TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE out WED DEC 22nd

This Wednesday, my last published work of 2010 hits stores - TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE, drawn by superstar artist Sean Murphy. It's a double-sized special with 44(!) pages of story.

Comic Book Resources has a 4 page preview of it here.

As I've hinted at before, this Teen Titans tale means quite a bit to me. To explain why, let me give you a little bit of its history.

TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE started out as a two-issue Teen Titans arc called "FATHER'S DAY", about 3-4 years ago when Geoff Johns was finishing his great run on the book. I had just written GROUNDED, and this was my first work for hire assignment. Former DC and now Marvel editor Jeanine Schaefer came up to me at New York Comic-Con, and having seen how I'd handled teens in GROUNDED, and told me I'd be perfect to pitch for a Teen Titans story.

Jeanine is someone I owe a lot to in my career. Not only did she give me my first break at DC, she also gave me a chance to write darker material with TWO-FACE: YEAR ONE, at a time when I was worried I'd get typecast as the teen superhero guy.

Along with Eddie Berganza, she helped guide me as I wrote characters that for the first time weren't my own. They also paired me with one of the best artist's I've ever worked with, Sean Murphy. At the time he was best known for his Oni book "Off Road" and Scarecrow: Year One (the latter is, coincidentally, packaged in trade paperback with my Two-Face story). Sean knocked the Titans issues out of the park...yet despite all the pages being fully inked, they never saw print.

To this day I'm not entirely sure why. We were told various things, either involving continuity or office politics. At the time, I was not happy. Now, I realize things like that happen all the time. Until this summer, I contented myself with the fact I was paid for my work, and that I had a great piece of Sean Murphy's original art on the wall - a double paged spread of The Teen Titans fighting the Flash's Rogues Gallery of villains. Not to mention that the unpublished Titans story led to me writing CYBORG, SUPERGIRL and more for DC.

Flash forward to this past summer. I'm at San Diego Comic-Con, where I don't want to be, because my father had just passed away. I forced myself to go because I didn't want to let down any of my creative or business partners, and I knew my father would want me to - no one believed in my career more than him. I run into Eddie Berganza, who congratulates me on my Teen Titans story getting published.

I'm not someone that necessarily believes in something bigger than myself, but the fact that a long lost story called "Father's Day" was going to finally see print after I'd lost my own father...I have to admit that in some way it felt like a sign.

The only problem was...I'd written the story years ago. Continuity had changed quite a bit. Some of the Titans were no longer on the team, and some of them were dead. It was written as a two issue arc, not a giant-sized one shot. And upon reading the story, I realized that the flip side of being a much better writer than I was back then is that the story needed a lot of work.

Because the story was already drawn, my options for improving it were limited. Sean had moved on to bigger and better things (Hellblazer and Grant Morrison's Joe the Barbarian, to name a few). His newfound success might be why the book was seeing print, but he couldn't have redrawn the pages if he wanted to.

I always do a dialogue pass on comics when I see the lettering. But this time, with the help of Eddie and Editor Adam Schlagman, I did the most extensive series of rewrites I've ever done on a comic. I added narration to make the continuity clear to readers (like me) who haven't picked up Titans in a while (or ever), to tie the two issues together, and to add a level of emotional depth that I thought was lacking.

In doing so, I realized that was I fortunate this story hadn't come out earlier, exposing my less polished work to the world. But more importantly, I probably wasn't able to tell the story I wanted to until the terrible events of this past summer.

TEEN TITANS: FATHERS DAY was re-named TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE. It was changed to avoid confusion with another title, to reflect the presence in the book of Captain Cold, the lead villain in the Flash's Rogues Gallery, and to play off the idea of an untold story, an unsolved mystery from the past.

But there was a reason it was originally entitled "Father's Day". When I wrote the book, Tim Drake, at that time Robin to Bruce Wayne's Batman, had just lost his father, Jack Drake, in a mini-series by Brad Meltzer called Identity Crisis. He was killed by Captain Boomerang, who he took with him to his grave. That left two sons without fathers. While the hook of the story is to two teams of super-heroes and super-villains fighting it out for the first time, it's really about two families facing grievous losses.

