Hi, All:

We just finished a day of talking and networking and spreading the word at Wizard World Chicago 08.  Our table is next to Spinner Rack Comics and Tom Stillwell, so we were lucky in our table neighbors.

We got to catch up with lots of old friends, such as Tim Demeter and Mike Kasinger.  Benita and her spinning wheel were filmed for a television program, and we did an interview for Comic Related at http://www.comicrelated.com.  I suspect his interview, which will also include Warren Ellis, will be post tomorrow.  We were happy as well to catch up with Sketch Magazine’s Bob Hickey and Bill Nichols.  (For those who don’t know, I sometimes contribute to Sketch, so it was fun to network on future articles.)

For those of you who have asked when Benita will get her own blog and website, that’s getting top priority when we get home.  Also, we plan to finalize our online store and tease that merchandising beast into operation. 

I’m sure a lot more worth writing about happened today, but it’s all melded into a long, mental fog bank at this point.  If I forgot to mention anyone I saw today, sorry!

This week, I’m doing an overview setting up a WordPress webcomic.  I’m going to do my best not to overlap too much with Bob Hickey’s excellent WordPress tutorial from Sketch no. 34, but of course there will be some overlap. 

1)      Get a host that is database compatible, and set up the database that will run your webcomic.  I use a Yahoo Small Business website, but that’s not an endorsement for them. I expect I’ll be looking for a new host within the year.

2)      Download and install WordPress.

3)      Download and install Comicpress.

4)      Download and install Comicpress Manager.

5)      If you have problems, go to this forum.  This is where Tyler Martin, who created Comicpress, and John Coswell, who built Comicpress Manager, often answers questions.  Even if Tyler and John are too busy, there are often knowledgeable people who point you in the right direction.

6)      There are also excellent forums at the WordPress site.

Before you start digging into your Comicpress code and modifying your site, there are some plugins that you might need.  In my case, I use the following:

1)      Ad-Minister (download here): I use this for rotating ads at the top of my blog.  I use this space outside my Project Wonderful ad boxes.

2)      Add to any: Share/Save/Bookmark Button (download here): Offers a wide list of social bookmarking links.

3)      Akismet: This plugin, which helps identify and quarantine spam, comes with WordPress, and it requires that you get a WordPress API key. 

4)      All In One SEO Pack (download here): This “Search Engine Optimizes” your blog.

5)      Comicpress Manager (download here): This makes loading comics, setting up archives, and thumb nailing quite easy.

6)      Eshop for WordPress (download here): My choice of shopping cart program.

7)      Google XML Sitemaps (download here): Notifies Google every time you update your site.

8 )      Lightbox2 (download here): I use this to set up galleries, such as my Fan Art gallery, and it displays pics at full size without distorting your blog setup.

9)      PrestoGifto (download here): Integrates your Café Press store into your blog.

10)  ReCAPTCHA (download here): Fights spam by requiring a random security word picture with each comment.

11)  WP Super cache (download here): Speeds up your blog by turning slow loading PHP into HTML on the client side.

Installing plugins is usually as simple as using an FTP program to upload the unzipped plugin to your site, depositing the new plugin’s folder in your wp-contents/plugins folder.  (I use CuteFTP as my FTP application of choice, but there are many available.)  Once you’ve signed into your WordPress site, go to Plugins, then hit “activate” after each new plugin.

Well, that’s enough for this week, I would imagine.  Next week, I’ll start getting into details of getting your site up to speed, such as how to install Project Wonderful ads, changing background colors, and modifying your blog header.

Scott.

Yesterday, Benita and I went to Columbus, Ohio for the Mid-Ohio Convention; this is about a three-and-a-half hour drive each way, but the trek was worth it many times over. We got to catch up with many old friends, and meet lots of new friends. (I know that sounds really clichéd, but the truth of the matter is that many of these people have become full-fledged friends, and others are well on their way to becoming fast friends. The comic community is small and pretty tight, and we spend a lot of time together in person and on-line.)

Benita and I appeared at the Comic Related booth from noon till just after 3:00 PM. Chuck Moore, owner of Comic Related and pod caster extraordinaire, invited us to use half the table he had there. Chuck is about the nicest guy you could imagine, and he’s a real brother-in-arms in the war to bring indie comics, and comics in general, to the forefront. I strongly suggest you visit his site, Comic Related. Benita and I also had the opportunity to appear again on his pod cast, which has not been posted yet, but we’ll let you know as soon as it is.

