User:Venuscameback/LiveWire World

LiveWire World was founded by Sandra Lively in late 2003 as an internet-based comics store with friendly, troll/bullying-free forums and an accompanying website of magazine content, LiveWire Review.

Ian Murphy joined Sandra as a business partner in April 2004, with contracts signed in Las Vegas in August 2004 at the first annual LiveWire World meet-up. Sandra ran the online store and Ian was the Managing Editor at LiveWire Review. Ian and Sandra dissolved the partnership in 2010. Ian went on to found HAIRcomics, a Utah-based comics retailer.

LiveWire Review

LiveWire Review specialises in extensive interviews with figures in the comics industry. The first interviewee was David Hine and focused on his mini-series Daredevil: Redemption. Subsequent interviewees have included Ed Brubaker ^[1], Peter David (in which he discussed the X-Factor characer Rictor's sexuality ^[2]), Craig Kyle, Dan Slott, Joe Quesada and Terry Moore. Mike Carey ^[3] remains the only person to have been interviewed on multiple occasions by the website.

LiveWire Online Community

The LiveWire World Online Community Forums primarily revolve around comics-related chat and host the annual writing competition So You Think You're A Writer? and the LiveWire Comics Awards.

So You Think You're A Writer?

The annual So You Think You're A Writer? competition launched in 2007 and was won by the Ukrainian writer Diannepa aka Ukrainian nightclub owner Kari Tamlinska. The 2008 winner was the American writer Maka Nani aka Rebecca Murphy.^[4].

The competition ran for twelve weeks. A writing challenge was announced each week, with at least two options for entrants to choose from, one comics related and one unrelated to comics. Entrants have three days in which to answer each challenge, and their entries are then published anonymously on the LiveWire Online Community Forums and subject to a public vote of users of the forums. The weekly winner receives 4 points, first runner-up 3 points and the second runner-up 2 points. All other entrants receive 1 point, providing an incentive for them to submit an entry every week. The identity of the writer of each entry is revealed after voting for each round ends.

The entrants with the highest cumulative points totals at the end of the twelve weeks pick a selection of prizes from the prize pile ^[5], which usually includes pieces of original artwork, gift certificates and comics, graphic novels and scripts, often signed by the creators.

LiveWire Comics Awards

The annual LiveWire Comics Awards first ran in 2006, and has run every year since.

Users of the LiveWire Online Community Forums participate in a consultation to help decide on a shortlist of nominees, which is finalised by the Managing Editor. Once published, the nominations are voted on by registered members of the forums. The results have been remarkable for their consistent favouring of Marvel titles.

Online Community Meet-Ups

The community organized three in-person meet-ups, open to all users of the LiveWire World Online Community Forums. The first was in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2004, the second was in Logan, Utah in 2006 and the third was in Buffalo, New York in 2009.