My short story, “Genesis, Jiggered” is now available to read for free on the Ahoy! Comics website.
You can read it by following this link:
https://comicsahoy.com/genesis-jiggered
The story originally appeared in Black’s Myth 5. If you like the story, please consider purchasing the issue at your local comics shop.
Also, check out the great illustration by Richard Williams.
My short story, “Genesis Jiggered,” a satyrical retelling of the biblical creation story, which posits the creator was drunk, will be published by Ahoy! comics in Black’s Myth, issue 5 on November 24th.
Get it at your local comics shop, or wherever comics are sold.
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Comic Book School mentioned my story in a recent episode of it’s Tuesday night YouTube show.
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And speaking of the CBS YouTube show and Ahoy!, I also interviewed Stuart Moore and Mark Russell about the process of creating their stories in the latest issue of Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Death.
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I also recently appeared on Flying Ketchup Press’ Ketchup•Pedia radio. I read two pieces on the program, a sonnet which I wrote upon finding my first grey hair, and a flash fiction story which was published in the Comic Book School Panel 1 anthology.
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My poem “snow ghosts” will be published in The Bard’s Annual 2021 from Local Gems Press on Dec 5th.
I will be reading at Bard’s Day the annual release event on Long Island. Tickets to the reading and links to buy the book can be found here.
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As a writer, I’ve long-been jealous of visual artists’ social media pages, especially during this time of year. Traditionally, Inktober is in full swing, and if like me, you follow a lot of artists, you look forward to the myriad of posts which dominate your timeline in response to various art challenges. As a writer, I wanted in on the action. I wanted a way to get more eyes on my page, and to connect with the community of visual artists with whom I might collaborate in the future.
Last year, my friend Gene Hoyle, a long time comics writer and publisher, organized a project called Pagetober, where writers and artists were supposed to collaborate on an inktober project: writers would write something for artists to draw throughout the month of October. It was a great idea, but it kind of fizzled out, and I’m not sure if any of the projects were completed.
This year, I tried again. I approached Marika Brousianou, with whom I had collaborated before, about illustrating a series of flash fiction and poetry throughout October. Thus, “Into The Darkness Peering” was born. So far, it’s working out well. We are 2/3rds of the way through the month, and so far, we have posted something every day on each of our social media. The reaction to the project has been excellent, and we are going to collect the results into a book later this year, and sell some of the individual pieces as prints as well. I have high hopes for the project, which I hope to have ready for con season next year. I like the idea of having prints at my table, which would give it a visual appeal beyond what I would usually have as “just” a writer.
I recommend all writers consider doing a similar project, especially my colleagues within the indie comics community. Why not take advantage of a popular hashtag to drive more traffic to your page? Why wouldn’t you want to engage with the community of comics artists with whom you hope to collaborate in the future? Why not work towards a modular project which you might be able to sell in different mediums?
Below, I have posted a few samples of our work so far, but I invite you to follow along and see all the pieces, on both my own or Marika’s social media pages.
Comic Book School’s second annual anthology, Creator Connections, Panel 2 is now available as a free download from the CBS site. I co-edited the anthology, and have two stories, Mr. Stupendous: In the Clutches of Doctor When (Illustrated by Arielle Lupkin, D. Alley, Michael Grassia, Sebastian Bonet, and Evan Scale), and There Are No Ghosts Here, Only Memories (Illustrated by Joel Jacob Barker). I am really proud of the book generally, and the stories specifically.
I’ve pasted the official press release below, in case you want to find out more about the project or Comic Book School.
Comic Book School Publishes Creator Connection: Panel 2, The Time Inn, its Second Annual Comics and Flash Fiction Anthology Based on the 8-Page Challenge
October 11—Comic Book School is proud to present Creator Connection: Panel 2, The Time Inn, a comics and flash fiction anthology. The anthology, which is the culmination of the second annual Comic Book School 8-Page Challenge, is now available to download for free at https://www.comicbookschool.com/8-page-challenge-2-introduction/
Creators in the Comic Book School Community were challenged to create an 8 page comics story—from start-to-finish—over the course of the last year. They were mentored through the challenge by Buddy Scalera, the anthology’s publisher and Comic Book School’s dean of students, who wrote a series of blog posts that covered the creative and publishing process of a story which he wrote for Marvel Comics from start-to-finish. The creators where also mentored through the process by Scalera and pros from his network through a series of live seminars on the Comic Book School youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1_zRjwaA_rcwLD0HtyiK7w).
