It’s been a several months since we did an update so we’re going to try to cover a few things quickly today. Mostly the following pieces:
NEWSLETTER RETURNS
ENERGON UNIVERSE
HOUSE OF BRAINIAC
SUPERMAN MOVIE SET VISIT
COMIC BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
NAILBITER 10th ANNIVERSARY
NAILBITER BOXES UPDATE
ALL-STARS WITH SAL AND JOSH ON YOUTUBE
NEWSLETTER RETURNS
At the end of the last year, we took some time off to recharge and rethink the newsletter. I’m sure you saw some of my peers take time off at the end of 2023 as well. Lots of reasons. But really my own schedule had become a mess. I was dealing with some heavy burnout and had to make some hard calls. Last year I was working on Superman (and Action Comics), Batman and Robin, Green Arrow, Knight Terrors, Dark Ride, Duke and Cobra Commander. And that doesn’t include the secret projects I was working on for the next few years. I’m thankful for the work, but I saw what it was doing to my health and needed to reevaluate a few things.
I realized recently that I have released about 500 comics in the last ten years. Give or take. And that doesn’t count a few projects that never came out because of the pandemic. Or are still a while away from being released. I’ve been working the grind HARD for many, many years, with the last two years being the busiest. But I’m finally looking at the light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully it’s not a train coming right at me!
You’ll notice over the next year my workload will get somewhat lighter. Not going anywhere but being smarter with my schedule. I have a young family and that really takes priority, too. My natural mode is workaholic. To survive chaos and high stress situations. To work the grind until I drop dead. Because I’ve lived a chaotic life, whenever things are NOT chaotic, I feel OFF, like chaos is my normal. So, I’d very much like to find a new healthier normal that allows me to spend time with my family, bettering myself, and putting out work I’m excited and surprised by.
So, that all being said... our hope now is to get back to a weekly release that is more than just “HERE ARE THE BOOKS COMING OUT. PLEASE PRE-ORDER.” I get how that was too much of a sales call newsletter, so we’re going to get back to a more structured project updates with behind-the-scenes information.
ENERGON UNIVERSE
WOW. I’m blown away by the response to Duke and Cobra Commander. It’s been awesome to hear from fans and for retailers. To know that these books have been getting people into the stores and excited about comics.
Variant cover by Stephen Green
I’m at a stage of my life and career where I only take on work that I’m passionate or obsessed with. And working on G.I. Joe has been on my mind for a long time. To develop this corner alongside Robert’s amazing Void Rivals and DWJ’s Transformers has been a dream come true. I knew we were onto something with these books, but it’s been super rewarding to see the fans of the franchises and the casual or new readers come together to support the new universe we’re building.
Something clicked in my brain while I was working on these books. Especially Cobra Commander. There have been times over the years where I have felt like I struggled to find “my way” of being a writer in comics, and this last year the idea of what that could be for me has become more and more clear. The “vibe” I want from my own comics. I always feel like I’m still growing as an artist and still haven’t hit my stride. But now I feel like I at least have the right shoes.
People really loved this Cobra Commander with the bloody happy face!
If you’re following along with our piece of the Energon Universe. A quick tip. The reading order to follow before you read Cobra Commander #5:
Duke #5 then Energon UniverseSpecial THEN Cobra Commander #5
That was the release order and how we meant for them to be read. And then… [REDACTED] followed by [REDACTED].
HOUSE OF BRAINIAC
We’re neck deep in our Superman and Action Comics crossover. The midway point releases this week with Action Comics #1065. Rafa killed it on the first two issues. Some of his best work ever.
Cover by Rafa Sandoval and Alejandro Sánchez
This story pays off things we started with the Superman books at the start of Dawn of DC, and was an interesting one to pull together as it has a massive cast. The big players being Superman, Brainiac, Lex, Lena, Lobo and Supergirl, but I still wanted everyone to have a moment to shine. Like all books I work on I wish I had more issues or pages in each issue, but I’m proud of what we’re doing with this story, and saying about Superman and Brainiac. I think you’ll be surprised by the direction this story takes in the second half.
Project Updates
Dark Ride comes to an end with #12 this week. The planned ending of our “first” chapter. I might revisit this world another time as I loved what we have built. It really depends on if people pick up the three trades we have already done. That will show us if there is demand to come back to it.
