Antony Johnston

Talking the Dust

2008-07-03T12:31:25Z

I've just been informed that Secret Identity's listeners have voted for WASTELAND to be this year's Summer Reading Project.

It's an interactive thing: every week, starting from July 12th, Matt and Brian read and review one issue of the book. But they also encourage their listeners to do the same, and then everyone discusses it afterwards on their boards. They'll be working their way up to #13, and if I have time I've agreed to answer any questions that come up about each issue. Should be pretty darn cool.

I also have a new date for that signing in Manchester—it's been rescheduled for Saturday 2nd August, at 2pm. But I'll post a fuller reminder about that closer to the time, because before then we have the behemoth of San Diego to slay...

Bubble and Squeak

2008-06-27T10:47:12Z

Last night's appearance at Travelling Man went well. The appalling weather unfortunately kept a few people away, but everyone that made it had a good time, and there were some great questions asked. Thanks to everyone who made it, and Travelling Man for being wonderful hosts.

The whole thing was recorded, too—they're going to launch a podcast under the Thought Bubble name, and this will be the first release. When it's up, I'll link to it here so those of you who couldn't make it (which includes everyone not in England, for a start) don't miss out.

Along the same lines, I've also updated the For Writers page, adding a new original script (issue #9 of WASTELAND) and a section about backup and syncing habits. Both issues, especially syncing between multiple work machines, are things that I know many writers struggle with (let's be honest, we're often not the most tech-savvy people around). It's taken me a long time to find a system that's both simple and robust, so I hope it's useful to some of you out there.

WASTELAND #18 on sale

2008-06-25T10:07:25Z

WASTELAND #18 goes on sale today in North America, tomorrow in Europe. (A little later than expected, thanks to a printer foul-up that meant the original run had to be pulped. Grrr.)

Anyway, this issue is Iron Horse/Born To Lose, which sees the current story arc racing towards its conclusion:

Jakob's plan to deal with the Sand-Eaters gathers speed, and Skot slowly acclimatises to his newfound status. But as Golden Voice prepares to march an army of Sunners on the council building, someone else is way ahead of him—a Sand-Eater called Mebsaa...

The Diamond order code is APR084042, on sale from good comic stores everywhere. As always, thebigwet.com will also be updated today.

Finally, a quick reminder that tomorrow evening I'll be at Travelling Man in Leeds for the Comics Masterclass session. See here for details.

Boys into Blanc

2008-06-20T10:25:14Z

2008 is the National Year of Reading here in Britain, and earlier in the year the government commissioned the School Library Association to produce a list of books specifically aimed at encouraging young boys to read (as in America, boys here lag quite a way behind girls in their reading habits and frequency).

Well, I've just discovered—by way of a short article about the report in last week's TIMES—that the POINT BLANC graphic novel is on the list.

It's categorised as “older primary” level, and is in some damn good company—Charlie Higson's YOUNG BOND and Eoin Colfer's ARTEMIS FOWL graphic novel, for example. You can see the specific listing here, or browse through the whole report online.

I'm dead chuffed about this. Not just because, hey, it's one of my books, but also because this is another step in erasing the stigma that has traditionally surrounded comics for so long in this country. Onward and upward.

Master of None

2008-06-18T18:15:16Z

News on those two personal appearances I mentioned, then. Or one of them, anyway. Sort of. Read on:

In Leeds, I'll be appearing at Travelling Man for their inaugural Comics Masterclass (part of their now-regular series of Comics Nights) and obviously mine will be about writing. It'll mostly be an extended Q&A session, but don't think that means it'll be short on speechifying; anyone who saw me on the “indie vs mainstream” panel at the end of last year's Thought Bubble knows I have a tendency to ramble at length, and I'm not short of an opinion or three.

It takes place next week on Thursday 26th June in the Travelling Man coffee bar (downstairs from the store), and is scheduled for 6.30-8.00pm. Though, given the aforementioned rambling tendency—not to mention that the place is fully licensed for booze—don't be too surprised if we overrun just a little.

Full address and details are here. There's no entry cost, but space is limited, so book to be sure of a place.

