Tag: Copra

Copra #12, on sale now.

Five page preview over at Comics Alliance.

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

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…

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

–Fiffe

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)

– 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:

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

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

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