Writer: Lawrence Rider

Art & Lettering: George Athanasiou

Synopsis: This is a steampunk tale where a detective by the name of Solomon Cold investigates a series of abductions that are linked to a mad scientist known as the Pneumatist.


Gaslight: A Steampunk Tale /div>

Comic by Bob Toben

Ramblings by TonyDoug Wright

This comic reminds me of my younger days when I felt disenfranchised. The reality was that I had a good childhood, but you lose your mind as a kid when you don't get your way. I'm older and have two kids, so I need to prepare myself for these moments like this when the kids threaten me with rebellion. The most important thing for me to do is to look back on some of my foolish moments as a kid and wait for the storm to pass. SERENITY NOW!


When I was ten or eleven I went on a hunger strike because my parents would not buy me a G.I. Joe action figure. The hunger strike lasted at most twenty minutes. There were times when I threatened to run away but it seemed to be too much work to get packed.

To all of the disenfranchised kids out there, I want to share with you some Johnny Cash.

By Kurt Peterson

Kurt Peterson has developed another great sci-fi horror tale for Champion City Comics. Please enjoy Dreamworld.

Greetings! We have some webcomic news for our faithful readers. First, we have an update for The Red Devil. Second, we will be debuting a new webcomic titled Dreamworld, which is another great sci-fi tale by Kurt Peterson. Stick around for that webcomic as it will be launched today.

THE RED DEVIL

Writer: TonyDoug Wright

Pencils, Ink, Color, and Lettering: Erik Roman & Joe Haemmerle

Synopsis:  Dublin O'Darby (The Red Devil) is an international crime-fighter who   works for Sebastian Coronado, the director of an organization dedicated   to combating cartels of evil. Joining The Red Devil is teenage sidekick   Charlotte Murphy (Kid Diablo). In the exciting first issue, Red Devil   and Kid Diablo track down a dangerous ninja, Silent Noise, who has   stolen a mysterious ring which once belonged to a diabolical group of  demon worshipers known as the Order of Methalius.

Check out our latest panel where the bad guys regroup after the battle in Prague.

By TonyDoug Wright and A. Kaviraj. 

A. 'Kav' Kaviraj sent me an email with this image attached and we both decided it would be a great idea for Kav and I to have a weekly column dedicated to classic comic book covers.

THE COMIC: Batman #222

TITLE: Dead Till Proven Alive

PUBLISHED: June 1970

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Rock fans have discovered via album clues that Saul Cartwright, a member of The Oliver Twists, died and was replaced by an impostor. For some stupid reason, Batman and Robin need to solve this mystery. However, Batman and Robin discover Saul is the real Saul, but the rest of the band died in a plane crash. Saul replaced the others with look-alikes and the mystery is solved.

THE OLIVER TWISTS? I THOUGHT THE BEATLES WERE ON THE COVER. Yes, the band on the cover of the comic is obviously The Beatles, but copyright and trademark issues forced the powers-that-be at DC to come up with The Oliver Twists.

DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE 'PAUL IS DEAD' MYTH? Yes, you big dummy.

KAV, TELL THESE GOOD KIDS MORE ABOUT THE 'PAUL IS DEAD' MYTH. A student at Drake University in Iowa published an article in the student paper about the death of Paul McCartney. The student used clues in songs like 'Revolution #9' to prove his point. Also, on the cover of Abbey Road the license plate of the car is '28 if'...Paul would be 28 IF he was alive. Also Paul was walking across the street barefoot, which is how people are buried in Britain allegedly. DC Comics was quick to capitalize on the craze with this great Neal Adams Batman cover. It cracks me up that the cover indicates The Beatles took their guitars with them to dig a grave. Also George, not Ringo, is carrying a drum. Yeah, drummers always carry a snare drum with them.


TonyDoug Wright is the owner and editor of Champion City Comics. His webcomics include Dr Death vs The Zombie, The Red Devil , and Day 165.

A. Kaviraj is an artist and writer at Champion City Comics. His works include Dr Death vs The Vampire, Doctor Death vs The Zombie, and The End of Paradise. 

I apologize for not posting a song selection every Sunday as promised. Life has slowed down a bit for me to get caught up. Enjoy some Motorhead.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A. 'Kav' Kaviraj sent me an article on comic book restoration tips. As an archivist, I decided to share some useful tips as well that will aid in restoring your comic books. 

I'm a big silver age collector-anything with Curt Swan interior art-I want it. Even if it is a fairly old comic, say around 1958, and it is in what collectors call 'good' condition (which means it's actually in pretty bad condition with damaged spine, loose cover, writing etc) I want it. I have found a way to upgrade my acquisitions somewhat, and here today I share with you my secrets!

