One of my favorite aspects of the webcomics community is the collective sharing of knowledge. With Facebook, Twitter, IM, Skype, and countless other portals of communication, it’s merely a matter of seconds before lessons can be learned en masse, whether they be for gain or hindrance. Spike, the enigmatic creator behind Templar, A.Z., has just experienced such a learning experience and she hopes to pass on her pain and experience to you.
Last night, via Twitter, Spike mentioned that she wouldn’t have copies for her fourth collection of Templar, A.Z. available for purchase at the MoCCA (Museum of Cartoon and Comic Art) Festival. Her tweet read:
Well, I guess I WON’T have book 4s for MoCCA. Fantastic.
Never one to tweet without explanation, Spike peppered the next few hours with follow-up tweets:
Guys, I’M my publisher. My PRINTER is the one shafting me.
My printer is Lebonfon. I wasn’t going to name them, but this is too f***ing ridiculous, so there you go. Never use them.
I have no idea what I’m going to do, now. MoCCA is this weekend, and I will have no new material. Thanks, Lebonfon.
The urge to not even go is overwhelming. I seriously have no desire to sit behind a table and disappoint people / explain myself for 2 days.
Okay, I’ll be bringing a pile of originals, which I NEVER usually sell, to MoCCA. ~$75.00 apiece. 9″x12″s from Chapter 1. I hate doing this.
I may jack up the price. I wanted to keep these forever.
Oh hey did I mention that Lebonfon tried to overcharge me by $1,300 too? They attempted to bill me for a figure much higher than the quotes.
Still edging towards ditching MoCCA. It’s 50/50.
Decided. No MoCCA. Books 1-3 will be there, but not me. Buy ’em off @reiley & @rymagnusson at table C7, I’ll be at home doing a bonus comic.
The bonus comic will be to zero me out on nonrefundable plane fare and my share of the table. Sorry, I can’t sell originals. Too crazy.
So due to the incompetence of one printer we go from having Spike at a show to no Spike and no original prints. Having never had a personal experience with Lebonfon, this post does not condemn the company itself. It does, however, serve as a great resource for those who may be considering the printer for their works. Buyer/user beware!
All tweets provided by Twitter
