Ambidextrous 337- You Have To Buy It

Whenever I’m talking about Miranda Mercury, one of the questions that’s usually posed is something like, “What can people do to support diversity in comics and books like Miranda Mercury?”

And it’s a great question, no doubt about it, and I usually answer it in a very diplomatic way, but to put it very simply—you have to BUY IT. Buy it today, and tomorrow tell someone else you know whose tastes and sensibilities you know and understand that they should buy it too. Don’t put it on your Amazon wish list as something to buy after you’ve bought all those other books on the list you clearly want to buy more—buy it today. Right now.

Cause here’s the truth of it—people like to talk a good game and co-sign all of these articles that sprout up every February, bemoaning the lack of black and diverse voices in comics, while attacking the offending companies with red hot pokers of indignation, ignoring the fact that it’s not just the companies putting out the books. It’s all of it, which includes the fans and commentators that are saying all the right things in public, but in private, are just as much of the problem as anyone. All some people are doing is talking about the books instead of buying the books, and there could be any number of reasonable explanations for that, admittedly, but I know for a fact that the numbers of people appearing “concerned” about this whole thing far outnumbers the additional sales of any books that might benefit from that sentiment.

There’s a writer I’ve known for years, who has written for a number of comics news sites that I consider a brilliant and clever commentator on race, comics, hip-hop, and where it all naturally intersects. He writes so much better than I do, and unlike me, doesn’t seem consumed with this idea that one day he’ll be able to work in comics, and therefore everything posted must be tempered with some level of restraint. He tells the truth, and he doesn’t shy away from it. And I consider him a friend and an ally who shares some of the same sensibilities I do, and he helped get the word out about the existence of Miranda Mercury, which is something I’ll never be able to repay him for.

But I’m reading a review by him of the recently released Dynamite comic Red Team, and he makes a comment how this was the first time he’d seen the work of artist Craig Cermak, who made his comics debut with me on Voltron: Year One. And you know what, I’m man enough to admit that comment hurt my heart a little bit, and felt like being kicked in the chest. If there was one person in the entire world that I was supremely confident was reading not one, but both of my Voltron comics, it was this man, and the fact he hasn’t just confirmed a suspicion that I suspect a lot of black and diverse writers indulge in on occasion—that even the people you’d think would be willing to support your work with dollars isn’t doing it for whatever reason.

Now, I don’t believe for a second there was any malice intended on his part, and I’m not of the mind that every single person out there who claims to be alarmed by the lack of diversity in the industry should be expected to buy every single book by a black, female, or other diverse writer. But, if even that segment of the audience is unwilling to, or (and this is far more likely) able to somehow casually overlook the existence of something they’re claiming loudly, proudly, and publicly to want? Then yeah, I think that’s a concern, and one that deserves further discussion.

Here’s a quick, completely unscientific litmus test for the type of thing I’m talking about.

Did you buy Prince of Cats? Shadowlaw? Quantum & Woody when it appeared on Comixology? Number 13? Have you heard of Rotten Apple or Journeymen? Do you have any of the following books on your shelves right now—Beyond!, Birth of a Nation, Angeltown, You Are Here, Highwaymen, The Rinse, Nat Turner, Incognegro, Graphic Classics #22, Black Comix, Sentences, The American Way, Fierce, Bayou, or Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel? Or dare I even say it…Miranda Mercury?

Obviously, that’s not anything approaching a comprehensive list of titles either written by black writers, featuring black characters, or both, but if you can’t raise your hand for at least a few of those books, here’s the honest, inconvenient truth—you are part of the problem, and no amount of public cheerleading or grandstanding is going to change that.

People are hopping up and down about Marvel or DC, and how they don’t have any black writers at least tangentially involved in the creation of their respective universes, and I think it’s a dangerous and self-fulfilling precedent to set both in the short-term and the long-term. More than anything, it gives the impression that the work or professionalism of diverse writers is somehow deficient or lacking in some way, and that’s not true.

There’s also the fact that “it’s a copycat league” and if one of the big publishers drew a line in the sand and said, “You know what, we might be doing comics, its present and potential fans a huge disservice,” and decided to really go after it, things could change. Maybe it’ll happen some day soon, maybe it won’t, but in the meantime, there are already great books out there by diverse creators and you should support them and not just talk about supporting them.

My concern for the comics industry as it exists now is not about how the marketplace will look next year, what makes me nervous is thinking about the landscape in 2019. It already seems pretty clear that mainstream comics will never grow beyond its largely static superhero dominated boundaries by continuing to only allow one relatively singular interpretation of what superheroes can and should be. That’s not to imply that just because all of the main voices driving superhero content are white male ones automatically means the books are all the same. That’s insulting and stupid.

However, there is no question that a female writer is going to bring some additional level of perspective or methodology when handling the portrayal of female (and male) characters that a man wouldn’t. I think we can all agree on that, right? That seems something reasonable people can agree on.

So how and why are people so convinced that’s not also true when dealing with other diverse elements of the marketplace? Or is that not the issue at all? The argument is not that including the perspectives of women or people of color in positions of true authority will ultimately produce “better” comics, but there’s little question in my mind that they could help produce different comics. Not better or superior, which seems to be a straw man argument that sprouts up when folks start huffing and puffing about why it doesn’t matter at all—but different.

