Sneak peak at BUNKER 12

Joe Infurnari has an early look at our upcoming crazy Prison issue of THE BUNKER. Go check it out. 

And right here is the cover for said issue. 

A Letter to the #ComicMarket

Hello Comic Lovers/Retailers/Advocates/Friends, For around ten years now, I've been working on the outskirts of the industry writing genre fiction with a literary twist to great critical acclaim.  This year, I've made huge inroads towards doing just that for Marvel and DC.  From a business stand point this has been my most successful year.  I was given the opportunity to write the final three issues of SUPERMAN/BATMAN for DC Comics to great critical acclaim, as well as to relaunch I,VAMPIRE as part of the new 52.  I've got a high profile Marvel gig that should be announced any day now, following up on very well received one shots including MARVEL GIRL and RAMPAGING WOLVERINE, plus the forthcoming MONKEY KING #1.  Oh, I've also got a DOCTOR WHO story in the upcoming annual, a story in Vertigo's UNEXPECTED anthology due later this year, and a bunch of other things not yet known.

But, knowing both my existing audience and the audience who will hopefully be drawn to my work for Marvel and DC, now is also the perfect time for me to launch more creator owned work.  So, I hope that if readers come into your store having read Superman/Batman or I, Vampire, or the unannounced Marvel thing, and say, "Who is this guy?" you make sure to have copies of my Eisner and Harvey nominated TUMOR, Three Time Harvey Nominated ECHOES, and, the debut of my brand new Image Comics ongoing series THE LAST OF THE GREATS in stock.

Especially of note, this week is the final order cutoff for ECHOES, so please place your orders now.  There was a bit of confusion on the system side about the book, but I assure you it is available and will be in stores three weeks from tomorrow.  It's a beautiful, thick hardcover with a gorgeous die-cut slip jacket, and an absolute steal at only $20.

Each title above is a link to a mini-site including previews and order info for the books.

Thanks for reading, and most of all, thank you for the support over the past decade that has gotten me where I am today.  I could not be happier, and couldn't have done it without you.

j.

ECHOES IN STORES AND SIGNING!

Hey folks,As the year draws to a close, I've decided to slip one last book in for y'all to check out. The much talked about ECHOES from artist Rahsan Ekedal and I and the newly relaunched MINOTAUR PRESS line from TOP COW. It's a dark horror book that asks whether you can inherit murder. It's about the darkest, scariest thing I've ever done, and I'm sure you'll all love it.

You can check out preview art and behind the scenes info (including ordering info) here: http://www.echoesthecomic.com

To celebrate the books release, Rahsan Ekedal and I will be signing and partying it up at Collector's Paradise in Winnetka, CA this Wednesday from 5 to 7pm. More info on that here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=148880845161176&index=1

So, that's all she wrote for 2010. I just wanted to thank each of you for your support,friendship, and kindness in the past year. It's been the very definition of a roller coaster with the birth of my amazing daughter, the release (after a nightmarish delay) of TUMOR, and now, the release of ECHOES. Plus a few New York Times Best Selling manga, some books for Marvel, and some pretty exciting movie news.

I think I've done some of my best work in 2010, and not just in the baby department. I hope you guys have enjoyed all of my collaborator's and my hard work, and that you're on board for the forseeable future.

As always, thanks for spreading the good word and keeping the dream (and my daughter's food supply) alive.

Here's to a great 2011!

Catching Up

Sigh. I apologize for disappearing into Twitter.  It's tough, because it's so much easier to jot down thoughts than it is to write something substantial.  So, here's quick recap of what's what in the land of Fialkov.

Tumor - huge production and printing problems have knee-capped the book.  We're hoping to see it released sometime next month, which, considering Noel, Rob, and I turned in a final version sometime in October is a bit horrifying.  I wish there was something I could do to get it out, but, alas, it's been out of my hands for quite a while, and there's not much I can do about it.  In the meantime, I hope you're following Noel's new blog at http://www.noeltuazon.com.

Fialkov/Ekedal Book - Rahsan and I have a new book that's compeltely written and about 2/5ths drawn. It'll be released/announced by Top Cow, hopefully later this year. It's a serial killer book, and in a lot of ways, I feel like it's a spiritual sequel to Tumor, although, technically, it's set in the same world as Elk's Run. This is not noticeable by anybody but me. Yet. Follow Rahsan's amazing work at both his portfolio site and his blog. Rahsan, you'll remember, drew The Cleaners from Dark Horse which had my name on it despite my not working on it that much at all. He also drew The Crazies issue that I wrote that came out last month.

