Date:	2008-12-31 23:00
Subject:	Friends only, now.
Security:	Public
Mood:	calm

There's been some weirdness, so unfortunately friends-locking this journal is the only way around/through that, at least for the next little while.

I will still be posting public Knights of the Shroud updates and the occasional art post, but if you want to check all the personal stuff, thoughts and musings, projects in development, etc, post to this thread so I can add you to my f-list.

Been trimming my f-list a little here and there. Just folks who never post here or anywhere else that I can see. Nothing personal.

Date:	2008-07-24 11:49
Subject:	Avatar
Security:	Public
Mood:	cheerful

The finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender? AWESOME. There is so much I haven't seen of that series, but of the stuff I have seen, I have to say, that 10 minute segment of Avatar vs. Volcano remains my favorite mind-blowing moment. I should also say congrats and well done to the writers, producers, directors, artists, voice actors, everyone who worked on that show and made it so awesome. there is a best Buy opening up down the road from me, so I expect I'll be getting the whole series soon.

And I decided to take a meme:

You are an Airbender!

The Sky Bison taught the first airbenders how to bend the air around them. While they cannot fly, airbenders can soar in the air for long distances by using a glider. Most important to airbenders is the concept of non-aggression. When they fight, they do not attack but defend themselves through circular movements that confuse their opponents.

Which Element do you Bend?

Date:	2008-07-23 16:48
Subject:	Oh... so THAT'S what happened.
Security:	Public
Mood:	working

Courtesy of the BBC: Friends don't let economies drive drunk.

OR DO THEY?

The amazing thing: I pretty much of agree with that, at last on the surface of it.

Let me clarify: to continue the anolgy: if you knew they were drunk, shouldn't you have kept them out of the car, or kept them from driving? Anyway, weren't you a big enabler when you changed the rules and allowed 30% of the oil market be traded without regulation or oversight? Weren't you a big enabler when the housing boom which was built on illusory wealth which was based on bad credit schemes made things look great, but you said nothing? If you didn't know, you should have known, because it is your job to know.

Date:	2008-07-21 13:13
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	busy

This week, Anzu.

With a mace.

In a dress.

Date:	2008-07-17 17:14
Subject:	While I'm at it...
Security:	Public
Mood:	busy
Music:	Lost! by Coldplay

Speaking of things for sale, I was thinking of selling the Knights of the Shroud moleskine sketches I've been doing. They're inked, toned with prismacolor french grey, and, well, moleskine sized (about 3.5" x 5.5"). If I was to sell those, what do you think I ought to sell them for? $10? $20? $30? $40? More? Should I auction them on ebay or something, on the chance a particular one may go for more, or just to let the pieces find their own way in the world?

Further, I was thinking of maybe taking commissions to do similar marker-toned portraits of people in Knights style garb, which is generally a ren faire-ish mix of medieval european, elizabethan, and tudor (not much tudor, though) styles. Like, send me a picture or two, along with preferences for medieval or renaissance garb, and whether you'd want to be drawn as a warrior of some type, or a scholar, apothecary, noble, merchant, brigand, etc, etc. PIRATES INCLUDED, of course! Far be it from me to exlude pirates from getting quality portraits done. But I'm not sure what I should be charging for THOSE either...

Suggestions are very, very welcome.

Date:	2008-07-17 13:30
Subject:	Prices slashed!
Security:	Public
Mood:	determined

In this troubled economy, many suppliers of goods and services are raising prices. BUT NOT ME. To help the world be entertained, I've cut the prices on my Knights of the Shroud minicomics from $4 down to $3

Did I mention that I'm never going to reprint these? When they are gone, they are gone, and I only started with around 200 of each.

For more details, check here.

Thanks!

Date:	2008-06-30 13:39
Subject:	Busy, busy.
Security:	Public
Mood:	sore

New drawrin' up, this time Morna is stretching.

I just finished reading Chiggers by Hope Larson. It is AWESOME. Find out more.

New Drawrin' of Neeve.

Video of the game I'm talking about. Wikipedia has it labelled as "the knife game" and "five finger fillet," but some are calling it "mumblety-peg."

Yes, gauntlets are cheating, but I defy anyone to say that to Neeve's face.

New drawrin' of Ellis.

I'm particularly pleased with the gear for the belts & sheaths. The wrinkles at the waist don't really model the form, though, so they are bugging me a little.

Date:	2008-06-16 12:13
Subject:	Steven Grant
Security:	Public
Mood:	working

Steven Grant: Permananent Damage

A worthwhile read. For example, a favorite topic of mine: on what can happen if your publisher goes belly up:

And, given today's contract standards, leaving whatever properties talent had with the publisher in rights purgatory. But there's not a lot that can be done about that last thing: a publisher isn't legally allowed to notify parties ahead of time when he declares bankruptcy or allow them to withdraw properties or place assets in any sort of special trust to exclude them from bankruptcy proceedings. So you're not going to hear from any publisher that your book is that kind of legal jeopardy. Bankruptcy courts are weird beasts frequently outside the terms of other legal entities; even if you have a contract clause reverting all your creation's property rights to you in the event of bankruptcy, a bankruptcy judge usually has the latitude to void that clause and list your property among publishing company assets if he chooses. That's not the publisher's fault, except insofar as he's responsible for the situation in the first place.

Your best, and trickiest, bet is to stay away in the first place from publishers likely to end up on the bankruptcy junkheap.

Much other good material in there. Talks about Tokyopop, Platinum, and Archiaia Studios Press, and being alert, etc.

