Tag Archives: R.A. Jones

28Dec/21

A Review of 2021 (Year 3 of Silverline 3.0)

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Crowdfunding

Despite the fact that 2021 was still a Covid-year for many, it was a good year for Silverline Comics. We crowdfunded and shipped (on time!) 12 comics! Twilight Grimm #3 and White Devil #1 will ship in early January but funded in December…so I’m not sure which year to put them in.

The complete list is:

Teen Beetle #1 and Switchblade #1 ReMix, funded in January and shipped in March. Twilight Grimm #2 and Friar Rush #2, funded in March and shipped in May. Divinity #2 and Steam Patriots #1, funded in May and shipped in July, our biggest to date. Beah #1 and Silverline Team-Up #1, funded in July and shipped in September. Kayless #3 #4 and TPB, funded in September and shipped in November. Silverline Christmas Special, funded in October and shipped in December.

Twilight Grimm #3 and White Devil #1 (in Nov/Dec—will be shipping in a few weeks)

That is 13 total comics.

THIRTEEN TOTAL COMICS.

Whew!

Yeah, yeah, I get we could point to a lot of indy comic makers who do more than that, but considering we did seven in 2020 and two in 2019…well, color US impressed! I don’t expect us to do considerably more than that next year—but that’s for next week to talk about.

Streams grow to three weekly!

We started streaming in March of last year (2020) with the one stream. In a matter of months, we grew to two streams weekly, adding Sunday. Well, in 2021, we added a third weekly stream geared more for a west cost audience as it runs 8-10pm PST. THAT SILVERLINE SHOW ON TUESDAY is hosted by Tim TK (who does most of these weekly blog posts!). Tim is generally joined by Quinton Bedwell, Jose Fuentes, and Aaron Humphres (every other week).

Here are the links for you:
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SilverlineComics),
Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/silverlinecomics)
Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/silverlinecomics).

You can find us Sundays 8-10p EST, Tuesdays 8-10p PST, and Wednesdays 8-10pm EST. It’s free to watch!

Discord

We’re still trying to push more social media content over to Discord…but haven’t had a lot of luck with that. If you’re already on Discord, here’s an invite link for you…come help us populate it!

https://discord.gg/EvnuRVE2Yd

Podcast

For those of you who prefer just audio, we posted audio versions of our streams…a bit behind in schedule, but still you can get the content. You can find those on our website on Apple iTunes, Spotify, etc.

New Projects

We are absolutely not actively looking to grow the line…but sometimes, things just happen. We mentioned last year a project by scribe Ron Fortier. Well, it’s too early to talk about yet, but we’ve got a handshake for another one! But also, SIX OTHER mini-series! What are they?

Obsoletes, written by Wes Locher with pencils by Aaron Humphres (Friar Rush) and inks by newcomer to Silverline Jose Fuentes. The first issue is written and pencilled. Jose is busy inking! Haley Martin (Beah) is lined up to color it.Backers of the Silverline Christmas Special got a sneak peek at this one.

Knight Rise, written by Mackenzie Wertman, with art by Quinton Bedwell. Backers of the Silverline Christmas Special got a sneak peek at this one, too.

Shadow Ghost, is the brainchild of Silverline Creative Director Kurtis Fujita. Kurtis is writing, pencilling, inking–he’s doing it all. It’s a kung-fu comic by a kung-fu master!

Rochelle. Silverline has agreed to publish the 3rd volume of the tale about the teenage cockroach by creator John Crowther (Teen Beetle). Art will be by Teen Beetle artist Dell Barras!

Silver Blade, will be written and pencilled by Dean Zachary. Backers of the Silverline Christmas Special got a sneak peek at this one, too.

Sol Ascendant, will be written by Silverline Associate Editor Tim Tk. Art will be by Cem Dayioglu.

Project status

This is gonna be a long list. Basically, what we’ll do here is try to give you a status update of where the titles we’ve crowdfunded are production wise. Everything is current as of the writing of this blog (initially, mid December). (in alphabetical order)

Beah

Roland is putting the finishing touches on the script for #2. Feel free to chastise him for not having it ready!

Page from Cat & Mouse #4 pencilled by Wubba Fett

Cat & Mouse

Wubba has pencilled 9 pages for Cat & Mouse #4…we’re waiting on more pages from him as he completes a household move! The next issue (#1 of volume 3) is already pencilled!

Divinity

There are six pages of #3 complete. Alex is working on the pencils. #4 has been scripted and is ready!

A page from Divinity #3, pencils by Alex Sarabia with inks and colors by creator Barb Kaalberg.

Friar Rush

#3 is the final issue of the mini-series. It is completely pencilled and lettered and we’re waiting on the inks from John Martin.

Kayless

As all four issues of Vol 1 are now complete and in your hands, #1 for volume 2 is already in the works! The script is done and Luis has pencilled/inked about 6 pages!

Silverline Team-Up

Pete has pencilled about 10 pages of #2.

Steam Patriots

#2 script is still being written.

Teen Beetle

Script for #2 has just been delivered to Dell Barras.

Trumps

Both #3 and #4 are well into production. 16 pages of #3 are pencilled and inked by Quinton Bedwell. Peter Clinton has pencilled about 10 pages of #4.

Twilight Grimm

Issue #4, the final issue of the mini-series, has been pencilled and inked by Rob Davis and is off to Mickey Clausen for colors and Mike W. Belcher for letters!

