Attention All Comics Creators!

 Here's something interesting....DriveThru Comics, one of the main distributors for AIM Comics, is having a "How to Make Comics" sale, offering great prices on a bunch of handy reference guides and how-to books for the prospective comic book artist, writer or publisher.

There's some great stuff in there for just about every aspect of creating and publishing comics of all sorts, including our own humble offering "Why Comics".  This book reprints my attempt at a 24-Hour comic and the Sketch Magazine-published article, "Comics on the Cheap". As always, "Why Comics" is absolutely FREE!  So...what's stopping you from going there and getting it right NOW!?!

Now Available: The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit Vol. 6!

Brutal Blade Vol. 6 is live and on the air!

With this book, we reach the midpoint of the Bruno the Bandit archives, and also reach a turning point in the career of Bruno the Bandit.  If the cover below doesn't give you a clue as to what that is, you'll just have to get the book and read it for yourself!

Sporting 6 complete Bruno the Bandit stories and a glorious pinup of Ella the Fame Vampire by Silphy the Blue, all wrapped up in a fantastic new cover by Ian McDonald (colored by me, humble Mike Dominic), this is a collection to treasure!
From the back cover:

The Return of the King! The rightful king of Rothland, that is.  Meanwhile, Bruno and Xantippa find one ring to bind them...much to our hero's dismay. While it doesn't lead to good fellowship, the situation does make Bruno's daughter even MORE precious! Plus, when Bruno conquers the Seven Deadly Sins, he is immortalized in statuary so that he too towers over the Stuff of Legends! Indulge your reading hobbit (ok that was REALLY a stretch) once again, as some of the best comics on the web become some of the funniest comics in self-publishing!

This one, like all the Bruno the Bandit books from AIM Comics, is available right now in handy print and digital formats.  Just click the "Buy Now" button below to grab your digital copy (pdf) directly for only $1.50 via Gumroad, or follow the links below to your choice of retailers to grab your copy right now!

Buy Now!

 

• Print version from Amazon.com
• Print version from Amazon.ca
• Digital version from DriveThru Comics.com

As always, we'd love to hear from the readers.  Drop us a line at info@aimcomics.com or drop by our Facebook page and share your thoughts.  If you're a reviewer, I'd be happy to send you a complimentary pdf copy; just send me an email address and a link to the site where you will be posting your review.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Christmas in July!

Did you know that for a limited time you can buy AIM Comics's publications at DriveThru Comics for 25% off during their Christmas in July Sale?

Well you can, so get over there and grab some deals before the "season" ends!

Now Available - The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit Vol. 4 AND Bruno the Bandit: A Card Game!

Looks like Xmas came early! As of today, not only do I bring you the latest volume of The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit, available now in print and digital download formats, but I am proud to announce Ian McDonald's latest creation, "Bruno the Bandit: A Card Game"!

"The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit" Vol. 4 features seven more stories from the webcomics archives of www.brunothebandit.com, featuring some of the finest stories and characters from the comic's history, including Elysia the fame vampire, Eunyce, Warrior Hottie,and Shub-Megawrath, the single mother she-goat with a thousand young!  

This issue features a brand new cover by "Thieves & Kings" and "StarDrop" artist extraordinaire, Mark Oakley, as well as a pinup by Weird Tales and Lovecraft Ezine alumnus Steve Santiago.  It's a package I'm proud to present, and one I know you readers (and Brunatics!) will love.

"The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit Vol. 4" is available right now in print from Amazon and digitally from DriveThruComics.  Check it out today! 

But that, as they say, is not all!  Launching today only at DriveThruCards.com, we have "Bruno the Bandit:  A Card Game".  It's a fantastic new game, quick to learn and easy to play. Now you can take Bruno beyond the printed page and try your skill against your fellow bandits in this game of loot or be looted.

One night at the Belching Hydra (the seediest and most dangerous watering hole in the kingdom of Rothland) an argument breaks out:  who is the best thief in the land?  You and your fellow crooks make a deal: whoever steals the most valuable loot in one night shall be  declared the greatest thief in Rothland!  But beware:  the Rothland Imperial Guard are on the lookout for criminal activity this night.  Not only that, other Rothland citizens are out and about this eve, and can cause you no end of trouble. Finally, your fellow thieves are not above stealing your ill-gotten gains from you, should you let your guard down.  You will need nerves of steel, dogged determination, and a ruthless streak a mile wide to be crowned Rothland's King (or Queen) of Thieves!

