Vincent Price Presents #11 Hits Store Shelves This Week!

My friend Alex Meyer (www.alexjmeyer.com) did the cover.

I co-write this title in addition to the interiors. Special thanks to Peter Palmiotti for the inks, and Zach Meyer who was the additional co-writer.

It takes any army..and I had a good one. Kudos to all my friends for helping make this project a reality.

I’ll have signed copies for sale on my Etsy store shortly.

Hi Everyone-

The Bart Trade is available for pre-orders now!  Check it out on Amazon. I burned the entire book on blanks on pine- it took a while but it’s got a unique look to it.

DAN

Description:

Cartoons: Beyond the Comic Book
December 17, 2008 – January 2, 2009
Saturday, December 20, 10 am – 1 pm Opening Reception
Curtis Arts & Humanities Center
2349 East Orchard Road
Greenwood Village, CO 80121-1570

Featuring the talents of Lonnie Allen, Daniel Crosier, Amy Reeder Hadley, Gerhard Kaaihue, Paul Niemiec, John Peters, John Porcellino, Ron Ruelle and Stan Yan
Daniel Crosier

Link to original video

But how does one break into the biz? In this highly competitive industry that is focused on who you know, and more importantly- who knows you, how do you manage when nobody knows you or your work. Where do you start?

Up-and-coming, nationally published comic book illustrator and author, Daniel Crosier offers these five tips, for the superbly talented but network challenged artists, looking to break into the biz.

Get Deviant- Having an online presence to promote your work is a given, but utilizing a online outlet that publishers and editors troll to pick up talent is where you want to be. DeviantArt.com is a highly trafficked website that industry folks access regularly for the specific objective of reviewing talent. An example of a DeviantArt.com artists page can be found at http://danielcrosier.deviantart.com

Conventions are Key- This is key component to networking. Conventions give you an opportunity to get face time and portfolio critiques with established editors, publishers and artists. Conventions can be expensive, but bypass the costly exhibitor both space and opt for a table in artists alley. The cost is greatly reduced and you’ll be in the vicinity of some big name artists. Pick their brains during down time, generally they are more then happy to offer advice to “newbies”.

A Portfolio with a Plan- Your portfolio is your elevator pitch to the publishers- it needs to be direct and to the point. Try to keep your portfolio within 10-12 pages. Also, don’t fall into the trap of just displaying covers and pinups. While having one or two covers or pinups is ok, the editors want to see interiors. They want to make sure you can tell a story with strong sequentials.

Carve a Niche- Standing out is key in this competitive arena. Develop your own style and make it unique to you. Crosier created a watershed wood burning technique for his sold out series, “Bartholomew of the Scissors.” He’s now known as the “the wood guy” in the industry- which is memorable to say the least.

Beware of Time Burglars- You’re talented and everybody wants a piece of your art. However, you need to learn to be protective of your time. The more exposure you get, the more folks will ask for “freebies.” Analyze these requests carefully, as they can end up eating your time and energy without much ROI.

These tips will help budding new artists pave a path to a publisher.

This unique title has a cutting edge style of art – wood burning.   Daniel Crosier produced the art and Chad Helder writes the series.

This classic horror tale is described as; Spectral Phantasms have invaded our world. These ghostly creatures from another dimension occupy the human brain and endow their host with spectacular paranormal abilities. Private investigator Gordon Watt, long aware of the spectral phantasms, investigates a bizarre series of scissor-murders. With the help of a powerful psychic named Jessica, Gordon soon discovers a connection between the phantasms and the mystery of a vengeful, undead boy named Bartholomew. But humanity faces a greater threat: the White Blob emerges from the abyss to colonize pockets of human society. Gordon and Jessica must enlist the help of Bartholomew and the hideous power of his Scissor Swarm or face assimilation by the growing colony of the White Blob.

There are currently no plans to go back for a second printing for BARTHOLOMEW OF THE SCISSORS #1. Fans are encouraged to visit their comic shop and pre-order their favorite BWP books before it’s too late! Bluewater is close to selling out of their “Vincent Price Presents” title. Jason Schultz BWP Vice-President says, “We did a huge overprint on Vincent Price and we are almost sold out of issue #1”.

“People are impressed with this title.   I get more questions on how Daniel Crosier did the art on this title. I have seen the original art and yes they are done of panels on wood – it is inane but cool at the same time.” said BWP Managing Editor Darren G. Davis. “It just goes to show that you don’t have to be mainstream to reach the market. Readers just want great stories with great art, and if you can deliver that to them, they’ll come back for more every month.”

For more information on Bluewater Productions, visit them online at their all-new, recently redesigned Web site (http://www.bluewatercomics.com), or check them out in your local comic book shop!

Crosier comments on donating the piece, “I’m honored to have been asked to donate the cover to the museum. It’s my hope that visitors will enjoy the artwork, and it will bring back many fond memories of Vincent Price’s iconic characters.”

