The Lockdown

So, like I said in the previous post, things are a wee bit rough this month, especially from a financial perspective. Don't panic, TORC Press ain't going bankrupt any time soon, and in fact I've got a side account set up for the strictly for the company, so I'm good there. No, on the personal finance front, things are a little tight, mostly because it takes a buttload of money to heat my house. A buttload of money that I currently don't have. The Solution: The Great Lockdown of '06. As of Saturday, I'm not spending money on jack, all week. No groceries, no McDonalds, no gasoline, no DVDs, and (this is the hard one) No Comics (Insert surprised gasps from the audience here). In further addition, as of today, I'm not driving anywhere except to work and back home. No Flora, no Olney, no nothing. I ain't wasting the fuel. The Great Lockdown lasts from now till Saturday.

On a quick side note: If these posts start sounding even more erratic and unstable than usual, it's because I've went stir crazy. Don't worry, things will revert to normal in about a week. I hope.

Tally-Ho!

I gotta be honest with you. It's been a crummy month. Nothing has went right, and I'm physically, mentally, spiritually, and economically fucked up right now. Now, the Old Joseph Morris woulda whined and cried and been a wussy for weeks on end. The New Joseph Morris, on the other hand, only whines and bitches for a little while. Then he gets his crap in gear, does his best to either fix or outlast the problem(s), and then does some stuff to make himself feel better. Man, talking in the third person is weird. Anyway, I'm not gonna bore everyone with my lame ass crap. What I am going to do, is Rant about the cool idea I came up with to cheer myself up.

The following is a list of 10 things I am going to do this year. This is not my TORC Press List of Goals for the year (I think I posted that a few weeks ago...). This is not my Epic Kick Ass Things I Wanna Do Before I Die List. This is simply a List of Fun Things I Want to Do this Year, Preferably to Cheer Myself Up When I'm Feeling Down. So, here we go, in no particular order:

1. Fix Homemade Mole.
2. Go to a Theme Park (Holiday World or Six Flags would be the obvious choices).
3. Go to an Art Gallery.
4. Work on More Non-Comic Related Side Art.
5. Do a 24 Hour Comic.
6. Buy a Big Tub of Nacho Cheese and a couple of boxes of Little Debbies and sit around in my PJs watching Kick Ass Movies All Day while eating Nachos.
7. Pick a Direction. Get my CD Player in my car working. Drive as far as I can in that direction while listening to kick ass music until it gets late, then crash out in a flophouse for the night. Then drive back.
8. Project XYZ.
9. I'm leaving this one open. That way I can be flexible.
10. On or around Trick or Treat Night, have a big ass Halloween/Day of the Dead Party which also double as an Art Show (see #4).

That's it. Not too complicated right? Plus most of this stuff I can either do solo, or if my Crew's around, they can join in. Best of both worlds.

Ride the Manta

Right.

Brand spanking new Cosmic Fool webcomic is up at www.torcpress.com/webcomic.html, so check that out. I've rambled about the Fool quite a lot in the past, so no reason to ramble further in that regard. As for this particular strip, the idea came to me a while back. I'm not really sure what any of it means.

The Story of Sombrero Friday

So, I meant to write up this little tale of how I came up with the title "Sombrero Friday" awhile back, but I got distracted or something. But it's a lazy Sunday morning, and I don't need to start making tortillas for a bit so...

A quick disclaimer: I truly do think Sombreros are cool. I personally prefer to wear a fedora or a bandana on my own head, but that's just me. Still, you gotta admit, sombreros are kinda silly looking, and make for absolutely great visual comedy. If I have offended any sombrero enthusiasts (spell?), then I apologize.

A few years back, Boolah, Bro, and myself went to Watson/Effingham to visit out buddy Shafe. Now, off the top of my head, I dunno whether Shafe was still living with his Ma, or whether he was visiting from up north. Actually, Shafe ain't all that important to the story, so it doesn't matter. We get to Shafe's Ma's house and knock on the door. Shafe's Mom answers the door, takes one look at our ragtag little trio, smiles a little, and then shouts, "Brian! The Three Amigos are here!" I dunno whether she was mocking us or not, but I considered it complimentary. I'd always liked the Three Amigos myself. (Side Note: If we were the Three Amigos, then Boolah is Chevy Chase, Bro is Steve Martin, and (not surprisingly) I'm Martin Short)

Flash forward a few years. I'm brainstorming ideas for my Xerox comic, Super Duper Fun Comix (the predecessor to SDF). At the time, the main story followed the quartet of Cactus Joe, Pengy Penguin, Walt, and Sped. I thought it would be funny if I had a story where my little quartet had to work to earn money. I was gonna have em do Odd Jobs (Side Note #2: This idea would eventually evolve into the lead story in SDF: Very Odd Jobs). Remembering the Three Amigos bit from years ago, I thought it would be hilarious if the Quartet called themselves the Four Amigos and ran around wearing Sombreros while they were working. Unfortunately, the handful of Four Amigos stories I worked up in my head never came to fruition...

