**SAY NOW, CHIEF, JUST WHO’S DRIVING THIS “EGO COMICS” BUS, ANYHOW?
Ah-ha, you were quite right to bring it up, valiant wayfarer…I am Neil Harmeyer, one half of the dynamic duo who make up Ego Comics, my “hetero lifemate” partner being Ben “Neb” Girven aka “Map Boy” comprising the other half. We met some 20 years ago (ish) in Senor Steve Roybal’s art class (which was mostly just a place for lazy, unmotivated kids, unwashed riffraff, underestimated rapscallions, and paint-huffing burnouts to pass the time, eat Corn Nuts, and refine their graffiti art. Don’t judge.) And despite all odds, countless hours spent playing Street Fighter 2, a couple few moves out of state (and back), some epic (and not-so-epic) adventures and camping trips sprinkled throughout, a few marriages and miscellaneous distractions, and even more comic books and kidlets, we’ve managed to remain best friends and find time to get together to work on a little something we’ve been tinkering with for far, far too long: STOMPING GROUND.
**ORLY? WELL, WHAT, PRAY TELL, IS THIS “STOMPING GROUND” YOU SPEAK OF?
STOMPING GROUND is an epic (how many times shall I used the word “epic” during the course of this entry before it loses all meaning, I wonder?) sci-fi story about some punchy, puny human trapped in a universe he never made! No… wait… STOMPING GROUND is a coming-of-age tale about a young man looking to change his lot in life and join the Rebellion’s valiant struggle against the Dark Sided tentacle porn of the evil Empire! Ummm… Hm… no, that’s definitely not right… Ok.. Ok… STOMPING GROUND is about a poor, downtrodden lad who finds a Golden Ticket tucked in with a chocolate bar manufactured by Smurfs Little People, things get said, and hilarity ensues! (Once they were able to coax Uncle Tinker out of his 20-year Bed-In, mind you.)
No, that’s not true, either; I can’t back that up. How about this: STOMPING GROUND is the cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast!
*scratches stubble* You’re right… Now I’m just being intentionally dodgy…
Ok…. Here it is: STOMPING GROUND is an ambitiously ambiguous story – our MAGNUM OPUS, if you will – of one young dude’s relationship to the universe and his place within it, its history and happenstance, and his quest for meaning, for belonging, for the answers that we’re all seeking in our own way. It’s a multi-layered yarn that promises to cover the expanse of time and space, to kick through the ashes (and asses!) of history – and alternative history, sift through the knobby bits and wobbly wants of a huge cast of characters and caretakers, while upholding the production values of certain expected – and unexpected! – genre-specific (and genre-defying!) tropes and themes. This property should speak to you. On a variety of levels.Some moments will be warm, expected and comfortable, while other situations will be completely and intentionally devoid of understanding or relation, in keeping with the completely ALIEN aspect of space travel, unfamiliar multi-faceted/orificed species and beings (and their in-laws) while attempting to ascertain and tickle the fringes of the mind of God. (Who’s God? My God? Your God? His God? Alan Moore’s God? Please. God is merely a vague personified construct and undefined concept created by mortals afraid of Death, the great unknown (i.e. Things that Go Bump in the Night), women, and other contrary ideas and thoughts that frighten and confuse them.)
STOMPING GROUND is a bubbling hodpe-podge cocktail miasma of sexy muses, inspirations, cool creators, mad scientists, rock stars, bygone eras, nerdtastically-delicious genre-fueled geek rage, stories of alien abduction, trashtastic b’ movies and dog-eared comic books, Tiki gods and surfer bods, campy pop culture motifs, and rad, ginchy cults of personality. Equal parts George Lucas, Quentin Tarantino, Warren Ellis, Alan Moore, Graham Hancock, Mike Allred, Brendan Perry, Deepak Chopra, Douglas Adams, Chuck Jones, SHAG, Chris Ware, the Shat, and far too many others to list here or do justice to, we will attempt to entertain you with our unique take (perspection) on the Universe, while flying our freak flags high, and wearing our hearts on our sleeves. There will be homage. And doe-eyed fawning respect. And wholesale ridicule (because if gods, monsters, and aliens can all point and laugh at us, why can’t we?)!
