Tag: Arkhaven

Will Caligan’s Comic

This is an announcement for a special one-week campaign designed to provide work for Will Caligan, a military veteran, a Christian, and a comic artist who was swarmed by SJWs and lost his publishing arrangement due to his willingness to stand up for his beliefs about right and wrong. All of the funds raised will go to paying for the production of one or more comics illustrated by Will that will be published by Arkhaven. The graphic novel – or novels – will be based on novels chosen by the backers that have been contributed by various authors, and comics legend Chuck Dixon will be providing the adapted scripts for free. A Gold-rate team of colorists, Arklight Studios, will provide the colors for the cover at a steep discount.

50 percent of the revenues from any subsequent sale of the comics and graphic novels will go to Will and to the direct contributors to producing the comic. (The author whose work is selected, the colorists, etc.) This does not include me or the Arkhaven team. For more details about the campaign and to view the backing options, please visit Freestartr. And please spread the word, especially on Twitter.

Thanks to everyone who put this campaign together on very short notice.

  • Jon Del Arroz
  • Freestartr
  • Arklight Studios
  • Chuck Dixon
  • Nick Cole
  • John C. Wright
  • Peter Grant
  • Lawdog
  • Rolf Nelson
  • Kai Wai Cheah
  • Rawle Nyanzi
  • Team Arkhaven

And as a bonus, if you visit the campaign page, you can see one of the new Alt★Hero covers illustrated by Cliff Cosmic and colored by Arklight Studios.

Peter Grant shares his thoughts.

The press release from Short Fuse Media Group concerning the matter.

Short Fuse Media Group, LLC. was founded on the principles of uniting all PEOPLE and embracing diversity.

In order to maintain those principles, the decision has been made from our senior staff to sever ties with Will Caligan and Alpha Dog Studios, effective immediately as a result of comments that were made by Will that were deemed to be offensive by members of the indie comic book community as well as the LGBT Community.

Short Fuse Media Group, LLC. would like to formally apologize to the members of the indie comic book community, the LGBT Community and especially the current (and prior) members/talent of our roster who are also a part of the LGBT community for the length of time that it took to fully understand the scope of what had taken place and act on this accordingly as again, we support and respect all PEOPLE from ALL walks of life.

Sure they do. Sure they do.

The heroes of Avalon: FAZER

Now that we’ve got several scripts done, it is clear that CHUCK DIXON’S AVALON is really going to be very different than the Alt★Hero comics proper. Whereas I like to focus on worldbuilding and city-level events of international significance, Chuck prefers to go street. He’s focused on citybuilding, crime-fighting, and street-level events, and while the city of Avalon is an integral part of the universe of Alt★Hero, it is a small, detailed, and distinct part of it.

FAZER is one of the first new characters created by Chuck and he will be appearing in both the first and second issues. The description: FAZER is King Ace’s crime fighting partner. He’s the brains of the pair and resents being referred to as a sidekick. The guy has a very short fuse. He’s much slighter and shorter than King Ace. His power is the ability to phase through solid objects. He can maintain the phasing stage only through tremendous concentration. Fazer wears an all-over suit that hides his face entirely. The suit is made of leather as Fazer can only phase organic materials. Fazer is Hapa, with a white father and a Filipino mother. 

The amazing thing to me is how, in just two issues, Chuck has already managed to create intriguing characters with distinct individuality and complex personal relationships. It is no wonder he is considered a comics legend. And yes, if you think you recognize the artist’s signature, it is indeed the gentleman you have in mind. He is illustrating CHUCK DIXON’S AVALON #1.

I would have tweeted this link out, but Twitter suspended the ArkhavenComics account as soon as it was created, before we’d even had the chance to upload a logo for the profile. So, we’ll be posting our regular social media announcements on the AltHeroComic Facebook page and leaving any Twitter repostings up to the fans.

Interview with the legend

Ethan Van Sciver interviews Chuck Dixon. From the section where they discussed Chuck’s involvement with Arkhaven.

CD: I don’t mind being edited, but I mostly want to be left alone on the creative end. I wasn’t interested in books that were political, they weren’t going to be screeds, but they would reflect my life view. They wouldn’t tell anybody what to think. And [Vox] was fine with that.

I wanted to be free of the kind of concerns I would have working for another company where I would have to be politically correct, where I would have to be diverse for the sake of diversity, that kind of thing. He said no, that’s fine, that’s what he was looking for. Basically, he was doing the book that would take all the slings and arrows, but if I wanted to do straight-ahead superhero adventure set in the universe he created that was fine.

That’s where we started, and then it turned into more books, and more involvement, and that’s where we stand. The first artist is working on the second book now, the first book is going to the colorist.

