Where the hell have I been?
Free Comic Book Day!
New books by me!
While you’re here, you should subscribe to some cool comics.
So you may remember that the last time you heard from me was when I wrote 2 emails in a week. Turns out that was all too much for my simple brain to handle and I’ve been sleeping since then.
No, that’s not true. I can’t lie to you. Sort of. The honest truth is that I have been so unbelievably busy, and then on top of that I have had some family emergencies to deal with, and all that comes together to be a perfect storm of “I really don’t want to write one of these right now.” Besides, what do I really have to say? Turns out a whole lot so buckle up.
Well maybe not buckle up. That’s a bit dramatic. But get stoked.
Get stoked feels a bit much still. I’m sorry. I’m rusty at this. But keep reading I guess.
Or not. You can take a break if you want. This isn’t your job. We just want you to have fun.
But if you have decided to keep reading buckle the fuck up!
Before we get into that stuff, just a quick reminder that Saturday is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! What an awesome name for a day. Normally it’s in May, but because the world is stupid they moved it. If you’ve never been, it’s a day when most (not all, so be sure to check) local comic shops have a bunch of free comics to give out. These comics are picked by the publishers as specific titles they want to draw attention to, so it’s usually cool stuff. There are a couple things to keep in mind though.
-The shops pay for the books. They do it to get people into the store, for a chance to introduce new people to comics, and as a thank you to loyal fans. All this is to say, don’t just go and take stuff. Try and say thank you back and buy some things.
-For a lot of people this is their first time in a comic shop. And if not their first, for many it’s not a frequent trip. So make it pleasant for your fellow customers. Be kind, give them space, encourage people to become a part of the comics community.
-It’s a long day for comic shop employees. The longest of the year. And this year especially. So please be kind and respectful to shop staff. Bring them some donuts. Buy them some coffee. Thank them profusely. But more than anything listen to them and follow instruction.
-Wear a damn mask. You’re vaccinated? Cool. Still do it. The store doesn’t require it? Neat. Still do it. Other people aren’t doing it? That’s fine. Still do it. You think the virus is a hoax? Weird. Still do it. The staff and other customers don’t want to argue, they don’t want to have an awkward conversation, they don’t want to feel uncomfortable or unsafe around you. Just be considerate to your neighbors and do this one thing for a little bit. It won’t hurt you.
So I missed the chance to promote a couple things that I am really proud of that were in comic shops over the last 2 weeks. I’m going to make up for that now by telling you about them and asking you to get in your time machine and go buy them. Or check if your local comic shop still has them.
DETECTIVE COMICS #1041 is in stores now. In addition to being the highest numbered issue of a comic I ever wrote, it might be the highest numbered issue of a comic anyone ever wrote. I don’t know. I did no research into that. And I guess every once in a while Marvel and DC put out books called like LOBO #1,000,000,000,000 but c’mon. 1,041?! Who knew they even had numbers that high?
Anyway, the brilliant team of Mariko Tamaki, Dan Mora, and Jordie Bellaire continue their amazing story, which is amazing. But what’s that on the cover?
Enhance…
Enhance…
Enhance…
Fuck it. My enhancer isn’t working. It says “ALSO FEATURING THE ROAD TO TASK FORCE Z by Matthew Rosenberg (that’s me), Darick Robertson, & Diego Rodriguez.” That’s right, my upcoming series TASK FORCE Z begins in these here pages with none other than the brilliant Darick Robertson. Do you like watching THE BOYS on Amazon? Yeah, he co-created that. Did you like watching HAPPY on SyFy? That too. Do you rightly think that NEW WARRIORS is one of the greatest comics of all time? Well Darick’s run on that is the best. My point is if you aren’t buying this book for Darick alone you’re really only hurting yourself. And don’t hurt yourself.
BATMAN URBAN LEGENDS #6. Also out this week. Lots of folks are talking about this one. Stories on NPR and all the mainstream media. Lots of people yelling on twitter. And I sort of wasn’t paying attention but I am assuming it’s because myself, Chris Sprouse, & Karl Story made a Zealot story featuring Wonder Woman. People love Zealot. And for good reason.
