Hey True Believers!

Well, it has finally come! The moment that Johnnie (JD) Arnold and I have been patiently waiting over 2 years for!...wait for it...Yes, it is true, the official Diamond Previews catalogue now lists (thereby proving the existence of) our new graphic novel BB WOLF AND THE 3 LPS!!! HOO-freaking-RAH!!! Seriously, I am thrilled, so poor old Johnnie is literally busting a nut over this as it's his first book. Help him bust the other nut by ordering your copy now!

Also re-listed in the very same catalogue is the long awaited 2nd printing of my book THREE FINGERS and also the 2nd GN I did with Top Shelf, THE KING! I believe we've done a sweet reboot of the cover design for THREE FINGERS and I'm told it's a hardcover this go 'round. Kinda very cool, no?

So go out to your local comic shop, grab the Previews Catalogue, let your little fingers do the walkin' to the Top Shelf Productions section, scan down to our books; BB Wolf and the 3 LPs, Three Fingers and The King and then fill out your order forms, by CROM!!! A small note! The BB WOLF book is listed at $14.95 and it's actually $12.95. A minor error in the listing, but hey! you've already saved 2 bucks! Suh-weet!

Maybe even order a few copies of each...what the hell. They make swell birthday or Christmas presents.

Here's an advance review from the very awesome comic book talent Greg Ruth...

Hey Johnnie-

Allright! I FINALLY carved out some time late last night and read your book. I didn't want to do it piecemeal, but rather try to swallow it whole and approach it that way. Despite the three chapter breaks , it is indeed a whole tale and singular I think.

That said- I really loved this! There's a naturalness to the way the story is told through the words and pictures that create something greater than it's parts. It does what comics should do strive for at the least: make us forget we're observing words and images separately and make us experience the tale forgetting both. This is not to say the art or writing is at all forgettable. Mr. Arnold's accented prose strikes a relentless tempo that grabs you by the ears and refuses to let go. Mr. Koslowski's confident and energetically rendered panels fill out the world and express so much more in undertone that respects both the story it's there to tell, and captures the reader's attention, clearly and rewardingly. In a time where gimmicky high-concept twists and turns are everywhere and empty in soul, this one keeps to a determined truth with overwhelming force. There's a grit and deeper truth being expressed here not despite the animalistic fairy-tale structure, but because of it. Subjects like race violence, corruption and injustice are constantly leaning toward polemics, which let's face it, no one really wants to read. But by approaching a moral loss in our history, through the story of the three-little pigs, this lushly painted graphic novel accomplishes something much more interesting. Sometimes obscuring the approach to a truth can strengthen its impact, and I think that's done marvelously here. Good comics need to be very well written and expertly drafted to get me to finish them, and I never put this one down for an instant until I was done. It's such a rare treat to find a collaboration of such equal merit, and value and it makes reading this book pure pleasure indeed. Great stuff- and hats off to everyone involved.

g online portfolio www.gregthings.com

On that note I can only say...

Word!

R

Happy New Year to all. Oh, except the losers who are inhabiting our upper floor of our duplex in Wisconsin who don't feel that they have to pay their rent on time that is--or pay it at all, really. Oh, and the guy up in Canada who stole a piece of 3 Geeks art and used it for his company logo for 6 years even though I very politely asked him not to and had to spend several thousand dollars to legally get him to cease and desist and then the courts ordered him to stop and compensate me for damages which, apparently, just like every other request, he has chosen to simply ignore. Oh, and the Canadian court system which, apparently, doesn't care if these losers show up in court or pay what they're supposed to and I'd have to spend thousands more to get the thousands he's been ordered to pay me and then spend thousands more to get recompensated for the thousands I spent to get the original thousands in the first place...

But everyone else?...HAPPY FRIGGIN' NEW YEAR!

Here's hoping that 2010 is MUCH better than 2009 which was freaking brutal for us. I am bound and determined to make 2010 as stress free as humanly possible starting with the eviction now in process for the aforementioned "losers" dug in like ticks in our duplex in WI (yep, that's gonna be another couple thousand, folks! weeee...).

2010 WILL be better, by Crom! It has to be. There's only one way up from the bottom, right?

A'ight, moving on...Spent last night at our new friends, Jon & Terry "Bean" Hastings playing Wii with Stella and having some good laughs. Wonderful people and you should seek out Jon's books when you get the chance. Jon and I will also be appearing at the next Slave Labor Graphics mini-Con held at their store/warehouse on January 16th if you're in the vicinity. Dan Vado was the founder of APE (Alternative Press Expo) which began in San Jose in the late 90s and is now a major event in comicdom. He's starting up this new con and I'm pretty optimistic it's going to grow into something special.

