'10 BONNIE AND CLYDE

One downside of having done a comic book story for Portand Noir is that I didn't get to participate in the live reading events and get one of Kevin Sampsell's awesome be-bop jazz intros.

Well, it's been a year since the book came out, and to celebrate its success, Kevin has posted all his intros on his blog, and he has amended it with a bit about Joëlle Jones and myself at the end.

"Jamie S. Rich and Joëlle Jones contributed a comic for the anthology so they never read at any of the events. But if I did, I would have pointed out that Jamie is a convicted dog stealer and arsonist (he once burned down a whole Safeway) and that Joelle is a world-class pool shark with a Swiss bank account and a collection of severed fingers in the glove box of her car. It doesn’t get more noir than that."

That may be our new official joint bio.

Read all of the introductions here.

Current Soundtrack: Rolling Stones, Get Your Ya-Ya's Out! (40th Anniversary Deluxe Box Edition)

Dennis Hopper reads a poem on The Johnny Cash Show

DENNIS HOPPER, R.I.P.

Dennis Hopper has passed away. He was a pair of ragged claws scuttling across cinematic seas...

FIGHTING ON THE SCAFFOLD OF LOVE

JAM Movie Reviews has taken a look at You Have Killed Me and has given it a postive review.

Excerpt:

"The twists and turns encountered throughout the graphic novel gives it a feel of the old-time dime novels with detectives with names like Sam Spade when grit and grime of the city weighed heavily on the lives we followed. An interesting group of characters keep our detective on his toes as he wades through the muck and mud to find the truth of a love long gone but not forgotten. Jamie pulls Tony through this all showing weakness and strength and letting us see a true character rather than an invincible automaton.

...

Joëlle has an amazing way of conveying emotion and setting with the simplistic of pencil strokes and supplies the reader with a rich and vibrant supply of characters each with their own subtle nuances. And being a guy, I must comment that her women all have an subtle femme fatale charm to them from Jennie Roman, the seen only in flashback Julie Roman, the flirty cigarette girl, and the records clerk all catch your eye and make you want to know more about these gone in a blink of an eye characters."

More through the link.

Current Soundtrack: Spandau Ballet, Reformation disc 1; Gemma Arterton on Jimmy Falllon

YOU MELT MY WINGS AND CALL IT FUN

NEW IN THEATRES...

* Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, a not terrible but not terribly good video game adaptation with Jake Gyllenhaal. Should have been called Abs of Time. Am I right, ladies? Can I get a wut-wut?!

Personally, I was looking at Ms. Arterton. Above scene, alas, not in the movie.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Oshima's Outlaw Sixties - Eclipse Series 21, a boxed set of five of the Japanese provocateurs self-produced experiments. Goes from interesting to a pretty hard-to-watch place. (Originally for DVD Talk.)

Current Soundtrack: Nicki Minaj - "Massive Attack (ft. Sean Garrett);" Janelle Monáe, The ArchAndroid




e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2010 Jamie S. Rich

YOU TALK WAY TOO MUCH

New audio interview with me is now available at Tales from the Parents Basement.

You can download it from iTunes, or pick it up here. Edit: You can also get it from the podcast's main site by clicking on the image below:

Current Soundtrack: Joëlle on Skype

IT'S ALL PART OF THE PROCESS

I thought it would be fun to look back at the inception of Spell Checkers now that volume 1 is out. So, I hunted through my moleskins and found my actual thumbnails for the first five pages of the book from January 31, 2007.

Click on any image and select "all sizes" to see larger versions.

Compare to Joëlle's original pages: 1 2 3

And look at Nico's in the book (I don't have good files of them), sorry.

Keep in mind, I never showed either of the artists these sketches, I just used them to write the script. It makes me think I must have better descriptive powers than I give myself credit for that the final product is so close.

These were basically drawn on the day when I first had the idea for Spell Checkers. Remember, it began as a sketch of three girls by Joëlle, which I then based the whole story off of. Once I had the idea to make them three wicked high school witches, I immediately thought of this opening. I sketched it out, and it stuck. Much of the dialogue never changed. I am pretty sure this is the day after we were out drinking and one of us had the notion to do a comic from the drawing. I remember getting the inspiration in the shower and having to get out to put it on paper.