But really, STOMPING GROUND is little more than our loveletter to the Genre (and genres) that inspire us, that excited us as kids, that continued to impress and inspire us into adulthood, and that we hope to pass along to our own offspring someday. (It’s already begun!) This story is also our commentary on life, on love, on longing and loss, on living with purpose, of latching onto something more important than yourself and living up to no one’s lofty expecations other than your own.
Keep in mind, STOMPING GROUND is not an all-ages tale, though, and is designed for those of appropriate relative maturity, and is rated “T” for TEASE. Or TIPSY.
Crying and complaining will not be tolerated; you get what you get.
**AH, OK… SO WHEN CAN I READ THIS STORY AS CRAFTED BY YOU SENSITIVE ARTISTS/ SNAKE OIL SALESMEN?
The model we’ve been discussing has us beginning production on the actual story later this year, after A.C.E. (Meaning we move away from PRE-production to some blessed isle of the mind where things are written, characters interact, dramatic moments are happened upon, and shit gets DONE!)
We also have a couple few preview projects to get through first (so we can knock the dust off this biatch!), but once those are behind us, it’s ON. Like Donkey Kong. On Princess Peach.
**WHY HAS IT TAKEN YOU TWO SO LONG TO GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER?
Because being cheesy ain’t easy! (Other things that aren’t easy include pimping, being adorable, and moving a massive comic book collection across the country. <– That’s right! THERE is a pro argument here for things to continue to move along in a digital/ electronic format direction!)
This story, first and foremost, is a journey, a log and sketch book of our friendship. We’ve been buds for a long time now, grown together, learned a lot, talked a lot, discovered and explored a lot. This story, STOMPING GROUND, is as much a reflection of our journey together as it is a fictional tale set in a fictional universe comprised of fictional beings with fictional needs, and representing ACTUAL neuroses and nincompoopery in all it’s trappings and finery. And as we’ve matured and grown, so has this story. Why has it taken us so long? Because we needed the experiences we’ve had to get to THIS POINT, right now, today, this blog post, this. exact. moment. for us to be ready for what we’re about to do, for what we’re about to say, for who we are becoming.
The flipside to this, of course, is that this story is considerable, all the characters, the concepts and crazies and contemporaries contained therein… And Neb and I are trying to accomplish a lot here – it’s only the two of us, after all, trying to manage the work and shared universe of an entire Bullpen of creators!
It’s taken a while, yes, but it’s been time well spent… living, loving, learning, and losing our freakin’ MINDS!
**OK, WELL, I NEED TO GO NOW. HOW MIGHT I CONTACT YOU IN THE FUTURE?
Oh, please don’t. What ever would we talk about besides your mom? *sigh* Fine – if one MUST contact us, there are a variety of ways:
1. Continue to seek out regularly irregular updates here or at Neb’s blog for information, recipes, anecdotes, and important announcements!
2. Go into a darkened bathroom, look at the mirror and recite “SUPER SEXY ESOTERIC SCI-FI ROCK ‘N’ ROLL” 3 times, spin around and light a candle in our honor. Then, my glorious visage shall appear in a flour tortilla somewhere in New Mexico! Rejoice!
3. Send a SASE missive to ego.comics.x@gmail.com or addressed to ijustarted@egocomics.com.
4. Cash, gifts, comics, naughty pix and/or misappropriated booty can be mailed to our agent. (I shall post contact information directly.)
5. Telepathy. (I want to perfect this until it’s as functionally sound as a baby monitor. Go ahead – I’ll wait!)
Seriously, though. Ego Comics is a publisher of funny books, sequential art, sketch books, anthologies… And DREAMS! (lol) In the coming weeks, we’ll put up a list of our publishing history and speak more to our goals as they relate to mission statement and mode of operations. I don’t know that we’re going to attempt to re-create the wheel here per se, but we’re going to do our best to offer up quality product, in convenient and engaging formats and for a reasonable rate of exchange!
Let’s see what happens, shall we!?
Until then, work continues on Ego and STOMPING GROUND-related paraphernalia and promotional materials for A.C.E., and even now a crack commando team – a veritable cadre, if you will – of drunken, disorderly assassin monkeys (Neb) are KILLING IT as we speak!
And there you have it. The truth. As seen from the skewed vantage point of this southwestern desertscape, 5000 feet above sea level.
Ego Comics ~ It’s who we are.
