A Week In Writing #534 - Report from the Front: WonderCon 2025

Hope everyone is staying safe, and, of course, writing.

Well, it's a day late, but we're back from WonderCon 2025, our first time to table at a major comic book con. I'll be honest, it was a bit of a learning experience and maybe Small Press isn't a good fit if you're trying to grow your brand, at least for us.

Sales were slow. We had set up the booth on Thursday afternoon. We ended up paying for parking at the convention center because it seemed easier for us. In addition to the items for the booth, we also bring our own chairs, and yes, I know you're not supposed to sit at a table, but you do. Booths normally come with two seats but since there are four of us, we bring our own. Set up went pretty quick.

On the first day we didn't sell anything, though we did trade comic books with Hunter Jackson, a co-founder of the group GWAR. He approached us and asked if we wanted to trade books. I'll be honest, I didn't know who he was, but it seemed like a fun idea.

On Saturday, the so-called busiest day, we sold one book and one trade to different people. Otherwise, we looked. If you've never been to WonderCon, you might not be aware that there are three halls, A, B and C (see map below) that the convention takes up at the convention center. Attendees enter the convention, not through A but through hall C and while C and B are crowded, fewer people make it to Hall A, a lot fewer for some reason, and unless they're looking for comics and other books, they're mostly there to line up for Funko, which is the big draw in Hall A.

Sunday, we lowered our prices by 20% and actually sold a second trade, to the same man who bought the first one the day before, and two copies each of the first issues of Powers Squared and The Blade of Miracles, Trevor's book.

I didn't attend any panels, though Trevor did attend a couple on developing tabletop games.

Overall, from what we heard from other tablers, it was slow, blame the economy, though I'm sure some did better than others and had repeat business. We handed out about 400+ business cards, including ones for both books and we physically added five people to the mailing list, so hopefully, more will follow.

If you want to see photos from WonderCon, please visit the Events page on our website at https://powerssquaredcomicbook.com/events.

We did do a podcast live from the event, hosted by our colorist, Julia Canon. You can listen to it here or you can watch it here on Wednesday after 2:30 pm. We also tried to line up some future appearance with a number of creators we met at the Con. We'll be following up with them, but if you want to know when an interview is going up, please subscribe to our YouTube channel (@powerssquared).

Trophy Unlocked didn't take off for the Con, so my review of The Day the Earth Blew Up (2024) went up on Saturday. But because of the Con, no new review from me this week.

I did do some work this week on Blackmail. I last worked on it on Thursday night before the Con. I'm up to 19412 words.

For the coming week, we'll be following up on a few things from the Con and there is also the newsletter The Hound Dogs' Howl, which will go out next Sunday.

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing and I'll see you back here next week.

A Week in Writing #533 - Final Prep for WonderCon

Hope everyone is staying safe, and, of course, writing.

Well, we're less than a week out from WonderCon 2025. It's the largest convention Powers Squared has ever attended. It runs for three days, March 28-30 in Anaheim, California. Since we signed up, we've started to release a second book, The Blade of Miracles, which Trevor created, so there's more to worry about, more signage, etc.

We set up the booth, at home, for a test run on Saturday and Sunday, just to see how things look. We're going down on Thursday to set up and the show starts on Friday at 11:30 am.

If you're going, and I'm sure most of you are not, please come by and say "hi."

For On the Air with Powers Squared, we interviewed the creative team of Eric and Julia Lewald, probably best known for their work on X-Men: The Animated Series, which has recently been revitalized as X-Men '97. This is a little more podcast fun from last week, because we're holding back on releasing that interview, since we have a preview of #24 "Gashadokuro." That can be listened to here, and watched on Wednesday, at 2:30 pm on our YouTube channel (@powerssquared), here. We recorded this one last Saturday when we could get the entire creative team together.

Wednesday will be the release of that issue. As always, it will be available in print and digital through The Campus Store on our website. It's never too late to start reading Powers Squared and your patronage would be appreciated.

