Tonight's show

Tonight on "The Comic Book Novice" radio show, Hassan, Pete and I (along with the new gal Jess) will be talking about The graphic novel (or trade paperback) vs. publishing a monthly comic. Feel free to give us your thoughts! 9pm est www.am1240wgbb.com after you listen in leave any comments here!

This is now

I was just thinking over the weekend how things have changed. I was remembering how I had given myself 6 months to see if this endeavor would be feasible. Last time I really didn't give myself a time line, I just went for it sink or swim.

I sank.

Hard.

But I didn't drown. I took what i had learned and waited "until things were "as good as they were going to get" before trying this again.

So here we are. Before I didn't have a web site, I do now. Before I was focusing on money coming in, this time i am focusing on marketing, promotion. Last time I used to have difficulty booking guests or getting the show ready before Thursday, now I am weeks (and in some cases) months ahead. Before I had little or no help from people on the show (Except Jennifer, she really was behind me on this), now Hassan has stepped up to the plate and Peter (who replaced Todd, for those of you who remember) is now a big part of the show. I now have contacts and made business relationships that I didn't have before. Things look like they are going in the right direction.

With Jennifer leaving the show, i will not have her unique perspective that she brought to the show. Jess will do fine, but she wont be there all the time.

So if you see us at a convention with new faces, and new stuff to promote/give away/sell and wonder (hopefully in a positive way) "what happened to them?" Just remember that was then, this is now.....



10/21/08 update: I swam a little longer this time. I think I actually have stuff to show for it. My comic is being published, and who knows, the radio show may come back one day.....

Tonight's show

Tonight on the radio show, our call in guest will be James Rodriguez from Nova Star Studios, Dreamchilde Press, and C.A.G. (the comic artist's guild). Listen to the show and post your thoughts/comments here.

Captain America Dies (again)

Many of you don't know that I am waaay behind on my comic book reading. So while at my "day job" I take the time and read as many comics as I can. Some I can't read because I am missing some issues, and I like to get the whole story. But I have so much to read that really isn't an (pardon the pun) an issue.

Anyways...I just finished reading Marvel Comic's "Last Man Standing", "Last Planet Standing", and "A-Next" second series. It was an uneven tale, by Tom DeFalco, but still a good read if you want to know the whole story. In it, Captain America died and gets turned into a star by Thor. This series of books are set in the M2 Universe which (at one point in time) was supposed to be the "official" future of the Marvel Universe set (about (10 years ahead). Seeing as how I still haven't read "Civil War" or "Captain America" issue 25, It was a weird feeling to see him die even tho he was just killed. I wonder if that lessened the effect of the story.....


10/21/08 update: Death in comics have seem to lost it's meaning to me. You know they are going to come back. Since comics (at least now-a-days) are less...fluid, you can always go back and tell more stories about a character who has died without brining them back. So I say if you kill them off. Keep them dead.

Tonight's show

Tonight we introduce Jessica Ferrera as part of the group, and we review the movie 300! Seen it? Give us a call, and after the show, leave your comments here! 9pm est

A different shade of pink

Starting this week on "The Comic book Novice" I am going to slowly (and I mean slowly) start to phase Jennifer (our woman on the street) out to make room for a new gal. As it stands right now, doing temporary duties (on a spotty basis) is Jessica Ferrera (from Terminal Press). Jess was a guest during our first run of the show, and she called in to support her hubby Brian when Terminal Press was a guest on our show a few weeks ago.
Jennifer is unique and irreplaceable, but she is going to attend college and continue to pursue her career. She will still be filling in from time to time until we get a permanent new girl.
Both Jennifer and Jess will be on this weeks show sort of as a passing of the torch.
This reminds me to actually put up Jennifer's profile (or at least get our web master to do it) on the site.


10/21/08 update: I never got around to explaining the title of this paticular blog. As I have said many many times, I am a HUGE Power Ranger fan. When Amy Jo Johnson (the original pink power ranger) left the show, she was replaced by a new pink ranger (Catherine Sullivan). The episode title? A Different Shade of Pink.

Special show tonight

OK, the news is out. Captain America is dead.

I had a show planned about the movie 23 starring Jim Carrey for tonight. So I am extending the show to an hour (tonight only) and we will be talking about both the movie 23 and the impact on "deaths" to the comic book industry. After you hear the show, leave your comments here...

late

Well, just by a day, but if I am to be complaining about others, then I have to lead by example. That being said, I still have a huge pain in my tooth (which is part of a second root canal that I will be getting). If you remember (and shame on you if you don't) I had missed the first episode of "The Comic Book Novice" because of dental work. That work is still on going.

anyways....

While I had many ideas on what to write about yesterday, since I just received an e-mail from an FM station, I think that is what I'll talk about today.

