As we continue to venture down the independent road and tend to our website, we continue to try to find ways to make it easy to navigate as well as fun to log on to. With the other duties we uphold and the different hats that we wear, it's hard to give you guys daily updates sometimes, however, we are trying really hard to keep you posted on all the goings ons at MAS Media Studios as they occur!
With that typed, I just wanted to make you all aware that the store section of the site has been changed. As you might've already noticed, when you click on the "store button" on the home page, you are taken to a new page where the books and merchandise are now separated. This is to make sure that the books you order are never out of stock! If you missed out on Street Journal #1 here's your chance to order the book and meet Tyreke Miles! This, our flagship, is going strong and now at a great low price! You won't be dissappointed folks! And coming in May Russ5377 #1!
Enjoy my friends!
Medinamus
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
THAT'S RIGHT! BOOK THREE IS DONE!
Well, seems that summer is approaching faster than we think and I just have one thing to say to that.
AMEN! The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, the lovers are loving and the Masmediastudios are studio-ing (ok…so I got carried away. What can I say?) It also means that the third book is fully drawn! Whoow! Jorge is doing the lettering as we speak, and the pages for the forth book are also being fleshed out, so keep one eye glued to MAS. You don't want to miss a beat!
Also, the MAS Crew has at least two conventions scheduled for the upcoming year; one being the "Hero’s Con" in North Carolina in June. The other is the "New York Comic Con" in the Jacob Javits in October (and more will be added. Look out for new categories on the web-site entitled “On the Road with MAS” to get the official events, dates and locations of the places we will be). This is goanna be a huge year for MAS, and for those future and present fans.
And just in case you were wondering above the cool image uptop, you, my friend, just got a sneak peak at the first opening page of book three! You might want to brace yourself for this one yet again because it something big! (Anibal, great work), and we will give you further images, right here as the events near!
So, check back for more developments, as we try to give you an exclusive
one-on-one interview with the artist behind “Street Journal”, Mr. Anibal Arroyo!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Jonathan tries his hand at short story prose!
By now, anyone who knows of MAS work, especially the urban tale, Street Journal, has heard of the writing force behind it, but what some might not know is that Creator, Jonathan Syphax, is veering away from the comic gender, for a moment, in order to delve into writing prose with his collection of short story packed into an anthology book slated for release towards the end of the upcoming summer. Now, that does not mean that Jorge Media (co-writer of the successful urban graphic novel, Street Journal and creator of Russ 5377) will totally be out the creative loop, but just less involved in the intricacies of story development as he was in Street Journal.)
As for the anthology, it is made up of The accumulation of three stories.
The first is about an older man, who unbeknown to his dying wife makes a deal to get her life back. It is a daringly romantic story, which pits one undying love in conflict with ones moral choices.
The second, takes place in an old, abandoned cabin in upstate New York. Trevor, our unsuspecting protagonist finds himself caught in a cat an mouse with a werewolf, which happens to be his brother, the only person still alive out of his family, each second counting down to midnight before the full moon.
The third is of a Troy Burbank, a successfully lawyer on the rise, who, in the attempt to better his life for his wife, takes a partnership position to head a new branch of the law firm he works for in the quite town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, Upon moving into his new home, he finds a old, abandoned painting in the attic, in turn, unearthing something which best kept buried beneath the home.
Now, Jonathan is quick to say that he did not invent the horror gender, nor that he can duplicate the shear mastery of such greats as Edgar Allen Poe, William “Peter" Blatty, Robert McCammon, or more recently, modern day master of horror, Stephen king, but rather to write a piece of work that hopefully aspires towards those crowning achievements of these writers mentioned above. He knows that it is no easy task!
Nor is he the first to admit that, “prose writing is the toughest form of writing there is.” Jonathan went on to say, “The writer is working from virtually nothing, just a clear piece of paper, a pen and the many scattered images in his head, which he must make sense of, in most cases, at a minimum of 120 pages a shot. At the least it is a daunting task,” but, that is the testament that one loves his work...
But he has no illusions about the challenges he is taking on. “If you are writing a hundred page story, with, on average, 50 words per page, that is 5000 chances to screw up the readers road through whatever world you create. In a comic book, you only have twenty-two pages per issue, times six books, 120, all of which are facilitated by visual depictions of what the writer is trying to portray. With prose, your words are your picture, painting in the image. One poorly place word, phrase or character description and the picture is skewed, a factor that very well may take the reader out of that world for good and once they close the book, well, their gone.”