And my conclusion when finishing the article? Graphic novels for young adults, like Chiggers and Amulet and Babysitter's Club and Agnes Quill and Scott Pilgrim are going to save comics forever. Why? NOSTALGIA. Nostalgia sells. By which I mean, for the reader, these comics create an aesthetic moment, an experience of seeing art and reading and feeling some sort of emotional response which is tied up in the experience.

Comics and nostalgia-based purchasing or satisfaction is a whole 'nother post.

Date:	2008-06-04 09:40
Subject:	Maybe they can suck it dry faster than you think
Security:	Public
Mood:	determined

FIRST UP! Rights reversion is about more than getting back your copyright, etc, after a certain amount of time. What if they sign you today and sell out tomorrow? So I asked Lea Hernandez for her thoughts about and cautionary notes for what happens to the rights you sign over if the company you sign them over to goes under, goes bankrupt, or sells to a bigger or different media company.

Excerpt:
...a company that owns part of the copyright can sell their part.
For instance, TP might choose to sell the company and assets to another publisher. Their part of a copyright on a property would certainly be considered an asset.
If this happened, creators better have clauses for rights reversion in the case of a sale of the company to another entity.
If they don't, the new publisher will likely have all the rights TP did. They can choose to exploit, they can choose to shelve, they can sell those rights to yet another company.
They can choose to interpret the contract terms to be even less favorable to creators.

Plenty more behind the jump. [Permalink] Thanks, Lea!

Tom Spurgeon Makes a Point About Chris Butcher's Point:

* the writer and retailer Christopher Butcher wrote what might be the final word on last week's flurry of objections to the Tokyopop Pilot Program contact. In doing so he makes a severely interesting point, in that while one may certainly find problems with contracts that explicitly tie properties up forever (and I'm unconvinced this one allows the clean break claimed for it), and that this is the traditional way creators have been screwed over, the way that properties are valuable to publishers right now you can get almost exactly the same benefit simply by making sure that properties are tied up during an initial window that companies in the past used to get by tying them up in perpetuity.
[Permalink]

The point of all the points? MAKE SURE that any contract you sign resesrves all rights to you that are not explicitly imparted in the contract. THEN MAKE SURE that you are not signing over to the publisher any more rights than they need to publish your graphic novel, and certainly not more than THEY PAY YOU FOR. Every printing, every media outlet, every license, every adaptation, every treatment, every page view on the web, every year they get to work with your property, everything they can claim as theirs if they have to liquidate or sell or go out of business, all that and more, is worth money to them, and if it is worth money to them, it is worth money to YOU. Protect your rights and you protect your present and future, and your posterity.

A good publisher will will partner with you in clear terms, fairly, respectfully, giving both of you the chance to make money and be successful, and the information you need to know how things are going.

Date:	2008-06-03 13:31
Subject:	Rights reversion in contracts
Security:	Public
Mood:	determined
Music:	You Practically Rock, by Kupek

SPOILER: Chris Butcher doesn't like TP contracts, either!

Found a good post on Booksquare, courtesy of Google. It is from 5/19/07, so it has been out there for a while and the main point about Simon & Schuster may (or may not) therefore be a little stale, but it provides a decent overview of some of the issues invloved in rights reversion, i.e. when a publisher's right to continue doing anything with your work ends. Every single contract we sign as comics professionals should have rights reversion in it. Of course this doesn't replace a lawyer, but it is worth the five minutes it will take you to read this.

Also, Check item #9 and #17 (and everything else) on the SFWA's Author's Bill of Rights.

Another thing I am learning more about is Right of Information, specifically regarding accounting. Meaning, so you've signed for a nice $15k advance against royalties of 15%, right? GREAT! But did they spell out what $$ will count against your advance, under what circumstances? Did they define what the royalty pay cycles are, for example, payout every three months, or every six? What responsibility does the publisher have to inform the signee about these and other details?

THIS JUST IN: Tokyopop will spilt into a publishing wing and a media wing. What does this mean for the RSOM and other contracts?

Date:	2008-05-28 14:02
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	amused

Tokyopop "Pacts" (aka disappointingly bad and unfair contracts) Roundup by The Beat. Thanks, Heidi!

Spurgeon tackles the philosophical underpinnings.

Bryan Lee O'Malley's post, and many of the comments threads underneath are worth reading, too.

Date:	2008-05-27 10:31
Subject:	new TP contracts: lol fodder?
Security:	Public
Mood:	amused

Pass it along, pass it along.

Lea Hernandez Shares Some Thoughts on the Latest Tokyopop Contract.







SPOILER: She doesn't like it!

On Blog@Newsarama: Retailers give adivce to indie comickers on getting their books into shops, and keeping them there.

Some good pointers and reminders here. Worth a read, even if just for review.

Becky Cloonan gives warning and advice to artists about some recent scams.

Date:	2008-03-15 15:59
Subject:	Well, that at least is something OR in which I pat myself on the back a little bit
Security:	Public
Mood:	cheerful
Music:	Mirror in the Bathroom, by The English Beat

It has been a while since I've re-read my comic, and I just went through it, and I have to say, I really love this fight scene [permalink]. The panel to panel continuity is really good, and I didn't leave any more than I should have in the gutters. Neeve's style and athleticism are highlighted really well, her character is shown in the fight and some of her philosophy comes out in the subsequent dialogue. I mean, I'm not saying there's no room for improvement, because there always is and if I drew it again some of the panels would look slightly different (lineweight on certain spots, etc). I'm just saying I feel proud of the work, and relieved that even after all this time I still like it (which isn't true about everything I've done, unfortunately).

Sorry I've been so quiet in here. I'm very busy with all kinds of stuff. I'll have stuff to show soon.

Date:	2008-03-05 12:05
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	hopeful

In case you haven't seen this: