terran omega – PJ Holden's Blog

Terran Omega Page 25

And that’s it, a full comic issue of Terran Omega Complete! Yes, I have the printed comics, and yes, the page was drawn a week ago, but I mean it’s now all free for anyone to read on my patreon

I can’t believe I didn’t blog that the comic came, it came in the post! Uploaded files on the 5th, arrived on the Monday – that’s a two day turnaround! INSANE! and it looks great! (I mean seriously, this looks like a proper lovely comic!)

So what’s next?

Well, Terran Omega The Ghosts of War is a full 48 page graphic novella. At least as originally conceived, but I’ve had to sit and think about what I would do if I were going to do more Terran Omega. Partly this is in response to the fact that I’m putting together a pitch deck for film and tv and they want to know what happens next, partly in the event that a publisher picks it up they too will want to know what’s next. I had a couple of story ideas, nothing firm, but certainly not some big over arching pitch.

But I do now.

I pretty much know how it ends, and why it ends and how we get there. I have some notion of the spine of it, and where that all leads to (And some of the short stories that will happen along the way)

Will I ever actually get to do any of it? I don’t know. I would say if after the Ghosts of War finish and the next project I do on Patreon is another Terran Omega graphic novella then that’s a positive sign for it. It’ll mean that there’s been enough sniffs of interest that it’s worth pursuing further.

If I go with an entirely new thing (and I have an idea for something – something very different) then it’ll mean that Terran Omega the Ghosts of War was a great fun thing for me to do, but we’re gonna put it away now do something else.

I mean a 5 year plot sounds amazing until you realise you’ve got to do it one page per week when that will turn one year of that plot into 6 years of a weekly plot (so you’re 18 years before you’d ever get to do it! HAH!)

We’ll see.

This weekend, though, I start tackling the second issue of Terran Omega.

A valuable lesson learned: because the issue one page count is 25, when I do a second issue my original 48page graphic novel idea won’t work because I rely on the page turns to do double page spreads and the next issue has to start on a single page. Odd numbers on the right, even numbers on the left. Page 26 – as was if the next page was a graphic novel is on the right, but if it’s a single issue, page 26 becomes page 1 which means my double page spreads are all off by one page. So I’m going to have to inject a new opening page. Which is good, actually! I’ll use that page to just set the scene, something nice and peaceful. You know, just before it all comes crashing down!

Still not enough time to do Yesterday In Social Media, but one thing I will say is go watched Small Prophets, Mackenzie Crook’s new BBC Show. I love the pacing and atmosphere and this should be great!

Rendr is on Friday and Saturday so today is gonna be sit and draw stuff, and then gonna be mad busy trying to network over the next few days, if you’re about wave hello!

-pj

Monday Monday

So, last week went a bit loopy, if you recal my original plan was:

This week

Mon – Three Inks (F&McB ~~6,7~~,8)
Tue – Two Inks (F&McB 9,10)
Wed – Ink Covers (war story 5 & 6)
Thur – Pencils (F&McB 1,2)
Fri – Pencils (F&McB 3,4)
Sat – ~~Terran Omega Page 25~~
Sun – ~~Put together pdf of Terran Omega issue 1~~

Alright, to recap, planned on a lot more paying work last week than I managed. On the other hand I did rapidly bring forward the schedule for printing Terran Omega issue 1 – In fact, I should have 100 copies in my hand later today!

Once I got the invite for the Rendr Festival it became obvious my best way to make use of the opportunity was to have business cards and copies of the comic to hand out, so that’s that what happened. Something of a miracle I got that all done. But it did rather mean putting the hold on paying work for a week.

So, this week it’s back to the grindstone, I’d really like to finish the F&McB part 3 so I can invoice and get those war covers inked. Then pencilling the next lot of invoicable work.

This is life as a comic artist, panic panic panic.

In the speed of putting Terran Omega print together I spotted one typo (just one? yes, for now).

