Three quarters of the year are complete and we have three titles on the shelf.  We have two more shows to finish out the year.  So I am going to take time to reflect a little and share some of our first year. 

Overall the year has been a learning experience.  Dedication to the team and business has been my goal.  In doing so, I have let some things slip.  It is a big challenge starting a business.  It is a bigger challenge when you have to re-learn the industry.  I have made many mistakes this year.  And I am pretty damn sure I am going to make many more.  But in light of that I am learning and sharing with the team my experiences.

The Mistakes.

The first mistake I made was moving too fast.  I could have kicked back and produced one or two books a year.  But I set a schedule and intended and have kept most of the schedule.  Was it ambitious? Of course it was.  Was it the right thing to do?  That’s debatable.  At the time yes it was.

The next mistake was taking on many more conventions than I could support or could support us.  Some shows turned out nicely others slammed us hard.  It was surprising to see the ones that did and didn’t do it for us.  Because of this next year we will have a very limited convention schedule.

Another mistake was one that many publishers have, talent.  I assumed that there would be many more artists out there willing to work for me at a reasonable rate.  I understand the need to make a certain amount of money to survive.  But if you aren’t working guys, it isn’t my fault.  Among the surprises is how many artists would turn down cash for a percentage of a book that may or may not be released.  One of the primary tenants was that the artists get paid.  That has never changed.   If I were to have offered a percentage of each book to my creative team they would end up owing me money.  Yeah I would have a lot more money in my back pocket but in my eyes I would be cheating the team out of compensation for their hard work.

The final and probably the most damning mistake was quality.  I was recently reminded of this mistake by a comic book shop owner.  But in reality I cannot take this as a mistake.  I have spent the year learning the new tools of the trade and new methods to create the comics.  Along the way I released Fusion 1 and 2 as a single book.  Fusion was written and drawn over 15 years ago using old methods that lacked the polish provided by today’s technology.  Fusion was a launching pad, a beginning.  The following Demon Seed/Suicide Jacks was also done in the old style of comic books.  15 years ago these books were par with what marvel and DC were putting out on the shelf.  Today they look and feel dated.  But you know what, I don’t regret releasing them.  And I also used some of today’s techniques to improve them though not as much as they could have been.

What did we do right?

The compensation for the talent was the right thing.  This is a burden on the front end of the business.  I take a huge hit even before I have a product to sell.  This is the right way to do it and I will continue to support the development team.

Flexibility when the situation calls for it.  I cannot stress how this has saved us throughout the year.  Being small and open has really allowed us to shift focus on the fly.  A testament to this was Dallas Comic Con.  We reviewed our set up before the convention and made adjustments on the fly.  We have done this with production also and that will bear fruit at Fan Days in October and carry over into Wizard World in Austin.

Keep using tools to improve product and production.  We have only scratched the surface of the tools available at our disposal.  We are constantly learning new methods and techniques to make a more polished product.  I have to give kudos to the other artists who have shared some of their tricks with us.  I also have to give the team big thanks for sticking it out and learning how to do things differently.

We provided our services to help charity.  This is something I am proud of and will continue to do.

Keep networking with other talented people and businesses.

And finally, it’s all about the fans.  This is something I try to instill in all the team members.  It’s not about us; it’s not about getting some comic shop owner to carry our books; it’s all about the fans.  The team has taken this to heart and for that I am truly blessed.  I thank god everyday for giving me a dedicated and talented group of people to work with.

Where does that leave Mental Diversions?

I won’t lie to you we took a beating this year emotionally and physically.  There have been times when I questioned why I was doing this.  When that happens I look back to the tenants that created when I started this business.  I am dedicated to this 100%.  One of my favorite bands has a line in a song that says “if you fail, at least you tried.”  I would rather fail than never have tried at all.  In that I can see that we will succeed.  I began to see the success around May of this year and now the rest of the team is starting to see it also.  Sure there are stumbles and missteps but when in your life does everything go smoothly.  With that in mind the following list our direction for next year.

·         Next year we will have a limited convention schedule.

o   New Orleans, Dallas Comic Con and Wizard World Austin are definite

o   Chicago is a possibility but depends on funding.

o   Phoenix is a definite maybe.  This again depends on funding.

·         We will continue to produce on a quarterly basis.

o   Our production schedule will be stricter but I know the team will rise to it.

·         We will foster more online content. 

o   This includes Kindle and Nook sales.

o   We will also start providing a regular batch of web comics.

·         Doing it for the fans.

o   More public appearances.

o   More correspondence from the talent to the fans.

o   More freebies.  Everyone loves freebies.

I know this was a long read but I needed to write this not only for my own therapy but to mark a milestone.  Technically I have been at this one year.  The team is almost at the one year mark and January 1^st of 2012 marks the official one year in business for Mental Diversions.  A lot has been learned in the last year and I am looking forward to new learning experiences in the coming year.

