For most of us, Memorial Day is synonymous with vacation, but for those that have or continue to serve in the military it means much more.  In that spirit, I thought I’d take the time to once again mention one small way you can give back to the men and women who continue to serve this country.

One of the most rewarding aspects of working on GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES has been the chance to interact with so many veterans.  Some helped me research the book, many contacted me to thank Paul Azaceta and I for the book, and others reached out to share their stories.

Paul a I will never forget, for instance, the Marine who after showing us his shrapnel scars, asked us if he could used Paul’s amazing image from Graveyard of Empires #1 as the basis for tattoo.  He wanted to ink the names of the four men in his unit lost in the roots of the poppy plant.

If you spend time with anyone who’s served, and hear the stories of what they and their loved ones have sacrificed…you can’t help but want to do something.  I did.  You can too, and it doesn’t have to cost you anything.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably amassed a huge collection of comic books.  You may not have room for them, and it’s unlikely you’re going to re-read most of them.  The secondary market for comics has collapsed to the point where you not only can’t make money by selling old books, you can’t even get most comic stores to take them off your hands for free.

But there are men and women who could use the diversion that comics provide.  War has been described as “long periods of boredom punctuated by punctuated by moments of sheer terror”.  There’s not much you can do about the sheer terror short of enlisting, but there is something you can do to help alleviate the boredom.

Donate your comics to Operation Gratitude.

Here’s how they describe what they do:

“Operation Gratitude annually sends 100,000 care packages filled with snacks, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation addressed to individually named U.S. Service Members deployed in hostile regions, to their children left behind and to Wounded Warriors recuperating in Transition Units. Our mission is to lift morale, bring a smile to a service member’s face and express to our Armed Forces the appreciation and support of the American people. Each package contains donated product valued at ~$125 and costs the organization $15 to assemble and ship.  For safety and security, assembling of packages occurs at the Army National Guard armory in Van Nuys, California. Since its inception in 2003, Operation Gratitude volunteers have shipped more than 660,000 packages to American Military deployed overseas.”

I’ve driven hundreds of comics, graphic novels, books, dvds and videogames over to their HQ and the Van Nuys, CA National Guard Armory.  I’m not saying that to brag, but rather to give you an idea how easy it is.

My poorly taken photo doesn’t convey the massive volunteer operation they have going, but I felt uncomfortable taking pictures at a military installation, even with permission.

But everything you see here, and more, gets sent directly overseas to the troops:

(Those are Marines standing by a Cobra gunship like the ones in GRAVEYARD)

You don’t need to drive to Van Nuys, you can mail your comics there.  They don’t need to be comics…You can donate candy, cellphones, cars, even cash (here’s a more complete list of things you can do, including volunteering your time).  But do something.

Trust me…I’m lazy, self-involved and practically a shut-in, and I did.

At the very least, please re-blog, re-tweet and re-post the hell out of this on Facebook so others can.

P.S. Although I hate making this at all about me, for those of you asking where GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES #4 is, Paul is completely done with the art, it’s just waiting to be colored and lettered, so it should be out in June.  Here’s a never page from the final issue to whet your appetite:

Hope you all had/have a great Memorial Day.

Okay, remember when I said last week Sacrifice Issue 3 was coming out?  This week I really mean it.

Yes, that’s a variant cover by Paul Azaceta.  So, if you want to know where the fourth and final issue of Graveyard of Empires is - BLAME SAM HUMPHRIES.

samhumphries:

BLEEDING COOL has the exclusive reveal of our issue 3 Jade Edition variant cover by superstar artist Paul Azaceta (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES)!

SACRIFICE issue 3

BREAK THEM DOWN, NO MERCY SHOWN

On-sale February 15

HTTP://WWW.AZTECSFOREVER.COM

When I first heard that Graveyard of Empires had sold out and we were going to do a second printing, I jokingly suggested to artist/co-creator Paul Azaceta that we should do a zombie Osama Bin Laden cover.  Well…maybe half-jokingly.  Everyone was still excited he’d been killed, and Barack Obama variants had done so well…

Paul (rightly) thought it was in bad taste.  Evidently, the makers of the above trailer (courtesy of Aint It Cool) for “Osombie” disagree.

