Tag: comics

Fandom Imperialism

I bet it won’t take more than 18 months for Fandom Pulse to become the #1 site in comics journalism now that content machine John Trent has joined it on a full-time basis.

John Trent, the former EIC of Bounding Into Comics and That Park Place is now working full time and writing multiple articles a day for Fandom Pulse!

JDA is a formidable content creator in his own right, but John Trent isn’t merely next level, he is unparalleled in his ability to provide both quantity and quality in his relentless reporting. And unlike so many useless and converged so-called journalists purporting to cover the industry while ignoring the lager part of it, he gives equal time to the mainstream and the independents alike. If you haven’t subscribed to Fandom Pulse yet, you really owe it to yourself to do so. It is about to become a serious difference-maker.

In other culture war commentary, this comic is spot-on.

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16 Million and Counting

Arktoons has now passed 16 million views! Thanks to all of the supporters, creators, and readers who have made it possible. And special thanks to the devs and the production team, who keep cranking out episodes every single day. We’re pleased to be able to say that GHOST OF THE BADLANDS will be coming to Arktoons soon now that its digital edition has been released.

In other comics news, HYPERGAMOUSE is approaching its third stretch goal and DC Comics has been reduced to turning to its critics to provide inspiration for its new villains, with Jeremy Griggs from Geeks + Gamers being the latest to see himself lampooned in a DC-published comic.

Even though DC Comics says they’re All In with this new initiative from Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson, it appears they’re just all in on the same tired, woke nonsense. With Absolute Batman race-swapping Barbara Gordon in a bizarre virtue signal, there was already too much politics in their recent comics, but now they’ve turned Jeremy Griggs into a rambling villain in the new Blue Beetle YA Graphic Novel… It’s not the first time DC Comics has done this, either. Just last year, they did the same to Eric July, turning him into some Alex Jones rant to presumably attack his Rippaverse imprint as it was getting off the ground.

I don’t think that I’ve been provided with a DC Comics stand-in yet, although it would appear that Marvel’s Vox Supreme was at least partially inspired by your favorite dark lord. The resemblance is certainly striking.

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The Digital Ghost

Now available on Kindle and Kindle Select: THE GHOST OF THE BADLANDS

Arizona Territory, May 1896

Canyon Diablo is a reascendant Gomorrah.

With rail bridge construction halted by hellfire and tragedy, and railroad companies warring with local land owners to complete it, the town becomes an open boil on the Arizona Desert.

Gamblers proliferate. Prostitutes ply their trade. Brigands roam on the roadways, waylaying the innocent for an unknown purpose.

But the bandits are not alone.

Something stirs in the Painted Desert. Someone systematically exterminates coach robbers and murderers. Dealing out a deadly reckoning to all who assail the weak.

Gunfight after gunfight. Coffin after coffin. Legend soon grows of this phantom of the high desert.

A lone pistolier dispensing God’s judgment. A one-man vendetta ride, wielding a strange mechanical weapon of the Old World. Baptizing the heathen in hails of gunfire.

Eventually, folk find a name for this masked missionary of death…

The Ghost of the Badlands

UPDATE: So that was fast.

  • #1 in Supernatural Graphic Novels
  • #1 in Western Graphic Novels
  • #1 in Pulp Graphic Novels
  • #19 in Graphic Novels

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Where Chuck Tingle Feared to Tread

Fandom Pulse covers the latest abomination from DC Comics, namely, a bizarre new comic entitled Nothing Butt Nightwing:

Nightwing used to be Batman’s sidekick Dick Grayson, the original Robin, who was spun off into his own character as he grew up. The most famous incarnation is Chuck Dixon’s run on the character where he developed a full cast and supporting characters for the former boy wonder.

Now, DC Comics has turned Nightwing into more wokeness with a couple of new offerings in October. With DC Comics “All In” initiative it’s supposed to be a jumping on point for new readers, but it seems more like a jumping off point given how insanely far they’re going to virtue signal to the LGBTQIA+ community.

First, we have Nothing BUTT Nightwing, a strange book that turns Dick Grayson into some kind of bizarre gay fantasy. The title reads like a parody, some sort of Chuck Tingle Amazon porn novel version of the character, but the interiors aren’t much better.

