Creator Spotlight: Shawn Gabborin

Happy Post Thanksgiving! This week, 100%SSA had the chance to chat with Shawn Gabborin of Angry Gnome Comics!   

Shawn give the dirt on writing horror comics and we discuss the annoying trend of bad Hollywood remakes…

 

I’ve read a ton of your stuff, Shawn, and I have to say… you’re a pretty twisted guy! I have to ask…what scares you? 

Spiders and Snow.  So living in Pennsylvania, I get plenty of both. 

Working in horror comics presents its own sets of challenges, I’m sure. How do you keep suspense moving from panel to panel?

Personally, silent panels work great.  If a panel doesn’t have any words (or just a few quick ones) you’re more likely to take a better look at the art, which slows you down.  Couple that with some strong facial expressions or creepy scenery, and that slows your flow down even more.  So I can try my best to write for suspense, but a lot of it comes down to the artists translating it to the page… which Steph has done an amazing job of with Victor Season and Palm Reader!  

Cover art for Palm Reader 1-4 by Stepanie Gabborin

You and your wife (Stephanie) make a pretty great creative team. Do you guys ever argue over the comic work like, well, a married couple?  

Can I plead the fifth on this one? Actually, only when I see an error AFTER she’s finished a page.  And as a good husband, I take full responsibility for all errors. 

     

Cover Art for Short Stack #1 by Wynn Ryder

Horror is such a vast genre. Is there any subject matter that you’re itching to sink your teeth into? Why? 

Nicely phrased, because I’m actually working on a real nasty vampire story.  I’ve always loved vampires, but they’ve gotten so over-sexualized and spoofed lately that there is really nothing scary left to them.  So I want to do a story that takes them back to what they are supposed to be:  brutal, violent, bloodthirsty creatures of the night… that don’t sparkle. Ever.

It seems that the new flavor in Hollywood is to remake classic horror films. Is there any particular film that you’d like to see remade? 

Cover Art for Short Stack #2 by Dave Dwonch

I’m kind of a purist when it comes to my horror flicks.  Not to say I haven’t enjoyed some of the recent remakes, I just think it’s lazy.  But I could see a remake of “Basket Case” working.  I love the movie, but I think it suffered from the poor acting and poor effects, so I could get behind remaking it.  I think it’d have potential to be a really creepy flick, if done right. 

Any stinkers that you wish hadn’t been made?  

The new Prom Night was just bad.  I think the main thing that I don’t like is when they take what made the movies memorable, and pitch it.  Texas Chainsaw?  Let’s forget the creepy man-child cross dressing Leatherface, let’s make him fast and angry!  Friday the 13th?  Forget slow and methodical… let’s make him fast and angry too!  Halloween?  Forget the boogieman who starts killing for no apparent reason, let’s make him a troubled youth from a screwed up home… who’s fast and angry!  There’s nothing unique to any of them.  I don’t think Hollywood has faith in the attention span of newer generations, so we lose the creepy atmospheric horror in exchange for repetitive jump scares.  I could go on for hours on this topic, so it’d probably be best to just move on… 

Geek out time. Favorite Slasher? 

Freddy Krueger all the way.  For most slashers, dead teens = a good day.  But Freddy likes to play with you first.  That’s a whole different level of creepy.  Gotta respect someone who takes joy in their work… regardless of what their work is. 

Shawn redefines the slasher with Victor Season, an urban legend that is horrifyingly real.

Favorite Movie Monster? 

I’d have to go with the Gremlins.  They have these silly rules (don’t get them wet, don’t feed after midnight, etc.) that you have to follow.  And if you don’t… well those green gremlins are some nasty little critters.  I could have some fun writing a Gremlins comic… 

Short Stack #3 cover art by Andy Jewett

Stephen King or Clive Barker?  Stephen King. 

My mom was a huge Stephen King fan, so I was basically raised on King stories.
 

All right, let’s get back to comics. I know you’ve been working steadily on your “2 Page Gory Story” anthology series, Short Stack with a ton of creative artists. Not to alienate anyone, but do you have a favorite in the group? Okay, pick three! 

