Hey gang,We're making up for lost time, and have Chapter 4 up and live a scant two weeks after Chapter 3.  It's available for purchase on your Kindle for the bargain price of a measly sawbuck.

It's available here:  http://www.amazon.com/Tumor-Chapter-4/dp/B002Q1YD3Q/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253900325&sr=8-5

Plus, if you for some reason are subscribed to this address, yet haven't checked out Tumor either on your Kindle/iPhone or at the website, perhaps our friends over at AICN can convince you otherwise:

AICN @ssholes Comic Reviews

This hard edged detective story reminiscent of D.O.A. and MEMENTO is getting better from one chapter to the next. Joshua Hale Fialkov writes a tragic tale of a man who is slowly losing his mind. Diagnosed with an inoperable tumor pressing against his brain, Frank Armstrong’s mind is fragmenting. One second he’s in the present working on a case and the next he’s in the past holding a woman he knows he lost long ago. To make matters worse, there’s a dame (of course there’s a dame) that looks a lot like Frank’s old flame in the middle of this case. Frank is completely confused and losing control of his mind and body, but determined to solve this last case before the tumor in his head overcomes him. In this fourth chapter, we find out that Frank also feels no pain. When he realizes he’s broken his leg (he did so in the last chapter in a daring escape from his hospital room), he looks at it with sort of a fascination, in an “oh what’s this” sort of way rather than shock. Fialkov is churning out one great mystery yarn, but also an amazing character study. You really feel sympathetic to Frank as he is stumbling along trying to keep things together in his head. Fialkov paces this story perfectly, flipping reality on its ear just when you’re getting invested in the story at play and the scratchy images by Noel Tuazon become more engaging as the chapters whiz by. His depictions of Frank’s worried brow speak volumes. This is a heartbreaking tale that can’t end well, but I’m still rootin’ for Frank to solve the case. TUMOR is available on Amazon Kindle for download.

So there ya go.  Get gettin'.

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

ComicVine on Cyblade #3

Early Review/Preview Cyblade #3 -There is something about this Cyblade series. I think it's the combination that she can majorly kick ass yet she is also vulnerable at times. Seeing her fight for her freedom early in her career has been interesting and entertaining. There's already been tons of comparisons to Jennifer Garner's "Alias." I do think that is part of the charm. Cyblade is like "Alias" but times 10. Reading through the issues, you can almost feel it as a live action feature.

Thanks for the kind words fellas!

The Girls Entertainment Network on Cyblade #3!

Comic Book Review: Cyblade #3 | The Girls Entertainment Network"...the art is particularly fun and much is explained about the story. I’ve been enjoying the comic, so I’m excited for its hopefully action-packed conclusion. Now, if only Dollhouse had this kind of effect on me …"

Hope y'all check it out!

AICN on The Cleaners

AICN COMICS REVIEWS Kevin Smith's BATMAN! POPEYE! James Jean's FABLES! GARFIELD MINUS GARFIELD! + MUCH MORE!!! -- Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news.

THE CLEANERS #1 Dark Horse Comics

This is a completely modern horror story that hinges on the age old fear of blood and the contemporary fear of what type of diseases lie within it. It’s the story of a businessman who makes a living cleaning up blood at crime scenes. He’s a private businessman who takes care of things either when the job is too complicated to alert the authorities or just too damn weird to go about conventional means to clean the mess up. The credits of this book read that it was written by Mark Wheaton (who I haven’t heard of) and “directed” by Joshua Hale Fialkov (who I do know from the phenomenal ELK’S RUN miniseries). The book really does dole out a healthy dose of paranoia and makes you feel downright ooky upon reading it. The art by Rahsan Ekedal isn’t much by way of frills, but conveys a no nonsense, in your face look at the crime scenes which dissect every corner and label the essential components of it. It makes for a CSI-like experience while reading it, a bell and whistle that adds to the story without distracting you. I’m going to follow this book closely to see where all of this blood splatter is coming from. - Bug

G4 on the Cleaners...

At about the 4:18 mark.