Fialkov/Fleecs Book - Coming 2010/2011 from Oni Press. This is a Sci-Fi Comedy that's sort of a cross between what the amazing Mr. Fleecs does and what Kody and I do on Punks. It'll hopefully wind up being one of those manga style long form series that everybody goes all ga-ga for. It's been a blast collaborating with Tony on it, and I think that really comes through in the script and art.

Fialkov/Tuazon Book - It looks like Noel and I may try to raise some money to do our third book via Kickstarter. I have a couple of projects in mind, including the long gestating Three Rivers, a non-zombie zombie book, or possibly a Y.A. horror/adventure book I've been working on. More to come.

Upcoming Appearances: This weekend I'll be at Wondercon, signing at Top Cow from 12-2 on Saturday and the early afternoon on Sunday. I'll also be spending time at Rahsan's table in Artist Alley. I'll also be at the kickass Isotope Party Saturday night.

Following that, it looks like I'll be at C2E2 in Chicago, theoretically with advance copies of Tumor on hand. Will confirm once we're a little closer. Then, of course, you'll be able to find me at San Diego Comic Con, and, in October, at Long Beach Comic Con.

Life Changing Stuff: For those who don't follow me on Twitter or Facebook, Christina and I are having a baby girl. She's due in June, and we couldn't be more excited. There'll be more on her pretty soon.

And that's that. I'm hoping to start posting and talking at length about what I'm working on and what's going on in my life a bit more, and I apologize for the absenteeism.

Quick Review: Columbine

Columbine by Dave Cullen

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
A beautifully written tome on an ugly piece of American history. The style and finesse of the writing is equal only to the depth of understanding of the events and people involved.

More than just the 'true story' of what happened ten years ago, it's a chilling and lyrical portrait of a tragedy and the hundreds of people who's lives were forever changed.

Must read.

View all my reviews.

Ah, the non-stop race of life...

And, in typical blogger fashion, I now apologize for more or less disappearing the past few weeks. The new job is going amazingly well, and should be outright announced in the coming days. I've got a podcast over on Word Balloon talking about it, and the huge stack of other projects in the immediate future. That should be posted anytime now. Otherwise, don't forget to preorder Cyblade #1 and #2 from Top Cow, The Cleaners #1 from Dark Horse, and to pick up the 1st volume of the Afro Samurai manga from Tor Books.

As for recommended reading, I'm all caught up on Monster, and am currently making my way through Tezuka's own serial killer/psycho sexual adventure MW, which is a must read for fans of Monster.

Been rewatching Six Feet Under with Christina (it's her first time) and reminded of just how powerful the show is, and, suprisingly, how much less depressing than I thought it was. We've got season one of Mad Men on tap next, and I'm psyched to get started on it, as the pilot was so damn good, and everybody else seems to shit babies they like the rest of it so much.

I'll try and post a 'what I'm listening to' later this week, as the day job has introduced me to some pretty cool new stuff that's right on the verge, yada yada.

Later gators.

Book Review - Making Movies

Making Movies by Sidney Lumet

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
One of my all time favorite 'theory' books, mostly because Lumet handles the content from a much more practical stand point then the usual writer. He manages to sum up not just the roles of the director and writer, but, everybody up and down the credit list, and to do it with practical examples, and to clearly define just what film is capable of, and why it so rarely achieves those goals.

I reread this book at least once a year, and every year find myself finding more and more applicable to my work and creative process.

View all my reviews.

Book Reviews - On Directing Film

On Directing Film by David Mamet

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
While suffering a bit from his own inexperience, and his angry young man routine, young Mamet says much current Mamet would agree with. I think that a lot of the really intelligent thoughtful information gets clouded by the "The producers are brainless monkeys and deserve to die!" diatribes.

That being said, he manages to merge a lot of great stuff from a wealth of sources into one short, concise book with a clear line of insight into what directing a film is like. Certainly worth the read, although not necessarily the book's steep price.

View all my reviews.

Book Review - Death Note: Another Note

Death Note: Another Note by Ishin Nishio

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
If this were made in America, it would be terrible. A spinoff prose novel of the beloved manga Death Note. But, Japan just knows better. It's an amazingly executed novel that perfectly uses the literary medium, creating something so much more compelling than you'd ever imagine it to be.

Non-essential for enjoying Death Note, but, it really does add so much more to the experience.

View all my reviews.

So, These Book Reviews...

