Love for the SPCs

Hey guys,

So much for bi-weekly posts, eh? Honestly, I don't know where the time goes on me. I suppose that the fun of spending most of your "free" time making comics! Hahaha. Sorry. But I'm back with a new post for folks!

I was/am up really early for me (working over-nights generally equals sleeping during the day) and was thinking about my brothers and sisters in arms in the Small Press Commandos. If you don't know who they are let me give you a brief run down... they are the absolute best and brightest comics writers and artists working in the independent community. The idea initially came from Jeff McComsey while putting together FUBAR (yeah, that FUBAR) and I kind of took it and ran with it. Think of it as a digital comics studio where we can all share our work, bounce ideas off one another, and help promote each other. It started off as about thirty of us and since since grown to nearly two-hundred members.

Since the inception of the Small Press Commandos, I've discovered so many new series and these guys are taking more and more of my money. I think SPC books take up between fifty and seventy five percent of my comics budget these days, depending on the month. (The other fifty to twenty five going to Dark Horse, Image, IDW, and occasionally Marvel or DC.) So, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite titles within the last couple years.

AMERICAN TERROR Vols. 1 & 2
by Jeff McComsey
Alterna Comics

American Terror follows Victor Sheppard as he comes out of retirement as a gun-for-hire. Gritty, funny, and seriously bad-ass! McComsey nails the dirty gritty world of Sheppard. Sadly Volume 3 is kind of in limbo right now but you should not miss this title!

BEWARE
by Michael & Will Perkins
215Ink
Only the first issue of Beware is out now but man is it great! Think 1950's science fiction with a bit of real science thrown in and tons and tons of humor. It great and weird and just, damn, so fun! Will's art walks a great line between realistic and cartoony that is perfect for the series.

BLUE MOTH
By Rolf Lejdegård
215Ink
Blue Moth follows interstellar mercenary/soldier I'm not sure what... badass? Blue Moth as he battles against various galactic menaces. Again the humor here is great! Rolf's art is absolutely gorgeous and the writing is super cool. It may be a little abrasive for some folk with more fragile sensibilities but holy crap do I love this series.

BREAKNECK
By Mark Bertolini & James Boulton
215Ink
Breakneck is the story of Ethan Shade a D-List super villain who accidentally murders a popular superhero during a botched bank robbery -- then all hell breaks loose. Bertolini's writing here is just fantastic in his little darkly humorous super villain story. You can't help but feel that the deck is stacked against Ethan which makes you feel bad for him. My only complaint about this is that sometimes Boulton's art is a little sloppy and it can be hard to tell what's going on. But Bertonlini's writing more than makes up for it.

EXTINCT
by Fabian Rangel Jr. & Jethro Morales
215Ink
Holy damn do I love Extinct. It's like an 80's horror/adventure movie in a comic book! Think the Goonies or Monster Squad and you're pretty close, but you know with werewolves. Well, Monster Squad has a werewolf too but... anyway... holy shit! Writing teenagers is tough especially when you're not one anymore, but Rangel Jr. nails it with Extinct. And Morales' art always impresses. I really can't say anything bad about this at all. Really this is a must own comic for anyone!

FOOTPRINTS
by Joey Esposito & Jonathan Moore
215Ink
I know, I know there a lot of 215Ink titles on here, but there's a damn good reason for that... they put out awesome comics! Footprints has a premise so great that I wish I had thought of it. Bigfoot is a 1950's style detective hunting down the murderer of his brother the Yeti. So he assembles a team of other cryptozoological creatures to help him out including the New Jersey Devil and Nessi. Esposito is great here, winding a neat little mystery and Moore's sketchy style art is beautiful. This one really is just all sorts of amazing.

FUBAR VOLS. 1, 2, & (COMING SOON) 3
By Jeff McComsey, Steve Becker, Shawn Williams, H. Giles Crawford, Jim McMunn, Jonathan Moore, Shawn Aldridge, Joe Dunn, Rob Croonenborghs and many many more!
Alterna Comics
You knew this one was coming. But seriously, this is not here because I worked on it. This is on here because if you want a real true idea of what all of these guys are able to pull off you just need to read FUBAR. Almost every Small Press Commando has worked on these and they always bring their A-Game! If you like zombie or war comics FUBAR is for you!

JESUS HATES ZOMBIES
By Stephen Lindsay, Daniel Thollin, Rob Croonenborghs & others
Alterna Comics/215Ink
Let me tell you something about Stephen Lindsay -- he's the funniest son of a bitch I've ever met. Hands down. And holy crap does JHZ show that off! It's got all sorts of craziness... Jesus and Abe Lincoln fighting zombies, werewolves, evil angels, zombie-dinosaurs... you get the point. It's nuts! And JHZ looks great! The art always delivers especially Croonenborgh's run on the series.

