I haven't updated this blog in a long time. Hopefully, sometime in the coming few months, I'll have my new Atomic Pulp website live with a blog incorporated into it, and will probably retire this one.

Most of my energies these days are devoted to my self-publishing projects, specifically, the #AtomicAction line of adventure titles starring a variety of updated public domain comics characters. The first of these, Space Crusaders #1, featuring Dick Briefer's Rex Dexter of Mars, will hopefully become available in a month or so, through IndieGoGo and then, IndyPlanet. I'm hoping to get several books in the line published this year.

I've also written a few more comics for an independent publisher I've worked with before, and hopefully, those will be out this year, too.

Stay tuned.

The Gravedigger team reunites for the forthcoming "Atomic Action" title from my Atomic Pulp publishing label, Savage Sagas, featuring "Crom The Barbarian," based on the very first barbarian hero in comics, created by Gardner F. Fox and John Giunta in 1950. The Savage Sagas one-shot will feature Crom in "Where The Grim God Creeps," written by Yours Truly, penciled and inked by Eisner Award-winning artist Rick Burchett, and colored by industry veteran Matt Webb.

Vintage appearances of Crom and Cave Girl

The back-up story stars Gardner Fox & Bob Powell's creation, "Cave Girl," in "The Devil Came Down The Mountain." This one is also written by me, with art by the great Neil Vokes, and colors by Matt. I've got a couple of terrific artists lined up for the cover(s) - I'll announce them when I'm ready to share the final cover art.

According to Rick, he always wanted to draw a sword & sorcery comic, but no one ever offered him one before. I can't wait to see pages on this! I'm planning a Kickstarter campaign for this book in the Fall, and hopefully, the book will be on sale in early '19.

The "Atomic Action" version of the Black Owl in Sleuth Comics Art by Rick Burchett

So, here's what's up...

Cover art by Mike Wolfer and Ceci de la Cruz.

It's been a long time since I last updated this site. It's not because I haven't been working on things. I'm simply trying to not announce stuff that isn't complete or have a concrete print date anymore. Too many times I've announced projects that I was working on, only to never have them materialize.

I've written two Edgar Rice Burroughs-based comics for American Mythology Productions - Carson of Venus #1 and The Moon Maid #1. The two books make up the first two chapters in American Mythology's "Fear On Four Worlds" ERB crossover event (tying in with their existing Land That Time Forgot and Pellucidar books), and if sales warrant, they will be followed up by new miniseries. Carson is scheduled for June, and Moon Maid for July.

Cover art by Mike Wolfer and Ceci de la Cruz.

If you can, PLEASE pre-order these from your local comics shop - otherwise, they may not stock them. Diamond Order Code for Carson of Venus is APR181254 for the Main Cover and APR181255 for the Cyrus Mesarcia variant cover.

Hopefully, sales on these will justify American Mythology following them up with new miniseries. I hope so, because I'd really like to write them (and could use the work!). In particular, I've already got some great ideas (I think) for a Carson Of Venus miniseries...

Back in the early 90s, I wrote my first - and to date, only - traditional superhero comic. I was working on staff as an editor and production manager for Maine-based indy comics publisher Alpha Productions (check out the Facebook Page for more info & pix) and, after a few years of steady B&W comics production, we were planning to move up into full-color publishing with our own, extensive superhero universe. We had big plans. Multitudes of characters and an elaborate backstory to set up our "Terra Alpha" universe. Ultimately, only the first two-issue Task Force Alpha miniseries was completed...

The pencils were by Paul Pelletier, who many of you might know from his past couple of decades' DC and Marvel work on titles like Nova, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Aquaman, etc. He was clearly a major talent even then. Back-up stories were created, designed to flesh-out and add to our new "universe," showcasing the writing and drawing talents of a number of then-young talents, including Mitch Byrd and Alpha Productions jack-of-all-trades, Bob Cram, Jr.

Sadly, it was never published.


Around that time, there was a major upheaval in the way that comic books were distributed to retailers. After a failed attempt by Marvel Comics to control their own distribution, the major publishers were obliged to sign exclusive deals with the big distribution companies, forcing all the other smaller, regional distributors out of business. They disappeared virtually overnight, owing vast quantities of money to dozens of publishers... including Alpha Productions. The financial blow was devastating. Not only did Alpha Productions have to cancel the Task Force Alpha title and related projects, but it was forced to shut down operations completely.

The Alpha Productions crew scattered to the winds, and aside from a few brief intersections over the decades, I didn't see any of my Alpha Productions colleagues for around 22 years or so. In February, publisher Leni Gronros, Bob, Paul and I had dinner at a local diner, and five hours later, we'd agreed that the unpublished Task Force Alpha: Forged In Fire miniseries needed to be completed and released.

