Black Snow Comics

A new year, and a new page for I’m Famous in Japan! This time round, we jump over to a joke focusing on Daniel.

Joy!

This page is a bit of a mixed basket. It had turned out the way I wanted with panels that I really liked, but at the same time, there are bits that kind of annoyed me, because I probably could have drawn them better. Alas, that is how it usually is with me as I’m a bit of a perfectionist. So to cope, I usually call these imperfections ‘Paper-based Karma’, which work to balance out the good bits I like.

And it’s the good bits I’m going to talk a little bit about. The top panel is yet another pre-loaded Manga Studio Wire-frame, which I then screen-toned. I had wanted to go for a hotel entrance here, but an office-front seems to work too.  I had promised myself to cut down on using these wire-frames, and so I have. In the run-up to this page I did some photo studies of Tokyo (ala Google Image search, since I’ve never been there) and produced the dark ‘dawn’ picture you see the middle left panel. That was done completely by hand, using an evening photo of Tokyo’s cleverly named ‘Ching-Ching’ tram line, as a reference. The line of vending machines in the next panel is also based on a Tokyo photo. Alas, it was a daytime photo, so despite my efforts I feel that I have screwed up the twilight effect I was going for. Thankfully, I think at least the angle worked out right. Finally, we have Daniel’s Prayer. This worked out a little better than I thought it would. The ‘dreamy’ screen-tome helps set the mood, and Daniel does seem to be swept up by the emotion of it all.

Land of the Vending Sun

The main theme of this joke is something we’ve mentioned earlier. The Japanese love vending machines, so much so, that you can purchase nearly everything from them in most cities. Food, drink….and yes…even clothing. I’m not going to mention the ‘used underwear’ again, but one thing we may find odd is the availability of Beer vending machines in Japan. We don’t normally see these in the Western world, for the simple reason that minors would easily purchase booze from these things. The only requirement being that he/she has enough coins to make the purchase. This actually had been a problem in Japan in recent years, and from 2000 the Japanese Government ordered the machines to be phased out. However, I think they still exist to this day.

On that note, I finish this entry….dreaming about a can of beer from a vending machine….and hoping it doesn’t explode in my face due to it being shook up.

Until next time.

-RAWR!

Black Snow: Two Drink Minimum page 35

Black Snow is a funny thing.  It takes you to unexpected places.  I really think this is pretty different from your standard super hero story.  In many ways.  Some of which you’ve seen and some that are still to come.

This scene, and particularly this page, is fairly odd to me.  The bright sanitary office setting and the friendly banter between two platonic adult coworker friends, not stuff I draw a lot of.  But I like the fact that in this comic you can have a quiet subtle scene between two side characters like this.

Though fans of the old comic will notice we’ve kept the plot a lot tighter this time around and when characters do talk it’s actually focused on the story’s events, and not random odd things like what the Firsherman’s mama was named or planning to have pizza while watching Mystery Men.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s still some odd non sequiturs, they are just better planned out and generally less…stupid.  And there’s a noticeably stronger focus on the title character.

Black Snow has never been about action.  This was true of the original comic books and if you haven’t caught on is true of this graphic novel.  Marie playfully hitting Kurt here is the most action we’ve seen thus far besides the bank explosion.

So what is a super hero story without fighting?  The way Alex has always describe it is that it’s just a story about people, who happen to be super heroes.  They are not defined by that fact, it’s just part of their lives.

Some readers have told me the story is basically like if the real world had super heroes.  I like that.  I think it’s a bit of a stretch, but a nice thought.  Just because you’re a “super hero” it doesn’t mean you actually know what you’re doing, anymore that a regular Joe.  It probably means you know even less.  Think about how difficult it would be logistically to be a super hero?  Where the hell would you even begin?

Fight seekers don’t fret, we will eventually get to some of your much beloved violence, just maybe not in the way you would expect. Fans of the original comic books will recall we had some fights, and they always had consequences.

