Josh Hechinger, Writer

(Bear Beater Bunyan,

The Grave Doug Freshley)

Jorge F. Muñoz, Artist

(Bear Beater Bunyan)

Last month, Robot Comics published the final part of the four-issue mobile comic, BEAR BEATER BUNYAN by writer Josh Hechinger (The Grave Doug Freshley) and artist Jorge F. Muñoz.

Definitely one of the freshest, most inner-child-wild mobile comics we’ve yet published, Robot Comics decided to celebrate the series’ big wrap-up by interviewing the creators on the making of the series, it’s move to mobile, the sudden shift in title, and more.

ROBOT COMICS: So let’s start with revealing where the inspiration for Bear Beater Bunyan came from.  Was this a collaborative creation in concept between the both of you, or originally just your brainchild alone, Josh?  Did the concept change once Jorge came aboard?

JOSH HECHINGER: Basically, I came up with it, posted the idea on Panel and Pixel, and Jorge was like “hey, tell me more”.  And I did!  And it was great.

The plot, format, and characters are mostly me; the layouts, the idea of Kenbruin, basically all the cool art stuff is Jorge.

Inspiration wise…I just wanted to do something that flew.  Speed comics.  Three-chord garage rock as words + pictures.  I was getting into yonkoma comics as well (see below).  So, somehow, that all translated into “what if I wrote a four-issue greatest hits/summary of a nonexistent shonen comic?”

I’ll be the first to admit my creative process makes little-to-no sense whatsoever.

JORGE F. MUNOZ: I was looking for projects to work on, and Bear Beater Bunyan (then Yon Kuma) really grabbed my attention among all the available scripts, it sounded like a lot of fun.

ROBOT COMICS: Now in its webcomic incarnation (and first early mobile release, for that matter) the series was called “Yon Kuma“.  Care to explain that title for our readers, pretty please?  And maybe touch upon why the change to “Bear Beater Bunyan“?

JOSH HECHINGER: Bear Beater Bunyan was one of those “I grew up reading Dragon Ball and now I think almost exclusively in bad puns” things.  It’s a serious medical condition.

Basically: “yonkoma” are four-panel strips; think Japanese comic strips, as opposed to pages.  YK was originally going to be like that, rigid strips, but I threw the idea out early on when I realized I needed characters to really fight in the thing.  “Kuma”  means bear.  So a four-panel-per-page series about fighting bears became Yon Kuma.

In the end, I pushed to change it because it’s just a hassle to explain. It’s a cute joke, kinda, but not worth the hassle.  And too, Bear Beater Bunyan is really catchy and kind of sounds like…like, it sounds like what an American company would call Yon Kuma if Yon Kuma was an actual Japanese series they brought over here.  If that makes any sense.

I’m pretentious.

JORGE F. MUNOZ: We even checked with Tim Young, japan resident, from the Deconstructing Comics Podcast and he told us that Yon Kuma was the best translation for 4 bears. I really liked the shortness of Yon Kuma as a title, but I believe Bear Beater Bunyan will work better.

ROBOT COMICS: What would you say the greatest challenge of creating and completing Bear Beater Bunyan was for each of you?

JOSH HECHINGER: Producing the mobile phone edition.  Slicing it up, re-lettering it, coming up with a design aesthetic for the credits and backmatter…it was a lot of fun, and valuable experience, but it was some work.

JORGE F. MUNOZ: Drawing, toning and lettering the whole thing, I’ve never done anything that big in page count and scope.

ROBOT COMICS: And what was your absolute favorite part about doing BEear Beater Bunyan?

JOSH HECHINGER: Jorge’s art.  This all could’ve gone horribly wrong if I didn’t have an artist who totally nailed it, like this guy.  He’s the Johnny Ramone of junky-punky kid v. bear comics.

JORGE F. MUNOZ: Working with Josh, and seeing the improvement in my artwork page after page.

ROBOT COMICS: If Bear Beater Bunyan didn’t exist, what would be your favorite comic?

JOSH HECHINGER: Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece, hands down.  It’s everything that can possibly be good in a long-running Japanese adventure comic.  In terms of continually busting out new concepts and just completely making them work, Oda’s got no equal.

For a 2nd, probably Casanova by Fraction, Ba, and Moon; the story and art and all are great, but I really love it because it’s clearly three interesting-as-hell dudes synthesizing stuff they dig into the kinds of comics they want to read, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s exactly what American comics need more of.

Third: Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson.  I don’t have a rambly write up on this.  It’s Calvin and Hobbes.  It’s a classic.

