It's coming! July 15th is the big day where you can get your copy of Faction 0... That day CAN'T come quickly enough for me... Arnie is still working on the artwork and I've got the script burning a hole in my pocket... go go go!
On to other things, some big things are brewing behind the scenes and I'm working with some different people under a common banner to see how things go. Power to the people! We figure we can carpet bomb the industry with some amazing books and people can't help but notice, right? Besides Faction, there are several books we're looking at sticking under one umbrella. I won't say more than that right now, but it should be a VERY good thing for us and for the fans. We'll changing the rules here and I'm not apologizing.
Have a nice night all! My wife is just getting off work (any second now), so I'm getting dinner started... Just got home from the train myself.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The hard thing about days off from work...
Time off from work is a blessing and a curse sometimes... In my last job, working at Unisys, lead of the logistics department, yadda yadda yadda, it sometimes felt like when I took a day off, it took me 2 days to catch up. I would leave these novel length instructions of what needed to be done while I was gone, what freight would come over from manufacturing, pre-route international shipments, etc... basically I would grease the wheels to the point where it was idiot proof. I know the guys I worked with could handle it, but I figured they had their own things to do, so I should make it as easy as possible for them. In my current job, I haven't encountered too much of that... Typically if I take a day off, no biggie, I can catch up the next day. This time around, though, wow! I took 2 days off from work and I felt today like I was catching up from a 2 week vacation! 12 hours later, I'm finally turning off the work computer and getting ready to turn on WhereMonstersDwell.ca for this week's show. Time to relax a bit, listen, have dinner with my wife, and then sleep!
Vegas WAS fun, however... One thing I love about going there is that A) we get free rooms, B) we know where to gamble, and C) we typically leave with a little more than we came with. I think there has only been one out of the last 8 or so times we went to Vegas that we really lost any money. Nice, huh? We're not high rollers or anything, not by a long shot, but still, it's pretty darned cool to have something to be happy about when we come back. Would have been really nice to hit a decent jackpot, but I'm happy with my wife's score of 7500 nickels on a nickel slot. That paid for the rest of our gambling, food, and trinkets. Way to go!
Anywho, if you've noticed, not a lot of comic book updates recently... Well, Round 4 of Small Press Idol starts up in a few weeks and SDCC is shortly after that. I have a few artists scrambling to get art ready for SDCC and Arnie is working on Round 4 of SPI. I get some art here and there, but nothing I can post at this time.
More ideas are brewing, some of which look to be VERY promising and there are some big things planned for post Small Press Idol, too, but I'm not going to jinx anything by blabbing about it. Cross your fingers, prepare to "vote" in Round 4, and there we go!
Vegas WAS fun, however... One thing I love about going there is that A) we get free rooms, B) we know where to gamble, and C) we typically leave with a little more than we came with. I think there has only been one out of the last 8 or so times we went to Vegas that we really lost any money. Nice, huh? We're not high rollers or anything, not by a long shot, but still, it's pretty darned cool to have something to be happy about when we come back. Would have been really nice to hit a decent jackpot, but I'm happy with my wife's score of 7500 nickels on a nickel slot. That paid for the rest of our gambling, food, and trinkets. Way to go!
Anywho, if you've noticed, not a lot of comic book updates recently... Well, Round 4 of Small Press Idol starts up in a few weeks and SDCC is shortly after that. I have a few artists scrambling to get art ready for SDCC and Arnie is working on Round 4 of SPI. I get some art here and there, but nothing I can post at this time.
More ideas are brewing, some of which look to be VERY promising and there are some big things planned for post Small Press Idol, too, but I'm not going to jinx anything by blabbing about it. Cross your fingers, prepare to "vote" in Round 4, and there we go!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Why bootlegs are the best thing since the first album was etched on vinyl...
Ok, if you know me, you might be aware that I LOVE bootlegs... Not just any bootlegs, I prefer soundboard recordings, of course, but there's just so much out there it's ridiculous! So I figure I'd go ahead and share some of the places I go to when looking for legal downloads... As you might be aware, the penalties for downloading copyrighted material is just nuts, but if you listen to some of the live recordings available on the net by just about anyone you can think of... well, there's a lot and it's good. Some of my favorites to get are Radiohead, Nirvana, Pearl Jam (recently took a TON of their official bootlegs off the market, which I guess made a lot of bootleg collectors happy), Eric Clapton (heard the Madison Square Garden concerts last year as an audience recording and I was in love), Paul Weller, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Oasis, Sigur Ros (hard to find soundboard, but amazing stuff), Paul McCartney (still amazing live after all these years), Chris Cornell (plays Soundgarden, Audioslave, and solo)... well, I could keep going...
