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We examine the gravity of Kaptara and Chip Zdarsky talks cat-tanks.

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  Chip Zdarsky: Soooo, some people may have heard, but Marvel made this variant I did SUPER RARE. So, I’ve taken my ONE COPY and given it to a non-profit organization to auction off. It’s to help a Syrian refugee family relocate to Canada and it would be great if you spread the news. The […]

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One think that’s nice about the more easy going Disney regime at Lucasfilms is that jokes like Jaxxon, the eight foot tall green rabbit who starred in Star Wars #8 in 1978–the most anticipated comic book of all time–now has a second life as our very own Jar Jar. And playing to that stereotype, Chip […]

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Marvel decided to round out their New York Comic-Con with a Women of Marvel panel where the publisher announced a two-issue crossover with Howard the Duck and Squirrel Girl, two rising humor titles defying the normal in the All-New, All-Different Marvel line. The cover debuting this afternoon depicts Howard the Duck in Squirrel Girl cosplay […]

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Calling all miscreants!  All slackers and gamers!  All those who would banish terrible cafeteria food to the secret tenth circle of hell (located in a specific unmentionable location on Satan’s person).  Archie’s Jughead is back with a new ongoing series written by none other than Sex Criminals’ Chip Zdarsky and illustrated by The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl‘s artist Erica Henderson. […]

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So there’s good news and there’s bad news. Sex Criminals #12 has been delayed, now releasing on September 16th.  Happily, however, the delay isn’t due to writer Matt Fraction ending up in a MPreg fantasy become reality or artist Chip Zdarsky deciding he’s more of a Hemingway than a Singer Sargent, but rather because of “high […]

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The first volume of Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky was kind of quirky, fun and original. Jon and Suzie can both stop time when they orgasm. They each think they are the only one. They meet and what fun when they can stop time together. Suzie’s library is being foreclosed on by the bank where Jon works. They decide to “raise” the money by stopping time and robbing the bank. Except it turns out there are sex police, or at least three people who say that’s what they are. The robbery foiled and the police barely evaded, Jon and Suzie find themselves angry and confused.

In Sex Criminals Volume Two, Two Worlds One Cop, Jon and Suzie discover they can be tracked. They become paranoid and pretty much cease having sex. And then their relationship begins to fall apart. Jon sees the head of the sex police at the bank and finds out her real name and address and decides to break into her house. It does not go well. He also discovers one of the other members of the police is a very wealthy man who invests a lot of money through the bank. And suddenly the grace period the bank had given the library is revoked and the bank immediately forecloses and knocks down the library. But they discover another person who can also stop time and has met the “police.” They form a plan. What that plan is we really don’t know because that’s pretty much where this volume ends.

It also ended with me feeling pretty meh about this whole series and doubting that I will even bother with volume three whenever it should be published. After the novelty of the first volume you have to double down and really make an effort to have a good and interesting story because, well, the novelty has worn off. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the story all that interesting. I still don’t know who the sex police are or what they are doing since they aren’t really police at all. The story introduces a couple of new characters and tries to do some character development particularly with Jon, but it just didn’t work for me. When the best thing about the book is the “extras” at the end, I have to say the series is no longer that interesting for me.

And how about those extras? The “Sex Tips” were laugh out loud funny and I kept interrupting Bookman to read them to him. Here is one of my favorites:

Shower sex is great because you can fantasize that you’re having sex out in the rain, but the rain is hot because these are the End Times.

Heh.

There’s really nothing else to be said about this one.

Filed under: Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews Tagged: Chip Zdarsky, Matt Fraction

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Last week’s announcement of the Harvey Awards nominees was, as usual, accompanied by controversy. This time it wasn’t the domination of Valiant (20 nominations) and Boom/Archaia, but rather just why certain books and people were even eligible.

For starters there was the “Most Promising New Talent” category which included the following:
 

Steve Bryant, ATHENA VOLTAIRE COMPENDIUM, Dark Horse Comics
Daniel Warren Johnson, GHOST FLEET, Dark Horse Comics
Chad Lambert, “KILL ME” FROM DARK HORSE PRESENTS, Dark Horse Comics
Babs Tarr, BATGIRL, DC Comics
Jen Van Meter, THE DEATH-DEFYING DOCTOR MIRAGE, Valiant Entertainment

Considering that Jen Van Meter was nominated for an Eisner in 2002, and Steve Bryant launched Athena Voltaire in 2002 this is…an extrenely liberal definition of “newcomer”….top put it mildly. You can be promising at any age but after 13 years you’re not a newcomer. (And Van Meter’s fine work such as Hopeless Savages in the past shows she’s well established at this point.)

More controversy cam in the form of the Athena Voltaire Compendium being nominated in the Best Graphic Album Original category.

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM ORIGINAL
ATHENA VOLTAIRE COMPENDIUM, Dark Horse Comics
JIM HENSON’S THE MUSICAL MONSTERS OF TURKEY HOLLOW, Archaia/BOOM! Studios
SECONDS, Ballantine Books
THE WRENCHIES, First Second Books
THIS ONE SUMMER, First Second Books

Although here you could argue it was original to print so….

Bryant responded on Twitter,m explaining that much of the compendium was new material:

Athena Voltaire launched online in 2002, but I wasn't eligible for a Russ Manning nomination until 2007, after being in print.

— Steve Bryant (@SteveBryantArt) July 15, 2015

I'm pretty sure there are a few other, similar gaps between Manning and Harvey "Most Promising" nominations.

— Steve Bryant (@SteveBryantArt) July 15, 2015

I've received a few questions regarding how the Athena Voltaire Compendium can be considered in the "new" graphic album category.

— Steve Bryant (@SteveBryantArt) July 15, 2015

When Paul Daly left the comic, he took is contributions with him: scripts, some elements of the character's back story, supporting cast.

— Steve Bryant (@SteveBryantArt) July 15, 2015

My initial thought was that the existing material—artwork that I retained control of,featuring a character I own—would fade from publication

— Steve Bryant (@SteveBryantArt) July 15, 2015

And I'd just do a soft reboot of the series with a new mini or OGN. A friend suggested that I recut and rescript the existing artwork.

— Steve Bryant (@SteveBryantArt) July 15, 2015

This solution allowed the previous artwork to "stay alive," and gave me the opportunity to relaunch the series with a large collection.

— Steve Bryant (@SteveBryantArt) July 15, 2015

Of the 200 (or so) script pages, 14 were a straight-up reprint.The rest were new stories. And there's approximately 50 pages of all-new art.

— Steve Bryant (@SteveBryantArt) July 15, 2015

Plus, a few dozen page patches,and reformatting the webcomic pages (which had previously been formatted horizontally).And all-new lettering.

— Steve Bryant (@SteveBryantArt) July 15, 2015

I believe that the Harvey Awards require a "new" graphic album to be over 50% new. I think we're over that percentage.

