May Day Play + Free Comic Book

Actually, this entry has nothing to do with the ancient Northern Hemisphere spring festival (I’m Australian and May means late autumn there), not the International Workers’ Day (the commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago), nor even the distress signal ‘Mayday’. I was thinking of a play on May to use in the title, thought of day, and stuck all three together. Silly, I know. Shhh. More importantly we’re hereby celebrating international Free Comic Book Day (4 May).

So see within for the freebie.

April Update

Thought I’d better take time out of editing and teaching to make some kind of attempt at an update here—things have been somewhat hectic, doing the wrap on The Condimental Op (out in July this year) and finalizing the layout and copy editing for Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? (to be published later in 2013). Both these will be released via Perfect Edge Books.

But there’s other stuff I also should mention as a way of saying thanks to the people involved.

Big on Japan: Artists Croon The Country’s Cultural Praises

Recently, I’ve been doing my best to mimic a literary ostrich since I’ve had my head buried deep inside assembly of the next novel. Trouble is I have trouble picturing a big bird with a hardback and a pair of spectacles, wrapped in Harris tweed.

And I say assembly, because this brute not only deconstructs 1930s detective noir/pulp and 1960s Marvel comic book lore, but renovates them together as a conjoined tome over 100,000 words in length — stitched together by 35 images from 28 artists.

It’s the way comic books, after all, work in the real world.

Is this the best ever piece of art?

While I always have had a soft-spot for R. Mutt’s 1917 work Fountain (which most people pretty much attribute to my favourite artist Marcel Duchamp), and I laugh whenever I see Man Ray’s classic iron-with-nails (a.k.a. Cadeau, 1921) — yes, I love my Dada — I’m going to go out on a limb here and pitch this baby as the best piece of art ever produced: world-famous sculptor Pierre Picolino’s Twilight Over Hoboken (1964).

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS (WITH A BLING)

I think I had Louis Prima’s 1936 classic ‘Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)‘ in mind when I started putting together this update, so apologies for the inane header (above). Anyway, to work — I want to go have brekky.

First up, The Condimental Op has been copy-edited, laid-out, and now has a cover — and will be published through Perfect Edge Books on 22 July.

Meanwhile Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? is in for copy-editing (thanks, Dominic!) and will be laid-out with artwork — something like 35 pieces — thereafter. I’m thinking this baby should be published by about September/October.

Book Contract Signed

Book reviewed, weighed-up, contract offered and  just signed — yep, back with Phil Jourdan’s very cool Perfect Edge Books for my next novel Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa?
Fantastic.

So we should have it published in about 6 months, including this sensational cover by Rodolfo Reyes.

Now to go celebrate. Hmmm… where in this part of Tokyo @ 4:55am?

COVER(S) REVEAL

I noticed a few publishers doing this big, online unveiling thing in which they yank a digital drape off their latest artwork for upcoming book covers. Guess it’s good promo and gets people’s literary tootsies excited. Hmm. Are there really such things as literary tootsies? Just woke up. Whack me one, will you?

Anyway, thought I’d hop on the bandwagon and do my own upcoming book cover “reveals” — et voilà.

ARTWORK + COMICS + WRITING, NEWS MARCH 2013

Lots of things are happening, meaning I don’t really have the time to update this blog, but I guess giving in to twee self-indulgence does have its attractions when you’re half asleep. I’ve promised myself a solid slumber thereafter, so allow me to rush/gush.

OK, a couple of comicbook-related things first. Last year Canadian artist Drezz Rodriguez (El Cuervo) and I worked on a short story called ‘Zig Zag‘ (the original written version will be appearing elsewhere), and this illustrated romp was set for publication in The Tobacco-Stained Sky anthology. Due to delays that anthology won’t be happening till after summer, so Drezz revamped the strip and submitted it to 8th Wonder Press for their upcoming print anthology — and they accepted it. Their book should be out in May.

The image here is an excerpt.

1960s Comicbook influences + Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa?

After doing the Ant-Man entry last time, and having been so buried in recent months in putting together novel #3, Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? — which is a dual homage to 1930s-40s noir and 1960s comicbooks (chiefly produced by Marvel), I decided to place a quick spotlight on some of the key comic issues from that decade (alternately called the silver age of comics and/or the pop art period) that have meant most most to me… and probably had some influence in the creation of Heropa.

50 THIS MONTH

Hard to believe this bad boy is 50 years old this month — well, actually, it’s probably 2 months older, since back in the 1960s comics had a two-month lead time, and this one’s dated Feb. 1963.

Tales to Astonish #40 is one of the fave “low-key” old comics in my collection, credited to Stan Lee (plot), Larry Lieber (script), Jack Kirby (art), Sol Brodsky (inking) and Art Simek (lettering), making a formidable team early on in the Marvel renaissance.