This upcoming weekend is the big event for NYC comics fans–the Big Apple Convention. It’s scheduled for November 14-6 and all the relevant information can be found at the organizer’s website www.bigapplecon.com. Claypool fans will be interested in knowing that editor Richard Howell will be present for al three days at a table in the Artists’ Alley section of the convention floor. Please feel encouraged to come up and say hello, ask questions, or just touch base. Thanks.

Sorry for the short notice, but for any Claypool fans who might be in the NYC area this upcoming weekend (June 7 and 8, 2008), we’ll have a table at New York’s own Big Apple Convention, held at the Penn Plaza Pavilion. The hotel is directly across 7th Avenue from Penn Station, at 33rd Street, and is highly accessible by train (Penn Station), buses (Port Authority is a few blocks away), taxis, and by foot. The Big Apple Cons are always a blast and this one features some star power: Malcolm McDowell and Richard Dreyfuss are scheduled to attend, as is DARK SHADOWS’ Kathryn Leigh Scott. For Claypool loyalists, however, the big news is that our publisher, Ed Via, is–as of today–committed to make a rare convention appearance. If you’ve ever enjoyed a Claypool Comic (and/or are following our DEADBEATS ONLINE strip), come shake Ed’s hand. We couldn’t have come this far without him!

Well, another holiday season is upon us all–and that, as usual, also signifies that another year is coming to a close, so it’s time to take stock of how 2007 acted out around these parts. Here’s a rundown of the highs and lows of the past year.

One of the largest of the things that have changed–and the regulars and longtime fans are already very aware of this–is that Claypool Comics, the publishing company that I co-founded back in 1992 (publisher of the ongoing ELVIRA® MISTRESS OF THE DARKâ„¢ comics series, plus the three FEAR CITY titles, PHANTOM OF FEAR CITY, SOULSEARCHERS AND COMPANY, and DEADBEATS), has gotten out of the publishing business–paper publishing, at least. Our (and everybody’s) distributor to the world of specialty comic book stores, Diamond Comics Distribution, decided that our ongoing efforts to get buyers to purchase our product weren’t working to the extent that they required, so they informed us that they wouldn’t be carrying our comics anymore–effectively cancelling our entire line. The irony is that our comics were selling well enough so that our publisher, my partner Ed Via, was perfectly satisfied with our sales levels (and very supportive of our editorial direction), but without Diamond, there’s no efficient means to get our comics to the comics stores, so we went out of the business of publishing paper comics, effective as of this past February. Diamond was considerate enought to allow us an extra six months on our schedule to settle up some long-running plotlines, publish work that was already in progress, and to prepare our readers (and freelancers) for the coming cancellations, so we’re coming out of this relatively inventory-free. The final Claypool published product (for now) was the third DEADBEATS trade paperback collection (published May 2007) and from that point on, we’ve had nothing on the docket to be printed and distributed to the comics specialty store market.

Media distribution is a-changing now, during the computer age, and we’re adapting as best we can. If we’ve got no route to reach the comics reader we’ve been courting all along (“Comics for People Who Love to READ COMICS!” is our catchphrase–we’re supplying writing and concept work for intelligent, thoughtful, disciminating adults, and we’re certain that there are many of them out there), then we’ll find some other path. That path is the Internet. As of April 30th, 2007, our new, redesigned website debuted, with new entries for our talented creators (including credits, resumes, and some contact information for commisions and such), a PayPal installation for purchasing any of our available back issues, and–most importantly–the beginning of the new online DEADBEATS website comics series. That’s right, the Claypool series that inspired the most powerful loyalty, “Comics’ Premier VAMPIRE EPIC,” has moved to the Internet–a new format, a new frequency, but the same commitment and intensity. The series picks up immediately after the climactic events of the final published story cycle–”The Fall of Fear City”–with Kirby Collier (the series’ young hero and one of the sparse survivors of the town’s destruction) embarks on a mission to determine the level of ruination that Mystic Grove and its inhabitants have suffered. Along the way, Kirby and his companions-in-peril have to contend with their own regrets, their own losses, and–each night–the menaces that still infest Fear City, including the devolved horrors that once were the canny, calculating vampire band known as the DEADBEATS, but are now semi-human freaks known as Vampire Mutates.
The quest for righting the town’s ultimate wrong turn is conceived as an extended story arc, one which will involve many familiar faces, as well as a battery of new characters. A new installment of the ongoing series is uploaded every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Everyone’s encouraged to check in early and often at the claypool website and follow the link on the home page, .

