[Sarah Horrocks]

That was really good. I also am a sucker for werewolf stories :P

[Victor C]

Thanks everyone - I just reposted Pencilneck #1, Pencilneck #2, and The Elite #1, so please go through the thread to read them if you missed my original post. Also, pass the word if you like the stuff and post your thoughts (any marketing can and does help).

Thanks again and we'll see you in Chicago (Table #3510)

VC

[Victor C]

I'm finishing up the final packing for Chicago today and tomorrow night and by Wednesday I'll be on the road. Hopefully you've all dug the previews (or are you checking them out - let me know and I will keep posting).

If you are in Chicago then hit us up at Artist Alley table #3510. We'll have three 8 foot tall displays behind us at an 8' table and it should be a lot of fun. I'll have new "colored" issues of The Elite #2 and Red #1 straight off the presses and can't wait to hang out with several of you from the board.

Take care, stop by, and post your comments on the issues.

Thanks - VC

[Stephen G]

Vic,

Once again, and I know you already know this, it was a pleasure to meet and hang around w/ you, your wife, and brother. Definitely an awesome time and I was glad to meet you guys. Looking forward to maybe next year as well? You should consider the KC Con too - it's crowd for creators.

I sat down and read Pencilneck in one sitting yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed it and wanted toss the feedback out you requested in the Drink-up thread, I believe. I've remained moderately spoiler free and don't give anything away.

Some feedback for you: I appreciated that the story was in black and white - because it left a lot for my imagination to put into perspective - which is something I really look for in a good story. I like the fact that I was thinking through out the read. It makes it more fun for me (personally). I liked the organized crime piece. It was well written and interacted well with the story as a whole. It made sense in tying things together. Finally, Ralph's personality. I liked the fact that, despite all the violence, darts, and dealings he was involved in...he has a depth of character to him. He was conflicted about the direction he was taking his gang. He was conflicted about the "family name"...things like that. It was pieces like that, which jumped out at me as I read.

I'd encourage anybody to pick this up. It's a good read and a lot fun.

I have a couple of favorite panels - but the one that's sticking out in my mind currently is page 1 of issue 2. The whole pose was perfect.

Thanks Vic - it was a fun ride. Looking forward to grabbing more of your stuff in the future!

[Victor C]

Hello Everyone,

The official word from Paper Street Comics on the 2009 Chicago-Con was that it thoroughly rocked! This was the first convention that we decided to show our materials in a proper manner and we went with an eight foot table in Artist's Alley. A TON of prep work was put into trying to make our small self-publishing company look as professional as possible and I think the time spent was worth it.





We managed to sell 90 "Pencilneck" trades, 74 issues of "The Elite" (#1 & 2), and 57 issues of "The Legend of Red" (#1). I cannot say "Thank you!" enough to those who have shown their support for these issues. Before this con I was worried that we would be passed over on a continuous basis (remember, I'm coming from the middle of Wisconsin and the closest LCS is over 30+ miles away - so there is very little interest in my passion for comics up here) but there was a lot of great supporters for the indie scene as a whole and Artist Alley was a happening spot on the floor.

Know that I will be working twice as hard to make sure we not only publish the new issues we have in the works, but also finish up the series we've started (because several of you made threats that I will be severely injured if I show up next year without new issues for Red or The Elite).

Throughout the course of the four days I managed to meet a ton of cool people who were nice enough to listen to my pitch on the three different properties that we were pushing (a big THANK YOU to those who purchased after our talk), was interviewed by four different people on camera (one was fully dressed as a vampire), got to put the name-with-the-face for several MW boarders, and had a lot of great feedback on the books as a whole. The greatest thing that I could have heard was mentioned by four different people in them buying issues on Thursday and Friday, reading them on Saturday, and coming over Sunday to say that they would purchase whatever I write from now on - there could be no greater "high" than that as a writer.

Heck, I even met this nice young lady werewolf who wanted a picture of us in front of "The Legend of Red" poster...



And then she attacked me -




As for "normal" people pictures - this one was taken with Dan Royer, an all-around awesome guy who wrote up the very first review for "The Legend of Red".



Then the money shots.... Well, pics of me taking money from our very own Millarworld boarders. Everyone from the board was cool as hell and it was blast hanging out with you all. Much appreciation for the issues you bought and continue to stay in touch.

With Ron Mays, a guy who knows his 80's GI JOE material better than most fans. His lady and I will be soon attending therapy together to get over our common fear of the show "Fraggle Rock" -



Jim O'hara, the guy who managed to convince the public on this board that Rocket Raccoon could beat Ultron (but I got some of his money in retribution) -



Stephen G, a person I'm glad wasn't scared away by all the profanity I was slinging towards Jim and one who I hoped took my advice and asked to hold the almighty "Amazing Fantasy #15" -



All-in-all this was such a surreal experience as I have only been selling issues to family members and immediate friends. To hear strangers supporting my work and coming back to buy more issues was like a dream come true. I plan on hitting up a couple of other cons in the Midwest in order to keep the momentum going and San Diego, C2E2, and Chicago-con 2010 are all on the eventual horizon.