I hate that it exists and will beat myself up forever about it, but it does mean that I’ve got a proper reason to reprint it via a kickstarter (SIGN UP ON MY NEWSLETTER TO BE NOTIFIED! )

On the plus side, I actually think the cover and graphic design and logo all look fantastic and can’t wait to see it in print (hopefully the colour will look good!)

Kickstarting the Numbers

Let me let you in on a secret about the kickstarter – like I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but here goes:

I’ll be setting a target of £300 – this should cover printing 100, plus sundry envelope costs, and the price of the comic will be £6 – which means, best case scenario I can make £300 – assuming costs of each issue is £3 (with packing bits). Now, that means posting 100 comics, and I don’t know how long that will take but I can guarantee it won’t be worth doing for £300.

(And then Kickstarter take 10%)

So, my real target has to be something like £4k – which on the cover price alone is impossible, so I have to figure out various worth while tiers and price points to make it possible.

I just haven’t figured out what they are.

What I’m trying to do is figure out a way to make doing this whole project pay a page rate of £200 per page – which is a a piddly rate for script, pencils, inks, colours and lettering (let alone cover, and graphic design).

At that rate this 25 page comic should cost me about £5k (again, ignoring the cover and sundry bits and bobs)

If I can somehow make £3-£4k on this, and then a similar amount when I eventually do a collected edition, then boom! I’ve made a sustainable way to do creator owned books (for me)

The collection (which is realistically at least a year or two out) I’d love to have all of the art, three versions of the strip, the script and all sorts. A real grab back of how this story was made. But we’ll see. But it will also feature me selling the original art which might be, ultimately, the only way to make it pay.

But maybe this is all wrong think and I should just focus on the end goal which is getting nice looking comic for me in my hands, I mean, on that front it’s already wildly successful!

Things I should have done

Yesterdays impossible list

~~Make a business card~~ (last time I did this was 15 years ago and honestly, I overprinted by a few hundred and gave away … like six… comics as an industry doesn’t bother itself too much with business cards)
~~Print Business card~~ (online service of some sort)
~~Finish page 24~~ (colours) and 25 (inks and colours) of Terran Omega.
Edit Terran Omega issue 1 for typos
Send it to Mixam for print. (why mixam? I’ve used it before and know how it works and time is a big factor)

Right now largely going through the final version of Terran Omega and correcting/editing. Thanks to Scott Ferguson and Ron Abernathy for editorial notes.

Should get this to mixam this afternoon.

I went with Vistaprint for business cards which somehow will arrive after my comic will. Weird eh.

250 cards. I’ll need 20. But they shouldn’t change much in next 20 years so maybe I’ll keep using them for ever.

Here’s the introduction text for this issue of Terran Omega

Terran Omega is the last human in the galaxy.

Given godlike powers to fight in mankind’s battle against an alien universe, she was placed in suspended animation to be woken when humanity needed her most.

The call never came.

Ten millennia later, mankind has vanished.

She is alone.

Faced with the existential crises of being a weapon built for a long forgotten war, she makes a different choice:

She chooses life.

Now she travels the galaxy trying to right mankind’s wrongs, collecting the destructive remnants humanity’s final war. A war that, like her, has passed from history into myth.

At the edge of the galaxy, she is about to encounter one such relic.

A weapon abandoned for ten thousand years, left to fester, grow stranger, and become far more powerful than ever intended.

Now I’ve gotta go, still got a lot of editing/exporting to do!

Wednesdays child is full of Woe

Car insurance woe. One of the drawbacks of being a proper adult is dealing with insurance. There’s so much insurance admin – car insurance, house insurance, TEETH INSURANCE! I PAY FOR TEETH INSURANCE! (I mean it’s not really teeth insurance it’s a thing called Dentaplan, you pay monthly because the NHS dentists have all decided to quiet quit and now all NI dentists are largely private, and sure private dentists are for rich people, but they’re also for poor people now!)

Car insurance renewal came through, at least it lacked the insulting “great news this year we’ve added even more savings to your car insurance” and then proceeded to quote something twice as expensive as previous years.

My insurance should be going down, been driving without¹ accident for nearly 30 years, and yet somehow my quote this year was £860 (up from £550 last year). So no thanks tesco insurance – I went elsewhere.

