The Email Signup Box seems to be having a spot of trouble. 

The Doctor wrote a comment just a few minutes ago to let me know that this was happening.  Thank you, Doctor, for the head’s up. 

It looks like the service we use — Aweber — is down.  Strange.  Mark has used them for 2 years now on The Weekend Grillers and has NEVER seen them go down.  They are usually as reliable as Google. 
 
I hope it’s nothing serious. 

HERE’S THE DEAL

If you don’t see the Email Signup Box to the left and want to sign up, please check back in a bit.   I’m sure it won’t be long. 

ALSO check the very bottom of the page.  Some XP users have reported finding it there.  Mark’s Mom for one.  Wonder if she signed up?

Also, when you do signup, check your email very carefully.  If your signup was successful, you WILL get an email from us asking you to confirm.  No email = no signup.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Mark & Scott 

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Launch day came finally came and went and the Gang here at Addictive Comics could not have been happier.

We would like to thank each and every one of you who stopped by, read the comics and left a comment or a word of encouragement on the blogs.

It’s early days yet and we are wondering about a few things that we know will later work themselves out.  Like — how often to update the blogs, how often to Email, should we just send Addictive Comics information on Twitter or do what most everyone else does and send “Found this cool site”-type stuff.

Keep letting us know what you think and want.  It’ll work out.

———————————————

Here are 3 things that came up during the launch.  None of them are critical (as if ANYTHING on a webcomic could be critical! ) but we think some of you may enjoy them.

One More Time! 

Okay, this probably won’t really be the last time we say this…

We just want to say again that this is Totally a Trial (”soft opening”) for us and we are Totally Counting on You to help us out. 

Please let us know what you like, what you don’t like and what you would like to see.

Where is Scott?

Something always seemed to keep coming up to push the Launch of Addictive Comics further and further behind.  From serious family stuff to stupid crap. 

Finally, we had just about everything ready and I mentioned December 16th.

Unfortunately, Scott was finishing up the podcast novel NOCTURNAL (40 episodes in a year) and starting his new podcast novel, CONTAGIOUS (Check out both of these at  Scott’s Website and keep you eye on this blog for the Graphic Novel versions.) 

So I just asked Scott if I could do the Launch — ready or not!   I would have the help of Sami and Gregg and I thought it would work.

He agreed and we went for it. 

You’ve seen the results.  It’s not half bad.

Scott still has a packed full two weeks to finish up 2008 but is raring to go in 2009.  Expect to see him take a fully active role on Addictive Comics.

What the Fudge Happened on The Rookie?

A few weeks ago, Scott and I discussed the language in The Rookie.  Specifically his use — or over use — of hard curse words in the novel version (you know the ones.) 

We have always felt that The Rookie was an Adult Book.  But being a comic, we knew that our audience may not appreciate the rough language.  We finally decided that the overly-graphic words really added nothing to the story and that we would take them out.  Scott even sent me a “substitutions” sheet to print and keep as I adapted the script. 

Then — I forgot.

So on launch day we had still had Scott’s Favorite word up on the pages (rhymes with “Firetruck“) in four places.

I change it on Wednesday night. (Not to “Fudge“, by the way.  That was a joke.) 

No one complained about the language in the first two days (most of you are Sigler fans) — but we wanted to mention it and let you know of our decision.

We may do Adult Only comics in the future (Nocturnal comes to mind) and we do still feel that The Rookie is an Adults Book.  But for now The Rookie would be rated a solid PG.  You don’t have to click off if the Kids walk into the room.

Black Jack Justice has always been a G (or PG if you count the smoking and innuendo.)

Mark & Scott 

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Thank you to everyone who has made comments on the blog.  We love getting them.  It’s one of the reasons we wanted to put up the Prelaunch Blog in the first place. 

A few of you have asked some very good questions, either in the comment areas or by email that we have done our best to answer or at least address.  Some of those questions we feel are valuable enough that everyone should read them. 

So here they are!

SITE ADMIN & LOGIN LINKS

Pjotr (or maybe Peter — both are on there) wrote asking about the “Site Admin” and ”Login” links at the bottom of every page –

At the bottom left of every page is a login link, but where can we (or I) register. Or is that just for the admin…??? 

Actually that’s just for us.  It’s a short cut to the Editing and Posting areas.  There is a way to get there without the shortcut — but it’s difficult for our small brains to remember.  So we put up the quick link.  Unfortunately, it has to stay on everypage.  We did put it way down at the bottom to keep it out of the way. 

We’re more than happy that you are that enthusiastic about Addictive Comics — but, rest assured, everything is here.  You’re not missing anything. 

RSS FEEDS

David wrote in about the RSS Feeds –

Supposing I decide I’m only interested in one of the comics, will there be rss feeds available for the comics individually?

I answered him this way –

Yes. Each comic has it’s own RSS feed.
 
In fact, unfortunately, at the beginning there will be no “overall” comic feed.  Not sure if there will ever be — depends on the comments we get. 
 
Look for the feed Icon at the top of the right-hand side panel.  The Black Jack Justice icon is way cool.  We expect we’ll get lots of comments on it.