Meanwhile, I was also lined up to do a signing at Travelling Man's Manchester store, but it was unfortunately flooded last week (is it possible to be fortunately flooded?) and they're still cleaning it all up. So we're going to reschedule that for a later date, probably some time around San Diego (which I'll be attending, by the way).

Details, of both Manchester and SD, will of course be posted here closer to the time.

Brits: help needed

2008-06-14T16:42:30Z

Apparently I'm mentioned in THE TIMES today (Saturday) on p38, something to do with POINT BLANC, but as I only learnt this at 5.30pm I can’t get a copy anywhere around here… anyone here who bought it and could email me a scan of the piece?

Secrets and Lies

2008-06-11T15:02:06Z

Secret Identity, one of the oldest comics podcasts on the scene and long-time supporters of WASTELAND, interviewed me last week, and the episode is now live.

Host Brian LeTendre and I talk about WASTELAND and post-apocalyptic conventions, DEAD SPACE and horror movies, a little about the WOLVERINE manga (which I still can't actually talk about much yet) and generally have a good yak. It's good stuff (and if you remember the first time they interviewed me back in 2006, this is miles better—we did it all over Skype, for one thing).

You can download the episode (and subscribe, which I heartily recommend) through iTunes, or download it directly from Podomatic.

DEAD SPACE #4 on sale

2008-06-09T14:28:14Z

DEAD SPACE #4 goes on sale this week. For those of you who've been clamouring “Get to the damn monsters already!”, well, you might want to read the solicitation text:

The planet cracker ship Ishimura arrives in orbit, bringing with it even more problems for a mining colony already rapidly descending into madness. And when the operation finally “pops the cork” on the planet, all hell breaks loose!

So there you go.

The Diamond order code for this issue is APR082194, $2.99 US from all good comic stores. Enjoy.

In other news, I'll be making a couple of appearances at the end of this month, in Manchester and Leeds. More details closer to the time.

RIP Rory

2008-05-20T09:59:08Z

Rory Root, owner of Comic Relief, has died.

Comic Relief bills itself as "THE Comic Book Store", and that says pretty much all you need to know about Rory. He sold books; they just happened to be told in comic form.

Like all great booksellers, Rory was as enthusiastic about brave and creative new works as he was about guaranteed bestsellers. Every time I met him he had a new favourite book to recommend, and he was never wrong. He could pick a future classic from a thousand new books with unerring accuracy.

But more than that, Rory never tugged his forelock to comics' detractors. He was proud to sell what he knew were great stories. He was militant about the need for freedom of press and artistry in the industry, arguing with authority and vehemence for comics' validity as an artform, deserving of all the same protections and privileges as prose literature.

Rory held his head up high, and we were all proud to hold ours up right alongside him. His voice, his presence, his knowledge and most of all his kindness will be sadly missed.

WASTELAND and DEAD SPACE on sale today

2008-05-07T14:40:49Z

Double whammy today, as new issues of both WASTELAND and DEAD SPACE go on sale.

WASTELAND #17 is "Ride the Lightning", in which Jakob gets some unexpected help from ex-Primate Heddor, and the Newbegin council's politics take a deadly turn.

The Diamond code is FEB083946, and here's the solicit text:

The Harvey Award-nominated series' third startling story arc continues, as Heddor and Jakob must protect the city of Newbegin from the onslaught of the sandies! Find out why Independent Propaganda says, "WASTELAND is an epic in the making, and one of the few pieces of new fiction - in any medium - worthy of that label."

DEAD SPACE #3, meanwhile, looks deeper into the madness afflicting the Aegis VII colony, as a shocking moment forces Neumann to re-evaluate his position...

The Diamond code is MAR082092. Here's the solicit text:

The mysterious artifact is finally excavated at the Aegis VII mining colony. Theories about its true purpose spread like wildfire, and hint of a terrible fate for the colonists!

Both titles are available from all good comic stores. You know what to do.

WOLVERINE artist announced

2008-04-23T09:53:03Z

At last weekend's New York Comic-Con, Dallas Middaugh of Del Rey Manga announced Wilson Tortosa (TOMB RAIDER, BATTLE OF THE PLANETS) as the artist for my upcoming Wolverine manga.

