last update: 10-12-07
10.12.2007 FOURTH QUARTER 2007 PRESS RELEASE
(Not really a press release, but an incredible simulation!)
Catomix is excited to announce the release of two long-awaited comic projects.
Both have been in development for several years, having multiple incarnations before finally emerging as full-blown comics.
Already having appeared on the internet, Urgent Transformation Crisis has been enjoying surprisingly wide readership. Its first chapter began on August 6, and will conclude later this month.
A printed "mini-comic" in the same style as previous Catomix titles Unfamiliar Reflection and Seven to Seven is being prepared for a first-quarter 2008 release. Unfortunately, the release will be just as limited as those aforementioned titles, only appearing in one comic store in the country.
Catomix press agent Jim Whaley had the opportunity to discuss matters directly with Catomix president Jim Whaley. "I'd love to find a publisher for UTC," he says, "But right now I want to just stick with on-line distribution. It's more cost-effective. The printed comic book is only serving as a way of advertising the website. No new material will be presented in the book, so the majority of readers who can only follow it on-line will not be missing out on anything."
Publication in comic book format was a no-brainer for all of Catomix's previous series, however UTC poses a unique problem in that it is the first Catomix series to appear in full color. Jim has confirmed that the printed issue will be in grayscale. "I don't know how difficult it will be to change the color to grayscale. Some of the darker colors may go totally black and remove image detail. It's something that will need to be worked out, but it will definitely be an inferior presentation of the comic."
The series is very dissimilar to last December's Urgent Transformation Crisis #0. Despite having the same name, #1 will exclude the characters of Kait and Neil, and the series will no longer be set in the previously established Re<Verse.
"When the direction of UTC changed last February, I realized there just wasn't a way to include these new characters and setting into the Re<Verse. The Re<Verse is all about magic. There is no magic here anymore. The story focuses on science." This doesn't mean Kait and Neil will not appear in future Re<Verse titles, but as of now there are no concrete plans to revisit that universe. "The one other problem with the Re<Verse is, most readers have trouble identifying with it. It's a whole different world with a slightly different technological and geographical base. Historical references don't match with our world's. Pop culture references are impossible. Computers don't exist. It's way too much new material for some readers to absorb."
"I'm not dropping the Re<Verse totally. And I want a Souzoku mini-series as much as anybody," Jim confesses. "But right now I'm concentrating on UTC and CCLB, neither of which happen to occur in that universe."
The "CCLB" that he refers to is the second project in active development. This project began in the holiday season of 2003, when an advertisement appeared on the Evil Jim website describing a battle of epic proportions.
The Crimson Christian vs The Little Blue Super Jew: "A Very Crimson Christmas" represents years of careful preparation and months of loving production. "Despite the confrontational title, this issue really is a labor of love between myself and the creators of CC and LBSJ," Jim explains. "We've wanted to do it for a long time, and one day we finally figured out a way to make it happen."
The issue will go on-sale at Spa City Comics in Saratoga Springs, NY, on December 5, 2007. It will appear on-line at catomix.com on Christmas Day. The issue is 23 pages in black and white with a color cover.
Although the issue is a self-contained story, plans call for a three-part arc. "We have an overall plan for three specials, all of which relate to each other but all of which are able to stand alone to an extent. Like the Evil Dead trilogy, we use cliffhangers, but the content of the story is not about leading up TO the cliffhangers. It just means the story has come to a point where it's okay to stop for a while."
Jim will not confirm or deny that the second issue will be greenlit for production, only that a script is in development. "If we can do it, we'll do it, but if we can't, it's really not that much of a priority at this time. A major reason I stressed not putting 'Issue 1' on the cover implies that there will be more. That's also the reason there's a '?' after 'TO BE CONTINUED'."
To recap, "A Very Crimson Christmas" will go on-sale December 5 and releases to the internet on December 25. Urgent Transformation Crisis #1: "Changing Times at Attic High" will be released in a double-sized 28-page black-and-white edition in the first quarter of 2008 and will continue to enjoy a full-color internet release for months to come.
08.06.2007 UTC LAUNCHES
The day has come. Change...is still for the better. The newly revamped Urgent Transformation Crisis is now accessable from the main page. This ongoing webcomic is the most ambitious Catomix production to date. It's also the first series to be released in FULL COLOR. Pretty revolutionary stuff. Updates will be Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays throughout August.
03.05.2007 THIS IS MY YEAR
After far too long a time, I'm making a comeback. And this time, it's for real. And personal. With a vengeance. Or your money back.
There has been a slight change to the content of the third annual free comic book. Mostly this has to do with format changes to UTC, but also I've had to strip a few pages out of the book to save money. (I'm losing money on this, ya know.)
-Evil Jim's "The Twelve Deaths of Pat"; the story arc that ran on-line in December 2002. Only the first four strips of this story will be included; that's EJ035-EJ038.
-The extra page for Unfamiliar Reflection #7. (You can cut it out and put it right into your copy of the issue. If you own a copy, that is.)
-The first 3 pages of CCvsLBSJ, coming this December.
-Urgent Transformation Crisis. The 1/2 issue is no longer being considered. Now that the format of the series has been changed to a webcomic, the first four strips of UTC will be included here to act as a sneak peak at the full series, launching this August.
02.02.2007 WHERE WE WERE, WHERE WE ARE GOING, AND FREE COMICS FOR ALL!
Let's reflect on the year that was 2006 before moving into the news:
-New Series 41 (DCO) premiered for April Fools Day, totally sucked, and disappeared forever.
-Unfamiliar Reflection started its on-line run in August.
-Urgent Transformation Crisis finally debuted with preliminary issue #0.
So where is Catomix going? Hopefully, in the right direction.
-Unfamiliar Reflection will continue to be released on-line until the series concludes in July. The readership continues to grow and the midpoint has been reached.
-Urgent Transformation Crisis' regular series is being primed for an August release hot on the heels of Unfamiliar Reflection. Ideally, there will be a small enough time gap that anyone who has been reading UR can easily jump into UTC when it starts rolling. The first three issues have been scripted and pre-production has commenced.
-The Crimson Christian vs the Little Blue Super Jew, originally planned for last Christmas, has been pushed back to December 2007. There will be absolutely no more rescheduling for this book, as it will be finished well ahead of time. The downside with a holiday-themed book is, if you miss the deadline even by a little, you've got to wait an entire year. It will be cool, I promise.
Finally, Free Comic Book Day is approaching once again. This May 5th, the third annual Catomix Free Comic Book Day Sampler will include the following:
-The extra page for Unfamiliar Reflection #7, which will debut on-line later this month. (You can cut it out and put it right into your copy of the issue. If you own a copy, that is.)
-The first pages of CCvsLBSJ
-Urgent Transformation Crisis #1/2. This is an entirely original, four-page story that will not be published in the regular series. This is to build anticipation for the series premiere as well as tell a story that I'm unable to tell in the format of the regular series.
-Evil Jim's "The Twelve Deaths of Pat"; the story arc that ran on-line in December 2002.
LINKS
MSTerminal - Jim Whaley's defunct MiSTings website. If you loved Mystery Science Theater 3000, you'll love the thousands of MiSTings found on the net.
Evil Penguin - A webcomic that became integrated into Evil Jim. It continues EJ's continuity and is made by Patrick Webster.
Fenix Gear - Webcomic Jim was involved in. Now fully created by Josh Breidbart.
All material on this site ©2002-2007 by Jim Whaley.
Copying is strictly prohibited.
Contact manager/editor/creator Jim Whaley at:
Tjats@aol.com
Created 03-21-02 by Jim Whaley
Version 4.0 launched 08-04-05