Thursday May 16, 2013 For Immediate Release: The Black Coat Goes Independent (Again) with Custom Comic App America’s first superspy, the Colonial swashbuckler known as ‘The Black Coat’ has been featured in print comics since 2006 but the entire collection of Black Coat comics has gone digital in a newly released custom app that went live this week. “I think this is the next step for independent comic creators.” said series co-creator Ben Lichius. “I’ve been looking at ways to make the Black Coat available digitally for a few years now, but distribution through a digital comic store has its drawbacks. A custom app like this allows Black Coat fans to have a tailored reading experience and allows me greater control and, hopefully, more profit from sales of the books.” Ben is also Vice President of Spark Plug Games in Cary, NC who developed the technology for the custom app. It was built specifically for reading comics but designed for use in their other products as well. “The basic mechanics lend themselves well to things like game cinematics or document readers in serious game applications.” said SPG President John O’Neill. “It’s a versatile tool that we hope to build on and hope will open new marketing opportunities for other independent creators like Ben.” “I like the control.” added Lichius. “People that download the app will obviously get to read all of the comics and view custom menus, but if I want to I’m also able add music, extra content, links to other sites, video, animation, 3D models, almost anything…” There are advantages and disadvantages to cutting out the middle man, but there’s one financial benefit that Lichius sees right away: “When you sell print comics and distribute through Diamond, they take a rather large percentage of your profits right off the top. Digital distributors aren’t much better. Comixology takes 50% per book -and that’s after Google and Apple collect their fees. A custom app takes some time and investment to set up, and the app costs money to build, but the payoff is that the profits on the back end are higher because I don’t need to pay a distributor. I look at it as the digital equivalent of printing my own comics and selling them at conventions – but in this case, anyone in the world can download the app.” The new Black Coat app is free to download and includes the entire first issue, “A Call to Arms” #1. Ten other issues are already available for purchase ranging in price from $.99 to $2.49. The upcoming trade paperback “The Blackest Dye,” now in production thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, will also be sold through the app later this year. The app is available for Android devices and will be available soon for iOS and Kindle. It can be downloaded here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.benlichiusmedia.theblackcoat   For More Information: Web: https://the-black-coat.com Facebook: http://facebook.com/TheBlackCoat Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TheBlackCoat   About Spark Plug Games Spark Plug Games is an awesome independent games developer focused on creating interactive products for social, mobile, tablet and console markets. The team embraces the slogan “We ignite fun!” which expresses a desire to create high quality products with strong entertainment value and a passion for game development. Founded in 2008 and based out of Cary, North Carolina, the SPG team has already built over 50 products and continues to develop new brands while working with leading industry partners. For more information, please visit www.sparkpluggames.com.

It happened! You, the fans, came through and decided that you wanted to see more Black Coat comics in 2013 and so that’s just what we’re going to do! We want to say THANK YOU to everyone that participated either by pledging or spreading the word. We could not have done it without you and we’re incredibly excited to kick this thing off and share the process with all of our backers! What a great way to ring in the new year! For everyone that backed the project, be sure to swing by the Kickstarter page for details on how to get your FREE 14-page digital comic. It’s available now. More digital content for backers will be made available later this month! So stay tuned!

[issuu width=500 height=380 embedBackground=%23000000 backgroundColor=%23222222 documentId=130102215916-0bcfccf19b4745d9aabf1c4c12abbe30 name=blackcoat_acta01 username=apecomics tag=ben%20lichius unit=px v=2] Pass the link around and share it with your friends. Then swing over to the KICKSTARTER page and help us make another one! Just a couple of days left to get in on all the action! Spread the word! We need everyone’s help to meet our goal!  

Hey Folks! Be sure to check out the Kickstarter campaign to keep up with all the latest news about the new project-in-waiting! We’ve even got a special way for you to help get the word out AND get your name in the book at the same time! Here’s the skinny: 1. Visit this link and download one of the posters. 2. Get it printed (either the 8.5×11 at home or the 11×17 at your local print shop – Staples or OfficeMax can print an 11×17 color image for under $2.) 3. Take it to your local comic book shop and ask them to hang it up. 4. Take a picture and post it on our facebook page or send it to us in email.   And that’s it! Thanks to everyone that’s backed the project so far and be sure to tell your friends!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/61459799/the-black-coat-the-blackest-dye   Hey folks! Big news! We’ve launched our first Kickstarter campaign and, if successful, will be working on a new 66 page graphic novel telling the further adventures of The Black Coat. Check out the Kickstarter page and consider making a contribution – or just help spread the word! Here’s the official press release! =================================== Monday, December 3, 2012 For Immediate Release: The Black Coat slashes his way onto Kickstarter The creative team responsible for The Black Coat comic book launched their first Kickstarter campaign today and plan to produce a 66 page graphic novel that tells the further adventures of America’s first superspy if funded. “We’ve always wanted to pick things up where we left off,” said Black Coat co-creator Ben Lichius, “but producing a book like The Black Coat can be cost prohibitive in many ways and so it just hasn’t been a possibility for us to this point.” The creators are looking toward Kickstarter as a way to raise both funds and awareness for the character and help ease the minds of some eager fans at the same time. “I still get emails on a regular basis asking when we’re going to do more books,” Lichius added. “I think that Kickstarter is a special way for old and new fans to get involved with a project that they love, and in a way they never could before. Obviously the funding is a big part of it, but one of the great things about crowdfunding is the level of interaction that fans get to have – it’s a literal forum for them, as actual investors, to talk about the project, share their thoughts and concerns with the creators, help spread the word about the project… It actually makes fans into fellow creators and I think that’s really cool.” The new book would be written by Ben Lichius, illustrated by Dean Kotz, and colored by Diego Rodriguez. Ape Entertainment has already agreed to publish the book upon completion. If successful, the team expects the book to be on shelves by early October of 2013. For more information about the campaign, visit the Kickstarter Page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/61459799/the-black-coat-the-blackest-dye You can follow the campaign’s progress on the Black Coat’s website or on Facebook at: https://the-black-coat.com http://www.facebook.com/TheBlackCoat And to learn more about Ape Entertainment, visit their website www.apecomics.com. The Black Coat was created by Ben Lichius and Francesco Francavilla. ===================================