Also, for the past few months, we’ve been “in talks,” as the expression goes, to revive SOULSEARCHERS AND COMPANY as an Internet comic–not on our website, either, rather on a new comics-content site which would run NEW adventures of our gadabout group of ghostbusters–in color (!) and by Peter David and an art-team-yet-to-be-determined. We’re also exploring the notion of posting the content of our back issues on this same website. So not only is Claypool not in full decline, we’re on the brink of staging a major comeback.

Beyond that, I’ve begun working for the mainstream again, collaborating with Kurt Busiek. Kurt’s an old friend and a multi-award-winning comics scripter (mostly for his creator-owned and much-lauded KURT BUSIEK’S ASTRO CITY series) who’s in the process of an ongoing contractual relationship with DC Comics and is–currently–the regular writer of DC’s SUPERMAN series. Recently, Kurt and I co-plotted and I laid out (to be finished by the excellent Eduardo Barreto) a one-issue “SUPERMAN” issue which guest-starred Wonder Woman and introduced Khyrana, a new super-villainess into the DC universe. Our editor (and Kurt) thought that Khyrana presented enough story material so when Kurt proposed that he and I explore her potential in four additional issues of WONDER WOMAN. This sideline activity is scheduled to effectively claim most of the professional time that had previously been dedicated to editing (and co-plotting, and sometimes writing and/or drawing) the now-departed three Claypool series, SOULSEARCHERS AND COMPANY, PHANTOM OF FEAR CITY, and ELVIRA® MISTRESS OF THE DARKâ„¢, so I’m neither idle nor starving.
Interestingly enough, Kurt called me this past Memorial Day weekend to remind me of the following factoid: That it was twenty-five years ago that week that he and I “broke in” to the big-time comics business, each being hired by DC then-editor Ernie Colon to write (him) and draw (me) a back-up “Tales of the Green Lantern Corps” feature for GREEN LANTERN #162. I hadn’t thought about that particular milestone in anything but the abstract for quite a while, but it’s somewhat sobering: Twenty-five years in the business–and I was already mostly consumed by the whole comics-creator experience. My creator-owned “alternative” comics series PORTIA PRINZ OF THE GLAMAZONS (“The World’s Foremost Pseudo-Intellectual Super-Heroine!”) made her debut in 1974, was first published in 1977, and is still extant in some form or another (Portia popped up to guide Bridget and Baraka of the Soulsearchers through the Artsy Dimension back in SS & CO. #65, May 2005, for instance).

There were a few other reverses this past year, too. A minor annoyance: The fellow here in town who’d been, for the past two years, a friend, a mentee, and–for one of those years–my Editorial Assistant, decided that since he wasn’t actively working for me (or learning from me) anymore, he was entitled to keep the various monies he owed me and property of mine that he’d borrowed. Naturally, I took exception to this, and after waiting for about seven months after he’d started his new job, finally confronted him about it. His response was to pay me a fraction of what he owed, request change (?), and then completely stop talking to me. As might be imagined, having a former friend flamboyantly snub you in the street is rather awkward, especially in a tiny town like Leonia. I haven’t given up on the whole mentoring process, but I consider this one–both the experiment and the subject–to be failures of the first order. Add to that some stress-related medical issues over the Summer, and the home life took something of a hit.