Fortunately, Paul still had all of his original artwork for the main story, and between the rest of us, we were able to dig up the back-up stories that were intended to accompany the main feature. Honestly, after almost a quarter-century, I didn't remember half of this stuff - even the stuff I wrote or created! Fortunately, after reading the story this past weekend for the first time since '94-'95, I'm pleased to say that I think it holds up.

It's a product of its time, no question. The designs, the dated pop culture references, the "edgy" dialogue with scattered nuggets of mild profanity, all speak of its origins in the Nineties. But it's solid work. I think that, creatively, it stands on equal footing with the other superhero launches of the era, from publishers like Dark Horse and Malibu, even if we didn't have "name" creators.

We're shooting to have the book available by late October. Right now, the only sticking point is paying to have it colored, and we're exploring our options on that. It was, after all, intended to be in color, and it would be nice to pull that off.

Right now we're in the process of scanning and cleaning up all of the artwork, finishing a few pages that were abandoned back in the day, and collating material. The plan is to include all of the story pages that were completed, and fill out the book with stuff like some equally-unseen pin-ups, character designs, and the like, along with an essay or two to put the project in its proper historical context.

As it comes together, I'll post updates here. If this sounds like something you'd like to buy and read, sound off in the comments!

This Saturday, I'll be downeast at the Bar Harbor Comic Con. It's a one-day show to benefit a local charity, the Park Street Playground Project. It will be held at the Atlantic Oceanside Hotel & Event Center, in Bar Harbor, Maine.

I'm looking forward to it because it's turned into a reunion of sorts for the core creators of Alpha Productions, a small, independent comic book publisher that I worked for between 1990 and 1995. Publisher/owner Leni Gronros will be there with his replica KITT automobile from Knight Rider. Art Director Paul Pelletier, who has since gone on to a prolific career drawing comics for both Marvel & DC, will be there. Editor Bob Cram will be there with his novel The Monster War. and our Marketing guy, Rick Lowell, will be there as a dealer, Casablanca Comics. 

Other guests include Gigi Edgley, the Australian actress who portrayed Chiana on the terrific space opera TV series, Farscape, and science fiction author Barry B. Longyear, whose short story, Enemy Mine, was adapted into a fun movie back in the 80s. There will also be  many other authors, comics creators, cosplayers and musicians.

It's a first-time show and a bit off the beaten track, so I don't know how it's going to go; I'm just looking forward to a fun afternoon with some old friends and new. If you happen to be in the area, come on over. It's for a good cause.

Decided that Gravedigger needed a new, more 70s logo. You'll be seeing it on the next miniseries and a few other places...

This past week and a half, I've been writing dialogue and placing rough lettering for the Rex Dexter of Mars story, "Menace of the Saurian Sphere," from my forthcoming graphic novel anthology with artist Peter Grau, Space Crusaders.

About two years ago, I sent Peter a plot, which described, page by page, the action of the story. Various life circumstances delayed further work for a while, but he recently finished his layouts/rough pencils for the whole tale. A week or so back, I needed to take a break from Gravedigger for a while, so I took Peter's roughs, loaded them into page templates and started writing the dialogue - and lettering the pages at the same time.

I find that lettering comics pages as I write the dialogue works very well for me - I scripted the last Gravedigger the same way. It helps me to see exactly where the words will be and allows me to make sure that I don't over write. And as a graphic designer, I think I'm pretty good at integrating the lettering with the art in a way that complements both.

Anyway -- I've now completed the script and letters for the Rex Dexter story, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It's going to be a while yet before the book itself is done - Peter still needs to ink and color the story, and we still have a second feature to do - but it's definitely a testament to Peter's storytelling skill that I never had an easier time dialoguing one of my own plots.

As always... stay tuned for future updates.

One of my favorite comic book series of all time is Xenozoic Tales by Mark Schultz. The series was alternately known as Cadillacs & Dinosaurs after the title of this collection and the subsequent Saturday Morning animated series (still not on DVD, dammit). Set in a wild post-Apocalyptic future where dinosaurs have been reborn and humanity struggles to maintain a balance between the new natural order and its pre-holocaust technologies, Schultz's series is gorgeously-drawn and cleverly written.

Schultz's artwork is classic, echoing the great illustrators of the past, while exhibiting a dynamism and romanticism all its own. I love it.

The writing is sharp, too, a genre mashup packed with adventure, intrigue, politics, mysticism, and great characters, topped off with satisfying helpings of dinosaur mayhem.

These covers are from the three oversized collections published by Kitchen Sink Press in the 90s. They're the ones I own, and don't quite collect the entire saga. The series has been re-issued a few times since, and I hope one day to acquire the complete collection.

