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We’re a few minutes away from the Official West Coast Fables Panel kicking off and we’ll be liveblogging.
Get ready to hit refresh.
The West Coast Fables Panel has moved to ECCC from SDCC because Willingham is just tired of the crowds at San Diego.
Mark Buckingham is only going to the Fabletown and Beyond convention in Rochester, MN in a few weeks. Apparently, it hasn’t been promoted terribly well and Willingham is stumping for it.
He’s opening his own bar for the convention. Just for 3 days.
Sean Williams (who’s writing the third arc of Fairest): It’s a new character, Nalayani, a Fables character from India. It takes place in the present.
This arc will feature a Maharajah who has appeared in the background in Fables and will be a prominent character in the main book in the near future.
Barry Kitson, who’s done 3 pages of Fables in the past, has just finished Fairest #14. He’s just drawn his first naked woman for the book. He’ll also be drawing Fables #130, which will be called “Junebug.” This will foreshadow the next “really bad thing” scheduled for a couple years down the pike.
Willingham has three people from the audience singing Barry Kitson a “congratulations for drawing your first naked lady anthem” for a chance to win a free copy of the Werewolves of the Heartland GN. It’s… unique.
Jess Nevins will be writing a Fables Encyclopedia.
The Fairest in All The Land, OGN. The Magic Mirror decides to explain what his standards of beauty are, through a series of stories. It’s due out for Christmas.
There will be a Fables video game. Telltale Games will be at the Fabletown convention to talk about it, though.
Also at Fabletown, Shelly Bond will be reviewing artist portfolios. The best one gets to draw a Fables story.
Q&A
Three people will get guaranteed truthful answers. The rest… it might be true, but might be sarcastic.
Q: Where’s the cool bar at ECCC?
A: The Sheraton Fountain Bar is where the pros are hanging out.
Q: Are the image of the Blind Mice inspired by an old Walt Kelly comic?
A: He doesn’t know. Jill Thompson was the artist on that.
Q: Will he use Peter Pan?
A: Peter Pan isn’t in public domain in the UK because of its relationship to the children’s hospital. He’d wanted to use Peter Pan as The Adversary, but didn’t because of that. Peter Pan is now in public domain, but he doesn’t have a story right now and DC was nervous about being the first company to use Peter Pan.
Q: Which character under copyright would you like to work with?
A: The cast of Narnia. Tarzan is only partially in the public domain and thus problematic.
Q: Do you ever feel trapped by your own story on how to continue?
A: To continue? No. Trapped because he killed off a villain too soon? Yes.
Q: The event with the Unwritten is _not_ a reboot of the Fables universe?
A:No. “We’re not going to Stephanie Brown it. We might Jason Todd it a little.”
Q: What’s the draw to working with Bill?
A (Barry): Bill frees my artist soul. There aren’t that many comics he can’t wait to read and Bill writes one of the ones he does.
Q: When is Robin Hood showing up?
A: He’s dead. He died in the Last Castle. He might have something in mind.
Q: Who’s your favorite character to draw?
A: Sadowski – he gets to draw the first gay Fable, plus the Maharajah is fun. Kitson – Rose Red.
Buckingham based Rose Red on his wife.
Q: When are we going to see Bigby face Dracula?
A: I had no plans for that. There are probably too many vampires stories for him want to do it.
Q: Where did Fables start?
A: The first origin was Fractured Fables on Bullwinkle. His mother explained the concept of public domain characters to explain why the Bullwinkle fairytales were so different from the originals. Since he had been dropping fairy tale bits in his superhero stories, when he was at a low point in his career, he decided to pitch a full-on fairy tale series.
Q: What is the extent of mundy influence on Fable mortality? What’s the limit? (Could Prince Charming reconstitute himself after being blown up because he was popular.)
A: The theory is the more the mundy’s believe in/are aware of you, the more powerful you are. It does, but it’s not the only factor. For instance, Prince Charming was able to drag the bomb over while already been hurt enough for a normal person to die. It’s really about the creation of secondary belief, a Tolkein concept where you’re into the story enough to accept what’s happening.
Q: Will the Fabletown con include a day trip to Story City?
A: It’s a good idea that hadn’t occurred to him. He doesn’t think there’d be time with the schedule.
Q: Will the Literals or something like them return?
A: No. It would overbalance the story, so the story could only be done once.
Q: Any advice for a write to make her artists’ life easier.
A: Only put one action in each frames.
Try and encourage your artist to use their imagination.
Have a back and forth discussion about the art, especially if it’s a new artist.
Aaaaaaand we’re out.
 |
| ©2013 Dain Fagerholm |
ink pen and color dye marker on notebook paper.GIF©DAiN8)
I mentioned before that as I come across writer or author websites that need help, I'd briefly critique the site to give my readers some website pointers. But, I don't reveal the name or url of the site I'm critiquing.
These critiques are geared to help authors setup websites that are visitor and search engine appealing.
Here is a critique of a website I recently recently.The first and most notable impression this website offers is its header:
Header image: Several book images taking up about half the header – from left to center
Title: NONE
Subtitle: Welcome to my blog (under books image in small text)
Three Pages:
Home page: Welcome to “Site owner’s” XXXX XXX XXX Blog
About “Author”
Published Works
Can you quickly notice what’s wrong with the top portion of the website?
No?
Okay, Let’s go over each element:
1. Header ImageThe header doesn’t tell the visitor anything. There are several small images of book covers, but the visitor won’t know what they’re for. Are they the authors, is it an author’s site, are they cover design examples?
The header raises a number of questions. This is never a good thing from a marketing aspect. You have about 4 seconds to grab a visitor – that’s not a lot of time.
Along with this, the header image only covers half the header, and it’s not centered. This makes it look uneven and somewhat unappealing.
Fix: Go to fiverr.com and hire someone to create an appealing header.
2. Website Title There is none. Search engines (SEs) will have a difficult time finding, indexing, and categorizing this website because there isn’t any information in the title, let alone keyword information. There isn’t any search engine optimization for SE spiders to latch onto.
The same goes for the visitor - he'll be scratching his head, wondering what the site is about.
Fix: Create a site relevant keyword title. This is a must for any website.
3. Website Subtitle“Welcome to my Blog” does offer the visitor or SE spiders any information. The site could be a real estate site, a sports site . . . it could be anything.
Fix: Create a site relevant keyword subtitle – one that supports the title, one that offers more information letting the visitor and SEs know what the site is about. You want relevant, but different keywords – don’t use the same ones as in the title.
4. The PagesA. The Home page This page title doesn’t offer any keyword information, although it does give the title of the site (I’m assuming). Also, it’s not a good idea to waste words on a page title. Make it simple and to the point.
