Jeff Lemire's Blog, page 18

2 HARVEY AWARD NOMINATIONS!

I've been lucky enough to have been nominated for a HARVEY AWARD for BEST WRITER and ANIMAL MAN has also been nominated for BEST NEW SERIES!

You can VOTE here if you're a member of the comics industry. Your support would be greatly appreciated!

http://www.harveyawards.org/

Announcing the SDCC Exclusive UNDERWATER WELDER Bookplate!

I am honoured and excited to be a special guest of this years San Diego Comicon. In addition to a slew of signing and panels with both DC COMICS and TOP SHELF (my full schedule is below), the show will also mark the official debut of my new graphic novel, THE UNDERWATER WELDER!

I will be making a new limited edition Underwater Welder bookplate only available to those who purchase The Welder at Comicon. The Bookplate will feature an new Underwater Welder painting and will be signed, numbered and limited to 300 copies.

Also of note, there will a 2-hour Spotlight Panel in which SCOTT SNYDER and I will interview each other, talk about our past and present project sand answer all questions as we can about Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Batman, American Vampire, Sweet Tooth and Justice League Dark and more!



SAN DIEGO 2012 SCHEDULE:    Wednesday July 11     Preview Night: 6-9pm SIGNING (TOP SHELF Booth #1721)   Thursday July 12     11:30am-12:30pm PANEL (DC Comics-Tales from The Dark and The Edge-Room 6DE)  1-2pm SIGNING (DCE Booth #1915)  2:30-4:30 pm SIGNING (Top Shelf Booth #1721)  5:45-6:45pm PANEL (Vertigo: A View from the Cutting Edge of Comics-Room 6DE)    Friday July 13    10am-12pm SIGNING (Top Shelf Booth #1721) 1:45-2:45pm PANEL (DC Comics: Justice League and Green Lantern - Room 6DE)  3-4pm SIGNING (DCE Booth #1915) 
5:30-7:30 Spotlight on SCOTT SNYDER AND JEFF LEMIRE.  Room 5AB  
5:30-6:30 Spotlight on Scott Snyder with Jeff Lemire is arguably the hottest writer in comics today. His work on DC Comics-The New 52 Batman has propelled it to the top of the sales list. His reworking of the classic horror character Swamp Thing has put a whole new spin on the series while staying true to its roots (no pun intended). And his ground breaking Vertigo series with artist Raphael Albuquerque, American Vampire, is an award-winning fan favorite. Snyder makes his first appearance as a special guest at Comic-Con this year, and here's your chance to find out what's next for him and his books. 
6:30-7:30 Spotlight on Jeff Lemire with Scott Snyder— Acclaimed writer and cartoonist and Comic-Con special guest  Jeff Lemire  (Animal Man, Sweet Tooth, Essex County) discusses his newest graphic novel The Underwater Welder as well as the end of Sweet Toothand his upcoming work for DC Comics. The interview will be moderated by his friend, frequent collaborator, and comics superstar  Scott Snyder  (Batman, Amercian Vampire). Followed by a Q&A session in which Lemire and Snyder spill the beans on their upcoming Rotworld crossover in Animal Man and Swamp Thing.  Room 5AB    Saturday July 14    10am-12pm SIGNING (Top Shelf Booth #1721) 2-4pm SIGNING (Top Shelf Booth #1721) 4-5pm SIGNING (DCE Booth #1915)  Sunday July 15    12:30-1:30 pm PANEL (Canadian Comics- Room 5AB)  1:30-2 pm PANEL (Top Shelf-Underwater Welder- Room 4)  3-6pm SIGNING (Top Shelf Booth #1721)

Announcing: THE UNDERWATER WELDER Book Launch

Announcing: THE UNDERWATER WELDER Book Launch
Posted Friday, June 22, 2012
The Underwater Welder: Book Launch & Discussion
Featuring author Jeff Lemire
Saturday, July 28th, @ 7pm (Doors @ 6:30pm)
at Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave (at St. George, one block south of Bloor St.)
$5 admission or free with book purchase
Tickets and books on sale Monday, June 25th at The Beguiling

The Beguiling is proud to announce the official launch ofThe Underwater Welder, the new original graphic novel from Jeff Lemire. Lemire is the award-winning author of The Essex County Trilogy, picked as a Canada Reads finalist, the author of the graphic novels Sweet Tooth (series), Lost Dogs, and The Nobody, and a prolific contributor to DC Comics' superhero line, including the hit series Animal Man and Justice League Dark.

