JUNGLE TALES OF TARZAN to be published by Sequential Pulp/Dark Horse Comics. Based on the classic anthology by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Written by Martin Powell and illustrated by Daren Bader, Pablo Marcos, Terry Beatty, Will Meugniot, Nik Poliwko, Antonio Romero Olmedo, Mark Wheatley, Diana Leto, Steven E. Gordon, Lowell Isaac, Tom Floyd and Jamie Chase.
Chickenhare By Chris Grine 160 pages, Scholastic Graphix, $10.99
I have no idea what possessed Chris Grine to add a chicken’s legs to a rabbit’s body but he has blended two animals into the unique creature Chickenhare. Created back in 2005, Grine published two graphic novels through Dark Horse before going to the web with a portion of his third story. Now, Scholastic’s Graphix imprint has brought the first book out in full color for the first time this month.
Some compare the series to Jeff Smith’s wonderful Bone, but really, beyond some surface similarity with the artwork, they are very different. First, Bone has a deep mythology and sophistication to the characterizations and writing that set it apart from similar fare. Grine’s work is very entertaining and well-crafted but he’s intentionally creating stories for far younger readers than Smith was aiming for. While his work is All Ages, this work is clearly aimed at 9-12 year olds and for them, this is terrific stuff.
The story, originally published as The House of Klaus, opens with Chickenhare and his pal, the bearded box turtle friend, Abe already captured and about to be delivered to Klaus, the reclusive millionaire. Klaus loves to surround himself with exotic animals and ever since his beloved goat Mr. Buttons left him, he’s accumulated animals but performs sloppy taxidermy on them in order to retain them. Chickenhare and Abe are kept in cages, along with Banjo, an unexplained species called a krampus, and Meg, another unknown species. Once the four escape, the remainder of the story is an elaborate chase with a hefty dose of mysticism. Klaus is dressed intentionally to appear like a maniacal Santa Claus which is just one layer of oddity atop oddity.
The world of Chickenhare is all surface with plenty left to explore and explain but Grine’s artwork is swell, and it takes color wonderfully. He blogged last month, “I’m happy to say that since that time I have worked hard toward my goal of being able to do the kind of color I felt Chickenhare needed should the time ever come when I could relaunch the series in full color.” And he does a lovely job with the color, a mild palette that doesn’t overwhelm the characters or obscure the storytelling.
Grine’s artwork is well complemented with his writing, as the pacing is crisp and keeps things moving at a good speed for his reader. Additionally, his dialogue makes each character distinct although Klaus’ butler comes across like a watered-down Alfred. Still, Chickenhare’s heroic nature, coupled with Abe’s support and Meg’s snappy patter, make the story a joy to read.
We’ve got more, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, this time talking with stars Emmy Rossum, Thomas Mann and others on how they worked at bringing familiar characters to life. Plus comics sales kick off the new year in a BIG way, and Zelda comes out of retirement to give Dark Horse Comics some big news.
Greetings, past-dwellers. Tis I, Marc Alan Fishman, the sage of the future! I traveled here to the past, via my patented DC Direct TimeSphere. It was only $299.99 at my local comic retailer (which in the future is just Amazon Prime…)! I come to you, this random Saturday morning, on a mission from ComicMix 8.0. I’ve come to give you hope that in 2013, everything changes. Hold on to your bow ties, time lords. Let me give you the glimpse of what will become of your industry.
In 2013, the rumblings began. You see every time a creator got uppity in the past, they dropped those immortal words: “Creator-owned is the future, man.” And every time those creations (not of Marvel or DC, mind you) became one with the zeitgeist, the word revolution spread across the artist alleys of convention floors like a plague. Ah, I know. I know. You say “but that means nothing, FutureBeard… no one will ever take down the Man!” And, in a sense, you are right. The Man, thanks to lucrative movie franchises only made the big two stronger. Much like Coke and Pepsi, so too grew Disney and Warner Bros. until they were simply entertainment forces of nature. But therein lies the seeds of change.
