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September 18, 2010 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! Some of you knew this was coming. Partly because of Diamond dropping most of the independents. There's no way for us to get into stores, no guarentee we can give a printer, so we can't print a lot because my day job has to cover gas, rent and food. But one thing I have always hated is when a series ends on a cliffhanger, with loose ends. Like Hepcats, Space Wolf and so many others. I have lived with Shanda for 20 years next year. She deserves a conclusion. So she'll get one. We have five comic books in production, and will complete them. Katmandu 37 has been postponed twice, but it is now at press. It is the last issue of KAT but Carole is writing a short conclusion to the series that will run as a backup in Shanda 49 along with the conclusion to Kitt Mouri's serial in KAT. Believe it or not, Richard Thatcher has gotten busy and a new issue of Morphing Period will hopefully debut there as well. We are going to try for Dallas in February. If so, Shanda 49 and Shanda's Bedtime Blowout should be there. The adult title may have 100 pages and be squarebound. And I want to have Shanda the Panda 50 for either Anthrocon or Memphit in 2011. Michele Light has done the cover for My Big Fat Panda Wedding, and Benjamin Rodriguez will do the lead story in which Shanda gets married. The backup story will conclude the series and feature art by original Shanda artist Mike Sagara. We'll still have all our back issues available on the web, and still make some furry cons. But Carole and I are both getting close to 60. It's not as easy anymore, and the insurmountable struggle to get into stores now is just too much. As it is, we'll lose money on all 5 comics. I'm still very busy in comics, with the www.plainclothescomics.com project, and recently covered the Dallas opening of the Superman musical for several websites and magazines. We may have a wild hair and do an occasional comic book after that. Truthfully, I would like to do a webcomic of Quinn the Raccoon, with her in college and with her cast and several of the Shanda characters. We'll miss it. We have met so many people and made so many friends through the comics. Their successes made it possible for us to publish books like Extinctioners and Albedo, In the Zone and many others. But we believe that a circle must be closed. And that it should be done with dignity. Mike and Carole Curtis Hello everyone. Sorry there's been no SFA news for a while, but we'll make up for it now. COMICS: As many of you know, Diamond Distributing has dumped most of the smaller independent publishers. That's us, Radio, and many others. That not only means we aren't in your local comic shop, but it also cuts off a baseline for printing. Before this, we could count on a minimum print order, and therefore print accordingly. Now this means we have to print having no idea how many we can sell, but more importantly, it means we have to scare up the print bill even before that. So we've not been doing as many comics, as SFA doesn not produce enough income to cover that. It has to come out of the household budget (which covers our rent, electricity, etc.) We published Atomic Mouse vs. Power Jack in July, and we have Katmandu 37 slated for late January. So it looks like we can managed two comics a year right now. ONLINE PROJECTS: Besides our regular website (where you're reading this) we are also working with several talents for a Dick Tracy tribute site to debut in late January. This will feature articles on Tracy's history by Bruce Dettman, Jim Doherty, prose fiction by Tracy Kazaleh, and lots more. Including a new Tracy tribute adventure drawn by Joe Staton and writtien by Mike Curtis. It'll also have an unpublished comic story prepared for Disney Adventures by Staton and Tracy/Mystery writer Max Allen Collins. CONVENTIONS: We'll be at Mephit Furmeet and are on the waiting list for a table at Furry Fiesta in Dallas. 'AS THE USHER SAID TO THE LADY IN KING KONG, IT'S KIND OF IN THE NATURE OF A PERSONAL APPEARANCE."
Well, many years there was a man named Watson Davis, who hosted old horror movies in Memphis. His show was called Fantastic Features and he hosted under the name SIVAD. Mike is putting on a special tribute event in 2010 called The Sivads of March. The Guest of Honor (although really Watson's wife and son are the real GOH) is the former Jackson Tennessee TV Horror Show host Count Basil. He'll receive an award that Thursday night, make a speech about SIVAD, and then throughout the weekend appear in his TV makeup and costume to introduce old scary movies. I was Count Basil, back in the 1970's. If you visit the site, you'll learn more about Sivad and see some of the collectibles I'll be bringing to the art museum.
June 24, 2009CAROLE TO MAKE FAREWELL APPEARANCE AT ANTHROCON JULY 4TH WEEKEND Hi folks Carole and I will be in the Dealer's Room at Anthrocon July 4th weekend. Joining us will be Richard Thatcher, Boyce Kline and Chris Pesl. This will be Carole's last AC appearance (maybe mine too) as travel is getting too hard. We will be debuting Atomic Mouse vs. Power Jack and The Lost Menagerie, which arrives here at SFA Central this Friday afternoon. It's available for $7.00 which includes p&h Labor Day we will be debuting Katmandu 37 at MEMPHIT FURMEET with special cover art by Joe Staton. Take care Mike and Carole May 5, 2009While Atomic Mouse vs. Power Jack and The Lost Menagerie is being printed, the newest issue of Katmandu is in production, with plans to debut it at Anthrocon. Carole is writing the script, while Jerry Loomis is doing the inside art. Noted artist Joe Staton will be doing the cover. Carole will debut Katmandu issue 37 with her return to Anthrocon in July. March 13, 2009
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This piece of news really threw me. Many years
ago, while running a theater in Tupelo Mississippi,
I knew a young man named Mike McCarthy. Years
later he became a comic book talent with Fantagraphics
(Cadavera) and then an independent film maker.
(Teenage Tupelo and many others) 
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