Emily, Away!

Local graphic novel writer David Hopkins is celebrating the release of his first full-length work, Emily Edison, by ... leaving town.

Stop your whinin': He's not going away permanently. He and the artist he works with, Brock Rizy, are merely embarking on a book tour that will take them through Texas, to San Diego for Comic-Con International, to Oklahoma, then back home. The dynamic duo will hit the road on July 1, shortly after a release party for Emily (Viper Comics) from noon 'til 7 p.m. today (Wednesday) at Dallas' Zeus Comics (Turtle Creek Village, 3878 Oak Lawn Ave., Ste. 100E; 214-219-TOYS).

Hopkins has been writing for two years and released his first series, Karma Incorporated, last year. In addition to Karma and Emily, Hopkins also contributes essays on iconographic heroes for BenBella Books' Smart Pop series (http://smartpopbooks.com). In July, he'll also begin writing an online monthly column on indie comics for the 'zine PopSyndicate.com.

As for Emily, she's just your typical superpowered teen-ager torn between her divorced super-parents' respective multi-dimensional homes and a jealous alternaverse grandfather who wants to get her all to himself by destroying Earth. Rizy's hip, blocky, graphic design-tinged art is as crafty and wry as the multi-dimensional child custody battle plotline. For more, visit www.antiherocomics.com.

There is no good way of recapping the plot of a comic book without sounding like a total dork. But trust me: The story's first-rate, and the art's equally impressive. (Some of Rizy's work for Emily Edison hung for a while in the bar at the Magnolia Theater; on more than one occasion I overheard patrons inquire about purchasing the pieces, which is the nicest compliment anyone could ever offer.) Fact is, despite the copious action sequences at which Rizy excels -- his work is reminiscent of that of Jack Kirby, Mike Mignola and, especially, Kyle Baker, with some anime and Kim Possible thrown in -- the story holds its own, refusing to obscure its broken-family subtext behind standard superhero derring-do.

I'm working with Arcana Studios on a horror anthology called "Dark Thresholds" that will be sold in October. We're looking for creators to come to us with completed psychological horror projects by the end of August for us to include in the anthology, and everything will be creator owned. I'm one of the editors on it (and I'll have a story in it called "The In Between Space").

More information can be found at www.arcanastudio.com (there's a link at the bottom of the page that will take you directly to the forum, or simply select "Forums" and then "Dark Thresholds")

While "Emily Edison" is an all ages book, and that potentially large audience should be considered a good thing, the term "all ages" always seems to cause some people to cringe. They imagined work that has been dumbed down for younger readers or heavily "sanitized" writing -- neither of which apply to "Emily Edison." "Come on!" exclaims Hoplins. "There's more to a story than whether or not to cuss, and show blood. Heck, I would consider Steve Niles' 'Freaks of the Heartland' to be a children's story in its development and tone, almost like a fairy tale. And it's the best thing he's ever written. The real challenge for an all ages book is to tell a good story, blow their little minds, and not to hold back -- and that sometimes means upsetting the parents. J.K. Rowling has angered a fair share of adults along the way, but all she cares about is her story.

"We need more of that kind of courage with comic book creators. The problem is we've got a whole industry of very creative comic book writers who have no clue or desire to tell a kid's story. That's sad. You've got the exceptions, and god bless them, but many more well meaning people have ruined this medium for kids. We need publishers willing to take a risk. We need school libraries willing to carry our books. We need local retailers to host more kid friendly events like Free Comic Book Day, once a month."

"BitPass can do for comics what iTunes is doing for music," Hopkins says. "And it can be profitable." But what the industry needs, he says, is a mega-networking portal that can host literally hundreds of different creators and their individual portfolios -- rather than require the reader to seek out each creator individually.