If you haven't heard, JACK HAMMER is in this month's Diamond Previews under "ACTION LAB" and is now available for pre-order.

Please support your local comic shop and independent creators by ordering the book, using Diamond code APR120744, when you pick up your comic books this week.

Or next, but don't wait too long. The first printing of the book is limited to 500 copies, but each is individually numbered and hand-signed (by me and, yes, ouch cramptastic, but you're all worth it) and is sure to be a collector's item.

The book is scheduled out on 6/27/12 and pre-orders should be good until the end of this month.

You can also order the book online from a number of the big comic book dealers 
such as:

Discount Comic Book Service
(I'd suggest here, they have incredibly deep discounts on pre-order items. The
book is only $8.22!!)

Things From Another
World

Midtown
Comics

Westfield
Comics

And even good ol' Mile High Comics (if you are a
member of their NICE program)

If you are  outside of the US or Canada, I suggest Forbidden Planet (for the UK  and Ireland) and Archonia for Europe.

Regardless of where you order the book,  you have my deepest and sincerest thanks in advance. Supporting independent comics is critical to maintaining the lifeblood of the comics industry and we
can't keep making comics without you, the readers and fans.

In other news, I've updated my convention schedule for the year.

I've already been to one show, the awesome first annual Vermont Small Press & Comic Expo in Winooski, Vermont last month and this month I'll be at Boston Comic Con. 

The show runs the 21st and 22nd, but I'll actually be in town on the 20th, so if you see me, say hi. It's gonna be a massive show this year, with tons of big name guests. Regardless of what kinds of comics, or even era of comics, you're into there'll be someone of interest to you.

More news soon, 'til then, keep reading.

Pardon for the lack of updates, I've been extremely busy. Yes, it's an excuse, but you'll just have to live with it.

So, 2012 news...there's a lot of it. First the biggest news I can share (probably the biggest news I have right now, actually).

Jack Hammer has a new publisher. Yes, it's true!

I've gotten a fair number of emails over the last 6-8 months asking what happened to Jack since issue #3 of Political Science came out last June. I won't go into the details, cuz it's hardly necessary, but I do owe everyone who wrote, facebooked, tweeted, shouted at me in the streets, etc and especially those of you who waited patiently. I appreciate every one of those things, cuz it means you care.

_As of late 2011, Jack Hammer has moved to Action Lab Comics, publishers of such awesome comics as PrinceLess and Fracture.

In other news, Ionic and I are working on wrapping up book 1 of Voyaga. He is hard at work completing the art, and shortly after the last part of the serial will be released in the pages of Reasonably Priced Comics. After that, there is a standalone tale that will appear in another magazine, announced as soon as I am able to, then we'll see about wrapping the entire thing up a neat little book. But more on that later this year....

In fact, I'm gonna have a lot of stuff to mention in the coming few months, so I'll just leave you folks with this for now. (I promise to tell you more as soon as I can. 2012 is already shaping up to be a REALLY exciting year!)

Been awhile since I updated. I know, I'm bad about it sometimes but it's only cuz I'm busy and not cuz I've fallen out of love with all of you.

So, first, the Dead Future book I mentioned in July did not meet it's funding goals. However! Some of you did contribute and for that, everyone is grateful. The book is now available online, and possibly still at some point down the road in bookstores. As you'll recall, the book not only collects the first two years of the Dead Future zombie-based anthology series, it also contains three brand new, exclusive stories including one I did with talented artist Rowel Roque entitled "Lucid Moments". It's a story I'm pretty pleased with, so please let me know what you think.

Click this here spiffy cover image to buy the book or check out preview pages. (They used a page from my story, last I checked).

Speaking of Grim Crew, I've also got a story in issue two of their hero-based anthology Extraordinary. It's the first Stu solo story, art by Ionic natch, and it's pretty amusing from what I've been told. You can check out Geoff Arbuckle's (of A Comic Book Blog) review of it here. The book is officially out on 9/21, so....definitely look for it. Here's the cover, by Oscar Celestini, to entice you!

In issue three, I'll debut the first of a series of Detective Martin solo stories where we get a glimpse into the world Martin lives in when he's not being pestered by Hound or trying to cover Jack McGriskin's butt. It's a good, old-fashioned mystery solved by determination and solid police work. I'm very proud of how the story turned out.

Lastly, for now anyway, SCIENCE! from Reasonably Priced Comics came out late last month and it contains two stories by myself. The book is a 40-page standalone anthology of five science fiction tales with an ultra-sweet cover by Ionic.

The lead story, "Surefire Means" is a punchy five-pager I wrote awhile back for another publication that ended up being cancelled. It has art by Joel Cotejar and I VERY happy with the way the whole thing turned out. It's virtually perfect...no, really.