For Jonathan, this is not the only daunting factor in the mix. This will be the first project, coming off of the success of Street journal, where the sole responsibility of his prose will lie upon him. When asked about that, he had this to say.
“It is a bit scary, to go into a project knowing that one of your strongest allies in my writing process is going to have a more hands off approach, especially being as self conscious as I am when it comes to my writing. I truly am my worst critic, and my toughest teacher. Jorge will be advising me. I can’t phantom writing anything without his direct editing input. It certainly will be challenging to write a complete prose without him fine tuning the details.”
In the end, he understands that it is the work, which speaks for itself, and the fans, not the writer which, tells of ones greatness. It is a bold step(especially as an independent) to do a full, anthology novel, and one not without it’s risk. It is fertile ground that Jonathan is willing to tread, and if that it a mark of anything, is it that of a true writer. Having that said, one can not contemplate Jonathan’s success as a prose writer; only time will show the mark left behind in the sand; but something tells me, it will be a trip worth taking!
Also, watch out for a sneak peek at the first chapter of one of the stories in the upcoming anthology book, exclusively here at Masmediastudios.com.
As for the anthology, it is made up of The accumulation of three stories.
The first is about an older man, who unbeknown to his dying wife makes a deal to get her life back. It is a daringly romantic story, which pits one undying love in conflict with ones moral choices.
The second, takes place in an old, abandoned cabin in upstate New York. Trevor, our unsuspecting protagonist finds himself caught in a cat an mouse with a werewolf, which happens to be his brother, the only person still alive out of his family, each second counting down to midnight before the full moon.
The third is of a Troy Burbank, a successfully lawyer on the rise, who, in the attempt to better his life for his wife, takes a partnership position to head a new branch of the law firm he works for in the quite town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, Upon moving into his new home, he finds a old, abandoned painting in the attic, in turn, unearthing something which best kept buried beneath the home.
Now, Jonathan is quick to say that he did not invent the horror gender, nor that he can duplicate the shear mastery of such greats as Edgar Allen Poe, William “Peter" Blatty, Robert McCammon, or more recently, modern day master of horror, Stephen king, but rather to write a piece of work that hopefully aspires towards those crowning achievements of these writers mentioned above. He knows that it is no easy task!
Nor is he the first to admit that, “prose writing is the toughest form of writing there is.” Jonathan went on to say, “The writer is working from virtually nothing, just a clear piece of paper, a pen and the many scattered images in his head, which he must make sense of, in most cases, at a minimum of 120 pages a shot. At the least it is a daunting task,” but, that is the testament that one loves his work...
But he has no illusions about the challenges he is taking on. “If you are writing a hundred page story, with, on average, 50 words per page, that is 5000 chances to screw up the readers road through whatever world you create. In a comic book, you only have twenty-two pages per issue, times six books, 120, all of which are facilitated by visual depictions of what the writer is trying to portray. With prose, your words are your picture, painting in the image. One poorly place word, phrase or character description and the picture is skewed, a factor that very well may take the reader out of that world for good and once they close the book, well, their gone.”
For Jonathan, this is not the only daunting factor in the mix. This will be the first project, coming off of the success of Street journal, where the sole responsibility of his prose will lie upon him. When asked about that, he had this to say.
“It is a bit scary, to go into a project knowing that one of your strongest allies in my writing process is going to have a more hands off approach, especially being as self conscious as I am when it comes to my writing. I truly am my worst critic, and my toughest teacher. Jorge will be advising me. I can’t phantom writing anything without his direct editing input. It certainly will be challenging to write a complete prose without him fine tuning the details.”
In the end, he understands that it is the work, which speaks for itself, and the fans, not the writer which, tells of ones greatness. It is a bold step(especially as an independent) to do a full, anthology novel, and one not without it’s risk. It is fertile ground that Jonathan is willing to tread, and if that it a mark of anything, is it that of a true writer. Having that said, one can not contemplate Jonathan’s success as a prose writer; only time will show the mark left behind in the sand; but something tells me, it will be a trip worth taking!
