Next Wedensday at The Comics Bug in Manhattan Beach

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SPIRITS OF INDEPENDENTS on APRIL 11thNext Wednesday will be Independents Day at The Comic Bug! Six area artists will be signing comics and introducing themselves and their creations. The list of creators appearing from 11-1pm & 5-9pm

Christian Berenak - Se7en: Lust

Philip Clark - Quantum: Rock of Ages

Joshua Hale Fialkov - Elk’s Run

Tony Fleecs - In My Lifetime

Stormcrow Hayes - Afterlife

Omaha Perez - Holmes

Live local band from 8-9pm - Vaudeville

Won't you come join us?

Postcards in Previews Now!

Remember Postcards? It's that amazing book featuring Harvey Pekar, Michael Gaydos, Ande Parks, Phil Hester, Tony Fleecs, Noel Tuazon, Micah Farritor, an arm length list of other great guys, and, little old me.  Well, if you're the comic shop ordering type, it's in Previews NOW. It's on page 368 of the April PREVIEWS, the order code is: APR07 4039

Every person I've talked to who's in the book feels the same way I do. That this is some of the best work they've ever done.  So, if you like comics, or postcards, or comics about postcards, or, have breath in your lungs, I'd recommend pre-ordering the book.

You can also pre-order it on Amazon.

To Live and To Love Noel

Over at Scryptic Studios you can read Elk's Run fanatic Elton Pruitt's account of getting to work with Noel. When asked if I was jealous, I said "Does Elton get creepy cartoons made about him? I THINK NOT!"

It’s Official

Postcards is being published by Villard!

Back in June, CBR News announced to the world the remarkable new but unpublished anthology, "Postcards." We are very pleased to exclusively announce today that "Postcards" has found a publisher, and that is Villard Books, an imprint of Random House Inc. Edited by Jason Rodriguez, the 168 page "Postcards" features an assortment of vintage, early 20th century postcards which were dispersed among thirty-three of comics' most imaginative creators, all of whom created beautiful stories about the person who sent those evoticative cards. Included in the anthology are stories by Harvey Pekar, Tom Beland, Antony Johnston, Stuart Moore, Michael Gaydos, Rick Spears, Rob G, Phil Hester and more.

Click the link to read the rest of the release.

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...

James Patrick Says…

Pretty big Wednesday for me, so I'm sending out a rare bulletin. ANGEL: MASKS is in stores tomorrow, from IDW. If you're a Buffy/Angel fan pick it up and see my take on how two of the show's very important characters met. This one is at comic shops fer sure and I'm assuming even bookstores. I'm going to the mall bookstore, pointing at the rack and saying, "I wrote that," then being escorted away by security saying, "Sure you did, buddy. Sure you did."

DEATH COMES TO DILLINGER TRADE in PREVIEWS: Yeah, my first real widely released (and critically acclaimed :) ) book is collected in one volume, has extra scenes and art, and much gabbing by me trying to be important. Anyway, it's available for preorder in the Previews catalog tomorrow. It's spotlighted as well (that's a good thing). The order number is NOV06 3844

Here's a pretty picture.

http://static.flickr.com/83/272805456_c30cead91d_o.gif

I edited Dilliner, and I read JP's Angel, so, y'know... off you go.

The Lone and Level Sand - Comic Con Reviews

First up from my Comic Con stash is The Lone and Level Sand by A. David Lewis, mpMann, and Jennifer Rodgers. I read the book in it's first printing, which was softcover, black and white, and published by ADL's Caption Box comics. I enjoyed it in that form, but, I felt the grayscale art wasn't quite right, and the lettering wasn't top notch.

This new version by Archaia Studio Press is positively breath-taking. The colors make the art pop, the production is amazing, the redone lettering and general book design makes the book the complete package it always deserved to be.

The book is a thoroughly researched retelling of the story of Moses and the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, as seen in that one Charlton Heston movie. The big difference is that the book is told from a historical perspective, and more importantly, from Pharoah's point of view. It comes of as an even-handed portrait of a man who while certainly a villain, had quite a bit more going on then was ever really addressed in that big leather bound scroll they kept up in the daius until trotting it around the shul on Saturday mornings.

Probably the biggest suprise for me about the book and it's reception is how little flack ADL got for doing the angle he did. Despite the thoughtful and delicate way he handles what to just about 2/3rds of the world would be blasphemy, the knee jerk reaction (and this even to my lapsed Jewish self) is "What the fuck do I need to feel bad for Pharoah for?" Well, you don't. He obviously had a choice and he made the wrong one.

The use of religious mysticism versus practical logic is pretty brilliant and reminiscent of the work done in Age of Bronze, another thoroughly researched look at a time period best known for portrayal in an Epic Poem or two.

Anyways, LaLS is really a wonderful piece of literature that hasn't gotten the attention it deserves, so, do yourself (and my buddy ADL) a favor and pick it up. It's dirt cheap on Amazon and it's thus far my favorite Graphic Novel of the year.

Oh, and it's up for a Harvey Award or two, so make sure to vote for it if you're eligible to vote. (And while you're at it.... there's this other obscure indie book up for... eh, forget it. Just vote for Bendis or Brubaker and break my little heart.)

Lone and Level Sands. Go. Buy it.

America Jr.

America Jr. :: Tiny U.S. Town Becomes Tiny Nation My good buddy (and Western Tales of Terror contributor) Todd Livingston is launching a new webcomic.  It's live at midnight tonight, so go and read it.  It's a blast.

