Dark Musings

DARK MUSINGS #53 – Yahoo will castrate Tumblr by Andrew Zar...

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:17:00 -0400

DARK MUSINGS #53 – Yahoo will castrate Tumblr
by Andrew Zar 5/20/13

There are precious few honest Internet companies who see their users as people – adults who can choose what they want to do (as long as it is legal, of course). The trend is to not do that, but instead establish a new set of morality and rules for user under some context of making the Internet “safe.” This is why, for example, FaceBook bans art by Picasso, Rembrant and Dali – and payment gateway Square bans any purchases of legal firearms or ammo - and deviantART bans logos from companies they don’t approve of. Other companies with a hard on to dominate and control users are Apple and Google.

Why? The reason boils down to a core fact: the people in control of Internet content are the advertisers. Not the users. Advertising is the game now – people are the commodity. Even though the people have the money (AND all of the valuable content to begin with), the advertisers have found a way to take the controlling position. They dominate companies trying to approach topics with free speech. And, what is most mind-blowing, is that the people agree – they will be nice little controlled Internet sheep and also pay for that privilege.

So the, very, very few Internet companies with the balls to have true ethics – to not bow to the advertisers – remains a very small set. Of the most known, I would say Twitter and Tumblr are the two largest. Each has millions of users, each promotes a hardcore free-speech mantra, and each has been very successful.

BUT, today the rumors have become true: Yahoo will purchase Tumblr. This, unfortunately, means Tumblr will succumb to the advertising gavel and thousands of adults using Tumblr will (eventually) be banned. It is 100% inevitable.

Why? Because the ONLY reason Yahoo purchased Tumblr is to “monetize” it. And to monetize means to advertise. And, advertisers will not welcome any “adult” content on Tumblr – this is how it has gone with every single other Internet company who bases their model on advertising dollars. So a great purge will occur. No idea when, but it’s coming.

Yahoo will not have the fortitude to put ethics above money – they will cave – and Tumblr will cave. It is inevitable.

And there will be many people who do not see it coming. But study the motivations – if you understand the motivation, you will understand (and anticipate) the action. (Take a read of Freakecomics – a great case study about motivations and behavior). Yahoo has zero intention of being labled an “adult” brand – there is no upside for them in supporting free speech. It is better to let the fringe (those of us who like to actually act like adults, not cattle) just move on and to monetize the masses.

So, to all my colleagues who use Tumblr for free expression – best start building your own blog. I would guess than when the ban comes, they will also purge and delete all of your content – years of it – in an instant and without notice. Just as FaceBook and deviantART has done in the past.

Till next time,
Andrew Zar

DARK MUSINGS #52 – A Bold New Series: Envoy 82 by Andrew Zar...

Sat, 11 May 2013 10:46:40 -0400

DARK MUSINGS #52 – A Bold New Series: Envoy 82
by Andrew Zar 5/11/13

Next week, on 5/15/13, we launch our new sci-fi series Envoy 82. It is a bold new artistic direction for DarkBrain with Nic Giacondino doing pencils, inks and colors. The style is unlike anything DarkBrain has done before, a real treat. The style is magical and I can’t wait for people to enjoy it.

The first issue is free, to let our current fans – and new fans – get a solid feel for what the series will bring. The series is seven issues and a self-contained storyline. The story I’m very proud of. It started with my usual plotline brainstorm – one that grabs me and forces itself to be finished when I really didn’t have time or even space in our schedule. I’ve learned to just let that happen. Other series started this way too including Pissy Pussy and SORTAN-VALTA.

After working with the plotlines a bit, I decided it deserved to be written… even if I didn’t produce it. So I got Crystal Storm on the case and she took the plotlines and made it a story. Not all that unexpected, but after the script was done I (reluctantly?) decided I had to re-work the DarkBrain production schedule to make room… (Why do I keep doing that to myself? I dunno.)

Then the search for an artist was about as brief as possible – I already had Nic working on The Witches Three. His style was such a natural fit for Envoy, it had to be done. The Witches Three was pushed in the schedule to make room, and here we have it – our new series.

So take a peek at our intro video and get ready for Wednesday’s launch!

http://www.darkbrain.com/dbe/Envoy82.aspx

Till next time,
Andrew Zar

DARK MUSINGS #51 – The Dawning of Doom by Andrew Zar...

Wed, 01 May 2013 10:41:00 -0400

DARK MUSINGS #51 – The Dawning of Doom
by Andrew Zar 5/1/13

Today is a milestone day – we have finished the God Play story! Started in 2009, this story was the most complicated and difficult of all our stories to get done.

God Play came to be from my fascination with Oxford professor Nick Bostrom’s “Simulation Argument” in philosophy (http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html). In an overly-simplified nutshell, this argument proposes that there is a high likelihood that our very reality is but a simulation. I just love how the argument can be used to provide a scientific basis for God.

Exploring the concept, I developed my vision of the future state of the world, about a thousand years from now. I theorized that our technology advances would take a hit after massive flooding and world destruction due to global warming and our lack of ability to manage it, but then build back up enough at that time to satisfy the simulation argument.

So I created Dr. Alexandra Torrence, the scientist who creates the world simulator and discover that she (or, more accurately, another universe’s version of her who created the actual simulation we live in) is God herself.

I was also inspired by a short story by qntm called “I don’t know, Timmy, being God is a big responsibility.” (http://qntm.org/responsibility) This story showcases the inherent power of people running a simulator from an ethical point of view.

My challenge was to think of how to solve some significant logic problems (like the people in the story could just fast forward it a billion years before turning it off) with the setup and also to provide a cyclical relationship – where the people in the simulation can influence their *own* simulation. That is the key to my story… which I called “parity.”

