Did you notice a couple months ago when there was an IRON MAN themed phone?
Well, it’s Batman’s turn.
I only found out about this when I was paying my cell phone bill and saw the ad for the new Nokia DARK KNIGHT Edition. Article about it here.
Posted by Mark Coale
Finally it can be revealed! Secret Project #1!
Once in a while I hope I can be allowed a wee bit of hype here, and so here we go: One of the reasons I’ve ve been so mad crazy over the last 8 weeks or so was because we’ve been putting together a sequel to last year’s acclaimed THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY anthology. The book comes out of Fox Atomic’s graphic novel line, and will be out this August from Harper Collins.
Like the first volume, this is a 112-page comics adaptation of the short stories of horror writer Thomas Ligotti. Writers Joe Harris and Stuart Moore have returned to adapt Ligotti’s cerebrally chilling stories, but we have some new players as well.
This time out the cover is by the great Jon Foster. Jon worked on a bunch of covers for me back in the day, but his style has taken a major evolution since then, and I was really excited to see what he would do with the Nightmare Factiry concept, and I think he knocked it out of the park.
The interiors are by Bill Sienkiewicz, Vasilis Lolos, Toby Cypress and Nick Stakal, aided and abetted by the coloring of Lee Louridge and Rico Renzi, the fine lettering of Comicraft and the great design work of Symon Chow. I hope to be able to let everyone see a sneak peek of some of the interior pages, and hopefully everyone will be as pleased as I am by this incredible line-up of talent.
I haven’t been able to talk much about this project here on the blog because of an intensive deadline crunch. It was a little touch and go for a while there, but everyone came through relatively unscathed.
I’ll have more to say about this (and more previews) in the coming weeks but for now I would just like to say, for the record, that it was just the kind of project you always hope to work on: unique, intelligent material, writers and artists who understand that and have the chops to bring it to life, and who also epitomize professionalism in so many ways. I’m very very lucky to get to work with such great people as the ones I’ve just named, and to learn from them along the way.
I also have to send a shout out to my partners in crime, Eric Lieb, the Editor in Chief of Fox Atomic Comics, and Hope Inelli and Jeremy Cesarec at Harper Collins. I couldn’t ask for better collaborators or bosses.
Anyway enough thanks yous. If you’re not familiar with the writings of Thomas Ligotti you’re missing a contemporary stylist and fabulist second to none. His stories are thought provoking, disturbing, and truly, truly original. THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY II is, I hope, a true reflection of his unique world view in graphic novel form.
If you missed the article in Gamepro this month spotlighting the new LEGO Batman game, why not take a look at this clip featuring LEGO Two-Face and LEGO Scarecrow?
And before we get LEGO Batman, We’ll be getting LEGO Indiana Jones on June 3.
Apparently, toys from the upcoming Watchmen movie will make their public debut at NYCC this weekend.
But, Entertainment Weekly has some shots of the toys up now.
I’ve heard this song before. I’ll believe them when I see them on the shelves at TRU.
Posted by Mark Coale
A local politician in New York is eager to jump on the comics marketing bandwagon. Queens Councilman Hiram Monserrate wants to make “Gotham City” the official nickname of the Big Apple, which already seems to have a nickname but whatever.
“I see that as a marketing tool, ‘Come visit the real Gotham City,’ taking advantage of this movie which will be one of those gate-breaking, record-selling movies like it always is,” he said.
This led to an outcry from New York Magazine:
Gotham City is not New York! The differences are legion: Their geographies are totally dissimilar; Gotham’s street gangs are charmingly multiracial; multiple sources place the city in New Jersey, not New York. And, most glaring, the made-up metropolis is plagued by corrupt hypocrites in the highest levels of government — a ludicrous fictional conceit definitively indicating that “Gotham City” exists in a never-neverland fantasy world that only a child would find plausible.
While this outcry is one that only a child would find entirely serious, there is some grave debate here, heard yesterday morning on the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Should New York be named Gotham City? Or Metropolis? Or Latveria?
What have things come to, when even the precocious and eternally cute Hello Kitty is willing to settle a grudge by stepping into the squared circle?
