tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9302969492625427172024-03-19T15:53:39.458-07:00Mark SableBlog for Mark Sable, comic book writer of WHAT IF? SPIDER-MAN for Marvel Comics, TWO-FACE: YEAR ONE, TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE, CYBORG and SUPERGIRL for DC. Writer/creator of GROUNDED, HAZED and FEARLESS for Image Comics, UNTHINKABLE for BOOM! Studios and RIFT RAIDERS for Kickstart.Mark Sablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13154484354008134026noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-91565573387769179782011-03-21T08:44:00.000-07:002011-03-21T08:51:28.074-07:00You can find me on tumblr nowHey everyone...<br /><br />For the foreseeable future, I'm going to be shifting my blogging over to <a href="http://marksable.tumblr.com/">http://marksable.tumblr.com/</a>.<br /><br />It seems that's where all the cool kids are at these days. I reserve the right to come back here if that changes, but I think I'm reaching more people there. I hope to be posting there a lot more frequently than I have here, and really make it a destination worth coming to more often. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, please do. And as always, if there are things you want me to post (process stuff about a particular comic, for example), let me know.Mark Sablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13154484354008134026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-68376153781094406522011-03-04T03:22:00.000-08:002011-03-04T03:58:39.883-08:00Emerald City Comic-Con<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF2QAfsnQ8XQZ9j-rCAajnY43Dh9eGQDknnYqxlsBN11p2kPWPsuR9Zl0oDEda-uBczbnM0sucUywj0pgQerY_w8ukgFfvjHHzFJsvglvXzEXSvhhR-YQQdGHUEgjlGNimJ6e4-lZshDqK/s1600/ECCC+small+logo.gif"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF2QAfsnQ8XQZ9j-rCAajnY43Dh9eGQDknnYqxlsBN11p2kPWPsuR9Zl0oDEda-uBczbnM0sucUywj0pgQerY_w8ukgFfvjHHzFJsvglvXzEXSvhhR-YQQdGHUEgjlGNimJ6e4-lZshDqK/s320/ECCC+small+logo.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580192188391330242" border="0" /></a><br /><div class="copy"><p>GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES (and GROUNDED, and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) artist Paul Azaceta and I will be at Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle THIS WEEKEND, March 4-6 2011, at Table G-25.</p> <p>We’ll be showing off art from Graveyard, Paul will be sketching, and I should have copies of all my books for sale. That includes RIFT RAIDERS, my Kickstart book with Julian Totino Tedesco (pictured above). Rift Raiders sold out from Diamond, and while it will be re-solicited, if you are there this may be your only chance to to get a copy until June.</p> <p>If there’s anything you’d like me to bring in particular (some single issue of GROUNDED or FEARLESS, for example), let me know. But as much as I like to sell stuff, the reason ECCC is one of my favorite cons is the fan interaction. It’s more comic-centric than most cons, and while well attended it’s still intimate enough to actually converse. I’m always happy to chat comics, please come by and say hello.</p> <p>I should also mention there will be a number of my collaborators there besides Paul, including Sean Murphy (Teen Titans: Cold Case, Joe the Barbarian), Jeremy Haun (Two-Face: Year One) and Matthew Southworth (What If? Spider-Man, Stumptown). Matthew did fill-in work on Spidey which I've never gotten to thank him for.<br /></p> <p>All will be happy to sign. Too many friends to name, and overall one of the strongest talent lineups I’ve seen.</p><p>I'll be reachable and try to update my goings on via Twitter.<br /></p><p>(Sorry - this is pretty much the same post I put up on Tumblr, but I'm not fully packed and I'm leaving for the airport soon).<br /></p></div>Mark Sablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13154484354008134026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-65120426507023146582011-03-03T10:50:00.001-08:002011-03-03T11:12:49.354-08:00GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzkxzIo8RUrxiW4LmVotCDD2qFNeqjnexVyf2qAw5Y6eJevCUvQGcL8z6sXiypbl9kPGZxIwby4rzLpdhThK2R8XsMME0zHi-XhZZR9VPBFe6LvnY-J-zIWBpJu2OpCwTrz2FXc-aXtl-p/s1600/GEMP01col_coverfinal2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzkxzIo8RUrxiW4LmVotCDD2qFNeqjnexVyf2qAw5Y6eJevCUvQGcL8z6sXiypbl9kPGZxIwby4rzLpdhThK2R8XsMME0zHi-XhZZR9VPBFe6LvnY-J-zIWBpJu2OpCwTrz2FXc-aXtl-p/s320/GEMP01col_coverfinal2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579928233684818962" border="0" /></a>I'm pleased to officially announce my next creator-owned book, GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES, the first issue of which is coming this June from Image Comics. It's illustrated and co-created by Paul Azaceta, artist of my first book, GROUNDED, as well as my most recent, WHAT IF? SPIDER-MAN. <br /><br />I think it's both of our best work, and in many ways it feels like my career is coming full circle. Five years after GROUNDED, with a lot more work under our belt, we bring a lot more to the table. This is also a collaboration in the true sense of the word. Paul has had significant input into the story, and I'm hitting him hard with reference and trying to push the boundaries of what either of us has done on the page. Definitely a case where the whole will be better than the sum of the parts.<br /><br />Here's the solicit:<br /><br />Afghanistan. Marines face a never-ending onslaught of Taliban. But even hell can get worse. The dead are coming back to life in The Graveyard of Empires, and only together can both sides of today’s conflict survive tomorrow’s undead assault. <br /><br />It's full color, with 32 full pages of story at the incredibly low price of $2.99. DC and Marvel titles at $2.99 will only give you 20 pages of story these days.<br /><br />We're looking at "Criminal" model for this book. Basically, to publish it in volumes or seasons. This volume will be 3 issues, and offer a complete story (which will be the equivalent of at least 4 22 page issues), with a beginning, middle and end. If there's demand for it, we have plans for sequels.<br /><br />This is not just another zombie book. Yes, if you like zombies, you'll get them, and you'll see them used in unique ways. But this is first and foremost a war comic. Paul and I did an incredible amount of research, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find a comic that depicts the reality of war in Afghanistan.<br /><br />(It's crazy to me that at a time when we are fighting two wars there are little or no war comics -"Garth Ennis' Battlefields, set in WWII, is a notable exception - let alone contemporary ones.)<br /><br />The pitch for this was "Hurt Locker" meets "Dawn of the Dead". The first issue is certainly closer to the former than the latter. And, like Dawn of the Dead, while it is a genre piece, the zombies serve as a metaphor for something called "insurgent math". <br /><br />Kill an insurgent, and you are likely to create 10 more - you've pissed of his family and friends, and possibly caused collateral damage to civilians he may be hiding among.<br /><br />Kill someone in an area where the dead are returning alive, and they'll come back as a zombie, biting and infecting you and your friends, creating more zombies and perpetuating a different kind of endless war.<br /><br />As seriously as we took the research, this should still be a fun, action-packed book.<br /><br />I will have more to say and post about this soon, both here and on my new <a href="http://marksable.tumblr.com/">Tumblr blog</a>. Paul and I will also be at <a href="http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com/guests.php">Emerald City Comic Con </a>this weekend at table G-25, March 4-6, 2011, where we'll have art to show you and be happy to chat about this.Mark Sablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13154484354008134026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-74973444531639750962011-02-20T22:38:00.000-08:002011-02-21T01:47:12.724-08:00Listen to me on Meltdown Comics MELTCAST<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0smEvpvQ-FYSgXIlIjpzeNyQHLonMn4snahTOS4lUkKRlm1ATbY4L6jUxCT_JjtqHFmEMP3JxnyacX0ZWdVomvD8KChihU_zCMw23h-mHMmEVokCoWuGxso5nV2XyUbs_1zTgF3_SS8Qu/s1600/meltcast+header.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 77px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0smEvpvQ-FYSgXIlIjpzeNyQHLonMn4snahTOS4lUkKRlm1ATbY4L6jUxCT_JjtqHFmEMP3JxnyacX0ZWdVomvD8KChihU_zCMw23h-mHMmEVokCoWuGxso5nV2XyUbs_1zTgF3_SS8Qu/s320/meltcast+header.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576067981735699298" border="0" /></a><br />Ever since I've had an apartment in LA, <a href="http://www.meltcomics.com/blog/">Meltdown Comics</a> on Sunset has been my primary comic book retailer. Yes, it helps that I live a few blocks from there. But, as dorky as it is to admit...the fact I could walk to a comic book store did play a role in picking where I live when I'm on the West Coast.<br /><br />Picking up comics on Wednesday (for those of you who don't read comics regularly) can be what helps you make it through get over the hump of a long week. It gives you something to look forward to Monday and Tuesday when Friday seems so far away.