Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Carlos Pachecco
ffs,,,
Monday, 30 January 2023
Anyone Know What These Are?
Yeah, my camera is getting worse but no cash =no new camera!
Cinebook Ltd Newsletter 181- January 2023
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Sunday, 29 January 2023
Just A Few Words of Caution -Look At Facts!
There is one particular You Tube channel, and there are a couple of blogs, that preach "floppy comics are dead!" while also telling everyone that Manga (a "floppy") is THE thing to start buying. They also predict that certain larger comic companies are going to be "gone before the end of this year!" It seems all the bigger American comic companies are facing insolvency.
These people are quoting "sources in the company" or "someone close to the top of the company" as sources.
Bull shit.
What is the agenda here? Constantly pushing only one "truly honest publisher" and his books. Constantly telling everyone they need to get into Manga and constantly shouting and screaming about US published books.
Are these people being paid to promote Manga (would not be the first time this has happened). For those too young to know we were all told in the late 1980s that Manga was the future and US/European comics would be "a thing of the past in a few years". We got Manga focussed publications...most did not last a year or two. Manga sales declined a shop owners were selling them off cheap. Dr Master Publications and other companies that I worked with to promote their high quality Manga and Manhua...went out of business.
1990s -same story. 2000s....same story. 2010 on same story and now in 2023 the pimps are pushing Manga again. Manga is loved by many people but only a fraction in the West compared to Asia. What was that Shirley Bassey and Propeller Heads song of the 1990s -"Only history Repeating Itself". Maybe someone ought to look into these prophets of comic doom...who then tell you which US comic you SHOULD buy.
If someone has an unnamed source it is bull shit unless that source provides documented evidence of what is being claimed. The anonymous insider is the biggest trick of people with agendas.
Here is the other thing: no one at the top of a company or "close to the top" is going to blurt out "Our books are crap! We're sinking as a company!" There was a certain gold merchant who was doing great business until he said one day in an interview "Our products are shit" -that did not end well for the company. NO ONE is going to put themselves out of business by releasing statements like that.
Another thing that smacks of an agenda is how the same companies are focussed on and 'rumours' are spouted as facts. That in itself is a very old tactic to make people shy away from a business which will then lose money and go out of business. It is a deliberate tactic and based on "inside information" that simply does not exist.
Be very -VERY- wary of these channels and blogs as there is far more going on than you can see. It IS an agenda and the fact that these posts and blogs are almost daily shows this. Ignore them and continue buying your comics.
Where are all the journalists to dig into this grey propaganda? Of course, they probably just enjoy all of this in the hope that some company does crash.
DO NOT BE FOOLED
Friday, 27 January 2023
Thursday, 26 January 2023
Artist Cooperation and "The Deal" (one way it seems)
I have been asked twice now so will respond.
"What deal did you have with artists -financial and creative?"
Right. The deal was usually that any money made would be split 50-50. The artist, obviously, retains all rights to the artwork but not to publish as a full book. Usually artists can sell pages of artwork which makes up for no big earnings. This is comics after all. In the past I have given artists who were struggling a 70% deal so I lost out.
I create characters, write the scripts then do any editing and then push any finished project to publishers that pay. All of the costs of doing this come out out my pocket. I kept artists informed of who packages went off to, when that publisher received the package and as soon as a response came back.
There are no ifs, buts or maybes and if you work with someone you have to be 100% honest and up front.
Unfortunately the biggest, only really, thing that has gone wrong originated with artists. I have worked with some that find completing 20pp of art per month "too much". I have worked with artists who have fallen behind on work (big time) as they "had a skinful with some mates so took a few days to recover" -yeah, a publisher will say "good for you" if an artist falls behind on work because they spend most of their time getting drunk!
Another artist working on a four issue mini series was very happy when I got a deal for us and he had 9 months to produce issues 2, 3 and 4 (I never pushed a project unless issue 1 was fully drawn). So I waited. I waited some more. The publisher asked how things were going? I checked with the artist who took a lot of finding (he moved without telling me) and I asked how far he had gotten with the work? "Is that still a thing? Have we got any money?" he replied. I had to explain to the publisher that the artist was no longer interested. How do you make money from doing nothing??
