If you are an illustrator and love comics, this contest is for you!!!

Alright, unless you've been living in some dark cave, you know about the upcoming JETTA / SHI: ARROW OF DESTINY crossover that will be hitting comic stores and http://www.toshigawa.com”" target=_new>TOSHIGAWA.COM this July. To show some fan appreciation, we at MAW Productions in conjunction with Billy Tucci have decided to hold an art contest.

JETTA / SHI: ARROW OF DESTINY (July 2008)
After years of undisturbed peace, an unknown evil threatens Honno-Ji again. Tenkai, a mysterious monk, must call on the help of a descendant of the Sohei (Shi) & the descendant of the Toshigawa (Jetta) to honor an age-old promise to protect the Arrow of Nobunaga.

To celebrate, we are holding an art contest at http://www.toshigawa.com”" target%

Good news, good news!

Partnering with IDW (publisher of “Transformers” and “30 Days of Night” comic books) and Hasbro (makers of G.I.Joe & Star Wars toys), http://martheus.deviantart.com”" target=_new>Martheus Wade (of MAW Productions, most famous for Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa) will be doing art on comic books to be inserted with packaged Action Man action figures. Keep a watch out at http://www.toshigawa.com”" target=_new>www.toshigawa.com for more information.

And MAW Productions’ very own editor, Kevin Williams, will be heading out to Santa Rosa, CA, in two weeks as special guest speaker for the Charles Schulz Museum!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

http://www.muleythemule.com”" target=_new>www.muleythemule.com

Contact:
Kevin L. Williams
POB 770397
Memphis, TN 38177-0397
Muleytmule@hotmail.com

MULEY THE MULE GOES PEA-NUTS AT THE SCHULZ MUSEUM

Memphis, TN: March 21, 2008 - In a new trip to California, Kevin L. Williams, creator of Muley’s Comix and Stories, will be appearing at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA, on Saturday, April 12, 2008, 1 pm - 3 pm. Muley the Mule was directly inspired by the work of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strips.

The visitation came about when Kevin met members of the CMS Museum at San Diego Comic Con in July 2007. After a discussion how Charles Schulz influenced him his whole life and that he planned to come out to Santa Rosa a few days in 2008 to visit the museum, Kevin was invited out to speak as Cartoonist in Residence.

“Muley’s Comix and Stories can be considered an amalgamation of Peanuts and The Muppets,” says Kevin. “The point of it all is that all these zany characters who are having a good time being mischievous or solemn, with something or nothing to say. It’s all about fun and being happy--that’s why I do it, and that’s what I want folks to feel when they read the comic strips or stories.”

Muley’s Comix and Stories have appeared in all forms of media, from newspapers to magazines to international journals, traveling internationally on the world wide web, along with videos of the characters brought to life.

“With the puppets you can see the Jim Henson influence,” Kevin said, “but there is always the underlying tone you get reading Peanuts that shines in the Muley puppet videos.”

Some comic stories are, like Schulz’s strips, biographical while others are inspired by other people’s stories. “The http://www.charlesmsculzmuseum.org”" target=_new>Schulz Museum’s website has one of my favorite comic strips where Muley and Hector are looking at a fish in a bowl. Muley asks, ‘What kind of fish is this?’ Hector answers, ‘Beta.” After a pause, Muley asks, “Does it come in VHS?’ This was the exact dialogue I had in a conversation with a friend.” Kevin remembers another one that is directly influenced by Schulz, “Lucy is reading a book and puts it down saying, ‘Good story, but too many characters to follow.’ It was the dictionary! It inspired a book where Muley reads, and the text is over his head, ‘See Tom? See Tom run? Run, Tom, run!’ and Muley gets more and more concerned as the story develops and shouts, “Get outta there, Tom!”

This trip is indeed an honor for Kevin and a chance to carry the message of the Mid-South Cartoonists Association across the country. As President of the MSCA, Kevin says, “Our focus as a group is to reinforce that cartoon is art, and membership is open to professionals, amateurs, and folks who just like comics!” The MSCA is a group of the Southeastern Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society.

“I’m excited to be a part of a program at the Charles Schulz Museum,” stated Kevin. “I hope that whatever presentation I make leaves people feeling happy, energized, and inspired. I want people to go out into the world and do something positive to influence others to do good things and continue the inspiration Schulz gave me.”

