Those who have been 'following' this Blog for a while will know that I've been watching the three rounds of 'Small Press Idol' (SPI) this year...  

One of the entries that started in Round 1 was 'FACTION'.  The concept interested me and I have been voting for that concept in all three rounds so far.  There were 42 contestants in Round 1.

Now it is one of the 'Final Four' in Round 4 of SPI as seen here: http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/content287.html#Round4  

So what has occured so far in the four rounds?  Well, this is what each Round consisted of:

Round 1: The Basic Premise/Talent
Round 2: Characters, Please
Round 3: Sequential Primers
Round 4: Origin or #0 issue

With Round 4 we now see a 'finished product', which is also available for sale either as a download or a hard copy, Your choice of format.

I've not seen the whole concept put together until this month.  It is good to see something that I liked months ago as a concept come together into a published format!

Here is what Erik W Hendrix, creator, has to say about the concept of FACTION:

"The year is 2025 and the worlds’ governments are focused on eradicating the escalating terrorist threat in the Middle East secretly supported by the demonic Den Malignity. This effort has left Master Sergeant Acker Kinney, a Special Ops Medic, scarred and short an arm, forever changed.

When Acker is attacked by a demonic minion while recovering from his wounds in a military hospital, he is saved by Knights from the Society of the Enlightened. Soon he will be one of them; men and women blessed by God with countless lifetimes of knowledge and rediscovered powers.

The Society and the Den Malignity, enemies in an eternal struggle, must react when other factions, long thought banished or destroyed, rise to reclaim what was theirs. The Society and its knights must determine in this changed landscape who their allies and enemies are as factions vie for a stake in the world’s destiny.

The schemes of gods, the desires of demons, the powers of nature, myth, and the supernatural – all set forth to control a world the Society has sworn to protect. This is Faction."

OK...  Now here is what I have to say about FACTION the Issue #0 after reading it:

Until this published issue I had not seen the concept in color, just in B&W format.  So seeing the Front Cover in COLOR was cool!  Yes, the interior pages are still B&W, but a lot (majority?) of independent comics are in that format. 

I knew from the beginning I liked the concept, and from the selected pages that were shown in the early rounds, I knew that I liked Erik's dialogue.  Now I know I liked the storyline as well!

The artwork shown in the early rounds was just a little different, and possibly didn't go with the storyline as well as it could have.  Erik must have realized that and had a change in artists partway through the rounds.  The artwork for this published issue is much stronger and has been re-imagined by Arnie Gordon.  The finished artwork complements the story more than the earlier artwork IMHO.

Michael Nelsen's colors on the cover makes the issue stand out. Which is what is needed when the comic hits the LCBS for more exposure. Good job there Michael!

So all in all, I am pleased with the way Issue Zero turned out! Besides the story that is published in this issue, there are also the creators bios, the character sketches & bios, and other conceptual pages included.  I would have to say after reading this issue, that it is one that I would recommend to You to vote on!  Remember though, that in this Round 4, 'voting' means buying the issue!

So here are the instructions for those of YOU that are interested in supporting FACTION in Round 4, as the voting rounds are over. Now to 'vote' You have to Buy an Issue of FACTION #0 :

FANS - There are two ways for fans to get Faction Zero.

   1. Order direct - PRINT COPY - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-2274.html PDF DOWNLOAD - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-dl-2275.html  Note: FACTION is item DSP-I09-F0. You can download for $2.00 or purchase the printed version for $3.50 plus postage BEFORE AUGUST 31st!
   2. Go to your local comic book store and give them the below retailer information, explaining that you want them to carry the book and, well, hopefully they will! Make sure they place their orders ON OR BEFORE AUGUST 31st!

RETAILERS - There are two ways to get copies to your store.

   1. Order from Haven directly by going to http://www.havendistro.com, sign up, send a mail to Haven requesting to be set up as a retailer account, gather pre-orders from your store and then search for Faction to order. All orders must be turned in for Faction on or before AUGUST 31st! Issues will deliver in September.
   2. Order from DimeStore directly by going to http://www.dimestoredistro.com, sign up, send an email to DimeStore requesting to be set up as a retailer account, gather pre-orders from your store and then search for Faction DSP-I09-F0. Issues will deliver in  September.

Please note, the order code DSP-I09-F0 is Case Sensitive DSP-I(letter)0(zero)9-F0(zero).

