Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

I wanted to wish everyone a terrific Holiday season!

Looking forward to a fantastic 2008!!

Advice from Neil Gaiman

A month since my last post. Apologies for the dearth of posting. With the WGA strike shutting down Hollywood (and thus no movement on the Lost Squad movie) and my real job sucking most of my time (and thus not a lot of movement on new projects), there hasn't been much news or tidbits to post.

So, allow me to ramble a bit...

I was talking with a friend a week or so ago and he asked me when it was I knew that I could write. When had I received validation that my stuff was good or entertaining (or, at least, didn't suck)? I'm my own worst critic when it comes to my stuff and I have HUGE bouts of self-doubt every time I sit at the keyboard. Writing is hard for me and when I first started noodling with short stories and short comic scripts I found the self-doubt to be almost crippling.

Back in 2001 I had a hard drive filled with unfinished stories that I had abandoned after my inner critic's whispering voice would become a shriek. I would quit writing rather than produce something I thought sucked.

In June of that year Neil Gaiman came to town promoting the release of AMERICAN GODS. I'm a huge fan of his work (SANDMAN is brilliant) and it's always a treat to hear him read his work aloud. At the signing I asked him if he had any advice for someone struggling to write and find their voice. He wrote an inscription to me in my copy of his short story collection SMOKE AND MIRRORS which read, simply: "FINISH THINGS".

He explained that much can be learned from writing a story which is bad. It was better to have a completed story that was lacking than a terrific unfinished tale. I know it sounds simple and obvious, but it was this blunt bit of wisdom that actually helped me break through. It was just the medicine that I needed.

I believe that the reading took place on a Wednesday night and the next day I decided to put the advice to good use and enter the ETC magazine short fiction contest. Problem was, the deadline was Friday. I came up with a story about an engaged couple who visit a psychic to have a reading about their future and the message the bride-to-be receives on the sly from the medium. It was called SONDRA'S PSYCHIC READINGS. I wrote it quickly all the while pushing that inner critic to the back of my mind and revised it in haste. I just managed to deliver it in person under the 4:00PM Friday deadline.

You probably see where I'm going so I'll cut to the chase: I won second place. Not bad for a 2000 word story that I dashed off just to prove a point. I learned that maybe I could write and that I needed to let my mind go and just get the story out of my head and onto the paper. That's when the real writing can take place.

I continued to write short prose and took a shot at writing short comic stories that eventually found their way into Digital Webbing Presents.

So, thank Neil Gaiman for the Lost Squad. He had a hand in it as well.

Thanks, Neil.

L' ESCADRON PERDU

The Lost Squad invades France!

French publisher Akileos are publishing the adventures of the Lost Squad in Europe.

Here's a shot of the cover.

The Akileos representatives approached Devil's Due and myself about the foreign reprint rights at Comicon in 2006. They were very enthusiastic about the project and at that time, wanted to have the black and white artwork colored.

While they didn't opt for color, they have put together a terrific looking volume for the European market.

And, I can add the title of "Scenariste" to my resume.
Check out the squad speaking French.

Anyone interested in purchasing the Akileos volume can find it available from Amazon.fr , FNAC.com, or Sceneario.com

Indie Pulp interview

The fine folks over at the Indie Pulp blog turned their gaze on little ol' me for their Sketchbook Spotlight interview. It's 20 questions where I ramble about myself.

The site went live last June and contains a ton of cool commentary about Comics and DVD's. Give it a gander.

BIG thanks to Bernie Gonzalez for the exposure.

Check out Bernie's artwork over at the Element X Studios site. SHARP stuff!

Lost Squad on your phone.

I missed this announcement last month.

Devil's Due is really making an effort to put their comics in people's hands in different media. Whether it's Pullbox Online or this particular deal with uclick.

I am all for pushing Lost Squad onto different platforms (any videogame developers out there?) and finding new markets. Hopefully, slowly, more people will give comics and graphic novels a chance. Anything that can potentially bring in more eyeballs is fine with me.

