Manchester was great fun, as were the other events that we’ve been to this year so thank you to everyone who came out and stopped by the table. And hopefully we’ll see some of you in London in October or Leeds in November. Photos from our events so far can be found on the Fera fan page on Facebook.

Issue 3 will be returning to a weekly schedule, most likely updating every Monday barring anything unexpected and I’ve been working on a page buffer so that even then it shouldn’t affect updates to any real extent. And starting from 1st October I’m going to be posting my warm-up sketches as incentives on the Top Web Comics voting portal, so feel free to vote for Fera daily and encourage your friends to check the comic out.

For those interested I will be taking commissions as of this moment, so if you would like any artwork etc. created email me your request and we can discuss it. At present I’m going to limit commissions to a queue of no more than 4 at any one time. In all circumstances I’ll respond to requests but please understand that depending on demands on my time there may be a short wait. All commissions will be 100% digital, if you would like a print, feel free to ask but the price may need to be adjusted due to shipping and printing costs.

Below are some example pricing based on what I offer at events:

angelKat Sketch ……………………………………………………. £ 2.00
Digital Sketch (Portrait or Full Body) …………………………….. £10.00
A4 Portrait (inked) …………………………………………………. £20.00
A4 Full Body (inked) ………………………………………………. £25.00
Full comic page (to the specs of a regular Fera page) …..……. £40.00 (discounted to £30 per page when commissioned in bulk i.e. batches of 10 pages)
A4 Character Reference Sheet  ………………………………….. £30.00
(full colour, full body – Front/Back/Side/3x portraits)

Extras;
+ colour ……………………………………………… £ 2.00
+ background ……………………………………….. £ 2.00
+ 2nd character …………………………………….. £ 5.00

I also do written word commissions such as articles, reviews, scripts, etc. due to the nature of these projects, you’ll need to note/email me with the details before I can offer an estimated price.

First of all, I’d like to let you guys know that I’ll be sending Issue #2 of Fera off to Ka-Blam next week and they’ll be on sale for the first time from my table at London MCM Expo in May… well, I guess they may be available online via Indyplanet before then. Indyplanet currently has Fera #1 and some new tshirts available for anyone interested as well- so make sure to check out the shop.

As a side effect of having Issue #2 ready for print by next week, we shouldn’t have any breaks again for quite some time. The last page of Issue #2 will post on the site at the end of June so we’ve got plenty of updates for you until then.

As I’ve mentioned, I’ll be attending London MCM Expo, I should also have a table at London Film and Comic Con in July and I’m currently chasing up tables for a couple of other events too. Those of you who follow me on twitter or have joined the Fera fanpage on Facebook… or, indeed, follow me on deviantArt will have already seen the new banner for the conventions this year.

I’m sure we can all agree that it’s a vast improvement on last years banner- and hopefully eyecatching enough to attract some visitors to our tables.

In other news, the site is not going to be staying as it is. I’ll be updating the backend of the site and replacing the layout with a new design in the coming weeks. You may have noticed that as of today there are two new additions to the sidebar.

The first is a paypal button, anyone who wishes to donate can do so by clicking that button. Donations aren’t required so don’t worry, it’s simply there in case anyone wishes to do so. I will be introducing a monthly donation wallpaper where anyone who donates over £3.00 will receive a special limited edition wallpaper that won’t be available any where else on the site. That will start in April 2011 so keep an eye out for that in the news next update.

The second is  a “FLATTR” button. Now, I’m guessing most of you haven’t heard of Flattr, hell, it’s new to me too. Flattr is a fairly recent service that allows you to donate money to support creators of work that you enjoy. Instead of using the Paypal model of having to put in back details etc. Flattr uses a “like” system that’s as easy as that on Facebook.

Once you have an account on Flattr, you agree to a monthly budget (of around $2.00) that is split between anything that you “Flattr” during that month. Not seen anything to “Flattr”? That $2.00 is donated on your behalf to charity. So either way you’re doing something very cool. And the best part? You KNOW that the creator of the comic, music or whatever it is that you “Flattr” is doing just the same. Creators have to include the $2.00 per month too, not as a standing fee- but to share amongst they’re favourite content or charity too.

Since I’ve probably done a terrible job of explaining- take a look at this handy instructional video:

This is FLATTR!

There’s been a lot going on lately and there’s still so much left to come.

For those who are wondering- the Comic Creator’s Alliance managed to raise an amazing $10,000 thanks to every ones efforts- an amazing achievement for many reasons. That cash will go towards two very worthwhile organisations to help victims of human trafficking.

There are some major pieces of news regarding Fera specifically. Firstly we are nearing the end of chapter one, and in a couple of pages time our would-be heroes will begin their journey out into the big, bad world. To mark the occasion, once the final page is posted on the site I’ll begin the process of preparing the first chapter for print- it will form issue #1 of the comic and I plan to have it on sale both digitally and in print as soon as possible- and certainly in plenty of time for the convention we’re attending in July.

As a result of this, and a number of other contributing factors- once the final page of chapter one is posted we’re going to be hosting a guest art showcase. This is to give me time to prepare things for print, make preparations for chapter two of Fera and to move house.

During the guest art showcase instead of the usual comic updates we’ll be updating with guest comics and fan art created by you the readers, and generally by fans of Fera. We’ve already received a couple of great submissions and I’m really looking forward to sharing them with you. If you want to join in on the action and create some fan art for Fera or indeed a guest page/comic you’re more than welcome to. If you have any questions about submitting artwork or want to send me your images please contact me via email at: t_iii(at)angelk.at

The current deadline for submissions for the showcase will be quite fluid for now, but in general on or before 22nd February would be ideal.

