My name is Michael Magee. This year I attended another session of the San Diego Comic Con or more commonly known as SDCC 2011. Though this year’s event was filled with big announcements, great features, and the best costume parties this side of North America, there were also some harsh realities, uncertainty and emerging opportunities. The following is an excerpt of part 1 of a 4 part series on Comics and my experience at SDCC 2011.

COMICS ARE DEAD!

…What? Too soon?

…Well maybe not dead but things are changing quickly, read on…

Dropping Sales

The comic book industry is having another tough year, the volume of comics being sold through comic stores continues to drop, the latest numbers indicate a 7% drop in sales while comic sales in books stores went up 8% (even with the meltdown of Borders). In terms of genre Manga continued to drop, down 11% over the year while the largest gains were in the kids and tweens market, up 67% from last year. The drop in sales has been blamed on the decreasing number of stores to sell product, heavy piracy of scanned copies of comics and a resistance on the part of most publishers to move into the digital marketplace.

Continue reading the article on my Blog, Fictional Narratives.

Though we are taking a neutral stance as to who was involved, Fabler Comics holds a zero tolerance policy towards copyright infringement and plagiarism. In light of our stance we had to suspend the comic, Zombies Ate my Neighbors, by PsElliott pending further inquiry, with respect to the contest. Upon further investigation, the characters used in the story appeared to be similar in nature to some characters created by Matthew Dunn, an accomplished comic artist and illustrator in Melbourne Australia.

We spoke to both Peter and Matthew regarding the contest and this issue and Peter. Though the similarities were unintentional, Peter has asked us to withdraw his comic, Zombies ate my Neighbors from this contest and the site due to the similarities.

Matthew explained to us that this wasn’t the first uncanny appearance and similarities of his character designs of Leroy, the star of his comic called Lonely Monsters, also appearing in a webcomic called LM2. Apparently little Leroy and some of Matthew’s other characters have appeared in knock off t-shirts. posters, stickers etc. since their first appearances.

Moving forward, We hope that this incident doesn’t deter Peter or anyone from entering ongoing contests as we are looking forward to giving away many more prizes and much, much more for the next few years to come.

It has come to our attention that there has been some alleged plagiarism from one of our contestants. Now as you know, the contest rules and clearly state that we hold a zero tolerance policy with respect to copyright infringement. As a result, the comic in question has been suspended pending further inquiry.

Please remember that if you suspect someone of any form of copyright infringement to contact us rather than start a public stoning. This will help us handle these incidents quickly and efficiently.

Regardless of this incident, we will continue our quarterly Cintiq Contests. The next contest starts October 1st, 2010. For further questions or comments regarding the matter please contact us at cm@thefabler.com.

We hope that this is just a bump in the road and will continue to do our best to host contests and services that help independent comic creators thrive!

*Ahem*
I want to thank all the participants and fablerites who’ve joined us for this great event. I know this isn’t quite the ballroom show that we’d like it to be but that just gives us something more to work towards for future contests.

As I’ve said, you’ve all worked very hard. To our fellow comic creators your artistry and passion for sequential storytelling is what brings so many of us together. So keep it up! In a moment of cliche articulations, the sky is the limit and the only way to go is up.

Refreshments are on the house, and please be sure to stick around after the announcement as we have a few more tricks up our sleeves. Let’s get on with the show!

So, it gives me pleasure to announce the winners of The Fabler’s first ever Cintiq contest!

Let me go over the ground rules really quick to lay a foundation as to why our three Grand Prize winners have been chosen.

Our Top three finalists were chosen based on 4 fundamental aspects of comics. Originality, Story, Artwork, and Layout. These fundamentals are both technical and interpretation. And the top three have done it well. Out of over 45 submissions to the contest these 3 Finalists have won the hearts of their fans and our judges. Our panel of judges spent time reviewing each page that was submitted gathering their thoughts and deciding on who should be crowned this time.

This was a very difficult decision for us as everyone who entered is very talented and we’ve seen growth in their artistry and writing. We’ve done our homework and we hope that all participants of this contest will continue to grow, prosper and entertain us with their creativity!

