It's Fantastic!

It's the first collaboration between Jeff Tuffenstuff and Chew! It's Flex Fantastic ... a hero's journey through murky, nebulous and watery folds to find his sidekick, Klepto the flying-wonder-dog! This is the one that started it all. Buy it and finally read what everyone is hardly talking about ... Oh Vey!

The Daddy of all Sequels ...

The epic collaboration between Chew and Jeff that reached a climax so chilling, so powerful ... well, okay. Maybe it's not that chilling. In fact, our hero Flex Fantastic isn't even in half of the book. But a city gets destroyed, a goddess is reborn and we introduce S.M.A.C.K.: the sorriest and worst bunch of super powered men ever assembled. Oh, plus there's a special cameo from an old friend. And our fan-favorite ... Klepto the dog. Ruff' said.

Flex Fantastic is back!

Not really. But he did get some new stuff though.

– Jeff Tuffenstuff

It's...

Mentioned, but not seen in Flex Fantastic: Doggone Troubles. His wife, Mandy, was seen speaking on the phone to Flex's girlfriend, Susan Smucker. I guess ol' Monty really was out saving kittens after all...

Superbad ...

Like Chew, I'm taking a small break from Carnage Cream. So if you liked the weird wackiness and just plain strangeness of the characters in Flex Fantastic ... Gilbert Goo's for you. My posts will be a bit more sporadic for the rest of the year. I'm focusing my energies on a new project, which if everything goes according to plan, I will debut at Fluke next year. Wish me luck!


- Jeff Tuffenstuff

Fluke 2010

Fluke 2010 was awesome.

Chew and I left Columbus at 5:30 A.M. and arrived in Athens just before nine. We grabbed some coffee and decided to scope out the new Fluke location and saw that people were already lined up to rent tables. We rushed back to the car to grab our stuff and stand in line. The doors opened just a little before 11 A.M. and the line kept growing and growing. There is no way the old location at Tasty World would have been able to hold that many artists. The hall in Cine (Athen's indy theater) was just big enough. There was a bar and the coffee and beer started flowing at noon.

Chew and I did suprisingly well. Everyone who bought a copy of Flex Fantastic last year, picked up book II, which was exciting. Chew sold a lot of Hairball and Neutrino Valley.

Several friends of ours made the trip to Athens. Orion rented a table and premiered two of his comics. Roger picked up his friend Steve from Atlanta and arrived around noon.

The day went by quickly and we met a lot of people and hopefully, made some new friends. Fluke wrapped up around 6 P.M. We hooked up with our Columbus Posse and headed out to grab some dinner. We laughed, drank - discussed the new Doctor Who, Blake's 7 and B movies - and ate Thai. It was a 20 hour day and the trip home took forever but it was one of the best days I've had ... and from talking with Chew, I know he feels the same.

I just wanted to thank everyone who came out to see us. If you're new to this blog, please check out our ealier postings (starting at April 2009) for Carnage Cream/How ah met you Muddah. Please leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you!

Thank you, Patrick Dean, for throwing such a great event. Fluke rocks.

Special thanks again to Kennis, our unnofficial third member, for printing our books. Because of him, we were able to pass our savings on to everyone who bought a book this year.

And special thanks to Roger. You've just been made Globster Press Fan Club President!

Spread the word!

--Jeff Tuffenstuff

After a three hour car trip, full of Starbucks coffee and pastries, Chew(right)and I are ready to set up and sell our books at Fluke.


A close-up of Flex Fantastic Issue 2 and Carnage Cream at the Globster Press Table

Chew at the Globster Press Table at 11:00 A.M. That smile is scary, man! You're scaring the kids...


Roger, recently appointed President of the Globster Press Fan Club, reading one of Chew's comics. He drove 150 miles to come out and support us - and brought his friend, Steve. Roger now owns every comic we've done. He also sat at our table and shouted at attendees and helped sell books. A sea biscuit goes to anyone who can spot what's wrong with this picture!


5 P.M.: selling strong, all day long

Our fellow travelers and friends from Columbus: (left to right) Julie, Dan, Hannah, Orion and Steve. Orion also had a table at Fluke. His Sci-Fi comic After the Penal Colony is worth reading. If you come across it, please give it a try. Thanks for coming out to Fluke, guys!


6:04 P.M. Fluke's over. We're done. Bring on the next con!


Chew at Dinner. Excited to order Drunken Noodles and feeling pretty good about Fluke.


Roger and Steve at Dinner. Imitation meat? Huh? What?

FLUKE!

