The Creator Sits Down In an In-Depth Interview to Answer Burning Questions About Production Issues  and Other Importunate Issues Concerning The WERE.

Recently I sat down with the creator of The WERE Comic to address burning issues from the fans concerning the late release of his books, product issues and just the overall nature of the comics and the business as a whole and where he sees it as well as his company in the future.

 

Q. It said on your website that The WERE was a bi-monthly comic series, which would mean a new issue should come out every other month.  Issue 1 was released in late October; why has it taken so long for Issue 2 to be released?

 

A. “That is a good question Ms. Collins; why didn’t it come out bi-monthly.  Simply put the answer is that we were ill prepared for the overwhelming response we received for the first print of the comic.  Initially, I had only ordered a limited amount of copies.  Simply put, the supply did not meet the demand.  Also, there were creative issues; deadlines weren’t met or kept mainly on my part, which contributed to the late release of issue 2 as well.  Also, preparation time for conventions, advertising and other such things got in the way.  Rest assured though, I have sat down and with the help of Grammars Ink, and my Agent, I have ironed out all of the problems and I am now ready to give the fans of comics what they deserve, which is new age quality professional art work and stories.”

 

Q. You state you are going to prevent late releases from happening in the future.  What will you do to ensure this doesn’t become an issue again in the future?

 

A. “As I stated earlier, I have aligned myself with a talent based publishing and distributing company called Grammars Ink.  We their help and support, we have worked out the kinks.  In the last few months I have buckled down and written out all of the issues for the series.  The artwork is 2/3rds complete. We have ordered enough material to meet the demand for the product and simply, I feel we have learned from our previous mistakes.  We know what to do and what not to do.  We know everything will not just be perfect but experience has taught us from our last mistakes and we are ready to attack it again. Attack, meaning the comic book industry.”

 

Q. On your website it says both t-shirts were sold out but there are a few fans who have not received their shirts.  What is the issue?

 

A. “The issue with the t-shirts is simply again not enough products ordered for the demand we encountered. And let me just say this, I know that I may be minimizing the issues with the simple answer of supply and demand but in this case it is the truth.”

 

Q. How will you resolve the t-shirt issue?

 

A. “First of all, before I answer that question I would like to say thank you to all of the fans who ordered and purchased either our book and/or t-shirts and other products and we are truly sorry that some of you have not yet received the merchandise. As I stated earlier we received a lot of orders some were not processed and got over looked. What I plan to do about this is simply; if you ordered a t-shirt and did not receive it, I will be sending you, on March 12, 2008, the t-shirt you previously ordered along with a full refund plus a signed copy of Issue 2 and a personally signed letter of apology.”

 

 

Q. What do you think of the comic book industry as a whole and what is it you think you can add to the market?

 

A. “I think that comic book business, in a whole, is not like it used to be when reading and collecting comics was the thing to do. I am talking about the early fifties, or the late seventies, early eighties, it was fun to go to the minute market, as we used to call them, and pick up a Spiderman or Superman comic, Batman and other favorites but now I don’t know; it’s become too commercial or something. It’s as if the magic or joy of reading them is gone. I don’t know…”

 

Q. What do you mean when you say the “magic “is gone or the business has become too “commercial”? Please expound on that.

 

A. “Well what I mean is that the joy or excitement about picking up and reading a comic is gone. See, when we were younger you looked forward to getting a book and going off to a fantasy world with just you and your super heroes. You enjoyed buying the book for the sole purpose of reading and being entertained by it. Now it’s all about collecting or gimmicks; no fun or enjoyment. To be perfectly honest with you, comics as a whole went down when big businesses or companies stepped in and done to the industry of comics what they have done to everything else. They turned it into a large money making scheme where they control who or what is published main stream to the fans. And the lack of new innovative ideas has turned readers away and that’s what has happened to the business. “

 

Q. You say, “They.” Who are they? And what have “they” done to hurt the business?

 

A. “When I say they I mean the big distributing company or companies that have come in and have monopolized the business. See, first and foremost you have to understand what the medium of comics truly is and what it’s really all about. When it first started in its purist form, comics and art was all about expression. Artists and creators have been given a gift, a very sacred gift from the ultimate creator of the universe and that is the gift of expression. And with that gift you come up with creative ways to spread your message or what you have to say to others. You communicate this gift or message through music, art, stories, etc. When one does this he or she is in perfect unison with the creator and his creation they are doing what they were meant or given the power or gift to do. And as it was said, “this is good”. But what makes things go array is when someone comes in and uses money to dictate or control who uses their voice or talent by telling artist that they don’t think that people want to hear their message or that the world isn’t ready to hear what they have to say. It’s absurd for anyone. Hell, it’s even borderline sin for someone to say that people don’t want to hear what a person has to say. Who are they to think for everybody? And what's funny to me is the stuff that they distribute is what’s really running the industry down. I mean, people are tired of seeing the same old heroes doing and fighting the same old villains. I mean, it’s gotten so bad or you know it’s watered down and bad when what the world calls a new idea is taking an old established character and turning them into zombie monsters or killing them off then bringing them back to life a few issues later. And they think that this is what the people really want. No, it’s just that the controlling money and power hungry distributing company is in line with the major big wig comic companies and they are limiting or isolating the threat of real new age creators with their new ideas,  and keeping them from coming out so that they can be in control of all of the money that this business generates. With this kind of ideology and way of thinking in place it takes away from the creative market that’s just waiting to explode onto the scene. And with no real new innovative ideas out there; consumers are going to begin to look elsewhere for fresh new entertainment to spend their hard earned dollar on.”