Keep checking up on this thread as I will continue to keep you all posted with the latest and greatest news concerning your favorite self-publisher with "Paper Street" in its name. If you don't - then I will send this guy after you....



Thanks again,
VC

[beechk2]

Vic I'm glad it went well for you. Keep it up.

[Stephen G]

Victor C, on 11 August 2009 - 03:45 PM, said:

Stephen G, a person I'm glad wasn't scared away by all the profanity I was slinging towards Jim and one who I hoped took my advice and asked to hold the almighty "Amazing Fantasy #15" -

I actually went back and got a pic w/ it later! It was just one of those things. I'd actually never saw the issue before.

And for real...there was no loss for profanity b/w Jim and Victor - but it was all in good fun and hilarious (I mean Rocket Raccoon - seriously?). One of the most interesting parts about that point in the day, was that the Con had ended on Friday night about 8 and I had been awake for 24 hours already (including a 9 hour drive, and 10 hours of Con walking - including panels, time w/ the Chief and finding one of those coveted SDCC Green Lanterns I was after) - so I was already wasted tired when I met Jim and Victor. And what I didn't know at that point was I still had 5 hours to go w/ the drink-up w/ MM, hanging w/ MM and the MW crew, and then the Shooting the Sh*t. Still, the day was epic all around.

Looking forward to grabbing the Legend of the Red real soon. Keep up the great work Victor!

[Ron Mays Jr]

Victor, I just finished Pencilneck. WOW! What a great story. It just kept twisting and turning. I loved the issues that began in a later part of the story then caught the reader up to that point. I've always been a sucker for that technique. Have you ever seen the film Oldboy? It's a great revenge movie and the themes in Pencilneck remind me heavily of that film. Great job! I'm looking forward to reading Elite #1. Also, I couldn't find another e-mail address for you so I sent the pic you requested in a larger size to your Paper Street account. Thanks for the great read.

[Victor C]

Ron Mays Jr, on 14 August 2009 - 02:37 AM, said:

Victor, I just finished Pencilneck. WOW! What a great story. It just kept twisting and turning. I loved the issues that began in a later part of the story then caught the reader up to that point. I've always been a sucker for that technique. Have you ever seen the film Oldboy? It's a great revenge movie and the themes in Pencilneck remind me heavily of that film. Great job! I'm looking forward to reading Elite #1. Also, I couldn't find another e-mail address for you so I sent the pic you requested in a larger size to your Paper Street account. Thanks for the great read.

Thanks Ron - I have seen Oldboy and if you like that then you are going to absolutely LOVE the book I'm starting to write now, which is my best friend and I (Gentry Smith, the guy who did the cover to the Pencilneck trade), are going to dip into a teenage horror story that will knock your socks off.

I can't wait to hear the feedback from The Elite. We've already had three people asking for jpegs to do full on reviews. Whenever War Heroes #3 comes out we will have the full page ad for the trade (AWESOME and thanks Mark) and then when American Jesus #1 comes out we'll have another full page (Again, AWESOME) so I'm hoping that we get some major play.

So much excitement in the air. I feel like Durden when he discovered the self-help groups, I'm completely addicited and hitting a new level of dedication towards making this thing work. I haven't had a night since the con where I wasn't working for at least 3 hours on stuff (and this is after putting in the past four days of 10+ hour shifts at the office to get caught up from the Chicago-Con last week). The next spot is the Edge Comic-con in Edgeton Wisconsin. I'll also be in San Diego, possibly C2E2, and the St. Louis cons as well.

I look at it this way. Mark Waid said that breaking in as a writer is like breaking out of prison. Once you find one way to do it the wardens make it so that you can never do it again. So either that crazy opportunity comes along and you grab it (which I would) or you can stick with the prison analogy and get out the old fashion way - grinding it out by hard work and dedication. Eventually the dream will be realized and when it happens, if it takes longer than most, it will just taste all the more sweeter.

[Ron Mays Jr]

Victor, just finished Elite #1. Great issue. I love your dialog. It never seems to fall flat or get cliche. I'm glad your dreams are coming closer to reality.

I'm not sure how far south you want to travel but a friend of mine runs Cape Girardeau Comicon in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It's a small con but Brian Hurtt, Chris Samnee, Matt Kindt, Gary Friedrich, Denny O'Neil and Roy Thomas have all been guests. Next year it will be the first Saturday and Sunday in May and coincide with Free Comic Book Day.

