Moby

Jun 202017
 

While I have not yet completed production on my first comic book yet, I am already looking ahead to the inevitable Kickstarter attempt and have been trying to find ways to make it more likely to succeed.

Basically, here is what I’ve found out:

  1. Most Kickstarters have a digital tier for a few bucks, then the physical copy mailed for around, give or take, $10-12. Some are lower, some are a bit more. Top Secret Press beats them all by giving you TWO physical copies for only a couple of bucks more, lowering the unit price a lot closer to the cover price. I plan to do this myself.
  2. There is a ‘sweet spot’ of approx $25-25 that generate the most support, and also the most revenue for comic book Kickstarters, in general. Of course the trick is to have enough value there for the user making the pledge, without breaking the bank on rewards and cutting your return. This means postcards, stickers, prints, and other little things that only cost a couple of bucks but allow you to add $10 or more to the reward tier.
  3. By the time you are offering your fourth book on Kickstarter, most of your potential pledgers do not need to put up the extra $$ for digital copies of books they already have from you. This must make each new Kickstarter a bit harder. What else is there to offer?

So I got to thinking that there might be a win-win here for publishers and pledgers. My idea is basically this:

We get together 6 or so indie comic book guys who have a Kickstarter coming up in the next year or so, maybe sooner. Each puts one of his earlier books into a pool. Each of the 6 or so publishers is then able to use this pool of books in his Kickstarter without any payment to the others, he is paying by allowing the others to use his book as well.

This would allow us to go from the physical tier of approx $10-12 into something closer to the sweet spot. Imagine 40-50 pledges at $22-25 and all you have to do is mail a floppy. 

You could make your digital comic book in the pool up-to-date with new ads for your site, existing books, others in the series, or your upcoming Kickstarters. It’s essentially free advertising.

The trick would be to not make the pool too large, so we do not end up stepping on each others potential pledgers, and to have a variety of genres and books but no crap, garbage titles.

I will update this if I can come up with a better way to explain, or expand on the concept, but for now there it is. What do you think?

May 082017
 

Author Becca Lee Gardner has completed a one-shot, 22 page comic book script for Moby’s upcoming comic book line, tentatively titled ‘Fatal Flaw‘. It’s a story based on a question Moby had about what would happen if the universe was a simulation and that simulation became self-aware. 

The concept is very exciting. 

Luckily for everyone Becca took up the challenge and delivered not just an outline but a completed script, and it was so good Moby bought it. Hopefully we can get it made in a few months, after the Dr. Fizz books and a little something I am working on with a fellow from Wales called Shadoworlds. It’s very exciting. 

But Becca Lee Gardner is what I wanted to share with everyone today, because she is finally releasing her first novel on Amazon, and pre-orders are now available. The book, Astray, will be released on May 16, in aboot 8 more days. Here’s the blurb:

Something watches Blair Samson. Something follows her, hidden in the San Francisco fog.

That something is covered in human blood. That something knows much more about the hundreds of people missing from Chinatown than any of the newspapers.

And that something won’t stop meowing until Blair believes it.

In a thrilling mystery filled with drug lords, gang bosses, law enforcement, chocolate lovers, and one very intense cat, Blair might be the only one not led astray.

Sounds very exciting. Becca has short stories available already on Amazon, and I did some research and bought one about a superhero physiatrist, Delilah’s Valor, that proved to be as fun as an actual comic book. It was just the right length to make into a one-shot comic, and it had a doozy of a twist at the end. 

So, if you are into comics, mysteries, and supporting indie authors, you might consider hitting the link and checking out Becca’s novel, Astray. I hear it’s very exciting.

https://www.amazon.com/Astray-Becca-Lee-Gardner-ebook/dp/B0722LRB53

Mar 232017
 


I’ve not written about it on this blog yet, but Moby is making a comic book called Dr. Fizz

Now, I am not writing the script or doing the art…or the colors…but I do get to pay for it. Yay! Seriously though, we have the first four pages done and things are moving ahead.

Dr. Fizz Page One Progression From Pencils to Inks to Colors. Art by Rick Alves, Colors by Rodrigo Charles

Continue reading »

Jan 172017
 

It’s been a while since I’ve just wrote a random post, which is funny because this is supposedly a ‘personal blog’. Funny.

I used to write little posts about stuff I just liked, usually in a “blast from the past you might have missed or not even be aware of because Moby is freakin’ getting old and knows about some cool stuff from ‘back in the day’ and he wants to share it with you” sort of way. So I guess this post is one of those.

It’s like a confession, but not about shit from the ’90s. This is about much more recent stuff that sucked, but Moby still likes all the same.

I’m talking about Vince Vaughn films. The last few he has made, basically solo, and how I really liked them. Continue reading »

Jan 082017
 


The second Volume of J. Miles Dunn’s epic Grinidon is now funding on Kickstarter and I was able to ask a few more questions about the series. 

The first volume, now available in print and digital, was successfully funded about a year ago. It’s hard to explain just how satisfying of an experience this Kickstarter has been. The physical book is great, full of all that wonderful art by Erwin Arroza (interviewed here). Seeing the samples and random pages was one thing, but being able to sit and enjoy it all at once was…well, wonderful. 

Of course, all is a relative term. The story is epic and in Volume One we have still only encountered two of the three Kingdoms vying for control of Calloway. There is so much more to be told…

Thanks again to J. Miles Dunn for taking the time for this interview. New readers should also check out Moby’s first interview with J. Miles Dunn for even more background regarding Grinidon and the history behind the project and it’s artist.


Grinidon: A Fantasy Graphic Novel – Volume 2 on Kickstarter

tumblr_o0o3dbxE011subh7ro1_1280Grinidon is an epic saga of kingdoms and factions fighting for control of a newly discovered island, Calaway. You join the story fifty years into this conflict, after its lords and people have successfully won their independence from their homeland – and now wage war against each other.

Lords and families from the old lands have risked everything to come here and find their fortune. Alliances have been formed and broken, guilds and kingdoms have risen and fallen, and heroes have come from the most unlikely of places.

In Volume 1, the southern kingdom of Carnasus is preparing its capital for an attack from the north.  The council has sent word for all those loyal to the realm to aid them, but they know that this is a battle they cannot hope to win. The northern army is impossibly large and their king has taken steps to ensure victory. 

All appears lost until a figure from Carnasus’ past reemerges – but the slim hope he offers comes with great risk, for he knows a dark secret that must never be told. The council must decide if they will place their lives into the hands of those they cannot trust, or risk annihilation on the battlefield and leave their end to fate. Continue reading »

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