In other news...

Now that BB Wolf & The Three L.P.s has been officially slated for May 2010 along with the long-awaited second printing of Three Fingers I can move forward with my next BIG project! Unfortunately, at the time of my writing this blog, I'm not exactly sure what exactly that project is. Here's the rub...I've got 3 or 4 extremely solid, extremely fleshed out ideas that I've been itchin' to dive into and there's just one of me. So I've got to decide which one I like best. Again, unfortunately, I like 'em all equally. I guess I'll have to lay them all out in front of me and see what mood I'm in that moment and just go! And one of the ideas is pretty massive (as in ongoing series) so that one I might shelve until I can find another artist for the art duties and I just write the darn thing.

But I digress...

Needless to say, you'll be seeing some exciting new things this summer on the con circuit. If all goes according to plan I'll have three new books hitting this summer alongside a possible portfolio and some nice prints.

Y'know, maybe I've got a solid fifth idea I'll have to take a hard look at...maybe call it "My Year In Hell, 2009!" I did mention the loser up in Canada, right? Loser tenants, 5 weeks of pneumonia, a hernia surgery thrown in... Could be cathartic to write.

Hmmm?...

word.

R

"FANTASTIC MR. FOX." Go see it! If you liked any previous Wes Anderson films (Rushmore, The Royal Tennenbaums, Life Aquatic) you'll love this--and your kids will love it too. At least Stella did...she gets the subtle humor, though, and really digs it. I guess if your kid doesn't get subtle humor go without the kid, but still go before this film's out of the theatres. Pitch perfect performances from every cast member! The stop-motion animation was brilliant and the story top-notch. I never read the book but I'm going to now. I can't possibly imagine it's better than the movie but I feel compelled to give it a try.

Grade: A

In other news...

The second printing of THREE FINGERS has FINALLY been greenlit by Top Shelf for a May release to coincide with the release of BB WOLF AND THE 3 L.P.S. It was way too long a wait since 3F's been out of print for over 3 years but it's finally here. Why the long delay? Well, initially it was decided it would be better to release it with BB to strengthen both book's sales. I agreed with this even though it meant waiting a full year at the time. This was back in 2007 when BB was signed. The BB was delayed because TS was completely enmeshed in other big releases and the upcoming Surrogates movie. So another year passed with no 3F. Yep, I was frustrated...especially when people kept asking for the book at shows and I was out of copies. Then BB was delayed again by TS as Chris (Staros) fell behind on the edits as he was almost full tilt on promoting The Surrogates.

But finally it has been announced that 3F's going to be back in print and I couldn't be happier. Brett and Chris are talking about possibly making it a hardcover this time with a cover reboot--just a slight modification, though, as they both love the panoramic painted cover image on the original.

So keep your little eyes peeled for that true believers! I'll be pimpin' all my wares at this year's cons.

In other great news...

Thrilled to report that my buddy, Big Tim Lyons' family, raised $10,000 last week to aide in their son Ben's recovery from the devastating injuries he suffered while serving our country in Afghanistan this past summer. They had a spaghetti dinner in our hometown of Menomonee Falls, WI and over 250 people showed up along with a slew of media types! They had the dinner, a silent auction, bake sale and all kinds of fun for all while raising an extraordinary amount for Ben.

My faith in humanity has been temporarily restored so I'll save my rants (and trust me I've got a doozey!) for the next blog.

I shall end on that positive note.

Word.

r

Hey kids, Hope you all have a safe and happy Halloween! I've enclosed a brand spankin' new image I think appropriate for this festive day. Hope you all dig. It will be the cover art for what I hope turns into and upcoming graphic novel starring my 3 boys (The 3 Geeks for those who don't know. And if you don't get yerself edumicated right now). At the very least I'm thinking posters and greeting cards. Whattaya think?

In other news...

Finally got the chance to see my buddy Rob Venditti's movie The Surrogates the other night and was so very, very proud of my little 'Berto. Although I will agree with several reviewers comments that it could have been 20 minutes or so longer to better develop some aspects of the story, overall I found myself enjoying the film very much. Personally knowing Rob ('Berto) I'm so happy for his success as he's truly one of the nicest people in the comics biz. So get out there and get a copy of his Surrogates graphic novels. I also read his sequel "Flesh And Blood" and liked it even more than the original! So I wholeheartedly endorse the books.

In other news...

Just painted a new image for the upcoming (YES! It's true) BB WOLF AND THE THREE L.P.S graphic novel we've got coming out from Top Shelf in 2010. It's officially been slated for a May release now and we're just putting the finishing touches on the cover. So keep your eyes peeled for the solicitations. Of course I will keep you all posted right here at this very site! Promise.