<br /><br />But for me, Meltdown isn't just a place where I pick up my books, it's a destination. I work from home, primarily, so it's an excuse for me to get out of the house. But even if it weren't for the comics, or the oasis it represent from work, it would still be a great place to hang.<br /><br />There are great events there, from signings to art exhibits to comedy shows. Most of which have free alcohol. Having grown up in an era when comics were dorky, it still blows my mind that it's considered a cool place to hang out, even for - maybe especially for - civilians. You can take your girlfriend there without having her feel out of place.<br /><br />(Let me take a quick break here to say that Meltdown is by no means the only great comics store in LA. I'm sure I'll leave some out, but I'd note that Ryan Gottlieb's Golden Apple on Melrose is super well stocked and run, and Ed Greenberg's Collector's Paradise in Winnetka - the valley - is as well, in addition to being kid friendly. And when I'm in Manhattan, I always love stopping by Jim Hanley's Universe in the shadow of the Empire State Building, where Vito and friends have included me in some fantastic signings. I promise I'll give them some ink here at another time, as they've been great to me as well.)<br /><br />As much as I enjoy the events (particularly when they are about me and my work), it's the weekly conversation I look forward to the most. It's rare to walk in there and not run into a fellow comic creator. In an industry where we're spread all over the world, and in a city when people don't like to travel very far, that's no small thing.<br /><br />My favorite conversations are with staff, although the line between staff and comics professional is a blurry one. It started when my good friend Matt Gagnon, now the frightfully young and talented Editor in Chief at BOOM! Comics was manager. Caleb Monroe has been behind the counter for as long as I can remember, but it hasn't stopped him from writing books for BOOM! and Archaia, including UNTHINKABLE artist Julian Totino Tedesco's American debut.<br /><br />Caleb is still there, but now I spend much of my time talking to manager and fellow New Yorker Chris Rosa. Yes, we spend an awful lot that time commiserating about our Knicks and Jets, or Chris' obsession with Namor, the Sub-Mariner. But Chris is also the host of one of, if not the best comics podcasts in the business - THE MELTCAST.<br /><br />Along with Caleb, former MySpace comics guru and current CBGB/Fraggle Rock writer Sam Humphries, and engineer Aaron Brewer, they've recreated the same atmosphere that makes the store so much fun. The Meltcast is many things - smart, funny, wide-ranging...but more than anything, it's just a great place to talk comics.<br /><br />They were nice enough to have me again on this past week. Like always, we talked about what's new in the world of comics and about our trade paperback picks of the week (mine were James Robinson's STARMAN Omnibus and Brian K. Vaughan's EX MACHINA, both drawn by Tony HARRIS) - which are offered to Meltdown customers at a substantial discount.<br /><br />I also got to talk about my work. Because I don't have anything new for sale, it wasn't about plugging, it was a chance to look back at the process of writing TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE and WHAT IF? SPIDER-MAN. I didn't have to shill, and instead I thought I could share some insight on the challenges that come along with writing continuity heavy titles for Marvel and DC. <br /><br />It's a great episode of a great podcast, and you can listen to it for free <a href="http://www.meltcast.com/post/3347273003/meltcast-67-writer-mark-sable-listen-now-on">here</a>. Since it's not a call in show, I'd love to hear your opinions, and I'm happy to answer whatever questions you may have.<br /><br />Thanks to the entire Meltcast's, er...cast, for letting me go off on tangents and find my way back, and for not letting me burn TOO many bridges.<br /><br />Next post: updates on what I'm working on, with art!Mark Sablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13154484354008134026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-34426537136236014082010-12-21T21:18:00.000-08:002010-12-22T02:03:55.874-08:00TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE out WED DEC 22nd<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIw6x8gElxZUFS5rIZrSbr8Sb-jnM7UfLdxrOtUEISdU2Zji8g76F3fSB017FBAuDFH_K8JlHokdmQkU1czSzj9Z9yVbX51cPJ6D7KpZtDLWZFp5TCrMKI-H-4pecCC_-M3SUI3C3mPjTx/s1600/teentitanscolorcover.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIw6x8gElxZUFS5rIZrSbr8Sb-jnM7UfLdxrOtUEISdU2Zji8g76F3fSB017FBAuDFH_K8JlHokdmQkU1czSzj9Z9yVbX51cPJ6D7KpZtDLWZFp5TCrMKI-H-4pecCC_-M3SUI3C3mPjTx/s320/teentitanscolorcover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553372150466214162" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br />Comic Book Resources has a 4 page preview of it <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=7311&disp=table">here</a>.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-49858612944411775562010-12-14T20:19:00.000-08:002010-12-14T21:20:48.974-08:00WHAT IF? SPIDER MAN (KILLED KRAVEN THE HUNTER)- OUT NOW<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCfOjbFyr4L7ILKBNirZlGxQ_D7WOI8xEMGPADJDG60uBggbZCdmTiLLWay5Ps6M442TOZkSAzqjYQkfVxcTEVQbQCfXDVDG0QJDEASOfvZ-XwGCPUMqMRayRbIqJ47-HJ3SeSOV_YGurO/s1600/whatifspidey+preview2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCfOjbFyr4L7ILKBNirZlGxQ_D7WOI8xEMGPADJDG60uBggbZCdmTiLLWay5Ps6M442TOZkSAzqjYQkfVxcTEVQbQCfXDVDG0QJDEASOfvZ-XwGCPUMqMRayRbIqJ47-HJ3SeSOV_YGurO/s320/whatifspidey+preview2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550759638338944082" border="0" /></a><br /><br />My Marvel Comics debut, "What If? Spider-Man" is out in stores as of this Wednesday, December 15th 2010.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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".<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-27340952353490897522010-12-08T20:29:00.000-08:002010-12-08T22:42:26.070-08:00RIFT RAIDERS well-reviewed and out NOW, What If? Spider-Man Out next Wed, Dec 15th<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwDGyA3w5rETtakW4pzhW5OU3wcsIgdAO91zATc3TaaG32OGty4xGR2d1BwldtlGRQ9pMZ7ulBjV0brXB3h-le8wBk5X2i_Lo824-KAJ4cZ9xYu5myC4r6JGtiOavhsnMtShQtDFYK2gv/s1600/Pag70_color.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwDGyA3w5rETtakW4pzhW5OU3wcsIgdAO91zATc3TaaG32OGty4xGR2d1BwldtlGRQ9pMZ7ulBjV0brXB3h-le8wBk5X2i_Lo824-KAJ4cZ9xYu5myC4r6JGtiOavhsnMtShQtDFYK2gv/s320/Pag70_color.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548535564571676082" border="0" /></a>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.<br /><br />The reviews so far have been fantastic. <br /><br />David Pepose made Rift Raiders one of <a href="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/best-shots-advance-reviews-101109.html">Newsarama's</a> "best shots". He said:<br /><p>"If <strong>Rift Raiders</strong> is the flagship of Kickstart Comics, I have to say — this could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship."</p><p>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 <strong>Rift Raiders</strong>."</p><p>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 <em>Unthinkable</em> — 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.<br /></p><p>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 <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=29322">Comic Book Resources</a>, where I discuss why that book has special meaning for me.<br /></p>There's another nice Rift Raiders review from Stewart Ryder at <a href="http://paradoxcomicsgroup.blogspot.com/2010/11/graphic-perception-rift-raiders.html">Paradox Comics</a>. 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."<br /><br />Finally, I did a fun interview with EJ Feddes over at <a href="http://www.spunkybean.com/kickstart-comics-the-mark-sable-interview/">Spunky Bean</a> focusing on Rift Raiders.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: courier new;"></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-41075328591572550382010-10-30T06:19:00.000-07:002010-10-30T06:49:49.046-07:00Long Beach Comic Con and Upcoming Project News<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9BafiuQ_-H95kJVHlf93jAqQzEuT6VUvx9LrWONmGyi7cOQEJwGKgGo6-1-_P7p2Iwk9kbJqfF1TDa4c8OubQuQa9XdNvOFkv8UJYDK9vE97seIqDqyVEiyJeT8KmbElC8Bzikm46XO2/s1600/long+beach+comic-con.gif"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9BafiuQ_-H95kJVHlf93jAqQzEuT6VUvx9LrWONmGyi7cOQEJwGKgGo6-1-_P7p2Iwk9kbJqfF1TDa4c8OubQuQa9XdNvOFkv8UJYDK9vE97seIqDqyVEiyJeT8KmbElC8Bzikm46XO2/s320/long+beach+comic-con.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533828844376010210" border="0" /></a>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).<br /><br />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).<br /><br />Like I said, though, I'll be happy to sign anything else. But I'm mostly excited about the workshop I'm having.<br /><br />Aside from writing, my other "job" is teaching screenwriting for <a href="http://writersbootcamp.com">The Writers Boot Camp</a>. 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.