FUBAR has enough going on that it requires its own section of RANDOM NOTES!

To me, I think that FUBAR represents the best of what independent comics (and comics in general) can accomplish: a lot of different, talented people from all over coming together to tell fun stories on a regular basis.  The formula is difficult to sustain; having a regular creative team on a book comes with its own challenges, but an anthology, with all of its moving parts, can easily get bogged down in a "too many cooks" situation.  For whatever reason, FUBAR has bucked that trend and is moving along at a faster pace than ever before, and there are some new developments that should propel the book and concept into 2014 and, hopefully, beyond.

The latest news has to start with the final tally for Jeff McComsey's outrageously successful Kickstarter campain, which will bring us all the anticipated "Mother Russia" original graphic novel and a few other projects.  As you can see from the image above, there were almost 1900 backers, nearly all of whom ordered at least the book itself.  In terms of independent comics, selling this many books right off the bat is a huge success, one that we're all looking to build on.

One of the projects springing from this campaign is FUBAR: Better Red than Dead, a short anthology that'll be written by McComsey and me.  It, of course, takes place during the Cold War period and features a knock-down cover by the great Pietro.  This book will ship out to all Kickstarter backers who pledged at least $25 to the campaign, and I believe it will be offered to comic shops and at conventions at a later date.

The book soon to be on shelves is our new Guts and Glory feature, with stories taking place in earlier times, as the Steve Becker cover suggests.  This book will also ship to Kickstarter backers, though it'll show up in comic shops first.  As a matter of fact, it's available to order right now, with a Diamond order code of OCT130801.  Similar in format to the two By the Sword issues, I've got a story in this issue title "I Am".

The FUBAR crew, including the pictured Becker, Dom Vivona and McComsey, made a scene at the recently concluded New York Comic-Con.  I had a chance to sit in on the booth on the Saturday of the show and it was a busy, fun time.  The comic news website Bleeding Cool ran an interview about FUBAR, and McComsey and I took the time to answer some questions about the book and the concept in general.  The interview can be read in its entirety here: http://live.bleedingcool.org/2013/10/12/848/

Lastly, Swedish artist Daniel Thollin posted this picture recently of a magazine interview he gave.  Thollin has worked on a number of FUBAR projects, including the "Old Ghosts" story story that I wrote for volume two of the series.  You can see the book in the extreme foreground of the publicity shot, which is fun to take note of.  I don't speak Swedish, but I'm assuming that the article headline outs Thollin as the Batman of Sweden, which, let's face it, I kind of already figuerd.

FUBAR's 2012 Comic-Con Exclusive

Here's some thrilling and terrifying news: it's closing in on one month until the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con is upon us!  I've still got lots to do to prepare, but I'm making headway every day...it always seems like there's another dealing looming.  It's going to be a big show, of course, and I'm trying to be as prepared as I can be, even though experience tells me that there's no way to be 100% ready.

One of the things that Comic-Con is known for is exclusive products, and I felt like it would be cool to get in on that train.  Now that the dust has settled, I'm happy to announce that, with the help of some friends, I've put together an exclusive FUBAR book featuring an all new story titled "Old Ghosts".  I've shown a clip before; here's another:

The story is 11 pages long, is written by me and features art by Daniel Thollin.  The cover you see at the top of the page is by head honcho Jeff McComsey.  It's the first time we've used the FUBAR Presents logo and it may not be the last!  But if you wanna get a copy, it'll have to be in San Diego at Comic-Con.  We're printing out 200 copies of the 24-page book and selling it for $2.99 (well, $3.00, I guess).  It'll be interesting to see how the books do.  From an overall perspective, I hope that they get a few more people to check out the big anthology books.  The third anthology is coming along nicely and is on schedule for a late 2012 release.  I just saw the finished cover today!

I (almost desperately) wanted to use the official Comic-Con logo on the issue, and for a while, it seemed like it was going to happen.  Comic-Con lets others use its logo for no charge, and many items you see from the show have a sticker displaying the exclusivity and the famous Comic-Con eye that you see above.

When I submitted the book for review, though, I was told that FUBAR could not use the logo because the book was not all-ages appropriate.  Naturally, I already knew that, as it's got the same content on the surface as many other zombie-themed books: violence and gore.  What I didn't understand at the time is why FUBAR is excluded from using the logo when other "mature" items get the green light.

I brought this up with someone at the convention, and was told that no mature items are allowed to use the logo.  I knew that I had seen books that were just as, if not more, violent than FUBAR with the logo attached, so I did a quick Google search.  In no time I found the following two images among others of a similar nature:

Hey!  That's what we call a double standard, folks.  And I get it - life's not fair, and if you've got a big Hollywood presence, some of the rules are bent for you.  It's a shame and I wish we could use the logo (because it looks...so...cool!), but I guess it is what it is.  I don't want this post to come off like I've got a grudge or anything, because in the big scheme of things it's not a big deal.  But I was a little upset.  Even so, I look forward to hawking this limited edition of FUBAR Presents at Comic-Con!  Maybe I'll sell 199 and hold one back...for eBay.  That'd be something.

Avengers Paper Heroes! New FUBAR art! A new Thing statue! MORE RANDOM NOTES!!

Today was kind of a big day for me.  How to celebrate?  Well, what about another installment of random notes?  These are things that are awesome.  You'll thank me later.  Let's begin!