Weekly Comic Book Review.com on Cleaners

The Cleaners #1 (of 4) – Review « Weekly Comic Book Review.com

It can be hard to find new, original ideas in comics, but this is definitely one of them. Although this first issue was a little light on plot, Wheaton and Fialkov have still written an excellent fusion of noir and supernatural horror that loves its genres and respects their trappings. And to compliment the unique tale, Rashan Ekedal’s art is suitably detailed and gritty, proving to be the right choice to realize Wheaton and Fialkov’s story. I can’t wait to grab the next issue and see where they go with this.

Comics Should Be Good! Decleares Cleaners To Be.

Comics Should Be Good! » What I bought - 12 November 2008

Wheaton and Fialkov do a fine job taking this horrible job (well, I guess it pays well, and I suppose the people who do it enjoy it, but it still seems horrible), making it mundane, and then building a sense of horror back into it. Bellarmine and his team of co-workers make the jobs as scientific as possible, and the writers throw a lot of technical information at us that distances us from the fact that they’re cleaning up splattered blood. Then they introduce the mystery, and it’s rather terrifying. As a single issue, it’s well-constructed, giving us nice character sketches and a lot of information without being too overwhelming. Ekedal’s art, while not spectacular, is solid, especially when he has to convey the banality of suburbia juxtaposed against the presence of a lot of blood staining that banality.

PopSyndicate.com lurves the Cleaners

The Cleaners #1 Comic Books Review: PopSyndicate.comThe best first issue I’ve read in a long time.

Now this is intriguing. A new series about something very interesting that I know absolutely nothing about, created by people I have never heard of, and published by a company that doesn’t do this sort of thing all that often. How could I not check it out? And now that I have just finished reading it, all I can say is “wow”. Not in that way that implies something is so bad or wrong that you can’t help but be ensorcelled by its utter lack of redeeming qualities. No, this would be in that way that means that I am at a complete loss for words when it comes to describing how impressed I am right now. But now that I’ve had a few more minutes to process what I have just read I’ll do my best to elaborate further.

Comic Pants on Cleaners #1

Comic Pants » Wednesday Number Ones for 11/12/08The Cleaners #1 of 4 Writer: Mark Wheaton & Joshua Hale Fialkov Artist: Rahsan Ekedal Company: Dark Horse Comics

The Cleaners has a vibe that is pretty similar to crime procedural/tech geek shows like C.S.I., as Wheaton and Fialkov explore a little-known (and presumably real?) side of crime scene investigation, the private contractors who do crime scene clean-up. It’s not quite as procedural as I would have liked, as the writers don’t fully explain where the crime scene clean-up crews fit between crime scene investigators, detectives and coroners, but the focus here is less on exploring crime scene clean-up and more on setting up a set of unusual protagonists for what looks to be a supernatural mystery. The professional capability, combined with arrogance, in the lead character puts him right in line with protagonists like Gil Grissom or Dr. House, and it’s pretty clear that Wheaton and Fialkov have done their homework in terms of the clean-up tech and procedures. Rahsan Ekedal’s art is a treat, especially with the bright colors of Jon Graef. The open, sunlit feel of The Cleaners is a contrast to the grim and gritty look that’s usually present in this kind of procedural, and it works to give the book a fresh, approachable feeling despite its grim subject matter.

Comic Pants on Alibi

Comic Pants » Short Pants Reviews 7/1/08

Well, I guess after Genius, I know my vote for the other series I want to see out of Top Cow’s Pilot Season. Alibi is a slick little spy thriller about an assassin and his (twin?) brother who work a clever scheme that lets them be both assassin and alibi at the same time. Half of the story is an interrogation and intrigue bit, as we see the inner workings of the job on the logistics end, and the other half is the action piece, as Rick does the assassinate and escape thing. It works out well, partly because Fialkov’s dialogue-driven storytelling has a nice patter to it that hits just the right balance of verisimilitude and cinematic (erring on the cinematic side) and partly because Haun is an exceptional artist who just needs the right project to shine, and this might be it. Haun is perfectly suited to a modern military/espionage type book, and he does some great work here, particularly on the bit with Rick dodging the satellite oversight, which looks just as cool as it sounds. There’s also a lot of great work on distinctive characters, realistic costuming and technology and some great use of silhouettes. Given the success of shows like Alias, Burn Notice and 24, I’ve always been a bit boggled that comics can’t come up with an action-heavy spy series in that vein, and it looks like Alibi might fill that niche, if it “goes to series” after Pilot Season is over.

