D.J. Coffman - Sequential Artist, Thinker

- I wish my mortgage wasn’t due the exact time that I’m broke each month.

- I wish surprise things wouldn’t pop up each month that aid to me being broke and grumpy at the same time each month. This month, it looks like we have to buy heating oil again. Hooray!

- I wish I was more disciplined and could ignore things that are annoying me so I could just focus on work and drawing.

- I wish my publisher would get their website fixed so that the comics section was up to date and all the links were working properly. Meanwhile, it’s mid-february and we have another issue coming out with no details about it online. I ignore this, but I’m reminded by fans. It’s frustrating. There’s a new web guy there, so here’s hoping– I talk to them tomorrow, so I’ll hammer this home again. Seriously. Dudes!

- I wish people would stop saying Obama will be assassinated if he’s made the nominee. Every time I hear it, I feel like slapping someone. I’d like to think we’re beyond bigoted crap in this country. I’m afraid people are afraid to HOPE. Especially those over the age of 50 or 60 who think they’ve seen it all before.

- I wish I could get out of this current SUNDAY FUNK I’m in. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

- I wish my dog would stop jumping into my bed when I get out of bed. He tricks me into getting up, then steals my spot. Now my sheets need washed because they smell like hound dog.

I’m done wishing (bitching) now.

I’ve been meaning to blog about this, and since my arms hurt like hell from today’s gym excursion, and I’m procrastinating a lot today I thought now would be a good time to write this. It’s about my short trip to two local comic shops, not far from one another.

Before I go on, I want to say this. My first job ever was in a comic shop in Palm Springs, CA, “Heroes 4 Hire” - I was 14. I worked there on and off for 2 years or so– then my Dad, after seeing how much money my friends and I spent on comics, and my interest in comics as a career, decided to open a shop that I could help run. This was right around the “Death of Superman” days. So, I’ve seen the ups and downs and ins and outs of being a retailer. And I loved it. If I had the patience and workable market area, and if I wasn’t so busy making them, I’d probably own my own comic shop. I digress…

Last Friday I wanted to pick up a new Previews catalog, so I figured, hey, I’ll make a trip out of it and visit the two comic shops that are within a few blocks of one another. I grabbed a copy of the hardcover for both shops, and a single issue one just to drop them off there. I also wanted to inquire if it would be possible for me to take preorders direct online, and then call in an order through them that I would pick up, and pay full price for. This would end up being “found” money for them, and could be a couple hundred book sales extra a month, just for ordering them through DIamond for me.

Store #1 - It’s a small place, has been around longer and they focus on RPG stuff in the back. I walk in, it’s 5pm or so– about 8 guys are gathered in the back around Warhammer tables or playing minature games, including the employees. I maybe get one look from one of the other players when I walk in, but nobody said hello, or came to the counter… I browsed their selection of comics for a minute, went to the counter and browsed the Previews there… nobody acknowledged me. I walked over to where everyone was gaming and finally a player pointed out to the employee that there was a customer in their store. I told him I was just dropping off some books — “Oh great, i know someone I can sell that to, thanks” — and I was so turned off by the lack of actually CARING about their shop that I didn’t even mention the other deals. I just told them issue 3 was in the current Previews and to give it a look. I inquired about the oversize Jack Kirby collector books they use to carry– and they sort of scoffed and said they hadn’t carried that in ages. Yeah, because I was the last guy who came in and BOUGHT all of them up. — I was left with a really bad taste in my mouth. I had a similar experience in this shop last year, but thought it was a fluke.

Store #2- They focus on a lot of Japanese Manga stuff, but have a nice selection of mainstream comics and indy books. When I walk in, I’m greeted with a hello– When I hand the books to the clerk and tell him they are for the store, his eyes light up like i’ve given them gold. I tell him I’m there to buy a Previews, like normal– and then I proceed to ask them if they’d be willing to do the preorder thing if I can get that going– without hesitation they totally agree– because they know I just walked in with some nice extra sales for them… no catches…. found money. Also, when I was leaving and saying thanks… the guy knew my name and said “Thanks DJ” — because I had been in there before and he’s seen me at Pittsburgh Comicon. I also told them about the experience I had just had at the other shop, and told them that they are awesome… and they rolled their eyes and said they hear a lot of that about the other shop. They didn’t say it in a competitive way either, which I commend them for. Just a matter of fact way.

Now, if I had a choice… I’d of course go to store #2. In fact, I won’t be going back to store #1 EVER again.