Not a lot to say about this one other than it’s fun as hell and there is a joke in there that frankly I think a lot of people aren’t understanding… because if they were I’d be getting yelled at a lot right now.
Anyway, this story is so gorgeous. You should read it.
THUNDERBOLTS: KING IN BLACK by myself and the brilliant Juan Ferreyra, Kyle Hotz, and Joe Sabino came out last week. It collects all 3 issues of our Thunderbolts run and because we wanted to make sure you got your money’s worth we asked Gerry Duggan and Luke Ross to throw in their KIB: MARAUDERS issue as well, and they were kind enough to oblige. At some point on here I will probably tell the story of the book I pitched vs. the book we actually made. Suffice it to say for now that they are… very different. But I really loved making this book. Juan is one of the most incredible artists I have ever worked with. He drew the whole book on grey paper and tried to keep it to just a few simple colors and it works so well. His comedy chops are amazing and are only beaten by his action beats. A lot of this book just became me and Juan trying to make each other laugh, and I think that comes through on the page. In a good way. Either way, Taskmaster, Batroc, Mr. Fear, and Star was such a fun team to write. And I am still astounded that they let us do what we did with The Sentry.
WOLVERINE: BLACK, WHITE & BLOOD TREASURY EDITION came out last week. I am not sure who in editorial decided that this title didn’t need an Oxford comma but I kind of hate it. With that said, this was something I loved doing. Wolverine is one of my favorite comic characters. I know people think that’s weird because he’s so popular. But that’s how people get popular, by being a lot of people’s favorite. When prog rock wunderkind and wonderful editor Mark Basso asked me to do a 10 page Wolverine story set in any era doing anything I wanted, I was so excited. Then I pitched like 3 stories and each time was told “we already have one like that.” Finally I asked if there was a cold war spy story co-starring Nick Fury set in Budapest and I was told “…No?” So that’s what I wrote. I was lucky enough to get paired with the brilliant Joshua Cassara who is pound for pound one of the best superhero artists working today. And man did he just absolutely crush it. I won’t spoil our little story but suffice it to say it has lots of bloody chaos and some screwed up stuff happens. I failed to find a way to put in the weird Hungarian dish I regret not eating when I was over there. It looked like a giant funnel cake bowl filled with sour cream. Anyone know what I’m talking about? Anyway, Josh’s art is gorgeous and this book has a ton of other gorgeous art and pretty words from some of Marvel’s best. And they put it out in the big “treasury edition” format so you can really appreciate that red, red blood.
THE JOKER PRESENTS: A PUZZLEBOX #1 was out last week too. This issue collects the digital chapters 1 & 2 plus both the bonus stories. I may have mentioned it before but this is a weird one, but I think it’s pretty fun. There has been a murder and all of Gotham’s big bads are rounded up. But the only one who is talking is The Joker. What follows are a series of interconnected short stories, each illustrated by a different amazing artist. The all open with The Joker “framing” the stories as he talks to the police. Those are drawn by the brilliant Jesús Merino with Ulises Arreola, who also worked on the first half of this issue. And then the second half is drawn by the mighty Josh Hixson.And of course our covers are by the sexual enigma Chip Zdarsky.
I am really proud of this book. It is deeply strange and really fun, a great showcase for artists, and allows me to play with a ton of my favorite Gotham baddies. And so far the reader reaction has been so amazingly positive. I think most comic creators always hold their breath a little when they put something new out. And when you do something that feels weird and non-traditional and asks for a big emotional investment from the audience that goes double. So I am really overjoyed by the reaction so far. If this sounds up your alley at all pick it up at your local comic shop now.
Big week in comics. Crazy week. Crazy big week. Turns out some company called “Substack” has decided to make comics and comics adjacent things and they’ve given a bunch of very cool creators money to do that. Now I don’t really know what a “substack” is but I like more comics so I am very excited. Let’s dive in.