Next week, artist/colorist Julia Canon will be hosting the podcast. Hopefully, we'll be able to connect with her but it will be her show, so anything can happen. Tune in to see at twitch.tv/powerssquared.

We did see a movie over the weekend, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie and I wrote the review, which I assume will go up soon, given the fact that it's not long for theaters. Also, this week's Saturday Morning Review, on Trophy Unlocked, was mine for Waitress, which we discussed last week as the perfect Pi(e) Day movie. The Wednesday Game Day review as Trevor's for URLate.

A modicum of progress on Blackmail. I'm up to 16,180, which isn't much change, and certainly not 1000 words a day, but some is more than nothing, I guess.

Word of note, everything will get delayed a day, as I don't think we'll be back until late on Sunday.

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing and I'll see you back here next week, but on Monday.

A Week in Writing #552 - Podcast Fun

Hope everyone is staying safe, and, of course, writing.

As a reader of this blog, you are no doubt aware that we, Powers Squared, do a weekly podcast, On the Air with Powers Squared. This past week, Friday and Saturday, we recorded three. The first was a preview for Trevor's book The Blade of Miracles Issue #1 that we shot that afternoon. That one didn't go through our usual, twitch.tv/powerssquared, but directly to Podbean, et al on Sunday, which you can listen to now here, and the video will go up on Wednesday, March 19th at 2:31 pm, here. That's OAPS #288.

The reason it's one minute later, is that we also went live on Friday at 6 pm with creator and artist Don Nguyen. Since we're tabling at Wonder Con this year, we invited Don on to give us some advice about the show. You can also listen to that here, or you can wait until that video goes up on Wednesday, March 19th at 2:30 pm here. That's OAPS #287.

And, if that wasn't enough, we recorded a third OAPS on Saturday afternoon with Julia and Jen to discuss the next issue of Powers Squared, "Gashadokuro". It was the first book Julia had drawn and the first Jen had colored. Due to their work schedules, Saturdays are the only days they are both available. That OAPS #289 comes out next Friday on twitch.tv/powerssquared. 

We did get some new sketch pages from our artist this week, so happy to report we're making some progress on issue #28.

Okay, here's the plug for Wonder Con. If you're going, please stop by and say hi. We'll be in Small Press, SP-05. To make it easier to find us, see map below:

My review of Conclave went up as the Saturday Morning Review on Trophy Unlocked. I'm also working on two more, one for Waitress, which we watched on Friday, Pi(e) Day. If you've seen the movie, you'll get it. On Saturday night, we watched Merrily We Go To Hell (1932), a Pre-code drama directed by Dorothy Arzner, which I'm also reviewing.

To round out the week, I am continuing to work on Blackmail, and am now up to 14,605 words.

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing, and I'll see you next week.

A Week in Writing #551 - Everyone's Favorite Time of The Year

Hope everyone is staying safe, and of course, writing.

I'm being sarcastic about Daylight Savings Time being everyone's favorite time of the year. While I enjoy the sunlight lasting longer into the night, I do know that it plays havoc for a couple of days. I know it does with me. What I'm trying to say in a round-a-bout way is that to expect a little less from me this week as I adjust.

The weekend didn't get off to the greatest of starts. Sometimes the podcasts don't go as you expect. Our guest this past Friday was late to the show and I felt was really only using us as an infomercial for his books and dropped out when he was done, but before the show was over. Most guests hang around for a little post-podcast conversation, but not him. I guess after 286, you're allowed a clunker or two. If you want to hear the show, you can do so here; or you can wait for the video to go up on Wednesday at 2:30 PDT here. There is also an unedited version still up on twitch.tv/powerssquared, but you gotta hurry since it goes down in a few days.

We're getting close to releasing a new issue of Powers Squared, "Gashadokuro," so I've been updating the website to accomodate. I also need to write a press release since we're being so active in March with two releases and WonderCon at the end of the month. "Gashadokuro" was written by Trevor, who also created The Blade of Miracles, which is also debuting this month.

