SFCCC: Michael Welch

If you are not familiar with the name Mike Welch, that doesn't matter. Chances are you have seen him acting in something; I can almost guarantee it. He has been acting for nearly 20 years on shows ranging from Star Trek, to Frasier, to Walker, Texas Ranger, to Stargate, to The X-Files. This guy is all over the place. 

Some of his work may not be for you, but I don't think anyone can deny that this guy's got talent. After all, he's been working for 20 years and that's something you can't accomplish if you're bad at your job. 

However, his work is not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about rejection. Michael Welch is a talented actor. But all actors, no matter how talented, will face rejection...a lot of it. At the recent Santa Fe Comic Con, I sat in on his Panel and asked how he dealt with the rejection, and here is what he said:

I realize that this is an actor talking about rejection during the audition process. However, think about how many times you have been rejected from something that you love to do. How often does that push you into a state of depression, or self doubt? Probably quite often. It's easy, it's familiar, and every single artist that I know, myself included, has gone down this road.

I have a challenge for you. Next time you are rejected, instead of feeling sorry for yourself, try to apply Mike's approach to your situation. Look at that rejection as just another opportunity to showcase your work to a new person. Another opportunity to hone your craft. Another opportunity to do what you love. Take pride in the fact that you did the absolute best that you could, and know that what you're doing is worth doing. Now go kick some ass!

Follow Michael Welch on Twitter @MichaelWelchAct
Check out SFCC: www.santafecomiccon.com/

RCCCC: Bitch Planet

Kelly Sue Deconnick! I shouldn't have to say anymore being at the Bitch Planet panel, but I suppose I will share it anyway. Saturday September 20th 12:30 "Spotlight on Bitch Planet," with creators Deconnick, De Landro, Peter, & Cowles.

Bitch Planet is a dystopian future where women are sent off-world to a prison for being noncompliant. The book sets up like old exploitation films from the 60s & 70s and Kelly Sue explores her fascination with the genre. It is more than violence & space; this book explores women and in turn, empowers them.  It has women of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds without judgement.

The greatest thing from this panel was when Kelly Sue explained her answer to all the feminist remarks she has received. "Why do you push a feminist agenda on your books?" To which she answers, "Superheroes stand up for the disempowered and defend the rights of humanity, how is that not feminist." I love this response! Superheroes are fiction created to hold up the standards and rights of everyone and that is what Kelly is doing in this book. Kelly Sue Deconnick also says she likes to "steer into the curve," when people call say she has an agenda.

Bitch Planet has a great team behind it and Kelly Sue admits she can't/doesn't speak for every woman but her book is amazing and shows women in a way we should all be looking at.

RCCCC: Lumberjanes

Lumberjanes

As one of the last panels at Rose City Comic Con I was very excited to attend the Lumberjanes panel on Sunday September 20th 2:30 pm. At the panel was Shannon Watters and Brooke Allen but the team is  (Shannon Watters, Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Brooke Allen Faith Erin Hicks).  If you know me(Logan) than you know I am a huge fan of Lumberjanes and if you don't know me or this comic let us explain .

I first stumbled into Lumberjanes at Emerald City Comic Con 2014, while walking passed Boom Studios booth where the team was sitting with the book infront of them. The unique art style and bright colors drew me in and  the title Lumberjanes just sounded cool I had to check it out. I read it while waiting for a panel then I returned to the creators to share my excitement and get it signed.

"Girlscouts vs monster," is how co-creator Shannon Watters pitched the book to her team and to Boom studios. Shannon Watters is apart of Boom Studios as an editor (as well as many other credits) and had the oppurtunity to pitch a book. Grace and Shannon also wanted knew they wanted the story to be "magic five" book. "Magic Five" meaning a team like Scooby Doo or  Baby-sitters Club. The idea was pitched and picked up as a 8 issue miniseries but with all the fan response and reception it was made into a full ongoing seriers. Brooke and Shannon explained they couldn't have anticipated the love of this book but are so excited and grateful. They have now won an Eisner for the series and you can pick up the book in stores to show you love too.

Support:

Lumberjanes vol.1

RCCCC: Image Comics at Rose City

Over the course of the weekend at Rose City Image Comics had several panels, each looked at different angles and sides of Image. We wanted to cover all of the panels and present them here for you now.

Actually, before we get into the panels it must be noted that David Brothers the moderator for all the Image panels was amazing. He had charisma and brought everyone in the room together and gave its panel tons of energy. When he isn't moderating panels, he provides front page content to the Image Comics site, and hosts a podcast called The I Word.