Dallas also showed off some character designs for the book, which you can see at this Newsarama post. (Yes, new characters. No, no more details at this time. There'll be plenty of PR as we get closer to the publication date, I promise you.)

I've never worked with Wilson before, but I couldn't be happier with the pages he's turning in. They're dynamic, exciting and energetic, and he has some great storytelling chops. I have a good feeling about this one.

You can see more of Wilson's sketches and work at his DeviantArt page.

Mid-April News Roundup

2008-04-18T09:56:18Z

I'm away for a family get-together this weekend, so let's have a news round-up before I go:

THREE DAYS IN HOLLYWOOD

As reported by Variety, Jennifer Garner has signed a first-look deal at Warner Bros and one of the movies on her slate is THREE DAYS IN EUROPE—starring Garner and Hugh Jackman (!). Yes, I'm quite happy about this; no, it doesn't mean a movie will actually get made any time soon. But here's hoping, because that's some pretty awesome casting.

SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD

Over on the DEAD SPACE blog, Senior Producer and game story guru Chuck Beaver appears to have let the cat out of the bag on one of those left-field projects I mentioned at the start of the year:

We did a master timeline so the Comic and Animated Feature could see the events, referencing and riffing on whatever sounded cool. Antony Johnston did the writing for the Comics and the game dialogue, so the consistency was locked up there (plus we bought him coffee during WonderCon).

Yes, it's true; Chuck bought me far too many Grande Lattes at WonderCon.

No, wait, that's not it... Oh, yes; I also wrote the dialogue script for the game. Which was exceedingly cool.

(You may think it's not much to shout about, but remember all those hundreds of pages of script unaccounted for in my Q1 roundup? Yeah. There's a lot of story and dialogue in DEAD SPACE.)

DEAD CITIES

Still with DEAD SPACE, I'll be attending Sci-Fi London 2008 alongside EA's Glen Schofield, the game's Executive Producer and all-round walking injury. No idea what the schedule is yet, but I know there's a press event or two involved, and talk of a signing at Forbidden Planet. More details when I have them.

NO TORI US*

You may have seen the blitz of news stories concerning COMIC BOOK TATTOO, the Tori Amos-themed anthology to be published this summer through Image, with a veritable plethora of quality creators contributing. Sadly, despite previous news (and my name being in the PR) I won't be a part of the book after all. I wanted to, as I've been a Tori fan all the way back from CRUCIFY, but circumstances beyond my control threw a spanner in the works, and it wasn't to be. You should buy CBT anyway, of course, because it looks bloody ace.

*Sorry.

WASTELAND #16 on sale

2008-04-08T14:47:52Z

WASTELAND #16, “Hail And Kill”, goes on sale tomorrow across North America (Thursday in Europe).

After last issue's peek into the lives and legends of Sand-Eaters, this one takes us back inside the walls of Newbegin. Here's the solicit text:

The Sand-Eater assault on Newbegin continues! With the slaves escaping, the Disciples are all that stand between the Sandies and chaos as they rampage through the marketplace. Jakob and Heddor fall back to Sultan Ameer's caravan for a desparate last stand, while Skot confronts the Lord Founder and Dexus!

The issue order code is JAN083823.

As always, The Big Wet website will also be updated with the latest availability and solicitation info, plus a brand new Walking The Dust... which is, appropriately enough, all about Sand-Eaters. Funny how things work out.

DEAD SPACE #2 now on sale

2008-04-02T10:52:43Z

Issue #2 of DEAD SPACE goes on sale today across North America, tomorrow in Europe.

Many people (well, reviewers anyway) seem to have been a bit confused by DEAD SPACE #1, because they think it's going to turn into a big battle with Neumann, RAMBO-like, single-handedly taking on an alien invasion and whupping lots of xenomorph ass.

Clearly, these people have never read one of my books before.

DEAD SPACE #2 is published by Image Comics and weighs in at 32pp, $2.99 US, Diamond order code FEB082150.

(By the way: yesterday's post wasn't an April Fools' joke. The title was a pun, see, because I'm the fool for... oh, never mind.)

