Giant Athena/Zeus Release Party!

So what are you doing May 1st? WRONG! You're going to come to the gigantic book release party we're having at the best comics shop in the known universe, Bergen Street Comics! In addition to me and my own books, Zeus: King of the Gods and Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess, I will be joined by Mike (Foiled) Cavallaro, Pascal (City of Spies) Dizin, and Leland (Resistance Book 1) Purvis.

Our release party starts at 7, and there will be refreshments and stuff, but kids and kids-at-heart should join us earlier at 5 for games (like, Make Mike Cavallaro Cry, What's Pascal Eating Now, and Pin The Tail on The Purvis) and a general celebration of Free Comic Book day (our books will NOT be free, but we will have free materials that are way cool). Plus-- anyone who buys one of our book will be entered into a drawing to win the original black and white artwork for the jam piece above, by all 4 creators! Snap!

Athena is out today! Run! Now!

So if you're the sort of person who enjoys making their comics purchases in a bookstore or online, today is the day that Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess is released! Woot!

If you're more of a comics shop traditionalist, you will be able to find Athena tomorrow at all finer comics shops with the normal Wednesday comics shipment.

Books of Wonder Kids Comics Day!

Books of Wonder, the famed independent children's bookstore in Manhattan will be having a Kids Comics celebration Saturday, April 17th, from 12 to 2 pm. There's going to be more cartoonists than you can shake a stick at: In addition to myself, attending will be my studiomates Dean Haspiel and Mike Cavallaro, First Second-designer-turned-author Colleen AF Venable, First family of Comix Art Spiegelman, Francois Mouly, and Nadja Spiegelman, and more. If you'll be in the area, come on down!

A comparison and contrast between Clash of the Titans and Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess

J. Caleb Mozzocco, of Newsarama fame, recently ran a very interesting comparison/ review of the new Clash of the Titans (opened last weekend, number one film)and the Perseus segment of my own Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess, due out next week. I'm a huge fan of the original film, though there are certain inaccuracies in it that drive the mythophile in me crazy (I'm looking at you, Kraken), but I haven't seen the new version yet, mainly due to the "meh" reviews it's been getting. Give it a click to read what Caleb has to say!

Of special note: he gives a shout out to my old Marvel Namor tryout pages, featured on this very site, which contain the first appearances of my design for Cetus, the monster (not Kraken! He's Norse!) that terrorizes the beautiful princess Andromeda.

New Title for The Glory of Hera!

Well, it will be almost a year until the book hits stores (not like Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess, out next week, but the book formerly known as The Glory of Hera will now officially be known as Hera: The Goddess and her Glory. The folks in sales thought it was important that we continue the naming style we had established so far with Zeus: King of the Gods and Athena: Grey Eyed Goddess, with the god or goddess's name first, followed by subtitle. Certainly when all twelve volumes are completed, it will look nicer this way, and help people to find the separate volumes easier.

I'm still hard at work coloring Hera: The Goddess and her Glory but let me tell you-- so far it's my favorite of the series. In addition to telling the story of the courtship and wedding of Zeus and Hera, you also get to see the story of Io, the Twelve Labors of Heracles, meet Jason and the Argonauts and see what happens on that mysterious day every year when Hera abandons her position as the wife of Zeus and Queen of the Gods. Cool stuff, if I may say so myself.

Now one of these days I'm going to go through this blog and change the three million references to Zeus: Father of the Gods to Zeus: King of the Gods. Titles!

MOCCA fest in NYC!

Hey, if you're in the NYC area this weekend and are a fan of some of the best comics art there is, come on down to the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art's annual Art Festival! There will be tons of great stuff to see, and yours truly will be signing copies of Zeus, Athena, Ball-Peen Hammer, Journey into Mohawk Country, and whatever else you stick in front of me at the First Second Booth on Sunday at 2 pm. Hope to see you there!

Appearance: Teen Book Con in Houston!

Do you live in or near Houston Texas and want to meet me and a whole slew of other talented authors and artists? April 10th I'll be appearing at the greater Houston Teen Book Con with great folks like Jimmy (Amelia Rules) Gownley, Terry (Strangers in Paradise) Moore, and the Fillbach brothers (Maxwell Strangewell). The whole event is free with a keynote speech by Sharon Draper. Check out their website or Facebook page for more info. I hope to see you there!

Nice Zeus review on Finding Wonderland

Almost as much as I love mythology, I love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (though I have to say I prefer Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There of the two), so as such I thought I should share this wonderful review of Zeus from the Frabjously named YA book blog Finding Wonderland. Give it a click!

Olympians Book 2: Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess out soon!

On or around April 13th, I believe, you'll be able to get your very own copy of Athena: Grey Eyed Goddess at your favorite bookstore, comic shop or etailer. In honor of this momentous occasion, and also as a nod to the new Clash of the Titans movie that just came out, here is a preview of one of my favorite pages from Athena, a wordless section depicting Perseus and Medusa. Enjoy!