What Is Family Fun Bot?

The Arizona desert is littered with roadside oddities, and many of them inspire the superheroic adventures of Amazing Arizona Comics.  In some case, they inspire the superheroes, themselves.

All week long, as a part of Amazing Arizona Comics Month, I'll be featuring some of the quirkier corners of Arizona, and how they make Amazing Arizona Comics one of the most unique minicomics on the market today!

If you've driven through the small town of Eloy, between Phoenix and Tucson on the I-10 freeway, you've undoubtedly spotted the remains of Family Fun World, a multi-faceted theme park that never made it to opening day.  According to the blog The Weird AZ Challenge:

This property was purchased by Richard Songers in 1995 with the intent of creating an amusement park, zoo, race track and concert arena, this extravaganza was to be called Family Fun World. But after several years of development Songers was forced to give up the Family Fun World dream for lack of funds.

For years, one of the remains of Family Fun World was a robot that stood right on the edge of the highway.  The best image of the robot online is by Jeremiah Ellsworth.  Check out his Flickr for more amazing pictures.

The robot has since disappeared, and many wonder why.  Some assume vandals are to blame. As the author of a superhero comic book, my theories are a little more controversial.  I presume that the robot has achieved sentience and now fights alongside the Arizonauts.  I don't blame you if you don't believe me, but I've chronicled Family Fun Bot's meeting with Sam Brero, so take it or leave it!  

Of course, I once travelled to the site of Family Fun World, and despite "No Trespassing" signs, I felt it was my duty to discover the truth.  I documented the experience, and, I must admit, my footage is some of the best shots of those forbidden grounds you'll find anywhere.  The roadside robot and baskets are well documented, but here's a look at everything else.  If your interest is piqued, the whole story of Family Fun Bot's first meeting with Sam Brero is documented in Amazing Arizona Comics #16, available now.  

Thank You, Free Comic Book Day!

If you're visiting the ol' blog because you picked up a free issue of Amazing Arizona Comics yesterday, thank you for stopping by!  If you're a regular fan that's been visiting daily in May for Amazing Arizona Comics Month, welcome back!  I've had a great first week updating you with sketches, motion comics, and character insights -- and we're just getting started.

I wanted to use today's post to say thank you to all of the comic shops that carry and support Amazing Arizona Comics.  Specifically, I'd like to thank Drawn to Comics for hosting a great event yesterday.  Dozens of artists were set up in the Velma Teague Branch of the Glendale Library, and I was happy for the reminder that comics are a powerful reading tool for kids.  You don't have "comic book" without book, and, as we fans are often swept away by beautiful art and unique character designs, the words are an often overlooked part of the equation.  My favorite comic books are stories that I'll remember the rest of my life, and I can quote those issues just as folks can quote any other kind of literature that impacts them.  The symbiotic relationship between text and pictures is what makes the comic book such an important and unique medium.

Anyway, back to the yesterday's event, I set up an Amazing Arizona Comics pop-up shop, and folks enjoyed perusing back issues to complete their collection.  I especially enjoyed sketching for fans in a more lounge-y way, so don't be surprised if I lug a recliner to Phoenix Comic Fest at the end of the month!

I'd also like to thank Ash Avenue Comics in Tempe.  Their independent comics rack is the best in the state, and if you're looking for small press, self-published or alternative comix, Ash Avenue is the place to be.

Side note: My girlfriend and I concluded Free Comic Book Day at Castaway's, one of our favorite karaoke bars in Phoenix.  A birthday party insisted on singing Alice in Chains songs most of the night, so while someone sang the hit "Rooster," I drew a rooster man for him.  I guess I couldn't stop sketching, but it was kind of fun to keep the "free comics" thing going just a little while longer!

Come back tomorrow for more background info about Amazing Arizona Comics, as I post more behind-the-scenes stuff all month long!  I appreciate your reading, in print -- and online!

And Now...Family Fun Bot! part 12

So concludes the introduction of Family Fun Bot to the Amazing Arizona Comics family.  To see my real life search for Family Fun Bot, check out this YouTube video.  

Click here to read the return of Zombie Santa!

And Now...Family Fun Bot! part 11

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And Now...Family Fun Bot! part 10

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And Now...Family Fun Bot! part 9

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And Now...Family Fun Bot! part 8

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And Now...Family Fun Bot! part 7

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And Now...Family Fun Bot! part 6

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And Now...Family Fun Bot! part 5

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And Now...Family Fun Bot! part 4

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This dialogue is paraphrased from a conversation I overheard in a Tucson coffee shop back in 2012, when the street car was being installed.  Little did those pontificators know that they'd find themselves in the middle of an Amazing Arizona adventure!

And Now...Family Fun Bot! part 3

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I'd be remiss not to mention that this strip was conceived and drawn when the street car was under construction in Tucson back in 2012.  Enjoy the blast from the past -- even as Tucson moves into the future . . .!

And Now...Family Fun Bot! part 2

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And Now...Family Fun Bot! part 1

This week, to celebrate this weekend's Tucson Comic Con, we kick off a new adventure starring Sam Brero, and introducing Family Fun Bot, in southern Arizona!  This adventure will run three weeks -- enjoy!

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