The Underwater Welder is Lemire's eagerly anticipated thematic 'follow-up' to Essex County; its seemingly benign rural slice-of-life tale set off the coast of Nova Scotia giving way to far more mysterious and unfathomable experiences. Lemire's work has been praised with starred reviews by Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and the accolades are already pouring in for The Underwater Welder:

“The most spectacular episode of The Twilight Zone that was never produced. I really, really care about the people in this story... And I can pretty much guarantee you will too.”
—from the introduction by Damon Lindelof (LOST, Star Trek, Prometheus)

“A moving, brilliant, and fiercely original work about loss, longing, and love. Full of piercing moments that will stay with you for long after you’ve finished reading, The Underwater Welder is a testament to the basic truth that down in the depths or up on land, there’s nothing more haunting and wondrous than the human heart. A masterpiece of visual storytelling.”
— Scott Snyder (Batman, Swamp Thing, American Vampire)

The Underwater Welder Book Launch and Discussion will take place on Saturday, July 25th at Innis College Town Hall, and will feature a presentation by Lemire from the new work, an on-stage interview with Q&A, and a signing. Admission to this event is $5 for two persons, however, anyone purchasing The Underwater Welder in-store at The Beguiling will receive a free ticket good for two admissions and guaranteed seating. Tickets and The Underwater Welder advance copies go on sale Monday, June 25th at 11am.



PRESS
This event is being hosted by The Beguiling Books & Art, as part of our 25th Anniversary celebrations in 2012. All press inquiries should be directed to Christopher Butcher, Manager, chris@beguiling.com.


ABOUT "THE UNDERWATER WELDER"

As an underwater welder on an oilrig off the coast of Nova Scotia, Jack Joseph is used to the immense pressures of deep-sea work. Nothing, however, could prepare him for the pressures of impending fatherhood. As Jack dives deeper and deeper, he seems to pull further and further away from his young wife and their unborn son. Then one night, deep in the icy solitude of the ocean floor, something unexplainable happens. Jack has a mysterious and supernatural encounter that will change the course of his life forever.
Equal parts blue-collar character study and mind-bending mystery, The Underwater Welder is a graphic novel about fathers and sons, birth and death, memory and reality, and the treasures we all bury deep below the surface.

The Underwater Welder, by Jeff Lemire. 224 pages, softcover, $19.95. Published by Top Shelf Productions

ABOUT JEFF LEMIRE

JEFF LEMIRE is one of the most acclaimed North American graphic novelists of recent years. He first entered the comics field with the self-published anthology series Ashtray(2003), followed by the Xeric-Award-winning graphic novel Lost Dogs (2005).

His Essex County trilogy of graphic novels (2007-2008, complete edition 2009) have received tremendous acclaim, including nominations for the Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz Awards. In 2008 Jeff won both the Joe Shuster Award and the Doug Wright Award, recognizing the best in Canadian cartooning, as well as the American Library Association’s prestigious Alex Award, which recognizes books for adults that appeal to teenage readers. Essex County was named one of five official 2011 selection of the CBC’s Canada Reads program, recognizing the “Essential Canadian Novels of the Decade,” and landed first place in the “People’s Choice” poll with more votes than the other four books combined.

Jeff’s other works include the graphic novel The Nobody and the acclaimed ongoing series Sweet Tooth for Vertigo, as well as writing DC superhero series such asSuperboy, Frankenstein, Animal Man, and Justice League Dark. He returns to Top Shelf this summer for The Underwater Welder.

HEROES CON SCHEDULE

I'll be at Heroes Con in North Carolina this weekend, here is my full schedule:

I will not be doing commissions, but will be happy  to sign as many nooks as you bring and do a quick doodle in any graphic novels or trade paperbacks you have!

