Saturday, July 09, 2005
Omaha Lives!
Okay, many of you have already seen the NBM fall catalog, so you know that Omaha the Cat Dancer™ has been signed with NBM Publications, and will be reprinted in its entirety starting with Volume 1 in October, and a new volume released quarterly after that.
Jim Vance and I have agreed to produce 120 pages of new material finishing the story from Kate's outline. This new material will first be published in 15-page installments in NBM's Sizzle, a Euro-centered adults-only comics magazine, starting with issue #28 this November. Omaha will be on the cover.
Once the story is wrapped up in Sizzle, NBM will collect the new episodes into a final volume, and the entire series will be available in a uniform edition.
I want to thank all the members of the "Cat-Dancing-With-OMAHA™" Yahoo group, for their unwavering support during the 2+ years of painful negotiations, the tragedy of Kate's death, my slow attempts to regain my drawing skills after 10 years of retirement, and Jim's and my determination to keep the story alive. Thank you, one and all.
Jim Vance and I have agreed to produce 120 pages of new material finishing the story from Kate's outline. This new material will first be published in 15-page installments in NBM's Sizzle, a Euro-centered adults-only comics magazine, starting with issue #28 this November. Omaha will be on the cover.
Once the story is wrapped up in Sizzle, NBM will collect the new episodes into a final volume, and the entire series will be available in a uniform edition.
I want to thank all the members of the "Cat-Dancing-With-OMAHA™" Yahoo group, for their unwavering support during the 2+ years of painful negotiations, the tragedy of Kate's death, my slow attempts to regain my drawing skills after 10 years of retirement, and Jim's and my determination to keep the story alive. Thank you, one and all.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Okay, Let's Try This Again
In December, after waiting for nearly two years, I finally gave agent Denis Kitchen the word to tell Les Humanoides to either come through or not. They didn't. There will be no publication deal with them. After backpedaling considerably in Deceember, they finally simply failed to come up with acceptable terms, and we had to cancel the negotiations.
Jim and I asked Denis to hunt for an alternative publisher for the Omaha project, since we were now committed to finish the work out of loyalty to Kate. Denis promptly found us another prospect, less lucrative but at least geniune, and negotiations began with them. This process was delayed by, among other things, the passing of comics great Will Eisner, whom Denis represented.
A proposal is currently being worked on that would provide a full reprint series of the Omaha material and, of course, the new material to be created by Jim and me. The good news is, we are probably going to be allotted more pages than LesH was going to give us, so it will be possible to finish off the story the way Kate wanted to, without having to cut secondary characters from the denouement. (It is likely that, if the original deal had gone through, CeeCee, the band, and others may have simply faded from the story due to length.)
On April 24, I was a guest at the MCBA spring comicon at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, the same people who put on the fall show I went to last year. My former assistant Diana Green (now a graphic arts/media instructor in the Twin Cities) escorted me there and we made the appearance with mixed feelings. Last fall, appearing at the con was enjoyable, because I had friends I hadn't seen for years, and news for them, good (about the Omaha deal) and sad (about Kate). However, six months later, with really no progress and no change, it was kind of a hollow feeling to make an appearance among working artists and writers for a long-dead title that *may* soon reappear. Some fans were there despite the lack of advance warning, and were supportive as always, but I don't think I'm going to make another convention appearance until I have something to report, or better yet, until I am actually drawing a live comic again. I hope that will be soon.
Jim and I asked Denis to hunt for an alternative publisher for the Omaha project, since we were now committed to finish the work out of loyalty to Kate. Denis promptly found us another prospect, less lucrative but at least geniune, and negotiations began with them. This process was delayed by, among other things, the passing of comics great Will Eisner, whom Denis represented.
A proposal is currently being worked on that would provide a full reprint series of the Omaha material and, of course, the new material to be created by Jim and me. The good news is, we are probably going to be allotted more pages than LesH was going to give us, so it will be possible to finish off the story the way Kate wanted to, without having to cut secondary characters from the denouement. (It is likely that, if the original deal had gone through, CeeCee, the band, and others may have simply faded from the story due to length.)
