FISCAL CLIFF: Speed Bump or Abyss?

FISCAL CLIFF: Speed Bump or Abyss?

I think I'm going with speed bump on this one. More taxes and

spending cuts will definitely slow down the economy but I doubt

it will crash the system. So what do you think, speed bump or 

abyss?

Nutzoids: Character Sketches

Nutzoids: Character Sketches

These are sketches of the main characters of my newly released comic ebook "Nutzoids: Attack of the Dark Lord".

Dr Strawberry

Dr Strawberry – Inventor of the Strawberry Molecular Super Chip that can turn a smart phone into the world’s most powerful super computer. His Einstein like face and small frame house a brilliantly creative mind that is driven by rapacious greed. He created the Nutzoids out of recycled materials to fulfill a Defense Department contract because he believes it will give him a larger profit margin. In a cosmic turn of events the law of unintended consequences kicks in trapping Dr Strawberry between the overwhelming power of a truly evil mastermind (The Dark Lord Of The Senate) and the growing independence of his newly created super heroes.

Bit Brain

Bit Brain – Is the defacto leader of the Nutzoids. He started life as Dr Strawberry’s personal robot assistant but has developed a sense of independence and other characteristics that have brought him into direct conflict with his creator. He has repeatedly beaten IBM’s Deep Blue at chess and is a strategic genius with a MacGyver like ability to improvise but soon discovers an evil nemesis in the form of the Chinese super spy computer Sun Tzu.

Can Man

Can Man – Is a brash, over confident robot built from a trashcan. His hydraulic powered arms and legs give him strength far beyond even the strongest human. He can fly with the help of a rocket belt and his robotic frame is covered head to toe with an invisible micro layering of carbon fiber and titanium. Bullets can’t pierce him and explosions rarely do much damage. When danger beckons he is the first into the fray. He is smart but not brilliant. He is often in over his head but has a sense of humor and coolness under pressure that only a Spartan could love.

Motar

Motar – Built from a discarded engine block he is the world’s fastest robot. As the world’s first hydrogen power super hero he cruises at speeds in excess of a bullet train. His top speed is a closely guarded military secret. Like Can Man, he has a carbon fiber titanium protective covering. Motar is the steadfast member of the group sometimes cautious but always there when you need him. Common sense is his hallmark and he has little patience for people or super heroes who do stupid things consequently he and Can Man have a dicey relationship.

The Incredible Heap

The Incredible Heap – Is a bio genetic experiment that failed and was dumped, by Dr Strawberry, into a landfill near his lab. Much to the greedy Doctor’s surprise the entire landfill came to life and “The Heap” was born. Able to topple tall buildings with a single shove the Heap is not very smart but innocent and caring. He can be manipulated at times but when he realizes that he has been made the fool, his anger is a fearsome thing to behold. He lives on garbage and can grow to massive proportions if allowed to graze for long periods of time. Conversely doing super hero work helps him stay slim and trim. The Heap gets along with everyone in the group whether they like him or not. He is often not smart enough to realize that he is the butt of their jokes and is too good-natured to care. The Heap can disguise himself as a large pile of trash thus giving him the ability to hide in plain sight.

Eco

Eco – Is the mascot of the Nutzoids. She was a giant African snail who was the subject of a series of cyborg implantations and genetic alterations at the hands of Dr Strawberry. Eco has the intelligence of a well-trained guard dog and tends to behave like one but with a shocking special ability. She is a giant cybernetic electric snail capable of shocking anyone within a few hundred feet of her. When really threatened she can generate an Electromagnetic shock wave the equivalent of a small nuclear device. Eco can also protect herself and others by generating an electromagnetic bubble around them. Like Heap she is good-natured but not as trusting as he is. Eco in fact has special sensors and facial recognition software that allows her to identify people and tell when they are lying. She is liked and treated well by all members of the team but is closest to the Heap.  

Dark Lord of the Senate

The Dark Lord of the Senate - Brilliant and charismatic he cloaks himself in darkness to obscure his true objective, the accumulation of power. In fact, he is a creature of power. Tolkien's ring has captured his soul. He will risk anything and destroy anyone to achieve his goals. Dr Strawberry's enormous greed has lured him into the Dark Lord's web and now the Nutzoids are about to experience the full power of his wrath.

"NUTZOIDS: ATTACK OF THE DARK LORD" is now available as a FREE download at:
http://ebrochures.com/ebrochures/eBooks/Humor/NUTZOIDS%3A_ATTACK_OF_THE_DARK_LORD

Enjoy!

Nutzoids: An Introduction

Crusher - A Space Junk Recovery Vehicle

NUTZOIDS

• Origin of the Species -  The Nutzoids are a satirical comic strip poking fun at conservative politicians, big corporations and the super hero genre. Way back in 1987 I took a cartooning class at a local community college and in the first class our assignment was to create a comic strip but as it turned out not enough people signed up for the class and it was cancelled. I went ahead and did the assignment anyway, creating the "Nutzoids." They are a group of super heroes built from recycled materials by the greedy Dr Strawberry.  I played with this strip over the years but finally stopped working on it.
  
   
• Comic Books - Just last year, I took another cartooning class and brought the "Nutziods" back to life in a comic book. "Nutzoids:  Attack of the Dark Lord" is a super hero comic book mash up with the "Nutzoids" political gag strip I created years earlier but never published. The comic book’s working title was “The Nutzoids, Origin of the Species” which was later changed to “Attack of the Dark Lord.”
  "Attack of the Dark Lord" is an introduction to the Nutzoids and their creator the greedy Dr Strawberry. In it you get a glimpse into their creation story, special super abilities, interpersonal conflicts, quirky personalities, diabolical enemies and other aspects of their complex world. My original intent was to create an entertaining way of introducing readers to the back story for this unusual group of super heroes and set the stage for an on going comic strip “The Nutzoids”. After writing and laying out  "Nutzoids: Attack of the Dark Lord" I've come to feel that the comic book genre is the best format for their quirky satirical humor.
   
  "Nutzoids: Attack of the Dark Lord" is now ready for publication as an ebook and will be released shortly. I have decided to make this first Nutzoid comic book free as a way of introducing this odd ball group of super hero's to as many reader's as possible. It will be published in a DNL flip book version for Mac's and PC's as well as iPad and Kindle versions in due time. More information about this will be forthcoming in future posts.
  There will be more Nutzoid comic books coming. In fact, I've started a very rough draft of a second Nutzoid comic book under the working title "Nutzoids: The Atlas Code" but it's a long long long way from being published.
  
  
• The Comic Strip - As I mentioned before, I believe that comic books are the best format for the Nutzoids but since it takes so long to produce a comic book I've decided to go ahead with the comic strip as a blog which will give me a chance to use the Nutzoids to comment on current affairs and  give readers a little taste of Nutzoid humor in between comic book releases. 
  
  
  In my next post I will present character sketches of the Nutzoids and their arch enemy the infamous "Dark Lord of the Senate."