September… always feels like going back to school. Getting up feeling depressed, studying a text book to get a certificate for a new job, and a whole lot of other stuff. But at least I finally finished something I always wanted to do. Although I can’t tell if it was worth it. But if this month’s post performance is any indication, going for the long-term is the better option. Like how I have to limit links to avoid these posts going into spam mail.
Comics and Picking What’s Worth More
My Hoopla for this month was definitely interesting. Contrary to my thoughts, Kamen Rider Kuuga’s fourth volume wasn’t releasing in September. I think it was rescheduled to work on the translated dialogue, something that an acquaintance of mine at
reviews certainly makes note of. Some commentators I follow on the YouTube channel Macrosatsu suggest that the translator with an impressive record was held back by the Covid Pandemic stress. Which going through the 3rd volume I could certainly feel. So it’s great that publisher is taking time to ensure quality control with their license.All of that in mind, what I did borrow was great. Trese’s 6th volume was really impressive stuff with some intense action, conspiracy, and a really compelling foil of an antagonist to its lead character. You can feel the suspense as despite a few losses on the front, you can celebrate the wins with greater supporting characters. While I hope the show on Netflix advertises it, I’d prefer if people took the time to read the comic.
Next I found a hidden gem called Cla$$War. It was from the defunct com.x publisher but Image Comics picked it up for reprint. The great art, dialogue, and presentation really show off the attitudes of the superhero era in the 2000s. You know superheroes who were naively manipulated by the military industrial complex, indulged in their celebrity status, look down on regular humans, etc. Kind of a tired trope today, especially with the cliffhanger. But the thought of what these characters will do afterwards sticks with how a change in attitude is smoothly built up for a big payoff. Despite the change in artists, the creators really put their all into it.
The Bingeing Experience
While a full book would’ve lasted longer, comic strips are just as entertaining. The Comics Kingdom BingePass is a great way for people to get a test of newspaper serials that aren’t on Ucomics. Stuff like the Phantom, Curtis, and Popeye.
Gotta admit some things were definitely better than others, probably because a full subscription to Comics Kingdom would’ve made reading the Phantom more eventful. Definitely would’ve gotten a fuller experience on Mark Schultz’s Prince Valiant. Mandrake definitely got a story and a setup into a new one, but it was just okay. And yet the Amazing Spider-Man serials were very satisfying; Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, thanks for the Spider-Man I’ve been missing.
The funnies were a hit or miss; Haggar the Horrible and Curtis are the ones I could name off the top of my head because they were so good. Everything else was meh…
Although Skylock Fox (why did I think this was Mazetoons, catchier name?) were definitely a better distraction than a number of apps on my phone.
As for the two Popeye strips, they were the perfect balance between the adventure serials and gags-a-strip. Perfectly approachable and a lot of whimsy to go around.
There were also a few I did like but couldn’t name off the top of my head until I looked back. They were Mary Worth and Judge Parker, might’ve needed more time to love. Mark Trail was definitely memorable but just felt okay.
What Set Off A Post
As for my final Hoopla borrow, it was the underrated GCPD: The Blue Wall. I’ve been meaning to cover the writer for a long time with this series as well as One Bad Day: Penguin and The Razor’s Edge being what finally completes a promised post.
But what was it that made GCPD underrated? Honestly, it was a lot of things. For something that takes place in a superhero universe, it was a very grounded commentary on police work. Certain audiences probably thought it was a cash grab on some tragically uncomfortable real life developments. But what I liked was how it goes into the difficulties and pressures of being in law enforcement. This was neither pro or anti-police, merely showing human characters trying their best in moral grey areas to show the complexities and nuance of their decisions.
The Promised Post
John Ridley was a post I had longed promised but held off until I actually knew what I was talking about. Because as it turned out, I Am Batman and Black Panther were poor examples of Ridley at his best. I had a better time rereading Ridley’s story about some WildCAT. Not just for how it goes into how serialization fits into the human mindset, but the introspective moral grays that define Ridley’s future comics. It’s what allows Ridley to demonstrate how successful The Penguin is as a villain. As well as present The Other History of DC through the view of laymen, bitter and flawed as they are.
Post Breakthrough
On the topic of posts, let’s go over Gutternaut’s new and best performing. Especially now that we’ve published 400 posts.
Reviews For Short Bursts
Reviews are definitely what bring in new readers in on the short run. I hoped using different sharing sources would be good, with Pinterest and Reddit being my second highest referrals. Tumblr definitely brings in a bit of diversity, as much as Instagram does with Chats.
My highest performing new post Greenhorns definitely benefited from the creators many connections. The visual storytelling leads to that credibility. Even if I still think last month’s Gridley was a bit better as a Weird Western. Both of which are viable to change, hopefully for the better. I mean Big Blue: Hooters of Heroism took a while to get attention; because the reality is, the people who would see all of this first are usually busy.
Thankfully not all of the time. Darkest Rout was a really enjoyable occult thriller about dealing with grief and trauma. Easily one of the best things I read this month, comparable in style and execution as Gridley. I guess having a famous brand is helpful, considering the creator is a professional actor, dancer, etc. Plus finding artists with unique visual flair to storytelling definitely helps.
The same applies with Keenspot with the finale to the hopefully first saga of Kid Slapshot. You can’t help but love the slapstick and how it doesn’t rely on keeping a cat-and-mouse game going. And I guess the same applies to Tales From The Cave with how Mad Cave will advertise its best IPs to new audiences in an anthology. But it might be a while before all of those IPs translate to bigger payoffs like the review for the Hunt. Kill. Repeat. collection.