Still, the philosophical foundation for the story is just a tool – the story is actually about Alex’s journey. So the reveal of the cyclical aspects of Alex being God herself was just a step in the story, not the end.

And today, that story is now fully told. I hope our fans have enjoyed it as much as we did making it! I’ll close with this appropriate quote from the Die Krupp’s song The Dawning of Doom:

can’t escape it
hide away from it
there’s no light
at the end of the night

God Play homepage: http://www.darkbrain.com/dbe/GodPlay.aspx

Till next time,
Andrew Zar

DARK MUSINGS #50 – DarkBrain V7 by Andrew Zar 4/18/13 Today we...

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 22:53:12 -0400

DARK MUSINGS #50 – DarkBrain V7
by Andrew Zar 4/18/13

Today we unleashed the seventh version of DarkBrain.com. You will see some very substantial changes and if you have been following DarkBrain for a while, you will see some evolution in our site design and branding.

The overall color scheme was brightened up to a more fun set of greens, the background showcases some of our art, and the fonts were updated to be nicer on the eyes. At the top of every page we now have our logo and new tagline (if you remember years ago, we used to be “Web Comics with Balls” – but now we have evolved to be a digital comic shop, so the tagline needed updating).

The old strategy of a row of series icons at the top has been moved into some handy new dropdowns at the top allowing you to quickly get to the newly released comics or to jump to any series we have – but without cluttering the screen all the time. Also, our “internal ads” were removed completely to again clean up the interface.

The home page was revamped – it used to have tiles for every comic series and was just a huge page of information. Now it is streamlined and showcases a large image of several comic series in a slideshow. Also, Pissy Pussy is giving a brief tour guide to the site. Also, as new comics are released, the home page will change to showcase new series highlights and be more dynamic and interesting.

Some tweaks were made to the members page for our existing members so they can login/logout and get their comics from that page without having to browse around the site.

So here we are with V7 ! Hope you like it.

Till next time,
Andrew Zar

darkbrainpromo: Sunday is the last day you can get all these...

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 09:20:29 -0400

darkbrainpromo:

Sunday is the last day you can get all these books for only $45! http://www.darkbrain.com/dbe/Members.aspx

Here it is - the end of our membership program! I hope everyone has had a chance to grab it to save big. It closes on Monday!

This is another step for DarkBrain. And it is a step away from “access over ownership.” For those following this blog to see industry trends, the basic concept is that selling access (memberships, subscriptions) is the model that is growing in many areas (Netflix for movies, various music services).

I believe access is the winner in the long term - and I hope that industry leaders such as DC and Marvel will eventually adopt an annual subscription for their catalog of digital books.

But the catch is that the size of the userbase has to be very large to make it work. Lacking enough numbers, nothing beats individual comic sales. And as the catalog mushrooms, subscriptions drop in value-per-user - making the target number even higher to sustain work.

Still, there is a strong interim strategy that digital comics are already doing: “bundles.” This involves taking a set of digital comics and selling them at a reduced price as part of a bundle.

DarkBrain has already started to work on bundles - which we call “collected editions.” The Butcher and Pissy Pussy have collected editions already and more will be following for most of our titles.

This change in how we sell will allow for some new advertising efforts and also new partners to sell our comics. So stay tuned!

Till next time,

Andrew Zar

DARK MUSINGS #48 – Diverse Body Types in Comics? by Andrew Zar...

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:33:30 -0500

DARK MUSINGS #48 – Diverse Body Types in Comics?
by Andrew Zar 3/5/13

One challenge with DarkBrain is to discuss specific topics such as body types and remember the context – that DarkBrain produces over a dozen series of comics. I would hope the sheer volume of work adds to a sense of diversity of topics, ideas, characters and art.

However, I have recognized some criticism that my work caters to a specific, “mainstream” view of comic book women: huge chests and thin waists. Of course, nobody seems to care that our men have six-pack abs and huge penises, which always leaves me scratching my head.

Although backed by story reasons (Holly in Church of One was built by God to be overtly sexually seductive to Sal who God gave a sex addiction to… and Brenna in Mirror/Mirror was designed off of real life Tabitha Stevens… who has a massive chest that isn’t my fault), I have felt that diversity of body types was something to work into our books a bit more.

But there is a deeper “problem” here – coming from my (unfounded?) worry that comic art depicting women with specific features would trigger a “child porn” feeling (like some manga does). Although I work with many distasteful topics designed to challenge readers, child porn is a topic I am not interested in working with in any circumstance, period.

Although I do believe that a drawing of something is fundamentally not the same thing as that something itself – this is a topic of just no interest at all. And utilizing the mainstream conventions seems to easily avoid the problem. I often wonder if that is one of the drivers of that convention in the first place.

Anyway, I am hoping people check out our work as a whole and see this new work in Envoy 82 and the upcoming Mirror/Mirror and Church of Two stories. I’m happy with characters being done as appropriate for the storyline, and I hope you are too! I believe the artists chosen have found a way to convey the character’s beauty in a variety of body types.

Till next time,
Andrew Zar

DARK MUSINGS #47 – Unexpected results of change by Andrew Zar...

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:43:49 -0500

DARK MUSINGS #47 – Unexpected results of change
by Andrew Zar 2/28/13

Late tonight, Locked Out #17 rolls out and it is the very last book in the entire series. I hope people enjoy the finish a fraction as much as I enjoyed making it.

Locked Out was our first hit and earned itself a full run, instead of just being a filler title as it was intended to be. Once it hit, I was able to step back and completely integrate it into the overall story… because it is one of several titles telling one story “CORTEX.”