The idea is that (almost) all these people will be making digital comics you can subscribe to. But more than that they are showing you how and why the comics are made, building bigger worlds and stories than a normal comic could contain, giving you access to rare and exclusive stuff, or even just giving you more access to them. It’s really interesting and I think stands a decent chance of being that gateway to new readers that so many people in the comics community speak about so often.
I am a huge process nerd. I like looking at layouts. I like reading scripts. I like creator interviews and behind the scenes stuff. And the chance to see all that while a book is being built is so cool. But I think no matter what kind of comic fan you are it seems like there is stuff that might be for you.
But who is making the stuff, you didn’t ask? Well I’m going to tell you anyway.
James Tynion IV. James is one of the biggest writers in comics, making some of the best books going right now like SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN, NICE HOUSE ON THE LAKE, DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH, BATMAN, and THE JOKER. He is also one of my oldest and closest friends in comics as I met him before either of us was ever published and we just immediately hit it off. I owe James a lot for helping get me opportunities and opening doors for me. And I owe him a lot for keeping me sane by dealing with my insane 3AM messages. But lately I feel like I owe him a lot for just doing non-stop amazing books that keep me inspired and excited about comics. Check what he’s doing out here.
Scott Snyder. In addition to writing one of the greatest runs on BATMAN of all time, Scott has created a lot of all time favorite books of mine like AMERICAN VAMPIRE, WYTCHES, and A.D.. But beyond being one of the best writers in comics, Scott is also a brilliant teacher. I know this from first hand experience. And now he’s bringing his writing for comics classes online. Access to the mind of not just one of the most popular writers but one of the most thoughtful, the wealth of knowledge and experience he brings, is really an amazing opportunity for aspiring comic creators and it’s well worth checking out. Check it out.
Saladin Ahmed. Saladin started at Marvel around when I did and we both found ourselves working on Inhumans titles. I quickly learned that he was one of the most thoughtful and compassionate writers working in comics today, two traits I highly value. And his work has continued to demonstrate that. From his prose writing to comics like MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN, MS. MARVEL, EXILES, and ABBOTT, he is never not creating work that is both wildly fun and full of heart. I feel lucky to call him a buddy and lucky to be able to read his work every month. I can’t wait to see what he does here.
Jonathan Hickman, Mike del Mundo, Mike Huddleston, and their Superfriends. I have no idea what this is. Check it out here.
Molly Ostertag. I’ve been a fan of Molly’s for a long time. Making books that appeal to children always feels like a herculean task to me. It’s a whole different skill set from making books for adults. So making those same books appeal to adults too… that’s just magic. And Molly continues to do it with books like STRONG FEMALE PROTAGONIST, THE WITCH BOY series, and THE GIRL FROM THE SEA. Molly continues to be one of the most exciting voices in YA comics and comics in general and the chance to look more closely at how they do what they do is so incredible. Check it out.
Skottie Young. Skottie is obviously best known for his wild, unique, and beloved cartooning for Marvel and on books like I HATE FAIRYLAND and ROCKET RACCOON. But he is also really tall. Also he is a great writer who can find the heart in any story and just put it on display. STRANGE ACADEMY, MIDDLEWEST, and the new THE ME YOU LOVE IN THE DARK are all great examples of why Skottie is such a crucial writer. Getting to see more of his cartooning process and hear more on his thought process is amazing. And as someone who has spent many late nights hanging out in bars with Skottie, I can safely say few people make me laugh as much. Check out his stuff here.
Chip Zdarsky. It’s a running joke among comic creators to make fun of Chip. It’s easy to do because Chip is a real character and also Chip is so beloved that nobody could confuse the mockery with sincerity. But I’m going to go the other way for this post and this post alone. He is one of my favorite writers in comics and he is an artist whose work continues to blow me away. Between drawing SEX CRIMINALS, writing KAPTARA, STILLWATER, AFTERLIFT, and DAREDEVIL, Chip is just a truly rare talent. Couple that with the fact that he is a genuinely funny and staggeringly kind person, and you end up with a person whose work deserves to be explored and cherished the way I hope it will be. Check out his stuff here.
That’s it for me. More next week. Stay safe. Take care of each other.
-Matthew Rosenberg
NYC 9/13/21