Let’s start with our Third Place finalist:
This artist/writer spent some time coming up with the perfect idea for the contest. His idea of creating a 24 page one off book with influences from his childhood brought him here today to share one of many stories he has to present of a world, where all kinds of undead creatures lived among us.

Our Third place Grand Prize winner this round is Peter Scott Elliott, of Zombies Ate my Girlfriend!

We’ve asked him to give us a few words, Peter…

“I’d like to thank everyone who voted for my book. My amazing daughters for their input ( even though they voted for the other manga based comics on the site too, lol ) and especially my beautiful wife, who has supported me while I dream of making it in comics.”

Zombies Ate My Girlfriend, by Peter Scott Elliott

Peter has won a Sony Playstation 3 Package with a copy of Little Big Planet. Congrats Peter! Great work!

Our Second Place finalist, who we know very little of but in the face of life’s many blockades, has managed to complete her comic in the nick of time the day before the contest closing. Her comic appeared out of nowhere climbed up to the number won spot and in the face of much fierce competition, held onto it relentlessly where it still remains today. We can only hope that our creator continues to work on her comic and her artistry as we’ve seen much growth in her since her comics have started to appear on the web.

We present to you, our Second Place winner, Danielle Keller, of Ghost!

Danielle couldn’t be with us today to offer words of gratitude but we will pass on our blessing as she continues as a comic artist and creator.

Ghost!, by Danielle Keller

Danielle will be receiving an Extra Large Intuos4 Tablet by Wacom. Congratulations Danielle! We want to see more Ghost!

And last but not least, we would like to present our top finalist of this contest. A veteran in the web comics world who nearly jumped up and down when reading our announcements. He also may have shamefully pretended to high 5 his dog, who shall remain nameless for now.

Our winner, is not only a great comic artist and creator, but brings every day life to his work. Influenced and guided by his brother. Our winner today has dedicated his life to his passion in comics, will continue chugging down coffee, and not sleeping if necessary to succeed in this passion. Scott Ferguson, for your sake and ours, make sure you take cat naps once in a while!

Our First Place Grand Prize winner of The Fabler’s first ever Cintiq contest is Scott Ferguson of Scouts Crossing!

Scout Crossing, by Scott Fergusen

Scott will be receiving a 21UX Cintiq by Wacom! Congratulations Scott! Well Done!

We’ve asked him to give us a few words, Scott…

“I could easily make a list of names that could fill this whole section, but if I really had to thank the people who most helped and supported me, it would be these people; Tony, for listening to me drone on for hours about comics, and would tolerate me always sketching out strips while we would hang out. (this must have been devastatingly boring for him) Sayward, for being my unofficial catcher of grammatical errors, and not being afraid to tell me that something didn’t make sense, and I should fix it. I would also thank her for listening to my (most likely boring stories) of time lining Scout. Most of all, I would like to thank my mother, who has always been nothing but an outstanding parent, and has always offered advice and shown support in my career as an illustrator.”

Oh, but that’s not all. We’ve received a great number of comments regarding this contest, and Fabler Comics social networking intiative thefabler.com. Some of them not so positive but very many comments from our readers, fans, and supporters. Based on these comments we have two announcements to make.

Did you like this contest? The first announcement is that we will be continuing Fabler Cintiq Contests 4 times a year. Yes you heard us. We will be giving away 4 Wacom Cintiq’s along with other prizes to comic creators in the same manner. Each contest will be approximately 3 months long with a requirement of 24 pages. Our next contest will start October 1st 2010 and we will be announcing the winners January 15th. 2011. So get your creative caps on and get thinking of your next submissions!

The second announcement is a new one for us and a doozy. We felt that everyone should win. Now, Thefabler.com isn’t just about contests but we feel that everyone is entitled to win. Also members of The Fabler shouldn’t be limited to just one contest. Why not let them submit for two? Every year Fabler Comics will support The Fabler Anthology Contest. This program will give each creative team or individual the chance to hit the big time. We have more details to release very soon but to drop a little teaser, Fabler Comics will be giving away a pot of $50,000 dollars to the top 3 finalists in this contest. Be ready for more news soon.

