24th July 2010 / Dead Space
Another day, another DEAD SPACE project, this time announced during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con.
The project is DEAD SPACE: SALVAGE, a self-contained graphic novel. Billed as a “sidequel”, SALVAGE takes place between the first and second DEAD SPACE games and tells the story of the missing, necromorph-infested planetcracker USG Ishimura. Presumed lost and drifting somewhere in the Aegis system , the ship is discovered by a band of ‘magpies’ — unlicensed miners and salvage merchants — who quickly realise it’s not the bountiful haul they were hoping for.
DEAD SPACE: SALVAGE is illustrated by Christopher Shy, published by IDW, and will be available later this year.
21st July 2010 / Dead Space
Some new details about DEAD SPACE IGNITION are surfacing, including screenshots of the comic art and mini-games. IGN seems to have the most screenshots of all the places talking about it.
Hopefully I’ll be able to fill everyone in on some more details myself as things get rolling.
ADDENDUM: Joystiq has now published a more detailed article than their original coverage, with a closer look at one of the minigames and a full complement of screenshots.
ADDENDUM 2: I’ve been given the all-clear by EA. More details on IGNITION here.
10th July 2010 / Dead Space / Wasteland / On Sale / Daredevil / Shadowland
Typical. I go on vacation for a week, and it all kicks off. While I was away…
WASTELAND
WASTELAND #29 went on sale. This is the fourth part of the “Enemy Within” story arc, and is a big issue for several reasons. First, here’s the solicit:
The ENEMY WITHIN story arc continues, and this issue Watchman Dexus is in the spotlight! Recent times have been tough for Dexus, as his attempts to control the Newbegin council have apparently come to nought. Now things are about to get even trickier… but the Watchman is nothing if not devious, and the Sunner rebellion might be just the help he needs.
The order code is MAR101107.
Second, this issue marks the departure of regular artist Christopher Mitten, who’s moving on to creative pastures new. Filling his inestimable boots is Remington Veteto, a fresh-faced graduate of SCAD.
Finally, we’ve revamped the official website, thebigwet.com — with a funky new look, cleaner layout, and better organization.
DEAD SPACE
Next up is the news that, yes, I’m working in the DEAD SPACE universe once again. DEAD SPACE IGNITION is an interactive fiction/motion comic/game/experiment that lays the groundwork for next year’s DEAD SPACE 2 with a brand new story, characters, locations and events.
IGNITION will be released this fall, for download on XBLA and PSN. More information on that as and when it’s available.
DAREDEVIL
In DAREDEVIL news, SHADOWLAND #1 went on sale this week, written by Andy Diggle and kicking off this summer’s DD-centric event. You can read a preview of it here…
…And you can also read a preview of DAREDEVIL #508, by Andy and myself. #508 is the first issue of the “In The Shadows” story arc that runs alongside SHADOWLAND itself, and goes on sale next week.
And that’s all she wrote. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a couple of hundred unread emails to plough through…
18th December 2009 / Dead Space / Wasteland / Wolverine / Interviews / Coldest City / Daredevil
Quick round-up before the holidays…
(I’ll do a proper year in review post soon, but may not have time before the new year.)
Comic Book Resources interviewed me recently about WASTELAND, DAREDEVIL and THE COLDEST CITY. You can read it here.
WOLVERINE: PRODIGAL SON, which was shortlisted in the Texas Library Association’s Maverick YA reading recommendations, made the final list. See the full thing here.
The lovely and generous Jeff VanderMeer talks about Volume 1 of the WASTELAND Apocalyptic Edition hardback on Amazon today, with an excerpt from his introduction to the book. Read it here.
DEAD SPACE 2 has been officially announced, and a lot of people have asked me if I’m on board once more. Sadly, no, I won’t be writing this game. It hopefully won’t be my last excursion into the Dead Space universe, though…
That’s all I can talk about for now, but as always there’s a whole host of stuff bubbling under right now. Happy holidays, everyone, and remember; Santa cannot be trusted.
29th September 2009 / Dead Space / On Sale
DEAD SPACE: EXTRACTION is released today in America (Friday in Europe).
In case you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few months, EXTRACTION is a prequel to last year’s DEAD SPACE game, made exclusively for the Wii. And it’s getting rather good reviews, pretty much ticking all the boxes that I predicted.
Everyone involved with EXTRACTION, from the producers to the coders to the artists to the voice actors (and, of course, me!) put a hell of a lot of work into making it a worthy successor to DEAD SPACE. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say I hope you enjoy it.
8th September 2009 / Dead Space / Alex Rider / On Sale
SKELETON KEY is now on sale in the UK and Europe (an American edition, published by Philomel, will follow soon). I received my advance copy this weekend, and it looks fantastic.
As with POINT BLANC, this graphic novel is based on the original book, and as always, it’s drawn by the dynamic sisters Kanako and Yuzuru. Here’s the blurb:
Reluctant teenage superspy Alex Rider is useful to MI6 in ways an adult could never be. Now they need his help once again. But a routine reconaissance mission at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships sets off a terrifying chain of events for Alex that sees him on the run from a murderous Chinese triad gang. Forced to hide out, Alex is sent to Cayo Esqueleto — Skeleton Key — an island near Cuba. Waiting for him there is General Alexei Sarov — a coldly insane Russian with explosive plans to rewrite history. Alex faces his most dangerous challenge yet. Alone, and equipped only with a handful of gadgets, Alex must outwit Sarov as the seconds tick away towards the end of the world…
The UK ISBN is 9781406313482. As soon as I have details for the Philomel edition, I’ll post them here.
