Mutant Cactus

Mutant Cactus 52 - Week 2

2012-02-08T05:17:00.000-08:00

Week 2 has been inspired by 2 things.

The first was SUPER popular in the mid 90's. I'm talking about the manga/anime series of Sailor Moon. For many of us, Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts was our first introduction to Anime. Below is a magnet/button set inspired by the Sailor Moon manga/anime series. The spotlight artist of the week is Victor Dandridge, of Vantage:InHouseProductions, with his 8 Bit Sailor Moon and ADORABLE 8 Bit Hello Kitty.

All of these items can be found in our ETSY shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/mutantcactus?ref=top_trail

The exceptionally adorable Hair Clips are curtosy of Lil' Rockstar Creations!

We've also got a few MC Vintage sets. The 2nd inspiration is Star Wars: Episode 1's RE-RELEASE this Friday in 3D. There are also a few randomly selected Vintage favorites. Remember, ALL MC Vintage Pin Back Button and Magnets are recycled from OLD comic books.

Tune in next week for MC52 - Week 3... GHOST RIDER will be our guest of honor!

Mutant Cactus 52 - Week 1

2012-01-31T22:44:00.000-08:00

In 2006, DC Comics launched a comic title that was simply called, 52. This title was released weekly for 52 straight weeks. For any regular comic fan this was clearly an ambitious goal, even for publishing giant like DC Comics. As challenging as this goal may have been it was inspiring.

Who says that only a comic publisher can launch a 52 week release?

Today marks the first Mutant Cactus 52 release. Every Wednesday, for the next 52 weeks, there will be several new magnet/button sets available in our Etsy Shop. Each week will focus on a different theme while spotlighting the work of several artists that Mutant Cactus has been fortunate enough to team up with.

Week 1 is inspired by the monumental manga/anime work of Arika Toriyama. Below are several magnet/button sets inspired by the EPIC Dragon Ball Z (DBZ) manga/anime. The spotlight artist of the week is Victor Dandridge, of Vantage:InHouseProductions.

2012

2012-01-25T19:55:00.000-08:00

We have been extremely busy here at Mutant Cactus in preparation for 2012. We will be revealing more details of our 52 week release schedule, which launches February 1st, as well as many, many more projects that are in the works. There will be a detailed blog next week. Stay tuned, it's going to be a great year!!!

Brought to you in part by...

2011-10-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

We are proud to announce that Mutant Cactus will be one of the AWESOME sponsors for Colt Cabana's, The Art of Wrestling podcast. Over the next 8 weeks, we will be receiving a plug during his super popular podcast. You can find his podcast here: http://tsmradio.com/coltcabana/ and here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id385017460?ign-mpt=uo%3D4

As incredible as this sponsorship opportunity may be, it is more important that we support and contribute to this show in any way. Colt Cabana offers this podcast for FREE every week. As life long wrestling fans, we greatly appreciate what he provides the wrestling community. TAOW allows you to learn more about the professional wrestling industry (Indy and WWE) and the Pro Wrestlers that we may or may not know. This is an amazing gift that I hope Colt is able to continue to provide for as long as possible.

To help support The Art of Wrestling podcast or any of Colt Cabana's Pro Wrestling endeavors, hop on over to: http://www.coltmerch.com/ He has some amazing merch that any fan would want love to have. We personally designed 3 of his buttons for him and our good friend and colleague, Victor Dandridge of Vantage:InHouseProductions or http://www.vantageinhouse.blogspot.com/, put together 3 RAD 8-Bit Colt Cabana and Matt Classic designs. You can purchase all of the MC produced button that you see below exclusively on Colt Cabana's site: http://www.coltmerch.com/

Cincinnati Comic Expo

2011-09-16T06:56:00.000-07:00

MC will be attending the Cincinnati Comic Expo this weekend. We'll be setting up our awesome buttons, magnets, earrings and key chains at Table 64 (see map below). We will have some special items with us. First is a few limited addition metallic transformer button sets. These guys are turning out great. We'll be limiting these to 10 sets so get yours while you can!

In addition to the Transformer Metallic sets, Lil Rockstar Creations will be making their con debut. We'll have about a dozen of their comic hair clips available at Table 64! We had 3 Wonder Woman and 3 Harley Quinn sets in our Etsy shop as a test run. They sold out in a matter of days so make sure to stop by to see what LRC has supplied us with.

We'll be starting our Cincinnati Comic Expo experience UEBER early tomorrow morning (5:30am). We're heading south with 2 of our Comic Compatriots, Victor Dandridge (Table 61) of Vantage:InHouseProductions, and "The Arm Wrasslin, Robot Dancin NO MoHawk having'" Ren Mckinzie (Table 60) (artist of V:IP's "The Samaritan").

2011 Fall Con Season

2011-09-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

MC kicked off the 2011 Fall Con Season by attending C4, Champion City Comic Con. Although C4 is a smaller show, it tends to be a more intimate show. It is hosted by Main Street Comic and Games. This was our 3rd trip out to the Springfield based comic con. It was a great feeling to have several of the attendees seek our table out to see our new merch. We're looking forward to hitting C4 in 2012 for the 4th time.