White Devil

Issue #2 is in the hands of Phil Leon for color! #3 & #4 are also ready for color! #4 needs letters.

ReMix

Switchblade

Switchblade #2 and #3 are complete and ready for crowdfunding/printing.

Sirens

Some of you remember Sirens from the early 90s. Issue #1 and #2 are colored and ready for crowdfunding! Divinity creator Barb Kaalberg is busy coloring issue #3! Here’s a sneak peek at her color work on it!

Pendulum

We know you remember the classic series published by Malibu in the early 90s. Roberta Conroy is working magic on the pages pencilled by John Drury and inked by Ted Slampyak. Don’t believe us–take a peek below. Issues #1 and #2 are done and ready for crowdfunding!

Demon’s Tails

Three issues are colored and ready for crowdfunding! Dave Rios is working on issue #4!

SilverStorm

One issue is ready for crowdfunding! Scott Gordon is working on issue #2!

Whew! So see…2021 was a decent year for Silverline!

Next week we’ll talk about about 2022 has in store for Silverline.

#makeminesilverline

 

10Mar/21

Kickstarter #2 of 2021

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The TWOS!

This should have come to you yesterday (Tuesday), but I was busy putting some final touches on the Kickstarter, which goes live on Thursday. Kickstarter has finally added the ability to include ADD-ONS to a kickstarter campaign, and it took me a little extra time trying to figure it all out. I’m still not 100% sure I got it right…but I guess we’ll see in a few days.

Twilight Grimm #2 and Friar Rush #2

So—what are we kickstarting this time? I’m glad you asked. We’re kickstarters a couple of issue #2s: Twilight Grimm #2 and Friar Rush #2. Twilight Grimm #2 is done by writer R.A. Jones, artist Rob Davis, colorist Mickey Clausen, and letterer Mike W. Belcher. Friar Rush #2 is by writer Sidney Williams, penciller Aaron Humphres, inker John Martin, colorist Jeremy Kahn, and letterer Brian Dale. Don’t worry, if you missed #1, you’ll have the opportunity to add it to your pledge.

Like most of our kickstarters, there’s a lot of original artwork just waiting for you to snag and put on your wall! And like always, we’re going to count on you to help spread it around and let people know they need to come back us and help independent comics!

The kickstarter exclusive covers are both pencilled by Peter Clinton, and up-and-coming superstar who’s working on the upcoming Silverline Team-Up: Champion and Miss Fury. He’s cranking it out—already on issue #2—and it’s looking great! So if you want his covers on these books (and you DO!), you’ll need to get over and back the kickstarter. You can go ahead and sign up for it here and you’ll get a message when it goes live: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rolandmann/tg2fr2/

Streams

Just a reminder that we stream twice a week, Sundays and Wednesdays at 9pm EST. It’s pretty interactive, so tune in and ask us questions!

We stream on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SilverlineComics), on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/silverlinecomics) and on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/silverlinecomics). Free to watch!

Discord

While the Discord server is live, it hasn’t been that active. We’ll take suggestions and recommendations as to how we can make it better for you. Here is your invite to join our discord server: https://discord.gg/7dnAp9Yy

Podcasts

They’re coming. We’re close. Watch this space.

Conventions

Slowly but surely, they’re restarting. Roland will be appearing at OLO on March 28 in Orlando, Fl. More new to come as we get them scheduled.

06Jan/21

Silverline: Looking Ahead to Year 3

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2021!

We finally made it out of 2020!

Whew! Many of you thought we’d never make it, yet—here we are! And Silverline is ready to tackle it…nay, we’re psyched that’s it’s here so we can get back to convention going!

We’ve definitely got some exciting things lined up for the coming year. Much of this is going to happen whether we get out of plague-world or not. So…just what do we have planned? Thank you for asking!

Crowdfunding

KS exclusive cover by Ben Dunn

We know that’s at the top of your list of questions: What’s next? What comics are we going to put into your hands? On January 14th we’ll launch our first for 2021. We’ll launch Silverline Double Feature: Teen Beetle #1 and Switchblade #1 RemiX. Both of the issues are complete and ready to print and ship as is the Silverline way (we’ve got a thing here or there on a cover or two, but the interiors are finished!)!

Teen Beetle is the new mini-series by Rochelle creator John Crowther. You’ve probably also seen John’s work in a whole slew of wrestling comics from Inverse Press. With art by long time industry veteran Dell Barras, Teen Beetle is a 3-issue mini-series and is part of the Rochelle universe. Teen Beetle is colored by GeriLou Smith and lettered by Hector Negrette. Ninja High School and Warrior Nun creator Ben Dunn provides a kickstarter exclusive cover.  

KS Exclusive cover by Mike W. Belcher and Aiden Belcher

Switchblade is the RemiX version of Switchblade #1 originally printed in black & white and on newsprint back in the late 90s. It has been digitally remastered and has been colored by Aiden Belcher (Man in the Mask). It was written by Roland Mann, pencilled by Leonard Kirk (Supergirl), inked by David Rowe, and lettered by Brad Thomte.

