Author Archive: Warren Frantz
I am the author/illustrator of the hockey webcomic "Off Season". I really discovered my knack for cartooning in an Art Class in Teacher's College. I've been brewing a comic strip in my mind for quite some time, but I've only been posting my work for about a year.
#30 – The Amazing Evergrowing Tape Ball
This little critter actually exists! He lives in my daughter’s hockey bag. Every game it grows another layer, using the tape from my daughter’s shin pads and elbow pads for new skin. Last week it outgrew the helmet and developed a pulse. It does bring good luck to all who touch it. I am considering building an extension to the garage to give Tape Ball it’s own place to stretch it’s legs.
#29 – Hangover Hercules
At the moment of this post, I wish I were this guy. Hangover Hercules is able to overcome any ill effects of beer, or any other alcohol for that matter. Yes, he may have been out late last night, pounding down the brews, but he will be in top notch game form today. He is the envy of every frat-boy. Ever.
#27 – ToasterHead
I’ve had this guy in my mind for years, just didn’t know which direction to go with him…. I like this design.
Toaster Head is a real hot-head. He always plays hungry and when he’s playing really well, your team is toast!
That was so cheesy, but whatevvs.
#26- Cherry Bomb
Don’t let Cherry’s curves and good looks fool you. She is a determined and stubborn driver on the Championship Racing Circuit. She’ll do anything it takes to win, even if it means “manipulating” the rules. A rough and tumble gal, take it as a compliment when she throws an F-Bomb your way.
#25 – The Vomit Rocket
The guy has been fighting supervillains for centuries, but his undefeated streak has put a lot of pressure on him. He has the need to “clear out the system” before every battle. Along side his trusty sidekick, Pepto, The Vomit Rocket has many years of monumental battles ahead of him!
#24 – Turkey Puck
Arriving just in time for the Thanksgiving, Turkey Puck can be used for a holiday tournament, or a food ration of minimal proportions. Check out the wild look in his eyes! Turkey Puck is definitely looking to score this weekend!
#23 – Instant Replay
This guy’s wrath can always be felt the second time around. He doesn’t even need to be in the same building to launch an attack. Usually sitting on the couch in his mother’s basement somewhere in Toronto, Instant Replay is on-call all hockey season long and is authorized to question every little move of our beloved old-timer goal judge, Red Light Rebel (see Day #21). Who will get the edge in this battle of Tech vs Old School?
#21 – Red Light Rebel
He’s old, cranky and knows he’s becoming obsolete. The eagle-eyed Red Light Rebel has been allowing and disallowing goals since the birth of hockey. At first he was positioned behind the net, armed with only a bell. Over the years, he developed his armor with the invention of mesh and plexiglass. His weapon of choice is a light switch, however, he has used a hand-held remote in recent times. He is now in the dog-fight of his professional life and he faces his greatest threat yet…. INSTANT REPLAY!
#20 – Chicken Monkey
This banana-eating, egg-laying, cock-a-doodle-dooing beast is entertaining to have in the farmyard, but his silly antics generally end up costing Old MacDonald expensive equipment and important crops.
#19 – Point Ed
He’s gotta point! No, literally, he HAS TO POINT! Ed was born with his hands in the pointing position. He has superior aim, and can poke eyes with the best of them! He’s even been asked to plug a hole in a leaky dam!
#18 – Hashimoto Leprechaun
Feeling the need to increase Irish security, this young leprechaun took it upon himself to travel to Japan to learn the ways of the Ninja. That Pot O’ Gold has never been safer!
#17 – Beer Monocle
When the situation is so dire and you you need to be so drunk that you can only keep one eye open, why reach for the beer goggles?
#16 – Jack Lumber
This little dude spends his time avoiding axes, chainsaws and beaver teeth in Northern Quebec. Stay jolly my dear French wooden friend.
#14 – Squints McBeefy
In the wake of tragic events surrounding the “Thumb Incident” at WrestleExtravaganza ’97 , LeRoy McBeanstalk dropped his Southern Saskatchewan TV Title to Fingers O’Leary and disappeared blindly into the windy, Canadian Prairie night. Resurfacing 10 years and 250 pounds later, LeRoy attacked Sub-Dude (See Day 7) during the 2nd Intermission of a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game. Armed with a BBQ flipper and an apron, the newly proclaimed “King of the Patty” made instant enemies with the Leaf-faithfuls… Creating the Greatest Sports Entertainment Crossover ever!
#13 – Extreme Dodgeball Gremlin, Esquire
With obnoxiously large hand implants, Gremmers is the league leader in catches and is as acrobatic as they come, displaying his patented E.D.G.E. Handspring on a moment’s notice. Long, slender and agile, GremChop can duck and deke, dodge and drop his way out of a pickle. Four consecutive World Dodgeball Championship Trophies has his place cemented in the Hall of Fame.
#12 – WhyNot: The Source of Desperate Ideas
His clientele: coaches in the middle of a losing streak, supervillains on the cusp of defeat, Santa at the break of dawn. WhyNot doesn’t always give out a gem of an idea, but an idea is guaranteed!
#11 – Frisbee-Death
Frisbee-Death is that damn strange dog that won’t leave you alone at the park/beach/keg party until he steals the ball or frisbee that you are playing with. He either hides it, or more often, eats it and ruins your game. GIT HOME FRISBEE-DEATH! SHAME!
