Mothman Books on YouTube

A YouTube user named Mothman Historian has posted a video showing his collection of Mothman comic books and other books. In his video of almost thirteen minutes, Mothman Historian reads Gary Gibeaut's story "The Abridged Mothman" from Mothman #1, published in September 2015. He follows that with a look at Mothman 'Toons, a series of cartoon books by Jason Gibeaut and Larry Blake. Jason and Larry have three collections of Mothman 'Toons and are working on a fourth. Finally, Mothman Historian looks at two coloring books by Terence Hanley with not only Mothman but also the Flatwoods Monster, the Men in Black, and Indrid Cold, all of West Virginia. Here is the link to Mothman Historian's video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMOo5IeE2fc&feature=em-share_video_user

 Text copyright 2017 Five Star Comics

Mothman on YouTube

A YouTube user named Mothman Historian has posted a video showing his Mothman shelf, a collection of books, toys, figurines, and other collectibles and memorabilia in his home. It's a nice collection and includes books and other items by Gary Gibeaut, Jason Gibeaut, Larry Blake, and Terence Hanley. Mothman Historian also has art by Andy Finkle, an artist we met at the Mothman Festival in September 2016, as well as patches by George Coghill, whom we met in 2015. The video is about fifteen and a half minutes long. Here is a link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb7gXVsPMG8&feature=em-share_video_user

Here is a link to Andy Finkle's website:

http://www.andyfinkle.com/

 Finally, here's a link to George Coghill's website:

http://coghillcartooning.com/

Happy viewing.

 Text copyright 2016 Five Star Comics

 

Secret Origins

The Amalga-Mates: The World's First (and Second) Siamese Twin Superheroes!
Part 3
by Terence E. Hanley

Hemi and Semi are identical twins, of course, but as they say, their powers are fraternal. Hemi has one super power, his super strength. Semi's powers are more varied, but they're  random. He doesn't know what they will be, when they will show up, or how long they will last. One minute, he can fly, the next, he has the power of the Porcupine and is covered with spines made of pure adamandantium! The twins could easily be surgically separated, but their powers derive from the connection between them. If they were separated from each other, they would be diminished. There might be a lesson in that for all of us.

Reaction to The Amalga-Mates has been mixed. Some readers liked "The Case of the Nutcase." In his letter of comment in Five Star Comics #3, Rob Marsh called it "rich with goofy humor and silly slapstick." The late Don Ensign, on the other hand, considered it "rather self-conscious" and "sophomoric." Comic book writer, collector, and fan Tony Isabella reviewed Five Star Comics #2 and the first part of "The Case of the Nutcase" on his blog, called, appropriately enough, Tony Isabella's Bloggy Thing (May 15, 2012). He wrote, in part:

My specific quibble on the second issue revolves around the Amalga-Mates. Beside being pretty sure "Siamese twins" is now considered an insensitive/offensive term, the story was poorly done and seemed to mock its heroes.  The collective should be a bit more choosy in what it publishes in this anthology.

I agree with Mr. Isabella that Part One could have been better, but in conceiving of the characters and writing the script, I didn't intend to mock them at all. Instead, I wanted to poke fun at superheroes, comic book fans, the comic book business, and the conventions of comic book storytelling. I should have done a better job of it, of course. I wouldn't be explaining myself now if I had. (I have heard that if you're explaining, you're losing. I guess I'm losing.) I regret that "The Case of the Nutcase" comes off as mocking its protagonists. I think Part Two is kinder to them and more to the point.

With The Amalga-Mates, I also wanted to poke fun at people in general as they are confronted by Siamese twins. The speaker in the opening of Part One makes a lame joke about the twins accepting the gift of the acorns on behalf--"Get it, on be-half?" he says--of the city. The reporter, Chelsea Brittany, describes The Amalga-Mates as a "new superhero, with two bodies and two heads," never understanding that she is talking about two distinct people who just happen to be conjoined. My intent is to show that Siamese twins, though they may look different, are simply human beings, and they have everything in common with the rest of us. Beyond that, if anyone else can be a superhero, why not a Siamese twin or twins? As for the quibble that Siamese twins is considered an insensitive or offensive term--I'll write about that in the last part of this series.

To be concluded . . .

Text copyright 2016 Terence E. Hanley

Secret Origins

The Amalga-Mates: The World's First (and Second) Siamese Twin Superheroes!
Part 2
by Terence E. Hanley

Tim Corrigan penciled and lettered the first part of "The Case of the Nutcase" for Five Star Comics #2, published in Spring 2012. Larry Blake, Gary Gibeaut, and I, calling ourselves "Many Hands," inked it in February, shortly before publication. At about that time or a little after, Larry penciled the second part of the story and sent it to Tim for his letters and inks. Tim was fast and finished the job in short order, but we didn't get around to publishing Part Two until Spring 2013 in Five Star Comics #3. The script on both parts was mine, with changes and additions made by Tim Corrigan.

