 If you're reading this then you probably already know that yesterday Comic Crusaders hosted the very first Virtual Con and it's safe to say that it was an absolute WIN any which way you look at at it! Dozens of creators and podcasters from around the World "came together" and celebrated an online comic con and it all happened Live in front of our eyes. Talents like Joe St Pierre, Stephanie Phillips, Sebastian Bendix and Jennifer Yarbrough among others showed up and talked about their upcoming projects, their creative process and had an all around good time. Al Mega, Johny "The Machine" Hughes, Lucas Fashina and the rest of the gang did an amazing job putting this first of it's kind event, bringing together incredible talents and actually doing something for the indie comic community rather than talk about it. I tip my hat to those guys for their hard work pushing indie comics to the masses, not only yesterday; but all year round' through their podcast network. If you haven't listened to their podcasts you're doing yourself a disservice so in order to change that here's their website where you can find all their podcasts and everything related to Comic Crusaders. I was invited to join them briefly to talk about our Buy Indie Comics Day initiative. What's Buy Indie Comics Day all about? How can indie creators get involved? How can Retailers get involved?  We talked for a short while which was cool but the best part is what happened as we were talking, they liked the BICD idea, they believe in the idea and they decided to join forces and push the Buy Indie Comics Day initiative with us and try to make it THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY FOR INDIE COMICS!!! I couldn't be happier and more thankful with those guys than I am right now. Such a pleasant experience, even though I had technical difficulties from beginning to end; it was all worth it. I want to thank the entire Comic Crusaders crew for the opportunity and I hope this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Like always... keep it Truthful! -MC
Note: You can see the full interview by going to: TRUTHFULCOMICS.COM
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Life as we knew it has change because of this Covid-19 Pandemic that's for sure. Businesses have been affected, entertainment has been affected, our daily routines have been affected and because of this; we've had to come up with ingenious ways to interact with one another and try to make the best out of a bad situation. That's exactly what the people behind Comic Crusaders are going to be doing TOMORROW! Because of the Pandemic every comic book convention has either been cancelled or postponed, creators are in a really bad spot since they make a big chunk of their income at these events; but the people behind Comic Crusaders came up with a possible solution... a VirtualCon! But what exactly is a VirtualCon? I'm going to let them explain it in their own words: Comic Crusaders VirtualCon brings the experience of a convention right to your home. With special guest creators from all around the comic book world. From Joe St. Pierre to Frank Gogol, Luke Stone to Mark McKenna; it will be a one of a kind event for all to enjoy. You'll get to meet the members of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network along with a special LIVE episode of The Definitive Crusade. This is the one convention you'll be able to attend and you won't even have to worry about putting on pants!  