AZ #2

I recently had an opportunity to reread and old blog post by Tom Spurgeon on his site The Comics Reporter. In the blog post Tom takes a look at one of our old Comico publications, AZ by our late partner Phil LaSorda.  Tom questions the cultural impact that such an obviously crude attempt at making comics may or should have on the market and the medium.

Now I along with my current publishing partner Bill Cucinotta who was also a partner back in those early Comico days may be biased but we also have a unique perspective just by having been there. We know, retrospectively, that the work we did in those days was seminal at best and was often criticized as being crap. It is easy to look back and be embarrassed by our rudimentary attempts to both create and publish comics. The irony, I suppose, is that as rudimentary as that material was, we are both still very proud of it for many reasons, so much so that we published it all again, right here on CO2 Comics.

Slaughterman #1

Skrog #1

SLAUGHTERMAN and SKROG may not have had many more redeeming qualities than AZ but they were all cornerstone publications that established a foundation that Comico, one of the most influential independent publishers of the eighties, was built on. For this reason alone, despite their critical ineptness, yes, they had, and continue to have cultural impact.

I remember a scathing review by Cat Yronwode in the Comics Buyers Guide that questioned, “who gave us the right to publish such crap?” My fiery response was that we all have the right to publish what we want to in America and that, crap or not, it will be the market that decides the success of the product. I wish I had those CBG articles today.

One thing we did well at Comico, in those early days, was to learn from our mistakes. It did not take long or us to realize our success would come from publishing others. It was, however, our relationships that we had developed hanging in artist alleys at comic conventions, and our ability to relate to young and maturing talent that allowed us the opportunity to work with the likes of Matt Wagner, Bill Willingham, Sam Kieth, Chuck Dixon, Judith Hunt, Neil Vokes, Rich Rankin, Reggie Byers and many many others.

We also published a new talent showcase called Primer where we published the earliest work of many other budding artists who were not quite ready for the Big Two.

Comico Primer #1-6

To me the biggest impact that Comico had on the comics industry, was that it gave evidence that if a handful of guys with apparently limited talent and experience could build a company that at one time was ranked #3 behind Marvel and DC in monthly sales, then maybe, just maybe, anybody can.

I believe we created an opportunity for creators to get bold enough to publish their own work or feel more confident when presenting it to others. We all did it as artists, looked at other work that we considered weak and say, “hey, I’m at least as good as this, if this can be published than so can mine.”

Gerry Giovinco, Bill Cucinotta & Phil LaSorda

We may have been naive or overconfident when we launched Comico but we had one mantra that we held to that was first spoken by Phil,  “We don’t want to look back years from now and regret that we didn’t try when we had the chance.” To us, the fear of failure was never as great as the fear of never having the opportunity to make comics professionally.  To do what we loved.

Today the internet is the greatest thing for young comic artists and for the entire medium. Anyone can publish on the web and, yes, there is a ton of incredible crap out there but more people than ever are taking a shot making comics and we fans of the medium are the winners because tremendous comic talent that may have never tried before is now offering our eyes a feast of variety that has never existed in comics.

So to answer Tom Spurgeon’s quote: “The question that many of us near comics ask — if only to each other — is if the art form can survive without the occasional cycling back to cruder efforts like this one, unpretentious material devoid of any hope for life or riches beyond its publication schedule that helped revitalize the art form four or five times during a low ebb.”

No! The art form, or more accurately the medium of comics or any medium for that matter, cannot survive without a cycle that includes cruder efforts. No crude efforts would imply no young talent and with no young talent to revitalize a medium, that medium will die a death of eventual mediocrity.

To paraphrase McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, “When you’re green you grow. When you’re ripe you rot.”

So, be brave and create! Express yourself as well as you know how and be willing to show the world.  Make mistakes. Learn from them. Never stop growing. But when you do someone new will begin making their own mistakes and we will all have the pleasure of witnessing their adventure.

Holy crap, it’s the circle of life, comics style.

Making Comics Because I Want To

Gerry Giovinco

Part I: How the Book was Built

by Joe Williams

Bill Cucinotta told us about the Philadelphia Alternative Comic Convention a while back, and Tina Garceau, Bill and I all planned on attending to see what the other kids are up to as Tina put it in her articles at Willceau Illo and Bleeding Cool. I decided that I didn’t want to go empty handed so I decided to turn the first chapter of Monkey & Bird into a printed mini-comic. It would be small enough so that I could do it inexpensively and easily. I knew it would look awful in black and white so I wanted to do it in full color. I explored my options and looked into pricing.

I got quoted a price that was more than fair so now it was time for the hard part – the layout.

We had 24 pages worth of story in chapter 1. Throw a cover on it, and that makes it 28 pages which I could have stuck with, but Dan Love, Master of the Layout Arts, gave me the notion of making two 16-page signatures so that they could be folded down, one placed inside the other, stapled, and finally chopped down for a nice, clean and even little book. I padded the book out a little with a sneak preview of chapter 2, and I wound up with the required 32 pages.

