Why Bigfoot?

That's a good question.

I suppose I should have answered it a few months back, but instead focused the blog more on the production process.  I thought people would enjoy the Point A to Point Z development of the comic book and didn't really give much time to the emotional side of it.  I focused on the physical.  The book in hand.  In fact, I never really committed the emotional thoughts of "Why Bigfoot" to paper before.

So bear with me.

Why Bigfoot?

Well, if you're just starting out, they always say, "Don't write a superhero comic."  DC and Marvel OWN that genre.  If you're going to play in their backyard you have to know that they already have the best toys.  They've had 'em for 50+ years and they'll have 'em long after you're gone.  Trying your hand at a superhero story would be like Mark Wahlberg's character at the end of THE PERFECT STORM praying for someone to find him as he bobbed alone in the ocean.  No beacon, no lifejacket, no way of letting anybody know he was there.

Okay, so that tells you why I didn't write a superhero story, but it doesn't really say... why Bigfoot?

By now you've all seen the "Bigfoot on Mars" photo that I first saw on the Cryptomundo site way back in 2009.  Hopefully, you've all read the initial posts on the origin of the story, so I don't need to go into the (in my opinion) kickass idea of Bigfoot on Mars.  Come on, Bigfoot... with a broadsword... fighting super-science, magic and a few barbarians while we're at it?  Who wouldn't think that was cool?

But "because it is cool" really doesn't get to the heart of it.  I mean, it's no secret that it feels like Bigfoot's been a part of my entire life.  I've had three different personal business cards and all three have had some iteration of Bigfoot on them.  While I've been to a Bigfoot conference, outside of Rene Dahinden, I couldn't really name any of the great Bigfoot hunters and I've never actually seen a full episode of FINDING BIGFOOT.

So really then... WHY?

Because to me, Bigfoot is the ultimate loner in an alien world.  Even before I put him on another planet, he was always seen as hunted, lost and alone.  Growing up, I never read any stories about a pack of Bigfoot sightings.  It was always the big guy by himself.

"No one knew where he came from... no one knew how he got here..."

And a story like that really plays on an impressionable mind.  It sticks with you.  You sympathize...  You empathize.

"No one knew his name."

And besides, it's Bigfoot... with a broadsword.

I couldn't pass it up.

Josh S. Henaman

Be sure to return in ONE WEEK!  We finally have an update to beat all updates.

The Price of Being Vague

Hey everybody,

It's been a little quiet around here lately.  When your entire blog revolves around the production of a Bigfoot comic book, it gets harder and harder to keep the updates coming when you don't want to jump the gun and announce anything too soon.

In our case, that's where we're at right now.  As you already know, the first issue is in the can.  Andy and Tom are finishing up on the second issue and I just passed off the third issue script to Andy for designs.  Production-wise, we couldn't be looking better.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so what are you getting at?

But what about the business side of things?  What exactly is going on?  

Well, we've got some major... MAJOR announcements starting in a few weeks, but we can't spill the beans just yet.  We want to make sure everything's lined up and ready to go before we drop the green flag.

With that said, here are some things we've heard recently...

"So what exactly do you need with a 7 ft tall Bigfoot standee?"

"Why, it'll go great with our California Seller's Permit."

This will make more sense... in two weeks.  

Stay tuned... 

Josh "In for the Long Haul" Henaman

As if there was anything else to talk about...

Congratulations to the gang at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Your dreams and actions inspire us all!

http://www.nasa.gov/

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html


Sincerely,

Josh S. Henaman

July recap... updates

Well, July is gone and we're heading full bore into August.

We had hoped to have a few more updates, but it's taking a little longer than expected (Ah!  The wait!  The wait is killing me! -- Josh H.)  Needless to say, August is shaping up to be a busy month for us.

You know, we've been going this way for awhile... when's something going to happen?  

Update #1... Just passed the script for Issue #3 off to Andy.

Stay tuned... There's plenty more to come!

Josh "Mr. Impatient" Henaman

Hmmm... curious? Or just a play on words?

What's up, Bigfoot crew?  Bigfootians?  Sasquacha... ah, forget it.