On April 24, I was a guest at the MCBA spring comicon at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, the same people who put on the fall show I went to last year. My former assistant Diana Green (now a graphic arts/media instructor in the Twin Cities) escorted me there and we made the appearance with mixed feelings. Last fall, appearing at the con was enjoyable, because I had friends I hadn't seen for years, and news for them, good (about the Omaha deal) and sad (about Kate). However, six months later, with really no progress and no change, it was kind of a hollow feeling to make an appearance among working artists and writers for a long-dead title that *may* soon reappear. Some fans were there despite the lack of advance warning, and were supportive as always, but I don't think I'm going to make another convention appearance until I have something to report, or better yet, until I am actually drawing a live comic again. I hope that will be soon.
Monday, December 06, 2004
No News
As you've probably already guessed if you read this page, the "soon-to-come final word" from LesH has been neither soon to come, nor final. I'm not betraying any confidences by saying that we still don't know the score, but Jim and I have decided to begin work on the new Omaha material as our schedules permit, so that we have some actual product to show either LesH or another publisher, if it comes to that. So my studio has become a busy place. Beginning work on the new pages is currently taking a back seat, though, to my getting all my outstanding commissions done and shipped in time for the holidays.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
With brush in hand...
We are awaiting a soon-to-come final word from Les Humanoides ... will we be able to continue with them, or will we have to look somewhere else?
I went last weekend to the MCBA Fall Comicon in St. Paul. This was my first public appearance in seven years. I was a late addition to the guest list, so I expected to have some time to set up before greeting anyone, but in fact, the Omaha fans were waiting for me.
I greeted the fans as best I could, told them the story, and took brush in hand and began to draw, no computer assistance, no net, nothing but me and my precious characters and the Bristol board, and it was scary, and it was good.
I heard a lot of "It's really good to see you again," a lot of "I'm so glad you're continuing," a lot of "I have always loved Omaha..."
It was humbling, and it felt so good.
It became easier as I continued to draw throughout the weekend. But at the end, it became difficult again, as I became once again involved with what I was doing, and sometimes my heart ached terribly as I painted the familiar lines of these figures that are so much a part of my life, and Kate's, and Jim's too.
It was a wonderful little convention, and I got to talk to old friends, Chas Truog, Gordon Purcell, my beloved former apprentice Diana Green, charter Vootie member Tim Fay, Kitchen Sink compatriot Mark Schultz (briefly), Joel Thingvall, Greg Ketter and Alan Payne. I stayed Friday night with Chris Conroy and Sue Grandys, who have supported me as friends all these years.
I guess I'm back now, for better or worse.
I went last weekend to the MCBA Fall Comicon in St. Paul. This was my first public appearance in seven years. I was a late addition to the guest list, so I expected to have some time to set up before greeting anyone, but in fact, the Omaha fans were waiting for me.
I greeted the fans as best I could, told them the story, and took brush in hand and began to draw, no computer assistance, no net, nothing but me and my precious characters and the Bristol board, and it was scary, and it was good.
I heard a lot of "It's really good to see you again," a lot of "I'm so glad you're continuing," a lot of "I have always loved Omaha..."
It was humbling, and it felt so good.
It became easier as I continued to draw throughout the weekend. But at the end, it became difficult again, as I became once again involved with what I was doing, and sometimes my heart ached terribly as I painted the familiar lines of these figures that are so much a part of my life, and Kate's, and Jim's too.
It was a wonderful little convention, and I got to talk to old friends, Chas Truog, Gordon Purcell, my beloved former apprentice Diana Green, charter Vootie member Tim Fay, Kitchen Sink compatriot Mark Schultz (briefly), Joel Thingvall, Greg Ketter and Alan Payne. I stayed Friday night with Chris Conroy and Sue Grandys, who have supported me as friends all these years.
