Categories
"COPRA"

C O P R A # 12

Cover.12

Copra #12, on sale now.

Five page preview over at Comics Alliance.

And a t-shirt. There’s a t-shirt now available.

Shirt Shirt

Copra.

Number.

Twelve.

There, I said it. It’s not as if I didn’t think I would, but hey… this is kinda weird! This may be just another walk in the park to those down-in-the-trenches lifers (shout out to my man Sal B.), but this is new to me. I’ve never done anything at this pace or with this schedule. On top of that, these kind of action stories were strangely outside my comfort zone. I took the risk, put my money where my mouth was, and a year later, 12 issues later…

Copra originals

You folks had a lot to do with this. Your support and enthusiasm really made this enterprise keep running. I’m not gonna sit here and say that I would’ve seen this thing through no matter how few fans Copra would’ve had (I’ve made plenty of comics with minimal reader numbers, like an open mic nite audience consisting of 2 roommates, a co-worker and a distant cousin). Oh, sure, I designed and conceived Copra to serve as a thing that would make me personally happy, a thing that would be fun and hilarious to work on. But the fact that you guys showed up and liked it, that made a world of difference. It made it easier to tell these stories. Like it or not, this is a two way street, baby.

IB

Big thanks to the subscribers and the retail stores, the letter writers and fan artists.  Many thanks for the critics and their reviews, the write ups, the mentions, the pros, the peers and the aspiring cartoonists. Every single reader, thank you.

Gracie

Colin Murchison, Chris Sinderson, Jason Thibodeaux, Erik Mallo, Tom Adams, Tucker Stone, Bryan Galatis, Kat Roberts: I would be an empty  chunk of skin flapping in the wind without your collective breath of unwavering support. Flapping, I tell you!

Boomer

Okay, so what now? I got a collection in the works and a few non-Copra related projects brewing. But as far as Copra issues go, I will definitely be continuing the series. I know I committed to 12 issues initially, but early on I kept coming up with ripe ideas to explore beyond the limit I set for myself. I aim to release subsequent issues in 6 issue bursts. It’ll still be on a tight schedule and I will still remain its sole creator, the one pushing the nib and slapping the shipping labels on the envelopes.

03.CROP.2

I can drop dead tomorrow but I can at least say that I did a monthly comic the way I saw fit with no interference, on paper, with a letters page, with fan art, with subscribers and in stores… it’s my dream project.

PONY BROS DAWN

I believe it is time to chill. Where, I ask, are my bro bros at?

Hey, it’s not over yet. You still have to get Copra #12 in your hands. I do hope you like it.

Xenia

Have a safe holiday and please do keep in touch. See you all real soon.

–Fiffe

Categories
"COPRA"

Copra Compendium 3

FOLDOUT

Copra Compendium 3 to debut at CAB this Saturday, November 9th.

It collects Copra 7 – 9 and weighs in at 80 pages.

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"COPRA"

C O P R A # 11

Cover 11

Copra #11 exists, it’s in print, and it is here! This is the penultimate chapter in Copra’s first major arc and it introduces a bunch of new persons of interest who I’m sure you’ll learn to love.

(Urgh – then there’s the fact that this is all coming to a halt soon… not a complete stop, mind you, but this is it – home stretch, almost there, hang in there, baby.)

Hey.Sonia

NEWS: I’ll be at Comic Arts Brooklyn this November 9th. I’ll be peddling comics including this:

COMP 3.cover

That’s the third compendium (collecting Copra #s 7 – 9) and once again, the wonderful Bergen Street Comics crew have expressed their support by way of putting this collection out in the world (on sale 11/9).

* * * * * * *

Copra #11 is the last issue that will have art in the letters page only because there will be no space in #12. Here are the ones that made it in:

Rax by Pedro Camargo

x.RAX.Camargo

On top of making comics, Pedrozilla happens to like stuff and occasionally say things.

* * * * * * *

Count Compota by Jason Thibodeaux

compota.web

Jason makes music videos, works on movies, and works in the theatre of the mind.

* * * * * * *

Wir by “Calamity” Jon Morris

IMG_113

Jon has an art/appreciation tumblr and was the force behind Relaunched! and OHOTMU Redux.

* * * * * * *

There were a couple of character pieces that I received after the issue had gone to press.

Vitas, King Egg, caught mid pose by Colin Rankine

Vitas

…and a shadowy Rax from creator Jamie Hibdon!

x.RAX 2

Receiving these renditions of Copra characters never fails to be the coolest thing. I’m glad I got to squeeze a few of them in.