Here at ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com we do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, and pop culture news and events!   Plus feel free to check out our new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale in our online store! 

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!!  

Just before Tina and I closed down the Make It So Marketing Biz so as to attend all five days and nights of the 2009 San Diego Comic Con International...  

I received preview hard copies of issues #1 & 2 of this 7 issue mini series from Red Handed Studios.

I checked with the company's representative and was told that the iPhone app for the comic book series was going to be released in conjuction with the SDCCI, so I waited till the Con was over to blog about the comics in both formats.

However, the company didn't have a table or booth at the SDCC, and I missed making connections with the representatives at the Con itself... Heck, it is Too Large of a Show to meet everyone you want to see there; over 125,000 attendees alone not counting exhibitors, pros and press!  Plus this year the most popular programs rooms were too hard to navigate in and out of easily to meet more people.

So, since I don't have an iPhone :(   I'm just going to stick to my thoughts on the hard copy format of this series of which I have read the first two issues. 

So What is the comic book mini-series about?

"Justice Theta is the most powerful hero in the world. He works tirelessly to protect the people under his care, regardless of nationality or wealth. But today it seems like nothing is going his way. Fallen Justice, a dark tale of heroes and villains that will challenge the way you see heroes, begins here.

Fallen Justice tells the story of what happens when the most powerful hero in the world finds out he’s dying and has 3 months to live."

OK, so that's not a story arc that I or You would see in a continuity laden mainstream comic book, that's for sure!  Which BTW is why I'm finding several indy publications to be more interesting reads lately...

In the first two issues of this series I found that even though the storyline is about a superhero who interacts with other superheroes and mankind in general... the story premise is one that could have the main character actually die and not come back.

Yes, I've read the 'Death of Captain Marvel' and other 'death' issues. But for the most part those other superhero titles just don't have a clear cut ending to the story in sight.  Almost like the way the 'LOST' TV show series 'Lost' its' way in Season 3... With The Final Season announced as ending at the end of Season 6; well... Season 5 got a lot better real fast! 

A story that has a distinct ending, even if it is only known to the writer(s) is probably better reading for someone who wants to just read a good story arc, and who does not have the 'collector' mentality to collect each and every one of several hundred issues...

So, I've found that the first two issues have set up the history and the premise of what the story arc should be.  Whether or not it fulfills this premise remains to be seen... But I for one have enjoyed the first two issues via hard copy reading format.

What I liked was the story arc so far, with the dialogue fitting for the premise.  The art itself had good styling, and the colors were right for a superheroes genre.  The lettering and sound effects were placed right, not interfering with the art.  I am looking forward to see how the rest of the story arc goes for the next five issues...  

You can check out Issue #1 for FREE!  And follow up with Issue #2 for just 99 cents for download to Your iPhone.  An inexpensive way to read the introduction to this 7 part series! 

Creator credits as follows:

Co-writer/creator/letterer-Cary Kelley
Co-writer-Steven Forbes
Artist-Harold Edge
Colorist-Ross Hughes

Standard Comic
Full Color
Page Count: 24

There also is a 1 minute video that demonstrates the comic app pretty well.  It is a good teaser for those of you that have the iPhone.  You can see it at their home page:

http://www.graphicslab2.com/

For those of you that have an iPhone here's a link to Issue 1 at the app store.
 
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=323695554&mt=8 

If you are not in possession of an iPhone, or prefer to read your comics hard copy format, you can check out your LCBS for the first two issues or at the publisher's online store at:

http://redhandedstudios.com/store/

Unless we are on site all day and night during a three day or longer comic con... we do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, and pop culture news and events!  Check out our new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale in our online store! 

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!!  

I met several creators this year at the 2009 San Diego Comic Con International, (SDCCI), whose work was new to me, either at Artists Alley, Small Press Area, or at their Publisher Booths.  

This will be the first blog of a series about those publications with a photo of the creator as seen at the SDCCI .

Robert Roach of Hometown Productions has a 4 issue mini series on a character called 'The Roach' that has been published and is for sale. Although the enigmatic anti-hero, who is a detective/assassin in this mini-series carries the same name as his own surname, this is not an 'auto-biographical' work!

The Roach's storyline takes place during the era when Chicago was a prohibition battleground.  In the series both the cops and gangsters clashed with each other and with the man named 'The Roach'.  The Roach is a vigilante who acts as his own judge, jury, and executioner in this somewhat violent but true to the era's violent times.