It will all happen so slowly, you may not notice it. DC’s New52 and Marvel Now continued to polarize the ever-aging fanbase. The movies and TV series connected to them (both live action and cartoon) never lead to direct increases in comic book sales. They were, in essence, two distinct media with distinct audiences. It took a while to figure out ourselves… but our NerdVerse Historian, King Alan Kistler decried it, and it was written; while there will always be crossover, there wasn’t (and will never be) a movie or comic to unite them all.
And with that knowledge, spreading like primordial ooze across the vast lands of Nerdtopia, came with it the paradigm shift.
Through careful and meticulous planning and the support of the not-as-big-as-you’d-hope-but-still-pretty-big fan base… established creators turned towards indie-or-self-publishing outlets. Crowd-sourced, and then sold for profit directly towards their bottom line, these creators proved that even without a corporate overlord signing a check… a meager living could be made. And this is how the pebble begins to roll down the mountain.
When those small books became big hits, their creators soon became corporations unto themselves. And then, those same creators, backed by their cultivated fan base, combined into local studios to consolidate their power. No longer mere islands adrift in freelance work, these micro-states began dictating what they published on their own terms. And yes, even on the outskirts of these creator-states… smaller unknown (cough… cough… unshaven…) studios took to the same open road and formed bonds that could not be broken. And now, from the future where I come to you, I’m proud to say that the industry has never been stronger, where creators are no longer afraid to present their own ideas… and take home enough to support continuing doing it again.
Now, don’t cry for Marvel or DC. They still have a large foothold of the rack-space. But their talent pool is a wide berth of only the young unknowns, and the old guard who chose never to leave. The young, lured in by the shiny opportunity. The old, still fearing the unknown, and clinging to the terrible contracts that deny them anything more than pittance while their creations bring in countless millions in other mediums.
And yes, occasionally some of the Indie Nation takes on an old favorite. And they sell magnificently. But here in the future… after that tale has been told, they are reenergized to return to their own pocket universes. It’s a glorious time for sequential fiction. It happened in dribs and drabs over the aughts. Image’s old image (heh) of splashy pastiche universes gave way to intelligent, and brilliantly crafted mini-series. Dark Horse, IDW, Boom!, Avatar, Dynamite, and others began looking towards those self-sustaining garage bands in the artist alley and gave them a powerful ally to help build their brands.
The Internet, social media, and most important, peer-to-peer connections via conventions spread the word of the DIY-revolution. Indie comic creation became the new rock-and-roll. And 2013 my friends… was where those faint rumblings began to move the needle towards the utopia I live in now. Suffice to say: keep your eyes and ears open. More importantly: keep supporting your favorite creators when they make the leap away from the dark side.
I should also note, in case you’re curious:
Superman ditched the Nehru collar. Grant Morrison’s consciousness was transferred to a super-computer. Rob Liefeld eventually got his eyesight checked, and realized the error in his proportions. He redrew every ounce of work he produced up until 2015. Afterwards, his wrist looked like Cable’s, circa 1996. Unshaven Comics optioned the rights to the Samurnauts to Sony Pictures. Brad Bird directed the first of 17 successful films. Subsequently, Unshaven Comics erected a 75 foot golden beard in the heart of downtown Chicago.
And, finally, Alan Moore eventually forgave DC. Shortly after, he ascended to Snake Mountain and has since lived as the NecroLord of Fourth Realm. He still puts out books every year, and they are still amazing.
Last week I started telling the tale of Mike Richardson, CEO, publisher and owner of Dark Horse Entertainment and the hit he has put out on me. Please refer to part one before reading this.
After years of back and forth Mike Richardson finally gives me the OK to proceed with my graphic novel, The Underground – A Story of The Underground Railroad.
I’ve written hundreds of pages and produced dozens of preliminary drawings for the project but now it was time to produce the book.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
This was (is) a dream project and I wanted to do wonderful if not award winning work on it. I was so happy it was finally green lit I did the one thing I shouldn’t have: I became obsessed with the process.
