We have been promising it since day one — and it’s finally up and running

The Art of Addictive Comics Blog is LIVE!

We’ve wanted to do this even before we started the comics, but we weren’t sure if there was really a need for it.  As creators we love to discuss the story and artwork amoungst ourselves, but we didn’t know if the readers would be interested or not.

But the comments on the Blogs have convinced us that at least a few of you would like to delve more deeply into the creation process. 

So we’ve created The Art of Addictive Comics Blog.

Some of you may note that we only have one Art Blog when we have mentioned before that we would be doing individual ones for each book.  We decided that one would be better.  That’s all.

You might also notice, when you visit, that it looks a little sparce.  We’ll be fixing that as we go along. 

Our first post is all about the Black Jack Justice page for this week - Justice Served Cold - Page 8.  But don’t worry– The Rookie and other Sigler stuff will get its fair time.

If you are interested in Artwork, the creation process or you’re just wasting time at work until the whistle blows — Check out The Art of Addictive Comics Blog by CLICKING HERE NOW. 

Mark

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We have new story pages up on both The Rookie and Black Jack Justice today. 

The Rookie

Black Jack Justice

Check them out and then let us know what you think on The Rookie Blog and the Black Jack Justice Blog.

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If you have no idea what that last sentence means — or if you had no idea how to get to the blogs to leave your words of wisdom — or if you are just bored and want to read all about blogs — We have created a page just for you!

How to Use the Addictive Comics Blog Comment System

One of the best things about online comics for the creators and the readers, is the chance to comment and interact with each other.  It’s something we REALLY hope to do a lot of with Addictive Comics.

So, we’ve set up a Super Easy and Very Efficiant way for you to leave your comments.  However, it’s a little different than most webcomics, so some of you have missed it.

Here’s what we’ve done…

We have created COMPANION BLOGS for each of our Comics so that the readers and creators would have a way to interact.  And so far that is exactly what is happening.

The Blogs are all about YOU. 

We’ve had many great comments from the readers and some excellent discussions about the stories, the artwork and even the fonts.  Gregg Taylor, the writer/creator of Black Jack Justice,  Sami Kivelä, the artist of Black Jack Justice and even me, Mark, the artist of The Rookie have all stopped by and left posts and replies.  It’s even been rumored that Trixie Dixon herself, Andrea Lyons, paid a visit.   

Blogs are made for comments and interaction.  You might say it is their purpose in life.  So it is Super Easy for the Readers and Creators to Interact. 

So if you want to comment or join in the discussions — you should visit The Rookie Blog or the Black Jack Justice Blog.

…And if you DON’T want to comment — you should STILL visit  The Rookie Blog or the Black Jack Justice Blog.

If you need help in ANY WAY - then click on the link below and go to the Super Easy - Very Detailed Description page.

CLICK HERE to visit — How to Use the Addictive Comics Blog Comment System

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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.

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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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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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We TOLD you we were new at this.

A few of you have emailed us (probably didn’t want to embarrass us with a public comment) asking where the Email Signup Box was.  Some of you wondered if we were even considering a Newletter or not.

Well, yes, we’ve planned all along to have a Newsletter, email updates and — even a surprise or two that I mention below.  But with our excitement over the new blog… 

To tell you the truth — we just forgot about it.

EMAIL SIGNUPS — DO IT NOW! 

Okay, if you will look up to the top left side of this blog you will see the EMAIL SIGNUP BOX.  It’s a little on the Homely side — but it’s very simple to use and get signed up — just enter you name and email address and you are all set.

That’s all there is to it.

WHY SHOULD I SIGN UP?  WHAT ARE YOU GONNA SEND ME?

First off, let’s talk about what we are NOT going to send you.  Most of you guys know Scott or Gregg.  Those two are working with Paul and Mark so you know that we’re okay guys, too. 

So you know we are NEVER going to send you spam.  We also are NEVER going to Sell, Give Away or Trade your email address with anyone, ever. 

But we’ll even go one step further.  Our business plan calls for us to make money from advertising (thus giving you the content for free!) — but we will NEVER place an outside ad on this particular Newsletter.  Ever.  You can feel safe opening it each time knowing that you will enjoy the contents.

OKAY, THAT’S GOOD.  BUT WHAT CONTENTS?  WHAT ARE YOU GONNA SEND ME?

Glad you asked.

Addictive Comics has a very ambitious and agressive plan for our webcomics.  Yes, we are gonna start out REAL slowly and make sure we do it right, but very soon we plan to be offering many different comics, by many different writers in many different styles and genres.  Not to mention all the blogs, forums and additional sites we have planned.  

You won’t be able to keep up with everything without a Scorecard.

The Newsletter is your Scorecard.

Each week we’ll tell you what new with you favorites and what you should check out.  We’ll let you in on the new additions to the family and tell you where to get even more of the good stuff.

BUT, YOU EXPECTED THAT, RIGHT?  HOW ABOUT THIS — ?  

We know the value of a Newsletter for helping us stay in touch with our readers (the web is a big place and we are all very busy.  We wouldn’t want you to forget us.)  So we are totally committed to making it stupid NOT to join. 

Expect Newsletter-Only content and promotions such as extra comic pages, additional artwork, new stories and even Newletter-Only products and discounts on those products. 

AND ONE VERY SPECIAL PLAN

We are also planning a Full Color, Downloadable ADDICTIVE COMICS MAGAZINE!

ADDICTIVE COMICS MAGAZINE will include Articles Artwork, Interviews, Short Stories, Photos and even EXCLUSIVE MAGAZINE-ONLY comic stories that you won’t see anywhere else. 

It will be available only to Newsletter subscribers for the low, LOW price of FREE!

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?  SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Sorry, we got carried away and lapsed into informercial-speak. 

But really it IS a great deal.  It costs you zip and your gonna enjoy it.  What’s not to love?

Enter you name and email right now before you forget and we’ll see you soon.

Scott & Mark

Note — the magazine is not part of the newsletter and will include advertising.

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