— Steve Bryant (@SteveBryantArt) July 15, 2015

Finally, (or at least finally for what I have notes for) Chip Zdarsky took exception to being the only nominee for SEX CRIMINALS in the “Special Award For Humor In Comics”
 

James Asmus, QUANTUM AND WOODY, Valiant Entertainment
James Asmus & Fred Van Lente, THE DELINQUENTS, Valiant Entertainment
Ryan Browne, GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS, Image Comics
Fred Van Lente, ARCHER AND ARMSTRONG, Valiant Entertainment
Chip Zdarsky, SEX CRIMINALS, Image Comics

Also, there were more funny comics than Valiant last year but their get out the vote campaign was undeniably effective.
Zdarsky issued a statement in support of his collaborator, Matt Fraction,—who is a very funny fellow in his own right—and said if chosen he would not serve:

Comics, for the most part, is a team effort. Pencillers, inkers, writers, letterers, Jordie; all of these roles are integral to the creation of a comic book and, time after time, positions like writers are routinely ignored in reviews, news and awards. Is it the fact that they’re invisible to the process? That when you’re reading a comic you’re noticing the beautiful drawings, the vibrant colours, the well-placed and designed lettering? Possibly. But it doesn’t mean writers aren’t integral to the process, or aren’t human beings who need to be noticed a lot.

With that being said (or, more accurately, WRITTEN), I simply cannot accept this HARVEY AWARDS nomination as it stands. I urge the awards committee to change the ballot to say “Chip Zdarsky and Matt Fraption, SEX CRIMINALS, Image Comics.” If it does not get changed to exactly that wording, I will ask them to remove my name from the ballot completely, allowing the awards to replace my position with another middle-aged white man.

Harvey Award administrator Paul McSpadden released a statement that seemed to address the eligibility problems:

The Harvey Awards would like to address questions posed by the comics press and other concerned parties since the release of The Harvey Awards Final Ballot.

The Harvey Awards were formed over 28 years ago with the intent to enable the creative community to honor their peers. The Harvey Awards administrators, as well as fans, retailers, and convention professionals, have no vote. That is the guiding principle of the nomination ballot, and we work very hard to maintain that vision.

As with all Harvey Award categories, “Most Promising New Talent” and the “Special Award for Humor” are selected through the voting of the comics professional creative community exclusively. Beyond a publishing date in 2014, we provide no eligibility guidelines for works in these categories and, as such, we continue to rely on the judgment of our voters, and not impose arbitrary limits.

Our vetting process also leaves us confident that all nominations in the Best Original Graphic Album category are indeed eligible, containing enough new and revised material to meet the category definition.

The Harvey Awards committee is open to suggestions from the professional community and we welcome the input. As we do every year, we will review the Harveys voting process and identify areas where improvement can be made.

Which seems like
a) like a total “huh? I was in the other room having some pie” response and
b) poor Paul McSpadden
…but mostly a.

The Eisner Awards have a review process; if a chosen nominee does not meet their criteria is is removed from the ballot. And adjustments have definitely been made in past years. I realize that McSpadden is probably just tired of all the kvelling at this point, and threw up his hands and went back to his pie, but if you’re going to have awards, you need to have guidelines. The Newcomer nominees should all have been vetted BEFORE the announcement went out, and if there were only three people in the category, well then, that’s better than having “rookies” who have been getting Eisner nominations over atwo decades. Sadly, the Harvey’s have become a joke in many ways, but at least let it be a surreptitious titter and not a public guffaw.

I don’t know if any changes to the ballot have been made other than Zdarsky’s withdrawal. However I’ll throw this out there again:

If 19 comics professionals want to create an annual “Harvey’s voting tong” to pick a more selective list, well….Facebook Groups, people.

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Archie Comics has exploded onto the mainstage of the comics world in the last few years, just as many thought they were a relic of the golden age. Series like Life With Archie and the enormously popular Afterlife with Archie, along with the introduction of the openly gay character Kevin Keller a few years prior, introduced these characters to a new generation in a surprisingly mature and modern way. At Comic Con today in a packed room full of fans, we got a glimpse at what is coming up for the progressive company and it’s growing band of creators.

Perhaps the biggest news to come out of the panel is the announcement that the long talked about Riverdale TV series will not be on Fox, but will premiere on CW. This came out of working through Greg Berlanti, who will be producing the show. This begs the question about the tone of the show, which previously sounded a bit like Twin Peaks in its adult and surreal nature, but now is being compared more to Glee. “It has a lot of music in it,” said Robert Aguirre-Sacasa, Archie’s Chief Creative Officer. They also mentioned that Josie and the Pussycats will play a big role, as well as Kevin Keller. Veronica Fish did some excellent promo art for the show, and will hopefully be working on a high profile comic soon, the publishers teased.

Four of the main creators involved in the New Riverdale group of books were onstage in Mark Waid (Archie), Chip Zdarsky (Jughead), Dan Parent (Kevin Keller) and Adam Hughes (Betty and Veronica). Waid said of the whole crew, “No one’s setting an iron-clad continuity that we have to fall into, we’re just enjoying what we’re all doing,” and that they are all sort of riffing on each other to create this new Archie universe. The first issue has been getting good reviews all around, and Waid teased that although Veronica shows up a little in issue two, but will be “like a wrecking ball” in issue three. He also noted that he felt like it was important to put Betty in that awkward phase that many girls go through when they transition from being “one of the boys” to being looked at differently by the men in her life–Fiona Staples, who is drawing the book, provided a lot of input on that part of the story.

Zdarsky talked about how he got involved with the forthcoming Jughead book that he is writing, saying he asked to do a variant for Archie #1 and then really wanted to get involved with New Riverdale: “Do you need someone to staple the comics?” he jokingly asked. Apparently, he had done an art project in school that involved building a 3D Archie panel around his head, with himself playing the role of Jughead, so his fandom of the character is nothing new. Zdarsky’s take on the iconic burger-eater is that “he’s a bit like me: he’s smarter than everyone in the room, but doesn’t feel like he has to show it.” Jon Goldwater, CEO and Publisher of Archie Comics, said that the book, which comes out on October 8th, is “really, really funny.” The book sounds like it will be the most irreverent of the group, with Jughead using his daydreaming imagination to figure things out, which involves the Superteens and more fantastical elements.

Hughes’ take on Betty and Veronica is the least developed so far, as he has only just begun to work on it. “Betty and Veronica are two characters I never thought I’d be allowed to work on,” Hughes said. The book will aim to be “a laugh riot,” and Hughes says he’s thrilled to be able to write and draw these iconic characters. Dan Parent showed some early pages from the new Life with Kevin Keller series as well, revealing that he will be living on his own and a little older now, which Parent notes means “the sky’s the limit” for the character.