In other news...

Stella and mom & dad are off to trick-or-treat soon. It's so nice going out in 65 degree weather as opposed to having to wear our winter coats and hats. Stella is Cleopatra this year and Sandy and I managed to cobble together costumes from Stella's old costumes! I will be a skunk and Sandy a witch. And aside from the costumes actually working and looking good the best part is that it costs us zero! We went to the local costume shop and the idea of shelling out 100 bucks for a couple of craptastic costumes we'd only wear once or twice just rubbed me the wrong way. My inner thighs are still chaffed from the thought.

So look for a 6 foot skunk prowling your neighborhoods tonight! And stay away from his tail cuz he had beans for lunch.

Word.

R

Hey kids,

It's up! And it looks fantastic! No ya pervs, not that...the official BB WOLF & THE 3 L.P.S website! http://www.bbwolfandthethreelps.com/ Writer and good pal, J.D. Arnold and his good pal and business partner, Troy Geddes, have assembled a wonderful website all about our upcoming book. Yes, the book's release date nears...finally! All the edits have been made, a NEW page added and my good pal, CJ Bettin, is making all the necessary edits as I write this. Then Top Shelf gets the book in their schedule and we'll set the official release date.

Meantime check out the website for all kinds of cool stuff--additional character info, contests, sneak peeks at art and story, a whole lotta cool stuff!

Man, I'm using a lot of exclamation points in this blog!

And here's another peek at some BB art for you as a teaser.

Again, here's the new site's address... http://www.bbwolfandthethreelps.com/

I've also added the link on my website. Thanks for your interest and support.

Word!

R!!

Good evening, I'm delighted to announce that the official, super-limited, signed and numbered, officially graded CGC slabbed copies of THE 3 GEEKS: SLAB MADNESS are now available on the website! All three issues and the Baltimore Exclusive issue are available and I did super-limited "Signature Series" of these issues of only 10 copies each and 5 of the Baltimore Edition! They're super exclusive and super cheap so check them out on the site and grab 'em while they last.

In other news...My daughter Stella is in the thick of a wonderful fundraising event at her new school, Valencia Elementary. The school is selling raffle tickets for $5 each or a booklet of 6 for $25 for a brand new 2010 Toyota Prius Hybrid or $25,000.00 cash!!! Much better than selling crummy Mr. Z's pizzas! In addition to the top prizes mentioned above there will also be 100 other fantastic prizes donated by local merchants. From what I've been told this is a HUGE event every year here and the other prizes are all pretty fantastic as well. If anyone out there wants to purchase some tickets write me through the site and I'll arrange to get you some. I can take PayPal payments. And ALL profits go directly to the school for academics, art and physical education. A great cause and a chance to win some BIG BUCKS!!!

Heck, anyone who orders any tickets...I'll throw in an extra goodie for you! A comic, or a sketch, maybe a t-shirt!...So it's an automatic win already!

All orders must be in before October 14th and the drawing is October 25th down at the world famous Boardwalk in Santa Cruz.

In other news...Took Stella to see "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" today and it was a very pleasant surprise! Very clever, excellent animation, and a goodly amount of belly laughs. I would recommend this one giving it a very solid B+.

"PONYO" on the other hand?...Not. V-e-r-y s-l-o-w and very weird. Maybe it's a Japanese "film style" thing but there were so many scenes where absolutely nothing happened or they showed two characters walking for several minutes or doing some other inane thing for lengthy periods of time. Scenes that should have been a fraction as long to speed up the story--of which there was very little. And the spontaneous, maniacal laughs and facial gestures?... another Japanese style thing I guess. No laughs and a lot of yawns in the audience. Literally. When you can actually hear someone five rows in front of you yawning it's not good. And a big part of the boredom was due to the utter lack of a soundtrack or even sound effects of any kind. Not only was it painfully slow but it was painfully quiet. I know all the critics gave this one big thumbs ups and I'm baffled. My only guess is that they were all giving the creator a "lifelong achievement" reward for past works when they handed out their grades. My grade, the HONEST grade...D.

Other than that I'm going to be at the Alternative Press Expo (APE) October 17th & 18th in San Francisco so make sure to get out for that one. Deals aplenty will be there for your taking!

Thassit for now.

R

Imagine my surprise today when a package arrived from Marvel Comics and I could immediately tell it was a bit too small to have comics inside and much too large to be an envelope with a big fat check inside (more on that later!). So I wondered what the heck it could be as I tore open the box...(BTW, the box went to our old address and then our tenant forwarded it to us here in CA--this took about 2 1/2 weeks--this little detail bears fruit in the "P.S." portion of the blog at the bottom of the page. Read on...)

