Wednesday Cover: BLOODTHIRST: THE NIGHTFALL CONSPIRACY

For this week's return to my occasional "Wednesday Cover" feature, I present the Joel Adams (talented son of comics legend Neal Adams) cover for the 1994 comic Bloodthirst: The Nightfall Conspiracy... one of my earliest efforts as a comics writer and one of the few that I'm not completely embarrassed by! 

The Bloodthirst comics (there were three: a one-shot and this two-issue miniseries) were about a vampire secret agent (think Emma Peel with fangs). The Nightfall Conspiracy featured interior art by the talented duo of Delfin Barral and Chuck Bordell. The snazzy logo was created by my pal Darren Goodhart.

Starts Wednesday: FEMME NOIR - "An Eye For A Spy"

Beginning on Wednesday, May 11, Femme Noir co-creator Joe Staton and I will begin re-presenting a classic Femme Noir adventure originally serialized online back in 2003-04, "An Eye for A Spy!" This version has been "remastered," with new colors by Michael Watkins and newly re-lettered by Yours Truly.

New pages will appear on Wednesdays at: http://www.femme-noir.com/

This Weekend: BANGOR COMIC & TOY CONVENTION

 For those of you Maine and New England folks attending the Bangor Comic & Toy Convention at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine this weekend, I'll be there all day on Saturday and Sunday, and will have sale copies of the Femme Noir comic books (tho I'm almost out of issue #1), Gravedigger (comics & trades), Shadow House, the Night Driver graphic novel, and the Kolchak The Night Stalker trade paperback collections that contain the two Kolchak miniseries I wrote. I'll also have a few copies of the Spider Chronicles, Captain Midnight Chronicles and Werewolves: Dead Moon Rising short story anthologies available.

In addition, my lovely better half, Brandi, will have some of her handmade geek-themed jewelry for sale at our table for you craftsy types.

Saturday afternoon, at 2:00, I'll be doing a panel (is it still a panel, if you're alone?) on Comics Writing, and Saturday night, around 8 PM, I'll be hosting a sci-fi double feature screening of 1953's Cat Women Of The Moon and 1959's Teenagers From Outer Space.

Hoping to meet a lot of cool new people (and customers!) and maybe catch up with some old friends. Hey, you never know.

ON SALE NOW! PERILS ON PLANET X Print Editions

After more than 15 years in production, all three issues of the interplanetary swashbuckler, Perils On Planet X,  by Yours Truly and Gene Gonzales, with colors by Ian Sokoliwski, are available to purchase NOW!

They are only available by mail order from IndyPlanet. This is is the best way to support us and the book, as the profits go directly to Gene and myself. Each issue is 32 full-color pages, printed on high-quality, heavy paper stock and includes pin-up art by several well-known comics creators.

Sales of these issues will help Gene and I determine whether there's enough demand for Volume 2: "Agent of Empyr," so if you'd like to see further Perils On Planet X adventures, be sure to order your copies soon.

Upcoming Appearance: Bangor Comic & Toy Convention, April 9-10

So far, I'm only scheduled to appear at one comics convention this year, and that's the Bangor Comic & Toy Convention at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine on April 9th and 10th. It looks to be a good show, with some big name media guests like Star Trek's Nichelle Nichols and Denise Crosby, Doctor Who's Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, wrestler Kevin Nash, and bunch of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers cast members. Comic guests include Marvel inker Bob Wiacek, Chris Sprouse, Rich Woodall and Paris Cullins.

I'll be there with my wife, Brandi, and will have a bunch of stuff for sale, including Femme Noir, Gravedigger, Kolchak The Night Stlaker, Shadow House, and the brand new Perils On Planet X comic books. I've even had a new display banner made for the occasion.

Right now, I'm scheduled for a Comics Creators panel on Saturday afternoon, and Saturday evening, I'll be hosting a 50s sci-fi movie double feature of Cat-Women of the Moon and Teenagers From Outer Space! I'll be dropping some knowledge/trivia about the films and pretending to be an authority on the subject.

So, if you live in Maine or Northern New England, I hope you'll come to the show. I'd love to see you there!

PERILS ON PLANET X Print Editions Coming Soon

All three issues of Perils On Planet X have been sent to the printer. In just a very short while, they'll be available for mail order thru IndyPlanet.us. As soon as they're ready to go, I'll let everyone know here and Facebook and Twitter.

Since we're self-publishing these, buying copies online is the best way to directly support me and Gene Gonzales... especially if you'd like to see more Planet X comics one day! Remember, these will not be available in stores - only by mail order or directly from Gene or myself at conventions.

So, stand by - ordering details coming soon!

On Sale Now: KOLCHAK - THE NIGHT STRANGLER FILES

Moonstone Books' Kolchak: The Night Strangler Files is available now, evidently (link directs to Amazon's product page). This volume contains my second Kolchak miniseries, along with an adaptation of Richard Matheson's screenplay for the second Kolchak TV movie.

