Tagged: indie comics

NEW PRINTS at RED & WHITE EXPO!

Whip ItGetting all packed up for tomorrow’s one-day Red & White Expo at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.  And I’m pleased to announce Two Gargoyles will be launching seven new prints, from a new project yet to be announced– new convention season means new products, I’m happy to say!

Allow me to introduce you to The Black Whip, from the pages of Diaperman!  You don’t want to be a problem for her, because when a problem comes along…!

Come on down to the Red & White Expo tomorrow to see what other prints I’ll be unveiling!

Also, there’ll be issues of Twilight Detective Agency and Gloaming for sale, as well as the Diaperman Graphic Novel, and only at a convention can you get your comics signed by one of the creators!  (Hey– they’ll be worth something SOME day…)

You will also be able to purchase our fantastic “Garg Tract”, A Litany of Vice!  We encourage you to buy in bulk so you can leave a copy everywhere. 🙂

Post-convention, I will make a print gallery on the site so you can see what we’ve got available!

2016 is going to be very exciting, especially with your help!  Two Gargoyles is looking forward to creating more this year, getting to more shows, having a stronger presence, and getting the comics done and out there!  So I’ll be launching a Patreon very soon, and it sure would help if you could tell all your friends about it so that when it launches, it launches BIG.

Onwards and upwards!
Michael

 

New “CAST” Feature!

Hey, Gargeteers!  I’m really excited to tell you guys about our new CAST feature here at Two Gargoyles!

Up on the top nav bar (see image example below), you should see a new link that reads “CAST.”

castbar

If you click on it, it will take you directly to our CAST page where every one of our characters is described for you, complete with headshot and mini-bio!

castpage

 

BUT THERE’S MORE!  Any time you’re reading any of our comics online, right underneath the graphic are the headshots of that comic page’s characters– simply mouse over any one of them to have their mini-bio pop-up!  Never forget the names of the characters again, MOM.  (Those of you who have moms know damn well what I’m talking about.  You feel me.)

castpopup

Huge thanks to Mike Rieger, the “under the hood” webjockey here at Two Gargoyles.  He set up all the back end and cropped countless headshots. All biography dialogue was written by yours truly.

Enjoy– and please, invite your friends to subscribe to twogargs.com by clicking the RSS link on the bottom right of the twogargs.com page! (or the one I just gave you.  That one will do nicely, too.)

THUNDER THURSDAY, Part 2!

It’s that time again– with the launch of Issue 5 planned for the Calgary Expo, it’s time to open the doors even wider to a new audience for our half Norse God, half Canadian, Super Polite hero, THUNDER!

As a treat, Two Gargoyles is uploading the ENTIRE second issue of Thunder all at once, so readers old and new can discover his adventures or refresh their memories!

Spreading the word is the best, biggest help to an Indie comics creator– share this with your friends, introduce them to a Canadian super hero, we’ve got battles, laughs, deep thoughts, and face-punching!

http://twogargs.com/thunderpage/ is the link!  Share early, share often!

Thunder02webcomiccover

THUNDER THURSDAYS!

Two Gargoyles is pleased to present the return and first free digital publication of THUNDER, our Canadian Superhero.

In anticipation of the release of THUNDER #5 at the Calgary Expo a the end of April, I would like to make a very special announcement regarding THUNDER.  As of this post, you may now enjoy all of Issue #1 for free on the Twogargs site– Just go to http://twogargs.com/issue/thunder-1/ and enjoy!

New THUNDER stories and pages will be posted every Thursday leading up to the convention.  If you’ve read the book already, please enjoy refreshing your memory with a re-read.  If you’re new to the book, please share it with your friends!

HALF NORSE GOD.  HALF CANADIAN.  SUPER POLITE.

Thunder01webcomiccover

CHICK TRACT

VicewriterHey, do you Gargs know what a Chick Tract is?  They’re little paper pamphlets made (in)famous by Jack T. Chick, an evangelical, fundamentalist Christian publisher, writer, and comic book artist.  They are “equal parts hate literature and fire-and-brimstone sermonizing,” according to Robert Ito.

