

As part of my recap of 2015 and looking forward to 2016, some of the creators that I have gotten to know over the past few years were kind enough to take some time to send some thoughts about the past year and what they have planned for 2016:

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Ron Marz

John Carter: Warlord of Mars, Skylanders, and The Protectors

Convergence: Batman and Robin (2015)

Convergence: Justice League International (2015)

How has the comics industry fared in 2015 and thoughts on 2016?

RM: I feel like the industry is in a better place than it’s been in a long while. Obviously, sales can always be better. Marvel and DC still rule the roost in terms of shelf space. But I feel like the range of material that the industry is putting out, and the diversity of creators producing work, is better than it’s ever been. There are more different kinds of books, for more different kinds of readers, than ever before. That can only be good.

Professionally what was the highlight of 2015?

I don’t know if one thing stands out above others. I mean, I write comic books for a living. That’s all the highlight I need right there. I got to work on projects I enjoyed, like “John Carter: Warlord of Mars” and “Skylanders” and “The Protectors.” I got to work with a bunch of creators whose work I really admire. Picking any one thing would be a disservice to the others.

Any news or teasers as to plans for 2016 project and convention wise?

Some interesting things on the horizon — new ventures, new projects, as well as some projects I’ve already been working on finally seeing the light of day, both in the U.S. and abroad. But none of it is ready to be announced yet. So I guess I have to just say “stay tuned,” there should be news over the next few months. As far as conventions, I’ll be doing Albany Con again, of course, and I’m figuring out the rest of my schedule. Some of the aforementioned new projects will demand some convention appearances, so I expect to be doing a fair number of shows this year.

Steve Orlando

Midnighter, Batman & Robin Eternal, Virgil

How has the comics industry fared in 2015 and thoughts on 2016

The Industry has evolved! We made great strides for putting new faces in comics, both on the page and behind the page. And it has been sorely needed! More people got the representation they deserve in 2015, but there is still a lot of work to do. I’m optimistic for the time when diversity is not a buzzword by the standard, where the world on the page is as varied as the world outside our door, and it is so normal a thing that it isn’t news. And that’s where we’re going in 2016 and beyond – having the types of heroes we see in comics evolve, and with them the stories and communities they impact. Everyone deserves to be mythic, to be iconic, and we are going to keep working to make that a reality.

Professionally what was the highlight of 2015?

For me, unquestionably it was the launch of MIDNIGHTER in June – the culmination of sixteen years of work, and a book featuring a historic character that influenced me as a kid. To be able to bring him to a new generation is an honor, and easily the most exciting moment of the year.

Any news or teasers as to plans for 2016 project and convention wise?

Yeah! There is more Batman and Robin Eternal to come, as well as Bulk and Skull, a series of back-ups stories in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from BOOM! Studios! As the year goes on, we should see some more announcements as well, with some new creator owned work and more characters I’ve been waiting my whole life to work with.

Michael Kingston

HEADLOCKED

Coming off a strong 2014, we knew we were going to have to work really hard to make 2015 even bigger. It took a herculean effort by everyone but 2015 was, by far, our biggest year yet!

First and foremost, the biggest news for us was the release of Headlocked: The Last Territory Volume 2, which we managed to finish right at the end of the year. The book features a painted cover by WWE Hall of Famer, Jerry “The King” Lawler, that is easily his finest work to date. The book also contains contributions from wrestling/comic heavyweights, Booker T, Jill Thompson, John Morrison, Jamal Igle, AJ Styles, and Ramon Villalobos.

This year also saw Headlocked’s most ambitious travel & convention schedule to date with nearly non-stop appearances from May to December. We appeared at conventions in Miami, Chicago, Kansas City, Uncasville, Providence, Knoxville, San Diego, Stockton, San Antonio, New York City as well as independent wrestling shows in ten different states.

Because of our relentless travel schedule, we began to slowly raise the awareness of the Headlocked name. We received opportunities to appear on some more prominent podcasts including, The Kevin Gill Show, War Rocket Ajax, and the Sam Roberts Show. We were featured prominently on WWE’s Culture Shock and also streamed live on Marvel TV. We also had very successful panels at Planet Comic Con, SDCC, Florida Supercon, & NYCC!

