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October 23, 2008

HIGHWAY 62 PRESS AND BLOG@NEWSARAMA ANNOUNCE JOINT SYNDICATION FOR STRANGEWAYS: THE THIRSTY

Matthew Maxwell, creator and author of the Western-horror graphic novel STRANGEWAYS, today announced the serialization of the sequel, THE THIRSTY, at Blog @ Newsarama. The series will debut on Monday, Oct. 27, with new pages posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

"I'm very pleased to enjoy this opportunity," Maxwell said recently. "I talked to quite a few potential partners before deciding to serialize THE THIRSTY on Blog @ Newsarama," Maxwell said. "It isn't a typical webcomic, as it wasn't written with online publication in mind. So, I sought a different kind of partnership. Working with a comics news and commentary site as opposed to one known for syndicating webcomics seemed an intriguing and beneficial arrangement. It's my hope that many more readers who've never followed STRANGEWAYS will be introduced to the series now."

THE THIRSTY, follows ex-Union officer Seth Collins from the events of MURDER MOON as he drifts a little further west to a town called Cedar Creek, which is about to find itself under attack from people who are neither dead nor alive, but somewhere in-between. However, just as MURDER MOON was about a lot more than just cowboys and werewolves, THE THIRSTY is more than just cowboys and vampires. Those readers who liked the concept of "Lone," which was the backup feature for MURDER MOON, will eat up "Red Hands," which will serve a similar role in THE THIRSTY.

THE THIRSTY is illustrated by Gervasio and Jok, who drew the story "Lone" in MURDER MOON. Luis Guaragna also returns, although not in the main story, but instead in a backup feature. "It's great to continue my relationship with all of these artists," Maxwell said. "They understand what the stories need visually, which is a deceptively simple task, it seems."

Planned for a print publication in Spring of 2009, THE THIRSTY is the second STRANGEWAYS graphic novel, continuing to deliver a great western comic infused with horror. It is anticipated that the print version will again be published by Highway 62 Press. MURDER MOON, the first STRANGEWAYS book, is still available through Diamond Comics Distributors (JAN083670), Baker and Taylor Books, Amazon and Khepri.com.

Matt Maxwell is a comics writer and has been a comics commentator since 2003, which saw the publication of the first installment of FULL BLEED (then at Broken Frontier, now at Comics Waiting Room). He's also blogged at his own Highway 62 since 2004, and has written for Newsarama.com and Comicon Pulse. His first original graphic novel, STRANGEWAYS: MURDER MOON was published in early 2008. He is a lapsed animator, having forsaken the compelling lunacy of Southern California for life with his family in the Sierra Nevada Foothills.

Highway 62 Press
matt@highway-62.com
www.highway-62.com
http://www.highway-62.com/Strangeways/ - MURDER MOON preview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvqWqIjXhA4 - THE THIRSTY video
http://blog.newsarama.com/strangeways - STRANGEWAYS at Newsarama

Take a look, leave comments if you like.

Strangeways: The Thirsty is coming. It's written, save for about ten pages. Overall, the art is about two-thirds done, minus the bonus stuff, which I haven't had time to organize just yet. I've run the first three pages of art along with the original script at my personal blog, Highway 62, but I'll collect all the links for easy consumption, if you haven't seen 'em yet.

Page 1
Page 2
Page 3

Note that I reserve the right to change the dialogue upon my whims, but it seems pretty solid right now. And if you think you recognize the artist, you do. Gervasio and Jok, who provided the artwork for the backup feature "Lone" from Murder Moon, have returned to do the main story this time around. Fans of Luis Guaragna will be happy to know that his work will be represented, too, in the form of the second feature "Red Hands", which will likely not be serialized on the web, but for a teaser.

I can't yet announce a date of print publication, other than "next year", hopefully in the early summer if not a touch before. My ongoing plans for web serialization have proven to be rocky. I'd certainly welcome someone else hosting it, all other things being equal, but finding a group that I mesh with whether it be in terms of content or whatever. May end up doing it myself (and have been encouraged to take that step: just as much as other folks have encouraged me to join a collective.) The idea was to run the entirety of The Thirsty on the web before the print edition. We shall see if it actually comes to pass.

I'm in the process of uploading a preview animation based on these art pages as well. There will be a post when it comes to pass.

If you're here looking for the Murder Moon preview, then follow the link below to read the first chapter of the first Strangeways book online for the unbelievable price of zero cents.

Murder Moon Chapter One.

If you like, you can order the book on Amazon right over here. Mind you, it's still available through Diamond (JAN083670) and Baker&Taylor books as well.

By popular demand: the collected Chapter One from Strangeways: Murder Moon. All the pages are there (sized up, and in a decent resolution, while trying to maintain a modest file size.) There's also a special bonus, which you'll have to read all the way through to get to. Everything is in one nice, tidy package, PDF-formatted for ease of reading (and sharing with all of your lycanthropic friends).

Pre-order information, of course, is included for your convenience. But if you're savvy already, head to your local comics retailer and ask for JAN083670 F STRANGEWAYS MURDER MOON GN. That's the Diamond Comics ID number for the Strangeways graphic novel.

Now, let's look at some solicit text, shall we?

