Who I am and what I do.

So, I’ve been neglecting the blog a little too much lately, so it’s time to correct that. I’m about to show you the full boat, the whole deal – I’m going to run down all my comic projects, who I’m working with, and where we are in terms of progress. You ready? (Just for those keeping score: I’m the creator and writer on everything listed below, unless otherwise noted. Cool?)

1) Long Gone – an original graphic novel published by Markosia Enterprises. Described as “the Walking Dead with superheroes instead of zombies”, pencilled and inked by Ted Pogo, colored by Aaron Viel, lettered by ET Dollman, and edited by Andrew Brinkley. Available at the Markosia website: http://www.markosia.com/titles/long-gone/ and at Comixology: http://www.comixology.com/Long-Gone/digital-comic/JUL120693

2) Breakneck – a 10-issue maxiseries published by 215 Ink. Breakneck is the story of the world’s shittiest supervillain. Issues 1 through 5 are illustrated by James Boulton and lettered by Matt Brown. The first trade paperback, containing issues 1-4, is available now! Single issues available at the 215 Ink website: http://www.215ink.com/catalog/215ink-digital-comics.html and the first trade, titled “Knives Out” is available at Comixology: http://www.comixology.com/Breakneck-Vol-1-Knives-Out/digital-comic/SUB000181 and at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breakneck-1-Mark-Bertolini/dp/0615802729/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368625919&sr=1-5

3) Ghost Lines – an original graphic novel published by 215 Ink. Ghost Lines is a story of serial killers, brainwashing, and becoming more than human. Illustrated by Carl Yonder, lettered by ET Dollman. Available at the 215 Ink website: http://www.215ink.com/catalog/ghost-lines-ogn-pdf.html

4) Broken – a 3-issue miniseries published by 215 Ink. Broken is my own twisted take on the origin of the Batman (not starring Batman, since, you know, I don’t own him), but a re-telling of the fateful event that created Batman. Illustrated by Allen Byrns and lettered by MaGnUs. Available for free on the 215 Ink website: http://www.215ink.com/catalog/broken-1-pdf.html and as an e-book through Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Broken-1-ebook/dp/B00CAUH5HO/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368626145&sr=1-11 - soon to be available on Comixology.

5) Knowledge – an original graphic novel to be published by Markosia Enterprises. Knowledge is the story of supersoldiers in the year 2013 – it’s no longer good enough to be faster and stronger. Sometimes you need to be smarter. Illustrated by Jerome Eyquem and lettered by Chris Horan. Currently not available, since it’s not finished yet.

6) Scum of the Earth – a 3-issue miniseries to be published by Action Lab’s Danger Zone mature readers imprint. Scum of the Earth is described as “southern fried sci-fi”. Illustrated by Rob Croonenborghs, edited by Steven Forbes. Not available just yet, but soon!

7) Old Ghost – a 4-issue miniseries to be published by 215 Ink. Old Ghost is a supernatural spy thriller/pulp fiction adventure. Illustrated by Olov Redmalm, lettered by Chris McQuaid (who unfortunately can’t continue on the project), with a logo by Shawn Aldridge and a cover by braintrust Rolf Lejdegård. Will be available towards the end of 2013.

 

8) Apes With Uzis, Arc and Chain: Thugs Electro – a 32-page one shot to be published by 215 Ink. Illustrated by Kevin Enhart, co-written by Rolf and I, most likely will be available later this year. Here’s the cover, for the very first time:

 

9) Diablo Rojo – an original graphic novel created by Valentin Ramon, with script assists from me and letters by MaGnUs. Diablo Rojo is the story of a luchador-mask wearing freedom fighter battling against an evil Empire in the years after World War III. To be published eventually, once we lock down a publisher. Here’s the potential cover:

 

10) Antihero – a 4-issue miniseries. Pencilled and inked by David Pentecost, colored by K. Michael Russell, letters by MaGnUs. Antihero is the story of the King, the world’s most dangerous supervillain, as he gets press-ganged into taking down other villains at the behest of the government.

