Johnny Saturn

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I’ve invaded Johnny Saturn, he was out fighting some bad guys.

Just a reminder .. i <3 Johnny Saturn so read everything including the archives.

-Phil (Frumph)

Edit: I should sneak some site code cleanup while i’m here.

Edit: I Am In Ur ComicPress Modding  YEr Site.

Artistic Influences

Over the years, numerous people have hazarded guesses at who my artistic influences are. I’ve never kept those influences a secret, but I also don’t think they really show in my art style. Now, to set the record straight, I present the definitive list.

Cheesecake: Joseph Michael Linsner, Gil Elvgrin

Digital Painter: Greg Horn

Figure Artist: Andrew Loomis, Burne Hogarth

Others: Alphonse Mucha, M.C. Escher
Painter: Norman Rockwell, Frank Frazetta

Pen & Ink Artist: Charles Dana Gibson

Water Colorist: Alex Ross, John Howe, Alan Lee

Penciler, Original Influence: John Buscema, Gil Kane

Modern Comic Influences: Al Rio, Bruce Timm, Frank Cho, Frank Miller, George Perez, Jack Kirby, Jim Lee, John Byrne, John Romita Jr., Mike Mignola, Neal Adams

If you are an artist, who are your influences? The same question may be asked of writers and their influences.

Setting Realistic Expectations:

When I first began to seriously draw comics, I gave myself six years to break into the big time—I was aiming at Marvel and DC, and anything less simply would not do. That six-year break-in period came and went years ago, and I spent a lot of time in turmoil, feeling as if other artists had taken my well-deserved place at the top of the food chain.

As you have probably already surmised, I needed a serious attitude adjustment. I had made all sorts of ridiculous assumptions, and I had based my self-worth as an artist on them. For example, I believed that the only way to have a worthwhile career was to work for Marvel or DC, which is simply untrue

Another fallacy was that I spent more time waiting around for the opportunity to break big, and less time actually drawing. I think I believed that if I could attach myself to the right writer, or meet the right editor, or create the perfect submission package, then I would be vaulted to stardom. Once again, I was simply wrong.

At some point I changed my mind, and I came to the conclusion that I could have a full and exciting cartooning career in the indy/small press scene, and that it would be better to produce the comics I love and publish them myself. I wasn’t looking anymore for someone else to grant me my big break—I was doing what I wanted to do in the first place, and that was drawing comics and getting them into people’s hands. This time it depended on my work ethic, not the blessing of some editor. I had taken control of the situation.

I had changed my expectations. You could say that I had scaled down my goals to something I could achieve, and you would be right, of course. But, consider this: There are only a limited number of jobs in the big two, and a huge collection of people who are capable of doing those jobs. If you get one of those assignments, great; if you don’t, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you aren’t good enough; it doesn’t even mean that you aren’t the best artist trying for that gig. If anything, it probably most depends on who you do or don’t know. Your self worth should not be based on these long odds.

Recently, America went through another harrowing presidential election. There was no shortage of qualified men and women trying for that job. People who wanted to become the next president wanted it very, very much, yet only one person could cross that finish line. With every election, life-long dreams are made or broken. Does this mean the candidates who didn’t get elected are of no worth? Obviously not.

I haven’t sent a submission package to Marvel or DC since 2000, and I don’t expect I will again. It would be great to get tapped to do some work for these publishing giants, but that would be a feather in my cap, not the cap itself.

So, that’s me. I love self-publishing, and I love working on our own, creator-owned properties. How about you? Are you goals achievable?

Consider it this way—Are your goals something that you can go out and simply do, making it happen if you put you heart into it? Or, are you depending on a stroke of luck or a one-in-a-million break to achieve your heart’s desire? As an example, if your goal is to become a kick-ass musician, and entertain people, that is doable. If your goal is to become a superstar musician and get inducted into the Rock-&-Roll Hall of Fame, then you have set yourself up for bitterness and disappointment.

I would never tell someone not to shoot for the stars—obviously, some people do become huge stars and experience tremendous good fortune. What I am saying is that you should choose an achievable goal, and if you over-achieve, then good on you.

