Archive for May, 2010
Self-Publishing Like A Rockstar from Erika Moen on Vimeo.
Interesting roundtable at Stumptown regarding the pitfalls of self-publishing in this market. I’m mostly posting this to help bookmark it.
Some nice afterthoughts from one of the panelists.
Though I haven’t done any self-publishing recently, it seemed like a giant hassle at the time. Here’s a couple of suggestions that I stand by.
1) Just say no to consignment. The whole consignment method seems totally arcane to try to sell self-published work. I stopped dealing with it a while ago when I was more actively self-publishing.
2) Skip the mainstream shows. They’re only interested in getting Alan Davis art and having their Spiderman comic signed. You’re in the way of them finally meeting Margot Kidder. If you’re insistant on doing mainstream shows, stick to local shows. Mainstream shows are only good for schmoozing and networking. Not selling indie books. You’ll wind up being that awful carny barker guy everyone hates. There are seriously enough indie shows popping up all across the country that you could do a nationwide tour if you wanted to. I came across *three new ones in the short span of a month.
I don’t even know how one would launch a successful self-published comic in the direct market. Maybe skip the DM and offer the comic online as a download? Then eventually collect it for the direct market.
It’s healthy to be a little wary of anyone coming up to your table offering to distro your mini. Apparently this Tony Shelton guy’s ‘aces’.
- Maine Comic Arts Festival. May. $40 -half table. $70 -full table.
- Minneapolis Indie Xpo. August. $20-half table. $40 full table.
- Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival. December. table info TBA.
Spotted on Comic Book Resources:
Brent Ratner tells MTV News the project is still being developed with a script still in the writing phase. “‘Youngblood’ will be something I do in the future, whether it’s next year or whatever,” says Ratner. “It would be exciting because then I could start my own franchise. I could do what Bryan [Singer] did with ‘X-Men.’”
“I could start my own franchise,” he says cluelessly, pinning his hopes of superstardom on the laughing stock property of the comics biz.
Then again, Rob Liefeld made millions on it, and despite the less-than-stellar source material, Hollywood managed to make Men In Black and Blade into huge hits, so maybe this guy knows something I don’t…
A little over a month ago, Alan David Doane of the Comic Book Galaxy portal asked me to contribute a review to the “Guest Review Month” feature they were going to run on their Trouble With Comics blog. I said sure, and went about trying to find an appropriate comic to review. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that of the few new books I’m picking up, the ones worthy of good reviews have already been getting lots of press. So it would have to be a book that’s been flying under the radar. A good book that deserves wider recognition…
And that’s when it hit me that more people need to know about our fellow PANELista Craig Bogart’s The Ineffables. So, click on this link to read my guest review of The Ineffables at Trouble With Comics.
“True to its tagline – “Mystery tales from the borders of comprehension” – The Ineffables evokes the sense of awe and wonder of Golden Age comics, without wallowing in self-referential fan wankery, veering off into parody, or wearing an ironic trucker hat. It’s Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis’ wild ideas and bizarre worlds, without the pretentiousness or the misanthropy. This is a series full of adventure, humor, fisticuffs, weird science, sly politics, and plain ol’ fun. You remember fun, right?”
Our very own Matt Kish will be one of the speakers at Pecha Kucha this Thursday. Chatting about his Moby Dick project and overall Kish-ness for the allotted 10 minute (?) time frame. This time the event will be in the Franklinton area of Columbus (400 West Rich Street). No ‘admission’ fee but they do ask for a donation of $2. Folks can begin drifting in at 7pm. The presentations begin at 7:30pm.
Something about on-site screenprinting shirts? On display will be some art from the annual Urban Scrawl event. Free PBR!?! Taco truck and Kish. What more do you need.
*I’ve since updated this with a shot from the show. (via facebook)
(Weird timing with Dara’s post on Orc Stain) Frank Frazetta passed away yesterday from a stroke. He was 82. Every working fantasy artist and RPG company owes their career to Frank. Especially Boris (who I never cared for). I was flipping through my Johnny Comet book the other day (Frazetta’s short lived comic strip). Great stuff. Personally, I always liked him better than Wrightson. His figuration and composition held more power. His pen-work was just as stunning as his oils.
Back when Young Dara was, well, young, his favorite genre was fantasy. He devoured all the sword & sorcery books at his local library. He watched all the straight-to-video fantasy movies. But over the years, he got bored with the genre. It was becoming rather repetitive and cliched. He tried different fantasy comics over the years, but again, none of them were really all that original or innovative.
That’s all changed with the arrival of Orc Stain, from Image Comics.
Created, written, drawn, colored, and lettered by James Stokoe, Orc Stain dumps all the trappings and tropes of the genre, and instead focuses on a world solely populated by Orcs. And when you have millions of savage, battle-hungry orcs, only the biggest and baddest of them get some recognition by having a number assigned to them upon their deaths. Forget about names. And so it is that we follow a young orc thief nicknamed “One-Eye” as he pilfers orc burial sites, trying to make a living. Little does he know that he somehow fits into a prophecy involving the Orctzar, one mean SOB who is managing to do what no other orc chieftain has done yet: conquer and unite the many disparate orc tribes.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that this comic is fairly light on plot and story. The tale unfolds at a very leisurely pace, and despite the supposed epic scale of the Orctzar’s plans, not much really happens in the grand scheme of things in the first 2 issues. But that’s ok, because what it lacks in those departments, it more than makes up for with its audacious artwork, wild ideas, and bizarre idiosyncrasies.
