Messages from Marz

Yes, that’s Radu’s Coffee Shop, from my Green Lantern run with Darryl Banks, looking very much like a real place.

The photo was snapped by my buddy (and letterer) Troy Peteri while he was visiting Six Flags Magic Mountain in California. The signs, unfortunately, are merely for atmosphere; the coffee shop is only a facade, not actually open. As you can see, there’s also a sign for Coast City around the corner, all window dressing near the Green Lantern ride. Troy reported there were also signs for Ferris Air, Big Belly Burger from the Superman titles, and Planet Krypton from Kingdom Come.

I had no idea such a thing existed before Troy sent me the photo. The signs appear to be taken directly from the original design created and drawn by Darryl and inker Terry Austin. Would be pretty cool to have one to hang in my office…

Cheers,

Ron

The final total for this year’s Comics for Tots was a bit more than $2,300 raised, by far a record for the drive. Thank you to everyone who donated, everyone who spread the word, and especially to my artist friends for donating sketches and even commissions to raise funds. Everyone’s generosity is truly inspiring.

We purchased and donated multiple loads of toys for the local Toys for Tots effort, everything from action figures to dolls, board games to sports equipment, books to iPods. Here’s a photo of me with the first load of toys, which were dropped off at the local elementary school for pick up by Toys for Tots personnel. Subsequent loads were dropped directly at the Toys for Tots collection point, staffed by a dedicated collection of retired Marines.

This is all possible because of you. We were able to make Christmas brighter for some children in need. Again, thank you so much.

Cheers,

Ron

The initial solicitation is out for Ravine, an original graphic novel by Stjepan Sejic and me, coming from Top Cow/Image on February 13. Newsarama had a “first look” at the project, including 44 images, which can be seen here:

http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=48148

Ravine is a 160-page original graphic novel, with amazing painted art by Stjepan, who has been my artistic collaborator on Witchblade, Angelus and Artifacts for Top Cow. Ravine is a passion project for Stjepan, and I think the book contains easily the best artwork of his career. Ravine is a multi-volume epic fantasy, with a large cast of characters and a lengthy storyline. We expect to be releasing at least one volume a year for the foreseeable future.

Ravine volume 1 will contain more than 120 pages of story, with a wealth of extras including maps, character bios and more, all for $14.99. Believe me, it’s epic in every sense of the word.

Now here’s the important part. Ravine is a creator-owned project for me and Stjepan. That means there is no up-front page rate; we’ve been paid nothing to produce this work. So we depend entirely upon sales to reap any kind of reward. Meaning that if you’re interested in Ravine, we need you to pre-order with your local comic shop. Tell your retailer that you want a copy, so we can boost those initial order numbers. We want to keep producing Ravine for a good, long time, but we can only do that if sales allow us to continue.

You can also check out this Ravine fan site for more art, and ongoing updates:

http://wolverinebs.wix.com/ravine

Thanks in advance for the support.

Cheers,

Ron

 

 

This year’s Comic for Tots drive as been more successful than I could have ever imagined. I am indebted to both the generosity of the people who have made donations, and especially to some of my artist friends who have contributed signatures, commissions and sketches: Stjepan Sejic, Brett Booth, Dan Jurgens, Lee Moder, Matthew Dow Smith and Richard Clark. The response has been amazing. So far, more than $1,800 has been raised and used to purchase toys and books donated to Toys for Tots.

The final “unique” item for this year will be auctioned via my Twitter feed, which is @ronmarz, on Monday, Dec. 17. My friends Jim Starlin, Joe Staton and Darryl Banks have sketched inside a “Green Lantern: Fear Itself” hardcover, which I will also sign (and personalize, if you like). Jim drew Hal Jordan, Joe drew Guy Gardner, and Darryl drew Kyle Rayner. (Click on the image for a hires version.)

Bidding with start at $200, and continue to 9 p.m. Eastern on Monday. Just tweet me your bid, and I’ll update throughout the day on my feed. Obviously, the goal is to raise as much money as possible, so I hope we can find at least one very generous Green Lantern fan. High bid at 9 p.m. Eastern wins the book (postage is included). Paypal is preferred, but other payment methods can be worked out.

All the other signed items mentioned in the previous post are still available, with the exception of the sketched/signed Shinku TPBs, and the GL #49 issues. Again, thank you all for your generosity.

Cheers,

Ron

This is actually a bit a of a special week, as it sees the debut of Shinku Volume 1,collecting the first five issues of the creator-owned series by me and Lee Moder, along with our collaborators inker Matthew Waite, colorist Michael Atiyeh, letterer Troy Peteri and editor/designer Phil Smith. These guys are more than out creative team, they’re like family to me. And I’m very proud of what our family has produced.

