San Diego Comic Con Cometh!

Hey folks!Next week brings us the annual monstrosity of awesomeness that is San Diego Comic-Con. As per usual, I'll be there, signing, talking, and meeting-ing.

Excitingly, I'll also be premiering a brand new book from Top Cow Productions with my Cleaners co-creator Rahsan Ekedal! The book is... well, not announced yet, but, there's a sneaky sneak peek right here: http://www.comicvine.com/news/top-cow-gets-ready-for-sdcc/141666/

Come by the Top Cow booth (#2629) and pick it up. It's a huge value ( i really wish I could explain that, but, it's a con exclusive announcement!) and I'm immensely proud of the work Rahsan and I have done. The book is a black and white horror/thriller, perfect for fans of both Rahsan and my other work. I really hope you get a chance to check it out!

Of course, I'll be signing copies of that book as well as the recently released TUMOR. My schedule for the weekend is as follows.

Thursday TUMOR Signing - Archaia Comics - Booth 2635 - 11am till 1:30pm TOP COW Signing - Top Cow Productions - Booth 2629 - 5:30pm till 6:30pm

Friday TUMOR Signing - Archaia Comics - Booth 2635 - 2pm - 3:30pm TOP COW Signing - Top Cow Productions -Booth 2629 - 4:30pm - 5:30pm

Saturday TUMOR Signing - Archaia Comics - Booth 2635 - 11:30am - 1:00pm TOP COW Panel - Room 9 - 1:30pm - 2:30pm TOP COW Signing - Top Cow Productions - Booth 2629 - 2:30 - 3:00pm Digital Comics Panel - Room 3 - 4:00pm - 5:00pm (Featuring R. Stevens, Dylan Meconic, and Robert Berry)

Sunday TUMOR Signing - Archaia Comics - Booth 2635 - 11:00am - 1:00pm TOP COW Signing - Top Cow Productions - Booth 2629 - 2:00pm - 3:00pm

The Top Cow and Archaia booths are right next to each other, so, if you're looking for me at one and don't see me, try the other one!

I'm really excited both about the new book and getting a chance to show Tumor off to all of you, so, please come on by!

See you in San Diego!

j. www.thefialkov.com

Tumor Chapter 7 & 8 Available for Purchase Now!

Hey folks,The final two chapters are both now available for purchase on your Amazon Kindle.  You can download all of em at this link:  http://bit.ly/tuG2U

Also, as mentioned previously, you can pre-order the Hard Cover collection of Tumor right now in a couple of different places.  On Amazon here: http://bit.ly/VM1QD or, from your local comic shop by printing the order form at http://www.tumorthecomic.com/

The hardcover is clocking in at approximately 225 pages and will contain all eight chapters, an introductory essay by crime maestro (and up and coming Marvel superstar) Duane Swierczynski, a brand new short story about when Frank first met Detective Polish, an extended essay on Frank Armstrong's Los Angeles, a sketch gallery, a reference photos to final art gallery, and a long form interview with me about the book.  Plus maybe a few more odds and ends.  Best of all?  It's only $15!

Now comes the part where I ask for your help.  Here's how comics work.  If you don't specifically go out of your way to tell your local comic shop owner or even your bookstore owner or manager about the book and that you want to read it, I almost guarantee you it will not get ordered.  Independent Books, generally speaking, are too many and too hard to guage for most independent businesses to take a risk, unless they know that it's worth it.  So please.  Tell your shop owners, talk to your friends, tweet, status update, hell, even jump on Myspace and tell everyone and anyone who may enjoy this book all about it, and, that they can even try it for free online at http://www.tumorthecomic.com.

Thank you as always, this has been a remarkable experiment, and, sales of the Hard Cover pending, a very successful one.

Cheers,

j. www.tumorthecomic.com www.thefialkov.comTumor

Comics Activism Now!

Hey folks, I suppose that headline should be 'self-serving Comics Activism now.'

Here's the thing. For YEARS, I've had people tell me how much they hate the lack of diversity in comics. Of course, I correct them, and tell them that there's no medium on earth with as wide a range of amazing works in a plethora of genres (I mean, there's a whole subdivision of manga devoted to cooking adventure stories.)

