NEWS!

As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, I want to try and answer some questions from you here, and the questions have been piling up over the holidays, so I'm going to try to get through a few. You can leave questions by replying to this newsletter's email. I can't promise I will get to them all, but I'll do my best!

QUESTIONS

Hi Jeff!

Greetings from Israel!

Two questions:

1) any chance you will ever cone here for a signing event?

2) Are there any plans for a “The Nobody” hardcover reprint?

Keep up the good work!

Thanks

Shy

Hi Jeff

Have you ever considered collecting some of your earlier works (Ashtray, Soft Instruments, Tales From The North, Fortress etc.)?

Thanks

Scott

My question is: what comics inspired you as a kid to create the stories you are writing today? What comics did you really like growing up?

Thanks!

Mike



Great meeting you too, Mike. I love Baltimore Con! Different books and stories inspired me at different points of my life. When I was really young and first falling in love with comics is was Wolfman and Perez's Teen Titans and Crisis that hit me the hardest. I also loved everything Giffen was doing in the late 80's early 90's from his JLU run with Demattais to his Legion stuff. And certainly all of Frank Millers' Batman stuff hit when I was very impressionable. Dark Knight and Year One were revelations and the influence of Miller's visual storytelling style on me cannot be overstated. I also REALLY loved Tim Truman. His Hawkworld and Scout series were absolute favourites.



When I first started drawing comics of my own, it was Miller and Truman's style of laying out pages and telling stories that I was aping the most. You can still see a lot of Truman in Sweet Tooth, I think.





Which of your comic titles is hitting my TV first? Dates??

I'm excited for Essex County can't wait to see it on CBC!

Any cool stories from production or sitting in? Any inside scoop you could share?



Sandy



Sandy. The first of my books to come to TV will be REDACTED REDACTED It should be dropping late 2020 or early 2021.



Developing Essex has been great, but also a long process. I think we are into year four or five of the process. There have not been any great productions secrets of stores yet, as mostly it's just been us in a room talking story and writing scripts. But we are trying to be as faithful to the book as we can while still expanding it enough to fill 6 hours of television.



As I write this I am having a coffee and getting ready to head over for another day in the writer's room for the Essex County TV show. This is the (I think) 5th such session or mini-writer's room we have run for Essex. It's been really fascinating experience for me. I'm so used to working alone, and also working. really fast and spontaneously. The constant working and reworking of story, the continued questioning of story decisions, as well as the collaborative aspect are very new to me, but honestly very enjoyable as well. Very proud of the work we've done adapting Essex, and if all continues to go well, it will go in front of cameras this Fall/Winter for a 2021 television release.



Speaking of which, another of my creator-owned books is going to be coming to TV this year. I am not allowed to say which one yet, but I was on set for the filming of the pilot, and will be there for there filming of the rest of the first season in a few months. CAN NOT WAIT to share more with you.

Hi Jeff, I love everything you've done with Black Hammer and all the related spin-offs. Do you have plans down the line of doing anymore superhero ongoing series? Thanks. Robert Walter



Robert, I may be reading this wring, and if so, I apologize, but I think what your asking is if I will do any more ongoing superhero books for Marvel or DC outside of my Black Hammer books. And the answer to that is YES. I have actually been developing a big new project for one of those companies over the last two or three months and will start writing it very soon with one of my all time favorite artists drawing the book. Not sure when it will be announced or released yet, but it will be an ongoing series for Marvel or DC featuring a pretty high-profile character.



I love Black Hammer and have no plans to stop developing that universe, but its always fun to step back into the universes I loved growing up if the right character and the right creative team come together.





Hi Mr. Lemire, my name is Cory Garcia and i have been an admirer of your work for the past 7 years. My brother introduced me to Sweet Tooth and Essex County and I have attempted to purchase, within a reasonable budget, new work that you put out. You mentioned the regret of Royal City ( which was a fantastic peice of story telling and hit pretty close to home being I myself am from a dead end small town as well) and i was curious from that comment would you work for the big 2 again? Is there a character from their I.P that you feel a creative urge on? Or is that pretty much the end of your relationship to mainsream superhero comics once the two black label books hit the stands Also what does the creator owned future hold for you? I am always intrigued and surprised by your very wonderful imagination and very much look forward to any new creator owned books you put out as well as continuations such as Black Hammer and its spinnoff mini series, Gideon Falls, Acender and such. Thank you for taking time to read this as i know you have a very busy schedule.



Thanks, Corey. I really appreciate he kind words and the support of my work. I think I answered the first part of your question, regarding mainstream super hero stuff above. In regards to my creator-owned stuff, l ooking ahead at 2020 as a whole, this will be a busier than usual year for me. There are a few more Black Hammer books in the pipeline, Gideon Falls, Ascender and Family Tree will continue through this year while both Joker and The Question will finish up.



The next graphic novel that I both wrote and drew is almost done. I have 220 pages finished and it will end up being around 250, so I will likely finish that in the next month or two. That book will probably be an early 2021 release.



In addition to Colonel Weird and the Hulk one-shot there are several other new projects that will be announced and released over the course of this year. One is a collaboration with Matt Kindt, another is a book that has been gestating in various forms since 2009, and another will be a surprise return to one of my previous creator-owned books.



It was announced last week that I wrote an IMMORTAL HULK one-shot for Marvel that the amazing Mike Del Mundo Illustrating. Immortal Hulk has been one of, if not my very favourite, monthly comics since it launched. I even wrote the introduction to the first hardcover collection, so it was blast to get to write an issue. It comes out in April and can be pre-ordered now...In other news, we just announced the next BLACK HAMMER mini-series: COLONEL WEIRD: COSMAGOG written by myself with fully painted art the incredible Tyler Crook (Harrow County). A lot of readers had questions about exactly what the hell happened to Colonel Weird at the end of Black Hammer: Age of Doom, well this series will answer those questions, and many more, about my favourite Black Hammer character. I drew a variant cover for issue 1 as well. Tyler's cover and a few interior pages below...Hello, Shy, thanks for the questions. In order...1) I have never been invited to Israel for a signing or event, but would love to visit one day. My travel schedule is pretty limited these days with all the work I have going on, but I hope that will open up in the next year or two.2) I do have loose plans to re-release The Nobody one day. It was originally published by Vertigo after I did Essex County and before I did Sweet Tooth. I look back on it as a transitional work. It was the first time I had to work to a set page count and I always felt I had to sacrifice aspects of it to make the story length more economical. I think it could have been more. I have the full rights back now, and would love to do an expanded version where I go back and fill it out a bit, but it all just comes down to finding the time and balancing doing that against doing new things. But one way or another, I think a new printing of The Nobody will likely happen in the next few years.Scott, if I thought any of that work was worth seeing the light of day, I would, but the truth is, it is very crude formative work and really isn't worth re-publishing. I may add some of the original Gideon Falls prototype story from Ashtray to a deluxe hardcover of Gideon Falls one day, but I think the rest will remain unpublished.