Scott.

Hi, Folks!

Over the years, as I have continued working on my art and webcartooning, I have been asked one question again and again: Why do you do long-form comics? Why not do a gag-a-day strip? Gag strips are easier to promote, and they are generally more popular, are they not?

Yes, gag strips are more popular, by many magnitudes, than long-form webcomics. There are a few exceptions, but none I can really think of. Girl Genius is long-form, but it usually has humor and often includes humor. The Dreamland Chronicles? Maybe.

Here are my reasons for doing a long-form webcomic.

• This is the story I want to tell. It’s tragic, dramatic, and edgy, but it’s rarely funny.
• I don’t know how to write jokes. In person I can be funny and I’m good at getting the laughs, but I have no clue how to communicate that in a comic.
• I grew up reading titanic tales of adventure, both in prose and comics. I didn’t read funny animal comics, or humor comics, so I don’t have much history with that.

Back when I read monthly comics, my favorites were usually team books, such as JSA, JLA, the Avengers, the Defenders, and the like. As far as the individual characters go, Batman, Captain America, Daredevil, Thor, Conan, these are what I dug. Later on, it was books like Planetary, the Authority, and Hellblazer. You can probably see elements of these teams and characters in Johnny Saturn.

Those are the kind of stories I loved. This is why I produce long-form adventures. I loved Calvin & Hobbes, Far Side, and Bloom County too, but I just didn’t feel the call to follow that path.

Hi, Folks!

Item: I recently discovered the forums over at webcomics.com. This community looks to be shaping up into a pretty useful webcomics thinktank, so I suggest checking it out.

Item: I’m going to revamp my portfolio site that promotes me as an illustrator. It hasn’t done much for me lately, so I’m considering making it less formal. Instead of just showing off my best finished work, also showing works in progress, sketchbook material, figure drawing from open studios, watercolors, and the like. Plus, I am going to make more of an effort to push myself as a fantasy artist. I think it’s time for a change.

Item: I think that after I’m done with all my current work, and I get a good buffer built back up on Johnny Saturn, I’m going to start taking commissions. I will probably limit myself to fantasy commissions, or those that do not infringe on other parties’ copyrights. I’ve had a longstanding rule that I don’t draw other comic book characters unless I’m commissioned by the character’s owner—That costs me money, no doubt, but I can live with myself.

Item: I recently found an old hardcover book, “Frank Cho: Illustrator.” For those who don’t already know, this guy is a monster talent. From funny animal cartooning, to classic pen & ink, to modern superhero comics, to cheesecake, this guy has pretty much mastered it all. If you aren’t already a fan of Frank Cho, I suggest you check out his work pronto.

Hi, Folks!

Today, for your enjoyment (and horror), a recent book cover I did for Coscom Entertainment. The book is an anthology titled “Dead Science.” Warning—this is not for the timid at heart!

This picture is pretty typical of the type of digital paintings I do, although I jumped a bunch of stylistic and technological hurdles on this one and got more sophisticated than I normally do. I’m not into zombies or gore, but I believe I outdid myself on this one.

I’m hard at work on another Coscom Entertainment cover, this one centered on werewolves.

Good Morning, Folks!

Item: On the left sidebar, please note that there is now a Comic Archive list of links. Each link will take you to the beginning of one of the eight books/chapters in Johnny Saturn. Phil Hofer of Frumph dot net suggested this.

Item: I’m almost caught back up to the point the site was at before the server move. All MP3’s now have onboard players, all broken links and pictures are repaired (I think—crosses fingers), and the store is up and functional.

Item: I had a phone conversation with Bob Hickey of Blueline Pro today, and I’m pretty sure that Benita and I will be appearing at his store Comics2Games in Kentucky for Free Comic Book Day. In related news, I just sent off my fourth article to Blueline Pro’s Sketch Magazine, so I’m well on my way to becoming a regular contributor. I’ll be honest, I’m really proud to be associated with this fine publication, because it fills a valuable niche in guiding apprentice and journeyman cartoonists in developing their skills. In other words, Sketch Magazine is an excellent teaching tool. (I really am a fan–I have a complete run of this magazine, from issue 1 forward.)

