Categories
"COPRA" Los Press

COPRA TOUR 2015 plus Press & Interviews

COPRA TOUR 2015 Schedule

TOUR TIME

RIPExpo – March 28th & 29th (Providence, RI)

MoCCA – April 11 & 12 (NYC)

FLOATING WORLD Copra Round 2 Release Party/Exhibit – Thursday, April 16th (Portland, OR)

LINEWORK NW – April 19th, Sunday appearance only (Portland, OR)

THIRD EYE COMICS / FREE COMIC BOOK DAY – Saturday, May 2nd (Annapolis, MD)

TCAF – May 9 & 10 (Toronto, Canada)

HEROES CON – June 19th to 21st (Charlotte, NC)

SPX – September 19 & 20 (Bethesda, MD)

C O P R A — T O U R — R E P O R T 

WHIYEHAUS

PRESS TIME

NYmag

New York Magazine – Copra through the lens of fanfic.

Sequart – massive Copra overview.

Eat Geek Play – sleek breakdown of the series.

Illustration Friday – nice showcase on various art pieces.

Topless Robot – Round Two review.

Comics Tavern – brief interview where I say stuff like:

The only thing I personally hope this Suicide Squad movie does is raise enough interest in the John Ostrander/Kim Yale series to the point where DC puts it back into print, hopefully benefiting Ostrander. That run deserves to be on the shelves, high amongst the classics and making everything else pale in comparison.”

Categories
Sometimes I Like Stuff

Obsession Unknown: Suicide Squad Bound

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It’s as good a time as any to talk about my love for the Suicide Squad. It’s a specific kind of love.

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Let’s start with this bound collection of comics: every issue, every crossover, every letters page, every Who’s Who entry, every pertinent sheet of Squad related newsprint or baxter paper is included here (ending with the final issue #66, of course. Anything after that just gets in the way of the best ending this series could hope to have). I spent a while compiling these books, putting them in a very specific order. I cannot stress that enough; Very. Specific. Order.

Having these comics bound in such direct, no frills hardcovers made reading & storage so much more enjoyable & practical, but I also loved the idea of a curated collection of essentials. For this specific set of books, I got the idea to hit up a few of the related artists to put their own touch on the inside covers…

Luke McDonnell

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Karl Kesel

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Geof Isherwood

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These busy gentlemen were kind enough to honor my character requests & deal with book shipping (since none of these were convention commissions). Their efforts and patience remain appreciated.

Oh, god, it doesn’t stop there. I had to have the RPGs…

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… the Who’s Who loose leaf entires…

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… and the cards. The trading cards.

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I’m perfectly fine with drawing the line when it comes to toys, statues, cartoon appearances, or cosplay. Toys would be cool, actually, but I’m into the art more than anything else when it comes to any sort of non-comics merch. Really, all I care about are the comics.

I really like the way these books turned out (thanks to Houchen Bindery Ltd). Took me years to plan and assemble and I loved every second of it. I can see how one can get swept in the excitement of binding everything, but I think it’s safe to say that there are not many titles I feel this passionately about.

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Categories
Comics I Make

Post DEATHZONE!

I brought forth my Deathzone! comic a few weeks ago, and the world responded:

First off, big thanks to Tucker Stone and his Factual Opinion for contributing to the actual comic in question, and for discussing it some on his Comics Are Burning In Hell (Episode 0.3) podcast, co-hosted with greats Joe McCulloch and Matt Seneca, entrusted comix allies all.

Another podcast that favorably mentioned us was War Rocket Ajax (Episode #115), hosted by Chris Sims and Matt Wilson. Chris, a huge fan of the Squad himself, also wrote a piece on Deathzone! over at Comics Alliance before seeing the final product, so I’m really glad he liked it. Oh, and the Mindless Ones had some really nice things to say about it upon my revealing the comic [and after receiving it as well!]; they always come through with support.

Reviews, too! The first one came in straight from Siskoid’s Blog of Geekery, a blog which has extensively covered the Squad throughout its exhaustive blogging schedule. I appreciate It’s a Dan’s World and Nowhere / No Formats for taking note of the comic, too. Further thanks to Comics Reporter and Spandexless for mentioning Deathzone! And big thanks to Zack Soto for dropping the name and the love all over the webs. A special shout out goes to Annie Koyama, who has helped and supported me in more ways than I can ever repay.

