# Media  > Creator Showcase >  Universe Gun and the art of Dr Mike 2000

## Dr Mike 2000

Hi all.

I'd like to invite you all to my website www*****damentzero.com, where I post my comics and comic related art, as well as a weekly blog.

There's the long term project of *Universe Gun*, a psychedelic superhero sci-fi webcomic. The first 21 page issue is up, the next 7 page installment is due Mid May.

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/art/ugun/logo.jpg[/IMG]

This week's blog entry discusses maths, superheroes and 1970's fashion, mainly because all three feature in a strip of mine called *Pazuzu!*, which is due to be published in the *Indie Comics Quarterly* anthology this month.

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/ihms3.jpg[/IMG]

Feedback, Facebook likes or Twitter follows are always welcome.

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## ExcelsiorPrime

Welcome Back.  I dig your stuff....

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## Ghost

Cool art DrMike. I like your style.

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## Dr Mike 2000

Thanks, Excelsior and Ghost. I'm glad you like it.

This week's post - Extremities - discusses hands and feet, and the joys and pains of working with characters who possess them!
And there's previews of the next two covers, since Universe Gun #2 kicks off next week!

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## Dr Mike 2000

Universe Gun #2: The Life Star, kicks off today!
A new seven page chapter "Monsters of the Heroic Age" is up at www.universegun.com delving further into the mysteries of the abandoned interdimensional satellite called the Life Star, and the quarantine organisation QMAC that contains it. 

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/art/lifestar/lifestar05_sm.jpg[/IMG]



Also on Tumblr now, at drmike2000comics.tumblr.com

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## Dr Mike 2000

This weeks blog at www*****damentzero.com looks at the work of master fantasy artist Patrick Woodroffe, who died this month.

And since there's none of my art to post from the blog this week, let's have a drawing of the Wizard of Oz gang!

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/art/characters/oz.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

My latest blog at www*****damentzero.com  - A Nice Piece of Fruit - discusses the recurring imagery of women bearing fruit as a gift.

It all started with this science fiction Maleficent sketch...


[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/art/characters/malificent.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

Amazing Architecture - Designing Future Cities!
My latest blog discusses how I went about setting up three distinct cityscapes for Universe Gun. Read it at www*****damentzero.com

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/arch2.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

Lost in Phase Space!

I talk about higher dimensions and a short project of mine in this week's blog over at www*****damentzero.com

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## ExcelsiorPrime

Always. Impressive

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## Dr Mike 2000

Thanks, Excelsior!

I've updated the comic reader to display the following page as a next button now, and adding a hit counter.
And written up a blog on today's life drawing adventures!

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/apples2.jpg[/IMG]

All at www*****damentzero.com

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## Dr Mike 2000

Legions of Superfriends - this week's blog looks at character dynamics in team comics.

At www*****damentzero.com

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/team4.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

Flying Solo - a look at solo story arcs in team comics. 
This week at www*****damentzero.com I discuss a short story I put together featuring Venus Green, and talk about the solo stories in Doom Patrol.

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/solo1.jpg[/IMG]

I'll be back during the week with a link for the short story, and there will be seven more pages of Universe Gun up next week!

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## Dr Mike 2000

As advertised, a new short strip of mine is up on the Writers Bloc Tumblr, and linked via the front page of www*****damentzero.com.

Or, this little image here:

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/art/garbagemini.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

More Universe Gun at www.universegun.com!

How does it feel to go from being a teen titan defender of your town to a normal kid under quarantine? Find out in the less-safe-for-work-than-previously chapter known as *Real Life*!

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## Dr Mike 2000

And I'm back to work on Universe Gun today after a break doing side projects.

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/dogtag5.jpg[/IMG]

I've also found time to write another blog - *Snowballs, Bombs, and Legion Dog Tags* discusses how to introduce a cast of characters at www*****damentzero.com

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## Ghost

> And I'm back to work on Universe Gun today after a break doing side projects.
> 
> [IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/dogtag5.jpg[/IMG]
> 
> I've also found time to write another blog - *Snowballs, Bombs, and Legion Dog Tags* discusses how to introduce a cast of characters at www*****damentzero.com


Thanks for the well thought out blog write up Dr Mike. Introducing a variety of characters in a clever and engaging way is tricky.