First and easiest to fix is grease pencil writing on the cover. Sellers used to sell used comics and write the price on the cover with grease pencil so this is somewhat common. Using a new white eraser with sharp edges, you can gently buff the grease right off until it is completely gone.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you are concerned about losing color, etc from using a standard eraser then there are many different archival varieties to use to minimize color loss, etc.  A Magic Rub eraser is one option. Be sure to test these items on a comic that you do not view as valuable in order to see how much color, etc is taken away by various erasers. 

Before - Grease pen under Superman title.

After

Then there is the musty comic. The comic was exposed to humidity and smells moldy. An easy, if time-consuming fix. First, rub your hand across each page. Believe it or not, there is a magic trick where you have a bunch of old books on a shelf that have been UNTOUCHED. You tell people to pick up and flip through one book while you leave the room. When you come back every book will smell old except the book which was touched. Try it. So, rubbing your hand across the page loosens and removes some of the molecules which are causing the smell. Then you open the book in open air page by page-an hour a page as the smell slowly leaves the comic. A fan will accelerate the process.

Detached covers. There is some disagreement here. Standard collector's wisdom is never use tape on a book. My fix involves two 1/2" pieces of tape, carefully placed between the staple holes or what is left of them on the INSIDE of the cover. then you go to the middle of the book and carefully pull up the staples. Often the center page is loose too and you can tape those pages too between the staple hole. So you are re attaching both interior loose pages as well as the cover. The tricky part is to straighten the staples, pull them out, and CAREFULLY re insert them into the holes and bend the prongs back down. I would rather have a comic with small hardly visible inside tape than a comic with a loose cover or loose pages. The reason is that a loose cover gets damaged every time the comic is handled. Attached, it holds up better so the fix is preventing future damage and also allowing you to read the book. You make your own decision on this.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you want to use tape then you can always look into archival repair tape. A good product to use is Filmoplast which can be found here. 

Repairing a detached cover

Tape applied

White areas which are smudged on a cover can also be cleaned up considerably with the
white eraser. Don't go too far though.


A. Kaviraj is an artist and writer at Champion City Comics. His works include Dr Death vs The Vampire, Doctor Death vs The Zombie, and The End of Paradise. 

TonyDoug Wright is the owner and editor of Champion City Comics. His webcomics include Dr Death vs The Zombie, The End of Paradise, and Day 165.

Writer: TonyDougWright

Pencils & Inks: A. Kaviraj

Letters: MaGnUs

Cover Color: Kurt Peterson


Champion City Comics is pleased to present the third installment of the Doctor Death series which is based on the Doctor Death character created by Aaron Schutz.

Doctor Death has survived a near-death experience with a psychic vampire in the Oregon desert and he has also defeated a murderous zombie in Las Vegas. Wanting to avoid any problems with law enforcement, Doctor Death returns home to his superhero league headquarters where he discovers that someone or something has been stealing the memories of high ranking officials, world class scientists, and a retired Navy SEAL.

We hope you enjoy this latest Doctor Death edition. If you haven't checked out the other stories then we strongly encourage you to read Dr Death vs The Vampire and Dr Death vs The Zombie. 


Doctor Death vs The Master Mind

  

The second season is over and we had ourselves a real barn burner. I wish AMC would have hired former ABC sportscaster, Keith Jackson, to provide some commentary during the finale. When Jimmy was eaten alive, we'd have Jackson say, "Whoa, Nellie!" That would have been brilliant. Overall, the finale was a good ol' fashioned gunfight against a horde of walkers. I really enjoyed how the writers were able to get the walkers from Atlanta to Herschel's farm. The mysterious helicopter was the culprit and perhaps we will know more about the people who are flying around Hot-lanta.  The walkers then made their way to the farm area and the sound of Carl's gun caught their attention. These events led to the end of Herschel's farm. Take it away,Talking Heads!


The battle led to the majority of the group going their separate ways to flee the chaos. However, the group was broken up momentarily but reunited on the highway. Andrea was left behind but was saved by a kitana wielding figure who had two armless walkers on chains. The fanboys and fangirls know that this character is Michonne. Rick and the survivors decided to get out of Dodge but gas trouble stranded them overnight. While camped out, Rick gave the group an ultimatum, and in the background we saw the prison that will play a key role in season three. I'm intrigued to see how things will go for the group with the evil one known as The Governor. Frank Darabont, will you ever not be affiliated with a project that does not have a prison theme?