Flash forward a few more years, and I'm brainstorming ideas for SDF. I came up with an idea for a story where Cactus Joe, Pengy, Voodoo Dolly, Walt, and Sped were out fishing in the backwoods, and then they got attacked by a pack of drunken rednecks (Side Note #3: Frimpy would eventually be added to this story, mostly because I thought Frimpy would fit in nicely with this little group. Not to toot my own horn, but I was right.). Now, the idea of a killer clown, a human voodoo doll, an intelligent blue penguin, a cat in overalls, and a dog that can't stop smiling all going out to the Southern Illinois backwoods and fishing (with old school homemade fishing poles no less...) would be ridiculous enough for most people. Not me. I knew something (besides Frimpy) was missing. Then, in one of those inexplicable flashes of inspiration, I remembered the Four Amigos bit. The idea of seeing the somewhat serious character of Voodoo Dolly in a sombrero alone would be worth the price of admission. (Side Note #4: As if that's not silly enough, look closely at Walt. You'll notice he's wearing his trademark hat underneath the Sombrero)

There was just one problem. Why were they doing this? They needed some reason. Again, flash of inspiration gave birth to "Sombrero Friday". It was like Casual Friday for alla the Cubicle Folk, taken to the next bizarre level. It was perfect, and it gave me the title for the issue as well. Plus, over the course of the issue, the joke actually evolves further. And it all started with Shafe's Mom.

And for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, head over to www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html so you can score your own copy of Sombrero Friday. Anyone else notice how I've been whoring up the main site more often lately? What's up with that?

Higher Education?

My last two years of high school were pretty good, mostly because I had A) a driver's license, B) a car, and C) a Crew to hang with. And by good I mostly mean that I had spent most of my school career in the sixth ring of Hell, and the last two years were like living in the third ring of Hell. To say I was excited about college would be an understatement. I KNEW that when I got to college my life would change. In college they respect talent and intelligence. I'd be popular and respected, and when it was all said and done I'd be a well trained world class artist who could pick and choose which comic book company I was gonna work for.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaa! I was such an idiot!

After one year at Southern Illinois University, I was broke, lonely, depressed, suicidal, bored, angry, and I had officially decided that I never wanted to live in an evenly vaguely urban area ever again ever. I had only a smattering of new friends (most of whom were actually friends with my cousin Rachel, I was just her occassional tag along), I hated my roommate (who, apparently, thought that I was a homicidal nutcase and was more than a little afraid to live with me), and I had spent way too much time taking crappy academic courses that I hated. I did get to take some art courses, which I loved, but otherwise, I got nothing out of the experience expect anguish. So I quit.

And honestly, it was the right play for me. Ever since then my Education has been trying to figure out how to make comics. And that has been a long education. I've used what I've gotten out of those old college art classes (as well as the handful of community college art classes I took later), but I learned just as much from "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way". Hell, the critical reaming I got from this one comic pro at Wizard World Chicago back in '00 taught me as much as three or four art classes. For me, school has been my art board.

So, what's the moral? Am I saying that if you're wanting to go into comics that you should skip college? No, not neccessarily. If all you ever wanted to do with your life is make comics, and you don't care whether you live or die as long as you get to make comics, then yes, you should probably skip college. Buy some books on art, take some art AND writing classes at your local community college, study comics, movie, TV, and prose novels, and buy some books about comic book publishing. And practice constantly. And when I say practice, I don't mean that you sit around drawing pin ups of Superman all day. I mean, sit down and draw comic book stories. Learn things they don't teach in school, like panel to panel progression and shot selection.

Now, if you're not 100% sure that you wanna make comics, then I suggest picking a profession that will make you MONEY, go to college for that, and take art classes on the side. That way, you'll have a profession that will provide for your future, and you won't end up a starving artist while you're waiting for your big break into comics.

