Indy-Pendant is the first column ever written by Brant W. Fowler running from May 2005 to January 2007. It's a focus on independent comics creators, publishers and titles. These are the reprinted archives, which were originally published on www.comicavalanche.com.

[Since this column debuted, Noble Larimer has left Ronin Studios and formed Dial R Studios. Also, some of the books listed below have left Ronin over the years. And finally, I didn't have time to check all the links, so some may be dead. If you find any let me know.]

Week 7 - Originally published on July 16, 2005

What up my peeps? As you may have noticed, there was no column last week due to computer problems. Rather than number this as Week 8 I figured since it's only the actual 7th column I'd just call it Week 7. Makes sense to me.

This week is a special treat. While all of you are either enjoying Comic-Con (cough-jerks-cough) or missing it and instead reading this column (cough-losers-cough...wait...aw man), I am giving you something to read on one of the hardest working indy studios on the circuit, who just happen to be present in San Diego, Ronin Studios.

Ok, are we ready to get started? Sit back in that swivel armchair, or on that comfy couch for you laptop users, and get ready to enjoy the wonder that is...

Now if you have visited this site before you have undoubtedly read or seen something about Ronin Studios somewhere. Within the pages of this site is a well of information in the form of interviews, reviews, ads and features. If for some reason you haven't, like if you were blinded by the cat going postal because you didn't put her food in the right dish and clawed your eyes out, or something like that, then you're in luck. At the end of this column will be a linked list of Ronin material available for your perusing pleasure on this site.

If you've never heard of Ronin before then you've been missing out. Ronin has produced 22 books since its inception in March of 2004, less than a year and a half ago, which is no small feat when considering this is what the creators do in their spare time. Currently Ronin has over 150 projects in development by over 300 members worldwide, with 30-40 of those on the schedule for the remainder of 2005, 20 or so of those due out in July/August!

Ronin, taking its name from the ancient warriors who challenged tradition and forged their own path in the face of adversity, is a collaboration of efforts by members who have determined to make their mark by any means necessary. It's founder and Editor-In-Chief, Noble Larimer, set out to do just that, being frustrated with trying to break into an industry where there is little room for newcomers. Since March of last year Noble and company have done just that and have taken the indy market by storm, becoming one of the most notable and successful indy studios today.

So where did Ronin come from, and how have they managed to be so successful? Pure drive and determination. These creators wanted to break into the business they all love and make their mark, telling the kind of stories they want to tell and to show everyone, fans and pros alike, their talents. They didn't listen to the naysayer quoting statistics of failed comic industry ventures, or the woes and cries of self-publishing nightmares. They listened to their hearts and determined within them selves to do what most people only dream about - they did something.

In November of 2003, Noble Larimer posted a message on the Bendis (Brian Michael Bendis) Boards, then located on the Image forums, looking for creators to collaborate on a 32-48 page one shot book. By December over 100 creators, including comic pros Greg Horn, Jim Mahfood, Mike Oeming and more, were working on the now 350 page book with proceeds going to ACTOR and the CBLDF to be published by Avatar Press.

While waiting for things to take off, Noble hooked up with Ben Templesmith to work up a pitch for a Ghost Rider: The End six issue mini for Marvel Comics, but nothing has come of it yet.

"The script is completely finished, and Ben is waiting in the wings if Marvel ever comes to their senses. On the plus side, Ben cranked out some eye scorching sample pages which have to be seen to be believed." ~ Noble Larimer

In March of 2004, Gwailo #1 was released through Gregg's imprint, Reaction Entertainment. Meanwhile, trying to harness that magic that brought forth the anthology, Noble posted another message on the Bendis Boards looking to collaborate. This time about 20 creators came forward. The massive charity anthology wasn't going to be ready by Wizard World Chicago, so they set out to work on a new massive title later broken down into what is now Ronin Illustrated.