* * * * * * *

Before you know it, big issue twelve will be here. In a month, in fact!

For the moment, enjoy Copra #11.

–Fiffe

SANGRE FRESCA

 

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"COPRA"

C O P R A # 10

Cover 10

Copra #10! This issue… my inky, shivering hands are offering it to you. Copra #10 ushers in the last leg of this Copra situation, this multi dimensional scandal that connects various characters and their rivals. It clears the air while propelling the main story to its climax. I really wish I could offer up some pages for you to look at in case you were having second thoughts but, man, I just don’t wanna spoil it! Here are a few frame-ready images:

yay balls BOOMER

yay balls XENIA

yay balls YAY

Are you really going to deny yourself a good old fashioned meat n’ potatoes beat down? You’re totally right: who would? Don’t let Copra #10 down.

FiffeFord.cvr

ITEM: Sean Ford conducted an interview with me in mini comics form. Don’t miss it!

ITEM 2: I’ve put up a handful of illustrations for sale. Original comics related art… check it out:

Skullface & Hellrazor (SOLD)

Beta Ray Bill (SOLD)

John Carter of Mars

Typhoid Mary & Co. (SOLD)

ITEM 2.1: Running low on Copra 7 so if you’ve been holding back, here’s your chance to fix that.

ONE MORE ITEM: My voice was recorded in The Next Issue podcast. Listen at your own risk.

LAST ITEM, I SWEAR: Mark your calendars, Brooklyn. I will be tabling at CAB this November.

Come back next month and see a bunch of new characters that I’ve — I’ve — okay, okay, fine. Here’s at least one page from this issue:

008

But you have to promise to listen to this Brent Weinbach VGM mix when you read this story. It’s only fair; this mix is pretty much all I listened to making it. Lloyd and Boomer’s buddy cop issue requires a soundtrack, so there.

This month: COPRA TEN.

Next month: new characters and a climax. It may get a little messy.

–Fiffe

Categories
"COPRA"

C O P R A # 9

 01

Ready to be bought and curled up to: COPRA #9 is here!

So is Dy Dy; look at her up there in her cracked bubble with her tiny hat. So majestic, so sick, so irresistible. Well, she’s back in full effect in this issue, picking up where we left off. The tension builds as our Copra team is fighting their way back into Earth’s dimension.

09.GUTH

Last month I showed a couple of process pics but felt slightly guilty that they were next to nothing, basically prison wall scribblings on paper. And that’s not fair to you folks,; I love sharing the few modest details I’ve developed. I vowed to at least document a few extra steps in my art making process this time around, so here’s the first page of Copra #9, as tightly as I will ever pencil a page (with some boxed in lettering) within a 10 x 16 diameter, which I believe is standard  mainstream comic book size.

DY DY pencil

Lettering follows, naturally, as do the inks. One of my cleaner pages, especially with all of the open spaces…

DY DY ink

 …which I then fill up with color pencil or watercolors. Same thing with the pencil shading and additional details. Having art that is directly applied with color on the original boards takes longer because it leaves little room for mess ups. I have to nail it on the first go and although I do minor touch ups after I scan the originals, I do most of the heavy lifting during the initial hands-on phase.

Check out the final result below, followed by the subsequent pages, for a preview of Copra #9.

01

02

03

04

There you go: the next chapter in our off-world adventure. And for our bloodthirsty set, worry not. The calm, diplomatic discussion found within these pages doesn’t last very long.

*****

Just in! Here are a couple of thorough Copra reviews, where the entire series gets summed up as a whole.

1. The Killray suggests “You Need To Read…”

2. Adventures In Poor Taste! asks “Is It Good?”

*****

Bring the summer to a close with Copra #9, so buy it with confidence! (issue seven and eight are still available as well in case you missed out)

Check in next month to see who survived, who didn’t, and what Copra’s endgame mission is. Hint: it will involve a bullet or two.

–Fiffe

09.CLINK

Categories
"COPRA" Comics I Make

Copra Compendium 2

COMP 2

The second Copra Compendium has arrived and you can buy it here! Bergen Street Comics Press has collected Copra issues four, five and six, coming in at 76 pages colorful, loving brutality.

See that group shot up there? I bet you can tell that’s new art for the cover… and it is (the compendium also includes the original covers, but I wanted to do something new).

WIR

Also available is the new printing of the first Compendium (collecting issues one, two and three). That one’s also a 76 pager and includes a new back cover, too.

So catch up on your Copra and check back in for further issues (#7 is already on sale). The eighth issue will be available very soon, it just needs to get printed and shipped right after I color it! Here’s a brief look at the home stretch.

