One of my favorite things about the DC Universe, and Batman’s place within it, is how he can be surrounded by utter insanity and still be as serious as a heart attack.
I got to lean into this a bit with my upcoming story for the most excellent Batman: Urban Legends series in which Batman and Plastic Man team-up in an effort to help a former bodyman of the Penguin’s escape his former employer’s clutches after he decides to turn informant.
In the midst of it all, of course, Batman manages to windsurf on Plastic Man. Checking that off my bucket list for sure.
I’m very honored to have worked with the incredible Jason Howard, who rendered the Bats/Plas adventure with every bit of energy it deserves.
I’m equally stoked about Riley Rossmo‘s stunning variant cover for the issue featuring this particular team-up.
Batman: Urban Legends #15 hits May 10, 2022, so I hope you’ll check it out! Stay tuned for more…
Growing up a “DC Kid” or a “Marvel Kid” is something that, I think, is probably outdated in this day and age. At least, it seems that way, but that could just be the fact that I’m old now and kids have so much superhero stimulation from so many areas beyond just comics that it seems impossible to me that they could possibly commit one way or the other.
But growing up, I was most certainly a DC Kid, fiendishly worshipping anything with Superman’s S-Shield on it and deep diving into the well of Kirby’s Fourth World, Gotham’s underbelly, Bibbo’s Ace of Clubs, and the surface of the living planet Mogo. DC’s heroes were, and still are, aspirational; it feels like they have something to teach us. Marvel’s heroes are relatable in a way that makes you feel like, hey, that could be ME! But I didn’t always want to read comics to see the world outside my window, I wanted to peek into the window of the universe next door.
So it thrills me to say that I’m going to be stepping through window and exploring it first hand: I’ve been accepted into this year’s DC Comics Writers Workshop, an intensive writing workshop focused on comics—DC superhero comics, specifically—giving the six of us that have been accepted an opportunity to play in the DCU and learn from the best of the best. In this case, that’s writer extraordinaire Scott Snyder and the Talent Development team at DC.
I’m so pleased to say that Pawn Shop, by me and Sean Von Gorman, is being published by Z2 Comics this fall, as announced by Publishers Weekly earlier today.
The book is currently available for pre-order on Amazon and at your local book and comic stores. If you were a Kickstarter backer or purchased one of the self-published editions from us at some point, your support means the world! If you enjoyed it, we’d love if you could continue spreading the word and get your local shops to order a copy or just tell a friend!
Over two years ago, I posted a piece calling out some severely inappropriate behavior by a comics retailer in my home state of MA. While I can’t say if his behavior has changed at all during this time, I can say that we followed through on the promise I made in that post — that we’d put together an anthology that uses comics to fight the type of bullying that, unfortunately, happens even within our own community of creators, retailers, and readers.
With the help of my co-editors Adam Pruett, Erica Schultz, and Kristopher White, we assembled an elite comic-book-making team ranging from superstar A-listers to exciting up-and-comers that donated their time, effort, and creative juices to create an anthology that we’re proud of with a variety of different styles and a theme that unites. It’s been a long, hard road to make this book a reality, with conversations with nearly every comic publisher you can think of, but we’re blessed to have teamed up with Northwest Press to get this book out the door.
A RISE cover by Sean Von Gorman
NWP launched a Kickstarter last month that ended yesterday — exceeding its goal of $10,000. The money was to cover printing costs to distribute these books to our partner organizations so they can give them away for free at schools and events. Our partners were also instrumental over these past two years of getting this thing together — GLAAD, Stand for the Silent, and PRISM Comics — and we can’t thank them enough.
So to everyone that kicked in or spread the word, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. This project has been a labor of love (and oftentimes a mountain of stress) for everyone involved, but knowing that people supported a project like this — getting it into the hands of kids for free — is amazing.
Head on over to the Kickstarter updates to see some of the stories that we’ve posted for a free sample!
Valiant Comics has been doing these great anniversary spectaculars for the 25th issues of their books, and I’m happy to say that, as announced at NYCC’s Special Edition over the weekend, I’ll be featured in Archer & Armstrong #25 on sale in October.
As you can see, there are a great many names involved, and I’m super excited to be a part of it. Here’s the full press release and solicitation info:
