Comic Book Resources

Talking Comics with Tim: Jamie S. Rich

You Have Killed Me

Back in late July/early August, Robot 6 was fortunate enough to feature independent comics industry veteran writer Jamie S. Rich guest-blogging with the group--partially in promotion of his and artist Joëlle Jones' You Have Killed Me, the 184-page hardboiled crime graphic novel released by Oni Press in mid-July. Rich, an established writer of prose and comics, recently ran circles (in a good way) around some questions I shot his way recently about his latest book. Enjoy, hopefully as much as I did.

Tim O'Shea: Back in 2006 in an interview with Tom Spurgeon you told him (about You Have Killed Me) "12 Reasons was going so well, I think we had only been working on it a couple of months, but I didn't want to lose her to anyone else, so I asked her if she would work with me again and what she would want to do, I'd write her anything. She said she wanted to do hardboiled crime, and since I had the same passion for it she did, I jumped at it, even though it scared me because it was so different from what I'm known for. She's challenging me in incredible ways I would never challenge myself." Can you discuss what ways this story challenged you?

Jamie S. Rich: Well, most immediately, it required some real plotting. Relationship stories like what I had previously been known for don't require as much careful planning, they have a natural flow, peaks and valleys that are tied to the rhythm of real life. It's often unpredictable, less structured, and there is no definite resolution beyond whether or not these people stay together. In a crime story, you have something that happened, and the discovery of how it happened has to be detailed and lead to the revelation of the truth or the punishment of the criminal. You can't just have a random stranger suddenly emerge and say, "Oh, yeah, this homeless drifter did it." I mean, you could, but a lot of people would call you out for cheating, that's not a good story. For You Have Killed Me, I had to concoct a trail for Antonio Mercer, the private detective, to folloq, and each step had to kick up new dirt and I had to keep all of that dirt ordered, even when false or a red herring. There are expectations of that kind of plot. Just as Chekhov said if there is a gun in the first act, it will go off in the third, if you need a gun to go off in the third, you might have to think about having it show up in the first. There is far less left to chance.

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Trick or treat fun at the House of Mystery

from House of Mystery Halloween Annual

I'm not sure I want to know what kinds of "treats" kids can expect when visiting the House of Mystery ... but anyway, the Vertigo blog Graphic Content has some preview pages up from this month's House of Mystery Halloween Annual.

They include looks at the House of Mystery framing sequence, a new Merv Pumpkinhead tale by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham, and one page of Chris Roberson and Mike Allred's "I, Zombie" tale. Now those are treats I can get behind.

Straight for the art | Mike Allred's Mesmo Delivery pin-up

Mike Allred draws Mesmo Delivery

Along with the news that Dark Horse Comics will publish Rafael Grampá's next project, Furry Water, came word that they will reprint his Mesmo Delivery book, originally published by AdHouse Books. On his blog, Grampá reveals that the Dark Horse version will include 22 pages of extras, like sketches and pin-ups by other artists such as Mike Allred, shown above.

SDCC '09 | Image Comics hosts Image United signing event, more

Image United #1

Image Comics will be out in full force at the con, with several panels and a huge list of folks who will be signing all weekend -- everyone from Mike Allred to Christopher Yost.

The biggest event on their schedule is a special signing event with everyone involved in their upcoming Image United book: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Whilce Portacio and Jim Valentino.

Find their full press release and schedules after the jump

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Vertigo announces I, Zombie + Halloween annual

House of Mystery

Vertigo today announced a new series called I, Zombie by author Chris Roberson and Mike Allred.

Although a link between the two isn't mentioned, I'm guessing the title is a subtle homage to the J.M. DeMatteis-written I ... Vampire series that ran in House of Mystery back in the 1980s.

So what better place to kick it off than in the current House of Mystery -- or, rather in a Halloween annual that will include a House of Mystery framing sequence and new Hellblazer, Madame Xanadu, Merv Pumpkinhead and I, Zombie stories.

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Send Us Your Shelf Porn!

Welcome to another episode of Send Us Your Shelf Porn, where we take the photos you send us of your comic book collection and paste them here for everyone to gawk at. And no, we're not changing the name of this column. Sorry.

This week Carl Jansson, a former manager of Comic Universe in Fountain Valley, CA. Before we begin, however, I want to thank everyone who's sent in photos over the past week. The amount of interest I've received has truly been staggering, and I promise each and every one of you will get your day in the sun. So don't fret if you haven't heard back from me yet; you will, and soon. I promise.

And now let's join Carl on a tour of his home ...

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Madman Atomic Comics ends with #17

Madman

Image Comics sent word that Mike Allred will wrap up the current adventures of his signature creation with Madman Atomic Comics #17, due this August. Along with that last issue will come a new album from his band, The Gear, called Left of Center of the Universe. Both the comic and the album will feature "the return of characters from his highly praised hit Red Rocket 7," the press release says.

This is the second album from the band; the first, Son of Red Rocket 7, was released by Dark Horse Comics in 1998. The new album will feature a special guest appearance by Courtney Taylor-Taylor of The Dandy Warhols.

And if you're bummed about Atomic Comics ending, don't worry -- per the release, Madman will be back in some form in the future.

"Madman Atomic Comics marks the end of an era, but definitely not the end of MADMAN at Image," Allred said. "Madman Atomic Comics was a really fun time for me, Laura, Madman and friends. Working at Image gave us an unprecedented freedom with the book, allowing us to experiment like never before! I hope fans have enjoyed the trip thus far and will be back with us on the next leg once we get to it!"

The final issue will also tie in Allred's Red Rocket 7 series in continuity for the very first time.