Growing up in the nineties good comics were few and far between. The ever reliable top of my comic food pyramid was James Robinson’s Star-Man. Published by DC comics the book followed the son of the original Star Man, Jack Knight as he attempted to live up to his father, and dead brothers, legacy. Born out of the lame Zero Hour crossover I don’t think expectations were high. James surprised the industry by penning an epic, cr

itically acclaimed, 80 issue epic. He was one of the few writers working with super heroes that dared try something new. It was inspiring.

Flash forward to the near present. I debuted my new self published comic Short Hand at the Alternative Press Expo last month. It was a rough convention for many reasons, the worst of which was putting my dog, Sugar, to sleep Saturday night. I spent the weekend either blind drunk or in tears, so it’s no surprise I missed James when he stopped by my table. I would have loved to personalize an autograph for his copy. Considering my state, maybe it’s better I didn’t because apparently he quite enjoyed the book. So much that he took it upon himself to author a review of the book for iFanboy. Not only is the best review of my career but that it came from one of my heroes makes me question reality. DId this really happen? Or am I under the kitchen sink huffing a house-hold-cleaner soaked rag? Again?

Here’s what James had to say about your favorite mercurial red-read and Short Hand.

“Jason and Rahsan’s comic is quite simply wonderful. In fact I’m somewhat in awe of how clever and well told the comic is.  The problem with reviewing it, unfortunately, is that if I reveal very much of the plot, I risk ruining a wonderful twist in the tale, so I’m going to have to write this carefully for fear I’ll give things away.  Shorthand is a detective comic, with the mystery element of the comic, cleanly and very elegantly told, which is a real art with crime/mystery comics in that they can get bogged down with too many details, sometimes before the writer even realizes it.  In Jason’s case however no such crime against the reader has been committed and the story glides along at a smooth, elegant, perfect pace.

The tale also has wonderful humor stemming from both the situation and the dialogue, which is beautifully handled.  There’s real wit in this comic, the fun off-set by a slightly tragic aspect to the main character and the overall scenario that gives the book a nice amount of weight and stops the tale from seeming lightweight or trivial.  The last page especially is sad and beautiful both.  And that’s about all I can say without ruining it for you.

I will say that as a writer Jason is building a wonderful body of work (including the Xeric Award winning Full Moon).  In this he’s gone the route of small press and self-publishing, although I won’t be surprised if he’s discovered by the bigger companies soon.  His work is definitely worth taking the time to find, and Shorthand is a fine example of what the guy can do.”

You can read the full review here at Ifanboy.

http://ifanboy.com/articles/guest-review-shorthand-reviewed-by-james-robinson/

Short Hand will finally make it’s debut at the Alternative Press Expo this October 1st and 2nd. Illustrated by the incredibly talented Rahsan Ekedal (Echoes, Cleaners), the first issue of Short Hand is a stand alone tale of noir with a twist. This limited APE exclusive run of Short Hand will include sketches, a script preview and a bonus 3 pages story.

“On the run from the authorities Oscar Lindstat is forced to hide out in an old folks home. But the Happy Oaks Retirement Village has secrets of its own. Can Oscar solve the case of the Toothless Fairy before becoming it’s next victim?”

I’ll be appearing with the Writers Old Fashioned at table #241. See you soon!

That’s right! Miners Mutiny is now available to one and all.   Just send me $6 and I will personally sign and send you your very own copy!

Some of you may remember something called a mailbox (slightly different from your email inbox).  Well, I’m not kidding when I say, I want to stuff yours with comics!

So please, shoot me an email minersmutiny@gmail.com. We’ll make it happen. 

And if you live on the West coast (specifically San Francisco) you’re set! You can find Miners Mutiny in your neighborhood comic shop.  Get one today!!!

Nick and I will be talking shop, swapping self-publishing woes (and triumphs) and generally having a good time!  You should definitely stop by, if only to scope out this amazing new store:

Press: Works on Paper

Hope to see you all there!

And a GREAT review at that!

I’m celebrating with ol’  Saggy Pants Shahan!

