Dublin Bound!

I'm off to the Dublin City Comic Con tomorrow and let me tell you, I can not wait.

I've barely left the house since our son Jake was born in June and - much as I'll miss his gormless gummy grin for the next few days - I feel like I've earned a breather.

And of course, by "breather" I mean "many, many pints of Guinness in the fine company of Jim Lee, Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, Paul Cornell, Ai Granov, Liam Sharpe, Simon Bisley, C.B. Cebulski, Nick Roche, John McCrea, Ben Oliver, Carlos Pacheco, Doug Braithwaite, Stephen Mooney, Stephen Thompson and my most excellent friend Jock."

"Breather" just seemed, I dunno... pithier.

See you there?

Why Aren't You Reading SCALPED?

Do you miss PREACHER? I miss PREACHER. I remember picking up the first issue and thinking, "Finally!"

Finally a comic for people like me. Finally a comic for the regular guy in the street. Finally a comic I can show to my brothers, who love tough-guy movies as much as anyone but wouldn't piss on a comic shop if it was on fire.

(I've always been the black sheep of the family in that regard. If by "black" you mean "comic-reading" and by "sheep" you mean "nerd").

SCALPED is the new PREACHER.

If, like me, you're gut-sick of comics being polarized between marketing-driven spandex continuity clusterfucks on the one side, and too-cool-for-school indie posturing on the other, you'll love SCALPED.

If you're into HBO or Tarantino or Scorsese or Eastwood or Peckinpah, you'll love SCALPED. It'll kick your ass hard and leave you coming back for more. And I'm not just saying that because my good mate Jock is rocking the covers.

SCALPED writer Jason Aaron doesn't just talk the talk - he's walking the walk too, putting his money where his mouth is by offering you a money back guarantee if you buy the first trade paperback collection SCALPED: INDIAN COUNTRY, and don't like it. But it's a pretty safe bet because, trust me, you're gonna want more.

Don't believe me? Download the first issue for free at DC Comics.com, and once you hit that bitch-slap of a last-page reveal, you're gonna go pick up the trade to find out what happens next. Then head over to www.Scalped.info to see what guys like Brian K. Vaughan, Garth Ennis, Ed Brubaker and, hell, Playboy magazine are saying about the best new series in comics.

We need more comics like SCALPED. Buy it. Tell your friends.

This is the good shit, and it deserves your support.

THE LOSERS Screenwriter Pens SPIDER-MAN 4

Jamie Vanderbilt - who wrote ZODIAC for David Fincher, as well as reworking Peter Berg's screenplay adaptation of THE LOSERS - has been hired to write SPIDER-MAN 4. Jamie is Good People, and I can't wait to see what he does with it.

THE LOSERS movie, meanwhile, has ground to a halt 'til everyone finds out whether the Writers' Guild is actually going to strike. If it does, the Teamsters are going out in sympathy and there's some chance the Actor's Guild might follow suit. No-one in Hollywood's making any plans past next June - which means if you haven't already got a cast and director locked down, it's development hell time.

And speaking of directors, Tim "FANTASTIC FOUR" Story is now off THE LOSERS. Having recently seen THE KINGDOM, I'm more convinced than ever that Peter Berg would have been the perfect man for the job, but his schedule is looking awfully busy these days...

Details at /Film.

EDITED TO ADD: Jamie says he's also punching up the screenplay for WOLVERINE, and they're homing in on a very cool new director for THE LOSERS. Don't wanna jinx it, but keep yer fingers crossed and watch this space!

HELLBLAZER: JOYRIDE TPB Solicitation

I'm now eight issues into my HELLBLAZER run, which has been named Book of the Month by both SFX magazine and Wizard.

Vertigo are now collecting those first eight issues into a 192-page trade paperback entitled HELLBLAZER: JOYRIDE, hitting the shelves in February. Spread the word.


Written by Andy Diggle
Art by Leonardo Manco
Cover by Lee Bermejo

In this volume collecting HELLBLAZER #230-237 by fan-favorite writer Andy Diggle, Constantine discovers that there is a supernatural cause for the violence, crime and drug abuse of South London's Hunger Hill housing estate, and he must bring this cycle of misery and violence to an end... at any cost.

Vertigo | 192pg. | Color | Softcover | $14.99 US | Mature Readers

On Sale February 27, 2008

HELLBLAZER 240 Solicitation

Written by Andy Diggle
Art by Leonardo Manco
Cover by Glenn Fabry

Vertigo's flagship title reaches its 20th anniversary issue with "The Laughing Magician," Part 1 of 3! The streetwise, chain-smoking con-magician John Constantine finds himself in receipt of a most perplexing birthday gift: a memory wrapped up in a warning. As Constantine tries to figure out what it means, the brutal African war-mage known as Mako hits London - and he's taking no prisoners...

Vertigo | 32pg. | Color | $2.99 US | Mature Readers

On Sale January 23, 2008

HELLBLAZER # 239 Solicitation

Written by Andy Diggle
Art by Leonardo Manco
Cover by Glenn Fabry

A rag-tag band of refugees struggle to make the perilous journey from war-torn Sudan to the UK. They know not all of them will live to see their final destination, but they are willing to make any sacrifice to ensure their precious cargo reaches the hands of the blond-haired man known only from a dream: the Laughing Magician...

Vertigo | 32pg. | Color | $2.99 US | Mature Readers
On Sale December 19, 2007

Glenn Fabry back on HELLBLAZER covers! WOO HOO!

HELLBLAZER is WIZARD's Book of the Month!

Issue 192 of WIZARD magazine names HELLBLAZER as its Book of the Month.

Nice to see a 20-year old Vertigo book get a little love in between all the spandex crossover stuff.

Thanks guys!

HELLBLAZER # 238 Solicitation

"The Smoke"
Written by Andy Diggle;
Art by Danijel Zezelj;
Cover by Lee Bermejo

London becomes a veritable Hell on Earth for John Constantine when smoking is outlawed in pubs! But nicotine withdrawal is the least of his problems when he finds himself hunting a group of "urban explorers" who have disappeared into a shadowy parallel London where every urban myth is true. And they'd better pray he finds them before the Chelsea Smilers do...

Vertigo | 32pg. | Color | $2.99 US | Mature Readers

On Sale November 21, 2007

Guy Ritchie's GAMEKEEPER at Warner Bros

Looks like I now have not one but two comics-to-movies in development at Warner Bros. If only they were creator-owned...

From Variety:

Guy Ritchie plans to direct a film version of his Virgin Comics series "The Gamekeeper" at Warner Bros., with Joel Silver set to produce.

Deal marks the first original Virgin Comics property to move into development as a feature.

Project revolves around the reclusive caretaker of a Scottish estate with infinite knowledge of the behaviors of all animal species. When the alleged killer of his son surfaces, the caretaker finds that Europe's urban jungle is not so unlike that of the natural landscape to which he's accustomed.

Concept was created by Ritchie, but Andy Diggle handles the writing duties.

"After reading Guy's comics, we knew instantly that the action-packed story and complex characters would resonate with film audiences," said Warner Bros. production prexy Jeff Robinov.

More in the link.

Meanwhile our first GAMEKEEPER graphic novel collection is due out in October.

HELLBLAZER # 234 Printing Error

I've just found out that page 21 of HELLBLAZER # 234 was printed with the speech balloons missing. Which'll probably make it, like, incredibly rare and collectible, or something.

It'll be corrected for the trade, but in the meantime, you can click the link below to see the corrected page...

But first, BE THOU WARNED! This page features a MASSIVE SPOILER - so don't click unless you've already read the issue!

If you're cool with that, click here to see the corrected page.