Matthew K. Manning's Blog, page 8
March 17, 2018
We Will Ride...
Recently I was asked to write a comic for the good people over at Pop Culture Classroom, an invaluable resource for teachers or anyone interested in learning about Colorado's history through comic books. It's a great site, and each story can be downloaded by educators for free, complete with a teacher's guide, artist's rough, and the original script.
My story is # 31 in the series. It's a quick two-page history of disability rights in Denver, and tells the story of how a group of determined protestors changed the world for the better.
You can read the full comic below (illustrated by Zak Kinsella), but please do head to the site to see the better quality version, the script, roughs, and dozens of other interesting educational cartoons.
To be continued...
My story is # 31 in the series. It's a quick two-page history of disability rights in Denver, and tells the story of how a group of determined protestors changed the world for the better.
You can read the full comic below (illustrated by Zak Kinsella), but please do head to the site to see the better quality version, the script, roughs, and dozens of other interesting educational cartoons.
To be continued...
March 15, 2018
Superman: Apokolips Invasion...
Out now from Stone Arch Books and Capstone is my newest chapter book, a Choose Your Own Adventure style take on the Man of Steel entitled Superman: Apokolips Invasion . Set firmly in the world of the classic Superman: The Animated Series, this book features many of the great New Gods characters created by comic book legend Jack "King" Kirby.
When Superman discovers his Fortress of Solitude missing, all the evidence leads to one culprit: Darkseid. With eleven possible endings (not all of them happy), your young reader can take Superman to Apokolips and back again.
Just remember to bring a sandwich. Ma Kent forgot to pack Superman one.
MARTHA!
To be continued...
January 30, 2018
Drone Academy...
Out now from Stone Arch Books is my newest series of chapter books, Drone Academy. These 112-page books intended for kids ages 9-13 chronicle the adventures of the members of the Drone Academy message board, a secret society of teenage ace drone pilots.
Below you'll find the cover to each book along with its description from the publisher:
Operation Runaway Despite the fact that she's a founding member of Drone Academy, Zora Michaels is viewed as a flighty girly-girl by the other kids at her high school. Masking her genius-level intellect with the latest clothing trends and her popular group of friends, Zora's real passion lies behind her keyboard. But when the younger brother of one of the school's least popular students goes missing, Zora begins to search for the runaway using her tough-as-nails drone. Things get complicated when a nearby forest fire endangers the boy's life. Zora must coordinate with local firefighters to locate and rescue the runaway, all while keeping her identity a secret from her increasingly nosey peers.
Operation Foxhunt
From being the first female on the school’s wrestling team to excelling at martial arts, Parker Reading has always been interested in thinking and playing outside the box. While her daily life is filled with athletics that challenge her body, Parker spends the rest of her free time challenging her mind as an amateur computer hacker and member of Drone Academy. When she learns that a local bank robber has eluded authorities in her hometown, Parker begins to hunt him down, using her computer skills and sleek drone to scan the streets of her city, following clues that lead to the criminal’s location. But when the thief employs similar methods to track down his pursuer, Parker goes from being in virtual danger, to putting her real life in jeopardy.
Operation Copycat
Growing up with financial worries and only a single dad looking out for him, Sai Patel found escape on the Internet. And as a founding member of Drone Academy, Sai takes every opportunity to stand up for underdogs being cyber-bullied. But after ousting a particularly nasty bully from the SWARM boards, Sai’s life takes a dramatic turn when his nemesis customizes a drone to look exactly like Sai’s, using it to commit theft, interrupt emergency rescues, and cause as much trouble as possible. Framed for crimes he didn’t commit, Sai must prove his innocence to his friends and the law, using his own drone to bring its doppelganger to justice.
Operation Stargazer
While Howard To has always been on the geeky side, there's one girl that brings him out of his shell. Unfortunately, she’s Hollywood’s hottest sci-fi star and about as likely to cross Howard’s path as he is likely to be struck by lightning. But when the starlet is hounded by a stalker who uses a drone to spy on her private life, Howard sees his chance to be a knight in shining armor. He employs his own drone to engage in aerial combat with the stalker’s UAV, despite complaints from Parker, a fellow Drone Academy member. In the process, Howard also realizes his chance at romance may be closer to home than he realizes.
To be continued...
Below you'll find the cover to each book along with its description from the publisher:
Operation Runaway Despite the fact that she's a founding member of Drone Academy, Zora Michaels is viewed as a flighty girly-girl by the other kids at her high school. Masking her genius-level intellect with the latest clothing trends and her popular group of friends, Zora's real passion lies behind her keyboard. But when the younger brother of one of the school's least popular students goes missing, Zora begins to search for the runaway using her tough-as-nails drone. Things get complicated when a nearby forest fire endangers the boy's life. Zora must coordinate with local firefighters to locate and rescue the runaway, all while keeping her identity a secret from her increasingly nosey peers.