Now, as for why these are just the best thing in the world... In a lot of cases, you get to hear not only the "popular" songs, but the songs they really like playing live. I mean, if you go to a Rolling Stones concert at a stadium, most of the songs you hear will be ones you know... I can recall, though, a handful of years ago going to the Wiltern in Los Angeles to see the Stones (200). The tickets weren't super expensive if you got them when they went on sale (we did thanks to my wife's mad ticketmaster skills), but people in line were getting offers for $1000-$2000 per ticket?!?!?!? Nuts! We were offered, too, but they had wrist bands and id checks and besides that, we drove to Los Angeles so I could see the Stones for the first time, I wasn't going to sell them! Point, though, is that the concert was a Stones fan's dream... Honestly, I've always been more of a 60's Stones fan, but after the concert I started getting into some of their stuff after the time, so I wasn't super familiar with a lot of material from the show. Great show, but not as much for me as it would have been for a die hard fan (still glad I didn't sell the tickets, though). Neighbours, Live with Me, That's How Strong My Love Is, Thru and Thru, Tumbling Dice, etc etc etc... So, how the heck can you hear this great concert? Well, someone did record it! If I've been to a show by anyone other than an obscure indie band, someone has always been there with some sort of recording device. If you want it, it is on the net to be found...
Here are some of the places I go... Keep in mind some of these sites will have albums, which you probably should download at your own risk! Some material is long out of print by obscure bands, but I err on the side of caution and go for the boots!
http://theultimatebootlegexperience.blogspot.com/
http://noisejunkie.blogspot.com/
http://www.jimmyeatworldlive.co.uk/
http://commercialzone.blogspot.com/
http://mccranksjuke.blogspot.com/
http://musictravellerstwo.blogspot.com/
Anyway, that's just a few.... TUBE (theultimate...) is by far the best I've found, so check that out first and I haven't found anything yet that looked to be worthy of shutting the site down, you know?
Now, as for why these are just the best thing in the world... In a lot of cases, you get to hear not only the "popular" songs, but the songs they really like playing live. I mean, if you go to a Rolling Stones concert at a stadium, most of the songs you hear will be ones you know... I can recall, though, a handful of years ago going to the Wiltern in Los Angeles to see the Stones (200). The tickets weren't super expensive if you got them when they went on sale (we did thanks to my wife's mad ticketmaster skills), but people in line were getting offers for $1000-$2000 per ticket?!?!?!? Nuts! We were offered, too, but they had wrist bands and id checks and besides that, we drove to Los Angeles so I could see the Stones for the first time, I wasn't going to sell them! Point, though, is that the concert was a Stones fan's dream... Honestly, I've always been more of a 60's Stones fan, but after the concert I started getting into some of their stuff after the time, so I wasn't super familiar with a lot of material from the show. Great show, but not as much for me as it would have been for a die hard fan (still glad I didn't sell the tickets, though). Neighbours, Live with Me, That's How Strong My Love Is, Thru and Thru, Tumbling Dice, etc etc etc... So, how the heck can you hear this great concert? Well, someone did record it! If I've been to a show by anyone other than an obscure indie band, someone has always been there with some sort of recording device. If you want it, it is on the net to be found...
Here are some of the places I go... Keep in mind some of these sites will have albums, which you probably should download at your own risk! Some material is long out of print by obscure bands, but I err on the side of caution and go for the boots!
http://theultimatebootlegexperience.blogspot.com/
http://noisejunkie.blogspot.com/
http://www.jimmyeatworldlive.co.uk/
http://commercialzone.blogspot.com/
http://mccranksjuke.blogspot.com/
http://musictravellerstwo.blogspot.com/
Anyway, that's just a few.... TUBE (theultimate...) is by far the best I've found, so check that out first and I haven't found anything yet that looked to be worthy of shutting the site down, you know?
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Other stuff, rambling, Vegas, Illustrator, and the unconscious mind
Good morning all! So to our left here, you'll see a single panel... It's a sample from the upcoming release, "Just a Cup of Coffee", which will appear in the Main Enterprises Anthology, "Satyr" #9, in late July. The script started with the sample you can check out in my "Writing Samples - Scripts" section to your right and down a bit... Things have changed a tad with the story. Roger Wilbanks, a great artist I met through Facebook of all places is doing the art and I really dig what he came up with. There's something that just kind of works with his style and more "slice of life" stories. You'll see what I mean in a little over a month and a half. If you want me to let you know when it's released, just send me a message and I'll let you know. It's 9 pages and based on the reception we've received so far, I don't think this is the end for the main character!
Vegas is in my wife and my immediate future... Her brother is getting married on
Monday (congrats to him), so we're heading up as soon as Amanda gets off work. Never look forward to the drive itself, though. We hit about half way and I start thinking we should already be in Nevada and, alas, I'm wrong! We'd much rather drive up on Saturday afternoon, though, than Sunday early morning since you get so wiped out from the trip.
