went flying into the water. “Who’s the spicy chicken surprise?”
The Hentress took down two dogs with a surprise Kung Pow strike. “You don’t belong here heroes!”
Batmouse ducked several swings with a pipe and took down the weasel. “This is my town! I won’t let the Black Spider just come in and take it away from the good people of Gotham!”
By now the Black Canary had also joined them, using her sonic Canary Quack to shatter the eardrums of many of the thugs. Within a minute, the foursome had taken down a score of villains and nobody was dead. Batmouse, his breathing steady, turned to face the Hentress. “Who are you?”
She laughed. “I am vengeance! I am the night!”
Night Owl snickered as she parodied Batmouse’s standard introduction. “Fine. I’ll tell you who you are. You’re name is Henlena Bertinelli…”
Black Canary gasped. The Bertinelli’s had been an infamous mob family in Gotham some years before. The Hentress said nothing for a minute and then tapped her foot on the ground. “So? You’re supposed to be the world’s greatest detective, right? If that’s true, then you know why I’m doing this.”
“If you keep this pace up eventually they will find you in a bucket,” Night Owl offered from behind her. She turned to him and gave him a wink.
“You’re a lot cuter out of that Robin uniform,” she said.
“You should see me out of this one,” he teased.
Batmouse cleared his throat. “Can we get back to the situation at hand? Canary, secure the weapons and have Oracrow contact the authorities.”
“The Black Spider arranged to have my parents murdered. I had to watch as my father was deep fried in front of me!” the Hentress cried out.
Batmouse nodded, remembering when Joe Chilly, a penguin down on his luck, had murdered his parents. Could he be judging her too harshly? “We both want the same thing…justice,” Batmouse told her and he reached for his pouch of Colby chunks. “I’m offering you the chance to get that without killing.”
She shook her head. “The Black Spider has to die! He’s the worm in the apple and I intend to feast!” She pulled out her crossbow and reloaded it. Slipping it back into its holster, she turned to walk away. “I won’t settle for less.”
“You don’t want me coming after you,” was the warning.
“I’ll keep that in mind, rodent,” she relied. Night Owl moved to get in her way, but Batmouse motioned for his to move. “Don’t get your feathers ruffled, handsome!”
They watched her disappear into the night. “Why did you let her go?”
Batmouse chewed on his cheese. “She’ll be back.”
“How can you be so sure?”
He sniffed the air before answering. “You came back, didn’t you?”
“Batmouse took down all of our boys,” Catmouse said. His orange costume looked similar to the Dark Rat’s, but had a more feline touch to it. He was addressing the other members of the Black Spider’s inner web. “It’s going to cost us.”
“This Hentress is not helping business either!” the Penguin added, tapping the table with his umbrella. “It’s a conspiracy I say!”
“I say we break both of them, snap them into twigs,” the Bronze Tiger remarked. He then roared in frustration. “I did not agree to this partnership to sit on the sidelines! I demand a chance to match my mettle against the Bat!”
In front of them, hidden by shadows, the Black Spider spoke. “Patience my friends. The Bat is a problem, as is this Hentress, but we must tread carefully. Do you want to bring the entire might of the Justa Lotta Animals down upon us? I’m not ready to tackle Super-Squirrel or Wonder Wabbit.”
“Well, no,” Catmouse started.
“We will achieve our goals, my friends,” the Black Spider promised, “and I assure you that when we do, the blood of the Batmouse will serve as the wine we will toast our victory to!”
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
9:43 AM - BEN TINSLEY: It’s monthly webcomic posting time!
Current mood: 
accomplished
Category: Blogging
Folks:
Just letting you know we're posting our October Night Owl web comic online today.
As a bonus, we're also posting Jason Dube's recent televised media interview -- the one where he discusses his Wham Bang Comics projects and other great works. It's now a You Tube fixture so we thought it might make a good bonus to supplement your reading pleasure.
Good interview, good comic, and generally a good day.
So GOOD LORD! Be good!
