mattgibbs.net

This was the first Comic Expo that Vicky and I had attended, and we were delighted by how friendly and welcoming everyone was. On the Friday night and over the following two days we met many talented and passionate people.

It was striking how intimate the comic industry is. Everybody knew everybody. This seemed especially true of the Small Press Expo at the Mercure hotel. If small press comics is a cottage industry it is not made up of isolated dwellings on bleak, wind swept moors but a thriving rural village.

Vicky and I would like to say a big thank you to Nic Wilko, Cy Dethan, Lauren Sharp, Alex Willmore and Martin Conaghan for not only looking after us at our first expo but introducing us to many of the people we met over the weekend.

We walked away with a small horde of reading material: Burke & Hare, Cancertown, Fetishman, Jack Staff, Phonogram… At the rate we’re enjoying it, I’m not sure it will last very long.

Over the weekend I caught a few panels, including Comic Writing for Dummies and Image‘s Creating Creator Owned Projects. Both sessions were informative and funny, the panelists discussing the trials, tribulations and benefits of producing creator owned material.

No matter what stage you’re at in your career, I can’t stress how useful attending such panels are. I firmly believe any creative endeavor is a continuous learning process, that if you think you’ve mastered everything you’re probably not trying hard enough. Right, stepping off my soapbox.

The Comic Book Alliance panel was another highlight for me. Being a newcomer to the industry I expected it to be similar to the WGGB and in many respects it is. Their aim is to promote the comics industry and support the development of it. Of the panels I attended this was probably the most positive and definitely the most forward looking.

Finally, it has probably not escaped your attention, being announced on Insomnia Publications’ The Red Eye blog, that I’ve chosen to resign from my position as a volunteer script editor. It’s been a pleasure working with my fellow creators at Insomnia over the last four months. Thank you all for making me feel very welcome.

Not sure where the last couple of weeks have gone. I’ve finished a draft of a feature script, which is now with the director, had some promising talks about short film scripts, and started two new comic projects, pulling my ideas and notes together into something hopefully cohesive and compelling. All early days, but hopefully in the coming weeks I’ll be able to share more details as they develop.

So, with everything ticking along nicely, I thought I would point you towards…

Corey Brotherson’s site, where he’s posted an amazing preview of Butterflies and Moths, written by his good self and watercoloured by Jen Gyllblad. I’ve been lucky enough to read the full script, it’s dark, thought provoking stuff, and I can’t wait to see how Jen approaches the later chapters in watercolour.

Cy Dethan has posted a preview of The Ragged Man over on his blog. Neil Van Antwerpen’s artwork, Peter-David Douglass colours and Nic Wilkinson’s lettering look superb, and there’s also a link to an interview on SciFi Pulse radio.

Fascinating video on the possibilities of eye-tracking and tablets via Wired. Same technology could be applied to comics to bring an added depth of interaction.

Finished three intense weeks of work on the game scripts for Ubisoft. Worked out that I’ve written well over 8,000 lines of dialogue in that time. Hopefully all coherent and in equal measures of being funny and at times disturbing.

Trying now to get back on top of all my editing work for Insomnia. Thankfully everyone has been very patient and understanding, and to be honest because the standard of scripts is very high it should not take me long.

Everything else has been on hold with the volume of game writing work recently, so it will be good to get back to my own projects. Work on the feature with Tito is my main priority right now. In the background I’m working up two new comic pitches, alongside work on The Ionmonger’s Daughter and Sun Moon.

A couple of weeks ago, I responded to a script call on Shooting People for, “a simple script, based in the genre of magical realism (e.g. Amelie) that would come in between 5-10 mins.” The director has gotten back to me and it’s good news, they’re interested in making it. Will be meeting up next week to discuss the script and our next steps.

I’m late to or maybe from the party, but Happy New Year all.

Last year, as the cliché goes, was a real rollercoaster for all aspects of my life but overall the ride was a great one. Hindsight can be both a blessing and a curse, especially for a Cancerian who clings to the past, and I’m not sure weighing up the year as good or bad is positively constructive. As long as I learn from my mistakes and keep pushing the things I did right, I’ll be happy.

This year has been tough for me emotionally, coming to terms with the death of my grandparents, who raised me. I just didn’t have the capacity to deal with it all and my full time job was the area that I choose to cut out. It has given me the space and time to come to terms with their deaths and brought me closer to my parents.

Insomnia Publications signed up two sci-fi graphic novels, first was The Ionmonger’s Daughter, the second Sun Moon. Script work on both is very advanced. Ionmonger’s Daughter is finished. Well, as finished as a script can ever be, as it is bound to change, will be tweaked to work with the final art. Sun Moon is well underway.

Sadly, Larry Watts has had to drop out of working on The Ionmonger’s Daughter. Financial commitments have meant he has had to, and quite rightly, put his family first before the project. So the year begins with the hunt to find not one but two artists.

A short film, Not Yet, I wrote with the director, Tito Sacchi, made it into a number of film festivals through the year. More importantly, Tito and I have continued to work together on our feature idea. Our aim this year is to produce a trailer/short film, with which we can attract funding for the film.

Not yet – 30sec Teaser from Tito Sacchi on Vimeo.

Outside of writing, the big news is that Vicky and I are now homeowners together. It is the main reason for the tardiness of blog updates of late. Who would have thought house hunting, buying and moving would be so utterly time consuming and stressful? We’re settled in now, if not unpacked, and have begun decorating. For someone who has lived in the beige world of rental accommodation for years, I’ve finally been released with any colour paint I can imagine. Vicky though, isn’t keen on orange.

As for the year ahead? I’ve spent the last week or so fleshing out the personal projects I would like to work on and the goals I’d like to achieve. There is the continued development of the two graphic novels with Insomnia and the feature with Tito. Additionally, there are two more graphic novels, a second feature film, radio drama and a novel, all of which I would like to explore. All of these projects sit happily in the sci-fi and horror genres, covering areas from archaeology to werewolves and genesis to nuclear war. Not sure yet why werewolves are at the other end of my scale to archaeology, but who knows hey?

Alongside my personal projects, attending conventions and festivals, both comic and film, is one of my main goals this year. I follow a great network of artists, directors, writers and other creators on twitter, but 140 chars. is no substitute for meeting face to face. So, less of being the recluse buried in my work and more of… well, of… not being the recluse buried in my work.

Finding an agent is another. Not sure if that should be a goal itself? It’s something I can’t technically make happen, but I can expand and refine my portfolio, research where and to whom to present it, and do so. If it is good enough and the works catch someone’s interest, who knows. My goal is to try and keep trying.

There are other minor goals, ones which I have direct control over, such as taking a film script editing course, revamping mattgibbs.net, keeping my CV up to date, and, last but not least, posting more blog entries.

There is a lot to do there. Prioritising, scheduling and keeping focus on projects will be important, but hopefully I won’t be too blinkered to miss opportunities while trying to make them.

Anyway, I’ve well and truly rambled on now.

Hope you all have a great year.