Harry and the Henaman's Interview

Welcome back to another great installment of COMIC UNKNOWN!

With all these great interviews, reviews (and general badassery), we haven't seen much of the Earthman. So with much anticipation, COMIC UNKNOWN has a great interview with the Earthman's creator, JOSH HENAMAN! 

Everyone would know his name

CU: What made you want to work in the comicbook industry?

JH: First question out of the gate and it’s actually the one I had the hardest time with.  If I had to boil it down from the many reasons, I guess I’d say it was because I remember the joy I had as a kid reading comics.  I grew up in rural Iowa and we didn’t have a comic book store, but north of us there was a town of about 20,000 people.  In that town, there was a series of grocery stores, drug stores and gas stations that had decent selections.  I remember during the summer my mom would drop me off at one end of town and I would slowly make my way along the corridor, walking to each spot to see what was new, until I would finally make it to where she worked on the other end.  It was a five mile trek of awesomeness.

After that, comics stoked the imagination to the point where I took every writing course I could as a kid and then as a college student.  Unfortunately, as an adult, I got sucked into the world of corporate America, but I had never stopped writing.  But like most situations, I was constantly waiting for someone to give me the greenlight.  I was always waiting for someone else to give me that go ahead to move forward.  Bigfoot-SOTE was the first idea where I stopped and said, “This is a comic book. I can do this.  I’m not waiting around for someone to tell me ‘no.’” 

CU: Who is your favorite all time super hero/villain? Why?

Rom Issue 1

JH: Rom the Spaceknight. Take the word “space” and add “knight” and you have me lining up.  Plus, what you have is a solitary warrior against a seemingly unstoppable sea of enemies in the Dire Wraiths. My God, what I wouldn’t give for another Rom series. 

Mutant Massacre, a Marvel Comics crossover

 event beginning in 1986 

 As far as a villain goes, it’s hard to pick one, but I can tell you my favorite villain TEAM.  Hands down, it’s the Marauders.  A mishmash of badasses.  When they first made their appearance in the Mutant Massacre crossover, they were all over the map as far as members, powers, etc. As a reader, you didn’t know what you were going to get.  A whirlwind chucking ninja throwing stars?  Check.  A man who could build a weapon to take down ANY opponent?  Check. A walking prism? WTF?  The storyline was brutally crazy and the villains were even more sadistic.  As a kid, you really didn’t know what in the hell was going to happen. 

CU: Were any of the characters (Besides Bigfoot) inspired by another character?

JH: Stay tuned. 

CU: How many issues do you have in mind for the series? Will the Bigfoot universe continue after SOTE?

JH: Bigfoot – Sword of the Earthman is a six-issue limited series. Will the universe continue after the six issues?  That’s tricky.  I don’t want to give anything away, but issue #1 does have a clue as to the timespan we’re dealing with. It opens with an older, battle-weary Bigfoot (the “Bigfoot on Mars” NASA image) and immediately cuts to a younger Bigfoot in the slave camps. So the question the opening shot of the mini asks is how does Bigfoot get to be that armed-to-the-teeth, battle-weary individual we saw at the beginning?  The tease from issue #1 is whether or not Bigfoot sitting on the rock is the FINAL image of the series?    

Is the very first image of The Earthman a spoiler?
Or something else?

CU: How big are you planning on making the Bigfoot universe?

JH: As big as the mythos of Mars! Truthfully though, while I can certainly dream big, right now I’m solely focused on the six issues.  As someone who just jumped into the comics pool, I don’t want to fall into the trap of promising the world and not delivering. 

CU: What was the most difficult part in the production of Sword of the Earthman?

Issue One's Production

JH: Making the commitment to self-publish. There are so many factors that go into the production of a comic book, but the most heartburn-inducing nausea was thinking, “Do I have what it takes to see this through?”  Self-doubt was probably the biggest hurdle I had to overcome, but at the end of the day I was forced to come to the conclusion that nobody was beating down my door for a “Bigfoot in space” story.

