T Campbell's Blog

If this isn't the fear of all bloggers everywhere, it should be. (Ryan North is one of the most perceptive writers in webcomics and deserves all the encouragement he can get.)

Graphic Smash still down at this writing, but Joey's not only making progress with it, he's bringing us much closer to the long-awaited Age of Webcomics Nation.

An HTML job pretty much ate my day, with only a little time left for weights and comics-buying. The art suffered. But some days are like that. I'll have some spare time to outline and phone tomorrow during the long car trips, and get things on the page Saturday.

Long car trips, because... I'll be in Jersey and New York for most of tomorrow, checking out this job opportunity and stopping by the Marvel and DC offices (hence the "fishing" in the title, see?), then back in Virginia to podcast with Dave as we watch the big-screen debut of Sin City. Looking forward to it. See you all on Saturday, most likely.

Wild day. Quick notes before I'm off to bed.

I totally forgot to mention my dinner with fellow Leesburger and Science Fiction Blogger, one Brent P. Newhall. The fact that he's in Leesburg has nothing to do with his SFB status, it's just a really wild coincidence. Only in real life do these things happen. Brent gives a highly flattering account of the coincidence here and the meal here. His comic looks highly promising and I hope to see it develop.

Didn't get finished with "Uptown Girl" today, as unexpected circumstances developed. Did get the dialogue finished and finalized the script up to Strip 22. Twenty-six to go. Doable tomorrow, with luck.

Also signed off on the cover for Penny and Aggie #4. I'll show it to you when I get the script done.

Modern Tales is down, and so Graphic Smash and Faans.com are down. PennyAndAggie.com is not, but its auto-update feature is, so we'll have to do our best to keep updating the strip manually. Punch me on the shoulder if we don't.

About the only upside to the down-time is that it gives you more time to enter the "Caption This" contest in yesterday's blog entry. Five great entries as I write this.

Thor Thorvaldson, Jr. called me about a new project, which I promise, swear to God, will be the last new project I start until at least two others get finished.

Dave Belmore called me about the HTML work and the fact that we just have to review Sin City this Friday, he'll just die if we don't. (I tease because I wuv, Dave.)

Gisele called about the aforementioned cover and a free Canadian paper that might be a good fit for P&A on its way to full-fledged syndication.

And New Jersey called about a job.

I really shouldn't say too much about the job yet. It's not comics. But one critical factor stands out: it is within 15 minutes' driving distance of the Marvel offices and closer to the DC offices.

I am strongly considering. Thanks to Charles Gnilka and Julie Hayman for making this possible.

Started some preliminary work on the temp job today. So I didn't get finished with "Uptown Girl." I've left tomorrow wide open for it.

Today I ended up doing more HTML work for others and myself. Speaking of which, yo! New homepage. Mad props to my homeez Dave Belmore and Chris Youngk.

I'm white.




This Fans panel was meant to be silent, but after I got a look at the expressions and gestures David had given Rikk and Jon Stewart, I just couldn't stay away. The real panel goes up soon, but I'm curious: what would you put in their mouths? Write your dialogue in the comments section, below.

Practically writes itself.

"In Russia, comic dialogue YOU!"

I'm American.

Hope y'all had a happy Easter. I spent mine with the Stevenses, distant cousins who had a lot of interesting experiences to share. Not much got done in the last couple of days, except a little more work on "Uptown Girl" (I will finish it tomorrow!)...

...and some reconstructive surgery on Meanwhilepod.com, this blog, and a preliminary version of the new homepage. Note the pretty faces to the right of this post. Pretty, pretty faces. The Javascript on the homepage is driving me crazy, though, and I finally had to draft Dave Belmore's siblings to help out with it.

New Meanwhile podcast up, featuring our profound musings on Fantastic Four and Sin City movies and the resulting vision of Jessica Alba as a pole-dancing invisible mother of two.

Negotiations for other projects proceed apace, and I've got a temp interview tomorrow (thanks to Dave Belmore, once again). Beginning to think this crazy freelance thing might work after all.

