Fialkov at Free Comic Book Day

Hey gang,Just got in my schedule for FCBD this Saturday, May 3rd.  For those who don't know, you can go to your local comic book shop and get a whole bunch of free comics to sample what all makes our medium so great.

I'm going to be with the Top Cow Crew at the following places:

AMAZING COMICS & CARDS 5555 Stearns Street, Suite 103 Long Beach, CA 90815 (562) 493-4427 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. PST Eric Basaldua (artist, Witchblade/Devi, Hunter-Killer) Rick Basaldua (inker, Witchblade/Devi, Hunter-Killer) Joshua Hale Fialkov (writer, Pilot Season: Cyblade, Elk’s Run)

GOLDEN APPLE COMICS (HOLLYWOOD) 7018 Melrose Ave Los Angeles, CA 90038 (323) 658-6047 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. PST Eric Basaldua (artist, Witchblade/Devi, Hunter-Killer) Rick Basaldua (inker, Witchblade/Devi, Hunter-Killer) Joshua Hale Fialkov (writer, Pilot Season: Cyblade, Elk’s Run)

Love to meet/greet you if you're in the area.

See you at the shops!

Help Josh Medors -- Update

Hey gang,More info on what you can do to help is up here: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16161

Please check it out and pass it on.

I do a lot of these...

The "Where I've Been" posts, that is.  I've been incredibly swamped the past week or two with getting ready for New York Comic Con, and the coming months of cons and deadlines. in the next few weeks, I've got a couple of books coming out, and, hopefully, a few more announcements of things to come.  I've gotten a bunch of Manga jobs, adapting and creating OEL's, so I've been spending my time catching up on some of the more popular manga on the shelf.

I drifted away from it a few years ago for a few reasons, primarily lack of cash, but, I felt like so much of the manga that made it here was sort of the cliche-laden version of manga, rather than the stuff I fell in love with as a child.  For every Iron Wok Jan, there was three dozen faceless stories about boys with magical powers.

So, with that in mind I entered into reading Death Note with great hesitation.  Plus, it's so insanely popular that it more or less has to suck, one would imagine.

But it doesn't.  It's superb.  It's some of the most sophisticated long term storytelling I've seen in comics of any kind in years.  The way that the concept of the book manages to be turned on it's ear again and again, each time turning the book into something brand new.

It's completely worth checking out.

I'm also pouring through Uzumaki (also amazing... some of the best straight horror I've ever read in comics form, in fact.)

As to what I'm working on... Mark and I turned in the third Cleaners script to Dark Horse this week, I'm on the 2nd draft of my last Vampirella, which should be a doozey, and I'm just getting started on Cyblade #2.  I've got one of those aforementioned manga projects cooking that's alarmingly cool (and has been LOTS of fun, thus far), and a few other unannounced iron-made trinkets

So, yeah, keeping busy.

I'll post my NYCC schedule in a few days.  East Coast here I come.

Tony Lee interviews me and a bunch of other folk...

about how to make it in the comic business.

 1. HOW IMPORTANT IS THE PITCH?

JHF: It's important. I think having a good relationship where your editor (or the publisher) trusts you to actually execute on that pitch is probably more important. Having a great idea is easy, executing a great idea is the hard part.

2. WHAT DO YOUR PITCHES CONSIST OF / EDITORS - WHAT DO YOU WANT IN A PITCH?

JHF: If it's for a creator owned property, I tend to do a one sheet with the basic concept, the format, and any imperative information, along with some art. Then I'll try and put together a few pages of art (ten is probably best), and include a three or four page synopsis of the whole story.

And so on.

Last Chance to Vote for the Harvey Awards...

Hey gang,Harvey Award ballots are due tomorrow by midnight. So, once again, if you're a comics professional of any kind (writer, retailer, artist, editor) you may submit a ballot.

And, just to coordinate our efforts, I've gone ahead and prepared one for you.

http://hoarseandbuggy.com/Downloads/Harvey_2008_nom_ballot.txt Right click and save as, then edit in your name, and send it to the address on the ballot.

Thanks again for taking the time. The nominations can mean a bump in sales, which means we get to publish another day.

Viva la resistance (or some such thing.)

j.

Comics I've Enjoyed

So, I haven't actually been reading many comics the past few months, as I've been equal parts busy and poor. The past two weeks or so I've gotten time to catch up. Here's a few things I really enjoyed. The Darkness - I know right? Company man all of the sudden. Phil Hester, in case you don't know, is the best writer in comics. He has skills beyond those of mortal man, and everything he touches is gold. His work on The Darkness is... jesus... amazing. Really some of the best superheroing I've read in a long time. Get over the predisposition against it. It's great.  The link isn't to Phil's stuff.  I'm sure his trade'll be out in a few months, tho.

Criminal - Preaching to the choir, I suppose. The relaunch of the book is probably the best issue to date. The only thing I can say negatively about it is that it's not quite as good as Stray Bullets. But, as Stray Bullets is probably the best comic of the past ten years, that's really more of a compliment than anything else.

Y: The Last Man - Again. Choir, listen up. BKV continues to be amazing, and I miss the book already.

'76 - I've been working on a few comics set in the 70's (or, done in the style of the 70's) and it's an era (and style) that's more or less unmatched for me. I often times think I was born twenty years too late. Anyways, B. Clay Moore, Seth Peck, and the gang have a fun take on the time period, that's definitely worth checking out.

Captain Marvel - Alright. So, come on. This is ridiculous coming from me. But, seriously, Brian Reed, friend, statesman, hero to many, is writing one of the most fun superhero books in a LONG time, and the fact that it's tied into one of ten million cross overs, features continuity nearly a decade old, and is a character I could give two shits about is mere evidence to how fucking excellent it is. Go read it.

