London Film and Comic Con 2010

I'd like to announce that I'll be attending London Film and Comic Con this weekend with my very first small press table. I'll have Fera merchandise on sale as well as some sketches and prints for those interested and if you really want you can even commission me to produce some artwork personally for you.

I'm hoping to have the first issue of Fera on sale too, sadly we're currently having issues with the printers so fingers crossed this will be sorted in time for the show- otherwise you're always welcome to preorder an issue or add yourself to our newsletter so that you can stay up to date with whats happening.

London Film and Comic Con is an annual event hosted at Earls Court, London- this years guests include Henry Davies, Robert Rankin, Naniiebim , Nikki Hunter and Ian D Sharman as well as stars from the big/small screens i.e. William Shatner, Dave Prowse, Sean Young, Lenora Crichlow, Katee Sackhoff, David Nykl, Wendee Lee and William B Davis.

If you want more info go and check out their site- http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com/ and tickets should be on sale at the door on the day.

I look forward to seeing you guys there, and lets hope it'll be a fun show :)

The FERAN call to WAR! 2010

Last year we watched on with amusement at the antics of these pathetic mice as they fought their futile battles. We saw them flex their muscles. We watched as they obliterated one another with minor spells for our amusement. As they clashed poorly-tempered steel in a desperate attempt to show which of them was the greatest.

We are of course referring to the Webcomic WAR! of 2009. Alas it returns. And this year they have called out for every Evil Genius the land of WEB has to offer... and so, the mighty Feran warlords of the Marucci line deign to come forth and battle these creatures who dare challenge us.

So it is time, to call our fellow FERANs to battle. We must rally our minions, construct the ultimate in battle automotons, forge the finest weapons and build the greatest defenses. It is time, my friends- for FERA to take its place as the greatest webcomic in this battle of wits, might and courage.

And what can you do to help make this happen? Our loyal followers, that is quite simple. In order to best our nemesis Amuletts of Epic Fail and the hordes of other webcomic would-be-victors in this glorious battle- we first require resources to construct our arsenal.

This is where you come in.

Core Overload In 1... 2...

So much to do, and so little time...my mind is unravelling, like a tapestry attacked by angry kittens.

There's been a lot going on lately and there's still so much left to come.

For those who are wondering- the Comic Creator's Alliance managed to raise an amazing $10,000 thanks to every ones efforts- an amazing achievement for many reasons. That cash will go towards two very worthwhile organisations to help victims of human trafficking.

There are some major pieces of news regarding Fera specifically. Firstly we are nearing the end of chapter one, and in a couple of pages time our would-be heroes will begin their journey out into the big, bad world. To mark the occasion, once the final page is posted on the site I'll begin the process of preparing the first chapter for print- it will form issue #1 of the comic and I plan to have it on sale both digitally and in print as soon as possible- and certainly in plenty of time for the convention we're attending in July.

As a result of this, and a number of other contributing factors- once the final page of chapter one is posted we're going to be hosting a guest art showcase. This is to give me time to prepare things for print, make preparations for chapter two of Fera and to move house.

During the guest art showcase instead of the usual comic updates we'll be updating with guest comics and fan art created by you the readers, and generally by fans of Fera. We've already received a couple of great submissions and I'm really looking forward to sharing them with you. If you want to join in on the action and create some fan art for Fera or indeed a guest page/comic you're more than welcome to. If you have any questions about submitting artwork or want to send me your images please contact me via email at: t_iii(at)angelk.at

The current deadline for submissions for the showcase will be quite fluid for now, but in general on or before 22nd February would be ideal.

In other news... Fera now has a fanpage on Facebook and a Fan-Club-Group-Thingie on deviantArt. If you're a fan of the comic come and join us, discuss the comic and any thing else for that matter. There are currently plans for contests that will appear only for fans on either or both of those pages so make sure you're amongst them.

We've also recently been added to a new up and coming webcomic ranking-list (Comic Hovel)... and as of the moment I type this we are neck and neck for rank #2 - with your vote we could get to #1... if you'd like to vote for us please follow this elegantly crafted link.

I think I've rambled enough for now- I may be back later to ramble some more... for now- pancakes!

- T III (angelKat Entertainment)

Comic Creator's Alliance 2010

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

-Margaret Mead

Fera is currently participating in a charity event formed by Lora Innes of The Dreamer. The event is called the “Comic Creator’s Alliance” and includes many well known names from the webcomic community. The event is to help raise money and awareness for a very important cause- that of Human Trafficking. There are many people affected by this- more than we’d like to think and as such there are charities that desperately need your help to make a difference to those lives.