Sincerely,
BEN TINSLEY
Publisher
Wham Bang Comics
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Why Christopher Whiskey Blaine keeps me reading
By Christopher W. Blaine
DISCLAIMER: This work of fiction contains characters and situations that are ©2006 by DC Comics Inc. and Christopher W. Blaine. DC Comics has not given permission for the use of their characters or situations. This work is done for fan entertainment only. This original story is ©2006 by Christopher W. Blaine.
The story thus far…
Years ago, the time-traveling villain known as the Time-Guardian enlisted the aid of Extant in order to try and recreate the Crisis event. It was revealed that the Time-Guardian was actually the Roy Harper of Earth-2, a world that had existed before the Crisis. Blaming God for his situation and the loss of his world, Harper used his magically-based powers, which he inherited by accident, to travel through Hypertime where he murdered his duplicates.
Finally, he gathered together villains from the pre-Crisis universe, using his powers to literally pluck them from the timestream, and with this army he assaulted the true Roy Harper and killed him. By killing Harper before his time, the Time-Guardian managed to exploit the hole caused in the space-time continuum and he pulled the Crisis wave through.
A new universe was created, but while trying to make his own order, the Time-Guardian had managed to also build some chaos. In the non-dimension of Limbo, Abel, keeper of the House of Secrets, pulled together heroes that should had never existed and put them on the Time-Guardian’s world, hoping they would be able to set things correct. Led by the Kryptonian super-hero Nightwing, this group, called the Time-Wardens, destroyed the Time-Guardian’s Crisis engine, which should have restored the universe.
It did, but not without a wrinkle.
The Time-Trapper, a time villain from the 3oth century, wanted to see how the scenario would play out and created a pocket dimension to hold the Time-Guardian’s universe. While life went on there, a hole in Limbo was allowing criminals from various ages and realities to spill out into the real world and the Justice League found itself leading a fight against a more powerful enemy. War was breaking out in all dimensions but the cause of good was not without its champions.
At a critical juncture, the original Superman arrived with Alexander Luthor in tow. The aided the Time Wardens in defeating the Time-Guardian and sent him to the Speed Force where he would do no more harm. The universe was set right and the pocket dimension continued to exist. Superman and Luthor returned to their banishment outside of time, with nobody realizing the consequences of all of these actions.
On Earth-T, the name given to the world in the pocket universe, the newly-christened Wardens did their best to serve the cause of justice. Their membership fluctuated slightly as they continued to protect the innocent from the Legion of Doom, led by Dominus. Adventure after adventure molded them into first a team, then a fighting force and finally a family.
In the Speed Force, the Time-Guardian could tell something was happening, but he was not sure what. He tried to use his powers to see the future, but it was not possible. Instead, he could sense the fabric of magic being altered. Unknown to him at the time, Alexander Luthor had instigated the Infinite Crisis, his mind warped by the dreams of power he had glimpsed originally in the Time-Guardian.
Superboy-Prime, Luthor’s main accomplice, was sent to be imprisoned in the Speed Force by the Flash and Kid Flash. The young powerhouse would eventually prove to be more than what the Speed Force could handle and the Time-Guardian was able to escape. His imprisonment, however, had given the villain a long time to consider things and he emerged a very different person.
Luthor’s base of operations“You stole my ideas,” the Time-Guardian said as he slowly approached Luthor. Both were clad in armor, Luthor’s golden while the former Speedy’s was crimson. “But you didn’t learn my lessons.”
Luthor did not turn around; he considered the Time-Guardian nothing more than a nuisance, a man of limited vision and ability. Had he truly been worthy of ruling the universe then he would have won when he tried. “Is there something that you wanted before I destroyed your little pocket universe?”
“If you can, you mean,” was the quick, smirking response. “I don’t think you’ll win.”
“You won’t know because you will be dead, or I should say, wiped from existence as you should have been from the beginning. Your powers will soon fade because this age of magic, the age that granted you your abilities…”
The Time-Guardian cut him off. “I am fully aware of your manipulations of the Spectre. That would have been more impressive had he been grafted to a living host.” The supposed angel of holy vengeance had been running amok during the Infinite Crisis, crushing sources of magic. Magic was one of those things that Luthor needed to be marginalized for his plans because magic did not adhere to the strict rules of science. “It still won’t help.”
