Busy As a Beaver...wait, are beavers really busy? All they do is build dams. I mean, what's up with that? I'm WAY busier than a beaver...lazy bums.

ANYWAY.

The initial run of A Very Test-Tube Christmas has made it's way to Rock Bottom Comic books and the mailboxes of lucky individuals all over the US. I'm really excited about the way it turned out, and had a lot of fun getting people to submit some excellent work for it. It's only a dollar, so it's definately a lot of bang for your buck.

"But Scotty Z, how can poor little me get a copy?"

Glad you asked. I just updated the Test-Tube ordering page. You can check it out at http://testtubecomics.com/ordering.html and read all about how you can get your hands not only on a copy of the Christmas Special but all the regular issues you may have missed as well!

"That's SOOOOO cool, Scotty Z. I wanna have your baby!"

Uh, it's not THAT cool...

"It's cooler and harder than my nipples in the Arctic!"

Um, really, that's kind of wierd. Especially since I'm basically talking to myself. Um...anyway...uh...

I'll be sure to post some preview stuff from the Special later when I get a chance to breathe, including an unused piece from one of my favorite Canucks, Michael Wheeler.


In other news...

My mom had sent me an email saying that she wasn't too thrilled about the cussing at the end of my 24 Hour Comic Book. While I'm certainly not actively pursuing to put as much vulgarity in my work as possible in order to make it appear more mature, I tried to explain to her that sometimes, I'm going to have to use curse words in order to make things more realistic. My next book, Least Likely to Succeed (just like this blog *shock*), is about high school, and in high school (at least mine, and I'm sure it's not the exception), we cursed A LOT. I asked that she reads my work, not as her son but as a writer. She hasn't responded yet, so I don't know if that means I made a good point or not.

But seriously, does Quinten Tarantino get that type of grief from HIS mom?

...I like that line.

So much that it's the 50th time I've used it.

Oh yeah, I'm a writer.

Because I'd be worried if I'm something else.

I'm just dragging this whole entry out to an unnecessary level, aren't I?

Sorry.

I'll stop.

No, really!

Right now.


Okay, one more thing, though. Scott Morse is a stud. I received a package of limited edition mini comics he did plus bought Magic Pickle from one of the neatest comic shops I'd ever seen, Starclipper off Delmar in St. Louis. His stuff is AMAZING, and if you've never checked it out before, I suggest you do.

There, I'm done!

No, really. This is it.

Starting to get the hang of this...

It only took, what, 200 tries for me to get those pages from my 24 Hour comic up?

Sheesh.

I saw Garden State at the Rag Tag Theater last night. Definately the best movie I've seen this year, though Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a very close second. Seeing this movie (as well as re-watching Wes Anderson's "Royal Tennenbaums" and "Rushmore") has inspired me to make my next next book a romantic comedy. I think it would be a challenge to write a romantic comic book while trying to avoid making it a romance comic book. It'll be a nice balance to Least Likely To Succeed, which is looking to be a bit darker than my previous work.

Speaking of which, I was rummaging through some old sketches I did back in high school and came across something I had written at the time...I can only assume I was a sophmore or freshman at the time. Anyway, to paraphrase, it said something along the lines of "I hate everybody I hate school blah blah blah". Jesus. Was I really that whiney and self-centered in high school? I know at the time I accussed others of being full of themselves, but man, looking at that really made me look like a hypocrite. I'm thinking of using it at the opening of "Least Likely...". I think it'll really set the tone of the entire book, which is basically teenage angst misdirected at nothing at all. I'm really looking forward to working on it right after the Test-Tube Chirstmas Special, which, by the way, has a flyer going around Columbia MO that looks like this:



See? Told you I'm getting the hang of this...;)

-Scott Z.

As I was saying...

The 24 Hour Comic event with the Comic Creators Network (www.comixclub.com) was a real blast. Everyone I met there was super cool and a lot of fun to work with. It got kind of goofy as the night wore on, and I think that was reflected in a lot of the work being done (at least I know it was in mine, at the very least). The owner of the shop was super cool for not only hosting the event but for providing refreshments as well. If you're ever in western Missouri, stop by Pulp Fiction in Lee's Summit...it's a great shop.

Anyway, I thought I had more, but I'm still kind of beat from the weekend. It's not like anyone's actually reading this thing anyway...

24 Hours of Non-Stop Comic Booking, and all I got was this lousy shirt.

Actual, that's not true. I didn't even get a shirt. ;)

Just joking. I had a blast and will go into more details later. In the meantime, check out the end results right here:

















































Be sure to let me know what you think! Thanks!

-Scott Ziolko

Have I Plateaued?

I stopped by my favorite comic book shop, Rock Bottom Comics, today. In addition to picking up whatever I am able to afford, I like to check to see how my comic book is doing. So I went ahead and checked: 9 copies. It's been 9 copies for a while. The owner mentioned that it'll probably pick up again when more new students come to town.

What bugs me is that the majority of the issues that I sold are issue #1. The numbers dwindle after that. I know this is typical of most comic books...people are more likely to take a chance with the first issue and if they don't like what they see, they don't pick up the next. What frustrates me is that I honestly believe both my story and my art improves with each issue. I look at that first issue sometimes and cringe. Not that I'm not proud of it...far from the case! It's just now I'm painfully aware of how much better I've become and I can't help but wonder that if I would have exerted the amount of creative energy...if I had been as good then as I feel I am now, would more people remain interested? Or are people simply not aware that the story is complete and available at Rock Bottom? Then it's just a matter of me getting back into my self-promoting groove and make this general knowledge for the public. I'm hoping the Christams Special will help do this a little.

Maybe I'm just being a little delusional in thinking that the first book is good enough to get people to buy the rest of the series...that the characters of 3D and Lewis are enough to get people to want to find out what happens to them in the end. If this is the case, I'd love to know why this is so! Exactly why have those people decided to abandon the series with issue 1?


Anyway, in the process of adding this blog to my website, I inadvertively (sp?) deleted the cool press I received for Test-Tube. Here they are (because I know people love to read about me...or is that just me?)

The Columbia Tribune

The Columbia Missourian

Vox Magazine

And for those of you who do not live in Columbia, MO, you can still order my mini-comics from me online by emailing me at testtubecomics@yahoo.com with the title "Order". I'll be more than happy to give you an cheap estimate on how much it'll cost for me to send you my work...cheaper than a movie, I can already tell you! ;)

Hopefully this works...

In an effort to more regularly update my website, I have acted upon the recommendation of several of my peers and have created this blog. Hopefully this will not only make updates more frequent but a lot easier for me so that I can devote more time to the comic book and not have to worry about this website gathering dust!

Quick update: "Test-Tube" 1-4 is currently at both Rock Bottom Comics and Whizz Records in downtown Columbia, Mo. The Test-Tube Christmas Special, featuring stories and art by other up-and-coming creators such as myself, will be out at the end of October. I'm still aiming for my next project, "Least Likely To Succeed," to come out at the end of December. I'll keep you all posted!