We have 4 more appearances scheduled this fall:

Cincinnati Comic Expo
September 17, 2011 10:00 AM @cincinnaticomic

KOKOMO CON 2011
October 8, 2011 10:00 AM @KOKOMOCON

Wizard World Mid-Ohio Comic Con
October 22, 2011 10:00 AM @midohiocon and @WizardWorld

North East Geek Expo
Nov 5, 2011 @NEgeekExpo_ohio

Creative Team-Up

2011-08-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

2011 has been a big year for Mutant Cactus. Its main focus has been about expansion. We want to supply our fans with a variety of products. We debuted MC key chains and ear rings at the Derby City Comic Con in Kentucky.

We are proud to announce a partnership with Lil Rockstar Creations. LRC is a new company that offers a variety of decorative hair clips, hair bows and head bands. Together, we will be bringing you fantastic Pop Culture hair clips, hair bows and head bands. We will be saling our collaborations at our live shows. You will be able to purchase all of our collaborations online ONLY in Lil Rockstar Creations's Etsy Shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/lilrockstarcreations !!!

Stay tuned for Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Yo Gabba Gabba, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Lantern (Blackest Night) and Zombie Hair Clips.

Big things coming from V:IP in 2011

2011-07-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

Here is some love for one of our sponsors, friends and family members, Vantage In:House. They have some major projects that will debuting soon at a convention near you!!! Take 5 mins to check out their work here: http://www.vantageinhouse.blogspot.com/

Derby City Comic Con RECAP

2011-07-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

MC attended this year's Derby City Comic Con. We held things down in Louisville with our friend and associate, Victor Dandridge, of Vantage:InHouseProductions. What a great show!!! We had a great time and saw a coupla old friends. Here is our shameless plug for Frank Cvetovick creator and writer of Punch-Up and Justin Castaneda, the mastermind of the When I Was Little series. We also debuted some new items, key-chains and earrings, that will be appearing on our Etsy shop very very soon.

Embrace the POWER of the Corps!

2011-07-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

Now available on RedBubble! Order it here: Embrace the POWER of the Corps!

X-Men First Class Midnight Premier

2011-06-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! We'll be setting up at the Movie Tavern TONIGHT for the Midnight premier of X-Men: First Class. We'll be there with our fellow artists Victor Dandridge of, Vantage:InHouse Productions, Ren Mckinzie of Blade's Edge Illustrations and Michael Watson of FreeStyle Komics and studio4hire. So swing by the Movie Tavern tonight after 9pm and buy some awesome buttons and artwork!

ANNOUNCING 1.25 INCH CUSTOM BUTTONS

2011-03-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a recent sponsorship Vantage:InHouse Productions we are PROUD to announce that we are now offering 1.25 Inch Custom Buttons. Below are the current custom button options.

Special thanks again to Vantage:InHouse Productions for their support!

Blue Collar Invasion Season 2 UPDATE

2011-02-14T21:49:00.001-08:00

We just wanted to give a quick update on BCI: Season 2. At this point there are roughly 50 strips plotted out for BCI season 2. Major action planned for Donny and his new friends on the Earth Space Station.

Robert Gant, Creator, writer and artist of BCI is currently working on some major projects for Studio4Hire. As a result, Rob is expecting to take roughly one year away from Blue Collar Invasion.

Although this news is bitter sweet for Mutant Cactus Comics and BCI fans, we all wish Rob the best with this opportunity and look forward to the continuing adventures of Donny in Blue Collar Invasion.

Mutant Cactus Presents: Robert Gant's ZOMBIE CARICATURES

2010-11-07T21:54:00.000-08:00

After a more than successful debut at this weekend's Mid-Ohio-Con, we have decided to take Rob's Zombie Caricatures online!

Zombie Caricatures start at $15 for single people. Each caricature will be a bust (see the example above). Group caricatures are also an option. $10 will be charged for each additional person in a single piece. You must place separate orders if you prefer each person as a separate Caricature.

After placing your order you will need to email a very clear photograph of yourself (or the person you want the caricature of). If the photo is going to have more than one person in it, you will need to have both people in the photo OR email separate photos. Email photos to:

robg1792@hotmail.com

Orders will be shipped with-in 2 business days after photo(s) are received.

Super Kickball Tournament!!!

2010-09-23T15:37:00.000-07:00

su-per
[soo-per]
-adjective
-of the highest degree, power, etc.
-of an extreme or excessive degree.
-Informal . very good; first-rate; excellent.
-(of measurement) superficial.

kick·ball
[kik-bawl]
–noun
-a children's game, similar to baseball, in which a large inflated ball, as a soccer ball, is kicked instead of being batted.