Aguirre-Sacasa loosely announced a new title in the horror line that Francesco Francavilla will in some way be a part of that “may or may not” be called Vampironica. which included teasing a beautiful cover by Francavilla featuring a Vampirella-looking Veronica in a graveyard within a silhouette of Jughead. As if that wasn’t exciting enough for Archie Horror fans, the audience was treated to a preview of Afterlife with Archie #9, which focuses on Reggie and the guilt he feels for his part in causing the zombie apocalypse. For at least one page of the issue, Francavilla and Aguirre-Sacasa take a Goofus and Galant approach in an Archie and Reggie sequence. There were strong hints that something bad will happen to Reggie when the issue releases in a month or so.

Coming up for the Afterlife with Archie series in #10-12 involve the whole Riverdale gang stumbling onto a farm that seems untouched by the apocalypse. Unfortunately, it may not be the paradise it seems as the gang starts to notice that no one here is over 18–and Betty’s 18th birthday is coming up soon. Said by Aguirre-Sacasa of working with Francavilla: “It’s an auteur book, and the auteur is Francesco.”

In other news for the horror line, Aguirre-Sacasa promises that issue #4 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is “the creepiest book we’ve ever done.” That issue involves the Riverdale gang arriving in Greendale to assist in the search for Sabrina’s missing boyfriend, Harvey. This first arc ends with issue five, while six will be a one-shot story that explores Salem the cat’s medieval origins, and seven starting the Witch War arc in which the witches of Greendale and Riverdale square off.

In the longstanding tradition of ridiculous crossovers, the publishers talked a bit about the newest to join the ranks in Archie vs. Sharknado, which comes out in time for Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No. Anthony C. Ferrante, director of all three Sharknado movies, wrote the one-shot comic, and talked about how fun it was to put together. “I fell in love with some of the characters, so I couldn’t kill them off!” he noted.

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After the executives at Archie Comics shut down their Kickstarter campaign, the team pledged to move forward with three new series projects: Betty & Veronica, Life with Kevin, and Jughead. The main cover for issue No. 1 of the new Jughead series has been unveiled. We’ve embedded the full image above—what do you think?

The first cover was designed by artist Erica Henderson. Illustrator Chip Zdarsky created a variant cover (embedded below). The publication date has been scheduled for October 7th.

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UPDATE: Archie president Jon Goldwater has released a statement on the Kickstarter. See below.

Well, here is one company you didn’t expect to be crowd funding things: Archie Comics has launched a Kickstarter for $350,000 to continue their updated, realistic version of the Riverdale Universe. For this amount, they will follow up the Mark Waid/Fiona Staples Archie book (due later this year) with a Jughead series by Chip Zdarsky and a Betty and Veronica Title by Adam Hughes, as well as Life with Kevin featuring Kevin Keller by regular writer Dan Parent and inked by J. Bone.

The Kickstarter has already garnered about $8000 and some social media scrutiny to say the least. Archie is certainly the oldest comics company to turn to crowdfunding, and some may be surprised that they need to raise capital to refurbish their line. While the Waid/Staples take on Archie was seen as the latest move in the line’s general freshening, it was also abandoning a formula that has worked for 75 years. Just the other day I spoke with Bart Beaty about his new book Twelve Cent Archie, and the incredible timeless durability of these stories. Launching a new, more contemporary, less iconic look is part of the general update that Archie has been busy with for the last five years or so.

Also, Adam Hughes on Betty and Veronica seems like a “male gaze” take on the characters that s bit out of step with the current popularity of girl-centric comics. But it does speak to a wealthy, older niche audience that might be into supporting this effort.

Developing.

Archie Comics, the acclaimed and bestselling comic book publisher that is home to some of the best-known pop culture creations in the world, including Archie, Jughead, Betty & Veronica, Josie & The Pussycats, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the hit AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE series, announced today that it would launch a historic crowdfunding campaign via the popular Kickstarter platform.

The Kickstarter campaign’s call to action is a simple one: Help Archie Comics build a New Riverdale. Specifically, the Kickstarter will ask fans to help fund a slate of titles that build off the surefire success of ARCHIE #1 ­­­­­— the debut issue of a new, ongoing ARCHIE series from writer Mark Waid (Daredevil, Kingdom Come) and artist Fiona Staples (Saga). The series will be crafted by some of the biggest names in the comic book industry and feature the most beloved characters in comic book history.

The three new titles, launching over the next 18 months, include:



JUGHEAD — Featuring the adventures of Archie’s hamburger-loving best friend, from acclaimed writer Chip Zdarsky (Sex Criminals, Howard the Duck) and an artist TBA. An off-the-wall series full of laughs, unexpected twists and a modern sense of humor.



BETTY AND VERONICA — Girl-next-door Betty Cooper and wealthy socialite Veronica Lodge are best friends and fiercely competitive. While they both have a history with that guy Archie, the series puts the focus squarely on them — their friendship, their high school lives and adventures beyond Riverdale. Written and drawn by comic book legend Adam Hughes (Wonder Woman, Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan).



LIFE WITH KEVIN — Kevin Keller, the hugely-popular and historic character that broke new ground in Riverdale by being the first gay character in the company’s publishing history returns in a new ongoing series. Writer/artist Dan Parent (Kevin Keller) and inker J. Bone (The Spirit) tell a tale of an older, more experienced Kevin as he navigates a new city, new romance and leaving home.

“Our fans are part of our family — they’re an integral part of everything we do,” said Archie Comics Publisher/Co-CEO Jon Goldwater. “We’re not flush with corporate cash like Marvel or DC. But we’re also not afraid to take calculated risks. With this Kickstarter, fans have the chance to get in on the ground floor of an exciting and forward-thinking initiative. Fans can help build a New Riverdale, brick-by-brick. We’ve put together a stellar lineup of titles — featuring the best and the brightest creators working on our top characters. With your help, we can make this New Riverdale a reality. The best part? This is only the beginning.”

The crowdfunding initiative marks the latest part of the company’s 75th anniversary celebration — while also marking the beginning of a new era for the long-running publisher. With the launch of ARCHIE #1 on July 8, the company will be poised to reimagine its core characters while retaining the humorous and edgy elements that made them instant sensations when they first appeared.

“When I first stepped into the Archie offices, the brand was frozen in time. The stories felt stiff and dated. That’s no longer the case,” Goldwater said. “This is a new Archie. A new Jughead. A new Betty and Veronica and a new Kevin. We’re holding onto the things that made them great — the humor, the love triangle, the friendship and youthful exuberance — but presenting them in a way that can appeal to everyone, from classic comic fans to new readers who might not know every nook and cranny of our history. Each part of this is a brick that will help build a New Riverdale. But we can only do it with your help.”

 

 

We live in a time of unheralded growth and awareness for comics. The Avengers are in theaters. The Flash is running around on TV and, defying odds; comic book print sales are staying strong while digital continues to grow. If comics didn’t already have an era dubbed the Golden Age, we could make a strong argument that this is it.

By now, you’ve probably heard the news: Archie Comics has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to help launch three new titles. These books will expand on the foundation being created in the pages of July’s ARCHIE #1 by the hugely talented team of writer Mark Waid and artist Fiona Staples. These books cannot exist without the support of our fans, the most important people in the world to us. The people that have supported Archie since day one, 75 years ago.

