Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Meet Chad Jones

This week, Studio 407's Editor-in-Chief Chad Jones contributes a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming comic Netherworld. Here's Chad:

My name is Chad Jones and I work in funny books. There's a lot I'm excited about at Studio 407. I mean a lot. A lot a lot. When the Managing Director, Alex Leung, asked me to join as Creative Director and Editor-In-Chief, the question was barely out of his mouth when I said, "I'm in." All in. You see, my background is advertising. I've written commercials for lawnmowers, generators, healthcare, blah, blah blah. And the opportunity to tell stories in a medium I love instead of selling products in 30 seconds... Seriously? Robots, monsters, ninjas, vampires, capes, cowls and everything in between? For a living? Of course, I'm in.

So, the first thing I'm going to tell you about is totally self-serving. I mean, I could go on about how Tiger & Crane and Hybrid are unfolding, or drop hints about the upcoming twists and turns in Night & Fog, but... this blog is about me, so here we go. I want to tell you about a little upcoming project called Netherworld. First off, I loves me some science fiction. And I've been writing genre for as long as I can remember. So, I was kicking around a novel idea and was trying to describe the creature concept in the story to a friend and made the off-hand comment, "well it's not like they're alien zombies or anything..."

And I stopped. And I thought, hmm.... that would be kind of awesome. Alien zombies. Hell, I gotta write that! And what came out is an all-out, action-packed gorefest with nods to old-school, sci-fi from the fifties. When I started the project, the first thing I had to do was design the aliens themselves. I knew I didn't want anything humanoid with a bumply forehead. I knew I wanted them to be monstrous and I knew I wanted them on page one. So phase one, design super-cool alien. And what our artist came up with is some kind of reptilian insect or an insectile reptile (I can't really decide which), treading on three legs with a single, mantis-like claw. Meet the Thanati, an alien race locked in an interstellar Cold War with humanity.

The pencils for Issue One are complete and we're about to get ramped up for Issue Two. I can't wait for you guys to see it. Should be a lot of fun. A lot a lot.

I'll keep you posted. By posting blogs.

Talk to you soon.

Thanks,

Chad

Thursday, June 12, 2008

In Stores This Week: Tiger & Crane #2

by Leung, Zamcheck & Vuycankiat

The plot thickens as we are introduced to master spy, Foster Dulles, and the nefarious Japanese agents of Force 777 who have been tasked with stopping him at all costs. Meanwhile, the paths of Agent Dulles and the Black Tiger converge as they search for the legendary Staff of the Monkey King!"

Co-published with Bluewater Productions

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Night & Fog Signing In L.A.

Today's the big day... Night & Fog #1 is in stores today! And if you're in the Los Angeles area, you can swing by Golden Apple Comics on Melrose and La Brea from 6-8 tonight and Alex and I will sign it for you! (And believe me, signing your comic would be a huge thrill for us.) Angelenos, hope to see you there tonight!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Shipping In August: Hybrid #2

By Peter Kwong & Pablo Churin
Trapped on a derelict ship adrift in the ocean, four friends are stalked by a mysterious killer. Miles away from shore, they fight for survival onboard a ship that looks as if it has been pulled from the bottom of the ocean. As the killer closes in, they realize he may be something other than human!"

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Night & Fog #1 Hits June 11

Well, our initial release date of May 28 came and went as we learned another frustrating lesson of comic book publishing. Our books got held up in customs on their way from the printer overseas, delaying the premiere issue by two weeks. Now, Night & Fog #1 will be in stores on Wednesday, June 11. Ask for it by name at your local comic book retailer!