Hopelessness -or- The First Time I Killed (a series!)

The rumors and whispering in dark corners of the internet were right – GENERATION HOPE is ending in MARCH with issue #17.  {sad face emoticon}

If you’re interested to know more, I talk about it all over at ComicBookResources.

From the get-go, they asked me to write 5 issues leading up to April’s big cross-over event (Avengers vs. X-Men).  I approached the gig as a chance to wrap up the major stories of the series’ first year (while also tossing in some new elements I was interested in playing with).

This did not blindside me in the least.  We’ve talked sales numbers and the fate of the book for months, so I knew this was coming before the first issue came out in shops.  I got to tell the stories that I wanted to tell as I wanted to tell them (my editors Jordan White and Nick Lowe were AWESOME collaborators).  So I am nothing but grateful!

ANYWAY – the final two issues pack a TON of pay-off into their pages!  Not just of my issues, but for folks who have been reading the whole way through.  So I hope you’ll stay on board till the end (or grab the trade).  And page 16 of the final issue is maybe the single comic moment I’m most proud of so far. {happy face emoticon}

^ Some preview art from GENERATION HOPE #16 with pencils by Takeshi Miyazawa! It’s out mid-February with the final issue (#17) out mid-March.  And they are CRAZY-COOL comics.

THANK YOU! to all the folks who have been so kind an enthused from the moment I took over through the announcement today.  Since I’m not working in live theater anymore, it’s really nice to still hear people’s responses to this stuff and know that I’m connecting.

I’ll be back SOON with some VERY BIG non-Marvel related comics news!!!  So hang tight, cool cats. {kissy face emoticon}

Amelia Earhart: Jungle Princess digital comic now available!

Amelia Earhart: Jungle Princess cover by Mike Dimayuga

New Comic :  AMELIA EARHART: JUNGLE PRINCESS!

The famed aviatrix survived her legendary crash, only to live stranded on a remote and deadly isle! Will the local savages be friends or foes?  -  by James Asmus and Mike Dimayuga

Years after doing a(n award-winning) play by the same name with The New Colony in Chicago – I couldn’t let go of the idea!  This first tale is a stand-alone story with art by the fantastic Mike Dimayuga (Image Comics’ Colt Noble & the Megalords) and it’s available now through DoubleFeature comics!

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DoubleFeature is an awesome digital publishing outlet that delivers two different, original 8-page stories – plus bonus material – for only $0.99!  You can get the comics as a PDF you can read on any device – OR – you can download the free DoubleFeature iPad app which offers extra features like page-by-page creator commentary and the ability to strip off different layers of the art and lettering to see the work at its various stages!

When you’re done reading Amelia, you should try out the other Double Feature comics from great creators like Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash, Witchblade), Mike Norton (Green Arrow/Black Canary, Battlepug), Dennis Hopeless (Legion of Monsters, Loveless), Sean Dove (Hack/Slash, I am Legion), Gabriel Hardman (Hulk, Planet of the Apes) and tons more!  Go get ‘em!

Cap & Bucky Preview + Gen Hope Fun

Merry Christmas!  Happy Hanukkah (all spellings)!  Habari gani!  And Good winter to you grumpy non-celebrants out there!

I love Christmas with my family.  But the season has been even more exciting because my first issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA & BUCKY comes out THIS WEDNESDAY!  It’s a crazy modern Cap story created along with ED BRUBAKER (Eisner Award  ) and FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA (Detective Comics, Black Panther)

PREVIEW! (note: these aren’t the FIRST 3 pages -so the comic itself has more context and storytelling…)

I loved the initial arc and the work Marc Andreyko and Chris Samnee were doing on it.   If you haven’t read it – you really should.  It’s great comics.  BUT, so you all know – our arc tells a very different story that any reader can jump right into.  I hope those who have loved the series so far will stick with us throught the serious gear-shift (in terms of era/creative team/and which “Bucky” we’re talking about).

If nothing else, I can promise you that FF’s art on our issues starts with all the passion and punch of his acclaimed work on DETECTIVE COMICS – and it seriously gets better and better with every page!  Some of the stuff he’s been sending in for parts 2 and 3 are the best work I’ve ever seen from him.  (And that is saying a lot. …Okay, here’s a sneak peek

ALSO!  My second issue of GENERATION HOPE (#14! with artist Ibraim Roberson & colorist Jim Charalampidis) came out last Wednesday!  And even with the holiday swooping in, a few folks had time to review it and say nice things!