 

 

 Q. What advise would you give someone who is trying to break into the market of comics who doesn’t         have a publisher or distributor to work with?

 

A. “First I would tell them that not having a major publishing company or distributing company is a great thing. And what I mean by that is they probably will own the rights to all of their material as in some cases major publishing companies try to own the right to the characters you create or your comic itself.   They probably won’t have to compete with conflict of interest from their publisher who either has the same or similar idea that they are trying to put out so they either ask you to change your idea or at worst take from your idea to put into their own. With so many titles that the publisher is putting out, yours may or may not get the marketing and attention that it truly needs to make it known to the fans and consumers. And with dealing with a distributor, man that’s a story in itself. First you have to submit your title and if you are not backed by the big three publishing in comics, chances of them even agreeing to distribute your book whether it’s good or not are slim to none.  See, you have to think the industry in a whole is not really making money so the more competing titles that are put on the store shelves takes money out of the pockets of the three major industries so to combat this they either tell a serious threat that their book is either not good or that the world doesn’t want to read or are not ready for their book. Or they will accept a title, which they feel is of no threat to the books that they are putting on the shelves just to say see we are fair we put independent publisher books out. Now someone who doesn’t understand, someone who might read this may say, ‘Hey that guys wrong; that’s not how it is,” well, to be fair I will say this; I can’t 100% say that’s how it’s done cause there's no proof of them doing this but it’s funny how if you look on the board of the major distributing company look and see who are or at one time were on their board you’ll find quite a few of the top three comic companies somewhere on it. It makes you wonder huh. Also, when an independent creator tries to go through the major distributing company upon being accepted you have to pay to be in the order magazine, then you have to pay for printing then on top of that you have to pay them around 60 to 80 percent off  cover price. Once you pay for all of that you won’t have enough money to make a profit. You won’t break even. So you see it’s pretty hard; nearly impossible to break into the comic book industry and believe you me that’s how they want it. So my advise to anyone trying to make it into the business is to really save, save, save, work hard and try to go through a publishing or distributing company who are not out to make ridiculous profit off of you or your work.

 

Q.  You are saying this and it sounds like good advise, but what if someone who is reading has taken your advise to heart, or has experienced what you have talked about but they don’t want to give up on their dream and they still want to put out their book. Is there any company that you know or may have heard of who can help them and give them an opportunity to put their book on the market?

 

A. “Well, they just have to do their research. There are a few publishers out there who can help them publish their books; it’s just a matter of them finding them and setting up a deal that works for them. Another way they may want to try and go is going through an independent publishing distribution company that isn’t necessarily affiliated with comic publishers. It’s the company that I used as a matter of fact and they are called Grammars Ink publishing and distribution.”

 

Q. When you say not affiliated with comic publishers what do you mean? And could you tell us more about Grammars Ink and how would a creator/artist go about contacting them?

 

 A. “What I mean by not affiliated with comic publishers is that they aren’t in competition or trying to make money off the sales of their own comics. They are not putting out their own titles so there is no conflict of interest. Grammars Ink, the company I am affiliated with, is such a company they are a publishing and distributing company that specializes in helping young and up and coming artists break into the field of comics and/or their respected field. They understand the financial demands that it takes to put out a title and they help you with all aspects of it. From putting together your title, to marketing it, to publishing and actually distributing it. They do it all. As far as the financial part; they work with each artist independently by setting up payment plans, which as a person who is trying to put out a title sees, that comes in handy. They are truly for helping independent and new comers come out. Grammars Ink is a great company.”

 

 

Q. They sound like a great company. Where are they located and how would a person contact them?

 

A. “This is beginning to sound like a commercial. (Laughs) But seriously, they are based out of Colorado. To contact them all a person needs to do is go to their website, which is www.grammarsink.com and it will tell you the next step to go from there. And let me just add that this business is hard to break in within itself.  I don’t think that a creator, artist or anyone else for that matter who has an idea that he or she wants to give to the world should have to go through all of the stuff that the publishers and distributors put them through. It’s not rocket science, it’s just comics nothing more nothing less!”

 

Article written by Vanessa Collins

 

 

 

 

Headlines