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Announcement Aug 25, 2011

smkinoshita

on Aug. 25, 2011

Hi Everyone, I'm posting here to announce some interesting things that are going to happen to Super Temps over the next couple of months.
#1:  Schedule Slip
First, a few of you might have noticed an ongoing schedule slip with Super Temps.  The fact is, I've picked up quite a few side projects that aren't comic related.  They're important to my career and to the people I'm working with so they naturally eat into my time.  I'm sorry to say that this likely isn't going to improve, but it's also not the end of Super Temps by any means.
#2:  I'm Going to Release Super Temps e-Books
The update for today includes the first page of the redone intro strip.  Yes, I'm going to redo the first few strips of the comic and they'll be included in the first book.  I plan for the first book to cover Skull Girl's debut, because the art's at an acceptible level at that point.  It'll also include a running colour commentary from the cast.  The other book I'm planning to release is a special in-depth look at Skull Girl, both as how she was roughed out and her biography in-world, including a few spoilers.
Why e-books?
Did you know that for many web comic artists, the typical amount they make from the sales of swag from places like Café Press is about $2?  When all is said and done, the bulk of the revenues go to the distributors and manufacturers because that's where the bulk of the expenses come from.  But when I buy a book, I'm doing it to support the artist, not the companies that make custom goods (not that I don't like custom goods).  So why should someone pay $25 (after shipping) to show $2 of support to me?  So, e-books.  They serve the same purpose (you have something you can read regardless if the Duck is up or down) and you don't have to pay shipping or printing costs.  But there's more to it than that.
#3:  Super Temps is Going to be the Subject of an Experiment
Not just any old experiment, a potentially game-changing one.  Some artists swear to high heaven that having their work copied and distributed without them being paid for it destroys them – I think it's the opposite.  I think that whenever copies are made, the artist is getting free advertising.  The only way to prove it is to take something like Super Temps – which has a small but loyal following and no advertising – and see what happens if I release it into the wild.  I've got a plan to make the most of it, and I'm going to be able to record the results of this experiment.  If my theory is true, it could completely change the traditional business model of the artist.
And I'm letting my Duck readers know because preparing for this is one of the reasons why the comic is going to be slowed down.  The results are just too important; if I'm right, knowing how to use 'pirate distribution' as a benefit could really mean the world to a lot of artists out there.
It also means I have to really make a stand-alone Super Temps website because the Duck isn't sufficient to track the results.  That doesn't mean I'm abandoning the Duck by any stretch though!  Part of my theory is that artists also really need places like Drunk Duck.
#4:  Boobs are really hard to do right.
A few might notice how Skully's chest looks different in this page.  That's because my wife helped correct her boobs.  I do not understand boob physics in relation to size, age, compression and support.  I just want to point that out.