THE BOOK YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR IS FINALLY HERE! Along with signed bookplates, Sketchbooks, and other characters co-created by Karl Kesel!
While this is a "Secret Launch"— you don't have to keep it secret! Please share with friends, family, and total strangers.
Not sure how quickly the updated link will start working. The place you want to go is impossiblekickstarter.com.
OK! Let's go make IMPOSSIBLE JONES possible!
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Ain't it grand? I have to admit, I went all fanboy when this showed up. Because: STEVE RUDE!!! I can't decide which detail I like better— the textured soles on SZ's boots, or the two seagulls running away from the monster. And that is one trippy monster— !
Big Bill Crabtree is coloring this beauty at this very moment. So I should have another update for you very soon!
As some of you may know, last October I Kickstarted an IMPOSSIBLE JONES comic-book. It didn't take. So now I'm re-launching it next week as a Ultra-Cool Collector's Edition Graphic Novel.
IMPOSSIBLE JONES is a thief who gets powers, is mistaken for a super-hero— and runs with it!
I'll admit a big part of me wanting to work on IJ was because I missed writing HARLEY QUINN (although it turns out the two have vastly different personalities!) and I was looking for any excuse to work with the irrepressible Imp's co-creator, David Hahn.
If you like SECTION ZERO, if you like my work, if you liked my work on HARLEY QUINN, if you like David's work, if you like the idea of David and me working together— I certainly hope you'll support IMPOSSIBLE JONES.
"But what about SECTION ZERO 1959?!" I hear you shout out. With good reason.
The bottom line is: I can work faster on SECTION ZERO 1959 than Tom can. So I have free time. IMPOSSIBLE JONES will fill that time. Fingers crossed and the water don't rise, both projects will be finished this year.
I'm trying to figure out the price-point for the IJ GN. The sort of Ultra-Cool Collector's Edition I put out ain't cheap— hardcover, oversized, spot gloss, color endsheets, swanky ribbon bookmark, etc… it starts to add up— and $30 is really what they should go for.
But I know IMPOSSIBLE JONES is an unknown character, and I want as many people as possible to pick up her book, to fall in love with her— which argues in favor of keeping the price at $25.
SO: Would you support IMPOSSIBLE JONES at $30? Or would you be more likely to support it at $25? Or does it not matter to you?
If you could take a moment and post a comment with your preference, I would deeply appreciate it.
Thanks!
More news soon…
…And I am having entirely too much fun on SECTION ZERO 1959— which is why you haven't heard from me in far too long! So sorry. All my fault. I'm writing scripts or inking pages or contacting pin-up artists or getting price quotes— there's always something to do and never, it seems, enough time to do it all! So a few days become a week and a few weeks become a month— and suddenly: here we are!
I know one of the best parts of Kickstarter is the personal connection you have with a project's creator. And the truth is, one of the best parts for me is the personal connection I have with you! It's just that sometimes, in the short term, other matters seem more pressing.
I'll try very hard to balance things better. Because that's what I should do. And if I don't— give me a nudge. Because that's what you should do!
Setting a lot of things in motion, mostly. Things that I'll share with you as they come together— which should start happening soon! But right now, for today, I thought you'd enjoy this:
The "cover" to the issue of "Tales of Infinite Mystery" (expertly colored by Bill Crabtree) which "introduced" Bernie Cork, future member of SECTION ZERO 1959! This story also features a mysterious maiden named Munro— whose fur-coated figure will be familiar to readers of the first SECTION ZERO book!
One of a few cameos/crossovers/Easter eggs that will link the two books. Stay tuned…
Back from a short vacation with the family on the Oregon Coast (which had surprisingly beautiful weather for this time of year!)— where I couldn't wait and actually started writing the remaining script for SECTION ZERO 1959! Thought you'd get a kick out of a quick sneak peak…
This scene introduces EARL CAMPBELL— our Ultimate Alternate Reality backer, meaning he'll be an actual uniform-wearing member of SECTION ZERO! (And— SPOILER!— will probably die horribly.) (Sorry, Earl!) It also includes MR. LYST— the 1959 United Nations liaison with SECTION ZERO, and a "new" character, even though he was obliquely mentioned at least twice in the first SZ volume.
When I write a script, I generally start with the dialogue, then later go back and break it into panels. Once I see how many pages a scene fills, I then go back and remove huge amounts of information and patter to fit it into the space I actually have.
As I understand it, this is more-or-less how Ernest Hemingway worked. He believed that the essence of what was removed still somehow remained with the finished work— and that's certainly my feeling, too.
Odds are this dialogue will change drastically by the time it sees print…
What happens next? well, that's for me to know (and I do), and for you to find out (later).
In the meantime, here are a couple of comics Kickstarters that caught my attention and may interest you...
This is a fun Reference Guide to the forgotten superheroes of the Golden Age— characters who were actually published, but then fell off the radar— and into public domain! Done in the style of DC's WHO'S WHO, written by my long-time friend Bob Greenberger (editor of that same DC's WHO'S WHO!), and featuring heroes with names like DYNAMITE THOR and POWER NELSON THE FUTURE MAN— what's not to like?!
Created by Trevor Talbott and Diego Olortegui (who's drawn tons of great stuff for Marvel), this is the story of a futuristic bounty hunter (shades of TREKKER!) and her annoying kid sister. I haven't read this comic, but I LOVE the concept! And the art is outstanding! I recommend checking out the Sketch Reward Revels— they're a crazy-good deal for what you get in return.
A modern-day Indiana Jones-type adventure story by Rob Jones— who happened to be Dick Giordano's last art assistant. I'll admit I have a soft spot for Dick Giordano— one of the nicest men I've ever met, and a dynamite talent on so many levels— so the fact that there are some pages in this book pencilled by Dick was a tipping point for me. But Rob seems to know what he's doing, and has a wonderful ability to draw real people, as opposed to the super-types that fill most books. Well worth checking out.
I'm trying to make these updates not be all about other comics Kickstarters out there— but right now there are so many, and so many that are great! And it's hard for me to not try to help them out. Hope you understand…