Each part of "The Case of the Nutcase" has a different look to it. You would expect that, knowing that different artists worked at different tasks on each part. For example, Tim used a fine pen for his inking of Part Two. His touch was light. That lightness of touch was helped by Larry's use of drawing board measuring about 11 x 16 inches. That gave Tim plenty of room to work. Larry's penciled art is about 10 x 15 inches, a standard size for comic book pages. Comic book publishers of course reduce their pages by about one-third for printing, thereby sharpening the image and making fine lines even finer. That's standard practice in Five Star Comics, too, and it improved the look of Tim's already very fine inking.

Tim, on the other hand, used board measuring 8-1/2 x 11 inches for Part One. His original art is about 7 x 10-1/2 inches. In other words, the original art is not much bigger than the printed size, which is about 6-1/8 x 9-1/8 inches. As I understand it, Tim always worked fairly small. That tendency is probably explained by the fact that, when he was a kid, Tim was unaware of the concept of photomechanical reduction. He thought artists worked at the size their art was printed. Maybe Tim's light touch was a result of working in smaller dimensions. If so, maybe we should thank childlike naïveté for the many fine lines that flowed from Tim's pen. For what it's worth, Franklin Booth (1874-1948) made pen-and-ink drawings that looked like engravings because, like Tim, he thought the artists of his childhood drew that way. He didn't know that the illustrations he saw in books, magazines, and newspapers at the time were printed from engraved blocks of wood.

Tim's small drawing paper on Part One was good for his own purposes, but it posed a challenge for us as his inkers. The surface of the paper Tim used is fairly glossy, too. It doesn't take a pen line very well, and the pencils are hard to erase. Also, we were rushed (as comic book artists so often are), and we didn't do what we would have considered our best work. In the end, Larry, Gary, and I are responsible for the coarse and heavy look of Part One of "The Case of the Nutcase." The gray tones I added using Photoshop--a first for me--only added to its heaviness. As you might guess, I prefer the look of Part Two to Part One, and I think the story in the second half works better as well.

About midway between the publication of the two parts of "The Case of the Nutcase," Tim Corrigan announced his retirement from comics and small press. That was in November 2012. I wonder now if "The Case of the Nutcase," Part Two, was Tim's last published comic book story. In any case, in retiring, Tim wanted to spend more time on his music and with his family. Last summer, on August 22, 2015, Tim died unexpectedly at his home in New York. He was only sixty-four years old.

Tim was Irish and I am Irish. He looked like he could have been one of my dad's brothers. I like to think that we had a shared heritage, not only going back to the Emerald Isle but also to a childhood love of the comics. He was funny, easygoing, good-natured, enthusiastic about comics, and supportive of other artists and of small press in general. Invariably dressed in a flannel shirt, with a long, gray ponytail down his back and glasses perched on the end of his nose, he liked to roll his own cigarettes and devour popsicles, one after another. He read a comic book I drew when I was about ten years old and, perhaps remembering his own childhood of drawing comics, treated it with tenderness. He called it charming. We might say the same thing of Tim Corrigan.

To be continued . . .

The first page of "The Case of the Nutcase," Part One, from Five Star Comics #2. Tim Corrigan penciled and lettered the story, while Larry Blake, Gary Gibeaut, and Terence Hanley inked it.

A page from "The Case of the Nutcase" Part Two, from Five Star Comics #3. Once again, Tim lettered the story, but those are his inks over Larry Blake's pencils. Note the fineness and precision of Tim's line. I meant "The Case of the Nutcase" to be a send-up of superhero comics, but that doesn't really come out until Part Two and the sequence about The Fantabulous Five . . . minus one, the unfortunate Human Scorch, who "died tragically in issue number 748," a "landmark issue" of "The World's Greatest Comic Book."

Art copyright 2012, 2016 Larry Blake, Tim Corrigan, Gary Gibeaut, and Terence Hanley

Script copyright 2016 Terence E. Hanley

Text copyright 2016 Terence E. Hanley

Secret Origins

The Amalga-Mates: The World's First (and Second) Siamese Twin Superheroes!
Part 1
by Terence E. Hanley

Five Star Comics began in 2011 as an anthology of Golden Age comic book characters that are now in the public domain. Our first issue included stories of Moth Man, Silver Streak, Marvel Maid, Flip Falcon, and Cave Girl. With our second issue, we began telling stories of our own original characters, first of which were a pair of Siamese twin brothers, code-named The Amalga-Mates. Their identities are secret. (That's part of the fun.) When they aren't fighting crime, the two are millionaire philanthropists Hemsworth V. Hemsworth (pun intended) and Semyon Hemsworth. For short, they call each other Hemi and Semi (more puns intended).

