23rd October 2011 / Appearances / On Sale / Shang-Chi / Videogames
SPIDER-ISLAND: THE DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU #3 goes on sale this week. This is the final part of the story, and features some nice treats for fans of the Immortal Weapons.
The jaw-dropping villain revealed! A conspiracy of horror exposed! Shang-Chi, master of kung fu, uncovered a monster threat to humanity’s very existence in the midst of the Spider-Island infestation… but can he stop it in time?
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed writing Shang-Chi. He’s one of the few characters I’ve lobbied Marvel for, and I’ve been talking to them about doing a standalone Shang series for a while. Fingers crossed it’ll come to pass, but for now I wave a sad farewell to The Master of Kung Fu.
(This is also the last book I worked on with editor extraordinaire Alejandro Arbona before last week’s bloodletting, which makes me doubly sad.)
The order code is AUG110600, and you can read a three-page preview at Comic Book Resources.
Also, a couple of appearances to announce:
First, I’m doing a short signing at the MCM London Expo this weekend. I don’t have a table at the expo this year, and will unfortunately only be around for one day. So if you want to catch me for any reason, make a note: Saturday 29th, 1-2pm @ The Comic Village signing table.
And the day before that, I’ll be on the Writing Games 2.0 panel at the London Screenwriter’s Festival, along with top-flight writers Steve Ince, Andy Walsh and Ed Stern. I’ll also stick around for the Q&A afterwards, so if you’re attending the festival, come up and say hi. This one is Friday 28th, 5-6pm @ Regents College.
15th October 2011 / Interviews
Regular readers will already know of Secret Identity, one of the longest-running comics podcasts around, and an early supporter of WASTELAND back when I was doing the PR rounds for the book’s launch. Seems incredible to think I’ve known these guys for five years, now.
Anyway, I recently had another chat with show host Brian LeTendre, talking about WASTELAND, Shang-Chi, Daredevil, videogames, and, uh, the collapse of the Dolphins. Don’t worry, the football talk was over pretty quickly!
It was a good interview — as Brian and I have spoken so many times before it was very relaxed, and I was probably a little more candid than I might have been elsewhere. Particularly regarding WASTELAND…
You can get the show through iTunes, or download it direct from Podomatic.
28th September 2011 / On Sale / Shang-Chi / Wasteland
WASTELAND #31 goes on sale today (at last!). This is the final issue of the Enemy Within arc, in which all the different perspectives come together, and Golden Voice’s rebellion falters. Also, we finally learn what happened between him and Michael outside Providence. For reals! Here’s the solicit:
The explosive conclusion of the “Enemy Within” story arc! Golden Voice is captured, and bound to be executed for leading the Sunner rebellion. But who betrayed them? How did they find him? And can Skot and the others save the Singer from certain death… or are there more important truths to be told?
Schedule-wise, this is the last issue affected by the horrible delays we’ve been suffering; issue #32, an interlude issue with art from Brett Weldele, is already drawn and will be out in November. And next month we’ll make an announcement revealing our plans and schedule for 2012 and beyond (spoiler: it’s very good news).
The order code for this issue is JUL111192, and you can read a 5-page preview of the book at Comic Book Resources.
While you’re at the store, why not pick up SPIDER-ISLAND: THE DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU #2, which is also out today?
DEADLY HANDS #1 received an incredible response, and overwhelmingly good reviews, even from people who aren’t reading the rest of the Spider-Island event. As a big martial arts fan myself, it’s great to see so many others out there eager to get their hands on an all-action kung fu book. My thanks to everyone who bought and/or wrote about the first issue. So here’s the solicit for #2:
Harrowing horror and kung-fu kicking! Guest-starring Iron Fist, the Immortal Weapons, and more! The spider-powered infestation of Manhattan is in full disgusting swing… and in the midst of the outbreak, Shang-Chi discovers that even if we all survive Spider-Island, humanity itself faces the doomsday threat of an abominable monster!
The order code for this one is JUL110626, and once again you can read a preview at CBR.
3rd September 2011 / Anthologies / Pre-order
Regular readers will know I’m a regular attendee of the Thought Bubble festival, held every November in Leeds.
I’ll be there again this year, and I’ll post all the usual details closer to the time, but today I want to mention something a bit special they’ve put together — the first THOUGHT BUBBLE ANTHOLOGY, to be published in October.
Produced in support of the British children’s charity Barnardo’s and distributed through Image, the anthology features a veritable host of talent, including Andy Diggle, Mike Carey, Becky Cloonan, and even director (and comics fan) Stuart Gordon.
My own contribution is a short WASTELAND story, brilliantly illustrated by THE WALKING DEAD artist Charlie Adlard, which was very exciting for me.
You can pre-order the anthology now, from the September PREVIEWS catalogue. To read more on how it came about, check out an interview with editor (and TB organiser) Lisa Wood at Comic Book Resources.
31st August 2011 / On Sale / Shang-Chi
The first issue of SPIDER-ISLAND: THE DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU goes on sale today.
As outlined in this interview at Comic Book Resources, DEADLY HANDS is a gothic horror martial arts action-fest, that can be read entirely separate to the main Spider-Island event if you so wish. It also features some of Sebastián Fiumara’s best ever artwork, simply gorgeous stuff.