Other things... Do any of you have a Zune? Personally I dig both the device and software better than anything else on the market. Mainly it's the actual software that does it for me more than anything else. It recognizes when you have 50 copies of the same song, gives you a lot of control over when your Zune device will and will not synch with your computer. Heck, I haven't hooked my Zune up to the computer in more than a week to update my plays (it tracks what you're listening to and gives you badges and such based on bands, albums, songs, etc). Usually, I listen to music while I do ANYTHING... Right now, actually, I'm listening to a Tears for Fears bootleg from 1990. Point, though... For some odd reason Zune and Adobe don't jive very well. I've got this ancient copy of PhotoShop I purchased, God, like 11 or 12 years ago, maybe longer, back when I was making web sites in my spare time. If the Zune software has been started since your computer was turned on (5 minutes or 5 hours ago), Photoshop won't start up, even if I've turned off the Zune software. Annoying, huh? So, music and I go together with anything else I do and I can't listen to what I want while I'm creating. Sucks!
Anywho, what else is going on? Umm.... Well, of course I'm still working on a ton of projects, including Faction, but I've had this problem recently where I've been so tired from working my day job and helping with some other endeavors (comic related, but not writing) that I've been to exhausted to write! Now THAT is frustrating! My mind is still at work, though, and new ideas keep coming, but having the time and energy to get them scripted is often a different story.
Oh, on the project note, I'm happy to announce that Robert Rath has agreed to draw Texan Monk, which will be released through a "different" channel in a couple of months. Same medium as Unfiltered, so if you're "in the know", you'll know what medium I'm talking about. I'll share some images at some point here, too... Robert is very skilled at what he does and has really captured the flavor of what I'm going for with the story.
That's it for now!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Faction and other things!
Sorry for being quiet the last few days... After round 3 ended, sleep and catching up on other things took a bit of a priority over the blog. Hopefully you guys understand. ;)
So, after much ado, analysis, etc, Faction ended up in the top slot of Round 3, much like what happened in Round 2!
1.) 1320 Votes - 218 Voters Faction - Judges Vote: 3 Yes.
2.) 1292 Votes - 279 Voters The White Rose - Judges Vote: 3 Yes.
3.) 1289 Votes - 213 Voters Varsity Squad - Judges Vote: 2 Yes.
4.) 1276 Votes - 230 Voters The Underground - Judges Vote: 3 Yes.
There were allegations of foul play which threatened to tarnish the top projects, but in the end it appears that just a handful of voters were tied to a random comic shop and not to a particular contestant, although some votes had to be removed from the count. Afterwards, as you can see, Faction took the top spot only by 28 votes, which, in the scheme of the competition, isn't really that many (phew).
Round 4 is coming in just about a month... actually 1 month from today, come to think of it! This round will actually be a printed comic, which we're really excited about. Full color cover with our logo, our designs, etc... Interior is black and white, 12 pages of Faction-y goodness. The three pages from round 3 are included, but they may look a bit different when all is said and done after Arnie works in his re-imagined visions of Acker, Abigail, Gabriel, and Emlin. So be prepared for a jaw-dropping Faction experience!
In other news, I finished my first full story worth of lettering this weekend. Roger Wilbanks and I are working on a couple of anthology submissions together and the first, Just a Cup of Coffee, was finished up on Saturday evening and sent over to Jim Main. It will appear in Satyr #9, published in mid-late July. It clocks in at 9 pages and, depending on the feedback, will probably spawn a set of follow ups on the main character. If the name Just a Cup of Coffee sounds familiar, then you've been reading my blog for a while! It's one of my sample scripts you can read on this blog... Some of the dialogue has switched around a bit, but it's the same story and was a blast to produce.
That's it for now!
So, after much ado, analysis, etc, Faction ended up in the top slot of Round 3, much like what happened in Round 2!
1.) 1320 Votes - 218 Voters Faction - Judges Vote: 3 Yes.
2.) 1292 Votes - 279 Voters The White Rose - Judges Vote: 3 Yes.
3.) 1289 Votes - 213 Voters Varsity Squad - Judges Vote: 2 Yes.
4.) 1276 Votes - 230 Voters The Underground - Judges Vote: 3 Yes.
There were allegations of foul play which threatened to tarnish the top projects, but in the end it appears that just a handful of voters were tied to a random comic shop and not to a particular contestant, although some votes had to be removed from the count. Afterwards, as you can see, Faction took the top spot only by 28 votes, which, in the scheme of the competition, isn't really that many (phew).
Round 4 is coming in just about a month... actually 1 month from today, come to think of it! This round will actually be a printed comic, which we're really excited about. Full color cover with our logo, our designs, etc... Interior is black and white, 12 pages of Faction-y goodness. The three pages from round 3 are included, but they may look a bit different when all is said and done after Arnie works in his re-imagined visions of Acker, Abigail, Gabriel, and Emlin. So be prepared for a jaw-dropping Faction experience!
In other news, I finished my first full story worth of lettering this weekend. Roger Wilbanks and I are working on a couple of anthology submissions together and the first, Just a Cup of Coffee, was finished up on Saturday evening and sent over to Jim Main. It will appear in Satyr #9, published in mid-late July. It clocks in at 9 pages and, depending on the feedback, will probably spawn a set of follow ups on the main character. If the name Just a Cup of Coffee sounds familiar, then you've been reading my blog for a while! It's one of my sample scripts you can read on this blog... Some of the dialogue has switched around a bit, but it's the same story and was a blast to produce.
