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Updates / News / Announcements / Etc. > Archive, October - November 2011 |
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I've been re-reading a biography of Charles Schulz (not the infamous and somewhat disrespectful one) and it's gotten me thinking about the old days of daily strips and syndication. The way a comics creator would get their strips into newspapers X years ago would be first to submit their work to syndicates (believe it or not that's what they're called - I've always thought that word was associated with shady assassin guilds or something). If the comic was approved, a contract would be signed and the comic would then be shopped around to as many newspapers as possible. Newspapers would pay teeny subscription fees for the comic, but the way the syndicates (and their partners/cash cows the creators) would make the big bucks was by merchandising. That would be selling books, toys, calendars, animation rights, whatever. Schulz just focused on his comic while the syndicates made tons of money on licensing. Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, on the other hand, found the emphasis on merchandising disagreeable, and most accounts say that's why he stopped his strip after ten years. Anyhow, that's a fun little history lesson. There's way more to it and if anyone's interested, I can recommend a whole bunch of books, articles and interviews. I love learning about that stuff. Newspapers don't carry comic strips so much nowadays. Not new ones, anyway. It's more a habit for them. The syndicates, as a result, have pretty much fallen apart due to "the decline of newspapers". What this means for people like myself who want to draw a comic strip, however, is that we pretty much are limited to our websites, where we try to build readership and maybe see if we can get some income off it in hopes of drawing comics full time. To accomplish this, a lot of the big webcomics like Penny Arcade, PvP, XKCD, and so on sell merchandise like T-Shirts, cups, or... I don't know. I never buy that stuff (as I stare at my Penny Arcade mug in front of me.) Personally, I'm most fond of the idea of selling books. It seems like the most honest and literal way to "monetize" (barf) my comics... but... from what I've read on the business of independently producing a comic strip, it's not enough. I'm just thinking aloud, anyhow. I wistfully read about Schulz and the old masters, contemplating their successes and failures. I don't know if Bite-Size would have worked in the newspaper/syndicate system. I'm almost glad the option is off the table now. All I can do is keep drawing strips and hope I can gain new readers over time. Then, I dunno. At least I can say I'm drawing a strip for free and at no point have considered it a waste of effort due to lack of capital. I'm just happy it exists.
*Shrug*
November 24, 2011 - Happy Whatever Meanwhile, Cloud World is giving me a lot of grief to write. My simple mind doesn't have enough RAM to hold all the information necessary to write a story like this, and I get the feeling it's going to end up as a well intentioned kitchen-sink stew of a story. I had just as much grief writing Grace, but that was sixty-three written pages (185 drawn) and Cloud World is at 70 now and isn't even halfway done. 0_0 And that's not counting revisions - which may require an entire rewrite. That's before drawing even starts. By the time it would be done, I'll have run through the story six times: one for the draft (not counting the several earlier versions), one for thumbnails, then pencils, inks, tones and the final proofread. This is how writers get sick of their own stories. Oh, the headache! And the scariest part is, what if only a few people read it? What if nobody likes it? Jeez. One can't help but think these things while working in a vacuum. Crazy thoughts. I wish I were a farmer.
November 14, 2011 - A small test, and a new
illustration added Also, I've added a new illustration to the ink gallery:
Just as the subject says, printed versions of
Whipped are now available. The books are 52 pages and cost $5.
They can be ordered at the
store. November 7, 2011 - Writing Blues A couple of days ago I was reading an interview with Akira Kurosawa. He said the writing process is incredibly lonely (something like that). On the surface, it doesn't seem so profound, but here I sit at the computer in full agreement. I'm staring at an unfinished husk of a script as if it were a pile of metal and bolts that eventually could be a car. If I arrange the pieces incorrectly, it might resemble a car, but it won't run. If I arrange them somewhat correctly, the car might even be able to move, but not well. Obviously, if the pieces are arranged properly, the car will perform. The allegory is imperfect though, because writing can be so subjective. How do I know if the script is being assembled well? The answer is often dependent on mood, and may vary depending on who is reading it. So, I agree with Kurosawa because I wish I could show this unfinished pile of parts and bolts to someone and ask, "am I doing this right?" But, all they'll see is a pile of metal. Or, they might answer based on what they think it will look like. In either case, it doesn't seem likely I'd get an accurate answer (through no fault of theirs). But there's more to consider. Let's say, somehow, the script gets made, and edited/refined to a functional state. Then, we turn it into a comic. It's going to be a long story, so maybe 400-500 pages. That's maybe 2-4 years of drawing. How can anyone expect to stay interested in a story for that long? How frequently will I doubt myself? That's a lot of time to invest in something. I don't even know who I'll be in two years! So, this entry is basically the equivalent of someone with a raging ache who usually bears it in silence, but once in a while they'll let out a brief howl of agony and then go quiet again.