11) Instinct – potentially a 4-issue miniseries. Pencilled and inked by Sami Kivelä, colored by Hugo “Ginmau” Froes, lettered by ET Dollman, and edited by Andrew Brinkley. Instinct is the story of Dominic “The Monster” Arch, the world’s most dangerous bastard, who has unfortunately been in prison for the past eight years. Think The Joker meets Hannibal Lechter.

12) Deep Rest – potentially a 4-issue miniseries. Illustrated by Fabian Cobos, lettered by MaGnUs. Deep Rest is a sci-fi story about futuristic psychologists traipsing around inside the minds of patients, and the chaos that can be unleashed.

13) The Argus – potentially going to become my very first webcomic. Illustrated by Joël Seguin. A sci-fi story about the horrific consequences of time travel.

14) Cardinal (still a tentative title) – a one-shot comic. Illustrated by Michael Tyler. The Cardinal is a straight up superhero story with a last-page twist that set up a hundred new stories in my mind. A character design (my favorite of the bunch):

15) The Gentlemen’s Club – a potential 4-issue miniseries. Pencilled and inked by Kav. A noir story about two rival groups made up of the world’s most skilled assassins, waging war on one another. Here’s the main character, Conrad “Connie” Hume.

 

16) Jury-Rig – potentially a 3-issue miniseries. Illustrated by Marcaeus Yates. Jury-Rig is all about the consequences of modifying your body to a superhuman level. Here’s a design for a character, Detective Porter.

17) Jim – again, potentially a 3-4 issue miniseries. Pencilled and inked by Ken Perry, colored by Levi Walton. The story of former Doors frontman Jim Morrison, who faked his death to become a secret agent man…here’s a colored page (the first time I’ve ever shown one!)

18) Dog Catcher – potentially a 3-4 issues mini. Pencilled and inked by Matt Mossman. In the far future, high society is kept running by slaves known as Dogs. When these slaves step out of line, it’s time to call in the Dog Catchers. Here’s a design sketch.

19) Fear and Pain – an original graphic novel by Kevin Enhart – I’m giving Kevin some script assists. A story of history, warfare, superpowers, social responsibility…this story has it all. Here’s the first page (don’t tell Kevin I posted this…)

20) Demoniac - a 12 page short story, story and art by Jason Jarava, script by me. We’re planning on submitting this to Challenger Comics.

21) Diver Down – a 6-page short story, story and art by Carl Yonder, script by me, colors by Michael Littlefield Bielaski. Also planning on sending this to Challenger. Here’s a sneak peek at a page:

22) Blackout, eventually going to be a graphic novel. This is something I was working on with Long Gone colorist Aaron Viel a couple years ago, and every now and then we decide to work on it. It’s a spy thriller in the vein of the Prisoner, with some James Bond and Doc Savage thrown in the mix.

23) Capacity – an 8-page short story with Ken Knudtsen.

24) Harder – eventually going to be a graphic novel with Kurt Belcher.

25) Jekyll and Hyde – eventually going to be a graphic novel, co-written with Andrew Brinkley.

26) Pieces of Hate – eventually going to be a graphic novel with Joël Seguin.

27) NRV (No Redeeming Value) – eventually going to be a graphic novel with Craig DeBoard.

28) Teaser – eventually going to be a graphic novel with Carl Yonder.

Obviously, these last few have little to no work done, besides scripting. There are lots of other ideas in the hopper, though. Here’s some titles: The Team. Freakshow. Worldagent. Patchwork. Night Music. The Incident. Seven Days Left. Born and Bred: To Fight Crime. Protection. The Devil’s Hitman. The Last of the Fallen. Unrelenting.

I fucking love making comics and I will do it until my dying breath. Big thanks to my collaborators, who work hard to make the best looking comics out there. You guys are all awesome, and I hope you know it.

Do yourself a favor and go listen to “Give In” by On An On. You’ll thank me later.