(Oh, and before I close, I would like to mention that there is ONE school that does specialize in teaching people how to make comics, and that's the Joe Kubert Art School. If you're really, really serious about making comics, and you'rve got plenty of money to burn, this "college" is definately worth checking out.)

Little Story, Big Story

I think I read an interview with Neil Gaiman once where he was talking about his masterwork, "The Sandman". In the interview, he talked about how he figured that DC would cancel the Sandman after about 12 issues. So, initially, Gaiman only planned out the first 12 issues of the series, made sure the first arc was more or less self contained, and tried to make a pretty kickin' arc to boot (Morpheus travels to Hell, yeah, that's pretty cool...). BUT, when he got the go ahead to continue the series, and the thing became a cult hit, Gaiman then sat down and planned the other (what's 75 minus 12... gimme a second...) 63 issues and created this massive, intricate, overlapping, overarcing story.

I ain't no Neil Gaiman. I don't have notebooks full of intricate notes on how the entire series will develop over the course of X number of issues. Sure, I write myself little notes from time to time, and I sketch up new characters every now and then, but that's about the extent of it. I'm painfully disorganized, but that also means I can be fluid with my stories, instead of being bound by some sort of preordained plan, which I like.

I work in what I have decided to call the Little Story/Big Story format. Each issue of SDF is more or less self contained. You can pick up, say, my third issue, SDF: Perfect/Ugly, and read it, follow what's going on without needing to read previous issues, hopefully enjoy it, and never read another issue of SDF and not have to worry about missing the other part of some "To Be Continued..." because there was no "TBC...". On the other hand, each issue contains both minor references to previous issues (aka, my out of print Xerox comics which only a handful of people have read), as well as numerous hints towards the greater, long term story that I'm also telling. So, even though you could read only one issue of SDF and be content, it should start to become fairly obvious by now, that the more issues of SDF you read, the more developed the overarching story is becoming. I'm not saying that I'm gonna end up with some intricate comic masterpiece like Sandman or Love and Rockets, but I think once all the stories are collected they'll form one big, pretty cool story. I hope.

Which reminds me, the latest issue of SDF, Sombrero Friday, contains at least one noteworthy piece of plot development in each of the three main stories. I'm not gonna tell you what they are, but if you've got a copy, re-read it. There are plot developments afoot. Really. And if you don't have a copy, check out our online store at www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html.

Violence vs. Violence

I try to be a pacifist. At heart, I hate violence. Now, I'm not gonna say that I ain't never raised my hand in anger at another human being before, cause that would be a lie. And I certainly can't say I ain't contemplated violence against another human being before, cause that would be a lie as well. But, at the end of the day, I don't like it. I'm anti-war. I don't like boxing, kickboxing, Pride Fighting, Ultimate Fighting, or, to a certain extent Football, because in each instance people have been trained to go out and intentionally hurt other people (again, football is a lesser example, but if you don't think some of those guys ain't out there thinking "I'm gonna kill that guy if he gets the ball", then you're crazy). I figure there's three basic reasons for this: 1) I'm very empathic, so I really can't stand to see people hurting each other, 2) Real life violence, from an aesthetic stand point, looks like crap, and 3) I'm a big old wussie.

Now, some of you out there at this point may be saying to yourselves, "Now waitaminute Mr. Guywho'salwaysputtingyourfootinyourmouth, I've read your comics, and most issues are violent as hell. And we know you have, like, the world's largest collection of horror movies. Plus, we all know you're a wrestling fanatic. What's the dilly, yo?" We'll start with the wrestling. I like wrestling because it's fake. Wrestlers are trained to execute manuevers that both look cool and painful on camera, while at the same time do an absolute minimum of damage. A wrestler never steps into the ring thinking, "I'm gonna do everything in my power to really hurt this guy", because if he does, then some other guy could come along, drop him on his head mid-move and paralyse him for life. Because it's fake, and because the violence is choreographed, it looks better than real violence, and it becomes more of an endurance test. After all, an Ultimate Fighter doesn't walk into the ring thinking "Welp, I'm gonna get choked out today". He thinks, "I'm gonna do everything in my power to avoid getting choked out today." A wrestler on the other hand, knows full well that he's gonna get slammed down hard 20 or 30 times and end up getting dumped into thumbtacks. And if you think knowing that stuff ahead of time makes it easier, well, it don't. Believe me.