I've been voraciously devouring manga for the past few months, and I figure, I might as well let people know what I like and don't. So, I finally started using the Goodreads.com account, and started cross posting them. Disregard if you don't give a shit. Hooray!

Los Angeles Public Library in Crisis

Hey gang,This may seem to not apply to those of you outside of Los Angeles, but, as our economy worsens, the same situation is going to be popping up all over the country.

Rumors have been swirling around since LA announced it's budget crisis that our Public Library system will be one of the hardest hit. Rumors from a 'transfer fee' for books, staff layoffs, removal of valuable databases, and cancellation of subscriptions to magazines abound. In fact, the library has had a buying freeze since February, meaning they haven't ordered any new books at all.

A few concerned citizens set up a website about the crisis, and you can check that out here: http://savelapl.org/

On that site you can send a letter to the mayor of Los Angeles, and the other elected officials of import to let them know your disdain for their attempts to dismantle one of the best resources offered by the city.

Here's what I wrote them...

--

Dear Mayor Villaraigosa, City Librarian Holmes and Library Commissioners,

I write to express my great concern about the proposal to begin charging a $1 fee for all inter-branch book loans at the Los Angeles Public Library after July 1st. The public library needs to be free for all citizens of Los Angeles, and I urge you to find some other way to generate funds that doesn't place the burden onto the people who can least afford it. I also encourage you to seek creative solutions to generate income that can be used to restore the book buying budget. These might include hosting special events or a fundraising auction, or following the successful lead of the New York Public Library by selling reproductions of images in the collection or offering fee-based reference assistance.

Our libraries are more than just a public resource, it's the gift of education. As a professional writer, many of my fondest memories that inspired me to follow my dreams were of my time at my hometown libraries. Having all of the knowledge at my fingertips gave me a perspective on the wealth of knowledge, philosophy, art, and history that was so easily attained through a public service.

Just like with our troubled school system, the solution is NOT to cut services, but to expand them. To use the resources at hand, including the passionate staff, amazing collection, and wealth of cultural history to generate revenue that's already inherent to what they do. Chasing insignifcant fees, cutting staff, and defacing one of the truly great sanctums of knowledge in our city is not the way to accomplish that.

Our mayor made a commitment to improve education, and, to make sure that every citizen, be they child or adult, have access to the treasures contained in the public library system is an important part of that promise. In times like these, hard nosed, short sighted politicking is not the solution. Instead, it's time for our local government to prove that they're the visionary, foreward thinking individuals we elected.

Sincerely,

Joshua Hale Fialkov

--

So, please, go to the website, check out the situation, and participate. Activism will make a difference, and it won't take too much of your time.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to forward this to anyone who may find this interesting.

j.

Joshua Hale Fialkov www.thefialkov.com

It's That Time of Year Again...

The Los Angeles Paperback Collectors Show 29th Annual Vintage Paperback Collectors Show & Sale Sunday March 30, 2008 9am - 4:30pm

GUEST HOUSE INN (formerly Mission Hills Inn) 10621 Sepulveda Blvd Mission Hills, CA 91345 (818) 891-1771

Literally my favorite convention, so to speak, of the year.  There's nothing better than diving through the dollar book bins at Paperback show.  Lots of great stuff, and incredibly cool people.  Click the link for more information, and see you at the show.

Riot on the Sunset Strip

Just got back from a small dinner party/slide show celebrating the above book.  It's a collection of rare photos of the Sunset Strip in the 60's.  Some really remarkable stuff in there, ranging from the Beatles playing the club circuit to Sonny and Cher screwing around.  It covers a lot of ground and really gives a considerably more detailed vision of the time than I've ever gotten anywhere else.

The big thing I came away from it with, though, was just how commercial Los Angeles has always been.  Even at the height of the 'swingin' 60's' with it's free love, etc.  These clubs were really just filled with guys trying to get record deals, much like today.  San Francisco and New York, on the other hand, were about creating music, art, culture, and revolution (although, to be less pie in the sky, clearly they all wanted to be rich, too.  They just had the decency to pretend not to.)Someone commented how all of the kids in the photos have short hair.  That's probably the ultimate signifier for me about the put upon falseness of the time period in this city.  While all the other kids in the country were out there growing their hair and fighting the power in stifling small towns, these kids were more concerned with getting on Shindig.

Of course, even knowing that, it must've been amazing to see Hendrix playing across the street from Zappa while Buffalo Springfield played their second set of the night and the Doors opened for Strawberry Alarm Clock.