I find Stokoe’s art utterly charming, in a disturbing sort of way. Part Vaugh Bode cartoonish expressions, and part Geoff Darrow OCD details, he excells at fantastic landscapes and architecture, dynamic action, and insanely detailed garments and props. And those bright, vibrant colors! It’s refreshing to have a book all about orcs that doesn’t take the convenient and expected highway route of muddy browns and dark olives, instead opting for the scenic route of lush greens, crimsons, and pinks.
And then there’s Stokoe’s uniquely twisted take on even the most mundane objects and settings. Here’s our protagonist preparing to break into a bear safe. Sorry, a gurpa safe:
Or having a beer with the local crime boss:
It gets weirder still. There’s “krab smoking”, full-frontal orc and love-nymph nudity, and lots of talk about “gronch chopping” (I’ll let you figure out what a gronch is, and why an orc may not want to lose his). Even Stokoe’s sound effects are original: GX!, SPTZ!, KSH!, PNK!, PMKH! and others which look weird splattered dozens of times across a panel, but fit in perfectly with the book’s odd style. Reading the book, there is no doubt in the reader’s mind that this is the vision of one creator, having made the purest transition from Stokoe’s imagination to the printed page, with no middle-men diluting the creative elixer. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is utterly unique, and a breath of fresh air not just in the fantasy genre, but in comics in general.
Oh, and if you need one other incentive to give it a shot: 32 full color pages of story/art for $2.99. In this era of $4 comics that only deliver 22 pages of story, that is a true bargain.
Orc Stain. Check it out.
Another blast from the 90s past, as we clamor for Lady Death vs. War Angel:
Well, not really. And I’m guessing this is a wrap-around cover, which is the only excuse I can see for the horrible layout. You barely see either of the titular characters (heh heh, I said…well, you know) on the front cover. In fact, going solely by this image, I’d have to rename the book Boulders and Rocks Monthly, featuring Lady Death and War Angel.
The other night we were talking about the terrible Incredible Hulk TV movies from the 90s, where they teamed him up with equally bland incarnations of Daredevil and Thor. Since Craig hadn’t seen these masterpieces, I thought I’d post a picture of Thor from one of those specials. Behold TV Thor, which was basically a beer drinking viking frat boy:
What do you think? Personally, I’d have to say…I say thee nay!
By the way, I found the above pic over at Newsarama, and this amusing article that takes a look at Thor costumes throughout the ages. And if there was any doubt that the 90s were the worst decade for comic books (writing too, but especially art), then look no further than this gem:
By Odin’s beard, thou hast designed a vile costume unfit for the god of thunder, o’ nameless 90s artist!
I’m one of the nearly 90 authors exhibiting at the 4th annual Ohioana Book Festival this Saturday. The festival is a program of the Ohioana Library, which is “dedicated to collecting, preserving, and promoting the written work of Ohio’s writers, artists, and musicians.” Here’s a snippet from the official press release:
4th ANNUAL OHIOANA BOOK FESTIVAL: CELEBRATING OHIO’S AUTHORS – SATURADY MAY 8TH
“Celebrating Ohio’s Authors” is the festival theme – more than 80 nationally-known writers will participate at this event chaired by Ohio First Lady Frances StricklandCOLUMBUS, OH – The greatest literary event in the state, the 4th annual Ohioana Book Festival will be held on Saturday, May 8th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Readers of all ages and interests will have a wonderful time at the Festival, which will be held at the Ohioana and State Library of Ohio’s facility in the Jeffrey Mining Center at 274 E. First Ave., in the historic Italian Village and Short North Arts District of Columbus. The event is free and open to the public; no tickets or advance registration required.
I’m looking forward to meeting cartoonist Ted Rall. I hope to see some of you guys down there as well.
Here’s the poster for the event:
A long while ago I commented on the overuse of splash pages to pad a book that is light on story. Most new comics I’ve seen have half a dozen full page pinup shots whose sole aim is to rob the reader of additional story, and no moment in a story is too mundane to get the full page treatment. While reading an older book the other day I was reminded that splash pages can be kinda cool if they’re used for an actual dramatic moment or to showcase an outstanding piece of artwork. So, I had the notion to start another weekly blog feature: Splash Wednesday.
Our first entry is from the comic that got me started on this line of thinking: Thor # 237 by John Buscema. Behold Hercules averting disaster at Coney Island in the form of a falling ferris wheel.
Any submissions for future entries are welcome. Send small files (I believe Dara recommends 72 dpi) to craigbogart@theineffables.com with “Splash Wednesday” in the subject line. Just one rule: no boring pinup shots, please.
… I would be going to see Dangerous Curves Ahead, a NY-based burlesque troupe, at the Summit on May 21.
The July solicitations are out, so I figured I’d promote them here as well. I have two comics shipping that month:
MGM Drive-In Theater: It, The Terror From Beyond Space #1 (of 4)
Dara Naraghi (w) • Mark Dos Santos (a) • Steve Mannion (c)
MGM Drive-In Theater launches with the first of three special series updating classic sci-fi flicks! Here, It, the Terror From Beyond Space is retooled as a retro-1950s alien adventure. Returning from a rescue mission to Mars, the spaceship Challenge 142 carries the only survivor of the first expedition who is now suspected of killing his crew for their lifesaving rations. Until something starts moving in the cargo bay…
Witch & Wizard: The Battle for Shadowland #3 (of 4)
Dara Naraghi (w) • Victor Santos (a) Fabio Moon (c)
Spinning out of James Patterson’s #1 novel! In Shadowland, Wisty and the ghosts fight the New Order troops but are losing ground. Using her magic, she inadvertently redirects various portals away from Freeland, and towards other realms and winds up in some sort of a time loop! Meanwhile, The One explains to Whit that he wants control of Shadowland, and why!
Look for some preview art here as soon as I get the word from my editor.