Tuesday, November 30, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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11/30/2004 11:31:00 PM
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Daily Musings: Day 28
"Does this thumb look fucked up to you?"
I just wrapped up writing about the Great Ogre Gathering (the pre-convention party at The Laughing Ogre) for The Pulse. Don't know when they'll publish it on their site, but I'll link to it once it's up.
Anyway, one of the things I wrote about was a conversation I had with artist Steve Lieber and zine legend John G. We were talking about the benefits of being in a creator collective or studio, and Steve gave us examples of things he's learned being around his studio mates in Mercury Studios. In describing a particularly difficult page that was giving him trouble, he said he finally held it up and asked everyone in the studio "Does this thumb look fucked up to you?"
What makes this memorable for me is that this is Steve Lieber. Not only has he worked on mainstream books like Hawkman and Batman, but he's also got tons of indy cred with books like Whiteout and Me and Edith Head. And he's having trouble drawing a simple thumb?
It made me feel better about my struggles with my own craft. No matter how good we may think we are, there's always something new to learn, some new challenge to meet.
On a side note, what is it about Portland that makes it home to so many comics pros? I mean, just look at the roster of Mercury Studios, it's a veritable who's who of industry talent:
Penciller MATTHEW CLARK Superman
Penciller TERRY DODSON Spider Man, Harley Quinn
Writer/artist PAUL GUINAN Heartbreakers, Chronos
Writer/artist DAVID HAHN Private Beach, Bite Club
Penciller DREW JOHNSON Wonder Woman
Writer/penciller/inker KARL KESEL Fantastic Four, Daredevil
Penciller/inker/letterer STEVE LIEBER Road to Perdition, Batman
Writer/artist JEFF PARKER Interman, The Escapist
Writer/penciller/inker RON RANDALL Trekker, Star Wars
Penciller PETE WOODS Batman, Catwoman
Inker REBECCA WOODS Deadpool
Damn.
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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11/30/2004 04:58:00 PM
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Vintage paperback and pulp covers
Vintage Paperbacks is a website featuring over 800 scans of old paperback, pulp, and sleazy book covers. They are categorized by artist, author, publisher, or genre (such as "sleaze", "science fiction", or "drugs"). I love looking at these old pulp covers, especially the over-the-top cover copy like "Primeval passions lured them to lust's outlands!". Or book titles like "Satan was a Lesbian" and "LSD Orgy". Classic.
(another cool link via boingboing)
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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11/30/2004 04:13:00 PM
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Monday, November 29, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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11/29/2004 10:53:00 PM
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Coming Soon
Ladies and gentlemen, the webcomic project I've been involved with for the past several months is closer to fruition. The official God's Acre website is now up and running, with a synopsis of the comic and some production sketches and photos in the gallery. Drop by and check it out. It's a pretty exciting project for me, and I can't wait for the comic to finally debut.
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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11/29/2004 10:34:00 PM
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Daily Musings: Day 27
The small things always make the difference.
This past weekend's con wasn't the best one I've been to as an exhibitor. In fact, after last year's dismal table location and bad sales, I thought there's no way it could get worse. And when I found out our table placement was much better this year, I was downright excited.
Then reality hit. The low attendance, combined with the slightly disorganized show, led to even lower sales this year.
But it's ok. Because there were lots of little things that made the show a success for me. Our first sale of the day on Saturday was to a couple of female fans who were not only familiar with the Panel anthologies, but came to our table to actively look for any new books. I can't tell you what a great feeling it is to have someone enjoy your work enough to want to seek it out. And then there were the panel discussions we were on. A small, but interested, crowd attended each one and there was never an awkward silence. Questions were forthcoming, the attendees were interested in the topics, and it was just a great time interacting with fans, fellow creators, and curious parties.
There were other cool moments, to be sure. My girlfriend taking a break from her studies to drop by both days. Running into an old friend, and in the process, being able to put him in touch with a third mutual friend. Having a beer with one of the pros in attendance, a third year tradition now.
Life has a habit of throwing you curve balls. But the small things always make the difference between losing or simply enjoying the game.
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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11/29/2004 08:58:00 PM
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Looking for a job with a comics company?
Zero One comics, a web-based comics company, is looking to hire creative and administrative folks. Here's a bit about them:"01comics.com is the web’s new standard for high quality, full color, full length, downloadable and pay-per-view webcomics. All comics at 01comics.com are creator-owned and creator-controlled." You use BitPass micropayments to purchase comics by the likes of Mitch Byrd, Diego Jourdan, Steve Conley, and founders Jenni and Barry Gregory.
