On Friday, September 25 at 4:30, the Undergraduate Writing Center at the University of Texas hosts a discussion between me, Paul Benjamin, RevSf contributing editor Alan J. Porter, and Matthew Sturges about our work, writing process, and how we became comic book writers.

The free event, held at Joynes Reading Room, Carothers Dormitory, UT Campus (25th St. and Whitis) is open to the UT students/faculty/staff and members of the public. Refreshments will be provided (but sadly no pie).

This will be second such panel for me and Alan within the past six months. Early this summer, we both appeared on the Beyond the Strip: Inside the World of Comics & Graphic Novels panel at the 2009 Writers League of Texas Agents Conference. I expect the UT event to be fun as well.

In the most recent San Antonio Current, I reviewed Graham Joyce’s latest novel How to Make Friends With Demons.

I previously blogged about How to Make Friends With Demons back in July.

Read the entire review.

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.

You Are There by Jacques Tardi and Jean-Claude Forest

Promo copy:

THE SATIRICAL MASTERPIECE THAT USHERED IN THE GRAPHIC NOVEL ERA TO EUROPEAN COMICS… FINALLY AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH

One of the earliest full-length, standalone graphic novels to be published in Europe, and certainly one of the best and most original, Ici Même was serialized in the adult French comics monthly (A suivre) in the early 1980s and then released in book form. A quarter of a century later, this dark, funny, consistently surprising masterpiece has finally been translated into English.

An unexpected yet smoothly confident collaboration between the darkly cynical Jacques Tardi and the playful fantasist Jean-Claude Forest (of Barbarella fame), You Are There is set on a small island off the coast of France, where unscrupulous landowners have succeeded in overtaking the land from the last heir of a previously wealthy family. That heir, whose domain, in a Beckettian twist, is now reduced to the walls that border these patches of land he used to own, prowls the walls all day, eking out a living by collecting tolls at each gate.

His seemingly hopeless struggle to recover his birthright becomes complicated as the government sees a way of using his plight for the sake of political expediency, and the romantic intervention of the daughter of one of the landowners (who has her own sordid history with the politician) engenders further difficulties, culminating in an apocalyptic, hallucinatory finale.

Set in Tardi’s preferred early 20th century milieu, You Are There is drawn in his crisp 1980s neo-“clear line” style, gorgeously detailed, elegantly stylized, with impossibly deep slabs of black: You Are There is a feast for both the eyes and the brain.

The Quiet War by Paul McAuley

Promo copy:

Twenty-third century Earth, ravaged by climate change, looks backwards to the holy ideal of a pre-industrial Eden. Political power has been grabbed by a few powerful families and their green saints. Millions of people are imprisoned in teeming cities; millions more labour on Pharaonic projects to rebuild ruined ecosystems. On the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, the Outers, descendants of refugees from Earth’s repressive regimes, have constructed a wild variety of self-sufficient cities and settlements: scientific utopias crammed with exuberant creations of the genetic arts; the last outposts of every kind of democratic tradition. The fragile detente between the Outer cities and the dynasties of Earth is threatened by the ambitions of the rising generation of Outers, who want to break free of their cosy, inward-looking pocket paradises, colonise the rest of the Solar System, and drive human evolution in a hundred new directions. On Earth, many demand pre-emptive action against the Outers before it’s too late; others want to exploit the talents of their scientists and gene wizards.Amid campaigns for peace and reconciliation, political machinations, crude displays of military might, and espionage by cunningly wrought agents, the two branches of humanity edge towards war…

Cancer Vixen: A True Story by Marisa Acocella Marchetto

Promo copy:

“What happens when a shoe-crazy, lipstick-obsessed, wine-swilling, pasta-slurping, fashion-fanatic, about-to-get-married big-city girl cartoonist with a fabulous life finds . . . a lump in her breast?” That’s the question that sets this powerful, funny, and poignant graphic memoir in motion. In vivid color and with a taboo-breaking sense of humor, Marisa Acocella Marchetto tells the story of her eleven-month, ultimately triumphant bout with breast cancer—from diagnosis to cure, and every challenging step in between.

