A Few Brief Notes.

I was hoping to make note of a few interesting new arrivals last week, but things have been hectic. The moving finger writes and, having writ, moves on!

While Ed Brubaker has announced that he's too busy to attend any more conventions this year, Sean Phillips is in San Diego this weekend, on panels Friday afternoon and Sunday afternoon.

(Apologies for not pointing to his schedule sooner.)

Also at his blog, Phillips highlighted the cover art for the second issue of Incognito: Bad Influences and announced the sale of personalized copies of the trade paperback for Criminal: The Sinners.

More recently, Brubaker discussed an upcoming story arc for his Captain America title, in both a press release at Marvel.com and an interview on Newsarama. "The Trial of Captain America" begins in October.

October also sees the publication of DC Comics Presents: Batman #1, collecting a four-issue arc from 2000, written by Ed Brubaker with art by Scott McDaniel. That month, Image Comics also publishes the third annual issue of Liberty Comics, to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Finally, the A.V. Club recently praised Criminal: The Sinners, calling it "one of the best arcs to date in what’s already an outstanding series."

So, what were the comic books I liked from last week? The latest issue of Chew, featuring Poyo, the Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu waza Banga; the evocative if overpriced Strange Science Fantasy #1, a pulp comic that should appeal to fans of Incognito; and The Man with the Getaway Face, the over-sized, budget-priced preview of Darwyn Cooke's next Parker adaptation.

Bullets: Criminal, Incognito, & Gotham Central.

I was hoping to blog before yesterday, but it's been another busy week, so another Thursday post will have to do.

• Criminal Trade Paperback. Buying a copy from my local comic shop yesterday, I confirmed Ed Brubaker's announcement that the trade paperback of Criminal: The Sinners is now in stores. The story improves with every reading, and this fifth volume includes the cover art for the five monthly issues and an introduction by crime novelist Ian Rankin.
  
  
• Incognito Sequel in Monthly Issues. September solicitations for the major publishers are rolling out, and those who share Brubaker's enthusiasm for the recent trend of one-dollar reprints will be happy to know that Dark Horse is jumping on the bandwagon. The first set was announced for August, and their "1 for 1" program continues in September with licensed properties like Star Wars, Buffy, and Serenity.
  
  More importantly, those who have been waiting for more from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips should be very interested to know that the debut issue of Incognito: Bad Influences has finally been solicited.

  One of the biggest Hollywood options of the year, nominated for THREE Eisner Awards, INCOGNITO is finally back for more! It’s apocalyptic pulp noir at its finest!
  
  It’s been over a year since Zack Overkill came out of Witness Protection to build a new life. But working for the government isn’t that different from being controlled by them, and his new secret identity is becoming more trouble than it’s worth... So what will Zack do when tasked with a mission that sends him on a hunt into darkest corners of the super-criminal underworld where he was raised? Also returning with Incognito are the exclusive Pulp magazine essays by Jess Nevins, Professor of pulp history, only available in the single issues of Incognito.

  The first issue is scheduled for a September 15th release date.
  
  
• Gotham Central Hardcover. Finally, with the third volume just hitting stores, it appears that the final hardcover collection of Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka's DC police procedural may be released early next year.
  
  On June 3rd, the blog Collected Editions posted a list of advance solicitations for DC collections, for early 2011. The list includes Gotham Central Book Four: Corrigan and a trade paperback release for Book One: In The Line of Duty. The story links to an Amazon page currently listing a February 8th release date for the hardcover, and the current Wikipedia page for the critically acclaimed series claims (without attribution) that the book will complete the 40-issue collection and even include excerpts from Infinite Crisis and 52.

Whether a complete collection of the series ought to include those excerpts is a subject for another time. For now, there's Gotham Central Book Four and Criminal Volume 5.


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Gotham Central Volume 3, In Stores Now.

I had forgotten that it was scheduled for a June 9th release, but the third hardcover collection of Gotham Central was released just yesterday.

I confirmed that the solicitation was mistaken -- and the listing at DCcomics.com is still inaccurate -- in suggesting that the story "Dead Robin" is being collected in this volume. That arc, from issues #33-36, will presumably be found in the final hardcover that I would expect to see next year.

This book continues the complete reproduction of the award-winning series, as it collects issues #23-31. Greg Rucka now has top billing, as I believe Ed Brubaker contributes only one two-part story, "On the Freak Beat," which fittingly features Catwoman.

The series was one of my favorite ongoing series from the "Big Two" superhero universes, and so I continue to recommend the hardcover collections.

Bullets: Incognito Cover Art, Secret Avengers, 7 Psychos, etc.