Another artist had a great style. Another publisher loved it and the look. We got a deal for a six issue series. First issue done. Second issue done. Then silence but I let the fella get on with it until I had a phone call from the publisher asking what the hell was going on? I asked "in what sense?" I was told there had been a complete style change and "it's goddam awful! Its crap!" I was faxed a copy of one page. The artist had bypassed me completely and sent issues 3-4 directly to the publisher and had decided that a form of abstract style was best. I explained that he could not do that as we had a deal based on what we presented to thye publisher. "It's my artwork and my style they can publish that or nothing". Nothing.
How many times have I had artists doing "the dirty" on me? A few times. I submitted a one off 23pp story to a publisher and got an email back saying this strip had already been submitted twice. I phoned him and said that he must be mistaken as I had never submitted it to him before. He then told m,e he had been talking to another publisher and shown him the strip and was told "Oh, yeah. I've had that submitted a couple of times this last year". I asked whether he could send me a page of what had been submitted. He sent me the full pdf. Yes, it was the character I created, the story I wrote and it was drawn by the artist I worked with. However, he had removed my name from the credits and had himself as creator/writer/artist. When confronted he told me "I didn't know how to contact you and thought you'd left comics" which is pure vbull shit as I am the easiest person to find on the internet. He then went quiet.
Another was making a deal behind my back with another leech publisher (someone who grabs the rights to anything he can then exploit for t-shirts, mugs, posters and more) and was quite willing to sign away all rights for nothing except a promise of any money made "might" be forwarded based on what the publisher thought it deserved -or not because signing away the rights and him publishing for 6 years meant it was 'his' property. This happened twice and in both cases the artists had "no idea if he (me) is still contactable".....
The final straw was when I found that Fleetway had artists submit my created work. Gil Page actually showed me the letters from the artists and the photocopied art.
Publishers you keep an eye on as they will screw you over but when you cannot trust the person you work with....
An answer and a moan!
Merriwether: God's Demon-Thumper
Black and white
27pp
Price: £6.50 (excl. VAT)
Prints in 3-5 business days
http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/merriwetherthe-test-of-satan/paperback/product-12987682.html
At the end of Merriwether:Gods Demon-Thumper, the Reverend had been confronted by Satan and as a consequence lay fatally injured.
Star of 1980s comics,Benjamin R. Dilworth, takes us through the fleeting seconds before death as Merriwether has flash backs showing just why he took on the career he did.
Be prepared for horror and a little tongue-in-cheek humour.
Horror fans will love this.
A4
B&W
85pp
£6.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/merriwether-gods-demon-thumper/paperback/product-1rejer94.html
The complete Merriwether series, originally published in Black Tower Adventure and A Little Midnight Horror–but with three strips never before published…
including the Reverend’s battle with the ultimate Evil!
From The Horror Of Hob Street to The Village Of Demons and Varney the Vampyre to The Fallen Angel himself, see how one Church of England vicar deals hard-fisted [and various spiked objects] justice to the ungodly ...and pays the ultimate price!!!
If you were into Charlton Horror Comics or any horror comic then this one is for you!
At the end of Merriwether:Gods Demon-Thumper, the Reverend had been confronted by Satan and as a consequence lay fatally injured. Star of 1980s comics, Benjamin R. Dilworth, takes us through the fleeting seconds before death as Merriwether has flash backs showing just why he took on the career he did. Be prepared for horror and a little tongue-in-cheek humour.
Halcon Lord of the Craterland No. 1
A4
24pp
B&W
£6.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/halcon-lord-of-the-craterland-no-1-july-2020/paperback/product-7jy675.html
Halcon Lord of the lost craterland. Created by Nat Brand (Len Fullerton) in 1940 for Swan Comics and seen occasionally in various Black tower titles now gets his own one off books thanks to Ben Dilworth.
