Monday, April 30, 2012

Bigfoot character reveals...

Alright, people...

You leave me no choice, but to tease...

But first, I must apologize.

This race doesn't appear until the second issue of our Bigfoot comic, but we feel we've talked enough business and updates for the time being.

alien race Bigfoot Sword of the Earthman comic book barbarian



So what is this guy?  Equal parts beast, moth, vampire and all around horror.  And he is one of thousands (my apologies to Andy, who literally has to draw all of them!)

So in the world of Bigfoot, what's a sasquatch to do when he faces a foe that knows no end?

Flee...

Up next... You know, we haven't really revealed any Bigfoot designs...

Have a good one,

Josh S. Henaman

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Guerrilla Marketing? Bah! Try Bigfoot Marketing!

A day late and a dollar short, my friends.

What was originally going to be a post for Monday quickly turned into a Tuesday evening write-up.  Why the delay?  Well, as they say in every bad Vietnam flick out there... "We're in the $#@* now..."

Bigfoot comic book marketing 101 Mat Nastos
Coffee... beer... Bigfoot marketing plan...


Meaning, we're deep into figuring out how to market this beast we call Bigfoot - Sword of the Earthman.

"Bigfoot with a broadsword..."

"Bigfoot the Barbarian..."

"Bigfoot of Mars..."

You'd think a marketing plan for a sasquatch fighting evildoers on a backwards alien planet would write itself.

Sadly, that was my first mistake.

Lesson #1... You know nothing about marketing.

Thankfully, as we get closer and closer to announcing a release date, I had the good sense to listen to a business-minded cousin of mine (thanks, Nate!)  His words to me, "Any business book will tell you how to research a marketing plan... you just have read up on it and start doing it."

Fair enough, but... um... where to start?  The last time I checked, Barnes & Noble had an entire section devoted to marketing and business and every time I searched "marketing plan" in Amazon I get a different set of books.  I write comics, I don't know how to sell 'em!

Lesson #2... They're not going to sell themselves.

Finally, after clicking and stumbling my way through numerous sites hyping their wares and spreadsheets, I stumbled upon an ebook by Mat Nastos for a whopping $4.99, "Comic Book Marketing 101".  At this stage, five bucks is a worthy investment when compared to the cost of printing.

Do I envision it will be the Rosetta Stone into the elusive world of profits?  Not at all, but at least it's a start.  And hey, now I know what a S.W.O.T. Analysis chart is...

Marketing 101... we'll keep you posted.

Or we can always fall back to the tactics outlined here...

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/12/19/afterwards-they-will-explode-comic-book-marketing-strategies/

Until next time...

Josh S. Henaman

Monday, April 16, 2012

When Worlds Collide...


Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to take in Monsterpalooza out in Burbank, CA.  Since the only conventions I had ever attended were this years Wondercon and the Long Beach Comicon a few years back, I had decided that it would be in the best interest of the book to check out one of the many non-comic book related conventions out there.  I was a monster fanatic long before I fell in love with comic books, so needless to say, I was excited.  



After standing in line for two hours because I didn’t have the foresight to purchase tickets in advance (Rule #1… ALWAYS buy tickets in advance), I made it into the venue and discovered a few things…

1) Comic books are great, but you can’t beat the visual stimuli of a special FX guru hard at work. 

 


2)  Cosplayers tend to run a little… darker.




3)  The crossover potential is tremendous.  Horror, sci-fi and fantasy… Whatever your genre, if it sparks the imagination, you can showcase it here. 



No joke.  There’s a reason why a lot of the gaming industry sends some of their designers to scope out some inspiration. 

Let's curb-stomp someone!


And finally, this was probably the most important thing I learned…


4) Bigfoot is sorely underrepresented. 

Seriously, I found one bust of Harry from Harry and the Hendersons and that was squirreled away in a booth where the guy was making horror related soap (don’t laugh, I bought a hockey mask-shaped bar.)  So where was our hominid brethren?  Did I take a wrong turn and miss the elaborate display of all horror/sci-fi/fantasy related Sasquatchian goodness?

Unfortunately, I don't think so.  

But after attending both Wondercon and now Monsterpalooza, I’ve come away with the reality that we would be right at home at both.   Nothing says sci-fi fantasy more than a sword wielding sasquatch.

So take note everybody.   Monsterpalooza is on our radar now and I vow to you all… Next year, Bigfoot will be making an appearance…

Now I just need to look up when the next Bigfoot conference is.

Until next time…

Josh S. Henaman

Monday, April 9, 2012

Enter... Lord Jeoffa


“I have broken bread with great men.  Felled giants, kings and a congress of men you couldn’t possibly understand.  I have united barbarians, thieves and cutthroats.  Birthed armies… And you fear one simple desert whore?”
-Lord Jeoffa 

Villain Bigfoot Sword of the Earthman barbarian comic book


Pound for pound, if Korovan Muspin can match our hero in the physical department, Lord Jeoffa far surpasses them in the intellectual realm.  He has no equal.  As Prometheus brought fire to man, Lord Jeoffa promised the one thing the world needed more than anything… Peace.  And then he corrupted it… 

He is Lord Jeoffa.

He doesn’t want our hero dead…

He wants him broken. 



Until next time…

Josh S. Henaman

Monday, April 2, 2012

Inspiration and what-not


Hey everybody,

This week is a little short on updates and character reveals, so I thought I'd post a few images of inspiration.  Last week we mentioned some of the TBS favorites that inspired Bigfoot - Sword of the Earthman and what better way to emphasize the point than to show some brain candy.

First off, before Conan, before anything Mars related... I was all about Thundarr...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhAobPugvsk

Between this and the original Land of the Lost, a childhood bereft of dinosaurs, broadswords and half-naked women was never in the cards.

Next up... Tanya Roberts... <cough>, I mean... The Beastmaster.


 Creepy eye-rings, bat-like vampire dudes with no mouths and Rip Torn.  This movie had it all.  Outside of V, Marc Singer never had it so good.  And no, I'm not counting the sequel(s).

Finally, there was a little film called Yor - The Hunter from the Future.  Looking back on it, this movie was utter garbage... but one eight-year-old absolutely fell in love with it.  And who wouldn't?  It had barbarians, sorcery and if I'm remembering correctly, there may have been a triceratops somewhere in there.  Come to think of it, I blame Thundarr for my love of Yor.

This Italian poster is cooler than the movie has any right to be.



And just so you know where I'm coming from... here's the U.S. poster...



Throw in some Flash Gordon, The Barbarians and the granddaddy of them all, Heavy Metal, and you have enough stimulation to blow any adolescent's mind.


And there you have it.  If you haven't seen any of these gems, shame on you.  If you've actually seen Yor..., well, welcome to the Reb Brown fan club.

That's all for this week.

Until next time,

Josh "Wanted to put 'Sheena' up here, but realized he had enough Tanya Roberts for one post" Henaman