New Comic Book Day News
- matt fraction -
Stealth graphic novel drop? Sorta?
Check it.
The whole story is here, more or less, but the short version is: I have written, and the amazing Albert Monteys has drawn, a graphic novel called SOLID STATE, that is based on, in, and around the new album by Jonathan Coulton called -- get this -- SOLID STATE.
It's a concept album, and a concept graphic novel. You don't need to consume both to get the story, but they both compliment and enrich one another in unique ways, I think.
It was kind of like writing the book for a musical. I dug it.
You can stream it. You can buy it. You can buy both in various fancy packages right now. You can buy the gorgeous 12"x12" hardcover edition at Jonathan's live shows now, on tour with Aimee Freakin' Mann as we speak. Uh, type? Read? Whatever.
[Aimee Mann claims to have never seen a film with a vampire in it. How could Aimee Mann have never seen, at least, THE HUNGER? Aimee, Aimee, say it ain't so.]
And then in July you'll be able to buy a 10"x10" softcover from Image in comic shops and book stores everywhere.
Also, Albert is amazing go read his phenomenal UNIVERSE! at Panel Syndicate right nooooaooaoaaaoooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
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Jonathan Demme died. In a career filled with great moments, his Stop Making Sense concert film is immortal.
And this David Byrne-directed clip for "Wild Wild Life" contains a John Goodman performance so joyful and intense I just watched it three times.
Then go watch Byrne, St. Vincent, and a freakin' horn section destroy it in Asheville in 2015.
Then go watch How Can The Labouring Man Find Time For Self Culture?, directed by Rocky Schenck, of a song by Martini Ranch, a band of which the late Bill Paxton was a part. This video, and another called "Reach," were a Weird MTV staple for a while.
What's the biggest douchebag sentence you've read today? Because sit down, Margaret, i'm about to top it: I was at an SNL afterparty sitting with Jon Hamm and Penelope Spheeris one night, when Bill Paxton came up and asked if it was okay to join us. I tried really hard not to, y'know. Shout GAME OVER! or anything. Anyway, like you'd ask anyone, only it's Bill Paxton asking me, and of course it's okay, and I scoot and he sits and we talk. I knew of his connection to the show, and hers, and was able to kind of get them both talking about Saturday Night Live, and New York In The Good Old Days (like, when Bill made the video for "Fishheads" which premiered on SNL in Dec. 1980, jesus I'm a nerd) and... and he was just the coolest, funniest, easiest-going guy in the world. One funny story after the next, all told with a soft Texas drawl and a half-smile that said, I know where a few more bodies are buried, but I'll have to tell ya later. It was a weird, fun night, for a lot of reasons, but never more weird or fun as when Hurricane Bill passed through.
Usually when FAMOUS PEOPLE die, or like THAT GUY actors like Paxton die (that's not fair, he was more than a THAT GUY actor, but you know what I mean), it registers that as, oh, no more FAMOUS PEOPLE stuff in the world, no more THAT GUY movies anymore.
With him I thought, oh no, no more Bill Paxton. If he was that cool, that fun, out of the blue with a rando and two famous people, what kind of a hole must he have left in the lives of the people that knew and loved him?
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Things that are good: THE HANDMAID'S TALE, on Hulu. FIVE CAME BACK on Netflix. The new season of CATASTROPHE starts tomorrow so go ahead and powerbinge seasons 1 and 2. Rob Delaney is a goddamn superhuman delight. FARGO season 3 has just started and if there's a better character name than "Nikki Swango" this season on any other show I haven't heard it. The new MST3K season is wonderful and, for my money, the episode "The Beast of Hollow Mountain" is a top-ten, all-time great. The new season of VEEP has started and the first ep. contained a line so brutal I was sure Gerry Duggan had slipped it in but he assures me it was not him. Still, as President Meyer ordered:
I don't know why I watch comedies on a treadmill. It's a really bad idea. Especially when Congressman Jonah Ryan testifies about school lunches.
Like, I started coughing and fell off the fucking thing. Don't do it!
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This is my very favorite Chip cover of all time.
There's also a "Wide Wiener" jingle that I wrote and, honestly, I don't know why I didn't quit writing altogether when I was done with that because I'm never gonna do anything better than that. Anyway that's out TODAY 5/31.
Alright time to go actually work or something BYE
- kelly sue deconnick - Just home from Wiscon, where a great many wonderful things transpired. Met some extraordinary women, chief among them being my co-Guest of Honor, Amal El-Mohtar. I am smitten, y'all. Haven't decided yet if I'm going to post the text of my GOH speech, but I do hope that Amal posts hers. The "Glass Valley" metaphor left me breathless.