So, those of you eagerly awaiting more Bite-Size, I think Cloud World will please you. I'm probably going to release it on the website here in chapters as I draw it, and later collect it into a book. That's what I intend, anyway. In the meantime, It's really difficult to write in a vacuum. If anyone feels like writing with some encouragement, I'd be very grateful. If not, I still hope you'd read Cloud World when/if I start drawing it. (By the way, I know Bite-Size
is the reason many people keep visiting. It's always in the back of my
mind. I'll definitely keep making strips.) October 26, 2011 - Another Bite-Size, and I've begun planning Bite-Size volume 1 As the title says, I've begun thinking about what I want the printed version of Bite-Size to be like. I'd like to have it sent to the printers by the end of this year, if possible. Here's what I'm thinking - I'd be very interested to hear input on it: The book would collect the first 200 strips of Bite-Size, so at two per page plus goodies in the back, I imagine the volume to be about 110-120 pages. I'd like the print size to be 6"x9", but I might concede to 5.5"x8". I would probably sell it for $8 - $10, depending on print costs and stuff. Does that seem fair? I'm open to suggestions. I'm also undecided as to what kind of goodies to put in the back. Maybe a multiple-page short story with the characters or something? If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.
New strip today... # 180. If I can get to #
200 by New Years, I'll be happy. It can be done!
October 24, 2011 - Bite-Size double feature
October 19, 2011 - New Bite-Size
October 17, 2011 - Store is up. Well, New York Comic Con is over. It was full of opposite feelings. Fun, though sometimes dull, chilled and other times overwhelming. Still, I'd say the experience was "plus" - owing especially to the friends whom I shared the table with. I might write a summary about it later. But for now,
the store is up. It's not perfect, as you'll see, but I assure you
it's functional. Everything that was on sale at NYCC is available there,
and I hope to be working to add more to it soon (and make it look nicer).
Paris is on sale, prints are on sale, and commissions are open. Take a
look! October 12, 2011 - New York Anime Festival is this weekend. In related news, I'm losing it Not to exaggerate too much, of course. It's a friendly reminder (last one, I promise) that I will be at table A13 in Artist's Alley at NYAF this weekend. Among some of the people I'll be sharing the table with are my fellow "Tokyopop survivors" Svetlana Chmakova and Queenie Chan. Also, a fair number (I don't know exactly how many) of the good people at Bento Comics, as I keep saying ad nauseum. Anyhow, the point is, there are a lot of interesting people at this table. One might say the coolest people at the convention are going to be at A13. So, tonight I'm finalizing my list of things to bring. I've been panicking for the past few hours, overwhelmed with details, details, things to do last minute... so I'm hoping by typing things out, I might have some clarity. I'm reminded of that quote by Master Miller in Metal Gear Solid: "If you feel things are getting too complicated, try to simplify your thoughts." Of course, he would want me to simplify my thoughts, wouldn't he... ...We have Paris, some illustrations (if I can make it to the print shop tonight), and desktop figurines. Also, I have a set of bookmarks that I, personally, believe are awesome (enough to keep a set of my own). Maybe I'll post pictures later. Everything I'm offering at NYAF will be available at the store, too. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I'll have time to finish the store in the next few days. I'm not a good businessman. =\ Oh, but I got a PO Box today. That's a huge step. Now people can send me friendly hand-written letters, or place orders for books via check or cash or whatever. That's it, I guess. I'm terrified, but
gotta get back to work. I hope someone's interested in buying this
stuff! October 5, 2011 - New Bite-Size Added
October 3, 2011 - Starting Fresh-like Okay so the new version of the website is up. I'm not doing this again for at least two years, and by then, maybe I'll have learned CSS or PHP or whatever programming language is fashionable at that time. This is, I suppose, the fourth version of the website. I have been linking things, clicking stuff, enduring crashes and making mistakes for days. I'm exhausted, so I'm just going to list my "release notes" and updates then call it a day: Broken Links/Unfinished website New York Anime Festival: On to other topics:
That's all I can think of right now. |
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