Here’s the link if you would like to sign up to be notified on launch: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rolandmann/teenbeetle1switchblade1

Beyond that, we know the kickstarter schedule, if not the exact titles. We know, we’re stinkers like that, not telling you what’s when. So, we plan to have crowdfunders run: March 9-28, May 4-23, July 6-25, Sept 7-26, and Nov 9-28. That’s six total kickstarters for the year—one every other month—bringing you what should be TWELVE comics! (unless we do another double like Trumps—then it will be MORE!) So…start socking away your pennies so you can get in on these. They’re always special.

While we can’t tell you the exact titles for specific dates, what we CAN tell you, though, is what you should be seeing. (remember, not necessarily in this order!)

All these Silverline comics are VERY close to being done:

panel from Kayless #3

Kayless #3 and #4 (of 4); Twilight Grimm #2 (of 4); Divinity #2 (of 4); Silverline Team-Up: Champion and Ms Fury #1 (of 4).

These are pretty close:

Friar Rush #2 (of 3); Rejects #1 (of 3); Steam Patriots #1 (of 4); Beah #1 (of 4); Wolf Hunter #1 (of 3); Cat & Mouse #1 (volume 3!)

These are still early in production…but we’re still excited about them.

Cat & Mouse #4; Trumps Book 2; Capetown #1.

Streams

We’ll continue doing the Silver Sunday and Wednesday Wham streams every Sunday and Wednesday night at 9pm (EST). While we’ve got a short list of topics, what are some thing YOU would you like to hear us talk about? Don’t be shy, speak up!

In case you have forgotten (or never knew), we stream on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SilverlineComics), on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/silverlinecomics) and on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/silverlinecomics). Free to watch! 😉

Roland has pitched some ideas out to the Silverline team and there’s very likely more content coming on the Silverline channels! Stay tuned.

Discord

Yes, we’ve got a Discord server. Yes, it’s live. No, it’s not terribly active, but we’re working on fixing that. It came as a result of our recent foray into gaming. “Gaming?” you say. Yes…but more on that later. For now, here is your invite to join our discord server: https://discord.gg/4SFwhtUJz8

Podcasts

Silverline Sunday stream producer Brett is hard at work turning the streams into podcasts. The goal is to have them start hitting around February. So, if you prefer podcasts over visual streams, this might be a way for you to get your Silverline team fix.

Special items for ‘21

If you supported any of our kickstarters with a physical reward, you should have received the first ever Silverline Christmas card. We were SO excited to make that happen as just something small to let you all know we appreciate you so much.

The other thing you may not have seen yet is the very first ever Silverline poster! Yes, that’s right, it’s 18X24 and needs a place on your wall! They’ll be available live at conventions or you can have one mailed to you. It’ll be available through the Facebook Store…very soon.

The Silverline Signature Book will be available soon on IndyPlanet and at conventions near you. The twenty lucky Mystery Box winners got the 20 first ever limited run, but now everyone else can pick up a copy.

Project news

The addition of John Crowther’s Teen Beetle led to additional talks, and while nothing is solidified yet, we’re happy to announce that Silverline will be the home for a new volume of Rochelle the Teen Cockroach! More to come on that later.

What’s the status of the other titles?

Cat & Mouse

Alex Gallimore is working on pencilling issue #4, the last issue of Cat & Mouse volume 2. Just a few pages in, this will be the final issue and will be the first of the series started to finish.

Several of you Cat & Mouse fans asked me if that was it, though, and I’m happy to tell you that it is NOT it for Cat & Mouse. In fact, Wubba Fett is already about half-way finished with the pencils for #1 of volume 3! My pal Jeff Whiting will be inking and you’re going to absolutely LOVE what you see.

art for volume 3 of Cat & Mouse by Wubba Fett (p) and Jeff Whiting (i)

Fans of Alex, don’t fret, though. While #4 (v2) is Alex’s last issue of C&M, Alex has fallen in love with Demon (haven’t we all?) and is actually chomping at the bit to tell a new Demon story. He’s so excited, he’s already recruited Thomas Florimonte on to ink it!

Kayless

Kayless #3 is nearly done. It’s completely lettered (by Brad Thomte) and a little more than half colored. Kayless #4 has about 10 pages of pencils and inks, so it should be the 2nd series to wrap up this year.

Divinity

panels from Divinity #2 by Alex Sarabia (p) and Barb Kaalberg (i, c)

Alex Sarabia has just started pencilling issue #3 of Divinity while creator Barb Kaalberg finishes up the colors. Barb took on the colors when Steve Mattsson had to step aside. Barb is doing a bang-up job on the colors!

Twilight Grimm

Rob Davis has finished the third issue. Yes, you read correctly, the third issue! And he’s working on #4 as we type. Issue #2 is still being both lettered and colored, but we anticipate completion literally any day now. Twilight Grimm will likely be the third completed mini of Silverline thanks to Rob’s blue collar work ethic in getting the work done!

Friar Rush

Friar Rush #2 is a little over half inked by John Martin, but it is completely lettered.

work from Friar Rush #2 by Aaron Humphres (p) and John Martin (i)

Trumps

Thomas Hedglen is working on a special Trumps…”thing” before beginning issue #3 (or the first part of Book 2)…and we think you’re going to like the thing he’s working on! Hopefully within just a few weeks he’ll be starting on issue #3.

