Times enough at last

Darwyn Cooke's PARKER graphic novel, THE HUNTER, debuted in the #3 spot on the New York Times' list of best-selling graphic novels this week. And even more impressive, it actually got front page coverage. The larger piece about the book (which also includes a write-up about David Mazzucchelli's masterful, hopefully Pulitzer-bound ASTERIOS POLYP and Neil Gaiman's "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader" BATMAN two-parter) can be found here. But the important thing is, we made the front page of the New York Times.

Our World(s) At War

Variety announced today that producer Jerry Bruckheimer acquired the rights to Ashley Wood's WORLD WAR ROBOT project. The piece can be found here (and a mention at Aint It Cool News, along with their, um, interesting Talk-Back comments, is here, too).

And Jerry, just so you know, the only thing that could make a big ROBOTS movie good is ZOMBIES. Something to keep in mind for the future...

The Fisher King

In September, we're releasing a Special Edition of the first issue of LOCKE & KEY: WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT. This is the start of the entire Eisner-nominated story, the full 32-page comic that kicked off the series.

But what's more special about this is the fact that we're running the original Joe Hill script behind the story. And even more notable than that is the bonus story we're running in the back.

The 72-page issue will also include a 10-page back-up story (unrelated to L&K, a fun standalone tale) by Joe and the late Seth Fisher, "Freddy Wertham Goes to Hell." This was one of the first things Joe wrote in comics. It was originally created for Cemetery Dance's GRAVE TALES comic, but they were nice enough to let us run it here, in color for the first time. Fisher's former studiomate, artist Langdon Foss, finished the last pages and worked on the colors with Jay Fotos. So it's a great last showcase of Fisher's amazing talent (and that Hill guy did a decent job on it, too).

Spoiler (NYC) Alert

Alan Robert, bassist for the band Life of Agony and singer/lead guitarist of Spoiler NYC (and also a comic writer/artist of an upcoming book called WIRE HANGERS) was suitable inspired by the announcement of our WEEKLY WORLD NEWS comic that he sent this over today.

Check out this link to see the trailer for WIRE HANGERS, too.

Ghost in the machine

Above: the variant cover pencils to the upcoming GHOSTBUSTERS: DISPLACED AGGRESSION #4 by Nick Runge.

Below: the trailer to GHOSTBUSTERS the movie... if it had been made in 1954:

Visions of Comic-Con

A few pics taken during the just-completed Comic-Con. First up, the IDW panel where we announced, among other things, the WEEKLY WORLD NEWS comic. We had t-shirts to give away and I couldn't help showing the two side by side (pic courtesy of Scott Tipton's Comics101.com):

And the folks behind the coming WEEKLY WORLD NEWS comic, artist Alan Robinson and I:

Scott Tipton and I, doing a signing for COMIC BOOKS 101 at the Impact Books booth:

A rare lull during the action, as I struggle to stay on my feet:

Actress/writer Brea Grant and her brother Zane Austin Grant, signing promo cards at our booth for their upcoming comic, WE WILL BURY YOU:

The Willingham Denham era

Eisner-winning writer Bill Willingham and artist Brian Denham (The X-Files) take over ANGEL for us as of issue 28, as we announced at Comic-Con last weekend. (Each issue will also feature a back-up strip by Bill Williams and David Messina, and star a new character, Eddie Hope, whose story will eventually intersect with the larger story being told in the comic)

I'll be showing much more of what they plan to do in days and weeks to come but for now, here's the first cover, to ANGEL 28, by new ongoing cover artist Jenny Frison.

The Rodin swipe file

The best sketch I got during all of Comic-Con, from Alan Robinson, artist of our upcoming WEEKLY WORLD NEWS collaboration.

Yes, there will be much more Bat Boy imagery to come here over the next few months, so get ready.

Where's will.i.am when we need him?

Perez Hilton gave us a bit of coverage at his site today, talking up (well, talking down) our coming project with Jennifer Love Hewitt, THE MUSIC BOX. He not only sounds moronic in trying to insult her appearance but he also says the project sounds like LOST, which it of course doesn't and isn't in any way. Then again, no one ever accused Hilton of journalistic integrity. Although, to be fair, he did nail the "comic publishing powerhouse" part...

