Tag: comics

Boy’s Book of Positive Quototions

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Hi all! This book is available on the shelves now and on Amazon.com, and it’s a fantastic gift item for the upcoming Christmas season – the “Boy’s Book of Positive Quotations”, written by Steve Deger and illustrated by Yours Truly. As the title suggests, it’s a book of uplifting quotations, perfect for young boys (but just about anybody), with 33 short self-contained comics interspersed throughout.

 

It’s a 4″ x 6″ bound hardcover book and a super cute gift item, and available from typical bookstores and also Wal-mart. I worked on this from January till May this year, and now that it’s finally on the market with a trailer of awesomeness *points down* that I get to urge you all to get a copy of this book. It’s part of a best-selling inspirational book series, and the first one to have comic inserts – certainly this can only be a good thing for everyone. Watch the trailer down below for all the relevant info, and visit Jazma Online’s interview with Steve Deger and me.

 

 

Some random quotes from the book (and this is a thick book):

 

A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle
– Benjamin Franklin, Inventor, statesman and US founding father

 

Any life truly lived is a risky business, and if one puts up too many fences against the risks one ends by shutting out life itself
– Kenneth S. Davis, Historian

 

Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn’t mean he lacks vision
– Stevie Wonder, Award-winning blind singer and song-writer

 

Below are some bios of the people involved in making the video trailer. Considering how awesome the trailer is, by all means check out their websites and their other works! Oh, as for me, I’m finishing the last 1/3 of “Odd Is On Our Side”. Definitely better than the first book, it is!

 
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Steve Deger is a bestselling inspirational author. He is the co-creator of the Positive Quotation series, which has sold more than half a million copies and spent more than two years on the U.S. bestseller charts for reference, self-help, and young adult nonfiction. He is the book publisher at Fairview Press, whose authors have been featured on Oprah, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Today show, and in hundreds of other media outlets. Steve lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Information on the Boy’s Book of Positive Quotations can be found at http://www.fairviewpress.org/
 
 
Lindsey Testolin is a New York filmmaker whose work has been screened or featured in venues such as the Sundance Film Festival, the Vienna Independent Short Films Festival, the Melbourne International Animation Festival and the New Zealand Film Festival. She won two Telly Awards for her direction of Dan Pink’s book trailer “The Adventures of Johnny Bunko”, which featured manga artwork by Rob Ten Pas, who won the Grand Prize Award in TokyoPop’s Rising Stars of Manga competition. Visit Lindsey’s website at http://www.lindseytestolin.com/ .

 
 

The Blind Shake is a punk/fuzz rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Brothers Jim and Mike Blaha—along with Dave Roper—started The Blind Shake and released their first recording in 2004. They have gone on to release two full length albums and a handful of 7″ records with Indie label Learning Curve Records. In 2009, they released a split album called “Cold Town/Soft Zodiac” with noise rock icon Michael Yonkers, whose 1968 album “Microminiature Love” was re-released in 2003 by Seattle’s legendary SubPop records . Visit their website at www.theblindshake.com or hear an archived public radio interview and studio session at: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/08/03/the_blind_shake/ .

The Sound of Scents: Forget-Me-Not

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Hi all, finally some time for the updates in my life!

Firstly, I’m halfway through the “In Odd We Trust” sequel, called “Odd Is On Our Side”. It’s still going to be out just before Halloween in 2010, so there’s little point in talking about it now, when it’s not even Halloween 2009. I’ve also finished a series of short one-shots (in May) for a book called “Boy’s Book of Positive Quotations”, which is exactly as it says – a book of positive quotations. It’s not yet out on the shelves as far as I know, but I’ll post something up when it is.

Yen Plus Anthology: What’s really post-worthy is that I have a 33-page short story called “Forget-Me-Not” coming up in the July edition of Yen Plus, the manga anthology from Yen Press. It’s a story set in Mythical Ancient China, and concerns the adventures of a “Scent Merchant”. To find out what that is, read the story! It should be out in stores this month.

Here are the first 2 pages of the story, and some concept art of the “Scent Merchant” himself.

 

Forget-Me-Not - Page 1
 

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Forget-Me-Not - Page 2
 

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Scent Merchant
 

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Scent Merchant - Full
 

This story was finished way back in January, with the creative process having started in September 2008. I guess most people might have guessed by now – this means that the Yen Plus anthology is accepting short story submissions, of about 30 pages in length, and has been planning to for some time. Buy the July issue to find out more!

 

In Odd We Trust

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San Diego Comic-Con: I had a great time at the SDCC this year. It was wonderful finally meeting my agent Judy in person, as well as Dallas, Betsy and all the other fine folks at Del Rey manga. I also got a chance to say hi to Kurt and JuYoun of Yen Press, and pick up a copy of the highly-coveted anthology Yen+. Other than that, I hung out with Svetlana, Dee, Myung, Tacto and Hope (various Wirepop and ex-TOKYOPOP people), and made some good friends.

I also got a chance to have breakfast with Dean Koontz and the Del Rey people, and got to take some photos too. Since Dean was going to his panel at SDCC later on, we all got to ride in a stretch limo and hang out in backstage where the Simpsons/Futurama people were. Which makes it the perfect time to talk about In Odd We Trust, my manga collaboration with Dean which came out in June 2008, published by Del Rey.

 

Group photo with Dean Koontz

From left-to-right: Betsy (editor), Nancy (Dean’s agent), Dean, me, Dallas (publisher)

 

What is In Odd We Trust?
It’s a 180-page single-volume graphic novel, drawn by me and co-written with Dean Koontz. It is NOT an adaptation, but a prequel to Dean’s most-popular series, Odd Thomas. Six prose novels have been planned, with the fourth one, Odd Hours, having just gone on sale.

