On the Road and Spreading the Good Word!

I've been woefully neglectful of my own blog lately and I apologize. I've been doing some good press stuff around Comics Experience and meeting lots of young and new comics creators. Part of an interview with me went live today on the popular DOLLAR BIN PODCAST. You can listen to it here. A great podcast in general, so be sure to bookmark it! I show up at about 12 minutes in, and there are other segments with me to come.

And just two weeks ago, I attended the COMIC GEEK SPEAK SUPER SHOW. The Comic Geek Speak podcasts are also an excellent free resource for comics fans and creators. Be sure to check them out too!

At the show, I conducted two panels for them that they have turned into podcasts for all the world to hear. You can listen to the one on Writing Comics here.

You'll see in the pictures here, that I wasn't alone. Also in attendance were CE alums who have been publishing their own books! Pictured here are Rob Anderson and Joe Sergi. Janine Naimoli who is producing her own book as well. You can see her manning the CE table there while I was away. Thanks, Janine!

With them were artist Dafu Yu and Josh Osborn. And Joey Groah, also a CE Alum and Workshop member was nice enough to record one of our panels.

Along with alumni, we also had CE Colorist instructor Chris Sotomayor (pictured in the Breaking Into Comics Panel photo) and CE Comics Art instructor Robert Atkins. Both of these gentlemen joined me for panel discussions and both teach courses for Comics Experience and you can ask them questions as part of the Creators Workshop!

The show itself was an absolute blast. The last few years I've only been going to the huge conventions like San Diego Comic Con and the one in New York City. And those have gotten further away from comics. The CGSSS is 100% comics. Comics creators, comics fans, comics talk, comics merchandise--and run by the nicest group of people you'll ever meet. My thanks to the CGS folks for such a great time.

And it allowed me a chance to talk more one-on-one with fans and creators than I usually get to do at shows when I'm working for IDW or running large panels for Comics Experience. This was a real treat.

And I think it was great for the Comics Experience Creators Workshop. A lot of creators saw the value of what we offer in the workshop. Even if they don't all join the CE Workshop, finding a community, be it in person or online, who shares your interest in comics creation and helps encourage your art and your creativity and your passion, is just an immensely helpful and inspiring opportunity, I can't overstate the value of it.

We've recently added some new features to the Comics Experience Workshop, and I'll be talking about them in my next blog.

Stay tuned!

Andy

Comics Editing and Parenting

Man, I wish I thought of this topic! But I didn't have to because my friend and former co-worker Nicole Boose did! Nicole worked with me at Marvel and we were in the same office for a good portion of our time together. I loved working with her and she is one of the most chill people I know. We're still in touch often even though we haven't worked together in years.

This was her guest spot on GEEK MOM which looks like a fantastic site! Read her blog on how comics editing prepared her for parenthood. It's excellent!

Click here!

Andy

WonderCon

This past weekend was WONDERCON in San Francisco. I was there for part of the day on Saturday and part of the day on Sunday. I mostly worked the IDW booth except for when I had to leave to take a handful of meetings. All of which went remarkably well. Usually, they're kind of hit or miss, but some really interesting things to follow up on from business perspectives and a few potentially cool projects.

The booth was rocking. A lot of interest in IDW's big announcements and the books we were already doing. I personally most have sold 20 copies of our new JERICHO comics that continue right where the TV show left off and are written by the show's creator himself. GODZILLA was moving fast, too. No surprise there after it's incredible debut this past week.

Special props go to IDW's Chris Mowry who had the idea about the amazing retailer exclusive covers for GODZILLA #1 that rocketed that book to one of the industry's top slots for the month, for sure. Chris is one of those guys behind the scenes at IDW most of the time--but his enthusiasm is darn near unmatchable.

IDW announced that it will be publishing the next TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES comics, and I can't say much more, but boy, are there a lot of people eager to see that--and work on it. IDW also announced its next ARTIST EDITION BOOK featuring Walter Simonson's THOR. I know, that's odd, but it's true. Editor Scott Dunbier personally scanned all the original artwork from Walt himself to make for what is sure to be one of the most sought-after and talked about books coming out in 2011.

I held the TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE panel on Sunday afternoon. The panel went very well and I had the pleasure of showing off some of the art for G.I. JOE: COBRA CIVIL WAR for the first time. This is an event running through three new G.I. JOE titles--G.I. JOE, SNAKE EYES, and COBRA. All of these launch with #1 issues in May. The core concept is that with the Cobra Commander dead, Cobra has created a contest--he (or she) who kills the most Joes, wins the reflective face-plate thingy and leads the organization. It all kicks off in just one week with G.I. JOE: COBRA CIVIL WAR #0--seen here.