That's it for now!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Faction - And now we take a nap... Phew!
So, the polls are officially closed for Small Press Idol 2009 Round 3. I'm sitting in front of my computer the morning after, exhausted but more pleased than I could ever imagine. Voters turned out in record numbers for a lot of the projects, the site was bogged down by the traffic of curious onlookers, I had people calling, emailing, texting, PM'ing me, and hovering around waiting to see what would happen at the last minute. In the end, Faction continued to make plays for the top spot, but was edged out barely to the second slot. Impressively, the White Rose managed to tie with the Underground for third place, coming from behind in the last days of the competition to dance with that number 3 spot.
Keep in mind that the nummbers aren't final yet, though! There are some calculations that need to be done, investigations finished, etc, so the top 3-4 may change around a little bit, and they may not. Also, there's a chance that the top 3 in Round 4 may turn into the top 4 in Round 4. It all depends on what the results show.
Remember... If you voted even once in round 3, you are partially responsible for the success of ANY project you voted for. For those who voted for Faction, I thank you and Arnie thanks you.
Keep an eye out at the DimeStoreProductions.com site for Idol results, Faction news, etc... Also check back here for recaps and if you'd like to see more on the Faction journey, check out my web site ~ http://www.geocities.com/thelastbard.
thanks!
Erik Hendrix
Keep in mind that the nummbers aren't final yet, though! There are some calculations that need to be done, investigations finished, etc, so the top 3-4 may change around a little bit, and they may not. Also, there's a chance that the top 3 in Round 4 may turn into the top 4 in Round 4. It all depends on what the results show.
Remember... If you voted even once in round 3, you are partially responsible for the success of ANY project you voted for. For those who voted for Faction, I thank you and Arnie thanks you.
Keep an eye out at the DimeStoreProductions.com site for Idol results, Faction news, etc... Also check back here for recaps and if you'd like to see more on the Faction journey, check out my web site ~ http://www.geocities.com/thelastbard.
thanks!
Erik Hendrix
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Faction - The final Hail Mary pass - Please vote today!
Ok, Faction fans, this is it, the whole enchilada, the last hoorah, yadda yadda yadda.... I'm wring a message on my blog here because some people actually read it! Today, Sunday June 7th, is the LAST DAY OF ROUND 3. I need more people joining in and voting for Faction.
If you still don't know what Faction is all about and want to know more, head over to my web site and look through things ~ http://www.geocities.com/thelastbard. I gave it a SERIOUS overhual yesterday, so it should be pretty obvious just how great this project is.
INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO VOTE:
1. Sign up - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php <-- The site does not spam, it just wants to verify you're a real person.
2. Sign in - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com
3. Go to - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html
4. Click "Yes - As a fellow creator I support this" or "Yes - I am a fan and want to read more".
5. Click "Submit"
THANK YOU!!!!!
Erik Hendrix
Writer - Faction
If you still don't know what Faction is all about and want to know more, head over to my web site and look through things ~ http://www.geocities.com/thelastbard. I gave it a SERIOUS overhual yesterday, so it should be pretty obvious just how great this project is.
INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO VOTE:
1. Sign up - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php <-- The site does not spam, it just wants to verify you're a real person.
2. Sign in - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com
3. Go to - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html
4. Click "Yes - As a fellow creator I support this" or "Yes - I am a fan and want to read more".
5. Click "Submit"
THANK YOU!!!!!
Erik Hendrix
Writer - Faction
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Faction - Page Eight Panels 5 & 6 - Script and Analsysis
Sorry for the delay! I know I said I'd do one panel per day but with the retooling of my personal web site (http://www.geocities.com/thelastbard) and such, I got a bit distracted. Other tasks came up, we'll just leave it at that. :)
Anyway, though, without further delays!
PAGE EIGHT
Panel 5. View from Abigail’s POV looking down on Acker, who looks miserable, in pain, and now unconscious. She’s pressing the fingers she kissed onto his lips. A glow has started to spread from the spot where she’s touching him, spreading out, warm and healing.
ABIGAIL (whisper):
Sleep well, mon amore.
Panel 6. Black.
CAPTION:
-- As you die…
Ok, so the image in Panel 5 isn't actually as I described it, but it wasn't necessary since we had just seen Asa's... shoot, I mean Acker's face from Abigail's perspective a few panels before. I actually think Arnie did a great job capturing the essence of what I was going for in the cropped fingers on the lips image. This has become one of my single favorite panels Arnie has drawn both for its skill and simplicity. I love the inking effect, showing us that light is coming off of Abigail's hands. As far as the lettering goes, I was going for a simple transition between Abigails normal speach and her "magic" as she casts a spell of sorts on Acker, delivered with her fingers. The point I wanted to convey is that since she's a Knight with countless lifetimes of experience under her belt, a simple spell cause no delay or effort on her part to get started. Hope that came off... As for the final panel, well, the black speaks for itself. Looking at the script, you'll notice Abigail says something I chose to leave out of the final page. Why? Well, I think the silence brings more of a sense of drama to it. You have to wonder, is he really dead? Besides that, the placement of the caption on that black panel was probably the most difficult decision... As in, it wasn't difficult.
