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Cosplay and Conventions

12/5/2014

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Over the past few years, there's been an ongoing discussion about the increased focus on cosplay at comic conventions. I understand how this kind of sea change can be confusing, frightening, or even anger-inducing to someone who came into comics (professionally or in fandom) in an era before cosplay was prevalent.

To a fan or pro whose earliest exposure to comics was limited to the stories and art on paper—before comic book films, television shows, cartoons or cosplay existed—this has got to look crazy. And it probably looks wrong, too.

I'm sure there's an unspoken sentiment of "You're missing the whole point about what's great here!" in every rant that surfaces. I get that. In some ways, it reminds me of a once-relevant writer-artist who still rails about how badly the comic industry screwed up by creating the direct market and how everyone should have listened to him thirty years ago.

Times change. You can't stop it.

Cosplay, the loss of newsstand comics, the death of commercial radio, MTV no longer airing videos, Cartoon Network renaming their brand "CN" and supplanting cartoons with live-action programming…times change. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and sometimes it just IS.

But the people who complain about the change fail to realize that they've probably also embraced changes similar to what they're griping about. The comic creator who constantly reminds everyone how he saw the problems with the direct market? He proudly says he no longer watches traditional TV as it airs and only checks out TV on DVD.

Times change. You can't stop it. So why not take a look and try to see what's appealing about cosplay. Look at the excitement that the cosplayers demonstrate for a character or the medium that you love. Underneath it all, you probably have something in common with them. They react to a well-crafted Carol Danvers costume in the exact same way that you react to finding an Alex Toth page in a stack of original art.

You're both nerds—we all are. There's no higher ground here.

I don't know about you, but I'd much rather find a way to enjoy myself in a changing world instead of complaining about how things used to be so much better five, ten, or twenty years ago.
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Exclusive Athena Voltaire Bookplates, part 1

8/21/2014

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I'm so excited about all of the comic shops that are partnering with me on the AV Compendium! In a nutshell, I'm creating exclusive bookplates for interested comic shops (email me for details, including minimum quantities, etc).

Here are the first four, and info on where you can preorder them:
DCBS (Discount Comic Book Service), Westfield Comics, Midtown Comics and Downtown Comics. I'm doing signings at some of these stores, so check my Appearances page for details, as well.

If you're a retailer interested in your own exclusive AV Compendium bookplate, email me!

More exclusive bookplates posting soon!
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Talking Athena Voltaire at Broken Frontier

8/18/2014

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Jason Wilkins at Broken Frontier talked to me about webcomics, Kickstarter, Athena Voltaire's history, influences and future. A good time! There's some preview art there, too. 

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A Quick Chat with the Only the Valiant Podcast

8/18/2014

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I caught up with Sean Neprud of the Only the Valiant podcast at San Diego Comic-Con. Naturally, the Athena Voltaire Compendium came up a time or two. Much fun, and I didn't ramble (too much)!
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Checking in with Earth Station One

8/14/2014

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I stopped by the Earth Station One podcast to talk about the Athena Voltaire Compendium, comics and a trip to the Geek Seat! Have a listen!
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Catching up with the Collected Comics Library

8/14/2014

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I chatted with the Collected Comics Library's Chris Marshall and Andy Tom about the Athena Voltaire Compendium, pulpy comics, and what we're reading now. Give it a listen.
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The Athena Voltaire Compendium is available for preorder!

8/12/2014

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The Athena Voltaire Compendium is coming! The new AV collection hits comic shops on December 10, 2014 and will be in bookstores on December 23, 2014. You can preorder the book now.

Here's the official text:
In the knuckle-dusting style of classic pulp adventure comes Athena Voltaire, a beautiful globetrotting aviatrix who takes on Nazis, secret societies, zombies, and unspeakable occult creatures! From sunken galleons to haunted mountain-top lairs to hidden jungle temples, our heroine faces peril at every turn as she races to save the world. This whopping tome rescripts and remasters Athena’s adventures from the long-running, Eisner-nominated comic by Steve Bryant, including over 50 pages of brand new material, as well as a pin-up gallery, concept art, and process sketches. 

224-page hardcover  •  $20  • Order code: AUG140083

Yep, it's a 224-page hardcover for 20 bucks!

If you're still on the fence, here's a 40-page preview!

Print, fill out, and take this preorder form to your local comic shop to get your copy!

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Talking about the Athena Voltaire Compendium with Comic Geek Speak

8/11/2014

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I had a great chat with my old friends from the  Comic Geek Speak podcast about the upcoming Athena Voltaire Compendium. We spent some time catching up, as well. A good time was had by all!
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San Diego Comic-Con Commissions

7/10/2014

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I’’m accepting commission preorders for San Diego Comic-Con, July 23–27. I'm not sure if I'll be doing more than penciled headshots at the shows, so if you're interested, please consider lining up a commission before the show.

If you're an art collector that prefers to have commissions done in your themed sketchbook, you can mail me your sketchbook and I'll be glad to bring it to the show.

PRICING
$50 for an inked single-character piece on 9 x 12 bristol board. Additional figures, email me for a quote. 

$100 for an inked single character piece on 11 x 17. Again, for additional figures, email me for a quote.

(Ink wash, drybrush, etc added at artist's discretion. If there's something you really, really, really have your heart set on, let me know up front.)

Email me at SteveBryantArt@gmail.com to preorder a commission.

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Preorder or Perish, part 2

5/9/2014

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Yesterday, I told readers how important it is that they preorder their favorite comics—particularly the titles not published by the Big Two, where every single order truly makes a difference.

But it's just as important to make preordering as easy as possible.

After your book is completed and solicited in Previews, you're not done. In fact, you haven't really started. None of us have any reasonable expectation that anyone outside our immediate family should buy our books. The rest of the world needs two things: 1) Your readership needs to see just how cool your book is, and 2)  You need to make preordering the book as easy as possible.

1) You can say your book will die if readers don’t preorder it, but guilt is a crummy way to motivate someone. Instead, SHOW them what’s cool about your book, by providing a preview of every issue. Share it on your website, on your Facebook page, on your Twitter feed, and on any forums you frequent. Don’t be a pest, and don’t be obnoxious about it. But you can’t expect readers to preorder it sight unseen. Show them.

I know some creators say it’s the publisher’s responsibility to provide previews.  If your publisher does, that’s great. But the reality is, no matter how awesome your publisher is, NO ONE has a greater interest in your success than you do. Own it.

2) Make it easy for a new reader to preorder the book. When you’re posting those online previews, include a downloadable preorder form with your book’s title, the Diamond preorder code, the publisher’s name, and the Previews page where your book can be found. Space for the reader’s contact info, quantity of the issue, and the option to add it to a pull list are  necessary. Top it off with a logo and the cover and you’re good to go. 

I’ve included a couple preorder forms as examples. One is for Dave Wachter’s Guns of Shadow Valley collection and the other is a form I designed for Ray-Anthony Height’s Midnight Tiger. I also have a blank Adobe Illustrator template that I can't get to upload to Weebly, but will be glad to email you. If you'd like the blank template, or if you’re not proficient in Illustrator and would like me  to design a preorder form for you (free!),  drop me a line at SteveBryantArt at gmail dot com and I’ll whip one up for you.

In my last post, I suggested an experiment. If you plan on preordering independent comics, share what you’re ordering via social media and use the hashtag #PreorderIndie. This isn’t limited to fans and readers. As creators who want people to preorder your book, you should be at the forefront of this. Tell everyone what you’re preordering.




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    Steve Bryant

    draws and writes comics; sometimes on the same project, sometimes independently of one another.

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