Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Cobra-Love


The G.I. JOE: COBRA SPECIAL by Mike Costa and Antonio Fusio came out a week later than expected, yes, but the reception it's gotten already tells me that man of you thought ir was worth the wait.

Some pull quotes:
“In the end, Costa and Fuso do a brilliant job matching their overarching conceit with their experimental framework, making for a memorable installment in what is quickly becoming one of the best licensed interpretations in recent memory.” Daniel Crown, IGN

“…in the process transmuting COBRA Special #1 into an instant classic and the type of book you’ll undoubtedly want to re-read and dissect many times over.” Daniel Crown, IGN

“I’m going to go over the extremely well-crafted issue a few more times, and just soak in all that comic book skill.” Pick of the Week, Josh Flanagan, ifanboy.com

“If you’re looking for the latest smart, inventive reboot then the place to look, somewhat surprisingly, is G.I. JOE: Cobra” – Graeme McMillan, io9.com

“The execution of the comic itself is flawless.” 5 Stars. – generaljoes.com

And the full links:

http://comics.ign.com/articles/103/1030248p1.html

http://www.ifanboy.com/content/potw/09_30_2009_-_G_I__Joe__Cobra_Special__1

http://io9.com/5370146/cobra-special-reveals-hidden-depths-to-gi-joes-bad-guys

http://generalsjoes.com/2009/09/22/g-i-joe-cobra-special-1-advanced-review/#more-5890

http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-joe-comics/55834-g-i-joe-cobra-special-1-review.html

Crown of Horns

We're approving to print issue 1 of LOCKE & KEY: CROWN OF SHADOWS, the first chapter of the third installment of the acclaimed series. So it's officially coming, in early November.

And looking beyond that, at issue 3 coming in January, here are Gabriel Rodriguez's pencils and inks for the cover to issue 3. Finished version to come.



(Here's a very nice review of LOCKE & KEY: HEAD GAMES HC at iFanboy.com, too)

As an added bonus in issue 3, we're going to be running an advance look at Joe Hill's new novel, HORNS, due in February. We're going to give a nice preview of the novel, running the first three chapters in the back of the issue.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Denham and leather

I'm not sure if it's good or bad if you get the song reference in the Title of this entry...

But here are two finished pages for ANGEL #28, the first issue of the Bill Willingham/Brian Denham run:


Wild, man

Andrew Wildman's variant cover for TRANSFORMERS #2, being solicited for December release (available for pre-order in the issue of Previews that's in shops today).

Going Deep

This week, we're happy to announce that we're adding DEEP SPACE NINE comics to our expanding slate of STAR TREK titles. DS9 has long been the most-requested new title fans have asked for since we started doing TREK comics a couple years back. The first DS9 series, "Fools Gold," is being solicited for December release. So it'll be available for pre-order in tomorrow's Previews.

A bigger announcement and interviews about the new series are in the works, but since word has already broken on some Web sites, I thought I'd show a bit more here. But first, the solicits for the first issue itself, coming from the team of writers Scott and David Tipton and artist Fabio Mantovani:
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE: FOOL'S GOLD #1

Written by Scott Tipton and David Tipton, art by Fabio Mantovani, covers by The Sharp Brothers. Variant covers by David Messina.

Captain Sisko and the crew of Deep Space Nine make their triumphant return to comics! When the station begins to be overrun by thieves, treasure-seekers, bounty-hunters and other assorted ne'er-do-wells, Major Kira and Constable Odo must find out why. Can they get to the bottom of it before the station's new visitors bring things to a boiling point?

Cover to issue #1 from the Sharp Brothers:


David Messina's issue 1 variant cover:



And a couple interior pages from artist Fabio Mantovani:




Monday, September 28, 2009

Wire Hangin'


San Diego, CA (September 28, 2009) -
Life of Agony bassist/Spoiler NYC front man, Alan Robert, joins forces with IDW Publishing to release a new horror/conspiracy miniseries titled Wire Hangers. Created, written and illustrated by Robert, with covers by comic fan-favorite Nelson DeCastro (Marvel Masterpieces), Wire Hangers makes its worldwide debut in March 2010.

Robert is no stranger to comics. He studied cartooning under Walter Simonson (The Mighty Thor) at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he attended on scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Best known for being the primary songwriter behind Life of Agony's critically acclaimed River Runs Red concept album, Robert is also an accomplished artist. His illustrations and designs have appeared on merchandise, ad campaigns and Web sites for multi-platinum rock acts such as 3 Doors Down, Puddle of Mudd and Shinedown.

