Invisible Master - Video by Goofa Man Productions

NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS from GOOFA MAN PRODUCTIONS!

To celebrate the holiday season, Mike Fisher and Goofa Man Productions are happy to release their short animation “Invisible Master” to the public on YouTube! Just go to this link: “www.youtube.com/galacticfish61”. That will take you to the Goofa Man Productions channel on YouTube where you’ll find the animation.

“Invisible Master” tells the story of a mysterious man in a strange world who must complete a vital mission... with mind-blowing consequences! This animated science-fiction/fantasy uses both 2D animation and 3D animation and is heavily influenced by comic books, especially the work of illustrator Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee. "I hope ‘Invisible Master’ captures some of the same energy that I remember feeling when I read all of those great old Kirby and Lee comics as a kid," says Fisher.

Goofa Man Productions is the award-winning one-man animation and cartoon studio of Mike Fisher. Mike’s independent animations have won awards at film festivals all across the country and several of his films have played at the San Diego Comic Con Short Film Festival. Goofa Man Productions is also the home of 3-D Pete! Just a few months ago Goofa Man proudly released the mini-comic “3-D Pete’s Star Babe Invasion Special!” This colorful little publication salutes those charismatic, curvaceous creatures from the stars... Star Babes! (YOU KNOW... like Barbarella and Devil Girl from Mars!) “3-D Pete’s Star Babe Invasion Special!” was greeted with tremendously positive reviews from the small press community.

By the way, don’t forget to check out another animation, “Dinner Danger,” on the Goofa Man YouTube channel. This is a super-short “Gooftoon” from Goofa Man Productions!

If you have any questions, please contact Mike at “mailto:galacticfish61@gmail.com”.

We hope you enjoy “Invisible Master” and “Dinner Danger!”
Have a great holiday season!

North Country-by Shane White (NBM Publishing)

North Country by Shane White is a wonderful, horrific, true story of Shane's early life. The story is told with Shane older and about to fly to see his parents and sister in present time. Things around the airport cause him to remember back to tougher times of growing up in a small house out in the country. His father was not very nice to anyone in the family and you'll just have to read it to see it for yourself. Shane's artwork is a fantastic mesh of realistic, and at times a more cartoony style but it always works within the story arcs. His coloring on the pages is mesmerizing! He can color in any style imaginable,
and it sure shows in this book. The coloring is always spot-on as to the mood of the page. This is a must have book for anyone interested in comics, true stories, great art, excellent storytelling. I like just about all types of comics, but true stories always stay with me longer and I'm more drawn to the book, savoring every panel of it. This is now one of my favorite graphic novels of all time. No, lie. (5 out of 5 stars *****)
See more of Shane White's artwork at http://www.shanewhite.com/
This is a full color graphic novel, square bound, sells for $13.95 from NBM Publishing.
See a preview and order the book here: http://www.nbmpub.com/comicslit/white/whitehome.html

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Talkshoe Podcast with Dan Burke

Comics Cafe. Making comics.
Listen to the APE report podcast for early reports of my (Allen Freeman) going to San Francisco and this huge small press comic show.

Then listen to all of the other great podcasts by Dan!

Things Undone - Shane White (NBM Publishing)

Things Undone was one of my best finds at APE this year. Yes, my first time to be at this show in San Francisco. Lots and lots of books to look at and this was my favorite, so that says one heck of alot! I must admit that I only found the book because Shane White the artist, writer, genius showed it to me at his booth, and I was at his booth because he and I go way back when we both worked at the gaming company his character in this book works at. Don't for a minute think that my opinon of this book was swayed due to the fact that I know Shane, and know he is a comic mastermind and artist extrodinare. No, I liked the book the minute I flipped through it. First of all it is mostly based on Shane's life and I love true stories. It is also about 20 percent fantasy (The zombie parts.) and I feel that this just brought his story to a more interesting avenue. I can't say enough for the art in this book. The way Shane can grab you and carry you along from panel to panel is masterful. His unique use of orange to shade the black and white line art is fantastic. But just because the art is very, very good, don't be fooled. The story is amazing. It takes you into the characters life and you "feel" for him. Let's just say things are not going well for this poor guy. I can't say enough great things about this book. You simply need to go to this link: http://www.nbmpub.com/comicslit/white/whitehome.html buy the book today....and see for yourself.