It’s also a good opportunity to talk a bit about story. About quality. About the relationships between the producers of comics – the publishers – and you, the fans.

I’m sure the first question you have about this is “Well, why does Archie need our money?” That’s a good and fair question. We understand and value every purchase our fans make. We’ve chosen to be fully transparent when launching this Kickstarter, as we have been in the past with all our initiatives. Let’s face it: we are not Marvel or DC Comics. We don’t have their bottomless bank accounts. We don’t have their corporate infrastructure.

We can’t launch 20 titles a month. We can’t flood the market with double-shipped books.

We are a privately owned company that has built a track record for being innovative, forward thinking, progressive, relevant and agile. Over the last six years, while I’ve overseen Archie Comics, we’ve acted more like a new publisher than one that’s been around for decades. We are the oldest start-up in history.

So, let me take it a step further. Not only are we not Marvel or DC – we don’t want to be.

We don’t want to tell convoluted stories that require fans to buy a dozen comics to understand one. We don’t want to reboot our titles every six months. We don’t want to alter characters to make headlines and then move on as if nothing happened.

We are not cloaked in secrecy. We’re here – we’re connected and we’re available. Our fans are as much a part of the company as our employees. We are all in this together.

What matters most to Archie Comics? For us, for me – it’s all about the story and art. It’s about making sure the level of quality is beyond sky-high. It’s about the characters. It’s about doing the best job we can to create the best comics possible with the best talent available. That’s why you have names like Waid, Staples, Zdarsky, Hughes, Parent, Aguirre-Sacasa, Francavilla, Hack, Swierczynski, Gaydos and more on our titles. The best and brightest doing career-defining work on characters recognized around the world. And this is only the beginning.

As we enter our 75th year, its obvious Archie is here to stay. This isn’t a plea to keep us in business. This is a call to action. We want to partner with our fans to build on something we already know is going to be a huge success – ARCHIE #1. But not through gimmicks, hype or smoke and mirrors. But through the thing that has gotten us to this point: great storytelling. Help us build a New Riverdale and vote with the one ballot that will get the attention of the Marvels and DCs of the world: your dollar.

Be a part of something new and vibrant. Support the little guy fighting to make some noise and show the slow-moving goliaths of the comic book industry how it’s done: through hard work, great storytelling and tactical and calculated risk-taking.

Help us build a New Riverdale for everyone.

– Jon Goldwater

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Writer: Chip Zdarsky

Artist: Kagan McLeod

Color Assist: Becka Kinzie

Editing: Thomas K

Production: Drew Gill

---

Kaptara is a wild card for Image Comics right now. Chip Zdarsky is a proven creator in the field of comics, but I’m not sure that anyone in the audience of the 2015 San Francisco Image Expo convention quite knew what the author was going to say. A book that he was writing to be set in space with an up-and-coming artist would have certainly ranked pretty low among anything the audience had in mind. Yet here we are at the first issue of Kaptara from Image.

What happens when a newspaper illustrator and a Sex Criminal go to space together?

The philosophy between two space travelers being a meathead a video game obsessed scientist is the perfect way to introduce readers to the fun of Kaptara. The irony nestled within this pages seems perfectly at home with Zdarsky and company, as with the other characters first introduced in the issue. The mission gets hectic pretty fast, and the language is laid down with thick discretion introducing readers about space. The protagonist Keith seems as if he sort of serves as the mouthpiece for the rest of the cast and the creators telling the story. His warm disposition and sarcastic attitude perfectly encapsulate the audience that will likely be engrossed in this story. Which is why it’s great that Keith is also the person that has the biggest problems with this tale via his interactions with other teammates. While he seems ready to see to the challenge, the unlikely hero is still flawed.

One of the best parts about this issue is how it almost immediately addresses some of the quiet moments between these people stuck on a space expedition. After all is said done, most of these quiet moments are present in the best instances of all your favorite sci-fi shows like Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek, it’s just a matter of making these characters interesting enough to land the quieter moments.

Still Kaptara is a genre tale. It’s not something incredibly concrete and immediately simple to the reader. In other words, it’s not just a bland run of the mill sci-fi military drama either. Speaking to that a little further, Kaptara almost immediately starts with fantastic pacing. By giving us a peek at the end of the story, stakes are being added to the quiet moments that happen later on. We’re already invested in these characters — making what happens at the end of this issue actually elicit some sort of genuine emotional response from the reader.

Speaking of craziness in artwork, that’s the catalyst that sturts to push this issue into crazytown. This comic embraces the weirdness of comics in general headfirst, descending full on into madness. This issue is a whopping 30+ pages, which is excellent for comics readers really looking to stretch their dollars as far as it can go for floppies. The comic also manages to shift up their supporting cast in ways that will affect subsequent installments. In fact, the Zdarsky humor starts to fade out towards bleak and dangerous subtext. Thankfully, the comic swerves back into the wonderful absurd brand of comedy that makes stories by this author great.

McLeod’s kinetic action-heavy cartoonist style with a bevvy of curved lines suit this title incredibly well. The artists’ work is described well as being ‘kinetic.’ The lines seamlessly flow off the page, and the monsters and characters are never staying still. In creator-owned titles, we’ve seen countless instances of not being able to tell characters apart because they are drawn too similarly. Thankfully, McLeod’s previous experience in the art world has allowed him to avoid the pesky instances denying clarity amongst a story. Wow…is all that should be said about the coloring in this story. McLeod and coloring assistant Becka Kinzie are going to amaze readers with the amount of sheer detail nestled into the coloring here. There is a lot of information being tossed at the reader very quickly in this first comic, but the first splash page really shows off something commendable in the not only the drawing by McLeod, but with the coloring as well.

For any comic book fan that has had enough of spandex clad gentlemen spending time in New York, I would like to propose something with a little space grit smeared all over it: Kaptara. This a book taking a familiar element of space travel that smothers in some dirty weirdness in the form of floating eyeballs, kings, princess, dance parties, skulls, lizards, space travel, and dreams. If you have a sickness Image Comics, Kagan McLeod, and Chip Zdarsky can you write you a prescription for a new drug called Kaptara.

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[The most unlikely comeback of 2014 may just have been Howard the Duck’s cameo at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy. A cult character who first appeared in a 1973 issue of Man Thing, he went on to become one of Steve Gerber’s most memorable creations, fricasséeing the Marvel Universe and contemporary culture. A 1986 film produced by George Lucas became a legendary bomb however, and a successful lawsuit by Disney over copyright infringement led to Howard permanently donning pants and getting a facial makeover. (Howard was also the center of various ownership battles over the years between Gerber and Marvel.) Since then he’s popped up here and there in the Marvel U, sort of a migrating duck of offbeat humor. After his surprise Guardians appearance, and given the more wide ranging of Marvel’s universe both on pwper and on the screen, a new ongoing series seemed right. And Marvel found just the man for the job. Torontonian humorist Chip Zdarsky, the pen name of Steve Murray, is a local legend for various stunts including running for mayor, befriending Applebee’s making hilarious infographics for the National Post. But it’s as collaborator with writer Matt Fraction on Sex Criminals, Time’s 2013 Comic of the Year,  and one of Image’s best selling books, that he’s become a true social media phenom. With his finely honed, self-deprecating humor and discerning eye for a social trope, Zdarsky seems the perfect person to give the oft-misunderstood mallard another go round.

