Hermit Hill the Comic Strip Preview Pages

Here are a few preview pages from my contribution to Indy Comic Book Week. My book is Hermit Hill the Comic Strip and it collects several weeks' worth of my online comic strip, Hermit Hill. It's a black and white interior book, with 20 pages and a standard comic book dimensions. This book is being offered to retailers for free in packs of three issues per location. These are the first few pages from the comic:




These books are printed and ready to ship out. If you are interested in getting a pack of Hermit Hill comics please visit my web site for more information about my strip or contact me via email: nate@hermithillcomic.com

Down to the wire...

Hey folks.

Today I started calling the ICBW shops that have signed up to participate, and I was amazed how many of them haven't spoken to any of us ICBW creators yet. It's getting down to the wire now, so it's time to start making contact and time to start mailing out books (if you're going that route).

Another common feedback I've received from store owners is that they were hoping they'd have some sort of online ordering page where they could browse our books and place an order for how many copies they'd like. Maybe this is something to think about for 2010 (assuming this becomes an annual event).

For store owners that would like to check out SPY GUY (my ICBW comic) you can interactively flip through the whole thing here:

http://www.ultraist.net

Omnitarium, another review - plus another discount at Ka-Blam

Hi all - received another review for Omnitarium, this one over at Hypergeek - another good one too (I promise I'm not just printing the good ones!).

Also, for any publishers, Ka-Blam are running a Black Friday discount on orders over the next day - details can be found here.

STOLEN BLOOD (Pre-Order And Get $1.00 OFF) 12-30-09

STOLEN BLOOD PHYSICAL COPIES AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER
PRE-ORDER And Get $1.00 OFF! STOLEN BLOOD NOW ONLY $1.50!!!

STOLEN BLOOD RELEASES 12-30-09
Darkness Purges Into The Far Depths Of The Human Soul And Will Forever Leave It's Imprint. The Origins Of A Super Demon... Half Demon And Half Human, A Combination That Will Prove Deadly To All Who Get In It's Way.

Part 1 Of The Stolen Blood Mini Series Focus's On How Everything Came To Be For J, A Young Musician On The Rise. J Is Taken From Super Stardom, To Serial Killer, In A Heart Beat When His Soul Is Possessed By A Powerful Demon. There Is No Turning Back, No Forgiveness And No Mercy.

TO PRE-ORDER GO TO: WWW.BLACKSNAKESTUDIOS.COM

PRE-ORDER STOLEN BLOOD B/W FOR ONLY $1.50 Plus Shipping And Handling
PRE-ORDER STOLEN BLOOD FULL COLOR FOR ONLY $2.00 Plus Shipping And Handling

FREE DIGITAL COPY AVAILABLE: DIGITAL COPY LINK

LIMITED DIGITAL QUANTITIES AVAILABLE
OFFER ENDS 12-09-09

The Abortion Preview

"A success...I'm looking forward to seeing more from these two creators in the future" - Bug, Indy Jones, Ain't It Cool News

The Abortion is a silent, black in white horror one shot in the best traditions of EC comics, Hammer horror and Hitchcockian tension and suspense. It is about a lost and lonely by blow who finds his way home.

Written by Jamie McMorrow and drawn by Garry McLaughlin, The Abortion is the first in a series of twelve horror one shots, each drawn in a different style, from digital inks to watercolours.

Advance reviews have been great, and a launch night on 5th December looks to be a success. The comic will be officially launched to the public during Indy Comic Book Week commencing 30th December 2009.

For ordering information, please contact the creators through the blog: http://abe2009.wordpress.com.

Omnitarium Digital Edition!

As well as the hard editions available now from Indy Planet, Omnitarium is now available as a digital download from Drive Thru Comics.

Enjoy!

Omnitarium Review

Had a very nice review for Omnitarium posted up on Broken Frontier today.

It feels good to have fresh and unbiased eyes go over the book.

Arthur's Legend Continues with Indy Comic Book Week

In a time before ours his story ended

and the legend was born.

In a time after ours,

his story begins again!

For Indy Comic Book Week, Cosmic Times is offering up the first two issues of “Arthur: The Legend Continues”!

With the world as we know it gone, mankind is on the verge of extinction yet still struggling to find purpose and hope. From the ancient past a glimmer of light shines and a legend returns to claim his throne.