In Wire Hangers, which will debut with a 32-page, ad-free first issue, a series of abductions are plaguing New York, leaving no one safe. When Anna Davis, a feisty young female reporter, goes undercover to try and snag the big exclusive, she stumbles upon clues that give us a glimpse into what could be the most disturbing government conspiracy of our time. Pill-popping detectives, corrupt secret agents and a mysterious, disfigured homeless man are all inter-connected in this horrific tale of revenge and redemption.

Cypra Scream Robert states, "I've wanted to tell this story for as long as I can remember. I came up with the Wire Hangers concept a few years back, when Life of Agony was on the road supporting Ozzy Osbourne. It has haunted me ever since! Whenever we were touring or in the recording studio, I would find myself sketching out characters on the back of lyric sheets and leaving myself voicemail messages with scene dialogue. By the time I presented the idea to IDW earlier this year, the story was completely fleshed out. Visually, it's dark and gritty with tons of textures and atmosphere. The artwork really sets a tone for the series and plays an equal part in telling the story.

"I really can't express how excited I am to finally see this idea come to life. I've been a huge comic book fan since I was just a kid and went to art college in the hopes of becoming a penciler one day. During my graduation year, LOA landed the record contract with Roadrunner to record River Runs Red and once it came out, I found myself touring full-time and focusing on my music career. So, for me, all these years later - to finally create my own original comic series is a dream come true. Releasing it through IDW is the icing on the cake. They've put out some of my favorite books, like 30 Days of Night and Welcome to Hoxford. It's a real honor to have Wire Hangers appear alongside those titles."

"Wire Hangers is going to hold its own up against the IDW titles that Alan has long admired," said Chris Ryall, IDW's Publisher/Editor-in-Chief. "When he brought me the story, both his storytelling sense and artistic skills were fully formed and ready to roll on a comic series. In much the same way Alan went from playing bass for one band to fronting another, his talents will be front and center on his comic, too."

Wire Hangers will make its debut with a 4-issue miniseries in March 2010.

About Alan Robert
Alan Robert is currently recording a new Spoiler NYC album titled "Banned in 38 States" with Grammy Award winning producer Ken Lewis (Lenny Kravitz, Beastie Boys, Fall Out Boy). The album will be the sophomore release for the NY based punk-trio, following their 2007 debut, "Grease Fire in Hell's Kitchen" (SOS Records/I Scream Records).

Robert's other band Life of Agony, recently celebrated their 20 year anniversary with a successful European tour where they performed in front of crowds as large as 50,000 people with Faith No More and 50 Cent. Plans to release a "20 Years Strong" DVD are in the works, featuring performance footage, interviews, backstage antics and looks at Robert's art process for Wire Hangers. Information on Robert and his bands can be found at LifeOfAgony.com and SpoilerNYC.com.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Riverdale High

Another goal that my 10-year-old self had, visiting Archie Comics' office, was accomplished today, as evidenced by the car in the parking garage and me and Archie artist extraordinaire Stan Goldberg. Stan came and met us at the office to discuss plans for a coming Best of Stan Goldberg collection we'll be offering up next year.

Yo, Joe x 4

I'm in New York right now and limited in time and ability to show too much new artwork, but it's been a while since I ran any G.I. JOE art here. So until full December solicits are released next week, how about the covers for four JOE books shipping in December.

First up is G.I. JOE: ORIGINS #10 by Tom Feister:


Lee Ferguson's G.I. JOE: SNAKE EYES #3 cover:


The ongoing G.I. JOE title goes bi-weekly in December, first with Howard Chaykin's cover for issue #12:


And then issue #13 sees the return of Robert Atkins to the title:

Monday, September 21, 2009

Pins and needles

One thing I've been liking to do more and more is include pinups in books I'm working on. I love seeing different artistic interpretations of characters. I got some great contributions in each issue of GROOM LAKE, and all are being collected along with the story (and Whitley Strieber's introduction). The TPB is due on October 14, and it'll also include one additional pin-up that got to me after it was too late for inclusion in the issue itself. It's from Klaus Scherwinski, who's also doing a couple upcoming G.I. JOE SPOTLIGHT issues (Beach Head and another one):


And I just got this new ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS pin-up from artist Mark Torres. Speaking of ZvR, I realize it's been far too long since there's been any word on the book. So I'll rectify that soon, and with some art. For now, let's just say the ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS AVENTURE series is being retooled, some new artists are joining Ash and I, and issue 1 is already fully drawn and done. But for now, I'll leave it with the Torres pin-up:

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Locke & Key Honours


This was a good weekend for LOCKE & KEY, which received a couple unique honors. First up is a special honor for artist Gabriel Rodriguez.

