Unknown God Honored with Award

LOS ANGELES – USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced the winners and finalists of THE “BEST BOOKS 2010” AWARDS (BBA) on October 26, 2010. Robert James Luedke’s, Eye Witness: Unknown God, has been honored as the winning entry in category of…Fiction & Literature: Graphic Novels.

This is the second time the Eye Witness series has been honored by the BBA (the third book in the series, Eye Witness: Rise of the Apostle, also captured this prestigious award in 2009) and the fourth national book award for Luedke’s groundbreaking series.

“As an independent publisher it’s been a constant challenge to draw attention to our work,” stated Luedke, “so awards like the BBA…which acknowledges the work of smaller publishers along side the big boys…has been a valuable tool for drawing the attention of those who may not run across Eye Witness otherwise.”

Eye Witness is a unique combination of a modern day action thriller that has a Biblical adaptation at it's foundation. It's been called a cross between Mission Impossible, Indiana Jones and the Bible.

Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of USABookNews.com , says of the awards (now in their eighth year) that they represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States. Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: Simon & Schuster, Penguin/Putnum, Rodale, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, Moody Publishers, American Cancer Society, Sourcebooks & hundreds of independent houses contributed to this year’s outstanding BBA competition.

USABookNews.com is an online publication providing coverage for books from mainstream and independent publishers to the world online community. A complete list of the winners and finalists of the USABookNews.com National “Best Books 2010” Awards are available online at http://www.usabooknews.com/.

Working a Graphic Novel System

I have a lot of people who have asked me over the years why it takes so long for books in the Eye Witness series to be published, (about 24 months). The answer is quite simple...because I perform most of the work myself.

For those of you not familiar with the way larger comic/graphic novel publishing companies work, think of companies like Marvel and DC like an auto assembly line...where each person on the line has their job to do and does it in order. This creates a very efficient system if your goal is to publish books from concept to shelve as quickly as possible and is critical for juggling multiple sequential titles and keeping them on schedule.

Example: The writer writes an outline or fully developed script; that goes to the penciler, who does the pencil illustrations from the script; that goes to an inker (or for you fans of Kevin Smith...a tracer) who inks over the pencils; that goes to the colorist who takes the black and white line art and makes it pop in full color; that goes to the letterist, who now adds the dialog, narration, thought balloons and any special sound effects; that goes to the editor, (or multiple layers of editors) who does all the things editors do...who then may refer it back to any of the previous people in the chain to make corrections and/or additions; and then it goes to the printer. Granted this is just a basic outline of the structure and depending on what company you will work for, it will deviate...but you get the idea.

This kind of process guarantees that everyone in the chain can be working on something simultaneously to insure the book is produced in the most time efficient way possible.

Indy publishers, like myself, are more equated to the old world concept of "hand made automakers," where each car is meticulously worked on till it's totally constructed and another one is not started till the first one is completed. There are many reasons why this second type of system is used in publishing, but most I'd guess deal with either lack of production capital or just a desire to be a part of every facet of a book's production. For me, it's a little of both. But needless to say, I can only be working on one aspect of the book at a time before going on to the next.

Neither system is "the right" way to create comics or graphic novels, but they are just systems used to achieve a common goal and utilized based upon the needs and goals of the particular creators or publisher. Just like in the film industry there are "studio" pictures (with large budgets and hundreds if not thousands of people working on them) and there are "indy" films (which are the vision of one man...or a handful of dedicated professionals that are driven by their creative juices rather than a paycheck). Think about for a moment the number of people needed to produce a movie like Watchman, versed the number needed to produce a film like Juno or Good Will Hunting. Neither is the right way to make a movie (though I'm sure you'd get a lot of heated discussion on that point) but both are used based upon the size of the project, it's projected budget, it's level of financing and it's potential for box office.

Here's a outline of what it takes for me (time wise) to construct one of the Eye Witness graphic novels (of approximately 100 pages):

1. Construction of original draft of the script (developed from out outline)...1-2 months.

2. Illustrations (that is, the penciled and inked images...which in a 100 page book will number approximately 600 individual frames. During this process on many pages I will be revising the script based upon the space I am creating on the pages)...10-13 months

3. Coloring (assuming I'm doing all that work myself...done with Photoshop on my computer)...1-2 months.

4. Lettering (where I basically will do a third draft of the script....done with Illustrator)...1 month.

5. Editing and pre-press production (creation of the final cover, back cover and non-story related pages)...1 month

6. Advanced marketing of the book to distributors, retailers and the media...2 months

So as you can see in this breakdown, to get the books to the shelves of your local comic or book store (and in the warehouse of online retailers) takes anywhere from 16-20 months...and that's not counting any of the marketing and personal appearances that then take place once the book is released (which I've typically dedicated 6 months to)...and assuming I can keep to a regular full time production schedule with no disruptions due to personal or family reasons...which has never happened yet!