Currently, they're looking for colorists, color flatters, and a media relations manager.Click here for more details on the positions.
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Tony
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11/29/2004 01:07:00 PM
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2004 Connies
Yes, it’s time for another edition of Panel’s Convention Awards, the coveted “Connies.”
We’ve got some changes in the lineup this year. Most of the costume-related categories have been dropped for fear of hurting peoples’ feelings. But generally speaking, if you’re thinking of dressing as Spider-Man but you’re built more like the Kingpin, go as the Kingpin.
And without further ado, let’s get to the awards:
* Paris Hilton award for overexposure: Panel, whose members appeared on about a half-dozen panels.
* George W. Bush award for enacting a backdoor draft: The Laughing Ogre’s Daryn, who dragooned Panel members onto a half-dozen panels.
* Cellar Door award for most pleasant phrase: The Panel panel.
* Horrors of War award: The 13-year-old storm trooper. It’s sad when the flower of the Empire’s youth is sacrificed for a never-ending war.
* Gene Simmons award for achievement in platform shoes: J’Onn J’onzz, Manhunter from Mars. Honorable mention: Darth Vader.
* Claude Raines award for invisible men: Tim McClurg and Sean McGurr (tie).
* Morganna the Kissing Bandit award: Matt Kish.
* Martha Stewart award for achievement in hostessing: Ione Damasco
* Dale Carnegie award for achievement in winning friends and influencing people: Tony Goins, who told another writer, “If I did know any artists, I sure as hell wouldn’t share them with you.”
* P. Diddy award for best media empire: Dara Naraghi, who fielded queries not only from aspiring artists but also a musician. A line of clothing can’t be far behind.
* “Beds are Burning” award for burning the Midnight Oil: Steve Black.
* Running for Jesus award: Tom Williams.
* Donald Trump "art of the deal" award: Craig Bogart, who talked a dealer down to $5 (from $10) for a Marvel adaptation of the movie "2001."
* Fredo Corleone memorial award for filial loyalty: Bahman Naraghi, who spent more time at the table than I did.
* Most Dedicated Spouse/Girlfriend: Elizabeth. Honorable mention: Wendy.
* Cutest Costume: Hanna.
* Party MVP: Dan “Triple D” Barlow.
* Death Star award for an artist about to blow up big time: Raina Telgemeier, who’s doing a comic adaptation of the “Babysitters Club.”
* Shirley MacLaine award: Sean McKeever, who announced his “Mary Jane” series will soon come back for another incarnation.
* Best surprise: Coming around the corner and finding Eric Powell, the guy who does “The Goon.”
* Soup Nazi award for most accessible celebrity: Lou Ferrigno, who signed a poster to my nephew.
* Sean McGurr award for achievement in a rapidly expanding family: Midgard Comics, who have put out four anthologies in the last year.
* Hermit Crab award: Max Ink, who snaked two tables after their previous occupants left, and ended up with more real estate than we had.
Other connies were distributed at a private ceremony earlier in the day, and can be placed in the comments section.
--Tony (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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11/29/2004 11:24:00 AM
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New comics company open to submissions
Speakeasy Comics is a new publisher on the block, formed by former Dreamwave guy Adam Fortier. According to the site:"We do have space available on our 2005 production schedule for interested parties to submit their materials for review," Fortier continued. "The broad strokes of the Speakeasy deal are available at the site, and once read through, we can talk specifics with interested parties." More info here.
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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11/29/2004 11:15:00 AM
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Globalization of comics
Spotted this press release and thought I'd share:"DEEPAK CHOPRA STARTS COMIC BOOK COMPANY - World-renowned author and spiritualist Deepak Chopra and director Shekhar Kapur have joined with Gotham Ent. Group, the leading publisher of comic magazines in South Asia, to announce the launch of Gotham Studios Asia, a new company focused on creating original comic books and character properties for a global audience."
"Deepak said, "As the narrow walls of nationalism come down, and as a new collective humanity, we break through our tribal identities, Asia will become the home of the entertainment, media and business activities of the world. Through the studio, we plan to reinvigorate some of civilization's greatest mythologies, to tap into the primal energies of India and Asia's great tradition of storytelling. The Super-Powers of tomorrow will not be defined by their military prowess but by their cultural contribution and we firmly believe our new venture will be at the vanguard of this global, cultural and economic shift." More details at the link above.