After that initial first step, it quickly became me asking, “Okay, what do I do next?” until I finally realized the big picture of “How do I make a comic?” was nothing more than me asking the “What next?” question over and over and then seeking out the answers.  As a writer, looking back I realized there are basically three phases.  Writing – Production – Marketing.  Or in other words, creating it, putting it together and getting it out there.

CU: If you got to choose one villain to fight Bigfoot who would it be?

JH: I’d jump out of the realm of comics and choose Genghis Khan. I recently discovered Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History Podcast and his five-part series, “Wrath of the Khans.” It is absolutely mind-blowing what the Mongols accomplished without anyone knowing they were there until it was too late. Bigfoot vs. the Mongolian Horde? Sign me up.

CU: If you got to choose one hero to fight alongside Bigfoot who would it be?

JH: Probably Rom the Spaceknight… Or maybe Mister Miracle.

CU: Did you ever have a scene/ issue where you look back and thought "WOW!"?

Bigfoot Vs Martian Ants, I'm going to bet on the Eartman

JH: In the first issue alone, there are so many.  The opening sequence involving the Mars Spirit rover and the reveal of Bigfoot sitting on the rocks is high on my list, but my absolute favorite has to be the sequence involving Bigfoot, Bagworm and the giant ant-like creatures.  Page 18 with Bigfoot going berserk is the money shot, of course, but page 17 is the sequence of panels where Andy just floored me with the layout. The script calls for a simple 4-panel page. 1) The two are surrounded by ants, 2) The swarm drowns Bagworm, 3) Bigfoot drops to one knee, several ants surround him 
and 4) Bigfoot disappears amidst the horde.

What I got from Andy was a page nothing short of amazing.  The layout alone is the perfect “How to design a page for optimum impact.”  Ants slowly filling each panel until our heroes are literally drowning in creatures.  The tension is incredible.  Then, when you turn the page…  

CU: Is Brewhouse ever planning on doing stories other than Bigfoot?

JH: Absolutely. Right now I’m in that phase of, “What do I do next?” I’ve written a couple of scripts, but haven’t pulled the trigger on seeking out an artist yet.  I’m horrible at multi-tasking, so I tend to obsess about one thing at a time (in this case, Bigfoot.)

This needs to be a poster!

CU: Ever planning on selling merchandise for the series?

JH: Honestly?  If I’m allowed to dream big, I could see B:SOTE becoming a toy line down the road (similar to the old school He-Man line from the 80’s), but I wouldn’t know where to begin to even get that ball rolling.  Other than that, I’ve been thinking about t-shirts, posters, etc., but that’s all down the road (but probably a lot closer than actual toys.)

7 FEET TALL!!

CU: Besides on the west coast of the U.S. are you ever planning on doing conventions closer to the east coast?

JH: Definitely.  I’ve only done three conventions so far, so I suppose you could say I’m still new to the con-scene.  The greatest concentration of indie stores that supported Bigfoot from the very beginning have been out on the East coast, so I’d love to get out there and meet the retailers who gave this unknown a shot and the fans who discovered us.  Logistically speaking, I have a 7 ft. tall Bigfoot standee I’ve been taking to the conventions and it doesn’t break down, so it’ll have to be a road trip!

CU: Is there a release date for issue 4 yet?

JH: We’re looking at a late July, early-August release. 

Thank you Josh for this epic interview. With plenty of more issues to come, Comic Unknown will be there to give you the who's who. With an upcoming review of issue 3, issue 4 is just around the corner! Don't forget the first three issues of Bigfoot: Sword of the Earthman are available for purchase here. 

Comic Unknown now has a Facebook Page!! So don't forget to follow it and our Twitter page as well.

Soldiers At the Heart of the Sun

Welcome back to another great installment of COMIC UNKNOWN!

  So what would you do if your in a head on collision with a horde of Moth-Vampires? Let alone in a desolate desert outpost, IN MARS! I'll tell you one thing, it wont be pretty. But if you have Bigfoot on your side you might just have a fighting chance.

