It started with the game Lemmings. You know the one. The job is to guide the mindless, green-haired rascals to the goal. Anyway, I started drawing those guys on a regular basis, but soon the originality section of my brain said I should create something myself. So I used a lemming as a base, and gave it fingers, actual legs, mouth, and nostrils. Kept the snout. They wore pants, a t-shirt, and a vest-like thing, and were kind of like mischevious Lemming knockoffs.
Well, that was fine and dandy for a while, until my originality side tapped me on the shoulder saying I need main characters. So I altered them slightly, giving them different clothing. At first it was Joel (his namesake is Joel, the original guy from MST3K) and his little brother (I didn't even have a name for him at that time). I still wasn't serious into drawing yet, so it wasn't a big deal. Then I decided to make the brother Joel's best friend. I needed a name not many people used, so came up with Gunther. Unfortunately, there are now two newspaper comic strips with supporting characters named Gunther. But back to the past...
Soon I met Wilfried, and it was like an instant click. He and I were so like-minded, with the same warped sense of humor. It was also about this time that I was getting a little more serious about the comic. I had won 1st place in the poster contest at Dad's company picnic twice, and that had given me a huge confidence boost about my drawing, so I drew much more. I showed my stuff to Wil, and he loved it! He began helping think of weird plot devices for Joel and Gunther. Soon we noticed a kinship each of us had. I associated myself with Joel, and Wil connected with Gunther. So it became a way to express what we'd really like to do in real life. We became partners in this endeavor, in The Missing Link.
When I realized how ingrained this was into my life, I figured I should create a company name to cover Link and whatever else we'd come up with. Since we were pretty much lizard oriented at the time, I named it Chameleon Productions. It fit nicely. When I bought a computer on my own, and hooked up online, I realized there were a lot of companies with that name, mainly paint and color oriented ones. So I conversed with Wil, and I added Dead to it. It had a nice ring to it, and conveyed the type of humor we strive to give.
Jeremy D. Palka
- height: 5'9"
- weight: 170 lbs
- hair: brown
- eyes: brown
- marital status: in love with AUDRA, The Most Wonderful Girl in the Whole Universe!
Jeremy is the guy who started this whole mess. He's the creator, executive producer, co-writer, and artist. Graduated from Overton High in 1995, and a USAF vet from 1996-2000 at Hurlburt Field, FL, he's now currently employed at Premier System Integrators, Inc. and living in the basement of his folks' pad. Jeremy is currently attending classes to major in Engineering Technologies. When he's not working or studying, he's working on the comics, screwing around online, playing video games, catching a movie, goofing off in general, and spending as much time with his sweetheart as possible.
Wilfried J. D. Boëly
- height:5'7"
- weight:145
- hair: black
- eyes: green
- marital status: separated, going on divorced
Wil came along and shared the same vision as Jeremy, becoming the other half of the team. He's the partner, co-writer, and color artist. Also an Overton graduate, c/o 1996, he's now working at Kroger so he can have a flexible schedule for his classes. He is studying medicine and plans on becoming a doctor. He resides in Nashville, TN with his parents and sons Jean Micheal and Thomas. He's separated from his wife at the moment, and is still going through the divorce process. He spends time with his family when not working, and also enjoys many of the same things as Jeremy.
PHOTOS COMING SOON!
Dead Chameleon Productions and all related characters and material are ©Copyright and TMTrademark 1993-2001 Dead Chameleon Productions; owned by Jeremy D Palka. All rights reserved, with liberty and justice for all... or somethin'...
