A diverse range of personalities and stories - including officers saved in the line of duty, a Petoskey-based comic artist, one of Gaylord's fastest-growing companies and a high-profile gay wedding - are featured in this week's Men's Issue of the Northern Express, sister publication of The Ticker.

Over 1,000 police officers across the country owe their lives to body armor produced in Central Lake. In "Saved in the Line of Duty," several of those officers talk about their experiences and the bond they've forged with each other and Armor Express, the company that produced their life-saving vests. Armor Express' Saves program provides resources and support for officers who've been wounded on the job, including retreats to northern Michigan for the officers and their families. Lt. Brian Murphy - who was shot 15 times as the first responding officer at the Oak Creek, Wisconsin, Sikh temple shooting in 2012 - explains how Armor Express' dedication to its mission of "saving lives" has formed a family-like connection between the company and officers. "You wind up being overwhelmed by the feeling of how much you're cared about by the people who are making your equipment," Murphy says.

Growing up in Charlevoix, illustrator Josh Skeel had an "active imagination" and was drawing comics even as a young boy. Today, the Petoskey-based artist does everything from designing craft labels for companies such as Rusted Crow Distilleries to writing comics like his "Detroit Memoirs" project. Skeel says his dream goal is to eventually work for Marvel or DC, but he continues to create and network here in northern Michigan as he builds his growing audience.

Gaylord's Sun Frog Shirts is also focused on growth: the company increased its square footage from 18,000 to 72,000 in July and is now Gaylord's fourth largest employer with 215 staff members. The company processes tens of thousands of orders every day, printing t-shirts in multiple colors and sizes with one of more than three million designs. The secret to the company's rapid success is explored in "Sun Frog: Fast-Growing New Company Could Turn Gaylord Into the T-Shirt Capital of the World."

This week's issue also features a Q&A with Traverse City couple Derek Woodruff and Brandon Adkins, who tied the knot in creative fashion at this year's Traverse City Film Festival. Festival founder Michael Moore officiated their surprise wedding himself at the State Theatre before a film festival screening. The couple had an unofficial wedding ceremony last year, but were able to legally make their vows at the festival thanks to this year's Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage. Woodruff and Adkins discuss the ceremony, community reaction, the impact of the Supreme Court decision and more in this week's Northern Express.

Check out the Northern Express online, or pick up a free copy at one of more than 600 distribution spots across 13 counties. And, stay connected throughout the week on Facebook.