This past weekend at Image Expo had a ton of incredible announcements, but some of the most underrated ones came from the Shadowline Comics panel. This panel revealed upcoming books from people like Riley Rossmo, Kurtis Wiebe, Tim Daniel and AJ Lieberman, all of which easily could be some of the better books of 2012. They are:
- Enormous by Tim Daniel and Mehdi Cheggour
- Rebel Blood by Riley Rossmo and Alex Link
- Debris by Kurtis Wiebe and Riley Rossmo
- Grim Leaper by Kurtis Liebe and Aluisio Santos
- Harvest by AJ Lieberman and Colin Lorimer
Check out after the jump as each of those creators talk about their books and why you shouldn’t miss these books when they roll out at your local comic book shop.
Enormous by Tim Daniel and Mehdi Cheggour
Release Date: July 2012
Enormous was just announced at Image Expo – officially officially – and not a ton is out about it as of yet.
For those interested in it, what is the premise of this book?
Tim Daniel: Giant Monsters! Big-ass gnarly beasts that simply don’t give a shit about our presence unless they happen to be hungry.
There is a catalyst that has triggered the emergence of the Enormi, the result, was catastrophic. Humans have been shuffled to the bottom of the food chain, as insignificant as an ant might be under a boot heel. The survivors of this event are struggling – for a cohesive direction, resources, a safe haven. There’s not a whole lot of consensus in this world about how to proceed much less “rebuild”. There’s just a few factions instead, all operating with their own very distinct agendas.
Really, I just wanted to tell a tale with not just one Godzilla or Cloverfield running amok, but have the survivors desperately hanging on in a world dominated by an entire strata of gigantic monsters.
What started as a simple B-Movie monster homage has really evolved over the last several months into an epic survivalist action-adventure tale.
This is your first major release as a writer. How has the first experience been so far, and what have you learned from creators you’ve worked with in the past that’s aided your process?
TD: Arduous, thrilling, terrifying and rewarding. I’ve learned from this experience just how much hard work happens after you survive the hard work of getting the pitch approved.
That’s really when the sleeves get rolled up and both Mehdi and I, being first-timers, have had to really be disciplined and diligent. The last several months have been essentially a roller coaster of progress, revisions, stalls and resumed forward momentum. We’ve had to keep a schedule and fight through the self-generated obstacles that come along with being rookies. We’re on a similar learning curve in that regard, which I appreciate because we’ve picked each other up along the way and have formed a tight bond of friendship in the process.
As far as learnings from other creators I’ve worked with — more than anyone, Shadowline publisher Jim Valentino has been instrumental in guiding our progress. That’s 35 years of experience backing us up there, both as a storyteller and artist. We’re in seasoned hands in that regard. That, and I read a lot of Image books every week. Of course, there are several writers and titles whose books are always, always, close at hand for different reasons; Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, Spencer’s Morning Glories, Vaughan’s Y The Last Man, anything Bendis, particularly Powers and Ultimate Spider-Man. From there I just go on instinct, striving to keep everything as taught as possible, the decisions as fun and entertaining as I’d want them to be if I were reading this thing. It’s been a genuine thrill breaking the “rules” that Giant Monster tales have typically adhered to and in the process hopefully rewiring reader expectations for these types stories.
Why did you decide to release Enormous as a 64-page treasury sized graphic novel instead of as a mini-series?
Continued belowTD: I had nothing to do with that brilliant decision, other than jumping around my living room like a maniac at the news. Jim called me two days after SDCC 2011 and very excitedly said he had an idea for Enormous — as an oversized Treasury Edition. If you’re familiar with those types of books, you’ll know they are the IMAX of comics. I could not believe how perfect the format was! I thought the decision was inspired as hell. We were both pretty excited by the prospect and as he put it, “we’ve got a book about giant monsters called Enormous, then we’ll make it a giant book.” And in a sense, at 64 pages, we are talking about a 3 issue mini-series at a slightly cheaper price point.
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| A piece from Enormous by Mehdi Cheggour |
Mehdi Cheggour’s art has been incredible in everything we’ve seen so far. What is it that he brings to the table that makes him such a great fit for this book?
