My ECBACC Weekend

All,

So in a few hours I’ll be heading off to Philadelphia for the weekend to attend the East Coast Black Age of Comics convention. The Glyph Awards will be presented later on tonight, and Miranda Mercury is nominated in four categories, so please wish us luck. I’m pretty sure I’ll also be presenting another award, and I’ll be on three panels tomorrow afternoon, when not manning my table and pushing copies of Miranda and Voltron onto everyone in sight. If you’ll be at the show as well, this is where you can find me, and for more information about the convention, please consult the official ECBACC website.

 

FRIDAY:          

 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Glyph Comics Awards [Award ceremony celebrating the works of people of color in the comic book and speculative fiction industry.]

Moderator/Facilitator:  Jamar Nicholas [Stick, Fist, Knife, Gun, Leon: Protector of The Playground, Detective Boogaloo]

 

SATURDAY:    

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM

Writer Panel [This panel lead by acclaimed author Alex Simmons and guests will discuss the unique subtleties between writing for books, film, and animation. As well as their personal experience within their professions]

Moderator/Facilitator: Alex Simmons [Comic Book Author: BlackJack, Acrhie, Color of Comics Founder]

 

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Editing & Creating Comic Books & Graphic Novels [This class will help to give participants a real look at the process of comic book creation from 5 real life professionals!]

Facilitator: Joe Illidge [Comic Book Author & Editor: Milestone, DC Entertainment, Verge TV]

 

4:15 PM – 5:30 PM

Our Images Panel [Welcome to ECBACC’s signature Panel and discussion session where we explore the reach and success of our mission to ennoble the image of Blacks in Science Fiction entertainment and storytelling as well as discuss necessary goals for the future!]

Moderator/Facilitator: W. Foster [Author & Comic Book Historian: The African American Comic Book Encyclopedia]

 

MIRANDA MERCURY GARNERS FOUR GLYPH AWARD NOMINATIONS!

The nominees for the 2012 Glyph Awards — honoring the best comics by and about African Americans, have been announced, and I’m excited to share the news that Miranda Mercury scored four mentions in the following categories- Story of the Year, Best Writer, Best Artist, and Best Female Character.

Congrats to our fellow nominees and my creative team as Miranda continues to build momentum months after the book’s release. More to come and our girl is in great company this year. Full list of nominations is below.

 

Story of the Year

The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury, Brandon Thomas, writer, Lee Ferguson, artist

“On Being Crazy” from African-American Classics: Graphic Classics Vol. 22, Tom Pumplun, writer, Kyle Baker, artist

Princeless, Jeremy Whitley, writer, Mia Goodwin, artist

Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man Volume 1, Brian Michael Bendis, writer, Sara Pichelli, artist

 

Best Writer

Brian Michael Bendis, Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man

Jeff Parker, Thunderbolts

Brandon Thomas, The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury

Jeremy Whitley, Princeless

 

Best Artist

Kyle Baker, “On Being Crazy” from African-American Classics: Graphic Classics Vol. 22

Lee Ferguson, The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury

Mia Goodwin, Princeless

Rob Guillory, Chew

Sara Pichelli, Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man

 

Best Male Character

Luke Cage, Thunderbolts, Jeff Parker, writer, Declan Shalvey & Kev Walker, artists; created by Archie Goodwin & John Romita Sr.