Kevin L. Williams is founder of Kevin L. Williams Productions and creator of Muley the Mule and Friends (comics and puppets). He has served since 2000 as President of the Mid-South Cartoonists Association, a subchapter of the National Cartoonists’ Society’s Southeastern Chapter, co-chairing events and art shows on behalf of the MSCA as well as other groups and associations. He has had comics published in local and international publications, been seen in print and video around the world on the internet, appeared on radio and national television, and auditioned with the Jim Henson Company, Sesame Workshop and the Walt Disney Company. Since 1995, he has been editor of http://www.toshigawa.com”" target=_new>MAW Productions’ Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa, and has contributed to works and shows of other friends.

Muleton Mule, Jr. (Muley the Mule), has been published and viewed in nearly all forms of media: print, radio, television, stage, and radio. Muley has served as the Official SpokesMule of the Ronald McDonald House of Memphis since 2003 and co-hosted many of the events with radio stations and television stations. Most recently, he was seen nationwide on the TV Guide Channel, veoh.com, and in the first issue re-launch of Muley’s Comix and Stories, a book described as “When The Muppets meet Peanuts.”

Both have appeared at numerous conventions, on stage, and performed for many audiences as well as conducted workshops and puppetry classes.

More information can be found at http://www.muleythemule.com”" target=_new>www.muleythemule.com.

###

for months now i've been talking about the War of Independents & the big Jetta/Shi crossover that's coming out this summer.  the whole purpose of the War of Independents was to bring together a number of participating independent comic book artists/writers/creators/publishers as a singular force to be reckoned w/; to bring attention to the little guys.  you know, the 1s who don't have big contracts w/ marvel/dc, the 1s who aren't distributed by diamond coughcough, the 1s who work 9-5 jobs & still find time to work on their comics @ nite & over the weekends, the 1s who pass on that vacation in the bahamas/buying the new ps3 to save their pennies so they can print their comic books on their own.

MAW Productions had the incredible luck (or maybe some1 up there thought we could finally use a break) to be invite into the War by dave ryan, an awesome guy who helped us team up w/ fellow indy comic book creator william tucci & his character, Shi.  Shi (literally means' death in japanese) is warrior mixed japanese & american heritage whose feelings of vengeance conflict w/ her christian upbrining.  Jetta is a japanese ninja who struggles w/ being her clan's prophesized 'chosen one'.  both girls are beautiful & totally bad ass fighters.  it was natural that they teamed up.  :) 

we've read quite a few crossover books & were disappointed time & again that characters were written out of character, & sometimes past storylines were completely ignored/dismissed.  we didn't want to add to that disappointment, so we made sure to research the Shi character before we laid down the script to our crossover book, "Arrow of Destiny".  we decided the best thing to do was acknowledge Shi's ancestral history, give a little insight into Jetta's ancestral history, & tie it all in to an actual event that happened centuries ago. 

so here's the premise to Jetta/Shi - "Arrow of Destiny"...

This summer, the Toshigawa Ninja, Jetta, will team up with the legendary Shi in a battle to protect the earth from an army of the dead!

It was Japan in 1582.  Oda Nobunaga was a cruel and bloodthirsty warlord.  In his efforts to unify Japan, he slaughtered thousands of innocent men, women, and children, even killing the Sohei warrior monks of the Hiei Monastery and killing the head of the Toshigawa clan.  Oda Nobunaga was killed by a poisoned arrow, shot by Tokoshi Toshigawa.  This sacred arrow has been protected through the ages as it holds the key to unlock great evil.

Fast forward to present day Japan.  After years of undisturbed peace, an unknown evil threatens Honno-Ji again.  Tenkai, a mysterious monk, must call on the help of a descendant of the Sohei (Shi) and the descendant of the Toshigawa (Jetta) to honor an age-old promise to protect the Arrow of Nobunaga.

As part of the upcoming event “War of the Independents” Jetta will partner with the legendary Shi in this huge crossover event.  Shi and Jetta find their pasts intertwine in this action packed lead in to the “War of the Independents” six-issue mega event.  July 2008.
GO TO www.toshigawa.com TO FIND OUT MORE INFO!!!

& here's just a taste of what the book will have in store.

& now in color...

martheus a. wade ~~ story, pencils, inks, color shading

janet stone wade (aka moi) ~~ story, inks, color flats

kevin l. williams ~~ story, editing

we make an awesome team, don't we?  :D

oooook. i've been trying to navigate around here & admit it's a bit frustrating @ times. my main concern is w/ the publisher's section. i can't add a publisher to the list to give proper credit to a title i'm trying to add. soo....i guess i'll wait...or something...

yup...

