ComixTribe’s New York Comic Con Plans

September 21, 2012 — Newburyport, MA — ComixTribe announced today that it will be at the New York Comic Con (Booth #2380), and has released a 40+ page digital download Pre-View Book of show exclusives and content it will have on hand at the show.  ComixTribe is the publisher of SCAM, THE RED TEN, THE STANDARD, and OXYMORON, and will have plenty of product featuring those properties at the show.

“ComixTribe is thrilled to be coming back to New York Comic Con,” said publisher Tyler James. “We’ve had a big year, and the con is providing a great venue for many of us to get together to celebrate what we’ve achieved, thank many of the fans who made it all possible, and strategize for an even bigger 2013.”

At the ComixTribe Booth this year:

Tyler James (The Red Ten, Oxymoron)
Joe Mulvey (SCAM)
John Lees (The Standard)
Jonathan Rector (The Standard)
Cesar Feliciano (The Red Ten)

Also appearing for signings will be members of the Oxymoron anthology project, including:

Jason Ciaramella (The Cape, Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters)
Mark Poulton (Avengelyne, Savage Hawkman)
Rich Douek (Gutter Magic)
Rafer Roberts (Plastic Farm)
Paul Allor (TMNT: Fugitoid, Clockwork, Orcgirl)
Alex Cormack (Chikara)

Imbibe with the Tribe! 2nd Annual ComixTribe NYCC Drink Draw Announced!

Thursday (Opening Night) October 11, 2012
Tempest Bar – 407 8th Ave (between 30th 31st)
Midtown West (A few blocks from the show)
10:00pm – ???

RSVP on Facebook

For Publicity and Public Relations Solicits:
Review Copy Requests, Interviews and more please contact

Tyler James
tyler.james@comixtribe.com

Get a FREE Sketch at New York Comic Con from ComixTribe!

Attending the New York Comic Con?  Want a FREE sketch!  ComixTribe (Booth #2380) Has the Hook Up! Only 100 available so order yours ASAP!

Glasgow Comic Con 2012 Report

I’ve talked before about how much I was looking forward to Glasgow Comic Con this year, about how I attended last year as a fan, and returning as a pro this year felt like a homecoming.  Certainly, Glasgow Comic Con was an event I was eagerly anticipating.  But even I had no idea just how great a con it was going to be.

One of the criticisms of last year’s con that, with everything crammed into a single venue at the Mackintosh Church, things got pretty cramped.  With all the retailers and small press professionals all exhibiting together, and signings in the same area, there was very little space to move around in the dealer’s hall, or indeed to linger at any tables that caught your interest.  That shortcoming was addressed this year with the addition of another venue, Queen’s Cross Hall, situated across the street from the main building.  The hall was bright, spacious and airy, and I have to say opening it up for use was a great move.  This is where I was located, and I loved it.  In fact, I ended up spending most of the weekend there and very little time in the Mackintosh Church itself.  As a result, I can comment very little on the pros and cons of the convention as a whole.  For a great, comprehensive overview of the event, check out the report from Comics Anonymous.  All I can say is that, from the perspective of a professional  selling my wares, and from talking to other professionals, Glasgow Comic Con was a massive success.

Things started off a bit slow on the Saturday morning.  Nobody was coming into the hall, and I was momentarily panicked that perhaps the seperate venue meant there would be no passing trade.  I needn’t have worried, however.  It turned out that most people were attending the opening panel for the first hour or so of the show, and with that over people began filtering into Queen’s Cross Hall.  I was pleased with the layout of our tables, with me sharing my Standard table with the Glasgow League of Writers’ GLoW 1 anthology, Colin Bell and Neil Slorance’s Jonbot VS Martha and Neil Slorance’s Nine Lines of Metro, and the table next to us shared by Gary Chudleigh and Graeme Kennedy with Villainous and Gordon McLean with No More Heroes, so it was like our whole side of the hall was “the GLoW wing.”  The real hot seller for the first half of the day was GLoW 1, which made me happy as we were initially worried about whether the demand for the book would be enough to justify the price we were selling it at.  Major credit must go to Luke Halsall, who was a selling machine all weekend, shifting anthologies like no one’s business.  But as the day went on, sales for The Standard, Volume 1 – the graphic novel collecting issues 1-3 – began to really pick up steam.  By the afternoon, Queen’s Cross Hall was jumping with people, and our table was so busy that I had the unusual experience of signing sold copies of The Standard while pitching the book to more interested con-goers, and simultaneously signing copies of GLoW 1 being handed to me.  I just have to give major kudos to the Glasgow comic reader community.  They arrived at the con with an active interest in finding new comics to try, keen and receptive to good pitches, and eager to support local talent.  Some sales were as simple as, “Can I interest you in my comic, The Standard?”/”Sure, how  much?”

