What Kind of Publisher?
Transfuzion is embarking on its third year and I have to say that things are on a grander scale than I imagined. As I've said in the past, the original intent of Transfuzion Publishing was to collect some older material from myself and Rafael Nieves and perhaps a few friends and that was to be the extent of it.
However, it has grown considerably since then and Transfuzion now has 26 books released. That's an ambitious release schedule and not one that was planned and in the future, I don't see a monthly release although it could come close.
As a publisher, I often get asked what kind of material do we publish. Well, that's a tough one, just like it is with most publishers.
Doing a quick breakdown by genre, Transfuzion has released 3 books on OZ (and the 4 th set to be released shortly), 4 books on H.P. Lovecraft (and a 5 th coming in March), 2 books on Sherlock Holmes (with a 3 rd in April), 4 horror titles, 3 historical, 4 war titles, a few science fiction books, and a couple that verge on superheroes. There are a couple books that define classification.
So, obviously, the subject matter is not the determining factor on what we publish. Essentially, we do what we think is good and what we like...and most of the time, those are compatible.
There are some restrictions. Pretty much, I am not interested in superheroes, especially the more traditional kind. First off, selling knock offs on Marvel and DC comics rarely works, especially in black and white and I personally have little to no interest in that kind of material. I mean, if I can't get into the current comics featuring my youth's heroes, not much chance that I'd find any appeal in unknown characters. There are always exceptions, of course, but I rarely see them. I liked Gary Carlson's Big Bang titles as an example but that had an eccentric nostalgic quality to it (even if they were re-imagined characters).
I'm firm about the periodical comic pamphlet in that I will not do any. I was a bit waffling on it when Transfuzion started, but now am firmly convinced that there just isn't viability in it for a company such as Transfuzion. However, having just said that, with the explosion of print on demand availabilities, it might be time to revisit that sometime in the future but for now, it's just not practical.
By the time you read this, another 3 books will be signed up for release from Transfuzion and it will likely be months before you hear about then. I usually don't like to broadcast too far ahead because every time I do, those are the books that end up in production hell for some reason or other.
Of course, those that read this column will get the information first as this is where we'll make all the initial announcements. So, be sure to stay tuned.
TITLE SPOTLIGHT
This spotlight ties in with a brand new book that Transfuzion is doing and one that is not a collection of a previously published comic series. FERRYMEN is a story of action, intrigue, and philosophical examinations. Follow Dorothy, a Newlydead soul, who being recently deceased, is transported to an after-life she never expected. Without any memory of her prior self or her mortal life, she wanders through the Dead Realm of Purgatory meeting rulers and monsters alike. Among those she meets are the Ferrymen of the Styx Tunnels, specifically assigned to the protection and trafficking of Newlydead souls to find their final home in Heaven or Hell.
CREATOR SPOTLIGHT
A brief look at one of the creators from Transfuzion.
Aleister Gilgrim was born in the late 70's in Anaheim CA, Aleister grew up with a strong fascination for horror culture, graffiti, old manga, comic art, Frankenstein monsters and terrible unicorns. Graduating from Chapman University (2001), Aleister has worked in print comics, as a professional tattoo artist, a branding manager, VP of Creative Development, painter, freelance illustrator, clothing designer and concept artist/character designer. He currently works for Disney as a lead illustrator, character builder, storyboard artist, character designer and concept artist. He has lived in the US, Russia and Japan.
Q&A x5
1. What do you consider your first major project and your thoughts on it?
I think my first major project was one that I haven't finished yet. It was a three book series called "Goblin Glenn". I did one short for it (21 pages) and broke down the series into its outline and did all of the character and world designs for it. I think that it was my first major project because of all of the preproduction I was doing on it, and how much prep it really required.
The weird thing is that it wasn't my first project at all. I had already started working on small work-for-hire stuff for places like Tokyopop and was, at the same time as "Goblin Glenn", working on my first creator-owned series, "The Cemeterians" with SLG Publishing. But, even with those other books in the works and those other projects, there is still something, maybe more finished, or polished about "Goblin Glenn" in my head.
I was and still am really happy with that book even though it's not properly started and where I am with it. I feel like it's solid enough that I can come back to it some day and it will just as strong as when I left it. That's very appealing to me, especially because I often find looking back on old work as something cringe-worthy.
2. Of all the projects you've worked on, what was your favorite?
I would have to say that that's actually the book I'm working on now. For lack of a better name, although I do have a working title, I've simply been calling it "Book 3'', where ';'The Cemeterians" and "Ferrymen" are books one and two. It's my favorite because I'm trying right now to push myself as hard as possible in terms of my story telling, and doing that with the most personal book I've ever even thought of tackling.
I never thought I would try anything autobiographical, and this isn't exactly that, but I think it certainly falls under the 'inspired by real life events' label... which makes it terrifying, and exhilarating, and a thorough pain in the ass. But one, that if I'm able to work through, will be really worth it, at least to me as the author and creator.
3. If you could return to any of your previous projects, which would it be?
The only one I've thought of returning to is "The Cemeterians." I had an idea for a second volume that would completely change the world of the first book. It was inspired by watching a French lounge act do a cover of Joy Division... for some reason, while the song 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' was playing I had the entire book flash through my head from beginning to end. I've thought about going back to "Goblin Glenn" as well of course, but I think that's more picking up something where I left it. I think "The Cemeterians" would more aptly be described as a return. But, I also keep a file cabinet full of notebooks, scripts, outlines, sketches and doodles that I hope to go back to one day for one reason or another, so it's sort of hard to choose just one thing to go back to.
4. If you could do any project, what would it be?
I think the project that is still foremost on my mind and the back burner is one called "Monkey 3030". Basically, it's a re-imagining of the "Journey to the West" while also being a sort of love-letter to the works of Katsuya Terada, and Jamie Helwett. I want to make this most of all as something to share with my son, make specifically for him as the original story was one that I loved a great deal as a kid.
The tricky bit of course is that I wasn't originally thinking of making this project as a sequential-graphic novel-manga-whatever, but as an animated series. I haven't really figured out if it should be a short series or something longer with a larger scope. But I do know that if there was any project I could drop everything for right now, today, it would be a chance to really make "Monkey 3030" happen.
5. Who has worked in comics for awhile and should be much better known?
Felipe Smith and Drew Rausch. First and foremost. Both of these guys are amazing. There's a long list frankly, this industry of late hasn't been to responsive for a lot of the amazing people that do incredibly brilliant work. There are also others like Ethan Nicole, Serena Valentino, Aaron A, Tavisha & Rikki Simons, there are just lots and lots of good people consistently doing good work right now. The good and the bad part of that is that they don't all work for the same place, imprint, label, so you have to work hard to seek these creators out and to see what they're doing. I think that that is a problem though, I don't think this industry is too into making that effort as much any more. Which is too bad, it only hurts all of us, creators and fans alike.
Information
Check out Aleister's website at http://halfdeadunicorn.com
More information about Ferrymen and other Transfuzion titles can be found at www.transfuzion.biz
Gary Reed is the publisher of Transfuzion Publishing and was the former publisher of Caliber Comics. As a writer, he has written a number of graphic novels and comics including Saint Germaine, Deadworld, Baker Street, Renfield, Raven Chronicles, A Murder of Scarecrows, and others. Outside of Talking Transfuzion, he has his regular blog covering a wide variety of topics at reedgary.blogspot.com and his website www.garyreed.net
blog comments powered by Disqus