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INTERACTIVE BLOG ON ITS WAY... TILL THEN: respond to avast@shebuccaneer.com and we'll post 11/30/09 Well Good-Golly-Almighty! We must be crazy, but now looks like SheBuccaneer Origins is next after all... due to popular demand! We'll include a bonus story in each upcoming book that'll introduce The Aquabots, Matt Mercury and others! So on with the show this is it! 11/25/09 Work is going great on SheBuccaneer Origins, but we've moved a new title to the "NEXT" spot in our roster. In February 2010 get ready for - THE MIGHTY AQUABOTS! The story opens after a terrible accident (only referred to as “The Mistake”) has left 90% of Earth’s land mass submerged and the moon in rubble. Two scientists are working to save humanity's future. Dr. William Nelson has built a race of robots to construct a livable, underwater continent known as Aquatica. The other, Dr. Hector Finn, is working to genetically mutate humanity to breathe water and naturally live under the sea. Of course there’s a falling out between the two, leaving Nelson dead, his only son (Jett Nelson) to be raised by an Aquabot named Rocky and Finn mutated into an evil fish-man. In the world Jett grows up in is plagued by futuristic pirates. Jett devotes his life to hunting these criminals, because he can’t hunt anyone else. One day, Jett is confronted by the Hector (who has become The Black Fin) and his mutant fish army. He must momentarily join forces with the pirates to battle Black Fin. Soon the Aquabots come to the rescue, but not before he falls for a cute pirate girl named Jones. Jones is hurt in the fight and Jett chooses to save her. He and the Aquabots take her to the nearly finished Aquatica where she is healed. By the end of the first series (4 books) Jett and the Aquabots invade Black Fin’s deep ocean laboratory, destroy his mutating factory and kill Black Fin. Unfortunately Jett is also, forever, separated from Jones who has been turned into a sea-breather. He also has a new enemy, another mutated pirate (her old captain) who calls himself The Blue Neptune. So lots of mutant sea life, a cute pirate girl (as always), a hero and futuristic sub battles. We promise more action than the human mind can withstand! Keep an eye out for SheBuccaneer as well... she's just beyond the horizon! As many of you know, we are just two (sometimes three) people doing everything here at Great Big Comics. That's the main reason we can't crank these out as fast as we'd like. We do appreciate all our fans and supporters, so we're working hard to entertain... and have fun ourselves. The Aquabots will be a blast for us. Hope you enjoy the new addition! 10/25/09 As many of ye mates might know by now, the first ever SheBuccaneer Trade Paperback is done, out, fini, on-the-shelves and out of our collective hair! Since it was our first trade, thar be much to learn! And we sure did learn it! Next time around it'll be much smoother for everyone involved. Still, it turned out great and we're very proud of it. APE Entertainment took care of the printing this time and, with the support of Diamond Distribution, really made it all possible. THANKS GUYS!!!! So what's next? SheBuccaneer "ORIGINS" is in production. along with several other projects. It'll be a three issue, full color book that recounts the young life of our lusty lady of the deep blue. There'll be Calico Jack Rackham, Blackbeard, Charles Vane and, OH YES, Anne Bonny and Mary Read! We'll not only review what made our girl the most feared pirate that rode the frothy brine, we'll also tell you who 'er mother and father be, what her true name is and why she wears the twin skull and bones (yes there's a reasonable accounting of such). It's all a heavy bit of history and a dash of Featherbone's drunken storytellin' to be sure! Oh, and there'll be more of Mr. Ben Franklin as well. There's somethin' amiss with the post master and patriot.. something a secret society has put him up to! Like I said, we've got more bubblin' in the pot! Matt Mercury will finally published and this time he'll have some insights for all you want to be filmmakers out there. The two issue series will also feature a heaping dose of behind the scenes details about the award winning short film of the same name. You'll get all the details you need to make your film debut! 06/25/09 Well, as many of the crew now know, our loyal and much beloved crewdog Chin (aka Pug-Boy) be lost to the unyielding and cold embrace of the deep blue this past month. He graced each and every Great Big Comics cover (you have to look hard, but his face is there) and will live on in our chests as the greatest dog in the universe. With that, we've also embarked upon a great adventure of our own. SheBuccaneer's first collected voyages Trade Paperback is being put together as number 6 rolls off the press. This volume is going to be FRACKIN' FANTASTIC! We've included all the web-episodes and even added several pages to the story so far. Another cool feature is the logo-less cover art and all the guest artist pin-ups! We are so stinking jazzed about the whole thing we just can't tell you! Diamond has really stepped up to support the trade as well. Our great friends and honored crewman, bold Jim Meyer, is piloting us through these unknown waters like a master at the helm. We've even gotten some highly coveted acclaim in the July Preview magazine (that's when she'll be available, in July... HINT HINT). Here's a look at what the Diamond staff has to say:
