Category Archives: Action Age Comics

Down Set Fight Chapter 2: The First Incident

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Chuck vs. Jumbo!

The man-on-mascot beatdown continues! Down Set Fight chapter 2 is out today at Comixology! This week, Chad, Scott, Josh and I pick up with Chuck Fairlane ten years after the violent end of his career in professional sports. He’s left his past behind him and moved on to coaching high school football, but it looks like his past isn’t done with him. Ribs get cracked, kids get smacked and the mystery begins in “The First Incident!”

Incidentally, this chapter also includes what I’m pretty sure is Chad’s and my favorite joke of the entire comic, the name of Chuck’s school. We figured it would have a super narrow audience, but surprisingly, it killed when we announced it at New York. Hopefully you’ll dig it, too. Grab the issue for $1.99, and hey, why not subscribe to it while you’re at it so that you get the next four parts automagically? It just makes sense!

Down Set Fight Chapter One Is Out Now!

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MASCOT PUNCHING ACTION!

Today is launch day! For the run-up to the release of Down Set Fight in print, Oni is doing a weekly digital release as six chapters, and the first one is available now!

If you’re not familiar with the book that Scott Snyder calls “funny, smart, irreverent” (he actually said that without being prompted, which is awesome), this is the first full-length original graphic novel that Chad Bowers and I have written, with art by Scott Kowalchuk and letters by (who else?) Josh Krach. It tells the story of “Fearless” Chuck Fairlane, a rising star running back who gets booted out of professional football and ends up battling against a series of costumed mascots hell-bent on revenge — or maybe something a little deeper than just vengeance. In the first chapter, you see Chuck’s origin, and find out just what it was that caused him to retire in disgrace. There’s football, fighting, crime and bribery, and that’s just the prologue!

It’s funny, when Chad and I were writing the series, we intended for it to be read all in one go rather than broken up as issues, but we still did it as “chapters,” mainly because we like those Kirby-style chapter breaks. Hopefully it’ll all hang together. Either way, we’re pretty excited about it, and it’s interesting timing, too: Yesterday marked the 9th anniversary of writing about comics online. This first section, “The Wrongest Yard,” clocks in at 21 pages for $1.99, with the following chapters every Tuesday, featuring new Comixology-exclusive “covers” by Scott, and the full-length OGN in stores on February 12! Give it a read, spread the word, and come back next Tuesday to meet up with Chuck ten years later!

Subatomic Party Girls #2 Is Out Now!

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SAPG02Crank up those keytars, Action Agents! Subatomic Party Girls #2 is finally here!

In this issue, the girls of Beryllium Steel have made it to the other side of the galaxy, where they’re called on to make a command performance for the mysterious Boss Drixly! Who is he? What is he? And what’s the deal with that t-shirt? Plus, Erica brings you the first in a set of paper dolls to cut out of your monitor and dress up to your heart’s content! This month: Cleo, the band’s frontwoman and vocalist!

All this can be yours for one thin dollar at Comixology! And if you missed the first issue, well, what are you waiting for?!

HeroesCon 2013!

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HeroesCon2013
Aw dip! It is time once again for HeroesCon, the greatest comic book convention in the whole wide world (and, more specifically, in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Charlotte Convention Center). As usual, Chad and I will be there, but this year’s a little special for us. For one thing, we’ve been upgraded to Indie Island at Table 1027, and for another, it’s right after we’ve launched Subatomic Party Girls, so it’s a pretty cool show for us.

We’ll be there all three days, either hanging at the table or walking around, and as a special bonus, Erica Henderson, artist of SPG, is right around the corner at table 1026. Plus, our favorite letterer Josh Krach will be in the house.

I’ll have copies of the Dracula the Unconquered: Special Edition CDs, issues of The Atomic Elbow with my story about Great American Bash ’92, and, for the first time ever, copies of the Super Street Fighter anthology that has my Dudley/Balrog story in it. Plus, as usual, Chad and I will be doing the worst sketches of the con for a mere $1 each, and we might just have a few new SPG items just for good measure.

