Catching Up

Hey guys,

I know, I know... I am horrible at this blogging thing. So I'm here to catch up with you guys as I seem to do every couple months.

So let's start with the big guns, FUBAR Vol. 3: American History Z is up for funding on Kickstarter. The boys are offering some outstanding rewards for your hard earned money. So please go check that out and snag yourself some goodies here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1607639297/fubar-american-history-z

American History Z features the story "Z-Men" written by yours truly and illustrated by illustrious Sean Von Gorman (The Secret Adventures of Houdini) along with stories with buds like Giles Crawford (you know, like from Igor?), Jeff McComsey, Steve Becker Dominic Vivona, and lots and lots of others.

Next on the agenda is Igor: Occult Detective #2, which is finally moving forward. We've had a lot of road blocks spring up in so many ways to keep us behind schedule on this. But it is scripted and Giles is hard at work on it as I type this. We're really looking forward to sharing the rest of Igor and Mr. Frank's tales with you guys.

For those of you who may have missed it, I managed to squeak my way out to New York Comic Con last month and spent the majority of my weekend hanging out with the 215Ink crew (particularly the outstanding Stephen Lindsay, Will Perkins, and Mike Perkins) and the FUBAR boys! And shockingly, we sold out of Igor: Occult Detective #1!

Also, coming up Phil McClorey is doing another horror-mash-up anthology (after doing the very great Horror in the West) around the theme of Horror Adventure tales which will feature my story "The Island" with art  by the very fucking cool Shane Heron. I'm very excited to see what he does with my Lovecraft/Creepy/Eerie-inspired story.

I've also got a few secret projects in the works with some names that ought to get you guys salivating including... Stephen Lindsay (Jesus Hates Zombies), Will Perkins (Beware), Jeff McComsey (FUBAR), Dominic Vivona (FUBAR), Rob Croonenborghs (FUBAR/Jesus Hates Zombies), Phil Sloane (DeadHorse), and, of course, Giles Crawford!

Well, that's the state of things these days so thanks for checking in and don't forget: Keep Calm and Aim for the Head!

Alive! It's ALIVE!

Hey all,
I know I've been terrible at keeping up with this over the last year. I'm going to try to rectify that with at least bi-weekly posts. We'll see how that works out. Hah!

Anywho, I'm super proud to announce that Igor: Occult Detective #1 is now available for purchase from our website: igoroccultdetective.com which will also have updates.
Giles recently moved backed to PA from Australia and has finally found an apartment and should be moving in shortly. So he'll be commencing work on Issue #2 very, very soon!
Issue #1 is also available digitally through the 215Ink iPad app as well as through the Cloud 9 Comix app! And just to get you guys hooked early on, it's FREE through both!

As for my own progress, I'm currently working on the script for Issue #12 as well as working on developing some other projects AND lettering Issue #1 of MonsterMatt Patterson & Bob Bieber's Wolff's Run!

Well, that's all the updates for now, kids! Check back and see if I can keep up some sort of regular posting schedule!

Come with Me If You Want to Live

Newsarama posted an article on their blog about a tweet Scott Kurtz made about buying the new Justice League on his iPad and why should he go to his local comic shop to grab a copy. (You can read that here if you like.) It was a kinda stupid article, but it got me thinking.

As local comic shops are closing all over the country, how do we and they prevent this? Especially faced with the "digital revolution" or whatever the hell you want to call it? How are shops supposed to offer extra value as an incentive to get customers through their doors?

Frankly, I think shops are going to need to up the ante here. I've been to a lot of comic shops over the years in the Buffalo area and you know what? Most of them suck. The owners are aloof elitist pricks who look down on you if you don't like the same things they do. The shops are generally dirty, dingy, and dark. And the half the time I have to order in the shit I want. Who the hell wants to shop in a place like that? I don't.

Then I did a signing at Two Kings Comics in Rochester. The shop was clean, very well lit, and the owners were some of the nicest dudes I've ever met. Plus they stocked product that I read! Holy shit! It was a comics Mecca for me! To sweeten the pot, the guys had a section just for kids' comics, an X-Box 360 hooked up to a flat screen TV, a cooler with drinks for sale, and couches and other seating. It wasn't just a store, it was a place to hang out! It was a place to make friends with other customers or the owners. If it wasn't an hour and a half from my house, I'd be there all the bleeding time!