With things going so well, I was riding on too much of a wave of adrenaline to leave my table much.  But I did get away on a couple of occasions.  Once for a Frank Quitely signing, where I got my copy of Absolute All Star Superman (previously signed by Morrison) signed by the acclaimed artist.  And later in the day, I attended the Grant Morrison signing, which seemed to take quite a while longer as the legendary writer seemed to enjoy having lengthy wee chats with most of the folks in the queue.  I got my Deluxe Edition of We3 (previously signed by Quitely) signed, and the always-engaging Morrison was keen to chat for a wee bit and pose for a photo.

But as enjoyable as my encounters with the world-renowned superstars of the comic industry were, the real pleasure was getting to meet and hang out with my friends on  the independent comics scene.  As previously mentioned, I was sharing a pair of table with Gordon McLean, Graeme Kennedy, Gary Chudleigh, Colin Bell, Neil Slorance and Luke Halsall, and I couldn’t have asked for a nicer bunch of folks to spend the con with.  Special thanks also go to GLoW compatriots Sam Read, Jane Sayer and Iain McGarry for taking shifts at the table assisting us in selling our wares, and Fraser Craig and Stuart Ritchie for frequently stopping by to check in.  I got to spend a little time chatting to some of my artistic collabotors.  Garry McLaughlin – who I worked with on GLoW 1 short The Awesome Doggy Boy and will be drawing Black Leaf, the upcoming horror graphic novel I’m writing – stopped by for a while, and the legendary Iain Laurie stopped by to give me a copy of his brilliant Horror Mountain and discuss possible future projects.  I spent quite a bit of time chatting and hanging out with Chris Connelly, who wrote and drew the SICBA-nominated Reality War, which I fortunately bought a copy of before it sold out.  And in the Grant Morrison queue I got to spend some time talking to Ross Leonard, writer of another SICBA-nominee, Maximum Alan, which I also picked up later in the show.  It really feels great to be part of such a vibrant, passionate creative community as the Glasgow comic scene, full of incredibly talented, and more importantly, incredibly nice people.

By the end of day 1, I had sold through almost all of the stock of The Standard, Volume 1 I’d brought with me.  In one day at Glasgow Comic Con, I had made more from sales than I did over the whole weekend at Kapow Con in London.  I was amazed at how successful a day it had been.  But things were set to get even better.

As a nominee, I was invited to the SICBA awards party at the Citizen M Hotel.  The swanky city centre venue was a major shift upwards from the previous year, where the event was simply held in the dealer’s hall.  This year felt more like an official awards ceremony, and as we got clearer to the time for the winners to be announced I was surprised to find myself getting nervous!  We began with the Outstanding Contribution to Comics award, presented by last year’s winner Alan Grant.  This went to Dave Alexander, someone who has been working hard in the British comics scene for some 30 years and perhaps never quite got the widespread recognition he deserved.  He seemed genuinely surprised and humbled by the award, and I was happy to see him get it.  Next up was the award for Best Cover, which went to well-deserved winner James Devlin for his fantastic cover to School of the Damned #1.  And then the nerves really set in, as it came to the first category I was nominated for: Best Writer.  The tension was ramped up even more by a comically overlong process of announcing the nominees, with some confusion about who the runners-up were.  But finally, it was time to announce the winner…. and it was me!

Walking up to claim my award and give an acceptance speech was an incredibly surreal experience.  And having Jim Starlin sitting a couple of feet away from me didn’t make it any easier!  I stumbled through a speech – opening with a clunker of a joke that no one laughed at and saying “Umm” too much – but everyone was very polite and clapped at the end, and when I returned to my table on a total high.  I was over the moon, and so happy and proud.