That’s the thing with most super hero books, there usually isn’t a whole lot of consequence to the action. When we do it we want it to mean something. If someone is in a fight then they are going to be hurt. Our characters don’t just bounce back from incredible brawls without a scratch. And they don’t fight constantly, because they have lives. They do other things.

If they tried to fight as much as heroes in most books they would probably die. If Batman is just a normal guy with some money and gadgets how the hell does he take all that extreme punishment? Easy answer: he wouldn’t.  And I like Batman.  But this ain’t Batman.

So enjoy Black Snow for what it is, don’t hate it for what it is not.  And take some time to get to know the characters, because that’s what it’s really all about.

Oh, and before I conclude this sojourn into the “intellectual” merits of this comic, let me just point out art wise that I tried to do something to make the scene a little more exciting with the layout and the switching angles.  I also went with a more minimalistic approach with the background.  I used to do a lot more minimalism, then I tried to go the reverse route with this graphic novel and focus on the settings.  I think there are times where both are appropriate depending on the mood you are trying to create.  So I’ll probably be playing around with that more.

You can look forward to some real fun minimalism next month in Detroit Mock City, where I think I’ve done it better than ever.

Do you like free stuff? Do you like I’m Famous!? If you answered yes to one, or even better both, of these questions you’re in luck.

The I'm Famous! Drawing Contest

Announcing the I’m Famous! 2nd Anniversary Drawing Contest! To celebrate the second year of I’m Famous! we’ll be giving away a FREE copy of I’m Famous! Volume 1!

How do you enter? Just draw a picture of your favorite character from I’m Famous! and post it on our Facebook page or send it to contact@blacksnowcomic.com before February 2nd. We’ll look through the submissions and pick a winner. If you win we’ll let you know, get your address and send you the book. Simple stuff.

It can be any character you want (I’m expecting a lot of Rufuses) doing whatever you want (though you probably won’t win if it’s X-Rated). It can be more than one character. It could be our character doing something with another comic’s character. Whatever. Just have fun with it.

If we get a lot of good submissions then maybe we’ll pick multiple winners!

So get drawing!

Around these parts we take our New Years Resolutions pretty seriously. In 2010 I said I’d do at least one Famous every week for the year, and I did that for 50 out of 52 weeks. One missed week I was on vacation in Hawaii, and there were several weeks when I was pumping out 3-4 strips, so I don’t feel too bad about those two weeks where I didn’t do one.

In 2011 I made a personal resolution when I realized I had somehow gotten very heavy, 192 lbs to be specific. No one seemed to notice it happening, even me. I had been pretty consistently staying about 175 for many years up until then, and resolved to get back down to it again. I didn’t do any drastic workout plan or crash diet. I just slowly tried to be a bit more active, eat more healthy, and cut down my portions. And I’d say halfway through the year I was back to my norm. But I kept going, and today I weighed in at 164. That’s less than When I graduated high school. And I’m still losing. My goal? 160, then my new goal will be to add some more muscle tone.

So you can see I at least attempt to do what I say I’ll do, even if I’m only saying it to myself. The trick to actually succeeding with a resolution? Set realistic goals.

So now I offer you my 2012 resolutions, for the comics that is. You may have seen this first one announced already on Facebook and Twitter, but it is the biggest: I will post a new page of Black Snow: Two Drink Minimum every Saturday for the year. If I find I have a lot of pages done early, then maybe I’ll post more than one a week. If the next part isn’t written I will get on Alex and make sure it is done before it becomes an issue with my new self imposed deadline.

So at least 52 new pages this year, that is if there are 52 more pages in the story. That’s the problem with not having it all written and plotted. But I’m pretty sure there are at least 52 more. And if we finish it, well then it will be time to do the next one, which I think will be titled Black Snow: Another Round. Like that?

Another resolution? We’ll debut Detroit Mock City in conjunction with the Cartoonist Studio contest on Monday, February 6th, and release the next one each following Monday for 9 weeks, which is keeping pace with the contest. After that? It really depends on how popular it is and how well we do in the contest. If people react they way I think they’re going to, we’ll be making more after that, and I don’t think it would be too hard to do one a week in addition to the Black Snow. I’m able to draw them pretty quickly.