What did I like about the finale? The gunfight. It was fantastic, pulse-pounding, and had me on the edge of my seat. Although the group had to flee, they did get together at the end for a brief happy reunion. Also, I loved how Rick turned into angry Rick. The group needed a strong leader, and Rick stepped up to the plate. He gave them the ultimatum at the end and nobody decided to cross the boss. Well, not yet. I was also thankful that T-Dog did not die. Way to survive,T-Dog.  

What did I not like about the finale? Lori's attitude. Excuse me? Lady, you wanted Shane out of the picture, so Rick did what he had to do, and you're pissed? Shane was crazy, yo. The fool was going to get capped eventually.

Season two was good and I can not wait until the show returns in the fall.   

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Being a HUGE thing fan-both the John carpenter film as well as the short story it was based on "Who Goes There" by John Campbell, I was stoked to see they were doing a remake. And a bonus! The star is Mary Elizabeth Winstead from 'Die Hard With a Vengeance'-who I used as a model for Jessie's girlfriend in 'Dr Death vs the Zombie'. She plays Kate, a paleobiologist.

The movie starts out pretty good-great acting and scenery top notch but there was a fake part pretty early on-the alien bursts out of its ice cube. I'm thinking wait-its still the exact same temperature as its been for the last 100,000 years in its ice tomb-why can it suddenly insta-thaw and bust out now? Not a huge flaw but I hope there's not more of them-enough flaws and the willing suspension of disbelief is toast. Ok let's see what happens next.

Ok another fake part to report-it goes from day to night. Apparently no one bothered to check that night or day at the poles lasts for months...sigh. I really wish I could act as scientific advisor to Hollywood-they need one so badly...ok the original Thing movie had the same flaw so I'm not too upset-I'm just sayin.

The movie picks up quickly-the drama is great and a real tribute to the original film, with the extra bonus of computer technology to make the alien more horrific and realistic than the original, when John Carpenter only had stop-motion animation to work with.

Kate clues in to the capabilities of the critter, and of course no one believes her until the bodies start dropping. Classic! I'm liking this film, man. There are some truly horrific scenes as the THING consumes its prey.

They do the horror movie deal where even though anyone could be one of the critters, people keep being alone with one other person, and everyone is allowed to wander around ALONE. HELLO! haven't any of these scientists ever seen a horror movie? Stick together! Then they lock two suspected people in a shack until they can find out if they are aliens...uh, guys? That alien busted out of several stronger buildings already-you all saw that. what makes you think a shack is gonna hold them? It reminds me of the Kav and Tony review where kids were tossing Superman around and he goes to punch an adult-illogical.

Luckily for them the creature is part stupid-it can detach parts of itself like a hand and run up your arm and jam its way down your throat. Why it doesn't just segment itself into like 50 pieces and attack everyone at once like the space crabs in Apollo 18 is a mystery.

Another part I didn't understand was-they disabled all the vehicles so the creature couldn't get away, then later the thing takes off in one vehicle and the two remaining humans give chase in another vehicle! Wtf? Did the director forget his own script? Brilliant. Gimme that damn thing-I'll read it.

The alien finally makes its way back to the spacecraft. why it didn't just slyly do this in the first place then fly to New York instead of causing all that drama is yet another mystery. These are the kind of plot inconsistencies that me and Tony strive to weed out of our Doctor Death stories-why are we the only ones???

This movie also suffers from the 'Green Lantern Syndrome'-where instead of attacking the creature at various points the protagonists stop and STARE at it instead. Come on, guys-MOVE YOUR ASS!

Kate finds her way into the alien spaceship and sees a big glowing computer grid-like energy thing and she HOLDS HER FLASHLIGHT UP TO IT! If you took her camping, she'd probably shine her flashlight on the camp fire so she could see it better. Great idea, short bus. She brings one grenade with her to pursue the creature and of course she drops it. Personally I would have brought so many grenades with me I could barely walk-but that's just me. Tony, too, I'm pretty sure would do this. But we're not big-head scientists so what do we know?

Another lucky factor for Kate is that the alien ship, unlike the Starship Enterprise, which can be riddled by photon torpedoes (because 'deflector' shields do NOTHING) and continue to function, one grenade completely disables the alien ship.

Oh yeah, one other thing-even though these guys are in ANTARCTICA, no one ever gets cold-in fact they seem to be mostly sweating in the open tundra. Stupid.

A. Kaviraj is an artist and writer at Champion City Comics. His works include Dr Death vs The Vampire, Doctor Death vs The Zombie, and The End of Paradise. 

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Writer: A.Kaviraj

Art: Kurt Peterson

Letters: MaGnUs


Synopsis: This sci-fi tale follows a man named Gann who has fled Earth for a distant star due to a deadly assassin.