Hopefully you've all enjoyed the gradual 3 page analysis!!!!
Anyway, though, without further delays!
PAGE EIGHT
Panel 5. View from Abigail’s POV looking down on Acker, who looks miserable, in pain, and now unconscious. She’s pressing the fingers she kissed onto his lips. A glow has started to spread from the spot where she’s touching him, spreading out, warm and healing.
ABIGAIL (whisper):
Sleep well, mon amore.
Panel 6. Black.
CAPTION:
-- As you die…
Ok, so the image in Panel 5 isn't actually as I described it, but it wasn't necessary since we had just seen Asa's... shoot, I mean Acker's face from Abigail's perspective a few panels before. I actually think Arnie did a great job capturing the essence of what I was going for in the cropped fingers on the lips image. This has become one of my single favorite panels Arnie has drawn both for its skill and simplicity. I love the inking effect, showing us that light is coming off of Abigail's hands. As far as the lettering goes, I was going for a simple transition between Abigails normal speach and her "magic" as she casts a spell of sorts on Acker, delivered with her fingers. The point I wanted to convey is that since she's a Knight with countless lifetimes of experience under her belt, a simple spell cause no delay or effort on her part to get started. Hope that came off... As for the final panel, well, the black speaks for itself. Looking at the script, you'll notice Abigail says something I chose to leave out of the final page. Why? Well, I think the silence brings more of a sense of drama to it. You have to wonder, is he really dead? Besides that, the placement of the caption on that black panel was probably the most difficult decision... As in, it wasn't difficult.
Hopefully you've all enjoyed the gradual 3 page analysis!!!!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Faction - An ad that might start circulating around...
So, I made this for a promotion Sam Johnson, one of the judges in SPI, is going to do on his personal web space, the SPI Soap Box. Enjoy!
I know you've all heard it a billion times and that's just today, but Faction is in jeopardy of NOT making it to Round 4. Please sign up, sign in, and vote for Faction. Instructions below!
Below are the instructions to vote for Faction:
1. Sign up - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php
2. Sign in - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com
3. Go to - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html, the Faction Round 3 Forum.
4. Click "Yes - As a fellow creator I support this" or "Yes - I am a fan and want to read more".
5. Click "Submit"
6. Vote daily through June 8th.
Thanks!!!
Erik Hendrix
http://www.geocities.com/thelastbard
I know you've all heard it a billion times and that's just today, but Faction is in jeopardy of NOT making it to Round 4. Please sign up, sign in, and vote for Faction. Instructions below!
Below are the instructions to vote for Faction:
1. Sign up - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php
2. Sign in - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com
3. Go to - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html, the Faction Round 3 Forum.
4. Click "Yes - As a fellow creator I support this" or "Yes - I am a fan and want to read more".
5. Click "Submit"
6. Vote daily through June 8th.
Thanks!!!
Erik Hendrix
http://www.geocities.com/thelastbard
Faction - Pre-weekend pep talk, call to arms, rally, or whatever you want to call it...
http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html <-- link to vote (full voting instructions below)
Good morning all! Ok, yesterday was just insane with the number of people voting. I bet DimeStoreProductions.com had some serious records going on.
One problem, it wasn't just Faction that had record turnout. Despite our best attempts, Faction still is not safe, so please, if you have been voting, please be sure to vote Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The polls close on Sunday at 11:59 pm EST, so be sure to get your votes in daily before then.
I can't tell you how much we appreciate the votes! It's up to you, Faction Fans, to help get us through to the next round, so please get in there!
If you've been waiting to see if you're needed, well, you're needed! If you're hoping to swoop in like a knight in shining armor, the trumpets are blaring! If you've been looking through this blog just for the pictures, well, you're probably not seeing this anyway, but GO VOTE!
By the way, check out my web site since I gave it a bit of an update yesterday...
blog - http://thelastbardsblog.blogspot.com
web - http://www.geocities.com/thelastbard
Below are the instructions to vote for Faction:
1. Sign up - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php
2. Sign in - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com
3. Go to - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html, the Faction Round 3 Forum.
4. Click "Yes - As a fellow creator I support this" or "Yes - I am a fan and want to read more".
5. Click "Submit"
6. Vote daily through June 8th.
Thank you,
Erik Hendrix
Writer - Faction
http://thelastbardsblog.blogspot.com
http://www.geocities.com
Good morning all! Ok, yesterday was just insane with the number of people voting. I bet DimeStoreProductions.com had some serious records going on.
One problem, it wasn't just Faction that had record turnout. Despite our best attempts, Faction still is not safe, so please, if you have been voting, please be sure to vote Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The polls close on Sunday at 11:59 pm EST, so be sure to get your votes in daily before then.