The presser:
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, in conjunction with Gente California and SANRIO Co., LTD., will present the first ever professional wrestling match for the Kitty World Order (KWO). On April 5, 2008, the cheerful Hello Kitty® and mischievous Kuromi® will meet inside the wrestling ring in a classic battle of The Good vs. The Bad. This match between these two beloved characters has been sanctioned by SANRIO Co., LTD. and PWG, and will be part of a live event that will feature PWG World Championship and PWG World Tag Team Championship title matches. The event takes place on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at 8:00PM at American Legion Post #308, located at 7338 Canby Ave., Reseda, CA 91335. General Admission tickets for the event are $20. Please visit http://www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com or http://www. gentecal. com for more information.
Posted by Mark Coale
Yes, the Nightmare Factory marathon ends tonight, with a big blowout panel at MoCCA:
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2007 – NEW YORK, NY
MOCCA – MUSEUM OF COMIC & CARTOON ART — 6:30 p.m.
594 Broadway/Suite 401
(bet. Houston & Prince)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 254-3511
*Writers Stuart Moore and Joe Harris, artists Michael Gaydos and Ted McKeever, editor Heidi MacDonald, and editor-in-chief R. Eric Lieb come together for a discussion of Fox Atomic and The Nightmare Factory with moderator Calvin Reid, PW. – FREE
While we’ll be talking about the graphic novel and Fox Atomic, we’ll also be answering any and all questions as befits such a diverse panel with representatives from all ends of the comics-to-book-and-film spectrum. So come on down!
If I may be allowed a very brief period of hijacking this blog for my own purposes. Faithful readers may recall my work earlier this year editing The Nightmare Factory anthology for Fox Atomic/Harper Collins. Putting the work of unjustly little-known horror master Thomas Ligotti into comics form, I was pretty happy how the book came out, and after 14 years in the business, I finally got to have an actual book I edited come out the way I wanted. The book came out a few weeks ago, and I’m happy to say it has been very well received, with good reviews coming in from all over the place:
“In a fall season typified by much more categorizable frights, Nightmare Factory provides a bitterly entertaining treat for those attuned to its storyteller’s grim sentiments.” — BOSTON GLOBE
“Makes for deliciously bleak reading as its damned protagonists find themselves ensnared in metaphysical traps they often barely comprehend. ” — EW.com
“A large and generally very impressive gathering of imaginative and stylish horror fiction . . . Poe and Lovecraft are the obvious influences in these richly atmospheric (and often funny) tales of introversion blossoming into obsession. .. show Ligotti doing what he does best: turning the abstract matter of our unguarded dreaming moments into vivid and compelling nightmares.” — Kirkus Reviews
“These twisted tales based on Thomas Ligotti’s stories come alive in the hands of Ben Templesmith and Michael Gaydos, and others. Retaining unique styles, Ligotti’s brand of psychological terror still permeates, oozing into your nightmares.” — Wizard Magazine
As befits the spooky season now upon us, October is full of events for the book, starting TONIGHT at Jim Hanley’s on 33rd St., with a double header of Steve Niles from 5-6, followed by Stuart Moore, Joe Harris and Michael Gaydos from 6:30-8:30
After that there are several more events:
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2007 – NEW YORK, NY
THE COMIC BOOK CLUB — 8:00 p.m.
@ LOCATION TBA, $5
Live radio interview/panel event with studio audience – entry fee $5.00/per person
Artists/writers: Stuart Moore, Joe Harris, Colleen Doran, Michael Gaydos
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2007 – NEW YORK, NY
MCNALLY ROBINSON BOOKSELLERS — 6:00 p.m.
52 Prince St
New York, NY 10012
(212) 274-1160
Literary Halloween Party event with readings and refreshments
Projections from horror comic anthology Nightmare Factory (HarperCollins/Fox Atomic) and signings by artist Colleen Doran and writer Stuart Moore
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2007 – NEW YORK, NY
MOCCA — 6:30 p.m.
594 Broadway/Suite 401
Writers Stuart Moore and Joe Harris, artists Michael Gaydos and Ted McKeever, and editor Heidi MacDonald come together for a discussion of Fox Atomic and The Nightmare Factory.
Okay is that spooky enough for you? Come on down and say hi! And buy the book — you’ll be glad you did.
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