As for Movie/Comic Book/SDF violence, again, it looks better than real life violence. Guy gets his head cut off in an issue of SDF, and blood shoots outa the stump like a fountain, and it looks crazy, and kinda silly, and cool. Guy gets his head cut off in real life, and everybody's busy screaming and puking and praying to God. In comics and movies, violence is more abstract and expressionistic. It's cathartic. Instead of wishing I could punch out some guy, I can put him in my comic, turn him into a demon, and disembowel him without having to worry about getting locked away. I can do stuff in a comic book fight scene that could never happen in real life. For those of you that have a copy, check out the fight scene between CJ and Voodoo Dolly vs. the Rednecks in SDF: Sombrero Friday. Some of the moves Voodoo Dolly pulls off in that fight are downright laughable, not to mention pretty much scientifically impossible. But it looks cool, and that's what counts. Plus, as the old saying goes, no one gets hurt in a movie or comic, they're just playing dead.

Except for Bruce Lee, his kid, and those folks that got decapitated in that one Spielburg movie...

Location?

Alright, before we start this purely fluff post, let's get one thing straight. I was born in Southern Illinois, and, Lord willing, I'll die in Southern Illinois. Sure, there's lots of things that suck about this place, but there's lots of stuff that rules about the Land of Lincoln. Plus, survival out here is a lot more of a challenge than people might think, and you know how I love a challenge.

Having said that though, here's the Top X number of places I'd live if I wasn't living here (and no Shafe, St. Paul didn't make the cut, sorry).

1. Hawaii- All the benefits of living in America and a tropical island at the same time. I can learn to surf. Hot women in grass skirts and coconut bikinis are everywhere (or, at least according to the TV they are). Downsides: I've never heard of a Hawaiian comics scene. Not sure if they even have comic shops there.

2. LA- One of the twin pulses of the US, you're at one of the twin epicenters of pretty much everything. Plus, it's warm pretty much all year long. Downsides: Been there, so I know that A) Smog sucks, B) Traffic sucks, C) Nothing grows. Give me the endless forests of Illinois any day of the week.

3. New York- The other pulse of the US. If you can make it here you can make it anywhere they say, which is funny, because you never hear of someone leaving New York and making it anywhere else... Downsides: Traffic, cold as hell in winter, scorching in summer, always looks grimy on TV.

4. San Diego- Beautiful weather all year long, and I could walk to Comicon International. Downsides: Good luck finding a place to stay, it's really hilly, the pizza sucks.

5. Austin, TX- I've heard Austin is a really happening town for us Liberal creative types. Plus, it's close to Mexico, so scoring good Mexican food on a regular basis should be easy. Downsides: The above are the only good things I know about Austin.

6. New Orleans (after they finish fixing it up)- Really, this one's only on there for the food. I ate like a king in New Orleans, baby! Downsides- Everything else about the place just feels like an overdone tourist trap. That and hurricanes.

7. Um, I'm kinda out at this stage. Other people might put other countries on a list like this, but that's their bag, not mine. If I can't get comics, in English, fairly easily, then it ain't worth living in. Y'know? Plus, I genuinely like living in America, even during this crappy time period.

Call Me Major Tom

Blast Off, Babycakes! That's right, TORC Press is officially up as an exhibitor at SPACE 2006! As far as I know, it'll be my first show of 2006 (unless I can find some small local show before then...), so it'll be my chance to get my sea legs as far as the Convention Circuit goes. All the info for SPACE is up over at their site at: www.backporchcomics.com/space.htm. If you scroll down the page, you'll find me and Bro listed, as well as a Link back to the main site. I dig SPACE quite a lot. You meet lots of interesting people, and you can trade off for lots of great comics. I plan on working up some new mini-comics before the show, plus, hopefully, SDF: Lost Jigsaw Pieces will be done by then. If anybody out there's also gonna be exhibiting at SPACE, feel free to drop a comment on the blog, along with your own website info. I gots to spread the love.

Now all I need to do is save up enough money to register for Wizard World: Chicago and Comicon International in San Diego...

Attack of the Fabulous Morris Boys

"SDF: Sombrero Friday" is now available for sale online over at the main site at: www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html. Go there and buy a copy if you're into comics that kick ass. It's 48 pages of madcap brawling, surreality, and gunfights. No hype. Just facts.