There's another moment I can't let go of. Sunday night, after all the speeches and festivities, my 7 year old, Tallulah, had come back to the ballroom to extract Mommy for some bedtime snuggles. As we were making our exit, I back and saw a group of six or seven grown women chatting with T. These weren't relatives of hers, nor caretakers. They were strangers, warm and welcoming, talking to T and each other, and listening as well. They weren't talking about her hair or her dress or telling her about herself, they were listening, asking questions, and offering details about their own interests. Amal was down on her knees (in her beautiful blue dress!) to meet T face-to-face. They were chatting about Steven Universe and LOL Surprise dolls and I don't really know what all else. It was something I didn't realize I needed until I saw it. I don't think I'll ever forget it. I don't think T will either.
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I haven't had a lot of time for TV of late, but I just started watching the FX show Atlanta. Only 3 episodes in, but man, I love it. My other love right now is American Gods, of course. Surprising absolutely no one. Did you know I did some research for Gaiman on that book, way back when? Well... I did. SO THERE.
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I travel a lot. And I love shit like this.
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On April 25th, PEN America (an organization of which I am a member) honored The Women's March with the Free Expression Courage Award. If you marched, you won. You can order a little something for yourself to commemorate your victory. I got the paperweight.
"A portion of the net proceeds will go to the Mama’s Bail Out Day Fund and PEN America; the rest will go to support the continued work of Women's March to harness the power of women of all backgrounds and their communities to create transformative social change."
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If you don't subscribe to Warren Ellis' Orbital Operations newsletter, you might have missed the link to this bit on skill sets in the "Postnormal Era."
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Octavia Bürgel on being Kara Walker's daughter. Hat tip, Laurenn McCubbin.
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Bitch Planet v2: President Bitch is available for purchase on the Image site and in comic book stores today. Find it on Comixology now. It hits book stores and Amazon on June 6th.
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Good news: Bitch Planet merch is coming at long last. We'll kick off with two t-shirts (XS-6XL) and an insanely cool mug. And yes, you'll be able to order off a website. SOOOON, glow sharks. Soooooon. (Oh, speaking of glow sharks: BGSDlist stickers too.) Can't share more until contracts are signed, but I expect that to be within the next few days.
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Have we talked about Bitch Planet: Triple Feature yet?
Valentine and I need to bank some issues of Bitch Planet so we can have the next arc come out monthly. In the meantime, we'll stay on the shelves with a Bitch Planet anthology called BITCH PLANET: TRIPLE FEATURE. Each issue will contain 3 8-page stories by new creative teams, with an emphasis on women and creators of color. All the stories are set in the world of BITCH PLANET, and they're backed up with the essays and quality backmatter you've come to expect in the main title. Covers by Valentine De Landro with Rian Hughes.
First issue hits comic shops June 14th and you can pre-order right now! Here's an advance review.
Oh, and the PRIDE VARIANT looks like this:
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I'm thinking about not doing any cons next year. Not because I don't enjoy cons, I very much do. Because I've sort of gotten sick of the sound of my own voice. I need to listen for a bit, I think.
We'll see. I'm thinking about it anyway.
- A note on the Portland train attack -
Three men were had their throats slashed when they stood up to a white supremacist who was screaming abuse at a young Muslim woman and a young black woman on the Portland MAX train Friday night. Two of the three heroes died for doing the right thing; there's a GoFundMe here to help the third pay his hospital bills related to the attack.
As it happens, the survivor -- Micah Fletcher -- is tangentially related to the Portland Comics Community, as he is the former student of Joe Keatinge's wife. So in addition to being a goddamned hero, we also like to think he's one of our own. Give if you can.
- #icymi -
Fraction and Jonathan Coulton talk Solid State at PASTE Magazine.
Netflix released a teaser trailer for Warren Ellis' take on CASTLEVANIA, the first season of which goes live on July 7th.
The History Channel's 2-part documentary Superheroes Decoded airs on April 30 and May 1. They talked to some serious legends: Stan Lee, The Russo Bros. George R.R. Martin -- and our friend Professor Ben Saunders! We're excited for this one.
David López's BLACKHAND IRONHEAD series kicked off on April 26! Find it on Panel Syndicate.
From Pacific Standard Magazine: Kelly Sue DeConnick Is Building a Future for Women in Comic Books.
Wanna get your eat on in PDX? Here are 34 lady-run restaurants to check out!
Hulu's adaptation of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" is here, y'all, and it. is. brutal.
Kelly Sue and Matt did a thing on convention etiquette in Image+ 14.
tl;dr
May 31 - Bitch Planet V2 Trade Paperback on SALE
May 31 - Sex Criminals #19 on SALE
June 14 - Bitch Planet: Triple Feature #1 on SALE
June 16-18 - Team Milkfed at HeroesCon!
June 21 - Sex Criminals #20 on SALE
July 19 - Bitch Planet: Triple Feature #2 on SALE
Aug 16 - Bitch Planet: Triple Feature #3 on SALE
Sept 1-4 - Kelly Sue & Matt at Dragon Con!
Sept 8-10 - Team Milkfed at Rose City Comic Con!
Milkfed Logo by Rian Hughes.