JOURNEY INTO COMICS: HERO TOMORROW

[MattBrady]

by Michael San Giacomo

Superman Returns cost about $200 million to make.

Ted Sikora and Milo Miller spent about $100,000 to create their film, Hero Tomorrow, which will have its world debut at the San Diego Comic Convention on July 20.

Maybe they did not have flying men in tights and mountain-sized crystals, but the film is excellent.

The thing to remember, is that it is not really a superhero film. It’s a film about a wanna-be comic creator who goes a little crackers and starts thinking he is the character he created, an animalistic vigilante called Apama.

There is a big difference.

For one thing, the superhero persona does not have to look perfect because we know it’s a guy pretending to be a superhero .

Under it all is a love story between the hero, David, and his comic-shop worker/clothing designer girlfriend, Robyn.

“I consider it a punk version of the superhero movie,” said Sikora, of Akron. “We just tried very hard to keep the movie believable.”

Almost half of the $100,000 budget went to equipment. They managed to find dozens of actors in the Cleveland area willing to work for nothing but promises of financial rewards in the future.

And it took seven years to make.

“We finished it four weeks ago,” he said. “I decided that if we were going to do this, we would do it right and take our time. It took me a year to storyboard it on 1,500 boards, but we had a pretty good guide to what we wanted the story to show.”

Hero Tomorrow does not have the look of an amateur production. The writing is skilled, the direction is strong and the acting is first rate - which is impressive since there is only one screen actors guild member in the whole cast.

More importantly, it’s a solid story that will appeal to everyone, comic fan or not.

“I’m hoping that we get a big distribution deal at San Diego,” he said. “That’s our dream. We‘re showing it on July 20, which is my 38th birthday. That‘s gotta be a sign.”

Anyone going to San Diego should check it out. Everyone else will just have to wait for that distribution deal to come through.

Check out the trailer at: http://www.herotomorrow.com/

[EmeraldGuy32]

heh. that looks pretty good.

[kingofcities]

That looks pretty fun. That costume is freaky.

[AlterEgoComics]

Alter Ego Comic Cast has an interview with Ted Sikora about this movie.

Go to alteregocomiccast.com and it's episode #17.

it sounds like an interesting movie.

Jason

[AlexLothos]

Cool trailer and congrats on completing post production!

[creatorman]

That looks very good. Definitely will check it out.

[Supreme Convoy]

Interesting, I'll have to check it out!

[Darren J. Gendron]

I've got the when and where as July 20 in San Diego, but could I get a bit more of the specifics? Time, and is it at the Center (which room?) or at a theater (which one?).

[SpiderSangre]

July 20th, 8:55 PM in the San Diego Convention Center - Room 26AB

The complete schedule is on the site now.
Comic Con International Independent Film Festival