Arisia 2019 Schedule and Balticon!

Spent some of this weekend getting my act together for Arisia 2019. It comes up fast once you flip the calendar! Two weeks away, now. January 18-21st - now at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel, as the original location had a labor strike going on. Not cool.

Arisia is "New England's Largest, Most Diverse Sci-Fi & Fantasy Convention" - (Arisia.org) and this year, proud to say, I'm on four panels, throughout the weekend. Here are the day, time, name and descriptions provided by the convention:

Friday at 7pm in CABOT it's FADE IN: Speculating in Other Media - Stories and novels get most of the attention in workshops and panels like these. What are some other outlets for writing? What should an aspiring speculative screen writer know about the art? How hard is it to become a comic book writer anyway?

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Saturday at 4pm in FRANKLIN – Writing for Comics - Writing for a comic book is very different from writing poetry, novels, or short stories. Our panelists discuss their tactics for writing comics and also offer up their advice on "making it" in the industry.

Saturday at 5:30pm in NEWBURY - Indie Comic Revolution - Image is no longer a small, specialty publisher. Kid-focused companies like BOOM! and Action Lab are making lucrative deals with big-name cartoons. Creators are finally getting credit for their creative energies. Independent webcomics are some of the highest grossing Kickstarters. This panel explores the rise of modern “indie” comics, the move away from superhero comics, and how creator-owned content is the future of the industry.

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Sunday at 10am in WINTHROP – Make It Yourself - "If you don't like it, make it yourself" is the blow-off line delivered to fans who complain about the low quality, poor handling of characters, or lack of diversity in comics. But how exactly do you start "making it" yourself? This panel will explore the steps it takes for you to start making your own comics--from scripting, to drawing, to publishing. Our panelists can help you with tips, tricks, and advice on making comics for yourself. By the way? I'm Moderating this one! First time I'm moderating at Arisia, we'll see how it goes.

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So that's my Arisia 2019 Schedule.

Same day I got my confirmed schedule, I received my email inviting me to Balticon 53 (Balticon.org)! So yes, I'm planning to return to Baltimore's inner harbor once again this coming Memorial Day Weekend - Back to Balticon!

Sex, Politics and Religion...

The adventures of BC - Bernard Campion - assassin for the pope of the New catholic Church in 2109 - continue, as BC returns to the Moon and Lunar Prime. And a woman out of BC's past is about to appear - wait until you get a load of FIZA! I'll quickly run down the story so far so you can dive on in and listen to chapters twenty-three and twenty four of the science fiction adventure Vatican Assassin this time on Glow-in-the-Dark Radio. In news - my new book "Introducing... Red Hot!" is out! Came out on Wednesday (2/1) with great art by Rhys ap Gwyn. I also finished the working draft of the next Alibi Jones novel. And The Adventures of Alibi Jones: Six Short Stories is available now free in the iTunes store and at Podiobooks.com! 

More info as always at http://glowinthedarkradio.com and http://vaticanassassin.com

**There's a coupon code for a free eBook of the ALIBI JONES novel at the end of the podcast**

Good Time to get My Books - Lulu Giving 25% Off All My Titles!

Lulu wants to sell books. I'd like to sell some of my books. We've got a sort of conspiracy going working towards those mutual ends. They send me emails - give me coupon codes. Then I try to entice you to follow some links to my books with said codes and the promise of a discount. Now, if you weren't planning on buying one of my books, you'd still save more money by not buying anything at all. But maybe you were thinking, considering picking up a copy of the Panthea Obscura graphic novel or the Special Edition of the Vatican Assassin Trilogy Omnibus, or Alibi Jones - but the regular price was just a little too much. Perfect. Have we got a deal for you! :)

Details from Lulu:
25% off any of your books
Coupon Code: LULUBOOK305
Coupon expires January 31, 2012
$50 Max Savings
So you can save 25% on as many of my books as you want, until you've saved up to $50 on your order. Which would be like, what, about $150 bucks in books? That would be cool and all, but I'm not thinking anyone I know is gonna spend like that. So you should be all set.

My main book page at Lulu is here: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/mikeluoma
You'll find most everything there. Or go directly to:
Alibi Jones - cost w/25% off: $14.96 (usually $19.95)
The Vatican Assassin Omnibus Edition - 25% off: $24.29!! (usually $32.39) - great deal for the hardcover 3-in-1 edition!
Panthea Obscura - the full color 94p graphic novel with art by Juan Carlos Quattordio - 25% off: $18.71 - (usually $24.95)

I'm not saying you have to buy anything. But now is a good time, if you'd like to.

Happiness Is... A New Book!