I'm not as pleased with it as the first miniseries I wrote for Moonstone ("Night Stalker of the Living Dead," collected in Kolchak Tales: Monsters Among Us) for various reasons, but it's still nice to see it collected. Also cool to have my name on the same cover with the maestro, Richard Matheson.

Wednesday Cover: QUARRY IN THE BLACK

Here's the cover for the upcoming Max Allan Collins "Quarry" novel, Quarry In The Black, from Hard Case Crime books. The stunning illustration is by the late Glen Orbik, a true pulp art master who passed away last May. Reportedly, it was his last completed cover painting. Quarry In The Black is the 12th(!) "Quarry" novel, and is due to be published in October, to tie-in with the Quarry television series on Cinemax.

GRAVEDIGGER: HOT WOMEN, COLD CASH

Hey kids! Just a reminder that if you haven't picked it up already, the complete Gravedigger saga (to date), is available as digital editions through comiXology and in a trade paperback collection that can be purchased at your local comic shop (hopefully) or through sites like Amazon and InStockTrades.

No matter where you buy (or already bought) the book from, we'd really appreciate it if you took a few minutes to review Gravedigger on Amazon. We'd really like to produce another adventure, and the more books we sell, the better the chance of a sequel. Reviews are extremely helpful... and sincerely appreciated. Thanks!

Space Crusader: Rex Dexter Of Mars!

Art by Peter Grau

For the last couple years, as I've teased Peter Grau's Space Crusaders prelim art, I've promised that I'd share more details about the project once we'd made some significant headway on pages. Well, now that we've got some momentum going, I thought it it was time to reveal a bit more about the project to you folks.

Space Crusaders is the working title of a "double feature" graphic novel that resurrects a couple of space hero characters from the Golden Age of comics.

The artwork I've shown so far is from the first of those two features: a 30-page "novella" called "Menace of the Saurian Sphere," starring Dick Briefer's Rex Dexter Of Mars character, who originally appeared in Mystery Men Comics, beginning in 1939. I've long loved the Mars-born Rex Dexter character (and his Earth girlfriend, Cynde), and thought it would be fun to pay tribute to Briefer with a new Rex adventure.

As for the second feature and its Golden Age space ace... well, I'm going to keep that one under wraps a while longer.

Wednesday Covers: Gullivar Jones On The Loose!

At one point in the 1970s, Marvel Comics, unable to secure the comic book rights to Edgar Rice Burroughs' "John Carter of Mars" stories (which were being published at rival DC), began adapting author Edwin Lester Arnold's 1905 sci-fi novel, Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation, in the pages of Creatures On The Loose!

Arnold's novel was a precursor to Burroughs' interplanetary fantasies, with a number of story similarities to the first few John Carter adventures. Marvel drafted their top cover artist, the legendary Gil Kane, to play up those similarities, leading to a pretty amazing run of swashbuckling, action-packed cover illustrations.Here are a few of them:

A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...

GRAVEDIGGER Update: Issue #3 In Stores Now

I've been a little negligent in updating this blog, but I wanted to let you all know that the third - and final - issue of the current Gravedigger miniseries from Action Lab Danger Zone went on sale in finer comic book shops yesterday. This issue reprints the 2004 one-shot, "The Scavengers," with all new cover art (pictured above) by artist Rick Burchett.

This issue - along with the previous two - is available digitally through ComiXology, as well. If you prefer to get your comics that way, you'll find all three issues HERE.

If you're one of those who prefers to "wait for the trade," the collection, which I've titled "Hot Women, Cold Cash," will be out soon. You can try to pre-order it from your local comic book store, or buy it online from Amazon HERE.

That's it for the time being, but if you'd like to see more Gravedigger comics from Rick and myself, be sure to let the fine folks at Action Lab know through their website and Facebook page. Thanks!

KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STRANGLER FILES

Huh. Apparently Moonstone is collecting my three-issue Kolchak: The Night Stalker Files run from a few years back in a trade paperback with their adaptation of the second Matheson-scripted telefilm, The Night Strangler.

This was my second Kolchak miniseries for them, after Night Stalker Of The Living Dead (collected in this volume). I'm not quite as happy with this series, for a variety of reasons. That said, it's cool that my name is on a book cover with Richard Matheson!

It does still bug me that they insist on billing me as "Chris," since I use my full name professionally, dammit.

I won't be seeing any money on this, I'm guessing, but if you're interested, it will be out in December and can be pre-ordered now through Diamond Distribution.

The SPACE CRUSADERS are coming!

I love getting art in my e-mail inbox! This time from another project ever-so-slowly inching its way to realization... the tentatively-titled Space Crusaders, a space opera anthology graphic novel drawn by artist Peter Grau. Peter and I have been slowly pulling it together over the last year or two, but it's starting to gain some momentum now. Once we get a solid chunk of pages together, I'll share more specifics obout the book.Got a bunch of awesome designs in the inbox this week; here's a peek!

Art © 2015 Peter Grau

Art © 2015 Peter Grau

Art © 2015 Peter Grau