ICECUBES is being submitted for syndication to major newspapers. This would be the culmination of all the hard work put in over the years and the great support you have shown all along. But I can’t do this without you! It’s easy to help out, all you need to do is click on this link to the ICECUBES Facebook page and read some ICECUBES comic strips. Click on the pages you like the best and the pages with the most ‘likes’ will get submitted to the syndicates. This way you are helping to make sure they see the strips you like the most.
I can’t tell you how much your support for ICECUBES means. I create the strip for you and always have you in mind. Through the emails and tweets, meeting you at the comic conventions and finally sharing the book with you, your support makes ICECUBES come alive. Thank you so much for reading ICECUBES and let’s work to make the strip even bigger and better!
“Noise Is News” is a success story from the very start, as it was entirely funded thru Kickstarter with the help of all you great fans! Thank you so much! The first printing of the book is more than two thirds sold out and fewer than 70 copies remain. Get yours soon if you haven’t yet!
In other good news: ICECUBES is now available in select comic book stores and is syndicated in a couple of newspapers! If you want to see ICECUBES in your local comic book store or paper, tell them to contact me!
Year in numbers:
165,000 lifetime website visits
2000 + ebooks downloaded from Amazon
#32,647 best rank on Amazon out of over 2,000,000 available titles (not bad!)
1354 Facebook friends
588 Twitter followers
219 Facebook page fans
100 Feed subscribers on average
7 Conventions
6 Podcasts
4 Comic book stores
2 Newspapers in syndication
1 Book!
Of course not everything is super positive and a realistic assessment of where we are needs to include the fact that while Icecubescomic.com got 165,000 visits in over 4 years, some webcomics get that in a few hours! We have improved the site considerably, thanks mostly to Phil @Frumph! But more traffic would make a big difference. One reason the traffic is not larger is in part because new strips aren’t posted often enough. Since ICECUBES is entirely funded out of my pocket and I need to find other work to pay the family bills, sometimes the strip takes a back seat. That’s too bad, but the one way to improve the update frequency is to support the strip!
To that effect I have enabled a subscription option on the site. You can subscribe for only ¢25 a month! Yes, only a quarter a month to get every new strip directly in your inbox or RSS reader. Of course, you can still subscribe for free as well.
This year I will be selling a lot more original art to raise funds for the strip, so buy some art! Tell a friend! Tell 10 friends about ICECUBES!
Just got back from Wizard World in New Orleans. ICECUBES the book “Noise Is News” was a big hit and we made lots of new fans. I want to thank all of you who stopped by the table, it was great to get a chance to talk with you.
The big news is that ICECUBES the book is now available in several comic book stores across the country!
First I would like to give a big thanks to Bedrock City Comics in Houston for featuring “Noise Is News” in all 4 of their stores! I would also like to thank Graham Crackers Comics in Chicago for carrying the book as well! And in New Orleans, you can buy the book at Crescent City Comics!
This is great news for ICECUBES fans! Support your local comic book shop and go get your new copy of “Noise Is News” at these fine stores! If you would like your store to feature ICECUBES the book, you can shoot me an email at icecubescomic@yahoo.com. For those of you who would prefer to order online, you should hurry, the few remaining copies of the first print run are going fast!
As some of you may know by now, ICECUBES the comic strip will be featured at Wizard World New Orleans Comicon. I will be signing the new book “Noise Is News” and limited quantities of the numbered artist edition will be available too. You can get your hands on some original ICECUBES art and merchandise as well! So if you are making the trip or happen to be in the neighborhood, be sure to stop at the ICECUBES table. OH, did I mention Stan Lee will be there too, and Eliza Dushku and Greg Capullo and Neal Adams and …
Last Saturday I had a table at Zine Fest Houston at SuperHappyFunLand. True to the name of the venue, a good time was had by all. I got to meet the people from Blazed, CEJ from Armzrace, Jason Polland who draws Robbie & Bobbie, the guys from Brass Comics, Richy Vegas who shared his pizza with me, Gabriel Dieter who made the poster for the show, and of course Shane who founded Zine Fest Houston and Lindsey Simard who organized this years Fest.