- Xavier Gale-Sides has done some great things on his My Paper Heroes website, where he creates paper action figures and shares them with a grateful planet.  His latest creations are Marvel's movie Avengers, and they're looking really nice.  The group shot you see above isn't even a complete set - Xavier also has Nick Fury and the Black Widow, not to mention "maskless" versions of Cap and Iron Man.  Best of all, he's got the patterns right on his website, and you can download them for free!

A while ago, Xavier made awesome paper versions of Teddy and the Yeti!  If you don't already have them, you can download them from this site and his, also for free!

Download the Paper Hero Ted HERE.
Download the Paper Hero Yeti HERE.

- Since we're on the subject of the Avengers movie, let me share a few more random thoughts with you.

First, did anyone else catch Loki's "mewling quim" line from his conversation with Black Widow?  Perhaps not, at least if you were part of an American audience.  The only reason I caught this line - which is SUPER offensive, by the way - is because I watch (and love) the British comedy "The Inbetweeners", which is a fantastic, if not crude, program.

It's surprising that this line made it in, and it makes me wonder if it's okay to make rude and suggestive comments in movies as long as they're not part of the local lexicon.  Firefly, for instance (another Joss Whedon production), featured swearing of all sorts, but it was all in Chinese.  It's strange to think that swearing, something American audiences seem to get pretty worked up about, is allowed in this manner.  What about people who speak Chinese?  Or people who emigrated from China?  They get to hear it all.  Yet if it's in English, it'll probably get you a fine or an "R" rating.  Weird.

Next, how about that product placement in the movie?  There were Dr. Pepper sightings galore, but what stood out to me as the most forced was the, uh, interestingly placed Farmer's Insurance office during the big fight scene.  I mean, I know they're a sponsor of the thing.  But come on.  Does anyone say "I think I'll switch my insurance company!" because he/she saw the words in the background of a movie?  Also weird.

- There's been lots of progress on the upcoming third volume of FUBAR, and I'm excited to share some of the art for the first time.  Both are stories I'm luckily involved in.  Above is a clip from a story titled "Old Ghosts".  It deals with a WWI vet and features art by Daniel Thollin.  It's looking great so far.  In FUBAR volume 2, I lettered a story by Stephen Lindsay and Thollin titled "Run Silent, Run Dead".

- This art is from an as-of-yet untitled story that takes place during the Battle of the Alamo.  It's got art by Steve Becker and Jeff McComsey, and it's coming along swimmingly.  I can't give away too much about this or, really, any of the FUBAR 3 details, but things are happening, and if you liked what came before, you'll be happy with what's to come.  I know I'm excited about it.

- I got a new Thing statue in the mail!  I guess "statue" isn't the best word for it...maybe "figure"?  I don't know.  Anyway, here are some pictures of it, whatever it is:

Above and below is the tin it came in!

And inside the lid is a little pamphlet and a pin.  Both are pretty cool.

This is a great figure.  It's funny, because Dark Horse is responsible for this series, which features the rest of the Fantastic Four as well as other Marvel characters.  The figure itself is pretty small, solid, and hand painted.  Obviously it's going for a retro look, and it succeeds in pretty much every manner.  It's a cool new addition to the collection.

- If you have a blog with Blogger, chances are you regularly (perhaps obsessively) check your stats.  I am certainly no exception.  I had more monthly page views than ever before in April - my first time over 4,000 views in a month (thanks, folks)!  This number was no doubt nudged along by the above oddity, where I apparently got over 500 views all at once.  How did this happen?  Online flash mob?  I have no idea, but I'm not complaining.

- Here's another fun stat.  People are finding this blog by searching Google Images for the UHF logo!  I've been hoping for this ever since I posted the UHF Six Panel Cinema and thank goodness at least three people took the bait.  The below image is currently on the second page of Google Images if you search for "UHF movie logo".  Maybe one of the searchers is even Weird Al.  I can dream, right??  Let's bump up those odds by posting it one more time...

There.  Great.  Have a good one, everybody!

FUBAR: Empire of the Rising Dead Diamond order code

I've known that FUBAR: Empire of the Rising Dead would be in this month's Previews catalogue for a while, but now I've got an order code to pass along.  Volume two in this WWII epic has the following order code: OCT11 0764.

I've got a few stories that will appear in this volume - "Life Preserves" with Mario Wytch, Amy Corbin and Jeff McComsey, the second instillation of "FDArrrgh" with Leonardo Pietro, and "Run Silent, Run Dead", which I lettered, with Daniel Thollin and Stephen Lindsay.  So that's three reasons right off the bat to give this book a try - but there are dozens more as anyone who's seen the preview edition that appeared at the Baltimore Comic-Con can attest to.  This is going to be a huge book - 256 pages! - and there'll be lots of stories to read from some incredible creators, topped off by Danilo Beyruth's awesome cover, also the second in the series.

The clock is ticking - pre-orders are being taken this month.  I hope that if you've enjoyed my writing and/or volume one of FUBAR, you'll take a chance and give this book a try.

FUBAR: Run Silent, Run Dead

The first showing of FUBAR volume 2 is getting ready for the printer, and just as with the first volume, I am working on lettering a story in addition to writing my own.  The clip you see above is from a story titled "Run Silent, Run Dead", and it's written by Stephen Lindsay with nice, moody art by Daniel Thollin.

This beast clocks in at 16 pages, so the lettering on my end has been fast and furious, as the deadline approaches quickly.  It's almost certainly the speediest I've ever lettered anything, but I'm happy with the results so far (I've still got four pages to go), and beyond that, since I didn't write it there's less of a chance that it's unnecessarily wordy...so that helps.

This volume of FUBAR debuts in under two months at the Baltimore Comic-Con!