Library Journal on Elk’s Run

Graphic Novels - 7/15/2007 - Library Journal

Fialkov, Joshua Hale (text) & Noel Tuazon & Scott A. Keating (illus.). Elk's Run. Villard: Random. 2007. ISBN 978-0-345-49511-2. pap. $19.95. FFor a group of disillusioned Vietnam vets, isolationist utopia in a hidden West Virginia valley is "like heaven"—for a time. But small problems grow larger as the valley children mature and dreams dissolve into violence and flames. When a man tries to escape from the valley to join his estranged wife, he accidentally kills a town teen and is horribly executed by tough-ass leader John for violating the town's isolationist "agreement." Then two state troopers show up, and John kills them also. In a cat-and-mouse game in the underground mine, it's John's son, young John, who leads the other teens to escape and bring help for the rest of the town when the mine starts burning. This thriller combines dark and edgy psychodrama infusing the coming-of-age theme with a blurring of the usual good vs. evil clichés. There are no bad guys—only good intentions gone terribly over the edge. The sketchy art and ocher-crimson coloring evoke a lifestyle badly frayed and heading for disaster. The underpinnings of teens vs. parents and idealism vs. ethics make the title a good bet for classroom use. Strong language; recommended for older teens up in public and academic libraries.—M.C.

Times-Express Interview

Woodland Progress

Joshua Hale Fialkov went to Los Angeles six years ago to break into the motion picture industry.Although he had some jobs in the field, including a television pilot that didn't make it, the former Monroeville resident found it "next to impossible" to prove himself in a place where it's not what you know, but who you know.

Exhausted after spending 20 hours a day, seven days a week, for a month working on a reality television show, the 27-year-old decided to turn his writing and directing talents in a different direction.

That's my hometown newspaper.  Local boy makes good, eh?

Tony Isabella on Elk’s Run

World Famous Comics >> Tony's Online Tips - Tony Isabella, Jul 10, 2007

Elk's Run

Mounting dread is the signature mood of the opening scenes of Elk's Run by Joshua Hale Failkov with artists Noel Tuazon and Scott A. Keating [Villard; $19.95] as we are introduced to the title "star" and quickly made aware things aren't quite right in that secluded hamlet. The war-scarred veterans who found it were looking to create an old-fashioned haven from the corrupt world without, but, through the manipulation of their fears and the betrayals of their leader, their dream has become a nightmare. Fittingly, it's a small group of teens - children, really - who embark upon a rite of passage that will change the town and their lives forever.

Fialkov eases us into the disturbing world of Elk's Run, but the first instances of violence in this 200-page graphic novel are relatively tame: a mother slapping a disrespectful son and an awful but not uncommon traffic fatality. It's in the second chapter that the magnitude of the town's wrongness is revealed. From there on in, the terror grows and doesn't stop until the story reaches its satisfying conclusion. With so many extended comics epics proving themselves unable to close the deal, it's great to come across one that finishes as strong as it begins.

Artists Tuazon and Keating hold up their end of the deal. The storytelling is solid throughout the GN. Their visuals convey the drama and emotion journey of the characters and the situations with which they are forced to deal. If this trio of creators have more books in them, I want to read them.

Ignore the puerile intro by Charlie Huston. It's an exercise, a mercifully brief exercise, in dropping the F-bomb for no reason. I accept such coarseness when it's part and parcel of a character in a story. I see small need for it outside the bounds of fiction, especially when one is the opening act for an exceptional work like Elk's Run.

Would you kiss your mother with that mouth?

Skip the introduction, but do read Elk's Run at your earliest opportunity. It earns the full five Tonys.

I believe that's printed in the current issue of Comic Buyer's Guide, which I decree you should go out and support.  They've been very supportive of my work over the years, and it's a pretty in depth look at comics today, written by some of the best and brightest in the business.

Thursday at Comic-Con

Come see me talk about Postcards and Elk's Run at Comic Con on Thursday.  I might even be wearing a new cowboy shirt.  There's also signings at their booth all weekend.  I'll let you know when shortly.

