Local Man Uses Kickstarter to Realize His Hollywood Dreams
Ventura, California – December 7, 2012 – Doing something creative that you love is a challenge. Finding an audience for your work and getting paid for it is even harder. Andres Salazar understands those struggles. Andres is a stand-up comedian, has directed and produced short films, written screenplays even sells his paintings at craft fairs. Most recently Andres has turned to the crowdfunding website, Kickstarter.com to find an audience and realize his dream of being a creator.
His latest project is a graphic novel titled Pariah, Missouri–a supernatural story set in pre-civil war. He wrote it originally as a television pilot script in hopes to get attention from the cable networks. “I pitched it as Deadwood meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but nowadays you gotta have the script, a cast and director attached and half of it shot before they will look at you, and that’s only if you have an agent, manager and have previously worked on three shows,” says Andres.
So instead of beating his head against Hollywood’s doors, he turned to other mediums to tell the tale. “When I conceived Pariah, I wanted something that I could tell graphically since comics have been my love as a kid. It’s much cheaper of course to generate a comic and this is a good way to build a fan-base and that is always something that Hollywood wants to see,” says Andres. Turning an hour drama script into a comic book is not without it’s challenges. An artist needed to be found so Andres turned to sites such as Deviantart.com to find affordable and dependable artists.
“That was a challenge. I mean, I could have drawn it myself, but comic book art takes an incredible amount of time, plus there is value in adding others creative juices to the mix. I was lucky to find a great artist like Jose,” says Andres. Jose Luis Pescador is no stranger to the comic book world. He studied at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and has worked on a number of independent graphic novels and has shown fine art in galleries across the country.
His super-team was assembled, but Andres still needed funding. Enter Kickstarter.com Kickstarter is a new phenomenon in what is dubbed crowdfunding which gives creators a chance realize their ambitions by asking others to “back” their project. From films, music albums to food, Kickstarter generates hundreds of projects daily in the hopes that they meet their funding goal. If the goal is achieved, backers then receive rewards according to their pledge amount.
Having worked for Howard Chaykin as an assistant, Andres learned much of the business from his mentor. Andres also wrote and directed SAG short film After Cheri and stated , “We are very excited about our Kickstarter for Pariah, Missouri! It will be an exciting story for the next 30 days to see how we progress through the campaign. I will be posting videos and updates often so backers really get a sense of the “behind the scenes” of what it takes to make a comic book. Please check us out.”
Using the new Doctor Who Limited Edition Gift Set, your noble author will make his way through as much of the modern series as he can before the Christmas episode, The Snowmen.
It’s mauve, and dangerous, and thirty seconds from the center of London. The London of the Blitz, where one more metal canister falling from the sky barely got noticed. But this one is a bit special, as it creates..
THE EMPTY CHILD / THE DOCTOR DANCES
by Steven Moffat
Directed by James Hawes
“Gimme some Spock, for once! Would it kill ya?”
Chasing a mysterious drone ship through time and space, the TARDIS lands in London during a German attack in the Blitz. A band of homeless children are sneaking into homes during raids and eating people’s dinners, Rose meets up with a staggeringly handsome time agent from the 51st century (I know, what are the odds?) and a young boy in a gas mask is looking for his “Mummy”.
The drone ship is a mobile alien ambulance, the young boy is transforming people into empty zombielike creatures like himself, and the head of the homeless children has quite a secret to hide. Captain Jack Harkness has grabbed the remains of what he claims is a Chula warship, and dropped it into the timestream to attract the attention of a passing Time Agent. His plan is to sell it to them, but before they can inspect it, he’s placed in a spot where it’ll be blown up by a German bomb. It’s basically a con job, to get back at the Time Agency for deleting two years of his memories. Problem is, the ship wasn’t empty; it was filled with nanogenes, programmed to repair living beings. the first one they found on earth, a small boy killed in the crash of the ship, was badly damaged, and once they fixed him, thought he was the proper template for the rest of humanity. Only by showing the nanogenes how humans actually work can they fix things, and there’s only one person who can do it, if she makes a very brave choice. And for once, nobody dies.
An absolutely chilling pair of episodes. Using the darkness of a blacked-out London in an air raid, the mood of the story is dark and tense. The transformation of the victims of the child is one of the scariest bits of work the series has had. They actually edited out some additional sound effects of cracking and groaning flesh, because they thought it went too far.