Also, I have a 10-pager done with Rowel Roque specifically for SCIENCE! It's got sort of a Twilight Zone feel and it, also, is very sweet.

You can check out Geoff Arbuckle's review if you don't believe me. It's right here on A Comic Book Blog.

You can get the book in print for $2.99 (for 40 pages? Crazy good deal, bro) here or $0.99 cents digital right here.

Oh...and one REAL last thing. Reasonably Priced Comics, with my sci-fi series VOYAGA, is now on Graphic.ly, for 99 cents a book. If you aren't familiar, Graphic.ly is a comic reader app for various mobile devices and it is pretty slick. I just entered the current decade and got a smartphone, and I've downloaded a crapton of comics onto it through Graphic.ly. Seriously, it's awesome. So...check it out.

Just a quick update: I've just booked an appearance at Super Mega Fest in Framingham, MA this November. It's a huge con that usually draws a number of non-comics media figures like Christopher Lloyd, Marina Sertis (Counselor Troy from STNG) and the stars of Boondocks Saints in additional comics folks. It'll be a good time, so check the appearances page for details or click the link above.

And don't forget, Jack Hammer: Political Science #3 is out this Wednesday. You can go to Reasonably Priced Comics' website for details or hit me up.

Morning, party people.

A quick update; Jack Hammer: Political Science #3 is out June 29th. It's late, due to some production issues, but it's almost here and it's awesome.

Jack finally confronts the puppeteer and we learn a little more about what, exactly, is going on in Jack's world.

Check out the incredible cover Ionic did featuring Night.

It'll be available the usual places and I'll remind everyone, of course.

If you're new to Jack Hammer, there's still time to pick up the first two issues and see what you missed. Head on over here or you can find copies at Earth Prime Comics in Burlington, Vermont and select other comic retailers.

Quick update today:

John Lees, a member of the Comix Tribe reviewed the first issue of JACK HAMMER over on his website. Check it out, if you're interested here.

Thanks for the kind words, John! Glad you liked the book.

Second, Extraordinary #1 came out this past Wednesday. Extraordinary is a new superhero-related anthology from Grim Crew Comics, publishers of DEAD FUTURE (the next issue of which I also have a story in), KIDTHULHU and GRIM FURRY TALES. The lead feature in Extraordinary #1 is a Hound story I did last year, Hound being a character in the JACK HAMMER continuity who'll appear alongside Jack in a future issue of that series.

I'll let you folks know where/how you can get a copy when I get mine, or you can reach out to Grim Crew through their website.

What it is?

Haven't updated in a bit, so here's what's new.

Two weeks ago, I was a guest at Boston Comic Con and, as expected, it was great. I got to meet a lot of cool people, a couple not so cool people (but that's expected anywhere you go, of course) and made a lot of new fans. At least based on sales, and for that I thank everyone who decided to support independent comics. I nearly sold out of Jack Hammer #1 copies, and sold a good two thirds of the copies of #2 I had, so my sincerest thanks go out once again to everyone who bought comics.

I also got a chance to pick up some great back issues (including the entire run of the Renegade Press issues of "Ms. Tree", whoo hoo!), but the real  treasure I added was an original sketch of Jack McGriskin by one of my favorite writer/artists of all time...Howard Chaykin! My scanner is borked, but the photo below came out pretty well.

Mr. Chaykin was extremely friendly and it was a pleasure chatting with him while he worked. I am thrilled to have a new piece of art to add to my "Wall of Jack", art all drawn by my favorite artists.

This past weekend, I was a guest at Granite Con in Manchester, NH. I wasn't sure what to expect of the con, as I'd been told it was pretty small (and the one "big name" guest cancelled a couple days before the show) but it turned out to be pretty fun. I met several folks I've only known online previously and made quite a number of new acquaintances. I also completely sold out of Jack Hammer #1 and sold a ton of copies of Reasonably Priced Comics #1 and #2. A bunch of people have already contacted me regarding Voyaga and I am very gratified that people are enjoying it. Voyaga started out as an experiment that I wasn't even sure I'd take beyond the first story, and it is truly a joy when someone tells me that they can't wait to read the next installment. So, again, my heart-felt thanks!

Speaking of Voyaga, next month is the release of Reasonably Priced Comics #3 which has (count 'em) TWO stories by yours truly. The first is part three of book one of Voyaga and if you read the last issue, I've got some surprises in store for you with this one. RPC#3 also has the first installment of WESTERN ADDITION, a new series I've been working on with artist Leandro Paganiban. As you can probably guess from the title, it's a western. You know, cuz I love me the classics and nothing is more classic than a good western.