Recently, I complained here about the return of some books that had been on the shelf at a bookstore. Even though I had been asking for their return in mid-January, to ensure they were back in time for WonderCon, it wasn't until near the end of February before they were sent and the sender expected them to take a month to six weeks to get to me, which hmm, might be after I needed them. A good news update, they arrived early and so, we're set.

Speaking of WonderCon, and we're going to talk a lot about it this month and a little of next, should you be going, here is where we'll be:

If you are going, please come by and say hello.

On the writing front, I've been working on Blackmail, and I'm up to over 12,000 words. It's not a 1000 words a day, but I'm actually working on it.

My review of Elektra was the Saturday Morning Review on Trophy Unlocked  this week. We were trying to tie-in with the new Daredevil series with our last two Saturday mornings. The Wednesday, Game Day, review was Paul's review of Sonic Colors: Ultimate. I also finished a review of Caveman (1981), which should go up someday.

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing and I'll see you back here next week.

A Week in Writing #550 - Busy March Ahead

Hope everyone is staying safe, and, of course, writing.

I think this is going to be a busy month for me and for Powers Squared. Not only is the 24th issue of the comic book coming out on March 26th, but we're also introducing Trevor's own comic book, The Blade of Miracles, which drops a week earlier on the 19th. And, if that wasn't enough, we're tabling at WonderCon on the 28 through 30th. Come look for us in Small Press, SP-5. This one of those moments when it seems like it could easily get overwhelming, even if that was the only thing going on.

We should be pretty well set for WonderCon. The only thing missing are the trades that I had sent to the bookstore in Hawaii. Since they didn't sell, I thought it would be cheaper to have them returned than to order new ones. I hope that strategy pays off. I first contacted the bookstore about it in mid-January about returning them for WonderCon, and after multiple follow ups, they finally sent them back on Friday the 28th, and then sent them via Media Mail, thinking it would take 4 to 6 weeks to get to me. The timing of that really sucks, but according to Informed Delivery, I should receive them by March 17. Still, I'm not sure why it took so long to get them in the mail and why you'd send them on a timetable that would mean I wouldn't get them until after the event I needed them for?

A lot of work came through for Powers Squared, with both Trevor and Jen finishing 8 pages, well 7 in the latter's case. So, we're about four to five pages away on two issues. We also got in some new artwork from Rachel Wells for the trade we're hoping to put out this year. So more to come on that front as well.

We had Australian comic book creator Lucas Scheffel on our podcast for the 10th time. This time he was on the show to promote his coming Kickstarter for Ned Kelly: The 5 Revolvers #1 | Graphic Novel (which you can find by clicking on the link). You can listen to the podcast now here or watch it on our YouTube channel on Wednesday after 2:30 pm, here. And don't forget you can tune in and watch it LIVE every Friday at 6pm at twitch.tv/powerssquared.

This was also newsletter day today. Did you get your copy of The Hound Dogs' Howl? If you didn't, please sign up here.

My review of Anora, went up this afternoon, ahead of the Oscars. Paul's review of Daredevil (+ Director's Cut) was Trophy Unlocked's Saturday Morning Review. We also watched Conclave last night, but that review won't go up until some time after Awards season is over.

Did some work this week on Blackmail including a thousand+ word sit down on Friday afternoon. I'm about 9200 words in and it's more a mater of time than things to write.

So this week, have to make sure all the books are uploaded for publication and write a news release about all that's going to happen this month.

I hear you, what no querying? No, sorry that's something that I didn't get to this week. I may not get to it until April at the earliest, given all that needs to get done this month.

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing and I'll see you back here next week.

A Week in Writing #549 - Worrying About WonderCon

Hope everyone is staying safe, and, of course, writing.

I'm wondering if I should be getting nervous about WonderCon. We're about a month away and not everything is pulled together. I've ordered additional copies, on the hopes that we'll sell well at the con, but I'm also waiting for some things to arrive, or be sent for that matter.

After L.A. Comic Con, I sent five copies of our first trade to a bookstore in Hawaii. Well, in the middle of January, I wrote to see if I could get them back. Here were are nearing the end of February and I haven't gotten any indications that they've been sent, despite my asking for that. I'm pretty sure we should get them in a week, but they have to send them back, and yes, I have to pay for that shipping, but it would be less than ordering new ones.

