Indie Spotlight – Blackglass Press

For this column, Tastes Like Comics will be presenting a series of profiles of independent comic book creators and publishers, in order to show just how varied the market really is. If you were to imagine the industry as a book store, perhaps you would envision its interior would have a single section – called ‘Capes’, let’s say – that would circle all the way around back to the entrance.

It is worth reminding ourselves that comics are capable of a whole lot more and in order to compete for the attention of readers, indie comics often have to be more creative in how they use the medium.

Blackglass Press is one example. An Australian publisher based out of Melbourne and known principally for its horror anthology, Kagemono (which a quick Google reveals is a Japanese word combination of ‘shadow’ and ‘thing’), Blackglass is the brainchild of Jason Franks, a South-African born writer who in his time has trekked from there to Australia to the States and then back again.

Founded in 2005 in Florida, Franks took the publisher back to Melbourne to re-establish it among the indie comic scene there:

. . . [Blackglass] began life as a venue to self-publish the short stories I wrote when  I started creating comics and has grown somewhat since then.

Blackglass now also functions as a kind of community publisher; putting out anthology books bringing together work mainly generated by experienced creators from the local community. As a direct result of this work, and the connections I’ve made through it, I’m finding more places for my work with other, bigger publishers.

In the future I see Black Glass becoming more of a studio brand, teaming up with other houses to put out high quality local books.

Kagemono may be pitched as a ‘horror comic’, but thankfully it avoids the tendency of some underground books to present the reader with unrelenting gore and grue. There is a wide variety of story types and settings within the pages of the fourth volume of the anthology series, Flowers and Skulls, as described by Franks’ own promos for the book: Flowers and Skulls features 22 horror stories from the depths of space, the moshpit, the farmyard, the swamp, the suburbs. Yakuza wives and bike-obsessed rednecks, comic collectors and interstellar gourmands, music fans and veterinarians, vengeful priests and toyshop lunatics. Evil sorcery, wartime atrocities, barroom botany, casual drug abuse, bad relationships and ill-advised business deals. There might even be a zombie outbreak or two.

The book is reminiscent of the much missed Negative Burn and shares that title’s habit of breakneck switching between story-types. Daddy’s Girl written by Russell Lissau, with art by mpMann is a zombie tale with all the poignancy and punch of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead – but is thankfully much more brief! Desert Leviathan has Franks collaborate with artist Leigh Kuilboer on a story about how one man’s lifetime obsession eventually strips away his humanity. Lucifer’s Looking Glass from the twisted imaginations of James Andre and Luke Pickett is a darkly surreal piece of visual excess. Each story in the collection offers up something either unique, surprising, or shocking (at least one story left this reviewer feeling physically ill) – but Kagemono is never dull!

When asked if consumers are eager to explore comic genres outside of superheroes, Franks replied:

. . . I hope they are. I have nothing against superheroes, but I came to comics from the prose world and I find the fixation of mainstream comics on that particular subgenre a bit baffling. I love all the genres; crime, science fiction, horror, western, as well as realist
fiction, and I believe that readers have similar appetites. The horror genre has remained particularly strong in comics and I’ve certainly noticed a lot more good attention on Blackglass as the Kagemono series has built.

Other titles from Blackglass include Franks’ own creation McBlack an unstoppable gun-for-hire who resembles Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant dumped in a morally turpid universe much like 2000 AD’s Sinister Dexter. The book is filled with absurdly comic violence and a series of cartoonish villains, who can only hope to add to McBlack’s bodycount. Another anthology book published by Blackglass, is the more sf oriented Robots are People 2.0.

. . . “Robots are People” is an interesting case. The Robots series is actually Greg Vondruska’s baby; I stepped in and published the second, and largest issue of the series (#2, or 2.0), but it doesn’t really belong to Blackglass. Greg has done pretty well out of the series, and indeed, 2.0 is the first Blackglass book to sell out entirely. Greg and I are in talks about collecting all three issues, and perhaps expanding it with some new content.

Blackglass Press is also notable for its embracing of the advantages offered to indie publishers by the internet.

