Issue Four, Page Five...Psychoboy Gets His Bill Clinton On!

So I'm finally done with page five for issue four. Here we enter Team Psycho HQ for a look at what our candidate is like around the office...

I got to say I love that shirt. I  drew Psychoboy's custom action figure on the desk just as an odd touch. I wanted the HQ to have campaign signs plastered all over so I just took some already existing signs for Psycho's virtual campaign now happening on social media. They'll be posted on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter in the coming weeks, so be sure to like or follow Psychoboy. I've got some really fantastic gags I'll be posting in the coming weeks as the election (and the release of the issue) grows closer.

And because you've been really good, here's one more panel...

Oh, who can comprehend true genius, or whatever it is that's going on in Psychoboy's head? So next up, the epic campaign montage page!

Still Plugging Away...

Just wanted to let you guys know I'm still making progress on issue four. I've got all the posts ready for this week on Psychoboy's campaign, but my day job prevented me from even touching a page all week. I'm happy to report I was able to ink and color page five this weekend and should have it wrapped up this week. I should be able to get back on schedule and get this story knocked out in about a month.

ComiXology accepted College Follies #2!

Just got the acceptance letter on College Follies #2 from ComiXology this morning! Issue one took almost two months for them to process for release after acceptance, but since issue two is shorter, hopefully it'll be quicker.

Issue two is a slice of life, anti-romantic comedy set in a Super Happy-Mart starring Stickoy and his ex-girlfirend, Dino. Because it's a shorter issue, it's 99 cent, and is already out on Amusedom and DriveThruComics. The ComiXology version can be read on both computers and mobile devices and has "Guided View" that takes you through the comic panel-by-panel (ideal for mobile devices).

College Follies #3, the Power Ranger parody issue, hasn't been reviewed yet. I'm hoping the pace picks up now that I've got two issues approved. I doubt issue three will be out on ComiXology before December, like I'd hoped, but it is out on Amusedom and DriveThruComics right now.

So wait just a little bit longer and you'll soon be reading College Follies #2 on ComiXology!  

Issue Four, Page Four...Psychoboy's Got Issues!

Aside from getting the Elect Psychoboy site going and Psychoboy's social media pages up, I also finished the fourth page of issue four...

Since it's just eight pages, I won't be showing whole pages for the rest of the issue, just a few panels to wet your appetite. But since you've been good, here's one more off the page...

Elect Psychoboy is a go!

So I completed Psychoboy's campaign and social media pages this week and have his initial posts ready to go. The idea with issue four is that part of it is told in the comic and part of it is an interactive online experience. 

The site, electpsychoboy.com, is up now. Be sure to check out everything on there. His biography alone is priceless. More stuff will be added later as he gets responses on what his positions should be and I create some short YouTube ads for his campaign. 

And then be sure to join Team Psycho by liking or following Psychoboy on social media. He'll send you ads and other nonsense from his campaign regularly (probably about once a day), In a couple weeks he'll be asking what you want him to stand for, what positions he should take and I'll be adding whatever it is to his platform on his site. Build a Death Star? A giant robot in every yard? Eliminate all taxes and completely pay off the national debt? The sky's the limit! 

This experience depends on you. You're going to need to like, favorite, share and comment on the posts in order for this to work. I need to reach as many people as possible. 

You can follow Psychoboy on Google+, Facebook and Twitter (they'll be a bit of extra stuff for those of you on Google+).  I'll be sharing his posts using the College Follies pages on Twitter and Google+ and my personal page (Todd Luck) on Facebook (since posts on the College Follies Facebook page don't seem to reach anyone).

It's a relief to get this going. I'm also halfway through the story, having completed page four, which I'll be posting later today. I'm on schedule to complete issue four in October!

At this point, this blog will feature major announcements and posts on page completion as I shift over to social media posts for Psychoboy's campaign and the occasional post to remind folks the first three issues are out.

 So click on the links in this post and tell your friends, let's make this campaign epic!

Return of the Con!

So Winston-Salem Comic-Con went a lot better this time time.

I sold a few more than I did at past cons and had several other attendees express sincere interest in getting at least one issue of the series. I had a lot of good conversations and even did a brief interview with a reporter so I may be getting some press for the series soon. Attendees picked up a fair amount of fliers for both the series and Psychoboy's campaign site, electpsychoboy.com. I had some campaign signs on my display for Psycho (they looked great on photo paper) and he'll be launching his campaign tomorrow. And I also got page six for issue four penciled.