I will also have original art from SWEET TOOTH and BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #1 available for sale.

PANELS:

FRIDAY, JULY 22 - 4:30pm
Room 203A 
WRITING FORUM
The Leap from Indie to Mainstream-- They can do it all--find out how!  Join Matt Kindt (Superspy) and Jeff Lemire (Animal Man) as they discuss the craft of writing and juggling multiple ideas!

SATURDAY, JULY 23 - 11 am
Room 208AB 
DC 52
Our own Doug Merkle has been a life-long Marvel reader who tried all of the new DC 52 and liked what he read.  So join him as he sits down with Cully Hamner (Blue Beetle), Ivan Reis(Aquaman), Scott Snyder (Swamp Thing), Jeff Lemire (Animal Man) and Joe Prado (Green Lantern).  Hey Shelton-- hold my calls for an hour--I ain’t missing this one--And neither should you!

SIGNINGS:
(I'll be sitting right next to some guys named Scott Snyder and Matt Kindt)
FRIDAY, JULY 22 - TABLE AA 405
11am-1pm
3-4pm


SATURDAY, JULY 23 - TABLE AA 405
1pm-3pm
5pm-6pm


SUNDAY, JULY 24 - TABLE AA 4052pm-4pm5pm-6pm

Early Reviews of THE UNDERWATER WELDER From Multiversity Comics

The first reviews of my upcoming GRAPHIC NOVEL, THE UNDERWATER WELDER is in from Multiversity Comics!  and THE WEEKLY CRISIS!


"This is, to put it bluntly, Lemire at his very best...“Welder” is an early and obvious contender for Graphic Novel of the Year." -MULTIVERSITY COMICS



"This story is captivating in narrative and also stellar in execution of tone. This is high literature, make no mistake." -THE WEEKLY CRISIS

Early Review of THE UNDERWATER WELDER From Multiversity Comics

The first review of my upcoming GRAPHIC NOVEL, THE UNDERWATER WELDER is in from Multiversity Comics! 
by Matthew Meylikhov With “Lost Dogs” out on shelves this week, part of me wanted to tell you all about the little graphic novel until I realized that I already did some time ago. It’s with this in mind that I decided to look once more into the future for a book shipping in August: Jeff Lemire’s “The Underwater Welder.”“The Underwater Welder” is the story of the eponymous Jack, a man living with his pregnant wife in the oceanfront two he grew up in. One fateful Halloween eve, he finds himself deep underwater as per his occupation, where a curious artifact awakens an enraged passion to solve a decades old personal mystery at the expense of his own life. It’s about growing up and moving on, about parents and their children, and life versus how we choose to live. It’s one part psychological thriller and one part epic that draws on isolationist themes and explores the emotional gamut life throws us down at the worst of times, all for the best of results.With “Welder,” Lemire delivers his first graphic novel since 2009′s “The Nobody,” and despite the impressive work as Lemire has done since then, this feels like a homecoming in many ways. The characters immediately connect with no exposition or explanations necessary, the setting one you can easily get lost in. Lemire has proven in the past to have a deft ability at creating small universes that both feel bigger than they are while also seeming intimately familiar. It’s a concept anyone whose read “Essex County” to attest to, in it’s ability to tell seemingly personal stories that are accessible in different ways to just about everyone, and “Welder” brings that back ten fold. Here’s a story that doesn’t rely on being grounded in some form of reality, but instead floats on along a path of exploration and mystery towards an all too poignant climax. Lemire takes advantage of everything that comics have to other that other mediums don’t, delivering a moody piece of work that’s impossible to put down once you start.From clean-line sequences to ones filled with watercolored brush strokes, this is a book that shows off Lemire’s talent as a writer and an artist, something his current DC output only displays half of. The further you go into the book, the more exploratory his art becomes, playing with all the space available to him and toying with things like decompression. Lemire had used early issues of “Sweet Tooth” (more so than recent ones) to explore forms of sequential storytelling, and “Welder” is a meld of what we can understand as standard narrative storytelling and more free-form comics, with different inking and coloring techniques used to evoke different ideas and emotions. It’s a very effective storytelling device, and one Lemire pulls off extremely well throughout the 200-plus page book.This is, to put it bluntly, Lemire at his very best.Suffice it to say, if you’re a fan of “Essex County,” “The Nobody” and some of the quieter moments of “Sweet Tooth,” you’re going to love “The Underwater Welder.” Then again, as long as you love great comics and heartbreaking stories, you’re sure to love “Welder” just as much.It’s with no hyperbolic expression that I tell you “Welder” is an early and obvious contender for Graphic Novel of the Year. An incredibly touching exploration of obsession and the influence of parents on our lives, Lemire has once again created a nuanced and moving example of the best sequential art has to offer. If my words don’t convince you, take a look at some preview art: You can pre-order “The Underwater Welder” now if you’re so inclined both from Top Shelf directly or Amazon. Either way you choose, you’re making a wise decision.Category: Columns
Tags: Hype MachineAbout The AuthorMatthew MeylikhovMatthew Meylikhov is Editor-In-Chief of Multiversity Comics and all around comic book enthusiast. He enjoys rowdy debates, BBC programming, buying movies on the Criterion Collection and quoting obscure Zoidberg lines. He has two webcomics, CONTROL andDetective Space Cat, and he also loves cats.