And different, by any means necessary, is what comics always needs. It’s what comics are for in the first place, and if they’re unwilling to do it, then what makes our medium different from movies or television or any of the other ones that have spotty track records on this very subject? Comics are better and you only need to open your eyes for three seconds before that realization slaps you in the face. There’s just something about them that’s special, and they (and we) can endure when someone asks that they be even more special. Even stronger and more fertile a creative ground than they already are. And if we want them to and commit to applying the only pressure that means anything, there’s no reason at all they can’t be.

What I’m doing now, what many have done before me in broaching this subject with even more intelligence, integrity and wit—this is not pressure. It’s a necessary step for sure, and if you truly are passionate about the issue, and not just padding your hit counters, you deserve a real pat on the back for the effort. It’s difficult to discuss calmly and rationally, and talking about race and diversity in public is always like diving into a snake pit, so if you’ve got the stuff for it, you have my sincerest congratulations.

But let’s not fool ourselves here—what I’m doing here, with this posting/column/whatever? This is not pressure, no matter how much we’d like it to be. Buying the books we want to see more of, and in numbers that are impossible to deny? That’s pressure. That will bring about the change we all claim to want.

So that means a little additional work may be necessary on our parts. Having some idea of the kind of books that are being offered from ALL publishers, not just two of them, is essential. Do not sit and wait for Marvel and DC to magically present you the perfect book by the exact perfect people that you want. Yes, they drive the major trends, but how is any diverse writer going to build a career that might lead to attention from Marvel, DC, etc. if no one is supporting the independent work they’re producing?

If you’re truly a fan of something, then you should plan on being a willing participant in its success or failure.

Everybody always wants to point to the other guy and scream who’s at fault, but the truth is it’s everybody’s fault. We all bear some level of responsibility for “the way things are” and until we acknowledge that, nothing is going to really change. Except the dates being posted on these articles, I guess.

I’ve made my share of mistakes, overlooked or dismissed things that I shouldn’t have, but you know what, I’m pretty comfortable with the way my shelf looks ultimately. And with the knowledge that I’m doing my part to turn the tide with more than just these words.

A little more honesty and accountability can go a long way…and there’s still a much longer way to go…

Forfeit Nothing

So, tomorrow is Election Day. Finally, right?

Usually, I keep my “politics” to myself, but I felt like saying something late last week and promised myself if I still felt that way by Monday, then it’s worth mentioning. And I do, so here we go, and all I really wanted to say to everyone is that—if you can vote, then you HAVE to vote. Pretty simple, I know, but there’s a lot of people disillusioned/disenchanted with whatever for whatever reasons, and people are actually ready to just sit on the sidelines and not participate at all. People are proudly proclaiming that they aren’t voting, and don’t really give a damn about not voting. They’ve figured it all out and are taking the ball and going home. Or more accurately, hiding the ball in the house.

And you know what, I think that’s one of the stupidest, most destructive things anyone can possibly do. If you’re a racial minority or a woman, take that previous sentence and multiply it by a million. Everything that people had to sacrifice and endure so that all of us have the right and opportunity to cast ballots unimpeded, combined with all the efforts people are still employing (in the year 2012) to deny us that right, and you’re not going to vote at all!!?

Fuck that. Seriously. Fuck that.

I don’t care if “it doesn’t mean anything,” or “it doesn’t matter in the end,” or “nothing’s ever really going to change.” You know what…maybe. Maybe not. But so what? How many little things do we do every single day that never really amount to anything, and yet we still do them anyway? If you don’t “believe” in presidential politics, there are probably still a ton of ballot measures that really do affect your life, and whatever excuse you’ve made for yourself why it’s okay not to even participate is invalid rationalizing bullshit and you know it.

Also, if you don’t vote, you fully relinquish your right to complain about your taxes, your neighborhood, your schools, your birth control, etc. When it came time to be “counted” you found something else to do, so kindly shut the hell up until the next election cycle. You didn’t even participate, which is the absolute bare minimum of modern human society. It’s inexcusable and indefensible, and there was a time in the not-so distant past when some of us weren’t even allowed to decide not to vote. And there’s a reason for that. There’s a reason they don’t want some of us to vote even now. And that should be more than enough to ensure that you do for as long as humanly possible.

So go vote tomorrow, if you haven’t already.

No more excuses.

B

Ambidextrous 335- Level Up

Will do my best not to go on and on, like I often do…

Last Wednesday was definitely one of the high points of my so-called career as a freelance writer. The good folks at WEP/Classic Media, who control the license for Voltron, among what seems like everything else, invited me out to their home base in St. Louis, MO, for a couple appearances/in-store signings to publicize the launch of the new Voltron comic series I’ve been writing in semi-secret for many months. (First issue now sold out from the distributor! Second print in stores 12/28!)

Achem…so, anyway…yeah, I’ve done my share of signings over the years, but most of them were done at the very same LCS that I’m in every Wednesday afternoon for my weekly fix, so this was a slightly different situation. Flying out for the day, being picked up at the airport, having my hotel accommodations taken care of—this was pretty much next level for me. Also, in the same early morning hours that I was checking in for my flight, the WEP people were on the St. Louis morning television shows, publicizing the new book and the in-store appearances (by me and Voltron) at Fantasy Books & Games  and Star Clipper. The former was our first stop, after an interesting and hilarious attempt at breakfast at the St. Louis Bread Company, which turns out is actually the original Panera Bread location.

