You can back Soulfinder: Demon’s Match here.
Tag: Comics
‘Soulfinder: Demon’s Match’ is LIVE on Indiegogo NOW
You can back “Soulfinder: Demon’s Match” here.
‘Soulfinder: Demon’s Match’ trailer for June 14 Indiegogo launch
Make sure to check out my Indiegogo page on June 14.
‘Soulfinder: Demon’s Match’ — one writer’s response to a lost and confused comic book industry
Long-time readers of this blog, which started roughly a decade ago, know that for many years the content was focused on the slow-motion collapse of the comic book industry. Writers and artists started to see themselves as activists and, as a result, they abandoned the classic hero’s journey.
A small (but vocal) group of bloggers documented the mean-spirited, unprofessional, and partisan antics of creators — the most glaring examples often at Marvel — and in time a similar network formed on YouTube.
The history of what became known as “Comicsgate” is too long for a single blog post, but what can be said is this: Soulfinder: Demon’s Match is a direct response to an ailing industry that seems determined to throw itself into an abyss of irrelevance.
For years, critics of this blog and my YouTube channel have said: “Write your own comic if you can do better! All you do is complain!”
Last summer I silently responded, “Will do,” and then penned a tale about a major order of exorcists — all combat veterans — who take on levels of evil that most of the world cannot fathom.
Soulfinder: Demon’s Match is about a man named Father Patrick Retter and his recruitment into the order of Soulfinders.
- He is flawed, but his moral compass is sound.
- His faith is tested, but he strives to take the hard right instead of the easy wrong.
- He has many crosses to bear (like all of us), but he knows that virtue exists in carrying them with grace and dignity.
Along the way, Fr. Retter is mentored by a Vietnam veteran — Father Reginald “Reggie” Crane — and both men are aided by a young police officer named Gregory Chua.
In short, Soulfinder: Demon’s Match is my attempt to entertain people without lecturing them. It is my attempt to tell a tale of Good vs. Evil in a way that isn’t cheesy or preachy. It is my attempt to honor all the writers who inspired me throughout the years, and it is a “thank you” to everyone who encouraged me to enter the creative arena.
The book features covers by the legendary Dave Dorman, art by the extremely talented Timothy Lim, and is colored by industry veteran Brett R. Smith. I can’t thank them enough for all their hard work. They have consistently blown me away with their efforts.
I hope you consider buying Soulfinder: Demon’s Match when our IndieGoGo campaign launches June 14.
Again, thank you to everyone who has followed this blog for years, subscribed on YouTube, and interacted with me on Twitter. Your enthusiasm has been infectious and certainly played a part in bringing this book to fruition.
Related: The guys at Bleeding Fool were kind enough to ask me a few questions about the book. My responses can be found here.
Comic Book Resources shill moderator Thomas Mets’ ‘Ernst-talk Rules’ prove the need for Comicsgate
Saladin Ahmed’s rage explained: Marvel activist-writer yearns to be Little Red Riding Hood
Max Bemis, former ‘Moon Knight’ writer, calls masculinity an ‘infection’ while Marvel suffers
Saladin Ahmed: Marvel writer spews bigotry, blames others for blowback as EIC C.B. Cebulski silent
There once was a time when Marvel writers and artists didn’t use the Christmas season to go on bizarre and bigoted rants against “white” people. Saladin Ahmed, however, is a sterling example of the “House of Ideas” (or was it the House of Ideologues?) under Sana Amanat and editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski.
Mr. Ahmed — for years — has publicly offered his “white people” lamentations, and yet he is a.) rewarded for his bigotry by the company’s top brass, and b.) plays the victim with a straight face.
This weekend the Marvel scribe must have watched your friendly neighborhood blogger’s live-stream on his disgusting rhetoric because he came into work on Monday with fresh rants about “right wingers” who are “trying to get me fired.”
Given that Mr. Ahmed is obsessed with white people, it is perhaps fitting that a White Stripes song spotlights what he does after professionally embarrassing himself on social media.
From Jack White’s Effect & Cause:
Well, first came an action
And then a reaction
But you can’t switch ’em ’round
For your own satisfaction
Well you burnt my house down
Then got mad
At my reactionWell in every complicated situation
Of a human relation
Making sense of it all
Takes a whole lotta concentration, mmm
Well you can’t blame a baby
For her pregnant ma
And if there’s one of these unavoidable laws
It’s that you can’t just take the effect
And make it the cause, no
Take a bow, C.B. Cebulski. While you tweet about your “Air Supply” dreams, Marvel writers are doing everything in their power to alienate readers with bigoted Twitter accounts.
Check out my latest YouTube video for a more extensive look at what is permitted at Marvel on Mr. Cebulski’s watch.
