STRIKES! COMICS! PODCASTS!
Hey, everybody.
It’s a newsletter.
So, just last week we had another subscription milestone. Thank you to the thousands of you who subscribed to this nonsense… especially to those of you that actually open it :-)
I’ve been dragging my heels about proper newsletters lately, because the fact of the matter is everything is in flux. The headline is: I, like so many others in the entertainment community, are on strike. I am a long-standing member of the WGA. I was, up until pencils down, enjoying our overall studio deal which was actively producing television adaptations of Jinxworld titles PEARL, MURDER INC., and JINX. It was all very exciting, but all of that is on pause until the studios get back to The negotiating table.
This strike is so necessary. It is so completely necessary. But it’s still a bummer to be sitting on our hands while the studios drag this out. The good news is my day job is, and will always be, comics! Graphic novels! And we have some really exciting things cooking. Also, who needs a TV show when you have PEARL, MURDER INC., and JINX all on sale... RIGHT NOW!
Publishing is not covered by the Writer’s Guild, so we are free to create our graphic novels. So, here’s a big update on where we are!…
MURDER INC.
First of all. This week is the release of a brand new issue of murder Inc.: Jagger Rose. Thank you for all the comments on this blistering, alternative history crime comic created by myself and Michael Oeming.
MURDER INC.: JAGGER ROSE #4
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Avon Oeming
Letterer: Taki Soma
Cover Artist: Michael Avon OemingFrom the creators of the Eisner Award-winning, bestselling POWERS comes an entirely new crime fiction world where the five families of organized crime never lost their power over the United States. Now, half the country is a smorgasbord of sex and sin ruled by loyalty and “family values” as the rest of the world looks on in awe, rage, or jealousy. Join us as newly “made” Valentine Gallo and Jagger Rose rise through the ranks of the notorious Bonavese family.
The pope herself has come to Jagger Rose and made her an offer that has sent all the families into internal chaos. Is it an offer she can’t refuse?! And what if she does? All will be revealed in this all-new gorgeously illustrated new chapter of MURDER INC.
We love this book. I think you can tell from Mike Oeming’s social media that this is a completely fulfilling experience for us.
As promised, the book continues to go into brand new territory. The first two volumes are both on sale from Dark Horse comics and the third volume continues to ship monthly. If you don’t see it on your shelves, ask your local retailer. If not, it is always available wherever books are sold online.
Thank you to Powells, and all the local Portland, shops for carrying our comics.
PHENOMENA
We haven’t had an occasion to announce the biggest NEW projects I’m working on but, as I told you, new volumes of JOY OPERATIONS and THE ONES are in production right now.
And another project you do know about is the continuing book series PHENOMENA.
Book 1 is on sale right now from Abrams Comixarts, and co-creator André Lima Araújo and I are very happy to tell you that Book 2 is in the final throes of publishing production.
We’re going over it right now, picking the last bits, asking our friends for advice, getting some reads from trusted peers... But meanwhile, we are already hard at work on Book 3.
For an outstanding look into André’s process and where we are with the book series. Please follow André’s truly fantastic newsletter.
Obviously, we love this book series sooooo much and this preview art is absolutely gorgeous.
If anyone in your life or family is fans of the Dragon Prince or the og Avatar: The Last Airbender, I do think that this brand new universe of action, imagination, and excitement might be right up your alley.
KILL YOUR DARLINGS
Although these newsletters are drafted by me, the entire Jinxworld newsletter situation is run by two awesome dudes named Griffin Sheridan and Ethan S. Parker. Griffin and Ethan also lend their help to Matthew Rosenberg’s ASHCAN PRESS and the Stegman/Cates founded, KLC PRESS.
All the while they have been creating a brand new comic series for Image. I’m gonna let them take over for a minute and really sell this gorgeous book. Pre-order.
Supple Boiz?
***
Thanks, Brian!
Ethan and I have been lifelong comics fans — in no small part thanks to the work of the very man letting us share space in his newsletter. (This is fucking crazy.) We’re so thrilled to be arriving at this point, the release of our debut book. (This is fucking crazy.)
From IMAGE COMICS, KILL YOUR DARLINGS is a horror/fantasy epic brought to life by BOB QUINN (Knights of X) and lettered/designed by JOHN J. HILL (Vanish, Crossover). Each issue will feature a main WRAPAROUND cover by Bob, and a special variant cover by RYAN STEGMAN.
Check out the solicit and preview art for ISSUE #1:
Eight-year-old Rose loves nothing more than to play pretend in a magical land of her own creation. To her, that world is as real as our own—from her fluffy friends to the terrible evil that lurks at the center of it all.
In one night, the line between fantasy and reality will disappear, an ancient hunger will feed again, and Rose will be pulled into a gruesome saga that began centuries before her birth.
(*some readers may find some visuals disturbing.)
If you want to know what happens next, we highly encourage you to PRE-ORDER ISSUE #1 by this upcoming MONDAY, AUGUST 14th, if you want a copy when it drops on SEPTEMBER 6th.
Back to Brian! :)
***
NO LIFE!
Because of the Writers Guild strike, I’m not gonna go into detail on what ended up being one of the greatest summers in the history of Cinema. I was alive in 1984, the last great summer of Cinema, and I can’t believe I got to experience it again with my kids.
Every movie we saw this summer was the best version of what we were hoping for.
Also, can I nerdbrag out with you for a second? There was a movie in the theaters this summer with my name in the credits, in the same movie theater... as Indiana Jones. I want to go back in time so badly and tell 12 year-old me this happens!! Then to see his reaction when he finds out they’re still making Indiana Jones movies in 2023.
I continue to overdose on podcasts.
Both Matt Fraction and I appeared on one of our favorite podcasts, Scott Hasn’t Seen, available from Comedy Bang Bang.
I Was There Too from Podcast Hall of Famer, Matt Gourley, takes you behind the scenes of famous movies, but not from the star or the director— the story of the film from the perspective of the person who is, like, eighth on the call sheet. It’s a phenomenal idea for a podcast.
Speaking of podcasts from Comedy Bang Bang world… There is a shockingly high quality of original improv comedy: Hey, Randy. Highly recommended. It’s amazing, check it out.
I love artist editions. THE 2000 AD ART OF KEVIN O'NEILL: APEX EDITION deep dives into the career of Kevin O’Neill, the co-creator of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and so many other things is an evolution of an unsung hero in our business.
Outstanding introduction by Matt Fraction, afterword by Dave Gibbons.
NEXT TIME…
Coming up in a couple of days is a brand new chapter of CREATION. as we wrap up the behind-the-scenes on the comic book Secret Invasion. (Thank you for all the nice notes about the original graphic novel.)
Then, a brand new installment of FORTUNE AND GLORY: THE MUSICAL!
And as for our MASTERCLASS, I know some of you were delightfully surprised by the surprise appearance of our friend, Eisner award—winner Matt Fraction during our last master class. We loved surprising you like that. Enjoy the class. It’s one of our favorites. Our next class will be next Tuesday (8/15) and it will be talking about creator owned comics, and our guest will be The Ones co-creator Jacob Edgar! We’re going to take it behind-the-scenes on how we found our new collaboration. Jacob will be taking your questions live, so be there for class and you can be part of the situation.
Anyway, this is more than enough newsletter.
See you in a couple days, thank you for subscribing. For those of you who haven’t figured out yet, I have left Twitter for less antisemitic spaces. You can find me on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram as my major mode of social media.
Go make some comics.
-BENDIS!