That little factoid came from Tiffany Ilardi, WEP Managing Director, expert on all things Voltron and St. Louis, and a much better driver than her husband and co-worker Jeremy Corray (WEP Creative Director) give her credit for. She spent a good deal of time schooling me on everything I needed to know about the city, and initially expressing some disbelief and borderline outrage that I’d never been to the city before, even though I’ve lived in the Chicago area my entire life. Spent most of the ride talking about my “secret origin” as a writer, and I can never tell if the long diatribe sounds as ridiculous, convoluted, and unlikely as it does in my head.

Got to Fantasy Books & Games, and everything was all set up, with a giant poster of one of Alex’s glorious cover images behind the table, making me feel more than a little lucky, and it wasn’t long before people started showing up. In a strange coincidence, Diamond actually shorted them copies of the book and they had to raid one of their other locations to get a decent stack, which was too bad, cause we could’ve moved a few extra if we had them. But we blew through everything on hand, and the fans were from all walks of life—the parents who took their kids out of school early to come meet Voltron (actually Jeremy in the big suit), the older couple who picked up a couple copies to give to their daughter for Christmas (hardcore fan, still has the original toys), and the young lady that was a HUGE McDuffie fan, who I suspect will get a big kick out of Miranda Mercury.

Just in general though, I LOVE going into new comic shops, and neither of the places disappointed. Fantasy Books & Games was cavernous, probably the biggest shop I’ve ever been in, with a massive custom mural on the back wall and Marko Djurdevic’s series of giant posters depicting every corner of the Marvel Universe hanging from the ceiling on the opposite side. And I was able to find a copy of the first Fallen Angel Omnibus from IDW, which is super out of print and impossible to find. And the first person I met there was named Brandon, so I knew right from the start I’d leave there with a good feeling.

After an unforgettable lunch experience, where among other things, I told Jeremy and Tiffany my grand years-long plan for the book, touching on many of the major beats and surprises, got a chance to check in and chill out for a little bit before hitting Star Clipper. Turns out it’s the only St. Louis comic retailer that’s won an Eisner Award and after a couple seconds inside, it’s easy to see why. Though not as massive and spacious as Fantasy Books, it was one of the nicest stores I’ve ever been in. Hardwood floors, two or three fully decorated Christmas trees on the sales floor, flat screen on the wall, gallery area in the back, the place made me feel glad I was wearing a sport coat. Even still, it was warm and inviting, and felt more bookstore than comic store, which is always something that stands out.

Met another great group of people there, and I’m sure it didn’t hurt that Jeremy set up the new Voltron video game on the table next to me, which by itself drew a steady crowd the entire time. As usual, I talked almost the entire time about the book, breaking in, the new DCU, and had all manners of random conversations about comics, movies, and who knows what else. Most of them with Mike Harvey, a young comic creator in his own right, who writes, illustrates, and self-publishes his own book, which is a hell of a lot more than I’d accomplished in my earlier days.

After a great dinner at a restaurant called Scape, finished the evening back in the WEP office with Jeremy Corray, filming an interview in what I’ll call the “Voltron conference room” that’ll probably appear on the official Facebook page in the next couple weeks. Tried hard not to ramble too much, and even though it’d been a long day, felt like the perfect capper to everything. Was still pretty gassed up when I got back to the hotel room, so spent a couple hours reading comics on the iPad before bed. Already made tentative plans to return in the springtime, when the weather is a little better and something especially cool involving the book…happens in the next few months. But already looking forward to a return trip.

Special thanks again to Tiffany Ilardi, Jeremy Corray, and all the good folks at both Fantasy Books & Games, and Star Clipper, who went out of their way to make me feel welcome and like a real-life “professional writer.” Also thanks to all the people that went out and helped contribute to our first issue sell-out. Lot more twists and turns to come, so stay tuned.

Closing things out with some related links from the past week you might have missed in my flurry of FB and Twitter updates, and will be back soon…

Voltron #1- The Commentary Track

Dynamite’s Voltron #1 Sells Out, Goes Back to Press

Ambidextrous 334- End Roads

Usually, I wait until the impending start of the new year to make such declarations, but I’ll just come right out and say it…sometime in the year 2012, I want to finally make the transition to becoming a full-time comic book writer…

Now, I often leave convention season all fired up about comics in general and this year was like that times 1000. Getting Miranda out finally has been a major personal milestone, and (among other things) it also means that I can now devote some thought to a few of the other half-baked ideas that I have swirling around in my head on any given day. The rule for myself was that until this first volume got released, no dabbling with other creator-owned material. But I’m drifting a little again—the part that’s really important is that I always leave cons feeling all inspired and ready to get back to work, and ultimately, to position myself to be in a far different place when the next year’s shows wrap up.

So next summer, I want to either be doing this full-time already, or making a final dramatic push to get the job done once and for all. And to get me properly prepared, I decided a few weeks ago to step up my own production and begin training myself to write two to three full scripts every month. Since this next phase is all about establishing a more reliable publication schedule, I’m taking full ownership of the part that I fully control and so for the foreseeable future, I’ll be hitting my marks every month with a mix of Dynamite and creator-owned projects.

