Independent Propaganda

An EXCLUSIVE Independent Propaganda interview by Matt Butcher

The creators of LIGHT CHILDREN, Kyle T. Webster and Andy Horner

Light Children seems to be a grand experiment. Why go online versus print?
Light Children, a trilogy, will be in print. The three acts of the story are divided into three or four books each. Each of the (roughly) twelve books will be about 100 pages in full color. We decided to self-publish Light Children as a series of perfect-bound books because of the tangible and intimate quality of print. We both feel that graphic novels ideally should be held and touched. One of our fans said she can’t wait to curl up in a chair to read the books by candlelight, which is exactly the kind of thing we wanted to hear.

However, we see the web having a very important role. Besides being our promotion and distribution engine, the web is how our audience is learning about the Light Children world. Fans, just like with movies, will use the site to decide if they’re interested. We’re following the Hollywood model of a teaser site. Fans can discover behind-the-scenes content, introductions, back story, character profiles, news, and a few free chapters. In the future, we’ll use the site to deliver supplemental material, to hold the attention of fans between books releases. We’ve also been aggressive to seek our partners who are willing to post and present information about the project on their websites. We attribute a large percentage of the hype and traffic our website gets to those partners. In these respects, the web is critical to the success of the story.

Have you found that you needed to be an expert in web design? What programs do you use to get your website to look that great?
We’ve both worked at advertising agencies and are familiar with web design and production. Our first site, the one you’re referring to, was pretty basic under the hood. We designed it to draw the visitor into a simple but immersive environment. We were able to handle it with our limited ability. Nothing unusual on the applications side. We design in Photoshop then assemble the site with Dreamweaver and Flash. In a months time, we each put five to ten hours into site maintenance and the delivery of our monthly newsletter.

Our new site, currently in development, will be far more complex, incorporating more programming and e-commerce functionality. Though we will continue to design and maintain the site ourselves, the new effort will require collaboration with several freelance programmers to handle more in-depth HTML, CSS, database, web app work and set up with PayPal’s processing engine. The first site took a month to build. The new one will require four to five months with help.

Mr. Webster, your bio says that you have done covers and stuff before. What have we seen that we didn’t know was you?
I have done magazine covers and other editorial work. This is my first venture into comics, but it has been my dream all my life to work in this field.

Mr. Horner, have you written before? What is it about LIGHT CHILDREN that has made you fight for it for over a decade?After practicing and preparing for many years, this is my debut as a writer. I’ve fought for Light Children because it’s a story that has helped me to process my own pain and sorrow. The story, weighted by great suffering and loss, is ultimately about hope and the battling of despair. I’ve found great solace in the substance of the story and believe our audience will too. I think young and adult readers alike will see Light Children as an analogy for how they feel, ache, celebrate, cry and laugh. I’ve found so few modern stories that have captured my emotions on that level. I’m confident that readers will be caught up in the heart of this story. That and the opportunities to create a gorgeous, never-before-seen world is what drives me to stop only when it finished.

What do you guys read and enjoy, out of any comics, books, movies?
I (Andy) read down the list of Newbery Medal winning children’s books. Just finished “The Giver” by Lois Lowry. Talk about a woman who can create worlds. I love the Harry Potter series for how well realized it is. I’m a New Hope, Empire, Jedi, Star Wars trilogy fan. My favorite comic series is “The Maxx” by Sam Keith. I’m a huge fan of the “Flight” series of graphic short stories.

I (Kyle) love Tolkien, Chris Ware, Bill Watterson, Sofia Coppola, David Mazzucchelli, TINTIN, Miyazaki, James Jean, and Bone.

Finally, I want to ask what kind of plan do you have for LIGHT CHILDREN in the future? Are you hoping for print?Though we addressed print plans in a previous question, we have many others which are more dreams rather than clear blue prints. We’re open to discussing distribution and publishing with partners, though we’ve had no conversations yet. We both feel we need to deliver the first book or two before it would make much sense to try and scale up marketing and distribution with a big name. When the story has been embraced by a large enough audience, we hope Light Children will see other mediums, like films and games. Our job is to stay focused on delivering the story in graphic novel format as best we can. This will make other possibilities more probable. Today, we’re both enjoying the freedom that comes from guiding and nurturing an independent project.