Fix: The author could simply use the title of the site and omit “Welcome to “site owner’s.” Or, the author could simply keep it at “blog” if the title has no keyword value.
B. About “Author name”This is okay to use. It quickly lets the visitor know what to expect on that page and lets the visitor know who owns the site.
Fix: None needed
C. Published WorksThis page title should have keywords in it. Does the author write fantasy, nonfiction, history, children’s books?
You need to quickly let the visitor know what your site is about.
Fix: Change the page title to include the genre s/he works in.
These are simple fixes that will make a huge difference in this site’s ‘curb appeal,’ visitor engagement, and SEO.
~~~~~
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If you don't have a website set up yet, or you need help getting an existing one visitor and search engine optimized, check out my service
http://www.karencioffi.com/website-services/I offer website setups, website tuneups, and website critiques.~~~~~
MORE WEBSITE AND ONLINE MARKETING TIPSBook Marketing – Website in Trouble Commenting on Blogs Still WorksThe Author Website – Keep it Simple and to the Point~~~~~
To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars, join us in The Writing World (top right top sidebar).
Karen Cioffi
Award-Winning Author, Freelance/Ghostwriter
Author Online Presence Instructor
Create and Build Your Author Online Presence
http://www.karencioffi.com/author-online-presence-ecourse/Karen Cioffi Professional Writing Services
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The Three Bears (sort of) by Yvonne Morrison, illustrated by Donovan Bixley (Scholastic)
Once upon a time,
There were three bears,
And they lived …
What kind?
Huh?
What kind of bears?
The narrator isn’t expecting questions and the reader is pretty clued up. He or she is not going to be fobbed off with any old answers … no siree … they want specifics … and they know a thing or two about bears. For example, ‘How did the three bears come to live in a cottage? They live in caves.’ The narrator is kept on his or her toes while the reader questions every detail of the ‘Three Bears and Goldilock’ fairytale.
Children and adults will love the humour (in the words and the illustrations). They might chuckle if they recognise themselves as a parent who doesn’t always know the answers, and the child who, well … likes to ask lots of questions.Will be very popular with the 4-8 year old crowd and parents are going to enjoy reading it to them.
Yvonne Morrison is a zookeeper, former school teacher, and writer of popular children’s books such as ‘A Kiwi Night Before Christmas’, ‘A Kiwi Jingle Bells’ and ‘Down in the Forest’.Donovan Bixley is a talented illustrator living in Taupo. He illustrated ‘Phoebe and the Night Creatures’, ‘Wacko Kakapo’, ‘A Right Royal Christmas’ and the very popular ‘Dinosaur Rescue’ series.
ISBN: 978-1-77543-068-1 RRP $19.50
 |
| Cyclone Rusty before it crossed the Pilbara coast near Port Hedland |
 |
| Helicopter drops a load of water on the fire in Ellenbrook, Perth |
Its the truth. We have been told time and time again and the Scriptures are replete with warnings of the events of the last days before the Saviour comes and The Millenium is ushered in! So I write these happenings on my blog, and where I can, post pictures. Earthquakes of one kind or another everywhere in the USA including Alabama which is outside the earthquake zone. Do they have to re-zone Alabama? Britain suffers severe blackouts with many millions under threat of more because of the freezing weather and devastating power cuts. Oh My! We've had fires in Perth, the Pilbara got drowned with Cyclone Rusty, most beneficial though, and once again the eastern states is being washed out to New Zealand with floods and heavy rain. Perth gets a three-day heatwave, the temperature drops for a couple of days, then up it goes again. Newspapers diligently report all events and blame it all on Mother Nature, God not mentioned anywhere! And those beasterly easterlies almost drive me to distraction with that blasted iron gate that is difficult to open, suddenly swings back and socks me one, or hurtles forward and whangs me in the back and out onto the roadway! Danger zone. I searched my Blog for a poem I had written about these monstrous winds, but hadn't included it here, so will do so now among all the other stuff! Well, the Prophets have said prepare. Storehouse is looking healthy, water supply unhealthy, 72 hour a goer, spare finances slowly growing...and along with prayers, repenting and trying to overcome my sins and service am doing my best!
Are you? But bless Susan Dayley in her Blog Looking out my Backdoor who found a way to combat the freezing, prolonged, icy conditions of where she lives in the USA to make things more cheerful - planting bulbs indoors! I am going to try that one for my sunny windowsills.
EASTERLIES
Blast and blast! The east winds are devilish,
Dancing the dance of a demented dervish
The old iron gate, released of its bolt,
Swung back viciously, giving me a jolt.
The washing on the line swung like things frantic,
The pegs went flying at such an antic.The wind was so cold, it felt like iceAnd the sun glimmering down was not nice.Dust was whipped up in dizzy swirls,Sand blasts along in vicious curls.My coat flopped around like a mad disgraceAnd a flying cord slapped my face.Furious and temper and damming and beasterliesI sallied forth fighting the blasted easterlies. Over the past 3 days (up to March 1, 2013) we have seen multiple earthquakes occur in the western United States.
As it turns out, if you look up the earthquake epicenters on Google Earth -- you can clearly see each noticeable quake is very close to a known Volcanoes.
It appears we're seeing an uptick in earthquake activity near dormant and active volcanoes in the western US, cause as yet unconfirmed/unknown --- I'm personally leaning towards crustal displacement (global) happening due to the events along the Indo-Australian plate .
The plate breakup is causing unrest globally.
------------------
Today, March 1, 2013 , a 2.7M earthquake struck Alabama, not normally an earthquake prone area. Earthquake Details- This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
|
| Location | 33.717°N, 87.296°W |
|---|
| Depth | 4.9 km (3.0 miles) |
|---|
| Region | ALABAMA |
|---|
| Distances | 11 km (6 miles) WSW of Cordova, Alabama
12 km (7 miles) S of Jasper, Alabama
39 km (24 miles) NW of Pleasant Grove, Alabama
40 km (24 miles) WNW of Forestdale, Alabama |
|---|
Notice the depth. 3.0 miles deep. If you're a viewer of mine or have been following earthquakes in the USA for a while, you know what this means!
If you go to google earth, and look up the epicenter coordinates listed by the USGS , you'll see one of the largest drilling / pumping / fracking / injecting operations in one single area... Add in the dozens of large quarries, and multiple steam plants directly in the area as well...
Or: Defying Reality with Paper-Whites
It has been an unusually cold winter for my town (and to the towns and cities that stretch along the length of mountains that partially define our lives). Clouds rush against those mountains, and the snows dump on the settlements below. The spring storms found themselves falling upon the accumulated snow that fell first in December. It’s the first of March and my north-facing deck is still beneath a three foot drift that defeats the heart of my
Sherlock.