<br /><br />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".<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />I'll have art to show from RIFT RAIDERS, GRAVEYARD and DRACULA for anyone who shows up at Long Beach today.<br /><img src="file:///C:/Users/MARKSA%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-48636401040306118592010-10-02T15:52:00.000-07:002010-10-07T11:45:28.824-07:00New York Comic-Con 2010<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqvpRcige23gl6iXqiGRXOClvop9tZBLHV9MIJU_gPeiobaHLEdhEqnK77JYokdMjWg9BrjXFWUwB333uOD4YcDiTXnIc6L7QnskCAzeZXaTnaQp12SwBiA8WxIdYi_oJzuRB9EtQf-TwZ/s1600/NYCCromitajr2.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 43px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525359733403261122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqvpRcige23gl6iXqiGRXOClvop9tZBLHV9MIJU_gPeiobaHLEdhEqnK77JYokdMjWg9BrjXFWUwB333uOD4YcDiTXnIc6L7QnskCAzeZXaTnaQp12SwBiA8WxIdYi_oJzuRB9EtQf-TwZ/s320/NYCCromitajr2.jpg" /></a><br /><div> </div><div>I'll be attending New York Comic-Con all weekend, from this Friday, October 8th to Sunday October 10th, 2010.</div><div> </div><div>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.</div><div> </div><div>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.</div><div> </div><div>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.</div><div> </div><div>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.</div><div> </div><div>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.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-10571754636226662512010-09-29T17:28:00.000-07:002010-09-29T18:06:48.360-07:00Big Fun with the Big Two: What If? Spider-Man and Teen Titans: Cold Case<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJMfB6kSvE8dy-8630QOeStT_l4kYZ6R2m6zx9LqqvVkMEzv7S78gQqyJMt0_-GTJp0ESDH05idEci9m5VcWC3kVjI43Vn11F8mTUG2dkhRzd6jLjFgIyKJYsR94GHMdoODQx4ncwuQUXg/s1600/whatifspidey_02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJMfB6kSvE8dy-8630QOeStT_l4kYZ6R2m6zx9LqqvVkMEzv7S78gQqyJMt0_-GTJp0ESDH05idEci9m5VcWC3kVjI43Vn11F8mTUG2dkhRzd6jLjFgIyKJYsR94GHMdoODQx4ncwuQUXg/s320/whatifspidey_02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522498707805485986" border="0" /></a><br />Wow...December is shaping up to be a big month for me. Two books from the big two.<br /><br />The first is one I haven't announced yet: WHAT IF? SPIDER-MAN<br /><br />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?".<br /><br />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).<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />SPIDER-MAN? What if will be in stores December 15, 2010.<br /><br />Exactly one week later, will see the release of TEEN TITANS: COLD CASE<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIAOjt417Kunsh7ElBXqyALr_ZhXfQNuBiSyMd5QUQYSIn37wjVJT-4Gs3wXWR2scTlDIqfNs2wEh1epiCBGZlJE0BSwYxccZEJjrDk2WHbPQmyirp3wsU7fy2o6hsVOE6PVkKQ2EyZLx/s1600/teen-titans-cold-case-pencils.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIAOjt417Kunsh7ElBXqyALr_ZhXfQNuBiSyMd5QUQYSIn37wjVJT-4Gs3wXWR2scTlDIqfNs2wEh1epiCBGZlJE0BSwYxccZEJjrDk2WHbPQmyirp3wsU7fy2o6hsVOE6PVkKQ2EyZLx/s320/teen-titans-cold-case-pencils.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522501698742809410" border="0" /></a><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />(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).<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />That's out December 22nd 2010.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />(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).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-65054891525480572892010-07-21T01:26:00.000-07:002010-07-21T01:43:34.737-07:00Rift Raiders, Kickstart and San Diego Comic-Con<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LupAW1CMGxtxqU8naTMxcI8RQrsadzyE3WEasuwnFwjQQZqPT1xBfIhOSKX4ej3OxuHBiYKLPl6qGNvQaHblpoVraa3EI4X81UqTSYRYUOEjD7hYsT9HchRinbSfFGHTEYzoVTle1OmZ/s1600/book_riftraiders1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LupAW1CMGxtxqU8naTMxcI8RQrsadzyE3WEasuwnFwjQQZqPT1xBfIhOSKX4ej3OxuHBiYKLPl6qGNvQaHblpoVraa3EI4X81UqTSYRYUOEjD7hYsT9HchRinbSfFGHTEYzoVTle1OmZ/s320/book_riftraiders1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496274281657255026" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I'm proud to finally be able to announce RIFT RAIDERS, my newest graphic novel with UNTHINKABLE artist Julian Totino Tedesco. <br /><br />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?<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />The book is 100% complete, and will be shipping as an 88 page OGN in October around the time of New York Comic-Con.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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).<br /><br />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.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-14814139100669632192010-04-14T17:00:00.000-07:002010-04-16T19:38:48.148-07:00What I'm Working On<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisGvl1zjyj3T0KbR0X-yuc_C12ulLcU-zsqRQojNXe_R1UULUGG4XbebCrhTacxuzjEVlWu9kIKAKzS6k6jPuhH3tuM0W9QCcB9vYhA-LN1oXeNdBRBglD3VtMi5waYqDyj8MmdMGyMfcZ/s1600/Pag20_21.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisGvl1zjyj3T0KbR0X-yuc_C12ulLcU-zsqRQojNXe_R1UULUGG4XbebCrhTacxuzjEVlWu9kIKAKzS6k6jPuhH3tuM0W9QCcB9vYhA-LN1oXeNdBRBglD3VtMi5waYqDyj8MmdMGyMfcZ/s320/Pag20_21.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460929932696411378" border="0" /></a><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Two are in pitch form, and one is definite, but there is art for all three.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Don't believe me? Check out the image above. That's a double page spread.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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).<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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 <a href="http://sequential.spiltink.org/comics/?p=412">here</a>.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />I've got other creator owned comic pitches in the works, but those are the farthest along.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Two are in pitch form, and one is definite, but there is art for all three.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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).<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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 <a href="http://sequential.spiltink.org/comics/?p=412">here</a>.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />I've got other creator owned comic pitches in the works, but those are the farthest along.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />More details (and art!) coming soon.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-76871779877554096992010-03-19T04:00:00.000-07:002010-03-22T04:24:10.909-07:00Unthinkable: The Movie & Other News<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0CFG_9f7vblfuUb_JuVohtZr1lA-i4_FsFPm2vGKPcmrA_9RbtMOGwQxP7ihXY6HhcAvymAat4LtrpzADCmecGhHUYD2rFLE2yjV619hgq052JhPDdU3yMGig-0IQivfJS67FkB6b7v4/s1600-h/Unthinkable+Mark+Sable+Boom+Studios.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0CFG_9f7vblfuUb_JuVohtZr1lA-i4_FsFPm2vGKPcmrA_9RbtMOGwQxP7ihXY6HhcAvymAat4LtrpzADCmecGhHUYD2rFLE2yjV619hgq052JhPDdU3yMGig-0IQivfJS67FkB6b7v4/s320/Unthinkable+Mark+Sable+Boom+Studios.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451416658556489202" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />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 <a href="http://twitter.com/marksable">Twitter</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So, what have I been up to that's so damn important?</span><br /><br />Well, I suppose the biggest news is that the feature film rights to my Boom! Studios book, Unthinkable, by Mandalay Entertainment.<br /><br />That's right, <span style="font-weight: bold;">UNTHINKABLE WAS OPTIONED!</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.heatvisionblog.com/2009/11/unthinkable-boom-studios-mandalay-pictures.html">Here's the story at The Hollywood Reporter's "Heat Vision Blog"</a><br /><br />Here's me talking out of my ass to <a href="http://splashpage.mtv.com/2009/12/02/mad-men-and-doctor-who-actors-among-unthinkable-creators-picks-for-adaptation/">MTV Splash Page reporter</a> 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The inevitable questions that arise when there's news like this is are:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How much money am I making?</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Will I write the screenplay?</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Which brings me to the last question:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT THIS?</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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).<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Next post...what else I've been up to.<br /><br />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.