Since a rough of the cover art had already been released, I expected that we would soon see at least an advance solicit for Incognito: Bad Influences, but the title is nowhere to be found in the August solicitations. If the title is still scheduled for a September debut, we'll likely see its solicit info next month.

In the meantime, Sean Phillips has revealed the final cover art for the first issue, with the title corrected.



And, we have a few other highlights from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.

• Other Recent Releases. It seems that Brubaker has at least two or three mainstream Marvel titles coming out every month, and Phillips continues releasing new material -- his first contribution to Stephen King's Gunslinger comic book came out last week -- but this week has been especially noteworthy.
  
  Phillips' Seven Psychopaths has finally reached American markets this week. Comic Book Resources released an exclusive, seven-page preview followed by a four-star review. It's not the only positive review online, as Newsarama also gives the first issue high marks.
  
  Brubaker's Secret Avengers also debuted this week, and Newsarama has an extensive interview with Brubaker, about this new ongoing series. CBR has a six-page preview and a four-star review, and Newsarama cover the title in its rapid-fire reviews.
  
  Most noteworthy is an article and interview about Secret Avengers in USA Today. The article reiterates what we've already reported, that Brubaker's "creator-owned crime title Incognito has been optioned by 20th Century Fox as a movie and has a sequel coming out in the fall."
  
  
• Brubaker Film and Best-of Highlights. Ed Brubaker's been busy outside the comics world with In the Dark, a short film that recently premiered at this year's Seattle International Film Festival.
  
  I gather that this eight-minute film is Brubaker's directorial debut; he wrote the screenplay, and his wife Melanie Tomlin edited and co-produced the crime story.
  
  Back in funny pages, Comic Book Resources recently highlighted "the greatest Brubaker stories ever told" as part of a series for the month of May. CBR readers cast their votes, and Sleeper: Season One got top marks. Individual story arcs from his major collaborations with Sean Phillips -- Sleeper, Criminal, and Incognito -- took seven of the list's fifteen slots.
  
  
• Original Artwork and Badges. At his blog, Sean Phillips has relayed that more original artwork is available for purchase at Splash Page Art, and Criminal and Incognito badges are now available, free with any purchase at his Amazon store.
  
  
• Parker Preview and Dollar Reprints. The graphic novel I'm most looking forward to is Darwyn Cooke's The Outfit, his second adaptation of Richard Stark's Parker novels. We've already reported that the book is due in October, preceded in July with a $2.00 preview of the mini-adaptation of "The Man with the Getaway Face."
  
  Newsarama recently published a preview of The Outfit, further stoking my interest.
  
  Finally, on the subject of inexpensive previews, on Twitter this month, Ed Brubaker wrote that "not enough is being said about the awesome one dollar comic reprints marvel and dc are putting out."
  
  Indeed: I can't even find a complete checklist anywhere online.
  
  With the release of the Watchmen movie early last year, DC had the uncharacteristically good sense of publishing $1.00 previews of other works that might appeal to people who are just entering the world of comic books -- specifically, full first issues of DC, WildStorm, and Vertigo titles that are already available in collected editions.
  
  In a way, this marketing campaign has proven to be more successful than the movie that prompted it. The series of previews was originally branded "After Watchmen... What's Next?" and was timed to coincide with the movie's release in theaters and then in DVD. The initiative has been extended at least into 2010 and has been re-branded simply "What's Next?"
  
  Marvel and Image have followed suit this year with "Marvel's Greatest Comics" and "Image Firsts."
  
  Over the last two years, and between the three companies, we've seen about 40 one-dollar previews for significant, recent works. I've been collecting the previews, since it's a cheap way to satiate the irrational need for collectin. They highlight how much I really haven't yet read, and they give me an opportunity to give high-profile titles a thorough preview before deciding what to explore next.

In an era flush with questionable business decisions on the part of the major comics publishers, it's good to see a smart move becoming a popular move.

INCOGNITO: Bad Influence(s).

Other than a probable debut in September -- noted last time -- little information has been released about the upcoming sequel to Incognito. That changed today, as Sean Phillips has posted what appears to be the cover art for the first issue of Incognito: Bad Influence, and Ed Brubaker has clarified that the sequel's title is in the plural, "Bad Influences."



Going by the usual patterns of the last few months, I expect Marvel's August solicitations to be out in the next week or two. It's probably more than a little likely that this cover art and the corresponding issue will be featured, either for an August release date or as an advance solicitation. We'll post more info about this mini-series as it becomes available.

Bullets: Previews... and Movie News.

And here I thought it was going to be a slow week.

• Previews of Upcoming Projects. Apart from Icon publications like Criminal, we haven't made a habit of linking to every preview of new work from Ed Brubaker or Sean Phillips, but I think it's worth highlighting a first look at new upcoming projects.
  
