I realize I'm posting this a bit late, but a couple of weeks ago, my column at Publishers Weekly Comics Week was on meeting editors and showing your work at Comic-Con: Tips for Aspiring Comics Pros at Comic-Con.

You might not be able to get replies to your emails to publishers right now, but you still can do some research on them and their submissions policies before you launch yourself into the shuffling crowd, portfolio under your arm.

-JdG

I just have to pause in my preparations for Comic-Con (Seriously, why are so many people calling the office right now -- and for silly reasons, like to check on a submission sent two weeks ago or to ask about an obscure comic someone else published in the '80s? Unless you work in the industry, I guess you just don't that now is Not a Good Time to Chat.) to link to this marvelous review of Wonderland at Girls Entertainment Network.

There's ample praise for both writer Tommy Kovac and artist Sonny Liew, with perhaps none higher than this: "If Lewis Carroll were alive today, he would have written Wonderland." And later: "I cannot stress enough how deftly Kovac emotes Carroll’s wit and charm. He’s not just copy and pasting here, he’s added a whole new layer to an already rich universe. Sonny Liew’s art goes the extra mile to make that universe a reality."

Tommy and Sonny will be at Comic-Con, so be sure to check out Wonderland and perhaps a copy to get signed if you're going to be there!

As you may or may not know, my hours here at SLG have been cut from five days a week to three, and, as you can imagine, this gives me a lot less time to work on anything not directly related to getting the graphic novels on our publishing schedule out. One of the areas that has unfortunately suffered is submissions. I am the only first reader for submissions right now, and the slushpile has gotten out of hand, with a six month waiting list on replies. People are evidently getting antsy, as they keep calling the office about their submissions. (Please don't do that.) As someone who submits work of her own to publishers, I know that getting a response in a reasonable time to a submission is important. So, in that interest, I'm putting submissions on temporary hiatus so I can catch up with the submissions I already have.

Please do not send in submissions through mail or email from August 1, 2009 until October 1, 2009. Any submissions with postmarks within those dates or received through email during that time will be recycled or deleted unread. Harsh, I know. But I want to be fair and get to every submission in a timely way. As it is, I've been having to send those lousy generic "does not suit our needs at this time" rejection letters. I'm sorry if this inconveniences anyone, and I thank you for your understanding.

Jennifer de Guzman
Editor-in-Chief
SLG Publishing

Comic-Con International is next week, everyone! I can't really believe it. But I'm going to have to because I will be there, as will be SLG Prez Dan Vado, SLG orders manager/jack-of-all-trades Bryan Dobrow, new guy Kyle Forbes, heirs to the empire Dustin and Dillon Vado, and our trusty convention staff, Joe Nakamura and Lex Hatchett.

Oh, and of course there will be creators! Lots of them, signing, signing, signing away. Here is our signing schedule (cleeck to make it bigger). You can also download a printable PDF here.


This is all subject to change, of course.

Gargoyles: Bad Guys, written by Greg Weisman, with art by Karine Charlebois and Christopher Jones, will be in stores at the beginning of August! It features two never-before-seen chapters and cover artwork by Greg Guler. Here's a peek at it in our trailer.

So, are you wondering about this Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer book? Are you thinking that maybe the high concept might substitute for story and heart? (If you're not, forget I even said anything.) I admit, when I heard about the idea, the same thoughts crossed my mind. But when I read Van Jensen's and Dusty Higgin's work, my doubts were erased. Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer has humor, pathos, and a well developed main character. I know, I know, I'm biased, seeing as I'm the editor at SLG. So don't take my word for it. How about you take the word of Mark Waid, writer of many a DC and Marvel comic, including Kingdom Come?

Of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer, Mark Waid said, "It's funny. It's scary. It's suspenseful. It's romantic. It's the greatest thing I've read all year. And you'll notice my nose didn't grow one bit when I said that."

So there you go.

He's Got a Nose for Evil
Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer from SLG in September

You might think you know how Pinocchio's story ends: As a reward for his loyalty and heart, the Blue Fairy changes him into a real boy and he and Geppetto live happily every after. But Van Jensen and Dusty Higgins will ask readers to re-think their conception of the little wooden boy in their new graphic novel from SLG Publishing, Pinnochio, Vampire Slayer, due out in September 2009.
Drawing inspiration from the original story by Carlo Collodi, in which Pinocchio remains a wooden puppet at the end, Jensen and Higgins imagined a dark continuation to Pinocchio's story. Vampires overrun the peaceful town of Nasolungo, and the only one who is willing to fight them (and even believe that they exist) is Pinocchio, who has discovered that his growing nose comes in handy for impaling the undead. While avenging the death of his slain father, Pinocchio discovers the vampires have a deeper agenda than the mere sucking of blood.

Jensen and Higgins manage to craft a grim story story without being too heavy-handed -- it is, after all, the story of a wooden boy killing vampires -- with moments of grim humor that reflect how the book was created. "What started out as a simple joke about Pinocchio shanking vampires with his nose grew into a book filled with drama and pathos," said Jensen, who is the writer on Pinocchio, adding, "Yep, drama and pathos... and Pinocchio using his nose to shank vampires. Lots and lots of vampires."

