STAGGER LEE

Big Displaced Persons Preview!

Image Comics has posted a 21-page preview of Displaced Persons.  Click here to check it out!  And be sure to tell your local comic shop you want to see it - the Diamond Order Code is JUN140499, and the last day for orders is Monday, July 14!

First Displaced Persons Review!

The first review of Displaced Persons Is up - check it out! "...a mind-bending generational noir...you have to read it more than once."

Displaced Persons Handy Pre-Order Form!

Displaced Persons artist Anthony Peruzzo has kindly put together this pre-order form, the very thing to help you ensure you get your copy of this monumental OGN promptly at its August release.  Just print the form, fill it out, and turn it in to you local comics shop!

 

Displaced Persons in Diamond Previews

Image Comics' solicitations for August 2014 have hit Diamond Previews, and the Displaced Persons OGN is among them!  Our Item Code is JUN140499.  Contact your retailer today to reserve your copy!

DISPLACED PERSONS!

Well, that was an awfully short period of teasing...but Image Comics has officially announced the upcoming publication of Displaced Persons, my long-long overdue graphic novel about San Francisco in the 20th century, drawn by the almost offensively talented Anthony Peruzzo.

I started working on Displaced Persons in the late 90s. I finished the script in mid-2007. And now here, at many longs last, it’s finally coming out. It may be the comics script I’ve written that I’m happiest with, and Anthony has done phenomenal work translating it to the page. You should drop whatever you’re doing and go, right now, before you forget, to your local comics shop, and tell them to order this book for you. Or, if you don’t want to go to all the effort of standing up, just click on the Amazon link in the panel on the right and pre-order.

I expect I'll be posting more stuff here about the project in the coming months, so keep coming back for news!

Teasers!

If you were looking at the Image Comics website and/or social media this past week, you might have seen this and this and this.  One blogger did a little poking about and figured out this.  If you've been following my career plod over the years, you might have already figured out a little bit more.  Keep watching the Image page and this page.  More announcements will be coming.

2012 Best Ofs

Pleased and proud to see Gone to Amerikay making some Best-of lists for the previous year.  I already mentioned our appearance on School Library Journal's list of Best Adult Books for Teens.  Since then, GTA showed up on CBR, in Greg Burgas' list of the Best Comics of 2012, and this blogger picked GTA as THE best comic of 2012.  Thanks to everybody who's been so kind in their estimation of our little book.

SLJ Accolades, New GTA Page, and More!

* As often seems to be the case, my "New Stuff" is pretty old -- but I was still quite proud a month or two back when School Library Journal included Gone to Amerikay on their list of the Best Adult Books for Teens for 2012.

* I found this out completely by accident last month - apparently there's a Spanish edition of Gone to Amerikay coming out in February. Unless I'm completely forgetting something, this is the first time my work's been translated into another language, and I'm thrilled and a little disoriented by it.

* And domestically, the paperback edition of Gone to Amerikay will be released this summer. It's already up on Amazon for pre-release orders, so if you were waiting for the soft cover version, here it is.

* And speaking of Gone to Amerikay, which is all I seem to be doing -- I've resurrected a page of notes I wrote for the original release and posted them on a page here. It's a discussion of the historical characters who form the background for the 1870 and 1960 segments of Gone to Amerikay.

December is Stagger Lee Month

Stagger Lee shot Billy on Christmas night, and over on my Facebook page I'll be discussing a different version of the song every day for the month of December.  Go look!

Another Week of Gone to Amerikay!

It was quite a first week for our little book.  The launch party in New York was a great success, with good company, good music, good food, and a good bit of money raised for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.  In its first week of release, Gone to Amerikay got great reviews, great responses from fans, and cracked the Diamond top 50 Graphic Novels list for the month of March.  Some highlights are below.

* Ain't It Cool News gave Gone to Amerikay what can only be described as a rave review.

* Page 45 kind of liked it too.

* Vertigo editor Karen Berger posted some of Colleen's unpublished sample art (a piece I'd completely forgotten existed) and my historical notes (which got cut from the book for space).

* We got a great plug in the Pogues forum!

* Comics Bulletin, the site of GTA's very first review, ran interviews with both Colleen and me.

* CBLDF ran an article about the book launch, with many photos.  Photographer Paul Flannelly has put up a page of photos from the event as well..

* Ten lucky winners got free copies of Gone to Amerikay from Goodreads.  Congratulations to them!  Hope you all like the book.

* The Irish Sunday Times ran a big article on GTA!

* Largehearted Boy ran a "Book Notes" column by me.  This is where an author describes a "soundtrack" for their book.  In my case, I discussed all the songs that are quoted in Gone to Amerikay, and select versions of each for your listening pleasure.

* I did a podcast interview with Comic Geek Speak.

* A store in Northampton, MA, is doing a book club night for GTA on April 26!

* And, last, there was an article about the GTA book launch in The Irish Echo.

I think that's everything.  And if it isn't everything, it's enough for now!

The Week of Gone to Amerikay!

More brief updates...but at least I'm doing them BEFORE the events in question!  Here we go...

* TOMORROW, Wednesday March 28, 2012, Gone to Amerikay, my Vertigo graphic novel collaboration with living legend Colleen Doran goes on sale in stores in the greater North America area.  Maybe beyond as well, I'm not sure.  Anyway, it's been something like three and a half years in the making and we couldn't be more proud of the finished product or more thrilled to finally be able to share it with you all.  I hope you'll all head straight to your local comic shop to pick it up first thing tomorrow.

