As in guillotine...

Open letter to Vito Delsante (incogvito)

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:March 2, 2006
Post category:Pop Culture
Post comments:10 Comments

[Since you have your comments screened, I'm guessing you probably won't release this one... UPDATE: He's since unscreened my comment.] Dude, your violin really needs a tuneup. If I was stalking you, I wouldn't have friended you, I simply would have checked in periodically, or subscribed to your feed. If you didn't want people reading your PUBLIC journal, you should have taken advantage of LJ's private posting feature BEFORE you started running around the internet denying the sky was blue a couple of months ago. I didn't know who the hell you were until you took on Speakeasy's PR, doing…

COMMENT: Men of Tomorrow, Today?

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:March 1, 2006
Post category:Media Pop Culture
Post comments:0 Comments

I've had Gerard Jones' enthralling must-read, MEN OF TOMORROW, on my mind a lot the past few days, thanks as much to the Speakeasy fiasco as my general feelings about the comics industry lately. So much of what I see happening with seemingly naive creators getting screwed over by inept publishers with big plans and little common sense -- and even in the corporate comics world, what with hastily revised plotlines resulting in lackluster stories potentially killing fledgling careers, etc. -- reminds me of the Donenfelds, Liebowitz', Siegels, Schusters, Fingers, et al, of the early days of the industry. Back…

On The Shelves: 3/1/06

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 28, 2006
Post category:Media Personal Pop Culture
Post comments:10 Comments

Support GOOD Comics! Try something new EVERY month! My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 3/1/06. The full shipping is list available at ComicList. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com] PICK OF THE WEEK Infinite Crisis #5 (Don't hate. At least not until you read it!)AMAZE INK (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS) Corporate Ninja #2, $2.95 Vaistron #4, $2.95 I think I remember Corporate Ninja #1 being a fun…

INFO: Managing Editor Wanted

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 28, 2006
Post category:Personal Reviews
Post comments:0 Comments

Buzzscope is almost ready to officially complete its relaunch as PopCultureShock, and I'm now looking to bring another editor onboard to assist me with copyediting and trafficking of our recurring columns. We've seriously ramped up our comics content over the past 5 months, bringing on a wide range of columnists and ongoing features, and I need someone to help manage that content while I turn my attention towards getting our reviews up and running again and, hopefully, providing some more regular content myself.It's a great opportunity for anyone wanting to flesh out their resume and/or have a deeper connection to…

Speakeasy Shuts Its Doors: A Cautionary Tale

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 28, 2006
Post category:Pop Culture
Post comments:0 Comments

[Originally published by Buzzscope on 2/28/2006, the full text of this post was retrieved via the Wayback Machine and archived here on 11/14/19. No edits were made beyond the removal of images that were no longer accessible.] Several creators still in the dark about their fates It's been less than 90 days since we first reported on fledgling publisher Speakeasy Comics' making waves with their announcement of a stricter policy regarding minimum thresholds for comic books they distribute, and since then, those waves have claimed several victims, but none bigger than Speakeasy Comics itself. Yesterday afternoon, on his blog, Elk's Run creator/writer, Joshua…

COMMENT: Speakeasy Shuts Its Doors

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 27, 2006
Post category:Media Personal Pop Culture
Post comments:1 Comment

UPDATED...AGAIN! Let the fallout begin... Elk's Run creator/writer, Joshua Hale Fialkov, confirmed what seemed pretty inevitable earlier this afternoon over on his blog: So, just got off the phone with Adam Fortier, President etc. of Speakeasy Comics. Speakeasy is no more. Due to some payment problems and low sales, it seems, they've had to lock up shop. Perhaps realizing the story was about to break, Speakeasy mouthpiece Vito Delsante emailed Speakeasy cheerleader Chris Butcher, a Toronto retailer and comics blogiverse gadfly, a confirmation, which he posted about half an hour ago: "As unofficial public relations for Speakeasy Comics, I feel…

LINK: NEWSarama on Indie Panel

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 27, 2006
Post category:Uncategorized
Post comments:0 Comments

A. Dave Lewis' coverage of my indie roundtable, Beyond the Capes and Spandex is up on NEWSarama now!NYCC: BEYOND CAPES AND SPANDEX by A. Dave LewisThe Sunday afternoon “Beyond the Capes and Spandex” panel, hosted by PopCultureShock.com, emphasized the overall diversity of the New York Comic-Con, featuring a wide array of creators for whom the medium and the superhero genre were by no means synonymous. Led by PopCultureShock.com’s Senior Comics Editor Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, the panelists consisted of notables from both sides of the mainstream/alternative spectrum. Tania Del Rio (Lovesketch, MangaKa America, and Archie Comics’ Sabrina the Teenage Witch) sat…