Mad Science and Monsters

Hey guys,

First, I want to apologize for being so sporadic over here, I'm pretty terrible about keeping up with this mostly because I don't have a hell of a lot of updates. So I guess we've got a bit of catching up to do... not too much, as mostly I've just been writing my ass off. Giles is finally on to doing pencils for Igor #2 after several more delays (none his fault) so be looking out for that soon. We'll be doing pre-orders through the website (igoroccultdetective.com) to help us cover printing costs. So yay for that. American History Z ought to be coming out in March which will feature my story "Z-Men" with art from the awesome Sean Von Gorman (The Secret Adventures of Houdini) I'll keep you posted when the Diamond Pre-Order starts for that bad boy.

Anyway... here's what I really wanted to post about.

So, I'm getting pretty close to the end of writing Igor: Occult Detective, I have four issues and two shorts to go before I am completely finished scripting the entire series. First and foremost, this is the first time I have completely finished scripting anything longer than a mini-series or graphic novel, which is, hey, a cause for celebration. However, I can't help but feel a little sad about the whole thing.

Igor was one of those ideas that just sorta struck me out of nowhere (probably while watching James Whale's Frankenstein) and once the seed was planted I just couldn't get it out of my head. I had planned on only doing six issues, a nice self-contained mini-series. But then something happened... I kept having more and more ideas. And damn good ones. It was practically effortless to come up with new plots for Igor and Mr. Frank to get into. I quickly fell in love with the characters and the world they exist in. But I knew it had to end somewhere. Giles only has so much time and he's already dedicating most of it to Igor and I know he has other projects he wants to work on as well... never mind the fact that I'm sure he's sick of me by now. So I planned it out... twenty issues and three shorts (not including the one page we did for Magic Bullet #3) would be enough to tell the stories I had to tell.

After, I finished plotting Issue #20, I got hit again... another batch of stories popped up in my brain. So I talked to Giles, figured some things out and decided there was another way to handle this batch of stories (which I will reveal eventually... right now I'm keeping it under wraps until everything is running smoothly.) So, essentially I ended up with twenty issues, ten shorts, and one single page story... over four hundred and eighty pages of Igor stories.

And it has been some of the most fun, most challenging and yet easiest comic pages I have ever written. Writing Igor never feels like a chore, it never feels like work... even the research is enjoyable. Other stories I've done or ones that I'm currently doing... some of them just feel like the job. Igor never feels like that. When I want to take a break from another story because I'm frustrated or lost or whatever... I go back to Igor. That's why I'm so far ahead on it. And I guess I'm just sad to see that go soon.

I'm sure it helps that Igor is a little bit of everything that I love... a little Lovecraft, a little Poe, a little Doyle, and a little comedy. It's essentially everything I adore put into one comic book. And there are a lot of other things that I love (sci-fi, samurai tales, westerns, socio-political zombie films) but I guess I'll always have a special place in my heart for mad science and monsters.

Catching Up

Hey guys,

I know, I know... I am horrible at this blogging thing. So I'm here to catch up with you guys as I seem to do every couple months.

So let's start with the big guns, FUBAR Vol. 3: American History Z is up for funding on Kickstarter. The boys are offering some outstanding rewards for your hard earned money. So please go check that out and snag yourself some goodies here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1607639297/fubar-american-history-z

American History Z features the story "Z-Men" written by yours truly and illustrated by illustrious Sean Von Gorman (The Secret Adventures of Houdini) along with stories with buds like Giles Crawford (you know, like from Igor?), Jeff McComsey, Steve Becker Dominic Vivona, and lots and lots of others.

Next on the agenda is Igor: Occult Detective #2, which is finally moving forward. We've had a lot of road blocks spring up in so many ways to keep us behind schedule on this. But it is scripted and Giles is hard at work on it as I type this. We're really looking forward to sharing the rest of Igor and Mr. Frank's tales with you guys.

For those of you who may have missed it, I managed to squeak my way out to New York Comic Con last month and spent the majority of my weekend hanging out with the 215Ink crew (particularly the outstanding Stephen Lindsay, Will Perkins, and Mike Perkins) and the FUBAR boys! And shockingly, we sold out of Igor: Occult Detective #1!

Also, coming up Phil McClorey is doing another horror-mash-up anthology (after doing the very great Horror in the West) around the theme of Horror Adventure tales which will feature my story "The Island" with art  by the very fucking cool Shane Heron. I'm very excited to see what he does with my Lovecraft/Creepy/Eerie-inspired story.