Up next was the Best Artist award, which once again went to James Devlin for School of the Damned.  I did record the announcement and James’ gracious acceptance speech (the plan was to record all the speeches that night) but with apologies to Mr. Devlin, I must admit I accidentally deleted it.  The final award of the night was Best Comic Book/Graphic Novel, the second category The Standard was nominated in.  During the applause for the nominees, the vibrations shook my award off the table, and the base broke off!  But a couple of days later, some superglue seems to have fixed it up adequately.  But back to the awards… taking home two awards would have been incredible.  But in the end, we got perhaps an even better result: No More Heroes won.  And so we had two different members of the Glasgow League of Writers sharing in the glory at this year’s Scottish Independent Comic Book Awards.

Between the massive sales and the SICBA triumph, Saturday was absolutely amazing.  I knew going in that Sunday was never going to quite match it.  Still, the second day of the con still went rather well.  I had to bring in my remaining stock of graphic novels with me, the stock I’d been planning on keeping aside for Thought Bubble in November, in order to replenish the depleted stock after Saturday.  Sunday began with a pre-con breakfast with a few of my GLoW cohorts – including Gordon Robertson, who made a welcome appearance after being unable to attend on the Saturday – before we headed over to Queen’s Cross Hall to get back into selling mode.  The big story of the day was GLoW 1 completely selling out within the first couple of hours.  Things got off to a slower start for The Standard, Volume 1, but as the day went on I steadily picked up steam and I made a decent number of sales, and by the end of the day I only had a handful left.  Perhaps my proudest achievement of the day was being able to sell a copy to Batman, who had to remove his gloves and retrieve some money from his utility belt to buy the book.

By the time we finally closed up shop at 5pm, I had made even more from The Standard in 2 days at Glasgow Comic Con than I’d made over the whole four days of New York Comic Con last year, which is far more than I dreamed of being able to sell.  A few members of the Glasgow League of Writers wrapped up the weekend with a post-con dinner at Lucky 7 and a trip to the Insane Championship Wrestling show at The Garage, but to be honest, I went through it all in a daze.  I was exhausted, the adrenaline high that carried me through finally wearing off, but I was totally content and happy with my amazing weekend.

What I loved about Glasgow Comic Con this year was that it really felt like a celebration of Scottish creators.  Even amongst the big-name guests, for most there was a Scottish connection there.  And it seems many of the big success stories of the show in terms of sales were independent, creator-owned comics from local creators.  Rather than trying to be a mini-version of a huge American con, Glasgow Comic Con was quite proudly the GLASGOW Comic Con, and the attendees seemed to respond to that.  As a creator with a table, I didn’t just feel like one of a sea of exhibitors, but rather I felt like part of a community.  A great vibe, that I hope can be replicated for years to come.  A big thank you must go out to con organisers John Farman and Sha Nazir, who helped me have my most successful con ever.  And thanks must go to everybody who came along and supported The Standard and other local comics.  Looking forward to seeing you at Glasgow Comic Con 2013!

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John Lees Wins Best Writer Award at SICBAs!

Saturday 30th June was a great day for The Standard.  The Standard, Volume 1, the graphic novel collection of the first 3 issues of the series, made its worldwide debut at Glasgow Comic Con during the day and sold very well.  Then, at the SICBA awards party, The Standard was nominated in two categories: Best Comic Book/Graphic Novel, and Best Writer.  I’m pleased to report that we were the winners in the latter category!

I was proud to accept the Best Writer award at this year’s SICBAs, and really, it’s an award shared by the whole creative team.  From artist Jonathan Rector, to the various colorists and flatters who have worked on the series (including current colorist Mike Gagnon), to letterer Kel Nuttall, to editor Steven Forbes, everyone has played a part in ensuring that my script has evolved into a beautiful finished comic.  At this time last year, the first issue had just been finished, and was a dark horse nominee on the SICBA shortlist that nobody had really heard of before the voting opened up.  So to then come back this year and win an award means so much.  This is something I’ll always treasure.  And it’s absolutely fantastic that I can now call The Standard an award-winning comic!  Thanks to everyone who voted, and everybody else who has read the book and showed your support.

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Buy The Standard #3 in Glasgow Comic Shops Now!