The story is about a humble psychic fry-cook by the name of Odd Thomas. He can see dead people, and takes a proactive approach by helping them into the afterlife, be it by catching their killers or just keeping them company. In Odd We Trust takes place when Odd is 19, and involves Odd trying to catch the killer of a little boy ghost. Being a single-volume manga, it’s much shorter than an average Odd Thomas novel, but is meant to be a good introduction to the world and the characters.

You can buy it online at Amazon.com, or just about any bookstore that sells Dean Koontz books.

 

In Odd We Trust

 

How is the book selling?
Thanks to the Del Rey team, quite well. When it first came out in the last week of June, it was the #1 graphic novel of the week. It also hit the Publishers Weekly comics bestseller list for the month of July, which means it’s been selling well at bookstores across the U.S.

It was the only OEL manga on the list, but people seem split on how to classify it. Borders categorises it as a manga, while Barnes and Noble lists it as a graphic novel. (It is also one of Del Rey’s best online-sellers, on Amazon.com.) Either way, thanks to consolidated lists, we now know it’s selling in the Top 10.

 

Is a movie being planned?
Interestingly, yes. I mentioned earlier in an interview with Publishers Weekly that I didn’t think Dean was interested in movies, but it turns out I was completely wrong. Dean is actually very interested in adaptations of his work, and all along, it was just a matter of finding the right agent/s to get these projects rolling. As of now, there is nothing promised, but it seems that an Odd Thomas movie is under discussion.

 

How did I get this job?
I was chosen by Dallas Middaugh, the publisher of Del Rey. I knew Dallas from email exchanges, and by the time he contacted me, Dean has already seen my work and liked it (I’m assuming he read The Dreaming, though I’m not sure). I was a fan of Dean Koontz when I was in high school, so it was a nostalgia trip to be sent the first two Odd Thomas novels, though I could see it was a very different kind of story to what he is known for. Anyway, I liked the books a lot, and it all went on from there.

 

Why do a manga?
The aim of the book was to introduce Dean Koontz to teens and young readers – hence why manga was chosen. “Odd Thomas” was unlike Dean’s other series, in that it’s less scary/graphic/gory, and is appropriate for a younger audience.

 

What was it like working with Dean?
Dean was surprisingly easy to work with, and the whole collaboration process went without a hitch. Having now met him in person, I can say that Dean is a really nice guy – personable and funny.

 

What am I doing next?
I’m open to another Odd Thomas graphic novel, but of course that’s all up to Dean and whether he wants to do another. Since the book’s been doing quite well, anything’s possible. In the meantime, I’ve given a story called Soul Shaper to my agent Judy to pitch, and it’s a departure from my published work so far, being an action-adventure-drama-romance story. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for this (please wish me luck). And as usual, there’s the usual side projects that I always have, and so on.

 

Reviews/Interviews:

Lucid Walking: The Dreaming Writing Competition Entries

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Folks, I’ll be attending GenCon in Brisbane from the 4th to 7th July. Enthusiasts, see you there!

 

In Odd We Trust: Is out in bookstores and Amazon, and has been since the 24th June. The book has gone back to print due to requests from Amazon, Borders and Barnes and Noble, so that’s probably a good sign (cue baffled reactions from Koontz fans who can’t grasp the idea of a “comic”). I also have a Publishers Weekly interview with Brigid of Mangablog in regards to the book. Thanks to Brigid and Publishers Weekly.

 

The Dreaming Writing Competition: TOKYOPOP finally announced the winners last Friday, and now I get the honour of posting all winning entries up for everyone to enjoy. I’m cross-posting the content of the TOKYOPOP announcement post, complete with comments and all.

 

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  • First Prize: The Sketch Album by Conda V. Douglas, Boise, Idaho
    Comments: I awarded this because it gave me the creeps—an admirable achievement considering I wrote the story that it’s based on! It’s a fantastic idea, and executed quite well. The other stories were also very good, but I had to give this one the top prize because of the ‘creep’ factor, which I think is crucial because The Dreaming is a horror story after all.
  • Second Prize: An End by by Chelsea M. Smith (18), Woodlands, Texas
    Comments: This was probably my favourite one in terms of writing style—I think it has the best writing out of all the entries (my personal opinion, and I’m biased). I also like the interpretation of Amber’s ‘state of being’ too. I only wish the reader was told the content of the paintings that Amber had in the suitcase—that is my only complaint (because I wanna know badly!)
  • Third Prize: Retrospect by by Xandria L. Johnson (14), Ocala, Florida
    Comments: I liked how this one took the perspective of Miss Anu—it does a pretty good job of exploring her as a character. I loved the way the story ended. It also mentioned some things about the art I never noticed myself, despite having drawn the book!

 

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And here are some of the wonderful honourable mentions:

 

  • The Coffin by Elizabeth Napoletano (26), Cicero, Illinois
  • Records Keeper by Allegra Condiotte
  • The Cost of Living by Sarah Lamb (28), Houston, Texas
  • Walking in the Dreaming by Jasel Cantu (26), Lincoln, Nebraska

 

Thank you to everyone who entered this writing competition. Your entries were all so very fantastic, and I hope you all continue writing. It’s certainly inspired me to attempt writing prose again.

If anyone else has an entry they’d like to be posted up here, please post your email address in the comments, and I’ll contact you to get a digital copy of your story. I think we’ll all love to read the stories – I for one am darn curious about the stories that didn’t quite make “the cut”.

All 6 finalists, please post your email address (again) in the comments, or email me to organise the prizes. I’d like your mailing addresses for sending the prizes to. I’ll be giving out copies of the new “In Odd We Trust” book, and original art from “In Odd We Trust” for the top 3 winners (unless you don’t want art from that, please let me know).