Front and back of Signature #1

I did the layout in InDesign as I do with the regular cartoon installments that you read at CO2 Comics. I created a high quality PDF from my comic and placed the pages at a reduced size into the 12×18 layout. Originally, I had an idea for doing the mini-comic on a smaller scale possibly at home on an inkjet printer. My thinking was to fit the two-page spreads across a typical 8.5″ x 11″ sheet so I made the individual pages 5.5″ across by 4″ high with a decent white border. Of course, trying to print these out at home would have been an expensive and painful process on an inkjet printer. Being I was offered a price I couldn’t refuse, and Tina and I were going to assemble the books ourselves further lowering the costs, I decided to have the book printed on a Ricoh C-900 which is a toner-based printer. It’s similar to a color laser copier, but it doesn’t have the glass or a scanner so you can’t make copies. It’s a huge color laser printer that prints on a number of different stocks. It prints mainly on 12″x18″ stock which is nice for tabloid prints with a bleed. It handles color nicely, and after trying a test print, it was going to be perfect for my needs.

Ricoh C-900

Front and Back of Signature #2

Obviously, the comic was printed without the Bingo balls. I placed them there so you, dear readers, could see my imposition. Your imposition may vary depending on the size of the book, but I wouldn’t want to go with anything more than 32 pages as far as stapling this baby. I know that the big comic companies would churn out saddle-stitched 80-Page Giants but they would print that stuff on toilet paper. I have a few long boxes filled with yellowing newsprint that can attest to the quality of paper that comic publishers used back in the 1970s and earlier. I went with a 70#, uncoated, text weight stock which is a beautiful paper, and Monkey & Bird looks great on it. Maybe they have lighter paper that will still work with that machine. I’ll have to explore that aspect of the process in future iterations of the mini-comic.

In short order, I had a nice,  fresh stack of printed comic book pages that needed to be assembled.

NEXT WEEK: It’s a folding party! Learn about bone folders! I take the Pepsi Challenge as far as two different brands of staplers are concerned, and learn that they don’t make staples like they used to!

Howard The Duck button

Waaaaagh!!! What can I say? Ever since I first laid eyes on a Howard the Duck comic book I was smitten with ducks. I’m not sure why, but I think that what Steve Gerber did with the character opened my eyes to what could be done with comics beyond superheroes. It helped a lot that some of my favorite artists had drawn the character. Val Mayerick, Frank Brunner, Gene Colan, Sal Buscema and Michael Golden always left me wanting more and the iconic image by Bernie Wrightson on that campaign pin just sealed the deal!

howard wearing pants

Later when Gerber launched his creator’s rights battle with Marvel and when Disney challenged Marvel over trademark infringement, causing Howard to be forced to wear pants so as not to look like Donald Duck, Howard the Duck and ducks in general became a symbol to me of some sort of rebellious, creative attitude.

When I was in high school at Bishop Kenrick where I first met Phil Lasorda and Vince Argondezzi, my original partners in Comico the Comic Company, it was tradition to use acronyms to represent our party when we ran for office. When I ran for school president, the name of my party was, of course, D.U.C.K., Demonstrating Unity in the Community of Kenrick. I copied that Wrightson pin and made it school colors of green and gold. I even had a  mascot that crashed a student assembly in a duck costume! I lost… but the power of the duck stuck with me.

My fancy for ducks followed me to the Philadelphia College of Art now called University of the Arts where it did not take me long to establish a group of rogue comic artists called Ducks that strove to publish a small newspaper called DUCKWORK.  The thinly veiled connection to the school was a central courtyard that had two Peking Ducks inhabiting it and a bag lady that “quacked” as she walked in the area by our school earning her the name Duck Lady.

I wrote about  DUCKWORK In a previous blog and in an effort not to be redundant I invite you to check it out for the full scoop here.

Duck SuspenseStories

It dawns on me now that those six issues of DUCKWORK probably have some redeeming collectible value for their role as a precursor to the founding and publishing of Comico comics , CO2 Comics and for representing some of the earliest published works of the widely acclaimed Matt Wagner which can be seen here shown for historical purposes, of course.

Duck Throat

Duck Wish

Raiders Of The Lost Duck

Rollerduck

This peek at the credits and a dedication to Wally Wood who had passed away just prior to that particular issues publication in 1981 shows our devotion comics and  to the comic legend.

Duckwork dedication to Wally Wood

It also offers evidence of our lousy typewriter and some Ducks that went pro, Myself, Bill Cucinotta former Comico Partner and partner here at CO2 Comics, Dave Johnson of ROBOTECH  fame, Matt Wagner, Joe Williams CO2 Comics contributor and missing, somehow, is another ROBOTECH  vet and ELEMENTALS penciller, Mike Leeke.

