Hey, there. Happy New Year. 2024’s starting with a bang for me. Savage Dragon #267 will be hitting shelves soon (look for it 1/17/24!), and it features, “Hearts of Stone,” a story Nikos Koutsis and I made together. I’m clear now to share some peeks of his sumptuously crafted art, like this banger of a splash page…
As mentioned last time, this is a milestone issue celebrating 30 years for Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon, one of the longest-running indy comics. Most superheroes aren’t ever allowed to age, but Erik’s actually let Dragon evolve in meaningful, lasting ways. In fact, the current Dragon is the son of the first and now has his own family to worry about… which is where our story starts.
When readers saw North Force last, the Dragon turned down an offer to join the super-team on an outer-space mission – citing the wife and kids he’s responsible for. This didn’t please their leader, the Canadian. He chastised Dragon for putting family over duty, then curtly led the team off to engage the dread Stone Men on Cyrus-5.
“Hearts of Stone” has wall-to-wall action – and all of it rendered so spectacularly by Nikos – but as the title suggests, we’re exploring what makes North Force tick, too. From Raptor to Jet, as well as Grizzly, Blue Jay, the Flame and the Knight, Erik’s created such striking characters in this team. Revealing more of who they are behind the masks is a real thrill.
Let’s just say, the Canadian’s stance – that all of North Force are so disciplined that they always put the mission first – might not be as solid as he wants to believe. The quest to Cyrus-5 gets much messier than expected. Two members of the Force may be putting love over duty, right under his nose, and at a moment costly enough to threaten their entire mission.
As you see, Nikos is exploring a new style here that’s like nothing I’ve seen before. It sort of fells like a yellowed back issue from the dollar bin, but there’s there’s this frenetic energy to the lines and a kind of energy glowing off all the colors. It’s almost like liquid neon were poured into the dye. I’m only offering some choice peeks, now, because I fear full exposure would make the Geiger Counter spike.
So, brace yourselves on January 17th and look for Savage Dragon #267. You can follow the issue on Image’s site, get the digital edition at ComiXology or look for it at comic stores everywhere that Wednesday!
We’re putting finishing touches on Operation Sphinx and Operation Sterling. Though, I suppose “finished” is a relative term here. Nikos has just completed the last of Sphinx’s thumbnails – meaning that entire comic’s laid out. You could “read” it from the first page to the last, now. That’d feel like watching a feature-length animatic before any scenes are actually shot. Or like seeing a dozen rolls of camera negatives before any photos are developed? Pick your analogy. I shared the thumbs with some alleymates at LACC and they were engrossed, even just seeing tiny impressions of scenes. I think Nikos and I are on the right track.
Both projects needed title changes recently, though. Why? Because we became aware of series with titles too close to ours. Two in row! Finding the right words at any stage is tough, but picking the right title is that much trickier, especially if you’ve grown attached to your first pick. Can it roll off the tongue? Capture the story? Have snappy wordplay? Cool. Now, can it do all three? I lost count of how many new titles we tried out – the tally is embarrassingly high, whatever it is – but we found ones everybody was happy with. Eventually. And I even like these new ones better than the originals. Our designer’s crafted some rather cool logos for them, too.
Now, watch us go out in 2024 and find that there are other series – ones that’ve treacherously eluded our notice all this time – with titles too similar to these new ones.
LA Comic Con was a lot of fun. I haven’t tabled in years and, as a result, exhibited with a… charmingly low-frills presentation this time. Hand-written paper signs on my table. Stacks of books used as stands to support other books. No banner. If you found me, it was because you were looking.
I think I preferred it that way. At least this time. There’s something to be said about properly-set expectations. I sold more books than I expected to, met new readers and had solid conversations with them, and caught up with friends and colleagues I didn’t expect to wander down my alley. The real highlight, though, was the fans who remembered Hybrid Bastards.
I came up with this comic in high school, wrote it in college and – while it technically wasn’t my first published comic – it was my first at a publisher (Archaia) with any real reach in distribution. It was made with the reckless abandon only novices can have. Kate Glasheen and I weren’t thinking at all of what square in the publishing market it’d fit in, nor what audience it’d appeal to, nor any of the stuff experienced creators must think about. We were just entertaining ourselves.
If there isn’t much time, my short pitch for Bastards is to simply call it the “weirdest comic in the world,” which is a boast that always proves out. It might’ve even been too weird for the world when it was published, honestly. I’ve got boxes of copies still, but wasn’t sure whether to bring any to LACC. It’s quite different from my other books, and its promotional tour ended years ago. Still, some little voice in my ear said just bring some... and I’m glad I listened.
I met people who not only remembered Hybrid Bastards, but had also wanted to read the hardcover for years. That was a genuine surprise. Passersby were attracted to Kate’s crazy pottery-inspired cover, which was less surprising, because it’s still such awesome work by her. I don’t know… all creators hope their stuff will make an impression, and keep making impressions, but it’s another matter actually seeing it happen before you. Call me genuinely struck.
Anyway, I’m aiming to table more in 2024, and now I think I’ll be having Bastards on my table so long as supplies last. Actually, if anybody reading this wants to get one, drop me a line. I can do direct orders.
Speaking of the Archaia days, I met Alex Eckman-Lawn then, back when I’d be signing copies of Bastards at their booth and he’d be signing copies of Awakening, this offbeat zombie comic he drew. He actually contributed a pin-up to the back of our hardcover.
Alex has this striking collage style he’s kept developing since then – in comics, gallery shows and album covers. He recently illustrated “the End of Anhedonia,” the fifth issue of Swan Songs, which is a limited series over at Image. As I understand, it’s an anthology where each issue’s connected by the theme of endings but is otherwise self-contained, with a different artist every story.
Alex’s issue follows a psychiatric patient during a therapy session, literally stepping down through the levels of his own psyche in search of an elusive inner child. Alex uses an impressive range of media, from photographs to paintings to pen-and-ink illustrations and mysterious combinations thereof. It’s a head trip, in the best sense, and he’s really outdone himself. This is the kind of comic the Eisners’ Best Single Issue category is made for, really.
Collecting first drafts of classic movies that were heavily rewritten has become a hobby over the years. My latest find is Mario Puzo’s first draft screenplay for Superman. It’s an odd artifact for a number of reasons, not least of which being that, at 220 pages, it’s so long it became the basis for both the first and second Christopher Reeve movies. I’m halfway through reading and it’s almost nothing like what the world eventually saw on screen. As intrigued as I was by what a Superman epic by the author of the Godfather would be like, completely undiluted by rewrites and co-writers, I’ve got to say this is still unlike anything I expected.
I’ll let you know what I mean by that next time, once I’m done. And I’ll talk a bit about other “lost” scripts in my collection while I’m at it, too – like the very different first drafts of Avatar, Jurassic Park, RoboCop II and the first two Conan movies. Stay tuned.
The Chuk Chronicles will return. If you have any writing questions, thoughts on my work, well wishes, or whatever… shoot me a message. Catch you ‘round.