--Dara (permalink)
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Sunday, November 28, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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11/28/2004 08:29:00 PM
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Daily Musings: Day 26
Mid-Ohio-Con is over. I'll save my write-up for The Pulse article, but suffice it to say, it was fun, yet disappointing. Fun, because I met old friends, made new acquaintances, sold books, signed autographs, sat on a panel, and generally had a blast. Disappointing because despite our better table location this year, sales were way down and the crowd seemed much smaller than previous years. Oh well. C'est la vie.
Some random thoughts to wrap up today's post before I go and crash:
It's really not my place to say if it's ok or not for an adult to dress up in superhero costume and attend a comic convention. Hey, to each their own. But if you happen to be a bit on the chunky side, maybe skin-tight, colorful spandex isn't really a smart decision. Why not a costume that involves a dark trenchcoat? Or a cloak?
I ran into a friend of mine at the con with whom I had lost contact about 7 years ago. And I never even knew he was a comic fan! How's that for the old cliche "it's a small world"?
Hanna looks adorable in her little Batman costume and home-made cape. Though I can't believe little miss talkative suddenly turns shy when we wanted to take her picture with the other costumed folks.
This may have been the first time ever that I've attended a convention where Franchesco hasn't had a table.
When John Byrne was walking around the convention floor away from his table, he flipped his name tag over to the side on which he had written "Off Duty". Yeesh. And he wonders why he's got a reputation for being an egotistical jerk.
Sergio Aragones is not only the funniest and friendliest guy in comics, but he also has the coolest accent.
Peace out.
(updated 11/29)
Since this post has been getting a ton of traffic (thanks to Kevin and The Beat) I decided to share a few more tidbits from Mid-Ohio-Con:
On one of the panels, Phantom Jack creator Mike Sangiacomo let slip an item that has already been the subject of several rumors. Apparently a Batman pitch he had at DC was well-liked, but ultimately turned down by Dan DiDio because they could not "fit it in" with the big events planned for the next 2 years. According to DiDio, Identity Crisis is just the beginning of this big new "crisis" event that will be sweeping through all the DC books over the next year or two, and supposedly leave them all "changed" in some way. Make with this as you will.
There was a booth in the dealers room that was selling swords, daggers, and other medieval weapons. Not sure how that ties in with a comic book and pop culture show. Whatever.
The number of T&A guests has dramatically decreased from previous years. I remember two years ago there were so many Playboy Playmates and "scream queens" on the guest list that they were cordoned off in a separate "adults only" room. This year there was only one, as far as I could tell, and she was sitting in artist alley.
If you're a company setup at a comic book convention and are selling character sketches and caricatures, there's really no need for you to be dressed in suits and talking like insurance salesmen. Really, nobody is going to be impressed at how "professional" you are. Just do your art and leave the "image" at home.
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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11/28/2004 07:44:00 PM
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Blast from the past
Over at Newsarama's It Came From The Quarter Bin column, Ryan McLelland takes a look at Strikeforce: Morituri #1 from Marvel Comics (1986). This brings back some fond memories of a truly groundbreaking series. Written by Peter B. Gillis (one of my favorite writers), and penciled by Brent Anderson, it was one of those comics that was ahead of its time by about 10 years. It wasn't set in the Marvel Universe (which given the time, was pretty unusual) and dealt with some really deep topics.
Earth was being invaded by The Horde, an alien race with no real technology or weapons of their own. Rather, they used whatever they had plundered from their previous victims. In a last ditch effort, human scientists devise a way to grant super powers to humans through a difficult, and sometime deadly, process. But even if the volunteers are lucky enough to survive the process, they're still faced with a huge problem: they only have about a year to live. Hence the title of the book, which translates to "We Who Are About To Die". Pretty heady stuff. Gillis was an amazing writer. One of my favorite characters was a deeply religious woman who had to rationalize her decision to defend humanity with the fact that by entering the program, she was in effect committing suicide...a mortal sin.
In the comments section below the review, inker Scott Williams pops in to post a note as well:"I have a soft spot for this series as well, as it was my first regular gig in comics. Talk about being in the right place at the right time--I had just moved to San Diego where the series artist Brent Anderson was living, we were introduced, and he took a leap of faith in offering me the job of inking his pencils...Peter Gillis was truly ahead of his time with the concept and his writing style. Very surprised he never turned into a bigger force within the comics industry." If you ever have a chance to pick up this series, I'd highly recommend it.