I've also got a few secret projects in the works with some names that ought to get you guys salivating including... Stephen Lindsay (Jesus Hates Zombies), Will Perkins (Beware), Jeff McComsey (FUBAR), Dominic Vivona (FUBAR), Rob Croonenborghs (FUBAR/Jesus Hates Zombies), Phil Sloane (DeadHorse), and, of course, Giles Crawford!

Well, that's the state of things these days so thanks for checking in and don't forget: Keep Calm and Aim for the Head!

Love for the SPCs

Hey guys,

So much for bi-weekly posts, eh? Honestly, I don't know where the time goes on me. I suppose that the fun of spending most of your "free" time making comics! Hahaha. Sorry. But I'm back with a new post for folks!

I was/am up really early for me (working over-nights generally equals sleeping during the day) and was thinking about my brothers and sisters in arms in the Small Press Commandos. If you don't know who they are let me give you a brief run down... they are the absolute best and brightest comics writers and artists working in the independent community. The idea initially came from Jeff McComsey while putting together FUBAR (yeah, that FUBAR) and I kind of took it and ran with it. Think of it as a digital comics studio where we can all share our work, bounce ideas off one another, and help promote each other. It started off as about thirty of us and since since grown to nearly two-hundred members.

Since the inception of the Small Press Commandos, I've discovered so many new series and these guys are taking more and more of my money. I think SPC books take up between fifty and seventy five percent of my comics budget these days, depending on the month. (The other fifty to twenty five going to Dark Horse, Image, IDW, and occasionally Marvel or DC.) So, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite titles within the last couple years.

AMERICAN TERROR Vols. 1 & 2
by Jeff McComsey
Alterna Comics

American Terror follows Victor Sheppard as he comes out of retirement as a gun-for-hire. Gritty, funny, and seriously bad-ass! McComsey nails the dirty gritty world of Sheppard. Sadly Volume 3 is kind of in limbo right now but you should not miss this title!

BEWARE
by Michael & Will Perkins
215Ink
Only the first issue of Beware is out now but man is it great! Think 1950's science fiction with a bit of real science thrown in and tons and tons of humor. It great and weird and just, damn, so fun! Will's art walks a great line between realistic and cartoony that is perfect for the series.

BLUE MOTH
By Rolf Lejdegård
215Ink
Blue Moth follows interstellar mercenary/soldier I'm not sure what... badass? Blue Moth as he battles against various galactic menaces. Again the humor here is great! Rolf's art is absolutely gorgeous and the writing is super cool. It may be a little abrasive for some folk with more fragile sensibilities but holy crap do I love this series.

BREAKNECK
By Mark Bertolini & James Boulton
215Ink
Breakneck is the story of Ethan Shade a D-List super villain who accidentally murders a popular superhero during a botched bank robbery -- then all hell breaks loose. Bertolini's writing here is just fantastic in his little darkly humorous super villain story. You can't help but feel that the deck is stacked against Ethan which makes you feel bad for him. My only complaint about this is that sometimes Boulton's art is a little sloppy and it can be hard to tell what's going on. But Bertonlini's writing more than makes up for it.

EXTINCT
by Fabian Rangel Jr. & Jethro Morales
215Ink
Holy damn do I love Extinct. It's like an 80's horror/adventure movie in a comic book! Think the Goonies or Monster Squad and you're pretty close, but you know with werewolves. Well, Monster Squad has a werewolf too but... anyway... holy shit! Writing teenagers is tough especially when you're not one anymore, but Rangel Jr. nails it with Extinct. And Morales' art always impresses. I really can't say anything bad about this at all. Really this is a must own comic for anyone!

FOOTPRINTS
by Joey Esposito & Jonathan Moore
215Ink
I know, I know there a lot of 215Ink titles on here, but there's a damn good reason for that... they put out awesome comics! Footprints has a premise so great that I wish I had thought of it. Bigfoot is a 1950's style detective hunting down the murderer of his brother the Yeti. So he assembles a team of other cryptozoological creatures to help him out including the New Jersey Devil and Nessi. Esposito is great here, winding a neat little mystery and Moore's sketchy style art is beautiful. This one really is just all sorts of amazing.

FUBAR VOLS. 1, 2, & (COMING SOON) 3
By Jeff McComsey, Steve Becker, Shawn Williams, H. Giles Crawford, Jim McMunn, Jonathan Moore, Shawn Aldridge, Joe Dunn, Rob Croonenborghs and many many more!
Alterna Comics
You knew this one was coming. But seriously, this is not here because I worked on it. This is on here because if you want a real true idea of what all of these guys are able to pull off you just need to read FUBAR. Almost every Small Press Commando has worked on these and they always bring their A-Game! If you like zombie or war comics FUBAR is for you!

