Loki: Ragnarok and Roll #1 from Boom! Studios

Award-winning publisher BOOM! Studios is pleased to announce the February debut of LOKI: RAGNAROK AND ROLL, a heavy metal twist on Norse mythology. Writer Eric Esquivel (FREELANCERS) and artist Jerry Gaylord (FANBOYS VS. ZOMBIES) show what happens when you take the classic Norse god Loki and throw him into a rock and roll band in the underground goth clubs of Los Angeles in this new BOOM! original series.

“LOKI: RAGNAROK AND ROLL is one of those crazy mash-up ideas that, when you see them put together, is immensely entertaining,” said BOOM! Studios Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon. “Combine that with the talents of Eric and Jerry—two of BOOM!’s home-grown talents—and it makes for the perfect recipe for a rockin’ good time!”

WHY WE LOVE IT: Up-and-coming writer Eric Esquivel first caught our attention with Thor: The Unkillable Thunder Christ, and wowed us with his work on FREELANCERS. When he told us he wanted to bring those sensibilities to the trickster god Loki, we had to say, “Yes!” Pairing him with FANBOYS VS. ZOMBIES artist Jerry Gaylord sealed the deal.

WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT: Loki steps out of the shadow cast by his thunderous brother as Norse mythology crosses over with the only thing on Earth as wild and crazy—rock and roll!

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: What happens when Odin banishes Loki to Earth? He finds a world of outcasts that appreciate his style! While his kin sharpen their weapons, he picks up an electric guitar.

LOKI: RAGNAROK AND ROLL #1 arrives in comic shops on February 19th with a cover price of $3.99 under Diamond order code DEC130966. Not sure where to find your nearest comic retailer? Use comicshoplocator.com or findacomicshop.com to find one! It’s also available for order directly from boom-studios.com.

Boom! Studios is Coming to Phoenix Comicon 2013

BOOM! Studios is thrilled to be exhibiting for the first time at PHOENIX COMICON taking place Memorial Day weekend beginning Thursday, May 23rd through Sunday, March 26th. Headlining BOOM! Studios’ exciting line up of guests and exclusive variant covers is 2 Guns creator Steven Grant (PUNISHER, 3 GUNS).

Suicide Risk #1 Exclusive Cover

 

New Testament #1 Exclusive Cover

The In Crowd is Coming from Big Dog Ink Press

This summer, prepare for super heroes as you’ve never seen them before.  They’ve got great hair, great bodies and great power.  But great responsibility?  Yeah, not so much!  From the pages of Critter and the Slipstream one-shot comes this fun, fast paced four issue limited series from Big Dog Ink.  Wing-Boy, Lasso Lass, Tiffany and Slipstream team up with brand new character Barnacle to fight crime and help save the world from “High Tide” but will looking good for their reality TV series get in the way of doing good?

 In the tradition of the bestselling Big Dog Ink throwback series, Critter, writer Eric Esquivel (Electric Youth) and artist C.B. Zane (Cricket) bring readers a look at a superhero team that is truly not ready for prime time!  With Corey Knaebel contributing on the “B” covers, the art team on the series couldn’t be more vibrant!

Read along with Critter and the High-Tide event, or as a standalone introduction to our new and fun modern heroes, the In Crowd continues Big Dog Ink’s tradition of providing entertaining stories in a variety of genres to satisfy even the most discerning comic book appetite. 

In Crowd is currently available for pre-order in the April Diamond Previews catalog for June 2013 Release with a retail price of $3.50.  

Boom! Studios Kicks Off 2013 Convention Tour with Amazing Arizona Comic Con

BOOM! Studios is thrilled to make its inaugural appearance at the AMAZING ARIZONA COMIC CON taking place Friday, January 25th through Sunday, January 27. In addition to being the first stop on BOOM!’s ambitious 2013 convention tour, the publisher will bring two of its most dynamic writers to the show.

The Amazing Arizona Comic Con will take place at the Phoenix Convention Center located at 100 North 3rd Street  Phoenix, AZ 85004. On Friday the 25th, the shows hours are from 3pm-8pm, on Saturday the 26th, the hours are from 10am-7pm and on Sunday the 27th, the hours are from 10am-6pm.

BOOM! Studios is thrilled to host Michael Alan Nelson (28 DAYS LATER, HEXED, VALEN THE OUTCAST, ORHANS) and Eric Esquivel (FREELANCERS) at the BOOM!/KaBOOM! booth (booth # 309) all weekend long.  Make sure to stop by for your chance to pick up the hottest comics, trades and variant covers including hit brands like ADVENTURE TIME, PEANUTS, GARFIELD, BRAVEST WARRIORS, PLANET OF THE APES, HELLRAISER, and many, many more!

If you would like more information about the show, visit the official website: http://amazingarizonacomiccon.com .

