Jamie S. Rich's Blog, page 4
November 22, 2012
Oni Press Black Friday Sale: Two of my Books Half-Off
This includes my books I Was Someone Dead and Love the Way You Love, Vol. 1: Songs of Faith.
Get more details and buy the books at OniPress.com.
June 4, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JAMIE S. RICH’S COMIC BOOK NOVEL GENERATES COOL FAN ART
From the get-go, Bobby Pins and Mary Janes has had art to go along with the story. Four sections of the novel are formatted as comic book scripts, telling the tale of Valerie Flames, a popular character in Rich’s narrative. The Valerie Flames characters were designed by the writer’s regular collaborator, Joëlle Jones (House of Night; You Have Killed Me).
Now, other comic book artists have gotten in on the fun, providing fan art for the book that Rich has run as part of his sidebar posts showing inspiration and process material.
Having contributed so far are:
* Chynna Clugston Flores, the beloved creator of Blue Monday, has drawn a mock cover for Bobby Pins and Mary Janes. [http://newwavezombie.blogspot.com/]
* Nicolas Hitori de, the artist on Rich’s Spell Checkers series (alongside Joëlle
Jones), drawing Valerie Flames and her dog Henry. [http://www.nicohitoride.com/]
* Megan Levens, who runs the Buzzing Over
Bombshell blog and drew a story with Rich for Double Feature, depicting the grown-up Varlerie Flames. [http://buzzingoverbombshell.blogspot.com/]
* Dan Christensen, artist of Paranormal, envisioning a scene from the retro sci-fi comic Integer City. [http://dcdrawings.blogspot.com/]
* Also, more designs and other artwork from Joëlle
Jones. [http://www.joellejones.com]
“I am extremely flattered that these fine folks would choose to lend their art to my story,” Rich commented. “And I am over the moon about the super cool work they all turned in. There’s nothing quite so gratifying as seeing your characters come to life via a talented cartoonist’s pen.”
Bobby Pins and Mary Janes updates with a new section every Friday. Readers can peruse the novel online or download a free pdf to import to their e-reader. The narrative is currently past the halfway point, with an expected wrap date of July 6, 2012.
All previous posts will remain online indefinitely.
Interested readers can see all of this art and catch up on the story at
bobbypinsandmaryjanes.com. For interviews or review material, contact Jamie S.
Rich at golightly[at]gmail[dot]com
May 19, 2012
Chynna Clugston Flores provides art for week 4 of BOBBY PINS AND MARY JANES
A bigger version is available on the site: bobbypinsandmaryjanes.com
May 11, 2012
Bobby Pins & Mary Janes three weeks in; new fan art
If you haven't checked in yet, now is a good time. You can grab section 3 and all the rest and have a pretty good chunk of story in your hands.
You can also look through the archives of posts with links to my inspirations and stuff I reference in the story. More of that is to come. In fact, there are two posts going up this week that will give you a taste of some of what Parker and Mario are talking about. People always complain they don't know what my characters are on about when they read the novels; now you're part of the club!
We also had our first bit of fan art this week. Nicolas Hitori de -- Spell Checkers, Vol. 1 -- drew this awesome picture of Valerie Flames and her trusty dog Henry. I'm beyond chuffed.
I'm only giving you a tease here, you have to go to the site to get the rest. Follow the link in the image.
I have more art in hand from Megan Levens and Dan Christensen that I'm going to time with specific posts. In the meantime, I hope more of you will take a shot at drawing some characters from Bobby Pins and Mary Janes!
But above all...keep reading!
May 3, 2012
New Interviews about It Girl and Bobby Pins & Mary Janes
You can read the whole thing here.
You can also listen to me on the 2 People Talking podcast. Download or stream the conversation!
The second chapter of Bobby Pins and Mary Janes goes live after midnight tonight. Are you reading yet? It's free, so give it a try! bobbypinsandmaryjanes.com
Thanks! And don't forget that Free Comic Book Day is Saturday. I have a story in the Oni Press Yo Gabba Gabba! Free Comic Book Time and also the Image Comics sampler has an It Girl preview. Look for 'em!
April 24, 2012
Bobby Pins & Mary Janes starts this Friday
Are you following the blog yet? I've been posting images, songs, and even a link to a Spotify playlist of the mix I made when writing the book.
Please follow the site and spread the word. I am trying to plan lots of surprises in addition to giving you an entire novel for free. It's a tremendous undertaking for me, but I am committed to the material and very excited to share.