Not sure what the difference was this time, It just seemed like a better crowd with good volume. I was facing away from the entrance, but at an end table on a row that was fairly close to the door, so that probably helped.

I had wonderfully talented neighbors who shared a table: talented artist Rodney Bennett, who is working on his own graphic novel  Legend of the Black Starr, and Dan Johnson who is one of the writers of Dennis the Menace and an assistant editor at Charlton Neo. It's amazing the guys you get to meet at cons.

Not sure if I learned anything particularly useful for creators this time. The city of Winston-Salem provides some hella hard seats at that venue, so if you plan to work and use them the whole time, you might want to bring a cushion.

I grabbed breakfast from McDonald's including coffee, which I never drink. I learned to ask for sugar instead of cream and that their coffee takes close to an hour before it'll stop scolding your insides when you drink it.

And when you're sticking stuff to your table cloth, do it around around the top with the table to push against when securing it. Just sticking stuff on the loose, hanging cloth didn't work. Some weird rule of physics applies there, I assume.

Anyway it was a good time, I'm tired as hell. Hopefully, I can still stay on schedule for issue four. Tomorrow I'll blog on Psycho's campaign site. Prepare yourself for the best candidate who never existed!

Creating Issue Three's Variant Cover...Psychoboy Goes Plastic!

So Lavender Ranger's figure started its life as one of the current Green Ranger figures that's out now. It's a standard 5 inch Power Ranger figure, with the typical bulked-up build they give them in the toys. While they may be inaccurate as hell for the show, it's pretty damn perfect for Psychoboy's build and since Psycho is essentially wearing a recolored Green Ranger outfit, it meant the body just needed a new head and morpher and the rest would be repainting.

So I bought the figure at Walmart and shot it over to Brain Funk of Mad Lab Customs. I saw his stuff at the last Winston-Salem Comic Con and was impressed. His prices were potentially very affordable so I contacted him a couple months ago on Facebook. He said it would be no problem and he thought he could get it to me in the time frame I was hoping for. So I him sent some designs and notes on Lavender Ranger with the unenviable challenge of translating my 2D character into a 3D figure.

I got the figure Friday afternoon. I had already done all the text and logo work on the cover and found an appropriate background that looked like an alien environment (extraterrestrial environments were usually the settings for the old Power Rangers toy commercials). I just needed to put the figure in.

So I opened it and tested the figure's abilities and limitations quickly. Then I did a variety of shots trying to find the right one. He came with a custom painted Chainsaw of Justice (which he's shown  using in one panel of the comic's "show opening"). It looked really damn cool when he held it. But I figured that the chainsaw on the cover might confuse readers (since it's not a very Power Ranger sort of weapon) and give them the impression he uses it in the story itself.


So I narrowed it down to more traditional action figure poses and picked the one I liked best. I cut out the background, put it in and made a bee line to the office to send it off to the printer in time for this Saturday's convention. From receiving the package to completing the cover, it was about an hour and a half.

I'm happy with the results. The cover is like a Power Ranger figure meets Robot Chicken. It's available as a digital comic on Amusedom and in print at conventions. The figure will be in my display at conventions, starting with this Saturday's Winston-Salem Comic Con. Come by and say "hi" to little Lavender Ranger!

ComiXology update on issue two...

A quick update on  issue two. Issue two has been resubmitted to ComiXology with a three page preview of issue three to get it to the eight page minimum they mentioned in their rejection email. After I posted my blog yesterday about the rejection I got a message directly from ComiXology saying that the length was the only issue and once I get it to eight pages or above I'm good, so you will indeed be seeing College Follies #2 on there soon!

I hadn't bothered emailing them about the rejection because the response from Comixology at this point in the submission process on issue one was very limited, either repeating stuff off their FAQ without giving me any info on my specific submission or just no response at all. Now, after issue one was approved, they responded very quickly to my request to change its category when a glitch on their site put it in "Pulp" instead of "Comedy," but at this point on an unapproved issue I expected no response.

Since I didn't email them I'm assuming they saw my blog and were responding directly to it. It's odd, but I do appreciate the clarification and it feels good know issue two will be on ComiXology soon.

So hopefully in the next several weeks, issue two will be up. Last time the approval was very quick once I resubmitted (a week or so) and then it was another month or so to get it up. Hopefully it'll be at least that fast this time.

Issue Three Variant Cover...Lavender Ranger, The Figure!

So at long last the variant for issue three's Power Ranger parody story is done!

