JanerBlog

Unemployed.

So, I'm breaking with my usual enforcement of silence to talk about my job, and the only reason for that is because I don't have it anymore.

My tenure with my previous employer ended yesterday, as another percentage of the employees were let go as the result of a buyout. For all the complaining I did sometimes, it really was the best job I ever had, and my coworkers were some really great people. I'll miss the job, and them, quite a lot. On Thursday, the new owners allowed us all to go out to a Tigers Game on the clock, and we had a great time. I've only ever been to two major sporting events before, and the experience was fun and very enjoyable. I'd definitely do it again -- I surprised myself by how much I remembered about the rules of baseball, and had no trouble whatsoever following the game. To make things even better, the Tigers won, and even threw in a home run for good measure. I also got to try some weird stadium food that I'd never heard of before.

Now I'm out looking for work. I'm looking for web design / office administrative work in Kalamazoo, Portage or Battle Creek. I don't really want to go much further afield; I have about a 30-minute restriction on driving -- any more than that and I can't get comics work done. Anybody knows of anything, please email me at fierystudios at hotmail dot com.

I'm also toying with the idea of Grad School via the internets. The only problem is that I probably don't qualify for most financial aid, as Paul and I make too much money, but with a $30K price tag for out-of-state-tuition, there's no way I can afford it unless I get a fellowship or other consideration. Tish, you used to work in FA, but that was undergrad, right? Any of you post-masters-grads have suggestions or ideas? ALA offers some scholarships, but they're almost all for public/school librarians. I'm pretty sure I could plow through it in a year, but it'd mean no full-time job and (sigh) no comics to speak of.

UIUC GSLIS has some really fascinating areas of study that I'd love to get my teeth into, but since I'm largely uninterested in working directly with the public on a daily basis, I think that school and public librarian are probably really not my best bet for a career change. However, the Data Curation MS gives me pause for consideration. It's actually pretty close to what I do already, only adding database building, entry and retrieval, something I'm actually interested in learning more about. I also think that it'd be a natural progression from my existing skill set, and that I'd make the transition fairly easily and pick up the new concepts quickly. Jim? Kat? This is pretty close to what you guys both do, right?

The one real roadblock, even more than finances -- 'cause hell, I'd take out some loans if I thought it'd do me right in the long run -- is the presence of jobs in this area that I could use the degree with. I just can't justify dumping two-brand-new-cars'-worth of cash and a year of my dedicated attention on a degree that leaves me right back where I started from: no jobs for my skill set in Kalamazoo. Anybody know if there are actually jobs for this degree in Michigan, other than U of M? I'm really not interested in leaving Kzoo if I can help it.

So yeah. Lots to think about. Fortunately I've been granted numerous blessings through the loss of my job, the largest of which is the luxury of not having to rush right out and get another job -- any job -- immediately. I have about a month or two to sit and think and plan, and that's something I've never had before. Trust me, I know what a huge benefit that is; I'm totally taking it seriously and trying not to waste the opportunity.

Thoughts, anyone?

ALA 2007

We're back from ALA! It was a long, long trip, but really worth it. We had a ton of fun both at the conference and in DC, but we're glad to be back home again. Click on any thumbnail to view a larger picture -- you can advance through the whole slideshow at once or just view them one at a time.

We left early last Thursday morning, with the car loaded at least 250 lbs past her carrying capacity... but even with the AC running, Silverbean still managed an awesome 45mpg average. Go Biodiesel! Our route took us along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, where we saw lots of cool stuff like these windmills. We also passed through Irwin, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, so I had to snap a picture.

Once inside DC, we checked in, unloaded, then ran out to meet up with my cousin Joan, who introduced us to the wonder of Kramerbooks, a 24-hour bookstore with a restaurant attached. The food was great, and since Joan was buying, I sent her home with a copy of George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones. I predict a new Westeros fan by year's end.

Friday we got in to the exhibitor's hall and got set up pretty quickly, so we headed out to get in a little sightseeing before the show. The Exhibition Center is right smack downtown, just a few blocks from the White House and the Mall, so we just walked on down to see what museums were open. Our first stop was the National Aquarium, which is kind of a dump, compared to the beauty of Shedd and New England -- it's in the basement of the Department of Commerce, for crying out loud. Half the exhibits were down for repair or renovation, but the ones that were open were pretty interesting; Paul got to see his very first real live octopus. Every time he'd been to an aquarium as a kid, the octopus was always out having babies, or in an isolation tank, or dead. Though we weren't allowed to take pictures of it for some reason, the pretty orange guy really put on a show for Paul, climbing all over the glass and showing off his arms. Gorgeous. Paul also liked the Nautili in the next tank.

