What’s SHOOT THE MESSENGER?
Well, AICN COMICS: SHOOT THE MESSENGER is your weekly one stop shop for comic book -EWS. What’s comic book –EWS? Well, it’s our hodge podge of everything not reviews here at AICN Comics. Sure you can find out the @$$Holes’ critical opinions of your favorite books every Wednesday at AICN Comics. But here, you’ll find special reports such as previews, interviews, special features, and occasionally news gathered here from our online brethren at Newsarama, CBR, Wizard, etc. Sure those guys are the best at reporting news as it breaks. Click on the links for the original stories. This column cuts the crap to run down all the vital information for those of you who don’t follow it as it comes in, and serves it all up with that special ingredient of @$$y goodness.
Bug gabs with AGENTS OF ATLAS' Jeff Parker
Hey folks, Ambush Bug here with another Q&@. If you’re a reader of our weekly AICN Comics Reviews column, you know that we love us some Jeff Parker. Mr. Parker has gained the reputation of churning out great action mixed with rich characterization and a wealthy knowledge and respect of the history of the Marvel Universe. Parker’s ongoing series AGENTS OF ATLAS has been entertaining on a monthly basis for a while now. I had a chance to chat with Mr. Parker about all things ATLAS. Check it out…
AMBUSH BUG (BUG): So what's new happening with AGENTS OF ATLAS these days?
JEFF PARKER (JP): Well, our top face-smasher Namora just decided to cross the line, break some taboos, and get it on with her cousin The Sub-Mariner. And team leader Jimmy Woo is also eager to see an old flame, which is going to bring a world of hurt down on the Atlas Empire now that she calls herself THE JADE CLAW and runs the organization THE GREAT WALL.BUG: You seem to be among the writers at Marvel who really respect the rich history of the universe and continuity of its characters. Do you consider yourself a Marvel Zombie and what does that term mean to you?
JP: Not really, because there's a lot of stuff that I'm disrespecting that I artfully misdirect readers away from. But I do embrace a lot of things other creators might find silly, because that stuff might also in fact, be Awesome. And if the history makes sense, I try my best to work with it.I've never gotten the Marvel Zombie thing, or people who only read DC. It's like if you were in a Barnes and Noble and there were prose readers sneering at each other across the aisles, with one proclaiming he only reads HarperCollins books and another sniping that Random House is best.
BUG: Is there a general rule or mode of thinking you put yourself into while writing an AGENTS OF ATLAS book that differs from your other work?
JP: Yes. I first remind myself that we're a multi-genre book, and that we can do Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Crime- or all of them if we want. And then I try to project back to me in college when I was purely a comics reader, and think "what does that guy want to read?" The answer is usually "something he hasn't seen before" or at least, "hasn't seen all the time."BUG: The artist role on AGENTS OF ATLAS has been fluctuating. Have you guys settled on a single artist for the series or are you going to keep things varied?
JP: When the book was approved, so was this crazy schedule where we often double-ship in a month. So we've had to work with multiple artists with me writing ahead to make those deadlines. So far though, we've been able to pair artists appropriately with the types of stories, so I think it's worked well. And we've had nothing but heavy-hitters like Gabriel Hardman, Carlo Pagulayan, and upcoming an arc by Dan Panosian. With stellar covers too, from Leinil Yu, Adi Granov, and Dave Johnson coming up. I understand it can be disconcerting, but I get a kick out of seeing how different artists interpret the Agents. Everyone seems to really get into it.
BUG: In the original WHAT IF? issue that featured the Agents, 3-D Man was a member. Any chance of him showing up in the new series?
JP: Ha, we'll bring Captain America back to life first. Oh wait...BUG: One of the cooler characters in the series is the Human Robot. He seems to be developing some irregular characteristics lately and has a somewhat weird fixation with the Sea Queen. What's in store for the enigmatic robot?
JP: M-11 gets a lot of focus in that Jade Claw story I mentioned, which I think will make his supporters happy. It's hard to tell what he thinks, but it's clear that he thinks of Namora as special because she pulled his rusting body out of the water years ago- and he was able to return the favor. In many ways, he's my favorite of the team.BUG: What do you find most difficult about writing AGENTS OF ATLAS?
