I have a couple of books coming out in March: CRIMINAL ELEMENT and TERRA #1. Both of them are anthology titles, and I am the editor, so I have been focused on promoting the books as a whole and I’ve not spoken much about my own writing work for the books. Let’s fix that.
In CRIMINAL ELEMENT I have two stories.
“The Delucci Bambino” is a McBlack short which ties up a lose end from the first graphic novel. Written and penciled by me, with inks by Dave Gutierrez.
“Mr. Ex” is about a former supervillain who has given up his former career–but this is not to say that he’s on the straight and narrow. Illustrated by Brendan Halyday.
In TERRA #1 I have three stories, all of which have spun out of KAGEMONO. The first two of them, in fact, are reprints, since they constitute the openings of their respective stories. I feel no shame int his, since TERRA will see a much wider audience than Kagemono did.
“Gourmand Go” will run in eight chapters, each illustrated by a different artist. It concerns the voyages of the starship Gourmand Go as it travels the universe, seeking new life–to kill and eat. But when the chips are down, the crew is not averse to more… human… cuisine. First episode illustrated by Hazz Purnell.
“Shadowmancy” will run for six episodes. This concerns the tribulations of the son of a bad seed sorceror at a school of magic that is very different from Hogwarts (and, for that matter, from Roke. I’m really proud of the way that all works). Young Quay must deal with his father’s legacy and his own social problems. I guess you could think of this as the Anti Potter, but you know the distaste I have for ‘good versus evil’ and hero journeys and I really think it’s something very different to what it sounds like. Art is by Nic Hunter.
“Gun Smoke Bud” is a suspense/police procedural/stoner comedy about a pair of Osaka cops trying to solve a yakuza massacre. Their only witness? An unemployed stoner who lives with his mother. Art by Yuriko Sekine. The two police detectives first appeared in an unrelated story that Yuri and I did for KAGEMONO called “Duty of Care”.
But wait, there’s more.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here, but my autobio story “NYE 2011”, illustrated by Jose Pimienta, will be out in 215 Ink’s ANTHOLOGY 2011. The book has been announced, but I don’t know when it will be available yet.
My story “Ost Spitsbergen”, illustrated by Luke Pickett, has been accepted to BEGINNINGS ANTHOLOGY, which will be out in March. the Beginnings crew ran a kickstarter campaign and absolutely destroyed their target budget, so expect something lush and superawesome.
I have a short prose story due out soon, which I will let you know about as soon as it’s been announced.
Hey, kids, it’s rock and roll.
— JF