Action and fun all the way with stories such as -
"Alligator", "Lake Monster", "Monkey", "Pteranodon", "Into the Moon" and "Alien".
The twist ending to "Werewolf" even had the old bearded one surprised!
Black Tower Silver Age Volume 1 -Electroman featuring Electro Girl
A4
B&W
52pp
£8.00
1951 at the start of the UK Silver Age of comics appeared Electroman!
Then he vanished to become a legend.
After 70 years he is back -Dan Watkins a criminal wrongly accused of murder and given the electric chair by the State.
But then...Dan did not die. He was a reformed person and what is more he had a double existence as newspaper boy Dan Watkins and righter of wrongs - Electroman!
This collection contains:
The Birth of Electroman
The Treasure of El Chimborazo
The Million Dollar Robbery
3 Ring Circus
Electroman and Tim meet Benjamin Franklyn
The Great Train Robbery
plus - Electro Girl Battles the Gremlins' Pot-War Plot
Wednesday, 25 January 2023
I doubt any of you really care.
It's quite interesting that, suddenly, people are writing blog posts and making You Tube videos about how corrupt the comic industry is and how creators are being ripped off ("even by Marvel and DC!") by companies and threats to creators who threaten to expose this stuff that they will never work in comics again. Oh, and good quality creators having to take jobs in retail because the year has dragged on and they are not being paid. And, guess what? It's the creators' faults for turning a blind eye to all of this.
I was writing this stuff twenty years ago. Back in the late 1990s/early 2000s there were three businessmen (from outside the UK) who wanted to invest in a new comics line. One had their top man attend cons, speak to "creators" and see what was going on. The project was shelved because "the creators over their seem to be the nastiest, back-stabbing and downright poisonous people in any comics industry" to that was added "it may explain why the UK has no comics industry to speak of". And he was right.
When a certain artist was mentioned to one of the creators as someone they would like to use that person was slapped down. All sorts of things were said. What everyone found incredible was that these were 'friends' sticking a knife in creators backs.
One day I received an email from a publisher who told me that his bosses (the money men) would not be going forward with a certain project which would have employed several good artists because "Your old pal that you recommended as a writer stabbed you in the back. In fact he stabbed you in the back and twisted the knife in a piece of character assassination I have never seen the like of in comics before". I keep that email plus the forwarded piece referred to.
Well known UK comic editors (they are "legends" now) were ripping off new and established creators to line their own pockets and when I asked the late Gil Page about this near legendary "secret warehouse of comic art" that Fleetway had. He told me that only certain people knew where it was "the editors don't" because at the old one "editors 'borrowed' artwork regularly. Those in comics and old enough will recall the tale of Brian Bolland's missing 2000 AD art.
When Egmont moved in and took over Fleetway I worked on Revolver and the editor was quite open about his deputy editor stealing my theme for a series of stories. And there were other dumb acts on his part. In fact, one day I had to travel from Bristol to London to Egmont offices with all of my receipts as I had been stiffed out of £5000 in payments. "Oh you need to take that up with the editor" I was told. I asked where he was and the response: "He doesn't work for Egmont any more so we could not tell you." The intimation was that they had been told I was paid by the editor -so where was the money??
Oh, and I am old enough now to admit I did hold that Marvel UK editor out of the window because he was incompetent and a crook.
With Art Wetherell and David Gordon I did work for Fantagraphic Books adult Eros line. We had a contract. First printing rights ONLY. 2nd, 3rd, 4th printings without consulting us and then a trade without telling us or renegotiating. I only found out by accident that there was a trade. Come the internet and quite by accident I find our books were sold to foreign publishers -expressly forbidden in the contract as Fantagraphics had first print, English language rights only. It took a lot of chasing and phoning and faxing then emailing and I was called all sorts of names (apparently "More Hooper hyperbole" was their way of saying "**** you"). I knew people in Fantagraphics warehouse who told me a new printed batch of the books had just arrived. Printing was moved to Hong Kong and Mexico to throw us off the scent. For the two French editions (France and Canada) as well as the Spanish edition (serialised in a magazine and then sold as a trade) I got the same as the artists £75.00 -totally incompetent publishers?
