ECV Has a Two-Year Plan...But Trump Will Probably Complicate It
The election results are likely to impact my business directly.
Last week, I had planned to reveal ECV Analog’s plans for 2025 and 2026. After I was laid off by my day job, I figured it was as good a time as any to go all in on my self-publishing work (at least until I get a new day job).
The results of the U.S. election hit pause on that — not just because my audience is (mostly) pretty progressive, and it was difficult to imagine asking for their enthusiasm in the wake of Trump’s election. No, it was more than that: a key part of Trump’s platform is likely to have a potentially dramatic impact on my work.
That, as you probably have guessed, is Trump’s proposed tariffs. There’s a great piece on ICv2 about how those tariffs will impact the American comic book industry (assuming they go through, and that they resemble what the president-elect has promised). It’s pretty bleak stuff, honestly, and I don’t have as much data as ICv2 does about how ECV Analog sources its materials, and how —or if — my costs will be directly impacted by any major changes to the supply chain.
Obviously, I won’t know this stuff for a while. Unfortunately, another reality I have to live with is that I am unemployed, and I need to start selling some books and generating some revenue so my kids can eat.
That brings me — ironically, considering the theming of this venture — back to video stores.
In the beginning, pre-recorded video tapes were so expensive that they were cost-prohibitive for most individuals and families to buy. That led to the rise of video rental clubs and, eventually, video rental stores.
The first U.S. video rental store opened in 1977, but even before that, there were video clubs. Usually advertised in newspapers or print magazines, video clubs would let you buy a membership, and then members could rent tapes from a list. While it went from being mail-order to brick-and-mortar to digital, that basic practice — you sign up for a membership and then you pay to rent from a list of movies — remains in place to this day.
In the next few weeks, I plan to launch the ECV Analog membership program. I will sell memberships for a preset amount, and in exchange, anyone who signs up will receive digital copies of everything ECV Analog makes over the course of a year. In order to encourage people to try it out, for the first 90 days, sales of a 2025 membership will include a complementary 2026 membership as well.
Perks of membership, besides the free digital copies, will include:
25% off all physical media produced by ECV Analog
Access to members-only posts here on Substack
Access to members-only offers for limited-edition versions of ECV Analog books and movies.
Regular updates on in-progress works, including free sample chapters not available elsewhere.
The digital-only aspect of the ECV membership offers a solution for the “tariff problem,” while offering a discount to members allows me to guarantee those who support my work early will get the best possible return on their investment when the physical media is available.
I’m not yet offering the membership for sale, because I don’t know what price point I am going to settle on. It’s likely that I will offer it first on a crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter or IndieGoGo, with an option to buy in here at Substack as well. Current paid Substack members will get the first year free.
And yes, that said “movies.”
In 2025, ECV Analog will be producing its first documentary film. Directed by Zach D. Roberts (Vigilantes Inc.), I can’t reveal too much about the movie just yet, but it will center on an event of some note in the American comic book industry, and the people behind that event.
I am hoping to officially nail down a few details in the coming days, so that by the time I start selling memberships, I can offer you a more in-depth look at the forthcoming two years. Those details are important to me, because whether it’s on crowdfunding, Substack, or somewhere else, a key aspect of the ECV membership will be an up-front guarantee of the bare minimum number of projects you can expect for your money in a given year.
If I make enough money doing this, I can make more projects, but at a bare minimum, you will know when you check out what projects are definitely happening in the coming months. My plan is to schedule a minimum of two books per year, with more as time and finances allow.
In 2025, I have the “two books” idea on Easy Mode, since I’ve been plugging away at a pair of books for months now, and each of them, originally set for a 2024 release, were victims of last year’s Hollywood strikes as well as my extremely demanding day job.
(Well, I no longer have the day job, so that fixes part of it!)
ECV Analog will also start working with other authors besides myself in 2025. There is one local/special-interest book, which will be appealing to people in Syracuse in particular, which I’ll be announcing very soon. That book will be edited by me and published by ECV Analog.
In cases where I don’t write the books, your membership will still get you a free digital copy and 25% off physical copies, as I’ll be making individual deals with authors before their books are announced.
Members will also be able to purchase exclusive perks like deluxe edition hardcovers of most books in the ECV archive, including Best Movie Ever, The Gold Exchange, and Getting the Fin Right.
So, what does 2025 and 2026 look like so far? Here’s the (partially redacted) answer. The slate is pretty aggressive, so read on after the title listings to see how I plan to hit these ambitious deadlines.
2025
Books
The Lostwave Mixtape (Q1 2025)
As announced here, The Lostwave Mixtape will tell the stories behind some of the most sought-after “lost” songs of the last 20 years, and will feature interviews with musicians, fans, and members of the lost media community.
The VelociGospel (Release Date TBA)*
An official companion to The VelociPastor 2. This one is almost guaranteed and I’ll explain that below.
Time To Be Heroes (Aug 15th, 2025)
A totally unofficial oral history of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
[REDACTED]: An Oral History of [American comic book series] (Q2 2025)
A planned official companion to [writer’s] and [artist’s] masterpiece, [TITLE REDACTED]. Featuring interviews with the creators as well as critics and Hollywood figures.
More details on this coming soon, I hope, as the two principal creators have already agreed to do the project in principle.
Film
Untitled Comics Documentary (Release Date TBA)
Directed by Zach D. Roberts
More on this very soon. Zach will probably be launching a crowdfunding effort to pay for the movie, his salary, and travel. I’ll be the primary writer of the script and the on-camera talent for interviews.
2026
Books
Punk Rock Prom Queens: The Making and Legacy of Josie and the Pussycats (April 9th, 2026)
This book, timed to the 25th anniversary of Josie and the Pussycats, will “remaster” my work from Best Movie Ever, along with all-new interviews and never-before-seen content. It’ll be totally jerkin’!
The Age of Heroes (Date TBA)
An oral history of The CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths. This was the project that was originally supposed to follow Best Movie Ever, but got delayed after the death of comic book legend George Pérez, and replaced by Time To Be Heroes on the calendar.
So…how?
Yeah, 2025 looks incredibly ambitious, especially if I do end up getting a day job, right?
Well, the good news is, three of those four projects are already partially (or mostly) complete.
Time To Be Heroes is structurally sound, and I’m just waiting on some additional interviews. By June 1st, I’ll be sewing the book up no matter what, using archival interviews to fill any gaps.
The VelociGospel is about halfway done. That one is contingent on the timing of the movie’s release, because not only is it an “official” companion where the producers can decide little things like release dates. We also want to include discussion of the film festival circuit and fan responses to the film in the book. So…it’s likely coming out next summer, but could be pushed to…whenever…based on the movie’s release timetable and the needs of the filmmakers.
The Lostwave Mix Tape will not take long to complete, as it is by design a short, breezy read. Of the 12 songs/albums currently expected to be part of the book, each story should be no more than 10 pages in length. I have also already conducted some of the interviews. Basically, Mixtape is a really long version of the kind of slideshow I used to do at ComicBook. In a perfect world, this one will be completed by the end of November and available as a stocking stuffer.
That leaves the final, as-yet-unconfirmed book and the movie. The movie, luckily, will be primarily Zach’s problem, with most of my part being done over the course of a few weeks. The other “official” companion is something that should not be too long, or take too long, as there are relatively few people to talk to about the project once we get rolling.
That’s probably enough for tonight. Be back here by noon on the fifth day for more, and always remember to rewind your cassettes.