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Just wanted to give you a little bit of a hint about future characters in the second and subsequent issue of Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed. We're not ready to release panel art just yet but we will show you a couple of our new supporting characters: Grall and Innahri who are both "Quoths" (rhymes with "goths") within a new pod.

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We meet every week to ten days or so to see how Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed #2 is progressing, to write down our latest TO DO LISTS, and also to report on what we've accomplished since our last meeting. 

We can't leak any panel artwork just yet but we thought you might be interested in this shot of Jozef on his lounge room floor assembling all the character artwork from the Faithful pod (community) into family and cultural groups. 

This will mean nothing to you yet but the list includes the Nonshees, the Rondeens and several more. Yes, we're teasing just a little. However, the artwork is very real and you can glimpse some of the headshots of our upcoming characters.

Mermaids and Momentum: Australian Comics Journal Coverage

Speaking of Australian comics coverage, we're mighty pleased that Black Mermaid Productions™ and Elf~Fin™ got a write up in the Australian Comics Journal last month. 

Journalist and comics writer Anthony N Castle contributed "Julie Ditrich: On Mermaids and Momentum". The images are used beautifully in the piece. One of our favourite Hyfus panels features at the top of the page. 

Here is an excerpt on what relationship we have as readers and as comics creators to The Little Mermaid.

Andersen’s The Little Mermaid was a great influence in our cultural upbringing. As with all great literature, many points of view can be overlaid on the work to allow it to make sense to its audience’s needs. One angle of the story of the little mermaid can also be allegorical to the speculated life of Hans Christian Andersen as a gay man, who wrote passionate love letters to significant men in his life. Like the mute little mermaid, Andersen could not tell the world of his own homosexual love for the people of the world, but the original manuscripts showed his feelings clearly. The Little Mermaid story may have deeper pathos than its story context.  

Yes, the tale is tragic and we always wanted to plunge in and change the ending, and one day we may, but it can be hard with such a powerful and well-distributed Disneyfied interpretation anchored out there with the masses as the perceived new originating source of this story. There’s another wonderful version by US novelist Carolyn Turgeon who reinvented the story in her book Mermaid. (Carolyn very kindly endorsed Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed for us on the back cover of the first issue.) 

As you’ve identified, Elf~Fin does contain similar themes of longing, which features in the first issue, as well as burgeoning sexuality and a sense of displacement which ripple through the story from the second issue. However, Elf~Fin doesn’t have the sensibility of The Little Mermaid. The latter is a delicate fragile story: Elf~Fin is more epic and has a different energy that traverses multiple plotlines over at least three books. Ultimately we will be exploring contemporary themes about human nature albeit skewed through mermaid characters in an oceanic world.

Thanks to Jozef also for his wonderful insights into Hans Christian Andersen's secret world.

Latest BMP July News!

 We've had our heads down for the last few weeks so need to give you a quick update on what we've been up to. So here goes:

• Looks like we'll be doing a comics exhibition with several other Aussie comikers at Liverpool City Library on Halloween – Thursday 31 October 2013 from 4pm to 8pm. We'll post more info when it's available.
• The first print run of Elf~Fin: Hyfus and Tilaweed #1 is 60% sold out and the feedback we're getting from readers is fantastic. We attracted many new readers at Supanova Sydney last month so we're thrilled about that. Just click on this Elf~Fin link if you want to order a copy for yourself. In the interim, Jozef is busy working on the second issue artwork. We found that we needed some additional designs for new cast members so he revealed those yesterday – pretty astounding. Now he just has to finish the costuming... Some reveals coming soon!
• We're busy working on a bold new initiative which will be launched next month–the BMP professional development arm known as Comics Masterclass. More info to come as we finalise the details and the talent, activate the logo officially and launch the website.
• We also recently relaunched the Black Mermaid Productions website with a fantastic new art gallery, which features portfolios of our current comics work, our videos and the entire catalogue of Black Mermaid® images. We've got a bit more tinkering to do but you should get the full grand effect right now. 
• The pics you see are (1) Julie, Matt White (our designer) an Jozef at Comic Gong on 19 May 2013 at Corrimal Library. Photo credit: Vanessa Ford, and (2) Jozef doing a portfolio review and pop up art lessons for our new friend Fee at the BMP stand at Supanova Sydney on Sunday 23 June 2013. Photo credit: Julie Ditrich. Thanks to all our fans who stopped by to say hi, and to the many new friends we made on the weekend! 

MEDIA RELEASE: Black Mermaid Productions™ Launches Elf~Fin™ Emporium

MEDIA RELEASE
31 May 2013

Black Mermaid Productions™ (BMP) is proud and exceptionally happy to announce the launch of its online shop – the Elf~Fin Emporium, featuring several lines of Elf~Fin™ brand gifts and collectibles.

The Elf~Fin™ range of images is based on BMP's latest comic book series Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed. BMP is an Australian creative team and publisher made up of Jozef Szekeres (artist) and Julie Ditrich (writer) that specialises in fantasy and mermaid-related comics and graphic novels.

