Anyway, there are two projects that are well on their way at the moment, and a few others that are in progress but they can be the subject of a future posting.
Marleen Lowe and I are following up on Whatever Happened To The World's Fastest Man? with Has Kane Mesmer Lost His Magic Touch?
Kane Mesmer was mentioned in passing a few times in our first collaboration, and even then I had the idea for this story eating away at me. It differs from the first in that this one deals with two characters, the relationship that grows between them and their world views, as well as them having a few odd abilities of course :o).
Marleen is 16 pages in (and I've sampled one of the pages below), and, as expected, she's breathing life into the story through her artwork. I'm not sure when it'll be completed, and I wouldn't dream of rushing Marleen, or any other artist, these things mustn't be rushed.
I've also been working with Steve Holder on ROBOT SHORTS, a collection of short stories written by myself and illustrated by Steve (the hard ones) and myself (the easier ones). 
Having just finished greyscaling The Flower, illustrated by Steve, I'm now going to finish off my contributions and will then see if the book is ready. It's already coming in at about 100 pages, and will be printed in a nice little hardcover A5 edition, the same as Strange Times.
I feel extremely fortunate to be working with such great artists, as with the other books happening behind the scenes, and am really looking forward to seeing them on the shelves.
Good looking stuff, Dave - looking forward to reading them.
ReplyDelete(Also, I'm with you on not mentioning uncompleted projects - after losing artists on AutoLolita and The Whale House, I've learned my lesson about getting too overexcited before I have anything to show for myself. Mum's the word from now on.) ;o)
Hi Dave, looks fab. Just caught up with your last few posts. Great reading. Completely with you on not mentioning projects, but I guess I can't resist sharing my disappointment with the world!
ReplyDeleteIt's one of the challenges doing this 'Independent Comic Thing'. Not being able to pay a page rate up front, with any money coming to the artists as a result of those all too ethereal 'profits'.
ReplyDeleteI can't blame artists who get a better (paying up front) offer from somewhere else, or become daunted by the amount of time they are going to have to commit to the project with no guaranteed return, and so decide to cut and run.
It's much better to know about it up front though as we writers (yes, I know acknowledge that that's where my greatest strengths are) get very down-hearted having invested a story with part of our, I hate to use the term but nothing better occurs, soul. Only to see it drift into Limbo.
I've been very lucky so far.
Only one story of mine has completely gone off the radar, with the intended Argentinian artist just dropping off the map. I only hope that he's OK. With a contract agreed by both parties the property is effectively dead, unless and until he re-surfaces. Maybe he will with a book full of completed pages :o)
Both of these just look damn awesome! Accent UK has quickly become one of my favorite studios, as most of what I have read just reads like a ton of love was poured into the book. Thanks for the previews!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mr. Weiners :o),
ReplyDeleteWith our relatively limited funds, time and energy we really do have to believe in each book we publish. We are very selective, really having to connect to the books, as we want to give them as much as we can. I've seen a number of Small Press / Independent publishers spread themselves too thinly, with too many books coming out in a relatively short time, resulting in too much cash tied up in stock to be able to afford to get to Conventions and sell them.
It's a tough game to break into, but it's fun trying :o)
Hello Dave,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Catherine Meyers; I work as the admin of a web and blog directory. I have to say, I’m impressed by your work and your blog, rally love your art, Good job! That is why, I would be delighted to have your blog in my directory, that way my visitors will also visit your website.
If you are interested in this link exchange, let me know.
Good luck with your webpage.
Catherine Meyers
Thanks for the feedback Catherine, I'd certainly be interested in exchanging links. By all means add the details for your Directory in a response to this Comment and I'll add the link to my Blog.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Dave W