So, although Locked Out is officially over, it became part of the CORTEX storyline – which includes Columbia’s Underbelly, God Play, Locked Out and The Vat. As such, you can expect to see more of the characters in Locked Out in DarkBrain’s future as we will continue to work on the CORTEX story.

Locked Out was also one of the “transition” series for us – it started out as R-rated, then edged into R+ territory and then finally drifted into X-rated as the company direction became solid XXX focus. Although not the best marketing strategy, what is nice is that it was just natural evolution, not a dramatic shift.

On other titles where the gradual shift was not an option, I ended up telling a second story, XXX-rated, to round out the books (Underbelly and God Play). That effort was painful (operationally and financially), but I think the results are good. Also, as a storyteller, I do love having the opportunity to provide context and background and the secondary stories ended up nearly as fun to write as the original storyline.

And, embracing that opportunity, characters developed in the secondary stories will now be part of the longer storylines in important ways. Jezebel in God Play Companion and also Roger in Underbelly Clemency both return later for important, character-driven sequences.

Sometimes change can produce unexpected results and those new characters and opportunities were a fun consequence of the change in content rating.

Till next time,
Andrew Zar

Be sure you are following darkbrainpromo - check out this...

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 08:25:41 -0500

Be sure you are following darkbrainpromo - check out this massive announcement about DarkBrain!

darkbrainpromo:

MEMBERSHIP: LAST CHANCE!
Don’t miss grabbing a DarkBrain membership - which includes access to
DarkBrain’s entire library as well as a full year of new titles. But
grab it before March 31, 2013, as the membership option will no
longer be available as all comics move to a per-issue sales system on
April 1! The membership offers an incredible savings (over 60% off!)
over buying individual issues and guarantees you access to the full
Mirror/Mirror and Envoy 82 storylines which will complete before
April 1, 2014.

IN OTHER NEWS!

ASCENSION
Since our launch in 2010, DarkBrain has explored a wide variety
stories in various genres. This has afforded us the opportunity to
truly capture the tastes of our readers while at the same time
developing numerous complex storylines. Beginning in June of 2013,
visitors to DarkBrain will be excited to know we are focusing on
DarkBrain’s Ascension Line of 4 comics with interconnected storylines
and characters: Mirror/Mirror, Church of Two, The Witches Three and
Rashida’s Ascension. We will begin with the long-awaited continuation
of fan-favorite Mirror/Mirror. Mirror/Mirror’s second story
(“REBIRTH”) will be told in its entirety in monthly installments.
Then the Ascension storyline will continue in Church of Two and the
other Ascension comics with each title participating in telling of
one larger story.

DB QUARTERLY & ENVOY 82
The DarkBrain series Locked Out and God Play are just now completing
their runs, but fans will also be happy to know our other comics will
continue to their completion including our popular DB Quarterly
(which is slated for 12 issues) and also our new sci-fi series Envoy
82.

DARK MUSINGS #46 – Anti-Free Speech Assault on Twitter by Andrew...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:37:00 -0500

DARK MUSINGS #46 – Anti-Free Speech Assault on Twitter
by Andrew Zar 1/30/13

I’ve always been proud of Twitter and Tumblr – they promote free speech – while other Internet titans (Google, Apple, FaceBook) actually aggressively suppress free speech. It is a surprisingly hard road to follow to be truly supportive of free speech and free expression, but it is the right road.

Adults in this “free country” of America – designed on the principle of tolerance - should not be told what they can read, see, like or dislike – that is the point of being both free and being an adult.

But free speech requires that we act like adults, something we are less and less able to do it seems. On one hand, as a culture, we embrace censorship and some of the most valuable companies in the world have made their fortune by making the Internet “safe” for adults as part of their core business plan (Apple and FaceBook). Yet we also see brave souls willing to defend freedom of speech in the face of tremendous pressure (the ACLU is defending the KKK in a lawsuit… I mean, go figure).

In relation to Internet companies, let’s get back to Twitter. Its goal and mission is to support free speech and it has done an excellent job of it. In spite of not following the heavy censorship foundation that most other Internet companies do, Twitter became a household name and… guess what… the world didn’t end after all. In fact, users around the world have used Twitter to express themselves much to the chagrin of their own governments. On Twitter, users can choose to follow, or not to follow, what they want – exactly as it should be.

So, now Twitter unleashes a video service Vine – and immediately Twitter has to backpedal on their support of free speech. Because Americans are so very deeply offended to the core over nudity, even Twitter has resorted to hiding adult content from adults. Of course, they don’t have to worry about pictures of real beheadings, torture, mass murder, child killings, eating people, or whatever – because obviously that’s not as offensive as a nipple.

But what really bothers me is how the press reports this. The press was so “pro free speech” when fighting SOPA, but none of the articles about “porn” get a single word of defense of free speech – not one. It is just part of the American culture that “clearly” porn is wrong while the most depraved violence is accepted and encouraged.

I’m saddened to see Twitter start to bend and break, but I suppose it is inevitable. Having balls in the Internet world and really supporting free speech isn’t easy. Ironically, our country was founded on a principle that we can’t really practice. In some ways, it is a terrible joke and a shameful legacy we have created. People need to learn to grow up – if you don’t like something, just don’t pay attention and move on. Getting all righteous and enforcing your will on others is *exactly* the wrong thing to do.

Till next time,
Andrew Zar

DARK MUSINGS #45 – Changes for DarkBrain 2013 by Andrew Zar...

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:07:00 -0500

DARK MUSINGS #45 – Changes for DarkBrain 2013
by Andrew Zar 1/17/13

Every year, in January, I initiate a process of review and adjustment for DarkBrain as a studio. Sometimes these changes can be very substantial and a bit intimidating. Sometimes they involve incredible amounts of labor or strategy changes or site migrations or more.