Every time you think the SJWs have reached bottom, they prove you’re not only wrong, but that your imagination is too limited to encompass the depths of their depravity and degradation.

If you ever wondered whether supporting Arkhaven is justified, this new DC comic should suffice as conclusive proof. DC is definitely going “all in” in a very reprehensible manner.

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200+ Videos

And that’s on the Legend’s channel alone. If you haven’t resubscribed to UATV yet, this is a good time to do so. The new backend now permits a vastly improved method of uploads for pre-existing videos, which is why there are 20 new videos from The Legend Chuck Dixon available; we should be caught up with his YouTube channel within two weeks.

Why bother subscribing to UATV when you can get a number of the creators on YouTube? Because they’re probably not going to last there much longer. The first big wave of YouTube censorship took out Big Bear, Stefan Molyneux, and me because we were amassing significant numbers of subscribers. The current wave, which is just getting started, is likely going to take out a number of the creators who took our places; sooner or later every right-of-center creator will find himself ejected from SJW Central. That’s why we constructed UATV in the first place.

JDA’s recent ejection from Kickstarter after no less than 10 very successful campaigns there is an object reminder of the absolute need to build and utilize our own platforms. The censorship pogroms come and go in waves, and it is evident that the latest wave of thought-policing is just gathering strength.

In other UATV news, Booster Patrol debuted our new video for WOW! on the Darkstream last night. So 80s, much wow. Sadly, John did not play the guitar solo wearing a pink plastic jumpsuit, as the Stylistic Imperative clearly demanded.

The 80s were 100 percent pure cheese, but they were a LOT more fun. I know. I was there.

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No Place for SJWs

No sooner had JDA re-launched his crowdfund for The Emerald Array yesterday after having his original campaign rejected by Kickstarter when one of the usual suspects sent the customary Did You Know emails in the hopes of having the new campaign similarly rejected by Fund My Comic. But unlike the other crowdfunding platforms, Fund My Comic showed no interest in buying their attempt at tortious interference:

Thank you for expressing your concern. However, we do not regulate or monitor creators’ behavior outside of our platform. Whether or not we agree with a creator’s conduct off-platform does not impact their ability to use our services. Our oversight is limited to the content that is posted and shared on our platform.

The campaign in question has been thoroughly reviewed by our administration and has not been found to violate our Terms of Service. The content provided is benign in nature and does not contain any material that we would consider offensive based on the campaign’s submissions.

We uphold three fundamental principles for all creators and artists who use our platform. First, we respect their freedom of expression. While some creators may produce content that we, or others, might not personally agree with or enjoy, as long as they adhere to our established guidelines, they have the right to express themselves freely and allow supporters to show their backing. Second, we believe in creators’ right to independence. This is why we do not engage in policing behavior beyond what is presented on the campaign page. Lastly, we are committed to building trust with both creators and backers. If a campaign passes our review process and is approved, it will remain active unless it violates our policies.

We respect your perspective and encourage you to use your own platform to share your views if you believe this creator poses a concern. However, we will adhere to our Terms of Service and will not take any action against this or any other creator based on conduct outside of our platform.

That’s one of the most polite and delications invitations to engage in self-fornication that I’ve ever read. There are dead English novelists of great reknown who are applauding that sensitive and well-measured response in their graves. And it’s definitely a reason that every creator, of every political stripe and creed, would do well to consider utilizing Fund My Comic for their next campaign.

That being said, the HYPERGAMOUSE campaign continues to do very well on Kickstarter. But it’s good to know there is an effective alternative should it become necessary.

And speaking of comics, a message from The Warehouse for the long-suffering AH:Q backers, whose patience is finally being rewarded.

The Alt Hero: Q omnibuses are starting to go out to the backers. Please check your shipping notifications when you get one and respond if an address update is needed. This is an older project and while we are doing our best to update everyone’s address if we have it on file, this is a big list. So, check your address, if it’s not correct, send me an email. Thanks!

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SUPER★HERO

Thanks to the U.S. Trademark Office, it may be time to consider changing the name of Alt★Hero. Or, even better, introducing a new line with our new superhero universe.

