Mr. Barbera, of HannaBarbera fame, is a spry 95 today folks! He still goes into the office once a week and working with him is a joy. He gave me the day off everytime he saw me. The bean counters never thought that joke was very funny but I sure did. Happy Birthday Mr. Barbera and thanks for all the laughs!

Just saw in the paper today that the game I storyboarded with my buddy Aaron Sowd, GOD OF WAR, just got the Greatest Hits treatment from Sony. Sweet! Cause I’m still waiting on my complimentary copy from Sony…..from two years ago…

My company, Komikwerks, LLC, is proud to announce ACTIONOPOLIS. Actionopolis is Komikwerks’ new line of illustrated novels for young adults.

We have assembled an incredible array of award-winning creators, all of whom have a professional background in comics, animation, film, television, video games and publishing.

This has been a project very near and dear to my heart as so many of the talented pros assembled are not only friends but many of them are creators I’ve admired professionally for quite some time. Check out the books and please let your local library know to order some. Support for the libraries will also support many of the creators so it’s a good situation for everyone! Publishers Group West is distributing the book line. The ad for the first two books will be in the May PREVIEWS in the KOMIKWERKS section for items shipping in July.

Just got the sweet cover in to Keith Giffen’s and my book for Image. Aron Lusen of LIQUID GRAPHICS really did an amazing job coloring Matt Jacob’s cover art. This book is under the Desperado imprint and I’m really happy to be working with those folks again. The ad for this book will be in the May PREVIEWS in the Image section for items shipping in July.

Just found out they’re adding Xiaolin Showdown to the Cartoon Network lineup. Not only is that one more show I’ve worked on added to CN this season BUT I’ll finally be able to see the episodes I worked on! Now I just have to remember which episodes I worked on…

Long before The Spider-Man there was The Spider! I have always loved the pulps and especially this character so I’m absolutely thrilled to be taking part in this anthology book of new Spider stories. Not only will I be writing with my buddy John Helfers (Tom Clancy Explorers series) but John Jakes is in the book! North & South, baby! There’s also going to be a bunch of great art from guys like Bruce Timm and Graham Nolan as well. The guys at Moonstone have been great and I love the respect they have for these characters and how hard they are working to preserve these characters for a new generation of writers! Ok, I better get back to writing….

While I was hanging out with Giffen as he signed at the NY show several people asked which issue of Hero Squared I worked on. That answer would be issue two and a big thanks to Keith, JM, and Ross for letting me play in their playground. It’s a great book and hopefully will be around for a very long time. Makes me wish my Dr. Good story Andy Kuhn illustrated back in ’99 where a kid gets sent to the future to team up with his adult science hero self got past the short story stage. If ya haven’t seen it go to www.Komikwerks.com and check it out. Andy’s art is amazing.

Well the NY show has come and gone. I had a great time promoting our new book line and meeting with the fine folks at MTV, Publishers Weekly, Wizard magazine, Entertainment Weekly and everyone else we met with about the line. Saturday, however was a huge pain in the butt with the fire marshall shutting the place down and not allowing anyone to enter. Patrick and I ended up doing a lot of our meetings in the convention hall lobby but I wasn’t able to get in to do my signings for Narwain or Desperado. Hopefully the people that put the show together get their act together for next year. I’m sure they’ll say they sold out but truth is they screwed up. Between all the pros and fans they turned away, many who came from out of town, they’d better offer some serious incentives for next years show. They have the potential for a great new Comics tradition as the show was great but if ya can’t get in then what’s the point…

So I’m pounding away on a storyboard for new season of Ninja Turtles. I’m always amazed at much work it is to storyboard ninjitsu battle scenes. It’s probably because A) I have never been in a knifefight with four mutant turtles and B) I am only half ninja.

Anyhow, I turned on Cartoon Network this morning to refamiliarize myself with the show. Watching the TV it dawned on me I have multiple shows I’ve worked on airing on Cartoon Network. This is more shows per week than at any other point in my career. Teen Titans, Ninja Turtles, Krypto, Justice League, Juniper Lee, Ozzy & Drix… and they are all on the air right now! (and soon my episode of HiHi Puffy Ami Yumi I wrote as well) And this is just Cartoon Network! I’ve reached a cartoon peak!

So basically it’s all downhill from here…

Komikwerks co-founders Shannon Denton and Patrick Coyle will be hitting the carpeted halls of the Jacob Javits Center in New York City next week as they attend the New York Comic-Con. Though not exhibiting in a booth, Shannon and Patrick will be combing the floors, spreading the word about Komikwerks’ new line of illustrated novels for young adults, a line called Actionopolis.

“Actionopolis is the place to be when adventure is your destination,” claims Shannon Denton. “This new line of books is by comics, animation and video game professionals like Dan Mishkin, Tom Mandrake, Bruce Zick, Adam Beechen Dan Hipp, Louise Simonson, Colleen Doran, Rob Worley, Mike Dubisch, Christopher Long, Michael Geiger, Rick Hoberg, Gary Reed, Jeff Mariotte, Will Meuginot, Liquid Color, and lots more. There’s going to be a lot more info about these books coming soon, but if you’re at the NY Comic-Con, and you track us down, you can catch a preview of these fantastic looking books. We’re very excited about Actionopolis!”

“We aren’t going to have a booth, but you’ll see us… we’ll be the guys with the factories on our shirts who won’t shut up about these great new books for readers of all ages,” states Patrick Coyle. “Beware… Actionopolis is on the horizon! Actually, you don’t have to beware, I just thought that would sound cool!”

Keep an eye out for Shannon and Patrick if your in attendance at the NY Comic Con. Ask them about the Actionopolis books — you’ll be glad you did! And keep your eyes peeled for an announcement soon with more details about the Actionopolis line of books from Komikwerks.
Shannon will also be signing at the Narwain and Desperado booths throughout the show so stop on by.