"So Ronin Illustrated debuted at Wizchicago 2004. And that con has become legendary. There were a good 15-20 people from Ronin that all met up for the first time. A huge Bendis board gathering and drink up, which resulted in a lot of debauchery, some blackmail photos, Mack break-dancing, and Millar pouring vodka into his eyes. Probably one of the best cons I've EVER been to, and I've been going since '98." ~ Noble Larimer

Another factor that attributes to Ronin's success is the environment of the company. Though many of its creators are miles and miles apart, each one of them is there to help the other out. All of them pitch in when and wherever they can, doing what is needed to help keep Ronin on the map and in the faces of readers. It's a rare thing to find in a company with as many members as Ronin has, and it's what sets them apart from the majority.

"I've had quite a few industry professionals tell me that Ronin Studios is what Image comics promised to be but never quite was. I think that sums us up pretty well." ~ Noble Larimer

Ronin will help creators get their teams together and will help them make their projects the best they can be. You couldn't ask for more than that.

"Ronin has since grown by leaps and bounds. I found the perfect artist for Future's End in Vicente. His work and commitment are both amazing. Ronin has released 14 books over the course of a year, and there's another 30-40 on schedule for the remainder of 05. I've got to meet and work with some of the nicest, most talented people you could ever hope to meet. All in all, despite a few bumps and hiccups, life has never been better." ~ Noble Larimer

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Ronin has big plans for the future as well, as they are already looking into worldwide distribution, setting up a cohesive superhero universe, and has goals to become a publisher within five years. They've come a long way and have a long way to go to reach the point they are striving for. But the important thing is they are out there doing it. They are making the books, hitting the cons, making contacts and basically getting things done.

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So now that we know where Ronin came from and what they've done, and where they intend to go, how about what they're doing right now? I'm glad you asked.

As stated before, currently Ronin has 30-40 projects on schedule for the remainder of 2005 from over 300 creators, and 14 titles available through comixpress. These titles vary in genre and content, but don't take my word for it, check them out:

These can all be found at Ronin Studios' comixpress catalog page.

Other projects Ronin has published include:

Bits and Pieces - A collection of some of the short stories that have spewed forth from the imagination of Noble Larimer. From super speedster hijinks to drunken superhero bar brawls to zombie cowboys, and the horror that is the Popsicle, this anthology has it all!

Gwailo - Ronin Frost, the wielder of the legendary dragon swords has become the stuff of legends. A mythical swordsman to scare local theives and highwayman into a life of virtue. When Lord Nesaj, an all powerful swordfighter, driven insane in his lust for power threatens the safety of the seven kingdoms, Kira and sanuh must stop him. Now on the run from Nesaj, their only hope for saving the kingdoms lies in Frost. A man who may or may not even exist!

The Path to Armageddon - The story of four ruthless bastards who stumble upon something that changes them forever, granting them near limitless power...how does this affect them? Will it change them for the better?

Renaissance Man - What do you do when you come in possession of a time machine? What any hot blooded American man would, use it to sleep with as many people as you can! Erotic humor that should come with a warning label!

Shylock - Dominick "Shylock" Cevario is an old school mobster finding it tough to lead his crew in these "Sopranos" times as hard work and loyalty have taken a backseat to Hollywood ideals and personal glory. One of Dom's crew members is starting to cause problems in and outside of the crew. Will Dom be able to diffuse the situation before the family implodes?

And speaking of comic offerings and current events, Ronin members have made themselves very accessible by making the major conventions this season with no plans to slow down. Already having made Wizard World Philly, and currently at the San Diego Comic-Con International, Ronin plans big things for Wizard World Chicago as well.

Wizard World Philadelphia

In Philly, over a dozen Ronin members manned the tables and displayed several of the titles listed above. They were out in big numbers and people took notice.

The Ronin booth ran non-stop with everyone from Batman, to Stormtroopers, to Bendis and Oeming stopping by to pick up the latest Ronin offerings. All-in-all, this was a great weekend for Ronin.

