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thoughts

This Has Been “Blog of Tomorrow,” A Patreon Launch Event

November 30, 2016 by krisis

What a month!

patreon-wideThis is the final post of my “Blog of Tomorrow” event, where I blogged as if it was my full-time job for the entire month of November. The event celebrated the launch of a Patreon campaign to offset the costs of running CrushingKrisis.

I enjoy both dreaming up big, seemingly insane projects and participating in big, seemingly undoable events. That’s how I got myself into things like recording a song an hour for Blogathon, volunteering with Blame Drew’s Cancer, and participating in National Novel Writing Month.

I knew that launching a Patreon for CK had to be accompanied by one of those big, insane, undoable things. Thus, the content overload this month. Seriously, it was an epic, unwarranted amount of content. Writing it may have been the single most difficult thing I’ve achieved in life. There were points where I just hated words. And comic books. I definitely spent some time hating comic books.

I also proved to myself that I really do have the energy, inspiration, and focus to create the kinds of content I’ve wanted to feature on CK for so many years. All I’ve ever lacked was time.

All of November’s content was written between October 12th and this very moment, with the exception of the skeleton of the Ultimate Comics Guide, which I started researching in September, and Friday Fiction, which was originally written over the past six years and edited for this month. Since linking and editing takes time, I’m still including them both in the wordcount. 

That content totals 133,746 words, or about one adult-lengthed paperback book. That was split between 109,944 words in 92 posts (including this one) and 23,802 words in 4 new pages.

While 92 posts could maintain daily posts on CK for an entire quarter, an average month of CK content is historically only a little over 10,000 words, which means this month contained the effective content of an entire average year of Crushing Krisis.

This month represents 6.33% of CK’s total word count in .5% of its lifetime, 2% of its 16 years of posts, and 3.45% of its total pages.

The material took 182 hours to write, edit, and illustrate with media. Had I done it all in a single month, it would have required 42.5hr work weeks.

Spread across the days since October 12th it represented 25.5hr work weeks. That doesn’t include time I spent on any of the content on Patreon itself, time spent on social media posts to promote CK, or time spent setting up and playing the streaming concerts. And, aside from calling in Mother of Krisis for a day and a half of relief over the course of the month, I spent all of that time doing my typical amount of parenting.

So, to answer my own question: yes, I really could turn CK into a full-time endeavor. In fact, I’d be happy to, if if that’s what my Patrons wanted – but, that’s has never been the goal of this month.

If you’ve found this month entertaining, or interesting, or useful, please consider contributing to my campaign.

If you have a suggestion for a pledge goal content reward or a pledge level reward that would make you want to pledge, please comment to let me know.

Thank you!

Filed Under: thoughts Tagged With: Patreon

From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe – Deathblow #13-15

November 27, 2016 by krisis

[Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug][/Patreon-Nov16-Post-Bug]It’s time to return to Deathblow without Tim Sale and after the epic tale of the Black Angel, and I had no idea what to expect.

What I do know is that Brandon Choi is now down to scripting just this and Gen13, and I miss the guy! Not only for his consistency, but for the way the entire WildStorm Universe gelled under his pen.

deathblow_013As great as Choi was on the global intrigue of Stormwatch and the teen angst of Gen13, something about this pair of procedural tales makes me think his heart remains in these gun-for-hire stories. These three issues are by far the best of Deathblow yet, despite them having nothing to do with his mega-arc with the Black Angel.

Choi imports of a noirish the vampires and werewolves from Wetworks for a noirish tale in issues #13-14. It works perfectly to establish Michael Cray’s new status quo nine months after his battle with the Black Angel. Now he’s a gun for hire who can’t help but step into supernatural affairs.

The story is tense, bloody, and maybe the first true mystery tale we’ve seen from WildStorm. It also feels an issue or two longer than it actually is (in a good way) thanks to being packed with plenty of rising action and fine details.