Transition by Iain M. Banks

Promo copy:

There is a world that hangs suspended between triumph and catastrophe, between the dismantling of the Wall and the fall of the Twin Towers, frozen in the shadow of suicide terrorism and global financial collapse. Such a world requires a firm hand and a guiding light. But does it need the Concern: an all-powerful organization with a malevolent presiding genius, pervasive influence and numberless invisible operatives in possession of extraordinary powers?

Among those operatives are Temudjin Oh, of mysterious Mongolian origins, an un-killable assassin who journeys between the peaks of Nepal, a version of Victorian London and the dark palaces of Venice under snow; Adrian Cubbish, a restlessly greedy City trader; and a nameless, faceless state-sponsored torturer known only as the Philosopher, who moves between time zones with sinister ease. Then there are those who question the Concern: the bandit queen Mrs. Mulverhill, roaming the worlds recruiting rebels to her side; and Patient 8262, under sedation and feigning madness in a forgotten hospital ward, in hiding from a dirty past.

There is a world that needs help; but whether it needs the Concern is a different matter.

My review of 9 is now available at Moving Pictures.

Check out the rest of my review.

Ogilvie the Barbarian is my oldest extant comics work. I wrote this script when I was 14 or 15 and somehow convinced Todd Richardson to illustrate it. A poor-quality photocopy is the only record I have of this circa-1984 attempt at adolescent geek humor.

For some reason, Todd and I thought this would make a good ongoing strip for our high school newspaper. Not surprisingly, we were the only ones. The next year, my journalistic endeavors began appearing in the high school newspaper, including my first ever review. (That’s a story for another day.)

The one page strip lay hidden in my files for decades and this is it’s first publication anywhere!

Click on image for full-sized version

I lost touch with (Peter) Todd Richardson soon after and I have no idea if he ever pursued an art career. Wherever, he is, I’m sure he wishes this youthful folly remained hidden.

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.

The Other Lands by David Anthony Durham

Promo copy:

The thrilling new installment in the ambitious Acacia trilogy, praised by the Washington Post as “gripping and sophisticated.”

A few years have passed since the conquering of the Mein, and Queen Corinn is firmly in control of the Known World-perhaps too firmly. With plans to expand her empire, she sends her brother, Daniel, on an exploratory mission to the Other Lands. There Daniel discovers a lush, exotic mainland ruled by an alliance of tribes that poses a grave danger to the stability of the Known World. Is Queen Corinn strong enough to face this new challenge? Readers of this bold, imaginative sequel will not be disappointed in the answer.

RevSF Books editor Peggy Hailey reviewed the first volume, Acacia: The War with the Mein.

I interviewed Durham in 2007.

In Great Waters by Kit Whitfield

Promo copy:

During a time of great upheaval, the citizens of Venice make a pact that will change the world. The landsmen of the city broker a treaty with a water-dwelling tribe of deepsmen, cementing the alliance through marriage. The mingling of the two races produces a fresh, peerless strain of royal blood. To protect their shores, other nations make their own partnerships with this new breed–and then, jealous of their power, ban any further unions between the two peoples. Dalliance with a deepswoman becomes punishable by death. Any “bastard” child must be destroyed.

This is an Earth where the legends of the deep are true–where the people of the ocean are as real and as dangerous as the people of the land. This is the world of intrigue and betrayal that Kit Whitfield brings to life in an unforgettable alternate history: the tale of Anne, the youngest princess of a faltering England, struggling to survive in a troubled court, and Henry, a bastard abandoned on the shore to face his bewildering destiny, finding himself a pawn in a game he does not understand.

Yet even a pawn may checkmate a king.

Dawnthief (Chronicles of the Raven) by James Barclay

Promo copy:

The Raven have fought together for years, six men carving out a living as swords for hire in the war that has torn Balaia apart, loyal only to themselves and their code. But when they agree to escort a Xesteskian mage on a secret mission they are pulled into a world of politics and ancients secrets. For the first time The Raven cannot trust even their own strength and prowess, for the first time their code is in doubt. How is it that they are fighting for one of the most evil colleges of magic known? Searching for the secret location of Dawnthief; a spell that could end the world? Aiming not to destroy it but to cast it …DAWNTHIEF is a fast paced epic about a band of all-too-human heroes.