And of course, thank you ALL for checking out, inquiring about, and referencing Deathzone! … and for buying its accompanying print.

Having this comic out there has also connected me with other Suicide Squad fans, such as Brannon Costello, who remarked on John Ostrander’s work over at Pretty Fakes, as well as blogs such as Subject: The Suicide Squad (Task Force X) and Omega Agent 1’s Bronze Tiger.

In other news, I will be at Heroes Con in Charlotte, North Carolina this June 22-24!

I’m quite excited to be able to exhibit at Heroes Con; I’ve been wanting to simply attend for years. This will be a fun show, so drop by Indie Island and say hi!

–Fiffe

Categories
Comics I Make

D E A T H Z O N E ! my Suicide Squad comic

I told myself that it was a silly idea, that it was nothing but a distraction, a nostalgic impulse at best, and that I had more important things to do. Next thing I knew, I had written, drawn, and colored sixteen pages of my very own Suicide Squad comic. I called it DEATHZONE!

You know about the Suicide Squad already, right? I’ve gone on about it before, and always kept a close eye on those who did the same. It was one of my very first and favorite comics as a kid, and during the tail end of my previous project, I couldn’t get them out of my mind.

Recap: Suicide Squad was DC Comics’ version of the Dirty Dozen. John Ostrander wrote it, Luke McDonnell drew it, and John’s late wife, Kim Yale, joined in on the writing chores early on. Suicide Squad was a task force made up of C-list bad guys and obscure, throwaway characters used as fodder for dangerous government missions. Some of them didn’t always make it back. Turnover was pretty high as a result. Just look at the line up below… that’s only the first year’s roster. Also, they lived in a prison in the middle of a swamp.

One of my favorite issues is #10 (Feb. ’88), “Up Against The Wall”, where Batman pretends to be a prisoner in order to get some dirt on the Squad. He’s then outed, hunted, and taken to task… all neatly wrapped up in 22 pages. No issue better illustrates Amanda Waller’s verve as a leader, the Squad’s rag tag group dynamics, and the visual cool of their Belle Reve headquarters.

Oh, man, look at that last panel… arghk!… classic McDonnell. Anyway, I couldn’t articulate all that as a 9 year old, but I had to channel my excitement somehow back then. I took the weird relationship that Batman seemed to have with the Squad and made up my own ending to “Up Against The Wall”. In my version, Batman still gets away but has at least a few cuts and bruises.

Shown: stairs, rooftop, Batarang, home, bed, in that order. Shortly thereafter, I made another comic that featured an exhausted, pummeled Batman, this time against Shade the Changing Man (another Squad member). Shade, who is usually a good guy in the regular comics, stands as a redesigned, demonic villain under my direction. Shade’s mission was to take Batman and his Justice League teammates into a hellish dimension in order to torture them… slowly!

What you’ve witnessed here is the classic example of a cartoonist’s typical pattern: falling in love with this stuff at an early age, wanting to replicate that thrill, and then stubbornly trying to follow through on that desire as best one can. That’s the spirit of the industry right there.

That’s how I’ve ended up with DEATHZONE! A sixteen page, full color comic that’s been over 20 years in the making.

Here’s the line up…

… and here are some preview pages…

As if that wasn’t enough, Tucker Stone came through with a treatise on the last super hero comic that mattered, an essay which could only be titled:

So don’t delay any longer… get it now!

Finally, here’s the last page of my Shade vs Batman story.

 

–Michel Fiffe

Categories
Discussion & Analysis

You Look Different Now

The Comics Reporter recently asked its readers to throw in some suggestions for the Five For Friday feature. One of my original proposals was that we list four of our childhood favorites that stood the test of time and one that did not. Not all of us read comics as children, though, and how amusing could our youthful tastes really be? CR modified the request accordingly, and the results came in. Go, Read: You Look Different Now. I’d like to now take this opportunity to give you a run down of those choices that still do it for me:

1. Batman: Ten Nights of the Beast by Jim Starlin & Jim Aparo.

First off, how are you not going to pick up a comic with a cover like this?