Punk Duck 1

Ducks were infectious too. Not only did the DUCKWORK crew quickly assimilate to drawing the feathered fowl, I  recently discovered this incredible project by Martha Erlebacher, an anatomy teacher at PCA when we were students there.

Could it be remotely possible that our parodies of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus

Hatch of Venus

and Marcell Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase published in DUCKWORK somehow influenced one of our world class teachers? We may never know the answer to that but I think CO2 Comics contributer and another former ROBOTECH  vet, Reggie Buyers was tipping his hand when he sent me this fax of Jam Quacky in 1991.

Jam Quacky

Jam Quacky #1

Outside of DUCKWORK I had a propensity to parody superheroes as ducks and could often be found at comic conventions drawing Bat Duck, Spider-Duck, Silver Surf Duck, X-Ducks, Red Sonduck, you name it. The ducks were my gimmick, I guess, and littered my sketchbooks. They certainly helped me attract attention in those early days and develop lasting relationships with talented comic artists that helped to build Comico and CO2 Comics.

Bat Duck

Silver Surf Duck

Sonja Duck

I still love drawing those ducks so don’t be surprised if you start seeing them pop up here at CO2 Comics or on ebay. Hey, commissions aren’t out of the question either! If you have a passion to see your favorite character parodied as a duck just drop me a line at gerry@co2comics.com.

Making Comics Because I Want To  “QUACK!“

Gerry Giovinco

Can you believe it? Two years have gone by since we launched CO2 Comics hoping it would become a unique cooperative of comic talent featuring a collective of great comic features. Naturally we initially turned to our long time friends and allies that have had ties with us since our days as founding publishers of Comico the Comic Company.

Comico The Comic Company owners, Top: Dennis LaSorta, Phil Lasorda, Bottom: Gerry Giovinco, Bill Cucinotta

Chris Kalnick, Joe Williams, Andrew C. Murphy, Reggie Byers, Bernie Mirealut, Bill Anderson, Rich Rankin and Neil Vokes all contributed to the early success of the realization of our goals for CO2 Comics. The faith that they all had in our ability to  present their work while respecting their rights as creators, supporting their complete ownership and actively promoting their features and services as artists was a complete and humbling honor.

It became our duty to surround their works with with other great features and talent. CO2 Comics was always intended to be a place where readers could come to enjoy one feature and discover other comic treasures that they may not have found if those works had stood by themselves.

In just two years the list of contributers has grown to include twenty-two talented creators and two dozen exciting comic features. The impressive list of talent yields a number of nominated and award winning creators along with brilliant new talent that will deserve recognition for their mastery of the medium.

Take a look at the roster of creators here at CO2 Comics and you are bound to be amazed at the comic book pedigree and variety that exists on our site:

Bill Anderson – Skrog

Kevin Atkinson – Eaten by Planet 29

Mike Baron – The World of Ginger Fox

Reggie Byers – Crescent

Bill Cucinotta – Death for a Dollar

- Skrog

Tina Garceau – Hot Topics

– Monkey and Bird

- There’s No Escape From A Deadline

Gerry Giovinco – Slaughterman

Robert Jackson, Jr. – The Amazing Liberteens

Chris Kalnick – Depth Charge

- Non

Onrie Kompan – Yi Soon Shin

Steve Lafler – Dog Boy

- El Vocho

Mike Leeke – The Amazing Liberteens

Liberteens Update

Don Lomax – Captain Obese

Bernie Mireault – Cable

- Death for a Dollar

- Isaac vs. Eli

- Of the Spheres

- To Get Her

- The Jam Lives (a motion comic)

Andrew C. Murphy – Pressed for Time

- Reflections

- Victor

Mitch O’Connell – The World of Ginger Fox

Rich Rankin – Gauntlet

Raine Szramski – Heaven and the Dead City

Frank Thorne – Ribit

Giovanni Paolo Timpano – Yi Soon Shin

Neil Vokes – Gauntlet

Joe Williams – Hot Topics

- Monkey and Bird

- There’s No Escape From A Deadline

Besides having published over 800 pages of comic art in the last two years we have also taken on the monumental task of publishing David Anthony Kraft’s COMICS INTERVIEW: The Complete Collection. The first of the eleven volume set had 680 pages that were painstakingly cleaned and reproduced in both paperback and hardback editions. Volume two is currently in the works. This project is the testimony to our love of the comics medium and its rich history.

COMICS INTERVIEW: The Complete Collection

Our commitment to the history  of comics and the current state of the industry is also highlighted weekly on our CO2 Comics Blog where we feature a  weekly article covering everything from our Comico history, production techniques, creator’s rights and frequent editorializing on the state of the market have drawn a lot of attention industry wide.

As if publishing a ton of great comic related material on the web and in print is not enough for two guys,  we needed to create a new imprint, CO2 Publications so we could publish a 372 page literary book, FOR THE CONVENIENCE OF THE GOVERNMENT A Memoir of Veteran discharged from the Navy for being Gay  written by  George Richard Phillip Zimmerman, Jr. which was just released over Memorial Day Weekend.