JORGE F. MUNOZ: Mmm, lists are hard!  Something by Frank Miller, probably Dark Knight Returns or his Daredevil run, The Incal by Jodorowsky and Moebius, mostly because of Moebius,  Lone Wolf And Cub might be my favorite manga ever and not exactly as fourth, but I think everybody should check out The Last American by John Wagner, Alan Grant and the criminally underrated and extremely awesome Mick McMahon.

ROBOT COMICS: If you could do Bear Beater Bunyan again, what would you do differently?

JOSH HECHINGER: I’d maybe have bumped it up to 96 pages, just to make it more OGN-able.  Also, I’d have made Cheyenne, the first bear, wear a hat or a  vest or some kind of “Rarr! I’m an evil cowboy bear!” visual cue.

JORGE F. MUNOZ: Chapter 1, I would like to redo at least half of it, but on the other hand, the thing is done so it’s better to move on to the next project.

ROBOT COMICS: Who would you cast as Bunyan in the movie?  Who would direct?

JOSH HECHINGER: Man, I don’t know from kid actors at all.  Would it be a cartoon?  If it’s a cartoon, Barbara Goodson turned in a pretty convincing kid performance in FLCL, so she’d be my pick for Bunyan. And Joaquim Dos Santos is the king of the animated fight scene, which would be real solid, since BBB is pretty much all fight scenes.

JORGE F. MUNOZ: I think an animated film would work better, but for me the perfect translation to another medium would be an action RPG for Nintendo DS, with 2d graphics.

ROBOT COMICS: Wow.  Way to dodge the question, guys.    So what next for the two of you, then?  Something in the same style?  Something totally different?

JOSH HECHINGER: I never know what’s next.  I don’t really have a career plan.

Serious answer: Lea Hernandez is working on a script of mine called The Moon is Mine; if you liked this comic, that one is going to be way up your alley.

I’ve also got a script with mpMann called Okita the Cat, which is a character study of Soji Okita as he dies from tuberculosis.  Just a bit tonally different from BBB.  Just a bit.

(mpMann’s also the artist on The Grave Doug Freshley, my first proper OGN, but I’ve no idea when that’s out.)

Jorge and I are talking about doing more stuff; R+M is looking like our next project, at some point.  R+M’s sort of a two-guy anthology of stories about a robot hero and a monster anti-hero.

JORGE F. MUNOZ: The Swordsmith, with Ryan Burton and Felipe Sobreiro, a fantasy comic filled with blood and violence.  Some personal stuff and R+M that Josh just mentioned.  No Bear Beater Bunyan Vol. 2 in the immediate future.

ROBOT COMICS: Awesome, thanks for taking the time to pour your dirty little hearts out for us, fellas!

Download BEAR BEATER BUNYAN Now

Bear Beater Bunyan is a comic written by Josh Hechinger and drawn by Jorge F. Muñoz, published for mobiles by Robot Comics.

Related posts:

1. Bear Beater Bunyan #1
2. Bear Beater Bunyan #2
3. Bear Beater Bunyan #3

After last chapter’s library apparition, Jonathan will need some convincing before helping Tristan to solve the mystery of the ghost girl. Enter the creepy Miranda, who proposes the duo to have a seance at Tristan’s caravan. By Jason James.

• Title: ghostboy #3 of 4
• Credits: Jason James (writer and illustrator)
• Publisher: Robot Comics
• Price: $0.99 US
• Screens: 156

Preview

Download

ghostboy #3 is available for download on the following platforms:

iPhone/iPod touch

Click on the button below to open ghostboy #3 on the iTunes App Store. Requires iTunes.

Android

ghostboy #3 is available in the Android Market. Scan the QR code below with your Android to receive its url.

Alternatively, search “ghostboy” on the Market.

Related posts:

1. ghostboy Christmas special
2. ghostboy #2
3. ghostboy #1

Parson Gotti faces Prince Ansom and Vinny Doombats on his own. Units will burn and dwagons will die. The battle of Gobwin Knob is on! By Rob Balder and Jamie Noguchi. 133s.

• Title: Erfworld #5 of 11
• Credits: Rob Balder (writer) / Jamie Noguchi (illustrator) / Carolina Folle (adaptation)
• Publisher: Robot Comics
• Price: $0.99 US
• License: Creative Commons
• Screens: 132

Preview

Download

Erfworld #5 is available for download on the following platforms:

iPhone/iPod touch

Click on the button below to open Erfworld #5 on the iTunes App Store. Requires iTunes.

