Twisted Studio: Your world…twisted.

FCBD Kicks Off The Infestation Tour!

Posted on 5th May 2014 in Uncategorized

Saturday May 3rd 2014 was the 13th annual Free Comic Book Day. Originally conceptualized by retailer Joe Field, the event was intended to introduce new people to a beloved hobby, to call back former comic book readers, and to thank current comic buyers for their continued support. Over the past 13 years the day has continued to grow in popularity and exposure.

This was Twisted Studio’s third year attending Free Comic Book Day, and we’ve used it as a kick-off for our yearly ‘tour’ of shows and conventions. This was a particularly exciting year for us. We are taking preorders for TWO projects for the first time, but moreover, we were able to spend FCBD with our friends at Paper Heroes Comic Lounge. Owner Scott St Amour just opened the lounge six months ago, so this was his first Free Comic Book Day, and we couldn’t be happier for him.

Determined to make the event a spectacular one, Scott set about rallying local businesses and artists to the cause. We jumped at the opportunity, as did Glass Monkey Studio’s April Fawler, and the phenomenally talented Johnny D. A barbecue was set up to feed the masses. Served and prepared by Scott’s friends and family, all proceeds from the food were donated to support Muscular Dystrophy. Patio Palace, Tiffany’s Diner, and Jeff’s Meats were co-sponsors of the event.

There’s no denying the day was as amazing as the Paper Heroes had planned it to be. With some great cosplayers in attendance, and guests arriving in costume it was hard not to get into the spirit. As the excitement and adrenaline from the day is only now beginning to fade, we’d like to thank all of our fans who came to see us, and all of the new friends we made throughout the day. Ofcourse we’d like to offer a sincere thank you to Scott St Amour, his family, and friends for putting on such a tremendous Free Comic Book Day!

To see more pictures from Free Comic Book Day check out our Facebook page, and stay tuned for more information on the next stop in our 2014 Infestation Tour.

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What Are You Reading #3

Posted on 17th March 2014 in What Are You Reading?

The Essential Wolverine Vol. 4

“On a recent visit to Paper Heroes I saw that Scott had a number of big Marvel books for sale. Immediately, my eyes fell on a stack of ‘Essential Wolverine’ books. I couldn’t resist. Volume 4 covers Wolverine #70-90, and the cover was taken from #77, and issue I owned years ago. I actually picked up Volumes 4 & 5 from Scott that day, and I’m so glad I did because I can’t seem to put it down!

As an artist I find that I get wrapped up in the artwork of a book the first time I look through it. I have to actually remind myself at times to actually read the text and not just admire the artwork. The issues of Wolverine featured in this volume were all written by the great Larry Hama. Larry has done such a great job of capturing Wolverine’s character in a way that feels natural, and certainly sets the stage for writers who would follow.

The cranky Canuck is not portrayed as an aimless rampaging machine in these books. In fact, Hama brings so many layers of Logan’s personality and motives that I actually appreciate him more having read these stories. After Wolverine’s had the adamantium pulled out of his body by Magneto, his fellow X-men are rushing to get him emergency care. His healing factor is going haywire, and he’s slipped into fevered dreams. Professor X psychically enters Wolverine’s mind to help him stay in the world of the living. As Logan is tempted to follow the light, Xavier warns that it will kill him. With teary eyes, the canuckle head looks back and states, “Don’t you think I know that.”

Chills.

While this volume features some great artists, I have to commend Mr. Hama on his literary execution. He’s helped me appreciate a character on all new levels, without stepping away from who the character is meant to be.”

-Paul Reaume

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Twisted Features #13

Posted on 13th March 2014 in Twisted Features

Welcome to our latest Twisted Feature! This time we will return to the fearfully educational world of Cash Wampum and the folks at Horror 101.
Their newest podcast is a break from their regular format and is a call in show. The call-in topic was “What scared you as a child in regards to a film you had seen?” and didn’t have to be limited to horror movies.

The link to the podcast is here

We wanted to “Twist” this feature a bit so each of us will share our scariest moments of our childhood film-watching.

