SWEETS - 2010 - A year in review

Just wanted to thank everyone for picking up the book, it's been an amazing experience and I'm honored and humbled at all the support I've received. 2010 was a stellar year for me, and I wanted to quickly recap some of the highlights for those that don't regularly follow my Twitter and Facebook updates. I'm doing this from memory and browsing my blog, so please forgive me as I continue to tweak and update this page as the days go by.

In addition to all the Sweets news, Josh Fialkov and I announced that PUNKS is moving to MTV as part of their MTV Geek line of digital comics. I'll start posting more on that as we move forward in 2011.

Alright, lets get started…

I sent the Sweets pitch out to Eric Stephenson at Image Comics in February 2010, the book got approved for publication on the day the pitch arrived! Needless to say, I was thrilled.

Looking ahead at the schedule for the book and the massive amount of work I was about to begin, I posted this on Twitter, "Creator owned comics = Steering your car off a cliff hoping a pile of money cushions your fall, but it's usually just boulders."

I launched my Kickstarter campaign around that same time. It was a sneaky move, but if you wanted to see a sneak peek of the artwork in Sweets, you HAD to view the Kickstarter video. That was the only place on the web to see it. That ended up being a great idea because I hit my Kickstarter goal within 36 hours. A HUGE thanks to all of you that contributed. I hope you enjoyed your packages and for those waiting on the remaining two issues, issue 4 is at the printer, and issue 5 is in the works.

At some point, I re-edited my Kickstarter footage and created a video studio tour.

My pals John Layman and Rob Guillory were kind enough to include a 5 page preview of Sweets inside the pages of Chew, and the reception was fantastic! Got lots of emails about it, and even a few interview requests.

I had a chance to hang out with Bill Sienkiewicz and Jim Starlin at the Boston Comic-Con in April of 2010, and at that show I handed off copies of the Sweets #1 ashcan (which is a photocopied black and white version used for promotion) and full script for issues two and three. Both gave me amazing pull quotes to use in my advertising and promotion for the series.

“Kody Chamberlain is an amazing talent. SWEETS goes down like a deliciously nasty full course meal, and tastes even better coming up.” — Bill Sienkiewicz

“Kody Chamberlain‘s beautiful art originally hooked me into checking out SWEETS. But it was his intriguing story that has me impatiently waiting for the second issue and beyond.” — Jim Starlin

Sweets issue #1 launched in July, one week before Comic-Con International in San Diego! Speaking of Comic-Con International, here's my short recap from that show.

I did a massive amount of press for the comic before and after the release. Here's a peek: Fanboy Radio (audio), Print Magazine, Robot 6, CBR, CBR, Multiversity, Newsarama, Geek Speak (audio), iFanboy (video), Nerdcast, TFAW, True Believer, )

Sweets also got a few reviews and mentions on Fresh Ink on G4TV with Blair Butler! Have a look at some video clips here and here.

IGN includes Sweets in their Weekly Buyer's Guide.

In just a few months, Sweets earned nearly 40 great reviews! Here are a few of my favorite pull quotes:

Made the drive out to Austin for the Wizard Austin Comic-Con on November 12–14. Had an amazing show and even did an "Art of Sweets and Chew" panel with my pal Rob Guillory. Solid crowd and a fantastic show. I plan to go back in 2011.

It was a busy few weeks, but I had to make time for the Miami Book Fair International on November 20th. Such an amazing out door book fair, worth attending if you're in the Miami area. I hear that Image Comics might make an appearance in 2011, if so, I'll try to make the trip back out.

Sweets launched on the iPad and the iPhone through the ComiXology app. Have a look!

Greg Burgas was kind enough to include Sweets in this highly detailed article about the versatility of the comic book medium.

Sweets also racked up a crazy amount of fantastic reviews and good press. Click here for the full list, but here are some of the highlights:

"The storytelling is flawless…one of the most original books on the market." —Multiversity	"Sweets is the kind of book that’s going to have a magnificent life as a graphic novel…" —13 Minutes
"…Chamberlain pulls a bob-and-weave of story in Sweets #2 that talks like a Tarantino film" —Crave Online	"…amazing…I feel like I am watching a tenacious 70′s film with Steve McQueen…" —The Comic Vault
"This is exactly the sort of thing the comics world needs…" —Forbidden Planet	"pick of the litter…better reading than most of the rest of the stuff on the stands." —Comics Waiting Room

I launched a webstore with a bunch of Sweets related stuff.

Prose novelist, X-Men, and Deadpool writer Victor Gischler was kind enough to mention me in a recent interview.

I was also very surprised to see Sweets mentioned by writer/producer Kirker Butler (Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, Blue Agave and Worm). He's well known in our home from having written "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side."

Alright, that's it for now, more coming soon as I dig deeper into my memories. :)