For the month of August I got off to a fast start, wrapping up two Voltron scripts and another for the still somewhat secret Project Superpowers mini-series that hasn’t been announced quite yet. This month, it’ll be another Voltron and/or Superpowers one, and I’ll officially be starting the scripting on the next big Miranda Mercury story. Probably won’t wrap it fully this month since the nature of the story will have me working out two scripts simultaneously, and no, I can’t even breathe a word of exactly why that is. Once I get those locked in, Lee can begin work and I might be able to start some prep work on a new project or two. There’s one in particular that I’m really anxious to explore that I’m not even sure actually works as a comic book, but it’ll be fun digging in and finding out.

Obviously, the flip of all this is that I probably won’t be updating this blog as much as I’d like past this current week—have already scheduled something special to commemorate the long-awaited return of Matt Fraction’s Casanova that’ll be rolling out in the next few days. But once that’s wrapped, much of my time not spent scripting will be devoted to beefing up the Chronology section on the main Miranda site. But I will keep everyone as updated as possible while I make another concerted push to get it done after picking at this for almost ten years now.

Really feels like it’s time, but you know, I always feel like it’s time…and one of these days, I’ll have been right…

Thanks again for the support these past few months and as always, stay tuned…

Ambidextrous 333- Go Lion

Voltron panel was certainly an interesting experience, considering I’d never been up on a dais before, discounting an impromptu bit where former Archaia editor Joe Illidge pulled me up on stage briefly to talk a little about Miranda Mercury, shortly after Archaia announced the project. But this time was a little different—I was a “featured guest” with my own cool name tag and everything, while appearing alongside a dozen other great folks that were handling Voltron in animation, video games, toys and movies. And ironically, the panel didn’t even take place in the main convention center. Because the show has gotten so large in recent years, some of the programming has crept into nearby hotels to accommodate everything. Such was the case in this case and so “Voltron Resurgent” was one of many presentations held at the Indigo Room in the nearby Hilton Bayfront, which I think seats like 1600 people.

Going through all the preparation for our grand introductions was a little fun, as the entire group of panelists were ushered into the green room for a bit before being called out on stage by panel moderator Carrie Keagan. One thing that I hadn’t considered is that I would be appearing on the panel at the absolute end of the day and so I was carrying around this big ass Archaia bag stuffed with books and stuff I’d bought throughout the afternoon. And clearly there was no way in hell I was setting it down anywhere and hoping it would be there when I got back. So I’m just hoping that the stage was high enough so it didn’t look like I was carrying a bag of groceries or something onto the stage with me.

Editor Joe Rybrandt was there with me repping Dynamite, and between the two of us we were allotted about five minutes to describe the upcoming comic with the kind of sound bites and overly excited hypey language one demands from these things. Think I did all right with it, but next time I’ll come up with a little cheat sheet or something to make sure nothing gets left out. Sure the fantastic Alex Ross covers projected on the screen after my brief spiel made the whole book sound better anyway, so very thankful for that. And looking out into a sea of 1600 wasn’t nearly as nerve wracking or intimidating as expected, though with the way the lights were set up, it was kinda hard to really tell just how many people were there, even though in my head, I knew exactly how many.

But for the folks that weren’t there, and really for the people that were, cause as I said, left a few things out, here are a few of the things you can look forward to in the upcoming series. Lion Force all day. The sixth pilot. Two-in-one Robeast. A not so secret invasion. Magic fights science then kisses and makes up and has a baby. The term space explorer means something dammit. Commander Keith’s got it all figured out and even when he doesn’t, he tells you like he does. Sons of Zarkon. And if we can become a true ongoing series—say hello Sven. That is all right now and honestly, entirely subject to change. But the entire panel and the enthusiasm spilling out of the crowd for Voltron in its many forms made me want to sprint back to the hotel and work more on my next script and that’s always a great feeling.

Next time I’ll leave the bag of books somewhere else though…

Ambidextrous 332- The Infinite Chill (And This is Why)

And now, we need to talk about Miranda Mercury…

More specifically, we need to talk about this past weekend where the character’s very first hardcover collection was released at the Big Show. Obviously, a big moment both personally and professionally, as I (and many others) have been living with this story and these characters for quite a while now, and there were so many times it appeared this book would simply never release, and as we were told by a couple folks along the way, shouldn’t release.

Almost everything I’ve done in the last year has been about getting this book finished and released in time for this convention, and once I got the book in my hands, I was a little overwhelmed like I’d imagined I’d be. I’ve literally dreamed about this book and had more than a few nightmares about any and all manner of printing and/or shipping mishap that could randomly occur and somehow diminish all we’ve tried to accomplish.

But none of that awful stuff happened and the book arrived just in time and was all kinds of beautiful. And finished. And completely done. And (insert any other word that means finished here). And then came the fun part—an entire weekend of interactions with people to either convince them to pick up a copy, or thank them for remembering that first issue fondly enough to buy the entire hardcover on sight. That last situation is what I’ve been surprised by the most in talking up the book these last couple months, how many people still regard that single issue pretty fondly. Which we’ve taken as somewhat encouraging news, since we believe that it’s the weakest chapter in the book and something we’ve evolved way beyond creatively in the last few years. Or perhaps we’ve underestimated the allure of the cube-breaking sequence and the samurai genie that comes out of it.