TD: I said this at the Image Expo in Oakland, CA during the announcement panel (which included new book announcements for Grim Leaper, Harvest, and Debris). To tell the tale of Enormous, I did not need a multi-million dollar budget, I needed a collaborative partner, an amazingly talented artist like Mehdi who could populate this world with 80-foot tall beasts and destroy Phoenix in the process. He’s brought these incredible set-pieces to life through his art that would otherwise require a staggering amount of technical expertise and coordination to pull off in any other medium. He also brings a strong set of sensibilities to the design of the world and creatures in it as informed by his being an avid gamer. This is a quality that has really paid dividends in terms of creating a rich and immersive reading experience that readers are really going to appreciate.
Before I sign off, I’d like to invite your readers to check out even more about Enormous by visiting us on the Web, Facebook and Twitter.
We’ve been hosting a guest artist pin-up gallery featuring beasts and characters from Enormous as drawn by the likes of Rebel Blood’s Riley Rossmo, The Walking Dead’s Charlie Adlard, Red Wing’s Nick Pitarra, Tony Gregori and more! Come check it out.
Rebel Blood by Riley Rossmo and Alex Link
Release Date: March 2012
For those that aren’t familiar with this new title, how would you describe it? What is Rebel Blood all about?
Riley Rossmo: Rebel Blood is about being trapped in a remote location at the start of a plague out break. Chuck’s alone from in the woods when he receives a message notifying that a contagion is spreading through the environment infecting every living thing it comes in contact with and Chucks family is directly in the mutation causing diseases path.
To you, the co-writer and artist for this book, what makes it stand out from other zombie books on the market?
RR: Well in a couple ways the disease itself is more like Ebola and Rabies than the traditional zombie plague, The infected are aggressive and suffer from rapid unstable cell growth. On top of that every creature in the forest seems susceptible to infection so zombie wolves, squirrels, ducks, etc.
We’ve run a good amount of preview images for this book already, but we have to say that this book takes some of the nightmarish aspects of your art to a new level. As the primary creative voice on this book, along with Alex Link, are you trying pushing your art in any new ways on this book?
RR: My goal for the year is to work on making my work communicate a little better, I don’t want to lose any of the energy but I’m trying to step up my work on characters faces, and integrating colors a little more. Alex has been a big help in bridging cool scenes and adding some depth to Chuck. Theres a funny/horrific scene in issue #2 involving cannibalism and a wedding ring that Alex came up with that was super fun to draw so far its my favorit scene in the book.
Continued belowWith this, Debris and Bedlam, you’re staying pretty busy. How is managing the workload for you, and are you aiming to keep these books monthly, or will there be a different release schedule?
RR: All should be monthly as long as I don’t hurt my hand or wrist I had a bit of a scare last week from coloring too long. I’m pretty disciplined about my work schedule, Plus on Debris I’ll have a colorist which helps a lot. I work a lot but I really love making comics I’m pretty lucky I get to spend my days drawing, some days are more like work thanks others but having such a cool job makes it easy to stay on schedule.
Debris by Kurtis Wiebe and Riley Rossmo
Release Date: July 2012
What is Debris, and why should readers be jazzed to pre-order it before it arrives?
Kurtis Wiebe: Debris is a post apocalyptic series where humanity has driven to the edge of extinction by pollution and rampaging monsters. Readers should be excited because we’re taking everything we’ve learned as a creative team from Green Wake and throwing it full bore into Debris. It’s a high energy action book with a kick ass female lead named Maya who’s not only fighting off colossal creatures but embarking on a journey to find the mythical last source of pure water.
Debris is coming right on the heels of Green Wake wrapping up. How did the two of you decide to jump right into making another comic so soon?
Riley Rossmo: Jim presented us with the idea of doing another book together(Kurtis and I) and we jumped a it. We just threw around ideas for a couple days at Debris started to form, I think initially a lot of inspiration for it came from a piece I did for the Emerald City ComiCon. The image was of a woman sitting on a slain mechanical dragon.
