Mark Sable

#comics #heroescon #hereallweekend #comesayhi

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:30:32 -0400

#comics #heroescon #hereallweekend #comesayhi

@PaulAzaceta and I will be Heroes Con (@HeroesOnline) this...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:50:12 -0400

@PaulAzaceta and I will be Heroes Con (@HeroesOnline) this weekend, from Friday, June 7, 2013 at 11:00 AM through Sunday, June 9, 2013 at 6:00 PM.

We’ll be sharing table AA-828 in an Artist’s Alley packed with talent. This is my first con of 2013, and my first time at Heroes Con ever. I’ve heard that, along with Emerald City it’s the most creator-friendly convention in the U.S. and I’m excited to see if it lives up to its reputation.

Please stop by if you’re around, and let me know if there’s any particular books you’d like me to bring.

Here’s the info in case you’re in the area:
HEROES CONVENTION 2013
Charlotte Convention Center
501 S College St
Charlotte, NC 28202

brianmichaelbendis: Doctor Who episode posters by Francesco...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 02:38:40 -0400

brianmichaelbendis:

Doctor Who episode posters by Francesco Francavilla

twiststreet: Signed up for Netflix at… 10 am? 11 am?...

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 04:25:09 -0400

twiststreet:

Signed up for Netflix at… 10 am? 11 am? Finished…

A change from the traditional A, B and C storylines to episodes based on individual characters? Steve Holt looking older than Gob? Portia de Rossi’s awful plastic surgery? The world wants to know what you think of these things, Abhay Khosla, Esq. Get out of your roofie circle and start writing some criticism…

Signing & partying at @gapplrcomics in LA from now...

Wed, 29 May 2013 21:25:04 -0400

Signing & partying at @gapplrcomics in LA from now ‘til 9 FREE WINE #comics

#arresteddevelopment #itgetsbetter Does It?

Wed, 29 May 2013 03:57:28 -0400

#arresteddevelopment #itgetsbetter Does It?

This Wednesday, May 29th I’m the guest at @GAppleComics...

Tue, 28 May 2013 12:00:45 -0400

This Wednesday, May 29th I’m the guest at @GAppleComics monthly “SAUCED” Wine Mixer.

This event is a huge THANK YOU to all of you who supported the DRACULA: SON OF THE DRAGON KICKSTARTER, and I’ll also be celebrating the release of the GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES TPB.

Regardless of whether you backed the book or not, or you’d like a signed GRAVEYARD TPB I hope you can make it. Golden Apple is a great store, and SAUCED is a great industry mixer. And oh yeah…there will be FREE WINE.

I’ll be there from 6-9 PM, and Golden Apple is 7018 Melrose Avenue Los Angeles CA, 90038.

Really looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible there.

What is your best advice on how to 1) find and then 2) choose an artist for a graphic novel based on a sci-fi screenplay?

Fri, 24 May 2013 20:50:35 -0400

First - sorry to the many, many people whose questions I haven’t answered. I’ve had a lot of work, which I’m thankful for, but if I have to cut back on something it’s going to be posting on tumblr.

Anyway - to your questions.

1) How to find an artist. There’s no simple answer to this. Almost every artist I’ve worked with I’d gotten to know personally from being around the comics scene.

The Internet can be a great place to find artists, as can comic conventions. Find someone you like, tell them you admire your work and politely inquire whether they’d be interested in working with you.

2) Choosing an artist - a lot of that comes down to personal taste and what you think would fit your particular story. A couple things you should look for are - a) can the artist draw sequential pages and tell a story, as opposed to just producing flashy pin-ups? and b) how fast are they?

But before you approach any artist, you should ask yourself the following:

1) Are you prepared to pay an artist up front? No matter how great your story is, or how likely you think it is that your screenplay will become a movie…most artists are going to need to be paid a page rate instead of or in addition to whatever back end there might be. That’s something you’ll negotiate with the artist, but understand it takes a hell of a lot longer for an artist to draw a page than for us writers to write one. They need to be compensated for that time.

2) Is your story 100% ready? The biggest mistake a writer can make is showing someone - whether it’s an artist, an agent, a producer, and editor etc. - a script that isn’t ready. You usually get one chance per reader, so make sure you make it count.

3) Along those same lines…have you adapted your story into a comics script? You can’t just hand an artist a screenplay and expect them to adapt it into a comic. I’ve adapted a couple of screenplays into comics, and I was just hired to adapt one of my comics into a screenplay. And although they are both visual narrative media, they are very different forms, and it’s important to understand that.

Hope that was helpful. I wish you the best of luck in finding someone who will bring your story to life.

solarscallop: Monster Food Chain by Tuism | Redbubble

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:51:38 -0400

solarscallop:

Monster Food Chain by Tuism | Redbubble

Alpha and Omega

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:07:30 -0400

john-rock:

The beginning and the end.

Colorist John Rauch just joined tumblr. Follow him!

Photo

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:04:15 -0400

Fellow comic creator @alexgrecian’s new book THE BLACK...