JESUS HATES ZOMBIES
By Stephen Lindsay, Daniel Thollin, Rob Croonenborghs & others
Alterna Comics/215Ink
Let me tell you something about Stephen Lindsay -- he's the funniest son of a bitch I've ever met. Hands down. And holy crap does JHZ show that off! It's got all sorts of craziness... Jesus and Abe Lincoln fighting zombies, werewolves, evil angels, zombie-dinosaurs... you get the point. It's nuts! And JHZ looks great! The art always delivers especially Croonenborgh's run on the series.

KUZIMU
By Brett Uren
215Ink
Kuzimu follows Pt'eros, a dead man who, during a living death, must face the ghosts of his life. The highlight of this is truly Uren's art. Holy crap is it gorgeous! The story is interesting and very cool, based on East African myth though it does get a little wordy at times.

VIC BOONE
By Shawn Aldridge, Geoffo, Jim McMunn, & others
215Ink
Vic Boone is last but certainly not least on this list. Holy crap, I don't even know where to start... Vic Boone is a 50's style detective set in a modern Portland, OR where 50's sci-fi stuff exists now. Robots, clones, gorilla henchmen, flies with human heads, holy shit! It's smart, it's beautiful, I cannot sing enough praises for Vic Boone. Buy this! NOW!

Alive! It's ALIVE!

Hey all,
I know I've been terrible at keeping up with this over the last year. I'm going to try to rectify that with at least bi-weekly posts. We'll see how that works out. Hah!

Anywho, I'm super proud to announce that Igor: Occult Detective #1 is now available for purchase from our website: igoroccultdetective.com which will also have updates.
Giles recently moved backed to PA from Australia and has finally found an apartment and should be moving in shortly. So he'll be commencing work on Issue #2 very, very soon!
Issue #1 is also available digitally through the 215Ink iPad app as well as through the Cloud 9 Comix app! And just to get you guys hooked early on, it's FREE through both!

As for my own progress, I'm currently working on the script for Issue #12 as well as working on developing some other projects AND lettering Issue #1 of MonsterMatt Patterson & Bob Bieber's Wolff's Run!

Well, that's all the updates for now, kids! Check back and see if I can keep up some sort of regular posting schedule!

Holy Crap, I Suck...

Wow... I'm a horrible, horrible blogger apparently. I can't believe I haven't posted on here since Halloween. A TON has changed since then.

First and foremost, FUBAR Vol. 2: Empire of the Rising Dead landed on the New York Times Best Sellers list back in January, effectively making me a Best Selling Author! Who woulda' thunk it? I still don't think about it too much, and often outright forget until someone brings it up. Heh. Not only is this a big deal for me, but this is a HUGE victory for independent comics. This is proof that a comic put out by small press creators, with no advertising budget, with no major publisher, can still sell if it's GOOD!

Second on our lovely little list is that Igor: Occult Detective #1 is now available digitally through the 215Ink iPad app, as well as the Cloud 9 Comix app for Android/iOS/Kindle and will be coming in print next week! If you're local comic shop doesn't already carry 215Ink comics, tell them to get in touch with either myself to get copies directly from me, or to contact andrew@215ink.com to them (along with 215Ink's other outstanding titles -- like critically acclaimed and award-winning titles like Vic Boone, Jesus Hates Zombies, and Footprints) in their shop ASAP! Or you can order them from me online once I make them available. So, that just about covers it. Apparently, not as much has happened as I thought. Hmmm... Guess I've just been really busy. :P

Happy Halloween!

To celebrate Halloween this year, Helaine Crawford and I bring you Igor: Occult Detective "The Familiar" which originally appeared in the Washington DC comics magazine Magic Bullet #3! Click the image below to enlarge for reading purposes. Happy Halloween!

FUBAR VOL. 2 IS LURKING...

For those not in the know, FUBAR Vol. 2: Empire of the Rising Dead is now up for pre-orer. So head on over to your local comic shop and pre-order your copy using Diamond Order Code OCT110768 under Alterna Comics or visit TFAW.com and pre-order your copy there! Volume 2 features the story "Si Cheng" which reunites yours truly with the Mad Beglian Rob Croonenborghs (Jesus Hates Zombies: A Jurassic Kinda Life, FUBAR Vol. 1: European Theater of the Damned, Laura Bitch & the True Bastard), along with forty other Small Press Commandos for a total of twenty-seven stories! The first printing of Volume 1 sold out before it hit street date so don't miss out with Volume 2!