--Dara (permalink)
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Saturday, November 27, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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11/27/2004 07:53:00 AM
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Daily Musings: Day 25
Well, this is it. Start of the weekend's big con. It'll be an exhausting, but fun couple of days. Since this may be my only chance to get online today, I guess today's musings will be short.
For those of you in Columbus, hope to see you at the show. For everyone else, I'll be posting a con report sometime next week.
Take care.
--Dara (permalink)
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Friday, November 26, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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11/26/2004 11:45:00 PM
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Daily Musings: Day 24
Just got back from the GOG (Great Ogre Gathering). It's the traditional night before Mid-Ohio-Con shindig at Columbus bestest, baddest comic book store, The Laughing Ogre. Tons of comics fans, pros, rising stars, and cool people in general convene in the depths of The Ogre's back rooms. Free adult beverages, free food, free live music. It's a blast. I'm going to write about it in detail for The Pulse in a few days, so stay tuned for the link.
So now it's close to midnight, and I have about another hour worth of work to do to get ready for the show tomorrow. Not bad. So I'll leave you with my little list of "stuff" I need to pack for the convention (when you're as forgetful as I am, you make lists for everything)
- Comics to sell (obvious)
- Preview pamphlet of upcoming stories
- Digital camera
- Batteries
- Cash box and plenty of singles for change
- Promotional bookmarks and cards
- Business cards
- pens and pencils
- Sketchbook
- Notebook
- CD player (for people to sample the BigCityBlues CD)
- coloring books and balloons (for the kiddies)
- Ferret Press sign
- Easel (for Ferret Press sign)
- Promotional posters and signs
- Display stands for the books
- Scissors, tape, twine, paperclips,etc.
- Mailing list signup sheet
- Price list
- and probably half a dozen other items I'm forgetting
--Dara (permalink)
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Thursday, November 25, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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11/25/2004 05:04:00 PM
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Daily Musings: Day 23
Not much to say today, other than...
Happy Thanksgiving. May your family not drive you crazy.
--Dara (permalink)
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Wednesday, November 24, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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11/24/2004 11:25:00 PM
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Daily Musings: Day 22
The shaky-cam must die.
Or blurry-cam. Or headache-cam. Or whatever the hell the technical name of it is. You know, the polar opposite of the stedi-cam used to film movies? It's primarily used in recent action movies during the fight scenes to completely obliterate any semblance of clarity. All you see are millisecond cuts, blurred motion, shaky images, etc.
What is the point? I mean, really, isn't the whole reason d'etre of the action movie to dazzle the audience with spectacular action scenes? It's certainly not the captivating plot or in-depth characterization. But more and more recent movies seem to subscribe to the "make it so blurry that the audience can'tell what's happening" school of fight cinematography. Even otherwise well-made films are using this annoying technique. The Bourne Supremacy, anyone?
It's as if someone looked at the ultra-choreographed, slow-mo fight scenes in a movie like Charlie's Angels, and said "give me the exact opposite of that!"
Sigh. And I'm not even an action movie fan.
By the way, don't ever, ever, pay money to see Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Not even at the el-cheapo second run theater. Not even for Milla Jovovich.
Don't ask.
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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11/24/2004 11:15:00 PM
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Tuesday, November 23, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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11/23/2004 09:18:00 PM
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Daily Musings: Day 21
Ok, by now I'm sure you've heard about the (insert own adjective here) lady who was selling a grilled cheese sandwich on e-bay with the image of "Virgin Mary Mother of God" miraculously appearing on it. If not, here's a snippet from her auction page:"I made this sandwich 10 years ago, when I took a bite out of it, I saw a face looking up at me, It was Virgin Mary starring back at me, I was in total shock, I would like to point out there is no mold or disingration, The item has not been preserved or anything, It has been keep in a plastic case, not a special one that seals out air or potiental mold or bacteria, it is like a miracle, It has just preserved itself which in itself I consider a miracle, people ask me if I have had blessings since she has been in my home, I do feel I have, I have won $70,000 (total) on different occasions at the casino near by my house." When I looked at the auction yesterday, the bids were up to $17,000 with a day left to go.
That's right. $17,000 for a cheese sandwich.