On a personal note, I’m both proud and humbled to be able to participate in this event and might I point out that Lora has managed to do a fantastic job of getting an amazing 85 artists involved in this project. Considering her original goal was perhaps to get 50 artists interested, this is a massive achievement (and of course actually getting those artists to produce the artwork is a collossal task in itself).

Now, where was I… oh yes- these artists all provided artwork featuring female characters from their comics (including Fera) which has now been combined into one epic wallpaper with all of your favourite characters. This wallpaper will be released as a thankyou to all of those who donate on the Comic Creator’s Alliance charity donation drive with funds going to two organizations working on rehabilitation of victims and prevention of this terrible crime.

I’d like to finish this blog with a message from Lora herself, describing the project and giving you all links to see it for yourself:

Monday, January 11th is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. To participate, we formed the Comic Creator’s Alliance–a group of over eighty comic book creators (both web and print) who volunteered our artistic talents to raise money and awareness for this cause. You may not know it, but there are currently 27 million enslaved people worldwide- more than double the number of enslaved Africans during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children every year are sold into slavery, most of it sexual. The US Department of Justice estimates 16,000 victims of human trafficking are brought into the United States every year. Unlike slavery in the 19th century, what is happening today is happening in secret. So it won’t end until awareness is raised, and people like you and me take a stand.

So here’s what we did: each creator contributed an original drawing of one of our own female characters, and combined them into a single wallpaper image. The wallpaper features characters from The Phoenix Requiem, Girls with Slingshots, Earthsong, Looking for Group, Shadowgirls, Marsh Rocket, The Uniques and three IDW Publishing titles: Fallen Angel, The Dreamland ChroniclesThe Dreamer, and lots, lots more! Donate today to download this unique, once-in-a-lifetime wallpaper. The Donations Drive will last for two weeks, from January 11th – 24th. All proceeds will be split evenly between Love146 and Gracehaven House- two organizations working on rehabilitation of victims and prevention of this crime. and

To learn more about the Comic Creator’s Alliance visit www.comicalliance.weebly.com. To learn more about the problem, visit http://love146.org/slavery. (Note: contains adult themes and actual accounts of sex slavery.)

- T III (angelKat Entertainment)

Happy New Year- Conventions and Alliances...

When the moons kiss the mountain peaks,

The glaciers bathed in red and green,

And felines feast and dance and preen-

So a new year begins.

- Ancient text describing the Feran new year custom
(Unknown era)

Firstly- happy new year to everyone, I wish you all the best in 2010. Its the start of a new decade- and seriously... "Where are our flying cars?"

This year holds many exciting things for Fera- for myself and fans alike. The cast will be setting out into the wider world(s) to discover the truth- whilst one character will begin documenting her arrival on Mu (before we even catch a glimpse of her in the comic), thanks to the wonder of twitter and the characters journal. We should have this set up by the end of the month so be on the look out for updates here.

Kato has set up her own twitter feed as well- she'll be answering fan questions and generally posting her thoughts over the coming year. So if you have a twitter account go and follow her: @kato_marucci

There is going to be a lot of things to do this year, the site will likely get a full overhaul at some point- there'll be new content, dowloadable wallpapers and avatars for, plenty of artwork for you to enjoy and soon there will even be a Fera shop cropping up on the site.

Speaking of which, the "official" debut of Fera merchandise will be on 17th July 2010 at Londons' Earl's Court 2 Exhibition Centre... why? Because we have a table booked in the SmallPress Artist Alley for the weekend at London Film and Comic Con. It should be great fun and since its our first convention we want to do some thing special.

July may seem like a long way off but we've decided not to kid ourselves- there is a great deal of planning and preparation to come over the next few months to make sure that it all goes well. We may very well post updates as the event gets closer so be on the look out for any promotions, contests and goodies.

In the mean time- did you know that we have a fanpage on facebook? Do you want to keep up with the latest Fera updates? Well here's the place to do it: FERA on Facebook add yourself there as a fan, and spread the word where you can. And of course don't forget you can bother @T_III on twitter any time.

With so much to do this year, and so little time- soon the first chapter of Fera will come to a close and we'll see the cast begin their long trek into the wilderness- we'll meet new friends, discover old enemies and maybe, just maybe see a little romance.

