Interview with Lush Comics Founder Justin Mound

One of the publishers I chatted with at MoCCA Fest was Justin Mound of Lush Comics. I actually sought him out just because I think his company is doing some amazing things for the indie comics world. I got to sit down (and email) with Justin about Lush.

In 20 words or less, What is Lush Comics?

Lush Comics is a self-publishing platform for artists and publishers of digital comics and graphic novels. Phew! Under 20.

How did Lush Comics start? Where did you get the name Lush?

I left my full-time job and decided to start my own business. The iPad was picking up steam, the subway was filled with people reading their Kindles, and I noticed that comics were being largely left out of all of the self-publishing options that writers had. I told my good friend Jeff Lewis that I wanted to make apps out of his comics, he thought it was a great idea, and it grew from there. The name "lush", well, I had a day that I brainstormed names. It bubbled up to the surface of my brain as a synonym for vibrant and alive, which I thought was fitting for great comics storytelling. And, I just liked the sound of it.

Do you cater to a particular comic genre?

Nope, not at all. On purpose. As a self-publishing platform, and not a traditional publisher of a particular genre, we don't curate content. We live in a time in which there are tools for anyone to publish any media they create, which I believe is a very good thing. Lush Comics is one of those tools. Anyone, from any skill level can choose to put their stuff out there, find their fans, and their niche.

When will the Lush app be available?

The iPhone app should be out in two weeks from now, and the iPad by June 1st. I'll let you know.

What do you have upcoming for Lush fans? Any new artists?

A bunch of new artists. One of the ones I am super excited about is Justin Rivers and Courtney Zell, Creators of The Wonder City. Theirs was originally a featured Kickstarter project that they recently brought to print. They rose $5,500 and it looks great. They recently were looking for a way to publish digitally, and decided to go with Lush. I'm pretty excited about that.

What is your favorite part of the indie comic scene?

The people. I think there is a public perception of comic artists as being shy and awkward. My experience has been the exact opposite. All of the artists I have interacted with have been smart, witty, and really cool people that I feel lucky to be able to meet and learn from. And the art, there is some great art out there.

To learn more about Lush Comics, check out their website here. If you decide to publish through Lush, let us know!

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Art Spotlight: MoCCA Fest Edition

This month's Art Spotlight is featuring some of the amazing artists that I met at MoCCA Fest this past weekend. These are only a few of the talented artists in attendance at MoCCA, but they truly made an impact on me.

This is Classic Hollywood Monsters from a fellow volunteer, Savark Dicupe. I wish I had realized how talented he was when I was working with him; I would have pressed him for more art to post!

Amy Lynn Duengfelder makes amazing jewelry, which I purchased at MoCCA, but she also creates great, happy, twisted artwork like this Ice Cream Cone.

Remember that guy who asked me about caffeine? Well, he is actually Greg Houston, creator of Vatican Hustle and Elephant Man from NBM. After going through his site, this Electric Tree kept appearing on my screen. Just love it!

Justin Peterson, creator of Very Near Mint, had a lot of fantastic work out at MoCCA, but this just stood out on his website. Who doesn't love some Doc Brown?

Did you see any fantastic art that I should share in the next Art Spotlight? Email me at insertgeekhere@gmail.com.

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My Time at MoCCA Fest!

I went to MoCCA Fest for the first time this year and I went as a volunteer. Volunteering is an awesome, fun way to support your show and your comic addiction all in one. I highly recommend it as a unique way to see the show. While you won’t have as much freedom than if you went as just a fan, there are a lot of benefits to volunteering. You meet and work with amazing people who are as passionate as you are about geek culture. You also get to see the show in a way fans never realize. The work that goes into these festivals and cons is insane and crazy and not always organized, but the passion is always there and it shows in every worker that is there. The show also provides you with great incentives. For volunteering I received a free pass to the show, meals, a t-shirt and a ton of free books at the end. If you are going to volunteer though, please honor your commitment. These organizations only succeed because of volunteer support and dropping out at the last minute is unfair to them and the other volunteers.

I was working on the programming team, which meant a few things. There was a lot of technical setup, some actual responsibility in making sure that the panels ran smoothly and the panelists were happy, and the opportunity to see a lot of awesome panels. I promise, I did work, but it was great to see panels I never would have gotten to see if I was on my own. Plus, I got to meet and hear some amazing people at the panels including Jerry Robinson, Jackson Publick, R. Sikoryak, Bill Plympton, Al Jaffee, Kate Beaton, Sarah Glidden, Lisa Hanawalt and Jeffrey Lewis. Even when I was standing outside of the panel guarding the door, I got to meet Greg Houston, an illustrator for NBM. While at the time he was just looking for caffeine, we chatted, and I have had the chance to look at some of his work and it is fantastic. I really hope to learn more about his upcoming projects soon.