Howard the Duck #1, drawn by Joe Quinones and colored by Rico Renzi, is on sale today.] 

MacDonald: So, Howard the Duck. Were you a fan, were you daunted? What was your first thought when, I assume,  some Marvel editor called you up and said “Chip do you want to write Howard the Duck?”

Zdarsky: It happened quickly yet slowly. I started doing cover work for Marvel after Sex Criminals started doing well. I’ve been dealing with exclusively with Wil [Moss, editor of the project] and I did a 2 page story for him for Original Sins, a gag strip. He emailed me and said “Hey I have a feeling Howard is on the up and up, do you have any ideas for a Howard series?” and so I pitched my ideas and he liked them and we talked about it and batted around these artists and then got Joe [Quinones]. And during the whole process I didn’t even I think I had the job because I hate myself and I don’t believe anything good can happen [laughter]. I even did covers and wrote a script and I didn’t even think I had the job. I think mostly because I heard stories mostly, DC things where people were going all out on projects and then finding out somebody is doing the same project.

MacDonald: That guy in the building across the way also working on this series!

Zdarsky: Yeah exactly! Until the day that they announced it…I didn’t actually let it sink in that I would be working with Howard The Duck. I was a fan as a kid…a fan of the movie—because I was a child! But then I had this weird Uncle Fred who collected Howard and old Vampirella magazines, Robert Crumb stuff. He was kind of an underground comics guy. Howard was my favorite of those and whenever I would go over, I devoured them. It was funny, two years ago when I was working on the Vampirella project, he bequeathed me his Vampirella magazines and also his Howard the Duck black and white magazines as well, which I loved. So as soon as I got email from Wil… I cycled through the old issues, the old magazine and it was amazing. I love Howard.

MacDonald: Right, well its funny because I think I tweeted about [you having the right mind set for Howard], but what you’ve said in this interview makes you the perfect writer for it! “I hate myself and I don’t believe anything good can happen.” [laughs] Do you think being a ‘pessimist about success’, is a good attitude to have for writing Howard the Duck?

Zdarsky: I think it’s a good attitude to have for writing corporate comics because it is a job that you can be fired off pretty quickly. Whenever I explain how comics work to people who are not familiar with the comics industry, they’re like, so wait you have a job? But they can like firing you at any moment? And they do routinely? Yeah, that’s how it works in comics and then you try and get another job and it lasts for a year and you get fired and have to find another job. It’s all freelance no matter what unless you’re Brian Michael Bendis I guess or Geoff Johns. So with Howard specifically you’ve got to be a bit of a pessimist I think. Steve Gerber would go on some pretty good tears in the original run. I don’t think I have necessarily quite that world view but yeah, I predict things never going well for me, so that probably helps. So I won’t be disappointed if they fire me after 4 issues, like okay that’s 4 more than I thought I’d ever do.

MacDonald: I’m old so I read the Howard comics as a kid and they blew my mind because I was the perfect age for these comics, let’s put it that way. I haven’t really tried to read them since, so I don’t know how they hold up but this bits I’ve revisited show that Gerber is a very good writer, his technique was incredible. The character started as an absurd thing but was surprisingly well rounded. The original Howard run was about was very much the post Vietnam malaise in America, Howard ran for president in a post Watergate world. I think it was pretty universal but it was also very much the time. Do you change your thinking about the character? What is it… I saw on one of the covers instead of saying ‘Trapped in a World He Never Made’, it says something different.

Zdarsky: “Trapped In a World He’s Grown Accustomed To”.

MacDonald: Right. I loved that. Is that what’s propelling that forward now, is he complacent, what are his demons now?

Zdarsky: Well, a lot of people were asking me if I was going to bring Beverly [Switzler, Howard’s girlfriend] back because she wasn’t in any of the preview stuff. I’ve removed her and kind of made that a bit of mystery because my idea is that Howard has actually been here for a while. So once you’ve accepted that you’re part of this world, you have to find your place in it. He always had a loneliness even when he was with Beverly throughout the original run, but I feel like at this point he wouldn’t necessarily have that. I removed Beverly because it recreates the loneliness aspect of it. It’s so weird to think about Howard the Duck and talk about Howard the Duck! I’m still not quite used to it. [MacDonald laughs.] I’m overseeing a duck! Even the comic themselves have changed a lot and but it was always satirizing popular culture Kung fu movies of the time or ‘Star Wars’…

MacDonald: The Blanderizer, that was one of my favorites.

Zdarsky: [Laughs] Exactly!

MacDonald: Doctor Bong, the Kidney Lady.

Zdarsky: Yeah… and so popular culture now is Marvel, they’re the dominant force. I’ve got this opportunity to have him within the Marvel universe playing around with that world in which he’s no longer the odd duck, so to speak. I put him in New York and I’ve got all these super heroes and stuff flying around. In New York he’s not so much of an anomaly anymore. People aren’t whispering or yelling “Oh my god there’s a duck who talks!” as much as they used to. That’s also why I gave him a job as a private investigator. I felt like I needed him to try and figure out what he wants to do here at least at the beginning. We want to go weird and strange places because of the Howard tradition.

MacDonald: Right, I did see a couple of preview pages that came up and I see you do have Spider-Man in here and it’s pretty heavy on the MCU stuff…

Zdarsky: Especially at the beginning. There are a couple of reasons for that, one is that I want to show him in that universe, I want to firmly plant him in there because the cases he’s going to work on are going to involve a lot of these characters. It’s also because I still have that thing where I still think I’ll be fired [MacDonald laughs] and this is my one chance to write Spider-Man’s dialogue, so I’ll totally shoe horn that into issue one. And in every issue it’s, hey, can I use this character? And Marvel has to check with different offices—they must hate me by now because I’m trying to use everyone, because it could end at any moment.

MacDonald: Is there Woodgod? That’s the one everybody is going to want to know. [General laughter]

Zdarsky: So far I haven’t put in that request. I have a feeling that if I put in that request there would be no issue.

MacDonald: I don’t know, I’m telling you, listen Wood God, man. Or maybe The Vulture, you know, a lonely old man…Anyway enough from me. Who is Howard? What kind of guy is he?

Zdarsky: Obviously by appearance, he’s the anomaly, he’s trapped in the world he never made, but he’s actually the most relatable character that Marvel has. He doesn’t have any powers or anything, he’s just like an average guy who cuts through bullshit… and especially now throwing him in with all these other Marvel characters, you can have that personality shine through by calling people on their weird shit. One of the preview pages that they put out was with Spider-Man, a nod to [the original] issue #1, just to get it started off. But its also Spider-Man, you’re a weird fetish spider and you’ve got this weird fetish cat, like go kiss some criminals! People should probably call Spider-Man on that stuff. It’s great to have Howard be that character.