Congratulations to our submitters, contestants and finalists!

Just a quick note here from the guys upstairs. We have chosen our Top 3 Grand Prize Winners and will be making the official announcement to everyone via the blog. Check back today at 5pm EST to find out who our Top 3 Finalists are, and Grand Prize winners of our first ever Cintiq contest. We will also be making some very important announcements for all you comic creators and fans a like. So stay tuned!

To you the Fans. Your participation to helping your favorite creators has put them into the spot that they have worked so hard to be in. We want to thank you and congratulate you in your support. It’s you who have helped this community be a vibrant place where these talented story tellers can showcase their creativity!

To all those creators who have participated in this contest. You have all worked so hard with an idea and ran with it. Your participation together and as individuals in making such entertaining, dramatic and action packed stories gives us reason as to why we truly believe in Independent Comics and Small Press industry!

So, without further ado, I would like to announce our Top Ten Finalists, as chosen by you, their fans!

We start with our 10th place comic creator as voted by you and decided by The Fabler’s Top Overall.

Scout Crossing, by Scott Fergusen

Fruitful Confusion, by Laura Kajpust

Real Life Fiction, by Jennifer Meyer

Acting Out, by Andrea Cabral

Zombies Ate My Girlfriend, by Peter Scott Elliott

Oldwizard, by Lazarus Berry, and Forest Rhodes of Roll

Book of the NOT Dead, by Mickey and Nikki of Nematode in Space.

Moving to our top 3 finalists as voted by you, and of the site,

3rd Place as voted by you:
Adrastus Chapter 1, by Elizabeth Staley and Julie Devin of Dynamite Candy

2nd Place as voted by you:
Stay by my Side, by THEN Productions

And last but definitely not least our Top 1st Place Finalist of this contest and all current thefabler.com submissions:

Ghost!, by Danielle Keller

Now that our Top 10 Finalists have been chosen, we will move on to the final round of this contest. Fabler Comics Inc., editors and contest sponsors will now spend the next few days reviewing each comic carefully to determine our Top 3 Grand Prize winners by the following Criteria:

Originality (uniqueness of concept)
Story (plot and subplots, narrative, character dialog, etc.)
Layout (overall panel design, sequential pacing, reader leading, etc.)
Artwork (final style and quality of the line art, coloring)

Stay tuned as we will be announcing our 3 Grand Prize Winners in just a few days on Mondy September 20th, 2010. Good Luck to Everyone!

So with out further a due, I would like to announce the opening of the Premier Comic Submission Contest, hosted by your friends at Fabler Comics!

Yes that’s right we are giving away, to grand prize winners, prizes for 3 finalists! The 3rd place prize is a Sony PS3 Bundle! The 2nd place prize is a Wacom Intuos4 XL! Last but definitely not least, the 1st place Grand Prize is a Wacom Cinque 21UX!

Sponsored and supported by Fabler Comics, Zensoft Studios, and Artfox, you have the chance to Win these prizes! Oh and there’s more. If you team up with two more of your talented friends, they can also win the prizes if your comic is selected as a prize winner! How do you enter? It’s simple!

1. If your not already signed up with an account on The Fabler, go http://thefabler.com/signup! Then come back for the rest of the details.
2. Create an original work comic of at least 24 pages + the Cover. If you want to submit more, be our guest!
3. Submit your comic (up to 3 submission!!!) in web format on thefabler.com between June 15th, 2010, and September 15th, 2010.
4. Tell EVERYONE of your comic! Get them to vote and rate your comic! Tell your friends, family, friendly competition, professors, neighbors, 2nd cousins twice removed, etc! The more people you tell the better chance you have at winning one of these great prizes!

Oh yes and there’s more. All 3 finalist prize winners will have their comics immortalized on thefabler.com in a special web trophy case as winners of the Premier Comic Submission Contest. For more information and official rules of the contest head over to the contest page!

