Unthinkable: The Movie & Other News

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

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

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

That's right, UNTHINKABLE WAS OPTIONED!

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

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

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

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

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

How much money am I making?

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

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

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

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

Will I write the screenplay?

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

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

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

Which brings me to the last question:

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT THIS?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Forgive Me Internet, For I have Sinned

It 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

UNTHINKABLE finally out TODAY, Wednesday May 13th...signing at Jim Hanley's Universe in NY to launch

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 detained by the Transportation and Safety Administration and interrogated about the script for Unthinkable #3.

But, Unthinkable - what I think is my best work yet (so far...some very generousadvance reviews agree)- is finally out today.

UNTHINKABLE, my new comic from BOOM! Studios, is a fictional spy thriller rooted in the real world.

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.

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.

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.

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.

UNTHINKABLE - a 10 - count'em 10 page preview

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.

Major Spoilers

Newsarama

Splash Page Previews

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

UNTHINKABLE - 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).

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.

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.

With covers by GROUNDED artist Paul Azaceta:


And DMZ's Kristian Donaldson:

...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.

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.

Starting now, by going to http://www.wolfpackpmc.com,/ 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.

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 http://www.wolfpackpmc.com/ by clicking the "join" button.

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.

I hope you'll ask your retailer to pre-order the first issue by giving them the pre-order code of MAR094127.

Some changes before the big announcement

Hey 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.

In the meantime, I thought I might point out some changes to the blog.

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.

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.

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.

In the meantime, I thought I'd introduce you briefly to the first batch:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cthulhu Calling

Out in stores now is Cthulhu Tales #4, which contains th 11 page story "There Will Be Blood". You can see the two cover variations above.

For those of you wondering who, or what "Cthulhu" pronounced ka-THOO-loo, he's an enormous, evil, tenacled god created by H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft is one of the most important horror writers of the 20th century, crafting an entire mythos around Cthulhu and The Necronomicon, a mystical tome that drove men mad. His stories were both vivid and extremely bleak.

Cthulhu tales is BOOM!'s anthology series giving modern writers a chance to offer their own takes on Lovecraftian horror. My story is set in present day Iraq, and is one of the more politically charged stories I've ever written. But don't worry. It's full of madness, tentacles and people dying in awful, awful ways. (Actually, that doesn't sound too far off from Iraq today...minus the tentacles).

This is my first work for BOOM! Studios (but definitely not my last). They published one of my favorite espionage books, Chip Mosher's Left on Mission, and two of GROUNDED artist Paul Azaceta's books, Talent and Potter's Field. The latter was written by Mark Waid, their new editor-in-chief.

Waid, who is probably best known for "Kingdom Come" with Alex Ross and his run on "The Flash" (although my favorite Waid work is Empire and Fantastic Four), is a living legend, and the main reason I'm working with BOOM! Not only is he one of the most accomplished writers in comics, he's also the best editor I've ever worked with. His notes on just this short story alone were like a master class in comics writing. And to top it all off, he's a hell of a guy. It's truly an honor to have my name on a book with his (he wrote the other story in this issue).

It was also a great pleasure to work with artist Sergio Carrera, who illustrated "There Will Be Blood". His style is simple but evocative, and I have no doubt you're going to be seeing a lot of work from this rising star very soon.