Every year the “craftsman club” (aka printers) has a contest where printers send in some of their best work over the last year. I really liked the comic book from day one and put it aside for the contest. I thought the design was great, the black and white images were very detailed and skillfully drawn. So I entered it into the contest. These printers are what I call “old school” at least most of them. This book really stood out on the table as something different than printing for packaging or calendars or other types of books. It was entered into the digital saddle stitched entry level.

As you can imagine we are quite excited here, because Adair helped us produce an amazing looking book and we are very happy that they won something for the hard work they did.

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In the meantime, enjoy the cover.

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So that’s what we are getting here. You look one minute and it is one thing, and then it is another.

Blah, blah, b;ah, long story short. We here at MONOLITH are proud to announce our latest addition. He is an artist from Memphis named Matt Bowers. His stuff is high-energy and fun, but also very technical.

We’re working with Matt to get something together for the NYC con. Matt and I are re-tooling a Rapid City side story that Micah, Jason, and I had started to put together a few months ago. So, if nothing else, this book is sure to have our most extensive credits page to date. It is really a fun challenge to make this story work with a new artist. Going over the whole thing again, but seeing it fresh, really shows me what works and what does not. Hopefully, those of you who stop by to see us in New York will agree with the decisions we end up making.

And here are some of the roughs we are working with.

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These relationships are literal when it comes to the superheroes on the page, but they are also metaphorical for those of us doing the creating. You know, we have certain powers over this work, and our efforts, and we are responsible for how we use them. Power, glory, responsibility, duty, penalty….all that stuff. How we use our powers (for example: the power to draw awesome pictures), will determine the fate of “Rapid City”. See what a cool metaphor that is?

Different characters were created to represent different attitudes toward power.

The werewolves who turn up early in the first act are there to show the results of power gleefully unchecked. Not just loose, but wantonly running rampant. Power with no control.

Meanwhile, in the real world, pressure and time conspire against us and Jason found himself having trouble getting ahold of that creative energy. The power was in there, it just wasn’t doing what it was supposed to.

Back in “Rapid City”. The wolves must have an opposite. If they are power with no control, then there must be someone who has no power but complete control.

Enter Hector. One of the very few ‘normal’ humans in the main cast of characters. Hector represents control. He sees all use of power as excessive. Through training, focus, and determination, he turns the tables on those with powers. Exploiting their abilities as weaknesses.

They are the opposite ends of the spectrum. Power and control.

So, when Jason finds himself needing to not only tap into his power, but control it to get some work done…who comes out on his sketch pad?

Hector.

Hector, putting a beat-down on those wolves.

Hector, Tamer of Werewolves.

Josh

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I know that ever DIY, small press, superhero creator envisions their creations in a fully developed universe, just like the ones that Marvel and DC spent decades developing. For those big guys, these universes provide a sense of familiarity and relevance. So much so that the little guys ape the device, often without realizing that it will not have the same effect.

I get defensive when the subject of universes comes up. Lots of creators and readers of indie superhero comics count this kind of world-building as a major draw for those comics. And, when done well, those things are cool. It is nice to know that some character who gets mentioned is not just a random name-drop, but actually someone who might show up in another book at some point. And now the defensiveness: That is not what I am doing!

The coherent world of “Rapid City” simply grew out of characters having developed and inter-related backgrounds, and a controlling metaphor across all of the stories. The metaphor acts like a lens, through which real-life people and events become story elements. In this way, back-story and character development, spread virally. At this point, with the lens firmly in place, exploring back story seems more like discovering than creating.

There are lots of stories to be told in “Rapid City”, The ones that are worth telling and depth and insight to the title’s central story. These side stories are not just about adding to this world’s fact catalog. They are about establishing different thematic elements.

Newsarama.com columnist Brian Hibbs, however, makes some very good points about diluting the brad identity. Here: http://www.newsarama.com/Tilting2_0/Tilting48.html

While I fully understand the thematic function of a “Rapid City” side story featuring minor characters and exploring a different aspect of tha individuals realtionship with power, this might not be completely clear to a reader. It doesn’t really matter if the reader fully ‘gets it’. If they enjoy that “Rapid City” off-shoot and go looking for more, only to discover the main “Rapid City” title, it is possible that it could cause confusion.

And then, instead of fulfilling my intended purpose of steadily feeding that addiction, building the world, and exploring the theme, I could be accidentally diluting the strength of teh book in the mind of potential readers.

Hibbs, and others, warn that “this comic is great, I want more” can quickly devolve into “What is this comic? Is it the same as hat one I got a few weeks ago?” in the minds of even the most indie-seeking of readers.

It makes for a very tough decision. A dilema we have not yet solved.

I have a feeling, though, that all of the new avenues that internet publication offers will more easily allow us to tuck side projects under a main umbrella. A short story published only on the web nestles much more cozily in the mind of the reader than a distinct comic fighting for shelf space with the book that spawned it.

Will we even be big enough to bother considering problems like these? Are there possible solutions? Is ths brand confusion even a real problem? I really don’t know. But I do hope that when we get to that bridge (closer every day) that we cross it well.

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So to start things off, this is a collage piece I’m working on in my free time in between other stuff I’m doing. Kind of a warm-up piece that is on-going.

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Enjoy.

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Enjoy.

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• RC in NYC.
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Enjoy.

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What do these two have in common?

Switchboard is a third (or possibly more) generation superhero. She never liked the way that her dad and grandfather spent their lives, but more than that, she dated the way their failures haunted them.

When that heroic mantle was passed on to her, she took it up with the purpose of making sure that other heroes would not make the same mistakes her family had.

Glyph is a student, and player, of magic. He sees, uses, and explores the rhythms and patterns of energy which are all around him. For him it is all about exploration and discovery. And, as this picture indicates, occasionally kicking some ass.

So, what do they have in common? Sensitivity to energy flow? Following their own path in the world? Supporting other heroes? Yeah. But mostly they just seem to me like they would get along really well.

They’re friends.

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Enjoy.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Rapid City: B-Sides Wins Gold for Adair Printing
• RC in NYC.
• Developments
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Enjoy.

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• Rapid City: B-Sides Wins Gold for Adair Printing
• RC in NYC.
• Developments
• Taming Horses
• The Suburbs of Rapid City