JP: I think we've set it apart as an atypical book that defies expectations, so I sometimes have the fear that I'm not going to live up to the uniqueness established, and turn in a typical action story. But usually every time I get worried about that, something neat occurs to me. What helps the most is that most of our plots are determined by the characters themselves, they're not reactionary.
BUG: You've been pretty good at giving every member equal face time in the series. Do you have a favorite team member?
JP: I mentioned how much I like M-11, but then again...I really, really like writing Venus too. She's so sweet despite being formerly a creature that lured sailors to their deaths, that I revel in how different she is from most superheroes.BUG: What can we expect to see in AGENTS OF ATLAS in the coming months?
JP: One thing I'm looking forward to is a look into the history of the Menacer Robot series that M-11 comes from, as well as a lot more of our dragon advisor MR. LAO, such as how he once battled a Genie. I get a twisted glee when I write him manipulating the lives of the Agents. Also, in issue 8 the agents run afoul of THE HULK.BUG: Thanks, Mr. Parker, for taking the time to answer these questions.
JP: Thanks again Mark!Check out Jeff Parker’s AGENTS OF ATLAS, monthly from Marvel Comics.
Ambush Bug is Mark L. Miller, reviewer and co-editor of AICN Comics for over eight years. Check out his short comic book fiction here and here published in MUSCLES & FIGHTS 3 and MUSCLES & FRIGHTS on his ComicSpace page. Bug was interviewed here and here at Cream City Comics. Look for more comics from Bug in 2009 from Bluewater Productions, including the just-announced sequel to THE TINGLER for their VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS series available in July’s previews and on the shelves September 30th.And here’s part one of a three part interview with Tom DeFalco regarding SPIDER-MAN:THE CLONE SAGA by one of our newest @$$Holes, Mr. Matt Adler. Take it away, Matt!
Hi folks, Matt Adler here. On June 27th, I got the chance to interview one of the legends of the comic industry, “Titanic” Tom DeFalco, about his recently announced project, SPIDER-MAN: THE CLONE SAGA, along with co-writer Howard Mackie and artist Todd Nauck, which will update the story that up-ended the Spider-Man universe for a new generation, and provide a brand new, never before seen ending.But the conversation, which lasted 3 hours, became about much more than that, and runs the length and breadth of a career that has spanned almost 40 years and has seen the comic industry at its highest heights and its lowest lows. The interview is so massive that we have opted to break it up into 3 installments, to better serve your reading pleasure and attention spans. We now present Part 1 of the Tom DeFalco interview, in which Tom speaks of how the project came to be, why “clone” isn’t a dirty word, his theory of comics, why editors have more fun than the editor-in-chief, and much more Hoo-Hah! So without further ado….
MATT ADLER (MA): To start off Tom, can you tell us how you got into this project?
TOM DEFALCO (TD): I got in kicking and screaming! (laughter) I joke that there are forces at Marvel that went out of their way to kill this project and I know that for a fact because one of them was me!
I came in later, but Howard and Ralph [Macchio, senior editor] have been chit-chatting for a while, checking in with each other every so often. I know how that is, because I often give Ralph a call just to shoot the breeze with him and assorted other people. Marc DeMatteis and I often discuss cooking recipes with each other given that we’re both freelancers sitting at home. (laughter)
Anyway, at one point, Howard was going through his old files and he found his old notebook which had the starting discussions on the Clone Saga. It basically had a rough idea of the original story. And during the course of chatting with Ralph, he mentioned that he had it, and Ralph said something like “Oh really, I’d love to see that.” And at some point Ralph spoke to Joe Quesada who apparently also expressed an interest in seeing it. And Howard said “Really? Why are you are guys interested?” And they said, “Well you know, it’s a historical document, and who knows, maybe we should put together a limited series or something.” Now, the person who said, “Maybe we should put together a limited series,” I’m not sure who that was. Could’ve been Ralph, could’ve been Joe. And you know, Howard hasn’t done comic book work in a while, certainly not for Marvel, so he thought “Hey, this could be fun!”And somehow or another, my name came into it, and Howard said, “You know what, how about me and Tom work on this thing together?” And Ralph said “Hey, that’d be great!” You know, kind of getting the old gang back together. The next thing I know, I’m getting a call from either Howard or Ralph saying “Hey what would you think if we redid the Clone Saga?” And I said, “What are you guys, nuts?!” And they said “No, no, no… come on, this could be fun!”
