FOG! Chats With Writer JUSTIN JORDAN About His Sleepless Creation, JOHN FLOOD! at FORCES OF GEEK



Some nights I fall asleep reading comics until the iPad glass hits me in the face.

Man, I really hate going to bed. 

Imagine what might happen if the government removed your ability to sleep? What nightmares await you when the brain can’t rest? Will it unlock a power you didn’t know you had?

The third issue of sleeper hit (pun intended) John Flood hits shelves this week from the waking mind of Justin Jordan (The Strange Talent of Luther Strode, Shadowman, Deep State). Justin took a few minutes away from his busy work and convention schedule to give us the skinny on his sleep deprived detective comic book over at BOOM!, available at your local store and digitally today.

FOG!: Thanks for taking the time today between cons and your busy schedule. Your new book John Flood from BOOM! is keeping me up at night! What’s the skinny on this night owl? Is this your first book at BOOM!? What attracted you to this publisher for John Flood?

Justin Jordan: John Flood is actually my second book at BOOM!, Deep State, with Ariela Kristantina and Ben Wilsonham, was the first. 

As to why BOOM! for John Flood?

Well, it’s a weird book.

So much so that I didn’t like the odds of us being able to successfully do it at Image. Successfully, here, meaning that everyone gets paid.

 But beyond making sure Jorge and Tamra weren’t working for nothing, this is also such a weird and complex book that I really needed editorial support to make the book I wanted to make, which I got at BOOM!.

This would have been a different and, I think, not as good book elsewhere.

 

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

Dig Boston and League Podcast Comics Picks of the Week for Wed. October 7, 2015

COMICS

NYT Best Selling graphic novelist Maris Wicks sets the anatomy stage with Human Body Theater from First Second Books. Check out our interview later this week and go to her signing at Hub Comics next Tuesday 10.13. … Jughead #1 is a reimagining from the mind of brimping weirdo Chip Zdarsky. It’s all about lunchtrays and revolution this week in the newly relaunched Riverdale. … John Flood #3 is what happens when the government replaces your need to sleep with perpetual awareness. You become aware of the spaces between things and become a great detective. Justin Jordan (Luthor Strode) peeks into the mind of the insomniac detective! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

 

 

EARTH PRIME TIME: SUMMER OF VALIANT ’13 PART 1 WITH 8-BIT COVERS

ept-summer-of-valiant1
We’re at a year into the relaunch of popular ’90s comic book publisher Valiant Comics and just in time for another Summer of Valiant. We’ll try not to get any water on these comics as we sit by the pool, drink in the sun and follow the adventures of Archer and Armstrong and Shadowman in our summer series that celebrates successes on our first birthday of our cherished Valiant Comics. Also, we take a look at their cool 8-bit variant covers and Harbinger Wars: Battle For Las Vegas free retro video game for iOS andAndroid.

 

A look through the Earth Prime Time Archives will show you what we have an affinity for, and that’s the story of an independent publisher rising from near obscurity. Valiant was fortunate enough to have a loyal fanbase to rebuild on their properties long thought lost to many die-hard comic fans. It is the underdog story that Bostonians write about ad nauseam and tend to wear on our sleeves. This column was only a few months old when X-O Manowar #1 hit the shelves, and naturally we have covered most major events in the universe since then.

What can we say a year in?

There is likely a better reaction to the Valiant books, on a whole, than after the first twelve months of DC’s New 52initiative.

 

Marvel NOW! reaction from fans seems to be split between both positive and negative, with a varied selection of titles appealing to different kinds of fans.

Valiant’s strength lies in not relying on a 75 or 50 year history to complicate matters.

 

Over at the new publisher, they can make the same kinds of superhero and supernatural books with the industry’s top talent and a completely clean slate. There certainly are nods to the previous continuity as fan service, but with low-numbered issues and trades, the appeal to a new audience without being intimidated by continuity allows for an easier entry point.

As far as the old characters go, Valiant has paced the introduction of new books, concepts, leading heroes and villains, and background information on the shared universe in a way that paints a lush tapestry but does not rely on throwing everything at you at once.

 

Let’s take a look at two books that are coming out today, Archer and Armstrong #10 and Shadowman #7.

Both books ship with an 8-bit variant cover that ties into their cool 8-bit side scroller Harbinger Wars: Battle for Las Vegas (Storm City Games).

[READ MORE AT DIGBOSTON.COM]