As print magazines fold and eBook devices like the Apple iPad and the Amazon Kindle are gaining favor with readers, the conventional wisdom is that it's a lousy time to launch a manga/comics anthology magazine. 'Print is dead,' they say -- or is it?
From this time of uncertainty comes a new breed of do-it-yourself publishers who want to defy this industry trend by taking matters into their own hands. One such effort is F*X*T (pronounced "fix it"), a comic and art print magazine being developed by San Francisco-based graphic designer Fawn Lau, with a little help from the online microfunding site, Kickstarter.
As Lau envisions it, F*X*T will be quarterly magazine, featuring serialized and one-shot comics stories, illustrations and articles, to "to showcase the talents of creators that don't quite have the chance to realize their ideas in print." For the first issue, Lau has assembled a line-up of pro and semi-pro artists who'll be offering the first taste of what F*X*T will offer to fans: a variety of story and art styles presented in a "magazine that is substantial in content and reminds everyone about the awesomeness that is print."
"I just see so much hesitation and basically good intentions from most people, but extreme caution from the rest," said Lau. "I think (that there's) so much potential, but I also fully understand why things are so slow," she said. "There's not enough people taking risks in print, but I LOVE print!"
While publishers, large and small are shying away from publishing work by up-and-coming, but unproven new artists, where do the comic stars of tomorrow hone their skills and get their first big break? Nowadays, mostly online through webcomics and artists community websites like Deviant Art -- but Lau and some of the F*X*T creators still see the value in print as a medium for comics.
"There's something official about a comic in print, something more joyful of seeing art on paper, which is why i wanted to have F*X*T as a magazine instead of a website," Lau explained.
The artists participating in the inaugural issue of F*X*T also mentioned that the promise of seeing their work in print was also part of the appeal of participating in this project.
When asked whether it makes a difference to see his comics in print rather than just online, Powflip, the creator of Tracks replied unequivocally, "Print is better. Ask a movie director, or a screenwriter - would they feel better if their movie got shown on YouTube or in a theater?" He continued, "There's nothing wrong with getting it out there on the Internet, but what's most convenient for distribution isn't always the best way to enjoy the medium. It's not just about the artist's ego either - it's better for the reader. Exponentially better."
Comics creator (and F*X*T cover artist) Christy Lijewski agreed, adding "There's just something about holding a finished book in your hands and seeing your months of hard work bound into a neat little volume that I can't explain. It's a great feeling." She continued, "Sure, with the Internet you have instant feedback and a large audience but it's still missing the feeling of satisfaction you get when you see your work in actual print. A book is something you can take anywhere, read anytime, as many times as you want, whenever you want, it pays respect to the work by making it permanent."
"Fawn has some serious truffle-hunting skills," said Schwartz. "She can uncover people who hide in the dark, moist corners of Deviant Art and make them do incredible things."
From this time of uncertainty comes a new breed of do-it-yourself publishers who want to defy this industry trend by taking matters into their own hands. One such effort is F*X*T (pronounced "fix it"), a comic and art print magazine being developed by San Francisco-based graphic designer Fawn Lau, with a little help from the online microfunding site, Kickstarter.
As Lau envisions it, F*X*T will be quarterly magazine, featuring serialized and one-shot comics stories, illustrations and articles, to "to showcase the talents of creators that don't quite have the chance to realize their ideas in print." For the first issue, Lau has assembled a line-up of pro and semi-pro artists who'll be offering the first taste of what F*X*T will offer to fans: a variety of story and art styles presented in a "magazine that is substantial in content and reminds everyone about the awesomeness that is print."
"THERE'S SOMETHING JOYFUL ABOUT SEEING ART ON PAPER"
With a lifetime of love for comics, and over seven years of experience as a production artist and designer for publishing companies, including a few manga publishers (and a few smaller but cool publishing projects like le Grand Grimoire), Lau knows the hows and whys behind the industry's current reluctance to publish comics anthologies."I just see so much hesitation and basically good intentions from most people, but extreme caution from the rest," said Lau. "I think (that there's) so much potential, but I also fully understand why things are so slow," she said. "There's not enough people taking risks in print, but I LOVE print!"
While publishers, large and small are shying away from publishing work by up-and-coming, but unproven new artists, where do the comic stars of tomorrow hone their skills and get their first big break? Nowadays, mostly online through webcomics and artists community websites like Deviant Art -- but Lau and some of the F*X*T creators still see the value in print as a medium for comics.
"There's something official about a comic in print, something more joyful of seeing art on paper, which is why i wanted to have F*X*T as a magazine instead of a website," Lau explained.
The artists participating in the inaugural issue of F*X*T also mentioned that the promise of seeing their work in print was also part of the appeal of participating in this project.
When asked whether it makes a difference to see his comics in print rather than just online, Powflip, the creator of Tracks replied unequivocally, "Print is better. Ask a movie director, or a screenwriter - would they feel better if their movie got shown on YouTube or in a theater?" He continued, "There's nothing wrong with getting it out there on the Internet, but what's most convenient for distribution isn't always the best way to enjoy the medium. It's not just about the artist's ego either - it's better for the reader. Exponentially better."
Comics creator (and F*X*T cover artist) Christy Lijewski agreed, adding "There's just something about holding a finished book in your hands and seeing your months of hard work bound into a neat little volume that I can't explain. It's a great feeling." She continued, "Sure, with the Internet you have instant feedback and a large audience but it's still missing the feeling of satisfaction you get when you see your work in actual print. A book is something you can take anywhere, read anytime, as many times as you want, whenever you want, it pays respect to the work by making it permanent."