I wrote the full script like a comic book script, breaking down each panel on the page complete with captions and word balloons. Didn’t like the first draft so I did another. Didn’t like that so I did another.
This went on for about a year. Then one day I realized my problem, the format the script was in was not working for me. I then wrote the story as a novel. After about three months I realized writing a novel was a stupid as shit way to do a graphic novel.
Duh.
Then I figured it out, write the script as a novella (short novel) then illustrate that.
Duh.
That process took another few years.
Before I go on it’s important for me to tell you that like Mike Richardson was busy with a multitude of projects during the years it took to green light my project, I had nowhere near the workload of Mike but while working on the Underground I also had numerous on my plate.
I don’t want to give you the impression that all I was working on was The Underground and was taking years to complete it. During the time I was working on the Underground I was also the head writer on a television show, creating content in a joint venture with a large entertainment company, not to mention writing two books and writing and illustrating another graphic novel and writing two weekly columns, one of which is for ComicMix.
However, Mike Richardson runs a massive entertainment company, yes he has a staff but Mike makes it a point to be involved and he takes the time to make sure the project is right before he green lights it. That’s why Mike’s involvement took the time it took.
After my project got the go ahead no matter what else I had to do it doesn’t matter I should be finished with the Underground by now.
And…I almost am.
Finally.
It will still be a few months but in an effort to show Mike some of what I’ve been doing I’m premiering some of the art here. Hopefully Mike will see this and call off the hit.
I hope so; the last two people who owed Mike a graphic novel were Tupac and Biggie.
Pulp Ark 2013, being held in Springdale, Arkansas April 26-28, 2013, announces today the ballot for the Pulp Ark 2013 Awards.
The ballot for this year’s awards was composed based on nominations called for beginning December 15, 2012 and ending January 15, 2013. Only those who nominated in at least one category in that time period are allowed to vote. The original intent was to have voting begin January 15 and end February 15, 2013. Due to an unforeseen number of ballots and a tremendous variety of nominations, the ballot was not completed until February 5th, 2013. Therefore, all eligible voters have until March 1, 2013 to complete a ballot and email that to proseproductions@earthlink.net.
Winners will be announced on or after March 1, 2013 once all votes are compiled and winners are determined. Awards will be given on April 27, 2013, at Pulp Ark 2013.
If you made a nomination and did not receive a ballot, please email proseproductions@earthlink.net a copy of your original nominations.
The most comprehensive Pulp award today, the Pulp Ark 2013 Ballot features over 40 publishers represented by nominated creators and works.
For more information on Pulp Ark 2013, go to www.pulpark.blogspot.com.
The nominees for Pulp Ark 2013 are as follows-
BEST NOVEL-
The National Maul- A Misty Johnson Mystery by RP Steeves, Seven Realms
The Sting of the Silver Manticore by PJ Lozito, Pro Se Productions
Riddle of the Glowing Men: A Captain Action Novel by Jim Beard, Airship 27
Productions
Dillon and the Pirates of Xonira by Derrick Ferguson, Pulpwork Press
Blood of the Centipede by Chuck Miller, Pro Se Productions
Die Glocke by Barry Reese, Pro Se Productions
Drowning in Red Ink by James Mullaney, James Mullaney
Devil May Care by James Mullaney, James Mullaney
Project Alpha by Lee Houston Jr., Pro Se Productions
Death’s Dark Domain by Will Murray (Kenneth Robeson), Altus Press
The Destiny of Fu Manchu by William Patrick Maynard, Black Coat Press
Once Upon a Time in Afrika by Balogun Ojetade, MVmedia
Murder Most Faire by Teel James Glenn, Post Mortem Press
Hawk: Hand of the Machine by Van Allen Plexico, White Rocket Books
Legends of Darkness by Georgia L. Jones, Blackwyrm Publishing
Prohibition by Terrence McCauley, Airship 27 Productions
Know No Fear by Dan Abnett, Games Workshop
The Song of Kwasin by Philip Jose Farmer and Christopher Paul Carey, Subterranean Press.
Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr, Putnam
Earthstrike Agenda by Bobby Nash, BEN Books
Green To Go by John Cunnigham, Green St.