Dave Rocha:

“Being a sci-fi nut and easily scared as a wee-one, I didn’t watch much horror but one movie series that I loved to death scared the poop outta me repeatedly. After seeing the original Alien for the first time at about 6, I didn’t sleep for a week. I still to this day feel my hair stand on end every time I see any of Geiger’s art. That drooling snarling alien made me check my shorts every time I saw any of the sequels at the show. Still not much of a horror fan but the feeling I had as a 6 year old scared me enough and in such a way that I absolutely had to see EVERY sequel.”

Paul Reaume:

“I’d have to say that there have been three horror movies that really resonated with me, and left a lasting impression. The earliest of which being “It”. Not that I grew up with a fear of clowns or anything, but the image of Pennywise peering from the sewer YEEESSHhh. I always had to watch where I was stepping, out of fear that something would be down there waiting to grab at my feet. My next movie moment would have been from the second Alien movie (I believe). The scene was set in a dark room with chains dangling eerily from the ceiling. The alien descended silently behind the unsuspecting victims, and I lost my $#%&! The last one that really got me was from the second Poltergeist movie. This particular point took place in the hospital. The camera was set looking down a vacant hallway, and things were quiet. Too quiet. When out of nowhere that freaky girl passes across the hallway. I remember jumping up, walking out of the room and saying ‘Forget this, I”m done.’

Thanks for joining us and please check out Horror 101′s latest at the link above.
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Prime Lighting Design

March is the Green Month at Prime Lighting Design. The local lighting store will be featuring tips on saving energy, spotlighting energy conserving products, and some sale pieces along the way. Be sure to stop in, to see what’s in store.

Click the logo to head over to Prime’s website (designed by yours truly!)

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It’s Submission Time!

Posted on 1st March 2014 in Twisted Peeks

At the beginning of February The Underground team sent out emails to Image Comics, IDW Publishing, as well as a few established individuals in the comic book industry. They were reaching out to raise awareness of The Underground, but also to find a publishing partner for the continuation of the series. While fundraising efforts are underway to help produce the next chapter in the series, the financial realities of independently printing a small run comic series are challenging to say the least.

“The Underground series has so much potential beyond just the comic book series. We’ve already started playtesting a board-game based on the series, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I see action figures and playsets, lunch pails and video games. There is so much that can be done to build the brand as a whole, we just need the right partner to help us get there.”

-Paul Reaume

The team is taking a very public approach to their submission, in an innovative attempt to build up as much ‘buzz’ around the effort as possible. Instead of printing off materials, mailing them away, and then reporting back to their fans, everything will be visible to everyone throughout the process. On the comic series’ webpage, a special section will be dedicated to the submission being made to potential partners. Throughout the coming week, progress on the submission package will be uploaded to this online section so followers can check them out and offer they’re feedback before anything is sent away.

As a studio, The Underground has always been our flagship project.

As a person, The Underground has always been Paul Reaume’s dream.

These are the legitimate steps being made to realize this dream, and bring our flagship project to the masses.

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Local Talent: Kelly Beedle

Posted on 20th February 2014 in Local Talent

This week’s Local Artist feature is someone near and dear to my heart; my cousin Kelly Lynne Beedle. Kelly has recently started showing her beautiful works of art off to the public via Facebook, and she has been receiving exceptional feedback from her audience. It seems like every new piece she posts is snatched up within minutes, if it wasn’t already pre-commissioned by somebody. For an emerging artist, she is stirring up quite the buzz and generating an admirable level of demand. It’s a position every artist wants to be in, and young Ms. Beedle deserves every bit of her new found success.

Kelly and I come from a massive family, filled with creative individuals. While some work with wood, others in pen & ink, Kelly prefers to work with acrylics. Much of her work is completed on stretched canvas, and she will even mix different mediums into her paint to create an assortment of different affects. This creative approach to her painting clearly defines a style of vibrant colours, with sharp contrasts, and varied layers. They are whimsical, and stunning, and I for one never tire of checking out whatever she’s currently working on. Kelly roots her creative spirit to our Nana, Janet Beedle.

I never realized how truly talented my cousin is, but I’m so proud to see all of the amazing work she has created. Happier still to see her sharing it with the world. She paints for the fun of it, and I believe that it is the very best of work that is created this way. Her passion for the creative process infuses her work, and it clearly resonates with her audience. Below are a few samples of Kelly’s work, but for more information feel free to contact her directly.