Could I speed up this process by bringing in people to help pencil, ink, color or letter the book? Absolutely! But this series for me is very personal...kind of my personal quest if you will...and though it is both physically and mentally taxing, I enjoy and prefer to stay on top of all areas of it's projection...a sentiment you will see quite often among indy film-makers also. This is my baby!

R. J. Luedke
http://www.headpress.info/

Rise of The Apostle Finalist for Nat'l Book Award

ForeWord Magazine, just announced that the third book in Robert James Luedke's, Eye Witness series...Rise of the Apostle....is a finalist in the catgory of Graphic Novels in the 2008 Book of the Year Awards.

This is the second industry honor to come to Luedke's Rise of the Apostle...which has already won The 2008 National Best Book Award (for Graphic Novels), sponsored by USABookNews.com.





More than 1,400 books were entered in 61 categories for FOREWORD MAGAZINE'S annual book awards. These were narrowed to 668 finalists from 376 publishers. These books represent some of the best work coming from today's independent press community!

The winners will be determined by a panel of librarians and booksellers, selected from FOREWORD'S readership. Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners, as well as Editor's Choice Prizes for Fiction and Nonfiction will be announced at a special program at BookExpo America at the Javits Center in New York City on May 29, 2009. The winners of the two Editor's Choice Prizes will be awarded $1,500 each. The ceremony is open to all BEA attendees.

ForeWord's Book of the Year Awards program was designed to discover distinctive books across a number of genres. The list of finalists is searchable by category, publisher, title, and author.

About FOREWORD MAGAZINE:

ForeWord affects the choices of booksellers and librarians across the country who weekly advise millions what to read. Their typical publication reaches an audience of 20,000. Foreword also put the magazine in the hands of agents and editors at larger houses who are looking for leads to bring into their fold from the independent press sector. All told, readership is about 85% librarians, 12% bookstores, 3% publishing professionals…and of course, parents.

Other Finalists for the Graphic Novel catagory:

Cleburne by Justin Murphy (Rampart Press)

Good and Evil by Michael Pearl (No Greater Joy Ministries)

Gunnerkrigg by Tom Siddell (Archaia Studios)

No Girls Allowed by Susan Hughes (Kids Can Press)

1000 Years of Manga by Brigitte Koyana-Richard (Flammarion)

The Clockwork Girl by Sean O'Reilly & Kevin Hanna (Arcana Studios)

The Grand Inquisitor by John Zmirak (The Crossroad Publishing Co.)

The Spirit: A Pop-Up Graphic Novel by Will Eisner (Insight Editions)

Congratulations to all these wonderful creators for their nominations, as any these books are worthy of winning an award. We advise any fans of graphic novels, comics and manga to check out as many of these as you can!

...And The Future of Communication, Is?

I ran across a wonderful article by Readthespirit.com editor, David Crumm, entitled, "The Shape of Things to Come is...Well...Spiritual." The article is based upon David's impressions of information presented at the recently held, "The Tools of Change Conference, 2009", held in New York City. The Conference was attended by people from all around the world involved in the booktrade, publishing, magazines, journalism and marketing.

Some of the Headlines that caught my attention, were that coming soon to a major corporation near you, will be the creation of a new job title, called: Social Community Facilitator. This will be the person responsible for the companies presence on online communities, (I.E. facebook, twitter etc...), who will be separte from the marketing department and be more attuned to the concept of community, as made popular in the Christian church.

Another revelation from the conference is, that the furture of getting our daily fix of information, (is which is slowly moving away from our daily newspaper and weekly magazine subscription), is not going to be from our home computers or laptops, but rather through our cell phones or hand held devices. Book and newspapers publishers in the far-east are already using technology to deliver their content directly to the consumer through these tools.

This is just one part of a four-part series (links provided) and quite lengthy, but worth the read if your interested in the future of the media.

Go to The Future of Communication.

