The Chronicles of Solomon Stone, Chapter One: Night Falls on the Cosmodrome!

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The wait is finally over!

 

 

Click the image above to read the first chapter of the all-new, all-awesome Chronicles of Solomon Stone #1, by me, Matthew Allen Smith, and Benjamin Birdie! Thrill to Solomon and Minxy’s latest case and the revelation of the newest–and deadliest–foe to face the World’s Greatest Half-Vampire Private Detective!

I’ll be putting up a new chapter every Wednesday for the next three weeks until the whole 24-page story’s available–including a letter column and Dan McDaid’s incredible pin-up with Chapter 3–and I’ve got to say, I’m actually really proud of this thing.

Not just because it’s the first full-length comic that I’ve managed to produce on my own, but because of the people who came together to make it happen. In all seriousness, Smithy’s not just an incredible artist, he’s one of the best collaborators I’ve ever worked with, and his talents aren’t just limited to making with the pretty pictures. I mean, I’d be lying if I said that the art for Page 6 wasn’t my desktop wallpaper at work, but he also chipped in a few lines of dialogue, and even helped me to make sure that Minxy Flatbush’s dialogue was as authentically British as possible.

So here’s hoping you enjoy The Chronicles of Solomon Stone! Give it a read and let us know what you think!

66 thoughts on “The Chronicles of Solomon Stone, Chapter One: Night Falls on the Cosmodrome!”

  1. “Snooky Lesbiano, She-Queen of the Vampazons” is a strong candidate for the greatest name in human history.

  2. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any more awesome than ghost dinosaurs you add a dinosaur witch named Tyrannosaurus Hex. My mind is officially blown.

  7. I like how he has to concentrate to sue his his half-vampire senses. And also how he’s a half-vampire detective skate board champion. I like that part.

  11. Tyrannosaurus Hex? “Snooky Lesbiano, She-Queen of the Vampazons?” Seven Hells Yeah!
    All Hail Sims and his Half Vampire Detective Skateboard Champion!

  12. I gotta tell you, if I had thought of Tyrannosaurus Hex, I might not be stuck in a dead-end job with a family that doesn’t respect me and a crippling addiction to collecting Vermont Teddy Bears.

    Also, your Dedication on page 1 brought a tear to my eye. When are you two crazy kids going to stop all this Ross & Rachel crap and just jump in the sack already?

  13. SIR. EXPECT A LETTER FROM MY LAWYER.

    I am suing you for emotional damages and medical expenses from having my face rocked off.

  15. Sims, congrats on this gloriously fun epic. Your hard work has paid off splendidly. Any soundtrack recommendations to aid in our reading pleasure?

  16. Haha, Tyrannosaurus Hex is totally my email. At least now I can say “It’s the ghost of goddamn dinosaurs.”

  20. I managed to keep my sniggering under control until I reached the “Mayor of England” line, and completely lost it.

    Well done, sir!

  21. Bangers’n’mash! That was bloomin’ awesome, guvnor! Can’t wait for the movie!!

    Well done the lot of yer!

  22. Snooky Lesbiano: She-Queen of the Vampazons is the sensational character find of 2009.

  23. I want this whole comic on a T-Shirt.

    That’s how much I love it.

    Also: throwing in my vote for Snooky Lesbiano. Dammit, Chris, why aren’t you writing for DC? You’d make Batwoman a helluvalot more interesting!

  27. Chris, this is truly hilarious, freaking awesome work. The art is 9,000x better than I hoped for–I love the duotone.

    And Ty Hex? JEEN-YUS.

    FYI, I’d totally buy this if it were paper and not electron. Just sayin’.

  28. Excellent work. Can’t wait for the next installment.

    More Snooky Lesbiano, She-Queen of the Vampazons please. The fans demand it!

  29. A T-Rex witch?

    I’m sold. Can’t wait for the next one. This one had me in stitches.

