Indy Comics FAIL!

I was aksed by the great people at BackroomPodcast.com to do a weekly column which starts today. It's called Indy Comics FAIL and is all about how to Fail at Independent Comics...

Why talk about failure, you ask?

Check out the opening column and see.

13 Reasons To Vote For Robot 13

As you may know by now, Robot 13 has been nominated for the 2009 Rondo Hatton Award for Best Horror Comic Book. I hope you vote in every category- it promotes Horror fiction in all it's forms from Movies to TV to DVD releases to Comics...

When you get to Category #21 on your ballot, before you vote please check out the latest review of the Robot 13 series from ComicAttack.net titled "13 reasons to read Robot 13." It's a sweet look at the entire series, and it gives you everything you may need to know about Robot 13!

Issue #3 can also be pre-ordered from our website here!

Schedule Change for Feb. 27th Comic Show!

There has been a change in the Feb. 27th show in NYC, moving it from The Armory on Lexington to a different location and I will not be able to attend.

If you are in NYC this weekend and still want to pick up copies of Robot 13, head on over to Midtown Comics, Jim Hanley's Universe or Forbidden Planet~ all of whom are in great locations & all currently have stock of issues 1 & 2!!!

Around The Horn V 3.2

OneMetal.com Says: " Creators Hall and Bradford embark their robot hero on a soul-searching quest, expanding their budding, mythological world and boosting the book's credibility in the process. Robot13 is invigorating—it defies its leisurely pace and simply enthralls."

Diamond Scoop Says: "There's a good reason that MTV’s Rick Marshall called R-13 the “Best Under-the-Radar Comic Series," and that's because it is. You may have to ask your retailer to special order it, but do so."

Robot 13 Nominated for The Rondo Awards!

The 8th annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards Ballot has been released, and Robot 13 has been nominated for Best Horror Comic Book!

The Rondo awards are a yearly program to allow fans of Horror to vote for their favorites in Horror film, books, comics, music and general fandom and can be voted on by YOU the fan! If you go to Rondoaward.com, you can get the ballot information as well as info about the Rondos and lists of past winners. You can vote for as many or as few of the categories as you like- so if there are those that you just don't know anything about, feel free to pass on those and vote for the categories you feel strongly about. All votes must be emailed to taraco@aol.com with your name (so they can adhere to the One Person=One Vote rule) by Midnight of April 3, 2010.

While we would LOVE for you to Vote for Robot 13 for Best Horror Comic Book, I want to also encourage you to check out the site and vote for as many of the categories as you feel knowledgeable about. It's an awesome, grass roots type of thing and a HUGE honor to be nominated for everyone involved.

Rock The Vote Today!

Around The Horn V 3.1

GhettoManga Says: "I would have been pretty happy with the book i expected to read: A knock-off of Mignola's iconic horror/adventure joint Hellboy spliced with recent "indy comic that could" success story Atomic Robo. What I actually got was an easily digested, well-written, and beautifully illustrated monster parade that is sad, funny, and mysterious all at once. "

Surfing The Bleed Says: "Issue Three of R13 is a big step forward for both the writer and the artist. While the first two issues have certainly been good, issue three sets the bar much higher. When looking back on what will hopefully be two very successful careers, Hall and Bradford may well mark this point as the moment when they went from being struggling self-publishers to bonafide creators."

Plus: Check out our latest interviews with ComicAttack and Charm City Geek!

Freedom Of Choice

In the recent review of Robot 13: Colossus! Issue 3 on Geek Native, we learn the following:

"My first exposure to Robot 13 was due to the clever way it’s being published. It simply looks great on the iPhone and the Android. I’m fascinated by the changes that are coming to the publishing world and especially the digital aspect of it. I think there is a future in magazines (especially on a subscription) and I think devices like the iPad will be perfect for that. If I ever get an iPad then I can happily imagine myself flicking through some quality material such as Robot 13."