Now this could be my own perception, or not, but I feel I have an image problem. Because for the last 12 years, all I’ve done for Marvel is SPIDER-GIRL, pretty much. And I think that a number of people in the industry believe that I can only do things that have webs in it. So I said, “Come on, for years I’ve been trying to convince people that SPIDER-GIRL is not about the Clone Saga,”… and Spider-Girl really isn’t about the Clone Saga, although lately we’ve been doing some clone stuff (laughs), but for about 12 years we had very little to do with it.
MA: You couldn’t even use the word “clone” for a while, right?TD: It’s not that we couldn’t use it, it’s just that I always chose not to. To be honest, I’ve never gotten any restrictions. I know that the fans perceive that some sort of edict went down that you couldn’t mention Ben Reilly, or you couldn’t use Kaine, or you couldn’t mention clones, or something like that, but that’s never been the case.
You know, all along with SPIDER-GIRL, I have been aiming at a mass market audience. So I made certain decisions with the idea that if you’re familiar with Spider-Man lore, you will know that when we talk about Ben Reilly, that he was the clone, and you’ll know the whole Clone Saga stuff, and if you’re unfamiliar with it, you’ll just think that this is an uncle, so that it would work for both the mass market and the fan market. So I’ve always been walking a tightrope trying to appeal to both markets.
Anyway, I’ve always had a theory of comics which is that you always move forward. You don’t do those kinds of stories where you are trying to straighten out past continuity. The closest thing I had to that was Lyja in the Fantastic Four. And that was an idea that had actually come from Gruenwald and Macchio.
But most of the time when I take over a series, I get on from the point where it is, and then I go forward, and I spend time creating new supervillains, and new this, new that, and just always going forward. The biggest complaint with me whenever I take over a series is “Where are the classic villains?” You know, everybody gets on a book, and there’s always a couple of villains, where they come right on and do their “classic stories.” Me, I come on a book and I’m there trying to add to the legend. (laughter) Which is an old fashioned way of looking at things…but I guess I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy!
MA: Nothing wrong with that! TD: Maybe nothing wrong with that…but try to convince editors you can still be vibrant! Anyway, they kept telling me about this Clone Saga thing, and I said “Guys, come on, why go back into the past?” And Howard had some very persuasive arguments, and then started to talk to me about the story, and the next thing I know, I got suckered into it because the more he talked, the more fun it looked like it would be. And the challenge of doing a story that could bridge 3 creative gaps really appeals to me.
MA: What creative gaps are those?
TD: Ok, here are the 3 gaps. Taking on an assignment like this is a total no-win situation, because you’ve got 3 types of people: people who read the original and loved the Clone Saga, people who read the original and hate the Clone Saga, and then you’ve got people who haven’t read it. And among the people who haven’t read it, you’ve got 2 more groups: those who haven’t read it but have already decided they hate it, and those who haven’t read it but are interested.
MA: Or are at least curious.
TD: Right. So you’ve probably got actually 5 different audiences.
MA: At least!
TD: At least! And I thought, if we could do a story that could appeal to all of those groups, do something where the people who loved it, they’ll remember why they loved it, and the people who hated it, maybe this can help change their minds. You know, I always like to do a story that is uplifting, that makes you go “Hoo-Hah!”
(laughter) MA: I always wondered where you got that phrase, “Hoo-Hah”, from. Was it from “Scent of a Woman” where Pacino goes “Hoo-ah!”?
TD: No, I got that probably from a Warner Bros. or Disney cartoon; I think somebody got thrown off a cliff, and says something like that all the way down. (laughter) But yeah, “Hoo-hah” has always been my way of describing the kind of action I like to do.
MA: You should trademark it!
TD: Well, at one point I did; I trademarked it to come out with a line called “Hoo-Hah Comics”, and that’s still a possibility, someday I’ll become nuts and decide I want to be a publisher.
(laughter)
MA: That’s a whole other set of headaches, right?