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-57277936593695896522009-10-11T03:10:00.000-07:002009-10-11T03:42:08.806-07:00Forgive Me Internet, For I have SinnedIt has been...well, far too long since my last blog post. In my defense, I've been hard at work on Unthinkable and I've probably "tweeted" over a thousand times. I'm sure if you multiply 240 characters by 1,500 that's enough for a quite a few blog entries.<br /><br />When last I posted, Unthinkable #3 had just come out in time for Comic-Con. As I write this, all five issues are out, and I'm proofreading the trade paperback, which should be out in the next month or two.<br /><br />Like most writers, I don't particularly like re-reading my own work. It's a bit easier with comics than with prose, because I get to appreciate how the artist, colorist and letterer brought my work to life. But it's impossible for me to look at old work without thinking of the myriad ways I could have made it better.<br /><br />Nevertheless, I'm tremendously proud of Unthinkable. I've said before I think it's the best writing I've ever done. I suppose I should be more specific. For a long time, I've struggled with the dilemma of writing something personal that is still something other people want to read. Unthinkable is probably my highest concept, but the execution is very personal. <br /><br />The protagonist, Alan Ripley, is as close to me as any comics character I've written. He's not only a writer, he's a writer that feels he should be, well, more of a do-er. Particularly when it comes to doing something for his country.<br /><br />Unthinkable is filled with issues of national security, military foreign policy, my passions. I through just about every terrorist scenario into this series as possible. That may have been a mistake - although I'm very thankful that Boom! gave me 5 issues to tell my story instead of the usual 4 - this is a story I would have preferred to tell in a longer format. <br /><br />Still, the density of the issues is something that was personal to me as well. My favorite comics - my good friend Brett Lewis' The Winter Men for example 0 are works that don't feel decompressed. They give you your money's worth, and can't be finished before you flush the toilet in a quick trip to the bathroom.<br /><br />But the most personal thing about Unthinkable may not evident in the work itself. Instead, it's the long journey that brought it from my head to the printed page. And the even longer journey that took me from that of an aspiring writer adapting my fifth spec screenplay (Grounded) into my first comic, to where I am in my comics career today.<br /><br />I hope to write about that journey a bit more on here soon, hopefully before the Unthinkable trade comes out. I still believe that I can make this blog something that gives interested readers of my work some added value, rather than just spilling my thoughts and promoting my work. <br /><br />But right now, that story will have to wait. I'm lucky enough to have multiple upcoming projects that demand my attention. I can't announce them yet, but I hope to bring to them the same mix of character driven high concept with a personal touch that I did with Unthinkable. If nothing else, Unthinkable has set a very high bar for my future work.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-10785898635154633872009-07-21T09:46:00.000-07:002009-07-21T10:17:36.404-07:00UNTHINKABLE #3 and San Diego Comic-Con 2009<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEiLK8Y9w7UBkW6QZFUnSkFEcJX6uGY4UQObd2pJu9q-aZ3KRuV2Cpi-rd5nBIw43j6-LRhwDqw7L5EuIckuMhYPnBMU0x-MuR4tdZdYyrKfyQuWfVOITtCBygRxf9hO2kO2CPk4LLkXh_/s1600-h/unthinkable3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEiLK8Y9w7UBkW6QZFUnSkFEcJX6uGY4UQObd2pJu9q-aZ3KRuV2Cpi-rd5nBIw43j6-LRhwDqw7L5EuIckuMhYPnBMU0x-MuR4tdZdYyrKfyQuWfVOITtCBygRxf9hO2kO2CPk4LLkXh_/s320/unthinkable3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360957252003226642" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Unthinkable, and all the hoopla surrounding it, has taken up most of my time. So much so that I forgot to announce the release of UNTHINKABLE #3, which is IN STORES NOW. (See Paul Azaceta's cover above).<br /><br />(I also forgot to mention that my TWO-FACE: YEAR ONE mini-series is now collected in trade along with Scarecrow Year One Bruce Jones and Sean Murphy - my unpublished Teen Titans artist. The collection is entitled Batman: Two-Face/Scarecrow Year One and is also In STORES NOW<br /><br />The script for Issue #3, you remember, is what got me detained by the TSA. <a href="http://boingboing.net/2009/06/27/comics-creator-stopp.html">boingboing</a> picked up on the story, as did Heidi MacDonald's <a href="http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2009/05/11/tsa-finds-comic-script-threatening/">The Beat</a> blog on Publisher's Weekly, and as a result I've been bombarded with media requests.<br /><br />But as unpleasant as it was being hassled by airport security, I'd rather focus on the issue itself. I think Issue #3 is the best issue yet. BOOM! Editor in Chief and comics writing legend said he felt it's the issue where I really found the characters voices and "hit my groove", and critics so far seem to agree.<br /><br />It features an incredibly intense opening, the death of a major character, and a great twist at the end. And oh yeah - the terror scenarios deal with religious extremists of various faiths trying to bring about the Apocalypse in Israel.<br /><br />I just finished what I hope is the final draft of Issue 5, and the art in Issue 4 is almost completely done. Artist Julian Totino Tedesco continues to blow me away as I throw more and more seemingly impossible things for him to draw.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxxtSkVZEaP-WO4Gxkga1hHE8_86PTyKf_aYBKeZYS9SLfok7NHW5eKcfKFb8yOJDO2j0Eehy3J41wbOTUBFGvtiYGDLyRXQng_qNyo9xZBFDL6bGC8oKYpIzVECkDBWeGBnsyGZqkRS_K/s1600-h/san-diego-comic-con.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxxtSkVZEaP-WO4Gxkga1hHE8_86PTyKf_aYBKeZYS9SLfok7NHW5eKcfKFb8yOJDO2j0Eehy3J41wbOTUBFGvtiYGDLyRXQng_qNyo9xZBFDL6bGC8oKYpIzVECkDBWeGBnsyGZqkRS_K/s320/san-diego-comic-con.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360957006085996658" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I also wanted to take this opportunity to mention that I'm going to be at San Diego Comic-Con every day and night, including previews. For the first time in the past few years, I won't have my own table. However, I'll still be happy to sign any of my work - Unthinkable, Batman: Two-Face Year One, Grounded, Fearless, Hazed, Supergirl, Cyborg, Heroes etc. Or just chat about comics.<br /><br />The best place to find me is by the BOOM! Studios booth, #2543. I'll be hanging by there the most, and if I'm not there, one of the many nice people at the booth should be able to get a hold of me. Twitter is also not a bad idea - @ me or send me a DM. My twitter account is <a href="http://twitter.com/marksable">http://twitter.com/marksable</a> and my Twitter name is, well, marksable. I'm clever like that.<br /><br />Hope to see you all there, and thanks so much to those of you who are helping make Unthinkable a hit!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-31141439209546254822009-06-09T01:42:00.000-07:002009-06-09T02:11:59.629-07:00UNTHINKABLE #2 out THIS WEEK, West Coast Release Party @Meltdown in LA, Collector's Paradise signing in Winnetka, CA<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQryZY8Cnd0fjGeMvWOiySppLxIv-lHtWyoUStNIq3iK7COT_YZgZKYW1XZ4Ked1C6uBIlLg0etNPDy2ycameNIl0soCp-TKeWcUi5iZA5cywTqCR1LVIJRfwhFbQQo1WfZb0z-4i61Xi/s1600-h/phpThumb.php.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQryZY8Cnd0fjGeMvWOiySppLxIv-lHtWyoUStNIq3iK7COT_YZgZKYW1XZ4Ked1C6uBIlLg0etNPDy2ycameNIl0soCp-TKeWcUi5iZA5cywTqCR1LVIJRfwhFbQQo1WfZb0z-4i61Xi/s320/phpThumb.php.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345245924349405586" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It's a big week for UNTHINKABLE. First off, the second issue is in stores this Wednesday, June 10th. While I'm glad that the reception to Issue One was so positive, the first issue was mostly set-up for the action that kicks off in Issue 2 and doesn't let up. Our hero, Alan Ripley, has already witnessed some of the many terror scenarios he imagined for the (real-life) government Think Tank he joined after 9/11 come true.<br /><br />Now, it's up to him to stop the rest from coming to fruition. His problem. He's a writer, not an action hero. We're going to finally start to see the comic and tragic consequences of the gap between who Alan is and who he thinks he is play out.<br /><br />Speaking of writers with delusions of grandeur, (despite my run-ins with the TSA, I'm no Jason Bourne), I'm having a "West Coast Release Party" for the book at Meltdown comics this Wednesday, June 10th, from 7PM on. It should be fun, if for no other reason than there will be free beer and vodka.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAem-vizIDkr0OvWqQLbCnrxXG8SvYSiIRTIoIbgcnlcbwmWTqfClpYJ3Dp2QX9-Ei-VLe84_Fa8gnsdsXewJIwJcS2ziy9QjjhiI2Vvj3Dw_ckhyphenhyphensQl9OVisorliW0eRgSci0moqC_dsT/s1600-h/MELT_UNTHINKABLE_sm.