Stuff - New and Upcoming!

It's almost the end of April which means Con Season is in full swing. Gabriel and I just attended Wondercon this weekend and are preparing for several more over the summer. Of course we'll have books and art, but Gabriel's doing something new this year: The Convention Portrait Project. Here's the deal, as stated on his blog:

"If you're willing to sit for 20-30 minutes, I'll draw a naturalistic portrait of you in my convention sketchbook. I won't be selling these sketches (or giving them away for that matter), they're staying in my sketchbook. I'll happily send you a scan if you give me your contact information. 

These are naturalistic drawings, not charactertures. Cosplayers are welcome but be aware, these drawing will not be idealized superhero style sketches. 

If I end up with enough interesting convention portraits, I may collect them in a book at some future date. 
So please, If you'd like to take a break from the con and can sit still for 30 minutes, come by our table and ask about the CONVENTION PORTRAIT PROJECT. "

If you'd like to participate, stay tuned! We have at least three more cons coming up, so lots more portraits will be drawn. 

In other news, how about some new trades? First up is the final volume of our Planet of the Apes: Cataclysm run. I'm really proud of how this third book turned out, and I'm thrilled that it can now sit on the shelf with the other two volumes as well as the two miniseries which came before it. If you'd like to check it  out, here's the Goodreads listing. And if you'd like to order it, here's a link to Amazon. 

Meanwhile, in a completely different fictional universe, our run on Star Wars: Legacy continues with issue #14 appearing this week. But if trades appeal to you more than floppies, you're in luck here too. Volume two, Outcasts of the Broken Ring, is set to appear in a little over a month. You can preorder it already on Amazon, and it's even on sale right now. 

And if that's not enough sci-fi for you, then we also have a new miniseries appearing July 30 from Dark Horse. Scripted by Gabriel and me from a story by Mike Richardson, Deep Gravity will run for four issues and includes plenty of exo-biology and deep-space-faring vessel action. Not to mention several characters that I'm quite fond of. 

So that's the update. Hope to see you at a con this summer! 

More Beautiful Cataclysm Apes!

Wow! Look what Planet of the Apes aficionado Michael Kostka made this time... Vitus and Valentina's infant child! I have to say that's one cute orangutan kid. And you can believe me, because I've seen quite a few in real life. You can tell just by their expressions that Vitus is a loving dad, despite the tragic loss of his wife Valentina during the first arc of Planet of the Apes: Cataclysm. Anyway, don't take my word for it, see for yourself!

Here's what Vitus looked liked while holding his new child in the comic (beautifully drawn by Damian Couceiro).












And here he is as rendered by Michael in the same pose.

Awww.

Wow, look at the group together!

Here's a couple more of Vitus...

Dosen't he look noble and a little long-suffering?

And here's a slightly disturbing process shot. I just love seeing what goes into these custom figures. They're not easy to do well but Michael nails them!

Many thanks to Michael for sending me these images and giving me permission to share them here. They remind me of how much affection I have for all of the characters we wrote for during our Planet of the Apes run. I'm happy to see them live on beyond the comics!

New Stuff! September 2013 Edition

The summer is almost gone but Gabriel and I didn't take much time off. Instead, we've been busy making comics! Well, okay, we did take a day off for our anniversary, but it was an impressively numbered milestone so we felt entitled.

And so, with out further preamble, here's what we have coming up.

First, Kinski #3 by Gabriel Hardman is out today! You can find it here. You can also pick up the first two issues from the same link, or even subscribe. This issue marks the halfway point, so don't miss out! How far will Joe go to save the not-quite-stray dog Kinski? Far enough that even good-natured Frank is unhappy, judging by the cover. Hop over to Gabriel's blog to see some preview pages.


It seems impossible, but New York Comic Con is just three weeks away now. Gabriel and I will be sharing a table in Artist Alley again this year, and Gabriel is already taking sketch requests. Want to get on the list? Email Gabriel (GabrielHardman@gmail.com) soon! He's still got a couple of openings. Here's a breakdown of his prices:

$125 for 1 character 9x12 inked

$250 for 2 characters 9x12 inked

$60 for headshot 9x12 inked. 

And here's a recent example of what you'll get:

If seeing Batman fight Gorilla Grodd reminds you that you'd like to read more books about apes, never fear! We've got you covered there too. 

You can now pre-order the second volume of Planet of the Apes: Cataclysm from Amazon or from your local comic book shop. It'll hit stores on November 5th. Not sure where your closest comic shop is? Use this handy locator to find out.                                                                                                 Hope we'll see you in New York in October. If not, have a happy autumn!