I’ve mentioned before that this book required a bit of jiggery-pokery with Sabina’s character, seeing as in the novels Alex doesn’t even meet her until this book! But I think it worked out pretty well, and it sets us up nicely for EAGLE STRIKE, which will hopefully hit shelves in 2010…
Also this week, according to Diamond’s shipping list, the DEAD SPACE: EXTRACTION one-shot comic goes on sale. That’s a little earlier than most of us expected, but now you get even more time to pore over Ben’s lovely art before the game hits later this month. Here’s the solicitation:
Take a step further into the horrifying world of DEAD SPACE with EXTRACTION, the special edition comic of the forthcoming Wii title, from the same creative team behind the original DEAD SPACE comic! Senior Medical Officer Nicole Brennan gets the chance of a lifetime when she’s assigned to the USG Ishimura… but before long, the necromorph infection breaks out and Nicole must race to unravel the horrifying clues she finds in a very special young girl!
You can read a huge 9-page preview at Newsarama, and order it with the code JUL090350.
31st July 2009 / Dead Space / Wasteland / Julius / Appearances
I’m back from San Diego — no thanks to British Airways and Heathrow Airport, but that’s a whole other story.
It was, overall, a good con. Interesting Future Things™ may come of it. Or may not, who knows. I’m not going to give a rundown of everything that happened, as it would be rather boring to anyone who wasn’t there anyway. So, briefly:
Thanks to everyone who came out to see me and Chris, or me and Ben. And especially to those crazy guys who bought the super-limited black cloth edition of WASTELAND.
Now, I go to sleep for a week.
20th July 2009 / Dead Space / Wasteland / Appearances / On Sale
San Diego Comic-Con beckons once again. I have three books premiering at the show this year, so here’s a rundown of where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing.
New Books
— The Walking the Dust text pieces from those issues (with illustrations from Chris Mitten, Sam Kieth, Brian Hurtt, Robbi Rodriguez, Joe Infurnari and Joëlle Jones)
— A full colour gallery of Ben Templesmith’s issue covers
— A brand new introduction by Jeff Vandermeer
The book is 384pp, and now you can see why. It’s a real brick.
As if all that wasn’t enough, the edition we’re selling at San Diego is a special ultra-limited “black cloth” edition — signed and numbered, with a sketch plate, and it comes in an exclusive WASTELAND hemp bag. First come, first served, available only at the Oni Press booth.
This special issue focuses on Nicole Brennan, a character players of the original DEAD SPACE will be familiar with, in the days before Isaac Clarke was called out to the Ishimura.
Like the original comic series, it’s drawn by Ben Templesmith, and Ben and I will both be at the EA booth throughout the weekend to sign copies (see below for times).
You’ll also be able to try the game out for yourselves, if you’re so inclined. You might even get to hear some of my character dialogue, assuming you can hear anything over the noise of the con floor…
It collects seven scripts in total (at least one from each year of 2002-2007), features an introduction and notes on each script by myself, and clocks in at a fairly whopping 264pp.
COLLECTED SCRIPTS will only be available directly from me at Comic-Con 2009. It will not be made available in stores. I may consider selling copies direct from this site if there’s enough interest, but for now my intention is to sell the book at conventions only.
Signing Times
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
…And that’s your lot. Hope to see you there!
17th June 2009 / Dead Space / Wasteland / Interviews / On Sale / Pre-order
WASTELAND BOOK 04: DOG TRIBE goes on sale today. Collecting issues #21-24, this volume tells the story of how Michael and Abi’s quest for A-Ree-Yass-I is almost stopped before it starts, as they find themselves caught between two rival Dog Tribes fighting for supremacy.
The ISBN is 978-1934964170, and for comic stores the Diamond order code is APR090964.
In other WASTELAND news, the double-sized, full colour anniversary issue #25 goes on sale next week, the 24th June. That’s a fair bit later than we solicited for, and no-one is more embarrassed about that than me, but I promise you it’s worth the wait. Chris’ painted art is gorgeous, and even seven months after I wrote it, I’m still pretty pleased with the story. [ADDENDUM: I’ve just been told it’s likely to actually be the week after, owing to distribution delays. Sigh.]
You can read an interview with us about WASTELAND #25, and see an exclusive 13-page (!) preview, at Comic Book Resources.
You may also have noticed a couple of recent additions to the Coming Soon sidebar, over there on the right; DEAD SPACE: EXTRACTION goes on sale, exclusively for the Wii, in September. Before that, though, you’ll be able to get your hands on the EXTRACTION comic, a one-shot issue that ties in with both EXTRACTION and the original DEAD SPACE game, once again featuring the inestimable Ben Templesmith on art duties.
And finally, the new comics blog Exquisite Things asked me to contribute to their Simple Headphone Mind section, wherein creators reveal what music they’ve been listening to recently. No surprises there for anyone familiar with my Last.fm page, but fun nevertheless.
(Blog founder Matthew Dick is also part of UK noisemeisters Analysis of Bison Kills, by the way, and if you’re into a bit of grind and doom you should check them out. Because they’re brilliant.)
17th April 2009 / Dead Space / Wolverine / Interviews / On Sale
Last batch of WOLVERINE links for now, promise:
I was interviewed on Secret Identity last week, talking mainly about Wolvie, but also WASTELAND #25 and (briefly) DEAD SPACE: EXTRACTION. I always enjoy chatting to the guys at SI, so this is probably the most relaxed interview you’ll hear me do for a while.
Bookgasm reviewed PRODIGAL SON and gave it a big thumbs up. Their review features the words “Horde of Ninjas”, which is reason enough to give it a read.
Finally, Newsarama did a fairly in-depth WOLVERINE interview with both me and Wilson Tortosa, the book’s artist. Which makes a nice change.
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