Tales of Syzpense #49

Helping Your Self, A Haunted Sell-Out, the Spinner Rack's Gambit, and Killing Bill

Helping Your Self

I’m sure unboxing videos aren’t supposed to be this long but this has been at least years years in coming so I wanted to take my time with it:

Owen King, Jesse Kellerman, and I first started talking about Self Help pretty early on in the pandemic, and started work on it in earnest soon after. It all accelerated really nicely when Marianna Ignazzi agreed to draw the book, bringing it all to visual life in just the kind of fun, compelling fashion I’d hoped.

And then Fabiana Mascolo and Ian Chalgren came aboard to finish it off in fine fashion — Fabiana’s vivid colors perfectly fitting the sunny LA setting; and then Ian both lettered the book and has been designing different, standout logos and interior design pages for each issue.

So I’ve been anticipating this day for a couple years now, and opening the box containing comp copies of issue 1 this week finally delivered on its promise. Unboxing new comics and books will never stop being a thrill.

All of which is prelude to seeing how it works for everyone who picks it up. That day comes next Wednesday and beyond. Although since the initial orders for the series were humble enough, as befits any new series that people aren’t acquainted with, I’d expect it will sell through quickly. And since subsequent issue orders are in the midst of being set, too, I’d say again that the best way to ensure the book appears every month is, if you like what you see in issue 1, you ask your kindly retailer to order you the next issues.

It remains a challenging climate for indie comic-makers and comic sellers, which is probably why you see more and more pleas from creators to be vocal about your support, so retailers know to take more of a chance on the kinds of books you want to read, and not just the constant barrage of titles with people wearing capes.

Anyway, Self Help #1, on sale next week. It’s such a great comic, made by some of the best people I’ve worked with in this biz. I hope you like it. And as with any comic we make, if you have a hard time finding copies and want to order something direct from me, drop me a line, I’m happy to help.

Self Help #1 advances! On sale Wednesday, June 19.

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Power to the People

The collected edition of our series A Haunted Girl went on sale a few weeks ago. Not long after it was released, co-writers Ethan Sacks and Naomi Sacks discussed the series, and the real-life incident that fueled the development of the story, on NPR member station WBUR’s “Here and Now” show.

And then last week, People magazine featured the book in a 4-page article in their print magazine as well as on their web site.

Both outlets are not your usual place to find graphic-novel content. And this week, we got word that the first printing of the book has completely sold out at the distributor level. We’re back to print on the book now, with the 2nd printing due in stores on July 24. (And once again in the meantime, if you can’t find a copy and need one, let me know).

It’s a great sign for the book, and certainly a testament to the effort that Ethan and Naomi, and Image Comics too, have made to spread the word about this series. I love that non-traditional outlets have had this kind of impact on the book’s fortunes, too.

Every now and then, someone will muse about the need for a reboot of the old comic hype-fest Wizard magazine, but it could well be that the answer all along was just trusting the right kind of People.

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Lauding Hitomi

A quick note of congratulations to Hitomi artist Isabella Mazzanti, who won the 2024 Best Artist Award at the Etna Comics Festival in Sicily this past weekend! A well-deserved honor.

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This newsletter has seen a nice influx of new subscribers over the last couple of weeks, so first of all, welcome! And beyond that, thank you! Especially to the paid subscribers, which is just such a lovely show of support, and it’s greatly appreciated. Everything is a challenge lately—making comics, selling comics, managing all the demands of the imprint, and doing some good projects on the side, so often, just finding the time to put together a newsletter on a given week feels beyond my means. So the fact that people are supporting it is really appreciated.

For the paid subscribers, new and otherwise, I dug out something unique from the old days (and they shall remain the old days, despite various rumors I saw recently).

I started at IDW 20 years (!) ago this very week, in fact. And early on in my time there, we took a wild shot at the Kill Bill license. At that time, Quentin Tarantino hadn’t done any comics at all (he’d eventually participate in a Django/Zorro crossover with Dynamite but that’s been it so far; maybe someday, I can convince him to do The Movie Critic as a graphic novel…).

So we put together a full Kill Bill pitch, with the focus on varied art styles as a hopeful enticement, the same way he used different film techniques and animation in the first KB movie.

We printed it up and I think only 2-3 copies of that ever existed — Quentin (or his people) had or has one, another sits in the San Diego State comic archives, and I’ve got one. And if you’re a paid subscriber, well, you’ve now got a digital copy of it below. It’s a fun look at who some of the big artists were at the time (2003-2004), since the piece includes Adam Warren and a handful of other great talents. All to show QT the graphic-novel possibilities.

I’m not sure if the pitch ever did reach Quentin himself—sometimes, you have to go through so many levels of “people,” that you never know, but word came back in the negative, so it never happened. But the proposal remains a fun one. Not quite as elaborate as the one I put together for the Transformers bid but close.

And I suppose if I’m sharing the Kill Bill proposal this time, eventually I’ll have get into the pitch, and subsequent comic, and subsequent subsequent quick death, of Robert Rodriguez’s Machete comic.

Anyway, see below, all you nice benefactors.

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And for the rest of you, well, it’s time for another Spinner Rack! See? Even if you’re subscribing to the free edition of this newsletter, you get what you paid for!

The Rack’s Gambit

Comic covers involving chess have a long, storied history in comics. And even when the ancient game isn’t featured on the cover of a comic, you would often see various villains playing chess… usually with very customized chess pieces. Even Doctor Doom in his debut in 1962’s Fantastic Four #5, appeared to be playing some form of the game. Either with his pet vulture or against it. While also reading up on science and sorcery in his book with its misprinted title.

Anyway, good examples of chess-covers abound over the decades. Here is but nine of them, with two more bonus offerings that needed to be displayed next to one another.

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Recently, Tom Brevoort, whose very engaging newsletter arrives like clockwork on Sunday evenings, an impressive feat in itself, recently mused about whether anyone at all is doing weekly newsletters like he has been. I may not always be strictly weekly but I’m doing my level best, Tom! I’ll be hitting “issue” #50 next time around, and will probably share some various San Diego convention info then: I’ll be participating in various panels and goings-on at both late June’s American Library Association’s convention and then July’s San Diego Comic-Con, which is just a great way to spend some of the summer. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends, new people and great new books, and as many of you who’re able to attend as well.