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CONTRACT - getting good reviews. What are your opinions? [images, mildly nsfw]
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Uh... Yeah I am proud of MY comic book.
And you don't like (or read) 2 books that he reviewed. Fine... but what about all the other books reviewed on his site?
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look, you can be proud of your book and all.
I'm just saying posting a review by a dude who loves the Jenna Jameson comic and is pretty much all about cheesecake, really isn't going to help people be convinced your book is good.
It's like getting an endorsment from a baby raper.
Sure it may be glowing, but the dude rapes babies.
You are actually comparing a guy who REVIEWED some comics to a pedophile?
And the review regarding the Jenna Jameson book, he seemed indifferent towards it. Ie. It wasn't good yet it wasn't horrible. Very indifferent. He liked the art but story was lacking. So I don't know where you got that he LOVED it!
BUT I notice that you don't mention any other books that he has reviewed, say his review of Atomic Robo, as seen below, so by your reasoning don't listen to any review by this guy cause he REVIEWED Bomb Queen, Tarot and Jenna Jameson. Notice I didn't say he LOVED them merely that he reviewed them.
Atomic Robo #5 ~ More fun as Robo and his team explore a secret base and fight cyborgs. Clevinger's customary pop-culture-savvy dry wit is present as always, but this issue his use of pacing really stands out - there are several panels, even pages, that you'd normally see truncated or removed from a comic to pack in more action and dialogue, but they work effectively to build a mood and a sense of the rhythm of the story. Two whole pages are spent silently exploring the base, and far from being contentless, they function like a montage, slowly drawing you into the feeling of the situation the Action Scientists are in, working their way deeper into the place, with the ever-present possibility of attack. It's really refreshing to see comics done like this, and it offsets the familiar action scenes, and their smart-ass quips, very nicely indeed.
(Seems like a pretty good review of AR #5 to me...)
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I gotcha. And really LB I understand your comments, I mean there are people who's movie reviews and so forth I just don't listen to anymore BECAUSE what they like is so different from what I like. But before I came to that decision I listened to their opinions. All I'm saying don't dismiss something just cause you glanced at it briefly. We all have differences of opinions. The world would be a REALLY dull place if we didn't, but at least listen to an opinion objectively, and more importantly, the reasons behind it before forming your own.
Thanks LB, and HOPEFULLY you will pick up CONTRACT when it comes out, give it a try and I'd LOVE to hear YOUR opinions on it afterwards.
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http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080609-BestShots080609.html
CONTRACT #0
Story by Garan Madeiros and Charlie Shell
Art by Dave Ross, Sal Velluto, Kevin Sharpe, Ariel Padilla, and Mark McKenna
Published by First Salvo
When I first even heard about this book, it was on my comic shop's list of titles for the upcoming week. I feel it's important, nay, almost an OBLIGATION to at least check out some independent titles on occasion. You don't want to be that sucker that's missing out on a great read just because it doesn't have the press machine that Marvel or DC has.
To quote the Diamond's May Previews: "In a capitalist world's dark future, Mercenary is no longer just a soldier for hire. It's a way of life. Law is enforced by cyber-powered Mercs and life or death is decided by the lowest bidder. There is no right or wrong beyond the price in hard currency. Jessie Garrett, however, is everything most Mercs are not: honest, selfless and determined to bring order to greed-hardened worlds, driven mad by money. But when a corporate kidnapping goes wrong, Jessie, and fellow Mercs, Panzer and Tsumi, get in over their heads."
Now, just reading that I had a flashback to 9th grade games of Rifts after school. Also, the main character, Jessie, looks like an amalgamation between Marshall Bravestarr and Judge J.B. McBride, but I think that's just me. The story is pretty solid. Madeiros and Shell don't just have a script, they have a world. It's not as bizarre as the Marvel 2099 future, but outlandish and entertaining enough to have kept me interested to where I wonder what will happen next. It's seriously a fun read, sort of what "Battle Chasers" was, only in a cyber-western environment. One complaint though, similar to what Robert Jordan did with his epic Wheel of Time series, I would include a glossary in the front or back to explain some of the terminology. Just like how I wish Peter David had included one on his "Dark Tower" series.
