Webcomics Today: Marc Ellerby’s ‘Turtles’ And More
by Richard Bruton
More webcomics … this time from one of my favourites, Marc Ellerby, most well-known for his work on Rick and Morty, but here, we’re all about the Turtles (well, mostly) …
Well, before we begin, this is what used to be my Webcomics Weekly column. Except weekly was never on the cards. But Webcomics, in all their forms, is definitely something I want to talk about. Doesn’t matter what they are, as long as they’re online and freely available — and most importantly, damn good — I’ll be writing about them. Okay, maybe I’ll be writing about them sporadically, but I will be writing about them here at Webcomics Today.
So, let’s talk all things Ellerby, starting off with this great little bit of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fun …
Created earlier this year, this bit of TMNT fun was made, says Ellerby, “to broaden my portfolio and to showcase that I *can* actually draw something other than Rick and Morty. It’s the funnest comic I’ve drawn for a while!”
I don’t know about the funniest thing he’s drawn for a while, but I do know that it’s a damn funny, damn fun thing. Seriously, this is the sort of thing that those making the Turtles comics should be looking at and asking Ellerby to make a series out of. But hey, that’s just my opinion, what do I know?
So, as the Turtles settle down to a night of gaming, and Leonardo attempts to clean up the place, ahead of Splinter coming back, they boys take a pizza delivery from Füt pizzas … Foot pizzas … from the Foot clan … oh bo y…
Cue so much silliness, a hell of a lot of Turtle-powered action, and Ellerby’s super-stylish cartooning.
It really is a treat — somebody tell the makers of the Turtles comics about this! What I’ve shown you here is just the first four pages of the 10-page tale. It’s all up in one place on his website here and across Ellerby’s socials.
Now, as for more from Ellerby, we’ve featured him and his work many times here at Comicon over the years, whether that’s his work on Rick and Morty or his creator-owned work, specifically the brilliant adventures of the whinging ginger ninja, Chloe Noonan: Monster Hunter.
As Marc describes here, she’s “a monster hunter without any super powers. She can’t run, she can’t punch, but despite all that, she has to save the world from the ever-growing monster population in her small coastal British town. The chosen one, she is not!'”
Many times over the years, I’ve said the same thing:
“Chloe Noonan deserved to be absolutely huge. Marc’s made 100s of Noonan pages in various copies he’s put out, all of which have found a small but dedicated fanbase. He says himself, ‘It is without any doubt the comic that brings me the most joy to make.'”
On his website, he also says that he’s got plans to release a print collection of the Chloe Noonan comics himself later this year via Kickstarter. I dearly hope that is so.
Anyway, you can see plenty of Chloe Noonan over here at Marc’s site. Here’s just a couple to give you a flavour … starting off with the special Noonan/Elerbisms single-pager crossover with the comic where I first came into contact with Marc’s work, Ellerbisms, a heartfelt and funny thing, slice of life, autobiog comics, long out of print, but still available in digital here.
But … whilst perusing Marc’s site, I came across a few things I’d never seen before — can’t believe I hadn’t, but hey, it happens.
Turns out, a while back, Marc did these brilliant Pond Life comics for Titan Books’ Doctor Who series… I’ll let him tell you how…
‘I was contacted by Andrew James of Titan Comics in 2014 about writing and illustrating some humour backup comics in their new Doctor Who: Eleventh Doctor comic series. I focused on the family dynamic of the Doctor and the Ponds (Amy, Rory and River Song) and wanted to bring a family sitcom feel to the Timelord’s world. This was one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had and thanks to Titan Comics and the BBC all of the strips are collected here in their entirety.’
Yes indeed — River, Amy, Rory, and the Eleventh Doctor, all having a blast, sitcom style. And all gathered together at Marc’s site here. Enjoy! I know I did.
Again, here’s a few to wet your whistle …