What’s in store for 2016?

We’re kicking it off in Miami at Magic City Comic Con in January and following it up with an even bigger convention touring schedule. Keep an eye out for our next Kickstarter in March 2016. We’ve also secured our biggest lineup of celebrity wrestler contributors for the next edition of Headlocked…it’s going to blow people’s minds!

DW

Podcaster: FanboysInc

How has the comics industry fared in 2015 and thoughts on 2016

For 2015 the comics industry had some ups and downs. We saw the big two ( Marvel Comics, DC Comics) focus on… event story lines with many ending with not so stellar results. IE: Marvel’s Secret Wars and DC’s Convergence. We saw Marvel start all it’s major titles at Number 1 issues yet again. Good or bad depending on how you look at it. DC moved its base to Burbank to get closer to Hollywood, which was a cause of some rushed-looking art, story lines and missing deadlines.

With these problems, there has been a shift in the Force to the “Indie” comic. Each month we see Image Comics taking a bigger slice of the sales pie. Also Dark Horse, Valiant, IDW have seen some minor increases in sales. Even the self publisher has seen more exposure. Maybe people are tired of the same spandex wearing superhero and want some new fresh heroes and characters to get into.

We also saw a flood of NEW series coming out from both camps like DC’s Midnighter, Images We Stand On Guard, Marvel’s Doctor Strange, Boom’s Klause and Marvel’s many Star Wars titles. That was a big get for them, and they did better than a lot of their staple series… Who will make the cut for 2016?

With the increased insurgence of more “comic book” movies hitting the big and small screen, you would think that would bring on more new comers to the local shops but sadly it did not but did get more of the general public aware of our universe of capes and cowls. Time will tell in 2016 if this will reflect into more sales at the local shop level.

Professionally what was the highlight of 2015?

For us 2015 was another banner year for FanboysInc. We increased our con presence as press and featured guests this year. with our reach extending into the Mid Western con scene. With that we were able to meet many awesome creators within the industry and honored to say that many are now friends. Our staff grew with two new additions, Jeff Ayers and Buddy Beaudoin to our comics review section.

Our network grew with the addition to 3 new podcasts, DW and Incredible Jeff Show, Popping the Cherrywood and AMC’s Comic Book Men, Ming Chen and Michael Zapic with their Ming and Mike show.

But have to say the highlight for me was us teaming up with Death Wish Coffee. They became our major sponsor for the network midway into 2015 and it has been an awesome working relationship. They took a chance with us and it has been nothing but thumbs up for us both. We got to introduce them the “comic con” culture with us bringing them to NYCC15 as we both became sponsors of writer’s Amy Chu’s NYCC panel called comic creators who consume coffee.

Any news or teasers as to plans for 2016 project and convention wise?

In 2016 we plan on adding at least 2 more shows to our podcast network, which would give us 7 podcasts overall. Also we will be working with someone from Kevin Smith’s camp to get into the youtube game with weekly episodes and also revisit a web series we have been working on for some time but with his help we hope to bring this to a computer screen near you with in the new year. Plus growing our relationship with Death Wish Coffee with some projects we yet can’t talk about so stay tuned!