Also, Live and Loud is the release of my brother Ryan's new CD: "The Dr. Orphyus Project: Opaque Imagery". As much a sonic attack as SDF is a visual one, Bro's new CD is not for those with sticks jammed up their asses. For those of you like to rock and are interested in hearing something way different from the factory pre-fab bullshit that we all gots to suffer through day after day, then check out his recently erected website at www.myspace.com/thedrorphyusproject. He's got some sample tracks from the album up on the website, and a free CD offer to celebrate the completion of his first CD. Oh, and as a little side note, there's TORC Press art up over there that's exclusive to the site. So check that out too.

Desert Island

So, I got an e-mail from my cousin Katie this morning. She wants me to do one of those Desert Island Lists. You know the kind, where you list the top ten albums, books, or movies you'd have on you if you just happened to be stranded on a desert island forever and ever amen. So, I'm all like, y'okay, gives me something to blog about today. So, here it is.

Top 10 Albums I would bring to a Desert Island:
1. Danzig 1
2. Danzig 2
3. Danzig 3 (anyone detecting a pattern yet?)
4. Danzig 4
5. Danzig 5
6. Danzig 6
7. Danzig 7
8. Danzig: Circle of Snakes
9. Danzig: Thralldemonsweative
10. Samhain 3 (aka Danzig's postMisfits, preDanzig band...)

Books (Yeah, I'm cheating and putting Graphic novels in here)
1. Watchmen (duh)
2. Sin City: The Hard Goodbye
3. 100% by Paul Pope
4. Palomar
5. The Book of Frank
6. Hellboy: The Chained Coffin and Others
7. Transmetropolitan (any trade will do)
8. Uzumaki vol 1
9. One Piece any vol.
10. The Complete Top Ten (heh, that's a funny coincidence...)

Movies
1. Pulp Fiction
2. Kill Bill
3. Once Upon a Time in Mexico
4. Sin City
5. Can I count all 6 Star Wars movies as one movie?
6. Can I count all 3 Indiana Jones movies as one movie?
7. Hellraiser 3
8. Terror Firmer (Gots to have a Troma movie on the island)
9. Naked Lunch
10. Eraserhead

Welp, I'm off to sit under the coconut tree...

Freud This On for Size

Today's post was gonna be me whining about how much my TV antennae sucks, and how I wish I hada Dish. Then I had this dream I can kinda remember snippets of. So, I'm gonna Rant about that instead. Word of Warning: The following dream is out of order, out of context, and didn't make any sense then, and makes less now. Enjoy.

I was going back to college. And not just college, art school. This art school was supposedly located right next to my old place of "learning", Southern Illinois University. In retrospect, the only way I could find the place was by walking through these twisted pathways in this deep woods. I kept walking around with this big painting. I hadn't painted it, someone else had given it to me as a gift. I looked like one of those things you'd buy at a kiosk at the mall. The most noteable feature of the Art School was the gigantic indoor pool in front. I think I swam around a bit. I had to put the painting down for that, and then it disappeared. I spent a lot of time worrying about how I was gonna pay to go to Art school, especially one this expensive (really, you shoulda seen this place, it was grandiose). I considered getting a loan, or maybe student aide.

Eventually, Dad, Bro, and Grampa picked me up in an old truck and took me off to what I'm assuming were the dorms. Dad got really angry at me because apparently, I left something really important in my cousin Rachel's house and I couldn't remember what it was and he wouldn't tell me. I had an entire drawer full of dress shoes (I HATE dress shoes). I'm pretty sure one pair of dress shoes was made out of blue suede. Then Conan fought He-Man in this snowy mountaintop place. I think Conan won, which I honestly didn't see coming. Then people started turning into Old School Atari graphics. You know, blocky stick figures. Random cameo guest stars in last nights dream include Shafe's buddy Nick, Tate (Word up to my homie!), George Michael Bluth from Arrested Development, and a bunch of sexy Asian chicks.

My psychoanalysis of the preceeding dream is as follows: I need help.

Bastard Child of Quick Reviews

Alright. Before we start, there's a new webcomic featuring Detective Shirac up over at www.torcpress.com/webcomic.html. Check it out.

Anyway, I shoulda stayed around the house this week and conserved my money like a good little hermit. Unfortunately, I went haywire and spend fat wads of cash on stuff. On the upside, it's time for Quick Reviews!

