New Helm news!
The Helm is going to be published in French language print and digital versions for France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada by French publisher Bragelonne! And, as if that's not enough, both Comixology and Panelfly began offering the Helm for iPhone and iPad on June 18th, 2010!
So, now you can read The Helm on your iPhone, or in France, or even on your iPhone in France! Holy crap! Maybe Jerry Lewis will read even it now. He's been pretty busy lately, but with the whole French connection, who knows?
Friday, June 18, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
The Flaming Sword
Hey folks,
There's a new page up on the Helm Website: The Flaming Sword. It's a review site where Mathew and the Helm rave or rant about books, movies, TV, music, games or whatever. The inaugural review is of the movie Kick Ass. Check out the page and see how many flaming swords the boys gave the movie by clicking this link: FLAMER
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Mint Condition Copy of The Helm Available for $1.5 Million
That's right. And what's more, I have several mint condition copies of The Helm available at this astonishingly good price so that anyone with $1.5 million can buy their own. You see, The Helm is not just for the elite few, it is a comic book for regular folks--especially those who happen to have $1.5 million to spend on a single graphic novel.
Now, I know what you're thinking. $1.5 million? Isn't that a little...cheap? Yes, you're right. If I go by the popular pricing model, I'm undervaluing mint condition copies of The Helm by nearly $223.5 million. So, what am I thinking? Yes, I know that Action Comics #1 originally sold for only ten cents and it just went at auction for $1.5 million, whereas The Helm has a list price of $14.95--that's nearly 150 times more than Action Comics #1. I know that means that The Helm should sell for almost $225 million--it's just simple math. Even a rat could figure that out. Well, a genetically modified rat with an enlarged brain capable of conceptualizing the idea of math and then doing simple calculations like multiplication. But, and this is important to me, I want The Helm to remain a graphic novel for the masses. If I restrict the book only to people who can afford to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for it, I'll be limited to a pretty small audience. Sure, I'd only need to sell four or five copies a year to maintain my modest lifestyle, but I'd miss the satisfaction of knowing the book was being read not just by a handful of chortling billionaires but by dozens of other, less massively wealthy (but still rich) people.
Also, I'd have to live with the serious possibility that people who could afford to pay $225 million for a copy wouldn't actually read it, but would probably put it in a vault or something so as to protect their investment. I didn't write The Helm so that it could languish in Bill Gate's or Phil Knight's comics vault (no offense Bill or Phil--having been in both your comics vaults, I understand and respect what you are doing.) I wrote The Helm so that fantastically wealthy teenagers could delight in its pages. So that ostentatiously rich 40-year-old males with great computer but poor social skills could thrill to the adventures of Mathew Blurdy. I wrote The Helm so that people with the modest sum of $1.5 million dollars to spend on a single comic book could enjoy a full graphic novel just like people with hundreds of times that much money.
And so, as a matter of principle, I won't accept a penny over $1.5 million for a mint condition copy of The Helm. Unless it is autographed.
Now, I know what you're thinking. $1.5 million? Isn't that a little...cheap? Yes, you're right. If I go by the popular pricing model, I'm undervaluing mint condition copies of The Helm by nearly $223.5 million. So, what am I thinking? Yes, I know that Action Comics #1 originally sold for only ten cents and it just went at auction for $1.5 million, whereas The Helm has a list price of $14.95--that's nearly 150 times more than Action Comics #1. I know that means that The Helm should sell for almost $225 million--it's just simple math. Even a rat could figure that out. Well, a genetically modified rat with an enlarged brain capable of conceptualizing the idea of math and then doing simple calculations like multiplication. But, and this is important to me, I want The Helm to remain a graphic novel for the masses. If I restrict the book only to people who can afford to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for it, I'll be limited to a pretty small audience. Sure, I'd only need to sell four or five copies a year to maintain my modest lifestyle, but I'd miss the satisfaction of knowing the book was being read not just by a handful of chortling billionaires but by dozens of other, less massively wealthy (but still rich) people.