The Roach is more of a crimefighter in the pulp books vein, like the Green Hornet or the Spirit, but he is different enough from the others to have him stand out in any comparisons to those other characters.

Robert's storyline is one that kept my interest from the very beginning all the way through the final double-sized issue.  Yes, he uses sex, money, and violence as ingredients to tell his story, but it all jells together to present a story with plenty of attitude!  

Yes, there are racial overtones told in this story arc.  The N-word is used in different variations.  The  white vs. black culture is shown for all of its pluses and minuses and is not used just for shock value. 

The consortium of white crime lords posing as a cult of do-gooders is not new, but Robert mixes it up with bringing in a black minister who sells out his people for some portion of the white man's cash and power.

There have been other creators that have explored this era, both in comics and pulps, but I found Robert's mini-series to be the best series I have read in this genre.  And no, I didn't mean to just say the 'best independent comics series'.  This body of work is darn good and worthy of more exposure to the reading public!

Why?  I've just mentioned the storyline so far, which kept my attention and made me want to continue into the next issue.  Roach's artwork was an immediately likeable style, and 'improved' over the additional months that it took to bring each of the following issues out to publication.

The front covers are the only thing that are not his.  Those color covers are by J.H. Williams III,  which really bring out the fact that the interior pages are black and white.   Yes, readers expect a color cover, but the black and white reality shown inside the comics lends a credibility to the story arc.  I for one liked the fact that the pages were shown via black and white printing instead of color!

So now I've told you of this creation that I found at the SDCCI.  That 'The Roach' is a four-issue mini-series that is best described as a black & white comic book mini series that pushes “crime noir” to a new extreme.  All that is left now is to tell you how to get it!   Because sometimes 'independent publishers publications' are just a little hard to obtain you know due to distribution!

I asked Robert Roach how others can obtain his series.  The following is what he messaged back to me:

"Yes, all 4 are available. But the 1st print of issue #1 is down to 25 left (print run of 1,000). I may run a 2nd print in the future, after all are gone. However, I have a limited advance printing of issue #1, with my embossed seal of authenticity, available after the others are gone. This run was limited to 500 & I think we have 150 of these left. There WON'T BE a 2nd printing of this particular book.

Retailers are able to order back issues thru Haven Distributors. Fans can order thru their shops or directly from us at our website. Just hit the 2nd "gargoyle" from the right on the Home Page or scroll down to the shopping cart."

Robert is referring to his Hometown Productions web site that can be found at:   http://www.hometownprods.com 

Again, this is one series that I enjoyed from beginning to end within each issue.  That is saying something in today's world because quite often the 'floppies' single issues are just one big story arc meant to be immediately published into a trade paperback compilation format.

Which to answer your immediate question now that I brought it up... Robert added this about a possible TPB when I asked him if there was already one or if he was thinking about printing one right away:

"No, I haven't. But when I do:
1) I will purposely leave out some of the behind-the-scenes info published in the individual issues; &--
2) I'll include an old, 5-page story of "The Roach" illustrated in the mid-90's... It'll show how I intended to sculpt the character & the artwork--even back then."

That about wraps it up for this review.  One of the highlights from the San Diego Comic Con International that I have been pleased to read at home for my 'fun' reading!

BTW, unless we are on site all day and night during a three day or longer comic con... we do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, and pop culture news and events!   PLUS you can check out our new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale in our online store at any time!  

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!    

What a Long Strange Trip It's Been!  

I wouldn't have missed it for the world - the final LOST panel at San Diego Comic Con.  Michael had other plans - he really wanted to see the Chuck panel in Ballroom 20. Traitor! I talked him out of it and, in the end, he was glad I did.

I told him, you can't miss camping out with everyone beforehand.  This year was the wildest ever. The fans were out in force. The overnighters were rewarded with a Friday night visit from Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cruse - cool!

The Dharma Initiative was well represented on the lawn outside Hall H.  Now, that had to be the most comfortable costume at Comic Con!

Seen among the crowd queued up for Hall H Saturday morning were these familiar LOST characters:

Naomi - equipped with walkie, that gal was a ringer - Michael was convinced she was the actual actress!

Jack - suitably stubbly with shirt and tie

The Orchid - yes, a young woman dressed up with vines and donkey wheel to represent the station

The Island - a friend of the Orchid dressed up in a gown with various show references attached including an airplane hanging from her hat!

