Comic Book Palace - Episode 4 (Season 2)

A Quick Update

I have already noted that, because of the financial situation (ie. I do not have finances!), updating and posting to CBO is now a very low priority as I have legal battles and others to fight.  Also, as we approach month 7 of absolutely no sales of books the situation is not going to improve and that was supposed to be my sole income.

The PC I purchased in 2007 is dying on me. Let's not go into the problems that causes but, obviously, if you are working in print on demand and (not) selling your books over the internet you need a computer.  To say that the very temperamental laptop is not really a sufficient back~up is no joke. It has none of the programs I use for publishing and buying them would cost more than buying a new PC which is, frankly, ridiculous.

But I chose comic publishing.  My fault.

If, however, anyone notices after a year that I have not posted or updated (I live in hope someone might notice)  then you or he or she, will know why.

Sounds grim?  Hah!  You should be living it, babies!

Marvel Legacy!! Changing The Comic Book Industry Forever By Releasing No Information (just pretty pictures)

September will see Marvel Legacy. And all that entails. Industry mouthpiece, Bleeding Cool, who seem to side more with DC these days, acts all tough and "bull-shit, Marvel!" while showing every cover it can get its tacky hands on.  Other sites seem to be joining in with various levels of enthusiasm...or lack of it, but being careful in case it is good!

Information on what Legacy entails is in very short supply.  Such short supply that I lost the info I found when I dropped it in a thimble.

Look, with great help from some awful British writers, Marvel Comics as it was died in the mid 1990s. What we have seen since then is one amazing car crash into a concrete wall after another. Kirby, then Lee out of Marvel Comics.  Things got shaky.  Shooter moves in and there was a new found life...then Shooter went. Then Marvel Comics became marvel.

Here is something to show you how much they love their pet piggy banks fans. There was a very drunk Marvel creator at a recent comic event who started talking loudly at another drunk Marvel creator. There were about 20 people in the room including two from a "Marvel mouthpiece" website. The "banter" was over how the next big Marvel event was going to better for Creator 1 and his books than creator 2 and his. Then one says to the other "You **** idiot -I can make changes before 2019" and the other then, seeming to go back to confused drunk conversation, said "I thought it was next year?" Second creator "It can't be next year. No, I'm sure -that's legacy, right?" And at this point someone senior from Marvel stepped in and both men were "talked to" and left quietly.

So, not legacy?  Another big industry changing event in 2019?  Who would have thought? (I was being sarcastic there).  The point is that 20 people involved in comics and blogs witnessed this but not one of them reported on it and it took some of them chatting to friends for the snippet to get out. Says a lot about comics media.  Yes, the twoi men and the Marvel higher up were named but I am not going to repeat those names because I was not there.

Anyway, keep going to Marvel.com for more covers but no information on Legacy....nothing about 2019 just Legacy!
https://news.marvel.com/comics/67447/marvel-legacy-changes-comic-book-industry/

Learn more about this impressive initiative and see six exclusive cover GIFs!Get ready for a new dawn True Believers—one whose rays will touch every corner of the Marvel Universe in the days to come! Get ready for the return of what you’ve been longing for—and more! Prepare for the debut of MARVEL LEGACY!

“A new initiative that will take things back to our iconic history, with a firm eye on the future, MARVEL LEGACY will present stories that remind everyone—newcomers and longtime fans alike—why Marvel stands as the premier name in fiction,” said Editor in Chief Axel Alonso. “Our titles will unearth gems from Marvel’s rich history, remind readers of connections between characters, and usher in the return of some major characters who’ve been missed.  Above all else, we want to inject our comics with a massive dose of fun!”

Kicking off this September with MARVEL LEGACY #1, an over-sized 50-page, one-shot special, Marvel Comics titles step towards a bright new future – one that harkens back to what has made Marvel a household name while looking towards tomorrow. With fun and thrilling reveals primed to excite fans, both existing and new, this fall, prepare forMARVEL LEGACY!

Blue Stuff/Oyumaru - How to cheaply cast miniatures or plastic models -...