Temperatures rose once or twice last month to nip at the heels of the normal range for this time of year, but mostly stayed in the bone chilling zone. But I rarely accept situations that are less than ideal. I’m a doer. A naïve, reckless, enthusiastic one—who sometimes forgets to count the cost– but a doer nonetheless. With the aid of my
daughter-in-law, I have taken circumstances that deceptively seem beyond my control, and changed them.
At the family nursery that she manages they had a close-out on paper-white bulbs. When I expressed an interest, she grabbed a bag and filled it. Then she gifted it to me with instructions. When I asked about potting soil, rather than repeat her instructions, that I had clearly not comprehended, she took me to a greenhouse to show me first-hand a large clear vase with paper whites blooming boldly above it. Then I understood.
So between her gift and about an hour of “planting” I brought spring into my home, despite the evidence to the contrary beyond my backdoor.
Each bulb was set inside a container that had a couple inches of pea gravel in the bottom. I had some decorative pebbles that served the first four containers. Then I slipped on my DH’s heavy boots and tramped out to my garden to scoop up pea gravel from around the boxes where the snow had receded. After the bulbs were set, I filled each with water to about ¼ up the bulb. You can also add the rocks up around the bulbs–but I liked the layered look. Within a week there were roots and green shoots. Within two weeks I had flowers.
Be sure to rotate them as (admirably so) they like to grow toward the sun.
I placed this one beside a mirror–because the other name for this flower is Narcissus–from the handsome Greek God that fell in love with his own reflection. Wisely, this flower prefered the light.
With these happy, tender flowers around me, spring arrived. (So there, bitter-cold winds.)
Because of the abundance my daughter gave me, I ended up filling several containers including tea cups and miscellaneous bowls. 7 bulbs were placed into a large glass bowl. Then I set them into a room with a southern window, rotating them from the top of a chest to a place in the sun to be distributed when their full bloom arrived.
They have tied me over through the single digit temps. This week there is to be a warming spike (finally) and the 40’s are predicted! The snow may actually melt from my patio and maybe Sherlock will find a sunny spot.
Tennis players stop a match
If sometimes they’re distracted –
A feather, shout or airplane noise
Means that their game’s impacted.
Yet often when you’re under stress
Or feeling sad or nervous,
A good distraction, you might find,
May really be of service.
A novel, movie, phone call, game
Or better yet, a visit,
Can take your mind off all your woes –
The respite is exquisite.
Distractions guarantee relief,
For pressure they repel;
And lucky me, to be distracted
By my Aunt Sydelle!
From the Arizona Daily Sun:
But not everyone thinks his biography -- "Steve McQueen, King of Cool: Tales of a Lurid Life" -- should be on the shelves of the Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library.
The book was one of a handful that have been "challenged" by library patrons over the last few years in an attempt to have them removed or placed in a specific section of the building, explains Heidi Holland, the director for the local library district.
The article isn't really about a specific controversy, just about some of the books that have been challenged at the library over the years. Some entertaining bits in there, though.
.jpeg?picon=3479)
By:
Michael Young,
on 3/1/2013
Blog:
The Canticle
(
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How would you like to read the complete compilation of The Canticle Prelude? It includes all the serial chapters from the series "Canticle of Night", "Canticle of Dawn" and "Canticle of Twilight". It is a great read to start before you read "The Canticle Kingdom" or even after you have. This compilation includes a bonus chapter linking the serial stories and the novel previously unreleased, as well as the sheet music for piano of the song that the music box plays, which I also wrote.
Head over to the BigWorldNetwork.com site for more details:
http://bigworldnetwork.com/site/contests/
DC’s first panel at the Emerald City Comicon will be starting in a few minutes and we’ll be liveblogging block it as it happens.
Go ahead and hit refresh for updates.
And away we go….
Our roster: Vertigo editor Mark Doyle, Scott Snyder (you know who he is), Ray Fawkes, Jae Lee, Dustin Nguyen, Derek Fridolfs, Bill Willingham and Josh Fialkov (billed as brilliant, but misunderstood). Jeff Lemire is stuck on a plane.
The panel stars with a plug for DC’s We Can Be Heroes Charity
Azzarello and Risso are doing a “sorta sequel” to 100 Bullets called Brother Lono.
Snyder talks about his Wake series: post-apocalyptic SF involving the mythologies of sea legends and monsters (the Kraken, Mermaids, etc).
Snyder on Batman: next up, dealing with Damien’s death, but through the eyes of Harper (in #18), in #19 and #20 will be bombastic like the animated series. #21 starts the next BIG story that will take most of the year. This will be a solo tale without collaborating with the other books. It will be announced in two weeks.
Snyder on Swamp Thing #18 is when he lives, but will change the status quo of the series. It returns to Louisiana and… Jeff Lemire just arrived. It’s where Snyder intended to leave things.
Fawkes on JL Dark #20 – “Things get really, really, really strange.” Swamp Thing and Flash get caught up in the adventure. A familiar villain returns in a new guise.
Constantine is on the screen. Lemire and Fawkes may be the first Canadians to write the character. Lemire says it’s really Fawkes’ book, he’s just co-writing the first couple issue. Constantine is no longer living in England and why is revealed in #3. In #3, he returns home and everyone’s so mad at what he did, they try and kill him.
Lemire on Animal Man: “Rotworld may have gone on one or two issues too long.” He’s resetting the series and exploring Buddy’s celebrity and culture’s obsession with celebrity. Buddy gets nominated for an Oscar. Twitter plays a part in that issue.
The last issue of Ozymandius is on the screen and the moderator thinks the response is tepid. <insert joke here>
Lee on Before Watchmen: He wants to just announce his new project. Old Frontier, the prequel to New Frontier.
(That’s a joke. And he’s moving right on without really talking about BF.)
Lee on Batman/Superman: He just got done with the cover and his wife is home coloring it.
Dustin Nguyen on Lil’ Gotham: “It’s bad ass.” But it’s also less grim ‘n’ gritty.
I just found Blog30. I liked their questionnaire and thought I'd share my own answers:
Where do you look for inspiration?
Life. Truth. Music. Stories. Nature. People.
What's your favorite book?
I have favorite books in different categories. My favorite books include, but are not limited to:
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (fantasy classic)
The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende (fantasy)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (modern classic)
Body Bags by Christopher Golden (contemporary thriller)
The Boys are Back in Town by Christopher Golden (contemporary horror)
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (mystery)
What's your favorite movie?
As with books (and anything else you can categories), I have favorite movies in different categories. For example:
Favorite musical picture: Singin' in the Rain
Favorite film noir: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Favorite Hitchcock film: North by Northwest
Favorite screwball comedy: Bringing Up Baby
Favorite Barbara Stanwyck comedy: Ball of Fire
Favorite John Hughes film: Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Favorite Cary Grant/Irene Dunne performance: My Favorite Wife
Favorite Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau movie: The Odd Couple
Favorite book-to-miniseries adaptation: Anne of Green Gables, 1986 version starring Megan Follows
Favorite Disney animated musical: The Little Mermaid
Again, give me a genre, theme, time period, director, writer, or actor, and I'll tell you my favorite film for that topic or person.
