If I see that line one more time in comics I think I'll puke. Why is it that every new hero on the block has to be the "chosen" or "destined" or "fated" or "true borne" or whatever other uniquifying term the writers want to use this week?
I am SOOOOO glad that neither of the stories Chris and I are working working on, Lineage or DragonLines, has characters thusly designated. I find it far more interesting to have "real people", though paranormal if the genre calls for it, working to save the world. There are so many "right fits" for saving the world... the right person at the right place at the right time... there are seldom just "one combination" that will work in real life. Why is it in comics you have "only one"?
I think that tired old cliche needs a break for a decade or so... then maybe it will be "new again" and we can have a next-generation of "chosen".
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Comic Con or Bust!
Well, we've waited and waited and waited... and the Comic-Con guys are so backlogged that they still haven't processed all the "small press" applications. So I'm to call back in two weeks. *sigh*
Chris and I have been delaying our plans for San Diego in July while waiting, but the hotels around the convention are now either booked solid, or the rooms remaining are only affordable to bizzillionairs. Chris had no luck finding us anything decent, so I did a search and the only things I could find were either motels I wouldn't pay $60 a night for, and certainly not $140 a night, or were over 10 miles away from the convention center. Neither option was desireable. Then I stumbled upon Sommerset Suites, which is only 2.9 miles from the convention center. At under $200 a night, two room suite with kitchenette and free breakfasts, how could we not jump on it?
So, I tacked on a couple days before and after the convention to the reservation as my wife and I have never been to California, so we hope to at least get to peek at what San Diego is like away from the convention.
Even if the convention gurus do not approve our small press package, Chris and I plan to get in with Professional tickets. So, Lineage will be there!
Chris and I have been delaying our plans for San Diego in July while waiting, but the hotels around the convention are now either booked solid, or the rooms remaining are only affordable to bizzillionairs. Chris had no luck finding us anything decent, so I did a search and the only things I could find were either motels I wouldn't pay $60 a night for, and certainly not $140 a night, or were over 10 miles away from the convention center. Neither option was desireable. Then I stumbled upon Sommerset Suites, which is only 2.9 miles from the convention center. At under $200 a night, two room suite with kitchenette and free breakfasts, how could we not jump on it?
So, I tacked on a couple days before and after the convention to the reservation as my wife and I have never been to California, so we hope to at least get to peek at what San Diego is like away from the convention.
Even if the convention gurus do not approve our small press package, Chris and I plan to get in with Professional tickets. So, Lineage will be there!
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
To color, or not to color... that is the question
Chris and I have been debating whether to do Lineage in full color, or whether we should be more modest and simply do black and white. Chris does incredible color, and we'd love to do the comic that way, instead of in black and white or greyscale. However, the reality of the situation is that we can not afford to publish this comic ourselves in full color. The costs are simply too high. If we are able to get in with a larger publishing house, this would not be so much of a problem... but with the probability being that we will be Independent Publishing our book, I am trepidatious about putting the effort into color that we more than likely won't use.
I know we'll make it beautiful no matter what the final format is.
I know we'll make it beautiful no matter what the final format is.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Waiting is the hardest part
The difficulty with registering for conventions is that not all conventions provide you instant feedback, especially when you have to be juried in. We are waiting, patiently, for word back from Comic-Con San Diego about our acceptance as a small press. We, however, need to reserve rooms and get plane flights... so at times, this means chewing on nails and trying to stay calm.
Ah well, the joys of being "independent" in the business world.
Ah well, the joys of being "independent" in the business world.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Friday, January 13, 2006
The Price of Power
Our Comic Book Artist Table for MegaCon was a reasonable price, which included two tickets for the convention (advanced tickets are $45). I was quite pleased about this. We got an eight foot table which has 2 chairs and enough space behind it that we should be able to set up a display (we supposedly have 6' behind us). This leaves us with a few dilemmas. The first dilemma is power for our laptops.
There is no point in our spending 3 days at a convention and not working on our comic. The comic is mostly done digital. This means: we need power for the laptops. The table cost with two tickets was $150; so only $60 for the table. I think that is most reasonable, it covers space expenses, set-up costs, etc. When I asked about having power, I was told that would have to be obtained not from the convention, but from the convention-center (the actual facility) and that it costs $100 for the weekend.
That gave me a big "huh?" As a reference here, the power cost for my entire house last month was $144. They are saying that in 3 days I'm going to consume nearly as much energy with two plugs at a table as I do in the whole house? No, of course they aren't. I understand this is a setup-fee... but I'm still confused. Exactly how long do they think it will take their crews to run the power cables while setting up the floor plan? I suspect, at most, our individual power run, assuming we are the only people in our row requesting power, would take no more than 15 minutes to set up and even less time to break down after the convention; so a total of 30 minutes on the outside. The power consumption would be nominal, but I'll be generous and say $5 for 2.5 days? That means that we're paying $190/hr to "run an extension chord". PLUMBER WEEKEND/NIGHT RATES ARE CHEAPER!
I've done some research and think I have an alternative. For that same $100, I can get a "deep cycle marine battery" with a safety case and a 300+ watt inverter. I now only need to determine how many Amps our PCs will draw so that I can determine how long that power would last. It is my hope that I can get about 10 hours of power out of a good deep cycle battery. If so, then it would be a great investment because I can take said battery to any show we do and have enough power for "all day use", I'd just have to bring a charger with me if we are out of town so I can recharge the battery in our room overnight.
