Back again…
Blog updates resume, and one of Halifax’s most interesting web comics returns from a long hiatus.
In this scene, which Furtado created exclusively for Halifax Magazine, the characters express their feelings about series regular Trooper Adams (named for the editor).
We’re all doomed
By Trevor J. Adams | Nov 26, 2010A freelance graphic designer, Haligonian Kraig Furtado had wanted to do a comic strip ever since he first picked up a newspaper and wracked his brains for an original idea.
A couple of years ago, inspiration struck: he decided to use the GI Joe toys that he played with as a kid. He thought that doing a photo-based comic strip with them would be easier than drawing. (“I’m lazy,” he explains). He launched his web comic Troops of Doom about two years ago, adding Star Wars and other sci-fi characters. “The plan backfired: it’s a lot harder than drawing… and expensive,” he says.
Furtado builds elaborate sets and poses the figures, adding speech balloons, explosions and other effects. Featuring characters from various sci-fi and comic franchises, the comic is a quirky mix of slapstick comedy, political satire and cartoonish violence. “It’s a fan comic,” he explains. “It’s a tribute to the original material, with storylines that I come up with.”
It’s become a local cult hit, garnering anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 unique hits a day. “I get the most comments on the days I don’t update,” Furtado says. “Where the hell is it?’ That kind of thing…” The site sells advertising but it’s mostly an excuse to indulge his muse. “I like to see what I can come up with,” he adds. “No one is getting rich on this but it’s fun.”
Furtado updates Troops of Doom three to five times per week at http://troopsofdoomcomic.com/.
The photography, the shopping, the posing, the attention to lighting is stellar and the dialogue, well, this comic makes me laugh my sox off on a regular basis and the contests are super. I won a Doom contest, and got a figure named after me! I’m the stormtrooper with the pink bows on her helmet. I guess my only complaint with the comic is that my character isn’t part of EVERY storyline, but I’m greedy like that.