Hemi and Semi came into my imagination in a way I can't explain exactly. There they remained until a Saturday afternoon in April 2011, when Larry Blake introduced me to Tim Corrigan at the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (S.P.A.C.E.) in Columbus, Ohio. Larry had shown Tim some of my work. I felt honored when Tim asked if I wanted to collaborate with him on a story. I said yes, but I didn't know what we would do for a collaboration. He said think about it, so I thought about it as I drove home that evening. The idea came to me as I was driving, one I had sketched three months before. The next morning I drove back to Columbus for the second day of S.P.A.C.E. When I saw Tim, I told him of my idea for a story about Siamese twin superheroes. "No one has ever done it before," I explained. "There's a good reason for that," he laughed, with tears coming into his eyes. But he agreed to it and asked me to send him a  script.

Things get away from us. Nearly six months passed before I mailed a script to Tim in November 2011. He called me on the day he received it. He had just finished reading it and was laughing again. Anyone who knew Tim knew his laugh and his great sense of humor. He liked the script and told me he would start drawing.

Tim and I agreed that our story of the world's first Siamese twin superheroes would be a true collaboration. Although I had written the script, I wanted him to feel free to add to it or make changes. One change came out just right. I had tentatively called my heroes "The Titanic Twins." "That's kind of a weak name," I admitted in a letter to him. Tim came up with something better, and that's how Hemi and Semi became The Amalga-Mates. Tim also changed the title of the first story from my original "Nuts to the Nut" to "The Case of the Nutcase." Tim was a great maker of signs, logos, titles, and sound effects. (For evidence of that, consider the "GA-JEEZ" and "SHAZEAMPPP!" on page 28 of FSC #2.) The Amalga-Mates main title is his creation alone.

Tim was a fast worker. Not long after the new year, 2012, began, he called to tell me that he was working on the story, but that he couldn't make it fit into ten pages, which was about what I had envisioned. He sounded a little worried. I confess that I get a little long-winded in my stories, and I always underestimate the number of comic book pages it takes to tell a story. I was just learning then. I still don't have a formula down. At the time I thought one page of script would equal about one page of a comic book story. Now I know that it's more like two to three pages of comic book story per page of script. Anyway, I told Tim that we could break the story roughly in half, run the first half in Five Star Comics #2 and the second half in issue #3. He sounded relieved.

Not that there was any reason to worry. Tim finished the penciling and lettering of Part One of "The Case of the Nutcase" in February 2012. Larry Blake, Gary Gibeaut, and I collaborated on the inking (I was supposed to have done the inking on my own), and the story went to print in time for S.P.A.C.E. in April 2012. I suppose it's only fitting that a story about Siamese twins would have two halves. The second half would have to wait until Five Star Comics #3.

To be continued . . .

The first drawing of the characters that would become The Amalga-Mates, by Terence E. Hanley, January 26, 2011. The drawing in black came first. Note that the twins have just two legs and that their arms are conjoined. The smaller drawing in green came next and is about how Hemi and Semi turned out in the end. In case you're keeping track of these things, The Amalga-Mates were born on today's date five years ago, so, Happy Birthday, Hemi and Semi!

My first finished drawing of the twins, from 2011. I sent a copy of this drawing to Tim Corrigan as a character sheet. As you can see, The Amalga-Mates wear masks so no one will know their true identities.

Hemi and Semi have distinct personalities. The easiest way to show that, I thought, was to draw them with different hairstyles. (How else are you going to tell them apart?) That difference shows up in this drawing, but in the final comic book story, the difference is even more pronounced, as Hemi (on the viewer's left) has dark hair, while Semi (on the viewer's right) has blond hair. So how do Siamese twins, which are by definition identical, have different-colored hair? Does one color his hair? Does the other bleach his? These are questions for another day.

To set them apart a little more, I was going to make one of the brothers a little more savvy than the other. In my original script, that was Hemi, the leader and the twin on his own right. Tim had other ideas. He made Semi, the brother on the twin's own left, at least an equal to Hemi, and maybe a little smarter. I asked myself why Tim had made that change. Then it occurred to me. Tim was left-handed. 