There is no point in our spending 3 days at a convention and not working on our comic. The comic is mostly done digital. This means: we need power for the laptops. The table cost with two tickets was $150; so only $60 for the table. I think that is most reasonable, it covers space expenses, set-up costs, etc. When I asked about having power, I was told that would have to be obtained not from the convention, but from the convention-center (the actual facility) and that it costs $100 for the weekend.
That gave me a big "huh?" As a reference here, the power cost for my entire house last month was $144. They are saying that in 3 days I'm going to consume nearly as much energy with two plugs at a table as I do in the whole house? No, of course they aren't. I understand this is a setup-fee... but I'm still confused. Exactly how long do they think it will take their crews to run the power cables while setting up the floor plan? I suspect, at most, our individual power run, assuming we are the only people in our row requesting power, would take no more than 15 minutes to set up and even less time to break down after the convention; so a total of 30 minutes on the outside. The power consumption would be nominal, but I'll be generous and say $5 for 2.5 days? That means that we're paying $190/hr to "run an extension chord". PLUMBER WEEKEND/NIGHT RATES ARE CHEAPER!
I've done some research and think I have an alternative. For that same $100, I can get a "deep cycle marine battery" with a safety case and a 300+ watt inverter. I now only need to determine how many Amps our PCs will draw so that I can determine how long that power would last. It is my hope that I can get about 10 hours of power out of a good deep cycle battery. If so, then it would be a great investment because I can take said battery to any show we do and have enough power for "all day use", I'd just have to bring a charger with me if we are out of town so I can recharge the battery in our room overnight.
Establishing our look!
I'm still working on the look of this journal, as well as establishing our links, getting the listing up, etc. but at least now we have a little originality on the page! In a couple weeks, we should be set and ready to blog! (oh, that's right... I'm already blogging.)
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Initial Convention Schedule for 2006
Convention Attendance is, for better or for worse, the life's breath of fledgling comic creators. This is where we meet fans, make contacts, see what other people are -really doing- (as opposed to what they say on their websites) and get a pulse of the industry. I am not used to Comic Book Conventions as I normally attend SciFi/Fantasy Conventions, but one must evolve or die. I'm too young to die needlessly, so "hello Comic Conventions!" I still plan to attend my old-standards as well.
MegaCon (February 24-26, 2006) will be Chris's and my first convention we attend together. It is here we will strive to make our first major decisions, such as self publish or find a publisher, and that will also decide if we continue to do Lineage as a greyscale comic or go full color.
RavenCon (April 21-23, 2006) will be the second convention I attend this year. I will be there with my wife as a jewelry vendor, but I hope to get in on a panel or two on writing.
OASIS19 (May 26-28, 2006) will be the third convention I attend. Again, I'll be there primarily as a jeweler and a massage therapist, but I intend to be on a few panels (was last year).
San Diego Comic-Con (July 20-23, 2006) will be Chris's and my second convention we attend together. There is a slim chance that we may just have the first GN "Lineage - Harbingers of Change" ready for early release here! If nothing else, we may have proof copies... but I'm not going to promise it this early.
Dragon*Con (September 1-4, 2006) will be the next convention I attend. At present, it is still up in the air as to whether I'll be there primarily as a Jeweler/massage therapist, or whether Chris will be able to fly out. Our plan is to have the first GN of Lineage officially released at Dragon*Con.
Necronomicon (October 27-29, 2006) is the last convention on my schedule this year. Again, this one I will be attending with my wife as a jeweler and massage therapist. I also do henna body art at these things (chris isn't the only one who can draw... he just draws better!).
That is a good, initial accounting for our year as we know it thus far. As the schedule changes, I'll post updates!
MegaCon (February 24-26, 2006) will be Chris's and my first convention we attend together. It is here we will strive to make our first major decisions, such as self publish or find a publisher, and that will also decide if we continue to do Lineage as a greyscale comic or go full color.
RavenCon (April 21-23, 2006) will be the second convention I attend this year. I will be there with my wife as a jewelry vendor, but I hope to get in on a panel or two on writing.
OASIS19 (May 26-28, 2006) will be the third convention I attend. Again, I'll be there primarily as a jeweler and a massage therapist, but I intend to be on a few panels (was last year).
San Diego Comic-Con (July 20-23, 2006) will be Chris's and my second convention we attend together. There is a slim chance that we may just have the first GN "Lineage - Harbingers of Change" ready for early release here! If nothing else, we may have proof copies... but I'm not going to promise it this early.
Dragon*Con (September 1-4, 2006) will be the next convention I attend. At present, it is still up in the air as to whether I'll be there primarily as a Jeweler/massage therapist, or whether Chris will be able to fly out. Our plan is to have the first GN of Lineage officially released at Dragon*Con.
Necronomicon (October 27-29, 2006) is the last convention on my schedule this year. Again, this one I will be attending with my wife as a jeweler and massage therapist. I also do henna body art at these things (chris isn't the only one who can draw... he just draws better!).
That is a good, initial accounting for our year as we know it thus far. As the schedule changes, I'll post updates!
Coming Soon
This is the journal and creative exhibitionism of an insane team of comic creators trying to break into the field. Our journal will chronicle our efforts, successes and failures on this unusual path of expression.
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