I've also ordered some business cards specific to The Blade of Miracles, Trevor's book, that we should also be selling at WonderCon. TBOM will be the first non-Powers Squared title on the SRCC Press label. We're planning to put it out on March 19, so stayed tuned.

I've also revamped the website,  https://powerssquaredcomicbook.com/ to include TBOM  and make it more visible, but bunching up the Powers Squared issues to match the trades we've put out or are planning to put out; Issues 1-5, 6-9, 10-14, 15-18, and 19-23. I'll be adding a new page for 24, probably next week, since we're planning to put that one out, the week after TBOM and two days before WonderCon on March 26.

Speaking of Powers Squared, we had our February Team Meeting on Friday with Julia attending. You can listen to our brief update here or watch it on our YouTube channel here after 2:30 pm PST on Wednesday. If you do watch it, I hope you'll also like and subscribe.

Our artist was unavailable when we do the podcast, so I'm hoping we can find a day and time that she might be able to appear, and yes, we do pre-tape on ocassion. Of course, we haven't heard much from her lately, as her work schedule runs into the night.

One more note about Powers Squared, since the month is almost over, I need to write the newsletter for publication next Sunday. You can, if you're interested, sign up for the newsletter, here. It contains some of the information I write about here, but is still different content. Hope you do.

Because of all the hype we've been hearing about it, we watch Anora last night. We're planning to put the review up next Sunday morning. The review I wrote last week, The Locket (1946), went up as the Saturday Morning Review on Trophy Unlocked, mostly because of the tale I mentioned in last week's blog. The Wednesday Game Day review was Paul's for Sonic Superstars (PS5).

No querying this week, I still want to make one more pass on the list, putting email queries above Query Manager submissions. I guess I'm a little nervous about what I'll have to have for those.

Did some work on Blackmail this week. I'm up to 6345 words so far. My protagonist finds out a secret about his wife and her ex-husband and has to work for her ex- in order to get the evidence back.

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing and I'll see you back here next week.

A Week in Writing #548 - Valentine's Day Special

Hope everyone is staying safe, and, of course, writing.

Seeing as Friday was Valentine's Day, hope you had a happy one, this week's On the Air with Powers Squared was titled "Powers Squared Valentine's Day Special". The podcast was dedicated to a look at relationships and romances in the comic book, of which there are several. If you want to find out more, you can listen to here, watch it on twitch.tv for the next week, or wait and watch it on our YouTube channel (@powerssquared) when it premieres on Wedneday at 2:30 pm.

Big week with Powers Squared, as we recieved and reviewed pages from our artist, from our colorist and from our former artist, who is doing a cover for an upcoming trade we're planning. It was good to receive pages, a lot of good work, but hopefully our feedback was helpful.

I finished my query list this week. After looking at agency websites, here's my current breakdown, which is subject to change as I actually start: 2 are green, meaning they seem like good ones to query first, 85 are next up, meaning they are open to queries and they seem to represent mysteries, 66 are ones I would query if it gets to that point. They were listed on Query Tracker as taking mysteries, but their website either doesn't specify genres or they're not taking queries at the moment. That left 75 which either didn't specify mysteries, or want a cozy mystery, or want something for a different age range. So, basically, I have 153 possible queries to send. I hope it doesn't take that many to find representation. Well, that's fodder for another day.

It's been Paddington week on Trophy Unlocked, with two reviews from Trevor, Paddington 2 was the Saturday Morning Review, and we put up his review of Paddington in Peru which went up this morning. I'm currently working on a review of The Locket (1946). Funny story about that. We try (and fail) to clean out our DVR. When we watched this one, last night, it turns out we recorded it in 2015 during TCM's last Summer of Darkness. Nice to know a ten-year-old recording still plays.

As far as Blackmail goes, I did do some work on it, but it was more editing of what I've already written. I need to do more.

Well, that about does it for me. Keep writing and I'll see you back here next week.