• Adventuring

The first panel of the con we attended was the adventure side of Image and it ran September 19th 10:30 am. The panel featured the creative team of both The Autumnlands (Kurt Busiek & Ben Dewey) and Shutter (Joe Keatinge & Leila Del Duca).  I think the first thing that amazed me was that Image had high fantasy comics in their line up. The second thing that impressed me, I was fascinated and interested in both of them.

The Autumnlands is a magical world with anthropomorphic  animals and a human. It follows the journey of several characters as they set out to try and stop the once happy and beautiful world they knew from coming to an end. Writer Kurt Busiek speaks of the book with such passion and love for fantasy that you can tell he wants to explore the world he has created just as much as the readers. Ben Dewey on the other hand loves creating all the anthropomorphic creatures that Kurt can think up.

Shutter follows Kate Kristopher as she is forced back into adventuring when a family secret threatens everything she has worked towards her entire life. The story is an urban fantasy that also has some anthropomorphic creatures, dinosaurs, spacemen and a living cat clock.  Joe and Leila have made a book they both love to write and draw. This team laughs and looks forward to each page that they do. Seeing them up on stage smile at each other as they talk about their book was nothing short of encouraging for a writer just starting out.

*There was another Thrills of Image comics which included both the team of Bitch Planet and Nailbiter. But you can scroll down and read the spotlight of Nailbiter and a spotlight on Bitch Planet later this week.  

• Owning it

The last Image Panel from Image, focused on the principals behind the company and featured: Justin Greenwood (The Fuse), Emi Lennox (Plutona), Jeremy Haun (The Beauty) and Image Co-Founder Jim Valentino. The focus at this panel was on creators as whole and what is means to work with Image.

Let us first point out the fact that we got to see Jim Valentino, a man who started in alternative comics and worked for Marvel. He then decided to help carve out what is now arguably the largest comic company after the "big two." The lineup of artists and writers on the panel was a mix of experience in the industry and a mix of genres offered at image. The purpose was the show the vastness and diversity of the company's creators and books

Jim spoke about something that struck me and motivated me. He spoke of working on the book you (creators) want to make. Not the IP of a company that has final say on what the story is that you are trying to tell. At Image the artists and the writers all own their work and have the final say.

It is official. I (Logan) want to have a book published by Image. Why? Because you get to own your work, you find your team (editor,artist, letter etc.) But also because at every Image panel at the convention we saw teams of creators speaking passionately about the books they make and the work they will continue to do. I made a conscious decision to keep using the word team in the post for the simple fact that as a writer and artist you work as a team and collaborate. All the people we saw on stage acted like a team who want to be working with each other and push each other for the best stories they can tell. That is why they are at Image Comics, and that is why I want to be at Image Comics.

Books

• The Autumnlands: Tooth & Claw
• Shutter vol.1
• The Fuse
• Plutona
• The Beauty

RCCCC: Imposter Syndrome and You

RCCCC time again and today I am going to be talking to you about Wil Wheaton's Panel from Sunday, September 20th @ 11:00 am.

There are quite a few things that I could talk about from his panel, but I think that one aspect of the panel was most important. His discussion of Anxiety & Imposter Syndrome. If you don't know what imposter syndrome is, it is the feeling that you are inadequate even when there is information that proves that feeling to be wrong. It can also be a feeling of chronic self doubt. Wil Wheaton defines it as "The mom's voice from Carrie screaming They're All Going To Laugh At You". 

First I'm going to share with you Cal Tech's breakdown of three ways Imposter Syndrome can be experienced.

1. Feeling Like a Fake
   Before even reading past the title, I'm sure a lot of you can already empathize with this feeling. This is when you feel like you have somehow deceived your way into a position or a job that you really don't deserve. I know that when I got accepted into graduate school, I legitimately said "It's only a matter of time before they realize the mistake they made". 
    
2. Attributing Success to Luck
   Once again, the title really defines this experience. Cal Tech really knows how to title this syndrome's parts. This is when you succeed at something and say something like "I just got lucky." or "This other person deserved it." which could be used as a sort of safety net in case you don't succeed next time.
    
3. Discounting Success
   And again, title is self explanatory. This is when you achieve something, but you automatically try to downplay it and say "No big deal." or give excuses as to why you don't deserve the praise. Once again, in school, when I got my Master's Degree, I said "Yeah but it was only a 3.0, I barely got it. It shouldn't count." 

Now I want to share some of Wil Wheaton's thoughts about how to overcome perpetual self doubt and actually go out and create.

Let's get this out of the way. No matter what you're doing, and no matter how good it is, people online are going to shit on it. Do you want to know why? Because there are so many people online, and those people who leave hateful comments about your stuff are fuck sticks. You need to learn to ignore those people because it simply is not important what they think. Do you like what you made? Good! That's all that matters.

