Vote For Your Favorite Villain

If you've picked up a copy of THE ABYSS #1 (available here), you'll have noticed it's chock full of villains. Please visit the survey and vote for your favorite villain here. Voting affects the content of upcoming issues, and allows for some characters to get featured in their own 8-page stories in Emergents Presents, which is where the Abyss began before breaking out into his own monthly title. Voting ends May 31, 2022.

THE ABYSS #1 is Here!

Fan favorite, the Abyss makes his ongoing series debut today in The Abyss #1, from InterPop Comics, where he faces off against seven (or is it eight?) villains, including five (or is it six?) brand new ones as he tries to stop a prisonbreak at a supermax Emergent prison. I wrote it, Cliff Richards drew it, Chris Sotomayor colored it, Carlos Mangual provided the lettering, all under the supervision of Rachel Gluckstern and Rylen Sigman. You can find The Abyss #1 here and read the initial 8-page stories that introduced him (and two of the returning villains) here. Read them, and let me know what you think. You can also cast your vote on which villain was your favorite here.

The Grim Gallery - Now in it's 12th Year

My companion blog, The Grim Gallery, is now in it's twelfth year of daily monster imagery from movies, art, comic books, books, magazines, mythology and elsewhere. If you like the monstrous, check it out. There are now over 4000 images to pour through.

Preview for The Abyss #1

Newsarama has an article up covering the launch of The Abyss #1 including a five page preview to give you a taste of what's inside. You can read the article, and the preview here. The Abyss #1 will be available at Interpop Comics on May 25th.

The Abyss - Updates

The latest round of voting has ended, and the readers have determined that the member of the Abyss's old team, the Genesis Squadron, he will reunite with will be Moxie. Moxie appeared briefly in the fourth 8-page The Abyss story, "The Assassin" which appeared in Emergents Presents #7 (which you can read here), and will now be appearing in issue #3 of the regular ongoing The Abyss series, an issue I am currently writing. If you's like to learn more about The Abyss, you can read this interview with me. You can also read the four 8-page stories here.

The Abyss - "The Assassin" is now available to read for FREE

"The Assassin" the fourth story starring THE ABYSS, and the final 8 page story from Emergents Presents before he stars in his own ongoing series, is now available to read for free at InterpopComics.com. You can also read the previous three stories and be fully up to speed when the ongoing series debuts this Summer. All four stories, as well as the upcoming series, are written by me, drawn by Cliff Richards, colored by Chris Sotomayor, lettered by Carlos Mangual, and edited by Rachel Gluckstern and Rylen Sigman.

Emergents Presents #7 Now Available

The Abyss appears in his fourth story in Emergents Presents #7 now available at Interpop Comics, where you can also find his previous three adventures. This will be the final 8-page story starring the Abyss before he is spun off into his own full length ongoing series this Summer. As usual I wrote it, Cliff Richards provided the outstanding art, Chris Sotomayor provided the gorgeous color, Carlos Mangual provided the stellar lettering and Rachel Gluckstern, assisted by Rylen Sygman, kept us all in our places.

Announcing THE ABYSS ongoing series

This past weekend at SXSW, InterPop Comics gave away this free The Abyss issue #0, which contains the first three 8 page stories starring the Abyss from Emergents Presents and cover art by the amazing Juan Doe. Those who received it were also given the opportunity on which of three featured villains will return in THE ABYSS #1. That's right, the Abyss has proven to be popular enough that he's receiving his own ongoing series with the same creative team that's been driving the 8 page stories. Myself, artist Cliff Richards, colorist Chris Sotomayor, letterer Carlos Mangual, editor Rachel Gluckstern and assistnat editor Rylen Sigman will be bringing the Abyss to a new monthly series of 24 page adventures beginning this Summer. Stay tuned for more details to come. In the meantime the Abyss will return to the pages of Emergents Presents with a new 8-page story very soon. You can find previous stories starring the Abyss and many other exciting InterPop characters here.

Milestone Compendium Volume 1 Now Available

The Milestone Compendium volume 1 collects the first year of groundbreaking comics published by Milestone Media in the mid 1990s. It contains its four core launch titles, Hardware, Icon, Static and Blood Syndicate as well as the first year of Xombi, which i wrote with J.J. Birch (Joe Brozowski) drawing it and a roster of talented colorists handling the color. The reason Xombi was contained in this book of the first year, even though it was a phase two title, is that phase two began with a crossover that introduced The Shadow Cabinet(also included), and after that issue #0 crossover tie-in, I decided to jump backwards and start again with Xombi's origin story, which was followed by a second storyline that led directly into issue #0. If you are only familiar with Xombi through the 2011 series that I wrote with Frazer Irving handling the art, then this is a perfect opportunity for you to see what came before. A lot of elements of the original series found their way into the 2011 series. This is the first time this series has ever been collected in a book, and you get the first 11 issues as well as issue #0, along witb soem really excellent comics by some of comics' top talent in a book that tops over 1300 pages. There are a second and third volume planned. you can find a copy at your local comic book shop or through the link below which if you use tips some money in my direction.

The Abyss, Story 3, Is Now Available For Free

The third story starring THE ABYSS, from Emergents Presents #5 is now available to read for free at InterpopComics. While you are there, check out some of the other comics available. In this story the Abyss reveals some new abilities, faces a new villain, and interacts with a guest star. A fourth story starring the Abyss is on the way.

