MMM: The Expanders, Chapter 6 (Extras)....

Well, time to wrap The Expanders' contribution to the Manga Month Of May by taking a look at their later (and earlier, if we're being honest) appearances in Agent Rob's work. Above is one of the mock covers put together for the 2012 Electric Man Movie allowing Metalhead to make an appearance (and see his official name in print at last!)....

Prior to this the four main characters - two under the slightly different spelling/names of Heuex and Dr Ellis. D (oh dear!) - made an appearance in the March 2007 Khreditorial of Khaki Shorts (I think, if I recall, to set them solidly in print, making sure to use The Expanders name). This also features a drawing of Burning Orphanage, er, who had , ah, been something of Agent Rob's, um, stand-up comedy alter ego at the very turn of the century....

This is likely the very first complete drawing of the (then) trio. It was later flipped, edited and appropriated for one of Agent Rob's popular(-ish) anime cell styled prints in the late 90's....

And another....

....and one more....

....and waitaminnit here's another....

So this above is the chap appropriated for the Expanders-in-chief in Chapters 4 & 5 - I'm pretty sure his face never appears in those pages as a suitable/favourable 3D likeness of this drawing just could not be achieved elsewhere....

There's a few early biro drawings of the team members knocking about too....

And again....

Some more biro drawings appropriated for inclusion in the earlier chapters....

Really early pencil sketches above (yep, that's office notepaper)....

Biro variations on the Heux family tree(?) above....

Mr Solid early variant....

....and another....

The gang together....

So here we have The Expanders' flat worked out in detail, from the single abode itself to a complete floor, as well as a rough 3D block representation of the exterior. Reckon that's enough extras for ya?! No?

Well, how about an actual LEGO model of The Expanders ship that appeared on the very first page of the strip...?

I actually still have this model in my possession, somehow never been able to part with it....

Ooh, and the wings can move...!

So there you have it, a comprehensive history of a never-realised strip that's probably longer and (slightly) more interesting than the strip itself....

MMM: The Expanders, Chapter 5....

Still at the golf then? Interestingly (or not) our Expander-in-chief is driving (yep, driving!) a Fiat Punto SX a car with which Agent Rob was particularly taken at the time - again he'd plenty of newspaper clippings from the car sales pages for reference. Anyhow, in his rush to head off his spare golfballs have spilled all over the carpark....

Never fear, super centaur's on the case, levitating them into a cheery smile - hmm, tho god was responsible for levitating antics in Chapter 4 - while our head Expander simply despairs....

Wooh, giant overhead shot to show how massive (and rubbishly designed) the spaceship that belongs to the superpowers that be is....

And now the car won't start! I'm pretty sure god's taken care of things - hmm, even though that sort of thing seemed to be the responsibility of a tiny hero last chapter - so as to ensure.... 

....the head Expander honcho is now further resigned to accepting a lift in their spaceship in this, the final (final!) page. Next time we'll explore some extras and if there's life beyond The Expanders....

MMM: The Expanders, Chapter 4....

Evidently how to resolve the slightly muddied waters of Chapter 3's conclusion is to immediately jump to a game of, er, golf for Chapter 4. So here we have the (unnamed) leader of The Expanders playing a round with 2 other characters (one of whom would later (re)appear as 'God' in several Elexender Browne strips)....

At the time Agent Rob had amassed a bunch of newspaper clippings from various golf tournaments, presumably preferring to pencil this chapter in quite a finished manner as opposed to the hurried ink traces of the earlier (requiring a bit more due to their being "assembled") efforts. The idea here - just like many office jobs - is you have a necessary day away networking with "the superpowers that be" in order to socialise/discuss/further your career. 99% sure The Expanders are an earthbound team, the point of this game being to ascertain their chances of finally making it into outer space....

So our chief Expander has just missed his putt - I quite like the bearded fellow levitating the golf flag in the main panel - likely due to some behind the scenes superpowered jiggery-pokery....

Hmm, he canny believe it as our centaur overlord - who, unlike any other representations to be found, seems to have his genitals where a bloke's would be - hits a hole in one....

Obviously it's too much for our honest Expander and he decides the (fixed) game's a bogey (in a panel so nice it's surely has to be cribbed from a newspaper clipping)....

Main panel aside the rest of this is pretty ropey as the characters are obviously first attempts, but still, there's the reveal - a tiny superpowered hero had prevented the putt by hiding in the hole! What stirring drama awaits in Chapter 5...?

MMM: The Expanders, Chapter 3....

Bit more of a manga kick as Mr Solid hops in a taxi - no superpowers (and not much by way of cash either), what a bummer! - and then ends up stealing a too hot chip from Heux's dinner. Still, no time for that now as....

....Metalhead's in sight! Just enough time for Hi-Def to criticize Mr Solid's bald spot, but not for the villian of the piece to finish his takeaway....

Well, it's something of a Mangxican standoff, I suppose, as our heroes limber up....

And we're off! Things finally get up to speed as everyone piles onto Metalhead to bring him down....