Rejects

C. Michael Lanning has completed the pencils for the first issue and WOW—you’re going to be blown away by what he’s done. Rebecca Winslow is just getting into the inks, but hopefully we can start showing you some of that soon, as well as C. Michael’s pencilling on #2 (which he will likely do some of during the live stream!).

work from Rejects #1 by C. Michael Lanning (p) and Rebecca Winslow (i)

Silverline Team-Up: Champion and Miss Fury #1 (of 4)

Started out as a Champion solo comic…then Roland decided to add Miss Fury (she’s public domain AND he did the first “new” work after Tarpe Mills in the early 90s Miss Fury mini-series by Malibu)…and the title became what it is now. Peter Clinton has done a bang up job on the first issue. Keep you eyes on Pete—he’s a shooting star! Roland has finished the script (done Marvel style), and Thomas Florimonte is working on the inks. Roberta has colored a single page and the cover and should get on more of them as Tommy finished the inks. Meanwhile, Peter has already started pencils for issue #2!

work from Silverline Team-Up: Champion and Miss Fury by Peter Clinton (p), Thomas Florimonte (i) and Roberta Conroy (c)

White Devil

White Devil #1 is being colored by Phil Leon. We hope to have the first issue complete VERY soon. Issue #2 is lined up and waiting for him to complete #1, and Issue #3 is in the hands of inker Chuck Bordell.

art from White Devil #1 by Jaxon Renick (p) and Mike Keeney (i)

Steam Patriots

Issue #1 is being colored and lettered and should be done soon.

Beah

Haley Martin has finished roughly 6 pages of full pencil/inks/colors—she’s doing all the art! Be sure to catch her working on the pages during the Wednesday live stream.

art from Beah by Haley Martin

Wolf Hunter

pencils for Wolf Hunter by AJ Cassetta

AJ Cassetta is nearly done with the pencils for issue #1.

Capetown

The script for the first issue is done, and JW Franklin is waiting on Roland to release a final script to him so he can start drawing!

Teen Beetle

Issue #2 is just starting production.

Sniper & Rook

Should see the first issue of the new volume ready very soon!

RemiX

Several books are part of the RemiX line from Silverline. Switchblade is the first to see the light of day. These titles were originally published in the 90s in black and white and on newsprint. They have been (are being) digitally remastered and then colored to be released in the new RemiX format.

Jeremy Kahn is wrapping up coloring issue #5 (of 5) of Krey; David Rios is coloring issue #4 (of 4) of Demon’s Tails; Roberta Conroy is coloring #3 (of 4) of Pendulum; Barb Kaalberg is coloring #3 (of 4) of Sirens; Scott Gordon is coloring #3 (of 4) of SilverStorm V2; Eric Rossberg is nearly finished with #1 (of 4) of Scary Book; and Rebecca Winslow is slated to color Marauder.

Like we said, we’ve got a lot of fun stuff coming your way…and that’s what comics should be: FUN!

Remember to #makeminesilverline

22Dec/20

Christmas Memories by R.A. Jones

Creator Spotlight,

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

BY:  R. A. JONES

Christmas has always been my absolute favorite holiday of the entire year and is today the only one to which I devote much time celebrating.

In my youth, the receiving of presents was naturally the main source of its appeal. But there were other things as well.

Things like homemade candy. My mother did a terrific job of making her own fudge, divinity and even peanut brittle (the latter being no easy feat). Popcorn balls were always to be found in plenty.

Like a poor man’s version of the famous Kennedy clan, football was part of my family’s Christmas tradition. Late afternoon, after presents had been opened and a large, sumptuous meal downed, all the Jones boys would head to the backyard for a little rough-and-tumble tackle football game.

I also always associate music with Christmas. I love Christmas music!  Play Little Drummer Boy (the original version, with the Boys’ Choir) for me and I guarantee you’ll see a lump appear in my throat every time.

One song that I suppose is technically not purely a Christmas song but that I always think of in that regard because Mom always played it along with more traditional tunes, is the Ave Maria – specifically the version sung by the great Perry Como.

The song about the Drummer Boy has now come to epitomize for me my own personal credo, especially in a professional sense.

If you listen to that song closely, you’ll see that it never claims that the little boy is the greatest drummer; it never even states that he is a good drummer. So what does it say?

I played my drum for Him.
               I played my best for Him.
               Then He smiled at me.
               Me and my drum.

I like to think that’s what all the many editors I’ve worked for and with over the course of my long career as a writer came to expect they would receive from me.

Not necessarily the greatest story – but the very best story of which I was capable.

As for memories surrounding Christmas presents, I actually have three I’d like to share. I like to think they span the spectrum: one is about receiving, one is about giving – and one is about giving and receiving.

When I was a little boy, one of the most highly anticipated events leading up to Christmas was the arrival in the mail of the Sears Catalog.

Between its covers one would find page after page of wonderful toys available through this retail giant. My father had a good job, working for American Airlines, but he also had a lot of children – so you had to keep your requests for your main Christmas Day presents down to one or two. The process of winnowing down all the options so enticingly offered by Sears and Roebuck was often rather long and arduous.

One particular year (and I honestly don’t remember my age at the time), I had fairly quickly narrowed my focus down to one particular item.

A Fort Apache Playset.

Having grown up during a veritable Golden Age of Western movies and TV shows, I naturally developed a great love of the Old West. I still have it; I’ve written a couple of Western comics, plus three prose novels and a novella.

The Fort Apache Playset consisted of all the pieces (plastic, of course) needed to assemble the fort itself, plus plastic figures of soldiers, Indians and horses. The photo had me practically drooling onto the pages of the Sears catalog.