The thing is that these books just aren't ordered enough. The lions share of books ordered in the direct market are from the top two publishers, and you can't fault retailers for that. It's a tough economy, and they need to know that every single book they order has the best chance possible to sell.

But, with comics you actually have the ability to make a difference. If you let your retailer know about the books that aren't from the big boys, but are interesting to you, then there's a good chance that they'll actually take a chance, because if you like something then, the idea goes, your friends who shop with you may like it too. If you take the time to just Tweet to your friends about a book you enjoyed that's available, they can place their order, and if they enjoy it, they tell their friends. We're a word of mouth industry, and I think a lot of us forget that sometimes.

When I do a book like Tumor, I'm doing it for free. I spent a good chunk of a year working on it because I believe in it, and it's my art. Fortunately, I've been able to make my art my full time job for a long time now. But, the challenges of the market remain, and without the orders it becomes very difficult for me to convince publishers to take another chance on my weird, arty genre comics.

So please, I know that if you're a member of this list it's because you've enjoyed something that I've written. Or you're a glutton for punishment. Either or. So, if you've enjoyed anything I've ever written, I'm pretty sure you'll like Tumor as I've been told it's the best book I've ever done.

Still not sure? You can read ALL of the book for free over at http://www.tumorthecomic.com

But I bet you HATE those Flash comic viewers, don't you? Well, howsabout this. You can read the first half of the book for free in downloadable PDF format here.

If you like it, please, twitter it, facebook it, e-mail it, show it to your friends, print out copies to give to your retailer.

Not sure how to pre-order your comics? Well, you take the form right here:

Print it out, and take it to your local retailer (which you can find here: http://comicshoplocator.com/) and ask them to pre-order the book. That's it.

No comic shops nearby? The book is also available from Amazon.com here

Alright, let's say you've read the book and don't know why you should pay 15 bucks for a beautifully designed hard cover version. Well, there's the beautiful introduction by crime fiction writer extraordinaire Duane Swierczynski, an original and exclusive short story about Frank and Polish's first meetings, a long form essay on Los Angeles and it's relationship to the book, an exclusive gallery of concept art, and much, much more. It's 225 pages, approximately, for only fifteen bucks! Talk about your value!

So, thanks for reading, and please, if you like the book, don't make it a secret. Scream from the rooftops, and let people know that you want something different from everything else on the shelf.

Thanks everybody,

j.

www.thefialkov.com

www.tumorthecomic.com

Fox Business News Accidentally Plugs... Me.

The book that Hans Brons reads on the Irex is Belly Button Reset. Available on Amazon and on Feedbooks.

Tumor Chapter Three for Kindle and iPhone is Live!

Hey folks,After much delay, you can now check out Chapter Three of Tumor for Kindle and the Kindle App on iPhone/iPod Touch for just a buck right here:

http://www.amazon.com/Tumor-Chapter-3-ebook/dp/B002OFVPA8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1252773973&sr=1-4

As always, we'll put it up for free in a few weeks.

Talking of free, another of my short stories that was previously only on Kindle is available over on Feedbooks.com You can check it out in a variety of formats for free right here:

http://feedbooks.com/userbook/7465

Thanks for reading, and keep on checking http://www.tumorthecomic.com for more behind the scenes special features!

New eBook Available for Download!

Hey gang,We're still waiting on Amazon to post up the third chapter of Tumor, but, in the meantime, I wanted to direct you to a brand new short story by yours truly for Kindle and the iPhone/iPod Touch Kindle App. It's called Belly Button Reset, and I'm very proud of it. It's sort of a Vonnegut-y sci-fi romance drama thing, and it's only a buck, so, why not? You can purchase it here: http://tinyurl.com/ltxpmm

But, what's that? You don't have a Kindle or iPhone? Well, you're in luck. You can check out a non-Kindle version over here at http://feedbooks.com/userbook/7446

But, I do ask that if you download it over on Feedbooks, PLEASE, post a brief review over on the site or over on Amazon. Reviews get people to try books out, especially with low price points, so it'd be a huge help.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the story!

j. www.thefialkov.com

Tumor Chapter Two is LIVE!