That leads into the first piece of Wil's advice that I want to impart on you: "Make something that you love and accept that it's not for everyone." This is the perfect way to find happiness in art. The moment you find your voice, or find your story, or find your instrument, and realize that you love what you're making and want to make it forever, that's happiness. Now, realize that not ever single person out there is going to like it. Chances are the majority of people will not like it because there are 7 billion people out there. You can't appeal to even half of them, so don't try, and don't take it personal when some dick mouth decides to shit on your creation. Joel Watson once said "You make [things], they make comments".

@mikeyface you make games and comics and books. They make comments.

— Joel Watson (@hijinksensue) May 3, 2013

And that is one of the most important things to remember. The people who are online spewing their hate online are typically not creators, they are people who hide behind a screen and talk shit. What they say is not important. When it comes down to it, Dub Dub said "make whatever it is for yourself and hope others come along for the ride" 

Now go out, realize that you kick ass, and make some amazing art! Do it for yourself, and most importantly have some fun while you're doing it! 

RCCCC: Finding Your Way

RCCCC stands for Rose City Comic Con Coverage, and most people going to cons are like me (they want to be making comic books) but we don't always know how to or how to keep going. Luckily the panel: Finding the door to mainstream publishing was there for us all (Saturday 5:30 pm) .

The one sentence answer is "there is no one way to break into comics or become mainstream". Chris Sheridan (Motorcycle Samurai), Daniel Warren Johnson ( Space Mullet) and Emi Lennox (Plutona) can all attest to this fact. Chris, Daniel and Emi all tackle their creations differently and I found this beautifully frustrating. Its comforting to know that there isn't a formula to success and that you can make the comic come alive regardless of your personal situation. That being said it can be frustrating not having a clear answer to making your way into the comic world.

Now that we know this let's discuss talk about what the panelist could offer as far as advice and working on a project. The following are all tips on making your comic a reality.

• Routine Routine Routine

For some people it is finding that rhythm of getting up early everyday and starting your morning of with breakfast, work out and then creating before it gets to late in the day and your time slips away from you.

Daniel Warren Johnson is a married man and works at home. For him it is a balance of getting up early to maximize his work time along with cleaning and being married. So he gets up early works out and then gets cracking on the project. * it must be noted that if you want eat healthy, Daniel has a a kale smoothie and mixes in mango for a flavor boost.

Other creators work differently. Emi Lennox gets up around 10 am and wakes to some Final Fantasy before getting started on a project and then works late into the night. She still spends several hours on the project but goes about it differently, and her Final Fantasy is on point.

Or Chris Sheridan who has a full time day job and works on the his books after he regular job. 

• Work

The reason to have a routine is to consciously tell yourself to work. It is easy to get distracted and easy to make excuses. But when you set goals and make routines you force yourself to work.

If you can't outright make your book, you can still work in the industry and meet people, chat and become friends. You can learn and ask questions to people in the industry. But this requires participation. You must be active and go out to the conventions or look for jobs at companies.

• Creator Relationship

"Writers looking for artist should be confident" says Daniel Warren Johnson. He talks about understanding the humility artists all have, but when you're shopping around to collaborate, you need to be confident and enthusiastic in your work. You must believe in what you're doing in order for others to jump on board.

Also when starting a collaboration and relationship as artist and writer you need to be clear about the roles.  How malleable is the script? You need to be straight forward about what you want from each other in the project.

• Just make the damn comic!

This panel was funny and amazing to be at and to hear from creators all working at different levels in the comic field from different angles, all saying the same thing; go make your comic. It takes effort and if you are serious about making a comic you will find your answers.  You will find the time and you will find the people you need in order to make that happen. Don't be discouraged by the time it takes and instead work on the work you want to make.

Daniel Warren Johnson mentioned one more thing that I thought was important to close on. "Education has failed at telling kids you can do what you love." But we all need to be reminded that we can.

One more quote: "Just do it"-Emi

Coverage of: rosecitycomiccon.com

RCCCC: How to Start Your Own Nerd Rock Band in 5 Steps!

RCCCC stands for Rose City Comic Con Coverage, and the first panel that we are covering here will be the Saturday 2:30PM panel entitled: Set List to Stage - Realize Your Nerdrock Dream. The panel covered a large range of information but the main focus was on creating the band, writing songs, and the progression of the music business. Before I share any of my thoughts or information garnered from the panel, I want to go ahead and plug all the artists and panelists: 

Kyle Stevens of Kirby Krackle, Irene Rea of 2Rivers, DJ Jeff "Switch" Sorenson, Christine Mooney, & Chris Waffle of Going Viral

I will note that the titles that are italicized were not from the panel, they are just steps that I think are important to know/do when starting a band.