The show was AWESOME! Greg Hinkle, Stephenny Godfrey, myself (Emily) and my husband Nicholas were all slinging our wares in true Writers Old Fashioned style.  Greg was promoting his horror anthology and WOF collaboration, Parasomnia (with stories by STORM, Jason McNamara and Matt Silday). Steph was rocking her brand new mini comic, Two Buses. Two Buses is the sequel to her award-winning Panorama, measuring 15ft in length, it’s 2ft longer than the first!  Nicholas and I were ECSTATIC to be debuting our first full length comic, Miners Mutiny! Now on sale in fine San Francisco establishments. Justin Hall was over at the Prism booth in it’s unfortunately, undesirable location (in front of the ladies room) where he was working his amazing new Glamazonia book!

This year Stumptown kicked the show into high gear when it became a curated show.  There were definitely some mixed feelings on this change over. Some feel the show is now catering to the commercial, published comics rather than the DIY vibe Stumptown has always been known for…

And there were definitely complaints in the communication department, between the exhibitors and the show hosts.  This affected us personally when our paperwork was actually lost, almost eliminating us from the show altogether.  However, our very own Greg Hinkle was smart enough to have reserved his OWN table and kind enough to let us crash his, big thanks to Greg!

Hopefully all the miscommunication and misfiled paperwork was a one time deal and next year the show will pick up without a hitch.

No matter what, this convention and every comic convention is about the comicbooks and the fans.  The feeling of putting your book in someone’s hands cannot be matched.  Especially in a town like Portland.  We are SO lucky to have had the amount of true comic connoisseurs that passed by our booth.  The people of Portland, truly just love comic books.  They even got their mayor to dress up as a comic book hero! I’m always a little overwhelmed by the quantity of quality work at Stumptown and I always want to talk to every creator there.

The way I see it is, this convention grew, there’s no doubt about it. But what does this mean for us?

I say, more people, more comics, more love. Bring it on, Stumptown!

Writers Old Fashioned had such a successful WonderCon this year that we’re still buzzing from the sugar high of so many sweet comics aficionados!  Thanks to everyone who made it out to our booth this year!  

Josh Richardson debuted his first mini-comic at this year’s WonderCon to rave reviews!  Check out some preview pages and read what Sonia Harris thought of it in her Committed column on Comic Book Resources!  Above, Josh signs his comic for a fan.  Photo by Sonia Harris.

Nick Shahan and Emily Stackhouse were on hand to sell copies of the award-winning Brazilianoir and promoted the upcoming Miner’s Mutiny which will be for sale at this month’s Stumptown Comics Fest.  Make sure to visit Emily and Nick there! Photo by Sonia Harris.

STORM was on hand selling the last remaining copies of Princess Witch Boy #2 (You can read #1 here for free) and giving Heroic Tarot readings!  The awesome science-fiction/pop culture blog io9 named his X-Men Tarot “Best of WonderCon Floor”!  Photo by Dan Ciurczak.

Writers Old Fashioned will be at Stumptown Comics Fest the weekend of April 16 and 17!  So if you are in Portland, make sure to come on by and see Emily Stackhouse, Greg Hinkle, and Stephenny Godfrey!

Or, if you will be in San Francisco on April 16, come by Mission Comics for a pre-release party of Jason McNamara and Paige Braddock’s The Martian Confederacy: From Mars With Love.  There will be readings, ursine moonshine and general shenanigans!

Best Regards from Writers Old Fashioned!

Hey, there have been some Martian Confederacy updates. First off, the book is finally finished, lettered and on its way to the printer. Thank you for being patient with Paige and I as we battled some unexpected obstacles. We’re expecting the book to arrive in stores this March. I can honestly say the wait was worth it and Paige has turned in the best work of her career.

For those who missed it, Paige and I had a rollicking conversation with Tim Young on his Deconstructing Comics Podcast.

I interviewed Paige recently for CBR.

And finally we have a 25 page preview of the Martian Confederacy: From Mars With Love, hosted by our friends at Robot 6.

Fresh from the success of his horror anthology Parasomnia, Greg Hinkle talks to Tim of the Deconstructing Comics podcast.  Listen to his process, inspirations and obsession about Beard Month!

Tim has also interviewed fellow Writers Old Fashioned members Matt Silady, Jason McNamara, and STORM (who also reviewed some Madman comics with Tim).