Consolidation and things yet to be said.
Most people who know me either live or over the net know I’ve kept a blog pretty steady since 2005 talking about life, comics and pretty much anything else that came across my radar at random times. It was fun, and theraputic, and trust me, I’m not the guy that takes well to therapy. But like the man says all things in this world come to an end, and so has In Other Words. With the launch of the new website and all the rest of the time constraints that publishing comics entails, I simply do not have time to keep up that blog with any regularity along with this one, and all the rest of the madness. So something had to go, and IOW was what hit the pavement. And yeah, I’ll miss it badly to be honest. I loved that blog. I loved what it allowed me to do when I felt like I had no other outlet for the things I was feeling and thinking. But at the same time lately I’d become hamstrung by some of the same things that made it cool. I guess it’s all good when you can scream at the sky and no one else is listening, but when people begin to listen, you have to be careful what you say. And I suppose that’s what got me to thinking about killing it in the first place. If I can’t be open and honest and free to write what I want to write, well then really, what’s the point? I’ll be keeping it as an archive so in case anyone wants to go back and delve deeply into my world for the last few years they can feel free. It’s weird, so don’t say you weren’t warned.
In RHS news, we’re confirmed for STAPLE! in Austin on March 7, 2009! Looks like we got one of the last tables because when I went to their site they’d announced the show was sold out for exhibitors! So yeah, got in right under the wire on that one! From everything I’ve heard this is a great show so if you’re near the Austin area and get the chance, come on out! We’ll be signing books, selling books, and hopefully other wicked cool merchandise as we get that arranged. Fun will be had by all!
I received the balance of Fallen Justice #6 in the mail this last weekend, which means it’s in the queue to be colored right now and is also being lettered! (I’ve got pretty good communication with the letterer and he feels certain it’ll be done in the next couple of weeks!) I also have it on god authority that the seventh issue art will begin arriving at Red Handed Central in the next week or so! If we keep up this pace we’ll have Dynagirl pages in before spring! Yikes!
One project we’re looking at is putting together a bunch of shorts we’ve completed over the years into one book and putting it out so people can get a feel for just how widespread the stuff here at Red Handed really is. We do make some bad ass superhero comics, but that’s by no means ALL we make! We’ll be including the Grace prologue, as well as the Totem 12 page story completed for Small Press Idol two years ago. I’ll also toss in several pin ups and concept art from all sorts of things I have laying around here, as well as another little short story that I hear might be done soon. We don’t have a name for it yet, but stay tuned on that front. It won’t be long.
In other Totem news, Brant Fowler (writer/creator of Wannabez) is still onboard as the letterer for Totem. It was his gig when we were doing the contest and I felt like if he wanted it, he should have it. So he’s graciously agreed to continue in that regard, and we’re glad to have him!
And…I have in my hand the art for the highly limited edition print available only to subscribers! And hell yeah it rocks! I could put it up here, but I won’t till we wrap the final subs numbers and lock in the print number. These will each be signed by the ENTIRE creative crew and numbered with a certificate of authenticy along with it. As I mention over in the subscriptions section we’ll print these to number and that’s it, we won’t ever print it again. So if you want one the only way to get it is sign up for a series subscription. And you better hurry too, cause it won’t stay open for long!
That should do it for today folks. I’ve got a couple of other things to announce here soon, once I get off my ass and wrap a script or three, but for now, we’ll leave it at that.
Fallen Justice #1 Reviewed!
Hey folks check out the review we just got for Fallen Justice #1 at Project Fanboy!
State of the Union
Well, not really the Union but the State of Comics is bleak my fellow fans. It’s bleak, and it doesn’t look like it’s gonna get any better. About ten years ago I had a moment where I felt like I was buying 90% junk just because I’d always bought it rather than any real redeemable quality the comics I was reading might have actually had. But it was only a moment. Now sure that moment did give me the chance to reevaluate the things I was reading and get rid of a bunch of dead weight, but I hung on to several of the old standby titles because I could still see the potential and the storytelling that was taking place. This week…I see none of that.
I went to the comic book shop yesterday. And don’t get me wrong, this is a GREAT shop. It’s the only one in Houston I really like, and the only one I’ll patronize. They’re good folks and they know their comics hands down. I like that. If you’re gonna sell comics, you should KNOW comics. But as I scanned across the shelves…it was like looking at a corpse. There was no life there. Nothing fresh or new or even exciting. Now sure, it’s winter and traditionally there’s a lull right now because they’re all gearing up for the next big summer event…but maybe that’s endemic of what I’m talking about. We’re stuck in a cycle of summer event/winter recovery that we can’t seem to break out of. And it’s boring as hell.