SHOWCASING NEW TALENT BEYOND BEING AN "AMERI-MANGA ANTHOLOGY"
So far, several creators answered Lau's call for stories and artwork, including published pros like Lijewski (RE:Play, Samurai Host Club) and up-and-coming talents like Mia Schwartz, Helen Cho, Anna Bongiovanni, and Sloane Leong. Some, like Lijewski, knew Lau from her work in the manga publishing industry, as a production artist and graphic designer for several companies. Others heard of F*X*T's call for artists through word-of-mouth or through the F*X*T Kickstarter page."Fawn has some serious truffle-hunting skills," said Schwartz. "She can uncover people who hide in the dark, moist corners of Deviant Art and make them do incredible things."
"I like that this project is reaching out to creators and giving them a chance they might not get without it," said Lijewski. "I also like the idea of spreading the work of independent artists and creators who may not be able to go a mainstream route with their non-mainstream ideas."
PowFlip also echoed this sentiment, mentioning that the current U.S. "indie" publishing scene hasn't quite embraced the fact that there's a generation of artists who are heavily influenced by Japanese and European comics, but aren't necessarily drawing "Ameri-manga" -- they're creating something that's different and new.
"There's a new wave of comic art and artists that is starting to gain momentum right now, and publishers are just not cued into what is going on so they don't tend to pay these new artists much attention," he said. "There's sort of this expectation of what "indy" or alternative comics look like, that draws heavily on the past of those genres in the U.S. - so now that kids are picking up and playing with conventions and styles that draw more from European and Japanese comics (instead of just copying R. Crumb) - they just don't get it."
He continued, "And while there's good reason to be afraid of psuedo-manga, nobody seems to get that this new wave of artists who've been inspired by foreign comics is what alternative American comics ARE these days. There's just no appreciation for it in the industry. Sure there have been a few artists taking these influences and running with them like Corey Lewis or Becky Cloonan, but there aren't much."
Anna Bongiovanni, Minneapolis-based creator of Gehenna had this to add about what makes F*X*T special. "Fawn is treating the artists with real respect. She's not trying to get us to make as much as possible for as little as possible. I think she's really concerned about quality when it comes to the magazine so when people buy it, they can be assured it's a worthy purchase."
KICKSTARTING F*X*T WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM ONLINE FRIENDS
"We've already confirmed our lineups both for the ongoing series and also the one-shots," said Lau, "but we are still accepting illustration applications for our illustration sections. If Kickstarter succeeds, I hope to be able to include more illustrators. If year one of F*X*T succeeds, I hope to include more creators for year two."But before she can layout or publish a single page, Lau (and F*X*T) needed funds. So what did she do? She tapped into the power of an online micro-financing site, Kickstarter. She set a goal of $10,000, and asked for supporters to donate a few dollars to get this project going. In return for this initial infusion of capital, Lau is offering incentives to supporters, like buttons, prints and copies of the first issue when it gets printed. Pledge amounts start at $1 and provide different "thank you" gifts in return for various pledge amounts, from $10, $25, $50 and upwards to $300 as the top level.
She isn't the first comics creator to use Kickstarter to fund her project. James Kochalka (American Elf, Monkey vs. Robot), and Becky Dreistadt (Tigerbuttah) used Kickstarter to get their books published and Newsarama recently profiled Mitch Gerads and Mike Dillion (Johnny Recon) and Steve Bryant (Athena Voltaire), who also financed their respective comic book projects through Kickstarter.
If F*X*T reaches its fundraising goal, Kickstarter investors can expect to see the first issue appear in their mailboxes on or shortly before January 2011. Otherwise, readers can order issues of F*X*T online, purchase them from the participating artists at various comics shows, or look for them at select bookstores and comics shops.
"FIXING" FRUSTRATION WITH MAINSTREAM PUBLISHING, D.I.Y. STYLE
So why call it "F*X*T?" "This project has been in my head in one way or another for a couple of years but somehow I'm always the one waiting to be asked to do something," explained Lau. "I've always loved participating in projects when people ask me to, but getting older though, I realized I can't wait for someone to allow me to do it, I can't wait for someone to ask me to make this thing I want to make, so I forced myself to "fix" my way of thinking. I had to "fix it" myself to get it done.""In life I make it a point not to curse, so the spelling of F*X*T came from the usual way of bleeping expletives since I would always 'bleep' myself," she laughed. "...plus it looks nice I think? It begins with an F! My name begins with an F! Decision made!"
The other decisions that have already been made for the first issue of F*X*T is its line-up of artists and stories. Here's what's scheduled for F*X*T issue 1:
- Creator spotlight/interview with Christy Lijewski
Lijewski will also create the cover art for the first issue of F*X*T. - Plastic by Mia Schwartz (continuing series)
2 Girls, 1 Trip - When you live in a world of cartoon logic, what kind of life would you lead? - Tracks by PowFlip (continuing series)
A cliché story about love and death, and death. When Elise moves with her father into the family's old countryside bungalow - she finds herself a victim of unbearable ennui. The only thing within miles providing even the faintest amusement is the expired penny candies at the local general store. That is, until she meets a mysterious young man... - Gehenna by Anna Bongiovanni (continuing series)
Growing up is never easy, but Gehenna is not an escape. Rather than grow up, Erik's older sister Maddie's spirit flees to the underworld of Gehenna, but Erik must confront rats, ghosts and an Owl as well as his own fears of becoming an adult to rescue her. - Musik Non Stop by Helen Cho / MBP (continuing series)
Why do YOU rock? Four musicians, four lies, four different agendas and one big pile of money. Also, music! - Beastie Lore by Sloane Leong (one-shot story)
A few young, mythical creatures try to survive an era that has little imagination by attempting to live and pass as plain ol' humans themselves. Transgressinal cuteness abounds.
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