Special Thanks to

Comic Book Shops

·         Empire Comics, League City, Texas

·         Nan’s Comics and Games, Houston, Texas

·         Third Planet, Houston, Texas

·         Titan Comics, Dallas, Texas

Conventions

·         Wizard World

·         Dallas Comic Con

·         Apollo Con

·         Strip Con

Artist and Creators

·         Walter Jimenez II

·         Michael Champion

·         Terry Parr

·         Kevin Steele

·         Halo Seraphim

·         David Doub

·         James O’Barr

·         Jonathan Caustrita

·         Joel Watson

·         Jason Chalker

·         Cal Slayton

·         Bernie Wrightston

·         Kerry Gammil

·         Kit Lively

The Core Team

·         Allen Adams III

·         Damon Jackson

·         Garrett Gainey

·         Cheryl Sandison VosKamp

I just got done seeing the Green Lantern movie.  It got me thinking about something I like to call 'The James Bond Complex'.  James Bond is an iconic character.  When we go to see a Bond film or read a Bond book we know several things.  First we know James will always win.  Second we know James always gets the girl.  We don't go to a Bond film to see James Bond deconstructed.  We go to enjoy the ride. 

I mention this because Hollywood has a recent infatuation with comic book heroes.  Comic book heroes, with obvious exceptions, suffer from 'The James Bond Complex'.  Most stories compensate for this pretty good.  Others like the Spiderman franchise go ape-shit after half of the second film.  The other thing Hollywood suffers from is trying to put 30 years of history in two hours of film. 

This doesn't even go into breaking continuity, say like 'X-Men: First Class'.  So what often happens is writers get write-happy because they have a vast array of fantastic stories to chose from.  And of course we have to emphasize our heroes faults. (Please note the sarcasm.)  Or as I was reminded of by Damon Jackson, the villian is really a good guy who has bad things making him do bad things.  This has happened to Doc Octopus, Sandman and of course Magneto.  Damon mentioned that Doc Ock for example just figured out that he could make more money after he got fused to his mechanical arms.  Of course that is too simple for Hollywood.

But I have lost track of my goal; writing is about telling a story.  It doesn't matter the time, place or even the characters.  The characters, place and time are all elements that flesh the story out.  I am going to paraphrase a writer friend of mine, Michael Druxman, "All stories can be summed up in one sentence."  Now Michael is not just a writer, he has written definitive books on writing that are used in colleges and universities.  I tend to listen to him when he talks or writes about writing.  But that follows the whole premise I was venting on earlier, the ride is what the reader wants.  Perhaps if more people focus on the one line that describes the story we can have better representation in Hollywood.  But I can tell you I am not holding my breath.

Well prepping for the upcoming Apollo Con (http://www.apollocon.org/) In keeping with the theme the team is working on some special space related stuff.  I will be putting together my toons from my time at NASA.  This will be the first time they have been printed together!

Among other things going on...

The Corpse #2 is coming along nicely.  Garrett is working his tail off and its even more crazier than #1! (#1 is going out for reprint, we are almost out!)

Season of Stoms/Suicide Jacks (AKA Demon Seed) is going out for reprint also!  It will be sporting new cover art by Allen Adams, inked by Walter Jimenez, and colored by Ty Tyner.

Fusion 3 and 4 are nearing completion. Allen has really out done himself with the work on Fusion 4.

God of Thunder is coming along and should be ready by Sci Fi Expo.  This is another fantastic work by Damon and Allen.

There are many other projects in work.  And many ideas being batted around.  Let's just say Web Comics are coming among other things that will be available.

I spend some time practicing.  We should all practice.  I always tell my team that and I also tell them to NEVER throw anything away.  I don't say this without knowing something about it.  If you love doing art never throw anything away.  It may inspire you to recreate it when your talents have improved or maybe even take the time to finish it.  Allen Adams III did this with one of his drawings recently.  It took him a while to get back to it but once he did it was awesome. (See Paradise Lost http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=104153819664864&set=a.104153809664865.9263.100002107386069&type=1&theater> Anyway I thought I would share at least one of my pictures from my practice.

Well while at Comicpalooza we met the folks at Apollo Con.  We weren't planning on that convention.  They had a good pitch so that Tuesday I investigated setting up a table at that show.  I was too late and the show was full up.  So I had budgeted for the show and decided that since the money was available I would go ahead and do Sci Fi fan days in Dallas in October.   Don't fear I plan on having the team and I do appearances in the Houston area at various locations.  That is still in work but I can tell you that Empire Comics in League City is definitely on the list of appearance locations.  I am in talks with Bedrock City, he is a tough sell though.  I can understand he problably sees 100 guys starting up comic studios a day.  It's really hard to determine the ones that will hang in there.  Just another chance to say it, guys I am in it for the long haul.  I wouldn't be putting up the cash for this if I didn't beleive in it. 