I also shot a video interview with Shane and will post a link to this YouTube video once I've edited it and posted it there. Yes, Shane likes orange.

5 out of 5 stars!!!!! Read an interview with Shane White, see more about this book, with some comic pages here: http://www.newsarama.com/comics/070907-ThingsUndone.html And while you are at it, visit Shane's web site here: http://www.shanewhite.com/index.htm

Captain Cure #1-Alternate Reality Comics-Ty Wakefiled

Captain Cure #1 is a $3, full size, color comic by Alternate Reality Comics. 22 pages, slick covers and with a slick poster bound in. Ty Walkefiled seems to be the artist and colorist and letterer and writer. I see a name at the bottom of the poster Ty Douglass. Anyway, the art is very good, the coloring appears to be done with markers and is a bit rough. The lettering is also rough and sometimes doesn't fit in the balloons. But ignore all that. The story pulls you along starting out realistically then taking you into a superhero world with Captain Cure fighting Cancer, a Villian-monster with his evil cell cronies. The intro, and the article in the back about Lance Armsrong's Foundation to help people that are fighting cancer is a nice touch. This is a great idea and I can see a following for this. It's all for a great cause. Ty was diagnosed in March of 2007 with bone cancer and continues to fight in his home town of Lewiston, Idaho and is the co-founder of Reality Comics. (3 out of 5 stars)

Get your copy at: http://www.captaincure.net/

3-D Pete's STAR BABE INVASION SPECIAL!

I liked Mike Fisher's flyer so much I have it above. Just click on it for all the funny, insightful info about his cool comic digest: 3-D Pete's Star Babe Invasion Special! 12 pages, black and white digest, with color covers and color centerspread!

I was waiting for my wife to get her hair done. It was to take one hour. After about 90 minutes of waiting, with the last 30 minutes in the car, I grabbed the mail that I'd not opened yet. To my surprise and happiness here was a review copy of 3-D Pete's STAR BABE INVASION Special. It looks like Mike Fisher did all this himself. Impressive. The articles and comics: "Devil Girl From Mars 1954", Classic Sex Symbol- Raquel Welch", "Two of the Best Places (to find Star Babes)", "How Well Will You Do ? (Great Galactic Matrix of Star Babeness Quiz)", "Gort, The Planet Dstroyer- Interview" and A FULL COLOR CENTER SPREAD!

Wow, I was having a blast reading all this. Great art of Roquel Welch, the "Devil Girl" strip, more great Star Babe art than you can shake a ray-gun at! Plus such learn about the girls of Lost in Space and Star Trek...whew.....I'm all sweaty just looking this over again....I need a cold shower and it's not even the end of the month yet.

Photos, articles, comics, and good girl art......pant, gasp.....just order it now before I have a heart attack!

(6 stars out of 5) How? I don't even know.

Here comes my wife. Just got the book finished. Stashed it under the car seat. This one's a keeper.

Contact Mike Fisher at: www.goofaman.com and fivefish@satx.rr.com

$5 gets the book and pays the shipping and keeps Mike off your back.....just do it. (Make Checks/Money Orders out to Mike Fisher) Send it to:
Star Babe Invasion, 510 Enchanted Way, San Antonio, TX 78260 (Or whatever is on that flyer up above. You did click on it, right?)

City of Fever- Mad Ink inc.

City of Fever by Mad Ink Inc.

Written and Edited by Kalean Spigel. Penciled and Inked by: Rodolfo Maximiliano Buscaglia. Colored by Vanu Adieuka. Lettered by Jason Arthur. Front and Inside cover by Greag Folender.

