Issue 2 is Now On Sale!

A few years ago I began developing Wandering Koala as an ongoing series, then a mini-series. After I finished the first issue, I sent it to a couple of publishers who never got back to me. I had just bought myself a Kindle at the time, and I was loving it. I knew there was a way for anyone to publish a book to the Kindle, so I said to myself, "Self, why not publish your comic on the Kindle?" So I did.

My original plan was to publish one issue per month. Well, the first issue did not take off to stellar sales, and while working on the second issue, I realized the story I was telling would work better as a novel, so I turned it into a novel. I was only going to publish it electronically, but it turned out so well, I spent the money to put it into print. After that I started a series of illustrated short stories and a couple of other comic projects.

I didn't really do anything to promote the single issue of Wandering Koala vs. The Scientific Method, and I had even thought of removing it, but it kept selling, and has actually sold better than anything else I've published. So I decided to do a second issue. I wasn't very happy with how my first attempt had been going, so I decided to start from scratch. I did reuse a few panels from my first attempt, but with some serious rearrangement. I also decided to use a digest comic format, because I loved my old Richie Rich and Archie Digests I use to buy in the early 90s.

This is the first comic that I've created that actually looked like what I thought my comic would. I was so happy with the results. Of course I recognize there is room for improvement, but so many of the questions and struggles I've been having have been worked out. I can't wait to start on the next two issue story, after I finish a couple of short stories I'm nearly finished with.

The wonderful thing about publishing with Amazon Kindle is the publication is available on the Kindle, the PC, the Mac, the iPhone, the big iPhone (aka the iPad), and the iPod Touch. Android is coming soon!

You can check out a few sample pages at http://www.wanderingkoala.com/comic0001.php.

You can purchase a copy of the comic for yourself at http://www.amazon.com/Wandering-Koala-Scientific-Method-ebook/dp/B003S3S2TC/

At $1.50, it's a steal!

Wandering Koala vs. The Scientific Method Part 2 (in progress)

A couple of years ago or so I was working on a comic book proposal that just wasn't working. I kept trying and trying, but it wasn't getting any better. Then I remembered an idea that had been swirling around in my mind for years, and I decided to work on it. I had also been watching old Felix the Cat cartoons from the 20s (black & white and silent--they were brilliant!)

So I created a first issue, but wasn't happy with it. Then I tried starting a different story arc. I didn't even finish that issue before I realized it wasn't working. So I gave it a third try, and this time something great was happening.

I wrote and drew the first issue and sent it off to two publishers for considerations. One rejected it; the other didn't even bother replying (thanks, Dark Horse). I had just purchased a Kindle for myself and was loving it, so I decided to publish it there. I also planned to publish it on the iPhone, but that was too involved for the time.

While working on the second issue, I realized the story would work better as a novel. I had been reading a lot of great books and short stories on my Kindle which had re-kindled (pun intended) my love of reading. I had also always wanted to write and publish a novel. And I wanted a novel that was like Hardy Boy books with pictures and adventure, but written for adults and worthy of being a classic. So I decided to do it. It's called The Scientific Method (a Wandering Koala tale).

Since publishing it, I've written two and a half new short stories and published two of them. I left the first issue of the four issue mini-series up for sale, and it kept selling. So I said to myself, "Self, you should write a second issue--it's by far the most visual and works better as a comic book than a novel."

I've always wondered what a comic book by me would look like, and all my past attempts have been disappointing. This time I analyzed some of my favorite comics and what excited me about them. I also thought back to some of the best experiences I've had with comics, and some of my fondest memories. That's when I realized I loved mini-comics. Mini-comics also fit nicely on the Kindle (as another attempt Euphony in E showed). So I decided to create a mini-comic.

So I'm 13 pages into the second issue, and I'm really happy with the result. It finally looks like a comic I'm proud to sign my name to--a comic I can walk up to someone with and proudly say look what I did!

Above are three pages I was especially happy with. They still need to be colored and lettered, but I thought I'd share the black & white artwork. I'm tempted to leave the issue black & white, because I love black & white artwork so much. What do you think?

Where have all the Short Stories gone?

Normally I post artwork and discuss it on this site, but this post is about something that has been bothering me for a long time. The picture has nothing to do with the post other than it is from a comic I published on the Kindle called Euphony in E.

I bought a Kindle a year ago, and one of the many things I loved best about it was the selection of short stories I could download for $.59, $.79, or $1.50; stories that were printed in a magazine years ago and haven't been seen since. Stories that I wouldn't even have known about let alone read otherwise. Stories by Charles Sheffield, Kevin J. Anderson, and L. Sprague De Camp that are as good as it gets. And download I did.

The other day I was browsing the Kindle store to see if any new gems had been added, and to my shock and horror, all these great stories that I read and loved were gone! How can an eBook go out of print? Ok, I know they didn't go out of print, but Fictionwise's contract with Amazon must have expired. Still, I was upset.

I love digital content, but this is an excellent example of the biggest problem with it: licensing and availability. The rights-holder decides to yank it, and the story is gone. This happens with music and movies as well. A physical book isn't so easy to yank, and they can and do show up on eBay and used bookstores. Digital content with DRM makes reselling and redistributing very difficult. (I'm familiar with pirate sites, but those don't help build a market, so I avoid them.)

It's a shame that in a world where we now have the ability for a store to carry EVERY title every written at a near zero cost and never have to worry about going out of print, stories and books aren't more available and more plentiful than they were and are under the current system.

The Amazon Kindle

The day Amazon announced their new Kindle, the Kindle 2, I pre-ordered mine. It is a wonderful device! It is so easy to read. It is so easy to preview and buy books via the cellular phone network. It is so easy to load your own books onto that you can download free from the Internet. And the battery life is really good. I didn't know how it could get any better.

Then, just before my Kindle arrived, Amazon released a free Kindle application for the iPhone that lets you read your books you've already purchased from the Kindle store AND sync your reading progress with your Kindle. Plus, you can view the books in color. How could it get any better?

Then I discovered how easy it was to self publish your own book. So I decided to publish my own. I created a comic book and have been trying to get it published. So I said to myself, "Self, why not publish your comic book via the Kindle Store." Well, being as disposed to taking a wise man's advice as I am, I decided to do just that. You can see the cover, and issue one is currently on sale. Anyone with a Kindle, iPhone, or iPod Touch can purchase and enjoy it. Just search for Wandering Koala on Amazon.com.