Also, as mentioned in issue #5, we've put the first issue of Matt Mercury up on the site for free. You can see it and the feature film that follows on: http://www.mattmercury.com We had originally planned to produce three issues of a title, move on to the next title and go back and forth like that as much as possible. The reality of it is, we can't stand the idea of making our SheBuccaneer fans wait for the next issue to come out. (Fans were not something we anticipated.. go figure, we're comic book people, remember!) So anyway, we got Mercury out as best we could and we'll return to him someday. But before we do, we have several other titles we'd love to do and we've got the seven seas to cross with our girl Bucky! Another unexpected result of our efforts was the high praise we've gotten. One of the comments we seem to get regularly, is that we are "Old School". That's not what we set out to be, but we're thrilled that's what happened. Here's some of what Andy Oliver, of BrokenFrontier.com had to say: "Outside of the main feature the book reaches out to its readership in a way which was once common but is seldom seen in these Internet-intensive days. There’s a concerted effort to build a relationship with the audience through the inclusion of question and answer pages, a retailer focus and the opportunity for readers to join the SheBuccaneer’s crew on the printed page. For those of us old enough to remember the feeling of inclusion that Stan’s Bullpen Bulletins engendered (in Marvel Comics of the 1970s for this fan) this is a lovely touch. A fast-paced foray into skulduggery and high adventure, The Voyages of SheBuccaneer is unashamedly old school comics fun! Diverting, and refreshingly undemanding, it’s the perfect Summer alternative to the complex angst and doom of the more established comic book universes." We really appreciate the nice comments, but we also are grateful to see that some of our efforts harkens back to the days when we enjoyed comic books so much. This is all been a wonderful journey so far and we hope to bring everyone we can along for the ride! In other news, Will may be using some of his down time (during the trade production cycle) to step back into a short Star Wars gig for Scholastic books. If this happens, SheBuccaneer Origins may be delayed a month, but when she hits the waves again you all find out what makes her the most dread pirate lass on the seven seas! Stay tune and we'll let you know about that. Lastly, we want to say a big howdy to our chums in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Europe and the subcontinent. We are so thrilled to have you all on board. We're going to get over there to meet you all someday soon... speaking of which, we've been asked several times about ComicCon and other major events. The fact is, we're still cash-poor in this effort and we're time-crunched as well. Will's been able to sneak away to some Texas events, but that's all time allows right now. We can not wait for the day when we can meet everyone we've talked to via e-mail, so we'll see ya soon! 05/09/09 Matt Mercury's web site is getting almost totally done. We have the book and movie there, if ye be so inclined: Oh, another thing to look forward to in number 6 an INCREDIBLE centerfold by artist Marcio Takara! You can see it now on: http://www.marciotakara.com/shebuc.htm 03/06/09 I think my problem is (and I know you were askin') that I missed the emotional growth of the characters that I enjoyed so much in the book. Redemption really wasn't in order, but some spark was missing in the movie. I know, I know, SheBuccaneer is a bit of a bloody little pup these days, but she's in for some major growth by voyage end. Oh yes, she'll be redeemed, enlightened and all sorts of other really cool literary-type stuff. Oh, and she'll have fun every step of the way. 12/01/08 The mini-voyages are on-line and book #4, "Eye of the Jade Dragon" is on the boards. From here till March we'll be writing and drawin' day and night for yer pirate pleasure! 11-10-08 Wizard World Texas 2008 is now history and even more so for us as our first comic book convention as Great Big Comics. Will attended and was able to meet fans of the SheBuccaneer as well as introduce her to new audiences. We are so grateful for your outpouring of support and the recognition we received at the show. SheBuccaneer has a wind at her back and now we're ready to push her along to her next adventure in the Sea of China. Old friends Red Five, creators of Atomic Robo, were in attendance, along with Bedrock City, Lone Star Comics, Midnight Comics and our new friends over at Ape Entertaiment. Will also reports meeting several idols of his at the convention. Frank Cho stood in line with him at registration, he was able to chat with sculpting great Clayton More and of course there was The Incredible Lou Ferrigno, the always hairy Peter Mayhew, not to mention the Honky Tonk Man and more! Will is sad to report he was still unable to get a highly-prized signature from the elusive star of Goonies and Lost Boys, Corey Feldman! *Thar she blows! The Great Big Comics booth at Wizard World 08, ready fer piratical mayhem!