It features a figure of Lavender Ranger aka Psychoboy. No, Bandai isn't adding him to their line up of Legendary Power Ranger figures, this is a one-of-a-kind custom figure I had created by Mad Lab Customs.  I'll show more shots of the figure and go into the creation of the cover tomorrow.

Issue three is currently available on DriveThruComics and will be out at some point on Comixology, but the only place to get the variant edition as a digital comic is Amusedom.com. The variant edition will also be available in print at conventions and should be at my next one on Sept. 13 at the Winston-Salem Comic Con. Little Lavender Ranger will be keeping me company at conventions so you can check him out in person. And, yes, kids,  that is a custom Chainsaw of Justice in his right hand. Life is good.

ComiXology Responds To Issue Two...And It Came Up Short....

So ComiXology finally responded to issue two. I submitted it at the first of June and got the response last night and they rejected it. Why?

Here's what the email said (complete with typo):

"- Other: We have a minimum requirement of 8 story pages not including cover and credits page. Please resubmit when you have more then 5 pages of story."

It turns out it took them three months to figure out the story was five pages. Well, hopefully not. I would like to think they examined the other aspects of it, determining it was good enough for their site, so they would know that length was the only objection. It would make sense since everything in the issue (lettering, coloring, pdf settings, etc.) is exactly same as the first issue that they excepted and now have on sale. The only difference is that the inking on issue two is A LOT better since I did it digitally.

So I just make it longer and I'm good, right? So I'll be automatically accepted like last time, when I corrected another automatic denial that mystifyingly was not included in their FAQ or submission guidelines, right?

Well, maybe. The email said nothing about tentative acceptance this time. It was phrased completely differently:

"Dear Todd Luck,

Unfortunately, we're unable to accept your comic College Follies 2 at this time. Below are our recommendations for revisions or improvements that might make your comic more appropriate for comiXology in the future.

Please consider them for your next submission, and we wish you much success in your future comic book endeavors."

So if length was the only problem, why would it be phrased this way? Certainly they know I can just slap another short on there and resubmit.

So I'm unsure what's going on. I'm going to assume once I get it up to eight pages or above, I'm in. I'm currently racing to get issue four out by October so I don't have time to create a new three page story at the moment. So I'm just going to put a three page preview for issue three in there and resubmit it today.

  

In the meantime, you can read issue two and issue three (the Power Ranger parody issue) on both Amusedom and DriveThruComics. And, like I said, issue one is on ComiXology, waiting to be joined by the rest of series...

College Follies #3 Is Out!!!

College Follies #3, the Power Ranger parody issue, is out! Flip on your TV and adjust your rabbit ears, as Stickboy and Psychoboy transform and kick butt! Chatty monsters, oddly shaped giant robots, colorful costumes, inexplicable scenery changes...this one has it all! It's out as a digital comic on Amusedom and a downloadable PDF on DriveThruComics. It's 13 pages of comedic action, plus an exclusive essay featuring my thought on the Power Ranger franchise, which just turned 21 a few days ago. All that for only $1.99!  

It's been submitted to Comixology but I'm still waiting for them to approve issue two, so it may be a little bit before they get issue three up. It will be available in print at conventions for $3, the next one being Winston-Salem Comic Con on Sept. 13. I'll variant cover done by the weekend and up on Amusedom and hopefully printed in time for the convention.

So anyway, stop reading and click on the links below to get the issue already!

     

                   

Issue Four Script Done! Typing up Psychoboy!

So I've completed the script for issue four. While I'll say that it was a lot of fun scripting it as I created the art on the first three pages, it did make me worry about how long the story would run. In this case, it was for two important reasons: 

First, I'm trying to get this done by October and if it's too long that'll be impossible.

Second, I was hoping to keep the price point down to $2 in print at conventions. I don't want the print to cost more than one dollar over the online edition (which is 99 cent). If it went above a certain page threshold that price point would be impossible without losing money.

I am very glad to say the story came in at 8 pages exactly without having to sacrifice or cram anything down. This is the exact right length for a $2 price point in print and 99 cent online. It's also the right length for me to finish up production in mid October. And best of all, it's damn good stuff.

The bad news is I have yet to get Psychoboy's campaign site and postings going. I'm going to try to remedy that  before my next convention, though I have some other stuff I need to do for the launch of issue 3 next week so it's going to be a tight schedule. I'm only one guy and I can only do so much at once time, so be patient. It'll be worth it.