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Project Update: Colonies

Posted on 14th February 2014 in Twisted Peeks

It’s time for another update on our first game project, “The Underground:Colonies”. We have been ironing out the rules for this innovative game for quite some time now, and finally we’ve reached a point that we are ready to put our work to the test. Next week we will be launching our email-based play test of the game. With all of the game material collected, we are in need now of one more play-tester. While the game is aimed to be played by 2-4 players, we’d like to have four play-testers to ensure we are getting a good spread of input and feedback on the game’s development.

Today what we’d like to do is give you a basic overview of the game’s setup. As the play-testing commences we will be updating our online followers with other key elements to the game, and what the plans are for it’s expansion. That’s right; Expansion. While we are currently working on the core set of ‘Colonies’, we also have plans for a series of expansion sets that will introduce additional rules, gameplay options, and most certainly new species for players to use.

“The key is to develop a core rule system that is simple enough to be added on to, and yet still keep it engaging enough to keep players intrigued. This was the hardest point in working out the Colonies game; there are so many cool elements in The Underground universe that we wanted to include in the game we had a tough time keeping the rules from becoming over-complicated. All in all, I’m really happy about how the system came together, and I can’t wait to get playing.”

-Paul Reaume

The Game Tiles

The Colonies game uses a number of game tiles that when placed together at the beginning of the game will create the game board. The tiles will depict a winding path of squares that lead players underground, and up to the surface level. The tiles can be rearranged to create any number of board configurations and will be double-sided as well, offering even more options. Some insects will be better suited to play on the surface level, and others will be more geared towards subterranean life. The rules allow for this differentiation, and bonuses or drawbacks are applied accordingly. Bees, as an example, will certainly move faster while they are on the surface level than when they are forced to move underground. Alternatively, the Ants may have a higher Defense value while fighting underground than while on the surface level.

Our test game will be played on five game tiles, though more could be added in, or taken out depending on the length of game players would like to take part in. The core set of Colonies will feature five double-sided game tiles and the rules for two playable insect species. Appropriately enough, the starting species will be Ants and The Hive. Our next project update will feature more information on these creatures and how they are used in the game.

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Project Announcement: Battle of Tippecanoe game

Posted on 10th February 2014 in Twisted Peeks

After the announcement of the Underground Colonies game, we got to thinking about a game to supplement our Tecumseh comic. At first a grand strategic game covering all of the war of 1812 was envisioned. While this is still the end goal it quickly becmae too complicated to be a start point. We wanted the game to be fun, expandable and yet still keeping true to the feel and spirit of Tecumseh’s struggle. We also wanted to portray the tactics and nuances of musket combat.

The end result will be a historically accurate simple hex based battle system that be combined with other future stand alone sets to recreate the entire war or combine sets to create what-if scenarios. Naturally the first set will be the Battle of Tippecanoe. The game will include the map of the battle, rulebook, cards representing all the participants, a 20-sided die and hit counters.

The game should be ready for play-testing by the summer 2014 and hopefully released in time for xmas.

Stay tuned to Twisted Studio for further developments on this and our other awesome projects

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Local Talent: Donna Jean Mayne

Posted on 6th February 2014 in Local Talent

I wanted to take some time to pay tribute to some of the amazing talent we have here in the city of Windsor. I am constantly, and consistently impressed by the amount of truly talented artists, craftsmen, and musicians in our area. In an effort to call attention to some of these individuals, and shine some light on their work we here at Twisted Studio have decided to start a series of articles focusing on local talent specifically.

When it came to deciding who this first article would focus on, I had no doubt that it had to be Donna Jean Mayne; the lovely and talented sculptor, painter, and mentor. I had the pleasure of first meeting Donna during my time with her at the Windsor Art Studio when it was located in the old Sandwich Town Firestation. Donna was the coordinator there, along with JoAnne Weston. Both these ladies are tremendously inspiring, and I was immediately humbled by their presence. I felt like they could see right into me, who I am as an artist. They could see through my ego and helped me do the same. I had a questionnaire to answer before being accepted into the program, and in hindsight I’m sure they had a good laugh at some of my answers. All the same, I was accepted…what would follow would be one of the greatest learning experiences of my life.