  First up is a preview of the debut issues for The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - The Journey Begins. Sean Phillips joins Richard Isanove on art duties, and the issue is scheduled for a May 19th release.
  
  Next is Ed Brubaker's new ongoing Marvel series, Secret Avengers. A preview of its debut issue was released late this week. From Twitter Brubaker writes that readers have barely seen anything; the issue is scheduled to hit stores on May 26th.
  
  
• Brubaker Interview I: Captain America Backlash. The comics site io9 recently conducted an interview with Ed Brubaker about a variety of subjects, including Secret Avengers. Two issues stand out as very noteworthy.
  
  First, Brubaker relays that the recent, politically charged criticism of his work on Captain America has led to death threats sent through email, prompting him to close his more public account.
  
  Most of what I've had to say on the issue, I've said before, and I might add a couple more thoughts later, in the comments section.
  
  For now, it suffices for me to say that I don't think violence and intimidation are unique to the American right or even prominent in the "Tea Party" movement, but hardly any group is wholly free from bullies and thugs. Those who would send threatening emails to people who disagree with them are despicable, and Ed Brubaker should consider reporting any serious threat to the FBI.
  
  
• Brubaker Interview II: Sleeper Movie Update. Second, and on a brighter note, Brubaker relays that Warner Bros. is still working on the film adaptation of Brubaker and Phillips' first major collaboration, WildStorm's Sleeper.
  
  His comment suggests that pre-production might have been on hold but is now back on track, and Ed Brubaker confirms that Tom Cruise is still attached to the project.
  
  
• Incognito Film Rights Sold to Fox. The really big news this week is about another possible film adaptation. Followed by a few of the major comics news sites, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips both pointed to a story at Deadline.com, which exclusively reports that that Twentieth Century Fox has purchased the film rights to Incognito.
  
  Mike Fleming reports, "Robert Schenkkan, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of The Kentucky Cycle, will write the screenplay. Peter Chernin and his Chernin Entertainment will produce with Circle of Confusion’s David Engel...
  
  "Schenkkan most recently wrote Anabasis, the period epic drama which will be directed by District 13 helmer Patrick Allesandrin."
  
  In a follow-up comment on Twitter, Ed Brubaker relays that Incognito is "coming back in September with the sequel."

Criminal fans who haven't already read these other books are encouraged to check them out. Sleeper is now available in two "season-long" trade editions (and a prelude called Point Blank), and Incognito is also available as a trade paperback.

Bullets: Digital Editions, Interviews, Conventions, and More.

The oddest bit of recent news is that, though the online preview doesn't indicate it, Ed Brubaker is heavily featured as a character in Marvel's self-parody comic, Captain America: Who Won't Wield The Shield?

The debut issue of Criminal also makes a cameo appearance, in a lengthy scene set in a real-world comic shop.

On to more important items.

• Digital Editions for Criminal and Incognito. Recently on Twitter, Ed Brubaker has been relaying his experience with the iPad and digital comics, and his doing so has served as an obvious prelude to his announcement on April 17th -- beginning here -- that comics printed under Marvel's Icon banner are being re-released in a digital format.
  
  Newsarama covered the story Tuesday, with comments from both Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Brubaker apparently led the charge, and he and Phillips both seem pleased with the results.
  
  Chris Arrant reports, "The plan, as revealed this weekend at C2E2, sees both series serialized on the iTunes and PSP platform with the first issue of Incognito and first two issues of Criminal debuted Saturday for $1.99 each. Future issues are tentatively scheduled to be released on a weekly schedule with these digital versions catching up to its print counterparts by the end of the summer."
  
  Both titles appear to be available in multiple digital-comic applications, including Comixology, Iverse and Panelfly.
  
  
• Brubaker Interviews on Marvel Projects. There's little other news on the Icon front, but with convention season upon us, Ed Brubaker has given a couple interviews for some upcoming projects for Marvel, both involving Steve Rogers, the original Captain America.
  
  Last Friday, Newsarama published an interview about the four-issue mini-series, Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier. Then on Sunday, Comic Book Resources published an interview about Brubaker's new ongoing series, Secret Avengers.
  
  
• Phillips Projects and Books Sales. Over at his blog, Sean Phillips announced a project titled 7 Psychopaths, to debut in May, published by Boom! Studios.
  
  Details of the project were made clear in a subsequent Newsarama interview with Phillips: the book is a reprint of a 2007 French comic, drawn by Phillips and written by Fabien Vehlmann, now being translated for American audiences. Originally published in an over-sized album, it appears the English version will be released (at least at first) as a three-issue mini-series.
  