Recently, it seems like the second week of the month has become a particularly jam-packed week for new comics, with many high-profile releases hitting simultaneously.  But if you live in or around Glasgow, Scotland, and think you can squeeze one more comic onto your pull-list this week, why not make it The Standard #3? 

Gilbert Graham is The Standard once more, but coming out of retirement was the easy part.  Now, he has to learn how to be a hero in this new, darker world, as his quest to find a missing child takes him into Sky City’s murky depths, and sets him face-to-face with a terrifying new enemy.

Forbidden Planet – 168 Buchanan Street, Glasgow

You can get The Standard #3 in Forbidden Planet, one of the top branches of the famous comic book store franchise.  The first two issues have sold really well here, with issue #1 selling out completely.  I’m hoping that trend will continue with issue #3.

A1 Comics – 31-35 Parnie Street, Glasgow

You can also get the comic in A1 Comics, down at the other end of City Centre, just off Argyle Street, near Trongate.  Issue #1 also sold out here, but the retailers asked for a restock, so there may still be a couple of copies left if you still need to pick up the first two issues.

Plan B Books – 55 Parnie Street

Finally, you can get The Standard #3 in Plan B Books, newly relocated to a swank new store just a few doors down from A1 Comics.  It’s a really cool store that specialises in graphic novels and small press comics, making it the great place for finding stuff that’s a bit more off the beaten track.  And they make a mean cup of coffee too.  There are still a handful of copies of the first two issues available here too.

Thanks to all the retailers who are stocking The Standard, it’s much appeciated.  The comic continues to do well locally, which makes me very happy.  And thanks to all the local readers who have picked up the first two issue, and who have patiently waited for issue #3.  I apologise that it’s taken so long, but once you read it I hope you’ll decide it was worth the wait.

I also apologise to readers outside of Glasgow, Scotland.  There is no digital release for The Standard #3 as of yet.  There is a good reason for this, and I’ll hopefully have big news to share with you soon, but I fear I will be taken out by ninjas if I speak prematurely on this matter.  Rest assured, you’ve not been forgotten!

The Standard is a 6-issue comic book miniseries, each chapter 28 pages long.  This third issue is written by me, John Lees, is pencilled and inked by Jonathan Rector, colored by Mike Gagnon, lettered by Kel Nuttall, and edited by Steven Forbes.  The comic is published by ComixTribe.

Advance Review for The Standard #3!

Managed to do a great trade with John Lees at the Glasgow League of Writers group (http://glowriters.blogspot.co.uk) tonight – ‘Taking Flight’ arrived hot off the press from UKomics this morning, roughly about the same time as John’s stock of the third issue of The Standard dropped, so we swapped.

Just got home and read it, and thought I better get a post up here while it’s fresh.

I loved the Standard when I first caught it. I didn’t know John then; he kind of snuck up on the non-GLoW part of the comics scene in Glasgow with some incredible reviews, and on reading about it I knew I had to get it straight away. I wasn’t disappointed – the first issue occupied this strange beautiful place between the Silver and Dark ages of comics, walking that tightrope with some ease. After setting up the main story and introducing us to some fantastic characters, it ended on a bang, snatching the ground out from under us, and instantly setting its stall as a comic that would be dealing with the unexpected.

The art by Jon Rector (http://jonathanrector.tumblr.com/) was fantastic – dense inks that left enough room for the story to shine through, not dedicated to splashing black across every inch of panel. The art really acted in service to the story, as it should, and the colours and lettering were great too.

The second issue was announced by a beautifully atmospheric cover, and we moved into a different, darker phase of the story. This was becoming a nuanced piece about the difficulties of retiring as a superhero and handing over to younger people who might have a murkier sense of justice and responsibility than you. It also took sideways swipes at celebrity culture and corporate sponsorship, but we were aware by now that underneath all this fairly dazzling superhero stuff, some more repugnant was evolving.