The most entertaining panel I attended was The Cross Hatch Carousel. It was a live comic reading starring Kate Beaton, Lisa Hanawalt, Jackson Publick, Julie Klausner, Jeffrey Lewis and R. Sikoryak with my Programming boss Brian Heater moderating. For all of you thinking how can reading comics out loud be entertaining, you just have no idea. The excitement that they brought to the reading really made it fun. Also, the comics were just super funny. Because of this panel, I actually cornered R. Sikoryak (He told me to call him Bob! Squeee!!!) and made sure that he put me on his mailing list for the next reading. I will make sure to bring Wysefyre and Getsuyobi for all of the fun.


The most interesting panel I attended was the Batman, The Joker and Beyond: The Career of Jerry Robinson. I loved hearing all the side stories about his work. Two tidbits stuck in my mind. Mr. Robinson’s brother was a champion bridge player and his family played a lot of cards. When he was up one night working, the idea struck him for a new villain and he grabbed a deck of cards from them and The Joker was born. The second tidbit was in the creation of the sidekick for Batman. Despite popular belief, he didn’t name Robin after himself. When they were working on a name for this character, Mr. Robinson thought back to his favorite story, Robin Hood, and that’s where we got the Boy Wonder from. It was neat to learn about comic history from someone who was there living it.

Despite my busy panel working schedule, I did get a chance to walk around the show a bit. I got to meet a ton of interesting people. I actually hit up a lot of the same places that Wysefyre and Getsuyobi went. I swung by Jeph Jacques to pick up my own copy of Questionable Content after reading Getsuyobi’s copy. I also visited Pronto Comics and Lush Comics and had a blast talking with those two publishers. We really hope to bring you more from them soon. I stopped by the Evil Twin Comics table to say hi to Fred Van Lente and Greg Pak, who was sharing the table on Sunday. I got a copy of Greg Pak’s Vision Machine, which was a fantastic story. I encourage you to read it and I will be posting more about it soon. I got an awesome necklace from Amy Lynn Duengfelder’s table. She had some fantastic stuff and I am looking forward to really exploring her work. At Richard Codor’s table, I picked up a signed copy of the Joyous Haggadah, which is totally getting me in the Passover spirit. I also saw some great Star Trek, Star Wars and X-Men artwork at Justin Peterson’s table but at that point I was out of cash and totally kicking myself. His website is on my list to visit next payday! Same thing happened at Braden Lamb’s table, where I saw some terrific Star Wars art. Serves me right for being conservative at the ATM. One thing I did miss on the floor was the freebies and discounts that a lot of the volunteers were getting from the vendors. I was so focused on the tables I wanted to see that I missed out on some good deals but maybe next year!

I really enjoyed the feel of the show. It was a group of creators that really wanted to just hang with their fans. Yes, Wysefyre is right that there were creators that didn’t sell themselves correctly, but this is a nice change from a big con. I really didn’t miss the tables and tables of back issue sellers and was totally happy to be in a giant Artist Alley. Next year, you should join me as a volunteer if you can because it is a great experience for a great organization.

Let us know what you thought of MoCCA, did you love it, hate it....

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MoCCA Fest Musings & Tips

MoCCA Fest was this past weekend, and it was an interesting experience. Part of what was appealing to me about it was that it's a great place for indie comic creators to display their work. I didn't know what to expect, but I went in hoping for a good time and a chance to be introduced to new works.

Saturday, Getsuyobi and I arrived around 2 pm, Wilderowens was already there volunteering (she'll tell you all it),  and we walked the exhibition floor. We stopped at few booths, but other than a few exhibitors who we were familiar with, we didn't meet a lot of new people. There was something about the vibe of the show that didn't seem to work for us. Talking about it later, we came up with some reasons why.  Here they are as well as a few tips on how to make things better for next year.

1 - The accessibility of the exhibitor. It is hard to approach someone when they are deep in conversation with their friends or when they appear to be intensely concentrating on their latest piece. We want to be able to talk to you about your work but when your head is down and you don't even notice us standing there, then we will walk on by.

2 - Lack of assertiveness. The exhibitors are there to show off their work, so what aren't they calling us over or simply saying hello when they see us look their way? There was a guy from Pantsless Comics who was saying the most random things but also calling attention to himself and his group. It was impossible to ignore him and they were great to talk to. I'm not saying randomness is the only way to get people's attention, but it doesn't hurt. A little assertiveness goes a long way.