11-01-08 You know, as an Indy publisher, you plan and plan and then reality hits ye like a wet tuna from a warm sea! Our second title, Matt Mercury and His Rocket Ranger just didn't find an audience... so what does that mean to bloodthirsty buccaneers such as ye? It means SheBuccaneer is heading back to savage seas earlier than expected. We're jumping right back into the quest, with our next title: Eye of the Jade Dragon! It'll hit the shelves in March and begin the continuing series... that's right, Bucky will be hitting the stores every two months. The Jade Dragon will be a ton of swashbuckling fun with wizards and monsters and our lusty lady in chains! It'll last three issues and be followed by the Origins story. We're super excited to get back to drawing our favorite pirate! And what of Matt Mercury? Its really a great title and a lot of fun. We'll repackage it with the DVDs and release it when his audience is ready. Off to WIZARD WORLD TEXAS! I hope I get to say hi to Frank Cho... Check it all out on: http://www.wizardworld.com/guests-tx.html 10-10-08 A Brief(ish) History of Great Big Comics Putting aside all the silliness (which is hard to do with Matt Mercury and even SheBuccaneer) and recounting an accurate history behind these comic book projects, it soon becomes clear that Matt Mercury had many parents and SheBuccaneer was an unplanned bundle of joy. Matt Mercury first came into existence as a live-action short film, but before that he appeared as any number of similar science fiction characters that found themselves in a Hughes comic book. The first comic Book Will ever produced was a direct ancestor to the daring Captain Mercury of today. It was called Manhattan Rogers and His Flying Devil-Doggy Commandoes. Only one hundred copies of the black and white book were ever produced. Many of them found their way into the hands of friends and relatives. Some, however, actually ended up on a few comic book shop shelves and were purchased by equally daring fans of obscure and crude comics. This first book was based on an earlier high-school newspaper collaboration between Will and Lee Sullivan. Sullivan had first envisioned the space-ace as a muscle-bound, centurion-helmeted, cigar-chomping, machine-gun-toating mercenary. Will quickly set about adding rockets and space-stations and yes… buxom heroines to the story. Yet alas, he bouncing babes put a quick end to the hero’s academic newspaper adventures. So time passed and, after many boring summer days as an amusement park caricature artist, Will decided to morph into a real comic book artist. Manhattan Rogers was a character he knew well and Will was eager to see him in print again. Quickly loosing all of his money on the first book, Will soon returned to the life of a circus geek. College came and went for Will along with several careers in advertising, publishing and design. One day Will saw an opportunity to submit artwork to Fantagraphics comics for their annual swimsuit issue. Will had no interest in seeing Manhattan Rogers in a speedo, so he drew up a little minx he called SheBuccaneer. When the book’s editor, Ryder Windham got the art, he called to let Will know he had not made the cut for the swimsuit issue. However, Ryder asked Will if he’d be interested in producing a mini-series based on the girl with the Jolly-Twins. Will eagerly agreed. The SheBuccaneer appeared for the first time in 1992 as a creator owned mini-series through Fantagraphic’s Monster Comics imprint. This thrilled Will no end because his idol, the late Dave Stevens, had just done a cover for them depicting King Kong and his girlfriend. Will understood that Stevens produced his covers, at the time, using a very complex procedure that allowed him to watercolor directly on a board and totally separate out the black line work. Wanting to do everything just the way Dave did, Will got involved with chemical washes, arch lamps and no shortage a screwed up art boards. Eventually, the cover came out just as Will had envisioned. But the comic was poorly supported and sales didn’t demand a third issue. After several months,Will received another fateful call from Ryder. This time the editor was at another company named Dark Horse Comics. Ryder had been given a property that most comic book artists, at the time, had little interest in. It was an old title that had fallen out of fashion over the years. Worse yet, it was now considered kid’s stuff. The title was Star Wars and he was looking for a penciler. Will had a keen sense of the first series’ tone and was happy to jump on board as penciler for Star Wars Droids. The scripts were tame, but there was great joy for Will in the freedom Ryder gave him to design scenes and characters. Will was dabbling in the pool of the gods and he knew it! During his run as a Star Wars penciler, Will produced another creator owned series through Antarctic Press. Once again, the books were a retelling of the space opera characters he fell in love with all those years ago. The books were title Addam Omega and the mini-series ran four issues this time. Addam Omega had to be rushed because of the Star Wars demands, but it gave Will a chance to color his first covers on a computer. This would