EPIC, a new superteen comic book, will make it’s official debut at this year’s Baltimore Comic Con.   Writer Tyler James, artist Matt Zoman, and color artist Ty Tyner will be appearing together in a corner booth on the main showroom floor to give this exciting project a proper launch.

For sale will be EPIC #0, a 32 page full-color book containing a self-contained 16 page story, along with pin-ups, sketches and more.

The EPIC team will have three versions of the inaugural issue on hand.

• EPIC #0 – Standard Edition, featuring an awesome wrap-around cover.
• EPIC #0 – Artist Edition, featuring a one-of-a kind sketch cover, with pencils by Matt Zolman, inks by Tyler James, and colors by Ty Tyner.
• EPIC #0 – Baltimore Comic Con / Comic Related Exclusive, we’re partnering with the comics news site Comic Related to bring you this exclusive cover.  Quantities extremely limited!

About EPIC

After a freak accident gives teenager Eric Ardor incredible abilities, he enthusiastically joins the ranks of the superpowered set as the masked crusader EPIC. He quickly learns he’s one of the most powerful heroes around: super strength, speed, flight, invulnerability. You name it, he’s got it. Unfortunately, he’s also just discovered his only weakness…beautiful girls! Eric’s powers are inexplicably linked to the attraction and arousal center of his brain. While other boys his age lose their cool around hot chicks, EPIC loses his powers! Living in Miami, home to the zaniest super-villians AND the most beautiful women in America, it’s gonna be a problem…

For a closer look at EPIC, check out the Digital Ashcan Preview to the right, in the featured comic section of this website.

Attending the con?  Want a FREE Sketch?

If you’re planning on attending the show, you’ll definitely want to check out the Free Sketch Card Promotion we have going on!

What Else?

In addition to copies of EPIC #0, our booth will feature a select number of prints, including AWESOME collaborative Baltimore Exclusive Prints.  All three creators will also be sketching and taking commission requests.

Tyler James will have print copies of his popular webcomics OVER and Tears of the Dragon available for purchase as well.

Oh, and by the way…

If you would like a Coupon for a FREE PRINT redeemable for one of a selection of 11×17 full color prints, contact me at tylerjamescomics@gmail.com or leave a comment below saying “Hey, I’ll see you guys at Baltimore!”

Tyler James Comics has partnered with brand spanking new mobile comics publisher Oxicomics to distribute a selection of books in a format tailor made for the iPhone, and sold through the App Store.

Tears of the Dragon #1 is now available for purchase, one of the inaugural handful of comics released during Oxicomics soft-launch kick-off.  (In fact, Oxicomics has been using Tears images in the promotional images of their new app…which is fine by me!)

TOTD #1 is on sale for just $0.99 at the app store, and can be found easily by searching either “Tears of the Dragon” or “Oxicomics” or simply by following THIS LINK.

Also available FOR FREE is Tyler James Comics Presents…Vol. 1.  Yup, that’s right.  FREE!  So, please, download and let me know what you think!

In the coming weeks and months, I’ll be adding new titles to the Oxicomics Catalogue, including Tears of the Dragon #2 and the complete OVER series, with all new, mobile-only covers.

One of my biggest goals of this year was to get my comics on the iPhone and iPad.  Partnering with Oxicomics, a new kid on the block whose comics reader rivals the best apps out there, made a lot of sense, and it will hopefully be a win-win for both of us.  Though I’ve been drooling over the iPhone for a long time, I refused to allow myself to purchase one until I was selling comics through it.

Well, looks like I’ll be hitting the Apple store, soon!

