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Showing posts with label small press comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label small press comics. Show all posts

Monday, 15 October 2012

Comicsy, British small press marketplace launched

A brand new website designed to help UK small press creators sell their wares has just been launched by Tim West, co-editor and and writer for the horror anthology Hallowscream.

Tim tells us Comicsy - already being used by creators such as Malcolm Kirk, Jim Cameron and the Midlands Comics Collective - is suitable for those looking to get their goods online, in an easy to manage web store, and for folk who have already set up their own sales site but want the benefits of being part of a small press shopping network.

"Think of it as a permanently open, online comic expo," he says.

Whatever you're looking to sell - comics, artwork, books, posters, sketches, graphic novels, or anything, with Comicsy, you can be up and running in no time," he continues. "Simply open your own 'Comicsy Shop', add your products, and start receiving orders.

"I've been looking at doing something like this for a long time but couldn't find any software that did exactly what I needed," Tim explains. "I'd given up for a while but some positive feedback about such a site like this on the spcomics.org forum sparked my interest again and I continued my search for something suitable and found it.

"After messing around in small press comics for a few years previously,  I went to the 2012 Bristol Comics Expo. I met a load of really nice people and was surprised at the skills, passion and commitment of all the exhibitors. There are so many talented folk, producing great stuff, yet they’re unknown outside of the scene.

"It seemed a shame that small press creators only had expos and conventions where they could come together and sell their products.

"Most of these comics creators and artists had their own websites but finding other related stuff involved trawling through the internet, not really knowing what to search for.

"I thought -  why not have a permanently online comic expo where goods are for sale 24/7? Strength in numbers and cross selling galore.

"There are some useful buyers and sellers guides on the site that explain the site’s functions but, in a nutshell, sellers can sell physical goods and post them out, offer digital downloads of their products, or link back to other websites if they sell directly from their own site or use a print on demand service like Lulu.

"Hopefully these three options means there’s something for everyone.

"If the site gets popular I have plans to develop it further, with extra services and better design.

"The advantage of being a member of the Comicsy network is that your goods will sit alongside other UK small press creator's work," he enthuses. "Buyers will be able to browse all items on the site, hopefully resulting in more sales for everyone.

"I hope this sounds an appealing idea to comic creators. Marketplace style websites have proven themselves to be a successful way to engage a target audience and generate sales. The small press industry here in the UK produces some amazing work.

"If this site can raise the profile of creators and the spread the goodness of self publishing, then it's got to be worth it."

• For more info on selling via Comicsy take a look at their sellers guide.

Wednesday, 1 August 2012

Caption 2012 - The Countdown Begins...

Limited Edition Caption T-Shirt available now, ordering details below
 This year's Caption small press and comics festival in Oxford is only 17 days away!

Guests include: Hannah Berry, Richy K. Chandler, Jade Sarson, David O’Connell, Al Davison, Hunt Emerson, Patrice Aggs, Robin Etherington, Woodrow Phoenix, Darryl Cunningham and Nicola Streeten.

Saturday 18 August

Doors open 10 a.m. Bar open from 10 for coffee, 12 for drinks.

12:00. PANEL: Good, Clean, Knockabout Fun! Publisher Tony Bennett joins artists Hunt Emerson ('Lady Chatterly's lover'), Krent Able ('Big Book Of Mischief') and Brick ('Depresso') to talk about 32 years of the controversial British comics company.

13:30. WORKSHOP with Al Davison. ‘The Alchemist's Easel: a rough guide to drawing the unconscious’

14:30. PANEL: Shedding Light on the Dark Art of Editing Comics. Woodrow Phoenix ('Nelson'), Corinne Pearlman (Myriad), John Anderson (Soaring Penquin) and Hannah Berry (First Fictions judge) discuss editing and commissioning comics and graphic novels.

16:30. PANEL: Myriad Editions. Myriad commissioning editor Corinne Pearlman discusses the output of the company alongside Woodrow Phoenix ('Rumble Strip'), Darryl Cunningham ('Science Tales'), Nicola Streeten ('Billy, Me & You') and Gareth Brookes ('The Black Project').

21:00. QUIZ by Tony Hitchman, ‘Dangerous when wet!’

Doors close 23:00

Sunday 19 August

Doors open 10 a.m. Bar open from 10 for coffee, 12 for drinks.

11.00. BOOK GROUP: Comic Gosh!p Book Club (escaping from London) discuss Maus (Art Spiegelman) & My Cardboard Life (Philippa Rice). Try to (re)read one or both of these before the informal discussion in the bar, so you can join in!

12:30. PANEL: Playing in Someone Else’s Sandbox. Cartoonists discuss the benefits of working on creator owned vs. pre-existing characters, featuring Richy Chandler ('Wallace & Grommit' in The Sun) , David Baillie (via video! - Russian 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'), Charles Cutting ('The Dream Quest of Randolph Carter') and Robin Etherington ('The Phoenix' / 'Transformers').

14.00. PANEL: The Phoenix - A Gallimaufry of Graphical Goodness. Daniel Hartwell (writer, ‘Pirates of the Pangaea’), Neill Cameron (artist, ‘Pirates of the Pangaea’), Adam Murphy (‘Corpse Talk’), Robin Etherington (writer, ‘Long Gone Don’), Patrice Aggs ('Blimpville') discuss year two of the popular British kids comic.

15.30. PANEL: America is not the Only Fruit. Manga influenced (and Manga Jiman shortlisted) small press creators Rebecca Burgess, Sarah Burgess, Jade Sarson and Joe Morgan discuss looking outside Anglo-American comics for inspiration with David O'Connell (Tozo, the public servant).

Doors Close 17:00



The website - www.caption.org - includes info on how to order the limited edition T-Shirt designed by Sarah MacIntyre, pictured above, which you can pre-order and pick up at Caption. Also, exclusively available at the event is the Caption 2012 programme featuring a brand new jam comic - 'How I spent my summer holiday' - by Hannah Berry (see above), Richy K. Chandler, Brick and more...

• Caption: 18th / 19th August 2012, East Oxford Community Centre, Cowley, Oxford OX4 1DD (Near to St. Clements 'Oxford Tube' stop)


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