Until this summer, I don't think I truly understood loss. A while back in this blog, I wrote about how my father inspired me to write TWO-FACE: YEAR ONE. He was not just my dad, but my best friend, and my hero. Like Harvey Dent, he was a prosecutor in a sometimes less than ethical justice system. Unlike Harvey Dent, he was able to overcome his demons and be a real force of good. He put away spies and mafioso, and later, as a judge, helped bring fairness to the trials of both the accused and their alleged victims. The term hero gets thrown around loosely, particularly in comics, but my dad was also a guy who once physically took down a madman with a machete. I couldn't make this stuff up.

Re-writing TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE, I realized it was in some ways like a last letter to my dad. Robin, like Bruce Wayne, is struggling not only with the loss of his dad, but also with the fact that his father died with something in his hands Bruce never would have approved of - a gun. Robin was also afraid of a possible future he had glimpsed where he used a gun to kill a villain.

Metaphorically, I think those things stand in for all our fears, of losing loved ones, and of inheriting qualities of our parents that we hope to avoid.

My father carried - but never used - a gun, something I had very mixed feelings about growing up. I'm not a gun lover. But as the son of an Assistant U.S. Attorney I grew up under very real death threats aimed at my family. It's a story for another time, but I've had a gun pointed at me since I was literally in the womb. Suffice to say I understand the necessity of firearms for personal defense.

Without spoiling the story I hope you'll read, I came to many of the same conclusions Robin did. My father was faced with incredibly difficult decisions, and while I may have made different ones, that doesn't make him any less of a hero. And while, like Robin, I'm jealous of people who still have fathers (even questionable ones), I wouldn't trade my father, or the time I had with him, for anything in the world.

WHAT IF? SPIDER MAN (KILLED KRAVEN THE HUNTER)- OUT NOW

My Marvel Comics debut, "What If? Spider-Man" is out in stores as of this Wednesday, December 15th 2010.

It's hard to say what means more to me, achieving my lifelong dream of working with Marvel, or having my name on another book with Paul Azaceta.

While I've enjoyed writing for DC, I was a Marvel guy growing up. The theme of my Bar Mitzvah was Marvel Comics. Somewhere out there are shirts with a caricature of me in Iron Man's silver and crimson armor with the words "I had a MARVELous time at Mark's Bar Mitzvah".

That particular Iron Man suit, along with a bearded Thor and a Black and Red Captain America, also heralded my favorite Spider-Man garb - his black and white costume. To me, that's the iconic version, and it's the one he wears through most of our What If? story.

What If? Spider-Man spins out of Joe Kelly's recent GRIM HUNT storyline. In it, Spider-Man is run through a gauntlet, with many of those close to him killed by his classic foe Kraven The Hunter. Spider-Man comes close to killing him, and our story asks what would have happen if he'd taken that next step.

There's some people I should thank for this opportunity. Editor Tom Brennan, who not only picked me for this assignment but really stepped in and made this a better story. Steve Wacker, who I wrote an as yet unpublished Spider-Man story for that got me this gig. And Mark Waid, former editor-in-chief of BOOM! Studios. Mark recommended me to Marvel when I was working on Unthinkable, and helped get my foot in the door. That was no small favor - it's hard to imagine the EIC of any major publisher recommending a writer or artist to a competitor. It speaks to the kind of guy Mark Waid is - a mensch.

While it's a dream come true, so is working with Paul again. While he did the covers for UNTHINKABLE, this is the first time we've collaborated on a story since my first published work, GROUNDED, nearly five years ago. Since that time, Paul has become one of the main Spider-Man artists, and one of the top talents in the industry. There's no greater compliment to me than an artist wanting to work with me again. If you like what we're doing here, you're going to love our creator-owned book, GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES, which should be out in 2011.

In the meantime, I hope you'll check What If? Spider-Man out. Next Wednesday, December 22nd, my last book of 2010 comes out, when I head back to DC Comics for TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE with Sean Murphy.

RIFT RAIDERS well-reviewed and out NOW, What If? Spider-Man Out next Wed, Dec 15th

I should have posted this weeks ago, but Rift Raiders is now available in stores. While I'd love you to support your local comic shop, you can also pick it up at Walmart, or download it on Comixology.com. I believe it will be available in more venues next year.

The reviews so far have been fantastic.

David Pepose made Rift Raiders one of Newsarama's "best shots". He said:

"If Rift Raiders is the flagship of Kickstart Comics, I have to say — this could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship."

Imagine National Treasure mixed with Runaways and throw it through time instead of space, and you've got the basic gist of Mark Sable and Julian Totino Tedesco's new book. Broad enough to embrace new readers and way more stylish than it has any right to be, there is a whole lot to like about Rift Raiders."