Superheroes inspire 'Super Kickball' benefit

Proceeds will help fund a mobile comic book shop

By Lyndsey Teter (talen from the Other paper online article: The Other Paper)
Published: Thursday, September 23, 2010 10:13 AM EDT

There’s no part of Victor Dandridge’s plan that doesn’t sound fun. The state employee plans to leave his desk job at the Bureau of Workman’s Comp next month to pursue his goal of being a successful comic book entrepreneur.

First, though, there will be a little kickball.
“It’s a little thing I put together,” he said. “It will be the inaugural portrayal of Super Kickball in Columbus.”
Super Kickball, in case you’re wondering, is an event Dandridge concocted that combines kickball and superheroes. The twist is that the rules for each round will be inspired by a different comic book character.

For example, during Multiple Man round (based on the Marvel comic hero), all outfielders will already have a ball in hand, increasing a player’s chances of getting outed while running between bases. During the Bizarro round, players must do everything the opposite of what they normally would do. It’s inspired by the backward Superman-like character from the planet Htrae (“Earth” spelled backward).

“At that point, a home-run kick will cost a team a point,” Dandridge said.

Attending and participating in the game is free, but Dandridge will be accepting donations. And what on Htrae could he be collecting money for?

“I want to raise money to open a mobile comic retail shop,” he said.

Dandridge wants to gut an ice cream truck, replace the annoying circus-inspired jingles with a superhero soundtrack, and fill the thing with comics to sell to Columbus’s South Side neighborhoods.
“I want to bring the comics to the kids, instead of the other way around,” he said.
Super Kickball will be played from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 25) at Sills Ball Park, 3055 Lockbourne Road. Admission is free.

Dandridge grew up in Southfield, and he said that area of town is a wasteland when it comes to comic books.
“There are eight shops in Columbus (including surrounding suburbs) but none on the South Side,” he said.

Proceeds from the mobile shop will supplement the free-lance and self-publishing comic career that Dandridge has finally decided to give a full-time shot. “I told myself I’d do this for one year and see what happens,” he said. As a longtime reader of comic books, Dandridge believes they’re a valuable educational resource that’s mostly untapped. “They promote creativity, artistic expression and innovation,” he said. “They provide a unique way to engage.”

Dandridge wants to be part of a growing national movement that is introducing comic books to both elementary teachers and students. He concedes, however, that the comic book world can be intimidating for the uninitiated.

“When you have comics that have been running 30, 40 or 70 years, that’s a lot of history that people don’t just want to jump into,” he said. But he hopes getting more comic books in the hands of more children—for less than half the price of a movie ticket, he said—will help the craft gain accessibility.

Dandridge would like to piggyback on the success of prominent local creator Jeff Smith, whose work Bone has been used to teach mathematics and creative writing in classrooms across the country.
“First we need to get books in kids’ hands,” he said.
Part of that includes raising a meager $2,500 in capital that he’ll need to run the mobile shop for the first quarter of its existence. In addition to requesting donations at Saturday’s kickball game, Dandridge and a handful of local artists will be on hand selling sketches to help him reach his goal.

If all goes as planned, the mobile shop will be active year-round, even in the dead of winter. He plans to park it near schools and libraries until the warm air returns next summer, he said.

Super Kickball Tournament

Brought to you by Victor Dandridge JR
Saturday, Sept. 25th, 2010
11:00am-4:00pm
Sills Ball Park
3055 Lockbourne Park
Columbus, OH 43207
http://www.wizworldinc.blogspot.com/

2010-09-23T14:30:00.000-07:00

We first posted these Vintage Comic Button sets back in January. I'm an proud to announce that we are down to our last 2 sets. We will be posting more vintage sets in the VERY near future. You can buy our buttons in our Etsy shop located here!

Help for Heroes: Benefit for Hero Initiative

2010-08-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

We will be setting up at Packrat Comics this Saturday to support the "Help for Heroes: Benefit for Hero Initiative." All proceeds will be going to this cause. We will be offering Hero Initiative buttons for donations of at least $1. Every Hero Initiative button will come with a free Mutant Cactus button of your choosing.

Here is more info about the event and the cause.

Packrat Comics will host an evening of awesome events to help raise money for the Help for Heroes: Benefit for Hero Initiative!

Saturday, AUGUST 7th @ 4:00pm - 10:00pm

Events will include:

- Autograph signings

- Costumed Characters! Get your picture taken with them!

- Comic Book Poker Tournament

- Auction

- Artwork for sale by local artists

- Sketches for donation by local artists

Help for Heroes: Benefit for Hero Initiative

Help for Heroes: Benefit for Hero Initiative is a fundraiser effort to help local artist Josh Medors as he continues to battle cancer.

With the help of the Hero Initiative we have created Help for Heroes: 10 days in 2010. A fund-raising effort running from July 29-August 7, 2010.

A variety of central Ohio comic book shops will be hosting events during the "10 days in 2010" run including:

-Donation jars

-Artists to shops doing signings/sketches for donations

-Silent Auction

-Give-A-Ways and Doorprizes

-Photo Opportunities with Costumed Characters

-Poker Tournament

-And More!