At the core of all changes is the fundamental goal of DarkBrain, and probably many independent comic producers: keep publishing! I love to produce uncensored comics and want to keep producing them for as long as possible. So this mantra is what the changes are all about, every year.

PISSY PUSSY
One change this year was what to do with Pissy Pussy’s Sunday strips. . The strip is expensive to run… but is a key part of our site in that it provides nice levity in a site with much darkness, and that levity is extremely popular. All 4 issues of DB Quarterly featuring a Pissy Pussy story are in the Top 10 on DriveThruComics. To keep producing Pissy Pussy Sundays, we are going to move the downloads to be paid content. It’s a big change, but we have faced changes of that sort before. We hope Pissy fans come with us as we move down this new path. Rest assured Year One of the Pissy strips will continue to be free both on the DarkBrain site and DriveThruComics.

MIRROR/MIRROR
Another change this year is a title that will only be available for purchase directly from darkbrain.com to make it an “exclusive.” This title was one of our first and most acclaimed ones and it is exciting to bring it back for round 2. DarkBrain fans will be treated to a wild ride and have it come in monthly installments starting this summer.

COLLECTED EDITIONS
A new key strategy is to bundle comics into “collected editions” and add making of material. The collected editions offer members an easy way to maintain their library and get our content in an organized way – and enjoy our extensive “Making Of” sections to learn more about how a title came to be. The collected editions will also be available for individual purchase, adding another option for all readers to grab something they are particularly interested in.

TRAILERS
The DarkBrain website is going to get a revamp with series getting a trailer at the top done in video format. Our new series Envoy 82 and Mirror/Mirror will be the first to get awesome trailers.

Well, many more changes of note including a new social media plan, our newsletter revamping, and more… so stay tuned!

Till next time,
Andrew Zar

DARK MUSINGS #44 – Collected Editions! by Andrew Zar 1/14/13 The...

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 14:02:00 -0500

DARK MUSINGS #44 – Collected Editions!
by Andrew Zar 1/14/13

The first of our “collected editions” has hit the site – and is also up for individual purchase. The first one is Pissy Pussy VOL 1 and it covers the entire first year of work on Pissy including her 3 full-sized comics, 10 mini-books, the full 29 Pissy Toons, and a making of section in a whopping 324 page beast. This strategy will be done for our other titles too, with Butcher, Sortan, and Brandi coming next up.

The collected editions were designed to allow members to quickly grab full sets of material. But by allowing individual purchase, any reader can quickly grab something that hits their specific interest. Also, it is only in these collections that the history of each title will be detailed for those curious about how we make our comics.

For me, creating these editions is an opportunity to study and reflect on the work as a whole. Writing the making of sections allows me to detail the history – and to remember and relish those creative efforts and how rewarding they are. Hopefully that joy translates into the text for our fans to join in and see how it all came to be.

Some titles, like Sortan, actually had complete issues produced before the current versions, so those making of sections will also showcase art you can’t find anywhere else. My challenge will be to keep the making of sections from mushrooming into books on their own, haha.

Till next time,
Andrew Zar

DARK MUSINGS #43 – FaceBook is over, finally! by Andrew Zar...

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 10:42:00 -0500

DARK MUSINGS #43 – FaceBook is over, finally!
by Andrew Zar 1/11/13

Our hate/hate relationship with FaceBook has finally let to them deleting our fan page and banning all of our admin staff accounts. Finally we have been put out of our misery! Why did we suffer you ask? Because we like to support our fans, and some of our fans used FaceBook, so we kept going. It was always and only about that.

But, if you really think about it, FaceBook has no place for art that isn’t just fluffy G-rated stuff. They banned Dali, Piscasso, Rembrant… why would DarkBrain be any different? In fact, we would rather be in the company of those banned anyway. In some ways, no self-respecting artist should be using FaceBook, because you are only allowing an extreme, slanted agenda of oppression to influence your work.

And, the reality of it is this: FaceBook’s popularity is waning from our audience anyway. Much of what FaceBook is is hype – not reality. It isn’t just us - FaceBook doesn’t treat any adult like an adult. Even if you setup your account as 18+ and your fan pages as such, FaceBook demands you are G-rated on an artistic level.

However, in a curious point of view, if you setup a serial-killer glorification page, say in support of the madman who shot children in the head… that is OK with FaceBook! Apparently shooting kids in the head in REAL LIFE is ok (with gory photos too) but showing a beautiful painting (not a real photo) of a womans’ back by Dali is OFFENSIVE.

Sure, whatever. Good riddance FaceBook. Was a colossal waste of time. The only really good thing about FaceBook is that it inspired Pissy Pussy.

Till next time,
Andrew Zar

DARK MUSINGS #42 – Asking for Your Help for Brenna by Andrew...

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 14:07:43 -0400

DARK MUSINGS #42 – Asking for Your Help for Brenna
by Andrew Zar 10/26/12

Today’s blog is about our current Mirror/Mirror Offbeatr campaign. I need your help to make this successful. At stake are 5 new short stories about our cursed dominatrix Brenna, played by Tabitha Stevens.

Our Mirror/Mirror comic series is on schedule to produce issues #6 thru the concluding issue #12 in 2013. The artists selected are Dani Calero (pencils), Lya (inks), and Aleksander Petrikanovic (colors). The story is written by myself and Everett Soares with edits by Sue Soares. The story picks up from Brenna’s “blissful suicide” and uncovers that fate is not yet done with her.

The new books are in our adults-only format, a more racy content level than the first five books. One of the strategies we have done to transition to this steamier content level is to introduce short stories in the existing books to “spice them up.” God Play and Underbelly, for example, each now (or will soon) include an X-rated short story that compliments the book itself.