Here's what I found...

"EIO and SAMHSA

present this PRISM COMMENDATION to Weapon Omega

In recognition of an outstanding contribution that demonstrates the entertainment industry's sincere efforts to accurately depict drug, alcohol and tobacco use and addiction or mental health in a comic book storyline or graphic novel.

April 23, 2009

Brian L. Dyak President & CEO Entertainment Industries Council, Inc.

Eric B. Broderick, D.D.S., M. P.H., Assistant Surgeon General Acting Administator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration"

How cool is that?! I/we got a plaque/commendation for the Weapon Omega series! Completely taken off-guard, was I! Flabbergasted and flattered. Pretty darned proud.

Yep, it's going up on the wall, true believers! And it's going right to the top of the ole resume!

I gotta stop now, the tears are making the screen blurry.

Word,

R

P.S. Regarding the "more on that later" thing...By COMPLETE coincidence I also got a royalty check from Marvel today for the Weapon Omega Trade Paperback! How COOL is that??!! For one brief moment the stars aligned for me. And, no, before anyone gets too excited I won't be buying a Mercedes Benz anytime soon. It wasn't a Bendis royalty check.

Hey kids,

THE SHROUD OF ALLEN T-Shirts are finally here--hot off the presses! Just picked them up today. Some of you have been asking about their availability and I'm sorry for the delay but good pal, CJ Bettin, who sometimes helps on the design aspects of my books is also my t-shirt guy and he was just plain swamped at work and couldn't get to them earlier. Yep, I worked the "Buddy" angle so I was more than willing to be patient as he worked me a great deal. And because of that I can now offer the Tees at a reduced price!!! YES! Instead of the $16.95 I had them at in the comics I can now drop the price to an even $15 and that includes S&H.

Aha, cuz I love you all that much.

AND!...I've also worked up a "SLAB MADNESS Super Pack." Yessiree! In this pack I have all three issues of the Slab Madness mini-series, the Shroud Of Allen t-shirt, and a one-of-a-kind original 6"x6" ink-wash illustration of Allen, Jim or Keith (randomly selected)! All for the super price of $40!!! The comics and the original piece will be autographed and the S&H is included.

The t-shirts turned out very nice. CJ did a great job. The shirt is a natural tan color and the Image of Allen and "The Chosen One...He Who Grades!" lettering are both a dark brown that nicely compliments the color of the shirt.

Check out the site for the ordering info.

Also...

Just booked my flight for the awesome San Diego Comic-Con International. I'll be appearing in Artists Alley again this year and sketching my buttocks off.

And don't forget if you're in the San Jose area that I'll also be appearing at the SUPER-CON May 16&17.

Word.

R

Well...not exactly. YET! But check this out!...

My good buddy over at Archie Comics, Rik Offenberger, sent me an email last night with the subject header reading..."Saw your trailer on YouTube." Naturally I was puzzled as I am unaware of any trailers on YouTube. I thought he must have come across an old interview or something with me in it. So I open his email and it says simply...

"Cool trailer, any idea what is says in English?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOvHKRK-pn0

Okay, now I'm really puzzled and proceed to clicking on the address.

WOW! I had no idea what the heck any of it said but it was pretty cool. But midway through I must confess I was wondering who the hell made this thing. I thought maybe some ambitious fan. No clue. Then it ended and I saw the name Gal Editora with an email address and phone number and it clicked! I'd almost completely forgotten that I signed a foreign publishing deal with a Brazilian publisher last Spring. So 2+2 come together and I realize it must be them. So I email them and let them know I really dug the trailer and ask what the status on the Brazilian version of Three Fingers is? Is it out already? To my surprise they write me back immediately and let me know that the book's going to print this week! Cool. And they'll be sending me copies out right away. Very cool.

Here is the incredibly long url for the publisher if you want to check out their site. This is the english translated version. Cuz I care...

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://hqmaniacs.uol.com.br/principal.asp%3Facao%3Dnoticias%26cod_noticia%3D20227&ei=Fh33ScywB4qgMrn10MAP&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=2&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dtres%2Bdedos%2Bgal%2Beditora%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us

Interestingly, i was JUST talking with Sandy about putting a trailer like this together for promotional purposes a couple months back.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and hope that some of you might even be able to actually read it. I'll get to work on the english version asap!

Word.

R

Howdy Folks!