And, I really dig that they used the LS #1 cover as well. That rocks.

Peering into darkness

Back in 2005, I was asked to write a quick essay for the horror blog Dark, But Shining by Newsarama blogger and all-around good guy Kevin Melrose. The piece was to be included in a series of essays by different authors describing what REALLY scares them.

With the Halloween approaching I thought I'd dust the essay off and share again.

Update: Language Warning. I get a bit potty mouth in this one.

Here's PEERING INTO DARKNESS.

---------------------------------------------------------------

When was the last time you were really scared?

I mean really fucking scared.

Not the quick adrenaline shock that comes when you slam on the brakes and narrowly avoid rear-ending the car in front of you, but that sick-to-your stomach, creeping feeling where you are absolutely certain that something awful and vile is going to happen.

True story –

In the year after college I worked for an apartment management company renting units and dealing with tenants. An older woman, the mother of one of the tenants, came in late one dreary September day and needed to get into her son’s apartment. We hadn’t received a rent payment in almost two months and we were fairly certain the guy had just disappeared and abandoned his apartment. The mother was there to pay the balance, remove some of his belongings, and sublet the apartment.

My boss, Steve, wanted me to go over and unlock the door and stay on site until the woman had finished and lock up behind her.

“Go now, man. You gotta see this guy’s apartment,” Steve said. The mother had to fill out some paperwork and I would have a good ten or fifteen minutes at the guy’s apartment by myself.

The guy – I’ll call him “Max,” as I’ve long since forgotten his real name – lived in a basement studio apartment right across from the laundry room of a small, older building with nine units.

Max was a LARGE guy. By large I mean HUGE – easily 6’6” or 6’7” and a flabby 250 lbs. Max was also a very odd guy. He liked to pace between the parked cars in the small lot behind the building for hours, and had taken to sticking his head out his door and glaring at each tenant as they tried to do their laundry. One tenant was certain Max was holding a hammer as he watched her sort her whites from her colors. Most tenants in the building began frequenting Laundromats.

Max’s studio apartment was the only one in the building located below ground, and it had no windows. None. No source of natural light. So, when I pushed open the door to Apartment A, the room was completely dark except for the light spilling in from the hall. The switch by the door failed to produce light of any kind, but I could make out a standing lamp next to a mattress resting on the floor. I stepped over some scattered magazines or newspapers and turned on the light.

And there I was, standing in a room covered from floor to ceiling in images of bondage, S&M and gruesome torture.

Neat stacks of cheap leather-fetish porn mags were against one wall, each about two and a half feet high. More magazines were scattered across the floor along with hundreds of pages torn from other issues and tossed casually around the room, and in piles so deep you couldn’t tell the color of the carpet.

Scotch-taped to every inch of wall was Max’s original artwork, his twisted creativity on display, where he could really amp up the action from the magazine photos and manipulate and control his sadistic fantasies.

A pencil-and-charcoal drawing of a blindfolded woman lashed across a bed of nails.

A woman nailed to a cross and hung upside down, done in marker.

He’d saved the most graphic of the images for the wall and ceiling above his bed. These were the last images Max would see when he went to sleep and the first thing he’d gaze upon when he woke up.

A crayon drawing of a woman with hundreds of small cuts across her back tied to a rack and suspended above a pit of fire.

Women with spikes through their breasts and with flesh pierced by dozens of hooks.

This isn’t what freaked me out. The explicit stuff didn’t really get to me. It was two other things, really.

One was the hammer lying next to the door, sitting there, waiting for Max to take it in hand to defend against perceived threats outside in the hallway.

The other was the small, child-like handwriting underneath the most prominently displayed and most violent series of pictures.

The writing on each picture read, simply: “SARAH.”

That really fucking got to me.

Sarah was someone’s daughter. Maybe someone’s sister or girlfriend. Someone’s mother, perhaps.

Max had decided that she suited his taste.

He knew exactly with whom he wanted to dance. These weren’t random, sick thoughts on paper. The pictures were simply a blueprint for what he really wanted to do to Sarah. She probably had no idea that Max was watching and plotting. I knew damn well that she had no idea her naked image was plastered on Max’s wall, or she would have run to the cops as fast as she could.