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## Dr Mike 2000

Thanks, Ghost. 
Yeah, it was funny writing this one. I'd gone in assuming that the 'snowball method' as I call it was quite common. Checking out my comic collection, I was really stumped to find a good example of it. Thanks the graphic novel gods for Sailor Moon, I've borrowed that off my daughter recently!

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## Ghost

> Thanks, Ghost. 
> Yeah, it was funny writing this one. I'd gone in assuming that the 'snowball method' as I call it was quite common. Checking out my comic collection, I was really stumped to find a good example of it. Thanks the graphic novel gods for Sailor Moon, I've borrowed that off my daughter recently!


Haha thats good idea  :Stick Out Tongue: . Ive also had to browse through my comics collection frequently to get a better idea of how some things work. Things like page turner ideas, how to switch character perspectives and do flashbacks, etc.

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## Dr Mike 2000

Martian Princess, Multiple Bodies and Superpets!

This weks blog at www*****damentzero.com covers the creativeprocess that went into Princess Amtora, as she appears in the pages of Universe Gun.

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/amtora1.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

Indie Comics Quarterly is now available for sale, featuring my 9-page strip from last year, Pazuzu!
What's the similarity between fractals and genies? Why are 33rd C Mars fashions rooted in the 1970s? Strap on your sideburns, chest wigs and flares to find out at Indie Comics Quarterly! (And the other strips are pretty cool too!)

www.indiecomicsquarterly.com

There's another preview page at www*****damentzero.com, and a new blog entry - the Fractals of Mars discussing my recent publication, and the fact that I've got a page of Universe Gun up in a local art gallery!

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/art/previews/pazuzu01.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

Have you heard of the psychedelic groovy chick called Agar Agar? Me neither, until some old 1970s strips crossed my path recently.
Read about them in my latest blog at www*****damentzero.com

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/psychint1.jpg[/IMG]

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## Ghost

> Have you heard of the psychedelic groovy chick called Agar Agar? Me neither, until some old 1970s strips crossed my path recently.
> Read about them in my latest blog at www*****damentzero.com
> 
> [IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/psychint1.jpg[/IMG]


Very cool. Love his use of color and negative space.

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## Dr Mike 2000

Thanks, Ghost. I think Alberto Solsona's work is a really good example of working with what you have. He's not the best draughtsman, but makes up for it with design sense.

Anyway, enough with the soft flowing hippy art! Lets get down to the hard technical business of *Computational Substrate* in this week's blog at www*****damentzero.com!
How do computers work, how could they work, and what would it be like to be inside one?

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/compute1.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

This week I discuss the pros and cons of continuity. This was brought on by a number of comics and events recently, not least, my small part in the relaunch of Australia's premiere superteam The Southern Squadron.
Check out their website here - www.southernsquadron.com.au

Check out my thoughts at www*****damentzero.com

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/continuity3.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

Universe Gun #3 is finished!
To celebrate, I've put together an unlettered panel from every page into a montage.

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/all.jpg[/IMG]

As my latest rather brief blog entry says, be back here next week for the final chapter of #2!

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## Dr Mike 2000

*Universe Gun #2: The Life Star* concludes today at www.universegun.com

And there's a few doodles from my #4 sketchbook in this week's blog at www*****damentzero.com

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/art/lifestar/lifestar15_sm.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

This week's blog kicks off a series of entries: *The Alternative Superhero Part 1: Changing the World* is up at www*****damentzero.com

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/alternative005.jpg[/IMG]

The images above are part of the Inktober challenge - I'll be producing an ink drawing every day this month, and posting them to Facebook and Tumblr

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## Dr Mike 2000

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/twins1.jpg[/IMG]

Head over to www*****damentzero.com to get my thoughts on diversity with a side order of physics!
Coriolis Boy and Star Girl 3000 come under the microscope in *Wonder Twins*

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## Dr Mike 2000

*All Tomorrow's Parties* - my latest blog entry discusses 37th C party fashion by way of Jean Paul Gaultier, Goldfrapp and Burning Man.

