I have been enjoying drawing this He Man parody book for the last two months. My son has recently discovered my old He Man toys in the basement and it made me realize how crazy the toys were, not to mention the show. After checking out a few episodes on youtube I just and to play with this universe. Let's keep it real, He Man is a BARBARIAN. All of these characters are essentially muscle-bound barbarians. We never saw them actually fighting in the cartoons because they were not allowed to show that sort of violence in cartoons at the time. The new comics from DC have tried to reinterpret the franchise but personally it really falls short to me. So this parody comic (or fan comic) is an exercise for me to reimagine that world as an adult and have fun with line and color.

Though there is no foul language or sex int his comic, I wouldn't suggest this for kids. It has a lot of cartoon gore and violence.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Not Your Dad’s He-Man:

Masters of the Universe Gets a Bloody Grindhouse Make-Over in New Fan-Comic

“By the power of Grayskull, I have the Power!” But what if he didn’t? Grayskull Grindhouse twists the sentimental narrative of everyone’s favorite Master of the Universe in horribly violent and uncomfortable places. A mix between an underground fan-comic and a grindhouse movie, the 28-page comic by Michael LaRiccia depicts He-Man furiously venturing across Eternia for a final confrontation with his classic nemesis Skeletor. The difference in this story is that all bets are off, no mercy, no sword play, just  cold gorey revenge for the brutal torturing and slaying of Battlecat and He-Man’s beloved...Clamp Champ.

Grayskull Grindhouse is a fan-comic created by Michael LaRiccia (www.michaellariccia.com) and serialized on Strange Kids Club, a home for retro gamers, toy and comic collectors, and eighties cartoons. When asked why he chose to create a fan-comic for He-Man in such a way, LaRiccia responded:

“I recently broke out my old He-Man toys for my 5 year old son and he just loved them. He had never seen the cartoon. It made me think about what it was that was so exciting about the MOTU universe as a kid. I started looking at the design of the characters and realized it was a perfect recipe for little boys: Sci-fi, magic, fantasy, it had everything. I wanted to make a story that capture that excitement and craziness but for adults, and also reflected the world we live in today.”

Grayskull Grindhouse posts every Tuesday and Thursday on http://www.strangekidsclub.com.

About the author:

Michael LaRiccia is a graphic designer, illustrator, comic book artist, and writer. He received a BFA and MFA in printmaking. In 2005 he was a recipient of the Xeric grant, an award for comic book self-publishers, and has published several titles including: Black Mane, The Death of Black Mane and the Feared Self, Satori, DISCO, TOO FAST: The Story of Blood Billin, Pirahnaz, and Tangled Planet. In the past he has done work for educational publishers, theaters, children's books, and universities. Currently working on multiple comic book and illustration projects, LaRiccia periodically teaches cartooning for children and exhibits at alternative comics conferences on the east coast. More at www.michaellariccia.com.

About the website:

Strange Kids Club—an online digest of the strange, geeky and subversive—has been dumpster diving through the underbelly of pop culture nostalgia since 2009. Founded by Rondal Scott, Strange Kids Club began life as an art and culture blog but has since grown into a lifestyle brand focused on comics, toys, film, animation and fashion. While the website delivers a daily dose of satirical and totally biased opinions on entertainment news, the brand is also committed to producing original content which includes comics, magazines, collectible art prints, spoof stickers, digital trading cards and parody apparel.

##

The first part of Tangled Planet was published early May 2014 and debut at the Maine Comics and Arts festival May 18. Plans to release the book digitally are underway as well as crowd funding to do a larger print run. Stay tuned for more info.

SYNOPSIS

Michael, a four-year-old boy beyond his years, lands on a strange planet in search of his missing father. Upon climbing out of his spaceship he realizes the mystery of his father’s disappearance is far stranger than previously known. A completely transformed planetary environment hides the secret of his missing father and the team of scientists who were his colleagues. With the help of his mother, Ann Marie, from the starship miles above, Michael journeys deep into the physically tangled planet encountering fascinating beings, magical phenomena, and a danger that will change his life forever

*This book is intended for adult audiences due to language and cartoon violence.*

Two years in the making, Pirahnaz is my love letter to that era of comics affectionately referred to as the Dark Age...the 90's. If you ever read X-Force, X-men, Youngblood, Deathblow, Brigade, etc...you'll enjoy this. But don't worry, it doesn't take itself seriously.