Steven Moffat first offered his services to the BBC as a writer for Doctor Who at the age of eight. His entire career has been aiming toward the chance to finally do so, and this was his official shot, and he brought his A-game. I say “official”, because as most fans know, he got to write the Comic Relief sketch “The Curse of Fatal Death”, starring Rowan Atkinson (et al) as The Doctor. Moffat was able to keep to a promise The Doctor made in all of the episodes he wrote before taking over the series – “Everybody lives”. For a show with a surprisingly high casualty rate for children’s entertainment, Moffat kept his death toll to zero for his entire series of episodes. Not something he was able to do once he took over; indeed, some say he made up for lost time.
This two-parter also features the first appearances of what may be the most popular new character of the new series, the inimitable Captain Jack Harkness. Jack Harkness plays a perfect foil to The Doctor, with plenty of tension and pissing contests for all. Russell took him and ran, bringing him on as a Companion, making him immortal, and then over to Torchwood, where he had quite a run indeed. John Barrowman fit the role like a glove, and he gained the popularity an actor of his ability deserves. In addition to being a host and presenter for many British TV shows, he’s made it to these shores on Desperate Housewives, and currently on Arrow as Malcolm Merlyn. He is also firmly on my “‘I’m not gay, but” list.
In honor of the day and time, we present this classic from Schoolhouse Rock, “Little Twelvetoes”.
Now if man had been born with 6 fingers on each hand, he’d also have 12 toes or so the theory goes. Well, with twelve digits, I mean fingers, he probably would have invented two more digits when he invented his number system. Then, if he saved the zero for the end, he could count and multiply by twelve just as easily as you and I do by ten.
Now if man had been born with 6 fingers on each hand, he’d probably count: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, dek, el, doh. “Dek” and “el” being two entirely new signs meaning ten and eleven. Single digits! And his twelve, “doh”, would be written 1-0. Get it? That’d be swell, for multiplying by 12.
Hey Little Twelvetoes, I hope you’re well.
Must be some far-flung planet where you dwell.
If we were together, you could be my cousin,
Down here we call it a dozen.
Hey Little Twelvetoes, please come back home.
Now if man had been born with 6 fingers on each hand, his children would have ’em too. And when they played hide-and-go-seek they’d count by sixes fast. And when they studied piano, they’d do their six-finger exercises. And when they went to school, they’d learn the golden rule, and how to multiply by twelve easy: just put down a zero.
But me, I have to learn it the hard way.
Lemme see now:
One times 12 is twelve, two times 12 is 24.
Three times 12 is 36, four times 12 is 48, five times 12 is 60.
Six times 12 is 72, seven times 12 is 84.
Eight times 12 is 96, nine times 12 is 108, ten times 12 is 120.
Eleven times 12 is 132, and 12 times 12 is 144. WOW!
Hey Little Twelvetoes, I hope you’re thriving.
Some of us ten-toed folks are still surviving.
If you help me with my twelves, I’ll help you with your tens.
And we could all be friends.
Little Twelvetoes, please come back home.
TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews of All Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock
MANNIX
By Michael Avallone
Published by Popular Books, First Edition, 1968
It’s not every day you walk into your local pharmacy and someone hands you three books that you’d only heard about, but never actually expected to have. ÃÂ Now, these particular books wouldn’t be a big deal if you weren’t a detective fan, a follower of mystery/detective TV, and a big TV tie-in novel type person. ÃÂ In other words…me.
One of those treasured jewels was the first novel based on the 1960s-70s detective show, MANNIX. ÃÂ No, I don’t mean the numbered series that came out seven years or so after this one but the very first novel commissioned based on the television show. ÃÂ Written by Michael Avallone, this is Joe Mannix while he was still with Intertect, battling it out with Lew Wickersham and flirting his way through all the technology and the ladies in the office as he delivered a bit more of an old fashioned two fisted approach to the job of modern private investigation.
This novel, on that level, definitely doesn’t disappoint. ÃÂ It delivers as if it were a 124 page episode of the show. ÃÂ It opens with Mannix playing tough guy to a damsel who isn’t all she appears to be at first as he wraps one case while the next is being set up. ÃÂ A young, petulant heiress with kaboodles of bucks and a whole ton of boredom with life is approached by a man lowered from a helicopter about doing espionage work for her country. ÃÂ As she jumps at the chance, she later discovers that her new friend only has one interest in her country- harming it – and in her -using her to disgrace an American official. ÃÂ Blackmailed into it, the heiress stumbles along, desperate for a way out.
