I SAW MY BEST FRIEND SHOT DOWN BY COPS ..... The Broke Down - Origin Story
Why, I created Broke Down And Four Dead Bodies
So, since we have Broke Down In Cañon City. I figured it would be a good time to talk about the BROKE DOWN AND FOUR DEAD BODIES comic book origins. When i was in my teens i loved crime movies. I couldn’t get enough of them from Bottle Rockets, Way Of The Gun, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and well the Quentin Tarintino crime movies.
I also loved crime comics even though they were few and far between. Stray Bullets, 100 BULLETS, SCALPED, CRIMINAL, JINX, GOLDFISH and so many more. However, crime comics have always been limited in the comic realm. They receive great fan fair but very few people produce them
So, i saw a void and i started going that path to fill what i felt was a void in the market.
However, before we get to that lets be real for a minute.
I honestly felt it was me doing research when watching all those movies and reading those book. I thought and felt in my heart of hearts that my path was leading me into that world. I had a few altercations with the police growing up. Nothing major and nothing that got me a record mostly because i was smart. However, i grew up with a distrust of the police, and almost every personal experience that i have had with police since that has justified that belief. I know that sounds crazy but as I looked around my life. I was surrounded by illegal activity. I admit, i am making it a little more dramatic then it was but it is the truth. I had a bunch of a bad stuff going on around me and i was just trying to survive. I watched these movies because these “criminals” were my family, they were all i knew. The duality of them being bad was tough for me because of these so-called criminals were some of the nicest people i had ever met but they had drug problems. I never felt that they were the problem just the actions they are taking while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. So, these movies and comics started to make me understand that “bad” is a label.
In fact, to put more of a point on this with some facts let me tell you a little story. Below is a picture of myself and one of my best friends.
His name was Doug Heath. Him and I came from the same situation. His father was in and out of jail and our fathers got into more than illegal activity situations together. People don't understand but these criminal stories told by our parents would horrify a CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES MEMBER but for us as kids. It just made our parents cooler than your parent. Our parents had stories like we saw in the movie. They weren’t working a 9 to 5 as a banker. They were running from cops, making side hustles. I have more stories of things that i have witnessed from the back seat of a car than most people will ever experience in their life. My friend Doug and I hung out as these were happening. Most of the time we stayed out of the above situations. We were Playing He-Man, Watching Horror movies. (The stuff kids do) However, as we grew up my friend decided not to go to college, he embraced the lifestyle that I avoided. I looked around and saw death coming to me as the actions of my parents were not getting better in old age but worst and i didnt want to go down that path.
My friend didnt see it the same way and got deep into a bunch of stuff. I love the guy. Out of respect, i wont go into the details of all his past deeds. Its hard because of some of his actions hurt his family, hurt my family and hurt friends of mine. I legit have a perminant scar over my eye because of one situation. However, there is power in youth and forgiveness that honestly is kind of odd but i do believe its what makes friendships great.
I often think of him when i listen to meatloaf. The song OBJECTS IN THE REARVIEW mirror and this was way before he ever died.
We were racing; we were soldiers of fortune
We got in trouble but we sure got around
There are times I think I see him peeling out of the dark
I think he's right behind me now, and he's gaining ground
So, what happened to my friend Doug Heath. What happened on the path he took versus the path i took. Well, my friend saw his end by having a shoot out with the police killing him dead in my home town. Dying in what Bon Jovi would call “A Blaze Of Glory”
I watched my friend who rode bikes with me, learns to talk to girls together, got into Dr. Dre, formed a gang (it wasn’t that exciting…we just were punk kids at a public pool wearing green bandanas) and both got scared shitless of Nightmare of Elm Street 4. I watched him lose his life to the ROCHESTER POLICE DEPARTMENT live on camera.
Here is a article for more information and proof.
https://www.wmur.com/article/police-shooting-of-man-in-rochester-ruled-justified/23603753
I am just realizing how poetic is that my dedication for BROKE DOWN AND FOUR DEAD BODIES was both him and my dad. I have never thought about that until i wrote this. They both died in the same year.
So, lets address the first thing here. I dont write crime as some kind of weird crime fantasy of being a OUTLAW. I dont write it because I have a love for the Anti-Hero. Its me trying to get out stuff within me that i haven’t fully processed. I wanted to show some of that lifestyle in a fantasy way. Writing for me is therapy is clearly on display in something like GRANITE STATE PUNK but BROKE DOWN AND FOUR DEAD BODIES has lots of elements in there that speak to me processing it.
Any writer worth anything is telling something personal. If they arent then the story isn’t worth telling in my opinion.
So….. that was a lot. Im sorry, I felt i needed to share some of that personal stuff before i get into the more basic stuff.
Lets take breath
So, we know the tragic part of the story lets go into some of the basics. BROKE DOWN AND FOUR DEAD BODIES was inspired by this single page of a comic.