Hey peoples. Hope all is well. Been sick, been busy, been crazy....but FLUKE is here! Now! Set for Saturday, April 17 in Athens, GA. We, here at Globster Press, between the two of us, will have FOUR NEW COMIC BOOKS FOR YOU EDIFICATION! J. and I have the new Flex Fantastic 2 (the sequel) and Carnage Cream. I will have my new/old Hairball entitled "Hillbilly Chic: Part One of the Hillbillogy" as well as Neutrino Valley. All of our books are affordable to poor people who like to wallow in mud and cheap forms of literature. Awesome! You know you wish you could be there to wish you were there wishing you could hang out with our awesomeness all day and drink beer with all of the other people milling about whilst drinking beer wishing that they were sitting at a table all day wishing that they could drink a beer too!
YEAH! We had an unbelievably great time last year. Hopefully this years show will be fun as well.
Before I go, big HUGE THANKS to Kennis for helping us print our books this time. I know my books killed that two-tone printer, but thanks for the effort. HUGE cheers also go out to J. for using his superhuman powers to tackle the cutting and stapling. You guys totally Rock! No sarcasm, either!
FLUKE!!!!!

Chew

Images painfully seared into your brain!

Well, well. March has come in and we, here in the Land of the Globster, find ourselves inundated with many, many, many, many things to do. We are working hard on Flex 2, though. I thought I would take this opportunity to indulge you with a few choice words......
A couple of nights ago, I began my first annual one man "Naschy-Fest At Night" to celebrate the life and passing of that crazy Spaniard, Paul Naschy. He looked like John Belushi and acted like a plank of wood, but ohhhh that Naschy! He was quite the devil! He made some very enjoyable 'horror'/exploitation films from the 60's to the 00's (oughts).
Last night, I finished "El Carnaval De Las Bestias", a.k.a. 'Human Beasts'. It was a touching little film about cannibalism. Actually, it would be more appropriate if the title was translated literally into The Carnival of the Beasts. It would fall in line with the theme of masks...and the people who hide behind them...and how easy it is for people to let themselves be suckered after a couple of kisses.
There was this really ripe scene, and I'm totally giving it away, where this veterinarian gets eaten by these really, REALLY fake looking pig heads. VERY BOSS.
Next up? Blue Eyes of a Broken Doll!
Until then....keep busy!
I know you will, you few, you...

Albaric the Transmutationable Mute

I'm back ...

It's been a while since my last post. Wanna know what I've been up to? Okay ... here it goes:

I've enjoyed spending quality time with my youngest daughter. I found out that I'm allergic to fagrant soaps - I developed a painful rash on my fingers and the palms of my hands, which for a week, made work and drawing extremely uncomfortable. I got a nasty cold that my body refuses to shake (don't worry folks, it's not the flu - I've been checked) and I've been sick for an entire month with all kinds of symptoms ... which is a new record for me. The whole family is sick with varying degrees of the cold (which unfortunately got the baby too). I've won two SEMC awards for my graphic design work at the museum. I watched the movie Speed Racer (which I simply don't get - I understand the plot - but if you make a movie for kids, why is the back story about corporate acquisition and race fixing? What ten-year old gives a flying crap about that? It's like the Phantom Menace ... hey kids, this one's for you! Oh by the way, we're gonna deal with a trade embargo, senatorial and planetary disputes, and we're gonna show you how to turn a small skirmish into a full scale war - yippieee! If you're gonna make the movie for a kid, make the damn movie for a kid!). I've watched a couple of old Hammer horror films ... good stuff (thanks, Matt). I saw G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra (go Baroness!). I've argued about the economical and social conditions necessary for Star Trek's socialistic society (keep 'em comin', Kennis). My wife and I hosted a Halloween party for the family at which I was dressed as a demented clown and booed my brother for doing a bad imitation of a monster (check out his germanchocolatestallion blog - don't worry, it's not porn). And finally, I've discovered the Nathan's Hot Dog. I like. I like a lot.

But it's back to making comics. In addition to getting back to work on Flex Fantastic 2, I'm trying to have two new comics out by March or April of next year. One is a little to halfway done. The other, I'm starting this week (see illustration above). It's about a naked thief trying to ... well, steal something. I'll be posting updates on this project at least once a week: Character sketches, backgrounds, panels, etc. Should be fun.

I'm back.

- Jeff Tuffenstuff

Long time gone...

It's been awhile. I've been getting ready for a small exhibition that I am going to have in a former crack house. I also needed to get away from the comics for a spell. That means a break from Flex 2, the blog, everything.
So, I'm back, and here is a panel out of my upcoming comic called "Neutrino Valley". It looks like it will be around 14 pages. I have a couple more things to finish up on it before it's all ready to go.

- Chew

Meanwhile at SMACK Headquarters ...

Wow. It's been a while since the last post. Chew has been working on several paintings for an upcoming art show. Me? My wife and I had a baby ( Hi, Kennedy! Daddy's on the internet!). We're slowly getting our bearings and I'm trying to return to something that halfway resembles a routine. The next few posts will be a bit sporadic. Fear not ... I think we'll return to a more regular posting schedule by the middle of October.

