Swallow IV

Advance copies of the Ashley Wood-run SWALLOW art book arrived yesterday. This is the fourth such art book (a fifth is planned for June), and as with all the others, it's just gorgeous. Like the previous volumes, it's a thick (over 200 pages) 8-1/2 x 11 art book featuring multiple pieces of art by, in this case, Wood, Paul Pope, Brom, James Jean, Jim Mahfood, Andrew Hem, Shane Glines, Teddy Kristiansen, Toby Cypress, and others. This one features a poster from Pope, too. Here's a look at the book's two covers (one by Ash, one by Pope), as well as a couple images from many of the folks included. I'm not sure how Ash gets involvement from so many people at this level but I'm glad he does...

They're the last people on Earth who should be the last people on Earth...

Time for some EVERYBODY'S DEAD love. Because I do indeed love this book--it's hilarious, gruesome, clever, and just damned well-written. It's our zom-com coming in March. It's created and written by Brian Lynch (ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL) and drawn by Dave Crosland, with colors by Len O'Grady (the amazing duo behind SCARFACE: SCARRED FOR LIFE, among others).

Issue 1 has been solicited already, so I thought I'd jump ahead here and post the cover and a page from issue 2, once the zombie attack really kicks in.

Check out the MySpace page by clicking this post's subject for the book for more behind-the-scenes art and information. Dave Crosland has been blogging about his work on the book, offering lots of glimpses behind the curtain as he works--you can scope that here: http://www.hiredmeat.blogspot.com.

Gary Seven x 3

Here are the first three covers for John Byrne's STAR TREK: ASSIGNMENT EARTH series featuring the character Gary Seven. Tom Smith is coloring 'em now so expect to see some color images posted soon, but for now, enjoy John's fine linework. The series itself starts in May '08.

BDSM: The "S" stands for "Simmons"

Gene Simmons was looking for a subtle way to promote DOMINATRIX, one of the comics he's doing with us. As you can see from this picture, from a recent party he taped for air on the next season of his A&E show, he seemed to have found it. The sacrifices he makes to help shill for these comics...

Yesterday, he also sent over a long intro that detailed his love of comics that will run in the GENE SIMMONS HOUSE OF HORRORS trade paperback collection. So even while announcing a Kiss 2008 world tour yesterday, he's always multi-tasking.

Space... the New Frontier

Peter David's STAR TREK: NEW FRONTIER miniseries launches in March, which is great news for fans of his who've been asking for him to make a return to Trek. (So thanks, Marvel, for allowing him to work around his exclusive deal to do this book as well as FALLEN ANGEL with us). For issue #1, we're trying something a bit different with the incentive edition. We're offering a "quad cover," with four covers in one issue, sort of like Entertainment Weekly did recently with their Heroes cover. But since many people might not ever have a chance to see these images (since the incentives are limited), or since people who might be inclined to pick up this more rare edition might like to get a look at what the "quad-cover" edition is, here are the covers in question, painted and drawn by the interior artist, Stephen Thompson.

As an added bonus, here's a look at the second incentive cover, also by Stephen, showing a certain Starship Captain David surrounded by a couple of Captains and watched over by his guardian Angel, too. This marks the second time we've featured Peter on a cover here (we did so with CSI: DYING IN THE GUTTERS, too). But, you know, look at the size of the guy's name on his Writing for Comics with Peter David book cover, he obviously loves the glory.

(He knows I'm kidding about that, but I always like ribbing him for that cover font, anyway. It's maybe the biggest name an author's ever had on a book cover. Which I approve of, since I have a book coming out from the same publisher in Spring '09...)

This comic's bigger on the inside

A very advance look at DOCTOR WHO #5's cover, by Nick Roche and Charlie Kirchoff. I say "very" because issue 1 ran late and is now launching in mid-late February, but 2 is done, 3 is being colored, and 4 is in the works now, so we're all finally ready to roll. Charlie, the colorist here, is also the guy redoing all the Dave Gibbons WHO art in our DOCTOR WHO CLASSICS (out now; issue 1 is totally sold out, however) series. He knows and loves his WHO, as evidenced by the work he's doing on both series.

From the Eisner-losing team of Ryall and Ash...

Working with Ashley Wood on these ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS projects is a real pleasure for me--he turns even the goofiest of ideas into something artistic. And as long as he likes doing 'em, we'll keep them coming. Here, I thought I'd give a little peak behind the curtain, so you can see the way a page is scripted and then see how Ash interprets it. He made some decisions with later parts of this issue, #3 (coming next month) that changed the story for the better, but I don't want to spoil the ending. So let's look at pages 1 and 8 here, the way they read in my script and then the pages as illustrated by Ash.

