As even the establishment media has been forced to notice over the last few years, Free Comic Book Day has become a sensation. Fueled part by the success of the comic book movies and record prices paid for high grade back issues, the social acceptance of comic characters has never been higher.
So, wouldn't this be a great time to introduce some new people to the notion of reading, enjoying and collecting comics?
The Overstreet Guide To Collecting Comics FCBD 2010 Edition tackles comic book collecting, grading, storage, conventions, prices, and more. It showcases the issues facing new collectors and experienced enthusiasts alike.
Free Comic Book Day is May 1, 2010.
It's written by me, illustrated by Gene Gonzales (it's a comic book-text hybrid), with lots of photos, a cover by the Fraim brothers, and I hope it's some fun.
The publishing history of the late Dave Stevens’ most famous creation almost takes longer to tell than it does to read, but even though the volume of the output is relatively small, its impact on the imaginations of its readers has been just the opposite.
The Rocketeer first appeared on an ad on the back of Pacific Comics’ Starslayer #1. The feature itself ran in Starslayer #2-3, and Pacific Presents #1-2 before Pacific went under.
The Rocketeer Special Edition #1, which had been intended to be Pacific Presents #5, was published by Eclipse, as was an album-format collected edition of those installments.
The Rocketeer Adventure Magazine #1-2 were published by Comico, and then #3, the final issue, was published by Dark Horse Comics, which subsequently collected the three issues into the a second album-format graphic novel subtitled “Cliff’s New York Adventure.”
The story, of course, spawned the 1991 feature film and sparked the renewed interest in pin-up Bettie Page, but it became a cherished favorite of many of its readers.
For those who have never experienced it, the tale of pilot Cliff Secord and his friends is steeped in pulp and classic adventure strip style. It’s set in the rip-roaring 1930s, with aerial circuses, tough guys, heroes, Nazis, and more, including Cliff’s beautiful girlfriend, Betty.
The Rocketer: The Complete Adventures collects all of the previous installments in a single, hardcover volume. The work has been completely re-shot from Stevens’ original art pages, giving it the best reproduction it has ever had. The beautiful paper stock combined with all new coloring by Laura Martin, who Stevens picked before his untimely death due to Leukemia, makes the book a treasure that is hard to put down.
There are two editions, both in hardcover. The standard edition is beautiful .
The deluxe edition is simply dizzying. Larger and including more than 130 pages of supplemental material, it’s actually hard to describe how cool a package this slipcased version is. The extra contents include rough pages, earlier versions, revisions, script notes, cover roughs, interviews with various contributors, unused covers, and more. For Rocketeer fans, it’s not to be missed.
Bravo to editor Scott Dunbier and everyone at IDW Publishing for presenting this important portion of Dave Stevens’ legacy in such stunning fashion!
One of the great pleasures for me since my move to New York is the ability to hop a train and be at the offices of DC Comics just a few minutes later.
When DC's Adam Philips let me know that DCU Editorial Art Director Mark Chiarello was a big Overstreet fan, I asked to meet him.
Adam introduced us, and I'm happy to say he turned out to be a great guy. The reason that made me particularly happy was that I've been a big fan of his work for a long time (I think the Terminal City covers were the first time I noticed is work).
At any rate, we chatted and I asked if he'd be interested in doing a cover for the 40th anniversary edition of the Guide. He said yes rather emphatically, and here we are!
I had a blast at the Virigina Comic-Con! I sat next to my pal Jim Kuhoric, who has written a ton of Army of Darkness and other horror comics (including his own Dead Irons), but he had people stopping by left and right to see the cover art from his new book, The Legendary Talespinners. It's in Previews right now, so check it out.
Jim Kuhoric
Xena. Don't mess with her.
Jim and I hosted a panel on working on license properties.
Elijah Pipkin entered the costume contest as me. It's an outrage that he didn't win!
My pal Alex Saviuk was there and it was great to get to hang out with him. We're hoping to work together in 2010. He still inks the Amazing Spider-Man daily strip and draws the Spidey Sunday page.
Artist Mark McKenna, who is another really nice guy on top of being so talented. It's always cool when guys whose work you like turn out to be awesome people.
Brett Carreras, co-promoter of the show, was a great host with his staff, friends and family!
It was also very cool to get to meet writer Chuck Dixon after years of having friends in common!
Here I am with a new fan whose name of course I lost. We sold copies of Zombie-Proof,Shi: Ju-Nen, the 24 Omnibus, Antiques: The Comic Strip and more. It was a fun show supported by great fans, most of whom seemed really happy to have a good comic show in their hometown. I'm definitely looking forward to them putting on another one so I can go back!