The prophecy has been fulfilled.
Now, the adventure begins!

King Arthur returns to a post apocalyptic future in a series that David O’ Leary of Comic Related said - is “essential reading” and recommends that you “loose yourself in a book that will take you to a place where you can get away from the real world for awhile and enjoy some great storytelling. You won’t regret it. It is just that good.”

In Joshua N. Pierce’s review for Comic News Info he said - “The Story is interesting and fresh” and that if you are a big fan of “what Brian Michael Bendis writes, I think you will find this (comic book) interesting”.

Retailers interested in carrying this title for Indy Comic Book Week please contact Martin@CosmicTimes.net. I will ship or deliver the books to you prior to December 30th.

For more information about Cosmic Times, Arthur: the Legend Continues or any of our other titles please visit www.CosmicTmes.net.

“Arthur: The Legend Continues” - Issue 1 - “Dawn”
Black & White 48 pages - Suggested retail price $3.50
“Arthur: The Legend Continues” - Issue 2 - “His People”
Black & White 24 pages - Suggested retail price $3.50
Written by Martin T. Pierro
Art by Cristhain “Crizam” Zamora
Covers by Atula Siriwardane

Solomon Azua: Full Preview

Full Preview for Solomon Azua. Available for 2.99 at local Dallas retailers and select stores nationwide Dec 30th. Retailers, contact jakeekiss[at]gmail.com for ordering information.

Omnitarium Issue one - On Sale Now!

Hi all - I know it's a little before Indy Comic Book Week officially starts, but wanted to let you know that Omnitarium issue one is up and available at Indy Planet and also Comics Monkey (for any retailers using that service).

Hope anyone who is kind enough to pick the book up enjoys it!

Onward to issue 2!

CHILL : BOOK ZERO CHAPTER ONE

Chill: Book Zero Chapter One
Tells the tale of why and how, Chill and his mentor/overseer Hexal were exiled from the heavens. Book Zero is broken into individual Chapters.

This comic is already available through indyplanet.com

For comic book stores or retailers who would like to stock this book, please
contact: alphonza73@yahoo.com

Chill: Book Zero Chapter One
Written/ Illustrated / created By: Alec Grimes
Details: 28 pages/Full color photo-comic

King of Pain # 2 Preview- In full support of ICBW!

"...A surprisingly deep and engaging effort for a new writer."

-Matt Adler on Aint-it-Cool-News-

-King of Pain # 2: Written by Nicholas West, Art by Sam Rodriguez.

-In support of Indy Comic Book Week I will be releasing this title on December 30th 2009.

-Available in Salt Lake City, Utah and Glendale, California (and Indy Planet).

-Retailers contact: krushjudgement@gmail.com — I'd love to ship my book to you for ICBW!

-For details and regular updates go to westcritic.blogspot.com (and don't be shy in clicking that "follow" button).

Viva la revolucion!

What Planet Is This? Preview Pages

There's a lot of sci-fi books being thrown around for Indy Comic Book Week, and, if you guys are anything like me, that's a great thing. There can never be too much science fiction.

A while ago I introduced my Indy Comic Book Week offering, a Sci-Fi-Noir-Comedy called "What Planet is This?" It's coming along nicely, and I think it's about time to show you guys some pages. Here are the first three pages (I believe clicking will give you a full view):

Don't worry, the story doesn't stay indoors for long, I couldn't wait to draw spaceships, asteroid belts and star fields, and you can bet there's plenty of space action in this story.

The story will be 14 full color pages, but I'm throwing in some bonus material, of course. Enjoy, and a big thanks to the Space Gun crew and everyone else involved in making this week happen!

Good News/Bad News

Well, it's not so much bad news as it is a change of plans. There's just no way I'm going to finish Dash Bradley and the Flying Fortresses of Death in time for ICBW. Especially since the more I get into it, the more I want to keep adding pages. So DB&TFFD gets bumped because I really want to take my time with it. I'm still working on it and will have it done in time to debut at Staple and it will be awesome.