Maybe we should do BLACK EYED PEAS comics next, to really horrify him...

Anyway, full mention is here.

Angel-us

We showed some new ANGEL images at the panel during the con, so let's catch up with them here. First up, two images from ANGEL 26, the first by Stephen Mooney and the second by Nick Runge. The story (by Brian Lynch) sees Angel and Spike at a comic con where, as happens at all cons, hijinks ensue.




Next up is Runge's cover for ANGEL 27, the second half of the two-parter:


And then this little ditty from Franco Urru, for an upcoming SPIKE series, also to be written by Lynch.

Tomorrow, I'll show Jenny Frison's image for ANGEL 28, the first issue in the Bill Willingham/Brian Denham era...

IDW's new releases for July 29

IDW Coming Attractions
Barack Obama #2 w/ sketch cards
Device Vol. 2 TPB
Leo Pulp TPB
Star Trek: Mission's End #5
Star Trek Archives Vol. 5 TPB

"Comic-Con: O.C. native Chris Ryall turns ‘Bat Boy’ into a comic book"

When I was 13, my first job was delivering the Orange County Register newspaper. Which makes it nice that they ran a piece on me today. Even nicer is the fact that the piece discussed Bat Boy. Full story is available here.

"I'm Bat Boy!"

Much more to come but for now:
My interview/announcement at Aint It Cool News
AICN write-up on the IDW panel
ComicBookResources.com write-up on the IDW panel
Newsarama.com write-up on the IDW panel

(and for even more proof that Bat Boy has been a long-running obsession with me, I found an old column I wrote for Kevin Smith's MoviePoopShoot.com site back in May 2004 where, amidst a review of BUBBA HO-TEP, I was talking about Bat Boy and my desire to see the little freak get his own movie. And those feelings have only gotten stronger...)

He Loves the '80s

The back cover of G.I. JOE artist Robert Atkins' Comic-Con sketchbook:


And with that, I'm off to the show and will check in and post images whenever I'm able.

Out of Groom

The final issue of GROOM LAKE by me and Templesmith hits tomorrow, just in time for Comic-Con (we'll be signing together on Thursday at 12 PM, too, if anyone wants to get a copy at the show), and this nice review just hit in advance of the issue's release:

This series is the first time that Ryall and Templesmith have ever collaborated on a project, but once you have read the comic, you’ll be asking yourself why they haven’t collaborated before, and be begging them to produce more comics together!

...Groom Lake has been one of my favourite series for the past few months that it has run. Comics tend to be so dark and grim these day, and it’s nice to be able to read something than doesn’t take itself all that seriously, and is content just to tell a great story and have a few laughs at the same time!

...I’m sort of sad the story is over, and I’d love to see Ryall & Templesmith collaborate on future projects. They seem such a perfect match, like a marriage made in Hell!

Full review here.

The collected edition will be coming in November, with an introduction by none other than COMMUNION author Whitley Strieber.

To Boldly Go Where No German Has Gone Before

Here're a couple images that us Americans might otherwise never get to see. They're David Messina's covers for the German editions of STAR TREK: MIRROR IMAGES and STAR TREK TNG: INTELLIGENCE GATHERING.

I'll be showing a couple other new pieces of art from Messina at our IDW and ANGEL panels during Comic-Con, too...

Parker in the news

On the eve of the book's release to the world (the rest of the world that didn't get it last week, anyway), the LOS ANGELES TIMES gave the book the front page of its Calendar section today.

Anyone coming to Comic-Con can get the book, available as a regular edition and also with a Con-exclusive dustjacket, at the show, and will have a couple chances to have Darwyn Cooke sign it during the weekend.


Newsarama.com also raved about the book today, saying, among other things, that

The Hunter is a rare achievement. It’s entertaining, it’s amazingly well-crafted, and it’s well worth your money and time. Without a doubt, this is one of the best, and most important, graphic novels of 2009.

Full review here.

Matt Wagner is my Hero

The great Matt Wagner's Grendel alternate cover for HERO COMICS, on sale at the con and all proceeds benefiting the very worthwhile Hero Initiative.

The comic itself has a murderer's row of creators to a degree rarely seen any more. Full details about the comic and the creators who contributed to it can be found here, but even more than that, it needs to be seen to really appreciate what they, and editor Scott Dunbier who pulled it all together, did with this comic. If you're coming to the show, you should check it out at the Hero booth (#907).

