Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Oct 30, 2019 16:57:10 GMT -5
Life has been extra lifey this year, so I haven't had much time to post updates. And the next couple of months are going to be among the busiest of my life, so I don't know how often I will be able to update everyone. But I am making progress on The Crimebusters #2. I'm currently working the linework for page 26 of 31 on the main story, and I'm still expecting to head to Kickstarter in January. I took a little time away from that to color the regular cover for issue #2. There will be at least three variants, like last time, but I am in discussions with another artist to do guest art on one of the variants, so that's exciting. It's also a bit daunting! There's contracts and stuff involved, so it's a bit out of my depth, but a good learning experience, anyway. Here's the regular cover for issue #2. No doubt I will make some small tweaks before it's published, but since the story is a classic haunted house tale that takes place on Halloween night, 1956, it seemed fitting to get it done in time to show everyone for this Halloween. Happy Halloween!  |
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Nov 26, 2019 12:24:18 GMT -5
A couple announcements: I'm making a guest appearance on a Disney YouTube live blog tomorrow night, and I'm appearing at the NorthEast Comic Con this weekend in Boxboro, MA. So if you're going to the show, stop by and say hi! The link for NorthEast Comic Con: necomiccons.com/The link for tomorrow's YouTube appearance: |
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Dec 8, 2019 19:28:55 GMT -5
Here's my convention report!
The December newsletter is coming out tomorrow, so if you haven't signed up, the link is in my signature down there somewhere!
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Dec 15, 2019 0:32:54 GMT -5
I finished the Boy Comics #121 variant for issue #2! In this issue, Chuck and his new partner Trixie Trouble are also joined by special guest star Yankee Longago! Yankee Longago first appeared way back in 1942's Boy Comics #3 in the same issue where Crimebuster debuted. Created by the great Briefer, Yankee Longago was a kid who could travel to the past in his dreams, and you were never quite sure if his adventures were just dreams, or if they truly happened. In this issue, Chuck meets a now-grownup Yankee Longago, who has discovered he can induce these time travel dreams in other people as well — something Chuck and Trixie may find very handy as they attempt to solve a cold case from the 1890's! Given that I wanted to feature Yankee Longago on the cover, it only seemed fitting to do it as an homage to Simon and Kirby's classic Sandman cover from Adventure Comics #74. It honestly gives me a thrill every time I do one of these Boy Comics covers! I can't wait to hold it in my hand and add it to my Boy Comics collection!  |
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Jan 7, 2020 21:06:26 GMT -5
I'm really excited to share the Trixie's Mysteries variant cover for The Crimebusters #2. This one is by special guest artist Heather Farrington, who has her own self-published comic series Juvenile Diversion. As the Trixie's Mysteries series of covers is designed to pay homage to classic teen detective novels like Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden, I thought it would be appropriate to have female creators draw each cover in the series going forward.  I'm almost done designing the Kickstarter page forthe next campaign, which will launch on January 28, so next time I have an update, will should include the link! They have a new feature where you can set up the page and link in advance, and people who click on the "remind me" button will now get an email when the project launches, as well as when it's about to end, so it's easier to keep track of things. So I'll be bringing that to you as soon as I have it. |
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Jan 22, 2020 19:33:10 GMT -5
I'm plugging away, and just finished the back cover. Things are getting pretty hectic here — I just did the Arisia 2020 sci-fi convention here in Boston, and had a spot in the art show where I sold some of my prints. Nobody bought any of the Crimebusters prints, but I thought it was a valuable way to get the characters some exposure in people's minds. And I did sell enough of a related spinoff print to cover my expenses. I'm also doing a small convention on Saturday, and then launching mu Kickstarter for issue #2 on Tuesday, so finding time to actually complete the comic is becoming difficult! Now that the back cover is done, I have the 5 page backup story left to draw, and then I have 33 pages to ink. I've got about 7 weeks to do it in, so I think it's possible, but it will be down to the wire since the Kickstarter itself will take a lot of my energy during that time. Here's the back cover for issue #2:  And, as promised, here's the pre-launch page for the Kickstarter - if you click the "Notify me on launch" button, you'll get an email as soon as it goes live: / |
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Jan 27, 2020 20:19:29 GMT -5
This is now LIVE!!
Here's the link again, which this site automatically turns into a widget for some reason:
I still have to do all the inking, but I'm hopeul the book will be completed by the end of the campaign. it will be close! Either way, I built in some extra time for just this reason in my fulfillment calendar, so it should be fine!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2020 3:23:47 GMT -5
Didn't get a chance to back it until earlier this afternoon. Excited to see the second issue is on its way.
