Yesterday marked the end of summer for me thus the end of my easier summer schedule. Today I’m preparing the fall one. Lots going on in the fall in terms of book production and releases as well as two comic convention appearances.
As a reminder, I will be at the following events so mark your calendars. I’ll have books for sale and you can bring copies from home for signature, if you’d like. I do not charge for autographs or pictures.
Winnipeg Comiccon – October 28 to 30, 2022 – RBC Convention Centre (Winnipeg) FanQuest – November 12 & 13, 2022 – Norwood Community Centre (Winnipeg)
Part of prepping for these appearances is ensuring I have enough book stock to take along with me so I’ve been slowly going through what I have and setting up an order at the printer for what I need. As long as my print order is in by the end of the month, that will allow enough time for printing and shipping.
I’ve also been reevaluating current and upcoming work in terms of what I reveal to the public about these projects. How many times have I said such-and-such will be ready for such-and-such a date and it hasn’t been? Sure, part of it had to do with me being ill. Another part had to do with summer. Another part had to do with my own disorganization. You’d think after all these years of doing this that I’d have this down to a science. But, again, in the big picture, being ill and spending a long time doing a webcomic would slow things down in terms of release(s).
I am writing this statement on behalf of my fellow writers and artists whose livelihoods depend on the honesty of our readers. This statement is going to be perfectly blunt to ensure crystal clarity in the message.
And the message is this: Please, stop pirating–also known as downloading illegally–our books, comics, movies, music, audio performances or presentations, art, and anything else that does not belong to you.
When someone takes something that doesn’t belong to them, it is called stealing. This makes a person a thief. That is what someone who steals is. It does not matter whether the item you took cost pennies or hundreds–even thousands–of dollars to create. In the case of movies, these numbers can run into the millions. The value is irrelevant when it comes to the principle of taking something you didn’t buy and/or did not have permission to use.
There is a sad and, frankly, pathetic mentality out there that everything on the Internet is free and up for grabs to be consumed however anyone wishes.
This is not true.
Yes, there are platforms out there where entertainment work is posted for free in various mediums, but that is where this work is to remain. If a creator posted a piece of art or a photograph to the Internet, you cannot assume you can take it and use it how you see fit. There are rules and there are guidelines and there are permissions to be asked.
Please, stop stealing our work.
Downloading pirated movies, TV shows, music, books, comics, art, and anything else illegally is just that: illegal. It is a crime and it is wrong.
It is even worse when someone takes someone else’s intellectual property and uses it for financial gain. You are profiting off theft. This is also illegal. The excessive amount of fan art in the comic community is a good example of this.
Please, stop stealing our work.
Most creators–despite what you might read in the news or see on TV–live paycheck to paycheck just like plenty of other people. We cannot afford to have our readers not pay for our work. If you like our work and want to read it, we thank you, but we ask that you do it ethically and compensate us for the lengthy amount of time and effort and sometimes stress put into various projects.
If some creators flat out say they are fine with their stuff being pirated, then that’s different and that’s on that particular creator that they are acting ethically to ensure all parties involved with the work are okay with them allowing it to be used and/or consumed for free.
The Internet does not equal free in the purest sense.
Please, stop stealing our work.
Sure, it is understood amongst many creators that many of our readers do not have the means to purchase our material. And while, having lived on the street, I can fully emphasize with that, stealing is stealing. End of story.
When you steal a piece of entertainment, you are stealing not just the compensation for creating that piece of work, you are stealing a person’s time, which is, like I always say, the most valuable thing any living person has because our lives our finite. You are stealing something that is worth more than any treasure or wealth on the planet. Time is more valuable than diamonds.
Please, stop stealing our work.
This is a moral issue.
It is up to you to decide who you want to be: Someone who is fair and respectful, or someone who steals from others.
I haven’t blogged here in nearly a year, which makes me a hypocrite because I used to stress blogging fairly frequently. Thing is, I fell ill again and had to put a full stop on most things while I recovered. I was able to pick at odds and ends but wasn’t able to get back into the full swing of things.