For The Convenience Of The Government

Over our first two years we have published nearly 2,000 pages of material and maintained a rigorous schedule on an exciting site that has attracted over 4.6 million hits to date.

The best part is, WE ARE JUST GETTING STARTED! Last year, as we celebrated our first anniversary, we compared our accomplishments to our early publishing days with Comico and noted that we were far out front and we still are, thanks to the support of all the great talent that joins us and allows us to present new work daily.

We also need to thank our readers who continue to grow in numbers. Thanks for stopping by and for sharing with your friends. We became comic publishers nearly thirty years ago because we believed our comics were not finished works until they were experienced by the readers. We recognized early on that as publishers we played a significant role in the realization of a comic as a completed work and we intend to continue to be that conduit. CO2 Comic’s mission is to get great comics in front of as many eyes as possible. Please help us with your enthusiasm by continuing to share the comics you enjoy here with your friends and by returning often.

Finally, it is no mistake that we celebrate our anniversary  over the Fourth of July weekend. As publishers we have always been motivated by the spirit of the Independent movement with our emphasis being on creator’s rights.  Comics, for us, are a medium of freedom. Free thought, free speech, free enterprise.

We want to turn  Independence Day into Independents Day for comic fans and make it a time to celebrate the diversity that all of the Independent comics publishers have brought to the world. There are a lot of great comics out there that are not brought to you by the usual pair of suspects and we hope hat you will continue to find some of the best of them right here at CO2 Comics.

Making Comics Because We Want To

Bill Cucinotta and Gerry Giovinco

“Making Comics Because I Want To,” has been my sign off slogan on this blog for months now and my own personal mantra since I was a youngster. It was always my dream to be a cartoonist/comics artist but somewhere in my life’s history the idea of making comics changed. Just drawing comics was no longer enough. The act of making comics included publishing them. I could not consider the work complete until it found its way into the hands of the reader.

Bill Cucinotta who has been my partner publishing comics both with Comico and CO2 Comics chides me on a regular basis when I lament not having drawn comics as much as I would have liked in my career always deferring to my publisher self. He continually reminds me that our role in making comics is just as noble. We provide the vehicle that completes the work providing a duty that many creators either have no interest or experience in and we do it well.

Over the years we have experienced a number of transformations as publishers. Originally we were self-publishers creating black and white newsprint comic books featuring our own characters. We quickly transitioned into full color and began publishing other creators whose work we respected and valued. Graphic novels were a natural evolution, Comico published several.

The WORLD Of GINGER FOX Read it on CO2 Comics

The World of Ginger Fox by Mike Baron and Mitch O’Connell which is about to complete its serialized run right here on CO2 Comics is an example of our commitment to quality and diversity. Eventually we set our sites on the internet and began publishing comics on the web. Co2 Comics has flourished, presenting an array of over 800 pages of comic material from notable creators without losing our appreciation or interest for print.

COMICS INTERVIEW: The Complete Collection Volume 1

Our first print project as CO2 Comics ironically was not a comic book but a book about comics. David Anthony Kraft’s COMICS INTERVIEW The Complete Collection Volume 1 was our departure from publishing actual comics and a big departure it was, 640 pages of text and images culled from Dave’s magazine. We produced paperback and hardback editions and explored the virtues of POD publishing.

We had crossed over as publishers. Little did we know that soon we would be morphing from CO2 Comics to CO2 Publications where we would add a new imprint, CO2 Books to our shingle with the publication of our first literary project that has nothing to do with comics.

This spring we will publish George Richard Phillip Zimmerman, Jr.’s For the Convenience of the Government, a memoir of a veteran discharged from the United States Navy for being Gay.

This is an important book to us that we knew we had to publish. It is a book about something that we as comics publishers are all too familiar with, heroes. In this case the heroes are the fine men and women of the military that risk their lives for our freedoms as Americans.

There is no doubt that these people are heroes that deserve our respect and admiration. They deserve their dignity. For too long many of these fine men and women have been denied just that, because of their sexual orientation and nothing else. This would not be accepted in our private sector and it should especially be unacceptable in our military.

For the Convenience of the Government is just one veteran’s story of how this injustice affected his life. It is our hope that the publication of this story will enlighten the American people to a grave injustice directed at so many gay people who merely wanted to proudly serve their country.

Our publication of this book is about showing support to these men and women and anybody else who is persecuted for any reason whether it be race, religion, color or sexual orientation. This support is paid forward when you read the book and share it with your friends to establish a consensus that effects change.

Support for a project like this has to begin somewhere. We and the author chose to enlist the power of Kickstarter to aid in the mission of launching this book as quickly as possible and to promote it to the vast group of people around the world that are sympathetic to this type of indignity.

