STAGGER LEE

Review of Labor & Love

Here's something a little out of the ordinary -- I wrote a comics review for iFanboy.  The book I reviewed is called Labor & Love.  It's an anthology of adaptations of old folk songs.  Check it out.

iFanboy Plugs T. Runt!

I haven't been very diligent about updating for a while...will try to do better in the future.  For now, check out this fun iFanboy podcast on all-ages comics...made even more dear to my heart by tge generous plug for T. Runt! around the 8-minute mark.

Spinetingler Voting

The Spinetingler Award voting link is live!  Go here to vote.

PUG Nominated for Spinetingler Award/Wondercon is this Weekend!

PUG Nominated for Spinetingler Award

Our little book PUG just got itself a nomination for the 2011 Spinetingler Awards, in the Best Crime Comic/Graphic Novel category.  Voting opens tomorrow - I'll repost with a link to the ballot when that happens.  Looking at the nominees, I'd say we don't have much of a chance, but it's awfully nice to be on the list.

Wondercon!

This weekend is Wondercon time in San Francisco.  I'll only be there very briefly on Friday afternoon/evening, but you can find Greg Espinoza selling copies of PUG in artist's alley, at space AA-028.

Mission Comics Signing and PUG Reviews

This Saturday, August 21, Mission Comics in San Francisco will host me, Greg Espinoza, and Shepherd Hendrix in a signing for PUG.  And just in time for that, we've had three great reviews of the book pop up:

Ain't It Cool News (scroll way way down to the "Cheap Shots" section):  "A modern classic...this is definitely one not to miss."

ComicCollectorsBlog:  "9.4 out of 10."

iFanboy:  "Really impressive...It feels a bit like we've unearthed some gem from the past that was made 40 years ago, but just never published. 4 Stars."

...and then it was all over

I never managed to get Internet access anywhere but at my hotel, and I was always too tired to blog when I was there.  Now the show's over and I'm on my way home.  But I'll try to scrape together a highlights post in the next day or two.

It IS Lameblogging After All

So I can't seem to figure out how to get a wireless connection in the convention center, and am reduced to checking in on the Internets whenever I return to the hotel room.  Consequently -- no time to really update through the day.  But I'll try to write a post before I crash tonight.

Lameblogging the Comicon

So I'm going to take a shot at as-it-happens blogging at Comicon this year.  I've never done it before for a number reasons, not least of which is that while I reside not on the wrong side of the digital divide but cozily within the valley that lies at the bottom of the divide.  I don't own a smart phone, a Boisenberry, or anything that begins with i.  But I do have a laptop with me and I think I've got a decent chance at finding reliable wifi this year. so let's see how it goes.

Right now I'm still in Oakland.  In Oakland airport, that is.  Rollicking adventures so far have included a shuttle driver who drove slowly past my house with me standing waving on the porch and then on up to the end of the next block before finding me -- and then evidently not knowing the way to the airport.  I had a most curious tour of untraveled industrial areas before making it here.  Fortunately I had lots of time and no baggage to check in, so I still had plenty of time for my flight.  Which I now understand is running 20 minutes late anyway.

I have no baggage because last night I dropped it all off with Mark "El Dingo" Maggi, who is driving down with Shepherd Hendrix and Jimmie Robinson while I sleep in and take lazy shuttle rides through the Port region.  By all calculations they should be arriving in San Diego pretty soon, checking in at the show, and starting setup at the Image booth.  My job is to check in at the hotel and wander in at the last minute.

My other mission is to find a shoeshine stand in San Diego, which I always find challenging during Comicon week.  Apparently storm troopers all have their own shine kits or something, because the shoeshine stands tend to close up shop for lack of business.  I regrettably wore my convention shoes to the dog park this morning, and my need for shoe care is dire.  There's a shine stand in the Oakland airport, but the proprietor doesn't seem committed to manning his post on a consistent basis.  At least he's not there half the time when I look for him, as was the case today.

Anyway.  By tonight I'll be at the Image booth with a stack of my brand-new graphic novel PUG in front of me.  If you come by the table, be sure to check out my shoes and see if I ever got my shine on!

Pug! Comicon!