Artist Dusty Higgins, who created Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer, sets the tone with heavily shadowed pages matched with delightfully designed characters, such as the heavily mustachioed Cherry, the carpenter who creates a crossbow he dubs "The Monsteriminator" to help Pinocchio fight the vampires. Still, Higgins notes, "We approached the story as if perhaps Pinocchio wasn't meant to live happily ever after. Maybe because of his 'abilities' he was actually meant to slay vampires. With a continual supply of wooden stakes and no flesh or blood to worry about, he's the really the perfect weapon against the undead bloodsucking menace."

Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer is a 128-page graphic novel and will be in stores in September 2009. It can be pre-ordered in comic book stores now with the order code JUL090644. A video trailer is available for viewing at SLG Publishing's website, www.slgcomic.com.

I'm making the actual signing schedule now, but I thought you all might want to know who is going to be signing at the SLG Comic-Con booth this year. So check it out:

Aaron Alexovich (Serenity Rose)
Kerry Callen (Halo and Sprocket)
Derek Hunter (Pirate Club)
Aleister Gilgrim (The Cemeterians)
Karl Christian Krumpholz (Byron)
Kenny Keil (Tales to Suffice)
Tommy Kovac (Wonderland)
Ethan and Isaiah Nicolle (Chumble Spuzz)
Drew Rausch (Haunted Mansion, Winchester*)
Chris Reilly, Steve Ahlquist and Tara Billinger (Strange Eggs)
Mike Shoyket (Captain Blood, Tron)
Charles Soule and Allen Gladfelter (Strongman)
Serena Valentino (Nightmares and Fairy Tales)
Jhonen Vasquez (Johnny the Homicidal Maniac) and Jenny Goldberg (Jellyfist)
Landry Walker and Eric Jones (The Super-Scary Monster Show, Tron)
Greg Weisman and  David Hedgecock (Gargoyles)

Also attending but at their own tables:

Camilla d'Errico (Nightmares and Fairy Tales)
Shari Chankhamma (The Clarence Principle)
Sonny Liew (Wonderland)

Comic-Con is July 23-26 in San Diego, California! But if you're going, you know that already. If you haven't already arranged to go, it's pretty hopeless for you, alas, unless you can snag one of the tickets of someone who had to cancel their plans that Comic-Con is selling on eBay.

*"What's Winchester?" you ask? You will learn!

-JdG

Strange Eggs Jumps the Shark, that little comic strangely labeled "Kid Friendly" in Previews when it is so not kid friendly, is in stores today! It features stories by Roger Langridge, J. Marc Schmidt, Ben Towle, James Turner, Jhonen Vasquez and lots more. The premise is that a kid's show called Strange Eggs (also, coincidentally, the title of an SLG anthology) is losing ratings and the suits will do anything -- anything -- to boost them. The results are dreamed up by a variety of comics creators, and the results are gruesome, risque, and just downright abhorrent.

Strange Eggs editor Chris Reilly (whom my typing really wants to make "Christ Reilly") has been doing the interview circuit, with Jennifer Contino at Pulse, with Stefan Blitz at Forces of Geek (look for the rant Chris goes on when the interviewer innocently asks him about kids' comics), and with... Chris Reilly at Gutter Geek.

There are two new reviews of Captain Blood #1, the debut issue of SLG's historical adventure series by Matthew Shepherd and Michael Shoyket.

The first is the kind of thing I always like to see -- someone usually used to four-color comics discovering an indie one-color and liking it. "Acrobatic flea" at HeroPress praises the "depth of detail" in Shokyet's art and Shepherd's writing, which "sweeps you up" into Peter Blood's story.

The second is also a kind of review I like -- praise from an experienced comics reader and reviewer. Ed Sizemore at Comics Worth Reading calls Captain Blood "a great comic. It’s everything you want from a good historical adventure book."

Captain Blood #2 will be available for pre-order in August. Keep an eye out for our announcement so you can take the Diamond order number to your retailer and make sure this great new series is able to continue!

- JdG

Fat Chunk Volume 2: Zombie, an anthology edited by Bear and Ubu Bubu creator Jamie Smart, is in stores now! And the Comics News Insider podcast has a whole episode devoted to it, with Jamie and artists who contributed appearing. Give it a listen!

 I originally posted this on my personal blog at www.danvado.com, but I am re-posting this here because so many people have emailed me to ask about the map on the SLG homepage which shows the geographic location of visitors to our site  in real-time. As I love to share details of the time-wasting technologies I discover (hey, does anyone out there still have a Bubbler account, apparently I do) I thought you would find my observations of who is coming to our site amusing.

And no, this is of course not news, so seriously lay off me okay.

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We just got word (from CBG's advertising department, no less!) that Punk Rock and Trailer Parks by Derf has won the Comics Buyer's Guide Award in the category "Favorite Story"! It beat out stories in Amazing Spider-Man, Secret Invasion, Green Lantern, and Justice Society of America. How's that for a tip of the hat for indie comics?

I hope it gives some good spirits to our pal Derf, who writes on his blog that he is recovering from "a quintuple fucking bypass" made necessary by the side effects of radiation treatment for cancer. Feel better, Derf! We're looking forward to your next graphic novel.