It’s already been announced at www.newsarama.com, but I figure we should stay on top of things here as well. JK Woodward will be the new artist for “Fallen Angel,” and a sample of his work is below. There seems to be a misconception by some Newsarama denizens that this is merely a cover and they’re withholding judgment until they see the pencils. No, this is Woodward’s style. The entire book will have this painted look to it. What you see here is what you’ll be getting cover-to-cover.
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Yowza!
At first I was hesitant about the typical IDW $3.99 pricetag, but the fact that Woodwards sample is interior art and not merely a cover is enough of a closer for me. You can be assured that I’m on board for this one.
Fortunately, one of the dealers in my local shop has been a big “Fallen Angel” booster since day one (he was the one who put it on my radar in the first place and it’s from his shop that I was able to nab 19 of the 20 issues).
As for IDW’s apparent lack of size and importance in the eyes of local comic dealers, I doubt it will remain that way for long. I’m sure a lot of comic fans (and maybe a few *gasp* non-comics readers) are buzzing about the forthcoming Angel and Spike books, and anyone who thinks that IDW’s Transformers won’t sell gangbusters when it comes out later this year weren’t paying attention to the initial sales figures of the Dreamwave book before they oversaturated the market and Pat Lee ran the company into the ground. I think ‘Fallen Angel’ is in rather good company.
Dark Angels
Two bits of news on some of the less conventional “Angels” of comics.
Writer Jeff Mariotte reports that Joss Whedon and Fox have approved a second Angel comic book miniseries to come out late this year, which may interest fans of the show…
This forum was just brought to my attention so I thought I’d introduce myself.
The most common question seems to be whether or not I can maintain a monthly schedule. I confident I can(mostly because I ussually don;’t need more than 4-5 hours sleep a night.)
Right now I’m currently working on CSI:NY for IDW which will start in JUly. Withe the flashback artist filling in I’m only required to do 16-18 pages a month. But I’m making this deadline(for the most part) while maintaining separate 9 hr a day job. When I start FA, I plan to quit that job because doing both is just unrealistic. I’m sure once I add that extra 9 hours a day to my schedule, I’ll be able to get all the pages done in a month with out a problem.
There seemed also to be some curiousity about my sequential work. If you want to see some of that, go here:
http://www.vonphantasi.com/images/comic/CRAZYMARY/CM01-start.html
This is a book I did for digital Webbing #16 last year and should give you a flavour.
Finally, I’ll try to pop back in a couple of times in case there are any more questions, but please don’t hate me if I don’t make it back too often. With my day job and CSI:NY, I’m putting in 19-21 hours a day and I may be too busy to pop in as often as I like to.
(Also, living on 3 hours sleep a night can make me a little forgetful)
Tell me one thing, why David López isn’t doing the book
I’m not usually a fan of painted comics, but this artist looks like a true visionary. I own the full run of the DC Fallen Angel books and had half planned to ask my comic dealer to carry this new series. This artwork sample clinches it. Note to J.K. Woodward: Get normal amounts of sleep occasionally. We want you for the long haul.
Woodward is outstanding, and I had the good fortune to work with him on my own Mortal Coils comic book much earlier in 2004. In addition to its cover, he also painted one of the stories, which remains one of my favorites to this day — I am thrilled that a wider audience is noticing his talent and that he is prospering from it!
So you did go with a super unknown artist who’ll make a great name for him/her self working off your great writing!
YAY!
I’m glad you a) have great taste in artists and b) have the trust to bring unknown talent to the forefront.
I wish you the best of luck for the series. J.K. Woodward, sorry for calling you an unknown with the style developed here its obvious you know your craft and I hope the Fallen Angel exposure brings you lots of success.
I’m looking at it this way. I was spending $2.99 on FA for PAD’s writing. I really couldn’t have cared less (could have cared significantly more) about the artist. This isn’t saying I didn’t like the artwork; that just wasn’t why I was buying the comic.
Judging from this art, and what I saw on the link Woodward provided, I think I may be willing to spend $1 an issue on Woodward.
Amazing. My brother bought Fallen Angel when it was publishe dby DC and I read all his copies (poor and unemployed was my excuse for not buying my own). Still poor but I’m definetely going to swing the extra dollar to get the new series for myself, the art is amazing!