But, my favorite sight was the two Hurleys dressed in Dharma jumpsuits. (See bottom photo.)  I had the pleasure of seeing them meet as one Hurley saw the other and raced (as much as a Hurley can race!) to meet the other. 

The look of pure delight in recognizing each other was hilarious. Later, one of the Hurleys got to ask Jorge Garcia (the real Hurley) a question during the panel Q & A and thanked him for giving someone like him a role model on TV.

The party got started when Jo of JoOpinionated (one of the top LOST bloggers) ran a trivia contest. 

Anil of The ODI (another awesome LOST blogger) helped her grab the crowd's attention and hand out the prizes.  It was great to finally meet Jo and to see Anil again - he gave us one of his T-shirts at last year's Con.

Jo really had the crowd stumped on this one:  Name three people who knew Locke was paralyzed before he came to the island.  (Three people who crashed on the island, that is.) Yeah, yeah, Rose...who else? It's a toughie!

I had a ball checking out all the fans in line.  Even as late as 8:30 am, people just kept pouring in - obviously these folks weren't so concerned about getting good seats!

Considering how packed in we were, this was a mellow crowd.  I attribute it to the Dharma influence and sadness that this was indeed our last LOST panel camp-out.

Thanks to our new line buddies from Tennessee, Andy and Fara Dockery for saving us great spots in line!

  ~ Tina LoSasso (Guest Blogger)

Addendum from Michael:  My Facebook Friend Jo Garfein is better known as JOpinionated.  She blogs about television at:  http://www.jopinionated.com

Anil is also well known in the LOST Community, and can be found blogging at:   http://www.the-odi.blogspot.com 

BTW, unless we are on site all day and night during a three day or longer comic con... we do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, and pop culture news and events!  Check out our daily blog posts, new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale in our online eBay Featured Store! 

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!!  

Then YOU could have a Second Chance to see him... This time at the Chicago Comic Con!  

Earlier before this year's SDCC I blogged about Jeff Balke being one of the creators I would recommend seeing at that Con.

Well, due to the overcrowding at the con's program halls, I didn't get to see him until Sunday near late in the day.  By that time Jeff was swamped with commissions to do, but he took a moment to greet me and also pose for my camera for a few shots.

The funniest one is published above, as he was taking those few moments to release the tension / stress from sketch coloring all day!  If you haven't seen what Jeff does to a black & white variant cover, you have got to check out his process! 

If you are near Chicago, Illinois next week, stop in and seem at Artists Alley and tell him Michael sent You!  Most of the details about his table are shown in the flier above, but here are additional details about this comic book convention: 

Chicago Comic-Con
August 6-9, 2009

LOCATION
The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center

HOURS
Thursday - 4pm - 8pm (Preview Night)
Friday - 10am - 7pm
Saturday - 10am - 7pm
Sunday - 10am - 5pm

Here's additional info straight from Jeff himself! 

"I will be at Artist Alley Table #3722. Stop by sometime over the weekend of Aug 6-9 for the Foot Soldiers Exclusive Print (limited to 30) and much more...

I'll have available...
- Chicago Comic Con Exclusive Foot Soldiers Print (LMTD. to 30)
- Prints
- Comics (I've worked on)

I'll also be creating...
- Sketch Colorings (bring your comic book sketch cover(s) OR find some at the con and I'll Sketch Color them right on the spot)
- Sketch Prints (Blackest Night and a Zombie Print)

A RAFFLE:
I'll be raffling off a Captain America page I colored in the Sketch Coloring style. This is the FIRST of its kind EVER!! Tickets are $5
(Winner will be picked on Sunday between 1-2. IF you are not going to be at the show on Sunday, NO PROBLEM. I will ship it FREE to you if your are the winner)

So dont miss out! I hope to see you there."

Jeff!

Seriously folks, if you are going to the Chicago Comic Con, you should stop and see what he is doing to comic books at his table!  And yes, that process is rated PG!  LOL!

AND If YOU didn't make it to the SDCC and now can't make it to the CCC, then you could always check out Jeff's web site at: jbalkesart.com 

BTW, unless we are on site all day and night during a three day or longer comic con... we do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, and pop culture news and events!  Plus you can check out our new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale in our online store @ MakeItSoMarketing.com! 

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!!