But this got me thinking– something I already know. There are a lot more stores like store #1 out there. They have their own clique of friends. They don’t have any real drive to SELL comics… they’re just doing it because it’s hip or cool, or a place for their friends to hang. God bless em.  But this is a BIG problem with the direct market system I think. Sure, store #1, they were catering to their RPG miniature regulars who probably pay the rent…. but a customer is a customer, and I could have been anyone. I could have been there to buy a thousand dollars worth of miniatures.  But now, if I ever get the urge to do that sort of thing– I’d just buy them online.

So that’s a tale of two comic shops. If you’re a retailer out there, please strive to be more like shop #2. It’s not hard to do.

Ok, I wrote a HUGE blog on Thursday that I must not have published or I x’d it out. So here’s a recap.

My wife passed out early yesterday morning around 6am. KERTHUNK, she landed on her face in the bathroom. Literally landed right on her nose. I was downstairs letting the dog out to pee and I heard a big bang above me but thought it was our oldest boy rolling out of bed or something. So I was worried all day– but it all turned out okay. My wife gets very antsy or squeemish when she has to deal with her own blood or things wrong with her. She had just gotten a nose ring put in, and it was pretty tiny and had went all the way in when she was sleeping, so she got up to go check that out, and I think she was holding her breath a bit too long while she diddled with that and she got light headed— sat down on the tub, and then KETHUNK, right on her face. I came back up with our dog to find her laying on the bathroom floor, looking like someone had just cold cocked her right in the face. (I swear it wasn’t me!) — So I was worried about her all day, and kept wanting to take her to the hospital. She’s alright now though…. I took her last night to get a larger nose stud thing so it won’t fall into her nose. Why she puts herself through these things, I’ll never know. So to sum that up, yesterday it was scary, today it’s all better. She still looks like someone punched her in the face though.

Gym is going well I guess. I’m sore, tired and when I get back the last thing I want to do is draw or use my arms for anything… but I’m manning up and pushing through it. Hulk smash!

I wrote some nice words about all the folks at Platinum Studios I can’t wait to see in March and thank them for everything they’ve done for me. It’s a really awesome company to work for, and I’m proud to be a part of it. Harper Collins just picked up the book rights to distribute the Cowboys and Aliens graphic novel all over the world– That had me excited because I guess there’s a chance someday that Platinum could get them or another company to pick up Hero By Night hardcover for broad distribution. I think it’s a no-brainer of a fun book that bookstores could make a lot of money with. So, here’s hoping!

My issue 2 comps of Hero By Night came yesterday morning as well, and we’re all really excited about it. We never really get a chance to take it in while we’re working on it– so to see the completed thing and know that it’s AWESOME FUN– well it’s a great feeling. I go and lay an issue on my kids beds so they discover them when they go into their rooms. Last night my oldest son devoured it, had some laughs, I heard some “WHOA!”s and “OH MAN!” — and I asked him what his favorite part was. Then he said his least favorite part was the end, because he wanted MORE. Hah, that’s when I really know we’ve done our job. That should be in shops by next wednesday.

Speaking of Hero By NIght, the new landing page has worked great. It’s increased pageviews a bit, but also I’ve gotten some nice emails from people who enjoy it because now they’re not jumping into the middle of a story and being spoiled– they can choose to jump to the start of our story, or explore other things they didn’t know about.

Also, it looks like Hero By Night will be on the cover of the pre-convention mailer for Pittsburgh Comicon. Right on! Can’t wait to see how that turns out. I’d really like to make HBN a staple of the show, not only because it’s my hometown convention, but also because HBN takes place in the fictional Pittsburgh known as “Steel City”.

Ok, off to eat then get to inking… this time i’m remembering to hit PUBLISH!

I wrote a big blog yesterday that seems to now be all gone. BOO! BOO! I say.

I said a lot of cool stuff too. Oh well– coffee.. then gym… then me draw comics.

Go read my comics. 

I got up and went right to work today, forgot to blog out my thoughts. So here they are as I take a small lunch break.

- I hope Obama cleans house today on electoral votes, and I hope Clinton has the class to just drop out. I highly doubt it though.

- Looks like the new landing page at HeroByNight.com worked well in place. It’s a great thing for NEW readers and old readers alike to be reminded of key things from the Hero By Night universe. I plan on changing that up on the right so it’s fresh and fun to discover things… maybe SECRET things… soon. Visitors are up, pageviews are up… all is good!