I am pleased to announce that issue #3 of 3 in the latest 3 GEEKS mini-series is now available! It'll hit stores this week or next (not completely sure which) and is available NOW @ $2.99 each through the website. I am also going to offer you a discounted 3 pack for $8 S&H included. The "SHROUD OF ALLEN" t-shirts are also available this week. I'll post an image as soon as possible on those but they are available for ordering @ $16.95 each and come in M, L, XL and XXL sizes. They are a light tan (natural) shirt with dark brown silkscreening.

Response was very good on this latest 3 GEEKS installment. Thanks to all for your continued support!

In other news...

BB WOLF AND THE THREE L.P.S is done and just waiting for Top Shelf to announce a release date. Many of their planned 2009 releases have been pushed back until 2010 because of the sagging economy. Sadly, it looks as if that'll be the case with BB WOLF. A lot of people have been asking for updates, wondering if the book is done or not, so there it is. Me and Johnnie are completely bummed about the delay but understand the economics of the decision.

In other news...

I will be attending the "Super-Con" in San Jose next month, May 16-17th. If you're in the San Jose area make sure and check out the con. I hear great things about it.

Other shows I'll be attending this year are COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL; WIZARDWORLD CHICAGO; MINNESOTA FALLCON and other possible cons will be BALTIMORE COMIC-CON and the second WINDY CITY CON which was the best single day con I ever attended last year--and it was the con's first year which made that fact all the more impressive.

In other news...

Am recovering from hernia surgery this week. Lots of fun. Couple months ago I had a quick, jarring slip on the ice while chucking some garbage. Felt a sharp pain in my groin. Weeks went by with no improvement so I googled WebMD and self-diagnosed myself with a sports hernia. Made an appointment with one of the world's best hernia surgeons who happens to have an office a mere mile from my house! How fortuitous! He diagnosed the hernia in about 46 seconds! And let me tell you that I've never been happier with bad news in my life! Let me explain...

10+ years ago I was in the midst of another grueling deer season at my dad's grocery store. There he does custom processing of wild game, i.e. deer, moose, bear, turkey, etc. Deer season is HUGE here in Wisconsin and we do a very brisk business processing deer every year. I am (was) the main skinner. Still hold the record for skinning the most deer in an hour (13) and the most in a season (386). And this was back when everything was done by hand, no winches. Not bragging, just stating a fact and laying the groundwork for the idiocy that follows. It was one deer season where we were skinning away, knee-deep in corpses and flowing male testosterone that a challenge was made. A friend asked if I thought I could military press another friend. Said friend being Craig Ploetz who weighed in at about 180 pounds. I accepted as I was pumped up with the aforementioned testosterone and an abundance of confidence. And so I grabbed Craig under the armpits, bent slightly at the knees, and hoisted Craig up into the air triumphantly!

The sharp, hot, searing feeling in my lower belly that accompanied the successful lift was unexpected.

A few months went by and the pain subsided.

A few years later it was still there. A low, dull ache in my lower abdomen. So I went to the doctor.

Doctor ran the traditional hernia tests and came up with nothing. Alrighty then.

Couple more years pass and the pain persists. So I make another appointment. Does the same test for a hernia. Nothing. I voice my concerns about cancer. He orders a battery of tests with the Urologists and whatever they call the doctors who make you drink that horrible Barium liquid and then surprise you in the "Barium drinking room" with the little tidbit about having to also insert the barium into your rectum so they can get as thorough a catscan as possible of your entire lower abdomen area. "Wha...?" Insert what where?" was the reaction I believe I gave.

Let me tell you when they stick that little tube into you and then tell you to take a deep breath and expect to feel a bit of pressure...let me tell you it's not as fun as one would hope.

Anyway, after running to the bathroom after that ordeal, then driving home as fast as I could to run to the bathroom at home then returning to same bathroom 20 more times that day, I didn't care what the results were at that point I just wanted to have solid feces again.

Anyway, no hernia, no prostate issues and no cancer. All good news. Except that I still had this undiagnosed pain.

Couple more years go by and I'm moving a couch up a flight of stairs. Same hot flash in the same spot.

Shit.

Wait a few weeks. Call the doctor. Run some tests. Nothing.

Fast forward to present day. I tell my surgeon all of this and, apparently, I had the original tear/hernia, but it healed over enough to avoid detection. Then it happened again same way. Result, the discomfort I felt for the past 10 years. And then I gave her a GOOD one and really ripped open a hole. And it was probably more severe because of the previous 2 tears.

SO hopefully now we've got it repaired and the 10+ year pain will go away.

It was an exciting week. Bathroom trips being the most challenging. The Oxycodone was a good time though. Except the rainy night where I kept waking up thinking/hallucinating that a murderer was creeping around in the room with me. That kind of sucked.

A'ight. That's it for now. Keep it real and stay off the icy patches.

Word.

R