I hope this one lasts.
“This forum was just brought to my attention so I thought I’d introduce myself”
Welcome, my friend, to the show that never ends. If you’re interested, you may also want to check out newsarama.com where you’re a subject of much conversation.
“Tell me one thing, why David López isn’t doing the book”
He did twenty issues. There are artists who do a book for six issues and then move on to something else. David won’t be continuing with the art on the series. Beyond that, you’d really have to ask him.
PAD
First, thanx Peter! Not only for the welcome, but also for inviting me to be a part of FA.
and for that matter, thanx to all of you for all your kind words about my work.
He’s no Hembeck…but he’ll do. 🙂
For a quality product, I’ll pay $1 extra. Heck, I was buying 2 of every issue near the end to try to bolster sales a little bit (seemed to work wonders, huh) so I’m happy to just have more FA.
I can’t wait to see some interiors. My brain exploded a little bit thinking about a full-time job AND making that kind of art. Though I know a lot of artists have to do that these days.
I just hope the art isn’t SO good JK Woodward gets snapped away by another company. 🙂
After having checked out that link, much of my apprehenion is dispelled. The art is gorgeous, but without the “meant to be hung on a wall, not to be read as part of a story” look I think marrs most painted book.
Every annoucement gets me more and more excited for this book.
In fact, I want to see more of the linked comic. Anybody know where I can get my hands on it?
I’m thoroughly excited about this.
That art is breathtaking, and I can’t wait to see more. I’ve been championing this book from the rooftops from virtually its inception, and I’ll continue to do so. It just might be the finest work of Peter David’s long and illustrious career.
About the price, I can merely say this: I’m more than willing to pay the extra buck to know that the book is continuing. I’ve bought some IDW books, mostly the early CSI limited series, and I can say this much: the books are put together beautifully, with rich colors and heavy paper stock. They package the work very well.
Our Lee is in good hands, as ever. 🙂
Sorry for the double post, but I thought I’d add this:
I believe the biggest hurdle that FA will have to overcome is the fact that the other DC issues will not be collected in trade form.
I’m already seeing posts online from folks who like what they see, but remark: “The other issues from the DC run won’t be collected in TPB form? I don’t know. I hate to jump into the book without having read the prior issues.”
If there’s one message we should all be spreading, it’s that one need not have read the first 20 issues of FA to read this book. PAD has offered a fresh start, and that’s the point we need to hammer online and with our friends.
I just finished agonizing over whether to order the Spike one-shot, but finally decided that at $8 cover I could afford to live without it.
I was prepared to go through the same agonizing in a few months when the IDW Fallen Angel appears on the Westfield order form. Having now seen Woodward’s art this will no longer be a problem. I am (like others who posted above) primarily interested in the writing, but this art looks so good that I can see I will regret not paying the extra money (and thus missing out on the book) much more than I would regret spending the money.
I do not (alas!) have unlimited funds to spend on comics, and increasingly this means making hard decisions when ordering comics, but there are many comics I am still buying and reading which will give me much less pleasure than Fallen Angel. Count me in.
And PAD: many thanks for continuing this series! I realize there are many other things you could be doing instead, and am glad you chose to continue the story of this fascinating character and her world. You hooked some of us on it, and I am very glad you are trying not to leave us dangling.
Michael Cravens,
“I believe the biggest hurdle that FA will have to overcome is the fact that the other DC issues will not be collected in trade form.”
I believe this fear is overblown. The conception that “readers are lost” unless everything that came before is explained to them is beyond a cliche. It is a lame excuse for those who don’t want to try something different.
Think of the first comic you read. Mine was an issue of “Amazing Soider-Man”, the first of a two-parter that would take me about 15 years to see the conclusion! The first book that really got me into collecting was a copy of “Incredible Hulk”. In both cases, I didn’t need to know what happened the previous decade and a half to enjoy the ride.
It’s called good writing. PAD is a good writer. So enjoying the series, for those inclined to do so, sjhouldn’t be a problem.
“I believe the biggest hurdle that FA will have to overcome is the fact that the other DC issues will not be collected in trade form.”