Here it is - my newest baby Souverain #1

Print copies arrived at the house today!

Souverain... soon!

December 1st...

The Earthbound Comics release for December is Souverain #1 by Ben Ferrari and myself, along with Matthew Grant, Kitae Kim and Vic Moya, and Seth Frail and Chuck Michael Obach on cover art.

Spent a long time on the lettering and layout on this, too - but, again, I wanted it to be right :)

Black and Blue From the New 52

This is not a complaining, bitching and moaning blog post. Got no problem with the New 52. I approve of the idea, the sort of risk-taking relaunch DC approached but failed to follow through on before – they almost did it a few times. Kudos to them for finally following through. It’s working. Sales are up. Digital sales are finally beginning to uptick. The timing on that couldn't be better with the excitement for new tablets and the market exploding right in front of us. Those new toys are going to need content. Could be time for a new comics renaissance. The future looks bright.

But right now? OW! OUCH! CUT IT OUT!

I’m getting black and blued by the New 52!

Call it "sucking all the air out of the room" or "dominating the market" or whatever you’d like, DC’s New 52 initiative has grabbed hold of the comic world’s collective consciousness and ferociously refuses to let go. Even now, Google "New 52" and you’ll discover article after article, blog post after blog post on "The New 52 – Two Months In!" and the like. The coverage is intense and exhaustive, from the highest trafficked websites down to the smallest comic book bloggers.

Hell, s’pose this is even more coverage... hurm.

This is all great for DC. As a fan of their iconic characters, gifted artists and talented writers, I’m happy for them. But their market saturation and domination makes the life of an independent comic creator an awful tough slog right now – it’s not easy for the little guy to fight against Supes, Batman and the rest of the Justice League!

My new book The Adventures of Alibi Jones #1 came out last month from small indie publisher Earthbound Comics. It’s a pretty sharp 40 page black and white comic with fantastic art and pretty good writing and lettering, if I do say so myself. It’s gotten a couple of great reviews. Just a couple, though. Because Alibi Jones is no match for Superman – it’s been almost impossible to garner coverage and reviews for my little indie book in the wake of the New 52.

Comic book blogs and websites aren’t doing anything wrong. They’re covering and writing about what the comic book buying public are spending their hard-earned cash on. I get Gary Scott Beatty’s Indie Comics Magazine’s emails. Today’s triggered this post, as I read, "DC had 51% of the comics unit share in October. That was a whopping 21 points over Marvel. My diamond brand manager said indie books are still struggling, some canceled, going up against books like Action Comics #1, #2 and #3."

I knew it wasn’t just me. Hard for all us little guys to go up against the Superheroes at full strength. Bad time to try getting an indie book noticed. 

So this post is a bit of a plea. If you’re a web site reviewer, reporter, writer or blogger, please consider reviewing or covering an indy book or two this week. If you’re a comic book reader, please consider buying an indie comic book this week. You can find them at sites like IndyPlanet.com and DriveThruComics.com, to name just a couple.

Of course I’d love you to check out my new book The Adventures of Alibi Jones #1... more at http://AlibiJones.com. If you review or cover comics and want a pdf of the book, please email me at mike (dot) luoma (at) gmail (dot) com.

It’s hard out here for an indie comic trying to promote. Show your favorite indie creators a little love if you can this week. The future is looking bright, but right now we’re all a little black and blue from the New 52.

Alibi Jones: About Time Part One!

In honor of the release of The Adventures of Alibi Jones #1 by Earthbound Comics today, I've put together the audio adaptation of Alibi Jones: About Time. You can hear part one on today's podcast:



The Adventures of Alibi Jones #1 is out today from Earthbound Comics! 3 stories and 3 pinups, 40 pages of art and letters under one cover - sequential storytelling at its finest! AND you can hear an audio adaptation of the new story Alibi Jones: About Time on the Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast! Part one this week, part two on next week's episode. Listen and enjoy!

Four years after the events of "Blind Eye", Alibi runs into an old... friend? She's brought a mysterious package with her – and a whole lot of trouble!

Gordon D Reviews Earthbound Comics Presents #1!

Gordon Dymowski likes what he sees in Earthbound Comics Presents #1!

"Earthbound Presents # 1 is a pretty cool anthology with some good stories... a great change of pace from regular comics reading."

Read the whole review over at his blog: Blog THIS, Pal!

Earthbound Comics Presents #1 is OUT!

I've got a brand new short story in the new anthology Earthbound Comics Presents #1 - "Alibi Jones In Over His Head"! Juan Carlos Quattordio did the art. The book is out today, September 1st.