The Highwaymen TPB - Comes out next week some time in the next few weeks, and I finally finished reading the issues. It's a goddamn thrill ride. Despite it being well travelled territory it never feels old hat. Really just great storytelling by two future mighty men of comics.

Doctor Who Classics - IDW's publishing the old awesome 80's Marvel Doctor Who stuff. It's Dave Gibbons for fuck sake. Get on it.

Okay. That's it for now. I may do a thing about tv I'm watching next.

And while you're at it...

Read all the Pilot Season books for free here. Woo woo!

Next Saturday, Fleecs and I will be here:

Mini-con for independent comics creators. It's at Meltdown in Hollywood, and fun will be had by all. Click the image for more information.

And these are the days in our lives...

I've been closing out my gmail account for the past few days now.  I've had it since their first open beta however many years ago.  I love the service, but, have had a few issues with it as of late, including mail not getting through, massive amounts of incoming spam, and general unreliability.  I'm also really not a fan of the new interface (even knowing you can switch to the 'classic view' I have a bad feeling about how long that'll stick around...).  Add to that I've had a .Mac account for a while now that aside from being paid for, is also about a thousand times more reliable... Anyways... what's been interesting is spending the time going through my life of the past four or so years, in e-mail.  Watching the evolution of my career, friendships, loves, and all the rest.   There's the obvious 'first e-mail with' Wheaton, Dauberman, Fleecs, James Patrick, J-Rod, and all of the guys who've become an essential part of my life, creatively, socially, and spiritually.  There's the first awkward e-mailing between Christina and I, where I try desperately to impress someone who was clearly the coolest chick I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.

There's the first few attempts to get work for hire, followed by the slightly more successful attempts, followed by the "Hey, I'm actually hired," style attempts.  Getting to watch the whole Speakeasy debacle from the first "This is a good thing" through the "Oh right, these guys are obviously clueless and shouldn't be in the business..." winding up at the "Hooray for Random House!"

Through many leaps, stumbles, wins, losses, and all shades of gray in between, it's been a helluva a few years.  Thanks to all of you for being along for the ride.

Oh yeah…

  Scott Pilgrim 4's out today too.  Lots of video-gamey, rock-n-roll-y, balls to the wall fun.

Click the image to buy the book, dammit.

Go Buy Brian Reed’s Books

On Sale This Week is Brian Reed's very first Creator Owned book, called The Circle, from Image. I go to check out some of the early pitch materials, and they were outstanding. There's nothing more irritating then a guy who comes into your business and does what you do a thousand times better right off the bat. That guy's name is Brian Reed.

He's also a sock puppet of satan.

Download Fanboy Radio

Here. The show was lots of fun, with lots of guest callers like James Patrick, Rob Levin, and Troy Wall.  Listen, download, enjoy.

Weird Zombie Photo Comic We Received on the Punks Account

( kurtz )'s slideshow on Flickr It's pretty cool.  Go watch.

Postcards in USA Today

I'm still searching for a print copy, but, here's the review. New graphic novels straight from the drawing board - USATODAY.com

Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened Edited by Jason Rodriguez Villard, 160 pp., $21.95

Jason Rodriguez relishes a good story, even if it's just a fragment of one. For Postcards, he combed antique shops for thought-provoking cards, then passed them to comic-book writers and artists. The result is a mishmash of tales that blend tiny truths ("The new barn is up") with imagined details of lost loves, war heroes and forbidden desires. Highlights include Micah Farritor's beautiful illustrations with Joshua Hale Fialkov's story about Americans in France during the Great Depression and a crime-fighting scene written by Robert Tinnell and drawn by Brian Fraim. It's fascinating to see artists' take on, in Rodriguez's words, the "turn-of-the-century equivalent of modern-day text messages." — Matheson

Which Glendale Residing-Tiki Steak House Loving-Mystery & Sci-Fi Bookshop Patron…

Could Marc Bernardin possibly be referring to?

Win a Signed Copy of Postcards

Eximious Press - Novel Graphic Novels

August Contest: Win a Signed Copy of POSTCARDSI have books. Signed books, that is. Nine of them, to be exact. And I need to get rid of them. They’re signed copies of my new anthology project, POSTCARDS: TRUE STORIES THAT NEVER HAPPENED. The stories in the book are based on antique, used postcards. Artists look at the front of the card, read the back, ponder the subtext, and extrapolate several sentences into a complete story.

You can win one of these books by coming up with a story behind the following postcard:

You can get your story to me in a number of ways. Email me your story. Snail mail it to me. Post it on your blog (just make sure you send me the link). Post it in the comments section. Get your story to me however you want, really. On August 24th I’ll post my three favorites – it’ll be up to the visitors on this site to vote for the one they like the best.

I’ll be doing this once a month until I run out of signed books. Here’s a scan of the one you can win in August:

It features sketches and signatures from: Phil Hester, Joshua Fialkov, Gia-Bao Tran, Michael Gaydos, Rob G, Rick Spears, Tom Beland, Stuart Moore, Tony Fleecs, James W. Powell, Antony Johnston, Ande Parks, Matt Kindt, Micah Farritor, Jason Copland, Robert Tinnell, Jason Hanley, and Jason Rodriguez.

So, that’s that. Get to writing. Short (500 word) stories are preferred but, if you’re going longer, make sure it’s great from the very first line. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Guillory on Punks

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

Recommended Reads: The Highwaymen

Tony picked me up a copy of friend and colleague Marc Bernardin's new book from Wildstorm The Highwaymen.  It's an action packed thrill ride, in the most non-cliched meaning of the words.  It's a complete and utter fucking blast, and it's highly recommended.  It should be at your local comic book store.  You can read more about Marc and other reviews of the book here: http://rhinoplastique.blogspot.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.

Phillip Clark Interviews Me