Benita and I also had the opportunity to catch up with Bob Hickey. You’ve probably heard me speak about Bob in my blog many times; as well as being our friend, he is a creative overachiever and the person behind Blueline Pro, Sketch Magazine, Art Unleashed, and many other ventures. He’s also a comic creator and publisher himself, and the force behind next year’s Pop Culture Con, a new convention that I’ll write more about as the situation develops. Bob and I were able to talk a little business, and I think it’s safe to say that we’ve got some excellent plans in the works. I’ll talk about those more as things develop. At very least, expect to see a lot more of my words coming up in Sketch Magazine.

I also had the pleasure of catching up with writer Steve Horton. Steve is an impressive guy, because he has a way of making things happen. He is widely published in the magazine, comic, and mainstream art book world. I picked up his new book, Webcomics 2.0, and I’m really looking forward to reading it; I thumbed through it last night, and it looks packed with webcomicky goodness. I met Steve when we were both on Graphic Smash; Later, he became the editor of Komikwerks, and he lured us over there. Then, eventually, we both ended up back at Graphic Smash.

There were other people of note that I got to meet or catch up: Brant Fowler of Wannabez, and a former editor of mind at Rogue Wolf Comics; Dara Naraghi, webcartoonist and writer at IDW, also a fellow Komikwerks cartoonist; Paul Storrie, a widely published writer with a great last name; Mike Indovina, convention regular and cartoonist on Satyr; John Wilson, writer at Comic Related and colorist-in-training; and Kenn Minter, webcartoonist on “I’m Not From Here”; and Mike Easton, who contributed a pinup to the Johnny Saturn Pinup Gallery.

I know there are names I’ve probably forgotten to mention, but the whole day has become a blur to me!  Sorry!

On an un-related note, here is a caraciture of me done by good friend and fellow, Indiana-based artist Paul McCall–I absolutely love this!  It all relates back to an earlier blog posting of mine where I jokingly referred to myself as looking like “Captain America with a pencil.” 

Item: On the left sidebar, please note that there is now a Comic Archive list of links. Each link will take you to the beginning of one of the eight books/chapters in Johnny Saturn. Phil Hofer of Frumph dot net suggested this.

Item: I’m almost caught back up to the point the site was at before the server move. All MP3’s now have onboard players, all broken links and pictures are repaired (I think—crosses fingers), and the store is up and functional.

Item: I had a phone conversation with Bob Hickey of Blueline Pro today, and I’m pretty sure that Benita and I will be appearing at his store Comics2Games in Kentucky for Free Comic Book Day. In related news, I just sent off my fourth article to Blueline Pro’s Sketch Magazine, so I’m well on my way to becoming a regular contributor. I’ll be honest, I’m really proud to be associated with this fine publication, because it fills a valuable niche in guiding apprentice and journeyman cartoonists in developing their skills. In other words, Sketch Magazine is an excellent teaching tool. (I really am a fan–I have a complete run of this magazine, from issue 1 forward.)

Item: Today, I was distracted by outside issues, and I didn’t feel quite like myself. The result is that I had a false start on the next page. This rarely happens to me, but it did today. I couldn’t wrap my head around an effective storytelling approach, and the page suffered for it. I don’t do half measures, so I’ll begin the page again tomorrow. The reason I mention this is because off days aren’t just limited to beginners. I’m a journeyman, and I have off days. Even cartooning masters can suffer from this, so don’t put yourself down or give up if you have a tough day!

Item: As far as podcasts go, I interacted on TGT last Sunday by way of their chat room, and on Art & Story Live on Monday by Skype. In the latter case, I wasn’t on the whole show because my connection wasn’t that great.

Comics 2 Games – Free Comic Book Day 2009 Commercial from Chas! Pangburn on Vimeo.
Hi, Folks!