Obviously, there are many, many things wrong with this scenario. And not being a fan of religion in general, there are many snarky things I could say. Like, oh, I don't know...what's a good Christian doing gambling at casinos? Or here's one: what with all the pain and suffering and misery and wars and murders and abuse and rape and torture going on in this world, isn't it comforting to know that the benevolent, loving creator is showing us poor schmucks he cares by having the virgin Mary APPEAR ON A FUCKING GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH!
But no, I'm not gonna say mean things like that.
So anyway, turns out the miracle sandwich sold for $28,000! Yep. Two. Eight. Triple zero. The winning bidder? Internet casino Goldenpalace.com. No folks, you couldn't make shit like this up if you tried. To quote Jay Leno (and I promise this will be the one and only time,) "this is why the rest of the world hates us!"
But there's some good news coming out of this whole fiasco. According to a BBC story:"Goldenpalace.com says it will take the sandwich on world tour before selling it and donating the money to charity."
Which brings us to the thought of the day, boys and girls, which is this: what a sad, sad world we live in where god appears on a sandwich, some members of his flock would rather spend 17 grand on crusty bread hoaxes rather than help the needy, and the only institution that will do any good in the end is an Internet casino.
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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11/23/2004 03:10:00 PM
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For all you artists out there
Just wanted to remind you that each week, Steven Grant runs a couple different original pieces of art for the "Two Heads Talk" section of his column. If you'd like to be featured, here are the guidelines:
- "All panels should be 3" wide x 6" tall jpgs, 150 dpi.
- All panels should be head and shoulder shots of original characters. No trademarked characters of any sort please. (But don't worry: copyright will be assigned to you.)
- Head and shoulder shots should fill only the bottom 3" of the panel. Leave the top half blank, please. (You can put color there, just not figure work.)
- One head per panel, thanks. Color or black and white, your choice.
- Don't put any borders on the panels.
- Email it to me, with "Head" in the subject line so I know don't think it's a virus, because I'll trash an unknown attachment in a heartbeat.
- Include a website or some other contact information so that your new legion of fans will be able to find you.
And that's it. All heads will be used eventually. Can fame and fortune be far behind?"
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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11/23/2004 02:11:00 PM
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Coloring Bone
This is an oldie, but I forgot to post it when it first came out...
Columbus' own Steve Hamaker talks about the daunting task of coloring all 1300+ pages of Jeff Smith's epic book, Bone. You can read the Newsarama interview here.It's a pretty massive undertaking, to say the least."We have some people helping with the flat color blocking now, so I am going a lot faster. I was doing about a page a day, and now I can get three to five pages a day depending on the complexity of them. The files start at 1 or 2 megs, and end up being around 30 or 40 megs each. It’s a big project, but we will store the files that we finish to make room, when the time comes."  
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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11/23/2004 02:03:00 PM
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Panel to be featured in Alive
Just a quick note to let you know I heard back from Caleb, over at the Alive. He said there will be a small shout out to Panel in this week's edition. He'll mention the new book, and the Panel "panel" at Mid-Ohio-Con.
--Dara (permalink)
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Monday, November 22, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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11/22/2004 10:03:00 PM
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Daily Musings: Day 20
Ownership.
It's a quite a powerful feeling. And I don't mean owning something, as in "I own this here land," or "I paid 40 grand for this car." I mean the feeling of ownership that comes with something you've created through your own hard work, time, and energy.
I recently completed a Small Business course via OSU's Office of Continuing Education. We talked a lot about the great feeling of ownership that comes from starting and running your own business. It's one of the biggest benefits of being a small business owner (which is a good thing, when you consider all the cons...the statistics really aren't in your favor). Sure, you may like your job if working for an employer, even, say, Microsoft. And you may even feel a sense of pride over your projects. But I'd imagine it's not the same sense of ownership you'd feel if it were your company.
Anyway, I was thinking about this whole topic of ownership all afternoon long. You see, today's the day I got the Hybrid book back from the printers. And it's the day I picked up the Panel: Home book from Kinko's and we had our traditional "fold and staple" party. Even though my story had to be dropped from the Panel book due to events beyond my control, I still felt a ton of pride and excitement putting the book together. There were 7 of us sharing the work, and the feeling of accomplishment. Same with Hybrid, which may only feature a couple pages of my work, but was my baby from inception to publication. There's an incredible feeling of ownership there, and it motivates me to want to do all that I can to ensure a fantastic, quality end product.