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.

Filthy Rich Written by Brian Azzarello Art by Victor Santos

Promo copy:

Richard "Junk" Junkin has always lived on the wrong side of trouble. A former pro football star whose career was cut short by injury (and a nasty gambling problem), Junk now spends his time dreaming of what might have been, selling cars in Jersey and lusting after the boss’s unbelievably spoiled, unbelievably sexy and unbelievably rich daughter, Victoria. So when the boss asks him to be Victoria’s personal bodyguard while she tears up the New York City club scene, Junk leaps at the chance. But before long, he’s finds that Victoria wants a lapdog and not a chaperone, someone who’s going to do all of her dirty work—all of it—someone who wants to get filthy rich…

X-Men: Misfits Volume 1 Written by Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman Art by Anzu

Promo copy:

THE X-MEN GET A RADICAL NEW REMIX IN A STORY ABOUT TEEN ANGST, FIRST LOVE, AND WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

High school student Kitty Pryde has always been the odd girl out. A mutant, she was born with strange superpowers, magical talents that make her the class freak. But Kitty’s world is changed when she’s invited to study at Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, a special home for mutant teens. There’s just one catch: Kitty’s the only girl at the all-boy school, and she ends up just feeling like a freak all over again.

Then Kitty meets Pyro and the ultra-hot bad boys of the Hellfire Club. They’re the school’s elite–handsome, rich, and totally above the rules. Now Kitty seems to have it all: a dreamy boyfriend, super-cool friends, and the chance to develop her extraordinary talents. But why is her heart telling her that something is wrong? Will Kitty ever find the place where she belongs, or is she doomed to be a misfit forever?

Dark Entries Written by Ian Rankin Art by Werther Dell’Edera

Promo copy:

Occult detective John Constantine has seen his share of strange things in his career, but nothing could prepare him for the horrors of…reality television. "Haunted Mansion" is currently the hottest show on tv, but when the macabre house actually starts attacking the contestants, Constantine is hired to be the ultimate mole. Locked inside with a cast of wannabe-celebrities, his every move being monitored by a deadly figure from his past, Constantine must figure out who (or what) is pulling the strings before he gets cancelled—permanently.

I got this press release in my inbox this evening.

After recently watching the sensational seventh and final season of The Shield, I wondered if the thrill would hold up to a repeat viewing? If foreknowledge of the illicit adventures of Vic Mackey and his crew would tarnish or enhance the excitement? In November, I’ll have the perfect excuse to find out. Can’t wait!

(Off to add it my Amazon Wish List!)

Elmer Kelton died today. The 83 year old journalist, WWII veteran, and great-great grandfather left a legacy of over forty novels. Kelton, one of the finest writers of his generation, always behaved with class and style, epitomizing the Texas gentleman.

I had the privilege of working with Mr. Kelton (he preferred that I call him Elmer, but he’ll always be Mr. Kelton to me) as both an editor and bookseller.

His first signing at Book People amazed me. Kelton attracted an older and more conservative crowd to the liberal store. He signed books and answered questions for the forty or so people.

A forty-ish guy in a cowboy hat: "Mr. Kelton, Negroes are often characters in your books… far more than other westerns. Why is that?"

(I don’t remember exactly what Kelton said here. The use of the word "Negroes" from the questioner through me off. Been a long time since I heard someone use that word. I’m sure Kelton’s reply was intelligent and used words all the line of "black" and "African-American.")

Fan: "Mr. Kelton, has anyone ever written a dissertation about your works"

Kelton: "Yes. One at Texas Tech and the other at North Texas."

Fan: "Have you read them?"

Kelton: "I read ’em. [pause] Apparently, I’m smarter than I think I am."

He always treating his fans with respect, patiently answering every question seriously, regardless if they were simplistic or insightful.