What's your favorite line from a play?
I just realized I don't have any lines from plays listed on my page of favorite quotes. I'm going to have to think on this and get back to you.
What play or production changed your life?
Since I've been on the acting/performing/writing/creating path since birth, I don't know that any play has changed my life, but many have touched me - either the script or the storyline really spoke to me, or the experience I had performing them. This includes but is not limited to Spring Awakening, The Polar Express, and the first school play I ever did. I'm also a writer - screenwriter, playwright, (hopeful) novelist, and poet, so I've performed original works, and had works published, and all of those experiences mean a great deal to me.
Is there anything you still dream of doing?
Everything I haven't done yet, but will: Have a great career, working regularly in television (including work as a series regular), film, and theatre (both musicals and straight plays) as an actress, writer, and director, creating and sharing roles and shows and songs that make me happy and inspire others.
I feel most like myself when I... am performing, singing or acting - or discussing something I'm really passionate about, or retelling the story of something I've experienced.
What is your best escape?
Performing. Writing. Reading. Watching films and TV.
What's the one thing nobody knows about you?
If I told you, then someone would know.
Until just a few days ago all I knew about Emily Dickinson was that "hope is the thing with feathers" and she lived (and died) in Massachusetts. (In high school I thought for the longest time that Massachusetts was critical to literary success; it wasn't until we got to Hemingway that we found an American author who was from New England.)
I've always a little bad about knowing so little on such a great poet so when the buzz started about Lyndall Gordon's Lives Like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson and Her Family's Feuds, I paid attention. The book went onto my wish list last year and my husband bought it for me for Christmas. I finally started it about a week ago and after some slow going in the beginning, I felt myself get sucked in more and more. By then end I was positively beside myself with who was going to end up controlling her literary legacy and I now feel confident discussing just who Dickinson was and what she accomplished.
Now where is that dreadful American Lit teacher when I need her? I'M READY FOR MY TEST AT LAST!!!
Gordon does an excellent job of using Dickinson's poems and letters (and her families letters) to buoy her narrative. This bogged me down a bit in the opening chapters as I am not familiar with much of her work so the constant quotes from her work broke up the biography for me. But I understand why Gordon was doing it and I respect that she chose to work this way. She is clearly not just pulling her thoughts out of the air - the biography comes from Dickinson and her family. This is important as a big part of what Gordon does here is [nicely] tear apart the work of others who have written about her subject.
I feel like I should mention spoilers here but since Dickinson has been dead for over a hundred years that seems pretty silly. (So look away if you want to discover her secrets on your own.) Gordon strongly suggests that the poet suffered from epilepsy which makes a lot of sense when you think about her choice (supported by her family) to live a reclusive life. More than that however, the story is about Austin Dickinson (Emily's brother), his first marriage with a woman who was much beloved by the family, and the manner in which he became embroiled in a long term affair with a married woman (sanctioned by her cheating husband). The family dysfunction is EPIC - I can't imagine what their Thanksgiving dinners were like! - and had a terrible affect on all of their lives. Ultimately Emily and Austin die, the mistress bonds with surviving sister and becomes Emily's primary editor (and largely responsible for getting her poems out to the world initially), more havoc is wrought between the sister, Lavinnia, her sister-in-law, the wronged Susan, and the determined mistress, Mabel. The dysfunction moves to the next generation as Susan's only surviving child and Mabel's daughter keep on fighting the fight. In the end it is kind a miracle that Dickinson's original papers survived or that anyone would ever be patient enough to sort through all of this mess and get to the bottom of it.
Three cheers then for Lyndall Gordon!
I learned a lot, I enjoyed what I learned and I really wish that some small part of this story could have been shared with me in high school. It makes me feel a lot more for Emily Dickinson up in her room, stuck putting up with her brother's cheating as he pays the bills (and she can't support herself) (stupid 19th century sexism!), and putting all of her big emotions into her writing. This is really interesting stuff and not to be missed.
[Post pic is the UK edition - love this cover.]
Wow did we miss the boat on this. Two days in and we finally link to it. Shameful. On the other hand, it’s a sign of comics ongoing academic respectability that a three day comics symposium featuring Nick Bertozzi, Josh Neufeld, Erin Polgreen and more could be taking place and there would be so much other comics stuff going on that it would only be the most serious of six or seven other top notch events. Anyway read all about it here, and there’s still time to get in on the fun with tonight’s keynote and tomorrows panels:
Friday, Mar 1st, 2013:
Keynote Address with Nick Bertozzi – 7:00-8:30pm
Location: Residential College in the Arts & Humanities Theatre, Snyder/Phillips Hall Basement, Michigan State University
Nick Bertozzi, award-winning comics creator and professor will deliver this year’s keynote address. Bertozzi received a Xeric Grant and multiple Harvey Awards and Ignatz Awards for his cartooning. He is the writer and artist of the graphic novel Lewis & Clark (First/Second). He collaborated with Jason Lutes on the graphic novel Houdini: The Handcuff King (Hyperion/CCS) and drew Glenn (The Colbert Report/Daria) Eichler’s STUFFED! (First/Second). Bertozzi is author of The Salon (St. Martin’s Griffin) a graphic novel about Picasso, the discovery of Cubism, and magical absinthe. He is hard at work on a cartoon biography of Lenny Bruce for Houghton-Mifflin, written by Harvey Pekar and you can read his ongoing sci-fi/fantasy cartoon, Persimmon Cup, for free every week at ACT-I-VATE (http://activatecomix.com). For the past several years Bertozzi has been teaching cartooning at NYC’s School of Visual Arts, as well as teaching stints at Rhode Island School of Design and at The Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont. For more information visit his website at: http://www.nickbertozzi.com/
Saturday, Mar 2nd, 2013:
Artist Alley and Panel Discussions – 11:00am-5:00pm
Location: Residential College in the Arts & Humanities LookOut! Gallery, Snyder/Phillips Hall 2nd floor, Michigan State University
The Forum will feature an Artists Alley with dozens of creators exhibiting their work in comics. For more information on individual artists featured, please reference the Artists Alley page on this website.
Panel: Comics Redefined
Time: March 2nd, 2013 from 11:00am – Noon
Location: Snyder/Phillips 2nd floor classrooms
Description: This panel explores new approaches and ideas in comics through elements of culture, creator, and character.
Presenters and Presentation Titles:
Zack Kruse – Steve Ditko, Spider-Man, and the Romantic Hero
Justin Wigard – It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s Edward Cullen!