I particularly like that he said "But the real success story in this book is Julian Totino Tedesco, who pulls a page from the Sean Murphy playbook with some looser, more cartoony lines than his work on Unthinkable — and man, does it look absolutely slick." It's not false modesty to say that, as proud as I am of writing it, Julian is the real star of this book.

I love the comparison to Sean Murphy, who is a superstar talent and a friend. He drew my upcoming Teen Titans: Cold Case book, out December 22nd. Speaking of which, Kevin Mahadeo did a great interview with me about that book at Comic Book Resources, where I discuss why that book has special meaning for me.

There's another nice Rift Raiders review from Stewart Ryder at Paradox Comics. An excerpt"The pairing of Mark Sable and Julian Totino Tedesco impressed me last year...in the terrific Unthinkable...luckily...Kickstart have managed to reunite the duo to spin a tale of adventurous time travel."

Finally, I did a fun interview with EJ Feddes over at Spunky Bean focusing on Rift Raiders.

Thanks David, Stewart, Kevin and EJ for the reviews and interviews. If you are a (legitimate) reviewer, and would like to review Kickstart, I can arrange for a copy to be sent your way.

Next week, Dec 15th, my first (published) Marvel work, What If? Spider-Man, comes out. It's drawn by Paul Azaceta, artist and co-creator off GROUNDED, my first published work, period. So it's like things have come full circle.

I'll have more on Spidery soon, but I have to get back to work. Which right now includes GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES, my next Image book (also drawn and co-created by Paul), DECOY, my next Kickstart book, some motion comic work for an upcoming blockbuster movie, my teaching for The Writer's Boot Camp and...god, that's not everything and already I'm both excited and stressed out.

Long Beach Comic Con and Upcoming Project News

As I write this, I'm preparing for two special events at Long Beach Comic-Con, which I'll be attending today, Saturday October 3oth. I'm conducting a workshop called "Writing for Comics, TV and Film" from 12-12:45pm - in Seaside Room 301 and the signing is 2:30-4pm at a location TBD (I'll update as soon as I know).

The bad news is that I won't be signing Rift Raiders. It was supposed to be out already, and I was supposed to be signing copies for the first time today. Evidently, there is some kind of problem with the printer. It's a shame because Rift Raiders has been done since before San Diego. Julian is an extremely fast artist and any delay should be no reflection on him (nor on Kickstart, for that matter).

Like I said, though, I'll be happy to sign anything else. But I'm mostly excited about the workshop I'm having.

Aside from writing, my other "job" is teaching screenwriting for The Writers Boot Camp. It's an acclaimed writing program based out of Santa Monica and New York, and I teach writers from literally all over the world online. I've had a great track record, with my writers winning contests, fellowships and getting hired to adapt bestselling novels for the screen.

The workshop at LBCC will be my way of passing on some of my teaching experience as well as my years of experience writing professionally. It's a short class, but I plan to really delve into substantive storytelling material, along with the usual "how to break in" stuff. I will try and drop as many behind the scenes stories into the mix as possible, the common theme of which I imagine will be "do as I say, not as I do".

As for where I am with my writing now, I'm doing quite a bit more than awaiting the release of Rift Raiders. December will see the release of What If? Spider-Man from Marvel, and Teen Titans: Cold Case from DC. Paul Azaceta is drawing Spidey, and the pages so far look PHENOMENAL. If you've been loving what he's been doing with Mark Waid on The Amazing Spider-Man as I have, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Even better news is that as soon as Paul is finished with What If?, he'll be ready to start our creator owned project, GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES. If I say Zombies vs. Marines vs. Taliban, will that whet your appetite. I promise, it's like no zombie book you've ever read, and hopefully one of the stronger war books that you will. GRAVEYARD finally has a publisher, which I hope to announce soon.

I'm also working on my second book for Kickstart. It's called DECOY, and it's a mix of sci-fi and espionage. If you dug UNTHINKABLE or Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, it should be right up your alley. Hopefully there will be an artist announcement soon. The names in consideration have me excited already.

Finally, a webcomics I've been working on for years, DRACULA: SON OF THE DRAGON, will be drawn by my Tori Amos Comic Book Tattoo collaborator Salgood Sam and should see the light of day soon.

