Sunday, May 8, 2011

RIP: My Blog

It's probably incredibly obvious that I haven't been updating this blog in roughly forever. And I don't think that's gonna change. But for the handful of you who actually read this page, please check out my Facebook Fan Page, which I DO update from time to time with details about my projects and sneak peeks of artwork, etc.

Thanks!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

2011 - The Year To Come

It's that time of the year again, time to look ahead. I had a pretty modest comic book output in 2010, but with any luck 2011 will be different in that regard.

For one thing, DYNAMO 5: CERTAIN DEATH is already underway. Julio Brilha is hard at work on the pencils. This will be another mini-series (five, perhaps six issues) and is going to shake things up for the Dynamo kids in a major way -- starting with the death of one of the characters. And this being Image, there's nothing that says I have to revive the character later this year. So this death could actually be, gulp, permanent. Just for grins, here's a look at a page of Julio's rough pencils for our first issue.























If all goes according to plan, I'll also be launching a new ongoing series at Image, with artist Simone Guglielmini. It's a crime book called NEAR DEATH and because I'm feeling generous, here's a look at an interior page from our first issue. Art by Simone, colors by Ron Riley. This is the first time we've publicly posted any art, or mentioned our collaboration. Simone's hard at work on the second issue already, but we're not doing a formal announcement or solicitation until we have a nice, solid lead time. The plan is to be able to launch it sometime in 2011.























Next up is POINT OF IMPACT, another Image crime book. This one's a B&W mini-series that's been in the works for awhile. Again, we're not soliciting it until we have a solid lead time. Art is by Koray Kuranel, an insanely talented artist I met through my old friend Yildiray Cinar. Here's a look at the art from issue #2.






















And the last project I hope to release in 2011 is GRAVEYARD SHIFT (formerly known as UNDYING LOVE -- we changed the title to accommodate Tomm Coker's new Image series by the same name), a horror/romance/crime mini-series drawn and colored by Fran Bueno, who had a fantastic run on NOBLE CAUSES years ago. Fran and I have been working on this book for literally years, and we think we'll be able to release it in 2011. He's really pouring his heart and soul into this book, and it shows on every page. Here's a page from issue #2.























So that's what my comic book slate looks like in 2011. It sounds like a pretty productive year, and that's not even considering the fact that I hope to join the writing staff of a TV series for the 2011 Fall season. As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm currently part of the Warner Bros TV Writers Workshop. The program concludes at the end of March, and assuming I don't screw up too badly, I'll be sent around for interviews for staff writing gigs on various Warner Bros TV shows. These are shows produced by Warner Bros and their cable arm, Warner Horizon. Shows like THE MENTALIST, FRINGE, V, SOUTHLAND, THE CLOSER, TWO & A HALF MEN. These are all Warner shows, regardless of the network (or cable channel) on which they air. Although chances are I and my fellow classmates will end up on new series, rather than existing shows. The workshop is great, although intense. I'm surrounded by really talented writers and really smart, experienced instructors. So I've really had to bring my A game. Which makes me glad I'm so far ahead on my comic book projects. I've got a lot of scripts in the can for these various books, which means I can give this TV-thing my full attention.

2011 is looking up to be a really great, productive, exciting year for me. I hope it is for all of you!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

2010 - The Year That Was

So despite the fact that this blog has become horribly neglected, I still want to do my look back / look ahead posts as we approach the New Year. 2010 has turned out to be quite different than I imagined it would be last year.

I do take pride in the fact that DYNAMO 5: SINS OF THE FATHER hit every solicited ship date, as did the recently released DYNAMO 5 HOLIDAY SPECIAL. The reasoning behind our decision to switch a series-of-mini-series format was so that we could release the book on a more reliable schedule, and it would've looked really bad if we'd missed the ship dates on a mini-series. Fortunately for us, that wasn't the case. And as of this writing, artist Julio Brilha is already hard at work on our next mini-series, DYNAMO 5: CERTAIN DEATH. And I'll confirm right here, for the first time, that one of the five Dynamo kids is going to die. Who will be it? That's for me to know and you to find out!

As 2010 began, I really thought that I'd be focusing a lot more on prose. See, I've always considered myself a writer. Not just a comic book writer, or a screenwriter, or a prose writer. But a writer. Of lots of different things. In 2009 I wrote a TV pilot and a feature film and because things move so slowly in Hollywood I wanted to mix it up a bit more. To that end, I was determined to try my hand at prose. And I did. I wrote two short stories that I think turned out pretty well. They're both mystery stories, and maybe I'll put them online somewhere, sometime.

But in addition to prose writing, I had one more screenwriting-related goal. Many TV networks and studios have writing programs designed to train the next wave of TV writers, so I decided to apply to some of them. I ended up applying to the NBC / Universal "Writers on the Verge" program, the ABC/Disney Writing Program, and the Warner Bros TV Writers Workshop. I applied in May and then promptly put it out of my head and went back to work on comics and prose. But then in October I got a call that I'd made it to the interview stage in the Warner Bros program. So I flew down to LA, had my interview, and then flew home the very next day. Then the waiting began. I think it was only a little over a week, but it sure seemed longer. It was worth it, though, because I was accepted. Out of roughly 1,300 applicants, they chose 9 of us to be in the program. It started in early November, so I had to relocate from Washington state to LA in record time. Which I did. And I've been in the program for two months now and so far it's been an amazing experience. My classmates are all really nice, talented people and our instructors are awesome. As a comic book writer, I spend most of my time alone at my desk. So this is a really nice change, to be surrounded by like-minded writers who love TV as much as I do. It's really exciting. So if things go my way, I'll be on a writing staff for one of Warner Bros shows in the 2011 Fall season. But more on that in my next post, regarding what's ahead in 2011...