Art and text copyright 2016 Terence E. Hanley

C.C. Beck and the Deadly Sins

C.C. Beck (1910-1989) is best known for his stories in Fawcett comic books of the 1940s and '50s, including Captain Marvel, Spy Smasher, and Ibis the Invincible. He lived long enough to become a "crusty curmudgeon" and wrote a column of that title in The Comics Journal. He also corresponded with a group of friends, comic book fans, and professional writers and editors, a group who called themselves The Critical Circle. In its autumn issue of 2000, the magazine Alter Ego published a previously unpublished essay by Beck entitled "The Seven Deadly Sins of Comics Creators." In his opinion, they are:

1. Not Staying within the Limits of the Medium
2. Revealing [the] Presence of the Creators
3. Overdoing the Job
4. Losing Control
5. Tastelessness
6. Pandering
7. Breaking the Rules

Beck was and is a widely admired artist. His Captain Marvel stories from the 1940s are considered classics. They were so good, in fact, that Fawcett, for a time, represented one possible paradigm for the future of comic books in America. Instead, Fawcett was sued out of business, and eventually all comic books, for better or worse, became Marvelized.

The point is that C.C. Beck, even if he was a self-proclaimed "crusty curmudgeon," knew what he was talking about when it came to comic books. His warning against committing the seven deadly sins should be taken seriously. I'll quote from just two as he describes them:

Sin Number Five: Tastelessness

     The general public has very little knowledge of what is right and what is wrong. It has practically no taste; it will accept almost anything that is presented to it, no matter how bad it is or how poorly it is made.

     Nobody can change the public, which has always been this way. The best thing that can be done is not to offer the public things which are in bad taste and which degrade both the public and the producers of products. Writers and artists should be able to tell bad writing and art from good, even though their public (and sometimes their publishers) can't. . . .

Sin Number Six: Pandering 

     Some comic book publishers believe in giving readers anything they think they want. . . .

     Catering to the tastes of the lowest members of society . . . is what makes civilizations go down the drain. History proves this; when literature and art start to degenerate, it's a sign that the public is not getting what it needs but what it needs least: pandering to the wants of the lowest, most mindless of its members.

Beck was obviously conservative in his views, not necessarily politically conservative, but at least culturally conservative. We could take his words as those of a curmudgeon, a grouch, a crank, or a guy sitting on his porch saying, "Hey, you kids, get off my lawn!" You can decide for yourself whether there is wisdom in what he wrote or something else. But I think he was on to something, and though I didn't read his essay until after we had begun publishing Five Star Comics, I think we, the six original creators, had a sense that he was right. It's why we decided against the tastelessness, violence, gore, misogyny, nihilism, and amorality or moral relativism of contemporary culture in making our comic book. We may sometimes miss the mark, but that isn't because we aren't shooting for good writing, good art, and a positive and uplifting tone. Our comics, like each one of us, is a work in progress.

Original text copyright 2016 Terence E. Hanley

Last Show of the Year

Five Star creator Terence Hanley was at the East Elementary PTO Holiday Shoppe again this year, on Friday, December 11, 2015. It was his fifth Holiday Shoppe, and like the others before it, this one was a good show for him. The Holiday Shoppe gives the children at East Elementary a chance to do their own shopping, with the help of their teachers or older pupils if they need it. It also teaches them about handling money, budgeting, and making decisions. Another benefit is that they can buy things from local artists and craftspeople instead of mass-produced merchandise from a chain store. Terence's coloring books are always popular there, especially among future UFOlogists and cryptozoologists. One of the artists Terence met this year is Jessica Held, who uses poured materials to make polished, agate-like surfaces on everyday objects. Some of them look like satellite images of deserts and wastelands, too. You can see her blog at this link:

http://jessicaheld.blogspot.com/

As it turns out, Jessica has exhibited in Lafayette, Indiana, next door to where Terence went to college. As they say, it's a small world.

Copyright 2015 Five Star Comics

S.P.A.C.E. 2015

Earlier this year, the vendors who had purchased tables for the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo found out that the regular venue, the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Columbus, Ohio, had closed suddenly and unexpectedly and that S.P.A.C.E. was being rescheduled for summer. That was bad news for some who were planning to go to the show in the spring. It turned out to be good news for others who wouldn't have been able to make it on the original dates. Not having enough time is the way most artists live. Having more than enough time is a new experience. I'm surprised we knew what to do.