Anyways, the book is definitely worth the scratch.  Go get it. 

Los Angeles Vintage Paper Back Collector Show

Ah, Paperback Collector Show.  I went last year and had a blast, this year'll be more of the same, I reckon.

More Books for Preorder

I've added links on the side there for two of my other forth-coming books. First is Postcards which you've heard about both here, and over at www.allyouleave.com. It's an anthology featuring work from Harvey Pekar, Michael Gaydos, Phil Hester, Stuart Moore, Noel Tuazon, and others, put together by Elk's Run editor Jason Rodriguez. It's fantabulous, definitely worth checking out. Second is Princess Ressurection which is a manga series I did the English adaptation on. It's sort of like a Manga version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a bit of Evil Dead mixed in for good measure. It's a whole lot of fun, so, y'know, go and check 'em out.

Personal Best

Alright... haven't quite had the time I wanted to post and such this year overall, but, y'know... here's the stuff I liked/loved this year. BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL YOU PROBABLY READ

Pride of Baghdad

BKV shows us why he's the best damn writer in comics yet again with... god forgive him... a talking animal book. Really splendid stuff that manages to be poignant, heart-breaking, and pulse pounding at the same time.

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL I'D BET MONEY YOU DIDN'T READ

Lone and Level Sands

While you probably don't know the initials ADL as well as you do BKV, I'd bet you probably will soon enough. LaLS is the book about some obscure Egyptian folks with crazy names like Moses and Pharoah. All kidding aside, I'm far from a fan of just about anything bible related, but ADL and mpMann manage to make a book that's researched without sacrificing compelling story for factual accuracy. Of course, from what I can tell, it doesn't go too far off the known facts/biblically accepted truth, either. It's really a splendid piece of work that shows exactly what the medium of comics is capable of.

BEST ONGOING SERIES

Usagi Yojimbo Hmmm. This is harder than I thought it would be. 2006 was the year I stopped reading monthly comics. The ones I do still read are Ex Machina, Fables, Captain America, Powers, and a handful of others. The best though, is the book that I've read consistently for nearly twenty years now. Usagi Yojimbo. There's just literally nothing better than Stan Sakai drawing the book he loves. That's right. That would be the SECOND talking animal book on my best of the year list.

BEST MOVIE

A Scanner Darkly

In a year that saw me go to the movies less and less, and miss virtually every movie I wanted to see, there was one that I made an effort to see, and loved it so much I saw it twice, and have already watched all of the special features and the feature once or twice since picking up the DVD a few days ago. The movie manages to do a couple of things that have never been done. 1) Almost perfectly capture a Phillip K. Dick novel. 2) Almost perfectly capture a GOOD Phillip K. Dick novel. 3) Redefine for a new generation what a Sci-Fi film can be. The movie is small, almost miniscule, by plot standards, yet is about big, big ideas. Bigger than any movie, bigger than any piece of literature. It's a movie that's about blame... and how sometimes EVERYONE is to blame, instead of just one side of the equation. The animation is fantastic, a real huge step forward from any other rotoscoping that's been done (including Linklater's other wholly different (and still wholly awesome) Waking Life.

Anyways, this is speculative Sci-fi filmmaking at it's best. Although I hear Children of Men accomplishes a lot of the same in a very different, and very excellent way.

Oh, and Rocky Balboa is a fucking blast. Well worth the price of admission.

BEST DVD RELEASE

Homicide - The Complete Series

Holy Fuckballs, this is what I'm talking about. Every episode, including the crossovers with Law and Order, the Movie, all the documentaries etc. from the individual sets, and probably the best packaging of a box set ever. Holy Shit. This is how one of the best shows ever made deserves to be presented, and it's worth every penny. A masterclass in research-based writing that knows when to put the research aside and let the character and story take over. There's never been a better cop show, and I severely doubt there ever will be.

Oh, and thank god for the impending Writers and Actors strikes that got them to finally release my beloved St. Elsewhere.

BEST ALBUM

Fast Man, Raider Man by Frank Black

You sort of just wait for a guy to make a solo record like this. Frank Black's had some pretty great solo stuff, but aside from Teenager of the Year, nothing that quite rivalled that of the early Pixies stuff. This does. Equal parts Rock and Roll and Rockabilly Country, FMRM is just an amazing piece of work from a still vibrant pioneer of a an entire genre of music. As long as he keeps making albums even half as good as this one, I think we're all lucky to have him.

SO I'M ASHAMED TO BE A LATECOMING FAN OF...