As a small, independent studio, however, adding this new content is very expensive. As much as we would like to do the same to Mirror/Mirror #1 thru #5, we have to face reality that we can’t afford to do it. So the idea of the Offbeatr campaign came into focus. This campaign would let our fans help make this happen.

So the question is: do you want to see more of Brenna? To answer it, join our Offbeatr campaign here: http://offbeatr.com/project/mirror-mirror-comic-starring-tabitha-stevens-and-you-48792519773

Rewards for participating including getting yourself drawn into the comics themselves and interacting with Brenna. Participants also get membership with DarkBrain for all the downloads. If we can get enough people to support this campaign, we will do 5 new short stories and re-publish the Mirror #1 - #5 downloads with the new content included.

TIP: Also, note that our Season Pass has expired, but the Offbeatr offers you a second chance at that as well – you can get membership all the way to the end of 2013 (or extend your current one) for only $45.

DEADLINE: 11/5/12

Thank you for reading and I hope you consider joining us and helping to make Brenna’s backstory (and possibly her backside, depends on what scenario you pick) more interesting!

Till next time,
Andrew Zar

DARK MUSINGS #41 – There can be no compassion in publishing by...

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 11:24:00 -0400

DARK MUSINGS #41 – There can be no compassion in publishing
by Andrew Zar 7/24/12

I’ve spent (as you have and everyone else I’m sure) years learning about myself. One of my traits I always thought highly of was compassion and ability to be reasonable in the work space. I’ve hired several dozen people in my tech business and invested heavily – including riding waves of performance issues that lit up the scale in terms of difficulty and impact. I had the inevitable, unsolvable problems (which still haunt me as failures)– but on the whole, I was able to mostly work out good situations for everyone and viewed that as my role as project manager and small business owner.

But nothing prepared me for DarkBrain, absolutely nothing. In retrospect, it is pretty obvious that when you hire over 120 artists in the span of a couple of years, you are bound to have issues come up. Issues that you never dreamed of, that challenge you, and some that are unsolvable. And, at least for me, I am spending my own money – not some nameless investor – so everything about DarkBrain feels about as personal as it can be – and failures hit me right where it hurts.

When you work with people, you get connected – you learn about them, their lives, their issues, their successes. It is a great aspect of the job. I have so many fond memories of great artists already, and my company is new to the scene. I’ve had artists go from college “coloring neophyte” to absolute dynamo producers (Christa! I’m talking about you). And I’ve had great fortune to help direct some artists (like getting Lya to do inking – and wow, what an inker she is!) I’ve had the fortune to work with seasoned vets such as Ernie Chan to absolute new-to-the-scene comic artists.

I’ve also had many situations arise that are terrible and tragic – hospitalizations, deaths in the family, career setbacks, health issues, injuries, stage fright, underperformance… I mean, you name it. It is life, after all, and shit happens in life. And, in all cases, my instinct is compassion and understanding. Shit happens to me too, I understand.

Yet, there is another lesson I didn’t want to learn, but did. And that is, compassion and publishing are often incompatible. As much lead time and planning that is possible, some projects inevitably burn to the end of the deadline – and sometimes there is nothing you can do about it. And when that happens, it gets ugly, and ugly fast.

And here is the kicker – as compassionate as I want to be, if the work is not published and not sold – then all the artists that worked on that project have been compromised. I have work that sometimes involves over 20 artists. And one artist can sink the ship for the other 19. The reason may be “perfectly reasonable” – and that is what is the most difficult to deal with. How do you remain compassionate, yet stomach that 19 other artists just got spanked when they didn’t do anything wrong – they made their deadlines – they produced great work that people are not seeing?

I’ve had projects get sunk – and I mean off the books, never published, and hard work wasted – because of this kind of thing. It kills me because often great artists lose their projects to no fault of their own. Sometimes I can recover (Grace Comes Home was rescued from total disaster), but sometimes I cannot.

So, as a publisher, being understanding, flexible, compassionate has a cost – and that cost comes at the expense of other artists. There is no “win-win” here when a project is delayed, it is all lose. And when it a project gets a setback, it can change the future of all work for that team.

So, after years of work on this, I have adopted a different attitude: I find it best to analyze people’s work at the macro level. Yes, things come up that can’t be helped, but over the course of months, what is the actual production level? Not the “promised level” – but the actual level. What has the artist been able to produce in 3 months? 6 months? This is the pace you are most likely to be able to get. This means, as a publisher, you factor out personal issues and crisis. You can be personally compassionate all you like, but then come back and look at results and make decisions.

This has served me well. I have artists who have consistent, full-time work from me… because they can deliver in spite of life’s challenges. The ones who cannot do not get the next project. It is really that simple. My advice to artists is this: set realistic deadlines, with some flexibility on your end to deal with life. But then hit those deadlines like your job depends on it – because it does. As nice as your publisher might be, there comes a time that the results dictate your future.

For my part, I have pushed ahead further and further, so that I’m working on content two years ahead. It is incredibly expensive to do that, but it gives some real necessary flexibility. And, in the longer times for me, I can better “macro evaluate” artists and pick my “main team” – I mean the artists who deliver, consistently. I’m happy to say I have many of those now (some doing 16-20 pages a month with 2 year assignments) and hopefully many more to come. And when you have that happen, it is pure magic.

Till next time,

Andrew Zar

The image above is a page from our upcoming title The Three Witches with art by Nicolàs R. Giacondino – one of our “main team” artists who is producing a massive amount of content for DarkBrain. A great example of how an artist can make their own future by their production level and quality. A great privilege to have him on staff, for sure!