Come with Me If You Want to Live

Newsarama posted an article on their blog about a tweet Scott Kurtz made about buying the new Justice League on his iPad and why should he go to his local comic shop to grab a copy. (You can read that here if you like.) It was a kinda stupid article, but it got me thinking.

As local comic shops are closing all over the country, how do we and they prevent this? Especially faced with the "digital revolution" or whatever the hell you want to call it? How are shops supposed to offer extra value as an incentive to get customers through their doors?

Frankly, I think shops are going to need to up the ante here. I've been to a lot of comic shops over the years in the Buffalo area and you know what? Most of them suck. The owners are aloof elitist pricks who look down on you if you don't like the same things they do. The shops are generally dirty, dingy, and dark. And the half the time I have to order in the shit I want. Who the hell wants to shop in a place like that? I don't.

Then I did a signing at Two Kings Comics in Rochester. The shop was clean, very well lit, and the owners were some of the nicest dudes I've ever met. Plus they stocked product that I read! Holy shit! It was a comics Mecca for me! To sweeten the pot, the guys had a section just for kids' comics, an X-Box 360 hooked up to a flat screen TV, a cooler with drinks for sale, and couches and other seating. It wasn't just a store, it was a place to hang out! It was a place to make friends with other customers or the owners. If it wasn't an hour and a half from my house, I'd be there all the bleeding time!

I really think more shops should follow that line of thinking! Make your shop a home away from home for your customers. There are so many shops that I go into, grab my shit, and get outta Dodge! A friendly, clean, well-lit environment goes a long, long way. I spent like 8 hours in that shop and had a blast. I never felt bored or unwelcome. The guys were happy to shoot the shit with every customer who walked through their doors that day. (I think there were about 200 of 'em.)

So guys, it's either time to bring your A-Game or wither away and die. The choice is yours. I hope you choose to survive.

P.S.:
I still love Queen City Comics here in Buffalo. The owner, Emil, and his son run a tight ship and I love shopping with them.

The Creator Owned Battle -- Part II

Ah, once again we're back to the Creator Owned Battlefield. In recent months I've done a lot of thinking about all of this craziness and have noticed something kind of unnerving.

A lot of independent comic creators don't buy other creator-owned comics. I'm not saying they don't buy other indie comics, which can be rough sometimes, because they vary in quality so much, but some of these guys straight up only read DC and Marvel books. So I'm calling bullshit on these guys!

You can't expect folks to support your creator-owned project if you don't support other creator-owned books! Practice what you preach, man! You look at my shelf and sure, I've got some Marvel and some DC stuff, but the majority of it? Creator-owned, sucker. You'll find stuff like Hellboy, The Goon, The Walking Dead, Jesus Hates Zombies, 30 Days of Night, American Terror, Girls with Slingshots, Sin City, Honey and the Whirlwind, and whatever else strikes my fancy.

It drives me insane to hear these guys bitch about no one buying their new series when they won't take a chance on something else either. I'm a big fan of trading with other creators. Hey, check out my book and I'll check out yours! It doesn't cost you any cash outta pocket and someone else is gonna read your book! It's a great trade-off. And if you like it, tell other people! Lend it to a friend. Whatever, let other people know you dig it! I can't express enough how important word of mouth is for creator-owned books.

So in short, I'm calling you out, comics creators, buy creator-owned books. Or fuck off.

*Art by Jeff McComsey and Danilo Beyruth

M.I.A.

Howdy folks,
If you frequent this blog, you probably think I've been M.I.A. as of late. Frankly, you're kinda right. However, I've just been hard at work working on new content for you kids!

I have a huge announcement coming regarding Igor: Occult Detective which, sadly, I can't make just yet. Though I am writing Issue #8 as Helaine is working on Issue #1, and we will have a one page story appearing in the upcoming Issue #3 of Washington DC comics magazine Magic Bullet.

I also worked with Ronald Montgomery on the story "The Bedroom" for Black Ship Book's Horror Haikus #1 which can be purchased from Lulu.com

My story is well and done for FUBAR Vol. 2: Empire of the Rising Dead which was illustrated by the ever-amazing Rob Croonenborghs (FUBAR Vol. 1, Jesus Hates Zombies: Jurassic Kinda Life)!

