Eric Hobbs's Blog

Just wanted to quickly let everyone know I'll be set up in Artist Alley at this weekend's Chicago Comic Con at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. I'll be there on Friday and Saturday with copies of The Broadcast for sale along with some heavily discounted Awakenings books and a few copies of my story in this year's Batman 80-Page Giant. I hope everyone who goes takes a few minutes to stop by and say "hi."

For those who can't make Chicago, I'll be signing books on Wednesday at Comics Cubed in Kokomo, IN from 4-7pm. If your local I'd love to see you there!

First, Awakenings.

Most of you have been waiting for this announcement just about as long as I have. It's been a long time coming. Awakenings is finally coming to print!

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This August Arcana will be publishing a gorgeous trade paperback that collects the entire Awakenings story line in a single, full-color volume. Now, Arcana is going to be doing a very short print run on this one, but there are a number of ways you can guarantee yourself a copy now…

1) You can pre-order through your local comic shop using order code JUN11 0822. Some of you already have a pull list one file with your local shop and can simply add Awakenings to the list. Truthfully, the more people that do this the better. The market for indie comics is in a very bad place right now. Most comic shops won't give Awakenings a shot unless fans bring it to their attention. You guys have been supportive of the book — and this is one small thing you can do to really help us get the word out.

2) You can pre-order through Amazon. Right now they have it marked down 32% and won't charge you until it ships.

3) You can pre-order through DCBS. This one's exciting. I wanted to do something special for those of you who have been waiting for this trade so long. Starting this week you can get Awakenings through DCBS at 45% off. However, each book will be signed. In addition, the first 50 readers who pre-order here will get a piece of original art from the book. That's 171 pages of story, original art and a signed book for just $10.97!

Now, Batman.

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I know DC has been in the news a lot this week. I'm as excited about it as you are. But while we're all waiting to see what happens in September, I thought I'd let you know that I've just finished writing my first work with them and will have a short story appear in August's Batman 80-Page Giant #1. I never imagined I would get an opportunity to write such an iconic character and am very proud of the story. I can't wait to hear what you guys think.

As always, thanks for all your support. August is going to be a really fun month!

Most of you already know Awakenings followed a long, broken road before landing at Arcana ready to hit shelves this August. Before hooking up with Arcana, I self published Awakenings as a black-and-white comic. While it got great reviews across the board, it struggled to find an audience because — well, mostly because I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I eventually had to make a choice between food and publishing. I chose food, reluctantly, but always knew I would go back to finish what I started with Awakenings. Luckily, Arcana is giving me that chance.

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The new book will be available in next week's Previews catalog. It collects the first four issues, is printed in full color and includes nearly 100 new pages of story that never saw print. I couldn't be more excited about it, and yet, I'm left wondering what to do with all of the black-and-white issues I printed up back in the day.

Well, my loss can be your gain…

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I'm looking to give all these extra comics away on a first-come, first-serve basis. All you have to do is e-mail me your mailing address, and I'll put them in the mail. Print comics. Free. Delivered to your door.

So what's the catch? Just two things.

1) That you'll allow me to add your e-mail  to my mailing list. My newsletter is sent just four to five times a year. And…

2) That you'll tell your local comic shop how much you enjoyed the book. So many indie comics get overlooked, especially in this economic environment. It's very likely your shop won't give Awakenings a second look unless someone lets them know it's a book worthy of their time.

That's it. It's that easy. Those that are interested can e-mail at the address listed below. Thanks!

Also, don't forget you can read the first issue (in black and white for now) by clicking here.

Your friend in comics,

Eric Hobbs

eric (at) erichobbsonline (dot) com

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So THE BROADCAST has been out for nearly two months now and word is finally starting to spread. Here's a glimpse at what people are saying…

"An intriguing character study." — Publisher's Weekly

"Hobbs' brilliant, character-driven script weaves a tight psychological thriller that at once feels both intimate and epic. A deceptively simply, exquisitely crafted original graphic novel." — Broken Frontier

"It is a Halloween tradition to replay Orson Welles' WAR OF THE WORLDS broadcast. If a station near you doesn't play it, try picking up this comic. It's just as good." — Ain't It Cool News

"A powerful story." — The Onion's A.V. Club

"A mature, original, and deeply moving text, one that takes advantage of the unique affordances of the comics medium to tell a complex tale."  – Gutter Geek

"It's great to see a comic that is not only well told and interestingly illustrated, but also embraces the mythos of the American experience." – The Outhousers

"Five stars!" — Las Vegas Weekly

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Reviews have been great across the board, and we just learned that THE BROADCAST is nominated to be on this years ALA/YALSA "Great Graphic Novels For Teens" list.

