GoComics Adds Four New Comics in May
by GoComicsThe end of May means the flowers have bloomed and so have FOUR new comics! Catch up on our newest offerings and their creators below.
Heart, Brain and Soul by Ryan Webb
Heart, Brain and Soul celebrates the small, wonderful and often absurd parts of life.The strip revolves around the adventures and interactions of the three main characters - you guessed it - a heart, a brain and a soul. Heart is passionate, enthusiastic and occasionally reckless. Brain is smart, reserved and charmingly naive. Soul is idealistic, philosophical and a know-it-all. The reality in which these characters live is very, very flexible. Clouds can talk, trees can fist-bump, cows sing karaoke and one must always be on the lookout for sharks and zombies. Oh, and cats are behind everything. Although Heart, Brain and Soul can be delightfully weird, the foundation of the strip lies in the love and friendship shared between the three main characters.
Ryan Webb was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1986. He spent much of his childhood at his grandparents' farm in Donalds, South Carolina (population 346). There were few people in Donalds, but lots of books. His granddad had a library - a trailer in the backyard - dedicated to comics. Ryan fell in love with comics, thanks to that trailer. His children's book, Buddy: Dog of the Smoky Mountains, was published by Celtic Cat Publishing in 2013. Buddy was a finalist for the IndieFab Book of the Year Award. Today, he channels the spirit of his grandad's comic-filled trailer in Portland, Oregon, where he spends his time drawing comics and listening to audio books while his fluffy cat meows at him.
Read Heart, Brain and Soul here.
Mr. Lowe by Mark Pett
Mr. Lowe follows the life of Cal Lowe, a new fourth-grade teacher who constantly discovers that real life does not seem to mirror his ideals.
Writer and illustrator Mark Pett makes books. He is the "authorstrator" of The Boy and the Airplane, The Girl and the Bicycle and The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes, as well as the forthcoming Lizard from the Park. Before books, he created the syndicated comic strips Mr. Lowe and Lucky Cow. Mark lives in the Mountain West.
Mustard and Boloney by Jeffrey Caulfield and Alexandre Rouillard
Master chefs Jeffrey Caulfield (Mustard) and Alexandre Rouillard (Boloney), are pleased to bring you a tasty, humorous un-reality sandwich; one low in calories, rich in protein and guaranteed to fill the stomach - sans indigestion. Plus, no extra salt or preservatives added! Included with the comedic entrees is a large side order of irreverence, and all manner of situations and subjects are drawn upon to create the delicious "a-ha" moment. Thinking outside the icebox is definitely mandatory, and some panels may cause you to stand on your - or someone else's - head, and think, "So, that's what it all means." As Jack Kerouac wrote, in the 190th chorus of his 242-chorus opus "Mexico City Blues:" "No matter how you cut it, it's empty, delightful boloney." Beefsteak we are not!
Jeffrey Caulfield (Mustard) is a graduate of York University in Toronto, where he received the President's Prize for screenwriting. He has written, produced and edited numerous projects for many years in several different mediums, including: radio, feature films/documentaries, plays, short stories and songs. He has even had a hand in writing material for the best-selling board game called "Celebrity Challenge." Currently, Jeffrey lives in Toronto, Canada, with his wife, Terry, and their Balinese cat, Subira.
Alexandre Rouillard (Boloney) is a graphic designer graduate who has also studied film animation at Concordia University, where he won the Groupe Image Buzz Scholarship. During his many years of experience as a visual artist, he has published several children's books, and worked on television series and social games as animator and illustrator. His latest graphic novel, Le manteau (The Overcoat), was released in 2012. Currently, Alexandre lives in Montreal, Canada, with his partner, Sandy, and their dog, Ziggy.
Read Mustard and Boloney here.
Pot-Shots by Ashleigh Brilliant
Ashleigh Brilliant's Pot-Shots are illustrated epigrams, never longer than 17 words. They are written in very simple English, so as to be easily translatable into other languages. In the process of creation, the words always come first, and (as is not the case with "cartoons"), they are capable of standing alone without requiring any illustration. But the illustrations add a special dimension to the finished product. They should be appropriate, but not too literal - more in the nature of commentary than of direct depiction, which makes creating and/or selecting illustrations one of the hardest parts of the work. There is no cast of characters, and the range of subject matter is virtually unlimited. Originality is considered an essential factor. What is said must be really worth saying, but, as far as possible, never actually have been said before. There can be humor, profundity, poignancy, whimsy or a combination of all these. Another criterion is that the material should have lasting value and be capable of being appreciated in other times and other cultures. Because of this stricture, there can be no rhyme, no rhythm, no puns, no idioms - in fact, none of the conventional wordplay that makes writing short expressions fun and easy. There can also be no intentional topical references.
Pot-Shots have appeared in many forms, with and without the original graphics, but their debut on GoComics is a totally new adventure.
Ashleigh Brilliant was born in London in 1933 and created Pot-Shots in 1967. Brilliant graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a Ph.D. in history. Brilliant is the author of 10 books and resides in Santa Barbara, California.