Harry Potter

I'd seen the movies, enjoyed the 3rd and 4th one a lot, and the girlfriend coaxed me into reading the first book. It's a big improvement over the movie, and despite the increasing length the books manage to become more engaging as they go on. I'm fucking ashamed, man.

I'M NOT ASHAMED TO BE A JOHNNY-COME-LATELY TO...

Doctor Who

I remember watching Doctor Who with my older brother as a child. I never quite grasped what the fuck was going on, but I always seemed to enjoy it. Of course, I always thought it was a lesser version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxybut that was clearly just my own stupidity (aside from it pre-dating Hitchhiker's, Douglas Adams was a story editor on Who while developing the Radio show. ) Doctor Who from the very first episode has always been Boys Adventure to the nth degree. It has more in common with TinTin than Star Wars, and that's why it's lasted so long and becomes so all consuming. You want to follow these characters because they're so much fun, and despite the effects, every script is beautifully crafted, and the actors always do their best to capture that sense of childhood fun that is missing in so much children's entertainment. The new shows are perhaps a bit too adult considering the source material, but, it's something that I for one look forward to watching with my kids once they, y'know... exist.

Genesis of the Daleks is a good place to start. It's a Tom Baker, it's got assloads of Daleks, and, well, it's the shit.

BEST THING ABOUT THIS YEAR

That's an easy one. Christina. Meeting her was like a dream come true, and I couldn't be happier, seriously.

WORST THING ABOUT THIS YEAR

Also fairly easy. That'd be how I had virtually no creative output this year, thanks to circumstances beyond my control.

WHAT'S ON TAP FOR 2007

Well, next year you'll see the complete Elk's Run, the long awaited premiere of Punks, Noel and I will be unveiling Three Rivers and Tumor, J-Rod's superbly excellent, Postcards (which has a cover... it's pretty sweet), and who knows what else in the new year.

Plus, I've got a bunch of work for hire on the way. You won't be getting rid of this guy any time soon.

So, have an amazing New Year and go buy stuff.

Happy Holidays from Hoarse and Buggy!

Thank you one and all for all of your support, kindness, and well-wishes throughout 2006.

The best, as they say, is yet to come.

Best wishes --

Josh, Noel, Chris A. J-Rod, and the rest of the Elk's Runners...

Recommended Read - Stranger Than Fiction

I'm a huge Palahniuk fan. Fight Club's a classic of the 90's, and Diary might just be the best book of the 00's. His ability to craft stories equal parts true to life and complete absurdity is second to none, and I really think he'll be considered one of the definitive writers of our age. And, yet, for some reason, I've stayed away from most of his non-fiction stuff. Turns out I made a big mistake. Stranger Than Fiction collects several essays, interviews, and non-fiction ramblings that Chuck had published between books, a lot of which seems to have come from the research he did for his books. There's a section about the Olympic Wrestling Tryouts that obviously was in part the inspiration for Fight Club, another about Castle Building that plays an important part in Choke, and so on. The personal remembrances that make up the last 1/5th of the book are almost all fixated on how Fight Club has changed (in some cases ruined) his life, and how the series of traumatic events that surrounded it colored the event that most of us writers dream of all of our lives.

The sheer dexterity of his prose is mind-blowing. Say what you will about his topics and narrative devices, the son of a bitch crafts a sentence like no one else on Earth. His voice rings through in every piece (even some of the more drab pieces) and it makes what for the most part would be dry New Yorker style articles ring with a relatability that's unmatched.

Just as Fight Club the book will be taught in late 20th Century Lit classes for years to come, and Fight Club the movie will be taught in Film Theory classes, Stranger Than Fiction should be taught in Journalism classes, because it's some of the most engaging, stylish, and thought provoking non-fiction I've ever read.

Link below takes you to Amazon to buy the book. Amazon.com: Stranger Than Fiction : True Stories: Books: Chuck Palahniuk

Los Angeles Paperback Show 2006

Pictures of my booty from the LA Paperback Show.

The Los Angeles Vintage Paperback Collector’s Show

How fucking cool is this? In case you guys don't know, I'm positively obsessed with pulp crime novels. I'm reading about one or two a week (and for dirt ass cheap thank to the Hard Case Crime Book Club.)

So, anyways, I know where I'll be the weekend of the 26th.

Oh, and if you're looking for kickass old paperbacks, I'd also highly recommend: The Bookhouse, I literally crapped my pants when I went in.

My pants. Not the store. The stores INCREDIBLE.

It was messy.