Com.x Talk to ComicBuzz

HI Eddie and Benjamin thanks for joining us

CB: For some of our readers who are unfamiliar with Com.x could you give us a brief history of Com.x?

ED: Sure. I guess, as the only remaining, original team member, I’m best placed to do that! We launched the company back in 2000, to much PR and acclaim, and released a range of titles including Bazooka Jules, Puncture, Razorjack, Cla$$war, Sky Between Branches, N-Jin and Codename: Babetool. We continued publishing until 2007 and then took a hiatus, until relaunching again in 2009 with a management restructure.

We then published Path, along with a hardcover edition of the Cla$$war series and a collected edition of Razorjack. This was followed by [Forty-Five]45, which brings us up to present day, where we have just released Seeds and we have BlueSpear (a spin-off from [Forty-Five]45) due in June/July.

 

CB: Comic fans very fondly remember Com.x’s older titles, when you meet the fans do they talk about some of the older Com.x titles?

ED: Absolutely. And it’s great when they do, because it shows that we carved ourselves a niche (albeit a small one) in the annals of comic history. I’m hoping we can now build on that initial enthusiasm the fans had for our books and broaden the readership. But I love discussing some of the old characters with people; they tend to remember more about them than I do.

BMS: It’s very pleasing that people remember some of our launch titles going back quite a few years now. Its nice to be remembered fondly, but hopefully we’re also creating some new fans, too.

CB: For any body that has missed out on these older titles can they order these books from their local comic store?

ED: Unless you find a store that is still holding the odd copy or two, I would think not, as the majority of our books sold out after the first orders were shipped to retail. We didn’t usually go to a second print run because we couldn’t justify the costs simply based upon the initial re-orders – just not enough, I’m afraid.

You may still be able to find some books around – eBay or Amazon, for example, but for the most part our books usually sold out within a the first two months of release, and still do.

Of course, we still hold a small amount of each book we’ve ever published in our own personal archive, but there are no more than six of each, so they’ve become quite rare.

BS: I’d love to be able to say that, and point people in the right direction, but Com.x only prints a limited number of each title. Usually when they’re gone, they’re gone. There are a few we have made on Amazon like Cla$$war, Razorjack. And 45 but we have very few left. We’re going to be making a big digital push in 2011, and make as many of the back catalogue titles available as possible.

ED: Yeah, there are titles such as Codename: Babetool, which sold reasonably well, but were not as successful as, say, Cla$$war. It’s those titles that we’re looking forward to adapting so that more readers can check out the ‘rarer’ books.

CB: Com.x has worked with some great talent in the past including Neil Googe, Rob Williams, John Higgins and Trevor Hairsine to name just a few, will that trend continue in the future?

ED: Yes, definitely. It’s always been our policy to bring out the best in creators – both professional and non-professional – and we are already working with some great people on new titles. We want to continue the trend and also develop new talent, which has always been one of our most important mantras. I hope the more exposure and accolade our books are receiving prompt more people to approach us that haven’t been published yet.

BMS: I hope so too. It’s been great showcasing new talent. In some cases, these creators first prolific books were through us. A good story is a good story. We’re not adverse to continuing to work with (and hopefully nurturing) new talent as well.

 

CB: Is it possible that any of Com.x older titles could come back for a new volume in the future?

ED: Well, there are some books where the rights have reverted back to their original creators, so we wouldn’t be able to consider those, but we have been in discussion with a few of the creators and there’s every possibility that you may see something appear in the future; not necessarily the near future, mind you. I’d personally love to revisit Cla$$war or Bazooka Jules – those are the two we get most enquiries about.

BMS: It’s always possible. As always, it’s a question of time, commitment, money…and whether there is an organic avenue to continue the story lines. We are pleased to say, however, that we are continuing our partnership with John Higgins with the universe he created in Razorjack. We’ll be launching two prose books written by Michael Carroll and Al Ewing.

 

CB: Could we see new titles involving some of the talented people Com.x have worked with in the past?