Have Something For People To Come Back To
The real challenge for this month is finding posts with topics that will bring regulars to the website.
It turns out it might be a while for some posts to get traffic. As is the case with Beetle Girl. Not to mention my latest traffic source: Unfulfillment Manga. Compared to last month’s killer post on Swiss comics that just got two visits. My Mike Mignola post got more attention with someone clicking on an Amazon ad.
While I definitely wanted to avoid any trends since that didn’t work out last month, I did find moderate success in a manga and its creator who succeeded where Fables is struggling. Say Hello To Black Jack is probably the only manga that’s in the public domain. Same behind-the-scenes drama as Fables, but cultural differences in contracts. Not to mention even if your work is in the public domain, you can still make a profit off of it on Amazon. It took a bit of legal trapeze but still. It helps that I cleared up some mistranslations from one my sources too. So hopefully more visitors next month.
Trying to do these between review posts can be a bit of a challenge though. I find a lot of things only to get distracted because of how my ideas take up time.
Archie Competitors and the Public Domain
One thing that took up a bit of my time were Archie Comics influenced products. Nothing like Riverdale, but being up-to-date by the Archie inspired satire in Die Kitty Die. The ads at the end showed that Kitty’s real life publisher has a character named Jetta. Who as it turns out stars in a comic I got from different company. Because Jetta Raye is in the public domain.
I always knew that Archie had competitors. This month I bought a book all about them from DriveThru Comics. So with the rabbit hole open, I immersed myself into the has-beens. All of the ones that didn’t try to rip off Archie and Patsy Walker (call Hellcat “Trish”) got lost in all of the comparisons. Some had potential like Jetta’s setting predating the Jetsons by a decade. But since most of these characters are in the public domain, that potential can be realized. For example, have you heard of “Fast” Willie Jackson? In Savage Dragon, he’s the maternal uncle of its hero Malcom Dragon.
How Will I Spend My Time?
Now here’s the biggest struggle I’ll face. This parts going to be ranty so feel free to skip it.
Between trying to study for a certification test, streaming content, and the comics I recently bought, finding time to do anything is a bit of a pain. Especially with how my day job is getting to be over 10 hours long a day. The payments are great and this test will help keep anything similar going. As long as it doesn’t involve waking up early to carpool like I currently do. That’s what depresses me about my day job.
It’s like I can only enjoy the stuff I have when I’m not in my house. Like how being on vacation allowed me to read the Dan Abnett Guardians of the Galaxy Omnibus. Partly because my house’s wi-fi gets so weird I can’t enjoy things that I don’t have to download. I usually have to go to my workplace to get anything better and it gets real busy there. Not just with all of the office work, but the wi-fi security tends to slow things down.
That makes me too tired to read and enjoy the Tom Strong Compendium that I’ve been dying to get. I traded that Guardians of the Galaxy Omnibus along with a few other Marvel Omnibuses to get it. Along with three other compendiums: Sweet Tooth, The Unwritten, and the Sandman Mystery Theatre. Not to mention all of the other Omnibuses I’ve collected because they’re not in digital: Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke’s Catwoman, The Phantom Stranger, Deadman. Adding to a shelf full of stuff I wanted to read but never get the time for like Denny O’Neil’s Question.
But what’s really stopping me is choosing between the comic services that I pay for: Comixology Unlimited because I’m still reading the 80s Doctor Strange Omnibus and GlobalComix with its new app where creators actually get payments on. And some didn’t bother to continue because it wasn’t paying enough.
Not to the mention the video games I play. I’ve been playing the Pokemon Violet DLC lately along with other aspects that took up a lot of time. I’ve recently gotten more games thanks to a friend but it’s like there’s never any time to enjoy them. It feels like I’m hoarding.
And all of these responsibilities: needing to clean bits of my apartment after long hours of work, a dentist appointment for this week, studying for the certification test, studying languages on Duolingo, making merchandise for my Local Comic Con table with help from people who helped get me so far, getting a Venmo account together, the surveys to raise some gift card money for the holidays, it’s becoming a lot.
The worst part is probably what actually feels nice. Thanks the app Pokemon Go’s new Routes feature, I go on walks that don’t feel like work. But I still have to deal with how my right calf irritates my nerves. I can still do the stretches to help relieve that, but I really prefer if I didn’t have to. No matter what I do, I just seem to give myself more work even with the stuff I like to do.
Besides what really gets me out of bed isn’t stuff, it’s writing stories with what ideas come to mind.
My Comic Is Being Released by the End Of The Month
The one thing I’m looking forward to is my comic The Wire Fence being released on the 25th. I’ve gotten a decent review from 3 Million Years:
Hopefully something on
and Indie Comix Dispatch the week it releases. I’ve done a podcast on the former and going to do one on the latter after finding a date. But I’m definitely getting an honest review on Comical Opinions. Don’t know the exact date, but I had the talk with Gabe and I know he does his process. So week on the release.Hopefully at least four reviews will increase awareness with comic fans. Not to mention the Comic Con table on December 2nd will have some assurance on some bit of quality.
I’m hoping this will show people that I can not only make comics, but do everything I can to market them. Because that’s what publishers and co-creators want. Someone dependable to work with and go the extra mile on.
My next project as soon as I see the results of The Wire Fence will definitely be in that category.
What’s October Looking Like?
More Mad Cave Stuff is definitely going to be on the horizon with A Legacy of Violence’s second trade and Edenfrost.
Probably more stuff from Keenspot too with Rebel Grrrls.
As for other posts, it’s high time I get doing what I’ve been wanting for a while, DC’s Loose Cannon. Never heard of him? That’s the idea.