Submet Industries

A complicated pop culture construct made from podcasts, words and gnomes, based in Edmonton, AB.

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AuthorBrandon Schatz

Comics Beat // Degree of Variants

November 15, 2014 /

Because I love puns, you guys. I love them so much.

This week, I returned to providing weekly final order cut-off commentary at Comics Beat with a little ditty about some of the splashier variants coming down the pike.

I’m not a big fan of variants in general (a longer column for another day), but I can at least get behind variants that you can order without qualification. That says you’re offering another variety for a reader to sample, letting them choose what cover they’d like. That, I understand. Qualified variants, on the other hand, are the dirt worst. They’re a dirty manipulation of the whole “supply and demand” market designed for cheap, easy money, both for publishers and retailers alike. If a retailer wants a bigger supply, they will have to order more copies. In order to cover the cost of those copies (many of which won’t sell), they will charge a premium for that cover. And hey, even if they don’t need to charge a premium to cover the costs of extra copies, they’ll probably mark it up because of the low supply, and the high demand.

You can read the full article over at Comics Beat where you’ll also see a quote from the publisher of one of the industry’s biggest companies talking shit about variants. It’s fun for the whole family! Probably. Maybe.

The Doctor Whooch Editing Process

November 3, 2014 /

NoNaNo

November 1, 2014 /

In year’s past, I’ve tried to do the whole NaNoWriMo thing to varying degrees of success. Last year, I made it to almost 20,000 words before stalling – a failure given the scope of the project, but a success in many other ways. I now have a bit of foundation for a series I’ve been planning to do for a few years, and a bit of working history for a whole I’ve wanted to bring to life for even longer, so that’s pretty cool.

I’m not going to try to do NaNoWriMo this year. Between upcoming projects and current commitments, I’m stretched pretty thin as it is. That said, I’m still making it my mission to hit 50,000 words by the end of the month, through posts like this, and my work over at Comics! The Blog and Comics Beat. If I’m feeling really ambitious, I might even write some short fiction. Who knows? Regardless, I will be writing this month, and I will be writing quite a bit. Some of it might even be good. One can hope.

Unwritable Girl

October 28, 2014 /

My hands were shaking.

We’d been together for almost three years, had lived together for over two, and still, I couldn’t steady my hands. I had planned to propose a long time ago, but the ring I wanted to get her cost a bit of money, more money than I could afford under regular circumstances. She had told me that she didn’t want something fancy or expensive, but I knew it was perfect, and it had to be hers.

Finally, hands shaking, in Manchester, Connecticut, standing in the middle of a beautiful garden, under a beautiful gazebo, I get down on one knee… and promptly forget absolutely everything I wanted to say to her.

What do you say to the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with? Everything you can come up with will almost inevitably fall short of the goal. You strive for perfection, because that is what you have, the woman that fits with you perfectly, but you can’t possibly describe the feeling you have for her.

Flash forward a few short months. Ever since you’ve been engaged, you’ve talked about getting married. How could you not? You want to be this woman’s husband, and you want to be that as soon as possible. The two of you decide on October 17th, the day she asked you to be her boyfriend, and you accepted without question. Three years to that day, you get married.

It’s a small ceremony. Nobody you know is there, except your soon-to-be wife. You’re nervous and she’s nervous, and you’re sure and you’re unsure and the emotion swirls, and your head swims. The time draws near. The ceremony starts. She walks towards you, and taps you on the shoulder. You turn around. Instantly, you’re a ball of tears. This woman, standing before you. Smiling. Radiant. Gorgeous. Her dress is stunning, a beautiful lacy number that makes her look like she walked off the set of an old Hollywood movie. This woman. And she wants you.

We go through the ceremony, repeating words, and saying our own. The proceedings are a blur. The only memory is her face, her eyes, her smile. This woman.

Today, I’ve been married for a little over a week. In all ways, I’ve never been happier than I am now. There’s just something about the love of an amazing woman, a woman who makes you feel more than the sum of your parts… there’s just something about her. Something indescribable, something I scramble to put into tangible description every day. It’s impossible.

To you, my love. And to the time (and space) we will spend together, travelling through life, together.

I love you.

-B

Monday, Briefly

October 27, 2014 /
  • Tomorrow, I’m going to post about that time that I got married. By the way, you guys, I’m married now. I’m somebody’s husband. Specifically, the wonderful Danica LeBlanc’s husband. She wrote a wonderful piece about the day on her blog, and you should definitely check that out.
  • Today was a day off, which probably meant I should have been writing. Instead, I went into work for a bit and fielded a call from the shop owner that got me fairly riled up. I’m sorting through what the consequences of that call might be. Suffice to say, the next little while might be very interesting.
  • A big box full of Kyle Starks showed up at the homestead today, and all of Edmonton should be able to get their hands on it soon! Stay tuned for details…
  • Comics! The Blog got a bit of a redesign over the past week, and content is gearing back up after a lull. Look for a lot more in the near future.
  • It’s bed time. Time for bed. Night all.

