John Whalen

Dialogarrhea

2008-04-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-18T22:25:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-03-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

...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

2008-03-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

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

2008-02-26T00:20:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-26T00:10:00.001-08:00

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

2008-02-16T16:25:00.000-08:00

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

Yak Track

2008-02-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

Ever read a funny book and wonder, "What the hell were they thinking?"

The "Commentary Track" feature at Comic Book Resources is there for you. As CBR's Augie De Blieck Jr. puts it, "It's just like a DVD commentary, but without all the awkward pauses."

This week, Mike Hawthorne and I had a chance to yak about issue #6 of The Un-Men. If you want to know what the hell we were thinking, check it out. As an added bonus, you'll get to see some of Mike's awesome pencils side by side with the final pages.

Butcher Baby

2008-02-12T01:55:00.001-08:00

Thanks to the pop-culture preservative known as Wikipedia, you don't have to be a GeriatRock-loving baby boomer to know a little something about the Beatles' famously censored "butcher baby" album cover. Well, the "scandalous" image of the Fab Four mugging it up with a few dismembered plastic baby dolls and some fatty cuts of red meat is tame G-rated family fare compared to the not-so-famously censored Un-Men butcher baby cover (pictured at right, as they say in the news weeklies).

The Un-Men cover artist Tomer Hanuka modeled that gruesome little masterpiece after a scene in The Un-Men #7. But you won't see that cover when the issue hits the stands next week. As Tomer laconically explains over at his blog, "The plot goes there, but the editors felt it was a bit much."

"Censorship" is probably too strong a word. Editors reject material all the time based on subjective judgment calls. But there's no excuse for the replacement cover*, which is just beyond the pale.

By the way, you can pick up an archival quality print of Tomer's "Jaw Breaker" cover at monomyth.com. It's sure to be a digestion-altering conversation piece.

And you can check out Mike Hawthorne's take on the face-burster baby over at his blog joint, where "Un-Men Tuesday" brings new postings of Mr. Mike's excellent pencils each week.

------------

* Caution: Bad Photoshoppage

A Gentle Enticement

2008-01-10T16:45:00.000-08:00

Issue 6 of The Un-Men is now in the comics shops. It's a single-issue story about Agent Kilcrop's past, and a good place to jump into the series if you haven't checked it out yet.

And Chris Arrant's interview with me has been posted over at Newsarama.com. Even if you aren't interested in my jibber-jabber, it's worth checking out for a sneak peek at some of Mike Hawthorne's penciled pages from the current issue.

Happy Aught Eight!

2008-01-02T14:11:00.000-08:00

Time certainly flies. According to the Mayan calendar, we, as a collective global unit, are now a mere four years away from the End of Time.... Which reminds me: Hurry up and pre-order your copy of The Un-Men trade paperback volume 1 before the mountains tumble and the seas boil. (Or, if you prefer your end times with a soothing cup of herbal tea, before we achieve cosmic consciousness/oneness with all creation.)

Lowering the consumer threat level for a moment, I'd also like to draw your attention to some recent interviews with Mike Hawthorne and Tomer Hanuka, the crazily talented art team on The Un-Men. Last month, Mike talked with Robert Murray at Silverbulletcomicbooks.com and also with John Suintres at Word Balloon about The Un-Men and some of other projects he's working on. Meanwhile, Tomer literally made the cover of the Jan. 2008 issue Juxtapoz magazine; he also figuratively made the cover, as the subject of that issue's lead feature story.

Freakspeak

2007-12-04T12:25:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Jennifer Contino over at Pulse was nice enough to grill me in an interview that I am just now getting around to linking. The subtext of her questions: "Are you a psycho?" The supertext of my short answer: "Clinically, no." Actually, Jennifer was very nice and asked some interesting questions about the background and themes of The Un-Men series. Read all about it here.

By the way, the image to the left of this post is Homer Tanuka's fantastic cover art for issue 5, which will be in the comics shops next week. And speaking of issue 5, Mike Hawthorne has posted some very cool pencil previews over on his blog.

Thank You for Not Waiting for the Trade

2007-11-23T14:10:00.001-08:00

Tip o' the hat to superhero at Ain't It Cool News and Robert Murray at
Silver Bullet Comic Books for reviewing The Un-Men in its native floppy form (old-fashioned stapled-together single issues cluttered with game ads), rather than "waiting for the trade." The double-whammy of there being so many titles in the market vying for attention, and readers increasingly holding off on their comics purchases until the stories are aggregated into trade paperbacks can make it tough for a fledging book to fly above the radar. So I do appreciate the ink.

Oh, and it's also nice that the aforementioned reviews were very positive. Check 'em out here and here.

Un-Men Freak Tour '07

2007-11-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

We've added more signing dates, so I believe what we have here is a full-frontal "Un-Men Freak Tour":

Sat., Nov. 3, 10am-1pm:
Mike Hawthorne at Comix Connection in York, PA. West Manchester Mall, 1800 Loucks Road, York, PA 17404 (Phone: 717-767-4871)

Sat., Nov. 3, 4-7pm:
Mike Hawthorne at Comix Connection in Mechanicsburg, PA. Artworks Buidling, 6200 Carlisle Pike, Suite C, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050 (Phone: 717-591-2727)

Fri., Nov. 9, 6-9pm:
Mike Hawthorne and John Whalen at Brave New Worlds Comics in Old City Philadelphia. 45 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (Phone: 215-925-6525)

Sat., Nov. 10, 11am-1pm:
Mike Hawthorne and John Whalen at Brave New Worlds Comics in Willow Grove, PA. 212 N. Easton Street, Willow Grove, PA 19090 (Phone: 215-657-8838)

Sat., Nov. 10, 5-7pm:
Mike Hawthorne, John Whalen and Tomer Hanuka at Midtown Comics Times Square in Manhattan. (200 W. 40th St. in Times Square (corner of 7th Ave.), New York, NY 10018 (Phone: 212-302-8192)

Additional dates and locations to be announced.

Un-Men Unleashed in NYC

2007-10-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

Mike Hawthorne, Tomer Hanuka and I will be at Midtown Comics in New York City for a signing on Saturday Nov. 10, from 5-7pm. Mike, of course, is doing an amazing job penciling and inking The Un-Men, and Tomer is rendering those exquisitely creepy covers. Mike and I will be doing some additional signings that same weekend in Philadelphia (details to come). If you're in the area, please stop by and say hello.

The Un-Men #6 Solicitation

2007-10-15T14:31:00.001-07:00

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

Don't miss this special self-contained story, "Domestic Disturbances." Years ago in a sleazy carnival sideshow, Agent Kilcrop lost his only brother - and the one true friend he ever had. Today, the scandal surrounding Kilcrop's tragedy is something his bureaucratic bosses are only too happy to hold over his head.

Vertigo | 32pg. | Color | $2.99 US | Mature Readers

On Sale January 9, 2008

The Un-Men #3 On Sale Now

2007-10-10T16:07:00.001-07:00

Issue 3 is now on the stands. The preternaturally talented Mike Hawthorne has posted some of his pencils and inks over at his blog joint. Check 'em out.

And here's the solicitation copy:

"Get Your Freak On" Part 3. With Janus Sr. and Jr. brutally severed from each other, the Un-Men-produced reality show "American Freak" faces premature cancellation — until Cranius has a brainstorm (what else?). Meanwhile, Kilcrop comes face to face with the leaders of the gaff uprising, unaware he's been betrayed by someone close to him, whom he'd like to bring closer.