Somewhat more successful, although also troublesome in its own right, was my attempt to inch forward into the twenty-first century. Now that Claypool was in the process of becoming more and more Internet-based, I needed to upgrade my computer and elecrtonic systems, including my phone and cable (for high-speed Internet). It was a many-tiered undertaking, since the older computers I had wouldn’t accomodate OS 10 and I needed at least that in order to shift to high-speed and digital and all that. Basically, about seven different pieces of progress had to be implemented, and they all had to be done more or less concurrently. Of course, some things didn’t unfold precisely as they were supposed to, and the nice support staff of Time-Warner Cable became very familiar with my voice and face.
It took longer than I’d hoped to have the new system up and running with any assurance, and so I’ve really not devoted any time to all the various subsidiary advantages that my computers can provide–like iTunes, burning DVDs, or even scanning. I’m just glad that I can get my E-mail, access the Claypool website, and play around on Google, eBay, Amazon, etc. Eventually, I’ll be able to upload visuals directly to the website (and not have to rely exclusively on the expertise–and patience–of our webmaster Thom Zahler).

I’m still making appearances at comics conventions in Manhattan a few times per year, which keeps me in touch somewhat with the trends in the business and keeps my face out there somewhat in front of comics fans. I plan to continue this practice, and each and every member of the Claypool faithful is encouraged to stop by and say hello.

So I’m hoping, this holiday, that each and every one of you reading these words is/are as secure and satisfied with your lives as I am with mine, that the old maxim about good things happening to good people holds true, and that we’re all in comfort, if not necessarily in clover.

My best wishes to all, during this season of joy, and highest hopes for our futures.

It seems that the Mistress of the Dark is keeping herself not only very busy, but keeping herself in highly entertaining company. This just came in this morning:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Daniel Franzese Presents ‘Hollyween’ Art Opening at Legendary Hollywood Locale, Days Before All Hallows Eve

Los Angeles, California, October 4, 2007–Hot off the heels of the infamous “Golden Girls Gone Wild” extravaganza last month and the “Just Britney” art party that drew rave media reviews, the World of Wonder gallery in Hollywood now presents “HOLLYWEEN: Hollywood Vs. Halloween,” a deliciously morbid and tongue-in-cheek art show curated by “Mean Girls”‘s, “Bully’s,” and “Party Monster’s,” very own Daniel Franzese. The event will take place October 12, 2007 from 8 PM until midnight, the bewitching hour, at 6650 Hollywood Blvd. Festivities will kick off with a cocktail party hosted by Daniel, and will feature Tokio Bar’s DJ Sklyer and his notorious Hollywood v. Halloween mashups, as well as Hollywood musical indie staples, fre.ne.tik.

“As an actor I try and choose movies that know the genre they are in and try and push it forward,” says Daniel about the process of coordinating the opening. “It’s not worth making an artistic endeavor that doesn’t move itself at least an inch further than the one before it…I predict this event will move miles.”

The 45 artists involved in the exhibit have created pieces whose themes embody both, Halloween and Hollywood elements. Works that will be included lampoon media-saturated personalities such as Tom Cruise and Paris Hilton. Confirmed artists include but are not limited to: GlenHanson, Aaron Kraten, Eric Jungmann (“Not Another Teen Movie”), Tyler Shields, Sam Wooley, Plastic God, Manny Castro, award-winning writer Bert V. Royal (“Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead”) Adele Mildred and Cobrasnake. The event will include pieces
with prices ranging from $40 to $10,000.

Invited guests include John Waters, Keanu Reeves, Taryn Manning, Rosario Dawson, Carrie Fisher, Anna Faris, Justin Long, Paul Reubens, Robert Englund, James St. James, Elvira, Lizzy Caplan, Meagan Good, Agnes Bruckner, Andrew Keegan, Justin Chatwin, Shane West, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eli Roth, Anthony Rapp, Cobrasnake, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Kelli Garner, Joel Michaely and Logan Marshall Green. [NOTE:
Please do not post guests until they have been confirmed. Thanks!]