Item: Today, I was distracted by outside issues, and I didn’t feel quite like myself. The result is that I had a false start on the next page. This rarely happens to me, but it did today. I couldn’t wrap my head around an effective storytelling approach, and the page suffered for it. I don’t do half measures, so I’ll begin the page again tomorrow. The reason I mention this is because off days aren’t just limited to beginners. I’m a journeyman, and I have off days. Even cartooning masters can suffer from this, so don’t put yourself down or give up if you have a tough day!

Item: As far as podcasts go, I interacted on TGT last Sunday by way of their chat room, and on Art & Story Live on Monday by Skype. In the latter case, I wasn’t on the whole show because my connection wasn’t that great.

Good Morning, Folks! As you can see, I have about 90% of the old site back up and working correctly after the server move. Like everything, it took about twice the time that I expected it to.

When you export the guts from one WordPress site, and import those guts into another WordPress site, expect the unexpected. For example, about half the comics doubled up and entered the system twice; almost all the pages decided that they needed different, random page parents; almost all links, both in posts and on static pages, needed reset by hand; etc, and so forth. When you have as much content as there is on the Johnny Saturn site, such a change becomes a major, full-bore endeavor!

Plus, imagine trying to retrace all your steps on the web and changing your URL wherever you might have entered it as your home page. Now, imagine that it’s four years of history that you need to retrace. We’re talking all the top lists, forums, etc. etc. The mind boggles, does it not?

Now, let me be perfectly clear—I’m not complaining! I’m damn proud that I’ve gotten as much done as I have over the last few days, and I’m quite pleased with all the little updates and changes I’ve made.

D.J. Coffman wisely suggested that I start the new site from scratch rather than export/import it. I didn’t follow that advice. In the end, I think it would have taken just as long either way.

I’ll still be polishing up the details all week, finding lost files, fixing broken links, and similar problems that need attending to. Almost all the podcasts are gone, and I need to reload those and fix their links. Issue four of the PDF downloads doesn’t work, despite the fact that all the other PDF comics work fine. These are mere details in the greater scheme, and mishaps I hope to fix by the end of the week.

Ah, sweet technology! You offer so many opportunities, but you frustrate us as much as you grant us convenience! Scott.

This week, on Frumph.net, the site of Phil Hofer aka Frumph, Johnny Saturn is the featured webcomic. Phil has become a great friend, and I refer to him as a true Webcomic Crusader. Here’s the article:

Blog post for 11/7/2008 4:56:45 PM
Spotlight on: Johnny Saturn by Scott and Benita Story

This spotlight is on Johnny Saturn a graphic novel webcomic by Scott & Benita Story. It’s a superhero comic but let’s not get fooled by thinking it’s your run of the mill Saturday morning superhero cartoon or Marvel/DC comic that pretends to be edgy.

Johnny Saturn IS edgy. It has complicated and well thought out plots. Citizens and supers alike have enough thought put into each and every one of them that you imagine this was written as a book and put into graphic novel form.

I can only compare Johnny Saturn with Batman from DC… if Batman actually wasn’t a pansy who never got hurt. Ever notice how Batman never *really* get’s hurt… in ALL those fights he’s had his body isn’t torn up with scar’s and traces of fighting, if there ever was a fight and he got hurt, two panels later he’s fine and dandy.    Johnny isn’t and it shows that he’s worked hard to protect the innocent.

My song pick for Johnny Saturn will probably surprise Scott Story himself who suggested alot of older 70’s style songs.   This song by Oingo Boingo really struck me with it’s fast  individualistic energy and determination.   .. “Who Do You Want to Be” by Oingo Boingo.

To read this with all the pretty pictures and music included, please go to this link

Hi, Friends! As you can see, the site isn’t down, and I’m further along the path of getting things transferred over than I expected to be at this point. Things are still a little hectic here, and there are lots of details to iron out, but at least the comics are available for your reading pleasure.

Thanks so much for your patience! Scott