Then again, maybe it didn't happen that fast. Here is the actual first note I wrote to Joëlle to tell her about the idea, it's dated a few days later. The notepad file is titled "Supernatural Mean Girls," and it seems to suggest I spent some time thinking about it:

"Once we talked about maybe basing a story around this sketch of yours (see attached). I've always kept that in the back of my mind.

I was thinking today that all of the stories about the snotty popular girls, from Heathers up through Mean Girls, there is always the nice girl who balances them out and is supposed to be the heroine and whatnot. But what if there was no nice girl? What if the series was about the mean girls and the nasty things they do to each other and to other kids in school. It could be a heightened soap opera of backstabbing and wickedness without the namby pamby moral message. Because we all really like watching villains, don't we?

Not that we need more stuff to want to do. J"

It appears I forgot to mention the magic part. I'm kind of baffled by that.

All of the Spell Checkers scripts have begun with a clear prologue. I have some very light notes for books 2 and 3 from whenn pitching started. I needed to come up with some idea of where the series would go and so pulled some plot slugs out of the air just to appease the powers that be. Those ideas stuck, but both volumes only really took strong root after I had the idea for how to start. The volume 3 prologue came to me just a couple of days ago while I was jogging, giving me reason to hustle home so I could write it down. Such is the way...

Current Soundtrack: The Pretty Things, SF Sorrow is Born



e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2010 Jamie S. Rich

51, CLUMSY & SHY

Happy birthday to Morrissey!

I'M YOUR FAN vs. HOLLYWOOD GIRL ON THE FIRE ESCAPE: Kimball Davis & J. Eric Lee

Before we get started, I want to point out that there is now a Spell Checkers fan page on Facebook. Stop by and join up.


Okay...

Some new art landed in my inbox today.

First up is a piece from Kimball Gray Davis, featuring Kimmie from Spell Checkers. Kimball also colored the cover of the first volume of the series and contributed to my Audrey Hepburn portfolio once upon a time.

Check out Kimball's Deviant Art gallery, and consider ordering his beautiful book of collected works.

My new Audrey comes from J. Eric Lee, whose comics I reviewed earlier this week. In his interpretation, Audrey Hepburn has fantastic taste in books.

Current Soundtrack: Trash Can Sinatras, "Earlies (Glasgow 11/09);" Tom Jones covering Bob Dylan, "What Good Am I?" (free download)

LOVER OF THE CENTURY

NEW IN THEATRES...

* MacGruber, a surprise comedy hit from the SNL-factory. Somehow the thinnest sketch of all-time has become one of the show's best movie spin-offs.

* Mother and Child, the antidote to that Babies film. Starring Annette Bening and Naomi Watts.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* The Red Shoes, the newly restored Powell & Pressburger classic gets a rare theatrical run.

Portlanders, you have to go to Cinema 21 to see this!

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* The Dukes, a genial comedy about an aging doo wop group trying to get through hard times. Part heist picture, part social commentary, it's flawed but feels good. Written, directed by, and starring character actor Robert Davi, playing alongside Chazz Palminteri.

* Los Tres Mosqueteros, the Cantinflas adaptation of The Three Musketeers could have been funny at about 2/3 the length.

* The Sun, Russian director Alexander Sokurov's unconventional biopic of Hirohito

Current Soundtrack: The Trash Can Sinatras, In the Music original limited edition bonus tracks; Windsor for the Derby, "Queen of the Sun;" Janelle Monáe, The ArchAndroid




e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2010 Jamie S. Rich

STUMPTOWN COMIC BOOK FINDS: DIG A PONY

Looking through my other Stumptown comics, I also wanted to point people toward Life Ain't No Pony Farm by German cartoonist Sarah Burrini. Sarah was in town interning at Periscope Studio, and she capped the visit with the comics festival, where I believe she debuted her mini collection of strips from her webcomic. [Edit: My dorm's resident adviser, Natalie Nourigat, informs me that I misunderstood, that Sarah was an intern some time ago and was just visiting again. Fact checking me is easier than studying for finals!]