Behler Benefit w/ ALL, Legbone, Children of Reagan & Dirty Side Down

2010-08-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

National recording artists, ALL along with Legbone, Children of Reagan and Dirty Side Down will be putting on a show in honor of Rob Behler and his family. Rob has been diagnosed with a rare form of terminal lung cancer. Rob and Laela have been married for nearly 16 years. They are the proud parents of one amazing 13 year old daughter, Miranda. ALL, Legbone, Children of Reagan and Dirty Side Down will be rockin' The Ravari Room for the benefit of this very special family.

Hope you can make it out!

Need more info? check out www.70-71.com and the facebook page

Buttons and T-shirts will be on hand so show your support by picking up some rad merchandise!

White Lantern Pin Back Button

2010-05-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

We are proud to announce that the White Lantern 1 inch Pin Back button is now available for purchase in our store. If you already own our Blackest Night set you can complete it with the single button/pin purchase for only $1 (plus shipping) or if you have not picked this button set yet you can get the whole 9 Button set for only $7 (plus shipping)!!! Go To:

The Official Mutant Cactus Shop!!!

SPACE 2010 Recap

2010-04-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

SPACE 2010 has come to a close. We all met at a new location this year. I personally like the new location. It seemed brighter as well as there being more space (no pun intended).

We debuted some new STAR WARS buttons as well as an experimental tee shirt line featuring our awesome designs. The new buttons did as well as expected. Hop over to our gallery to check those out and keep your eyes on our store to pick up a set if you missed them at SPACE. The Tee's received a TON of attention and it was exceptionally clear that we need to make our focus on children's apparel. So coming very very soon to the MC Store will be all our new T-shirts for kids.

We got a lot of solid feedback on Tales of Awesome #1. For all the new MC fans, ToA #1 debuted at Mid Ohio Con 2009. We were pleased with the overall reception at MOC however we did not get a lot of feedback. It felt great to have all of our fellow creators stop by and let us know how much they enjoyed the book. If you have not yet purchased a copy of ToA #1, you can do so here: Tales of Awesome #1 for only $3 (plus shipping)!!!

Rob's Blue Collar Invasion is picking up steam and I think it's safe to say that there are several people looking forward to the BCI: Day One Collected Edition (available this fall). Be sure to check back here tomorrow for Episode 20!

Last but not least were all the great people we met! We also go to see a lot of cool people that we have not seen since Mid Ohio Con. We all had a chance to see some great art and up coming projects. If you get a chance be sure to checkout these awesome people and the work.

First Our Neighbors as SPACE:

GO FRANK GO!

Frank was there with his awesome Punch-Up and Skottie Rocket, Gay Space Pirate. Punch Up is a title that Frank is still working on and that I think all indy fans should keep their eyes out for. I'm honestly looking forward to the completed graphic novel. Skottie Rocket had me chuckling at the first panel.

Michael Harris

I picked up Murder Bullets for only $2 I think. This was a collab piece by him and Go Frank Go. Funny read with great art.

David Brame

I have never met an artist that truly cranks out incredible QUALITY artwork at the rate Dave does. If you see his name on a project you are sure to be in for a good ride.

Wiz World Inc.

Victor was there selling his book "Doing a Bid" and helping to promote Packrat Comics' Free comic book day EXTRAVAGANZA!

... now in no particular order...

Robert Forest has some great art. I'm looking forward to his current urban legend themed project that he and his writer are planning to have at Mid Ohio this year. I'll be picking up some of his prints very soon. Check him out here: Robert Forest

Justin Castaneda's "When I was little" and his new "When You were Little" is incredible. Again I'll be picking up some of his PIXAR prints ASAP. Check him out here: http://justincastaneda.blogspot.com/

Jay Jacot has some amazing work. His 24 hour comic, The Chase: A twist of fate, is honestly the best 24 hour comic I've seen yet. I've honestly not had time to read through his "The Tao of Snarky" in the 4 issues of Comics Obscura that I picked up. The art was great and if the quality of story is anywhere near Snarky I have no doubt I'm in for a treat. He's got a few more projects in the works. Check his work out here: Jay Jacot Blogs

HUGE thanx to the incredibly nice guys from Spy Guy. Check out Mike Kitchen and ULTRAIST Studios work here: SPY GUY

Now simply because this blog is longer than expected:

Ryan Claytor's Elephant Eater Comics

Kassandra Heller at http://kass204.blogspot.com/

Kris Lachowski at Mean Goat Comics(CONGRATS again!!!)

Grace Cichy at North of Gravity Studios

Super Friendly Garlic available at www.colintedford.com. You made me laugh!

That's it for now. See you soon!

-MC Crew!!!

Introducing VINTAGE Comic Buttons

2010-01-24T21:01:00.000-08:00

It has been an extremely busy week here at MC. We've been extremely hard at work to release our newest option in comic buttons. We like to call these, VINTAGE Comic Buttons. Each button is a 1 Inch Pin Back Button. The best part is that every set we have put together is extremely affordable and available for purchase at our Official Mutant Cactus Shop! The coolest thing about each one of these buttons is that they are ONE OF A KIND!!!