After the Aquarium, we passed the Washington Monument and headed over to the Museum of Natural History to look at the dinosaur bones. I was all inspired after I'd recently re-read JimO's books on Paleontologists and dinosaur artist Charles Knight, so I was really excited to see such a wonderful, exhaustive exhibit. This really made up for the disappointment of the Aquarium. They also had some really wonderful gemstone exhibits, and we got to see the Hope Diamond, along with some really incredible examples of minerals from around the world.

Much to our sadness, the Bug Zoo was closed, but the Mammal exhibit provided some coolness. They had a huge glass case of stuffed bats, which I gleefully photographed for Duskie reference. I really wish I could find an hourlong PBS video of fruitbats... I've looked and can't find any. There were lemurs and pangolins and wildebeasts and all sorts of amazing taxidermy. On the way out of the exhibit, just below the vaulted ceiling, on the left, there's a tiger mounted in a ferocious leap, and on the right hang a manatee and a dolphin of some variety. Seen from below, it looks like the tiger's making a grab for a really big fish.

JimO's flight had been rescheduled, so we met up with him after the museum and ate dinner, then ran out to a YALSA party, where I nearly died. See, I got to meet and shake hands with Sherman Alexie. At the end of the audio version of his book, Indian Killer(which is awesome, by the way, and which he reads himself) there's a brief interview and Q & A Session in which he states his frustration with white authors who incorporate Native American characters into their books and then claim to be trying to benefit Native American culture. If you want to help Native American culture, he says, donate to a Native American scholarship fund. I took this challenge pretty seriously, and though my new book doesn't have Native Americans in it, it does have Romani characters -- so when I was talking with the scholar who gave me the specifics for my Romani characters, I made sure to get the name of an aid fund that he recommended, and made a donation before the book even saw publication. I hope to do the same for each reprint. So anyway -- I mentioned this to Mr. Alexie, and told him that his message was actually getting out. He was very gracious and kind, and we swapped business cards. And then I went into a corner and swooned. Swooned, I tell you. Sherman Alexie, you're so dreamy. And you're totally my hero.

Saturday was the first day of the convention, and what a day it was! ALA's website says that there were over 28,000 attendants, and I'd believe it. We got put next to the guys from Unshelved who were really nice and kind and great boothneighbors. They also gave us all sorts of awesome schwag, including copies of their books and Library Raid teeshirts. I love Unshelved (It's on my Livejournal feed) so this was a real treat. They were also such a big hit, and so well known, that it gave us an immediate locator when we were hobnobbing elsewhere: "Where's your booth?" "Oh, we're right next to the Unshelved guys."

The other really awesome thing was that we were like rockstars. The Graphic Novel pavilion was crazy busy the whole time, and we almost never had a lull of longer than a half-hour. People were constantly stopping by to talk or look, and I handed out something like 1300 free copies of the preview book, and 80 copies of the first two books ("You're the Graphic Novel Buyer for the entire San Francisco Library System? Here, have free books from everyone!"). Between handing out promos to reviewers and influential librarians, I figure I saved myself at least a few hundred bucks in postage alone. It was a terrific feeling to always be busy and to have such an accepting, excited audience. It was a very, very positive atmosphere, and each day I left exhausted, but pumped for the next day, which was a good thing because boy, were the days long.

I also got to meet some really awesome writers and illustrators -- James Gurney was signing free Dinotopia lithographs right across the aisle from us. Talk about luck! Jim and I immediately jumped in line for those, lemme tell ya. While I was speaking withJackie Urbanovic, a really kind and enthusiastic illustrator, JimO was leading this really good-looking, sharp-dressed guy into the booth. As the "guy" leaned forward to check out Jim's books, the name-tag turned sideways, and Holy Moses if Alison Bechdel wasn't standing in our booth. I gasped audibly and then had to apologise to Jackie, who laughed at my reaction and said "Oh, I know Alison from back in Minnesota! Isn't she the best?" I had to excuse myself then as Paul and I fell all over ourselves gushing at her and thrusting our books in her direction. Wow.

