Andy Schmidt, director of Comics Experience, Senior Editor at IDW Publishing and author of The Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels has announced the beginning of his 2010 lineup with industry pros such as Chris Sotomayer and Mark Guggenheim.

Check it out!

–Mona

by editor, writer, teacher, Andy Schmidt

IMPACT author Steve Ellis is having a busy month in publishing — he’s got two books hitting the shelves within thirty days.

Book #1: The Harvey Award-winning online comic High Moon illustrated by Steve and written by David Gallaher recently printed in bound graphic novel format. Check out this stylish promo or buy it on Amazon.

Book #2: The ultimate guide to drawing Ellis’s trademark werewolves as well as other vicious, blood-sucking, brain-gobbling creeps appropriately titled Scream. It includes 23 complete step-by-step demos for vampires, witches, zombies, mummies, ghosts and other classic horror characters such as this part bat, part demon WEREBAT:

Or this evil, rotting ZOMBIE PIRATE.

Click on the book cover below to buy a copy online, just in time for Halloween 2009.

Happy Friday everyone! We’re wrapping up the week with a fourth installment of super-awesome designer Wendy Dunning’s exploits at Mid-Ohio-Con:

With a Little Help from Your Friends
Comic Art Collaboratives and Groups
I found that Columbus has a couple of groups of folks that get together to share their art with each other. One of these is Sunday Comix, founded by Max Ink. Sunday Comix meets once a month (on a Sunday) so that members can share works in progress and get feedback. It’s open to artists, writers and readers. Their website is www.sundaycomix.blogspot.com. They are sponsoring Comix from the Crypt, a haunting art show of member’s works, now through the end of the month of October. A couple of members are pictured here.

Also in Columbus is a group called PANEL. This is a writers and artists collaborative that publishes anthologies with Ferret Press. The anthologies come out twice a year, with the current one being number 14, PANEL of Horror. I stopped to talk to Brent Bowman, who did the cover art for PANEL of Horror.

Q: How long have you been doing this?
A: So long, I can’t remember. But more in the last 4 years since I’ve been with PANEL.

Brent is working on a comic called Allied Powers (www.alliedpowerscomic.com). The writer is Craig Bogart, who has his own comic called The Ineffables (www.theineffables.com). I picked up a couple of issues of both. The Ineffables is kooky fun from the two issues I’ve read so far, and I have not yet broken into Allied Powers.

PANEL website: www.ferretpress.com/weblog
Ferret Press: www.ferretpress.com

The moral of the story: hook up with some of your comic buds to keep the comics dream alive.

Here’s a book by some comic artists that work together: Wreaking Havoc. Written by Jim Pavalec, Chris Seaman, Chuck Lukacs and Thomas Manning, this book shows you how to draw the characters and creatures that wreak havoc and their weapons of destruction. And if October has you in the mood for some horror, check out Jim Pavalec’s Hell Beasts or Steve Ellis’s Scream.

Fellow IMPACTians, wait no more. Today we bring you badass designer Wendy Dunning’s third installment about her adventures at Mid-Ohio-Con last weekend in Columbus, Ohio:

Lots of folks think small press publications when they think indie comics, but nothing is more independent than putting the entire thing together yourself. That’s what Ryan Claytor does with his autobiographical series And Then One Day. This is no straight-up autobiography; rather than Ryan telling the story of his life, he asked his friends to do the work and then translated that into comic form. Check the series out on Ryan’s website www.elephanteater.com. It’s a great site, and you can preview samples from his books as well as order them and other assorted goodies.

I first saw Ryan in San Diego at the 2008 Comic-Con, and with this con being a little less crazy, I stopped to ask him a few questions:

Q: When did you know you wanted to do these comics?
A: It was shortly after college. I’d collected comics as a kid, but just kind of forgot about them. Then a friend asked for a ride to a comic store, and I just got inspired again, especially by the work of Sergio Aragonés. Then I did an internship with Marvel, and I’ve been doing my own stuff for about 5 years.

Q: What’s your favorite comic?
A: Groo the Wanderer

Q: What’s your favorite TV show?
A: I like to watch HGTV. I’m hoping to own a house someday.

For more on creating your own comics check out Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels or Manga Pro Superstar Workshop.

According to Entertainment Weekly, an official Twilight Manga from Yen Press is in the works. A pub date is yet to be released, but the novel will feature the artistry of Young Kim and panels are reportedly being reviewed thoroughly by Meyer herself. 

The latest EW magazine features finished illustrations of Edward, Bella, and Jacob, as well as more behind-the-scenes on what we can expect. Click here to read a little more about this new development, or pick up your copy of EW today–it hit newsstands July 17.