5:00-6:00 Random House: Flight/Postcards�Meet some of the most creative minds in graphic novels today, including Joshua Hale Fialkov (Elk�s Run), Kazu Kibuishi (Flight), Mike Knapp (Out of Picture), Vincent Nguyen (Out of Picture), Jason Rodriguez (Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened), as well as Villard editors Chris Schluep and Dallas Middaugh. Villard, an imprint that has positioned itself on the leading edge of popular culture, is quickly expanding its graphic novel offering with critically acclaimed anthologies and original content. Join these creators for a Q&A session and also hear the latest news from Villard. Room 10

Punks in Antigravity Magazine

Long form feature interview with Kody about Punks over at www.antigravitymagazine.com (and in the print mag as well.) Download the PDF here: http://www.antigravitymagazine.com/antigravity_vol4_issue9.pdf

Blog@Newsarama on Elk’s Run

Blog@Newsarama » Fringe Benefits: Non-DC/Marvel Solicits for July 2007

Digital WebbingPunks: The Summer Comics Special: Josh Fialkov Kody Chamberlain a skull-headed dude, Abe Lincoln, and a dog-faced boy = the Awesome.

Guillory on Punks

Guillory on Punks, originally uploaded by Joshua Hale Fialkov. Check Rob out here: www.flyboypress.com

Vote Smart. Vote Fialkov. Vote Fialkov Smart.

TOP COW'S PILOT PROGRAM - TALKING ABOUT PILOT SEASON - NEWSARAMA

NRAMA: Can you give us any hints on upcoming issues?

RL: Sure. The second month’s slate will be Cyblade by indie-star Joshua Hale Fialkov and the inimitable Rick Mays and Velocity by the insanely prolific Joe Casey and a guy I literally had to beg to work with me, Kevin Maguire. All of these guys are new to Top Cow, and they’re bringing killer stuff to the table.

Cyblade

Wizarduniverse.com broke the news...

Cyblade: Pilot Season #1

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(W) Joshua Hale Fialkov (A)Rick Mays (Cov) Rick MaysCyblade - she's training to be an elite super-spy and assassin, but who is she working for? A cereberal action thriller in the vein of ALIAS and LA FEMME NIKITA, this is a whole new portrayal of CYBERFORCE'S electromagnetic warrior. Written by Harvey Award Winner Joshua Hale Fialkov ( ELK'S RUN, PUNKS: THE COMIC ) with stunning art by Rick Mays ( KABUKI, ZATANNA) , the true origin of Cyblade begins here.

Full Color 32 pages $2.99 pilot issue Cyblade Pilot Season #1 CGC Graded Edition

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(W) Joshua Hale Fialkov (A)Rick Mays (Cov) Rick MaysFor the diehard member of the Herd, looking to capture a pristine copy of Cyblade Pilot Season #1 for their collection.

CGC Graded 9.8 - $69.99

Crotch-Punch

Just read the final version of Punks #1.

This is the best bit.

That and the dead hookers.

Marvel Comics Presents

Friend and editor John Barber spills the beans which mark my return to the Western Genre, even if it's only for 8 pages. Newsarama Interviews John Barber on MCP

"Outlaw Kid by Josh Fialkov, who wrote Elk's Run and is one of the best up-and-coming writers in comics, with art by Chris Moeller who's just incredible and I've been a fan of for years…"

Comic Book Bin on Elk’s Run

Elk's Run

I liked Elk’s Run and I would definitely recommend it. Strong characters, a compelling storyline and nicely drawn art make this book an entertaining read.

Front Row Crew on Elk’s Run

Front Row Crew - GeekNights » Blog Archive » GeekNights 070606 - Elk’s Run The GeekNights Podcast has about 20+ minutes of Elk's Run discussion on one of this week's shows.  Link above.

Thanks for the discussion, guys.  Really interesting stuff.

Static Multimedia on Elk’s Run

Static Multimedia - Elk's Run

Right from the get-go, the introduction of Elk's Run tells you just how smart this graphic novel is. Caveat emptor, this book is going to make you think about stuff. Put it down if you're afraid to think for yourself. This book is important. Joshua Hale Fialkov has gone to the mountain, seen the truth, and brought back mana from heaven. Yadda-yadda-yadda.So what does Elk's give us that any other angst-ridden contemporary American literature doesn't? Well, I'll tell you. It is extremely well-written, with only a few minor flaws.

Longform Interview over at Newsarama

ELK'S RUN AND MORE WITH JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV - NEWSARAMA

NRAMA: Random House has been pushing Elk’s Run pretty hard, what is that a result of?JHF: They came to us about the book. It had a varied publishing past when we tried to do the issues. To various degrees of success, we went through two publishers before Random House. They came to us very early on and really expressed their commitment in trying to get the book under their label as a trade paperback.

I talk about my old jobs in TV, my movie, and a bunch of other stuff.