“Did you know you weren’t the only one to survive the Crisis from your world? Power Girl is here,” Luthor said, pointing up. A tower, constructed from the remains of the Anti-Monitor, stood before them. Several beings were strapped to the tower, like captive ornaments on a Christmas tree of death. One was an attractive, buxom blond in a white costume.
The woman was Kara Zor-L, the cousin of the Superman of Earth-2, who had been the man who had helped stop the Time-Guardian. In another time and place, he and her would have been good friends, maybe even teammates in the Justice Society. “You could have taken her as a mate.”
“I got the hint that you were the one with a thing for her,” he told him.
Luthor shrugged. “I have little time to think about sex, but if I were inclined to participate in it…”
“She would most likely kill you,” The Time-Guardian laughed. “You are a Luthor, not a Superman. You lack the…”
Luthor whirled around, hatred in his eyes. “You insect! You would dare mock me? I am a god compared to you!”
“I don’t think so,” the Time-Guardian said cryptically, his eyes flashing with small, blue electrical discharges. They were signs of the magical energies that flowed through him. “I have redesigned the universe before, you are still trying. That’s because despite your intelligence, you have no imagination! You never really lived in the real world, Alex; you don’t have a clue what is really good and evil.”
Alex turned back around and stuck his hands into a holographic projection of multiple earths. He grabbed two of them and smashed them together, merging the realities into one.
New Earth-42Sister Helena Joan Bertinelli jumped high and to the left as another vampire hissed and clawed at the spot she had been standing in. Behind her, Green Lantern used his power ring to shove back three werewolves that were attacking with equal ferocity. The Justice League had found this nest of the undead quite by accident; they had been on the trail of the Scarecrow, a priest of a pagan religion that had been committing several human sacrifices in Metropolis.
“Hal, watch your back!” Green Arrow called out, letting loose with a wooden arrow. The shaft pierced the heart of the vampire that had been attacking Helena, even as she landed and rolled away. She came up face to face with another vampire. The creature screamed and bared bloody fangs at her. She hesitated for a moment; she did not want to kill the creature.
But, she had been trained to do so by the Vatican and despite the fact that she felt great sympathy for the monster, she was not about to let it kill her. In one movement she threw back her purple cloak to reveal her golden crucifix. The vampire immediately shied away even as twin beams of crimson burned their way through its skull, boiling the ichor within and causing it to explode.
Super-Woman landed and fired off another blast of heat vision at a vampire that was armed with a golden sword. The sword was meant for the preoccupied Green Lantern, but by the time it reached his back, it was nothing but yellow steam. “Thanks, Shyla,” Green Lantern grinned as he turned to face his foe. “I think I can handle it from here!”
Green Arrow, from his relatively safe spot on top of some crates, fired two more times before calling out that he was out of ammo. “We’ve hit the mother load here!”
Helena shook her head. “This isn’t right, there are too many of them here! They were waiting for us!”
A young woman, barely out of her teens, crashed through the ceiling and landed in front of Super-Woman. Clad in a skimpy black leather uniform, she looked more like a dominatrix than a super-villain. Wonder Wendy was the second in command of the Legion of Doom and one of its more powerful members. A quick right cross knocked Super-Woman onto her butt.
“Watch and learn,” Luthor commanded as he reached for another world. His machine, which allowed him to pull realities out of the nothingness, was also giving him the ability to merge them.
Behind him, the Time-Guardian said nothing, but crept slowly towards his foe.
New Earth-232ASuper-Woman looked up and wiped a small trace of blood from her broken lip. Above her, three hundred and fifty pounds of flesh, stuffed into an entirely too small red and gold swimsuit, stood at the ready. In Wonder Woman’s hand was a blueberry fruit pie, which had contributed to the cyan hue of her tongue. “So skinny, baby needs to eat,” the obese Amazon said, waggling her tongue as she looked underneath Super-Woman’s miniskirt.
“Burn,” Super-Woman said as she fired off a lethal blast of her heat vision. Too many members of the Justice League had succumbed to the lure of the dessert treats. Wonder Woman and Black Canary had been the first to fall and Super-Woman was sure that the Legion of Doom was behind the plot. The sugars that the women had consumed had destroyed their bodies, ruined their teeth and had rotted their brains.
