VAMPIRE, PA #1 Eight-Page Preview

VAMPIRE, PA #1 (of 3)
J.C. Vaughn, Brendon Fraim, Brian Fraim

Vampires in suburbia? Dean Marklin didn’t think so. In fact, he didn’t believe in vampires at all. Then he met one. Then he met lots more, and they all wanted to kill him! Now he’s a vampire hunter, and he’s pursued by a beautiful vampire while he tries to hold onto what’s left of normal life. How do you think that’s working out for him?

From the writer of Zombie-Proof comes this trip to Western Pennsylvania’s oddly vampire-rich environment.

Cover A by Mark Wheatley. Cover B by Jacob Jordan.

VAMPIRE, PA #1 will be listed in the April 2010 PREVIEWS from Diamond Comic Distributors under MOONSTONE BOOKS and is set to go on sale in June!

The three-issue, bimonthly mini-series is based on my short story "Vampire Hunter Dean," which appears in the prose anthology Vampires: Dracula And The Undead Legions, also from Moonstone Books, and which is on sale now.

BRENDON and BRIAN FRAIM are the artists on the series. In addition to working previously on Antiques: The Comic Strip, they have also done The Odd Squad from Devil’s Due Publishing and America, Jr. from Image Comics, and other cool stuff.

The mini-series is being colored by multiple award-winning creator MARK WHEATLEY, the driving force behind such projects as Breathtaker, Blood of the Innocent, Mars, EZ Street, Lone Justice, Radical Dreamer, and more.

My previous credits include Moonstone’s mini-hit in 2007 Zombie-Proof, the adventures of Jack Bauer in 24 from IDW Publishing (based on the Fox series), Billy Tucci’s Shi from Crusade, Avatar and Dark Horse, and other stories. I’m also the Associate Publisher of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide and the writer of Gemstone’s Free Comic Book Day entry, The Overstreet Guide To Collecting Comics.

This issue features 32 pages of story and art! Vampire, PA #2 and #3 will feature a Zombie-Proof back-up story (and at least 28 pages of story and art each) leading into the upcoming new one-shot, Zombie-Proof: Zombie Zoo.

VAMPIRE, PA #2 COVER

Vampire, PA#2 (Cover A) by Brendon and Brian Fraim. Not only is it the second issue of our three-issue mini-series from Moonstone Books, it also touts the return of Zombie-Proof in the form of a back-up feature by Vincent Spencer and me.

Updates: The art for the lead story for Vampire, PA #2 is already being colored and lettered. The back-up story is being drawn. I'm at work on the script for the lead story in #3. There are two Zombie-Proof back-ups in that one. The script for one is already finished, and the art for the second is done. So, things are progressing nicely.

Vampire, PA #2 will be in the June 2010 Previews from Diamond Comic Distributors. It will be on sale in August 2010. More to come...soon!

FIVE MORE PAGES from VAMPIRE, PA #1

DARWYN COOKE'S OVERSTREET COVER

Another of the cool things about my job is having friends like Jimmy Palmiotti, writer-editor-inker-artist and all-around cool guy. So last year, right after The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #39 came out, Jimmy called me.

"Darwyn wants to do an Overstreet cover for you," he said. I did not ask "Darwyn who?"

Not a phone call an editor is likely to forget, right?

Known for his fluid art style and highly respected storytelling skills, Darwyn Cooke won an Eisner Award for Best Limited Series and a Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist for his work on DC: The New Frontier.

In 2009, he won further acclaim (and a very impressive amount of mainstream media coverage) for his graphic novel adaptation of the classic Donald Westlake – Richard Stark novel The Hunter, featuring the character Parker. The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and Entertainment Weekly were just a few of the outlets to recognize his efforts.

If you haven't checked out The Hunter and you like crime comics, what the heck are you waiting for? If you haven't read DC: The New Frontier, and you like Silver Age comics, likewise, get with it!

In the meantime, make sure you order either this or Mark Chiarello's great Batman cover on The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #40, due out this July and in PREVIEWS right now.

VAMPIRE, PA #1 in April PREVIEWS

Vampire, PA #1 (of 3)
J.C. Vaughn, Brendon Fraim, Brian Fraim

Vampires in suburbia? Dean Marklin didn’t think so. In fact, he didn’t believe in vampires at all. Then he met one. Then he met lots more, and they all wanted to kill him! Now he’s a vampire hunter, and he’s pursued by a beautiful vampire while he tries to hold onto what’s left of normal life. How do you think that’s working out for him? From the writer of Zombie-Proof comes this trip to Western Pennsylvania’s oddly vampire-rich environment. Cover A by Mark Wheatley. Cover B by Jacob Jordan.

VAMPIRE, PA #1 will be listed in the April 2010 PREVIEWS from Diamond Comic Distributors under MOONSTONE BOOKS and is set to go on sale in June!

It's based on my short story "Vampire Hunter Dean," which appears in the prose anthology VAMPIRES: DRACULA AND THE UNDEAD LEGIONS, also from Moonstone, and which is on sale now.

BRENDON and BRIAN FRAIM are the artists on the series. In addition to working with me previously on Antiques: The Comic Strip, the have also done The Odd Squad, America, Jr., and other cool stuff.

The mini-series is being colored by multiple award-winning creator MARK WHEATLEY, the driving force behind such projects as Breathtaker, Blood of the Innocent, Mars, EZ Street, Lone Justice, Radical Dreamer, and more.

VAMPIRE, PA #1 Five-Page Preview

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY OVERSTREET

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 ROCKETEER RETURNS

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!

MARK CHIARELLO'S OVERSTREET COVER

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!

VIRGINIA COMIC-CON PHOTOS

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!

Thanks to Mike Solof for the great pictures!

VIRGINIA COMIC-CON: November 21-22, 2009

I'm looking forward to attending the Virginia Comic-Con this 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.

It ought to be fun, and I hope to see you there!

VAMPIRES: DRACULA AND THE UNDEAD LEGIONS

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.

24 OMNIBUS

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: Nightfall mini-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.

Pirate Alphabet - Part 3