TD: Well, you know…people, for various reasons, often ask me if I’d ever want to go back to staff work. And I kind of got into staff work kind of by accident. It was supposed to be a temporary thing that was going to last about 6 months at Marvel Comics, and instead lasted about 20 years. And I’ve said this many times; I love editing. I love the editing process, I love the give and take between the editor and the writer and the penciller and the inker and the letterer and the colorist, because I think that every phase of comics has one goal, which is to tell the story. And I just love the process.
Anyway, naturally as I moved up the ladder at Marvel, again by accident…
MA: How did that actually happen?
TD: Well, you know, I was an editor there, and at a certain point I was promoted to executive editor. And I was told at the time that, as executive editor, I would still have the Spider-Man titles, still edit that, and I would just help Shooter with other stuff. And I thought “Yeah, ok.” And then almost immediately found out that I had to give up the Spider-Man titles. MA: Because there was just too much other work?
TD: Yeah. And I was going to now “supervise” other editors. And I thought, “Um…this isn’t quite what I signed up for.” But because we were going to do a whole line of Star Comics, and I am…I don’t how to put it. I am a flirt. I love every aspect of this medium. I love the idea of doing comics for young kids. I love all the different kinds of comics. One of the things I’m thrilled about now is that I recently got a chance to do a Western, Kid Colt, and I am soon going to do a sword and sorcery thing for Marvel.
MA: Can you say what it is?
TD: Yeah, I’m doing the Black Knight, during the days of King Arthur, and Ron Frenz is drawing.
MA: Terrific!
TD: I’d say the pages are gorgeous, but I don’t want to belittle them.
MA: You know, I have to say, I always liked the medieval Black Knight a lot more than the modern day one; just the way he was sort of a Scarlet Pimpernel type of character, right?
TD: Yeah, and we’re giving you insights into what happened before the first Stan Lee/Joe Maneely story. This is kind of like the “true origin of the Black Knight.” And it’ll be full of fun and games and that sort of stuff. And it gives me a chance to get a little poetic in my captions and do things that are actually closer to the kind of things I like to do when I’m not doing comics. I love doing SPIDER-GIRL, it’s just that SPIDER-GIRL is a specific kind of thing aimed at a specific kind of audience. And it’s good to do other things. People forget, when I came in the industry, we were supposed to be able to do everything. You’d do a horror story, you’d do a war story, you’d do a vampire story, and then the editor would call you and say “Waitaminute, that might be a vampire war story. Lemme get back to you.” (laughter)
MA: Have you seen what Marvel is doing these days, where they do other genres, like they have the “Marvel Noir” books, but they do them in a superhero context? It’s almost like they’re admitting that there’s a section of readers that just won’t pick up a book unless it’s a superhero thing.
TD: Well, comic books are very expensive these days.
MA: Did you happen to see those comments by a Marvel executive at an investor conference that caused some controversy? When asked why Marvel’s prices were increasing, he said they wanted to see the extent to which the demand for their comics was “inelastic”, and some people interpreted that as saying they want to see how far they can push it.
TD: Well, I can tell you that my philosophy was you build your publishing program like a pyramid. At your base, you have your most popular books at your entry-level price. Then you move up and have a fancier product at a slightly higher price, and then you slowly move up the pyramid till you get to your most expensive price which in my day was the Masterworks, and today is the Omnibus. MA: What do you think of the Omnibuses?
TD: I think they are wonderful! I look at that and I say to myself, man, I used to think I was so smart, but I never came up with something as cool as this! I thought the Masterworks were our crowning achievement, but it never occurred to me to put ALL of the Steve Ditko stuff in one book! It’s fabulous!
In our day, we were dealing with film, or black and white stats, or all sorts of other crazy, antiquated technology. So we were hampered as to the actual size we could get things to. The new generation, where it’s all digital film, you can blow it up to the size of a wall, and it’ll still work. I’m so jealous!
MA: And that’s probably one of the things that makes you want to get back into the game, right?
TD: Like I said, I love editing, and would be severely tempted if anyone offered me an editing job. But I would never, never, never want to go back and be an editor-in-chief again.
MA: What one book would you most want to edit?