Miles Morales, Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, Brian Michael Bendis, writer, Sara Pichelli, artist; inspired by the character created by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko

Moses, Radio Free Amerika; created by B. Robert Bell, writer and penciller, Robert Jeffrey II, co-writer

Mr. Terrific, Mr. Terrific, Eric Wallace, writer, Gianluca Gugliotta & Wayne Faucher, artists; inspired by the character created by Charles Reizenstein and Everett E. Hibbard

 

Best Female Character

Adrienne, Princeless; created by Jeremy Whitley, writer, and Mia Goodwin, artist

Afroella, Afroella, created by Gemma Bedeau, writer, and Lee Fenton Wilkinson, artist

Miranda Mercury, The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury; created by Brandon Thomas, writer, and Lee Ferguson, artist

Vielle, Fungus Grotto, created by Ms. Shatia Hamilton, story and art

 

Rising Star Award

B. Robert Bell & Robert Jeffrey II, Radio Free Amerika

Ms. Shatia Hamilton, Fungus Grotto

Whit Taylor, Watermelon

 

Best Cover

Chew #27, Rob Guillory, illustrator

Deadpool Max #7, Kyle Baker, story and art

Mr. Terrific #1, JG Jones, artist, Lovern Kindzierski, colorist

Princeless #1, Mia Goodwin, illustrator

Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #4, Kaare Andrews, illustrator

 

Best Comic Strip or Webcomic

Fungus Grotto, Ms. Shatia Hamilton, story and art

Marty’s Diner, Dmitri Jackson, story and art

Café Con Leche, Charlos Gary, story and art

Help Nominate Miranda Mercury for a Hugo Award

So, I was contacted by a couple fans of the book who informed me that as a science-fiction book that released in 2011, The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury: Time Runs Out is eligible for a Hugo Award. The one presented for “Best Graphic Story” to be more precise. The Hugo Awards are presented annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works of the previous year, and will be awarded at the upcoming Worldcon in Chicago this summer.

The part where you all come in has to do with how books are nominated and then later voted on. There isn’t a small panel or committee that decides what appears on the final ballot, but a pool of a few thousand fans that attended the previous Worldcon in 2011, or have already purchased their memberships for the shows later this year and the one occurring next year, who are eligible to make nominations. So it is very possible that like me, you already know people that can nominate projects, without even realizing you do.

We need your assistance to cast a wider net and help spread the word about Miranda Mercury to as many eligible nominators as possible, wherever and whenever they may be. Please feel free to spread this link anywhere you think it would do some good, and direct them to the Miranda Mercury website, which contains a lot of information about the book, review clips, interviews, behind-the-scenes material, and even the first chapter and a half of the hardcover to read for free.

Oh yeah, and the nominations have to be in by March 11th, which is roughly nine days away. So it is something of a long-shot this late in the game, but even making a couple dozen more people aware of the book could make a huge difference. And come on, this is Miranda Mercury we’re talking about after all…impossible is kinda what she does…

Thanks all for the constant support these past several months, and more info when we have it…

Miranda Mercury Makes YALSA’s 2012 Great Graphic Novels for Teens List! (and more)

All,

Been a busy few weeks around Miranda Mercury Central, with the biggest news being the book’s recognition by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), placing on their 2012 Great Graphic Novels for Teens List. Huge, huge honor for the entire team, and a great way to kickstart the year. In addition, the book was spotlighted as “one of the best OGNs for 2011” by CBR’s Greg Burgas, and appears on Library Journal’s list of 25 Graphic Novels for Black History Month.

There is also another great review posted over at Comic Attack. Here’s a quick excerpt—

“Sci-fi was made for books like The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury, that take the medium to those fun and exciting places you remember as a kid. It’s a fantastic all ages read that has quite a few things that are rare in comics. An intelligent, black female lead that is written as a character first and drawn more normal than most females (of any race) in comics. This is yet another stellar title from Archaia, and I can’t wait to read more of Miranda Mercury’s adventures!”

Thanks to all the folks that have already picked up the book, and if you haven’t quite yet, no time like the present. More soon, and thanks again…

Miranda Mercury HC In Comic Stores Today!

Well yes, the book did debut a couple weeks back at San Diego, but now it’s time for the next phase of the journey—for everyone else to start getting their hands on it. Diamond has us scheduled to roll out all over the country this very afternoon and I’ve already gotten confirmation from a couple folks that this is no mere hoax, dream, or mass hallucination…the book is out there and there’s no turning back.