come in useful because he would soon be asked to do full-color Star Wars covers for Micro-Machines. Addam Omega brought Manhattan Rogers and several other characters back to life. The story also introduced The Controllers and several other theme elements that would later appear in Matt Mercury. Addam Omega existed in a much more refined universe and was the closest Will had gotten to a fully realized vision. Will understood that the final results of his Star Wars work was not totally in his control. That said, they reached an audience of millions and they were fun to do. When time allowed, Will was even able to ink some of his work, like cereal box covers and toy promotion mini-comics, but mostly the job was an assembly-line. When Doug Chang took the art director position for the next three Star Wars films, Will was offered the opportunity to illustrate several of the Essential Guide books. This turned out to be a titanic amount of work, but having the satisfaction of controlling the final outcome made it all worth it. Will knew he was going to have to turn his back on other people’s stories at some point. When good money starts coming in, time starts going out. If he was going to do his own titles, time was something Will could not afford to sell. By the turn of the century, Will had met his wife Heidi and they embarked on developing film projects. Heidi was a great storyteller and together they produced a stack of screenplays. In 2001 they wrote Tombs of Eden which would become the first SheBuccaneer comic under the Great Big Comics imprint. Tombs of Eden, along with several other titles, soon garnered interest from several production companies in Los Angeles and New York. After many rewrites, the couple decided to produce films themselves (only a bad idea if you don’t have unlimited amount of money to throw away). Will and Heidi formed The Big Tex Movin’ Picture Company and began work on an animated story of Texas History. Heidi, being the producer in the room, called for name talent to be attached to the project. “Who’s near that we would love to work with?”, she mused. Well, just so happened that veteran actor James Drury was available, close and a bonafied cowboy! Will loved the idea, because he knew that James’ first job was to play a crewman on the C57D in Forbidden Planet. “Yes, whatever it costs!”, cried Will. So James was onboard, now they needed music. The Riders in The Sky had two grammys in their pockets for the Toy Story movies and Heidi, being the personable producer-type, made friends with the band. The next thing you know the Riders were recording the voices and offering the tunes. Problem was, as it so often is, timing. After the audio tracks were completed, Will and Heidi began wrangling the deal with the band’s management (note for the future: do that first). It took nearly a year to iron out the details. By that time Will & Heidi had produced a horror film titled The Color of Blood. The movie included all the required elements… cute girls who scream, blood, a monster, a great soundtrack and more blood. The couple quickly learned that being a success in the film business has nothing to do with how good a filmmaker you are and everything to do with distribution! No less than twelve international distribution companies offered contracts on the film. Problem was, all the contracts offered was a kick in the teeth and no money. Will and Heidi still had several great film properties and even much of the pre-production on the cartoon, but filmmaking would have to wait until they had a bit more pull. The film company was reorganized and Great Big Comics was formed. Will knew how to get comic books into the hands of an audience. Now their stories could get to the public quicker and retain their strong visual elements. One of the first things Will and Heidi decided was that, if you do the cover, you do the guts! That would mean a ton of work for the two of them. It would also mean that a book could be produced once every two months. Their daughter Elizabeth was brought on to do production color and, eventually, editing. To date, Great Big Comics is a family effort, but the stories are piling up and, someday, other artists may be employed to address the back load. So that’s pretty much the story of Great Big Comics. We’ll see where it goes from here, but as things stand, Will and Heidi are thrilled to be doing the work and the support of the fans is beyond gratifying! 09-25-08 Well we made it through hurricane Ike and got SheBuccaneer #3 to press with the help of a generator and the gas we pulled out of the ample tank of a 1976 Gran Torino! Hope we don't have to do that again anytime soon. Now our lusty lady of the deep blue will continue her voyage within the pages of our next series Matt Mercury and His Rocket Rangers. Its a fun, all ages, story about her trials amidst the Avatars of the Indian Ocean. Since we're always learning, we'll do our best to use this blog to pass on any inside scoop we might glean from our efforts as Indy comic producers. That's it fer now... 'bout all we can manage at the moment. We did get the blog up though and that's gotta count for something!
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