Stupid And Insane Defenders Against Chaos & My Annoying Life: Lovecraftian Horror Comedies by Onezumi Hartstein » Stupid and Insane Comic

Holy Crap is Intervention in 2 weeks?

Onezumi — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 05:20:02 +0000

Comic 216 : Bills

Well, apparently, Intervention is in 2 weeks. Hope to see you there! A lot of stuff has been happening. I'll be interviewed this Sunday on Otaku Generation. Fred from Megetokyo was a recent addition to the Intervention guest list. Think Geek will be sending us lots of goodies, Foam Brain Games will be sponsoring our Game room, and 4Imprint is giving us CUSTOM OWL LANYARDS!!! But wait! There is more! There has been a lot of new press. Click here to see some of the interviews and features I have been in. There is a rather awesome interview about Intervention with me up on ShrinkGeek. CEO-flavored insanity: An interview with Onezumi Also, Wired Magazine name-checked Intervention in their piece about the Duel in the Somme launch that coincides with our event! The place to be is Rockville MD in 2 weeks! The first year is the year to support and help us get off the ground. Registration is best, but If you can't register, you can always...
... buy a T Shirt or poster.

Not Magnificent

Onezumi — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:21:09 +0000

Comic 215 : There's A Plan?

Thanks for the intestinal distress, Magnifico ice cream in NJ. You know, I'm not lactose intolerant. It takes a special place to screw up ice cream. I maintain that there is no good ice cream that I have found in New Jersey yet. Geez! Ow... Anyway, comic is done. I've been busy, of course working on my convention. Yay! Of course register now and come out to see me! :) WootWoot! I'm a bit impatient with Apple. They need to approve my iPhone app for the convention. It seems like forever since I have submitted it. *shakes fist* Hee hee! It's going to be so badass! :D The next thing I have to do is to finalize the artwork for our dance club. At least one night will be a goth/industrial dance called "War at Innsmouth". We are going to have gogos and since Toy Vault has sponsored us, we will have plush Cthulhu dolls to give away! How cool is that? I bought one for myself about 3 years ago and now we have them to give away to you guys! I am writing this at 3 AM. If I feel better enough to go to sleep, we plan to go to Coney Isand tomorrow. I've never been there. It seems bit sacrilegious since I am such a theme park/classic attraction nut. To be honest, it seems Coney has mostly been gutted, but I definitely want to see what I can while I can. Anyway, you should probably know that after Intervention, I'm going to be taking a small vacation (I'll be still updating, though.) and then after that I'll start work on my book while I start early planning for Intervention 2011. I know a lot of you guys have been yelling at me about my book. I guess I should make one. Finally. :)

ATTN: West Coast – Incoming!

Onezumi — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 02:55:01 +0000

Comic 214 : On The Origins Of Evil, Stupid Style

My first West Coast appearance ever will be at Emerald City Comicon this March 4-6, 2010. I have no idea if I'll be able to travel that far away from New Jersey very often. If you have been waiting to see me on the West Coast, aim for this one because I can't promise when I will be back. :) So yeah guys, I have never even been on a plane before. This should be interesting...unless I decide to make insanity with a cross country train ride. I have no idea. Waaaaaaa. We have only 4 weeks until Intervention. I'm finishing off the iPhone app for it now. It's going to be really cool - programming, area guide, guest guide..you name it...all in one place. I told you - when I bring it, I bring it hard. BTW: Register for Intervention and book your Dr. Sketchy's Space and/or WordPress Workshop Training if you haven't already. Also, if you want a T Shirt, your best bet is to pre order one. We will have them in only limited quantities in limited sizes. If you pre order, I can order one in your size. Here is what the design will look like. Here is our awesome shirt that is reserved ONLY for Enablers of Lv 4 and above. If you'd like to become an Enabler, click here!

The Death of Webcomics?

