A TEXT POST

Tails for Pre-Order!

 

Tails: Book One, the first collected edition of the semi-autobiographical webcomic by Ethan Young (Comic Book Tattoo: Tales inspired by Tori Amos, Comeback Kings), is only up for preorder until for a bit more than a week!  Originally published as a mini-series of the same name, Tails relaunched as a webcomic in 2009, and garnered a loyal fanbase. It has now been remastered in graphic novel format for its print home at Hermes Press. 

Tails follows the exploits of hapless vegan cartoonist Ethan, as he manages relationships and litter boxes, all while trying to successfully publish his comic strip, Crusader Cat. As his life gets weirder in the real world, it also does on the comic page. Before he knows it, Ethan gets in over his head when fantasy and reality combine — and then things get really weird.
  
Tails has been positively reviewed and spotlighted on MTV GeekComic Book Resources, and Graphic NYC. Check it outWe won’t complain if you go ahead and pre-order it from Amazon while you can

Tails: Book One
Softcover
307 pages
160 pages
$15.99
DIAMOND CODE: STK457317. 
A TEXT POST

Gray Morrow’s ORION to also include EDGE OF CHAOS!

    In preparing the library edition of fantasy cartoonist Gray Morrow’s long-lost adult masterpiece Orion, from the pages of Heavy Metal magazine, Hermes Press has decided to include Morrow’s other distinctive creator-owned book: Edge of Chaos, originally published in 1983 by Pacific Comics.

            Both Orion and Edge are the two most distinctively Gray Morrow comics, and are full of swashbuckling, sexiness, and sorcery. Whereas Orion was purely sword and sorcery, Edge of Chaos has a unique spin on the Greek myths, as it follows modern day adventurer Eric Cleese (no relation to the Monty Python comedian) and the dangers he faces in an odd (yet also oddly familiar) past world. The two books are also representative of different inking styles by Morrow, as Edge of Chaos features a thinner pen line than the more brush-inked Orion.
            Gray Morrow’s Orion is due out this Spring, with the title story mostly shot off of Morrow’s original, hand-colored art. The book also has a historical essay by historian Christopher Irving, and is done in conjunction with Gray Morrow’s wife Pocho Morrow.

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     This week, The Village Voice included Hermes Press’ reprint edition of Milt Caniff’s Male Call in their list of 2011’s Best Comics and Graphic Novels!
            Caniff’s thick-lined style is legendary, from his work on Terry and the Pirates in the Great Depression, to his Steve Canyon during the Cold War, Male Call is Caniff adding humor to the life of female-deprived G.I.s. With his pin-up queen Miss Lace, who oozes cheesecake in every panel, Male Call was originally exclusive to military newspapers.


We’re pretty darned happy with Male Call: The Complete Newspaper Strips: 1942-1946, and so is The Village Voice.
Check it out for yourself, and we guarantee you will be, too.
A TEXT POST

SPARROW AND CROWE MAKES THEIR KICKSTARTER GOAL!

            The Kickstarter campaign to raise money to cover creative expenses on the upcoming Sparrow and Crowe comic book met its goal of $4,000 last Sunday, and currently has six days remaining. It will be the first creator-owned comic book at Hermes Press when it launches in 2012.

“We’re thrilled by the response,” says Jeremy Rogers. “Fans of the audio show returned to show their support, as well as a lot of comics fans who saw our pitch and the art and want to get behind this new series.”

            With a commitment to publish Sparrow and Crowe as a creator-owned comic book mini-series by Hermes Press, writers Accampo and Jeremy Rogers, and artist Jared Souza began the Kickstarter campaign as a way to cover marketing and production expenses. Sparrow and Crowe: The Demoniac of Los Angeles is a comics prequel to Accampo and Rogers’ successful Wormwood audio show, which ran as a podcast from 2007 to 2011. Many of the devoted Wormwood fanbase came to their rescue and donated money through buying exclusive CDs of the show’s soundtrack, signed copies of the upcoming first issue, bound copies of the first Wormwood script, and other Wormwood rarities.

            Hermes Press had also donated several books for the team to sell at a discounted price and, with only a week left, they are hoping to sell off the remaining items:

·         Two full sets of The Phantom: The Complete Newspaper Dailies, featuring the first three volumes. With volume 1 currently out of print, they are still selling the set for only $100 (a cover price value of $150 each set)

·         An entire set of Buck Rogers: The Complete Newspaper Dailies, volumes 1 through 5, being sold for $175 (from a $250 value)

·         One copy of Buck Rogers: The Complete Newspaper Sundays—Volume One for only $50

·         Both volumes of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: The Complete Series for only $50 (half off from cover).

            The books can be purchased with a pledge at the Kickstarter page, along with the other Sparrow and Crowe items, including original art pages from Jared Souza.

“We’re offering Jared’s original art for issue one as a series of tiered pledges—the more you pledge, the earlier you get to select from the pages of issue one,” says David Accampo. “On top of that, we’ve added something very special for our final week: for $75 each, you can buy Jared’s original ‘adapted’ pages of Wormwood art. These are scenes from the audio drama, adapted to comics by Jared that he used to approach us. Totally unique and very, very cool!”

            With the first issue of Sparrow and Crowe set to debut in summer of 2012, the creative team are already in a better-than-expected position to comfortably deliver the caliber of comic book they feel worthy of the fanbase that are helping to make it possible.

            “The Kickstarter has not only built up anticipation with Wormwood fans—it has the creators fired up,” says Jared Souza. “David and Jeremy are delivering script pages that, as both an artist and a Wormwood fan, are surprising, tightly paced and very fun to draw.”

“And we couldn’t be happier with Jared’s visualization of these characters – the perspective and atmosphere he creates has inspired our scripts as we progress,” adds Jeremy.

The Kickstarter campaign ends on Thursday; you can donate here.

A VIDEO

The final question at our Dark Shadows panel at NYCC ‘11.

A VIDEO

Even more Dark Shadows coverage from the NYCC!