[Victor C]

Two quick updates:

I'll be at the Edge Comic-Con in Southern Wisconsin on September 12th - so if you are in the area, stop on by.

A GREAT "Pencilneck" review has been posted for the first issue. Check it out here:

http://fromthetomb.w...lneck-1-review/

[Stephen G]

Victor,

Would you travel to Kansas City, MO / KS for a CON next year? Or is that too far to travel? It would be truly outstanding if you guys could make your way down here. What are your thoughts? I know a handful of vendors there and could definitely help you get it set up.

Obviously this is months and months in advance - I just wanted to put the bug in your bonnet, so to speak.

EDIT: It's Planet Comic Con, and the dates are March 27 & 28th of 2010.

This post has been edited by Stephen G: 17 August 2009 - 12:20 AM

[Victor C]

Hey Stephen -

I am totally down for Planet Comic-Con. The way I'm looking at it, I want to hit up C2E3, Planet, Chicago-Con (done), Edge Comic-con (Sept 12th!), the Windy City Con (next year though), and then the big dog known as San Diego. I'll be trying to balance this with the day job and attempting to put out Super Team Ultra Force #1 & 2, Legend of Red 2, Elite 3, and Careful... 1. So I will be one step closer to becoming completely bald by the end of 2010.

This could be good news though as most of the writers I admire are challenged when it comes to the dome and hair. I might be one step closer to the dream then.

I'm currently working on some changes with the website and the "Previews" page will point here - so hopefully that will bring some upstanding people onboard at MW. I'll keep you posted on the details.

[Victor C]

HUGE Pencilneck review is here -

http://thepullbox.co...ndysmall-press/

One quote from it "In the sea of small press and independent comics it’s tough to sift through the sand to find the diamonds. Victor Carungi, and the creators of Pencilneck, have created that diamond."

Wow, this past Chicago-Con was a major revelation for me. I've spent what seems to be forever getting all of these things in motion and it is all coming togther - I've associated it to finding a treasure. Over the course of seven years I've found the map, put together the crew, got the compass, sailed the ocean, and time-and-time again came up short. This convention was me landing on the proper island. So I've been like a man on a mission since coming back from Chicago. The biggest thing was to finally be surrounded by like minded individuals who support the indie scene. Trust me that is the biggest boost. Then reading through the reviews that have been posted since the con - there is no greater feeling.

A big thanks to Greag for taking the time to support the indie scene (so check out his website and kick ass review)

Side note for the time jump that he mentions - there is one page that does that (but it was because it is the first page for issue 2 and in the trade I didn't put a break in-between, so you have to do the second take)

Enjoy

[Jim Ohara]

Nice review. Bit picky on the lettering - I didn't really notice myself.

[Victor C]

Hey all you Midwesterners - I'll be at the Edgecon in Edgerton Wisconsin this upcoming Saturday the 12th of September.

Come on out and say "hello"!

[Ron Mays Jr]

Vic,

How are things? Hope the mighty Paper Street machine has been rolling along nicely. I'm reading Fight Club and just realized something. Is your company title a reference to the book? Just curious.

[Stephen G]

Vic,

I'm going to be in Devil's Lake next weekend? Probably Friday and most of Saturday. Are you in or near that area on the 9th or 10th?

Stephen

[Victor C]

Hey Guys!

Ron - You are correct. Fight Club is one of my favorite books and the movie ranks #1 on my list, so Paper Street Comics is a not to the guilty parties behind Tyler Durden and friends.

Stephen - It's around 2 hours away from where I'm at, but I'll have the family coming up to Wausau from Illinois that weekend so I can't. I'm hoping to hit the Planet-Con in your neck of the woods (at least I think that's what you said was in the St. Louis area) when that hits. Right now keep your fingers crossed though because I've put my hat in the ring for San Diego (small press area) and C2E2 (which I should find out about sometime next week).

Update on books - Gentry and I have finished our horror book and the artist is getting ready to get started next week. This will be another gray tone book that is 4 issues with a definitive start and finish. Super Team Ultra Force is now out of hot water (since our artist is back in the saddle) and the colored pages are unreal! Look for issue #1 to be out before Christmas and then #2 will follow shortly thereafter. Finally - The Legend of Red #2 is panelized out and I'm just writing the script. Our goal is to have that issue finished and in print around January/February. Finally (part 2) - I'm working on my first "official" Marvel pitch, so again - keep the fingers crossed, that I can present this properly and it gets picked up. The idea is pretty slick and hopefully the stars will align after about 8 years in the coal mines.

Thanks again for the interest in the books and company! 2010 will be a HUGE year for Paper Street Comics (count on it)

[Victor C]

And the update is......

Not comic book related, but Paper Street Comics is EXTREMELY proud to announce that in May of 2010 there will be another core member of the family. And be it a boy or a girl - the baby will learn to read through comic books.