Tag: J.C. Vaughn

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With Further Ado #268: Screams, Screens and the Planet of the Apes!

With Further Ado #268: Screams, Screens and the Planet of the Apes!

Posted on by Ed Catto

Fifty years ago this month, my brain exploded. So did the brains just about all my friends. And it was all because of what CBS did one Friday night.

In those days, when a movie was shown in the theater, there was a sense of urgency to see it. You never knew when you’d get the chance to see it again. Our ability to watch movies was at the whim of networks for when, and if, they’d re-broadcast a movie.

I’ve always thought this book, Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes by Andrew Gaska, was spectacular, especially with its Steranko cover and a bunch of wonderful interior illustrations.

Through the mid and late 60s, 20th Century Fox worked hard to develop a movie called Planet of the Apes. Rod Serling was called to help with early drafts of the movie. Much of his work morphed into something different, but his innovative twist ending, a commentary on the then-current world, made it to the final version which debuted on movie screens in 1968.

Later, Fox packaged this movie together with the sequels for CBS. The network broadcast it on conventional TV during an autumn Friday fifty years ago. I was too young to see this one in the theaters, but I was the perfect age to see it on TV.

Apes riding horse! A spaceship! A beach that looked a lot like Lake Ontario (where we’d spend time every summer)! Linda Harrison in a dried spinach swimsuit! “What could be better?” said my ten-year-old self. Continue reading “With Further Ado #268: Screams, Screens and the Planet of the Apes!” →

With Further Ado #245: Keeping Ithacon Fresh after 46+ Years

With Further Ado #245: Keeping Ithacon Fresh after 46+ Years

Posted on by Ed Catto

As you know by now, I’m really excited for ITHACON this weekend – April 22nd and 23rd. For me, it’s the perfect way to spend a weekend because it’s a comic convention that you can get your arms around and still be exposed to big ideas and brilliant people.

But as the nation’s 2nd longest running comic convention, you’ve got to work hard to stay fresh.

(As a digression, Shelton Drum, who runs the 3rd longest running comic convention, HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC, also does a fabulous job of keeping it fresh….and I can’t wait to attend his show in June!).

So, with all that in mind, I wanted to highlight some of our “new” things at ITHACON this year:
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A New Publisher: A Wave Blue World

Continue reading “With Further Ado #245: Keeping Ithacon Fresh after 46+ Years” →

With Further Ado #166: Hidden Entrepreneurs In Publishing

With Further Ado #166: Hidden Entrepreneurs In Publishing

Posted on by Ed Catto

Beyond the creativity on the page, comic conventions are the place to find creativity in business. The best conventions have almost become pop culture incubators, inspiring people to make something happen.

With that in mind, I wanted to give you a preview of a panel I’ll be moderating at New York Comic Con this year. It’s called Beaten to a Pulp: Publishing Entrepreneurs in Today’s Crime Fiction.

Today’s authors have become Hidden Entrepreneurs, actively finding, developing and managing new ways to reach and connect with audiences. The industry realizes that the days of fiction writers just turning in a completed manuscript and sitting back while the publisher markets the book are long gone. In this panel, J. C. Vaughn (Second Wednesday, McCandless & Co.) and Charles Ardai (entrepreneurial publisher of Hard Case Crime) will be revealing, and debating, the best ways to build audiences in their chosen niche.

I contend these panelists are “Hidden Entrepreneurs”, i.e., non-traditional entrepreneurs. I’m fascinated by this topic. In fact, this is the focus of one of my courses at Ithaca College’s School of Business, where I am an instructor on entrepreneurism and start-ups.

(And hey, good news : Entrepreneurism & Innovation is now a minor at Ithaca College.)

The Beaten to a Pulp panel is part of Reed Expo’s New York Comic Con this October 7 -10th. More details are available at www.newyorkcomiccon.com.

Here’s the official write-up:

11:15 – 12:15 Friday October 8, 2021

Beaten to a Pulp: Publishing Entrepreneurs in Today’s Crime Fiction

The days of fiction writers just turning in a completed manuscript and sitting back while the publisher markets the book are look are long gone. Today’s authors have become Hidden Entrepreneurs, actively finding, developing and managing new ways to reach and connect with audiences. Authors Alex Segura (Miami Midnight, Poe Dameron: Free Fall), J. C. Vaughn (Second Wednesday, McCandless & Co.) and Charles Ardai (Hard Case Crime) will be revealing, and debating, the best ways to build audiences in their chosen niche – crime fiction. Moderated by Ithaca College’s Ed Catto.

Hope to see you there!

 

*NOTE: Unfortunately, Alex Segura had to cancel his appearance at NYCC. His presence will be missed.

With Further Ado #111: Wheatley’s The Witch of Everwhen

With Further Ado #111: Wheatley’s The Witch of Everwhen

Posted on by Ed Catto

Some people are just overflowing with talent, and when it spills over to other media, it’s a truly wondrous thing. Mark Wheatley is one of those people.  You may know him as an award-winning comics creator, a frequent exhibitor at San Diego Comic-Con & Baltimore Comic-Con, or as an industrious entrepreneur.  Knowing all those things about him, I was even more impressed when he told me about his newest project, a song & music video called The Witch of Everwhen.  Checkout the teaser trailer:

 

 

Wheatley is working out the details for the full-fledged Witch of Everwhen video debut. The announcement should be made soon, and you can keep up with it all here at the Mark Wheatley Gallery.

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised because he’s created music videos before for previous projects like Dance with Your Brothers , Surrender and Earth’s Farewell.  But nonetheless, I had to find out more.

Ed Catto: This is a fascinating project – tell me how The Witch of Everwhen came about!

Mark Wheatley: I have been composing and recording music for as long as I have been writing and drawing comics professionally. In my early days looking for work in New York, while I was beating the pavement to show my portfolio to art directors and editors, I was also sending demo tapes to A&R reps at the various music companies. I was doing this right up until I landed my first monthly comic series, MARS.

The only musical “success” I had during that period was one of my tunes was picked for airplay on WNEW and one of their DJs was calling me to brainstorm how I would get more attention for my music. But when Marc Hempel and I signed our MARS contract [with First Comics], I decided that the time required to write and pencil a monthly comic was going to eat my life, and I stopped recording and sending out demo tapes. So, of course, two weeks after I signed the MARS contract Capitol Records offered me a three record deal, and I had to turn it down. A few months later, Columbia Records offered me a one record deal. Both of these offers would require me to also hit the road for live tours, so it was just impossible. After that, aside from recording some soundtrack music for radio and TV commercials, my musical efforts were limited to recording theme songs for my comic book creations. Continue reading “With Further Ado #111: Wheatley’s The Witch of Everwhen” →

With Further Ado #051: Blah Blah at the Nerd Prom

With Further Ado #051: Blah Blah at the Nerd Prom

Posted on by Ed Catto

You can make the argument that Comic Conventions are just big Pop-Ups, designed to promote all manner of geeky and unexpected treasures. Or you may say that they are more akin to treasure hunts. After all you just know that that one old comic or exclusive toy is out there somewhere on the dealer’s floor. For so many entrepreneurial businesses, they are the ultimate trade show: commerce wrapped up in the showy fashion of focused nerd-dom. To others, comic conventions are a way to scoop up amazing bargains. (Nobody likes diving into the bargain boxes more than me.)  Continue reading “With Further Ado #051: Blah Blah at the Nerd Prom” →