Sin City Special Edition (DVD): Whew. Take the best film of the year and load it with every extra you can squeeze onto two discs and you've got this amazing package. As an added bonus, a copy of the Hard Goodbye is included as well (sure, I already had a copy, but you never know when you're gonna need a spare...). I haven't watched everything yet (there's three commentary tracks), but most of the features are worth checking out. There's a recipe for Sin City Breakfast Tacos that woulda been great if it wasn't for the fact that I don't eat eggs. Eww. Also, there's a crappy performance by Bruce Willis's band. On the upside, you can watch the various chapters separately, with the handful of cut scenes restored. Kick ass.

Godland#1 by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli, Image Comics- I'd heard a lotta hype about this book and decided to try it out. It's pretty much a cheap attempt at an homage to the old school Kirby/Lee books with a center of hipper than thouness to it. The art is a blatant rip off of Kirby, and the story reads like the pale ghost of something from the Silver Age. Long story short, if you really want a Kirby fix, go dig up any number of old comics or trade paperbacks. Don't waste your time with this crap. Oh, and don't tell me it gets better in later issues. Kirby never needed later issues.

Gantz Vol. 1-3 (Anime DVD)- I don't wanna give away too many plot details from this lovely little anime. Let's just say Gantz is violent, sexy, creepy, strange, mysterious, and darkly funny. Probably the best anime I've seen in quite some time, and I can't wait to pick up later volumes. On the down side, there's only two (seemingly short) episodes per disc. On the upside, they're selling em for $12 a pop at Best Buy.

Abuelo's Mexican Restaraunt- This is a new Mexican Restaraunt that opened up on Green River Road in Evansville, IN. It's a nice place. Classy decor, good atmosphere, courteous staff, and overall pleasant dining experience. I order a combo platter with a good beef enchilada, a decent chicken enchilada, and the best damn chile relleno I have ever had in my life. Overall cost was about $10, but it's worth mentioning that I drank water.

Hanzo the Razor (3 Flick DVD)- Probably the most extreme series of Samurai movies ever made. Hanzo the Razor is a bad ass magistrate who doesn't have time for things like courtesy and honor. All he cares about is enforcing the law by any means neccessary. Be forewarned, this over the top series features graphic depictions of violence, torture, and rape. Still, if you like gritty samurai flicks, then this is the creme de la creme.

Hostel (Movie)- Not what I was expecting. The previews made this out to be a nonstop horror show. Instead, the flick starts out as a teen sex romp, briefly turns into a very brutal torture film, and then transforms into a survival action movie. There are definately some scenes of truly shocking violence in here, so that's good, but the disjointed rhythm of the piece can be a bit odd. Worth checking out. In a related side note, my candidate for worst parent of the year was the Guy who brought his nine year son to watch the movie with him. What the hell?

Man of Industry

1996. The year I graduated from High School was the about the same year the Comic Book Industry collapsed. My luck in a nutshell. Anyway, ever since then, all I've heard about is how the industry is sick and dieing and how someone's gotta figure out how to save it. It's funny how, even now, with Hollywood and TV cranking out numerous successful comic book related franchises, the overall mood in the comic book industry is one of gloom and doom. How do we save the industry?

Yeah, well, I say screw the industry. I've never been in this thing for the money, and I'm sick of hearing about how Marvel and DC and all the rest do stupid ass things cause they're good business decisions. If the whole damn thing went screaming into the Pits of Hell tomorrow, I'd still be sitting around in my studio making comics. Sure, it'd be hard to sell comics to people without the industry in place, but, hell, it's hard to sell comics to people with the industry in place.

Ya gotta understand, I love comics. I love mainstream comics. I love underground comics. Hell, I even love mini-comics and fanzines. And I love making comics. And none of that's got anything to do with money.

But, I've always been a bit of a contradictory fellow, so, here's my theory on how to save the comic book industry.

The problem with the comic book industry is twofold: convienience (spell?) and marketing. Let's start with convienience (I am definately spelling that wrong. Where's the spellchecker...Ah, screw it). The only people who read comics right now are the people who love em enough to seek em out. We travel all over the place to find a little hole in the wall comic shop. We weave our way throught the labrynith of Barnes and Noble or Borders to find the hidden little shelf marked "Graphic Novels/RPGs". We travel entire states away to go to comic book conventions. Comic book fans are a surprisingly dedicated bunch. Most of us go to the comic book shop EVERY SINGLE WEEK, on Wednesday, like clockwork. Hell, I bet the people that run the local (aka two towns away) comic book shop get worried if I show up late on a Wednesday. Now, think about a friend of yours that doesn't read comics. Can you imagine your friend going through any of that crap to find the one or two comics he/she might dig? It's too much effort for most people. (Hell, the act of reading is too much effort for most people, but the point of this Rant is things that can be fixed...)

