TwelveFingers.com promotes Faction

Another web site has joined in the fun of Small Press Idol. TwelveFingers.com, a blog run by Shawn Swanson, which covers everything under the sun related to comics posted an article about Faction. Check it out at the link below.

Looks like the buzz is spreading! Round 2 starts in a week, so sign up on dimestoreproductions.com so you can vote!

http://twelvefingers.com/2009/faction-makes-2nd-round-of-small-press-idol-2009/

Red Handed Studios, Inter-Fan, and SPI

When it rains, it pours, I suppose... Since starting my trek towards getting my comic books published, I have established relationships with several people in the publishing world. Some of those relationships are now "hatching" in a very positive way. Over the last few things a couple of things were "released".

Red Handed Studios ~ Cary Kelly, owner of Red Handed Studios, publisher of the exploits of Justice Theta in Final Justice and soon the misadventures of Dynagirl in her spin-off series, has asked me to join the team as a writer to assist in the Dynagirl ongoing series. I'm extremely excited to jump on board since the team from Cary to the art team are all great both professionally and personally. It is amazing that Cary has recognized my talent just from the few samples I've posted online and I'm excited with the opportunity.

Inter-Fan ~ "Doc", an SPA alum, has officially asked me to be the correspondant and photographer at the San Diego Comic Con this year. We met after I joined Small Press Idol this year and both my knowledge of comics and love for photography make this a natural fit. I look forward to looking at the Con from a small press perspective, taking pictures and meeting people from the SPA, etc... Look for me there!

Small Press Idol 2009 and the SPA (Small Press Association) ~ Round 2 of Small Press Idol starts on April 1st. KT and I are hard at work preparing everything for the "unveil" and significant updates on the DimeStoreProductions web site show us that they are gearing up.

Other Projects ~ Along with Faction at Small Press Idol, my upcoming stint on Dynagirl, and my various "mystery" projects which I always hesitate talk about, I have other projects in the works and some "maybe's" for others. I took on a co-writing gig with someone in FL a while back and we're just getting started on a submission package. That has been an interesting experience since every writer does things a little differently. At the end of the day I feel there is a healthy share of "Erik" in the script despite the fact that it's not my creation. The coming months will bring more information on that. As I mentioned before, a few other companies and people have contacted me about freelance work, so we'll see how those pan out as well.

Small Press Idol 2009 - New Rough Cover from KT

Check this one out! KT sent me an updated rough cover at around 1am today (after he got off of work) and I'm blown away! I've seen it a little further along than this, but we can't post too much detail this early in the competition. You have to use your imagination a little bit and throw in some lighting effects and also the shadow of one of the big baddies above the figures below. The names of the characters save Acker (center - mentioned in the pitch) and their bios will appear in Round 2, which starts on April 1st.

In other exciting news, feedback so far on this updated rough cover is that it's a HUGE improvement over the original we posted. I liked the old one, but I do agree this one is a lot better. The details KT put into it are amazing and it tells things about the story that will make more sense after you read issue 0 - when THAT will be released all depends on how far along we get in the competition based on the judges and Votes from YOU! If you haven't done it already, please join the forums at http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/ so you can vote. It's the only way the mods can make sure the people voting are real... otherwise us sneaky creators could just vote all we wanted. ;)

In other news, some great things are getting ready to be revealed, but I can't spill the beans yet. It does, however, move me towards a point - below...

HOW DO YOU MEASURE SUCCESS?

I've posted on a few forums about my view of success. Back in the day I had this dream of starting up a band as the lead singer and guitar player (not lead). I always said I would consider the band a success once we put out our first 45 record. Seems kind of funny, right? Why would a single be a measure of success? Well, I think about it as what I spent the most money on at the time in regards to music. It wasn't major record labels, it was the indies, music I picked up from shows, etc... I just wanted something tangible to sell at shows. Now, I never ended up getting anywhere with music, band ventures fell apart, but that's no big deal, I'm cool with it.

Now, what's my measure of comic book success? If people interested in the book are able to buy a tangible copy, I'm happy. Is there a dream somewhere inside of working for Marvel or DC Comics? ABSOLUTELY!!! It is not, however, what point I would consider myself a success, just the icing on the cake. I want to publish my books... I want publishers to believe in what I believe in to the point that they are willing to help me publish my ideas for mass consumption. If hundreds of people want the book, I'm a success. If thousands or tens of thousands want to read them, that's just gravy.

A while back I posted on the DimeStore forums asking what people's dreams are with comics. I want to tell stories. I'm working on a book - someday I want it printed and to be able to walk into a Borders, B&N or look on Amazon and see it for sale. With the comics, if someone on the East coast wants the book, I want them to be able to find it.

Anyway, that's enough of a rant from me for now... If you're a writer, artist, or whatever, don't think about your pipedream, think of realistic goals and how you're going to get there. That way if you meet those goals, you can push beyond them and you've succeeded. If you end up getting picked up by one of the larger publishers, can make a living, become famouse, sell movie rights, etc, that's just icing on the cake.

With Faction, the dream is to have an ongoing series published with a steady readership. With some of the others, the dreams might vary. :)