Sunday, December 16, 2012

THE BLACK BEETLE is here!

THE BLACK BEETLE: NO WAY OUT #3 Cover ~~ Click on the images for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends,

     It's another Black Beetle inspired Pulp Sunday, and I hope that's ok with y'all :)
The reason is that this week the third cover of the series was revealed: you can see it above (first cover showcasing the name of the city BB operates in too) and here is the solicits text to tease you while you wait for the release (in March) ;)

The Black Beetle: No Way Out #3
Written by Francesco Francavilla
Art by Francesco Francavilla
On sale March 20, 2013     
Under the watchful gaze of the mysterious Labyrinto, Black Beetle fights for his life! Is this the doing of a man that Black Beetle thought was dead? Could a zombie mobster be commanding the foes of Colt City’s dark avenger?! If he survives the night, the investigative insect will be left with questions to ponder as he takes his investigation . . . to the morgue!
 

    Next we have a sneak peek at NO WAY OUT #1 that my editor Jim Gibbons kindly gave in his blog post on the Dark Horse website. I suggest to click on the image to really enjoy this spread in all its glory :)

THE BLACK BEETLE: NO WAY OUT #1 Preview
    THE BLACK BEETLE NO WAY OUT #1 is still available for pre-orders: here's a pre-order form Dark Horse put together to make things easy for you. Just click on the image, print out the form, bring it to the shop, and -voila- it's done! :)

THE BLACK BEETLE: NO WAY OUT #1 Order Form


    Last but not least- BLACK BEETLE NIGHT SHIFT (aka #0) is coming out in stores this coming Wed. I received some advance copies and it's BEAUTIFUL (and I am not saying that just because it's my baby ;))

    If you missed the 3 part story in Dark Horse Presents, here's your chance to read it all in one place. And if you didn't miss the DHP issues, than you can still pickup this collected edt because of the brand new and retro pulp cover and the few pages of extra material we put in this.

    Check out the snapshot I took and see for yourself :)


Have a wonderful Pulp Sunday, everyone, and Happy Holidays with family and friends. Taking next Sunday off but I will see you on the 30th. :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Sunday, December 9, 2012

THE BLACK BEETLE Finds "NO WAY OUT" Of The Shadows

THE BLACK BEETLE: NO WAY OUT #1 Lobby Card ~~ Click on the images for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends,

     I am so excited to share the latest 2 lobby cards with some support words from two comicbook legends and a huge inspiration of mine: Jim Steranko and Warren Ellis. I am lucky enough to call Jim a friend and he has always been enjoying The Black Beetle since the ashcan from a few years ago, so having his stamp of approval (being the Pulp authority he is) really means a lot to me.
     And to add another cherry to the pie, Warren asked to see the pages from issue 1, enjoyed it and gave me the blurb I used on the lobby card below. More thumbs up from these greats means I might be doing this right :) Let's hope I don't screw it up along the way ;)

THE BLACK BEETLE: NO WAY OUT #1 Lobby Card
     Issue #0 (collecting the NIGHT SHIFT 3-parter published in DHP plus extra material) is coming out in less than two weeks and there is still time to put in pre-orders for issue 1 coming out in January.

     Speaking of issue 1 of NO WAY OUT, here's an excerpt of an interview that was recently published on CBR (done with Daniel Glendening) in which I talk a bit of the story, The Black Beetle, and show some sneak peek of the book (first 3 pages).

~~Ŧ~~


     Back alleys shrouded in darkness and long shadows cast by dim streetlights, all-night diners and wise guy gangsters, esoteric artifacts and Nazi secret agents: this is the world readers have come to associate with classic noir, and the world readers will find in writer/artist Francesco Francavilla's "The Black Beetle" from Dark Horse Comics. With the release of "The Black Beetle" #0, collecting the three-part story "NightShift" that originally ran in Dark Horse's anthology series, "DarkHorse Presents," on December 19 and the subsequent launch of "The Black Beetle: No Way Out" four-issue miniseries on January 16, Francavilla continues his impressive rise in the comic book industry. Francavilla nabbed the 2012 Eisner Award for Best Cover Artist as well as the 2012 Eagle Award for Favourite Newcomer Artist. He brings his signature graphic, pulp aesthetic to every panel of his developing series, eagerly sharing the process on his "Black Beetle"-centered blog.


     "We are still at a very early phase of the Black Beetle's history," Francavilla told Comic Book Resources. "We know he operates in Colt City and we know he is some sort of masked vigilante or hero. The events in 'Night Shift' span one night -- We've learned what the Black Beetle is capable of, and where his 'base of operations' is located."
     The Black Beetle is a hero, to be sure, and he's willing to take a bullet in defense of the innocent. However, he is not without his flaws, as hinted at in "Night Shift," and Francavilla compares him to Humphrey Bogart's character Rick Blaine in the 1941 film, "Casablanca."
     "[The Black Beetle] operates outside the radar of the law, which allows him to get information on criminal activity in Colt City and act accordingly, sometimes adopting unorthodox measures," said Francavilla. "He is a hero, after all -- not a perfect hero, but still a hero."
[...]

      "There is something else going on more than just simply 'protecting the citizens of Colt City,'" said Francavilla. "What is that 'something else?' That's one of the major plot-points that we'll discover a bit at a time through the next several issues in the series."
[...]
    "A main goal I had for this book is to explore several genres of the pulps," Francavilla explained. "'Night Shift' was a mix of spy-war story with some supernatural elements, while 'No Way Out' is more of a crime-mystery story."
     Francavilla cites the pulp and noir films and serials of the 1930s, '40s and '50s as direct influences on The Black Beetle, as well as classic pulp crime fiction writers like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. The series is also clearly indebted to early masked-heroes like The Shadow and The Spider.
     "I always loved the high entertainment value of those stories," said Francavilla. "You didn't need to know much going in except that some bad guy is going to do something bad and The Shadow or The Spider was going to take care of him. Same goes with the gangster or crime movies from that period: you were going in without any pre-conception or knowledge of the characters; getting to meet the hero (or anti-hero) during the movie, and deciding to like or hate him or her at the end. You probably thought you knew how the movie was going to end, but somehow the whole experience wasn't as predictable as you thought. And that made it fun, entertaining. Hopefully I will be able to achieve the same effect with 'The Black Beetle.'"
~~Ŧ~~

So please spread the word about BB, pre-order #1 and #2, tell your store to order some extra copies, and -last but not least- have a wonderful Pulp Sunday, everyone :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Sunday, December 2, 2012

PULP Triple Feature! The SHADOW ~ The BLACK BEETLE ~ The SPIDER!

THE SHADOW #11 Cover Art by Francesco Francavilla
THE BLACK BEETLE: NO WAY OUT #1 Lobby Card THE BLACK BEETLE: NO WAY OUT #1 Lobby Card
~~ Click on the images for biggie ~~

Hello Pulp Friends,

Time for another TRIPLE Feature featuring The Shadow, The Spider, and that new guy, The Black Beetle! :)

Above and below are the covers for The Shadow #11 and the Spider #9 (both out in February) and a couple of new lobby card I did for The Black Beetle #1, featuring a quote by dear friends MATT WAGNER (remember our Zorro and Green Hornet runs?) and STEVE NILES (my partner in crime on the adaptation of Frazetta's DRACULA MEETS WOLF-MAN)

All these 3 titles are in this month's Previews, including my own BLACK BEETLE #2: please pre-order #1 as well, since there is still time to do so - the success of the book will depend by those numbers, so I can't stress enough :)


THE SPIDER #9 Cover Art by Francesco Francavilla

Have a wonderful Pulp Sunday, everyone :)

Cheers,
Francesco