Free Comic Book Day!

This Free Comic Book Day (May 1st), I'll be signing at Brave New Worlds' Willow Grove store with superstar artist Billy Tan. Sure, the Old City shop has stormtroopers, Zombie Hulk and Spidey. But we'll have Zatanna and Black Cat watching our backs. More details soon...

Braaaiiiinnnnssss

Here's a sneak preview of an 8-page story I wrote for X-Men: Divided We Stand #2, out this Wednesday, May 21st. I'll be signing this issue, along with C.B. Cebulski, Andy Schmidt and Mike Lilly at Jim Hanley's Universe in Manhattan that same day, from 5 until 7 p.m. Stop by and say "yo," if you're anywhere near the Empire State Building.

The Coast Guard Cocktail

The medicine man behind Polite Dissent talks a bit about the so-called "Coast Guard Cocktail," as seen in Punisher: Force of Nature. This post made my day.

For Appearances' Sake

We're less than a month away from the release of Severance Package, which means I'll be crawling out of the ink-stained cocoon I've woven myself into lately to make a few public appearances. There are also a few comic-related events coming up, which is a new thing for me. I've said it before, but it's worth repeating: I'm a fundamentally shy person, and I became a writer because I thought I would able to hide behind my typewriter/computer for the rest of my ha ha HA HA HA HA hewwwwww.... sorry. These uncontrollable fits of laughter, boy they do sneak up on you.

Anyway...

This Saturday is Free Comic Book Day, and I'll be at Brave New Worlds in Old City (45 N. 2nd Street) from 3 to 5 p.m. to hang out, talk about Cable, and try to stonewall questions about the identity of the baby. Oh, and whatever else you want. Hope you can stop by, if you're in the area.

A week later, I'll be at Bagged and Boarded in Bensalem, PA (2337 Street Road) from 1 to 4 p.m. for the same reasons, only it won't be Free Comic Book Day. So you'll have to pay for stuff.

I'll also be at Wizard World Philadelphia, May 30 to June 1. Details to come.

And now, time to crawl back into the cocoon.

Two Reasons to Hit a Comic Shop Today

1. Chances are, your local comic shop is giving away a sweet little bit of Marvel swag: an April calendar featuring the big "Secret Invasion" event. But on the back (or the front, depending on how it's folded) is a March calendar featuring Cable. I grabbed a bunch yesterday, and forced my kids to hang one in their room. Hey, promotion knows no bounds. And if the big mutant with the glowing eye gives them nightmares... well, that's just part of the joy of childhood. (Remind to tell you sometime about the evil clown my father painted on my bedroom wall... one with real seatbelts for arms, that came out of the freakin' wall...)

2. Ed Brubaker's Criminal Vol. 2 #1 hit the racks yesterday. If you're a fan of Hard Case Crime and Gold Medal paperbacks and Cain and Thompson and Goodis and the gang, you can't afford to miss this hardboiled pulp noir comic. And if you're a newbie, this issue is the perfect place to dive in: "Second Chance in Hell" is a self-contained story, packed with more pages than the usual Criminal installment. I'm also proud to report that my short essay about David Goodis, "Knock Me Over," is included in the back, along with an amazing Sean Phillips illustration. This essay won't appear anywhere else, and the extras aren't reprinted in the trades.

So to recap: walk into a comic shop with $3.50, and walk out with a cool poster, a killer noir story, and a little noir essay by your friendly neighborhood Pole. Tell me a better deal than that and I'll buy you a hot dog.

Stéphane Peru

Punisher: Force of Nature is out today, but its release is suddenly a very bittersweet thing. Two days ago, I learned that Stéphane Peru, who did the colors for this issue, died unexpectedly. He was only 26.

I didn't know Stéphane very well; we only traded a few short emails as he sent in his color work (and I would tell him and the rest of the Marvel crew how much I dug it). But I've become quite friendly with Michel Lacombe, the artist of "Force of Nature," and he was very close to Stéphane. They worked together; they shared a studio together. They were, in Michel's own words, "family." And right now, my heart is breaking for Michel, his studiomates, and all of Stéphane's loved ones.

I knew I would never forget this issue; I had no idea it would be for this reason. Rest in peace, Stéphane.

If You're Going to Harpoon a Man...