Clearly, Mr. Burns just wants me to pull-quote him again.

Sorry for the non-post yesterday. Internet access problems conspired to keep me from you.

And the decision is... I'm not moving far without a job. I was seriously contemplating Portland, Oregon, for its comics culture, its high wage-to-cost-of-living ratio, its reputation as a good place to live and bring up kids... but I'm just not going to move beyond all driving distance from all my friends and family, without an immediate incentive. 'Course, if Dark Horse picks me for its recent job opening... that's your "immediate incentive," right there.

The irony is that my freelance writing is having a really good week. Two exciting opportunities under heavy negotiation since yesterday. Today has been largely quiet: worked out, got groceries, started setting wheels in motion to move to Falls Church.

Happy Easter, tomorrow, all of you!

Nineteen-twentieths there, but there's a little more talking to do with friends and family first.

Spent most of the day just mulling the decision and catching up on reading. Did make a little more progress on the Comixpedia interviews, heard back on one of my proposals (they want an outline and seem VERY upbeat about it) and followed up on a Jersey opportunity which a friend forwarded to me. (Thanks, Charles!) Just little work after yesterday's flurry of activity. Mulling, like I said.

And so to bed.

Greg Eatroff, my oldest collaborator and best friend of many years, now has a blog of his own.

Jamie Robertson, previously announced as one of the guest artists on Penny & Aggie, has had to bow out due to medical problems. He's one of my dear friends in webcomics and I wish him a speedy recovery. The current plan is to give his pages back to Gisele, but I'll keep you posted.

If Desiree Kurn is reading this, I'm phasing out my Hotmail address. Whatever you need from me, Desz, get in touch by tc(at)tcampbell.net or just leave a comment below.

Done today: More "Uptown Girl" (this story just keeps growing) and a 1000-word sample as application for a ghostwriting job. Finished up some Comixpedia e-mail interviews, but still more to go.

And... finished lettering all but the last three pages of "The Ways The World Ends."

Gulp.

I've nine-tenths made a big decision. More on that tomorrow.

Got a few things in the fire right now, but tonight I wanna talk about Life's A Croc.

The last episode of my guest piece airs tonight. It's the most gleefully vulgar thing I've ever written. Even the story title is rated PG.

I really shouldn't, by my own rules, have taken this assignment. But when Joe Flood asked for guest writers... I couldn't stay away.

I mean, his story premise is: future society is slowly but surely moving into the sewers, and the alligators we all knew were there are now developing a taste for human flesh. The unpleasant and dangerous task of gator control falls to this society's outcasts: a talking duck, a Frankenstein monster, and a tough, reedy girl who's good with blunt instruments. The duck and girl have a violently like-hate relationship a la Ranma, with the near-mindless Frankenstein as friend to both and the unconscious mediator.

If there is a way to do characters and concepts like this, and not have fun, I don't know what it is. In "S--theap," we add to the pile the concept of an Alan Moore Swamp Thing riff, only using sewage pipes in place of vegetation. Please see the first sentence of this same paragraph.

Adding to the fun is Joe's accomplished artwork, which has been shooting up in sophistication by leaps and bounds since the series began. He executed all my ideas beautifully and added lots of touches of his own, especially in the facial expressions-- there is so much feeling in that final shot of Cricket.

I hope Graphic Smash subscribers have fun with it, too. They can get the full story from beginning to end, here.

A moment of truth has arrived in my career. It's the kind of moment that could only take place in the age of search.

I had an opportunity recently to get published someplace important (no, I can't tell you where-- yet), and they asked me "You're sure you want your name listed as T Campbell?"...

...and I hesitated.

I've been "T Campbell" all my adult life. I like the name; I feel like it's more me than "William Terrell Campbell, Jr." (just not a "junior" kind of guy) or "Bill Campbell" (too many of those on the market, including the guy who played the Rocketeer, the former mayor of Atlanta, and my dad) or "Terrell Campbell" (my default name for years but apparently too much trouble to spell or pronounce correctly, if my growing-up experiences are any indication).

