The Isis/E’steem Crossover is now Available on Smashwords!

The Isis/E’steem Crossover is now available on Smashowords and Smashwords affiliates such as Barnes & Noble and the iBookstore. Both books feature covers by Hero Busine$$ artist Bill Walko and feature a Smashwords exclusive trade dress! Both books are 99¢ and well worth the purchase price! 

Isis: Night of the Vampires

Vampires! When E’steem is given a project that takes her out of the office, Isis fills in for her on the job at the Morris Phillips. While she’s escorting CEO John Haynes to a charity event the demon D’lilah and a brood of disgruntled Vampires crash the party looking to take a meeting with him. Can the goddess next door help her boss take care of business dealing with the undead?

E'steem: Undercover

Bad Girl Gone Good! Good Girl goes undercover! When E’steem and John find stolen boxes of Marshmallow cookies in a Bronx Bodega, she goes undercover at the Nabiskit factory in Philadelphia to find the employee responsible for the thefts. Can the Devilish Diva stop the cookie crook and put an end to their confectionary caper?

Note: There will be a video about Milestone Media and the heroes of Milestone Media in the future. Right now I’m doing research and digging all my old Milestone comics out of the closet to do that feature!

Straight Outta Compton #1 At the Box office Negro Hypocrisy in Prime Time

Isis Series Book News and the John Haynes Sequel

Isis: Night of the Vampires and E’steem Undercover are coming to Smashwords!

But with a twist! Bill Walko did an amazing job on the art on the Isis/E’steem crossover covers. And he even did a pair with a different trade dress. And with Smashwords having a larger distribution network than Amazon, I thought that would be a great place for both to get their debut!

In other book news I’ve just completed the first draft of  sequel to The Temptation of John Haynes. The book is tentatilvely titled The Man Who Rules the World. I'm pondering calling it  John Haynes: The Man Who Rules The world to keep it in line with the other Isis and E'steem series books. Temptation was one of my most acclaimed novels in 2011 and it had a fairly strong following. Some asked me back as far as 2011 if there’d be a sequel, and I wanted to have just the right story premise in mind before I made any promises.

I planned this story back as far as 2009 and I’ve been trying to write The Man Who Rules The World for close to seven years now. I started this book and stopped it numerous times and struggled to get this book to go anywhere. However, while I was stuck on Isis: Imitation of Life I got inspired to write The Man Who Rules The World and completed the entire story in a week.

Some of my readers have wanted me to write books for Black boys for several years. And I wrote this story specifically with Black boys in mind. I made it a point to create a story where we see a Black man in a leadership position being assertive, authoritative and commanding. I’ve learned a lot of lessons about manhood and the male identity in the last seven years and I wanted to make sure they were applied in this story.

Readers of the Isis series got a glimpse of John Haynes in his appearances in Isis: Wrath of the Cybergoddess and Isis: Night of the Vampires. And the story of The Man Who Rules the world will take place right after Isis: Night of the Vampires if you follow that continuity. Like Temptation, this one is action packed and is extremely fast paced. If you like superhero movies like The Avengers, you’ll love The Man Who rules the World. Almost every major character from the SJS DIRECT Universe makes an appearance here.

The Man Who Rules the World is the first full John Haynes story in the Novelette format. I wanted this book to be longer, but as it was writing itself this was the format it was flowing into. I would love to do a John Haynes series like I do with the Isis series, but I’d have to see the sales numbers for the book before I made any commitments.  

I’m pondering doing a Kickstarter for The Man Who Rules the World I would love to see Bill Walko’s version of John Haynes to go along with Isis and E’steem. And I’d love to see his trade dress for the cover. He did a great job with the Isis/E’steem crossover covers and I’d love to work with him again.

I’d love to release The Man Who Rules The World in Summer 2016, but I’m making no promises This is just the first draft and I have a long way to go.

If Shawn Wrote DC Comics Wonder Woman

The Parallels between DC in 2015 and Disney in the 1970s

Video: https://youtu.be/sjDpYoZTGbE

DC Comics in 2015 is a lot like Disney from 1970s-1985. A brand in decline. When one looks at the state of DC Comics and compares it to Disney during this troubled period they can clearly see the parallels between both brands.

Disney in the 1970s and early 1980s was a brand in trouble. The house of Mickey mouse and family films like Sleeping Beauty began going in a different direction for its animated films featuring stories with dark tones and gritty themes. Films like Robin Hood, The Rescuers, The Fox and The Hound and the all featured grittier subject matter and dark tones and themes.

And the public’s response to those films was not positive. Sure some Disney films like Robin Hood, The Rescuers, and The Fox and the Hound were box-office hits. But many of these darker films left sour tastes in viewer’s mouths that alienated them from the Disney brand long-term. Most parents didn’t want to take their kids to films with content that was becoming darker and more violent with each film. By the time The Black Cauldron was released with its extremely dark and violent themes for that time, the Disney brand was in trouble.

Like Disney, DC was once a brand that featured a catalog of family friendly characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. But since 2002 when Dan Didio took over as publisher the brand has followed a similar dark path that Disney did in the 1970s and early 1980s. Producing comics with dark themes, grittier subject matter and extremely graphic violence that gets gorier with each new publication.

