Exclusive Sneak Peak: Class Comics' "The Bromance" + Interview w/ Writer Robert Fraser

Well, my favorite writer at Class Comics is at it again! Robert Fraser, creator of the incredible gay erotic post apocalyptic zombie comic Beautiful Dead, has a new book out today - The Bromance. This time, Fraser brings us six different tales, each wonderfully brought to life by a different artist, all centered around protagonist Paul and his pals...and Paul's very vivid imagination.

Here's the official description:

Paul has an overactive imagination and an active libido and as we meet him and each one of his friends, we’re treated to some of Paul’s hottest… and horniest… fantasies involving his hunky pals. Each fantasy is raunchily penned by ROBERT FRASER and brought to life by a different artist and will leave you gasping for more, wondering just where does fantasy end… and reality start? 

We’ve all had waking wet dreams about some of the straight hunks in our lives, so we can all relate to Paul who may or may not end up with a serious case of blue balls unless some of his closest buds throw him a boner… ERR… BONE! 

Paul gets pretty easily aroused playing video games, helping a buddy build a mancave in his home, taking the metro from work, going to the supermarket and even doing the simplest thing like using the restroom at the office. His sexual fantasies know virtually no limits.

For the art in The Bromance, Fraser collaborated with some of the best illustrators in the business: Jacob Mott, Leon De Leon, David Cantero, Patrick Fillion, Cray and Martin Chan. The cover art was done by Adam Graphite.

Though exceptionally busy with all the exciting new stuff going on at Class Comics, Robert Fraser was kind enough to answer some questions about The Bromance. He was even kinder to give us some exclusive character images that cannot be seen anywhere else! Oh, and if the PG pics below aren't enough and you'd like to preview some of the more explicit action, just click HERE! 

After reading below, we suggest picking up a copy of The Bromance directly from Class Comics. And while you are over there, check out their insanely hot Secret Dossier #1 – Deimos. They also have given a new digital home to Dale Lazarov's Sticky Graphic Novels! Oh, and don't forget their Free monthly comic Stripshow!

Q: In Bromance, you do a great job tackling the world of fantasy sex. Do you think some situations are better off remaining a fantasy?
Fraser: Getting worked up for sex is a trip in itself. Thinking about it. Imagining it. Waiting for it. DOING IT! The anticipation and the build up sometimes lasts so much longer than the actual fun, no matter how much fun you have! So in many ways I think that all sex is a fantasy because the explosion happens both in your head and down below as well. Yeah, I think that all sex should be something you fantasize about even as you’re having it.

Q: How many straight boy crushes did you suffer through growing up? Did you ever accidentally ruin a friendship by revealing feelings or making a move?
Fraser: Oh… many! I worked at a summer camp for a decade during my formative years. Each summer there were so many co-counselors that I dreamed I was destined to share my life with. SWOON! (I think I just found a story for The Bromance #2.) As for ruining a friendship… it’s happened, but more importantly, the reverse happened! A real Bromance formed out of a situation much like in the comic. One that led to me meeting Patrick!

Q: Bromance is full of fun video game references and scenarios. What games are you currently playing?
Fraser: First of all: Xbox and Android. With that out of the way, Dying Light, Zombi, Marvel Puzzle Quest, Dishonored, Hearthstone, Left 4 Dead, Zombies Run!, and Gateway Gangsters.

Q:  Any advice for the truly pee shy?
Fraser: piss piss piss piss piss PISS PISS PISS PISS PISS PISS! (Or “a ; s l d k f j a ; s l d k f j a ; s l d k f j”)

Q:  Can you give me directions to Fraz’s Meat House? I can’t seem to find it on Google Maps.
Fraser: Names had to be changed to protect the innocent and it’s not generally open to the public, but since you asked: https://goo.gl/IVMZJS

Q:  In each of the stories in Bromance, you work with a different artist. How difficult was it to wrangle six different projects at once?
Fraser: Working with six different artists was a complete dream! I’m so grateful to ALL of them for working with me on this comic. It also took two years and two weeks almost exactly from conception to completion. :)

Q: Your writing always perfectly captures the playful yet antagonistic banter between best friends. How long does it take you to get the dialog right?
Fraser: One and a half years. I’ve actually had all the art for over a year already. Just kidding. I have a terrible time confidently writing dialog. So often I find myself describing what’s in the panel or making my characters get too excited. But I tend to write with a lot of exclamation marks in everyday life. It’s something that I’m working on! Damn, I did it again! ;)

Seriously, I write my stories with minimal dialog, then write the final dialog pulling from the emotion and cues that the artists provide. It’s a flawed method as adding the text becomes daunting.