But there's no way I am going to miss out on ICBW, especially considering all the awesome attention it's been getting thanks to the fine ICBW crew and the rest of you guys spreading the word like crazy. So instead of DB&TFFD I'll be printing a collection of my 24-Hour Comics Day trilogy, The God of Rock. Part 1 (The God of Rock) was done in 2006, Part 2 (The God of Rock Strikes Back) was done in 2007 and Part 3 (Return of The God of Rock) was done just last month. Above is the cover for the GOR collection. I hope you guys will dig it.

Trouble, Guts, & Noir Preview

Trouble, Guts & Noir
By Jesse Mesa Toves

"She's perfect from head to toe, and trouble from start to finish." The Replacement is the first book in a three part future noir adventure written and illustrated by Jesse Mesa Toves.

One night, she disappears without telling a soul, but she leaves behind a trail of clues that only one man knows how to follow.

Told in three parts, Trouble Guts & Noir began as part of the 24 Hour Comics Challenge. Produced primarily with open source software tools and produced through print on demand services, the series is an experiment in self publishing, launching during the Indie Comic Book Week in 2009.

Jesse Mesa Toves is a visual effects artist and character animator currently working on "Caprica," the SyFy spinoff series to Battlestar Galactica.

Go to www.jesse-toves.com for ordering information.

SleepRunners "Beginnings"

We are proud to announce that team Knighty Knight will be taking part in Indy Comic Book week. Our offering will be SleepRunners issue one. This book is set to launch in March, but will have a limited run during Indy Comic Book week. As a added bonus this book will be packaged with an eight page book titled "Conflictions". This short story was released earlier this year at Megacon in Florida as an introduction of events leading up to issue one. As the week gets closer we will be updating locations and availability so please check back regularly. Don't forget to help support all the other talents that are involved in this special week event as well.

SleepRunners is an action adventure that follows the lives of six seemingly ordinary students who have all been hand selected to participate in a special sleep studies program. Things don’t go as planned and the students are forced to fight for their lives. Can these students come together in order to stop a new world threat unlike anything they have ever seen before? Find out when Issue one “Beginnings” makes its special limited run on December 30th.

If you own a comic store and would like to stock this special limited edition book please contact us at Arcee360@yahoo.com

Written and created by: Shannon Vokes
Art By: Kewber Arruda Alves
Colored by: Clarissa Filice
Details: 52 page / Full color
Cover Price: $5.00
Release: March 2010
Contact: arcee360@yahoo.com
Website: www.SLEEPRUNNERS.net

ICBW: Anthony Hary w/ BRETHREN @ Source Comics and Games

Here it is, the cover for BRETHREN: Beginnings, the first issue in the much anticipated mini-series from creator Anthony Hary & A.N.A. Comics. While the book is already available through Indyplanet.com We are happy to have it on the shelves of retailers for Indy Comic Book Week!!

Events Requiring Action…

Anthony Hary here & news is out and you may have heard, but it warrants repeating. The last week of the year, Diamond is not shipping any new books to retailers. This opportunity is being deems the ‘IT’ moment for independent creators and a movement has started called: Indy Comic Book Week. With new comic book Wednesday, being all about Indy books and their creators, it’s going to be fun!!

Source Comics and Games, located in Falcon Heights, MN are planning a sweet event day to fully promote all the great independent creators we have locally. I plan to be at the store all day with copies of BRETHREN: Beginnings. I’ll also be doing sketches for just $5 all day. If you are going to be in the area and want to stop by, please do. It is always fun to talk to other fans of comics. You can also pre-order sketches if you would like. Simply click the button below:

Here is a rare treat, the original pencils from the first 4 pages of my book BRETHREN: Beginnings... Enjoy!

Hermit Hill comic books arrive!

My order of Hermit Hill comic books have arrived! My printer for this project, Ka-Blam, really came through for me again. The books are high quality prints of my comic strips and they really look crisp and clear. I'll be shipping copies out to retailers probably the first week in December to be sure to arrive in time for ICBW.

Each book has a full color cover with black and white interiors, 20 pages and a cover price of $2.00. I'm offering these to retail shops for FREE (up to 3 copies each). So, really it's a win / win for retailers. If you are a retailer and you're interested in stocking this book as part of ICBW just head over to my site and drop me a line.

ICBW: FAQ Part 1

What is a good cover price for my book?