As you all know, my show airs on the radio via an AM frequency. Now there is nothing wrong about AM, but you get that "oh" look when after saying you have a radio show, then following it up with "it's on 1240 AM". But I'm starting to get used to that. Now I just got contacted by am FM station, Granted it would be the same deal as I have with WGBB, but I think it would give me a little more clout. Obviously more people are listening to the show, or (at very least) know of my show than the first time around. But I think it would be easier to get some advertisers with and FM flag to wave in front of them.

On the other hand, the station is much further out in Long Island, and being an FM station, I'm sure the rates and overall way things work over there will be higher (which may or may not work to my benefit). So for right now I think I'll take a peek into this and see what they have to offer.

Best case scenario would be that the FM show pays for the AM show, and I'll have two different shows on the air at the same time. I can see the slogan now:

"The Comic Book Novice" two shows, two stations, same team......

10/21/08 update: Yeah, It just wasn't in the cards for that FM show. As it turned out, the internet was where most of my listeners were tuning in. So I feel that sticking with WGBB was the better choice.

Tonight's show

Tonight on "The Comic Book Novice" radio show we will be discussing the New York Comic Con. If you have any comments about the con, call in, or leave your thoughts right here after the show

So much time so little space

Well, this past week was interesting. actually most of the interesting stuff happened during the New York Comic con this past weekend. I'm still recovering from it. I have to say that I don't remembering being so.......busy (I guess for lack of a better term). And it's just not the con, it was the before and after stuff also. I mean right now in the "prime hours" after the con, my site is (almost) bare. Not a good thing when all the contacts I made *should* be checking out the site to (either) decided to support us (financially) or just to see what we are all about. My webmaster (who now wants to be called something else, which the name escapes me at the moment) has taken down the site for maintenance and transference to another web location. Also, I had a little mishap with my "day job" which I'm going to have to take care of on Friday. As for the con itself. I met a whole slew of people. re-established some contacts and promoted the hell out of my radio show. My (formerly known as) webmaster decided to have us do some roving interviews for the con. Which was a good idea seeing as how it helps promote the radio show. I split the interviews between myself and Peter Palmiotti so that things would be easier for the both of us. Pete knows some "big" names in the industry and I had him interview those guys. It's funny really, because Jennifer (my woman on the street) was supposed to do these interviews. She couldn't attend the con and ironically enough, she will be leaving the show soon. I plan to phase her out, (because of her attending school and moving away from the city) but that's another blog.....
So, getting back on track I saw Stan Lee, signed my first posters (8 if them to be exact), saw Stephen King, used the power of the Press Pass, took many pictures of hot chicks and cool dudes in costumes, got screwed out of seeing Paul Rubens and Stephen Colbert, and missed out on seeing some of the major headlines to the con.
Oh, lastly I want to mention, that I lost a comrade (of sorts) on the radio station. He hosted a sports show and his show ended last week. I'm trying to think of how a collaboration can help both of us, but right now I'm drawing a blank.



10/21/08 update: Sports and comics really don't mix. So nothing came out of that. The '09 NYCC is looking to be a BIG thing. I am wondering if I'm going to be a part of that.

Tonight's Show

Tonight, we're going to do our first movie review since we have come back on the air. This weeks review: Ghost Rider. Now I have to warn you, if you haven't seen this movie, you will most likely not see it after listening to this show (mostly because there are no guidelines for our movie review shows, so you most likely will know everything there is about the movie IE:spoilers). So Listen in and post your thoughts here about the show (and movie)

New York Comic Con

While I probably will be talking about the con afterwards (on next Tuesday's blog) and I know for a fact that it will be the shows topic on our 3/1 show, I wanted to say how excited I am to finally be able to attend the convention.

See, (as some of you may know) last year was the first NY Comic Con at the Javits center and the head liners were Milla Jojovitch (sorry if I spelled that wrong) and the wrestler Kane (I know I spelled that right!). Anyways I got three of my friends to come with me and we were going to get tickets at the door (which is not uncommon when going to these things). We got there at Noon on Saturday.

It was sold out

There were police and lines almost around the place and we couldn't get in. I tried to call a few of my contact in the industry who were already inside and even they couldn't get us in. The stories of what when on in there were amazing from "It was insane." to "it was way crowded." to "I too couldn't get in.". But I (now more than ever) am curious to see how it really was in there.

Now is my chance.

Roughly one year later, I get to go in. I have a Press Pass (thanks to the fine folks at the con and the fact that I have my radio show back). So that means that I will have no problem getting in. Once I'm there....unfortunately I know I will be overwhelmed. But Rome wasn't built in a day and I have to build it my self, so I'll take as much in as I can, have my fliers and business cards ready, and hope for the best.


10/21/08 update: It's funny, looking back at all this. I think we still have like maybe 2-3 interviews from that con that still hasn't seen the light of day. Another "pay for play" issue.

Tonight's show

Tonight, our call-in guest will be Greg Topalian Head of the New York Comic Con (www.nycomiccon.com). Listen to the show and leave your comments here!

It's so hard to find good help these days...

Especially when they work for free. The saying is true. "You get what you pay for". I pay nothing, I get nothing, well, not *nothing* but close....