1. Write What You Love
   If you want to start a nerd rock band, chances are, you are a nerd. There is also a chance that you love doing awesome things like playing magic the gathering, or playing zelda, or going to comic conventions.
   
   What is important to take note of here is that your audience, or potential audience, can sniff out bullshit. If they think that you are writing a song about something because it's popular (and not because you love it) best case scenario, they will call you on your shit, worst case scenario, they will bail on you because they think you're a fraud. Basically what I am saying is just write about what you love if it's video games, or comics, or cos playing. Do it and have fun with it.
    
2. Find Your Instrument
   This one is pretty self explanatory, and it wasn't in the Panel, I just wanted to make this a 5-step process to starting your nerd rock band. So pick your instrument. This has become a lot easier recently. You can get a guitar for $80, or you can just use free software on your computer to make electronic music and sing over that...or if you don't have a good voice (like me), you can just make electronic music like Anamanaguchi.
   
   Find your musical strengths and play off of those. Are you really good with computers? Maybe get a midi keyboard and learn to play it so you can screw around with a Soft Synth and create all those crazy noises that you hear in electronic songs! The options are limitless because everything is so easy to get now.
    
3. Find Your Band
   This is another self explanatory step that wasn't in the panel. If you want to start a full rock band, there are so many options on how to find people. You can do it the old school way, and find some fellow band nerds that can put up with you long enough to write songs and tour with. You can hang fliers at guitar center or a local comic shop. You can find them online through facebook, or any site that you frequent. With the internet, you can even create music with people in completely different countries. You can record an idea, send the stems via drop box or e-mail and then get something back from them the next day. It's AMAZING!
   
   Maybe you want to go solo on this endeavor! That is perfectly fine as well. You can make everything in a program like GarageBand that is free. They have free drum loops (that I believe are royalty free), they have free software synths, and you can get a microphone for $30 that sounds pretty dang good if it's your first demo! Technology has pushed us to the point where you legitimately can be a one (wo)man band!
    
4. Don't Be A Dick
   This is probably the most pertinent piece of information offered during the panel. Be nice to everyone you run into, whether it be the neighbor who asks you to shut up and stop practicing before 8pm, or the band that opened for you, or the promoter who couldn't people you on a show. There is absolutely no reason to be a dick to anyone. You don't know what their day has been like, and there's no reason to take your bad day out on them. It will only burn bridges and make succeeding in an already difficult industry that much more difficult. Also, we all know that adage "You attract more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. Follow this one like it is in your bible.
    
5. Learn to Take Criticism/Compromise
   This is a mix of some tips from the panel as well as personal advice. Just do it. Learn to take criticism and learn how to compromise. When you are in a band, you are not the only member. There are X amount of other people in the band who care about the band as much as you. You will all have to compromise at certain points in the band and you will need to learn when to go along with another persons Idea.
   
   Learning to take Criticism is even more important, and there are two aspects to this. First you need to learn to decipher the constructive criticism from the people online who are being dick trolls. Once you have mastered that, and developed thick skin that repels all the internet's trollage, you can find the group of people you trust to be honest, and ask them for their honest opinions about the bands music, how to improve, etc. etc. There is no doubt that at some point, someone will say "What you're doing is wrong because of this." or "Have you tried it out like this?" ... don't take offense to them making suggestions or recommendations. Give their ideas a try (unless it's crack. Don't try it if it's crack) and move on. The ideas may work, or they may not, but trying out a different lyric, chord, key, tempo, melody, screen printer, etc never killed anyone.

The most important thing to do when starting your Nerd Rock Band is to have as much fun as you can because that's what it's all about. It's about writing songs about stuff that you love because you want to hear a song about it! Chances are, someone else wants to hear it to. 

Coverage of: rosecitycomiccon.com

Rose City Comic Con Announcement

Logan Naugle & Kelly Sue Deconnick

Greetings Earthlings. Bandrew Here. Tomorrow will be the first true write up for Rose City Comic Con. In the mean time, I just wanted to give y'all a quick update as to what's been going on, and why the podcast is going to be late today. 

Bandrew & Ryan Ottley

Logan and I have been lurking about in Portland, attending panel after panel at the Rose City CC. There will be plenty of coverage over the coming week including a VLOG documenting the experience, a podcast discussing the first day (which will hopefully be coming out a a little bit later today), and then quite a few discussions from Monday - Friday covering panels as well as our overall experience here at the Rose City Comic Con. In the panel discussions, we will be including a lot of information from the panels as well as links to the creators who were involved in the panel.

If you are from Portland or have been looking to go to a con outside of your home state, this is a great option. It seems to be a con focused on what Comic Con was created to celebrate. Comics. Check out http://rosecitycomiccon.com/ to pick up a ticket for today or to get prepared for next years con!