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The Bum’s Rush #100
WARNING! None of the news or rumors you see here in The
Bum’s Rush should be considered FACT until it actually
happens. It might never happen. How do you know I’m not just
making all this crap up? I could, you know. You’ve been
warned!
ONE HUNDRED BUMS!
Wow… one hundred Bum’s Rush columns. I can hardly believe
it. It seems like just yesterday I had no idea what the hell
I was going to write about each and every week. Oh wait…
that was yesterday.
Yeah, I still get a little scared now and then that someday
soon I’m just going to run out of things to write about in
this column. I mean, how many times can a guy bitch about
Marvel Comics on a weekly basis? A whole bunch of times
apparently. And yet, each week, with a deadline looming and
no idea what in the world of comics to talk about next, I
manage to put The Bum’s Rush out. And most of the time I’m
fairly happy with the results.
And I hope that you are too. Because in all honesty I am
bound and determined that, no matter what happens, come hell
or high water, there will always be a Bum’s Rush waiting to
entertain you, to inform you and maybe even brighten your
day, just a little bit. In the end that’s the best possible
thing I can accomplish with my little corner of the
Stumblebum Universe. Entertain a few folks and hopefully
bring a smile to someone’s face. And occasionally go off the
deep end venting my utterly geeky frustrations… that’s a
plus.
I never would have made it to a hundred columns if it
weren’t for the ultra-talented, somewhat insane and
amazingly enthusiastic Stumblebum Studios Crew. In fact, not
only would I not have made it to The Bum’s Rush 100, there
wouldn’t even be a place for The Bum’s Rush 100 to call a
home. There simply wouldn’t be a Stumblebum without amazing
and talented people like A.C. Hall (who stepped in to write
this very column for two months while I worked on our 2006
anthology, Round Two), Dana Place, Drew Clements,
Dave DeGrand, Dave Sherrill, Kevin Steele, Ryan Wilcox,
Katie Cook, Sam Milligan, Bobby Blakey, Jennifer Hairfield
and all the other folks that have been a part of Stumblebum
at one time or another. I love you guys. My sincerest thanks
to all of you for making Stumblebum such an awesome place to
hang my hat.
Oh, there’s one more person I need to thank. My mom, the
lovely Debbie Milligan. You see she’s the one who makes sure
that this column (and all the other columns and features for
that matter) goes up each week. There most certainly
wouldn’t be a Bum’s Rush without her. She’s such a huge part
of Stumblebum Studios yet she’s never seen and rarely gets
as much thanks for her efforts as she should. So this
special anniversary edition of The Bum’s Rush is dedicated
to you, Mom – the lady behind the curtain, the queen of
Stumblebum Studios! I love you.
Now, what the hell am I going to write about next week?
A Little Help From My Friends
It’s time for me to shut up and step aside as the Stumblebum
Crew and Friends celebrate The Bum’s Rush, regale you with
their favorite Stumblebum memories and explain just why they
love being a part of the most awesome gang of artistic
titans the world has ever seen!
A.C. Hall
The Bum’s Rush is a Stumblebum institution. It’s a
cornerstone of our happy little home on the web and without
it, it’s not hard to believe that all the rest of our site
would drift away and crumble into obscurity. The Bum’s Rush
really though, is a small representation of Paul. It’s a
place for him to pass on information and to vent a bit about
the frustrating trends in comics; of which there are many
(just ask Paul!). Although the Bum’s Rush may be the only
side most of you see, in my mind it’s really the minority
share of just what Paul does for Stumblebum and what he
means to the group of us misfits that call Stumblebum
Studios our home.
Paul is a believer in people. One of the things I admire
most about him is this uncanny ability he has to only see
the potential in someone. To only see the good in what they
do and to want to see them succeed. Stumblebum Studios, when
it was formed so long ago, was an entity without a defined
purpose. I wanted it to be a comic book publisher. Paul
wanted it to be a place to showcase, promote and just
generally raise up his creative friends. To inspire them to
overcome their laziness and their self doubt and get serious
about being creative. For the longest time I didn’t quite
understand that. He wanted to get a bunch of artists and
writers together, but he didn’t want to try and make a huge
profitable corporation out of it? All these years later
though, I see exactly what Paul was trying to do for people.
Because I’m one of those people. By hosting my column, Ring
Psychology, and allowing me to post all sorts of fiction,
Stumblebum has become a vehicle that is carrying me to a
full-blown career as a writer. It’s taught me what it means
to be a professional, to work under pressure, to hit
deadlines, to deal with the deadlines that I miss and to be
a better writer. I’ve got a book being published, comics
being published, I’m a working journalist and really,
there’s a way to trace it all back to Paul Milligan and
Stumblebum Studios. Because one day he said “Let’s start a
website where us and all our creative friends can showcase
their talents and get noticed.”