I then got to announce the new TRANSFORMERS event. Starting in July, the TRANSFORMERS ongoing series is going to go bi-weekly with issue #21 as we kick off into CHAOS--an event so big, it needs two writers! Both Mike Costa and James Roberts are pulling duty here. The final fate of the planet Cybertron will be decided, as will the relationship between man and the Transformers. A lot is going to go down as kick this series into high-gear.

Okay, enough hype from me. I'll have more tomorrow!

Andy

Jason Aaron joins the Workshop!

We had a very special guest last night at the Comics Experience Book Club -- Jason Aaron!

Jason joined us for a discussion of Scalped, Volume 1, and we heard a lot of fascinating information about his inspiration and influences for the series, his efforts to create complex, engaging characters, and his lifelong interest in the American Indian Movement. It was a great discussion for fans of Scalped!

But since the Book Club is part of the Comic Creators Workshop, there were also a lot of questions for Jason about his writing process, pitching, and how he broke into comics.

While we can't cover all that Jason said here, we did want to share a couple of his great tips for those trying to break in:

• Even if your goal is to work at the "Big Two," do creator-owned work first. Jason won a Marvel talent search contest, and pitched to Marvel editors for several years thereafter, but he didn't really get any traction until after he'd had some success with his creator-owned works, The Other Side and Scalped.


• Chase editors rather than characters - Rather than making it your goal to write a specific character, seek out the editors that seem to have similar story sensibilities to you. That is, chase after the editors of the books you read and enjoy. The path to happiness is working with editors where you have that sort of storytelling "connection."


• Follow James Ellroy's advice - Jason met Ellroy at a book signing a number of years ago, and Jason asked what advice he'd give a new writer. Ellroy replied, "Don't write what you know, write the shit you like to read." This goes a bit against the conventional wisdom of "writing what you know," but it was an approach that worked for Jason and that he recommends himself.

Thanks again to Jason for joining us and sharing his thoughts on Scalped and comics writing.

The full recording of Jason's session will be available to Workshop members for a few weeks--Book Club is included in the Workshop membership--so it's not too late to check out the full session. Our discussion also included Powerpoint presentations by our members on various aspects of Scalped, from character development to page layout and design.

Plus, over on the Workshop this month, our professional reviewers include DC Comics Editor Wil Moss and artist supreme, Jim Cheung. You can find more information about the Comic Creators Workshop here.

We hope to see you there!

Rob Anderson
Moderator, Comic Creators Workshop

Creative People Need Breaks

It's a well known fact that most American companies give drastically fewer days off per year than European ones tend to. And, in theory, I get it. More days working means more work gets done. And we Americans (well, some of us anyway) love to run ourselves into the ground with our all-important work. But you know what--that's messed up.

I've been working as a comics editor, writer, and teacher for almost 10 years now, and you know what? I've got a couple of regrets. Don't get me wrong, I'm very well aware that I'm in a field that I love and I enjoy the work I do that provides for my family--and I completely understand how important that is and how lucky it makes me, so I'm not complaining--no sir, not by any stretch. Okay, that said, onto my regret (I'm only going to hit one here tonight)...

I regret not slowing down more often. Every time I take a vacation, I come back refreshed, wanting to work and brimming with new ideas from storylines to ways to market comics, to pricing strategies and so on.

And I'm guilty of doing this to myself. I have my staff job, I run Comics Experience and I write. So, I can't blame anyone else for my working habits.

Lately, I've been spending too much time working on comics. I've got a new baby at home, and I don't feel like I'm even beginning to get to know him yet. So this weekend, I decided to put all comics related things on the back-burner. Figure some things out, refocus when I dive back in tomorrow morning.

You know what I did today though? I held my infant son and rocked him to sleep for an hour and a half this morning. Then I played with Cale, my older son, rough-housing a bit, before the whole family piled in a car to drop my wife off at a baby shower. She took Oliver (the new one, if you're having trouble keeping track) with her. So Cale and I went down to Mission Bay--a nearby park on the water--and biked together for five miles, stopping at playgrounds along the way to play games. After that, we went home and played outside with some neighbor friends. I got some more Oliver holding time in and we sat down for dinner. After dinner, Cale and I made a fort, played some more indoor games, and then he and I decided to have a sleep-over in his room. He's now konked out right next to me.

Then I started thinking--tired as I am--about going into the office tomorrow--and what I plan to do with Comics Experience over the next month or so. I spent the whole day NOT thinking about comics--only focusing on having fun with my two kids and wife. And the end result is that I have a million new ideas about COMICS.