EDIT<<< some1 helped me out w/ a link for the publisher thingy. s'all good.

anyways, here's a press release for our latest book out, Turra: Gun Angel!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact Persons for MAW PRODUCTIONS:

Martheus A. Wade & Janet Stone Wade

1460 Madison Ave.

Memphis, TN 38104

martheus@toshigawa.com / janet@toshigawa.com

www.toshigawa.com

Local Comic Book Team Announce Indy Comic Book Spin Off Release Date

Memphis, TN: December 8, 2007

For all you fans of the Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa comic book series comes a new

spin off from MAW Productions. Martheus Wade and Janet Stone Wade announce the release of Turra: Gun Angel. If you are a fan of Jetta, you don't want to miss this tie-in as it fits directly into the continuity of the graphic novel series. Turra: Gun Angel will star Jetta’s best friend and fellow Toshigawa ninja, Turra Shibata, as she travels back to her home of Japan in order to regroup the Toshigawa ninja clan. However, she finds herself marked for death and hunted by the evil Knave. This book is written by Janet Stone Wade and Martheus Wade, edited by Kevin L. Williams, and illustrated by award-winning artist, Andrew Chandler.

“Turra: Gun Angel” is 36 pages with full-color cover and black-and-white interior. Retail price is $8.00. “Turra: Gun Angel” will be available for sale at www.toshigawa.com on Wednesday, December 12, 2007.

The concept for the Jetta character began in 1985. Janet and Martheus met in 1996 while taking an intensive writing course at the University of Memphis and have been working hard on Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa ever since. The couple has put in many hours into creating a well illustrated comic book with an emotional yet action-packed storyline, with characters that struggle internally as well as with outside forces. In MAW Productions, the husband and wife duo’s love for comics and animation is only eclipsed by their love and respect for each other and their talents. With the help of longtime friend and editor, Kevin L. Williams, Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa has thrived and is on the verge of superstardom with the character having a main role in the upcoming indy comic book event, War of Independents, as well as a much anticipated crossover with the legendary Shi, created by William Tucci.

MAW Productions has already put out five other books in the Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa series: “Last Chances” (self-published in Spring 2004), “Defiance” (published by Shooting Star Comics in Spring 2005), “Rain” (self-published in Spring 2006), “Crucible” (self-published in Fall 2006), and “Revelations” (self-published in Summer 2007).

-more-

Martheus Antone Wade

Martheus’ love for martial arts (he is a 2nd degree black belt in Shotokan Karate and a kickboxing practitioner) along with his talent as a graphic artist, was a natural fit for creating the characters and storyline. His artistic style is a unique blend of Japanese manga and traditional American cartooning. Martheus is currently the art director at Redmond Design. His clientele include COGIC, the Girl Scouts, the YWCA, the Larry Finch Foundation, Trust Marketing, and Senior Services. His work can also be seen in Image Comic’s Bloodstream, Shooting Star Comics (of which Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa - “Defiance” was published), Approbation Comics, Andrew Dabb’s Slices, Maximum CNG Gaming, and Start, the of Southwest Tennessee Community College’s Graphic Arts and Technology department’s comic book, just to name a few. Martheus is a 1993 graduate of Overton High School and a 1998 University of Memphis alumni.

Janet Stone Wade

Janet co-writes Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa. Not only does she help write the storylines, she also creates characters, compose pin-ups, and inks (it’s not tracing!) the pages of the comic books. Having lived in Okinawa, Japan for the early part of her childhood helps contribute to some of the research put into Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa. Janet graduated as valedictorian of her class at Sheffield High School in 1994 and is an alumnus of Southwest Tennessee Community College with a degree in graphic design/interactive media.

Kevin L. Williams

Kevin is editor of the Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa epic, once in a while throwing in a good idea, helping to ink the larger black areas (Martheus is smart to keep the detail art to himself!), and one of Jetta’s biggest fans. Martheus and Kevin met haphazardly in a design class at the University of Memphis, forged forth a friendship that has remained strong as brothers, and supported each other’s work. Kevin is President of the Mid-South Cartoonists Association (Charter of the Southeastern Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society), and creator of family-friendly Muley Comix. (www.muleythemule.com)

Andrew Chandler

Andrew attended the Columbus College of Art and Design and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a degree in Illustration in 2002. Soon after he moved to Memphis, TN where he met and married his wife Amanda on October 2, 2004. Andrew currently freelances and works on other titles such as Raptor Cats, Vow of the Nazirite, and his own comic strip Moth and Ethan. Recently, Andrew has won national recognition by winning 1st place in an online comic strip contest for NBC’s popular show Heroes. (www.andrewchandler.net)

For additional information or a sample copy, contact: Martheus Wade (martheus@toshigawa.com).