Operation Foxhunt
From being the first female on the school’s wrestling team to excelling at martial arts, Parker Reading has always been interested in thinking and playing outside the box. While her daily life is filled with athletics that challenge her body, Parker spends the rest of her free time challenging her mind as an amateur computer hacker and member of Drone Academy. When she learns that a local bank robber has eluded authorities in her hometown, Parker begins to hunt him down, using her computer skills and sleek drone to scan the streets of her city, following clues that lead to the criminal’s location. But when the thief employs similar methods to track down his pursuer, Parker goes from being in virtual danger, to putting her real life in jeopardy.
Operation Copycat
Growing up with financial worries and only a single dad looking out for him, Sai Patel found escape on the Internet. And as a founding member of Drone Academy, Sai takes every opportunity to stand up for underdogs being cyber-bullied. But after ousting a particularly nasty bully from the SWARM boards, Sai’s life takes a dramatic turn when his nemesis customizes a drone to look exactly like Sai’s, using it to commit theft, interrupt emergency rescues, and cause as much trouble as possible. Framed for crimes he didn’t commit, Sai must prove his innocence to his friends and the law, using his own drone to bring its doppelganger to justice.
Operation Stargazer
While Howard To has always been on the geeky side, there's one girl that brings him out of his shell. Unfortunately, she’s Hollywood’s hottest sci-fi star and about as likely to cross Howard’s path as he is likely to be struck by lightning. But when the starlet is hounded by a stalker who uses a drone to spy on her private life, Howard sees his chance to be a knight in shining armor. He employs his own drone to engage in aerial combat with the stalker’s UAV, despite complaints from Parker, a fellow Drone Academy member. In the process, Howard also realizes his chance at romance may be closer to home than he realizes.To be continued...
January 22, 2018
Building the Daily Planet...
Now that Superman is back to wearing underwear on the outside like a normal person, I've found the strength to talk about my newest book starring the Man of Steel,
Superman: Daily Planet
in the IncrediBuilds line from Inside Edition.
This 32-page hardcover serves as a complete history to The Daily Planet, the newspaper Superman has called home for over 75 years. Delving into every era of the paper's rich history, this book comes complete with dozens of illustrations from the comics that help explain the Planet's evolution through the decades.
And to make it just a smidge more fun, the book also includes a wooden punch-out 3-D model of the Planet's famous orb. It's the perfect place for Clark Kent to change into Superman. You know, right outside a world famous landmark that millions of people glance up at every day. I'm sure no one is looking now, Clark. Your secret's safe this time.
To be honest, I'm really just excited that he's getting the underwear back.
To be continued...
This 32-page hardcover serves as a complete history to The Daily Planet, the newspaper Superman has called home for over 75 years. Delving into every era of the paper's rich history, this book comes complete with dozens of illustrations from the comics that help explain the Planet's evolution through the decades.
And to make it just a smidge more fun, the book also includes a wooden punch-out 3-D model of the Planet's famous orb. It's the perfect place for Clark Kent to change into Superman. You know, right outside a world famous landmark that millions of people glance up at every day. I'm sure no one is looking now, Clark. Your secret's safe this time.
To be honest, I'm really just excited that he's getting the underwear back.
To be continued...
January 18, 2018
"He gave us a signal..."
Who among us hasn't dreamed about being Commissioner Gordon?
Just think, you could live in the most dangerous city in the country. You could constantly be kidnapped by super-villains, constantly apologizing to the people of Gotham for not catching the latest serial killer. And when pressed to actually do your job you could just flip on the Bat-Signal and let a weird guy in a costume handle the tricky parts.
Well dream no more, my friend. Now, you too can light up your bedroom wall with a die-cast Bat-Signal from Running Press. With it, you can pretend to summon Batman and then get annoyed at him for disappearing on you in mid-sentence.
As the proud owner of over five Bat-Signal replica toys (hey you spend your money your way, I'll spend my money my way), this newly released five-inch tall monster is easily the most durable of them all, and even projects the brightest bat-logo.
But the signal is only half the fun. Included with this replica is my latest book, Batman: Bat-Signal: Lighting the Dark Knight's Sky. This small hardcover tells the entire history of the famous overgrown nightlight, from its first appearance all the way to some of its most recent uses.
The only thing not included in the book is the time Hitman killed a cat and placed it on a searchlight in order to summon Catwoman. Because unlike the writer of this blog, the people at Running Press have good taste. Oh well. Just print this part out and paste it in the back.
To be continued...
October 30, 2017
Akron Comicon...
On November 4th and 5th, I'll be visiting my home state for my first trip to the Akron Comicon. It's an incredible lineup of professionals, with a spotlight on one of my favorite characters of all time: Black Lightning.
Hope to see you there!
