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02.25.09 - NEW BRIGHTON ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Mark Andrew Smith sent me a pdf of NEW BRIGHTON ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, BOOK ONE: THE CASTLE OF GALOMAR (ComicSpace preview). The graphic novel will be in stores next Wednesday, March 4th. I had a chance to read it today during my lunch break. I enjoyed NBAS. Mark's story moved in some fun, imaginative, and unexpected directions. Matthew Weldon's art is exciting and perfectly styled for the all-ages audiences. In fact, Mark has always had a gift for finding great artistic talent, i.e. Dan Hipp on AMAZING JOY BUZZARDS and Paul Maybury on AQUA LEUNG, and also for crafting uniquely appealing concepts. Kudos.
I assume many of you on March 6th will see WATCHMEN. Yes. But what are you doing on March 7th, huh? If you said "going to Austin for STAPLE! the premier indie/small press non-coastal convention" then you, my friend, are wise indeed. I'll be there. Paul Milligan and I are sharing a table.
 We'll be at table #22 -- right across from Jeffrey Brown and Top Shelf (tables #35-#37).
Boom! Studios through iVerse Comic Reader Software made Hexed #1 available on the Google phone. I downloaded it out of curiosity, even though I already bought the comic. After trying the program, I've decided I don't mind reading comics on my phone. Using the touch screen to move the panel along is nice. The graphics look good. It reads easily. With all the things I like, my main complaint is a big one: I want a general iVerse application icon that when selected would list the comics I've downloaded. I don't want an individual icon for every comic download. You can see the problem. With an mp3 player on my phone, I don't have thousands of songs scattered throughout the phone's application listing.
My other complain might be a deal breaker. Yes, I like reading comics on my phone, but I don't like reading an entire 24 page comic on my phone. I need short stories. 8 to 12 pages. The content needs to adapt to the medium. Posting stories from anthologies like PopGun, Flight, MySpace Presents Dark Horse, Postcards et cetera would be much better than reading of all Hexed #1 or the Complete Bone. iVerse doesn't want to be in the business of producing original content, but I think creating iVerse-specific (and exclusive) comics would be an improvement.
The 2008 Harvey Awards are now open for nominations. Anyone who has worked in comics (mainstream, small press, independent) can nominate and vote. There's been some discussion about the process, since it does lend itself to "ballot stuffing," i.e. over zealous comic book creators who petition fellow writer/artist friends to support them in the nomination process. I'll confess I've sent a mass email or two for previous Harvey Awards, all to no avail. Due to the absolute democracy of it, you also don't get much diversity among the winners (click here) year after year. There are certain industry favorites, so there are no hidden gems. In this regard, I like the Eisner Award process better where a committee selects the nominees. No industry award is perfect. (Recommended reading: Tom Spurgeon's If I Were The Emperor of Comics, look at #17 and #18)
Love it or hate it, I'm glad we have the opportunity to acknowledge excellence in the comic book field. And I appreciate the openness, that a lonely freelancer such as myself can have a vote. Ballots are available online: Download pdf nomination ballot Download txt nomination ballot Completed forms can be e-mailed to harveyballots@hotmail.com. Ballots are due for submission by Friday, March 27th. If I can give any biased recommendations, KRISTIAN DONALDSON in DMZ #20 for best artist, JUSTIN STEWART in Mix Tape Vol. 1 for best colorist, COMIC BOOK COMICS from Evil Twin Comics for best new series, WASTELAND from Oni Press for best continuing or limited series, TIKI JOE MYSTERIES from SLG for best original graphic novel, SKYSCRAPERS OF THE MIDWEST from AdHouse for best graphic novel of previously published material, and POPGUN VOL. 2 from Image Comics for best anthology. If you have any recommendations, please post them in the comments. Since I didn't publish in 2008, there isn't anything I'd be eligible for, unless you consider SOUVENIR OF DALLAS from D Magazine in the humor category. Not likely. The highlight of the Harvey press release? Scott Kurtz will be the Master of Ceremonies. Quote Marc Nathan, promoter of Baltimore Con: "Scott has been a part of the Harvey Awards since they have been in Baltimore. As both a nominee and presenter, Scott brought his unique sense of humor and fun to the ceremony. We are all looking forward to him bringing the same energy to the stage as the host of the show."
I've shared pages from HOW TO LOSE BIG and OH NO POGO. So I thought it's time to post something from ASTRONAUT DAD VOL. 2. Brent Schoonover finished penciling page 50, and he's almost done inking the remaining pages of that chapter. Which means? One more chapter left and ASTRONAUT DAD is completely finished, pending the lettering skills of Justin Stewart.
 Brent and I reached a moment of collective peace with this project. The storytelling is solid. That might seem like egotism, but I was mostly thinking about Brent's ability to tell this story with his art. After three rewrites and some editorial assistance from Nunzio and Christina, after all the hours Brent put in, we can brag a bit. ASTRONAUT DAD, from beginning to end, will be a satisfying read. It's amazing when you break from the tyranny of trying to make comics "action packed" that you can focus on creating a good narrative -- and not just a series of talking heads either, but a real story with meaningful subtext and dramatic consequences. More than anything, I feel fortunate. For the past few years, I've been able to write comics and tell the stories I've wanted to tell with absolute freedom. Looking ahead, there's a lot of pressure to find more opportunities, to get more stuff on the shelf. I'll admit I'm completely intimidated by the process. That's why it felt so good to see these pages from Brent. (Thank you.) I took a deep breath: I can do this. UPDATE: Brent posted the page along with his own thoughts. "It’s been an interesting journey with this book. So many people come up to me and tell me how surprised they are at how few actual segments there are involving space exploration and astronauts but still thought the book was better than they expected it to be, which to me, is a pretty nice compliment."