If you've never experienced that feeling, you owe it to yourself to do so. Produce a work of art that has a personal meaning for you. Write a collection of essays or short stories. Build a cool woodworking project. Restore that old classic car that's been rusting in the back yard. Remodel your family room the way you've always imagined it looking. Start a website as a creative outlet. Sew a funky garment for yourself.
It may be a lot of work, but it will be quite rewarding. And in the end, you'll have something more than money could ever buy. A true feeling of ownership.
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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11/22/2004 05:34:00 PM
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Sunday, November 21, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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11/21/2004 11:03:00 PM
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The Fourth Rail reviews Panel and BCB
(Updated 11/22 - just found out they reviewed BigCityBlues as well.)
This is from a couple of months ago, but I didn't know about it until just now when I was doing a Google search on Ferret Press. Randy Lander of The Fourth Rail reviews Panel: Architecture. Overall, pretty good (he gave us a 7/10). Except Tony's name got kinda mangled. Toby Goins. Snicker.
And here's the review for BigCityBlues. Another 7/10, which is pretty cool.
 
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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11/21/2004 10:23:00 PM
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Daily Musings: Day 19
I've been meaning to write a quick review of a fantastic comic I picked up last month. I guess this is as good a place as any.
I'm not familiar with Rebecca Dart's work. In fact, as far as I can tell, Rabbit Head is her first published comics work. And it's quite the debut. In fact, it's one of those books that makes me, as a creator, absolutely jealous. I wish I had come up with this book first.
The book is an experimental, and surreal, take on a pseudo-western story. Without dialogue. The protagonist, an anthropomorphic rabbit and her weird steed, set off on a journey at the beginning of the story. Along the way, Dart uses the strengths of the comics medium to their fullest by slowly branching the story into multiple, simultaneous storylines. By the middle of the book, there are 7 separate, yet interconnected, story threads unfolding across the space and time of the comics page. It's an absolutely fantastic use of the medium, and one that can only really work on the comics page. As an added bonus, the story ends where it began, in effect creating an endless cycle.
The narrative is sometimes humorous, often exciting, and at times disturbing and downright painful. The reader can opt to follow a single thread all the way through, returning for the others, or attempt to take in the entire expanse of her story. The latter is quite a daunting task, though equally rewarding.
Dart's artwork is and odd combination of sketchy and fluid strokes. Sparse where it needs to be, detailed in other places. Though not on the level of Paul Pope, she does remind me a bit of his style of brushwork.
In terms of originality, innovation, uniqueness, and emotional resonance, Rabbit Head is one of the coolest books I've picked up this year. It's a prime example of what the comics medium is capable of when a creator's imagination soars and old conventions are discarded.
I'm quite jealous of it.
Rabbit Head is published by Alternative Comics, and is priced at $4.95. It is magazine sized, 24 pages, black and white with a full color cover. ISBN: 1-891867-72-5.
--Dara (permalink)
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Posted by
Dara
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11/21/2004 09:13:00 PM
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Variety reviews No Dead Time
As Tom mentioned, Variety has a comics news and reviews section on their website. They reviewed No Dead Time and gave it an A-. Check it out here (you'll have to scroll down a bit, no permalink available).
--Dara (permalink)
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Saturday, November 20, 2004
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Posted by
Dara
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11/20/2004 06:34:00 PM
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Daily Musings: Day 18
I finally finished the Hybrid book today. All PDF files, on a CD. Took it over to ElektroKopy for printing. Asked for a sample copy to proof, before they run the whole 200 copy print run.
"Not a problem, it'll just take a few minutes," I was told.
About an hour later, I left with my proof. An entire hour for the guy to grab 16 digital files off a CD and send them over to the copy machine. Now, I'm no expert on digital copiers and such, but I do know a thing or two about computers, networking, and Adobe Acrobat. I'm still not sure why he had such difficulty with the process.
Of course, it may have been the distraction of the televised OSU-Michigan game.
As it is, I'm glad i decided to ask for a proof. The standard 20 lbs. copy paper is not quite thick enough to prevent the darker pieces from bleeding through to the other side. And, of course, they didn't have any thicker paper stock in...er, stock. Neither did the Staples store next door. So now I have to wait till Monday, drive down to a paper supply store on my lunch break, and drive back up to ElektroKopy to drop off the stock, drive back to work, and drive up to the copy place again to pick up the books. Chalk it up to the "joys of self-publishing".
On the bright side, the book looks great. Especially the cover. So I'm happy.
--Dara (permalink)
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