I can't tell you how much we appreciate the votes! It's up to you, Faction Fans, to help get us through to the next round, so please get in there!
If you've been waiting to see if you're needed, well, you're needed! If you're hoping to swoop in like a knight in shining armor, the trumpets are blaring! If you've been looking through this blog just for the pictures, well, you're probably not seeing this anyway, but GO VOTE!
By the way, check out my web site since I gave it a bit of an update yesterday...
blog - http://thelastbardsblog.blogspot.com
web - http://www.geocities.com/thelastbard
Below are the instructions to vote for Faction:
1. Sign up - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php
2. Sign in - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com
3. Go to - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html, the Faction Round 3 Forum.
4. Click "Yes - As a fellow creator I support this" or "Yes - I am a fan and want to read more".
5. Click "Submit"
6. Vote daily through June 8th.
Thank you,
Erik Hendrix
Writer - Faction
http://thelastbardsblog.blogspot.com
http://www.geocities.com
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Faction - Arnie's Reimagined Emlin / Elam pic
So, Arnie has been going through my original character descriptions to find his own feel for the characters... check out the lineup so far! Emlin, Gabriel, Abigail, and Acker.
By the way, check out my updated web site for Faction and let me know what you think.... http://www.geocities.com/thelastbard
We are still in dire need of your votes for Small Press Idol. Please vote daily through Sunday....
Below are the instructions to vote for Faction:
1. Sign up - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php
2. Sign in - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com
3. Go to - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html, the Faction Round 3 Forum.
4. Click "Yes - As a fellow creator I support this" or "Yes - I am a fan and want to read more".
5. Click "Submit"
6. Vote daily through June 8th.
By the way, check out my updated web site for Faction and let me know what you think.... http://www.geocities.com/thelastbard
We are still in dire need of your votes for Small Press Idol. Please vote daily through Sunday....
Below are the instructions to vote for Faction:
1. Sign up - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php
2. Sign in - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com
3. Go to - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html, the Faction Round 3 Forum.
4. Click "Yes - As a fellow creator I support this" or "Yes - I am a fan and want to read more".
5. Click "Submit"
6. Vote daily through June 8th.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Faction - Page Eight Panel 5 script and analysis
And today... Page Eight, Panel 5 (4 in the script)
PAGE EIGHT
Panel 4. View from Acker’s POV on the ground looking up at Abigail, beautiful in the warm yellow of the room. She is looking down on him, lovingly, seeing someone she knows intimately, tears streaming down her face. Beyond, Gabriel is running out of the room after Elam. She’s kissing the tips of her index and middle finger on her right hand.
ABIGAIL:
Stay with me, my Asa, stay…
ACKER (whisper):
I’m not Asa…
ABIGAIL (whisper):
Shhhh… you are. You will understand soon enough.
SFX (small):
ABIGAIL MAGIC SYMBOLS
CAPTION:
Of course explosions don’t have a beautiful young woman looking lovingly at you --
I like how this one turned out. I switched around where Abigail's magic spell comes out to the next panel because it seemed to flow better to me. I can recall being very impressed with the angle Arnie chose to stick the image, too. Not much else to say on this one!
Just as a status for the day... we are in jeopardy of not making it into round 4 without your support... If you haven't been doing it already, please sign up, sign in, and vote using the below instructions.
Below are the instructions to vote for Faction:
1. Sign up - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php
2. Sign in - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com
3. Go to - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html, the Faction Round 3 Forum.
4. Click "Yes - As a fellow creator I support this" or "Yes - I am a fan and want to read more".
5. Click "Submit"
6. Vote daily through June 8th.
THANK YOU!
PAGE EIGHT
Panel 4. View from Acker’s POV on the ground looking up at Abigail, beautiful in the warm yellow of the room. She is looking down on him, lovingly, seeing someone she knows intimately, tears streaming down her face. Beyond, Gabriel is running out of the room after Elam. She’s kissing the tips of her index and middle finger on her right hand.
ABIGAIL:
Stay with me, my Asa, stay…
ACKER (whisper):
I’m not Asa…
ABIGAIL (whisper):
Shhhh… you are. You will understand soon enough.
SFX (small):
ABIGAIL MAGIC SYMBOLS
CAPTION:
Of course explosions don’t have a beautiful young woman looking lovingly at you --
I like how this one turned out. I switched around where Abigail's magic spell comes out to the next panel because it seemed to flow better to me. I can recall being very impressed with the angle Arnie chose to stick the image, too. Not much else to say on this one!
Just as a status for the day... we are in jeopardy of not making it into round 4 without your support... If you haven't been doing it already, please sign up, sign in, and vote using the below instructions.
Below are the instructions to vote for Faction:
1. Sign up - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php
2. Sign in - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com
3. Go to - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html, the Faction Round 3 Forum.
4. Click "Yes - As a fellow creator I support this" or "Yes - I am a fan and want to read more".
5. Click "Submit"
6. Vote daily through June 8th.
THANK YOU!