Android

Erfworld #5 is available in the Android Market. Scan the QR code below with your Android to receive its url.

Alternatively, search “Erfworld” on the Market.

Related posts:

1. Erfworld #3
2. Erfworld #4
3. Erfworld #2

Another full length review from the wonderful munchkins over at Comics Bulletin.

This one by Karyn Pinter on the glamorous Erfworld #1.

Here’s a snippet:

Parson Gotti is a gamer, but not just any gamer. He’s a mad, crazy gamer who’s bested every strategy game the world seemingly has to offer.  That’s where Erfworld and Lord Stanley come in.  Lord Stanley is in need of a great warlord to lead his armies to victory against Prince Ansom. Using a spell that cost a half million shmuckers, Lord Stanley and his Croackamancer, Wanda, summon Parson to lead their armies and win the final battle for Gobwin Knob.

In many ways Erfworld is brilliant, but too much about it is poorly executed, which was disappointing.  It felt like little sections of the story were left stranded out on a desert island while the rest of the story sailed on by to continue on the next panel.  There were times when there was no wording on a panel, setting up for comedic pause, and that worked out nicely.  But other times the comic just seemed to become scatterbrained and disoriented.  It’s that unfortunate tendency that really cost Erfworld points. Other than that, the comic is a real nerdy joy and it’s cute to boot.  It’s drawn in a very basic, yet fitting style, like a chibi, the sort of tiny, cute anime style. Well, whatever style it may be, it’s adorable.  Even when little demon-things are axing other spider-things in the head it’s cute.  I want to hug the little demon-things, which are called Marbits, with their little pointy ears and beady eyes.  Sorry, my girliness spilled on the page. Some of the sound effect illustrations are hilarious, like the PLOT explosion as the hero is pulled into the game world.  Or the ever-popular PWND as something gets knocked down.  Oh, and I can’t even get started on the secret nerd code woven into the dialog.  There are just moments of silliness, and moments of hilarity, and sheer genius.  The magic word for making something disappear is “Hoffa.”  Come on, how funny is that?!

Read the whole review

Related posts:

1. Erfworld #1
2. Erfworld: One of TIME’s Top 10 GN’s Comes to Mobiles!
3. Erfworld #4

It all comes down to a Triple Threat Match between Bunyan, Scarsbury and the Great Bear of the North! The surprising and extra-sized finale to Bear Beater Bunyan, by Josh Hechinger and Jorge Muñoz.

• Title: Bear Beater Bunyan #4 of 4
• Credits: Josh Hechinger (writer) / Jorge Muñoz (illustrator)
• Publisher: Robot Comics
• Price: $0.99 US
• Screens: 122

Preview

Download

Bear Beater Bunyan #4 is available for download on the following platforms:

iPhone/iPod touch

Click on the button below to open Bear Beater Bunyan #4 on the iTunes App Store. Requires iTunes.

Android

Bear Beater Bunyan #4 is available in the Android Market. Scan the QR code below with your Android to receive its url.

Alternatively, search “Bear Beater Bunyan” on the Market.

Related posts:

1. Bear Beater Bunyan #2
2. Bear Beater Bunyan #1
3. Bear Beater Bunyan #3

Darian’s nightmares come true! What might very well be the final confrontation between Darian and the wizard Metezck will define the future and the land of Formera. An action-packed finale by Andrew Dobson, originally published by Alterna Comics.

• Title: Adventures in Formera #6 of 6
• Credits: Andrew Dobson (writer & illustrator) / Chris Northrop (adaptation)
• Publisher: Alterna Comics
• Price: $0.99 US
• Screens: 78

Preview

Download

Adventures in Formera #6 is available for download on the following platforms:

iPhone/iPod touch

Coming soon!

Android

Adventures in Formera #6 is available in the Android Market. Scan the QR code below with your Android to receive its url.

Alternatively, search “Adventures in Formera” on the Market.

Related posts:

1. Adventures in Formera #5
2. Adventures in Formera #1
3. Adventures in Formera #4

Creator Jason James and his Scarycaravan Media crew – the fellas behind the unique mobile comic experience known as “ghostboy” (and look for a major announcement concerning ghostboy in the coming months), have donated a gorgeous donated an original ghostboy panel to Hi-Ex Comic Con for inclusion in their charity raffle (the proceeds of which, like the auction, will be donated to Children 1st).