On to a more serious note- I'm always willing to help out with a good cause when ever I can. Last years charity art auction for The Point Foundation was a resounding success and I'm incredibly glad and honoured to have been asked to participate (even though Fera was still quite young at the time).

As 2010 begins myself and several other webcomic artists, led by Lora Innes, are participating in a project called "The Comic Creator's Alliance" the plan is to create a wallpaper with images of female characters from a wide variety of webcomics in order to promote "National Human Trafficking Awareness Day" on 11th January. With the combined fans of the comics involved it's hoped that we'll be able to raise not only awareness but donations that will go to deserving charities involved in rescuing victims of Human Trafficking and the after care involved in such work.

Fera is in good company as artists such as Lar De Souza, Danielle Corsetto, Alan Evans, Rose Loughran, Peter Vine, Taversia, Jessica Cantlope, Scott Austin, Pam Harrison, Byron Wilkins, Dave Reynolds & David A. Rodriguez, J. Gray & Keith Wood, Barry Link, Emy Bitner... all in all there are currently 84 participants (the original goal was only to have 50).

For more details about the project go to the main website by clicking this link and check out some of the amazing artwork that has been submitted.

Well, I think I've lumbered you guys with enough information and links for one century- so go and enjoy your weekend, and remember to vote for Fera- every bit helps whether its a mouse click or telling some one about us. Let's hope that this year will be a prosperous one and we all enjoy the ride.

Until next time...

- T III (angelKat Entertainment)

October- Where for art thou?

DON'T PANIC.

- Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

So it seems that I've been away for a while. Sorry about that.

Personally I find it frustrating when partway through a story you suddenly get sidetracked. Sadly life has a way of throwing every thing at us at once. Originally I postponed the next comic update due to being quite ill with swine flu, which took some time to overcome but I'm not feeling much, much better. Thank you to those who offered kind words and it was nice to see a few fans of the comic coming out of the shadows.

I realise there are many of you who read Fera and, I would hope, have been enjoying the story so far. To lay any concerns that fans may have to rest- Fera will return next weekend with a new update. The current chapter will be coming to an end soon, and our would-be heroes will embark on the first leg of their journey as we move into the new year.

Now on to the reasons for my absence. As I've mentioned life does seem to throw an awful lot at us, and every now and then everything seems to happen at once. Since the start of October I've:

1) Had a little over a week of feeling very ill with swine flu- the fever was a joy in itself.
2) Ended up being summoned for a fortnight of jury duty, which was the single dullest and pointless experience in my life- which wasted a full fortnight of my life on a case that lacked any evidence, any witnesses and any common sense... it also involved a banana.
3) Work has been a nightmare, partly because they neglected to pay me for the last month or so due to a paper work error on their part.

I've spent most of the last month ill or stressed out, and with work currently meaning I'm out of the house for a minimum of 12 hours per day, 5 days per week- it was all really getting to me.

Thankfully now, this has mostly been sorted out, and things should start to return to normal- it has highlighted the fact that once I am back on top of everything Fera related I do need to get a real buffer up and running so that things like this are less likely to happen- and so that I can occasionally take a break from work and Fera in order to spend time with my loved ones.

Currently though the main thing I'm concerned about it my fiancee, Donna. She recently started having seizures after being struck by one of the service users that she works with as a support worker. Whether that event caused it or its merely something that was already there that is responding to the increase in her stress levels at work is unclear as yet but as you can imagine she is quite scared. Last week the doctors ruled out a number of possible causes after a series of blood tests, the likeliest possibility is now considered to be epilepsy though to be sure the doctor has referred her to a neurologist. As you can imagine we're now waiting for details on an appointment and Donna is worrying her head off about what it may or may not be. I'm just as worried as she is, though I'm hoping that she can't see it since I'm trying my best to reassure her- the two of us panicking isn't going to help anyone.

So for now- I'll see you guys next weekend with another installment of Fera and hopefully with less doom and gloom.

T III (angelKat Entertainment)

Ch-ch-changes...

First of all, very very sorry for the cliched title… I just couldn’t help myself.

As some of you may already have noticed I’ve been doing some cleaning with the website- generally altering and updating things. We have a new design which will continue to be improved and added to as time goes on, and we’ve upgraded to using WordPress Multi-User thanks to our friend Frumph. And don’t forget the sexy new advertisement slots available on the site- reasonably priced and via Project Wonderful so if you’re wanting to advertise your own comic, personal site or anything else feel free to place a bid.