For those in the know (or for those who have been around since we launched this little production blog back in January,) the genesis of our little comic book, Bigfoot - Sword of the Earthman, had it's beginnings when I stumbled upon a photo of a tiny Bigfoot sitting on a rock.  The location?  Mars.

Enough dilly-dallying!  Give me some updates!

The reason I'm blogging about this (again) is to remind everyone that this image was an actual NASA photograph taken by the Spirit rover.  Now, it's up for debate on whether or not it really is a tiny Bigfoot captured on film (come on, it's REAL... isn't it?) but you have to give credit where credit is due.  Thanks to the entire ground crew, engineers, smarty pants people who put it all together, our little book wouldn't be happening if they hadn't gotten there first.  

And now they're doing it again!

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html

Say hello... to Curiosity

Needless to say, we're a little stoked.

They're expecting touchdown on August 4th or 5th, so stay tuned!  If you're in the Pasadena, CA area you can even attend "Planetfest - 2012!"

http://www.planetary.org/get-involved/events/planetfest-2012/

As large as a car!  Or an old 18th century buggy.

So why exactly am I excited about this?  Because three years ago I had an idea for a comic book.  That comic was inspired by an image captured by a robotic rover over 54 million kilometers away.  The rover, dubbed Spirit Mer-A (Mars Exploration Rover - A,) was designed by a group of men and women with varying backgrounds, yet all with the sole desire to reach beyond what anyone thought was possible.      

Whatever your dream is... dream big.  

We're almost there.  

Josh S. Henaman

The Anatomy... of a Bagworm

It's that time again, everybody!  Comicon is over and hopefully everyone is safely coming down off the high that is all things geek and pop culture related.

As we're waiting for some updates on our little Bigfoot comic book, I thought it would be fun to post a quick evolution on our favorite storyteller... Well, actually, our only storyteller.  Castor Bagworm.

When I first approached Andy about the character of Bagworm, I had a hard time describing what the alien life would look like.  The only thing I could think to say was, "He should look like John Cazale."

Wait, the guy from the Godfather?  And Dog Day Afternoon?

Who is this... Bagworm?

Yep.  There was something about the slick, conman way that Cazale held himself that seemed perfect for Bagworm.  Someone who exuded a kind of misplaced confidence that could only get him into trouble.

Now that we had our "body template," Andy set about giving us the face.

Working in reverse, you'll see the influence of Cazale in the initial designs.  Ultimately, we went with the first image, but it's weird to think that Bagworm at one point might have looked like some kind of surly pirate.  

In this batch, we run the gamut from lizard-like to an almost cat-like mouse creature.  While we ultimately went with the design up top, we may revisit a few of these guys in the future (every planet needs a race of cat-like mousemen!) 

We had our Bagworm.

Our poet-weasel.  

And we owe it to John Cazale.

Hmmm... Poet-weasel, eh? 

Until next time!

Josh S. Henaman 

An "Enormous" Comicon!

Hey everybody!  It's Comicon time again and while Bigfoot won't have a presence there (cross your fingers for next year!) there will be another "sighting" to keep an eye out for...

Tim Daniel will be on hand for the release of his and Mehdi Cheggour's "Enormous!"

As you know, Tim is responsible for the logo design of Bigfoot and has also worked with Brian Michael Bendis, Robert Kirkman and it seems like almost everyone under the Image banner.

Here are the details of his SDCC appearance:

"San Diego Comic Con is going to be Enormous! Visit Thurs-Sun at #2729 and get a copy of the book, t-shirts, bookmarks, prints before they are all gone!"

Also, be sure to check out the Image panel on Thursday for more Enormous shenanigans.  Tim will be on hand with a slew of additional creators to talk about their various Image releases.

If you're attending Comicon, swing by and support Tim & crew!  He's been a big part of the Bigfoot family for sometime now and we couldn't be more excited to see the debut of his book.  All that aside, Enormous looks pretty kickass, as well!

And down the road... we've got another announcement involving Mr. Daniel.

Have a good one!

Enormous is available this week!

Josh "Has a copy of Enormous waiting at his LCBS" Henaman