At that point, I could feel Max there in the room with me. His presence filled the small space. A door closed loudly somewhere upstairs and I got the fuck out of there, barely remembering to lock up behind me.

I ran into Max’s mother coming down the stairs and had to descend to the basement once again to open the door for her. Before going inside she turned, smiled, and said, “I’ll be just a minute. I only need to get some clothes. I don’t like to be in there.” She knew about her son. She understood when I told her I’d wait out in the hall.

As it turned out, Max had been committed to an institution and she was taking him some of his things. I hope he’s still there rotting, frankly, and that Sarah is far away.

The apartment was soon cleaned of the filth and closed up never to be rented again.

As for Sarah, I never did find out who she was exactly. I checked the tenant list for the building and didn’t find a Sarah listed. She’ll never know how close she came to, what I believe, was a monster.

When it comes to movies that really creep me out, it’s not the flicks with demons or monsters or undead stalkers in hockey masks that get to me. It’s always the film where the human mind is the real villain that scares me. Give me a well-done and cliché-free serial killer movie, like The Silence of the Lambs or Seven. I think it’s because of my short time in Max’s apartment, where I peeked into the window of a really dark and twisted psyche. I found that, for myself, the scariest of monsters lives inside the disturbed mind

First appearance of the Lost Squad

The trade is in stores today and it contains a reprint of the first appearance of the boys from Digital Webbing Presents #7. What it DOES NOT contain is the short introduction I wrote for that eight page story. Readers will no doubt be VERY confused so I thought I'd toss it up here for all to read.
-----------------------------------------------

FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE LOST SQUAD

I originally hooked up with artist Alan Robinson in 2002 when I’d caught his artwork posted on the Digital Webbing message boards. A cross between Mike Mignola and Travis Charest, his style drew me in instantly and I wanted to write something tailored specifically for him.

I had already published two short stories in Digital Webbing Presents, the terrific anthology comic and training ground for comic creators, and had another accepted for print when I dropped Alan an email with the offer to write a short story for him. I wanted to create something that was a self-contained story but also had the opportunity as on ongoing for DWP.

Alan signed on for the eight page story and his art samples served as inspiration for the ragtag team of soldiers sent to fight the untold battles against strange beings and fantastic weaponry across the European battlefield. Alan knocked it out of the park with his designs and storytelling and has become a terrific collaborator and also a good friend. Thank you, Alan.

The Squad’s first adventure, UBER-JAEGER was published in early 2003 in Digital Webbing Presents #7. The story actually takes place after Operation: Crystal Ball and during the very real Operation: Market Garden when in September 1944, the Allies dropped behind enemy lines into the Netherlands to capture bridges into Germany. Our story opens as the boys parachute in and move to secure a very different objective from the rest of the Allied forces.

The reaction was strong enough to encourage Alan and I push on with the further adventures of the Lost Squad and expand the ideas. And, thus, here we are.

Thanks to Ed Dukeshire for giving the world the Digital Webbing Presents anthology and for the opportunity to try out our little WWII action-horror-sci-fi concept on readers.

I’ve been asked if this story is “in continuity” and the answer is, “Not yet. Wait and see!” We’ve got more in store for the squad and have outlined their adventures all the way until the end of the war. So stay tuned and thanks for reading.

Chris Kirby
May 2, 2007
----------------------------------------------------------------

So there it is. I hope that clears up any confusion. Anyone with questions can email me at the Mailcall! email address. I'm hoping that future editions of the trade (sales allowing) will include the proper introduction.

Trade is out on Wednesday!

Diamond Distributing just updated their shipping list for October 3rd and the LS trade is listed.

Finally!

UPDATE ON THE TRADE

*UPDATE* *UPDATE* *UPDATE* *UPDATE*

I am told that the Lost Squad trade is indeed at the Diamond Comics warehouse, but due to a snafu on their end, the book didn't make this week's shipments.