Q: Just out of curiosity, do you get a lot of Mormon missionaries in Canada?
Fraser: Not enough… SEND MOAR MORMONS IN TIGHT WHITE SHIRTS!

Q: Will there be a Bromance 2?
Fraser: See question #2. It’s already in development actually! I have a few stories in mind, and some artists as well. Some who wanted to be part of #1, but couldn’t due to their current workloads. You can expect The Bromance #2 in early August 2017!

Say Hi And Point Me To A Flat Surface: An Interview w/ Illustrator Josh Lynch

A few weeks ago, the internet was abuzz with Josh Lynch's latest creation Dogs of the Marvel Universe! This isn't the first time Josh's Marvel illustrations have caught people's attention. He has also done Marvel Luchadores, Peter Barker The Amazing Spider Dog, and Marvel Cuties, the world's most adorable superheroes. But that is really just the tip of the iceberg.

Josh Lynch is a Twin Cities based art director, storyboard artist, visual developer, and pop culture junkie. He thrives on the idea of visual communication and strives to find fun and exciting ways to engage with audiences in physical and digital spaces.

Josh earned his BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design with a focus on Illustration and Animation. He has illustrated work for Stone Arch Press and Avery/Penguin and has been featured in online publications such as Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, FailBlog, ComicsAlliance, and Project Rooftop. He is currently the Creative Director at Alpha Video where he develops unique multimedia and interactive pieces for the masses.

Aside from continuing the Dogs of the Marvel Universe series, Josh told me, "I'm working on a children's book and I always have my own comic I mean to get to." Own comic?!! Please don't wait much longer, Josh.

While I was watching the internet go nuts with Lynch's dogs, it struck me that almost everyone was republishing his work, but no one was really taking the time to ask him any questions. So, I set out to change that. And, honestly, I was kinda surprised when Josh agreed to do an interview! After reading below, if you want to explore more of Josh Lynch's work on your own, I suggest his Website, Behance, Tumblr, Blog, and, if you have a few spare dollars, go get yourself a DOTMU shirt! 

Q: Your recent Dogs of the Marvel Universe collection has become a huge deal on the internet? But, I noticed you also started a Marvel Kitten line…are you going to complete that set?
Josh: The kittens I've done so far have just been for friends. At our house we're down to four cats and while I love them I could do with a few less in my life. Just don't be surprised if a few sneak into DOTMU from time to time.

Q:  Do you really think Tony Stark wears pink bunny slippers?
Josh: He's a billionaire playboy, he wears whatever he wants.

Q: In all seriousness, I totally love all the sketches you post on your Website and Tumblr. Have you considered releasing a book of just your black and whites?
Josh: Thank you so much. I try to sketch something everyday so I fill a sketchbook every couple months. I've never printed a book of them because I don't think there's a market for it. I scour artists alley at every con for sketchbooks by my favorite artists. If you're a process junkie you can't beat looking at artist's sketchbooks. If enough people showed interest I suppose I'd print some up.

Q: Could you give me directions to the Juicy store on Dagobah? I couldn’t find it.
Josh: Look deep inside yourself and find the Juicy will you.

Q:   I couldn’t help but notice that in your piece Star Trek for the Next Generation, you chose to use bearded Will Riker. Was this a conscience decision?
Josh: Definitely. I don't even come close to liking ol' Rusty Trombone unless he's bearded. No Ensign Babyface for me.

Q: How different do you think the Marvel Universe would be if Captain America and Hitler actually fell in love? And what do you think Hitler’s love notes entailed?
Josh: I suppose the thoughts of their forbidden love would be intense. Think Romeo and Juliet suicide level intense. I think even if they fell in love they would still have been on opposite sides of the war. But how could Hitler not love Steve Rogers. He's like Hitler's aryan wet dream... I mean physically, not at all spiritually, ethically, politically, or in any way that actually counts for anything. In fact I don't really like to think of any happy ending for Hitler in any case.