Over the past few weeks I’ve been as productive as ever and finally brought some book stuff out of the darkness and into the light. I did a lot of work and the following is an update as to where my various projects are at.
In no particular order:
Giganti-gator Death Machine: Triple Feature – with the editor. The Canister X Transmission: Year Four – with the formatter. The Canister X Transmission: The Long Year Five – with the formatter.
Expected release: Summer 2022
Reissues:
Blood of the Dead – with the formatter. Possession of the Dead – with the formatter. Redemption of the Dead – beginning of final proofread. Surprise Project – In pieces but not in a bad way. Just need to assemble everything and write something for it.
Expected release: Fall 2022
The Axiom-man Saga:
The Summoning – to be written soon. Episode No. 4: Transformations – to be written. New Dawn – to be written.
These three Axiom-man books will be written back-to-back because these three stories are The Battle of Power Trilogy, so essentially one story told over three parts. My goal is to have them out by Winnipeg Comic Con in the fall. I know the above looks like a lot and overshooting the year but you have to remember what these projects are and how close each one is to being finished.
Other items:
Fredrikus – I have one episode inked and ready for scanning. The comic is temporarily on the backburner while I finish up the above. The Canister X Transmission: The Very Long Year Six – I plan to resume the newsletter at a later date. I want to wait until I’m fully back up and running so I have something to write to you every week. YouTube – I have a package here at Axiom-man Central that I want to do an unboxing video for so look for that soon. I also plan to make more videos once I’m fully back in the saddle. Canister X – I’ll blog when I can and when I have something to say.
And there you have it: A complete picture of what’s happening with various projects on the go. Let’s hope my health keeps up.
Just uploaded a penciled and inked page of Fredrikus to the Behind the Scenes tier on Patreon.
By becoming a patron, you get access to looks at projects before anyone else and in a way that is typically not shown via my other online channels. The Behind the Scenes tier also gets you access to the serial novel, essays on the creative life (along with helpful tips), and, soon, the special version of the upcoming Fredrikuswebcomic, which contains bonus material that won’t be available elsewhere online. Oh, and you also get a nifty Official Canister X membership card only available at this tier level and up.
The other day here on the blog I revealed the real name of one of my code-named projects, which is a webcomic about a cartoon dog I created some 20 years ago in animation school named Fredrikus. In this video, I give a very brief description of the premise. More to be revealed in time.
To be notified of when Fredrikus debuts, please visit http://www.fredrikus.com and bookmark the site.
This past weekend I spent some time taking a page out of Warren Ellis’s playbook by downloading a blog feed reader called Read in an effort of curating my own Internet. I loaded into it all the blogs I follow. Now it will notify me of new blog entries from these sources. Since I’m 99.9% off the social feeds for the winter (except for the odd post here and there, usually about my cooking), this makes things easier for me and saves me time checking in on websites.
The goal is to make my pocket computer’s Internet nice and streamlined in a season of life where I need things streamlined. There are a lot of moving parts going on, both professionally and personally, and it’s time to cut out the clutter and keep things simple. Self-imposed boundaries can be healthy and this is one of the good ones.
Speaking of which, and this idea is at the consideration stage at the moment, I’m thinking about going dark next week so I can ensure the release schedule is maintained. Pursuant to this blog entry here, I tire out quicker than most because of the after effects of being ill so any spare energy I can save and funnel into my projects is a good thing. I’ll keep you posted.
Back to Read.
So far, so good. Saves clicking around or fumbling through my computerized telephone’s browser.
Here is the link should you wish to add this blog, Canister X (the Realm of Heroes and Monsters), to your feed reader, if you have one.
Lastly, tomorrow on Patreon airs the next chapter of Gigantigator Death Machine, my ongoing serial novel about a group of young adults hunted by something huge and deadly, with all the creature-feature fun that goes with it. Go here to get caught up and get ready for the new installment.