April Fool

2008-04-01T20:22:01Z

Matt Fraction made an interesting post on Twitter today. He's started keeping a work journal this year, see. To me, that sounds like a recipe for depression, self-loathing and cardiac arrest, but hey, he's younger than me. He can take it.

I couldn't resist knocking up a similar tally of my work for "Q1 2008", though, and the result knocked my socks off.

470 script pages, 9000 prose words, 1 con, many interviews/podcasts.

Comics:
3 issues of WASTELAND (66pp), 4 issues of DEAD SPACE (88pp), 73pp of WOLVERINE Vol. 1, and literally hundreds of pages of script for, um, something else. That I can't talk about yet. Move along.

Prose:
3 instalments of WALKING THE DUST (1000 each) and 6000 words of BLACKGUARD (yes I'm still working on it, no it isn't done yet, see above for why).

Cons:
WonderCon, as detailed previously.

Interviews/podcasts:
In addition to a bunch of text interviews, mostly for DEAD SPACE, I've also done four audio interviews, three of them at WonderCon, and two of which haven't been posted yet - no idea when or if they will be.

The above doesn't count the outline/plot work I've also done this year, by the way.

As Gruber would say: jiminy.

DEAD SPACE interview @ Anime Sentinel

2008-03-28T09:52:14Z

Whoops, this one slipped through the cracks: a new DEAD SPACE interview at Anime Sentinel.

Yeah, yeah, yet another, blah, blah. However, this one is with Ben as well as me. So it's a lot funnier than most of the others, at least...

Also, I gather DEAD SPACE #2 is due to go on sale next week. Not confirmed yet, but it's on the advance lists, so I'll let you all know.

mostlyspam

2008-03-23T00:34:56Z

It was inevitable, I suppose - some Thai linkspammer has registered my old mostlyblack.com domain, and filled it with an AdWords feedripper site.

What's particularly unusual is that they also appear to have nicked a (very) old site design of mine, perhaps from the Wayback Machine, and populated it with... entries from this journal dating from 2004 backwards. WTF?

Anyway, point being, please update your links to point only to antonyjohnston.com. And if you see another site that still has the old mostlyblack domain listed, please ask them to update it.

(It's not like I didn't contact every single person in my address book with this information almost a year ago, but whaddyagonnado?)

Plenty of Waste

2008-03-19T12:29:39Z

WASTELAND #15, “Dawnrazor”, goes on sale today across North America (tomorrow in Europe). This is the all-Sand-Eater, all-the-time issue, showing their march on Newbegin, and the Sand-Eater creation story in their own words. Plus, learn how to swear in Sandie-speak. Nice!

Still with WASTELAND, The Big Wet has also been updated, not only with the usual availability and solicitation info, but with three new bonus features this month:

First is a new instalment of Walking The Dust, in which Ankya Ofsteen shares her experiences of Newbegin. Second is a brand new character bio for Artisian Neelan, he of the sick daughter and mysterious friendship with Michael. And finally, an all-new song for the Official Soundtrack—Artisian Heart, a dark ambient mood piece that may surprise you...

Meanwhile, jumping back across to DEAD SPACE for a moment, there's a new interview with me up at Broken Frontier, talking about my experience with the series, the challenges we face in getting it out there, and so on. Good stuff.

Short Train

2008-03-13T13:09:59Z

The guys from new podcast on the block Going Train were at WonderCon, and interviewed both Ben and myself for their second episode. Ostensibly we were there to talk about DEAD SPACE, of course, but both interviews got that swiftly over with before moving on to more... esoteric realms.

Short and sweet, you can either get the episode through iTunes, or just download it directly from the website.

Oh, and it also turns out host Ryan, the one who interviewed me, is a big fan of WASTELAND. Nice!

Dead Man Talking

2008-03-07T17:15:14Z

More DEAD SPACE interviews, as both Ben and myself were interrogated by Wizard earlier this week. These are straight transcripts of phone interviews, so you can finally see how inarticulate we both are without the benefit of an 'edit' button.

