March 2008 Solicits are up!

Guaranteed to be one of the most beautiful comics you've ever read...

AVENGERS FAIRY TALES #1 (of 4)
Written by C.B. CEBULSKI
Pencils by JOÃO LEMOS
Cover by CLAIRE WENDLING
The critically-acclaimed line of Marvel Fairy Tales continues with a coming-of-age tale inspired by the timeless classic Peter Pan! When Wanda and Pietro are swept away to Neverland by the boy who never grows up, they find themselves pulled into a situation beyond their wildest dreams. However, as fairies and lost boys become locked in battle with a vicious pirate captain and his crew, the two children must accept that sometimes fantasy is not always an escape from reality. See Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the rest of the Avengers as you’ve never seen them before!
32 PGS./All Ages …$2.99

30 Years of Lucasfilm Holiday Cards

Pretty damn cool! I so wish I could get my hands on this year's card...

http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/12/13/cool-stuff-30-years-of-lucasfilm-christmas-cards

Guilty Pleasure Movies

So after a nice holiday party on Saturday afternoon, I've spent the rest of the weekend busting my ass, working on a script rewrite and two short stories that I want to get done before the holidays. I decided to take a short break to check NY1 to see what the report on all this snow and ice was. I turn on the TV and TBS comes up.... with Meet Joe Black playing. Shit, now I've just got to watch because Meet Joe Black is one of those shitty movies that I just love for some reason and once it's on I can't turn it off. I can't explain it, it's just a guilty pleasure. And while I'm on the subject, I'll just embarrass myself some more by telling you some of the other movies that I can't turn away from if they're on... Serendipity, The Replacements and Notting Hill. These are movies I will never buy and own, but keep me magically glued to the tube, as ashamed as I am to admit that.

Cool Mini-Comics

I posted earlier in the week about some good comics I've read recently, but this weekend I caught up on a couple mini-comics that I couldn't recommend more highly...

I've been reading Jacob Chabot's The Mighty Skullboy Army for years now and fell in love with it from day one. Jacob is an AMAZING talent and makes me laugh out loud with every new issue he puts out. I just picked up issues 8 and 9 at the New York Anime Fest last weekend and he just gets better with every issue. He also recently put out a sketchbook that's equally impressive. You can check out all his work and buy the mini-comics at his website www.beetlebugcomics.com

I also came across Monica Gallagher's Boobage at Jim Hanley's Universe and was really impressed. It's an autobiographical story about the ups and down of her having grown up with small breasts. And while it's not a situation I can personally relate to, Monica tells it in such an honest and open way with such a witty and poignant style that you can't help but feel what she felt as you turn the pages. While I was unfamiliar with her work before, I'm now a fan and just tracked down her other comics. Please be sure to check out her site www.eatyourlipstick.com

Enjoy!

Mystic Arcana Hardcover

Marvel's Mystic Arcana Hardcover goes on sale December 12th and collects five enchanting stories featuring some of their universe's most beloved magical characters, like the Scarlet With and Illyana "Magik" Rasputin. Phil Noto and I tell a harrowing tale of teenage terror starring Nico "Sister Grimm" Minoru of Runaways fame! Available wherever comic books are sold.

Good Comics Weekend

We're currently living in a time of great comics reading as my weekend stack proved...

Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together (Vol. 4)
Genshiken Volume 9
Marc Guggenheim's Resurrection (from Oni Press)
Umbrella Academy 2 & 3
Invincible 46 & 47
The Order 5
Suburban Glamour 2 (from Image)
The Infinite Horizon (from Image)
Annihilation Conquest 1 & 2
Black Summer 4 (from Avatar)
Uncanny X-Men 493 (Messiah Complex!)
Avengers: Initiative Annual
Potters Field 2 (from Boom! Studios)
Dan Dare 1 (from Virgin Comics)

Wasn't me...

I was already home so you can stop the finger pointing...

"Gardai in Dublin are on the lookout for 36,000 pints of beer stolen from the Guinness brewery."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7119073.stm

Clarifying an Italian Rumor

It's been brought to my attention that there seems to be some confusion over my having pulled out of attending the Lucca Comics Festival in Italy earlier this month. Someone is spreading rumors that I did so because 1.) I hate Italians, 2.) I didn't want to miss Halloween here in the U.S., and/or 3.) that ChesterQuest is a sham and that all 12 artists positions have already been filled. I can tell you that's all complete bullshit!

Yes, it's true I didn't make it to Lucca as originally planned, and trust me, I'm as disappointed as anyone. I really wanted to go, I mean REALLY, but the trip was abruptly canceled unfortunately. However, not for any of those reasons listed above. It simply came down to my travel schedule and flight logistics/pricing, which got screwed up as everything started coming together a little last minute and became too expensive. The convention organizers were wonderful and did everything to try and accomodate me, and I'm so very sorry I couldn't make it all work out in the end.

Now, as much as I love Halloween, I would have preferred to spend it in Italy, even though the show was after the holiday.