- I’m getting into hardcore work on issue 3 here. I’ve got my system down pat now pretty much, but it begins in Photoshop as I actually letter FIRST now, and do the layouts on a layer under it. Then I’ll print these out before I pencil bigger on bristol board. Then it’s scanned in, inked in photoshop at aroun 600dpi and I zoom WAY in to ink on the Cintiq. Then shoot the inks to Jason, tweek the lettering balloons and we’re done and off to the next issue. It’s a pretty unique process, but WAY more streamlined than other creative teams work. We end up with one photoshop file with everything in it, vector lettering, etc. It’s pretty darn nifty.  This process also allows me to sort of build in the lettering to the design of the page, instead of wasting time coloring or inking detailed things  that get covered up by a letterer or bad lettering placement.

- That’s it– a little brief today, because I’m in a groove with work here and not procrastinating much.

I’ve been pretty inspired by Barrack Obama’s speeches. Whether you’re a little jaded like me, and not sure if you can ever really trust anyone who wears a tie, this feeling of being inspired. Of a hope for change– not just for our measly country here, but FIX THIS WORLD! I want it done so I can smile. I want it done for my kids. Anyways, this is awesome how the speech inspired a musician to make it into a song. http://yeswecansong.com

Woke up this morning, grabbed a cup o’ dirty water,  checked the email and comments on the Hero By Night page. A lot of people don’t like the “landing page”– they like to go right to the latest page in the story. Some people say they’ll even stop checking the comic because that one more page click is on their nerves. Also, the “latest” button code feature doesn’t seem to work on Drunk Duck. For some reason it takes you to the previous day’s update first. But that’s a Drunk Duck issue, I’ve brought it up a gazillion times now to no avail, so I assume it must be something HARD for them of fix in the background.  We pour a little of our soul into this work, and this probably isn’t the case, but I just think of the one guy who likes our stuff, but has never bought a book, never preorded a book or spent a dime on our product, which is FINE, but the one thing he DID do was visit the site, and to get an email from someone saying they’re not going to visit the site anymore because of a landing page… uhm??

The landing page serves three purposes really. Two are on purpose, the other is a bonus purpose as icing on the cake.

1. It’s for NEW readers. Someone who has never heard of Hero By Night before, they land there, and now there’s a little message on the right greeting them and inviting them in. Bringing them up to date on key story arcs and characters. I’ve heard the emails from people who came in, see the “latest” page and have no idea what’s going on or where the story is and they have no idea how to get to the first page of the storyarc, etc. (even though there’s a dropdown!) Drunk Duck isn’t the BEST layout around, with all the flashy ads and exit points, I know sometimes it must look like a carnival to new people and they just want to scram before a carny pops out and insults their manhood in front of their girlfriend… but I digress.

2. It’s for OLD readers. Click around on some of the things on that landing page. Click the ring, it goes to the origin on the ring, etc. Do you know how many readers I’ve talked to who didn’t know the Origin of Saul Simian, but say they’ve read everyday. There are alot of people who haven’t gone through everything, or they missed or forgot about KEY things that are coming up and reflect in the current stories. Plus, I might hide some fun things on the homepage to “find” — for you know, bonus entertainment value.

3. So what if you have to click one more time? You like the comics… it’s generating ONE more pageview for Drunk Duck’s ad revenue. Which isn’t much but a millisecond of time before you’re at the comicy goodness. Plus,to be totally transparent, it helps MY pageviews, which if I get X amount of genuine views, I’d get a friggin bonus on my pay. A bonus I’d likely spend on advertising Hero By Night more across the web. I’m not at that point yet, and that’s not why this was put in place at all. But that would be nice! — and so without ever spendinga dime, just being at the site, you’re SUPPORTING our work. Heck, you’re supporting Drunk Duck too, which is offering TONS of freehosting and features. And you’re supporting my publisher too, Platinum Studios, who doesn’t brag about it, but you know, last year they wet around and gave out 5 tables of FREE space to independent Drunk Duck members!? I mean, I cant name another webcomics host or publisher out there who has done that, and just had open space to ANYONE who wants to show up. Just something to think about.

- Alright, I should head off to the gym. Gotta keep doing that and training my mind, or it’ll be a bust.  Then when I get back, I gotta get to a work of a different kind.

– today’s gonna be a GREAT day. I can feel it.

Gotta make this quick. My wife is out getting the kids and I Taco Bell and she’s pissed… the window to the Explorer is frozen and so she has to go in and order and she feels she looks like “crap”– but I’ve seen her at her worst and frankly, it’s impossible for her to look bad. Even when she rolls out of bed with CRAZY bed head, looking like a homeless drifter… I think to myself, that’s one HOT homeless drifter!