Well Comicpalooza is done.  Can't say it was a successful show for the mental diversions team but you can't win all of them.  Comparing to Dallas, the Houston show was bad.  Sorry I was there last year scoping this out and they made vast improvements over last year.  And when I say vast I am talking lightyears.  In the same breath I can also say they screwed up a bunch also.  I guess I shouldn't hammer them too hard.  I was a little miffed because they dropped me from the database by accident.  So I spent valuable time chasing badges all week when I should have been prepping more.  The layout in the artist's alley and the dealer's area was a maze.  I think they are going to change that up next year.  Also the artists were too separated from the dealers.  I don't know how this was thought to be a good idea but to me its a symbiotic relationship and we should have been closer together.

Now about some of the things the convention people had no control over.  To the guy who kept sending his kid over to take our customer's hands and lead them over to your table across the way.  You suck.  Also had I known that was happening at the time I would have petitioned the convention staff to have you removed.

To another studio which shall remained unnamed...if you are going to pander to my team you better pay them very well as opposed to offering a percentage of a book you had not produced yet.  By the way, I will support all other studios but you are running a shady show. 

What did I do wrong?

Well our display could have been better.  I should have brought another table. And lastly, next time I will not have another studio's book on my table. 

Maurice I don't mind helping you out but when I can walk the floor and see that book at another table at the same show...you can take up half of theirs not half of mine.  Allen could barely put his stuff on the table.  Pretty much I am disappointed and displeased.  I sent you an email about the deadline on the project you are three months behind on.  If I am not on the top of your list to get work done then move on and go work for someone else. 

Overall the show was a bust for me.  But then I wasn't the only one suffering.  We can all blame this on the economy but that's just an excuse.  In truth what I lost in income I gained in experience.  A business is a dynamic thing.  If I fail to adapt to the market then shame on me.  But be aware Mental Diversions is here to stay. 

Well I didn't get all the important information on Allen's first book with Mental Diversions, DEMON SEED.  Well just to say the cover and name are incorrect.  I did rush this to print so I take responsibility for the name and cover error.  The real name for this series is SEASON OF STORMS and this is an un-edited/un-colored version of the cover by Allen Adams.

But when I screw up I do it right!  I also rushed Garrett Gainey's Corpse #1.  Since then Garrett has sent me a colored version of the Corpse cover. 

Well both books were pushed to have them in time for the Dallas Comic Con.  The second printing of both books will have the corrections.  So if you love variant covers, there is only a limited number of these left before the reprint.

Also, the team and I have been in discussion of actually doing a full color book front to back.  I have been very impressed with the story Damon Jackson and Allen Adams III have been collaborating on.  This book may turn into being Mental Diversions first full color comic.  That being said I am always looking for talent.  Writers, Artist, Colorists come talk to us at Comicpalooza.

Well Dallas Comic Con is down and out of the way.  We met some tremendous fans!  Houston is this weekend and it really looks like its going to be a big blow out.  This is our home town show so this is going to be an amazing time.   Come check us out at Comicpalooza.  We have the prequel to Paradise Lost, DEMON SEED by Allen Adams III and Damon Jackson.  We also have the flip comic The Corpse and Spandex Avenger.  And also Fusion 1.2 by Terry Wagner!!!  I'll just leave you with a little Boba.

Sorry for not warning you guys.  It came up in Dallas and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to attend.  Be sure to go to mental diversions facebook page and check out the pictures from the con.  Other things that happened this weekend at the con was I recieved some commissioned artwork from Mike Champion and Walter Jimenez.  The artwork is pin-ups for the upcoming Impalers story by Damon Jackson.

Currently at the printers....

Demon Seed by Allen Adams III

The Corpse by Garrett Gainey

Next to go, Fusion #3 and Mentally Challeneged Magazine featuring work from all the team members and some guest artists.

Ok if you have been following the website you will notice several changes in the last month.  Like any business the need to be flexible is paramount.  So as things progress changes to the website will reflect the changes.  The biggest change is the menu is now tabs.  Now the News is gone.  It was redunant with the blog and it is so much easier to post in the blog.  The bios went away last month and were replaced with Team right before the New Orleans convention. 

Well enough business bs.  At the convention we found out what the people wanted to see.  In reality we were unprepared but open to suggestion.  I expected as much.  The convention was thrown together pretty quickly and we were fortunate enough to have enough talent and exhuberance to bring fans into the table.  One of the things I sold that I found unusual was a picture of Opus from Berke Breathed http://www.berkeleybreathed.com/   Turns out there's alot of fans out there including me.  Well I was on a Captain Britian trip back in the 80's and I did a picture on poster board like I did many times in that decade of Captian Britian.

It had a bunch of open space so I did CAPTAIN OPUS!  The problem...the poster was hanging in my garage for the last 15 years!  The paper had yellowed, the colors had faded.  I spent some time but I give you the newly restored CAPTAIN OPUS!