Winding down Free Comic Book Day.

So I will go on the record and say that FCBD for me was a success. I didn’t sell a lot of books, but I’ve found that people aren’t coming to a Free Comic Book Day store to purchase things. People want the free stuff. But I moved some copies of Long Gone, and a couple copies of the Oxymoron hardcover (people were intrigued after they saw the Red Ten FCBD book.)

I talked to a lot of people about my books, gave away copies of Instinct and the postcards I had for Ghost Lines, Scum of the Earth, Apes With Uzis: Thugs Electro, and Instinct.

Some funny/interesting stories:

• A guy asked me to sign his copy of the Superman: Last Son of Krypton book. I had to explain that I wasn’t Geoff Johns and wouldn’t feel right signing a book I had nothing to do with.
• Some guy picked up a copy of Instinct (the free copy, mind you), read through the whole thing, then put it back on the table and walked away. It was free, he could have taken it with him and not damaged my fragile ego that way.
• I didn’t get a chance to talk to David Finch or Jason Fabok because the store was jammed the whole day.
• I picked up a copy of Miller and Mazzucchelli’s Daredevil: Born Again trade paperback for only $12. Only purchase of the day.
• I found a lot of people weren’t approaching my table so  could give them my spiel about Long Gone, so I put up signs saying “Long Gone is like the Walking Dead if you replace the zombies with superheroes.” That drove more traffic to me, I found. Sorry, Kirkman.
• Talked comics with a lot of people. That was the best part.

Thanks again to Carlos and the crew at Gotham Central Comics and Collectibles for having me out, and for feeding me as well. Looking forward to next year and having more work to show!

Also, today I got back my signed copy of the contract with Action Lab for Scum of the Earth. It’s official, my friends. As things progress in terms of release dates and things like that, I’ll keep you all up to date.

For now, do yourself a favor and go listen to “Oh Fortune” By Dan Mangan.

Free Comic Book Day May 4th 2013

Hey gang, remember to come see me tomorrow on Free Comic Book Day at Gotham Central Comics and Collectibles in Mississauga, Ontario.

I’ll have copies of Long Gone and the Oxymoron hardcover for sale, at great prices, as well as free copies of the Instinct sampler and assorted postcards to give away of Ghost Lines, Scum of the Earth, Apes With Uzis: Thugs Electro, and Instinct.

Also, remember to check out my Tumblr for the digital release of the Instinct sampler: http://mark-bertolini.tumblr.com/

Here’s the official Gotham Central FCBD release:

 

It should be a great time! Lots of awesome stuff happening besides me. And free comics, how the fuck can you beat that? You can’t.

Happy Friday. Do yourself a favor and listen to “Halcyon Digest” by Deerhunter, and go enjoy FCBD 2013!

Official Announcement – Old Ghost

I’d proud to announce that another of my comics has been picked up for publication.

My book “Old Ghost” will be published under the 215 Ink banner later this year.

Old Ghost is a supernatural spy thriller with a heavy European feel. Created in conjunction with comic book madman Rolf Lejdegård, with dynamic painted art by Olov Redmalm, and a logo designed by Vic Boone creator Shawn Aldridge.

Old Ghost will be released in four chapters, digitally, leading up to the release of the print version of the graphic novel.

Here’s the cover (by Rolf) of the first chapter, and likely the collected edition:

 

And a sample of an interior page, by Olov Redmalm:

 

(It’s not a completed page, you gotta read the book for that.)

So for those keeping score, that’s 3 publication deals in about 5 months. I’m still counting Knowledge as a 2013 deal, even though it was signed at the very end of 2012.

I made a promise to myself to land four deals this year. So technically, I have one more to nail down. But it’s only the first of May and there’s a lot of year left!

To celebrate, go listen to “Give In” by On An On. You’ll thank me later.

Official announcement – Scum of the Earth

So I talked about it briefly yesterday on Facebook. I tied it into the Action Lab Kickstarter getting all of it’s funding, which it accomplished.