BMS: We keep the lines of communication open and are on good terms with most of them. I’d like to think that, if any of them thought Com.x was a good fit for what they were working on, they’d approach us.

ED: I’d certainly like to get some of the past creators involved in new projects, be it art/writing duties on new books or just continuations of previous titles. We do still communicate regularly with quite a few of the artists and writers and I ‘d like to think that, if the situation arose, we’d work together again on something.

 

CB: In terms of output will Com.x be increasing the number of titles it publishes in the future?

ED: That’s always been our plan – to increase our range and publish more books. Now that we have more publishing experience behind us we’re able to handle the PR, marketing and distribution much more easily, which allows us to manage our projects more effectively. It also helps that key staff numbers have increased and all of us are fully committed and actively participating in all areas of the company. Many hands, and all that!

BMS: Yes! We have quite a few new books in the pipeline. If all goes according to plan, this will be our most prolific twelve months we’ve had since we started the company. We just need to make sure we control the flow of books and the actual production schedules so that we don’t let anybody down.

 

CB: Com.x and Ross Mackintosh have a new book coming out this month called SEEDS, how did this book come about, as it’s a little different from the type of book Com.x normally publishes?

ED: Ross emailed me out of the blue, enquiring about our submissions policies. We weren’t actually considering new books for publication at the time, but I still extended him the courtesy of supplying the procedures we usually prefer to work with. He replied by sending this entire 86-page book; drawn, inked and written! I was initially intending on reading just ten or twenty pages, just to get a feel for the type of book that it was, but the next thing I knew, I’d read the entire thing and was sitting there with a huge lump in my throat and tears streaming down my face.

I emailed it straight to Ben and Jon and they immediately came back with the same reaction – we have to publish this book. It was pure, gut instinct; it wasn’t a matter of whether the book was destined to be a blockbuster or not, we just felt that it needed an audience.

Fortunately, because we are such a small, flexible, publishing company, we were able to find a slot for the book within our schedule, and here we are now, on the eve of the book’s release.

 

CB: I understand that a percentage of the sales of SEEDS will go to a cancer charity, was this something Ross and Com.x wanted to do right from the beginning of the project?

BMS: Yes, we wanted to do something that could potentially benefit charities right from the start. Cancer has affected almost everyone in some way or another – our company’s inner circle included – which certainly influenced our decision to publish Ross’ book. I do have to say it has been difficult finding charities to partner with. We did quite a bit of reaching out to Cancer charities, but it seems it might be too left-field for them. They don’t seem to know what to do with a comicbook like “Seeds.” Brian Fies (“Mom’s Cancer”) who wrote the foreword to Ross’ graphic novel said he found the same thing was true when his book was released a few years ago.

 

CB: If any comic fans would like to get the SEEDS book what is the best way for fans to get the book?

ED: You can pre-order on Amazon (US and UK) now, and it should be available in your local comic store within the next few weeks. Book retailers have also indicated that they will carry it. We’ll be making it available simultaneously with the printed version through our various digital publishing partners as well, including on Kindle. We’ve just made ’45′ available on the Kindle, with others to follow shortly.

 

CB: Will we see any future project from Ross Mackintosh and Com.x?

ED: If Ross decided to create another book, we would certainly be interested in reviewing it. But Seeds is an incredibly personal book; autobiographical, in fact, so whether Ross would have further stories to tell in that vein or whether he has other projects he’d like to develop, we’d leave that up to him to decide. It will be interesting to see what he chooses to follow up with after this book.

 

CB: Can you tell me more about Forty-Five?

ED: Andi Ewington (the creator and writer of [Forty-Five]45) actually puts this more succinctly than we can! He says, “Forty-Five is a series of interviews, transcribed by a journalist called James Stanley. His wife is expecting their first child and they choose to forego the Super-S test (a test designed to determine if an unborn child will be a superhero or not). He decides to interview a whole spectrum of superheroes, of all ages and from all walks of life, in order to better prepare himself if his child is born with superpowers. During the interviews he discovers a sinister organisation called ‘XoDOS’ who has an agenda which could impact on his life and the life of his unborn child.”

 

CB: Will we see more Forty-Five in the future?

ED: Yes. Definitely. The first project we have planned is a trilogy of one-shot, sequential art, 40-pagers concentrating on specific characters from the [Forty-Five]45 universe. The first of these is called BlueSpear and is due for release June/July. The entire book is complete; I’ve co-written this with Andi and the art is by Cosmo White. We also have Ryan Sook doing a variant cover, which is great because I’m a big fan of Ryan’s work.

CB: When a new title is being published at what stage of the process do you look at the price point of the title and what are the factors that you look at when determining the price point?

ED: Once we’ve assessed the book as a whole and decided how many pages, how much extra art, etc., we then arrive at a price point. It’s important for us that the quality of the book comes first. We do have a basic idea of price, but we don’t commit fully until we know what extras we have to play in addition to the quality of the main story that we’re publishing. That way, we don’t undersell ourselves or overcharge the readers. I like to think that the Com.x name is synonymous with quality AND content.

 

CB: Will we see digital books from Com.x in the future?

ED: You can see them now! Most of our available titles are on ComiXology and we’ve just released [Forty-Five]45 on the Kindle. We’re also working with a number of other digital partners to make sure we stay up-to-date with the ongoing developments within the digital publishing industry. There’s a lot of in-house development going on as well, so hopefully, you’ll see actual Com.x-branded apps sometime in the near future!

 

CB: When Com.x are looking to launch a new title, what is it that  Com.x look for?

BMS: I think the ethos of Com.x is that any one of us (Eddie, Jon, or myself) is looking to get behind a book that we would pay our own money for. If we can’t say we would open our own wallets, than we move on. I think we’re looking for stories that haven’t necessarily been told before or ones that, if a bit familiar, have their own unique spin.

ED: Absolutely they have to have an original angle, or unique slant on a genre. It’s difficult to put a finger on exactly what it is that we see in a particular submission but a lot of the time there’s a gut instinct there and, invariably, it pays dividends. We did it with Seeds, Cla$$war, Sky Between Branches, Forty-Five, etc. There’s something that just shouts out to us when we know a submission has that certain ‘something’. We’re also not adversed to using our acquired experience in marketing, design, advertising, etc. to help improve a book. I guess that’s what also makes us unique as a publisher – having all those skillsets to call upon internally that we can use to help enhance a comic we’re publishing.

CB: With Ross Mackintosh’s SEEDS launching this month, will we see more diversity in the titles being published by Com.x?

ED: Looking at our back catalogue I think you’ll agree, that’s one thing you’ll always see from us. We never try and ‘pigeonhole’ ourselves in terms of genre; if we feel there’s an original story or concept to be told, we’ll publish it.

 

CB: Apart from San Diego Comic Con, are there any other Cons that Com.x will be attending?

ED: Well, we attended the Cardiff Comic Expo in Wales, back in February this year. The only other two we’ve committed to so far this year are Bristol (UK) and San Diego. We do have a couple more we’re planning, but nothing confirmed that we can announce yet. I’d like to add other parts of Europe to the roster, too, but financially, we need to keep a close eye on how many events we’re doing. Attending a convention could be the difference between printing a book or not and, as a small publisher, that’s of significant importance to your cashflow.

BMS: We do try and mix up the convention circuit venues each year, to make sure we have a presence across both America and the UK. Last year we did New York; this year San Diego. There are several shows we haven’t done yet like WonderCon, or Emerald City, that we’ll most likely attend in the near future. We’re looking forward to San Diego as we’ll be debuting a couple of new titles like ‘BlueSpear’ and at least one of the Razorjack novels. It will be great to be back!

 

CB: Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?

BMS: I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you better, and welcome your comments and feedback. Thanks for your support!

ED: Just a simple ‘thanks’ for reading and I hope, if you haven’t checked out the Com.x books yet, that you’ll do so in the very near future! Ultimately, we’re a bunch of fanboys who love comics and want our publishing reputation to precede us. It’s about pushing the boundaries of what people perceive good comics to be and I hope our enthusiasm is apparent in the books we publish.