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:11:00 -0400

Fellow comic creator @alexgrecian’s new book THE BLACK COUNTRY, sequel to his bestseller “The Yard” is out tomorrow.

If anybody pre-orders The Black Country by midnight tonight, he’ll sign free bookplates for you, if you fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1SEURFiCkLh7SJqy5Hd02lhNL2XmmvhCqfPa0jcmqGcI/viewform

Or you can just order the book here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/black-country-alex-grecian/1112034278?ean=9780399159336

(Or on Amazon or Powell’s or a billion other places.)

Or you can come see Alex on tour and I’ll sign it in person: http://alexgrecian.com/events/upcoming/

You can read a free preview here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-black-country-free-preview-alex-grecian/1114924457?ean=9780698140394

And download the Murder Squad short story The Blue Girl here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-blue-girl-alex-grecian/1114980096?ean=9781101626207

Alex is a great guy and I’d say I’d wish I thought of the concept for his Murder Squad books if I thought I could execute them half as well.

Back to me plugging my own stuff soon…

The Kickstarter video for Mark Landry and Ashley Marie...

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:43 -0400

The Kickstarter video for Mark Landry and Ashley Marie Miller’s comic BLOODTHIRSTY. Set in post-Katrina New Orleans, it uses vampires in a way that I haven’t seen before. It looks great, and I hope you’ll join me in backing this very worthy project here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/328026548/bloodthirsty-one-nation-under-water-volume-1-0

unhistorical: Saul Bass: Film Title Sequences— It’s a Mad, Mad,...

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:18:12 -0400

unhistorical:

Saul Bass: Film Title Sequences— It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Anatomy of a Murder, Something Wild, North by Northwest, Edge of the City, Psycho, The Man With the Golden Arm, Goodfellas, Cowboy, Spartacus, Bunny Lake Is Missing, Vertigo

"“THE DAILY DEAD: Is there any feedback in particular that surprised you? What have you found..."

Sat, 04 May 2013 17:09:28 -0400

“

“THE DAILY DEAD: Is there any feedback in particular that surprised you? What have you found that readers are taking away from this story?

MARK SABLE: San Diego has a large military community, and when we debuted the book at Comic-Con we had a lot of veterans and active duty service members come up to us. If there’s one thing members of the military and comic fans have in common it’s that they aren’t afraid to speak their mind, so I braced myself for the worst. I could have imagined them pissed at us for trivializing their experiences.

Instead, they thanked us for calling attention to the fact there’s a war going on, something you might not know from walking around the U.S. right now. And they shared their stories, which were heartbreaking.

For me, the most moving reaction was a request from a vet who wanted to use Paul’s cover from the first issue – a helmeted skull with a poppy plant running through it – as a tattoo. He wanted to ink the names of his fallen comrades in the roots. To this day that remains the best interaction I’ve ever had with a reader.

So it’s been particularly rewarding that people who served in Iraq or Afghanistan were not only okay with what we were doing but felt we did a good job of capturing what they’d experienced.

No word from the zombies yet, though.”

”

- - from Tamika Jones’ THE DAILY DEAD interview with myself and Paul Azaceta about the GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES TPB, which is available in stores now.

The collections not only features tons of exclusive extras, but a brand new story written and drawn by Paul (his comics writing debut). And if you want to check out the first issue/chapter, you can can do so for free at Comixology here.

"“…It’s cliche to say something like, “this is not your classic zombie story,” especially..."

Fri, 03 May 2013 12:00:00 -0400

“

“…It’s cliche to say something like, “this is not your classic zombie story,” especially in the post-Walking Dead world we inhabit. However, very much like Kirkman’s opus, this does feel different. Much of that has to do with Graveyard’s treatment of characters and the messy politics of war; in this case, both with the undead and, more terrifyingly, with ideas….Azaceta’s art accomplishes the admirable task of being expressive without being overly detailed, and pairs gorgeously with the story.”

SCORE: 5/5

-from Steven E. Paugh’s review of THE GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES TPB on ComicBastards.com

”

- An excerpt from @StevilEmpire’s @ComicBastards AMAZING review of GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES, which you can (and should) read in its entirety here. It’s maybe my favorite review of anything I’ve written ever, not just because it was given a perfect score, but because it’s incredibly informed, thoughtful and well written. That someone even took the time to engage with the comic I’m most proud of this deeply means a tremendous amount.

(Edited to include a working link and a quote about Paul’s art).

GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES TPB @meltdowncomics in LA. Now available...

Wed, 01 May 2013 20:30:00 -0400

GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES TPB @meltdowncomics in LA. Now available in comics stores everywhere!

twiststreet: Interview with Mark Sable about Graveyard of...

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:01:03 -0400

twiststreet:

Interview with Mark Sable about Graveyard of Empires:

I wanted to try something new, so I put together this interview with my friend, comic writer Mark Sable, about his recent “marines & Taliban versus zombies in Afghanistan” comic co-created with art wunderkind Paul Azaceta, Graveyard of Empires. I wanted to try to keep it pretty straight and really just see if I could showcase the book, like a proper commercial would. Except for a home movie of my nephews, it’s the first time I’ve ever filmed anything (first time with sound!)— obviously the first time I ever tried to do lighting. We used a GoPro, and a used Sony camcorder.

GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES is out this week. Mark said extremely nice things about Paul, colorist Matt Wilson and Thomas Mauer’s letters that I cut for time, but won’t be… cut out of your heart (?) when you look at the comic.

The closing of Comics Alliance this week is a bummer for the number of admirable writers it “orphans.” But also: while big comic companies may have sympathetic news organs they can use and discard at their leisure, readers and creators of books like GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES have one less route to find each other. How does a person “promote” a comic without being, like, all gross? I don’t know that I thought of any interesting answers to that question, but it was interesting to sit and think about that for a little while. So thanks to Mark, for indulging me.

Abhay Khosla did a really cool video interview with me about GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES that’s almost more like a mini-documentary. I usually hate watching myself but Abhay really outdid himself here. Remember that the GRAVEYARD TPB is in stores NOW, featuring a brand new short story written and drawn by Paul Azaceta, and you can read the 1st issue for free on Comixology.

GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES TPB OUT THIS WEDNESDAY, MAY 1ST! GRAVEYARD...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:02:49 -0400

GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES TPB OUT THIS WEDNESDAY, MAY 1ST!

GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES, my Marines and Taliban vs. Zombies comic with @PaulAzaceta is finally collected in it’s entirety as a trade paperback this Wednesday, May 1st. In addition to all 4 oversized issues, the collection will include a new short story by Paul, representing his comic book writing debut. If you haven’t read it yet, check out the first issue FREE on Comixology.

Speaking of free, I’ve got not one but TWO signings scheduled this month in conjunction with FREE COMIC BOOK DAY:

SIGNING #1 : SATURDAY MAY 11th at Collector’s Paradise Pasadena
Start Time: 12:00PM End Time: 3:00PM

Meet “Graveyard of Empires” writer Mark Sable as he signs copies of the horrific modern warfare meets zombies TPB from Image Comics, 12pm-3pm at Collector’s Paradise Pasadena.

Plus, enjoy FREE COMICS all day long from 11am-7pm as our store celebrates Free Comic Book May!

Check out our site for more details!

Location:

Collector’s Paradise Pasadena

319 S. Arroyo Pkwy #4
Pasadena, CA
91105

More Info: http://comicsandcards.net

SIGNING #2 - SAT MAY 11 COLLECTOR’S PARADISE VALLEY STORE

And on Saturday, May 11th, from 12-3, I’ll be signing at Collector’s Paradise original store in Winnetka, CA.

Since both signings will be during FREE COMIC BOOK DAY month, I’ll have free issues of some of my books in addition to copies of my trade to sign.

PRESS RELEASE:

And here’s the press release for the GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES trade:

From Alexander the Great’s Macedonian army to Genghis Khan’s Mongol horde to the British Imperial machine of the nineteenth to the Soviet Union to the twenty-first century United States of America, no occupying force has ever been able to control Afghanistan — the very reason it’s known as the Graveyard of Empires. Mark Sable and Paul Azaceta drew upon that history in their Image Comics series GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES, set in present-day Afghanistan, where American troops are caught in a seemingly unending conflict with the Taliban. That is, until a new enemy enters the field: the undead. The only way to defeat them is for the Americans and Taliban to unite forces, and as former enemies become uneasy allies, tension will rise on all sides.

All four issues of the critically acclaimed, controversial GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES will be collected into a new trade paperback, set to be in stores on May 1.

“Zombies are the perfect metaphor for modern insurgents,” said writer Sable. “A seemingly endless foe with inscrutable motives that comes in unstoppable waves. In counter-insurgency theory, there’s something we came across in our research called ‘insurgent math.’ It’s the idea that by killing one terrorist, you can create ten more because you’ve inspired their friends and family. Similarly, in a world where the dead are coming back to life, anyone you kill can return to infect your comrades and turn them against you.”

“It was a challenge to do the book because I wanted to get it right,” said artist Azaceta. “Not just the uniforms and the guns but Afghan culture and its wonderful landscape. While digging around for reference the things that surprised me most was the beauty of the country.”

Part of the research was aided by photojournalist Tim Hetherington, who co-directed the Academy Award-nominated documentary Restrepo and who was killed in a mortar attack in Mistrata in 2011 by Libyan government forces while covering the Libyan civil war. Sable and Azaceta dedicated GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES to his memory.

Meticulously detailed and boldly drawn, GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES can be pre-ordered now (Diamond Comics code MAR130502, ISBN 978-1-60706-739-9). A 128-page full-color graphic novel, its retail price $14.99. The first issue is available digitally for free from comiXology and the Image Comics iOS app.

GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRE trade paperback comps from @imagecomics. ...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:59:41 -0400

GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRE trade paperback comps from @imagecomics. Out next week Mat 1st!!!