Also, watch out for a sneak peek at the first chapter of one of the stories in the upcoming anthology book, exclusively here at Masmediastudios.com.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The First of the Year!
Well here we go again! Last year MAS Media Studios represented at three conventions in New York. This year the goal is to do it again! Our convention schedule is small at the present time, but it's how they say (who is "they"? I don't know) but they say "big things come in small packages"... well here we go, with a small number of conventions scheduled so far, MAS plans to show you just how big our package is! Woah! That didn't come out right... you know what I mean.
Anyway! The first confirmed venue for the MAS crew will be in the BX! That's right! Our good friend Ray Felix is at it again! Last year we were fortunate enough to be invited to participate in the first Bronx Heroes Comic Convention, and this year, he brings us the sequel! Ray and the Bronx Council of the Arts are proud to co-produce the 2nd annual Bronx Heroes Comic Convention. This convention, like it did last year, will present Bronx residents the best in Indy and mainstream creators of comics. According to Ray:
"The goal of the Bronx Heroes Comic Con is to bring
together a variety of comic book artists from the
Bronx and greater New York City area. It's our way
of opening doors and giving opportunities to lesser
known cartoonists and illustrators in our community,
while also widening the fan base for known professionals.
We strive to promote the understanding and appreciation
of comic book art and artists. One of our main goals is
to promote literacy and foster new generations of readers,
writers, cartoonists and creators. Every artist involved
in our convention will play a pivotal role in making this
event into a strong gathering of artists and writers."
The event will be fun and educational for artists of all ages as professional artists will offer free courses in the form of workshops in the areas of drawing inking, writing comic books and publishing your own Indy comic. There will be portfolio reviews, get your favorite comic characters drawn by industry pros and talented comic artisans for an affordable price and a free comic book just for walking through the door. Plus admission is free!
May 1st 2010 looks to be an exciting day as us here at MAS release the first issue of Russ5377. Pick up that and the Russ-T as well as the first issue of Street Journal! Convention season gets under way in May! See you there!
Medinamus
Anyway! The first confirmed venue for the MAS crew will be in the BX! That's right! Our good friend Ray Felix is at it again! Last year we were fortunate enough to be invited to participate in the first Bronx Heroes Comic Convention, and this year, he brings us the sequel! Ray and the Bronx Council of the Arts are proud to co-produce the 2nd annual Bronx Heroes Comic Convention. This convention, like it did last year, will present Bronx residents the best in Indy and mainstream creators of comics. According to Ray:
"The goal of the Bronx Heroes Comic Con is to bring
together a variety of comic book artists from the
Bronx and greater New York City area. It's our way
of opening doors and giving opportunities to lesser
known cartoonists and illustrators in our community,
while also widening the fan base for known professionals.
We strive to promote the understanding and appreciation
of comic book art and artists. One of our main goals is
to promote literacy and foster new generations of readers,
writers, cartoonists and creators. Every artist involved
in our convention will play a pivotal role in making this
event into a strong gathering of artists and writers."
The event will be fun and educational for artists of all ages as professional artists will offer free courses in the form of workshops in the areas of drawing inking, writing comic books and publishing your own Indy comic. There will be portfolio reviews, get your favorite comic characters drawn by industry pros and talented comic artisans for an affordable price and a free comic book just for walking through the door. Plus admission is free!
May 1st 2010 looks to be an exciting day as us here at MAS release the first issue of Russ5377. Pick up that and the Russ-T as well as the first issue of Street Journal! Convention season gets under way in May! See you there!
Medinamus
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Trials and Tribulations and now...the Official T!
As an independent publisher we have to be very smart about how we spend our hard earned dollars. There are factors that affect us that the big guys in the industry laugh at. For example; The idea of printing costs? Hahahaha! Selling out a book? Hahahahaha! Getting our books into stores? Hahahaha! I think you get the point. The bottom line is that it costs money to get our books out to the public. How we do this is a creative process in its own right. We have to figure out how to get projects that we put our hearts and souls into to the public with the lowest amount of money spent as possible. And it ain't easy folks, there's a lot of trial and error that goes into this. Unfortunately, trial and error can be costly! Especially when the "trials" lead to many errors.
In my time as an independent publisher, I have stepped in a lot of poop! The key to staying in the game however, like in everything else, is learning from your mistakes, and not repeating them! I'll give you two quick examples.