It’s going to be an awesome show, so if you’re anywhere in the Southeast or if you have a plane ticket burning a hole in your pocket, come and check it out! I hope I see you there!

Subatomic Party Girls #1 Is Here!

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SAPG01

Today is the day, friends: Subatomic Party Girls #1 is now available for your reading pleasure, exclusively on Comixology! For a thin 99¢, you get the first sixteen-page saga of Beryllium Steel and their rock ‘n’ roll adventure into outer space!

If you need to know more before you pick up the comic, CBR has the first few pages as a preview and an interview with me, Chad and Erica, and the three of us also guested on the Pop Culture Hound podcast! Plus, you can check out more at the Tumblr, where we’ve got some promo stuff.

Go get it!

Subatomic Party Girls Launches May 22

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SAPG01

Mark your calendars for May 22nd, folks: In two weeks, Chad Bowers, Erica Henderson, Josh Krach and I are launching Subatomic Party Girls through Monkeybrain Comics, available only on Comixology! Together, Cleo, Libby and Vette are Beryllium Steel, the hottest power pop trio in music, and they’re about to launch their biggest tour date ever: Performing live from the surface of the moon as a test for the brand-new subatomic light drive. If it works, it won’t just be the biggest stunt in rock ‘n’ roll history, it’ll usher in a new age of nearly instantaneous space travel. If something goes wrong, however, the girls might just find themselves stranded on the other side of the galaxy with space pirates, intergalactic crime bosses and a spacefaring cult that wants them dead. I’ll let you figure out how it goes down.

The first issue of the ongoing series is a jam-packed sixteen pages, plus bonus material from Erica’s sketchbook, and it’ll set you back a cool 99¢ for the download. It’ll be available on Wednesday, May 22, but if you can’t wait, you can pre-order it right now!

It probably goes without saying, but I’m really excited about this. Chad and I have been wanting to do a book like this forever — I think the title actually predates Awesome Hospital — and if you’re not familiar with Erica’s work, she’s basically amazing. I set up a Tumblr where we can post some stuff, so keep an eye on that for promos as we ramp up to the first issue. So mark your calendar, check the tumblr and preorder the new series, and get ready for a whole new era of the Action Age!

The Action Age Hits Cola-Con!

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This weekend, Chad and I are heading to Cola-Con! Despite what the name may lead non-South Carolinians to believe, this is not actually a convention about soft drinks. Instead, it’s a convention based around comic books and hip hop, featuring a bunch of local creators (like us) and also Ghostface Killah from the Wu-Tang Clan.

That is not a joke. Ghostface Killah will be there. If he swings by the table, I will definitely give him a copy of Dracula the Unconquered #1.

Chad and I will have a table where we’ll be doing our usual Terrible Sketches for $1, but this time we have some restrictions: Chad will only be drawing Death’s Head and characters from G.I. Joe, and I will only be drawing professional wrestlers and Pokémon. In addition to that, we’ll be on a few panels:

Friday at 7:00 PM: Chad and I will be joined by Rashad Doucet and Jarrett Williams for “Oni Comics: Regional Creators and Their Creations.” Since we’re not actually allowed to talk about the still-unannounced book that we’re doing for Oni, there is a distinct possibility that this will just devolve into me and Jarrett talking about pro wrestling for an hour. Do not miss it!

Saturday at 12:45 PM: We’ll be on the “Web Comics: Comics Success In the Digital Age” panel, where we’ll be discussing Awesome Hospital, Monster Plus, Dracula the Unconquered and other aspects of Internet Publishing along with a few of our pals, including Frank Comics’ John Pading.

If you’re in or around Columbia, it’s a really fun show that’s definitely creator-focused. There’s no dealer room, just a bunch of indie guys from the South making comics and talking about them. Swing by and say hello, and if you do, bring me a Sun Drop. Bottles only, please.

For more on Cola-Con, check out the site here. And next weekend, New York Comic-Con!