Also, I'd have to live with the serious possibility that people who could afford to pay $225 million for a copy wouldn't actually read it, but would probably put it in a vault or something so as to protect their investment. I didn't write The Helm so that it could languish in Bill Gate's or Phil Knight's comics vault (no offense Bill or Phil--having been in both your comics vaults, I understand and respect what you are doing.) I wrote The Helm so that fantastically wealthy teenagers could delight in its pages. So that ostentatiously rich 40-year-old males with great computer but poor social skills could thrill to the adventures of Mathew Blurdy. I wrote The Helm so that people with the modest sum of $1.5 million dollars to spend on a single comic book could enjoy a full graphic novel just like people with hundreds of times that much money.
And so, as a matter of principle, I won't accept a penny over $1.5 million for a mint condition copy of The Helm. Unless it is autographed.
Monday, March 29, 2010
PLA Signing
Just wanted to say thanks to all the folks who stopped by the Dark Horse booth at the Public Library Association show at the Oregon Convention Center for The Helm signing. It was great meeting you all! And thanks again to YALSA for naming The Helm one of the top ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens of 2010.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Hair, the PLA and Some Musings
So, after viewing my glorious Google Analytics results, I see that the couple of posts that I've done about hair continue to be the most viewed posts on this blog. Which is rewarding because I only wrote those posts after reading an article that said that blogs about hair were the most commonly searched and read items on the internet.
This suggests that if I want any news to get read in the Helm blog that I should make sure to include some prominent reference to hair in it. Which is not what I'm doing now, although it is what I am doing now.
In non-hair related news, it looks like I will be doing a signing at the PLA (Public Library Association) convention in Portland later this month! I love those Library Association people. Librarians I guess. Ever since the YALSA people put The Helm on their Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens list, sales have been up and lots of new people have been visiting the Website. So, here's a shout out to all of the Helm reading Librarians out there! THANKS! And, WAY TO GO!
One small thing. When Dark Horse asked me to do a signing at the PLA show, I thought for a second they were talking about the PLA of the PLO. Of course, the Palestine Liberation Organization is not connected to the Public Library Association as far as I'm aware except for by the P and the L. But, since the PLO was founded the year I was born, and since the PLA is the military wing of the PLO, you can see why I was concerned. Anyway, it got me thinking that it might be cool if there was a Public Library Army that served as the militant wing of the Public Library. They could make sure overdue book fines are paid on time or really throw down on folks who don't read enough books. Or attack people who bend down the corners of pages to mark where they are in books. That's defacing literature.
Another small concern--while the PLA stands for the Public Library Association (a division of the American Library Association), there is also a PLA that stands for the Punjab Library Association. I'd hate to have anyone confuse the two. That's the trouble with those three letters. They're really popular for organization names. Not only do we have the Palestine Liberation Army and the Punjab Library Association to worry about, there's also the Party of Labor of Albania (which really ought to be the PoLoA) as well as the Port of London Authority, the Phone Losers of America and the Pre-school Learning Alliance. And I'm not even getting into the computer science Principle of Least Astonishment (which really ought to be PoLA).
But, I digress. Or, at least I would be digressing if this entry actually had a point from which I could veer. But it doesn't, so technically, I don't.
This suggests that if I want any news to get read in the Helm blog that I should make sure to include some prominent reference to hair in it. Which is not what I'm doing now, although it is what I am doing now.
In non-hair related news, it looks like I will be doing a signing at the PLA (Public Library Association) convention in Portland later this month! I love those Library Association people. Librarians I guess. Ever since the YALSA people put The Helm on their Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens list, sales have been up and lots of new people have been visiting the Website. So, here's a shout out to all of the Helm reading Librarians out there! THANKS! And, WAY TO GO!
One small thing. When Dark Horse asked me to do a signing at the PLA show, I thought for a second they were talking about the PLA of the PLO. Of course, the Palestine Liberation Organization is not connected to the Public Library Association as far as I'm aware except for by the P and the L. But, since the PLO was founded the year I was born, and since the PLA is the military wing of the PLO, you can see why I was concerned. Anyway, it got me thinking that it might be cool if there was a Public Library Army that served as the militant wing of the Public Library. They could make sure overdue book fines are paid on time or really throw down on folks who don't read enough books. Or attack people who bend down the corners of pages to mark where they are in books. That's defacing literature.