Kickstarter is all about supporting a project that touches you. We invite you to please check out the project which will fully inform you about the details of the book and familiarize you with the author, George Richard Phillip Zimmerman, Jr. who states his case eloquently in a short video. As with all projects on Kickstarter, your support will be rewarded with fine offerings.

We expect to have For the Convenience of the Government available for sale by this Memorial Day Weekend. You can follow all of the updates regarding this book on www.fortheconvenienceofthegovernment.com or on facebook by joining the group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php? or liking the page: http://www.facebook.com/4.the.Convenience

Co2 Comics will always continue to publish great comics. We thank you for all the great support you have given us as we approach the second anniversary of our own launch in 2009 and we are looking forward to plenty of great excitement in the coming months as our transformation as publishers continues.

Making Comics (and Books) Because I Want To

Gerry Giovinco

KISS, my ass!

That had to be what Diamond was thinking when they began unveiling their plans for digital distribution through comic shops. The convoluted program that included plexiglass holders for weekly printouts, Avery labels, a cryptographically secure method to generate random codes along with multiple pricing variations between print and digital product was enough to make heads spin. And that was just the beginning.

Diamond’s obvious disdain for the tried and true KISS principal is either evidence that they are overthinking the concept of digital distribution as it relates to comic shops or they have absolutely no clue as to what they are doing.

“Keep It Simple, Stupid,” needs to be pounded, repeatedly in every discussion about digital distribution in comic shops or it is absolutely destined for failure. Digital downloads are simple, inexpensive, impulse products that scream convenience at every level. Complicating the process is just antithetical.

There is a very simple and proven way of giving the retailers the opportunity to cash in on digital downloads.

Gift Cards!

It is so glaringly obvious that when Bill Cucinotta and I first began researching it last year we emailed the idea to Steve Geppi himself because we figured that Diamond would have the best chance of implementing the program.

It must have gone to his SPAM file!

It was so obvious that Marvel had already issued a couple of gift cards for Marvel Digital that were available in regular stores!

Just a thought...

Nearly every major retailer in the country has gift card kiosks that feature a variety of cards for everything under the sun including downloads for video games and MP3 players. Raise your hand if you ever purchased an iTunes card for a gift or received one from a well meaning friend or relative that did not know what to get you.

Gift Cards are a multi-billion dollar business because they are simple, convenient and familiar.

Diamond should be partnering with one of the leading gift card program companies to distribute collectible gift cards that would function just like an iTunes card. The buyer can purchase a card in a $10, $20, $50 value all with an assortment of collectible images on them that would act as advertisements for various publishers. (Marvel would hope that if the card had Marvel characters the holder would download Marvel comics as would any other publisher) The card in reality would give the holder open access to the entire iBook Store or Android App Store and hopefully the holder will buy all kinds of comics.

Retailers would get a cut of every card sold, and God knows that speculators will cause the collectible cards to have inflated value over and above face value making them much more potentially profitable to retailers than initially intended.

Diamond could swing the cards into every gift card venue in the country promoting comics while creating a collector frenzy that could parallel Pokemon and Yugio.

It’s a simple idea. It is practiced over and over by every type of company. And it generates huge amounts of money.

Just imagine miniature comic book spinner racks with tiny plastic cards that feature comic covers sitting on a counter. It could be the most profitable square foot in the whole store and it is a POS impulse product.

Who wants to make some money?

Since Diamond has dropped the ball we are ready to run with it. We’ve already named the product Digital ComiCard™ and are looking financial partners to make it happen. If you are seriously interested contact Bill or me directly.

Diamond, we’d be happy to play with you but please, keep it simple!

Digital Comics do not have to leave the local comic shop behind. Let us
show you how.

Making comics because I want to.

Gerry Giovinco

Recent Champions of Creationism: Millar, Haspiel, Casey & Ellis

Hallelujah!

What a wonderful time to be a comics creator!

More options exist than ever before to create original works, have them published in multiple formats, reach a worldwide audience, retain ownership and have a sense of control over what happens with our intellectual properties.

All we have to do is figure out how to make some money while we’re at it!

It is this sense of monetary entitlement that seems to be frustrating creators the most and it is justifiable, especially in this awful economy. We all want to be paid for our hard work.

How do we define our value? What is appropriate compensation for what we do as comic creators? When do we realize we are being screwed and by who?

This isn’t an issue unique to comic creators. Ever apply for a job? Any job? The trickiest blank to fill on the application is “desired salary.” With few exceptions, the more labor intensive the job is, the less we can expect to be paid.

The arts, regardless of the discipline, always seem to leave a trail of under appreciated and undervalued yet talented creative types groveling in the wake of employers who have benefited immensely from the revenues generated by the exploitation of the works created by the artists that they have dealt with.

We all know the exceptions. The stars in the arts and entertainment world shine bright and are showered with wealth, adding to the frustration of those that toil diligently at their craft for limited compensation. These are the artists that either know how to manage and promote themselves or are able to surround themselves with people they trust to handle these duties.