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAem-vizIDkr0OvWqQLbCnrxXG8SvYSiIRTIoIbgcnlcbwmWTqfClpYJ3Dp2QX9-Ei-VLe84_Fa8gnsdsXewJIwJcS2ziy9QjjhiI2Vvj3Dw_ckhyphenhyphensQl9OVisorliW0eRgSci0moqC_dsT/s320/MELT_UNTHINKABLE_sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345245777858974130" border="0" /></a><br /><br />If you can't make it, or just can't get enough of me, I'll be signing Unthinkable this Saturday, June 13th, from 12-3PM at Collector's Paradise just off the 101. I'll be playing second fiddle to the extremely talented Marc Guggenheim (writer of Spider-Man, TV's Eli Stone and the upcoming Green Lantern film). He'll be signing his new book, Resurrection.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnWvbAKn3IAPomkKrEdkA4TSKDIlv-eUwHONfKR94T_sLLMGixd3x2vgp_qlYOcVhosDGmziyc-xFhg4gUskXG_Kg4AVFPjAOvs8EtnWhNTCv4DfCJagKMADlrSpeGLWLKBPqNvs8lN5x/s1600-h/collector's+paradise+signing.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 146px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnWvbAKn3IAPomkKrEdkA4TSKDIlv-eUwHONfKR94T_sLLMGixd3x2vgp_qlYOcVhosDGmziyc-xFhg4gUskXG_Kg4AVFPjAOvs8EtnWhNTCv4DfCJagKMADlrSpeGLWLKBPqNvs8lN5x/s320/collector's+paradise+signing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345245675223692194" border="0" /></a><br /><br />More info to come...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-32938145411126834082009-05-12T22:00:00.000-07:002009-06-09T02:08:06.339-07:00UNTHINKABLE #1...the reviews are in<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">...and they are overwhelmingly positive. Like best reviews of my career positive. I'm thinking I should quit while I'm ahead positive. But don't just take my word for it.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">edit: this is my second attempt at posting these, hopefully the font will be readable</span><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1761618/unthinkable_1_review_pg2.html?cat=38"><br /></a><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1761618/unthinkable_1_review_pg2.html?cat=38"> </a><div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:arial;"> <div><div><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1761618/unthinkable_1_review_pg2.html?cat=38">ASSOCIATED CONTENT</a><br /><br /></span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;">"Sable has created a dark and chilling tale that is both comic book whimsy and real-world commentary... Grade: A" - Associated Content</span></div> <div><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=21206"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></a></div> <div><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=21206"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></a></div></div> <div><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=21206"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></a></div> <div><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=21206"><span style="font-size:100%;">THE BUY PILE (CBR)</span></a></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;">"A thought-provoking comic book that posits big ideas and bigger<br />conspiracies, with a relatable lead with some real character<br />development."<br /><a href="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/050913-BSE-Unthinkable.html"><br /></a><a title="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=21206" href="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/050913-BSE-Unthinkable.html"></a></span></div> <div><a href="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/050913-BSE-Unthinkable.html"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></a></div> <div><a href="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/050913-BSE-Unthinkable.html"><span style="font-size:100%;">NEWSARAMA:</span></a><br /><br /></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>"...</b>a great book..." - Newsarama</span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"><a title="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/050913-BSE-Unthinkable.html" href="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/050913-BSE-Unthinkable.html"><br /></a></span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.comicpants.com/2009/05/wednesday-number-ones-51309.html">COMIC PANTS:</a><br /><br /></span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div></div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <div><span style="font-size:100%;">"It's not everyday you can call a comic book a truly chilling experience, but Unthinkable is about as close as they come... I can't wait to see what happens next.<b>"</b></span></div> <div><a href="http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/124210029097047.htm"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span></a></div><div><a href="http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/124210029097047.htm"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></a></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/124210029097047.htm">COMICS BULLETIN:</a><br /><br /></span></div><div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;">"Writer Mark Sable sets up a great plot that I can't wait to keep following, with a main character and supporting cast that are quirky enough to seem real and interesting. "<br /><a href="http://www.hypergeek.ca/2009/05/mark-sable-detained-by-tsa-for-script.html"><br /></a></span></div><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.hypergeek.ca/2009/05/mark-sable-detained-by-tsa-for-script.html">HYPERGEEK:</a><br /><br /></span><div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;">"...<i> Unthinkable</i> #1 is a great start to what will hopefully be a great series. Both writer and artist have given us quality here and the first chapter of an intriguing story. If you're looking for an extra title to pick up, this is one with a promising start."</span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;">"I have read a pre-release copy of Unthinkable #1 and I was<br />incredibly impressed with this opening issue. Unthinkable is a tense,<br />original, intriguing, and thrilling political drama which really<br />reflects the times of paranoia and mistrust that we currently live<br />in." - HYPERGEEK<br /><br /><a title="http://www.hypergeek.ca/2009/05/mark-sable-detained-by-tsa-for-script.html" href="http://www.hypergeek.ca/2009/05/mark-sable-detained-by-tsa-for-script.html"></a></span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://thepullbox.com/2009/05/11/unthinkable-1-more-novel-than-graphic/">THE PULLBOX.COM</a><br /><br /></span></div><div><div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;">"This is a great beginning...Grade: A-"<br /><a href="http://www.comicvine.com/news/early-reviewpreivew-unthinkable-1/138457/"><br /></a></span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.comicvine.com/news/early-reviewpreivew-unthinkable-1/138457/"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></a></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.comicvine.com/news/early-reviewpreivew-unthinkable-1/138457/">COMICVINE:</a><br /><br /></span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;">"4.5 out of 5. ...a refreshing change ... I wouldn't mind seeing more comics like this..." - Comic Vine</span></div><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://www.mondomagazine.net/?p=5326"><br /></a><div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.mondomagazine.net/?p=5326"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></a></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.mondomagazine.net/?p=5326">MONDO MAGAZINE</a><br /><br /></span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;">"4out of 5"<br /><br /><a title="http://www.mondomagazine.net/?p=5326" href="http://www.mondomagazine.net/?p=5326"></a></span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.brokenfrontier.com/reviews/p/detail/unthinkable-1">BROKEN FRONTIER:</a><br /><br /></span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;">"Do you dare to think the unthinkable?" - BROKEN FRONTIER</span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div><a href="http://www.eyeoncomics.com/?p=411"><span style="font-size:100%;">DON MACPHERSON, EYE ON COMICS</span></a></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;">"8 out of 10"<br /><a href="http://jesster.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/comics-reviews-for-the-2nd-week-of-may/"><br /></a></span></div></div><div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://jesster.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/comics-reviews-for-the-2nd-week-of-may/"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></a></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://jesster.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/comics-reviews-for-the-2nd-week-of-may/"><span style="font-size:100%;">FOURTH WALL:</span></a></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />"Another Hit For Boom Studios"</span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a title="http://jesster.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/comics-reviews-for-the-2nd-week-of-may/" href="http://jesster.