Category Archives: Friends & Collaborators

More Things I Love: Chad Crawford Kinkle’s Harpe

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No buy it now link for this one, as it’s just now available for pre-order in the direct comic market. Harpe: America’s First Serial Killers is quite possibly one of the most mature, sophisticated, and down-right beautiful debuts of a graphic novelist I’ve ever been privy to.

First, about Chad. I met Chad at Comic-Con a few years ago when some of my buddies brought him around to talk about his proposal for a graphic novel. When I heard the concept I fell in love. When I got to spend time talking with Chad about the project, breaking into comics, and what to do next, I knew that I’d just met an exciting new talent who was going to rock the shit out of this industry.

The book, in case the title didn’t clue you in, is about a couple of brothers in the early 19th century who went on a killing spree through the South. They’re like Bonnie and Clyde is just barely post-revolutionary war times. It’s a delicate mix of history and horror with the feel of good Western Noir, that’s engaging and beautifully executed by Chad and artist Adam Shaw.

The thing about Chad, much like the aforementioned Joshua Dysart, is that he does something I just can’t do. He takes history and makes it flesh. The book is thoroughly researched, pain-stakingly replicating the events, locales, and characters of this most definitely untold story in a way that defies it’s period setting and gory subject matter. He creates a portrait of some sick individuals that you still manage to have feelings for. Considering the atrocities these guys committed, that’s an amazing feat. They’re not just monsters, they’re human, and very, very real.

Do yourself a favor and head to your local retailer, and have them order this book. Tell them it’s available using Diamond Order Number SEP090728. You’ll be glad you did.

More info, including a five page preview available here: us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=9d17c9217240226bbc79d6750&id=6f9b04e3e1&e=

Unknown Soldier Vol. 1

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I’m fortunate to call Josh Dysart a friend. I’ve known him for almost my entire career in comics, which is closing in on a decade now. He has a lot of tools in his toolbox as a writer that I’m incredibly envious of. He handles huge ideas in digestable ways, and creates world that are both painfully realistic, and bendable to his whims. If you don’t believe check out his pitch perfect pulp work on Penny Farthing’s Captain Gravity, him following in the footsteps of the greatest writer in comics and going toe to toe with him on Swamp Thing, or, crafting one of the most socially responsible comics about a crazy guy with a gun in the history of the medium, as he’s done in Unknown Soldier.

The book is dark. Really dark. Achingly, painfully, nightmare inducing dark. And yet… it’s not a nightmare to get through, as you’d expect. Instead, it’s a delicate piece of true art that both forwards the medium of comics and manages to be a page turning semi-superhero style action piece. It crafts the perfect balance of information dump and character, that makes the world seem ultra-real, extremely foreign, yet simple and understandable.

There truly are few writers in Josh’s league these days, and I’m thrilled to see someone so talented succeeding in such a grand sense. And in case it matters, he’s also a sensationally sweet guy who can charm the pants off of you. Literally. I’ve seen it.

Do yourself a favor, and check out the book, and, I recommend seeing Josh’s extensive notes, behind the scenes diary posts, and more over at www.joshuadysart.com

The Wife Gets Interviewed!

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Ann Dvorak: Q&A with Biographer/Collector Christina Rice – Alternative Film Guide

The name Ann Dvorak wouldn’t ring even a faint bell for most people around at the beginning of the 21st century. Most people, I said — but definitely not everyone.

A few days ago, author James Robert Parish heard a loud gong when I told him during lunch at a West Hollywood restaurant that I was working on a q&a with collector-turned-biographer Christina Rice, who’s currently writing Ann Dvorak’s life story.

“I love Ann Dvorak! I still remember her in I Was an American Spy, when the Japanese villains stick a hose down her throat. I never forgot that!”

Straight Outta Des Moines – Photo Parade

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Heading Out

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Bright and (way too) early tomorrow morning, Christina and I are heading out for New York City, the New York Comic Con, and a weekend filled with seeing old friends, running from meeting to meeting, and generally wearing myself out.

