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Hey Kids,
My fate, that is. Wonder is that’s what Stevie was singin’ about, as he bounced happily back and forth…
So today’s kind of a big day.
“Oh, I know! A Thursday! Sooo important!”
Alright, now. No need to be snotty.
Today is a big day. Today is the day that I mailed off the proposals for my first book to publishers. So, yeah, big day. Sometime early next week, Image, Dark Horse, and Top Shelf Comics will each receive a copy of the Punch-Up preview book as well as my proposal begging them to publish me.
On their websites, most of the publishers say that they review proposals in about a month, although, I’ve been told by several comic writers and artists that it’s really about two to three months. Hopefully, by the end of January, David – my Punch-Up collaborator – and I should know if we’re getting published or not.
God, I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders only to be replaced by a heavier one. Proposals have been mailed off. Now… we wait.
Remember, remember the fifth of November.
-f!
Hey Kids,
Over the past few days – especially since I posted the latest batch of Punch-Up covers, illustrated by my Negro Amigo, the Amazing David Brame – I’ve had a lot of people ask me about the status of the book.
Well, I’m here today to set the story straight.
First of all, for those who don’t know, Mr. Brame and I are collaborating on an original graphic novel called Punch-Up, about a twenty-something named Patrick who gets beaten up for a living. We’ve been working on it for a while now and we have about fifty pages penciled, inked, toned, and lettered; about a fourth of the entire story.
David, as far as I know, is on a Punch-Up sabbatical for the time being so he can focus on a few personal projects. Meanwhile, I’m feverishly trying to edit down the number of pages in the book and letter the last few finished pages David sent me, as well as trying to outline and script my next few book ideas.
As far as publishing is concerned…
Back in May, I – along with several friends – traveled up to Toronto for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. We talked to a couple of comic book publishers and handed out copies of out 8-page Punch-Up ashcan. I was hoping we would get a little more out of the festival – like, say, a book deal or some sort of professional recognition – but, alas, we did not.
Skip ahead to now-ish.
David and I have been working on putting together our Punch-Up submission proposal. My friend Danny Cooper, co-owner of Mutant Cactus, told me about a comic book printer called Ka-Blam. After talking it over with David, we decided to print out the first 37 pages of our book – the first act, complete with a cliffhanger ending – with Ka-Blam.
In the week or two since this decision, I’ve resized all of the book pages and designed a quick credits/copyright page while David has designed an entirely new wraparound cover for the book and a character bio page.
With only a few minor details left, we should be able to send everything off to Ka-Blam within the next week or two — we’ll print off maybe a dozen or so copies to start, for submission purposes, and more early next year to sell at smaller conventions, like SPACE. — and if they really have a 28 day turnaround, we should be able to send out our pitches to various publishing companies somewhere around the middle of October. And if all goes well, hopefully, we’ll find out if we’re getting published by the beginning of the year.
In the meantime, David will eventually start cranking out those glorious comic book pages and I’m going to continue editing and lettering and thinking about different ways to promote the book.
And I have ideas on promotion. Yes, I do. Unfortunately, I can’t share any of those details with you yet but, when the time comes, good God, it will be awesome.
For the first time in a long time, I feel as if I have a decent plan for the future.
Until next time, I’ll leave you with the final covers for the book.
Bask in the glory that is David Brame.
Bask in the glory that is Punch-Up.
Front Cover:
Back Cover:
All Together Now:
Hey kids,
About a week ago, I posted that my friends Justin Shady and his Serbian monster Dwellaphant – or Shadyphant, as I like to call them (See? I told you I would totally bring that back.) – released an all-ages book from Image/Shadowline, called Missing The Boat.
Well, Shady’s at it again.
This past week, he – and superstar artist, Erik Rose – released a trade paperback collection of their two-issue miniseries, The Roberts.
The Roberts is the story of The Boston Strangler and The Zodiac Killer – both of whom were presumed dead and gone – who are both alive and well and actually living amongst the other elderly residents of The Shady Lane Retirement Center. Bored by the mundane goings-on of bingo tournaments and tea times, the two notorious serial killers trade “war stories” of their golden years building to – what Shady described to me once over a phone call as – a serial killer-off.
The trade includes both issues, plus a new four-page story, several awesome pin-ups from good friends of mine, and Justin’s letters to – and responses from – real-life serial killers Richard Ramirez (AKA The Night Stalker) and Charles Manson!
And did I mention that Erik inked the covers in his and Shady’s blood?
No? Well, he totally did.
And it looks amazing. Erik showed me the originals back in Wizard World Chicago in June of last year. Gawd damn.
Still not convinced? You can always read a preview of The Roberts here.
Anyway, go pick up The Roberts from your local comic shop or order it online at Amazon and be sure to let Justin and Erik know how much you liked their book.
Oh, and I think this goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway: unlike Missing The Boat, The Roberts is not an all-ages book and is not suitable for younger readers.
Unless you want to give your seven-year-old bed-wetting night terrors for a few months, in which case, go for it.
Your friend (and part-time lover),
Boom Boom Storm Cloud
Hey kids!