My 2009 Comic-Con schedule

THURSDAY, JULY 23:

IDW: The Evolution of Comics panel: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Room 10
Join me, Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier, eBooks Editor Jeff Webber, writer Bill Willingham, STAR TREK writers Tim Jones & Mike Johnson as we discuss IDW's 10-year anniversary and announce an abundance of new projects and creators. We'll even offer up one of IDW's new 10th anniversary $75 box sets for someone in the audience who can answer the most IDW trivia.

Signing with Ben Templesmith at IDW Booth (#1705): 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
We'll be signing GROOM LAKE (issue 4 is just out the day before) and anything else thrown in front of us.

Signing at the IMPACT Books booth (#1415): 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Scott Tipton and I will be signing our COMIC BOOKS 101 book at the IMPACT booth.

FRIDAY, JULY 24:

IMPACT University: How to Write and Draw Comics, Graphic Novels and Fantasy: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM, Room 30 CDE
I'll be on IMPACT's panel alongside IDW Senior Editor Andy Schmidt, writer Peter David, colorist Brian Miller, artist Tom Nguyen, and Maggie Thompson.

2009 Eisner Awards: 7:30 PM - 11:00 PM, Bayfront Hilton's Indigo Ballroom
IDW will have a table there and I'll be sitting with 2009 nominees Joe Hill, Dean Mullaney, and Kevin Colden, as well as Tony Lee and more.

SATURDAY, JULY 25:

Angel: On the Rise panel: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM, Room 7 AB
I'll be presiding over this panel alongside new ANGEL editor Mariah Huehner, as well as writers Brian Lynch, Juliet Landau and Scott Tipton, FALLEN ANGEL writer Peter David, ANGEL 24-25 cover artist Sam Shearon and XXX, the new ongoing ANGEL writer (being announced during this panel, as is the new artist and first cover for their run, beginning with ANGEL 28)

Spotlight on Joe Hill panel: 12:30 PM, Room 10
I'll be chatting up Joe Hill, who's going to discuss where LOCKE & KEY has been so far, what's coming up in the next chapter, CROWN OF SHADOWS, and a couple other projects besides. He just might read some of his upcoming new novel and show the cover art for the very first time (okay, no might about it; he will). And we'll offer up five of the exclusive LOCKE & KEY keys, limited to only 500 at this show and nowhere else, for people to win.

A full schedule of IDW signers and exclusives is available at IDWpublishing.com

IDW's new releases and 5-page previews for July 22

Click the link for a 5-page preview:
The Adventures of Digger and Friends #1
Doctor Who: Room with a Deja View
G.I. Joe #7
G.I. Joe: Movie Adaptation #4
G.I. Joe: The Best of Snake Eyes TPB
Groom Lake #4
The Life and Times of Savior 28 #4
Parker: The Hunter HC
Sparrow #13: Camilla Derrico
Star Trek: Spock: Reflections #1
Transformers: Animated Vol. 10 TPB
Transformers: All Hail Megatron #13

The Last Resort gets some play at Play

PLAY Magazine called THE LAST RESORT #1, in stores now, "Recommended Reading," going on to say:

The first issue of The Last Resort sets the stage for things to come and leaves you eager to see what's going to happen next. The concept, best described as part Gilligan's Island, part Survivor, and part Shaun of the Dead, has a lot of potential and is off to a great start. It's a fun dark comedy that constantly leaves you wondering just what's going to happen next. The Last Resort is just the thing for those looking for a summer getaway from the standard zombie horror fare. Just make sure you pack a shotgun or a chainsaw along with your Hawaiian shirts, swimsuits, and SPF 50 sunscreen.

Read the full review here.

Grecian formula

In our upcoming GHOSTBUSTERS: DISPLACE AGGRESSION series starting in September, Greek artist Ilias Kyriasis (GALAXY QUEST) handles all the art and colors again, this time portraying the 'Busters' travels across time and space (and the intro of a new, female Ghostbuster) in the Scott Lobdell-penned tale. But in issue 4, he steps across the keyboard (there's got to be a better analogy than that) and writes a bonus back-up story, too. This one focuses on Janine and looks at her whereabouts. The art chores on that back-up are being handled by Ilias' countryman Mike Dialynas, who also provided the pin-up seen here.

