Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Los Angeles Comic Con - Oct 26-28th

Hey guys, it's Giulie here.

Guess what's coming up? LA Comic-Con this weekend! It's been a long time since we did a show but we have some new stuff to offer.

We will be debuting our latest micro-anthology, RED: A Golden Age Mixtape. Four modern short stories using Golden age characters: Red Rube, Red Bee, Red Mask and Red Torpedo. Contributors include Jared Sams, Kenny Keil, Rob Harrington and me with Leonie O'Moore. Nathaniel Osollo did the awesome cover, sneak preview of the logo below.

A Golden Age Mixtape

Also, FANBASE PRESS did a shout out for all indie creators that will be in attendance (including us).

Rob and I will be tabling in Artist Alley at C13. Come by and check us out!



Monday, October 22, 2018

Our New Website is up!

Lot's of announcements this week!

We have a new website (so sleek and shiny) and you must check it out.




We will add and edit information as the weeks go by but until then, peruse and enjoy.

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Kickstarter for Cash & Carrie Book 2 is now live!

Cash & Carrie: Book Two - Summer Sleuths is now available for pre-order!

It's 96 pages of fun stories and colorful art. The rewards are for the digital edition or the soft-cover printed trade. Kickstarter campaign ends on November 27th.

What's in store for our favorite mystery solving duo?

Cash and Carrie are back at it again! School’s out for the summer and that means it’s time to retreat to a cabin in the woods where it’s always safe and nothing bad ever happens there. It’s all fun and games until strange things start happening. Campers go missing, Bigfoot might actually exist and what's really in coleslaw? With no WiFi and the mosquito repellant not cutting it, our detective duo have to stick together to solve these mysteries on their own. Will they survive this spooky summer camp of supreme superstition? We shall see!


Please click on this link to contribute or help spread the word.

Saturday, September 22, 2018

BEHIND THE SCENES: Breakdown of a Script

Hello there!

It's been a while since I've done an actual blog post that is more tutorial than announcement, but here we go.

I'm going back to one of my earlier scripts that I almost self-published but ultimately didn't for numerous reasons. Today, I wanted to look at the mistakes I made (and learned from) and analyze what could've been a worthwhile short comic. With every failed attempt is a learning experience, and here's hoping I'm evolving into a better writer.

DINER MAN - A server waits on the patrons of a small diner until he sees a shady man ready to abduct a young woman. 

It's a simple story, four pages. A major criticism I received when I posted this story on a message board (to get notes) is...not much happens. Well, I still disagree with that sentiment because it's slice of life. A small gesture can have big consequences.



An aside, I hired an artist for this but he never finished it. Even though I have posted his pages here for educational purposes, I'm withholding his name out of respect, I don't want to tarnish is reputation. I didn't take it personally since he was honest with me about why he flaked. But hey, that's indie comics for you.

Now dissecting Page 1. I put a summary at the top which is really a writer's note to the artist. It paints the overall picture/tone. This could've been in an email as added info alongside the script. Or better yet, weaved throughout the subsequent panels. The backstory of Diner Man (ex firefighter who lost his leg) was inspired by an actual guy that waited on me a few times at my local diner. In my mind, he's the quiet hero, holistic, who worked the night shift to pay the bills.

Page 1 Panel 1, sets up the world, customers sitting and eating, we see bits of their dialogue, just a peak into their lives (because everyone from all walks of life need to eat).

Page 1 Panel 2-4, the introduction to the interest, the young woman in the hoodie. With limited real estate, I couldn't devote too much time to developing her so in this case she is the short lived object of affection. (Yeah I know, women shouldn't be seen as objects, it's a figure of speech!)



P2p1 (short hand for Page 2 panel 1) Diner Man's the nice guy in this, not trying to flirt but likes her right away.

P2p4 - the inciting incident. It's subtle I know, but the creeper just honed in on an un-assuming girl. And our hero sees that. Also I don't know remember why I called the creeper Left Man, because he doesn't stay on the left side of the panel for too long...ugh.



P3p2 - As you noticed, there's 6 panels listed in the script but 9 panels on the comic page. This harks back to when I was still unsure about pacing and action. An artist can only take snap shots of a nuanced scene like this and for this page specifically, the artist rightly added more panels to contrast the seemingly normal night of a busy diner with the looming danger of our central story.

P3p6- this was pushed to the next page, as an insert panel.



P4p2 - Our hero watches and rather than waiting to see what happens, he intervenes. He senses malice and the potential threat in Left Man. And the fact that we now know that creeper/Left Man has a name, that means he's a regular there. Perhaps Diner Man knows Frank is an ex-con. Again, everyone has to eat.

P4p5 - Not only is this not a wide angle, but it's panel 7 on the comic page. In any case, I love this last shot. It's the superhero shot. Diner Man is a protector who doesn't say a lot (adding to his mystique), has overcome obstacles (lost his leg), who's humble and human.

Overall, given the last time I even looked at this script back in 2013 I'd like to say my writing has improved (especially the layout of the script). And yes the pacing definitely needs improvement. Four pages is not a lot, so there's not a lot of time to waste. The inciting incident could've happened earlier.

The good news is, I still love the premise. It's rooted in reality, the everyday, where there are people who may harm us, but some may help us.


Saturday, August 25, 2018

Made At Meltdown Event

Hi Everyone!


It's been a while we know, but we've been really busy this year. But, there's an event happening in Downtown LA tomorrow called Made At Meltdown, in reference to Meltdown Comic Shop that closed earlier this year.

Way back when, the first comic I made (By The Slice) was created while taking a class at Meltdown U, taught by Jim Higgins. So everyone who took that class and has since then published other comics will be at A Shop Called Quest from 2-5.

Thanks to Rylend Grant who put this all together, we'll be signing, doing panels, podcasts, and there's food trucks as well.

So come on out and enjoy!


First Debut at the now defunct Meltdown Comics

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Podcasts, Conventions, Comics and more!

Hi all!

This is our first post of the year, yay!

We've been radio silent for a while now but that's because we're busy cooking up new comics.

Hopefully soon we'll revamp our website but for now, this space and FB is all we have.

Most recently, Rob and I were on The Fanbase Weekly podcast chatting about Black Panther, SpaceX rocket and our favorite trailers. Check us out in Episode 54.

Today we attended our first con of the year, Long Beach Comic Expo. It was great bumping into old friends and meeting new ones. We even picked up some awesome books too.

That's it for now but we'll roaming the aisles in WonderCon in March. If you see us walking around, wave us over to say hi.

Fanbase Headquarters (and chocolate)