. . . Having an online presence is invaluable for a small publisher with no advertising budget and limited distribution. Readers can sample the merchandise if they can’t find it in their stores and they can buy directly from Blackglass, or through one of a number of resellers. The website is a great way for press to find us, as well as for new
creators and other interested parties.

Franks is also investigating producing books for the upstart Kindle market, which could potentially introduce the company to a much larger audience and save on costs. Blackglass has gone into partnership with Cloud 9 Comix, who will handle digital distribution for the company.

. . . I think that the sudden proliferation of ebook readers and the continuing shakeup in the publishing/book retailing world indicates that the public is now hungry for content to be delivered this way. The newest generation of readers does not have the prejudice about consuming fiction off a screen that older readers do and we need to service that market or perish [...] I hope that digital distribution will get comics out of the Direct
Market ghetto and into Kindles, iPads and Android devices. If we have enough diversity and enough quality material there, we’ll start seeing more people taking a new interest in the medium and we’ll maybe see the kind of mainstream acceptance that manga has in Japan and BD in Europe.

For indie publishers, where the internet is not a realizable option, the convention circuit becomes an absolute must to meet and gain the interest of new readers. Australia has become the home of two major cons – Supernova and Armageddon - with more on the way:

. . . These new events are a lot less comics-focused than the equivalent events in the US (or, indeed, the cons that were held in the nineties) and it can be a bit frustrating to compete with wrestlers, TV celebrities, circuses and so on, but turnouts are growing and so are sales. Cons are still the best way to attract new readers and we, the comics community, are starting to mobilize around the idea of carving out our own space amongst all the bustle.

Having been based initially in the States, how does the comic scene in Australia compare?

. . . Well, obviously everything is much smaller here. I got my first published comic reviewed in a mass market magazine because I happened to overhear its comics editor in conversation on the floor at San Diego–that couldn’t happen here. It’s harder to network with editors and other creators face-to-face. It’s harder to find printers who know how to ‘do’ comics properly. It’s harder to find local groups of creators if you don’t live in a big city and there are just fewer opportunities in general. Profits are smaller because costs are higher and there are less people to sell to.

There are certainly cliques and clans out here, but I feel as if we are more of an extended family–some of the American equivalents are more like opposing factions. The attitude is different here.

Actions speak louder than words. Franks took the time to list a series of books by fellow members of the Australian comic book community:

The List is a psychological horror graphic novel by Paul Bedford and
Henry Pop. The long-awaited third and final volume will be out in the
next month or two.

Eeek! is Jason Paulos’ retro horror comic. Nobody captures the feel
and flavour, let alone the look of those old EC horror books better
than Paulos.

The Example. Tom Taylor and Colin Wilson’s short story is a terrific
look at urban neurosis.

Changing Ways, Justin Randall’s surreal and gorgeous horror GN.

Digested by Bobby N. every issue contains and installment of Bobby’s
graphic novel OXYGEN as well as a fistful of shorts.

Sherlock Homes: The Dark Detective by Christopher Sequeira and Phil Cornell.

Dicks, by Tom Bonin, is a sort of noir/occult/adventure yarn that is
beautifully drawn and tersely written.

Sawbones by Trev Wood and Jen Breach–a ‘zomedy’ webcomic full of
action, gruesome humour and, most importantyl, plenty of laughs. Trev
and Jen produce some very handsome trade collections and the current
storytline is running issue by issue as well as on the web.

He also addressed the improving critical status of comic books in the country. With support from the likes of the Australian Society of Authors, comics can even qualify for government grants and are beginning to feature on the book awards scene.

When asked if he had any advice for aspiring comic book creators:

First off: comics is a really solitary pursuit, so, get out and meet some local creators. Their assistance, advice and companionship is invaluable.

Second: don’t expect to make a lot of money.

Third: None of us are in it for the glory, and this is for the simple reason that comics are AWESOME. Join us–there’s barely any chance you’ll wind up in prison.

Jason Franks is a writer and publisher. His series Sixsmiths is available from Slave Labour Graphics.