Since we've been absent for a while, I thought it would be interesting to show an entire sequence from the second issue of Flex Fantastic. We left the small band of pirates and Flex in a precarious position. And while he and his dog, Klepto, are trying to get a handle on the situation, we catch a small glimpse into the lives of those left behind ... Susan Smucker and the Super Fraternity known as S.M.A.C.K.

Enjoy!

P.S. Followers of this blog should pay special attention to a surprise cameo of a very old and very ancient friend.

- Jeff Tuffenstuff

Flex Fantastic in book stores!

Well, okay - actually the first issue is in only one book store, but so what? It's in a book store! And so is Chew's special issue of Hairball, a comic about pirates, a moose and other tall tales of comical insanity. Special thanks to Robert at Bizarro Wuxtry in Athens, Georgia for taking the time to talk to us, buying our books and allowing us to have our books prominently displayed. If anyone is near the Athens area, stop by Bizarro Wuxtry and buy a book. It's a great store full of little comic gems and really rare and bizarre finds. And while you're at it, check out their music store, which is right below the comic book store and right across from Tasty World where Fluke 2009 was held (that's three shameless plugs - phew). Chew and I also fully endorse the little Italian Bistro that's located just one block away. Food's a little pricey, but they have really good eats. Fresh pasta, fresh bread, great view from the second floor and they have really good espresso. That's all from our recent trip to Athens ... more blogs very soon.

- Jeff Tuffenstuff

Flying to the vet ...

The very first panel of the glorious and infamous Flex Fantastic Comic: Doggone Troubles Part One in full color. We ended up using this image as a poster for our table at Fluke. Book Two is in progress and Chew just finished a very disturbing close-up of a villain named ... The Snoz. It puts his rendition of Princess Bertha (please see the earlier "How ah Met Your Mother" posts) to shame. I imagine we will post something new from the second issue of Flex on this blog soon. I'm thinking perhaps an entire sequence instead of just one panel. What scene? Just wait and see ...

- Jeff Tuffenstuff

Me happy. Kids not so much ...

As much as I enjoy making comics, it's quick character studies like these that give me immense joy. Bold, smooth and sometimes choppy lines made by my quill pen as I ink. There is a purity in these little sketches that I can't seem to find when I work on a panel. Since I don't have a lot of time in the evenings, it's nice to just cut loose and not care. This, by the way, was done after spending over two hours on the latest panel in Flex Fantastic 2.

My oldest daughter picked up a copy of Flex the other day and I wouldn't let her read it. It's not appropriate for a seven year old and I feel ...well, I feel kind of bad about it. I'm making comics that neither of my daughters are allowed to read (sorry, kids). So I created Rikki Rocket (pictured above), which I hope will be an all-ages comic that my kids can pick up and enjoy. I'm planning on doing one page explaining how she gets her powers. Should be fun. And I will most definitely approach the comic with same reckless abandon as I did in these drawings. I will post the page when it's finished. Which could take some time ... five weeks until my wife gives birth to our third child – another girl! I don't expect to get too much done after that.

- Jeff Tuffenstuff

Shanks a lot

Well, I just finished watching Zombie Holocaust along with my meal of a personal microwave pizza and a Celebrator (that's an expensive beer with a high alcohol content! i just need one...then i'm done). What a crappy movie. It is a total ripoff of Fulci's Zombie as well as Slave of the Cannibal God. Much sillier (and tamer) than C.Ferox. Besides...pizza? I'm sooo glad I own this movie!
Well, I felt that Jeff's breakthrough panel in Flex 2 has been the watering scene. That's the one where Klepto urinates on his master's other leg. The formalistic panels have been utilized and now it's time to have fun! I feel the same way about this panel. This was the first one of mine that truly made me laugh. I like a couple of the other ones that I did...but this is the first that i really ENJOYED.
Wow, that's some high alcohol content. It was a simple matter of having fun with this one. I think that the panel that Jeff did after mine, then my response to his...is proof that we are probably going to get in trouble for something because it's starting to get really, really crazy. And I do'nt mean like you have just fallen into a pit of pit vipers crazy, but you've stumbled into a dark alley at 3 in the morning and the figures skulking around you are not gangbangers but clowns-kinda crazy. What's gonna happen now? Is that really a shoe??? Oh somebody stop me!!!

- Chew

More from behind the rock ...

I broke one of my own rules. Remember when I boldly stated I would stick to only a few patterns when I would render textures a few posts ago? Well I didn't. I am constantly trying to match Chew's brush strokes and pen marks ... and I have to admit that I'm not good at it. From now on if Matt inks a rock, I will have to draw and ink my own rock. Because the marks he puts down on paper is just bananas. Don't get me wrong - I like bananas. Bananas are sweet and soft and ...

