Positive Reviews on Aazurn Books Pouring In
by Gary Scott Beatty, Owner and Production Manager, Aazurn Publishing
Reviews are appearing for "Seductions" and "Adam Among the Gods!" It's exciting to see readers talking about my creations in syndicated columns, on blogs and MySpace. It doesn't happen without action on my part, though, so I'll go through the steps I took to interest reviewers in the books below, then list some of the comments I've recently found.
It's hard for me to believe, but no one yet as come right out and said either of them stink! These kinds of done-in-one, comic book short stories are not for everyone, I've been told web reviews can be especially cruel and I expected some flak. After all, these books present big ideas and expect readers to think through them. The vampire tale (Much like Bram Stoker's 1897 book) features little blood and the science fiction yarn turns the 1950s ideal of a sanitized, future world upside down.
Reviewer criticism usually reveals they didn't "get it." James Lyle's clean, wonderful art in "Adam" harkens back to the '50s on purpose - it's something I asked him to do! A reviewer might call the style dated. Is Bill Bryan's style too rigid, as some reviewers might claim, or does it have that "life in a fishbowl" quality on purpose, posed characters on a stage, to emphasize the predicament of the main character? I find it very interesting reading what others find in these tales! Ultimately, of course, if someone doesn't "get it," I didn't do my job as a writer. Reviews make good studies into what makes writing work.
My goal is pretty simple - I just want readers to enjoy reading the books!
As with every marketing plan, review solicitation began with a list. I've been jotting down names of people and companies for a couple of years, so when I went to pull together a media list it was fairly simple. My master list includes full names and addresses. I mailed packages with both books and copies of every news release I'd written (including one on Aazurn Publishing itself).
It just occurred to me I haven't detailed, yet, how to write an effective news release! I'll cover that in the next blog, I promise.
I came up with big plans prior to the books' releases to offer news releases, print- and web-resolution graphics, and even whole books online for reviewers to read. I know how much easier my job as editor of a magazine is when I can find online material. I thought editors would jump at the chance to review books before they were printed.
Boy, was I wrong! Comic book reviewers want that physical comic in their hands. Whether they want to enjoy the feel of the comic and the joy of turning paper pages, or the fact that many (most?) comic book projects run out of money before publication date, editors and reviewers as a mass voted "no" to online viewing by ignoring "Seductions" and "Adam Among the Gods."
The online media page was put to good use by many website editors, though. Having downloadable graphics available was especially useful. The four news releases I emailed to online editors prior to the books' release were picked up all over!
I expect more print reviews will appear in June and July of 2008 because of the packages I recently mailed. A tip to keep track of online reviews: Google offers blog alerts. You sign up and they email you when something new shows up with your search words. Enjoy the online reviews below and thanks for your interest in Aazurn Publishing!
REVIEWS
Seductions
"A vampire love story. If you love vampires with human hearts, you are the target audience. If you're ambivalent toward the vampire genre but wouldn't mind reading a well-written one, you might like this book too...
"The art is beautiful, and the character development is strong and sensible, logically following the parameters of a Highlander-like immortal existence.
"Through a series of flashbacks, we learn how our antihero developed the attitude toward women that he currently has (he respects them considerably more than most people respect their food). He approaches his womanizing/hunting like a quest, seeking that certain je ne sais quois that he'll hopefully recognize if he ever finds it."
Rick Silva
Dandelion Studios
"I'm not partial to vampire stories, but this is less about blood, blood, and more blood, and more about the 'living forever' aspect of it. It certainly succeeds there. The surface theme, by which it discusses that, is the main character of the story talking about how he seduces his victims through the years, and that, too, is written well enough. The art is technically perfect - the eye catches all the right details in the right places - and the writing, while not to my favorite subject, is as good as it gets. I really can't see where this could be improved..."
Overall Rating: 10.0. Writing: 10.0. Artwork: 10.0. Packaging: 10.0. Value: 10.0
Jacques Treatment
Dimestore Productions.com
"Nicely designed package. The story by Gary is very entertaining...Overall everything works great here, coloring, lettering, and art all flow nicely with the story. I was drawn to flip the pages to see what was going to happen next. Totally unpredictable story. Great work!"
Allen Freeman
Small Press Newsroom
Syndicated Zine Reviews
"Striving to create an entertaining and socially informative comic book, writer Gary Scott Beatty has an interesting book up his sleeve. His new comic, Seductions, depicts the history of seduction, and how it has evolved with the changing attitudes and role of women - oh, there's also a vampire.
"Fans of subtle horror will appreciate the artwork, as Beatty and Bryan decided to go for a less gory style. While discussing the genre and motif, Beatty described it as, 'Sex and the City from a male perspective, with vampires.' With a description like that, Carrie Bradshaw could really say her last date sucked."
Scoop
Adam Among the Gods
"For the uninitiated (Welcome to you, by the way.), "done-in-one" means a single story in a single issue. No need to buy multiple issues, or multiple series, for that matter, to see dangling plot lines resolved. A rare phenomenon in the world of comics of which I'm quite fond.
"Artist James Lyle is one of those individuals who makes you glad there is a visual medium called 'comic books.' His clear, bold lines and well-defined figures lend just the right 'scrubbed clean with Clorox, but something nasty still lurks beneath the shine' look needed for this futuristic story...Lyle also handles striking contrast in amazing fashion, which he proves when Adam discovers..., WHOOPS! Let's just say that Adam discovers the shocking truth beneath the shine.
"From the get-go, Beatty gives us characters with whom we can sympathize...He also provides an engaging story at a crisp, but not rushed pace, with a satisfying conclusion...all in one issue...Adam Among The Gods is worth seeking out."
Mark Allen
Suspended Animation
4 Color Commentary.com
"Here's a radical idea for you: a 24-page comic story.
"As in, a story that is completely contained within 24 pages. It's not part of an ongoing, serialized storyline. It's not an OGN. It doesn't feature characters who have ever appeared before, or will ever appear again. It's just a simple short story in comic book form, no pre-existing knowledge or commitment to future issues necessary.
"Did I just blow your mind?!?
"...the story being told is a good, old-school SF tale of hubris and Big Ideas, and some nice, subtle touches that Beatty is smart enough not to pound home...Likewise, Lyle's...characters are expressive, and he does a good job of portraying Adam as deformed without making him overly grotesque."
Adam Prosser
rackraids.com
"Alex Toth's oft-quoted advice to other artists, 'To add to truth only subtracts from it,' is a beautiful and noble sentiment, one which can be found well demonstrated in a more practical sense with Jame Lyle's work on Adam Among The Gods.
"In this age of over-rendered, light boxed, ultimately static comic book illustration, Lyle's bold streamlined graphics are a genuine delight, harkening back to another near forgotten era of our craft when the flow of sequential panel storytelling, not pseudo photo-realism, was the primary goal of each and every comic illustrator.
"Lyle delivers on that oft forgotten approach to illustration with some of his most mature work yet as an artist. He does the real job in drawing comics and he does it very well, indeed."
Jackson "Butch" Guice
DC and Marvel artist
"This is a wonderful morality tale done in the tradition of the Twilight Zone."
Odinson, Lone Star Comics Archivist
My Comic Shop.com
"I have to say that I really enjoyed this one-off single issue comic. I wish everyone could have the experience I had reading this. I picked it up in the shop, read the first couple of pages, and the premise was interesting enough to bring home with me...It really was the story that kept me reading. Good Stuff there. Recommended!"
Martin
Read Comics.org
- Gary
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