So I raise this can of soda and salute 100 installments of
the Bum’s Rush. But more than that, I salute the man behind
it, Paul Milligan. Stumblebum Studios has taken us all on an
incredible ride so far, and you sir, are the engine that
drives it. I look forward to making new memories as you
treat us to 100 more installments of the Bum’s Rush and more
importantly, I look forward to making new memories as your
friend and collaborator.
I’d like to close this ridiculously long contribution in the
immortal words of Sports Night as I say simply, “You do it
good.”
Dana Place
It’s hard to believe that there are almost two years of
articles on the website. I am sure I am not the only one
that is surprised we all were able to get past the first
month. I can remember when Paul, Kevin, Aaron, and I were up
at Paul’s office talking about the very beginnings of the
website, just throwing ideas together, not really sure what
we were doing. Two years later and there are days when I
think Paul and I still aren’t exactly sure what we are
doing. The website has seen contributors come and go and
come again, and each week the bum’s rush continued to go up.
It is a pretty big deal to be able to say that you’ve stuck
to something for 100 episodes. Damn commendable. I just hope
he still isn’t waiting by the mailbox for his royalty
checks. I don’t have the heart to tell him otherwise.
Drew
Clements
Oh man, 100, huh?
Down, But Not Out will make it there one day... whenever I
actually start writing it on a weekly on-time basis! Ah, but
this is not about me! No! This is about The Bum's Rush in
all its 100-column glory! My contribution to the 100th
column will be a single, simple thing; it will be big ol'
thanks to the crew of Stumblebum Studios for allowing me to
take part in this fantastic website.
I can honestly say that being around this much creativity
has done more to inspire me to work on stuff on my own than
any other single event; it gets the creative juices flowing.
Sure, school gets in the way of the actual working on and
submitting to Stumblebum, but I am still inspired and am
constantly thinking about what I'm going to be doing next.
To all the people that contribute here at Stumblebum
Studios, here's a big thanks!
Sam Milligan
What was this thing again? Oh, yeah, Stumblebum Studios. I
occasionally write a column for Stumblebum Studios. I think.
Although I may be 100 myself before I actually write 100
columns…
I think I can lay claim to being the real creative force
behind Stumblebum Studios and Bum’s Rush. After all, if I
hadn’t fathered Paul, none of this would be possible. Or
necessary. (Wait, was that my outside voice?)
To all those who said it would never work, and that
Stumblebum Studios would never be a success, I would like to
respond in a suitable, mature and reasoned manner:
Phbbbbbbbttttt! (Imagine if you will, my right thumb at the
tip of my nose and the other four fingers waggling.)
On an actual serious note, I am very proud of Paul and of
everyone who contributes to Stumblebum, and it is an honor
to be part of this group of extremely talented (if somewhat
odd) people. But then, I’ve never liked normal people
anyway. They’re far too boring, and expect you to be as
well.
Here’s to the 100th Bum’s Rush, and many more to follow.
Dave Sherrill
Dear Penthouse Forum,
I never thought this would happen to me, but it did. A
couple of years ago I had a booth at my very first comic
book convention with the guys at Stumblebum Studios. It was
Wizard World Texas and we had printed a few books including
a split mini between Paul and myself. As we milled about I
was a little overwhelmed. There were hundreds of amateur
artists out hocking their funny books. The rows of booths in
Artist Alley resembled carnival booths, but instead of
balloon pops games and dangerous spook houses, there were
autobio comics, b list Marvel and DC illustrators,
webcartoonists, and for some reason cartoonist who
specialize in being gay or Mexican.
We plopped down to our table, the guys chatted up with an
attractive lesbian Star Wars card artist, I eyeballed the
competition, while Kevin Steele stretched out his wallet for
the tons of cash he would make off sketches. The gates flew
open as the long line of comic enthusiast waddled inside
with their storm trooper / jedi / stink monster costumes
tightly secured around their ever expanding unwashed bodies.
The crowd moved like a riot of slugs, bumping tables and
walls, leaving behind them a trail of soiled sticky mess.
A few people stopped to check out our books, some whipped us
down with long-winded tails of their own ideas and projects;
others avoided our stretch of table as if repelled by some
kind of anti-nerd magnet. The guy next to us cracked up
after a few hours and went home. He couldn't take the heat
and got out of the kitchen, luckily the Stumblebums spend a
lot of time in the kitchen... microwaving burritos.
Through the next few days we met lots of friends we still
talk with (through lawyers). We learned a few things like;
not to eat the free energy gum, it's not always a girl in
the princess leia costume, and sometimes a pitcher of beer
can be for one person.
Like sand through the hourglass, this is my favorite
stumblebum memory.