My time at the Art Studio was spent completing small projects, each one Donna had chosen to help me develop some other facet of my artistic skills. The same could be said for the other artists working there. The projects ranged from shading (an area I THOUGHT I already had nailed), to textures, and portraits. Every day that I went home I was excited to talk about what I had learned, and my appreciation for my mentors grew and grew. Donna was a wonderful teacher and guide, I”m sure it was not always easy to deal with multiple artist egos. Never the less, she did it in such a way that we were all well aware of the developmental path down which we were being led.

I learned so much during my time with Donna at the Art Studio. Many of the lessons I’ve been able to apply to a number of projects since. Every now and then, I find myself working on a piece and I can almost hear Donna’s voice telling me about mixing my colours (A neutral gray? Really?), or encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone (like mixing a texture compound into a painting of snow-covered rusty metal). Long story short, even though my time at the Art Studio ended some time ago my respect for Mrs. Mayne continues to grow. Recently, she completed her own website dedicated to the stunning sculptures she has produced. I certainly encourage you to check it out, there are some beautifully tranquil pieces shown, and I”m sure she has plenty more in store.

Thank you Donna, for being such a great artistic asset to our area. Your talent is an inspiration to your peers, and anyone else you meet.

https://donnajeanmayne.com/home.html

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Twisted Features #12

Posted on 3rd February 2014 in Twisted Features

Into the Maw!

Last week’s posts on The Underground site got derailed slightly, which had many people wondering why? Truth be told, some time was taken away from the regular production schedule to reach out to some established companies and individuals in the comic book industry. The big push is on for The Underground and we had to put forth some due diligence and knock on a few doors.

The Underground team has contacted companies like Image, and IDW with regards to a publishing partnership. The time has certainly come to bring the series to a larger audience and start building the brand as a whole. This has been the idea behind the development of the ‘Colonies’ game, to demonstrate the potential behind the project.

The team is working hard at catching up on their posts, and will continue to make submissions and proposals wherever possible. You too can help spread the infestation though. Make sure you visit the project’s site, keep up with it’s ‘News’ page, and spread the word. Positive thoughts and energy can make a world of difference.

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Be sure to check in with our affiliates as well!

Horror 101

Check out Cash and the gang’s current podcast; Episode #29 Amityville II: The Possession. The lines of fact and fiction are blurred as they spotlight this frightening 80′s horror flick, based on real events.

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What Are You Reading #2

Posted on 29th January 2014 in What Are You Reading?

Dave’s Pick

I want to start by giving a little background of the dynamic duo behind this epic series. John Ostrander is in the my opinion the greatest thing to happen to comics ever! In every comic I have read of his from Suicide Squad to his Star Wars titles, he has always gripped me with his exciting, well researched stories and brilliantly crafted panels that highlight the emotion and thrilling action portrayed by the talented artists he works with. Now Jan is the only comic artist that has made my eyes tear up just by looking at a panel. There is a panel in Star Wars Legacy: War #6 that gets me every time I see it. The way she visually captures emotion is like none other as well. I even named by youngest Aayla, after Jedi Aayla Secura who was a creation of this pair.

Now that the brown-nosing is done onto to the comic. Dawn of the Jedi starts where no other Star Wars story has … AT THE BEGINNING! This is a galaxy that has no Jedi, no Sith, not even a Galactic Republic. This can be extremely challenging for Mr. Ostrander as he has TONS of Star Wars stories that happen in the “future” that he must be careful not to contradict. Thankfully the team has done TONS of research and carefully pre-planned the environment, planets and characters that we will see and it shows for sure.

From the planet Tython to the moons, Ashla and Bogan; and from their swords to the fact that the Je’daii try to keep the force in balance instead of following just the light or dark make these stories feel both new and familiar at the same time. I think my favorite aspect of Issue one is that the villains seem to be the Rakata from the video game Knights of the Old Republic (familiar) and that their Force-hound Xesh (new) is using a weapon called a force-saber (new) that looks like a light-saber (familiar) but really isn’t exactly the same. Another brilliant blend of new and the familiar is the name Je’daii for our protagonists. Not quite Jedi but we can see the natural evolution.

When Disney acquired Lucasfilm last year I was afraid that Marvel would get the license and it would be all over. Marvel has in fact been given the license but not until next year which will give them time to finish the current stories I hope! The force is indeed with this pair and if Marvel knows anything they will hire these two to give us many more stories set at the beginning of “A LONG TIME AGO …” PLEASE MARVEL PLEASE!

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