A rescheduled show. A new and never-tested venue. A scramble among artists to see whether they could make it or not. Changes to everyone's plans. There were reasons to doubt that S.P.A.C.E. would come off well this year. But it did. Really well by our estimate. And for that, Bob Corby, the organizer, and his staff should be praised and commended. Next year, there might even be a statue of Bob in front of the Northland Performing Arts Center in Columbus, the location of this year's show.

Larry Blake and Terence Hanley were among the artists at this year's S.P.A.C.E., which took place on Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19, 2015. Larry was in the main room, a vast, dark, noisy, and crowded place that used to be a department store. His table sat catacorner from that of Harvey Pekar's widow, Joyce Brabner. Terence was in a kind of annex, a small, brightly colored room off to the side of the main room but on the way to the vending machines and restrooms. For one reason or another, everyone at the show had to go through the small room and past his table. There was also food for sale by outside vendors, and you had to go outside to get it, either in the extreme heat on Saturday or a hurricane-like rainstorm that came through on Sunday afternoon.

Larry is a regular at S.P.A.C.E. and has been since its beginnings in 2000. In 2009, he was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award. (Tim Corrigan, also a contributor to Five Star Comics, won the award in 2006.) Larry's setup at S.P.A.C.E. is familiar to everyone who goes. Terence, on the other hand, hasn't been at S.P.A.C.E. as a vendor since 2013. Both had fun and saw old and new faces, including Michael Neno. Terence also met D. Blake Werts, a writer, editor, publisher, and fan of small press. Blake publishes a mini-comic-sized magazine called Copy This!, available at his website, Midnight Fiction, at:

http://midnightfiction.com/

In Copy This! #15, (May 2015), Blake interviews Billy McKay and includes mention of Larry Blake's Kevin Cool #30, from January/February 2015. Kevin Cool appears in Five Star Comics #3, but his regular venue is his own digest-sized title. You can order copies by contacting:

Larry Blake

69306 State Route 124

Reedsville, OH 45772

Also mentioned in Copy This! is Michael Neno's enigmatic Where Is Document No. 30?, a mini-sized comic that's worth the dollar you have to part with in order to get it.

Speaking of digests, D. Blake Werts is on the staff of a new digest-sized magazine called The Digest Enthusiast. The title is accurate: The Digest Enthusiast includes articles about digest magazines and comic books, plus interviews with and profiles on the people who have worked in these little magazines. In a welcome development, the Enthusiast also publishes illustrated short fiction. And to round things out nicely, Michael Neno has had his work in the two issues published to date. The Digest Enthusiast is available at the website of Larque Press, here.

For Larry and Terence, this year's S.P.A.C.E. ended with quick repairs to their car, made in a deserted parking lot, with a piece of rubber gasket and a hose clamp. Then it was home for a little rest before beginning preparations for the next show.

Copyright 2015 Five Star Comics

Five Star Comics in Backdrop Magazine

Backdrop Magazine, a student publication of Ohio University, has featured four local artists--and Five Star Comics--in its latest issue. The artists are Terence Hanley, Chris Monday, Sandy Plunkett, and Steve Richter. Three of the four live within a few blocks of each other. The fourth, Chris Monday, lives across town. All have been to local events together, including Ratha Con, the annual pop culture convention put on by ARTS/West and the City of Athens. Student journalist Jacob DeSmit is the author of the article, entitled "Drawn Together." It appears in the Fall Issue (Vol. 8, Issue 1) of Backdrop Magazine. You can read the magazine in its entirety at the Backdrop website, here.

"Drawn Together" begins with Steve Richter, a native of Athens County and a 1991 graduate of Ohio University. Steve began his art career in Seattle. Now back in his hometown of Athens, he has continued as a freelancer. His work includes a popular and very funny series on "Fears and Anxieties for Every Occasion," a comic strip called "Neener Neener," and the adventures of a space-traveling dog named Smoog. Jacob DeSmit's article in Backdrop includes a step-by-step look at how Steve created the cover illustration for the magazine. Included on that cover are likenesses of the four featured artists, who are distracted from their work by an approaching waitress and/or platter of burgers and fries. You can see more of Steve Richter's art and keep up with his latest projects on his website, Steve Richter Art, at:

http://www.steverichterart.com/

Next comes Terence Hanley of Five Star Comics and another step-by-step, this one showing the creation of Five Star Comics #1. Terence is of course the creator of coloring books on Monsters and Aliens of America and a regular contributor to Five Star Comics.

