Hey folks, Ambush Bug here. Just in case you didn’t get to last month’s New York Comic Con doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. Thanks to Jamie Coville, we have panels to share with you guys all week! So check out the panels by clicking the titles below!
Yoe! Books Presents: Fiends, Ghouls & Haunted Horror!. (50:23, 46.1mb)
Craig Yoe gave a rousing speech about the 1950's pre-code comics. Along the way he showed a number of horror comics and specific panels that was used to criticize comics. He also gave an overview of comic book history from the 1950s in regards to Wertham and the Comics Code. He also talked about Bob Wood, Jack Cole and Wally Wood, all of whom are comic creators that had their life cut short by either suicide or murder. He talked about the content of his books are often in the public domain, but he does respect the artists and pays them or their estate. He revealed he will be working on book of Stanley P. Morse published comics, which were among the most gruesome of the 1950's comics.
New Transmedia Story Worlds. (56:10, 51.4mb)
I had joined the panel just after it had started. The panel was made up primarily of Starlight Runner Entertainment employees. The moderator was Jeff Gomez (CEO), on the panel was Mark Pensavalle (COO), Chip Brown (Harper Collins Sr. VP & Publisher), Fabian Nicieza (CIO), Chrysoula Artemis (COO) and Darren Sanchez (Production Manager). Chip talked about the bible being a transmedia property and how it's been used in a variety of media. Fabian said their proof of concept was their Hot Wheels contract. He explained Mattel came to them about how they could sell more toys. Fabian wrote 8 page mini comics for each car, giving them a driver and self-contained but interconnected story. The story was the basis of the Hot Wheels video game and cartoon show and the show was then sold on DVD. He said they generated an additional 200 million dollars for Mattel. The group talked about working directly with James Cameron on Avatar and how James helped Fox see them as not just a marketing expense. They said their work on Avatar won't be seen until the 2nd and 3rd movie comes out. They mentioned that large companies like Disney are not transmedia friendly as they have multiple departments and the work gets bounced around and back to them. They talked about difficulties they have working with publishers as they are not getting the transmedia thing. They revealed they went to San Diego one year and pretended they had a product to sell just to generate some interest in what they are doing. Currently they are doing bible related transmedia work. An audience member had brought up Marvel and they said they do get transmedia and are doing it well, but said the stories/characters are not consistent across the mediums. They said the movie version, the comic and cartoon versions of the characters are all different. They took questions from the audience and Fabian said creators should focus on selling to a publisher a story, and if successful then work in the transmedia. He said all transmedia has a core media that it starts from.
Creative Graphic Novels for Kids. (58:25, 53.4mb)
The panel was moderated by Chris Duffy. On the panel was Jimmy Gownley, Sheila Keenan, Nathon Fox, Paul Pope, Alexis Frederick-Frost, Andrew Arnold and Jon Chad. They talked about what goes on before they do the first draft of the Graphic Novel. The creators said the idea being something they are so in love/obsessed with they can spend 1 or 2 years working on it full time. Sheila's book involved a lot of research as it involves 3 wars. Also mentioned was needing to like their collaborations because they'll be working together daily the entire time. Other topics they talked about was keeping the art the same throughout the book, creators moving from traditional comic book publishers to traditional bookstore aimed publishers who are used to marketing kids comics, if they tested their ideas on kids prior to writing or finishing the book. Jimmy mentioned when he started Amelia Rules the traditional comic industry was actively hostile to kids comics. He said he really needed to reach out to kids to market his books. Paul talked about how he is now interacting with all ages when in libraries and schools promoting his book. They also talked about if the hero of the book needs to be the same age as the intended readership. Paul said he hates it when an editor imposes rules because of the way things have worked in the past. He said you are just asking for them to be broken. They spoke about influences on their current book and what book they love that they think everybody should read. Another topic was how much dialogue they can use in kids books and if there are things they can do in kids book that they can't in adult books.