I'm hoping that come Monday the LS trade will be on the updated shipping list for October 3rd.

I'll keep everyone posted. That is all.

Super secret strike memo

A bit of LS movie news - Hollywood is gearing up the machine to put into production a large number of movies before all hell breaks loose and the town shuts down due to actors/directors/writers going out on strike.

Comingsoon.net has gotten their hands on a memo that's being circulated around talent agencies that lists the fast-tracked projects. And, wouldn't ya' know it, Lost Squad has made the list.

Click on over to Dave's Movie Corner for some fun commentary and juicy tidbits from the list.

Lost Squad trade street date

Earlier this week I made the trek up to check out the new Devil's Due Publishing digs in Chicago The new office is very sharp.

Had a great time lunching at a local tavern with Sam Wells and Sean Dove. I grabbed a bunch of boxes of Lost Squad comics and got the skinny on the Lost Squad trade.

Looks like the LS trade will be at Diamond in time for release either the Sept. 19th or Sept. 26th.

I will update with more info as I get it.

We've had to update our orders as the price on the book changed. I'm still very pleased with the initial orders.

Quick hit interview with Comics Continuum.

Rob Allstetter has a quick write-up about the Lost Squad movie over on Comics Continuum. Scroll down to the second story.

Just a few quick quotes from me from behind the artist's alley table at WizardWorld Chicago.

There's this cool new thing called myspace. Ever heard of it?

Ok, so I may be the only person in cyberspace without a myspace page. Now the Lost Squad has a page.

Phil Kost has taken it upon himself to create a cool little Lost Sqaud outpost on myspace.

Give it a gander here - http://www.myspace.com/thelostsquad.

Add the Squad as your new friend!

WORDBALLOON podcast up!

John Siuntres, the Chicago based creator of the comic book conversation show Wordballoon, did yeoman's work stalking Artist's Alley at Wizard World this year and got a ton of quick audio interviews right from the floor from a bevy of comic heavies...and me.

The podcast was just posted and you can check it out here at Newsarama (right click and hit SAVE LINK to download) or over at the Wordballon homepage (including an in-browser player) here. The list of guests is very impressive, but if you want to skip to my jibba-jabba about the Lost Squad stuff I come in at around the 44:32 mark.

You can also subscribe to Wordballoon using your iTunes software. Some highlights for me from the Wordballoon library: the Bendis episodes are a riot and the Greg Rucka stuff is terrific as well. Two of my favorite creators.

Thanks for stopping by the table John!

Back from Chicago!

I had a fantastic time in Chicago. At the risk of being crass, sales were terrific and it was far-and-away the best show I've ever had.

I wasn't going to sell the nine copies of the Lost Squad trade that I had, but I sold out of Issue #1 on Friday and people were interested in grabbing the entire six issue run. So, I put the books out on Saturday and seven were gone in the first hour. I could have sold another 20 or so if I'd had them.

Reaction to the book has been very strong and I appreciate all the kind comments from readers. I can't thank you enough for picking up the book and giving us a read. One reader picked up the first three issues of the Operation: Crystal Ball storyline and came running back for the rest to have something to read while in line for the DARK KNIGHT panel.

I was set up next to my bro, Kody Chamberlain. We had fantastic booth placement along the back wall of Artist's Alley. Kody was next to superstar Bill Sienkiewicz and I had inker Rodney Ramos on my left. The rest of the row included Mike Norton, Tony Moore and B. Clay Moore - a very solid group. Spot the imposter in that row!

Kody and I hung a bit with Bill Sienkiewicz on Friday night and listened as he told old war stories and talked artistic technique. Great guy and it was an honor to meet him.

I had a great time hanging with some of the Kansas City comics guys - writer Ed Lavallee (REVERE), the GEARHEAD guys - writer Dennis Hopeless and artist Kevin Mellon. Sean Dulaney made it up Friday night and stuck around until Sunday. Glenn Jeffers made it out Thursday and Friday to have a few cocktails.

