CulturePulp.

Here, have a free comic book. 'Jaxxon's 11,' Volume 1.

 

Here's the free "Jaxxon's 11" Vol. 1 ebook (PDF, 10 MB). And here's the explanation.

In 2003, I had a very silly idea for a comic:

Resurrect the most ridiculous character from the 1970s Marvel "Star Wars" comic books -- a seven-foot-tall green rabbit named Jaxxon -- and have him recruit a middle-aged Han Solo for one last heist.

As a joke, my then-co-worker David Stroup and I hammered out a story while driving back from a coffee shop. (This isn't quite as out-of-the-blue as it sounds -- the coffee shop was two blocks away from the offices of Dark Horse Comics, and we'd just been chatting with one of their editors.)

A few weeks later -- also as a joke -- we pitched it as a webcomic to the world's biggest "Star Wars" fan site.

Sixty-odd pages later, "Jaxxon's 11" remains the single geekiest act of my public life, and that is saying something. I wrote the script, packing it with references to the original Marvel "Star Wars" comics (which I purchased and, between occasional bouts of wincing, read). David added his own gags and drew the pages with a lunatic attention to detail.

Both David and I went through major career changes in 2004. Even though we have a full story outline, progress is sporadic at best. In 2011, I collected everything we'd done so far as a free 72-page ashcan and gave it away at the Stumptown Comics Fest. Now you can download that ashcan as a free PDF.

If you like this sort of thing, I suspect this is the sort of thing you'll like.
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Jaxxon's 11, Vol. 1: Eleven Against A Casino! (PDF, 10MB)

'Cort and Fatboy' ends Dec. 7. But hey, at least the book's on sale.

Poster design by The Thomas Wilson.

So yeah,  Cort Webber and Bobby "Fatboy" Roberts have decided to end their five-day-a-week podcast, on which I've appeared most Fridays for the last six-and-a-half years.

I've definitely had some of the Emotions about the announcement. The show changed my life in lots of big and small ways. I'm really going to miss the Midnight Movies, and the show introduced me to pockets of Portland I never would have encountered otherwise.

But I also understand the boys' logic: Better to go out like "Bloom County" than "Peanuts."

Anyway. We're closing out the show on Friday, Dec. 7 with a big fat live performance at the Bagdad featuring all the regular guests. And I'm holding a going-out-of-business sale.

As a thank-you to listeners, "Cort and Fatboy in: The Secret of the Buried Unicorns" -- the world's first and maybe only podcast tie-in storybook -- is now just THREE LOUSY BUCKS at my online store. Made my money back on these a while ago, and there are fewer than 100 left, so if you ever wanted one, now's the time.

• "cortandfatboy is dead" -- Dec. 7, Bagdad Theatre [ buy tickets ]
• Cort and Fatboy in: The Secret of the Buried Unicorns (CulturePulp BigCartel store)

 

If you pick up Dark Horse Presents #15...

.... you may find it contains a single-page comic called "Ride of the Sabertooth Vampire" -- written and drawn by yours truly with colors by Bill Mudron. That is all.

• Dark Horse Presents #15 -- print edition (on sale Weds., Aug. 22)
• Digital edition

New in the store: 'Sabertooth Vampire' Vol. 2

Just in time for the holidays, the second "Sabertooth Vampire" minicomic is on sale at culturepulp.bigcartel.com. Fifty-six pages, six lousy bucks.

(Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 can be had at the store for a mere ten bucks total. That's a ridiculously cheap Christmas gift, come to think of it.)

You can also pick up both "Sabertooth Vampire" books at Bridge City Comics and (by mid-week) at Excalibur Books & Comics.