Escape

We have some webcomic updates for today and our first update is for The Red Devil.

Click here to read The Red Devil at Drunk Duck. 

THE RED DEVIL

Writer: TonyDoug Wright

Pencils, Ink, Color, and Lettering: Erik Roman & Joe Haemmerle

Synopsis: Dublin O'Darby (The Red Devil) is an international crime-fighter who works for Sebastian Coronado, the director of an organization dedicated to combating cartels of evil. Joining The Red Devil is teenage sidekick Charlotte Murphy (Kid Diablo). In the exciting first issue, Red Devil and Kid Diablo track down a dangerous ninja, Silent Noise, who has stolen a mysterious ring which once belonged to a diabolical group of demon worshipers known as the Order of Methalius.

Check out our latest panel where Red Devil and Kid Diablo scan they mysterious ring.

Click to enlarge

Comic by Bob Toben

Ramblings by TonyDoug Wright

I spoke with Bob yesterday concerning a catchy title for this comic and his reply was, "How about 'Professor X'"? Perfect. Enjoy!


TonyDoug Wright is the owner and editor of Champion City Comics. His webcomics include Dr Death vs The Zombie, The Red Devil, and Day 165.



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Matt & Joe are two comic book fans from Nebraska and their weekly podcast,Two Headed Nerd, is one of the best. This is their most recent show and if you want to know more about Matt & Joe then check out their main page. A special thanks to the guys for giving us a shout-out for Dr.Death vs The Zombie.

Comic by Bob Toben

Ramblings by TonyDoug Wright


This comic made me think of my favorite car songs from the wonderful world of rock and roll. Below are my choices with some brief commentary.


1. Drive My Car by The Beatles: This is a classic and Rubber Soul is a damn good album.

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I hope you noticed the spoiler alert because this is your last warning.

AMC.COM

I'm a fan of The Walking Dead just like you, so I decided to share some thoughts following last night's episode. 

Shane's dead and that is no surprise. I read some of the early issues of The Walking Dead comic book and was waiting for Shane to get capped by Carl or even Rick. The writers were dangling the "Shane's gotta go because he's a freaking lunatic" carrot in front of our faces for many episodes and last night we were treated to Rick stabbing Shane and Carl taking out zombie Shane with a bullet to the head. It wasn't Omar and Brother Mouzone taking out Stringer Bell on The Wire, but it was time for the dude to go.

AMC.COM

That's all from me and please share your thoughts below in the comments section.

TonyDoug Wright is the owner and editor of Champion City Comics. His webcomics include Dr Death vs The Zombie, The End of Paradise, and Day 165.

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Let's take a look at the trailer for Battleship, starring Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Brooklyn Decker, Alexander Skarsgard, and Rhianna.

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Interview by A. 'Kav' Kaviraj

Ross Campbell is an indie comics artist and writer and some of his best known works are Wet Moon and Shadoweyes. He describes Wet Moon as, "A drama/romance/comedy/mystery thing, sort of teen drama meets Twin Peaks, set in the fictional city of Wet Moon, and features primarily teenage girls and ambiguous supernatural elements in a decompressed, plotless slice-of-life type set up." Ross Campbell was kind enough to answer some questions via email. Thanks, Ross.

Click to enlarge

Your dialogue in Wet Moon is SO realistic-I have known goths who talk and act like this. How much of the dialogue is stuff you actually heard?

Thanks! There are a few scenes that are inspired by real life events, but most of the actual dialogue is made up from scratch. With the dialogue that's based on something that was actually said, I still retool it and rewrite it so it fits the context in the story and fits the character.

How did you come up with the name Wet Moon for the setting?

A wet moon is when a crescent moon is on its side with the points going upward, like the shape of a bowl or a smile. The term 'wet moon' is Hawaiian in origin and comes from the idea that the bowl-shaped moon would fill up with rain. I thought it fit well as a name for the fictional city in the comic.


How long does it take you to do a page?

It really varies depending on how complex the page is. Pages with elaborate backgrounds or larger groups of characters interacting take me the longest, maybe several hours from start to finish, while simpler pages can take as little as 2 or 3 hours.

Click to enlarge

If Trilby dies in Wet Moon 6 I will be so disappointed. She is the most lively character of the series. If she is dead, can you at least bring her back as a zombie?

Haha. I think you've got the wrong comic if you're asking for zombies!


What artistic impulse made you start up a whole new series, Shadoweyes...was Wet Moon getting boring or something?