Cover by Andrei Bresson and Adriano Lucas
Green Arrow starts the Absolute Power tie-in issues in June as well. But first #12 is out next week and is the end of our “Family Reunion” story. An emotional ending to Ollie’s long journey since the death of the Justice League two years ago.
Cover by Sean Izaakse and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Batman and Robin begins a new three-part story arc in #11. Dinosaur Island! Revenge! With art by the awesome Juan Ferreyra! Someone I’ve wanted to work with for years. And let me tell you, he draws some kick ass dinosaurs!
Cover by Simone Di Meo
Jamal Campbell returns to Superman starting with #16! Ties into Absolute Power and guest stars Zatanna. It’s been a blast writing Zatanna!
Cover by Jamal Campbell
And speaking of Superman…
SUPERMAN SET VISIT.
You might have seen this picture online posted by JAMES GUNN:
Not much to say here (as we have a nice stack of signed NDAs). It was a great trip. Surreal. Honestly, a bit of a roller coaster, but very inspiring. Very thankful to spend some time on the set and talk to the people working on it.
To spend a few days with this group of people that were invited alongside me was a delight.
One of the big highlights was the late nights sitting around a fire pit with the other creators and listening to the stories of comic book’s past. Invaluable time. It was the first time I met legends like John Ostrander and Jerry Odway. And talking comics with them was amazing.
COMIC RECOMMENDATIONS
I read a lot of comics.
And I should get out there more with some of the books that I’ve enjoyed recently. So I’ll start with three a week:
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: By Patrick Horvath. The last issue came out last week. Great ending to a great mini-series. I went into this series totally blind when #1 had just come out and I’m glad I did. Became the first book I’d read on the weeks it came out.
Cover by Patrick Horvath
Ain’t No Grave #1: Also out last week. A new #1 by Skottie and Jorge. Love that team. And will pick up everything they do together. Which is easy as they always release books I enjoy. And this landed that perfectly.
Cover by Jorge Corona and Jean-François Beaulieu
Universal Monsters: Frankenstein #1 from Skybound: Okay, so this is a bit early. Michael Walsh shared the #1 issue with me last week and it KILLS. Was fucking GREAT. Holy crap. That's how you do a #1. Perfection. Emotions. Danger. Great last page. A new fresh take on a classic. This is FIRE.
Cover by Michael Walsh
NAILBITER 10th ANNIVERSARY.
Last week was the 10th anniversary of NAILBITER. The series changed my life. I can’t believe it’s been ten years. This series was key to me as a writer and still one of my favorite things I’ve ever worked on. I miss it! Just like Cobra Commander and Duke, I feel like this series is ME. I look at sometimes and it’s a kind of book I want to get back to. I’m working on a new series now that I feel takes the vibe in Nailbiter and amps it up in BIG ways.
Cover by Mike Henderson and Adam Guzowski
If you’ve never read Nailbiter, I recommend either getting the Vol. 1 trade paperback, or diving in with the full story with the new Compendium we released last year. Speaking of Nailbiter…
NAILBITER BOXES
We have about 30 boxes left to mail out on the main Nailbiter boxes, and about 50 bonus boxes to go out. Those will go out this month, and then we’ll finally be caught up. This was a long process and we’re very sorry for the wait and disappointment for the lag in getting them to you and communication. This was a HARD lesson for me. Fulfillment is HARD. And making sure the boxes were correct was a pain.
We’ve had some people reach out to us about getting more of the items in the boxes as singles and we’ll have to revisit that once we get everything out and see what is left. I hesitate to go down that path right now, mostly because of how slow we were to get the first boxes out. After we get these last ones out, we’ll do a double check to make sure everyone got theirs. There were a few stragglers who never turned in their information when we asked last year, so we’ll just reach out to everyone individually.
You’ll notice that we stopped the monthly payments. We felt like we were not offering enough to keep going with the paid system. BUT we kept track of everyone that did pay in the first 18 months and will be offering up something cool to make up for it. More on that later this month.
ALL-STARS WITH SAL AND JOSH ON YOUTUBE
For the last year I’ve been doing a special monthly YouTube show with Sal from ComicPop. A few weeks ago to celebrate Free Comic Book Day, we had special guests Chip Zdarksy, Dennis Culver and Jeremy Adams. It was a fun time. CHECK IT OUT:
So that’s all for this week. We’re back on track for one a week now and excited to share with you a better version of what we were doing before!
