To those interested,  a special place on the website is open to all former members.  This is where Lore Specific content – titles, concept art, characters in progress, new templates, rough pages – that appear in previews will be exclusively available during Early Access.

     The only requirement for Legacy membership is to have sent positive feedback at some time during your former subscription, to have paid for all months received, and to have not reposted any art from this site anywhere else without my permission.

     I am eager to share the new quality work, and confidential work in progress, in the Lurid Pre-Code Horror Comicbook genre with those who were interested enough to pay repeatedly, and responsible enough to not copyright infringe, or in some way sabotage the LuridMax website, brand, or product distribution. 

     I sincerely appreciate everyone who has contributed since the beginning of LuridMax’s Pre-Code Renaissance; this website is a store for digital comicbooks, with subscriptions available for discounts/rewards, for Early Access benefits, and studio VIP insight into upcoming work as it is developed; and commission eligibility.

     The schedule for the website weekly pack releases, and updates in the Atelier,  are designed to steadily add content to the site, and allow ample time for the highest quality final products for the upcoming comics. Currently the Apocrypha is being disseminated, and preparation for the tasks of creating a comicbook being practiced;  inking, pencilling, standard comicbook page/ panel  script work, brainstorming, concept art, illustration, painting.

  In a year, we expect the site will contain a free gallery of vintage comicbook covers related to the genre.  Brand new comics utilizing the beloved styles, and resembling various nostalgic elements unique to comicbook genres of the pre-digital age, and incorporate digital advantages; Brand new characters and locations, that will be built upon.  As well as fan art, and reimaginings of classic art/ paintings/ covers/ sequences/ adaptations of scenes from literature, movies  and illustrations.

 Now that the studio is fully equipped with :  touch screen tablet for digital pen,  light box ( for tracing my original pencils, for variety of inking options; original freehand studies, traced to make quick template variations, and modifications )  Fifty 20 x 20 inch canvases ( Acrylic paints, sable brush) stacks of Strathmore Sequential art paper ( 11 x 17).   7 Rotring Rapidograph/Isograph technical pens. 18 unique headsculpts, and 8 seamless 6th scale anatomy models.  

And original Vintage references to study from:  thousands of comics spanning 1940 to present.  As well as scores of Art Collection Hardcovers reprinting hard to find  pre-code comics, and Golden age good girl, pre-code horror. 

A curriculum is formed that should lead to the best quality product I can create.

The next test, was to create mainstream quality panels,  featuring general male and female dialogue, and backgrounds – rather than rely on a series of pin-up images, mostly featuring female anatomy.  The former will serve to present a ‘world’ which the ‘pre-code’ scenes will take place.  This is the most LuridMax can strive to bring to this genre.

In general, the goal is to have a readable, interesting comic, with great visuals, that tells a story, which is fantastic, with some elements people can relate to, and has some explicit pre-code horror scenes.  In general, 22 pages make up a modern comic.  With large panels, splash pages, and pin-up series of images of a pre-code sequence, that doesn’t leave much for story or character development.  In one month, 22 pages, are created by teams of 2- 6 creators.   A large composition, Lurid Pre-Code Horror sequence, with detail, can take 18 to 32 pages.  Add story and character about 18 more pages.

    The overall impact and experience of the comicbooks I am designing, are essentially 36 – 54 pages.  I am not trying to make quick, multiple issues, with filler, and dead ends stories, requiring ret-conning; hastily put out, merely to maintain a subscriber income.

60 pages is the size of a giant, or special comicbook.  Which is roughly 3 times as many pages.  A team working at a standard issue pace would be expected to complete 60 pages in 3 months.   One artist,  doing both pencils/inks and coloring ( and script) –  9 months.  Add multiple characters, with corresponding pre-code sequences, that are different, ( requiring lots of template variety, panel study, reference, and model poses) can add 18 – 22 pages per character.  The book begins to near 100 plus pages;  approximately a tradepaper back ( 76 on the small side,  to 120 -140 for typical tradepaperback collections).  120 pages, is 6 months for a team,  18 months for one artist/creator.

I can work efficiently and rapidly, physically.  But since I started this endeavor in Nov 2018,  I noticed my internet slows down, such that pages idle, for half an hour, and something that would take 1 hour at normal speed, can be delayed 3 hours.

I tried many ways to work around the delays – and considered upgrading to 250mps service.  But the 177 mps is fine,  except when it inexplicably drops to 150 mps.

A comcast representative discussed troubleshooting, and I discovered my switch ( highest recommended in 2018) is expected to slow down 20 mps.  I took action immediately, and researched Enterprise switches – Cisco being a top brand.  And a SG110D08 should be delivered within a week.  Meanwhile, I plug directly into the modem, ( there are other users in the household, so out of respect, I don’t hog the modem in the meantime) and can complete website, social platform updates, in a reasonable period of time – leaving me time to do more than scan/edit and post.

So, I am looking forward to studio time, and bringing art to the LuridMax website, to share with present subscribers, whose contributions directly fund the studio upgrades, and scope of the project; and Legacy Members who brought us this far.

Thanks to Everyone who has been a part of the Pre-Code Renaissance!