MacDonald: Let’s talk about writing a little bit. This is the first comic that you’ve just written?

Zdarsky: I was writing it simultaneously with my new series for Image, Kaptara with Kagan McLeod, but otherwise, yeah its the first time I’ve written something where someone else has drawn it.

MacDonald: And also your first sustained work for the Big Two?

Zdarsky: Yeah. I did that two pager for Marvel but that’s it and it’s unbelievable. Working with Matt [Fraction] on Sex Criminals was also my first time working with a writer. I was always a little jealous of Matt having the ability to write a sentence and then I would spend like a day trying to bring a sentence to life, Working with Joe on Howard, I said it before and it sounds really cheesy but it’s like an honor, in a way, to have somebody draw your words. Whenever I get the pencils and inks and colors back I’m just wow, people are doing things because I wrote a few words. It’s a strange responsibility. I’ve never had that feeling before and I’m also apologizing in the script…

MacDonald: For making them draw things?

Zdarsky: Yeah, if I said something like a giant outer space theme park, you know there’s a note to Joe apologizing, because I know what that means because I’m doing it on Sex Criminals.

MacDonald: But you’re lucky, Joe is such an amazing artist, he’s great.

Zdarsky: He’s unbelievable. But the only downside is that when they get the pages back, they’re different from what I envisioned but they’re better and then it makes me realize I’m not that good of an artist. [MacDonald laughs] I’m like, oh wow! When I got the job doing Howard, Wil Moss asked me to do some Howard redesign sketches. I sent them to Wil and he liked them. But then he brought Joe onboard and got Joe to do the same thing. Mine just look like hot garbage compared to Joe’s, so I’m glad he’s on the book.

MacDonald: Right, he’s a very inspired choice. You have a monkey in these preview pages. Is this an all animal book?

Zdarsky: It was like one of the only notes I got from higher up at Marvel, let’s not make this the anthropomorphized book. That’s Hei Hei, She Hulk’s monkey from Charles Soule’s She Hulk run. That’s such a good book and that’s part of the fun. I’ve set this book in She Hulk’s building—Charles approved all of that and he put Howard in a cameo in the last issue of She Hulk. It adds a weird little thrill to see creators pick up on things you’re doing and kind of going back and forth. You don’t really get that with Sex Criminals aside from making fun of The Wicked and The Divine.

MacDonald: Well let’s talk a little bit about that. Are there any adjustments you have to make? You’re also doing an Image book with Kagan, are there mental adjustments you have to make for working in somebody else’s sandbox here, the Marvel Universe home of the world’s most recognized book characters?

Zdarsky: In a lot of ways its easier because the characters are defined for you, they have the voice of Howard or the voice of Spider-man. If you’ve read those comics over the years and you’re observant enough, you can kind of pick up those voices. With Sex Criminals and Kaptara, you’re generating it and so you have to maintain a consistency with something you’ve just created, which is sometimes a little tricky. The process is so different with Image. Matt and I basically work on that book together, and its just us and so when we have a friend proofread it and we upload it to Image and then they upload it to the printer the next day, they don’t see the script, they don’t see the pencils, there’s no stages for that book, its just us back and forth. With Marvel, even the two page strip I did, there are four editors cc’d on the emails and everybody is safeguarding the characters and making sure tone and characters are consistent. Which only make sense, but you always have to have that in your mind when you’re writing these things now.

MacDonald: On the other hand I guess its like you have more of a safety net in a way too, like you have more people checking to make sure you didn’t screw up.

Zdarsky: I receive pretty much uniformly fantastic notes and that’s not kissing ass at editors, there are things that slipping through the cracks at my end partly because I’m not that familiar with the continuity of the characters, partly because maybe I’m overworked, but yeah the editors have been fantastic. Wil spotting plot issues and [Marvel executive editor] Tom Brevoort is like an encyclopedia of Marvel, you know, they’re good people to have in your corner.

MacDonald: Well, we’re big fans of Wil Moss at Stately Beat Manor. I don’t want to stray too far into your Image work, perhaps that would be another interview at some point but I mean, Sex Criminals—good lord, this book has become a phenomenon, is that safe to say?

Zdarsky: Yeah… I don’t like labeling it, but it’s made convention experiences a totally new thing.

MacDonald: Chip, I think we first met 15 years ago, 14 years ago back in the Warren Ellis Forum which is scary. You’re one of a number of creators coming out of that scene so to speak, Kelly Sue [DeConnick] was there…

Zdarsky: Kieron [Gillen].

MacDonald: Matt Fraction, Jamie McKelvie, Andy Khouri, now an editor at DC, Bryan Lee O’Malley was on there, Alex DeCampi, Brian Wood…

Zdarsky: That guy, what’s his name Warren Ellis?

MacDonald: It’s just pretty insane how many people were on there. You’ve always been known as this incredibly funny guy or the guy with the great gimmick like running for mayor or something. And now you’ve put all that to use on social media to [promote your creator-owned comics.] I think you said at New York Comic Con you guys had a meet up and people couldn’t get into the bar, there were so many people standing outside…

Zdarsky: Yeah. It’s nuts. I was giving a talk to a book festival exclusively for publishers and a lot of people were asking about social media. Like, should they get their authors to all do social media and I said “NO!” You do it because you like it. If you like telling jokes and talking to people, great. But people can smell someone selling something a mile away. Authors with a Twitter account where there’s no activity and all of a sudden it’s [Author voice] “oh what a great day to sit down and “#write.” The next tweet is an Amazon link! I just have fun. There’s no point where I’m just promoting something. It’s how I had my career at the newspaper and its how the comics thing is turning out; just doing things that I want to do.

MacDonald: Did you sense a change? You have always been very active on social media but was there a change in how people interact with you after Sex Criminals became such a hit?

Zdarsky: Twitter is kind of the same because you follow the same people. People will respond to you. With the Howard thing I’m getting a lot of people saying “Hey I’m an old Howard fan, don’t fuck this up!” Everyone has their ideas of how a character should be and I know that’s going to change a lot after next week for me. Facebook is funny because my parents are on there and they’re lovable and they like to interact with me… and so its kind of strange now to have my mom making some sort of comment about my work and then two comments later someone trying to make a cum joke to me. My parents are fantastic and all my friends are fantastic and they all kind of roll with it but at some point… I actually had a nightmare last night. I just talked to Matt on the phone [about] this nightmare where I was at home and my girlfriend was coming in through the front door and she smiled at me and I said a joke and then somebody, a guy in a hooded sweatshirt came up behind her and started to attack her. My instinct was to run and save her no matter what. And then something clicked, oh no this person is not malicious, he’s just slow or stupid and I had to get him off her without really harming him. And so I did. I grabbed him and then woke up and then I just lay there and was like, oh my God I just had a dream about the internet! [laughter] Really I just had a nightmare of people on Facebook, interacting with people that I love and maybe inadvertently harming them but they don’t know any better.

