So you may know that I’ve spoken before about digital comics piracy, and the need for an iTunes-like solution if we’re to avoid the same fate as the music industry.
What you don’t know is that for the past year or so I’ve been advising the makers of Longbox, a digital comics reader and store that intends to be that solution.
Rantz Hoseley, comics creator/editor and Quicksilver Software head honcho, unveiled Longbox at Heroes Con this past weekend. Comic Book Resources has a lengthy write-up, and iFanboy has also weighed in with a thoughtful piece.
For the record, my part in the process was small, I wasn’t paid, and I have no financial or legal involvement whatsoever with Quicksilver Software. But I sincerely believe this is the way of the future, and I’m heartened that someone is finally taking it seriously.
[ Musings ]
This year’s Oni Press talent search is now underway. If you’re an artist trying to break in to comics, you should know that this is for real; the previous iteration in 2006 led directly to both Joe Infurnari and Mike Holmes getting their start in the industry.
Once again, I’ve contributed a sample script — this time it’s the first five pages of COLD CITY, an espionage thriller I’m currently writing. I make no promises that drawing my script will get you a job on the finished book, of course! On the other hand, it was Joe Infurnari’s excellent rendering of my script last time around that led to him drawing a WASTELAND interlude issue, so you never know.
Just so there’s no confusion, you should know that I, and the other contributing writers, are not the judges here. That’s entirely the domain of Oni’s editorial staff. We just provide the scripts for you to draw. With that in mind, it’s pointless me trying to give any advice, or tell you how to “succeed” at this. Just do what you do, and do it well.
That said, there is one way I can guarantee you won’t succeed, and that’s by ignoring the rules. Don’t try to be a smartass and ignore them, thinking that your talent will get you through regardless. It won’t. Talent and the ability to follow submission guidelines, on the other hand, will get you far.
Good luck!
[ Musings ]
WASTELAND BOOK 04: DOG TRIBE goes on sale today. Collecting issues #21-24, this volume tells the story of how Michael and Abi’s quest for A-Ree-Yass-I is almost stopped before it starts, as they find themselves caught between two rival Dog Tribes fighting for supremacy.
The ISBN is 978-1934964170, and for comic stores the Diamond order code is APR090964.
In other WASTELAND news, the double-sized, full colour anniversary issue #25 goes on sale next week, the 24th June. That’s a fair bit later than we solicited for, and no-one is more embarrassed about that than me, but I promise you it’s worth the wait. Chris’ painted art is gorgeous, and even seven months after I wrote it, I’m still pretty pleased with the story. [ADDENDUM: I’ve just been told it’s likely to actually be the week after, owing to distribution delays. Sigh.]
You can read an interview with us about WASTELAND #25, and see an exclusive 13-page (!) preview, at Comic Book Resources.
You may also have noticed a couple of recent additions to the Coming Soon sidebar, over there on the right; DEAD SPACE: EXTRACTION goes on sale, exclusively for the Wii, in September. Before that, though, you’ll be able to get your hands on the EXTRACTION comic, a one-shot issue that ties in with both EXTRACTION and the original DEAD SPACE game, once again featuring the inestimable Ben Templesmith on art duties.
And finally, the new comics blog Exquisite Things asked me to contribute to their Simple Headphone Mind section, wherein creators reveal what music they’ve been listening to recently. No surprises there for anyone familiar with my Last.fm page, but fun nevertheless.
(Blog founder Matthew Dick is also part of UK noisemeisters Analysis of Bison Kills, by the way, and if you’re into a bit of grind and doom you should check them out. Because they’re brilliant.)
[ Dead Space / Wasteland / Interviews / On Sale / Pre-order ]
Walker Books have announced a publication date for SKELETON KEY, the third Alex Rider graphic novel. It’s scheduled for release in the UK on September 7th.
As with the previous books in the series, SKELETON KEY is ably illustrated by sisters Kanako and Yuzuru, it’s 176pp, and will be available in bookstores everywhere. If events follow past form, readers in the US should be able to get hold of an edition a few months afterward.
Like POINT BLANC, this book is based directly on the novel, and is very faithful. I had to do a bit of jiggering with “The Sabina Situation” again, and anyone familiar with the novel will notice those changes, but they were unavoidable and I think it worked out well. It also sets us up nicely for EAGLE STRIKE, the fourth graphic novel, which I finished writing at the end of last year and will hopefully be out in 2010.
