Archive for ‘June, 2008’
Hello, Folks:
Getting www.johnnysaturn.com up and running is going great! I just got issue 5 posted, so it joins issue 6 and what’s been released of issue 7. I’m still on schedule to have the whole thing operational by the time we go to Chicago Wizard World in a few weeks. I’ve also been messing around with the very cool e-shop that is installed there, learning how to operate and optimize it. It’s a robust shopping cart system, and it looks like it’s going to do the job!
What have I still got left to fix up? Well, beside reformatting issues 1-4, I want to put social tagging on there, and a better navigation interface. I also need to fill out the store, and get that rocking. This is when most of my secret plans for world domination kick in!
Hi, Folks:
My cunning plan for world domination continues!
I took down our Comic Genesis site, and I’ve started removing the archives from our Drunk Duck site. Meanwhile, I’ve reformatted and added issue four to www.johnnysaturn.com, making for issues 4, 5, 6, and much of 7 now posted there. Soon, it will all be hosted there!
I thought I had a good shopping cart picked out, but Benita reminded me that we want one that figures shipping by zip code. So, back to searching! This is too important to not do right.
Today, in Analog World, I laid out pages 8, 9, and 10 of issue 7. These are pretty cool, because this is when we first see Squadron Premiere’s headquarters and meeting hall.
Scott.
Hi, Folks:
I’ve been listening to “Johnny Cash: Solitary Man,” one of his great recordings near the end of his days, and before that I was listening to Neil Young’s “Comes A Time.” Needless to say, I’m in a pensive, wistful, bittersweet mood, and loving it. I’m not sure if the mood inspired the choice of albums, or the albums inspired the mood, but there you go!
As a lot of the Spire City characters you’ve come to know appear in the new Johnny Saturn stories, many of them will have new or modified costumes or hairstyles. I’m a firm believer that, while metaheros are well aware of personal branding issues and their logos, they also will change their costumes regurally. In our world, for example, we don’t demand that pop stars always dress the same way. They might have a fashion style, a mode of dressing that is recognizably them, but they change clothing daily. That’s the way Spire City is. If I licensed these characters out for various products, then I would have a different take on this issue, but I do not license them.
As a corrallary to this, I also allow characters to age and change. One founding character has but on about 60 lbs, and another has to use bifocals to read from her PDA. Age happens, and I see no reason to freeze these characters in their youth. I admire and love old people, always have, so our metaheroes are allowed to age too.
Hi, Folks!
I’ve had a great day, because I’ve accomplished a lot! Among other things, I finished the art for the Story Studios Fantasy Calendar, so now it and the Johnny Saturn Calendar are ready to go to the printer. (I’ll post more about these in a day or two.) I also formatted and posted Johnny Saturn issue two to the site, so I’m almost done uploading comics! That just leaves issue one to format and post! Yahoo! Finally, I worked on pages 7-10 of issue 7, which should begin updating here next week.
On a bittersweet note, I closed down our Drunk Duck and Webcomicsnation Johnny Saturn sites today. It will be great if all those fine readers will reset their links and keep reading Johnny Saturn on www.johnnysaturn.com. I am sad to these sites go, but my new business model doesn’t call for my old dispersion method, but rather a tighter, more unified approach. With your help, we can make this work. Our Comic Genesis site is already gone, and Graphic Smash will remain in play.
If you’ve never had a webcomic, let me be the first to tell you that changing hosts is a monumental task! Every site is set up differently, with different interfaces and requirements. Plus, the longer you make your comic, the greater number of strips you have to move around! All of that holds true for this new site, plus all the work it took (and is taking) to learn WordPress and modify it to my liking. It’s worth it, though. As far as I’m concerned, Webcomics are THE medium of the 21st century!
Scott.