My work on US independents stopped as I was told that Fantagraphics publication and personal attack platform, The Comics Journal "could destroy us".
Gerald Swan published pulps from the 1940s to early 1960s as well as comic books. Do you know how he attracted so many writers and artists when Amalgamated Press and D. C. Thomson could not? He paid on submission of work not a couple months after. He may not have been fond of his comics later but he was competent and honest. My comic book relative Lou Diamond was screwed over by Amalgamated Press and they treated him badly.
There is nothing new in this and, yes, creators keep their mouths shut it will go on. Fans or comic buyers don't care. A comic company is going out of business "So what -we'll still get the movies and TV shows, right?" The fairest deal creators got at Marvel comics was under Stan Lee who made sure they got every penny they were owed because he knew them and their backgrounds and they were friends.
If -IF- you want to see comics continue then go to the small, independent companies. Not Image, not Boom!, not Valiant but the small companies where creativity is still ongoing. I have known big name creators who have even had to get a job cleaning toilets because the company he worked for did not pay and he was on the verge of homelessness.
But then, I doubt any of you really care.
Monday, 23 January 2023
The Vigilant: I Have A Personal Opinion. You Do Not Like It -sail on!
Scarily enough I find that I have been in comics for 50 years now. Yes, that is scary. I was a kid during the great days of the Silver Age of British comics and there in the Bronze Age until we got....well, I think we can all quit pretending we are in an age where the UK has a comics industry.
Before I start let me put something to rest. People have deliberately miss-read or twisted things I write. They know what is in my mind when I wrote those things. In fact, I appear to be living rent free in a few peoples heads. I call this my unofficial fan base. Here is the fact:no, I do not buy 2000 AD and I do not, therefore, read it., Apparently, this means I hate Rebellion Studios who publish the title. Sure, that is probably why I have a shelf full of their books (most given to me as gifts but a good few I purchased).
Comic Industry Delusional About The State Of Comic Books and CBO Comment
The Green Skies Vol. 3 Part III: The Gathering
A4
B&W
208pp
£16.00
The gathered Sol Defence fleet is prepared to make its final stand led by Johnny Apollo the Z Man. If it fails to halt the invaders then the doomsday weapon will be detonated and destroy the entire Sol System.
Meanwhile, unaware of the threat in space, Jack Flash, the Avenger and others prepare for a final show down with the Many Eyed One; a final confrontation they know they do not have the power to win.
Is this Humanity...the Earths...final day?
The Green Skies Vol. 3 Part II: Promises and Beginnings
A4
B&W
126pp
£15.00
Following on from events in Green Skies V. 3 Part I the Clone Zone Boyz are increasing in number while those who created them, the Vampirons, continue to plot and await the arrival of their 'God' -The Many Eyed One.
The Druid finds that his physical and mental state are deteriorating and even the Rev. Merriwether cannot help him.
Shockingly, the Clone Zone Boyz claims someone close to Merriwether and this leads him to team up with two 'unsavoury' characters.
In space Krii and Tyn hrrn face a seemingly unstoppable enemy.
On The Moon the Selenites and representatives of other worlds meet and decide that Johnny Apollo, the Z-Man, is the only one who can lead the counter invasion fleet.
With the enemy striking Mars and then the Moon things look grim
The Green Skies Vol. 3 Part I: Beginning of the End
A4
B&W
124pp
£15.00
It all began in 1987 and the Black Tower Universe has seen alien attacks, heroes kidnapped to be put into the middle of a war of the gods.
Despite the deaths and losses the heroes -crime fighters, super powered and members of the magical union have come back but now unaware that alien races are escaping through the Sol system and that a mysterious space fleet is heading towards the inner planets, they find themselves trapped or distracted.
The Many Eyed One is finally coming.
The Multiversal Council has quarantined Earth and forbidden any to help.
