Free Comic Book Day 2009 - UPDATED

I'll be appearing at Excellent Adventures Comics in Ballston Spa, NY on May 2nd for the annual Free Comic Book Day. For those of you who don't know, this has been going on across the country for a few years now as a way to bring customers into comic shops. Various companies give out special free comics to promote their books and a lot of shops set up signings from local artists.

This year, Excellent Adventures will be hosting me and writer Todd Dezago (of SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN and TELLOS fame). So if you're going to be in the area, stop on by and support a great local comic book store.

And since it is a Free Comic Book Day event, I may have to dig through my boxes of comp copies and find some things to give away. Any requests?

UPDATE: In my ongoing gleeful promotion of my friend Dan Waters, he will also be making an appearance around the same time in Massachusetts to promote the paperback edition of GENERATION DEAD. I would encourage everyone in New England to show up and ask him how his ongoing war against the Yeti invasion is going (don't ask, it's one of those annoying inside jokes).

On The Nightstand

AFTERSHOCK & OTHERS: 19 ODDITIES
by F. Paul Wilson

I'm knee deep in my new secret project (which is going great now that I'm getting over my nervousness at even being involved with this character), so there hasn't been a lot of free time to keep up with my reading.

Still, couldn't pass up F. Paul Wilson's latest collection of short stories. Sadly, he says it will be his last, which is a shame. I love his short stories. Maybe not as much as his Repairman Jack novels, or the other books in his Adversary Cycle, but it's a little like deciding who your favorite Doctor Who is. I like them all for different reasons.

And I'm one of those annoying readers who loves reading about the stories -- where they came from, how he got them published, and all that. Luckily, FPW does his usual in-depth job of detailing the background for each of the stories in this collection and what was going on in his career when he wrote them. He even takes a swipe at the people who have told him they like these little bonus essays as much as his stories. Yeah, I'm probably one of those people. What can I say? I find the back story to the story absolutely fascinating.

(I even scored a mention in his rundown for 2004. Took me completely by surprise while I was reading. As such a big fan of Paul's work, it's a not-so-secret thrill to be mentioned in one of his books. Almost as cool as having gotten a chance to work with him.)

I've read a lot of the stories in this collection before (in the various anthologies where they originally appeared... told you I was a fan), but there's enough new here to have me pretty excited. The title story, "Aftershock", is a real standout, as is "Sole Custody". There's even a Repairman Jack short story I hadn't read, "Interlude at Duane's".

Of course, even if I'd read ALL of the stories before, I'd still pick up this collection. For the bonus essays, of course. Sorry, Paul. They're just really interesting.

My Favorite Things

Years ago, when I first started working at Borders, I spent a lot of time organizing the Horror section. Mostly because it gave me a chance to look at all the new books coming in and decide if I wanted to pick them up for myself.

(Side note: by the time I left that particular Borders, our Horror sales were through the roof. I've always wondered how much of that was due to my own purchases and how much was due to the fact that it was the best organized/best looking section in the whole store.)

One title I came across time and time again was British author Kim Newman's ANNO DRACULA. It sounded interesting, but I was kind of burned out on vampire books at that point so I never really took the plunge.

A few years later, I was reading one of the endless number of Horror anthologies edited by Stephen Jones and came across a story that really knocked the wind out of me. It had everything I liked -- good characters, a surprising plot, and a fun pulpy feel that hit close to home. The author of that story? Kim Newman.

(Another side note -- Stephen Jones has introduced me to a lot of really great authors I'd never heard of before. There's one or two sparkly new diamonds in almost every anthology he's ever edited.)

As usual, I ran out and bought everything Kim Newman has ever written. It was harder now, since Newman's novels had fallen out of print here in the States, but between online sellers and used book stores, I managed to get a hold of everything he's done.

And man, I really should have picked him up earlier. Not only would it have been easier (still kicking myself for not buying one of those many copies of ANNO DRACULA that passed through my old Horror section), but my life would have been richer if I'd discovered his unique brand of sophisticated Pulp Horror just a little sooner.

Newman does something that I've always wanted to do, but never been able to pull off -- mixing the fun of Pulps with the serious themes and sophisticated plotting of more modern storytelling. I'd still like to do my own homage to Pulps some day. But I doubt I'd ever do it as well as Kim Newman.

And one of my usual annoying personal notes: I got to meet Kim Newman at the Saratoga Springs World Fantasy Convention a few years back, and despite my blushing, jabbering, nervousness at meeting one of my heroes, he was very nice to me. We even got to talk about Doctor Who a bit, which was nice, especially since we shared the same views about the then-current Series Three.

Yep. Talking Doctor Who with one of my writing heroes. I'm a nerd. And proud of it.

Albany Comic Con

Still recovering from the Albany Comic Con. Long day of talking to fans and signing books. We had a great turnout this year. Every time I do this show it gets a little bigger.

Some random highlights:

-- Having breakfast with my old friend Ron Marz and longtime fan and buddy Ray Blanco. Ray's been a big supporter of my work since the Crossgen days, but we've never met face to face. It was great to finally meet him.

-- Getting a signed copy of Fred Hembeck's massive omnibus collection. Great guy. Love his work.

-- Hanging out with my Saratoga buddies Ryan Robbins and Jonathan Stanley. They covered my table whenever I needed a break. Thanks, guys. Next year, I'm getting them Matthew Dow Smith booth team t-shirts.

-- Having my parents show up randomly, despite the fact that my mother is in a wheelchair because she broke her ankle.

-- Chatting with our crew of local artists like Joe St. Pierre and John Herbert. Always nice to see the gang. Bill Anderson was there too, but I didn't get much of a chance to chat.

