Two books released next Wednesday (October 1st)!
Well, when it rains, it pours...Next week is going to be a busy one for us as we are releasing on Wed, Oct 1st not one but TWO comic book issues on the same day!First off, we are releasing the fourth and final issue of our latest Kill Shakespeare mini-series, THE MASK OF NIGHT. Betrayed by the vicious cannibal Captain Lucius, Viola and Hamlet must undertake an odds-defying mission to punish a murder most foul. It’s an ending that features adventure, romance, revenge, amazing art (by Andy Belanger) and death – all the good parts of a Shakespearean tale.And we're quite proud to release the debut issue of our new series with Dynamite Comics, SHERLOCK HOLMES vs HARRY HOUDINI. In this first issue, famed detective Sherlock Holmes and brash showman Harry Houdini must combine forces to defeat a mysterious mystic dedicated to destroying Houdini’s career and anyone who gets in his way.We quite enjoyed the ability to bring these two larger-than-life figures together and see what happens when they first meet. Do they become BFFs? Do they get under each other’s skin? And who is worthy of doing battle with both (if there is anyone at all)? We are working with talented Carlos Furuzuno and the talented team at Dynamite Comics to bring our story to life.
To read a preview of the first couple pages of Holmes vs. Houdini, click here. So go to your local comic shop next Wednesday and check out both issues!
Toronto Launch Event this Wednesday!
Now that we're back from L.A. Conor and I will be returning to our old stompin' ground of Toronto's Paradise Comics this Wednesday (the 26th) for a signing of the first issue of our new series, THE MASK OF NIGHT! It's where we have our first signing of our original series, as well as our sequel (The Tide of Blood) last year so we're looking forward to returning and hanging out with Doug, Pete and everyone else at Paradise.
We're signing from 4-7pm that day so come by and visit us and check out our new series!
Pre-Order Your Copy of The Mask of Night #1!
We're two months away from the release of the first issue of our new mini-series The Mask of Night, and that means... It's now available in Previews magazine at comic book shops for pre-ordering!If you're super-excited about the new mini-series please head to a comic book shop (you can find your closest one here) and pre-order your copy (or copies, of course) of the issue. It's going to be a great one - we're really enjoying playing with our two new characters (Captain Cesario and Viola) and Andy B's art (combined with Shari H's colouring) is so incredible!
You have until the end of the month to pre-order your copy but don't wait - pick it up now! Just order it directly from your retailer (or give them the order code of APR140389.
Photos from Afar (England, that is)!
I returned from Europe earlier this week and have been busy catching up so haven't had a chance to get around to posting these photos until this afternoon.My trip to London, England late last month was incredible. First off, I'm a BIG fan of the country (despite the horrible weather I always seem to encounter) - there's so much happening and everyone we meet in the comics, theatre and film worlds there are so nice and have been great to us.Mainly, though, this trip was great because the MCM London Comic-Con (May 24-26th) was an amazing con for me. We sold out of books and made a great deal of new fans, readers and friends! I was very fortunate to be placed in a row with amazing talent like Richard Starkings, Boo Cook, Yishan Li, Lee Townsend and Emma Vieceli, all of whom made it a fun trip.I owe a HUGE thanks to the team at Diamond Comics UK for helping to put my visit together, mainly Mike Holman, who is one of the best ambassadors for comics in the entire world. He assisted Conor and I on our visit to England last year and made this year's trek so much better. He also allowed me to take part in the Diamond Retailer Summit on the Sunday, which allowed me to forge new friendships with a number of retailers across the UK.Another big thanks to the talented and fun Serena Obhrai, who provided accomodation for me - and also hosted a really fun Arrested Development party (complete with cornballs and frozen bananas) on my last day in London.And after the convention I headed over to Oxford to spend a couple days there, visit the great professor Amy Scott-Douglass, and lecture at her class at Oxford. It was a really fun session where we talked about not only KS but also Hamlet (as a man of action/in-action), Juliet as a strong female lead, and other things Shakespearean.Here is a selection of photos of my visit - additional photos can be seen on our Facebook page.
Silver Snail Signing Photos
This past Saturday (the 23rd) Conor and I celebrated the release of The Tide of Blood #1 with a signing at Toronto's Silver Snail Comics. It was our first signing at their new location and it was a fantastically fun time for all of us!Joining us on this adventure was Maya Nord, who illustrated a Silver Snail Exclusive cover for Issue #1. Featuring the old and new stores, as well as employees of the Snail and characters from our series, it was a big hit on Saturday and will continue to be over the year - a definite collector's edition!Here are some pictures from the event:
Release Day Signing at Paradise Comics (Photos)
Back on April 14, 2010 the very first issue of Kill Shakespeare was launched (boy, that seems like such a long time ago...) and on that very day we did a signing at Toronto's Paradise Comics. To see a couple photos from that day you can click here.With the release of our new series The Tide of Blood we were able to repeat our release day signing spot and return to one of our home stores (we seem to have a few, seeing as how we're blessed to have a number of really great stores in Toronto; I was chatting yesterday with one of the top comics journalists and he made sure to point that out). It was great to visit Doug and Pete at Paradise and sell/sign some books.Here are some photos from our signing this past Wednesday (the 20th):
Happy Birthday to The Beguiling!