I'll have art to show from RIFT RAIDERS, GRAVEYARD and DRACULA for anyone who shows up at Long Beach today.

New York Comic-Con 2010

I'll be attending New York Comic-Con all weekend, from this Friday, October 8th to Sunday October 10th, 2010.

I'll primarily be in artist's alley at table Q-11. I'm sharing the table with artist PJ Holden, who not only collaborated with Dave Roth and me on our Image book FEARLESS, but is a popular 2000 AD artist and just did the "Happy Valley" arc for Garth Ennis' Battlefields.

I'll have copies of FEARLESS (which are hard to find), as well as GROUNDED, UNTHINKABLE, TWO-FACE: YEAR ONE, CYBORG etc. for sale. I'll also be showing off pages from Rift Raiders and other assorted upcoming work.

Additionally, I'll be signing at digital comics distributor Graphic.ly booth 1751 on Friday from 2:30-3PM. Graphic.ly is currently publishing UNTHINKABLE online and for the ipad/iphone. I'm going to be doing creator commentary for UNTHINKABLE (and any other books of mine the publish). I also hope to be publishing an original digital comic with them. Details to come.

Please stop by. I'm happy to sign anything and chat with you. In fact, interacting with readers is the highlight of the convention for me.

NOTE: I won't have any copies of RIFT RAIDERS for sale, which I had hoped. I will have them for my next convention, Long Beach Comic-Con, which I'll be attending at the end of this month. I'll be teaching a class on how to write for comics, film and television and LBCC as well. Finally, I hope to announce a surprise international convention that I've been invited to really soon. It's a truly unique and exciting opportunity.

Big Fun with the Big Two: What If? Spider-Man and Teen Titans: Cold Case

Wow...December is shaping up to be a big month for me. Two books from the big two.

The first is one I haven't announced yet: WHAT IF? SPIDER-MAN

Picking up from Joe Kelly and Michael Lark's Amazing Spider-Man arc "Grim Hunt", it asks the question "What if Spider-Man had Killed Kraven the Hunter?".

I'm excited about it for so many reasons I don't know where to start first. How about the artist - Paul Azaceta. Paul has been kicking ass with Mark Waid on Amazing Spider-Man for the past year, so he's a natural fit. If you're not familiar with my creator owned work, Paul drew and co-created my first book, GROUNDED, and did the covers to UNTHINKABLE. This is the first book that we've done together since. (Although it won't be the last, we're working on a creator-owned project that I hope to announce soon, and I think will be BOTH of our best work to date).

If the cover doesn't look like classic Azaceta to you, it's because it's drawn by industry superstar Phil Jimenez. Very excited about that as well.

This will also be my first published work for Marvel (I did do a Web of Spider-Man story that hasn't seen print yet, but I'm still hoping will see a digital release). Saying that I'm a Marvel fanboy would be an understatement. The THEME OF MY BAR MITZVAH was Marvel Comics. I'm debating whether, next time I'm in NY, I should dig out my message board with a mock-up of me as Wolverine, or the t-shirt with my caricature posed in Iron Man's silver and crimson armor.

SPIDER-MAN? What if will be in stores December 15, 2010.

Exactly one week later, will see the release of TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE




This is a project I've mentioned before. A few years ago, my first work-for-hire assignment was to write an arc of Teen Titans for DC. The art was finished, but for reasons I'm still not clear on, it was shelved. Until now.

The artist on the book, Sean Gordon Murphy, is red hot now, due in large part to his great work on Vertigo's JOE THE BARBARIAN with Grant Morrison. Trust me when I say that his Titans art is worth the wait.

(You'll notice that the cover is NOT by Sean - it's by someone named Jay Fabok. I don't know Jay, but if the pencils are anything to go buy he's got it down).

Why is the book called "COLD CASE". Well, in part, it's because it's an untold story of the Teen Titans, like an old murder case being re-investigating.

And, as the cover suggests, it features Captain Cold. It's actually the first meeting between the Titans and The Flash's Rogues gallery, so Cold is just one of the MANY villains the Titans face. I don't want to give to much away, but the story also ties into Brad Meltzer's Identity Crisis, providing an answer to an unresolved mystery there.

If you're worried that you won't understand the book because it takes place in the Titan's past (or because you didn't read Identity Crisis, or follow the Titans or Flash etc.) - don't. DC didn't just dust this story off and publish it. I went back and did a major rewrite, with the primary aim being to make this book as accessible as any other I've written.

