I-CON! THIS WEEKEND! ME! Come say hi!

Hey Gang,

I've been so busy with all of the wordsmithing that I forgot to mention that I'll be at I-CON this weekend!  This is a premiere con event on Long Island, way out in Suffolk at the Brentwood Campus of S.C.C.C. and the Islandia Marriott, and if the schedule is to be believed, I can be found:

SATURDAY: Islandia Marriott

12:30-1:30 - Marvel Panel

2:30-3:30 - Graphic Novel Panel

3:30-4:30 - Mythology and Folklore in Comics Panel

4:30-5:30 - an Autograph session (But if you see me hangin' out and you got stuff to sign ANYTIME, give a yell!)

SUNDAY: The Marriott

11-12: Autograph table DEALER'S ROOM (At the campus, not the hotel)

12:30-1:30 - Writing for diverse media panel

1:30-2:30 - Humor in Comics panel

2:30-3:30 - Exploring different Genres panel

Come down, say hi, consume cool stuff!

And next week - UPDATES, I promise!  

Guns, Gangsters, and Transsexuals...BANG!TANGO

Hey Gang,

So it occurs to me that I've spent a good deal talking about the creator owned MOA books being published through Image, but have neglected my degenerate darling kicking around over at Vertigo, Bang!Tango. The book is drawn by Adrian Sibar and inked by Rodney Ramos, colored by the Hories. A visual feast that's more than a little bit experimental in its way.

In a nutshell, Bang!Tango is the story of a low level gangster, Vincente, who's hiding out in San Francisco because a few years ago he screwed up a job that lead to the death of his boss's brother.  Life is moving along fine for him as a tango dancer/ instructor until an old girlfriend shows up who needs his help - the woman who he fought with on that fateful night...

So right about now, you're nodding, "Okay, crime noir. Femme fatale...I get it..." but, dear reader, there is as they say, a "twist."  Can't have a Tango without the twists. And the sexual tension. And the subtle but precarious transposition of male and female power roles.

The reason that breaking up with the lovely Autumn left Vinnie so emotionally shellshocked, is that three years ago, she let him in on her most precious secret...she was not born a woman.

There. Outed. Autumn is a pre-operative transsexual. A woman born in a man's body...and übermacho Vincente fell for her big time. That's gotta hurt.  

With Autumn's return, Vincente is forced to confront not only his violent past, but also the storm of conflicting emotions around his relationship with Autumn, complicated by the promise that one day soon, she will have the operation that will make her "outside match the inside."

Yeah. Bang!Tango goes there and then some. At its base, this is a fucked-up Joe Esterhause style crime story replete with sex, violence, and over-the-top badasses hurling truckloads of bullets at one another. Beneath that, if I may be so bold, it's a deconstruction of a traditional mob-hero via his sexuality - the unravelling of a man who defines himself through sex and violence when he is forced to confront his actual feelings.

I'm not gonna lie. It's a challenging one, kids. Not for the faint of heart, but I really hope you'll give it a shot if you're in the market for a wayyyy left of center book. 

-JK

Kids Books, Transsexuals, and Gangsters

Hey Gang!

So in case you're keeping track, two of my more "mature" reads are on sale this week - Bad Dog #2, and Bang!Tango #2. Both promise to disturb and delight in very different ways, so whether you prefer Werewolves laying a high hairy smackdown on White Supremacists or ex-gangsters who sublimate their sexual confusion through rough sex and violence, I got you covered...

And then, there's a young reader's book? 

Yup! In a few months, Douglas Fredericks and the House of They will be hitting the shelves, drawn by the uber-savant Benjamin Roman, whose work you may know from I Luv Halloween and The Cryptics. It's a gorgeous hardcover, perfect for some quality time with the little ones, or for an older reader who likes cool art with their subversive morality tales.

(and then, someone in cyber-land scratches their head and leafs through Bang!Tango, wondering just how sick my "younger reader's work" must be...)

