I will be at SD ComicCon again this year, and bringing lots of copies of SHIRTLIFTER #4. I will be there on Friday – Sunday, one day more than I have been in previous years. At this point pretty much everyone knows if they are going to ComicCon or not (it’s been sold out for months) so if you are going, I hope to see you there.
I will once again be one of the booth partners with Prism Comics, along with Brad Rader, Brian Andersen, Dave Davenport, Ed Luce, Fanboys of the Universe, J.D. Glass, Jeff Krell, Northwest Press, Paige Braddock, Poseur, Ink and Sean-Z.
Exhibiting with so many cartoonists means an expanded footprint, so Prism Comics has started a Kickstarter project to help subsidize the cost so that it is affordable for indie cartoonists and self-publishers like myself. As with all Kickstarter projects, there is a tiered reward system, with different incentives available for different pledge levels (including a couple of options from me).
For more information, go over to the Prism Comics Kickstarter Campaign homepage.
I updated the site yesterday and my index.html file was corrupted, which caused the site to be offline today. Everything is back to normal now, sorry about the confusion.
I’ve started the first step in an eventual site overhaul by centralizing the comics and online store . I think it’s less confusing this way. Note the addition of a couple of specials, one for US domestic customers and one for international customers. The “Add to cart” buttons have been modified you to calculate postage costs on checkout, which will be particularly helpful for international customers.
I’ll be updating the “prints/cards” and “retailers” sections in the coming weeks, and eventually will design a new interface.
There’s been a mini-flurry of press activity recently due to the release of SHIRTLIFTER #4.
I was the subject of this week’s Artist Profile at Advocate.com.
The Coast magazine wrote a piece in conjunction with my recent reading in Halifax.
The Gay and Lesbian Roundtable of the American Library Association ran a positive review of SHIRTLIFTER #1 – 3.
There’ll be some more reviews and articles coming up in the next few weeks, I’ll post them as they come available.
This year’s Seattle Erotic Art Festival is taking place this weekend (May 20 – 22). I will not be exhibiting this year, but I do have merchandise available in the festival store, including prints and copies of SHIRTLIFTER, including copies of the hot off the presses SHIRTLIFTER #4. The show is always worth checking out, drop in if you are in the Seattle area.
So SHIRTLIFTER #4 has been printed and most copies are on their way down to Long Beach. However, two boxes are sitting in Toronto waiting for me at my TCAF table. I haven’t seen the final results yet, I’m always nervous when I print a new book that I will open it up and I will have put all the pages in the wrong order or something. But I think that if the final product turns out as well as the proofs, it’s going to be the best looking issue yet. Please come by my table at TCAF to pick up a copy if you are in the Toronto area.
There is a 12 page preview online at Modern Tales. Those of you who followed the strip when it was serialized can see that while both scenes in the preview may look familiar, the dialogue is completely different and reads substantially differently than previously. That’s typical of the entire book, so its worth checking out even for those of you that may be already familiar with the story
For those of you who pre-ordered, the books will go out after they arrive in Long Beach, sometime around the 15th. For those of you who did not, it will be available for purchase through Amazon and through my usual retail outlets.
It is also of course available here on this website, and I am running the following specials up until June 10th. Just click on one of the options below and your choice will be shipped to you when I get back to the States in mid-May. (NOTE: If you are viewing this via an RSS feed or Facebook the “Add to Cart” buttons may not show up – please go to http://www.stevemacisaac.com/blog if that happens)
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Special #1: Free Shipping for SHIRTLIFTER #4.
Purchase the new issue at cover price ($12.95) and a signed copy will make its way to you with free shipping.
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Special #2: Signed SHIRTLIFTER #4 + 8.5 x 11 Print = $25.00 (Shipping Included) ($10 savings)
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Special #3: Signed run of SHIRTLIFTER #1 – 4 + $30.00 (Shipping included) (>$10 savings)
I will be at TCAF this weekend (May 7 – 
debuting the hot off the presses SHIRTLIFTER #4. If you’re in the Toronto area, please make sure to stop by and say hello. I will also be attending the Queer Comics Mixer on Saturday evening from 6;30 – 9:30 at Crews/Tango at 508 Church street, so if you can’t make the festival during the day, by all means come by that night.
Final touch ups on Shirtlifter #4 this weekend. Uploading the file to the printer on Tuesday. ALMOST DONE! Pretty much two years to the day since I started working on it.
Preorder discount sale ends Sunday night (April 10). Click on link expired for ordering details.
Just a reminder that I am at Wondercon this weekend for anyone who happens to be in the Bay Area. I’ll have copies of SHIRTLIFTER #1 – 3, archival prints, and preview galleys of SHIRTLIFTER #4
I will also be participating in a panel today. The panel description is below. Hope to see some of you there!
Title: “Writing Queer: Creating and Writing LGBT Characters”,
Time: Saturday, April 2nd, 6-7pm in
Location: Room 254/256.
Panel Description: Creating genuine and well-rounded LGBT characters is a profound challenge for writers, as they must give voice to a population whose stories have been kept hidden for so long. How do writers, both queer and straight, mainstream and independent, create narratives that reflect the diversity and humanity of LGBT individuals, as well as the obstacles that face them? Moderator Justin Hall leads a spirited conversation with some of the most dynamic writers working in comics including Paige Braddock, Steve MacIsaac, Jon Macy, James Robinson (DC Comics’ Justice League of America), and Marc Andreyko.
This is the provisional cover for SHIRTLIFTER #4. It’s probably going to change – I would say colors definitely, and the top image will 90% be something else. It’s a placeholder while I get everything else finished up.
Here are the details:
The book will be 80 pages, full color, and has a cover price of $11.95.
ISBN 978-0-9791349-4-4
The bulk of the issue (62 pages) is “Unpacking, Book 2″ – the continuation of the story I began in issue #3. The rest will be fleshed out by a selection of “Dick” strips from British comics artist Ilya (Ed Hillyer) and another excerpt from Justin Hall’s “The Liar”, which was also featured in Issue #3.
Preorder Option 1:I am taking preorders for the next two weeks at a discounted price of $10 (shipping included) because this time I’d really like to not have to wait two and half years to break even on my printer bill. The more cash I have going into it up front, the less financial liability down the line.
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Preorder Option 2:
If you feel like ponying up a little more, $15 will get you the comic and a greeting card of your choice. Just choose a card # from the menu on the website.
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Preorder Option 3:$20 will gets you the comic plus a 8″ x 11″ signed print. Specify the print number from the link on the left, otherwise I’ll send you something I think you’ll like.
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If you order now, you’ll get the book when I get the bulk of my shipment from the printer, which will be mid to late May.
This is a limited time offer – I’ll accept discounted reorders for the next two and half weeks, up until April 10th. After that, copies from the website will be shipped at full retail + postage, which will be around $14.
Although this offer is targeted to Americans, international readers are free to participate. However, there will be a shipping surcharge of $8.00 to cover the extra postage. It’s really expensive to ship internationally now.
Ordering is through the website (www.stevemacisaac.com) only. Thanks in advance!