Fragile Prophets

Fragile Prophets by Jeff Davison and Stephen Buell

I'm an asshole.  Stephen gave me a copy of the trade of Fragile Prophets months ago, and I keep meaning to write about it, but I've been so fucking swamped, I haven't had time to do it.

Well, it's coming out in the next few weeks (or maybe came out this week), and I just wanted to make sure everybody checks it out.  I know that I'm notorious for saying that every book is my favorite book of the year, but, this time, I mean it.

The story of an autistic boy who can see the future and his brother who may or may not be exploiting him (even the brother doesn't know), it plays like a mix between Rain Man where Dustin Hoffman is an 8 year old Cassandra.  The story's delicately told and intricately woven, the art is peculiar in a way that really makes you feel the unease of the world these characters live in.  From beat to beat, it's completely engrossing, and when you get to the twist ending, we've had such a blast that you just don't want it to end.

Really an excellent piece of work from the very underappreciated guys at Lost in the Dark Press.  Go click the link above and order the fucking thing, or I'll smash you.

We Made the Hero List at Blog@Newsarama

Blog@Newsarama » Heroes & Villains

Hero: Random House’s Villard division for picking up Elk’s Run and publishing it as a complete graphic novel. It’s about time someone with the right resources threw some support behind this baby.

As does my buddy Dan Taylor for the return of Hero Happy Hour.  It's strange for Dan, James Patrick (of Death Comes to Dillinger),Jason Rodriguez, and I to all have success in the same week long period, cause we all started out, were criminally ignored, and figured we'd be the Four Musketeers of "Nobody Read's Our Comics"-dom forever.

The times they are a changin'.

CBR Talks ‘Bout Postcards

CLICK HERE FOR THE WHOLE STORY

While e-mail and text messaging may be the new communication crazes sweeping the world, the idea of the postcard still carries quite a powerful nostalgic power for those familiar with these bite sized messages. Many of us imagine epic loves kept alive during wartimes through these carefully worded messages, and some know postcards as their first indication that their family members might just be vacationing in Florida. No matter what memories first surface when you see a postcard, there's no denying the mystique these little pieces of history have acquired over time. With that in mind, Jason Rodriguez has collected a unique assortment of postcards, added in some acclaimed creators, and assembled a 168-page hardcover anthology entitled "Postcards," set to debut in 2007, as a self-published original graphic novel. Rodriguez took some time out of his busy schedule to discuss "Postcards" with CBR News and answered the first question on the mind of people who have seen the book's gorgeous art: what's "Postcards" all about?

I'm so psyched for Jason, and when you guys see all the crazy shit in this book, your heads might just blow up.

A word from J-Rod

"Dear Friend, I received your card this morning and will say that I’m not afraid of the quarantine. If you can come when you said on Sat. all right. E –" That was from an actual postcard, sent on March 16th, 1909 to a Mr. Elmer Reese of Leesburg, Pennsylvania. A moment of someone’s life captured in two sentences. It was purchased at the Georgetown Flea Market in Washington DC for fifty-cents, pulled from a dusty shoebox from a guy who had a table in a dirt field, next to some lady who was selling Beanie Babies for two-dollars, three for five. This story had to be told. It deserved better.

POSTCARDS will be a 168-page hardcover anthology available early 2007 from Eximious Press, a new publishing company founded by me, Jason Rodriguez, editor for ELK’S RUN and WESTERN TALES OF TERROR. It will feature 16 stories from some of the greatest talents in comics. Every team will be using mailed postcards from the early 1900s to tell a story about the people behind them – stories about romance and war and disease and faith. Stories about our lives – based on forgotten residuals.

And there’s room left, still. We’re gearing the submissions more towards the people just starting out – looking for new, refreshing voices in the world of comics to round out the book. The submissions process for the print version is currently laid out on the production blog – in the coming months we’ll start rolling out the submission guidelines for the supplemental web-edition content. Feel free to ask any questions, I’ll answer what I can.

http://postcards.jasonrodriguez.com/

Scott Keating on Newsarama

Elk's Run Colorist and World's End Artist Gets Interviewed on Newsarama Including never before seen World's End art!

Get getting!

Creator Direct

I forgot to mention this (or mentioned it and forgot, one of the two). Anyways, Kody Chamberlain (of ye olde Punks fame) started Creator Direct, a blog featuring a bunch of us young creator types. It's lots of fun and info, though still in its embryonic stages, go and check it out.

http://creatordirect.blogspot.com/

And one more Best o’ 2005 List…

Ain't It Cool News' Comics Reviews Year End Recap Delcares:

"VROOM’S 'WTF?' AWARD FOR MOST INSANE PLOT POINTS PER ISSUE ELK'S RUN from Speakeasy Press. "

Thanks Vroom & Co!

Speakeasy, RIP

So, just got off the phone with Adam Fortier, President etc. of Speakeasy Comics. Speakeasy is no more. Due to some payment problems and low sales, it seems, they've had to lock up shop. Elk's Run... well... We're working on it. The book is 90% done, and it's murder keeping it away from you guys, cause frankly, I've never been prouder than I am of the back half of the series. Everything clicks, and it's just amazing work from Keating and Noel... The type of stuff you, as a writer, only dream of having turned in.

The book will come out. You will get to read the rest of the series.

When and How are still our main questions.

Jebus, Noel’s Busier Than I Am…

See?

Noel’s New Book…

Right here you can get info on Noel Tuazon's new project. It's been a banner week for Elk's Run's creative team. Now we just need to get Elk's Run out the goddamn door.

Death Comes to Dillinger

Fwd: woop Originally uploaded by Joshua Hale Fialkov.

In Previews Now! Edited by yours Truly.