It's not that Wet Moon got boring, no, it's that I really love the Shadoweyes characters and had to do something with them, I had to get them out there. I've always alternated Wet Moon volumes with other books, though, so it's nothing new; after I did Wet Moon 1 I did The Abandoned, after Wet Moon 2 I did Water Baby, and during the period I did Wet Moon volumes 3-5 I was also doing issues of Mountain Girl and some stuff for DC/Vertigo. I just have a lot of ideas and I like doing different things.


I have several pages of your great original art. Where can others go to purchase such future-valuable pieces?

Thank you for the purchases! Anyone who's interested in artwork can contact me directly at .

Can you go over your process from a blank sheet of paper to a finished page?

I start with thumbnails, which are about 2.5 x 3.5 inches, I thumbnail the whole book before any "actual" drawing. After that I take the thumbnails and blow them up to a bigger size, I used to work really big but these days my pages are small, about 7 x 11 inches, and then with pencil I lightbox over the thumbnail on a piece of bristol paper. Then depending on the book I tighten up the pencils, which is what I usually do now, Wet Moon has been pencil since volume 3, and the pencil serves as the final linework and I scan it in and throw greytones on it and then lettering. If I'm inking, I keep the pencilwork looser and then ink over that. Then for Shadoweyes which is all digitally-drawn, I scan the thumbnails into the computer and trace over them right in Photoshop. For stuff I'm not lettering or coloring myself, the process stops there and somebody else does the rest.


Do you write a whole book before you start drawing it?

Yeah, definitely. I used to write while thumbnailing but as my stuff got more complex and more focused on the dialogue and conversations, I started doing scripts first. It really helps me, knowing how the dialogue is going to go, what the characters are talking about and framing everything around that, making sure there's enough room on each page for what's being said, and I like rearranging scenes in the script stage and knowing how long the book will be. Things still change after scripting, though, a script isn't set in stone and I change how scenes flow or delete or add new ones during thumbnailing.

Click to enlarge

You can visit Ross Campbell's web page here. 


A. Kaviraj is an artist and writer at Champion City Comics. His works include Dr Death vs The Vampire, Doctor Death vs The Zombie, and The End of Paradise. 

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Today's webcomics update is a celebration, so get the champagne ready. A. 'Kav' Kaviraj and I are pleased to announce the completion of Dr. Death vs The Zombie. This 116 page thriller is the second installment of our Doctor Death series, which took us close to one year to complete. If you're not familiar with this title and you are a fan of The Watchmen then look no further. Kav and I have something fantastic for you to check out.

Kav and I have been working together at Champion City Comics since March of 2010, and this is our first completed graphic novel. We have worked on other projects, but Dr Death vs The Zombie really took us to the next level as far as writing and art were concerned. I am really proud of our accomplishment and this is another great title we have at Champion City Comics. If you are not familiar with the rest of our titles then click here to see some awesome comics by some very talented people. I want to thank our faithful readers for supporting Champion City Comics. I want to thank Kav for doing an incredible job on this project and his input and advice has made me a better writer. I want to thank my wife, Cathie, for being very supportive and wonderful. I want to thank the Champion City Comics staff for their support of this project. I want to thank Drunk Duck, Comic Related, and The Webcomic List for their support of Champion City Comics at their respected sites. I want to thank Kurt Peterson for his wonderful color work on our cover. Finally, I want to thank Aaron Schutz, the creator of the Dr Death character, for allowing Kav and I the opportunity for developing this graphic novel.

Kav's thoughts on our accomplishment: "Well, it was late last April that Tony and I started Dr Death vs the Zombie, an original story based on the short story by Aaron Schutz titled Dr Death vs The Vampire. During that time we haggled over plot mechanics, Tony sent pages and I drew them. Also during this period I stayed busy cranking out Frater Mine #10, and Rapid City #1, 2 and 3. But now we have finished our first graphic novel together! OK we did do 140 pages of The End of Paradise-but we stopped working on that estimated 165 page book as we realized THE WHOLE THING WOULD HAVE TO BE RE-LETTERED. So we are focusing on the Dr Death world now, which frankly really turns our crank. We hope you enjoy the completed story, because if you enjoy it that means others will enjoy it and if enough people enjoy it we will get picked up by IMAGE or someone, then the story can become a movie."

Our readers should be pleased to know that we have Dr Death vs The Mastermind in development. This will be one action-packed thrill ride of a story!

Want to read the entire graphic novel or check out a few pages? Just click on the FULLSCREEN option below and enjoy! Also, you can switch the viewer to BOOK mode, but clicking on the option located in the bottom left corner.

You can also read some of Dr Death vs The Zombie at Drunk Duck. Click here to read. 
Doctor Death vs The Zombie