General Updates For All Spots GIRAF

7.02.2008

Okay everyone. It has been a little while since we updated our general news sites but here we go. We have completed the Big Bang! Digest and Neo-Kyoto #6 with the help of 4DeepStudio artists Germaine Webb and Brian Proctor. The books were sent off to the Ka-Blam printers at the beginning of June in order for us to meet our July 13th release date. Everyone can get them from our online store Safari Hut (www.girafnetwork.com) and at IndyPlanet (www.indyplanet.com) as well as at the Atlanta Comic Convention in Atlanta on July 13th at the Mariott Hotel & Convention Center. Olivia Townshend and Jerome Montgomery will be attending the GIRAF table for book signings as well as commission artwork requests.

We have had a couple of inquiries if GIRAF will be hosting ZAP! this year. After a hard couple of months soul searching, the team at GIRAF has decided not to co-host ZAP! for 2008. Finances, attendance, and location issues were all factors considered. GIRAF is heading full force in supporting the Indie Film Day for October 2009 that ZAP! is presenting. It's called SPLICED. It will most likely be held in Tucker, GA at the newly christened Movie Tavern location on Lavista Road (www.movietavern.com) . This is a great opportunity for everyone in GA, especially indie and short film makers, cartoonists, and FLASH artists to submit their work to be considered for the TOP 10 Viewing slots for October 31st. Our plan is to also have one Q&A panel during the event in the Theatre Viewing room as well as 6 small press tables available for renting in the main theatre lobby/hallways for promotional small press. These rental spots will help pay for the renting of the Private Theatre showing and the entire event as well. We are looking for Sponsors for the show now as well as Small Press Studios that want to be a part of SPLICED in 2009. (Click here for a Sponsor Form) (Click here for a Short Film Submision Form)

Danger Zone Anthology will be changing formats very soon. We will be producing Danger Zone in the standard size comic book format in full color. It will be reduced to 32 pages. We feel that this change reflects our approach to stay on top of what our fans want when they purchase our releases to raise funds for the Art Awareness Program of GIRAFNetwork. We will still be able to produce grey tone artwork, black and white submissions, etc within the book but our goal is to place as many color oriented submissions-serials in that release. The price will be $3.50 an issue but we believe the costs of color releases warrant the minor cost increase. Neo-Kyoto Manga Anthology will continue to be produced in the Manga Digest format at 48 plus pages per release in black & white as well as greay tone. This is also keeping within the spirit of the release. 

Next...#11, our digital magazine, will be released mid-July for this quarter. It is featuring the artwork and interviews of Brian Proctor from 4DeepStudio, Pixie Bruner whose new prose/poetry book The Ginger Man & Other Strangers has been released through Lulu.com will be interviewed, and the webcomic humor of Kate Beaton from Nova Scotia will make its GIRAF debut. Again, we have included a plethora of tutorials and articles to help aspiring artists, writers, and creative professionals succeed with their efforts. The digital magazine is free. Please contact your local retailers to start carrying our CD in their place of business. They can order copies by emailing us at : information@girafnetwork.com.

CONVENTION Updates
The rumor mill presses on these days as David Tennant leaves his role of Doctor WHO across the pond at the BBC, and here in Atlanta, GA we find ourselves without Atlanta Comics Expo in 2009. The word on the street is that they are merging back with the DRAGON Con event for 2009 held annually around Labor Day. To offset that schedule change, GIRAF will be attending FurryCon in GA in February 2009. We look forward to seeing everyone out there who has Fuzzy Cosplaying dear to their hearts. Also coming off the GIRAF Convention option list will be AdventureCon in Knoxville, but in its place we will be attending Nashville Comic and Horror Fest on October 18th-19th. We are working on getting a table at Atlanta Supercon for this November 21-23 event as well has be panelists for their manga, comics how tos, and publishing panels that weekend.

    In August 2009 several staffers of GIRAFNetwork will be attending the COMIKET Comic market event in Tokyo, Japan. We will be making network connections deep into the heart of the Orient, lol. Our goal is to take in the wonders of this 10,000 plus attendee annual event in the heart of Tokyo and bring back myriads of tales, freebies, and possibly an artist or two to work with GIRAFNetwork. We will be giving out GIRAF, 4DeepStudio, Anime Cosmo, HeroCentral stuff to everyone that we can. Its gonna be very cool!!! We will be helping HeroCentral do a Podcast from Tokoyo that week, and we are planning several events here stateside that will coincide with the Tokyo trip.

New POD CAST Equipment was shipped out on June 26th for our back order. This will give us better sounding commercials for our releases on multi-media as well as GIRAFSpot updates for the public to enjoy. HeroCentral will also be using the equipment to record their monthly BRAIN FREEZE REPORT podcast. Everyone can enjoy that podcast at www.herocentral.org. They are planning a special All-Ladies version of the BFR called Cherry Red. This is to offset a Little Rascal's approach to past shows. Just as BFR is hosted by CountyNinja, Jingai, NeoReveng, Spider with guest hosts SamuraiBlue and BochiRazu, Cherry Red will have its own cast of female hosts, guests, musical interludes, etc. We look forward to experiencing BFR:Cherry Red when it debuts in the next couple of months.

I know that was a lot to take in. I hope you all survived it. We look forward to seeing everyone at the next few shows. Keep us in sight and we'll look for you!!! Peace.

Jason Bullock
Exec Director
GIRAFNetwork