I started work on a short story a few weeks back. I’m doing tight pencils so I can send it out as samples to various editors in the hopes of getting some freelance work. But I’m also doing it as a fun break in the midst of doing a 220+ page graphics novel (Wahoo Morris). Sometimes you just need to complete something short and fun to keep from drowning.

I’ve pencilled the whole story, and I’m slowly tightening them up in my spare time. Here’s the fourth page for your enjoyment. Goofy Sci-Fi fun!

It’s been a few months since Free Comic Book Day, and I thought it was time to do a wrap up.

Going in, my goal for participating was to raise awareness about Wahoo Morris, with the hope that two or three hundred stores who hadn’t tried the book out might get a chance to see it and then bring in a copy of the trade paperback.

Around 10,500 copies of the FCBD book went out to 695 stores to be distributed on Free Comic Book Day. Of those 695 stores, only 29 had previously ordered the Wahoo Morris trade paperback.

Post FCBD I got an order from Diamond for 32 copies.

I don’t have the data for how many of those books went to stores that hadn’t previously ordered, but the results were a little disappointing to say the least. I probably gained no more than a handful of new stores.

I have no way of knowing if the free books were distributed to people who were looking for a freebie and would never be back, or who don’t know you have to special order a book like Wahoo Morris, or if the majority of those stores just aren’t interested in bothering to order a book like Wahoo Morris on the off chance that any of the takers of the FCBD book will be back for more. Maybe offering a FCBD book isn’t enough to overpower Previews overload, and I still got overlooked at the back of Previews. Or maybe the Free comic just didn’t appeal to anyone.

I know the latter isn’t the case as I have made multiple sales at conventions to people who read the FCBD book and loved it.

So, the conclusion is that, according to the goals I set for the promotion, Free Comic Book Day was a resounding flop for me. I might see some long term benefits, as it probably did raise my profile somewhat, even if my book is only available in 29 comic stores worldwide.

Will I do it again? Never say never, but probably not. I think I would rather spend my money targeting my audience directly by giving out free tastes at conventions, and supplying interested retailers with freebies directly instead of the blanket shot that was FCBD.

I still think Free Comic Book Day is a good promotion for the industry as a whole, but for an individual indie publisher trying to get into more stores – not so much.

… is not something I’m good at. If I have to work on more than one project at a time I’m more likely to get nothing done on any of them than be productive on multiple projects at once.

And right now I’m neck deep in three, count ’em three, separate projects at once. I’ve been doing 5 daily strips of THE CHELATION KID a week, as well as working on CLEOPATRA for Moonstone Books, and trying to maintain a weekly update schedule on WAHOO MORRIS so I hit my projected publishing date of May for WAHOO MORRIS Book Two.

If you’ve been paying attention you will notice I’ve kind of fallen off the wagon the last two weeks or so. The final details of getting WAHOO MORRIS Book One to stores and then preparing for and attending SPX threw a bit of a monkey wrench in the whole proceedings. I haven’t fallen behind on The Chelation Kid, but Wahoo Morris fell by the wayside first, then Cleopatra.

This week things are back to normal and I have resumed the schedule I was maintaining through most of September. Basically I get up in the morning and draw and ink an episode of The Chelation Kid. In the afternoon I work on Cleopatra, sometimes managing to pencil a whole page. In the evening (if I choose to have no life and work) I alternately work on Wahoo Morris or pick away at finishing tag ends on Cleo or the Chelation Kid.

It’s not the best way of getting a project done in a speedy manner, but it is keeping all three projects moving, albeit slowly. I’m hoping Cleopatra will be wrapped up by the end of November so I will only have two projects on my plate for a little while until I have to take another paying job to keep the wolves from the door.

Once The Chelation Kid wraps up (when we are not sure yet) I’ll just be working on one project at a time for a while. The idea of working on one project all day long from start to finish seems rather heavenly at the moment…

For better or for worse, I have directed the blog to be the main page.

There are still a few kinks, especially in the way different browsers view the text, and most of the “home” links point to the old index.html page which is no longer there.

I will be updating all the links to get everything working, and hopefully working out the bugs over the next few weeks.

Well… I’ve joined the new century and signed up for a blog… but I don’t have much to say really. I’m not one to ramble about what I ate for dinner or watched on tv last night. This site will mainly be news posts about my upcoming comic book releases, musical performances, and comic convention appearances, with the odd bit of crap off the top of my head. I might also post the odd bit of art as it comes off my drawing table.