Dinosaur Jazz by Michael Panush, Curiosity Quills Press
BEST NOVELLA
The Lone Ranger: Vendetta by Howard Hopkins, Moonstone
Moses: the Chronicles of Harriet Tubman (Bookx 1 and 2) by Balogun Ojetade, Balogun Ojetade
The Looking Glass Gambit from The Further Adventures of Maxi and Moxie by Teel James Glenn, Booksforabuck.com
Unearthed by William Preston, Isaac Asimiov’s Science Fiction Magazine, 9/12
Play the Way Home by Jessica McHugh (as EJ McCain), P. Mortem’s Tall Tales
Exiles of Kho by Christopher Paul Carey, Meteor House Press
Savage Song by Warren Murphy, Destroyer Books
Outlaw Blues by Percival Constantine, Pulpwork Press
Dragon Kings of the Orient by Percival Constantine, Pulpwork Press
The Sons of Thor by Erwin K. Roberts, Pro Se Productions
The Knockout by Robert J. Randisi, Fight Card Productions
Samaritan by Bobby Nash, BEN Books
Sinbad and the Voyage to the Land of the Frozen Sun by Derrick Ferguson , The Adventures of Sinbad, Airship 27 Productions
BEST COLLECTION/ANTHOLOGY
Blood-Price of the Missionary’s Gold: The New Adventures of Armless O’Neil by Various, Pro Se Productions
Nightbeat: Night Stories by Various, Radio Archives
Mystery Men (and Women) III by Various, Airship 27 Productions
The Huntress of Greenwood by Nancy Hansen, Pro Se Productions
Tales of the Rook by Various, Pro Se Productions
Sgt. Janus Spirit Breaker by Jim Beard, Airship 27 Productions
The New Adventures of the Eagle Volume 1 by Various, Pro Se Productions
The Adventures of Lazarus Gray Vol 2: Die Glocke, by Barry Reese Pro Se Productions
Sinbad: The New Voyages By Various, Airship 27 Productions
The Green Hornet: Still at Large by Various, Moonstone Books
The Ruby Files By Various, Airship 27 Productions
Headline Ghouls: The Further Adventures of Maxi and Moxie by Teel James Glenn, Booksforabuck.com
Monster Aces by Various, Pro Se Productions
The Adventures of the Pulptress by Various, Pro Se Productions
BEST SHORT STORY
Armless O’Neil and the Chase for the Kuba Mask by RP Steeves from Blood: The Price of the Missionary’s Gold: The New Adventures of Armless O’Neil, Pro Se Productions
The Chicago Punch by Paul Bishop from Nightbeat: Night Stories, Radio Archives
Doc Panic by Dave White from Pro Se Presents 16, Pro Se Productions
The Killing Games by Barry Reese from The Tales of the Rook Volume 1, Pro Se Productions
Lucky by Tommy Hancock from Nightbeat: Night Stories, Radio Archives
Doctor Fear by Jarrod Courtenmanche, Secret Agent “X,” Volume 4. Airship 27 Productions
The Coming Storm by Teel James Glenn from New Adventures of the Eagle, Pro Se Productions
Lady Madeline’s Dive by Terrence McCauley from Thuglit #1, Thuglit
The Feast of Stephen by R P Steeves from An Undead Christmas, Undead Press
The Abominable Myra Linsky Rises Again by Chuck Miller from Pro Se Presents #13, Pro Se Productions
Making of a Hero by Barry Reese From The Adventures of Lazarus Gray: Die Glocke, Pro Se Productions
The Keener Eye: The Web of Life by Nancy A. Hansen from Pro Se Presents 12, Pro Se Productions
Death of a Dream by Christofer Nigro from Tales of the Shadowmen, Volume 9, Black Coat Press
Tulsa Blackie’s Last Dive by William Patrick Maynard from The Ruby Files, Airship 27 Productions
The Portrait by Terry Alexander from The Adventures of the Pulptress, Pro Se Productions