The one thing I feared might stand between me and my possession of it, however, was what to my young mind was the rather princely price required to purchase it.

If memory serves me correctly, it commanded a hefty $4.95!

Perhaps I’d been a particularly good boy that year – or perhaps the price was not quite so exorbitant as I had imagined. Regardless, I found it sitting beneath our tree on Christmas morning. It proved to be just as wonderful as I had hoped it would be!

For whatever reason, I can think of no other Christmas present that has left such in indelible print in my mind and heart.

Move forward a few years. I was working my first “real” job flipping hamburgers for a chain (now defunct, I believe) called Burger Chef. One of the Christmas presents I had purchased from my $1.10 per hour paycheck had been the latest music album by the Beatles.

The recipient of this gift was to be my older brother “Dink” – the sibling to whom I was always closest and with whom I shared a love of all things coming from the “Fab Four.”

Now, unless you put it inside a box of some sort, it was pretty hard to disguise a vinyl record album’s shape, no matter how may bows you might put on the wrapping.

So, one weekend afternoon a week or two before Christmas, when the parents and all our other siblings were out of the house for a few hours, Dink approached me with a proposition.

Since it was blatantly obvious what my gift to him was anyway (he knew I wouldn’t have given him a record from any other group than the Beatles) – why not go ahead and let him open it?  We could enjoy listening to it for a few hours, then re-wrap it and put it back under the tree – and come Christmas Dink would open it again and feign surprise as if he was seeing it for the first time!

So we did, and he did – and as far as I could tell, none of the rest of the family was ever the wiser.

Dink’s gone now – but the memory of that particular gift will live as long as I do.  Maybe longer.

Finally, move forward yet another couple of years.  It was my first year as a student at our local Community College, and I was working to help pay my way there as a sacker at a grocery store called Warehouse Market.

In the years immediately preceding this one, my mom had insisted on setting up an artificial Christmas tree in our living room.

Now, some artificial trees are very nice, very lifelike in appearance. But this one looked like some alien form of flora. It was all shiny and silver and each “branch” ended in what looked like a small, aluminum pom-pom. Adjacent to this “tree” would sit a sort of light wheel. As the wheel slowly rotated, the light cast through its colored cels would make the tree appear to be red, blue or green.

I hated it.

The store where I worked, like most grocery stores then, sold live Christmas trees.  So I used some of my earnings to buy one to bring home – making it a gift I received but also one I gave to the rest of the household.

So tall was it that we had to saw off a couple inches to keep it from scraping against the ceiling of our living room. A room it then filled with that wonderful aroma of evergreen.

I also had enough money to buy nice presents for my parents and the two younger siblings of mine who were also still living at home. I can’t honestly tell you what presents were given to me by others that year – though I’m sure they were great and that I appreciated them. But I still remember the presents I gave.

And I still remember the tree.

It’s been a perilous year for all of us in 2020, but I hope our Christmas is a joyous one for us all. And that we all remember the message that Christmas brings to everyone – regardless of your faith or lack of same.

After all…what could be a better gift for all of us than a world in which we had peace on earth – and good will toward one another?

Merry Christmas, everybody.

And in the coming New Year – don’t forget to Make Mine Silverline!

#

24Nov/20

Silverline Creator R.A. Jones on Thanksgiving

Creator Spotlight,

by R.A. Jones
In recent years (and in part because a very small part of my ethnic make-up is Native American), mention of Thanksgiving inevitably brings to mind a great bit by The Daily Show’s then-host John Stewart.  It went something like this:

“I intend to celebrate Thanksgiving in the traditional way.  I’m going to invite all my neighbors over for a big feast – then kill them and take their land.”

In my own life, there really is no single specific memory of one Thanksgiving Day above all others, but simply a warm trove of collective memories.
First, naturally enough, there is the food.  I came from a very large family, and while we never experienced anything remotely resembling a shortage of food on our table, no day saw an abundance so great as on that special Thursday in November.
Turkey, of course (one of the largest you could buy in those pre-steroid days, I imagine).  Dressing and dumplings (homemade: nothing that came in a box or a can), green bean casserole, corn.  Hot dinner rolls dripping with margarine.
And desserts, too.  Pumpkin pie (which I always liked, but largely as the simple loading platform for generous dollops of whipped cream!).  And my mom baked homemade apple/cranberry pies that were out of this world.
After a certain age, I became mom’s unofficial “taste tester” as she prepared the fixings for her dressing before popping it into the oven.  It took a sophisticated palette like mine to tell her when she had added just the right amount of sage!
We would continue to dine off the leftovers for several days afterward.  The final stage came when dad would scrape off every last shred of meat still stubbornly clinging to the turkey bones and mom would serve us creamed turkey on toast.
That’s right: Our final and still fondly remembered meal of the holiday consisted of a feathered version of what GIs, doubtless with equal fondness, called “s#!t on a shingle!”
Then came the football game.  The connection of this game with the holiday goes back, if I’m not mistaken, to the very first Thanksgiving: when the two sides played a rousing post-feast game of touch football.  (The Pilgrims, naturally, being the “shirts” while the Indians were the “skins.”  Ouch!)
I’ve been a lifelong fan of the Dallas Cowboys (or nearly so; they are actually a few years younger than I am!), and watching them play was and still is considered by me to be one of my personal “traditions” of the holiday.
That does in turn play into one Thanksgiving memory that is very specific.  A couple of decades or more ago, about a week before Turkey Day, I received a phone call from an old buddy of mine (who was and is a much bigger name in the comics biz than I ever was or ever will be).
The reason behind his call was rather amusing (to me, at least.  Probably less so for him.).  The lady he was dating at the time had invited him to her parents’ house for Thanksgiving.
This would also be the first time he met her family and he understandably wanted to make a good first impression.  One thing that made him apprehensive about this was the fact that her father and brothers were football fans and he would almost certainly be expected to watch the games on TV that day with them.
Only problem: Having no interest in the sport, my buddy also had virtually no knowledge of the teams involved or the nuances of the game.  Yet he didn’t want to just sit there like a lump on a log and make no contributions to the kind of conversation that always surrounds a game.
So, knowing I did possess at least a modicum of such, he called on me to be his living version of Cliff’s Notes for Football!
Alas, his relationship with said lady did not progress to the point of matrimony and eventually ended altogether.  I hope it wasn’t because I failed to adequately school him on the finer points of football.
Finally…I know it might be easy in such perilous times as now – pandemic, unemployment, fires, hurricanes – to think that you have precious little for which you can really be thankful.
I don’t know if this will be useful to you, but something that helps me, at least a little, in such times of my life derives from the chorus of a wonderful tune Bing Crosby sang in the classic motion picture White Christmas (if I may be excused for tapping into a different holiday):