TD: I haven’t thought about it that far. It’s not like I have any plans. And I don’t believe that anyone will ever offer me an editing job…because they’ll always be afraid that I want their job. MA: I think I remember Tom Brevoort saying that being offered the Editor-in-Chief job is a no-win situation, because either you take it and you now have this job that’s a huge hassle, or you refuse it, and the guy who does eventually take it will know that you were in a position to get his job, and he’s going to see you as a threat.
TD: Perhaps…unless the guy who gets it looks at the guy who refused it and says “Boy, he’s smarter than I am! I gotta keep him around!”
(laughter)
Listen, I don’t want to in any way negate the achievements of the current editors-in-chief out there; it is a hard job. People don’t know how hard the job is. I think everybody thinks it’s a job where you get to sit around all day long and read the comics with your feet up on the desk. And if that was the job, that would be great. I just think that when I say “I’d never want to be an Editor-in-Chief again,” I’m sure that Dan DiDio and Joe Quesada are nodding their head, saying “Yep, yep. We know where he’s coming from!” But like I said, I do not for a second believe that anyone will offer me an editing job, and that’s probably the best thing for me and for them, because, y’know…I don’t know if I could take the pay cut!
(laughter) MA: Ok. So, in regards to Marvel approaching you about the Clone Saga project…what was the proposed division of labor? Was it one guy is going to plot, and one is going to script, or was it collaborate on both, or…?
TD: Well, originally Howard said “Come on, we’ll collaborate, we’ll work together.” And during the old days in the Spider-Man office, everybody used to sit in a room and we used to throw ideas around. And that is the most fun I’ve ever had as a writer. And I thought “Ok, we’ll make it up as we go along.” And that’s kind of what Howard and I have done. The way we work is that one of us will sit down, and do a very rough scratch draft of what the next issue will be and then it comes back to the other guy who fills in more details, and makes changes, and it just keeps going back and forth, and we keep futzing with it back and forth until we both like what’s there.
MA: So do you each add bits of dialogue…?
TD: Well, we’re doing this Marvel-style [first plot, then pencils, then script]. So occasionally we put in pieces of dialogue so that you have an idea, but very rarely does that dialogue actually show up. We both approach this from the fact that comics are a visual medium, and we figure out the visual bits, and then kind of off to the side we explain whatever dialogue or whatever information needs to be conveyed by a certain scene.
MA: Have you gotten a complete issue from Todd yet to dialogue?
TD: Not yet. We’re still getting pages in for the first issue. In the meantime, we’ve got the first 3 plots, and we’re working on the draft for the 4th.
MA: Ah. So in other words, once all the plots are done, then you move to the actual dialogue. TD: Well, we’ll probably do it somewhere along the way. I think the first issue goes on sale in, what, September?
MA: Right, it’s still kind of a ways away.
TD: Yeah, so…y’know, Howard and I are the kind of guys that believe that the books have to come out on a regular basis. And we will be up on top of everything. And I shouldn’t just say Howard and I; Howard, Todd, and I.
MA: Right, right. And he’s a professional…he did, what, 50 issues of YOUNG JUSTICE straight, I think?
TD: Oh yeah. Todd is older than his years. (laughter) And it’s good that we have a responsible adult on the team. Which is Todd. (laughter)
MA: Now, what’s been yours and Howard’s reaction to the pages as they come in?
TD: I think some of them already appeared on the net…y’know, it’s terrific stuff! Are you kidding me?! We’re hoping that Todd doesn’t get offered one of the regular Spider-Man books before this is done! Or when they do offer him one of the regular ones, they’ll schedule it for after this is over!
MA: Well, he’s already made all the headlines with his Obama issue.
TD: And rightly so! Listen, Todd Nauck does great stuff! Anybody wants to see the proof, pick up THE AMERICAN DREAM limited series.
MA: Or his work with you on Mr. and Mrs. Spider-Man.
TD: Right.
MA: Now, had you seen his work before you first teamed with him on AMERICAN DREAM?
TD: I’d seen bits and pieces over the years. And before AMERICAN DREAM, we just started talking and realized that we were right in tune with the kind of comics we liked and the kind of fun stuff that we wanted to project. MA: Have you read his creator-owned series WILDGUARD?