The original title was actually Father's Day, as one of the threads deals with (then Robin) Tim Drake, and how he deals with the loss of his father. It's an odd bit of coincidence, as I lost my father this year. The rewrite was incredibly emotional because of this. My father was a huge supporter of my work, and a real-life hero (a Federal prosecutor who went after the mob, tried espionage cases etc...he even once chased after a guy with a machete). So I like to think that this story finally seeing print is a sign of some sort.

On a more cheerful note, with the price of comics so high these days, the book is a bargain at $4.99. I know - $4.99, bargain and comic should not be in the same sentence. But it's two issues - 48 pages worth of story! - for less than five bucks. Considering most of the Big Two's comics are $3.99 each, I think it's better than buying two books for eight bucks. When you factor in that it actually tells a complete story, with a beginning, middle and an end (I know shocking in mainstream comics), that's a great deal.

That's out December 22nd 2010.

There are more projects in the works, particularly on the creator-owned side of things. And more announcements. But for now, I hope you pre-order these books from OCTOBER PREVIEWS - I'm quite proud of them book.

(I'll post in more detail later, but I'll be appearing at New York Comic-Con next week, sharing a table with FEARLESS artist PJ Holden, and signing at the Graphic.ly booth as well. And I hope to have copies of RIFT RAIDERS, although I can't guarantee that).

Rift Raiders, Kickstart and San Diego Comic-Con

I'm proud to finally be able to announce RIFT RAIDERS, my newest graphic novel with UNTHINKABLE artist Julian Totino Tedesco.

Described as GOONIES meets TIME BANDITS, Rift Raiders is the story of three orphaned teens who learn they're not orphans at all. Their parents have been hidden throughout time. A strange man offers to help them save his parents if they travel through to time retrieve mystical artifacts for him. But what is his REAL agenda?

In terms of tone, it's pretty close to GROUNDED. Meaning a smart, funny action adventure story accessible to a younger age group but equally as rewarding for older readers.

As great as Julian was on Unthinkable, he's even better on Grounded. It's a less crowded book, and I tried to step out of the way to let his artwork shine. His art is the real star of the book.

The book is 100% complete, and will be shipping as an 88 page OGN in October around the time of New York Comic-Con.

RIFT RAIDERS will be published by Kickstart Comics, a new publisher I'm pretty excited about because, among other things, they'll be distributing books beyond the direct market. In other words, not only will they be in comic book specialty stores, they will also be everywhere form Walmart to Best Buy with exclusive shelf-space. In another post I'll talk about why I think that's good for the comics industry, but I'm about to leave for San Diego Comic-Con.

Speaking of which, I will be in San Diego for Comic-Con. I don't have a table, and I won't be doing any signings or panels. I'll mostly be taking meetings and walking around. I'm still happy to sign things, do interviews, podcasts etc. The best way to reach me is probably Twitter (@marksable - easy).

Again, sorry for the brevity, but prepping for the con is always fraught with panic. I promise I'll be back to speak about RIFT RAIDERS and more soon.

What I'm Working On

It may seem like my productivity has been down, but that couldn't be further from the truth. While nothing has hit the stands since the Unthinkable trade (available in comic shops now), I have been and continue to be writing for both comics and other mediums.

I've got three creator owned comics projects that I'm really excited about, but can't announce yet. A big reason for this is that they are all with artists I've worked with before. It's a huge compliment to me whenever artists of this caliber want to work with me again. More importantly, these are artists that certainly don't need to be doing creator owned work, and it says a lot about their passion for the projects that they are willing to slum with me.

Two are in pitch form, and one is definite, but there is art for all three.

The first is a project with Unthinkable's Julian Totino Tedesco. That's definitely coming out, hopefully in time for San Diego. I can't say what it is, but I can say that it's very different from Unthinkable in tone (I'd say it's closer to Grounded). While it still has the same detail and dynamism that Julian's past work has, it's a real testament to his versatility.

Don't believe me? Check out the image above. That's a double page spread.

I can't announce the publisher yet, because, well, it's a new publisher that hasn't even announced its existence yet. But they've got really great creators, editors and executives on board, and I'm proud that our book will be one of the debut books.