The same held true with booksellers. Both times after the two Book People signings I arranged (I was the western books buyer at the time), he thanked me profusely for having him in the store. I know it seems like a small thing, but not all authors do that. And certainly not ones of Kelton’s status.

He won seven Spur Awards for Best Western (in five different decades!) and in the 90s was voted by the Western Writers of America as the greatest western writer of all time. Better than the legendary Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey. He has been the best selling western writer for at least the past decade if not the past two decades. Tommy Lee Jones made arguably Kelton’s best book The Good Old Boys into a movie.

As evident by my love of his works, not all of his fans were conservative, older, or born in Texas. Nearly ever fan of western fiction I know, adores his books.

When we were putting together The Blueberry Saga: Confederate Gold, Mojo Press publisher Ben Ostrander suggested we get Kelton to write the introduction. When Kelton responded to our query that he hadn’t read comics in 50 years, I was dubious that he’d accept the assignment. I was wrong and clearly he understood and even enjoyed the Blueberry tales. From his introduction: "[Blueberry] is not for the kids… except for the grown-up ones who still remember the magic to be found in a well-drawn comic strip.

My greatest memory of Elmer Kelton was neither as an editor or as a bookseller, but rather a fan. At the 2005 Texas Book Festival, I had dinner with him, his amazing wife Ann, my wife Brandy, Book People buyer Peggy Hailey, Tor book rep Jim Riggs, and then Tor editor Jim Minz (now with Baen). Knowing of my immense appreciation for the man, Minz and Riggs arranged for me to join them for dinner even though at the time I was working for Half Price and had little to do with buying Kelton’s newer publications (most of which came from Tor). Mr. Kelton told us stories of his days in the war and his over forty years as a journalist in San Angelo, writing mostly farm and market reports.

The most memorable tale of the evening involved Ann. In Austria while serving in WWII as a combat infantry soldier, Kelton met her. She didn’t speak English nor he German but they were inseparable and over sixty years later she was at his side when he died.

Ann, who learned English and still speaks it with an Austrian accent, got the biggest laugh of the evening.

Elmer: "When I first thought of retiring from the newspaper [He did in 1990.], I asked Ann what she thought."

Ann: "I asked him ‘Are you going to quit writing?’ To which he said, ‘No. But don’t worry. I make enough off the novels…’ I interrupted. [She motioned as if cutting him off.] ‘I’m not worried about the money. I just don’t want you around the house all day bothering me.’ I told him that he could retire as long as he kept working.[chuckle]"

Elmer Kelton never stopped working. His next original novel Other Men’s Horses is due out in October from Tor.

Western literature has lost more than a guiding light and an extraordinary practitioner, but a man of impeccable character. There aren’t many like Elmer Kelton. I, for one, am a better person for making his acquaintance and I will miss him dearly.

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound.

West Coast Blues Adapted by Jacques Tardi from the novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette

Promo copy:

A SAVAGE NOIR THRILLER REUNITING A MASTER CRIME NOVELIST AND A SUPERLATIVE FRENCH CARTOONIST

George Gerfaut, aimless young executive and desultory family man, witnesses a murder and finds himself sucked into a spiral of violence involving an exiled war criminal and two hired assassins. Adapting to the exigencies of his new life on the run with shocking ease, Gerfaut abandons his comfortable middle-class life for several months (including a sojourn in the countryside after an attempt to ride the rails turns spectacularly bad) until, joined with a new ally, he finally returns to settle all accounts… with brutal, bloody interest.

Originally released in 2005, West Coast Blues (Le Petit bleu de la côte ouest) is Tardi’s adaptation of a popular 1976 novel by the French crime writer Jean-Patrick Manchette. (The novel had been previously adapted to film under the more literal title Trois hommes à abattre, and was released in English by the San Francisco-based publisher City Lights under the English version of the same title, 3 to Kill.)

Tardi’s late-period, looser style infuses Manchette’s dark story with a seething, malevolent energy; he doesn’t shy away from the frequently grisly goings-on, while maintaining (particularly in the old-married-couple-style bickering of the two killers who are tracking Gerfaut) the mordant wit that characterizes his best work. This is the kind of graphic novel that Quentin Tarantino would love, and a double shot of Scotch for any fan of unrelenting, uncompromising crime fiction.

