The Bluewater Fiasco, part 39

For those of you still following the story, Amber has published another article in which Jerome Maida has his say about Bluewater's take on the whole affair.

I really can't express how frustrating it is that Bluewater's various representatives have listed reasons for why they pulled my cover off the book at the last minute- Totally glossing over the fact that they did not remove my cover from the book.

Instead they paid someone else to trace over my illustration so that they could continue to use my image without crediting me. That is beyond spiteful. And to claim that the two covers are as different as “night and day” is insulting and obviously untrue.

Amber's article also appeared on Bleeding Cool today, which is wonderful news. The more people hear about this fiasco the better.

The silver lining to this whole mess has been the outpouring of support I've received from friends and family. The comic book store I work at (Stormwatch Comics in Berlin) will no longer be purchasing any of Bluewater's titles, unless a customer specifically requests it. People I don't even know have offered their condolences and disgust over the whole situation, and I have been informed that Bluewater has received several unhappy letters on my behalf.

I'm sure I don't need to explain that, for someone who is just starting out as a freelance artist, to run into a company like Bluewater and suffer such a dramatic disillusionment right out of the gate is devastating. When I first cut ties with Bluewater back in January, it really took the wind out of my sails and it was quite a while before I was able to find my direction again.

I can't take it back, but if I can prevent another fledgling artist from entering into an agreement with this company as blindly as I did, then this whole mess will not have been in vain.

The Bluewater Fiasco, part 21

The lovely wonderful Amber Love has been using her blogger gravitas to help me get the word out about how Bluewater screwed me over. If you haven't already seen it, stop by and read the article she wrote about me.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I really can’t do anything legally. They own the image and technically can do whatever they like with it. I will never see a cent of the royalties, because the number of books that would have to sell before I could collect on it 10,000- A number that the most popular titles barely reach.

The best I can do is make sure that I tell as many people as possible about what happened to me so that they can avoid a similar fate.

Also, it is worth mentioning that I did get paid for this job.

This isn’t about money.

It's about ethics.

Even though they hired someone to trace over my “unprintable” cover, I should have been given credit for designing it. Everything from the composition to the color choices is the same as mine, so to say the difference is like “night and day” is a falsehood that anyone with eyes in their head can detect.

The Bluewater Fiasco, part 17

I am almost too frustrated for words right now, so I'll let the facts speak for themselves. Here's the (highly-simplified) timeline of events.

This is the part that makes me angriest.

This right here.

Why don't we look at it together, hmm?

HE SIGNED HIS NAME WHERE MY NAME SHOULD GO

For some reason I find that unforgivable in a way that the rest of it is not.

If you have any artist friends, warn them to STAY AWAY FROM BLUEWATER PRODUCTIONS. I didn't find out until it was too late and I'd hate for anyone else to have to find out the hard way.

Hillary Clinton Addendum

So, I just took a look at the Hillary Clinton book via Amazon and apparently, Bluewater didn't think it was necessary to credit me for my artwork.

Thankfully, my signature is still visible on the front, but there's no mention of me on the inside cover… which means I can't send it in as proof that I'm a published comic book artist when I attend conventions.

Unfortunately, there's not much to be done at this point, since it's already been printed up and I doubt there'll be a second printing. Even so, it's still a jerk move on their part.

Just one more reason that I won't be working with Bluewater again.

Hillary Arrives on the 8th!

Apparently, that Hillary Clinton book I worked on back in 2010 is finally getting shipped out!

I've had pre-orders in for months, since it was originally solicited in December. It's been a LONG time coming, and I'm really psyched about being able to legitimately call myself a professional comic book artist!

It'll be exciting to see my artwork up there on the shelf with everyone else!

THIS JUST IN!!!

I just got an offer from Bluewater Productions to do the interior art for Political Power: Richard Nixon and, if all goes well, after that I'll be illustrating the interiors of the comic that I did the cover for a few weeks ago.

Exciting and scary!

Exciting, because it'd be absolutely amazing to hold up a comic book and say that I'm responsible for 100% of the artwork in it.

Scary, because I've never done anything like this before. I think I have the resources to make it work, though. I can probably get some advice from Steve at Rough Sketch Studios about how to layout the page properly.

After that, it's just a matter of getting everything done on time, which will be no small feat. It's due by December and I'm going to have to do the penciling, inking, and coloring myself. YIKES! Guess I need to buy that Wacom tablet sooner than I thought I would!

I'm supposed to get the script by the end of this week, so wish me luck!!!

EXCITING NEWS!

I just finished my first real

freelance illustration job!

Oh sure, I've been commissioned to do portraits and even some t-shirt design work, but I've never worked on a national publication before! I was contacted by Bluewater Productions to do the cover for one of their "Political Power" comic books and I am so psyched about the project!

I'm really pleased with how the piece came out and even more happy about the amount of time it took me to complete it. When I first got the call, I wasn't 100% sure that I'd could to finish it by Monday without pulling an all-nighter, but apparently I was underestimating myself! I slept well each night and still got it scanned in by Sunday afternoon.

I met the man from Bluewater while I was working as a booth babe at Wizard World 2010. We spoke about the possibility that I might illustrate the cover of another book in their Political Power series, but when I didn't hear from him for months I started to lose hope. A few weeks ago, I heard that the comic book we'd discussed would be hitting the shelves soon and I figured I wouldn't be hearing back from him.

Then I get this email, out of the blue, saying that he may have a job for me!

I had already planned out my weekend- Hang out with Tom, paint some eggs, silkscreen some geeky t-shirts to sell at the Collingswood Book Festival, meet up with the gallery owner I met at my last show and talk to him about selling giclée prints. I canceled all of that immediately as soon as I got the details. I locked myself in my studio all weekend long, with St. Thomas of Mitchell keeping me company. I'm extremely excited about the possibility of working more projects like this.

UPCOMING ART SHOWS:

I will be sharing a booth with Stormwatch Comics on October 2nd

from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm as part of the Collingswood Book Festival.

I plan on selling my comic book themed artwork there, so that means Julie Newmar portraits, comic book heroine pin ups, and the Avengers sketch covers with Black Widow as played by Scarlett Johansson. I'm also making some t-shirts just for the occasion. If you're in the area, stop by! It'll be a great time!

Also, the Barrington Harvest Festival is coming up.

I will be there on October 9th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.