AVAILABLE NOW AT OXICOMICS

Convention Season In Full Swing

• 2010 has already been my most successful convention season to date.  With big days at the Boston Comic Con, ComiCONN and a Free Comic Book Day event at Larry’s Wonderful World of Comics, along with a few other smaller shows, I’m really pleased with how this year is shaping up con wise.
• That said, this month I’ve had a number of minor set-backs.  Unfortunately, I did not get artist alley table space at this year’s New York Comic Con, so it looks like I’ll be skipping that show.  And I just found out that the organizer of July’s New England Small Press Assembly is canceling the show due to personal reasons.  Major bummer, as I was really looking forward to doing a small-press centered show.
• Despite those setbacks, I’m focused on making this year’s Baltimore Comic Con my biggest and best show ever!  Once again, I’m doing FREE Sketches for attendees who contact me ahead of time.  (Click to get on my list.)  This year, I’ll be moving out of artist’s alley and into a booth on the main floor, tabling with Matt Zolman and Ty Tyner, aka the EPIC creative team.  We’ve got some killer product we’ll be selling at the booth, including the debut of EPIC.  More on what I have in store for B’more in a later post.
• I’m looking at adding a few more cons to my 2010 schedule, and will hopefully have news to that effect soon.  I’m really hoping to get an invite to Meredith Gran’s New England Webcomics Weekend.  I’m also considering the Wizard World New England Comic Con as a replacement show for NYCC, and even inquiring about doing a show in my home town of Albany, NY later this year.  So stay tuned for that!

OVER

• Hard to believe, but it’s been more than a year and a half that I’ve been working on OVER.  It’s been quite the process, and I’m planning on doing a thorough post-mortem analysis on lessons learned, successes, failures and challenges with putting out my first online graphic novel.
• In the meantime though, my head is down as I plow through to the finish line.  The fifth and final chapter begins next week, and three times a week updates continue there on out.
• As announced yesterday, PRE-ORDER has now opened for the OVER graphic novel.   $20 will get you the GN before anyone else, and that includes shipping and an Artist’s Edition upgrade to boot!

EPIC

• Three versions of EPIC #0 are currently at the printers, with an early August delivery date.  These books will be making their debut at the Baltimore Comic Con, and given the strong reaction to the digital ashcan, we’re very optimistic it will be one of the “hit” books at the show.
• Matt Zolman contributed an EPIC pin-up to the Master Digital Color/ Hi-Fi Color Annual contest hosted at the HueDoo forums.  (One of the better entries posted so far is shared here.)  To see all the entries, head on over to HueDoo.com.
• Eric White, HueDoo moderator and contributor to the Master Digital Color site did a comprehensive interview with the entire EPIC creative team.  If you didn’t get a chance to read it, definitely check it out.
• More EPIC action is being worked on as we speak.  Before we launch into the EPIC ongoing saga, we’re first doing a short 8 page EPIC crossover with the flagship character of another indy creator.  Announcement coming soon, but it’s going to be more fun than a comic book has any right to be.  Stay tuned for that!
• The EPIC Facebook page is the best place to keep tabs on the latest with our book.  If you haven’t gone over there and given us a “LIKE” yet, please do!  You won’t regret it!

Tears of the Dragon

• The TOTD Webcomic is currently a little more than halfway through Chapter 2.  Right now, we’re on a bit of a hiatus, as artist Koko Amboro gets caught on pages.
• I’m pleased to report, TOTD has been quite the hit at conventions so far.  I’ve been busy cranking out a ton of Artist’s Edition dragon sketch covers. There are plenty still available, so snag ‘em up before they’re gone.

Podcasts

I’ve had a number of performances on some great podcasts over the past couple months.  Give them a listen and let me know what you think.  My three most recent include:

• Zone 4 with Brant Fowler.  This is one of the more interesting discussions I’ve been a part of.  In this special Zone 4, I joined Victor Dandridge, Mason Easley and Chad Strohl in a discussion about paying creators, conventions, webcomics, indies and mainstream, and much more!
• Why I Love Comics Podcast with Eric Ratcliffe.  Eric relaunched his popular podcast with a new creator-interview focused format, and I was his first guest.  (Considering his more recent guests include Mike Carey, Joe Eisma, and Christos Gage, it’s definitely an honor to be included in that company.)  In this interview, we chatted about my work, and also covered my reaction to the news of changes at Zuda.
• The Lightbox Podcast with Matt Stout and Chris Flick.  This episode has received a lot of praise from creators, as we get into a discussion about “the dip” creators go through, and ways to get through the tough part of creating to eventually get to the rewards.

