Comic World News | Headlines

April 22, 2008:
CWN and the Grand Finale! -

February 4, 2008:
In Conclusion - David ends his CWN run with Tezuka's MW from Vertical

February 2, 2008:
Acting Like You Have Nothing to Prove -

February 2, 2008:
The Shoegazer Returns - A New Year Begins, And Our Narrator Makes A Pledge

January 30, 2008:
Tim's Reviews -

September 13, 2007:
Wizard World Chicago Loot, Part One - Stykman, Empty Chamber, the Ztarian Saga, and yes, Little Bunny Foo Foo

February 15, 2007:
I Come Not to Bury Nick Cage... - But to mourn the death of my punchline

November 20, 2006:
The End - Rich's last Chicks & Romance

November 8, 2006:
Joann Sfar's Klezmer - And a Front Racks Hiatus

October 4, 2006:
This Month's Guest: Dave Gibbons - From the pages of Elephantmen!

September 18, 2006:
Back in Berlin - or How I spent my summer

July 29, 2006:
KICKING UP A STORM - An interview with David Lloyd

June 19, 2006:
You Ain't Never Had A Friend Like Me. - Graeme looks at Spidey's "genies"

December 18, 2005:
Disappointed - Sad news for fans of Busiek's CONAN, Stephen King, and others

December 13, 2004:
JUSTICE UNPLUGGED 2 at last !!! - By Fabrice Sapolsky & Xavier Fournier

December 2, 2004:
THE TWELFTH AND FINAL STEP - Say it ain't so, Dan.

November 23, 2004:
The importance of editing -

September 29, 2004:
Mystery and Conundrum indeed! - Where in the world is Jason Pomerantz?

September 13, 2004:
Hello and Goodbye and Hello Again - Change is in the air at CWN and it smells sweet.

August 12, 2004:
The Rise of the Web Toon - New Business Model or Dumb Luck?

July 30, 2004:
The Name Says it All... - Spin Doctors revamp Boomerang.

July 27, 2004:
Bigger Isn't Always Better -

June 8, 2004:
Pre-emptive Strike: MoCCA Arts Festival - Looking forward to the con, rather than looking back at it

The Layer Method
Our top Secret time-saving technique for creating and merging balloons and tails in Illustrator.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

NEXUS and MOTH Move to... Steve Rude?

Comics legend contemplates self-publishing

Considering the state of the industry and the chances in it of financial success (practically none), Steve Rude is a brave, brave man for even considering taking that route.

He's also a very smart man, as shown in the email he sent out earlier this week soliciting feedback on the idea:

Dear Friends and Fans,

Ready for a secret? It�s unofficial, but promise you�ll keep this under your hat for now. Okay, here�s the deal�

Jaynelle and I have been discussing a possible launch of a brand new comic company under my name. Though everything is hypothetical at this stage, we�re currently in the midst of the critical business strategy stage that will someday give us cause to celebrate in the future.

Here's more on the scoop, as well as one of the Big Questions that we would like you to help us answer;

1. The two main titles we would launch under the Rude banner would be; the continuation of The Moth, and, of course, the long awaited return of Nexus. This two series would be done in 4 issue blocks, i.e. 4 issues of Nexus followed by 4 issues of the Moth. Standard 21-24 page comic format. Collected editions would follow after each series.

2. Here's the next "smart" idea which was suggested by my Diamond contact Jim Kurhoric as a possibly more effective marketing idea. Instead of releasing separate 4 issue blocks of Nexus followed by the Moth, we would alternate the titles every month. So Moth #1 would follow the initial release of Nexus #1, followed by Nexus #2, Moth #2, etcetera. Standard 21-24 page comic format. Collections of each would also follow after the series are completed.

Is this alternating issues idea more exciting/palatable to you?

3. The final idea, was something suggested to me by my good friend, Mike Allred. And though I'm told Anthologies aren't the hottest way to go these days, here�s what Mike suggested;

A quarterly, oversized book featuring all characters combined. You'd get your Nexus, you'd get your Moth, and as an added sales gimmick to expand our readership ( I guess that�s the point, right?), maybe feature a short, unrelated genre story written by some Hot New Writer and drawn by yours truly. Romance, mystery, the macabre... anything would be possible here. We could also supplement this format, if needed, by sketchbook pages, behind-the-scenes preliminary art, photos of your favorite comic book creators in compromised positions--I might even talk Gino into a cheesecake bikini shot every now and then. 42-68 pages per quarter, square bound paperback format. We would also collect these into hardcover editions.

That's idea #3. What do you think?

Click here to cast your vote. You can see the running tally as we ourselves see it by tuning into the Rude Board at http://www.steverude.com/rudeboard. No, I won�t go into the usual drivel about how important readership involvement is. You guys know how important you are to making or breaking something new, so let's see if we can collectively sweep up a little of the grim and gritty into the dust bin of 2006, and bring back some of the �heroic humanity� through the name of Rude Dude Comics.

To the people that really give us the best gut-level introspection that these questions are designed to do, we�ll send off a free gift on our behalf.

Let�s see if we can stir up some dust in this business.

Yours, Sincerely,

The Dude