Also, as for the others claims... I cry foul. I was in Portugal the week after Lucca and then in Dublin the following week, where I did portfolio reviews for two days at each show and met many talented artists who I've since added to my ChesterQuest "semi-finalists" list. I have plenty more stops on the tour till it wraps at the end of January in Angouleme. I already have a little over 20 artists on this short list now, but the final 12 won't be decided upon until February when I present them all to Marvel. And if there are more than 12 talented artists who they feel deserve chances, that's even better!

Additionally, I have nothing but respect for the Italian comic book marketplace and the amazing artists who work there, many of whom I call friends. More Italian artists have entered ChesterQuest so far than from any other country in the world, actually. In fact, one Italian artist submitted his samples to ChesterQuest but Marvel felt he was so talented that he's already been given an ongoing monthly gig. And please note, he submitted his samples digitally to chesterquest@gmail.com, which every other artist is free to do no matter where they live. You don't need to meet me to enter. So the search continues full steam ahead...

Also, to make up for my no-show, I'm trying to make arrangements to attend the Mantova Comic Festival in Italy next year if my schedule allows.

So again, please let me offer my apologies to any Italian friends, fans and artists who were disappointed by my cancellation. I do so hope to get the chance to meet you all soon. Thanks for your understanding.

Ciao!

Bang No More

Quiet Riot lead singer Kevin DuBrow was found dead in his home today. CNN reports the news of his death here.

The Science of Sleep

My previous dreaming post reminded me on an interesting article I read in the New York Times magazine last week about the science of sleep. It's an informative piece that examines everything from the history of sleep to cultural views on getting ZZZs to medications to mattresses. You can check it out online here.

Dream A Lot Of Dream

I've been dreaming more vividly than ever these past few weeks. It's been extraordinary even for an "experienced" dreamer like me. I've been watching these full movies, with beginnings, middles and ends, play out in my sleeping mind. Sometimes I'm starring in them and other times some of you are are. Friends past and present, family, co-workers, celebrities... they're/you're all walking in and out of my head, starring in these nocturnal adventures. These dreams are coming at me more complete, more... powerful than ever before.

The funny thing is that the dreams now also fade faster. As soon as I wake up, the entire dream is still fresh in my head and I grab my pen and attempt to write it all down, as I usually do. However, the mental motion pictures now bleed from memory so much quicker than they ever have in the past. I can now usually never get past the first act in my scribbles before it's all gone. Maybe it's simply because these new dreams are longer and more complex that anything I've experienced in the past. Maybe my sleep memory just doesn't have the capacity to keep it all saved for that long once I awake. I don't know how to explain it any better than that.

One fact that didn't escape my notice though is that this all started right after my recent trips to Europe. These incredible dreams all started coming to me as soon as I left Portugal, the first one hitting me on my flight back from Lisbon to NYC. They then followed me to Dublin and got even stronger this past week after I got back. I take this as a good sign.

I've been worn down from work recently. Feeling almost a little creatively bankrupt of late, to be honest. But experiencing the cultures of both beautiful countries, hanging out with friends, and running in the creative/artistic circles that I was a part of on both trips, I came back feeling refreshed and invigorated. Inspired, if you will! And inspiration was what I desperately needed. So the trips were well worth it if you ask me...

...like something out of a dream.

Loners 6 - On Sale Now!

Hard to believe it's over... >sob sob<

The Land Of Guinness

I know I still have to finish posting about Portugal, and I have some great pics to share, but I'm in Dublin now and will try and send out a few updates from here as well. Cheers!

So Damn Beautiful

I have a story in this year's Marvel's Holiday Special featuring the Loners, and I'm blessed to be working with the amazing Alina Urusov on it. Alina's one of the most talented new artists I have seen come along in years and she blew me away with her work on these pages, which she penciled, inked and colored. Marvel finally gave me to the OK to share in public, and I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Forum Fantastico Day One

Headed over to the university yesterday for my first panel, a Marvel panel, a la Cup O' Joe. The panel right before mine was a Q&A with the lead singer/songwriter of Portugal's most popular metal band, Moonspell. I guess he's a very highly educated guy with a few philosophy degrees and the band is known for their intellectual lyrics about Lovecraft, Tolkien, and all kinds of other literary references, which is what he was there discussing. Once I took the stage, I didn't know what to expect, and was actually a little nervous, but it turned into a very interesting panel as the Portuguese fans asked all kinds of questions about art, continuity, characters ages, rumors and Cap's death. Felt just like a panel I would do at a con back home, so I guess wherever you go, fans are fans. I thought it went well and hope the people who came and particpated had as much fun as I did.


After that, it was portfolio review time, and I looked at the work of about maybe 12 Portuguese artists. There was a wide mix of styles and ability, but two people really stood out. It really reinforces my belief that there is so much untapped talent here just waiting to be discovered.


After the con, which ended at about 10PM, we all headed out for dinner and I finally had Bacalhau, traditional Portuguese salted cod fish. It was amazing!! Accompanied by "punched" potatoes and black-eyed peas with onion and cilantro, it was a meal to die for! We also had linguica to start us off, and Sagres beer to wash it all down, which only added to the experience!