Columns

I’ve continued to pluck away with columns over at Comic Related. If you haven’t been keeping up, here are the latest:

32: Going All In
33: The Dip and Being the Best in the World
34: Patience Pep Talk
35: Tools You Should Be Using: Viddler
36: Zuda Says No More Competitions
37: Business Mailbag
38: 30 Characters Challenge Post-Script

Zombie Bomb

• I’m working on a short ~6 page story for the Zombie Bomb! comic anthology project. I’ve run into Zombie Bomber Adam Miller a number of times over the past several months, and have been extremely impressed with the book he’s editing.  So I figured what the hell, I’ll submit something.  For this, I’m teaming up with illustrator Greg Marathas, a guy I’ve met a few times at Boston conventions.  Greg’s got some chops and is looking to break into the industry.  I saw this as a good opportunity to work together on a small projects that could be a lot of fun.
• The story I’m working on is called Side Splitters. Check out some of Greg’s concept art for it here!

Other Stuff

• I have some commissions in the queue that I’m excited to get started working on.  I need to keep the pedal to the metal to get OVER complete on time, but will be working on some cool original art pieces around the edges.
• I’m very close to inking a deal to get my comics on the iPhone (and eventually iPad) with at least one distributor.  I’m cautiously optimistic about the game changing power for mobile digital distribution.  I think the current “app culture” may greatly benefit creators who are smart about the technology.  And as a bonus, I promised myself I could purchase an iPhone only after I had comics being sold on one…so iPhone 4, I’m coming for you!

That’s about it for now!  You’re caught up, and so am I!

Mark your calendars, boys and girls…Tears of the Dragon returns March 22!

Chapter 2: Torvuld’s Plight will continue the fantasy epic that began last July.  They say heavy is the head of he who wears the crown, and it’s never been truer.  The early days of Torvuld’s reign should have been joyous…a beautiful wife, a strong daughter, a kingdom in peace.  Yet sinister forces are at play, hellbent on his destruction.

Tears of the Dragon is an epic fantasy webcomic written by Tyler James, with art by Koko Amboro.

Read Tears of the Dragon Chapter 1: To Become King in it’s entirety online here, purchase the standard edition of Chapter 1 from Indy Planet, or get a limited Artist’s Edition version here.

Stepping Up the Social Networking

Most of those of you reading this have probably already noticed, but I’ve been putting a lot of time into social media/Web 2.0/whatever it’ll be called tomorrow.  I’m definitely a believer of the power of this stuff, but want to keep it in perspective.  Content is King…I could spend all day long interacting with people online and building awareness for the stuff I’m doing, but at the end of the day, if I’m not putting out great product, it’s a waste of time.  So my primary focus is and always will be making great comics.

That said, I’m really jazzed about the tools out there to expand my audience, and the real friendships I’m making online.  Here’s what I’ve been focusing on lately:

• Facebook Fan Page- Having fun with this.  Been posting some exclusive EPIC stuff here, and connecting with some of the hundreds of millions on FB.  Fan me up if you’re a Facebook fan.

• Twitter- Twitter has quickly become my primary social networking platform.  I recently upgraded my page to have a bit more character.  Check it out and give me a follow.

• Podcasts- I’ve done a few Podcasts this year already and have a few scheduled.  In fact, I’ve been on 3 of the last 4 episodes of the JAVILAND Podcast, most recently talking about Teaching Comics and Making Webcomics.  Had some great feedback on these episodes, so if those topics strike your fancy, give it a listen right here:

EPIC is Coming!

Momentum is really building for EPIC- “Super Teen Hijinx” brought to you by myself and Matt Zolman. Matt recently completed this killer pin-up, which we’ll be using to promote the book, and as a test page to find a colorist to join our team.  I recently posted an ad at Digital Webbing, a site that I’ve had a lot of success finding artists on in the past.  We’re reviewing a number of promising colorists for the gig, and are confident we’ll find the right guy or gal for the job.