Which means they are AWESOME.

Chick Tracts are so infamously bad– so one-sided and crazy in their dialogue, and so unabashedly simple in their artwork– “good” people are handsome and well-kept, “evil” or “misled” people are ugly and disheveled, for instance– that one can’t help but enjoy them as utter, unabashed propaganda pieces.

Naturally, as an Indie Comics guy, it’s only natural that I would want to subvert this format for the joy and pleasure of promoting independent comics!  Namely, the Two Gargoyles line!

Thanks to Mike Rieger’s art and technical expertise, Two Gargoyles has now produced its very own “Garg Tract”– A Litany of Vice.  I’m preparing to mass-produce them for promotional purposes.  Want one?  Watch this space, and I’ll tell you how to get one of your very own!

Excitedly yours,

Michael

THUNDER: The Hero’s Journey

Thunder sketches by G. Gerald Garcia

Thunder sketches by G. Gerald Garcia © Two Gargoyles Comics

Calgary Artist G. Gerald Garcia did some sketches of my hero, THUNDER, yesterday and reminded me that it was high time to talk about what’s been happening with the book here at Two Gargoyles Comics.

It’s always fascinating to me how life can imitate art.  Thunder, my half-Norse God, half-Canadian, Super Polite hero, is the star of a comic about a young man seeking identity in a tale reflecting the Hero’s Journey of mythology:  seeking realization of potential via the journey to maturity.

So, too, does the process of creating the comic mimic that journey.  Thunder has more issues published than any other Twogargs comic:  Four to date, with a fifth one more than half completed as of this writing!  And yet, after the fourth issue there came a pause, a crossroads in the creative process.

The artist left the project, creating the need for change in the book going forward (and I’m excited about the direction in which it’s going, which I will share in another post!) but also leaving me with a decision to make looking backward:  I always said after the fourth issue of Thunder I was going to collect those first four comics into one graphic novel, as a one-stop jumping-on point for those readers who wanted to have one big story arc all at once.  Unfortunately, with the departure of the original artist came certain changes that needed to be made.  So the decision was this:  Pick apart the story or completely refresh it?  I chose the latter: Why not have something fresh for existing Thunder fans to enjoy, as well as new readers?

Thus I began to search for new artists to deliver the Graphic Novel’s art even as the new artist began work on the newest issue of the comic.

Thunder by G. Gerald Garcia © Two Gargoyles Comics

Thunder by G. Gerald Garcia © Two Gargoyles Comics

But, like the Hero journeying through the Forest, I encountered obstacles.  I found an artist who began to draw the first book with fresh eyes, and then suddenly his job and work-life balance changed, which meant he could no longer devote any time to the book.  After finally realizing that (because I think we Indie comics people bend over backwards in the vain hope that maybe things are still possible even when we know darn well they aren’t) it wasn’t going to work out, I went with another artist.

This artist had life troubles from the get-go– not his fault, of course!  Life Happens!  But one can only say “it’s nobody’s fault” for so long before one realizes that isn’t the issue; the issue is there’s been no work done on one’s project for a number of weeks.  And so, it came time to say goodbye to that relationship as well.

As of this writing, I have found another partner with the help of a Facebook group connecting writers and artists, and it seems as if Thunder can finally move forward into realizing that fresh, new Graphic Novel!

There’ll be refreshed art, new characters, slight changes to the story; it will still be the Thunder you’re used to but with a spiffy new shine to him.

I’ve been silent on this topic for so long, it is a great relief to finally share with my readers that YES, that Canadian super-hero you were getting to know is coming back in a BIG way.   Watch this space as I continue this Hero’s Journey with all of you.

Onward and Upward,
Michael

SUNDAY FUNDAY!

RivcoffeeHi, Gargeteers!

The site has been refreshed, retooled and updated!  Now you can see the latest pages of posted comics, including a snazzy thumbnail of the page; navigate instantly to any page of any uploaded comic series!  Just use the drop-down menu on the right side of the page under “Comics,” and select the series you want; then on the following page, select “Jump To” to go to any part of the comic!