I really think more shops should follow that line of thinking! Make your shop a home away from home for your customers. There are so many shops that I go into, grab my shit, and get outta Dodge! A friendly, clean, well-lit environment goes a long, long way. I spent like 8 hours in that shop and had a blast. I never felt bored or unwelcome. The guys were happy to shoot the shit with every customer who walked through their doors that day. (I think there were about 200 of 'em.)

So guys, it's either time to bring your A-Game or wither away and die. The choice is yours. I hope you choose to survive.

P.S.:
I still love Queen City Comics here in Buffalo. The owner, Emil, and his son run a tight ship and I love shopping with them.

Pulp Volume 1 is here!

I am proud to announce that Pulp Vol. 1: The Old Kingdom is now available from IndyPlanet.com! Click the link here to grab your copy! This TPB collects issues #1-4 of Pulp, introduction by Stephen Lindsay (Jesus Hates Zombies, Lincoln Hates Werewolves, FUBAR, Massive Awesome), a map of Edelgrond and more for $17.99!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

The Creator-Owned Battle

Art by Jeff McComsey and Jim McMunn
I'm going to talk about something here that's pretty damn important to not only me, but also a lot of my compatriots: Creator-Owned Comics.

As a lot of folks know, the comic industry is dying a slow and miserable death. Now it's, of course, easy to blame Marvel and DC for only putting out books that involve the same superheros every month... (how many Deadpool and Batman comics does the world really need, anyway?) And while they are partly to blame for putting out comics that are stale and nearly impossible to jump into without knowing decades of back continuity, it's not entirely their fault.

This is difficult for me to talk about, because a big part of the problem rests with, us, the readers. We need to be supporting creator-owned books or publishers aren't going to want to put them out. At the end of the day, publishers are businesses and they need to do what's best for their business. So if superhero tripe continues to sell, they're going to continue to make it.

But for all of you complaining about the state of DC and Marvel and the state of comics as a whole, go out and support original creator owned books! Go grab that copy of Hellboy, The Goon, Fear Agent, 30 Days of Night, The Walking Dead, Savage Dragon, Mouseguard, Powers, Wormwood, or whatever instead Issue #105,367 of Spider-man! Even better go pick up something by an up and comer like Stephen Lindsay or myself!

If you want a jump start on some interesting reading materials here are a few recommendations from yours truly:

American Terror by Jeff McComsey
Jesus Hates Zombies by Stephen Lindsay & various
Novo by Michael S. Bracco
FUBAR by various
Vic Boone by Shawn Aldridge & Geoffo

All of them are available through Diamond so get orderin'!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

FUBAR Now Available for Pre-Order

Hey folks,

So the time is finally upon us. After months of hard work and preparation FUBAR is now available for Pre-Order from your local comic book shop!

If you're not familiar with FUBAR, it's a World War II zombie comic anthology featuring some of small press comics' brightest stars including Jeff McComsey (American Terror, Jesus Hates Zombies, Atomic Robo: Last Stop), Stephen Lindsay (Jesus Hates Zombies/Lincoln Hates Werewolves, Massively Awesome), Benjamin Truman (Conan), Steve Becker (Atomic Robo: Last Stop), Jonathan Moore, Rob Croonenborghs, Lonny Chant, Dominic Vivona, Shawn Williams, Darrin Stephens, yours truly, and so many more! It's 168 pages of black and white zombie glory with 13-short stories plus other goodies packed in!



You can currently pre-order FUBAR from your local comic shop using Diamond Previews Code: SEP100743 for only $11.99! If you can't make it out to a comic shop near you or there aren't any in your area, you can also pre-order it online from Things From Another World or Urban Collector!

We would really appreciate your support on this project that over 20 people worked insanely hard on and truly brought their A-Games for! I've already read the whole thing a half dozen times or so, and I keep coming back to it! And I only have a PDF! So, please, pre-order a copy today!

Much Love & Sincerest Regards,
Kyle

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4