MacDonald: I think you should put that dream in Howard the Duck.

Zdarsky: [laughs] I think maybe I am turning into Steve Gerber! There was that issue where it was almost all text and he just kind of talked about everything. Maybe I’ll hit that stage. I had therapy this morning, so perfect timing.

MacDonald: This is a question though I’m sure you’ve been asked a lot. Chip, do you wish that Howard didn’t wear any pants?

Zdarsky: [laughs] I don’t care at all! Originally he was clearly a parody of Donald Duck but he’s moved so far past that, you could put him in a gorilla suit and its fine. Its especially funny now that Disney owns Marvel. All the legal injunctions—that’s the first thing that happened after I said yes to this, I got all the original documents where they lay out how Howard has to look to be differentiated from Donald. It’s a fascinating glimpse into comics history. But…honestly I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about pants or no pants on ducks.

MacDonald: Oh Chip, you’ve really changed.

Zdarsky: I know, I really have! I’m so busy now, I can’t think about these ducks and their pants!

MacDonald: Okay on twitter this morning Kelly Sue inspired me to start asking some new questions [in a multi tweet comment, De Connick listed all the questions that men never get asked but women are asked over and over and over], and you’re the first person I’ve interviewed since then, so you’re going to be the guinea pig. What is it like to be a man in comics?

Zdarsky: [laughs] Oh my god! It’s fantastic! Its just fantastic. I loved her rant, it was amazing. But yeah, I wake up every morning and I’m just I feel blessed, I’m a white man living in a Canadian city, I’ve got a beard…

MacDonald: Chip, how do you balance work and family?

Zdarsky: [laughs] I’m very lucky in the sense that my girlfriend is also busy with her job, so we have the same hours. I wake up from anxiety every day and I start working at 8 and then I work until 11 o’clock at night and that’s usually when my girlfriend stops working and so we meet up at 11 o’clock when midnight strikes and we talk about our days and we go to sleep and have our nightmares about the internet. It’s great!

MacDonald: Wow, you know what, you’re living the dream. Literally you’re living a dream.

Zdarsky: When I quit my newspaper job—I did Sex Criminals for almost a year while doing my newspaper job full time which was crazy and dumb.

MacDonald: Just so anyone reading this knows, you did regular comics for the National Post, the big daily paper in Toronto?

Zdarsky: My job title there was graphic columnist, which I made up because I needed one and I wrote articles, I did reporting, I did columns, I drew, I did cartoons, videos. I was kind of a jack of all trades. It was the best job I could’ve hoped for but I just hit this point where I had to focus on something, so I had to quit that job. But I forgot what a freelancer brain is like, where you’re terrified of turning anything down because it will never be offered again. So I had this weird bit for a month or two where I was saying yes to everything and then thought, oh my god. I physically can’t do it. So I know I’m leaving that phase now. I’ve got all these regular jobs, but I’m not accepting too many cover gigs anymore.

MacDonald: You know many of the top writers, a lot of them used to be cartoonists, like Brian Bendis and Brubaker and…

Zdarsky: Seth, isn’t he at Marvel now?

MacDonald: Do you like writing now? You’re just getting into it, but writing, drawing or both, what’s…?

Zdarsky: I’ll always draw something but I can only draw one book a month. I can write two at least, I recognize at some point during the course of Sex Criminals, that Matt doesn’t necessarily have the easier job but he definitely has the job where the time restrictions are easier and I want to give it a shot. With the Kaptara book I want to get Kagan drawing comics again. He’s an insanely successful illustrator here but Infinite Kung Fu came out years ago and I just wanted to show people his work, he’s so good.

MacDonald: He is, he’s amazing. I didn’t realize that Infinite Kung Fu came out that long ago. I think we made it one of our books for the year [at Publishers weekly] actually. They say the way to success is surround yourself with the best, so good move! Just to wrap this up on a Howard note, in the first issue, we set up “Howard the Private Eye” and meeting Spidey and so on but anything else you can say about ongoing storylines that you can tantalize us with?

Zdarsky: All I can say is I feel like I’m luring people into a conventional comic book story and then I’m going to hit them with the weird stuff. I keep sending these emails to my editor saying you know, this is coming up and this is what this means and then I go ohhhhhhhhh boy. I figure if I make it past issue 5 and people stop paying attention, I can do very weird stuff.

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Howard the Duck’s life is in jeopardy, or so the newest Marvel variant cover on the first issue of his ongoing series makes us believe. The new comic book has an interesting new cover that shows Howard in various stages of life. Towards the end of the the seven cycles, fans get a sneak peak at a gravestone.

Howard the Duck #1 will be available for purchase on March 4th.

The gravestone states:

Here Lies Howard T. Duck 1973-2015. “Valiantly gave his life during the Secret Wars.”

Will Howard die before the debut of his ongoing series?

With Chip Zdarsky’s irreverent sense of humor, it’s likely that this is some kind of hoax. The very last image in the evolution cover shows Howard alive and well. As Newsarama states, the duck is playing a part in the upcoming Secret Wars story as he is attached to the “New Quack City” region in the crossover.

To figure out some of the nuts and bolts on how the cover actually works, Marvel sent out a video. It’s important to note that all these covers are numbered and unique.

Marvel stated that the idea for this slightly gimmicky variant cover was born out of the successful launch of the recent Ant-Man #1 shrinking cover.

Marvel Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing David Gabriel explained:

“The Ant-Man #1 Shrinking Variant was such a successful experiment, we knew we wanted to try it again right away,” Gabriel said. “Each one of these variants is numbered and completely unique, showcasing a different Howard at a different size. Waugh!”

 

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TCAF—The Toronto Comic Arts Festival—is expanding with a holiday pop-up shop at the Toronto Reference Library, home of the yearly comic festival. The shop will kick off with an event for “Just The Tips” the Sex Criminals spin off book by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky this Wednesday, December 3rd at 6 pm. Home town hero Zdarsky will be present to sign.

The shop is described as a seasonal boutique selling comics and graphic novels by Canadian authors, with purchases benefitting the TCAF non-profit.

It’s a nice idea for the festival, an d a great expansion of the retail portion of the show. TCAF 2015 will be held May 8-10.

BTW: Zdarsky—the pen name of Steve Murray—was profiled in the Globe and Mail, whicvh chronicles his off-kilter career, which has just announced its latest triumph writing a Howard the Duck revival.

Last Friday, Marvel announced that Murray had inked a deal to resurrect Howard the Duck, the much-maligned mallard last seen sipping a martini in a postcredit sequence in the summer blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy. The first issue, illustrated by Joe Quinones, will be published next March. The news caps off a spectacularly successful year for Murray, who has emerged as one of Canada’s funniest – and weirdest – voices thanks to the combination ofSex Criminals (his breakout New York Times bestselling comic series), his irreverent and frequently profane Twitter persona, and an atypical résumé that includes a stint as an intentionally bad advice columnist, a requited Facebook love affair with Applebee’s and a quixotic Toronto mayoral campaign. But Howard the Duck presents an entirely new challenge: Can Murray add punch to a character who’s become a punchline?