#10 – The Penalty Killer
He’s got two minutes to get the job done. Talk about pressure! Equipped with his stick and a lot of hustle, he always finds himself shorthanded, defending all kinds of attacks, but still gets the job done. He enjoys putting his rivals on ice!
#9 – Li’l Jimmy Kindergarten
This is Jimmy. He started school this year. He’s your typical Kindergarten student who misses his mommy and has bad hair. He enjoys playing with blocks, squeezing his Teddy-ball and eating boogers during the National Anthem. Oh yes. He also drags around a dead ferret.
#8 – Traffic Thug
If the role of the hockey enforcer works on the ice, why not try it out on the Indy Car track? Speed and violence, a sports marriage made in heaven! (Mullet not included)
#7 – Sub-Dude
A man who is very quiet, but serious about his job…. the SUB-DUDE! Forget the t-shirt gun: This guy shoots submarine sandwiches out of his gun. While he has provided many-a-fan with a nice little snack, he has also put out several scoreboards and pasted a picture of the Queen with a mayonnaise dirty Sanchez moustache! Stay hungry my friend!
#6 – Fly Ball
This insect has a fairly tame flight pattern: vertically up 100 feet, then vertically down, generally landing in a leather woven nest. This organism shares a subphylum with the pop fly as well as the much more complicated and confusing infield fly. The fly ball has a speedy enemy known as the center-fielder. While the it does not generally eat the fly ball, the center-fielder will return the fly ball back to it’s original habitat, a dirt mound.
#5 – The Mad Batter
Looking to abandon his wacky life up in Wonderland, The Mad Hatter decided to take up America’s Pastime and join the New York Yankees. He appeared to straighten up his life with a few batting titles, but after a several years under Steinbrenner Rule, Hatter lost his marbles again and left the team. Cherishing the look of the Yankee pinstripe, Hatter stole his grandfather’s pyjamas and started to wonder Middle America’s sandlots and cornfields in search of the ultimate ball game.
#4 – Chrys “la” Crosse
Chrys Crosse attends Florida University on a lacrosse scholarship by day and fights crime by night. Armed with a mini-catapult, a backpack full of Indian Rubber balls and Olympic Track speed, she easily takes down the criminals of Northern Florida. As the crime rate dips, something eerie and strange is brewing in the Everglades…. Will Chrys be able to up her game to defend her school?
#3 – Pigskin Hogschomp
This little critter has an unusual shape, however has the ability to fly gracefully through the air. Pigskin possesses an unpredictable ground attack if dropped or left to bounce. He has a gnarly bite, which can cause a receiver to drop him instantly. Having a distinct dislike for Northern United States zoo animals, it is no wonder the Detroit Lions have yet to win a Super Bowl.
#2 – The Post
Watch out for this stump. He’ll flip-flop on a friend in an instant. Sometimes he’ll save a goal, other times, he’ll help the puck get by the goalie. Don’t let a change of sport fool you. Post will show up in football and steal a field goal. He’ll show up in baseball and push a home run foul. He can be vertical, horizontal, red, white, yellow. The Post is very crafty. You can use him all you want, but NEVER TRUST THE POST!
#1 – Captain Composite
Hockey players have abandoned the traditional lumber in favor of the modern, high-tech carbon composite stick. So has the pirate Captain Composite. A peg-leg no more! He is prone to head shots (wouldn’t you like to knock that bucket off his head?) and gets called for “hooking” penalties quite often. CapComp is great at pestering goalies as he “anchors” himself in front of the net. He appears to be in play-off mode at all times with that shaggy facial hair hanging off him.
30 Characters Challenger: Warren Frantz
My fave Deadpool doing the yardwork
Hey! My name is Warren Frantz. I am a school teacher by day, cartoonist by night. I have had a love of drawing cartoons since I was a kid, but just scrounged up the courage to start publishing them about a year ago in a webcomic called “Off Season”. The strip follows the off-ice adventures of Gully Golz (a hockey goalie) and his friends and family. You can check it out over at www.wevolt.com/Off_Season/ I would eventually like to collect the comics into a book (that way less techie folks like my gramma can actually read my stuff!)
Cartooning isn’t my only love. I’m a huge fan of sports (especially hockey). I have two daughters who are hockey players/ballerinas, a wife who is a nurse and runner. 5km, half-marathon, it doesn’t matter, she runs it. I also have two large dogs who drag me around the local football field every morning. My family is the core of my cartooning inspiration… although memories of college roommates, hockey road trips and golf course antics are always on the tip of the pencil as well. You can expect a lot of my characters to be slanted toward the sports side, but I have always been a big fan of superheros, and I’d like flush out a few more heroes and villains in the sports world.
Gully and Sammy fighting green cancer monsters
Mole Man on the attack!
I tried the 30 Characters Challenge last year, but did not publish on the website. I was successful in completing it, though. There was a lot of learning along with a few duds, but a feeling of pride for finishing the challenge. This year, I plan on sharing the experience with students at my school by running “Cartooning Club” at recesses and have them come up with their own new and exciting characters. I have run the club before in the past and it is a beautiful and positive place to bounce ideas off peers.
Good luck to everyone involved in the 30 Character Challenge!
Warren
#30Characters Chatter…