The White Stripes’ Effect & Cause:
Tom Brevoort: Marvel’s ‘King Nothing’ gives Stan Lee backhanded compliment after industry icon’s death
Stan “The Man” Lee’s death last week left fans across the world with a heavy heart. Kind words filled Facebook walls, Instagram pages, and Twitter feeds. There were random exceptions (e.g., professional wet blanket Bill Maher), but in general millions of people handled themselves as expected when a beloved public figure exits this world and enters eternity.
Marvel editor Tom Brevoort, however, didn’t get the memo.
Yes, that’s right, one of Marvel’s very own decided it would be a great idea to remember Stan Lee’s life by weirdly turning it into an excuse to play “Who Will Have the Greatest Legacy?”
Tom “King Nothing” Brevoort tweeted:
“Stan Lee was both the best-known comic book editor in the world and the best writer of his era, the 1960s. The fact that others surpassed him in this endeavor by building on what he did changes nothing of it,” (emphasis added).
Ask yourself this question: What kind of person uses the death of an industry giant to immediately begin figuring out creative and professional pecking orders?
Ask yourself this question: What kind of person gives a backhanded compliment about Stan Lee that translates: “Yeah, he was an pretty amazing guy — in the 1960s!
People ask me why and when the movement often labeled “Comicsgate” started. Giving an exact date is a rather pointless endeavor, but readers can glean important information merely by looking into the social-media musings of Mr. Brevoort.
Sadly, the kind of creator who would downplay Stan Lee’s significance right after his death is not the exception to the rule at Marvel Comics these days. Furthermore, the kind of man who is willing to rhetorically hit Mr. Lee below the belt is also the kind of man who is willing to do so to long-time readers.
There is much more to be said, but for a primer on the origins of Comicsgate I suggest watching my latest YouTube video. As always, make sure hit the ‘subscribe’ button if the video format is up your alley.
Related: Bill Maher: Stan Lee bad, Vapid celebs on ‘Real Time’ good. Beep. Beep. Boop. Boop.
Marvel’s Max Bemis puts ‘Ernst’ into Moon Knight over Comicsgate rage
Once upon a time your friendly neighborhood blogger half-jokingly wondered if Marvel’s Dan Slott would randomly insert him into a comic as a villain. Who could have predicted that Max “feast upon my a**” Bemis … Max “I f***ing hate you personally” Bemis would essentially say, “Stand back, Mr. Slott. I’ve got this. Hold. My. Beer.”
Consider the following recap of the movement known as Comicsgate since December 2017.
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- Mr. Bemis lashes out at customers with his “feast upon my a**” and “hate you personally” tweets.
- Yours truly (along with friends within the Comicsgate network) highlight the unprofessional behavior in videos seen by thousands.
- Incoming Marvel EIC C.B. Cebulski is asked during a Q&A session about Mr. Bemis and he assures the audience that corrective measures were taken.
- Mr. Bemis tells websites like Newsarama that he didn’t have a long-term blueprint for the book but often relies on “improvisation.”
- The writer explicitly says in interviews and on social media that he uses the book to work through his own struggles with mental illness.
- Mr. Bemis shares tweets by the self-proclaimed leader of the anti-Comicsgate crowd, artist Bill Sienkiewicz. Comics pros like Mr. Sienkiewicz routinely frame Comcisgate as a movement for Nazis, white supremacists, etc.
- Mr. Bemis reveals a new “Nazi” villain named “Ernst”. The bearded bad-guy shows up in a production timeline that almost perfectly matches the December 2017 videos calling out the writer’s unprofessional rhetoric.
Ask yourself how many coincidences upon coincidences would have needed to happen for the evil “Uncle Ernst” character to appear into the book. If you’re like me, you will conclude that this is just one more stunning example of how far the professional standards at Marvel Comics have fallen.
Modern Marvel Comics are no longer meant to inspire kids to bigger and better things.
Modern Marvel Comics are no longer written to instill a sense of awe and wonder into young minds via the hero’s journey.
Modern Marvel Comics no longer have a functioning moral compass built in the majority of the titles.
Instead, to quote Mr. Bemis, they are written by individuals who seek to wallow in something “f***ed up.”
Modern Marvel Comics is a damaged product written by morally relativistic individuals who seek to hobble others at a psychological and spiritual level.
If you don’t believe me, then check out my latest video on the company’s newest villain — “Ernst” — and the circumstances leading up to his debut.
As always, make sure to hit the like and subscribe button if enjoy the video format. Also, share your thoughts below on Comicsgate, Marvel Comics, Mr. Bemis, or anything related to the subject at hand.
Douglas Ernst Blog 