  The book tells the story of seven madmen on an impossible mission to assassinate Adolph Hitler during the height of World War II: the solicitation is frank about its being "In the vein of Inglorious Basterds, with art by the critically acclaimed Sean Phillips."
  
  In the interview, Phillips also revealed, "I'm working with the same editor and colourist again at the moment on a sci-fi book for Delcourt."
  
  Back at his blog, Phillips announced cover duties for The Calling: Cthulhu Chronicles, also by Boom! Studios, to debut in July.
  
  He has continued to add books to his Amazon page, and each book purchased from that page includes an original sketch by the artist.
  
  
• Greg Rucka and DC. The most surprising news of the early convention season is probably Greg Rucka's announcement, made at WonderCon at the beginning of this month, that he has left DC comics. He has set aside plans to complete the third arc in a twelve-issue run focusing on the (relatively) new Batwoman, to devote his energies to creator-owned work, such as a Queen and Country novel that might lead to a relaunch of the espionage comic. He notes, "I haven't been able to work on a lot of the projects that I've wanted to do," and at his website he reassures fans that there is no "drama" behind the scenes.
  
  It appears that Batwoman is moving from a headlining stint in Detective Comics to an ongoing series of her own, to be co-written by J.H. Williams III, whose critically acclaimed artwork for Rucka's first Batwoman arc garnered multiple Eisner nominations. Newsarama has an interview with Williams about the new title.
  
  Hopefully, Rucka's departure will not affect DC's plans to collect in hardcover editions Gotham Central, which he co-wrote with Ed Brubaker. The third of what I presume will be four volumes, released annually, is still scheduled for a June 9th release, but its contents remain unclear.
  
  
• Cooke, Ardai, and Parker. Comic Book Resources covered Darwyn Cooke's "spotlight panel" at WonderCon. There, Cooke relayed how he fought with Ed Brubaker (and won) to improve the finale of their four-issue arc in Catwoman, and he notes the striking visual similarity between their prelude story and his current work adapting Donald Westlake's Parker novels.
  
  The second adaptation, The Outfit, is due in October, but WonderCon attendees were treated with an advance preview, titled "The Man with the Getaway Face." The "prelude" contains an entire chapter from the upcoming book, and it covers the key events from the novel of the same name, bridging the novels The Hunter and The Outfit. The preview comic will be available nationwide in July, at the same low price of $2.00, and in the same over-sized 8-by-12-inch format.
  
  (The blog at The Violent World of Parker may have the first look at the cover art for Cooke's The Outfit, from the back cover of the WonderCon preview.)
  
  Cooke isn't the only one with Parker on the brain. Hard Case Crime editor Charles Ardai was interviewed about Parker by The Chicago Blog, of the University of Chicago Press. He discussed working with Donald Westlake (a/k/a Richard Stark), who passed away at the beginning of 2009.
  
  Readers might remember Brubaker's interview with Ardai in Criminal Volume 2, Issue #4, which had the first chapter of "Bad Night." His crime fiction imprint Hard Case Crime is now publishing Memory, Westlake's final novel, a noir story that Ardai describes as "a heartbreaking, beautiful book" that was too existential to find a publisher in the 1960's.
  
  Meanwhile, the University of Chicago Press is republishing the Parker novels, and it is in the process of releasing its fourth set of three books.
  
  
• 4thLetter Podcast on Criminal and Parker. The very worthwhile blog 4thLetter has a "fourcast" devoted entirely to Criminal: The Sinners and the WonderCon preview for The Outfit. I need to get around to commenting on the discussion: they contrast Tracy's patronizing approach to protecting women and Parker's willingness to kill without any regard for the person's sex.
  
  
• July Solicitations. Finally, we've recently seen the release of a few solicitations for July, and there are some noteworthy books coming out in the middle of the summer. From Newsarama, we see that Dark Horse is releasing the first two volumes of a newly redesigned third edition of Sin City, and IDW lists the Parker preview among its July releases.
  
  (A careful eye might note that the solicited image has IDW's new logo, while the advance release for WonderCon has the older "lightbulb" logo. The difference might eventually matter to collectors.)
  
  Between the two of them, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips have six books in Marvel's solicitations, but there are no collaborations listed, and nothing from the Icon imprint.
  
  The trade collection for Criminal: The Sinners was announced for a June release, but that won't be followed up immediately by the sequel to Incognito.

The digital editions of Criminal and Incognito are to be released weekly, "with these digital versions catching up to its print counterparts by the end of the summer."

I hope it's not too much to infer that this means that Brubaker and Phillips' Icon work will resume by then as well.


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