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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Category: “COPRA”
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C O P R A # 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.)
NEWS: I’ll be at Comic Arts Brooklyn this November 9th. I’ll be peddling comics including this:
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).
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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
On top of making comics, Pedrozilla happens to like stuff and occasionally say things.
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Count Compota by Jason Thibodeaux
Jason makes music videos, works on movies, and works in the theatre of the mind.
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Wir by “Calamity” Jon Morris
Jon has an art/appreciation tumblr and was the force behind Relaunched! and OHOTMU Redux.
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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…
…and a shadowy Rax from creator Jamie Hibdon!
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.
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Before you know it, big issue twelve will be here. In a month, in fact!
For the moment, enjoy Copra #11.
–Fiffe
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C O P R A # 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:
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.
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)
– 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:
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
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C O P R A # 9
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.
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.
Lettering follows, naturally, as do the inks. One of my cleaner pages, especially with all of the open spaces…
…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.
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
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C O P R A # 8
COPRA #8, it has arrived.
It is ready to be ordered and read and held close to your beating heart.
Remember last issue’s breather? We chucked that plan out the window with “Otros Mundos”, our latest multi dimensional adventure.
But wait… here’s something I don’t do enough of: process pics!
These are probably the tightest layouts I’ve done in a while… and only for a mere 2 pages, for the most basic staging purposes (the rest of the issue was planned out in a series of notes, not thumbnails). I make the majority of the decisions while I’m pencilling, then I quickly commit to those decisions when I ink (usually on the same day, which is why I don’t get a chance to scan that particular stage).
That was a two page spread. This is what the pages look like before they get colored:
As for this month’s guest art spot, it features the work of Adrian Johnson, illustrator, cartoonist and 1/3 of the great Sidebar comics podcast (I direct you to their immense Barchives).
I’m diggin’ this fauX cover, Adrian. Believe me, I wish I could charge fifty cents an issue!
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Attn: Readers in the UK and abroad! Impossible Books is now open for business and they’re carrying all of your future favorite small press books.
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So there you have it, folks, your midsummer funnybook. Flexible enough to be rolled into your back pocket and sturdy enough to survive beach conditions. Whatever you do, you must get it first, so do precisely that!
See you in August.
–Fiffe
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Copra Compendium 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).
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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C O P R A # 7
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!
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:
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.
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
First of all, how excellent is Tim Hamilton for employing his drawing skills for a couple of my Copra characters, Gracie and Dy Dy?
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
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.
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
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