The shop currently features four central images: three covers and what is becoming the definitive Hyfus and Tilaweed character signature image—the "Yin-Yang" design.

Designed by BMP artist, Jozef Szekeres, the images are lush, colourful and also tap into the growing mermaid market.

There are 60 products in the basic range. These include women's and men's clothing, kitchen utilities, home decor, as well as stationery items, greeting cards and framed prints. New designs will be released periodically in line with each issue release from the comic book series.

"This is the ONLY official trading post to purchase Elf~Fin collectibles,"says artist Jozef Szekeres, "Outside of hoping mermaid lovers will get pleasure and excitement out of wearing the designs or using them in some functional way, all sales help us push towards our comic book publication goals quicker which is our core business goal. We're greatly appreciative to our current readers for all their support and we hope more and more people will discover our artwork through this product range because we adore the characters and I adored painting them."

The Elf~Fin Emporium is run through CafePress. The official shop website is: www.elf-finemporium.com 

For further information contact Julie Ditrich or Jozef Szekeres on:
Phone: +61 2 9606 4728
Email: media@blackmermaid.com
Website: www.blackmermaid.com and www.elf-fin.com

BMP Newsfront

Okay... we've been a bit quiet on this blog lately but that's because we've been super-busy! Here is a quick summary of what we've been up to:

• The first issue of Hyfus & Tilaweed in the TREASURY edition has now been published. We've just sent out our first two waves of orders around the world. They've gone out to the USA, Australia, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Serbia. If you want to order a copy for yourself, you can either go to the Elf~Fin™ website or to the ordering information in the right hand column of this blog.
• BMP attended the inaugural Comic Gong at Wollongong two weekends ago. It was only a three hour event but it had a great vibe and there were lots of friendly faces at our table and in general circulation. Great to see some of our comics compatriots too. A whole bunch of Elf~Fin™ Issue #1 made their way into the hands of new and established readers so that was gratifying for us. Word on the street is that the event was a huge success so it is looking like next year will be a whole dayer.
• We're delighted to tell you that the Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed comic book trailer for Issue #1 has been featured on the Comic Book Trailer website, which has a great tag line: "Where comic books come to PLAY"
• We just launched the Elf~Fin™ Emporium – a shop with all things Elf~Fin™. There are three pieces of cover artwork up on various products, clothing, and collectibles. We also have a unique Yin-Yang design incorporated Hyfus and Tilaweed, which is the signature image for this shop. PLEASE BE AWARE that we run our online shop through CafePress. At the moment there is something funny going on – when you click on the link (and despite the url being correct), it seems to be defaulting to a CafePress gift page. This might be a fault in the algorithm or it may be a sneaky way that CafePress is taking you to one of their sections. Please persist by putting in the url again. It will come up correctly a second time. The actual shop name is "Elf~Fin Emporium". The domain name is www.elf-finemporium.com but it redirects to www.cafepress.com/elf_fin. We'll find out why this problem is occurring and hopefully fix it soon.

ELF~FIN: HYFUS & TILAWEED Out in Mid May 2013!

We've been a bit quiet on our blog as of late. Here's why.



The Elf~Fin™: Hyfus & Tilaweed Issue #1 Treasury Edition will be launched in mid May—first orders will be sent out on Monday 20 May. The new Elf~Fin website has gone live so you can place your pre-orders there or just click onto the PayPal button in the left hand column of this blog. 

Preview buyers may remember that we offered a signed or virgin copy last time. This time all the books will be shrink-wrapped while they're at the printer so unless you want us to slice open the packaging, we're not going to be signing them. Some of the packages will be travelling a long way and we just want them to land in your mail box in the best possible condition.

The cost of the actual book (comprising 56 pages of which 48 are comic art and story) is AUD$20. The rest is the postage and handling charge, which is what we call "shipping" in Australia. These rates are dictated by Australia Post. All the information you need about the book and the ordering process is on the Elf~Fin website. However, if you have any additional questions, just email us at: sales@blackmermaid.com

The first order came in within 15 minutes of the website going up so we expect the first print run to be sold out quickly.

Elf~Fin Poll Results

We recently asked our readers to vote on a poll to determine whether they were interested in purchasing Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed comics: (1)  solely in a US comics format which will be available through comics stores, (2) in a larger Treasury Edition which will be available directly through BMP, or (3) in both print formats.

52% of the respondents favoured the third option, 33% wanted the Treasury edition only, and 15% wanted the US standard size. What this means is that we're going ahead with the Treasury edition and the US standard size (pending approval from Diamond Distributors on the latter) so it's good news all round – a win / win / win situation!

Thank you to everyone for voting.

Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed #1 Publication Date Announced

To our many readers who have been following us through our Facebook page or who have subscribed to our Black Mermaid Mermerings ezine, we thank you for your patience. 

Here is the information you've been waiting for for a long time – our target publication date for Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed #1 is 1 May 2013. It will contain 48-pages (fully coloured) of story and eight supplemental pages of additional material.

We need your help in the decision-making process so we can get you what you want.

