From Here To Eternity

By Blair Marnell

Welcome back to another edition of ATR.

This is my third week in a row with limited computer access… And it really sucks. I don’t even have an estimate from the data retrieval company yet. To top off the week, there’s a massive immigration protest tomorrow, right in front of my office building. That should make getting in and out quite an adventure…

The Power Can Be Yours

It seems like it’s been forever since CrossGen was around, but I think most of you will remember this:



That was the cover for American Power, CrossGen’s intended contribution for the 2004 Free Comic Book Day. Of course, it never actually came out and CG folded later in the year. Last I heard of it, John Taddeo had the rights to it but nothing seems to have been done with it… until now.

Earlier this week on his website, Chuck Dixon made the following announcement:
    I’ve decided to offer, via download, the scripts for the two issues of American Power that I wrote for CrossGen.

    This is the comic that, sight-unseen, caused such deliberation and condemnation in the comics community. Now you’ll have an opportunity to see for yourself what the fuss was all about.

    How can you get them? There’s only one way.

    Use this link to go to booksforsoldiers.com and make a donation to this fine effort that supplies our fighting men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan with books, CDs and DVDS of their choosing for free.

    http://booksforsoldiers.com/

    Scroll to the bottom of the page and make a donation in any amount to them via Paypal.

    THEN, forward the e-mail confirmation of your donation to: dixonverse@yahoo.com

    You will then be emailed in return a Word file containing the two completed scripts for both the Free Comic Book Day edition of American Power (a full script for 22 pages of comics) as well as the intended script for what was to be American Power #1. Included in this file will be scans (from the original art) of both covers and several, completed, interior pages. This material has only ever been seen by a few CrossGen staff members and now it can be yours to inspect…

    Books For Soldiers is an all-volunteer, charitable organization that basically provides a FREE service to our soldiers on the frontlines of the War on Terror. It allows them to order the same books, CDs and DVDs that you can order right now for FREE. These provide hours of entertainment to break up the tedium or juts take away the loneliness or homesickness for a little while. Like all media product in these combat zones, these paperbacks, comics, movies and music will be shared by countless troops. I highly endorse this charity and its work. I have collected money for it at conventions and store appearances and always found comic fans to be more than generous. We can ALL relate to being stuck somewhere with lots of time to kill and nothing to read, right?

    And please, this is an honor thing, don’t share the download. Anyone who wants it can have it for ANY level of donation. Tell your friends but keep the file to yourself.

    Thanks in advance from me and our fightin’ folks!
This Has A “Fighting American” Factor of Seven Out of Ten

Manapul Watch

It seems that rumors linking Francis Manapul (Necromancer) to DC were not as definite as they first appeared. The latest I’ve heard is that Manapul is in discussions with both Marvel and DC, but that nothing is settled yet.

However it does appear that Manapul will be one of the artists on Iron & The Maiden, a creator owned book by Jason Rubin (Crash Bandicoot), which was first mentioned here last month. Other rumors indicate that Manapul will also be working on a 96 page OGN for a European publisher…

This Has A “Steel Blades” Factor of Six Out of Ten

In The Garden of Eden, Honey…

One of our ATR Agents in the retail sector sent along this scan from Viper Comics Presents for next weekend’s Free Comic Book Day:



Apparently, Eve will be Josh Howard’s new project in conjunction with his upcoming Dead@17 ongoing series. Last I heard the plan was that Dead@17 would start out on a monthly basis, and then move to bi-monthly once Eve starts up. So Howard would still be doing one book a month while alternating between the two books.

This Has A “Don't You Know That I Lo-ove Yo-ou?” Factor of Eight Out of Ten

Hollywood Dick

Over at the Image blog, B. Clay Moore has announced that final issue of Hawaiian Dick: The Last Resort finally finished.




However, I’ve also heard that Moore is now working on an ongoing Hawaiian Dick book. Scott Chantler (Northwest Passage) is said to be the artist for the first story arc. Moore will writing the lead story and stand alone back-up stories, though Steven Griffin will still be involved in some capacity. Given the delays in the past, the plan seems to be to finish as much as possible before it comes out, hopefully to coincide with the movie. The ongoing series will probably start near the end of 2006.

This Has A “Back To The Beach” Factor of Nine Out of Ten

Expansion Is Inevitable

One of our ATR Agents has passed along some pages from Scott Lobdell and Dustin Nguyen’s forthcoming Wildstorm miniseries, Manifest Eternity.




As you might surmise from the pages, Manifest Eternity takes place in the far future. The premise has an “Earth-based empire of science attacked by an empire of magic.”

Or to put it another way, think Star Wars / Star Trek vs. Lord of the Rings. I really loved Nguyen’s art on The Authority: Revolution, so I’ve been looking forward to this for a while. I believe the first issue comes out in June.





This Has A “Different Destinies” Factor of Ten Out of Ten

Off The Mark

A late rumor came in this week alleging that some creators are looking to leave Markosia, while also claiming that they are owed money and openly questioning the future of the company…

While looking into the rumor, I contacted Chuck Satterlee, Markosia’s Director of Operations, who sent the following response:
    I will address your inquiry in three parts.

    1. Are creators owed money that have not yet been paid?

      Yep. Markosia will probably always owe money to people who create comics for us in one capacity or another. We have invoices sitting in the offices in the UK that have either just come due or are about to. Those creators will/have been paid. Any invoices that come due this week will be paid as well and so on and so forth. That is simply how business is done. If you were alluding to a possible mismanagement of funds and a deliberate lack of payment to any creator owed money on Markosia's behalf... you would be absolutely off base.

    2. There is a rumor that some creators are leaving Markosia because they are unhappy or have not yet been paid for work completed.

