Regular Muttpop poster, PoonDockTaint, pointed out that Touma's upcoming Mr. Patriot figure looks a bit like our upcoming King Katch figure. Are the similarities the result of mere coincidence or deliberate inspiration? It's all in the eyes of the beholder. I've posted comparison shots of both figures for you to decide!

Now's as good a time as any to mention that King Katch original will be released by the end of 2010. We're hoping to bring the resin test sample to SDCC... but it looks like the factory may need it before the convention to begin work on the official production molds. We'll keep you posted as we receive news from the factory.

Humanoids has just made available live streaming access to both the first issue of "Unfabulous Five" and "Bouncer" for FREE. The "Unfabulous Five" continues from where the "Luchadores Five" story left off in Lucha LIbre #6... so it'll be well worth checking out. Also, "Bouncer" is one of the best Western/Old West stories I can recall ever being told in comics. It's a worthy read that I highly recommend (it also helps that I edited them both!).

There's two ways you can read the comics: your computer's internet browser and iPad. The computer version is a competent way to read both comics. But we're super proud of our comics and the intuitive iPad interface we've developed. These two issues are the first of many we will be offering to comic fans and iPad users.
You can access them on either your iPad or computer by clicking HERE (for "Bouncer") and HERE (for "Unfabulous Five"). As long as you can access the internet, you can read them. Naturally, the better the internet connection, the quicker you can access them.

Humanoids will also launch a separate application called iHumanoids in the Apps Store by the end of this summer. With iHumanoids, many of Humanoids' comic titles will be available for downloadable purchase. Once downloaded, you'll be able to read them wherever you would like, with or without being connected to the internet.

Check out both comics and let me know what you think!

Here's a first glimpse at the streaming online comic version of Unfabulous Five (formerly known as Luchadores Five) on the iPad. The streaming comics application is currently in the final testing stages for both the computer and iPad. Humanoids will be offering streaming access to the latest comic book issues of Unfabulous Five, free of charge, to both your computer and/or iPad once testing is completed. Humanoids will later offer a downloadable version of the comic for an undetermined fee.

Humanoids Publisher, Fabrice Giger, let Jerry and me play around with both applications. The iPad application is particularly impressive. The comics look gorgeous on the iPad screen. With a few taps or turns you can get a full page view, view equal to the width of the page, or  a 2 page simultaneous view. It's easy, intuitive and beautiful! Below are photos take of the comic as it looks on the iPad. As soon as more official information regarding the online comics are available, we'll be sure to share it with you at Muttpop.com.

Below are 2 detailed looks at Bill's amazing cover to Unfabulous Five:  Greasers From the Black Lagoon #1. This cover was originally created as a  gatefold image for the cover of the Lucha Libre Comics Anthology #5.  It's just a shame that we have to cover up Bill's amazing illustration  with logos and promotional text as it holds up so well on its own. For  comparison sake, I've included both Bill's original pencils and colors.

It's odd how things seem to come in cycles. Jerry and I first met while working at Humanoids Publishing in 2002. So I guess it's appropriate that Jerry and I will be actively involved in bring the latest incarnation of Humanoids to the US Comics Publishing market. I can now officially announce that, in addition to our work on all things Muttpop, Jerry and I will be helping Humanoids Inc. reestablish its presence in the US. Jerry's official role is Senior Art Director. I will be working as the Editor In Chief. As a whole, our role will be an extension of the things we do at Muttpop. Jerry's handling the overall look and design of the entire line of Humanoids Inc. comic books and graphic novels. I will be overseeing the development of the line of books we are releasing including translations of some of European books and the development of some new books in the US. As a guy who's passionate about comics, toys, and games I am incredibly grateful that I've had opportunities to work in those fields. This will just be another step in that journey.

As for Muttpop, things will continue as they have. We're still fully committed to the Lucha Libre, Minis, and other projects we have in development. As guys that have had their hand continually in both the toy and comics industry it's a natural way to keep ourselves involved and contributing to both. One bit of exciting news that I can announce is that Humanoids will now be the official Publisher of all Lucha Libre comics. We had quite a bit of a break after Lucha Libre #6 and the first Graphic Novel. We're now returning with a monthly publishing schedule beginning this June. We're changing the format a bit. The price per issue is dropping to $3.50 per issue. We are also going to reformat the Lucha Libre comics into a series of miniseries in the traditional comic book format. Our first mini-series is 4 issues of Unfabulous Five (formerly called the Luchadores Five). Once that's complete we'll do a 4-issue Tikitis mini-series and finally a 4-issue Tequila mini-series.

This should be fun. I hope you join me on the ride. CLICK HERE to check out the revamped Humanoids website.

Here are some design sketches that Bill (artist of Red Demon, Dr. Destruction, and the Luchadores Five) did based on a conversation Jerry, Bill and I had with some of the fine people at Todd McFarlane Productions. Todd McFarlane was the superstar Marvel/Spider-man artist in the 1990s who later co-created Image Comics and the Spawn comic character. As mutual fans, we met with a handful of people working for McFarlane. In an attempt to explore the possibilities of collaboration, we were thinking that it'd be cool for the Muttpop Lucha Libre art team to create a Kaiju version of the more familiar characters of the Spawn universe. In exchange, we thought it'd be fun to see our Lucha Libre characters redone in the hyper-realistic Spawn style made famous by artists like McFarlane and Greg Capullo.

I asked Bill to come up with some design sketches for Spawn based on our conversation. Which are seen below.

Later on when the Spawn team was thinking of doing a Spawn comics anthology, we were asked to take our Kaiju concept and pitch it as a comic short story. I was pretty proud of what we came up with (a mix of Spawn X Ghost Rider X Shadow of the Colossus X Kamen Rider) but, sadly, the Anthology project was eventually canceled.

Fortunately we still have Bills amazing designs to share with you guys!