Similarly, the Navy Seals one-shot that follows is a satisfying standalone story that fleshes out the mysterious Gamorra mission where Michael Cray met Mr. Waering. It also ties in some plot threads from as early as Deathblow #0, with the Seals-in-training on the base all gunning for Cray’s head due to the spectacular bloodbath of Costa Mesa. It’s a thrilling little mystery with no easy resolution that leaves us as confused as Cray.

On art, original Stormwatch inker Trevor Scott has made the leap to penciller and his work is perfect for Deathblow! He’s nowhere near Sale’s look – and more like Whilce Portacio than Jim Lee. As amazing as Sale’s approach was, there is something deeply satisfying about seeing Deathblow drawn in Image’s house style. There’s nary a bad page here, and some truly interesting panel work. Scott isn’t addicted to splash pages like most Image artists, and he delivers a lot of interesting framing, smaller sequential panels, and silhouetted bodies.

At the start we’re back to the sickly gray and green palette from colorist Ben Fernandez, which will give you whiplash if you’re coming directly from Linda Medley’s warm limited palette on the last arc. Fernandez warms things up when Cray touches down in LA. It’s such a relief to see some saturated reds that aren’t blood (although, there is still plenty of blood). Issue #15 has downright normal colors as we see Cray driving the I-5 by day.

The Choi/Scott synergy on this trio of issues is remarkable. These are two of the first totally throwaway, fill-in types of stories we’ve seen on any WildStorm book, yet they both are gripping reads that only serve to make what came before more interesting.

Want the recap? Keep reading for the full plots of this trio of awesome issues. Here’s the schedule for the rest of this month’s WildStorm re-read. We’re in the home stretch! Tomorrow brings us Union (1995) #1-3 & Gen13 (1995) #0-1 (in two separate posts), followed by Team 7: Objective: Hell (1995) #1-3 on Tuesday, and then we’ve reached the main event – WildStorm Rising!

Need the issues? These issues have never been collected. For single issues try eBay (#10-12) or Amazon (#13, 14, 15). [Read more…] about From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe – Deathblow #13-15

Filed Under: comic books, thoughts Tagged With: Ben Fernandez, Brandon Choi, Deathblow, From The Beginning, From The Beginning: WildStorm Universe, Image Comics, Trevor Scott, Wetworks, Wildstorm

on action

November 9, 2016 by krisis

I want to talk to you for a moment about the difference between support and action.

It has both nothing and everything to do with politics, but it’s not political.

Two years ago I lost a friend and one of the people I loved most on this planet, Dante Bucci. It was a crushing loss and still is. I can’t even type his name without crying, so I am crying right now as I write this.

dante-hands-photo-pic-5I saw so many friends who I hadn’t seen in a long time at the events held to remember Dante’s life. I gave all of those friends massive hugs, because that’s what Dante did every time he saw me. I spoke to them. We shared stories with one another.

One conversation, in particular, sticks out. It was with a brilliant musician and a phenomenally kind human being. As we talked, I excitedly rattled of all of the aspects of her life I was proud and excited to be supporting. Her shows, her new songs, her tours. She looked genuinely shocked.

“Wow, Peter,” she said with a huge smile, “I had no idea you cared so much!”

“Well, I LIKE all of your posts and I listen to your songs!” I replied. We kept talking and we’ve kept on talking since then, but I haven’t liked any more of her posts.

I haven’t liked, or hearted, or little round angry-faced a single message on Facebook since that day.

I think of all the times I silently supported Dante instead of telling him I loved him, that he was brilliant, and that he made me want to be a better musician. I think of that musician friend and how she had no idea how much I cared about her success.

Now, every time I am tempted to add my silent support to something I instead say those words of support. When I love one of my friends’ songs I tell them about it in the most effusive language I can summon.

Like buttons, smiley faces, emojis, and animated GIFs are fun because pictures can be worth a 1,000 words. They are a wonderful shorthand for support, agreement, and affection. People treat them as digital currency.

Don’t let having them at your disposal cause you to lose sight of the power of words – not just words spoken to those you care about, but even to strangers who have said or done something you value.