It’s official: Scum of the Earth will be published by Action Lab’s “Danger Zone” imprint.

I have no specific details, but I can tell you it’s going to be a 3-issue miniseries published in a digital-first setup. Rob Croonenborghs and I have worked our asses off on this book and it looks amazing. Rob has a few pages left on the third issue to complete and we’re all set. Thanks to Rolf for the inspiration, and to Steven Forbes, who came in and edited and helped me figure out how to turn a 50-page graphic novel into 3 issues.

As things progress, I’ll keep everyone informed. Rob and I just signed the contracts, so hopefully the first issue will come out in the next couple of months. The Danger Zone accomplished it’s goal in the Kickstarter, which means they’ll be moving ahead with the initial batch of books first.

But look for Scum of the Earth to come sometime soon! Also, this:

That’s two books picked up this year. My goal was four. Two more books to land at publishers. Let’s see what happens next…

Do yourself a favor and go listen to “Seeds” by Hey! Rosetta.

These links were made for clicking…

Today I’m going to pimp out some websites/webcomics/crowd-funding things that friends and colleagues of mine are working on. Yesterday I spotlighted the Kill All Monsters! Kickstarter.

Here’s some more cool stuff for you to check out:

The Sum of Light by Brian McCranie: A Lovecraft inspired horror comic. Check out the dude’s mechanical mask. That’s awesome. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brianmccranie/the-sum-of-light-issue-1-a-lovecraft-inspired-horr?ref=live and the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/The.Sum.of.Light?fref=ts

Here’s the link to Kevin Enhart’s sketchbook crowd-funder. Kevin’s the artist on the upcoming Apes With Uzis spinoff Thugs Electro. Go and pledge. http://www.kisskissbankbank.com/en/projects/girls-girls-girls-and-a-few-boys

Here’s the link to My Life Without a Jetpack by my buddy Magnus Von Tesla, who has lettered several of my comics. http://nojetpack.thecomicstrip.org/ And here’s the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nojetpack

Then go check out Cthulhu Holmes by Joseph Pangrazio – a Lovecraft/Sherlock Holmes mashup? Yes please. http://www.cthulhuholmes.com/ And the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CthulhuHolmes

Here, my buddy and killer writer Magnus Aspli (who wrote the Markosia-published Vessel of Terror) is organizing a free comic anthology called Outre, set to launch, naturally, on Free Comic Book Day. Check it out, some great talent involved here: https://outreanthology.wordpress.com/

And here’s something fun: a story about Elvis Presley – the King of the Unknown! A fun story with some excellent art by Marcus Muller. Check it out: http://kingoftheunknown.com/about/

Then jump over to Fabian Rangel’s site Believe in Comics and buy yourself all kinds of indie comics goodness: http://fabianrangeljr.bigcartel.com/

I’m sure there’s more I can link to, but I don’t want to blow my load on just one post. Plus it’s nearly lunchtime, so that takes precedent.

Until next time! Go do yourself a favor and listen to “David Comes to Life” by Fucked Up.

A Kickstarter worth your money

So my buddy Jason Copland has been working on a long-running webcomic called “Kill All Monsters!”, with writer Michael May, and letterer Ed Brisson, that is excellent.

And now, they’ve started a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to print this glorious book. I backed them, and I don’t back many Kickstarter campaigns when it comes to comics. Because the majority of them are god-awful.

But KAM! (with the exclamation point, always gotta have that) is good comics. Giant monsters vs giant robo-suits. Guys in giant robo-suits punching giant monsters. What’s not to love?

Here’s the link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1854372978/kill-all-monsters-volume-1-ruins-of-paris

Go check it out now. For real, some great rewards and you’re standing up for the independent comic community. Raise your voice, raise your fist, open your wallet, and support books that deserve it. Do you really need three X-Men comics this month? Why not get something new?

Because – this:

 

Don’t even tell me you don’t want some of that.

That’s it for today. Do yourself a favor and go listen to “Push the Sky Away” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.