Here I am 7 weeks (give or take a day) into The Comic Book Novice Blog, and I am waiting for Hassan's Blogs. If I was paying him, I could fire him, but I'm not. I need him and since he "works" for free I can't do much except constantly ask him.."where are the blogs, where are the blogs..."

"What's the big deal?" you might ask. Well, here's the thing.....When I came up with The Comic Book Novice, I had hand picked the people who were going to be involved with it. They were picked because each one had a different "part" to play. Hassan's part is to talk, complain really about things. He's the "I hate everything guy". Who better than that to write a blog?

So maybe when M.F.C. Studios is making a big splash on the comic book map, I might be able to hire (or just pay Hassan) a blogger. But for now Monday, Wednesday, and Friday's will be blog less.



10/21/08 update: Seems that this was a major problem with my company (as well as a recurring theme). I'm sure that if people had nothing else to do but give me 110% they would (well, I'd like to think that). But sadly it is not the case. Maybe I should have done a better job of motivating them, or cut corners in some places to "pay for play". I have always said that I couldn't do it all myself and I am certain that the results would have been worse....

Tonight's show

Tonight we will have Rich Bernatovich (www.sentinelsonline.com) who writes and publishes the Sentinels graphic novel series. Listen to the show and leave your comments here.

Midnight at Midtown

There was a special event at Midtown Comics (in Manhattan) last night at midnight. It seems that Stephen King's Novels "Dark Tower" was turned into a comic book with Peter David as the writing and Jae Lee as the artist. To Celebrate this event, comic book stores all over the country were invited to open their doors at midnight and sell the books. Midtown Comics (not to be undone) had the creative team do a book signing during that time.

So I went.

I was to meet Peter Palmiotti there, and since he knew the management there as well as Jae and the other Peter, I was to do some networking.

When I got there, I was very surprised. There were certain things I had expected (good parking, cold as hell, and maybe another Marvel guy or two) and they were there. Other things (lack of people for an event this sized event, "rival" media shows, and free food (donuts and coffee) for "special guests" and employees) I had not expected. I now realize that while the other guys didn't have a radio station backing them, they were able to get an interview with Peter David and Jae Lee while I was just standing there waiting for Peter Palmiotti.

I dropped off fliers, and passed along our sponsorship package to the management, But didn't snag an interview for the show. Since I'm booked anyway 'till mid-April, I can wait for the Javits Convention when Peter will ask them to be a guest. Since Peter David was a guest on the old show, I don't see why it would be a problem to get him again.


10/21/08 update: Funny, I never did get to interview Peter David again, timing just didn't work out.

Tonight's show

Tonight's guest will be Brian Ferrera of Terminal press (www.terminalpress.com) Brian is an independent comic book publisher of such books as (Cropsey and Toxic Teddies). Listen in tonight @9pm est! Afterwards, Leave a comment here of what you thought about the show.

Comic Book Writing

I have to admit it, I have been out of the comic loop ever since we started our hiatus oh so long ago. But since we are back I have been catching up on my comic book reading. What does this have to do with the Title of this blog? Well, as some of you may know, I am writing my very own comic book which I intend to self publish and I have been.....critical of my penciler because he doesn't draw EXACTLY what I write. This is very frustrating for me because I take a lot of pride in my work and it takes me a long time to do it. So when a penciler takes..."liberties" it is upsetting.

Now here is where everything comes together.

I picked up and just read"The Avenges: Disassembled" and in the back of the book there was an interview with the witter and penciler as well as a few pages of script and corresponding penciled pages. It was the same thing. The penciler didn't draw what the writer wrote. As I write this, I"m not sure if I more upset or relieved. I mean if this is a normal thing, then my penciler is doing a bang up job. But on the other hand, if this is the norm, I have nothing to look forward to......


10/21/08 update: I finished my book and the preview issue is out. While talking to many creators, it seems that there are many ways to do a book. The Marvel way, which really is more of a colaboration between the writer and the penciler and the more strict, full script (which is how I do it). Seems that neither is wrong. Good to know.

Tonight's show

Tonight's guests will be Sam Vera and Jorge Medina from Crazee comics. They have a whole line of comics out, as well as their own podcast. Listen tonight @ 9pm est. Then come back here and leave comments about the show.

10/21/08 update: It was a good show. As always Sam did his thing. Even tho I wasn't on air, I was in the studio.

So far...

I got our first guest lined up for Thurday's show. Hassan is waaaay behind on his blogs (but what can you expect I'm not paying him). Still not sure what my condition will be after the (first part) of my root canal tomorrow. I haven't recieved any responces for the intern job...But things are still moving forward. I started to map out my shows and plan my convention stops. I stopped by the Big Apple con over the weekend and re-established a few contacts, so guests shouldn't be a problem. As soon as I get the blogs, I'll back date them so they fit in the slots I had set aside for them.


10/21/08 update: Looking back, I wonder how different things would have been if I just paid people. Sure the money would have went faster, but maybe the results wold have helped bring money in.....