I spent the better part of two days work on behind the scenes web stuff. Some of which you can see at the new frontpage layout of Hero By Night. I’m still a little confuddled as to why Drunk Duck’s “latest” code doesn’t work properly, it takes you to the previous update entry, but OH WELL. It’s nice having that landing page, for one, it’s more pageviews, more ad revenue I guess to pay the bills– and MORE importantly it’s now a place where all the new readers can jump onto things, like the most recent story, and to main key stories like Saul Simian’s origin, which people might want to know for upcoming story stuff– so I just made it fun. If you click the ring, it takes you to the ring’s origin from issue 3. It’s so much fun to play with all the content we  have now.

Speaking of technical shmecknickle stuff, I got to talk to the new VP of Digital Publishing at Platinum Studios yesterday. I don’t know if I can say who it is, or what the guys done, but he’s done some damn fine things on the web end. We discussed some loose plans for the digital side of publishing and I’m feeling really confident that this is the guy to get a lot of things done.

Also got to talk to Sean O’Reilly on the phone, the “publisher” at Platinum. He’s a good dude, and I think I like him because he’s a straight shooter like I am. We have some COOL things planned for the Hero By Night brand coming up– wish I could say more, but expect RINGS this year, as well as all sorts of cool stuff after Free Comic Book Day. I have a feeling that April-June are going to be BIG ramping up months for our little hero. Gaining more readers and exposure… and oh dear lord, I can’t wait for you guys to see Issues 3 and 4. Issue 3 available for preorder now at your local comic shops— issue 2 should be on stands next week… SAUL SIMIAN!!!!! ‘Nuff Said.

At the end of a long day of photoshoppin, my sister in law came to pay the rent and brought me an Amazon box that got shipped to my old address. Inside was that book I had mentioned I wanted a couple posts ago, “The Artist Within” where it has photos of other famous artist’s studios. I immediately thought my wife must have sent it to me and ran upstairs to thank her, but she looked at me dumbfounded… I found the little note inside and it turns out it was from Shawn Williams (Kwip) of the N3RDCAST podcast. So, HOLY HELL man, THANKS! You really didn’t have to do that. This thing will be a part of my studio until I’m long dead– it’s an awesome book. First page… Jack Kirby. As it friggin should be!

Upon reading the fine print of said package, I realized that by opening said package I had unwittingly signed an oath to be at the beck and call of the N3RDcast whenever they are broadcasting and I’m available to speak. Not a bad deal really. If it was my soul they wanted, I sold that a long time ago! Anyways, thanks Shawn!

My Taco Bell has arrived. I must go hug my wife.

Darn. Late start today. Well, we had an ice storm here in the Pittsburgh area. School was delayed, which crimped my gym schedule. I might jam over and get some cardio type stuff done for half an hour or so, just to get the ol’ ticker going.

Wow, I’ve been digging on this Alan Moore documentary online: http://www.altertube.tv/view_video.php?viewkey=31b55aa50c06529eaa21&page=1&viewtype=&category=mr

Alot of what he says rings true to my mind. I’m also noticing a trend of sorts, where a lot of the GREATEST minds to ever come to the comics page, all came from poverty. I guess there’s something to be said for the power of imagination to overcome great odds. As Alan Moore put it, comics, as they expanded his imagination: “Allowed me to escape the limitations of my origin.”

A fascinating thought. It makes me think of my own origins. I know for me, any type of thing that I felt was wrong, or sad, or limiting in my childhood… it taught me more than I would ever learn anywhere else. And I promised myself from a young age, that when I had a wife and kids, I would make things different. I would start a new solid path. I could never speak of these things to loved ones, less they be insulting to them. I didn’t mean them to be. Broken homes, etc.

I remember a lot of little moments in my childhood that are very vivid to this day. Once I was 9 years old– I had gotten home from school and I was excited that my Dad would be taking me out so I could spend some money I saved up on new GI JOE figures. I knew he got home around 4:30 in the afternoon, so I waited. I watched. I walked all the way down to the end of the street, to where I could see the farthest just to look for his truck coming down the road. 5pm came… then 5:30… then it was 6:30 and getting dark. I worried. Where could he be? Did  he forget? Did he have to work late? — He didn’t come home that night, at least not until I was in bed. I understand him more now though– he was drowning away demons that haunted him.

That sounds like a pretty crappy, sad story– but it inspires me. Those little memories. Not because he did something wrong and taught me what NOT to do– Now I look back and see a guy who was struggling with problems he didn’t even know he had. He didn’t have the sort of tools or skills I had to escape with.  I wrote about some of those in the ORIGIN comic. Chapter one.  

I never got to continue those– but I do feel that it was a turning point for me, where I was able to be HONEST about feelings, and not try to just serve an audience, but to express some feelings and explore things. Maybe someday I will do more when the time is right… just not right now.