* We haven't really done that much press for this book, all things considered, but here's our big get for the week of release:  a tremendously complimentary blog post on the Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy page!  I particularly like this part:  "It’s a sweeping, detailed, beautifully drawn story of love, betrayal and survival, with a small but crucial touch of the supernatural. It’s deliberately paced and slow to build, but the payoff, as the three stories converge, is worth it."

* Yesterday, we had our first review show up, on Comics Bulletin, and I would have to call it overwhelmingly positive -- 4.5 stars out of 5.  "Gone to Amerikay is a wonderful example of the possibilities of the medium...  McCulloch and Doran have created a work of art, there is no denying that, and I think it succeeds on every level."  And:  "Doran's dazzling art...adds further evidence to the argument that she deserves to be held up as a modern master."

* And!  This Friday, March 30, 2012, Colleen and I will both be in New York City for the official Gone to Amerikay Book Launch. It will be from 6-8 pm at Harbor Lights restaurant--address and details in the link.  The event will include copies of the book on sale, and a portion of every sale will go to benefit The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.  Admission is free, everybody's welcome, and I hope to see you there!

* And lastly...not GTA-related, but the Stagger Lee reading at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis was magnificent, and I'm so sorry if you weren't there.  We had a completely unexpected standing-room-only crowd and they were riveted by the performances of our fabulous cast and musical director Jon Spurney.  I'm very eager to continue moving forward with this showing and see it through to its full staging.

So much news on Gone to Amerikay and the Stagger Lee musical

It seems like I'm always apologising for failing to update here, but there's so much going on this month that it really is hard to keep up.  For example...

* I'm in St. Louis right now, workshopping the stage musical adaptation of my graphic novel Stagger Lee for the Ignite! festival at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.  I've written the book for the show and have co-written lyrics with the composers, Stew and Heidi Rodewald, the gigantic talents behind the Tony-winning Passing Strange.  We're working with director Amanda Dehnert to shape the show, and have assembled an amazing cast to put it on.  This Thursday, March 15, we'll be presented an in-progress reading of the first act to a very lucky audience of St. Louis theatre lovers.

* When I get back to the Bay Area, I'll have a couple of days to catch my breath then I'll be going to The Escapist in Berkeley for a pre-release signing of my new book, Gone to Ameriikay.  The Escapist will be the first store in the world to have copies of this book for sale, so if you're anywhere near, come by and join the party!  The Escapist is at 3090 Claremont Avenue in Berkeley.  The signing is on March 21 from 4 pm to 7 pm.

* On March 30, the legendary Colleen Doran and I will be in New York City for a book launch for Gone to Amerikay.  The party will benefit The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.  I sit on the board of The Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund, the Canadian counterpart to the CBLDF, and we've been partnered on the case that this party will benefit -- it's a cause very dear to my heart, and if you're in or near NY on the 30th, I hope you'll come by and support the cause.  Midtown Comics will be on site to sell copies of Gone to Amerikay, and a portion of all sales will go to the CBLDF.  Colleen and I will be there to sign copies, and we'll be joined by the book's entire creative and editorial team (except Sarah!).  The party is March 30, 6-8 pm, at Harbor Lights Restaurant, South Street Seaport, Pier 17, Third Floor.  Please come!

* Speaking of Gone to Amerikay - you can see a couple of great previews of pages from that book on the CBLDF and Publisher's Weekly web sites.

* Check out this Goodreads promotion - enter to win one of ten FREE copies of Gone to Amerikay!

* And lastly - if you want more timely news about projects and whatever else crosses my mind, go to Facebook and Like The Derek McCulloch Experience.  I'm posting updates on progress of the workshop right now.

Image Expo! Gone to Amerikay! Stagger Lee Musical!

I've been pretty delinquent about posting here and it's a shame because there's been a lot going on and a lot to tell.  This past weekend Greg Espinoza (my Pug collaborator) and I were lucky enough to have a booth at the inaugural Image Comics Expo in my home town of Oakland.  For three days we met with fans, retailers, and fellow comics professionals, sold books, and had a grand old time.  I had with me the galley of my new Vertigo GN, Gone to Amerikay, drawn by the incomparable Colleen Doran, and everyone I showed it to was blown away by the work of Colleen and our fabulous colourist Jose Villarrubia.

Which brings me to a segue -- Gone to Amerikay will be hitting stores on March 28.  Between then and now, I'll be posting up a bunch of links on this page as press stuff starts to appear.  I'll also shortly be making an announcement about the first official signing for the book, which will take place in advance of the release date.

And, in an entirely different arena -- just a couple of weeks from now I'll be in St. Louis working with two gods of rock and stage, Stew and Heidi Rodewald, on the musical version of Stagger Lee.  If you've never seen Stew and Heidi's incredible musical Passing Strange, do yourself a large favour and click on that link and get it now.  With noted director Amanda Dehnert, we'll be workshopping the play and presented a work-in-progress reading on March 15 at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, as part of their Ignite! festival.  Tickets are on sale now -- if you're going to be in St. Louis on March 15, you have an opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

That's all I've got right now, but there will be much more coming this next month.

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.