Read my thoughts at www*****damentzero.com

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/fashion05.jpg[/IMG]

Also, check out my Facebook page and Tumblr to see my efforts for the Inktober challenge. One ink drawing a day for the month of October - I think I managed 30 all up, which is very close.

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## Dr Mike 2000

Birds of Prey doing what they do best - rocking out!  :Smile: 



I've been a bit too busy to write a blog, but I'll be back in a couple of days with more *Universe Gun*!

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## Dr Mike 2000

*Universe Gun #3: Earth* begins today!

Ms. Amazing, the 21st C, and the artificial intelligence Cyberius XII collide in *What Am I?*

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/art/earth/earth01_sm.jpg[/IMG]

Get the whole story at www.universegun.com

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## baixam

Hi, I saw your art in the Oz Comic challenge and I like the way you use colors to give depth. I have a question about the posting. I am trying to post some images but  I can't do it the way you do.  I mean, I go to manage attachment but it's impossible to put the drawing as you do, I mean, what do you do to post your drawings? Thanks and keep doing your work

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## Dr Mike 2000

Hey, thanks, Baixam.  :Smile:  
Yeah, the OzComics challenge is a lovely place to hang out. Do you post on there too?

As for posting, I upload the pictures to my website and then reference them from there. You can do the same with a Tumblr account. 

1) Post the image to Tumblr
2) Right click on the image and go "Copy Image URL"
3) Come to these forums and click on the Insert Image button above the post
4) Click on the "From URL" tab and paste the URL you copied from Tumblr earlier, and uncheck the "Store Locally" option. (I paste addresses to my website at this point...)
5) Make your post, lets see if it worked with an image from my Tumblr...



Yep, there's the Matrix image I posted on Tumblr the other day. (Although I'm seeing double, there's an attached image at the bottom of the post?)
You can do this with an image posted to Facebook too.

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## baixam

thanks a lot, you helped me. I posted my drawings from a Tumblr page. Now I have to reduce the size  :Wink: . I posted in Birds of Prey Challenge in Oz Comics. I have it uploaded here in my thread. I saw there you OZ draw. I posted too to that challenge. 

And yes, you have the Matrix image twice, as normal and attached.

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## Dr Mike 2000

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/sfx1.jpg[/IMG]

Another blog entry? *Listen Up!* as I discuss the different ways to communicate sound in the purely visual medium of comics at www*****damentzero.com

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## baixam

cool domestic scene, great Oz Challenge. Do you have a tutorial for coloring? I should try to learn something.

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## Dr Mike 2000

Thanks. 
I don't have a tutorial for colouring as yet, partly because my methods are very basic and would probably make a real artist shudder.  :Smile: 
I've got a swatch jpg I use for consistency for all my Universe Gun characters and settings, and tend to just grab colours from there when I'm doing sketches. 

swatch.jpg

I do the inks in Photoshop with a pencil tool (which fills pixels 100% or doesn't, unlike the brush), so I can fill the areas with flat colour using the paint bucket. Here I've added a 30% black layer over the top (but below the music symbols) to bring them out and mute everything else.
I have done a bit more with this kind of masking for lighting effects, which I wrote about here:

http://drmike2000.wordpress.com/2014...ng-with-light/

But I can definitely write some more about my colouring methods in the near future as a blog entry.

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## Dr Mike 2000

A new blog is up. *The Robot Tyrants of Mars* looks into the development of Cyberius XII from a basic sketch to the central driving character in Universe Gun.