A plethora of artists worked together, though the one that stood out for me was Kevin Sharpe. His style is almost J. Scott Campbell meets Adam Hughes. I would love to see this guy become just as popular as the forementioned artists. Any fan of such shows like "Firefly" or the mutually short-lived "Bionic Woman" would love to get a hold of these issues when they hit shelves. Though that itself can be problematic. A lot of big chain stores don't order independent books like this unless it has huge press behind it. Or possibly is about to made into a movie...or some ordeal like that. So more than likely you are going to have to ask for this (I had to at my girlfriend's shop) so it CAN fill the shelves. Okay, so maybe not fill the shelves...that would mean nobody is buying it. You get the gist though. Now, the company knows you are taking a risk on an unknown, independent comic so Contract #0 will only cost you a mere $0.25! So, if you've got the time, and the spare quarter, check this title out. What do you have to lose?
--So you know, the first issue will have a glossary of sorts.
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It was fair sales wise I believe, Danger's Dozen was by a different creative team but I help out with alot of the prepress stuff on it. Ie Setting up the issues to send to the printers etc. (Still a heck of allot of work! LOL)
But CONTRACT seems be be getting a better response with readers.
Oh yeah I may have mentioned it before but CSN is doing a cover story for CONTRACT in issue #1096 which will be out June 18th! 8-)
So keep a look out for that.
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Hey that looks kinda cool! I'm gonna have to look up more info on that series. Seems like something I would like.
I've been told that Jessie reminds people of characters from Bravestar and Galaxy Rangers but honestly I had never seen these shows, (However, I am buying them now on DVD) see here in Bermuda we only had like 2 channels and only the lucky kids with satellite dishes got all the good cartoons like Robotech. ( And yeah I still feel bitter about it, Rassum frassum rich kids and their cartoons... )
I guess you can only design a "western motif" so many ways.
But you know, thats kinda what I wanted from this series too, in other words yes you have seen some of this before and so you are automatically familiar with it. In this way you can get into the story without a huge diatribe or explanation. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel, what I want stories and characters that a reader jump right into and can just sit down and enjoy every month.
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If you're able to share this info, I was wondering what sales level you guys would consider to be a success. Looking at Diamond's top 300 each month tells me that the small publishers are lucky to push a couple thousand per issue.
Selling my 16GB Wifi iPad 1. UK people only, £150. PM me.
Hi Mask, Im not actually able to share that info BUT you absolutely are correct, usually smaller publishers have a much harder time out there. They don't have the money to spend on book promotions and so on that the big boys do. Most shops are hesitant to pick up Indy books because they don't know if a series will continue past a few issues. But its a "catch 22" cause obviously if no shops order the series no more will come out. Thats one of the reason I decided on the low cost #0 preview issue and then a 3 issue initial miniseries, followed by 3 one shots. Makes it alot less risk for readers and retailers.
As for what I would garner as success. I want to see CONTRACT make it on the top 300. however, I would see a DEFINITE successful book hitting around the 8,000 to 10,000 sales range.
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I'm looking to do a trade eventually but in order for Amazon to carry it you have to be publishing for a year (I may be misquoting, its something to do with Diamond book distribution). If that is the case I may be able to get Amazon to carry, but again, these are things I have to double check with Diamond and whatnot.
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If you got 8k, that'd be phenomenal. The Marvel Adventures books and X-Men First Class don't push that many units per month.
I'd really like to see what kind of profit an indie creator makes off a book selling below 20k.
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At 8k, you see Grimms fairy tales hover around there, even Tarot, thats when I say you are really seeing a successful book. It's starting to stand on its own more.
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I'd love to see some examples of comics with plain looking leads that ended up not selling, because honestly, I've never heard of one.