Also this summer, Reasonably Priced Comics is doing a new over-sized one-shot of science fiction stories called "SCIENCE! Tales From the Edge of Human Knowledge" in which I'll have two stories. One is a short sci-fi story I originally wrote for another publisher who cancelled the book it was to appear in, but the second is a brand new story I did with Rowel Roque, an artist you may not have heard of but who is VERY talented and I feel very lucky to have stumbled across. Rowel also did the art for the story I have in the upcoming DEAD FUTURE graphic novel (out August 17th!) and it came out beautifully!

Long before that, though, at the end of this month (on the 25th) the first issue of EXTRAORDINARY from Grim Crew Comics is out. It's been delayed a bunch of times, but it's almost here finally. As you may recall, it has the first Hound story I wrote last year. Hound, of course, is another character in the world of JACK HAMMER, though he's got a little bit of a different perspective than Jack. Incidentally, the second issue is out this summer and it'll have a solo Stu story I'm working on with Ionic. I warn you, though, there are fart jokes.

Lastly, a story I did around the new year for Fan-Atic Press will be out in their new issue of Slam Bang (#46, or vol.III #5 if you prefer) in a couple weeks. It's a very different style of story than anything else I've done and I think you'll enjoy it. I'll let you know exactly how you can get a copy shortly or you can check out http://fanaticpress.com/.

That's it for now, but check back soon!

Hey guys, just a reminder that I'll be at Boston Comic Con this weekend the 30th of April and 1st of May at the Hynes Center. I'll be at table AA 304.

I'll have copies of both the first two issues of Jack Hammer and the first two issues of Reasonably Priced Comics, as well as my winning smile. So, come on down, I'd really love to meet you!

If you need directions or want to read the massive guest list, you can find 'em both at www.bostoncomiccon.com.

Hey folks, been a few weeks and I got a few things to share.

I'll be attending Boston Comic Con from April 29th to May 1st (though the con technically runs the 30th and 1st, I'll be in Boston on the 29th so wave if you see me!). Table assignments should be out soon and I'll let you know mine as soon as I get it.

Next up, Reasonably Priced Comics #2 came out a couple weeks ago and so far people have loved the second installment of Voyaga, as well as the other two great stories (MY WAY and THE COMMUNICATORS). There's a few reviews linked here if you want to read 'em for yourself.

@ A Comic Book Blog (by Geoff Arbuckle)

@  Kitty's Pryde (by John Withers)

@ Cosmic Book News (by Byron Brewer)

@ Michael Roberts's Pop Culture Blog

Thanks to all the reviewers for the kind words and thanks to everyone who picked up the issue. If you haven't yet, you can get it in print for only $2.50 here http://tinyurl.com/RPC002 or a digital copy for only 99 cents here http://tinyurl.com/RPC2Digital . I'll of course have copies of RPC#1 and #2, as well as Jack Hammer: Political Science #1 and #2 in Boston later this month.

I've got a few new projects in the works here, and I'll share what I can.

First up, a short story I did with Silvina Rinaldi called "Motherhood" has been accepted for ANA Comics' "We're Indy! #2" anthology. I think it's out in August, but I'll let you folks know. It's scheduled to be an 80 page original TPB, so there'll probably be at least 10 or 12 stories in addition to my own. I'm really pleased with how "Motherhood" came out, and it's far and away an entirely different type of story than those I usually write so I hope you all pick it up and check it out. You can read more about the book at www.anacomics.com.

Speaking of anthologies, I was asked to pitch a story for the new Dead Future graphic novel from Grim Crew Comics. If you aren't familiar with it, Grim Crew published a 6 issue limited series called "Dead Future" over the course of 2009 and 2010. Each issue is a collection of 3 to 5 short stories of various genres (sci-fi, crime, horror, humor etc) with the common denominator of zombies figuring into the story somehow. The new book will collect some of the material from the original series as well as a number of new stories and material. I'm told it's gonna be a massive 250 pages (or larger). I'm fairly pleased with the way my story has come out so far, and I think it's gonna be dynamite when it's in print. You can go to Dead Future's website or Grew Crew's for more info. www.deadfuture.com or www.grimcrew.com

And, lastly for now, you may recall that the first issue of Extraordinary, a new superhero anthology also from Grim Crew Comics, contains the first Hound story I wrote quite awhile back. It's been delayed, but it'll be out soon I'm told, though unfortunately not in time for BCC. However, I was asked recently to do a story for the second issue out late this summer and I've written a solo Stu story (yep, that Stu. From Jack Hammer). Stu is a character that I've always felt had adventures of his own that we know nothing about, seeing as how he's not with Jack most of the time and he seems to attract strange folks and all sorts of trouble. It's definitely a tongue in cheek story, but I think you'll enjoy it.

I think that's it for now, but as always, drop me a line or post here if you think of something. I always want to hear from you.