Monday, August 23, 2010

Everything Must Go!

*UPDATED ON 01/02/11*

I'm trying to downsize and in doing so, I realized I've got a ton of comics. And I don't mean comics from my collection, that I read for enjoyment. I mean comics that I created. Overstock, really. So here's the deal: I'm offering everything half-off the cover price. I've got pretty much everything I've ever written at Image Comics (I don't have stuff for sale from Marvel or DC).

Bottom line, it's all half off. I'll autograph stuff, of course, and ship it out via Media Mail (the cheapest way possible).

Here's a price list of the TPBs that are available as of this writing (although it's subject to change at any moment):

Noble Causes TPB #1 - $6.50
Noble Causes TPB #2 - $6.50
Noble Causes TPB #3 - $6.50
Noble Causes TPB #4 - $7.00
Noble Causes TPB #5 - $7.00
Noble Causes TPB #6 - $8.00
Noble Causes TPB #7 - $8.00
Noble Causes TPB #8 - $8.00
Noble Causes TPB #9 - $7.50
Noble Causes TPB #10 - SOLD OUT

Dynamo 5 TPB 1 - $5.00
Dynamo 5 TPB 2 - $7.50
Dynamo 5 TPB 3 - $7.50
Dynamo 5 TPB 4 - SOLD OUT

So if you're interested in anything I've got, drop me a line and we'll work out shipping rates and the final price. I prefer PayPal, but I'm also willing to take checks and Money Orders. Write me at jay dot faerber at gmail dot com.

P.S. -- Idgie the cat is not included in this offer. Although if the price is right ...

Saturday, July 17, 2010

New Stephen J. Cannell DVD

If you're a regular reader for my "Under the Influence" columns (which appear in my Image comics), it'll come as no secret to you that I'm a huge fan of Stephen J. Cannell, the TV producer-turned-novelist. Cannell created (or co-created) tons of memorable TV shows from the 70s and 80s, including The Rockford Files, 21 Jump Street, Hunter, The Greatest American Hero, Wiseguy, and many, many more.

All of those shows have been released on DVD, but the upcoming release that has me really psyched is Mill Creek Entertainment's Prime Time Crime: The Stephen J. Cannell Collection. It serves as a Cannell primer by featuring one episode each of the following shows: Wiseguy, The Commish, Hunter, Cobra, Tenspeed & Brownshoe, Silk Stalkings, 21 Jump Street, Booker, and The Greatest American Hero. But that's not the kicker. The kicker is that this set includes four complete (albeit short-lived) Cannell series that have never been released on DVD before.

The unreleased series are:

Missing Persons, a procedural drama about the Missing Persons unit of the Chicago PD, starring Daniel J. Travanti (Hill Street Blues) and Jorja Fox (CSI). This show ran for 18 episodes and was really ahead of its time. It's essentially Without a Trace, only, you know, ten years earlier.

UNSUB, a crime drama about the Behavorial Sciences Unit of the FBI. An "UNSUB" is an "Unknown Subject." This one ran for 8 episodes and is kind of a combination of CSI and Criminal Minds, but again, it predates those shows by at least ten years.

Palace Guard, about a reformed thief who goes to work as head of security for the Palace hotel line. Each week he's at a different luxury resort, investating some theft or murder. 9 episodes were produced, but it was cancelled after only 3 aired.

Broken Badges, a comedy about a bunch of police officers with various "quirks" who end up saving the day. This one ran for 7 episodes, although it's not really my cup of tea.

This entire set retails for $29.98 -- an impossibly low price, considering everything you get. I bought Mill Creek's Wiseguy Collector's Edition, which was also shockingly cheap, and much to my surprise, it's a good product. The packaging is pretty cheap, but the DVDs themselves look and sound good, considering how old the source material is.

Anyway -- if you're a Cannell fan, I highly recommend picking this up to see some of his lesser-known shows.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

The all-new, all-different Dynamo 5 website!

I know, I know ... I've been neglecting this blog big-time lately. But it's for a good reason. We've been hard at work on the new Dynamo 5 website. And when I say "we" I mean Charles Pritchett, the dude who letters and designs Dynamo 5 each issue.

So from here on out, this blog will be where I post about non-D5 stuff. Other projects, personal stuff, whatever. But for all the latest on Dynamo 5, please check out the new website. Like, now!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Notorious banners & wallpapers

The amazing Tim Daniel was kind enough to create some web banners and wallpapers based on NOTORIOUS, the new back-up feature that will run throughout DYNAMO 5: SINS OF THE FATHER. And when I say "kind enough," I mean Tim demanded that he be allowed to create them! I make it a point never to turn down a man with a plan, so here we are: