Alliance Command

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Comic Con 2010

May 9th, 2010 · No Comments.
by Tom Kolega

Registered for San Diego Comic Con 2010 yesterday. This marks the second straight year I’ve waited until the last moment to sign up, and the second straight year I’ll be attending as a Professional.  The current objective is to attain national distribution confirmation before Comic-Con and launch the PR push the week of the show, or in the weeks to follow. A fall 2010 nationwide launch might be right: back to school, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

First, back to San Diego Comic Con (SDCC).

Five years ago I attended my first show and was blown away by the magnitude and scope of SDCC. It’s a wonderland of artwork, movies, books, toys, memorabilia, and nostalgia for fans/creators. The perfect venue for a tailor made action-adventure franchise. Hollywood has moved in recently; I think in a good way, as long as balance is maintained for the smaller creatives to thrive. With well over 100,000 attendees each year, the mainstream media has caught on as well.

It’s hard to describe what Comic Con is like for those who’ve never attended. Pictures and video don’t capture the full extent of the spectacle. As another SOLD OUT show–months in advance demonstrates–SDCC is the hottest ticket in SoCal every summer. Here’s a clip capturing the show from the aisles…see you in San Diego.

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DREAMCAST: The Allies

April 2nd, 2010 · Comments Off
by Tom Kolega

In developing The Contra Alliance Trilogy beyond books, early planning has begun on visual representation of an ORIGINS comic book mini-series/graphic novel. Beyond attaining a solid distribution partner and launching the PR behind the launch of Book I nationwide, thinking through the ultimate objective (live action movie) is ongoing. What would a Contra Alliance movie look like and who would play whom? Below is the DREAMCAST of selected main characters from the ALLIED side of the trilogy.

BATTLESTAR (Leonardo DiCaprio): With his roles in The Departed and Blood Diamond, it’s obvious that Leo’s tough, militaristic side is the exact perfect fit for Troy McBride.

GRACE (Monica Bellucci): The best Italian actress has the precise look and fits right-on as the CONTRA intelligence officer from the External Information and Security Agency.

MAGDEN (Patrick Stewart): In roles as Professor Charles Xavier and Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Mr. Stewart exemplifies the attributes of Nerrial’s Chief Emissary.

DIAMOND (Anita Briem): My preference has always been to assure actors from the Counter-Revolutionary strike force are represented by their countrymen or women. Anita is Alexa Kress in every way.

RAPTION (Taylor Lautner): Get down with a rising star who is strong, well-known with the right age group, and personifies who Tyler Northcutt is…just need some tattoos. Hollywood can handle that.

LYDIA LEWIS (Jennifer Aniston): I’ll never be convinced anyone could play the role of Station #1’s famed reporter better than Jen Aniston. She’d add the element of light, adventurous fun bringing the desired variance in tone alongside military realism and sci-fi.

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Barnes & Noble Selection

March 6th, 2010 · Comments Off
by Tom Kolega

Good news from the front lines! With the careful review of Book I: Shadows of the Past, the Barnes & Noble buyer for the category has approved a select purchase.This selection is a significant nod. Part of the processing requires orders be placed via the yet unnamed Contra Alliance distributor. I should be hearing from the 1st tier of chosen candidates in the next two weeks.

As previously mentioned at Alliance Command, a distributor currently considering representation is the perfect match. Confirmation is awaited. All 1st tier distributors receiving an introductory package would be fantastic partners and so I look forward to making the final decision this month.

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ORIGINS of Contra Alliance

March 1st, 2010 · Comments Off
by Tom Kolega

The basis of The Contra Alliance Trilogy lies not in the future (2035 AD) but in the past… reaching as far back as 333 AD. Readers of Book I: Shadows of the Past are becoming familiar with the Nerrial Universe, Starforce, and mythology behind The Revolution.

In developing the back-story, I wrote a Chronologic History to the Universe–the fictional IP bible. How did The Three orchestrate an Axis of the Underground on Earth? What happened during and after the Time of Legend? These subjects have linear timelines, guideposts, and established rules of suspended belief.

One of the most interesting timeframes of the pre-counterrevolutionary (CONTRA) era is the organization of The Revolution, the creation of Nightwatch, Battlestar’s recruitment from CIA’s Special Activities Division, and the Critical Events that soon followed.

In developing a basis for an ORIGINS themed graphic novel, the visual depiction of the above threads leading into the Shadows of the Past timeline is an intriguing approach being considered.

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Riding the IP Rollercoaster

February 28th, 2010 · Comments Off
by Tom Kolega

The recent focus of Contra Alliance is three things…

First, solidifying national distribution for the trilogy–the project is hopefully close to linking up in a PERFECT marriage.

Second, developing an origins themed graphic novel–plans are moving forward quickly.

Third, using the graphic novel and book as source material for movie/TV adaptation–still a long way to go!

I plan to include the resolution and/or concrete strategy for each in the forthcoming press release announcing Contra Alliance to the world. A tentative title, The Contra Alliance Trilogy: Poised for Pop Culture Rise. As a bit of history, the project originally started as a movie script before I developed Shadows of the Past into a book. Interestingly, I always wanted to see it as a comic title. In essence these developments (if they continue unfolding) have a probable chance of happening in reverse order.

Thinking through the structure of a graphic novel, I reminisced of the old Valiant comic book universe. During its rise in the early 90’s, I was heavy into X-Men and Image Comics releases. Valiant had a well integrated cast and depth to its backstory, but hard to understand for a newcomer. Than came RAI #0, an origins and overview based one-shot.

That simple approach provided me a “light bulb” for a prologue covering–in a quick and reflective manner from the perspective of Princess Shia–the deep mythology of Contra Alliance. From the War of the Star, to Nerrial’s discovery of Earth, fall of The Three, and Battlestar’s recruitment to Nightwatch–you should see it. If things work out, you will.

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Full Dust Jacket of Book #1

January 29th, 2010 · Comments Off
by Tom Kolega

As reminded by someone yesterday, I never posted the full dust jacket to Book One: Shadows of the Past. Well here it is below…click on the image to get a close up.

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Contra Alliance vs. X-Men

January 27th, 2010 · Comments Off
by Tom Kolega

Comparing the historic (not to mention record setting) Jim Lee X-Men #1 cover to the Joe Benitez Contra Alliance “Discover the Universe” promo might seem like a stretch…but take a closer look. Both scenes offer multiple pinups composed of one unified action sequence. The old X-Men team’s were composed of fewer characters and came across larger on the pinups. Aside from that, the structure is the same – by intention.

X-Men #1 (Jim Lee/Scott Williams/Joe Rosas) – October 1991

Contra Alliance #1 (Joe Benitez/Victor Llamas/Edgar Delgado) – December 2009

I played with the notion of introducing variant covers for future editions of book one, but will probably avoid doing so primarily for the logistical difficulties. Also, if my memory is correct, the above popular cover promotion started a swarm of gimmick gatefolds, glow-in-the-dark, hologram, special edition, etc. comic book covers the drove list prices through the roof and made it hard for us collectors to keep up, eventually leading to an industry bubble that burst.

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Spreading the Alliance: Volume I

January 19th, 2010 · Comments Off
by Tom Kolega

Production completion of Book One: Shadows of the Past came as Christmas did. With the good holidays behind us, 2010 begins with the alliance spreading its wings in multiple ways. Here’s a quick update on several ongoing operations:

wholesale-distribution

Barnes and Noble: Placement in the B&N online store is almost a certainty. Having the wonderful bookstore give Contra Alliance a chance on its retail shelves is the real goal. The review process will take place over the next 2-3 months. Sales would be swift.

Distribution: Linking with a focused distribution partner to carry the Contra Alliance and War of the Star trilogies to the four corners of the continent—and world—is perhaps the PRIMARY objective early in 2010. The initiation process has begun.

Website Update: The online global headquarters of the project www.ContraAlliance.com is in the process of being updated to reflect the “active” stage of availability. Several tabs will be revised and a major addition will take place within three months to highlight an exciting development in the world of independent creative authority and opportunity.

Amazon: Availability on Amazon began in December, as did shipping of pre-orders through the associated Fulfillment by Amazon program. Filling out the required Amazon Advantage paperwork to serve sales purposes with Pro-Merchant; given the structural/formatting differences, advantage to the former.

Independent Bookstores and Comic Shops: Developing regional partners in the Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego areas to feature Shadows of the Past will begin later this month. Partnership building to form lasting relationships throughout the course of the franchise is the goal. Remember: five books, a comic title, and a ton of merchandise to go.

Network Connections and the Adaptation: Living in Los Angeles provides great advantage to take Contra Alliance the distance. Forming the alliance in bringing live action or quality animation to a broad audience remains prime. Multiple approaches to achieve this “find” are ON.