  30. That was fun.
    I would like to read a lot more Solomon Stone, it’s a real chainsaw nunchuck of a story.

  39. I don’t want to be a party pooper, because I mostly enjoyed it, but… I kind of think that it falls into an uncomfortable middle ground where it doesn’t know whether it wants to be an homage to The Wacky Silver Age/Things That Are Awesome, or whether it wants to be a parody of it.

    I mean, the Ghosts of the Dinosaurs Back For Revenge is a fucking great story hook all on its own, and the idea of Tyrannosaurus Hex is likewise terrific. These ideas are great, and I find myself wanting to read a story about them that isn’t being played for broad, self-aware laughs with the over-the-top silly-on-purpose English character (who really just felt like irony being shoved at me or something).

    Again, I’m not saying I didn’t like it, because I mostly did, and I want to read more. I’m saying it felt a bit uneven, is all.

  42. MGK’s right. It’s not like Solomon Stone is a parody of the genres it celebrates and all their narrative quirks.

    Oh, wait a minute…

  43. Dinosaur ghosts obsessed with destroying meteorites? You, sir, are a goddam genius.

  44. Ohh, I see what you did there Kevin. Nice…

    I’d also vote for an Iron Fist-esque one-shot of Solomon Stone and the Case of the Viking Werewolves.

    That’s a title that just reached out and chokes a bitch!

  45. Yeah, Solomon to me so far is like a mangled highway crash of Schrab’s Scud and a 50s Sci-fi /horror pulp. And the results are working.

  46. But that’s my point, Kevin – it doesn’t come across strictly as a parody, but somewhere in between sending all the wacky genre shit up with gobs of irony and celebrating it unironically, and as a result it feels a bit unfocused to me.

  47. You should totally start doing “WHY I SHOULD WRITE SOLOMON STONE” as a regular feature once you’re done with Dr. Strange.

    For reals.

  48. I’d also like to point out that the very first thing I wrote was that I mostly enjoyed it. It just feels like Chris is still figuring out what his voice is, which seems fair considering it’s, what, his second comic book ever?

  50. Excuse ME, but if MISTER MARK WAID says that writing a comic book isn’t like writing one of your fancy NOVELS, then clearly you are WRONG, sir.

  54. I liked it. But its certainly not genius, and I’m sure chris will tell you that.

    Unless….are you brilliant and a genius, Chris?

    I can do it too.

    Ninja bears vs. quarter-vampire lesbians. C?

    Mayor of England line was very funny.

    Also, needs more decompression and Wolverine.

  56. There’s a crucial next step missing, Trey. Not only do you have to have the concept, there has to be a story. So ninja bears aren’t really that funny, per se, but when they are the answer to the question: “Who could have possibly stolen all the honey from the National Honey Depository at Fort Knox?” Or if you see a salmon, leaping upstream, suddenly impaled by a shuriken? Now you’re going past the manatees with the random word-balls in that one episode of South Park.

    You’re absolutely right about the need for more decompression, though. There were at least three different ideas and two actions presented on those pages, Sims. Do you know how many months Bendis could have gotten out of that?

  57. Well done, Chris! Definitely worth the wait. So, can I have a Tyrannosaurus Hex sketch for my refrigerator? It’ll complement the other Sims artwork perfectly!

  60. So…very…awesome…can…not…type…without…taking…long… pauses…because…the…awesome… makes…it…hard… to…form…coherent… thought… need…more…soon…ack!

  61. I clicked on the image out of idle curiosity during a slow day at the office. Now I can’t wait for the next instalment.

  62. “Even a half-vampire private detective skateboard champion needs someone to watch his back.”

    The sound you hear is my applause.

  64. The great thing about this comic is that if you think it’s awesome, you appreciate it without irony, but if you don’t think it’s awesome, other people will tell you that it’s a parody. It’s kind of like All Star Batman and Robin that way. It has a built-in critic shield!

    Good to see you got it done, sir.

  65. This comic is the equivalent of a Jim Aparo-drawn Batman punching a guy while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet. Heads are exploding across the galaxy.

  66. “I’m totally calling myself “She-Queen of the IT department” at work tomorrow.”

    Sounds like the first Solomon Stone fan-fic is off to a great start!