Second, marketing. We have none. Marvel and DC don't advertise at all really. Or, at least, they don't advertise in the real world. Also, they don't try to appeal to people outside of their fanbase. Making some faux manga comics that are aimed at teenage girls doesn't count, either. In Japan, there is no one major genre, cause the Japanese were clever enough to realize that comics could appeal to everybody. In Japan they've got Sports manga. Sports comics could be really popular in America. What about Poker comics? Poker's really popular right now. Why not a comic about Poker?

So, here's my theory. Every major (and most minor) company should have at least one magazine sized comic that is available wherever magazines AND comics are sold. It should be about 200 to 500 pages, and contain a variety of comics stories, as well as some standard magazine articles and some photo features (more on that in a minute). As long as it was monthly, fairly cheap, and widely available in a visible place, that would solve the convenience issue right there.

Now, waitaminute, you say. Archie and Heavy Metal use similiar formats, and it's not like they're burning up the sales charts. Welp, that's where step 2, Marketing, comes in. DON'T PUT COMIC BOOK STUFF ON THE COVER! Instead, the cover should have a photo of either A) a celebrity or B) A sexy chick in a bikini. Then, there should be a short article inside the comic featuring either A or B. If you make the thing look like Maxim or Vanity Fair people will probably pick it up.

Sounds insane? Sure. But if people are really interested in saving the business of comics, they might have to do a few insane things...

Easy?

You think what I do is easy? You think making comics is easy? Well, do ya?

Actually, it is. All you gotta do is be able to draw a stick figure, and you can make comics. Course, just because you can play basketball doesn't mean you're good enough to play in the NBA. Then again, I'm not good enough to draw for the NBA either. I'm sorta like Woody Harrelson in "White Men Can't Jump". I play a mean game of street ball. And I can't dunk. But unlike Woody Harrelson, I don't smoke pot, and I'm not having wild animal sex with a mid 90s Rosie Perez. Mmmm, mid-90s Rosie Perez...

Damnit. Completely lost my train of thought with that whole basketball metaphor. Gimme a second.

Okay. I think I'm on track.

Comics are hard work. Anyone can do em, but not everyone has the skill or dedication to produce them on a professional (or in my case, somewhat near professional) level. Just something to think about.

The Groove

Dave Sim, creator of Cerebus, wrote in an article on self publishing that in order to be able to publish a monthly book with any degree of accuracy, you need to be able to produce at least one page a day, every day. Or, if you feel like lump summing it, seven pages in seven days. At a panel on Self Publishing at the San Diego Comicon, Carla Speed McNeil, creator of Finder, introduced a concept called "Comic Book Boot Camp". Her theory was that in order to prove that you've got the drive and dedication to be a comic book publisher, you need to produce 14 pages in 14 days.

Yeah. Good luck with that.

I know the point of both methods is that you are to forsake all else in the name of self publishing. But, frankly, I kinda have my doubts that either of those guys worked full time manual labor. Me, I need a break every now and then, or bad things start to happen. I can't work my ass off at work, then go home and work my ass off on the comic for all five days of the work week. Gotta chill out every now and then. Gotta get some sleep every now and then. Gotta balance it. Gotta hang out with my crew every now and then.

But by the same token, can't just ignore the comic and assume I'll "finish it later". The only person who can assure that the latest issue of SDF will get completed is me. No one's gonna do it for me. So, on the flip side, sometimes I need to just start working on the book the second I get home from work. Sometimes I've gotta tell my friends, "Nope, can't hang out today". Sometimes I gotta lose an hour or three of sleep.

Like I said, it's all about balance.

Stumbling into 06

Out with the old and in with the new.

2005 was a good year for me and TORC Press. I met my goal of producing 4 issues of the book, I attended 2 comic book conventions, and I sold a few copies of the book here and there. In 2006, the basic goal is the same: Produce at least 4 issues of the book, attend some conventions (hopefully at least 3 this year, maybe more), and continue to try to sell the book to the kind of people that would dig it. I've got a few new side goals this year, but I'm gonna keep em to myself for now.

Woo. Weather's been acting weird lately...