The legendary location of the opening will accentuate the colorful nature of the event. The World of Wonder gallery is owned by RandyBarbato and Fenton Bailey, producers of “Party Monster,” “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” and “Inside Deep Throat,” in addition to the VH1 television series “Perez Sez,” and Oxygen’s “Tori and Dean: Inn Love.” The production duo took ownership of what was once a converted porn shop on Hollywood Blvd. and turned it into the now-popular art gallery. The locale hosts monthly art exhibits that capture the zeitgeist of contemporary Hollywood and steal visitors’ imaginations on a nightly basis. The World of Wonder Art Gallery is located at 6650 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, California.

Hollyween website: myspace.com/hollywoodvshalloween
World Of Wonder Productions: worldofwonder.net/
fre.ne.tik: myspace.com/frenetik

10/9

Well, thanks to our talented (and patient) webmaster, Thom Zahler, I–Richard–have once again rediscovered the process through which I can post chatter, ramblings, and information to my own Editor’s Corner. So, without further ado…here’s an
ELVIRA UPDATE!
For all of you out there who’re missing our regular monthly ELVIRA comic book series (that grouping definitely includes me, Frank Strom, Ronn Sutton, Tod Smith, etc.) there’s a new ELVIRA TV series debuting at the end of this very week. It’s called “The Search for the New Elvira,” and should be a lot of fun. It’s being carried by the Fox Reality Channel, first showing at midnight on Saturday 10/12 and is based on the concept that Elvira and some of her cohorts will be involved in choosing the next Mistress of the Dark.
(I remember suggesting a gambit along these lines to Elvira’s then-manager Mark Pierson; the gist being based on the matriarchal magic triad and that eventually Elvira would be “promoted” from Mistress of the Dark to Queen of the Night and there’d be a need for a new Mistress of the Dark, whom Elvira would train. I expect that the new TV series is much less academic and more fun, with the patented ELVIRA “spin.”)
Anyway, the patented ELVIRA “spin” will–as it always is–very much on view in any effort featuring Elvira herself. Every fan of hers–and of her much-missed Claypool comic–is encouraged to tune in.

10/2
Another hearty hello to each and every stalwart seeker of all things Claypool. It’s been a while since our last check-in, and–somewhat sadly–it’s because things have been going so well in general; no rocking of the boat nor upsetting of the applecart. The DEADBEATS Internet comic strip is rollicking along, with new thrills and suspenseful situations with every episode (including “will it get posted on the right day?” and “at what point will Richard lose track of all the new characters?”) You, the reader, may be experiencing the most recent episode that titanic Thom Zahler has lettered and uploaded (more than likely #64 or #65) right now, but Richard’s scripted up through #74 (as of last weekend), and was–last night–finishing up the pencils on episodes #121 and #122. The ultra-reliable Ricardo Villagran has embellished up through episode #92, and there seems to be no end in sight to the aforementioned thrills and suspenseful situations–with the possible exception of “when’s the first deadline that they miss?” From the looks of things, that isn’t going to happen.
I wish very much that I had an update on the plans to relaunch part of the Claypool Comics line, but at present there’s just no news. Everyone involved wants very much for it to happen, but arrangements have to be finalized and some papers have to get signed before anything official can be announced. That part of the project is in progress, so expect some word…SOON!
Beyond that, let’s see: Does anyone out there have an interest in original comics art? It’s fairly common knowledge that I, Claypool editor Richard Howell, have been very involved in that hobby for many years now, and recently–with the intercession of friends like Peter Sanderson and Jim Salicrip–I’ve become a resource for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in Manhattan. Their recently-concluded Salute to Stan Lee show featured almost twenty examples of art from the Legendary Howell/Kalish Collection, and we’re currently in talks (it seems as if there’s a lot of talking going on here–how about a listening tour, just for variety?) to contribute a few choice pieces to MoCCA’s upcoming “Monsters in the Comics” mounting. Naturally, that topic is right up the alley of someone who’s not only an art collector, but also the editor of approximately sixteen years of horror-oriented comics (there were the few pre-Claypool years while I–along with art director Jesse Reyes–was editing the VAMPIRELLA/CREEPY/EERIE revival at Harris Comics), I’ve had access to oversee–and, in some cases, make arrangements to acquire–many choice monsteriffic pages. I’m hoping that this show will be as successful as the Stan Lee outing, and also that anyone in the Tri-State Area will consider attending and supporting the MoCCA. They’ve got a website: www.moccany.org, with lots of information about the shows and the Museum in general.
Also, it looks pretty good that I’ll be able to arrange to make a personal appearance at the upcoming Big Apple Con, also in Manhattan, this coming November. I’ll be doing sketches, accepting commissions, and flogging the DEADBEATS INTERNET strip, and selling FEAR CITY comics (no ELVIRAs, remember?). There’s no substitute for personal contact, so if anyone’s nearby and feels like saying “hello” to a slightly under-employed Comic Book Editor, please feel encouraged to do so.
That’s it for now. I hope to hear from more of you. Let me know how you’re doing, how you’re enjoying the DEADBEATS INTERNET strip, and whatever else is on your minds.
Happy Autumn, everyone!