Un-Locke'd

I've been beating the bushes about LOCKE & KEY #1, a new series we have starting in February (issue 1 is in stores on 2/20) and want to continue that here. It's a new series created and written by NY Times bestselling author Joe Hill, with amazing art by Gabriel Rodriguez. Issue 1 is 32 full pages of story and art with no ads (at no more cost), and really, in my opinion is is one of the very best things we've ever published. Here's a new page from issue 1, b&w and then the colored page (colors by Jay Fotos, colorist over Gabe's stuff on LAND OF THE DEAD, CLIVE BARKER'S THE GREAT AND SECRET SHOW, and BEOWULF). Can't recommend this one highly enough.

One addition to this--if any retailers are reading, we created a printable "shelf-talker" for you for this book, too. It looks like the attached; if you want a printable version, just drop me a line and I can get it to you.


Kurt Busiek already had this to say about the first issue, too, if you want to hear from someone less biased than me:

"That is some kinda wonderful comic, sir.

The art's distinctive, atmospheric and welcoming, and the writing is astounding! I liked HEART-SHAPED BOX a lot, and the story "Twentieth Century Ghost" is even better, but this shows a confidence with the comics form that's rare in a newcomer to it. Heck, it's rare in anyone. The suspense, the way he uses words and visuals together, the pacing...wonderful stuff.

A great debut issue. I want more already."

Some love for ZvRvA #2

Issue 2 of ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS VS AMAZONS by Ash Wood and I is in stores now (and coming in a few months, an oversize hardcover collection of the whole miniseries). I came across this video review of the issue--these guys liked issue 1, too, so it's nice to see they're still hanging in for the lunacy in this issue as well.

They wonder what's going to come next, if anything, and I can promise them and you that the end of the next issue will answer that question. It'll be up to them and you to see if we top ourselves or debase ourselves further... or both...

A Lyon in winter

These are some witty titles, aren't they...?

Anyway, I've been wanting to work with colorist Art Lyon for the longest time. If you don't know his work, the main reason I've loved his stuff is the art on Alan Moore's TOP TEN series. Art colored Gene Ha's amazingly detailed work with such skill and subtlety that I figured he'd be great over anyone's work. He's proven that here with his colors on the Sharp Bros cover for ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL. This is for the "First Night" series within the series, and yes, this is another exclusive here since this art has never been shown before. So, welcome to the fold, Art. Happy to have ya.

Bringing a knife to a phaser fight

Here's the Joe & Rob Sharp cover for STAR TREK: THE ENTERPRISE EXPERIMENT #3. Yes, this is far in advance, since issue 1 is being solicited in the next Previews for April release. This is the new series by former Star Trek series writer Dorothy "D.C." Fontana and her writing partner Derek Chester, with Gordon Purcell on art. Set firmly in "Year Four," it also functions as a multi-part sequel to a classic Trek ep.

Uf-da!

Here's a little something. Alberto Dose, artist on our DESPERADOES: BUFFALO DREAMS and SCARFACE: DEVIL IN DISGUISE series, is doing the final two issues of our current BADGER SAVES THE WORLD miniseries, and once again, hes absolutely killing. I'll keep a reveal of his Badger under wraps, but still, this lets you know what you're in for.

"First Night" first look

I know Perez Hilton seems to have made a career (such that it is) out of badly Photoshopping images, but I'm still a little embarrassed by my quick censor-job here. Still, I wanted to show this image, and there was one character on it that needs to stay under wraps for now, hence the hack job I did over artist Rebecca Wrigley's great art.

This is the combined cover art for Angel 6 and 7 ("First Night," part 1 and 2). This is our little "stories-within-the-story" that gives brings you back to the first night of ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL. These issues will feature art from folks like John Byrne, Sean Galloway, David Messina, Nick Runge, and others, and look at what happened to characters like the people you see pictured here, right at the conclusion of Angel Season Five's finale. The comics are coming in April and May, but a cover this nice can't stay under wraps that long, so here y'go (by the way, don't read anything into the "club foot" the mysterious figure seems to have here--that's not a clue who it is, it's just shoddy work on my part. But otherwise, have fun guessing).

The Don returns

I get a fair amount of e-mail from people lamenting artist Don Figueroa's departure from THE TRANSFORMERS. They want to know if he's really "retiring" from comics. I couldn't possibly let a guy that talented stay away from the drawing board, so we settled on something new. If he needed a well-earned break from tech, well, maybe something organic, even rotting organics, would help reinvigorate him. Luckily, it seems to have worked. So coming in May, from writer Dara Naraghi and Don, is ZOMBIES!: HUNTERS, a 5-part miniseries. Here're the first three covers of said book, showing some nice proof that the rumors of Don's artistic demise are a tad overstated...

Zombies! Robots! Amazons!

Alright, let's kick off this blog properly... with some covers for our upcoming ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS VS AMAZONS #3, courtesy of artist Ashley Wood. Issue 2 just came out last week, so this one's likely an early March release. Which will be the whole point of this blog, to discuss and show some very advance stuff...