Congratulations Robert and Kuen! I know how much effort you put not just into the comic, but the competition, and the win is well-deserved.
A
Showing posts with label webcomics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label webcomics. Show all posts
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Fool me seventeen times, shame on me.
A few days back, in my ongoing quest not to do what I really ought to be doing with my time, I came upon the blog of reality TV producers Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina (found it via Chad Gervich's Script Notes.) I haven't had a chance to read much of it yet, but the post "How You Get Your First Job in Hollywood" caught my attention, largely because I haven't gotten my first job in Hollywood yet (and I am looking. That's right, Hollywood, I'm aVAILable...)
There's a parallel between the way they describe their first H'wood job and the way many (including myself) approach(ed) the comics industry.
Regarding the odious terms they were forced to accept to get their first producing credit, Messina says they were "Happy to be screwed out of every single penny ... Why? Because for us, it was the opportunity we’d been begging for. The chance to step it up and prove we could do the job."
Pretty much any time anyone in the portion of the industry where creators receive actual money for their work talks about what it takes to reach the ranks of the full-time professional comics writer, the first thing they say is "You need to get something published somewhere else."
Which makes sense. Independently developing and actually producing a complete comic, even a 22 page one, isn't the easiest thing in the world. Getting it published by someone other than yourself is even harder. Ask any writer who's been kicking around comics for any length of time, and they all have horror stories about artists who flaked out on them. Ask any creator-owned comics publisher and they all have horror stories about creators who flaked out on them. Speakeasy Comics' founder placed a good portion of the blame for that company's demise on creator-owned books that failed to be delivered in a timely manner. I don't know if that was really the cause or not, but I do know that it happened: a lot of creator-owned books were solicited based on creators' promises to meet certain deadlines, and those deadlines got missed, a lot.
I still haven't been paid anything for Age of Kings, the first graphic novel I wrote for Platinum Studios. I didn't even get the standard thousand dollars creators of the bulk of the projects they developed or acquired received for their work. I wrote it, as I did everything I wrote for that company, with the expectation that, more than an actual cheque, the payoff would come in the form of a writing credit and a finished, professional-looking book I could show editors who might be willing to offer me something more than a thousand dollars for 88+ pages (after AoK I did start getting some money).
I did this for a very long time, literally years, without complaint. Because I believed I was paying my dues.
Of course, Platinum never published the majority of the stuff I or anyone else wrote for them, which, honestly, may be a blessing. I was learning how to write (and, as if not more importantly, to edit) comics all the way through the process. While I still like the scripts for JEST CAUSE and THREADS, I'm not at all sure I wouldn't be embarrassed if anything else I worked on for the company actually saw the light of day. I'm certainly not thrilled about the way the one Platinum project I was involved in that actually got published turned out, but then I don't think anyone who was part of the thing was.
On the other hand, I don't have a body of published Platinum-published work to show editors, which was what I (and, I suspect, the bulk of Platinum's other creators) was doing the work for.
If dues are paid in the wood with nobody around to notice you paying them, are the dues truly paid?
Not really. While I've recently gotten some mileage out of having my name associated with the comic currently being developed for film by the guys who wrote Star Trek, the vast majority of whatever progress I've made towards the ultimate goal of carving out a writing career for myself* has come from PARTING WAYS, DONE TO DEATH, and THE HOLIDAY MEN in "The Massacre Memorial Day Sale Massacre". None of which have, to date, made me a cent. In fact, one of them personally cost me upwards of $15,000, and another cost me in less tangible but far more personally traumatizing ways. All that aside, I now have three books I'm happy to show people, secure in the knowledge that, good or bad, they're at least an accurate representation of what I'm capable of as a writer.
While there are some parallels between comics and the first Hollywood job scenario described by Messina, there are also some major differences. Whenever someone in television says they didn't make much money off their creative work, my gut instinct is that they still made a lot more than someone not making much off their work in comics. Many comics creators are desperate to have something published, to the point that many of them, myself ten years ago included, are willing to literally give away their intellectual property for the cost of a printing bill and solicitation text in Previews (and even that's getting iffy, these days.) Too often, these creators see themselves as indebted to a publisher. Way too often the publisher also sees creators as indebted to them, a mindset that's come to absolutely sicken me over time.
Comics have a few things over traditional prose publishing; one of them is a model of successful self-publishers. The notion of a vanity press, if it exists in comics at all, at least doesn't preclude the possibility that someone publishing at their own expense might still be producing something of value. The cost of self-publishing ten years ago was an expense some creators were unwilling or unable to afford (I originally had a plan to self-pub PARTING WAYS, but art took a couple years longer than planned and by the time I had it, I'd run out of the capital I'd intended to use for printing and promotion. Fortunately, Speakeasy sprang into existence around the same time, and the rest is history.)
Though I'm a natural-born luddite, even I have to admit that the internet and print on demand technology's made it easier than ever before for creators to get their work out--and get it out without losing their intellectual property, which is the only thing a frighteningly large number of "comics publishers" are interested in. Granted, most of these creators won't make money off webcomics, but then again, the odds are they aren't going to make money off comics published through anyone who doesn't pay a page rate or advance up-front, either.
And, in the event that Hollywood comes knocking, it'll have to talk to someone for whom a property's creators' goals are the highest priority, rather than a company agenda that, as often as not, places the egos of whoever got his Mom to cough up a couple grand for printing over the well-being of the people who actually created the work. I know tons of people who had the intellectual property they created simply given away for little to no money, by publishers desperate to establish themselves--or at least be perceived as having established themselves, or, worst of all, to delude themselves that they'd established themselves--as movers in Hollywood. They're like many unpublished comics creators, now that I think about it--willing to give away everything in order to hopefully get something slightly better than nothing.
If anyone's going to get slightly more than nothing, it ought to be the creator. But until creators stop accepting the notion that any deal is worth it just to get a book in print**, it's not going to happen. Fortunately (if that's the word for it), the generation of readors coming up now and the one after it will likely see reading comics on-screen as a perfectly normal thing. If and when that happens, intellectual property hoarders (which I've no problem with in principle, providing the principle includes creators getting paid decently at some point) will have to offer a lot more to their marks, er, creative partners than many do today.
It's never been easier to pay dues in the comics industry than it is now. A whole, frustrating, frequently dysfunctional buffer between the creator and the audience is eroding. Now someone just has to figure out how to make what's left over pay, and we'll be onto something.
*More than a lot of people, but not nearly enough.
**And hey, I've been in that position. I understand why people do it, because I did it myself. But, to paraphrase Steven Grant, "I never knew anyone who signed away their rights at 20 who didn't regret it by the time they hit 40."
A
There's a parallel between the way they describe their first H'wood job and the way many (including myself) approach(ed) the comics industry.
Regarding the odious terms they were forced to accept to get their first producing credit, Messina says they were "Happy to be screwed out of every single penny ... Why? Because for us, it was the opportunity we’d been begging for. The chance to step it up and prove we could do the job."
Pretty much any time anyone in the portion of the industry where creators receive actual money for their work talks about what it takes to reach the ranks of the full-time professional comics writer, the first thing they say is "You need to get something published somewhere else."
Which makes sense. Independently developing and actually producing a complete comic, even a 22 page one, isn't the easiest thing in the world. Getting it published by someone other than yourself is even harder. Ask any writer who's been kicking around comics for any length of time, and they all have horror stories about artists who flaked out on them. Ask any creator-owned comics publisher and they all have horror stories about creators who flaked out on them. Speakeasy Comics' founder placed a good portion of the blame for that company's demise on creator-owned books that failed to be delivered in a timely manner. I don't know if that was really the cause or not, but I do know that it happened: a lot of creator-owned books were solicited based on creators' promises to meet certain deadlines, and those deadlines got missed, a lot.
I still haven't been paid anything for Age of Kings, the first graphic novel I wrote for Platinum Studios. I didn't even get the standard thousand dollars creators of the bulk of the projects they developed or acquired received for their work. I wrote it, as I did everything I wrote for that company, with the expectation that, more than an actual cheque, the payoff would come in the form of a writing credit and a finished, professional-looking book I could show editors who might be willing to offer me something more than a thousand dollars for 88+ pages (after AoK I did start getting some money).