I’ve began to transfer the Fera-news blog over onto the main Fera site rather than have it on blogspot. The blog will still appear on blogspot but I’d feel a lot better having all of the Fera content housed under “one roof” as it were.

As such, I’ll soon be moving the Ask Kato feature across onto the main site- I’m currently plotting to set it up as a sketchy strip based comic to run alongside Fera… and theres even more content planned for a new character addition shortly. The latter I’m going to keep as a suprise for now so keep your eyes peeled.

Fera is now nearing the end of the first chapter, we’ve been introduced to our initial trio and soon their real adventure/quest will begin.

There has been a recent update missed and I should probably tell you guys why. Well, firstly I’ve gotten myself a job and in the run up to my first week there were ton’s of things to sort out so I’ve been running around like crazy making sure that every thing is in its proper place.

I’m hoping that the new job won’t impact too much on the comic and related things, I’m also in the process of applying for a Small Press table at London Film and Comic Con 2010- once it’s sorted out… and I start panicking about having to learn to drive and produce merchandise etc. by then I’ll let you guys know whats happening.

Along with the comic and everything else I’m also working on a top secret comic jam project with the WebComic Planet Collective- we’ll be releasing more information as we get closer to the launch. To entice you just a little bit, we have talents from a wide variety of comics working on this project, including the writers behind Fera, Myteries of the Arcana and 1977 as well as the artistic stylings and talent of Fera, Lovefeast, 1977, Epic Fail, Capes n Babes, Drunken Fools, Clan of the Cats and many more.

We’re planning to have the project run for a year after launch, depending on its success we’ll be looking into extending it in the form of “seasons”. I’d love to tell you guys more, we’ve been discussing and planning this for a while and I’m really excited to see it starting to come together.

With my previous mention of London Film and Comic Con next year- are there any conventions that you, our readers, would like to see Fera represented at? Which conventions will you be attending in 2010? For the most part I doubt that it would be possible for me to attend conventions outside of the UK- sorry to our international fans but I just can’t afford to travel that far at present.

As for now, things should settle back down this week and you never know- by next week we may even see the launch of the Ask Kato feature in comic form.

As always I’d like to point out that we now have a Fera Facebook Fanpage and you can follow my inane ramblings on twitter. Other than that don’t forget to vote for Fera as often as you can at TopWebcomics and tell everyone you know about the comic- all publicity helps.

If you’re using RSS please remember to update the URL that you are using, as the recent site revamp means that it has now changed slightly, thank you.

And before I forget- don’t be shy, say hello, comment on the comics or even send us some fan art- it’s all appreciated.

Now… onto my review for this week…

Union of Heroes by Arne Schulenberg

I’m not normally a fan of photocomic’s but Union of Heroes is certainly far from normal. Set in an alternate version of Germany where a world is under threat after the disappearance of one of their most prominent Super Heroes we see his average-joe counterpart pulled from our dimension and stuck slap bang in the middle of a strange world, gifted with strange powers and expected to live up to “his” name.

Not only is Union of Heroes beautifully photographed but it shows the dedication of not only the writer and photographer but the fantastic actors and actresses that make up the cast.

So far in the story we have seen fantastic abilities such as Marc, our heroes, ability to absorb metal and using it to modify his body with makeshift weapons etc. to the some what sad curse of Lynn, the eternal victim- doomed to die in the place of innocents for all eternity. The two make an odd duo but as the ominous “One Who Knows” throws these two together we can be sure that there is some purpose behind it. So far Marc and his new friends have began training to shape him into the hero that Germany, and the world, needs- whilst his nemesis plots his downfall from the shadows.

The story is already gripping, and leaves you wanting more- I personally want to learn more about the side characters, the hole that Marc’s hero counterpart left in the world and much much more. A comic or any medium that leaves the viewer/reader asking questions and empathising with the characters is a success by any standards and UoH has these things in abundance.

One thing that always amazed me is the level of accuracy and care in setting up the scenes- the actors genuinely acting out daring fight sequences and much more. I’m sure Arne is very proud of his team and I honestly don’t blame him- they are a dedicated bunch and as a whole they produce not only one of the best photocomics out there, but one of my favourite webcomics that always brings me back.

There is so much to cover in talking about Union of Heroes and the best advice I can give is to go and read it yourself- its fantastic and certainly worth the time it takes to read through the archives. And for those of you who speak German- Union of Heroes is published in both German and English so what are you waiting for- go! get!

T III (angelKat Entertainment)