The game includes 85 cards, a downloadable rule book, and even has a code for a free digital copy of the first volume of "Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit". All in all, it's a fantastic deal, and a game so good, it's criminal!

"Bruno the Bandit: A Card Game" is only available at DriveThruCards, so get over there and loot your copy right now!

UPDATE: Here's a photo of a hand from the first copy of the game printed, now proudly owned by Ian McDonald.

 

Now Available - The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit Vol. 3

After a few unexpected delays, "The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit, Vol. 3" is now live.  From the book's description:

"The third time's the charm!  Or so hopes our hero, Bruno the Bandit, in this issue, as he turns on the charm in an attempt to win the lovely Lydia away from the wizard Maledict.  Meanwhile, the demonic Numth'kul sees his troubles increase a thousandfold, and we learn that Elder Gods need love too!  Plus, we're not sure if it serves a purpose clear when Fiona serves up some "Free Will"!

All this and much more, including the Charles Schulz memorial story, "When a God Retires" and several new pages of Bruno pinups from Ian McDonald.  Presenting nine more stories from the archives of Bruno the Bandit (www.brunothebandit.com), this third swing of the Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit continues the tradition of turning some of the best comics on the web into some of the funniest comics in self-publishing. "

This volume has a cover by Sandy Carruthers of "Men in Black" and "Captain Canuck" fame, and aside from the wealth of stories within, contains several new illustrations by Bruno's creator Ian McDonald, as well as guest contributions from Michael DeStasio (whose work was featured in volume 2) and Raven Dominic (who is, only coincidentally, related to the publisher.  Honest.)

Fans of Bruno will be delighted by the stories in this volume, and fans of comics in general should check out Ian's loving tribute to Charles Schulz in "When a God Retires".  As always, there's something for everyone in this book, and at this price, it's a steal even Bruno couldn't pass up.

"The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit Vol. 3" is now available through these online stores:

Print:
Createspace

Digital:
DriveThruComics
Wowio

Coming soon, versions for Kindle and Graphicly.

And don't forget that our other books, Brutal Blade vols. 1 & 2, and our free comic "Why Comics" are all still available.  Collect the whole set!
If you do buy a copy of any of our books, please take the time to leave us a review on any of our storefronts, or drop me a line to let me know what you think.  As always, I'd love to hear from you!

AIM Comics is Now Live on Graphicly!

As of right about...now!...AIM Comics is live on Graphicly. 
Graphicly, a true innovator in digital comics, has recently opened up their digital publishing platform to give access to a wider group of content creators, and I'm stoked to say that AIM Comics is now one of those creators.
Starting with "The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit" Volume 1, and with volume 2 to follow shortly, and with volume 3 forthcoming in the next few weeks, all of AIM Comics books will be available to read through the Graphicly service.  It's "web only" for now, until we make enough money to pay for their conversion process to other platforms, but ideally, you'll eventually be able to read these books on your i-Things and Android-whatsits as well.
I've been trying to hook into the Graphicly service almost from the very start, so I'm happy to finally see it happen.  These guys seem to have a good grasp of the digital comics market and will certainly help bring AIM Comics to a much wider audience.  With this addition to our list of distributors, I think we're finally hitting on all the major streams, and I can now concentrate on pushing the readers to give our books a try. 
"Brutal Blade" Vol. 1 is kicking things off with a low price of just 99 cents for 72 pages of material, so if you haven't already done so...or heck, even if you have....why not head over to Graphicly, grab a copy, and see what it's all about?
Oh...and if you do, I'd love to hear what you think of this new platform, and the book itself.  Drop me a line or leave a comment and make your opinion known!