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/cyb001.jpg[/IMG]

www*****damentzero.com

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## Dr Mike 2000

And that's not all! Aside from my comic work, I've been taking part in the Adelaide Dr. Sketchy burlesque life drawing sessions over the past year.
I've made it into an associated calendar here, and there are a few of my other finished sketches on display here.

http://www.*********.com/people/just...-rogue-session

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/art/characters/apples.jpg[/IMG]

The whole album, with finished work and sketches is on my Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...9047384&type=3

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## Dr Mike 2000

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/newyear1.jpg[/IMG]

Check out my plans for 2015 in *High Resolutions*, my first blog entry for the year, at www*****damentzero.com

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## Dr Mike 2000

A new seven page chapter of Universe Gun is up today!
Check out the whole story at www*****damentzero.com

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/art/earth/earth08_sm.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

I've celebrated a year of writing regular blogs on my website by.. writing a blog!
Today's essay covers classical music, highbrow vs lowbrow culture and most importantly, the movies of Ken Russell!

Go to www*****damentzero.com to be *Educated by Pulp Fiction*

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/ironman.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

Do you like Amazing Infographics?
My latest blog entry at www*****damentzero.com discusses the transition from webcomic to actual printed comic, and the back page material I came up with as a result.

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## Dr Mike 2000

Ahh! A new Cintiq monitor, which means I'm now drawing on my powerful desktop machine, instead of on a self-contained graphics tablet running Windows Vista!

A few of my favourite things from the recent pages I've produced: hands, faces and cityscapes.

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/CQ1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/CQ2.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

www*****damentzero.com has had a major makeover today!

- Phone friendly layout
- Far less cluttered front page.
- Comics reader now works one page at a time, click anywhere for next page.

I'd love to know what you think, good or bad.

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## Jonny Cannon

'Ttt, some mission, all we did was walk our cat around.' This line always makes me laugh. Your comic is like early 90s 2000AD crossed with Yellow Submarine. It's Day-Glo, high concept, cartoon insanity in a good way.

Reading the comic now is pretty smooth, despite my Nokia Lumia regularly infuriating me.

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## Dr Mike 2000

Thanks, Jonny.  :Smile: 

And glad to hear the new layout's working for you.

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## Dr Mike 2000

Imagine you're an atomic teenage rebel on the run in a hostile universe!
How long could you last before you resort to *Manoeuvre Omega-Seven*??!!?

The final chapter of Universe Gun #3 is up at www*****damentzero.com

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## Dr Mike 2000

Issue #4 of Universe Gun is closer to completion. I've had a lovely day drawing the penultimate page, whose work in progress looks like this:

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/rings20bw.jpg[/IMG]

And I've managed to squeeze a new blog entry in before March passes us by with a comic review. See what I think about Storm, Black Widow and Red One in *Superdames!*

www*****damentzero.com

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## Dr Mike 2000

Universe Report 4 - my latest blog on www*****damentzero.com - is just one big status update.

Universe Gun #4 is in the bag, and looks a bit like this!

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/issue4.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

The art's dried up a bit in the past few weeks, as I've been busy doing my first con (Oz Comic-Con Adelaide), presenting at the Inkers and Thinker academic symposium on comics, and writing and thumbnailing Universe Gun #5!

In the meantime, here's a new blog!
Alternative Superheroes part 2 looks at the different ways writers have tried to inject realism into the genre, and the various possibilities this opens up.

Read the whole thing at www*****damentzero.com

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/realism02.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

How does the tesseract technology in *Universe Gun* work? Why can't it be used to communicate between Earth and Mars? 
Go to www*****damentzero.com for the answers in the latest blog - *Bigger on the Inside!*

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/tesseract01.jpg[/IMG]

Universe Gun #4 kicks off next week with *Magic Rings!*

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## Dr Mike 2000

Universe Gun #4 kick off today!



Kid Identity and a blinded Star Girl 3000 are surrounded by hostile QMAC forces! Cyberius XII is hallucinating wildly in a high-tech rubbish dump! Things don't look good! 
Go to www.universegun.com to find out what happens next!