The menubar has been updated with the all-new, all-important SHOP option– now Two Gargoyles merchandise is just one “gimme dat!” button away– and with Christmas coming, fun comic booky stuff is available just in time for the special someone in your life– even if it’s you!

All of this is made possible by the talents of Mike Rieger of mikerieger.ca !  Major thanks for going “under the hood” and making things work!  Mike also made the sexy, snazzy new slider graphics at the top of the home page that talk about our comics!

ON SCHEDULE

You may have noticed that there’s now an update schedule at Twogargs! Every Monday there will be a new page of Gloaming, every Wednesday there will be a new page of Twilight Detective Agency, and every Saturday there will be a new page of Diaperman!  This will allow our fans to stay current and have their memories refreshed for our stories, as well as inviting new readers to get to know our comics and characters.  Please, do spread the word and invite your friends to come to twogargs.com for FREE comics!

Occasionally we will have a “Sunday FUNday” comic, our own Twogargs-related webseries “In The Wings,” a series of behind-the-scenes gags about our characters’ lives when they’re not actually “in character” in their own comics.  The newest one is up today!

I hope you’re all having a great weekend– and happy American Thanksgiving to our friends south of the 49th parallel!

Warm wishes,

Michael

 

 

 

PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE!

Hey Gargeteers!

PAST:

Had a fantastic weekend in Lethbridge, Alberta with Kyle Burles at the Lethbridge Expo!

It was a great time with a fantastic venue– the Enmax Centre is an entire arena, with a great layout and lots of room to expand.  It was very cool to have the artist alley on the upper level overlooking the convention floor; it gave me the sense of knowing where everything was and being able to see the entire Expo all at once.  Too, being right near the entrance doors is a huge bonus for traffic!

I’d like to see this convention grow.  If you’re in Alberta, it’s totally within driving distance– and that works for BC, Saskatchewan, Montana, Idaho and Washington, as well!  Check out www.lethexpo.com and come give it a try next year!

Lethbridge Expo at the Enmax Centre

Lethbridge Expo at the Enmax Centre

PRESENT:

You may already have seen pages from current comics updating on the site now– that’s right.  Two Gargoyles now updates THREE TIMES A WEEK — a new page of our horror comic Gloaming on Mondays, Twilight Detective Agency on Wednesdays, and Diaperman on Fridays.  It’s important to me that those of you who read this blog get to know the comics I write and get a chance to read ’em!  The hope, of course, is that you enjoy them so much you support them by purchasing what you like!

As a special treat, I’m uploading the VERY FIRST Twilight Detective Agency story, what we call “TDA #0,” which is the very first case our loveable gargoyles, Riverdale and Hawkstone, solve together.  Back when we first created TDA, it was a webcomic– the format is different and the character designs are very early concepts of the duo; art by Mike Rieger (who very much wishes you to understand that this is very old art and to not judge him for it. 🙂 )

TDAZerowebcomiccover

FUTURE:

Look for the site to have an update to its look and feel soon; thanks to the tender loving webcare of Mike Rieger, Two Gargoyles will have greater functionality, navigation and exciting new opportunities to get cool stuff!

What’s happening with Thunder?  Short answer: Fantastic things.  Thunder issue #5 is over half done, with the talented Myk Emmshin at the helm; amazing colouring by Levy Ramirez are giving the book a very polished, amazing feel.

But wait, there’s more– Thunder issues 1-4 are going to be gathered up into the very first THUNDER GRAPHIC NOVEL— with ALL NEW ART.  Yes, that’s right.  All 96 pages of art are going to be refreshed and made new!  In 2016 Two Gargoyles will be looking into Kickstarter or Patreon crowdfunding options to make that dream a reality, so if you’re a Twogargs fan, spread the word, bring people to the site and let them get to know our work!

In the meantime, please enjoy our new update schedule and look forward to the new things coming to you from Two Gargoyles Comics!

Previous Thunder 01, page 10

Previous Thunder 01, page 10

NEW Thunder 01, Page 10

NEW Thunder 01, Page 10

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