San Diego Comic-Con International

Here's the official release of what's going down in SD from Ronin:

RONIN STUDIOS TAKES OVER SAN DIEGO

This coming weekend, are you heading out to the San Diego Comic-Con? Well, to make the most of your convention experience, be sure to swing by the RONIN STUDIOS booth for some of the best indie comics in production, as well as a bevy of great deals. RONIN STUDIOS location is at booth #1032 (or #618) and the creators in attendance include:

Pat & Tim Loika
J. Andrew Clark & Dave Wachter
John Culjak
Marc Shapiro
Mike Woods
Diana Greenhalgh
Steve Zegers
Chris Maze

Some of the books to keep an eye out for at the Ronin Studios booth include:

THE PATH TO ARMAGEDDON #1
SCAR TISSUE #1 & 2
RENAISSANCE MAN #1
HEARTBREAKER #1

SHYLOCK #1
RONIN ILLUSTRATED #2 and #3
FUTURE'S END PREVIEW BOOK
VARIED SCARIES #1, and #2
BITS AND PIECES #1

In addition, Ronin will be giving away FREE stickers and postcards as well as the resident artists doing sketches. Be sure to check out the Ronin Heroes & Villains posters beautifully rendered by Vincente Cifuentes (FUTURE'S END).

More updates on Ronin happenings from the Con next weekend in the SDCC indy feature!

Wizard World Chicago

From the man himself:

"Wizchicago of this year is shaping up to be a monster event for Ronin studios. 4 consecutive tables in artists alley, 30-35 books for sale, posters, prints, stickers, and 30+ Ronin creators to sign, meet, and generally laugh at." ~ Noble Larimer

Other cons Ronin members will be representin' at are:

Baltimore Comic-Con

Wizard World Texas

For more Ronin Convention goodness, check out the Convention section on their forums here.

If you think the states is the only place Ronin books are available guess again. Thanks to a recently brokered deal with Canadian Comics beginning in August all Ronin titles will be readily available in Canada!

"Ronin has long since expanded past anything I initially thought it would be. It seems like every day is a new surprise. My goal is to get our stories into as many readers' hands as possible. Not for monetary gain mind you, just because we want to entertain people. Money is nice, don't get me wrong, but it is way down on the list of reasons for why I started Ronin.

With the new Canadian readers, I hope that we can reach and entertain an entirely new audience. If at the end of the day, a new reader picks up a Ronin book and says 'wow this was great', than it's been a good day." ~ Noble Larimer

Here is a list of titles available by month in Canada:

So Ronin is doing what they do for the love of it, right? They started small, and within a year are brokering deals to distribute titles in other venues, and have 22 books on the virtual shelves, with plans to have them available on physical shelves soon. But that could be for profit as well as for the love it. But no one can deny the purpose of doing a charity book, which is what Ronin did.

In light of the tsunami that claimed many lives and caused mass destruction, Ronin decided to give make something to generate relief funds for those who suffered.

Contributors from Ronin, Arcana and others came together to create the anthology titled Hope, which is expected to debut at Wizard World Chicago (Chicago exclusive cover from Arcana on the right) if all goes well. All proceeds from the book will be sent to charities that support the victims of the tsunami.

There's no denying Ronin's (and everyone involved) love for the industry and their compassion and drive to do something special.

Check out a preview of the anthology here, and more info here and here.

There are so many things going on at Ronin right now it would be impossible for me to list them all within the confines of this column. However, I will have as comprehensive of a list of links as I can possibly fit at the end for you all to be able to read anything and everything about Ronin creations.

Speaking of Ronin creations, Matthew Spatola, writer of The Venger: Dead Man Rising, who gave me the idea for this column also suggested another piece, which I thought was an excellent idea. And since it's a Ronin book and this is a Ronin feature, we figured this would be a good place for it. What Matt has done is shared with us his process that goes into writing an issue of The Venger, which promises to be an enlightening and inspiring read for all of us wannabe writers out there. Matt takes us behind the scenes and shows exactly what goes into each issue. But rather than explain it further, I'll let the man himself do the talking.

The Venger: Dead Man Rising - The Writing Process by Matthew Spatola

"My writing process.

You know as I think about the process I use in my writing I realize, as you do too I'm sure, that what works for me probably won't work for others. And sometimes I think it doesn't work for me. Well it does, I just would love to be able to shorten it and save some time.