That’s a tough question.  In the five issues that are out, I’ve worked with 52 different artists on 65 stories… so choosing three is tough.  All the artists I’ve worked with have been amazing.  Viewing it as which worked the best (story, art and how well the two came together), let’s say Daniel Logan with “InsurOnce Upon A Time”, Dave Acosta with “The Duel”, Mario Cau with “Home Late” and Kathryn Layno with “Atonement”.  Yeah… that’s four, I know.  But this is just too tough!  I mean, all four of those artists exceeded what I set out for with those stories, so I need to give them their dues.  That was stressful… I need to go lay down. 

I know we had a hell of a time at the last Super Show, but what are you looking forward to the most at CGSSS 2010? 

Definitely getting to see everyone again.  I’ve seen scattered people here and there through the past year, but it’s great to see everyone at once.  The vibe is just so great.   

Thanks Shawn!

Shawn's workspace... where terror is born!

For more information on all of Shawn’s work, visit http://www.angrygnomecomics.com/ and come back soon for more interviews, including talks with Kevin Freeman, Zack Kruse, and Jamie Fickes!

 

[Via http://supershowapproved.wordpress.com]

Kim Bum likes older women

This was from 3 weeks ago. Originally I didn’t want to translate it, but it does offer a lot of information other interviews did not touch on. I thought I needed to protect your guys, but it doesn’t look like you need my protection. As always, the things he already said in other interviews were neglected.

The serious and composed Kim Bum doesn’t seem to like girls his own age. Kim Bum confirmed this right away, saying, “I like older girls. If I have to pick another ideal type, then I like petite girls, not tall girls. It would be great if we can talk about the same things [personalities are similar]. The celebrities I admired when I was little were also very interesting.” Kim Bum expressed that the celebrity he admired the most in his childhood was Kang Su Ji, who was a 90’s pop star.

“I am not attracted to girls around my age, but I like girls who have already started their careers. When I was little I was Kang Su Ji noona’s fan.”

 

Even though Kim Bum is a workaholic who hasn’t gotten much rest due to his busy schedule, there are people who give him the energy and help he needs. The people who have given him the most strength are his family. He is very proud of his 18 year old sister, complimenting that she is very pretty. A while ago he gave his parents a TV and a refrigerator, and a cell phone and electronic dictionary for his sister.

“The people who always worry about me are my parents, and therefore they give me a lot of strength. My younger sister doesn’t think of me as a celebrity but a regular person, so she never brings anyone home [to see the celebrity] (laughs).”

Kim Bum talked about the management’s representative Lee Jin Seong, who supported him along with Yoo Ho Jeong and Kim Hyun Joong. “Because the representative hyung thinks a lot like me, when he picks new projects for me to do, the projects really reflect what I wanted to do as well. It’s a blessing to work with someone like him. Thanks to him I was able to meet Choi Ji Woo, Shin Ae Ra, and Lee Jae Lyong. The F4 members get together a lot. He asks for the F4’s schedules for me. I know almost all of them. A lot of good people always work together for me so I was able to get a lot of strength to withstand anything.”

(Via SportsSeoul)

Kang Su Ji:

Looks familiar doesn’t she?

 

The serious and composed Kim Bum doesn’t seem to like girls his own age. Kim Bum confirmed this right away, saying, “I like older girls. If I have to pick another ideal type, then I like petite girls, not tall girls. It would be great if we can talk about the same things [personalities are similar]. The celebrities I admired when I was little were also very interesting.” Kim Bum expressed that the celebrity he admired the most in his childhood was Kang Su Ji, who was a 90’s pop star.

“I am not attracted to girls around my age, but I like girls who have already started their careers. When I was little I was Kang Su Ji noona’s fan.”

Even though Kim Bum is a workaholic who hasn’t gotten much rest due to his busy schedule, there are people who give him the energy and help he needs. The people who have given him the most strength are his family. He is very proud of his 18 year old sister, complimenting that she is very pretty. A while ago he gave his parents a TV and a refrigerator, and a cell phone and electronic dictionary for his sister.

“The people who always worry about me are my parents, and therefore they give me a lot of strength. My younger sister doesn’t think of me as a celebrity but a regular person, so she never brings anyone home [to see the celebrity] (laughs).”