-Dave
David Hopkins
I'm not officially part of the Stumblebum crew, but I like
to think of myself as this sitcom's next-door neighbor. I
stop by, hang out, say a few catch lines, and leave before
any work has to get done. Although, I must admit I'm as much
a fan as I am a friend. These are some freaky talented
people... Paul Milligan, David DeGrand, Dave Sherrill,
and... um... those other guys.
Favorite Stumblebum memory is hanging out at the SECOND
Dallas/Fort Worth Sketchgroup. We were at Springcreek BBQ.
The employees there didn't quite know what to make of us. No
one was ordering food, and we were just sorta there in the
back room. I didn't draw a damn thing. Ended up talking with
Aaron the whole time.
For 2007, I'm most looking forward to the Dash Bradley story
I wrote. Dash is American institution. America just doesn't
know yet!
Dave
DeGrand
The very first time I met the awesome Stumblebum guys was at
Wizard World Texas in 2005. My friend Barry Rodges (another
cartoonist) and I had a booth set up right across from the
Stumblebum booth the whole weekend. I picked up a copy of
the first Stumblebum Studios anthology and was immediately
impressed by how slick and polished it looked; these guys
clearly knew what they were doing. After reading the cool
articles and comics I became rather jealous at this group of
really talented guys that all had a passion for creating
comics and writing, I really wanted to be a part of
something like that. Not long after the convention, the
awesome Dave Sherrill suggested to the equally awesome Dana
Place that I draw a comic strip for Stumblebum Studios. I
immediately said yes and have been having a blast since.
Being a part of something as cool and passionate as
Stumblebum Studios has been just about the coolest thing to
happen to me since I started dabbling in comics and art
since the fifth grade. Watching Stumblebum grow has also
been quite amazing, the wide variety of artists and writers
that have jumped aboard the Stumblebum crew are all
incredibly talented people with a ton of great material to
offer the lucky reader that happens to make their way over
to the site. I really couldn’t be more proud to be a member
of this group, they have given me a chance to get my art out
there to more people than I ever could have on my own, and
for that alone I can’t say thanks enough. Hopefully I can
remain a member of the Stumblebum crew even after the
inevitable corporate buyout that will make Dana and Paul
multi-billionaires.
Katie Cook
I think the thing that I love most about being a part of
stumblebum is the great people who collaborate on the site!
You guys are always really supportive and encouraging about
my work and that's awesome :-)
The Stars Come Out
A number of great and lovely comic book pros answered the
call to help celebrate this auspicious occasion, answering
my questions regarding their current and future projects and
what comics they love to read. To check out the interview,
featuring Dean Haspiel, Becky Cloonan, Eric Powell, Frazer
Irving and many, many more just
CLICK HERE.
Return of Quick Bits!
I’ve decided to bring back a feature I used to use back
when I first started this column – Quick Bits! It’s more
like a news brief, hitting the major headlines and such,
without any long winded “opinions” by some tool (a.k.a. Me).
- My redesign of
Supergirl from last month's
Supergirl Meme got picked to be part of
Project Rooftop's Supergirl Week!
- At Wizard World LA it was announced that Marvel
would publish an Avengers Classic series, a
reprint book collecting every issue of the Avengers
starting with the team’s very first appearance. Each
issue of the series will also feature a back-up story by
Dwayne McDuffie and Mike Oeming. Plus, a cover by Art
Adams!
click on image to view full size
in a new window
- Marvel also announced a Battling Jack Murdock
mini-series focusing on the tragic life and death of
Daredevil’s father. The series is co-written by Zeb
Wells and Carmine DiGiandomenico, with art by
DiGiandomenico.
- DC also announced several new ongoing series,
spinning out of 52, including Booster Gold
by Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz and Dan Jurgens, Infinity
Inc. (featuring a new team led by John Henry Irons)
by Peter Milligan and Max Fiumara, and Chinese heroes
The Great Ten. Also hinted at was a possible
Black Adam series.
- Following the departure of Mark Waid and Barry
Kitson from Supergirl & The Legion of Superheroes.
Tony Bedard and Kevin Sharpe will take over as the
creative team on the title for at least six-issues.
- IDW revealed that Kelsey Shannon would be doing art
for the David Tischman written
Star Trek: The Original Series - Year Four.
In Case You Didn’t Know…
A.C. and I just made it past the first round of
Dimestore Productions’ Small Press Idol with our
entry,
Rocket Powered. Here's a look at the cover rough:
click on image to view full size
in a new window
The Only Comics That Matter (This
Week)
Empowered TPB by Adam Warren
The Spirit #4 by Darwyn Cooke & J. Bone
Y: The Last Man #55 by Brian K. Vaughan & Pia
Guerra
X-Factor #17 by Peter David & Pablo Raimondi
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If you have any interesting news, rumors, lies, etc. about
comics and think I should know about it too just email me at
thesuperleezard@yahoo.com.
Read more dumb crap written by me at
www.livejournal.com/users/superleezard.
End of Line
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