Happy Friday, everyone!
I’m excited to get this newsletter rolling, and I’ll be making this a weekly occurrence with updates happening every Friday. I’m happy to answer specific questions people send my way, but for the most part I will continue to talk about what I’m working on and what’s new for that week. And, so that I don’t bury the lead for this week’s post, I’ll be offering an exclusive “digital convention” to everyone subscribed to this newsletter. Next Wednesday (NCBD!), all subscribers will receive an email with a link to a secret shop filled with signed comics and the new “I Killed Comics” enamel pins!
How does it work?
At 12pm est on Wednesday, Sept. 1, an email will be sent to subscribers ONLY with a link to a password-protected store. The email will also contain the password needed to access the shop. Subscribers will have first access to limited quantities of pins and signed comics, like a complete set of the Harley Infinite Frontier covers signed (there’s only one set available!).
With the lack of conventions that have happened in the last couple of years, I’ve decided to host this digital marketplace as a bit of a placeholder as cons are slowly returning. The shop will eventually be made public, but will only contain select trade paperbacks, and not some of the exclusive variant covers that the subscriber-only shop will have. The subscribers-only sale will run until Friday, Sept. 3, at midnight.
And, yes, international shipping will be available!
So, what else is new?
Great question! Harley Quinn #6 came out this week with gorgeous artwork by guest artists Laura Braga and Arif Prianto. The issue is a team-up with Harley and Catwoman that launches our series into Fear State, which will start in September with the return of Riley Rossmo on art duties with Ivan Plascencia. And to kick things off for Fear State, Harley goes… camping? Yeah. She goes camping. And she meets a dog. His name is Waffle. He’s an awesome dog. Don’t miss Harley Quinn #7!
It was a ton of fun to work with Laura on issue #6. Laura is an artist I have always admired and have been trying to collaborate with for some time, so I’m super glad that the stars finally aligned to make Harley happen. For anyone else who loves Laura’s work as much as I do… don’t worry. She’ll be back on a super important Harley story that we’ll be announcing in September!
ANNND for even more awesome guest artists on Harley, don’t forget to pick up the Harley Quinn annual coming out next week. This is a 40-page giant story that sets up our new villain Keepsake as he tries to establish his role in Gotham. The annual will answer a ton of questions about Keepsake’s past and his relationship to Harley (or, “perceived” relationship). This issue has artwork from Darko Lafuente, Marco Failla, Jon Sommariva, and colors by Miquel Muerto.
Official Solicit: Kevin here! You know, Harley’s sidekick, and your favorite new character? I know Harley usually does these solicits, but she’s a little tied up at the moment. Like, literally. See, there’s a new villain in Gotham calling himself Keepsake, and you know how Gotham villains are: definite psychological issues. So Keepsake kidnapped Harley, while trying to convince her to be his partner and help take over the city. Now, I don’t mean to imply that Harley’s not capable all on her own, but this time she needs a little help. Which means I’m teaming up with Solomon Grundy so we can visit Gotham’s worst criminals and figure out where Harley might be. Plus, a major new Bat-villain!
What’s on the horizon?
I spent most of quarantine working with artists Peter Krause, Ellie Wright, and Dave Johnson on a creator-owned project that is very much in my wheelhouse. There’s crime, history, religion, morally gray areas, and not a lot of heroes to be found. We’ll be making the official announcement in about a week or two about this title, so be on the lookout for that. Once we announce, I will make a much longer post about this project, which has been in the works for almost two years. This is a book I’m very proud of, and I can’t say enough good things about Peter and Ellie’s work on the interiors.
More info soon!
Calling all retailers!
Last up for today, I’d like to extend an offer to retailers looking for promotional materials. I have some Wonder Woman: Evolution stuff I could send out your way, along with deals on “I Killed Comics” pins if you’re interested in a larger order. I’m always available to talk with and support retailers, so if there’s anything else I can do for your shops, please get in touch!
Go read a comic!
Thanks for reading and making it to the end of this newsletter. The last thing I will leave you with is to go read comics. If you’re looking for something new to pick up, I recommend you jump on the Superman: Son of Kal-El train! Tom Taylor and John Timms are creating an epic and touching series, and it’s only two issues in.
-Stephanie