#Dr. Underfang

[therobotmonster]

On the subject of comic books and emphasis.

Getting some use out of my Tyrannomax extras.

[deepdreamnights]

The Secret Origin of Wally ManMoth

Scans from TyrannoMax #26

Cocytus was one of the better-performing comic companies outside the big 2 in the 1970s before the whole company was bought out by Buzby-Spurlock Animation in the early 80s.

TyrannoMax was its biggest title, so almost everyone in the character stable teamed up with the Dinoids eventually.

Process under the fold.

TyrannMax is created via use of Dall-E 3 and Midjourney as pencilers, and me doing essentially everything else (writing, editing, inking, lettering, layout, etc.) DE is on most of the character art, MJ on backgrounds and select characters.

Each panel utilizes anywhere from one gen/prompt (for a handful of very simple head-shots) to around 20 for stuff like the DinoHydra action shot or the hero/villain showcase panels.

Once I know what I want for a page I lay out the rough dialog and panels, then start generating pics. Basic prompt format and a few examples:

, , , , comic panel by 1968, in the style of 1968

A portly 50 year old man, resembles Alan Hale Jr, jolly smile, wearing a tweed jacket, slacks, sandals, a fedora, sweatervest and a loosened ascot, full body character design, comic panel by Jack Kirby and Alex Toth 1968, in the style of 1968 Marvel comics

a mad scientist mid-transformation into a green anthro-tyrannosaurus, asymmetrical transformation, boils and growths, screaming/roaring, bald, portly, with round glasses. wearing a tattered lab coat, vest, slacks, tie. Comic panel by jack kirby and alex toth, 1968, in the style of vintage horror comics

Then I take the pics into PS, arrange and composite them, and then remove all the color. I don't tend to prompt for my final colors on characters and instead choose light tones I can easily extract. Why not just do B&W prompts? Style impact.

Then I start to re-ink over errors and details that don't match the mood I want, match line thicknesses over various elements, etc. Through this process I adjust dialog placement and panel arrangements, and do generally the things and editor and letterer would be up to.

Once I have the inks, flat colors, and the text on various layers, I do the weathering and compositing to simulate scans of a 1970s comic book. This is also where the deliberate flaws in coloring and print alignment are added for authenticity.

[deepdreamnights]

TyrannoMax Theme Song (Season 1)

TyrannoMax and the Warriors of the Core (or TyrannoMax and the Heroes of the Core if you're from the UK) from Buzby-Spurlock Animation is a forgotten 80s gem, based on the comics from Cocytus Comics.

The cartoon emphasized Dr. Underfang as a primary antagonist, re-contextualizing most of the side-villains as his minions or creations directly. The 'Fossilized Time' origin was simplified into a hollow earth accessed via portals, and a lot was obviously softened for kids TV, particularly DeinoSteve.

It also where a lot of the iconic aspects of the film came from. The Dinoid society already had high-tech devices when the toon starts, where in the comics TriceraBruce invented their gadgets by reverse-engineering human and Ultramerican tech. Wally is in high school instead of being college age and Bobby is a regular member of the cast along with Max's show-original little cousin Wrexy.

The scads of toy-based characters go without saying.

Like most Buzby-Spurlock productions, TyrannoMax is largely lost media. This comes down mainly to the company's legal troubles in the 90s preventing official release. Here's hoping the new buyout means re-release.

"Warriors of the Core, lets hear that roar!"

Screencap is three individual multi-gen composites and overpaintings with extensive photomanipulation. The song was generated with SunoAI.

[therobotmonster]

TryannoMax, Issue 25, October 1977

Cocytus Comics Group, Story by Barry McDermit, lines by Midge Joulet & Dale Ethree, Colors and Letters by H. Haddaway.

Issue #25. It's a quiet day so the Core team gets some R&R. TryannoMax hunts down Dr. Underfang for a long-overdue confrontation, DeinoSteve and PteroDarla finally have that date, and Wally Manmoth visits home. So when Ape-Tomic Pyle returns from the grave to exact his revenge, only TriceraBruce remains to stand in his way. One wounded dinoid against a living nuclear ape-pocalypse, with the populace of Wisconsin in the balance.

Running for an astounding 80 issues, TyrannoMax was the headline comic from Cocytus in the 1970s, and was the primary motivator behind Buzby-Spurlock buying out Cocytus in '83.

While the comic series is considered the root of the empire that would create the animated series and live action movie, the concept was first introduced in short story "Humanity, My Young Cousin" in the pulp-sci-fi magazine Stunning True-Life Tales of Science Fiction, a few years earlier.

May be posting interior pages soon.

Full details under the fold.

TyrannoMax is my AI dinosaur test kitchen, where I see how ideas work out before trying them on more serious projects.

Here, I've used Dall-E 3 through Bing and Midjourney to create comic assets, which I then de-color and rework into inks in a similar fashion to my AI-comic reworkings like Robots Ruined the Internet and Let's Gib About Ib, or any of my other fake comic covers. TriceraBruce and Ape-Tomic Pyle were generated with Dall-E 3, and the background was made in Midjourney.

This makes the basic inks, from there I correct anatomical problems, cleanup AI wonk, and generally re-ink where things are needed.

Once I have the "inks" its then a matter of doing the coloring and graphic design work the old fashioned way. I used my recreation of the 1981 DC comics palette for my colors, used post-processing to get the printed look, and there you go.

My prompt format for the characters is:

A -anthro wearing , long tail (if a dinosaur) , comic panel by 1968, in the style of 1960s Marvel comics

Because all weights are averaged a bit, to get a 1970s comic look, you have to prompt for late 60s, ortherwise it looks late 80s.

