JOE BAUMAN
Storyboard Artist
Mission: CONTROL!
A Big Feelings Adventure!
Mission: CONTROL! A Big Feelings Adventure is an inspiring children’s picture book suitable for ages 4 – 10 to help youngsters deal with their emotional reactions and grow from setbacks. The book builds self-esteem, confidence and a healthy understanding of emotions for people of all ages. Joined by his beloved dog Gretchen, Joseph must gather the self control to defeat the Hypnozoids. But if he can’t master his overwhelming emotions, he fears his pesky enemies will always have command over his life. Can he conquer his outburst and return home with new problem-solving skills?
One of my goals for this book is for it to be an introduction for young readers into the world of comic books. I loved comic books as a kid. I couldn't get enough of super hero stories, especially Batman and Spider-man. I also threw in a lot of little tributes to Marvel and DC characters, Iron Giant, Ultraman, and some other movies. Stay tuned for more adventures in 2022!
Here are a few drawings of my thought process in creating the world of Joseph's imagination.

This was the very first drawing of all three.

First sketches of what would become the Hypnozoids. Made them less scary for the book. No sharp teeth and less angry.

When we trying to figure out who the antagonist was, it was going to be an alien version of the mom. We thought this would be too negative towards the mom. We wanted to show that mom was a positive influence in his life, not negative. So we changed it to the Hypnozoids.

This was the very first drawing of all three.