3 - Have a business card. I understand that many of the exhibitors might not be comfortable in this kind of environment. It might be their first time or they're not used to the crowds or whatever, so I get that it might be a little difficult for them to sell themselves and their products. They also might just be very busy. BUT if I want to get in touch with you and find out more about your work and maybe even help promote it, I need to be able to contact you. Vista Print offers free and low cost business cards. Get some and then hand them out to everyone who expresses an interest. 

And finally, this last tip might not be doable for everyone but it definitely can only help the creator - try to bring with you someone who knows and supports your work. That way if you have to go to the bathroom or need a break, someone will be there to promote your work while you're gone. I bring this up because one of the more fascinating comics I saw was from Origami Comics. The comic was shaped as a fortune teller. I loved those as a kid. It was beautiful to look at, and I definitely wanted to talk to Ken Wong, but he was nowhere to be found. The people next to him gave me his card but they could not answer any questions about it. That one made me really sad. I'm definitely going to try and find him at NYCC. So please try to bring someone who can give you extra support.

Now that I've talked about some of the not so great experiences, let me discuss the good. The people that we did speak to were great. I came across a most unexpected find with Ryan Sias' children's book "are you eating something RED?" It's the perfect gift for my niece.

Fred Van Lente and the fake Ryan Dunlavey (Fred's wife) were wonderful. Had a lot of fun with them at the Evil Twin Comics table. Mrs. Van Lente knows how to sell. She saw us looking at the table, told us about the various works and encouraged us to pick stuff up and mess everything up (within reason, of course), and Mr. Van Lente talked to us about his work and was just very approachable.  

Pronto Comics was there. They do a lot of work helping creators self-publish projects, collaborative and solo, as well as helping creators build their portfolios. One of these days, I will make it to one of their meetings. I want to see how it all works.

TopatoCo was awesome as always. They have great stuff and given my slightly unnatural love for Questionable Content, it's always nice to see Jeph Jacques. Getsuyobi got an autographed QC book complete with a Pintsize drawing.

Finally, we got to talk to Lush Comics. Lush Comics is a comic book publishing platform for folks who want to share and sell their art. It was great talking to Justin Mound about it and we plan on getting more info so we can pass it along to you. 

So overall, for Getsuyobi and I, the Fest was a mixed bag. Some good, some not so good and some just okay. Now that I have an idea of what it is like, next year I'll be better prepared. 

Did you go to MoCCA Fest '11? What did you think? Do you agree or disagree with my tips? And do you have any suggestions? Let us know!

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Comic Fun in NYC this Weekend!

This weekend, NYC is filled with great comic events that we are so excited for! The whole IGH team is going to try and make it to as many of these as we possibly can, so keep an eye out for us!


On Friday 4/8, The Strand Bookstore is holding their first ever Strandicon! The Strand celebrates the comics art form with an afternoon of special appearances and a panel discussion with the founder and editors of the re-launched The Comics Journal.


The event starts at 2:30pm at the Strand Comics & Graphic Novels Department on the Second Floor at 828 Broadway & 12th St.


On Friday 4/8, Drink & Draw like a Lady East is happening to help kickoff MoCCA Fest weekend! If you are a woman that writes, edits, letters, draws, studies, sells or reviews comics, then this is the gathering for you! It looks like a great chance to see and discuss some great art!


The event runs from 7-10pm at 192 Books, 192 Tenth Avenue at 21st Street.


On Friday 4/8, the MoCCA Fest kickoff party is a fundraiser for MoCCA! There are some special guests including anti-folker/cartoonist Jeffrey Lewis, folk legend Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders and cartoonist Dean Haspiel, along with R. Sikoryak doing some live painting.


The event runs from 7-10pm at Sutra Lounge, 16 1st Ave @ 1st St. $5 donation at the door.


Then the big event of the weekend: MoCCA Fest! This year looks to be a great one, with programming that looks so interesting. One event that I want to see is the 2011 Klein Award to be given to Al Jaffee of MAD Magazine. I am sure his speech will be a good one! I especially hope to get to meet Dean Haspiel!

For those of you not in NYC, Saturday 4/9 is Mini Comics Day! This is a day where you can create your own mini comic in one day. There are events happening all around the world. If there isn't an event near you, you can still take part by creating your own comic. There are resources available on their website. If you do create one, send it to us and we will feature it!

As always, we will do our best to tweet during all of this fun and if you happen to be at any of these NYC events, come and find us!


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