Woodward's drawing power

Artist J.K. Woodward's been with us since the start of FALLEN ANGEL, and it's great to have him continue on with the new FA series, REBORN, that kicked off today. His art's gone through some mutations since he started on the book in late 2005, and looks better than ever before on this new series.

He's been out doing the press rounds for the new series, too, with this interview at Comic Book Resources.

And this one at Indie Pulp.

The Doctor is in... trouble

The first issue of our new ongoing DOCTOR WHO series was just released today (and already received a 4-star review from Comic Book Resources) so there's a chance that this Paul Grist cover image for issue 3 might serve as a bit of a spoiler (the train doesn't really sever the Doctor's head at the start of issue 2! Shh!). But it's just to good to keep under wraps any longer.

And while I'm potentially spoiling things, let me take it a step further and show an interior page from the issue, too. Art on this is from Matthew Dow Smith and Charlie Kirchoff.


Both of these issues come to us courtesy of this guy. Sorry, this reverend, based on his Sunday afternoon activity.

5

While it's not exactly a glamorous way to spend a fifth anniversary -- home in bed with a fever or some such -- today is my fifth anniversary at IDW. And to commemorate it, I thought I'd run this photo that was taken from my first full week on the job back in 2004, me co-hosting an IDW panel with guests like the great Will Eisner, among others (and the "others" were no slouches, either, folks like Ben Templesmith and Matt Fraction). Eisner's presence immediate made it forever tough to beat on any future panels.

We WIll Brea You

Brea Grant and her brother Zane Austin Grant are creating a new series for IDW called WE WILL BURY YOU. It's a zombie tale set in 1920s New York. Brea, at the con to also promote her role in Rob Zombie's upcoming HALLOWEEN 2 film, will be signing promo cards and the IDW COMING ATTRACTIONS book that shows the first image of WE WILL BURY YOU (from Ben Templesmith) at our booth on Thursday at 4:30 PM (Ben and I will be signing there at the same time that day).

It seems Brea and Zane have come up with a novel way to promote this series, too. It involves singing, and the barter system. Details here, at her site.

Hope everyone attending the con can come by and say hey, and even listen to the Grant siblings' zombie-warbling, too. Maybe if what you trade them is good enough, they'll even do an a capella version in person...

Hi, Yoe

So many better "Yoe" puns I could have made, I know...

Anyway, we announced today that we've partnered with designer Craig Yoe on multiple projects, two of which are pictured here; others will be discussed at a panel discussion between Yoe and our other award-winning designer, Dean Mullaney, during the Con next weekend.




The text of the actual press release:

IDW Announces Yoe! Books
Publishing company to release Craig Yoe books under new imprint
First book releasing in fall 2009

San Diego, CA (July 9, 2009) – Yoe is coming to IDW! On the heels of the media frenzy surrounding his highly-acclaimed new book, Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster, IDW is proud to announce Yoe! Books, a new imprint that will publish numerous books by the author, editor and designer Craig Yoe, beginning with The Art of Ditko, a large-format book and The Complete Milt Gross Life Story and Comic Books, both releasing this fall. Ditko features little-seen stories and original artwork and an introduction by Stan Lee. Milt Gross sports a FOLD-INtroduction by Mad magazine's Al Jaffee and scarce ephemera and comics. These first two offerings foretell the genre-spanning range of Yoe! Books.

“IDW is committed to expanding our book collections, and continuing to offer readers a wide variety of unique and historical material,” said Greg Goldstein, IDW’s chief operating officer. “We’re excited to be the home of Craig's imprint, Yoe! Books, highlighting unknown geniuses and revelatory books on well-known names.”

Co-founder of YOE! Studio, Eisner Award-winner Yoe is highly-regarded throughout the entertainment industry for his creative and out-of-the-box books, which often focus on historical comic art. Yoe! Books at IDW will release many such books, starting with The Art of Ditko, which boasts an introduction by Lee. Ditko showcases the best of this seminal artist, who co-created Spider-Man and Dr. Strange with Lee and includes the artist’s most innovative and rare stories, original art presented in full color and essays by Jerry Robinson, John Romita, and P. Craig Russell.