The back cover copy describes Shinku thusly:

“The sole surviving descendant of a once-proud samurai line, Shinku wages a solo war against a powerful vampire clan that has lurked in the shadows for centuries. But can she save the life of an American scientist who holds the key to her ultimate triumph?”

Or, to put in another way: if you want vampires that sparkle, look elsewhere. It’s bloody, it’s sexy, and rated M for Mature.

In addition to the initial “Throne of Blood” story arc, Volume 1 contains almost three dozen pages of extras, including pin-ups and alternate covers, a lengthy sketchbook section by Lee Moder, and the original ashcan, which presented the first nine pages in black, white and red. You can look at a preview of the book here:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=14217

Shinku is absolutely a labor of love. Like most creator-owned books from Image Comics, there’s no payment up front for the work. The creative team reaps profit (if there is any) after the book is on sale. So we are very much dependent upon every reader to keep the book going. Hopefully we’ll garner some new eyes with the collection, which is the evergreen product, rather than the finite shelf life of the single issues.

My latest Shinku interview with ComicBook.com is up, touching upon the collection and the recent issue #5. Read it here:

http://comicbook.com/blog/2012/11/13/ron-marz-on-the-return-of-shinku/

Shinku Volume 1 can also be ordered from Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/Shinku-Volume-TP-Ron-Marz/dp/1607064804/ref=cm_sw_em_r_dp_kt7Oqb1S1H94D_lm

If you’re already a Shinku reader, thank you. If you haven’t tried it yet, here’s your chance. Hope you sink your teeth into it.

Cheers,

Ron

I’ll be appearing at the Albany Comic Con on Sunday, Nov. 11, in Albany, NY. The show is once again being held at the Holiday Inn on Wolf Road in Albany; the show has filled all the available space and continues to grow. Show hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and admission is only $5.

Albany Comic Con is my “hometown” show, and easily one of my favorite events. It’s an entirely comic-oriented affair, put on for the purpose of growing the hobby and attracting new readers (especially kids) to our medium. As always, the guest list is long and impressive, including legendary inker Joe Sinnott, writers J.M. DeMatteis, Ben McCool, Charles Soule, David Rodriguez, artists Lee Moder, Tom Raney, Matthew Dow Smith, Fred Hembeck, Richard Clark, Mark McKenna and many more.

I’ll be doing a panel discussion in the afternoon with J.M. DeMatteis about writing fantasy in comics. It’s one I’m looking forward to, as I’m a real admirer of J.M.’s work, especially the fully-realized fantasy worlds he constructs.

I’m also happy to announce that Lee Moder and I will have copies of the Shinku Volume 1 trade paperback available at the show, prior to its release in comic stores on Nov. 14. The collection includes the first five issues of our creator-owned series, plus more than 35 pages of extras, including sketchbook pages, pin-ups and the original black-white-and-red ashcan, all for $15. I’m very proud of what we’ve put together.

I’ll be bringing other items for the table, so if you’re looking for something in particular, please let me know in the comments section. I’ll also have free promotional posters for Blackburn Burrow (the Amazon Studios series by me and Matthew Dow Smith), and free cards for The Protectors, the 2013 series by me, Bart Sears and Israel Idonije of the Chicago Bears.

Lastly, Albany Comic Con will also be conducting a silent auction of numerous pieces of original art to benefit Ronald McDonald House. Many of the artists attending the show contributed new Superman-themed pieces, including Joe Sinnott, Lee Moder, Matthew Dow Smith, Paul Harding, Richard Clark and others. How often do you get a chance to see Joe Sinnott draw Superman?

Complete information on Albany Comic Con can be found at the show’s website: http://www.albanycomicbookshow.com/

Hope to see you Sunday.

Cheers,

Ron

I discovered this Oscar-nominated short film, “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” via my friend, author and illustrator Jim Gurney, on his Gurney Journey blog (which you all should be following anyway). It’s a delight that will likely have you in tears by the end (that’s what it did to me). Created by Moonbot Studios, its obvious influences include “The Wizard of Oz,” Buster Keaton and, of course, the love of books. It certainly (and silently) captures the way I feel about books, and I wanted to share it.

The film was co-directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg, with terrific music by John Hunter. Joyce is one of my favorite children’s book illustrators and authors, and his influence is obvious if you’re at all familiar with his work. Delightful.