Gabriel was told that the Chilean-North American Cultural Institute, which is the "cultural department" of the U.S. Embassy in Chile, is giving him the 2009 Walt Whitman Award, their annual literary award, for his work in the graphic novel field and for helping to create a stronger cultural relationship between Chile and the United States. This is the first time they've given this literary award to a comic book artist.

Other than Ashley Wood, Gabriel has been working for IDW longer than any other artist. And he and I have been working together steadily for the past five years. It's been especially gratifying to see Gabriel go from CSI to a Romero zombie project to the Herculean task of working with me on adapting Clive Barker's THE GREAT AND SECRET SHOW over 12 issues and then doing the same with BEOWULF, all before his real masterpiece (so far), LOCKE & KEY (and, as you'll see in a few weeks, CLIVE BARKER'S SEDUTH). Gabriel's long been one of the most talented artists I've ever worked with, but he's also among the most diligent people I know, and one of the nicest, too. Which is a combination that just doesn't happen often. So I'm glad to see that his work is gaining this sort of special recognition outside of just the comics field.

I knew the guy was special but I had no idea he was actually helping foster better relations between the U.S. and Chile (take that, all of you who think comics are just a lark). So my congratulations to Gabriel for this unique and special honor. And for those of you who speak better Spanish than me, you can see the letter itself that announced the award:

Also this weekend, the British Fantasy Society awarded the winners for its annual British Fantasy Awards, and LOCKE & KEY won for Best Comic Book/Graphic Novel. So congrats to Joe and Gabriel for that really nice honor as well.

Update: Here's Joe Hill's take on the award for Gabe, too.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

IDW's new releases for September 23


I really can't recommend enough that whether you're a G.I. JOE fan or not that you give the G.I. JOE: COBRA SPECIAL a look this week. Not only does it spin out of the acclaimed COBRA miniseries by Gage, Costa and Fuso, but it also tells the story in such a unique way that the only other time I can remember something like this having been done so successfully is when a gent named Alan Moore did it. This one really is something special and will really benefit from multiple reads, where you can fully appreciate what was done with both the story and the art.

American McGee's Grimm #5
Doctor Who: Black Death, White Life
G.I. Joe: Cobra Special #1
Star trek: Spock: Reflections #3

Bloom phone



Up now at the iTunes App store is a *free* downloadable BLOOM COUNTY LIBRARY sampler app, which gives you a nice collection of strips that can be read in either the full strip on one screen or one panel at a time. And we're drawing ever closer to the debut of the first book, too. Only a couple weeks away now.

Berkeley breathed


I'm up in Berkeley, CA on an overnight trip. And fortuitously enough, I stayed in a hotel just a block away from Comic Relief, one of the best comics shops in the nation. Comic Relief is a real testament to the decades that Rory Root, the late, great Rory Root, the store's proprietor who passed away earlier this year, spent promoting comics. The store really is amazing in the breadth of books they offer. Nothing makes me feel better than to walk into a shop that looks and feels like this one, and especially this one, since it's nice to see how well Paul, the store's manager, and everyone else there has carried on what Rory built.

The comic presence up here seems pretty strong, as evidenced even by this street character:

Friday, September 18, 2009

Look Who's Talking

The great Paul Grist's cover art for DOCTOR WHO #7. Colors by Phil Elliott.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

5 Qs, 5As, and 4 girls


Alan David Doane, who runs Comic Book Galaxy (a place where I used to do weekly columns, way back when), is expanding the site with a new area called Trouble With Comics, and did 5 Questions with me. Amidst the five questions is one photo of my recent jaunt to the Playboy Mansion (safe for work; the bodypaint photos didn't get posted).

The Qs and As can be found here.

Bloomin' Berkeley


Berkeley Breathed did a new interview with ICv2.com to talk about the upcoming BLOOM COUNTY LIBRARY (an advance copy of Volume 1 is seen sitting on the table in my office). The interview is here.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Clive on Seduth


MTV Splashpage talked to creator Clive Barker about his upcoming 3-D one-shot, SEDUTH (out in mid-October). In the ad-free issue that comes which 3-D glasses, in addition to the 24-page story, it features 10 pages of Clive's sketches and initial notes about the story, one of which is shown below. The art above is by Gabriel Rodriguez on lead guitar, Jay Fotos on bass and Ray Zone on 3-D drums.
Barker also made it clear that "Seduth" wouldn't be a one-off, but rather the first of what he plans to be number of comic projects, recognizing now more than ever how passionate he's remained about the medium.