A few weeks ago, he thought of the idea of adapting PG Wodehouse into comic book form, not knowing that I’m a longtime Wodehouse fan. He teamed me with Gary Kwapisz, who I’ve worked with for 30 years and never knew was a Wodehouse fan. We’re adapting Right Ho, Jeeves, which should have a huge audience overseas.

Like all the editors I used to like working with, he has faith in me and he’s letting me do what I want. So, it’s kind of irresistible.

And he’s paying on time!

EVS: He is?

CD: Yes, he is, he is paying on time. It’s a reduced rate against participation and backend, but I’ve been doing that for years.

EVS: So what do you think? Do you think he’s going to succeed?

CD: I think project by project, we’ll have to see what happens. He’s certainly got different ideas, he’s got ideas that don’t come from comics which is a good thing, sometimes. He seeks my guidance all the time. He’s always picking my brain.

Disabled veteran fired by SJWs

SJWs don’t care who you are if you violate their narrative.

Will Caligan, a Desert Shield and Desert Storm veteran suffering Gulf War Syndrome, is out of a job. What caused him to lose it is one more weight on the scale that is tipping America toward total insanity. Caligan is a talented comics artist who contracted with Short Fuse Media Group to produce comic books. If you have followed any of my investigations into #Comicsgate you would know that the comics industry has been completely taken over by rabid alt-left types who spent their days devising ways to destroy beloved characters by “diversifying” them into an approved SJW mold. Caligan, a conservative Christian, had little chance of survival in that environment. One hint of wrongthink could spell curtains for any artist, writer or producer in today’s comics climate. In Caligan’s case, he made the catastrophic mistake of voicing his opinion about a pop culture story about a straight man rebuffing a kiss from a transwoman….

Caligan contacted Sean Mack, his boss at Short Fuse Media Group, who seemed to take the whole thing in stride at first, writing in a communication, “If it’s not this, it would be for something else. Don’t stress over it. I’m good and we’re dealing with it head on. I have your back!” He quickly changed his tune with no explanation — presumably after being threatened by rabid SJWs and facing too much pressure by the lynch mob — and cut ties with Caligan. “I’m going to have to put some distance between us until you can change the perception people have of you,” wrote Mack.

I’ve been asked to see if there is anything we can do as a comics publisher to help the guy out, and I’m looking into the situation. I’ll do a Periscope in half an hour if I manage to pull a few things together.

UPDATE: All right, I talked to Will and a few others and here is what we’re going to do. On Monday, we’re going to launch a special one-week Freestartr. Freestartr has reduced their usual fee to support the campaign and all of the funds are going to be used to hire Will, a colorist, and a cover artist to do as many comics as their normal rates allow, and to cover the cost of printing them. The comics will be based on the books(s) of one of the Castalia authors, to be chosen by the backers from a list that will be made public on Monday. So far, Nick Cole, Peter Grant, Lawdog, Rolf Nelson, Kai Wai Cheah, and John C. Wright have all made books available at no charge; if you’re a Castalia author who is interested in supporting this project, email me and let me know that you’re in and with which books. The scripts will be adapted from the books for free by Chuck Dixon and me.

Arkhaven will publish the comics in print and digital editions which will be provided to the backers as per the campaign rewards and 50 percent of any subsequent sales will be split between Will, the contributors, and the backer-selected author(s). Arkhaven will take care of all the setup and layout costs.

More details to come this weekend. I don’t know Will, but I agreed to pitch in because he is a Christian and a veteran and I think it is is important to demonstrate to the SJWs and those they have successfully intimidated know that their victims are not going to be forgotten or left behind.

UPDATE: Moira Greyland also graciously offered her support for this project. GAH! (shudders uncontrollably for 15 seconds) While I appreciate her gesture, we will not even consider doing a graphic novel adaptation of The Last Closet, for reasons that anyone who has read it will understand.

EVS follows up

Ethan gave me the chance to speak my piece, so I’ll leave him with the last word for now. However, I will respond to one of his commenters.

James Robins
I don’t get vox man. I mean comparing yourself to Gaiman? Nobody is haruki murakami, hes a great writer. But vox? Come on lol.

It’s pretty simple. I am a better novelist than Neil Gaiman by almost every reasonable measure. Anyone who has read a sufficient variety of both our novels will recognize that pretty easily. Gaiman writes a variant of the same book with the same sort of characters almost every time. Even his Sandman is a Gary Stu of sorts. I have much wider literary range and can write everything from haunting shorts that could almost pass for modern Maupassant to murder mysteries to epic military fantasy. I don’t write myself into my books and I can even successfully pull off the “you genuinely think he’s dead but actually he isn’t” trick without cheating or magic or medical science or anything but pure literary sleight of hand.

