Been a bit of time since we posted much stuff and that's because we really haven't had good, solid information to post. I wish I could say much of that has changed, but I can't. Instead I wanted to explain why we're sort of stuck in limbo (a lot of it is good stuff, though, so don't worry).
The biggest thing slowing down production is that What the Flux Comics is approaching Diamond Distributors to get Tart (and their other titles) into the Diamond catalog. If you're newer to comics Diamond is the company that distributes comic books to the local comic shops around the world. Getting into the catalog allows shops to order your title as easily as checking a box on an order form.
Without being in Diamond, we will have to meet and establish relationships with every individual shop owner or manager in the country before getting a copy on their shelves. Obviously, a slow and inefficient process. So we've applied, sent in a copy of Tart and Red Angel (the other title What the Flux is applying with) to Diamond and are awaiting a response. Unfortunately, there is no set timetable for an answer.
If/when we get a yes, then we'll be looking at about a two to three month wait before Tart could be in shops (one month to get into the magazine, one month to be ordered, one month to be delivered). If we get a no, well, we start the hard slog.
In the meantime, Ludovic has illustrated a book which will be published in France around Halloween. I've only seen the cover, but just like everything he does, it's simply gorgeous:
If you want to learn more about the book, check out this site: fan2fantasy.fr/1224
I don't know if they deliver to the States, but if I was a book collector, I'd drop them a line to see. When you have a chance to get a debut book of a talent like Ludo's, in a limited to 250 copies edition, you need to jump on it (By the way, I get nothing from the purchase of this book, so consider this investment advice my civic duty).
Creatively, I've been working on a project outside of the Toxic Universe that I'm pretty excited about. I'll hopefully be able to tell you more about it soon.
With Tart, though, I've been busy preparing for Geekfest this November 18th on Florida Atlantic University's campus. I contacted a marketing company in the hopes of having something that will not only bring a bit of revenue in, but make an impression on people as well. Since we'll be on a college campus, I thought what would be the coolest, most unique product we could have? A 23 oz Tart Beer glass!
Looks pretty good, huh? Yeah, well how bout now:
Oh, yeah. Looking good. Anyway, we'll try to sell a few, and barring that, my family can expect to be getting beer glasses for the next 20 or so Christmases.
We don't have too many shirts, as we were able to order them 1 by 1, so I'm hoping my family doesn't have to also receive tank tops for the holidays. My brother doesn't look good in pink.
And lastly, we're investigating printing out 200 or so copies of issue 1 which will be given away free at the door of Geekfest. We feel like our story is strong enough that getting it into people's hands is the best investment we can make. This isn't set in stone, but I'm really hoping it happens.
Hope all is well. Talk to you soon!
