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From the coalfields of 1950s Freebourne City, U.S.A., Tommy Franklin is forced to don a mask to fight back the growing criminal element that has arrived to corrupt his hard working city.
For decades, he watches and protects his hometown, inspiring others in the country to do the same. But as age begins to weigh on him, Tommy makes a decision to retire. He chooses to devote his energies to continuing his legacy, the training of his grandson and molding him to one day wear the mask.
This is their story.
MAN IN THE MASK is in honor to both my late grandfather, my Pop, Tommie Belcher and the four color best friends I've had with me for 30-some years, comics. Its origins go back in some form or fashion to the 1980s, but it wasn't till the late 1990s did this version come to me. While busy with day jobs and other responsibilities, I've been putting this story together like a puzzle piece.
It really is a simple story of legacy, of passing something on. The masks are a part of the story because of my love for the form. But the men behind the mask are what makes this comic work. The masks are stereotypes of the kinds of characters that I felt worked best for each time period I intended to visit during the story.
ABOUT THE CREATOR
A lifelong comics fan, Mike aspired to be a comic book writer/artist from the age of 12. Completely self-taught, he wanted to chronicle the adventures of all the big corporate characters. But as he grew into his early twenties, he felt more of an urge to create his own stories, his own characters. While honing his craft, he discovered his other calling, graphic design. This soon overtook most of his time as he worked in newspapers and other businesses. But comics didn't fade from his dreams. During this time of the late 1990s he came up with the idea and concept of MAN IN THE MASK.
As the years went by, the story of his MAN IN THE MASK, kept churning in the back corridors of his brain. Until at last, in the spring of 2014, Mike decided to focus his energies to finally producing the book.
FROM MIKE - MAN IN THE MASK is for anyone tired of the current comics out there that are mired in darkness, depression and tragedy. Remember when it was cool to be a masked man and not a burden? Remember when it was fun to pretend you were a hero and saving the day at your local playground? I do. That's why I'm doing this book now. I look on the shelves and as much as there is, hardly any of it makes it look fun. We've worked so hard to make comics and masked men (and women) legitimate, we've taken the fun out of it. I've wanted to create this book for so long. It just seems like the right time to do it. If you answered yes to anything I just said, then, MAN IN THE MASK is for you!
A lifelong comics fan, Mike aspired to be a comic book writer/artist from the age of 12. Completely self-taught, he wanted to chronicle the adventures of all the big corporate characters. But as he grew into his early twenties, he felt more of an urge to create his own stories, his own characters. While honing his craft, he discovered his other calling, graphic design. This soon overtook most of his time as he worked in newspapers and other businesses. But comics didn't fade from his dreams. During this time of the late 1990s he came up with the idea and concept of MAN IN THE MASK.
As the years went by, the story of his MAN IN THE MASK, kept churning in the back corridors of his brain. Until at last, in the spring of 2014, Mike decided to focus his energies to finally producing the book.
FROM MIKE - MAN IN THE MASK is for anyone tired of the current comics out there that are mired in darkness, depression and tragedy. Remember when it was cool to be a masked man and not a burden? Remember when it was fun to pretend you were a hero and saving the day at your local playground? I do. That's why I'm doing this book now. I look on the shelves and as much as there is, hardly any of it makes it look fun. We've worked so hard to make comics and masked men (and women) legitimate, we've taken the fun out of it. I've wanted to create this book for so long. It just seems like the right time to do it. If you answered yes to anything I just said, then, MAN IN THE MASK is for you!