Youtube link

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I know there are some kids who had a bit nicer Christmas thanks to your generosity. The Comics for Tots initiative brought in more than $500 (and that’s after the shipping costs were calculated), beating last year’s total by quite a bit. All packages have been mailed, except for the Magdalena sketch/TPB combos; we’re just waiting for Nelson Blake 2nd to finish up the sketches; thank for your patience with those. Special thanks to those of you who made donations and requested for no comics in return. You know who you are.

We still have copies of everything except the Magdalena TPBs, so feel free to order if you’re inclined. Any funds generated now will go towards next year’s Toys for Tots drive.

Check out the full list here : http://ronmarz.com/2011/12/comics-for-tots/
Cheers,

Ron

Last year I offered signed copies of Artifacts #1 in exchange for donations to Toys for Tots. You guys bought the issues, we collected the money, and went on a shopping spree for toys that we then dropped off with the Marines stationed at the local Air National Guard base. A great success, if I do say so.

So we’re doing it again.

No Artifacts this year, but after consulting the hive mind on Twitter, I came up with a number of books to offer up. To keep it simple, we’ve built the postage into the price of each book (or set of books). All books are signed by me, and can be personalized if you desire. Here’s what we’ve got available this year:

*Green Lantern Retroactive 1990s, also signed by legendary inker Terry Austin, for $15.
*Shinku #1, #2, #3, my creator-owned book with Lee Moder (mature audiences), all three issues for $22.
*Sojourn #8, #23, art by Greg Land, both issues for $15.
*Scion #6, #7, art by Jim Cheung and Rick Leonardi respectively, both issues for $15.
*Scion #8, #9, art by Jim Cheung, both issues for $15.
*The Path Prequel and #1, art by Bart Sears, both issues for $15.
*Mystic #6, #7, art by Brandon Peterson and Steve McNiven respectively, both issues for $15.
*Mystic #8, #9, art by Brandon Peterson, both issues $15.
*CrossGen Chronicles #5, one of my favorite issues, with some stellar art by the great George Perez, $15.
*Magdalena Vol. 1 TPB, signed by me and artist Nelson Blake 2nd, and including an original Magdalena sketch on a backing board by Nelson. We have only TWO of these available, so act sooner rather than later on these. The TPB and sketch package is $50.

Again, ALL proceeds, except postage, go to Toys for Tots. If we run out of anything, I’ll update this site.

The easiest way to do this is via PayPal. Please PayPal your order to: kmarz@nycap.rr.com

On the PayPal form, please include the address to which you want the issues sent. If you’d like the books personalized, please include that info as well. We’ll try to have issues in the mail within 24 hours after the order is received. All comics will be sent via USPS.

For anyone who doesn’t have a PayPal account, please use the Contact button on this website and drop me an e-mail; we’ll figure out something. Also, we WILL mail out to international addresses, but we’ll have to add an additional postage charge. Please let us know your location, and we’ll get a postage quote.

We’ll do this right up through Christmas. However, many Toys for Tots drop-off locations are collected by the middle of December (as the Marines need time to sort and deliver donations). So ordering as soon as possible is appreciated.

Thank you all. Your generosity will provided a merry Christmas for some kids in need.

Happy Holidays,

Ron

I’ll be a guest at MegaCon, held in Hall D of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL, from March 25th-27th. Yes, this is the con that CrossGen once owned, and is still “in the family,” so to speak, having been purchased by, and now run by, former CrossGen employee Beth Widera. Beth is one of my favorite people in the world, and she runs an absolutely great show with her husband Richard and daughter Christine.
MegaCon is a chance for me to see some of my CrossGen buddies, as well as grab a few days of warm weather while winter desperately tries to hang on in the Northeast. I’ll have my own table at the con, with current artistic collaborators Kenneth Rocafort (Velocity) and Nelson Blake 2nd (Magdalena) nearby. If all goes as planned, I should have a few cases of various books for sale, as well as a pair of prints.

The first print is the cover to issue #1 of my June-debuting, creator-owned series Shinku at Image, with art by Lee Moder, Matthew Waite and Michael Atiyeh. The second print is a clever, minimalist take on Artifacts created by Matthew Waite. I’ll be selling the prints, which you can see accompanying this entry, for $10 apiece, and all of the money will be donated to the Japanese tsunami relief effort.

I’ll also be part of a different panel each day at the show.

• Friday: 5-6 p.m., Top Cow panel (Room 221E)
• Saturday: 10:15-11:05 a.m., Green Lantern panel (Room 222A)
• Sunday: 4:10-5 p.m., Creator-Owned Comics panel (Room 222A)

Complete information on MegaCon can be found at www.megaconvention.com
Cheers,

Ron