April 7, 2010 Update
Time for another long-delayed news update.
image © Andrew Pepoy
The big news is that The Adventures of Simone & Ajax is finally on sale. Written and drawn by me and published by IDW Publishing, it's the first paperback collection of Simone & Ajax, collecting all the recent color stories, "Simone, Queen of the Jungle," "The Case of the Maltese Duck", and "A Christmas Caper". As described on Amazon.com:
Mix: One wacky girl with one tiny dinosaur; Result: Big Fun! Collects three full-color, zany tales of Simone & Ajax, The Case of the Maltese Duck, A Christmas Caper, and Simone, Queen of the Jungle, plus extras, by Eisner-winner, Andrew Pepoy (FABLES, THE SIMPSONS). Intro by Mark Schultz (XENOZOIC TALES). Critics say: bit like the best issues of Cerebus, and a mood that harkens BONE. Readers say: ...the look of an Archie Comic, but the sensibilities of a Marx Brothers Movie. You'll say: I like it!
128 pages of fun can be yours! You can find it or order it through your local comics shop or bookstore. The Diamond Distributors easy order code for comic shops is Nov090854. It's also available from online booksellers. Get yourself a copy and one for a friend.
A note about the listing at various dealers: Some list the book as The New Adventures of Simone & Ajax and show a different cover taken from the Maltese Duck story, but it's all really the same book and will come with the cover art you see here on this page.
You can order it through the following:
In the USA:
Amazon.com
In Canada: Amazon.ca
In the UK:
Amazon.co.uk
In France:
Amazon.fr
In Germany:
Amazon.de
In India:
Flipkart.com
Or Infibeam.com
In Australia:
CDWow.com.au
It's also likely available from other sellers in these countries and others.
In other comics news, I'm continuing to ink Jack of Fables for DC/Vertigo and occasionally helping on Fables, too. I recently inked an issue of Futurama for Bongo and am working on stories for the Simpsons Summer Shindig and Simpsons Super Spectacular. I've also inked my first graphic novel for the European market, Lanfeust Odyssey t.1, from Soleil, continuing the hit series of Lanfeust books. I've also just finished inking a spin-off, Alunys de Troy, and will then ink LO t.2. I'll also soon be inking a special mini-series for Archie Comics, Archie Loves Betty. More on that and some other big news in an update to be posted soon.
Convention season is kicking in, so here are my current (though subject to change) plans for the coming months:
image © Andrew Pepoy
image © Andrew Pepoy
April 16-18: Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo(aka C2E2) in Chicago. I'll be set up in Artists Alley as well as likely doing signings at DC and elsewhere.
July 21-25: Comic-Con International in San Diego, CA. I'll be set up in Artists Alley as well as likely doing signings at DC and elsewhere.
August 19-22: Chicago Comic-Con in Rosemont, IL. Currently not planning on setting up there, but I will likely be doing signings at DC and other booths.
October 8-10: New York Comic-Con in New York City. Plans will be posted later.
I may add other shows later.
And with convention season comes awards season. For the 2nd year running, Fables has been nominated for a Hugo Award in the Best Graphic Story category: Fables Vol 12: The Dark Ages Written by Bill Willingham; Pencilled by Mark Buckingham; Art by Peter Gross & Andrew Pepoy, Michael Allred, David Hahn; Colour by Lee Loughridge & Laura Allred; Letters by Todd Klein (Vertigo Comics). The award will be given out at this year's Worldcon, Aussiecon 4, in Melbourne, Australia in September.
For the first time in several years I'm able to do a planned signing for Free Comic Book Day, so I'll be appearing at Amazing Fantasy Books and Comics in Frankfort, IL on Saturday May 1 along with my long-time friend and fellow artist, Bill Reinhold. We each have work in one of the FCBD giveaways, so please stop by for one of those and some of the other great samples.
The Hero Initiative, a great non-profit charity dedicated to giving a helping hand to comic book creators, is doing another of their "Covers" projects. You may have seen their past projects of 100 different hand-drawn covers for special issues of Wolverine, Spider-Man, and more, but this time they're doing a special edition of Archie #600. Fifty different creators have been given copies of the book with a blank cover and will draw an original cover to the book on it. These will then be auctioned off and a book will be published collecting them all. I'm fortunate to have been asked to be part of the stellar roster of artists. I'll be doing a Katy Keene-themed cover, since she is an Archie character and I've done lots of work on her, which I'll be posting here when I get it done. Please keep an eye on the H.I. website for more info on the auctions and book. You can read more about this and see a few of the covers by clicking here.
On a non-work but still-comics note, in the latest issue of Comics Buyer's Guide (aka CBG), #1665, which is on sale now, you'll find their usual "Top 10 Favorite Comic Book Covers" feature, this month chosen by me. Instead of the impossible task of picking the 10 best ever, I went with the theme of picking 10 favorite covers that have always stuck with me because they were turning points for me and my love of comics, books that because that cover grabbed me and got me to buy it a new door was opened to me to another aspect of comics.
Finally, my online art dealer, www.comiconart.com, is building me a new page on their site, so if it's not up by the time you read this, it will soon be. You'll find original pages for sale from many comics I've worked on. New additions include new pages from Fables, Jack of Fables, updated pricing and art from Little Orphan Annie, and more.
Remember to check back soon for some updates and announcements.