I don't like where that was going. Anyway, I'm going to stick to my three pattern rule and see how it pans out. I just gotta be me. And if it's ink mush I'm good at then so be it. Don't judge me.

As far as this panel goes ... I really liked the idea of a small group of angry fish warriors being represented with just a few harpoon points. That way, I didn't have to change the POV of the pirates but I was able to put them into a very sticky situation.

Chew and I discussed this over lunch today ... we are most likely not going to post the entire issue of Flex Fantastic 2 here on the blog. Instead, we will start to post a few other projects we have (or haven't) been working on. Chew will post the last Flex Panel (for a while, at least) in his next post. And then he'll post some other stuff. And the I'll post some stuff. And then he'll post some ... you get the idea.

- Jeff Tuffenstuff

Oh...my word. It's time for another post!

So, what IS happening out there? That is a very good question. I'm glad you asked it. Well, first of all, it is the Fourth of July holiday weekend. I am still housesitting. The cat crapped on the floor because he's mad that the cat litter is'nt to his satisfaction. I am still very angry about that. I am getting hungry and light headed right now. The dog wants to go for a walk, but it's about to rain and there are too many people in the park. Plus, I am light headed and need to eat now, so she's outta luck.
Did I mention that I am light headed? Well, I am.
There were so many ways to take the panel after Jeff's last one. Again, this seems to be a recurring theme with me...I opted not to follow the obvious route and show what Klepto could be doing to the Cretin. Plus, I felt my panel to be too small for the stuff I was thinking of. I really did want to get back to those pirates. Now, as in my last panel, the scenario widens!

Yeah, poor Jeff. He's had a tough week. I believe it's reflected in his last post. I remember that episode he mentioned from college (I acted like I did'nt, but I did). That still stings, does'nt it? Ahhh...yes! I remember the pain of those college days, just like it was from last week! Some people get under your skin like an infection that never heals. Let's all give a cheer to chronic wounds!
This is sympathy....

- Chew

A simple misunderstanding ...

About 13 or 14 years ago in college, I submitted a class project (a still life or a self portrait - I can't remember which) to a state fair art show. If the piece was selected, the artist would receive free tickets to the fair, could attend a small banquet and get his/her biography and artist's statement printed in a publication which would be distributed to all fair attendees. At the time, there wasn't a huge outlet for young, hopeful and aspiring wanna-be fine artists to showcase their work in our area. So when my piece was selected, I was ecstatic. When the publication arrived in the mail, I, of course, brought it to class to show all of my classmates ... and my professor. When I wrote the artist's statement, I wanted to be honest. I wanted to explain why I was compelled to make art. "Love to draw, huh?"asked my professor as he finished reading the statement out loud ... and proceeded to make fun of it and chastise me in front of everyone.

It stung.

Looking back on that moment, I should have done what every other artist did and still does... make up an explanation that uses big, smart sounding words that say nothing at all - a justification for creation - to appease the critics and the masses.

It took me a few days to write this post. I see this blog as an opportunity to share my process. The ideas that go into each panel. And I try really hard to sound smart. But I have to do this. Against my better judgement. I've decided to try honesty again ...

I wanted to draw Klepto peeing on Flex's leg.

- Jeff Tuffenstuff

Bad Dog!

Here it is! The first panel for Flex Fantastic 2. I want to apologize for the week long hiatus. Chewt's computer is experiencing problems so it will be a while before he can post anything. No worries. We'll find a way around it.

For anyone who read the first issue of Flex Fantastic, we left several dangling plot lines which we will try to resolve in this issue. I really didn't want to spend an entire issue of Flex trying to find Klepto. We did that in the first one. I thought it would be interesting to play on the "gap" between the two issues and have Flex catch up with Klepto in this panel. Now we can move the story along and concentrate on getting Flex and Klepto back home. I can't wait to deal with Shecky the clown. For those of you who haven't had a chance to read the first issue, Matt and I will offer the comic for sale on this blog very soon.

- Jeff Tuffenstuff

Just the beginning...

Let's face it. Chew's last panel was the end of the story. Finished. Done. Kaputt. My panel is more of a hopeful epilogue ... perhaps we will have another adventure with these two characters (or maybe other members of the fellowship)?

And now it's time to submit this puppy to the anthology. Wish us luck!

So what's next? Chew and I are gearing up for Flex Fantastic 2 and a couple of other projects we have talked about. It's probably going to be a week or two before you guys see the first panel of Flex. In the meantime, I will post some drawings and comic pages that I've worked on in the past.

You have been warned ...

-Jeff Tuffenstuff