Only one way to find out, right?

So the first copy went to a good man that was directed to us by the recent interview I did with David Brothers on Comics Alliance, who showed up at the Archaia booth himself not long after. David has been incredibly kind to us over the years and has always fiercely supported the book through its many ups and downs, so I hope it lives up to his full expectations and those of all the people his feature sent our way. Having the chance to visit with him for a little bit, and talk about not only Miranda, but also Voltron and the other project I’m doing for Dynamite, helped make my first official signing a great, great experience. It also wasn’t long before I realized that my plan for making regular or even periodic Facebook and Twitter updates from the floor was not gonna happen. Between me talking everyone’s ear off, spotty cell reception, and my phone’s general inability to even send pictures to my man Lee Ferguson by e-mail, who was anxious to get some impressions in realtime, the whole thing seemed like an unnecessary distraction.

It was unfortunate that Lee couldn’t be there with me though, as he’s fought and bled for this book just as much as me, so the next morning I gave him a call so I could excitedly jabber on more extensively about how amazing the book came out and how wrong it felt that he wasn’t also there to experience the whole thing. Only a few minutes into the conversation, I thought about how cool it would be to somehow overnight him a copy of the book without telling him it was on its way, because seriously, why would I tell him? Where’s the fun in that?

Obviously though, we were both feeling pretty ecstatic about everything, so we took the liberty of deciding exactly which stories would make up the always planned volume 2 of the book. There’s an ever expanding file where we’ve been keeping ideas for future stories, character names, etc. for years now. And I know the major beats of probably the next six or seven hypothetical volumes. Where they start, where they end, and how the major relationships change and evolve. So most of volume 2 has been figured out for years already, but Lee had a great idea for one of the particular stories that automatically twists a halfway decent idea into a great one, and I’ll soon be getting back to working on full scripts for the series. Can’t wait to get back to it and we’ll probably slowly pick at it around other business until getting the official greenlight from Archaia. We have a date by which we’d like that to happen of course, but one (or perhaps only two) things at a time. Great conversation that left me completely energized and ready for another day at the booth(s), where sales and visitors ticked up noticeably.

I started to better learn what things people needed to hear about the book to get excited and for most it was the conceit that Miranda Mercury comics have been around for several years, but in our dimension only just recently. That and talk of the evolving relationship between Miranda and Jack following the revelation that she’s dying really seemed to grab additional interest. Oh, and I heard a lot of comments about how happy people were that Miranda’s costume was somewhat sensible, especially when compared to other female heroes. So the first full day was again incredibly positive, and suggested to me that the book might do fairly well if it gets in front of people. Even had someone come all the way over to the Archaia satellite booth near Artist Alley to get their copy signed after they’d just bought it at the main booth, which was pretty impressive, considering how far apart both locations were.

And yeah, I sent Lee his copy before coming in that day, and he got it about exactly 24 hours later.  The e-mail he sent was awesome and I hope it really made his weekend. Because I hadn’t planned it early enough, I wasn’t able to get him a super cool bookmark too, but that can easily be corrected in the next few days after I get back.

But the next couple days were pretty much a flurry of good conversations with visitors old and new and I got to sign a ton of books and bask in the temporary glory of being able to finally hold my first creator-owned project in hand. No idea about the final sales numbers and I learned early on that trying to actually keep track was another terribly unlikely prospect, and I don’t even know that Archaia themselves will know definitively until they get back and unpack everything. Someone told me at one point they only had one box left plus what was on the shelf, so it seemed to be doing quite nicely. And despite my efforts to thank everyone personally, I know a lot of people were buying books either without getting them signed or when I was off shift. Fortunately, it was clear that the excitement and the interest was there and I’m very interested to see what the reaction is once it officially hits shops and everyone can get their hands on it.

So I’m sure it comes as no real surprise that I had a fantastic weekend and was pretty charged up and inspired every single day of the show. Usually by Friday morning, I’m already completely exhausted and ready for the whole show to just be over, but I went to bed late and woke up early every day without being smashed in the face by absolute fatigue, so maybe once I get home and the con buzz starts lifting away, I’ll feel it all at once. But I read, I wrote, planned world domination, wrote some more, ate at least one cookie every night, never once turned on the TV in the room, and barely took the hotel shuttle, choosing instead to walk the mile back to the hotel with bags bursting with books and things that I’d gotten for unbelievable prices.

One of the two exceptions was Sunday evening, when I just had too much stuff and was feeling a little lazy around the edges after everything. When I got on the bus, I had my badge firmly secured to my lanyard, but by the time the bus dropped us off, the actual badge portion had disappeared somewhere and though I was a little disappointed (I keep all my badges in a shoebox as souvenirs and this was an important one) it was obvious that it happened at just the right time, with most of the trip wrapped up in  a fairly neat bow.

Then I wrote my column about my inability to stop spending money at the show and packed up everything as intelligently as I could manage. Barely slept again and now I’m on the plane about 500 miles from Chicago writing the lion’s share of this column on my iPad. Tonight and tomorrow I spend some time with my wife and my dogs, polish the final version of this up, and after that, I get back to work. More Miranda, more Voltron, more other kinda secret Dynamite project, and who knows what after that.