Mutant Cactus Shop is NOW OPEN

2010-01-23T23:37:00.001-08:00

Our presence on ETSY.com has been a long time coming. The Mutant Cactus Shop is officially open at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/mutantcactus

There will be MANY MANY more items coming to our shop VERY soon. Be sure to check it out on a daily basis!!!

Season Greetings from the Mutant Cactus team!!!

2009-12-22T23:48:00.000-08:00

A few weeks have passed since the last BCI strip was posted. There are a couple reasons behind the delay. The first is that Robert Gant, the creator/artist/writer, has decided to change up the format/persentation. You will now be seeing the new strips posted every Wednesday and it will be a full comic page as apposed to a single strip. This has a lot of benefits and we think it will help move the story along faster (AH the beauty and flexibility of creator owned, small press work!). In addition to that I've been rather pre-occupied with my new baby boy. With the new format it is easier for me to keep up with the letters and all post production work. At any rate, above is the new BCI strip. Be sure to stop by next week for Episode 10.

The HERO Initiative

2009-12-10T20:08:00.000-08:00

At this year's Mid-Ohio-Con we were proud to begin offering the first of our charity buttons/magnets. We started with the HERO Initiative. Here's a bit more info about the HERO Initiative:

"The Hero Initiative creates a financial safety net for comic creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. Since inception, the Hero Initiative has been fortunate enough to benefit over 40 creators and their families with over $400,000 worth of much-needed aid, fueled by your contributions! It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment."

We were selling 1" HERO Initiative buttons at our table in Creators' Common. We donated all proceeds at the end of the show to our local HERO reps, Craig and Sandy Wetterman. In addition, we donated a collection of our buttons and a copy of Tales of Awesome #1 to HERO to auction off. It was just about 150 buttons in total. Congratulations to Maggie Thompson, the Senior Editor of Comic Buyer's Guide, for winning this awesome button collection. It was also extremely cool to see such support from Maggie and MANY MANY others for the HERO Initiative.

If you missed us at Mid-Ohio now you can help the HERO Initiative. How you ask? There are 2 ways. The first is to go to HERO Initiative's webpage and make a donation directly. Check out all of the cool donation packages that they offer.

You can also help HERO by purchasing one of these AWESOME HERO Initiative Buttons or Magnets (or both) for only $1 EACH! ALL proceeds are donated directly to the HERO initiative.

Mutant Cactus Blackest Night Buttons, Magnets and Rings?

2009-11-30T19:30:00.001-08:00

We've received a lot of requests for our Blackest Night Buttons and Magnets. To make the ordering process a bit easier we decided to toss them up on the site. The first link is to order a complete set of the 1" Buttons or 1" Magnets for only $8!

If your browser wil not allow you to add multiple items to your cart simply refresh this page

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!!! (I've always wanted to say that) Very soon we will be making our own Blackest Night Costume Rings available for purchase. Below is a sneak peek!

Mutant Cactus Comics Presents: Blue Collar Invasion

2009-10-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

Click Here to Read More!

Have you read Tales of Awesome #1?

2009-10-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

Have you read Tales of Awesome #1?

If you have we want to know what you think. Did you like? Did you love it? Did you hate it? Most importantly please tell us why you feel the way you do, regardless of whether you liked it or hated it. We want to continue to improve our skills in every aspect so that we can provide the best reading experience possible. You can leave your thoughts and comments directly here on the blog in the comments section. Or feel free to email us at mutant.cactus@gmail.com. Thanks in advance for all the feedback.

-Danny

Mutant Cactus

Mid-Ohio-Con 2009 Re-Cap

2009-10-05T21:31:00.001-07:00

Mid-Ohio-Con 2009 has come and gone. It was an amazingly busy

and successful weekend. Our 2nd appearance at the Mid-Ohio-Con went extremely well. We met some extremely cool people and had a chance to hang-out with some old friends.

2009 has been a big year for Mutant Cactus. We welcomed our 3rd member, MR Robert "Gant-Tor" Gant, into the MC family. With the addition of his

AMAZING art skills, coupled with Derek's AWESOME writing style and my, "O.C.D." like demand for perfection to the smallest detail we have been able to launch our official comic line, MUTANT CACTUS COMICS!!! A TON of hard work made our dreams become a reality as we debuted our launch title "Tales of Awesome!" The book was very well received and we even got a lot of good feedback. There are a lot of people that we need to thank for the successes of ToA #1 as well as thank them for the possibility of it's existence.

First, obviously is our family and friends whom without their love and support we would not have been able to make it through the long nights. Second is our local comic shop Packrat Comics. Teresa and Jamie have been amazingly supportive of everything we do. We are still amazed and extremely thankful for all of their support. Not only have they sponsored an ad in ToA #1, they sponsored the printing and creation of a variant VIP Packrat Exclusive at Mid-Ohio. They followed that up by purchasing additional copies of ToA to sell in their shop. For those that are not too sure of exactly WHO Packrat Comics is, maybe this will help...