-M
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Jan 30, 2020 9:40:47 GMT -5
Didn't get a chance to back it until earlier this afternoon. Excited to see the second issue is on its way. -M Thanks, I really appreciate it!  |
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Feb 7, 2020 8:44:35 GMT -5
Yesterday I appeared as a guest on the Avengers Assemble podcast from noted author Van Allen Plexico, where we talked about The Crimebusters, Avengers, and the state of comics in general. It's a lot easier to be a guest on a podcast than run it yourself! Once this Kickstarter campaign is over, though, I swear I'm going to get back to work on editing those last two Star Wars episodes... Anyway, here it is: whiterocket.podbean.com/e/avengers-assemble-scott-harris-on-avengers-crimebusters/ |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2020 23:28:46 GMT -5
Yesterday I appeared as a guest on the Avengers Assemble podcast from noted author Van Allen Plexico, where we talked about The Crimebusters, Avengers, and the state of comics in general. It's a lot easier to be a guest on a podcast than run it yourself! Once this Kickstarter campaign is over, though, I swear I'm going to get back to work on editing those last two Star Wars episodes... Anyway, here it is: whiterocket.podbean.com/e/avengers-assemble-scott-harris-on-avengers-crimebusters/I will have to check this out. I didn't realize Van was still doing Avengers-related stuff. Man I miss the days of whack-a-mole and the AML. -M |
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Feb 8, 2020 9:05:19 GMT -5
Yesterday I appeared as a guest on the Avengers Assemble podcast from noted author Van Allen Plexico, where we talked about The Crimebusters, Avengers, and the state of comics in general. It's a lot easier to be a guest on a podcast than run it yourself! Once this Kickstarter campaign is over, though, I swear I'm going to get back to work on editing those last two Star Wars episodes... Anyway, here it is: whiterocket.podbean.com/e/avengers-assemble-scott-harris-on-avengers-crimebusters/I will have to check this out. I didn't realize Van was still doing Avengers-related stuff. Man I miss the days of whack-a-mole and the AML. -M Van has a few different podcasts that all collectively fall under the "White Rocket Entertainment" banner. He does one about James Bond, one about Auburn football, and one about the Avengers. The Avengers Assemble podcast is split between looking at old runs of the series, and talking about the current MCU movies. He's usually joined by guests from the AML days, so you may recognize the other guests! Mark Bousquet joins him regularly for movie talk, and David Wright joins him regularly for comics talk, plus others - like me - occasionally show up as well. I know just yesterday he was talking to Vince Alvarez about doing an episode focused on Scarlet Witch, for instance. |
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Feb 27, 2020 11:48:51 GMT -5
We're down to the last 36 hours of the campaign for issue #2! One thing that has come up is that I have now completely sold out of the variant covers for issue #1. That's great, but it's also a little bit of a potential issue. Because I am doing series of variants - every issue has a Boy Comics variant, every issue has a Trixie's Mysteries variant, etc. - I want to have these in stock so people can buy the version they want. I know some people will only want every issue with one cover or the other, so if I am sold out of issue #1, they may not buy #2 because they can't complete the set of covers. I get it, I'm a collector too. But since I am a collector, I want to preserve the collectibility of the variants, which is why I had previously announced I wouldn't be reprinting any of the variants. So, what to do? Well, go back to that classic comic book marketing idea: the 2nd Print Variant! So what I've decided is that the first print variants will be exclusive, but I will then do an all new "reprint variant" cover for each version, which I can then reprint as much as needed. That way, I can have a Boy Comics #120 in stock for Boy Comics fans, but people who bought the original 1st print will still be happy that they have the limited exclusive version with only 25 copies printed. It does mean more work for me, of course. So I've started working on the 2nd Print Variants for the first issue - Boy Comics #120 and Trixie's Mysteries Book One:  on the left, the Trixie's Mysteries Book One 2nd Print Variant is an homage to Matt Baker's cover for Amazing Ghost Stories #16. I've also reversed the color scheme of the trade dress from the first printing to differentiate them more. On the right, the Boy Comics #120 2nd Print Variant is an homage to Charles Biro's cover for Boy Comics #10. Obviously, these are both works in progress, but I am planning to get them done in the next couple weeks before I send my order off to the printer, so they will arrive when I receive the copies of issue #2. It's a lot of work, but I think it make sense for the long term sustainability of the Crimebusters. I need something to sell at conventions! I'm also almost sold out of the regular edition of #1 as well, so I am doing a new 2nd print variant for that as well. In this case, though, I'm keeping them same art but changing the colors of the background and the trade dress - so now it's a white cover instead of a black cover.  All of these will be available as add-ons through the current Kickstarter as well.I'm really looking forward to having all this done so I can move on to issue #3!
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Mar 31, 2020 6:03:10 GMT -5
Just checked out the new digital link, and that Vera alternate cover is to die for! Some of your best penciling AND digital coloring yet!!
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Apr 1, 2020 19:49:14 GMT -5
Just checked out the new digital link, and that Vera alternate cover is to die for! Some of your best penciling AND digital coloring yet!! Thanks! It is an homage cover, so I was working off an image, but I'm happy with how it came out and I think I put my own spin on it. Coloring is hard for me because I'm color blind, but doing these homage covers is teaching me a lot, especially in terms of lighting. When studying the original, I was really interested in how the bits that were lit up were completely different colors than the base, rather than just a different shade of the base. I think someone posted the original - Planet Comics #71 - in this week's cover thread. That comic also appears in Vera's backup story, as I wanted to talk about how sci-fi fandom has inspired so many people over the decades to become scientists and inventors. |
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