TD: Yeah, I think it’s terrific! Todd, Howard, and I – and a number of us, certainly Ron Frenz and Pat Olliffe, the whole crew, we believe that comics should be ultimately uplifting and something that takes you away from the traumas of the day. A lot of comics are just too dark. And today, the world is just too dark, grim, and depressing, and I don’t want to pay my money to get depressed. Just turn on the TV, or just wait till the bills come in! I have more than enough to depress me. So I look to comics as a way to lighten the load, not add to the load.
MA: You know, Todd’s first work on Spider-Man was right after the Clone Saga ended, filling in for Mike Wieringo on SENSATONAL SPIDER-MAN. So he’s sort of come full circle.
TD: Might be full circle for all of us, in various degrees. (laughter) Who knows what the future brings?
MA: That’s it for today, folks. Be sure to join us back here next time for Part 2 of the Tom DeFalco interview.
Welcome back to another whirl on the Spinner Rack to the Future using an inordinate amount of nuclear power to whisk you away to TWO DAYS into the future! We start out this week with a full preview of a sequential short by Hudson Phillips and Brandon Earnhart. It can also be found here.
ALL THESE DAYS UNDONE
Writer: Hudson Phillips
Art: Brandon Earnhart
Release Date: You can check the full story out now below!
This was a very cool read. Thanks Hudson and Brandon for making it possible and turning my attention it!
THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF HP LOVECRAFT #3 Writer: Mac Carter Art: Tony Salmons Publisher: Image Comics Release Date: This Wednesday!
Do not displease the Sleeping God…check out THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF HP LOVECRAFT #3 this Wednesday!
SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #5 Writer:James Rosinson & Greg Rucka Art: Pete Woods Publisher: DC Comics Release Date: This Wednesday!
Check out what Supes has been up to in SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #5 this Wednesday!
STAR TREK: CREW #5 Story & art:John Byrne Publisher: IDW Publishing Release Date: This Wednesday!
Boldly go to your comic book store this Wednesday and buy STAR TREK: CREW #5!
THE DARKNESS #78 Writer: Phil Hester Art: Nelson Blake II Publisher: Top Cow Release Date: This Wednesday!
THE DARKNESS #78 falls this Wednesday!
JIM BUTCHER’S THE DRESDEN FILES: STORM FRONT VOL 2 #1 Adapted by Mark Powers Art by Adrian Syaf Publisher: The Dabel Brothers Release Date: July 22nd!
THE DRESDEN FILES: STORM FRONT V2 #1 flies into shops July 22nd.
DARK X-MEN #1 Story & Art: Various Publisher: Marvel Comics Release Date: This Wednesday!
I can’t wait for DARK DARKHAWK…. uhm… How bout DARK BLACK PANTHER? That’ll be cool, right? DARK X-MEN #1 darkly drops on Wednesday!
Ambush Bug tingles in anticipation
at the release of his new comic;
VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS THE TINGLER!
Greetings Faithful Talkbackers. Ambush Bug here. Being a reviewer on AICN for so long (over 8 years, but who's counting...OK, I am), you get accused of being a lot of things. A hater. A shameless fanboy. A plant. A disgruntled has-been writer striking back at the industry. You name it, I've been called it. But I think the worst thing you can call someone is insincere. Hopefully by this time, you've read a few of my comic book reviews. I try not to pull punches and as our @$$Hole motto states, we shoot from the hip, off the cuff, and speak from the heart about comics, not to make ourselves look better, but to push the industry we love forward and upward. You may not agree with what I say about comics and the industry that spawns them, but at least you know I try to be as honest and genuine as I possibly can in my reviews.