Mistake #1: Putting out issue #1 without completing issues 2, 3, 4 etc...
Way back in 2003 I attempted to self publish Russ5377 for the first time. It was the Fall of '03 and the Big Apple Comic Con's National was in town; a huge three day show where we were sure to kick butt! At the time I was working with a buddy of mine, Mr. Samuel Vera and his company Crazee Comics, and we were amped! I had just finished issue #1 and felt great about the fact that finally I would publish my first comic book. I was so excited about this accomplishment that I totally overlooked a very important factor... there was no issue #2! It took me a while to complete issue 1 it would take me close to a year to complete issue 2 and I won't even tell you about issue 3. So anyway, there we were weeks before the show and now we needed to print these bad boys! This leads me to...
Mistake #2: Printing too many copies
We searched for printers and found out really fast that printing comics can be expensive! It was our first go around at this so we wanted to make an impact! We wanted color! Color is even more expensive! Especially back then. So Sam managed to get a hook up where we would print the books dirt cheap! The catch? We'd have to fold and bind the books ourselves! Oh yeah! Sweatshop style! But whatever! It was our moment and if we wanted to shine, we would have to put in work! Ok, so now we had a printer, how many books should we print? We weren't going to print thousands, that's ridiculous! Plus who has thousands to spend on printing? So we went with 500! Yeah! 500 copies of a book we ourselves stapled that no one had ever heard of!
Ah, the memories! That was quite a show! Surprisingly enough, the show was a success! We sold a lot of books (not 500) and began on this path. And the road has led me here! Seven years since that show, I learned to have at least four issues in the can before you promote the first, (I am happy to report that issue #5 of this new incarnation of Russ is being completed as we speak) and I discovered printing on demand!
The other thing I learned from that was to promote! Now I gotta give Sam props! He is a promotional whore! Even back then there were a few forums he got kicked off for over promoting! But I take full responsibility for not promoting Russ correctly back then and hurting a project that I hold near and dear to my heart. So now that I'm releasing issue 1 (again), I've decided it's time to learn from my past mistakes! As unpredictable as life is my friends, I'm sure there are mistakes still left for me to make, but my hope is that they aren't as bad as the ones I've made in the past or as costly.
This brings me to the month of February. That basically means that there are three months left before Russ5377 #1 is released. In this time, it is our plan here at MAS to make sure people know, come May 2010, Russ is back! We started hitting stores in NYC and leaving bookmarks for you guys to pick up with "5/10" printed on them to remind you of the release date! Also, It's taken a while but finally, I am proud to announce the release of the "5377-T". This is the official T-Shirt of the Russ5377 title. Big thanks to Skygraphx for the print job, man the T looks great! Check out the MAS Media Store and get some today! Don't wait, those shirts go fast! And... we are definitely planning other T-shirt designs so stay tuned for that! Man, the next three months will be a blast and as soon as new developments unfold, you know where to come to get the latest!
Now kids, I just wanna end this blog by saying thank you guys for the support! We are all working hard to make our dreams become reality and when I say "we", I'm not just talking about my brothers here at MAS, but also my peers all over who have a project they hold near and dear to their very souls and won't quit till they make it to the big time... wherever that may be! Stay strong fellas and lets all support each other!
Whew! Deep! hahaha! I'm out!
Medinamus!
In my time as an independent publisher, I have stepped in a lot of poop! The key to staying in the game however, like in everything else, is learning from your mistakes, and not repeating them! I'll give you two quick examples.
Mistake #1: Putting out issue #1 without completing issues 2, 3, 4 etc...
Way back in 2003 I attempted to self publish Russ5377 for the first time. It was the Fall of '03 and the Big Apple Comic Con's National was in town; a huge three day show where we were sure to kick butt! At the time I was working with a buddy of mine, Mr. Samuel Vera and his company Crazee Comics, and we were amped! I had just finished issue #1 and felt great about the fact that finally I would publish my first comic book. I was so excited about this accomplishment that I totally overlooked a very important factor... there was no issue #2! It took me a while to complete issue 1 it would take me close to a year to complete issue 2 and I won't even tell you about issue 3. So anyway, there we were weeks before the show and now we needed to print these bad boys! This leads me to...