Let's see. I know I'm forgetting a bunch of cool stuff. Oh! Right! John Bintz came by to say hey and dropped off a copy of his new self-published book. Go John! Mark Smylie stopped over to deliver hugs and advice on printing in color. Cousin Joan showed up, and we sent her through the stacks hunting for freebies. She scored some good schwag from the DC booth, and then ran off looking for other cool stuff to see. Carla showed up late on Saturday, with a husband, two kids and a propellerhead (hey, Shawn!) in tow. We nattered a bit, then they walked around some, and then I absconded with her to go to Sherman Alexie's signing and we both ga-gaaed over him like a pair of schoolgirls, handing him copies of our books and telling him how much he rocks. 'Cause he does. I also found the Coolest. Purses. EVER. (Lisa Jonte, you are hereby ordered to look at this link, 'cause you will DIE WITH THE AWESOME. Yes, she had a Pride and Prejudice one), and though I couldn't afford one, I'm going to try my hand at making one.

On Sunday, John Scalzi was signing at the Tor Booth, and I dropped off my business card with our booth number on it -- and then he dropped by to say hi, which was really awesome. I had to confess that I hadn't actually read his books yet (though I do own Old Man's War and it's tops on my to-be-read list) but that I was a dedicated Whatever reader. We chatted a bit and then he had to run off to lunch. I was way geeked.

Sara Ryan was there, too -- she's a friend of Jim's, so we grabbed her on Monday night and headed out for really amazing Japanese/Mexican fusion food in Chinatown. We also saw the Chinatown Hooters, and a storefront that proclaimed itself a "Kung Fu Gift Shop". This was odd, but Sara showed us a photograph that she and Steve had taken of a shop's neon sign advertising "Martial Arts / Marital Aids / Stun Guns". Jim suggested adding "Restraining Order" to the list somewhere, but I thought "Notary Public" would make it a more well-rounded business.

Tuesday morning I actually got in to see Garrison Keillor give the closing address. His speech was really great, and the hundreds of librarians gathered there gave him a standing ovation when he finished. My family's been regular Prairie Home Companion listeners for literal decades now, so it was a really special added treat to an altogether awesome week.

There were a gajillion awesome librarians there, too -- not just authors. Tina Coleman and Stephen Raiteri and Shari Fesko and Dawn Rutherford and Kat Kan and Robin Brenner and Kalamazoo's own Kevin King and Laurel from New York (Mindy Fulk, check out the pix below for your secret message!) all stopped by to say hello. I know there are literally dozens of names I'm forgetting to add here, but it was all a whirl, so if I neglected you, email me and I'll add you to the list of shoutouts.

On Tuesday, the show finally closed in an orgy of book giveaways. We were not exempt from said giveaways, and I walked away with a whole bunch of cheap and/or free books! Awesome. Jim got on a plane for home, and Paul and I headed out for Carla and Mike's house, where we were very kindly put up and fed. We played with their two lovely kids, and Paul helped Carla set up her new book, and I got to read the whole rest of the first part of her current book, which I could hardly keep my hands off. It's wonderful, and y'all are gonna love it. We headed home first thing in the morning, to clear blue skies and an easy, traffic-free drive, thanks in large part to Mike McNeil's astute directions.

And now we're home, and now I'm done with my wrapup, because I've been at it for like three hours now. Here're some pix from before, during and after the show. They're kinda mixed together, so just page on through.

Squeeeeeeeeeeee!

My key is here! My key is here! My key is here!

Rollande dropped it off last night in the mailbox and we found it when we got home. Isn't it purty?

This is an example of the "non-special-edition" keys. Each will come in a black, recycled-paper box with a 18" length of sterling silver Italian-made chain. The special editions will come in a fancy wooden box, and will feature a short length of baby-fine sterling silver chain; those are intended for display purposes only. We're projecting that the special editions will run $50 and the unlimited series will be $35, not including shipping. As soon as we have a few of each in stock, I'll open them up for sales through the Vögelein Online Store.

YAAAAAAY!

Thanks, Bear!

This turned out to be exactly what I was looking for! I've already ordered it. As Jen pointed out, I don't really need terribly detailed information -- I need an overview reference that I can use to scan for further research, and to show where everything was in relationship to everything else at the time.

Woo! Yay! Thanks, everyone. That flash history timeline of Britain on the BBC site is right handy, too!

Afterthoughts

It's been a few days since my last outburst, and I've had a lot of time to think about what I wrote. Without namin' names, I've also had a chance to talk with a couple fellow self-publishers and an "industry insider", and the truth is, everybody's hurtin' right now, not just me -- I found out that the numbers I reported earlier are actually kinda normal, all things considered. While misery loves company, it actually makes me feel a little worse knowing that the rest of the self-publishers are struggling just as hard as I am, a lot of them even harder. There's even talk amongst us of committing bribery on the off chance that might improve things.