      This is the first I have heard of it. As I understand this rumor, you were contacted by a publisher who stated that they had been approached by a few creators who were unhappy. I can't answer that. I am surprised to hear of this, but it makes sense. Anytime there is change in a company, you're going to get unhappy people. I can certainly say that some creators have already been contacted and that some creators have yet to be contacted. Because I have not yet contacted everyone and they deserve to hear this from me personally and not through a website, I will refrain from the specifics of the changes. That is a press release for another time...like a week from now.

      Basically, as Director of Operations and a creator who was pretty much responsible for recruiting most of the titles at Markosia, I am the guy in charge of relations with these creators. Markosia has just signed a deal to bring in a new silent partner. This new partner has arranged to invest a large, very large sum of money. That is done. This is not a wish list of what we hope is going to happen. This is real and has happened. This means that we have secured the future of Markosia for at least the next year or two. However, when new people come to charge in a company, there will always be changes. Anyone who has ever dealt with a merger or an acquisition has dealt with this. It is the nature of the beast. So, the new guy has taken a close look at everything and decided that there are some changes that have to take place in order for Markosia to have a solid financial future. So, essentially, we have gone from one of the more generous creator/owner deals in small press comics, to a deal a little less generous, yet still heads and tails more generous than some others out there.

      I wish I could give you specifics, but again, that is for our press release next week, after we have contacted everyone at Markosia. Just in case anyone is wondering...yes there is still a mandatory ancillary rights deal...just as before. At the time of this letter, I know of only one creator leaving Markosia...and that is by our choice and due to irreconcilable differences. This creator was involved at Markosia before the current arrangements.

    3. You also said that there is a rumor that we are going out of business.

      You got me. I haven't heard this one yet. It would be quite a shock to my wife, who agreed to move our family from the Midwest out East so that I can begin working for Markosia in my new position. What I am saying here is that, if anything, we have secured our future. Markosia paid for me to come out East and they have paid me at every stage, just like they have paid everyone else. They treat creators with respect and they always tell the truth. These rumors came out of Markosia's desire to tell the creators the truth. If a creator is going off the deep end because they are unhappy, that is their right. We would never...ever keep a person at Markosia that doesn't want to be there. I can say without reservation that Markosia will be around for the foreseeable future.


    In closing, Blair...I think the more interesting rumors regarding Markosia should be the rumor that Markosia is on the verge of signing a deal with a major video game company. I would be more interested in the rumor that Markosia is signing and has signed some very interesting deals to adapt some best selling books into comic form. I would be more interested in hearing how Diamond has chosen to give four spotlights to Markosia product in Previews right now. I would also be interested in knowing that one book from Markosia has received a certified cool in Diamond this month. I would be asking to see preview art for Phil Hester's upcoming projects...or Brian Augustyn's new book. I would be excited to talk about the recent extreme success of titles like Starship Troopers. I would be asking to see art from awesome artists like Ryan Stegman and Norm Breyfogle. I would be wondering what The Hunger guys are up to as they solicit a 200 + page trade paperback encompassing eight full issues of their fantastic book.

    Thanks for giving me the opportunity to address these baseless and ridiculous rumors.

    Best Regards,
    Chuck Satterlee
This Has A “Money Matters” Factor of One Out of Ten

The World On His Shoulders

Leonard Kirk updated his blog yesterday and confirmed that he has signed an exclusive deal with Marvel. He also elaborated on what he will be working on in the near future:
    I’m already lined up for a couple of projects. I’ve finished my first issue on one and have started my first issue on the other. I’m not sure if I have “clearance” to mention the first project so I will only bring up the second, Agents of Atlas!

    Way back in the bygone age of the dinosaur (the 1950’s) Marvel Comics used to go by the name, ATLAS. Atlas had a whole slew of characters and a handful of them were revived in the 1970’s (around the time man started walking upright) in an issue of What If? They were assembled together as the 1950’s Avengers. This group included characters like Gorilla Man, the Human Robot and Venus. Agents of Atlas picks up from there and reassembles the team in the present day. This ain’t a retcon. The series literally picks up almost fifty years after their last adventure. Some of the gang are older and wiser. A couple of them are just older and one of them is kind of nutty. I won’t say who the nutty one is but, if you picked up the Wizard summer special this past week, you’ll find a two-page preview that includes some of my character sketches.
My guess for the “nutty” one? This guy…



That costume is clearly from a mind that’s not well…

This Has A “Where’s Triathlon?” Factor of Seven Out of Ten

Twice Upon A Time In The West

A few ATR readers wrote in last week to mention that only one of the Black Rider pages by Marshall Rogers was actually showing up in the column. Well, we tried to fix that but ran into a few problems. But we’ve got a few more pages to show this week…




While we’re back on Marvel’s Western event, here’s a few pages from Dan Slott and Eduardo Barreto’s Two-Gun Kid one-shot, which I hear ties into Slott’s She-Hulk series somehow…




This Has A “Paint Your Wagons” Factor of Eight Out of Ten

Flaming Carrot Forever!

Joe Prutt wrote in this week with an update on Bob Burden’s condition:
    Bob Burden is now out of ICU (where he spent a week after emergency surgery), but is still in the hospital for another couple of weeks probably. His surgery was life-threatening and he almost died. It appears that he'll be out of commission for a number of months. Any warm wishes can be sent to:

    Bob Burden Best Wishes,
    c/o Desperado Publishing
    51 South Peacthree Street, Suite 8
    Norcross, GA 30071

Alright, we’re done. Now I’ve got to get ready for the riot…

Later,
Blair

PS If anyone has any rumors, stories or news to share, please email me at blairm@silverbulletcomicbooks.com. Thanks to everyone who has been sending stuff in. It’s greatly appreciated.