When I’m worried and I can’t sleep,
I count my blessings instead of sheep.
And I fall asleep
Counting my blessings.

One of those blessings for me this year is my inclusion in the Silverline “family.”
Hope you all have equal reason to feel thankful!

#

02Jun/20

Silverline News: Double Feature KS ending in four days

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Close as of this writing!

The kickstarter for the Silverline Double Feature of Divinity #1 and Twilight Grimm #1 is close to making goal as I write this up. Currently, there are 134 backers pledging $5,576 making 92% of goal. If you’re reading this and haven’t backed, remember that the comics are done, we just need the funding to print and ship them to you! And of course, we know you’re going to love them. So get on over and pledge if you can: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rolandmann/silverlinedoublefeature1

Silverline Live now 3 times a week!

Yep, it’s true, and that’s our big news this week. Tomorrow (Wednesday, June 3), longtime Silverline creator Sidney Williams will be talking with a good bit of the creative teams behind Divinity and Twilight Grimm. We have it on good authority that even R.A. Jones will be joining the group via phone! https://www.facebook.com/events/2660675587554560/

Then, Sunday night (June 7), Roland will talk with a host of those who weren’t part of the Wednesday chat. They’ll talk about crowdfunding in general. Then, on Monday night, the first Silverline Live: 1on1 will debut as Roland sits down to talk with Thomas Florimonte (who will be inking at the same while he talks!).

So, if you’ve got questions, post them on the Silverline FB group page. We’ve created event pages on FB as we’re going to try them out, see if they work to help generate questions before we go live.

Next Kickstarter

Kickstarter Exclusive cover by Steven Butler

We know the current one isn’t over yet, but we wanted to let you know that we already know what we’ll be kickstarting in July, after we’ve got fulfillment (or at least most of it) for the Silverline Double Feature #1 done. July will see two Sidney Williams written comics: the first is Bloodline, an adaptation of the short story written by Sid and Robert Pettit. Bloodline is penciled by Rob Sacchetto, inked by Terry Pallot, and colored by Jeremy Kahn. The other is Friar Rush #1, the first of a three issue mini-series. It’s penciled by Aaron Humphres, inked by John Martin, and colored by Rebecca Winslow. And oh—guess what, BOTH of these are already finished. RIGHT? Two months before we even crowdfund, these are done!

Don’t forget to like us, follow us, heart us, favor us, subscribe to us, and all those social media things! As always, thanks for your support!

13May/20

Silverline Double Feature kickstarter is live!

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Silverline Double Feature kickstarter is live!

If you follow any Silverline social media at all, you’ve seen us post SOMETHING over the last two weeks about our two exciting new titles: Divinity and Twilight Grimm. Our kickstarter is live now, and as I type, we’re 25% funded, so we’re very excited that it is going so well out the door. So, what are they?

Divinity

…is the story of Divinity Gray, an eleven year old girl whose life changes forever after the suspicious death of her parents. Marine Sgt. Zach Gray, the older brother she barely knows, becomes her guardian, but when he discovers Divinity’s mysterious healing powers, their lives take a dangerous turn. With the help of a few friends, Zach and Divinity must go on the run to keep Divinity—and her powers—out of the hands of an evil cabal.

Kevin Van Hook, filmmaker and creator of Bloodshot said this about Divinity: “Divinity #1 manages to bring a fresh take to this story of a young girl with mysterious healing powers. Alex Sarabia’s pencils combined with veteran inker Barbara Kaalberg keeps the tale moving and makes you care for the characters as you’re along for the ride. Good stuff!”

Maggie Thompson said, “It’s one of the moments that tells the reader a comic book has succeeded. It’s the moment when the reader says, “Hey! That’s all I get right now? What happens next?

       “That reaction means the story works. It means the elements have gone together to make a great mix. It means the reader cares.