I'm afraid to jinx the other two projects by getting into specifics, despite the strong interest we've been getting from publishers. But I will say the artists are Paul Azaceta (Grounded, the covers to Unthinkable) and Salgood Sam (maybe best known for Sea of Red with Rick Remender, who drew and lettered our contribution to the Comic Book Tattoo anthology).

Paul and I have been trying to work together since Grounded, which as scary as it sounds, first came out almost five years ago. Grounded was a breakthrough book for Paul, and he's now one of the regular artists on Amazing Spider-Man. With that project, it's a question of not only finding the right publisher, but finding a gap in Paul's incredibly busy schedule. But trust me when I say that his sketches alone are worth the wait.

There's actually 8 pages of Salgood's art in the can. As with our Comic Book Tattoo story, he did everything himself - not just the pencils and inks, but colors and hand-lettering. Salgood is one of the most collaborative artists I've ever worked with, with significant story input as well. For a hint as to what he's doing check out his Dream Life webcomic/blog here.

The genres are pretty diverse from military/horror to time travel to historical fiction. We're looking at one as a possible web comic, which is a medium I've been dying to work in again since my experience with the Heroes graphic novel.

I've got other creator owned comic pitches in the works, but those are the farthest along.

I also wrote a story for Marvel with one of their most popular characters which was a dream come true. I really hate being vague, but if and when it comes out is up to Marvel to announce (and, to be honest, a bit up in the air). I hope it does, but I had a lot of DC work that never hit the stands (two issues of Teen Titans by Sean Gordon Murphy comes to mind), and I'm hoping this is just the start of things between myself and the house of ideas.

I'm very seriously considering offers for film and interactive writing work. Again, I hate being vague, but I'm trying to walk the line of letting those who care know that I'm working, without revealing information my partners want confidential.

It may seem like my productivity has been down, but that couldn't be further from the truth. While nothing has hit the stands since the Unthinkable trade (available in comic shops now), I have been and continue to be writing for both comics and other mediums.

I've got three creator owned comics projects that I'm really excited about, but can't announce yet. A big reason for this is that they are all with artists I've worked with before. It's a huge compliment to me whenever artists of this caliber want to work with me again. More importantly, these are artists that certainly don't need to be doing creator owned work, and it says a lot about their passion for the projects that they are willing to slum with me.

Two are in pitch form, and one is definite, but there is art for all three.

The first is a project with Unthinkable's Julian Totino Tedesco. That's definitely coming out, hopefully in time for San Diego. I can't say what it is, but I can say that it's very different from Unthinkable in tone (I'd say it's closer to Grounded). While it still has the same detail and dynamism that Julian's past work has, it's a real testament to his versatility.

I can't announce the publisher yet, because, well, it's a new publisher that hasn't even announced its existence yet. But they've got really great creators, editors and executives on board, and I'm proud that our book will be one of the debut books.

I'm afraid to jinx the other two projects by getting into specifics, despite the strong interest we've been getting from publishers. But I will say the artists art Paul Azaceta (Grounded, the covers to Unthinkable) and Salgood Sam (maybe best known for Sea of Red with Rick Remender, who drew and lettered our contribution to the Comic Book Tattoo anthology).

Paul and I have been trying to work together since Grounded, which as scary as it sounds, first came out almost five years ago. Grounded was a breakthrough book for Paul, and he's now one of the regular artists on Amazing Spider-Man. With that project, it's a question of not only finding the right publisher, but finding a gap in Paul's incredibly busy schedule. But trust me when I say that his sketches alone are worth the wait.

There's actually 8 pages of Salgood's art in the can. As with our Comic Book Tattoo story, he did everything himself - not just the pencils and inks, but colors and hand-lettering. Salgood is one of the most collaborative artists I've ever worked with, with significant story input as well. For a hint as to what he's doing check out his Dream Life webcomic/blog here.

The genres are pretty diverse from military/horror to time travel to historical fiction. We're looking at one as a possible web comic, which is a medium I've been dying to work in again since my experience with the Heroes graphic novel.

I've got other creator owned comic pitches in the works, but those are the farthest along.

I also wrote a story for Marvel with one of their most popular characters which was a dream come true. I really hate being vague, but if and when it comes out is up to Marvel to announce (and, to be honest, a bit up in the air). I hope it does, but I had a lot of DC work that never hit the stands (two issues of Teen Titans by Sean Gordon Murphy comes to mind), and I'm hoping this is just the start of things between myself and the house of ideas.