R.J. Luedke
headpress.info

Explaining the Graphic Novel

As someone who is out there in the media and bookstore trenches, attempting to explain to people who didn't grow up reading graphic novels (or comics, or manga) what exactly they are, I think I've developed an explanation that I think helps make better sense of the whole conversation and if you're a fan of the format...could help to better explain it to someone who may not yet be familiar with it.

For many years now, literary critics, book reviewers and pseudo-intellectual bloggers have been pondering the graphic novel and where it fits into...or even if it fits into...serious discussion about literature.

Here's a current example of this kind of discussion, (by journalist Seth Sommerfeld for the online Gonzaga Bulletin), which is typically created for those who might new to the medium, by those who are vaguely familiar with it. Usually these kind of Graphic Novel 101 pieces, involves invoking one or more of the works that everyone knows since they have been successfully developed into other mediums, (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, the upcoming Watchmen, 300, Sin City etc...). Within this competent piece, Sommerfeld restates the stock answer to the question, what is a graphic novel? "A graphic novel is a book-length comic. Everything one would expect in a traditional novel is present, they just happen to add illustrations to correspond with the story."

While much of that is indeed true, (and for the purposes of discloser...I've used a version of this explanation myself in interviews), I've grown to feel that much of that description is not only too simplistic, but just plain out and out misguided. First of all, what he's explaining here, is more akin to an illustrated novel, which adds illustrations every few pages or chapters, that "correspond with the story," and help flesh out the look of the characters for the reader. With a graphic novel, the illustrations don't just add to the story, they are integral to it. Ask anyone who's spent significant time reading or purchasing graphic novels (or comics) and more often then not, their buying decisions are based upon the artist (or art team), rather than the writer. There are exceptions of course, (Neil Gaimen, Alan Moore, Frank Miller to name a few), but typically if the art does not appeal to the reader he might as well be reading a novel (no pun intended)!

You see, when you break it down, a graphic novel is much closer in structure to the format of a screen play, than it is a novel. While you may find some GN authors who write their "scripts" similar to a novel outline, you find a greater majority create a document that looks and reads very much like a screenplay. This is because the creation of a graphic novel parallels the developmental course of a screenplay, more so than a novel.

With a novel you have the writer and then the editor (or team of editors) who help craft the story into a marketable form. But as far as the foundation of the story goes, (the creation of the characters, their descriptions, the settings, the mood), unless there is a ghost writer involved, the writer is the sole person responsible for the creation and vision of the work and he gets the lion share of the credit (not to mention the royalties).

With a graphic novel, you still start with the writer (and also most likely an editor) to craft the story into a usable form. But from that point, the progress of the work will veer into the direction of what happens with a screenplay. With a GN script, the writer is responsible for pointing out what is taking place not only in each scene, but on each page of the scene and depending how they work, sometimes in each individual frame within that page.* With some exceptions when a graphic novel script is completed, it then goes to an artist (some times one person, sometimes a team of people) who take the script and break it down into layouts based upon the descriptions in the script; then pencil illustrations are done; then fully inked renderings are created from these illustrations; and then (in some cases) fully colored-painted artwork. In that case the writer of the script is closer in definition to the writer of a screenplay, since this is the basis on which to total presentation is built. The penciler, inker and colorist (sometimes all the same person) are akin to the cinematographer, director of photography, casting director and director...in that what the writer has indicated in the script, is now translated through their eyes onto the page. The process then comes full circle as the words are then added to the artwork, to create a whole that is now much greater then the sum of it's parts.

So unlike most novels, graphic novels are the result of the vision of more than one person (unless of course you work like me with Eyewitness...actively involved on almost every level). And like movies the final appearance of a graphic novel, can drastically deviate from the original story as envisioned by the writer in his script...because after all, we all visualize a bit differently. How many times have you read a good novel and had a real solid visual image of what a character looked like (based upon the writer's description) only to have him/her look dramatically different on film. That's similar to the impact that a casting director has on a screenplay and/or your pencil artist has on a graphic novel.

Now, when you have one person who is not only the writer, but also the artist and editor of a GN project, you have what could be related to in the world of cinema, as an indy film...one that is driven by the creative vision of one man who not only writes the screenplay, but is also director and cinematographer...rather than an ensemble cast of participants.

So the next time you hear someone trying to talk down graphic novels, because as a literary form, they do not adhere to the basic tenets and accepted practices of a prose novel, politely correct them, that graphic novels are more closely related to movies than they are novels, (which is why they are so easily adapted to that format, since a lot of the work of the director, cinematographer and director of photography has already been done), and so should be judged accordingly! You'll not only most likely "smack down" a literary snob, but you'll sound darned prolific doing it!