Finally, I finished the short story "Spaceman Jack and the Planet Zorgadon" for the Small Press Commando's Kirby Challenge which was written by the awesome Phil McClorey and can be read for free here!

Oh! I also worked with Phil (as my editor) on the story "A Devil Came to Oregon" for his as of yet untitled horror western anthology, which I am obscenely excited about.

Well, that's about all the news I've got for now. I'll post again when I have more concrete news for you all!

Pulp Volume 1 is here!

I am proud to announce that Pulp Vol. 1: The Old Kingdom is now available from IndyPlanet.com! Click the link here to grab your copy! This TPB collects issues #1-4 of Pulp, introduction by Stephen Lindsay (Jesus Hates Zombies, Lincoln Hates Werewolves, FUBAR, Massive Awesome), a map of Edelgrond and more for $17.99!

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The Creator-Owned Battle

Art by Jeff McComsey and Jim McMunn
I'm going to talk about something here that's pretty damn important to not only me, but also a lot of my compatriots: Creator-Owned Comics.

As a lot of folks know, the comic industry is dying a slow and miserable death. Now it's, of course, easy to blame Marvel and DC for only putting out books that involve the same superheros every month... (how many Deadpool and Batman comics does the world really need, anyway?) And while they are partly to blame for putting out comics that are stale and nearly impossible to jump into without knowing decades of back continuity, it's not entirely their fault.

This is difficult for me to talk about, because a big part of the problem rests with, us, the readers. We need to be supporting creator-owned books or publishers aren't going to want to put them out. At the end of the day, publishers are businesses and they need to do what's best for their business. So if superhero tripe continues to sell, they're going to continue to make it.

But for all of you complaining about the state of DC and Marvel and the state of comics as a whole, go out and support original creator owned books! Go grab that copy of Hellboy, The Goon, Fear Agent, 30 Days of Night, The Walking Dead, Savage Dragon, Mouseguard, Powers, Wormwood, or whatever instead Issue #105,367 of Spider-man! Even better go pick up something by an up and comer like Stephen Lindsay or myself!

If you want a jump start on some interesting reading materials here are a few recommendations from yours truly:

American Terror by Jeff McComsey
Jesus Hates Zombies by Stephen Lindsay & various
Novo by Michael S. Bracco
FUBAR by various
Vic Boone by Shawn Aldridge & Geoffo

All of them are available through Diamond so get orderin'!

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Buffalo Screams!

This past weekend I was involved with the first-ever Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival! Buffalo Screams was held at The Screening Room on Sheriden Drive in Amherst, NY. I'm going to attempt to break this down by day as there was a lot that went on.



Day 1: Thursday October 21, 2010

Day 1 started off around 2:30pm where I met up with Greg Lamberson, Emil Novak (both of which pretty much organized the entire festival), along with Nick Anderson (local actor, photographer, and editor), Chris Scioli (from Buffalo Movie Makers), and Chris Wroblewski (local actor) to deal with all the set up.

We figured out what prizes were going to be given out across the four days of the festival and got all of the vendors' tables set up and ready to rock.



A little later guest of honor, the ever-lovely actress Debbie Rochon (Tromeo & Juliete, Night of the Living Dead, Slime City Massacre, Colour from the Dark). I met Debbie briefly last summer on the set of Slime City Massacre, but we never really got the chance to really sit down and talk. So it was nice to have the time to really do that this weekend.

Thursday I was able to catch a couple great films including Under the Scares a documentary about the trials of low-budget film-making featuring the likes of Debbie Rochon, Amy Lynn Best, Mike Watt, Jimmyo Burril, April Burril, and Herschell Gordon Lewis made by Canadian film-maker Steve Villeneuve, The Facts in the Case of Mr. Hollow by Rue Morgue's Rodrigo Gudino, What are They by local film maker Kash Coster.



Thursday also saw the premier of John Renna's long-anticipated It's In Back! which saw the largest turn-out for the evening.

Day 2: Friday October 22, 2010

Friday started off at 2pm for set-up. We had to pretty much tear down and set-up everyday because we set up in the mall outside the actual theater. We were also joined by Ron Mckay, Troma's east-coast convention representative in the dealers' room. (Ron is now my new bud.) Ron also donated several DVDs to add to our contest prizes.

Unfortunately, I only got to catch one film on Friday, but at least it was the excellent Night of the Living Dead: Re-animated which featured over 100 artists re-creating George Romero's 1968 classic all in 1 minute increments.