Mistake #2: Printing too many copies
We searched for printers and found out really fast that printing comics can be expensive! It was our first go around at this so we wanted to make an impact! We wanted color! Color is even more expensive! Especially back then. So Sam managed to get a hook up where we would print the books dirt cheap! The catch? We'd have to fold and bind the books ourselves! Oh yeah! Sweatshop style! But whatever! It was our moment and if we wanted to shine, we would have to put in work! Ok, so now we had a printer, how many books should we print? We weren't going to print thousands, that's ridiculous! Plus who has thousands to spend on printing? So we went with 500! Yeah! 500 copies of a book we ourselves stapled that no one had ever heard of!
Ah, the memories! That was quite a show! Surprisingly enough, the show was a success! We sold a lot of books (not 500) and began on this path. And the road has led me here! Seven years since that show, I learned to have at least four issues in the can before you promote the first, (I am happy to report that issue #5 of this new incarnation of Russ is being completed as we speak) and I discovered printing on demand!
The other thing I learned from that was to promote! Now I gotta give Sam props! He is a promotional whore! Even back then there were a few forums he got kicked off for over promoting! But I take full responsibility for not promoting Russ correctly back then and hurting a project that I hold near and dear to my heart. So now that I'm releasing issue 1 (again), I've decided it's time to learn from my past mistakes! As unpredictable as life is my friends, I'm sure there are mistakes still left for me to make, but my hope is that they aren't as bad as the ones I've made in the past or as costly.
This brings me to the month of February. That basically means that there are three months left before Russ5377 #1 is released. In this time, it is our plan here at MAS to make sure people know, come May 2010, Russ is back! We started hitting stores in NYC and leaving bookmarks for you guys to pick up with "5/10" printed on them to remind you of the release date! Also, It's taken a while but finally, I am proud to announce the release of the "5377-T". This is the official T-Shirt of the Russ5377 title. Big thanks to Skygraphx for the print job, man the T looks great! Check out the MAS Media Store and get some today! Don't wait, those shirts go fast! And... we are definitely planning other T-shirt designs so stay tuned for that! Man, the next three months will be a blast and as soon as new developments unfold, you know where to come to get the latest!
Now kids, I just wanna end this blog by saying thank you guys for the support! We are all working hard to make our dreams become reality and when I say "we", I'm not just talking about my brothers here at MAS, but also my peers all over who have a project they hold near and dear to their very souls and won't quit till they make it to the big time... wherever that may be! Stay strong fellas and lets all support each other!
Whew! Deep! hahaha! I'm out!
Medinamus!
Monday, January 25, 2010
And in May...
If any of you walk into a comic book shop in NYC or the surrounding areas and happen to see the bookmark above and say to yourselves "what the heck is 5377/0510?"... let me fill you in. MAS Media Studios is proud to announce that the first issue of Russ5377 will be released here in New York in May 2010 or 05/10! Yes! These bookmarks will be available throughout the New York area starting in February as we promote the release of Russ.
The book is a 6-part miniseries, and although it was originally planned as a graphic novel, we've decided to make it available as single issues. Now the opportunity to get your hands on the book is only available here in New York and in select stores in New Jersey. Never fear however, for all those Russ fans outside of the area the book will also be available on our website and a few others that we will announce within the next few months. The book will also be available at any convention where the MAS Media crew makes an appearance throughout the year.
We look forward to the release and hopefully so do you. A list of the retailers where Russ5377#1 can be purchased will be posted here within the next couple of months!
Talk to you guys soon,
Medinamus
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Update! Huge Update! MAS Exchange is up and running!
That’s right! The MAS Exchange is officially part of the Masmediastudios name! This is a forum for you, the fans, potential fans and the creative public at large to discuss fun and exciting topics of the day, the year, or any you might what to discuss and it is at easy access to you! Simply go to the Masmediastudis.com main page and just click the icon entitled, you guessed it, MAS Exchange! Now, there are other great sections to the web site and Jorge is doing a phenomenal job in making it as interactive and fun for all who visit it (spotlight on you, buddy, keep up the great work, kid!) And for those who have not browsed the website, you are missing out on what promises to be a fun ride, compliments of Jorge’s and the MAS MS crew! So kick back, have a blast, because this is just the beginning!
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