A ground-breaking Jewish cartoonist, Milt Gross was a celebrity in his time, capping his career with hilarious stories for the comic book industry. Yoe! Books will commemorate the life of this great cartoonist with The Complete Milt Gross Life Story and Comic Books, reprinting every one of his rare comic book tales, plus offering a career-spanning biography based on interviews with those who knew and worked with him.

“I’m looking forward to spitting on my hands, pulling on my briefs, and tag-teaming with IDW. Together, we’re going to wrestle some great books to the ground,” said Yoe. “With my good looks and IDW’s beefy muscle, we make a winning team.”

Reborn Again

Among other big debut issues this week, Peter David and J.K. Woodward's FALLEN ANGEL series launches again. So to celebrate that, here's the cover to the concluding FALLEN ANGEL: REBORN #4. J.K. and Nick Runge have been the cover artists on the series up til now, but this month, artist Johnny Atomic contributed this special image of Liandra and special-guest Illyria.

IDW's new releases and 5-page previews for July 15

Some of the titles in the above image were moved to the week of July 22 due to a shipping hold-up. Click the title for a 5-page preview:
Angel: After the Fall, Vol. 4 HC
Doctor Who #1
The Dreamer TPB
G.I. Joe: Movie Adaptation #3
Fallen Angel: Reborn #1
The Last Resort #1
(first review of THE LAST RESORT #1 can be found here, too.)

Radio daze

A few days ago, I posted word of the radio show I'm co-hosting this weekend. Well, among the other guests on the show is going to be the great Jimmy Palmiotti, co-creator of THE LAST RESORT, a new miniseries starting on Wednesday, July 15. Jimmy'll be talking that up, his work on JONAH HEX, and whatever else (his old Brooklyn Bizarro Web site, maybe?). Follow this link for information on the show, which will be podcast after it airs live if you're not able to listen in one of the markets or online. The show is this Sunday, 11AM - 12 PM east coast time.

*UPDATE 7.11.09: HEROES/HALLOWEEN 2's Brea Grant and Good Charlotte's Billy Martin -- along with Michael Crawford, an old pal from my MoviePoopShoot days, will also now be guests on the show.

And here's a 5-page preview of THE LAST RESORT #1:

Open publication - Free publishing - More zombies

June third

The June numbers are out and we're #3 by the largest margin we've ever had. And this is the month before Darwyn Cooke's PARKER book hits. Always nice to have this kind of news leading us into Comic-Con.

The Captain's name is... Canuck

Alan David Doane, founder of review site Comic Book Galaxy.com (the person and the place who gave me my start in comics over a decade ago), took a look at our new CAPTAIN CANUCK reprint hardcover, and liked what he saw.

IDW has published a hardcover collection of issues #4-10 (the first half of the Freeman era, basically -- earlier issues were drawn by creator Richard Comely, who also does some art in this collection, but not much), and it is spectacular.

Read the full review here.

Unbalance of Terror

John Byrne's final story arc in his Romulans tales based around the classic "Balance of Terror" episode arrive in September, STAR TREK: ROMULANS: SCHISM. I've already shown issue 1's cover here before, but here now are issues 1-3, with rotating leads on each cover.

Entering Riverdale

A new partnership between IDW and Archie Comics was announced this morning. I'm very happy about this one, since Archie was something I read voraciously for years and years.

IDW Publishing has announced a partnership with Archie Comics to reprint some of the most iconic Archie stories in deluxe hardcover and trade paperback editions. Under the agreement IDW will reprint in sequence the classic Archie newspaper strip by series creator John Goldwater and original Archie artist Bob Montana. The strip reprints will be published in IDW’s Library of American Comics imprint under the editorship of Eisner-Award winner Dean Mullaney...

Full details on the coming projects can be found here, with more specifics to come.

2nd to LAST

Darwyn Cooke's cover to THE LAST RESORT #2. The first issue of this zombie tale from writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray and artist Giancarlo Caracuzzo--described thusly: "A zombie epic that pays homage to 1970s exploitation films and disaster movies like Airport and The Towering Inferno. In an entertaining and darkly over-the-top celebration of gore and sex, The Last Resort transforms a Caribbean paradise into a biological wasteland populated with homicidal flesh-eating vacationers!--kicks off on July 15.