Original artwork up for sale through late July-- a rare chance to buy MARCH pages too!



Original signed pages from nearly all of my books are now for sale through late July at my Etsy site-- your support will help me pay off a mountain of hospital bills from the birth of my second daughter, and swim out of debt with the IRS.

CHECK OUT THE SALE HERE.

The sale features work priced from $150 to $1000, and includes pages from March: Book One, The Lost Hero, You Don't Say, Any Empire, Swallow Me Whole, The Silence Of Our Friends, The Year Of The Beasts, In The Dark, Sweet Tooth, Please Release, Sounds Of Your Name, Tiny Giants, and Walkie Talkie. It includes collaborations with writers Scott Snyder, Jeff Lemire, Rick Riordan, Robert Venditti, Cecil Castellucci, Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Mark Long, and Jim Demonakos. There are also a few unpublished gems in there, like a 1999 Fantastic Four pinup, a tryout page for The Lost Hero, and an alternate version of a March: Book One page! 

Being a self-employed comic book artist isn't easy or full of job security, especially when trying to support a family with one's efforts-- cartoonists usually don't have a typical means of saving for any retirement or getting employer-based health insurance, and we get absolutely slammed by income taxes as sole proprietors. Career cartoonists are virtually guaranteed to die at their drawing tables, working through old age to make ends meet. I welcome and am prepared for that challenge, and this sale will help bridge a little bump in the road.

Thank you so much for your support and understanding, and for spreading the word-- now back to work!


Next week-- limited original artwork from all books for sale!



Hi-- I'll be putting some pages of original artwork up for sale in the next few days in order to pay for hospital bills, car problems, and swim out of my debt dungeon with the IRS.

This includes pages from SWALLOW ME WHOLE, ANY EMPIRE, WALKIE TALKIE/ SOUNDS OF YOUR NAME, PLEASE RELEASE/ YOU DON'T SAY, THE SILENCE OF OUR FRIENDS (w/ Mark Long & Jim Demonakos), THE YEAR OF THE BEASTS (w/ Cecil Castellucci), TWELVE REASONS TO DIE (w/ Ghostface Killah & Matthew Rosenberg), IN THE DARK (w/ Scott Snyder), THE LOST HERO (w/ Rick Riordan & Robert Venditti), SWEET TOOTH (w/ Jeff Lemire), and the only two pages from MARCH that will ever be available for sale in the forseeable future.

Stay tuned-- Probably putting them up Monday, remaining available through the end of July. Thanks for your support and faith!

MARCH: BOOK TWO hits stores next week! Book launch signings & discussions!


 March: Book Two hits bookstores January 20th and comic shops on the 21st! 

I'm honored to see that we've picked up starred reviews at Kirkus and School Library Journal, and have landed on both Paste's "Most Anticipated Comics of 2015" and "Best Covers of January" lists!

Here's another review at Roll Call, and an interview with all of us at Diamond Bookshelf.

I'll be doing a signing at Vintage Phoenix Comics in Bloomington IN on Friday, January 23rd from 5-7 pm-- signing and selling all my books, including still-new copies of The Lost Hero and the new paperback edition of The Year Of The Beasts. The FB event page is here.

My collaborators John Lewis and Andrew Aydin will be doing a discussion and signing in DC on January 21st at the National Press Club Book Rap-- check it out here! (Tickets are required.)

I'm also selling signed/sketched copies of Book Two (and the rest) from my site's shop. ORDER HERE if you'd like one mailed to you! Thanks.


THE LOST HERO is out today!



My graphic novel adaptation of Rick Riordan's Heroes Of Olympus: The Lost Hero (written by Robert Venditti, and colored by Orpheus Collar) hits stands everywhere today!

I'm selling signed & sketched-in copies directly-- both hardcover and softcover versions are available from me here, along with my other books.

If you're new to my comics, welcome! In addition to The Lost Hero, I'm also working on the March trilogy with civil rights icon John Lewis & Andrew Aydin (Book One and Book Two are here), Swallow Me Whole, Any Empire, The Year Of The Beasts (with Cecil Castellucci), The Silence Of Our Friends (with Mark Long & Jim Demonakos), and more.

You can check out more of my work, and order signed/sketched books from me, here at my main site. 

Thanks!

cover reveal for Rick Riordan's THE LOST HERO!

Here's the unveiled cover image for our graphic novel adaptation of Rick Riordan's Heroes Of Olympus: The Lost Hero (written by Robert Venditti, drawn by me, and colored by Orpheus Collar). The full image is a wraparound gatefold, and the hardcover edition will feature the full artwork!



The Lost Hero will be released on October 7th by Hyperion Books, and will debut at New York Comic Con the following weekend. See you there!

Presentation, MARCH exhibit, and signing at SPACE in Columbus OH!



If you're in the Midwest, come to SPACE in Columbus OH this weekend! It'll be happening April 12-13th at the Ramada Plaza Hotel (4900 Sinclair Rd.), 10am- 6pm. 

I'll be selling books and artwork at my own table all weekend, and will also have some other things going on:

* Original pages from the forthcoming March: Book Two will be unveiled for the first time ever, and will be on exhibit near my table all weekend.

