More Than Expected

Chadhiyana Logo Created by Corey Breen

It’s difficult to know where to start, not for a lack of having something to write this week, but rather there’s been a lot happening worth writing about. So much happened within the last week that I wound up working through the weekend, forcing me to take the day off today (other than writing this blog piece, of course). At last the work is done (in a manner of speaking–I’ve a lot more to do this summer), and I can take a breather. That said, for you the reader (especially my Chadhiyana fans) there’s some exciting new things happening.

I suppose the first thing to point out is the new Chadhiyana logo (above). It was created by Corey Breen, an artist and graphic designer with all the professional skill you would expect of someone who formerly worked for D.C. Comics. Though there was some guidance from me, Corey added in a few of his own touches, which I really feel helped give the logo the edge it needed. The calligraphic lines especially give the logo a fire-like quality which I had not originally intended, but fit so perfectly with the character.

Though created the first Chadhiyana logo, my plate is so full lately I thought I’d try something different and hire someone else to do the work. (This is a first for me!) Thankfully, the result was far beyond my best expectations. I’m extremely happy with the logo, and have said it at least half a hundred times to Mr. Breen himself. I’m proud to have it associated with the character, and it’s already been added to the website (chadhiyana.com) and a few other items I will write about presently–namely a new edition of Chadhiyana and a Chadhiyana advertising campaign.

It had been my intention for months to begin an advertising campaign for Chadhiyana: In the Company of Shadows starting in July and leading at least into the Boston Comic Con in August (though, likely, I’ll run it longer). So I was already getting the ads ready, saving space for the then incomplete logo. But even before launching the ads, late on Friday last week, I decided to finally add the graphic novel to TheWebComicList.com, TopWebComics.com and Comic-Rocket.com. Little did I know what was to happen next.

For the entire weekend, and so far, into the this week, Chadhiyana: In the Company of Shadows was flooded with hits and visitors. Within two days the site had more hits than the entire month of June, and as of this morning it is ranked 1347 on TopWebComics.com and 172 (out of 22929!) on TheWebComicList.com. That is incredible, and much more than I expected when listing the comic on those sites, and that’s without the advertisements which launched on Monday and Tuesday.

Of course, this is my first advertising campaign, so I’m just testing the waters for now, spending nominally with Google, Facebook and deviantART. Hopefully it will go well and some of you will actually see the advertisements popping up around the internet. The plan is that by both Boston and Baltimore Comic Cons more people will at least have heard of Chadhiyana. Of course, I wouldn’t mind a few new regular readers either. We’ll see if it works.

Last of all, I’ve finally completed work on a second edition of Chadhiyana (the first comic featuring the title character). I had many reasons for this, which I’ll probably address at a later date, but suffice to say that with the new logo, and the graphic novel running since its publication, I wanted to update the book a bit and fill in some more content for new readers.

That said, I have some new Chadhiyana stories in mind. I honestly believed and intended I wouldn’t create any new Chadhiyana stories until Chadhiyana: In the Company of Shadows was complete (mostly because of the revelations I was saving for that graphic novel), but already one editor has asked me for a story, and I recently had an idea for another one-shot comic release, and other publishers I’d like to approach with story ideas. Again, we’ll see what happens, but my main focus remains the graphic novel for now. If I can speed up my process (something else I’m working on this summer), this might be very possible. Keep your fingers crossed.

And, of course, until there’s another Chadhiyana story, keep reading Chadhiyana: In the Company of Shadows. I updated the prologue with sound effects over the weekend as well and more edits are on the way. Chapter I comes to a close the week of Boston Comic Con and there’s one last surprise before then end. And, next week the comic reaches its first milestone (page 50)!

So don’t miss out on all that’s happening with Chadhiyana, and don’t doubt that there’s a lot more to come.

Cheers!

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