Each of us has a destiny... » Jason Neulander

Summer Update

Jason N. — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:07:29 +0000

It’s been a loooong while since I’ve posted, mainly because I’ve been pretty busy and also adjusting to the summer schedule, with my older daughter out of school. Here’s what’s up and what’s on the horizon.

First, we had a really successful show in May in Houston. Something like 1,500 people saw the show, including a student matinee during the day and the evening performance for the general public. We had some weird sound issues for the evening show, which was a bummer, but overall it went great. Big-time cudos to Jason Phelps for jumping into the role of Timmy for the first time and knocking it out of the park. We also did the highest per-person merchandise sales we’ve ever done: almost $3.50 per person in attendance. Incredible!

On June 10 and 11 we presented the first-ever public performance of Book Two: Robot Planet Rising. The show was most definitely a work-in-progress, told in radio-play format. It was an amazing learning experience. Almost everyone in attendance filled out surveys I had created asking them for feedback and we were able to really get a sense of the strengths and weaknesses of the show. In the broadest view, Act One played too slow. I think the reason for that is the plot is overly complex, the act wasn’t funny enough, and it’s a little unclear what the relationships between the characters were (particularly Timmy and Molly). Chad Nichols and I are meeting today for lunch to go through our collective notes on all of this. I expect we’ll do another work-in-progress presentation in December.

The artwork for the comic-book version of Book Two is coming along, though slower than I would like. WE’re just about done with issue four (of eight). I’m planning to publish them as a bundle–straight to perfect-bound trade paperback. This will save a bunch of money and since Book One is now only available as a bundle anyway, makes sense for how people are purchasing the books.

I’m also working on a series for young adults that tells Mysterion’s origin story. His name, before he became Mysterion the Magnificent, was Ned Stumble. Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, he witnessed his father get hanged for treason when he was twelve. The first book in the series is what happens to him in the year after the hanging, when he gets adopted by a schoolmaster named Mortimer Guest. I’ve written a prologue and about two chapters. I hope to have a draft done by the end of July.

Speaking of which…

I agreed to have Joe Veltre be my book agent. He used to be an editor at Harper Collins, then a property buyer for Miramax, then an independent agent, and now the head of the Gersh’s book department. He’s a GREAT guy, total straight shooter. Our plan is to pitch the project to the big six publishing houses, knowing that I don’t really need them to bite because I have an outlet to sell the books at the shows. I’m really excited about this. Joe feels strongly about the project and I feel like I’m in great hands with him.

Next Wednesday we officially announce our 2011-12 tour. We’re going to be on the cover of Pollstar, the concert touring trade magazine. Pretty cool!

More TV!

Jason N. — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 23:55:53 +0000

I had a great interview with Jim Swift today, thoughtful and fun. He did a great job editing this to television length.

‘Intergalactic Nemesis’ bound for tour: kxan.com

Photos from Graphic Novel Workshop

Jason N. — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 21:35:47 +0000

A few weeks ago I led a couple of workshops for the Austin Batcave and the Austin Library Foundation for elementary school kids and teens. We had a great time and I thought I’d post a few photos just to prove that I really did this!

Hey, there only about a month until we perform the Live-Action Graphic Novel at the Long Center. Tickets make a great gift for the whole family! Get ‘em here!

League of Extremely Ordinary Gentlemen

Jason N. — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:54:15 +0000

Last week, the LEOG had me on the air talking about Nemesis. The other guest was comic-book guru Bill Williams, who has done everything from write, ink, publish, and more. It was pretty cool being on the show with such a distinguished guy. You can check out the entire interview in their latest podcast…

Great Feature Story in The Daily Texan

Jason N. — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:19:48 +0000

Today’s Daily Texan features a really nice story about the Nemesis project. Check it out!

Jason Neulander Interviewed by Daily Texan

And don’t forget: Episode Three of the Live-Action Graphic Novel premieres tomorrow night at 7 PM before Iron Man 2 at Alamo South Lamar. Tickets HERE!

KUT spots are live!

Jason N. — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:40:42 +0000

Well, actually, they’re pre-recorded. But what I mean is that you can now listen to them as podcasts from the KUT website. And by “them” I mean that KUT recorded a fun, long interview with me a few weeks ago. When we were testing levels, I told this story about the time I went to jail for playing the role of “Mother Ginger” in Ballet Austin‘s Nutcracker. True story. Then, in the actual interview, Mike Lee and I talked a bunch about the Nemesis project. They aired the Nemesis segment on “Arts Eclectic” during the day and the jail segment on “0′Dark:30″, on which they’ll be broadcasting the original version and the revised version of the Nemesis radio drama later this year.

Anyways, both of these are on the KUT web site and linked below. Download ‘em and listen on your computer or iPod or other mp3-type device!

Nemesis on Arts Eclectic

Jason Goes To Jail

Mike Lee and Jason Neulander Talk the Talk

League of Extremely Ordinary Gentlemen

Jason N. — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:06:53 +0000

Well, if I’m not blushing right now. I just listened to the LEOG STAPLE! podcast and they have some very nice things to say about what we’re trying to do at The Intergalactic Nemesis. The entire podcast is absolutely great. If you’re feeling Nemesis-centric, listen to the first three minutes, then jump ahead to minute 24. But I recommend this entire thing. The LEOG guys were just plain good interviewers, keeping the conversation flowing and the energy high. Thanks, LEOG!

Comicpalooza: a success! (sort of)

Jason N. — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:27:11 +0000

Jason Neulander at Comicpalooza

Well, Comicpalooza was pretty nutty. To say it was disorganized would be a pretty gross understatement, though I definitely had fun while I was there. The folks who saw the show absolutely loved it and several people who bought the book came up to me later to say how much they liked it, which was pretty nice. I really enjoyed meeting everyone who came to the table, so if you’re one of those people and you’re reading this right now: nice to meet you!

The best part of the whole thing was planting the seed for the Wortham Center show next year. Oh, I never mentioned that in the blog, I don’t think. Yes, the live show is going to be playing the Wortham Center in Houston. For details, visit the Society for the Performing Arts website.

A couple of young fans read issue 1

New video added

Jason N. — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:34:56 +0000

The past week has been an education in Final Cut Pro and I’ve got two videos to show for it. The first is a shoot of the Alamo show we did a couple of weeks ago. On each of the three nights we shot from a different angle, so we got pretty good coverage of the performance.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEz73m9vuUU

The other video uses footage I shot of Graham Reynolds, the composer, a couple of years ago, combined with recent footage of the production. In the video, Graham talks about the creation of the music, with samples showing what he’s talking about. I think it’s a pretty good behind-the-scenes look at the project. Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOtoQW4_4Yg

Interview at KUT

Jason N. — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:39:32 +0000

Mike Lee and Jason Neulander Walk the Walk

Following our major announcement the other day, Mike Lee had me in at KUT‘s Studio 1-B to chat about what we’re up to. Mike has been a long-time fan of Nemesis and, in fact, edited together one of the broadcasts of the radio drama back in 2001. More than that, Mike aired the original cassette-tape four-track recordings we made in 1996 as part of a program he helped host called “Soundsight”. I had a chance to acknowledge his years of support at the presentation I made the other day and now he’s planning on re-broadcasting the whole shebang and then a new recording as part of the ongoing series at KUT “O’Dark 30″. We’ll post the interview, which should air next week, as soon as it’s ready, but meanwhile, here are a couple of pix confirming that what I’ve written here is actually true!

Mike Lee and Jason Neulander Talk the Talk