Hey folks!
Happy Valentine’s Day, if that’s your thing. If it’s not, then: Screw Valentine’s Day!
It’s a snow day here in Halifax. School is cancelled and the roads are slick enough that any plans I had for the day have been cancelled. (As a side note: Locals refer to slippery roads as “greasy” and I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.)
I’m just settling in with a coffee and cardigan and am about to get to work on a script for one of five (maybe six?) unannounced projects.
The last few months have been strange for me. This will be the longest period of time I’ve gone without a book on the shelves, but also the busiest I’ve been in about 2 years. Hopefully, some of this stuff will get announced in the coming weeks so that folks know I’m not making it all up. I’ve got a healthy mix of Work-For-Hire and Creator-Owned and am feeling quite good about the balance I’ve been able to strike. It’s something I’ve been working toward for the better part of five or six years now.
Anyhow, onwards…
Table of Contents
• Murder Book: Catch & Release Update/Now Available
• Fan Expo Vancouver
• Just Announced
• Recommended: Hell & Gone
• Reader Questions
Murder Book: Catch & Release Update/Now Available
If you backed the CATCH & RELEASE: A MURDER BOOK STORY Kickstarter, you likely have your book by now — however, if you’re overseas, it’s possible it’s still on the way.
I want to thank everyone who helped bring this book to life. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. Special thanks to my collaborator and artist extraordinaire, Lisandro Estherren, letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, and editor Nate Cosby. Thanks as well to Laser Campaigns who helped us manage the Kickstarter campaign.
If you missed out on backing the book, fear not. We printed an alternate cover and now have copies available in my online store.
Don’t know about Catch & Release? Well, here’s a fancy write up:
A stolen car and a botched robbery pushes one man to the precipice, where he must choose between the life of his closest friend and that of a complete stranger.
“Murder book” refers to a detective's case file on a homicide investigation. Murder books typically include crime scene photographs and sketches, autopsy and forensic reports, transcripts of investigator’s notes and witness interviews. They chronicle the life of a case, from the time the murder is reported until an arrest is made.
CATCH & RELEASE: A MURDER BOOK STORY is an original hard cover graphic novel about crime and consequence. It’s written by me, Ed Brisson (Old Man Logan, Uncanny X-Men), and lusciously illustrated by Lisandro Estherren (Redneck, Strange Skies of East Berlin).
Fan Expo Vancouver
I’ll be returning to my old stomping grounds for the first time since people began to whisper the words “Corona Virus” and I couldn’t be more excited. Looking forward to gorging myself on all the restaurants I miss and hanging out with friends I haven’t seen since before the nightmare of the last two years began.
Everything you need to know about my appearance is below.
FAN EXPO Vancouver
February 19-21, 2022
Vancouver Convention Centre
Vancouver, BC, Canada
TABLE/BOOTH: TBA
SIGNING SCHEDULE*:
Saturday 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM and 4:30 - 7:30 PM
Sunday 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM and 4:30 - 6:00 PM
Monday 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 2:30 - 5:00 PM
*There is no charge for signatures. Limit of 10 items if there is a line of people waiting.
PANELS:
Saturday, February 19
3:15 pm to 4:15 pm
SO YOU WANT TO MAKE COMICS?
STAGE FOUR
Sunday, February 20
3:15 pm to 4:15 pm
WRITING FOR COMICS 101
STAGE FOUR
Just Announced
Out this May, SHADOW WAR ZONE #1 is a collection of short stories, tying into the larger SHADOW WAR event that will be running through a bunch of the Bat-Books.
Newsarama has a piece on it here.
Mike Bowden and I are contributing a Ghost-Maker centred story that I don’t want to say too much about just yet. It was a fun assignment and I think really gets into what a bastard Ghost-Maker can be.
The 48-page special (on sale May 17) also includes writers Stephanie Phillips, and Nadia Shammas along with Josh Williamson with art by Trevor Hairsine, Ann Maulina, and others.
Recommended: Hell & Gone
Friend of the newsletter, Sam Wiebe, just dropped his latest Wakeland novel: HELL AND GONE.
Long time readers may recognize Sam’s name from a short story he’d contributed to an issue of THE VIOLENT back in 2016. Turns out that short story ended up being the impetus for this book — something I wasn’t aware of when diving in.
It’s not often we get Vancouver based crime fiction and, when we do, it’s rarely this good. I ended up binging this latest instalment in two days, messing up my own sleep schedule in the process (thanks a lot, Sam!). Highly recommended for fans of crime.
Official description:
“A captivating new thriller in the Wakeland detective series that explores the depths of Vancouver''s criminal underworld.
In one moment of public violence, everything changes for Dave Wakeland. When masked men and women storm an office building in Chinatown, leaving a trail of carnage, the Vancouver PI and his partner, Jeff Chen, find themselves caught up in a mystery that won''t let them go.
The police have a vested interest in finding the shooters, and so does the leader of the Exiles motorcycle gang. Both want Wakeland''s help. The deeper he investigates, the more connections he uncovers: a reclusive millionaire with ties to organized crime, an international security company with a sinister reputation, and a high-ranking police officer who seems to have a personal connection to the case. When the shooters themselves start turning up dead, Wakeland realizes the only way to guarantee his own safety, and that of the people he loves, is by finding out who hired the shooters and why.
What Wakeland uncovers are secrets no one wants known-a botched undercover operation, an ambitious gangster and a double-crossing killer who used the shooting to cover up another crime. With a setup like this, anything can go wrong, and does. Skill and luck are needed for Wakeland and Chen to emerge with the killers, the money and their own lives.”
Reader Questions
A lot of you have been reaching out, asking for updates on PREDATOR. I haven’t been able to say much beyond “We’re still working on it.” Right now, the answer remains the same, but…not for long. Very shortly, I should have some news for everyone on this front.
Okay, that’s all from me for now. I should be back in the next couple of weeks with more updates.
If anyone wants to come over and shovel my driveway, I’ve got a $5 bill with your name on it.
Ed Brisson
Halifax, Nova Scotia