For those folks that didn’t already preorder a copy from your local LCS (and if you have no idea what that sentence even means this next piece is written especially for you) then you can find your local comics supplier using the handy Comic Shop Locator here. Make sure to call to confirm availability as some stores will have it and others might not have even heard of it. Call around and don’t hesitate to ask them to order the book for you if it’s not in stock, though most retailers will automatically offer to order it if they don’t have it. Ordering code is JUN11 0832, and if anyone has any problems, don’t hesitate to drop me a line at thefictionhouse@gmail.com.

Amazon, BN.com, etc. should have the book by the end of the month (couple of you have asked about this) but you know, why wait if you don’t have to 🙂

First review is also up from Marc Mason of Comics Waiting Room and it’s a good one. Check it out and thanks again for the support.

Ambidextrous 330- The Infinite Chill

I held it back as long as I could but that first twinge of genuine anxiousness hit me while I was standing at the luggage belt in the airport. Correction—while I was looking up at the little screen that was taking forever to actually tell me which belt the bags would be showing up at. A tiny piece of that anxiety was due to it being 3:30 already and my first signing scheduled for two hours later. With cabbing it to the hotel, checking in, and then heading over to the convention center to pick up badges, I had a bad feeling that I wouldn’t make it in time. Because that right there would be typical given our history working on this book. The larger piece, of course, was the realization that I was officially in San Diego now and a printed copy of Miranda Mercury was closer to me than it had ever been ever. And I couldn’t deny it…I was starting to flip out a little bit. Thinking of all the little things that could go wrong in the next two hours and somehow diminish the moment.

I told people (only somewhat jokingly) that once I got the book in my hands, I’d likely pass out from a combination of crushing exhaustion and overwhelming excitement, but I’m happy to report that no consciousness was lost at any time. What did follow though was a sense of euphoria and contentment that I later described to someone else as “the infinite chill,” a sense that really nothing else that happened after that was even remotely important. No perceived slights or minor mishaps were going to prevent me from feeling fucking good about the simple fact that the first volume of Miranda Mercury was here and it looked absolutely gorgeous.

The book’s cover (which I’d had some reservations about initially) came out fantastic with a cool spot varnish that was put on both Miranda herself and the logo, in addition to the nice wingtips on the inside dust jacket flaps. Archaia has a well deserved rep for publishing beautifully designed books and this one was no different. I’d seen several proofs of the book while it was being prepped for publication, but that was nothing compared to this.

Most importantly, there’s a particular sequence that I’ve been having nightmares about (and I’m dead serious) that printed exactly as planned. To say any more would ruin the surprise but seeing that everything came out right was an absolute relief and the precursor to the Kool-Aid grin I’m still wearing now a couple days later. The book is out now and exists in some semi-permanent form and nothing can change that. I instantly felt like I’d won some long fought battle and was ready for more. Seeing this first book put me at ease and sparked me at the same time cause this is only the first real step.

Knowing that my partner in crime Lee Ferguson was chomping at the bit to find out if everything was in fact official and awesome, I snapped off a few photos of the book and sent them to him immediately. Couple of them are attached to this very posting.

So obviously, after this whole convoluted journey that led to me standing at the Archaia booth at SDCC ’11 with fresh copies of Miranda Mercury to stare at in disbelief, the natural question is…well, what in the hell happened next…?

We’ll talk about that sooner rather than later, so stay tuned…

#areyou1ofthe200

So the Miranda Mercury hardcover makes its grand debut this Wednesday at San Diego Comic-Con and I’ll be at the Archaia booth(s) signing all weekend long. We’ll have an extremely limited number of advance copies (200) and my goal is to blow through them as quickly and as decisively as possible. To facilitate and publicize this occasion, which would undoubtably be a huge personal and professional moment for me even if I didn’t move a single copy, I’ll be using the Miranda twitter feed and my personal Facebook page to provide as many real time updates as I can. Hopefully not too many, cause I have books to sign and people to meet, but be warned that my status updates will likely be coming fast and furious all weekend. Presumably counting off the first 200 copies of the Miranda hardcover to get into people’s hands.