I want to thank everyone for the warm reception and friendly atmosphere. ICECUBES even won best table! Thanks guys I had a great time and it was really great to meet fellow Houston artists.
What you need to know about the new ICECUBES book “Noise Is News”:
ISBN :978-0-615-65100-2
Size: 9.5″ x 6″ landscape
Cover: 4 color / gloss lamination / 12pt
Inside: 102 pages / 4 color offset / 70#
Binding: Perfect bound
This beautifully offset printed book contains over 170 original ICECUBES comic strips in full color. It also features extra art pages for your enjoyment! This is the very first print of the very first ICECUBES book! I will gladly autograph your copy and you can also request a limited artist edition which is hand numbered from 1 to 200 and comes bagged and boarded.
Why it’s so special:
For over a year I explored every possibility of getting this book printed the right way but was never satisfied with the quality or the price; from PODs like Lulu and Kablam, to cold calling printers around the country, to asking a print broker and talking to other comickers about their print experiences. At long last, I found this most excellent printer that did the book with the quality and craftmanship that I demanded. The hardest part was getting the book printed offset. Some of you may not know what that means but when you see the bright bold colors, the black line art, and feel the pages you will know the difference! At conventions people who have never read ICECUBES before reach for it, admire it and become new fans.
Why you should get one quick:
This is the very first printed edition. There are less than 80 copies left so act quick! Once they are gone, that’s it. If there ever is a second edition it might be an ebook. Just think, first editions of Zap Comics now sell for hundreds, or more! Zap Comics originally had 5000 copies printed. ICECUBES the book has only 300! Only 200 of them are artist edition numbered copies. So this book is already rare!
If you already read ICECUBES online you are smart, buy a book now and be even more smarter!
Recently, I’m sure many of you have been wondering why ICECUBES the comic strip hasn’t been updating more often. After all, everyone likes new strips right? Believe it or not one major reason is the weather! It has been extremely hot down here in Texas (yes, the comic strip takes place in Alaska, but I live in Texas). I don’t have a working AC unit in my attic studio where the temperature is in the 90ºs. So it’s just impossible to work in there until the weather cools off.
The other reason is that I put a tremendous amount of time and energy into making the new ICECUBES book. I am very proud of this book! It took over a year to get it printed the right way and everyone who owns a copy knows it’s a good looking book. My focus now is on promoting the book and getting new fans to discover ICECUBES.
In order to make that happen I have been driving hundreds of miles to conventions and meeting fans one on one to show them the book. The response has been great. Check out my convention schedule and come out and say hi! I have also been planning book signings in libraries and comic book shops. (Note: If anyone would like to organize an ICECUBES book signing, by all means get in touch with me!)
One thing all of you wonderful readers and fans can do to help is to buy your own copy of the new ICECUBES book! More book sales mean more income and more time for me to draw more strips!
To all of my readers I want to say thank you! Your support means everything and keeps me going. New strips are coming I promise, just at a little slower pace for now. I hope you’ll stick with me and keep on reading ICECUBES the comic strip!
Well, there you have it, the end of another year of ICECUBES the comic strip! 2011 was a banner year for ICECUBES with the most online visits ever. The strip has more readers, more subscribers, more Facebook fans and more Twitter friends than ever. Here are the year end numbers:
145,000 total lifetime visits with over 10,000 return visits this year alone
2012 will be a make it or break it year for ICECUBES. The biggest milestone will be getting the first book printed. I have been carefully researching printers to get the best quality for the most reasonable price. I want this book to be a collector’s item that you will want to own and hang on to. I also want it to be affordable!
Your comments fuel my motivation to make the strip and I want to encourage you to please take this opportunity to tell me what you think of ICECUBES. Positive comments are most welcome of course but if you see something you think could be better by all means let me know. Your feedback is essential in helping make ICECUBES even better.
Thank you so much for reading ICECUBES and have a Happy New Year!