ERIK THE JUICEMAN
Past, Present, and Future, and shit.
INTRO. Erik, Bob, god, Satan, Emily, Mike, and Jamie. This is the crew. Erik the Juiceman is a comic strip and animated cartoon created and drawn and written and slaved over by me, John Jacob Jingelheimer Perazza, XVII. You can just call me John. This series began one day in highschool when I was very sick and was doped up on like 5 different over-the-counter cold medicines. So, when people ask, "Were you fucking HIGH when you did this?!" I can say, "Sorta."
The first Juiceman comics were drawn on notebook paper, during classes that bored me. In other words, all of my classes, all the time. Somehow I graduated. I showed these comics to my wacky friends Casey, Dmitri, Chris, and a bunch of other weirdos at my lunch table. Since they got a kick out of 'em (or at least pretended to), I decided to take it further.
Erik the Juiceman soon became an animated series, starting off in Macromedia Director, and then later, and more logically, Flash.
Along with the animated stories, I have continued making comic strips and have finished 7 "seasons" so far.
THE BEGINNING. Early Erik the Juiceman could easily be compared to the writing and art of a team of 8 year olds who have a great big box of pixie sticks in front of them.
Juiceman is the story of Erik, and his friends Bob, god, Satan, Emily, and Mike. Most of the early comic strips are meant to make as little sense as possible. They range from random to abstract to just plain scribble. Also, I just then got into Dragonball Z and thought it would be "original" to make the characters go Super Saiyan (or in my case, "Turbo") during the action sequences. This is something that I am quite ashamed of. But hey. I was just in highschool.
There were a few villains that came into play, such as Lopar, Crazy Hobo Guy, The President, and Jealius. Of the 4, Lopar is the one that had staying power. He's a sarcastically badass buff bald alien that just wants to take over the earth.
Erik and the gang would overcome obstacles, and in the end, be friends.
THE MIKE SAGA. This is a story told completely in animated form. It is the introduction to Mike, an essential part of the gang. This story is meant to take place somewhere near the end of Season 1, but took me about 4 years to finally finish (around the time I was half-way through Season 7).
In this story, Mike and Satan are adversaries and then become friends. Satan learns a few things about himself. And finally, Mike becomes part of the gang.
GETTING MY SHIT TOGETHER. I'd say around Season 4, things start to become way more coherent, and finally Erik the Juiceman is a real cartoon, not just bullshit scribbly angry doodles. In a way, I consider the birth and formation of the series to have happened and to not have happened at the same time. In season 4, the characters show who they really are. They are developed people that crawled out of my brain.
OBSTACLES. One major theme in Erik the Juiceman is the guys overcoming the crazy shit that happens to them. This comes in the form of villains (Lopar, Gorgos, Darminius, The Bastard) or just something randomly absurd happening.
THE STEPHEN CONFLICT. From Seasons 2-5, I hinted at something big going on with Mike's past. Finally, at the end of Season 6, it surfaced in the form of the "Awakened Memories" saga. There, it is revealed that there is a man named Stephen Fellmere who holds a deep grudge against Mike. This conflict continues even today, making Stephen the "main villain" of Erik the Juiceman.
THE FUTURE. Erik the Juiceman currently has over 250 comic strips and a slew of animated cartoons. My goal is to carry out this story as long as I need to, in both comic and animated forms.
