Free Comic Book Day Saturday, May 1, 2010

Ah, Free Comic Book Day. From what I remember it was created to bring new readers to a struggling industry, but I have seen it grow into a feeding frenzy. The gang over at Heroes comics keeps things orderly, but there is usually a big line waiting for them to open. I gave Dave a call today and he said they’ll be open from ten am to six pm, Saturday, May 1, 2010, and if you want to avoid crowds, come later! I think last year I went later and they still had some pretty good comics available. And yeah, they’re free.

Typically it’s one free comic per customer, but each shop has their own policies about how to get more than one.

For more on Free Comic Book Day, and to find a participating comic shop near you, and even preview the comics they’ll have available, hit the informational website at http://www.freecomicbookday.com/

Heavy Ink, an online source for comics, is celebrating Free Comic Book Day ONLINE! That’s right, if your comic shop is just too far away, or you can’t get out of the house for whatever reason, check them out at http://heavyink.com/fcbd.

Here’s the Heavy Ink Lowdown:

* Free Comic Book Day at HeavyInk.com/fcbd begins on Saturday May 1st at
10 AM EST (9 AM Central, 8 AM Mountain, 7 AM PST).

* First come first serve, maximum of 3 comics per person.

* The comics are free, and if you’re a regular customer they’ll ship
with your next shipment at no extra charge. If we ship them separately
we’ll charge only $2.99 for first class shipping. If you happen pick
up a graphic novel or a few other comics while you’re at the site
everything ships for just 99 cents!

* Comics ship starting on Wednesday, when we ship our regular weekly
subscription shipments.

*We’ll be giving away a different title every 10-15 minutes. There are around 30 different titles, so
we’ll be giving away comics for most of the day. Iron Man, Stuff of Legend, Atomic Robo, Mouse Guard, Green Hornet…

Thanks!

The HeavyInk team
Travis, Pete, Andy, Caryn, and Dan

So that’s it. For us here in Fresno, California, that means the Heavy Ink Online Free Comic Day starts bright and early at 7AM! But like their details state, they should be giving out comics for most of the day. Unless of course, this thing goes viral… So if you’re reading this at oh, six o’clock in the evening, like I always seem to do, “Oh, no, too late, AGAIN!” Check them out, you may get lucky.

Forsaken Stars Promo Trailer #2

This trailer is a bit more comprehensive than the original teaser, seeking to answer the newcomer's question: "What is Forsaken Stars about?"

Well, let me show ya...

Have you seen the Forsaken Stars Trailer Yet?

Can't seem to get it to embed on my WordPress/ComicPress blog under the comic at forsakenstars.com, but it works fine here and at facebook. What do you think? Pretty simple, a fast flash photogallery, really, but I thought it'd be a decent intro teaser for the comic.

Also, I put this scene together from the last two pages of the comic for maybe a banner:

Fan Appreciation

Ali had a PR Unplugged event this weekend, and she invited me to come along. At first I was hesitant to go because it reminded me of what I used to do (marketing), but I thought they might have some ideas on how to improve the visibility and interactivity of Forsaken Stars. So I went and there was a speaker, Peter Lang, who spoke primarily about social media, which was just what I was looking for! I took copious notes, but couldn't quite formulate a question I should ask, but later I checked out his own site and sent him a thanks, and he responded right away, saying he liked my site, and recommended I get a facebook fan page.

So, it's up, and I would love your help with it! Because I want the page to be by the fans for the fans! Of course, it's great for my ego, and I'll post exclusive info and content from time to time, but I want to hear your input on the story so far and what you're hoping to see in the future! If you have a little trouble getting started, here's a quick questionnaire:

1. Which character do you like most so far?
The Vampire Azzi, Captain Sera, Prophet Ambassador XTL, Mr. President, or Sleath?

2. What's been your favorite moment so far?

3. What do you like least about the comic?

4. Which character(s) are you most anxious to see?
Space Ninjas? Fabius the Angel, Naura the Mermaid, Leander the Gotham, Leelee the Fairien? Herman the Unicorn? (Okay, there isn't really a Herman the Unicorn. Maybe a Sheldon.)

5. What do you want to see more of?
Robots, spaceships, ghosts, zombies, aliens?

6. Aside from the comic, what do you like best about the forsakenstars.com site:
Links: Have any recommendations on links you think I should have?
Blog: What topics would you like to see me cover?
Pages (Synopsis, Praise, Gifts, Store): Would you like to see some of the pages expanded? Do you have some fan art you'd like me to post?

That's it! Post your answers here, or as comments at the Forsaken Stars facebook fan page! As always, thanks for reading and have fun!

Forsaken Stars #1 & #2 Now Available on Lulu.com

After months of preparation, Forsaken Stars #1: Constituo Theatrum is now available on Lulu.com for purchase in paperback! It's a bit on the pricey side, for a comic book, but it's bigger and it's on nice, shiny paper. Now, to be honest, I loaded up Forsaken Stars #2: The Flames of Purgation first, and received the proof of that recently, and it came out fine, so I went through the same steps to publish issue one, but instead of waiting for that proof to come via snail mail, I thought I'd go ahead and let you all know if you wanted one right away. Or you could wait about a week until I get the proof for issue 1 and let you know how that one comes out. But the PDF file looks great, and that's available for immediate download And if you haven't clicked on either of the above links yet, you can go here to visit my Lulu Storefront. Soon I hope to add a few other things I've been meaning [my whole life] to publish, so check back from time to time!

The months of preparation included utilizing my new Bamboo tablet, Corel Painter Essentials 4, and Manga Studio Debut 4 to completely redo all of the word balloons and text, add blacks, tones and textures to many of the panels (which I'd meant to do for all of the space & stars shots), and just get both these issues looking as great as possible with little to no budget, before publication. All the remastered pages have been loaded up on http://forsakenstars.com and http://roblopez.comicgenesis.com for your enjoyment, both issues are now online in their entirety, and hopefully the next few issues will look as good or better!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story so far, and of course, the visuals of said story. Thanks for reading, and take care!

Modlife // Angels and Airwaves LOVE Album FREE Download

Just wanted to let everyone know that one of my favorite bands, Angels and Airwaves, has released their latest album as a FREE download. Check them out if you love what I call "hopeful rock," along the lines of U2, Relient K, and the Rocket Summer.

Enjoy, and let the love flow.


Modlife // Angels and Airwaves LOVE Album FREE Download

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www.Forsakenstars.com

I got the new site going! A few weeks ago Comic Genesis had a server problem, and I figured it was about time I set up the second site, just in case. After much beating my head against the wall trying to figure out how I was going to create similar updating and archiving software, a fellow webcomicker let me know about the free Comicpress theme on Wordpress. So I got cracking on it and about four sleepless days later (it was much easier than it sounds, but there was a LOT of content to load up and a few things I had to figure out), I have a simple, streamlined webcomic site. It's not quite as personalized as my Comic Genesis site, but it does a lot more, particularly the blog/commenting features, than what I can do on my own at CG. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new site, and please drop by and say hello. Thanks!