BREAKING NEWS Editorials

Welcome to Indie Volt!

If you happen to make Indie Comics, or I’d imagine if you’re producing any type of entertainment product independently then you’ve probably run across the following scenario.
You’re sitting at a trade show, for me, this would be one of the many comic conventions I attend year round when someone with a press badge strides up to your table, looks over your warez, nods reassuringly and introduces themselves. Not all of them go for the hard sale, some chat for a while, while idly thumbing their dangling badge, finally, they lean in..”Hey, I’d love to review or feature your comic on my website! Would that be okay with you?” Of course, it is! You respond, now this can go one of two ways they hand you the requested amount of cash for the product or they assume that you’re going to give them a copy for free, or at a discounted rate, and why wouldn’t you? This person just got through telling you how they have over 9000 (sorry) readers! That’s 9000 new eyeballs on your stuff..all for one paltry freebie! Go ahead, here e-mail me when the review is up or if you have any questions! You cry. They take you product and fade off into the masses, it’s weeks before you think about them again, perhaps while digging through a bag or your wallet you come across their card and instantly you think “ I better go see how my review turned out” you flop down at your computer type in the address and to your great horror, there’s a website that either hasn’t been updated since 2014, is going to a free parked page OR is very active with nothing but the mainstream on it! “Where’s my shit!?” You ask yourself, scrolling through the latest and greatest from “Hollywood”, you might even e-mail and if you’re lucky they reply with “Sorry, we don’t write unsolicited reviews” or maybe “Sorry, your product didn’t meet our standards for review, please keep submitting in the future!” Well, isn’t that a fine swift kick in the teeth?
So, inevitably I’m asked by people why did I start Indie Volt I retell the little story above, and if they’re not bored to tears by then with their eyes glazed over I go further, I tell them how I wanted to give us a forum to show our creations without the distractions. And when I say that, the naysayers float the idea that I created Indie Volt because indies can’t compete with mainstream comics so we needed a place so that we wouldn’t/couldn’t be overshadowed by the big guns. That’s not true at all, I firmly believe that there are independently made products that overshadow the industrial mainstream variety, I just wanted a place where we wouldn’t be pushed to the “back pages”. Add to that that I like the idea of having a place to come to where I can read indie production news, hell that’s awesome to me…I won’t waste too much more of your time, but I’d like to leave you with an (I think) appropriate quote from Rob Siltanen.

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Rob Siltanen

Welcome to Indie Volt, this changes things.

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Varian Grant

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