Q:  Did you happen to find a taker for your Masterminds DVD with Patrick Stewart and Vincent Kartheiser? I might know someone who would like it.
Josh: Oh that wasn't a DVD, that was good old fashion V-H-S. I gave it away as a gift to a friend. I don't think I could take such treasure back without ruining that friendship.

Q:  What artists/illustrators do you currently follow?
Josh: Currently?..... OH that's hard, way too many. The list looks something like this (although I'd still be leaving a lot out): Kris Anka, Kevin Wada, Becky Cloonan, Daniel Warren Johnson, Cameron Stewart, Chris Samnee, Cory Loftis, Gabriel Hardman, Matthew Woodson, Greg Ruth, Noelle Stevenson, Hamish Steele, Jake Wyatt, Jeff Stokely, Mingjue Helen Chen, Katsuya Terada, Chris Brunner, Tradd Moore, Steve Mcniven, Ming Doyle, Dan Hipp, Patrick Leger, Paul Azaceta, Phil Noto, Mike Mitchell, Steve Epting... I should really stop there but that's not nearly the whole list.

Q:  You clearly are a huge comics fan. What books really stick with you from your teen years?
Josh: Well I grew up reading the Chris Claremont/Jim Lee run on X-Men. That started comics for me really. I followed it with Lee/Portacio stuff but following that when they got into Onslaught I was done. That killed comics for me for a long time. As a kid who didn't have a lot of money to buy tie ins I had to just give up. Then when I was in high school I came back around for some of the non Marvel and DC books at the time. I was really into BattleChasers, Danger Girl, Kaboom!, Spawn, and Red Star. I came back around into marvel with Wolverine Origin. Following that I started to get into all the 70's, 80's, and 90's greatness I had really missed out on including lots of the Frank Miller/Klaus Janson stuff.

Q:  Unicorns...or Narwhals? Who would win in a fight
Josh: That's a trick question. They don't fight. They bake cupcakes and sing songs together. Did you know every time a Unicorn and Narwhal fall in love a bell rings?

Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great Fan Art by Josh Lynch & Daughter

My Head On Some Robot Legs: An Interview w/ Animator Andy Martin aka Handymartian

Animator Andy Martin's work makes me happy. Like ridiculously happy to the point of delirium. I find myself watching videos like "The Planets" and "Selfie" over and over again. I show them to my friends. I show them to my cat. Often, I gather together all of my stuffed animals and action figures and we sit and watch his animations together. He is just that brilliant.

This week Andy released the brand new short film Mr. Director, a stop motion satire poking fun at documentaries that feature self-aggrandizing artists and directors. "The biggest ego in film directing tells us his story of a lifetime in the movie business with clips from some of his films, archive interviews and exclusive behind the scenes footage." This film is seven minutes of sheer magic. If nothing else, the clips from the fake movies will have you giggling with delight.

But, the magic doesn't stop with just the illustration and animation. Andy Martin is also an insanely talented musician. His animations are filled with sometimes charming, sometimes whimsical songs that he has created. Andy has even animated a hilarious stop motion band series called Tiny Tunes in which the band tackles "serious subjects like eating steaks, robot legs, seeing a doctor, haircuts and sharing." But don't let any of this fool you. Andy is a truly accomplished songwriter, instrument tinkerer, and sound manipulator. See for yourself at Andy's music page: Handymartian!

Andy Martin was kind enough to take some time out of his day and do an interview. If you'd like to explore more of his work on your own, I suggest his Website, Twitter, and Vimeo Page. Also, be sure to check out his Society 6 Shop! 

Q: Andy…I am madly infatuated with your animation “The Planets.” The ending song even makes me tear up a bit. What was your eureka moment for creating the project?
Andy: It all kind of developed organically through the year. It started off as a daily illustration project to force myself to draw in my sketchbook again but grew into a monthly animation project and at the end of the year I had the 12 minute film. I'm sorry it made you cry but it's good to get out your emotions. Bottling things up will give you an ulcer!

Q: On a totally different note, I tend to laugh every time one of your characters, be it alien or bunny, farts. Does that say more about you or about me?
Andy: It probably says a lot about both of us.