My plea to employers everywhere is this: wise up. Give more vacation time. More Paid Time Off. Give a half day here and there. But let your employees recharge their batteries often. You'll get better, more innovative work out of them every single time.

Okay, got to put the computer away now before Cale wakes up!

But tomorrow, I'm starting to take two weeks off to refresh my batteries.

Goodnight!

Andy

4 Workshop Guests That Will Blow Your Mind In March!

As many of you know, The CE Creators Workshop is the best place to get honest information, advice, and insight from professional creators. And March just proves again that we've achieved that goal! Check out these four outstanding guests and how you could interact with them in March!

1. JASON AARON -- best known for writing SCALPED and WOLVERINE joins the online and live Book Club on Tuesday, March 8th to discuss his book SCALPED vol. 1. This is the only chance you may ever get to read and then discuss a seminal work by a great creator. The session lasts two hours with a direct Q&A with Mr. Aaron!

This is an opportunity open only to CE Creators Workshop members! Can't make the meeting, don't worry. Each meeting is recorded with a secure link that only members can access for one month after the meeting. These "fire side" chats are the most informal and honest way to talk with the industry's most respected creators. Join the Workshop Today so you can attend!

2. JIM CHEUNG -- artist supreme and co-creator of YOUNG AVENGERS and AVENGERS: CHILDREN'S CURSADE will be reviewing the winning portfolio of this month's Artist pick from a Workshop member! Cheung has done incredible work over the last 15 years in comics and is easily one of the industry's top talents. This is a rare opportunity for sure!

This is an opportunity open only to CE Creators Workshop members! Jim does not often do reviews by his own admission. He's laid back and doesn't always feel comfortable. That makes this opportunity that much cooler! Jim's a rare talent who can tell one heck of a story, make it look intensely cool, and create a blockbuster hit while doing it! Join the Workshop Today so you can attend!

3. WIL MOSS -- DC Comics editor working with Matt Idelson on SUPERMAN as well as several of his own projects has agreed to review this month's script winner from our March challenges! He'll be giving a review of the story that gets posted back for all to learn from. Again, a rare opportunity to get your work in front of an honest to god DC Comics staffer!

This opportunity is open only to Workshop members. Wil has is an up and coming editor at DC today. He's the perfect kind of guy to want to get your work in front of. He's smart, knows his comics, knows story, and has a genuine interest in helping young or new creators improve their craft! Join the Workshop Today so you can attend!

4. DIAMOND DISTRIBUTORS -- A representative from Diamond Distributors will join us for our live, online Workshop session held on March 22nd. We're going to get the low-down on what it is Diamond does exactly, how to get into the exclusive PREVIEWS catalog as well as de-mystifying all other question surrounding getting your comic out to your audience in the best way possible! Another rare opportunity! Join the Workshop Today so you can attend!

The Creators Workshop is RED HOT in March! Sign up today!

Click here to read more about the Creators Workshop! And Sign up with just one easy click!

Dwayne McDuffie

I was shocked this afternoon to find out that Dwayne died today. Apparently, from complications to surgery. I don't need to know the reason why he died, just that he did. Dwayne and I were friends and this was unexpected and frightening. Last week, another friend of mine, Perry Moore, died. He was the producer of the NARNIA movies. I was also surprised by that. I didn't know Perry as well as I knew Dwayne but the combination is really messing with my mind.

Does this have something to do with comics? I'm not sure, other than both men loved comics. While Perry didn't write any comics, he was a huge supporter of them in Hollywood. Dwayne, on the other hand wrote many comics--including some of my favorites in recent years with his run on JLA, and his run on Fantastic Four. He's just a great writer. He wrote a ton of animation that I loved. His episodes on JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED are largely responsible for my much renewed interest in DC Comics. I still don't understand why the comic doesn't capture the spirit of those characters as well as that cartoon did.

I honestly don't have anything profound to say, but I can't concentrate on writing anything else. Dwayne was great. Great at writing and great for comics. I've been thinking all day about the STAR TREK pitch he worked on for me when I briefly edited the STAR TREK line at IDW. It would have really turned some heads had we been allowed to do it. But we couldn't get it to work for all parties involved. And I was sad about that at the time and I'm twice as sad about it today.

If you haven't had a chance to read his work, do yourself a HUGE favor and go read some of it. He's a great talent for the medium and there are a great many of us that will miss him and his work.

Here's hoping that tomorrow brings some brighter news.

Andy