They have a Kickstarter page to raise money to make an actual film.  Of course, if you donate it will eventually wind up back in my hands after we sue their asses:)

My buddy Sam Humphries is on a roll this year.  First up was the self-then-Image published Our Love is Real, bushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable in comics with it’s vegesexuals, minerasexuals and a cover with a gun boning a dog; then the time-traveling, epileptic tripping Aztec Warriors meets Joy Division indie sensation Sacrifice; and Marvel’s upcoming John Carter: God of Mars, with art by the great Ramon Perez and time for the movie based on the same Edgar Rice Burroughs character.

It seemed like Sam Humphries could do no wrong.  Then, courtesy of Boom! Studios, comes Fanboys vs. Zombies.  Oh no.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a killer concept, one of those “why didn’t I think of that” that’s a license to print money.  It’s got a painted cover by Marvel Zombies’ (and Hard Case Crime novel) artist Arthur Suydam.  It seems like a surefire hit if there ever was one.

But what poor Sam doesn’t realize is that with every interview, signing and review journalists and fans are going to be asking him the same question Paul Azaceta and I got hit with in Graveyard of Empires: why another zombie comic?

I understand why people ask that question.  There was a surge in zombie comics following The Walking Dead, and a surge in popular culture with the remake of Dawn of The Dead, AMC’s TV adaptation of The Walking Dead, Max Brooks World War Z etc. 

But this is comics.  If we’re going to talk about a genre that’s overpopulated…why not start every review with “why another superhero comic”.  I would have loved to have seen that question asked of every DC creator 52 times last fall.

Welcome to the world of zombie fiction, Sam Humphries…hope you survive the experience!

In all seriousness…when I look at this cover I don’t even think zombies.  I’ve been saying for years that San Diego Comic-Con is the one of the softest terrorist targets in America.  Tens of thousands of people trapped in a poorly ventilated, confined space with little to no security.  Hell…YOU’RE ALLOWED TO CARRY WEAPONS IN.

And don’t get me started on the germs…no matter how many bottles of Purell you bring it’s almost impossible not to catch the dreaded con flu…that place is an incubator for bio-warfare if I ever saw one.

Maybe this comic is a warning to all of us who attend San Diego.  Regardless, it’s one zombie comic you should be picking up.

samhumphries:

Sam Humphries Pits “Fanboys vs. Zombies”

An interview with me at CBR about my next new book, FANBOYS VS. ZOMBIES, coming out in April! 

The heroes are a group of fanboys and fangirls who have been experiencing and disgracing Comic-Con together, every year. This year, the group is in crisis because of an ill-considered romantic complication. They’re hungover, frustrated and angry at each other, and trapped in a giant steel-and-glass greenhouse with a hundred-thousand-and-change zombies. These are not ideal conditions for repairing friendships for the ages. 

With all the talk of online comics piracy, a lot of you have asked me whether it’s possible to (legally) download my books.  The answer is yes, and one of the best ways to do it is through comiXology.

Right now, comiXology has Graveyard of Empires, Fearless, the hard-to-find Rift Raiders, Unthinkable and even thatone issue of Supergirl I wrote during the day.  You can click on each book’s link, or get to all my work through the link to my creator page.  You can also download comiXology’s free app at the itunes store.

While you obviously don’t get a hard copy, the digital versions are cheaper than the paper versions, and you can access them on your computer, ipad, phone and pretty much every other mobile device known to man.  If you’re like me and have an apartment and childhood room overloaded with longboxes stuffed full of comics…digital copies also take up less space.

(Some retailers also allow you to order comics through comiXology…check with your local comics shop and ask about this).

This week, I was on comiXology’s comiXologist Podcast to talk about Graveyard Of Empires as well as some of my upcoming work.  Thanks to Matt Kolowski and comiXology marketing guru Chip Mosher for having me on.