Below are several preview pages of the comic. Please go to LIGHT CHILDREN to experience it for yourself and get hooked.
Light Children page 3
Light Children page 4

Light Children page 6

Mar 08

INTERVIEW: Yann Krehl of INKplosion! Web Comic

By Wesley Green

vater 00eng

Interviewed by Matt Butcher / Writer for Independent Propaganda

Yann Krehl is one of the architects behind the international web comic collective INKplosion. Matt recently spoke to Yann about INKplosion, printing and distributing web comics, and what the future holds for INKplosion.

Matt Butcher: How are the stories published or distributed?

Yann Krehl: The stories are published online on www.INKplosion.com, and most of them were already featured on www.INKplosion.de. Some (like “Quarantine”, “Prince Charming” and “Los 7 Mariachis”) did appear in print, but that’s the exception rather than the norm. INKplosion has (so far) published five printed comics (the so-called “Print Specials”) to coincide with comic conventions in Germany, but we focus on free online comics.

Feb 14

INTERVIEW: New Publisher Roundtable - Toney Tapia of JAM PACKED PRODUCTIONS

By Wesley Green

No Comments

supernaturals cover

Interviewed by Wesley Craig Green

You can read previous installments of the New Publisher Roundtable by clicking the links below:
Adam McGovern of Indie Ink
Steve Earnhart of Hard-Boiled Comics

In our third installment of interviews with new publishers, we have Toney Tapia of Jam Packed Productions, publisher of THE SUPER NATURALS series and the upcoming THE ZOMBIE PROJECT. Toney was kind enough to share his thoughts on self-publishing, working with Diamond, and what marketing tactics worked for him.

Independent Propaganda: This past year, you had your first book published and distributed by Diamond. I imagine you did your fair share of research in regards to pre-press, printers, and working with Diamond. But no matter how much you research a subject, things will come out of the blue which you were not expecting. Did this happen when you were dealing with your printer and/or Diamond?

Toney Tapia: Not really. I have worked in the comic book industry for a while now so I knew about Diamond and how they worked and also dealt with many printing companies so I kinda had the jist of printer fees and there schedules. When I started Jam Packed Productions I got in touch with those printers that I worked with before and a couple reps from Diamond and they filled me in on the what, wheres and hows.

Feb 05

REVIEW: CONTENT #1 & #2 And Interview With Creator, Gia-Bao Tran

By Wesley Green

No Comments

content1 cover

Written by Chris Beckett / Writer for Independent Propaganda

CONTENT #1 40pp. b/w $3.00 (Xeric award)
CONTENT #2 60pp. b/w $5.00
Story and Art by GB Tran

GB Tran was one of the more interesting people I met at this past year’s SPX. The hand-lettered Xeric Award sign at his table caught my eye, and his enthusiasm - about comics, about how the show was going - kept me there. Tran has self-published two issues of his comic, CONTENT, and his excitement about the latest issue was evident, recommending it over his initial foray, which was awarded a Xeric Grant in 2002. I asked him about the book and unlike a lot of creators at the Expo with traditional “floppy” comics for sale, CONTENT is not a continuing narrative, but a haven for the stories GB Tran wants to tell.

Jan 30

INTERVIEW: Sean O’Reilly of Arcana Studio

By Wesley Green

arcana logo

Interviewed by Matt Butcher / Writer for Independent Propaganda

Matt Butcher: There are those of us that are still learning about Arcana Studios. Can you give a brief history of your company?

Sean O’Reilly: Arcana Studio started in 2004 and has been getting stronger each year. Independent comic book publishing is a tough gig and we’re already seen the rise and fall of some pretty major companies. We are a ‘work for hire’ studio that always delivers on time art production for companies like Disney, HBO, NBC and more. We also work for ourselves producing and publishing our own materials. We are always accepting outside submissions and just love the excitement from the comic book industry.

Matt Butcher: Why Arcana? Why not another publisher like Image?

Image is a great publisher and I love what they’ve done…we’re obviously much smaller and are able to help a creator get set up with many opportunities from toy companies to Lion’s Gate. Some opportunities even end up at Image so I don’t see them as my competitor.

Jan 25

INTERVIEW: Joe Martino of JGM Comics

By Wesley Green

shadowflame cover

Interviewed by Matt Butcher / Writer for Independent Propaganda

Arcana Studio has been finding some phenomenal talent lately. I had the pleasure to converse with Joe Martino of JGM Comics and his upcoming book SHADOWFLAME.

