Posted in: Comics, Image | Tagged: Boof, image comics, local man, tim seeley, todd mcfarlane

The Return Of Todd McFarlane's Boof To Image Comics

When Todd McFarlane talked about Scorched being his first creator-owned comic, I did have to correct him. What about Boof And The Bruised Crew?

Published Wed, 31 May 2023 13:57:12 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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When Todd McFarlane talked about his series Scorched being his first creator-owned team book, I did have to correct him. What about Boof And The Bruised Crew, I asked? He skipped over that quickly, almost too quickly.

Boof and The Bruise Crew were created by Todd McFarlane at a high school, and they were picked on for Todd to launch a line of comic books and figures aimed at the Walmart audience. Todd fleshed the characters out, and Beau Smith turned these into two six-part series, aimed at high school children in the time when Beavis & Butthead as well as Ren & Stimpy. Including Boof, Bunny, Zeek, Opee, Caddy, and Sarge, and two titles, Boof and Boof And The Bruise Crew, with orders from Walmart of 300,000 of each issue.

They came and went, didn't quite match Walmart's sales expectations, and the direct market only ordered 40,000 copies six months after being sold by Walmart. So, you know, sales that would still dwarf many others today. And now, for 2023, they're back.

Local Man duo Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs who have seen their series at Imge Comics go to multiple prinitings with every issue are back with a new one-shot story Local Man: Gold for August which brings back Boof. As well as crossing over with other Image Comics titles Cyberforce, Street Angel and Love Everlasting.

"Tony and I are really happy with the critical success of Local Man, and we want to make sure we give readers who've heard the buzz a chance to sample our story," said Seeley. "Gold is steeped in the '90s-comics-by-way-of-crime-noir vibe people are loving, and is easily accessible to newcomers!'

Fleecs added: "From as far back as I can remember, I always just wanted to make a comic that had BOOF in it. We're tackling a lot of '90s comics motifs in Local Man and one of my favourite things about the early Image books were the crossovers. From little things like Youngblood showing up in WildC.A.T.S. or Badrock and Company where in every issue Badrock hung out with somebody from a different Image founders' books to giant mega-events like Deathmate. We wanted to try and take one of those crossovers and make it super personal. That's what Local Man: Gold is."

In Local Man: Gold, Jack comes face to face with his explosive past when his superhero alter ego is blasted into modern-day Farmington by a massive cosmic event. Now, Local Man has to get his younger, more extreme self back to his own time before he ruins what little life Jack has left. But it won't be easy—Crossjack isn't the only one who's landed in the wrong era, and they're both being hunted by a vengeful hero from the past.

Tim told me "We legit asked Todd McFarlane if we could use him! When we asked, the answer from TMP was "Are you sure?" But, people forget that was a Wal-Mart exclusive comic! It probably went to a few million people!

Probably did. Maybe that might rub off on their Local Man?

LOCAL MAN GOLD CVR A SEELEY & FLEECS (ONE SHOT)
JUN230060
(W) Tim Seeley, Tony Fleecs (A/CA) Tim Seeley, Tony Fleecs
Jack comes face to face with his explosive past when his superhero alter ego is blasted into modern-day Farmington by a massive cosmic event. Now, Local Man has to get his younger, more extreme self back to his own time before he ruins what little life Jack has left. But it won't be easy-Crossjack isn't the only one who's landed in the wrong era, and they're both being hunted by a vengeful hero from the past. Guest starring a ragtag team of your favorite Image Comics heroes, including CYBERFORCE, STREET ANGEL, LOVE EVERLASTING, and…BOOF AND THE BRUISE CREW?! A perfect jumping-on point for new readers, and a must-have for old-school Image heads. This summer, we're going for the GOLD!In Shops: Aug 30, 2023
SRP: $4.99