Eric Esquivel Takes Over Freelancers #3 from Boom! Studios

We have been fans of Boom! Studios for a few of their series from Planet of the Apes to Fanboys vs. Zombies and we may have to add a new one with Freelancers. Freelancers #3 will be in stores this Wednesday, January 16th and we are thrilled to actually know the writer, Eric Esquivel who takes over in this issue. Eric Esquivel was the co-writer in the second issue, but we will now see his take completely in the series. 

Val and Cass’ search for their former instructor puts them on a collision course with the woman at the top of the Freelancer chain, Kathy Rushmore. Our heroines are outgunned and out of cash, but they literally can’t afford to fail. The fight that began way back at the Kung Fu orphanage spills out into the streets of L.A.!

Preview Pages in Freelancers #3

Eric Esquivel is doing something very cool in his excitement of writing Boom! Studios Freelancers series. 

Direct from Eric Esquivel:

 

Send me a photo of you holding a copy of Freelancers #3 (available everywhere 1/16)!

I'll pick three of you comely devils at random and send you a FREE, signed, variant cover copy of the issue (And probably some extra buttons and crap, too)!

DON'T FORGET TO TELL ME WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT FROM!

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/ericMesquivelFanPage
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/ericMesquivel
Tumblr www.emecomics.tumblr.com (use the hashtag "#FreelancersComic")

Learn How to Draw with Jason Pedersen

Have you ever wanted to learn the techniques to draw your own comic strip or comic? Do not have the time or may not afford to take that art class? Well, we may have found that perfect opportunity, especially if you live or are near the Tucson, AZ area! 

Our local comic store, Heroes and Villains Comics and Adventure is offering that perfect opportunity for people of all ages. Heroes and Villains had offered these classes a few years ago and wanted to try to bring them back to the community. Lucky for them, Jason Pedersen, a great illustrator and comic artist wanted the same. We wanted to learn a little bit about Jason Pedersen and interviewed him recently. 

After talking to Jason Pedersen, we learned that there is still space available for the class. We may have to join because I want him to teach me "How angry to make the Koala". He is a great guy and with what he has said, the class will learn all the important techniques in drawing. Another important factor is that the classes will be open to 10 students, which will allow for one on one time. To learn more information on how to sign up for the class, here is the flyer!

Thanks again to Jason Pedersen and Eric Esquivel of Heroes and Villains for offering these great classes!

Comic Book Panel at the Tucson Festival of Books

This weekend the Tucson Festival of Books was held at on the University of Arizona campus. It was estimated that approximately 100,000 people attended. It was a beautiful day out and what made it even better was the panel Building Comics from the Ground Up.  The panel consisted of Eric Esquivel, Jeff Mariotte and Terry Moore. The panel was moderated by Mike Camp the owner of local comic book shop Heroes & Villains. If you missed it, we posted a transcript from the panel below. 

Eric Esquivel is a local author, editor and publisher of underground comics.
He self-published Horrible Little People and Awesomenaut.

Terry Moore is an author, graphic novelist and illustrator.
His work includes Echo and Strangers in Paradise. 

Jeff Mariotte is an award winning author and novelist.
He created Desperadoes and Graveslingers. 

First off, the blend of Eric, Jeff and Terry was perfect for this panel. Eric may be considered a new comer when compared to Jeff or Terry, but he shared experience as a self-published comic book author was insightful and inspiring. Since the panel was about Building Comics from the Ground Up, Mike Camp tailored his questions to the idea phase, writing phase, art phase and getting the comic on the shelf.

The following are questions by Mike Camp during the panel and the respective responses.

In coming up with an idea for a graphic novel, is it any different than what would it be for a prose writer?

Eric Esquivel: I think you have to think about it visual. Graphic novels are told through the panels without dialogue sometimes. You would think more like a screenwriter than a novelist. I think of big giant scenes  of images that you want to convey like a movie poster.

Jeff Mariotte: Because I do write both [comics and novels], I often have to go through this process when I have an idea for a project of trying to work out the elements and do I think it is going to work better as a prose novel, comic or graphic novel.  Is there going to be a lot of internal stuff that is hard to get across on the comic page but is easy to do in a prose or are there  more splashy monsters that would be more fun if you got to see in pictures. Sometimes I go back and forth for a long time. Then there is a commercial consideration of what will be easier to sell.

Terry Moore: This is really apropos for me because I'm one issue away from finishing my series Echo. Then I have to solicit a new series on Monday. I thought I was ready but I keep pitching ideas to my wife, Robin, and she keeps saying no. Just like when we were dating. It's amazing in talking to Robin, I've run a ton of ideas by her in the last two weeks and how many book titles come up and we would say no that sounds like a mystery novel or movie, it doesn't sound like a comic book. We think that if you go into a comic book store and you see the wall of comics, what will stand out. How in the world will you compete against X-Men or Spiderman or Batman. You don't want a comic book cover with a photograph cactus plant and says 'Into the Night', but if you had something there that said Dead Girl... I'm in. There is a trick to it.