Kim Bum talked about the management’s representative Lee Jin Seong, who supported him along with Yoo Ho Jeong and Kim Hyun Joong. “Because the representative hyung thinks a lot like me, when he picks new projects for me to do, the projects really reflect what I wanted to do as well. It’s a blessing to work with someone like him. Thanks to him I was able to meet Choi Ji Woo, Shin Ae Ra, and Lee Jae Lyong. The F4 members get together a lot. He asks for the F4’s schedules for me. I know almost all of them. A lot of good people always work together for me so I was able to get a lot of strength to withstand anything.”

[Via http://bumsso.wordpress.com]

New York's Allanah Starr discusses her life and fame as a Transsexual

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SONIC SYNDICATE - NEW INTERVIEWS AND VIDEOS

Sweden’s #1 rockstars SONIC SYNDICATE played an exclusive acoustic version of their new hit “Burn this City“ live on press2play online TV. See the whole song and an exclusive interview with the new singer Nathan below:

http://www.press2play.tv/rekommenderat/25/sonic-syndicate-hjarta-nathan-%E2%80%93-en-karlekshistoria (Interview)

http://www.press2play.tv/musik/25/sonic-syndicate-%E2%80%9Dburn-this-city%E2%80%9D-live (“Burn This City“ Live)

TOURDATES SONIC SYNDICATE:

01.12. UK Bristol – O2 Academy 2
02.12. UK Oxford – O2 Academy 2
03.12. UK Nottingham – RC Basement (with The Defiled)
04.12. UK Brighton – Engine Room (with The Defiled)
05.12. UK London – Islington Academy (With The Defiled)
06.12. UK Manchester – The Roadhouse (With The Defiled)
07.12. UK Birmingham – O2 Academy 3

[Via http://pushtofire.wordpress.com]

Giving up the day job (5): Nik Perring

The next installment in the series of interviews with writers about giving up their day jobs features Nik Perring. Nik is the author of I Met a Roman Last Night, What Did You Do? which can be bought from all good book shops as well as from Nik’s website . Incidentally, Nik says if any of my readers contact him via his website, quoting my blog, he’ll send them a signed copy of his book for £4.50 (UK only). He also writes short stories, many of which can be found on his own blog.

MT: Hi Nik. What day jobs have you done?

NP: I delivered the Manchester Evening News and two huge and very heavy bags of Sunday papers when I was at school.
I’ve worked at a couple of places as a waiter.
I helped out at a solicitor’s office.
And the last proper job I had was working for a VW franchise as an Account Manager (I sold cars.)

MT: Anything in those day jobs that has inspired your writing?

NP: I suppose it must have, but not in any way I’ve chosen. I think my stories come about as a result of me taking fragments of what I’ve experienced and making something new and hopefully interesting with them, rather than going over actual experiences and seeing if there’s anything there I can use. I think it’s more fun to make things up.

That said, people inspire me, and I’ve been lucky enough to have pretty much always worked with the public so I’m sure I’ll have taken plenty from those experiences. But if I have it’s been a subtle thing because I’ve never done it intentionally.

MT: When (at what stage in your career) did you make the break to full-time writing?

NP: When I was twenty-two (I think) the VW dealership I’d worked at since I’d been sixteen was sold and as a result I was made redundant. I’d always fancied writing so instead of looking for another job immediately I decided to see if I could learn how to write and if I could be any good at it.

(Actually I blogged about this a couple of months ago. You can read what I wrote here)

MT: Any drawbacks?

NP: Yes. I think every job has its drawbacks and writing’s no different. It’s a lonely job. There’s next to no human contact. It doesn’t pay particularly well. It can be murder for your eyes and fingers and back (and bottom) and can take up that much of your brain that you don’t notice what’s going on outside of your story. And that’s without mentioning that most of your time, while writing, is spent waiting for decisions, which can take months to get, if you’re lucky to get one at all.

MT: What else, if anything, do you do to support the writing? any writing-related jobs?

NP: I run writing workshops, mostly in primary schools, which I really enjoy doing. Way back in 2006 I was asked to start a writing group at a local library which has been running, weekly, ever since. And, very occasionally, I offer personal tuition.

MT: Is life as a full-time writer more or less stressful than before?

NP: I’m more stressed than I was before! Aside from all the drawbacks I mentioned above, there’s an awful lot of pressure that comes with what is essentially running your own business.