It's hard to stay positive all the time, and getting some of that crap out of my system is necessary if I'm going to keep on keepin' on. Thanks to all of you for your encouragement, and your positive comments, especially from those of you who've been with the series from the start. It's sad that I'm still no closer to my goal of doing this full-time (or even part-time...) but it's no different than it ever has been for us artistic types. Things could be worse, I guess.

On Friday night, I was looking for something in my filing cabinet, and in going through my old papers, I found the hanging folder where I keep all my fan mail. It was really humbling and arresting, rereading all these letters -- actual handwritten letters in this day and age, covered in stickers and fancy ink and rubber stamps -- and thinking about all the individual people who liked my book enough that they were moved to take time out of their lives to let me know. How many people are blessed enough to have a stack of awesome letters like that?

You know what? Screw money. I've got what I need: You guys.

Thanks for helping me get my head back on straight, directly or indirectly. And hey, if you're around at Wizard World Chicago, or SPX, please do stop by and say hey. It's always appreciated.

History Nerds: I needs your helps!

So I'm about to become unemployed, and I have gotten so much work done ahead of time that I'm gonna treat myself to a few days of Idea Farming in the local library. This means that I'm basically gonna go down there when it opens, with a big iced coffee and a sack of my own books, along with a long list of topics that I need to research, and then I'm going to stay there until the library closes, leaving only long enough to grab lunch and dinner from one of the downtown restaurants. History-nerd paradise, in other words.

One thing I do need, though -- well, not need really, but it would make my task a hell of a lot easier -- is some sort of big spreadsheet/flowchart/timeline thingy showing the rulers and major events of European History from around 1650 through to about 1900. Meaning, a column showing the major dates by decade, and a column beside it showing all the British monarchs, the French rulers, the appearance and disappearance of empires like Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, major conflicts and their participants, and (though this is probably asking too much for one flowchart) possibly little dashed lines showing how all the ruling parties were related to one another.

Does such a thing exist? Or more practically, do pieces of these exist? Like for instance, a flowchart of all the monarchies?

Any help's gratefully appreciated.

Drum Therapy

On Wednesday, I went to the local Irish session here in town, and had the best night of playing I've had in literal years. What fun. It felt really good, and very cathartic, to sit somewhere and drink beer and pound on something for three hours straight. Man, I needed that.

Last night, I got even more drum therapy, this time of the dancing variety. Dunuya Drum and Dance was playing at Bell's Eccentric Cafe, and Paul and I rounded up as many friends as we could to go and dance our collective feet off. The band was set up in the gazebo at the far end of the biergarten, and as the sun set in beautiful stripes of pink and purple, the show began.

Please forgive the low quality of the pictures; it was after dark, and I was trying to squeeze in as many as I could.

I also took some video. They're cool, but they're both too short and too fuzzy to really do Dunuya any proper service. Still, enjoy:

Comics Kryptonite

A lengthy screed on comics follows. For those of you who don't really care about the current atmosphere in comics, you may want to skip this one; the rest of you, carry on:

So far, I've been silent about both the infamous Mary Jane Statue kerfuffle and the equally-if-not-more-infamous Heroes for Hentai kerfuffle, primarily because a) I've been too busy making the fucking comics and b) because I usually regret sounding off on things like this [I'll probably regret this post as well] and c) because I've been having a hard time coming up with something halfway intelligent to say about the whole thing that hasn't either been said before or is just a bunch of incoherent ranting.

In the end, and after a couple of weeks of stewing, and several long, intelligent and quite worthwhile talks with Paul and the local Kalamazoo Comics crowd, what I've finally come up with is simply this: Those images just make me sad.

I know that doesn't sound like much, so I'll try to clarify a bit. I'm also going to be drawing some tenuous parallels, so please bear with me -- humor me, perhaps, but also take it with a grain of salt.

See, comics has been my passion, my pastime, my primary hobby, my labor of love for over ten years now. I work a full-time job, and dump nearly all of my spare time into the creation, promotion, and discussion of comics. I love the medium, my fellow creators, and (God help me), I even love the superhero genre -- and it's a good thing, too, because I've given more of my time, work, and mental energy to comics than I have any single job or person, save perhaps my husband. I'd better love this field, my work in it, and everything else it represents, 'cause God knows I'm not making enough money to call it anything more than a hobby.

