Comic:Chrusher Comix
From CGWiki
| Chrusher Comix | |
|---|---|
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| Artist: | Christopher Galletta-Stevens |
| Writer: | Christopher Galletta-Stevens |
| Characters: | Cast |
| Updates: | Updates 1-3 times per week |
| Began: | Era 1: 1988-1992; Era 2: 1994-1999; Era 3: 2007-current |
| Ended: | current |
| Art style: | Semi-realistic Graphic Novel; American Comic book art |
| Rating: | Web-14 to Web-MA |
| Website | Website |
ChrusherComix (AKA Crusher Comics) is an award-winning high school newspaper comic strip and comic book that was created in 1988. However, the forty-seven episode, one-thousand page series produced between 1988-1999 only debuted online in 2005, and is available for free in the ChrusherComix Archive [1]. The graphic novel intended for a worldwide audience is now actively being produced and uploaded in 2007.
Contents |
The New Graphic Novel: Chrusher - End Cycle
The thrilling graphic novel of forensic artist/detective/martial-arts expert nicknamed "Chrusher", the past that he cannot escape from, and a woman whose death has haunted him for over a decade. The comic debuted in 2007 and is a dramatic graphic novel, a departure from the comic's mostly comedic past. [2]
Classic Comedy Crusher Comics
"Classic Crusher Comics" is a "sketchbook with a storyline" for the amusement of my friends and me. It contains over 1,000 comic book pages over 47 Episodes produced between 1988-1999. The website is a complete, online archive of the entire comic that begins with comedic amateur doodles (1988) & progresses into professional-quality art & story (2007 Graphic Novel). Though funny, the original "Classic" line from 1988-1999 was created for friends and family, and not a worldwide audience like the new 2007 webcomic is. "If one were to read it from start to finish, it would be humorous and entertaining," said the author. "But nobody ever does save for me and my co-collaborator. That's a shame." The complete archive is found here, in an episode-by-episode manner: [3]
The Three Eras of Chrusher Comix
Chrusher is a comic book series separated into three volumes. Although they are interrelated, they are not interdependent.
Era One is called "Classic Crusher Comics" and it was produced when the author was in high school, and it is mostly a character-driven comedy drawn on school notebooks, hence its name as a "sketchbook with a storyline." It features the characters such as Chris Crusher [4], Mike Butski [5], Ronald Foule [6], RaYzor (S)Hitman [7], Obliterator [8], Steven "Barbarian Howeird [9], KKKeith Slasher [10], The Welforce [11], The Grim Raker [12], and Cow Gagnon [13] and countless others in all of the character's high school years (1988-1992 [14]).
Era Two is the "Immature Adult Crusher Comics" (1994-1999). Although it does periodically contain elements of a semi-professionally illustrated and mature drama [15], but most of it is filled with juvenile college-aged-humor featuring grumpy old fat people named The Welphys [16], Wesley James-TrOllgre Stevens [17], new Welforce members, and those crazy and lovable Lunaticials [18].
Era Three, is a graphic novel otherwise known as "End Cycle" [19] is a dramatic departure from the majority of the comedy first two volumes, as it starts nearly ten years afterwards. It features the grown-up and matured lives of several of the main characters from the original series, but with all new characters and scenarios. In closing, I asked Chris what to expect in the new installments. "Expect a lot of the stuff I like in fiction novels and movies; detectives, martial arts, romance, classy sexuality (in a non-pornographic kind of way), tragedy, psychic powers, spirituality, and clever humor - all in a realistic, and non-communized depictions of all of the above, which Hollywood, comics, television, and other forms of mainstream media has never once properly produced. Again, although they are interrelated, they are absolutely not interdependent, and the third era is the only one produced for a worldwide audience."
External links
Other Webcomics by Christopher Galletta
Children's Book co-created by Christopher Galletta and Robert Buchanan
Original Interview Entry for "Classic" ChrusherComix
Chrusher (abbreviation for Christopher The Crusher) Comics [20] is an ongoing serial comic book that began in 1988 by the then 14-year-old High School Cartoonist/High-School-Vigilante Chris Stevens [21] based on loose parodies of himself, his friends, his family, his love interests, and... his enemies. The comics have continued from his high school years (1988-1992) to his supposedly adult times (allegedly this would be 1993-2006), with minor hiatus breaks for other projects, such as Towner [22] and a children's book named Tee and Wee[23].
"It started out as mostly humor, drawn to poke fun at myself and my friends," says the author, Christopher Stevens (who also goes by the pen name of Christopher Galletta). "It just was supposed to be doodles... a joke to pass the time in school. But then something happened. Everybody who saw them wanted to see more. Then word spread. Everybody wanted to be in them after a while... and it got kind of difficult... but a nice problem to have. I made dozens of friends and even a girlfriend or two with my comics. Naturally, a shy guy like myself used whatever he could do to meet new friends and especially ones of the opposite sex... so I drew more and more. Many of the characters are grossly inaccurate caricatures or exaggerated parodies of people I knew, and bare little resemblance to the real-life people I originally parodied other than inspiration for a character," the author said, covering his @$$. Evidence of this popularity is shown in the spin-off of ChrusherComix, known as RaYzor's (S)Hitman Comics [24].
As the series went on, Chris threw in drama, romance, action and adventure, though humor (whether intentional or not) is its main focus.
Chris Crusher - or Chrusher for short - is the star, an artist/vigilante. He later went on to form The Conquerors, a group of justice-loving, freedom-fighting, peacekeeping high scholars. His enemies (and occasional friends) joined Welforce, a group of former welfare cases who were caught stealing from Salvation Army boxes and were hired to then protect them, and they often battled in a "stupid but funny kind of way." Chrusher met dozens and dozens of characters over the years... a story told over 1,000 comic book pages and counting. Most of the original series was filled with senseless violence and humorous mockery, but placed in little installments here and there are seeds to the 2007 graphic novel, End Cycle. "You won't need to read them, but it wouldn't hurt," said the author.
The series went on a small hiatus until it was revived for the webcomic community in late 2005. The Third Era of the comics began in 2007 after every classic 1988-1999 comic was scanned and uploaded from late-2005 through late-2006. It will have stories co-plotted with friends, completely digitally colored and lettered, and dependent on fan interest, publication offers, or donations to see how long it will continue afterward.
"I was amazed that you could put your comics up so easily, and I saw that thousands of people were dong so, whether they had a great product or not. Therefore, after I finished the Tee and Wee project, I figured the time was right. My wife taught me how to make a simple website, and then I went through the exhausting process of digitally re-mastering (scanning, and occasionally re-lettering and/or coloring) and uploading hundreds and hundreds of my comics. It was a task... but I'm quite proud of the efforts. The only thing that frustrates me is the lack of an audience in its first half year of being online. Too much ADD or not enough visibility, I don't know," said the author. He added, "Since I'm married and only have part-time and seasonal work, its lack of money-making also concerns me. Nevertheless, I will do it for fun if nothing else. It's a hit amongst me, my friends, and... Well... ‘’some’’ of my family members."
"It's my non-stop ongoing comic book serial that I've produced for almost two decades; longer than most web cartoonists have been alive. On this website, you can view it from day one; Every archival/amateur/mature-teen issue from 1988-1994 to every semi-pro (1994-96) goofy sketchbook with humor comics(1996-199), and finally my professionally done graphic novel from 2007. Enjoy."