Background prompt was:

a distant city, a rocket launches from its center, flying toward the sky, comic illustration by jack kirby, inked lines, flat color, blue sky, green grass, orange rocket, from 1968

[deepdreamnights]

TyrannoMax

Real name: Tyrannodus Maximus (translation) Known Aliases: Ty Maxon, the Dinoman of Wisconsin, Shellbreaker Occupation: Champion of Core City, adventurer Identity: Public Legal status: Citizen of Core City. Legal resident of the United States with a criminal record (pardoned), escaped felon in Ultramerica. Species: Dinoid Tyrannosaurus Rex Place of Hatching: Core City Martial Status: Single, betrothed. Known Relatives: TyrannoLucian (father), MegaloDiana (mother), TyrannoMaxine (grandmother, deceased), TyrannoCass (brother), TyrannoJulia (sister), Lady StegoJune (fiance), DeinoSteve (blood brother), Tyler Wrex (second cousin). Known affiliations: Warriors of the Core (member, current), Sevenfold Guardians (member, reserve), Wally Manmoth (ally), Johannes Factotum (ally), WoMinotaur (ally), Dr. Underfang (nemesis), Department of Inhuman Affairs (contractor). Base of operations: Soapstone, Wisconsin, Core City in the Fossilized World. First appearance: Tyrannomax #1 (1975)

From the Coctus Catalog, it's TyrannoMax!

His power/ability box is under the fold.

Physical Strength: TyrannoMax’s strength is exceptional, even for a dinoid. He can lift (press) 10 tons with his arms or tail. Known Powers & Abilities: Like all diniods, TryannoMax’s muscles and bone tissues are more dense and durable than human analogues, resulting in vast strength and resistance to physical damage. His scales can deflect an armor-piercing .50 caliber machine gun fire at 30 feet. TyrannoMax’s bite force is sufficient to bend a 5” diameter titanium rod. His teeth and claws are both sharp and strong enough to rend metal, and he’s able to leap up to sixty feet forward or twenty feet straight up from a standing position. Like all dinoids, TyrannoMax possesses a high degree of psychic affinity, which he can access through his psychic roar. This unique psychic talent allows TyrannoMax to imbue his roars with psionic power. He can attune the pitch of his roar to deliver physical psychokinetic force, stun the minds of those in its path, or induce fear and panic in enemies. Known Weaknesses: Dinoid physiology is only partially warmblooded and is vulnerable to cold. Temperatures below 56 degrees Fahrenheiht reduce TyrannoMax’s speed, strength and concentration in direct proportion to his body temperature. If lowered to the freezing point gradually, he will involuntarily enter a state of hibernation. Rapid freezing is deadly to dinoids.

-

TyrannoMax's art was made in the same fashion as the Wally Manmoth comic, with his body being composited out of several Midjourney attempts and his head coming from Dall-E 3, since MJ's rexes are always too modern for the 70s throwback of Tmax.

From there the colors were removed entirely, and the new lineart touched up and then re-colored using the classic comic colors from the DC 1981 style guide. And then "vintaged" in the process.

[deepdreamnights]

Wally Manmoth

Once Walbert W. Manheim, human friend of TyrannoMax, Wally sacrificed himself saving the lives of both TyrannoMax and Dr. Underfang. Unwilling to countenance owing a debt to the youth, Dr. Underfang used the geneincarnation process to tether the boy's spirit back to a cloned body, though one very unlike his original.

As a "Manmoth" Wally possesses superhuman strength, endurance and resistance to damage, as well almost complete immunity to cold temperatures and enhanced mammoth-senses.

Wally and DeinoSteve in the 1994 live action film.

Prompt and process under the fold.

Wally's lines were generated in Dall-E 3, with edits, digital inks, colors, and aging effects added in post.

A young man who resembles Seth Green, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, bell bottoms, and tennis shoes, with a feathered 70s haircut, standing in a sarcastic posture. The image is a full body shot on a white background, drawn in the style of a comic panel by Jack Kirby and John Buscema from 1968, as seen in the official handbook of the Marvel Universe.

A wooly mammoth-anthro, wearing a hawaiian shirt and bermuda shorts, standing on a city street, full body, straight to camera, comic panel by jack kirby and alex toth 1968, in the style of 1968 marvel comics

[deepdreamnights]

Saturday Morning Saurians - Part 1

Running from 1986-1988, TyrannoMax and the Warriors of the Core (Buzby-Spurlock Animation) managed a modest showing in the franchise-heavy mid-to-late 80s, largely supported by its popularity in Europe,

Following the endless Saturday-morning-intriques of dinosaur heroes from the earth’s core, lead by the fierce-looking but soft-hearted Tryannomax as they prevent Dr. Underfang from conquering the surface world with his evil dinoclone army.

No reboot is yet planned, but licensing rights have been acquired by Anning Media Holdings, a subsidiary of AnningTech.

Lengthy discussion under the fold.

In actuality, of course, these are AI-generated pieces made under Midjourney V4, as part of my exploration into its ability to replicate 1980s and 1990s cartoon aesthetics. I was attempting to get some 80s versions of my DynoGuard characters, but didn’t quite hit the vibe I wanted, so it becomes its own thing.

The above pics were made with a mix of text prompting and image prompting

My standard format for 80s-style cartoon stills like this is:

<scene description>, still frame from <series name> <numerical year>, by >animation studio, some combination of: AKOM, TOEI, Sunbow animation, Filmation animation, Hanna-Barbera, etc>, in the style of (decade) saturday morning cartoons   

The series name does not have to be real. If it isn’t, it’s just another context clue for the AI. If it is real, then it will try and style match to the best of its ability.

I don’t think the 80s cartoon screencaps are well indexed in the datasets, so image prompting really helps (it has both image influence and a “reverse image search” functionality that uses the image like a word in the prompt... its odd and no one else but MJ seems to do it that way but it works)