I’m pleased as punch (No, I don’t get that saying either, but it’s written so let’s forge ahead here) to announce that after a handful of passive-aggressive emails and queries from friends and family, Tommy Chicago (vol 2) issues 1 and 2 are now available to order online! No longer do you have to be disappointed that you forgot to buy them from me at one of the various local con’s. Or maybe you were going to buy one, but then you saw that issue of Wolverine: Saucy Plumber #7 that you needed to complete your collection. It’s ok. I understand, I’d probably do the same thing if I were in your situation.
But now, now you have a chance for something special. below are links where you can find issues 1 and 2. When you order them, they will be printed especially for you and then shipped out. That’s right. While other comics are printed based on retailers estimates of what you may or may not buy, Tommy Chicago is printed specifically for you, THE READER. Sure you may cherish the adventures of the saucy mutant who’s the best there is at what he does, and what he does is clear clogs from drains, but maybe when that comic was printed it was intended for someone else. Someone like John Voight. Or the Pope. You just don’t know! But with Tommy Chicago, you’ll never have another sleepless night of wondering.
Also if you already own the issues, you can go to the links and write a review of the issues (you can also order more copies, but I’m not going to press on that one. The fact that you even bought one copy makes you a good egg in my book, so we’re square. Thanks.)
So yeah, that’s the deal. If you’ve read one of our various giveaway issues, or read any of volume 1, or you’re my mom, follow the links below, and thanks for playing.
Well obviously the thing I was working on didn’t work. That’s why it wasn’t posted. But that’s not important now. What is important now is that Microcon is this weekend! Sunday to be exact! You can see all the information at http://microcon.mncba.com/
That’s right! Come on down and buy a comic! I’ll be selling Tommy Chicago (vol 1) #12, and Tommy Chicago (vol 2) #2. Also all the various issues that nobody ever buys! What a salesman I am! There may also be a couple free issues for some lucky people. So come on down and bring some money. Bring large bills, because I probably won’t be able to make change.
Sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve been wrapping up a couple scripts, and I’m also working on a super secret thing for this site. I don’t want to say too much so I can ignore it if it sucks, but if it works out I’ll post it up this weekend.
This is the back cover for TC 12, the final issue of the first volume of Tommy Chicago. But don’t worry, Volume 2 is already going strong..on second thought maybe you should worry about that….
sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve been working on a couple scripts and haven’t had time to think up any half baked character descriptions. Anyway.. Kids! Do not drink until you’re old enough to, or someone calls you chicken. Unless you are a chicken and then Robocop will come and steal your fridge. And although sugar and alcohol can help you come up with ideas, for the love of..whatever you love..don’t drink and write. You might think it’s a good idea at the time, but that’s because you’re drunk. Trust me! You’ll get rushed and beunable to fix all the mistakes you made while drunk and end up with something that you’re not at all happy with but have to pretend you’re happy with because most people don’t drink and write. Although there is a song by the Mighty Mighty Bosstone where they say the worlds greatest writers are all drunks and fighters. That may be true, but then they also have awesome editors. People only notice editors when they do a bad job. Nobody notices them when things are going swell. Sort of like referees. Well..This post has gotten away from me, have a nice day!
Every good detective needs to keep up with the word on the street, so when Tommy Chicago needs to know whats going down on the seedier side of Chilitown he goes to Zombie Coltrane. Now Zombie Coltrane isn’t your average b-movie zombie. No, he’s a regular, talented guy who just happens to enjoy eating a brain every now and again. Sadly the people of Chilitown can’t get past their preconceived ideas, and so Coltrane never was able to find gainful employment and ended up on the street. He soon discovered he didn’t mind, probably because he’s a zombie. So now he just wanders the city playing his sax, eating the occasional brain, keeping his ear to the happenings of the criminal word and giving sage advice to anyone who needs it.
You might think I’m happy being an unknown local comic writer, and you’d be mostly right, but I’m also hard at work becoming an unknown screenplay writer. Below you can watch the trailer for Lesser Known Characters, a short film I wrote that was produced over the past summer. It’s a documentary style film that follows 3 guys and their quest to become super-heroes in a real world environment. If you’re interested in ordering a copy we’re selling the full movie for 5 dollars (plus shipping). Just shoot me an email at Brian@tommychicago.com and specify if you’d like the edited version or the Super Raw Directors Cut!!!
One note, there is foul language in the trailer, so you probably don’t want to play it if you’re at work, or offended by foul language, or near a kid who you don’t want hearing foul language. What if you’re a kid just looking for some foul language in a movie trailer for a short film? Well then you’re in luck!
These two are probably my favorite supporting-supporting characters, and they were both pretty much happy accidents..have you ever noticed that if someone tells you they had an accident, you automatically assume it was something bad? Is it really fair to the word that we have to qualify it with a word like happy to make it good? Anyway, more on this some other time. Now back to the characters.
I have the memory of a goldfish, so I had to check with Bob for the origin of Guy With Beard and he tells me that GWB was created way way back in the day when we were working on the original (and abandoned) Tommy Chicago mini series. If there’s one thing I hate to do, it’s naming characters. Heck, I hate naming anything, if I ever have kids they’ll probably be named Optimus Prime and Tommy Chicago. So I had a misc. character who had a beard and I apparently put in the script that I’d figure out the name of the character later, but we stopped work on that series and I lucked out.
That luck wasn’t to last though, because eventually we started up the ol’ Tommy Chicago bus again and in issue 6 I needed a random guy and Bob drew our old unnamed friend. I was able to avoid naming him again because in the story he wanted to keep a low profile, but I knew deep down time was running out (not really, I just think that sounds dramatic!) In issue 8 we needed a random guy to meet the Chili Monster. And when I saw the finished artwork, who should appear but that guy and his magnificent beard! At that point in my mind at least he became the unluckiest guy in Chilitown. Not only does weird crap keep happening to him, but nobody even knows his name..Not even me! We haven’t done much with him since Future Tommy Chicago blew up his car, but rest assured if the Tommy Chicago universe needs an innocent bystander to have wackiness inflicted upon them, Guy With Beard will be there!
Shavonda is a different story. I didn’t need a throw away character that later stole my heart and became and intricate part of the Tommy Chicago universe. Nope. It was a throw away line. There is a 3 year gap in story time between the end of the first series and the beginning of the second series. A 3 year gap which is partially covered by 3 years of Tommy Chicago Free Comic Book Day stories, the third issue should be out for FCBD 2009.
Now I don’t know much about kids but I’ve been told they grow up fast. Well I didn’t need that kind of problem with Jimmy. If I were to give TC a moody teenage sidekick the abuse TC heaped upon him would seem deserved, and readers might not be sympathetic towards Jimmy. Then I’d have to set up a 900 number to kill him off, and I honestly didn’t need that kind of stress in my life. So as I was writing issue 1, I decided I would just throw out a random line (lizard men, universal remote, hot dog vendor with a heart of gold) and then promptly forgot about it. Until once again I saw the finished artwork. Where I had expected a random hot dog vendor, Danno had given the world Shavonda. So far she’s just been seen in that panel in issue 1 and a short story we did to give out at Fallcon, but you’ll be seeing more of her in the future, because as Jimmy says “She’s sassy!”
