I love offbeat, oddball, relatively unknown characters. Characters like John Aman, the Prince of Orphans, from the Iron Fist / Immortal Weapons books at Marvel a few years ago.

I really dug the Prince, I loved that he had an implied lengthy backstory with the Marvel Universe, and I wanted to write something quick and fun.

Well, when I talked about it online, my buddy and artist Dan Henderson said he’d love to actually make a short comic about the Prince. So we did.

In no way does posting this here indicate ownership of the Prince of Orphans or any of the characters in this short story. This is Marvel’s stuff. I’m just having fun.

With that said, please enjoy this 5-pager, with amazing art and colors by Dan Henderson, and letters by Vernon Smith.

(And if any Marvel editors see this and want to make this a real thing, you can contact me at bertolini.mark@gmail.com, I’d love to write a Prince of Orphans miniseries, it would be absolutely amazing.

Thanks for checking it out!

Hi everybody! (Hi Doctor Nick)

So the last time I posted here, sometime last month, I mentioned a bunch of upcoming pitches. Well, I decided to be a nice guy and show some of these to you.

So without further adieu, here are a few sneak peeks at some upcoming pitches:

STRANGE CASE

Strange Case is a twisted take on Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde, with art by Keith Grachow and letters by Vernon Smith.

SECRET CITY

Secret City is an old-school kung-fu pulp story with art by Francesco Iaquinta, colors by Matej Stasko and Jesse Samper, and letters by Micah Myers.

SEE YOU IN HELL

See You in Hell is a sci-fi/horror redemption story with art by Chris Anderson and letters by Alex Giles.

DOG CATCHER

Dog Catcher is a futuristic hard sci-fi story with art by Juha Halme.

THE MAN WHO SHOOK THE EARTH

The Man Who Shook the Earth is a pulp story that follows a character from the 1960s through current day. Art by Jerome Eyquem and letters by Alex Giles.

PATCHWORK

Patchwork is a crime/horror story with art by Ken Perry, colors by Jack Scorey, and letters by HdE.

REAPERS

Reapers is a sci-fi/alien invasion story with art by Fabricio Bohrer and letters by Alex Giles.

THE THREE GHOSTS OF ALEISTER KINGHEART

The Three Ghosts of Aleister Kingheart is a horror/comedy with art by Adam Cahoon.

MAGNETS OF DOOM

Magnets of Doom is a sci-fi/apocalyptic story by Valentin Ramon (with dialogue assists by yours truly).

So there you have it – some samples of some upcoming stuff that hopefully will be in readers’ hands before too long.

As always, stay safe and healthy in this crazy world we’re in!