The Hellmouth by Barry Reese from The New Adventures of Thunder Jim Wade, Pro Se Productions
Extraction by Jessica McHugh from Fear the Abyss, Post Mortem Press
The Wild Huntsman by Win Scott Eckert from The Worlds of Philip Jose Farmer 3: Portraits of a Trickster, Meteor House Books
Hand of the Monster by Jim Beard from Monster Aces, Pro Se Productions
Red Lily and the Oriental Flower by D. Alan Lewis from Nashville Noir, Parthenon Press
The Curse of Baron Samedi by Percival Constantine from Tales of the Rook, Pro Se Productions
The Ghoul by Ron Fortier from Monster Aces, Pro Se Productions
Paranoia by Kevin Rodgers from Pro Se Presents March 2012, Pro Se Productions
Die Giftig Lillie, Sean Taylor from The Ruby Files, Airship 27 Productions
The Butcher’s Festival by Ron Fortier from The Adventures of the Pulptress, Pro Se Productions
Crown of the Cobra King by Frank Shildiner from Secret Agent X Vol. 4, Airship 27 Productions
BEST COVER ART
Witches, by Larry Elmore, Blackwyrm Publishing
Gil Murillo, The National Maul-A Misty Johnson Mystery, Seven Realms
Tales of the Rook, Volume 1 by Bob Hall, Tales of the Rook Vol. 1, Pro Se Productions
Mystery Men (And Women) III, by Marco Turini, Airship 27 Productions
Monster Aces byTerryPavlet, Pro Se Productions
Sentinels: Metalgod by Chris Kohler, White Rocket Books
Lazarus Gray: Die Glocke by George Sellas, Pro Se Productions
The New Adventures of the Eagle Volume 1 by David L. Russell, Pro Se Productions
The Ruby Files by Mark Wheatley, Airship 27 Productions
Pro Se Presents #13 by Sean Ali, Pro Se Productions
Drowning in Red Ink by Micah Birchfield, James Mullaney
The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage: The Infernal Buddha by Joe DeVito, Altus Press
The Destiny of Fu Manchu by Christine Clavel, Black Coat Press
Once Upon a Time in Afrika by Stan Weaver, Jr., MVmedia
Doc Claus by Teel James Glenn, Pulp Empire
Blackthorn: Dynasty of Mars by Adam Diller, White Rocket Books
Pro Se Presents 14 by Sean Ali, Pro Se Productions
Sting of the Silver Manticore, David L. Russell, Pro Se Productions
Prohibition by Rob Moran and Shannon Hall, Airship 27 Productions
The Green Hornet Still at Large by Doug Klauba, Moonstone
Three Against the Stars by Laura Givens, Airship 27 Productions
Nightbeat: Night Stories by Doug Klauba, Radio Archives
The Family Grace by George Sellas, Pro Se Productions
Dragon Kings of the Orient by Percival Constantine, Pulpwork Press
Exiles of Kho: A Tale of Lost Khokarsa by Mike Hoffman, Meteor House
The Horn by Mike Fyles, Uchronic Tales
Huntress of Greenwood by David Russell, Pro Se Productions
Project Alpha by Marc Guerrero, Pro Se Productions
Captain Action: The Riddle of the Glowing Men by Nick Runge, Airship 27 Productions
BEST INTERIOR ART
The Ruby Files Volume 1 by Rob Moran, Airship 27 Productions
Mystery Men (And Women) III by Rob Davis, Airship 27 Productions
The Adventures of Lazarus Gray Volume 2: Die Glocke by George Sellas, Pro Se Productions
Robin Hood: Arrow of Justice by Rob Davis, Airship 27 Productions
The Moon Man Volume 1 by Ralf van der Hoeven, Airship 27 Productions
Sentinels: Metalgod by Chris Kohler, White Rocket Books
Mike Richardson CEO, publisher and owner has ordered a hit on me. Here’s the story…
Over a decade ago I sold a project to DC Comics and that deal fell apart.