So, when I say that these images, and the lack of forethought of those who created and published these images just make me sad, and not frustrated or apoplectic about what's happening in the mainstream of what I consider my medium, it underscores the fact that a certain line of caring has been crossed, on my part.

Here comes one of those tenuous parallels I mentioned. I loved my dad an awful lot. When I was a kid, he was my hero, and I spent long years trying to win his favor, without a whole lot of success. Of all three of us kids, he and I are most alike, in both temperament and skills. Without getting into too many details, after alcoholism had largely destroyed the person that I loved and whose approval I sought, it took several long years of therapy and hurt and anger and frustration before I could just come to the place where his unthinking, uncaring actions just made me sad. I stopped taking it personally and realized that was all he was capable of doing at the moment. Maybe someday it might change, but right now it's all you're likely to get, so stop expecting better until you see it firsthand, and then, praise it and take anything positive for everything it's worth. Coming to that realization was exceedingly painful; it primarily requires you to step out of yourself and realize that it's not really about you, it's just the way that person is.

So then, with superhero comics. A genre I (used to greatly) enjoy, a part of a medium I deeply care about has descended into depths of demographic-pandering I never thought I'd see. Even when a fellow woman-in-comics states the painfully obvious, it still hurts -- a lot -- when you finally come to realize that the primary creators of a genre really don't give a damn about your feelings, or for that matter, your pocketbook.

Now, I realize that as a female comicbook reader (specifically a former superhero comicbook reader) I'm in a minority -- between 10 and 20% of the market depending on who you ask. I'm also not myopic or self-centered enough to think that the heads of companies are sitting in their offices rubbing their hands together and brainstorming ways to chase all the girls (and, I should think, a decent percentage of intelligent male readers as well) out of comics. However, their callous choice of imagery and their circle-the-wagons defense of said material does just that: It plainly lets me know that their genre is not directed at me, and that they really aren't thinking -- or caring -- about how I and others like me will react to their choice of imagery. The impression I take away from all these separate incidents is that I'm Not Wanted Here, and that hurts.

Tangentially, I have nothing against porn, or even hentai in its proper place. I'm not arguing for censorship, or removal of erotic imagery from the marketplace, or for the institution of a new Comics Code Authority. But these images -- specifically the Heroes for Hire cover -- are raunchy enough that I have to add my voice to the chorus declaring them inappropriate for the age group to which they are marketed. As Dirk Deppey points out, few actual nine year olds are probably reading Heroes for Hire, but the plain and simple fact is that the editors at Marvel consider that type of imagery to be appropriate for readers aged nine and up. I don't. If you want to sell imagery like that, label it for mature audiences and rack it with the rest of the naughty stuff. Everything in its place, and marketed to its proper audience: if mainstream comics companies have gone to all the fuss and bother of establishing their own age-rating system, theoretically to avoid issues such as these, why in heaven's name aren't they sticking to it? If nothing else, imagery like this, prominently displayed for all-ages-reading, is liable to cause parents to turn their kids away comics shops altogether, thereby making it even more difficult for me to sell my own books.

Worse, it's the equivalent of Comics Kryptonite. I see images like that, and like these, and these, and these, and it literally makes me want to give up making my own comics. Because, hey, I've been making the fucking comics for ten years now, and you know what? Things are only getting worse in the superhero genre. I could be wrong, but it feels to me that the portrayals of women in the superhero genre are weaker, sluttier and less independent now than fifteen-twenty years ago, when I first started reading comics. And that hurts, too. I pretty much have to divorce myself from the comics news, otherwise I can't get motivated to do much work. It's pretty hard to spend four years polishing up something you really care about while surrounded by an unfriendly, often mean-spirited climate like that.

It feels a little odd to be in this 10-20%, and to be metaphorically standing outside the superhero comic shop with a fistful of bills, and not seeing anything worth buying. I really can't comprehend why I'm being shut out as a demographic: I'm in my early 30's, I love pop culture, I have a built-in encyclopedic knowledge of superheroes, I have wads of disposable cash, and while I don't have kids of my own, I have younger relatives whom I am eager to get into the medium, and I speak at between fifteen and thirty educational institutions per year, teaching kids how to draw, write, and appreciate comics. And yet -- I have almost no superhero books that I can either enjoy or share. Indy books a-plenty, mind you -- but not many to represent the most-publicly-familiar genre within comics.

So why all this now, nearly a month after these stories broke, and long after the internet feeding frenzy? Well, first, I finally have time, and have been able to mull my response so as to not sound like a gibbering idiot (I hope), but also because the Diamond order numbers have started to roll in for the second book.