We have been blessed to have gotten to know a lot of retailers and their stores over the last couple of years and it's one of the best parts of the job. Retailers often put their entire lives into their stores and are the culture makers/influencers/purveyors of what is good in the comics industry.
One of the top retailers we have worked with is The Beguiling, located right here in Toronto. We have our second-ever signing at The Beguiling (two days after the first) and the boys there - Chris, Andrew, Peter, everyone - have been great advocates for us (and sold many copies of our books). Chris Butcher in particular has been a true ambassador for comics in the city and is, I believe, currently in Japan taking part in the manga festival/exchange there. In all of the cities we travel to The Beguiling has a great reputation and a number of stores have modeled themselves after them.The Beguiling turns 25 this week and we'd like to wish them a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Recommended comic: Conan The Barbarian
This past Saturday Conor and I swung by Paradise Comics in mid-town Toronto to visit the signing by acclaimed artist Becky Cloonan of the first issue of her run on Dark Horse Comics' Conan the Barbarian: Queen of the Black Coast. Becky is a good friend of ours - and especially artist Andy Belanger - and it's great to see her work get so much mainstream comics attention.
I'm about to dive into the first issue and I'm looking forward to it - the illustrations are amazing!
Congrats to Toronto's newest Comic Book Store!
These days it seems as though many comic book shops are closing down, whether it's because owners are moving on, decreasing sales, or lower margins. So it's refreshing when new comic shops open up - and there's one in our very own backyard of Toronto.Two weeks ago The Dragon Lady, a top comic shop that our artist Andy Belanger visits every Wednesday, closed down. In its ashes a new store - and gallery - has risen. Run by the uber-busy Kevin Boyd and Joe Kilmartin (the manager of the Dragon Lady), the two (along with Toronto Cartoonists' Workshop owner Sean Menard) have teamed up to start up the Comic Book Lounge & Gallery, located a block away from the old Dragon Lady location. They had a "soft launch" last night and I swung by to visit. It's a cool spot that perhaps we can even use for future launch parties.You can check out their website here.
Congrats to Kevin, Joe and Sean - and everyone else involved - for following their passion and making things happen (did I just quote from the theme song of Flashdance?...)!
Help Review us on Amazon!
Have you heard either of our first two graphic novels? Did you like either of them ? Did you not like them? (If you didn't, I'm not really sure why you're checking out this site...) In either case, we'd like to request your help and help post a review on Amazon.com!
It's quite simple - head onto any of the chief Amazon sites and quickly post a quick note on whether you liked the book(s) or not. It'll probably take a couple minutes but would be an IMMENSE help to us!For Volume 2, you can access the site the titles here: United States, Canada and U.K.For Volume 1, you can access the specific title sites here: United States, Canada and U.K.
Getting Lucky's in Vancouver
Last weekend I spent a fantastic weekend in Vancouver, my first time there. One of the highlights was doing a signing at Lucky's Comics, one of the top comic book stores in the city. It was great to meet some of the customers there, hang out with Gabe, the owner (who loves basketball), and meet up with some old friends (one from high school, one from my stints as a wedding MC)...Lucky's is a pretty cool store with a wide selection of books - everything from Kill Shakespeare to Kate Beaton's Hark, A Vagrant to Bill Simmons' Book of Basketball. If you're looking for a cool selection of graphic novels and book, I highly recommend them.Here are some pics from the event:
Night Flight Comics: One of the best retailers in the U.S.!
Conor and I attended the Sundance New Frontier Story Lab last week and I'll post a lot of content from our time in the next couple of days. But before we took part in the lab, we arranged to fly into Salt Lake City a day early so that we could do some signings at Night Flight Comics (Sat, Oct 22nd).We met Mimi Cruz, the manager/owner of the store back at WonderCon in April, 2010. She was so much fun to hang out with and chat that we immediately wanted to call her up and hang out at her store, if only for some great conversation and laughter with her.Mimi and her co-owner/husband Alan are two of the coolest people you'll ever meet but also quite astute to the comics world and retailing industry. They run two locations in Salt Lake and both do quite well and have a strong customer base. They were so kind to us - picking us up at the airport, taking us on a tour of the city, showing us where Bob Redford eats when he's in town. They've been fans of our series since Day #1 and we really appreciate it.Below are some photos of our signings at the store:
Happy Birthday to Paradise!
Once someone finds a local comic shop they like, they want to stay loyal to them. For me, living in Toronto's midtown area, the closest is Paradise Comics. Even before Kill Shakespeare was published they were great to me, giving me advice on the publishing industry and things to watch for as I dipped my toe - and then dove into - the world of comics. We're so incredibly fortunate here in Toronto to have three stores (The Beguiling and The Silver Snail are the two others) that have really supported us over the last two year and that's why, in our second volume, we made a point to thank all three in our Special Thanks page.
Yesterday Peter, Doug, Andrew and everyone at Paradise Comics celebrated their 20th anniversary. Conor and I were able to stop by for a bit to visit, have some cake, take a few photos, and celebrate making it to 20 years. The store has really grown over the years and it's great to see how they've been able to adapt to the trends in the industry.
