WILDCHILD # 1 IS OUT AND THE BODYROCK GOT FOLKS SHOOK, Y'ALL...

Fam:

Two major things. First, I snagged a review and an INTERVIEW from
SEQUENTIAL TART (a website run my female comic pros that reviews
and discusses comics and manga.)

You can peep the review here:

[link]

Here’s an excerpt:

“The stage is set for a great storyline — rich with allegory, historical reference, grappling with issues of class and race as well as the angst of adolescence. And, we are promised, the women who run the show are powerful, well rounded characters rather than "video chicks with thongs" (Sales' FAQ).”

Of course, like almost everybody who read THE BODYROCK, she was shook by the ending:

“This is the first installment of the Wildchild series, so I am going to temper my initial reaction in the hope that the further storyline will address my concerns. After reading the comic, I was left unsettled. Perhaps this was Torres' intention with the opening comic of the series.”

Not to worry, doe...I I spoke to her worries in the interview:

[link]

MS: That reaction is completely understandable. I had a hard time writing the last half of The Bodyrock, because I knew it would potentially offend a lot of people. (I mean, my MOM reads my comics, okay?!) Nobody wants their debut comic to say "YAY! HOMOPHOBIA! YAAYYY!!"

I almost dropped the scene completely. I was finally able to resolve the conflict by thinking about one of my favorite stories — Huckleberry Finn. In that story, the 'n-word' is thrown around all over the place. On the surface, a person might see that as racist. I'm a black guy from the south — to write about that time in America, in that part of America, and not use the n-word in dialogue is just bad, inaccurate writing. I don't think Mark Twain was racist. I think he was just a helluva writer who stayed true to his characters and his setting. I tried to do the same thing with The Bodyrock.

Also, if Hot Five is a pride, Myza is the queen lioness, and she sees herself as the protector of all the girls in her crew, especially after the tumultuous year they experienced. She is smart enough to come up with an intricate revenge scheme, but still capable of being irrational and overly emotional and cruel when she feels like somebody is threatening her crew — she is a teenager, after all. Could she have come up with a less "homophobic" plan? Of course, but she's dealing with a teenaged boy and she wanted to strike him where he could be hurt the most. Myza knows very few things matter to teenagers more than what their peers think about them.

One other point on Myza — her telepathic abilities help put Hot Five on top. But if you are a teenaged girl, there is a psychic cost that comes with listening to the secret thoughts of horny, immature teenaged boys all day long. It does something to you. So I also think its safe to say that Myza enjoyed hurting Desmond, and she likes being able to turn the tables on the guys with her power and influence.

(I've always thought that if women really knew what men were thinking all day long, they'd run for the hills.)

Was Myza's plan morally right? Nope. Was what she said homophobic? Yes. But she sees Farrwood as a battlezone, and she's willing to throw out right and wrong in order to survive.

Last thing...If y'all wanna see the 'offensive' material, hit my website and check it out:

[link]

So that's THE BODYROCK...To get more of my thoughts on the reaction, hit the blog
@ typeillypress.com

Second thing:

TYPE ILLY PRESS has released WILDCHILD # 1 (aka THROW SOME BOWS), the
stupendous followup to the controversial preview issue called THE BODYROCK.

WILDCHILD # 1 is packed with [i][b]36 PAGES OF COMIC HEAT[/b][/i], all for just
three bucks when you order it from TYPEILLYPRESS.COM. (That's almost 30%
more comic for your dollar, compared Marvel and DC). In this issue, we get more
insight into the complex world of FARRWOOD ACADEMY, we meet more MEGALARGE
CLIQUES, and we get to see the heroine of the story in action. Jessica Tatum has
transferred from Eastside High in Metro, and is very much out of her element on
the tawny lawns of Farrwood. She just wants to be left alone. Instead, almost as
soon as she gets there, she has a run in with campus studs TATE ZANE and DARIUS
GENTRY - The Farrwood Topdogs!!

WILDCHILD # 1 also contains a short backup story that introduces another
MEGALARGE honcho- PROMETHEUS. Also called THE NERD KING, dude
has used his insane intelligence and cunning to claw to the top of the
FARRWOOD popularity pile. Find out his story and how a lowly freshman
geek runs one of the top MEGALARGE CLIQUES in the school, in this
issue of WILDCHILD.

That's a thirty six page comic for three bucks, along with our new line
of long sleeve t-shirts and baseball caps, all from TYPE ILLY PRESS!

Big things, y'all. Big things.

(And if you hit the site, please sign the guestbook for me. Thanks)