I've gotta say, I feel the same as Keith. I love huge boobs, but honestly seeing that kind of art on the cover just screams 'We hope you like boobs and guns, because we don't have much else!' It's pretty much a hallmark of crappy indie softcore porn comics. I'm not saying yours is like that, but it's the impression it gives off.
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Yeah apparently some were shipped the last week and some were shipped this week. I guess it depended which distribution facility the comic shop is supplied from.
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Thanks, Mask. The preview issue was mostly to give new readers a sample of the story and characters for a low price to see if they are interested. Kevin has done a complete Jessie-one shot that will be out following the first miniseries.
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Oh my God! The Judge! She looks just like the Judge! It didn't hit me until you said it!
*edit* Yup, Judge JB. She even has the hat
LOL, yeah they do look similar. It's the red hair. :lol:
And well every cowgirls gotta have a hat...
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All in all I think you have me hooked for at least the first few issues.
The color does pull it together more, I like it alot better in color myself.
LOL! Thanks for the comments. Her drawl is just something she was doing to tease Ellison but I used it as a tool as well, it gives a certain impression straight off the bat. The southern drawl, particularly with women, is synonymous with a nice friendly farm girl personality, I wanted the reader to get that first impression of Jessie in as few pages as possible.
I think you will have fun with the first miniseries and I'm glad your hooked for the first few issues.
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LOL, well I will be following up with 3 one shots focusing on each of the three main characters. Hopefully I have him hooked for them as well. :lol:
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Contract #0 & #1 by A First Salvo (W: Garan Madeiros /Charles Shell A: Dave Ross/Sal Vellutto/Kevin Sharpe/Mark McKenna/Ariel Padilla)
Bob: Thumbs Up John: Thumbs Up
DO NOT pass on the series based on the presentation in #0, but if you liked #0, you’re in for a treat when the super-sized, full-color #1 comes out.
What is wrong with #0? It is in B&W, whereas #1 is color. The art suffers (A LOT) in B&W. The art is nicely differentiated (via different planes; foreground/background/etc.) by the color in issue #1. This is totally missing in the B&W #0. I think an artist needs to adopt a certain style when drawing something that will be B&W that is different from the style used for color. Since the stuff reproduced in #0 seems to have been drawn for the color #1 issue, the artists did not follow any kind of artistic style that would make the art clearer in B&W.
Regarding #1: The color really enhances the art. Foreground/background differentiations “popâ€, the art takes on a whole new life. I like the universe that has been set up here, and the main character (Jessie Garret) is really brought to life in this issue. Several stories highlight different aspects of the team from “Stellar Rangers, Inc.†and we really get a feeling (through how she acts) that Jessie is a “tough as nails, but with a heart of gold†type of character, and that was very appealing to me. I’m looking forward to seeing how the main story (continued in #2) plays out. There were 3 additional stand-alone tales to round out the 40 pages of story in this debut issue. Each one of these fleshed out another aspect of the world and the relationships between the team members.
Also be sure to keep a lookout for CSN this week as they did a cover story on CONTRACT
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Opinion: Wow! I’ll be honest—personally I like sticking with Marvel and DC comics, but I was blown away at how much fun this comic was. It’s great! From the dialogue to the story to the art, this is definitely a cool comic you’d be nuts to miss out on!
See my full review after the jump!
Jessie (featured on the cover), Panzer, and Tsumi are three of the most interesting and original characters I’ve seen in awhile, and it was just awesome seeing them interact. They’re definitely believable in the sense that they work together and have for a long time. Their personalities really stand out on the page, and the dialogue is hilarious and light-hearted.
Jumping into this new mini-series was like watching a beloved nineties cartoon from my childhood (and I mean that in a good way, of course), and not just because the art—which isn’t extremely detailed but at the same time is pretty friggin’ good—reminds me of a style similar to X-men: The Animated Series, one of my favorite superhero shows growing up (coming from me … that’s a HUGE compliment). The stories are so … well, they’re stories. It’s actually about the characters and telling a fun adventure here. And trust me, this comic delivers with a stinging punch and leaves an aftertaste that is way more satisfying than I ever expected.