Next in Backdrop there is a little on Sandy Plunkett, who has done work for Marvel, DC, and other publishers. (You can read a checklist of his work by clicking here.) Sandy has lived in Athens for many years and has done advertising and promotional art for local clients, including Ratha Con. In 2010, Ohio University Press issued a collection of Sandy's artwork, The World of a Wayward Comic Book Artist. The Kennedy Museum of Art held an exhibit of his drawings from January 25 to June 3, 2013. As for Sandy's website, Sandy Plunkett: Images on Paper, go to this website:

http://www.plunkettcomicart.com/

After a section on the comic book stores of Athens (The Wizard's Guild and Ski's Tees and Collectibles), "Drawn Together" features Chris Monday, creator of the autobiographical Drink More Water (2011) and other works, including the editing and designing of and a story in the anthology comic My Stupid Raygun (2013). You can see Chris' websites, called Drink More Water and Chris Monday: Comics and Art, at the following URLs:

http://chrismonday.com/

and

http://christophermondaycomics.tumblr.com/

"Drawn Together" closes with something on local artist Kelly Lawrence, who organizes Ratha Con, and with a quote from Terence Hanley, who has never in his life said in any seriousness, "Back in the day . . . ."

Text copyright 2014 Five Star Comic

Two-Front Page Photos in Two Days!

Five Star creator Larry Blake was on the front page of The Athens News yesterday. Well, today Terence Hanley matched him with a front-page photo on The Athens Messenger! The article is called "Ratha Con: Twice the Faces Seen at Year Two," and the writer and photographer on the story is Arian Smedley, who interviewed Terence and featured him in her article. Larry Blake and Gary Gibeaut are in the background of the photo. In the foreground are Terence Hanley and the Flatwoods Monster (but we're not sure which is which). The web version of Ms. Smedley's article is called "Ratha Con Doubles Attendance in Its Second Year." You can read it by clicking here.

Copyright 2013 Five Star Comics

Five Star Comics at Tri-Con!

The Five Star Gang will be at the Tri-State Comic Convention, otherwise known as Tri-Con, this weekend, Saturday, April 6, 2013, at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington, West Virginia. Look for us at Table #15, next to the Dalek and TARDIS. Larry Blake will have original art and his own books for sale, Gary Gibeaut will have Mothman posters and postcards, and Terence Hanley will have his monsters and aliens coloring books for sale. In addition, you can buy the first two issues of Five Star Comics. We hope to see you there.

Text copyright 2013 Five Star Comics

Mothman poster art copyright 2013 Gary Gibeaut

Monsters from the Mountains Coloring Book cover art copyright 2013 Terence E. Hanley

Five Star Comics at the Mothman Festival!

The Mothman Festival--the biggest event of the year for the creators of Five Star Comics--has come and gone. Larry Blake, Gary Gibeaut, and Terence Hanley had some of their best convention and festival days ever. The weather was perfect both days and the crowds seem to be getting bigger and bigger every year. Gary's new Mothman posters were very popular and Larry sold original art, a favorite among crowds wherever he goes. Terence offered his new coloring book, Monsters from the Mountains, and his new UFOlogist and cryptozoologist trading cards. Five Star Comics continues to sell steadily. By the time convention season rolls around again, we'll have a new issue available. Keep watching this space!

Copyright 2012 Five Star Comics

Five Star Creators at Yellow Springs

Every year, Yellow Springs, a small city in western Ohio, holds a book fair at Mills Lawn Elementary School. This year, Larry Blake and Terence Hanley went to the fair to sell their own books and used books from their collections. It was a return to his old stomping grounds for Larry. He had a good time catching up with old friends, and he even sold a few books. Terence sold some books, too, including a few copies of Five Star Comics to the local comic book store. The weather was great, more like a day in June than a day in August. The crowds weren't especially big. We can only hope that word of the fair gets around to book lovers in Dayton, Springfield, Cincinnati, and Columbus and that attendance is up next year.

Text copyright 2012 Five Star Comics

Five Star Creators at the River City Comic Con

This was the week for the second annual River City Comic Con, and Larry Blake and Terence Hanley were on hand to sell their books and original art. Jordan Lowe was there as well, and it's a good thing because he was the man in charge. Attendance was good and the convention hall was a big change over last year. Everyone remembers the sweltering heat at the fairgrounds in Marietta last year. Despite the weather, everyone stuck it out and had fun. This year's show took place across town in the ballroom of the Lafayette Hotel, right next to the Ohio River. There was a river boat out front at the start of the show. The boat was so big it looked like someone had laid a building sideways on the water--a reminder of days gone by and why Marietta is called the River City. There's plenty of foot traffic in Marietta on weekends. Some of those people must have found their way into the Lafayette Hotel and its room full of art, artists, and comic books because attendance was excellent (and so was the atmosphere). There was even a celebrity guest, Ian Petrella, who played Randy, the little brother, in The Christmas Story (1983). And guess what--he had a leg lamp with him!