So get your win on and submit your comic now! May the best storytellers win!

The three main venues this year was Another Dimension, Phoenix Comics, and Comic Kazi. Though we’d love to include all cities and venues, we’re just not as cool and capable as our freely featured superheroes. Maybe next year we will be lucky enough to have mastered our cloning skills. Calgary this year will have to do.

In Calgary, the hustle and bustle took place on Macleod Trail, where the local creator community, and fans, hosted by Comic Kazi banded together to create the vibrant atmosphere that brings the kids out in all of us. Thanks to Calgary’s own Gerald Garcia, who’s been running and coordinating the event at Comic Kazi since the early days. Gerald, was doing sketches to help raise proceeds for the Eugene Ouchi Memorial Scholarship at ACAD. Our hearts go out to Eugene’s family friends.

Kris Chisholm was there as well this year, sketching and enjoying the atmosphere. As he continues to draw, we can only see that this superstar to be, will soon be drawing our next favorite reads!

Fiona Staples, giving sketches away for free this year. Since the cancellation of Wildstorm’s, North 40, by Aaron Williams, after issue #6, she’s now hopped up on a new project, published by IDW called, Mystery Society, by Steve Niles. Sitting next to her was local artist Neil, who was happy that the community in Calgary has been growing quite successfully!

A few local indies there this year included Michael McAdam, and Mike Rieger, of Two Gargoyles Graphics. Since starting Diaperman in 1998, the twosome have successfully maintained their ability to self publish great stories, through community exposure.

A new feature to the stage this year was Ashley Delehay, the lead starlet in Zombie Attack! From Outer Space. She was there creating awareness and to promote, how to build a movie for under $60k! Following in Robert Rodriguez’s footsteps, the crew are well on their way with another Sasquatch movie in the works as well.

DC’s Marcus To, a Torontonian was there shaking hands and kissing babies, as he was a guest to the event this year providing the crowds with free sketches.

The Wildgunmen crew was also there promoting their new print editions of, The Wildgunmen, the geek culture magazine.

Last but not least, the coolest cat this year was Diamian Wilcox, of Dorkboy Comics! This local self published veteran has been producing web comics for the past 13 years. He was kind enough to hand out free sketches and, give our onsite comic fan, Cory Nelson, a comic of his very own!

The Sundry Seven also made a brief appearance. If you had a chance to snag one of the last remaining copies, we hope you enjoy the upcoming tale of our misfit superheroes in all their glory.

Remember, we really do love comics!

This year was quite the success for The Fabler! We had managed to go through more than 1300 copies of our Calgary Comic Expo exclusive preview of The Sundry Seven. So now that the word is out be sure to check back to the site for more updates and the official launch!

This year Zensoft Studios was kind enough to sponsor some Sony Playstation 3 prize packs for our comic expo draw. We want to thank all those that stopped by our little abode to meet Jay Korim, the artist of The Sundry Seven, grab their free issue and speak with the creators of thefabler.com and all of its happenings.

So without further ado we present the following winners to the our prize draw.

I find it interesting as a recent headline in Edge Game Industry News stated that a recent survey claimed approximately 3% of all PS3’s in circulation have been won in competitions! Be proud that our three lucky winners made it into the headlines!

Sony PS3 Prizepack
120 GB Sony Playstation 3
Little Big Planet PS3 Game
Our Winners Are:
Kyle MacDonald
James LePage
Kenny Tsang

Sony PSN Prizepack
$50 PSN Network Card
Our Winners Are:
Brent Pope
Tim Dorscher
Hansen Wong

PS3 Batman Prizepack
Batman: Arkham Asylum, PS3 Game
Our Winners Are:
Marko Bozinouski
Branden Joyce

Congratulations to all of our lucky winners!!!

See you all at next years Expo!

In Alberta, places to note are Comic-Kazi, Another Dimension Comics, Happy Harbor Comics, Redd Skull Comics and more! Check out local shops and events in your area! Come meet The Fabler team, as we will be covering Calgary venues with their events, artists and Free Comics!

~Bruno @ The Fabler