Thank you to everyone that came out and bought the first copies of Miranda Mercury in existence, and I can’t convey how thankful I am to have made even a single sale. To have people coming out there specifically looking for it was great, as was watching folks head around the corner to the Archaia register after talking a little while with me about the book and deciding to put 25 bucks behind it. If you like it, let people know and if you didn’t, we’ll do better next time. Thanks again to the entire Archaia team for their hospitality and mutual excitement about the book, especially Scott Newman, Steve Christy and Josh Trujillo. If I didn’t mention you, no offense intended, but my word counter is telling me this thing is long enough as it is. You know who you are anyway and I hope you know how much I appreciate you and your support.

Can’t even imagine where Miranda and us will be next year, but hopefully we’ll be talking about the dope cliffhanger at the end of the next volume which I don’t dare even hint at. It should be a nice one though, so you should all buy the first volume so you’ll have the chance to read it.

More later I’m sure, and sorry for all the words…sure you understand…

Ambidextrous 331- The Infinite Chill (interlude)

Still putting together my thoughts about this weekend in regards to my many appearances at Archaia’s booth(s) in support of the Miranda Mercury launch, so until then, please enjoy this brief (ha!) interlude about the other main thing I did this fine weekend…

So apparently I celebrated the momentous occasion of Miranda Mercury’s release by spending a ton of money on any and all things cool. So much in fact that for the first time in several San Diego trips, I actually had to mail some of my stuff home early so as not to explode my suitcases, even though I brought an extra one along specifically for this all-important task. And it wasn’t just books, mind you…it was also exclusive prints, posters, etc. that led to me picking up a poster tube and a protective sleeve. But there are great, beautiful things filling both items now and that’s all that really matters in the end, right?

Right…?

Okay, okay, I get it…you need some convincing. We can do that, we can do that. Check it out…

Things started almost immediately on Preview Night right after my signing was over and I was walking the show floor for the first time. Before long, I was in Artist’s Alley, and not long after that at the table of Nathan Fox, who is a tremendous artist, who also happens to be coming onboard Image’s Haunt series alongside writer and Man of Action, Joe Casey. First discovered Nathan’s stuff through the Dark Reign: Zodiac mini he and Joe did awhile back and I was an instant convert. Unfortunately, a couple conventions ago (might’ve been a Wizard Chicago) I had to leave his beautiful “Nathan Fox: Black & White and Character Flawed” sketchbook behind because of lack of money, even though at 20 bucks it was clearly the deal of the show. So I corrected that terrible oversight on this Preview Night and also picked up his glorious and massive new book (I think) Florescent Black. For good measure, and so he wouldn’t have to give me any change back (which is my story and I’m sticking to it) I bought a couple of his prints, which were priced to move at only five bucks. So got something of a fast start to the weekend and it would only get worse (or better) from there.

Thursday I got hit up big time by Dustin Nguyen, who first snared me with a fantastic Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker print, which I thought was a fair compromise, as I really wanted one of the larger prints of the Batman family of heroes and villains. Walked away perfectly happy about my choice, but not even an hour later I was back for the Batman piece and this really cool Mini/Baby Marvels print. And because I got two prints from him, I got his newest sketchbook completely free for my troubles. Also picked up awesome sketchbooks from Keron Grant (DOPE), Eric Canete (Chocolate), Dave Bullock and Butch Lukic.

Those last two sketchbooks came from an exhibitor named Stuart Ng Books, whose booth was also packed with beautiful French albums and rare art books from and about dozens of creators. Since I’m always trying to improve my collection on that front, it wasn’t hard to invest in an album by the late Clement Sauve and a great hardcover book on the career and artwork of Jordi Bernet. Bernet even signed the book for me and drew this great little Torpedo sketch on the inside front cover. Combine that with the absolutely gorgeous Dave Stevens sketchbook that I’d already paid for and had to pick up from the IDW booth, and I had this phase of the game on lock. What made it undeniable was the final piece, an oversized slipcased hardcover art book by Steve Rude.

Published by Flesk Publications (situated directly across from Stuart Ng Books) I stumbled into this one really, but bottom line, I nabbed a book that retailed for 60 bucks for only 20. Con special, you see, and what put me comfortably over the top. And was the true impetus for mailing things home because while it was a tremendous find, it’s big and it’s heavy.

Some of that weight can also be attributed to Kagan McLeod’s Infinite Kung-Fu, a book that I profiled way back in 2002 (I think) in a fairly early Ambidextrous column. That one was almost 500 pages and made the Miranda hardcover look slim by comparison. Top Shelf put that out and Nate Powell was also at the publisher’s table, so having heard great things about him and his work, I bought both Swallow Me Whole and his newer Any Empire graphic novel. Can’t wait to dive into those and the last thing I got from the Top Shelf booth was Kagan’s magnificent History of Rap print which covers about everyone from Cab Calloway to Lupe Fiasco. Thought this was a completely new thing but apparently its been in circulation for a couple years now and I’m just late to the game. In any case, it’s an incredibly well researched and executed chronicle of the long and deep history of hip-hop in its many evolving forms. And it deserves a nice frame some day.