For this week's return to my occasional "Wednesday Cover" feature, I present the Joel Adams (talented son of comics legend Neal Adams) cover for the 1994 comic Bloodthirst: The Nightfall Conspiracy... one of my earliest efforts as a comics writer and one of the few that I'm not completely embarrassed by! 

The Bloodthirst comics (there were three: a one-shot and this two-issue miniseries) were about a vampire secret agent (think Emma Peel with fangs). The Nightfall Conspiracy featured interior art by the talented duo of Delfin Barral and Chuck Bordell. The snazzy logo was created by my pal Darren Goodhart.

Beginning on Wednesday, May 11, Femme Noir co-creator Joe Staton and I will begin re-presenting a classic Femme Noir adventure originally serialized online back in 2003-04, "An Eye for A Spy!" This version has been "remastered," with new colors by Michael Watkins and newly re-lettered by Yours Truly.

New pages will appear on Wednesdays at: http://www.femme-noir.com/

After more than 15 years in production, all three issues of the interplanetary swashbuckler, Perils On Planet X,  by Yours Truly and Gene Gonzales, with colors by Ian Sokoliwski, are available to purchase NOW!

They are only available by mail order from IndyPlanet. This is is the best way to support us and the book, as the profits go directly to Gene and myself. Each issue is 32 full-color pages, printed on high-quality, heavy paper stock and includes pin-up art by several well-known comics creators.

Sales of these issues will help Gene and I determine whether there's enough demand for Volume 2: "Agent of Empyr," so if you'd like to see further Perils On Planet X adventures, be sure to order your copies soon.

All three issues of Perils On Planet X have been sent to the printer. In just a very short while, they'll be available for mail order thru IndyPlanet.us. As soon as they're ready to go, I'll let everyone know here and Facebook and Twitter.

Since we're self-publishing these, buying copies online is the best way to directly support me and Gene Gonzales... especially if you'd like to see more Planet X comics one day! Remember, these will not be available in stores - only by mail order or directly from Gene or myself at conventions.

So, stand by - ordering details coming soon!

Moonstone Books' Kolchak: The Night Strangler Files is available now, evidently (link directs to Amazon's product page). This volume contains my second Kolchak miniseries, along with an adaptation of Richard Matheson's screenplay for the second Kolchak TV movie.

I'm not as pleased with it as the first miniseries I wrote for Moonstone ("Night Stalker of the Living Dead," collected in Kolchak Tales: Monsters Among Us) for various reasons, but it's still nice to see it collected. Also cool to have my name on the same cover with the maestro, Richard Matheson.

Art by Peter Grau

For the last couple years, as I've teased Peter Grau's Space Crusaders prelim art, I've promised that I'd share more details about the project once we'd made some significant headway on pages. Well, now that we've got some momentum going, I thought it it was time to reveal a bit more about the project to you folks.

Space Crusaders is the working title of a "double feature" graphic novel that resurrects a couple of space hero characters from the Golden Age of comics.

The artwork I've shown so far is from the first of those two features: a 30-page "novella" called "Menace of the Saurian Sphere," starring Dick Briefer's Rex Dexter Of Mars character, who originally appeared in Mystery Men Comics, beginning in 1939. I've long loved the Mars-born Rex Dexter character (and his Earth girlfriend, Cynde), and thought it would be fun to pay tribute to Briefer with a new Rex adventure.

At one point in the 1970s, Marvel Comics, unable to secure the comic book rights to Edgar Rice Burroughs' "John Carter of Mars" stories (which were being published at rival DC), began adapting author Edwin Lester Arnold's 1905 sci-fi novel, Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation, in the pages of Creatures On The Loose!

Arnold's novel was a precursor to Burroughs' interplanetary fantasies, with a number of story similarities to the first few John Carter adventures. Marvel drafted their top cover artist, the legendary Gil Kane, to play up those similarities, leading to a pretty amazing run of swashbuckling, action-packed cover illustrations.Here are a few of them:

Huh. Apparently Moonstone is collecting my three-issue Kolchak: The Night Stalker Files run from a few years back in a trade paperback with their adaptation of the second Matheson-scripted telefilm, The Night Strangler.

This was my second Kolchak miniseries for them, after Night Stalker Of The Living Dead (collected in this volume). I'm not quite as happy with this series, for a variety of reasons. That said, it's cool that my name is on a book cover with Richard Matheson!

It does still bug me that they insist on billing me as "Chris," since I use my full name professionally, dammit.

I won't be seeing any money on this, I'm guessing, but if you're interested, it will be out in December and can be pre-ordered now through Diamond Distribution.