Some of you have already seen the teasers on facebook and twitter, so I guess I can announce it here. Upstart Canadian publisher Under Belly Comics have been picking up Australian properties recently (Bullet Girl by Andrez Bergen; The List by Paul Bedford, Henry Pop and Tom Bonin; Job Dun: the Fat Assassin by Mark Hobby and Ben Byrne) and my own McBlack is the latest addition to their slate. Proud company to be in, I’m sure you’ll agree.
The contract is for McBlack volumes 1 and 2. For those who are late to the party, only the first part of volume 2 is currently available. It was my intention to have volume 2 complete by now, but… stuff happens. The late lamented Black House Comics closed up shop, work on the Sixsmiths sequel blew out by a year, and… well, I’ll spare you the excuses. I’m working to complete volume 2 and Under Belly will be most likely be publishing both volumes in a single edition.
Under Belly represents a terrific opportunity to find a new audience for this work beyond Australia’s shores but I don’t want to gouge my existing readers. I will try to make accommodations for those of you who don’t want to pay for existing work a second time but this may only be in digital editions. I hope you’ll understand.
In the meantime, my stocks of the Black House edition of McBlack volume 1 are low. I expect to make a POD edition available online in the coming days but I’m not going to to order a new print run with the new book on the horizon.
The colour one shots are a different story. My supplies of those are dwindling as well but the rights to these books are still my own and I may re-up on them for con sales. I have vague plans for a third one shot with a slate of new artists, so that may show up at some point, too. Most likely they will stay under my own Black Glass Press banner.
I don’t yet have a schedule for the new book but you can be sure I’ll keep you apprised of the situation, because a/ I like talking about myself, and b/ I don’t want any of you maniacs coming to my house demanding answers.
Until then, please feel free to keep your hat on and your pistols loaded.
Cheers!
— JF