One of the most blissful fortnights I ever had was when my car packed it in and I couldn’t drive, for two happy weeks I had no responsibilities. I drive because I have to. I do not enjoy it.

Like running.

PJ’s Progress

Running today, we’re back at coach to 5k, week 5 day 3 – 8 minute run, 2 minute walk, 10 minute run. I couldn’t do it. Couple of walks in the middle of the run, for a minute or two. So Friday I might go back to week 4 day 1.

Work – Got Terran Omega Page 23 finished, inks, greens and letters. Took longer than it should have. But it’s a fun looking page with a striking visual. I’ve tried my best to write this with an eye to cool striking visual imagery, I think I’ve largely succeeded. I will forever think someone else could draw this better, but then no one else would and then it wouldn’t exist. And it does now. Because I made it.

Also inked a page of Fargo & McBane for 2000ad. Didn’t get it finished. Backgrounds are my kryponite, but will get it finished today.

That means Tuesday I earned $0. Quak quak.

Today planning on finishing that and getting two more pages inked. They might be fast. They might be slow. I will not know until I give them a go. POMODORO TIME!

Drawing Bits and Pieces

In which I will occasionally post some art. Yesterday one of the (many) things I struggled drawing was man on a chair from a high angle. I knew what I want, but I couldn’t quite get there. So I quickly threw a 3d model together to get it. Look at that models pert little cheeks. The saucy minx.

Yesterday in Social Media

John Allison, the epitome of everything great about the English (honestly, 800 years of oppression aside, the ones I’ve known have all been decent spuds) is serialising one of his many very funny strips on Tapas

tapas.io/series/solver Solver is now on Tapas! Enjoy it all over again, every Monday, on your telephone screen.

Mark Sweeny over on bluesky is a font of knowledge on Clip Studio Paint

I suddenly remembered I did a bunch of fun one pagers that I uploaded to patreon on my birthday.

Hey on my birthday this recently[sic - I'm pretty sure I meant "this year" then edited it because it wasn't this year, but also last year suggests it was a long time ago, any way I'm spiraling - back to the post] I posted a bunch of fun one page comic strips over on my patreon - they're free, you might enjoy them www.pauljholden.com/patreon.php?via=bs&post=one-page-146865644&campaign=onepagers

Look at the things science can do!

Simon Roy remains a big inspiration for me for his mad science fiction stories

Chapter 4 of "THE ANCHORESS" is now up for your reading pleasure - Junior Scribe Jibrael digs deeper into the mysteries of the Santo Elisabeto Abbey... www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/griz-grobus-and-other-stories/the-anchoress-chapter-4/viewer?title_no=741329&episode_no=96

Via Matt Highton

And I think that’s everything, right? Right. See you tomorrow!

Edited to entirely change the meaning of this, originally I wrote ’with’ and not “without”. I once accidentally ignited a flame war on alt.comics.2000ad when I accidentally omitted the word “not” from the sentance “america should not invade Iraq”. The worst thing though is because of the slightly vague and angry responses I vigorously defended my position even though I hadn’t noticed the typo. Idiot. ↩︎

It’s Monday! Let’s start the week!

Or go back to bed for a nap. I know which I’d rather do.

This week the plan is:

Mon – pencil a page, pencil and ink and letter a terran omega page. Go for a run.
Tues – ink 2 pages
Wed – ink 2 pages
Thur – ink 2 pages
Fri – Ink 2 pages
Sat – ink 1 page, colour 1 page of terran omega
Sun – ink 1 page, pencil ink and letter terran omega page 23

I gotta be honest, I don’t fancy my chances.

Oh, I started work on the Terran Omega Cover… This will be a journey, I’ve already about six versions of this damn thing.