Earlier this year I became production manager for Earthbound Comics - helped shepherd this anthology into reality. It's a cool collaborative effort. One of the writer/artists is my old friend Ethan Slayton. Cover art is by Federico Guillen, artist on my Good Samaritan: Unto Dust. I'm proud of it!

You can get the digital edition here: DriveThruComics.com

The print edition is here: IndyPlanet.com

Here's the blurb: The new anthology from Earthbound Comics! Travel to dangerous, distant parts of the universe... and run into nearer threats just down the road a ways. Meet Villains - naturally - and some heroes, too. There's horror, and comedy - get a taste of what's to come from the new era of Earthbound Comics!

"The Core" - Story by Max Fauser and Ethan Slayton - Art by Ethan Slayton - Letters by Nikki Foxrobot

"Shots Fired: Shake And Bake" - Story by Buck Weiss - Art by Ruth Garcia - Letters by Nikki Foxrobot

"Alibi Jones In Over His Head" - Story and Letters by Mike Luoma - Art by Juan Carlos Quattordio

"Villains: Preview" - Story by Ethan Slayton - Art by Ben Ferrari - Letters by Nikki Foxrobot

Cover Art by Federico Guillen

6 Pi-Con Week Specials!

I'll be at 6 Pi-Con this weekend down in Enfield, Connecticut, right next to Springfield, Massachusetts. More here: http://pi-con.org/. I'll be on a few panels over the weekend!

Friday:
10:00:00 PM Adapting Novel to Graphic Novels
Saturday:
10:00:00 AM The DC Relaunch Panel
11:00:00 AM Essential DIY Tools
12:00:00 PM To Remake? Or Leave Alone
2:00:00 PM Podcasting 101
Sunday:
12:00:00 PM EBooks and Self-Publishing
2:00:00 PM of Gods and Genre

In the interest of offering some specials to folks at the con as well as to those of you who read this blog, I've arranged for deals on some of my books. Most of these specials are good through Labor Day:

Get a FREE pdf digital download of my comic book Good Samaritan: Unto Dust with art by Federico Guillen from Drive Thru Comics.


Get a FREE eBook edition of my first novel - Vatican Assassin (usually $2.99) with coupon code KM34W at Smashwords.

Get Book 2 of the Vatican Assassin Trilogy - Vatican Ambassador - for 99 cents with coupon code HR37A at Smashwords (usually $2.99).

Get Book 3 of the Vatican Assassin Trilogy - Vatican Abdicator - for 99 cents with coupon code RE48U at Smashwords (usually $2.99)

And get my latest novel - Alibi Jones - (also usually $2.99) for 99 cents with coupon code TY69R at Smashwords!

Here's The (Probably) Final Version of the Cover

After some tinkering and discussions, here's a look at what will probably be the published cover of the new anthology:

Podcast 160!

Welcome to the 160th episode of the Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast! More from my science fiction adventure novel Alibi Jones on today's podcast episode. I run down the story so far at the start of the episode to catch you up on the story. Then we have Chapter Fifteen of Alibi Jones!


Back on Ceres Central after the trip to the abandoned Eldred planetoid, Alibi, his Aunt Anita and Katie have a nice dinner, and Alibi checks in with the mediation corps. He draws a new assignment, a week long negotaiation on Cat's Eye. Things almost seem like they're back to some kind of normal - until everything falls apart!



http://glowinthedarkradio.com
http://alibijones.com


Alibi Jones on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alibi-Jones/142797717510


Alibi Jones Paperback & eBook $13.98 combo at Drive Thru: http://scifi.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=89354

Vatican Assassin #1 - The Comic Book Is Out!

I'm releasing my new comic book this week, the first issue of my graphic novel adaptation of my science fiction novel Vatican Assassin. Cristian Navarro is the artist helping me bring the story to life in images.

It's out now in the Indy Planet Store:

http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3144

Pages start Friday at Drunk Duck:

http://www.drunkduck.com/Vatican_Assassin/

It's 2109 and an interplanetary religious war is raging between Earth, The Moon and Mars. “BC” – Bernard Campion – may appear to be a priest in the New catholic Church, but he's actually an undercover assassin for the Pope. His new assignment? Visit the city on the Moon, Lunar Prime, act as Public Relations liaison for the Cardinal there – And assassinate the Governor of Lunar Prime, Meredith McEntyre!

Vatican Assassin has enjoyed success as a novel (the first third of my “Vatican Assassin” Trilogy). Also very cool? The chapters of the audiobook (available for free at Podiobooks.com) have been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times! The remastered version of the audio book went up earlier this year: http://www.podiobooks.com/title/vatican-assassin-remastered/

There are some preview pages on the Indy Planet page:
http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3144