I'm very seriously considering offers for film and interactive writing work. Again, I hate being vague, but I'm trying to walk the line of letting those who care know that I'm working, without revealing information my partners want confidential.

More details (and art!) coming soon.

Unthinkable: The Movie & Other News

If it seems like I've abandoned this blog, it's because I have. Well, not really. But I've been extremely busy, and what spare internet rambling time I've had has been devoted to Twitter.

So, what have I been up to that's so damn important?

Well, I suppose the biggest news is that the feature film rights to my Boom! Studios book, Unthinkable, by Mandalay Entertainment.

That's right, UNTHINKABLE WAS OPTIONED!

Here's the story at The Hollywood Reporter's "Heat Vision Blog"

Here's me talking out of my ass to MTV Splash Page reporter Blair Marnell about who I think should play the roles in the movie. In reality, I won't have any say. But rumors seem to work for other creators, so lets add my speculative fuel to the fire.

The word option gets thrown around a lot, but it's not necessarily clear what it means. Basically, Mandalay has paid for the right to make an Unthinkable movie within a certain time period.

I use the word with both caution and pride. Caution, because I don't want to be another braggart who implies that I've hit Hollywood gold - and you can to, if you write creator owned books. And pride, because, quite frankly, most options that you hear about don't involve money. The fact that someone was willing to bet money on Unthinkable, especially in this climate, is a real vote of confidence in not just me, but everyone involved with the book.

The inevitable questions that arise when there's news like this is are:

How much money am I making?

There's no good answer to this. A high number invites envy, a low number pity. I am tempted to say it's none of anyone's business, and it isn't. But I also appreciate that there are aspiring creators who want to know. To those creators I'd say this - don't write a comic if you are looking to make a fortune in Hollywood. Write a comic because you want to make a comic.

Don't get me wrong - I'm extremely flattered by the interest Hollywood interest in Unthinkable. But if I wanted to make money, I probably could have found an easier way with all my degrees than going into the creative side of the entertainment business.

And if I was dead set on making on Unthinkable movie...I could have just written the screenplay. There are a number of reasons why I wrote a comic and not a screenplay. But the most important of all is that, while I have many screenplays sitting in drawers that no one will ever see, none of them mean as much as having published books that I can hold in my hands.

The best answer to the money question is, I suppose, is "I don't know." I'm guaranteed a certain amount. I'm promised more if a studio buys it, and even more if it gets made. I have my hopes for both those things happening, but this is a business where few things are bought and even fewer are made.

Will I write the screenplay?

Highly unlikely. But that's okay. One of the other reasons that I chose to write a comic is...when I came up with the idea for Unthinkable, I knew it was something with commercial potential. But I truly wanted to say something with this book. Boom! let me tell the story I wanted - they even gave me an extra issue to do so. And I'm not sure there's a film director or special effects studio that can do on celluloid what artist Julian Totino Tedesco can do on paper. The point is, I got my vision out - so now I'm okay if someone else messes it up.

I say that jokingly. I actually think the project is in great hands. The producers have it out to "A-list" writers who have a much better chance of getting this made than I do. I could write the best screenplay in the world...but this is a big budget action movie, and studios will want a proven name attached.

Hopefully, one day I'll be that proven name. I continue to work on film and TV projects, and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want to write a feature. Having Unthinkable (and other books) optioned ultimately makes it more likely that it will.

Which brings me to the last question:

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT THIS?

Well, I'd like to think that you love me as a human being and wish me happiness. But in these tough times...it's hard to be happy for anyone, especially in Hollywood.

But if you've been a fan of my comics work...thinks like this makes it much more likely that I'll produce more. What money I get from things like this allows me to write professionally. I'm also a creator that puts his money where his mouth is. I've spent more money than I'd care to remember paying various members of my creative teams.

I'm hoping this news augurs well for future work (there are already some cool things on the horizon which I'll blog about soon).

But regardless of what happens from here on out...I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude not only to the creative, editorial and publishing teams of Unthinkable, but to the reviewers that helped make this both a critical and commercial success.

Mostly, though...I have to thank my readers. There's been no better salesman than word of mouth. But more than that, I've learned a ton from my readership. They are smarter than me, quite frankly, and as a result I have to constantly work to become a better writer so I can amuse and surprise them.

Next post...what else I've been up to.

P.S. There's a movie coming out called "Unthinkable" with Samuel L. Jackson in it. That is NOT my movie, just a bad coincidence.