Original Art Sundays No. 134: Tranny Towers, Ch. 36

The end of the storyline, but one chapter to follow. I"ll explain that next week.

Notes:
1. The name issue from the previous chapter clearly needs resolution. Before going to Kickstarter (and failing that, self-publishing through Kablam or some other vendor), I'm planning on spending several days cleaning up all these annoying errors and relettering.
2. The Transsexual Menace T-Shirt refers to a group very active in the 90s. The group is extant today, but less active (the last news item on their site is over a year old).
3. The Mary Tyler Moore reference should be obvious, but in case any younger readers have not seen the original, here's the scene from the final episode. Go to 9:03 in for the key scene.

4. I couldn't resist the "bunny ears" in the last panel. It's one of my favorite bratty things to do, and it's a staple in my family!
5. I left the  door open for several new story lines: Sonia's stay at Hazelden, Trina's developing relationship with Leiko, Athena and Dena's California trip, and one involving Dan that I hint at in the one remaining strip- but it was not to be.
Not yet, anyway.
I will do an "aftermath" story to be included in the inevitable collection.
Quite honestly, I'm not sure how much of a market there is for this work. It's very dated, but I think it's still important. And although it's got its share of flaws, there's plenty of worthwhile material in this 74 week run.
More about the demise of the strip next week. I have a couple Surrealist Cowgirls pages, and one SC surprise in the wings, as well as news of the MCAD Faculty Show, which will include the aforementioned SC material.
For right now, posting this has me feeling more than a bit sentimental (me? really?), so I'm going to take a walk on this bright calm August day.
Next: the postscript.

Best comics of 2010: No. 11: Johnny Recon No. 2

Wot, a local book making the year's best?
Yes, when it's this much fun.
 Johnny Recon No. 2 appeared in July 2010.

Mitch Gerads' art is both graceful and choppy, alternately invoking Krigstein, Nino and Al Williamson. Scott Dillon's writing is deeply steeped in pulp/space opera traditions, dancing on the edge of being an old chestnut, but avoiding that through innovative plot elements and sheer energy.
I mean really. Vampire grasses. How much fun is that?

Gerads and Dillon's Popgun Pulp Comics puts out a very professional product (but guys, you really need to update your webpage!). They've been tight and professional, and quite aggressive, in their marketing. As they are locals, I've seen their solicitation postcards promising oodles of delicious goodies at comic stores in the Twin Cities metro.
But it wasn't until recently that I became aware of their successful use of Kickstarter.
I really like Kickstarter. It adheres to a core philosophy I've tried hard to embrace in the last couple years: abundance. If your work is good enough, the support for it is out there. If the work is lacking, make it better. Kickstarter is the ultimate put up or shut up model, and is successful more times than not. It's a fascinating hybrid of capitalism, socialism and craftsmanship.
Here's the Popgun Pulp video used in their successful Kickstarter funding for this issue.



With local marketing blitzes, successful Kickstarter funding,and POD through KABLAM, these guys are the epitome of the future of comics publishing.
It's about recognizing that no one approach will do the job any more. In order to achieve whatever measure of success remains possible in comics, one must employ multiple strategies.
Even then, it's a crapshoot.
Your odds are helped if you tell your story well.
Vampire grasses. Marshans. A heroine sidekick who kicks some serious alien bad guy butt.
Way to go, guys.

Tomorrow: more vampires, but not of the flora variety, as we enter the Top 10 of 2010!