About nine of us headed down to Lisbon's party district, Barrio Alto, after that... and when they say party, they mean PARTY! It was unlike anything I've ever seen, just people hanging out and drinking in the streets across three or four blocks. Great caprihnas, cool people, good times! Pics and stories of our late night adventures soon...

Dublin is on!

Just finalized my tickets for the Dublin City Comic Con next weekend! I'll be in town from Friday the 15th to Monday the 18th. I'm not a big Guinness drinker, but I'm assured there will be plenty of other tasty beverage to whet my appetite! You can find all the info you need on the show here.

And yes, my flight is direct this time!

Pics from Home!

C'mon, you know you love these cat pics as much as I do...

Better Late Than Never

Finally made it to Portugal! Arrived in Lisbon at midnight yesterday, 10 hours after I was originally scheduled to touch down. I should have flown direct! Oh, well...

I was met at the airport by Forum organizer Rogerio, as well as my Shiki collaborator Joao Lemos and No Quarter partner-in-crime Ricardo Venancio. It was wonderful to finally put faces to names and meet these guys in person!

Checked into the hotel, too a much-needed shower and joined them for a couple beers down in the hotel bar, where we stayed talking comics and culture till 3AM. Found out I missed the first round of ChesterQuest reviews yesterday due to the flight delays, so I have leave behinds to review now, and have a number of interviews rescheduled for this morning as I missed a press junket as well. Looks like my fat mug will be in more foreign newspapers starting tomorrow.

To anyone interested, this leg of ChesterQuest is being sponsored by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, which is one of the most important art foundations in the world. You can learn more about them here or here.

No real pics to post yet, but here's a shot from my hotel window. I guess the big Benfica soccer stadium is right around the corner. More soon...

On The Road Again

ChesterQuest rolls on...

I'm on my way to Lisbon, Portugal for the Forum Fantastico convention this weekend, flying in via Amsterdam. However, the trip did not get off to a good start. We got delayed out of JFK for three hours as they were transporting race horses on the same flight. The horses were so heavy and agitated that they kept shifting the weight balance of the plane so they had to keep adjusting cargo to compensate. And they can't drug them due to doping concerns or some shit. Grrrr... Then we're finally ready to leave the gate and the pilot comes on with this gem of an announcement:

"Well, the horses are settled and the cargo doors are closed, but it seems we're having trouble with our electrical system now, which doesn't look good. But we're not going to worry about that too much. We'll just start the engines and try to get the plane in the air."

Way to instill confidence in your already tired and annoyed passengers! But we made it...


I got my preferred emergency exit window seat and slept most of the way. The few times I did wake up, the plane seemed more like a party than an international flight, with people all standing up, hanging out in the aisles, drinking beer, mingling... I guess they were just getting ready for good times in Amsterdam. One thing I do have to say though, this being the first time I flew KLM, they had a couple of the hottest stewardesses I have ever seen, but also some of the most homely ones as well. And I'm not talking homely as in those old lady flight attendants you see on some flights, I'm talking young women who were just butt ugly! I know that sounds crass, but it's just something I notice as I travel so much. I thought airlines had restrictions about this kind of thing in their hiring policies?! :)

But anyway, six hours later we had made it over the pond and started our descent into the Dutch capital...


I was actually the first person off the plane which also meant I was the first to get the bad news... most of us had missed our connecting flights. KLM was great about the situation though, more professional and prepared than any other airline I have ever flown on, and they had all our new connections and boarding passes ready as soon as we got there. However, I'm now stuck here in Amsterdam Airport for 7 hours!! They gave us nice layover packages with vouchers, phone cards, comps towards our next flight, and 2000 free miles, which ain't bad, but I still had to shell out for wireless internet. Oh, well, I'm here and I'm set up and I'm working...



And compared to what I see out my window back in NYC everyday, the view here is pretty cool...


I'll be updating the blog daily from here on out, so keep checking back!

Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm Preview

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

On sale this Wednesday, November 7th!!

Another Question About Hell

This has been going around the net for a bit now, but I just got it again and it made me laugh, so I thought I'd share...

"The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so 'profound', that the professor shared it with his colleagues via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well:

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today.

Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, 'It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,' and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting 'Oh my God.'"

LONERS 6 Preview

Up at CBR!

Power in Simplicity

The last four pages of the new issue of Entertainment Weekly really stuck me as being some of the most innovative use of advertising space I've seen in recent memory.

You turn to just two blank black pages that make you go "What the fuck?", then you turn the page again and it's another all black spread with just the DVD Boxset for the final episodes of The Sopranos on it. I thought that final episode was brilliant and this ad promoting it was equally ingenious!

Hell is for Children?

I'll just come right out and say it, I've been on a Pat Benatar kick recently. Go ahead and laugh, just like you laughed when I admitted I was grooving to Air Supply, but I'm loving it!! I cherry-picked off her BEST OF... album and the playlist is as follows...

