Martin (HEPCATS) Wagner Siting
Carl Henderson
missing-in-action HEPCATS creator, Martin Wagner recently sent out an email
to some of his old readers saying:
> The good news is that, as a result of the very positive
> reaction to Hepcats art on eBay, and having been in touch
> with old fans of the book, I am planning on starting up a
> website this fall in order to complete the Snowblind
> graphic novel for all those fans who were disappointed
> they never got to read the end of the story. It will
> include #13 as well as all new artwork posted every day.
Wagner vanished after Antarctic Press had solicited HEPCATS #13, and a
HEPCATS TPB (costing AP considerable cash for solicitations and
advertising).
Can we nominate him for a "Special Award for Chutzpah" somewhere?
[From the RAC/RACM FAQ--which I am going to start revising soon]
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HEPCATS #13 AND MARTIN WAGNER?
According to Wagner, HEPCATS is over. In January 1999, Wagner was quoted in
Beau Yarbrough's "Comics Wire" explaining his departure from comics thusly:
[...] I have chosen to end the book. After nine years of struggling it
became clear to me, upon seeing the pitiful orders for issue #13 (the
one everyone was supposedly waiting for), that the book was never
going to 'take off' or 'break out,' and it would be necessary for me
to find a better way to make a living. Hepcats on its own was not even
providing me with a living. In my opinion the independent arm of
comics publishing is no longer supportable; at best it can only be a
hobby for an artist, the occasional breakout hit like 'Bone'
notwithstanding.
That's Wagner's story, but that's not all there is to the story. Matt High
(who was working for Antarctic Press when Wagner vanished off the face of
the earth) reported that HEPCATS #13 pre-orders were around 4000 units, at
$3.95 each-far from pocket change, and better sales than quite a few Image
books and even a few DC titles.
At one point, Wagner claimed to have finished the art for HEPCATS #13, but
Antarctic Press (his publisher) never saw it. Wagner even refused to send
Antarctic the artwork for the "Snowblind" TPB which was supposed to come
out the same month as HEPCATS #13. As Matt High pointed out, since the TPB
was all reprint, it would have been "money for doing almost nothing" for
Wagner. As it stands, Antarctic lost thousands in promotional costs for
books that never materialized.
As to what Wagner is doing now, in the same "Comics Wire" article, he
stated, "I am currently working in film, am doing story boards and
conceptual designs for a well known Austin director's next project, have
made a 35MM short and hope to direct my first feature this summer or fall."
--
Carl Henderson carl.he...@airmail.net
RAC/RACM FAQ http://www.enteract.com/~katew/faqs/miscfaq.htm
Carl Henderson
Johanna Draper Carlson
> Can we nominate him for a "Special Award for Chutzpah" somewhere?
Given how many people he still owes money to for orders never fulfilled,
I'm thinking this should be the next class action suit. :)
--
Johanna Draper Carlson joh...@comicsworthreading.com
Reviews of Comics Worth Reading -- http://www.comicsworthreading.com
Ian Boothby
"Johanna Draper Carlson" <joh...@comicsworthreading.com> wrote in message
news:johanna-753D51...@news.mindspring.com...
> carl.he...@airmail.net (Carl Henderson) wrote:
>
> > Can we nominate him for a "Special Award for Chutzpah" somewhere?
>
> Given how many people he still owes money to for orders never fulfilled,
> I'm thinking this should be the next class action suit. :)
What a knob.
Talon The Merciful
carl.he...@airmail.net says...
>
>According to a poster [ROMMEL!!! (7202JOHN)] on the Warren Ellis Forum,
>missing-in-action HEPCATS creator, Martin Wagner recently sent out an email
>to some of his old readers saying:
>
>> The good news is that, as a result of the very positive
>> reaction to Hepcats art on eBay, and having been in touch
>> with old fans of the book, I am planning on starting up a
>> website this fall in order to complete the Snowblind
>> graphic novel for all those fans who were disappointed
>> they never got to read the end of the story. It will
>> include #13 as well as all new artwork posted every day.
You know, I just can't wait. ;)
Talon T M
Absolute Ruler of RACM
hal
> >>I am planning on starting up a
> >> website this fall
Here's what Martin's been doing since his CEREBUS-wannabe book sputtered
to a halt:
http://www.atheist-community.org/tvshow.htm
Martin wants to pretend he's still relevant. Prediction: His new site
for HEPCATS #13 and beyond will be subscription only. A handful of folks
will trust him again, send in the fee, get about two pages, wait a year
for the next two pages (that never materialize), and then Martin will
once more fiendishly scurry away, blaming everyone but himself.
/hal