The beams of light struck Wonder Woman in one of her fleshy chins and the smell of burning fruit filled the air. Liquid fat boiled and rolled down the front of her gargantuan breasts as she screamed in pain and fell back. Vampires, weak from the battle with the other heroes, fell upon her and sunk their teeth into her ample flesh.
Hawkgirl spit on the floor and threw her mace in frustration from her perch on top of some crates. “Nobody will come up here to fight me!” she said with anger.
Green Lantern laughed and used his power ring to create a giant fist that punched through a nearby wall. As it crumbled, he picked up the sight of their quarry. “Got the Scarecrow, who wants him?”
Helena jumped past him, her crossbow in her hand. “Hawkgirl is with me!”
“You’re building Stupid Earth! So what?” the Time-Guardian taunted.
“I’m not trying to recreate this reality,” Luthor answered him. “I’m going to horribly distort yours and then destroy it with a squeeze of my fist!”
Three more blue globes were pulled out of the stew and slapped into the one he had already created. Like a stark raving mad chef, he tossed ingredients into the pot with no regard for measurement, taste or consistency.
New Earth 3458Q“It’s over Scarecrow,” Batwoman said. Behind her the extended “Bat Family” stood ready to leap to her aid. Next to them stood the members of the Justice Guild of America. The Scarecrow and his allies in the Crime Syndicate had gone too far this time. Hundreds of innocent people had been infected with a lycanthropy virus that had turned them all into Man-Bats. The ensuring chaos had allowed the free members of the Syndicate to stage a jail break from the maximum security facility called the Watchtower. “Surrender now and tell us where the rest of your friends are at?”
The Scarecrow cackled. “Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you because now all of you will have to look over your shoulders, wondering where we will strike next!”
Super-Woman folded her arms across her chest. “We’re not afraid, Dr. Crane.”
“You will be!”
“Now, your world dies and its pocket dimension dissolve away,” Luthor threatened.
“No, it doesn’t,” the Time-Guardian responded. In an instant, he turned his powers inward, enveloping his body in magical energies. He flashed into pure magical energy as he surrendered his body to the cosmos. This had been his plan all along.
Once he realized what Luthor had been doing, that he was making the same attempts to recreate reality he had, the Time-Guardian had put his own plans into motion. His incarceration had given him time to think about his crimes and his reasons. Somehow, he had let himself go astray, but that had really been putting it mildly. He had become everything he had been raised to fight.
He didn’t want to die that way.
So, he reasoned the one thing he could do to try and make up for the billions of murders he had committed was to save the universe that he had helped bring into existence. To protect it from what Luthor had planned, he needed a magic shield. The problem was that the Spectre was going around destroying all of the magic.
The only thing he had left was himself.
A flash of blue lightning struck Luthor’s hand and he dropped the created world back into the maelstrom that was before him. The lightning did not burn him, but it startled him and he jumped back, cursing. He looked into the mass of earths, trying to find the one he had been looking for, but then he realized there was no time. “Fine, let it reside in its own little closet. After I am successful in this venture, I will come back and deal with that detail.”
Monday, October 8, 2007
BEN TINSLEY: Christopher Blaine is keeping it real for the male fan fiction community
by Laura Hale
In fan the fan fiction community, there has been at various points in our history an assumption that the community is a largely female one: female driven, female led, a community with feminist perspective or bent, female majority, a history where women are at the forefront. A look deeper into the history of fan fiction challenges this assumption of the fan fiction community being one of female privilege.
... (Denotes elipsis)
... The comic book fandom had Darth Yoshi, aka Christopher W. Blaine. Darth Yoshi was active in promoting a number of more obscure comic book fandoms, promoting awards and otherwise giving increased visibility to ignored parts of the fandom. His fan fiction helped kick start a number of comic book fandoms on FanFiction.Net. David Ivanick helped to drive much meta discussion in the comic book fandom because of the article he had published in May of 2001’s Savant #42. In the Elfquest fandom, there was Whip. He was a member of and maintainer of the FAQ for the biggest Elfquest fan fiction mailing list on the Internet in 2000.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
BEN TINSLEY: Jason Dube is in the news —and on YOU TUBE!!