I'm going to focus this on my writing of The Venger: Dead Man Rising, the book I'm 'known for, I guess, which sounds so conceited and ridiculous as I write it. Here's some back-story on the series, since mostly everyone in the world hasn't heard about it.

The book focuses on Alexander Cabot, a former crime fighter from the 1930s, a la The Shadow, who now is an old man. After a crime wave and series of murders cripples the city he comes to realize that his old nemesis has returned. Now he must convince his grandson Michael, a police detective working the murders case, that he knows who is the killer and how he knows. But will Michael believe him or think he is just a crazy old man. And will Alexander's drive to destroy his old enemy destroy his family instead?

For more information on Matt and The Venger, check out http://thevenger6.blogspot.com/.

Thinking about joining up with Ronin for a book or two yet? I know, me too. So what exactly does it take to get in with Ronin? Well, following is the basic rundown, but for a more comprehensive explanation on how to get involved check out the FAQ on their Forums.

Basically Ronin kind of works like a co-op. If you're a writer and you want to bring your title under the Ronin banner then you send the idea to Noble (email is listed in the FAQ) for the greenlight. Once the title's on board there's an area on the forums where you can post looking for an artist. All the artists working with Ronin are aware of the percentage of sales deal in effect right now, so that's a hurdle you get to bypass unlike when you have to find an artist on your own. If your artist doesn't ink, letter or color (if you go with color) then Ronin will help, but are in short supply of those particular disciplines, (Inkers, Letterers and Colorists take note. It's percentage of sales, but it's GUARANTEED PUBLISHING! Can't beat that on your resume!), so you may have to wait in line a bit or find your own. This can be done by placing an ad on Digital Webbing, Penciljack, Outcast Studios, Jinxworld, Deviant Art, etc. Just make sure you specify the whole percentage of sales bit (unless you're paying out of your own pocket) in your ad.

Once you have the book completed then it's off to the printers. Now most of Ronin's stuff is printed through comixpress, and the creative team (usually the writers) generally cover the printing costs. And with guaranteed publishing, free editorial help and free help gathering your art team, it's a hard deal to beat. ALL profits go to the creative teams, not to Ronin. Then it takes a month or two to come out and you've got a printed book on your hands!

All in all, this is a pretty good deal for creator owned books.

But creator owned books in separate universes and continuities aren't the only thing Ronin is working on. Right now it's the main thing, but down the line are plans for a cohesive superhero universe in which Ronin will own the characters and titles. Many Ronin creators have the superhero bug and wanted to do something to bring a cohesion within the confines of Ronin. Details on this are scarce right now, and it's not clear whether titles will have the option to move into the Ronin universe like the Imageverse, though my initial research showed they're leaning away from this, but all this will be revealed in time.

In addition to all these wonderful projects Ronin is working on, there are many others I lack the time and space to fit in. There are anthologies based on plot-style scripts, World War II, Ronin in B.C., Dreams, and all Sci-Fi. There are new titles cropping up seemingly every day. It's an amazing workhouse in the virtual Ronin Studio. Following is a brief, but not all conclusive list of titles upcoming from Ronin in the near future.

So this is all great. You've heard all the hype and read my opinions about Ronin, but what do the creators say? Here's a little taste:

"I ink the title Shylock, which is written by Shane Welker, with beautiful pencils by Mike Williams.

I was hounded by Noble about doing some work with Ronin long before it was Ronin, but there was always something else I was working on or waiting on that never came about. Finally I got the pencils for the premier issue cover of the monthly anthology, Ronin Illustrated, and from that spawned a short in R.I. #3, along with Mike Williams.

Noble started a great thing here by enabling up and coming comic creators the ability to intermingle and exposing newcomers of what it takes to create a full book, going to shows to push it, and try to get a start in this industry."