Matt is cranking on layouts, and barring any major hiccups, EPIC should be out this summer.  We have a number of cool things things in the works promotion wise, and I’m really thrilled with how this project is taking shape.

Over

Believe it or not, I’ve cranked out more than 100 pages of Over already! While I’ve still a long way to go (estimating the final page count to be somewhere around 165 pages) I’m definitely on the downhill climb.  The readership continues to steadily grow, and the feedback has been largely positive.  I’ve asked a lot of the readers, as Felix’s journey has been quite dour at times.  The good news is, I promise to stay true to the story, tie up all the plotlines, and deliver a satisfying (and happy) ending.  (Okay, that’s a big promise.)  But I’m looking forward to delivering.

In a few months, I’ll be starting to take pre-orders for the Over graphic novel.  The goal will be to secure enough pre-orders to pay for the printing costs upfront, without going too deep into the red.  I’ll be offering some great pre-order incentives, so hopefully I’ll be able to generate enough scratch to do a nice big print run.

Right now, I think I’m a bit behind schedule to have Over printed and on the table in time for New York Comic Con, my original goal.  But I haven’t abandoned that target yet.  Over completed in 2010 or bust!

Tears of the Dragon

Chapter 2 of Tears of the Dragon is well underway on the production side.  Earlier this month, I sent a big check to my main man Koko Amboro who is killing it on the art side, and I already have my hands on some gorgeous new pages.  I’m getting color notes to Miguel Marques for more colors by the end of the month, and while I haven’t announced the return date, sometime mid-March seems likely.

Also of note, Tears of the Dragon: Book 1- To Become King is now available for purchase!  There are two versions of the book.  The Standard Version is being sold through my friends at Indy-Planet.

Also soon available for purchase is an Artist’s Edition of Book 1, featuring a one-of-a-kind Dragon sketch cover by me.  These are going to be limited to 100 and is sure to be a collector’s item.   I’ll solicit the Artist’s Edition version when I have them in hand.

Conventions

This year, I’ll set a new record for the number of conventions I’ll be attending.  I’ve been listing my con schedule at the bottom of this site.  However, con season starts earlier than expected for me, as NEXT WEEKEND I’ll be tabling at at Larry’s Woburn, MA Comic Book Show on February 20, 2010.

Through the magic of social media (see above) I struck up a chat with Larry from Larry’s Comics on Twitter (@LarrysComics), and he invited me to attend his show and is hooking me up with a table.  And guess what?  That’s my birthday! So, I’m much looking forward to kicking off con season on my 31st.  If you’re in the area, you’ve got to stop by!

As for the rest of my schedule, I’ve already sent in my table fees for Boston Comic Con and NESPA and I’m a guest at ComiCONN.  So, I’m definitely getting pumped.  Here’s my schedule:

April 10-11, 2010
Boston Comic Con
May 15, 2010
ComiCONN, New Haven, CT
July 18, 2010
New England Small Press Assembly
August 28-29, 2010
Baltimore Comic-Con
October 08-10, 2010
New York Comic-Con >
November 6-7, 2010
Webcomics Weekend – Easthampton, MA

And a reminder, I’m challenging myself to do 100 FREE SKETCH CARDS this year.  If you’re attending any of the above shows, email me tylerjamescomics@gmail.com and get on the list.

Colosseum X

Colosseum X has taken a back seat as I’ve been pushing EPIC forward.  However, artist Enrique “Z” Savory, Jr. and I are  pushing toward getting the concept art phase finished in time to preview some stuff at the Boston Comic Con.  I’d love to have a pin-up/print ready to go at that show to start getting people fired up.  EPIC will be my lighthearted super hero book, and C-X will give me a chance to do the dark side.  While the books will be aimed at slightly different audiences, I think they’ll compliment one another nicely.

