Ready for the Cryptozoo?

Posted: Monday, February 16, 2004
Posted By: Shawn Patty

Ready for The CryptoZoo?

Not Yeti, but almost!

What do the Yeti, the Loch Ness Monster and New Zealand Cave Monkeys have in common? (And if your answer has anything to do with politics, you've been watching too much TV lately.) Answer: They are serious science for Tork Darwyn.

And just who is Tork Darwyn? Glad you asked!

"Tork Darwyn is part Mark Trail and part paleontologist, with a little Tarzan thrown into the mix," said the character's co-creator, writer Allan Gross. "Not only does Tork track down these wild, little known creatures and unknown animals, he can often communicate with them."

Darwyn, his wife Tara, and assorted fantastic creatures appear in “Tails from the CryptoZoo”, the new online strip from Insight Studios Group. Appearing on Insight's www.SunnyFundays.com website, CryptoZoo is already running in its preview stage. The formal debut is set for February 23, 2004, featuring a story called, “The Improbable Snowman”. This will be followed by stories featuring a variety of cryptids, including the legendary Chupacabra and carnivorous plants.

As Tork travels the globe solving the mysteries of such legendary animals, it becomes apparent that there is only one creature whose secrets Darwyn can't unravel: His wife!

Allan Gross, who also writes the conspiracy-driven Doctor Cyborg, has been the author of Argus and The Flash for DC Comics and Tarzan for Dark Horse Comics, the syndicated Tarzan newspaper strip, IS ART – The Art of Insight Studios, and contributed to Titanic Tales. Doctor Cyborg is being published this summer as a graphic novel by Image Comics.

Jerry Carr, CryptoZoo's co-creator, handles the art duties on the comic strip. Jerry is a multi-media wizard and children's magazine illustrator who has carved out the time to follow his life-long passion for comics. His clean line style and illustrations of the strip's sexy girl-next-door heroine were discovered by many convention-goers last year in the CrytpoZoo ashcan, and he is well on his way to a prominent place in the industry.

"The reaction to the ashcan was amazing," said Gross. "We didn't do any promotion and yet people still seemed to find out about it."

"We've received incredible feedback from editors, reviewers, industry professionals and, most importantly, from readers!" Carr said. "It's been wonderful to watch kids pick this up and buy it with their own money. We're excited about these stories and can't wait to bring them to a larger audience!"

Like all the strips at the Insight Studios comic page, “Tails from the CryptoZoo” is available by "tooncast," so it can run daily on your own website. It’s free. Just by copying some HTML code available at the SunnyFundays.com web site. Or simply visit SunnyFundays.com every day for your daily fix.

The SunnyFundays site already plays host to Frankenstein Mobster, Trying Times, Doctor Cyborg, Naked Brain and Astounding Space Thrills. It has also previously hosted Hammer of the Gods and other strips from Insight Studios members including Marc Hempel, Mark Wheatley, Michael Avon Oeming, Harry Roland and Steve Conley.

Insight Studios Group, headed by Mark Wheatley, creates comics for other publishers and also publishes books, comic books, and on-line daily and weekly comic strips under its own imprint. In addition to the recent Image Comics hits Hammer of the Gods and Hammer of the Gods: Hammer Hits China, Insight has played home to Naked Brain, Jimgrim and the Devil at Ludd, Titanic Tales, and Al Williamson Adventures. Visit www.insightstudiosgroup.com and SunnyFundays.com.

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