Text copyright 2012 Five Star Comics

Convention News Roundup

June was a good month for comic book conventions and Five Star creators Larry Blake and Terence Hanley. On Saturday, June 9, 2012, Larry and Terence drove to Huntington, West Virginia, for the Tri-State Comic Con. Held in a cavernous arena, the Tri-State Comic Con is the first comic convention to be held in Huntington in almost thirty years. The gang in charge of the convention did a good job advertising and promoting the show. The turnout was great and West Virginians showed once again that they know their monsters! Terence sold plenty of Mothman coloring books and the first issue of Five Star Comics, which features not one but two Mothmen on the cover. The Tri-State Comic Con is a go for next year. It will take place on April 6, 2013, once again at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington. See the website here.

Terence made a return to the Derby City Comic Con to end the month. This was his second time at the Louisville show. It's a family-friendly convention and there were plenty of kids on hand. Terence sold Five Star Comics, Lucky Girl comics, coloring books, posters, and original art. He also met a man who had a first-hand encounter with something strange and unexplainable, just like the people depicted in Terence's coloring books. The Derby City Comic Con will also return next year. The date is June 29, 2013, the place is the Kentucky International Convention Center, and the website is here.

Text copyright 2012 Five Star Comics

Larry Blake and Terence Hanley at Tri-Con

Larry Blake and Terence Hanley will be at the Tri-State Comic Con tomorrow, Saturday, June 9, 2012. The convention is on from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington, West Virginia, home state of the Mothman. Larry and Terence will have their books for sale, including Five Star Comics #1 and Five Star Comics #2. This is the first comic convention to be held in Huntington for years. It has been well publicized and well promoted, so there should be a big crowd. Come on down for some fun and a talk with the many creative people in the Tri-State area.

Copyright 2012 Five Star Comics

Convention News Roundup

It has been a busy spring for Five Star Comics and the artists and writers behind this new title. Five Star creator Terence Hanley has driven all over the Ohio Valley, attending conventions in Lexington (March 24), Dayton (March 31-April 1), Columbus (April 21-22), Fort Wayne (May 12), and Athens, Ohio (May 26). Terence's Mothman, Aliens, and Flying Saucers Coloring Book and Monsters and Aliens of America Coloring Book continue to sell well to investigators of the paranormal and the extraterrestrial. Five Star Comics #1 is a hit with fans of Golden Age comic books. And Lucky Girl #1 has drawn the attention of discerning readers. Larry Blake, Tim Corrigan, and Gary Gibeaut have also been to conventions this spring and have sold their art, comic books, stickers, and other items.

The Lexington Comic and Toy Convention, a bustling show held at the Convention Center in Lexington, Kentucky, was a big success for its organizers. Over 4,000 people attended. In addition to selling his books, Terence drew convention sketches, sketch cards, and a commissioned drawing of a pulp cover featuring a previously unknown pulp author, Luke Dodd. Terence also met comic professional Bob McLeod and picked up Mr. McLeod's first children's book, the funny and beautifully illustrated Superhero ABC. The organizers of the show also published a convention comic book in which Terence's new character, Island Girl, made her debut--and in color. Island Girl is just one of a new line of superheroes and heroines Terence is developing for a future series.

Island Girl makes her debut in the Lexington Comic and Toy Convention comic.

Terence was back in Ohio the following weekend for the two-day Gem City Comic Con, held at the Student Union at Wright State University. Comic book dealers took up the big convention hall, while artists' alley was located in a smaller room across the entryway. It was an encouraging sign to see families and children at the show. Monsters and Aliens of America was the big seller, but Terence's sketch cards were popular, too. Wonder Woman was on hand to see herself depicted on a sketch card, and although the sketch card might be good, it can't compare to the real Wonder Woman. Terence also picked up a comic book page by Ohio artist Dan Davis.

The Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo--S.P.A.C.E.--was the big event in April. Five Star creators Larry Blake, Tim Corrigan, Gary Gibeaut, and Terence Hanley were on hand for the premiere of their second issue of Five Star Comics! Chock-full of art, Five Star Comics #2 is the work of five artists and writers, with five (or six) heroic protagonists starring in five stories. Attendees of the expo loved the comic and its predecessor, Five Star Comics #1. They also picked up original art by Larry Blake, Mothman stickers by Gary Gibeaut, and Tim Corrigan's Comics and Stories. Tim Corrigan's sons, Nate and Matt, were also on hand to sell their books. Unfortunately Matt Marshall, the cover artist and creator of the lead story, "Origin of The Black Bat," wasn't available for the public's first look at his first-ever comic book story. Comic book fan, reader, and writer Mike Tuz made the long trip from the East Coast to the Midwest to meet some of the creators he has known only by letter for so long. It looks like Mike could become a contributor to Five Star Comics in the not-very-distant future. Finally, one of the highlights of the show for Terence was his being interviewed by Ian and Kathleen, young creators of the brand new Glen Echo Review. If you haven't seen this fine publication yet, you should run out and get your copy today!