Last Friday, I bought a Google phone (G1). I was able to renew my two year contract. Also, I had a $120 credit. Both helped to make the phone fall within my price range. The monthly plan will be about $25 more than what I normally pay, which includes unlimited internet access. If I cut a few impulse buys here and there, it won't affect my budget too much.
People have asked how it compares to the iPhone, and that's a difficult question to answer. I've had a chance to play with both. From what I've observed, it's easier to pick up a G1 and know what to do. With the iPhone, you need to get a feel for how the touch screen works, how to type, move around, etc. With the G1, I like the QWERTY keyboard. Although, I prefer the iPhone having no movable parts. Stuff that slides and flips worries me; it only increases the possibility of damage. The touch screen on the G1 makes the roller ball unnecessary. If I wanted a Blackberry, I'd get a Blackberry. The battery life is crap for both phones. At least with the G1, the battery is replaceable. You can add memory to the G1, which I will need to do eventually. The G1 requires Wifi access to download Amazon mp3's, which is a pain. (The Amazon mp3 site? Not bad at all.) Those Tmobile/AT&T hotspots are not nearly as hassle free as they should be. Fortunately, I have Wifi at home. I opted for the G1, in part, because I already have an iPod. I don't need another. I'd give the advantage to the iPhone for screen size and mp3 player, but I can live with that. The G1 fits in your pocket easier than the iPhone, and feels better in your hand. This stuff matters. Obviously, my gmail addiction is satisfied on the G1. The G1 Android operating system is open source, which allows for developers to create more programs for the phone. In this area, though, iPhone and G1 seem equal. Both have nifty applications. The latest iPhone may still be superior, but the G1 isn't very far behind -- and for what I need, it's the best phone for me. How's that for diplomatic?
With economic situation the way it is, Paul and I were almost certain our days at D Magazine were numbered. As magazines and newspapers trim their budget, we thought our contribution of SOUVENIR OF DALLAS would be cut. We worked on the December issue and were stopped mid-production due to a lack of space. I thought we'd be pushed back to the January issue, but no such luck. It was hard to gauge what this meant. Then, last week, I met with D editors Tim Rogers and Eric Celeste. I'm happy to say we're back in the regular rotation. Even better, D Magazine is revamping the pulse section in such a way that I'm fairly confident SOUVENIR OF DALLAS will continue for quite some time. Our comic won't appear every month, but you can expect it four to fives times a year, which is perfect for me. The editors have been incredibly supportive. I just finished the script for the April issue, and I'm about to send it to Paul. I have to commend Paul for his work. Normally, I try to keep the content manageable (i.e. not too many panels, not too much dialogue, nothing too insane to draw). However, I confess with SOUVENIR I get sloppy. I create these impossible scenarios and think: "Oh well, Paul will figure out how to do this." Bad writer. Bad.
Hall of fame: -1- Big Tex fighting a large giraffe, a pegasus, and the Mayor of Dallas while a dandy in a hot air balloon observes overhead. Sheep dogs run wild. (click here) -2- Mayor of Dallas carrying several commuters to work in the middle of a traffic jam while a helicopter flies overhead. (click here) -3- New Cowboys stadium rises from the ground, a la Death Star, while the coach as Darth Vader force chokes a construction worker and Jerry Jones as the Emperor encourages him on (click here) Unfortunately, panel 4 of the latest script may be a contender for the #1 spot. Sorry Paul.
Yesterday, I posted a page from OH NO POGO. Today, I wanted to share something from the main story in HOW TO LOSE BIG with art by Paul Milligan. Panel borders need to be drawn in. Also, there's a little bit of photoshop needed for lettering and to place studio logo on the front banner, along with the comic book covers. However, that's not the point; Paul let me share this, and I wanted to show off how awesome it looks.
 Oh yes, it's happening.
For our epic Hopkins/Milligan project HOW TO LOSE BIG, as mentioned previously, there will be two comics-within-the-comic. One is PRINCESSES VS. UNICORNS, illustrated by Erin Riggs. And the other is OH NO POGO, illustrated by Brock Rizy. Brock sent the first page, unlettered. I really like this "Brock Noir" style. OH NO POGO is my attempt at something involving secret super agents and monsters.
 Update: Paul and I finished the synopsis for HOW TO LOSE BIG. It's been a good collaboration. We both kept each other entertained with the insane twists in this story (the climax, oh man), but also there is a message about the strained relationship between commerce and artistry, professionalism and friendship.
Indy Comic News asked me and a few other independent creators for our opinion on Diamond's new policies. (If you are unfamiliar with the changes in distribution, read here.) The Beat also pulled my quote on the matter.
"The new policies will certainly affect which publishers I work with in the future. I'm very grateful for the opportunities I had with Viper Comics and Silent Devil. It was a great place to start. However, I'm concerned that such 'smaller' small press companies won't be featured in the catalog, and that's a shame. These companies take greater risks on new talent, and our industry needs that. At the same time, my graphic novels received slightly more pre-orders through Baker & Taylor than through Diamond.I understand Diamond's desire to make a distinction between "small press" (wiki) and something that amounts to a "vanity press" (wiki). In a bad economy, they want to feature only those publishers who have sales that justify placement in their catalog. The monthly Previews catalog can get too large to be useful to a retailer. There should be another way to allow retailers the final choice on what they want in their store. Indie comics can have their market, small but still profitable. Your thoughts?
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