I really want to see more of this, and you shouldn’t miss out on it, either, especially if you’re looking for something new and fresh. And not to mention it’s jumbo-packed with around forty pages of story. I was totally sucked in, and you get this sense for the world that makes it feel big and worth exploring.
So I’m kind of sad that this story arc only has three total parts. I’ll be reviewing #2 soon, though, so I’m looking forward to that in the meantime.
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Don"t you do that to me Grifter! You'll make me look like I shipped late! LOL
No CONTRACT #1 will be out July 30th.
By the way another review, found at: http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/121549270775047.htm
NOTE: Contract #1 will be available in stores Wednesday, July 30th.
Contract is set in a future where mercenaries are the law, and they bid on jobs as if justice were up for sale on Ebay. A team of mercenaries take a job looking into a corporate kidnapping, but things seem to run a little deeper then just an abduction when they come across a room filled with dead bodies, all of which are missing their organs. Now the team not only has to find a missing girl, but also find out why the bodies have been harvested and for what the organs will be used.
Boy, do I wish it were 1988. Why? Because then Paul Verhoeven would be making an awesome movie version of this comic. Madeiros and Shell must be new to the industry -- I haven't seen anything else by them. If this is their first time out, good job. The writing is a nice pairing of wit and grit. The banter between the three main characters actually induces laughter. Congrats guys, you're now part of a very short list of writers who have gotten this reviewer to laugh out loud at a comic, and in a good way. It's fun, just plain good 'ole fun. The plot's interesting, it revolves around a kidnapping, but the take on it is what keeps it from being just another kidnapping story. And yeah, there are some things that hit the cliché button, but what hasn't been done already in the Sci-Fi genre?
The main characters are solid and well rounded, there's no questioning what motives they have, and they aren't in the least transparent. It's nice to see a woman (Jessie) take the lead character role that isn't bordering on über fem-Nazi; she has a heart, and can still kick some ass. Her seconds, Panzer and Tsumi, add that well-rounded team feeling; a triad of kick-assery. Panzer is the mech-armed strong man that some might call an action cliché, but I think that we've all seen enough Schwarzenegger films to know that a giant European guy who likes to break things makes action stories great. And Tsumi, he's the straight man (every team needs one), plus he's a ninja, and who doesn't love a dry witted ninja?
The art, for being done by several artists, is fantastic. You would think that with all of the pencilers they've got attached to this it would be a "too many cooks in the kitchen" scenario, but they seem to have a good flow going from chapter to chapter. The artwork is not as streamlined or vibrant as other futuristic books, but do we really need another silver jumpsuit fashion show? The world that this comic takes place in certainly isn't a beautiful one -- this future is a dirty place filled with organ harvesters and RPG programmed super robots. The art really fits the storytelling well.
Something new lettering wise, at least to me, was added: while talking through a phone/com link, the dialogue bubbles had a new technical pattern. That was something that stood out and was appreciated.
I don't get to use the word "tremendous" too often; I only bring it out when something really deserves it. Contract deserves it. Madeiros and Shell have created a first comic people should remember, but it's likely to get passed up in the store because it'll get buried behind the more popular comics on the shelf. That would be unfortunate and shouldn't happen.
Again – tremendous. Make sure you hunt this one out in the store. If you see it pushed to the back of the shelf, give it a bump to the front, and make some space for it. It needs love. It's a definite read for the fans of Total Recall and Cowboy Bebop.
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CONTRACT#1 release is only days away (July 30th) and I just wanted to thank all you guys and gals who have shown interest in the book. I look forward to hearing some feedback after it hits the shelves.
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I'm actually up in Canada on vacation so I go down to the LCS out here and they got there shipment in a bit late.
All I wanted to do was SEE CONTRACT#1 as I haven't seen the final product yet! So I have to go back tomorrow to see my book...
WEBCOMICS: UPDATED EVERY FRIDAY!!!
WEBCOMICS: UPDATED EVERY FRIDAY!!!