Onezumi — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:57:45 +0000

Comic 213 : Seeing Is Disbelieving

Judging from the 50 or so messages I've gotten in the past few hours asking for my opinion, I'd say there is some talk going on right now about two particular blog posts about webcomics and the scene. The first one is called The Death of Webcomics?, and the second is called Leapfrog: Direct Market Giants Dominate the New Digital Comics Scene. Here's my take on things: Are Webcomics Dead? I don't give much weight to the TDOW post, because it really just seems to me that one guy got tired of reading comics online. I think that if he's not finding anything new and interesting, he's not looking hard enough. There are so many great artists and writers that are unsung. I don't mean to sound like an ass pirate here - I don't blame him for not looking hard enough. The internet in general has changed a lot. Everyone has something online these days, webcomics are now competing against things like Lady Gaga's videos on Youtube, Hulu, random blogs, porn, and Amazon.com. Your average reader has ADD because of information overload - myself included. It is really easy to get tired of looking for stuff. Finding comics can be like finding a needle in a haystack. I refer to a "webcomics scene" a lot, but there really is no "scene". To be really accurate I should call it the "Webcomics Series of Random Cliques". The only thing most of us have in common is our method of publication and, in some cases, marginalization by so-called "print snobs". There is no one place that you can go to find new online comics. Even with places like Fleen and Comix Talk (two places that are really awesome), they can't canvas even a minor amount of the things online--though they try their hardest--it's just too big of an internet. It seems the barrier to entry that is imposed by information overload affects everyone. Let me tell you -- it seems that almost every time a new person posts up a "Top 10" blog post for different genres they feature the same 10 guys that were popular 8 years ago. On the other hand I have even met people who read a lot of comics that have never heard of Penny Arcade. It is a big internet. Compounding matters is the fact that webcomics on a whole are absolutely terrible at promoting their work. Almost none of them have a press kit or focus on a hook that will interest the media. I love these guys, but it's true. Comics are shy! The simple fact is that everyone is on the internet, which creates a large barrier to visibility for any one site, because people have less time and more to see. The positive is that there are more fans and more money to support more projects, It just requires creative thinking to reach those fans. I used to believe in only marketing online, but now I've taken to reaching out locally as well to create solid relationships to shore up the things that I do. But I digress - creative marketing is another post altogether that is probably better suited for my tutorial section over at Onezumiverse. Webcomics are not dead. I have always thought that the beautiful thing about webcomics is that most people -- regardless of tax bracket -- can start their own creative project. This can then be a lever to better things whether it be comic books, video game design, or a great job at an office. When I was growing up, I had absolutely no hope of doing anything creative because I was poor--Webcomics changed all of that. Not only did I grow as an artist, but I grew as a person, got the hell over my issues, and became a successful member of society. The alternative was that I probably would have been dead by now. The option to make art, where there was none before, saves lives. I believe it and I am living proof. I even started my own freaking convention about it. So far, the response has been phenomenal by both creators and fans. That is not dead. That is fucking metal. Have Publishers Played Leapfrog? I'm an iPad/iPhone Developer. I have my own fan connect app and actually created a modular version that I give for free to other comics. I'm guessing that Joey hasn't developed any apps. The process is extremely tedious, not-intuitive, and expensive. There is a reason I decided to give my first app out to other comics -- I invested a lot of time and money into mine and I figured that I should give back to the community because I had already paid out. More people may as well use it, it doesn't detract from my revenue. Not only is the process tedious and expensive, not many people have iPads, and the iPad can display most comics perfectly already. Here's an exercise -- Walk down the street and ask 10 people if they have an iPad at random. Most of them will probably say no. iPhones and iPads are popular, but a lot of people also do not have them. It makes no sense to invest a lot of time and money into something that isn't easy for everyone to have. I could publish my comics only inside special monitors in BMWs -- it would be similar. A lot of people in New Jersey have BMWs. I see them everywhere -- but no one I know has one. The publishers haven't leapfrogged anything. They are just doing what they always did -- investing more money than an average person can afford to invest into something flashy to make people talk about their product. In the same vein, Beyonce has billboards in Times Square because her label paid for it. An independent band didn't miss the boat because they also didn't buy one -- they don't have the ability to do so and have to do something else. Every scene gets co-opted by companies. It happened to goth and punk, so it is now happening to the internet. Everywhere companies are trying to sell "geek" back to you. CNN thinks they are so clever with their "What is Cosplay?" articles and slick with their "Look! We are at Comicon!" posts. The difference is that on the internet we still have freedom of choice. We don't have to be in bed with a label to exist. We aren't relying on them or any other big company to deliver us to our fans. This just means that we need to truly engage with people and be innovative. This isn't an arms race. Webcomcs are the same as independent bands. You do what you can afford to do and put your heart into it. I'm the first person to jump into new technology, but you have to be smart about it. As of this writing, making a special reader for the iPad isn't high on my "To Do" list. Connecting with my readers through various social media, doing great work for them, and delivering the best webcomic convention on the planet is on my To Do list. The iPhone/iPad app that I already made and am currently refining to be more awesome is a tool to connect more easily with people across the many sites that I post various projects on just for that reason. So those are my thoughts and opinions on both topics. Please feel free to comment below if you want to add to or disagree with my take on these issues.

Is it time to draw yet?