Last couple days weren’t too active on con exclusives and sketchbooks, though it was in regards to 50-60% trades, but I did snag prints/posters from Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, Jim Calafiore, and the Avengers poster with Fury, Maria Hill, and Agent Coulson. Not a bad run by any means and I feel pretty satisfied by this year’s haul. Now I only have to figure out the best way to pack everything up for the trip home and wrap up the finale of these con focused articles with the big one—exactly how it felt and what I thought it meant to finally be signing Miranda Mercury hardcovers after all this time.

Stay tuned…just need a little more time to turn my jumbled thoughts into something worth reading…

Ambidextrous 330- The Infinite Chill

I held it back as long as I could but that first twinge of genuine anxiousness hit me while I was standing at the luggage belt in the airport. Correction—while I was looking up at the little screen that was taking forever to actually tell me which belt the bags would be showing up at. A tiny piece of that anxiety was due to it being 3:30 already and my first signing scheduled for two hours later. With cabbing it to the hotel, checking in, and then heading over to the convention center to pick up badges, I had a bad feeling that I wouldn’t make it in time. Because that right there would be typical given our history working on this book. The larger piece, of course, was the realization that I was officially in San Diego now and a printed copy of Miranda Mercury was closer to me than it had ever been ever. And I couldn’t deny it…I was starting to flip out a little bit. Thinking of all the little things that could go wrong in the next two hours and somehow diminish the moment.

I told people (only somewhat jokingly) that once I got the book in my hands, I’d likely pass out from a combination of crushing exhaustion and overwhelming excitement, but I’m happy to report that no consciousness was lost at any time. What did follow though was a sense of euphoria and contentment that I later described to someone else as “the infinite chill,” a sense that really nothing else that happened after that was even remotely important. No perceived slights or minor mishaps were going to prevent me from feeling fucking good about the simple fact that the first volume of Miranda Mercury was here and it looked absolutely gorgeous.

The book’s cover (which I’d had some reservations about initially) came out fantastic with a cool spot varnish that was put on both Miranda herself and the logo, in addition to the nice wingtips on the inside dust jacket flaps. Archaia has a well deserved rep for publishing beautifully designed books and this one was no different. I’d seen several proofs of the book while it was being prepped for publication, but that was nothing compared to this.

Most importantly, there’s a particular sequence that I’ve been having nightmares about (and I’m dead serious) that printed exactly as planned. To say any more would ruin the surprise but seeing that everything came out right was an absolute relief and the precursor to the Kool-Aid grin I’m still wearing now a couple days later. The book is out now and exists in some semi-permanent form and nothing can change that. I instantly felt like I’d won some long fought battle and was ready for more. Seeing this first book put me at ease and sparked me at the same time cause this is only the first real step.

Knowing that my partner in crime Lee Ferguson was chomping at the bit to find out if everything was in fact official and awesome, I snapped off a few photos of the book and sent them to him immediately. Couple of them are attached to this very posting.

So obviously, after this whole convoluted journey that led to me standing at the Archaia booth at SDCC ’11 with fresh copies of Miranda Mercury to stare at in disbelief, the natural question is…well, what in the hell happened next…?

We’ll talk about that sooner rather than later, so stay tuned…

Ambidextrous 329- C2E2: One Week Later

So yeah, this past weekend was pretty awesome…

If we’re connected through Facebook, you probably noticed a string of periodic updates, many of them highly excitable, and all of them centered around the fact that I was at a convention in my hometown signing posters and postcards for a project I’ve been working on for the last few years. Yes, that Miranda Mercury thing again, which as I mentioned awhile back has been turned into Archaia and is now scheduled for release this upcoming summer. I know this because it says so right in the Archaia brochures that were handed out at the booth all weekend. But I’m skipping ahead a bit, so let’s back up to Thursday, which is where my great weekend got its early kickstart.

I’d booked a meeting that morning with another publisher to talk over a project I’ve already started writing for them, and to discuss the possibility of some other things. Naturally, I can’t say who or what quite yet, but it should release near the end of the year and give me the opportunity to work with an artist I’ve been a huge fan of for years and years now. Forgive my overwhelming vagueness, but you know how it is.

Anyway, since I was already in the neighborhood, I stopped by the show floor and visited the Archaia crew while they were putting the fancy booth all together and got to hold the first official Miranda Mercury poster in my hands. Which felt pretty damn good after all this time and was a real spark for me heading into the show. Then when I showed up the next day there were these great looking brochures listing all of Archaia’s future releases, with the Miranda hardcover settled in amongst the other summer releases. And there were bookmarks that had a number of ISBNs on the back, including the aforementioned Miranda hardcover. All of this adding up to only one thing…The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury Volume 1: Time Runs Out will be coming out very soon and there’s no turning back now. So with that all finally settled, I found my chair behind one of the tables and got to work.

Over the next few days, I touched base with a number of people I’ve either met in the past or only interacted with online, and met a ton of new folks, lot of them younger kids and many of them black or Hispanic. Friday brought a large group of young brothers to the table as part of a local mentoring group that was at the show, and they all seemed pretty impressed that I wrote comics to begin with, let alone actually created this character. And honestly, every show I do I have a brief encounter like this, and even I can’t play it off and pretend it doesn’t mean anything. It’s the optics of the whole thing you see, and it’s only one of several reasons why after ten long years, I’m still at this and have never been more excited or optimistic. Still a ton of work to be done, but I’ve learned the hard way that every little victory means something, and we ignore them at our peril.