I did this for a very long time, literally years, without complaint. Because I believed I was paying my dues.
Of course, Platinum never published the majority of the stuff I or anyone else wrote for them, which, honestly, may be a blessing. I was learning how to write (and, as if not more importantly, to edit) comics all the way through the process. While I still like the scripts for JEST CAUSE and THREADS, I'm not at all sure I wouldn't be embarrassed if anything else I worked on for the company actually saw the light of day. I'm certainly not thrilled about the way the one Platinum project I was involved in that actually got published turned out, but then I don't think anyone who was part of the thing was.
On the other hand, I don't have a body of published Platinum-published work to show editors, which was what I (and, I suspect, the bulk of Platinum's other creators) was doing the work for.
If dues are paid in the wood with nobody around to notice you paying them, are the dues truly paid?
Not really. While I've recently gotten some mileage out of having my name associated with the comic currently being developed for film by the guys who wrote Star Trek, the vast majority of whatever progress I've made towards the ultimate goal of carving out a writing career for myself* has come from PARTING WAYS, DONE TO DEATH, and THE HOLIDAY MEN in "The Massacre Memorial Day Sale Massacre". None of which have, to date, made me a cent. In fact, one of them personally cost me upwards of $15,000, and another cost me in less tangible but far more personally traumatizing ways. All that aside, I now have three books I'm happy to show people, secure in the knowledge that, good or bad, they're at least an accurate representation of what I'm capable of as a writer.
While there are some parallels between comics and the first Hollywood job scenario described by Messina, there are also some major differences. Whenever someone in television says they didn't make much money off their creative work, my gut instinct is that they still made a lot more than someone not making much off their work in comics. Many comics creators are desperate to have something published, to the point that many of them, myself ten years ago included, are willing to literally give away their intellectual property for the cost of a printing bill and solicitation text in Previews (and even that's getting iffy, these days.) Too often, these creators see themselves as indebted to a publisher. Way too often the publisher also sees creators as indebted to them, a mindset that's come to absolutely sicken me over time.
Comics have a few things over traditional prose publishing; one of them is a model of successful self-publishers. The notion of a vanity press, if it exists in comics at all, at least doesn't preclude the possibility that someone publishing at their own expense might still be producing something of value. The cost of self-publishing ten years ago was an expense some creators were unwilling or unable to afford (I originally had a plan to self-pub PARTING WAYS, but art took a couple years longer than planned and by the time I had it, I'd run out of the capital I'd intended to use for printing and promotion. Fortunately, Speakeasy sprang into existence around the same time, and the rest is history.)
Though I'm a natural-born luddite, even I have to admit that the internet and print on demand technology's made it easier than ever before for creators to get their work out--and get it out without losing their intellectual property, which is the only thing a frighteningly large number of "comics publishers" are interested in. Granted, most of these creators won't make money off webcomics, but then again, the odds are they aren't going to make money off comics published through anyone who doesn't pay a page rate or advance up-front, either.
And, in the event that Hollywood comes knocking, it'll have to talk to someone for whom a property's creators' goals are the highest priority, rather than a company agenda that, as often as not, places the egos of whoever got his Mom to cough up a couple grand for printing over the well-being of the people who actually created the work. I know tons of people who had the intellectual property they created simply given away for little to no money, by publishers desperate to establish themselves--or at least be perceived as having established themselves, or, worst of all, to delude themselves that they'd established themselves--as movers in Hollywood. They're like many unpublished comics creators, now that I think about it--willing to give away everything in order to hopefully get something slightly better than nothing.
If anyone's going to get slightly more than nothing, it ought to be the creator. But until creators stop accepting the notion that any deal is worth it just to get a book in print**, it's not going to happen. Fortunately (if that's the word for it), the generation of readors coming up now and the one after it will likely see reading comics on-screen as a perfectly normal thing. If and when that happens, intellectual property hoarders (which I've no problem with in principle, providing the principle includes creators getting paid decently at some point) will have to offer a lot more to their marks, er, creative partners than many do today.
It's never been easier to pay dues in the comics industry than it is now. A whole, frustrating, frequently dysfunctional buffer between the creator and the audience is eroding. Now someone just has to figure out how to make what's left over pay, and we'll be onto something.
*More than a lot of people, but not nearly enough.
**And hey, I've been in that position. I understand why people do it, because I did it myself. But, to paraphrase Steven Grant, "I never knew anyone who signed away their rights at 20 who didn't regret it by the time they hit 40."
A
Monday, January 5, 2009
Anybody out there got a barn I can borrow?
I need something to go get shot out behind of.
I don't know what happened last night, but I know what didn't: me sleeping. Around 8 AM I drifted off for a fitful couple hours. And that's today's hope for accomplishing anything useful shot all to hell.
One good thing to come from the entire episode: I got to listen to Tones on Tails' POP album in the ideal state of mind in which to listen to Tones on Tails' POP album. If ever there was music designed to be experienced when your connection to physical reality is tenuous at best, when shadows are starting to grow mouths and there's a small army of dwarven creatures swarming in your peripheral vision, it's POP.
***
There's a whole bunch of stuff I wanted to blog about once I returned to blogging, but I can't remember most of it. The only thing that's sticking is that today's the official debut of a couple of welcome additions to the comics webosphere.
First, there's the long-awaited* debut of Robert Burke Richardson and Stehen Yarbrough's THE MATRIARCH, in webcomic form. Haven't had a chance to read it yet--for some reason I'm having a little trouble, uhhhhh...
Focusing. Right now, but I'm looking forward to it. There's a few pages up to start with; I believe there'll be one page updates more than once a week, but I could be really, really wrong about that. Frankly, it's borderline miraculous I remembered to mention it at all, in my current fragmented state. Check it out if you've got a few minutes. Robert's one of the many people whose coattails I plan to ride to comics glory.
That last sentence made sense in my head, but looking at it onscreen I'm now wondering if I should have kept it trapped within the confines of my skull...
(*Long-awaited by me, if no one else: RBR mentioned the project to me when we first met more than three years ago. This is, regrettably, not an unusually long period of time for a comics project to lag in the comics version of Development Hell--which is like Hollywood's Development Hell, without the paycheque.)
Secondly, I have it in my head that today's the Official Premiere of Robot 6, the new blog by the former Blog@Newsarama crew, at ComicBookResources.com. This in spite of the fact that there's been a fair amount of posting there over the last few days, which makes me wonder if I've misremembered...
Nope, there's a big notice on the CBR homepage introducing R6, so I guess they were just building a little content prior to walking the virtual red carpet. To my mind, the previous incarnation of Blog@ was the best part of the corporate-controlled Newsarama, so Robot 6 is a welcome...comic weblog thingie. God, I'm tired.
Not terribly keen on the name, though, even though it does make for kind of a neat logo image.
***
Kernels Popcorn has altered the packaging for their popcorn spices, which is fine. Unfortunately for me, they also seem to have altered the formulation of their Dill Pickle flavour, dulling down the harsh, inner-mouth blistering quality of the good stuff in favour of a weaker, saltier flavour that resembles nothing so much as the popcorn flavourings I try to avoid whenever possible.
This is probably a good thing for my overall health, but from a personal Foodie POV, I fear it's the end of an era. My palate will never be the same. For one thing, it'll no longer be an unhealthy chalk white, peeling fragments of skin into the rest of my mouth.
Deep sigh.
A
I don't know what happened last night, but I know what didn't: me sleeping. Around 8 AM I drifted off for a fitful couple hours. And that's today's hope for accomplishing anything useful shot all to hell.
One good thing to come from the entire episode: I got to listen to Tones on Tails' POP album in the ideal state of mind in which to listen to Tones on Tails' POP album. If ever there was music designed to be experienced when your connection to physical reality is tenuous at best, when shadows are starting to grow mouths and there's a small army of dwarven creatures swarming in your peripheral vision, it's POP.
***
There's a whole bunch of stuff I wanted to blog about once I returned to blogging, but I can't remember most of it. The only thing that's sticking is that today's the official debut of a couple of welcome additions to the comics webosphere.
First, there's the long-awaited* debut of Robert Burke Richardson and Stehen Yarbrough's THE MATRIARCH, in webcomic form. Haven't had a chance to read it yet--for some reason I'm having a little trouble, uhhhhh...