And just like Disney, the fans and customers’ response has not been positive. Again, most people didn’t want to share DC comics with their children due to the content that gets darker and more violent with each new comic or each new comic storyline. In the aftermath of DC’s most recent event Convergnce the number two comic book publisher in the world actually saw sales decline for the first time in 15 years. Worse DC actually lost market share to independent publishers like Image, Boom! Dynamite.

Clearly, the DC Brand is in Crisis. Unfortunately, no one at Warner Brothers seems to understand how damaged the DC Comics brand truly is. Sure shows like Arrow and The Flash are hits. But so were Robin Hood and The Rescuers. And while some DC fans and employees focus on those bright spots like Disney fans did in the 70’s and early 80s, they don’t see how the bigger picture of the DC Comics brand is impacted by over a decade and a half of mismanagement across the board.

Movies featuring DC Characters like Man of Steel have split their audience. Trailers like Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice split their audience. And in business a Split audience is never a good thing. When the audience is split, that means half of the people are staying home and a project will only make half its money back at the box office.

 And thanks to this split audience, DC merchandise clogs comic shop and toy store shelves these days. Because fans are so turned off by the New 52, DC’s new universe that started in 2011 most DC merchandise winds up remaining on store shelves even at clearance prices. Again, because the audience is split due to all the changes, gimmicks, and events like Convergence, a majority of DC Comics fans are not buying DC merchandise like T-shirts and action figures.

These days most people spend their time arguing about DC than anything else. The fans of DC Comics are fragmented and frustrated and that’s not good for the brand long term. When a brand makes people angry they don’t buy the products from it.

And when the most senior executive in charge has to explain how their Comic book universe works dozens of times to people it proves to the world that there’s something wrong with how that product is managed. The reason why the products at DC are broken is because broken people are producing them.

Clearly the DC brand is in decline. It’s suffered severe damage due to that decade and a half of Dan Didio’s mismanagement. It’s a brand in desperate need of new management with new leadership and a new vision. Someone with a plan to rebuild the brand and bring back the fun and adventure to its iconic superheroes. Someone with the same kind of vision and leadership Michael Eisner had when he led the Disney brand back to a second golden age in 1989.

The current editorial team just can’t lead DC back to greatness. Dan Didio and his editorial team are reviled by comic fans. Just the mention of his name alienates fans and starts arguments. Even the name of people who work for him like Goeff Johns and producers like Chris Nolan makes people angry. There’s just too much bad blood in all of DC’s divisions and its sucking the life out of the products before they even get released.  The only way to get all that negative energy out of the product is to purge DC of all its editorial staff and its dysfunctional corporate culture.

The next editor in chief, publisher and editorial team at DC Comics has to do everything in their power to all purge all of the negative energy of the last fifteen years from the DC Comics brand. All that doom and gloom, hopelessness and misery has to be exorcised from the offices of DC Comics its products, and its people and replaced with positive energy. And with positive energy from a new leadership new employees will feel motivated towards doing the long, slow painful work of rebuilding the DC Universe and the DC Comics brand.

  It took Michael Eisner close to five years to rebuild Disney and get it back to its golden age in the 1990’s. And it’ll probably take that much time to rebuild the DC Comics brand and get it back to that level of functionality. If a new editorial team works together with passion and heart then maybe it’s possible to re-establish the DC Comics brand back to its prominence and get a new generation of readers to rediscover what’s great about DC Comics superheroes.

Dan Didio Promises No more Reboots….YEAH RIGHT.

DC Comics Co-publisher Dan Didio promises there will never be a reboot of the DC Universe again. And that Post Convergence DC will be the DC Universe.

If you believe this, I have a bridge I want to sell you.

Yeah, there’s gonna be another reboot of the DC Universe. I guarantee it.

When the Co-publisher can’t even explain how his new Universe works after multiple articles and a Universe map there’s something clearly wrong with the product.

A Comic book universe is something that explains itself. It’s something a four-year-old child can figure out in seconds. People see characters or a trade dress on books and know what to buy.

The day Dan Didio is FIRED the newly hired Editor-in-chief will authorize a hard reboot to purge all of his changes from the DC Universe. Because any smart businessman won’t want to be bogged down with the baggage of Didio’s decade and a half of dysfunction or the negative energy it brings.

The reputation of DC Comics is tarnished in comic book world and even among the general public. All one has to do is mention DC Comics and it will unleash a torrent of negative posts. Most people see DC Merchandise announced at cons and go to message boards like The Fwoosh to talk about what they’re NOT going to buy. Movies like Batman V. Superman Dawn of Justice have people getting annoyed, not excited about seeing them.

No new executive worth their salt wants those storm clouds hovering above them. No, a new boss is going to order in a fleet of garbage trucks and a couple of garbage barges to take out Didio’s trash. Then they’re going to go and make the efforts to try to give comic fans an olive branch. Because they understand that rebuilding the DC Comics brand will be HARD WORK.