Noel and I are both extremely happy with the response to the book and hope you'll give it a look if you haven't already. Don't forget, you can read the first 21-pages right here before heading over to Amazon where you can pick up the rest.

In additional news, the colors on AWAKENINGS were finished last week so expect to hear about the huge collection we're putting together for that soon.

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Wired put a piece on their website today in honor of H.G. Wells birthday and we were mentioned.

It's a nice little article, not only showcasing some of Wells' most beloved work but the books, movies and television series that his work has influenced. While this isn't a feature on our book by any means, it's cool for me on a couple fronts. First, I'm a regular reader of Wired magazine, so being mentioned briefly on that site is pretty cool for me. And second, it's nice to see THE BROADCAST listed alongside LOST and Jeff Lemire's THE NOBODY. The writing of H.G. Wells may have influenced them, but those two works have been a huge influence on me.

Also of note, THE BROADCAST is now listed as "In Stock" on the Amazon website. Be sure to grab a copy the next time you're making an order there. If you've already picked up a copy and enjoyed it — well, we would greatly appreciate it if you took a few minutes to stop by Amazon and give us a review.

The book hits comic shelves this week. I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks.

[image error]Tomorrow morning I'll be waking up at around 4:30 am to catch a plane for DC so I can attend  the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD for the premier of my new book from NBM, THE BROADCAST. This is the first chance fans will have to get their hands on the book so I am really excited to show everyone what Noel and I have been working on. If you're in the area, be sure to stop by and visit the NBM booth as I will be there most of the weekend.

There's an old saying that every writer has a million bad words in them, and that the only way you can become a decent writer is to get through those first million words as fast as you possibly can.

Now, I can't say for sure if I've written a million words. I think the chances are pretty high. I've written an awful lot. But while I can't tell you for certain how many words I've put on the page, I can tell you there was a moment when writing THE BROADCAST when I felt as if the last bad word had escaped and I was finally writing something readers would find special.

Most my stuff sees huge changes as I re-write, but this scene is almost word-for-word exactly as I wrote it the first time out. I've written better stuff since. Heck, it probably isn't even the best scene in THE BROADCAST. But this scene holds a special place in my heart. It was the first time I ever sat down, read my work and believed I actually had a chance to sell the damned thing.

Enjoy:

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It's been three long years since I commissioned Francesco Francavilla to illustrate a cover for THE BROADCAST. Three years!! That's a long time, especially in comics. They've two Harry Potter movies in that time, I think.

I'm sure Francesco reached a point where he assumed it wasn't going to come out. Part of me thinks he probably forgot about it all together. Anyway, I was ecstatic to send him an e-mail a while back to let him know we finally had a publisher and the gorgeous piece he did was going to see print.

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To celebrate the book's debut next month, Francesco did a new piece over on his Pulp Sunday blog that features Orson Welles. I've already requested a print. I've pasted it below, but I highly suggest everyone take a look at his blog. He is incredibly talented and is a future star in comics. We're going to work together someday… he just doesn't know it yet. [image error]

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Hopefully by now you've read the big 21-page BROADCAST preview. If not you should probably give it a look as it won't be up much longer. (See it here.)

If you've read the preview and plan on giving the book a try when it hits stores in August you NEED, NEED, NEED to tell your local retailer about it THIS WEEK. Stores aren't ordering much from indie publishers these days. Some aren't ordering anything at all. I can't stress this enough. If you don't pre-order, chances are you won't get a copy because it won't be on the shelf in your local store.

Click here and print out this easy order form to take into you local shop. If you don't have a comic retailer in your area the book is available on dcbservice.com for 30% OFF!