       “And that’s the reaction readers will have, when they get to the last panel of Divinity #1. It’s the issue that introduces the Marine who’s had to return to the States to take care of his half-sister. And it introduces the girl who has a talent neither of them can explain.

       “Now the question is: How long will reader have to wait until #2? Because they’re going to care.”

Divinity is by: creator/co-writer/inker Barb Kaalberg, co-writer R.A. Jones, penciler Alex Sarabia, colorist Steve Mattsson, and letterer Mike W. Belcher.

Divinity #1 is full color, 22 pages. #1 is the first of a four-issue mini-series. The comic is COMPLETELY FINISHED.

Twilight Grimm

Twilight Grimm is by R.A. Jones and Rob Davis. They are joined by colorist Mickey Clausen and letterer Mike W. Belcher.

Twenty years ago, the  city of Hallowed Heights was nearly destroyed as the result of warfare between  humans and vampires. In its aftermath, the  two factions forged a most unusual “peace plan.” A high and heavily  guarded wall now splits the two sides of the city.  On one side of the wall  reside the middle and upper classes of humans.  It is clean, beautiful and  safe.

On the other side of the  wall, where a teenaged petty thief named Suzi Q has just been exiled, lies the  darkest and most horrible ghetto imaginable.  Here, amidst squalor and  vice, dwell the poor, the homeless, the forgotten.

And the vampires, led by the family of Gregor Radovic.

As long as the vampires stay on their side of the wall, the humans on the other side are willing to  pretend they don’t exist and let them rule over this so-called “Blood Zone” as  they see fit.  This includes turning a blind eye as the vampires feast upon the Zone’s human inhabitants.

Amidst rumors that the long-held truce may be unraveling, there is no human law in the Blood Zone —  save for that dispensed by a mysterious and violent young man who has appointed  himself its sole guardian from the depredations of the vampires.

His name is…TWILIGHT GRIMM.

Twilight Grimm #1 is a supernatural/horror comic; full color, 22 pages. #1 is the first of a four issue mini-series. The comic is COMPLETELY FINISHED.

Silverline Live

We’re working on over two months of Silverline Live and it’s going well. So well, of course, that we’re going to increase our frequency in June. More about that as we get a little closer. Please, if you haven’t already, consider subscribing to our youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/silverlinecomics

New Projects

We’re not going to go into them just yet, because it’s a little too early…but in the last 2 weeks, we’ve started THREE, yes, T-H-R-E-E new projects…and we can’t be more excited.

Remember, Make Mine Silverline!

21Apr/20

Craft: R.A. Jones – Writers are Artists Too – or at least they should try to be

Craft of comic creating,

Hey there Silverline Readers and Comic Makers! I was able to get a hold of R.A. Jones and have him give us the low down on part of his writing process. R.A. has made quite the name for himself working on titles like Bullet Proof Monk, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Wolverine & Captain America. As someone who has read a couple of R.A.’s scripts, I can tell you that the second you pick it up, you can immediately see how every detail would translate to panels.

This entry of Craft is about just that. R.A. goes over why writers should think about their comics visually and how he does that himself. It’s our hope that the following entry helps you, dear reader, go about writing your own comic scripts that develop synergy with your artist and better engage your reader.

Writers Are Artists Too – Or At least They Should Try To Be
by R.A. Jones

Years ago, a professional comic book artist gave me a hypothetical and somewhat exaggerated example of the kind of bad scripting of which writers are occasionally guilty. It went something like this:

Panel 1: BATMAN AND ROBIN SLIDE DOWN THE BAT-POLES, RACE ACROSS THE BATCAVE, LEAP INTO THE BATMOBILE AND DRIVE OFF INTO THE NIGHT.

The problem this presents should be obvious – though it always isn’t to some writers. The hypothetical scribe has asked their artist collaborator to visually portray at least four separate actions in a single panel!

Writers also sometimes forget that it takes longer to draw the Statue of Liberty than it does to simply write: Draw the Statue of Liberty. One of the quickest ways for a writer to get on an artist’s bad side is to hand him a script heavy with panels that are so elaborate, so full of characters and actions that he/she is practically reduced to tears of frustration.

A writer does not have to be able to draw any better than does a typical 5-year-old. But they do need to be knowledgeable about the ins and outs of visual storytelling. That is a talent that is often lacking even in those who can draw, at least early in their careers.

Stating that a writer needs to be able to visualize when they write is obvious in certain media, such as comic strips, comic books, and television and motion pictures. But it is a talent that is important to writers of prose as well; useful in describing people, places, and things and thereby creating pictures in the mind’s eye of the reader.

There is a bit of advice I’ve given to many aspiring artists over the years – and I would offer it to writers as well. Choose one of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic films (or director of your choice). Play that movie with the sound off and don’t just watch it – study it.

Get to understand the hows and whys of his varying camera shot choices – from establishing shots to close-ups. Study how he uses the camera to direct our eyes to where he wants them to go. See how much information can be conveyed without the need for any words at all. Develop an appreciation for the creative uses of lighting.

Then apply what you learn to your writing.

There, of course, is no single “right” way to write a comic book script, but I’ll tell you about mine; you find the method that works best for you. This applies to my preferred method of writing a story – full script – but can also be applied when employing all but the briefest and loosest of “Marvel Style” scripting.

