Parade of Freaks » Uncategorized

Robots on Mars

Carlos Gabriel Ruiz — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:01:17 +0000

Here’s a sketch of a robot on Mars. Enjoy.

Dream a Little Dream

Carlos Gabriel Ruiz — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 07:01:44 +0000

In honor of the fourth and final volume of the Absolute Sandman, here’s a sketch I did of Morpheus the Dream King the other day. Enjoy.

Zombies vs. Robots vs. Amazons = Awesome!

Carlos Gabriel Ruiz — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:35:43 +0000

Consider the zombies. The zombies represent the id, the uncontrolled part of man that is driven on instinct and impulse and only seeks immediate satisfaction of its primal urges and desires. In the case of the zombie, they are driven by the need to eat in order to survive, feasting on human flesh and brains. Thus the zombies become “brain-dead automatons and rotting reminders of man’s hubris!” It is of great irony that the collective, unconscious mass of zombies do not think, yet are driven to destroy—and gain nutritional sustenance by—brains. Intelligence is something to be feared, so they destroy the root of intelligence because they are afraid of what they cannot understand.

Conversely, you have the robots, man’s ego in full effect—the pinnacle of human scientific achievement, controlled only by rational thought and a desire to achieve consciousness. Robots are “brainless automatons and constructed remainders of man’s potential.” The robots, by questioning their programming, free themselves from man’s control and flock together to form a society to serve their prime directive to “protect all robotkind.” But the robot society is separated by roles based on robot model type, and in doing so, have formed a class based society that divides robotkind into distinct classes based on make and model. In essence, the perfect robot world ruled by logic and programming becomes a world built on human jealousy and insecurity, forcing class hierarchy on the robots and thus reinforcing their human makers’ own attitudes

How does the whole debacle ensue? Three scientists discover a wormhole/gateway into the future. They bring the zombies back and the world becomes infected by the zombie disease. Robots are the only thing left standing to defend the earth. Fighting ensues.

Yeah, sometimes I get deep about nothing.

To check out the rest of the review,go to Playback:STL.

Another Cool Robot Sketch

Carlos Gabriel Ruiz — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 07:01:29 +0000

Kevin Wolf’s Pangaea Named Best Local Comic by The Riverfront Times

Carlos Gabriel Ruiz — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:00:10 +0000

Mega-huge local weekly Riverfront Times acknowledge the greatness of the comic Pangaea , produced by Kevin Wolf on PLAYBACK:stl. Here is what they had to say:

“A self-published, warts-and-all collection of comic strips banged out while the artist was at his day job couldn’t possibly be this entertaining…could it? Wolf’s drawing is a little rough at times, and he could really use the aid of a letterer or at least some handwriting practice, but it’s the feeling of the work that carries the day. And reading Pangaea feels good. Returning the comic strip to its roots — three panels and a joke, like clockwork — Wolf succeeds where the legion of Far Side/Calvin & Hobbes rip-offs that populate St. Louis’ Only Daily fail. It helps that his main characters (Zephyr the kindly monkey, Henry the selfish koala and Kyle the childlike alligator) are well-developed enough that their interactions generate laughs without seeming like obvious setups, but there’s more than merely a sense of humor at work here. Some strips deal with a very adult sense of disappointment: Zephyr isn’t succeeding as a writer and Kyle’s beloved vegetable garden doesn’t win the award he craves. But the two are still friends, encouraging one another to believe that someday they will make it. And so they go on dreaming. It’s this humanity that makes Wolf’s work worth picking up again and again — although sometimes you are just picking it up to laugh at Kyle and his battles with the tape gun.”

Congratulations Kevin and congratulations to the RFT for recognizing greatness outside your pages. In honor of Pangaea’s selection, here is a Pangaea comic I did for Kevin Wolf as a tribute to his awesomeness. Enjoy and be sure to check out Kevin Wolf’s Pangaea appearing every Wednesday on Playback:STL.

When Apes Take Over the World…

Carlos Gabriel Ruiz — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 07:01:14 +0000

The Nectar of the Gods

Carlos Gabriel Ruiz — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 07:01:01 +0000

Get Down With Your UGHly sketch!

Carlos Gabriel Ruiz — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:01:43 +0000

More sketchy times and neolithic people. You know what your parents said about hanging out with cavemen, right? They said not to. Especially when they look like Brendan Fraiser. Here is an Ugh sketch. Enjoy.

Killer Robots From the Future Sketch

Carlos Gabriel Ruiz — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:01:38 +0000

Sometimes my friends and I get together and draw stupid stuff over a few beers. Mixing art and alcohol: always a good time. Here is a Killer Robots From the Future sketch I did that I thought turned out pretty nifty. Check it out.

Parade of Freaks WizardWorldChicago Special On Sale Now at Indy Planet

Carlos Gabriel Ruiz — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:01:57 +0000

How many times have you found yourself trapped on a broken down bus going nowhere fast, completely surrounded by a smörgåsbord of the craziest freaks, geeks, weirdos, aliens, robots, cavemen, megalomaniacal midgets, dinosaurs, buddy cops, giant mutant monsters, dysfunctional couples, depressed artists, ninjas for hire, poli-sci majors, sit down comics and one messed up kid with a head full of LSD and only Jesus and His pet goat to help him through his trip?

If you have, then it’s just another Tuesday in your so called life. Congratulations, friend, that means that you’re already a big Freak!

If you have never had the luxury to find yourself in such a position, then it’s about time for you to expand your horizons a bit and venture outside your comfortable little sphere of normalcy; it’s time for you to experience first hand the depravity, humility, misadventures and downright oddness of how the other half lives!

So what are you waiting for: tune in, turn on and join the parade… Purchase the limited edition Parade of Freaks WizardWorldChicago Special now at IndyPlanet.com.