With the discussions we've had with retailers, the general censuses is that your book should be priced no more than what the mainstream books are charging for their standard monthlies. So a standard 24-page color issue should be priced at about $3. And please put your cover price on your cover.

So then how much should I be charging stores for my book?

This is the big question. Stores are looking for at least 50% retailer discount when it comes buying a book from you. The smaller the discount, the smaller the chance they will be carrying your books on their shelves. This is a pretty standard practice in retail businesses and is something that they will more than likely not budge on. We creators must understand that they are running a business that has to operate within a practical and profitable business model.

Wait a minute, then how the hell am I suppose to make money on this book?! My print cost is way above 50% of my cover.

Unfortunately for the most part POD services are not suited to work within the standard retail model. However, Indy Comic Book Week was not created with the intent of making money. The intent was to take advantage of a shipping loophole created by the holidays. Our goal is to put indy titles with your name in front of a wide audience. Many creators are looking at ICBW as an opportunity to gain new readers who will pick up future books and creations.

Okay, so what sort of deal will shops be looking for when it comes to carrying my book?

The two main methods are consignment and direct wholesale. More on that can be found here.

Will retailer pay for shipping (and return shipping)?

More than likely no, they will not. You can ask in a professional manner if they will, but if they say no, then either pay for shipping or move on to the next shop. Do not be an ass about it and welcome to the business side of comics.

I'm terrible at this marketing thing. How should I contact stores about carrying my book?

• An email and a phone call for out of state shops. Be polite and professional about it. Do one email, one phone call, if you don't get a response, move on.
• Present them with all the information that they will need to make a decision about ordering your book. So that means give them the title, description, content rating, retail price, and ordering price. This will keep communications efficient and short. There are several invoice templates online for you to use.
• Best way of contact: walk into the store with a copy/preview of your book and a business card. Say you are a local creator looking to take part in Indy Comic Book Week during Diamond's No-Ship week. This will help build a working relationship between you and the shop.

How many shops should I contact then?

The best answer is as many as you are capable and willing to. Though you will get the most feedback and luck with shops in your local area. Dealing with stores outside of your driving radius becomes a huge undertaking with little return. If you want to expand your contact coverage, be prepared to face obstacles (making contacts, shipping books, working a sales contract, returns).

What's the best way to ship my books to stores?

We found that the best place for this information is here. It talks about packing books, shipping books, and gives useful links to estimates on rates.

Why are you not including digital comics and online retailers in ICBW?

Indy Comic Book Week was created to take advantage of a specific shipping/holiday loophole that directly effects the brick and mortar retail stores. With the short amount of time between Diamond's announcement and the actual date, we decided to focus on collaborating with physical shops to take advantage of the fact their shelves will be empty of new releases that week.

Dash Bradley & The Flying Fortresses of Death Preview!

Hey guys! Thought I'd finally drop by and post up a couple of preview pages from my ICBW project, Dash Bradley & The Flying Fortresses of Death. I gotta tell you, that second page? Easily one of the most difficult pages I've ever drawn... there's a hell of a lot going on! I hope it translates well. And what the heck, why not throw in a panel from my One Night Stand page while I'm at it. Enjoy!

Omnitarium to print!

All, very quick update and a note of interest to all printing for ICBW.

Omnitarium issue one has gone to print - the digital proof as passed inspection, the pages are in the right order, and my ICBW print run is in place and ready to go.

I actually placed a couple of orders - the first being a big, bulk order for local stores and comps, private sales etc, the other being a smaller order for those non-local stores listed with ICBW that have orders currently placed. The reason being that when I placed my big order, using the ICBW discount code, I was given a shipping date of 12/21 - when not using the discount I got a date of 12/11 - those ten days will prove helpful in my getting the books to stores in time for 12/30. It should also be noted for those of you placing orders and using the code that 12/21 seems to be a default date with that code.

Good luck all!

Dead Man Holiday # -1 Preview

Here's a preview of five random pages from Indy Comic Book Week comic Dead Man Holiday # -1. You can download PDFs of the first two issues in the series for free at DeadManHoliday.com. And become a fan on Facebook!