Babymouse #11: Dragonslayer by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

Promo copy:

Get ready for the next big epic fantasy . . .

In a distant kingdom a growing darkness falls over the land.

One is called to defend . . . to bring hope . . . to slay the Mighty Dragon. . . .

Could it be . . . Babymouse? Find out when Babymouse leads her fellow Mathletes in the quest of a lifetime, a death-defying fight to win back both her school’s honor and the coveted GOLDEN SLIDE RULE. Our brave young hero must face not just the evil Owlgorithms but also her own personal dragon—MATH. Destined for glory, for greatness, for bookstores and libraries everywhere . . . this is the epic adventure fans have been waiting for!

All and Sundry Uncollected Work 2004-2009 by Paul Hornschemeier

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All and Sundry corrals critically-acclaimed author and artist Paul Hornschemeier’s work from the last five years — work previously ungathered, and in many cases never before seen in print.

These works span the globe, from periodicals to museums, including: conceptual drawings and comics of Ulysses S. Grant created for an exhibit in Paris; an award-winning cover exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; the seventeen-part serialized tale of divine intervention, non-linearity, and social webs “Huge Suit Visits the People” created for the celebrated German newspaper Frankurter Allgemeine Zeitung; and comic strips for The Wall Street Journal and CNN featuring the unlikely cartoon protagonists of Michael Jackson, Sylvester Stallone as Rambo, and the “gray fox,” Anderson Cooper. In addition to these oddities, All and Sundry collects covers and designs from multiple foreign editions of Paul’s books, ranging from Holland to Korea; recent album art for David Byrne’s Luaka Bop record label; a collaboration with celebrated comics humorist Michael Kupperman (Tales Designed to Thrizzle); as well as short, illustrated prose (thus far seen only in the pages of the anthology Mome).

The collection concludes with extensive selections from sketches and sketchbooks, providing an unusual glimpse at the chaotic world of Hornschemeier’s work, before the polishing of lines and colors of the printed page. Here we see how works have developed and what the future holds for still gestating projects.

All and Sundry, perhaps more than any previous collection of Hornschemeier’s work, demonstrates the variety and depth of the artist’s interests and pursuits, and invites an examination of the entirety of his process, from first fevered scrawl to final, pristine brush line.

The Sandman by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

Promo copy:

At last, the classic 1940s Super Hero series by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby is collected from the pages of WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #6-7, ADVENTURE COMICS #72-97, #100-102 (1942-1946) and SANDMAN #1, the comic that reunited Simon and Kirby in 1974!

In the capable hands of Simon and Kirby, the Sandman left behind his trademark green suit, fedora and gas mask to become a brightly costumed adventurer on the trail of crime in the big city with the help of his sidekick, Sandy the Golden Boy. With a strong element of the fantastic in the form of haunted dreams and foes claiming to be figures of myth, these stories were perfect examples of the fast-paced, slam-bang adventures that made Simon and Kirby the most celebrated comics talents of the 1940s.

The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book by Joe Daly

Promo copy:

Set in sun-drenched Cape Town, South Africa, The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book — featuring two full-length stories, “The Leaking Cello Case” and “John Wesley Harding” — is stuffed to the gills with mystery, suspense, action, adventure, conspiracy theories, cool cars, and excellent weed as Dave and his freeloading pal Paul, well-meaning stoners in the tradition of Cheech & Chong and Harold & Kumar, thwart criminal malfeasance even as they ponder the larger questions, such as, “What steps can I personally take to help protect the Earth and the species that inhabit it?” (though most people’s answers to these questions don’t involve sword fights and hovercrafts).

Joe Daly brings a refreshingly original — and utterly hilarious — voice to the comics medium, a dry, deadpan wit anchored in everyday reality combined with unnervingly deranged plots, rendered with a hyper-detailed, half-realistic and half-cartoony Tintin-style crispness.