I must say that I think this is the part most people outside of writing don’t see, or imagine. It’s a wonderful thing, and a privilege, to be able to spend my days writing (or, more accurately, doing writing related work) but it IS work, and it IS a job.
That’s not to say it’s not fun or rewarding or exactly what I want to do, mind…

MT: Any other comments?

NP: Thanks, Michelle, for your interesting questions. and for inviting me here, it’s been a pleasure.

And I hope I’ve not come across as being too negative or put anyone off. Despite of all I’ve moaned about I very much love what I do.

Thanks Nik.

[Via http://michelleteasdale.wordpress.com]

Taylor Lautner Gay?

Rumours have started that Taylor Lautner is infact gay! The speculations started after the New Moon actor refused to answer questions about his sexuality to Rolling Stone Magazine. The 17 year old said “There’s a lot of rumours out there,” Maybe he’s not into people of the same sex just the same name, there are still media rumours that the actor is dating country singer Taylor Swift. “We instantly clicked,” said Lautner, describing the moment he and Swift met on the set of the upcoming romcom ‘Valentine’s Day’ “She’s an amazing girl. Aside from being beautiful, she’s extremely funny, charismatic and fun to be around.” I’m pretty sure that most girls out there would die if Lautner was actually gay!

[Via http://haygeee.wordpress.com]

e-Book Alchemy - An Interview with Olive Technology's Virginia Thomas

By almost any reckoning, e-books are a fast growing segment of the book publishing industry.  Many self-published authors and traditional publishers who have been reluctant to publish in e-book format are now considering it.  However, because there are many competing standards, navigating the technical / logistical ins and outs of e-book publishing can seem a bit daunting at first. 

We recently had the opportunity to discuss print to e-book conversion and the outlook for e-books with Virginia Thomas, the Business Development Manager at Olive Technology, a leading provider of eBook conversion services. Virginia has lived and worked in Alaska, Argentina, Oregon, California, Texas, Hawaii, India and Colorado and was previously in corporate sales with Paradigm Engineering.  (One of her favorite book genres is confessional memoirs.)

FPP:  What e-book formats should a publisher consider absolutely essential for their titles?

VT:  Since the arrival of ebooks and eReaders, the number of digital content retailers has significantly increased. Each retailer would want to cover most device formats. Since the two most popular readers, the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader use ePub and Mobi, it is recommended that Publishers should at least have these two formats available.EPUB is an open standard created by the IDPF, and is used on numerous devices such as the Sony Reader, the Barnes and Noble Nook, and the Stanza iPhone app. Mobipocket, or .mobi, can be read on the Kindle, but also on a Blackberry, Windows Mobile device, Symbian or Palm device. .azw is Amazon’s proprietary format for the Kindle, for which they provide free conversion when a title is listed in Amazon.com’s eBook store. Like .azw, .mobi can be read on a Kindle, but unlike .azw, it can be sold in a number of distribution channels including Symtio and a publisher’s own website.

FPP:  What steps a publisher should take to prepare for submitting a title for conversion into an e-book?

VT:  Publishers looking at reaching a wide market should first develop a basic idea of planning their marketing and decide on how they would like to take care of the digital rights management. Subsequently, they should identify a reliable technology team that can do a high quality conversion work that can replicate the original book experience into digital format. As they identify the team, the publisher should have their high priority titles organized by the different available format such as hard copy, PDF, Quark Express, InDesign etc. This would allow the conversion team to organize their own conversion steps.

FPP:  What occurs during the process of e-book conversion?

VT:  Depending on the format, the conversion process involves:

1. Converting the original source format (such as PDF) into a editable format, such (MS Word or HTML)
2. Reformatting of the editable format so that it can be seamlessly ported into a conversion tool. Depending on the type of book, this step may involve extensive coding to re-create the formatting from the original book. Aspects such as clickable footnotes, endnotes and images are all taken care of in this phase.
3. The formatted file is then ported into a conversion tool that can then generate the needed extension required. Aspects such as Table of Contents, book details and Metatags are taken into consideration at this phase. (Metatags are information about information—they help identify and position the digital content in order of relevance. For more information see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metatags).
4. An eBook conversion team then takes a thorough line-by-line comparison with the original book to make sure that all the needed formats and expressions have been replicated in the converted book. This is a very important step as it ensures a good reading experience for the reader. Depending on the service provider, a conversion team would have multiple quality checks by different members of the team.