Q:  Are you self taught or do you have a formal education in illustration and animation?
Andy: I studied Moving Image Design at University which gave me a good start but then I've learned a lot in the years I've been working. So I think it's been a healthy mix of the two which is maybe how it should be. It's good to have some formal training as a starting point but then to do interesting work you need to go a bit rogue.

Q:  I totally love that you post video workshops showing how your animations are made so other people can learn your techniques. Was there ever any trepidation about sharing your secrets?
Andy: No, none at all. I hope people will take the techniques and make something new and fresh. Something that I could never have thought of.

Q:  Have you considered working with the phone companies on an app that will actually punch you in the face if you take a selfie?
Andy: I'm not sure it's worth the lawsuits.

Q:  Your Tiny Tunes track “Style” is hands down my favorite, mostly because my hair is mental. Which line of lyrics best describes your coiffure?
Andy: "This hair looks good" obviously!!

Q:  If for one reason or another you had to choose between animation and music, which would you pick?
Andy: Animusic.

Q: What artists/illustrators do you currently follow?

Amaro & Walden's Joyride

Andy: I'm constantly on the search for great animations to watch. I recently saw Adam Elliot's new short "Ernie Biscuit" which was excellent (he also made one of my favourite animated films called "Mary And Max"), the short "Amaro and Walden's Joyride" by The Line is super cool, and the guys at Animade did a stylish short recently call "Cronomtics". There's so much other great stuff out there by amazingly talented independent animators it's tough to name just a few but you can check out the things I've liked on Vimeo (where I find most of the best animation) here: Andy Martin Likes. Vimeo has a great animation section that is worth exploring: Vimeo Animation.

Q:  Do you remember the first animation you ever created? Care to share the storyline?
Andy: I do. It was for a school IT project and it was advocating regular exercise for a healthier lifestyle. Advice I have subsequently failed to follow.

Q:  Unicorns...or Narwhals? Who would win in a fight?
Andy: Why can't they both get on? I'm not sure what the beef is but I'm sure they can work it out peacefully.

We'll Eventually Hit Rock Bottom: An Interview With Jim'll Paint It

Just when you think you have seen everything that could possibly exist on the internet, along comes Jim'll Paint It to prove you wrong. The premise is simple. You send Jim the wildest, most far fetched scenario you can imagine, and if Jim likes it, he will paint it for you using Microsoft Paint...probably even more hilariously bizarre than you ever imagined. Jim's paintings have become so popular, it has allowed him to launch a line of prints, t-shirts, tote bags, and pretty much any other kind of swag as well as collaborate on projects with prestigious mainstream institutions like National Geographic. Also, there is a wonderful Jim'll Paint It anthology of collected works titled Electric Dreams.

I was fortunate enough to corner Jim in a poorly lit gas station bathroom stall where he finally agreed to an interview. If you'd like to explore more of Jim'll Paint It on your own, I suggest his Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, and of course, you have to buy yourself a little something from his Store.

Can you paint the Very Hungry Caterpillar undergoing gastric bypass surgery?

Q: What was the eureka moment behind offering your services free of charge to the funniest bidder?
Jim: It started off on my personal Facebook page. I was bored and asked my friends if they wanted me to draw them anything on Paint. It was never supposed to be a case of just painting the funny ones. But because most of my friends are a bit odd it didn't take long for it to escalate into full blown surrealism. I put a few of my favourites on Tumblr and over night was swamped with requests from people I didn't know to the point where I had to give up any idea of painting them all and focus instead on the ones that would make me laugh.

Q: What is the most off the wall request you have received? And...did you paint it?
Jim: I think reading the many thousands of requests I've had over the last 3 years has totally skewed my perspective of what off the wall is. I don't even think I have a wall for things to be on. That said, one that really threw me was this:

Can you please paint me Davina McCall with dreadlocks, cooking a full English

breakfast on the beach, and all of the seagulls at the beach are in karate kit and/or Nazi uniforms and are attacking her and her breakfast is on fire and there’s a dog poo on the beach (it’s not a very nice beach) and she’s smiling a lot staring right at you smiling in a really creepy way with big gold hoop earrings in and can Davina please be dressed in pajamas and have spiders coming out of her eyes a little bit.

This painting would make me very happy, thank you. Gemma Sherman

-specifically the bit about the spiders coming out of her eyes a little bit. I had always thought spiders coming out of your eyes was kind of a binary thing. Like you either had spiders coming out of your eyes or you didn't. It was pretty tricky to get across the noncommittal nature of the spiders coming out of Davina McCall's eyes and that's why it took me about 8 months to get round to painting it.