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/comics-reviews-for-the-2nd-week-of-may/"><br /></a></span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://fandomania.com/comic-review-unthinkable-1/">FANDOMANIA:</a><br /><br /></span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;">"Obviously, the use of real life events helps set that feeling up, but the way Sable handles the material plants the "Holy macaroni, this could totally be happening right now" seeds in your grey matter. I feel <i>Unthinkable</i> will be a shining example of why "smaller" publishers should be getting more recognition and press than they are." - Fandomania</span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://gregorsreview.blogspot.com/2009/05/unthinkable-1.html"><br />Gregor's Comic Book Review:</a><br /><br /></span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;">"WOW what a great idea, Predicting global catastrophe es, by using a<br />genius fiction writer! HAH!The Writing was clever, the concept is<br />clever, This book is FRESH." -- Gregor's Comic Book Review<br /><a href="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/05/12/a-couple-of-boom-comics-that-are-arriving-tomorrow/"><br /></a></span></div></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/05/12/a-couple-of-boom-comics-that-are-arriving-tomorrow/"><span style="font-size:100%;">GOOD COMICS:</span></a></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />"...is pretty keen... The book looks quite nice - Tedesco does a good<br />job with the many characters, and has a flair for action... Sable<br />does a good job setting up the concept..."<br /><a title="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/05/12/a-couple-of-boom-comics-that-are-arriving-tomorrow/" href="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/05/12/a-couple-of-boom-comics-that-are-arriving-tomorrow/"><br /></a></span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=993">CBR</a><br /><br />"... entertaining..." - CBR<br /><br />"Unthinkable" #1 does what a first issue should: it makes you want to<br />see what happens next."<br /><a href="http://io9.com/5247663/unthinkable-adds-even-more-conspiracy-to-a-post+911-world"><br /></a><a title="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=993" href="http://io9.com/5247663/unthinkable-adds-even-more-conspiracy-to-a-post+911-world"></a></span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://io9.com/5247663/unthinkable-adds-even-more-conspiracy-to-a-post+911-world"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></a></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://io9.com/5247663/unthinkable-adds-even-more-conspiracy-to-a-post+911-world"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></a></div> <div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://io9.com/5247663/unthinkable-adds-even-more-conspiracy-to-a-post+911-world"><span style="font-size:100%;">IO9</span></a><br /><br /></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;">"... for anyone who loves a good conspiracy..."</span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.comicbox.com%2Findex.php%2Fnews%2Favant-premiere-vo-review-unthinkable-1%2F&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8"></a><div><div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.comicbox.com%2Findex.php%2Fnews%2Favant-premiere-vo-review-unthinkable-1%2F&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></a></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.comicbox.com%2Findex.php%2Fnews%2Favant-premiere-vo-review-unthinkable-1%2F&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8"><span style="font-size:100%;">And yes, they even like me in France (COMIC BOX):</span></a><br /><br /></div> <div style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"...quite a thriller..."</span><br /><br /><a title="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.comicbox.com/index.php/news/avant-premiere-vo-review-unthinkable-1/&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8" href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.comicbox.com%2Findex.php%2Fnews%2Favant-premiere-vo-review-unthinkable-1%2F&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8"></a></span></div></div></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-42622184529225570372009-05-12T14:03:00.001-07:002009-05-12T21:54:49.707-07:00UNTHINKABLE finally out TODAY, Wednesday May 13th...signing at Jim Hanley's Universe in NY to launch<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfO3k4tPIuZGcx_2drGetL6iZngjwCWl_9gxgFzONrsn3yEdhCUm2n7P-nxSusnjDLfEpvCu2DsZ03BUUhdPiJ3bhBpUqdPqJkAh-tKCf-gnOKdIP4f_sCARl11o0SG01xxujTKt4NzcJj/s1600-h/Unthinkable_01_cvrA_temp.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfO3k4tPIuZGcx_2drGetL6iZngjwCWl_9gxgFzONrsn3yEdhCUm2n7P-nxSusnjDLfEpvCu2DsZ03BUUhdPiJ3bhBpUqdPqJkAh-tKCf-gnOKdIP4f_sCARl11o0SG01xxujTKt4NzcJj/s320/Unthinkable_01_cvrA_temp.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335166189015990418" border="0" /></a><br />This is going to be a very short post - I'm exhausted from jet lag, my appearance on Comic Book Club Live, and oh yeah...being <a href="http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2009/05/11/tsa-finds-comic-script-threatening/">detained by the Transportation and Safety Administration</a> and interrogated about the script for Unthinkable #3.<br /><br />But, Unthinkable - what I think is my best work yet (so far...some very generousadvance reviews agree)- is finally out today.<br /><br /> UNTHINKABLE, my new comic from BOOM! Studios, is a fictional spy thriller rooted in the real world.<br /><br /> After 9/11, many reacted by saying the events of that day were like something “out of a Tom Clancy novel.” Our government took that reaction seriously, and commissioned a think tank made up of thriller writers to come up with worst case terror scenarios, In doing so, we could devise ways to stop these "unthinkable" attacks before the terrorists even had a chance to plot them.<br /><br /> The comic tells the story of Alan Ripley, a fictional young writer who joins this real-life think when his brother is killed on 9/11. Almost a decade later, the nightmare scenarios he imagined start coming true.<br /><br />I'll be at signing Unthinkable at Jim Hanley's Universe in NYC today from 6 to 8PM along with cover artist Paul Azaceta and some surprise guests. (Two-Face: Year One is also being released in trade along with Bruce Jones and Sean Murphy's Scarecrow: Year One...I'll be signing that as well). I'm sure I'll do an LA signing for issue 2.<br /><br />More soon...links to articles and reviews, more about my experience with the TSA, a creator commentary of the ARG etc. In the meantime...I hope you'll check UNTHINKABLE out regardless of whether you can make it to a signing. And I'd love to know what you think.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-10884746200938141022009-04-06T19:26:00.000-07:002009-04-07T00:28:53.175-07:00UNTHINKABLE - a 10 - count'em 10 page preview<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbyBoiPk46SieaYE_yWrFgOLapUd9bCalsvUpTf4N0q005UFcT5JpHJfqsyld4c7Bc2FcZGRavXNAUwgNZNheS-keTLCkEdHubABoaygKFbRg70H4HhYJksOSKm3hcJj3qQftAj_F4OxQ/s1600-h/file_4_56.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 117px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbyBoiPk46SieaYE_yWrFgOLapUd9bCalsvUpTf4N0q005UFcT5JpHJfqsyld4c7Bc2FcZGRavXNAUwgNZNheS-keTLCkEdHubABoaygKFbRg70H4HhYJksOSKm3hcJj3qQftAj_F4OxQ/s320/file_4_56.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321844382306450738" border="0" /></a><br />Boom! Studios has a lot of confidence in UNTHINKABLE, my upcoming thriller coming out in May. So much so that they released not the usual five, but a ten page preview. Why show almost half the book up front? Because we believe that the 2nd half is just that good.<br /><a href="http://www.majorspoilers.com/archives/12364.htm/"><br />Major Spoilers</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=26829">Newsarama</a><br /><br /><a href="http://previewsworld.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=23&s=216&ai=81759&ssd">Splash Page Previews</a><br /><br /><img src="file:///Users/marksable/Desktop/file_4_56.jpg" alt="" />For those of you who don't know, Unthinkable is based on a real-life government program. After 9/11, there were many who felt like what happened was out of a Tom Clancy novel, or a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. Some people in the government took this seriously, and created a think tank made up of novelists and screenwriters. Their task was to come up with worst case terror scenarios. If we could imagine the next 9/11 before the terrorists did - maybe we could stop that.<br /><br />Where I depart into the realm of fiction is with Alan Ripley, a young Tom Clancy-esque novelist who joins this Think Tank when his brother is killed in 9/11. Eight years afterwards, he finds that the nightmare terrorist scenarios he envisioned have started to come true. Now, it's up to him to stop them. The problem - just because you write about action heroes doesn't mean you can be one.<br /><br />I've never been more proud of a project, creator-owned or otherwise. Much of that is due to the great work of Julian Totino Tedesco, who does the interiors you'll see on those ten pages. Paul Azaceta, my first ever collaborator on Grounded does the covers. That's the cover for Issue #2 above. Issue #1 however will be out in May.