Things are heating up!

Hey everyone!

Greetings from deep in the comics production hole. At the moment, I am pulling together an 8-page preview comic for Heroes Con in June (just need wrap book design and print prep), while at the same time working to finish Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 2.

Like its predecessor, DoCB2 is a book of five short stories with a sixth story running between them. One story is finished now, two have colored art, and a third is being colored. This is my favorite part in the comics-making process, where I’m getting art in my inbox on a daily basis. There really is nothing like seeing talented collaborators turn your scripts into comics, and I never take it for granted, partially because marketing comes next, and ugh.

So! That’s where my next project stands. It’s on pace for a Kickstarter pre-launch page to go live in June, with full campaign launch in September. As with all my books, the comic will go to print during the last week of the campaign (provided we fund, KNOCK ON WOOD) en route to publication in October or November.

More updates to come in this space!

And, of course, I’ve got other news this month for you below, starting with a commission of one of our characters from one of my favorite cartoonists….

The Art

My favorite graphic novel last year was Drome by Jesse Lonergan (Instagram / Patreon). When I reviewed the book, I said it felt like Lonergan was an emerging master cartoonist, who did not yet have a masterpiece — but Drome changed that. In short, I loved it.

And now he has delivered a SECOND masterpiece, with this amazing sketch of our DoCB character…The Responsibli-Teen!

Check it out!

If you missed it, The Responsibli-Teen is a character who was bit by a word processor AI, which was radioactive, or struck by lightning, or something like that. He was co-created by myself and another rising star cartoonist, Nick Cagnetti. I wanted to do a jokey, oddball superhero for that book, because I grew up on superhero comics. And I knew Nick was a massive Spider-Man fan…and this is what came out of it.

Jesse’s version is an imposing take on the character, with colors that just pop right off the page in really fun ways. There’s a supercool, angular energy to it.

Meanwhile, a Responsibili-Teen follow-up is actually one of the stories I have finished art for from DoCB2, and if you want to see some of the pages now, you can find them by subscribing to Nick’s Patreon here!

My Debut in Publisher’s Weekly

Last, I have some big news on the journalism front, which is that I wrote my first feature story for Publisher’s Weekly! You can read it here. It was a fun piece to report, looking at how the owners of comic book stores are becoming online influencers in order to drive sales and create community. Also, I got to meet a Muppet.

And it ran in print. I have written for print for nearly 20 years now, in newspapers and with my day job at a trade journal, but this one felt extra special, because I saw my name in a magazine I used to read (without buying, heh) in the magazine section at Barnes and Noble as a teenager. Obviously, I was a very cool kid.

Here’s a photo!

News - Updated Con Schedule

Before I go, I have my update con schedule for you below…I got in off the waitlist for the Toronto Comics Art Festival, and so I’ll be road-tripping north the first week in June for that one, too!

If you’re anywhere near these shows, please come say hi!

Brooklyn Independent Comics Showcase, Brooklyn, NY, April 18 - 19
FanFaire NYC, Manhattan, April 25 - 26
Toronto Comics Art Fest, Toronto, June 6 - 7
HeroesCon, Charlotte, N.C., June 12 - 14

That’s it for the newsletter this month! See you back here in ~30 for more art, news, and an update on the status of DoCB2, as well as maybe the second issue of Macabre Valley.

Cheers, be well, and please forgive any and all typos above!

-Zack Q.