First, I write myself a short plot synopsis of that story/issue: usually no more than 3-5 pages long. Along the margins of that plot, I make pencil notations regarding how many pages I think each scene should require to be told visually. Among other things, this lets you know if your plot is too dense for the space allotted and adjust accordingly.
(You will find few if any artists who are happy about working on a script that requires them to cram 12 panels into each page to get all of that story into 20 pages!)

Once I’ve done this, I literally draw the entire issue myself. Full disclosure: my “drawings” are extremely simple and crude, sometimes little more than stick figures. But that’s all I require to make sure the pacing is correct and to be able to fully and understandably explain to the artist what I want from each panel of each page.

Only then do I write the actual script that will go to the editor and artist. If I can draw the story within the required limits and without cramming too much into each panel/page – I know any good, professional artist can comfortably do so as well.

And be flexible; even the method I’ve described should allow artists to flex their creative muscles in terms of layout, etc. Don’t let ego prevent you from recognizing that their visual ideas and instincts can be better than or improve upon your own.

Doing your job well in visualizing your story – makes it easier for your artistic collaborator to do their job!

14Apr/20

Silverline starts a Facebook “Group”…and other news

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Join the chatty fun!

After last week’s stream, it was determined that Silverline Comics needed more than just a Facebook “page,” it needed a Facebook “Group,” so all interested parties would have greater opportunity for interaction with readers, fans, and creators. Thus, the Silverline Group page is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1065603887155592/. Please go join and chat with us there!

Kayless #2 kickstarter a success!

Thanks to all who helped bring Kayless #2 to life! We’re simply waiting on the funds from kickstarter, then we’ll get it printed and shipped! As a reminder, remember, it’s done! And we can’t wait for you to see it!

Covid-World

Most of us are living under quarantine in this Covid World. It’s just flat strange. That does give a lot of folks more time to read, and it gives many of the Silverline creators more time to MAKE AWESOME COMIC BOOKS FOR YOU! Stay safe!

Tune in to Silverline Live stream

Whether it’s just timing and strange luck, SILVERLINE LIVE started about the same time as the quarantine orders began. Tomorrow will be our fifth straight week. Just to let you know some of what we’ve been talking about:

  • Issue #1 was just a general chat and introduction (we’re calling our episodes “issues.” I know, I know…but we’re COMIC folks, whaddaya want?).
  • Issue #2 we started our “Craft” segment and discussed PLOT. The craft segments will hopefully go hand-in-hand with the craft segments on this page that Silverline Associate Editor Tim Theissen has been doing a great job on! This issue also featured the debut of Silverline Indy Comic Reviews as Silverline friend Martin Pierro of Cosmic Times did his first crowdfund comic review. Martin reviewed the kickstarted Broke Down and 4 Dead bodies. Martin should return for another crowdfund comic review in two weeks.
  • Issue #3 was part 1 of the Craft segment PROTAGONIST.
  • Issue #4 featured a gaggle of us talking about Covid and how it is and has affected the comics industry.
  • Issue #5, tomorrow night, will be part 2 of the PROTAGONIST segment.

You have 3 options to watch us live:

  1. On twitch:  https://www.twitch.tv/silverlinecomics/
  2. On Facebook live:  https://www.facebook.com/SilverlineComics/
  3. On Youtube live: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD_wuBxQzysURBxKkW-T5wg

Whatever your viewing choice is, please considering liking, subscribing, following, etc…and sharing! Come watch us live if you can—ask us some tough questions!

Silverline month at Comic Chat Authority

Comic Chat Authority head honcho, Cody Johnson asked Roland if there would be any interest in a Silverline month. Dedicated followers here might remember that CCA gave Silverline a pretty good review not long ago (https://youtu.be/d7VGh8AIfR8) sparking their interest in talking with a bunch of us. SO, Silverline month start this coming Saturday!

April 18 = Sidney Williams
April 25 = Alex Gallimore
May 1 = ME (Roland Mann)
May 9 = Barb Kaalberg

Upcoming Silverline Comics!

May will see the kickstarter for Divinity #1 and Twilight Grimm #1. Divinity is created, inked, and co-written by Barb Kaalberg, co-written by R.A. Jones, penciled by Alex Sarabia (this guy is going to be hot—you heard it here first!), and colored by Steve Mattsson.

Twilight Grimm #1 is written by R.A. Jones, penciled and inked by Rob Davis, with colors by Mickey Clausen! It’s veteran comic writer R.A.’s return to comics after several years. R.A. has been writing several novels—you should check them out! Fans of his Protectors work will read some familiar names.

July will see the kickstarter for Bloodline one-shot, and Friar Rush #1. It’s the Sidney Williams month as Sid is the writer for both comics. Bloodline is penciled by Rob Sacchetto, inked by Terry Pallot, and colored by Jeremy Kahn. Friar Rush is penciled by Marc Thomas, inked by John Martin, and colored by Rebecca Winslow. Sid’s been cooking up a lot of great rewards for these and we can wait to get the May and July books in your hands!

Until next time, Make Mine Silverline!

05Apr/20

Kayless kickstarter ending

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Kayless kickstarter ending

Kayless ends in about 2 days and we still need your help. We’re pushing hard to try to beat the kicstarter for #1, but we’ve got a ways to go. $2000 is the final stretch goal we would really love to achieve. So, share share, and back/support if you can.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rolandmann/kayless-1-and-2