In the early 2000s when we lived in the Los Angeles area, I had a friend who worked for Hollywood as a screenwriter.

One day, he told me how much he made. It wasn’t jack shit, and he often had to take day jobs to make ends meet. Now keep in mind, he had written regularly for TV shows that you’ve at least heard of and possibly even watched. So he wasn’t just some hobbyist who successfully sold an episode or two to Hollywood.

Several years later, I had an idea for a TV show. It was called Opium Tales and it would be animated. Kind of like fairy tales, except for adults. Complete with graphic violence and nudity, just like the uncensored Grimm Brothers. Yes, the real Grimm Brothers was dark. Disney cleaned up those stories big time!

Inspired by Western Civ canon from the Ancient Greeks to the Bible to the Grimm Brothers, Edgar Allen Poe, Lewis Carroll, and Hans Christian Andersen. Did you know in Andersen’s original story, the little mermaid dies? That’s what I’m getting at. The real stories didn’t always have happy ass endings.

So I hired a salesman to get some funding for this. The guy turned out to be completely useless and I set Opium Tales aside because my Heavy Metal band started getting serious.

In 2018, I drew my friend Allie nude for the first time. She thought it was so good that I need to take my artwork seriously.

So I did. First colored pencils then watercolor + ink, like a lot of the artists from the Golden Age of Illustration (approximately 1880-1920).

Then this year it dawned on me. My wife loves comic books. And I now have the talent and speed to produce one. Why not bring back Opium Tales, but as a comic book rather than an animated TV show?

Then to take it a step further, why not take some of the old school animation techniques I’ve learned over the years and incorporate them into the comic? So the comic is literally a preview of the Opium Tales animated TV show once I start making enough money to hire more employees.

You’re seeing all this in real time.

Opium Tales the comic book debuts in September at the CatastrophiCon in New York.

You are witnessing the birth of a media company.

Opium Tales Allie & Roxy
Allie is the blonde, Roxy is the Latina