Bigfoot returns in Bigfoot: Sword of the Earthman #2 - Soldiers At the Heart of the Sun, and he always seems to find himself in a tough situation. We previously saw him with his new sidekick Bagworm escaping the slave camps of Lord Jeoffa. Upon his escape, they somehow managed to get recruited into a conscription army captained by Radu against the moth-vampires.

 They all find themselves surrounded by these beasts, and of course you find Bigfoot tearing them a new one. Vastly outnumbered, they have to figure out how to win this downhill battle. Bigfoot: Sword of the Earthman #2 was released February 13, 2013 and is available for both physical and digital copy. Want a preview of the second issue? Just follow the link below and check out the first few pages of Issue TWO. 

Here are a few images of the infamous and of the heroic characters mentioned here from B:SOTE thus far.

Castor Bagworm, member of the Scribe Caste, the great poets of the red planet.Bagworm befriends the Earthman after the sasquatch almost kills a guard when pushed too hard.

Captain Radu, the gray skinned alien that is responsible for the conscription army against the horde of
moth-vampires.

Lord Jeoffa, the warrior king who united the barbarian tribes into a political force that lords over all other tribal entities. He is cold, relentless and became drunk with power and slaughtered thousands in his quest to create the ultimate empire.

  Korovan Muspin, the fiery-skinned, horned "daemon of the desert” and right hand of Lord Jeoffa. He is the massively built killing machine that is in the
hunt for the Earthman.

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Devil in the Desert

The unlikely hero of Mars is here.

 "No one knows his name. No one knows how he got here. And after today... no one is about to ask..." Bigfoot is the gigantopithecus with a hell of an adventure in the red planet. He is the hero with a martian tale. He finds himself in a slave camp with Disc Soldiers maintaining them under the rule of the Warrior King, Lord Jeoffa. He quickly finds himself surrounded by political prisoners, criminals, soldiers and merchants including a lesser pink-skinned alien, Bagworm. With problems escalating in the slave camps, Bigfoot and Bagworm team up to fight off Disc Soldiers and escape the camp. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Hell awaits for them with hordes of moth-vampires, the Daemon of the Desert tracking them down and much more! 

Looks painful.

The comic has an amazing universe with stunning images and colors, the silent but deadly Bigfoot is a force to be reckoned  with in this comic. In a stellar sci-fi setting, the reader will find themselves in an odd place inside, not fully understanding how he got there or why, but easily playing a movie inside their head with all of the action-packed scenes. From start to finish, my eyes were glued to the paper and my imagination went wild. Bigfoot: Sword of the Earthman Issue 1, Devil in the Desert was released in November 7, 2012 and is available for both physical and digital copy.  Want a preview of the first issue? Just follow the link below and check out the first few pages of Issue One. 

 With many obstacles in the way, what will Bigfoot do? Can he trust the newly acquainted  Bagworm? Come back and see the next  time we talk about B:SOTE!

The Daemon, hunter of Bigfoot.

Brew and Crew

Good Morning!

  Welcome to another installment of Comic Unknown. Our first ever comic to show up on C.U. is from an up and coming publishing company called BREWHOUSE COMICS. Brewhouse was founded in 2012 by Josh Henaman. It takes it's name from the public houses of old, where the emphasis was on a good drink, good company, and great stories. Focusing on craft, Brewhouse aims to take that philosophy into the comic book world one story at a time.

  And they did just that. Brewhouse released their first issue in November 2012 with what can only be known as the start of an epic mini series. BIGFOOT: SWORD OF THE EARTHMAN is Josh Henaman's debut into the comicbook world and it rocked the (brew)house. With the help of Andy Taylor (Art), Thomas Bonvillain (Colors) and Time Daniels (Logo Design) B:SOTE is a force to be reckoned with. 

Up next is what some consider a creature of legends, a loner, it's none other than the Earthman. 

The Martian Rover Spirit, is watching. But who is it watching?

The dying planet needed a hero... what they got was a sasquatch.

Coming soon is an inside look with publisher/creator Josh Henaman's DYI masterpiece of a dying planet's plea for a hero and what they found was bigfoot himself!!

First comic to enter Comic Unknown is BIGFOOT: Sword of the Earthman.

Not even a horde can stop him!