Another small concern--while the PLA stands for the Public Library Association (a division of the American Library Association), there is also a PLA that stands for the Punjab Library Association. I'd hate to have anyone confuse the two. That's the trouble with those three letters. They're really popular for organization names. Not only do we have the Palestine Liberation Army and the Punjab Library Association to worry about, there's also the Party of Labor of Albania (which really ought to be the PoLoA) as well as the Port of London Authority, the Phone Losers of America and the Pre-school Learning Alliance. And I'm not even getting into the computer science Principle of Least Astonishment (which really ought to be PoLA).
But, I digress. Or, at least I would be digressing if this entry actually had a point from which I could veer. But it doesn't, so technically, I don't.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Community Booster and a Plea to the Neilsen Families
I read in today's paper (the Oregonian) that the show Community (NBC, Thursday nights) is not doing well in the ratings and might not be picked up for another season. NO! So, here's me being a Community booster. The show is really funny and it would be a shame if it was cancelled because of low ratings. Not just a shame, it would be stupid.
The title comes from the fact that the show is set at a community college where a disbarred lawyer is struggling to get his college degree and his life back in order as the leader of a pack of nerdy misfits. May not sound hilarious, but much hilarity ensues. The show features Chevy Chase--which may be a turn off for some people, but he's really funny on Community--although he's by no means the star. The rest of the cast are all great and each character has their own funny subplots and back stories built around their particular reason for being at a community college. Plus, the show just has a lot of tight, snarky, pop culture humor that makes it a blast to watch. They've already had a character dressed as the Beastmaster while whacked out on a combination of Viagra and hallucinogenic drugs for God's sake! And the very funny actor Ken Jeong (Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, Role Models, the Hangover and Couples Retreat) is great as the Asian Spanish teacher Senor Chang.
Apart from all of that, I love the show because it reminds me of my own experience at community college. Yes, that's right. I went to Harper College for a year when I was trying to "figure out what to do with my life" but before I had embarked on the path that eventually led to my current, fabulous career. And you know what? It was just like Community (only less funny at the time.)
So, skip Vampire Diaries (aren't we all getting tired of angsty, good-looking-vampire-boy-toys?) or record it, and watch Community. Especially you Nielsen Ratings families.
In fact, as long as you Nielsen Ratings families are reading this, can you please just start watching better shows in general? You guys watch some real crap and it winds up getting a bunch of great shows (that I'm sure scads of other people are watching) cancelled. Really, do us all a favor and please try some more science fiction, some more horror, some more great comedy. Expand your horizons. The world of television has so much to offer you...
Okay.
The title comes from the fact that the show is set at a community college where a disbarred lawyer is struggling to get his college degree and his life back in order as the leader of a pack of nerdy misfits. May not sound hilarious, but much hilarity ensues. The show features Chevy Chase--which may be a turn off for some people, but he's really funny on Community--although he's by no means the star. The rest of the cast are all great and each character has their own funny subplots and back stories built around their particular reason for being at a community college. Plus, the show just has a lot of tight, snarky, pop culture humor that makes it a blast to watch. They've already had a character dressed as the Beastmaster while whacked out on a combination of Viagra and hallucinogenic drugs for God's sake! And the very funny actor Ken Jeong (Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, Role Models, the Hangover and Couples Retreat) is great as the Asian Spanish teacher Senor Chang.
Apart from all of that, I love the show because it reminds me of my own experience at community college. Yes, that's right. I went to Harper College for a year when I was trying to "figure out what to do with my life" but before I had embarked on the path that eventually led to my current, fabulous career. And you know what? It was just like Community (only less funny at the time.)
So, skip Vampire Diaries (aren't we all getting tired of angsty, good-looking-vampire-boy-toys?) or record it, and watch Community. Especially you Nielsen Ratings families.
In fact, as long as you Nielsen Ratings families are reading this, can you please just start watching better shows in general? You guys watch some real crap and it winds up getting a bunch of great shows (that I'm sure scads of other people are watching) cancelled. Really, do us all a favor and please try some more science fiction, some more horror, some more great comedy. Expand your horizons. The world of television has so much to offer you...
Okay.
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