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The Dallas Observer has featured me in their "Best Of 2006" edition. It's out now. I'm on page 28. And you can read the write-up HERE.
  This is cool. I got a congratulatory voice mail from Daniel Miller earlier tonight. Thanks! (Sorry I couldn't call you back. I was in the middle of putting Kennedy to bed.) Updates galor: (1) Copies of Antigone are being shipped right now for the Zeus signing next Wednesday. Hope to see some of you there. (2) The Dark Horrors anthology (with my short story) should be coming out around Halloween. (3) Jamar and I are writing a freaky non-historical historical Western together. (Frederick Douglass is the President.) We just got confirmation from the artist. Not going to say anything else this early in the project, but he's hella talented. (4) Diana Nock and I are working a graphic novel that is still in the very beginning stages. It might be awhile. Shanna Caughey has graciously volunteered as my story editor. Much appreciated. (5) Sent the Jack Ruby proposal to a few publishers. I'm waiting for a response. (6) And I sent a different proposal off to a different publisher, but can't talk about that one just yet. (7) Cal is working on the Last Babysitter. This is going to be good! (8) Greg is working on Omisoka Bridge. Can't wait to see the art. (9) Possibly more Karma Incorporated? (10) My goal is to have all this stuff more or less wrapped up (on my end) by May. At that time, I'm starting on the opus I was daydreaming about. Maybe not the wisest thing to try and publish, but I don't care.
Our first review for Antigone (CLICK HERE) from Matthew McLean of The Comics Review.
Silent Devil's Antigone is a great adaptation of an ancient play that is both entertaining and powerful, making for a morality play that resonates centuries after the original was penned.
It's coming October 28th and 29th. I'll be at the Dallas Comic Con, along with Cal Slayton and Kristian Donaldson. If you haven't been before, this will be a great one to attend. I'll have copies of the Dark Horrors anthology, and Antigone -- plus a sneak peek of mine and Brock's contribution to the upcoming Tick anniversary special. (click here for the full Dallas Comic Con guest list)
 The Zeus signing was mentioned on Newsarama. And don't forget about Cape 2.5 this Saturday. Lastly, I should have some good news to announce later this week. I think. Keep checking back.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
ANTIGONE SIGNING TO BENEFIT LEA HERNANDEZ To celebrate the release of Antigone, Zeus Comics is hosting a signing with writer David Hopkins. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, October 4th, all day 11 AM to 7 PM at the store location off Oaklawn Avenue in Dallas, Texas. All proceeds from the sale of Antigone that day will benefit comic artist Lea Hernandez and her family who recently lost their house due to a fire. As a continuation of the Cape 2.5 event, any original artwork not sold during the auction will be available for sale on the day of the signing. "The Lea Hernandez benefit doesn't end at the CAPE 2.5 live art show. Thanks to David and Silent Devil, we're able to extend the benefit for Lea into the store for folks that couldn't attend show," said store owner Richard Neal. "David's signings at Zeus are always a huge success." Published by Silent Devil, Antigone is a 32-page black and white one-shot by David Hopkins and artist Tom Kurzanski. "What David and Tom have accomplished on Antigone is astounding," said Silent Devil's Editor-in-chief Christian Beranek. "Everyone at Silent Devil is very proud of the book and we can't for the fans to see it." The creative team won accolades for last year's mini-series Karma Incorporated, published by Viper Comics. Zeus Comics is located at 3878 Oaklawn Ave, Suite 100E. Additional information can be obtained by calling Zeus Comics at 214-219-TOYS Go to wwww.antiherocomics.com or www.zeuscomics.com for more information.
Melissa and I are characters in Justin Stewart's most recent Popped Culture webcomic. (CLICK HERE) If you haven't read Popped Culture, you should. My favorites are the "Tarantino/Fast Food" arc and the "Skeletor working at Target" one. Pure awesomeness. Here's a previous comic by Justin featuring our family.
Very excited for Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, an animated feature based on the graphic novel. CLICK HERE for the official Sony Classics site.
You know what I'd really love to do? Write an ongoing comic book series about a family of outcasts trying to stay together despite tragedy and the centrifugal nature of life -- an insane amount of leading characters, multiple interwoven plotlines. It'd be a little funny, a little sad, a little ironic, but no gun fights or car chases or stuff exploding. No pirates, cyborgs, zombies, monsters, ninjas, monkeys, or invading alien hordes. It'd be my epic. Would anyone illustrate it? Would anyone publish it? Would anyone read it? I think my chances are slim. Hey, who knows? Maybe I've already started on it. One hundred issues already written that no one's ever read. Thousands of pages ready to go. My ambitious unmarketable magnum opus.