Here’s the issue solicit:
Beware the deadly hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu! Spider-Man and every hero in New York City fights to save Manhattan from a mysterious infestation… and in the middle of the chaos, Shang-Chi uncovers a deadly mystery surrounding Immortal Iron Fist and the Bride of Nine Spiders! Who’s behind this will shock you… and heroes’ lives hang in the balance as Shang-Chi faces this monstrous villain!
The order code is JUN110627, and you can read a preview of the issue, also at CBR.
24th August 2011 / Daredevil / Dead Space / Interviews
I’m smack in the middle of a whole bunch of projects, so a couple of quick notes before I dash off:
— If nominative determinism was real, “Alex Zalben” would stockpile nuclear weapons in his Pacific island volcano base while MI6 sent dashing but worryingly misogynistic agents to neutralise him.
Alas, such aptonymic fate is bullshit fodder for the tabloids. So instead Alex writes for MTV Geek, where he does equally exciting and world-threatening things like interview Wellinton Alves and I about DAREDEVIL: SEASON ONE. Contains some previously-unseen and very lovely artwork from the book, by the way.
— DEAD SPACE iOS (which is now also available for Blackberry and Android, so I guess it should from hereon be plain “DEAD SPACE Mobile”) has been nominated for Best Mobile Game in the 2011 Golden Joystick Awards. Voting is open to the public, hint hint.
6th August 2011 / Appearances
…At least, that’s how Gillen described it. He may or may not have been tweeting from the dancefloor.
So aside from a little schedule-buggering (both Kieron and I had to cut our sets short for the unexpected and insistent arrival of the house DJ), and a minor technical difficulty that delayed Kieron’s start, last night’s set went well. A good time, and much shape-throwing, was had by all. Here’s the obligatory setlist:
The Imperial March (Metal Version) Jonathan Davison
Fucking Hostile Pantera
Devour Shinedown
Oxyacetylene Cubanate
Chrome VNV Nation
Spitfire Prodigy (request)
Doctor? Orbital
Headhunter 2000 (Apoptygma Berzerk Mix) Front 242
It’s Goin’ Down The X-Ecutioners
Knight Rider (Metal Version) Sylvain Cloux
New Radio Bikini Kill
Ingrid Spalding Rockwell
Feuer Frei! Rammstein (request)
Perfect Mask Paradise Lost
Liberate Disturbed
Halo SOiL
The Majority Mammal
Game Of Thrones (Metal Version) WhiteNoise Lab
That should have been the finale, but due to those technical difficulties, I also played:
Genius Pitchshifter
4th August 2011 / Appearances
Travelling Man, the excellent UK chain of comic/game stores, is twenty years old this week. Which is kind of amazing. TM have been very good to me — one of my first signings was at their York store almost ten years ago, and they’ve been a strong supporter of my work ever since.
Anyway. Naturally they’re having a party to celebrate, held tomorrow, Friday August 5 at the Fab Cafe in Leeds. Predictably fellow scribe, psychonavigator, and all-round boogie lover Kieron Gillen is DJing.
Perhaps not as predictably, so am I.
Kieron and I — plus, I assume, the other creators attending such as Andy Diggle, Leigh Gallagher, Barry Kitson, Moore + Reppion, etc — will also be doing a short signing around 7pm, before moving on to the important business of tunes and booze.
All disco dance must end in broken bones.
Now, unless you happened to live in Bath in the late ’90s, and attended the tiny goth/metal clubs therein, this will be your first chance to, erm, experience my DJing. Though not the last — assuming I don’t get lynched tomorrow, I’m also doing a set at this year’s Thought Bubble Festival.
So do pop along if you can. Should be a great laugh.
28th July 2011 / Appearances
I’ll be appearing at the Manchester MCM Expo on Saturday 30th, i.e. in two days’ time. The Manchester show is a new offshoot of the MCM London event, which I’ve attended several times, and thoroughly enjoy. Also, Manchester is local to me, and I’m all for encouraging cons that don’t require a five-hour train journey…!
Like the London event, MCM Manchester will have a Comic Village, where I can be found at Table C9. Look for the big red banner with my name on it. You’ll also find great creators like John McCrea, Leigh Gallagher, Al Davison, Marc Ellerby and more in attendance.
(I have no idea what, if any, panels are taking place or whether I’ll be on them. Right now I’m operating under the assumption that I’ll be at the table all day.)
MCM Manchester takes place at Manchester Central (the old GMEX) on Saturday 30th July, from 9.30am – 5pm. Hope to see you there.
20th July 2011 / Daredevil
So I’m away from my desk right now, about to hit San Diego, but quickly popping up here to mention…
Marvel have announced DAREDEVIL: SEASON ONE, a graphic novel, for a new line designed to retell the early days of some classic heroes from a modern perspective.
(This is the second of the two “secret Marvel projects” I mentioned earlier in the year, in case you were wondering.)
Handling art is Wellinton Alves, who regular readers will recognise from his great work on SHADOWLAND: BLOOD ON THE STREETS. It’s a pleasure to be working with him again, and he’s already producing some fantastic pages for this book.
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