Friday was Zombie Friday featuring a heavy-dose of zombie-centric films including The Duty of the Living, Resident Horror (a locally-made Resident Evil video game spoof), Cabine of the Dead from France, and a section of Emil Novak's Decayed anthology entitled "Adrift." There was also a zombie costume contest which brought in some awesome costumes including a fellow dressed up as Greg Lamberson's Johnny Gruesome character!



Day 3: October 23, 2010

Day 3 was by far the longest clocking in at about 12 hours for those of us running the show. But it was also one of the most fun.

Saturday's films included Werewolf Fever a hilarious werewolf flick, House of Horrors: The Movie, Mold!, and Damn Your Eyes an ultra-violent western with a solid dash of humor, which is part one of a proposed feature-length film.

One of the high-lights was the showing of Slime City Massacre. This was the second time I got to see it, and I enjoyed it even more! Afterward, there was a Q&A session which I was honored to be able to participate in. (I played a homeless fellow who eventually gets turned into a Green Slimehead.)



Afterward, I actually got to catch what ended up being my favorite film of the festival El Monstro del Mar! Directed by Australian film-mark Stuart Simpson (The Demons Among Us). The best way to describe it is a combination of exploitation films and Lovecraftian sea-monsters. Frankly, it's utterly fantastic! The girls are sexy, the acting great, the monster... well monstrous!

The night wound down with the wonderful documentary Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore from Frank Henenlotter and Jimmy Maslon.

Day 4: October 24, 2010

Day 4 started off with Ron from Troma bring me an awesome gift... The Demons Among Us on DVD, Stuart Simpson's (El Monstro del Mar) first film. I, also, got the opportunity to chat with film-maker Brett Kelly whose Avenging Force: The Scarab showed later.

Born to Die from Buffalo-native and friend Jay Mager (The Pigman) was the first film of the day. There was a nice turn out for the local film-maker. I had a small bit in Born to Die and contributed the art work along with the title cards for the opening and closing credits.

Other films that showed included The Black Cat, Triptosane, Gitchy, and M.

For Sunday's festivities I was joined by MonsterMatt Patterson (author of MonsterMatt's Bad Monster Jokes Vol.1 which I illustrated) along with his eldest daughter.



Sunday ended with dinner and an awards ceremony, which I unfortunately could not attend. They honored Debbie with a DEDICATION TO EXCELLENCE IN INDEPENDENT FILMMAKING award and the short film Desperately Seeking Debbie. The winners were as follows:

BEST ACTRESS – Marianne Porter, TRUE NATURE

BEST ACTOR – Daniel Reininghaus, EYES BEYOND

LOCAL HERO — Michael O'Hear

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY — Marco Fargnoli and Evan A. Nesbitt, TRUE NATURE

BEST EDITING — Aaron Doolittle, DAVIS

BEST MAKE-UP EFFECTS — Emma Julia Jacobs, M

BEST SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS — Carl Cabrino, THE BLACK CAT

BEST WNY SPECIAL MAKE-UP EFFECTS AWARD — Andrew Lavin

BEST SCREENPLAY — Cody Zimmerman, THE FAMILIAR

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY CONTEST — DESERT DOGS

FILMMAKER TO WATCH — Sam Qualiana, NO ROAD OUT, and Kash Costner, WHAT ARE THEY

LOCAL GRINDHOUSE AWARD — Jay Mager and John Renna, for IN THE BACK and BORN TO DIE

BEST DIRECTOR — Stuart Simpson, EL MONSTRO DEL MAR

GENRE SPIRIT AWARD — Brett Kelly, AVENGING FORCE: THE SCARAB

BEST “MORE THAN HORROR” SHORT — DAMN YOUR EYES

BEST “MORE THAN HORROR” FEATURE — TRIPTOSANE

BEST HORROR SHORT — THE FAMILIAR

BEST WNY HORROR SHORT — DAVIS

BEST HORROR FEATURE — EL MONSTRO DEL MAR

BEST WNY HORROR FEATURE — HOUSE OF HORRORS: THE MOVIE



Overall, this weekend was amazing and I had a blast. I'd like to thank the following: Greg Lamberson, Emil Novak, Debbie Rochon, Ron Mckay, Kristy Jett, MonsterMatt Patterson, Nick Anderson, and everyone else involved!

FUBAR Now Available for Pre-Order

Hey folks,

So the time is finally upon us. After months of hard work and preparation FUBAR is now available for Pre-Order from your local comic book shop!