ello to all who’re reading these words. I’d like to make sure that everyone who’s a Claypool fan, an ELVIRA fan, a DEADBEATS fan, whatever, is aware that this interactive weblog’s recent neglect has nothing to do with our abandoning our commitment to make this site as responsive as possible to you, but rather that I (Richard) am learning as I go, trying to make the prospect of visiting the Claypool site a pleasant one, not waste anyone’s time with useless bloviations, and keep everyone updated on Things Claypool. I’m hoping to make these Editorial Essays a much, much more freqent occasion, and in the process encourage our fans to also become more active in the dialogue.
The first point of interest on which to comment is that the DEADBEATS Internet comic is chugging along fine, and that we’ve reached forty episodes (as of this past Monday). The story–once described as being “a cross between THE DAY AFTER DOOMSDAY and THE CANTERBURY TALES, in the TINTIN format…and with vampires” seems to be playing out well, and we’re getting good hits. The cult of DEADBEATS doesn’t seem to be willing to die quite yet.
Also, in the greater world of Claypool, there’ll be a meeting of the major players two weeks from now, in Tarrytown NY (at a DARK SHADOWS Festival, appropriately enough). I’ll be taking a train from NYC to Tarrytown and meeting up with legendary Claypool publisher Ed Via and his wife Sandy (who’s also been our company comptroller for most of our existence) and we’re going to be discussing a number of Claypool-related matters, including possibly a new home for one of our series. Naturally, the readers who check in on this website will be the first to know what’s going to be going on (if anything will). It’s exciting to think that we’ll be able to reintroduce some of our characters to a waiting world–including those parts of the world who haven’t realized yet that they were waiting to see these characters–and make it at least as effective a launch as the previous time.
Other than that, life’s been somewhat quiet. The NY/NJ area’s struggling under a heat wave and that makes it somewhat harder to be mustering up a lot of energy, creatively or otherwise. Fortunately, I’m far enough ahead on the DEADBEATS Internet strip so that I’ll never, ever (he wrote, hopefully) get behind on my deadlines. I guess that it took a circumstance of about 3/5 of my assigned work going away to enable me to handle everything that was left on myplate.
Along those lines, since my Claypool duties are at a lull just now, I’ve begun writing a novel–one that I’ve had aspirations towards writing for many years now, but never been able to block out quite enough time to start. Now, I’ve ample spare time and would like to stop being one of those poseurs who claims to have at least one good novel in him, let alone one who’s claimed to possess an entire, extended fantasy novel series of which he’s yet to write a single chapter. (Come on, we each know someone like that–!) Now, finally, I’ll be able to transcend my poseur-itude and Do the Work. I know that this’ll be a great learning experience for me–already I’ve discovered that I’d come to rely on having the pictures tell half the story for me (big surprise) and I’m going to have to make decisions–hopefully intelligent ones–about how much visual information I could or should pack into the text narrative: How much description is going to be necessary to encourage the reader’s visualization of the different characters and/or settings? When I’m drawing DEADBEATS, everyone’s look is predetermined, and if it changes, it’s got not only a narrative function but also an immediate visual shift. Does it matter if my new lead character is short, tall, dark, light, handsome, plain? It may, in some way that informs how he interacts with his environment, but I’ll have to decide that and make it work.
Also, my longtime collaborator Kurt Busiek and I are going to engage in yet another feat of integrative derring-do: Following our successful joint effort in producing SUPERMAN #661 (April 2007), Kurt and I got clearance of the SUPERMAN editorial staff to do more work together on more DC issues. What with the introduction of the tragic villainess Khyrana, Kurt and I got the thumbs-up to extend her story in a series of issues of WONDER WOMAN. We’re working out the creative details, and I expect that it’ll be exciting, intriguing, and fun for all. As with the earlier issue, Kurt and I will be co-plotting, I’ll be delivering the page layouts (under Kurt’s active supervision), and Eduardo Barreto will be reworking the layouts into finished, polished art. It worked out pretty well in SUPERMAN #661, despite some fairly severe deadline pressure, so we’re expecting that the follow-up issues will look better, read better, and simply be better. Nothing’s been scheduled yet, but I’ll let out whatever news there is, once it exists.
That’s it for now. Please feel free to send in whatever comments, questions, or observations that occur. I’m going to be very available for feedback, answers, or countercommentary.