But after an entire weekend of these great little moments of conversation, it really seems like the people are ready and willing to support this book once it releases, which has been a strong assumption of mine for awhile now, but especially these last few months. The closer we got to the conclusion, the more convinced I became that somewhere out there an audience for Miranda Mercury comics exists. It might take some work to find it, and it’s probably not where we think it is, but I’m just confident/silly enough to believe we can and we will find it.

Until then though, I made a promise to myself that I’d actually find enjoyment in this next part of the journey—the somewhat frantic anticipation, beginning the outreach campaign, redoing the website, etc., etc. The last thing I want is to be huddling in a corner somewhere so terrified of how the book is going to do financially that I overlook the simple fact that even getting this far is a victory all its own.

And this past weekend reminded me of that over and over again. Even though I didn’t have a book, I had a poster, some postcards of my and my wife’s (mostly her) own design, a placard with my name on it, and a big ass, nearly uncontrollable Kool-Aid smile. Add in all of the new faces and people I talked to about the book, the people that actually bought #295 when it came out forever ago and came and found me just to tell me so, and the hospitality from the Archaia crew, and it’s pretty obvious that I consider the whole thing a rousing success. Just the first step on this next leg of the journey and something I hope we can build upon in the coming months.

Special thanks to: Stephen Christy, Mel Caylo, PJ Bickett, Mark Smylie, Mike Kennedy, Rebecca Taylor, Nate Lee, Tom Pinchuk, Steve Bennett, John Jennings, Bradley Hatfield, Andrew Rolston, Jiba Molei Anderson, Alverne Ball, Shanna Rudnick, Michelle Cahill, Doug Jean, Dan Dougherty, Sanford Greene, and Lloyd Henderson.

My apologies for anyone that was unintentionally left out, and I leave you with an interview I did with the fine people at MTV Geek, who were somehow able to edit the video into something almost watchable. Check it out and more soon…

http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/633922/c2e2-2011-brandon-thomas-talks-the-many-adventures-of-miranda-mercury.jhtml

 

Milestones (R.I.P. Dwayne McDuffie)

It’s the morning of February 22, 2011, and volume one of The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury is completely finished and now in the hands of Archaia…

And with that I now end my self-imposed internet exile that probably no one but me was ever really aware of.

For the last few months, my number one goal has been to see the first volume of Miranda Mercury finished and out in time for this year’s upcoming con season. More on actual release dates and such when the details get firmed up, but I told myself that I couldn’t write anymore about other people’s comics until I can say that I’ve actually finished my own. And that’s finally been done at long, long last. The files have been turned in and I’m assuming the actual pre-press work is imminent, so sometime in the next few months (fingers crossed) the hardcover will be available for purchase.

Strange feeling right now as I write this, but I could just be a little sleepy and dazed from staying up almost all night working on lettering corrections for the final four stories in the hardcover with letterer and production man Matty Ryan. Definitely one of those days where I’m in absolute awe at how connected and (sometimes) efficient we can be because of technology. Cause while he’s in Atlanta knocking down a list of edits and sending them to me, I’m sitting in my darkened living room in Chicago watching TV on mute so I won’t wake the wife and the dogs sleeping in the back bedroom. And we’re connected by gchat the entire time so that we can just fire questions to each other without having to wait for a response. After hours of this, I got to head to bed with the strangest thought—the first volume of Miranda Mercury is done. Really done after all this time. Imagine that.

And right here as I was writing this next section came the news that acclaimed writer and creator Dwayne McDuffie suddenly passed away.

We met a couple times in person over the years and traded a few e-mails about a variety of comic related things, and he was always a kind and extremely candid resource to me about the additional challenges that came with being a black writer trying to make it in the comics industry. He was enormously supportive and I’ll always remember him remarking that he and I were the only black writers to ever script Fantastic Four stories, and more than that, him saying it like the two of us belonged to this small exclusive club within another small exclusive club meant a lot to me. To think that Dwayne McDuffie and I had something so important in common was a tremendous inspiration both now and then. But especially now.

His career in both comics and animation is really one I’ve always aspired to have—one where he’d earned the opportunity to write some of the most established characters in comics, while also creating a number of strong, endearing black characters that inspired the next wave of minority creators and comics. He was one of the fellow creators that I was very excited about giving a copy of the Miranda Mercury hardcover when it released. Just last week I had this random thought about the prospect of there being a Miranda Mercury animated series one day, and how if that was ever the case, I would demand that Dwayne McDuffie be named the lead writer/executive producer on it. And over the weekend when I saw his number in my new phone when making sure all my contacts got transferred over, I thought about all the positive buzz surrounding his animated adaptation of All-Star Superman and how I was confident it was well deserved. That if anyone could successfully adapt one of the most relevant Superman stories of the last decade, it was Dwayne McDuffie.

Just an absolute shame and a real loss to the worlds of comics, animation, and those that shared his views on how important it was to include and accurately represent all peoples in stories of heroism, love, sacrifice, and justice.

My deepest condolences to his family and friends, and I only hope that I can have even half the impact on comics and popular media as he did. I’ll work harder and push myself further because his example and his memory demands no less.