Timon Never Looked Better

Gabriel and I were well satisfied by the breath of stories we told in 12 issues of Planet of the Apes: Cataclysm and our two PotA miniseries, but I still miss thinking and writing about "our" characters now that the series has concluded. So just imagine my pleasure at seeing Timon, the outcast chimpanzee-turned-radical-cult-leader brought to "life" by the talented Mr. Michael Kostka as a 1/6 scale custom model! Everything is there just as in the comic: his cobbled together book of inspirational sayings (where I finally had the chance to sneak an e.e. cummings quote into a script), his decorative eyepatch echoing the one his hero Aleron wore, and even his serious expression. After all, Timon is a bit of a tortured soul. I should mention that the original look for Timon (before the eyepatch) was designed by Marc Laming when he first appeared in Exile on the Planet of the Apes.

Well, don't take my word for it. Check out these great photos and see for yourself. Thanks so much, Michael, for sending these my way!

Exile on the Planet of the Apes Trade - Less than a Month Away

We're well into November, not even two weeks away from Thanksgiving... And less than a month from the release of the trade of EXILE ON THE PLANET OF THE APES, due in stores the first week of December from BOOM!

Written by Gabriel Hardman and myself, with gorgeous art by Marc Laming, EXILE is a story that I'm really proud of. I'm also incredibly excited to see it in book form!

Want to check it out? You can pre-order it on Amazon right now for $9.97, which is more than $5 off the cover price.

Also, many thanks to everyone who picked it up in its previous incarnation. You all deserve a big chimpanzee style pant-hoot!

More Apes News - Party at Meltdown Comics!

Summer may seem like it's over but it's still hot in Los Angles. What better time to celebrate Planet of the Apes?

Tomorrow night, Wednesday September 5th, Gabriel and I will be at Meltdown on Sunset Blvd with a bunch of the BOOM! crew as we launch our new Planet of the Apes series. There will be free snacks and drinks, even booze! Oh, and the best part: Meltdown is full of comics!

Apes! 7-9 pm! Tomorrow! 

Planet of the Apes: Cataclysm! This Week!

September is finally here, and with it comes the launch of our brand new Apes ongoing series! The first arc is called CATACLYSM, so you know we start things off with a bang. Not sure what you might be getting yourself into? You can check out a longish preview here.

Gabriel and I are handling the writing again, with art by Damian Couceiro and colors by Darrin Moore. Ape society will never be the same again!

Find it at your local comic book shop this Wednesday, September 5th.

And to everyone who has pre-ordered, thank you!

Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes - The Trade

It's been out for a week already, but it's still exciting news to me: our BETRAYAL OF THE PLANET OF THE APES miniseries is finally a trade paperback!

All four issues, plus cover art, an intro by Ed Brubaker, and cool extras  bound up in one stylish package. You can find it at your local comic book shop or you can order it from Amazon. Want to see what others have to say about it? You can check that out on Goodreads. Need even more Apes action? Our latest miniseries, EXILE ON THE PLANET OF THE APES is available for pre-order on Amazon now too.

Can't stand to handle print books now that the digital revolution is here? Our Apes work is still all paper, but you can buy our horror graphic novel, HEATHENTOWN, from Comixology for just $3.99.  

And let me say a big thank you to everyone who has read our work so far! These books are labors of love for Gabriel and me. We're thrilled that so many folks have enjoyed them! Thanks everyone!

Planet of the Apes News - New Series Announcement!

Starting in September, Gabriel and I will be writing a new Planet of the Apes ongoing series for BOOM! Studios. The first arc is called "Cataclysm", and I promise that it will be full of epic ape action. We'll be jumping ahead seven years from the events currently taking place in "Exile", which still puts us several years before a man named Taylor shakes things up in the first film. That gives us a lot of canvas to play with, and we're going to start things off with a bang!

The art is being handled by the fabulous Damian Couceiro and we'll even have covers by Alex Ross! That's the first one, over on the left.

I'll have more to say about things as we get closer, but for now I'll leave you with the interview that Gabriel and I just did with Comic Book Resources. We're thrilled with this new gig, and hope that you'll check it out!

Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes!

Now it can be told! The big project Gabriel Hardman and I have been working on, the one that had me constantly battling my spell checker over "gorilla soldier" vs "guerilla soldier", has been announced! We couldn't be more excited to be working on a Planet of the Apes miniseries for BOOM! Comics. Coming to a retailer near you in November:

BETRAYAL OF THE PLANET OF THE APES


Gabriel and I are co-writing it, with art by Gabriel and colors by the lovely and talented Jordie Bellaire.

Want to read more? There's a sneak peak at one of our main characters over at iFanboy. And you can check out Comic Book Resource's interview with Gabriel and me too. Everyone involved is a huge fan of all things Planet of the Apes, and we hope it shows. We also hope you'll ask your LCS (that's local comic shop, for the uninitiated) to order Betrayal this week. Do it now, then bask in the glow of Apes action in November!