Focusing. Right now, but I'm looking forward to it. There's a few pages up to start with; I believe there'll be one page updates more than once a week, but I could be really, really wrong about that. Frankly, it's borderline miraculous I remembered to mention it at all, in my current fragmented state. Check it out if you've got a few minutes. Robert's one of the many people whose coattails I plan to ride to comics glory.
That last sentence made sense in my head, but looking at it onscreen I'm now wondering if I should have kept it trapped within the confines of my skull...
(*Long-awaited by me, if no one else: RBR mentioned the project to me when we first met more than three years ago. This is, regrettably, not an unusually long period of time for a comics project to lag in the comics version of Development Hell--which is like Hollywood's Development Hell, without the paycheque.)
Secondly, I have it in my head that today's the Official Premiere of Robot 6, the new blog by the former Blog@Newsarama crew, at ComicBookResources.com. This in spite of the fact that there's been a fair amount of posting there over the last few days, which makes me wonder if I've misremembered...
Nope, there's a big notice on the CBR homepage introducing R6, so I guess they were just building a little content prior to walking the virtual red carpet. To my mind, the previous incarnation of Blog@ was the best part of the corporate-controlled Newsarama, so Robot 6 is a welcome...comic weblog thingie. God, I'm tired.
Not terribly keen on the name, though, even though it does make for kind of a neat logo image.
***
Kernels Popcorn has altered the packaging for their popcorn spices, which is fine. Unfortunately for me, they also seem to have altered the formulation of their Dill Pickle flavour, dulling down the harsh, inner-mouth blistering quality of the good stuff in favour of a weaker, saltier flavour that resembles nothing so much as the popcorn flavourings I try to avoid whenever possible.
This is probably a good thing for my overall health, but from a personal Foodie POV, I fear it's the end of an era. My palate will never be the same. For one thing, it'll no longer be an unhealthy chalk white, peeling fragments of skin into the rest of my mouth.
Deep sigh.
A
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Why not finish off with a blog post?
Wow, I'm actually getting stuff done this weekend - first a revised outline of The Thing for That Emmy Guy, then a new version of THE HOLIDAY MEN pitch that better reflects the actual comic (the only official proposal I ever did for the project was written up as an animated series. When the ChemSet asked if I had anything I'd be interested in doing and Nick got on-board, it became a comic - refreshingly, without my having to go through a "It's A Christmas Carol meets Die Hard, by way of Looney Toons" type of sales pitch to get someone, artist, publisher, whoever, interested in it. Which was great till I actually decided to start seriously trying to find a publisher and realized I didn't have a proposal written in a suitable format...), even got a decent start on a short essay on something that's been eating at me. And this after finishing four new comic reviews on Friday. What--what's happening to me...?
***
SHE'S A (COGNO)MANIAC, (COGNO)MAAAANIAC, I KNOW-OH
The Future of Comics (I) Fiona Staples returned to blogging recently to make a post noting on her blog Vicious Ambitious member Cognoman's started a daily webcomic, COGNOMANIA. While Nick Johnson's got the most polished, commercial art style of all the VAers, Cog's is by far the most idiosyncratic - in a way I can't quite put my finger on, it reminds me of Sergio Aragones, though his images are much less detailed, more open and relaxed. These done-in-one surreal comedy strips are a great showcase for an artist I've long believed had a lot of potential. From what I've read, each installment seems to be set in its own weird little world, but that variety of set-ups and settings produces some genuine laughs on a surprisingly consistent basis, at least so far.
***
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"It is clear that superrich people should be punished, because they didn't get where they are today without having eaten a live human baby at some point in their career..." Cintra Wilson, in her book A Massive Swelling: Celebrity Reexamined as a Grotesque Crippling Disease and other cultural revelations.
A
***
SHE'S A (COGNO)MANIAC, (COGNO)MAAAANIAC, I KNOW-OH
The Future of Comics (I) Fiona Staples returned to blogging recently to make a post noting on her blog Vicious Ambitious member Cognoman's started a daily webcomic, COGNOMANIA. While Nick Johnson's got the most polished, commercial art style of all the VAers, Cog's is by far the most idiosyncratic - in a way I can't quite put my finger on, it reminds me of Sergio Aragones, though his images are much less detailed, more open and relaxed. These done-in-one surreal comedy strips are a great showcase for an artist I've long believed had a lot of potential. From what I've read, each installment seems to be set in its own weird little world, but that variety of set-ups and settings produces some genuine laughs on a surprisingly consistent basis, at least so far.
***
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"It is clear that superrich people should be punished, because they didn't get where they are today without having eaten a live human baby at some point in their career..." Cintra Wilson, in her book A Massive Swelling: Celebrity Reexamined as a Grotesque Crippling Disease and other cultural revelations.
A
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Quotes of the Linkblog
"I know that many times, in my life, while living it, someone would come up and, because of I had good readiness, in terms of how I was wired, when they asked that—whatever they asked—I would just not blink, because, knowing that, if I did blink, or even wink, that is weakness, therefore you can’t, you just don’t. You could, but no—you aren’t." George Saunders in The New Yorker, talking about how he's qualified to be the Vice President. Or Something like that. It's funny. Just read it.
"He claims that agents and editors are always on the lookout for the next hot female writer. Which is awesome, because I've got two books in various states of disrepair. Do I sent the ovary in the envelope with the manuscript, or separately? What's the conventional wisdom on that?" Teevee Writer Kay Reindl kicks the crap out of Stephen King's latest Entertainment Weekly article.
"You can expect, at any moment, to turn on the TV and see a weathergirl pointing to some radar blob out in the Gulf of Mexico and making two basic meteorological points with her best Southern drawl:
(1) There is no need to panic.
(2) We could all be killed."
Scott O. Brown, on the best way for people in Alabama to survive hurricane season.
Scott's also got a new strip running in DC's online Zuda Comics contest, MY DADDY'S A SUPERVILLAIN, which you should go and vote for because Zuda's stupid system still refuses to let me register and vote.
A
www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/09/22/080922sh_shouts_saunders?currentPage=all
http://seriocity.blogspot.com/2008/09/doll-parts.html
http://sobstories.blogspot.com/2008/09/storm-watch-evac-notice.html
http://www.zudacomics.com/node/674
"He claims that agents and editors are always on the lookout for the next hot female writer. Which is awesome, because I've got two books in various states of disrepair. Do I sent the ovary in the envelope with the manuscript, or separately? What's the conventional wisdom on that?" Teevee Writer Kay Reindl kicks the crap out of Stephen King's latest Entertainment Weekly article.
"You can expect, at any moment, to turn on the TV and see a weathergirl pointing to some radar blob out in the Gulf of Mexico and making two basic meteorological points with her best Southern drawl:
(1) There is no need to panic.
(2) We could all be killed."
Scott O. Brown, on the best way for people in Alabama to survive hurricane season.
Scott's also got a new strip running in DC's online Zuda Comics contest, MY DADDY'S A SUPERVILLAIN, which you should go and vote for because Zuda's stupid system still refuses to let me register and vote.
A
www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/09/22/080922sh_shouts_saunders?currentPage=all
http://seriocity.blogspot.com/2008/09/doll-parts.html
http://sobstories.blogspot.com/2008/09/storm-watch-evac-notice.html
http://www.zudacomics.com/node/674
Sunday, August 24, 2008
I Don't Particularly Want to Reach Out and Touch Someone...
...But I would like the ability to reach out and touch someone if I changed my mind. From an e-mail I sent to Nick Johnson last night:
"First I forgot I was supposed to call.
Then I remembered, but wasn't at home.
Then I got home, but it was after 5:00.
Then I realized I'd lost your number, which has inspired me to put together my very first rolodex/personal phone book.
What's your number again...?"
It took a long time, but I'm finally at the point where 1) with enough prep time, I don't mind talking to people on the phone, 2) my friends and business acquaintances are legion, to the point where I simply can't remember everyone's number, and 3) I've found myself frustrated by an inability to locate the number of someone I actually did want to talk to enough that I'm actually doing something about it.
So: if you think I ought to have your number, please e-mail it or otherwise transmit it to me so I can include it in my brand-spanking new rolodex that, judging by its general appearance and the layer of dust atop it, Tiina had lying in the back of her odds & ends closet since that hunky John Kennedy was President.