One of the swipes that critics often receive in response to a review is "I'd like to see if you could do any better." Well, last year I had an opportunity to put that to the test and I tried my hand with my own comic book effort and I figured I'd take this time to commandeer the Opinions Are Like @$$Holes soapbox and talk to you guys about how it came to be. Consider this an inside look at how my new two issue miniseries, VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS THE TINGLER, was put together. (Interspersed in this article are never before seen early preview pages, for your clicking enjoyment!)One of the coolest aspects of AICN Comics for me is the Indie Jones section. I don't consider myself an indie guy, but when the original Indie Jones aka Lizzybeth decided to move on to greener pastures and leave AICN Comics about five years ago, I felt that the independent voice in comics was too important not to be heard on AICN, so I kept the section going. To this day, my inbox is filled with indie submissions and I've made some great friends and had countless conversations with folks outside of the Big Two publishers pertaining to all things comics. This is where the genuine spirit of comics resides. These people are passionate, dedicated, and driven to write, draw, color, and letter their fingers to the bone in order to get their stories to print. I’ve never met a more hard working bunch.
One such writer I met was Martin Fisher. Martin wrote a book called RISERS (available in trade from Alterna Comics) that I found to be a thought-provoking, emotional, and unique look at the zombie genre, so I wrote a favorable review of the book. Martin was extremely thankful and offered to send me more issues of his series which I enjoyed equally and reviewed as such. When it came time to collect RISERS in trade, Martin asked if I'd like to write the Foreword for it. I had never done anything like that before, but was happy to do so for such a cool comic. Since writing that Foreword, I have shared hundreds of emails with Martin, first about comics, then about making them, and finally about collaborating on a few projects. For the last year, Martin and I have been writing two comics projects together. I am totally jazzed about them and once they are further along, I'll definitely share them with you guys.
Last winter, Martin got wind of an independent publisher who had just attained the rights to a bunch of Roger Corman and Vincent Price films. By happenstance, the company I was working for had shut down and I found myself unemployed for a while. Martin landed a job writing a story for ROGER CORMAN PRESENTS and introduced me to Darren G. Davis, publisher of Bluewater Comics. Darren seemed to be a great chap, open to new ideas and insightful about the comic book industry. We had a conversation about his new VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS and ROGER CORMAN PRESENTS lines and the films of those two fantastic entertainers. Noting my enthusiasm about a few films in particular, Darren encouraged me to write up a pitch for a few of them.Writing a pitch was something I'd never done before, but after a few stabs at it, I came up with a few. Luckily, Darren liked all of them. VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS THE TINGLER will be the first of three projects I have coming out from Bluewater Comics in the upcoming year, the other two being a four-part miniseries prequel of sorts to the Carradine-tastic DEATHSPORT for Bluewater's ROGER CORMAN PRESENTS line and a one-shot focusing on WITCHFINDER GENERAL for VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS.
As many of AICN's readers know, William Castle's original movie THE TINGLER mixed a rubber monster with a grip of steel, an LSD trip, and a gimmick which involved vibrating movie theater seats to make one of the coolest cult classic films ever. Needless to say, it was a daunting task to write a sequel for the film. Instead of doing a remake, I decided to push the story forward and continue where it let off, following Vincent Price's character Dr. Warren Miles and giving him a new purpose to pursue his investigation into the terrifying origins of the Tingler. The result was a two part miniseries taking Dr. Miles and his crew of assistants out of the city and into the darkest jungles in search of a tribe of natives that worships the Tingler.I'm very proud of VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS THE TINGLER and hope you guys at AICN will give it a try. In the coming weeks leading up to the release of the book in late September, I'll be popping back onto the soapbox that is Opinions Are Like @$$Holes and in our Comic Book Evolution feature, talking about my experiences putting together the script, collaborating with an editor and an artist for the first time, and taking you on a step by step journey through the process of a comic from conceiving the idea to the final printed page.
There are many, many different stories of how a comic comes together, I wanted to share mine with you guys. This isn't a letter of resignation. I'll still be reviewing comics for as long as I buy them. The need to talk about comics on AICN is too great to leave. And I won't be reviewing any of my own comics in our regular AICN Comics Wednesday reviews page (although I'd love to hear what some of the other @-Holes think of the book). THE TINGLER and the next few projects I have coming out later this year have opened my eyes to new aspects of the industry and awoken creative parts of me that have laid dormant for a long while. I hope you guys give these comics a chance and who knows, maybe you'll even like it.VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS THE TINGLER #1 is in July's Previews (Order code: JUL09 0737) and will be released September 30th, 2009 (with the second issue released just in time for Halloween on October 28th). Be sure to tell you're comic shop you're interested in checking them out.