IMPACT’s newest manga instructional book is coming this Fall to a store near you. With Shojo Fashion Manga Art School you’ll learn all about drawing people, creating great expressions, clothing your characters, and placing people into settings. Everything you need to bring your manga to life.

But, you don’t have to wait. Get your fashion fix now by clicking here for a FREE demo from Shojo Fashion Manga Art School.

Enjoy!

Preorder Shojo Fashion Manga Art School now at Amazon.com.

The Jim Henson Company announced a new publishing partnership with Archaia Comics earlier this week. Kids of the ’80s dance your cares away! Red, Wembley, Mokey and the gang will be one of the first Henson productions adapted into graphic novel format. Reps from both companies will announce the creative schedule for the radish-noshing frenemies of Doozers and other Henson entities at San Diego Comic-Con in July.

This joint venture is definitely IMPACTastic, though let’s hope they install an audio chip in each Fraggle book’s spine that plays the theme song with the press of a button. Listen to this guy play it on a six-string.

From left to right: Wembley, Red, Gobo, Mokey, Boober

What with retro all the rage now, it’s only fitting that an early 1900s adventure novel, Tom Swift, should hit the silver screen.

According to my favorite news source, newsarama.com, Columbia Pictures has picked up Swift, a Barry Sonnenfeld/Ben David Grabinski pitch that’s described as a “reimagining of the Tom Swift adventure novels.” 

Tom first appeared in 1910 and has appeared in new titles as recently as 2007. The books focus on teenager Tom and his series of awesome inventions. The character has evolved over the years, but the books have always stayed focused on the beneficial effects of science and technology.

Interested in inventing your own technological doohickeys? Check out these great IMPACT titles:

IMPACT University is the single most important even for any artist or writer looking to make it in the world of comics and graphic novels. Don’t believe me? Just check out this list to see why this even isn’t to be missed!

1. The comics industry is a lucrative and growing market. Don’t work for The Man—make a career out of writing, drawing, inking or coloring killer comics of your own!

2. You won’t have the opportunity to learn first-hand from so many awesome pros anywhere else. Yes, they’ll be at Comic-Con, surrounded by hundreds of fans and you won’t even get close to them. This is your only chance to talk one-on-one with the folks who are living the dream!

3. You know you have the talent—the key is letting the rest of the world know it, too. At IMPACT University, you’ll learn to self-promote ad build a professional network for yourself and your work. Writers can find illustrators, illustrators can find writers. It’s your first stop on the road to success.

4. There are thousands of artists and writers out there right now trying to do exactly what you’re doing—break into comics. The exclusive insider info you’ll glean at IMPACT University will put you miles ahead of the competition.

5. Our speakers are experts. And while not everyone can be the next Amanda Conner or Jimmy Palmiotti, they’ll help you find your niche in the industry and hone your skills.

Attending IMPACT University is a small investment that will make a huge difference in your career as a comics writer or artist. There are dozens of reasons why you simply must sign up!

Check out this article excerpt from the 2008 edition of Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. IMPACT event coordinator, Greg Hatfield, asks super-star comics and graphic novel writer Peter David about his experiences as a writer. Find out what he has to say below.

A: Sure it’s fair. Many fans wring their hands and decry changes in characters and characterization as if this is something remotely new. People think what makes a character iconic is that he never changes, and that’s just not right. What makes a character iconic is that he is extremely malleable. No matter what you do to them, no matter how much you man change their look, background or environment, they are still recognizable that same character. Tarzan remains Tarzan whether he’s an English lord with Jane by his side or a confused New York resident with Jane now a police detective (although the TV version kinda sucked for entirely different reasons).

Q: Do writers have a responsibility to their readers to keep their characters constant?

A: Change is constant in comics. Change is good. If iconic characters couldn’t survive change, they wouldn’t be iconic.

Q: What’s better, creating a new character or working on an established one?

A: They both have advantages. The nice thing about a new character—presuming it’s creator-owned like Fallen Angel—is that you’re in total control of everything that’s going on. It’s a blank slat that you have total license to write on. An established character naturally has tighter rules. . . but it also presents a greater challenge to a writer in terms of finding new and different ways to keep the character interesting for changing audiences.

Q: What’s the one thing every writer should know?

A: Don’t take rejection personally. It’s not a commentary on you as a person. Keep your own self-esteem separate from your work. It helps to have a huge ego.

And that they should buy my book Writing for Comics [and Graphic Novels] with Peter David, published by IMPACT Books, so they can stop asking me for advice all the time.

Sign up for IMPACT University’s Pro Comics and Art Workshop and get more advice on the art of writing for comics and graphic novels, straight from Peter himself!