That’s all still true, of course, but upon further thought I realized we may have confused you by always saying that this blog and the Email would be “Ground Zero for all things Addictive Comics.”

What we mean is that all News and Updates will be posted here and emailed to those of you who sign up for the Newletter (if you haven’t yet — please do!  Click HERE to read all about our plans for it.) 

No actual comic pages will be posted on the Addictive Comics Blog or go out in the Newsletter or RSS Feed of this blog (except as samples or possibly Newsletter-Only comics in the future.)  To read the Online Addictive Comics you will need to visit the individual sites and/or sign up for the RSS feeds on those sites. 

We have no plans for a ”Line-Wide” feed at this time.  But never say never.

THE PROBLEMS WITH THE EMAIL SIGN UP BOX

I talked about this yesterday but just so everyone knows — The signup box should be in the top left of every page of this blog.  It is there on IE running Vista (I know because that’s what I created this blog on.)

First off, the box is OBVIOUS.  It says “SIGN UP FOR THE ADDICTIVE COMICS NEWSLETTER” in big red letters.  Look around, if it’s there you will see it.  It’s not suppose to be hiding or a secret.

Several readers have reported that on Firefox it seems to disappear completely sometimes.  I say “sometimes” because, weirdly, it is there on my computer when I load up Firefox (we think it may have something to do with AdBlock Plus.)  But nonetheless it may not be there for you if you run this browser.   The easiest fix here is to fire up IE (even if you hate it) and sign up. 

We have also seen that on computers running XP, the box sometimes moves to the very bottom of the page.  Why?  I have no clue.  But the fix here is obvious.

We haven’t got any reports of problems from Apple users or others (yet) but …

If you have ANY TROUBLE signing up, PLEASE contact us and we will help you. 

A FEW MORE QUICK ANSWERS

These are not crucial — but they are fun!

Nocturnal? - Yes!

Earthcore? - Probably

Red Panda? - Yes!  Check out the Black Jack Justice Blog on Tuesday for a Drawing of the Flying Squirrel I did.   

Ancestor? - Yes, DEFINITELY

Infected? - Probably not.

Kissy Man? - Yes.  Right after Black Jack Justice “Justice Served Cold.”

Will xxx, or xxx, or xxx be involved in Addictive Comics? - Trust us — as SOON as we can say something, we WILL.  It’s in our best interest to get these Superstar Names out as soon as possible.  Believe me when I say – you’re gonna freak when you hear some of the names we have lined up!

Please keep asking questions and leaving comments.  As we said yesterday we hope (WANT!) to build a VERY interactive community.  We’re doing our part.  Have some fun and join in.

Mark

Don’t forget — You can follow Addictive Comics on Twitter by visiting — http://twitter.com/AddictiveComics

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Yesterday we posted about our plans for the site overall.  Today we want to address a few of the Launch and Early-Time things you will see.

SOFT OPENING

Keep in mind that — as we have said all along – we are taking this VERY slowly and trying to get it right.  This is new territory for us.  We hope to conquer it — although we’re already fighting over who will be King — but we have a long way to go. 

With that in mind, know that this is what offline businesses refer to as a “soft opening.”  It’s where you quietly unlock the doors and invite family and friends to come in and help you work out the bugs.

You guys are our Family and Friends online (in some cases, literally.)

The vast majority of everyone reading this post and visiting Addictive Comics in the first few weeks will have learned about us from Scott’s website and Podcasts or from Decoder Ring Theater and the fans of Black Jack Justice on AudioDramaTalk. 

You are already fans of these stories and we are looking to you to help us get our business on the right track.  We know we can count on you.        

THE SITES

First off, everything on the site should work.  All links, all photos, all text — EVERYTHING — so feel free to look around and try everything out.  What’s there at the beginning is NOT everything we have planned for the future — but everything there should work.  If you see something that is messed up, please let us know. 

NOTE — Please understand that all the sites and blogs were designed and tested on IE with Vista.  They may not look right on other systems or browsers.  If you have any concerns, please email us.

ADVERTISING & OFFERS

Everything we have produced for Addictive Comics is 100% Free for you to enjoy.  And we intend to keep it that way.  We do, however, hope to make a little money off of this (at least enough to pay the artists and writers.)  Our business plan does not call for a donation box (as so many webcomics have) or a Member’s Only area (at least not immediately.) 

Instead we hope to make our money off of advertising and, later, off of publishing Graphic Novels of our comics.  Scott has proven this business model works with his novels and there are a handful of webcomics using it successfully – most notably the wonderful Girl Genius by Phil Foglio.  Not an Addictive Comic (yet!) but well worth checking out.  (Mark wishes Phil still did Xxxenophile.  Anyone else agree with him?)

You will NEVER be required to buy anything to enjoy Addictive Comics.

That doesn’t mean we won’t put some “bonus material” in the graphic novels (to make them more desirable) or that we won’t eventually offer printed only comics or books or a Member’s Only area for special offerings.  We’re not sure at this early stage what may happen.  But rest assured that there will always be 100% Free Webcomics at Addictive Comics — as long as we are around.