DARK MUSINGS #40 – What DC is doing right by Andrew Zar...

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 15:02:00 -0400

DARK MUSINGS #40 – What DC is doing right
by Andrew Zar 6/6/12

Surprise! A blog detailing what I like about DC comics. I realize often my posts are detailing what I think needs to be fixed, that is just my nature as an artist – I see my own work the same way, always seeing the flaws and not necessarily relishing in what is working. So indulge me in why I think you should be reading some of DC’s comics.

I have enjoyed DC’s “New 52” mostly because it offered an open door to new readers. It is the only reason I tried out some titles, and now that I collect several, it was clearly effective! I think there is a monster barrier of entry that they jumped right over. When I look at Marvel, I run away quickly- it feels like a club with a closed membership, I don’t even know where to start – and I was a Marvel fan in the 70s and 80s… I can’t imagine totally new readers and how lost they feel.

Still, my expectations were not high – most of the mainstream comics I find are in a weird place – they don’t support young kinds because they attempt to be edgy (I semi-jokingly call mainstream comics “cock teasing for pre-teens”). Yet they don’t support adults because they are heavily censored and often light on story.

So, with that said, I surprised myself in my love of four series that DC has put out:

DC Presents #1 - #5 (Deadman)
This 5 issue arc is an exceptional story. With an epic feeling and a desperate hero and consequences in dozens of other people’s lives, the story unfolds quickly and pushes many philosophical quandaries with life. Even though this is the “New 52,” this arc did a masterful job of hinting at prior work while not alienating the new reader (I barely knew anything about Deadman).

Also, dealing with forces of heaven, hell, multi-dimensions, souls and more is tricky business to do well. This arc did it well. I was sad to see that issue #6 starts up a new arc with a new story that doesn’t involve Deadman… but don’t miss the first 5 issues, great stuff!

Swamp Thing
A longtime fan of Moore’s work in Swamp Thing, I had previously concluded that his work was so extreme story-wise that Swamp Thing was basically ruined. How can you ever top what he pulled off? Heaven/Hell/an otherworldly journey/acceptance of a true elemental’s powers… You can’t. But that isn’t the point of the new Swamp Thing.

Instead I was taken on a wonderful journey of responsibility and consequences as the human Alex struggles with accepting the role of Swamp Thing. The horror in this book is outstanding and the artwork both intensely creepy and beautiful at the same time. The art lives up to the Swamp Thing legacy – while keeping it unique and great on its own merit.

And the story is absolutely fantastic. Pain, guilt, power, and more mix together in this haunting tale. And it doesn’t just tease you, it delivers in consequences and that makes it feel real. A great piece of work, I wait anxiously each month for the “new” issue to hit $1.99 on Comixology so I can continue.

I, Vampire
Another story I knew nothing about at all. I tried it out because the first issue dropped to $0.99. The artwork is absolutely dynamite for this series. Very creepy panels, lots of blood, great story. I really dig this series. A great job of introducing this without making me feel like I missed out on anything. It is a little bit of a shame that it wasn’t done as R-rated, though, the ratings are holding it back a bit. This series could easily fit into the True Blood, Spartacus, Game of Thrones mature reader space. Instead it ends up a bit like Indiana Jones meets Buffy. Still, major thumbs up.

Catwoman
A title that got blasted for sexism very unfairly. This tale is fabulous and the art is outstanding. In a pivotal torture sequence the pain in Selina’s eyes is riveting. Her character motivations are drawn out in several issues and so well done. Sadly, most sexism criticisms are just short-sighted and from people who have an axe to grind and who do not read the comic itself. While the general criticism of sexism in comics has a lot of complex pillars – again, focusing on cock-teasing for pre-teens and I agree that sux – but don’t dismiss this comic because of the sins of the industry or because one panel triggers your indignation. Do yourself a favor, give the comic 6 issues and see what you think – you may be surprised that this is a great comic series.

Not all roses
Of course, I did try a bunch of other titles that I don’t recommend including several comics in those series (Batman, Dark Knight, Detective Comics, Supergirl, Animal Man, Batgirl, Batwoman, Birds of Prey, Demon Knights, Voodoo). I found that for the most part, the art is fantastic but the stories are very weak. Many felt like excuses to show action with no character development – rushing new villains every issue without allowing for a real story to be told. The DC version of character introduction is for the new girl villain to announce her name and punch the hero – wow, yeah, that gets me connected to the villain in a meaningful way. Batwoman was the one title I felt had promise, but it was destroyed as a digital experience because it was drawn in a way to make digital consumption just painful.

So that is my run down, 14 series tried and 4 I like and continue with. Not bad considering I still think $1.99 is twice as expensive as it should be per issue. Although, I do feel like I wasted money on the 10 series I did not like. DC could really get with the program and offer the first issue free – I would try them all and would probably find a couple more series to buy… and they really need to replicate the “browsing” ability you have in a comic store. Not doing so leaves the feeling that DC doesn’t have to prove itself and, in my opinion, you should want to prove yourself.

Till next time,

Andrew Zar

The image above is a few panels from DC Presents #3 Deadman. Copyright DC Comics.

DARK MUSINGS #39 – Social Media’s Hype vs Reality by Andrew...

Mon, 14 May 2012 10:50:00 -0400

DARK MUSINGS #39 – Social Media’s Hype vs Reality
by Andrew Zar 5/14/12

Social media sure gets a lot of press – adding to the hysteria of how important it is. And with FaceBook doing an IPO, the pitch is higher and louder than ever. The hype is so deep that it all feels true.

But, my impression of it is mostly bunk. In fact, as you dig into many of the more “popular” trends in entertainment and news, it seems that the hype layer can be many distortion layers that cloud realty.

