Wednesday, April 23, 2014

FLASHBACK: Surprise Party, Comic-Con Style

(Back row, left to right) Mark Haynes, Joe James, Kevin Brennan, (middle row) Steve Geppi, yours truly, Melissa Bowersox, (front row) Mark Wheatley, and a ton of people not in the picture – including Adam Philips, Tom Mason, Billy Tucci, Deborah Tucci, Michael Solof, Rita Jackson, Kevin Topham and most importantly Rosina Ally – celebrated my promotion to Vice-President of Publishing for Gemstone Publishing at Sally’s in San Diego.

Mark Wheatley did the amazing illustration of me.

Thanks to Missy for engineering the whole thing. And it was a complete surprise to me, which is no small feat. And thanks, too, to everyone I just left out of that list. I can only plead Guide deadline fatigue at the moment.


FLASHBACK: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in San Diego

Our friend, the Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.: yours truly, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Ming-Na Wen, and Geppi's Entertainment Museum's Michael Solof at Comic-Con International: San Diego 2013 -- all three graduates of Mt. Lebanon High School's class of 1981... and all at Comic-Con on business. How cool is that?

Over the years, we've been happy to see Ming on ER or voicing Mulan for Disney or in any number of other roles, but this one is near and dear to our hearts.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

FLASHBACK: Even CHRIS COLUMBUS Can Get CREEPY

At the New York Comic-Con in 2012 to moderate the Creepy & Eerie panel, and one of the participants was producer-director Chris Columbus. He's on board for the Creepy film, and I got to tell him how much I enjoyed Only The Lonely (in addition to his other, higher profile work).


FLASHBACK: Getting CREEPY at COMIC-CON

Academy Award-winning documentary filmmakers Josh Braun (left) and Dan Braun (right) with yours truly just after the Creepy & Eerie panel at Comic-Con International: San Diego 2013. Not only do they have acclaim in the film world, they're the co-owners of the classic horror magazines (and their new incarnations as well). They have been kind enough to ask me to play moderator for these panels both in San Diego and in New York.


FLASHBACK: The MILESTONES Exhibit Opens at GEM

Michael Davis, yours truly, Mark Wheatley, Marc Hempel, Denys Cowan, Maggie Thompson, and Steve Geppi at Geppi’s Entertainment Museum on Friday, December 13, 2013, to celebrate the launch of the Milestones exhibit. Lots of other great folks were there, too!



FLASHBACK: WV Pop Con 2012

Another flashback, this one at the first WV Pop Con, with (left to right) Neil Vokes, Mark Wheatley, yours truly, Bob Tinnell, and Bo Hampton... what a fun group!


FLASHBACK: On The Set with BILLY TUCCI

Here's a photo from the set of SOME TROUBLE OF A SERIOUS NATURE, Billy Tucci's award-winning short film, my only acting gig. It was a blast!


Thursday, April 17, 2014

Preview: 24: ONE-SHOT in the 24 OMNIBUS

The first of our Jack Bauer stories to see the light of day was 24: One-Shot, a 48-page graphic novel that is also the first story in the 24: Omnibus, which is now on sale. Story by yours truly and Mark "Lefty" Haynes, art by the incomparable Renato Guedes...








Wednesday, April 16, 2014

24 OMNIBUS is Now On Sale!

NOW BACK IN PRINT and with a new cover! If your local comic shop doesn't have it, ask them to order it. If they won't do it, find another shop!

This book features the three one-shot graphic novels (24: One Shot, 24 Stories, and 24: Midnight Sun) and the mini-series (24: Nightfall) that Mark "Lefty" Haynes and I did based on the TV series 24 and the further adventures of Jack Bauer. It also contains another story written by our pal Beau Smith.

If you love 24, it's a fun book! 24 OMNIBUS is out today!




Sunday, April 13, 2014

TWO SIGNINGS on Free Comic Book Day

On Saturday, May 3, 2014 my Zombie-Proof co-creator Vincent Spencer and I will be doing two signings for Free Comic Book Day. We'll be at Best Comics and then at The Comic Book Depot, two fine comic shops staffed with great folks.

We'll at Best Comics & Collectibles International, 1300 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park, NY 11040, from 11 AM to 12:30 PM, and we'll head to The Comic Book Depot, 2847 Jerusalem Avenue, Wantagh, NY 11793, for a our second session from 1:30 PM to 3 PM.

The Return of RETURN OF THE HUMAN

Mark Wheatley, my uber-talented partner on Return of the Human, has been working more than non-stop on a variety of projects for months now, but at long last it looks like we have a window for his return to Return of the Human, which appears on David Lloyd's spectacular anthology Aces Weekly.

I can't wait to see how things turn out (okay, I know how it turns out, but I can't wait to see it) in this third and concluding chapter! More soon.


The Overstreet Guide To Grading Comics

It's not due until November, but things are already slowly percolating on The Overstreet Guide To Grading Comics, the third book in our still new "How To" series from Gemstone Publishing.


Saturday, April 12, 2014

Overstreet's Comic Book Marketplace Yearbook Due in September

For the last few years, we've produced Overstreet's Comic Book Marketplace as our Free Comic Book Day offering, and 2014's no exception to that. But we've also been looking for a way to bring back CBM as something more.

Now we've found what that "something more" is going to be...

Overstreet's Comic Book Marketplace Yearbook, due out in September 2014, will be a 160-page, squarebound, full-color book covering collectible comics and original comic book art. I think it's going to come together very nicely.

Since it's Batman's 75th anniversary, Bob Overstreet and I have written up the stories of all the times Batman has appeared on the cover of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. And one of this book's covers is one of those classic Guide Batman covers, Murphy Anderson's spectacular recreation of Bob Kane's cover for Detective Comics #31, which appeared on The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #31.

More on this soon.




The Big, Big Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #44

The Big, Big Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #44 will be featured in the May 2014 edition of PREVIEWS from Diamond Comic Distributors. This oversized, spiral-bound, limited edition has a great Afterlife with Archie cover by Francesco Francavilla, and it's due in stores on Wednesday, July 23, 2014.


Jack Bauer Just in Time: 24 OMNIBUS Returns!

I was very excited to hear about the return of Jack Bauer in 24: Live Another Day, and not-too-surprisingly I was also have to hear the IDW would be coming out with a new printing of the 24: Omnibus, which collects the three one-shots and one mini-series I co-wrote with Mark "Lefty" Haynes as well as the one-shot written by our friend Beau Smith.

Mark, Beau and I talked to Scoop about writing Jack Bauer. It's a fun interview! 







The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #44

The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #44 is featured on Page 339 in April 2014 edition of PREVIEWS from Diamond Comic Distributors. It offers a choice of covers with Batman by J.G. Jones and Vampirella by J. Scott Campbell. I think both of them rock! It's due in comic shops on Wednesday, July 23, 2014.

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2014: Overstreet's Comic Book Marketplace

Gemstone Publishing's Creative Director, Mark Huesman, photographer Michael Solof, and I have worked with some of our freelance friends to put together another Free Comic Book Day issue of Overstreet's Comic Book Marketplace. It'll be in participating comic shops on Saturday, May 3, 2014.





San Diego 2013 Interview

Last year at Comic-Con I had the chance to talk with PreviewsWorld's Vince Brusio about Gemstone Publishing and our line of books, including The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #43 and The Overstreet Guide To Collecting Comics.