The regular flashbacks revealed the life of the Standard and Fabu-lad, the kid he takes under his wing. That story is a re-telling of the Batman and Robin relationship, but instead of being bound together by the loss of their parents, this dynamic duo are more complex – original Standard Gilbert Graham isn’t the damaged playboy of Bruce Wayne, he’s a fairly solid, dependable chap – maybe even slightly boring. And Alex Thomas/Fabu-lad’s parents aren’t dead – they’re abusive, as revealed in a heart-breakingly poignant scene. That Graham adopts him and helps him transform into Fabu-lad is a twist on the later relationship that was played out in the Batman universe – that Bruce Wayne was a loner, who worked with Robin reluctantly. This issue harks back to a Golden Age when both were in it together, as much for the fun as for the justice.

Yet the introduction of more details about the missing girl in this story and the hinting at the villain, as well as detail on the “Rorschach” style superhero, The Corpse, lean this second issue towards a bleaker place, even if there is still humour.

By this time I was hooked, line and sinker; Jon’s art got better, even he was let down slightly by a different colourist who I felt didn’t quite capture the magic of the first issue, and John’s story was superbly written.

Now, it’s been a long time coming, but I’ve just sat and devoured issue 3. That tightrope between Silver and Dark Age is traversed again as Graham takes up the mantle of the Standard again, coming out of retirement to save the missing girl. The journey to find the villain is a fraught one – in a deft move, Lees darts around some potentially uncomfortable issues that could surround a killer who is child abductor, and in doing so creates a villain that is creepier than we could have ever imagined, and an enemy that makes Graham’s role as superhero look in peril. It also explains the intensely creepy cover, with the evil-looking little girl and her pet skunk…

The skunk relates to the villain in Graham’s flashbacks, The Skunk, a Silver Age villain if ever there was one – someone in it for the rush and the thrill of robbery and extortion, using his deadly pungent gases to commit his heinous crimes. This is intercut with the present day mission to reveal and defeat the kidnapper of the city’s kids. But nothing’s as cut and dry as it seems – even the end to The Skunk’s criminal escapades is dark and tragic, although we find out he turned it around in later years.

Lees uses an interesting device that I think is sometimes overused in comics – the pages of talking heads. However it works really well in this instance, as we see various witnesses and protagonists interviewed for a documentary on The Standard. None of this stuff feels forced or gimmicky; not only is the story strong enough to take the weight of these devices, but their sparing use, and the way in which they are skilfully inter cut acts a lever for the plot, moving it forward in ways that give us lots of character information and backstory without ever feeling expository.

Some of the atmosphere John builds feels straight out of Watchmen, and I’m not overplaying it when I say that this comic feels like it fits directly into a position after that book. It’s like John has recognised the inherent flaw in so much of what followed Alan Moore’s magnum opus – that superheroes just became gritty without any thought for the whys and wherefores - and has positioned his book to pick up some of the questions Moore was asking about his superheroes back then. This isn’t a book that fits into the Marvel/DC mould. It doesn’t feel like common modern deconstruction either.

It feels like a fresh reimagining of the world of comics directly after Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, exploring what it meant for the world to catch up with the heroes, what it meant to live in a world where villains became increasingly more psychotic and dangerous, not only to the public at large, but also to the heroes themselves. And also what happens to morality and responsibility when the glare of celebrity washes over them?

The Standard issue 3 doesn’t end on  a cliffhanger the way earlier issues did – in fact, you could say that the opening arc is now closed – but we’re left with subtler, sweeter questions that make me desperate to read more. These questions are now dependant on the very interesting characters that Lees has created – I want to know the story of these characters, not just the next part of the plot.

Also on the art, Rector’s digital work looks fantastic, particularly as the book progresses. And the new colourist, Mike Gagnon, issue 2′s flatter, just makes the work sing; his flat blocks are much more suited to the Standard’s time and epoch-hopping nature, and do great service to the rich blacks of the art. Kel Nuttall’s lettering is fantastic too.

A final note on this “comic age” thing I talked about earlier – in taking his lead from the type of work Alan Moore was doing with Watchmen, John has constructed a story and a book that skates casually through Silver and Dark age stuff, but the result is very much Renaissance. This doesn’t feel retro, or like a pastiche. It feels solid and consistent, and is even greater than the sum of its parts.

I can’t wait until all six issues are out and this is available to buy in trade format on some lush paper and with a nice hardback cover, but until that stage, you need to pick up this book.