I don’t have much in terms of concept art to show yet, but here is a sketch from Z that’ll help explain why I’m so excited about this project and looking forward to working with him to bring it to life.

Columns and Classes

I’m continuing my run of Creating Comics! The Art + Craft over at Comic Related.  The column still comes out on Mondays, but is now on a bi-weekly schedule.  I’ve done three columns so far in 2010.  Here are links if you missed them:

29: Setting the Table for a New Year of Creating Comics
30: Ready to Script

31: An Artist Ready Script

I’ve also put out several columns for my new series The ComixStreet Recap.  This is a forum for great resources and items of note that I think will interest the comic creating community.  Give it a read if you haven’t yet.

And, I’m two weeks into an eight week session of the Creating Comics Club, a once a week after-school program for 4-5th graders in a  Newburyport elementary school.  I’m having a blast teaching it, and the kids seem to be enjoying themselves, too.  I’ll be sharing some student work soon.

On the Back Burner

Because there is only so much time in the day, Super Seed, ICE: Interrogation Control Element, CounterTerror, and a yet to be titled sci-fi/horror series are on ice for the moment.  I’m optimistic about the future promise of each of those brands, but the above projects are currently prioritized.  When Over frees up, I’ll definitely be moving a few of these forward.

Whew!  I’m exhausted.  Now, back to work!

The fourth chapter of Over, my online graphic novel that started running last June has begun.  It’s been a good 90 pages or so that readers have been following the struggles of Felix, a comic book writer desperate to get over a girl who broke his heart.  Chapter four promises to shake up the status quo, as Felix finally sees the effect his behavior since being dumped is having on the people around him.  Can he turn it around?  Well, you’re just going to have to read to find out.

If you’re new to Over start reading here.

Also of note is the “Jinx’s Sign Contest” I ran last week.  Jinx is the rascally legless bum who always carries a sign around with him to aid in his panhandling.  Over readers contributed a bunch of great Jinx sign ideas.  Funny stuff.  You can check out a slideshow of reader entries right here:

My goal for the show was to get Jav himself fired up about getting into the webcomic game, something he admittedly has been hesitating to do.  The rest of the panel and I seemed to do just that, as Jav plans to launch a new webcomic in the near future.  If you missed the show, you can listen to it below, or search JAVILAND on iTunes.

And I might as well mention that I’ll be on the show once again this coming Monday night (Feb 8, 2010) at 11pm EDT, where Jav and I will be talking about teaching comics.  If it’s not too late for you, tune in!

TOTD is written by Tyler James (me!) and Illustrated by Koko Amboro.

Book One: To Become King is the first of seven chapters in the grand Tears of the Dragon epic. The story begins with the tale of Torvuld, a young nobleman with his eyes on the crown. Evoking an old rite of passage, Torvuld sets out to slay a dragon to prove his valor, earning the wrath of the mighty dragon Sythic.

Tears of the Dragon #1 TM and © Tyler James. All rights reserved.

Head on over to Indy Planet and pick up a copy!

You’ll also see I’ve added a widget to the front page of this blog, which will give you the latest feed from the page.

Would you like a FREE SKETCH CARD?

The cast of OVER and I just want to take a moment to wish you all a Happy Holiday season.  This has been a big year in comics for me, and I have many of you to thank.  I’ve been blessed with a ton of support and encouragement throughout this amazing year.  It means a ton to me.

And here’s to an even better 2010!

-Ty

(Click HERE for a full-sized image of the Christmas Card.)

Wow, it’s been a long while since I’ve done a projects update. Guess that means I’m busy, huh? Let’s dive right into it, shall we?

The 30 Characters Challenge

• We’re sitting here on day 24 of the challenge to create a new character each day for 30 days. Though we’ve still a week to go, I have to call the challenge a resounding success. Hundreds of new characters have been created and some of the artwork has been simply astounding. If you haven’t checked it out, what the hell are you waiting for? Click here immediately!