I have always believed that if you want to earn what you feel you deserve as a creator, you should work for yourself. Why make someone else rich at the expense of your talent? This, of course takes time, requires investment, commitment and risk, most of the elements that the publisher assumes when publishing a work and why they expect to retain so much of the revenue generated by sales.

If there was ever a time to take on those daunting responsibilities, NOW is the time to take charge of your talents as comic creators. There is no need to sell out your skills or your creative ideas to publishers who are unwilling to value your work respectfully.

The internet provides so many opportunities for creators that did not exist just ten years ago. Comic creators now have tremendous resources available for everything from learning the techniques of the medium to the publication, marketing and distribution of the final work. All of these assets are available for free or at minimal cost compared to anything that was ever available before.

As a community of comic creators, we need to come together and champion each other. Now is the time to redefine the market, recondition the consumers, and reinvent the product. Now is the time to take control of our creations and be the beneficiaries of our own talent.

Will 2011 will be the year that comic creators finally recognize the significance of their independence? We are off to a good start. In the first few weeks of the new year discussion on this topic has already stirred the pot. Mark Millar, Dean Haspiel, Joe Casey, Warren Ellis and myself have all made a point to instill this dynamic into the mindset of comic creators, many of which are diving into the digital distribution arena possibly a bit to hastily with a Gold Rush mentality.

It is time that we all become as creative and aggressive marketing our comics as we are when creating them. We can charge in alone or we can rally together by supporting and sharing each other’s endeavors and ideas, encouraging an evolution that will redefine the course of comics as an industry and a medium.

Evolution at the hands of the creator…what a novel concept. Maybe we can make a Big Bang in how comics are perceived by the masses or maybe we can at least put the Pop back in our favorite Pop Art by insuring that comics are the popular reading material of the widest audience possible.

Bill Cucinotta and I are committed to exploring the possibilities that are available to the comic creators that are part of our cooperative community here at CO2 Comics. We also recognize that we are part of the greater community of comics professionals. We intend to be part of the dialog that empowers this new trend of Creationism.

Our think tank is more than a canister of of carbon dioxide.

We have been challenging the boundaries of convention in the comics field since the early eighties with Comico, our former creator owned publishing house that found ways to publish other creators while paying highly competitive page rates and a generous royalty on sales. From modest beginnings we found creative ways to compete directly with Marvel and DC in the fledgeling Direct Market. We made inroads in licensing and merchandising that opened the doors for others. We set standards for production and quality with innovation and hard work. We made mistakes and we learned from them.

We proved that it is possible to build a dream with perseverance, enthusiasm and creativity. CO2 Comics is our opportunity to do that again in this new digital era. As always our focus is on the success of the creators. We know that the success of the creators that we have relationships with translates into success for us. It is a simple formula and it works.

Creationism can be the new evolution of comics if you let it.

Our message to all creators: “This is your time. This is your opportunity. Take advantage of it. We plan to!”

Hallelujah!

Making comics because I want to.

Gerry Giovinco

Apps, apps, apps! That is all we hear about anymore, especially when the discussion is about digital comics. Maybe I’m dense, too old fashioned or just plain stupid but I have to admit that I just don’t get it.

I know that there are apps for just about everything. Apple boasts over 300,000 apps available just for the iPhone. There are thousands of apps for Droids, Smartphones and Blackberries too but, face it, apps are a brilliant marketing tool for “App”le more than anyone..

Now that the iPad is on the scene everyone and their sister can see the potential of comics flourishing on that brilliant 9.7 inch screen and of course the imitators are already popping out everywhere.

In the midst of all this commotion we have all been sold the idea that an app is needed to be able to read comics on these portable devices. An app! Quick run out and get one so you can read comics! Hurry, hurry, hurry!

If you are a creator or a publisher you especially better get a jump on it before you are left in the dust. Times-a-wasting! Lock into a deal, NOW! Tie up your rights and spread that wealth with Apple, the app developer, and the publisher leaving little for the creator before it’s too late!
Hurry, hurry, hurry!

What a bunch of sheep we are. Happy to be herded to a promised land by the carrot of new source of possible revenue.

WAKE UP!!

SMELL THE COFFEE!!

STOP BEING A PANSIE!!

Let me bring you back to Earth with a simple truth. You do not need an app to read tons of great digital comics on a computer, a net book, an e-reader or a cell phone.

You don’t need an app!

All you need is a browser.

If your device can read Flash files your options are even greater.

New devices are coming soon from Samsung and Blackberry that read Flash. Soon Apple will have to include it as well. Even if they don’t Flash created with HTML 5 is readable so eventually all web comics will be an easy read on any tablet or phone, app-free!

If you are a creator or a publisher, post your comics on the web, market a PDF download, or make your own app if you feel that you really have to and guess what?

You are in command!