Did I mention that they are now carrying Tales of Awesome #1? (shameless plug I know...)

In addition to ToA #1, we were able to sell a lot of buttons. It

was REALLY REALLY cool to have fans coming up to our table telling us they bought buttons last year and they were looking forward to this year's MOC to get more. Every compliment that we got felt great and every request has me extremely inspired to knockout some new buttons.

As I mentioned before we met some cool people and hung out with some old friends. Justin Castaneda, Jay Jacot and Rob Forest were some really cool guys that we had the pleasure of being table mates with all weekend. Justin even did a really cool sketch of our logo! You've gotta check out what these guys are working on. I can not wait to see what Justin is going to be doing with his children's book "When You Were Little" If you are a fan of NOIR pick-up E.G.G. created and illustrated by Robert Forest (written by Joshua D. Boeringa). I was personally in love with Jay's 24 hour comic "The Chase A Twist of Fate." Be sure to check-out their pages for more cool info.

It was great to see Victor Dandridge and Mike Watson of Freestyle Komics. They provided a lot of entertainment and fun as usual. I think we'll be seeing their "Sketch Battles" become a constant at up-coming cons. Let's not forget MR Ruffhouse himself Ren Mckinzie of Blade's Edge Illustration, whom if I'm not mistaken holds the most victories in the Sketch Battles held this past weekend.

Overall it was a great con and I'm looking forward to 2010!

-Danny

Mutant Cactus

mutant.cactus@gmail.com

Tales of Awesome T-Shirt

2009-10-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

We are super happy to offer the official Tales of Awesome T-Shirt. Carrying an extremely affordable price tag of ONLY $10 (XXL + $2) this is a shirt that you MUST HAVE! This perfect fitting Black-T sports the official Mutant Cactus Logo on the front accompanied by the ultra cool TALES OF AWESOME Graphic on the back. Order yours TODAY!

NOTE: Sizes tend to run a half size smaller than labeled.

Pre Mid-Ohio Comic Con Party at Packrat Comics

2009-09-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

Pre Mid-Ohio Comic Con Party at Packrat Comics

October 2, 2009 @7:00pm

The 29th annual Mid Ohio Con really begins on Friday night at the House of Power, a party given by Packrat Comics, Hilliard' finest and most indy friendly comic book shop. The guys at the HOP not only will have FREE FOOD AND DRINKS , but also has the rock band Seven Book Trilogy. Open to fans and pros alike. 4,000 square foot of comic paradise!

Special Guests to be announced

Free Food,Drinks & Free Transportation from the Convention Center

Comic Book Poker Tournament Buy In 35 dollar back issues for only $25.00.

And don't forget the Annex with over 200,000 comic books for only a dollar each!

3872 Lattimer Street, Hilliard , Ohio 43026

www.packratcomics.com

(614) 527-8450

Tales of Awesome #1 Preview

2009-09-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

Below is the official 6-page preview of Tales of Awesome #1. Issue one will be available at Mid-Ohio-Con on October 3rd. You can also pre-order the book now for ONLY $3 ($5 total including shipping-Pre-Order below). All pre-orders will ship on October 2nd!!!

Pre-Order Options

HUGE Weekend!!!

2009-09-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a HUGE weekend for Mutant Cactus. On Saturday the 12th, Mutant Cactus officially turned 1 Year Old!!! It's been a great year and we've accomplished a lot. We have a TON of things planned for our second year that are going to be AWESOME!!!

As a great way to celebrate our 1st birthday we decided to not only to return to location of our first show, ACEC 2009, but we attended the newest comic con, Champion City Con.

Derek attended the ACEC show and had a lot

of fun. He met some cool people including the creator of an old school video game system (who was nice enough to dis-assemble Derek's old system and even fix it for him). It was a lot of fun. If you are an old school gaming fan than you have got to check out the ACEC show in 2010!!!

Danny attended he very first Champion City Con in Springfield, Ohio. It was a great show. I had a great time and I am really looking forward to next year. I was able to hang out with some old friends and meet some really nice people. I was also able to display our official preview of Tales of Awesome #1! I got some great feedback onthe book and it sounds like there are some people looking to pick it up at Mid-Ohio!

This pic just might be the BEST WORST I've taken yet!!! Thanks to Mike from FSK for stopping by from time to time to keep me company!

Pre-Order Tales of Awesome Today

2009-09-11T23:10:00.000-07:00

Now you can pre-order your very own copy of Tales of Awesome #1 for only $3 plus shipping and handling!!! Mutant Cactus Comics' launch title will be making it's debut at the 2009 Mid-Ohio-Con. If you are not going to make it to this years con be sure to pre-order your copy TODAY!!!

