This is how the sausage is made…

May 1, 2015 | bflaig

…is the title of our new comic. Picture a super-powered bratwurst battling an army of evil condiments. Who wants some?

Just kidding. That’s going to be our next, NEXT comic. But for now, Brent is busy writing the second issue of Twisted Tales of Two-Fisted Justice (among other things), and I’m figuring out how to work faster and suck less at illustrating 😉 Our next new comic may be a bit in the future, but I thought I’d let everyone know that we’re working diligently to bring you something new and exciting.

To that end, I’d like to show you some work in progress, a mishmash of ingredients that I hope to grind together until something delicious emerges.

Sorry, I think I just went too far with the sausage analogy…

So, in no particular order, and absolutely without any explanation, here’s a few images of work(s) in progress…

Ok, maybe a little explanation is due. I’m hoping to incorporate a lot of photographic images as textures in future works, hence the odd black and white photos. And I’m on a huge science fiction kick right now.

And that’s all the explanation you’re getting out of me…for now.

In other news, this Saturday is Free Comic Book Day! Your local comic shop would love to introduce you (and your family) to a few good books…and did I mention it’s FREE. You may just get hooked, in which case the urgent need to buy future comic books is not free, but they are a lot fun, and well worth the expense 😉

And speaking of free comics: our own Twisted Tales of Two-Fisted Justice #1 is free to read online, in its entirety! What are you waiting for?

Happy reading!

BD
BF

Curse of the Demon’s Tooth, Page 4

March 26, 2015March 26, 2015 | bflaig

This week, we learn the name of our Mystery Lady with a Knife, and we find out that Dirk Hammer is kind of a (private) dick.

Ol’ Dirk really knows how to sweet talk the ladies, eh?

This page concludes the short teaser of our second comic, Curse of the Demon’s Tooth. In the remainder of the story, Margo butters toast with her giant knife, and Dirk falls back asleep. Only one of these things is true. Interested in reading the rest? Drop us a line at info@elementalppress.com and we’ll figure out how to get a copy in your hands! And we still have copies of of the first issue of Twisted Tales of Two-Fisted Justice…just ask! 🙂

Thanks for reading!

BF
BD

Curse of the Demon’s Tooth, Page 3

March 19, 2015 | bflaig

So…true story…at no point in time were my two models in the same room together. Fortunately, I was able to photograph them in the same studio, so I could use reference points on the floor from one shoot to the next and at least capture them in similar lighting conditions. Then I just took the images and rubbed some Photoshop on them. Easy peasy, right?

Looks like ol’ Dirk has our Mystery Lady right where he wants her 😉

Catch you next week!

Curse of the Demon’s Tooth, Page 2

March 12, 2015March 12, 2015 | bflaig

A P.I., asleep at his desk, with a bottle of whiskey by his side…what could go wrong? Enter the femme fatale…

Holy Cripes! Just trying to keep it (kind of) family friendly, folks 😉

Next week, our P.I. will properly introduce himself, and our lady stranger will get right to the point of her visit. <– There’s a really bad pun in that sentence. Prepare to groan in 7-ish days.

Thanks for reading!

Curse of the Demon’s Tooth, Cover and Page 1

March 5, 2015March 6, 2015 | bflaig

Did you enjoy our first foray into comics? Are you ready to visit that world again?

(The correct answer is “yes” on both counts.)

Well, do we have a deal for you! 😉

Curse of the Demon’s Tooth is a mini comic that acts as a prequel to our first title. Let’s call it Twisted Tales of Two-Fisted Justice #1/2. It’s an 8 page photo comic followed by an 8 page short story.

True story: I created this comic before Brent and I ever met. Some folks might recognize it as my Thesis project I completed in college around 2007/2008. I had enough story for a full length comic, but I only had enough time to produce 8 pages with a cliffhanger ending. I had intended to complete the comic after I graduated, but then…well, I didn’t. And years passed. I fell out of love with comics for awhile and fell back in love with them a few years back. After completing the first issue of Twisted Tales of Two-Fisted Justice, I decided to dust off this old project and bring it into the world Brent and I had created. I decided to finish the 8-page photo comic with a short story for the sake of expediency, for while it wouldn’t be impossible to assemble everyone involved again, even after a seven year hiatus, it would be difficult to figure out a shooting schedule that works with everyone’s responsibilities gained in that time, let alone trying to track down costumes, props, etc.

All of the images were created from photographs that were in turn run through a series of filters and actions I had cobbled together in Photoshop. For instance, page 1 of the comic started with this image:

…which was then turned into this:

I’ll post a couple more pages in the next few weeks, and I promise I’ll post them with far fewer words attached 😉 I would like to take this opportunity to thank Brian Fisher and Amanda Mitchell for playing the roles of Dirk Hammer, P.I. and Margo Trust, respectively, and to thank my brother, Ted Flaig, for working as my photo assistant throughout. And thanks to Brent Daniels for helping me rediscover comics and for being a true partner in crime. If making comics is bad, I don’t want to be good!

Thanks for reading!

Twisted Tales of Two-Fisted Justice, Issue 1, Page 16 (TEASER)

February 5, 2015 | bflaig

Here’s a fun little bit I think we’ll continue in future issues…a teaser page! Here’s a slice of life from The Queen City Sentinel on Friday, July 24, 1931:

Some of these headlines will be covered in future issues. Some of the won’t. Guess which ones…we dare you!

Personally, I can’t wait for the “High Interest Rate” storyline that may or may not be featured in Issue 3 😉 It’s a nailbiter!

With this post, we’ve officially covered all of the content published in our first issue. Huzzah! Thanks to everyone for following along!

BD
BF

Twisted Tales of Two-Fisted Justice, Issue 1, Page 15

January 29, 2015 | bflaig

Holy wow! Are we at the concluding page of our story already? You betcha!

This may be the end of the page, but it’s not the end of our story! We have more Twisted Tales of Two-Fisted Justice in the works, so stay tuned! Check back next week for the teaser page at the end of issue 1…

Thanks for reading!

BD
BF

Twisted Tales of Two-Fisted Justice, Issue 1, Page 14

January 22, 2015 | bflaig

Hey hey, it’s Thursday!

…and that means a fresh, brand-spankin’-new page of comics!

Titan Technology is awesome! Well, at least it is for Vic. It kind of sucks for The Two Mean Green, but let’s face it: they deserve it.

Please tune in next week for the conclusion of our story!

…and thanks for reading!

BD
BF

Twisted Tales of Two-Fisted Justice, Issue 1, Page 13

January 16, 2015 | bflaig

Happy Thursday! It’s still Thursday, right? Like really, really, REALLY, late Thursday, right? Let’s pretend it’s not Friday, shall we? 😉

Without further ado, please enjoy page 13:

Titan engineering: learn it, live it, love it. Check back next week to see what it’s really capable of…

In other news, the first convention of the year is rapidly approaching! The Independent Creators Expo (otherwise known as I.C.E.) will be held at the Wright State University Student Union Hall in Dayton, Ohio this coming Saturday, January 24, 2015. Last year’s show was their very first, and while it was small, it showed a lot of potential. I hope to check it out again this year and maybe inquire about being an exhibitor for 2016…

As always, thanks for reading, and I hope to see you back in a week! (Give or take a day).

Thanks,

BD
BF