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I consider myself a big nerd and comics seem to go hand in hand with the social status. I never really got into comics (or graphic novels) and when I did attempt I never knew where to start. There are millions of reboots and story arcs for the thousands of different superheroes out there but which ones are good and where do I start? It was Scott Pilgrim that started my journey into graphic novels and with Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Seconds recent release, I thought now would be a perfect time to talk about the graphic novels I love.

As an easy way to distinguish between comics and graphic novels, I call single issues (30-40 pages) a comic and a graphic novel is the anthology that contains a full story arc (normally 4-5 single issues). What I find really interesting about a graphic novel is that it is simply a new way to tell a story. It is not always about the superhero, graphic novels can explore high concepts in a whole new way.

Take the only graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize, Maus by Art Spiegelman. In this story we read about Vladek Spiegelman and his wife, it is biography of living and surviving Hitler’s Europe. The graphic novel not only addresses the holocaust and life in a war torn country it does it in a unique way. Exploring the reality and fears of surviving in a visual way, the Jews are depicted as mice and the Nazi’s hunting them as cats.

There is also the autobiographic story of Marjane Satrapi  in Persepolis, a coming of age story of a girl living in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution. The whole concept of cultural change works really well in this graphical depiction. There is even an animated adaptation which is worth checking out (even if it is exactly the same). If you prefer a more quasi-autobiographical story maybe try Ghost World by Daniel Clowes or even something by Chris Ware like Jimmy Corrigan or Building Stories.

Finally, if you prefer your graphic novels to be about superheros or people coming to terms with their new found powers, I have some suggestions for you as well. Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon by Matt Fraction is the first story arc in this new Hawkeye series and explores a life of a superhero outside fighting crime and saving the world. Also by Matt Fraction, with the help of Chip Zdarsky is the weird and wonderfully dirty Sex Criminals. This is a story of a woman that discovers that time freezes after an orgasm and the shenanigans she can get up to with so much quiet time. This graphic novel will not be for everyone; if you want something very different that is full of dirty visual puns then I would recommend it.

I would love to recommend more comics but some of my suggestions are not yet released as a complete story arc yet. If you are interested in more graphic novel suggests let me know in the comments below. I hope this will give you some suggestions if you have never tried a graphic novel before. I’m also happy to take more recommendations in the comments below. Happy reading.

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Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky

Suzie works at a library that’s about to be foreclosed on. While at a fundraising party to try to save it, she meets a guy she likes and they sleep together. It’s only in the afterglow that Suzie discovers that Jon shares her secret--after orgasms, time stops until she’s ready to go again. When she sleeps with Jon, they’re in trapped time together (she calls it The Quiet. He calls it Cumworld.) Jon works at the bank that’s foreclosing on Suzie’s library and hates it. So… why not make the best of their talents in order to rob the bank so they can give the money back in the form of the library’s mortgage payment?

My brother-in-law has a comic book store and last time I was visiting them, my sister was SO EXCITED about this series, so I was excited when the omnibus showed up.

I love the premise and it’s executed so well. Suzie narrates and it goes between the present and the past, and how she figured out about The Quiet. It’s really funny and a great introduction to a world that I want to know more about (Jon and Suzie aren’t the only ones with this talent, and they will get caught breaking the rules, even if time is standing still.) I also love the artwork when time’s standing still, so you know what’s going on. But most of all, I love Suzie. I love that she robs banks to save her library. I love her voice. I love the idea of her as a librarian. She isn't mousey and quiet, isn't too in-your-face cool. She is very cool, and very committed to books and research and helping people who came in to find their information--reminds me of a lot of the librarians I know and love. It was nice to see in pop culture.

I also like the back matter for this one. In addition to the regular offerings of page/cover sketches and rejects that we usually get in omnibus back matter, this had some great stuff on process, and the complete brain-storm list of made up positions.

Obviously, with this premise, it’s an adult title. But while the gimmick is lewd, the execution is beautiful and the actual story is worth digging into--there’s definitely some there there.

Cannot wait to read more.


Book Provided by... my local library

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by Alexander Añe

I’ve been going to conventions for years, and the only thing that’s been the same is that one person who says, “But you really have to go to Heroes Con.” There’s always someone praising Heroes Con, and now, I am one of them.

As my plane was landing, I was a bit nervous about Heroes Con. I was worried I wouldn’t know anybody, anywhere, or anything about the con and that would sink my battleship. My mistake was that I’d forgotten the principle reason everyone loves the show: Heroes is the most welcoming, friendly convention on the block and is always ready to meet new people.

Even before the con, with Kelly Sue DeConnick’s walk-along, Heroes was breaking the ice and making me feel at ease. Starting at 8 in the morning, this was a brisk 3-mile walk with Kelly Sue and about a dozen other fans. It was an excellent chance to take in some of Charlotte and get to know the neighborhood and also a classic example of one of HeroesCon’s big selling points, “[mingling] directly with professionals and exhibitors.” From there I started meeting people, getting to know places, and getting into the spirit of the weekend.

Walking into the convention hall Day 1 left me ecstatic in every way I could’ve wanted. The line for getting my pass was a breeze, the line to get into the convention was barely noticeable, and the Starbucks was cheapest I’d seen anywhere. Convention staff even let us in 30 minutes early and the rest fell into place like sheet music.

Day 1 for me was the making sure I knew where I needed to go throughout the convention; finding artists, restrooms, and nice places to sit. I settled up a few commission lists, greeted a few friendly artists, and then made my way to House De Fraction & Co. to head off the huge lines they’d entertain during the weekend. For any con it’s always wise to take care of the biggest lines first, and it was strange to note that no line seemed, “too big,” or unreasonable. Even later in the day foot traffic in and around the convention seemed very pleasant.

Rolling down the escalator for day 2, I saw a group of Star Wars cosplayers were celebrating the engagement of a Han and Leia from their group. You know it’s not really a con till you see one of these, and it says something about Heroes in that people choose it as the spot to remember for the rest of their lives. For artist Hoyt Silva, Heroes Con is certainly memorable, as it was his first time having a booth there after the success of his first Kickstarter. His art and others made by attending artists sold that evening at the famed Heroes Con Annual Art Auction that Heroes puts toward donations toward charity foundations.

Day 3 is where the real magic happens. The remaining artists spit out commissions by the droves through some mystic force that publishers can only dream of attaining. Phil Noto was working on his commission list till the last hour of the convention and Laura Martin colored away the last hours for the Heroes Initiative as well as on commission. Artists weren’t the only ones making magic, the Sex Criminals panel featured yet another proposal with the help of Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky. Exhausted and potentially injured from too much fun, I limped away from Heroes Con smiling, looking forward to attending next year. Thank you Heroes Con!

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