Publisher
Wham Bang Comics
BEN TINSLEY: Jason Dube is in the news —and on YOU TUBE!!
Publisher
Wham Bang Comics
BEN TINSLEY: Jason Dube is in the news —and on YOU TUBE!!
| M |
| \ |
| Jason Dube, our fantastic art director, has made television news. Jason, on a news show, is interviewed about his career, his tremendous art style, and continued ascension into fame in the comic book world. During the interview, Jason gives a much-appreciated shout-out to the Wham Bang Comics posse and especially to my son and our company muse, Jake Tinsley. Jason describes Wham Bang Comics and its upcoming premiere issue as one of the biggest projects he's ever been involved in. Hopefully it's the first of many mentions to come. Unfortunately, in the process of the interview the reporter mispronunces our name. (Wham BANG Comics, ma'am!) Despite her snafu (of all the things to screw up, why OUR NAME?) it's obviously us. While she's continuing her spiel, Jason is tweaking some Night Owl art in the background/. You can catch the broadcast yourself on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0ApWVTZX_Q As always, we totally appreciate Jason and all he brings to the table and totally look forward to bringing out Two-Fisted Comics 1 to the public as soon as we can. Sincerely, BEN TINSLEY Publisher Wham Bang Comics |
Friday, October 5, 2007
CHRISTOPHER BLAINE: WTF?
God has chosen to bless me with migraines and a job I hate. That’s fine. We take what we get. Then, God thought he would be funny and team me up with Ben Tinsley. See, at my normal job, I get told how stupid I am and then they tell me how lucky I am to be underpaid.
When I write comics, I have to deal with a publisher who frightens the staff by creating a fake story about my criminal history. Let me say this: the only thing offending about my sex is the way I perform. Leave them pissed is my motto.
I do not have more than one wife (actually I have an ex-wife, so maybe I do have more than one). I would not want more than one wife. Having more than one woman is like having less than two nuts. Of course, since this is a kid-friendly blog, I am speaking about our friends the squirrels, who must gather their nuts before winter.
Remember kids: A squirrel with no nuts dies!
Yeah, I have been gone and in my absence, others have tried to fill the void. Well, I am the only one who can do that! I have size 12 feet ladies. That means only one thing: more expensive shoes.
I could speak about my comic, but what am I going to tell you? My publisher will tell the world I have sex with goats. You believed him. For shame!
I will be back. Like a Britney Spears or a Michael Vick, I will climb to the top of the heap and vomit my ideas, opinions and tales of romantic horror to all of you.
Jason: you thought I was a sex offender? Please send me a drawing of Power Girl as a form of apology.
Ben: You have drawn blood, sir! My honor demands I spank thee smartly! I want you to draw me a Power Girl as well, biznatch!
Christopher W. Blaine is the Managing Editor of Wham Bang Comics. He is the man. Everyone knows that.
CASEY COLUMBUS: Genius might have a recipe for success
Girl + Knowledge + Martial Arts = ???
The answer? RAD. Or so I hope, as I work diligently with the characters in my title, "Genius."
Take one part sweet teenage girl, one part awesome and unexpected powers, and toss in a whole lot of chaos
as people fight for control over the very thing that makes her so excellent: the source of her power.
I don't want to go into too many details, because what would compel you, oh member of the internets, to read it then?
Let's just say we start with an old Indian cult that murdered people to prevent the
coming of Kali... and they're just the start of a parade of villainy and scum of the spiritual world's underbelly.
Fortunately, our hero, Tanya, has help and support from friends and family.
But then again, that just might not play in her favor after all...
It's coming directly at you soon. Stay tuned for Genius!
CASEY COLUMBUS
Thursday, October 4, 2007
BEN TINSLEY: Writing webcomics 101
Now, Jake and I both agree: Coming up with scripts for the one page Internet comic strips you will see on our MySpace webpage -- www.myspace.com/whambangcomics -- is a lot harder than writing a full-length 8 to 18 page comic.
Not sure why. Maybe it's the fact that you have to condense everything into four panels and have it make some sort of sense. There has to be a punch line. It's a different form of creation altogether, compared to the steps that have to be taken to put out a standard story script of any caliber.