Now Available - The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit Vol. 2

The second volume of "The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit" is up and running!  From the book's description:

"Bruno the Bandit is at it again! Within these pages is another dozen stories from the long-running webcomic (www.brunothebandit.com) by Ian McDonald. What happens when the outcome of every situation truly depends on the roll of the die? What if Bruno went legit and joined the Rothland Imperial Guard? Who is Sour Ron and what connection does he have to Bruno's past? Most importantly, what is the senses-shattering secret of "The Babe" and what will Bruno do to find out? The answers to these questions and more lie in wait inside! Read on as once again, some of the best comics on the web become some of the funniest comics in self-publishing!

Featuring a fantastic cover by classic Conan artist Geof Isherwood and pinups by a talented roster of independent artists, this second volume is sure to amuse and delight you!"

This volume collects some of my personal favorites of the early stories, including the Bill Watterson inspired "Sour Ron" and "Clonin" in which Bruno meets Rothland's version of a certain fur diaper wearing wilderness-enhanced individual.  In addition, it's got some great new art, not least of which is our cover by legendary Conan artist Geof Isherwood, a new Table of Contents illustration by Ian McDonald himself, and pinups by Mike DeStasio, Mike LeGan, Danos Philopolous and John McDowell, as well as a few spot illustrations by my own industrious self.  It's packed cover to cover with bandit-y goodness and I think Bruno fans old and new will really enjoy it.

"The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit, Vol. 2" is available through these stores right NOW!

Print: 
Createspace

Digital:
DriveThruComics
Wowio Comics

Coming soon:
MyDigitalComics
Kindle

While you're at it, don't forget our other books that are still available, including "The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit Vol. 1" and "Why Comics?" (a free comic at our Wowio store).

Run out and grab a copy of Brutal Blade Vol. 2 right now, then come back here and tell me what you think of it.  We'd love to hear from you!

Bruno the Bandit Cut in Half!

I don't know about you, but where I live, it's been raining to beat the band for almost a solid two weeks.  I'm taking a serious look at plans for an ark; I just need to figure out the actual size of a cubit, and where to find another wildebeest, and I'm all set.
In hopes of putting a little "spring" in our step, I've decided to cut the price of all digital editions of "The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit" in half for the rest of May.  Now you can get all the goodness that is Bruno for a meager 99 cents!  That's 72 pages of comics goodness, including the Ernie Chan cover and pinups by a Who's Who of webcomics (and me..the Who's That? of webcomics), all for under a buck.  Just click the links at right to go to your choice of DriveThru Comics, Wowio or MyDigitalComics and grab your copy of "Brutal Blade"...but hurry; this price (hopefully, like the rain) will be gone at the end of May.

Local Hero is Free!

This coming Saturday, 7 May, is the most important holiday of the year...Free Comic Book Day!  I was hoping to get out and do some sketches and meet some comics fans like I did last year, but my favorite local shop is not hosting a sketch panel this year, so instead I've dug out an older piece of work to make available for free to mark the occasion.
AIM Comics is not yet an official sponsor of Free Comic Book Day, but that's no reason I can't honor the occasion by giving you a free read.  In this case, it's a short story, "Local Hero", that I did as a submission for the SPX biography-themed anthology a few years ago.  This piece actually honors two Halifax figures who are important to comics:  Hal Foster, the creator and artist of "Prince Valiant" and the original "Tarzan" comic strip, and Calum Johnston, the owner of (and this is verifiable) the Greatest Comic Shop in the World, Strange Adventures.  It's probably not the most professional piece of work in comics, and it's more than a bit fannish, but I'll make no bones about being a fanboy.
The story is in .cbz format, which means it can be read with Comical, CDisplay or any of the many digital comics readers, including myComics on iOS.  If you'd like to give it a look, you can download it right here.
As always, comments and criticisms are welcome and encouraged, either by email or by comments on this post.
And whatever else you do this weekend, be sure to make time to drop by your local comics shop and partake in the annual wonder that is....Free Comic Book Day!