If you think I have your number - possibly because you actually gave it to me one or more times over the course of our relationship - think again. Unless you're Nick Johnson or Fiona Staples. The only reason I have my sister's number is because she was walking by the office door when I started fiddling with the rolodex...
***
REBOOT
Strangely enough, the first installment of one of the most recent things I've been editing for Zeros 2 Heroes, a weekly webcomic based on the groundbreaking 3-d computer-animated cartoon ReBoot, is the first of the things I've spent the last several months editing that the public can actually view.
Continuing a comic story started earlier this year, the comic is written by Jeff Campbell, with art by Diego Simone and letters by Ed Brisson. The first three pages went live earlier today; two more pages will appear every Monday (he said, inviting the Gods to prove him wrong.)
The first two comics I edited for Z2H, BLACK JACK O'BREEN, written by John Michael Sullivan, with art by Frank Grau, Jr. and letters by the Mighty Brisson, and KNIGHTCAP: NOVEMBER'S SONG, written by Stephen Cmelak and penciled, inked, coloured, and lettered by The Future of Comics (II) John Keane, should be online shortly, knock on wood.
A
"First I forgot I was supposed to call.
Then I remembered, but wasn't at home.
Then I got home, but it was after 5:00.
Then I realized I'd lost your number, which has inspired me to put together my very first rolodex/personal phone book.
What's your number again...?"
It took a long time, but I'm finally at the point where 1) with enough prep time, I don't mind talking to people on the phone, 2) my friends and business acquaintances are legion, to the point where I simply can't remember everyone's number, and 3) I've found myself frustrated by an inability to locate the number of someone I actually did want to talk to enough that I'm actually doing something about it.
So: if you think I ought to have your number, please e-mail it or otherwise transmit it to me so I can include it in my brand-spanking new rolodex that, judging by its general appearance and the layer of dust atop it, Tiina had lying in the back of her odds & ends closet since that hunky John Kennedy was President.
If you think I have your number - possibly because you actually gave it to me one or more times over the course of our relationship - think again. Unless you're Nick Johnson or Fiona Staples. The only reason I have my sister's number is because she was walking by the office door when I started fiddling with the rolodex...
***
REBOOT
Strangely enough, the first installment of one of the most recent things I've been editing for Zeros 2 Heroes, a weekly webcomic based on the groundbreaking 3-d computer-animated cartoon ReBoot, is the first of the things I've spent the last several months editing that the public can actually view.
Continuing a comic story started earlier this year, the comic is written by Jeff Campbell, with art by Diego Simone and letters by Ed Brisson. The first three pages went live earlier today; two more pages will appear every Monday (he said, inviting the Gods to prove him wrong.)
The first two comics I edited for Z2H, BLACK JACK O'BREEN, written by John Michael Sullivan, with art by Frank Grau, Jr. and letters by the Mighty Brisson, and KNIGHTCAP: NOVEMBER'S SONG, written by Stephen Cmelak and penciled, inked, coloured, and lettered by The Future of Comics (II) John Keane, should be online shortly, knock on wood.
A
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Brainnzzzz
From (in fact, most of) the intro to the latest installment of my weekly Zeros2Heroes editing blog:
Deadlines are rushing me and my fellow Z2H editors like something big and fast that you don’t want rushing at you if you can possibly avoid it. It’d be a tough week on my best day, but my best day this is not, as Foley’s Back Blowout 2008 continues more or less unabated. While I haven’t spent any more time at the emergency room, I also haven’t moved more than a couple feet from my bed for the better part of nine days, now. Even our pets think the room smells a little hinky and are actively avoiding it, and our dog thinks other dogs’ poo is the most alluring scent imaginable…
One of the things I did move out of bed for was a visit to the doctor this afternoon, to tell her, in the most concise, well-considered manner possible that “I NEED SOME DRUGS EITHER THAT OR JUST PUT A BULLET IN MY HEAD I DON’T CARE ANYMORE MY BACK HURTS IT HURTS IT HURRRRTS!”
She opted to add a few more medications to my already-considerable prescription list (some people treat their body like a temple; I treat mine like a pharmaceutical company waste dump site.) The upside of all this is that I will hopefully be feeling less discomfort tomorrow. The downside is that I’ll be feeling very little at all this time tomorrow, and will in fact have the intelligence, wit, and general demeanour of someone playing a background zombie in a George Romero Living Dead flick. From the sounds of it, this particular medicinal cocktail won’t make me hunger for human flesh (any more than usual), but it will leave me in the kind of semi-comatose state I used to strive for back in art college but discovered to my detriment isn’t terribly cool when you’ve got a deadline bearing down on you.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Embrace My Density
For those who just can't get enough of my blathering, the latest installment of my Zeros2Heroes editorial production blog, DENSE FOLEYAGE, is now up. This week, I spend a thousand words explaining why I don't have anything to say. And lying through my teeth at almost every opportunity. It's kind of fun, actually. If I knew who owned the darn things, I'd probably just go ahead and cross-post that one here. But I don't, so at the Z2H site it stays.
***
In other news, the ever-lovable Nick Johnson and I are both getting increasingly excited about this proposed Zuda comic we're putting together. It hasn't been decided whether to wait till more work's been done on THE HOLIDAY MEN Episode Two: FOR WHOM THE SLEIGH BELL TOLLS or just plunge right in to the new thing, but the really irritating thing is, in e-mailing back and forth with Nick, I've got the rough shape of a larger storyline than our original eight screens in mind for the character. And it's such a fun, stupid idea that I now really, really want to do it. Which defeats the whole purpose of what I was aiming to do with this thing, which was produce something that I could be satisfied existing as only eight screens.
The muse is laughing at me. SHE'S LAUGHING.
A
***
In other news, the ever-lovable Nick Johnson and I are both getting increasingly excited about this proposed Zuda comic we're putting together. It hasn't been decided whether to wait till more work's been done on THE HOLIDAY MEN Episode Two: FOR WHOM THE SLEIGH BELL TOLLS or just plunge right in to the new thing, but the really irritating thing is, in e-mailing back and forth with Nick, I've got the rough shape of a larger storyline than our original eight screens in mind for the character. And it's such a fun, stupid idea that I now really, really want to do it. Which defeats the whole purpose of what I was aiming to do with this thing, which was produce something that I could be satisfied existing as only eight screens.
The muse is laughing at me. SHE'S LAUGHING.
A
Monday, June 9, 2008
Five Things I Learned At The Editors Association of Canada Conference 2008
1) How to tell if a presentation to EAC members is going well: they won’t interrupt you to ask questions that’ll take you in the direction they’re interested in hearing about.
2) How to tell if a panel presentation to EAC members went well: members of the audience “swarm” the panel members after the panel’s allotted time and keep the discussion going. (“Swarm” is, to my mind, a bit of an overstatement for what was maybe, maybe a dozen people between three panelists, but it was the description used by someone who’s attended a lot of EAC conferences and, I suspect, never seen Kevin Smith take an impromptu walk on the floor of San Diego’s Comic Con.)
3) Editors eat very good food--at least, they do at EAC Conferences…
4) I can spend ten minutes talking about word balloon placement in two panels. It’s easier than I thought, actually. I’m told my solo presentation lasted 17 minutes; going in, I was certain I only had enough material to last five, if that.
5) Loose notes don’t work for me when it comes to public speaking. I’m quite comfortable reading verbatim from something, as I do when I do a comic reading, and I’m OK talking off the top of my head. What I’m not good at is having loose notes to refer to. They were a distraction. I was absolutely positive they destroyed any credibility I might have had when making my presentation.
Apparently, I was wrong. Panel moderator Peter Roccia’s been relaying the responses he got to the panel to me, Jay, and Mike, and they’ve actually been positively glowing. Which almost makes the week of stress and Saturday’s Night of Existential Insomnia worth it.
Still, as with the public readings, now that I’ve done this, I’ll feel somewhat more confident if I’m called upon to do it again. At least, I will be if I’m going to be speaking to/with a group of people who seem to understand why keeping a left to right reading flow in a comic page’s text is more important than maintaining the inviolability of a panel border.
***
JOIN THE REVOLT
That’s a possible tagline for a new strip I developed over the weekend.