The panel is taken from the upcoming ghostboy Issue #1, and here’s a peek:

So if you’re attending Hi-Ex over in Scotland this year during March 27th-28th, make sure you enter the raffle and give lots and lots of money to the children!  Who knows?  You may just walk away with original ghostboy art….

Click the image below to visit the Hi-Ex website for details:

Related posts:

1. Ghostboy’s Jason James’ Christmas Card
2. ghostboy #1
3. ghostboy Christmas special

The 8th annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards Ballot has been released, and Robot 13 has been nominated for Best Horror Comic Book!

The Rondo awards are a yearly program to allow fans of Horror to vote for their favorites in Horror film, books, comics, music and general fandom and can be voted on by YOU the fan!  If you go to Rondoaward.com, you can get the ballot information as well as info about the Rondos and lists of past winners.  You can vote for as many or as few of the categories as you like- so if there are those that you just don’t know anything about, feel free to pass on those and vote for the categories you feel strongly about.  All votes must be emailed to taraco@aol.com with your name (so they can adhere to the One Person=One Vote rule) by Midnight of April 3, 2010.

While we would LOVE for you to Vote for Robot 13 for Best Horror Comic Book, I want to also encourage you to check out the site and vote for as many of the categories as you feel knowledgeable about. It’s an awesome, grass roots type of thing and a HUGE honor to be nominated for everyone involved.

Rock The Vote Today!

Related posts:

1. Robot 13 + Robot Comics = Mobile Magic
2. Robot 13: Colossus! #1
3. Robot 13 #2

Well my goodness will wonders never cease – a full length review of a mobile comic on a major comic book news site!  Hopefully this trend will continue.

Big, big, big shout out to Chris Kiser (reviewer) and Matt Mclean (editor) for giving VALENTINE a nice fat spotlight review over at COMICS BULLETIN.  And a glowing review to boot!

Here’s an excerpt:

Valentine #1 – #4 Review

(via Comics Bulletin)
By: Chris Kiser

If comics are to thrive and grow as a medium in the 21st century, they’ll have to find their place somewhere in the midst of the digital world. Of course, you don’t need me to tell you that. It seems like everyone with a blog, column, or message forum login has offered his or her opinion on how online comics will (or won’t) work. But while these pundits drown themselves in speculation, a few innovative creators are actually putting their digital comics on the market.

Valentine, by Alex de Campi and Christine Larsen, is one such effort. It ventures into the era of Napoleonic France’s ill-advised invasion of Russia, focusing in on young Valentine Renaud, one of the failed campaign’s few surviving soldiers. As Valentine seeks to make his way home, he finds himself embroiled in an ages old conflict involving a supernatural, demonic foe, and a mysterious, powerful sword.

The series has been created specifically for reading on an electronic mobile device, meaning that it’s not simply a regular comic book scanned onto your computer screen. Following an iTunes-like sales model, episodes of Valentine may be purchased for many of the popular smart phones as well as for an e-book reader like the Amazon Kindle. The specific restrictions of these formats, as well as their unique capabilities, contribute to a reading experience that couldn’t be replicated on paper.

Read the rest of it by clicking here.

Related posts:

1. Valentine #4
2. Valentine featured on Boing Boing
3. Erfworld Gets 3.5 out of 5 at Comics Bulletin

We got a nice little mention over at Scott McCloud’s site.  Apparently we aren’t the only ones releasing a series in multiple languages simultaneously.

Here’s the article from scottmccloud.com:

Zahra’s Paradise is a new comic being offered online by First Second. From what we’ve seen, it promises to be an absorbing true story and I like the art. It’s being released simultaneously in English, Farsi, Arabic, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutchs—seven languages in all. Eight, if you count the language of comics.

Zahra’s release follows closely on the heels of Robot Comics’ Valentine, released in a whopping twelve languages simultaneously. If this is a trend, I like it.

Understanding Comics has been translated over the years into 16 languages, but like any book project, the process of getting it printed and distributed from scratch in each country requires an enormous amount of effort for its respective publishers.

The idea that all these dammed-up rivers of art and story might start breaking free all over the world soon is encouraging.

That’s the whole article, but feel free to check out the original source here.

And you can find VALENTINE by Alex de Campi and Christine Larsen on the iTunes market by clicking here or on the Android market by searching for “Valentine the Comic”.

Related posts:

1. Valentine featured on Boing Boing
2. Valentine: One Original Mobile Comic, One Dozen Different Languages
3. Muti-Language Multi-Platform Comic by Eisner Nominee Alex de Campi