Also new in the store: the remaining print copies of the charming and utterly wrong holiday fable "Santa's Lil' Gimp," my 1994 collaboration with Mr. Gregory P. Dorr. (You can browse the book online at SantasLilGimp.com.)
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CulturePulp: The Store

 

The online store, she is open

You can now buy handsome printed copies of the "Sabertooth Vampire" Season One minicomic and "Cort and Fatboy and the Secret of the Buried Unicorns" at our brand-new online store:

culturepulp.bigcartel.com

Bridge City signing recap. With video.

Want to know how last night's signing with David Walker went? Well, for some barmy-awesome reason, KGW sent reporter Joe Smith there to do a live TV spot from Bridge City Comics. Here's the video: 

 

Guest appearances by Cort Webber and Bobby "Fatboy" Roberts, among others.

So yeah. Last night's signing was insanely great. And it was great from the get-go, when Fats' significant other Bobbie showed up ahead of time with a homemade Sabertooth Vampire plushie she'd made in secret:

An enormous thank-you to Michael Ring of Bridge City Comics for putting this on, and to everyone who showed up. Walker and I were gobsmacked by the turnout.

Writeups of last night here and here, courtesy of Christian Lipski and Jamie S. Rich. And Chris Walsh has a ton of photos here.

Book-release party Wednesday. Stumptown Comics Fest this weekend.

Big week ahead. Couple of announcements:

WEDNESDAY: A BIG FAT BOOK-RELEASE PARTY

 

This Wednesday, April 13, from 6 to 8 p.m., David Walker and I join forces for a book-release party at Bridge City Comics (3725 N. Mississippi Ave., Portland). David will have copies of his terrific young-adult novel "Darius Logan: Super Justice Force." I'll have hard copies of my first "Sabertooth Vampire" minicomic and "Cort and Fatboy and the Secret of the Buried Unicorns" (and maybe a couple of fun freebies). You can even buy the poster at the top of this post (which features glorious Bill Mudron colors) for like five bucks. Here's the official press release with all the details.

 

THIS WEEKEND: THE STUMPTOWN COMICS FEST

 

Then, this Saturday and Sunday, April 16-17, I'll have my first-ever table (Table C-29, to be precise) at the Stumptown Comics Fest. Here's what I'll have on hand, while supplies last:

• Cort and Fatboy and the Secret of the Buried Unicorns -- just five bucks!
  
  
• The Sabretooth Vampire: The Complete First Season -- a mere three bucks!
  
  
• Jaxxon's 11, Vol. 1 -- a FREE 72-page ashcan of my and artist David Stroup's webcomic, which celebrates the complete insanity of 1970s Marvel "Star Wars" comics. David plans to sit at my table for a couple of hours each day, probably starting around 11 a.m.
  
  
• Opera, Drawn Quickly -- a FREE 48-page collection of all my "live comics adaptations" of Portland Opera productions.
  
  
• Plus! "Augie, The Littlest Reaver" prints and maybe even a few old copies of the beloved Christmas fable "Santa's Lil' Gimp."

The complete press release for the April 13 Bridge City party is after the jump.

'Joss Whedon: Conversations'

So my absurdly long 2005 Q&A with Joss Whedon about "Firefly" and "Serenity" -- one of my favorite interviews I've ever conducted -- is now available in book form.

"Joss Whedon: Conversations" is published by University Press of Mississippi, and collects about 19 different Whedon interviews (here's the list) over 224 pages.

Click here for more info.

Click here to pre-order the book at Amazon.

Click here to pre-order at Powell's.

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The CulturePulp Q&A: Joss Whedon (Sept. 24, 2005)

Stumptown Comics Fest minicomic No. 3: 'The Sabertooth Vampire' Season One minicomic.

This is the printer's proof. The paper will add a little more color. Just three bucks a copy at the Stumptown Comics Fest and at a special April 13 signing event (more soon).

Stumptown Comics Fest minicomic No. 2: 'Cort and Fatboy and the Buried Unicorns.'

It's at the printer now. Available at my Stumptown Comics Fest table April 16-17 and also at a special April 13 signing event (more on that really, really soon).