Finding myself inspired to give more consideration to DC’s Zuda Comics contest than was previously the case by a talk with RED ICE writer Scott O. Brown, and with some time on my hands during the aforementioned Night of Existential Insomnia, I came up with an idea that I will probably be entering in said contest. Nick Johnson’s tentatively on-board to draw the thing, and I spent what little of today’s time that could fairly be called productive writing the initial eight page--I mean, eight screen story.
The idea and especially the execution of the piece make me laugh, but I don’t know how many people are actually going to get what I (and hopefully still Nick, after he reads the script) am going for. I’ve got a bad feeling I’ll be running the risk of turning into the comics equivalent of Andy Kaufman with this one.
Oh well. When the muse offers inspiration, I take what I can get and ask questions later...
A
2) How to tell if a panel presentation to EAC members went well: members of the audience “swarm” the panel members after the panel’s allotted time and keep the discussion going. (“Swarm” is, to my mind, a bit of an overstatement for what was maybe, maybe a dozen people between three panelists, but it was the description used by someone who’s attended a lot of EAC conferences and, I suspect, never seen Kevin Smith take an impromptu walk on the floor of San Diego’s Comic Con.)
3) Editors eat very good food--at least, they do at EAC Conferences…
4) I can spend ten minutes talking about word balloon placement in two panels. It’s easier than I thought, actually. I’m told my solo presentation lasted 17 minutes; going in, I was certain I only had enough material to last five, if that.
5) Loose notes don’t work for me when it comes to public speaking. I’m quite comfortable reading verbatim from something, as I do when I do a comic reading, and I’m OK talking off the top of my head. What I’m not good at is having loose notes to refer to. They were a distraction. I was absolutely positive they destroyed any credibility I might have had when making my presentation.
Apparently, I was wrong. Panel moderator Peter Roccia’s been relaying the responses he got to the panel to me, Jay, and Mike, and they’ve actually been positively glowing. Which almost makes the week of stress and Saturday’s Night of Existential Insomnia worth it.
Still, as with the public readings, now that I’ve done this, I’ll feel somewhat more confident if I’m called upon to do it again. At least, I will be if I’m going to be speaking to/with a group of people who seem to understand why keeping a left to right reading flow in a comic page’s text is more important than maintaining the inviolability of a panel border.
***
JOIN THE REVOLT
That’s a possible tagline for a new strip I developed over the weekend.
Finding myself inspired to give more consideration to DC’s Zuda Comics contest than was previously the case by a talk with RED ICE writer Scott O. Brown, and with some time on my hands during the aforementioned Night of Existential Insomnia, I came up with an idea that I will probably be entering in said contest. Nick Johnson’s tentatively on-board to draw the thing, and I spent what little of today’s time that could fairly be called productive writing the initial eight page--I mean, eight screen story.
The idea and especially the execution of the piece make me laugh, but I don’t know how many people are actually going to get what I (and hopefully still Nick, after he reads the script) am going for. I’ve got a bad feeling I’ll be running the risk of turning into the comics equivalent of Andy Kaufman with this one.
Oh well. When the muse offers inspiration, I take what I can get and ask questions later...
A
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
THE HOLIDAY MEN #1.8: Say Good Night, Foley
www.chemsetcomics.com
Too tired to insert image or proper link right now, but it's up.
Good night, Foley.
A
Too tired to insert image or proper link right now, but it's up.
Good night, Foley.
A
Monday, February 11, 2008
HOLIDAY MEN #1.6: Still Senselessly Violent After All These Years. Year. OK, Month and a Half.
Well, editor Ward Foyle was as good as his word and abandoned us mid-storyline due to a disagreement over how awful this particular installment's title is. That guy's got no sense of humour, I tell you.
Anyway. This week, things go from bad to worse for pretty much everybody, but especially Nick Klaus and the crowd of people who thought a Massacre Day Sale would be a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. Important life lessons can be learned, in:
Monday, January 28, 2008
THE HOLIDAY MEN #1.4
Two of my favourite HOLIDAY MEN bits can be found in this week's installment. I'm so excited I could eat nineteen oranges in seven minutes.
OMegaMart@GMail.com
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
URBIS FAERIE
Because, as much as you might want to, you can't spend ALL your time reading the first installment of THE HOLIDAY MEN:
Robert Burke Richardson and Martin Morazzo's comic URBIS FAERIE has been selected for the latest round of Zuda Comics' ongoing webcomic contest. Congratulations and good luck, Robert!
***
LATE, AS IN THE LATE DENTAL ARTHUR DENTAL
Terrible subtitle, I know, but I've had a long day. Cut me some slack, you judgmental swine...
Celebrated the debut of THE HOLIDAY MEN by taking a trip to the dentist. Since when did dentists start not doing all fillings in one visit? That's irritating as hell...and my head's still throbbing from the blast of ice-cold air they inflicted on what was apparently a thoroughly exposed nerve.
On the upside, it doesn't look like I'll be having pieces of my head torn out in the immediate future. Joy.
***
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Thanks to everyone who's written me and Nick or commented publicly on THE HOLIDAY MEN's first installment. I can't tell you how heartening it is to know that at least those of you who can be bothered to talk to us "get it"--even better, you get it and you seem to like it. And that's the sort of thing that'll keep Nick and I going. We aren't in this comic thing for the money; we're doing it for the love AND the money.
Foley
Robert Burke Richardson and Martin Morazzo's comic URBIS FAERIE has been selected for the latest round of Zuda Comics' ongoing webcomic contest. Congratulations and good luck, Robert!
***
LATE, AS IN THE LATE DENTAL ARTHUR DENTAL
Terrible subtitle, I know, but I've had a long day. Cut me some slack, you judgmental swine...
Celebrated the debut of THE HOLIDAY MEN by taking a trip to the dentist. Since when did dentists start not doing all fillings in one visit? That's irritating as hell...and my head's still throbbing from the blast of ice-cold air they inflicted on what was apparently a thoroughly exposed nerve.
On the upside, it doesn't look like I'll be having pieces of my head torn out in the immediate future. Joy.
***
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Thanks to everyone who's written me and Nick or commented publicly on THE HOLIDAY MEN's first installment. I can't tell you how heartening it is to know that at least those of you who can be bothered to talk to us "get it"--even better, you get it and you seem to like it. And that's the sort of thing that'll keep Nick and I going. We aren't in this comic thing for the money; we're doing it for the love AND the money.
Foley
Monday, December 3, 2007
ALPHA MAIL
An example of Angry Andrew's thought process, from an e-mail I just sent over to a collaborator:
"To say I am Displeased with XXXXX at the moment doesn't really cover it. I'm on the edge of considering the possibility of maybe doing something rash."
OOoooOOOooo...I'm SCARY.
On other e-mail related news, I've started receiving messages from Grant Morrison DOOM PATROL characters. Here's an example of what one of them sent me:
"retain snare koinonia bluet tooth ehrlich twenty judson shell usable rook chang
prague plato lufthansa usable twenty snare repetitious
strident ghoul fractionate chang usable admix slovenia clean wit strident
rosenberg josephson ghoul"
I reread this particular passage several times while suffering a bout of insomnia in the wee hours this mornig. There was a brief period, between 3:50 and 3:54 AM where it actually made sense. Then God showed up, gave Data a key-shaped chicken bone and told me if I knew what was good for me I'd forget everything I 'd just read.
***
VICTORY IS THEIRS!
Man, I'm congratulating a lot of people lately, but what the heck, they deserve it and it's not like anyone actually reads this thing. First up, my buddy Scott O. Brown has won the first round of DC's Zuda Comics competition. Lettered by SOB, written by David Gallaher, and drawn by Steve Ellis, HIGH MOON is apparently a pretty good western werewolf webcomic that I guess I'll have to read now (my friend is the LETTERER on this one, OK? It's not like I didn't have his back when he was actually writing something {like Platinum Studios' ATLANTIS RISING, available online at DrunkDuck.com with the first issue currently on the shelves, for instance.}) (Did I mention SOB and I have gotten the rights to THREADS back? Coz we have. Which is cool.)