In the back and forth debate about Digital Comics Vs. Print Comics, most imagine an end game where Digital "wins" and the market for Print becomes non-existent and those of us who like to hold paper comics in our hands will be deemed "Obsolete" by The State and will have to give up our Comic BOOKS or choose the method of our liquidation...

For me, it's interesting to consider that it's possible for one to create a desire to read the other- iPhone Comics lovers may read a comic and decide they want the very different experience of reading a more conventional comic, and Print fans may decide they want to bring their favorite comics along with them digitally. We could be heading for an AND situation here.

After all, look at Vinyl Records- while some other music formats have come and gone, Vinyl had kept a niche market which fluctuates based on Style of music. Fans of some types of music want it on Vinyl, while others care for that format less. That may be the future, just as the Prophets Devo foretold: "Freedom of Choice."

That, however, wasn't the "point" of the review. They also really liked the book.

Read all about it here.

Around The Horn V 3.0

Kevin C Says: "...in the newest issue of R13, Thomas Hall and Daniel Bradford have balanced smart story telling and appetite whetting plot advancement, with gallons of blood pooling amounts of action."

Spanky Stokes Says: " Robot 13's third issue is just as sweet as the first two..."

Optical Sloth Says: "...this was a blast. I loved that loopy, almost Mike Mignola-ish art, and the writing did a nice job of setting up the series and making the metal man a sympathetic figure."

Giant Monsters Attack Says: "I wish that Hollywood would make a movie version of this thing already. "

Today's Image was grabbed from Spanky Stokes using images from Robot 13: Colossus! Issue 3!

Robot 13: The Search For Copies

By now you have probably seen the press release for Robot 13: Colossus Issue 3. Like many people, You may ask yourself, "Self, How will I get a copy of Robot 13 #3 when it comes out on March 10th?"

Here are your options:

1) If your local comic shop carries Robot 13 already, by all means head on down and pick up a copy! Not sure if there is a shop near you that has the book? Check our retailer list here, which we update as new stores are added.

2) Don't see your stores name on that list, but you want your store to carry Robot 13? Have your store owner contact either Tony Shenton at Shenton4sales@aol.com or me at tom@blackliststudios.com and we will get them all the rates and information.

3)Want to buy from a comic shop that will ship books to you? We deal with Things From Another World, MyComicShop.com and Midtown Comics, all of whom have large Internet comics businesses. In addition, we also are carried by Heavy Ink and Discount Comic Book Service as well. And check the websites of the stores on our list- Many of them also have mail order.

4) Would you like to buy from us directly? Pre-orders via Paypal can be made at our store here.

5) Would you rather have your books digitally? Robot 13: Colossus Issue 3 will be released via Panelfly on the iPhone and iPod Touch and Robot Comics on the iPhone, iPod Touch and Android compatible phones as well. If you go to their websites you can get more information or to get iPhone and iPod touch comics, go to iTunes where you will find our comics in the App Store.

Robot 13 Issue 3 Available For Pre-Order NOW!

That's Right- Robot 13: Colossus! Issue 3 is NOW Available for Pre-Order!

One of the hottest and most talked about Indy comic mini-series' comes to a thrilling conclusion in Issue 3! Robot 13 is putting the pieces of his past together- Will the murderous Cyclops find him before he finds the truth? Find out in this 32 page full-color issue brought to you by Writer Thomas Hall and Artist Daniel Bradford!

Pre-orders are open for the March 10th release of Robot 13 issue 3.

You can order direct from Blacklist Studios via Paypal at http://www.blackliststudios.com/store.html, have your local shop contact Tony Shenton at shenton4sales@aol.com or e-mail Blacklist at blackmail@blackliststudios.com to place a direct order!

Robert Hood Chimes In On Robot 13

Robert Hood saw the recent nonsense concerning cover for Robot 13 #3, and talked to me about it all. After our conversation, he asked to check out the issue himself- you can see his comments about it here.