In the meantime, Intertect is put on the job and Wickersham puts his best agent as well as the one who frustrates him the most on the playgirl’s trail. ÃÂ Mannix must determine who she’s spying for and deal with her and the situation in a way where everyone wins and Intertect comes out smelling like a rose. ÃÂ Mannix’s first plan of action is to get into a costume party and get his tail end kicked by a number of costumed millionaires. ÃÂ And it gets fun from there.
This is, as I’ve already stated, definitely a first season Mannix book. ÃÂ It fits the tone of the series extremely well and Mannix has all the charm, irascibility, and toughness that fans loved about how Mike Connors played the character and that basically became his stock and trade after Mannix leaves Intertect to go on his own in the second season. ÃÂ ÃÂ Wherever Mannix is in this book shines and made me smile, ready to add a few seasons of DVDs to my collection.
Now…when Mannix isn’t in the action, then the book loses a bit of its sparkle. ÃÂ The other characters do not get the attention to character that the author gives to the lead. ÃÂ Even the heiress, who gets quite a bit of page time, is way too two dimensional by the end of the book to be believed. ÃÂ The bad guys don’t seem particularly bad and the threat level throughout the book isn’t one that makes you worried for anyone- except for Mannix, but most of the threats to him are caused by something he says or does.
This is a great book for fans of tv detectives and tie-ins. As a book all on its own, though, I’ve read better.
THREE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT-Enjoyable read, love the way Joe Mannix comes off the page. ÃÂ I just wish that there were real people populating the book around him, not cardboard cutouts.
Pulp Ark 2013 is proud to announce that noted Author, Publisher, Actor and modern Renaissance man in general Allan Gilbreath will be Master of Ceremonies for the the third annual Pulp Convention and Creator’s Conference April 26-28, 2013 in Springdale, Arkansas.
Although he denies being raised by wolves, Allan Gilbreath still enjoys quiet moonlit evenings. He is an accomplished skeptic, cook, gardener, computer geek, martial artist, and avid student of arcane knowledge. Allan is also a nationally recognized and award-winning author, publisher, speaker, and instructor. He has appeared on television, stage, radio, web/podcast, and tours the country in live appearances. He enjoys serving on convention panels and can cover a wide range of topics from the serious to the outrageous. In his adult vampire novels, Galen and Dark Chances, he links sensual fantasy with danger and predation to excellent effect. His exceptional use of plot tension between the various characters sets a wonderful stage for the little details that bring it all to life. Allan’s Jack Lago supernatural mysteries are known for their attention to detail and suspense. His short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies and his collection, Allan Gilbreath: A Short Story Collection. “Pulp Fiction,” Tommy Hancock, Founder and Organizer of Pulp Ark said, “began as a medium, a means by which stories were told. It has since grown far beyond that and can be considered a style, a methodology, some would even say a field or something else. Even in its heyday, though, as now, one thing could definitely be said about Pulp. It covered many areas and appealed to all sorts of people. For that reason, Allan Gilbreath is the ideal creator to lead this year’s Convention and Creator’s Conference. Not only does he have multiple skills and talents, Allan is the type who enjoys all aspects of conventions, who walks through multiple genres like most people walk down the street-with ease and comfort. He knows what it takes to make fans and guests alike feel like a show is more than that, that it’s an event. And best of all, the biggest fan at a convention Allan is at is Allan.”
Concerning acting as Master of Ceremonies, Gilbreath said, “The genre known as Pulp Fiction hold a dear place in most people’s hearts. Chances are that a “Pulp” style book was one the first books that you read just for fun and then had to read more. I am very excited to acting as the emcee for Pulp Ark 2013. I can’t wait to entertain and introduce the public to the new and growing world of Pulp Fiction. This convention will offer everyone a chance to come out and meet some of the actors, writers, and other celebrities from the Pulp Fiction world on a personal level. We will be available to sign autographs and answer questions. I hope to see lots of old and new fans at Pulp Ark 2013.”
Pulp Ark 2013 will be held in Springdale, Arkansas April 26-28, 2013 at
the Holiday Inn Springdale Hotel and Convention Center in
Springdale, Arkansas, 1500 South 48th Street,
phone number- 1-479-751-8300. For a peek at the venue, click below!