I just wanted to write quick post about some very talented friends of mine: misters Justin Shady and Dwellaphant.
(Don’t believe me? That’s them, below. Justin’s the one flying away and Dwell is the surprised one-eyed Serbian monster. And that’s Mr. Fabulous smoking the pipe below them. Such a filthy, filthy habit.)
Anyway.
Shady and Dwellaphant – or Shadyphant, a nickname I’m going to try to get caught on – slaved for months over their new all-ages Image/Shadowline book, Missing The Boat. Well, to be honest, Dwellaphant probably slaved over the book for months; I’m guessing Shady wrote it in, like, half an hour and then spent the next several months playing Tetris on facebook and laughing at poor Dwell.
Either way, their (RE: Dwellaphant’s) hard work has finally been paid off. You wanna know why? Because the book just came out today!
I know, right?
Take a look at the sucker. Pretty sweet, huh? That is the power of Shadyphant.
So you’re probably thinking right now: “Oh, God. Here comes the catch.” Well, you know what? No catch. Unless, by catch, you mean I’m going to tell you to go out and buy it, in which case, yes, here comes the catch.
I would very much like it – and I’m pretty sure the Shadyphant would, too (See? It’s catching on already!) – if you went out to your local bookstore or comic book store and pick up a copy. If you don’t see a copy on the shelf, just ask your local bookstores sales clerk to special order you a copy. It’s usually free.
Or, if you’re lazy and don’t want to travel around the city, hop online and pick up a copy of Missing The Boat. I’ll even post a link to the Missing The Boat Amazon page. Boom! There it is. No excuses now.
Still not convinced? OK, how’s this: How much would you pay for a piece of fine art? $50? $100? $200? $500? $1000? Well, for only $18.99 you can get 80 pages of fine art. That’s even cheaper than the usual $19.95! That’s like $0.23 a page. On Amazon, it’s only $14.81! That’s like $0.18 a page!
Seriously, doesn’t that sound like a more than reasonable price for some fine, fine art?
Now I know what you gotta be askin’: Boomer, why are you whoring yourself out for these dudes? Well, I’m not. Not really.
Here’s the thing: Dwell is my Serbian brother and I only want good things for him. He’s a damn good artist and a hell of a guy. He’s put a lot of time and energy into his work and I want him to sell a lot of copies of his first book so he doesn’t feel discouraged when it comes time to illustrate one of my books. Heh heh heh. Also, I’m hoping he’ll whore himself out when Punch-Up comes out.
And Shady? Well, eff Shady. His greedy ass has already published three or four books and tens years worth of a magazine and he’s old and he’s bald and he farts a lot and he smells.
But I want good things for Dwell.
So go out and ask/tell/threaten* your local book seller that you want a copy of Shadyphant’s new book, Missing The Boat. You won’t regret it.
And if, by chance, you do regret it, you can always find Justin Shady at his website, his blog, his twitter account, and be sure to email him all other hate mail.
But be sure to shower my dude Dwellphant with some praise. You can find him at his website, blog, twitter account, and be sure to email him some love – and, by love, I mean your compliments and kudos only, nothing more; he’s a married man now.
I’ve already ordered my copy. Go get yours.
Your friend (and part-time lover),
Boom Boom Storm Cloud
PS – Alright, Shady, I plugged your damn book. Where’s my fifty bucks?
* Please, don’t threaten your local book seller.
Late last week, I emailed my proposal for Punch-Up to several of my friends, for proofreading purposes and so that they might too be able to bask in the glory and genius that is me and whatnot.
Anyway.
I received any email over the weekend from my good friend Justin Shady, who was one of the folks I sent my proposal to. Justin has had a decent number of books published over at Image Comics (Heaven, LLC., Bad Ideas, The Roberts, and the upcoming all-ages book, Missing The Boat, out January 28th –go buy it!), so I figured he would be one of the best people to go to for advice.
In he email, he told me to call him and he would give me his opinion of my proposal. I got a hold of Shady a little after eight o’clock last night,while I was still over at Abby’s with Michael, and this is what he said:
I have a strong proposal. I have a strong story. I have a strong writing style. And I have a really fucking strong artist.
But our book isn’t going to be picked up.
He told me that my book – rounding out at 260 pages – was too long and Image would never go for it. He told me that Heaven, LLC. was much longer when he originally pitched it and he had to fight to get the 144 pages that the book ended up topping out as.
144 pages. That would mean I would have to cut out, like, half of my book. There goes any characterization, character development, the carefully-constructed love story all out the window.
Or I could try and release it as single issues and collect it into a graphic novel later — if our book actually sold – but the reason I went with the OGN format was so you would have to wait a year to read one complete story. Also, most new series don’t last three issues before they wither and die away. But, as an OGN, you have an entire story in one book; a book that would definitely sell better that way than as a monthly.
And to turn the book into a monthly now would mean I would have to rewrite the entire fucking thing!
We talked about other publishers I could submit the book to. He told me that length-wise, my book should go to Top Shelf, who published a nearly 600 page book called Blankets. However, Top Shelf doesn’t exactly deal with the “guy who gets beaten up for money” genre. They’re a little too high class for that kind of thing.