Let them convince you to pick it up if you haven’t :

http://acomicbookblog.com/2011/12/generation-hope-14-review/

http://www.chicagocomicvault.com/2011/12/review-generatioin-hope-14-the-lights-ignite/

ALSO!  I did a SIGNING on last weeks release at CHALLENGERS COMICS + CONVERSATION in Chicago.  They were wonderful as always (and have a fantastic new comic art gallery that you should just go hang out in).  I left them with a few extra signed copies of my first TWO Gen Hope issues.  So if you missed the event, you can still swing by and pick ‘em up!

And finally, I deeply love this shirt from MightFine

…AND YOU SHOULD.

Enjoy your sweets and loved ones!

+james

A Gen Hope mixtape playlist!

Hey kids!  Believe it or not, multiple people have asked me if I’d drop a suggested playlist for my issues of Marvel Comics’ GENERATION HOPE  as apparently Kieron Gillen had done before me.

And it just so happens that I was (am?) a music-mix maniac for so many people in my life, that I was really tickled to do so.  That said, things have been rushed, so I hope you’ll forgive the rough and simple nature of this one.  And yes, I can’t NOT think of this as a mix tape (two sides) even though I made a digital playlist.

I hope you dig the suggestions, and I hope you’ll check out Generation Hope #14 in stores tomorrow (and PREVIEWED at the end of the post)!

GENERATION HOPE MIX TAPE, Vol. 2 #1:  LOVERS & FIGHTERS

SIDE A – Fighters

1. “Dance Yrself Clean” – LCD Soundsystem – FYI, this is a slow starter.  Don’t bail on it early!
2.  “Memories of the Future” – Handsome Furs
3. “I’m In Love With Destruction” – Let’s Wrestle
4. “Capsize” – Karen O & the Kids
5. “We Were Sick” – The Thermals
6. “Titus Andronicus Forever” – Titus Andronicus
7. “We Used to Wait” – Arcade Fire

SIDE B – Lovers

1. “Whole Wide World” – Wreckless Eric
2. “Kiss With a Fist” – Florence + the Machine
3. “Trust” – Generationals
4. “Gigantic” – The Pixies
5. “Teenagers” – Department of Eagles
6. “You Are a Tourist” – Death Cab For Cutie

>>PLAYLIST on SPOTIFY

DISCLAIMERS:  I am not saying that Generation Hope #14 (OUT 12/21!! Pick it up near you!) synchs up with this by any means.   These are mix of tracks that I listen to as I write the book for purposes of mood, youth-power, or because they remind me of something intrinsic to one or more of the Gen Hope kids.   There’s also no guarantee that if you like the book, you’ll like this music or vice-versa.  But hopefully, you will!

AND MERRY X-MAS!!

Interview Round-Up #2!

(I tried to talk about different things different places, I promise.)

A quick collection of the latest interviews on GENERATION HOPE, CAPTAIN AMERICA & BUCKY, ASTONISHING X-MEN, and even some stuff about theater, comedy, and where the hell I came from!

Probably the most quickly comprehensive interview I’ve done is on Comic Vine.  And it’s on a website that runs its own comics wiki that I use RELIGIOUSLY!

A dedicated chat about ASTONISHING X-MEN #43 with Newsarama!  Hilariously, this was going to be part of a comprehensive interview, but the writer and I really got chatty – so they broke it up into a couple pieces  PS – Astonishing is OUT NOW!

Newsarama part 2: GENERATION HOPE!  More than any interview, this is where I talk about the thought process behind some of the scripts and choices.

Why read?  Watch and listen to a video interview!  We talk a bit more about how comedy and theater lead me into comics.

Believe it or not, I think there might still be some more stuff coming.

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Also, CBR (ComicBookResources.com) gave my Astonishing X-Men issue 4/5 stars!  You can read it all here but the real take away is – YOU SHOULD BUY A COPY!  At your local comic book store

<3 You.

All the other places I talked about comics!