Thing is, either my self-promotion needs more work, or "T Campbell" just isn't very Googleable.

My recent Google scores are actually an improvement. Until recently, it indexed this blog and tcampbell.net, but didn't put them anywhere in the top 200 results. (I know how it looks that I took the time to research that far, but come on, tell me you wouldn't do the same.) Yet I'm still ranked below other people whose names don't even comfortably shorten to "T Campbell."

And we're *just* talking about my *site.* Never mind all the other mentions of my name out there that have to take a back seat to Dwightenmeyer T. Campbell in a simple search.

You CAN find most of them by searching "t campbell" comics-- but who does that?

Technorati is even worse. Technorati doesn't even ALLOW one-letter search terms, which means I get lumped in with every other "Campbell." As I write this, the #1 and #2 listings refer to Campbell's Soup.

When I eight, I used to get mocked on the schoolyard by rapier wits who chanted "Campbell's... Soup Is Good Food." All they needed to know about me was my last name-- they didn't even bother to tease me about something I actually controlled. This feels a little like that.

This publishing opportunity means that people will see my name for the first time. And some of them will research the name. And instead of learning about my proudest accomplishments, they'll find... nothing.

This bothers me. I don't hold the regard of strangers higher than the regard of friends, but I do hold it somewhere, especially since my future earnings depend on the reputation I make now.

(Incidentally, there is some tradition of name change among comics creators, though generally not for this reason.)

So, yeah. Bothered. Doubting. Considering.

Back to "Terrell Campbell?" Or something even more pretentious like "T Kampbell?" "T7 Campbell?"

It's my name, dammit. I shouldn't be having to make this choice. My friends shouldn't have to put up with the awkwardness.

Anyone reading this, feel free to use the "comments" link. I'd appreciate some perspective.

I really do like Google and Technorati. I just wish they liked me.

Full day. Stats exam was a breeze... no worries about mastering that subject. This left me with a free morning, which I employed on sampling Leesburg's culinary delights. Popcorn, cider and peary wine. Mmm mmm. You can see them pop the corn and goop on caramel while you wait. One of life's great pleasures. Also shopped unsuccessfully for a new chair and did some field research for an inner-city story proposal for Tokyopop called The 'Sphalt. No, I didn't buy any coke, but I did drive through a bit of downtown D.C. to refresh my memories of downtown Savannah.

Divided the afternoon and evening between "Uptown Girl" dialogue and The 'Sphalt without quite finishing either-- gnnn. That, and babysitting some rather insistent cats while their owner was away. In fact, here comes one right now to make me cut this short.

make it really tough to memorize Statistics facts. It's 68.26-95.44-99.74, not 99.44.

I'm memorizing for the test, so more later.

Fans (nee Faans) is six years old today.

Done Today: Got a proposal out to Marvel (long in coming) and an application to that exciting job I mentioned yesterday. That job would also require a move, but this one would definitely be worth it. I don't want to say what the job is, but "it's like it's custom-made just for me."

Still, I can't let its enticing possibility keep me from finding other options. Tossed my hat in the ring for a local writing assignment and a second Tokyopop gig. Also took a test for an editing position at a local company, not comics, but not bad.

Speaking of comics jobs, is it me or is DC Comics hiring like crazy?

A friend of mine took issue with this blog entry, saying Edwin A. Abbott was actually a proponent of women's rights.

Easily confirmed. Well, shoot. I still find the book quite an uncomfortable read... and the reader isn't always to blame for a failure to communicate. A great deal of Victorian literature actually suggests than women are BETTER than men, so I don't think this can be explained as simply "the age in which he lived." Still, that's no reason to libel the man himself. Time for this blog's first sheepish self-correction. Always blazing new trails, that's us.

I can now safely announce that R.K. Milholland is the final guest artist on the Penny and Aggie miniseries.

Yes, that R.K. Milholland.

