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Crossing the Dark Divide

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The newest installment of The Irons is available via Madefire, on iOS or through DeviantArt. Detective Leto is hot on the trail of the serial killer known as The Hijacker, who uses teleportation technology to murder his victims — by fusing them together into horrific hybrids. This is the longest installment yet, showing more of the dystopian Irons world and giving us some insight into Leto. Gary Erskine continues to blow me away with the amount of detail he’s cramming into every image; The Irons is coming to life in ways I never imagined.

The Irons Hybrids #4

Darth Vader & The Ghost Prison will be coming out in a hardcover edition on March 27th. To celebrate, Dark Horse has produced a fantastic trailer using the original artwork. Check it out on YouTube .

The hardcover can be pre-ordered from Dark Horse.

A few quick updates:

It’s been a great few weeks for Batwoman. First, the softcover edition of Hydrology, collecting the first Arc and the original Zero issue, came out. We were totally floored when Hydrology hit #1 on the NYT best-sellers list, and are hopeful that more new readers will discover the series through the TPB. The hardcover version of To Drown The World — our second arc — also released. We took some big risks with the story-telling in TDTW, essentially telling six different stories in parallel even though they each kick off at different periods in time. I’m very grateful for all the feedback, and it’s been heartening to hear that many people who are reading the story start-to-finish in HC form are really enjoying it. Meanwhile, Arc 3 (World’s Finest), featuring a team-up with Wonder Woman, continues rolling along. Jim is doing some of his best layout work ever, and I feel like we’ve created a number of very memorable villains and scenes.  Issue 15, which was one of my favorites to write, is on stands now. It is told almost entirely from Maggie Sawyer’s point-of-view, and explores a bit of her backstory while also touching on all the crazy going on across Gotham. Issue 16 hits stands this Wednesday, and escalates the story still further, bringing back some old friends and setting up the arc’s finale. Can’t wait to see reactions to one particular two-page spread… You can check out a preview of 16 over at Newsarama.

Issue 15 featuring Maggie Sawyer

Issue 15 featuring Maggie Sawyer

Issue 16, on sale 1/23!

Issue 16, on sale 1/23!

And perhaps best of all, we’ve been nominated for a GLAAD Media Award!!! You can check out all the other nominees here; we’re in terrific company. For me personally, I’ve humbled yet very proud by the fact that we’ve received a GLAAD nomination two years running. I’ve always hoped this book would show honest relationships, and I guess we’re doing something right. 🙂

Meanwhile, Episodes 1-3 of The Irons: Hybrids are all available on iTunes through Madefire’s awesome motion comic app. I can’t stop talking about how great this experience has been – writing a very mature, graphic-novel length story; creating content for an emerging medium; getting to work with Gary Erskine, Liam Sharp, Ben Abernathy, and all the other amazing folks at Madefire… If you haven’t checked it out, please download it (it’s free!); if you like The Irons, you’ll love all the other stories available, all of which has been lovingly crafted by the industry’s best talent. I’m still stunned I’m part of such an inspiring crew. You can see more of Ep. 3 here!

The Irons Ep 2 The Irons Ep. 3

 

Been a busy few weeks.

  • Batwoman #12 is on sale! This is the first issue in our third arc, and brings Batwoman into the greater New DCU through a team-up with Wonder Woman. This issue was incredibly fun to write, especially after all the jumping around in time we did in Arc 2 — which was as challenging for us as it was for readers. For me, I’m finding it more and more rewarding to get into Kate’s head and show things from her point-of-view. One of the (fair, I think) criticisms of the series thus far has been that Kate/Batwoman sometimes seems distant or aloof, and this issue (and maybe more dramatically, the next issue, with is the “new Zero” issue recounting her origin) hopefully begins to change that. Jim also returns to art duties, and does some stunning work especially in an early scene involving Bloody Mary — you can check out a preview of Batwoman #12 at CBR.
  • Issues #3 and #4 of Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison are on sale! The series has been getting some very glowing reviews — I’m totally humbled by the reaction thus far, and can’t wait to see how readers react to the final issue (on sale Sept. 19th). My approach with this series was to show Vader through the eyes of others — including a young Imperial cadet who is trying to prove himself to the Dark Lord and an established character, Moff Trachta, who we know one day betrays the Emperor and Vader. Agustin Alessio’s work on this series is exceptional — I wrote a big prison riot scene in Issue 4, worried that anyone would be able to cram in all the detail I wanted, and he nailed it… All while creating some really awesome new character designs.
  • Madefire has been releasing a steady stream of new content, all of it pushing the boundaries of digital story-telling. Madefire also announced that veteran editor Ben Abernathy is joining the company, after over a decade at DC.

More soon…

 

 

Madefire posted the first installment of The Irons: Hybrids today on iOS. Co-created with Gary Erskine, The Irons is a fusion of sci-fi and horror. Blade Runner meets Se7en, set on a quarantined slum planet where everyone dreams of only one thing: escape. The first story, “Hybrids,” focuses on Leto, a cop tracking down a serial killer who commandeers ubiquitous teleportation machines to kidnap and kill his victims in gruesome fashion. Today’s release is the first “episode” of the motion book, introducing our narrator and the killer himself.