Unless there's a hidden pocket of orders somewhere, the initial Direct Market (i.e., Comic Book Store) orders for Vogelein:Old Ghosts have dropped nearly twenty percent off of the initial orders for Vogelein:Clockwork Faerie in 2003. The number of books ordered was right around what I expected, but well below what I truly hoped to see. And this comes after my biggest marketing blitz, ever: I did interviews, wrote up a 6-part column series (two out so far, and neither has yet garnered a single comment...), offered web previews, overhauled my website and most importantly, gave away over four thousand print copies of a preview comic through a Diamond promotion, Free Comic Book Day and Motor City Comicon. And all for what? A 20% reduction in sales? I suppose I should be happy that my numbers held as relatively firm as they did, but damn it, I was really hoping for an increase, or at least a repeat. As it is, the initial books sold won't even cover half the cost of my print run.

I'm going to try my damndest to make this next part not sound like Sour Grapes, because honestly, it really isn't. It's just yet another stark reminder that the Direct Market is not my market. This is not to say that I am turning my back on the local comics store, because damn it, there still are really good comic stores out there, and a lot of them really go out of their way to support my little book. They deserve to be recognized and lauded, not disregarded. However, what this little experiment has taught me is that the comics stores that're already carrying my book are pretty much the only ones that're carrying my book. Doing a big bunch of publicity apparently hasn't changed that.

Motor City Comicon was also a bust; Paul and I together, with three books to sell between us, (one of which retails for $25) barely made $150. I gave away at least 300 free comics, and could barely get people to stop at my table long enough to take a copy from me.

While I'm at it, I would like to propose a challenge to any self-declared fanboys out there, specifically any fanboy who has ever wondered why their girlfriend or wife is reluctant to try reading comics. When I hold a free comic out to you, and say "Would you like to try a sample of my book?" and you glance at the painting of the fairy-girl on the cover and immediately say "No," please reconsider. If you're asking the women in your life to break from their normal conceptions of entertainment and try something new, then please consider doing the same for yourself. And besides, it's free. You never know, you might just like it.

Sadly, my recent, first-hand experiences have reinforced my previous attitude toward mainstream comics shows and the direct market: it really isn't worth my time to do any extra marketing or promotion just for their sake. This isn't my market, the people selling the products in that market really aren't marketing to me, and neither is my marketing working on the people buying. The core of my business is still libraries and bookstores, and that's where I will continue to focus my marketing efforts. Mainstream comics have made their choice based on business, and now, so have I. It's nothing personal either way, I assume; it's just business.

What this means, however, is that I'm really not going to go out of my way to do many mainstream conventions any more. They're draining, they're expensive, I lose money at them, the people attending by and large are not my audience (and by and large cannot be won over to become my audience), and apparently the PR isn't doing me all that much good. Doing a major show and coming home dejected is also Comics Kryptonite. So, much like I avoid looking at the Mary Jane Statues (and all the meta-discussion thereof), I guess I'll have to avoid doing mainstream comics shows as well. I'm still signed up for Wizard World Chicago, though -- so if anyone feels like showing up and proving me wrong, or just stopping by with some words of encouragement, that'd be really, really awesome.

I'm also not going to spend any more time handwringing over superhero comics, not that I have been much recently. The independent comics scene is blooming and beautiful. There's tons of stuff there that I want to read, and so I'm going to buy it, and read it, and focus the majority of my spending there. If Mainstream Comics isn't making these books "for me," Runaways, Nextwave and Astonishing X-Men being a few notable exceptions, why should I expect to find much worth reading? I'd rather read Fun Home or Pyongyang, anyway. It's not a "So there!" kind of moment; what would that serve? As I've already stated above, it's simply business, and it's not about me -- or mainstream comics creators -- personally.

At this point I should also take a break from all this negativity and thank my fans, firsthand. I know I've just spent a bunch of time bitching about one subgenre in a larger medium, and one market in a larger marketplace, but just like labels don't do anyone any good, neither does lumping all comics fans together. I am blessed beyond counting by my fans. You are wonderful, full of suggestion and help and kindnesses. You renew my enthusiasm, and bring me to tears with your thoughtful words and acts. You keep me going through all the disappointment, and help me turn away from the crummy things going on outside my proverbial window, and focus back on the task of creating the work that I love so much. Thank you. You've kept me going this far; I only hope that the new book doesn't disappoint.