SPECIAL PRICES UNTIL JANUARY 1ST, 2013! Any and all who
plan to attend Pulp Ark 2013 and want to get the Discounted Room Rate
MUST reserve a room or rooms by January 1st, 2013 to take advantage
of the Special Pulp Ark rate of $84.00 a night. To reserve your room
The first issue of Dynamite Entertainment’s Sherlock Holmes: Liverpool Demon series arrives in comic shop today, December 12th. Written by Leah Moore, John Reppion with art by Matt Triano, Sherlock Holmes: Liverpool Demon is a 5 issue mini series.
About Sherlock Holmes: Liverpool Demon– Sherlock Holmes is busy doing what he does best, solving a case of far-reaching international notoriety. It has landed him at the Port of Liverpool, a bustling hub of commerce both legitimate and illicit. As that chapter closes, ours begins. They head to Lime Street Station, to catch a fast steam locomotive home to London and Baker Street, when violent weather keeps The Great Detective and Watson in Britain’s second city a while longer. Long enough to encounter a monster, discover the Liverpool underworld, and to become embroiled in one of his strangest cases yet.
Pro Se Productions has released the cover art by George Sellas for their upcoming release, Gravedigger. Written by New Pulp Author, Barry Reese, look for Gravedigger from Pro Se in 2013!
Plus, take a peek at this illustration of Gravedigger villain, Thanatos by artist Will Meugniot.
This week on the White Rocket Podcast, a part of the Earth Station One Network, New Pulp Author Van Allen Plexico is joined by writer/publisher/director Jim Yelton for part 2 of their exploration of Marvel’s movies, past-present-future. Van and Jim also look at what DC is doing (and should be doing).ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ It’s a fun show.
Next week, Van is joined by Mark Finn (author of BLOOD AND THUNDER: THE LIFE AND ART OF ROBERT E HOWARD) to talk about Richard Stark’s violent world of PARKER!
Episode 7 of The White Rocket Podcast is now available on Podbean, iTunes, via the Podcast app on iPhone/iPad, or you can use the mini-player at the White Rocket site.
For those of you that can’t wait for the weekend to see it in front of The Hobbit, we have the new trailer for next summer’s Superman movie, Man Of Steel, starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Michael Shannon, Christopher Meloni, and Russell Crowe, written by David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan, and directed by Zack Snyder.
Useless trivia: it’s been 34 years and one day since Superman: The Movie was released.
It’s Friday night and I’m standing on the crowded floor of a packed concert with friends when suddenly, it hits me: the perfect little plot point to tie together two parts of the first storyline for the new comic I’m working on. Naturally I immediately have to make some notes before I forget the idea. Five minutes later I’m back to the show, but kind of wishing I could be in two places at once so I could enjoy the rest of the show and be working on the new idea at the same time. Too bad reality doesn’t work that way.
Instead, we all have our own little difficulties and stumbling blocks to get over when it comes to creating art – like procrastination, or writer’s block, or fear of failure, or what-have-you – and I’d just been hit by one of mine, which is definitely distraction. Or, to put a more positive spin on it, the way my brain seems to like multitasking all the time. Sometimes it can be a good thing – like when I haven’t worked on a story in a bit and suddenly an idea comes to me out of nowhere. But other times, the distractions come at all the wrong times, like when I’m in the middle of working on the story and something else comes along; or when I have a great idea but no good way to preserve it or to start working on it right away. (Thank goodness for the notepad-type apps on smartphones, at least, which have helped a little with that problem!)
Creating is a funny process. Sure, there are some universal fundamentals to it, but everyone does it differently. Some writers are prolific, while others take years to write one novel. Some comics artists want a detailed script from a writer, while others like a loose framework they can play with. Some people like to get feedback as they go; but others don’t want anyone else’s eyes on their work until they think it’s perfect.
No matter how different each person’s process may be, though, everyone has to face their own hurdles as they create, because, let’s face it – it’s not easy. Sure, sometimes it may feel easy – you’re barreling through a story or a page of art and everything is flowing out like it’s never going to stop; but then it does, or you get stuck on one paragraph or frame of artwork for a ridiculous amount of time; or you look up at your clock at three in the morning and wonder if everything you just made was terrible. Or maybe none of these things happen to you; but I guarantee something in your process feels like a struggle from time to time.
At times like that, I find it helps me to be painfully aware of my shortcomings, so that I can remind myself of ways to overcome them. The reminders may be deceptively simple – e.g.don’t get distracted; that other thing will still be there when you’ve run out of words to write about this idea; you need to stop doing everything else and get back to the story – but just by owning the flaws and actively calling my brain to attention to overcome them, I have a much easier time actually doing so.