So I have an Image Comics story in a Top Shelf Comics-sized book and neither company is likely to touch us.
Justin told me that he would email his editor over at Image Shadowline and get her opinion on the subject. He asked, “If someone who had never done a book before pitched a 260-page OGN to you, what would your initial reaction be?”
And her reply was: “It would be rejected.”
I’m still going to send my proposal to Image and Top Shelf and – what the hell – Oni Press, too. Couldn’t hurt.
And if they all turn us down, I’ll send to a few other smaller publishing companies. And if they turn us down, then, fuck it. We’ll make it a webcomic or apply for a Xeric grant or sell my immortal soul to the fucking Devil himself.
This is my fucking book and you will read it one way or another!
Your friend (and part-time lover),
Boom Boom Storm Cloud
PS – Yeah, I know I sounded all determined and kick-ass up there – and I meant everything I said about submitting the book and resubmitting and the deal with the Devil and whatnot – but, just between you and me?, yeah, I’m really fucking nervous and scared about this rejection shit. I just want to tell stories. All I’ve ever wanted to do was tell stories.
Hey kids,
Every year around this time, like most folk, I make a list of resolutions and goals that I have absolutely no intention of keeping.
This year, however, I’m thinking of taking a completely radical approach to my list: I plan on keeping all (most) (well, some) (um… a few) (like one or two) (OK, none) of my promises.
First of all, I’d like to make the same resolution I make every year: I, Frank Cvetkovic, being of sound body and mind, vow to crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and to hear the lamentation of their women.
With that out of the way, here are some of my goals for 2009. I would like to:
* find a publisher for Punch-Up. So far, [Punch-Up artist] David Brame and I are considering at Image Comics as our first choice. I’m checking into Oni, Dark Horse, Slave Labor Graphics, AiT/Planet Lar, as well as a few other smaller publishers as backups. I would also like to get Punch-Up published, printed, and on bookshelves by the end of the year, but that could be an unrealistic goal, depending on how quickly David can draw and if we get picked up.
* finish another graphic novel script. I have two started write now — El Burrito Y El Dia de Los Muertos and I Think I Love My Wife – and I would like finish at least one of them by the end of the year and line up an artist for Wife (as I already have one for El Burrito.).
* push a few of my artist friends *coughcough*MichaelJames*cough* to illustrate some scripts that I had written, so we can print up some mini-comics for SPACE in April, as we had planned.
* find a publisher for Icarus, the children’s book I wrote.
* kick Adobe Illustrator’s ass. Or, y’know, actually learn how to use the program.
* learn to speak French. I’ve always loved French culture and, over the past several years, I’ve become quite a fan of a lot of their movies, music, and comics.
* start drawing again. It’s been a while since I’ve seriously drawn anything other than random sketches. I doubt I’ll try doing commissions again. If I start drawing, I think it will be just for me.
* keep a daily sketch journal. A friend of mine and a few comic artists/bloggers I admire have kept and posted entries from their sketch journals online and it’s an exercise that I think I – and my writing — could really benefit from. Also, it would force me to keep up with my illustration work.
* lose two, possibly three good friends to out-of-state grad schools. (This one should be pretty easy.)
* take a vacation from work – not counting visiting the folks in Cleveland or traveling to Chicago to work the comic convention — and actually go somewhere. (This may be the one that I actually have trouble with.)
And, now, here are some of my more unrealistic goals for 2009. I would like to:
* add another wild emotion to the fold and bump up my bipolar disorder to a tripolar disorder. Not sure which one just yet. Maybe horniness. That has a nice ring to it. Manic-depressive-horniness disorder.
* learn to drive on the left side of the street, like they do in England.
* teach the pup how to use the toilet, like real people, so I don’t have to wake up at 5:30 in the frickin’ AM to take her outside to piss.
* kick Adobe Illustrator’s ass. Or, y’know, actually learn how to use the program.
* take part in a hostage negotiation. Either side. I’m not picky.
So what’s your 2009 lookin’ like?
Your friend (and part-time lover),
Boom Boom Storm Cloud
Hey kids!
Got a special treat for you today!
Last Thursday, the talented Mr. David Brame sent me the first 8 pages of our graphic novel — Punch-Up — drawn and inked. I lettered said pages yesterday and, tonight, I am uploading and displaying for all [three people who read my blog] to see.
With this done, I’ll be printing off several copies of the submission proposal — along with the 8 page preview, the cover mock-up, and the Punch-Up logo (should someone *cough, cough*Michael*cough* ever finish designing it) — and send it all off the Image Comics within the next few weeks. And, then, hopefully, we’ll hear back whether they want to pick up our book sometime early next year. :fingers crossed:
So, please, read the opener to out book and feel free to comment, tell us how much you love it, sing our praises and just, generally, kiss our asses.
Hope you all enjoyed that. I know I did.
Keep your eyes peeled to this location for more Punch-Up updates (and short stories) through the coming weeks and months.
Your friend (and part-time lover),
Boom Boom Storm Cloud
