Back in the mid-90s, Phil Hester and I pitched a Gorilla City four issue mini-series. We developed an idea that incorporated elements from the Carmine Infantino Flash and some bizzaro Kirby stuff while introducing new elements of the City’s past and present.

This was actually our second pitch together. The first, a Creature Commandos story looked good to go but then our editor collapsed with a brain tumor (seriously). His successor wasn’t as interested. The third was a millennium-centric Doctor Occult tale co-starring The Demon and Golden Age Green Lantern that failed to materialize.

Things were looking good on the Gorilla City front, the editor loved the proposal. Then someone in marketing decided that modern readers were NOT interested in apes! And it was dead.

Course a few years later, I guess someone there wised-up, because DC produced their JL-Ape series that ran over their 1999 annuals. (Neither of us were involved with the project) This coming October, DC is offering a best of apes reprint collection.

And on top of that, this is coming out from Marvel in September.

Quote:

MARVEL APES #1 & 2 (of 4) Written by KARL KESEL Pencils by RAMON BACHS Cover by JOHN WATSON Variant Cover For Marvel Apes #1 by RAMON BACHS Variant Cover For Marvel Apes #2 by PHIL JIMENEZ Flingin’ feces, True Believer– the entire Marvel Universe has gone APE! Just when he thinks life can’t get any worse or weirder, Marty Blank – a.k.a. that lovable loser, the Gibbon — finds himself and the brilliant-and-beautiful Dr. Fiona Fitzhugh transported to a world where monkeys rule and humans don’t exist! SEE the spectacular simian city of Monkhattan! MEET the hominoid heroes and villains – SPIDER-MONKEY! DOC OOK! IRON MANDRILL! SIMIAN TORCH! THE APE-VENGERS! And more! THRILL to the return of Speedball! CONTAINS No-Ads, as we are thrilled to present you backup tales exploring the Apeiverse! LEARN the dark secret of the primate planet! WORRY that the fate of the entire universe is in the hands of the Gibbon! Not a hoax, not a dream, not an imaginary story – just the most not-to-be-missed mini-series of the season! If you only buy one (well, two) comics this month about super-powered, intelligent apes-in-capes, it must be MARVEL APES!

I’ll be curious how this goes. Marvel doesn’t have quite the ape history of DC.

It appears that Phil and I, by looking backward, were actually ahead of the curve!

Though we remain friends, Phil’s never actually illustrated a story of mine. I did have the pleasure of editing several Hester stories while with Mojo Press.

Apes! was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

The great Harry Potter re-read contniues. This time around, I read the Goblet of Fire.

I won’t bother with a plot summary, cause if you don’t know what happens in this book, where have you been? Instead, I want to focus on the subtle things I noticed the second (or third time through).

Like Fleur giving the eye to Bill at the tournament.

Ron being a complete prat to everyone, not just Harry.

The Longbottom back story.

Crabbe and Goyle’s parents being death eaters.

Again, I enjoyed this book much more this time through, knowing what is coming later.

My Nexus Graphica co-conspirator Mark London Williams penned this moving, heartfelt appreciation of the late comic book shop pioneer Rory Root and his impact on Mark’s life and art.

The Suddenness of Things was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

This comes courtesy of Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware.

Check out the blog for more details.

Fake Contest Alert was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

[  Mood: Happy ]
[ Currently: Breastfeeding my son ]
Mr. Sulu is getting married.

When I was eight, that sentence would have ended with "to me". Mr. Sulu was my second big crush.

But since then, I have learned that George is gay. And that real people, like me, can’t marry fictional characters, like Sulu.

So now George is going to marry his partner of 21 years, Brad Altman, and I feel the need to celebrate with them.

Since coming out in 2005, George has suffered the slings and arrows with a remarkable grace and sense of humour. He is now even more one of my heroes.

So I want to celebrate this event with George. But what do you get for the man who has everything? The Husband Unit and I have decided to make a donation to a local GLBTQ group that works with youth in the name of George and Brad and send the receit with a card to the happy couple.

I hope they like it.

The fine folks at the Wired How-To Wiki offer this little weekend project.

Build Your Own Iron Man Armor was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

[  Mood: Fed Up WIth Life ]
Kiriel is a fallen angel. He is tired of supervising the condemned souls in Hell. He wants a holiday, so he takes possession of a body just before it is about to die in a horrible accident. Kiriel then procedes to learn about life from the point of view of a slacker teenager.

A.M. Jenkins has written a quick little novel that explores adolescense lived by a being thousand if years old. Kiriel begins to try and make the life that he has taken better as well as try to reach out to those around him.

This is a fun book, definately for the High School reader given the references to slapping the salami and sex.

When people ask me about my influences, one of the names I always forget is Maurice Sendak. Sendak, who turns 80 today, and his seminal work Where the Wild Things Are, if not created my love for monsters, certainly fostered it. The tale of childhood rebellion and unconditional love fed directly into my childhood psyche and reality. My mother always encouraged me to debate, to wonder, to question. All the while, I knew she would always love me. When I began writing, the fact that my family would always love and respect me lent me the confidence to write what I felt and believed, regardless of what others thought. And of course monsters have always been a huge part of my creative reality.

Over time I read the vast majority of Sendak’s works but nothing stuck like Wild Things and for Halloween 1997, I was Max. You really have to love a children’s book to dress as the main character when you are thirty.

Thank, Mr. Sendak, for everything and a happy 80th birthday!

Happy Birthday Maurice Sendak! was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

[  Mood: Distorted ]
[ Currently: Sweating like a pig ]
Cato has just been freed by the Emperor Claudius. For this he has his late father to thank. Apparently, his father’s dying wish was that Cato be a free man, but continue to serve the empire.

What better way to do that then by joining the army.

So Cato is placed with the Second legion. Emperor Claudius manages to secure Cato a rank, even though most men wait years to be promoted. Cato must learn to be a soldier, deal with the resentment of the vetrans and adjust to life outside the palace, all while trying to be second in command of a century.

Simon Scarrow has created a historical tale that is rich in detail and intrigue. His charaters are real, flawed and enjoyable. I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would and am already onh the list for the second book at the library.

[  Mood: Happy ]
[ Currently: Guess ]
Faythe wants out.

She negotiated four years of college from her father, but now he wants her back home. Sounds like a typical family dispute, but Faythe’s life is more complicted. She is a werecat.

In Rachel Vincent’s first novel, werecats have pretty much divided up the North American territory. Each area is run by a family or pride. Rachel is one of a handfull of female werecats, called tabbies that exist. Apparently each family only gives birth to one daughter per generation.

The problem is, the tabbies are disappearing. Faythe herself is attacked at college, but manages to get away. Faythe is called home by her father. She races to find out who is behind the kidnappings in order to obtain her freedom.

This book was hard to get into. A lot of the first part of the book was taken up with the angsty on againg, off again relationship between Faythe and Marc, one of her father’s enforcers. n I almost gave up on this, several times. By the end of the book, though, the action (and sorytelling) had picked up.

This novel is far more of a paranormal romance. How fitting that it be published by Mira, a branch of Harlequin Romance.

I may pick up the second one, I haven’t decided yet.