Now truth be told, I did buy two books. One was KICK ASS by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. That book quite honestly DOES kick ass! Best new book I’ve seen come down the mountain since Powers debuted way back when. Excellent stuff and getting better every month as both these guys dig deeper into the characters. Go now and get it. We’ll wait.
The other book was Echo by Terry Moore. I know many Moore fans are still pining for the loss of the Strangers In Paradise book and I’m among those. I loved that book. I bought every single issue that came out for over a decade. But we gotta move on. Terry got the story told like he wanted it told and he found a way to put it to bed and as a creator I not only respect that, I applaud it. Now he has a new book, very much in the sci fi superhero vein, called Echo, and it rocks the house. It’s one part X-files, two parts Rocketteer, with some Outer Limits tossed in there for good measure. And the best thing about this book is that it carries over that excellent characterization that we all came to love so well about SIP. The facial expression in his art, the body language, hell even the hair on these people just reaches out and grabs you. If you want the best book of 2008 not published by the majors, and in my opinion one of the top three overall, pick up Echo. You’ll be glad you did.
And that was it. I haven’t been to a comic shop since I was in Seattle in September and I walk out with two books. Time was I couldn’t have come out of there with less than a short box in my hand, and we’re down to just two books. Is it because I’ve matured beyond the super hero stuff? Please. I WRITE superhero stuff! I LOVE sueprheroes! But what I don’t like is the same heroes with the same stories shoved down my throat every single month like I’m an idiot who can’t remember that you told me this same story a year ago. No thanks. So I’m done. I’ll pick and choose from now on, getting the gems, but leaving the rest for the sheep. I’m feeling quite disillusioned today to say the least.
In other less tragic news, I got the FACEBOOK page up and running last night, linked the RSS to this very blog right to the page and got things kicked off quite nicely. We’ve even got some fans already! Over the next few weeks I’ll be updating that page with the new art we just received, and all manner of other cool stuff, so keep on the look out for that.
And yours truly has some other things not completely Red Handed coming out soon! Click on over to Nifty Comics and check out Cadre #6, out right now! Thsi issue starts my writing/scripting run on the Cadre series that runs through issue 9 and was a complete blast to do. Mat Nastos was awesome to work with and I think anyone who reads the books will see quite clearly how much fun we were having. While you’re over there consider checking out the rest of the Cadre series. It’s all available in trade paperback format and is well worth the cash.
What else what else…ah one of the other projects I’ve worked on is now nominated for the Project Fanboy awards! Sky Pirates of Valendor has been nominated for best title, best black and white title, and best rookie title and series writer Everett Soares has scored a nomination for best indy writer alongside series artist Brian Brinlee for best indy artist! one of the characters from the series Tobin Manheim is also in the running for best indy character! So yeah needless to say it was a blast being a part of the team for the first two issues (#0 and #1) and I wish that team all the success they can get because they certainly deserve it! Great work guys!
And that, at least for today, is a wrap. Been fun kids!
The Latest and Greatest!
Ah so much has happened in such a short time!
first off, check out Red Handed on Facebook! Become a fan, be sure to check back from time to time as we get set to kick this thing off in a big way! We’ll be doing giveaway promotions and making lots of cool announcements over there as well as right here so keep an eye out!
Con Alert!
That’s right it’s barely the new year and we’re already looking at this year’s conventions! Right now we plan to attend the STAPLE show in Austin Texas in March, and the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle. Those won’t be the only shows we’re attending this year by a long shot, but that should at least get us kicked off right! We’ll be there signing books, selling books and other Fallen Justice gear, and meeting the fans! So come on out and show your support!
And do yourself a HUGE favor and check out one of our collaborators. His name is Danielle Serra, and he did the stunning art on the Grace prologue that was printed as part of the Fallen Justice convention special last summer. Dani just had his first art exhibition! you can find pictures of that, as well as his personal site here. Not only is he good people, but he’s an incredible artist. And if you missed the FJ Convention special, don’t sweat it. We’re reprinting Grace along with the Totem 12 page story, and a couple of other shorts in one volume soon, so people can see and enjoy these shorter stories.
And that’s about it for this update. Keep checking back with us as we get closer to the February release of Fallen Justice!