-- Meeting a boatload of fans, and hopefully making a few new ones.

All in all it was another great show. Thanks to everybody who came by to say hello and get their comics signed. And anyone who wanted a sketch, drop me an email and I'll hook you up. Still can't get the hang of doing them out shows, but I'm always happy to do them at home and send them to you.

My Favorite Things

There's a small group of artists who make me want to give up drawing and just stick with the writing. I look at their work and think, "Yeah... I'm never gonna be THAT good...".

For the record, the top four people on that list are Tommy Lee Edwards, Michael Gaydos, John Paul Leon, and Ashley Wood.

The fifth person on the list is Sean Phillips.

I've been following Phillips since his first fill-in issue for HELLBLAZER. And back when I used to daydream about writing that book, Phillips was always my first choice for artist. The funny thing is that Sean Phillips did end up taking over HELLBLAZER (with the great Eddie Campbell as writer for the first four issues) in the late 90s, and somewhere in there Sean went from being a GOOD artist to being a GREAT artist. I can even pinpoint the exact issue where it happened (his second). Without any warning, Phillips loosened up his lines and created a whole new look for his art that just blew me away. Still blows me away, actually.

A few years later, when I was living in L.A. and playing bass in Joe Casey's band THE SELLOUTS, I used to show up for rehearsal to find stacks of xeroxed pages for Joe and Sean's WILDCATS run. I think this was probably the point where I went from admiration to pure jealousy. The pages were not only beautiful, but there were so many of them. Phillips was churning out work faster than I thought possible. And it all looked so damned GOOD.

Since then, Phillips has really taken off. He did a lot of UNCANNY X-MEN, the amazing SLEEPER for Wildstorm, MARVEL ZOMBIES, and now CRIMINAL and INCOGNITO at Marvel. And his work has gotten even better and more sophisticated with each new project.

I don't really go into comic shops that much anymore, so I've picked up most of Sean's newer work in trade paperback form from my local Borders. They sit in a stack on top of the bookshelf next to my art table, and whenever I'm feeling too good about myself as an artist, I open one up for a reminder of how far I have to go.

On a personal note, I sent Sean a fan email a few years ago and told him that I had his WILDCATS issues open for inspiration while I was drawing the NIGHTCRAWLER mini-series, and he kindly wrote me back to say that he had my NIGHTCRAWLER open while he was working on UNCANNY X-MEN.

So he's unbelievably talented AND nice. Not to mention he can paint. Yeah... there's just no way I could even compete.

Friends & Other Things

And while I'm thinking about it... my friend Dan Waters' excellent Young Adult novel GENERATION DEAD is coming out in paperback on April 7th. I really like Dan, I really like his writing, and I really like this book (not to mention it's follow-up KISS OF LIFE). And I'm not embarrassed to say that I wouldn't have found the confidence to write a FADE novel if it wasn't for Dan.

And a reminder that I'll be appearing at the Albany Comic Con on April 5th. I've gotten some requests for sketches (which I'm afraid I won't be doing at the convention, though if you want something, I'll draw it and bring it with me), and for original art (which I will have at the show). If there's a specific page anyone wants from SUPERNATURAL: ORIGINS or MIRROR'S EDGE, let me know and I'll make sure I have it in the stack I bring to the show.

I'm also happy to say that my former collaborator at CrossGen -- Ron Marz -- will be appearing at the Albany Con, so if anyone needs their old issues of THE PATH (at least the ones that I drew) signed by both of the writer and the artist, this is the show for you.

On The Nightstand

CALL FOR THE DEAD
by John Le Carré

Whenever I find a new book that really moves me, I like to dig up everything the author has ever written and read it all in one big gulp. Witness my recent marathon of Gregory Mcdonald's Fletch and Flynn books.

In the last couple of years, I've discovered a lot of new (to me) authors that have really captured my imagination: Christopher Fowler, Kim Newman, Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, and Kelly Link, among others.

Finding new writers I enjoy on that level is one of the real joys in my life, and digging up all their books to read is a major hobby of mine. Without it, I feel listless and out of sorts. And since it's been a while since I've discovered someone new, I've been spending some time looking back and rereading some of my favorite authors and enjoying rediscovering how much I like them.

First up... John Le Carré. I read a lot of Le Carré when I was growing up. My dad used to read them and I would 'borrow' -- i.e. steal -- his copies when he wasn't looking. After seeing the excellent BBC adaptation of Le Carré's TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY on PBS, I was entranced by its unlikely protagonist -- George Smiley -- and wanted to read more about him. And to this day, Smiley remains one of my favorite fictional characters, right up there with the Doctor, Paul Atreides, Rumpole of the Bailey, and Repairman Jack.

Smiley's first appearance -- CALL FOR THE DEAD -- is more of a cozy mystery story than the complex International espionage tales of Le Carré's later Smiley novels. And there's a use of language in the first few Smiley books that really grabs me. It's hard to describe without getting pretty deep in the weeds of writing technique, but suffice it to say there's a sense of melancholy in CALL FOR THE DEAD and MURDER OF QUALITY (the next book in the series) that I really respond to.

A few years ago, I gave back the copies I'd swiped from my father and picked up newer paperback editions of the Smiley books. One of the benefits of these new editions are the short introductions by Le Carré where he talks about writing the book (something I'm always fascinated to hear from writers). Many of those short pieces are as engaging as the books themselves, which is saying something.

And while Le Carré's post-Cold War books have been interesting and enjoyable (THE TAILOR OF PANAMA is an excellent example), they haven't capture my imagination the way these Smiley books still do. If anything, I find CALL FOR THE DEAD -- and George Smiley himself -- more interesting now that I'm a bit older than I did as a teenager.