Mr Solid's on the deck but - as evidenced by the close up of his head, complete with mysterious flashing eyes - he's steeling himself to seriously pop Metalhead one (on a 6th page that doesn't exist, so use your imagination because I obviously couldn't be bothered to). Wait, didn't I mention Mr Solid had no superpowers...? Hmm, how to resolve all this in Chapter 4...?

MMM: The Expanders, Chapter 2....

Architectural overload as this Chapter kicks off - obviously a fair amount of time has gone into setting out this flat balcony double paneller of Heux and Mr Solid sharing a cigarette....

Did I mention architecture? Bit too much of a squished perspective here, but 'A for effort' for even bothering! Mr Solid having a nice old daydream as he smokes his cigarette. Action packed stuff....

Mr Solid's cigarette dusted and flicked from the balcony. Heux flies on his way, contemplating the nature of his (seeming) invincibility....

Further thrills abound on this page as Mr Solid gears up for the day's adventure by, er, having a 'Perry White'. Heux's contemplation continues, his musings turning out to be a-

- 'real eye opener'. But soon enough Heux has pulled himself together while Mr Solid kicks the story into gear by popping a spot, reading a postcard and tackling a lift that's (bang) 'Out Of Order'.... 

Heux has now caught up with Hi-Def and, having rejected the contents of his shopping bag, The Boy Bulldog's ordered fish and chips - presumably no one told him Chapter 3 would be simply brimming with gut-busting excitement (or not)....

MMM: The Expanders, Chapter 1....

So straight into the action with this opening Chapter - looks like Mr Solid and Heux are doomed, 'toast' even....

Ho ho, oh no! Seems they're just too busy gaming while their morning toast burns....

Manga influence overload on this page as Heux evidently decides burnt toast (with marmalade) isn't for him....

Mr Solid plays on, ignoring his aching back, as Heux pulls up a chair and flicks on the radio. Whatever's been reported about the sky means a call to the boss is in order....

Heux declines a look at the 'racing pages' as he's skint and Mr Solid discovers that Metalhead is out and about....

And here's Hi-Def doing the top-up shop, looking for today's fresh bread. Suddenly he's aware of what's going on outside and puts the call out to our resident gamers who, after trying to avoid a chat, opt to step outside for Chapter 2....

MMM: The Expanders, Chapter 0....

As part of Manga Month it seems there's a (somewhat feeble) excuse for this blog to travel back in time to 1999, revisiting Agent Rob's first dalliance with the Glasgow comic scene and the resultant, unfinished/unpublished superhero strip The Expanders. Having visited the Byers Road Futureshock and picked up a 'Want To Draw Comics?' flyer concocted by writer Will Marshall and artist Jim Devlin - then currently working on the earliest incarnation of their own Dark Ascension series - a fresh-faced, pre-S.H.I.E.L.D. Rob was soon part of the team working on the proposed Evil Ink anthology. Many enjoyable Saturday afternoon's would be spent in Will Marshall's vast conservatory, our bold creators plotting and planning this (admittedly pretty exciting looking) title....

Spot the newbie.... L-R: C.Barr, J.Devlin, A.Amateur,

C.Alexander, H.Healy and C.Sibling (reclining)  

Alas, this website promo is all that survives from those 'sessions', the title never came to pass and for whatever reason the Saturday meets fizzled out and Rob eventually drifted away from the comic scene in general (until....). Luckily (and like all artists, who clutch and cling to their every idea as if it was pure comic gold) Rob stashed away the pages having assembled them into several rough chapters - the strip was conceived and structured along similar lines to those in 2000AD, a 'book' being formed of 7 chapters at 6 pages a piece. The basic premise - though from the meets I'm sure it was agreed the strips should NOT be set in Scotland - was that there was a plethora of heroes worldwide and that The Expanders were decidedly B-List, a bunch of guys living in a Glasgow high-rise, living off Scottish Plain bread (with marmalade) and hoping for a chance to be allowed to venture into outer space....

Above is, um, Mr Solid - who, if anyone is remotely interested, was partly visualised as Rob's idea of what a 9th Doctor Who would ideally look like - the leader of the team and only non-superpowered member, preferring computer games and male pattern baldness....

The second character was Heux: L'Enfant Unique AKA The Boy Bulldog - er, whose 'face' is based on a burglar alarm sensor situated between 2 sash and case windows, the sensor formed the mouth/nose and the moveable side jams to either side informed the angled eyes - a seemingly indestructible, er, hermaphrodite alien (adopted French!) who seems to be seeking his own Achilles' heel....

The third member of our quartet was Captain High-Definition (so named much later in a quasi-revival for a Khaki Shorts khreditorial) who was basically very tall and very skinny and (presumably) very clever. Hi-Def's head is, in fact, based on the look of a retractable pencil's pocket clip....

The fourth notable character was (at that time) known as Compass Head - er, as his head was based on the looks of a traditional school compass - but latterly he was rebranded to Metalhead. In the opening chapters he's evidently the supervillain of the piece. We'll get started on that next time and in the meanwhile here's some story roughs (which at the very least display some clarity of approach and vision for a first-timer)....

Roughs for Chapter 1 and (the start of) Chapter 2....

Roughs for (the rest of) Chapter 2....

Roughs for Chapters 4 & 5....