Andre F. Peltier – (De)Constructing Masculinity in Fan Boy (and Fan
Girl Cultures)
Panel: Golden Age: Comics and Graphic Novel Resources in Libraries
Time: March 2nd, 2013 from 12:15pm – 1:15pm
Location: Snyder/Phillips 2nd floor classrooms
Description: Have you ever wondered how your local library feels about comics? Librarians deliver a lively and informative presentation on what is available to comics readers at different kinds of libraries across the country, followed by a question and answer session.
Presenters:
Lisa Rabey (Librarian)
Kristin LaLonde (Librarian)
Andrew McBride (Librarian)
Panel: Artist Spotlight
Time: March 2nd, 2013 from 1:30pm – 2:30pm
Location: Snyder/Phillips 2nd floor classrooms
Description: Do you want to break into the comics industry? Are you curious about the trials and tribulations of self-publishing? Do you have process, craft, or other technical questions about comics creation? We have you covered. Our artists will share their wisdom and answer any question you might have.
Presenters:
Nick Bertozzi – (2013 MSU Comics Forum Keynote Speaker, Lewis and Clark, Houdini the Handcuff King)
Josh Neufeld (University of Michigan Knight-Wallace Fellow in journalism, A.D.: New Orleans After The Deluge)
Jerzy Drozd (Cartoonist and Teaching Artist, The Front)
Panel: Comics and Journalism: Practice, Publish, Innovate
Time: March 2nd, 2013 from 2:45pm – 3:45pm
Description: A star-studded roundtable of industry professionals will discuss the developing field of comics journalism with a focus on key learnings for up-and-coming creators.
Presenters:
Darryl Hollida (Writer and Founder of the Illustrated Press)
Josh Neufield (University of Michigan Knight-Wallace Fellow in journalism, A.D.: New Orleans After The Deluge)
Erin Polgreen (Co-founder, editor, and publisher of Symbolia)
Panel: Documentary Screening of Comic Book City, Portland, Oregon, USA
Time: March 2nd, 2013 from 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Location: Snyder/Phillips 2nd floor classrooms
Description: Comic Book City is a documentary film from Shaun Huston which explores the community of comics creators who live and work in Portland, Oregon. It is grounded by conversations with artists and writers about their creative processes and their choices to locate in Portland.
Presenter:
Shaun Huston (Comic Book City, Portland, Oregon, USA)Wow did we miss the boat on this. Two days in and we finally link to it. Shameful. On the other hand, it’s a sign of comics ongoing academic respectability that a three day comics symposium featuring Nick Bertozzi, Josh Neufeld, Erin Polgreen and more could be taking place and there would be so much other comics stuff going on that it would only be the most serious of six or seven other top notch events. Anyway read all about it here, and there’s still time to get in on the fun with tonight’s keynote and tomorrows panels:
By:
Beth Kephart ,
on 3/1/2013
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Beth Kephart Books
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Okay, so call this a
Beth loves her students blog-athon day, but I am not going to let the moon get any higher in tonight's sky without celebrating Maggie Ercolani, a student from two years ago, who has her first published piece in the current issue of the
Pennsylvania Gazette. She joins my students
Moira Moody,
Joe Polin, and
Nabil Mehta on these pages, and her story is a triumph—a telling triumph and a living triumph.
Let me explain.
Toward the end of this past summer I received an email from Maggie who I knew, from an earlier exchange, had been looking forward to a summer internship at Macy's with Maggie-style enthusiasm. I saw her name in my in-box, opened her note, then recoiled. It wasn't the story I'd expected. Indeed, Maggie was writing to tell me that she had suffered a stroke in the first hour of the first day of that internship. That she had spent the summer in hospitals and rehab. That she had a new understanding of the father about whom she had written in my class—a father who had experienced a traumatic brain injury when he tumbled from a bike. Maggie wanted to write about what had happened so that she might understand. Would I help her? Of course I would. But oh, Maggie, I said. Oh. Maggie.
But the reason Maggie's piece is in the
Gazette is because Trey Popp, an editor there, took Maggie's story on and worked with her to develop it more fully. They went back and forth, Trey and Maggie, until the piece is what it is today. I am so grateful to Trey, and I am so proud of Maggie—for her perseverance, for her attitude, for the textures in her life.
Please click on
this link to read Maggie's story for yourself.
If we didn’t have a previous gig, we’d be all over this. $20 for a hand-bound limited edition of essential 90s artifacts? Hell YEAH. Find out where it all began!
Deep Girl Release Party at Desert Island
The mid-Nineties were a golden age for zines and minicomics. During those years thousands of handmade publications were printed and traded across the country. One of those pioneering titles was Deep Girl by Ariel Bordeaux. Bordeaux’s unflinchingly autobiographical stories were drawn in her distinctive style: raw, inky, and expressive. With biting humor Bordeaux addressed subjects like body image, self-esteem, and sex. And Deep Girl was deep–Ariel wrote about her life, but she also wrote about her thoughts.
Long out of print, all five issues of Deep Girl are being republished in limited edition collection by Paper Rocket Minicomics. The proprietor of Paper Rocket, Robyn Chapman, will produce a 128-page hand-bound book with a screen printed cover and jacket. The interior pages are black and white with a small color section. The book will also include a foreword by Adrian Tomine, an interview by Rob Clough, and an essay by Robyn Chapman. The cover price is $20.
The Complete Deep Girl will debut on March 1st at Desert Island in Brooklyn, New York. Both Bordeaux and Chapman will host a release party, where Bordeaux will sign books and perform a short reading.
Confession. I'm a victim of the Palmer Method. I went to Catholic School and learned to write cursive in those notebooks with the dotted lines through the center. I spent many an hour looping my ds, ps, and qs to just the right height, my wrist never touching the desk. Somewhere along the line, I rebelled, and now even I have a hard time reading my scrawl.
But that doesn't stop me from filling up notebooks.
Recent circumstances have led me to a block of time here, a block of time there, and a lot of travel in between. Firing up a laptop became cumbersome and my writing time dwindled. I knew I needed a different approach, so I went back to basics. Marble notebooks.
I bought one in hot pink for my WIP. It makes me happy to open it up and write in it. It's completely portable and I'm finding a different connection to my writing in putting pen to paper. Typing up my scrawl a day or two later gives me another opportunity to add emotional depth and description I missed in my first go round.
I'm liking this notebook thing.
Anybody else out there going Luddite on their drafts?
Photo credit: npclark2k from morguefile.com
I have been very busy this week with non-bloggy things - sitting for a grandchild; following my Dad from the hospital to Rehab to another room in Rehab; catching up on Committee work for my worship community; and reading.