Hey folks,It's been an amazing couple of weeks over here at Hoarse and Buggy Central. First, was the near instantaneous sell out of the Tumor Ashcan at San Diego Comic-Con. Thank you all so much for coming out and supporting the book!

Secondly, through a strange twist of fate, a tv show I worked on briefly last year was nominated for an Emmy Award, and, yours truly was one of the credited writers, meaning I can now introduce myself as Emmy Award Nominee Joshua Hale Fialkov. I expect each of you to do the same.

Third, Tumor - Chapter One was a huge hit on Amazon! It made it all the way up to #6 out of all graphic novels on Amazon. Not just digital, ALL graphic novels. I think we were even beating DC's super huge Final Crisis for a while.

Which brings me to the last quick news, which is that you can now purchase Chapter Two of Tumor on Amazon for a measly dollar. It's available right now for your Kindle, iPhone, or iPod Touch. Every purchase is showing Amazon that we're a market that matters and that they need to actively serve with their devices, so, please, if not for me, then for the future of comics, go check out the book. You can do so here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002J256D8?tag=joshuahalefia-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B002J256D8&adid=02NYEV9NCP1J78TB2Z77&

Again, thank you all for your continued support, and for helping to spread the word!

Thanks!

j. http://www.thefialkov.com http://www.tumorthecomic.com

Outlaw Territory Hits Stores This Week!

Hey gang, This week sees the release of the massive Outlaw Territory western anthology from Image Comics. I was honored to be a part of this big ol' book put together by the mighty Michael Woods. You can find out more about the book at the blog located here: http://outlawterritoryanthology.blogspot.com/ I'm in some pretty damn respectable company, and I'm immensely proud of how my story (with amazing art by Christie Tseng) turned out.

In other news, Noel and I will have a huge announcement about our next book come Comic-Con next month, as well as hopefully some news about Elk's Run's next iteration. As always, feel free to follow me at my blog, on Facebook, or on Twitter for more up to date and less newsworthy bites. Addresses below.

See you soon,

j.

www.thefialkov.com

THE LIST: Rampaging Wolverine #1

Hey gang,Just a quick note to mention that Rampaging Wolverine featuring stories by Ted McKeever, Chris Yost, and, well, me, is going to be in stores this Wednesday! Go to your local comic store, and ask for the weird black and white Wolverine comic, and well, there ya go.

http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.7566

That's a little preview of it for y'all to see.

More news coming in the next few weeks, but in the meantime, have a great spring and thanks for reading!

j.

Read Alibi #1 Fo' Free!

Up over at Newarama you can check out the complete Alibi #1, at no charge. Then, if you like it, you can go vote for it at http://www.myspace.com/pilotseason You can vote once a day, everyday, so, get gettin'!

Oh yeah... I forgot...

Sorry, it's been a long week.  While walking the floor I discovered/remembered that I have THREE books making their premieres in one way or another at the show.  Each is just a smaller story in a bigger book. First, The Cleaners, Mark Wheaton's breathtaking new horror series, that I was privlidged enough to be invited to the birthing of, gets a five page preview in Dark Horse's preview book this year.

Second, there's a brand new Punks strip in the brand new Tripwire Annual (available at the Image booth).

Finally, there's the Josh Medors fund rasier book featuring the second collaboration of mine with Friday the 13th artist/godsend Andy B, available at the Boom Studios booth.  They're also accepting donations at the table.

Alright, for this week, I say adieu.

Adieu!

One Last Thing...

I've got some cool promo swag for a new project I'm working on.  Come by, say hi, and get one.  It's worth it. See y'all at the con.

The Complete Poorly Drawn Animals - Free Download

So, ever since PoorlyDrawnAnimals.com went away, I get a steady stream of e-mails, in person complaints, and general nudging about it. While that chapter of my life is most definitely closed, I thought (spurred on by Diesel Sweeties releasing theirs) why not release the whole thing as an E-Book for your handy download.