No room for subplots. None. No room for really cool action scenes. Hardly any room for dialogue. At all.
Plus, there's the added burden of having to only use characters who won't spoil serious storylines, plot twists, or any surprises you have planned for your regular comic book.
And it's a much stranger process. Normally when Jake and I are working on his comic character for a full-length story, he stands beside me rattling off his story while I type it down. I come back with editing ideas, we come to a compromise and the story is just about done.
But not with webcomics. When we go through this process, Jake tells me VILLAIN X should do this or that to Night Owl and Night Owl should do this or that in response.
I then tell Jake that there's no way I could make any of that happen in four panels.
Jake condenses his original idea.
I condense his condensation.
And maybe we're down to 8 to 10 panels by then. So we have to go back again, rethink and rethink.
At some point the light goes on in both of our heads and we come to the same conclusion on how to condense it even more. (Jake is 12 and I am 40 but we still think a lot alike.)
After some aches and pains, finally it's done.
Viola! Webcomic!
It's work. It's definitely a learning curve. But it gets easier. And it's always 100 percent fun.
Keep reading as the Tinsley boys master their craft. We'll all enjoy the process together!
Sincerely,
BEN TINSLEY
publisher
Wham Bang Comics
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
BEN TINSLEY: I love Christopher W. Blaine's team comic!!!
It's a formula that works, even with the younger heroes. Lots of back-and-forth, mixing it up, working it out.
I especially love team comics that get a lot of storytelling done in a short amount of time. Tight, bright, and to the point.
The reason I mention this is you really need to read Christopher W. Blaine's upcoming team adventure in Two-Fisted Adventures #1. It blends lots of history with sweet, punchy dialogue and the promise of something special to come. (We're withholding the title for now.)
We're almost there with the how and where Two-Fisted (and all our future comics) will be published. It's been a long process for us, but stay tuned. You won't regret it!
Sincerely,
BEN TINSLEY
publisher,
Wham Bang Comics
BEN TINSLEY: I love Christopher W. Blaine's team comic!!!
It's a formula that works, even with the younger heroes. Lots of back-and-forth, mixing it up, working it out.
I especially love team comics that get a lot of storytelling done in a short amount of time. Tight, bright, and to the point.
The reason I mention this is you really need to read Christopher W. Blaine's upcoming team comic in Two-Fisted Adventures #1. It blends lots of history with sweet, punchy dialogue and the promise of something special to come. (We're withholding the comic title for now.)
We're almost there with the how and where Two-Fisted (and all our future comics) will be published. It's been a long process for us, but stay tuned. You won't regret it!
Sincerely,
BEN TINSLEY
publisher,
Wham Bang Comics
Monday, October 1, 2007
BEN TINSLEY: CHRISTOPHER BLAINE IS INNOCENT OF POLYGAMY AND BEING A SEX OFFENDER
The last blog that indicated he was both was intended to be satire in the same way Chris often satires or makes fun of me by saying I eat children or pistol-whip him when I’m feeling depressed. Like that.
Unfortunately, our art director Jason Dube, who didn’t know of this little running joke, read the last entry with horror.
Aghast, Jason emailed me, wondering why I’d hire a sex offender. OR, if I didn’t know he was a sex offender when I hired him, why I didn’t fire him immediately when I found out the truth.
The truth is this: Christopher Blaine is an upstanding citizen. He just doesn’t get his blog in by deadline sometimes and I get worried and have to fill the space myself. This time I tried doing so with a page out of his prank book. With disastrous results.
I won’t say that we won’t have satire here again, but it won’t be as far out as this last one was.
AGAIN: CHRIS BLAINE IS NOT A SEX OFFENDER. I MADE THAT UP.
If you’ll notice, the sex offender number on the sex-offender entry I posted under his name was 867-5309. After the lyrics of the famous song “Jenny,” performed by Tommy Tutone.
So … Sorry Chris. But if you’d post your blog in a timely manner I wouldn’t have been forced to get midlevel on your a#$...
By the way, Two Fisted Adventures #1 is coming soon! Watch the skies!
Sincerely,
BEN TINSLEY
Publisher, Wham Bang Comics