Strangeways: Murder Moon by Matthew Maxwell, Luis Guaragna, and Gervasio/Jok
It’s 1868, and former army officer Seth Collins seeks to escape the horrors of the Civil War by traveling the frontier. Answering an urgent letter from his estranged sister, Collins finds himself under attack by a strange creature that is neither man nor wolf. When his friend and partner Webster is accused of being the beast, Collins must track down the real threat. But which will kill him first: the Wolf, or the secret that the sheriff of Silver Hand is trying to keep buried?

Strangeways: Murder Moon is written by Matthew Maxwell (Highway 62, EATERS) and is illustrated by Luis Guaragña. Cover and chapter illustrations by Steve Lieber (CIVIL WAR, WHITEOUT). Interior gallery pages by Guy Davis (BPRD, THE MARQUIS, SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE), Fábio Moon (CASANOVA, SMOKE AND GUNS) and Gabriel Bá (CASANOVA, THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY.)

And for more Strangeways goodness, go check out the animated preview video for Murder Moon.

Again, if you're interested, please feel free to use the code JAN083670 to pre-order Strangeways: Murder Moon from your local Direct Market retailer. And if you don't know where to find them, then use The Comics Retailer Master List to track them down.

The above cover art is by the inimitable and indomitable Steve Lieber, who really didn't kill Speedball.

Publisher Information
Highway 62 Press
Matthew Maxwell, Publisher
maxwellm@pobox.com

ISBN-10: 0-9796957-0-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-9796957-0-4

144 pages, 7x10 trim size
black and white with color covers

Distributed by Diamond Comics
Street date March 29, 2008

Strangeways: Murder Moon - Chapter 1 - 5 megabyte PDF

Pre-ordering would make 'em a whole lot happier.

And, as always, if you don't know offhand where your local store is, then be sure to look it up on The Master Comics Retailer List.

Thanks for reading along.

Folks who visit over here, as opposed to the Highway 62 blog itself, might have missed the above, which is a short video I made to promote Strangeways: Murder Moon. Come for the comics, stay for the soundtrack.

For those of you who've been reading along (and the preview isn't over just yet--we've got more pages of the opening chapter, and a few surprises after that), if you're interested in pre-ordering the book with your favorite Direct Market retailer, be sure to give them this information.

JAN083670 F STRANGEWAYS MURDER MOON GN

That's the Diamond code for the book, and it'll ensure that you get your copy when it ships at the end of March. I'm afraid you won't be able to depend on your store having it unless you pre-order. I'm a new writer, Luis and the other artists are unknown in the US, and while I have some fine guest artists (Guy Davis, Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá) and Steve Lieber providing the striking cover art, the original graphic novel is something of a risky format.

Well, it's less risky than doing an initial run of single issues believe it or not, as the classic model for indie books without an established audience goes something like: optimistically high numbers for the first issue, a substantial drop for the second and the third one really gets hit once retailers can adjust their orders down, having seen the actual audience. Diamond requires a minimum dollar value in order to be interested in carrying any particular book, and I don't blame them. It's significantly harder to hit that minimum based on the returns from single issues (but then it's just as hard to get folks to gamble on a higher price tag for the whole story instead of buying the book piecemeal in monthly form.)

Which is why I'm doing this preview in the first place. The hope is that you'll all be intrigued enough to keep reading once the preview runs out. Strangeways: Murder Moon tops out at 144 pages, of which say 25 or so will be in the preview.

I'll also be running advertisement in places like RUE MORGUE, as well as spreading out some ad dollars online. And if anyone's willing to listen, I'm willing to jaw at them regarding the book. I suspect there'll be a fair bit of that in the coming weeks, and then again when the book actually ships.

So, once again, for those interested, remember: JAN083670 F STRANGEWAYS MURDER MOON GN is your ticket to a shiny, brand-new copy of Strangeways: Murder Moon come March. I'll be putting together an order coupon for folks to cut out and print out, saving the troublesome step of memorizing some arcane string of numbers. Hey, if Warren Ellis can do it for his new books, I can be bothered to do it for mine.

Truth is, you really probably want to go over here, which has the whole preview and an extra or two, in one convenient file. But if you want to keep reading, just you go on ahead.

Strangeways: Murder Moon by Matthew Maxwell, Luis Guaragna, and Gervasio/Jok
It’s 1868, and former army officer Seth Collins seeks to escape the horrors of the Civil War by traveling the frontier. Answering an urgent letter from his estranged sister, Collins finds himself under attack by a strange creature that is neither man nor wolf. When his friend and partner Webster is accused of being the beast, Collins must track down the real threat. But which will kill him first: the Wolf, or the secret that the sheriff of Silver Hand is trying to keep buried?

DCD order code - JAN083670 F STRANGEWAYS MURDER MOON GN

And for more Strangeways goodness, go check out the animated preview video for Murder Moon.

If interested, please feel free to use the code JAN083670 to pre-order Strangeways: Murder Moon from your local Direct Market retailer. And if you don't know where to find them, then use The Comics Retailer Master List to track them down.

And now, on with the show.

The above cover by the inimitable and indomitable Steve Lieber, who really didn't kill Speedball.