This is what I currently thing looks best (thanks to some input from Pye Parr, one of the greatest designers of books/comics oft he 21st century and very much under looked)

Tron vs Mitchells vs The Machines

I tried with Tron: Legacy. I really did. I think I remember watching it at the time and not being terribly impressed, deaging cgi just sucks very very hard. But with the distance of 16 years I thought, maybe it’ll be better. Readers, it was not better. In fact there’s a point where Flynn’s son is stood on some sort of metal beam on top of a building where a puffy overweight security guard (who by rights would’ve taken one look at that beam and gone “sod this for a game of soldiers” ) got up on the beam only for Flynn’s son to reveal “hey I’m the major shareholder” and then he sort of jumps off the beam with his parachute ready to open and I just thought “this film has watched too much the matrix and Batman Begins”.

So I turned it off, and switched on The Mitchells vs The Machines, which is a much much better film. Would recommend it. Funny, great animation, and real heart.

Yesterday in Social Media

Not much to report in the world of social media aside from oh-my-god-America-is-slipping-into-a-civil-war but, fellow Belfastian Phil Boyce has been maintaining a blog on the British comic Oink for longer than the comic was in print, and yesterday he posted:

On this day in 1994 in no.8 of Jurassic Park it was the back up strip that caught my eye! Originally published in b&w, Mark Schultz’s Xenozoic Tales was coloured for the UK by Steve White. What an incredible job he did! You can check out more in the full review from 2022 on the OiNK Blog. 🚗🦖🖌️🐽
link: https://oink.blog/2022/01/25/jurassic-park-8-pure-escapism/

Right, that’s all. It’s Monday and I need a nap.

+++END OF LINE+++

Kicking the tyres on a Kickstarter for Terran Omega

I’m starting to mull over my kickstart options and so I phoned Matt Garvey, since there’s few people know more about publishing comics on Kickstarter than matt (who, coincidentally, has a new kickstarter about to launch – The Skim, a casino heist comic with some amazing artwork – great big juicy double page spreads that you’ll want to see in print)

So here’s the shape of it, it’s nebulous and foggy and I’m doing some thinking on the page as I type it, but the more I concentrate the more I can see it forming up…

I’m going to do a kickstarter for Terran Omega The Ghosts of War. Single issue comics for part one and part two.

Issue One, right now, I’m looking at March launch date. Soon, right! TERRIFYINGLY SOON! (so it might move)

Launch issue 1 on kickstarter, with some tiers:

PDF File / colour & B&W&Green
B&W Copy (why no green, you ask? Price, I reply!)
Full Colour
Full Colour with Alt Cover

Pages 1-25 with front and back cover, should come to 32 pages in total.

There will also be add ons to get PDFs of the Artist Edition – same comic with big super high res versions of the images!

I think the comic price will be about £8? (pricer than I’d like, but I am really figuring things out here and don’t want to go too low and burn my fingers) and I’m two minds about doing an alt cover. I suspect some people might want both copies and there’s a part of me hates that for them (maybe I can work out a two edition price?)

I anticipate there being 100 printed and sales hitting 50 or so. Maybe.

Haven’t looked in to postage yet, but will do.

Then when issue 2 is complete, I’ll do the same (or similar, or take all the lessons I’ve learned and try and apply them and so it may be completely different).

Issue 2 will have a slightly different page count, which could mean a slightly different page count for the comic (there’s two pages less, which means you can nearly print four pages less of book, but I could also just use that for fun backwater, so probably the same page count – I told you I’m thinking this through as I do it!)

THIS WILL ALL BE A PRELUDE TO A HARDBACK/PAPERBACK edition. I have no idea what they will be priced like. But certainly, I’ll be limiting the hardback numbers because oh boy does that look expensive to do! (I mean I might limit them to ONE copy for me…)

My ideal hardback is oversized, and stuffed with two versions of the comic (colour and black / white / green ) and maybe an artist edition at the back. That is wildly unlikely – because it would push the page count to uhm … 148+ pages and er.. yes. That gets costly quickly. I mean if the kickstarters go well, who knows maybe…

I think you’ll not see the hard back until about a year after the kickstarter of issue 2 but it’ll contain new material(I hope!) and sketches and all sorts that I can fit in.

Anyway, news of this as I build up what I’m doing.