Media Coverage: Early responses are all positive. Getting wider awareness activated through media, online, print and radio channels is the next step in Spreading the Alliance. Reviews and features will jumpstart the publicity and promotions program. A press release is forthcoming to announce the official March 2, 2010 street publication date of Contra Alliance – Book One: Shadows of the Past.

To be continued…

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Omnicomic Coverage of Contra Alliance

January 15th, 2010 · Comments Off
by Tom Kolega

Omnicomic interview as originally appeared today at Omnicomic.com – A Spiffy Spot for the Comic Lot http://www.omnicomic.com/2010/01/interview-tom-kolega.htmlShadows of the Past - Final Cover

Tom Kolega is a burgeoning comic book creator whose book Book I: Shadows of the Past is the first in his Contra Alliance Trilogy. The work is set in the future where global strife threatens humanity (doesn’t it always) and NATO is more powerful. Their Counter-Revolutionary (CONTRA) strike force is fighting a war on a global front against The Revolution. Of course, in tracking the terrorists it becomes readily apparent to CONTRA that there are supernatural and/or extraterrestrial presences behind the chaos.

He was kind enough to digitally sit down and answer some questions I had about his work, the future of Contra Alliance and his future as a creator in general.

Omnicomic: How did you get from LOKEY Innovative Apparel (a clothing line) to Contra Alliance?

Tom Kolega: Creating independently and building something from vision is the only connection. Much happened in between the two projects. Having the will to follow through on an idea is harder than most people think.

Omnicomic: The Contra Alliance website for the work mentions you came up with the universe in the weeks following September 11. In what ways did that day “influence your creative mind” as you put it?

Kolega: The attacks were so horrible and effective it influenced me to creatively think two things when envisioning Contra Alliance. One, the cyclical nature of war and violence on Earth–it always returns in one form or another (Shadows of the Past). Two, floating in the vast nothingness of space, what if a peaceful, utopian civilization discovered and looked down on us…how would they perceive our human status quo on Earth (Nerrial, the Starforce and its Emissaries).

Omnicomic: The title character in Shadows of the Pas, Troy, seems to be a former military man himself, discharged for reasons described in the book. Is it right to say that he’s really the title character? Does the Contra Alliance universe sort of run through him in a sense?

Kolega: The Contra Alliance universe is composed of dozens of characters. Troy McBride (Battlestar) is indeed the main character; the Luke Skywalker or Aragorn of this trilogy.

Omnicomic: The story seems to be influenced by the Island of Dr. Moreau (with the genetic experiments). Was that intentional?

Kolega: I’ve never read or watched the Island of Dr. Moreau, so unintentional. The Revolution needed an army composed of something more than mercenaries and limited Nezdeth warriors (though in the thousands). The genetic experiments they created were done so to add to their militaristic force and lethality; more of this is shown/uncovered in Book II: Blue Star.

Omnicomic: Can you explain a little bit about the three teams that are central in the story (Blue Team, Gray Team and Black Team)?

Kolega: The teams are NATO’s answer to The Revolution. Each team is a company of the Counter-Revolutionary (CONTRA) battalion and color coded for reference internally to command. Seven officers run each team with fifty Special Forces operators.

Omnicomic: What’s it like working with Joe Benitez?

Kolega: Joe is a very intelligent artist who understands how to make a character or scene come together to maximum effect. I enjoyed working with him very much. His dedication to doing a great job made “Discover the Universe” a smashing success. Being an old fan of comic books, watching him progress through the creative process was cool.

Omnicomic: What other mediums can fans expect to see the Contra Alliance story play out?

Kolega: I’m working hard on getting Shadows in the Past into wide distribution. Once achieved–or simultaneous to that–my goal is to establish a comic title (motion, online, or traditional) and an animated series. The ultimate objective is a live action motion picture. Several early efforts are underway with the latter including a movie adaptation synopsis covering the entire trilogy.

Omnicomic: With your experience in military/defense, can you foresee a future where Contra Alliance really becomes a reality? That is, is it possible that we could be faced with a Revolution and the political alignments you describe?

Kolega: The Revolution as described in Contra Alliance is purely fiction given its sci-fi nature. However, I would say that certain geopolitical developments could or are transpiring: Resource Wars; challenges to American preeminence; a superpower in China; tensions in Asia and South America, etc.