Tomorrow, Wednesday July 21, 2010, is the day PUG will hit comic shops.  Go!  As soon as the shop opens tomorrow!  Get your copy!  If they don't have it, ask them to order it for you!  Hurry now!

Tomorrow is also the first day - or Preview Night, rather - of Comicon, which will always be San Diego Con to me.  I will be at the Image booth (#2729) from Wednesday night through Sunday afternoon, sitting next to Jimmie Robinson, my esteemed collaborator on T. Runt! and "The Last Bus Home," from Image's Spearmint anthology.  I will have a big stack of PUGs in front of me, along with copies of Stagger Lee, T. Runt!, and Stories of a Callow Youth, and will be more than happy to sell them, sign them, whatever you want.  If I'm away from the table, you can look for Greg Espinoza, PUG artist, at space FF-12 in artists' alley.  He'll have copies of PUG too.  AND, if you can't find Greg, go look for the Iron Giant, Shepherd Hendrix, at the Viking Warrior booth, #2204.  Shep is not only the Eisner-nominated artist of Stagger Lee, he also did an art assist on PUG.  He won't have any copies of PUG with him, but he's a nice guy, so you should let him tell you all about his new book, Reconcilers.  But if Shep's not there, just head back to the Image booth and hang out with Jimmie.  Everybody should hang out with Jimmie at least once during Comicon.

Oh - I forgot to update about our release party last week at Comic Relief.  It went splendidly, thank you.  We sold out our stack of PUGs and also sold out the store's stock of Stagger Lee and T. Runt!.  If you're in the East Bay, stop by Comic Relief and remind them to reorder everything!

I think I'm going to take a stab at liveblogging for Comicon.  Check back tomorrow evening to see if I really follow through on this.

PUG Release Party @ CR - 7/14/10

Here I am once more a day late and a dollar short with the announcements.  But I hope not TOO late -

After inevitable but unavoidable delays, PUG will be hitting stores on July 21.  But we're still having a release party the week before that.  The official PUG release party for PUG will be this coming Wednesday, July 14, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Comic Relief, 2026 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA.  Greg Espinoza and I will both be there, signing a limited number of copies of the book.  Come early, bring friends, and tell everyone you know about it!

More info here.

Pug Release, Stagger Lee Reaches a Milestone, and I Find a New Career

One of the benefits of forgetting to update my site regularly is that whenever I finally get around to doing it, there's always a lot of news....

* PUG:  Pug has printed and has begun its slow journey by ship to distribution channels and retail outlets near you.  It's currently scheduled to hit stores on July 14.  I received my advance copy yesterday and couldn't be happier.  See the post below if you don't believe me.

* STAGGER LEE:  Also this week, I received my first royalty check for Stagger Lee.  As I said at the time, "Seven years from conception to publication, four years after that to profit -- it's a crazy get slightly ahead really really slowly scheme!" 

* MUSICAL THEATRE:  Musical whuh?  Yes, graphic novels to stage musicals is not a typical career path, but that seems to be the one I'm on.  I'm co-writing the book for a musical to be produced off-Broadway in about a year and a half.  This is a very exciting opportunity and I'm working with people of great renown.  More details to come as they become revealable.

PUG Actually Does Exist!

I've got my advance copy of PUG...but you need to run to your local comic shop (yes, now!) and tell them to order yours!

First Pug Review

Jason Sacks of Comics Bulletin has written the first review of PUG, and it's a very positive one.  Check it out here.

Pug Odds and Pods

In case it had escaped your notice, PUG was resolicited and can be found on page 185 of the April Diamond catalog.  The book is finished, done, ready to go, no chance of further delay (at least not on our end).  It should be in stores at the end of June/start of July.  I don't know the exact ship date yet, but will update when I do.

A little bit of buzz has already commenced for the book.  Rich Watson talks the book up here and there's a podcast interview with Derek and Greg here (our interview starts at about 28:40).

Here are the awesome back jacket quotes we have so far:

“PUG is the sweet, sad fable of a fall—not only the fall of a once-mighty boxer, but of a half-remembered America, a vanished underworld, a certain class of thug and loser and dreamer, in the twilight of the 1950s—all told with subtlety and grace and a clear fondness for urban texture.”

