Article By: Pugilist & SGCCMDR
Jonnie Allan, the Publisher and Creator of Stykman, was one of the people NeenerNeener.net instructed us, under pain of rampant taunting and humiliation, to speak with at Wizard World Philly 2007. So we did, but not because of the threat. Truth be told, Pugilist enjoys a good taunting session and as he is married with children, humiliation is an old gig for him. Rather we decided to talk with Jonnie because he was situated right next to NeenerNeener.net and we didn't have to walk very far.
Remember, when the question is integrity or lazy, lazy wins.
Stykman, Jonnie's creation, is a family friendly comic. This does not mean it's Archie-like in banality and repugnance to anyone over six (6), just that your kids can read it and not come to you inquiring about naked body parts, sexual positions, and lifestyle choices involving animals. Don't get me wrong, Stykman is a superhero comic and the characters reflect the genre. as I said before - this ain't no Archie.
Jonnie explained to us his inspiration for Stykman was multi-fold. First there was his inherent talent, second was listening to people joke they could not even draw a stick figure, next came the idea: what if someone with artistic talent drew a stick figure and made him a superhero? What would it look like, how would it convey strength and power? How the heck would it play in the wide, wide world of vampires and pinup quality heroes and death and destruction.
So far, the answer is "Pretty well."
To date there have been 2 issues of Stykman with issue 3 to be released in August and issue 4 slated for October. Issues 1 and 2 had production runs of 5000 and issue three will consist of 8500. Issue 4's production run may run into the millions, if you people know what's good for you, but, more realistically, will be in line with the 8500 associated with issue 3. Additionally, Stykman has bee listed as #18 in the top 40 independent comics by Wizard Entertainment, not bad for a book with, at the time, just two issues.
Just what kind of superhero is Stykman? We hear you asking. Luckily, Jonnie explained it to us. Stykman is comprised of sticks, just about in the classic stick figure depiction with a couple of exceptions:
Stykman's eyes are small sticks tied to his stick loop head and Stykman is fully clothed in a retro 50's type uniform shirt and pant, similar to the outfit warn by the Rocketeer or the classic representation of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The latter reference is hand as Jonnie has always been a fan of the cavalry and views his hero Stykman as the enthusiastic but not too terribly bright incarnation of the cavalry for our modern world. Stykman is accompanied by a rather more bright and competent sidekick, an alien by the name of Al. Al, you may guess, is the brains behind Stykman, which is good, because his stick head doesn't look as if it could hold more than enough to make your standard member of Congress.
Over the next couple of weeks we'll take a look at issues 1 and 2 of Stykman and get reviews out. One thing we can tell you in advance is that the production quality of the book is high, that Jonnie is writer, artist, inker, etc, and that the book is hitting a nerve with the Hollywood types in that they are exploring basing an animated show off of it. We can also tell you, that Diamond turned down the book when they first saw it. Now, after some obvious success, they've decided that, perhaps, they were a bit hasty and are now distributing the book nationwide, in Canada, and even in a store in Germany.
For us, talking with Jonnie was great. He's enthusiastic about his book and supportive of the industry as a whole. As we progressed through the day and ran into folks who were uncertain as to why they were exhibiting at Wizard World 2007, folks like Jonnie were the fresh air that kept us interested.
Questions, comments, fawning praise for our obvious modesty and talent? Give us a shout.