The Irons is my first comic book story set in a wholly original universe, and probably the longest self-contained story I’ve written. It’s also among the most rewarding projects I’ve ever worked on, in part because we’re embarking into new territory with motion books and the story-telling possibilities. And, as I’ve found with everything I’ve ever done, this effort has relied on a talented team to bring it to you: aside from the legendary Gary Erskine, we have brilliant colors by Yel Zamor; music by Ali Powers; crack editorial and creative guidance from Liam Sharp; letterers Joe Costello and Kevin Wong patiently handling last-minute script changes; and a group of alchemist engineers at Madefire (Eugene Walden, Ross McFarland, Matthew Chung, and Dan Weeks). Thanks to everyone involved.

Cover to The Irons: Hybrids. Art by Erskine and Zamor.

 

Big news today with the announcement of the Madefire motion book reader! Madefire has created something truly unique here, and I’m humbled and ecstatic to be part of it. The roster of creators includes Dave Gibbons, Liam Sharp, Bill Sienkiewicz, Doug Braithwaite, and many others. Read the official press release, then come on back here.

 

Among all the ridiculously talented people contributing to the first round of Madefire motion books is Gary Erskine, my partner-in-crime on THE IRONS, my first original story.

 

 

So, what the hell is THE IRONS? This first story, called “Hybrids,” focuses on Leto, a detective working the hard cases on The Irons — a quarantined planet that has become a sprawling slum. Everyone, including Leto herself, dreams of earning enough scratch to get off-world, to one of the dozens of Utopian planets that exist behind corporate-sponsored blockades. Deep in debt and living case-to-case, Leto finally sees her chance to escape by collecting the reward for capturing a twisted serial killer. A mix of horror, sci-fi, and noir thriller, THE IRONS is also my longest single story yet, and hopefully the first in a series of stories about the planet and its people.

The first installment is coming soon, but meanwhile be sure to check out the other stories — Captain Stone, Mono, and Treatment: Tokyo. They are all great reads.

And below, check out a preview page from THE IRONS! Gary Erskine with colors by Yel Zamor.

And the App!

First, I’m just floored and humbled that Batwoman was honored by GLAAD with the Media Award for Outstanding Comic. I don’t know exactly what we are doing right, but I hope it has to do with the fact that we haven’t shied away from Kate’s sexuality, and have tried to make her well-rounded and human… Even if that means sometimes making mistakes. Check out the full list of recipients – very inspiring company.

Most fans already know that the talented Amy Reeder is no longer working on Batwoman. I’m extremely grateful for all her hard work, especially in bringing Bloody Mary to the page. Her last issue, #8, comes out on April 11th.

And while it’s sad to see someone leave the series, both Jim and I are very excited to welcome aboard Trevor McCarthy from Gates of Gotham and Nightwing. Clearly, he’s no stranger to Gotham City. His first issue will be #9. I’ve already seen some of the pages, and they are incredible – a great complement to the work that Jim and Amy have already done. The storyline will continue from right where Amy’s run leaves off, still following six different characters and Batwoman’s attempts to bring down the villain Falchion. For those of you enjoying the slightly unorthodox story-telling, thanks for all the kind words; for those who aren’t, I’d just ask that you stick with it until the end of the arc and see how it all comes together.

In other news, the first issue of Darth Vader & The Ghost Prison is slated for May. Agustin Alessio’s art for the series is gorgeous — he really captures the humanity of the characters well, and still makes Vader incredibly imposing. And, we get more covers from Tsuneo Sanda.

Finally, sometime in the next few weeks, I should be able to announce my first original comic and provide some details…

 

 

Two recent awesome announcements regarding Batwoman!

First, we’re humbled and honored to have been nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book. As excerpted from the GLAAD site: “The GLAAD Media Awards honor outstanding media images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community that inspire change. The GLAAD Media Awards serve as a benchmark for the media industry and complement GLAAD’s work to bring LGBT images and stories to Americans.” As you can see from the full list of nominees, we’re in great company.

Second, DC has announced a hardcover edition of Batwoman issues #0-5. It will hit store shelves on June 13th!

Issue #6, with art by Amy Reeder, will be out February 8th.

 

 

Very happy to announce that Fearless Studios, the independent game developer I co-founded with my buddy Cedrick Collomb, has joined Kabam, the leading developer in hardcore social games. I’ve been amazed by how the industry has evolved over the past few years, and it’s a great opportunity to be on the front lines of this ever-changing art form.

Link to Press Release

Just thought I’d post some of the cover art for upcoming issues. Issue 5 is the last issue in the first arc, “Hydrology.” Amy Reeder comes on board as artist for Arc 2 which is, in many ways, a continuation of the story (and thus continues the water theme in its title “To Drown the World”). Click to enlarge.