Five Star Comics #2 with cover art by Matt Marshall, new for S.P.A.C.E. 2012!

Terence returned to his home state of Indiana in May for the Summit City Comic Con, which took place in The Grand Wayne Center in Fort Wayne. This year's Summit City Comic Con was another family-friendly event (the best kind). There were lots of kids and lots of people in costume. The show's organizers continue to put on a good convention with plenty of room and good services for the artists and good attendance by the public. Terence drew a picture of the Froglodyte, a singular creature created by Sydney, and one to match her brother's Mist Dragon from last year.

Finally, this weekend, Larry Blake and Terence Hanley were at the inaugural Ratha Con, held at the Athens Community Center in Athens, Ohio. Once again, Larry's original art was very popular, especially his drawings of Ol' Shellhead. Attendance was not very high on a hot afternoon, but the room was cool and made all the cooler by the artists, dealers, exhibitors, attendees, and volunteers. Other Athens-area artists in attendance included Sandy Plunkett, Katherine Wirick, Ryan Spellman, and Steve Richter. Ratha Con was Steve's first comic book convention. Welcome to the club, Steve.

Next up: The Tri-State Comic Con--TriCon--scheduled for Saturday, June 9, 2012, at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena, Huntington, West Virginia. See you there!

Text copyright 2012 Five Star Comics

Art copyright 2012 by the respective creators of Five Star Comics

Terence Hanley at Gem City Comic Con!

Terence Hanley will be at the Gem City Comic Con in Dayton, Ohio, this weekend, Saturday, March 31 and Sunday, April 1, 2012. The convention takes place at the Student Union of Wright State University, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, Dayton, OH, 45435. You can find out more about the convention by clicking here.

In other news, Five Star Comics #2 goes to print next week! Our sophomore effort will offer a showcase of Matt Marshall's talents with a full-color cover and a six-page story inside telling the origin of The New Black Bat!

Also inside:

Missile returns in a new story by Larry Blake. Don't miss "The Trojan Cuckoo"!

Gary Gibeaut revives not only Lady Luck, but also her sidekick and one of her enemies, Warped Brain!

Tim Corrigan and Many Hands present a new kind of superhero--make that two superheroes--The Amalga-Mates in "The Case of the Nut Case"!

Finally, Cave Girl returns, to face down a new menace in "Cave Girl and the Bat-King" by Terence Hanley!

Five Star Comics #2, available April 2012!

Copyright 2012 Five Star Comics

Terence Hanley at the Lexington Comic and Toy Convention!

Five Star Comics creator Terence Hanley will be at the Lexington Comic and Toy Convention this weekend, Saturday, March 24, 2012. The convention will take place in the Heritage Hall East at the Lexington Convention Center, 430 West Vine Street, Lexington, KY 40507. The hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Check out the website of the convention here. In addition to his monsters and aliens coloring books, Terence will have Lucky Girl #1 and Five Star Comics #1 for sale. Look for sketch cards of your favorite characters as well, and if you don't find the one you're looking for, ask the artist! He can draw it for you!

Isis, from the 1970s kid's show of the same name.
A sketch card by Terence Hanley.

Art copyright 2012 Terence E. Hanley

Text copyright 2012 Five Star Comics

Terence Hanley at Mysticon

Five Star Comics creator Terence Hanley will be at Mysticon, his first science fiction-fantasy-horror convention, this weekend, Friday, February 24, through Sunday, February 26, 2012, in Roanoke, Virginia. This is the second year for Mysticon. Guests of honor include author Sherrilyn Kenyon and actor Richard Hatch of Battlestar Galactica fame. Terence will be in the artists' alley part of the convention. Stop by for a Mothman or monsters and aliens coloring book, a copy of Lucky Girl or Five Star Comics, or a preview of the next Cave Girl story. Terence will also draw pictures made to order.

You can find out more about Mysticon at the show's website.

Coming soon in Five Star Comics #2:
Cave Girl meets the Bat-King!

Art copyright 2012 Terence E. Hanley

Text copyright 2012 Five Star Comics