Mutant Cactus Comics Presents: Tales of Awesome #1 Mid-Ohio-Con Varaiant (Packrat Comics Exclusive)

2009-09-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

We are extremely excited to finally reveal the variant cover to Tales of Awesome #1. Tales of Awesome #1: Primary Directive, debuts the classic story telling style of Derek Watson that is complimented by the amazing pencils, inks and colors of Robert Gant with the final production touches by Danny Cooper. There is only one way to get a copy of this snazzy book. How is that you ask? All VIP Weekend Pass holders for this years Mid-Ohio-Con will receive this book for FREE!!! That's right, FREE!!! It is limited to only 100 copies so order your VIP Pass NOW!!!

Special thanks to Packrat Comics for their support and sponsorship of this variant. Be sure to stop by their booth to check-out all the cool stuff they'll have this year's Mid-Ohio-Con!

Mutant Cactus Comics Presents: Tales of Awesome #1

2009-08-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

We are proud to finally announce the Mutant Cactus Comics label. Our goal is to provide an awesome comic experience for an affordable price. This project has been in the works for a while. There have been a lot of long and busy nights getting this comic line off the ground.

What would a comic label be without a title? We give you our launch title, Tales of Awesome #1! ToA #1 will be available at the Mid-Ohio-Con this October (Oct. 3-4) and in comic shops the following Wednesday. With the story by our very own Derek Watson and the amazing art of MC's newest member, Robert Gant, ToA #1 is sure to thrill and awe all comic fans! This is a book you do not want to miss. Below is a preview of cover for ToA #1.

If you are interested in picking up this title for the SUPER affordable price of $3, please send us an email at mutant.cactus@gmail.com

ZOMBIES!

2009-08-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

Mutant Cactus is proud to present ZOMBIES series one featuring artwork from our very own Rob Gant! Stay tuned for the upcoming series 2 ZOMBIES set and Stay Rad...OR ELSE!

Harry Potter

2009-08-23T16:03:00.000-07:00

Mutant Cactus is proud to present our take on the popular Harry Potter series. If you enjoy the hair raising adventures of Harry and his pals in the school of Hogwarts then check these out and let us know what you think!

Hard At Work

2009-08-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed we haven't updated Mutant Cactus Blogs in a little while. No need to fear as we have simply been busy putting together some major projects for this year. We have some very exciting things to announce and we hope that you will be just as excited as we are (we certainly hope so!)as we show you what we have been working on in the next coming weeks. Stay tuned and as always Stay Rad!

2009-06-17T15:59:00.000-07:00

Attention!! Attention!! Mutant Cactus is proud to present The Columbus chapter of the Drink and Draw Social Club. Every other monday join us as we gather at a local bar and sketch, illustrate and or just scribble while enjoying a few drinks.

The First one will take place on monday June 22nd at Byrnes Pub at 7:00 pm. Byrnes Pub is located at 1238 West 3rd Ave. Columbus OH 43212.

p.s. If you dont already know me ill be This guy

Yeah i know i need a haircut no need to rub it in.

Transformers: Series 1 has arrived!!!

2009-06-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

Series 1 is complete... and just in time for Transformers 2! I may actually re-visit a few of these buttons and touch them up in Illustrator. I'm very happy about how they turned out! Sereis 2 will be available very soon!

Grandview Art Hop!

2009-06-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to all those who stopped out at the latest Grandview Art Hop. Although the weather stayed fairly calm most of the day, high fives are in order for those who tried to hide from the rain with us (you rock!)

The Grandview Art Hop is the last Saturday of every month, so stop out and catch all the activities!

Transformers: Series 1 is coming...

2009-06-09T20:41:00.001-07:00

With Transformers 2 just around the corner we felt it necessary to put together a Transformers line. Series 1 will feature a total of 8 designs, 4 Autobots and 4 Decepticons. You can see a sneak peak of all the preliminary designs at our deviant art site: If you'd like to pre-order the set just email us at: mutant.cactus@gmail.com

Consider these a tease...

No need to worry if your favorite Transformer does not make it into this series. We will releasing Series 2 VERY soon.

NERD DAY!

2009-05-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

Mutant Cactus was in Hilliard at Packrat Comics for Free Comic Book Day. The day involved free comic books, guest appearances from Mickey Mouse, Kung Fu Panda, and some very brave men in Spider-man costumes. Also a ska band (a good one!)rocked out in the parking lot and next door at Mama Lia's they were selling some of the best pizza had by the slice. NERD DAY! was an absolute blast and we thank Packrat Comics for letting us set up and enjoy the festivities. Super thanks go out to Freestyle Komics for sharing a table and germs with us. Get well soon Mike!

...buy Mutant Cactus buttons at Dave's Clubhouse!!!

2009-04-29T18:05:00.001-07:00

That's right, we just finished our first order for Dave's Clubhouse! If you do not know where the shop is, here is the store info:

Dave's Clubhouse

Comics & Games

1538 Brice Rd.

Reynoldsburg, OH 43068

(614)751-5008

Store Hours

Mon - Fri: Noon to 8pm

Sat: 11am to 8pm

Sun: 1pm to 6pm

Other than being exceptionally awesome by carrying our SUPER cool buttons, it is a great comic shop. The shop is very inviting with a homey feel to it. They offer a lot of what you might need from the latest comics, books by local talent like FSK's HOTSHOT, a nice array of graphic novels and cool RPG games/supplies. Be sure to stop by Dave's Clubhouse and tell Doug behind the counter Mutant Cactus says "Hello" and as always...