While you’re waiting for Issue 4 of Graveyard of Empires, I thought I would share some of the research that goes into the book.  At some point I’m going to compile a bibliography of all the books, films etc. that Paul and I used for Graveyard - maybe in the last issue, if we have room (it’s looking like a 27 pager now), maybe in the trade.

Paul has an incredibly cool extra planned for the trade if his schedule allows, and I’d like to do something similar to what I did with the Fearless trade, where I showed the evolution of the project from concept to execution in both words and art.  Graveyard might actually lend itself better to that, as the back and forth between he and I on the story has been unlike any collaboration I’ve had so far.

There will be some sources that - as pretentious as it may sound - I’ll never be able to reveal or thank publicly, but I think what follows is pretty safe.  And gives you a good idea of just how intense the research and collaborative process has been.  

Google Images has been a godsend for comic creators, and my scripts have become filled with more and more hyperlinks.  But sometimes you still have to do the leg work.

This weekend, I sent the following images to Paul along with a revised script:

The first image is a cover to “Northwest-Frontier 1837-1947”, part of Osprey Publishing’s “Men-At-Arms” Series.  I highly recommend their books for visual reference on anything related to military history, from ancient times to the war on terror.

Here’s a scan from the book itself.  It depicts a scene from the first Anglo-Afghan war.  What follows are what I really love about the books, the color plates depicting how soldiers were dressed.  In this case, British soldiers (and their Indian Allies) from the 2nd Afghan war at the tail end of the 19th century.

Maybe my favorite image is the of these Afghan Tribesman…because other than their guns very little has changed in the way of dress over the centuries:

I don’t think that sending this much research is that out of the ordinary for a single comic issue.   But this is all for a SINGLE PAGE (which I really hope makes it into the book). 

(At some point, I hope to post the page and along with the reference to show how Paul incorporates it).

The book - and Afghanistan - is called “The Graveyard of Empires” for a reason.  From Alexander the Great to the British and Soviet Empires to our own, it’s been argued that Imperial ambition has been dashed against the rocky terrain of this supposedly unconquerable land.

In Issue 2, we began flashing back to a year before the events of the story.  In issue 3, we flashed back 30 years to the Soviet invasion and the secret war that the CIA waged to kick the Russians out (interestingly enough, part of the motivation for the British occupation of Afghanistan was to keep the Russians from threatening their Empire in India).

In Issue 4, we’re going to be going back further in time.  Way before the British Invasion…although when and why is a secret I’d like to save for the actual book.

Meanwhile, sitting on both my desk and artist Salgood Sam are just a couple of the dozen or so books in the Osprey series I’ve been sending him for DRACULA: SON OF THE DRAGON:

I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s comic that’s part horror, part historical-fiction, revealing how the real 15th century Vlad the Impaler became the (fictional) vampire in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.  It’s something the novel glosses over and Coppola’s film spent very little time on, and has been an obsession of mine ever since I read the novel in high school, if not before. 

As ambitious of an undertaking as Graveyard was, Dracula proves to be even moreso.  Hopefully, the conclusion to the former and the beginning to the latter will be worth the wait.

Issue 3 of GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES got a nice little review from Comics Nexus.  You have to scroll down a bit to find it, but here’s an excerpt:

“Mark Sable is writing a pretty complicated story, and Paul Azaceta’s atmospheric, Tommy Lee Edwards-like art works very well with it.”

More importantly, Paul Azaceta’s cover got chosen by The Weekly Crisis as its cover of the week:

“Such a simple cover and yet it’ll pop off the stands. I like the almost propaganda feel to this, like it’s some Sino-Japanese War art. Not to mention, this series categorically can’t be given enough praise. It’s awesome and if you haven’t checked it out thus far then you definitely should. A war zombie book with smarts and heart. Golden.” - Ryan L.

Some nice words about the book too.  But the covers…I don’t think Paul gets enough credit for them.  In a week that included two great covers from Sean Phillips for his and Ed Brubaker’s book “Fatale”, glad to see Paul’s cover work getting his due.

Hey now!