Spent most of today dialoguing "Uptown Girl," the lead story in Penny and Aggie #4. R.K. will be doing "Omega Sisters" for that same issue, which is now done. I want to emphasize: this is a short piece (six strips), cause Randy is a busy, busy guy. But he, Gisele and I are all very jazzed that he'll be doing this. Comin' to stores this August!

Not too much else to report right now-- meaning things cooking that I don't want to announce until they're done, or until I'm told I can. So, more soon.

Got mostly through the monster Accounting work today-- and it looks like I might eke out a passing grade... which would be great... if all I wanted to do was pass.

But I'm taking this course for a reason. I need to master its principles, now and for the next forty years. Just eking out a passing grade here won't be enough, not when I want to make the most of the education and move on to Management Accounting. So I've elected to re-take it as an online class, which is probably how I should have taken it the first time.

Even though this was a costly choice, I felt really good after making it and telling the professor at the end of class. It felt great to take control over my life like that. I felt like such an adult! Then one of the other students leaned over on his way out and whispered, "Your sweater's on backwards."

Here's hoping it'll be as productive a choice as my last costly make-up at Megacon.

Looking hard at another comics-related job. This one is much better suited to my qualifications than the last one I mentioned, with lots more opportunity. Here's hoping they'll want me.

Oh, and a bit of news... the Sluggy guest story artist is confirmed as Hyung Sun Kim. It was really close-- some absolutely GREAT cartoonists went into consideration-- but Hyung's awesome seriocomedy and layouts on Kill Harry finally won me over. Congrats, Hyung!

STILL haven't gotten nearly as much of the Accounting assignment done as I should. It's amazing how I can still procrastinate these assignments at the MBA level just like I was back in fifth grade.

To be fair, I was a bit distracted by my first request for a comics-related job interview.

The position is a pretty humble one, the kind of thing I probably should have done when I was an undergrad, and the city it's in is really expensive. The real question is what kind of opportunities for advancement it offers. I sure don't mind starting at the bottom, but I kind of mind staying there.

We'll see if they're up for a phone interview. It's a little far to drive.

Welcome to Meanwhile, the Comics Podcast.

It's up. It's a finalist. It's eligible for the "People's Choice Award." I'm so excited about this, I could pop. And... star in something. Work with me, it's late.

Wish I had picked a title that came earlier in the alphabet. Most people have to scroll almost to the bottom to find us. (bites nails)

Vote your conscience, of course. There's some really interesting work we're keeping company with. And it's an honor just to be nominated, and-and the game is long and we could benefit further from this in many ways. But still. I hope I hope.

Voting is here.

Kerry in '08, while we're at it.

Last chance to boost orders on the first issue.

Other orders of business today:

Changed Graphic Smash policy slightly (see yesterday). Popular strips like The Guardians with concrete plans to return, and completed strips by still-active GS cartoonists like Mnemesis and The Twisting, will be available to the public again.

Dentist's appointment passed without incident, thank goodness. I've had a morbid fear of dentists since sixth grade, when I didn't pay attention before going in for what I thought was a checkup, and ended up getting my baby teeth pulled. You remember that.

Plot consultations for Brian Daniel and The Marvelous Patric. Advised Jamie Robertson on nudity in Graphic Smash.

Made some serious headway on a page for Meanwhile, the Comics Podcast. Should be ready by Saturday. Meanwhile, y'all have another podcast.

Got news that we needed the solicitation copy for Penny and Aggie #3 like, a week ago, and we have to get it in NOW to stay on schedule. Still haven't confirmed that unconfirmed artist, so I reshuffled his work to issue #4 and wrote up copy in twenty minutes. Crisis averted. Went ahead and wrote advance copy for #4 so we don't do this all over again next month. We would, too.

Did some e-mail rabble-rousing for a Comixpedia roundtable and a Modern Tales panel at the San Diego Comic-Con.

Met a new artist for a new project. Yes, another one. I know what you're all thinking, "dude needs help." But not to worry. This project has a nice long deadline, a small pitch-to-project ratio (meaning the pitch takes far less work than the project) and we're playin' for pretty big cash stakes-- large publisher interested. We'll see how it goes...

