I was a guest on this week’s Pop Culture Hound Podcast chatting with Chris Thompson and Matt Pizzolo all about the economics of creator-owned comics and ways for creator-owned comics to get access to a larger mainstream audience.

The blog post I put together outlining the economic realities of low print run comics being distributed through mainstream retailers really caught fire this week. The link spread out to several comic news outlets and sparked discussion about creator-owned comics all over the place. It was really surprising and enjoyable hearing from so many people bringing their knowledge or opinions into the mix.

Some people asked me if I was going to get in trouble for talking about the numbers this way or if I would be black listed, which was quite weird. In short- No, everything’s great. I received a lot of praise and kind words from creators and editorial alike. The financial material I posted has been talked about before and the data on the percentages each part of the industry takes is freely available. I didn’t rip the lid off anything super-secret. The pie chart I put together just makes it extra-clear how it all fits together in the current market.

My post was focused on one revenue stream: issues released through mainstream retail outlets. It talked only about indy titles versus the massive mainstream footprint. When I have more time I’m going to write more about digital comic sales, trade paperback collections, conventions and other revenue streams.

My post wasn’t a condemnation of comic book stores or how mainstream distribution works. Comic shops are a valuable part of the process, even if the financial return on low prints runs can be slim. Beyond comic book stores there are other revenue streams available and independent creators should make themselves available to as many of those as they can. The key is to expand readership by casting the widest net possible and pool together revenue from multiple sources to support production of the work.

I have a lot of writing deadlines coming up so follow-up posts may take longer than I’d like, but it is something I’ll get to. Please stick around. 🙂

If you’re interested in seeing some of the broader discussion that happened this week, here are a few key links:

Comics Alliance
The Beat
Robot 6’s The Middle Ground
Reddit-comicbooks

Thank you for your support!

I was invited to be a last minute call-in guest on the Comic Dorks podcast to chat about the economics of mainstream comics, following up on the economic pie chart I posted up earlier this week.

The discussion about mainstream comic economics starts at 23:34 and I jump on the podcast at the 36:50 mark. Give it a listen!

Matt O’Keefe over at The Beat has posted an extensive interview with me covering a slew of different topics – Skullkickers, Makeshift Miracle, Pathfinder, ShiftyLook, comic writing and much more.

Click on through and give it a read.

I was thrilled to be a guest on the award-winning Writing Excuses podcast hosted by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn, The Wheel of Time), Mary Robinette Kowal (Shades of Milk and Honey) and Howard Tayler (Schlock Mercenary).

In 15 minutes we sweep through a brisk chat all about comic writing technique, differences from prose, working with artists and breaking into the comic business.

Please give it a listen and share the link with others.

Andrew Ardizzi at Comic Book Daily conducted an extensive interview with me at Fan Expo Canada a couple weeks ago and has just posted the article transcribed from it. Click on through to read about my thoughts on Skullkickers, Pathfinder and creator-owned comics.

The gang over at eXpert Comics asked if I’d put together a few words about Jack Kirby during the week celebrating what would have been his 100th birthday. Here’s what I wrote for them:

With no trade paperback program to speak of and minimal reprints available, I had no idea growing up how much of the “modern” Marvel Universe was derived from Jack Kirby’s creations.

His hard-edged bodies, chisel-topped fingers and black bubbles of cosmic energy stood out as distinctive to me even before I started collecting books based on creators instead of characters, but it wasn’t until years later that I had a chance to really dig in to classic comics and appreciate how much he blazed the trail.

What I thought were original ideas coming from current creators were actually Kirby creations retooled for a new generation.

While other artists were creating distracting yarns, Jack was building worlds that inspired. In his prime he pulled the camera back to bring a sense of epic scale to his stories like no one else. His environmental artwork had a mythic quality to it, a bold approach that couldn’t be contained by the panels they were placed in.

Best of all, he populated those stunning vistas with heroes and villains just as distinctive. His characters struggled against impossible odds, emoting through their entire bodies in a way that was instantly clear and engaging.

Unconstrained, unfettered, impossible – a strange and wonderful fusion of geometric forms mixed with pop art power. The work always stressed drama over realism, and the more comics I create, the more I realize how important that was (and still is).

In short – if Marvel is the ‘House of Ideas’, then the stirring imagination and stunning output of Jack Kirby is the fertile ground that house was firmly built upon. They called him “The King” for a reason. That crown isn’t going anywhere.

Romeo Sid Vicious at Comical Musings has posted up a new interview with me about comics, writing and creativity. Click on through to check it out.

Game Trade Magazine has a new extensive interview with me all about the Pathfinder comic ariving tomorrow at better comic and game shops. Click on through to give it a read.

This week Pathfinder #1 finally arrives in better comic and game shops. Things From Another World has an interview with Erik Mona and I along with a contest to celebrate the launch! Click through to give it a read.

My favorite question from the interview, and one I’ve never been asked before, is reprinted below:

TFAW: What is it about fantasy that attracts you, as a writer?

JZ: Good question! There’s something primal and wonderful about myth and fantasy stories. The genre seems very open to massive scale creation and expansion, wielding larger-than-life forces and creating situations that reflect on our common ideas about heroism, sacrifice and belief. The lack of modern conveniences infuses these stories with a greater sense of survival and self reliance, which I also find really intriguing as a writer.