"And speaking of BAD GUYS..."

What rock opera would be complete without the participation of the Prince of Darkness himself? That's right, LUCIFER himself will play a part in the COLLIDE-O-SCOPE saga. LUCIFER, of course, was cast down from heaven with a third of the angels. He was in charge of the heavenly choir just prior to his exile, though, and when he and his flunkies were plunged to earth, the heavenly musical instruments became embedded in the layers of earth directly beneath the city in which COLLIDE-O-SCOPE calls home. The shock of the impact rattled LUCIFER and his followers, however, and they sort of staggered around for a while in a daze. When they regained their senses, they realized that they were without their musical tools, yet they could not recall where they had lost them. Over time, the mystical properties of the instruments seeped into an underground lake which became the source of drinking water for the city of Roca Lago, thus subsequent generations of the town's population became increasingly musically gifted until, at last, the greatest band in the world was born: COLLIDE-O-SCOPE!!

So, there you have it -- that's how COLLIDE-O-SCOPE came to be, or at least how they came to be so damned good at what they do. More on their specific history soon! LUCIFER will eventually do battle with our heroic band as he attempts to reclaim his long-lost cache of heavenly instruments (which he hopes to use to enslave the entire human race, natch'). This is only one facet of his appearance, however, as he will of course be a shapeshifter. This is his "traditional" appearance imprinted upon him by humanity, and I'll be giving him a couple more physical forms as I go, but this will do for now. Very iconic, of course, with the whole horns/cloven hooves/spearpoint tail/goatee package we've come to expect, and there's really only so much you can do with that look, creatively. I did originally have him colored red, but that was just TOO stereotypical and expected, so I thought I'd go with a bit of a slate gray scheme instead. I expect to get many remarks along the lines of "but the devil's supposed to be red!" Tough titty, said the kitty. He stays gray. Maybe he gets red when he's really cross with someone...

"It's okay... he's a BAD GUY!"

At last, my most offensive character ever finally gets his moment in the spotlight! BLACKFACE HITLER (and the RED DWARF)!! This is the guy who rendered my Illustration instructor speechless when the prelim drawing was unveiled. I thought his eyes were going to bug out of his skull as he just sat there repeating, "Oh. My. God." I was a bit hesitant about posting this guy on here for fear that the snap-judgmentalists and knee-jerk reactionaries out there would immediately assume I'm some whacked-out closet racist/ nazi, but it's just not so, and I'm going to give anybody who has wandered onto my humble blog the benefit of the doubt. And, hey -- who makes better villains than Nazis and racists? Lemme 'splain...

I needed some more skeevy characters to populate the ranks of H.E.R.P.E.S. (see previous post) for my COLLIDE-O-SCOPE concept. I had already created a couple of loathsome and disgusting characters in ERGOPHOBOS and DOCTOR HEDONISM, but no one truly vulgar and shocking. I decided to brainstorm and toss every offensive/ controversial idea I could into my Create-O-Bucket (where all my ideas are born), shake 'em up and mold them together into one attention-grabbing eyesore of a concept. So you've got Hitler, bald-faced throwback racism, cross-dressing, false sainthood, self-induced stigmata, communism, and a mostly-naked dwarf on a leash! What more could you possibly ask of me?! Truly this guy is worthy of the label "bad guy", no? But...

I had to come up with a reason why this guy would dress/ appear like this as his normal modus operandi -- why would anyone go out of their way to chisel so many offensive facets into their persona? Just 'cuz they're a "bad guy"? No, that won't work. Then it came to me -- he's a performance artist, you see. But not just any old performance artist -- this guy is [b]heavy[/b] into Art with a capital A, and believes that true Art must be offensive and shocking. If it doesn't offend at least two demographics, then it's not Art, and he sees the world as his canvas. RED DWARF is his silent companion, a dwarf whom he surgically altered to look like Vladymir Lenin (as he himself underwent surgery to look like Adolf Hitler). RED DWARF is always by BH's side, unless he is "unleashed" to strike out at his enemies with his deadly skills of cutlery brandishing and throwing.

So, there you go. Next, I'll have to post some cute li'l puppies playing with a snail or something equally syrupy to make up for this.

THE DISGUSTING DOCTOR HEDONISM!!

New character posting for the COLLIDE-O-SCOPE concept. This is Dr. Hayden Dulgent, otherwise known as DOCTOR HEDONISM, de facto leader of the wicked and creepy H.E.R.P.E.S. orgainization (Hedonistic Empire of Reprobates Perverting Earth's Stability), who is out to pervert the world into his sick playground of around-the-clock pleasure at any price! Hayden was raised in abject poverty and was denied any and all luxuries by his overly-strict and miserly parents. Once he left home, earned his doctorate and began making some real dough, he went completely overboard, pampering and spoiling himslef with every pleasurable vice he could conceive of or invent. His growing lusts caused him to run afoul of the law, so he formed his own little empire, which he saddled with the unfortunate name H.E.R.P.E.S., and began calling himself DOCTOR HEDONISM! He began surrounding himself with other caution-to-the-wind pleasure-seekers like himself who shared the common goal of the pursuit of "happiness", no matter how deviant, perverse or illegal, and regardless of the consequences to others. Despite his haggard, withered, gray appearance, DOCTOR HEDONISM has not yet celebrated his 50th birthday. His constant indulgence in all manner of vices has ravaged his body, and he employs a team of physicians whose sole task is to keep his heart beating and the many diseases he has contracted from snuffing him out entirely, so he can persist in his pervers quest.

As he appears here, DOCTOR HEDONISM and his PLEASURE CHAIR are decked out with his ether tank and breather-mask, rare panda steak for dinner, latex gloves (to satisfy his latex fetish), 24-7 porno feed on his monitor, and nipple clamps.