Thank You Once Again!

To everyone who voted for the Abyss at InterPop Comics' poll as to which character you wanted to see return the soonest, I thank you. It's gratifying to the entire creative team to see that our work continues to strike such a chord with you. Expect to see a fourth story soon.

Available Now

The Emergents Presents #5 is now available to purchase at InterpopComics. In addition to stories starring Coax and Bantam, the issue includes the third story starring The Abyss by myself, Cliff Richards, Chris Sotomayor, and Carlos Mangual with edits by Rachel Gluckstern and Rylen Sigman. The story features a new villain; The Jockey, and a guest starring appearance by the Southside Sentry and continues to expand the world and mystery of the Abyss. Purchasing this issue also allows you to vote on which character will return soonest. You can also read the first two stories starring the Abyss for free here.

The Second Story Starring The Abyss Is Now Available For Free

The Abyss story appearing in Emergents Presents #3, from InterpopComics, is now available to read for free right here. Get further glimpses into this mysterious character as the cast expands and another villain is added to his rogues gallery. Cliff Richards and Chris Sotomayor provide the art. If you still haven't read the first story starring the Abyss from Emergents Presents #1, you can also read it for free right here. After you've read it, feel free to pop back here to leave me your thoughts in the comments and be sure to let InterpopComics know what you thought on social media using @Interpop and #TheAbyss.

Thank You!

To everyone who voted to see The Abyss return soonest in the latest Interpop poll, I greatly appreciate it. I'm creatively invested in this character and already have so many stories I'd like to tell about him, his allies, and his developing roster of a rogues gallery. This now provides the opportunity to tell another of those stories sooner than later. I was also quite stunned by how much he led in the voting, since the other creative teams are made up of some serious talent handling some really fun charcters. I encourage you to investigate their other work beyond InteropComics.

Available Today

Emergents Presents #3 goes on sale today at InterPop Comics. Cliff Richards, Chris Sotomayor, and I return with a second story starring The Abyss. More mysteries, some clues, and an all new villain provide further glimpses into the secretive nature of the Abyss. If you missed the Abyss in his first appearance, fear not. You can read it for free right here.

The Abyss returns in Emergents Presents #3

The second story starring the Abyss, by myself, Cliff Richards and Chris Sotomayor will appear in Emergents Presents #3. This issue will be available digitally only at InterPop Comics on November 3. Find out more about the mysterious figure known as The Abyss as he faces off against a new foe with weird powers. If you still haven't read the first story starring the Abyss, you can read it for free here.

31 Days 'Til Halloween

For the past fifteen years this would be where I'd welcome you to my annual Halloween Countdown leading into multiple daily posts through Halloween itself. If you've come here for that, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Last year was my final year of conducting such an event. It's possible I may drop some seasonal reading and viewing recommendations in here this month, but there will be no regular daily posts. As I said though, there are fifteen years of Halloween posts that you can browse just by visiting any October in the years 206-2020 in the archive links to the right. My companion blog, THE GRIM GALLERY, posts something monstrous every day, 365 days a year, just about 3800 of them so far. So, if you like monsters, you should pay that blog a visit. For more Halloween than you can handle please visit the official COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN blog, where you will find links to dozens of blogs, instagram accounts, etc., featuring regular Halloween treats and tricks throughout the month. Founded by myself and Shawn Robare way back as a launching point connecting like-minded folks all looking to share their love of the season, the Countdown continues without us in more than capable hands, and I hope will continuelong into the feature. You can also find information there on how you can be one of the participating blogs. Finally, the image above is one of a number of original cut paper Halloween pieces I created that are available for purchase at my store. If you are looking for some Halloween art to deaden upyour wall, please take a look. Enjoy the season.

The Abyss Now Available for FREE

The Abyss story that I wrote with art by Cliff Richards and color by Chris Sotomayor is now available to read for free at the Interop Comics Website. You also have the option of purchasing the entire issue of Emergents Presents #1, which includes this story plus two others featuring two other new characters by two other teams of creators, as an NFT with a cover featuring The Abyss by Anrea Mutti and Chris Satomayor here. You can also download the other two stories for free here. I'm really enjoying writing The Abyss. It has two of my favorite villains I've created. I'm currently writing the second story, and have roughly blocked out a few more. Now's your opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Thank You!

To everyone who voted for The Abyss in Interpop Comics' poll to determine which character from the 1st issue of The Emergents Presents would return first, I thank you. I had a great time writing that first story. I love the villains. Even as I was writing it I was formulating ideas for future appearances of the Abyss. Now a second story will soon be forthcoming, which I'll begin writing just as soon as I finish the story I'm working on featuring a different character for Interpop. Stay tuned for more developments.

The Emergents Presents #1 - Review

David Brooke at AIPT has a nice review of The Emergents Presents #1, which will give you a better sense of what it's all about, icluding some sample pages of art, right here. The first story from The Emergents Presents #1, starring the Southside Sentry by Sholly Fisch, Freddie E. Williams III, Alex Sinclair and Pat Brousseau, is available to read for free at Interpop Comics right now. The second story, starring the Accelerant, by Christy Marx, Scott Kolins, Steve Buccellato and Rob Leigh will be available a week from now. The third story, starring the Abyss, by me, Cliff Richards, Chris Sotomayor, and Carlos M. Mangual will be available September 8, or you can purchase the entire issue now at Interpop Comics.