Hell Is for Children
Love Is a Battlefield
Invincible
Sex As a Weapon
We Belong
Heartbreaker
Shadows of the Night
Little Too Late
All Fired Up

"Hit Me With You Best Shot" may be her most well-known hit but it drives me batty though, so I skipped that little ditty. Almost skipped "Heartbreaker" too, but the chorus is just too catchy.

But I still don't know why hell is for children...?

My First Hardcover!

If Halloween's got you in the mood to read something spooky, especially if it's illustrated by the always amazing David Finch, Marvel's LEGION OF MONSTERS Hardcover has just gone on sale, with a new Dracula story written by yours truly and drawn by David.


It's only a short 11 pager we cooked up, but the rest of the monster stories in the collection are all pretty cool as well. And unlike the monthly comics I write which are only available in comic shops, you should be able to find this book in all your local bookstores, like Borders, Barnes And Noble, Waldenbooks, and even at Target and Walmart, I think. Otherwise, you can score a copy from Amazon right here.

Thanks for your support! Happy Halloween!!

What Matters Most Playlist

I write all my Wonderlost scripts while listening to music. It's usually always to music from around the time periods the specific stories are set in; music that helps bring the memories back or are key to the stories I'm writing. I choose to do something a little different with the playlist I made for writing "What Matters Most..." for CBI though. I went ahead and included some newer music that captured the mood or feelings of some of the scenes in the panels, so it turned into a pretty eclectic mix if I do say so myself. Here you go...

Jack and Diane - John Cougar Mellencamp
The Gift - Angels & Airwaves
Melt With You - Modern English
Ocean Avenue - Yellowcard
The Flame - Cheap Trick
Screaming Infidelities - Dashboard Confessional
Hold Onto The Nights - Richard Marx
Never Say Goodbye - Bon Jovi

Short story, short list...

CBI Reference Update

The image uploading function here is busted at the moment, so I posted the reference up on the CBR message boards in the Comic Book Idol forums...

CBI Round 2

Hey, all-

The reference for my WHAT MATTERS MOST... story for Comic Book Idol will be posted shortly. Hopefully layouts will keep you busy for the time being. I can't wait to see what you guys come up with! I'll also be including a list of snngs that make up the "soundtrack" I listened to when writing the story. Hopedully it will provide you with a little inspiration as well.

Take care,
C.B.

Supermarket Stereo

So today I'm at the same supermarket I was in when I heard "Bang Your Head" come over the speakers a few weeks back. Now if having Quiet Riot blaring wasn't already odd enough for an Upper West Side establishment, today's selection was completely inappropriate... Two Live Crew's "Me So Horny"! The uncensored version no less! I wanna know who is picking the tunes at this joint!

Ryusuke's Blog

Compass artist Ryusuke Hamamoto has started a new blog where he's posting everyday and practicing his English. You can check it out here: http://ryusukeworks.blogspot.com/

Recommended Reading

Caught up on a few magazines this weekend...

The new WIRED, the one with the plant on the cover, has a great interview with Ridley Scott about BLADE RUNNER and the impending release of The Final Cut. It also has a cool Before Blade Runner/After Blade Runner chart that illustrates what influenced Scott in making the movie and how the film in turn influenced different aspects of popular culture.

There's also an incredibly insightful article into the life and times of mega-producer Rick Rubin in the NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE from a few weeks back, the one with him on the cover. Rick has always been an inspiration to me in many ways and to get a more personal look into his mind and his thoughts on music and art in general here was pretty fascinating. His position in the music industry and deal he negotiated for himself show just how big an impact this man has had on the creative and business ends of the biz.

Check 'em out!

Banging My Head Hurts Till It Hurts

So I'm in the supermarket of all places today when a little Quiet Riot comes blaring over the loudspeakers. As riffs from "Bang Your Head" flood through the aisles, much to the shock of some customers, I realized it'd been years since I rocked out to a little QR. I was even tempted to throw up a quick devil sign right there while buying cat food! So I came home and downloaded a few of the classic tracks this young metal head used to indeed bang his head to. However, while definitely fulfilling my nostalgic need for speed, these songs also served to make me realize just how truly awful some metal was. Want proof? Check out these lyrics:

Well I'm an axe grinder... piledriver
Mother says that I never never mind her
Got no brains. I'm insane
Teacher says that I'm one big pain
I'm like a laser 6-streamin' razor
I got a mouth like an alligator
I want it louder
More power
I'm gonna rock ya till it strikes the hour

Bang your head! Metal Health'll drive you mad
Band your head! Metal Health'll drive you mad

Well I'm remonstrated... outdated
I really want to be over-rated
I'm a finder and I'm a keeper
I'm not a loser and I ain't no weeper
I got the boys to make the noise
Won't ever let up
Hope it annoys you
Join the pack
Fill the crack
Well now you're here
There's no way back

"Got no brains. I'm insane"? "Fill the crack"? What the fuck?

Who wrote this shit?! If I had paid any attention in 1982, I could have written better lyrics than that and made a mint!

Ah, well... you gotta love it!

Repeat track.

December Solicits Are Up

This is a great Avengers special packed full of fun stories by some truly talented up-and-coming comic creators. With a Bryan Hitch cover to boot!!


GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS SPECIAL #1
Written by C.B. CEBULSKI, MATT YOCUM, DANIEL MERLIN GOODBREY, DOUGLAS NOBLE, T. CAMPBELL & SCOTT GRAY
Penciled by PAUL NEARY, BRIAN DENHAM, NELSON, DENIS MEDRI & ROGER LANGRIDGE
Cover by BRYAN HITCH
As the Avengers battle to take down the Serpent Society, the team recalls never-before-told tales of their past! Watch as:
Spider-Man tries to integrate into a team and learns a thing or two about history, Luke Cage and Wolverine go toe-to-toe against a terrifying cosmic foe, Henry Peter Gyrich becomes an unlikely hero on an unlikely world, and Jarvis the butler cleans house…after some robot Vikings drop by unexpectedly. On top of all that—it’s the return of the critically-acclaimed Fin Fang Four by Scott Grey and Roger Langridge! That’s 55 pages of all-new comics, PLUS classic reprints from Avengers history!
96 PGS./Rated A …$4.99

Travis Charest Does Ultimates!

A quick panel from November's ULTIMATES SAGA, featuring a new story by Travis Charest and yours truly! It's available for pre-order now so don't forget to hit up your local retailer to reserve a copy today.

Loners in AZ!!

I just got forwarded this amazing pic from Atomic Comics in Phoenix, Arizona. Manager Thomas Healy and staff employee Michelle Poulson are big Loners fans and felt the book deserved a little extra love and attention. So to help hype the title with the release of issue five this week, they created the following Loners display, comparing Jason Pearson's amazing John Hughes' homage covers to the actual movie posters!


And I hear their promotional efforts paid off as Loners sales picked up! Fans of the films gave Loners a second look, noticed the teen drama aspects the book owes to the movies, and decided to give Loners a shot. I owe Thomas and Michelle a huge debt of gratitude for their hard work and support in pushing this comic that is so dear to me! Thanks, guys!!

Tales of Fear Agent Back-Up

About a year ago, when Rick Remender's amazing Fear Agent comic series was coming out through Image, he was running a series of eight page back-up stories called Tales of Fear Agent. Rick was kind enough to let me write one which was illustrated by Japanese artist Tommy Ohtsuka of Slayers fame. However, before our story saw print, the series moved from Image to Dark Horse where it was rebooted sans back-ups. However, Rick really liked the story and promised us that it would one day see the light of day, possibly in a Tales of Fear Agent trade. Being a man of his word, Rick is now making good on that promise and I'm pleased to announce that mine and Tommy's story will be featured in this October's Tales of Fear Agent #1!! This premiere issue will feature a main story by the incredible Eric Nguyen with with tale that Tommy and I did being run right behind it! (And coincidentally, Eric and I are also both featured in Marvel's Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm one-shot that same month!)

Orders are still open so please run down to your local retailer and reserve a copy today!

Here's a look at Eric's stunning cover to the issue, as well as a sneak peek at a couple of our interior pages, colored by the extraordinary James Rochelle. Enjoy!

My Fat Face on Video Again

Me discussing ChesterQuest at the Marvel Mondo panel in Baltimore...

Three From Me

Three new comics from yours truly will be hitting the shelves of comic stores across the country today. Keep your eyes peeled for:

LONERS 5 with Karl Moline and Beth Sotelo...


SPIDER-MAN FAIRY TALES 4 with Mindy Owens, Nick Dragotta, Mike Allred and Laura Allred...


COMPASS 1 with Akihide Yanagi and Ryusuke Hamamoto...


I hope you'll check them out. Thanks for your support!

Old Bay Wings!

I was down in Maryland for the amazing Baltimore Comic Con this past weekend and hit the Wharf Rat for dinner on Saturday night. As most everyone knows, Buffalo wings are my favorite food and I try and eat them at every new restaurant I go to. So I was going to sample the Wharf Rat's BW offering but then I noticed they also had Old Bay Wings, dry rubbed in the amazing spice of the same name. Being in Maryland, it would have been a crime not to order them and I was not disappointed! Crispy and tasty as hell, these wings were a meal in themselves. And the home-brewed Oliver's Pale Ale was the perfect beverage to wash them down! If you're ever in Baltimore, try and plate for yourself...

Baltimore Bound!

I'll be heading down to the Baltimore Comic Con this coming weekend, September 8th and 9th. I'll have a table in the Image Comics booth where I'll be selling and signing most of my Marvel and Image books both days. Compass #1 will debut at the show as well! Please stop by and say hi.

Also, while I'm not sure of the times yet, I'll be on the Image and Marvel panels on Saturday, and also helping Tom Brevoort dish out the Marvel trivia at his Prize or No Prize panel on Sunday! Come check us out for some cool news and announcements, ask all the comic book questions you like, and maybe even take home a prize or two!

Info on the show can be found here!

Hope to see you there!

Weekend Movie Report Card

SUPERBAD - A+
Everything I expected and more! Brought me back to my high school days, which granted, isn't hard to do, but this captured that magic perfectly. Michael Cera and Jonah hill were outstanding, and that actress who played Becca did an amazing job! The kind of movie I want to watch, the kind of movie I want to make!

BOURNE ULTIMATUM - A-
I thought it was really well done and deserving of the praise it's getting. The camera work didn't get me as sick as I hear it's been doing to others, except in that last chase scene. Good build up, great tension, fantastic action... a fun edge-of-your-seat thriller.

PAN'S LABYRINTH - A+
Why I skipped this movie in the theaters is beyond me?! Just a wonderful piece of film making! I can't say anything more that hasn't already been said about this movie. Guillermo Del Toro is truly gifted and his commentary and featurettes on the DVD are insightful, educational and truly inspiring.

DISTURBIA - B
Better than I expected. More teen drama than fright flick, which appeals to me to begin with, combined with a good mix of comedic moments. A couple of the twists had me going. Shia continues to impress! Worth checking out if you have two hours to kill.

Queen Lotto

Too Funny Not To Share

I was scanning a new batch of reference for the third round of Wonderlost stories and I came across this gem. I left for Japan a year before this was taken, clean-shaven and with short hair. I flew back into NYC looking like this. I walked up to my mom at the airport and looked right at her, expecting a shocked, but warm welcome. Her reply was "Excuse me, sir, but could you step aside. I'm looking for my son."

This made me laugh for hours...

From Tony Fleecs, writer/artist of the amazing comic In My Lifetime, and Wonderlost 2 contributor...

Compass at Summer Comiket

So pre-order sales of Compass 0 have been kicking ass in dojin shops across Japan, and Ryusuke debuted our preview issue at Comiket in Tokyo this past weekend. We were hoping for a warm reception and brisk sales as it's a new title by a rather unknown creative team, but I just got the report back now from Aki that the book sold out on Friday in two hours!! The show opened at 10AM and by noon he had sold clean through the 500 copies he brought!! Wow!! This bodes very well for the future of the book...

Bat For Lashes

Doreen Mulryan was kind enough to pass on the link for the cool new Bat For Lashes video. You can check out their creepy new "Donnie Darko-esque" clip here!

Slacking TV Execs?

I just tried to watch the new ABC animated series Slacker Cats. I like cats, I like animation and I'm a slacker, so I'm their target audience, right? Holy shit, was it horrendous! Pitiful! So bad I couldn't even watch past the first 5 minutes!

How the hell did a piece of garbage like this get greenlit? What are studio executives thinking? How could anyone have watched this and approved it? If it was for kids, I would understand, but it was on at 10PM and had adult overtones, so I don't think it was for the Disney or Nick kid crowds.

Watching Clyde and Lotto sleep was more interesting than suffering through that piece of crap.

Custom Ricochet

I was out in Chicago at Wizard World this past weekend and had the please of meeting LONERS fan John Coffey at the show. Besides being a huge comic fan with good taste, John customizes action figures and informed me he'd made his very own Ricochet figure recently. After exchanging e-mail addresses, he was kind enough to send over the following pics of the high-flying Loner...




Pretty cool, huh?! You can check out more of John's cool custom figures at his site here!

Books Without Pictures

A Loners fan I met at SDCC recently dropped me a line and asked me if I could provide him with the names of some novels that influenced me and the way I write. Two came to mind right away and I thought I would share...





Murakami and Yoshimoto both craft characters that are so genuine and relatable that you can't help but fall in love with them. They make their emotions so tactile that feel what they feel as you turn every page. And there's an eccentricity to both their work that makes each story a pure pleasure to read. I would recommend reading anything they write!

Open Wide

I usually don't make it a habit of taking pictures in the mens room, but in this case I just had to make an exception...

There were two cool things...

...I saw at San Diego Comic Con from artists who came for portfolio reviews.

First was an artist who printed an actual blank blueline comic page on the back of his business card. Before he gave it to you, he asked you who your favorite comic character was and then did a quick little sketch of that character on the back of his card. Yes, it was a little time-consuming, but it sure as hell made an impression on me.

The second was the portfolio of a kid whose samples were about an artist coming to San Diego to show editors his portfolio. It was cute and well done and got editors talking.

Both pretty original ideas and left their mark on all who saw them. Nice job, guys!

In case you missed it...

Nuno Plati and I had a short story in Ivan Brandon's incredible 24seven Anthology, on sale in comic chops everywhere now!

Back to regular posting...

I'm back from SDCC. Summer is half over. Where did the time go? I feel like I've accomplished nothing these past few months. I had all kinds of grand plans for stuff I wanted to do, but a lot of it simply fell to the wayside. Life gets in the way of life sometimes, you know...

I went out to my parents this past weekend for a small pool party/BBQ and got to relax a little and clear my head. I've fallen into kind of a rut with work recently and decided I need to start getting some of my thoughts and feelings out a bit more, open up and write less about comics and more about myself. So not that any of you want to read my psycho-babble, but I'm gonna try and use this blog for more self-expression going forward. It's time to make it a bit more personal again. But no worries, I'll be posting the usual work updates and drunken pics from time to time as well...

So let me start by sharing a bit of advice I got from Robert Downey Jr. himself at Comic Con that got me thinking. It's nothing you haven't heard before, but considering who said it and the manner in which he told it to me, it got me thinking:

"It's better to beg for forgiveness than regret never having taken the chance in the first place."

SDCC News Links

SDCC '07: ASPEN SHOWCASE ANNOUNCED

SDCC '07: C.B. CEBULSKI ON CHESTERQUEST & COMPASS

SDCC '07: IMAGE's 24seven

More on ChesterQuest

1 man.
6 months.
3 continents. (Possibly four.)
13 countries. (Possibly more.)
20 cities. (So far.)
12 artists who will be awarded the opportunity to work at Marvel Comics.
Guaranteed.

Possibly the largest worldwide comic book talent search ever undertaken.

Please come to the Mondo Marvel panel this Thursday, July 26th, at 4:45PM at the San Diego Comic Con, Room 6A, for all the details.

Compass Zero - San Diego Exclusive!

Printing in Japan as I write this, we'll have copies of Compass Zero, our San Diego Comic Con Exclusive, on hand at booth 2729 all weekend. It features an eight page original story and all kinds of other goodies and info about the upcoming series. Me, Aki and Ryusuke will all be there to meet and greet, to sell and sign your comics. Ryusuke will have his other Japanese manga and dojinshi on sale as well. Please stop by to see us and say "hello"!

San Diego, Here I Come!

Yes, I will be in San Diego for Comic Con next week and I'm pleased to announce that I have a table in the Image Island section this year, booth 2729! I'll be sharing with David Finch, Sana Takeda of Drain, and Ryusuke Hamamoto, artist of Evangelion and the soon to be released Compass. We'll actually be selling an SDCC exclusive Compass Zero dojinshi at the show! So that's where I'll be hanging my hat for most of the show and I'll have plenty of copies of all my Image and Marvel books on hand for sale and signing. Please stop by and see us!!

As for panels, I'll be attending and speaking at the following ones...

Thursday - Mondo Marvel at 4:45PM - Details of ChesterQuest to be announced!

Friday - Cup O' Joe at 11:45AM and the Image Panel at 1:30PM

Saturday - the Aspen Panel at 1:30PM for a special announcement!

Sunday - the X-Men Panel at 11:45AM

And I have one signing at the Marvel booth at 3PM on Thursday with David Finch as well as Tommy Ohtsuka (Slayers, Marvel Mangaverse) and Gurihiru (Power Pack) who are both flying in from Japan!

And you'll always be able to find me at the bar at Hyatt in the evenings, I'm sure.

Hope to see you all there!

I'm up for auction on eBay... with tequila!

Although I'm more of a beer and whiskey man...

All you aspiring artists are free to bid on me here.

All for the benefit of the Hero Initiative.

More Dracula

There's now an interview and six page lettered preview up at CBR...

Check it out!

Enjoy,
C.B.

Legion of Mosters: Morbius

David Finch and I continue our new tradition of collaborating on a short story at least once a year with our 2007 offering, a Dracula and Lilith story in Legion of Monsters: Morbius. It goes on sale in two weeks on July 18th and if you missed it, your local comic shop can still order it using code MAR072091. Brendan Cahill and Michael Gaydos also offer up a very cool Morbius story in this issue as well.

Here's a sneak peak at the cover, by Greg Land, and a couple pages of the Finch goodness that you can expect inside...

Enjoy,
C.B.

Spider-Man Fairy Tales 2 - On Sale Now!

Sorry this post is coming your way a few days late, but I was out of the country and couldn't get around to properly posting till today.

The second issue of the Spider-Man Fairy Tales went on sale this past Wednesday and should be waiting for you on the shelves of your favorite comic book stores right now. This issue looks at the legend of Anansi the Spider-God with "Marvelous" twist. It was beautifully illustrated by the amazing Niko Henrichon of Pride of Baghdad fame.

Here's a peek at the cover...


And a preview of the interior art can be found here...

http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/rage/

Thanks for reading!

My September Marvel Covers

Loners 6, after Sixteen Candles, by Jason Pearson...



And Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm, starring Runaways's own Nico Minoru, by Marko Djurdjevic...

My Fat Ass on YouTube

An interview I did with Ben Morse at Philly this past weekend, courtesy of wizarduniverse.com...

Do I talk too fast?

YouTube Goodness!

Thanks to CeeCee and Adi for these links...

Ms. Pac-Man

Yo-Yo Girls

Wizard's "On The Rise" Pick - Me?!?!

I did an interview with Kiel at Wizard Magazine a while back and someone just pointed out that it's now up on their website, but with me as one of their "On The Rise" picks. Cool!!