Created by: Michael LaRiccia
Price: $3.99

Vicious barbarian Blood Billin finds himself stranded on a tropical island after a horrific shipwreck. Just as he finds new freedom from his deceased nautical jailers he discovers a new land full of dangers set on testing him. Through three confrontations with inhabitants on the island, Blood is forced to look inward and rethink his life of anarchy. A story of identity, redemption, and purpose.

Purchase on Comixology: http://cmxl.gy/1hzuktv

*This book is intended for adult audiences due to language and cartoon violence.*

Written by: Matt Weber
Art by: Michael LaRiccia
Price: $1.99

Satori follows the quest of an aging Samurai as he travels to the present day to search for his sister who has stolen a magic sword. Issue one places him at a swap meet in Tuscon Arizona where he is forced to make some compromising decisions. Written by Dr. Matt Weber with art by Michael LaRiccia 

Buy now on comiXology!

*This book is intended for adult audiences due to language and cartoon violence.*

Out of print. Soon to be released digitally.

Mike, a newly hired Corporate Sales representative for a large chain bookstore, realizes that the new position he has acquired is in fact a bad career choice. He struggles with when and how he will leave the situation, especially without another job lined up. During this time, his overwrought fiancé battles a severe stomach illness while trying to complete a doctoral program at a competitive Ivy League school. At work, Mike’s trainer, Will, who was the previous Corporate Sales Representative, finds his only true happiness when playing online fantasy role playing games in the basement of his parents’ house. He lets off steam by assuming the character of Blood Billin, a savage hulking barbarian who we get to see in action.

All three characters find themselves trapped in situations that they desperately want to escape and wrestle with the reality of how much control they truly have in their lives. Mike’s introspection into his own dilemma takes center stage in the book and is illustrated through an epic dream sequence, portraying a metaphor for his journey in the “real world”. In his dreams, he is a beast hunter who is summoned from a foreign land by a Viking camp to hunt and kill a creature called Black Mane who has been terrorizing and murdering the people of the Viking village. When a leviathan kills all of the Vikings, except their leader, the beast hunter makes the decision to forge ahead with the hunt for Black Mane.

The graphic novel chronicles these characters while critically examining themes of masculinity and identity. These themes are explored through a mosaic graphic language that can be both humorous and somber. Readers will finishThe Death of Black Mane and the Feared Self reflecting upon their own lives and challenging themselves to find happiness in their present situation.

*This book is intended for adult audiences due to language and cartoon violence.*

LaRiccia makes his comics debut with his 96 page graphic novel. Black Mane confronts issues of race and gender through the authors self-depracating self-portrait. The story is set in Boston Massachusetts during a summer break from graduate school in the midwest.  LaRiccia works at a T-shirt stand on the waterfront and lives in an apartment in Brookline. The banality of his life is contrasted with the consistent presence of volatile male characters: Hyper testosterone jocks, chauvinistic abusers and entitled alpha males.

In public Michael deals with these figures through contemplation and reason; in his most private thoughts he revels in the fantasy of resolving these situations with the immediacy and energy of violence. This resolve is accomplished by his own fantasy hitman, Black Mane, a man/lion hybrid cloaked in midnight black fur.

His frustration and confusion  accumulate even more from the constant presence of racial characterization. Horrifically hot summer days at the waterfront, a camping trip with old friends, a fantasy dream in ancient Greece and a dangerous night in a night club are some of the scenarios which challenge the ideas and values of the main character.

Black Mane incorporates the social potential of comic books to address immediately important social issues. Humor and horror combine to construct a conversation about social constructs of masculinity and the constant presence of racial characterization.

Email publisher for purchasing information at mike.lariccia(at)gmail.com