Matt Butcher: First of all, please tell a little about the history of JGM Comics and some previous successes.

Joe Martino: JGM Comics is a company I started back in 1995 to publish some comics with my characters. The first book I published was Shadowflame. It was a 4 issue mini-series that the current one is based on. I got in right after the speculator boom and number 1 issues weren’t selling like they did a year before that. I honestly think that if it came out a year earlier it would have sold much better. I put out 3 issues through JGM and one through CFD Productions. The last book was put out in 1997. That was around the time I started on Ripperman, which was released through Chanting Monks Press in October 2004. I have done some various pinups and covers for indy books. I also had a piece in the Dave Cockrum Tribute book which was a great surprise. We sent it just as a get-well type thing and Dave, Paty and Clifford Meth were nice enough to include it in the book.

Matt Butcher: What is different about Shadowflame that will make today’s comic reader pick it up?

Jan 15

REVIEW: EARTH MINDS ARE WEAK #7 and Interview With Creator JUSTIN J. FOX

By Wesley Green

Reviews, Interviews

earthminds cover

Written by Chris Beckett / Writer for Independent Propaganda

EARTH MINDS ARE WEAK #7 “For the Argentine”

consists of 3 mini comics for $2.00:
“Remember” 8pp, color, 8.5″x5.5″
“The Game” 18pp, b/w, 8.5″x5.5″
“I am God” 8pp, 2-color, 5.5″x4.25″
by Justin J. Fox
Cliff Face Comics

This year’s Small Press Expo was alive with creativity. The variety of books, storytelling techniques, art styles, genres, and formats on display was remarkable. I enjoy good stories, irrespective of genre or format, and I love the excitement that accompanies the discovery of something new such as Justin Fox’s comic EARTH MINDS ARE WEAK. His comics come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and the two issues he had on display consisted of three mini-comics each wrapped around a common theme, and even within each issue the books’ dimensions varied. The one I picked up at the show, issue 7, came in a 9 inch by 6 inch brown envelope with a front and back cover image drawn by Fox. Within the envelope were the 3 minis: “Remember” (8pp., color, 8.5″x5.5″), “The Game” (18pp., black and white, 8.5″x5.5″), and “I am God.” (8pp., 2-color, 5.5″x4.25″). The different format caught my eye, and the price for the issue, only two bucks, reeled me in.

Dec 04

REVIEW: THE LAST ISLAND By Alex Cahill & An Interview With Alex Cahill

By Wesley Green

2 Comments

Reviews, Interviews

lastisland cover

Interviewed by Chris Beckett / Writer for Independent Propaganda

This past October I attended my first Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland and was anxious to see the variety that would be on display among the self-publishers exhibiting. I’m happy to say I was not disappointed.

The stories, the art styles, the genres, the formats - the wide range that was on evidence was amazing for me as a first-timer, and I came back with quite a few gems. This is the first in a series of reviews/interviews for books I picked up at SPX - some of the best indy/small press/mini-comics being produced today, a number of which are from Xeric grant recipients. These are the books you should be buying if you are a fan of artistic expression. And once you’ve finished the review continue on to a short interview with the creator of this book, Alex Cahill. I hope you all enjoy.

Nov 28

INTERVIEW: David Elliot of Thrill House Comics

By Wesley Green

No Comments

thrillhouse logo 1

Interviewed by Wesley Craig Green / Head Cheese at Independent Propaganda

Making a splash at last summer’s San Diego Comic Con was new publisher, Thrill House Comics who was there to promote their two properties: SHARK-MAN and CRYPTID. Both projects are based on original stories by writer/producer Ronald (ALIEN, TOTAL RECALL, MINORITY REPORT) Shusett, and like his other projects, both SHARK-MAN and CRYPTID are a mishmash of sci-fi and pulp fiction.

SHARK-MAN #1 debuted this past July to very favorable reviews. And then nothing till this past September when CRYPTID: CREATING A UNIVERSE was solicited in Diamond’s PREVIEW catalogue and then in October where SHARK MAN #2 was solicited for a December release date.

In this interview with Thrill House Comics’ editor, David Elliot, he addresses these delays along with introducing newcomers to SHARK-MAN and CRYPTID, catching fans up on what is going on at Thrill House Comics, and what we can expect in the future.