Onezumi — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:00:22 +0000

Comic 212 : Theories Confirmed

Something a lot of artists don't want to hear is that about 70% of their time will be spent doing administrative tasks related to their career. I think it's been on the higher end of that for me ever since I started Intervention. I love it, though. A lot of people are headed off to San Diego Comicon this week. I'm not. I'm sure it's a great event with great networking opportunities, but I have a hard time thinking that I wouldn't lose a lot of money while everyone pushes past my booth to see some movie star. I will probably do SDCC one day, but it's focus on TV and movies makes me think that it's not something that I am missing out on that much. Experience has told me that when cons get too large, less people stop by any of the independent artist's booths. If I'm going to CA for the first time I'd rather just freaking go to Disneyland or skidoo over to Hawaii. Cons are not relaxing for people working them. Imagine working extremely long days under hot lights. Don't get me wrong, I love some of the things about it. For example, meeting you guys and being able to draw for you is really awesome. I just don't fancy blowing my vacation budget for the privilege to work my ass off and not be able to even see the city that I'm in. I came to the decision that I need some downtime every year, or I will absolutely go insane. I'm not a college kid anymore, and I've just had to draw the line in the sand. I never had vacation when I was younger, so I'm sure as hell not going to turn it away now that I can finally do it. I work 13+ hour days 7 days a week now already. How freaking stupid would it be if I died and never had any fun in my life? I want to see CA, but I don't want to only see the back of my table and the inside of the plane. Don't kid yourself. We don't get to see the city much when we tour. It's just the back of the table and the car or plane. There is a joke about bands who go on stage and say hello to the wrong city. I can actually see how that would be really easy to do. I've toured through 9 states in the past month and a half - yeah it's really easy to not know where you are after awhile. It's all about balance, I guess. I'd like to go to SDCC someday. I probably will. But this year I don't absolutely need to.

Golden Pot, Leprechauns, and Burlesque Sci Fi Superheroes

Onezumi — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:42:22 +0000

Comic 211 : Green Machine

Yeah, you can probably tell that I like the Leprechaun films and Harold and Kumar by today's comic. Oh god I just have to post this video about a Leprechaun in Mobile, AL again. YES it is real. WATCH THIS FOR LULZ: But I digress. My con, Intervention is doing AMAZING. I've been hearing from a lot of you who have been reading me since 2003. You guys are truly special to me - it seems you knew this would happen all along, huh? You all know everything that I have been through and how hard I have fought for this. The me of 10 years ago would never believe that it has come to this and that it is doing SO WELL. We are probably the biggest, most talked about convention of any first year fan run con. WOW. NONE OF THIS would have happened if it weren't for you guys reading me and supporting me. Here is some breaking news:
Artist and webcomic creator Molly Crabapple, the founder of the Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School, will be at our event this year--both on a panel as well as running a Dr. Sketchy's event at the con (Currently scheduled to take place Friday Sept.10 from 7-10pm). If you are an artist you may want to register (for free) for a special "Artist Space" at the Dr. Sketchy's event. This registration reserves a seated spot for you nearer the front of the event so you can get a clear view of the model and show. All non-registered attendees will be in the standing room only area at the back of the event.
We are very happy to announce that award winning Sci-Fi author (and soon to be Webcomic author) Ben Bova will be at Intervention this year. He, Rob Balder, and Bill Holbrook will be debuting their new online webcomic collaboration at Intervention called Duel in the Somme. Register now. We believe in this and we are making it real!

I’m Not Her

Onezumi — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:34:45 +0000

Comic 210 : Tripping

I am always thinking about how to optimize things. Since I am doing a lot of work on my con, Intervention , things have been pretty busy. I'm slowly making changes to my personal blog at Onezumiverse.com to streamline how things get posted. It seems that spring cleaning never ends when you do as much stuff as I do. This weekend in Independence Day here in the US, This means that it's a big holiday. I'm still going to be working. This means that I will just work full days instead of every waking hour. Yay! :D It's actually kind of awesome. If you've ever wanted an awesome tentacle silver spoon vagina monster with a bird and top hat plus hidden teddy bear ovaries,you have come to the right place. This is just a quick photo I took with my digital camera that is unfortunately a bit blurry due to bad lighting in my apartment. I am having Harknell scan in a better version tomorrow: 9x12, Bristol, marker, colored pencil, inks. $75+$5 shipping gets you the concept sketch and the original piece. $10+$5 shipping gets you a signed print. All proceeds go to funding great programming at Intervention. Email me if you want one. :)

ComicPress Workshops and Strange Things People say at Cons

Onezumi — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:29:53 +0000

Comic 209 : It's Too Easy Being Green

Intervention is still kicking ass. You should still register now. We just announced that we will have workshops at the con with a ComicPress dev that will help you get your site up and running right then and there. NO MORE EXCUSES THAT YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE A WEBSITE, WE TEACH YOU NOW. No other con offers this. Also, we are getting more and more press. I warned you I was srs bznzz. Speaking of cons... When creators get together, we often end up talking about the strange things that people say to us at conventions when we are at our tables. Some of these things are weird and awesome, others are nice, and some others are just bizarre. Here are some of mine: 1. "Are you some Penny Arcades?" No, I am not some Penny Arcades, but I do have this comic here. 2. "I don't have any money but I can pay you in weed." Yay! Wait..what? 3. "Are you a model?" This one stumped me. At first I was like, "No my comic isn't made from photos." Then I was like.."Oh..wait..no. Sorry." 4. "Who is Wun-Zoomie and when will he be back?" XD XD XD 5. Sometimes people just walk up to me, introduce themselves and tell me about their sexual escapades with like..a 4 person orgy and a moose or something and they tell the story like if they were reporting the weather. @_@ 6. "Are you a girl?" Maybe this is related to #4. I know there are a lot more and I am just forgetting some. The next time you see me, try to think up something truly nuts so that I can make a more awesome list. :D For the creators out there, what are some funny things you have heard?