Thanks to the joys of Twitter, it’s felt a little less isolated getting ready, as everybody heading to the show seemed to simultaneously hit ‘Oh Fuck’ Mode at the same time, and everybody’s there cheering everyone else on. Or making mean jokes.

Mostly mean jokes.

So, till next week, very little posting, very little twittering. Please stop by Top Cow, Harris, or the Comics Experience panel to say Hi.

See you on the other side.

j.

Los Angeles Public Library in Crisis

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Hey gang,
This may seem to not apply to those of you outside of Los Angeles, but, as our economy worsens, the same situation is going to be popping up all over the country.

Rumors have been swirling around since LA announced it’s budget crisis that our Public Library system will be one of the hardest hit. Rumors from a ‘transfer fee’ for books, staff layoffs, removal of valuable databases, and cancellation of subscriptions to magazines abound. In fact, the library has had a buying freeze since February, meaning they haven’t ordered any new books at all.

A few concerned citizens set up a website about the crisis, and you can check that out here: savelapl.org/

On that site you can send a letter to the mayor of Los Angeles, and the other elected officials of import to let them know your disdain for their attempts to dismantle one of the best resources offered by the city.

Here’s what I wrote them…

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Dear Mayor Villaraigosa, City Librarian Holmes and Library Commissioners,

I write to express my great concern about the proposal to begin charging a $1 fee for all inter-branch book loans at the Los Angeles Public Library after July 1st. The public library needs to be free for all citizens of Los Angeles, and I urge you to find some other way to generate funds that doesn’t place the burden onto the people who can least afford it. I also encourage you to seek creative solutions to generate income that can be used to restore the book buying budget. These might include hosting special events or a fundraising auction, or following the successful lead of the New York Public Library by selling reproductions of images in the collection or offering fee-based reference assistance.

Our libraries are more than just a public resource, it’s the gift of education. As a professional writer, many of my fondest memories that inspired me to follow my dreams were of my time at my hometown libraries. Having all of the knowledge at my fingertips gave me a perspective on the wealth of knowledge, philosophy, art, and history that was so easily attained through a public service.

Just like with our troubled school system, the solution is NOT to cut services, but to expand them. To use the resources at hand, including the passionate staff, amazing collection, and wealth of cultural history to generate revenue that’s already inherent to what they do. Chasing insignifcant fees, cutting staff, and defacing one of the truly great sanctums of knowledge in our city is not the way to accomplish that.

Our mayor made a commitment to improve education, and, to make sure that every citizen, be they child or adult, have access to the treasures contained in the public library system is an important part of that promise. In times like these, hard nosed, short sighted politicking is not the solution. Instead, it’s time for our local government to prove that they’re the visionary, foreward thinking individuals we elected.

Sincerely,

Joshua Hale Fialkov

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So, please, go to the website, check out the situation, and participate. Activism will make a difference, and it won’t take too much of your time.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to forward this to anyone who may find this interesting.

j.

Joshua Hale Fialkov
www.thefialkov.com

Christina Blogs Los Angeles History

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Right here you can read my beloved’s wife contribution to a blog devoted to the history of Bunker Hill. In case you aren’t aware, Bunker Hill was the huge neighborhood of victorian mansions in Downtown Los Angeles that got bulldozed to make way for sky rises. It’s the setting of many a film noir, so, if you dig that stuff, you’ll like the site.

Enjoy.

Tony Lee interviews me and a bunch of other folk…

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about how to make it in the comic business.

 1. HOW IMPORTANT IS THE PITCH?

JHF: It’s important. I think having a good relationship where your editor (or the publisher) trusts you to actually execute on that pitch is probably more important. Having a great idea is easy, executing a great idea is the hard part.

2. WHAT DO YOUR PITCHES CONSIST OF / EDITORS – WHAT DO YOU WANT IN A PITCH?

JHF: If it’s for a creator owned property, I tend to do a one sheet with the basic concept, the format, and any imperative information, along with some art. Then I’ll try and put together a few pages of art (ten is probably best), and include a three or four page synopsis of the whole story.

And so on.