You have control over your content, no censorship, no digital rights management that ties up your property indefinitely and, if you wish to sell your works, get paid directly from your readers without sharing any of the profits except your PayPal fees.

I know this all sounds like blasphemy!

The digital comic download is supposed to be the savior of comics and finally provide a source of revenue to creators while opening up the huge untapped market of the masses.

The magic bullet!

But it is not.

If we allow ourselves to be led down the narrow road of the app it is business as usual. In the comics industry we know who wins. Everyone else loses. Even the readers.

Look, as a publisher, I have gone toe-to-toe with Marvel and DC in the Direct market. I’ve waded into the dark and murky waters of the mass market. I was there championing the rise of creators’ rights and the proliferation of independent publishers from the beginning. I know what I’m talking about.

As a comic creator and publisher I sought the Holy Grail and it wasn’t profit. I’d be lying if I told you money wasn’t part of the motivation but the real prize was freedom.

CREATIVE FREEDOM!

The internet gives comic creators the opportunity to enjoy creative freedom like never before. Creators can reach a global audience with little expense and retain complete ownership of their works.

Creators don’t need to be confined to an app. They need to be creative and they need to discover creative ways to generate revenue.

When Bill Cucinotta and I conceived of CO2 Comics this was and continues to be our mission, to create a cooperative community of comic creators that support each other to reach a wider audience with diverse material and to maximize the profitability of our individual intellectual property by exploring product options of digital, print, merchandise, other media and licensing.

In a year and a half we have amassed nearly a thousand pages of comics from over twenty distinguished creators that attract about ten thousand hits a day. We have published a 680 page book that is the greatest collection of comic interviews in the history of comic books. Most importantly we have created a venue that supports the creators that share in our mission by helping them sell their print products, services and merchandise while maintaining complete ownership of their creations.

We are just getting started.

I know that I am coming down pretty hard on apps, but I am just trying to make an important point that I believe has to be made.

Apps can be part of a successful comic marketing strategy but I don’t think that they can be viewed as a panacea for the entire industry or surely the little guy will get crushed, unnoticed in the shadow of the usual giants and trampled by the rush of new readers herded by powerful marketing machines toward product they are already familiar with.

Comic creators need to take advantage of the internet while it is still inexpensively accessible. Maximize it as a resource while you still have a chance. Don’t be distracted by the temptations of a huge corporation whose sole motivation is profiting from the work of every creator possible.

That “app”le looked good to Eve, too and look where it got her.

Making comics because I want to.

Gerry Giovinco

Don MacPherson made a recent commentary on Eye on Comics titled For Sale: The Ruins of Comico regarding what he refers to as, “an unusual listing dealing specifically with Comico’s history.”

His observations are quite astute, regarding the sale of what is described as “HUGE collection of proofs, color separation & color key printing cells, art copy, original artwork, comic books, graphic novels, posters and advertising items. THOUSANDS OF ITEMS. Collection from the founder of Comico Comic Book Company.”

Clarification, however, is in order.

This collection is from a founder of Comico. Not the founder or founders of the defunct company.

Readers of this blog The Comic Company are well aware that Bill Cucinotta and I, the principals here at CO2 Comics, were both among the partnership that founded Comico. A partnership that also included the late Phil Lasorda and eventually his older brother Dennis who was our financial backer from the publication of our first book Comico Primer #1.

By the time Comico was in its 1990 bankruptcy Bill and I had NO involvement with the company which was entirely in the stewardship of Phil and Dennis.

We have absolutely nothing to do with the possession and possible sale of the Comico materials in this listing and have absolutely no involvement, ties or dealings of any kind with Dennis LaSorda and ebay user coyotesurplus.

We make no bones about celebrating our accomplishments as publishers of Comico. We are proud of the work that we did, the innovations that we established and the odds that we beat. We have made it a point to focus on the positives to accentuate the legacy that we believe we’ve earned.

David Anthony Kraft's COMICS INTERVIEW: The Complete Collection Vol 1

CO2 Comics is NOT Comico the Comic Company! It is not the rebirth of Comico. It is the reunion of two Comico partners that still have a lot of comics to publish and a lot of ideas of how to do it differently than before.

CO2 Comics is a quickly growing web comic collective that features a number of the creators that worked with us during our days with Comico. We have recently published our first book under the imprint, David Anthony Kraft’s COMICS INTERVIEW: The Complete Collection Volume 1.

We have reviewed the listing and have a few observations and opinions.

Detail of original by Gerry Giovinco given away as a gift

The photos show only a very limited number of pieces of original art. One notable piece was created by me and was given as a gift to Dennis. It is possible that the art in question could have all been acquired in this manner. Some of the images could also be photostats that appear to be originals in the photos.

It always was Comico policy to return all art to the creators. If there is art that was not returned, we are in total agreement that it should be returned to the rightful owners of the work. If you are a creator that believes your work could be among this lot, we would suggest you fight to get it back.