George Martin can’t do that despite repeated attempts. Gaiman can’t do it either. And as for Murakami, I have been writing a literary novel inspired by his style for years, although since I am not Japanese, it is more likely to feature a wedding than a suicide. I have no idea when it will be finished, if ever, but I think I might be able to pull it off. And if I can’t get even reasonably close, then I won’t publish it.

I admire Tanith Lee. I admire JRR Tolkien. I admire John C. Wright. I admire China Mieville. I admire Alan Moore. I admire Umberto Eco. The only thing I admire about Gaiman’s writing is his ability to give everything the flavor of a fairy tale. That’s not nothing, it’s actually pretty cool, but it’s very far from the most significant thing. Sure, he sells a lot more books, but then, Dan Brown and Katie Price sell even more and I don’t have any respect for either of their literary abilities.

Anyhow, there is no need to pay any attention to my opinion. Read the reviews of the Arts of Dark and Light instead. Better yet, read the books and decide for yourself.

  • This book contains strong traces of DNA from Umberto Eco and Neal Stephenson but it stands on its own as a fantastically monstrous creature.
  • A Throne of Bones, for me at least, shines like a beacon in this literary twilight.
  • One of the best Fantasy novels I’ve read in the past ten years.
  • Better then GOT. I read a lot of fiction. Vox’s writing skill is superb.
  • I’d put it on par with Tolkien in terms of epic fantasy.
  • I am a big time Tolkien and George Martin fan. Vox’s Selenoth has wiggled its way between Middle Earth and Westeros.
  • Comparisons with Martin are much more useful, and there I agree, Day comes out ahead.
  • Vox Day has catapulted himself into the storied and rarefied rank of writers that sits just below The Master himself. That’s right, I went there. I just said that Vox Day has written a book that is nearly as good as J. R. R. Tolkien’s work.
  • Easily the best epic fantasy series out today.
  • It is the best fantasy book of the past 50 years.

Since we’re on the subject, a bit of Selenoth-related news. Because Kindle Unlimited is becoming increasingly important, we’re going to release a new version of the series specifically formatted for KU. It will be EXACTLY the same text, but divided into more readily digestible 50k to 60k chunks and released under the series name LEGIONS OF BLOOD & BONE.

And yes, I’m still working on A SEA OF SKULLS. And yes, it will be out this year. It will be worth the wait. I think I can safely promise you that. I’m not interested in just getting it out, I am attempting to further raise my writing game.

The Ember War comes to Arkhaven

Richard Fox, the Dragon Award-winning author of the bestselling science fiction series THE EMBER WAR SAGA, has an announcement.

Exciting news! The Ember War will come to a comic store near you! The contract with the comic imprint (either Dark Legion or Arkhaven, publisher’s choice) and fellow writer Jon Del Arroz (who’ll do the prose to script work) are signed. 

We’re excited about this, as we’ve wanted to work with Richard for some time now. The first series will be five issues that cover the events of the initial book; there are currently 9 books in the series. We’ll also have another announcement soon about a collaboration for Castalia House that is definitely going to be of serious interest to fans of a certain science fiction series that has already seen graphic adaptation.

A tale of two reviews

SuperComicFunTime really did not like QUANTUM MORTIS A Man Disrupted #1:

Quantum Mortis: The Actionless Comic
This book is not a good book. It is action-less, motionless, and for the most part, people-less. The book is divided into two chapters. The first chapter is mostly some guy named Tower flying around and talking to his computer until he lands the ship and talks to a green space monkey that spouts gibberish into a translating device.

Then chapter 2 starts and we still don’t have our second character for a few more pages. Tower pops a space Tic Tac and we get a pin-up entrance for Hildreth the civilian space detective.

Then both characters are seemingly attacked by word bubbles until their magic space technology identifies the body as an exiled royal from another planet. We get a nice splash page giving the history of the exiled royal’s family. Then the book ends.

It’s not fun. I didn’t learn anything. I don’t care what happens next. It’s bad. The whole 29 pages should be summarized in a page or two while giving us character development. Don’t spend money on this like I did.

On the other hand, Harry liked it a lot.

Great job craftmanship restored
This is a very well done animation of the book .the quantum mortis series is top notch story telling . I read them as fast as I could. The art while having a distinctly retro feel adds to the story without overwhelming it. Knowing what comes next in no way detracts from enjoying the artist’s perspective of the story because he is staying true to the heart of it. The illustrations of hildy and tower actually bring out the romantic understory without taking away from the plot. It is great to see craftsmanship restored to graphic novels. Very few English ones approach the Japanese masters. Letting the art add to the story instead of being pictures without purpose. Well done.