You can see Robert's reviews of issue 1 here and Issue 2 here, as well as a 2 part interview with Daniel and I here and here...

What'D Ya Do?

As I work on comics, I tend to do alot of research; some things make it into the final product, and some lead to interesting dead ends. In every case, I end up gathering alot of odds and ends that I think may shed some light on things. In working on Robot 13" Colossus! Issue 3, I came across the following (In no special order):

The "Modern" storyline in Robot 13 takes place in 1939 Spain during the Spanish Civil War. In researching the subject I read Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, as well as books by Hellen Graham, Hugh Thomas, and Alun Kenwood and many others.

The setting of the bulk of Issue 3 was inspired by pictures such as this.

While Polyphemus wasn't the inspiration for our Cyclops, The Theogony of Hesiod was.

On Youtube I found this, this and this- none of which were of much help.

This, however, was just awesome.

In addition, you may find the following useful when your read Robot 13: Colossus Issue 3:

If you watch this movie, you will find something of an "easter egg" in issue 3.

It helps when you read issue 3 if you know that carnicería has 2 meanings.

And yes, Buenaventura Durruti does make an appearance in issue 3...

The Science Of Cyclopia

Due to the complete and utter nonsense surrounding the cover for Robot 13: Colossus! Issue 3, I wanted to make a few points crystal clear that I alluded to here.

First of all Cyclopia is a real Human condition, and one that almost always has a fatal result in extreme cases. The reason for this is that Humans born with acute Cyclopia not only have a single eye, but they also have a myriad of other birth defects and issues and are thousands of times more susceptible to Cancer and other life threatening illness. Most never live long enough to exhibit those signs of illness, however, because malformations in the lungs, heart, brain and liver usually keep a live-born person with Cyclopia from making it that far.

Now- the point of my mentioning this is only to be clear as to why our Cyclops was designed as he was. The Protrusions on his head and the nodes that cover his body are, in fact, tumors.

He does NOT have "sawed off horns" or any such nonsense on his head.

The design of the character was such that he reflected the one in a billion chance that would occur IF a giant Cyclops were to actually exist. IF such a person were to actually live into adulthood, a "best case" scenario would be that such a person would b full of such growths- be they Cancerous or not.

Again- our cover has nothing in common with Hellboy because Hellboy is essentially the grown-up version of Harvey's "Hot Stuff," while our Cyclops was borne out of hours and hours of research into medical realities.

And again, to be painfully clear- the point of us doing this research and pointing such things out was not to ridicule the birth defect. Being literate individuals, we actually read Books from time to time. Knowledge is power, but only if you use it. Otherwise it's like walking around a gunfight with a pocket full of bullets. Yes, you will keep them in "mint condition," but you will also get blown full of holes...

Hail To The KING!, Baby!

Here's what's next. Haters, Keep on Hating... KING! is going to Rock!

The Very Nearly Almost Colossus!

Special thanks to Matt for making Scott Allie's dream come true! Above you see the cover that should have been for issue 3 of Robot 13...

Because it's obvious that this:

Wasn't influenced at ALL by this (Which came out a year before Hellboy):
And that neither image recalled King Kong from 60 years before that:

But instead, the wholly original Mignola cover was actually ripped off by us here:
Silly, right? But that is Scott's thought on the subject- as brought to you by Superpunch.

Of course, if you view the cover in it's original color scheme here,

It looks even less like Hellboy than ever... Mostly because the only thing the original cover has in common with the Hellboy cover in question is the color red. For the record, the reason we even went with red was, A) it made sense in terms of the story and B) if we didn't change the color, the Cyclops would disappear into all the gray and white of the snowy mountains.

What we DIDN'T realize, however, is how much our cover looked like THIS:

Which we never saw until over a month after the book was finished, printed and on a boat from China.

Honest.

R13 Issue 3: The Cover...