Faction - Arnie's reinterpretation of Abigail and Gabriel
Ok, so Arnie has been hard at work wrapping his mind around the characters I created for Faction. You've already seen what he came up with for Acker, now let's take a look at two more characters, Abigail and Gabriel. Enjoy and let us know what you think!
As far as voting goes, we are still not out of the woods... We really need your support if we are to get to round 4, so please show everyone you want to see and read more about Faction by voting for us in Small Press Idol.
HOW TO VOTE FOR FACTION:
1. Sign up - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php
2. Sign in – top left of the page.
3. Go to - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html
4. Click "Yes - As a fellow creator I support this" or "Yes - I am a fan and want to read more".
5. Click "Submit"
6. Vote once per day thought June 8th!
REIMAGINED ABIGAIL LATTON
REIMAGINED GABRIEL HARTMANN
As far as voting goes, we are still not out of the woods... We really need your support if we are to get to round 4, so please show everyone you want to see and read more about Faction by voting for us in Small Press Idol.
HOW TO VOTE FOR FACTION:
1. Sign up - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php
2. Sign in – top left of the page.
3. Go to - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html
4. Click "Yes - As a fellow creator I support this" or "Yes - I am a fan and want to read more".
5. Click "Submit"
6. Vote once per day thought June 8th!
REIMAGINED ABIGAIL LATTON
REIMAGINED GABRIEL HARTMANN
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Faction - Page Eight, Panel 3 script and analysis
Here we go! I got up reeeaaalllyyyy early this morning, but ran out of time to post...
Panel 3. View from the bed looking down slightly (part of the door still visible). Acker is on the ground, sideways, gasping for breath. Abigail is kneeling down beside him and Gabriel is turning towards Elam, who is almost out the door, running away.
ABIGAIL:
Non, ce n’est pas possible…
ABIGAIL (whisper):
Asa, I won’t lose you again.
GABRIEL:
You take care of him; I’ll finish this.
ABIGAIL (yelling):
GO!
CAPTION:
If you’ve got to die, go in an explosion.
Here's a case of there just not being enough room on the page to cover everything I wrote. I love how Arnie split it into two panels to separate the emotions between them. First is Abigail touching Acker with the back of her hand tenderly, saying so much without a word. The whispering helps to accent that as well. The panel following, though, "GO!" and the action of Elam / Emlin in motion. Dig it.
Panel 3. View from the bed looking down slightly (part of the door still visible). Acker is on the ground, sideways, gasping for breath. Abigail is kneeling down beside him and Gabriel is turning towards Elam, who is almost out the door, running away.
ABIGAIL:
Non, ce n’est pas possible…
ABIGAIL (whisper):
Asa, I won’t lose you again.
GABRIEL:
You take care of him; I’ll finish this.
ABIGAIL (yelling):
GO!
CAPTION:
If you’ve got to die, go in an explosion.
Here's a case of there just not being enough room on the page to cover everything I wrote. I love how Arnie split it into two panels to separate the emotions between them. First is Abigail touching Acker with the back of her hand tenderly, saying so much without a word. The whispering helps to accent that as well. The panel following, though, "GO!" and the action of Elam / Emlin in motion. Dig it.
Faction - Please help us out this last week or we won't make it to Round 4
http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html <-- to vote
So, the competition REALLY heated up in the last 24 hours. Before I went to sleep there was a rally from some of the competitors' voters, bringing in numbers not seen since round 2. As a result, Faction is slipping. It may not be obvious in the numbers below, but in a little while, the numbers from Monday will be posted (the numbers below are from Sat/Sun) and they will show an aggressive closure in the gap between 1st and 2nd & 3rd and 4th place.
I've felt that the strength of Faction really came through in our Round 3 submission, but I need fan support in order to make it to Round 4. With only six days left in the competition, Faction WILL end up in 4th place, just shy of Round 4 without more voters joining in. So, if you've been watching from the fringes, please join in and help to support this combination of a 15 year old idea, a six month old idea, a passionate writer, and a driven artist.
Below are the instructions to vote for Faction:
1. Sign up - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php
2. Sign in - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com
3. Go to - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html, the Faction Round 3 Forum.
4. Click "Yes - As a fellow creator I support this" or "Yes - I am a fan and want to read more".
5. Click "Submit"
6. Vote daily through June 8th.
1.) 599 Votes Varsity Squad <-- Extending lead over Faction
2.) 590 Votes Faction <-- baseline
3.) 510 Votes The Underground <-- Closing gap by 20 votes per day
**************The Line for #0/R4 Contention**********
4.) 465 Votes Steel Rising
5.) 463 Votes The White Rose <-- Cosing gap by over 20 votes per day
6.) 352 Votes Hometown Heroes
7.) 312 Votes The Machine
8.) 290 Votes The Associate
9.) 269 Votes Maddie Scientist
****************The Line for Cover Projects************
10.) 249 Votes Diary of a Teenage Heroine
11.) 176 Votes Dogman and Lester
12.) 150 Votes The Doorknob Society
13.) 93 Votes Haxxor
14.) 82 Votes Boulder Colorado
15.) 67 Votes Mr. Man
16.) 14 Votes Project Mercury
Thank you and we REALLY appreciate the support you've shown us in the competition!