Hi!!   I won’t prattle on – because I’ve been doing it TONS elsewhere!  So, instead, here’s a round up of places I’ve talked and what else you might find there…

Cover for GENERATION HOPE #15 -------------by Jorge Molina----------- in stores January 2012

All things X-MEN (including bits about Generation Hope) in the near future:

A round up of the X-Men: Regenesis panel discussion at NewYorkComicCon.  (feat. Kieron Gillen, Jason Aaron, Peter David, and basically EVERYONE…)  >> though, note my disclaimer comment after the article.

Hardcore X-Men fans ask me questions about Generation Hope:

ComicBookResources’ weekly X-Position feature.  My first appearance!  (Hope it’s not the last…)

I hang out with comedians and creators as we shoot the comic book $#!+:

Comic Book Club Live! in NYC.  Other guests are Jason Hurley & Jeremy Haun, creators of THE BEAUTY (Top Cow Pilot Season).  It’s a GREAT, ORIGINAL crime story!  (You should buy it.)

• More chats will roll in VERY SOON. (And those will have a bit more CAPTAIN AMERICA & BUCKY discussion.)
• Thanks to everyone who came up and chatted at NYCC or those who have hit me up on TWITTER!  I genuinely love to hear from you guys.
• ASTONISHING X-MEN #43 comes out WEDNESDAY (10/26!!)!  It’s a self-contained done-in-one story that I really, really like.  Preview pages below. You should buy it from your LOCAL COMIC SHOP!

CAPTAIN AMERICA! (F*ck YEAH!)

Francesco Francavilla's cover to CAPTAIN AMERICA & BUCKY #625 written by James Asmus & Ed Brubaker

Yes. I know.  Hot on the heels of the announcement that I’m taking the reigns of Generation Hope, comes the equally big news that I’m writing an arc of CAPTAIN AMERICA(!!) with the seriously top-flight talents of Ed Brubaker and Francesco Francavilla!

 

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I think I mentioned this elsewhere, but it’s true – I got dizzy when editor Lauren Stankovich offered me the gig (seemingly out of nowhere).  The only other time I felt a confusion-wave like that was when I was asked if my sketch comedy trio (Hey You Millionaires) wanted to play Whirllyball against members of Kids In the Hall.

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I had an absolute blast writing for Steve Rogers (aka Captain America) in his cross over with the X-Men (Escape From the Negative Zone).  But it’s a distinct honor to get to work on his ongoing title.  Especially considering the AMAZING (and Eisner Award-winning) work Ed Brubaker has done with the character over the last few years.  Seriously, if you like smart comics at all you should read his run from the beginning.  Ed has been an incredibly insightful and generous guy.  So I hope I don’t screw up his work!

Luckily, all my words will be getting improved by the golden touch of Francesco Francavilla!  He’s been quickly gaining an excellent reputation as a result of his work penciling, inking, and coloring (most recently) Black Panther and Detective Comics.

I’m so happy to finally be able to talk about these two big developments!  And I’ve got a few interviews coming up soon.  So I’ll save the further gushing & details for those.  In the meantime, find your Local Comic Shop and ask them to order you copies of Captain America & Bucky (starting with #625) and Generation Hope (starting with #13)!

CAPTAIN AMERICA & BUCKY #625
Written by Ed Brubaker & James Asmus
Pencils & Cover by Francesco Francavilla

• The original Human Torch guest-stars as Captain America teams up with Bucky in the present day… for the first time?!
• Rising stars James Asmus and Francesco Francavilla join Eisner award winner Ed Brubaker for a rollicking adventure into the future of the star-spangled Avenger’s past!
• Brand new arc! Easy jumping on point!

32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

Generation Hope #14 cover by Ibraim Roberson

GENERATION HOPE #13
Written by JAMES ASMUS
Art & Cover by IBRAIM ROBERSON
Variant Cover by DALE KEOWN 
X-MEN REGENESIS NOVEMBER 2011

GENERATION HOPE #14

Written by James Asmus
Pencils & Cover by Ibraim Roberson
X-MEN REGENESIS – DECEMBER 2011
Meet the newest member of Generation Hope…Sebastian Shaw?! When Hope and company investigate an unaccounted for mutant reading in Pakistan, they come across a full-grown mutant with no memory being used as a weapon. They see a mutant in trouble and help…not realizing they’re rescuing one of the X-Men’s deadliest foes! 
32 PGS./Rated T …$2.99

Also, THIS: