VODKA O’CLOCK 1537
JEREMY WHITLEY
PRINCELESS, MY LITTLE PONY, SECRET LOVE
AMBER LOVE 31-AUG-2015 Now you can sponsor Vodka O’Clock and AmberUnmasked.com through PATREON. Just go to Patreon.com/amberunmasked to pledge as little as $1.00 per creation which could mean per Vodka O’Clock episode or through written content.
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AUDIO:
There was unidentified interference in the background of just the home mic side. No idea what the problem was. I didn’t even have an air conditioner running. The great thing is that Jeremy Whitley is excellent at public speaking so I didn’t need to talk too much. Apologies, but I can’t figure out what the heck goes wrong day to day with Skype.
“PRINCELESS†& “RAVEN: THE PIRATE PRINCESS” COMICS BY ACTION LAB ENTERTAINMENT:
PRINCELESS began a few years ago and has been a strong presence in indie comics ever since – not just for kids’ comic fans either. Jeremy Whitley and Emiy Martin are the co-creators of this series which is consistently praised for empowering all gender characters who make their own life choices. Such support has come from industry legends Gail Simone, Greg Pak, and Kelly Sue DeConnick.
The series has received two Eisner nominations and has won a few Glyph Awards. Jeremy said that his big marketing secret was that he did every interview he could, sent the book to every critic/site, and rarely declines invitations to be on comic con panels.
“MY LITTLE PONY†COMICS BY IDW:
MLP has been a massive success forever. The interesting thing to me is how this product line that was historically marketed to little girls breaks toy and comic barriers. First of all, the creative teams are pretty balanced as far as gender goes. And then the fans have embraced it. Everyone loves adventuring horses where friendship is a priority. MLP cosplay gets pretty creative too.
Honestly, creators that get a MLP gig are superstars. There’s a wonderful revolving collective of writers and artists like Agnes Grabowska, Katie Cook, Tony Fleecs, Thom Zahler, and Andy Price. All of it is managed by Bobby Curnow at IDW Editorial and their Hasbro liaison. Jeremy is getting the chance to work with Andy Price this time around with the arc, “Siege of the Crystal Empire.â€
MAKING COMICS:
Jeremy and I get into the comic-making process. He shared about his experience working on MLP which is a Hasbro IP. We also talk about writing and pitching comics to different size publishers like Oni, IDW, and Marvel. Jeremy talks about learning to accept rejection as something that is merely part of the problem and not meant to crush your creative dreams.
“I can look at Princeless and say, ‘I know what I’m doing. Why can’t I figure out how to make other people realize that I know what I’m doing?’ And it’s not an easy thing to do necessarily.†~Jeremy Whitley
Dealing with internet trolls – something near and dear to my heart – has affected Jeremy too. He said it almost never happens on Twitter but is rampant on Tumblr. And the reason? He truly believes it’s because his Tumblr isn’t associated with his “masculine†name or an avatar; whereas on Twitter, his display name is “Jeremy Whitley†so trolls are less likely to start up a feud. The badge of honor that comes with those of us who are labeled “Social Justice Warriors†and “White Knightsâ€.
“They can’t conceive of the fact that there would be anybody who is not in this just for themselves, who thinks that people ought to be treated better.†~Jeremy Whitley
“SECRET LOVE†BY MARVEL COMICS:
Marvel has a romance anthology in which Jeremy has a story about Iron Fist Danny Rand and Misty Knight. He gives me a little intro into these characters and what readers can expect to be different from past incarnations of their relationship.
LINKS:
Twitter: @jrome58
Tumblr: princelesscomic.tumblr.com
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.