See, whereas I believe the biggest hurdle is that many retailers only carry Marvel, DC, Image, and maybe Dark Horse, and that’s it. Hëll, even when FA was being published by DC, there were plenty of retailers who didn’t order so much as a single store copy.
Naturally I’m thrilled that you folks like the sample art. Let’s even say that’s going to be the cover of issue #1. Now consider that many, if not most, stores won’t have it on the stands to catch browsers’ eyes and you’ll see what our biggest problem is.
PAD
Well, now that I fully consider it, you’re probably right. If the stores aren’t carrying it, then anybody who might be interested in the book won’t bother.
I completely believe that there are still retailers who refuse to stray beyond the big four. Luckily, my comic shop orders tons of smaller press stuff, including tons of IDW stuff. My comic shop has also been very supportive of the DC trade, carrying at least one shelf copy of the trade for the duration of the DC-run, and reordering it when a copy would sell out.
But yeah, you’re right.
And I do think it’s overblown, but it does have an effect. I mean, I see something that I really like about to make a return. I see people online who seem really intrigued by the book and interested in picking it up. But then, some of the remarks of interest have been followed by a feeling that they shouldn’t even bother because they didn’t follow the first series.
It’s not unique to comics, as we all know. I tell all my friends to watch “Arrested Development” on television or DVD, and many of them say, “Yeah, I’ve heard about that show. Ehh. It’s probably very funny, but I’m not sure I want to hop on board at this point.”
I agree that no one should feel like they have to have followed the DC series to make the jump to IDW. The book has always been very new-reader friendly, compared to other books on the market. But it’s a stubborn mindset that’s out there, just like refusal to stock IDW books is a stubborn mindset.
It’s piercing that mindset that presents the biggest challenge. I’m up to the task, though.
I’m going to speak with my comic shop, to make sure that he’ll carry the book and give it tons of support. 🙂
Wow.
Shades of the guy who started “Aria” – his art was fantastic. I’ll certainly be keeping my sub.
Color me impressed.
“In fact, I want to see more of the linked comic. Anybody know where I can get my hands on it?”
glad you liked it. It’s called Crazy Mary and can be found in DWP #16 & 23 and later in what will probably be issuer 30 or so.(I’m doing a 6pager inbetween my last issue of CSI and the first of FA.
If your at San Diego come by the digital Webbing booths, say hello and get yourself a alternate cover version of DWP#23. or find it:
http://www.digitalwebbing.net/dwp/dwp16_preview.html
or find out more about Crazy Mary here:
http://www.whoiscrazymary.com/
It was my intention to start Crazy Mary: the series, next year, but we’ll see…
Flame me if you want, but I don’t like his artwork at all. It looks like he took some photos and painted over them in Photoshop or Painter or whatever. Also seems a little sloppy and inconsitent. It’s really obvious on page 06 of “Crazy Mary” since you can see the parts where he had to deviate from the photo reference look totally off.
Sorry, but I can’t get behind this art at all. If I was reading FA before, I’d stop now.
Tell you what, Breck. I think it’s badass, so I’ll pick up the copy you don’t.
“Flame me if you want, but I don’t like his artwork at all. It looks like he took some photos and painted over them in Photoshop or Painter or whatever. Also seems a little sloppy and inconsitent. It’s really obvious on page 06 of “Crazy Mary” since you can see the parts where he had to deviate from the photo reference look totally off.
Sorry, but I can’t get behind this art at all. If I was reading FA before, I’d stop now.”
Wow, harsh critique. Well I will say that there is certainy room for improvement and I hope I will get better as become more and more accustomed to the deadlines.
You’re right about using photo refs, but not about photoshop or painter. I’m sort of a student of Alex Ross and after first reading his book, I started to employ his methods of using models and then pencilling from their example and painting in gouache.
I’m sorry you didn’t like Crazy Mary and won’t be on board for this run of FA , but if you happen to see FA in your local comic shop, do me a favour and browse it just in case I improve. I’ll be doing my best to live up to PAD’s words.
Does anyone know which issue of Preview the #1 will appear in…that is, when do we need to go to our comic dealer and say, “Order This for me, please?”