Naturally, if you see an ad that interests you…

OUR SCHEDULE

This has been much discussed by us and we expect in may change somewhat. 

It is our present plan to offer The Rookie, Black Jack Justice and most of our other Addictive Comics on a page-a-week schedule.  When we really get rolling we hope to have between 20 and 30 comics coming out simultaneously (we told you we had BIG PLANS) which should give you 4 to 6 new pages to enjoy every weekday — even though each individual story would still only update weekly.

Naturally, at the beginning with only two books the output will seem very sparse. 

We have many reasons that we have come up with this planned schedule – which we may get into on the blogs later on if anyone is interested.

We do hope to very up the schedules somewhat (if the creator’s can do it) and have some twice-a-weeks, some 3-times-a-weeks, and even some daily strips.  Occasionally we may hold back and release an entire story all at once. 

OPENING DAY PAGES

However, even though our plan is to release one page a week, most books should open with several story pages to (hopefully!) hook you.  For our first offerings — Black Jack Justice opens with an Episode Cover (Justice Served Cold, by the way) and 2 pages of comics and The Rookie opens with a Chapter Cover and 5 pages of story.

The Justice Served Cold cover by Mark Hester can be viewed now on the New Talent Page of this blog.

AS ALWAYS –

Please always let us know what you think about all of this and what you like.

Mark & Scott

Don’t forget — You can follow Addictive Comics on Twitter by visiting — http://twitter.com/AddictiveComics

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Hey there. 

Thank you again for visiting the Addictive Comics Blog (now in New & Improved “COUNTDOWN” Version!) 

We wanted to take a moment today and tomorrow to let you know what to expect from us when we launch on Tuesday.  This isn’t required reading to enjoy the comics — but we tried to anticipate a few of the questions you may have.  That doesn’t mean we don’t want you to ask any more.  By all means if you have a question, comment or request PLEASE use the comment box on this blog or send us an email.  That email address is always addictivecomics (at) gmail (dot) com — and as always put in an “@” and a “.” where they should go.

Tomorrow we will address specifically what to expect on Tuesday and in the next few weeks. 

Today let’s get the broad overview.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THIS BLOG & THE EMAIL AFTER THE LAUNCH

This blog and the email list will continue to be ground zero for everything Addictive Comics.  If you want to know what’s happening and what’s new, visit here first.  Better yet sign up for the email list if you haven’t already.  It will always be free, always be spam-free and always have the first news on Addictive Comics. 

Down the road we also have some email only plans and offerings that you won’t want to miss — including a Full-Color, Full-Sized, Completely Free Addictive Comics Magazine.

For more info read this post — EMAIL / NEWSLETTER  (you can read it right now — it opens a new window.) 

IMPORTANT NOTE — We’ve had a little trouble with the email signup box not showing up on Firefox and moving around on XP.  If you don’t see it in the top left corner, look at the bottom of the page.  If you still can’t locate it, please drop us an email and we’ll get you signed up.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE ADDICTIVE COMICS PAGES

For those of you who are old fans of webcomics – you’ll feel instantly at home on Addictive Comics.  We’ve tried our best to keep the “feel” of the best comics (why fix it if it ain’t broken) while putting our own spin on things.  There’s the Nav Bar below the artwork, just as you would expect.  A click on the page takes you ahead one page — just as you would expect.  You may not expect that we have added our comments below each page and several other cool features spread about.

For those of you new to the world of webcomics — we think you’ve pick a pretty good one to start with. ;)  And we haven’t forgotten you either.  Chances are you will pick up on the “flow” immediately — after all, this style has been tried and proven on 1,000’s of webcomics before us — but if you have any trouble at all, we’ll have a How-To-Enjoy-Addictive-Comics page on every book we do.  Right from day one (it’s already there, in fact.)  Just look at the bottom of page one of any book and you will see a short mini-course and a link to a more detailed page.

BLOGS?  YEAH, WE GOT BLOGS!

One of Mark’s no compromise requirements when he pitched the idea of Addictive Comics to Scott was that the readers should be able to comment on every page.  Luckly, Scott’s no dummy and he agreed immediately.  You can see by his site, Scottsigler (dot) com, that he actively encourages interaction.   

The original idea was to put a comment area on the page below the comic artwork.  But through some of our page trials (yes, we weren’t just goofing off!) we determined that that was impractical for several reasons — that I may go into…later…somewhere else. 

Since our plan, all along, was to have at least one blog per comic (or comic-group) and it became obvious to us that THAT was where the comments should be.  Blogs are made for interaction. 

So when we launch, you will not only get TWO cool comics but also a blog for each one that you can visit, read more and communicate with the creators and other readers.

IS THAT ALL?

Isn’t that enough?

Well, actually – No, it’s not all.  But we’ll let you discover the rest as we go along.  Trust us when we say… WE HAVE VERY BIG PLANS!

So glad you could join us.  See ya tomorrow when we warn…uh…TELL you what to expect during the launch and coming weeks.

Scott & Mark

Note - the Addictive Comics Magazine is not part of the email newsletter and will include advertising.

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