If you're not familiar with FUBAR, it's a World War II zombie comic anthology featuring some of small press comics' brightest stars including Jeff McComsey (American Terror, Jesus Hates Zombies, Atomic Robo: Last Stop), Stephen Lindsay (Jesus Hates Zombies/Lincoln Hates Werewolves, Massively Awesome), Benjamin Truman (Conan), Steve Becker (Atomic Robo: Last Stop), Jonathan Moore, Rob Croonenborghs, Lonny Chant, Dominic Vivona, Shawn Williams, Darrin Stephens, yours truly, and so many more! It's 168 pages of black and white zombie glory with 13-short stories plus other goodies packed in!



You can currently pre-order FUBAR from your local comic shop using Diamond Previews Code: SEP100743 for only $11.99! If you can't make it out to a comic shop near you or there aren't any in your area, you can also pre-order it online from Things From Another World or Urban Collector!

We would really appreciate your support on this project that over 20 people worked insanely hard on and truly brought their A-Games for! I've already read the whole thing a half dozen times or so, and I keep coming back to it! And I only have a PDF! So, please, pre-order a copy today!

Much Love & Sincerest Regards,
Kyle

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FUBAR: Severed Preview

Hey folks,

So, WWII Zombie Master, Jeff McComsey, paired me up with Beglian Mad-Man Rob Croonenborghs for "Severed" and the results have been awesome! The best way I can describe Rob's art is a shot of Guy Davis (B.P.R.D.), a shot of Rob Guillory (Chew), with a dash of Bill Wray (Ren & Stimpy)! So in short, I love his shit and would jump at the chance to work with him again in the future. So here's a sneak-peek of FUBAR: Severed. Words by yours truly, art by the irreplaceable Rob Croonenborghs!

Click image for full-size.

Also, you can follow the FUBAR blog here: http://zombiefubar.wordpress.com/.

Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition!

Hello my undead minions!

I will be joining forces with the likes of Jeff McComsey (American Terror, Bloody Pulp, Jesus Hates Zombies/Lincoln Hates Werewolves), Jorge Vega (Bloody Pulp, 9 Months), Stephen Lindsey (Jesus Hates Zombies/Lincoln Hates Werewolves), Alien Ant (Kaeruboy), and many others for a World War II Zombie Anthology entitled: FUBAR. I penned an 8-page story entitled "Severed" that'll kick you squarely in the gut! I'm so excited about this project I may vomit the undead! Below is a little piece of promo art done by Steve Becker!

PREVIEW: Pulp #4: The Old Kingdom Part 4 of 4

It's finally here! The preview for Pulp #4 The Old Kingdom Part 4 of 4!!! My apologies on the wait. A lot of personal issues have gotten in the way of this one. But the preview is here and the finished issue should follow soon! So here it is, enjoy!

Zombie Ink Comics 3-Year Anniversary Party of Doom Pt. 2

For three years Zombie Ink Comics has been bringing you the finest in underground pulp comics. To celebrate, we're going to party 'til the dead come home at Club Diablo with drinks, tunes, and comics!

If this event looks familiar it's because we tried doing this back in December but were forced to cancel thanks to a snow storm.

So come on out this time to the ZOMBIE INK COMICS 3-YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY OF DOOM!

THURSDAY JANUARY 21, 2010
CLUB DIABLO
517 WASHINGTON STREET
BUFFALO, NY 14203
8PM - MIDNIGHT
$5.00

Featuring the sounds of ARMCANNON and OLD RADIO!

We'll also have lots of goodies for sale including
Pulp #1 - 3 ($4.00 each or all 3 for $10.00)
Zombie Ink Comics posters ($3.00)
Zombie Worx t-shirts ($8.00)
Exclusive Red Eye posters (Limited print run) ($10.00)

And for the first time EVER we'll be selling original pages and covers from Zombie Ink Comics titles as old as Silent Boy versus Hell!!!
Pages ($50)
Covers ($100)

Top 10 Movies of 2009

It's that time of year and that means my favorite movies list for 2009. Admittedly there were a few flicks I just never got out to see (I Sell the Dead, Drag Me to Hell, Boondock Saints II, The Road, Avatar) so this list could potentially change a bit as I catch up, but this will do for now.

10. Friday the 13th
Jason Vorhees is back, kids. This "relaunch" of the Friday franchise really does sit well with the rest of the films. I felt it captured the tone of the originals, never felt too flashy, and never pretended to be anything more than what it was: a good ol' fashioned slasher flick.