The website and press release for Cape 2.5 is now online at www.capeday.com. The event is scheduled for Saturday September 30th at the Metro Grill in Dallas starting at 9pm. The event hosts are Fanboy Radio, Pop Syndicate, PVP, and Zeus Comics. The money raised from the night of the auction goes directly to Lea Hernandez and her family.
There were some technical difficulties at first, but it all resolved and the interview was fun and a bit irreverent. CLICK HERE. Thanks to my Astrokitty friends at KJHK in Lawrence, Kansas.
ZeeS started a blog, where he's posting some of his artwork. killerzees.blogspot.com He's one of my favorite artists. We worked together on the Arcana horror anthology (October).
I wrote a "propinion" article for Pop Image about dysfunctional families, finding my niche, and Antigone. CLICK HERE. Thank you to Mr. Jonathan Ellis for allowing me the opportunity to rant, and for putting together such a cool site. If you haven't been to Pop Image before, there's some great content here.
Yesterday, Tom uploaded all 32 pages (and the cover) for Antigone to the Silent Devil FTP server. It's done, and off to the printer. I talked with Christian Beranek, our editor, and this one-shot comic should be in stores by the first or second week of October.
If you haven't seen it yet, here's a preview of the first eight pages. CLICK HERE Due to deadlines, a feisty scanner, and other uncontrollable circumstances, I didn't see any of pages 9-32 until it was all finished. I've never had the opportunity of seeing one of our comics, for the first time all at once, as if picked off the shelf. This was a great experience. I am a huge fan of Tom's art. He's such a versatile artist -- able to create these clear panel images while still including great details (aspects of the story and environment which were entirely his own creation, and so perfect). Tom's art has range, creating levels of human emotion for each scene -- touch of humor and sometimes unbearable sadness. He's able to slow down the pace of the reader, which for this condensed version is essential. And also, when the script asks for violent and gruesome, the art gets incredibly graphic. For any who thought Karma Incorporated #3 was too violent, Antigone far surpasses that mark. Yeah, this is not an all-ages book. After all, we're talking Greek tragedy. While I love Karma Incorporated, Antigone showcases Tom's best work so far. People are going to take notice. For my part, I wrote the script so long ago. Once we started working out the specifics with Silent Devil, I went back and made some changes here and there -- added a few pages and spread out a few scenes. I was pleased to see some of my ideas worked better than I had planned, once again courtesy of Tom. No doubt, I'll have some people who will wish we did a longer version, spreading it out to 48 pages or more. But honestly, if you've read the original play, as I have... many, many, many times (35 times in seven years), it's all there. The story is fairly straightforward. And I'm of the opinion that if you can tell a good story in 32 pages, you shouldn't make it any longer. I'm thankful Silent Devil was so excited about publishing Antigone and really championed what we were doing. I like the idea that a person can pay $2.95 and get the complete story. Plans are underway for a few store signings and some conventions. Most likely, Dallas Comic Con in October. Tom and I will be at Wizard World Texas in November. I need to confirm some details with Richard at Zeus Comics, but Silent Devil has kindly offered 200 copies of the book that I want to sell and donate the proceeds to charity. What charity? I'm still working on that.
FANBOY RADIO PRESS RELEASE
What's more intimidating that being responsible for the words that come out of Marvel Comics' most stoic and challenging character? Facing the world's most critical fanbase! Writer Greg Pak has tossed the 'Big Green Machine' into space with his massive, multi-arc Incredible Hulk series, Planet Hulk and now joins the crew at Fanboy Radio to answer questions and talk comics.I'm looking forward to the show, especially to talk with Greg Pak.
This week's column for Pop Syndicate (posted every Thursday) is now online:
Do It For The Diva As some of you may have heard, Lea Hernandez's home burned down yesterday morning and her family needs your help. You can dontate via paypal to divalea@gmail.com. Immediate giving is important, but when considering later expenses -- Zeus Comics, Fanboy Radio, and Pop Syndicate are hosting Cape 2.5 on Saturday, September 30th. It will be live art show at the Metro Grill in Dallas at 9 PM. All proceeds from the event will go to Lea and her family. More info coming soon.
A good Emily Edison review from Sequential Tart
http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=244 The characters are great. Emily is your typical teenager from a broken home, with typical homework problems and boy problems and hateful half-sister problems -- complicated by that whole Grandpa-keeps-trying-to-destroy-the-world thing. Emily is totally nonchalant about her super powers and odd parentage; it's the homework and the boys that cause her to totally spaz out.
Douglas Coupland's movie now has an official website -- Everything's Gone Green. The Canadian release date is September 29th. I haven't found a trailer yet, but here's a movie poster that looks pretty cool. Paulo Costanzo plays the lead role, and I like him as an actor.
 I'll admit a little apprehension. I would've liked to have seen the adaptation for one of his optioned books first -- Generation X or All Families Are Psychotic. This film seems a little too Coupland-esque; Coupland parodying his own style for the screen. Granted, I'm criticizing the movie before I've even seen it. However, coming off a mixed response to JPod, I need a little more. Who knows? I might love it, but my expectations are unrealistically high. He is, after all, still my favorite writer.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
After five years of serving many deserving men and women within the comics industry, A Commitment To Our Roots (A.C.T.O.R.) Comic Fund is changing its name. The new name, The Hero Initiative – complete with new logo – will open its doors to operate in all markets, both comics fans and general consumers alike, in its mission to raise funds to deliver assistance to comic book creators in need.  "I think we did a very good job of establishing 'brand identity' for A.C.T.O.R. within the comic market. But as soon as we took the mission outside the village of comics, you'd see confusion in people's eyes," said Jim Mclauchlin, president of The Hero Initiative. "The 'Hero' concept is one that ties very, very closely to comics, and resonates well. It lets everyone know what we're about." The name change will enable the organization to dissolve the barriers that were getting in its way to help build its momentum while boosting its ongoing evolution and outreach to broader audiences. "In order to start moving into the mainstream consciousness, we needed to a name that would resonate with everyone whether or not they read comics," McLauchlin added. "And we're not stopping with a new name and logo – we will be announcing a new board of directors this week." A.C.T.O.R. is extremely grateful for the support it has received in the past from companies, individuals, retailers, websites and conventions and looks forward to working together in the future under its new name. "When I was first approached about being involved in this charity, I jumped at the chance," said Joe Quesada, board member of The Hero Initiative, and of course, Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics. "Without slighting anyone else, I believe that there is no better cause in our industry today. None of what we enjoy today would exist without the incredible talents of the people who created the stories that have entertained all these years. There is no better way to give back and honor the legacy of every talented man and woman who has graced the pages of a comic book than by giving what you can to Hero. In our continued mission and with a new name, you'll be helping those that have given you so much." The new website, www.HeroInitiative.org, and email address, HeroInitiative@aol.com, will be up and running this week. The phone and fax numbers and mailing address remains the same. ABOUT THE HERO INITIATIVE The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment. For more information, visit www.heroinitiative.org or call 310-909-7809.
dEUS live in concert (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5,
part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10)
E-mail from Paul Milligan:
While the Sketch Group is still meeting on Sunday from 2 - 5 it will no longer take place at the Barnes & Noble. There were issues with space at that location which we were not made aware of until yesterday. In a mad scramble we have found a new location for the group:Just giving the update for anyone planning to attend. I'll be there.
My weekly column is still going at Pop Syndicate. I need to create a larger backlog of articles, so I'm not going week to week. Possibly I can work on it tonight? I need something that's not going to feel like a burden--something I look forward to writing. Fortunately, I've been given a lot of freedom to write really whatever I want. (At least, I haven't been told "no" yet.) And it's easy to upload these articles, which I also like. Feedback is encouraging. Let's me know I'm not just talking to myself. Melissa's been faithful to read each one, which I appreciate.
After the "It List", I'm writing a column about comic book critics. Review the reviewers. Should be fun. Then for November, a month long series, "David Hopkins interviews his friends", which should free up some time for something else I'm planning to do. December will be a return to more of what I started off doing. (I think.) All the while, my chess match with Scott McCloud continues as a regular installment. --- Kennedy has been sick for the past couple of days. She's been running a temperature and complaining about her ears, having difficulty sleeping at night. We took Kennedy to the doctor and got a prescription for antibiotics. Hopefully, she'll feel better this weekend.
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