Basically, I just wanted a really creepy, withered pervert in a life-supporting chair. He started as simply a mad scientist, and he was going to be the dark wizard who was responsible for PROFESSOR FLEETWOOD'S squid-head (his body ravaged by the use of dark magic), but my initial sketch of Doc H seemed to demand a back story with a bit more perverse and icky angle. I decided to make him the leader of an evil organization with one of those kitschy-cool acronym names (like S.M.E.R.S.H. or S.P.E.C.T.R.E.). His physical appearance suggested a hedonistic, pleasure-seeking organization, and H.E.R.P.E.S. was actually the first name to spring to mind (and well-fitting, too, I must say). Coming up with an extended name to fit the acronym, was a bit harder, but not too difficult. Thus was born DOCTOR HEDONISM and H.E.R.P.E.S.. Then followed the task of creating more possible creepy members for the organization. ERGOPHOBOS, I had already created, and he seemed a good fit. There are 2 1/2 more members of the group that I've created so far, and they're rather ridiculously offensive (but rightly so, as they're meant to be heinous villains -- there's a reason Nazis have been very popular bad guys: they're easy to despise!). They will be posted soon, but don't get your panties in a bunch once they're up.

PROFESSOR SYD "SQUIDHEAD" FLEETWOOD!!

This is the mentor/ benefactor/ father figure to the group of musical heroes in my animated series concept (temporarily known as COLLIDE-O-SCOPE). This fellow's appearance is simply the result of my intention to include a wacky-scientist mentor for my heroes combined with my love for cephalopods (they just make such interesting visual playthings)!

"ERGOPHOBOS and his RASCAL OF DOOM!!"

What's threatening about a fat, lazy white guy on a motorized "Rascal"? Nothing really. But when that fat, lazy white guy is possessed by the spirit of an ancient Egyptian wizard who was put to death for trying to assassinate the Pharaoh, THEN things get dangerous! ERGOPHOBOS is a glutton for any and all food (obviously), and perhaps would be able to do more to further his goals of world conquest if the body he (accidentally) came to possess was a bit more on the fit and active side. So, Ergophobos rules what he can from the comfort of his recliner or his Rascal. Ergophobos is a member of the perverse diabolical organization known as H.E.R.P.E.S. (more on that later), and has secret schemes of wresting control of the organization out of the hands of it's current leader, DOCTOR HEDONISM.

My inspiration for this guy was rather simple -- I wanted to have a big fat guy who seemed pretty harmless, but was actually rather dangerous, though his appearance would border on the ridiculous. I combined this with my desire to incorporate an Egyptian-themed bad guy, and thought that a giant white guy on a Rascal would look quite silly decked out in a Pharaoh costume. To make him at least a bit threatening, I made him a wizard. I also originally had the Rascal souped up to look more Egyptian, with Sphinx paw wheelguards and a giant cobra head mounted on the front rising up to the steering column that would fire projectile venom spikes from his mouth, but in the end, I opted for the traditional Rascal appearance, as this just made him look more pathetic. The ham in the basket tops it off nicely, I think. Maybe, during the course of this character's story, I'll have him acquire his uber-Rascal as he gains power and becomes more of a threat, but for now he sticks with the factory model. Oh, and his name is simply an Egyptian twist on the word "ergophobia", which is simply a fear of movement (in relation to his lethargy and lack of exercise). The end.

CAPTAIN BILLY CRIBKILLER, LEADER OF THE FETAL PIRATES!

This is the final color key for CAPTAIN BILLY CRIBKILLER. Part of the animated series concept (which I think I'm going to be calling COLLIDE-O-SCOPE) I'm working on. Billy is the leader of a group of nasty little pirates called the FETAL PIRATES -- they fly around in a flying pirate ship, descending on helpless victims with the aid of their floating jellyfish placentas which they are connected to via their umbilical cords. The placentas are filled with helium gas, enabling them to float, and have additional tentacles which hold their spare weapons, reload their pistolas, and help them with tasks too difficult for their tiny fingers. Pretty bizarre, I know.

I wanted to have some sort of Pirate group represented in the series, but Pirates, as a group, seem to be getting a bit played out and old (though they'll always be cool to me). So, I began brainstorming twists I could give this group of Pirates to make them stand out quite distinctly from the norm -- zombie pirates had been done, robot pirates just seemed silly, and I'm sure someone has already done monkey-pirates. Then I thought about the tendency in animated/ commercial properties to drastically de-age a character/characters for a cheap and rather uncreative "fresh coat of paint" (i.e. Muppet Babies, A Pup Named Scooby, Tom & Jerry Kids, Flintstone Kids, Tiny Toons Adventures, etc.), and it hit me: "That's it! Take the concept of Baby Pirates and go "too far" with it -- not just babies, but fetuses! Thus, the Fetal Pirates were born. The jellyfish placentas were a solution to the problem of how a bunch of fetuses were going to get around AND handle all the cool essential Pirate weaponry. I had a sudden vision (my blessed artistic "eureka moment") of a ship full of fetuses dressed as pirates and connected to buoyant placentas floating down from the sky, and I quickly commenced sketching.

There's more Fetal Pirates to come -- after all, Billy has to have a crew to command!

"...and his Chicken life flashed before his Chicken eyes."

Another reworked piece from a few years ago, this one featuring the imminent demise of Mr. Chicken. Pen & Ink, colored in Photoshop.

"STOP! YOU MUST NOT HOP ON POP!"

Finished coloring my HOP ON POP piece, obviously based on the Dr. Seuss bit. This is actually a start-from-scratch redo of a piece I did several years ago. I liked the concept, but the skill in the old version was woeful and didn't hold up over time. Wanted this piece for my portfolio, but the old one just wasn't good enough anymore. Pen and ink colored in photoshop.