The evil has spread and there is treachery striking at the very core of Earth's defenders
Obscure British Super Heroes....or Just Plain Nut Jobs?
The strip was written by and drawn by Dave Cross who readers may remember from the post on Unit 4
https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2022/12/obscure-british-super-heroes-unit-4.html
Is it a fun read? YES. The story was developing which is why I hope I have a second part somewhere. If not...well, not a lot I can do after 3 decades is there?
There were probably a lot of little gems like this in the zine world back then and if they are not in one of my boxes they may well be lost to time!
If you find any of Holden's publications pick them up as they are well worth reading!
Sunday, 22 January 2023
Saturday, 21 January 2023
Two Comic Questions -For YOU!
Now here is something I have asked before but I am going to narrow things down in the hope that at least some of the couple thousand people who read this blog each day will partake.
If you are outside of the UK and you want to put forward something from your country please feel free.
So,...
List your top 3 comic book super teams that are not DC or Marvel.
List your top 3 super groups from Marvel or/and DC
Pure and simple to see what people like.
I do have another question for tomorrow...oops. It's 02:10 hrs so it's not tomorrow but later this morning. Stay tuned.
Friday, 20 January 2023
Blog Name Change and Full Update
I have spent a lot of today upgrading the Black Tower Comics and Books blog (formerly Black Tower Comic Shop News).
https://comicsshopsnews.blogspot.com/
I wondered why books were beginning to sell and found that the print on demand company I use had ****** up (again).
They recently did another price change and I re-priced all of the 180+ books on the store because "the price will not return enough money to you as a creator". What they did was re-price AFTER I repriced so that they make more money on my books than I do.
Why are things selling? I found a large number of books had prices reduced by £1.50, £1.75 and £2.00 (U.S. just make that $). So people can buy my books at even greater reduced prices than before and the previous prices were artificially low anyway.
What can I do? Well re-price up again. The problem is that this will take at least a week (if you know the POD process and my particular bunch of clowns you will know why). And I have things I need to deal with more urgently so I am kind of screwed for now.
But the blog is at least sorted with new links because, of course, they changed prices and that meant new links so a lot of the old ones were no good.
Who'd be a comic publisher?
Thursday, 19 January 2023
Wednesday, 18 January 2023
'Thank You' Blogger
Yes. I noticed that Blogger has reduced the home page view stats down to over 4 million again.
I can tell you the actual all time views amount to 10 million so lucky I keep a note now
A Folder of Comic Stuff
Back in the mid 1980s (1987?) I called on Gil Page Managing Editor at Fleetway in London. He was there with another editor -I cannot recall his name but tallish with a moustache.
I went through the usual artists portfolio (as I was then a creators agent) and a couple other items out of my bag. Gil's eye was caught by another folder in my bag "What's that then?" he asked. I told him it was just my notes, sketches and ideas for personal projects and his colleague asked to have a look see.
After about twenty minutes of chatting and talking through the material the moustached fella looked at Gil: "Where was he in the hey-day?" I was a bit confused until it was explained that out of the 30 or so projects in the folder they would both have taken at least 15 of them and had a couple others on standby. I was informed (a lot of good it did me in 1987) that when Fleetway was still big into publishing I would have been in full time employment.
I was asked how I got my ideas and I told them both that they sprung to mind. I told them even something mundane I could turn into a story so they tried me out and I came up with ideas. Then I was asked to come up with a story "some grass blowing in a breeze" I was told. I gave three ideas -one was sci fi, one horror and one action all beginning with a close up of wind blown grass.
Archie Goodwin who I met at a UK Comic Art Convention in London also had a look through my projects (I think he was editing Epic at the time(?). He told me "You have enough here to keep a medium sized comic publisher going for more than a year!" he told me. What happened? A clue: I had baked beans as a main meal today😂
One folder out of a box full of stuff. Camera old and crap and some of the ideas have been used. These are all notes and sketches I make quickly while awake at night and thinking of ideas. These are projects that, if I could afford to pay artists, Black Tower would be publishing for the next five years.