Happy birthday and congrats to everyone at Paradise!
Retailer Profile: Million Year Picnic (Boston)
One of the great things about beginning our trek on the convention scene is that it gives us not only a chance to visit different cities and meet existing/new readers and fans, it gives us the opportunity to check out some great retailers that are at the forefront of influencing readers about our title.This past weekend Andy B and I were in Boston. I had spoken to Dave Kender from the Boston Comics Roundtable and one of his first suggestions for us was to check out Million Year Comics, located right in the middle of Harvard Square. It's a cool shop located on the lower level of the building and reminds me a lot of our excellent The Beguiling shop here in Toronto.
Million Year Picnic is run by Tony Davis, a really cool cat (a jazz term, influenced by the music he was playing that day) that's been at the story for over fifteen years. He watches over a store that has an excellent range of product - everything from the latest Marvel and D.C. titles to indie fare like our title, and even rare stuff like Matt Groening's Life in Hell books, which Groening had come in and signed himself years ago.
I then saw Tony (as well as Sergio Leon, who was also at the store when I stopped by) all weekend at the Comic Con. He's a true comic fan and someone who really puts together a great store in the area. If you're in the Boston area and would like to read some cool stuff, go visit the store!
Photos from Boston Comic Con
This past weekend Andy Belanger and I traveled to Boston to attend the Boston Comic Con. It was our first trip there (both to the Con and the city) and it was a blast. We met some great people, had some good food, and followed in the footsteps of Mark Zuckerberg (watch out, Conor...).Thanks to everyone who swung by our booth to meet us - the fans, the new readers, the media, the retailers, the costumed superheroes. The greatest thing about working in the comic book industry is having the opportunity to meet directly with the people who are reading your series and hearing what they like and don't like (thankfully, it's been much more of the former instead of the latter...).Here are a few pictures from the weekend:
Second printing!
We have been contacted by a number of retail stores (comic book stores, independent book stores, specialty theatre shops, etc.) over the last two months, telling us that they are out of stock of our graphic novel and would like to re-order copies for customers that have been looking to buy copies. Their orders were delayed and put on back-order.No more!We have just discovered that IDW has done a second printing our graphic novel and these should be ready to be shipped this week! So wait no more - additional copies are on their way!
And yes, this means that sales for the book are going quite well. Thanks to all of the retailers and buyers who have been patient and we look forward to you getting more copies.
Big Planet Comics (Georgetown)
A great comic book shop in Washington is Big Planet Comics, which actually has four locations in the D.C. area (UPDATED thanks to Eden!). Conor and I (along with singer/songwriter Lesley Pike) stopped by the Georgetown location this past Monday (the 14th) to say hello to the gang and see if they stock any copies of Kill Shakespeare. (Yes, they greeted us warmly and were actually sold out of our trade paperback.)
It's a great store with a great selection of books. They had been telling a lot of their customers about our talk at the Folger Shakespeare Library and I believe some of them came out to the event. The store is managed by Leigh, who has been pushing our series to a lot of their regulars. Of course, we don't know if they've put us in the newsletter yet - perhaps they'll try to get the photo above in it...
Fantom Comics (Washington)
Every time we have a chance to travel anywhere one of our top priorities is to visit with the local comic book stores. We had the opportunity to do so in Washington, D.C. Our first stop on Monday afternoon (the 14th - Valentine's Day) was to visit Fantom Comics!
Fantom Comics is located right in Union Square Station in Washington and we must say is a great set-up. It serve mainly commuters (and Union Square Station is full of them!), and is a compact - but smart - store. They were actually sold out of trade of Kill Shakespeare and only had one copy of Issue #8 left.Devon, who was running the store at the time, was a cool guy and was glad that we stopped by. If you're in the Washington area and looking for a place to pick up some comics, swing by and check them out!
How to Train the Dragon!
This past weekend Andy and I made our way to Guelph, Ontario to take part in a signing at The Dragon Comics. It was great to share some space with some great Canadian artists such as Eric Kim, Richard Pace, Ray Fawkes, Ross Campbell and Dale Keown. It was also great to make some new fans and hang out with some friends from the Guelph region.The Dragon is a great comic book store with a great staff - from Jenn (the big boss) to Amy (the manager) to Teresa to Robert to Calum (hereafter referred to as Shia)... We also did separate podcasts (which will be posted online sometime soon) and I flipped the format by interviewing Jenn and then Shia...Another highlight was meeting Andy's dad, who came by to present us our shiny new banner. It looks fantastic! Special thanks to Ian Herring for helping with the design of this.Thanks to everyone that turned out - I hope you enjoy our photos!...
Celebrate the Release of Issue #3 with Falstaff!...
We will be celebrating the release of Kill Shakespeare #3 this Wednesday with a signing at Paradise Comics in Toronto, Canada. Signing from 4 - 7 pm will be myself, Conor McCreery and Andy Belanger. We did a signing with Doug, Pete, Jason and everyone else from Paradise back in April so it's great to be able to return.If you're in town stop by and visit us!