“Last year, during the height of the pandemic, I pulled together a group of ambitious, scrappy creators who worked together to create an amazing publication,” Scalera said. “To date, the anthology has won three awards, so, of course we capitalized on the momentum. This year’s anthology—the second annual—continues to give new and developing creators a platform to develop their craft and build their respective audiences.”
This year, creators were given a prompt—The Time Inn—which had to be incorporated into each story. The participants interpreted the prompt in a plethora of ways, producing a diverse array of stories and genres.
“The supportive community that has come together to make this second book inspires me,” said D. Alley, the anthology’s editor. “I am extremely proud, once again, of the Comic Book School Community for this great accomplishment.”
The anthology includes seven comics stories, created by members of the Comic Book School Community. Throughout the challenge, the members of the community posted their progress and gave each other feedback on the Comic Book School Forums (create.comicbookschool.com). The forums, which are housed on the Comic Book School website, are the home of the Comic Book School community. They are designed to foster community and collaboration, and to allow members to build connections, interact with and support one another, access educational resources, and share news and accomplishments. Many of the creative teams in the anthology met on the forums, which were crucial, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic when in person meetings and comic cons were not always an option.
“There’s so much talent in this collection,” said Kris Burgos, the anthology’s managing editor, “The stories and artwork will have readers on the edge of their seats. I truly feel that Panel Two is something fresh and exciting that rivals last year.”
The anthology also features illuminated flash fiction pieces—one-page of flash fiction accompanied by a single, full-page illustration. The Flash Fiction Challenge ran concurrently with the 8-page challenge and was also open to all members of the Comic Book School community. This year, the flash fiction content in the book increased exponentially. There are 11 flash pieces in the book, up from 3 a year ago.
“This year, we have flash fiction from a diverse array of authors and artists, ranging from established industry professionals to art students for whom this is their first published work,” said A. A. Rubin, the anthology’s co-editor. “Their creations are weird and wonderful, and represent the myriad permutations of ‘The Time Inn’ across space, time, and genre.”
Additionally, the anthology features articles by comics pros Jamal Igle and Brian Pulido, which offer advice to up-and-comic creators. Both Igle and Pulido also appeared on the Comic Book School YouTube channel over the course of the year-long challenge.
“The hope for 2021 to be “a better year” was often repeated to me with a tired sense of resolve,” Alley said. “Some people worked to advance with determination, others are still dealing with the results of those changes, and time moves forward for everyone. Comic Book School is no different: always teaching, always learning, about all the different aspects of being creators and making comic books.”
“I developed Comic Book School on the simple premise that experience and a strong network can help many creators reach their professional goals,” Scalera added. “I focus on shared, community-based experience around the craft and business of making comics. This second anthology continues to provide those craft and business experiences.”
For more information, contact Buddy Scalera at buddy@comicbookschool.com.
In honor of #FreeComicBookDay, here are a few places you can read comics I’ve written for free:
Comic Book School Presents: Creator Connections, Panel 1 is a multiple-award winning anthology. I co-edited the anthology, and my superhero spoof A Day In the Life of Mr. Stupendous (illustrated by Arielle Lupkin, and lettered by C. Docolomansky) debuted as part of the book. Look for more Mr. Stupendous in Creator Connections, Panel 2, which is scheduled for release in the fall. The anthology also includes my prose flash fiction piece, The Duel, illustrated by Mike Ponce.
Soul Custody (illustrated by Marika Brousianou) first appeared in Constellate Literary Magazine. It was the first comic I had published, and it is still one of my favorite stories. It is very different in tone and style than Mr. Stupendous. It is a darker, slice of life, story, that elicits strong emotions from readers.
The Hit (illustrated by Tyler Carpenter) is a neo-noir crime story. It appeared in The Hickory Stump. Though the magazine seems to have gone out of business, but you can still read it here.
I’ve also written a couple of episodes of Sir TweetCivil, an episodic comic that follows a Monty Python-esque knight as he navigates the perilous realm of twitter. Here is the latest episode: Of The Notifications Perilous (illustrated by Alex Sapountzis).
Enjoy, and have a great Free Comic Book Day!
Some recent news and notes:
Last week I was, once again, a guest on the Nerds of the Round show. This episode was a discussion of episode 2 of the Disney+ Loki show. Be forewarned, it contains spoilers. Check it out here:
In publishing news, Remnants, the post-apocalyptic sci-fi, horror anthology which includes my story “The Forgotten” has been picked up by Fedowar Press and will be reissued later this year. Check out the info here.