A U.S. Trademark Office tribunal has canceled a set of “Super Hero” trademarks jointly owned by comic giants Marvel and DC at the request of a London-based comic book artist, according to a Thursday order. The USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled for S.J. Richold’s Superbabies Ltd, opens new tab after DC did not file an answer to Superbabies’ request to invalidate the marks.

Spokespeople and attorneys for Marvel and DC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Superbabies attorney Adam Adler of Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg said in a statement that the ruling was “not just a win for our client but a victory for creativity and innovation. By establishing SUPER HEROES’ place in the public domain, we safeguard it as a symbol of heroism available to all storytellers.”

Rivals Marvel and DC jointly own four federal trademarks covering the terms “Super Hero” and “Super Heroes,” the oldest of which dates back to 1967.

Richold writes comics featuring a team of super-hero babies called the Super Babies. According to Richold, DC accused his company of infringing the “Super Hero” marks and threatened legal action after Superbabies Ltd applied for U.S. trademarks covering the “Super Babies” name. Marvel and DC have cited their marks in opposing dozens of superhero-related trademark applications at the USPTO, according to the office’s records.

Superbabies petitioned the office to cancel the marks in May. It argued that Marvel and DC cannot “claim ownership over an entire genre” with their trademarks, and that the two competitors cannot own trademarks together.

We need a name for the universe of Black Warrant, Red Hornet, and our other new heroes. That just might do…

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Stretch Goal 2

Now that the campaign has blown past its first stretch goal, it’s time to announce Stretch Goal #2. And that is a six-page introduction which will include all of the original HYPERGAMOUSE cartoons. This will increase the length of the regular editions to 124 pages and the coffee table book to 234 pages. Stretch Goal #2 is set at $60,000; the campaign is currently at 65 percent of that.

Below is an image of Mari as she was first conceived by the original artist on the left, and Mari as she was subsequently illustrated by Lacey Fairchild on the right. This introduction will make Volume 1 a comprehensive historical collection, and one well worth backing in order to add to one’s library. Imagine if an original first edition of PEANUTS had ever been produced in this manner and what that would be worth today.

Fandom Pulse recently published a nice article on the history of Arkhaven and the Hypergamouse campaign:

While Eric July and Ethan Van Sciver often dominate the conversation of the ant-woke sphere in comics, Arkhaven Comics has been building infrastructure and systems to produce thousands of pages of quality content in a host of different genres. Their Webtoon competitor website has reached over 15 million views, and their latest Kickstarter campaign, Hypergamouse, is a huge success after its first day live.

Arkhaven started in 2017 as a response to the woke nightmare that Marvel and DC Comics had become. Writer and publisher Vox Day created a crowdfund that shook the comic industry, with Alt-Hero raising more than $250,000 in its initial offering, which spawned a whole line of comics. Creators like Ya Boi Zack and Ethan Van Sciver saw the incredible amount a company could make on crowdfunding and ventured into their own books the year after Vox Day launched the first ComicsGate project, capitalizing on the momentum here.

But Vox Day didn’t stop there. He teamed up with many creators, including industry veteran Chuck Dixon, who’s been creating an incredible amount of work through Arkhaven’s site, including fan favorites such as My Sister Suprema and Something Big.

Another hit on the Arkhaven website has been Lacey Fairchild’s Hypergamouse. A comedy strip focused on the socio-sexual hierarchy, Fairchild combines the anthropomorphic slice-of-life humor of old newspaper comics with modern theming, making Hypergamouse something special for readers.

In the interest of precision, I would point out that calling Alt-Hero the first ComicsGate project is correct in the original sense of the term that referred to a consciously anti-mainstream independent comic. Obviously, it predated both the term and the trademark, and the only Arkhaven project that was even tangentially related to ComicsGateTM was the original publication of Gun Ghoul, which was very briefly produced under a ComicsGate imprint. Old school gamers will immediately recognize the significance of the colors.

I think it’s also worth noting that Arktoons will hit 16 million views in October. And speaking of Arktoons, looks who’s back and rolling with a new chapter on Arktoons again.

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