That's the cover. Nice Beatles riff!

Sarah's comics are in the traditional comic strip format, four panels leading up to a gag. The strips range from one-offs to ongoing stories, and there is an undercurrent of autobio despite the more fantastical creatures that surround the main character. Her cartooning is cute and modern, a little Penny Arcade, a little Toy Story, but with a more old-school newspaper strip quality mixed in.

Sarah serializes her comic online, and smartly does so simultaneously in both her native German and English. The English version can be found here.

Current Soundtrack: Big Boi, "Shutterbugg;" Christina Aguilera, "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)"

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2010 Jamie S. Rich

STUMPTOWN COMIC BOOK FINDS: FOOD IS STILL HOT

It's only taken me a couple of weeks, but I'm finally getting around to reading the minicomics and things I got at Stumptown last month.

First on the pile were two lengthy books by J. Eric Lee. Of the pair, the one I really liked was Pho Story.

Pho Story is slice-of-life fiction about a teenager whose food explorations lead him to discover pho, a tasty Vietnamese noodle soup. The dish quickly becomes his obsession, and when his favorite restaurant closes down, he learns to appreciate what he has. The boy learns further lessons when he goes to college and the connections he formed between food and other people become even more meaningful.

Lee balances an eye for realism and sentimentality with a slapstick sense of humor. In a way, his funny asides remind me of Chynna Clugston's comics, though when he settles back down, his writing is far more serious than even hers. His main character comes across as natural and definitely has flaws, but never ones that seem exaggerated for effect, as is so often the case in autobio or other realism-oriented comics. In other words, he's an actual person rather than a caricature.

The strength of Pho Story is definitely in the writing. The cartooning is passable, but it seems more like Lee is drawing these things himself just as a way to get his story out there rather than being his true passion. Which is fine, I can totally understand that, and it speaks to the writing that it kept me interested enough not to put the book down.

Pho Story is online at Lee's Livejournal, and you can see it by clicking through on the cover above. He is also working on a blog now and serializing a strip called Definitely Far From Korea that continues in the same realistic humor vein as Pho Story, though in shorter bursts designed for the web.

Lee's other comic, Parka: A Red Riding Hood Variation differs from this course. It's far more dour in tone and also contains elements of fantasy, as befitting the fairy tale it retells. In it, Lee remodeled the wolf as a more sympathetic good guy who comes to the aid of Parka when she is on her way to grandma's. The basic set-up actually reminded me a little of Untamed Heart, which I always saw as a fairy tale with Christian Slater cast as the misunderstood beast rescuing the lost traveler, Marisa Tomei.

I didn't enjoy Parka as much as Pho Story, partly because retold fairy tales interest me less, but also because the more conventional plot made the writing come off as more rickety. It doesn't surprise me that Parka came before Pho, though it does surprise me that it's a first comic for Lee. He gets closer to the mark here than one would expect for a debut effort, and it makes the flaws understandable and more than forgivable.

I am not sure if J. Eric Lee is selling printed copies of these books, but if you like what you see, drop him a line and ask.

Current Soundtrack: The Joy Formidable, "While the Flies (Live);" Kelis, "22nd Century;" "Empire State of Mind I & II" and this horrible song (I had to hear how Katy Perry lived up to her proclamation that she was competing with Alicia Keys and Jay-Z; not even close, idiot girl)

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2010 Jamie S. Rich

THE ROCKET BUILDERS

Thursday night, my friend Plastorm took me out to see Jóhann Jóhannsson at the Aladdin Theater here in Portland. I was not familiar with the Icelandic composer's music, but an extra ticket is an extra ticket, so what the hell.

The show was a special experience. The performing band was a string quartet flanked by two men noodling around on laptops--one of whom was Johansson. Together, they created ambient instrumentals, the kind of music that you would swear was done for a film because it so vividly creates pictures in your head. There is nothing on earth like the upper register of a violin, and witnessing three violinists working in unison is awe inspiring.