* I'll be giving a presentation on Saturday from 3-4 pm about all the projects afoot since the release of March: Book One-- this'll include Book Two, Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero, my comics collection You Don't Say, a new printing of Swallow Me Whole, collaborations with acclaimed writers Scott Snyder and Van Jensen, pinups for Operation Margarine and Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever, and an early look at work on my next solo book, Cover.

Here's the FB page for SPACE, and the full programming list. See you there!

THE LOST HERO is complete!



Drawing chores on the graphic novel adaptation of Rick Riordan's THE LOST HERO are finished! It's written by Robert Venditti, drawn by me, and colored by Orpheus Collar, to be published in October from Hyperion Books. More details, including an unveiling of the cover, as soon as it's available!

Time to catch up on commissions, pinups, and lettering for my short story collection YOU DON'T SAY this weekend, then jumping straight into inks for MARCH: BOOK TWO, which will be released in January 2015 from Top Shelf.

January 2014-- recap of press and new releases!

Happy New Year! It's been a bit, so here are some of the recent goings-on:



* The French edition of March: Book One is out now-- it's titled Wake Up America: 1940-1960, and is published by Rue De Sevres. 

* An Italian edition of Sounds Of Your Name will be out in early spring, titled Condizioni and published by Edizioni BD's Psychopop imprint. More info soon!


* I'm currently drawing a horror comic with acclaimed writer Scott Snyder (The Wake, American Vampire, Batman, Superman: Unchained) for the In The Dark anthology hardcover, edited by Rachel Deering. It'll be available in April via IDW Publishing!

* Here's a new interview I did with Bloomington's own WFHB a couple of weeks ago, discussing March and other books, punk, scamming photocopies in the 1990's, working for folks with disabilities, and other topics.

* I'm proud to announce that March: Book One made Comic Book Resources' #3 book of 2013, several best-of-year lists at Comicosity, and #3 of 2013 at Mental Floss! In addition, the collaborative team of John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and I made "Comics Team Of The Year" over at Comics Beat. Thanks so much!


* I'm about 25 pages away from finishing work on Rick Riordan's Heroes Of Olympus: The Lost Hero (with writer/adapter Robert Venditti and colorist Orpheus Collar). That'll be out in October from Hyperion Books!


* I'm also finishing up work on You Don't Say, which collects all my out-of-print, unpublished, and new short comics stories from 2004-2013. It should be out in late 2014 from Top Shelf! More info soon.

In Progress.

Here's the title spread from March, written by Congressman John Lewis & Andrew Aydin and drawn by me.



And here's a little past-present-future-- the top row is all the books or stories I've had published from 1992-2012. The bottom row is pages and scripts for all the books I'm currently working on (the March trilogy, Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero adapted by Robert Venditti, my next solo graphic novel Cover, a short comic written by Al Burian for Tugboat Press's Free Comic Book Day release, and new short stories for the You Don't Say collection.)




Pencil pages galore on forthcoming books!

I've been holed up in my fort lately, working away at four books simultaneously. Here's a little sliver of pencil pages-in-progress for each of these projects:

Here's an excerpt from a new short story called "Havens Have Not"-- a return to the Please Release-style autobio comics essay form. It's one of several new stories in my forthcoming collection You Don't Say, which should be out in 2013 on Top Shelf, and collects all of my shorter stories from 2004 to present, including a ton of rare and unpublished stuff.

(you can also read the included short stories "Cakewalk" [one of my all-time favorites, awkward, haunting, and true-- written by Rachel Bormann] and "Bets Are Off" [a comics adaptation of a Pretty Girls Make Graves song] with these links here.)






Next up-- here's a pencil excerpt from my graphic novel adaptation of Rick Riordan's adventure megahit Heroes Of Olympus: The Lost Hero. Robert Venditti (X-O Manowar, Surrogates, The Homeland Directive, Percy Jackson And The Olympians) handled the script adaptation, and this graphic novel will be released in 2014 by Hyperion Books.






I'm also hard at work drawing March, the graphic novel autiobiography of Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), living architect of the 20th century civil rights movement. The book is co-authored by Andrew Aydin, and will be published in 2014 or 2015 by Top Shelf. Very stoked about this tome!  

(You can read a finished preview chapter of March here.)


Finally, here are a couple of pages from my next solo graphic novel, Cover, which will be published by Top Shelf in 2016. I'm currently working through pencils and dialogue for the entire book, with details about the story later in the fall. There is nothing more satisfying, challenging, and exciting than diving into undiscovered worlds within a new graphic novel, watching the characters and environment evolve and mature in the years between those first scribbles and the finished product.




Thank you for reading my books and continuing to support me, and all comic book creators! Now back to the drawing board.

Drawing Rick Riordan's THE LOST HERO graphic novel!

I'm pleased to announce I'll be drawing a graphic novel adaptation of best-selling author Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero, which is a spinoff title of his hugely successful Percy Jackson & The Olympians series and feature film.

The graphic novel is the first adaptation in Riordan's Heroes Of Olympus series, and will be adapted to the medium by fellow Top Shelf creator and New York Times best-selling author Robert Venditti (X-O Manowar, The Surrogates, The Homeland Directive, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief). I'm excited and honored to be working together with Rob on this project.

The graphic novel is scheduled to be released in Fall 2014 from Hyperion Books. 

More info as it rolls in!

(obviously, this image does not feature my art-- it's just the novel.)