I've only seen a few pages of City of Fever, but it looks fantastic! I can't wait to see the full comic. Penciler and Inker Rodolfo was nice enough to send me some advance pages and the intro pages. This should be a huge hit! I'll post more when I've seen the full book, but from what I've seen so far you should go to: http:www.madinkpress.com/products.html and order this book!

Mini-Comics Box Set-Tempo Lush-Richy K. Chandler

Ten Mini-Comics, One Box, In the Shape of a Bear!

I go to the mailbox and inside find a nice little box. Upon opening it I find another box. But this box is like no other. It's a bear box! Full of mini-comics! Wow! Color mini comics for the most part and all are lovely and so different from each other! Lucy the Octopus: A very high production color strip on high quaility paper no less. Funny stories, well drawn!

Get your Bear Box from Tempo Lush today. All the work is by Rocky K. Chandler (my new alternative press hero!).

Make sure you check out his work here: http://www.myspace.com/tempolush

Find out how to get his comics shipped to you from over the pond (London) to the US, or wherever you may be. You'll get a laugh! A belly full of laughs and a conversation piece on your bookshelf. A bear box? Yes, a bear box full of comics! No where else but Tempo Lush.

---5 Stars out of 5--- no lie.

NORTH WIND #1

EXCLUSIVE: The release of the first issue of NORTH WIND, complete and free for download! Category: Art and Photography
Hey gang! This is a very cool, very historic first for MySpace Comic Books, and a great way to celebrate the new year! In partnership with our excellent friends at BOOM! Studios, we are releasing a comic book series online at the same time as it is released in comic book stores. You read that right: you can download the complete issues of NORTH WIND for FREE on the same day they hit the stands! Today, we are proud to release NORTH WIND 01. You can read the pages online below, or download the complete issue to your hard drive to read at your leisure with your favorite comic book reader. The choice is yours!In the coming weeks we will be releasing subsequent issues as they arrive at your local store. If you like what you read, be sure to support NORTH WIND by picking it up at your local comic book store! Call 1-888-COMIC BOOK to find the shop nearest you!A huge thank you goes out to BOOM! Studios for taking the leap into the wild world of digital distribution with us. Enjoy NORTH WIND 01 and come back next month for issue 02!

Go to the BLOG and see the comic or hit the download button:
HERE.

Free Magazine E-Books!! RKYV #24 released.

Check this link: HERE for a look at 24 issues of RKYV a free e-fanzine with articles, news, music reviews, and interesting stuff that is mostly art, and comics related. Check them out.

They are put out by Randy Pere, a guy I met at SPACE this year.

SPACE is the PLACE in 2009

This is just 1/3rd of what I picked up at SPACE:

My reivew of the fantastic world of Small Press at the 2009 S.P.A.C.E. show is finally ready! (Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo.) Check it out here: http://slambangcomicsnews.blogspot.com/

I had a blast at the show as usual. Got to see some folks I'd not seen in over 20 years, like Jim Main.

I'll be reviewing the books I picked up at this show right here in the near future. Stay tuned.

Freak Cave and The Mesh by Michael Neno

Some groovy free web comics by Michael Neno, check these out:

Freak Cave: http://www.nenoworld.com/Freak_Cave_Enter.html

The Mesh: http://www.nenoworld.com/TheMeshEnter.html

Young American Comics---Going Out of Business Sale.

Dear Fans and Friends of Young American Comics,

A lot has happened in the last couple of years. One piece of great news is that our son, Jonah was born in late March of 2008. He is a complete joy and we are eagerly looking forward to seeing his first crayon scrawls on paper.

As you of course already know, many people in this country have struggled with the economy over the last few years. Small businesses have been especially at risk, and YAC was no exception.

The rising costs of gas and air travel hit us hard, making it increasingly difficult to travel to conventions. When the airlines decided to start charging for luggage, it was the final nail in the coffin. If we could no longer travel to conventions, we were losing a large part of our sales and promotion.

Comic shops across the country have also been hurting, of course, and that directly translates to them buying less. In general, most comic shops don’t carry a lot of independent books (and minicomics even less so), so our sales to shops dwindled to nearly nothing.