--Gerard Jones, Men of Tomorrow - Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book; The Trouble With Girls

"PUG Is GREAT!!!!  I was hooked from the first page. I loved the lingo, I raced to the end: good, solid payoff. The plot appears not complex, then delivers a LOT of story.  The pages zipped by!"
  -- Michael Wm. Kaluta, Starstruck, The Shadow

"Derek McCulloch has an unmatched talent for capturing character voice and nuance. I 'hear' dialogue and inflection as I read, much as I would while reading a well-written play. Greg Espinoza's graphics are clear and simple, but convey great depths of character. Pug is beautifully crafted and moving."  -- Colleen Doran, A Distant Soil

PopGun 4 on Sale Wednesday!

Hey! PopGun 4 hits stores this Wednesday! It features "Harshing the Mellow" by me & Anthony Peruzzo -- actually my favourite thing I've done for PopGun so far. Go buy!  http://www.popguncomics.com/

Stagger Lee Electronic Version Free Online - Not

I've had a bunch of hits on this site recently from people searching for free online versions of the Stagger Lee graphic novel.  I thought perhaps I should put up a post saying there isn't one.  We may eventually get the book on some digital platform or other, but right now it isn't.  And if you find an online version of it, it's a bootleg so please don't reward theft.

Fractured Fables, Pug, and a New Prose Book!

So much news, so much time spent not delivering it.

First thing:  Silverline books, the publisher of T. Runt!, will be publishing Fractured Fables, an anthology of goofy takes on classic fairy tales.  Anthony Peruzzo and I have contributed "Raponsel," the first page of which is reproduced in the link above.  I'm not sure of the publication date for the full Fractured Fables anthology, but an excerpt of the book will be Image's "Gold" release for Free Comic Book Day, which falls this year on May 1st.  "Raponsel" is one of the stories that was selected for inclusion in the FCBD edition--along with a cover by Mike and Laura Allred and stories by Bryan Talbot, Doug TenNapel, Ted McKeever, Camilla d'Errico, Christian Ward, and Alexander Grecian.

Second thing:  I am happy to report that at least one of my long-delayed "next" graphic novels is nearing completion.  Artwork for Pug is done.  We're doing a little production work and expect to have the book in stores also for Free Comic Book Day.  (This one's not free, though.)

Third thing:  If you've been waiting impatiently for the chance to read prose stories I wrote a long time ago, your moment is at hand!  Stories from a Callow Youth is now available in print-on-demand from CreateSpace, a division of Amazon.   Thrill to the pulse-poundingly narrow worldview of a 20-something man who, when asked what he did with his time, honestly replied, "Mostly, I drink, I shoot pool, I play a little cards."

T. Runt! Assemblies at Ocean Shore School, Pacifica

Jimmie and I defied Friday the 13th last month to do two assemblies at Ocean Shore School in the charming seaside town of Pacifica.  For K-3, we read T. Runt!, did a demonstration of how to draw a dinosaur, and took questions.  For Grades 4-8 we did a presentation on some of the many ways comics are created, and had another lively Q&A period.  The kids were incredibly enthusiastic and inquisitive, and a jolly time was had by all.  Here are a couple of pics from the show.

Jimmie demonstrates how to draw a dinosaur

We take some questions

And here's a link to the story that ran in the Pacifica paper before we came to town.

T. Runt! Coming to Pacifica

Jimmie Robinson and I will be doing our first school show for T. Runt! tomorrow, Friday November 13, at Ocean Shore School in Pacifica, California.  We'll be doing two assemblies, one for grades K-3 where we'll read T. Runt! and show how to draw a dinosaur, and another for grades 4-8 where we'll talk more generally about how comics are made.

On Sunday November 15, we'll return to Pacific for a signing at Florey's books.  If you live in the area, we hope you'll stop by and see us.

You can find details about our appearance at Florey's on the store's blog, and read an article about our appearances in the Pacifica Tribune here.

T. Runt! Review on Newsarama

See it here!  (Scroll down almost to the bottom.)  I like the part where he says Jimmie and I aren't the first people you'd think of to do a children's book.  Or words to that effect.  It's true, but there we are!