Sick Again

It's been a while since I've been ill. Christina was suffering from a long lasting flu that managed to avoid infecting me, only to have her be mostly well, and me get slammed in the face by it.  Well, hopefully it won't last too too much longer. Early reviews for Postcards have been coming in, and they're VERY good.  I'm really looking forward to you guys checking it out.  I also got comps of Princess Ressurrection Book #1 in, that's in stores pretty soon, and is also lots of fun, despite my marginal involvment, I'm still quite proud of it.

Also, my return to the genre bending western has just been cemented.  Got a new book in the works with an established publisher that's going to be a blast.  I'll keep y'all updated as it goes.

Now, If you'll excuse me, I'm going to lay down.

PUNKS THE COMIC Collectibles Available Now!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Los Angeles, CA - In the grand tradition of crass consumerism defiling established American institutions, FIALKOV & CHAMBERLAIN, the beloved creators of the Five Times Previews Featured Punks The Comic (from Digital Webbing!) are proud to announce the PUNKS THE COMIC FIVE DOLLAR BILLS! What better way to show your love and support for PUNKS THE COMIC and AMERICA than by purchasing, framing, collecting, or making a paper airplane out of this rare item. Each bill is hand signed by PUNKS THE COMIC artist Kody, right next to the striking portrait of PUNKS THE COMIC's star ABRAHAM LINCOLN! That the various institutions involved could be so easily bribed by the likes of FIALKOV and CHAMBERLAIN in order to bring their beloved character to millions of soulless product vacuum consumers is truly a testament to the Good Ol' U.S. of A.

Priced at the exclusive online price of $10, each exclusive bill comes packages with a certificate of authentitcity signed by the artist. Prices for Five Dollar Bills on EBay have been known to soar in to the double even triple digits, and there's nothing to stop this bill from doing the same!

But that's not all, for those with savings on the brain, FIALKOV & CHAMBERLAIN also are proud to introduce the PUNKS THE COMIC PENNY! Featuring a striking portrait of Lincoln on the front, and his Fortress of Solitude on the back, this is truly a portrait of LINCOLN at his finest. This rare one cent collectibles are available with a certificate of authenticity for a mere $5!

Interested parties may Paypal the appropriate amount to: [ enlist@50caliber.com ] and orders will be shipped out immediately. Best of all, if you order within the next few days, SHIPPING WILL BE FREE!

And don't forget, this is the last chance to preorder PUNKS THE COMIC's SUMMER SPECIAL from DIGITAL WEBBING in Previews order number MAY07 3402.

Visit us online at www.punksthecomic.com for more information.

Signatures to help us promote punks…

For message boards and ComicSpace, copy and paste this:

HTML Code:

[url=http://www.punksthecomic.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=][img]http://www.punksthecomic.com/promo/PunksRotatingGraphic.gif[/img][/url]

For websites and MySpace, copy and paste this:

HTML Code:

<a href="http://www.punksthecomic.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid="><img src="http://www.punksthecomic.com/promo/PunksRotatingGraphic.gif"></a>

And don't forget to check out the Punks downloads page for Avatars, Desktop Graphics, etc.

Should look like this when it's working properly:

Thrushmetal on Elk’s Run

"Small towns usually make sure their places of doom disappear"* -- Elk's Run, by Joshua Hale Fialkov « The Thrushmetal Review

It’s violent, yet not gratuitously so. Nonetheless, the writing exemplifies realistic, dystopian-horror fiction and suspenseful comic book writing at its finest, most skillful level. Collectors of fine graphic novels will certainly wish to add this to their bookshelves and will certainly read it more than once. This is one of the best graphic novels I have read this year, and another example of how sophisticated the sequential art format can be. “A”-freaking-plus.

Newsarama Q&A on Punks

THOSE PUNK KIDS: FIALKOV & CHAMBERLAIN TALK PUNKS: THE COMIC - NEWSARAMA

NRAMA: That's cold… but.. yeah. Can you give us a rundown of who's who in Punks?JF: Sure. We got Abe Lincoln. He's the 16th President of the United States, liberator of the slaves, and hero of the civil war. He also knows how to party.

Then we have Dog. He's a political radical with a Morrissey fetish. He also knows how to party.

Then there's Skull. He's a Punk Rock superstar who breathes fire. He also knows how to party. And finally, there's Fist. He's got a fist for a head and communicates through a combination of signs and semaphore. Unfortunately, he no longer knows how to party due to an unfortunate accident involving Bell Biv Devoe.

*Embedded in that article is the entire Free Comic Book Day story, btw, so, if you couldn't find it, there's your chance to read it.