I also have received my copies of The Great Command Meant (Arcane Inkdustries). The comics anthology includes a short story I wrote, illustrated by Christina Castro, as well as a full-page mixed media art piece I made. If you backed the Kickstarter, you should be receiving your books soon (if you have not already done so). Let me know what you think.
Sir TweetCivil is back in a new adventure: Of The Notifications Perilous. This episode, which was written by me and illustrated by Alexander Sapountzis, was recently published on Mythic Picnic’s Twitter page. You can read it here:
https://twitter.com/mythicpicnic/status/1389236239203586051?s=21.
Check it out and let us know what you think.
I am thrilled and honored to announce that the Comic Book School Presents: Creator Connections, Panel 1 Anthology, which I coedited along with Dee Alley, recently won “Anthology of the Year” at the Independent Creator Awards. The comics and flash fiction anthology, which is available for free download on the Comic Book School web site, also includes two pieces which I wrote, Mr. Stupendous, a comics story illustrated by Arielle Lupkin, and The Duel, illustrated by Mike Ponce.
In addition, one of the other short stories, Ragnarok Comes, written by Kris Burgos and Illustrated by JP Vilches, won the awards for best one-off comics short.
You can read official Comic Book School Press release below, which includes information about signing up for the second annual 8-Page Challenge, which will lead to the publication of our second comics and flash fiction anthology.
Comic Book School Takes Home Multiple Independent Creator Awards
The Indie Comics Community honored the creators of Comic Book School with multiple Independent Creator Awards, including Best Anthology and Best Short Story/One Shot. Comic Book School congratulates the creators who contributed to the Creator Connections, Panel 1 anthology—especially writer Kris Burgos and artist J. P. Vilchis for their victory for short story Ragnarok Come—and thanks the members of the independent comics community for supporting the anthology with their votes.
The award-winning anthology can be downloaded for free on the Comic Book School website.
“This shows what people can do when they work together, support each other, and focus on what they want to accomplish,” Buddy Scalera, the founder of Comic Book School and the anthology’s publisher, said. “The work in the anthology speaks for itself, and we are honored that it has been recognized by our peers in the indie comics community.”
“The award is validation for me,” said Kris Burgos, who wrote Ragnarok Comes. “After years of telling stories, it’s good to know people are listening and enjoying them. I also know I’m not completely crazy telling stories to myself and having hundreds of characters conversations in my head.”
The anthology was the culmination of the “8-Page Challenge” from Comic Book School, in which creators were challenged to create 8-page comics stories from start-to-finish over the course of a year. They were mentored through the challenge by Scalera and industry pros from his network, as well as through a peer-review process on the Comic Book School Forums.
“The one-year anthology curriculum represents an educational journey 20 years in the making,” Scalera said. “The experience has made us better comics creators and has strengthened our professional networks. It is a natural extension of the Creator Connections panel, and builds on our vision to help people learn the craft and business of making comics.”
The Independent Creator Awards are given annually by Comic Book Advocates to honor the best creators and creations in the independent comics world in four broad categories: Art, Crowdfunding, Words, and Creation. This year, the awards were determined by popular vote among members of the independent comics world in a series of polls posted in a private Facebook group from the beginning of the year through March 14.
“The awards were put together to celebrate the spirit of indie creation,” said Rob Andersin, indie comics advocate and creator of The Independent Comics Awards. “The tenacity and courage of indie creators should be celebrated. While awards may sound silly to some, the ability to be seen during awards season has led people to collaboration—and yes, a little competitiveness—that all leads to more shine on all independent creators when people see what we have to offer after a year of hard work.”
Despite the recognition, the creators of the Comic Book School community are not resting on their laurels. The second annual 8-page challenge is currently underway. Interested creators can join the challenge by visiting the Comic Book School Forums at https://create.comicbookschool.com/forums/forum/8-page-challenge-2/ .
Over the last year, I’ve written extensively about my participation in the Comic Book School 8 Page Challenge. I wrote a comics story and flash fiction story for last year’s anthology, and edited the flash fiction section. This year, I will be co-editing the book and, hopefully, contributing two stories again. I welcome all writers and artists to participate in the challenge, which is starting now. Follow the link below for all the relevant information.
https://www.comicbookschool.com/creative-prompt-8-pg-challenge-2/
Check out my recent interview on The Nerds of the Round Podcast where I talk about my current projects, including Under New Suns (Skullgate Media), the Comic Book School Panel 1 anthology, At The Festival, my one-act play at Black Horse Review, and how my martial arts practice affects my writing. Oh, and that’s me riding a space-shark. What’s a space-shark? You’re going to have to listen or watch to find out.
You can watch on youtube, or listen here:
A. A. Rubin 