First, the McLosing.
Those of you who follow me on social media know I entered The Brittle Riders into a contest for the best science fiction/fantasy script of 2023 at Stage 32. Long story short, I didn’t win. Hell, I didn’t even place. However, when I went through log lines and other info I could find on the winners, yes – I’m petty enough to do that, I kind of understood. The judges were looking for stuff with broad appeal and, well, no one has accused The Brittle Riders of having that.
If you don’t believe me, just CLICK HERE to check out the “R” Rated tone reel created by Freddy Noriega. Or, hit the “boobtastic” (gotta love my fans) Pitch Book that provides a plot summary with its graphic images.
As always, this stuff was created to impress investors and they watch shit like this on one hundred inch screens. So, make sure you have your biggest screen on, with great sound if you’re watching the tone reel, when you view.
But, apparently, I wasn’t the only person watching the winners list as several producers reached out to me with varying levels of interest. Some asked for one sheets, a few wanted a synopsis, a couple wanted the script, and others demanded the complete investors kit. No one can say yes if they don’t know what’s on the table. That’s why I’m thrilled to share. Since my ultimate goal is to get this made, I’m okay with where I’m at.
Rejections don’t bother me. At this point in my career, losing is more like a necessary stepping stone. My story Breasts in Space was once called a waste of 4,000 words and went on to be renamed George and included in, the internationally distributed, anthology series Just a Minor Malfunction V. The Writer’s Stuff was considered an affront to YA books (it kind of is), but got printed in the globally released (I can use synonyms) anthology The Fuckening. My whimsical tale, Miggy, was called anti-capitalist and an insult to the accepted social order, yet recently got sold (sold = money) to the The Rabbit Hole VI, published by the Writers Co-Op. The fact this is the sixth edition tells you the first five made money and were loved. Twerking for Jesus pissed people off to the point I wondered if they needed to up their meds. Even so, it’s being released in Obsidian Butterfly’s next release Necronomi-Romcom. It’s one of my wife’s favorite love stories, proof that you should pay money to read it once it hits the interwebs and bookstores. I could go on, but I’m guessing you get the point.
On to the McWinning.
Starting this weekend all the titles on Hadithi Sambamba Comix, yes – that’s how it’s spelled, will begin their life in east coast conventions starting with the New York Comic Con. If you go just visit the Vivid Panel Comic Books table at booth 3922. Tell them Bill sent you. They’ll be impressed. On the west coast, the fine folks over at Nerdanatix are already mad pimping Hadithi Sambamba Comix to a grateful world. They already have Legends Parallel #1, Legends Parallel #2, Legends Parallel #3, Legends Parallel #4, Bob Sins of the Son, Svarožič, Alokia the Kaiju Hunter, and Ruh Roh Rangers. You can check out some for free by clicking on the previous Nerdanatix link and then buy as many as you want later.
While Legends Parallel and Ruh Roh Rangers are for more mature readers, due to violence and some nudity, the rest scale younger with the only caveat being that Bob has a few “F” bombs.
Also, after much guh-nashing of teeth and voluminous lamentations, Hadithi’s Store is finally up, running, and open for your business. You hop on by, click a title you want, drop a couple bucks into the PayPal bucket, and prepare to have your email’s inbox filled with coo coo coolness as each PDF arrives. Your life can’t really get any better now. Consume and say thanks.
Yes, people have warned us that some folks might share the PDFs without sending us more money. While that’s not thrilling, it’s also the world we live in. If we can get people hyping our titles now, we can manage technical details later.
One side note, so I never get another email demanding I make industry standard comics phone friendly, don’t read them on your phone. Web Comics, like those created by my pal and all around fun human Zee Bee, are more akin to the comics you grew up on in the Sunday papers. A couple of panels and a punch line. As an aside, visit her site, love her adorable lesbians, and thank me later. We create comics for print. The formatting is different, the amount of pixels used is radically different, and the framing is completely different.
Before you ask, there is no real way to adjust a comic to make it work in both formats. Not without spending stupid amounts of money and time. The flow of the stories in each format is dependent upon image placement. And print and web have radically different demands for that.
Simply put, if this is the worst thing that happens to me, I’m living a blessed life. I hope you all stay safe and sane. Until next time!