CBR.com has posted six preview pages from Punisher: Force of Nature, due out next week. (The sample at left, oddly enough, is the first comic script page I ever wrote.) The art is by a talented and insane man named Michel Lacombe, who is one of those rare Canadians with a supremely frightening knowledge of automatic weapons. The issue hits finer comic shops everywhere next Wednesday; need I say that it would make a superb Valentine's Day gift?

Also, over at Wizard Universe, John Coleman hurls some Cable questions my way, and I do my best to stonewall him. Coleman also asked me to reveal what comics I've been digging lately, and you can find those answers here. (Though I can think of about two dozen comics I forgot to mention, damnit...)

So Much Me, Even I'm Tired of Me

I've been enjoying a weird media blitz today. (As a newspaper guy, it's still kind of strange to be on the other end of this.) So if you're coming to this site from CBR.com, or Publishers Weekly, or maybe even Marvel.com... hello, and welcome.
As for everybody else: Now that Cable has been revealed as alive and well (and with child) at the end of X-Men #205, I'm free to gab a bit more about the Cable series I'm writing, which kicks off next March. And gab I have. First up today was a story by Dave Richards at Comic Book Resources. Then came a Q&A at Marvel.com. Finally, Laura Hudson interviewed me for her comics column at Publishers Weekly. (And there might be another Q&A or two in the pipeline.) Check them out if you're curious to know more...

Update (12/5): Steve Ekstrom's Newsarama.com Q&A with me is now live. Boy, are those guys up early!

Here, Fishy Fishy Fishy

Marvel Comics just released their full list of February 2008 releases, and look what I found swimming around in there...

PUNISHER: FORCE OF NATURE ONE-SHOT
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Penciled by MICHEL LACOMBE
Cover by MIKE DEODATO
Hot crime author Duane Swierczynski (The Blonde) and artist Michel Lacombe (Star Wars) unleash a "Force of Nature."
There's nothing like chillin' with your closest buds on a weekend fishing trip, especially when you're about to launch the biggest criminal deal of your careers. Out here on the high seas, life is sweet. That is, until your engine explodes. And your boat sinks. And there's no food or water. And the puking starts. And the backstabbing begins. And the only life preserver is in the hands of a man who wears a black shirt with a skull on it!
48 PGS./Explicit Content…$4.99

My name on a Punisher comic; I'm pretty much ready to die happy now.

Your Monday Moment of Noir

He'd only been back for two weeks, but he already felt the familiarity seeping back into his bones. The memories of the back alleys and train tracks running like a vein through his mind. This was a hard place, a cold place. It felt like home. When he was in lock-up he'd read Thomas Wolfe's You Can't Go Home Again. But Tracy thought the truth was you could never really leave it...

Criminal #6
by Ed Brubaker
(Icon, Marvel 2007)

The Cable Guy

Remember a few weeks back, when I said I'd be writing a monthly comic for Marvel? And a few of you tried to guess which one?

Well, at long last, Wizard Magazine lets the mutant cat out of the bag...

Taking it to the MAX

Got a buck? Are you anywhere near a comic shop? Then stop in and pick up Marvel's MAX Sampler #1, which is a 32-page preview of the goodness that is to come from Marvel Comics' "adult" line. There's a preview of Foolkiller, along with an interview with its writer, Gregg Hurwitz. Garth Ennis talks about his forthcoming World War I actionfest, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle. David Lapham talks about Terror, Inc. (my new favorite horror/thriller comic). Richard Corben gets all H.P. Lovecraft on yo' ass.

And yep, there's a short interview with your friendly neighborhood Pole, talking about "Force of Nature," a one-shot comic I wrote that will appear as Punisher MAX Annual 2008 sometime next year.

The Punisher is, hands down, my favorite Marvel character. Has been since 2001, when Garth Ennis reinvented Frank Castle in a stunning run of issues within the Marvel Knights imprint... and then did it all again with the new MAX version. All of it is required reading, especially if you like your revenge stories absolutely pitch black. (New to the Punisher? Pick up the first trade collection: In the Beginning. It's got everything you need.)

So to be given a shot at a Punisher MAX story... yeah, major fuckin' dream come true. "Force of Nature" was my first comic script, and I can't tell you how giddy I was that it happened to be a Punisher story. There's no release date yet, but you can check out seven pages of kick-ass artwork (from Michel Lacombe) in Max Sampler #1, along with some yapping from me.