The Devil's Due crowd were fantastic as always. Thanks to Josh Blaylock, Tim Seeley, Sam Wells and Susan Bishop.

Met a bunch of great people. Phil Kost is the military adviser for Devil's Due and the G.I. Joe comic. Terrific guy. He sent me this picture of he and I by the Lost Squad banner. Phil's on the left. I'm the dork on the right. I must have run into him about thirty times Friday and Saturday night at the Hyatt bar.

Jeffery and Tonya, Kody's pals from Louisiana went to dinner at Gibsons' Thursday night with Kody and I. Great people.

Good to see Jon Malin, Dash Martin, Ryan Stegman, Erik Rose, Joe Judt, Jeff Stevenson and Matt Silady.

Stood around late Saturday night/Sunday morning listening to Kody and B. Clay Moore talk about the comics biz and the reality of it. Clay's a good guy who knows his stuff, so I just listened and absorbed. Also, I was kinda drunk, so that had something to do with not jumping in on the conversation.

Said hey to IDW guys hanging at the Hyatt - Chris Ryall, Nick Stakal and Chuck BB. I wanted to talk a bit with Chris about projects and such, but I figured it was bad form and just said hello. I'll try and drop him an email.

John Siuntres of the WORDBALLOON podcast came by and did a quick hit from the con floor for an upcoming podcast. I can only hope I don't sound like a complete moron. John's podcast is terrific. Give it a listen.

I'm probably forgetting a bunch of people and I apologize.

UPDATE: Dammit! I forgot to mention a couple of great DW message boarders. Mike Kasinger (MEK71) on the boards dropped by the table and picked up a Lost Squad trade. Send me a Lost Squad pin-up MEK and I'll see if we have room in the next issue.

I got a terrific Zombie Hulk sketch card from Rich Molinelli, who's always a blast to talk to as well as his significant (more significant?) other Samantha. I'm going to do my damnedest to make it to New York next year just to hang with them. I'll scan the card and send it your way, Rich.

Also got to meet Dirk Manning of Newsarama and NIGHTMARE WORLD fame in the flesh and in costume. Nice guy. Good to finally meet you, Dirk!

Thanks to everyone who bought comics or just came by to say hello.

Looking forward to next year.

Wizard World Chicago

I'll be setting up in Artist's Alley at table #5512 right next to artist Kody Chamberlain. We're there tomorrow for Preview night and thru the weekend. Come by and say "Hi!". We're all the way in the back along the wall next to the concessions stand.

I'll have LOST SQUAD books for sale along with my self-published horror anthologies FREAKSHOW and BRIDE OF FREAKSHOW.

And, I'll be hawking some terrific original LS artwork from Alan Robinson as well. Sharp looking artwork! Buy it now before Alan gets huge!

I'll also be signing at the Devil's Due booth #435. UPDATE: I'll be signing on Friday from 9am to 10am, Saturday from 12pm to 1pm and on Sunday from 1pm until 2pm. Come by their booth and you can preorder the Lost Squad TPB and qualify to win a free copy!

THE INTERROGATION

I was goofing on the web and found this short comic story online that artist Gil Agudin and I created.

Published back in 2004 in Digital Webbing #13, it was great fun to write and I hope to return to the scene for a sequel.

I love Gil's artwork and would love to work with him again.

Check it out here - THE INTERROGATION.

Back from Comicon

Back and decompressing from Comicon. Had a terrific time.

FINALLY, got my hands on a copy of the Lost Squad trade. That was definitely one highlight of the con. The downside is that the book won't even arrive on these shores in the U.S. until Aug. 30th. ugh.

The Devil's Due crew were, as always, a blast to hang around. Thanks to Susan, Josh, Cassie and Liz for the hospitality. Thanks to Sam Wells for shlepping copies of the trade to San Diego.

Got to hang with Andrew Dabb - writer on DRAGONLANCE, Mark Powers - writer/creator of DRAFTED and the talented Tim Seeley, who is always cool to hang with. Josh Blaylock had some nice things to say about the new project I'm working on and he dropped a few scoops on what DDP has up their sleeves in Hollywood as well.

