Out with Old...In with New

Yikes...another year has passed. Figured I'd post my last blog for the year 'cause I'm not sure when I'll get to the next one. Still early in the day on New Year's Eve but I'll probably post at the last minute as I'm waiting for some potential news that might be interesting. If it doesn't come in time, ah well....just catch it next time. New Year's Eve is changing at the Reed household. It used to be a big deal for the kids but now they got friends who are much cooler than parents, of course. Just part of watching grow up but at least they'll always have the memories. But now with the kids outta the way, Jenny and I can start planning accordingly. New Year's Eve is our wedding anniversary and we really didn't do much because we had...

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Motor City Blues

Well, it sure was interesting about the Senate debate on whether to bail out, er, excuse me, loan the Big 3 auto companies enough money to keep them on their feet for awhile. Even in the Detroit area, it's a big debate and not an automatic "they should do it" as most people might think. Sure, it's understandable about the effect it would have on this area but a lot of people also feel that government shouldn't be involved in running businesses. However, the major point that has most people for the auto loans is the fact that since the government GAVE the financial companies 700 billion dollars, what's 15 more in a loan? Unless you're from the Detroit area, it's hard to realize what a devastating impact this would have on the area. Although other parts of the country are feeling the financial...

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Breaking In

In one of the forums I frequently visit, I was following a thread about breaking into the business. First off, the forum was at Rantz Hoseley's Panel and Pixel site which was inspired by Warren Ellis' Engine. (www.panelandpixel.com). It's primarily for comic creators and often times, has interesting conversations. One of the most common themes regards breaking into the business, whether as a new voice or establishing yourself after you had your first taste of being published. I find this topic fascinating not because of the pitfalls that people face or the daunting task of standing out from the pack, but rather from the excuses that people make for NOT making it. Yes, I realize that there are some people struggling to grab that foothold and doing everything that they can to "make" it,...

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Planning Ahead

I was just contacted from a convention organizer about a show next year and it dawned on me that I have to start planning things for not only the upcoming convention season but my writing schedule for next summer. As for conventions, not sure which ones I’ll be doing. It’s likely I’ll be at Motor City in May since it’s in my backyard. The show gets good attendance, they treat guests well, but I’d like them to shift more towards the comic side of things as it has become more of a celebrity show in recent years. I haven’t decided on the Wizard World Chicago this year and I was considering some other shows such as Mid-Ohio and Heroes Con but conventions are just so time consuming so it makes it a touch decision. The writing schedule for the summer is usually projects that I mull over...

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On Deadworld and other stuff

Just a short one to catch up on things. Deadworld and Renfield have been optioned by Framelight Productions and as soon as any concrete information comes across, I’ll be sure to post it. I refuse to get too excited as I’ve been down this path over a dozen times with various properties being optioned for film, but I have a good feeling for these guys. I get asked if I am writing the scripts but usually the scriptwriter is a part of the system so unlikely although I did do a Renfield script that is included in the proposals circulating. The action figure on King Zombie is apparently finished. Here’s a link to the entire line that it is being shipped out with. No idea of street dates or anything. The Deadworld: Slaughterhouse series had the first issue released and the second one should...

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On Starlen Baxter

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0pt; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} I just found out that Starlen Baxter is dead. I hadn’t seen any press about it on any of the comic sites which isn’t too surprising as Starlen hadn’t been active in comics for a few years. It was sad news as Starlen was a talented writer and creator and somebody I got along with quite...

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Summer's Over?

I can't believe it. Summer is officially over for me. I had my first class today. Man, it sure seems this semester started earlier than any I can remember. Even my students thought this was college year came sooner than expected. Even though the temp hit the low 90's, I still had the feeling summer was gone. If you're so inclined, I have an interview via podcast that's up on Comic Related. Here's the link to the podcast at Comic Related. I also mentioned last time that there was an interview in From the Tomb magazine, a leading horror mag in the U.K. The pages are up on my site here. I'm reading with some interest about the whole Robert Kirkman video in which he declares that creators should do their own books instead of Marvel and DC. I'm summarizing quite a bit here because I...

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On Writing and some Interviews

It’s almost two weeks now and most of the comic news sites are still running press releases and panel descriptions from San Diego. It seems that many of the releases wouldn’t get any attention otherwise…but if they were announced at San Diego, then they must be worthwhile. I have to admit that I don’t read most of them, and by most, I mean virtually all of them. I glance at some of the headlines but that’s about it. I don’t understand what the two large companies are doing as the major cross over events are just a blur to me and I can’t even distinguish them. Obviously, since I don’t read them, I’m not going to be aware of all the ramifications but it seems to me that they sound very repetitive. The “other” comic companies are announcing...

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Cons and Contracts

Just got back from vacation with the family and now playing catch-up. I had meant to post a new blog prior to leaving but you know how it goes. The trip was good as my wife, Jennifer, and 3 of our 4 daughters flew out to Las Vegas to see Jenny's folks who moved there about 10 years ago. After spending a couple of days there, we drove out to see the Grand Canyon and I was glad to see my kids really appreciated the wonder of the canyon. Did quite a bit of hiking (well, walking...not official hiking) and then we returned to Las Vegas for a day's rest before heading to Los Angeles. The kids have always wanted to see LA although I've been there about 15 times. Did much of the tourist stuff but they enjoyed just relaxing on the beach for the most part. One of my daughters wants to go to school...

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WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO 08 REPORT

Figured I'd give a look at my experience at Wizard World Chicago 2008 (can't we just call it Chicago Con?) and the important thing is that it is MY experience. That means I won't have anything about any panels and the announcements that came out of that because I didn't attend any. For the pictures I have, it's primarily creators and no costumes. First off, I was set up next to Transfuzion Publishinig, a venture started by me and Rafael Nieves.We were part of the MOB RULES contingent which was organized by Raf as a very loose coalition of creators that would share space together. Not really a stronger alliance than that but obviously, in some ways because of the loose association, it leads to a stronger one for later. The Mob Rule had spots...

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