Marc Goldner

Golden Bell Entertainment

The Sunday Comics

How has the comics industry fared in 2015 and thoughts on 2016

Sunshine & Rain. Have you ever woken up one morning and watched the sun rise on the horizon while it was still raining where you were? Well, that’s how I’d describe the comics industry of 2015 with that analogy. There are dark clouds hovering over, there are reboots happening, “worlds are changing” (or so they say), and all this mumbo jumbo of the same things rehashed over and over and over again. Look, I love this stuff, I’m as big a fan of mainstream comics as the person with a pull list in the hundreds of $ each week, but I obviously see something that most people aren’t talking about. There is a lack of creative freedom and ability to tell stories with enough creative liberties that puts a new take on something old and tired. While there will always be great content that springs up every now and then, I think the entertainment industry, not just comics, but entertainment in general, has a long long way to go to get back to its former glory. I mentioned that the Sun is rising in the near distance, I truly believe that with companies like Golden Bell, we as creators & businesspeople have an ability to create a dynamic change in the comics industry that can transcend boundaries put in place by companies that constantly restrict progress in terms of the diversification of content. With 2016 around the corner, technically it’s already here, we are going to make strides and show people that leaps and bounds of progress can be made within a short time. I’m constantly asked how we’ve done so much in just a few short months, and I always answer that it’s about devotion, discipline, feasibility and great time management. Working 100+ hour weeks is really a critical and key component to what we do. Rachel, Rob and myself each

Rachel, Rob and myself each are putting in those hours and it’s as if we are getting quadruple the amount of work any one person can do alone by themselves. I believe that a team, a strong partnership is one of

the biggest components to making a succesful venture. Many people try to do things alone, they try to be the artist, writer, manager, marketer, distributor, and everything in between. Thats the wrong way to do something in this industry, it’s a collaborative medium and as soon as someone accepts that reality they’ll see how amazing it is to work with other like minded individuals. Do any of the larger companies do things with one person? No way! Each book has almost a dozen people on it alone, each book in and of itself is a business. In 2016, the strides we’ve made and the foundations we’ve set up for the future are going to grow and expand into the public consciosuness. We’re working collaboratively with dozens of creators and already 300+ creators are part of our first project, The Sunday Comics. There’s a bright future in our sights, and the rear view mirror shows those dark clouds from this morning. There’s a lot of work to do but if anyone’s going to devote years of their life to bettering the medium and making advancements in this industry, I can assure you it’ll be Golden Bell!

There’s a lot of work to do but if anyone’s going to devote years of their life to bettering the medium and making advancements in this industry, I can assure you it’ll be Golden Bell!

Professionally what was the highlight of 2015?

The highlight? Do I have to choose one? Oh boy…that’s a tough one. I guess if I really had to pick one it would be forming a company with the best partners I could ask for. Rachel’s been by my side with this from the get go between transferring schools around the country and being open to any new ideas she’s been amazing. Then Rob came in the picture and we all started this amazing venture together. It would be crazy not to say that top highlights included starting The Sunday Comics and getting to meet and/or collaborate with some of my childhood idols. It’s really insane to think how just a year ago no one in the industry knew my name at all, while most still don’t yet, it’s so cool to be able to call up some of my heroes growing up that worked on Disney movies, DC/Marvel comics, and independent works that we all know and love. Everyday in all honesty is a highlight, getting to do what I love and create not only new original content but a business that will thrive is what gets me up and keeps me going all day and all night, couldn’t imagine doing anything other than what I’m doing right now. It’s a surprise every night!

Any news or teasers as to plans for 2016 project and convention wise?

I’ll give the whole scoop. While we have The Sunday Comics IndieGoGo running right now for those that missed the Kickstarter, we have a lot of new projects in the works. Next month we’ll be debuting one of our first children’s books, followed by the unveiling over the course of the next few months of several different interconnected universes with creative teams in the dozens. We’ve been building universe after universe, acting as architects, storytellers, artists, you name it really, on everything imaginable. When I say there is going to be something for everyone, I mean it! Like cartoons? Stay tuned. Animation? Comics? Every month. Novels? You’ll never get bored. Short stories? Poems? Anthologies? Games? Live action movies? I can guarantee that sticking with us over our lifetime will have a huge payoff. While we’re starting small, inching our way towards the grand vision, every step of the way is paved with fun & entertainment. Whether you’re in America or across the narrow sea, we’re going to bring something to everyone that will touch their hearts and minds just as some of the greatest storytellers of yesteryear. There’s no one I know better than the hundreds of collaborators here at Golden Bell that are going to help make this dream a reality! Come check us out, you’ll be hooked on Gold in no time! Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled because we’ve been invited to dozens of comic cons and will be making many guest appearances across the United States this comic con season!

Here’s the link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-sunday-comics

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Thanks again to everyone above for taking the time…