I present to you a small test case. DarkBrain has been working two social media channels very hardcore for several years now – deviantART.com and FaceBook.com. On each, thousands of dollars were spent to establish a fan base and then news and new content was added weekly, often daily, to both sites for years. So the effort to create a fanbase there has been extensive. (Note: I did try Google+, but after understanding their polices and lack of support for art was exactly on par with FaceBook, there was no business case to use it and it was dropped).

At the same time, DarkBrain has an opt-in mailing list on our own site. Efforts were made to drive people to our website, but the mailer has always been an opt-in . A campaign was effective in gaining membership by tying the mailing list to opening up uncensored content. That campaign ended early this year, so the mailing list is no longer required for that.

So, at the end of this work, the numbers showcase how effective each medium is:

deviantART: 4,700 followers
FaceBook: 2,300 followers
DarkBrain.com: 32,000 followers

The numbers alone are pretty impressively slanted towards our mailer, but then consider the opening of our new gallery on our own site. The social media channels were hit several days before our mailer went out. The graph above shows how the mailer does in relation to the social media work. Even more slanted than expected given the audience – the response from the mailer was far more effective per “follower” (in addition to being just substantially larger anyway). The upshot: the “followers” on both social media channels are mostly absent while the mailing list is hugely effective.

The numbers don’t lie, but you can of course do whatever analysis you like on top of that. Personally, I believe it shows the hype factor of social media and also how most adults with interest in our comics have left or don’t care about the social media sites at all. To me, that makes sense given how social media censors content and does not support art.

Anyway, thought you would enjoy this little insight to how things really work. My advice to other comic publishers is to make sure the majority of your efforts are on your own site and use social media as a minor channel at best.

Till next time,
Andrew Zar

The above graph shows our page view totals on our new Gallery we just opened.

DARK MUSINGS #38 – The case for Twitter and Tumblr over...

Thu, 10 May 2012 13:14:00 -0400

DARK MUSINGS #38 – The case for Twitter and Tumblr over FaceBook, deviantART, Apple and Google

by Andrew Zar 5/10/12

A topic near and dear to me is fighting censorship. As a construct, censorship is used to deny ideas/art/thoughts/expression and to try to forcibly funnel people into docile, passive, compliant groups of sheep. It is a dangerous action that often starts out innocently, but ends up seriously abused.

And, in real terms, it is just unnecessary – adults really can make decisions on their own, they don’t need to be told what to do. In fact, isn’t that what being an adult is about? Why do we insist on trying to protect adults and take decision-making processes away from them – and then complain later that nobody takes responsibility for their actions?

And today an interesting event is transpiring with Twitter that is worth reflection. The event is that New York State has demanded via a court order that Twitter hand over logs of a user’s actions – the user happens to be an Occupy Wall Streeter that “the man” wants to punish. http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/09/tech/social-media/twitter-court-order/index.html Twitter, however, denied it! Their basis is using a recent Supreme Court ruling that using GPS data constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment.

Pretty interesting, but look at the this statement carefully:

Twitter also suggested that Harris owns his own tweets and could therefore file a motion to quash on his own, despite the prosecution’s assertion of the opposite.

Ok, now that is a BIG deal. Very big. It is something most Internet users believe outright, but they are 100% wrong on most counts and just haven’t read the Terms of Service for most of the sites they use. Notably – FaceBook, Google, deviantART and Apple have created “walled gardens” that censor ideas and thoughts, but also own your content. They can’t play that both ways – either it is free-speech/free-expression and thus uncensored, or it isn’t. Be wary when they come out as “anti-censorship” (like the garbage over SOPA) – no, they are pro-censorship… but even more so, they are pro-whatever-makes-them-money-off-of-your-ideas.

So, consider this: we all, each of us, make the choice to use those systems. I assert you should pay attention and put your energies into companies who treat your ideas and thoughts as YOURS – not theirs. Yes, they want to make money OFF of your ideas, but say “fuck no” to letting them ALSO censor them. It is just beyond ridiculous.

The companies with the wrong approach: FaceBook, deviantART, Google and Apple

The companies with the right approach deserve your attention: Twitter and Tumblr.

Twitter and Tumblr are both high-profile sites with the correct Terms of Service as well as actual policies. They draw the line at illegal activity (as they must), but nowhere else.

And, guess what? The uncensored ideas coming from Twitter didn’t cause a global meltdown of morality. Adults didn’t need “protection” from these “evil” services and the world hasn’t ended even though Twitter is a household brand. Proving that the entire foundation for the censoring of ideas is just bullshit – and just an agenda to make the most possible money off of YOU – and, sadly, passive sheep that spend money is the holy grail they seek (and get).

Furthermore, you owe it to yourself to post on sites that are free-speech based… Here is how a LIKE you put on a FaceBook page could lead to you being fired – and that being held up in court. Because your actions on FaceBook are not protected speech – they are simply personal data you have granted rights to FaceBook for any use whatsoever and you have literally no rights left: http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2012/05/08/your-facebook-likes-can-get-you-fired/

Till next time,

Andrew Zar

Art above is a tantalizing shot of our witch Delphi in an upcoming magical DarkBrain series called The Witches Three: THE DARK AGES. Art by Nicolàs R. Giacondino. Copyright 2012, DarkBrain, LLC, All Rights Reserved.

DARK MUSINGS #37 – Trolling is but a peek in the Mirror by...

Fri, 04 May 2012 12:57:14 -0400

DARK MUSINGS #37 – Trolling is but a peek in the Mirror
by Andrew Zar 5/4/12

I’ve been a little shy on blogs the last couple of months – so here is a quick blog to comment on how some people approach the Internet. The Internet is a wonderful place to be whoever you want to be – to shed all your inhibitions and explore what you truly think and feel. It is transformative, rejuvenating and highly rewarding for many people.