KUZIMU
By Brett Uren
215Ink
Kuzimu follows Pt'eros, a dead man who, during a living death, must face the ghosts of his life. The highlight of this is truly Uren's art. Holy crap is it gorgeous! The story is interesting and very cool, based on East African myth though it does get a little wordy at times.

VIC BOONE
By Shawn Aldridge, Geoffo, Jim McMunn, & others
215Ink
Vic Boone is last but certainly not least on this list. Holy crap, I don't even know where to start... Vic Boone is a 50's style detective set in a modern Portland, OR where 50's sci-fi stuff exists now. Robots, clones, gorilla henchmen, flies with human heads, holy shit! It's smart, it's beautiful, I cannot sing enough praises for Vic Boone. Buy this! NOW!

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!

Holy Crap, I Suck...

Wow... I'm a horrible, horrible blogger apparently. I can't believe I haven't posted on here since Halloween. A TON has changed since then.

First and foremost, FUBAR Vol. 2: Empire of the Rising Dead landed on the New York Times Best Sellers list back in January, effectively making me a Best Selling Author! Who woulda' thunk it? I still don't think about it too much, and often outright forget until someone brings it up. Heh. Not only is this a big deal for me, but this is a HUGE victory for independent comics. This is proof that a comic put out by small press creators, with no advertising budget, with no major publisher, can still sell if it's GOOD!

Second on our lovely little list is that Igor: Occult Detective #1 is now available digitally through the 215Ink iPad app, as well as the Cloud 9 Comix app for Android/iOS/Kindle and will be coming in print next week! If you're local comic shop doesn't already carry 215Ink comics, tell them to get in touch with either myself to get copies directly from me, or to contact andrew@215ink.com to them (along with 215Ink's other outstanding titles -- like critically acclaimed and award-winning titles like Vic Boone, Jesus Hates Zombies, and Footprints) in their shop ASAP! Or you can order them from me online once I make them available. So, that just about covers it. Apparently, not as much has happened as I thought. Hmmm... Guess I've just been really busy. :P

Happy Halloween!

To celebrate Halloween this year, Helaine Crawford and I bring you Igor: Occult Detective "The Familiar" which originally appeared in the Washington DC comics magazine Magic Bullet #3! Click the image below to enlarge for reading purposes. Happy Halloween!

FUBAR VOL. 2 IS LURKING...

For those not in the know, FUBAR Vol. 2: Empire of the Rising Dead is now up for pre-orer. So head on over to your local comic shop and pre-order your copy using Diamond Order Code OCT110768 under Alterna Comics or visit TFAW.com and pre-order your copy there! Volume 2 features the story "Si Cheng" which reunites yours truly with the Mad Beglian Rob Croonenborghs (Jesus Hates Zombies: A Jurassic Kinda Life, FUBAR Vol. 1: European Theater of the Damned, Laura Bitch & the True Bastard), along with forty other Small Press Commandos for a total of twenty-seven stories! The first printing of Volume 1 sold out before it hit street date so don't miss out with Volume 2!

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.

The Creator Owned Battle -- Part II

Ah, once again we're back to the Creator Owned Battlefield. In recent months I've done a lot of thinking about all of this craziness and have noticed something kind of unnerving.

A lot of independent comic creators don't buy other creator-owned comics. I'm not saying they don't buy other indie comics, which can be rough sometimes, because they vary in quality so much, but some of these guys straight up only read DC and Marvel books. So I'm calling bullshit on these guys!

You can't expect folks to support your creator-owned project if you don't support other creator-owned books! Practice what you preach, man! You look at my shelf and sure, I've got some Marvel and some DC stuff, but the majority of it? Creator-owned, sucker. You'll find stuff like Hellboy, The Goon, The Walking Dead, Jesus Hates Zombies, 30 Days of Night, American Terror, Girls with Slingshots, Sin City, Honey and the Whirlwind, and whatever else strikes my fancy.

It drives me insane to hear these guys bitch about no one buying their new series when they won't take a chance on something else either. I'm a big fan of trading with other creators. Hey, check out my book and I'll check out yours! It doesn't cost you any cash outta pocket and someone else is gonna read your book! It's a great trade-off. And if you like it, tell other people! Lend it to a friend. Whatever, let other people know you dig it! I can't express enough how important word of mouth is for creator-owned books.

So in short, I'm calling you out, comics creators, buy creator-owned books. Or fuck off.

*Art by Jeff McComsey and Danilo Beyruth