Continuing Readers go here: Latest Chapter
New readers, looking for 70 pages of dense psychedelic superhero scifi, go here: First Chapter
Chapter index is here: Index

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## Dr Mike 2000

24 new pages!!
Yep, I did the 24 Hour Comic Challenge with my local comics buddies this weekend. I've posted two pages here, read the whole thing via the link below.

Falling: An Atomic Romance 

This is a stand-alone 24 page comic produced entirely within the space of 24 hours - written, drawn, lettered, everything.

Sleeve notes are up in my latest blog on www*****damentzero.com

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## Dr Mike 2000

Patrick MacNee aka John Steed from the Avengers passed away this week. I'd planned to write a blog about art process, but I had to talk about this instead, since the show was a huge part of my childhood.

Learn more about "The First Avenger" in my latest blog at www*****damentzero.com

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/steedpeel001.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

*Struggling Artist*
A blog on my evolving art process, and how I started to conquer the dreaded 3/4 reverse profile!

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/process0.jpg[/IMG]

Read about it at www*****damentzero.com, or on this direct link: https://drmike2000.wordpress.com/201...ggling-artist/

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## Dr Mike 2000

Storm!

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/storm001.jpg[/IMG]
The Oz Comics challenge (https://www.facebook.com/ozcomics) really got me going this week! I don’t spend every Friday night Googling for macrame pot-holders, but I did this week for Storm! (and the other X-Men, I guess)


Read my heartfelt ramblings about dangerous women characters over at www*****damentzero.com, simple entitled “Why I Love Comics”

Or go straight here.
https://drmike2000.wordpress.com/201...ics-the-x-men/

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## Dr Mike 2000

*Universe Gun #4* continues!
If you like clockwork brains, hallucinogenic earth elementals and extra-dimensional super-palaces, do yourself a favour and check out *Chapter 2: Heads*!

Explore from www.universegun.com, or use these handy links!

Latest Chapter:  http://www*****damentzero.com/page.php/rings/08
First Chapter: http://www*****damentzero.com/page.php/mars/00

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## Dr Mike 2000

*The Secret History of Ms. Amazing*

How a random spare skin in the game Freedom Force evolved into the central character of Universe Gun!



Read the story at vwww*****damentzero.com, or use this direct link:
https://drmike2000.wordpress.com/2015/08/15/ms-amazing/

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## Dr Mike 2000

*Universe Gun #4* concludes with *Fixing the Solar System*.
What do QMAC really want? What does Cyberius want for that matter?

Eight (yes eight) pages of new comics are up at www*****damentzero.com in a new comics viewer, which now includes all the extra Universe Gun back-pages from the printed copies!

Latest Chapter: http://www*****damentzero.com/ugun.php/90
First Chapter: http://www*****damentzero.com/ugun.php

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## Dr Mike 2000

*Universe Gun #5: Moons* kicks off today with *Breathing Space*
The search for the 21st Century hero Moon Girl begins as the gang get proactive and prepare for the heist of the (37th) Century!

Follow the full psychedelic superhero sci-fi story at www.universegun.com!

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/art/moons/moons01_sm.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

Got to www*****damentzero.com to read my thoughts on *Space Tofu*. My latest blog entry discusses some of the real world science behind the sci-fi food that has seeped into the pages of *Universe Gun*

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/blog/spacetofu.jpg[/IMG]

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## Dr Mike 2000

There are ten new pages up at www.universegun.com

The heist of the 37th C unfolds in "Finding Moon Girl".
How do you revive a hero who's been petrified since the 21st Century? What does a farm look like in the future? What can you usefully do with a shapechanging face?
All these questions and more are answered by clicking on the LATEST button!

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/art/moons/moons09_sm.jpg[/IMG]

And if that isn't enough, we also have the latest trading cards by guest artists Colin Wells, Dave Atze, Greg Gates and Jana Hoffman!

[IMG]http://www*****damentzero.com/art/moons/moons17_sm.jpg[/IMG]

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