<br /><br />Unthinkable has been the reason I haven't posted more - it took incredible research, and I put nearly as much into the marketing - which involved an ARG (Altered or Alternate Reality Game) - as I did the comic. I plan on posting more soon - at the very least links to the many interviews I've done, the reviews (which are not out yet, but should be coming sooner than you think), and behind the scenes stuff.<br /><br />I've agreed to do a "director's commentary" for the ARG. If that goes one, I've always wanted to do one for an actual comic, being a process junkie (or just a narcissist) myself. I think this is a book that lends itself to it, because of the amount of research, ties to the real world and the ARG etc. I'd love to get some others involved - maybe Julian, marketing/gure Chip Mosher and the rest of the ARG team (Dafna Pleban and Ian Brill), Paul, series editors Mark Waid and Matt Gagnon etc. My priority is the book, but I don't want readers of this blog to think I've forgotten about it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-51280853796113166052009-03-17T21:17:00.000-07:002009-03-17T21:23:39.282-07:00Top Ten Reasons to Buy Teen Titans Spotlight: Cyborg - TODAY<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGQsTpCtbuTAjHXfrwKPD9V5QXGClFwrsIMn3F-rCqf2DaihwaEFT97w-BGN_-QNjUYqZNF6KsyJUGgpj4OvBiqFlRAxg-j0q00oL_O291yhjM5PdugBdYSKsmTfIOH2CDGdb6cVV69Qq/s1600-h/1011309_ful.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGQsTpCtbuTAjHXfrwKPD9V5QXGClFwrsIMn3F-rCqf2DaihwaEFT97w-BGN_-QNjUYqZNF6KsyJUGgpj4OvBiqFlRAxg-j0q00oL_O291yhjM5PdugBdYSKsmTfIOH2CDGdb6cVV69Qq/s320/1011309_ful.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314377547838608818" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The Top 10 reasons to buy my Teen Titans Spotlight: Cyborg trade TODAY:<br /><br />10.He’s black. You’re not. Racist? Do the math.<br /><br />9. Find out what’s underneath those steel underpants.<br /><br />8. This Cyborg not in a wheelchair.<br /><br />7. tCyborg trade: Man vs. Machine theme not explored enough Battlestar Galactica<br /><br />6. You don’t need to read Final Crisis to understand it.<br /><br />5. Surprise crossover with Marvel – he rapes Machine Man Iron Sheik style.<br /><br />4. @Shaq promises to follow up his Steel performance when movie made.<br /><br />3. Real reason for Vic's cybernetics – hit with bottle at Comicon<br /><br />2. Cyborg trade: Sonic disruptor replaced by Sybian.<br /><br />1. Cyborg trade: Vic finally cured…of being black!<br /><br />All meant in jest...hope you'll pick it up if you weren't able to pick up any or all of the single issues.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-29437978218111686922009-03-16T21:44:00.000-07:002009-03-16T22:18:51.384-07:00Newsarama, CBR and Comics on Comics on Unthinkable; and On DecompressionSorry I haven't posted in a while. Particularly now, with the announcement of Unthinkable, I should be posting here like it was Twitter (which, incidentally - I'm on under "marksable"...that's been quite a drain on my time). But I've not only been writing Unthinkable and writing/managing the ARG (Alternate Reality Game), but doing everything I can to promote Unthinkable. From interviews to podcasts to cold-calling retailers.<br /><br /> Speaking of interviews, You can see Mark Waid interview me at <a href="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/030916-Sable-Unthinkable.html">Newsarama</a> and read a great interview with Jeffrey Renaud at <a href="httphttp://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=20345://">CBR</a>. Finally...I did an audio podcast with the funny folks at <a href="http://www.comicsoncomics.com/?p=198">Comics on Comics</a>. I say audio because they also do video podcasts, one of which I was lucky enough to do last year.<br /><br />The Newsarama piece features the 1st five pages of Unthinkable #1 (of 5). To keep to our exclusive arrangement, and take up the entire blog, I'm just going to show you Page 2:<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4aQBEnE1sB1OCiXH7Jz3dh6MXMi9D5wAFh_w9AEPEkRHX6JJP2eD2XO_TFTXKwuSZOM1V8ZjsE2jeNDpx8n5dJnCSU4ggnVgNHcxtC5or6jCOz1A4fd9DudFVPwa_i9r4dJLsqnrqxhSV/s1600-h/_UNTH001_02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4aQBEnE1sB1OCiXH7Jz3dh6MXMi9D5wAFh_w9AEPEkRHX6JJP2eD2XO_TFTXKwuSZOM1V8ZjsE2jeNDpx8n5dJnCSU4ggnVgNHcxtC5or6jCOz1A4fd9DudFVPwa_i9r4dJLsqnrqxhSV/s320/_UNTH001_02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314017416112482514" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Why not Page 1? Well, it's a splash, and you've seen those before. But the first 3 pages - 2 and 3 especially - are part of a really amazing opening sequence. I basically asked (Unthinkable artist) Julian Tedesco to cram pages worth of material into a variation of the nine-panel grid. He was able to do so without sacrificing detail. It's probably the single hardest thing I've ever asked an artist to do and he pulled it off effortlessly.<br /><br />One thing I haven't talked about in the interviews is that Unthinkable is a really dense book. Not dense in the "inpenentrable" sense of the word, just dense in that, I wanted to tell a lot of story in 22 pages. For better or for worse, we're living in an age of decompression. But this is an epic, even if it's told in 5 issues, and I want it to feel that way.<br /><br />Quite frankly, I don't believe the majority of comics right now are giving you the bang for the buck that other media are. Most comics don't tell a complete story...so you wind up paying $3.99 for what would be an act of a 4-act TV episode...when you can get an entire TV episode for $1.99 off itunes.<br /><br />At the same time...decompression happened for a reason. While the comics of 2o or more years ago told a complete story...much of it was filled with redundant exposition.<br /><br />In the past, I've written my creator owned books at closer to 32 pages than 22 pages, and I've done so at great expense to myself - both in terms of paying my collaborators and giving up ad space. <br /><br />I'd think to think I've found an artist who can help me deliver the kind of density of great books from The Dark Knight Returns to The Wintermen, without heavy handed exposition. Ultimately, that means more story for you.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-15956562919678397562009-03-04T20:49:00.000-08:002009-03-04T21:10:24.333-08:00UNTHINKABLE - READ THE COMIC, PLAY THE GAME!I'm proud to OFFICIALLY announce UNTHINKABLE, my latest, and I think greatest, creator-owned comic book series, coming this May from BOOM! Studios (and available for preorder NOW).<br /><br />UNTHINKABLE is edgy spy thriller with roots in a controversial, real-world government initiative. Shortly after September 11, 2001, the Defense Department commissioned "think tanks" comprised of some of America's most darkly imaginitive writers. Since the 9-11 attacks seemed like something out of a Tom Clancy novel, the Pentagon asked these writers to come up with worst case terrorist scenarios. Their hope was that if our best writers could come up with these nightmare plots first, we could devise defenses before our terrorist enemies thought about, let alone planned, the next 9/11.<br /><br />UNTHINKABLE tells the story of Alan Ripley, a (fictional) writer who joins this real life think tank, only to find that the devious terror attacks he imagined have started to come true. Realizing someone is using his imagination as a blueprint for terror, it's up to Ripley and his fellow Think Tank members to stop these unthinkable attacks they unwittingly planned from becoming reality.<br /><br />With covers by GROUNDED artist Paul Azaceta:<br /><a href="http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c269/marksable/Unthinkablepressreleasecover1.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 517px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 800px" alt="" src="http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c269/marksable/Unthinkablepressreleasecover1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And DMZ's Kristian Donaldson:<br /><a href="http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c269/marksable/Unthinkablepressreleasecover2.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 517px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 800px" alt="" src="http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c269/marksable/Unthinkablepressreleasecover2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />...interior art by rising star Julian Tedesco , and edited by Mark Waid (Kingdom Come) and Matt Gagnon, there's a dream team of creators helping me bring to life a story I've been researching and dying to tell for for years.<br /><br />If my pitch isn't enough to convince you, than I'm hoping that THE UNTHINKABLE ARG (Altered Reality Game) will. An "ARG" is an interactive, online game that uses the real world as a platform. The UNTHINKABLE ARG, created by myself and a marketing team headed by BOOM!'s Chip Mosher, is the world's first ARG for a comic book.