Comics Beat // FOC Fridays

October 4, 2014 /

Two weeks ago, I began writing a weekly column about final order cut-offs for Comics! Beat. Time for some links:

  • (09.27.2014) // “So here’s the thing about this new Deathstroke book: I genuinely think there has never been a better time for DC to try and make this book happen. The character is coming off of a high profile turn as the big bad on the latest season of Arrow where he was watched by millions. The DVDs are out. The episodes will eventually hit Netflix. They’d be stupid tonot test the waters with a new series. The problem? They are testing those waters poorly.“
  • (10.03.2014) // “This week’s final order cut off has the last issue of Superman Unchained, and now I can set fire my feelings of disappointment and send the whole thing off to sea. While Scott Snyder and Jim Lee put together a phenomenal book, DC could have done so much more with this series. So, so much more.”

Every week I’m not on vacation or otherwise indisposed, these’ll be running weekly, alongside a weekly shot of my regular retail column. All of this along with churning things out regularly. Or at least I hope. As always, we’ll see how this all turns out.

Doctor Whooch // Episode 032 // Into Dorkness

September 4, 2014 /

In which we’re drunk in Hartford!

We’re still on vacation, which means we have ANOTHER episode of Doctor Whooch ready for your ears, and this time, we’re talking about “Into the Dalek”, the second episode of the eighth series. What did we think? Well, we’re not entirely sure. We drank more during this episode than any other episode, for vacation reasons, and we can’t remember what happened. So, uh… enjoy?

Outro music is “I Am A Dalek” by The Art Attacks.

Podcast picture is by GIRL NAMED SHIRL PHOTOGRAPHY

Subscribe to Doctor Whooch on iTunes

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

September 1, 2014 /

And of course, I haven’t written a thing on this vacation. Not really. I usually have grand plans for getting stuff done, but I keep forgetting: I’m on vacation. My mind is pre-tuned to a more relaxing mode, and that mode is never in the mood to analyze or organize thoughts. So hey, check it out! Words!

*We’ve been a bit of everywhere so far, mostly hanging out in Connecticut with short trips out to Cape Cod in Rhode Island (for fun) and Ontario (for fun and family and friends). I actually met Scott Williams in person for the first time ever. By my count, we’ve been working in similar circles going on… 13 years now? Which is insane. He’s a great dude, and just as awesome and funny in person.

*Connecticut is a wonderful place. It’s everything Edmonton isn’t, which isn’t a slight to Edmonton – it’s just the point of a vacation is to go elsewhere and experience something outside of your regular realm of experience. This is definitely that. Beautiful old houses are everywhere, and everything is just so spread out. It’s great.

*And yes, I’ve been ruminating on a few articles. I mean hey, Marvel is apparently trying to get people to go deep on AXIS in order to trade in unsold copies for future Avengers variants. I have opinions on that. There’s also a few half finished things ready to go. So the first week back should be buckshot in terms of content and writing.

*And uh hmmmm…. What else, what else…

Oh right! I’m engaged! I was going to toss up a picture there, but it doesn’t look like my site will let me at this point, for whatever reason. Disappointing. Anyway, as of a week ago, the wonderful Ms. Danica LeBlanc agreed to marry me, and I’ve been grinning like an idiot ever since. I’m ridiculously happy, and having the time of my life. Vacation ends on Thursday, and while it’s always great to come back home, I’ve had a wonderful time, and the last few days look like they’ll be pretty great as well. Talk with you all later.

Doctor Whooch // Episode 031 // Vacation Haze

August 28, 2014 /

In which we’re on vacation, losers!

This week’s episode features a first: while we’ve been doing Doctor Whooch long enough to talk about the two specials that rounded off Matt Smith’s run as The Doctor, we’ve never been recording during a full series. Whelp, that’s all clearly changing, because we have Capaldi to talk about! In this episode, we say things! About “Deep Breath”! What exactly? Who knows! Oh, and we also don’t mention our engagement, because we recorded it before that happened but HEY YOU GUYS WE GOT ENGAGED! Isn’t that cool? That’s pretty cool.

Outro music is “Let It Ride” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive

Podcast picture is by GIRL NAMED SHIRL PHOTOGRAPHY

Subscribe to Doctor Whooch on iTunes

And So It Goes

August 10, 2014 /

1. Trying this out on the iPad, with nothing more than the formatting options that the WordPress app has to offer. I’m pondering a bit of a chronicle of the upcoming vacation, and figured ease would be the key. Low formatting, high content, blah blah blah. Consider this a test.

2. We’ve arrived back home after my sister’s wedding, and while there are definitely stories, they’ll probably happen later or not at all. I was the MC at the reception, and that was a bit of a task, but the whole day went relatively well, and my sister looked happy and wonderful, and that’s really all I could ask. Her husband is a great guy, and I’m glad to have him and his son (and my nephew) be a part of the family.

3. Speaking of weddings, no writing was accomplished this weekend. Oh and also, Danica and I will be attending another wedding this coming weekend. And then it’s time for vacation! Aaaaand I’m still writing what I can for the lovely internet. Ah, the crazy times. I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

4. Speaking of writing, I think I have a decent schedule happening for Variant Edition, one that I hope to maintain while we’re off on vacation. It won’t be anything I’m going to push too hard – the point of a vacation is to relax a bit – but hopefully, it should help get things moving a bit smoother in that regard.

5. This week at Comics Beat: an article about using the power of comics retail responsibly, and that Archie piece, again, probably.

More to come…

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