We are currently hard at work on a new 8-page story for the "Shooting Star Comics 15th Anniversary Reunion Special." That will be a very small release collector's edition. My plans are to later repackage it in full color, along with a new full color edition of a previously b/w story, as "Metro Med #2."
This new story will feature Magnitude (seen with the blonde ponytail on the cover of Metro Med #1 below), and I think you'll all love it. Not only is it equal parts sad and funny, but it marks the return from retirement for one last story of artist PHIL MEADOWS! Now a busy dad with another decade of architectural rendering experience, he's nevertheless excited about doing comic books one last time (and who knows what he can show us now?).
What of future books? I'm busting with stories, enough to fill a trade paperback (and then another) easily. However, I've had a difficult time finding artists at my price range. Even with a Kickstarter, the budget can't be huge; that's why almost all successful Kickstarters and self-published books are by writer/artists who can do their own material for free! I'd hoped to find a single artist to partner with me on the book, as Phil did, but it hasn't panned out. So I'm still scouting out artists and colorists who can tackle 8-page stories for future installments. If you're interested, check out the "Artists Needed" page.
Check out the cover to Metro Med #1 (free of the usual logo and other cover clutter) from legendary Blue Devil artist Paris Cullins!
Metro Med, The Superhero Hospital is the latest project from Michael Hutchison.
Metro Med won the 2004 Small Press Idol, a talent competition for independent comic book creators. As the winners, the first 8-page story was published in Mysterious Visions Anthology #1. An ashcan edition, Metro Med #0, debuted the summer of 2005. A 36-page Special Edition #1 was published in 2008.
In 2014, Metro Med is finally being printed in full color, with new storylines that will continue into future issues...and a cover by Paris Cullins! Look for preview art and more information in April 2014!
Metro Med is the only hospital in the world specially suited for the treatment of superheroes, supervillains and other strange and supernatural individuals. Metro Med is centrally located on an island in the middle of the East coast Tri-Metro, a megalopolis formed by the bay cities of bustling New Athens, colonial Libertyville and blue collar Bud City.
The ongoing series will introduce you to dozens (and eventually hundreds) of intriguing patients as they walk in, fly in, or are brought in by their teammates. However, the real stars of the book are the Metro Med staff, normal human beings who must treat patients who may be bristling with radioactivity or capable of taking out a wall with an involuntary muscle movement.
The staff is led by Dr. Chet Clancy, an administrator whose reason for founding the hospital is tied to a disastrous incident 15 years earlier (as revealed in our first story). Other members of the medical staff include Dr. Angela Lucas, a psychiatrist who counsels the superheroes and their families, and superhero specialist Dr. Milt Bradford.
Of course, no hospital could function if it only serviced superheroes. As it is centrally-located between the three cities of the Tri-Metro, Metro Med is uniquely situated to handle the civilian victims of superhuman-related disasters and other crisis situations, and it is a world-renowned care facility.
Metro Med's vulnerability to supervillain attack or infiltration is the staff's greatest concern, which is why Security Chief Jules Howitzer has assembled a team of the world's best-trained security personnel. Their job is to be "the superheroes to the superheroes", protecting the world's protectors when they are at their most vulnerable.
The Character pages have been updated with new pinups and bios, with more about the superheroes Magnitude, XLR-8, Sgt. Patton and the Happy Campers and the Teen Terrors, all of whom made their debut in the Metro Med Summer Special #0, August 2005.
See the pinup image and synopsis, then read the first two pages online.
Metro Med Special Edition #1 is available at IndyPlanet.
You can also purchase them from Too Many Longboxes, our comic sales site.
Michael and Phil have worked together for years, first as staffers of Fanzing Magazine, then as a comic book creative team in the pages of Job Wanted #1 and Shooting Star Comics Anthology #4. In addition to Metro Med, both of those books are available for purchase.