There are people today across America who are expressing very personal feelings – fears and aspirations – and you are going to be tempted to use your hands to click a button to express your support for them. Please don’t. Please use your voice to say something instead. I promise you, it’s going to matter so much to them.

Furthermore, don’t let your ability to comment in support from the comfort of your home and your own bubble of safety cause you to lose sight of the power of action. Going to dinner with a friend is action. Going to a show is an action. Hugging someone you love is an action. Intervening if you see someone else being harassed or bullied is an action.

So is voting.

Please take action when you can, my readers, when you feel able and safe to do so When you can’t please make your voice heard.

Please be safe and well. And, if you ever need to talk, I’m only a tweet or an email away.

Filed Under: thoughts, Year 17

Vote!

November 8, 2016 by krisis

EV has accompanied me to the voting booth for every election since the 2014 primary, so the people at our polling place know her on sight even when I am an ever-changing chameleon who then was short-haired and in business clothes but now has long purple hair and wears cowboy boots.

“She’s getting so big!” one older woman exclaimed. EV is now too large to perch on the edge of the card tables while I sign my name to the voter rolls

“Are you going to help your dad vote today?” ask another.

EV responded with her shy toddler smile, and I said, “Well, it is the most exciting thing you can do.”

The older woman chastised me, “Your life must not be very exciting, then.”

My response?

“What could be more exciting than having the right to vote?”

Filed Under: thoughts

Crushing Krisis: Blog of Tomorrow (a Patreon launch event)

November 1, 2016 by krisis

Behind-the-Scenes at the Patreon Introduction Video

Behind-the-Scenes at the Patreon Introduction Video

patreon-squareWelcome to a very special month of Crushing Krisis, which I have dubbed “Blog of Tomorrow”!

Why is it so special? I’m glad you asked!

I am marking my ten-year anniversary of using WordPress with the launch of a Patreon campaign. Patreon allows readers to become Patrons who cover the costs of running CK.

Rather than tempt you to pledge your support with promises of future content you can only imagine (and that I might not be able to produce), I’m bringing you the real thing – along with the 16 years of blog posts and comprehensive Marvel Collecting Guides you already love.

For the next 30 days you’ll get a future vision of what I think CK could be a year from now with your regular support and interaction, and with my full non-parenting attention on blogging. It’s something I’ve never had the opportunity to do before. My hope is that if you love it, you’ll become a Patron to help me make this a reality for CK.

Here’s a glimpse of the content you’ll read on CK this month:

  • Daily essays on a song from each year of my life (plus a double-dose for #MusicMonday)
  • A month-long readalong of the original WildStorm comics line launched in 1992
  • Children’s book reviews plus the launch of a weekly chronological read of Dr. Seuss’s entire catalog
  • Streaming concerts of original songs
  • A new #FictionFriday feature – the debut of chapters of my novel Krisis seen for the first time anywhere
  • New comic guides available exclusively to Patrons for a month (and then accessible to all readers)

I want you to feel the need check Crushing Krisis every single day the way you would all your other favorite websites. The difference is that I’m doing this all on my own without other contributors, artists, editors, or advertising dollars. And, while posting won’t remain at this insane intensity come December, it will still feature regular content just like what I’m producing this month.

Here’s my pitch video from Patreon, where I’ll be making another series of almost-daily posts to explore behind-the-scenes details of running a 16-yr-old blog.

At the end of the month, commenters, mailing list subscribers, and Patrons will help me decide what future content to focus on first. We’ll unlock new and regular features as the pledge total rises.

Want Wonder Woman and Maurice Sendak readalongs instead of Image and Dr. Seuss? Want more original music and less music essays? Wish I’d talk more about movies? I’ll be asking you at the end of the month.

Read on for more of the backstory on this unprecedented month of content. [Read more…] about Crushing Krisis: Blog of Tomorrow (a Patreon launch event)

Filed Under: thoughts Tagged With: Image Comics, Patreon, Stormwatch, Video, Wildstorm, WordPress

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