I thought after all of these happenings I’d make my first post for my guest week a little get to know each other.
So… come here often? Yeah, nice place, isn’t it?
Can I buy you a drink? Cheers.
Hey, why don’t we continue this below the fold, where it’s a little more private…
So the big question is, how does a relative unknown, with no professional editorial experience suddenly have to major editorial jobs?
I had been tooling around in the indiest of indy presses, in college, getting several published gigs, all of which went out of business before the work ever saw the light of day.
That’s what drove me to the web. I was tired of working myself to the bone so that forces I couldn’t control made it all for naught. I figured doing a webcomic would allow me to be sure that my work was available in some capacity. After a few years of getting my online footing, I submitted to Graphic Smash, and that’s when things started changing.
Once I saw there was real webcomics medium being built, I got into it, WAY into it. I’m never content to just see how things play out. I need to push them. I started researching the business possibilities of doing comics online, and online economics in general. After about a year I had gone from a guy who put his comic online, almost as a matter of necessity, to one of webcomics most devoted acolytes. I believe in this stuff, folks, and I think I may be able to help it grow.
So I started thinking about what the next steps were, largely for my own comic, at that point. I started making some plans and told T Campbell that within the coming year I wanted to be the busiest guy in webcomics, and jokingly told him I was after his possession of that title.
I didn’t expect him to take that quite so literally.
So now here, I am, well on my way to that particularly masochistic goal, and I’m geared up about it. I LOVE this stuff, and I think this is big reason I now find myself as an editor, because I will do whatever it takes, not because it’s my job, but because I want to. I’ve got a lot of things I want to try and make work both for Graphic Smash and Clickwheel, and I’m not afraid to try stuff that might sound crazy, so bare with me. As I see it, I’m here to help, not just those working on the sites I edit, but anyone I can, however I can. I have a hard time not getting along with anyone who loves this stuff enough to devote any portion of their time to it, and I’m looking forward to hopefully making a whole bunch of new friends in the coming year.
So, if we don’t know each other yet, you’ll see I like to talk, so hopefully, we will soon.
I'll be on the mic all week, with some more about some of this stuff, and also some much les "ME ME ME" posts.
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Comments
Welcome!
I don't think either of us expected you to be so busy when we talked about this in the Spring but I'm glad you've got lots to talk abou this week! :)Â
____
Xaviar Xerexes
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Gnaw.
No kidding.
Yeah, I think when you fisrt asked me to do this my response was, "What the hell am I going to talk about?"
Tim Demeter
does a buch of neato stuff.
GraphicSmash
Clickwheel
Reckless Life
Tim!
Tim-- first up, congrats and you do good work.Â
Second, I'd like to offer you some advice, and I'm only doing it publically because maybe some other people in "webcomics" can consider it. Now, I sat in on the Clickwheel panel at San Diego, I was in the back, (like T was, heh) --- and even though I know all about Clickwheel, etc, I thought I'd sit in and take a break from convention madness.
One thing you said on the panel bugged me, and I was SOOOO close to busting your balls and saying something during the question and answer session, but decided it wasn't worth it then... but pretty much, the thing you said that made not only myself, but I think T and a few other people shake or smack their foreheads was..... You unknowingly insulted comic book readers and collectors at the BIGGEST show in the world! hahahaha
I can't remember word for word, but it was something like --- "You won't need all those embarrassing long boxes full of X this and that, you can store all your comics on here." -- and you mentioned stuff about Diamond and distribution (which I agree with)-- but looking around the room , I could see some reactions, some people got up and walked out.Â
So, since I sort of CAME from the comic book side of things, I can see when readers are generally insulted by "webcomics" -- In the future, maybe try to INCLUDE those people who buy monthly comics. YOu're there trying to sell this idea to them, not CHANGE how they collect comics. You're a smart guy Tim, and you got spunk-- the BEST thing for you to do now, especially having editorial controls now, is to see COMICS AS COMICS... now "webcomics here" "print comics over there" --- because ultimately, that's going to defeat things. -- Pitch the ideas of comics being a multimedia experience, meaning multiple ways to get the same sequential entertainment. -- Imagine inspiring things like-- what if Marvel teamed with Clickwheel to format their issues for ipod or offer SPECIAL extras for the ipod or vice versa--- imagine Image Comics publishing a line of CLICKWHEEL books, or a GRAPHIC SMASH anthology.---- but NEVER take a position on a panel and then unknowingly or knowingly berate or belittle the audience. I'm sure that wasn't you intention. But the whole situation is the reason many readers in comic books don't want to bother with "webcomics" -- it's changing though. But for the most part, 90% of COMIC BOOK READERS see "webcomics" as creators who couldn't get a REAL publishing deal.