Erik Hendrix
Writer - Faction
thelastbard@yahoo.com
http://thelastbardsblog.blogspot.com
So, the competition REALLY heated up in the last 24 hours. Before I went to sleep there was a rally from some of the competitors' voters, bringing in numbers not seen since round 2. As a result, Faction is slipping. It may not be obvious in the numbers below, but in a little while, the numbers from Monday will be posted (the numbers below are from Sat/Sun) and they will show an aggressive closure in the gap between 1st and 2nd & 3rd and 4th place.
I've felt that the strength of Faction really came through in our Round 3 submission, but I need fan support in order to make it to Round 4. With only six days left in the competition, Faction WILL end up in 4th place, just shy of Round 4 without more voters joining in. So, if you've been watching from the fringes, please join in and help to support this combination of a 15 year old idea, a six month old idea, a passionate writer, and a driven artist.
Below are the instructions to vote for Faction:
1. Sign up - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php
2. Sign in - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com
3. Go to - http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t46557.html, the Faction Round 3 Forum.
4. Click "Yes - As a fellow creator I support this" or "Yes - I am a fan and want to read more".
5. Click "Submit"
6. Vote daily through June 8th.
1.) 599 Votes Varsity Squad <-- Extending lead over Faction
2.) 590 Votes Faction <-- baseline
3.) 510 Votes The Underground <-- Closing gap by 20 votes per day
**************The Line for #0/R4 Contention**********
4.) 465 Votes Steel Rising
5.) 463 Votes The White Rose <-- Cosing gap by over 20 votes per day
6.) 352 Votes Hometown Heroes
7.) 312 Votes The Machine
8.) 290 Votes The Associate
9.) 269 Votes Maddie Scientist
****************The Line for Cover Projects************
10.) 249 Votes Diary of a Teenage Heroine
11.) 176 Votes Dogman and Lester
12.) 150 Votes The Doorknob Society
13.) 93 Votes Haxxor
14.) 82 Votes Boulder Colorado
15.) 67 Votes Mr. Man
16.) 14 Votes Project Mercury
Thank you and we REALLY appreciate the support you've shown us in the competition!
Erik Hendrix
Writer - Faction
thelastbard@yahoo.com
http://thelastbardsblog.blogspot.com
Monday, June 1, 2009
Faction - Page Eight, Panel 2 script and analysis
Oops! Looks like I missed a day. Doh! Today is Page Eight, Panel 2... enjoy!
PAGE EIGHT
Panel 2. Slightly different POV as Acker hits the ground. Abigail, spell forgotten, is lunging towards Acker. Gabriel is following through with his lunge, leaning forward. Elam is pushing forward, right talon first, ripping into Gabriel’s side, but moving past at the same time.
CAPTION:
But as it was, I could feel the life draining from me. I decided at this point, somewhere in the back of my head that explosions hurt less than talons ripping into your spine.
You may notice that the wording has changed around a little bit in this panel. Once the words hit paper, something just didn't feel right, so I moved around the captions a bit between panels. The first part, "but as it was, I could feel the life draining from me" went into panel 1 on this page and the rest stayed in panel 2. Also seemed like there were just too many words for one panel's caption. One thing I enjoyed, too, was figuring out which words to emphasize with larger text (as I mentioned before, this font did not have a bold option, so I opted to make certain words bigger for emphasis). In the script, I had some words in bold, but as I was reading through it, other words popped out. The action between Elam/Emlin and Gabriel is a little different than I wrote, kind of a Matrix style move on Elam/Emlin's part, but I'm cool with it... again, artistic interpretation that made sense in context.
PAGE EIGHT
Panel 2. Slightly different POV as Acker hits the ground. Abigail, spell forgotten, is lunging towards Acker. Gabriel is following through with his lunge, leaning forward. Elam is pushing forward, right talon first, ripping into Gabriel’s side, but moving past at the same time.
CAPTION:
But as it was, I could feel the life draining from me. I decided at this point, somewhere in the back of my head that explosions hurt less than talons ripping into your spine.
You may notice that the wording has changed around a little bit in this panel. Once the words hit paper, something just didn't feel right, so I moved around the captions a bit between panels. The first part, "but as it was, I could feel the life draining from me" went into panel 1 on this page and the rest stayed in panel 2. Also seemed like there were just too many words for one panel's caption. One thing I enjoyed, too, was figuring out which words to emphasize with larger text (as I mentioned before, this font did not have a bold option, so I opted to make certain words bigger for emphasis). In the script, I had some words in bold, but as I was reading through it, other words popped out. The action between Elam/Emlin and Gabriel is a little different than I wrote, kind of a Matrix style move on Elam/Emlin's part, but I'm cool with it... again, artistic interpretation that made sense in context.
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