Ah, reading... It is a salve to my weary - and sometimes restless - soul. Over at Battle of the (Kid's) Books, you can now vote for the one book in the entire contest that you want to return to the Final Round if it gets voted off. I LOVE this part of BoB because sometimes a worthy book falls short of a worthy judge's expectations. Ya know what I mean? Judges are human.
Here is how my reading and Battle of the Kids' Books stands. I have ONE book yet to read in the first match-up of Round One. I need to get hold of Bomb! by Steve Sheinkin before March 12th.
In the next set of match-ups, I have to read two books,
Endangered by Eliot Schrefer and
Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage.
Round one continues, and I must read
Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin.
In the next set of four contestants, I haven't read THREE of the books;
Moonbird by Philip Hoose,
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
AND
No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson.
Some very heavy reading will be going on in this house.
If you would like to see all the books in the competition, and by elimination the books I've already read,
click here.
I've voted for MY Undead Choice. It was a close call. Join in the fun, today.
Today was the first day of a new unit of time, one that I'm calling March Madness Submission Binge. The beginning of new unit of time is exciting. You're feeling productive. I'd been looking forward to doing some marketing research right away. In fact, I'd even started a little earlier this week. My short story files are all tidy and ready to go. Today was the beginning of hitting another one of this year's goals.
And I spent it working on promotion for Saving the Planet & Stuff.
Writers are no different than any other type of worker. We all have to market our wares/services. But, still, when I'm through with a book, I want to be through with a book. I want to be on to other things.
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By: Dain Fagerholm,
on 3/1/2013
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While I suspect the answer is “make comics on your own and hope somebody likes them,” how to break in is a common question and the Breaking Into Comics the Marvel Way will be kicking off in a few minutes and we’ll be liveblogging.
Get ready to hit the update button.
Our cast of characters: The ringleader is C.B. Cebulski. C.B.’s the talent scout Marvel and had been hanging out in editorial suite for quite awhile.
The panel is: Sam Humphries (Sacrifice / Uncanny X-Force), Cullen Bunn (Sixth Gun, Fearless Defenders), Shawn Crystal (Deadpool), Christos Gage (Avengers Academy /First X-Men), Joe Keatinge (Glory, Morbius), and Matteo Scalera (Secret Avengers)
Matteo Scalera is taking over art on a book that they can’t talk about yet. Hmmm…
Shawn Crystal also has something going on he can’t talk about. Hmmm….
Good news: it’s easier than ever to break into comics. Webcomics are easy. POD is cheaper. It’s easier for writers and artists to hook up on sites.
Bad news: it’s even harder to get paid.
Sam Humphires: He had 2 short stories published in 2011. (He was in the audience for this panel 2 years ago.) He wasn’t getting any bites from publishers. He decided he was just going to put out Our Love is Real and Sacrifice. Publish it himself.
It showed that he could actually make a book. Steve Wacker saw Our Love is Real, gave to it Axel, Axel liked it and called him.
Everything happened because he just went ahead and make it.
CB: Just because you don’t have a job doesn’t mean you don’t have work. You can show people your dedication by just doing it.
Joe Keating: Eventually he got to the point he felt he needed to write comics. He got a gig flattening colors in Photoshop (which he had to learn). Then he got in the business side. Eventually he decided to just pitch a couple books. Hell, Yeah came first. Glory next. Steve Wacker tweeted that he liked Glory. Keating contacted him and said he liked Marvel. After some conversations, he got some Marvel gig.
He agrees, just make comics.
Cristos Gage: He was writing Law & Order: SVU and had met Jimmy Palmiotti. Jimmy got him a meeting with Dan DiDio. (This was just prior to all the film/tv guys started doing comics.) He pitched Deadshot. By coincidence, they were looking to set up Deadpool for Secret Six. Then he did a Spider-Man Unlimited and it built from there.
Doing it when you’re not getting paid sets you apart from people who don’t.
“Editors don’t have jobs to give you, they have problems for you to solve.”
He got a Civil War one-shot because Millar was sick and they needed to fill in a book. It’s important to show you can deliver on time. Putting a comic out on time online is showing you can behave like a pro.
Cullen Bunn: He wasn’t having luck with comics, so he turned to prose. Eventually, he was working in a comic store with Brian Hurtt. He pitched The Damned to Oni with Hurtt, who’d been doing some work with them. It came out, then nothing happened for awhile. Eventually, he pitched The Sixth Gun and _that_ got him attention. Eventually DC contacted him via Twitter for a Superman/Batman arc. Jason Aaron distributed Sixth Gun inside Marvel and that got him editorial attention at Marvel.
He was working a full-time job, but was still writing (~sounds like about 5 hours/day). He was attempting not to be the bitter writer.
Matteo Scalera: he was in Italy, so it was a little different. His style didn’t really fit in with Italian comics, so he started posting art online. Just post your best stuff.
He started getting small jobs in Italy after being seen. That got him contacted for Hyperkinetic for Image. That project was what he showed C.B., which C.B. liked. That got him into the “Chesterquest” contest. Eventually he started on Deadpool.
“Once you start working with big companies, don’t take it for granted.”
Be aware how good you are and keep evolving your style.
CB: It’s not so much about breaking in, as it is staying in.
Shawn Crystal: “Become very familiar with The Wire.” (The HBO show.) It’s about you wanting in one way, but reality is another way. (It’s a classic scene and you should watch The Wire regardless of whether you’re trying to break into comics.) It’s about not being the bitter unsuccessful creator.
Go to conventions and get to know people. Become part of the community. Creators expose each other’s work to the rest of the community.
C.B. – He finds the most writers and artist through word of mouth.
Matteo – That’s what he did in Italy and that’s basically how he did it.
Shawn – He was a cartoony artist trying to break in while hyper realism was in fashion. At the time, he thought he was getting blown off. When Deadpool came out, that was when he got the call. Wolverine wouldn’t have been a good fit, but Deadpool was. Know where your work fits.
Q&A time
Q: The value of Kickstarter?
A: A valid tool, but it’s just a way to help you do the work/get the work out there.
Make sure you put your name out in every possible place. Brand yourself.
Do the comic you want to do.
Don’t get hung up on where to do the comic (Kickstarter/web/whatever), just pick one and make something.
Q: How much continuity do you need know to work at Marvel?
A: You should know the basics, but it’s the editor’s job to keep track of the continuity details.
Q: Is there anything you shouldn’t do to make people say “oh my god?”
A: Don’t ask for too much money on Kickerstarter.
Don’t be too pushy.
Do NOT tag people on your art on Facebook.
Q: Is it possible to get too much exposure too early.
A: You have to know yourself and your limits. It’s also bad if you’re _too_ humble.
You can’t believe the hype about yourself. Never compare yourself (i.e. I’m better than XXX, you can compare your style as a point reference).