Why? Why does the phone always ring when you are in the bathroom? Why do gay people join the GOP? Why from behind certain white guys look like girls? Why after I found out he was a guy did I still buy him a drink?
Sometimes it’s just silly to ask why. Sometimes you just continue on your journey the why becoming less and less important. I’m also not one to relive old dumb shit in my life.
This is not the place to pick at old wounds…but since I know you want to know…
The editor assigned to the project wanted me off the project. Yeah, my project, my idea and he wanted me gone. Why?
Why ask why? Why does every fat girl you made fun of in high school turn out to be a skinny fox who won’t give your stupid ass the time of day? Why don’t Democrats make it a point to never let the country forget we went to war twice for no fucking reason because of the GOP? Why do some people like fruitcake?
I’m above asking why and won’t lower myself to even think about why the editor wanted me off my own project. But what kind of writer would I be to leave my fans (both of them) wondering?
The stupid motherfucker just didn’t like me.
DC would have wrote me a check and still did the project without me but I politely told the editor “No thank you, I’ll take the project elsewhere.”
I think my exact words were something like “Fuck you bitch.”
Two days after that polite conversation, I was pitching the project to Dark Horse. Mike Richardson loved it and signed on to do it.
Take that, DC Comics!
Dark Horse is one of, if not the, best place, to do a creator owned property was going to do my project! On top of that Mike Richardson was going to edit the book himself!
Mike Richardson a legend in the business! Mike Richardson, maker of great comics, great movies, great toys!
Mike Richardson was going to oversee my project! That was indeed great news!
Mike Richardson was going to oversee my project! That was indeed a great problem!
Why you ask was that both great news a great problem?
Why ask wh…oh fuck it, I’ll just tell you.
It’s great because Mike is one of the best at what he does. Just look at the numerous products Dark Horse does all over the entertainment world Dark Horse is into movies, television, toys you name the media chances are good that Dark Horse has a project in it.
Not to shabby being in business with the guy that runs all that eh?
Why is this a problem?
Because Mike Richardson may be in Portland on a Monday, Los Angeles Monday night and Prague Tuesday afternoon. When Mike is overseeing your project meetings and feedback can take a day a week or a couple of months.
I started sending Mike outlines of the four-issue superhero mini series and Mike would send me notes or we would sit down and go over it. I did many and I mean many drafts of this superhero epic over a couple of years.
That’s right, years.
One day out of the blue Mike called me and said; “This isn’t a superhero story. Let’s take the superheroes out ”
Mind you, I had written literally hundreds of pages of outline over the course of what was now three years. Also this was to be my “Black Watchman,” a term coined by Keith Giffen, BTW.
So now I have to start all over. So I did and this was when I realized that my “Black Watchmen” story was a good story but it wasn’t this story, so Mike was right.
So for the next couple of years I’m submitting outlines to Mike he’s giving me notes and we meet on occasion to talk about the project.
Then low and behold, one day Mike says to me about my latest outline, ‘This is it, go do the book!”
New Pulp Artist Nik Poliwko has shared some art from the upcoming The Monster of Frankenstein Returns featuring the character of Elizabeth Von Frankenstein.
The Monster of Frankenstein Returns is a full-color graphic novel based on the works of Mary Shelley and Dick Briefer as written by Martin Powell with artwork by Nik Poliwko. Coming from Sequential Pulp and Dark Horse Comics!
Belowis artist Nik Poliwko’s The Monster of Frankenstein Returns promo video.
Learn more about The Monster of Frankenstein Returns with more art here.
Dark Horse Comics has offered a first look at Conan The Barbarian #12, available in comic shops on January 16th.
Conan The Barbarian #12 Written by: Brian Wood. Art by: Declan Shalvey. Cover by: Massimo Carnevale.
Unable to obtain a cure for the deadly illness afflicting Belit and the crew of the Tigress, Conan feels the fear of loss for the first time. With no hope and a broken heart, the Cimmerian is horrified at how appealing he finds Belit’s order to abandon the ship and his queen! The haunting conclusion of “The Death”! Conan The Barbarian #12 is 32 pages for $3.50.