The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards

Pro and Fan Comic Book Awards come to "America's Greatest Comic Book Convention" and YOU GET A VOTE! The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards is an annual celebration of the creativity, skill and fun of comics. The awards make their debut this year as part of the fan- and pro-favorite convention, The Baltimore Comic-Con. Unlike other professional industry awards, the Ringo Awards include fan participation in the nomination process along with an esteemed jury of comics professionals.  More than 20 categories will be celebrated with top honors being given at an awards ceremony Saturday, September 23, 2017. LEARN MORE Fan and Pro Nominations Fan and pro-jury voting are tallied independently, and the combined nomination ballot is compiled by the Ringo Awards Committee. The top two fan choices become nominees, and the jury's selections fill the remaining three slots for five total nominees per category. Ties may result in more than five nominees in a single category. Nominees will be listed on the ballot alphabetically. Nomination ballot voting will be open to the public (fans and pros) starting June 27, 2017 and will close July 18, 2017. Final Ballot Voting After processing by the Ringo Awards Committee and Jury, the Final Ballot will be available to pros for voting on July 26, 2017 and will be due by August 16, 2017 for final tallying. Presentation of the winners will occur at the Baltimore Comic-Con on the evening of Saturday, September 23, 2017. Nomination Eligibility Eligibility for creators and creative works is determined by publication in the preceding calendar year - print publication date takes precedence over electronic publication date. For electronic works, the date of publication is time-stamped with most publications and at least 3 episodes/installments of continuing works must have appeared during the eligibility period. Fan and Pro Nomination Categories * Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist) * Best Writer * Best Artist or Penciller * Best Inker * Best Letterer * Best Colorist * Best Cover Artist * Best Series * Best Single Issue or Story * Best Original Graphic Novel * Best Anthology * Best Humor Comic * Best Comic Strip or Panel * Best Webcomic * Best Non-fiction Comic Work * Best Presentation in Design Jury-Only Nomination (with three bonus jurors) * The Mike Wieringo Spirit Award Fan-Only Favorite Categories * Favorite Hero * Favorite Villain * Favorite New Series * Favorite New Talent Hero Initiative Award (selected by the Hero Initiative) * The Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award * The Dick Giordano Humanitarian Award "Mike loved comics," said Todd Dezago, co-conspirator with Wieringo on their creator-owned title Tellos. "He loved the pure escapism of them. He loved the imagination that went into them and the inspiration he got out of them. He loved the talent and skill that went into them; the innate abilities of the artists and the writers as well as the learned and developed facility that came with study and experience. He loved the storytelling of comics, he appreciated when it was done well. Mike loved the diversity of comics; the incredible array of styles that ran the spectrum and gave each creation its own unique flavor. And he loved fun comics. Not that Mike didn't appreciate the grim and the gritty, the deeper, more adult, more thought-provoking comics of the day. But he was drawn more to the more light-hearted, sometimes fanciful-and we called them 'overly-coincidental'-stories that reminded you that comics were fun. "Mike liked comics that were fun," said Matt Wieringo, artist and brother to Mike. "That's pretty subjective and covers a lot of ground, right? He liked art that was expressive. Some people think that means 'cartoony' but that's not it. For instance, he loved Juanjo Guarnido's Blacksad art, and that's hardly cartoony, but it's expressive as hell. He loved the artists that could build a believable world and could tell a compelling story in that world with characters that were gestural and fun to look at. He loved artists who made their characters act. He also loved discovering new artists that didn't draw like anyone else because he loved learning from them. He had a huge collection of European comics that he couldn't even read, but he could study the artwork. He got excited about new artists and wanted to know who their influences were and what they read and how they worked. He read a lot of indie comics to see what was going on outside the mainstream. He was on board with Hellboy and Love & Rockets and Hate before they were "cool." Mike also loved Kirby before it was considered a badge of honor to proclaim it. He loved how innovative and energetic he was and that he was this Brooklyn bruiser with the heart of a hippy poet (a close approximation of how Mike once described him to me). And it wasn't just the art. He liked reading stories by writers who could keep things moving and exciting. Nothing bored him more than page after page of talking heads with quippy dialogue. He wanted STORY. He wanted ADVENTURE. And CONSISTENT CHARACTERIZATION. He liked working with Mark Waid because he loved how Mark can always find a new way to spin a familiar story and write characters you care about, relate to, and have their own voice. He loved working with Todd because they shared similar sensibilities and Todd always finds a way to inject FUN into the story. For Mike, "fun" didn't just mean light-hearted either. He enjoyed horror and noir and crime stories as much as anyone. As a kid, he devoured Miller's Daredevil and Sin City because the stories were compelling and well told. He loved Starlin's Warlock and Captain Marvel because they were epic and groundbreaking. He loved Wrightson and Ploog and Colan because they could set a mood. Most of all, Mike thought good comics were entertaining and innovative. If you could hold his attention and delight and intrigue his artistic sensibilities at the same time, he'd shout your name from the rooftops. And, if it turned out you were a decent, nice person to boot, he'd be your friend for life." "We really miss Mike Wieringo," said Marc Nathan, Baltimore Comic-Con promoter. "Ringo was a great friend to the show, a great artist and creator, and a great person. It has been 10 years since his passing, and we wanted to do something to honor his spirit. These awards represent the creativity and positive attitude he brought to his work, and when we started floating the idea with his family and industry friends, everyone immediately loved it as much as we did. Having had some experience running a large industry awards show in the past, we had some great insights as to what the industry (and fans!) wanted, and we're trying to give it to them. This has all come together very quickly, and we know we're going to continue to adjust and adapt as we grow, but we are absolutely thrilled to have already heard from so many fans and pros alike, in addition to his family and friends, about how excited they are. Please spread the word. Please vote. And thank you for helping us celebrate Mike's memory!" About Mike Wieringo Michael Lance "Mike" Wieringo was known to fans and friends as "Ringo", which is how he signed his artwork. His comics artist graced the pages of DC Comics' The Flash, Adventures of Superman, Batman, and Robin, Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Sensational Spider-Man, and Rogue, and his co-creation Tellos. He passed away on August 12, 2007 at the young age of 44 from an apparent heart attack. About the Ringo Awards The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards is an annual celebration of the creativity, skill and fun of comics. The Ringo Awards recognize outstanding achievements in over 20 categories, and are the only industry awards nominated by fans and pros alike, with final voting by the comic professional community. Launched in 2017, the awards ceremony is held annually at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Further details are available at www.ringoawards.com. About the Baltimore Comic-Con The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 18th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. For more information, please visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com

Epic History X-MEN Volume 3: The Dark Phoenix Saga

Documentary: Epic History X-Men Volume 2, The Phoenix Saga.

Documentary: Epic History X-Men Volume 1, The 60s Era

no one is that concerned.

With comics seemingly no longer a going business concern there isn't much for me to do other than sort out legal paperwork.

However, I spent three hours using the wood chipper/compressor to take my mind off things.

The main thing being, today, me having to tell creators whose books I have published that if they can find another publisher to go for it.  You see, it isn't just me involved with Black Tower and if you cannot get books to sell you feel bad for creators.

But no one is that concerned.

So if it gets slow on CBO it isnt that I don't care, just no one else does.

UK Comics