[Yup... you should should probably just go make some comics.]
Gail Simone isn’t exclusive at DC any more. She’s picked up her first non-DC/Marvel title in a loooooong time in the form of a new Red Sonja series from Dynamite, set to launch in July.
Fiona Staple’s cover for the revamped Red Sonja
Walter Geovanni joins her as the (interior) artist. Geovanni’s done Red Sonja interiors in the past, but may be better known as a regular cover artist for the series. The covers? The cover rotation is going to female comics artists, so Nicola Scott, Colleen Doran, Jenny Frisson, Stephanie Buscema and Fiona Staples are all mentioned in the announcement.
What’s Simone planning on doing on Red Sonja? We asked her.
Q: Nick Barrucci is nothing, if not a persistent suitor. There are plenty of stories about him pursuing a creator for a couple years before a project happens. How long was he chasing you and how quickly did Red Sonja come together?
Gail: Nick is indeed a determined fellow! He’s asked about me doing projects in the past but was always very respectful of my DC exclusive, which I’ve had for something like eight straight years. The moment the story got out that my exclusive had ended, Nick was the very first person sending me an email, then LOTS of emails.
But I have to say, I am having a blast with Dynamite. Nick’s taken every possible step to make me feel welcome and it’s absolutely been lovely.
And then, of course, there’s getting to write the original redhead badass slayer!
Q: You worked with some traditional fantasy themes in Wonder Woman, how much of a jump is it going from fantasy adventure in a super hero(ine) setting to fantasy adventure in a more traditional fantasy setting?
Gail: Anyone following my work has probably seen that I love shoe-horning in fantasy and pulp elements into my superhero books. Catman was inspired by Tarzan, the Secret Six went to Skartaris, Wonder Woman met Beowulf and Claw. To be blunt, I love that stuff.
I love the earthy primal quality of it, I love the pulp mythos from people like Lovecraft and Burroughs, and of course, Robert E. Howard.
It seems to me that as we increasingly live in an age guided by tech that was science fiction just a couple decades ago, there’s something willfully punk about telling stories of people in loincloths with swords.
It’s just fun. I keep getting up to write pages at odd hours…because, you know, finally, I get to write this stuff with the genuine article, the best she-barbarian ever created.
Q: When your tenure starts, where will it fit in with Dynamite’s continuity for Red Sonja?
Gail: We start from a position of a clean page, all of that stuff is in her story, but we come at this as if people had never read Sonja at all.
I think Sonja is a character people want to love, but sometimes it feels the history can be daunting. This is very much Sonja coming up out of the fire right at your brain. You don’t need to research anything.
I want to also praise the art…we have some magnificent art in Walter Giovanni, he’s doing spectacular character work, I’m delighted with him. It feels like an artist who really cares about the detail.
And beyond that, we came up with a fun idea that the covers and variants would all be done by top female artists, almost all of whom turned out to be closet Sonja fans. We made a dream list and EVERYONE said they wanted in. I can’t wait for people to see these, they are RIDICULOUSLY gorgeous.
Q: What’s your long game for Red Sonja?
Gail: Really, I would like people to feel her humanity. Even in some of her best stories, Sonja herself can come off a little distant.
I think the fun thing to do with a slayer, a she-devil, is to put them in a situation that is ill-suited to their skills and see what happens. These are situations I don’t think anyone expects in a barbarian comic.
Other than that, epic battles, horrible diseases, flying leeches, arenas, war unicorns, stinky pirates, fish men, mouthy twins, unlikely suitors, bits of Sonja’s origin that we never knew, and a duck. AND the most badass nemesis Sonja’s had to face in ages.
Now I have to put a duck in there. I just liked the way it sounded.
Q: It’s been awhile since you’ve done non-DC work. Should we expect to see more of you at Dynamite than just Red Sonja?
Gail: Nick has made it very clear he’d love to have me do more work for Dynamite, and I’m having such a good time, it’s definitely a possibility. Lord knows I love that pulp stuff!
I hope people give this book a try. It is blood-red, funny, sexy, and sometimes very raw, but there’s some real heroism in it. It’s one of the all-time iconic heroines with a fresh spin. I can’t even explain how much FUN it is.
Just pick it up or I’m sending Red Sonja to your house.
That may actually be the most backfiring threat ever, know that I think about it. Who DOESN’T want Red Sonja to come to their house?
Official Announcement and covers follow:
GAIL SIMONE SIGNS WITH DYNAMITE!
SIMONE TO WRITE ONGOING RED SONJA SERIES!
March 1st, 2013, Mt. Laurel, NJ - Dynamite is delighted to announce that the one and only Gail Simone is taking on RED SONJA with a brand-new #1 issue launching this July – in time for San Diego Comic Con! Gail Simone – one of the premiere writers in the comics industry, is best known for DC’s Birds of Prey, Secret Six, and especially Batgirl! Walter Geovanni will join her, as the interior artist. Covers will be drawn by some of the top female artists in comics today! We are extremely fortunate to have Nicola Scott, Colleen Doran, Jenny Frisson, Stephanie Buscema, Fiona Staples on covers, with more high profile female cover artists to be announced! Fans will definitely want to pick up Gail Simone’s RED SONJA #1 this July!
To help kick off the celebration of Gail’s take on The She-Devil with a Sword, Dynamite is proud to give away, to all Emerald City fans, limited edition prints featuring art from the upcoming Nicola Scott covers! These limited edition, high-end prints are sure to be highly sought after collectibles, and are being given away to fans for free, as premium prints, to be signed by Gail herself at Emerald City Comic Con, to rev up for the launch in July!
“It’s like this…even most of the best female heroines when I was a kid were pretty polite. What I love about Sonja is that she isn’t polite, she says what she means and if you give her any lip about it, hello, sword in the gut. She’s smart, she has a heart, she has some compassion. But when it’s go time, she’s a hellraiser, a mad general, she’s a sword edge virtuosa, she’s death on wheels. She is the woman you never want to mess with. I can relate, Sonja. No offense to all her guy writers, but THIS Red Sonja is about sex and swords! It’s everything you love about Red Sonja, except with more monsters getting stabbed in the eye.”
“Words can’t even express how excited I am to have Gail Simone, one of the premiere writers in all of comics, write RED SONJA, a character she was born to work on. Fans will see in the first issue that she really cuts in to the heart of the character :-) ,” says Dynamite Entertainment CEO/Publisher Nick Barrucci. ”I have wanted to work with Gail for years, and it’s incredibly exciting that her first choice in working with us is Sonja. A strong-willed female with fiery red hair writing about a strong-willed female with fiery red hair – AND A SWORD! It is a dream come true that this project has finally come to fruition! Gail and Sonja’s will be the blades that cut the deepest to her enemies chagrin!”