Dropped by the AiT/PlanetLar booth and saw Larry Young and took a look at pictures of his newest creative triumph - his son Walker. Met former Champaign native and author of the amazing book THE HOMELESS CHANNEL Matt Silady. Terrific guy and very talented.

Dan Taylor from IDW is always up for a beer and talking comics. Danny is a good man. Good luck with everything, bro. You're doing what I can only dream about.

Had a good visit with Courtney Huddleston from Penny Farthing Press.

Talked a bit with Mel Smith and his crew from Wildcard comics about working on...something. Wilcard publish the new GUMBY comic which is a great read. I'd love to find something to work with them on.

Met up with the talented Chad Hardin about something we're working on that we might actually get paid to create. Got some mixed signals here and there, but I got my fingers crossed. Chad and I have something else up our sleeves if this gig falls through, something creator owned that we hope to shop around once we hear the verdict on this other deal.

Had a good time eating and drinking around SD and met a ton of cool people. Colorist Mark Sweeney, THE ENGINE governess Rachel Young, the talented Phil Hester, All The Rage's Stephen Saunders, artist Steven Perkins, and a bunch of Digital Webbing message boarder's: Ray and Ranae, Joanne, Rich Nelson, Jeff Stevenson and Michael Colbert.

Hung a while with Kody Chamberlain, Rob Guillory, and their significant others. Always a good time.

Artist Ryan Scott and I were able to peel ourselves from the convention floor and actually get some work done on our new project. I was able to slip it in the hands of a few people and I'm VERY pleased with the reaction. More on that when I have something concrete to talk about.

Bunked up with Sean Dulaney, Barry Buchanan, and the all-networking Tony Lee. Good mates one and all. Sean made the Top 50 in the Platinum Studios contest and got us into the rooftop party they tossed for the winners. The one bummer of the entire con was the Sean just missed the top 10.

Talked briefly with Daniel Alter producer on the Lost Squad and met his pal, producer Howard Sun. These are the guys that always seem to have some kind of ace up their sleeves.


Tried to talk with Ryan Ottley, but every time I dropped by the Image booth, the guys was swamped with fans looking for sketches. I got to talk with him a bit. He's right at the top of the list of guys I want to work with.

Felt bad about not being able to toss in with the Epic Proportions guys for a booth next year. I've got some things going on right now that won't allow me to commit to the con next year. Hope I didn't piss them off. It was going seeing Ken Knudtsen and Jerry Ma along with their pal Fisk. Ken, I promise I WILL finish part two of MINDGAMES!

Congrats to Shawn Granger another DW regular who did make the Final 10 in the Platinum Studios contest. Shoot on over to their website and vote for Shawn. We palled around a bit with him and one of his sometimes partners-in-crime, the too-damn-funny Jason May. Jason and I share the same kind of twisted sense of humor.

The highlight of the con for me came when I went back to the Devil's Due booth on Saturday to meet one of my screenwriting idols Stephen E. De Souza writer of such movies as DIE HARD 1 & 2 and 48 HOURS. IMHO, DIE HARD is a perfectly constructed script. Currently, he's writing the Sheena book for DDP and was signing copies on Saturday. I found him at the signing table reading the LOST SQUAD trade during a lull in the crowd. How cool is that? He was kind enough to spend the next 30 minutes or so letting me pick his brain on writing for the movies.

I'm probably forgetting a lot of people. Sorry, the booze took it's toll. I had a couple of really great meetings that I'm hoping will pan out into something larger and the reaction to the new project was above expectations.

Here's to hoping that I can make it out to San Diego next year.

Sandy Eggo plans - UPDATED!

Headed to the left coast for Comicon. I'll be there Wednesday through Saturday and jetting out on Sunday.

No table this year so I'll be roaming here and there doing the grip-and-grin networking thing. Hoping to have a few meetings as well.

This is the first year in a while that I won't be setting up somewhere to peddle comics, but I will be signing at the Devil's Due booth # 2415 located across from the Diamond Comics booth.