Broken Frontier on Alibi

I got my start as a reviewer and columnist over at Broken Frontier, so it's always nice to get a review from the kind folks there. Broken Frontier | The Portal for Quality Comics Coverage!

Fialkov and Haun have crafted a very organic feeling package in Alibi. Text and images are smoothly in tune and the rythm is a well-oiled steamroller. Espionage ahoy and plots keep turning around more than Ahab in his tub, looking for the white whale. If the white whale had a sniper rifle, and a satellite GPS-watch, and infrared goggles and who wouldn't like to own a set of those! I'd say this is a very good contender for Pilot Season and goshdarnit, I would vote for these guys!

“I just punched a bitch in the throat,” which is where I have a problem.

In response to Greg's question, I'd probably used the same line if he punched a man OR a woman. Rest of the review at the link. Comics Should Be Good! » What I bought - 25 June 2008

Fialkov tells the story of John, a super assassin who always seems to have an alibi when a hit goes down. Now, the CIA has him in custody and they claim they’ve figured out his secret. It’s a pretty prosaic secret, actually, but I’m still not giving it away! What we get is a twisty tale of betrayal and murder, and Fialkov does a very good job of throwing us into the action but not leaving us behind. It’s very easy to get confused in espionage books, because you’re never sure who’s screwing whom, but that’s not the case in this book.

The Quarter Bin is keen on Alibi

» Blog Archive » Review: ALIBI

Alibi thankfully doesn’t start off with any lengthy explanations, but instead throws the reader right into the story, assuming he or she can follow along. Fialkov understands that showing the reader is more important (although usually more difficult) than simply telling the reader, and luckily he knows how to make it work. Even though it’s a serious story, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and the small moments of humor are much appreciated. The story is intriguing and the dialogue is well written; it’s pretty much all you could ask for in a new book.

The Girls Entertainment Network finds Alibi Entertaining for Girls...

Comic Book Review: Alibi #1 | The Girls Entertainment Network

I definitely want to know more about this storyline and the characters, especially with the huge cliffhanger at the end. So Alibi’s definitely got my vote for the top two spots of Top Cow’s Pilot Season ‘08. I hope it gets the chance to truly shine.

Comicvine on Alibi (with five page preview)

Comicvine: The Latest In Comic Book News and Blogs

That is not the case here. So where as we are told the basic gist of the story, we are left with a pretty big cliffhanger on the last page. It's pretty much a "holy crap, how will they get out of this one?"

So I have to say, for me, this is one of the main contenders so far.

More at the link.

Analyzing Postcards

Long(ish) form dissection of each story from Postcards, including my story, seen here: ARTIFACT AND ARTIFICE: CULTURAL STUDIES OF THE TEXTUAL CITY: Postcards: True Stories that Never Happened

This story also invokes the idea of the city, since it is set in Paris and location is a focal point in the story – Marj wants to go home, Frank admires the skyline and calls it “paradise”, and the large last panel is Marj left alone, dwarfed under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. Once again, here the city is an imposing, important ‘character’ in the story, where people can lose themselves or take on new identities.

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.

Well, apparently somebody read Punks...

KING MEGATRIP: Punks the Comic - The Christacular Special And dug it.

Comics Should Be Good Likes Punks

Comics Should Be Good! » What I bought - 28 December 2007

Fialkov is obviously having a blast writing almost stream-of-consciousness stuff, and Chamberlain uses random pictures smashed together to give it a dream-like feel (check out the cover for an example). It’s a wild book, and I encourage you to hunt it down. Get to it!

Hooray for Jesus and CBR!

Comics Pants on Punks Christmas Special

Comic Pants » Blog Archive » Punks the Comic: Winter Special 2007

Anyone with any love for the absurd should be reading Punks. This is a breakthrough book, and though it isn’t for everyone, I think a lot of people are missing out on great fun and it’s a damn shame.