~ Tom Schloendorn, inker of Shylock

"My first experience with Ronin actually came through Reyesart.com, as I had the site recommended to me by two collaborators from a failed comic company. I started posting there semi-regularly (rare, since I tend to be a lurker) when this crazy guy (and I mean that with such love ^_^) posted up about oppurtunities to get published. And having tried to get published since 98 and still having no success, I jumped all over this like a shark who smells blood in the water. This was how I was introduced to Noble and the concept of Ronin Studios. I submitted two scripts to Noble (who helped me get artists attached to them) and a finished five-page comic titled "A Happier Place", which ultimately got published in Ronin Illustrated#3. He also put up a post that asked for writers to pitch for a horror anthology and I took a chance on that as well... which ultimately morphed into Varied Scaries and my contribution is in issue 2, titled "My Little Babies".

Since then, I've brought all the projects I had in development at that point with me to Ronin and since then created an ungodly amount of new projects that I plan on publishing through Ronin Studios. I credit Noble for my success, because of his drive to bring new talent in I've been paired with some great artists like Bram Cayne, who I can say has become a friend of mine, and I've been inspired to create stories that I am very proud of... and can't wait to see published. Honestly, I have done more in this year and a half at Ronin that I have done in a 3 year span previous to that. I have a book that's at the printers right now called Grimm... and it's just amazing to me that I was able to meet Will Caligan, who created the book and I only met due to my association with Ronin (as he submitted art to me for a story I wrote for Ronin Illustrated) and now I'll have my first whole book out. And I don't honestly think that if I didn't take advantage of Noble's offer back on Reyesart.com that I'd have that book out. I always remember Noble as the guy who helped get my first two short stories printed and who in a roundabout way, helped me launch my first book."

~ Ryan Brandt, Writer of several Ronin stories

"Some of our members have gone on to work with Image, Arcana, Alias, Speakeasy, Antarctic, Avatar, and Oni press."

~ Noble Larimer, EIC and Founder of Ronin Studios

With support and exposure like that, it's no wonder Ronin is making waves in the small press pool!

This has been quite the journey through Ronin's works and has been an eye-opening experience for even myself, and I've followed Ronin since the beginning! There is so much there that I could not possibly do it justice. I just hope something in this column entices you to give them a shot!

To help you get all the info on Ronin you could possibly consume below I am including links, upon links, upon links relating to Ronin information. I have links to the various features on this very site, resources I culled much of my information for this column from, and articles and columns from various sites that also share the love and support for the great things happening at Ronin Studios.

Comic Avalanche Features:

http://www.comicavalanche.com/Interviews/kieranmurphy.htm

http://www.comicavalanche.com/interviews/spatola.htm

http://www.comicavalanche.com/Interviews/cano.htm

http://www.comicavalanche.com/Interviews/craigmaloof.htm

http://www.comicavalanche.com/indy/indyten.htm

http://www.comicavalanche.com/indy/indymusthave.htm

Cited Resources:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=5268

http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/news/111766330114592,print.htm

http://www.penciljack.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58877

http://comics.ign.com/articles/625/625422p1.html

Miscellaneous Ronin Related Links:

http://www.scartissue-comic.com/

http://dianathirring.deviantart.com/

http://www.mattkrizan.com/

http://thevenger6.blogspot.com/

http://ritt0r.deviantart.com/

http://nnee.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://iamragmar.deviantart.com/

http://nevermorestudios.deviantart.com/

http://www.spork-comics.com/

http://www.andyjewett.com/

http://www.adambraunart.com/

http://mechangel2002.deviantart.com/

http://www.mankindram.com/

http://www.freewebs.com/rabverse

http://madman1.deviantart.com/

http://vikthor.deviantart.com/

http://www.jinxworld.com/

If there is any way possible you didn't get your Ronin fix from all that, then check back next week for any con coverage involving Ronin Studios.

So if you're out there reading this and want your stuff covered, then send me an email and I'll hook you up, 'cause that's how I roll!

B.-Out

Brant W. Fowler / Writer, Letter, Creator, Reviewer, Columnist and Comic Related PR Coordinator
Brant W. Fowler has been a professional comic book letterer and logo designer for three years, and has been a freelance editor for the past five years. He has also worked with graphic design, writing and many other area of skills for several years honing his talents. You can learn all about what he's up to by visiting Gonzogoose Design. Brant is also a member of the core operations team at Comic Related.

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