With all this, just no room for the accounting homework. Shucky darn. But my relief is short-lived, for it will still be there tomorrow, and allow me fewer breaks than if I had started today. Learn from me, dear reader...

The Penny & Aggie positions are now filled. Jamie Robertson and Amy Mebberson are taking the six-page back-ups. There is also one still-unconfirmed guest artist whose name I can't mention cause, y'know, unconfirmed. And the website will be modified, in future, by one Kristofer Straub.

These three-- or four-- are examples of our "only hire awesome people" policy at Penny & Aggie. I think this policy should be applied everywhere. Just think how much it could have saved Enron.

Wow. So much to do.

I'm not risking burnout or anything (yet), but I am having to hoard my time jealously now. And yesterday's plan of multiple, quick, punchy updates clearly did not work at all.

As it happens, three things commanded my attention today: a trip out apartment-hunting, a short-short Penny and Aggie sequence called "Omega Sisters," and a policy discussion on Graphic Smash.

The last bears talking about. I've strongly resisted letting features continue for long on Graphic Smash after they stop updating, whether that pause is due to a series finale or some interruption in the natural flow. I've felt it's wrong to give equal status to strips that are updating regularly and those that aren't. But two of Graphic Smash's most popular features are paused (The Guardians) or about to be sunsetted (um, Fans)... and readers are letting me know they miss the archives of no-longer-updating series. This policy may need modifying.

I'm still figuring out exactly what to do here, but I know that whatever it is has to serve the readers' best interests. Without readers, we don't have a business.

Tomorrow: dentist appointment and accounting assignment. Funfunfun! Kill me now.

Short, punchy posts tonight and a goodly chunk of tomorrow... we'll see where that gets us. I'm way behind on ALL my communications just now...

Missed an important event in the D.C. area, so I want to urge you guys not to miss this one. Tom Hart, of course, is a fellow Modern Tales editor. Tim Krieder and Jen Sorensen are also worth seeing, especially if you like your cartoons ANGRY. :-)

(This is the rough draft. I'm having a pro look it over. But feedback is definitely welcome. Bear in mind that modesty is not encouraged when selling yourself to a literary agent. Report on the weekend's events is scheduled for early tomorrow.)

Dear __________,

Graphic novels have been one of the few solid growth sectors in publishing in recent years, and they are poised to hold steady as more traditional publishers take interest. There has never been a better time to represent a comics creator, and I feel I'm one of the best you could represent.

I've been writing comics both in print and on the Web for six years. I've been recognized by popular sources as "one of the best writers in our field" and "an absolute master of pacing." I have a printed miniseries and trade paperback, Penny and Aggie, due out later this year, and Tokyopop has selected me as a winner in their "Rising Stars of Manga" competition. Online, I have bucked the trend of "everything is free" and not only written the second-most-successful subscription comic, but edited the second-most-successful subscription comics website. I've written over sixty stories in genres from comedy to drama to escapist science fiction.

I'm also an established comics commentator, having written the widely praised "History of Online Comics" for Comixpedia.com and a section of the upcoming book, Webcomics.

I'm now ready to concentrate my efforts in print. Being a writer with artist collaborators, I can produce a variety of projects quickly and simultaneously.

I have some projects now ready to seek representation.

The Verge. Edgy science fiction in the mold of Cory Doctorow, set one generation from now. A blogger with a self-appointed mission to keep up with technology learns he's failed in that task when a power he can't identify tries to kill him. His flight will lead him to great discoveries about himself, the world he thought he knew, and the future of humanity. Artist: Sam Romero.

Rip & Teri. A spy romance, beginning as Rip, a retired superspy, finds his false identity exposed. He runs from Teri, the nonviolent schoolteacher he loves, knowing his enemies will catch up to him and refusing to endanger her with his presence. But neither he nor Teri could have imagined how far she will go to keep him. Artists: John Waltrip and David Willis.