Gail Simone got her start in comics writing for Bongo Comics, home of The Simpsons. Following her time there, Simone entered the mainstream comics world with a run on Marvel Comics’ Deadpool, and later, Agent X. Gail is best known for known for runs on DC’s Birds of Prey, Secret Six, Welcome to Tranquility, Wonder Woman, and Batgirl.
March is here!
On Monday we open
Share a Story - Shape a Future 2013. Today, though it is
+Dr. Seuss birthday and +Read Across America Day!
To celebrate reading and build some excitement for next week, we wanted to unveil the prizes we'll be giving away as part of our Writing @ Reading series.
Our Grand Prize is a complete set of the
STEAM Multicultural Book Collection for their favorite school or public library. Our thanks to
Reading is Fundamental for this incredibly generous donation!
STEAM means Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math. and is an expansion of the STEM framework used in education today.
Each title in this 40-book collection was "carefully reviewed and selected by RIF's Literary Services team with guidelines provided by RIF's Literature Advisory Committee, national panels of educators, and exports in books for children.
A round of applause for RIF, please!
Thank you again Reading is Fundamental! Please show your love to RIF on your favorite social media platform and in the comments below, too!
We also have five (!) smaller collections that are built around this year's Share a Story Theme:
Literacy in the First Five Years. The prize packages include a cloth or vinyl book suitable for infants, board books for toddlers and preschoolers, easy reader books for developing readers, and picture books for Mom and Dad to read, too.
Package 1:
Happy Baby cloth book;
I'm a Little Teapot and
This Little Piggy board books;
Animals Talk board book;
Elmo's Bedtime Stories (6-book set),
Usborne's Stephen Cartwright 1-2-3 picture book;
Usborne's Stephen Cartwright ABC picture book;
Sid the Science Kid: Everybody Move Your Feet (Stage 1 easy reader);
The Crayon Box that Talked paperback
Package 2:
My Happy Baby cloth book;
Little Critter Bedtime Stories paperback set;
The Dancing Clock paperback,
The Fox in the Dark paperback,
How to Drive Your Sister Crazy (I Can Read);
Batman (I Can Read); and a set of six
Little Critter Phonics Fun (I Can Read) books
Package 3:
Busy Bath vinyl book;
Elmo's ABCs, 3 storybook set;
Snappy Little Pets board book;
Pinkalicious Tickled Pink paperback;
Pinkalicious and the Pink Drink paperback;
Mia The Sweetest Valentine paperback;
Mia The Easter Egg Chase paperback;
Mia and the Tiny Toe Shoes (I Can Read)
Package 4:
Goodnight Moon cloth book;
Welcome Song for Baby board book;
The Best Pet Ever paperback;
Animal Jamboree;
Mia the Sweetest Valentine paperback;
The Wonderful World of Fancy Nancy, 4 picture book set;
Fancy Nancy: Too Many Tutus (I Can Read);
Alice in Wonderland (All Aboard Reading)
Package 5: Splat the Cat, Funny Valentine paperback;
Sporty Puppy: Lacing board book;
Splish Splash Splosh: 4 3-D board books;
Baby's Day board book;
Usborne Things that Move board book;
Every Thing Goes: Opposites and 1-2-3 board books;
Funny Bone Readers Set 1, with CD
Here are the rules:
Winners will be selected in a random drawing. Each post written as part of our Writing @ Reading series will count as one entry for the contest.
Each set of Writing @ Reading prompts will be published at Noon each day, March 4 to 8, 2013. We accept entries all week long, so if you decide to write to Monday's post on Wednesday, that's cool!
All entries must be submitted by Saturday, 9 March 2013 at Noon Eastern time. The drawing will be held on Monday March 11, 2013, and winners contacted by email by Tuesday, March 12, 2013.
The Internet has changed everything for the funny book business; we all know that for the most part. It can either make or break your comic book career that probably hasn’t even started yet. The internet has 24/7 access to creators and publishers. What kind of impact is that having on the industry as a whole?
As an audience member pointed out, it was a panel full of women. Panelists were made up of Alison Baker, Kelly Sue DeConick, Jen Vaughn, Shannon Watters, Emi Lenox. They all brought very insightful and personal stories about how they work and conduct themselves online.
Watters mentioned that she scouts for talent largely based on what web comics she likes. She says to up and comers; “Web comics show how you can hack it and how the internet sees your work.” Baker elaborated on how MonkeyBrain uses the same web comic scouting model but tries to monetize it for the creator.
Kelly Sue talked about how she met her hubby on a comic book forum, and threw a big “L” on her forehead. She also mentioned that the internet is a big distraction for her. She spends her time on dozens of websites, answers the same set of questions sent to her from various sites and spends time with her family. She doesn’t know if all the time she spends shamelessly promoting and fan interaction is translating to her less than stellar Captain Marvel numbers.
Veughn and Watters find particular internet groups and websites to promote the KaBOOM and Fanagraphics books. MonkeyBrain tries unconventional websites and tries to avoid going to the same comic news outlets.
One of the highlights of this panel was Alison announcing that she launched a new comic today on MonkeyBrain that you can read for free, right now.
Frost: Rogue State #0
FREE – Ages 15+
Brandon Jerwa & Eric S. Trautmann, Writers
Giovanni Timpano, Artist
Andrea Celestini, Colors
Simon Bowland, Letters
Of course nothing replaces meeting and personally thanking them in person.
Happy birthday +Dr. Seuss. .... +Terry Doherty reveals all of the gifts of reading available in giveaways for next week's Share a Story event. Share a Story - Shape a Future: Lots to Share for Share a Story
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The Liefeld question is juvenile, as are the people who keep asking it or call the man names to his face at conventions. He gets work because of the people he knows and the fact that his name sells books, even if it’s not as much these days as it was in the 90s.
Haters are going to have to at some point finally accept that Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee, and Todd McFarlane had as big an impact on the industry of super-hero comics in the 90s as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko had in the 60s. This makes faces melt like they just stared at the Ark of the Covenant, but the truth will overcome any and all denial.
While I am interested in a new 100 Bullets story, it really reinforces the idea in my mind that Vertigo is having trouble coming up with new, interesting projects. Sure, there’s the new Lemire book and the new Snyder book but most of the line seems to be spinoffs or rehashes – new Sandman, 100 Bullets, Fables, Unwritten. I wish them all the luck this year but it feels like a slow, painful demise.
“Rotworld may have gone on one or two issues too long.”? Try six. Thank goodness for a tonal reset on Animal Man.
I sincerely hope that Liefeld keeps getting work from all of the major publishers and continues to work until such time that he decides for himself that he has had enough. More Liefeld, less crying about Liefeld.
@Ayo Good luck with that
[...] Snyder on Batman – almost verbatim, the same speech from yesterday. [...]