EXCLUSIVE BEDTIME STORIES FOR IMPRESSIONABLE CHILDREN #1 at VIRGINIA COMICON

Limited to 250 copies, the Virginia Comicon Exclusive edition of Bedtime Stories For Impressionable Children #1 will debut at the November 20-21, 2010 show in Richmond, VA.

This new horror anthology features three stories, including "One of Those Mother-Daughter Things" by yours truly, J.C. Vaughn, with Gene Gonzales (Tales of the Cherokee) and Mark Wheatley (Lone Justice, Blood of the Innocent) on art, "Life Stinks" by James Kuhoric (Dead Irons, Army of Darkness) and Joe Keatinge (PopGun), and "Madman / Dead Man" by Robert Tinnell (EZ Street, The Wicked West) and Rich Woodall. The host segments are illustrated by Michael Malbrough.

The covers are by Mark Wheatley (Cover A) and Jacob Jordan (Vampire, PA, Cover B). The sketch cover variant is by Wheatley.

In many ways, this is a dream project for me. Bedtime Stories was the first real attempt I made at writing a screenplay... as far back as high school. It represents that first time I have worked with Gene Gonzales and Mark Wheatley on the same project, and we have a lot of great creators working on stories for future issues.

BEDTIME STORIES FOR IMPRESSIONABLE CHILDREN

A brand new horror anthology in the spirit of the classics!

Meet Alonzo Del Vecchio, a former construction work forced by the tough economic times to become, much to just about everyone’s regret, a babysitter.

Modern horror masters James Kuhoric (Dead Irons, Army of Darkness), Robert Tinnell (The Black Forest, The Living and The Dead), Mark Wheatley (Breathtaker, Blood of the Innocent) and J.C. Vaughn (Vampire, PA, Zombie-Proof) provide a series of terrifying tales the babysitter probably should have left at home.

Covers by Mark Wheatley and Jacob Jordan.

32 pages, B&W $3.99

In the AUGUST 2010 issue of PREVIEWS, on sale in October!

Gene Gonzales, artist on the acclaimed Tales of the Cherokee, is now on board for Bedtime Stories for Impressionable Children #1. Gene and I have worked together many times over the years, most recently on The Overstreet Guide To Collecting Comics, which was Gemstone Publishing's Free Comic Book Day 2010 offering.

More news to follow soon.

BEDTIME STORIES FOR IMPRESSIONABLE CHILDREN

Sometimes a good idea just won't die. Of course it sort of helps when it's undead to start with.

To say that Bedtime Stories For Impressionable Children has been percolating for a long time would be something of an understatement. I had read Creepy and Eerie, of course, but years and years before I got to work on The EC Archives, even before I discovered Bruce Jones' Twisted Tales, the first screenplay I tried to write while I was still in high school was Bedtime Stories For Impressionable Children.

Sometimes, as was the case with Antiques: The Comic Strip, you just don't know enough to do a good job writing a project when it first hits you. Then later -- sometimes much later -- how to actually do it hits you suddenly. That's the case with this one.

I was having lunch with James Kuhoric, my good friend and the only comic book writer who has made Army of Darkness really come alive (so to speak) for me (he's also the creator of the great Dead Irons and Legendary Talespinners). We weren't even talking about horror anthologies are first, but then (with a nod to Ross Richie and company) ... BOOM!

A couple of minutes later we had the whole first issue figured out.

That same night I had dinner with two other good friends, photographer Michael Solof and multi-media artist Mark Wheatley (creator of, among other things, Vertigo's Breathtaker and the recent graphic novel EZ Street). We talked it over, and it really got rolling.

I wrote up a quick proposal about the one-shot (we're ready to do more if it's a success), sat on it a few days, good some feedback, and then sent it off to Joe Gentile and our friends at Moonstone.

The result will be a 32-page comic book of horror tales by the aforementioned creators along with one by writer-director Robert Tinnell (The Black Forest, The Wicked West). It should be fun, and I already have a lot of other really talented friends ready to roll if people like this one.

We've already started a Facebook page on it, so check it out.

More to follow.