July 01, 2008
Templar: Equal parts condescension and petty squabbling.
Tuesday. Fun to write. Not fun to know.
I spent this last weekend at Wizard World Chicago, where I finally got to meet John Campbell and catch up with Miss Monster after entirely too long. Sales were middling, but I still managed to enjoy myself and unload some misprints to make way for the boxes of book two I've got coming any day now.
I did some sketches, too. Clack far biggar.
I was also introduced to a dude named Nathan, who is responsible for this: A very strange, very interesting fantasy comic I previously had no idea existed, called Shade. I've only read about half of it, but WOW. Totally into this! Check it out, it's completely beautiful and completely unknown and that is just not right.
There are so many cool fuckin' people in this town. I oughta leave the house more.
June 28, 2008
Templar: You can't say you weren't warned.
C'mon, you knew I'd get to this eventually, right? I mean, I was mentioning it an awful lot.
Nicky Collision isn't the only nekkid attention whore to be had on Templar Connect.
With the on-page debut of Mondays with Tuesday, Templar's Naked Lady count now stands at one. (Jackie doesn't count, she had her skirt on.) the Naked Man count, however, is still at three. All main characters, too.
Sluts.
Annnnd off to bed with me. Enjoy!
June 26, 2008
Templar: That woman's name is Feather.
It's like naming a snake Fluffy, or a piranha Cuddles.
The more I think about it, the more sensible it seems that the Jakeskin are a matriarchal society. Not by design, though. I think that's just how things shook out.
As far as Jakes go, Gene's family is a little strange in that Gene knows exactly who his dad is, and he has the same dad as all his brothers and sisters. With a growing mob of multiple babies by multiple fathers, Jackie's a much more typical Jakeskin woman. Those kids of hers will grow up with Jackie as a constant, and her relatives as satellite supports and influences. When they're old enough to Do Their Bit, like Marcus is trying to do right now, It'll be for Jackie's sake and under Jackie's direction.
And don't think she doesn't know that. Take a look at how Feather's running the show, after all.
Anyway, I'll be at Wizard World Chicago this weekend! I'll be in Artist's Alley at 3910 B, with misprints and shirts to sell/ I'll be takin' orders for book two, too. Drop on by, say hi!
June 23, 2008
Templar: Behind you, dude.
Caught red-handed. Think fast, Ben.
While I was finishing up this latest update, some interesting and disheartening news came down the wire in Comic Book Land. (Those of you who groan at the thought of a blog entry full of industry fishwifery, y'might wanna stop here. Those that don't, well... Make some tea.)
Al Nickerson, Heidi MacDonald and Rich Johnston each take a crack at the story and sum it all up very nicely, but for those of you less than crazy about clicking through: DJ Coffman, creator of Hero By Night and winner of Platinum Studios' original Comic Book Challenge contest, is currently going 12 rounds with the publisher he once rabidly defended in a bid to win back the rights to his own creation.
Maybe I'm just naive, but I'm a little shocked this sort of stunt still gets pulled in the post-Creator's Rights world. DJ's rights are being withheld in the comic equivalent of Snitches Get Stitches: Coffman publicized his inability to get paid for his work, and Platinum is retaliating by refusing to revert the licensing to his most profitable comic. This means no print edition, and no web edition of HbN, the funnybook that's been keeping DJ on the scene since 2006.
Pretty serious.
DJ was warned about Platinum beforehand. It founders apparently have a history, if ya dig. But I guess he figured it was worth the gamble.
Time will tell if this is gonna come up snake eyes for him.
There's been more than one "I told you so!" bobbing along in the ambient noise of comic-bloggery concerning the matter, but frankly, I don't think any working cartoonist likes to see another creator getting oiled up and buggered like this. Funnybook people, as a whole, are a lot more savvy than they once were... Nobody wants to be the next DeCarlo, or Siegel, or Shuster. But this sort of thing will probably always be a possibility. Somebody, somewhere will always be getting screwed on a deal. And as long as you're willing to do business with the juggernauts and the middlemen, there's always a possibility it might wind up being you.
Pretty awful to contemplate something like this showing up on your doorstep. Also, pretty happy to be self-publishing, right now.
Anyway, just sayin'. More comics later.
June 21, 2008
Templar: Wait, y'mean it's not over?
Nope, I've just been busy. But no more! Here we go, more comics. And about time, too.
So, a couple of weeks ago, i was at MoCCA. I saw a few of you there, thanks for stopping by. And I can say, without exaggeration, it was the best con I ever went to.
If anyone who read this dumb blog with any regularity has a webcomic and is considering hitting MoCCA, but hesitant about the kind of networking/attention a two-day small press show can bring in, drop your inhibitions. My books sold out halfway through Sunday (I NEVER do that), the crowd was super-receptive and friendly, all the pros there were chatty and had loads of advice for the asking, and I had such a great time that I shelled out for my 2009 MoCCA table the second the con was officially over. But for the curious, it might pay to remember tables are kinda notoriously hard to score at MoCCA. I pretty much lucked into mine, newcomers might have trouble if they want one. all I can say is, register early. As early as you can. And don't lose hope if you're stuck on the waiting list.
Jason Shiga couldn't get a table, but that didn't stop him from flying out from California and setting up on the sidewalk outside the con. The humidity in new York that weekend was unreal, I felt genuinely sorry for him sitting out there all day in that heat. But he was probably the only guy who was lovin' it when someone pulled the fire alarm and the whole con was evacuated... directly in front of his set-up.
Speaking of which, the MoCCA staff were great. When everyone was sweltering out on the sidewalk, waiting for the firemen called in to give an all-clear, they actually handed out free bottles of cold water to the crowd. See, that is some thoughtful shit right there.
Lynda Barry, Art Speigelman, Ryan North, Neil Swaab and Evan Dorkin were there, and we got to talk a little. I am still all starstruck around these people. It's kind of crazy to meet some of the cartoonists that got me back into comics after I stopped reading Excalibur in the 90s. (Shut up, Nightcrawler was rad.)
The con was held in the Puck Building, and from there it's a short walk to New York's Chinatown and really good, really affordable after-con dinners. A lot of the attending organizations and groups held parties, too, although I usually wound up leaving those with a few other people before too long to find a quieter place where we could talk. I got my raspy, scratchy, two-pack-a-day con-voice earlier than ever before.
The con was so good even my train home being seven-and-a-half hours late didn't ruin my mood.
If you have the time and the inclination, go.
More comics later!
June 19, 2008