Broken Frontier

Somehow we knew it would only be a matter of time before Loose Brayne and his brick-like alter ego Brickman crashed the Active Images web site. After it was announced that new full-color BRICKMAN strips would be published in ELEPHANTMEN, Lew Stringer’s clever Batman spoof praised by such industry luminaries as Tim Sale, Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore has managed to get its own site complete with past adventures and exploits updated daily.

Each day’s web comics featured at http://www.activeimages.com/brickman/ are pulled right from BRICKMAN BEGINS! published by Active Images. A week’s worth of strips will always be available on the site too, so if you’d rather get your BRICKMAN fix in one 7-day chunk, you can do that too. See Brickman, Trowel, The Poker, The Diddler, Gnatwoman, and more as Lew Stringer’s “knee slappers, guffaws and belly laughs” [Alan Moore] work their way into your collective consciousness.

The new series of full-color BRICKMAN comic strips began in issue #2 of ELEPHANTMEN, the best-selling and highly praised title by Richard Starkings and Moritat and published by Image Comics. The new strip is entitled BRICKMAN RETURNS.

“Now that BRICKMAN has ‘negotiated’ his way into the pages of ELEPHANTMEN,” began Richard Starkings, President & First Tiger of Active Images, “we knew Loose Brayne’s demands would increase. First he wanted to be featured in ELEPHANTMEN back-up stories. Then he wanted to star in all-new BRICKMAN stories. Then he wanted to be in full color. All demands were met. He’s got a brick, after all! What’s one more capitulation? Did I say he’s got a brick?”

“Criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot, and the best way to deal with them is to smack them in the head with a brick. Okay, sometimes Brickman gets a bit over enthusiastic and has been known to let fly at someone just for riding a pushbike on the sidewalk but let's face it, it's the only language they understand," said BRICKMAN creator Lew Stringer, surveying the ant-like citizens of his home town from his mountaintop retreat.

First appearing 27 years ago in Lew Stringer’s own UK fanzine, BRICKMAN moved on to various other fanzines and mini-comics throughout the 1980s. In 1986 Harrier Comics published a BRICKMAN one-shot, and the character vanished from the scene for ten years before returning in the YAMPY TALES small press comics in 1996. In 2005 the character resurfaced again in the 152-page collection, BRICKMAN BEGINS! (Active Images, ISBN 0-9740567-8-2, $9.99, digest size).

Upcoming issues of ELEPHANTMEN featuring BRICKMAN:
ELEPHANTMEN #3 (Image Comics, Sept 2006, $2.99, Diamond # JUL06 1699, 36 full-color pages, Starkings (w), Moritat and Tom Scioli (artists), Brian Bolland and Ladronn (covers))
A GOOD LOOK. As Hip Flask recovers from his battle with Elijah Delaney, Hiromi Kiyoko looks after him as they wait for medical help... THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM! Ebony Hide may need medical help himself after a run in with gang baron Serengheti.

ELEPHANTMEN #4 (Image Comics, Oct 2006, $2.99, Diamond # AUG06 1766, 32 full-color pages, Starkings (w), Moritat (a), Joe Madureira and Ladronn (covers))
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, WOUNDED ANIMALS. As Hip Flask and Ebony Hide recover from their injuries, Miki stops by with a bunch of grapes and learns about Tusk and the torturous world of MAPPO.

ELEPHANTMEN #0 (Image Comics, Nov 2006, $2.99, Diamond # SEP06 1813, 32 full-color pages, Starkings and Casey (writers) and Eisner Award-winner Ladrönn)
Re-presenting the Origin of the Elephantmen from the SOLD OUT first issue of HIP FLASK. Somewhere in the African desert, thousands of miles from civilization, a group of geneticists, led by Kazushi Nikken, has conducted unholy experiments involving both human and animal DNA. This is the story of the birth of Hieronymous Flask and the Elephantmen and their eventual liberation from the torturous world of MAPPO.

ELEPHANTMEN and BRICKMAN BEGINS! are both available in finer comic book stores and on Amazon.com.