And I got through this whole post without referring to “indie” once. The comic is that good.It would sit comfortably beside anything that mainstream publishers are putting out there right now, and frankly shits over most of Marvel and the DC New 52.

Head over to the website: http://thestandardcomic.com/

The Standard #3 Debuts in April!

It’s been a long time coming, but the time is nearly upon us!  That’s right, The Standard #3 is complete, and has gone to the printers.  I’m hoping to have it available in time for the Glasgow Comic Toy Fair at the Queen Margaret Union on Saturday 7th April.  So, if all goes to plan, that will be the third issue’s worldwide debut.  Whatever happens, though, expect The Standard #3 to hit Forbideen Planet, A1 Comics and Plan B Books in Glasgow in early April.

For readers outside of Glasgow, I’m afraid the wait will be a little longer.  ComixTribe has big news regarding the future of The Standard, which I hope to share with you all next week.  But in preparation for that, we will be phasing out the comic’s availability via digital and print-on-demand formats.  I apologise for any inconvenience, but keep your eyes on this site for iminent updates!

In the meantime, here is an exclusive preview of The Standard #3, written by me, drawn by Jonathan Rector, colored by Mike Gagnon, lettered by Kel Nuttall, edited by Steven Forbes, and published by ComixTribe:

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Standard Fanart From Iain Laurie!

We have some more fanart, with today’s entry coming from an artist I’ve been a big fan of for a while now.  I first became aware of Edinburgh-based artist Iain Laurie through Roachwell, the macabre collection of shorts he worked on with writer Craig Collins.  A savage blend of Lynchian weirdness with non-sequitor titles such as “Chilled Monkey Brains” and “Be Still, My Twitching Lung”, Collins’ bizarre vision was perfectly complimented by Laurie’s art, which immediately became instantly recognisable to me.  Roachwell was actually nominated alongside The Standard in the Best Comic category at the SICBAs last year, and might just have been my pick to win it.  The comic is serialised online here, and I strongly recommend you all check it out.

Iain Laurie has other projects available for your online perusal, including Mothwicke – a darkly hilarious project he’s working on with Fraser Campbell – and his own solo project, an almost stream-of-consciousness slice of nightmarish superhero psychadelia called All the Dead Superheroes.  Other incredibly striking bits and pieces from Laurie can be found on his personal blog, Powwkipsie, which, I must warn you, is somewhat like stepping into the mouth of madness.

I think that’s enough pimping, so I now present to you the cracking drawing he did of our favourite hero, The Standard!

Nice, eh?  I’m pleased to report this isn’t my only experience working with Iain.  He’s done some work with the Glasgow League of Writers on our upcoming first anthology.  Plus, I’m very excited about an upcoming collaboration I’m working on with him, but that’s TOP SECRET, and I can’t give away anything about it yet.  Here’s a hint, though: be sure to follow the #Lazarus hashtag on Twitter for updates!

Standard Fanart From Cesar Feliciano!

Cesar Feliciano is the highly talented artist of The Red Ten.  I had the pleasure of meeting him at New York Comic Con, and I have been really impressed by what I’ve seen of his work on The Red Ten #2.  He’s an artist who’s continually upping his game, which is always exciting to see.  Cesar posted some very kind comments about The Standard on his blog, and shared this wonderful piece of Standard fanart:

You can check out Cesar’s blog post and read his comments here.  You should also make sure to pick up The Red Ten #1 and pre-order The Red Ten #2 at the ComixTribe shop.  Thanks again, Cesar!

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Coming Soon: The Standard #3!

It’s been a long time coming, I know, but the wait is almost over!  The art is finished, and now the finishing touches are just being put on The Standard #3 before it’s ready to go on release.  I’m expecting a release date of early March for the (hopefully!) much-anticipated third issue of the series, and once I have a confirmed date, I’ll share it on here, and you guys will be the first to know.

To celebrate the iminent arrival of The Standard #3, I’d like to debut the cover, as magnificently drawn by Jonathan Rector.  The cover for The Standard #2 was recently put into the running for an Eagle Award, but dare I say it… this cover might just top it:

The Standard #3 is published by ComixTribe.  The comic is written by me, John Lees, drawn by Jonathan Rector, colored by Mike Gagnon, lettered by Kel Nuttall and edited by Steven Forbes.

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