And I point that person to one of my heroes, Osamu Tezuka, who is not only the undisputed Godfather of modern manga, but whose work ran the gamut from the lovable Astro Boy to the devastatingly dark MW.  If you want to read someone who's all over the map, yet brings an undeniable humanity and point of view to both the benign and the bizarre, check out Tezuka. And while you're at it, Terry Gilliam and Guillermo Del Toro...David Lynch...Satoshi Kon...

I'm not comparing my work to any of those greats, but my inspiration comes from artists like them who refuse to be pigeonholed, knowing there are stories to chase all across the creative map. 

Here's to the hunt!

-JK

"Reality"

Hey All,

So continuing my musings over the strange and wonderful moments that my life is populated with, I'm pumped to let you know about my potentially embarrassing but more likely mildly amusing appearance on this week's Celebrity Apprentice. Yup. That's right. The Donald called in the big guns this week, Man of Action. I'm talkin' comics with Jesse James, Tom Green, Scott Hamilton, and the rest of the boyz. Hershel Walker took my lunch order, swear to god.

Joining me on this epic adventure into surreality are Mike Oeming, Ivan Brandon, and Paul Azaceta. Mike and I were the creators assigned to the Men, Ivan and Paul had the ladies. They don't show us bupkis about the episode before hand, so I have no clue how long we're on camera, how we're edited, or if they even use us for more than a few seconds, but I alert you folks, my friends, to watch with me and enjoy the chaos, no matter what shape it takes.

I'm not allowed to talk about the episode before it airs, obviously, but I can say this - Dennis Rodman is a giant. Tom Green is nice as hell and very cool. Jesse James is intense but totally digs comics and is a lover of good art. Clint Black and I wore almost the same shirt.

Set your TiVos to stun. Sunday March 8th at 9PM. 

-JK

Check out the dashing dudes in the following clip. Boo-yah!

Monkeys of Action!

Part of the fun of this job are the strange and wonderful opportunities that pop up unexpectedly. A very cool project is hitting the airwaves tonight that the whole MOA gang was involved in...a nature show on Animal Planet called Dark Days in Monkey City.

Obviously you're thinking, "What the heck do my favorite god-like masters of comic and animated storytelling know about Monkeys?!" Well, this "nature show" is best described as "Monkeys meets 300" and when you see the graphic novel-inspired approach to the material, it'll make a lot of sense why MOA was tapped for consulting on this innovative program. You can read all about it on the DDMC blog, here. 

If you like blood, violence, and eco-tainment, check out Dark Days in Monkey City tonight on Animal Planet!

If you don't like blood, violence, and eco-tainment, I have an even stranger broadcast to tell you about in a few weeks where yours truly acts as an "expert" on a reality show...strange and wonderful indeed.

-JK

Terrifying new video...because I'm on it.

Hey All!

Another post-Con quickie. Thanks to our pals at iFanboy, you can catch me yapping in all my choppy digital glory here.  Or, if the Gods of Internet smile upon us, you can watch the embed below. (I'm about 17 minutes in for the impatient.)

I've never embedded anything in my life that I'm aware of. Surprisingly, there's nothing dirty about it at all.

Enjoy!

-JK

NYCC Podcasts

Hey Gang,

So as per the usual workings of the cosmos, NY Comic-con led to the dreaded "con crud," the unnamable multi-symptom cocktail of disease that we all get after spending a weekend in a giant bubble with 100,000 other people. Hence, my lag in posting. BUT...

I'm back. Huzzah. Of course, I'm also catching up on work, so this is a short one. ; )

Here's a podcast from our buddies at Comic Related that was recorded on the floor of the con. Ken and I are both interviewed about IKG, and as far as I know it's Ken's first US interview! (We're about 30 Minutes in if you're not the patient type!) Burn it and keep it close to your heart...it's podcast history!

Also, here's a podcast from the cool cats at ifanboy about last month's finale of I Kill Giants... we're the Pick of the Week, which I'm assuming is a good thing.

There's more to come, so as always, check this space and thanks for reading!

-JK