Pop Star. The first installment of this ongoing series, primed for the shojo market, is set to appear in Tokyopop's "Rising Stars" digest, but its long-term future is up for negotiation. Featuring Tina, pop singer extraordinaire, this wacky comedy mixes over-the-top characters with all-too-true stories from the headlines. Artist: Amy Mebberson.

Comics Haiku. A set of 100 simple, funny short poems about the icons of American comics, from Superman and Spider-Man to Charlie Brown and Dilbert. Artist: N/A.

T Campbell's Treasury of Romance Comics. An anthology of, and guide to, the best romantic comics in existence, with an emphasis on modern titles still in print. Curious readers who are well-disposed to comics and romance-- another growth genre in the publishing field-- will greatly appreciate this volume. Artists: various.

Other projects are in early development.

I look forward to speaking with you!

...this is turning out to be. So busy. So many things. Going on.

Got back from the convention with a long list of contacts I still haven't followed up on, some Meanwhile material I still haven't uploaded, and a promise for this blog I still haven't fulfilled. That last one was the promise to record what had been done last week. Well, I can no longer remember everything that got done last week. I'm not even sure I can remember everything done this week. What did I have for breakfast this morning?

I'll try to hit more highlights later. One important thing, though, cannot go unremarked.

I know a lot of time this week was spent on Accounting homework, and a lot of tomorrow will be spent on Accounting and Statistics homework. But somehow, I don't think that's the thrilling drama that packs you into the aisles. Here's an neat bit of irony, though: guess what happened in the middle of Accounting class.

Tokyopop called.

The time zones meant they were still working in the middle of my night class.

They wanted to verify Amy Mebberson's address.

Amy was my artist.

On the Rising Stars of Manga competition.

We have placed.

They haven't decided the winner yet, understand, or even the top ten, AFAIK. But we're in the top twenty. Meaning: you will see our work, on the Web or in print.

Presented. By Tokyopop.

The #1 manga publisher in North America.

The rep who got in touch with me said "it's one of my favorites."

This is really happening.

There are no words.

I almost didn't get this. George Perez pencilled me in (sorry) at the last minute because a) I agreed to do a special promotion for ACTOR, and b) because he rocks.

I've wanted George to sketch a character I've written since I was twelve. And bear in mind this is a sketch. This is what he tossed off in half an hour or less with zero previous exposure to Marshall.

There are no words.

The trip down to Megacon was not without its problems this time, either... flight was delayed, certain connections failed to happen, and I had to perform a couple of mad dashes to certain rendezvous... but oh, man, was it worth it. Was it worth it.

1) Taped interviews with many of my personal heroes in comics (like George Perez and Marv Wolfman) for "Meanwhile: The Comics Podcast." This, by the way, is the first time I have ever taped anything anywhere for broadcast.
2) Taped a solid hour of Joe Quesada's panel for same.
3) Got interview commitments from Mark Waid and Barbara Kesel for same.
4) Made contact with two dozen potential sponsors for "Meanwhile: The Comics Podcast."
5) Made contact with several artists and inkers for upcoming projects.
6) Got to hang with old comrades in arms Steve Conley, John Gallagher and Mark Mekkes.
7) Successfully avoided Juan Navarro all weekend. Whew! (Seriously, big guy, sorry I missed you.)
8) Got to check out a webcomics panel with webcomics' new guard: Brian Clevinger, Tim Buckley, Scott Ramsoomair and Derrick Fish. Though it was at the end of the convention and the guys were tired and punchy, it was still a treat to see them given a panel when I know the Megacon of five years ago would have actively shunned them.
9) Bought a few good comics here and there.
10) Attended a writing panel with Marv and Barbara that reminded me of everything I needed to remember as I launch this next wave o' submissions...
11) Learned about ACTOR, the single worthiest cause I've discovered all year... aaaaand...
12) By the skin of my teeth, acquired a sketch the likes of which I have hoped to get all my adult life. I'll tell you more about that one... tomorrow.