The full piece is here.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Typos speak volumes


Diamond's Web site, diamondcomics.com, features a comprehensive list of the new comic releases every single week. Which is nice... when the information is correct. But at times, some details slip by. Case in point: this week's second hardcover collection of the Eisner-nom'd LOCKE & KEY, HEAD GAMES, is listed at the Diamond site as "LOCKE & KEY HEAD GAMES HC VOL 01."

I suppose, in the technicality-of-all-technicalities world, someone could argue that this is the "first" collection of HEAD GAMES (first and only, since each L&K story has its own subtitle)... but the truth is, they got it wrong. It's VOLUME 2 of LOCKE & KEY this week -- as evidenced by the full covers shown above. I know the "Vol. 01" that they have listed has thrown off some people, so I just wanted to clarify that tomorrow's release is all-new -- it's LOCKE & KEY, VOL. 2: HEAD GAMES, if you want the official designation.

When reached for comment about their egregious error, a spokesperson at Diamond (okay, actually, me speaking for them but I'm pretty sure they'd say this, too) said "Oops. Our bad. Make sure you pick up the book, VOLUME 2, so you can get the full second chapter of LOCKE & KEY and all its cool new bonus features before the third series, CROWN OF SHADOWS, kicks off in November. And Good God, but wait til you see what Joe and Gabriel have done in the first issue of that series. Minds will be blown."

LOCKE & KEY VOLUME 2, in stores tomorrow.

Born in the USA Today


At the USA Today Web site, the launch of the ongoing TRANSFORMERS series is covered and also features an interview with TF editor Andy Schmidt. Full piece is here.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Wrecked 'em? Damn near killed 'em

How about just a tease for the January-due LAST STAND OF THE WRECKERS by Nick Roche. Two single, cropped panels taken from larger pages from the first issue, as well as Trevor Hutchison's variant cover for issue 1.


5-page previews of this week's debuts

STAR TREK: ROMULANS: SCHISM #1 by John Byrne:



GHOSTBUSTERS: DISPLACED AGGRESSION #1 by Scott Lobdell and Ilias Kyriazis:



ANGEL #25 by Juliet Landau, Brian Lynch, and Franco Urru:



Also, Newsarama.com has a preview of this week's THE VEIL #3.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Locke & Colors

Following up on the B&W version of Gabriel Rodriguez's LOCKE & KEY: CROWN OF SHADOWS #1 variant cover art, here's the final colored version (colors also by GR):

IDW's new releases for September 16


30 Days of Night Slipcase
Digger #2
Doctor Who Classics Series II #10
Ghostbusters: Displaced Aggression #1
Locke & Key: Head Games Vol. 1 HC
G.I. Joe: Origins #7
Angel #25
Star Trek: Romulans: Schism #1
Transformers: All Hail Megatron #15
Transformers: All Hail Megatron Vol. 2 TPB
The Veil #3


Saturday, September 12, 2009

Shadows and fog

With the third LOCKE & KEY series, CROWN OF SHADOWS, starting in November, we're going to be doing a "shadow-variant" cover for each issue. Here're the stunning inks for the cover (also from the inimitable Gabriel Rodriguez, of course) as well as his original pencils below, too. Color version to come.


Friday, September 11, 2009

Arcee has Fallen and she can't get up

As requested, the final TALES OF THE FALLEN cover (art courtesy of Alex Milne, of course):

Daily World News


ComicBookResources.com put up a new interview with me all about the coming WEEKLY WORLD NEWS comic book. And in addition to me talking it up, they showed a virtual ton of art, about half of issue 1, the initial character designs and more. Including the image shown here, the cover to issue 2.

The full interview can be found here. The comic's coming in January.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Locke, Stock & Barrel


(The Title was cribbed from Joe Hills blog, since I'm basically "re-tweeting" his blog entry here.)

The LOCKE & KEY: HEAD GAMES hardcover is in stores soon, and Joe's offering a nice little perk like he did when the WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT hardcover hit.

The offer starts like this:

First, when Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft was released in hardcover, I did a thing where folks could call and preorder a copy from a certain local bookstore, and I’d sign it for them. That seemed to work pretty well, so I thought I’d do it again with Locke & Key: Head Games, which is out later this month.

If you’d like to get your paws on a signed copy of Locke & Key: Head Games, put a call in to the River Run Bookstore in Portsmouth, NH, sometime between now and the 23rd of September. Their number is (603) 431-2100.


The entire blog entry, with some specifics about this offer and a bit about Seth Fisher and the LOCKE & KEY SPECIAL EDITION out today with Seth's final story in it, can be found here.