Now, I don't mean to bust your DIGITAL BALLS here--- just give you a little insight into what the PEOPLE actually said or think. You now have a position where you CAN change minds or unite readers on both ends. Don't blow it!
DJ Coffman
yirmumah.net
You're breakin' my balls, man!
Firstly, thanks many times over, and congratulations on all your happenings as well. If I knew you were back there, I would come and said hello.
And bust my balls anytime man. As I imply above, I am foremost, a student of the game, and a good student knows there's always more to learn and I'm always eager for feedback, especially from people who are making it happen.
But you're right though, both in what I said, and what my ACTUAL intention was. That was my first real foray into being in a position where I had a crowd looking to me to know what I'm talking about, and I was a bit nervous, and when I'm nervous I run my mouth and that bit came out wrong. Even though it did come out wrong, I'm glad you caught my meaning. I'll be watching my lip as I get more comfortable in this whole set up I'm in now.
But fear not, I do see comics as comics, and blance is key, not picking sides. I still make books and I do it becasue I think it's still a vital part of the business, even though I have some negative opinions about the direct market, burning bridges anywhere is never a good call.
Thanks for the advice, I'll do my best to use it. Like I say, we're all in this together!Â
Tim Demeter
does a buch of neato stuff.
GraphicSmash
Clickwheel
Reckless Life
You have passed my flame
You have passed my flame test!
Heh.
Seriously though, we are all in this together, whether some people like it or not. I bet we have very similar outlooks on the direct market problem too--- which is ironic, because I sort of ditched that model to do my own thing successfully and said I'd NEVER GO BACk! now I'm going to have a mainstream sort of comic coming out in the direct market! hah... It is true the, Never say Never thing.
DJ Coffman
yirmumah.net
I don't do TEH DRAMA
I don't do TEH DRAMA, not my style.
Yeah, given how you're handling your books (with the wonderful people of comixpress.com -PLUG-) I bet we DO agree on a lot of stuff. I guess only time will tell where comics are gonna go, I'm just geeked to be involved.
Tim Demeter
does a buch of neato stuff.
GraphicSmash
Clickwheel
Reckless Life
Ooo ooo, have you had
Sure have.
I can't reccomend them highly enough. They've kept every promise they've made me, and thier quailty is top notch. I had them do my latest batch of books as square bound digest size comics, and they looked even better than the standard size stapled comics they did for me last year, which were excellent to begin with.
Tim Demeter
does a buch of neato stuff.
GraphicSmash
Clickwheel
Reckless Life
I'll vouch for Tim. I
I'll vouch for Tim. I picked up the books he had at the Chicago Con last weekend and they look Fab-U-Lous! That there's some quality work. And Tim, I didn't mean to try to "shuffle off" without paying but I was a little nervous meeting a webcomic Jedi, you understand right?
---------------------
Seth A. Fronzoli
Next time, IT'S YOUR ASS.
Ha! No worries.
Tim Demeter
does a buch of neato stuff.
GraphicSmash
Clickwheel
Reckless Life
Tim, if you are webcomics
Tim, if you are webcomics editor, you have to get into flame wars!
I just got done hanging out with Tim at this years Wizardworld Chicago, and as always we had fun. When he trashed my long boxes, and promised to store them on Clickwheel, I became concerned, however. Then he hung a broken computer moniter around his neck, and ran up and down the artist alley aisles proclaiming "I AM webcomics, I AM webcomics!"
(While the preceding two sentences are entirely false, it was fun to catch up with busiest man in webcomics, Tim Demeter, this last weekend.)
http://www.komikwerks.com/comic_title.php?ti=117
Tongiht I dine on turtle soup.
Aw man, now when I do that next year, it'll look played. I guess I'll just have to bathe in the four color blood of comics rich and storied past instead.Â
And I'm not sure I'm ready to pin that "busiest guy in webcomics" tag to my lapel just yet, but I certainly am on my way to flagrantly ingnoring all my other responsibilities and becoming utterly undatable. (Eat your heart out, Spidey.)Â
Tim Demeter does a buch of neato stuff.
GraphicSmash
Clickwheel
Reckless Life
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