Saturday, on Free Comic Book Day, Benita and I made an appearance at Comics 2 Games in Florence, Kentucky.  We had an outstanding time!  We got to catch up with old friends Bob Hickey (Comics 2 Games, Blueline Pro, Sketch Magazine, etc.), Chuck Moore (Comic Related), Bill Nichols (Sketch Magazine), and John Wilson (Comic Related, Sketch Magazine).  These fine folk share a boundless enthusiasm for comics, and I’ve come to think of them as true friends.

In terms of fellow creators, we got to meet Lora Innes (the Dreamer), Eric Adams (Lackluster World), and we got to catch up with old friends Brant Fowler and Scott Simmons of Wannabez.

The turnout was outstanding, and we had a steady influx of comic enthusiasts of all ages throughout the day.  Sometimes, the excited chatter got loud enough that I had to raise my voice just to be heard above the din!  This is just my first visit to the area, but if this is any indication then Florence must have an amazing comic community!

The store itself, Comics 2 Games, just recently opened, and it is the coolest comic store I’ve ever seen.  Airy and bright, this was the antithesis of the grungy hole in the wall comic shops that are so common.  There are dedicated sections of the store for statues, art supplies, video games, art books, and a large “gallery” where we were set up among the other comic creators.  This did not feel like a Free Comic Book Day so much as a day at a comic convention!

Thanks, Bob Hickey, for inviting us!

Scott

Item: We’re back! Issue ten begins today!

Item: Today I saw a report that fundamentalist groups are picketing the yet un-released video game “Dante’s Inferno.” To be honest, I don’t see what the hubbub is about—Heaven and Hell have been mainstays in comics forever! Whether it’s Hellboy, or Preacher, or Savage Dragon’s trip through both realms, the afterlife has been well represented in sequential art. Come to think of it, some Johnny Saturn characters have certainly journeyed through hell, and come close to the gates of heaven. At least we didn’t do what Spider-Man did when he made a deal with the devil to get out of being married.

Item: Today, when I was drawing at the Indianapolis Art Center, I tried something new. I turned all my cognitive processes off, and drew in a state of “no mind.” Samurai art! In the absence of having to think about what I was doing, my drawings were actually more accurate! Why, you might wonder, would this be the case? Because I wasn’t associating the subject matter with what they are, so I drew exactly what I saw without falling into the trap of drawing things likes the nose, eyes, etc., in the mechanical, canned way I’ve used to. Zen, baby!

Item: It seems like the day of the digital comic downloads is about to reach fruition. In the past, we’ve sold Johnny Saturn on Drive Thru Comics, Wowio, and directly off this site. We still sell comics on Drive Thru, but sales have fallen off there. Wowio was a real cash cow for many of us, but once it sold to Platinum Studios we got out. They changed their business model, and there was good reason at the time to think that this was all a massive intellectual property grab on Platinum’s part. Now, we are looking to the near-future launches of ComicsXP and Longbox. As I’ve mentioned in earlier blog posts, we are heavily aligned with ComicsXP, its owner Bob Hickey, and its Marketing and Pr guy, Chuck Moore. Longbox is a similar service, one that is also promising. Combine this movement with the emergence of iPhones and Kindles, and you’ve got a market whose time has come.

Scott.

Yesterday I appeared at the Cincinnati Comic Expo, and it was an excellent show.  Held in a long concourse around an arena, the convention was essentially one, long curving hallway.  I can honestly say that it’s a nicely appointed, pleasant venue, and I plan on doing it again next year.  The attendance was great, and a fair number of attendees came not because they were comic fans, but because they wanted to help support convention (good for their community and economy), and satisfy their own curiosity.  I was thrilled to meet these folks and answer their questions, but, well, I’m thrilled to meet everyone, aren’t I?  For me, a stranger is friend that I haven’t met yet.

As far as catching up with old friends, I talked with Chuck Moore (Comic Related),
John Wilson (Comic Related, Blue Line Pro), Bob Hickey (Blue Line Pro), Scott D.M. Simmons (“Wannabez” artist), and Kenn Minter (“I’m Not From Here” cartoonist).  I think of these folks as part of my extended community. 

As far as traveling to the show, I teamed up again with Paul McCall, local illustrator and caricaturist who also draws the excellent “League of Analogues.”  Paul makes a great traveling buddy, and it’s always fun to watch him do caricatures on the spot.

When shows go well like this, I feel revitalized.  So, back to cartooning for me!