Here are our thoughts and intentions...

1. We would like to release the print series to a world-wide audience but need to go through Diamond Distributors to do so. There is quite a rigorous submission process involved in order for the title to be accepted, and we need to send in a completed comic book sample with the application. If Diamond takes on the book, then it would next need to be solicited to the retailers, In all likelihood, the book would probably not be available  until the fourth quarter of this year. We would probably get it printed in the USA or Canada and publish it on good quality stock in standard US comic book size. 
2. To get the book out immediately to our readers, we would like to release it in a Direct Exclusive Treasury Edition. This is a larger format than the standard US comic book size and measures around 13" (33cm) x 8.5" (21.5cm). It would be printed on premium quality glossy paper stock with glossy card cover, and would showcase Jozef's sumptuous artwork to its best advantage. It will contain exactly the same material as the standard book but is oversize and the retail price would be higher than the standard version. The postage from Australia would probably be quite high because we anticipate that the weight would exceed 500gm. Furthermore, any US readers would incur an additional surcharge of around $9 per parcel (yes, we know this is singularly unfair but blame the terrorists and the postal security system. See: "Postage Rates to US Rise Over Security Fears"). This means, that the postage to US readers would probably match or perhaps even exceed the purchase price of the book.

So with full disclosure and transparency and all this information in mind, we put it to you. What do you want? 

Here are your choices:

1. Purchase the standard comic book through a comics retailer
2. Purchase the Direct Exclusive Treasury Edition through the Black Mermaid Productions / Elf~Fin websites
3. Both.

Please vote on the poll in right hand column to give us your feedback. PLEASE ONLY vote once so we can get an accurate representation of demand and desire.

Thank you.

An Elf~Fin Message from Jozef to our Readers

Plans and best intentions were that Elf-Fin was to be released by the end of 2012. Though all effort was directed towards this end, there needed to be a balance between the output of the painted Elf~Fin pages (with each page taking many days to complete… all without pay), and unrelated art output for paid jobs. So I'm sincerely sorry to those who had their hearts set on the 48 page first issue comic book to be released by this year's end. The production is still moving forward for a release in early 2013. I'm thankful for your support as we move towards the finish line for this issue.

Elf~Fin Leaks and Peeks 31

What's caught the Waverin attention? Sorry... we can't tell you at this point of time until the story is officially released but we can tell you who's who. That's Fillayne, Lyban and Hyfus in the top pic, and Hyfus and Razbi in the bottom one. 

Just wanted to let you know that Jozef is on the home run in painting pages from Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed #1, and these two panel art snapshots are amongst the last to be released here before we head to print. The remaining pages have too many plot spoilers so the pickings will be sparse and we'll be choosing very carefully from now on.  

Can't wait to bring you the work in totality!

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A perturbed Hyfus... Anxious or not, we're loving the muscles, Jozef!

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Maybe it should be called "Shark Riders" rather than "Elf~Fin" or maybe not... Jayshu is up to silly shenanigans at Spax's promptings. Oh, and in Elf~Threaal, they're called "sharps" not "sharks". From left to right, that's Jayshu, Razbi and Spax. More pretty pics coming soon. More importantly, Jozef is counting down the pages he has left to paint so  Issue #1 is getting close to being finished.

My Elf~Fin Birthday

Last month was my birthday and I received a delightful surprise from Perth in Western Australia in the form of a lovely hand-coloured birthday card from my friend Maddy who is all of five years old. I'm told that Dad pencilled the lines of the characters but Maddy did all the colouring in. What I clearly adored was Maddy's take on Razbi and Jayshu from the first issue of Elf~Fin. Jozef loves it as well. I am very touched that Maddy has been inspired by the original artwork, came up with the idea of putting it on a personal one-of-a-kind birthday card for me and I think the execution of her vision is truly amazing. I think she is an up-and-coming artist we need to keep an eye out, and who knows, maybe in a few years she'll be working in mermaid comics as well.

Elf~Fin Leaks and Peeks 28

That's Spax, Hyfus and Razbi in case  anyone wants to know. We wonder what they're looking at? You'll find out very soon with the imminent release of the first issue of Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed.

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A slightly different snapshot than you're used to... more to come in the upcoming weeks. But more importantly, the first issue of Hyfus & Tilaweed is coming soon.

Elf~Fin Leaks and Peeks 26

This is Lyban and Fillayne. We wonder what got her attention... Find out in the first issue of Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed to be released in a few months time.

Elf~Fin Leaks and Peeks 25

Not long soon. Jozef's busy painting away!

Elf~Fin Leaks & Peeks 24

We're not going to say much about this one... only that it blew Julie away when she saw the full page just a few minutes ago. We're afraid you're going to have to wait until Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed #1 comes out to find how and why the "sharps" feature in the full story.

Elf~Fin Leaks and Peeks 24

Here are a few more snapshots from the upcoming Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed book. That's Lyban in the second panel with Hyfus. He's looking happy... wonder what he and Hyfus are talking about? No tell. You'll have to read it to find out. ;)