Q:  What kinds of things do you just flat out refuse to paint?
Jim: Nothing really provided the context was right. I mean, I obviously I try not to paint things that will get me arrested but yeah I think generally I would consider anything if I thought it was funny. There are definitely things which make me overlook a request almost automatically. I'm not sure why but I don't like requests that rhyme or are a forced play on words. I think it shows a lack of vision. I swear down I get asked to paint some variation of 'Bear Grylls grilling a bear' every other day. Also sticking either an exclamation mark or 'lol' at the end of a request is generally not a great idea.

Q:  Do you ever hear (positively or negatively) from any of the subjects of your paintings?
Jim: Generally I hear only good things. Brian Blessed and Heston Blumenthal have both expressed their appreciation, which is lovely. My only bad experience was from The Ultimate Warrior (God rest his soul) who, somewhat bizarrely, sent his lawyer after me because of the picture I drew of him and Alan Partridge posing for a photo. Something to do with how because he has his logo on his face I'm breaching copyright. But I just agreed not to sell any merchandise of the image and that was the last I heard on it. Pretty sure it was just his mate pretending to be a lawyer if I'm completely honest.

Q:  In your online bio you say that you like music, horror films, bubblewrap and painting things on Microsoft Paint. How distraught are you that the makers of bubblewrap are changing their production process so the bubbles no longer pop?
Jim: I must admit I'm not panicking about it. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of off-brand bubble wrap makers out there to fill the gap in the market and besides I've got a huge, unpopped roll of the stuff in a cupboard that I save for when I need some 'me time'.

Q:  Just out of curiosity, does it get any darker than muppets re-enacting The Deer Hunter Russian Roulette scene?
Jim: There is definitely a recurring theme with children's characters being put in horribly dark real life situations. So far we've had Postman Pat arrested for swearing at a Police officer during an EDL march, the cast of Rainbow storming the beaches of Normandy, Makka Pakka from In The Night Garden using heroin, The Very Hungry Caterpillar undergoing gastric bypass surgery, Mr Bump in a multi car pile up on the M4 and The Teletubbies forced to perform at gunpoint for North Korean television. I'm fairly sure we'll eventually hit rock bottom.

Q:  Do you have a formal art education or are you self taught?
Jim: Self taught. For the first half of my life I was obsessed with drawing and everyone at school said I would do that for a living so inevitably, come my teenage years I sacked it off and did a music technology course and spent 10 years making aggressive electronic music under the name Eraserhead. In the meanwhile I worked doing design and typography for a small publishing company who were just glad to have someone who vaguely knew how Photoshop and In Design worked.

Q:  What artists/illustrators do you currently follow?
Jim: It's quite bad but I don't really follow anyone really. I do really like David Shrigley and Chris Simpsons Artist obviously. I follow It's Nice That on Twitter and see really cool illustration and design on there every day but I'm really bad at actually following it up and becoming a rabid fan of anyone in particular.

Q: How often do you find yourself looking up the proper spelling of our Dark Lord Cthulhu?
Jim: I'm bad with names so I tend to just stick with 'Sir'

Q:  Unicorns...or Narwhals? Who would win in a fight?
Jim: Is the fight happening on land or in the sea?

Kanye West travels back in time in a DeLorean to ruin Mother Teresa’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech .

Please can you paint Daft Punk Morris dancing on the surface of Mars wearing only their helmets and official Morris dancing tassels and braces. Adam Ant is shredding on the electric guitar to accompany the dance. The sun has gone supernova and Earth is exploding in the distance.

Dear Jim, can you paint Colonel Sanders Last Stand?

Please paint He-Man on Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents.

Crash Bandicoot at a speed awareness course with other Mario Kart and Wacky Races characters.

The 3 of us battling the Psychedelic Cosmic octopus (badly) while God (played by Gazza) tries to rescue us with a fishing rod and chicken. Meanwhile in the foreground a greyhound dressed like Charles Dickens licks the frosting off some doughnuts.

Dear Jim, can you use Paint to show us a scene from a not too distant future in which those fucking Minion things have finally taken over completely? 

Awkward Star Trek orgy.