Also on the Andrew's e-Handshake List this morning is Dwight McPherson, Kevin Conley, and Worth Gowel, whose KID HOUDINI & THE SILVER DOLLAR MISFITS, currently being serialized at The Chemistry Set has found a publisher.
At this rate, I may have to get on-board this webcomics thing myself.
***
WORK IS FOR THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO
Finally got the outline for MERLYN COMPANY in fighting shape, and I don't care how crappy you're feeling, 3,000 words shouldn't take more than a week to write. But it's done now and I can hopefully move on to other projects with a more reasonable chance of getting somewhere than a five volume trade paperback series with no artist attached.
The first three pages of the first HOLIDAY MEN episode are almost complete, and all I had to do to get them finished was ruin my marriage by constantly asking Tiina to make little, niggling changes. She says she doesn't mind, but I'm not sure I believe her. There were a few moments there when I wanted to punch me in the throat, I can't imagine her not feeling the same way...On the upside, the pages and lettering look amazing (in my humble opinion). I can't wait to inflic--sorry, I mean unveil this project to the world...
Another person who probably wanted to reach a few thousand kilometres across Canada and throttle me last week is John Keane, who had to deal with the same sort of nitpickery T did on the BadBoy proposal, which is now done and off to the people who can hopefully do something with it faster than we could on our own.
This week, I've absolutely got to get the SOULMAKER pitch polished for The Pack, and send The Future of Comics (I) Fiona Staples some feedback on the story for what may well be the first major comic work she writes as well as draws. Reading the story was more than a little depressing, as I quickly realized a) she doesn't really need me, in an capacity, and b) she's got more quirky, cool visual ideas in her pinky finger than I will ever have in my entire life. Why she hasn't been picked up by a major company already will always mystify me. (Well, not really, but the shortsightedness of NOT signing her up for something major baffles me.)
Also, a couple blog posts, including, when I'm able to think of it without bursting into tears, a description of my weekend journey through Hell (AKA The Shoe Company).
Good night.
I mean afternoon. Ehhhh....so it's going to be one of THOSE days...
Foley
"To say I am Displeased with XXXXX at the moment doesn't really cover it. I'm on the edge of considering the possibility of maybe doing something rash."
OOoooOOOooo...I'm SCARY.
On other e-mail related news, I've started receiving messages from Grant Morrison DOOM PATROL characters. Here's an example of what one of them sent me:
"retain snare koinonia bluet tooth ehrlich twenty judson shell usable rook chang
prague plato lufthansa usable twenty snare repetitious
strident ghoul fractionate chang usable admix slovenia clean wit strident
rosenberg josephson ghoul"
I reread this particular passage several times while suffering a bout of insomnia in the wee hours this mornig. There was a brief period, between 3:50 and 3:54 AM where it actually made sense. Then God showed up, gave Data a key-shaped chicken bone and told me if I knew what was good for me I'd forget everything I 'd just read.
***
VICTORY IS THEIRS!
Man, I'm congratulating a lot of people lately, but what the heck, they deserve it and it's not like anyone actually reads this thing. First up, my buddy Scott O. Brown has won the first round of DC's Zuda Comics competition. Lettered by SOB, written by David Gallaher, and drawn by Steve Ellis, HIGH MOON is apparently a pretty good western werewolf webcomic that I guess I'll have to read now (my friend is the LETTERER on this one, OK? It's not like I didn't have his back when he was actually writing something {like Platinum Studios' ATLANTIS RISING, available online at DrunkDuck.com with the first issue currently on the shelves, for instance.}) (Did I mention SOB and I have gotten the rights to THREADS back? Coz we have. Which is cool.)
Also on the Andrew's e-Handshake List this morning is Dwight McPherson, Kevin Conley, and Worth Gowel, whose KID HOUDINI & THE SILVER DOLLAR MISFITS, currently being serialized at The Chemistry Set has found a publisher.
At this rate, I may have to get on-board this webcomics thing myself.
***
WORK IS FOR THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO
Finally got the outline for MERLYN COMPANY in fighting shape, and I don't care how crappy you're feeling, 3,000 words shouldn't take more than a week to write. But it's done now and I can hopefully move on to other projects with a more reasonable chance of getting somewhere than a five volume trade paperback series with no artist attached.
The first three pages of the first HOLIDAY MEN episode are almost complete, and all I had to do to get them finished was ruin my marriage by constantly asking Tiina to make little, niggling changes. She says she doesn't mind, but I'm not sure I believe her. There were a few moments there when I wanted to punch me in the throat, I can't imagine her not feeling the same way...On the upside, the pages and lettering look amazing (in my humble opinion). I can't wait to inflic--sorry, I mean unveil this project to the world...
Another person who probably wanted to reach a few thousand kilometres across Canada and throttle me last week is John Keane, who had to deal with the same sort of nitpickery T did on the BadBoy proposal, which is now done and off to the people who can hopefully do something with it faster than we could on our own.
This week, I've absolutely got to get the SOULMAKER pitch polished for The Pack, and send The Future of Comics (I) Fiona Staples some feedback on the story for what may well be the first major comic work she writes as well as draws. Reading the story was more than a little depressing, as I quickly realized a) she doesn't really need me, in an capacity, and b) she's got more quirky, cool visual ideas in her pinky finger than I will ever have in my entire life. Why she hasn't been picked up by a major company already will always mystify me. (Well, not really, but the shortsightedness of NOT signing her up for something major baffles me.)
Also, a couple blog posts, including, when I'm able to think of it without bursting into tears, a description of my weekend journey through Hell (AKA The Shoe Company).
Good night.
I mean afternoon. Ehhhh....so it's going to be one of THOSE days...
Foley
Friday, September 28, 2007
Another Edition of The Nobody Tells Me Nothin' Files
Things I discovered today that I might have mentioned earlier if someone had bothered to tell me about them:
1) My friend and sometimes co-writer collaborator Scott O. Brown's graphic novel THEY DO NOT DIE! is being serialized online at Ambrosia Publishing. The gritty B&W art (reminiscent of 2000AD/Vertigo artist Carlos Ezquerra) for the project is by his DEATH VALLEY (Speakeasy, not Boom! version) collaborator Horacio Lallia.
2) The sequel to COWBOYS & ALIENS, C&A: WORLDS AT WAR, is being serialized online drunkduck.com. This is not the sequel I was writing in late '06--that project was canceled after the departure of the Nordling and McLauchlin editorial regimes at Platinum. I'm not familiar with any of the creators involved and haven't had a chance to read the thing yet (other than series creator Scott Rosenberg, of course), but at the very least the art of seen is a cut above what the first one ended up with, and it looks like the story's being constructed in such a way as to accommodate a monitor. If I understand the approach the company's taking to the sequel correctly, this could be an interesting storytelling experiment. If it doesn't lead the editor to go on a bloody killing spree first, anyway--the organization it's going to require is frightening.
***
THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, DON'T GET FESTIVE...GET SATISFACTION.
In other news, everybody seems to like Nick Johnson's HOLIDAY MEN promo image, including me. We're working on some other promo stuff before we go public with the team shot, but yeah. Things are coming together.
***
I NEED A BETTER CLASS OF READER/FRIEND/FAN
It seems like everyone out there who would theoretically like to see me do a 24-Hour Comic for charity is unwilling or (more often than not) unable to put any cash towards the charitable donation entry fee to take part in Happy Harbor's event.
Apparently, Rupert Murdoch got his start publishing comics, but do I know him? NO! I know a bunch of other people who're busy trying to scrounge up a hundred bucks to do the event themselves. I should moon you all, I really should.
But I love you, so I won't.
A
1) My friend and sometimes co-writer collaborator Scott O. Brown's graphic novel THEY DO NOT DIE! is being serialized online at Ambrosia Publishing. The gritty B&W art (reminiscent of 2000AD/Vertigo artist Carlos Ezquerra) for the project is by his DEATH VALLEY (Speakeasy, not Boom! version) collaborator Horacio Lallia.
2) The sequel to COWBOYS & ALIENS, C&A: WORLDS AT WAR, is being serialized online drunkduck.com. This is not the sequel I was writing in late '06--that project was canceled after the departure of the Nordling and McLauchlin editorial regimes at Platinum. I'm not familiar with any of the creators involved and haven't had a chance to read the thing yet (other than series creator Scott Rosenberg, of course), but at the very least the art of seen is a cut above what the first one ended up with, and it looks like the story's being constructed in such a way as to accommodate a monitor. If I understand the approach the company's taking to the sequel correctly, this could be an interesting storytelling experiment. If it doesn't lead the editor to go on a bloody killing spree first, anyway--the organization it's going to require is frightening.