So where does that leave Famous? I’d love to say I’ll do one a week and pick a day, but remember what I said earlier about realistic goals? I’m not that fast a drawer, especially when doing Black Snow, so it takes some real time. I also have to work a real job to support my family. So instead I’ll say this. When I already have the next couple of pages of Black Snow done and ready to post I’ll try to do some Famous. If I do have a Famous, I’ll post it on a Wednesday.

So there you go. That is the plan to get things a bit more organized and scheduled. And I’ll do my best to make it true. Some things may change depending on whatever may arise, but at least that’s the plan.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Another banner year for Black Snow Comics in which much progress was made. You can compare it to the 2010 review or the briefer 2009 review.

So what all did we do this year? First, we switched to digital comic making after I got my Bamboo tablet for Christmas lat year. It was a slightly awkward transition from pen and paper, which you can see by looking at the I’m Famouses of the time, but I like to think I got the hang of it rather quickly.

The last Pen and Ink Famous

The first, very sloppy, Tablet drawn Famous

The second, greatly improved, Tablet Drawn Famous

The First Comic of 2011

So we ushered in the new year by joining the digital media age. I’m Famous! was the only comic we had going at the time, and I really wanted to do something special to celebrate the one year anniversary of the comic on Feb. 2nd. So I did this:

I'm Famous's first anniversary

I really like that picture. Alex thinks it looks like a wacky sitcom. Anyway, the celebration continued with our first celebrity (well, quasi-celebrity) guest, Alex’s friend and the man behind Asian Man Records, Mike Park (formerly of The Chinkees).

Mike Park pt. 1

Mike Park pt. 2

If you are wondering how Mike reacted to his comic appearance…with indifference from what I saw. Oh well. That was followed up with this movie poster for Skategoat, which was pretty random and a joke only people who read Rosenstein’s bio on the site would fully appreciate.

Skategoat, a bizarre in joke for loyal fans

So February was a month of celebration. I believe it was also the first month we joined and won the contest at Comicracy and ranked at the top of Comic Hovel, something we’d continue to do monthly for the rest of the year.

Then something weird happened. A man known as Daddy Rich, whom I would later learn some interesting and unsavory things about, contacted us (from prison!) to do comics for his Black targeted magazine, Urban Image. And I thought it was an opportunity worth trying. So we came up with the Black centric comics, Aw Hell Naw! and Black Power, and a few illustrations, all of which you can see on our Urban Image Magazine Facebook photo album.

So we did that for a couple issues of the magazine, but it wasn’t getting us much exposure, and we weren’t really comfortable with being a part of the magazine after reading the content. We also didn’t really like doing the racially focused comics. After that I somehow was labeled as an urban artist, and I was more shocked than anyone. I got several offers from people (some even for pay!) to do more Black focused comics, some of which I thought were leaning towards racist. I really don’t want to perpetuate stereotypes or get into any controversial racial themes, and politely declined.

The nice upside was I learned that we had quite a few Black fans. Who knew? This was not a fact lost on Alex and I, and would play a role in some of our decision making later down the line.

In April I’m Famous! got a terrible podcast review from Digital Strips that actually ended up causing me to improve my style a lot in the end, so I guess it was a good thing. But man was I pissed off at the time, and it did nothing to help my confidence. But like I said, it made me a better artist by pointing out a few legitimate flaws I worked to improve.

We also tied to win a Thor contest on Comicracy with these special Thor themed I’m Famous! comics.

I'm Famous! Thor pt.1

I'm Famous! Thor pt.2

We won a nice shirt, hat, CD, a video game, and we were put on the list for the movie premiere in Hollywood. Good times befitting of I’m Famous!

I started really getting to know a lot of other webcomic makers sometime around here and gained some cool friends. I also got some sweet guest art.

This is also around the time I solicited Black Snow and I’m Famous! to publishers, and shockingly many of them were interested this time! This led to several offers print our stuff or work on other projects. For the first time in our 10 years of making comics we were actually popular and in demand!