Robert James Luedke
Author and Illustrator
http://www.headpress.info/


*There are basically two different formats most GN writers work in...the Marvel Style and Full Script. Peter David, in his seminal work, Writing for Comics, explains it this way, "In the Marvel Style, (Made popular by industry icon, Stan Lee), the story is presented in a general manner , like a short story written in present tense. It includes some, but not necessarily all, dialog and gives the artist much latitude in how he visually paces the story. Once the artwork is done, the writer then scripts the story, adding dialogue, captions and sound effects. When you write in full script, you're telling the artist everything that's going to be on the page...how you want it framed, at what angle, what's in the background, what's the character's expressions, where are their hands...by their side or in their pocket, what's the weather like, etc..."

James Bond & the Spiritual Condition: A Book Review

I recently finished reading the book, Ian Fleming's Seven Deadlier Sins and 007's Moral Compass by Ben Pratt (see Amazon listing) and want to complement the author, on successfully achieving the monumental task of sharing moral and spiritual truths in a new, fresh and insightful package.

Who, besides possibly the most dedicated Ian Fleming fans, knew he was slipping truths about morality, the human condition and the gospel within the tales of Bond...James Bond. As someone who really enjoys reading works that reveal previously unknown history of events and people...I found this book fascinating on a number of different levels. There seemingly was much more to Fleming than most casual Bond fans could ever have imagined and (according to this book) he could very well go down as one of the giants of 20th century literature, along side his contemporaries, Tolkien and C.S. Lewis...when all is said and done.

As someone who is also constantly looking for new insights into our emotional and spiritual condition, the book opened doors to afflictions of the 21st century man, that I had not previously considered. Most of us are familiar with many of the 7 deadly sins: Pride, Envy, Anger, Covetousness, Gluttony and Lust...but it's that seventh one, Sloth (which was known in the middle ages as Accidie), which ends up being the focus and real payoff of Pratt's book (and why I'd guess, it's chapter 007)!

After reading this chapter, it seems possible that much of the depression in our 21 century society might be explained in spiritual terms, rather than physiological ones. Pratt explains, Accidie comes from the Greek akedos, which refers to those who didn't care enough to bury the dead on the battlefield. In a more modern context, Accidie is when we lose our passion and joy for life. Pratt quotes a description from St. John of Damascus, "a sorrowfulness so weighing down the mind that there is no good it likes to do. It has attached to it as its inseparable comrade, a distress and weariness of soul and a sluggishness in all good works which plunge the whole person into a lazy languor of bitterness." Pratt goes on to even describe the kind of people who fall prey to this "sin"..."dreamers, romantics and idealists. The Sin of those who believe hard, work hard and live hard. It is often the sin of those of us who believe that we can make a difference in this world."

In a personal note, this chapter helped me come to gripes with an emotional and spiritual cloud I had felt over my life the past year, as my following the path to create the Eye Witness series (under divine direction) has indeed been anything but easy and many obstacles which had been placed in my path these past 6 years...not just from a publishing and creative standpoint, but in my personal life as well... had succeeded in breaking down not only my passion for my mission, but for life itself! Pratt's explanation of this condition and better yet...his answers on how to deal with this "spiritual condition", (not to be confused with depression as a result of physical or mental illness), was a breath of fresh air into my own psyche, which I had not previously considered. At first I was a bit annoyed at the inference that what I might be feeling is a "sin", but trust me, his explanation is more than sufficient, understandable and condemning...if you can set your pride aside (but you'll have to find out about it for yourself...I don't want to give away too much meat here).

Even if you have never read any of Bond tales in their original novel form, this book should appeal to lovers of the movie Bond, (as Pratt supplies quite a bit of cross referencing to both). If fact it's made me now want to go out and rediscover Flemings work for the first time in its original form...just to better understand and appreciate some of Pratt's contentions.

I highly recommend this book for: Lovers of James Bond; fans of 20th century literature; and anyone who may be struggling with a sadness and lack of passion for life and just can't discover the root of their feelings, and/or don't want to go the way of pharmaceuticals to find answers.

R. J. Luedke

Author/Illustrator

Headpress.info

Radical Christian Graphic Novel is praised

David Crumm, the highly respected journalist formerly of the Detroit Free Press, who now publishes ReadtheSpirit.com, (which is a wonderful site devoted to discussing all things spiritual from around the world)...had graciously included Eye Witness: Rise of the Apostle, in his listing of "10 Books to Watch" in his 11/17/08 edition.