I'm looking forward to attending the Virginia Comic-Conthis weekend in Richmond. It looks like Brett Carreras and Guy Rose have put together a great show with Larry Hama, Chris Claremont, Chuck Dixon, my frequent collaborator Billy Tucci, John Gallagher, Steve Conley, yours truly, and many others.
I'll be on a panel with my good friend James Kuhoric (Dead Irons, Army of Darkness, Battlestar Galactica) talking about licensed properties, among other things.
The blood runs red under the moon as Moonstone follows up its first monster anthology, Werewolves: Dead Moon Rising, with Vampires: Dracula and the Undead Legions. This second “Moonstone Monsters” anthology features Dracula stories (which open and close this collection) and eight other new vampire tales.
Contributing authors from screenwriters and novelists to comic book scribes, including L.A. Banks (2008 Essence Storyteller of the Year), P.N. Elrod (The Vampire Files), Elaine Bergstrom (Kolchak: The Night Stalker Chronicles), Martin Powell (Scarlet In Gaslight) and yours truly, with “Vampire Hunter Dean,” the short story from which my new comic book project grew.
IDW Publishing, which had released four one-shot graphic novels and one five-issue mini-series based on the series, is set to release the 24 Omnibus in November 2009. The compendium will feature their complete 24 output to date.
I collaborated with screenwriter Mark L. Haynes on the first three one-shots (24: One Shot, 24 Stories, and 24 Midnight Sun) and the 24: Nightfallmini-series, and writer Beau Smith (Wynonna Earp) penned 24: Cold Warriors. An interview with us ran in Scoop.
I expect to have copies with me at this weekend’s Virginia Comic-Con, but I haven’t seen them yet.
Vampire Hunter Dean is illustrated by those whiz kids Brendon and Brian Fraim, and it's based on my short story that is schedule to appear in an anthology from Moonstone Books. In fact, the comic book story picks up where the short story left off, but both pieces work fine without the other.
As usual, the guys' work has been outstanding and seems to be getting better page by page. That was my experience with them on Antiques: The Comic Strip, so I probably should have expected as much.
This is a four-page sequence from early in the story. You can click the images to see them much larger.
Experience a “New World Order” in Back Issue#34, featuring the soul-searching story of Counter-Earth’s Adam Warlock, with Jim Starlin and Roy Thomas, and the behind-the-scenes history of the revolutionary Marvelman, with Alan Davis and Garry Leach. Also, Jim Shooter stands tall in an exclusive interview and we look back at Marvel’s New Universe. Plus: Logan’s Run, Star Hunters, Bob Wiacek on Star Wars and Star-Lord, the conclusion of the Steve Skeates interview, a new AA COMICS chapter, Dick Giordano and Pat Bastienne revisit Crisis on Infinite Earths, and “The Post-Crisis DC Universe You Didn’t See”! Contributors include Gerry Conway, Tom Defalco, David Michelinie, Paul Ryan, and more. All behind an incredibly cosmic Warlock and Thanos cover illustrated by Jim Starlin! Edited by Michael Eury.
I'm very happy to finally be contributing to this outstanding publication on comics history. Michael Eury has done a mindboggling job of finding enthusiastic writers to provide articles about a very wide range of subjects from my favorite era of comics. Just the day before this issue arrived, I wondered if anyone could be the inside view on Star Hunters, and then suddenly here it is!
My article on Jim Shooter is derived from one part of a lengthy interview he and I are working ourselves through, and this portion of it is something that I can't recall Jim commenting on before. I hope you'll take a look. Thanks.
From now until Friday, April 3, 2009, Gemstone Publishing is offering free shipping on Antiques: The Comic Strip, by Brendon Fraim, Brian Fraim, and yours truly. It's one of my favorite projects that I've ever worked on.
It was nominated twice for Harvey Awards (due mainly to votes from my co-workers, I'm sure), both for best comic strip (2007) and best collected edition (2008).
The story concerns two cousins, one American and one British, who are the last of their once proud trans-Atlantic dynasty. They're both antiques dealers, they both end up at the largest auction ever of vintage pop culture collectibles and fine art, and they don't speak to each other. There's also a lot more than meets the eye. What is it? That's the story.
Is it an honor just to be nominated for Harvey Awward, you know, the way everyone always says? Well, actually, it was an honor just to get to do this strip that floated around in my head for so long... and to do it with such talented artists. And seriously, since these awards are voted on only be working comics professionals, I really do owe it to my co-workers and their support of the book that it was even considered.