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/004681082.cfm

Loners Guessing Game

http://www.marvel.com/blogs/Agent_M/entry/757

Thank you, George Lucas!

Yesterday was the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars. Thirty years?! I was six years old on May 25th, 1977 when the movie was released. And to this day, I still remember going to see it in the theater. And as cliche as it sounds, Star Wars did deeply affect my life.

So like so many other Star Wars fans around the world, I celebrated the anniversary on my own. I woke up and actually put on a Star Wars T-shirt, I hit the post office to buy the newly released stamps, I popped in the Star Wars DVD and watched the original theatrical version, then I watched the live coverage of the Star Wars Celebration in L.A. on G4, caught up on all latest issues of all three Dark Horse comic series, then I watched the original theatrical version of Empire Strikes Back. Yes, I'm a big dork... and proud of it!

There was thing I didn't do though...


As you can see from the pic, I still own a full box of unopened packs of the original Star Wars cards, third series for anyone who cares, and I pondered opening a pack just for nostalgic value, to make me feel like I was a kid again. I actually did it about 15 years ago and even went so far as to eat the gum, which made me sick. But nausea aside, I remember it took me forever to find a pack to replace the one I opened back then, and while it might be a little easier to find now with eBay and cons, still I decided against it. But I took out and opened the box to have a look, and I have to say, the sight of the box sitting there, filled to the brim with unopened packs, with the smell of the wax and paper and gum still lingering... it made me feel like I was six years old again!

Happy Anniversary, Star Wars! Thanks, George!!

The Darkhawk Playlist

I was talking to a friend of mine recently and he said he was struggling with finding the voices for a couple of characters in a comic he was writing. I suggested he trying using music find their motivations and he told me he can't listen to music when he writes. I'm the same way actually, I need dead silence when I write, and explained that I listen to music before I write, to help get me inside a character's head.

What I do is look at what's coming up on my schedule and what I'll be writing on any given day. Then I'll create a playlist for a specific script or character I'll be working on. I put myself in that characters shoes or situation and figure out what music and bands they like and would be listening, not only in that setting, but in their lives in general. A lot of it's personality based too. Then I'll pop on my iPod and go for a walk around NYC or go and sit in a bar and listen to the mix while thinking about the story and the character(s). I find this gives me a better understanding of their personality and internal motivations, helps me better grasp their emotional state, and helps me work through their feelings and decisions. It also makes the dialogue flow more easily. Sounds crazy, I know, but it works.

I made specific mixes for all of the Loners characters as each issue is told from one of their perspectives. As an example, I thought I would share Darkhawk's playlist here, featuring a selection of sonds that got me into Mr. Chris Powell's charcater. Enjoy!

Break Stuff - Limp Bizkit
My Hero - Foo Fighters
When I Grow Up - Garbage
Name - Goo Goo Dolls
2000 Light Years Away - Green Day
Faint - Linkin Park
Shamrocks And Shenanegins (Butch Vig Remix) - House of Pain
Mr. Brightside - The Killers
Rudderless - The Lemonheads
Shadow On The Sun - Audioslave
Juke Box Hero - Foreigner
Symphony Of Destruction - Megadeth
Adam's Song - Blink-182
Who Can It Be Now? - Men At Work
Big Dumb Sex - Soundgarden
Kickstart My Heart - Mötley Crüe
Epiphany - Staind
All Apologies - Nirvana
Head On - The Jesus & Mary Chain
Don't Follow - In Chains

I'm working on my Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm special now so have Nico's Goth playlist in heavy rotation!

My 2007 Convention Schedule

Hey, all-

Here's my tentative 2007 convention schedule. Most of this is locked, but the European cons at the end of the year still have a few more details that need to be worked out..

June 15-17, 2007 Wizard World Philly, Philadelphia, PA

July 26-29, 2007 Comic-Con International, San Diego, CA

August 9-12, 2007 Wizard World Chicago, Chicago, IL

August 24-26, 2007 Toronto Comic Con, Toronto, Canada

September 8-9, Baltimore Comic Con, Baltimore, MD

November 3-4, Lille Comic Festival, Lille, France

November 8-11, 2007 Fórum Fantástico, Lisbon, Portugal

November 17-18, 2007 Dublin City Comic Con, Dublin, Ireland


And it looks like I'll most likely be heading back to Angouleme again in January 2008!

I'll post booth locations and schedules and all that for the individual shows as they get closer.

Hope you see you this summer!

Take care,
C.B.

CBC in 24/7 Volume 2

The cover of the second volume of Ivan Brandon's wonderful Image anthology [B]24/7[/B] has been leaked, and on the back cover I'm pleased to announce you'll find my name. For those unfamiliar with it, [B]24/7[/B] is all about robots living in NYC, and I contributed a story about an undercover female detective in Chinatown that was illustrated by the incredible Nuno Plati! Hopefully Ivan will show some interior pages soon, but for now, here's the cover...



And be sure to check out Nuno's amazing work over at his blog... http://www.nunoplati.blogspot.com/