9:00 AM to 9:30 AM – Intro/chat/news 9:30AM – 9:45 AM – David Taylor Website: https://davidtaylor2.net Twitter: https://twitter.com/DT2ComicsChat Instagram: https://instagram.com/dt2author/ Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/dt2comicschat/ Email: dt2author@gmail.com You Tube: https://www.youtube.com 9:45 AM – 10:00 AM – TBA 10 to 10:30 – Caleb Thusat Website: villagecomicbooks.com Twitter: @calebthusat 10:30 to 11 – Lance Lucero and live stream of “The Last Resort’” Twitter: @warehouse9ltd Website: warehouse9pro.com Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/Warehouse9 11 to 11:30 – Ian Nichols Twitter: @IanCNichols Links: https://linktr.ee/iancnichols 11:30 to 12 – Joe St Pierre Twitter: @Joe_StPierre Website: http://www.astronautink.com/ 12 to 12:30 – Stephanie Philips Website: stephaniecomics.com Twitter: @Steph_Smash 12:30 to 1PM – Mister Simian Creative Team – Sebastian Bendix & Jennifer Yarbrough https://mistersimian.com/ https://www.comixology.com/Mister-Simian-1/digital-comic/840721 https://www.facebook.com/mistersimian/ Twitter: @SimianMister IG: @mister_simian 1PM to 1:50PM – ICC Live Podcast, (Al and Chris) Twitter: @ICConUCPN / Facebook: www.facebook.com/International-Comics-Collective Al Mega: @TheRealAlMega / @ComicCrusaders, @UndercoverCapes, @SplinteredPress & @GeekeryMagazine Dave Elliott: @DeevElliott / https://www.wattpad.com/user/DeevElliott (Unavailable) Chris Buse: @buse_chris / http://concept-personal.com/ 1:50 to 2PM – News/Chat/Break 2PM – 3PM – Kevin Gunstone (30 min interview, 30 min live music set) Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevinGunstone Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kowboy-k Comixology: Planet of Daemons / Future Primitive 3PM – 3:30PM – Luke Stone Website: lukestonestudios.com Twitter: @LukeStoneStudio 3:30PM – 3:45PM – Manuel Carmona (Project: New Wave - Truthful Comics / Buy Indie Comics Day ) Website: theartofmanuelcarmona.com truthfulcomics.com Twitter: @truthfulcomics @truthfulcomics1 Instagram: @m_a_carmona @truthfulcomics 3:45PM – 4:00PM – Bill Ostroff, GeekFest FilmFest Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeekFilmFests Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/geekfestLA/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geekfestfilmfest/ 4:00- 5PM – TDC Live Podcast Johnny “The Machine” Hughes – @johnnyhughes70 Tracy: @reikiwithtracy Freyja: @xXFreyjaXx Josh “The Random Dude” Einfalt: @TheRandomeDud3 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheDefinitiveCrusade/ Twitter: @DefinitiveCru 5:05 PM – 5:45 PM – Don’t Hide PR Melissa Meszaros: 5:05 PM EST to 5:15 PM EST Website: https://www.donthidepr.com/ Twitter: @MelissMeszaros / @DontHidePR Frank Gogol (NO HEROINE – SPP) 5:15 PM EST to 5:25 PM EST Twitter: @frankgogol David Booher & Drew Zucker (CANTO – IDW) 5:25 PM – 5:35 PM EST Twitter: @davidbooher / @Drew_Zucker Website: davidbooher.com / https://www.artofdrewzucker.com/ Rich Douek (SEA OF SORROWS – IDW) 5:35 PM to 5:45 PM EST Twitter: @rdouek Website: http://www.rdouek.com/ 5:45PM to 6:15PM – William Hung Twitter: @WillHungSpeaks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/william.hung.cbc Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/williamhungofficial YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/WilliamHung 6:30PM – 7PM – Mark London from Mad Cave Studios Website: https://madcavestudios.com/ Twitter: @MarkLondonMCS / @MadCaveStudios 7:00 PM – 7:15 PM – Jay Sandlin Website: JaySandlin.com Twitter: @JaySandlin_WHN 7:15 PM – 7:45 PM – Mark McKenna Website: http://www.markmckennaart.com/ Twitter: @MarkMcKenna419 7:45 PM to 8:15 PM David Avallone Twitter: @DAvallone 8:15 PM to 8:30 PM Carlos Giffoni Website: https://carlosgiffoni.com/ Twitter: @carlosgiffoni 8:30 PM to 8:45 PM TBA 8:45 – 9PM – Wrap-Up Sunday, April 5th meaning... TOMORROW!!!!!!!! Here's the Full Line-Up of creator interviews: So, TOMORROW clear your schedule (you're stuck at home anyway! :-D) and join the Comic Crusaders for their first ever VirtualCon!!! See you there and as always... keep it Truthful! -MC  Well, the hits keep on coming thanks to the Covid-19 Pandemic. An event we were very excited to attend has been cancelled making this the third cancelled event this year. Here's their press release: Press Release  Things to do while on Covid-19 quarantine: A personal project I've been wanting to finish for a while now. The Puertorican flag! Each red stripe is covered with a member of my family's handprint. If you didn't knew already, I was born and raised in Utuado, Puerto Rico and have been living in the United Sates since 2009. Yo soy Boricua!
