Page 53 of posts by: montsamu

The presses are rolling!

Posted on 2010-03-08 at 17:13 by montsamu

Well, it has been quite a learning process. But, finally, the proof corrections are in, re-proofed, agonized over, and, gulp, paid for. But the presses are finally rolling on BULL SPEC #1!

Final content for issue #1 (72 pages, 16 in full color):

SHORT FICTION:

• C. S. Fuqua: "Rise Up" (with cover illustration by Mike Gallagher)
• Peter Wood: "Almost a Good Day to Go Outside"
• Natania Barron: "Doctor Adderson's Lens" (with photo by Tennille Heinonen)

• Michael Jasper: "A Gathering of Doorways"

Posted in announcements, bull spec #1

BULL SPEC #1 has gone to the printers!

Posted on 2010-02-26 at 17:14 by montsamu

Well, I just uploaded the file bullspec-01-201002261115.pdf to my printers. I don't really know what to expect next as this is the first issue, but, well, it's out there! 72 pages and about a month later than I'd hoped, but I'm incredibly excited to receive that first shipment of a big box of magazines and start delivering them to local bookstores The Regulator Bookshop, Quail Ridge Books & Music, and Internationalist Books & Community Center and mailing out (or for local folks, delivering courier-style

Posted in announcements, bull spec #1

64 pages cannot contain Bull Spec #1.

Posted on 2010-02-19 at 03:32 by montsamu

So it will have to be bigger.

That is all.

Posted in Uncategorized

Sneak Peek: BULL SPEC #1's cover (draft)

Posted on 2010-02-05 at 22:36 by montsamu

Still some tinkering to do in all likelihood, but for the most part I'm going to leave it alone. Interior design and layout is going actually quite nicely this week, though still some important things to decide on and some last bits of art to select and place.

Anyway; here's something fairly close to what should any week now be on a shelf near you, if you're in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, or in your mailbox if you're elsewhere, with cover art by CLOSED SYSTEM's Mike Gallagher to accompany the

Posted in announcements, bull spec #1, sneak peeks

Updates galore.

Posted on 2010-01-28 at 18:46 by montsamu

Wow, somehow it's been two weeks since the last post here, and I wanted to let folks know BULL SPEC is still here, and that there are a few updates on what BULL SPEC has been up to, bullet point style:

1. Spanish narration is (beautifully!) done for our first benefit short, Joe Meno's "The Architecture of the Moon," thanks to Yda Balcazar. Additional huge thanks to Itzel Leaf, Spanish translator, and Matthew Nis Leerberg, who provided editing for the Spanish translation. Andrew Matte finished his first draft of

Posted in announcements

Sneak peek: "Closed System" by Mike Gallagher.

Posted on 2010-01-13 at 19:21 by montsamu

"Closed System" is a graphic short story (comic book) which will be serialized in the 2010 quarterly run of BULL SPEC. When artist and writer Mike Gallagher pitched the idea of a "guide to time travel by giant disembodied ape head" I must say I was pretty interested. When he sent me the first sketches I knew I had the artist I wanted, and now that I have the first installment of the story for BULL SPEC #1 I can't wait to show it off. So, the cover for CLOSED SYSTEM:

Posted in announcements, bull spec #1, closed system, mike gallagher

BULL SPEC #1 will be available at...

Posted on 2010-01-09 at 03:28 by montsamu

At least three fine local bookstores, and of course online where some pre-orders have indeed started to trickle in. Thanks very much for those, it is deeply appreciated.

First up was The Regulator Bookshop on 9th Street in Durham. They've been my local bookstore for almost 10 years now, and were very enthusiastic and supportive of carrying the magazine. So enthusiastic that we're trying to work out a date for the BULL SPEC #1 launch party there in early February! I'm glad to be able to say (after having a

Posted in announcements

We're pleased to announce that BULL SPEC #1 is open for pre-orders.

Posted on 2009-12-14 at 14:20 by montsamu

While I'm sure we'll find the edge cases that lurk and wait to bite, no orders are getting mangled or lost. So: BULL SPEC #1 is open for pre-orders: http://www.bullspec.com/order.

[And source code for the Google App Engine to Paypal ExpressCheckout portion of the site is available on GitHub: bullpay.py]

While any feedback would be great, in particular:

1. Is having a pre-filled "suggested" gift appropriate? If not, should it be "0" or "empty" -- with "empty" requiring some value to be entered before submitting

Posted in code, meta

Pardon the mess; Getting ready for pre-orders.

Posted on 2009-12-09 at 15:22 by montsamu

Pardon the mess, folks. There will be some intermittent issues at bullspec.com and www.bullspec.com -- and potentially the e-mails @bullspec.com -- while we roll over some DNS records in preparation for opening a simple site to start accepting pre-orders for the print issue. We've found our printing partner and finalized our first-run costs ($3/copy: 64 lovely full-size glossy pages, pull-out-able serialized graphic novel in full color in the middle if we can close on that in time), and are now working to

Posted in meta

Looking for a serialized graphic novel for the 2010 run.

Posted on 2009-12-07 at 10:47 by montsamu

OK. Let's do this. BULL SPEC is looking for a 4 issue (2-4 full size pages each) spec fiction related comic for the 2010 run. Reprints OK. PG to low PG-13 rating. For original work: Not pro advance payment for comics at this time, but the text will be advanced at $0.05/word along with some additional advance for the art, though not at "a picture is a thousand words" as we would all like, not yet. But not insulting, and BULL SPEC will revert its share of all royalties to the authors until a pro advance is

Posted in meta