Comics, Pop-Culture, and Race - Is the Industry Doing Enough?

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Comikaze 2014 Recap - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Comikaze Expo means different things to different people. For some, it's a magical hub of information; a place to get the latest info on what's hot and upcoming in the world of comics and popculture. For others, it is sacred ground where one can cosplay outside of Halloween and not be viewed as a freak, where being a nerd is synonymous with being the ish. And for the few exhibitors, small publishers, and artists looking to promote their original brands in the mondern monopolized world of popculture, Comikaze was a land of disappointment.

The Good

Comikaze, overall, had a positive vibe about it. Justin and I met some good folks and engaged in some good conversations with new fans of our work! There's nothing more that we love than seeing smiles on the faces of people who witness Black Streak products for the very first time and answering their questions about our small (and soon to grow) brand.

Kick-Ass and Hit Girl doing what they do best!

It's the man himself! Mr. Lee takes the main stage!

We saw a lot of aswesome cosplays, and let's not forget - Stan "The Man" Lee was in the house!

The Bad

Okay, now for the not so nice, not so fun stuff. Comikaze wasn't all sunshine and rainbows - especially if you were an exhibitor in the Small Press/Artist Alley section as Justin and I were. Stan Lee's Comikaze Con might as well have been called "Marvel Con" (or Disney Con, depending on how you want to look at it...).

Wish you were here...

Comikaze did a terrible job of directing guests to the Small Press/Artist Alley section; and by "terrible job" I mean they didn't attempt to direct folks to our section at all. Now, I love Marvel as much as the next guy. Heck, Spider-Man has been my mentor since the airing of the 90's cartoon series! But c'mon Comikaze! Justin and I (along with a plethora of small presses) spent mad $$$ on exhibiting at YOUR show! The least they could have done was gave the small press section a shoutout over the loudspeaker, like, "Hey guys, make sure you check out the small press and artist alley!". Unless, they did give us a shoutout and I was so bored from the lack of traffic in our section that I was zoned out (hey, it's a posibility).

And possibly, the baddest aspect of them all - $60 for a Stan Lee autograph? WTH?! 

The Ugly

And finally, this is the section where some of you may get offended (don't say I didn't warn you). ONLY 2 OF YOU SHOWED UP TO OUR TABLE! What happened L.A.? Justin and I traveled all the way from Ohio to share the joy that is Black Streak Entertainment with you guys, we brought our brand to your doorstep, and only 2 of the people who signed up for our Comikaze promotion showed up to rep L.A.

Oh yeah - I'm ready! Justin at our Comikaze set-up!

Needless to say, from a business standpoint, Comikaze was a HUGE disappointment for Black Streak Entertainment. Despite the disappointment, though, we love L.A., and we plan on relocating Black Streak there in the near future! But in order for us to do that, we need you to take action and get involved with us! Shop from our store blackstreakstore.com and tell your friends to do the same! Simple, right?!

Did you spot our ad in the Comikaze show guide? 

Here's a hint: it's on the inside front cover. Make sure you take advantage of the amazing blackstreakstore.com discount coded printed in the lower right corner! And just in case you don't have the ad on hand, here are the codes one more time:

COMIKAZE1 - 10% Off of Orders $30 and Up

COMIKAZE2 - 15% Off of Orders $50 and Up

COMIKAZE3 - 25% Off of Orders $100 and Up

Now get the shopping happy people ^_^

Black Streak Store update you all!

New art prints are now available at the Black Streak Store.  Really cool pieces this time.  There are some Fijis and MSLs mixed in there.  Also there are still plenty of buttons to choose from.  I'll slowly update the current stock of buttons on the store's web site with photos of the finished product like this: 

We figured our customers would like to see more than just the graphic so actual photos were taken.  

It's a Prin-Splosion!

Hey there, summer is winding down and people are going back to their exciting school lives.  But don't fret, all is not lost for Black Streak is here to save the month of September with an explosion of new art prints by artist Justin Raimey.  This is the biggest batch to be released yet and it is sure to please.

The new prints will feature a majority of Black Streak properties.  

A list of the new print properties are below:

• Milk and Coffee
• My Sweet Lady
• Fiji Random
• Knights of 2nd Earth

How does seven 8.5"x11" high quality art prints sound? How about the fact there are more prints than the mighty 7 on board for the 9/12/2014 release?

That's right all you... lovely people, we have 3 more prints up to bat!  They are 4"x6" art prints that posses a different picture on each side.  So that brings our total up to 10 prints!

The 8.5"x11" art prints are $9.99 each

The 6"x4" dual art prints are $4.99 each

Head on to the Black Streak Store on 9/12/2014 and beyond to order any of these great prints.  Also, since you are getting the prints straight from the source, the artist will sign your art print for you, for free!  Me, I'm the artist and I'll sign 'em, oh I'll sign 'em good I will!

Two more prints bounce into the store!

Not only do we have more button pin designs on the way we've got a couple of new art prints in the store. There is a Dusty print and a My Sweet Lady print.  Don't forget about the new bookmarks!  Two more of those have been added to the store as well.  This time around there are new Dusty and Orange designs.

More prints are on the way but they will be farther down the road.  Other prints are also in the store if you have not seen them before.

The new button designs are in the store! Ohayocon also!

Hello there, the Becky and milk related button designs are now in the store.  You can view the awesome yet cute designs on the picture below.

 They were first sold at this year's Ohayocon, an anime convention in Columbus Ohio, and people liked the "Milk is Evil" design most of all.  Whatever design you fancy they are up on the store right now.

Some other button pin designs have slipped its way into the Black Streak Store as well.  There's one with a dolphin, another with Dirty and a cool peace one.  More designs will be placed in the store in the near future so keep a lookout for goods.

Yes, we were at Ohayocon this year.  The con had a great turnout and we are glad we were able to sell Black Streak items there.  We were able to spread cuteness and coolness to all of you who walked by the table.  We saw crazy good cosplayers and the people who attended and stopped by the table were very nice.  Thank you very much to those who stopped by the table!  We may see you next year or we may not I don't know.

Time for a milk break with Becky

Black Streak is pouring out good times with a heaping cup of good ol wholesome milk designs.

And speaking of the cereal enhancer Black Streak’s newest character, Becky, can’t get enough of the stuff.  Some call her love for milk a problem, but she thinks it’s a solution.  A solution to what, we don’t know yet, but milk makes her happy that’s all that matters.  Included in this all new lineup of milk themed button pins is an adorable collection of the charming Becky expressing her love for milk (all kinds of milk; 2%, skim, whole, chocolate, vanilla, banana, strawberry, almond, goat.  She doesn’t give a hoot milk is milk.) Becky will also have a new “Life Stinks Get Over It” design displaying the wearer’s positive outlook on life.   She will also have her own “I Heard You Like Milk” design, giving her some kind of secret connection to the Fiji Random universe.  Now we understand everyone is not a fan of the white stuff.  Maybe you don’t like how it tastes or maybe it smells funky?  Milk may have treated you wrong in the past and that is just fine because we’ve got the perfect design for the anti-milk warrior!  Milk is evil is a phrase many of us can relate to.

These calcium rich designs will be available to the public in January 2014.

Pictured above is the first picture of Becky drawn by Black Streak artist Justin Raimey in early 2013.  She was made for the purpose of testing out a new kind of digital coloring method and now she is  forever a part of the Black Streak Universe.  Congratulations Becky!