This page blew my little brain it was 1996 or 1997 that i got my hands on STRAY BULLETS #1 and i was like HOLY SHIT!! This page made me want to tell so many stories about being broke down with dead bodies. I had so many questions. What would happen when they find them? They have no suspects who did it? How did this happen???? Who’s Harry?? A good comic makes you ask questions and for me it was even more personal.
My father was a tow truck driver so the thought of this happening really put my mind in a spiral. So, i started to write this as a short film for credit in film school. All i had for the film was the two guys pushing the car and fighting but i wanted it as like a demo for what the film could be. (I really need to get that footage put together to share with everyone)
That year, i went to MEGACON and i met STEPHAN NILSON. He wrote a book called GOVERNMENT BODIES. This book had some crime elements and the image below is my first published work. (I have a whole box of this single issue. I was so proud) I decided that i wanted to turn my film into a comic. It was much cheaper and easier to get off the ground.
So, i did just that. I create BROKE DOWN AND FOUR DEAD BODIES. There is a bunch of twists and turns in that story. If you have been on the substack for a while you have heard them but that’s the basics.
However, i didnt want to put out some stuff that I did on purpose while making this story.
1) Issue 1 feels like i am just copying QUENTIN TARANTINO. This was done on purpose. My thought was to make something that people are used to and then show i could write later in the series. This was a HUGE mistake. It made me look like i didn’t know how to write and just copy. I wouldn’t change it but I always want to point out my intent.
2) The style that I picked is clean. Its a clean almost american/manga style. This was done on purpose my thought was that so many crime comics were dark inks. That if I did something clean it could be refreshing. Kind of like pulp fiction most of it happens during the day and its very bright instead of at night like a normal crime movie. I am not sure if that was a good or bad call but i am still very proud of the unique feel of this book.
BROKE DOWN AND FOUR DEAD BODIES is a book i am still very proud of. It was started in 2003 and the trade was sent out 20 years later at 2023. Its a vast universe that i hope to one day create more comics in it. This ONE-SHOT is kind of a test to see if people want more stories. I have about 12-19 issues of a story that i want to tell.
Broke Down And Four Dead Bodies - 1-4
Broke Down And Tapped Out 1-3 (Wrestling/Crime Story)
Broke Down And Patched Up 1-4 (Punk Rock/Bikers/Crime Story)
Broke Down And Freak Out 1-3 (Slasher/Crime Story)
Broke Down And Locked Up 1-5 (Prison Crime Story)
Hopefully, one day i can tell a longer form story in this universe once i gain more of a fan base to tell stories like these.
So, that leads us to our new book!
This is an anthology that i have put together for a long time. I had many of my friends in comics help put together this great book. I wanted to let my friends play with these characters and each of them took one of my creations and played. This is the first time that I have done something like this. I let others play with my toys.
Here is our credits list
Travis Gibb (Granite State Punk), Jonathan Hedrick (Recount), Jerome Gagnon (Assassins Creed), Chuck Pineau (Belial), James Burton (Damage Inc), C.R.Florence (Cthulhu Invades Neverland), Frank Martin (Grimm Space),Baggs Brothers (Expired), Heather Gibb (Pup Van Winkle), Felix Novara (Broke Down And Four Dead Bodies), Dan Schmidt (Worms Crawl Out). Christopher Rundt (Battle Monsters), Gilliard Goulart (Voodoo Nations), Jo Vasquez (Nightmare Theater 3)
This book is super fun and hopefully it will get some new fans and maybe bring some excitement to the BROKE DOWN UNIVERSE. This story has so many twists and turns and using the town of Cañon City is no accident. When, i wrote this my artist had a huge language barrier. So, i wanted it set in a new england area but he kept drawing deserts. So, finally i just added them and when i spoke to my wife. She recommend a place that looks like NEW ENGLAND and can also have long stretches of empty roads. Cañon City is also super dark. There are 11 correctional facilities in Cañon City, seven state and four federal prisons. With a crime rate of 34 per one thousand residents, Canon City has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 30.
It also huge HUGE connections to the KKK and odly enough Cañon City, Colorado is one of the most well-known fossil areas in the U.S. Packed full of prehistoric history, fossils and insight as to the creatures that roamed this region of Colorado millions of years ago.
This area has it all and i hope to tell story in this place for years to come!! We also did some great homage covers for this book.
Cover A is a homage to JINX by Tim Von Cloedt
Cover B is a homage to RESERVOIR DOGS by Fish Lee
Cover C is a homage to CLASSIC CRIME COMICS by Jérôme Gagnon
Cover D is a homage to USA AVENGERS 1 by Nicholas Mueller and Jérôme Gagnon
So, if you haven’t yet! For the next 7 days! You can back BROKE DOWN AND FOUR DEAD BODIES AND BROKE DOWN IN CANON CITY
BREAK DOWN WITH ME
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/orangecone/broke-down-in-canon-city-crime-comic
Travis Gibb