Full signing schedule is posted below and let’s come out the gate strong! All signings are at booth #2635 unless otherwise indicated. Thanks again to everyone for your continued support, but special shout out to the rest of my creative team–Lee Ferguson, Marc Deering, Matty Ryan, Felix Serrano, Jordan Boyd, Craig Cermak, and James Brown.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20-

5:30 PM -7:30 PM (TABLE 4-)

THURSDAY, JULY 21-

11:00 AM-12:30 PM (ARCHAIA SATELLITE TABLE #4401/4500)

2:00 PM- 3:30 PM (TABLE 4)

FRIDAY, JULY 22-

9:30 AM- 11:00 AM (TABLE 3)

12:00 PM- 1:30 PM (ARCHAIA SATELLITE TABLE #4401/4500)

SATURDAY, JULY 23-

3:30 PM- 5:00 PM (ARCHAIA SATELLITE TABLE #4401/4500)

6:00 PM- 7:00 PM (TABLE 4)

SUNDAY, JULY 24-

12:00 PM- 1:00 PM (TABLE 3)

1:00 PM- 2:00 PM (TABLE 4)

4:00 PM- 5:00 PM (TABLE 4)

Miranda Mercury: The Week That Was (7.15.11)

Frantic and fantastic times around these parts…

Most importantly, the impossible happened—advance copies of The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury: Time Runs Out arrived safely at Archaia’s offices after an international voyage from the printer. Meaning that next week at San Diego Comic-Con, the book will be making its official debut, hot off the presses at booth #2635. Approved signing schedule should go live early next week, but obviously this will be a huge moment for me and the entire creative team that’s worked on this project the last several years. Pic of the gorgeous lookin’ hardcover directly below, followed by a few links to recent press coverage the book has gotten. Should be a big week and stay tuned for further developments.

Profile and Interview w/David Brothers of ComicsAlliance.com—

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/07/15/miranda-mercury-comics/

First two issues of Miranda Mercury now available digitally through Comixology—

http://www.archaia.com/archaia-and-comixology-announce-expanded-relationship/

Library Journal looking forward to the release of Miranda Mercury—

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/book/890886-421/graphic_novels.html.csp

Miranda Mercury HC named a “San Diego exclusive worth standing in line for”—

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/07/14/comic-con-2011-exclusives/

MM: The Process- 11.01.10

All,

Haven’t posted much recently on the team’s overall progress, but as you can see below, things are happening fast and looking fantastic. Lee Ferguson plowed through the pencils for 298 (the most complicated script I had at that point ever written) and he’s just crossed the halfway point on issue 299, which is a threshold made ever more impressive by the fact he also finished the wraparound cover to the glorious hardcover. Somewhere in this fine collage of Miranda based imagery is a clip (or two) from that wonderful piece of artwork, along with non-spoilerish materials from both 298 and 299.

You’ll also notice several previews of the work Marc Deering (who is only a handful of pages behind Lee) is cranking out at his own respective frantic pace. And I’ve got only about twelve pages of scripting left before the entire first mini is completed on my end—which I’ll likely be writing a bigger and somewhat reflective Ambidextrous about in the next couple weeks. Be on the lookout for that—but in the meantime, please enjoy all of the pretty pictures, and consider yourselves warned that this posting marks the beginning of a week of daily entries meant to celebrate my one year anniversary of having this blog.

Thanks for the continued support, and stay tuned.

MM: The Process- 9.3.10

More previously unseen greatness from the desks of Lee Ferguson, Marc Deering, and Jordan Boyd. Next week the official Facebook page goes live, which is another huge step forward for the project.

Enjoy the holiday and thanks for dropping by…