KW: It was part of the same discussion. The same night we talked about the future of Green Wake (and eventually deciding to end it), we both knew we wanted to work together again and ensure we had new projects out so we didn’t fall out of circulation with the readership. Since Green Wake was meant to go on for a few more years, we wanted a new project that would take its place.
You’re the Shadowline MVP in a lot of ways. What is it about working with Jim and the team there that you find so attractive as a creator?
KW: Jim Valentino is a massive support and seasoned veteran of the comic industry. He’s done it all and with that brings a wealth of experience to publishing that you’ll find nowhere else. On top of that, Jim has been very good to me on a professional level and given me confidence in my work by constantly encouraging me and promoting my projects with a lot of enthusiasm.
You just can’t beat the commitment and level of communication Jim (and Shadowline) offers.
Grim Leaper by Kurtis Wiebe and Aluisio Santos
Release Date: May 30
You described this book to USA Today as “the Final Destination rom-com you’ve been dying to see.” Fact: that sounds amazing. What else can you tell us about this book?
Kurtis Wiebe: It really is a gory love story about a couple who find themselves inexplicably drawn together. The story begins with Lou, a man who recently contracted a bizarre curse where he continuously dies in over the top, horrific ways only to be reborn in the body of a complete stranger. From the outset we see he’s been at this for awhile but early into the first issue he meets Ella, a woman with the exact same curse.
They decide to date.
How would you say this book is different than the books you’ve created over the past few years? What are you trying that you find to be a significant departure?
Continued belowKW: I’m attempting a comedy. That’s pretty far out of my comfort zone but I’m confident with the project because I’ve managed to land a seriously talented artist on the project who brings a whole new level of humour through his illustrations. I’ll also go on the record that this is the most grisly series I’ve ever done, and considering Green Wake came before it, that’s saying something.
Aluisio Santos is your artist on Grim Leaper as well as someone new to me. How would you describe his art, and what made him a great fit for this book?
KW: Aluisio has this amazing ability with facial expression. They’re just slightly exaggerated but grounded in reality to make for some very hilarious but relatable characters. His style is really crazy in some places, too, and I think for the amount of insane sequences that happen in Grim Leaper, it’s the perfect fit.
What’s the plan for this title? Is it an ongoing, mini-series?
KW: It’s going to be a four issue miniseries, but, with anything, I’ve got more planned if it sells enough to warrant a second arc. I’m also really happy to announce that every issue of Grim Leaper will come with a 5 page short story from some very talented creators in a section called “More Love Stories to Die For.”
I’m very excited about that.
Harvest by AJ Lieberman and Colin Lorimer
Release Date: August 2012
Harvest seems like a really creepy, engaging idea for a mini-series. For those that aren’t in the know, what’s Harvest all about, and why should new readers be checking it out?
AJ: Totally right, HARVEST is creepy but in psychological kind of way. In 1983 the U.S. government passed Law 98-507, prohibiting the sale of human organs. The book is about a surgeon who, after losing his medical license (in a creepy way) finds himself part of illegal medical team operating in the black market of organ operations, traffickers & brokers.
When our hero is set up he decides to turn the table on his former team and starts to “reclaim” organs already placed in some very important and dangerous clients.
If DEXTER and ER and 100 BULLETS hooked up and had a three-way and that three-way somehow resulted in a kid and that kid grew up…HARVEST would be the book that kid read.
It’s been a bit since your last work with Shadowline. Why’d you decide to work with them again on Harvest?
AJ: Well, I went off to write a graphic novel for Scholastic (and TERM LIFE was in there too). But the reason I decide to work with Shadowline again was pretty simple: Jim lets creators create.
From what I’ve seen, Colin Lorimer’s art looks superb. How’d you pair up with him for this title, and what does he bring to the table that fits this book so well?
AJ: Colin’s stuff is fantastic. Let’s be real. It’s a complete and utter cliché for the writer of a book to say, “Holy shit, wait till you see (insert name’s) work.” But in this instance the cliché is 100% fact. Colin’s stuff really amps up the grittiness of the story. In fact we’ve worked in several double page spreads through out the first 5 issues just to take advantage of Colin’s style. And don’t get me started on our covers.