Distributor Profile: Wowio

I hope our other distributors won't take offense when I say that Wowio Books has the slickest website of all the stores we're using.  As far as style and branding goes, Wowio really does it right. 
I remember when Wowio first opened its doors, it was available for U.S. members only.  Since you could read pretty much their entire catalog of books for free online, I was chomping at the bit waiting for them to open up to Canadian subscribers, and when they did, I was hot out of the gate to sign up.
Since then, I've read quite a few books via their service, and even though most of their books are now limited to previews instead of full online readability, I still find them one of the best distribution services for digital comics. 
Not that they're limited to comics, mind you; they have quite a selection of ebooks as well.  However, I think that because they use the pdf format, which I find awkward for prose reading, I have never taken as strong a liking to their ebook offerings.  As I understand it, they are soon to be offering books in epub format, making them readable on iOS devices, so my opinion on that may change.
But to get back to style...Go take a look at the AIM Comics page on Wowio.  Even if you're not planning on buying anything, go take a look at it.  Not only do we have our own publisher page there in a visual style that's compatible with the main AIM Comics page, a one stop shop for what will be a growing catalog of books, with slots for Featured books and New Releases, but they've also got a very snazzy animated image of the cover of our current book.  This really has the kind of professional look I'm aiming for with AIM Comics.
Like any good digital distributor, your purchases with Wowio are also stored online for you to download at any time, on any device.  You also have the option to read online in a very user-friendly reader that is also compatible with iOS devices.  The reader is great at bookmarking the last page you've read and can display in multiple sizes, giving you the option of a full-page display or a zoomed page.  With built in keyboard navigation, it's one of the best online readers I've tried. 
Another interesting feature of Wowio is the ability to gift ebooks.  As a publisher, you can allow your book to be gifted at a discounted rate.  This is often used by businesses and charities as promotion, and the site will notify you on your library page when you have a new gift waiting.  This is a great way to add some of the more expensive books to your library at no cost, and also a great way to get your book promoted.
And believe me, there's plenty of books you'll want to add to your library.  While Wowio does not have books from the "big boys" of comics, there's plenty of offerings from independent publishers, and some very tempting books from name publishers like AAM Markosia, Bluewater and Moonstone (and leave us not forget AIM Comics!).  I was especially pleased to find that they have Richard Moore's "Boneyard" series, which has been a guilty pleasure of mine for some time.
So once again, let me urge you to go on over to Wowio and take a look.  There's plenty of free books for your to try out, and it's worth doing so to sample their online reader.  Watch for free gifts in your library, and check out the previews of their impressive lineup of publishers.  Oh, and while you're there, how about snagging a copy of "Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit"?

Distributor Profile: DriveThru Comics

When I first had the idea to do digital distribution for AIM Comics, the first place I thought of was Drive Thru Comics.  They're one of the oldest and most robust download comic shops on the net.  I have long enjoyed their offerings, and find that even browsing the books they have available is a good indicator of what is happening in the indy comics market.

DriveThru makes its books available in convenient pdf format.  While this is not my preferred format (I really do love .cbr and .cbz!), they always have high quality scans and I have yet to meet a device that is not able to handle pdfs, so my own preference is rather subjective.  I find their site very easy to navigate, with lots of graphics and previews as is fitting for what they sell.  Their signup process is as simple as can be and literally takes seconds, while their checkout and download process is just as simple.  They accept Paypal as payment, which is almost a must for anyone doing business on the net today.  The books you purchase remain available to download again at any time through your account history, so you need never be without your library of comics.

DriveThru has a long list of publishers offering titles through their store, from heavy hitters like Heavy Metal and 2000 AD to small independent brands like...well, like AIM Comics.  In addition to the books available for sale, there's also a wide variety of free books to get you started.  Most of their books are a buck or two each, which, compared to retail prices, makes some of this stuff a real steal.
Of course, while you're there, you might also want to check out their other stores, DriveThru RPG and DriveThru Fiction, where you can find, among other things, downloadable game manuals, ebooks and even soundtracks.

If you're new to digital comics, or just haven't tried this particular store yet, I recommend taking a look around DriveThru Comix (starting with our publisher page, of course!) to see what they have available, then signing up for a membership and at least trying out some of their free books to see if you like what they have to offer.  Remember that our own publication, Why Comics?, is one of their free books, and is as good a place to start as any.

There's a lot of debate right now about digital versus printed comics, and while I don't have enough experience in publishing to weigh in strongly for one side or the other, I do know that if digital comics is going to succeed it is going to be through the efforts of well-implemented sites like DriveThru Comics.