A couple of inquiries have come in (off-site) about the format of the DEADBEATS Internet webcomic, and what readers can expect. Obviously, the story picks up from the end of the final issue (#82) of the published series (a few moments before, actually) and carries the saga forward, as Kirby Collier is returned to Mystic Grove and finds it in ruins, the prophecized destruction having occurred in his absence. From that point, Kirby will face a dark, desolate version of his beloved hometown and will undertake to salvage as much as he can of the tragic situation. This will take him through many surprises and shocks, as long-time “Deadbeats” readers may expect. (New readers are in for a treat.)
As for the format: The half-page format is optimal to maximize the image area on the average computer screen, and will enable the story to move along at a good clip. We’ve got the allotments scheduled out so that we’ll be posting a new one three days a week, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This’ll be a whole different animal, pacing-wise, than the bi-monthly 24-page chunks, but we predict that once our readers get into the swing of the story beats, you’ll experience a different, perhaps equally involving level of expectation and suspense. That’s most assuredly what we’re aiming for.
This Wednesday (not long from now, as I write this), the reality of the Fall of Fear City hits Kirby; on Friday, he begins to encounter some survivors. There’ll be something worth checking in for with every new chapter, so we strongly recommend bookmarking claypoolcomics.com and making it a regular beachhead on your websurfing (but if it’s impossible, once or twice, rest assured that the webcomic installments will be archived).

Those are the basics. If there are any questions, this is the place to ask them.

Hello and our most meaningful greetings to everyone reading these words. If you’re here, it means that either you’re one of those wonderful Claypool readers, who’ve been following and supporting our published comics while they were still extant (1993-2007) or that you’ve heard enough about the Claypool approach to comics storytelling that you wanted to investigate what was available–and found our website. (Of course, you could just be web-surfing and hit a keyword like “intense” or “intelligent” or “polysyllabic,” right?)
Anyway, welcome to the new, upgraded Claypool Comics website. This is the place to be for anyone who’d like to complete collections, chat about content, or–perhaps most importantly–the site for the continuation of the sole (for now) original material from the Claypool Comics line, the Internet presentation of the “Deadbeats” saga on a three-times-per-week basis.
This’ll be the place for anyone who’s been, who’s newly become, or who’s ever been interested in or intrigued by the Claypool Comics output to post, to sound off, or to ask questions. What’s on your mind? We won’t know unless you tell us, so consider this an ongoing invitation to do that very thing.