Thanks to the established readers of the series – I hope you don’t get tired of me saying how much I appreciate your support – and thanks to those of you trying out Copra for the first time. We think you’ll love it, but let us know what the verdict is.

–Fiffe

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"COPRA"

C O P R A # 7

01

So this is what happened: a bunch of boxes were waiting for me this morning, boxes full of Copra #7, and now I have no choice but to get them out to you. COPRA #7 is waiting for you!

I really appreciate your interest in this comic

You’ve made it this far… six issues of carnage, fisticuffs and shoot ’em ups. Our first arc is behind us but the story is far from over. This time around we take a chance to find out a little more about our Copra guys and gals. The story’s called “Personal Files” and it’s… well, I hate to describe it as quiet because someone gets shot, someone gets burned, and someone is violently choked (as opposed to gently choked). You get the idea: the title says it all.

Here’s a new bullet:

Gracie Bullet

An aside: take a gander at these awesome versions of Vitas and Man-Head by Dieter Van Der Ougstraete! Too good, Dieter VDO is! His latest, Big Pink, has unfortunately sold out but please contact him directly and see if you can get any of his work, be it prints, comics, or t-shirts.

DIETER COPRA

So now that every member of Copra has been patched up and some have even swallowed their survivor’s guilt, the crew is ready to finish out their objectives in the next issue. Grant them this brief respite because it’s only going to get worse.

But why harp on the negative, huh? Kick off the summer with Copra #7 and I’ll see you back here in July.

–Fiffe

Your support means everything to me

Categories
"COPRA" Los Press

Fan Art, Comics Alliance & More Sell Outs

First of all, how excellent is Tim Hamilton for employing his drawing skills for a couple of my Copra characters, Gracie and Dy Dy?

Tbone Gracie

 

S E L L – O U T 

Copra #5 is officially sold out! That means all I have left in the warehouse known as my studio are a few copies of #2 and the latest #6.

Rest assured; not only will the print run will go up starting with issue #7, but a second compendium is in the works. The first Compendium, collecting the first 3 issues, is still available through Bergen Street Comics Press.

I’m trying to make these books as accessible as I could, so if you’ve come around looking for Copra and found that some issues are missing, it shouldn’t be too long before they’re here.

C O M I C S      A  L  L I A N C E

In related news, I wanted to mention my recent interview with Chris Sims over at Comics Alliance. It was a great chance for me to ramble on about why I liked Russian prison fights when I was 9, but especially about Copra related stuff.

CA recently closed its doors, and I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge how extremely supportive of my comics that site has been for a number of years. From running my art to featuring reviews and articles about Zegas, Deathzone!, and Copra, the Comics Alliance crew definitely introduced a slew of new readers to my comics. For that I will always be grateful. I wish them all the best.

I S S U E    S E V E N 

I’m about to start drawing it. That’s all I know, all that’s locked in my sights.

See you then.

–Fiffe

Categories
"COPRA"

COPRA #6

Copra 6 Cover

Copra #6 is now available! This is the second part of our Tokyo adventure, the brutal climax to the crew’s main mission: stop Vitas. Call it a boiling point, call it endgame, call it a reason for me to draw a lot of broken glass, but this concludes the first Copra story arc with a bang.

C6.BURL

C6.RAX

C6.WIR

C6.XENIA

Things don’t stop there. I have plenty of stories lined up, characters to introduce and established ones to explore: more comics in 24 page color bursts every month or so. For now, I’m very happy with the way this first arc turned out and I can only hope you feel the same.

Quick reminder: be sure to get the Copra Compendium (released by Bergen Street Comics Press); it collects the first 3, out of print issues.

Now back to the boards. See you in May.

–Fiffe

MAN HEAD

Categories
"COPRA"

Copra Compendium & Bergen Street Comics Press

Copra.Compendium.Cover

Copra Press is proud to announce that we have teamed up with Bergen Street Comics Press to present the Copra Compendium! I couldn’t be more excited about combining forces with Brooklyn’s own Bergen Street Comics in this new publishing venture.

The Copra Compendium [BSC001] collects the first three issues of the new nearly sold out action series, 72 full color pages with a couple of new bits of extra art. It’s the perfect jumping on point and a good chunk of comics in one solid package. It will be making its official debut at this year’s MoCCA on April 6th & 7th, so make sure to visit Bergen Street Comics at Table F179 and Copra Press (Kat & myself) at Table F178.

Update: The Copra Compendium is now available for purchase directly from Bergen Street Comics Press!

–Fiffe