Buried in the interview (and alluded to in an earlier comment on this blog) is the news that I'll be writing a monthly super-hero comic, starting off next spring. I can't tell you who; my editor (Axel Alonso) would have me hunted down and killed if I gave even the tiniest hint. But I think you're going to dig it. Stay tuned; all will be revealed in a few weeks.

The Lord Taketh, Then Giveth, Then Wouldn't You Know It, Taketh Again

Up and down times here in Philly. Just a few weeks ago I learned that one of my favorite used bookstores is closing its doors. I can't say which one, because I don't think the news was meant to be shared just yet. But man, is this a blow. I've found so many great crime and horror novels there over the years. I've blogged about my finds often.

And then... within the same week... I learned that Brave New Worlds, one of the two comic shops I frequent, is opening an Old City Philly branch that is literally a block away from my office at the City Paper. True enough, BNW2 opened its doors last Wednesday. I was there, about an hour after it unlocked the door, picking up my usual books, as well as the November issue of Marvel Previews, which features a page on my Moon Knight one-shot ("Date Night"). Kind of a cool geek moment.

But then I come home from a nice Labor Day weekend away with the Bride and Brood to discover that the AMC Orleans 8 -- the theater where I pretty much watched every movie from 1987 until 1995 -- has closed its doors and has a date with a wrecking ball. I saw RoboCop there. Friday the 13th Parts VII and VII. (And I think Jason Lives, too.) Leviathan. Deep Star Six. T2. Total Recall. Batman. Phantasm II. A Nightmare on Elm Street Part IV and V. Hellraiser I, II and III. Pumpkinhead. Nightbreed. Lord of Illusions. And thousand other horror and action flicks, most recently being Grindhouse (along with Ed Pettit and Al "Sunshine" Guthrie). This place, along with Marlo Books across the way in the Roosevelt Mall proper, was my teenage dream factory. During high school If I had $20, I'd promptly spend it on paperback horror novels and movie tickets. But now both places are gone, and it depresses the fuck out of me.

If anyone needs me, I'll be in the garage, cradling my back issues of Fangoria.

Into the Nerdery

Finally... at long last... I can tell you the news. Something I've been dying to spill for months now. Something that only a few close friends and loved ones have known about. Something that's been eating away at my very soul. (Okay, maybe just making a light snack of my soul.)

This November, I'll be making my Marvel Comics debut with a one-shot issue of Moon Knight called "Date Night."

For you non-fanboys, a "one-shot" is a a stand-alone, self-contained story. (Also, for you non-fanboys, that over there to the left is Moon Knight hisownself, illustrated by Dave Wilkins.)

This has been in the works for quite a while; I was sworn to secrecy by Axel Alonso, my Marvel editor. But holy fucking shit have I've been dying to blog about this. I've been a rabid comics fan since I was old enough to read, and even more so in recent years when I've been able to afford a weekly comics run. When Charlie Huston made his Moon Knight debut, I was both thrilled and jealous as hell. Thrilled, because I've been reading Moon Knight since I was 10, and I'm a huge Huston fan. Jealous... well, because I've always wanted to write comics, too. Even before I dreamed of writing novels.

That I broke into Marvel is completely thanks to Ed Bruabker, whose kick-ass Criminal I've talked about before. I pretty much owe Ed the kidney of his choice when the time comes.

Anyway, Moon Knight Annual #1 is out in November, and I have more in the Marvel pipeline. I'll tell you more in the coming weeks. But for now, just consider me a silly happy bastard. It's not often a 25-year-old dream comes true.

(*The term "nerdery" courtesy Jon Cavalier.)

Tired of Reading? Like, Words and Stuff?

Then this week's City Paper is for you. It's our first-ever Comics Issue, featuring 16 really funny, weird, profound, crass, and otherwise mind-bending pieces of graphic goodness. We put out the call for comics entries a few months ago, and I'm absolutely thrilled with what people sent our way. Check it out, and if you're so inclined, head over here to vote for your favorite. (I won't reveal my favorite, but I crack a goofy smile every time I look at this one.)

Funnybooks 4 Free

Fanboy geeks of the world unite! It's Brian Hickey's favorite holiday: Free Comic Book Day. This means you can stop into your friendly neighborhood comic shop and pick up a bunch of free comics from publishers both great and small.

Even better, Free Comic Book Day happens to coincide with Cinco de Mayo, which means you can peruse your stack of free comics while under the influence of tequila.