A Different Type Of Escape

harknell — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:22:56 +0000

Comic 208 : Just Gone

We are back from the (now possibly infamous) Webcomics Day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. It was a fun time for us, and we were able to see Kara Dennison, T. Campbell, Tovias, Janny, Chris Impink, and our Intervention staff Chuck, Colette, and Isaiah. Onezumi made it onto every ride of note in the park, so that made her very happy. My notorious inability to ride thrill rides (yes, I AM known as Mr. Extreme...but that's a different story) was finally compensated by a large enough group for her to be able to partner up. I have to say though that Curse of DarKastle was pretty badass, and parks need to get with the picture and add more dark rides like this one. Overall it was a great success. We are planning for new outings like this, possibly to a wider array of parks. Today's comic hosts possibly a different type of...outage. Well, at least she's gone somewhere, maybe.

Important Things and About Not Giving Up

Onezumi — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:00:41 +0000

Comic 207 : Escape To The Rainbow

Some Important Stuff About the Biggest Thing I Have Done So Far INTERVENTION - My webcomic, tech, gaming, and geek party. The registration price will go up soon for Intervention. This is my con. My baby. If you are a fan of any of my shit or any comics shit or any other shit, you'd best go now and register before the price goes up. If you can't come, we are giving away free stuff for people who donate and support us financially as we get this off the ground. If you can't do that, help us by getting us some press so that we can get this venture in front of more eyeballs. We appreciate everything. I worked my way up from shit. You absolutely know how much I appreciate you guys. So far it's been really epic. I went really quickly from being concerned we'd have trouble getting this to work as a first year con to jumping into action and hiring staff to take care of the volume we are starting to get. We must keep this up and we will make this something great for everyone to do each year. Stay on target, Wedge Antilees..(and don't let that awful Star Wars Ep1 film happen...) Artist's Alley and Vendor tables are also up for sale here. If you are an artist or vendor and you like things that are run well and with respect, you'd best apply for a table now. If you like events that are free of BS and bad attitudes, this is the place for you to support, because we will grow with you as a community. We actually are the only convention I know of that will actively blog about our artists so that we can create buzz about you before the event. I believe in community. I believe that the more that you sell, the happier you are and the happier I am. I just don't function any other way. Consider it a character flaw, if you will. I'd rather have happy people at my party than allow any bullshit to go down. We also have some sponsors lined up and at least 2 really killer dance parties, plus more guests. I'll give you the word when I have the documents in hand. You are going to love this! Don't Accept What You Are There is a lot of depression going around out there these days. It is understandable since we are in the middle of a recession and it seems like assholes have a higher re-spawn rate than the stupid level 1 rabbit in Ultima Online. I hate that fucking rabbit. THE DAMN LEVEL 1 RABBIT KILLED MY DUDE! But I digress. I tell a lot of my friends who are having a hard time that they need to forget about what people have told them and they need to define themselves in their own way. The second you let go of your dreams is the second you lose. I didn't have anything handed to me. The fact that I am me is pretty weird, because I should have probably died back in the 90s. I've been in such low places that none of this shit now is scary to me. When was a kid I looked at Ozzy Osbourne on stage and decided that one day I'd do something with my life. I was going to create something. Then basically what I did was play off-key guitar in my room and cry for 3 years. But, I kept evaluating the world and realized things that were available to me. I grabbed what little I could and I never let go. Even at my lowest point I never let go of that grain of light that was my desire to fucking do some shit and to make the planet a better place. Do whatever you need to to conceptualize it. Find a rubber ducky and stick it in your bathroom next to your mirror. Let that little fucker represent your dream. Look at him every morning if you forget. Look, I've been awake way too long and I've had a long day. This post isn't exactly grammatical wizardry. My point is that you need to never let go of your dreams and that failure is just a sign that you need to either try again or figure out a different way. Whatever you do GET OFF YOUR ASS AND NEVER STOP FIGHTING FOR IT! Now if you will excuse me, I have to fall asleep. Because I have a lot of shit to accomplish tomorrow. You guys are awesome. Don't allow assholes to cockblock your play doh Fun Factory.