2012 CONVENTION SCHEDULE

JUNE 22-24 : HEROESCON/ NORTH CAROLINA

JULY12-15: SAN DIEGO COMICON

JULY 28: UNDERWATER WELDER LAUNCH EVENT w/ THE BEGUILING / TORONTO ONTARIO (details coming soon!)

AUGUST 19: SIGNING AT STRANGE ADVENTURES/ HALIFAX NOVA, SCOTIA

SEPTEMBER 8-9: BALTIMORE COMICON

SEPTEMBER 15-20: AVILES, SPAIN

OCTOBER 17-21: COMICS ACTION/ESSEN, GERMANY

OCTOBER 22: BELFAST, IRELAND

BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #1 Now Available

The 10-page Batman story that I drew, written by LOST/PROMETHEUS genius and all around great guy, Damon Lindelof is now available exclusively for digital download from DC Comics!

Below is a look behind the scenes at the layouts and inks of the first two pages of the comic. So see the final coloured and lettered art you can purchase the comic for only $0.99 right here!

You can read an interview with Damon and I here at Entertainment Weekly.


INITIAL LAYOUTS:



INKS:

 

DC ENTERTAINMENTS Official Description of the project:

By Brandy Phillips


We announced back in April that an all-new Batman digital comic book would be coming soon.  Today, we’re excited to reveal that the first chapter from LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT will be released tomorrow, followed by new chapters out every Thursday. Taking place outside of DC COMICS – THE NEW 52 continuity, the new series features several stand-alone stories by various creators that chronicle different cases handled by The Dark Knight.
Kicking off the first chapter is the all-star line-up of LOST scribe Damon Lindelof with artwork by the critically acclaimed Jeff Lemire.  The line-up for the first six chapters of LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT is as follows:
June 7 – “The Butler Did It” written by Damon Lindelof with artwork by Jeff LemireJune 14 – “All of the Above” written by Jonathan Larsen with artwork by JG JonesJune 21– “The Crime Never Committed” written by Tom Taylor with artwork by Nicola Scott and Wayne FaucherJune 28 – “Crisis of Identity” Part 1 written by B. Clay Moore with artwork by Ben TemplesmithJuly 5 – “Crisis of Identity” Part 2 written by B. Clay Moore with artwork by Ben TemplesmithJuly 12 – “Crisis of Identity” Part 3 written by B. Clay Moore with artwork by Ben Templesmith
Mark your calendars – Thursdays are officially all about The Dark Knight and you can get your weekly fill here for $.99 each. 

THE UNDERWATER WELDER is now available for pre-ordering!

From the author of ESSEX COUNTY, SWEET TOOTH, LOST DOGS, THE NOBODY and ANIMAL MAN ... Winner of The Xeric Award, The Alex Award, The Joe Shuster Award, The Doug Wright Award, & The Canada Reads "People's Choice" Award... Comes the all-new literary masterpiece from Jeff Lemire: THE UNDERWATER WELDER!




