The second part of my appearance on Howard Stern’s The Intern Show on Sirius 101, wherein I basically talk about how NOT to be a good intern.  Like how I posted leaked something from a creative meeting to Bendis’s Jinxworld message board about Kevin Smith trying to bribe his way on to The Stern Show, causing him to track me down and harass me; how I almost lost my job for telling my girlfriend about Howard’s then secret divorce; and oh yeah, how dating a stripper isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.

I’ve got more stories I didn’t get a chance to tell - like how Hank the Angry Drunk almost died when I babysat him one day - so hopefully they’ll have be back on the intern show or both Paul and me on Geektime with Jon Hein Ralph Cirella.

(I know I sound like a terrible intern, but I mostly kept off the radar and did my work, and it was a great experience working there).

Again, really appreciate the chance to plug Graveyard of Empires (again, we named half the characters in the book after show staffers), and mention Stern super-fan Paul Azaceta on the radio (I don’t think that jealous bastard would finish Graveyard if I didn’t).

I meant to mention Stern fan/super talented artist Chuck BB, if there’s a next time, I promise I will.

If this stuff interests you guys, let me know…I’ve got more “Mark Sable True Hollywood Stories” from my time getting into trouble on the fringes of the entertainment industry.

Here’s the audio of the 1st half of my appearance on “The Intern Show” on Howard 101.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I was an intern and then a production assistant for The Howard Stern Show back when I was a grad student at NYU Film School.  They had me on Wednesday as a successful former intern to tell the current interns what to do (or in my case, what NOT to do). It was a last minute call, but nicely coincided with the release of Issue 3 of GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES. (in stores now, along with the FEARLESS trade). 

In this first half (I had to break it up because of the the Tumblr only allows you to post) 10MB per day of audio), I talk about assistant directing the infamous “Drunk Show” live from the MTV Music Awards.  I lucked out because this was back before I was a pro, when I used to post on Brian Michael Bendis’ message board.  Brian, a huge Stern Fan asked me to post about working on the show, and the post turned out so well he said I should make a “Fortune and Glory” like comment about it.  I never got around to doing that, but I did save the post, so I was able to dig up details I’d forgotten.

So, listen to me talk about seeing Scott The Engineer Pass out drunk, Benjy Bronk’s dick in a bag and my big mouth possibly starting the feud between Howard Stern and Kevin Smith.

If all goes well, tune in tomorrow for the 2nd half, where I talk about strippers, almost losing my job and more.  Don’t say I ain’t afraid to stir shit up.

And it goes without saying that if you actually have Sirius, you should listen to the Intern Show live.  The repeat schedule is here.  Big thanks to Steve Brandano for having me on (and to both Steve and Jason Kaplan for tracking me and Paul down at Comic-Con this year…great guys).

Back in the day I was an intern and production assistant for The Howard Stern Show.  This was for The E! Show, pre-Sirius and Howard TV.  It was an incredibly cool gig, but now it’s even cooler, since the interns have their own show hosted by former intern Steve Brandano.

I’m going to be guest on The Intern Show today, I guess as a former intern who has done something in entertainment.  The show is on Howard 101 on Sirius XM, and starts at 7PM Eastern/4PM Pacific.  I should be on sometime after 7:10 PM EST.

I just went back into my old journals for some good stories to tell about working for Howard (who was the by far the best boss I’ve ever had).

I’m also hoping to plug GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES.  Not just for the self-promotion, but because Paul and I named some of the characters in Graveyard after the guys who work on the show:

I mashed up the first and last names with that of Duke Basketball players so it wasn’t too on the nose (and hopefully so I wouldn’t be sued).  There’s shout outs to Jason Kaplan, Ralph Cirella, J.D. Harmeyer, Richie Wilson, Steve Brandano and Jon Hein.

Even after working there, like Paul Azaceta I’m still a huge fan of the show.  If you are too I hope you’ll tune in tonight.

Sable out.

EDIT: Hey now!  The appearance went well, if you want to hear it again, click here for a link of the replay schedule for the rest of the week/weekend.