9. Star Trek
I've never been a hardcore J.J. Abrahams fan. I dig Lost but never really got into anything else he's done. And I've never been a Star Trek fan either (I know, geek blasphemy). But this action-packed and fun but still pretty smart flick sucked me right in. It was a breath of fresh air after a relatively disappointing start to my summer (I saw Wolverine and Terminator: Salvation before catching this.)

8. Where the Wild Things Are
I always loved the Where the Wild Things Are book as a kid. I think for a lot of us it was our first introduction to monsters. There was something about this film that just seemed like reliving childhood. I spent the running time grinning from ear to ear. Everything just fit together perfectly from the creatures by Jim Henson's shop, to the voice acting, to the soundtrack by Yeah Yeah Yeahs front-woman, Karen O.

7. Zombieland
Zombieland can be described as many things but the most accurate would be "cute." I know that sounds weird for a horror-comedy. While Zombieland never really delivers any scares the laughs come at a rapid-fire pace. And Woody Harrelson is more than content to steal the show as Tallahassee. This is definitely a zombie-romp worth seeking out.

6. Transformers: Rise of the Fallen
I am, and have always been, an action junky. Every once in a while I love to turn my brain off and watch giant robots beat the shit out of each other. And Transformers delivers that in spades. It's truly a beautiful film to watch and was even better on IMAX. The clincher for me was the fight scene between Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream and some other Decepticon in the forest. Just sheer bad-assery on the screen.

5. Trick 'r Treat
Trick 'r Treat had more problems getting released than any movie has any right to endure. But finally after two years of delays it finally came out on DVD. And goddamn am I glad it did. This one of those movies that no description I could give would do it justice beyond to say that Trick 'r Treat is a modern fucking horror classic. An anthology style film in the vein of Tales from the Crypt or Creepshow, Trick 'r Treat blends horror, a dark demented sense of humor, and Halloween into a piece of cinematic mastery. You'd be doing yourself a disservice by not checking this out.

4. Coraline
It's no secret that I'm a fan of stop-motion films. I've always been a fan of films like The Nightmare Before Christmas, James & the Giant Peach, and The Corpse Bride. So, it should be no surprise that I absolutely adored Coraline. Henry Selleck (who directed two out of the three aforementioned films) is a master of stop-motion. Aided by a story written by the ever-amazing Neil Gaiman, Coraline shines in every way imaginable. It's truly a masterpiece.

3. Sherlock Holmes
This is the kind of flick that I thought Hollywood had forgot how to make. A smart, action-packed, period piece with a great cast! Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Mark Strong, and Eddie Marsan all shine in their respective roles. Downey steals the show, of course, but the rest of the cast is all but brilliant. You will not regret checking this out.

2. Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino is back! After the disaster that was Deathproof (which I really wanted to like, I did), he returns to form with Inglourious Basterds, his World War II epic. The cast is fantastic, the dialogue sharp, and the violence brutal. Everything you would expect from a Tarantino flick. Brad Pitt, of course, stands out as Aldo "The Apache" with his hilarious southern accent but the rest of the cast is brilliant, even Eli Roth (who I loathe as a director) as "The Bear Jew" is awesome.

1. Watchmen
Alan Moore & Dave Gibbon's comic masterpiece is a complete and utter success as a piece of cinema. Admittedly, Watchmen isn't for everyone, but it doesn't make it any less an amazing film. The cast is spot on (with the exception of Matthew Goode as Adrian Veidt, who just didn't fit the role physically). The director's cut filled in a couple of the things that I thought were missing from the theatrical version of the film. Every detail is painstakingly re-created just take a look around the Comedian's apartment during the opening fight sequence. Some super-fans will balk at the changed ending but this is an adaptation and there will always be changes in adaptations. In short, Watchmen is a triumph and the best version of the film we possibly could have gotten.

Interviewing Joe Matt & ZIC on Fear Zone!

Hey folks!

I've been taking over the interwebs lately, it seems. First, I was a featured co-host on Tom Water's Big Words I Know By Heart Radio Hour where he, Don (owner of Don's Atomic Comics), and I interviewed the ever-amazing Joe Matt of Peepshow fame! You can listen to that HERE or subscribe via iTunes!


On top of that, director/author/ZIC-friend Greg Lamberson wrote a really wonderful article about Zombie Ink Comics, The Red Eye, and me on the horror website Fear Zone! You can read that: HERE!

Both are available in the Press section of the Zombie Worx site if you don't feel like having to scour the blog for them.