So, click the image above to download PDA. For those who don't know, Poorly Drawn Animals was my very first comic. I did it as a three time a week webcomic, and it was selected by Yahoo as a Pick of the Week at one point, and was a recurring favorite over at b3ta.com. I went on to make mini-comics, t-shirts, buttons, and thongs bearing strips and the characters where in. Eventually, after around 180 of the strips, I felt like i was treading water, and just didn't have the time to devote properly to it. So, when you read this, I apologize for the last few strips which really aren't as good.

Anyways, this is under a so called Creative Commons license so, feel free to share, bit-torrent, print, fold, smack against a rock. Just please, send anybody back here and tell them to buy my books so I can make money.

Hope you enjoy it.

Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears

www.bryanscary.com http://www.myspace.com/bryanscary

Holy. Shit.  It's like Elvis Costello fucked Freddie Mercury, and let their progeny hang out with Ben Folds.  Really drawing heavily on the first five or so Queen albums, but with a sense of pop hooks that Elvis Costello showcased throuhgout most of the 70's and early 80's, with the sort of post-modern tweeking the Flaming Lips are best known for, Flight of the Knife isn't just the best album I've heard this year, it may be the best album of the decade thus far.

A true masterwork from a band who are only two albums old.  And, it's dirt ass cheap on iTunes right now. Go. Get it.  Love it.

Friday the 13th One Shot in Stores This Week

FRIDAY THE 13TH: ABUSER AND THE ABUSED Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov; Art by Andy B.; Cover by Brandon Badeau

A special one-shot! Maggie's life was never easy, but her abusive new boyfriend has pushed her over the edge. As her life spirals out of control, she hits upon the solution to her problems: use the local urban legend to "solve" the problems in her life. But what happens when she learns there's very little "legend" in the reality of Jason Voorhees?

Wildstorm  |  32pg.  |  Color  |  $3.50 US  |  Mature Readers

You can check out a preview of the book here: http://www.dccomics.com/media/excerpts/9210_x.pdf (PDF Downloads)

I'm immensely proud of this book, so, even if you're not one of those big ol' horror nuts, please check it out.  It's probably my favorite script from last year.

Vengeance of Vampirella In Stores Now!

This week sees the release of the Vengeance of Vampirella TPB collecting my first four chapters of Vampirella, plus a bonus 'prequel' story by Phil Hester. It's got a ton of back up material, including a script each from both Phil and I. If you forgot to preorder, you can give the following info to your retailer who can grab you a copy through Diamond.

JAN083341 VENGEANCE OF VAMPIRELLA TP $15.95

What We Did Today

http://www.esotouric.com/ The wife and I were invited along for what is now the second tour I've taken with the kind folks of Esotouric.  They specialize in 1940's flavored tours of the city, and today we went on their West Side Chandler tour.  It was, as the first one was, an absolute blast, and really quite educational.

But, as great as the tour was, there was just no way it could top our trip to what is probably the absolute coolest place in all of Los Angeles.

The Museum of Jurassic Technology 

It's what is known as a Cabinet of Curiosities.  A bizarre collection of scientific oddities, artistic accomplishments, historical artifacts, and just plain bizarre shit.  It's literally like stumbling through the brain of a schizophrenic.  From sculptures in the eyes of needles to Ricky Jays' collection of decaying dice it's really just one of the most bizarre, inspiring, and down right interesting places I've ever been.  Add to that, I've been trying to put together a book about a Cabinet of Curiosity for the past few years, and you can figure out why I reacted so strongly.

Anyways, it's a downright necessity for any visit to Los Angeles.

Woody Posters

Woody Posters, originally uploaded by Joshua Hale Fialkov.

My two favorite purchases (other than my Macbook) from the Tax Refund are the two Woody Posters above.

The Bananas Insert came pre-framed, and the Sleeper half sheet is just plain awesome.

I'm in heaven, I tell's ya.

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. 

Weird Things Created by My Childhood Friend

Headhoods