I guess I'm back now, for better or worse.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Kate Sings Again
Well, I had to do something to help bring in a few bucks to keep me and Jim afloat until LesH stop stalling and give us that contract. Jim has finished several pages of the new Omaha material, and they're great, and I'm drawing them .. but nobody has offered to pay us for them yet, so other work has to take the front seat.
Anyway, I did a digital restore job on the master tape for the 1988 picture disk album "Omaha The Cat Dancer" by The Shakers (me, Kate, Nate Bucklin, Allan Standish, +David Emerson and others). I wanted as good a version of this music as possible to listen to while I was re-learning how to draw comics the Omaha way. So I've ripped the results to .MP3 and put the disk up for download at my store, just for the fans.
Jim and I are having a bittersweet-but-pleasant time working on Omaha together. I just hope that we can finish this project in such a way as to do Kate the honor she deserves.
Anyway, I did a digital restore job on the master tape for the 1988 picture disk album "Omaha The Cat Dancer" by The Shakers (me, Kate, Nate Bucklin, Allan Standish, +David Emerson and others). I wanted as good a version of this music as possible to listen to while I was re-learning how to draw comics the Omaha way. So I've ripped the results to .MP3 and put the disk up for download at my store, just for the fans.
Jim and I are having a bittersweet-but-pleasant time working on Omaha together. I just hope that we can finish this project in such a way as to do Kate the honor she deserves.
Thursday, June 10, 2004
What can I do for Kate's family?
Flowers are not being accepted. Those wishing to donate money to the family can send via PayPal to Jim at jim1vance@aol.com .
Cards of sympathy, or whatever you might think of, can be sent to Jim at:
James Vance
323 S Yorktown
Tulsa OK, 74104
Cards of sympathy, or whatever you might think of, can be sent to Jim at:
James Vance
323 S Yorktown
Tulsa OK, 74104
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
Farewell Kate
As you may or may not have already read, Kate Worley passed away June 6, 2004. She is survived by her husband James Vance, son Jacob, and daughter Sarah, as well as two sisters, a brother and several nieces and nephews. You can read or leave condolences, talk with other Omaha fans, and find out the answers to your questions at the CAT-DANCING-WITH-OMAHA yahoo group (see button on sidebar).
I'm not ready to talk about this in depth. So instead I will talk about Omaha.
In spite of the difficulty of our separation many years ago, Kate and I gradually tried to make peace, and were finally talking comfortably, and by the time the inquiries started to come about whether Omaha could be finished, we were both excited at the prospect of picking up our unfinished business and doing more of the work that made us what we are. At this moment I have two pages written by Kate only a few weeks ago, sitting on my drawing table in the midst of being inked.
If the Omaha project contract does in fact go through in spite of Kate's passing, the writing work will be concluded by James Vance, with my assistance, from the copious notes that Kate has left in preparation for the story's completion. Jim is not only Kate's spouse, he is also probably the only other writer working in comics who has a voice anything like Kate's. It will not be easy for us to complete this highly personal work, after all the heartbreak and trouble associated with it over the years, and now this sadness. But it's something that needs to be done, now, and I hope that Les Humanoides will give us an opportunity to do so.
I'm not ready to talk about this in depth. So instead I will talk about Omaha.
In spite of the difficulty of our separation many years ago, Kate and I gradually tried to make peace, and were finally talking comfortably, and by the time the inquiries started to come about whether Omaha could be finished, we were both excited at the prospect of picking up our unfinished business and doing more of the work that made us what we are. At this moment I have two pages written by Kate only a few weeks ago, sitting on my drawing table in the midst of being inked.
If the Omaha project contract does in fact go through in spite of Kate's passing, the writing work will be concluded by James Vance, with my assistance, from the copious notes that Kate has left in preparation for the story's completion. Jim is not only Kate's spouse, he is also probably the only other writer working in comics who has a voice anything like Kate's. It will not be easy for us to complete this highly personal work, after all the heartbreak and trouble associated with it over the years, and now this sadness. But it's something that needs to be done, now, and I hope that Les Humanoides will give us an opportunity to do so.