While I'm on the subject, I should probably add that the DEAD SPACE '#0 teaser' issue we did for SDCC '07—and which is now being shown all over the place online wherever the comic is mentioned—was literally just that, a teaser. It's the same style, and some of the same characters, as the series proper, but it's not 'canon' and isn't in continuity. So if you've read the first issue and are a bit confused, that's why...

DEAD SPACE #1 on sale

2008-03-04T11:20:37Z

WonderCon was fantastic, thanks for asking. Ben and I barely stopped signing all weekend - we reckon we must have topped 1,000 comics and posters by the end of it - and I had a great time (despite travel woes that saw me arrive a day late, and minus my luggage). I'd forgotten how much I like San Francisco. Hopefully I won't leave it seven years before returning next time...

We couldn't see the end of the line:

The Isotope party was a hit, with a pretty full house. I sold out of my bound scripts, and Ben sold a metric boatload of artwork. My thanks to James Sime, his wife Kirsten and the inimitable Storm for putting on a great party and looking after us.

We also did a signing at the EA campus after the con, which was great fun and totally insane. People gave up their entire lunch breaks to stand in a line that, again, we literally couldn't see the end of:

So, thanks all. Let's do it again some time.

DEAD SPACE #1 officially goes on sale this week, $2.99, available from all good comic stores.

The official game website, in addition to bonus stuff about the game, also has previews of the book and the animated trailer they made for it. Pretty nifty. Go to deadspacegame.com and see for yourself.

Finally, I did an interview about DEAD SPACE for ComicMonsters.com, which is now up. We did plenty of interviews at the show as well, for podcasts and the like, so hopefully those will all be available soon.

Wonderful World

2008-02-19T14:46:23Z

Last-minute WonderCon confirmations before I jet off...

• The EA booth is attached to "Image Island", and is #509. I'll be there for DEAD SPACE signings, with Ben of course:

Friday, 2.00-3.30
Saturday, 2.00-3.30

• I'll also be on the Comics and Multimedia panel, Saturday 11.00-12.00. This is in the programme as "Spotlight on Ben Templesmith", but it's also a general multimedia discussion. It's in Room 220.

• The Oni booth is #621. I don't know exactly when I'll be there, though a decent portion of Sunday is currently looking the most likely time. If you want something signed and can't make it to the Image booth at the above times, head for the Oni booth instead. If I'm not there, they'll know when I will be.

(Christopher Mitten can't make it after all, but I'm still going to see if I can pressgang Ben into joining me for a WASTELAND signing.)

• Finally, the Isotope party has been officially announced:

Click here for a bigger image and full details.

That's it—I'm off to get some rest (I can never sleep properly on aeroplanes). Hope to see you there.

WonderCon, Isotope event

2008-02-13T17:36:03Z

San Francisco WonderCon is just over a week away, from Fri 22 till Sun 24. Ben Templesmith and I will both be attending to promote the launch of DEAD SPACE. EA will have a special con-only edition of issue #1 for sale and we'll be signing copies, possibly doing a panel or two.

We're also hoping to get Christopher Mitten out to attend, so that we can do another three-at-once signing for WASTELAND at the Oni booth (#621). Not sure if Chris will be able to make it out yet, though.

• Special Event! Finally, Ben and I will be appearing at Isotope on Friday 22nd, from 8pm onwards. We'll be signing copies of all our books, answering your questions, and selling some stuff—Ben will have original art, I'll have some limited edition bound scripts. This is the first time either of us have 'experienced' an Isotope event, so it should be a lot of fun.

Big Resource

2008-02-05T12:34:12Z

A big interview with me is now up over at Comic Book Resources, talking about WASTELAND, DEAD SPACE, writing novels and more. I should probably point out that it was originally conducted in November 2007 (!), so there's no mention of the WOLVERINE manga, despite a question at the end which would have been perfect...

Comixology podcast interview

2008-01-30T10:56:25Z

To coincide with the release of WASTELAND #14, I did an interview for the Comixology podcast that's now available. The focus is mostly on WASTELAND, but we also went off into general areas like my background, use of language, and more. Hear me ramble on about etymology!

You can download it directly from the Comixology site, or click here to get it through iTunes.