***
THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, DON'T GET FESTIVE...GET SATISFACTION.
In other news, everybody seems to like Nick Johnson's HOLIDAY MEN promo image, including me. We're working on some other promo stuff before we go public with the team shot, but yeah. Things are coming together.
***
I NEED A BETTER CLASS OF READER/FRIEND/FAN
It seems like everyone out there who would theoretically like to see me do a 24-Hour Comic for charity is unwilling or (more often than not) unable to put any cash towards the charitable donation entry fee to take part in Happy Harbor's event.
Apparently, Rupert Murdoch got his start publishing comics, but do I know him? NO! I know a bunch of other people who're busy trying to scrounge up a hundred bucks to do the event themselves. I should moon you all, I really should.
But I love you, so I won't.
A
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
THE CHEMISTRY SET
Online comics collective THE CHEMISTRY SET has added a couple of new and notable features to their already impressive lineup: THE SURREAL ADVENTURES OF EDGAR ALLAN POO (recently published in a wonderfully packaged album-size trade paperback by Image Comics partner Shadowline), by Dwight MacPherson and artist Thomas Boatwright, and Andrew Drilon's off-the-wall KARE-KARE COMICS. The first strip posted, just for today's debut, has a nice Jasper Fforde quality to it, conceptually.
My understanding is that these are the first of several additions that are going to be made to the site over the next few months. Teaser art for SCOOBY-DOO writer Vito Delsante's FCHS is already appearing in various places.
After a conversation at the Panel & Pixel messageboards re: the economic merit of releasing a miniseries prior to a trade of the same story, I'm seriously wondering if webcomic-to-trade isn't the way to go with non-capes material. No up-front printing costs, audience gets built up online over time, maybe start a few income streams with some merchandising...hmmm...
Foley
My understanding is that these are the first of several additions that are going to be made to the site over the next few months. Teaser art for SCOOBY-DOO writer Vito Delsante's FCHS is already appearing in various places.
After a conversation at the Panel & Pixel messageboards re: the economic merit of releasing a miniseries prior to a trade of the same story, I'm seriously wondering if webcomic-to-trade isn't the way to go with non-capes material. No up-front printing costs, audience gets built up online over time, maybe start a few income streams with some merchandising...hmmm...
Foley
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
THE FUTURE WILL BE HERE SOONER THAN I'D LIKE
First, DC Comics announced Zuda Comics, a new online venture that will apparently function more or less as Webcomic Idol. Creator-original work being submitted, judged by...well, judges, I guess, then, eventually, put online for the general public to vote on. The runners-up will get some sort of payment and lose none of the property rights to their creation (which is good); the winner will be given a contract to create their webcomic for DC for a year (which should also be good, but, but but...).
It wasn't long after the Zuda announcement that Virgin Comics announced an alliance with MySpace to create Coalition Comics, which, from the sounds of it, will be "created" by professionals, but guided by the audience--readers will be allowed to vote on the direction the story takes. It sounds an awful lot like the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books I used to love as a kid. Which mightn't be a bad idea, but what I've seen from Virgin so far doesn't make me think they're going to be aiming at 8-year-olds (which is unfortunate. Some comic company ought to aim at the Lost Demographic...)
IDW, which is, if I understand things correctly, the fifth-biggest direct market comic publisher, has been bought outright by IDT/Zedge Studios, a company that "develops and licenses original content for distribution through online and mobile platforms." Mobile phone content hasn't even really started in North America yet, and I'm already sick of hearing about it. The whole thing just reeks of Underpants Gnomes thinking: "1. create comics for cellphones, 2. ????, 3. Profit."
All that said, I'm also the guy who can't fathom people text-messaging each other when they could, you know, use the phone in their hands to talk to the person they're trying to reach for less money. (The exception to this is the San Diego Comic Con, which is noisy enough to make texting the only way to get one's point across to the person on the other end.)
Oh well, eventually everyone with a cellphone will develop tumors and die and I'll be living in cave in a hill somewhere in Bavaria and I'll be laughing, laughing...
TokyoPop has a newly revamped site, which includes a new online strategy. I haven't read the article yet--just noticed it--but the description of the article seemed relevant...
And while all this is going on, one of the last comic distributor hold-outs from the '90s crash, Cold Cut Distribution, is on the auction block--and the idea that it could be transitioned from comics into distributing something, well, lucrative is apparently a selling point.
Apparently, some people are coming to the conclusion that there's money in them thar PeeSees. And there is, as the guys behind PvP and PENNY ARCADE can tell you. Is there sufficient cash to turn over a profit big enough for a major corporation to see this stuff as a success? I want to answer that question with "How many dotcom millionaires does it take to screw in a lightbulb?", but honestly, I'm not sure what I'd mean if I did that.
In any event, Big Question #1 is, I think, how long a view are these guys taking with the online stuff? Are they going to be willing to pretty much hemmorhage money for years paying (at an absolute minimum) editorial and bandwidth costs?
I have a hard time seeing it, but then, my (very limited) experiences with wealthy people is they really, intensely dislike losing it for substantial periods of time. Which probably has something to do with why they're wealthy in the first place, I suppose. That's sound from a financial standpoint, but the comics industry is not for people who aren't ridiculously passionate about comics. It's not even for most of those who are, as the number of dead and dying small press publishers in the direct market will attest.
Over on his weekly Newsarama interview, Joe Quesada questioned whether webcomics creators would actually benefit substantially from taking part in Zuda. He's obviously assuming the creator will be effectively cut out of the intellectual property picture once they "win." It's Siegel and Shuster for the New Millennium.
It may be as cut and dried as that when all is said and done, but I'm not of a mind to speculate on what sort of deal Zuda's going to offer. And I don't have to, as it's been repeatedly stated that the details of the contract will be posted publicly in due time. Which is kind of a ballsy thing for a major corporation to do, in my book. If creators aren't given complete and utter ownership and control of their intellectual property as well as some kind of up-front payment, you can believe someone in the comics blogosphere's going to be talking about how much DC/Zuda's deal sucks.
Quesada's point isn't a bad one, however. I'll admit, I'm not particularly up-to-date on my webcomics (health issues limit my time at the computer and I've got work I should be doing when I'm able to use one), but it seems to me that webcomics success stories have come from individuals, or small groups of individuals, following their passion and doing their own things. And it seems likely to me, though I haven't checked into it, that each creator has his or her own vision of what constitutes "success."
I've heard tell of a free online comic whose creator made a decent living out of merchandise. Another group's got their own technology-oriented convention going. Act-I-Vate makes its members' comics available online for free, and has had a significant number of their projects picked up for print publication from various companies.
In all those cases, success is measured by creators, not companies. This could be a problem, esp. given the "jumping in with both feet" vibe I'm getting from at least DC and Virgin.
Also problematic is the desire to create what will presumably be a fairly sizable online community out of whole cloth. Platinum Studios bought out DrunkDuck.com precisely because it was a large online comics community that had developed more or less organically (I believe that's how it developed, anyway, I could be wrong.) The audience for work is there (even if it's not being taken maximum advantage of at this time.) It looks to me like DC and Virgin are looking to pull an audience almost out of thin air; I suspect much of DC's traditional fanbase isn't particularly interested in webcomics, while those who like webcomics are going to be leery of a company perceived to be coming onto their turf and acting like a bigshot. And what if DC throws an online party and...nobody shows up? It could be COUNTDOWN all over again.
(Sorry DC--I couldn't resist. On the upside, I think Mike Carlin's rumoured plan to feature some marquee creators will probably get the numbers back up a bit.)
To make matters, worse, Zuda and Coalition both seem to hinge on audience participation, and that idea really does make my creator's blood curdle.
Coalition seems to be set up to appeal to a fanfic mentality: here are the characters, now they can do anything you, the reader/"co-creator" want them to. ANYTHING.
