Eric Johnson Comics

Angie Harmon, known to many as "one of the Law and Order actresses" wants to play She-Hulk in an Avengers sequel.

While I won't get my hopes up that Hollywood would do that... I think it would work.

Angie Harmon could certainly be Jen Walters and do the lawyer-speak. Then CGI her for She-Hulk, just like with the Hulk, make her taller and stronger-looking.

And Ms. Harmon seems to have enthusiasm for the role, which helps.

See her comments here: http://www.themarysue.com/angie-harmon-she-hulk/

and http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/05/16/angie-harmon-she-hulk/

I stumbled across this pic on DeviantArt, which illustrates the concept nicely:

http://artguynj.deviantart.com/art/Angie-Harmon-as-the-She-Hulk-304283302

Probably would be best to introduce Bruce Banner's lawyer cousin in a Hulk sequel movie, maybe with her near death and origin as the She-Hulk as a big turnaround moment in the movie. It could work. But... I won't get my hopes up.

Available in the AC webstore, and coming "soon" to a comic book store near you (depending on Diamond shipping times, etc)

Link to comic description on AC website is here:  http://www.accomics.com/accentral/femforce-160/

First story of interest my latest Marla Allison story, "Growing for the Gold". It's a 10 pager with Marla using her giantess superpowers for petty, personal reasons (not exactly shocking, for her character. )

I've seen some of the preview pages of the Marla story, with art by Dan Gorman, and I'm liking how it looks.

some preview and behind the scenes development of "Growing for the Gold" were posted by AC in this article:

http://www.accomics.com/accentral/what-exactly-does-an-editor-do-by-mark-heike/

Second story in this issue that I wrote is a Stardust story, called "Satellite of Hate".

This story is discussed in this article by Mark Heike

http://www.accomics.com/accentral/stardust-in-the-spotlight-in-2012-by-mark-heike/

I'm really looking forward to this issue. Beyond having written them, I *LIKE* these two

Back from my vacation.  The weekend at the end of the vacation included having an Artist's Alley booth at Cherry Capital Con (or C3) in my hometown of Traverse City.

Cherry Capital Con website:  http://www.cherrycapitalcon.com/

Was a fun experience again.  Sold enough copies of the FemForce issues with my stories to cover the booth costs plus a little extra.  Of course, I spent more than that in con swag.

Sat next to Andy Budnick, who was a very nice guy.  

I got a nice commission from him of Garganta which I will post on my website once I get is scanned.

Check him out, he may get work from Marvel in the future:

http://budnickart.blogspot.com/

Booth on the other side of me was SidequestComic, a webcomic.  Also nice people.  And they sold a lot of sketch cards from what I saw.

It's good have pleasant neighbors, makes the con go better.

http://sidequestcomic.com/comic.html

I bought a print of a picture of the 11th Doctor and Amy Pond which was really well done.  After sitting across from the pic on display the whole con, couldn't resist. Bought it from Rachel Kaiser, who's a really talented illustrator.

She's  on DeviantArt at:  http://www.rachelkaiser.deviantart.com/

(sadly, looks like the pic I bought isn't on her gallery yet.)

Also bought a copy of the first printed collection of the webcomic Punching the Clock.   Rob Humphrey, one of the co-creators, did a great job organizing the con.  And they were in the Artist Alley right behind me.  (See a pattern of how proximity was increasing my purchases?)

http://www.punching-the-clock.com/

Was a bummer that a few weeks before the con, Gail Simone cancelled.   Hope they can get her in future years.  

Talked to a few people throughout the con. Fair number of people stopped by and asked questions, browsed comics.  As a writer I don't have the same immediate visual draw as an artist who can put samples that might "grab" passer-bys.  Although, I did notice a lot of eyes being caught by Stephanie Heike's cover to Gargantarama #5 (flipside cover to FemForce #141):  http://www.accomics.com/shop-femforce-101-and-beyond/femforce-141/  ;

I do think foot traffic was down a bit on Sunday, due to a huge storm that hit Traverse City that morning, taking out power in some areas, even blowing trees into the roads.  I think a lot people just stayed home.  

Got a fair amount of writing done while sitting behind the booth.  Handwrote a script for a 12 page comic story, and outlined about 5 other stories (give or take).  Might be a surge in my submissions to AC soon.

On Sunday I put 5 bucks into the "please donate a dollar" fundraiser for the Autism Research Newtork at the con, and won 1st price in the Raffle!

Prize was a piece of original Ryan Stegman art, already framed.  Most cool.  It's a He-Man riding Battle Cat.

The pic I've got the original to is shown here:  http://ryanstegman.deviantart.com/art/He-Man-and-Battle-Cat-281116745

Ryan Stegman on Deviant Art:  http://ryanstegman.deviantart.com/

That's my con report.  Thanks for reading if you go this far!

I  just made a donation to The Hero Initiative.   http://www.heroinitiative.org/

It's a great charity that helps support elderly comic book creators with a safety net.

 A lot of the great comic book creators of years past don't get to share in the bounty of royalties and residuals from the latest movie mega-hit or toy tie-in, because back in those days, the creators and creative types were "work-for-hire" and there was no way for them to get "a piece of the pie".  Plus they were freelancers of a sort.   That type of work has it's benefits, but it also means no pension plan, etc in most cases.