"Jeff Lemire has created a moving, brilliant, and fiercely original work about loss, longing, and love. Full of piercing moments that will stay with you for long after you've finished reading, The Underwater Welder is a testament to the basic truth that down in the depths or up on land, there's nothing more haunting and wondrous than the human heart. A masterpiece of visual storytelling."
-- Scott Snyder (Batman, Swamp Thing, American Vampire)



















"The most spectacular episode of The Twilight Zone that was never produced. I really, really care about the people in this story... And I can pretty much guarantee you will too."
-- From the introduction by Damon Lindelof (LOST, Star Trek, Prometheus)



As an underwater welder on an oilrig off the coast of Nova Scotia, Jack Joseph is used to the immense pressures of deep-sea work. Nothing, however, could prepare him for the pressures of impending fatherhood. As Jack dives deeper and deeper, he seems to pull further and further away from his young wife and their unborn son. Then one night, deep in the icy solitude of the ocean floor, something unexplainable happens. Jack has a mysterious and supernatural encounter that will change the course of his life forever. Equal parts blue-collar character study and mind-bending mystery, The Underwater Welder is a graphic novel about fathers and sons, birth and death, memory and reality, and the treasures we all bury deep below the surface.


THE UNDERWATER WELDER by Jeff Lemire
-- 224-page softcover graphic novel with French Flaps
-- For mature readers (16+)
-- ISBN 978-1-60309-074-2
-- Diamond order code: JUN12-1298
-- $19.95 (US)Shipping to stores in August!Pre-order yours today at your local retailer!(and be sure to check out the interview Diamond did with Jeff Lemire for this month's PREVIEWS here)

Justice League Dark Recommended Reading List

My first issue as writer of DC Comics Supernatural/Superhero mash-up Justice League Dark is out tomorrow and features some of my favourite characters from the DC Universe including John Constantine and Black Orchid.

I wrote my first issue as a totally accessible jumping-on point for new readers, but I thought some people might like a few suggestions of other comics and graphic novels that might help inform them on the rich and eclectic histories of these characters. So these are my Top 5 Recommended Reading Suggestions after you finish JLD #9...

1. HELLBLAZER: ORIGINAL SINS by Jamie Delano and John Ridgeway: These first half dozen issues of the monthly Vertigo series, Hellblazer, are a great primer for the Justice League Dark's master manipulator/leader John Constantine and his twisted world. Delano mixes horror with a sharp political edge and gives you a quintessential Constantine tale.

2. BLACK ORCHID by NEIL GAIMAN and DAVE McKEAN: Recently re-released in a beautiful deluxe hardcover edition this stunningly illustrated story introduces us to the Vertigo version of the Black Orchid character. Neil Gaiman's poetic prose and McKean's lush illustration make this a must have. While the version of Black Orchid that appears in JLD is a brand new take on the character, I still recommend this book.

3. HELLBLAZER: DANGEROUS HABITS by Garth Ennis and Will Simpson: Delano's first story is a great primer to the world of Constantine, but it is probably Garth Ennis' take on the character that really hooked me when I was a teenager. While Delano provided Constantine with a post-Thatcher political edge, it was Ennis who made him a tragic romantic. A fool for love who damages everything, and everyone he touches. Some of my favourite comics.

4. SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY: ZATANNA by Grant Morrison and Ryan Sook: All the 7 Soldiers mini-series are terrific, but Zatanna is a key player in JLD and the series' artist Ryan Sook is also our cover artist, so this is an essential read in many respects. This is a great intro to the character of Zatanna and Sook's art is gorgeous.

5. DEADMAN by Neil Adams: I love writing the character of Boston Brand aka Deadman. These classic stories by comics legend Neil Adams tell the origin and early adventures of Deadman as he searches for his killer. Adams art never looked better.

And in addition to these I would also be remiss if I didn't recommend Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run. There would be no Constantine, no Vertigo and no Justice League Dark without Mr. Moore's incredible comics.