Of course, this also lets people become aggressive, angry, disrespectful and hurtful. I watch a lot of artists online, literally thousands. And some get blasted by the most ridiculous attacks from people with specific and extreme agendas – dictating what is or is not art for everyone based on their own slanted preference. But aside from communicating their opinion (which is perfectly fine, if you ask me, it’s an opinion) - they attack with vigor and venom. In fact, every once in a while I see a journal or plea from an artist to stop attacking them and then defending their own art. That makes me sad, but there is a simple truth here:

Ugly internet attacks are nothing but a mirror back to the attacker. Yes, they are ugly and mean and dark – but they are also only a reflection of the ugly in the attacker themselves. The ugly is real, and it is their own burden to deal with. Reflection on that can calm me down when I see particularly spiteful or ignorant comments against an artist I admire.

For me, I work in the edge on purpose with my art – I try to invoke a reaction, to challenge the reader. I have no interest in making “fun” art that has no message, no meaning, and is just unicorns and rainbows. But, this means I will be inside – and outside – people’s objection line pretty often. Thus I expect much of the spirited comments I get from time to time.

I try to correct factual inaccuracies (like, no, I don’t spend 12 hours a day masturbating – I mean, if I could and STILL put out this much content and run my real life business – I would fucking admire myself like you couldn’t imagine) and especially challenges to the “credentials” of my artists (yes, they are very talented and experienced – even if you don’t like the subject matter, the craftsmanship is a very high standard).

But, hey, any reaction means I did well – even negative – it means I hit some button. Since that is part of the point, it’s all good! Even lengthy threads of discussion also mean the reader is engaged with the DarkBrain brand – which is also good. The secret is that the worst thing you can do to an artist is to ignore them. Let’s keep that between us, don’t clue the trolls in!

Till next time,

Andrew Zar

Art above is a tantalizing shot of our witch Morgan in an upcoming magical DarkBrain series called The Witches Three: THE DARK AGES. Art by Nicolàs R. Giacondino. Copyright 2012, DarkBrain, LLC, All Rights Reserved.

DARK MUSINGS #36 – Read at your own pace now here by Andrew...

Wed, 02 May 2012 08:09:00 -0400

DARK MUSINGS #36 – Read at your own pace now here
by Andrew Zar 5/2/12

From the beginning, DarkBrain was about a new way of “reading” comics – with voice and music and in a way more attractive to an audience outside of comic readers. We quickly gained an audience of over 70,000 people, most of whom identified themselves as “not comic readers” – which is absolutely wonderful.

In my early test runs with the format, I found that people would stop and watch and be entertained by the “comics with voice” – there is a huge draw for voice and music. I still firmly believe that if the comic industry wants to attract new readers, voice and music are an essential component.

Still, some people who did identify themselves as comic readers prefer to just read the story. Our first step to address this group was our “Quiet Brain” model – which displays the web comics without sound and at a faster pace than the normal web comic.

But, this month, we have taken our next big step – on the same day that the web comic is released with voice and music, we also release a downloadable version for the “read at your own pace” group! These new downloads are in our optimized for digital format – meaning they look great on desktops, tablets, and even big screen TVs! Just maximize and enjoy.

Our first web comic in this format is Locked Out #12, but now every new web comic release will also have the download on the same day – another evolution for DarkBrain!

Till next time,

Andrew

DARK MUSINGS #35 – Optimized Digital Comics by Andrew Zar...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:32:00 -0400

DARK MUSINGS #35 – Optimized Digital Comics
by Andrew Zar 4/4/12

We are just a week away from the launch of our first adult-only product line, DB Quarterly. So this is the “pre-game” place where anticipation roars around and makes itself known. The magazine is fully wrapped and is a gorgeous 180 page monster and I’m bursting to unleash it on the world!

DBQ #1 is the first DarkBrain download optimized completely for digital viewing in a new take on digital comics – designed to be viewed on many different platforms such as tablets, computers, and even big screen TVs.

The creation of our new format is really an evolution from work we have done in the last three years. The key strategy is to throw out everything you know about digital comics – what works and what doesn’t work – and instead create a digital comic FOR the platform… not to try to bitch-slap a printed format into a digital format. The fact that the new tablets can show a portrait page well is great, but that doesn’t handle big screen TVs or computer monitors at all – where seeing comics designed for portrait still fails miserably.

The basic view that rules most digital devices is a landscape, “high def” layout. A driver of this is that nearly all computer monitors are landscape as are all TVs and movie screens. Even tablets, although you can hold them in portrait now, you can also hold in landscape. So the landscape layout is the overwhelming primary viewing layout for digital consumption. (And, yet, you could dig for days and not find “digital comics” that show in landscape – while the “web comic” market has embraced and understood this fact for a long time).

Applying this strategy, we took DBQ and formatted the digital PDF to be landscape and to have all sorts of digital amenities such as viewing in single page mode and reducing the screen clutter of unnecessary menus – while also staying 100% inside the PDF format. Every page is the exact same dimensions so the reader can page through the file easily and comfortably. (While “2 page spreads” are neat in print, they are dreadful in digital). Also, all pages of DBQ have fonts large enough to display well even on the living room TV.

In addition, a linkable table of contents was added to the first page. The result is a something we really hope you enjoy. This new format is one we will be adopting for our other downloads as we move forward as well, quite a good evolutionary step forward for DarkBrain – and yet another example of how shedding the status quo (the deeply entrenched “print mentality”) can have amazing results.

Till next time,
Andrew Zar