UPDATE: Susan at DDP is being cruel to me as she's stuck me on the morning shift! I'll be signing on Thursday and Friday from 10AM - Noon and on Saturday from 9:00AM until Noon. Please bring breakfast nosh and hangover remedies.

Got a coupla things in the hopper to show around. Hoping to find a home for one of the projects.

Looking forward to the good food and good folks. It's always great catching up with people every year.

Fan email! This is pretty cool.

I received a terrific email on the Fourth from reader Chris Jachimowicz. He gave the Lost Squad some nice props but also sent along photos of a project he's been working on inspired by the Lost Squad's Spider Tanks.

Here's part of the email:

"The photographic results of my first project are attached. I spent about three months scratch-building a Spider Tank or, "Spinnergewehr." The body is a combination of styrene plastic sheeting for the sides and basswood for the top and bottom (due to the difficult angles). The legs are all styrene plastic rods and tubes. The legs are joined to the body with half-spheres of wood. The neck is a piece of sump pump tubing and the head is a used "Bubble Tape" container. The gun itself is a 1/35 scale 88 gun - "36 FLAK" without the carriage. I then added bits from a tank model to add some realism. The driver/gunner is from a West Wind miniatures "Secrets of the Third Reich" walker model (I did it "buttoned up" so the figure wasn't needed).

I've been purchasing other 28mm figures and should soon begin work on Nazi zombies, rocket troops and the Squad itself.

Thank you again for your imagination and for the opportunity to share these with you."


Check out the photos.

How cool is that?

For the record, I nicked the idea of the Spider Tanks from Jonny Quest (and not the awful Wild Wild West movie), but the actual design of the tanks came from the mind of Alan Robinson. He's really the one who brought them to life.

Thanks for reading, Chris. Make sure to send photos of your next project.

Cat no longer in the bag - St. Leger & Mather to write/direct Lost Squad

News Headlines from Variety: Irish duo join Rogue's 'Lost Squad' and The Hollywood Reporter: Saint, Mather put 'Squad' into action.

For the record: I couldn't be more thrilled!

I was blown away after seeing their 15 minute short 'Prey Alone' - a balls-to-the-wall action stunner with terrific effects. The project's live action elements were shot in only 4 days on a green screen soundstage back in 2004. Digital Animation and effects were added later.

Check out the trailer.

Click on over to their website to view more videos and photos of the shoot. There's some terrific video comparing the raw live action footage to the finished project.

Cool stuff. YouTube has the entire fifteen minute short posted in two parts.

Part one.
Part two.

It's one more (HUGE!) step down that road to making the movie.

Sláinte!

Lost Squad mention on Fanboy Radio.

Writers Phil Hester and Chuck Satterlee , along with penciler Kevin Mellon, were interviewed on Fanboy Radio a few weeks back about their new book THIRTEEN STEPS from Desperado Publishing.

Chuck gives a nice shout out to Lost Squad in the podcast at about halfway mark. Thanks, Chuck!

If you haven't checked out the Fanboy Radio podcast, give it a listen. GREAT stuff and a terrific guest list. It's available on iTunes. Chuck, Phil and Kevin are on Episode #396 recorded on 6/6/07.

Speaking of THIRTEEN STEPS, it's a werewolf book with a twist. Here's the solicit copy: "Semi-pro baseball player Justin Ullrich has a problem… he’s a werewolf and he wants to talk, but nobody’s listening. Not his Mother, Priest, stoner pal or his ex… the succubus. So where does a monster with bloodlust issues go? He enters a twelve step self-help program, of course! But instead of finding answers he finds himself swept up in the identity politics of the monster set. Super-sized 40 page first issue! Thirteen Steps…. Because when it’s supernatural you need that extra step!

Written by Phil Hester and Chuck Satterlee with art by Kevin Mellon (GEARHEAD)".

SOLD!

Interview with Lost Squad producers Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter

The men behind the Lost Squad movie have a ton of stuff on their plate but they found time to sit down with IESB.net's Robert Sanchez and talk a bit about their upcoming movie HITMAN and some other projects.