[ Alex Rider ]
I’ll be appearing on Strip!, the comics show on Resonance 104.4 FM (the UK Arts Council radio station) with Alex Fitch at 5pm GMT today. Strip! is the only weekly comics show on UK broadcast radio, so it’s well worth supporting.
Alex recorded an interview with me yesterday, ostensibly as part of the show’s “Adapting the Classics” series, but we ended up talking about pretty much everything else too. It was a good interview, with some very insightful questions about my work that even I hadn’t considered before.
If you’re in London, you can tune in on 104.4 FM. Outside the M25 (or, indeed, outside the UK) you can catch the live stream at the Resonance website. The show is also repeated, both broadcast and stream, at 11.30pm GMT on Sunday.
Finally, an unedited version will be made available as a Panel Borders podcast, which you can of course download and listen to whenever you like. All hail the Internet.
[ Appearances / Interviews ]
I’m in the middle of lots of WASTELAND stuff, so here’s a quick round-up of related news:
— You may have seen the solicitation for WASTELAND: The Apocalyptic Edition, Volume 1 in this month’s PREVIEWS catalogue. This is a deluxe hardback edition collecting issues #1-13 in their entirety, including the Walking The Dust text pieces and a colour gallery of Ben Templesmith’s gorgeous covers. It’s 384 pages (!) and will be on sale in July.
— WASTELAND #25, meanwhile, isn’t out yet, sorry. Turns out painting a double-length issue in full colour can take a while. Who knew? Shouldn’t be long now, though, and it’s going to look awesome.
— Renoir Comics are publishing an Italian version of WASTELAND, starting with Book 1 on sale soon (Copies are apparently on their way to me right now, so it may even launch before we get #25 out).
Finally, there’s a new WOLVERINE: PRODIGAL SON interview available to read online, this time by Matt Price for The Oklahoman. (And the unexpurgated version is on Matt’s associated blog, Nerdage.)
[ Wasteland / Wolverine / Pre-order ]
Last batch of WOLVERINE links for now, promise:
I was interviewed on Secret Identity last week, talking mainly about Wolvie, but also WASTELAND #25 and (briefly) DEAD SPACE: EXTRACTION. I always enjoy chatting to the guys at SI, so this is probably the most relaxed interview you’ll hear me do for a while.
Bookgasm reviewed PRODIGAL SON and gave it a big thumbs up. Their review features the words “Horde of Ninjas”, which is reason enough to give it a read.
Finally, Newsarama did a fairly in-depth WOLVERINE interview with both me and Wilson Tortosa, the book’s artist. Which makes a nice change.
[ Dead Space / Wolverine / Interviews / On Sale ]
Volume 1 of WOLVERINE: PRODIGAL SON goes on sale today, and is available from all good comic and book stores. Click here for order codes.
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks, allow me to briefly reiterate that this is a shōnen manga reinvention of the character, completely divorced from the Marvel universe. No prior knowledge of the character, the X-Men, or any other Marvel book, is required to read and enjoy PRODIGAL SON. Promise.
Comixology recently interviewed me about the book, and the episode is now live; click here to listen or download.
Comic Book Bin reviewed the book and said it’s “as good as the now-classic, 1982 Chris Claremont-Frank Miller Wolverine miniseries”, awarding it an A grade. High praise indeed.
And if none of that convinces you, judge for yourself; the entire first chapter is available to read online, exclusive to MySpace Comics.
Snikt!
[ Wolverine / Interviews / On Sale ]
More pre-launch WOLVERINE news; there’s a very complimentary review of Volume 1 up on Secret Identity’s site (no permalink, but you can’t miss it as you scroll down), and a brief piece on Static Multimedia with some thoughts on the book from myself and Wilson.
(The Q&A is PR-supplied, so you’ll see the same piece crop up in different places over the next couple of weeks, but rest assured Wilson and I wrote the answers ourselves, and we weren’t censored.)
[ Wolverine / Interviews / Pre-order ]
Something nice for the weekend: the first advance reviews of WOLVERINE: PRODIGAL SON are in, at ICV2 and Bookrastination (Also, bonus: both reviewers spelt my name correctly. Wonders will never cease).
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