Originals?

We would have expected that the extensive amount of production material, inventory of promotional items and back stock of books would have been turned over to Andrew Rev as assets when he purchased Comico in 1990. We can only speculate as to why they are still warehoused in the Norristown area.

It is difficult to tell by the listing and the explanation given by the seller who actually currently claims ownership of the goods. Is the seller listing them for Dennis? Have they purchased the goods to resell at a profit? Did they take possession of the goods for a particular reason?

It is sad for us to see evidence of years of hard work, talent and aspiration heaped so randomly on a pile in some storage facility. Even sadder to consider that some of it may have been misappropriated.

We sincerely hope that that is not the case and that eventually this work will find its way into the hands of rightful and legitimate owners who will respect it and display it proudly for its valuable role in the history of comic art.

Making Comics because I want to

Gerry Giovinco

Will Eisner’s CONTRACT WITH GOD, published in 1978 is most often noted as the first graphic novel mostly because it was the first to declare the name.

The term graphic novel has come to be associated with any collection of comic works that is perfect bound though many would be more aptly distinguished simply as trade paperbacks.

Eisner’s graphic novel itself was actually a collection of four stories rather than one long story generally associated with the word novel.

The first “graphic novel” that I remember reading was Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson’s adaption of the movie ALIEN published by Heavy Metal in 1979. Titled ALIEN: The Illustrated Story this 64 page, full-color, perfect bound package was a riveting masterpiece of comic art that sold for only $3.95!

I am always surprised that this book is overlooked when the topic of graphic novels is discussed. For me personally, it was a benchmark. I had read trade paperback collections of comics from pocket sized collections of Charles Schultz’s PEANUTS, to Burne Hogarth’s TARZAN of the APES and all of Stan Lee’s Origin books but the ALIEN book, more than any other, spoke to me about format.

It was my first look at what the future of comics could be.

When we began publishing comics as Comico in 1982 we started from the ground up with black-and-white comic books that looked more like fanzines and quickly grew to publish a line of full-color comics that rivaled anything in the market at the time.

Along the way we published a number of graphic novels, two featuring Matt Wagner’s GRENDEL, Harmony Gold’s ROBOTECH, Doug Wildey’s RIO, Mike Baron and Mitch O’Connell’s The World of GINGER FOX, and Harlan Ellison and Ken Steacy’s NIGHT and the ENEMY.

Comico Graphic Novels

Before them all was an unusual graphic novel collection called MAGEBOOK. What made this book unique was that it was NOT a reprint of the first four issues of Matt Wagner’s critically acclaimed comic MAGE.

In 1984 it was apparent that there was a new trend in comics. The miniseries was becoming popular with titles like CAMELOT 3000 and WATCHMEN. It was inevitable that these would be collected and re-published as graphic novels after the initial run.

Matt had informed us early on that MAGE, likewise, would be a limited series. The idea of collecting it in graphic novel format as well became a goal.

Then we were presented with a production issue. In an effort to minimize unit costs, our comics were being gang-printed and though MAGE was a critical success it sold in smaller numbers than most of our other books, resulting in an overstock of the title to be stored.

There, warehoused on a skid, was the opening chapter of what would become our first published graphic novel.

After the first issue we began not binding the interiors of the books, storing the excess signatures for future use. After four issues of MAGE had been published we collected the signatures and the overstock of the first issue and had them neatly bound in a graphic novel format producing MAGEBOOK for merely the cost of the cover and the binding.

Magebook 1

MAGEBOOK was a collection of the original print-run of the first for issues; ads, letter pages and all. Due to its success, we repeated the process for the second volume which has notably larger size dimensions than the first volume because of the availability of trim area that was lost on the first volume due to the first issue of MAGE having been previously trimmed and bound as a comic book.

Magebook 2

These two volumes of MAGEBOOK were probably the only graphic novels ever produced this way! If anyone has any knowledge of others I would love to know about them.

MAGE was later licensed to Starblaze Graphics who repackaged it into a beautiful glossy three volume set that was released in paperback and deluxe, sleeved, Hard Cover editions.

Bill Cucinotta and I still like the idea of repackaging material that we enjoy.

co2comics.com

While we are determined to seek out exciting new features by talented comic creators to post here on CO2 Comics, there are a number of features found here that are digital repackages of previously published material which we are proud to introduce to a new audience on the internet.

David Anthony Kraft's COMICS INTERVIEW: The Complete Collection Vol 1

We have also made it our mission to repackage a very important part of comics history. David Anthony Kraft’s COMICS INTERVIEW: The Complete Collection will be a eleven volume set and is, without doubt, “The Greatest Collection of Interviews in the History of Comic Books.”

The first volume available in Hard Cover and Paperback is ON SALE NOW and can be found at www.comicsinterview.com.

Hurry and get your copy in time for Christmas!

Making comics because I want to

Gerry Giovinco