Lost Squad gets a little love in there as well.

UPDATE: IGN has the HITMAN teaser trailer up.

Broken Frontier debriefs the Squad

Fletch Adams takes a long look at the first arc of Lost Squad over on the terrific comics portal Broken Frontier. Thanks for the write-up, Fletch!

I wish it hadn't taken as long between issues #5 and #6 and, believe me, readers have told us so in more ways than one. We're hoping to do the next installment either as a super-sized one shot or as a short two part mini-series. We'd like to follow the same model HACK/SLASH followed before becoming a regular on-going.

Alan is penciling another project currently for another creator. The artwork looks fantastic. Once this is in the can, he can start on the next installment of LS. I don't want to solicit until we feel comfortable with the pages we have in the can.

"Dude, what's up with the movie?"

That's a good question and something I get asked all the time.

So, here's the skinny as I understand it: Rogue Pictures has an offer out to a director(s) who will both write and direct. I've seen this person(s) work and let me say that I am thrilled and hope a deal can be reached.

I'm not sure I can say much more than that. Things are moving forward and I'll post more when I can.

PUNKS!

Gotta give a shout out to my homies Kody Chamberlain and Josh Fialkov who's new book PUNKS is in Previews this month and published under the Digital Webbing banner.

Click on over to the official site and give it a gander. I guarantee you that it's not like anything else out there. Here's the funny-as-hell press release with a ton of links to make your clicky finger happy.

Fantastic stuff and a couple of damn fine creators. Josh is the Harvey nominated writer of ELK'S RUN and Kody's handled the art chores on Boom! Studios TAG book (written by Keith Giffen) and 30 DAYS OF NIGHT: BLOODSUCKER TALES from IDW.

Make sure to pre-order this one and support indy comics.

5 page preview up at the Devil's Due site.

The fine folks at Devil's Due have tossed up a five page preview of Lost Squad #6.

Go there and read and be amazed.

That new comic smell.

A box showed up on the doorstep yesterday jam packed with 50 copies of Lost Squad #6.

FINALLY!

I'm anticipating the book will be on shelves next Wednesday, April 25th, at finer comic shops everywhere.

Believe me when I say that this issue, without a doubt, contains THE strongest work from Alan to date. He knocks the action out of the park but also shows off his storytelling chops with some of the quieter moments and reaction shots.

And, there is one large splash panel which is absolutely gorgeous.

Featured inside LS#6 is an ad with artwork by Invincible artist Ryan "WyA" Ottley for DDP's newest horror comic CHUCKY. He's handling the incentive cover for this issue. WyA's stuff really is fantastic and he's a good man. If you haven't been reading Invincible, well, then you've missed a terrific super-hero comic. Check it out.

Chucky looks like a fun horror book with Brian Pulido writing and Josh Medors handling the art chores. Josh has done some really solid artwork for Steve Niles on FUSED and 30 Days of Night. Give it read.

More on the release date of LS #6 and the collected trade when I have it.

Some new reviews from non-comics websites.

Did a bit of vanity googling for the Lost Squad and found a couple of mentions out in the blogosphere from some non-comic websites.

Armchair General's online magazine has a nice review of the Lost Squad written by Paul Glasser. Give it a read and stay for the cool military history and in-depth war game reviews. I'm a huge fan of this stuff and this site delivers in spades. Check out the article on the movie adaptation of Frank Miller's '300'. Good stuff.

Check out the comics roundup over on war game publisher Shrapnel Games community blog. Scroll down and you'll find a nice Lost Squad mention. Thanks to Shrapnel staffer Scott for the kind words.

Issue #6 preview artwork.

Apologies are in order from everyone here at Lost Squad HQ for the cancellation of Issue #6 back in October.

We've regrouped, resolicited and the big finale to the Operation: Crystal Ball will appear on comic book store shelves in March.

Here's a few sample pages to tide everyone over in the meantime.



More goodness from Alan.