 These are scary and uncertain times we're living in these days, but it's nothing new; we should've been ready for it by now. I'm not saying we should've known how to handle a virus that we didn't even knew existed, much less that it had the capacity to cripple society like it has; I meant that we've dealt with enough tragedies in our lifetime to have learned our lesson and always be prepared. Obviously, by the chaos we're seeing from people fighting each other over toilet paper, people partying during Spring Break while being warned there's a virus swallowing the entire Planet and there's no cure in sight or people camping outside of supermarkets to buy everything they can get their hands on without even realizing most of that stuff will go bad in a week; we've learned nothing from our previous mistakes. In my household we live under a certain... code that we follow religiously: Love God, Love One Another and Love Our Neighbors. I however, taught the wife MY personal Mantra, one I've lived by since I was very young: Hope for the best but ALWAYS prepare for the worst. Because I live by that Mantra we're always one step ahead of bad situations. We have means to store food, medicine, cleaning products, weapons, B.O.Bs (Bug Out Bags), maps, alternative routes; etc. So when this whole craziness of people going to stores desperate trying to buy the last roll of toilet paper began, we sat at our house thinking to ourselves how clueless some of these people are, how unprepared and/or unaware some people live their lives and it's sad but I guess we're witnessing Darwinism at it's finest... some people have learned from their mistakes and evolved while others are flocking supermarkets under a contagious pandemic trying to buy cases of toilet paper and Lysol. So, since we were prepared from the start, I've taken advantage of this quarantine to work on a few projects I've been putting off because of lack of time. It's been a stressful time for everyone I'm sure, especially those in high risk areas but me personally; I've tried to not be overwhelmed with the situation and used this time to stay productive and creative. I've been busy finishing a short story I did for last year's 12 Hour Comics Day tentatively titled Spaceboy 2020, which will be part of the upcoming Truthful Comics Presents relaunch later this year.  I've also seen many of my colleagues doing the same, trying to stay positive and focusing on their projects although I know it's been extremely hard for some of them due to all the event cancellations because of this Pandemic; since they make a big chunk of money at these conventions. So, if you know any creators who've mentioned on social media that their upcoming events have been cancelled be a blessing to them by supporting them, buy one of their books, t-shirts, prints or anything else they produce; we all need to help each other out during this difficult times. Stay safe, stay indoors as much as possible and stay informed; we'll get through this together. As always... keep it Truthful!
-MC  Well, I guess Coronavirus keeps wrecking havoc on the convention scene. Today we received news from the organizers of Regent Con about the convention. Here's their press release... Hello everyone, So, out of the four scheduled convention appearances we had on our calendar, one has been postponed for June and now this one has been canceled. Obviously we understand the situation we're in and this is nothing in the grand scheme of things but it is another blow to not only us, but many other creators who count on these events to make a living. Let's pray they find a cure and solution for this virus and this nightmare comes to an end. Until next time, stay safe, stay indoors and as always... keep it Truthful! -MC As Im sure you're all aware by now, the Coronavirus Pandemic has taken over the entire Planet and as a result; our lives have changed wether we like it or not. Every business has been affect, schools have shut down, work places have sent people home; it's chaos basically. So, like every other business, comic book conventions have been affected as well. Enter: IconiCon 2020.
The Suffolk Public Library was set to celebrate their annual IconiCon event this March and everything was ready, that was until Coronavirus was unleashed and every event had to be either cancelled or re-scheduled due to the severity of the situation. I was ready to attend (and still am) but since all these huge events have been cancelling left and right I decided to contact the organizers of the event to see what the status of the convention was. As I suspected, IconiCon was postponed and rescheduled for Saturday, June 13th. So, date has changed but all that means is that you now have more time to make plans and come see us! There's going to be Cosplayers, comic books, contests and fun for all! See you there!!!  Yes, you read that right; I'll be giving away some FREE sketches to a few lucky readers... but there's a catch! To enter the drawing you have to order (or have previously ordered) a copy of my book Project: New Wave #1. Here's what you have to do: 1. Click on this link to place your order. 2. Purchase your copy/copies. 3. Once you receive your copy take a selfie with your copy and post it on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). 4. Tag me on your selfies or use the hashtags: #TruthfulComics #ProjectNewWave 5. The winners will be selected on July 4th, 2020. How American of us! ;D So, what are you waiting for? ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!!!  Regalando Arte??? Si leíste bien, voy a regalar algunos bocetos a varios fanáticos de mi comic... pero hay un "catch"! Para poder ganar un dibujo debe ordenar (o haber ordenado previamente) una copia de mi comic Project: New Wave #1. Esto es lo que tienes que hacer: 1. Presiona este enlace para ordenar tu copia. 2. Compre su copia / copias. 3. Una vez que reciba su copia, tome un selfie con su copia y publíquela en las redes sociales (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). 4. Taggeame el selfie o postealo con los hashtags: #TruthfulComics #ProjectNewWave 5. Los ganadores serán seleccionados el 4 de julio de 2020. ¡Qué Americano de nosotros! ;D ¿Entonces, qué esperas? ORDENA TU COPIA HOY!!! As I sit down drinking my cup of coffee while checking social media, admiring my favorite creator's work, sharing my colleagues projects, exchanging ideas and posting art I notice one constant negative amongst every comic book creator's operation; how to publish their books with such high printing costs. I understand that you get what you pay for and although print costs are sometimes prohibitive, you do get (for the most part) a product that looks and feel profesional; still... many creators simply can't afford it. I've been giving this problem a lot of thought for a very long time and I may have found a way to get some of your ideas printed without going broke. I've always thought of the indie comics community as a big family of relatives that for the most part don't know each other but are related under a creative umbrella that unites us; as absurd as that may sound. It's one of the reasons why I always try to push indie books, I'll promote creators like I know them even though almost none of them extend the same courtesy towards me; It's all good though. I still want everyone to succeed and make their dream a reality. I'm a romantic in that sense, although some might call me naive; I believe in helping others without expecting anything in return. You're right, I am naive.  I say all this because I think indie comic book creators could benefit from helping each other, but in a real way; not just empty words that amount to nothing. My idea is simple, instead of writing, drawing, inking, coloring and lettering an entire book by yourself, why not get together with a few creators you know and/or respect and put together an anthology instead? We could have an anthology with 3-5 short stories and when it's time to print the books, instead of having to come up with $500 or $600 for 200 books, each creator puts up $50-$60 and you'll get 30-40 nice size, high grade, quality books that you can then sell at conventions, signings, shops; etc. To me that's a WIN/WIN situation!
Me and my partner in crime Alvaro Cortez Ortiz are planning on relaunching and completely revamping an anthology series we did a few years back, each with 2-3 short stories that we want to tell but don't necessarily fit in any of our main books. With that said, I don't see why we couldn't bring in fellow comic book creators outside of Truthful Comics and join forces for a few of these anthology books. Let's say you're an inker, maybe you can ink a story and/or every story; then when it's time to print the books, you put your share and get your books that you'll be able to sell however you see fit. You're a letterer? The same rules apply. Hey... this idea is worth exploring I think. Let me know what you think and if you believe this is something you'd like to be a part of hit me up and remember... Keep it Truthful! -MC You might be asking yourself what exactly is Saberation and what does it have to do with art? Let me explain to you exactly what Saberation is and why I'm writing about it here.  Saberation is a National Light Saber Athletic Association redefining the light saber from an iconic dream, into a therapeutic enhancer of human abilities, both physically and mentally as well as emotionally. Saberation is much more than just swinging light sticks aimlessly, we build stamina and coordination during lightsaber training within a structured lightsaber academy. We train to be fit, healthy, and strong for ourselves, our loved ones and the people around us. We aim to inspire and motivate people to better themselves through the art of light saber swordsmanship with constant fitness challenges and sporting lightsaber dueling. Now, you may be thinking "that's all fine and dandy Manuel, but it still doesn't explain why you're talking about it on your website!" well, you probably don't know this but for the past few months I've been training in the art of light saber dueling. But it gets better, we've been invited to introduce Light Saber Martial Arts to the World at the 2020 World All Styles Martial Arts Championship in Portugal as part of Team USA! Unreal... I KNOW!!!  We're ecstatic about this once in a lifetime opportunity, but as you can imagine it takes more than skill and excitement to get to Portugal; it takes a ton of cash. This is why I'm asking for your help. If you'd like to help us reach our goal you can become a sponsor by visiting: https://ManuelCarmona.Saberation.com Thank you for taking the time to read this and thanks in advance for your help, be it money donations or sharing this blog post. May The Force be with you and as always... Keep it Truthful my friends! -MC
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