Unfortunately all the deals were weak and the projects were not anything we were interested in. Lame stuff. There was something major that came out of it all… One publisher we were interested in really wanted to do a Black Snow graphic novel, they just wanted a different artist to do it. Ouch! Well, I put pride aside and we looked for one. And had a hard time finding anyone interested without being paid up front. A lot of greedy people out there.

So we thought long and hard (Ha!) about things and what exactly we were trying to sell. Originally we were going to make Black Snow Issue 7, which would would’ve picked up right after the events of #6. We also considered doing an Issue 0 origin story of sorts, but had trouble writing it. Then after a fateful talk with Larry Marder at APE 2010 we decided to make a graphic novel follow up to issue 6, called Last Call.

So we were trying to sell the first 6 issues either in their original forms, or preferably in a compilation, and the partially written graphic novel follow up. When we really thought about it we realized this was not what we wanted to be selling. We didn’t like the old issues and weren’t really happy with the way we were trying to move forward based on them. So we made the tough decision to basically erase all our previous work on the series by restarting it as an all new graphic novel, which you now know as Two Drink Minimum.

Black Snow: Two Drink Minimum

So we redid everything, trying to improve upon the original. New story, a more true depiction of Detroit and its population, new character designs, a new art style…a lot of new stuff really, but still based on the spirit and intent of the original. We made the decision that I would stay as Black Snow’s artist, and we would eventually try to self publish (so no lame publisher could dictate to us). Somewhat bold and brash, but I still think the right decision. So once again I did my best to up my drawing game, I think I did a pretty good job.

I wasn’t the only one who thought so, and I started getting a lot of compliments on my work. Meaningful ones that let me know people were taking me seriously as an artist, possibly for the first time. And I started to feel like a real artist. So I chose to concentrate on my storytelling and improving my skills with Black Snow, and took a break from I’m Famous! in June. I knew overall people enjoyed Famous more, but they seemed to respect Black Snow more.

Then in July we started on a partnership with a friend we met over the net, Mark “Rawr” Egan of rawrtacular.com, the Manga you now know to be I’m Famous in Japan!

I'm Famous in Japan!

And so there rest of the year basically went. Rawr would do Famous in Japan! when he had time and I would do Black Snow when I had time. I worked hard to improve my art, read some more books on the subject, tried new things and developed my style. I also got into photo manipulation, which seems like a pretty untapped and unique art form at this point. And we spread to more and more websites, and won more contests. In turn we gained more of a following.

In October we went back back to the Alternative Press Expo, and were much better prepared for our 2nd convention. We got a bunch of cool merch made up for the event and sold quite a bit of stuff. We also made a very fun mini comic for the show, which led to us meeting Daniel Clowes. Like APE 2010, it was a real learning experience.

We redid the website, several times, including the installation of Comic Press. We also pushed hard on the social media, with some positive results (always nice to interact with fans).

In September we put out a Black Snow compilation book and I’m Famous! Vol. 1. We finally had books for sale! And we sold a few! We also started selling ad space on the site for a little cash flow.

Eventually I started doing Famous again, and still push forward with Two Drink Minimum. We also created a new comic, Detroit Mock City, which will debut Feb. 6th in the Cartoonist Studio contest. I’m really excited about it, and think people are really going to be into it. Hell, we may even have a chance of winning!

So what else will 2012 hold? Probably the conclusion of I’m Famous in Japan! It was always meant to be a one off mini series, and Mark is busy with two comics of his own. I’ll continue to do Famous intermittently. With any luck, and a hell of a lot of work, we’ll finish Two Drink Minimum and tell the first part of our big story. Alex and I really look forward to seeing it finished and getting people’s reactions to the final product. If Detroit Mock City takes off then you’ll see a lot of that, especially if we win the contest and get a deal. I really like doing it and it comes out in a way that is almost effortless (in comparison). We’re also set to appear at the Big Wow Comic Fest in March, though we’ll probably skip APE in October.

And who knows what else? If 2012 is anything like 2011 we’ll be busy and making great strides! Hopefully you’ll be along for the ride.