Here is an example of what Jóhansson's music sounds like, and what the concert was like:

Naturally, a set-up like this is more about listening than watching, the band isn't exactly dynamic. Jóhannsson had a minimalist backdrop that provided just enough visual energy to keep the audience focused but not so much that it upstaged him. This was something that opening act Goldmund could stand to learn from. Godlmund's stripped-back piano compostitions are gorgeous examples of restraint (every time your brain hears an opening for a crescendo or some kind of surge, he holds back), but boy, it doesn't make for riveting live material. He also didn't seem to have put much thought into arranging his set list to create any kind of movement or momentum, like we might be building to something from song to song. I have to admit, Jóhann Jóhannsson had the same problem. He had one song that worked its way up to a frenzied conclusion, one that fired up the audience and had us on our feet as it came crashing down--but then he inexplicably followed it with one more short, quiet number. And even more inexplicably, he left the stage after that, only to come back for an encore that was less than two-minutes long. What a perfunctory gesture. Did neither performer consider how they wanted their audience to feel leaving the concert, what they hoped we'd take away?

Regardless, both Goldmund and Jóhann Jóhannsson are worth checking out if you like aurally adventurous instrumental music. Big thanks to Bobby for having me as his guest and introducing me to both musicians!

Current Soundtrack: Christina Aguilera interviews on YouTube (check her channel); "I Turn to You (Big Red Remix)"

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2010 Jamie S. Rich

"I feel like Robin Hood when I share it wit my hoods
Don't forget, he who plays hero gets hit
Don't let the 9 mill riddle your wits, smarty pants"

NEW IN THEATRES...

* Robin Hood, the 2010 reboot of the folk hero from Ridley Scott and his glowering muse, Russell Crowe. It is to Robin Hood what "Garfield Minus Garfield" is to the Jim Davis comic strip, except "Garfield without Garfield" is actually entertaining for a couple of minutes.

If you ignore my advice and go see Robin Hood anyway, and you realize I was right, you are required to bid on my auction for this hat promoting the movie. That's the only way for you to say "sorry." I suffered so you don't have to. And don't whimper, "But, but, but...I really like Robin Hood." Coz this ain't Robin Hood!

Jason Bailey and Erik Henriksen agree.

(Why do I have the hat? It was thrown at us from behind in the theater before the movie started. Like a grumpy old man, I grabbed it and said, "You people aren't getting this back.")

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Walkabout, the revered cult film from Nicolas Roeg is still one I can't quite get behind.

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* El Mago: Cantinflas is a legend in Mexico, but this 1949 film might make you wonder why.

* Mine, an alternately enraging and uplifting documentary about the plight of the pets left behind in Hurricane Katrina.

* Stagecoach - Criterion Collection, the 1939 classic from John Ford and John Wayne. Honestly, they really don't make them like this anymore. Case in point: Ridley Scott's Robin Hood. (Also at Criterion Confessions.)

Current Soundtrack: The Joy Formidable, A Balloon Called Moaning - a great album and only $5.99 to download!



e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2010 Jamie S. Rich

I'M YOUR FAN III: ARNAUD & HAZEL NEWLEVANT

More Spell Checkers fan art!

First up is a French cartoonist who goes by Arnaud.

Visit his blog here: http://nonodamiens.over-blog.com/ and check out his other art.

Next, we have artist Hazel Newlevant, a Portland-based comics creator currently interning at Top Shelf. Here she draws supporting character and regular Spell Checkers victim, Polly.

Check out Hazel's homepage:
www.newlevant.com/

Her minicomic Hazel is White can be ordered directly from her. Drop her a line through her site. She is also a frequent contributor to Stumptown Underground.

The quote on her drawing is from a Guster song called "Either Way."

Thanks, Hazel and Arnaud! And keep 'em coming, folks. We love it!