In other news… Fera now has a fanpage on Facebook and a Fan-Club-Group-Thingie on deviantArt. If you’re a fan of the comic come and join us, discuss the comic and any thing else for that matter. There are currently plans for contests that will appear only for fans on either or both of those pages so make sure you’re amongst them.

We’ve also recently been added to a new up and coming webcomic ranking-list (Comic Hovel)… and as of the moment I type this we are neck and neck for rank #2 – with your vote we could get to #1… if you’d like to vote for us please follow this elegantly crafted link.

I think I’ve rambled enough for now- I may be back later to ramble some more… for now- pancakes!

- T III (angelKat Entertainment)

As some of you may already have noticed I’ve been doing some cleaning with the website- generally altering and updating things. We have a new design which will continue to be improved and added to as time goes on, and we’ve upgraded to using WordPress Multi-User thanks to our friend Frumph. And don’t forget the sexy new advertisement slots available on the site- reasonably priced and via Project Wonderful so if you’re wanting to advertise your own comic, personal site or anything else feel free to place a bid.

I’ve began to transfer the Fera-news blog over onto the main Fera site rather than have it on blogspot. The blog will still appear on blogspot but I’d feel a lot better having all of the Fera content housed under “one roof” as it were.

As such, I’ll soon be moving the Ask Kato feature across onto the main site- I’m currently plotting to set it up as a sketchy strip based comic to run alongside Fera… and theres even more content planned for a new character addition shortly. The latter I’m going to keep as a suprise for now so keep your eyes peeled.

Fera is now nearing the end of the first chapter, we’ve been introduced to our initial trio and soon their real adventure/quest will begin.

There has been a recent update missed and I should probably tell you guys why. Well, firstly I’ve gotten myself a job and in the run up to my first week there were ton’s of things to sort out so I’ve been running around like crazy making sure that every thing is in its proper place.

I’m hoping that the new job won’t impact too much on the comic and related things, I’m also in the process of applying for a Small Press table at London Film and Comic Con 2010- once it’s sorted out… and I start panicking about having to learn to drive and produce merchandise etc. by then I’ll let you guys know whats happening.

Along with the comic and everything else I’m also working on a top secret comic jam project with the WebComic Planet Collective- we’ll be releasing more information as we get closer to the launch. To entice you just a little bit, we have talents from a wide variety of comics working on this project, including the writers behind Fera, Myteries of the Arcana and 1977 as well as the artistic stylings and talent of Fera, Lovefeast, 1977, Epic Fail, Capes n Babes, Drunken Fools, Clan of the Cats and many more.

We’re planning to have the project run for a year after launch, depending on its success we’ll be looking into extending it in the form of “seasons”. I’d love to tell you guys more, we’ve been discussing and planning this for a while and I’m really excited to see it starting to come together.

With my previous mention of London Film and Comic Con next year- are there any conventions that you, our readers, would like to see Fera represented at? Which conventions will you be attending in 2010? For the most part I doubt that it would be possible for me to attend conventions outside of the UK- sorry to our international fans but I just can’t afford to travel that far at present.

As for now, things should settle back down this week and you never know- by next week we may even see the launch of the Ask Kato feature in comic form.

As always I’d like to point out that we now have a Fera Facebook Fanpage and you can follow my inane ramblings on twitter. Other than that don’t forget to vote for Fera as often as you can at TopWebcomics and tell everyone you know about the comic- all publicity helps.

If you’re using RSS please remember to update the URL that you are using, as the recent site revamp means that it has now changed slightly, thank you.

And before I forget- don’t be shy, say hello, comment on the comics or even send us some fan art- it’s all appreciated.

Now… onto my review for this week…

Union of Heroes by Arne Schulenberg

I’m not normally a fan of photocomic’s but Union of Heroes is certainly far from normal. Set in an alternate version of Germany where a world is under threat after the disappearance of one of their most prominent Super Heroes we see his average-joe counterpart pulled from our dimension and stuck slap bang in the middle of a strange world, gifted with strange powers and expected to live up to “his” name.

Not only is Union of Heroes beautifully photographed but it shows the dedication of not only the writer and photographer but the fantastic actors and actresses that make up the cast.

So far in the story we have seen fantastic abilities such as Marc, our heroes, ability to absorb metal and using it to modify his body with makeshift weapons etc. to the some what sad curse of Lynn, the eternal victim- doomed to die in the place of innocents for all eternity. The two make an odd duo but as the ominous “One Who Knows” throws these two together we can be sure that there is some purpose behind it. So far Marc and his new friends have began training to shape him into the hero that Germany, and the world, needs- whilst his nemesis plots his downfall from the shadows.

The story is already gripping, and leaves you wanting more- I personally want to learn more about the side characters, the hole that Marc’s hero counterpart left in the world and much much more. A comic or any medium that leaves the viewer/reader asking questions and empathising with the characters is a success by any standards and UoH has these things in abundance.

One thing that always amazed me is the level of accuracy and care in setting up the scenes- the actors genuinely acting out daring fight sequences and much more. I’m sure Arne is very proud of his team and I honestly don’t blame him- they are a dedicated bunch and as a whole they produce not only one of the best photocomics out there, but one of my favourite webcomics that always brings me back.

There is so much to cover in talking about Union of Heroes and the best advice I can give is to go and read it yourself- its fantastic and certainly worth the time it takes to read through the archives. And for those of you who speak German- Union of Heroes is published in both German and English so what are you waiting for- go! get!

T III (angelKat Entertainment)