Omnicomic: Do you have a convention schedule lined up where interested fans can meet you and check out your work in person?

Kolega: I’m hoping to have a table at this years Los Angeles Festival of Books and share a table at the San Diego Comic Con.

Omnicomic: Anything you want to plug while you have the floor?

Kolega: Contra Alliance has unlimited potential with proper production backing. My interest is in seeing the project through to its utmost potential. I’m actively seeking interested parties to collaborate with in developing the universe through expanded mediums and taking this trilogy to the next level at an accelerated rate.

Book I: Shadows of the Past is available at Amazon and other retailers. Kolega is actively seeking partners to help expand the universe, so if you’re a publisher, movie studio or even blogger, then check out his Interested Parties page for more details about how you can be a part of the Contra Alliance.

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Book One: Shadows of the Past – The TOC

December 3rd, 2009 · Comments Off
by Tom Kolega

Below is the full table of contents for Book One: Shadows of the Past launching The Contra Alliance Trilogy. The table of contents is broken down in three main sections: Part One, Part Two, and the Appendix. Each chapter is titled with a scene theme from the book along with the date and location it takes place. The Appendix provides readers with background information on the characters of NATO’s Counter-Revolutionary (CONTRA) Special Forces operators and other book/trilogy related tidbits.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

PART ONE: SECRETS

CHAPTER 1: BATTLESTAR - Hermosa Beach: April 20, 2035

CHAPTER 2: ENGAGEMENT - Taiwan: April 20, 2035

CHAPTER 3: APPROACHING DOOM - Panama Canal: April 25, 2035

CHAPTER 4: FATE - Hermosa Beach: April 20, 2035

CHAPTER 5: ALLIED HONOR - Kadena Air Base, Japan: April 20, 2035

CHAPTER 6: JUNGLE’S PREY - Southern Colombia: April 22, 2035

CHAPTER 7: FAITH - Colorado Springs: April 22, 2035

CHAPTER 8: OPEN FIRE - Southern Colombia: April 22, 2035

CHAPTER 9: DOWN AND OUT - Hermosa Beach: April 23, 2035

CHAPTER 10: IN ASHES AND DUST - Southern Colombia: April 23, 2035

CHAPTER 11: COMMENCEMENT - Panama Canal: April 25, 2035

CHAPTER 12: CLOAKS AND DAGGERS - Washington, DC: April 28, 2035

CHAPTER 13: NEWSWORTHY - New York: May 3, 2035

CHAPTER 14: REGROUP - Colorado Springs: May 3, 2035

CHAPTER 15: THE PACKAGE - New York: May 3, 2035

CHAPTER 16: WHITE HOUSE - Washington, DC: May 4, 2035

CHAPTER 17: NEW BEGINNINGS - Hermosa Beach: May 4, 2035

CHAPTER 18: THE HIDDEN SECRET - Washington DC: May 4, 2035

PART TWO: REVELATIONS

CHAPTER 19: THE HORROR COMETH - Beirut, Lebanon: May 4, 2035

CHAPTER 20: BATTLE READY - Colorado Springs: May 4, 2035

CHAPTER 21: BLACK WIDOW - Jerusalem: May 4, 2035

CHAPTER 22: INTO THE HOLY LAND - Jerusalem: May 5, 2035

CHAPTER 23: COLD BLOOD - Russia: May 5, 2035

CHAPTER 24: DEVIL’S BREATH - Jerusalem: May 5, 2035

CHAPTER 25: NIGHTMARE SURPRISE - Jerusalem: May 5, 2035

CHAPTER 26: CAPTURED AND CAPTIVATED - Jerusalem: May 5, 2035

CHAPTER 27: WARRIOR CLASS - Russia: May 5, 2035

CHAPTER 28: TAKEDOWN - Jerusalem: May 5, 2035

CHAPTER 29: TRANSMISSIONS - Colorado Springs: May 6, 2035

CHAPTER 30: MEMORIES OF LEGEND - Washington, DC: May 6, 2035

CHAPTER 31: SHADOWS UNCOVERED - Colorado Springs: May 7, 2035

EPILOGUE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

APPENDIX

CHARACTERS OF THE CONTRA STRIKE FORCE

ACRONYMS OF CONTRA ALLIANCE

COMING SOON

ARTWORK PINUPS

CONTRA ALLIANCE UNIVERSE ONLINE

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