By the way, Joëlle did a piece of the three girls for Nico when he was visiting. She has posted it and other sketches from Stumptown at her blog. Click through on the image to see the whole set:

Current Soundtrack: America's Funniest Videos; Christina Aguilera, "Not Myself Tonight/Woohoo"

I'M YOUR FAN II

Whoa! Natalie Nourigat has done another drawing for us. This time in color, and also all three of the Spell Checkers.

In return, Nico did an amazing drawing of the heroine from Natalie's fantastic comic Over the Surface. You can see it here, and keep your eye on Tally's Etsy store for when Over the Surface is available for sale again. You really want to get yourself some copies.

We've also gotten a couple of new reviews.

Ain't It Cool News:

"These three are genuinely hateful, unlikable wastes of skin. One of then, Kimberly, has a protracted rant against learning history, since it's all about crap that's already happened, so what's the point. I'm reminded of what Stephen Fry had to say on the subject: that it's the kids who think like this that end up unemployed alcoholics, while those who find joy in learning are the one who actually do something with their fucking lives. Anyway...the point is, there's every reason to dislike these girls. But because Jamie Rich fills the pages with as much schadenfreude as physically possible, and with the anti-entitlement sentiment to the narrative, I can't help but love these horrid c***s.

Now, I know that I've praised both Mr. Rich and Ms. Jones on this site before (and in the interest of full disclosure, they and I have had occasion to drink from the same bottle of scotch once or twice) but it's Nicolas Hitori De that really wowed me in this book. There's a scene where Cynthia, the bitchiest of these bitches, is attempting to stick to her regular routine of avoiding gym class, and failing spectacularly. You can write a scene like this and WANT it to be funny, but it's up to the visuals to sell the comedy. Hitore De sells it. Man, does he sell it. This is the first work of his I've read. It definitely won't be the last."

The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum:

"This may be rated for teen, but so was Harry Potter and Twilight when they first came out, and many people over twenty have eaten these stories up. I predict this could very well sit up there with some of the best teen books that have come through comics in the last ten years. Young Avengers, Scott Pilgrim and now Spell Checkers.

I don’t say this lightly. This has major hit written all over it. I know I’ll pick it up for my oldest daughter and bet my other half will end up reading this as well. There’s something for everyone in here. But what I enjoyed the best about this? The dark humor is hilarious.

Thank you Jamie Rich, Nicolas Hitori de and Joelle Jones for creating such wonderfully full rounded anti-heroes. Even after reading it I can’t figure out if I should have been rooting for these ladies or not...and that’s a good thing."

Alternately, one person on Amazon hates us! They give us one star in the customer reviews on the book's ordering page.

"I have been a fan of Oni Press for 12 years and a fan of Jamie S. Rich for 10 years, and this is the worst thing that either of them have ever produced.

Imagine the three people you hated most in high school. Now, give them magical powers that allow them to get everything they want on a whim while simultaneously making the lives of everyone around them miserable. Congratulations, you've now read Spell Checkers while saving yourself twelve dollars and 150 pages."

Ha ha ha! Yikes!

If you read the book and like it, consider giving us a quick review to help our star rating.

Before I go, here is another of Nico's "trading card" illos from Stumptown, a drawing he did for Natalie. It's an adorable Jesse:

Current Soundtrack: Kelis, Flesh Tone mixtape sampler



e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2010 Jamie S. Rich

THE SPIDER-WOMAN'S HAVING ME FOR DINNER TONIGHT

NEW IN THEATRES...

* Iron Man 2. Robert Downey Jr. is good, but he's no Scarlett Johansson.

I also recommend the new Black Widow comic by Marjorie Liu and Daniel Acuna. It was a super fun read, more spies than superheroes, and the art is de-lovely. Here's a preview.

* The Secret in Their Eyes, this year's Best Foreign Language Oscar winner is a twisty, involving thriller.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Ride with the Devil, Ang Lee's Civil War drama emerges in a new light on this director's cut DVD.

THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* 35 Shots of Rum, a marvelous Ozu-like drama from Claire Denis.

* Five Minutes of Heaven, a revenge story that goes surprisingly intellectual on us, but not in a good way. Good performances from Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt, though.

