Ace artist Trevor von Eeden kindly shared some pages of his amazing “Skyblinders” strip with us here at downthetubes, first created back in the 2000s, which is finally appearing in print in Orphan Works, a new crowdfunded anthology from US publisher Homunculus Publishing, run by comic creator Bill Anderson.
Which, of course, sent us straight down a rabbit hole to check out Orphan Works – and it absolutely was not a distraction from other things on the agenda today…
Orphan Works – available to order here – is a massive, 260-page plus anthology that features mostly unpublished works and new work by a host of mainly American comics creators, who, in addition to Trevor (his first new sequential work in six years!), include Bill Anderson & Rick McCollum, Jeff Bonivert, Kerry Callen, Brian S. Logan & Stefano Cardoselli, Michael T. Gilbert (providing his “Inkspots” comic strip, drawn, beginning in 1975, for the counter-culture newspaper The Berkeley Barb, some of his first published comics), Franco-Bekgian artist Gérald Forton, Greg Giordano, Roberta Gregory, Matt Haley, Dean Haspiel, Fred Hembeck, Rudy Nebres, Brandon McKinney, Luke McDonnell, Joe Pruett and Ken Meyer Jr. Christopher Schenck, Don Simpson, Tom Simmons, Tom Stazer, Rob Walton and Mark Weber.
The anthology opens with It opens with “The Skyblinders“, written and drawn by Trevor von Eeden, a science fiction story he wrote in 2003 for his Creative Writing class at Columbia University, where he took classes from 2003 to 2005, in preparation for writing The Original Johnson, his personal and heartfelt graphic novel biography of Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight champion of the world, published by IDW.
“I drew the story in 2006 while writing and drawing TOJ, then finally inked and lettered it in 2023 – so this story literally took me 20 years to complete!” he says.
“I’d included the beginning and ending dates on the last page after “The End” – and they’re still there, so that’s now a permanent record in print, which pleases me no end!”
“Bitchy Bitch” by Roberta Gregory 
“Chained” by Brandon McKinney, a gripping western tale 
Kerry Callen, best known for his humorous takes on superheroes, turns his sights on another cultural icon, to similarly great comedic effect, in “Council of the Bigs” 
“Drop Dead of Cancer, the Cancer Boy” by Don Simpson 
Tom Stazer’s contribution, “Floppity Goes Berserk” 
“Helping Hand” by Bill Anderson & Rick McCollum 
“Li’l Lucif’r and Brimstone” by Rob Walton, a wild ride from start to finish. You’re never sure what’s coming next, but you’ll never regret getting there! 
“I love Fred Hembeck’s original character Mr. Mumbo Jumbo, so I was thrilled to be able to include a previously unpublished short tale of the character in Orphan Works.,” says Bill Anderson. “As an added bonus, Fred also contributed a couple ‘Tales of Hembeck’ strips.” 
“Plug” by Brian S. Logan & Stefano Cardoselli 
“Recon” by Matt Haley and Tom Simmons, a dark, militaristic sc-fi tale 
“Savage Women” by Rudy Nebres 
“Snow Angel” by Dean Haspiel 
“Strange E. Strange”, a robot cowboy, is the creation of Christopher Schenck 
“Tiny Terrors” by Jeff Bonivert. “Jeff’s unique approach to rendering has made him a favourite of mine for decades,” says publisher Bill Anderson 
“When it Rains” is atmospheric and haunting reminiscence iby Joe Pruett and Ken Meyer Jr 
“Worms” is a story written by Brian S. Logan and drawn by the late Gérald Forton, who had a long career in European, and later, American comics. This, along with several other stories Brian hired him to illustrate, was some of his final work
As an added bonus, the Orphan Works collection includes short text pieces by Steve Leialoha, Bill Reinhold, Khoi Pham, Ray Lago, Al Milgrom, Dan Panosian, Geof Isherwood, Zach Howard and P. Craig Russell, among others.
Orphan Works is available in softcover, hardcover or a digital versions direct from Homunculus Publishing – but the creators who contributed to the anthology are also selling copies direct, so if you’re a fan of their work and want a signed copy, contact them about it via their official web sites, or catch them at convention appearances.
Bill Anderson has inked hundreds of comics for Marvel (Silver Surfer, Spider-Man, Cosmic Powers, Uncanny Origins); DC (Action Comics, Superman, Superboy, Batman and the Outsiders); Mirage (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Turtle Soup); Image (Vanguard, Ethrian); Comico (Elementals, Robotech, Jonny Quest); Claypool Comics (Elvira), and countless other publishers.
All art and stories © respective creators
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Creating Comics, Crowd Funding Projects, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, US Comics
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