ICBW: Ka-Blam Discount

We've been in discussions with Ka-Blam about ICBW since very early in this process. After a lot of back and forth the Ka-Blam guys came up with an excellent way to help all of us get books printed for this event. Ka-Blam is offering ICBW creators a printing discount for books being put out for Indy Comic Book Week. The details/requirements for the code are as follows:

• 20% off on a minimum order of 50 comics (or 20 trade paperbacks)
• Order must be placed by Dec 4 with payment by Dec 9
• We guarantee delivery in time for the event (US orders only)
• All other standard Ka-Blam terms, policies, and procedures apply
• Offer expires on Dec 5

Now, I'm fairly sure that the ship deadline for them only gets the books to you by the 30th, so if you need to get books to a store out of your area be sure to factor that in with your print run deadlines.

This is very generous of Ka-Blam and I'd like to take the time to thank them for assisting us in this process. This will help a lot of creators get books printed up to be shipped out, and that's something I think we can all get behind.

If you are an independent creator who isn't signed up on the blog, let me explain how to get the benefits of this discount. First you must sign up as an ICBW blog member; this means you are in the process of releasing an independent book to retailer shelves for Indy Comic Book Week (Dec. 30th) and wish to promote that book here on the site. Then of course we'd want you to actually promote that book somehow here, preferably through previews of the art and story. After all that we will give you a unique code that will allow you to get the Ka-Blam discount on your print run for Indy Comic Book Week.

To sign up on the blog email indycomicbookweek[at]gmail.com with the subject line "Indy comic Book Week Blog" and we'll set you up. Big thanks again to Ka-Blam for all their support!

SPY GUY joins ICBW

Ultraist Studios is proud to announce that SPY GUY is joining in on the fun with Indy Comic Book Week! You can get an electronic peek at Issue #1 by clicking the pages above.

Also we're hoping to get some of the local Toronto area stores involved.

Dusk Update

Update -

You can now order the Dusk One-Shot through Haven Distribution.

Just got to - www.havendistro.com

And of course you can still order directly through me, with free shipping.

Thank you for your support of Indy Comic Book Week!

Deadlines and POD

Sooo... I hope everybody gets that there will be ONE order I send in to Ka-Blam, and doesn't miss the deadline (December 4).

I do have to admit that I've not really gotten involved with how distributors and retailers use POD. I stick the books up at places like Lulu, and just send 'em there when they contact me.

I USED to try to work with them, but they want me to buy the books first and ship it to them (WTF?). The books are already up at wholesale on Lulu, including the full Desert Peach collection, and that's where I leave it to the happy little customers. They buy lots of them, and Lulu throws the money into my account. If the retailers want to get into the money loop, all they have to do is buy the same books and mark 'em up a bit. If they don't want to buy 'em, oh, well, that's a few more customers from their shop who go to their convenient laptop and get 'em direct. I mean, I love the stores, but I'm the bride and the customers are the bridegrooms. As much as we LIKE the yentas, they don't get to come on the honeymoon.

Barnes and Noble is squalling about getting cut off, but hey, they're not paying their bills. They USED to, but are showing signs of internal problems. Oh, well. There's always more yentas.

Amazon's Createspace is working hard to make the books available at wholesale for retailers (Lulu figured it out a decade ago, but I guess Amazon is kinda... slow...), but in the meantime, the customers can buy them. As an author, I'm one of many using many different POD companies, and if they make it at all hard or me or my customers, we just go off to somebody who wants to get out of the 18th century and into the 21st. Createspace is realizing this. Amazon TRIED to yenta us, but the weddings are being set up all over the net, with income streams, and anybody tries to gate-keep is just going to be cut out of the money.

There ARE up-to-date retailers who make it easy for customers to get their authors, but it's definitely a growth industry at this point.

Anyway, I'm crossing my fingers that ICBW is about the 21st century. It's a test for this year, and one I hope will work.

One Night Stand Preview: OMG

Here's a preview panel from my page in David Hopkins' One Night Stand mini-comic that is coming out for Indy Comic Book Week. This is an online exclusive color version as David's book is going to be in black & white. It was great fun working with David finally; I've lettered for him before, but never got the chance to do any sequentials.

Solomon Azua and One Night Stand: More Pages!

Just realized I forgot to post my own preview for David Hopkins's book "One Night Stand". Since all the cool kids are doing it I figured I'd join in. Oh, and here's another preview page for my book Solomon Azua. Hazaa!