FPP:  What are the most common problems that occur in e-book conversion?

VT:  Formatting errors can come in easily, especially inserting spaces into words. This is why Olive Technology does not rely solely on software for corrections. Olive’s proofreading team pores over every word in the eBooks they convert.

FPP:  What is the typical turnaround time for an e-book conversion?

VT:  Average turnaround time for a 200 page book is 2 working days. However, it may take additional time if there are lots of footnotes and endnotes that require extensive coding of tags or there are lots of images that need to be edited before including in the eBook.

FPP:  How much should a publisher budget for converting a title into the most popular e-book formats?

VT:  This depends on how long the book is, how many titles are being converted in the batch, and how complicated it is to convert. Most conversion companies provide a price per page. The more special formatting, pictures, charts, graphs, sidebars, etc. a work has, the more difficult it is to convert.As for a ballpark, conversion of a 200 page novel with a few illustrations from PDF to EPUB and Mobipocket, Olive Technology would charge $160.

FPP:  What limitations / differences in appearance should a publisher expect when going from print to e-book?

VT:  Because of limitations in the eReaders, it is not possible to enforce the original font types into the eBook formats. However, some eReaders allow the fonts to be changed. Since the reader has options to change the font size to large print or smaller print, there are no set page numbers in an eBook. Also, the style of s Table of Contents is limited to one column. All required images would render as black and white in most eReaders, but in smartphones they can be in color.

FPP:  Do you think we will get to a single e-book standard in the near future?

VT:  That’s the question of the hour. Members of the IDPF would scream “YES! EPUB!,” and the industry has already seen a great adoption of the EPUB format. However, Forrester has said that of the 3 million eBook readers predicted to be sold in 2009, 60% of them are Kindles. While Bbeb may be a dying breed, I think .azw and Mobipocket will be around with EPUB for years to come—especially if Amazon keeps making mobile apps. Unless, that is, Jeff Bezos decides to become an open format fan. That will probably occur the same day Steve Jobs endorses Windows 7.

FPP:  Does having a title in XML format simplify e-book conversion?

VT:  Not necessarily. In fact in our experience the reformatting of DocBookXML can be even more challenging and costly. However, the use of XML allows quicker conversion to any future formats that would be made available.

FPP:  How important are mobile phones in the e-book market now?

VT:  According to research done by Nielsen in 2008, younger people favor the idea of books downloadable to mobile phones or iPods over eReaders or PCs (A third of 16-30 year olds compared to 23% of over 30s). The mobile phone market share is relatively small, but growing. The most popular mobile phone for eBook reading now is the iPhone, which only had 6.5% of the eBook downloads in the first two quarters of 2009. However, in a November 1 report the research firm Flurry predicted that with thousands of eBook apps being produced, the iPhone will be in a serious position to steal market share from the Kindle in reading the way it stole from the Nintendo DS in gaming.F

PP:  How do you see the e-book market evolving in the next 3-5 years?

VT:  With the fast adoption rate and decrease in price of eReaders, the only certainties I see are growth, increasing involvement of Google, and device convergence. According to Association of American Publishers, eBook sales have grown by more than 300% in last 2 years. While eBooks are still a small portion of book sales, they more than tripled from the second quarter of 2008 to the second quarter of 2009, and the exponential growth is predicted to continue.

Also, I think it’s a matter of time before foldable/flexible mobile devices cause device convergence to occur. The problem now is that eBook readers are too big to be phones, and phones are too small to read on without a whole lot of scrolling. However, when mobile phone manufacturers roll out devices that can be folded or unfolded to the size of a phone or eReader, consumers will probably opt for the convenience of only carrying around one device. Motorola is said to be hard at work on their line of flexible devices.

Related Posts

• How m-books Could Change Reading
• After the Page
• Contemplating the Google-book
• ebooks – Toward a Tipping Point?
• Is XML the New Center of the Publishing Universe?
• Penguin 2.0 – The March to the Digital Kingdom Continues

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[Via http://futureperfectpublishing.com]