I also hope that I can scrape together enough enthusiasm to bring you a third one. And maybe a fourth. Right now, it's a little hard; I think I'm feeling a little post-partum (there's that second tenuous analogy; allow me a moment to apologise to every woman reading this who's ever given birth; creating a comic is nothing compared to actual labor). Saying that is a stretch, I know, but I've just devoted four years worth of free time to completing this book, and I wish that, while the reviews so far have been unanimously positive, the early financial returns on it were a little more enthusiastic. I'm feeling a bit like someone who went back to school and required four years of night-classes to complete their master's degree, only to discover that there are still no decent jobs to be had, even with the new degree. Here's hoping that ALA goes well, and that lots and lots of librarians prove once again how utterly awesome they all are. Yay, Librarians! You guys literally keep me in business.

So. You've read a couple hundred words of this screed -- what's the upshot? Is there a punchline, or a lesson to be learned? Yes, absolutely, and it is this: vote with your wallets. Know -- with information direct from the horse's mouth -- that you can make or break an independent creator just by preordering a book from a local comics store. Know that every sale counts. Also realize that not buying books sends an equally strong message to a creator. When you see a book that offends you, strike it from your pull list. Don't buy it just to show off the copy to other people, or just to add to your collection. Pluck that sucker out, then use that same money to buy books that reinforce what you want to see. Personally, I'm marching myself down to my LCS and putting the new Supergirl on my pull as soon as this creative team takes over. Be the change you want to see -- or at least buy it.

After everything is said and done, it may be comics, but it's business above all.

I think I burned mah Bingo Wings

Man, what a day. Beware, garden geekery below:

Up early to hit the Farmer's market and buy seedlings. Man, if I'm able, next year, I am so totally starting my own seeds again. It was really hit-or-miss finding what I wanted, and some of my usual vendors sold out of the varieties I wanted last week! I wound up having to get some hybrids to round out my total, which kind of bums me out because I usually try to go with nothing but Open Pollenateds or heirlooms.

Anyway. I did score a Brandywine, a Cherokee Purple, a Sweet Pea Currant, something called a Federle that sounds really good, a big healthy Roma that I'm hoping is OP, a trio of a tomato I'd never heard of.... trying to remember the name... Bergher or Burbank or Berwick or something. Gotta recheck the tags; I don't think it was anything heirloom because it had professionally printed tags with a photo of the tomato on it; that usually indicates professional growing, ergo, hybridized.

The peppers were also kind of a wash; I found one heirloom called Healthy Pepper, which sounded too good to pass up, bought two California Wonders, and got two bananas and an orange bell from the same guy who sold me the forgotten tomatoes, those are bound to be hybrids as well. Nora's daughter Rachel gave me two sweets and three hots; I planted the hots in the front herb wheel and something ate them all, but somehow left alone the two sweet peppers in their little pots. Odd.

Also picked up some basils and an oregano to reside with my struggling holdover oregano from last year.

Then Zoe and I ran all sorts of errands: Food Co-Op, Biodiesel pickup, Pharmacy, the Vet for her Frontline, and then finally out to Paul's folks' house for the gardening frenzy.

The Sizers have this really super wonderful farmhouse about 20 minutes outside of Kalamazoo, and whenever I go there, I'm totally in hog heaven. Lots of outbuildings, fruit trees, an old milking barn with attached milkhouse, silo, and marks on the floor where the stanchions used to be. Marcia has a huge flower-and-herb garden spread out around all the buildings, and a centralized, fenced-in garden area for vegetables, grapevines and the like. She used to have a friend who shared that garden area with her, but said friend moved away last fall, so I inherited her plot! Woohoo!

Since I have only 4-6 hours of sunlight per day (and that's on the *bright* side of the house), I needed someplace to plant the stuff that a) needs full bright sun, and b) doesn't need to be harvested or tended much until late August. And, speaking of full bright sun, I sure picked a crazy day; the heat was over ninety degrees. I stopped midday for some sunblock, but even then, I think I burned the back of my arms, or what Craig Ferguson refers to as "Bingo Wings"; the wobbly bits that flop around on old ladies' arms when they yell "Bingo!" Ow. Pass the aloe, please.

Anyway, back to the planting. Marcia (Paul's mom) long ago gave up on weeding and just plants through holes in black plastic. This, as far as I'm concerned, is utter genius. So Marcia and Jack kindly helped me spread out the tarps and weight them down, and hammer in stakes and secure the main plot with chicken wire to keep out bunnies and moles and the like. Marcia was super kind and rototilled my areas when they did their garden, so the dirt was beautifully loose and soft. A neighbor had delivered a big load of beautifully composted horse manure (black gold, I tells ya!) so I turned two wheelbarrows of rotted horseturds under the soil. The plants should take off like lightning.