• I am looking forward to the completion of the challenge, however, because, low and behold, it IS a challenge… and I haven’t even been cranking out top caliber artwork like some of the creators. But it’s done exactly what I hoped it would…encourage experimentation and creativity. (Case in point, Jot and Nub here.)

Over

• Over soldiers on. My first foray into online graphic novels continues to pay dividends. Slowly but surely, I’m adding readers and am always surprised to find how many people are digging my story. It’s been a quality experience for me and I’m learning a lot committing to the story and delivering it consistently. Glad people are enjoying it as well.
• That being said, Over will be taking it’s longest break of it’s run shortly. I don’t want to post throughout the Christmas holiday, because let’s face it, people have better things to do than read my comic. And I also want to break on a good stopping point…luckily, I have that stopping point, but it will probably be the second week in December that we pause our update schedule until the new year. The good thing about this is that it will allow me to build my buffer again. And the pages that will start the new year…they’re some of the funniest stuff in the entire book. It’ll start the new year with a bang.
• I’m starting to do some prep work and research into printing costs for the Over graphic novel. My goal is to have the book ready for the New York Comic Con. We’ll see if I can make that happen.

Tears of the Dragon

• I want to finish chapter 1 starting mid-december, and have been coloring the new pages myself. I will probably need to pull on a new color artist to make it happen, and will be looking for one over the Thanksgiving holiday.
• Received some dazzling new pages from Koko Amboro over the weekend. I love his art and I love this book. Hope you all do too.
• If you haven’t read any Tears yet, you can read the first 10 pages with a killer cliffhanger (literally) here.

Colosseum X

• Colosseum X will be my next (and final?) Zuda Comics submission. The script is written and it’s gotten positive feedback from a number of creators, which is great. I’ve delivered it to the artist and co-creator I’m working with, local talent Erique Savory, Jr. He’s been working on concept sketches for characters (there are a TON of characters), and I have too. This is a “go big or go home,” ambitious as hell project. If done right, it could be really huge. So, I guess we better do it right.

Creating Comics! @ Comic Related

• You’ve been reading my articles, haven’t you? If not, here’s the archive. I’m 27 articles in.
• I continue to get a lot of positive comments and feedback from people who tell me the articles are helpful. That means a lot, as do the retweets whenever I tweet a link to my latest column. Thanks guys!
• Haven’t announced it over there yet, but next week’s column will be my final column for 2009. No, it’s not that I’ve run out of things to say…it’s more that I have some other things that I need to direct some effort into that will also help the larger comics community, and I need the writing time to do it. So fear not. If people have found my articles useful this year, just wait until 2010…I’ve got some BIG ideas I want to implement that I think will be a serious help to a lot of creators.

Other Stuff

• TylerJamesComics.com will be getting a total facelift. I hope to unveil a brandnew personal webpage in time for the new year. Blogger has been a great home for the past two years, but it’s time I stepped up my presentation to the world at large. I want a clearer, more professional site that showcases my comics, links more clearly to all of my work, highlights the colloboraters I work with, and has an appealing storefront for me to sell my wares.
• Several projects are still sitting on the backshelf, including Super Seed, ICE, CounterTerror, and a very cool horror/sci-fi/mythology series tentatively titled “The Box” (although probably gonna have to change it since there’s currently a big budget movie out with the same name.) If I had unlimited time and money, I’d be working on them all. Since I have neither, I’m just trying to pace myself. Once I finish the art on Over, I’ll be taking a few months off from drawing to WRITE MY ASS OFF. In that time, I’d like to finish both the Super Seed and ICE screenplays and write at least 64 pages worth of “The Box.” That way, I’ll have those done and out of the way, and can turn my attention to drawing the remaining pages of the Super Seed graphic novel, without being held up by the writing of my other stories. Between that and writing Colosseum X for Zuda next year (play to win, remember) I’ll be very busy.
• Continuing to look to other avenues of getting my name and work out there in the public eye, and am lining up podcast appearances. I also hope to have an aggressive convention schedule in 2010. Should be a big year for me. Can’t wait.

That’ll do it for the update! Thanks for reading!