Readers won’t have to worry about the mess that the DC Universe has become. Because it’ll all be wiped out and replaced. At this stage in the game DC’s continuity is so FUBAR that no team of  editors, writers or artists can fix it. The story structures have become so damaged over the last fifteen years that the entire thing has to be completely wiped out.

Sad, because even as early as 2008 I thought the old DC Universe could have been salvaged. But all of Didio’s mismanagement has done irreparable harm to DC’s continuity. From a creative standpoint DC Comics isn’t just a WRECK, it’s a TOTAL LOSS.

Too many characters have been damaged. Too many stories have holes in them. Who’s dead? Who’s alive? Where’s the entry point for the new reader to pick up on an old character’s adventures? How can a new reader even access the character’s back issues? How does the new reader make anything fit? Pre-Crisis? Post Crisis? New 52? Post Convergence?  

It gave me a headache just typing that sentence. Imagine how a new reader will feel at the comic shop or on Amazon.

Didio says Convergence was supposed to solve all the continuity problems. But all he did was make them WORSE. Clearly, he has no understanding of how stories work in a universe model. And no smart publisher is going to want to deal with the baggage from his fifteen years of failure while they try to make DC successful again. 

Didio’s mismanagement has turned the DC Universe into a HEADACHE for veteran comic fans who know these characters, and it would be IMPOSSIBLE for a new reader to access.

That means any New DC Universe in a post-Didio era will have to start fresh with a Golden Age Justice Society, Superman in red trunks, Batman with Dick Grayson as Robin, Barry Allen as the Flash, Diana Prince as Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter on the Justice League. A DC Universe familiar to old readers and new ones.

There will definitely be a reboot of the DC Universe the day Dan Didio and his gang of four are terminated by Warner Brothers executives. This will be a Hard reboot, the kind that Mac users experienced when Apple went from Power PC G4 to the Intel Processors. Yeah, there will be a lot of upset DC fans like the Apple crowd were in the mid 2000s, but most DC fans will understand if DC’s new Editor in Chief gives them a new DC Universe that resembles something like the Pre-Didio era DC and runs as smoothly as an Intel Mac.  

Why Is It So HARD To Break Into the Comic Book Industry?

How do you break into the comic book industry? What’s the process for getting a job with a comic book publisher?  Is it submitting your work unsolicited? Going to cons and showing samples of your work to a writer or an artist? Sending a resume or a cover letter to an editor? Is there some sort of internship you have to apply for?

Seriously, how do you break into the comic book industry?

Most people can’t answer that question. And because no one can answer the question the comic book industry continues to struggle twenty years later.

I have a question to ask: Why is it so hard to break into the comic book industry?

It’s easier to get a screenplay read by a rep from a Hollywood Production Company than it is to get a comic book proposal read by an editor at a comic book company.

It’s easier to get a Young Adult manuscript read by a New York Editor than a comic book proposal by an editor at a comic book publisher.

It’s easier to get the names of editors at New York Publishing houses than it is to get the names of anyone in the Comic Book industry.

Unlike screenwriting or trade publishing, where there’s a traditional query process, trying to break into the comic book industry is like trying to find out some sort of secret code into a secret society. Even some who worked at the big two publishers like Marvel and DC can’t even tell me how they broke into the industry or how a creator like myself can break into it.

Compared to Trade publishing and screenwriting, the process for breaking into comics still remains like a secret fraternal society that uses some sort of secret password to screen people at the front door. And because it’s mostly based on who someone knows and not what a creator like myself knows, most new talent can’t find out where to go to show our work to professionals.

And one would think the door would be wide open at comic companies for new talent. Twenty years after the collapse of the industry in 1993 one would think that companies like Marvel and DC would be eager to hire to new talent. However, in the last twenty years many publishers have become more insular and have erected a virtual brick wall that keeps new talent like myself from finding an opportunity to share its work with them.

It’s a shame too. Because from what I’ve seen from most of that new talent in YA fiction, webcomics, Deviant Art Pages and self-published Indie comics is a fresh inspired perspective that could get most people young and old excited about comics again.

The comic book industry desperately needs new writers and new artists. But because most new writers and artists can’t even find the name of someone to send a resume and cover letter to at a comic publisher, they usually wind up giving up on their dreams of working in comics and go work in other industries.

Most artists wind up self-publishing their work as indie comics or trade paperbacks. Others wind up doing webcomics, book covers, Illustrations for children’s books, or commissions. A few go on to do storyboards for movie studios. And writers like myself taking their comic concepts and adapt them into YA fiction, novels, or screenplays. And the industry suffers as that talent makes a name for itself in other markets.

Think about all the new concepts that have become household names over the last twenty years. Power Rangers. Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Monster High. Twilight. Harry Potter. Imagine if one of those concepts had made their way into comics. Just one of them could have possibly revived the slumping sales of the comic book industry. But because of the brick wall erected up at the front doors of comic book publishers, most people just have to take their concepts elsewhere.

There are so many people like myself who want to work in the comic book industry. And sadly, most of us wind up taking our work someplace else. I’d like to think if one of us writers or artists had gotten a break maybe one of us would have created that breakthrough character and reached a new generation of readers.