In addition to the aforementioned tomatoes and peppers, I also planted a companion garden; a single 20-foot row of corn (Country Gentleman and Thanksgiving Popcorn) bordered on each side with bush beans for drying (one side Calypso and the other, Black Turtle). Marcia had a small plot with three holes for ground vines, so I planted the ends with small sugar punkins and the middle with Moon-and-Star watermelons. I also planted a triple row of Royal Burgundy bush beans, my favorite kind.

Just as I was finishing planting, an ominous storm rolled in from Paw Paw (now that's a sentence you won't read anywhere else) and Marcia very kindly helped me finish up and get in before the lightning hit. Now I'm home, showered, rested, fed, and relaxed. I got my garden all set, Zoe had a great time frolicking around and rolling in the grass, and a good deal is right with the world, even with burned Bingo Wings.

Keys! Progress!

Hey, kids! Wanna see the keys?

Master key, cleaned, but still still in its sprues
Nine keys, on their tree of wax
Nine keys, cast and in their sprues
Nine rough keys, still unfinished
(Photos courtesy of David MacMillan, sculpting and silver casting by Rollande Krandall)

Wow, I am so incredibly geeked about the prospect of seeing these finalized. David and Rollande are two of my dearest friends, and early and ardent supporters of the book. So much so that they gave me significant seed money to print the first issue, and refused to allow me to pay them back. The cover of issue 4, an oil painting, was my repayment -- and it still hangs in David's office. When they moved, he said it was one of the first things he brought with him.

So many little points in our three lives have been synchronous. It's another one of those blessed things in my life ... for example, when I was broke and unemployed, I'd drive out to their house in Ferndale, and we'd carpool down to the DIA to see the exhibits. Once, while we were there on a Friday night, we saw a live glass-beadmaking demonstration. Little did we know that Rollande would soon find a serious hobby in bead creation.

Beadmaking led to a class in silversmithing, and as a lark, Rollande said that she'd like to try her hand at making the key. Several classes, untold headaches, a six-hundred mile relocation, casting-tool acquisition and a scratch-built shop later, here we are. Rollande's dedication to the project (not to mention her sheer tenacity) has been nothing short of amazing.

On Rollande's suggestion, we're going to be making a limited run of 50 "Special Edition" keys, that will come on a little six-inch loop of special-ordered .5mm (you read that right) sterling silver chain, and rest in a special wooden box with a bronze-cast half-key on the lid (as opposed to the two-sided, three dimensional silver key itself). These will be essentially as close to a perfect reproduction of Vogelein's key as she can get.

Concurrent with the special edition, we'll also be selling the keys with only a jump-ring, for wearing as actual jewelry. Wear it as a necklace, as a bracelet, or buy two and make earrings; your choice.

I'll let everyone know as soon as I have them in my hands; there should be at least nine special editions up for grabs within the next couple of weeks. YAHOO!

Wild Kingdom

I'd made it thirty-three years, eighteen of those on a farm, and had never seen a tick until a month ago. Since then we've pulled about six off the dog. Disgusting creatures, those, though leeches still trump them for sheer grossness. I'm afraid we have a small colony set up in the house now; we're vacuuming everything and washing the couch cover and the dog blankets, and if that doesn't help we'll have to bomb the house. Tomorrow I'll also take Zoe to the vet for some anti-tick stuff.

The birds are eating my strawberries, and indelicately at that. I was saving the first really ripe one for myself; left to pick up my car from the mechanic, and by the time I returned it was gone. Later, I found three half-eaten strawberries on the sidewalk.

I went out to check on the fish, and set a hand down to steady myself. It landed on something squishy. Looking down, I beheld a slug the size of my index finger, mottled black and brown, feasting on a bird turd.

Paul and I went out to enjoy the night air on the back porch. Within five minutes a sickly white opossum was staring at us with its beady glowing eyes.

Steampunk Magazine

The second edition of the lovely new publication, SteamPunk Magazine has a short but very positive review of the first Vögelein book, and I'm told that issue #3 will feature a review of the new book. Margaret Killjoy, one of the editors and author of both reviews, has the lead pull-quote on the back of Old Ghosts, so you know it must be good.

I think a significant portion of the people who read this blog would dig the living heck out of SteamPunk, so y'all go check it out, kay? Both issues are free online or $3 for a print version.