I think this same concept can be applied all the way through the process – from the very beginnings of your creation through to the part where you’re hoping to share it with the world (presumably in a profitable way). And since all of us experience the process of creation and sharing that creation in different ways, I thought it would be neat to see what some successful folks in the comics industry might offer as their best advice for successful writing or making art; giving us a window into what these creators find most important to keep in mind throughout the process (or possibly what they’ve learned by overcoming their own challenges), and providing us with some helpful thoughts, reminders, or encouragements as we work on our own art.
Thanks to the handiness of Twitter, through which I solicited advice, these contributions are all coincidentally in the form of handy, bite-sized little mantras that we can memorize, put up on a Post-it somewhere, etc. as needed to help keep us all on track as we <a href=”
make good art amidst the busy whirlwind of life. So without further ado, here they are!
@VictorGischler: Know yourself. Look inward and identify in which direction your enthusiasm lies. Also coffee. Lots of coffee.
@GailSimone: No one looks back and says, “I wish I’d taken fewer chances.”
@Reilly_Brown: Have a clear goal in mind from the start. “Success” is if the audience gets your point.
@MikeSHenderson: Keep challenging your weaknesses, and never stop acting like a professional.
@AletheaKontis: My Best Advice = Shut Up & Write.
@FredVanLente: There can always be one more draft. Have fun. Be a good person before a good artist.
@Janet_K_Lee: Sit your butt in the chair is #1. #2 Be fearless. Always try to learn and try something new.
@PaoloMRivera: I always tell everyone to sculpt. As for writing, just make people care. That may not be advice, but that’s the goal.
@JimMcCann: Allow yourself to fail every once in a while. Then make it better. :)
@kabalounge (Georges Jeanty): Make sure you are telling the story and not just trying to show off your artistic skills.
@MOWheatley (Mark Wheatley): Write. Draw. Do it again. Do it a lot. Keep doing it. Do it some more. Then do it again.
@brubaker (Ed Brubaker): My advice would just be keep doing it. You can’t control success.
@BenMcCool: Work hard, often & with abundant passion. Also, resist urge to drunkenly hassle editors. [ESW note: This is very wise.]
@jpalmiotti (Jimmy Palmiotti): Don’t listen to others’ BS, and stay focused.
@DennisCalero: Write and draw as much as you can and take it seriously.
@SkottieYoung: Do it a lot then do it more after that. Then, you know, keeping doing it.
@jerhaun (Jeremy Haun): Honestly @skottieyoung has it right. It’s all about being the guy that just doesn’t quit.
@GeneHa: @skottieyoung Exactly. Dave Sim said everyone has approximately 10K bad drawings in them. Keep drawing until most are outta your system. Also look for people who draw things differently than you do. Why does it still work, or even work better?
@PatrickZircher: Marry money. [ESW note: Hee!] Also, read any interview in which a mature comic pro talks about the work itself.
@JeffParker: Keep it short, be extremely clear to the extreme. Directness is harder than it looks.
@PaulTobin: Don’t stop. Choose what you love, not what you think will sell.
Also, study what you love. Understand why. Give your voice freedom.
@JoeKellyMOA: Do what you do every day. Intentionally do bad drafts so you get to good ones. Know when to take a nap. Go out for inspiration.
@LForLloyd (David Lloyd): There are really good books recommended by professionals here, but practice makes perfect, too… : )
@JamalIgle: Be yourself. Cliché, I know, but I’ve had more success when I listened to my gut. Your voice is precious; hone it, shape it, no one can take it away from you.
@DeanHaspiel: Live. Love. Make. Don’t hate. Be true. Show up. Commune. Commit. Deliver. Repeat.
@ColleenCoover: Read comics from before you were born. Don’t keep trying to redo stuff if it’s not perfect. Learn from mistakes and move on.
@FrankTieri: Also, get used to hearing “no” a lot. Even after you break in.
Excellent words of advice from great creators, all of whom share their work and wisdom on Twitter (so I’ve provided their usernames in case anyone is wondering where to follow them). I hope you all find them as helpful as I do!
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this column, and until next time, Servo Lectio!
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The drone ship is a mobile alien ambulance, the young boy is transforming people into empty zombielike creatures like himself, and the head of the homeless children has quite a secret to hide. 
