This is my annual reel of where we’ve been this past year and where we’re going. I’ll usually make myself go back to the previous year’s wrap-up, partly to see how we did compared to what we had planned, partly to compare the years as they pass. This year, I realized we’re coming up on a serious milestone: next year, Red Stylo Media will turn ten. We approach the decade mark with some startling stats:
- Over 300 artists and writers published
- Nearing 1000 pages of comics and art, over 600 of which are from anthologies
- 16 titles published (not counting those in production)
- 6 Kickstarter campaigns
- 3 new editors
- 1 Harvey nomination
- 1 publishing imprint
- 1 Patreon
There’s more, of course, and it can’t all be summed up in a list of stats or highlights. But I’ve enjoyed the look back–even on the times I’m just glad are over. Especially those, in fact, because it means we made it through! So here’s to the ninth notch in our belts. 2019 was another great year, and there are more truly great things on the way.
Double Your Pleasure, Double The Fun
In some ways, A Soul Divided/Caged In Flesh, our newest anthology inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was a homecoming. This was a book that I’d wanted to do years ago but at the time, on the heels of three literature-inspired collections, it would have felt forced. Fresh eyes and a new editorial team later, not only did we return to literature as inspiration for the new Red Stylo Presents annual anthology, we decided to tackle a double-side format suitable to the double-sided personality of the main character.
Putting together one book with two sides is not technically any different than putting together any other book, but you are doing everything twice. Two titles, two logos, two covers, two formats for the book, two story slates— two times the work. And still those things must complement one another as two halves of a whole. In one of the smartest moves RSM made, then, was quadruple the number of editors to put this sucker together! Jekyll & Hyde was our very first team edit with Genevieve Trainor and myself wrangling the story slate, and the book packaged by dynamic production team duo, Mark Mullaney and Laura Guzzo. Very special thanks to Laura for pulling the final package together!
Thirty creators split over two teams created a dueling-personality collection for the ages (or psych ward rolls, depending on your POV.) I asked Genevieve to sum up her experience as editor, working with creators on this book (and no, I didn’t pay her to say any of this stuff):
“Working with the RSM team was a dream; the skill and drive poured into the project were astounding. There’s nothing better than the feeling of brainstorming with brilliant, like-minded folks and being able to trust them to lift up the good ideas and honestly shoot down the ideas born of lack of sleep or experience.
A Soul Divided/Caged in Flesh appealed to the horror nerd in me. I don’t like long-form horror (I’m a big chicken at the tamest horror films), but I love horror in short stories and especially comics. The writers and artists we brought on board for the book delivered on that desire in many cases—but they also surprised me by teasing other delightful stories out of the source material. It was a joy to spend 2018 buried in this world. I’m thrilled to see what 2019 brings!”
We went back to the well with a Kickstarter campaign for this collection and thanks to 118 backers, the book debuted at New York Comic Con in October. For anyone who missed it, consider checking out our Patreon this January: we’ll be releasing stories from the collection (plus some erstwhile Ninja Bear episodes!) every two weeks.
Year of Poe
Another homecoming—and literary inspiration, come to that–was the inaugural year of The International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards in Baltimore. And even though New York Comic Con was the same weekend and we had to muster a team of volunteers to cover both shows, RSM wasn’t about to miss out on the Poe action. Jason Strutz was a featured artist at this brand-new event and we brought Poe Twisted and The House of Montresor (our sequel to Poe’s Cask of Amontillado) to the thousands of Poe heads who descended for the festival, coming away with new readers and fans.
In publishing, there’s a tendency to feel like books, once sent out into the world, are done and buried. But as any publisher of indie might tell you, you can’t underestimate the number of people who have never heard of you and so anything you show them can be brand new once more. It’s a gift to get to feel ye old excitement for a title, and also an excellent springboard for new inspiration: in 2019, look for new Poe-inspired one shots from RSM alums, Andrew Jerz and James McGee.
Pressing On
Two new titles from Red Stylo Press in 2018:
R. Robert Pollak’s Ellen’s Adventures at the Shadowland compendium, collecting the time-travelling, ghost-romancing, space alien-encountering, wildly theatrical adventures of Ellen Allan from “The Phantom of Sam’s Point”, “My Alien Pal”, and “Star Struck!” Congratulations to Robert for coming full circle on this collection, and we look forward to your new adventures in years to come!
A new comic anthology inspired by the music of Florence + the Machine. A special edition of COSMIC LOVE debuted a tFlame Con in August and we’re finally ready to see the book in print for wider distribution. Editor, Jennie Wood, has had an incredible year, and the timing could not be better to get this book out to the cosmos. Keep an eye out in late January as we Kickstart the release!
Crossing The Equator
Returning fans and NEW READERS helped fund two new issues of CROSSING in June, and we had the next chapters of this six-issue mini at San Diego Comic Con in July. This is the halfway mark and the big question looming over all: can we finish the series in 2019?
Gonna have to leave THAT question as a cliffhanger in this wrap-up… But I can confirm that we will be returning to SDCC this year. But when have we ever shown up empty-handed?
Head Down, Eyes UP!
So, another year come and gone. And next year we turn ten. How the hell did that happen?
Oh, I know! It happened because of you. Brilliant creators, faithful readers, heroic friends, long-suffering handsome husbands, patient and gloriously beautiful wives, and all the other people, patrons, backers, offspring, the muses that nurture our creative lives. Doing this work is not always fun, but it is ALWAYS gratifying. And so, I remain grateful, every year, every day, every moment, for you.
Thank you,
Enrica J.
Dec 31, 2018
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