STAY RAD!

Mutant Cactus at the Grandview Hop!

2009-04-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

Mutant Cactus will be present at the first Grandview Hop of the season! Enjoy your beautiful weekend weather with local artists and musicians. The event runs from 5-9pm this Saturday on the Avenue in Grandview Heights. Make sure to stop by and see our new designs and as always stay rad!

Comic Related weighs in!

2009-04-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

""...the coolest Comic Related buttons, pins, and magnets you will ever find."

-Comic Related

I'm sure you can imagine just how excited we were when we read these words on the Comic Related website. Major thanks to Comic Related for the nod on their review of S.P.A.C.E.!

S.P.A.C.E. 2009 has come to a close!

2009-04-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

S.P.A.C.E. 2009 has come to a close. It was a great weekend. Beautiful weather, for the most part, to get out and support your local and some not-so-local small press creators. We met some super cool people that we are looking forward to possibly working with a few of them in the future.

Major thanks to the guys from Freestyle Komics for their support who was ALWAYS willing to send people our way. Whether it was fans that had stopped by to check out their comic HOTSHOT or during one of their many announcements. Thanks again!!!

Check-out Comic Related for more detailed breakdowns and interviews from S.P.A.C.E.

We almost forgot... SUPER BIG thanks to everyone that came out! Especially MR. MUSTACCHIO who made that extra long awesome food run for us. We do love our Burger King. Thanks again and we'll see you all at the next show!

S.P.A.C.E. is upon us... MC will be there!!!

2009-04-17T21:20:00.001-07:00

Mutant Cactus will be at S.P.A.C.E. (Small Press Alternative Comics Expo) this weekend. Be sure to stop by our table and pick-up some of our super cool buttons/magnets.

SPACE 2009 April 18 & 19, 2009 at the Aladdin Shrine Center, Columbus.

10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Saturday and
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Sunday

Admission $5.00 for one day and $8.00 for both

Aladdin Shrine Complex

Multipurpose Room

3850 Stelzer Rd. Columbus OH

Off I 270 near the Easton Towne Centre

The Brush Experience

2009-04-07T19:22:00.001-07:00

MC made it out to this past weekend's art event "The Brush Experience." It is an awesome experience that is pulled together by Mr. Marshall Shorts. We were honored when Marshall commissioned MC to do some buttons for this month's event.

It was also a very special event as this month's Brush Experience highlighted comic artwork... more specifically FSK's HOTSHOT. We made an appearance to show our love and support. For more info on the event and up-coming events, check-out the official facebook fan page for The Brush Experience. To see more photos from the event check-out Mike Watson's (FSK's Founder, HOTHSOT Creator and Artist)personal facebook photo galleries. He has about 180 pics up from the event.

HOTSHOT #1 Remix signing and MC VERSUS Button Sets Debut

2009-04-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

We'd like to first congratulate FSK on their succseful release of HOTSHOT #1 Remix. The signing was awesome and Mike really pulled things together. They sold a TON of books yesterady and may very well be on their way to a 2nd printing. It was really great to see a comic shop like Dave's Clubhouse support local talent.

We were extremely pleased to be given the opportunity to debut our new VERSUS button sets at the signing. Mike Watson, the founder & creator of FSK as well as the creator and artist of HOTSHOT, was exhibiting the first VERSUS set featuring HOTSHOT vs Void. It was pretty cool to sit on the sidelines for a couple hours with Mike.

Again big thanks to FSK for the opportunity. I met some REALLY cool people and maybe even opened a few doors to future business opportunities.

-Danny Cooper
MC

HOTSHOT remix!

2009-03-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

Freestyle Komics will be at Dave's Club House on April 1st. Make sure to stop in and pick up an issue of HOTSHOT (and get it signed by the creator, artist and writer!). Sketches and commissions will be done at the event by the FSK crew.

While there also check out the new and completely awesome versus pack from Mutant Cactus, featuring Freestyle's own Hotshot and Void. If that's not enough of a reason to stop by there will be food and drinks available..we all know you have to eat sometime, so why not make it April the 1st at Dave's Club House?! Stop in for some fun and avoid starving to death. Awesome combo!

Arena Con!

2009-03-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

The weekend of March 6th and 7th, Mutant Cactus made it's appearance at the Arena Grand Movie theater. Arena Con featured awesome artwork by Victor Dandridge Jr. and Michael J. Watson from Freestyle Komics. Make sure to check out their comic HOTSHOT which will be making it's debut at local comic shops around Columbus April 1st! Also present was S.P.A.C.E. (the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo) who, as always, put on an awesome event themselves. Check out S.P.A.C.E. April 18th & 19th! Future Arena Con events will tie in with movies such as Dragon Ball, Wolverine and Terminator Salvation. So come to the Arena Grand movie theater to enjoy a film and support the local comic book scene!