If you haven't already checked it out, let the free shipping be your incentive to do so now!
If you're read this blog before, you might have noted that I've done a pilot teleplay based on Antiques. There are some important differences in pacing, but the characters are pretty true to what we've seen in the comic strip (or this collected edition). It would be great to see this one come to life on the small screen.
Vampire Hunter Dean first appeared... wait, can I say he first appeared if it's not published yet? Well, he first appeared to me in a short story I wrote for a forthcoming (I'm assured) vampires anthology from our friends at Moonstone Books. The story is entitled, and this is the really clever part, "Vampire Hunter Dean."
Ever since we finished Antiques: The Comic Strip, which I dearly miss, I've been looking for something on which to work with the uber-talented brother act of Brendon and Brian Fraim. I sent them the short story, they liked it, I wrote a script for a seven-page teaser that picks up right at the end of the short story, and -- as usual -- they nailed it. We sent it over to ace letterer Marshall Dillon, who got it right back to us.
It not only worked nicely as a comic, it worked great. I knew that we definitely had to do more. So I wrote some more and the guys got to work on it. Vampire Hunter Dean #1, a one-shot, is now in progress.
So, what's it about? Dean Marklin is a HVAC (that's heating, ventilation and air conditioning) repairman from suburban Pittsburgh (Dormont, to be exact) who goes to an industry convention in Miami and meets a super hot, model-esque woman who turns out to be much more than she seems. He leaves Miami knowing there are a lot more things in the world than he ever contemplated before.
And then he finds out there are vampires in his home town. Why are they there? What's their story? And what does Dean do about them? (The title may give it away, but hey, I'm writing hype on the fly here...)
The Fraim brothers are doing a fantastic job and each page I get in is better than the previous one. The seven-page teser should appear in the Zombie-Proof one-shot, Zombie-Proof: Zombie Zoo, followed by the one-shot.
The inked page above is from the teaser story. The page in pencil shows some of the action early in Vampire Hunter Dean #1.
Sometime later we'll talk about how Vampire Hunter Dean got his name.
Over on Comix 411, our pal Tom Mason (veteran writer of things from YA novels to cartoon show, but for us he could have stopped after creating Dinosaurs For Hire and still been cool forever) took last Friday's release of the Watchmen movie to check in with comic book industry folks about their memories of the initial release of Watchmen #1 in 1986. It was a random, unscientific sampling to be sure, but the question prompted some very interesting responses.
Among the participants were Frank Mangiaracina (formerly of Friendly Frank’s Distribution), Chris Ulm (formerly Editor-in-Chief of Malibu Comics, now a game developer), Tom Heintjes (Editor of the great magazine Hogan’s Alley), our friend Mark Herr (who worked at Geppi's Comic World back in the day), Brian Augustyn (Gotham By Gaslight), John Jackson Miller (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic), Gary Guzzo (former retailer and Marvel PR guy, among many other titles), Dave Olbrich (former Publisher of Malibu Comics), Carl Potts (former Executive Editor of Marvel Comics), Aaron Lopresti (artist), and yours truly.
Comix 411 has a new feature article about Antiques: The Comic Stripposted. It's written by none other than Tom Mason, who frankly could have retired at the top of my list after he created Dinosaurs For Hire back in the days of Malibu Comics (man, I loved that series!). He clearly "gets" what the story is about, and that's always fun to read in a review.
The characers in Antiques are ones I would definitely like to revisit (aside from the pilot teleplay which I wrote last fall). With all the great collections of classic strips that IDW Publishing and The Library of American Comics are putting out -- particularly The Complete Terry and the Pirates -- I've learned so much more than I knew before... it makes me want to just jump back into it!
Thanks to Tom and to Comix 411!
Antiques remains available in the Diamond Comic Distributors system for comic book retailers and their customers. It's also available directly from Gemstone Publishing.
"20 QUESTIONS WITH BRANDON JERWA" has just been posted over on the COMICS SPOTLIGHT blog. I didn't know Brandon before this interview, except through his work. It's a good read and I hope it will turn you onto this very interesting writer of Battlestar Galactica, Highlander, and more...
Beau Smith, the guy who wrote the incredible Cobb: Off The Leash mini-series from IDW Publishing and the only other person (other than Mark Haynes and me) to write the comic book adventures of Jack Bauer in 24, has a regular (and very lively) column on the Comics Bulletinwebsite.
In his current columnhe has some very nice things to say about my Blue Beetle story ("Christmas With The Beetles") in the DC Universe Holiday Special 2008.
