Dialogarrhea

Keith Dallas of ComicsBulletin was kind enough let The Un-Men spout off in this week's Vertigo Spotlight column, in which Keith highlights some of the smart-ass dialog from the first five issues of the series. He was even nice enough to let me pick a few of my favorite lines... and explain what the hell I was thinking.

Sausage Making 101

No one wants to know how sausage is made. And not just because it often involves gory parliamentary processes and/or having to watch C-Span 2, but because, ew, it's just plain gross.

Ah, but who can resist a meaty behind-the-scenes look at how a comic book is rendered? How an idea is processed in the unsanitary abattoir of the writer's mind, then ground up and extruded onto the artist's page?

There's a chance I'm making comic book creation sound slightly less appetizing than it really is.

Nonetheless, I thought I'd give you, my faithful readers (the wife, the parents, and any nutjobs Googling "sausage + extruded") a behind-the-scenes look at how issue #7 of The Un-Men evolved from my script to Mike Hawthorne's pencils. Click this link here to download a PDF of the comic script. Then click the links in the PDF to see Mike's penciled pages side-by-side with the script. Is the Internets great, or what? (Actually, I've heard it said that the Internets is a series of tubes. Perhaps, I might add, not unlike sausage casings.)

If you haven't yet read #7 in its native published form, be forewarned that in the script there be spoilers.

If you're still reading this and you haven't clicked any of the numerous PDF download links provided above, click this one. Trust me, it's the last one you're getting.

The Horror...

...of another interview with yours truly, this time waxing self-promotional over at ComicMonsters.com. Did I really compare Mike Hawthorne to the Marquis de Sade? As they say in the funnybooks, Wha??

Another Month, Another Solicitiation

THE UN-MEN #11
Since his arrival in Aberrance, Kilcrop has been dogged by dark hints of a secret past — a past he shares with none other than Cranius himself. Now, in this special stand-alone issue, the hidden history of the albino agent and the Living Brain is revealed. And like all things in Aberrance, it’s not pretty.

Written by John Whalen; Art by Mike Hawthorne; Cover by Tomer Hanuka

On sale June 11

Reviews

The Un-Men #7, which begins a new four-issue story arc, is now on sale. The always-perspicacious Stephanie Kaye at Comixfan.com has given it a nice write-up, here. And Jon the Crime Spree Guy likes it, too.

Un-Men Tuesday

Every Tuesday, Mike Hawthorne posts a penciled page from an upcoming issue of The Un-Men. This week's edition features a page from issue 8 illustrating why I dislike HMOs.

Greetings and Solicitations

It's been a while since I posted the solicitation copy for upcoming issues of The Un-Men. Here are the goods on the next three issues:

 

The Un-Men #7

Part 1 of "Children of Paradox," an anomalous new story arc. Agent Kilcrop reluctantly returns to the deviant dystopia known as Aberrance. As the city's new security chief. Now, when an UnCorp employee is stricken by a grotesque illness, Kilcrop must face temptations he never could have imagined — in the form of a seductive sexpot with a sickening secret.

Written by John Whalen; Art by Mike Hawthorne; Cover by Tomer Hanuka

On sale Feb. 20

The Un-Men #8

Part 2 of "Children of Paradox." Inkabod reveals the source of his skin-crawling condition and his tale has Cranius a little too interested. Could this strange affliction be somehow linked to the origin of the Un-Men themselves? Possibly, but Kilcrop and Niko have stranger things to deal with.

Written by John Whalen; Art by Mike Hawthorne; Cover by Tomer Hanuka

On sale March 12

The Un-Men #9

A shocking secret from the labs of Castle Arcane somehow reemerges in Aberrance. In something out of the world's most twisted buddy movie, Kilcrop must team up with Cranius to investigate how the macabre "Magna Mater" got there and how to stop it. But as usual, Cranius has a sinister agenda all his own.

 "Intriguing! A book to watch!"

— Comics Buyer's Guide

Written by John Whalen; Art by Mike Hawthorne; Cover by Tomer Hanuka

On sale April 9

The Un-Men #10

In the jarring conclusion of the second skin-crawling story arc, Janus Jr. learns a sickening secret about his past. It's enough to make him run to his mommy — if he had one. Then again, he just might. And she's the mother of all mothers.

Written by John Whalen; Art by Mike Hawthorne; Cover by Tomer Hanuka

On sale May 14