And of course, you the fans have had less money in your own pockets as well. We would much rather you spend your money on food and rent than comics, though, so no hurt feelings. :)

What you may not know is that YAC was always funded out of our own pockets. We didn’t pay ourselves a paycheck and often took a loss, especially on minis and group projects. When we found out we were pregnant, we knew that we needed to adjust some priorities: it was foolish of us to continue to invest in what seemed like an already sinking ship.

We dragged our feet for quite some time, like a long-term relationship going sour. We were hesitant to quit on YAC, but had no capital to work with, and were beginning to feel burnt out of comics in general. We decided to use the New Year to “officially” go out of business.

Visit the YAC Store for our Going Out of Business Sale!
http://www.youngamericancomics.com/new_store/catalog/


All of our leftover stock has been drastically reduced in our store: All trades are $5, all minis are $0.50 and all T-shirts are $5. Get them now, because when they’re gone they’re gone. Nothing will be reprinted. We’re also offering free shipping (to the US, via media mail) for all orders over $20.* This sale is good for one week, until Monday, January 19, and at that time, the YAC store will be closed for good.

* please note that you will be charged shipping for your order as you check out. We will refund your shipping costs.

We also would like to take this opportunity to thank you all. Our years running Young American Comics were ones we will always look back fondly on. Thank you for all of your endless support. Thank you to everyone who visited us at a convention, purchased something from the store, told a friend about us, or submitted something to a group project. It’s a cliché but true to say we absolutely could not have done it without you.

Here are updates on a few of our projects:

Snakepit:
Ben Snakepit is a force to be reckoned with. We’re so glad that we helped Ben get his book out to people over the years, but he simply out grew us. We simply could not keep up with the demand or schedule for his quarterlies. Ben is now working with our friends at Microcosm Publishing. He will no longer be putting together quarterlies, but instead yearly anthologies.

The Mighty Offenders:
We’re very sad to see the Mighty Offenders be placed on permanent hiatus, but couldn’t be happier to let you know the cause for that hiatus: artist Joey Mason is now living in Los Angeles and working on The Spectacular Spider-Man (Saturday mornings on The CW.) The first season is currently running in reruns and the second season premiers in March 2009.

Group Projects:
We received a lot of fantastic submissions for What’s In The Box, but unfortunately, not enough to publish a new trade. On the same note, we received several submissions for Lost Lunches & Crash! Boom! Bang!, but were unable to find the capital to print them. Those of you who put hard work into your submissions, we hope that you enjoyed the exercise and apologize that we weren’t able to follow through.

If you put together a comic for one or more of these group projects, we encourage you to post or publish it and share it with the world. We loved so many of your entries and regret that we weren’t able to put them out for you.

52 Comic Challenges:
We may pick up this idea and dust it off in the future, but have no concrete plans in place.

We've always relied on you to spread the word: about our books, our projects, about indie comics in general. And now we ask you one final time: if you know of anyone else who would like to take advantage of this sale, please point them to the site. If you know any shops or distros who would like copies of Snakepit Quarterly or the BIZMAR Trade in bulk, let me know by email (coreymarie@gmail.com) and we can work out further discounts.

One more time, let us say thank you to all of you for your continued support over the years. To our fans, we hope that you’ll continue to support independent comics. To our contributors, we hope that you’ll find even more new and innovative ways to bring creativity and fresh ideas to comics.


Sincerely,
Tod and Corey Marie Parkhill
Young American Comics

Business and Production of Comic Books....

If you're interested, I've been collecting articles about the business and production of comic books at http://www.comicartistsdirect.com, plus a blog about my acceptance to Diamond and my Xeric grant this year. Also, artists Bill Bryan ("Dark Oz"), Scott Rosema ("August"), Anthony Cacioppo ("The Indestructible Man") and James Lyle ("St. Germaine") keep their home pages there.

"Aazurn Preview," a free download, is at
http://literatemachine.com/product/garyscottbeatty/aazurn-preview-1

Peace,
- Gary Scott Beatty