Well, probably not anything. I'll be very surprised if they ever offer Option D) The two leading male characters strip naked and have graphic sex with one another. Which is a shame, in some ways. In for a penny, in for a pounding, as my Grandmother never, ever, evvvvver said.
My point, however, stands: as anyone who's run a (tabletop) roleplaying campaign with an eye towards storytelling can tell you, given any kind of option, the players will always, always make the wrong one, from a storytelling standpoint. It's the difference between macro and micro points of view; their concern is for their characters, the referee's is for the story. By the same token, in an ideal world, the reader cares and invests emotionally in characters, but it's the creator's vision which is ultimately executed on the page.
Also worrisome is the "Community Votes" aspect of Zuda. Unless Zuda's audience is HUGE, it seems likely to me that the "winning" entries will have less to do with quality of the work than with how popular a given creator is or how hard they try to get out the vote. I'm guessing DC's clause allowing them to select work for acquisition that doesn't win the voting is some sort of insurance against someone working the system that way.
The upside of Zuda is pretty obvious: first you get your stuff looked at by professional editors. Then you have the potential of making actual money creating your comic, as well as a built-in audience on a scale a group like, say, The Chemistry Set, can't manage without the marketing budget and sheer presence of the DC brand. It could be the start of Something Big for a creator.
But it could more easily not be the start of much at all. I foresee a lot of crappy comics and crushed dreams, and while those crappy comics and crushed dreams might very well exist without the Money Men getting involved, getting them involved gives those who feel slighted a target, an actual company that failed to recognize their genius. That could get ugly, if most Newsarama.com comment threads are anything to go by.
Foley
It wasn't long after the Zuda announcement that Virgin Comics announced an alliance with MySpace to create Coalition Comics, which, from the sounds of it, will be "created" by professionals, but guided by the audience--readers will be allowed to vote on the direction the story takes. It sounds an awful lot like the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books I used to love as a kid. Which mightn't be a bad idea, but what I've seen from Virgin so far doesn't make me think they're going to be aiming at 8-year-olds (which is unfortunate. Some comic company ought to aim at the Lost Demographic...)
IDW, which is, if I understand things correctly, the fifth-biggest direct market comic publisher, has been bought outright by IDT/Zedge Studios, a company that "develops and licenses original content for distribution through online and mobile platforms." Mobile phone content hasn't even really started in North America yet, and I'm already sick of hearing about it. The whole thing just reeks of Underpants Gnomes thinking: "1. create comics for cellphones, 2. ????, 3. Profit."
All that said, I'm also the guy who can't fathom people text-messaging each other when they could, you know, use the phone in their hands to talk to the person they're trying to reach for less money. (The exception to this is the San Diego Comic Con, which is noisy enough to make texting the only way to get one's point across to the person on the other end.)
Oh well, eventually everyone with a cellphone will develop tumors and die and I'll be living in cave in a hill somewhere in Bavaria and I'll be laughing, laughing...
TokyoPop has a newly revamped site, which includes a new online strategy. I haven't read the article yet--just noticed it--but the description of the article seemed relevant...
And while all this is going on, one of the last comic distributor hold-outs from the '90s crash, Cold Cut Distribution, is on the auction block--and the idea that it could be transitioned from comics into distributing something, well, lucrative is apparently a selling point.
Apparently, some people are coming to the conclusion that there's money in them thar PeeSees. And there is, as the guys behind PvP and PENNY ARCADE can tell you. Is there sufficient cash to turn over a profit big enough for a major corporation to see this stuff as a success? I want to answer that question with "How many dotcom millionaires does it take to screw in a lightbulb?", but honestly, I'm not sure what I'd mean if I did that.
In any event, Big Question #1 is, I think, how long a view are these guys taking with the online stuff? Are they going to be willing to pretty much hemmorhage money for years paying (at an absolute minimum) editorial and bandwidth costs?
I have a hard time seeing it, but then, my (very limited) experiences with wealthy people is they really, intensely dislike losing it for substantial periods of time. Which probably has something to do with why they're wealthy in the first place, I suppose. That's sound from a financial standpoint, but the comics industry is not for people who aren't ridiculously passionate about comics. It's not even for most of those who are, as the number of dead and dying small press publishers in the direct market will attest.
Over on his weekly Newsarama interview, Joe Quesada questioned whether webcomics creators would actually benefit substantially from taking part in Zuda. He's obviously assuming the creator will be effectively cut out of the intellectual property picture once they "win." It's Siegel and Shuster for the New Millennium.
It may be as cut and dried as that when all is said and done, but I'm not of a mind to speculate on what sort of deal Zuda's going to offer. And I don't have to, as it's been repeatedly stated that the details of the contract will be posted publicly in due time. Which is kind of a ballsy thing for a major corporation to do, in my book. If creators aren't given complete and utter ownership and control of their intellectual property as well as some kind of up-front payment, you can believe someone in the comics blogosphere's going to be talking about how much DC/Zuda's deal sucks.
Quesada's point isn't a bad one, however. I'll admit, I'm not particularly up-to-date on my webcomics (health issues limit my time at the computer and I've got work I should be doing when I'm able to use one), but it seems to me that webcomics success stories have come from individuals, or small groups of individuals, following their passion and doing their own things. And it seems likely to me, though I haven't checked into it, that each creator has his or her own vision of what constitutes "success."
I've heard tell of a free online comic whose creator made a decent living out of merchandise. Another group's got their own technology-oriented convention going. Act-I-Vate makes its members' comics available online for free, and has had a significant number of their projects picked up for print publication from various companies.
In all those cases, success is measured by creators, not companies. This could be a problem, esp. given the "jumping in with both feet" vibe I'm getting from at least DC and Virgin.
Also problematic is the desire to create what will presumably be a fairly sizable online community out of whole cloth. Platinum Studios bought out DrunkDuck.com precisely because it was a large online comics community that had developed more or less organically (I believe that's how it developed, anyway, I could be wrong.) The audience for work is there (even if it's not being taken maximum advantage of at this time.) It looks to me like DC and Virgin are looking to pull an audience almost out of thin air; I suspect much of DC's traditional fanbase isn't particularly interested in webcomics, while those who like webcomics are going to be leery of a company perceived to be coming onto their turf and acting like a bigshot. And what if DC throws an online party and...nobody shows up? It could be COUNTDOWN all over again.
(Sorry DC--I couldn't resist. On the upside, I think Mike Carlin's rumoured plan to feature some marquee creators will probably get the numbers back up a bit.)
To make matters, worse, Zuda and Coalition both seem to hinge on audience participation, and that idea really does make my creator's blood curdle.
Coalition seems to be set up to appeal to a fanfic mentality: here are the characters, now they can do anything you, the reader/"co-creator" want them to. ANYTHING.
Well, probably not anything. I'll be very surprised if they ever offer Option D) The two leading male characters strip naked and have graphic sex with one another. Which is a shame, in some ways. In for a penny, in for a pounding, as my Grandmother never, ever, evvvvver said.
My point, however, stands: as anyone who's run a (tabletop) roleplaying campaign with an eye towards storytelling can tell you, given any kind of option, the players will always, always make the wrong one, from a storytelling standpoint. It's the difference between macro and micro points of view; their concern is for their characters, the referee's is for the story. By the same token, in an ideal world, the reader cares and invests emotionally in characters, but it's the creator's vision which is ultimately executed on the page.
Also worrisome is the "Community Votes" aspect of Zuda. Unless Zuda's audience is HUGE, it seems likely to me that the "winning" entries will have less to do with quality of the work than with how popular a given creator is or how hard they try to get out the vote. I'm guessing DC's clause allowing them to select work for acquisition that doesn't win the voting is some sort of insurance against someone working the system that way.
The upside of Zuda is pretty obvious: first you get your stuff looked at by professional editors. Then you have the potential of making actual money creating your comic, as well as a built-in audience on a scale a group like, say, The Chemistry Set, can't manage without the marketing budget and sheer presence of the DC brand. It could be the start of Something Big for a creator.
But it could more easily not be the start of much at all. I foresee a lot of crappy comics and crushed dreams, and while those crappy comics and crushed dreams might very well exist without the Money Men getting involved, getting them involved gives those who feel slighted a target, an actual company that failed to recognize their genius. That could get ugly, if most Newsarama.com comment threads are anything to go by.
Foley
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