To put it in perspective, there is another first issue of a comic where virtually nothing happens, although for 40 pages instead of 28. A guy is in a cage. For decades. Nothing happens except for people actually falling asleep – now there is a fitting metaphor, right? There is no action except for an occult ceremony that doesn’t even involve a dead goat or a naked woman until the guy in the cage escapes off-camera, so we still haven’t seen anything happen until one of the guys who took part in the ceremony falls asleep and has a dream. The end.

How absolutely horrible, right? How action-less, motion-less, and literally people-less, as the guy in the cage was not a normal human being. Clearly no one ever bought or read or liked that particular comic, right?  Well, no, because that’s all that happens in the first issue of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, which happens to be one of the most well-regarded comics series ever written.

Now, I wonder if there might be anything we can glean from these two extremely divergent reactions to the same comic. Why does SuperComicFunTime hate QM:AMD so much while Harry likes it so much? Perhaps their reviews of other products unrelated to Quantum Mortis might give us a clue. Here are a pair of five-star reviews for other products they liked. Guess which review was written by whom?

Review of Avengers #219: By Divine Right
This comic is AWESOME! I got it in a box of comics I opened about three weeks ago. OMG! I was so stoked when I saw Jim Shooter was the writer! Janet Van Dyne loses her clothes early on and soon, cosmic hijinks ensue.

Review of A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
I immediately recognized the writer’s talent, the characterizations and plot integrate seamlessly and while the ending is surprising and a little bit disappointing the journey is absolutely worth the time. I can’t remember such good prose, and by a non-native English speaker. 

Different audiences, different tastes. SuperFunComic’s perspective isn’t wrong, it’s just different. I have no doubt that he would be as bored by Murakami as he was by QM-AMD #1. As far as I am concerned, the only relevant question is which market is more interesting to us as a publisher? And since the top-selling comic of 2016 was Big Trouble in Little China/Escape From New York which sold 421,625 units while Murakami’s books sell in the millions, well, I am confident that we are making the right choice.

The one-two punch

I have to admit, I never, ever, envisioned this kind of start for Arkhaven. Thanks to all of you who are making it happen.

What’s particularly interesting about this category is that it covers all the normal 24-page comics. So, not a bad harbinger for the coming print editions.

UPDATE: Not, I suspect, entirely unrelated, is the annual report from Diamond.

YEAR 2017 VS. YEAR 2016 (units)

COMICS -9.69{4bbad798630efc4433864d09618c79dc37ec93bd369a8697e8847adaf672eacc}
GRAPHIC NOVELS -11.86{4bbad798630efc4433864d09618c79dc37ec93bd369a8697e8847adaf672eacc}
TOTAL COMICS/GN -9.86{4bbad798630efc4433864d09618c79dc37ec93bd369a8697e8847adaf672eacc}
TOYS -19.90{4bbad798630efc4433864d09618c79dc37ec93bd369a8697e8847adaf672eacc}

People are obviously looking for something else. And we’re definitely offering something else.

RIGHT HO, JEEVES #1 now on preorder

A Binge at Brinkley is the first issue in the RIGHT HO, JEEVES series, which tells of the travails of the inimitable Bertie Wooster, who is summoned from the comforts of #3A Berkley Mansions, London to Brinkley Manor by his imperious Aunt Dahlia. Love is in the air and Wodehousian shenanigans are afoot, as Wooster is not the sole guest at the manor, which is also playing host to the fairy-gazing Madeline Basset as well as the famous newt-fancier Augustus Fink-Nottle.

Adapted from the classic Wodehouse novel by comics legend Chuck Dixon and drawn by SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN illustrator Gary Kwapisz, A Binge at Brinkley is issue #1 of 6 in the RIGHT HO, JEEVES series. 24 pages. $2.99.

Now available for preorder. RIGHT HO, JEEVES #1: A Binge at Brinkley will be released on January 29. The series is currently on schedule to release issues on a monthly basis. Please note that because Right Ho, Jeeves is only in the public domain in the United States, this comic is only available from Amazon.com for US customers. We have presently have an offer in to the Wodehouse estate to acquire the necessary permissions to produce comics and graphic novels for the works that are not in the public domain.

UPDATE: Very pleased to see there is genuine interest in this experiment.

  • #1 in Kindle Short Reads > 45 minutes (22-32 pages) > Comics & Graphic Novels
  • #1 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Adaptations
  • #1 New Release in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Literary Graphic Novels
  • #1 in Kindle eBooks > Comics & Graphic Novels > Historical & Literary > Literary