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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Be here on Tuesday, December 16th as we present the first pages of The Rookie and Black Jack Justice.
 
—————————————–
 
But don’t wait until then — All week we’ll be counting down the days until launch by posting on the Addictive Comics Blog and Sending Emails to our newsletter subscribers (if you haven’t signed up yet — do it NOW!)
 
So check back everyday for undates as we count down the minutes.
 
Scott and Mark

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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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