The first book in the “Vincent Price Presents” series will be released later this month. The book is available online and at comic book retailers around the country.

About Daniel Crosier:
Artist Daniel Crosier has exploded onto the comic book scene in the last year.  Illustrating and writing multiple comic book projects with a variety of well-established publishers, Crosier’s distinctive approach, incomparable perspective and vibrant personality has the industry-taking note.

Crosier has a degree in fine art from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Denver, CO with an emphasis in drawing and sculpture. This background in fine art has encouraged him develop a watershed wood burning technique for illustrating comic book interiors, covers, and pinups.

For more information about Daniel Crosier visit www.DanielCrosier.

About the Vincent Price Art Museum
East Los Angeles College’s Vincent Price Art Museum (VPAM), the first institutional art museum to serve the East Los Angeles area, is a cultural center that benefits the college and its community by offering significant exhibits that would otherwise be unavailable, and by providing all of Los Angeles with the resource of a regional showcase.

Beginning in 1951, noted actor and art collector, Vincent Price, donated art objects from his personal collection, establishing the first “teaching art collection” owned by a community college, and one of the few colleges in the United States with the resource of a major art collection. The Vincent Price Collection contains over 7,000 pieces (with an estimated value of over $5,000,000), and includes art from Africa, Peruvian and Mexican artifacts dating from 300 B.C., North American Indian Art, and important works from the renaissance to the present day; A permanent gallery was built in 1958 to facilitate the display and storage of the collection, and was named in honor of Vincent Price. For many years, the VPAM’s unique exhibition posters have been appreciated by collectors all over Southern California, and as far away as New York and Europe, and are part of the poster art collections of many art museums.

Thanks to everybody that has ordered! I’m super excited to share the book with you.

I’ve got a lot of event signings coming up this fall also. Check back for a full schedule for updates.

http://comicsnow.com/store/search.php?mode=search&page=1

Greeley now has a place in the comic book world.

Greeley’s own Daniel Crosier, 31, and Greeley-based Distortions Unlimited are collaborating to develop a new comic book series called “Distortions Unlimited.”

Distortions Unlimited has been in business in Greeley for 30 years manufacturing masks, Halloween props and animatronics. The company is best known for its reproductions of the 16-foot queen alien from the film “Alien,” cast from the original molds, as well as designing the stage props for music industry icon Alice Cooper’s Brutal Planet tour, according to a press release.

The three-issue series is based on characters created and licensed by Distortions.

“It’s kind of cool,” said Ed Edmunds, president of Distortions. “I don’t think it’s necessarily we did something amazing. It’s because of the bizarre-looking creatures we create that fit into the comic book industry.”

Growing up in the area, Crosier knew of Edmunds’ company but never visited because he didn’t know how. Because of this, Crosier’s friends brought him Distortions’ catalog and eventually, he started collecting them.

One day, everything changed for Crosier when he met his soon-to-be high school art teacher, Ron Nehrboss. Nehrboss had some students working at Distortions and was able to arrange an occasional tour for Crosier.

The collaboration began in January when Crosier was hired by Washington-based publishing company Bluewater Productions. Darren Davis, Bluewater’s president, was looking for a company that made licensed products. Upon hearing this, Crosier suggested the company he grew up around with the pitch of a horror comic. Davis liked the idea and thought it would be an interesting cross-promotion between the two companies.

One of the main characters in the comic is Rage. An animatronic and one of Distortions’ most popular characters, Rage is described as a muscle-bound Neanderthal who is bigger than California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and is similar to the Incredible Hulk — except he’s not green.

“Rage has been a fan favorite for years. The sheer size of the piece commands attention and really gives people a good scare,” Edmunds said in a release. “He’s a great character to base the series on.”

The first issue of the series delves into the horror resulting from a mine collapse, the release stated. The plot was crafted with multiple, intertwining layers that combine fantasy and true-life events ripped from today’s headlines, the release stated.

According to Crosier, Rage accidentally unleashes holy hell on Earth because the human characters in the story antagonize him.

“The way I got it set up, he’s essentially a gatekeeper to a realm that could be interpreted as Pandora’s Box,” Crosier said. “It leaves things open-ended.”

If this story isn’t unique as it is, Crosier will be illustrating the comic on wooden poplar panels, which should give the books a distressed, organic look. Crosier said poplar is a really fine grain of wood to use and is very clean.

“I’ve always been an illustrator all my life,” Crosier said. “I thought it would be fun to throw in different elements.”

Edmunds added, “It gives it an organic feel to the art.”

This unique piece of art can be hard to execute though. Crosier said it takes about three weeks to create a comic, and he spends an entire day illustrating the cover.

“It’s hard and it can be time-consuming,” Crosier said.

The first issue of the series is expected to be released in January. The second and third issues will follow in February and March.

If successful, as many as six series of the comic could be completed if all parties agree.

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20080706/BUSINESS/157518954/1006&parentprofile=1001