<br /><br />Starting now, by going to <a href="http://www.wolfpackpmc.com,/" target="_blank">http://www.wolfpackpmc.com,/</a> you can sign up to apply for an intelligence position in The Wolfpack, a (fictional) Private Military Contractor. Next week, those of you who are accepted into the Wolfpack's training program will be tasked to search the internet for clues that can help them apprehend the dangerous characters in the book. At the very least, the ARG is a way to get the kind of supplementary material found in books like Watchmen to readers for free. More than that, it gives you a chance to interact with UNTHINKABLE'S fictional players in a very real way. I've spent nearly as much time crafting the game as I have the comic, integrating the world of UNTHINKABLE into our own.<br /><br />It's completely free to play, and there's a tangible prize for the winner(s). You can sign up for the game NOW at <a class="postlink" href="http://www.wolfpackpmc.com/" target="_blank">http://www.wolfpackpmc.com/</a> by clicking the "join" button.<br /><br />I have had the privilege of working with many talented people on a wide variety of projects, but I can say without hesitation that both the comic and the game are the best work I've ever been involved with.<br /><br />I hope you'll ask your retailer to pre-order the first issue by giving them the pre-order code of MAR094127.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-52746294867661064692009-02-28T15:52:00.000-08:002009-03-02T01:40:27.343-08:00Some changes before the big announcementHey everyone. If you've been wondering why I haven't been posting with much frequency it's because I've been spending a considerable amount of time on the project that will be officially announced on Wednesday. Not just the comic series, but the ARG (alternate reality game)/contest I've been creating to promote it. Or, to put in another way, you know you are in deep when you are spending more time creating blogs etc. for your ficitional characters than for yourself.<br /><br />In the meantime, I thought I might point out some changes to the blog. <br /><br />First, I've updated the links and pictures to my published works. You'll notice that both Teen Titans: Spotlight and Batman: Two-Face/Scarecrow: Year One are collected editions of both those mini-series that will be out in March and May respectively. You can order them on Amazon, although I'd prefer if you purchased them at your local comic shop. On a selfish level, it means my sales numbers will be higher. With the economy the way it is, I'd also rather you help a small business than a large one. Plus, you'll get the books a week or more earlier that way.<br /><br />I've also started to link to SOME of my friends' and collaborators' blogs. If you are one or the other and would like a link, e-mail me or comment on this thread. This is by no means an exhaustive list, it's just a start.<br /><br />At some point, I'd like to do longer pieces on or with people I worked with - interviews, guest blog posts - whatever they'd like.<br /><br />In the meantime, I thought I'd introduce you briefly to the first batch:<br /><br />Paul Azaceta is the artist and co-creator of Grounded, and has since gone on to do work such as Daredevil, Foolkiller and the upcoming Punisher Noir for Marvel, as well as Hellboy BRPD: 1946 for Dark Horse and Potter's Field for Boom! He's doing the covers for my new project and I couldn't be happier to have him aboard.<br /><br />Jason Badower was the artist on my first Heroes webcomic, "Blackout", featuring Suresh. It's not only in Volume 2 of the Heroes Hardcover, it was reprinted as a 2008 San Diego Comic-Con exclusive (of which I only have one copy). He's got a fantastic, photorealistic, painterly style that he does entirely on the computer.<br /><br />My friend Jen Grunwald, otherwise known as the "hottest girl in comics", is a Special Editions editor at Marvel Comics. She's very cool, even when she drops names of all the famous comic book creators she knows.<br /><br />Valerie D'Orazio, aka "Occasional Superheroine", is the writer of one of my favorite comic blogs. It's often labeled as a feminist blog, which to some extent it is (she is the President of The Friends of Lulu, the premiere women's organization in comics), but that label is kind of reductive. She covers anything worth covering in comics, is incredibly prescient as far as where the industry is going and is a hell of a writer.<br /><br />Salgood Sam is the artist who illustrated/co-created my contribution to Tori Amos' Comic Book Tattoo collection, "Upside Down", a graphic adaptation of the song of the same name. He does a great deal of really inspired creator owned work as well.<br /><br />Finally (for today), if you don't know who Mark Waid is, you probably haven't read comics in the past twenty years. Generally, skipping the last 20 years of comics might not be the worst thing in the world, but during some of the dark times in the 90s Mark helped re-invent heroic fiction, whether it was his legendary Flash Run, the groundbreak Kingdom Come, or...the list is long, but chances are if you haven't read anything by him, you've read something that wouldn't exist without him. He's now the editor-in-chief at BOOM! Studios, the publisher of my next work. He's the best editor I've worked with bar none, and he's also served as a mentor to me.<br /><br />I've had the privilege of working with other great artist, writers, creators etc. who I hope to introduce you to soon. Chances are if you like my work, you'll probably like the worked of those who I linked to.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-15872839910596151962009-02-04T05:53:00.000-08:002009-02-04T06:19:22.418-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4phNN7-hcxlqIYd90eVYZ-CfWuF47Tczfa5dxugG3KHg9xjzbyTi537tu6Z_KyRS4bSCHYKGA-SsmZn1tVpvl2QhJOrH1PysoqUoFxWUl81RqCv3uqzXQrkoplgLzQsQiTSWf_wE04DT/s1600-h/nycomicon+header.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298943622064975346" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 106px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4phNN7-hcxlqIYd90eVYZ-CfWuF47Tczfa5dxugG3KHg9xjzbyTi537tu6Z_KyRS4bSCHYKGA-SsmZn1tVpvl2QhJOrH1PysoqUoFxWUl81RqCv3uqzXQrkoplgLzQsQiTSWf_wE04DT/s320/nycomicon+header.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><p>In about 6 hours or so I'll be headed to NY for, among other things, The New York Comic Con. I'm going to be sharing a table with artist Paul Azaceta (GROUNDED, FOOLKILLER, BPRD: 1946) in Artist's Alley, Table L7. Hopefully, FEARLESS artist PJ Holden and co-writer Dave Roth will be hanging around the table as well.</p><p>As always, I'm happy to talk to anyone, sign anything, and I'll be selling my Image Books. If you want my DC works signed, you're probably going to have to bring your own copies of TWO-FACE: YEAR ONE, CYBORG and SUPERGIRL #16. And if you happen to have San Diego's limited edition HEROES comic from last year, you can be the first to have me sign a copy.\\ If I'm not at my table, I'm likely just taking a walking around break, or doing a signing for Comic Book Tattoo (the hugely successful Tori Amos anthology I contributed a short story for).</p><p>But the real treat will be getting a sketch from Paul Azaceta, who does kickass - well, everything, but particularly Daredevil. And you'll never see him more excited if you ask him to draw Darkhawk. </p><p>Looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-930296949262542717.post-19489609572181007292009-02-03T22:47:00.000-08:002009-02-03T23:20:27.975-08:00My favorite interview so far<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2yGGN5FOYbekia3Lo76Rznacj1LVoHfltStc1QpKUX3MDpWF-zydOEmUnrWbQ7IfaiyhlS91St7Qn2MIQaAsTnK8sJvLjnkwdOVdlTV5LGuuk8LpzPtZoOdca6Lh0axkTYipCYaykNH9/s1600-h/mikele.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298838658832430482" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2yGGN5FOYbekia3Lo76Rznacj1LVoHfltStc1QpKUX3MDpWF-zydOEmUnrWbQ7IfaiyhlS91St7Qn2MIQaAsTnK8sJvLjnkwdOVdlTV5LGuuk8LpzPtZoOdca6Lh0axkTYipCYaykNH9/s320/mikele.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br />Although I'm not promoting anything (yet), my good friend Mike Le (pictured above) conducted what I think is the best <a href="http://www.dontforgettovalidateyourparking.com/Interviews/MarkSable.html">interview</a> I've ever done. Not just because he asked really insightful questions about the comics medium and my writing process. But also because he somehow got me to talk about my embarassing Bar Mitzvah memories, the best strip clubs in LA, and why going to to Tijuana during the San Diego Comic Con would be a bad, bad idea for me.<br /><br />In addition to being a friend, and the best wingman in LA, he is VP of HQ Entertainment (Tyrese's production company), an accomplished screenwriter, and the creator of the must-read web comic <a href="http://www.dontforgettovalidateyourparking.com/">"Don't Forget to Validate Your Parking".</a> It's about the trial and travails of being an assistant in Hollywood, but you don't need to be an industry insider to appreciate it's absurd humor.<br /><br />Doing interviews with my many talented friends and collaborators has been something I've been thinking of doing here when it's a slow news day/week/month for me. What do you guys think?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0