When you are coming up with your ideas, do you find yourself sketching?

Jeff Mariotte: I try not to think about what it's going to look like. I would rather let a professional artist think about what it's going to look like. I don't suggest costume designs. In a comic, I will describe the type of characters I need and let the artist create.

Terry Moore: That is the difference between us. I picture a movie and all I am doing is copying the movie from my head.

Eric Esquivel: I do two things before I start the actual project. I thumbnail, like a crazy person which means I draw these tiny little squares and block out panels. I try to control the pacing of a book by drawing what squares are going to go where and then I won't really draw characters in them but I will write sad, happy, question mark, excitement or buzz words. This helps me control the flow of the book.  I also do what's called a series bible. 

So when you guys actually get to writing, do you write in long form, script, or long form then adapt?

Terry Moore: I start off with a page of notes. I just put all the ideas down because I think in abstract and not linear. I get all the ideas and buzzwords, then I take those and start a script. I have to lay things in front of me and then I know how to fix the puzzle. 

Jeff Mariotte:  I guess my prose background plays out in this too because I write an outline in prose so I know where it is going. For me an outline is a roadmap that tells me where I'm starting from and where I'm going to and the basic route I'm going to use to get there. But if along the way I see something over there that looks interesting, I can still choose to go explore that and come back if I want. It's not an outline that is set in stone, but it is still a solid outline. Then I go to script from that.

Eric Esquivel:  I found that all the things that teachers taught me was absolutely correct and necessary. You have to do the outline and all the character branches, basically everything I hated doing in middle school and high school but it was completely necessary for me. It's really do whatever you want and succeed however you can. Everyone breaks in a different way and writes a different way. As long as your artist knows what you are saying. If anyone's ever read From Hell by Alan Moore. Alan Moore writes these giant novels with 40 pages for one panel description. His artist Eddie Campbell comes in and knows how Alan talks and so he just highlights 'okay there is a clock and it is black' and then skips over the pages. So however you feel comfortable, however you want to tell your story with comics you can do that with your script.  

This wasn't a question but Eric brought in a nice tangent about Alan Moore.  Now who doesn't love a good Alan Moore story? Here are stories about Alan Moore told by Jeff and Terry. 

Jeff Mariotte: I've edited Alan Moore and I can vouch for that. The complicating thing is that Alan Moore hates computers. He will fax in his 800 page script. When Alan's fax comes make sure there is plenty of toner and paper and wait because it will be awhile. 

Terry Moore: Alan has a lot of stories in the industry. I drew a story of his one time and I had questions because he made references to several European things. I got his phone number and called his house. He answered his phone, I introduced myself and said I was reading his script and had questions.  He interrupted me and just started reading the script from page one to the last page. He has this super low baritone voice. I listen to the story being read for 20 minutes and at the end he says 'So that should settle things, don't you think? Good luck and just draw what you like.'  So I did. 

Jeff Mariotte: I have to tell my Alan Moore story now. There was one occasion I was editing a story for Alan back at DC.  He wrote a script and it included a reference to Hello Kitty wallpaper and DC's lawyers had a problem with that because Time Warner is a huge company, they make a lot of money. Sanrio is also a huge company, they can afford the lawyers to sue DC comics if they need to and they would. So they [lawyers] had me tell Alan and it was going to be a painful conversation. I put it off and when I finally called him, I told him the lawyers won't let you do Hello Kitty. He said 'alright... Hello Hitler. It's Hello Hitler wallpaper.'

We have all seen the Hollywood depiction of the writer, director, actor dynamic. It sounds like we find that here in the comic book world too. Is that pretty common place?

Jeff Mariotte: Unless you are a renaissance man like Terry, it is very much a collaborative effort. What you get at the end of it is never what any one person thought it would be at the beginning of it. In the best case, you combine the talents of different people and come up with something that's way better than any of them could have done by themselves. What comes out on the page, never is what I was thinking when I started. 

Eric Esquivel: I've had a lot of artistic collaborations fail on me. That's what happens when you break out in the indie industry. You want to partner with as many folks as you can and try to get as many books out. The hardest thing for me is to manage those relationships and finding people I really click with. 

Terry Moore: I'm a huge believer in band dynamics. I think if you get the right three or four people together they will make something better than they would have made alone. I regret not being able to get into a band dynamic with my work. People are always saying right about what you know and do what you do naturally. I have found that to be terrible advice. If you do that, then what you have done is tapped into what you have in common with everybody else. There are only interested in that if you have some insight on it. I don't write about things I understand. I write about things I don't understand. I write about women and I'm trying to figure it out.