In the article Crumm pays me the ultimate complement...and no, I don't mean his labeling me a "radical Christian" (which I kind of like, BTW)... but by bringing my work into focus through a comparison of Eugene Peterson's "The Message New Testament Bible." Crumm states when attempting to describe Eye Witness, "Think about a marriage between Indiana Jones and Eugene Peterson's dramatically rewritten Message Bible...Fresh, Fun, Faithful and Frantically Pulse-Pounding." Wow...that last part felt like Crumm had channeled a bit of Stan Lee's penchant for the dramatic!

Since I was not that familiar with Mr. Peterson's work before reading this, (and I'm always on the look out for books exploring the original themes, writing style and presentation of the gospels), I dug a bit deeper into Mr. Peterson and this book. It appears Peterson and I share a some common goals for our works, (paraphrasing Peterson) "To bring the New Testament to life for those who haven't read the Bible because it feels to distant or irrelevant to them (in its current form) and to those who read the Bible so much, that it's become "old hat"'. Crumm has indeed hit the nail on the head with this comparison, since that is exactly the foundation behind the Eye Witness graphic novel series...to reach those who may not be reachable otherwise through a presentation they are attracted to, as well as entertained by.

Now that sounds like a book I'm going to have to seek out!

R.J. Luedke
http://www.headpress.info/

Where are those Christian Comics?

I recently ran across a blog posting dealing with the frustration a college-age Christian reader of graphic novels has over the lack of spiritual and/or Christian based books and comics on the shelves (http://knightword.wordpress.com/2008/10/24/chrisitan-super-heroes/#comment-54). My thoughts are as follows (which if you've met me at a convention...you've probably heard me talk about at length. It's Bob's economics of the comic industry 101):

I share your frustration on this issue, my brother. As someone who has been creating a Christian based graphic novel series since 2002, I've ran across many of what I call "Closet Christian Creators" in the industry, who commend me for taking a stand for Christ in what I am doing. Many also tell me they'd love to do likewise, or have a story they've wanted to create for years, but that there is just not an outlet (I.E. a publisher) for them to bring it to market. In fact one writer (who shall remain nameless) who was the creator of one of our more high-profile and more "demonic characters", is among that group.

You've got to remember that most people working in comics are not like movie or TV directors and/or actors....who make enough through their trade to be financially independent. Most are working stiffs who rely on their monthy assignments to pay their car payments and mortgages... like most of America. And so this doesn't give them the opportunity to take months to years to underwrite creating their spiriutal or Kingdom honoring project. Sorry to say but it's just simple economics. That's why now most of what is being created comes from either very small press publishers, who only publish a title or two a year, or the creators themselves through self-publishing.

Part of my goal through the Eye Witness series, has been to create enough attention and buzz within the comic and book trade to demonstate both to the retailers and publishing community that the paring of spirituality and comics/gn's can work, does have a massive willing audience and will sell if given a quality product. Once that is established and the money is flowing through the system...so to speak, then you'll be amazed at how many books/stories you'll see roll out. But the good news-bads news scenerio will then be...will they be published for the right reasons once the big-boys are involved, that is to say will the spirit which drives many to follow this path, be corrupted by an industry who's bottom line is the bottom line, rather than outreach. Just some food for thought.

If you, like the original poster are new to the genre, checkout my 3 Eye Witness graphic novels...which combine an American style Biblical adaptation...with a modern day action-thriller, at: www.headpress.info

bob-

Robert Luedke Featured ReaderViews

Award winning writer/illustrator Robert James Luedke's third volume of the Eye Witness graphic novel series...Rise of the Apostle....is featured this month on the Readersview Homepage:

http://www.readerviews.com/

Readersview reviews appear regularly on amazon.com, on USA Today, Reuters, Fox News, Fox Business, and NBC. They also appear in newspapers such as Austin American Statesman in Austin, Texas, Chicago Sun-Times, Courier Times (suburbs of Chicago), The Beacon Times,Journal-News in Hamilton, Ohio, and The Herald News and on many online websites and blogs as well as city sites such as ClickOnDetroit and Click2Houston. TV stations such as WESH, WCVBTV/DT5, NEWS4Jax, WXII12, KETV, KITV, WISN, WMUR, and WJAC also use our reviews.

For more information about the groundbreaking Eye Witness Christian-based graphic novel series or Robert Luedke, visit our homepage at:

http://www.headpress.info/