Given the huge success of The Avengers in the past two weeks, it's good to take a moment and realize a lot of people who helped build companies like Marvel, and laid the groundwork for the rich continuity that made this movie possible, didn't share in the big financial windfall.   I'm sure most of them have few regrets, and love the time they spent and what they accomplished.  But, some of them find themselves in tough positions later in life, and that's what the Hero Initiative is for, providing a safety net.

So, if you've got a moment, visit The Hero Initiative website ( http://www.heroinitiative.org ), and watch a video or two about what they do.   

They take donations, but they also sell some cool comic books and merchandise.

So, if you like comic books, browse the store, see if you see something you like.

Times are tight for everyone, so, of course, not everyone can donate, shop the store, or buy a membership.   But, consider spreading the word about this charity a little among fellow comic book fans for superhero genre fans.  With the Avengers breaking box office records, it's a good time to remember the older professional comic book creators who got us here.

The latest issue of AC Comic's flagship title includes a new 1-900-Giantess story by yours truly.

Link to issue in the AC Store:

http://www.accomics.com/accentral/femforce-159/

And here's some preview pics to the 1-900-Giantess story on Eric Alan Nelson's DeviantArt page

(careful browsing around DeviantartArt, there's naked pictures and stuff.  The more risque' pic of these two has everything strategically covered, though.  Just warning that the rest of the site is Not Safe For Work)

http://ericalannelson.deviantart.com/art/Giantess-preview-page-288945505

http://ericalannelson.deviantart.com/art/Giantess-preview-2-290290089

I'm considering making 2012 a year to go to Conventions.  I think it'd be good for getting out of the routine, and a little promotion of the ol' amateur comic book writing career.

Cons I'm considering for 2012

Motor City Comic Con, May 18-20th (some of the other midwest AC Comics creators might be there, plus I can stay with downstate Michigan friends)  http://www.motorcitycomiccon.com/

Cherry Capital Con, Traverse City, MI, May 25-27.  (gotta go to hometown con, plus Gail Simone will be there, and it's a good place for me to do an actual artist table.)  http://www.facebook.com/cherrycapitalcon

CONvergence, Minneapolis-St.Paul, July 5th through 7th  (theme is female creators and characters, so I might be good to represent FemForce there.)  http://www.convergence-con.org/

Might not be able to make it to all three, but I'm pondering what I can do this year.

I still get a little thrill when I see "written by Eric Johnson" as part of the solicitation text for a new issue of FemForce.

Link to the issue description on the AC website is here (along with webstore link): 

http://www.accomics.com/accentral/femforce-158-2/

My story in this one is "Big Temper", featuring FemForce member Tara Fremont ("Too Tall Tara") having some problems with Marla Allison ("Humonga").   A fun story, I thought, and I hope others enjoy.

The art is by Dan Gorman, a new artist to AC, and there's a preview of his art for the story here:

http://www.accomics.com/femforce/welcome-dan-gorman-by-mark-heike/

Looks like the AC comics people finished the printing and shipped the print run to Diamond Distribution on Friday, so expect the issue to show up in local comic stores in about a month or a little more?  (Hard for me to say, I'm on the writing side, not sure what the shipping delay really is).

Mark Heike,  editor of AC Comics writes some stuff that leaves me INCREDIBLY flattered in this article he put on the AC website.

The first few sentences are about the FemForce chraracter Stardust, and then the rest of the article sorta becomes about "the writing of Eric Johnson."

Feel free to read the article and find out why I was blushing yesterday.

Link:   http://www.accomics.com/accentral/stardust-in-the-spotlight-in-2012-by-mark-heike/

Just got the thumbs-up from Mark Heike on a new script.

Mark asked me to write more scripts featuring the main FemForce characters. Now, this isn't the first time I've written non-giantess material for AC. Previously, I've written the dialogue on two Yankee Girl stories, and did a two-part story with She-Cat, Ms. Masque, and Firebeam. But this is part of a shift where I've been told I should feel more free to write side stories with the FemForce main characters and submit them, in addition to being a regular submitter with some of the giantess characters.

I need to take advantage of this opportunity, and write enough FemForce stories where I have a larger body of work that I can show off, without the giantess theme being quite as overwhelming. Which, hopefully, will give me something to point to if I ever pursue writing opportunities with larger comic book companies.

Which doesn't mean I won't be writing more of the Gammazon Housewife or Marla "Humonga" Allison. Those stories are fun!

As to the script itself. It's an 8 page story, featuring Stardust. Takes place in outer space, so I do get to use my science geek knowledge for a plot point or two. Also turns out, AC had a piece of cover art sitting around featuring Stardust which they hadn't been able to use for a while, so my story gives them an excuse to use that cover.

I think FemForce #158 is mostly in the can, and #159 (March / April) already has cover set, so I'm guessing this story will be in FemForce #160 or thereabouts, maybe sometime in June / July?

Check out this post by AC Editor Mark Heike on the AC website:

http://www.accomics.com/?p=7373

In this news item, Mark partly answers the question "What does a comic book editor do?" with an example.

You'll see how Mark advises artist Dan Gorman to alter his approach to drawing page one of an upcoming story I wrote.   It's a great example of the collobrative nature of comic book production, as Mark advises Dan to deviate from drawing exactly what I wrote, and re-interpret the scene to serve the story better.

A quick little "behind the scenes" peek at the process of making comic books work, for those who are interested.   I feel a little bad that it's my script that causes the artist difficulty. But it becomes a good learning experience, at least.