* Joe Rogan: Talking Monkeys in Space, a funny but unbalanced stand-up special from the Fear Factor/Newsradio guy.

* Wolverine & the X-Men: Revelation, the fifth volume in the DVD collection of season 1 of this cool cartoon.

Current Soundtrack: Sleigh Bells tracks on YouTube (start here)

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2010 Jamie S. Rich

I'M YOUR FAN

Natalie Nourigat has drawn the first Spell Checkers fan art! She did this gorgeous sketch of Kimmie for Nico at Stumptown. Color me jealous.

I'd love to encourage more people to draw Spell Checkers. Maybe we can even consider running some of the art in the next volume (depends on space). Send any drawings to myself or Nico.

And be sure to visit Tally's blog and her Etsy store and buy her art and mini comics.

Nico has also done a comic strip about a real exchange we had while he was here.

Read it in French at his blog (which also has his contact), or check the English version right here:

Hey, how was I supposed to know?!

Current Soundtrack: Muse, "Starlight;" Blur, "Pressure on Julian;" Broken Bells, "Trap Doors"

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * My Corporate-Owned Space * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2010 Jamie S. Rich

REVIEWING THE SITUATION

A bunch more Spell Checkers links.

First, big promotion efforts over at Stumptown Trade Review!

* An audio interview with yours truly.
* A joint audio interview with Joëlle Jones and Nicolas Hitori de.
* A review of the book:

"Spell Checkers is the most fun I have had this year. If you don't like fun, live in southeast Portland and listen to indie music. But, if you like fun, buy this book."

Second, a cool review from Witchy Books, who clearly know a bit about magic girls.

"These teenage witches aren't tiptoeing around the shadow of some karmic law-- they use magic in the way that we all secretly wish we could at some point or another. The story is very original, and you'll find yourself cheering for some of the most unsympathetic characters ever put to paper."

Finally, a quickie from Blogcritics.

"In less expert hands, the supernatural element could be seen at times to be merely a device by which the creators attempt to make more exotic and sexy what is essentially a teen comedy-drama, replete with the requisite pratfalls, conflicts and moments of cringe-worthy awkwardness that define the genre. However, the narrative is deftly handled and perfectly paced to ensure that pages are kept turning, while the wise-ass humor flows thick and fast."

More in each link!

Current Soundtrack: Beastie Boys, "Lee Majors Come Again/Here's a Little Somethin' For Ya;" The Svengalis, "Love Letters for Delinquents;" The National, "Afraid of Everyone"

DON'CHA KNOW IT'S GONNA BE...ALLRED?

So, apparently it's Mike Allred Week at the comic book shops, as Mike has two new releases on the stands.

First is the third trade paperback collecting the final issues of Image's Madman Atomic Comics series. This includes all the stories and a huge bunch of extras, including the story Joëlle Jones and I did for the book and quite possibly the Mr. Gum tale Mike, Laura, Dave Johnson, and I did for Liberty Comics.

A short preview of the lead story is here. And this is the cover.

Buy it at Amazon.

Mike is also debuting his new creator-owned series, written by Chris Roberson and published by DC/Vertigo. The first issue of i,Zombie is only $1, so you have no reason not to try it.

Read a q&a with Mike & Chris.

Click on the cover to see a stunning preview/prequel of/to the book:

I have been fortunate enough to see a lot of the original art for i,Zombie in person, and somehow Mike continues to top himself. He and Laura have yet to find their artistic peak, they just keep climbing.

Mike and I are planning some things for Madman's future, including a big 20th Anniversary Special. I also spent last week writing a top-secret 8-page script for him to illustrate. It's for a project where the creative teams are still hush-hush, but we're very excited to be a part of it.

If you have some money left, I also recommend this week's hardcover release of The Amazon by Steven T. Seagle and Tim Sale. It's a fantastic comic. Also, Underground by Jeff Parker and Steve Lieber, which I think will start showing up in some shops this week.

Current Soundtrack: Muse, "Exogenesis (Parts 1-3)" (Record Store Day 12"); The Lodger, Flashbacks