April 7, 2012
COMICS WRITER JAMIE S. RICH SELF-RELEASES FIFTH PROSE NOVEL AS AN ONLINE SERIAL
Beginning on April 27, website bobbypinsandmaryjanes.com will go live with the opening pages of Jamie S. Rich’s fifth prose novel, Bobby Pins and Mary Janes. Described as “The Devil Wears Prada for the comic book industry,” this lengthy work of literary fiction chronicles a life within the world of indie comics, complete with moody editors, sensitive cartoonists, and more than a little four-color romance.
Bobby Pins and Mary Janes is a workplace drama, but also a novel of identity, exploring one character’s crises of conscience during her mid-20s. Parker Reid is a college graduate who always dreamed of literary grandeur, but she’s found herself working in a creative field she never anticipated. “Parker’s work struggles reflect her personal struggles,” Rich explained. “She has been on her own for a couple of years, and she remains on her own. At the start of the book, she is having an affair with her employer’s top cartoonist, but by the end of it, she will have flirted with a married man, chased the safe option, and also had to contend with the unrequited love of her best friend from school. Is this the life she wants? Should she settle for a relationship the same way she settled on her job?”
The aforementioned fictional cartoonist is the creator of an original comics series called “Valerie Flames,” an ongoing series about a young girl whose adventures cross the mysteries of Nancy Drew with the escapades of Tintin. Character designs for Valerie Flames and her cohorts were drawn by Joëlle Jones, Rich’s frequent collaborator. Together they have produced the graphic novels 12 Reasons Why I Love Her and You Have Killed Me. Valerie’s adventures will be represented in the online version of the novel via sections of script. “The script interludes not only demonstrate what this invented comic book might be like,” Rich said, “but also establish a meaningful parallel with the main narrative. The technique is like Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin mashed-up with Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.”
“The world of comic books is one I know well,” Rich commented. “I began as an editorial assistant at Dark Horse Comics when I was 21, and I spent six years as editor-in-chief at Oni Press. I’ve written my fair share of funnybooks, as well.”
Bobby Pins and Mary Janes follows on the heels of Rich’s previous prose works, including his popular first novel, Cut My Hair Illustrated Novel, and his most recent, Have You Seen the Horizon Lately? Yet, it’s his second book, The Everlasting, that the new novel has the most in common with thematically. “The Everlasting was the story of a 25-year-old boy who couldn’t make up his mind about what he wanted in a relationship. Bobby Pins and Mary Janes is like the response to that--like a retaliation record in a rap battle. It’s the flipside of the story from the girl’s point of view.”
When asked why he chose to serialize the book online, Rich’s answer was simple: “I finished writing this book a couple of years ago, but for a variety of reasons, it ended up on the back burner. In the time since, technology has changed and grown, and I wanted to take advantage of that. Plus, the serialization gives me specific goals for getting the material out there. Every Friday, another section of the novel has to arrive. When it is done, I may take it further, but for now, this is the platform.”
Each posting will be readable directly on the bobbypinsandmaryjanes.com tumblr, or downloadable as a pdf. “I want people to be able to load it into their chosen reader and take it with them.” In the run-up to the first post, Rich has been teasing visitors to the blog with images that inspired him while writing the story, including a random sketch by Joëlle Jones that became his visual marker for main character Parker Reid.
March 25, 2012
May 22, 2010
Spell Checkers is out! Be a Facebook fan, check out the early stages...
My new comic book, Spell Checkers, which I created with Joëlle Jones and Nicolas Hitori de, has been released by Oni Press. So far, the responses have been great--even if somewhat polarizing.
Recently, we started a Facebook fan page for the series. Hop over and sign up if you get a chance.
Also, check out my Confessions of a Pop Fan blog for a post I put up today showing the very first thumbnails I drew when developing the series.
Spell Checkers Volume 1
June 9, 2009
Guest blogging at Powells.com
My piece went up today, and in it, I describe why comics, why Portland, and why I named a dog "Blanket."
"There is always a societal schism in crime stories, whether it's one that is implicitly stated or not. There is the basic divide between those who stay on the side of the law and those who step across the line to do crime. There is also the class separation of those who have something worth stealing and those who are going to steal it. While the two sides of the professional comic book world get along and are really more complicated in their nuances than a have-and-have-not distinction would imply, there are two faces to the professional coin, two types of creators in our industry. Just as our character in our Portland Noir story, "Gone Doggy Gone," points out, there are indie comics creators doing their own thing for sometimes little reward and there are the guys who work in superhero comics, usually earning more steady paychecks doing work-for-hire. Don't take that as a value judgment, the art form would not be what it is without both types of creator, and as is implied in the story, each side often envies the other.Don't take that as a value judgment, the art form would not be what it is without both types of creator, and as is implied in the story, each side often envies the other. It's only the amazing few who can jump back and forth between the two sides."
Read the whole thing here.
Hopefully Craig Thompson and Steve Lieber will forgive me.
