THE PULSE’s Jennifer Contino talks to a roundtable of ChemSet creators about the upcoming NO FORMULA anthology. (Hint, hint: it’s in the June PREVIEWS, Diamond Order Code JUN083849).

http://www.comicon.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/ubb/get_topic/f/36/t/007248.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 29, 2008

WEBCOMICS COLLECTIVE ‘THE CHEMISTRY SET’ JUMPS TO BOOKSHELVES IN AUGUST WITH DESPERADO’S ‘NO FORMULA’

August 2008 marks the print debut of the webcomics collective The Chemistry Set in an anthology collection from Desperado Publishing entitled ‘NO FORMULA: STORIES FROM THE CHEMISTRY SET, VOL.1′ (Diamond Order Code JUN083849), just in time for the Set’s two-year anniversary. “There’s no better way to celebrate our Terrible Twos than with a big release like this,” said Jim Dougan, an original ChemSetter approached by Desperado publisher Joe Pruett to edit the anthology. “The only problem was choosing from among the literally hundreds of pages of great comics we’ve got on the site. Joe wanted only self-contained stories, though, so while that unfortunately left out a lot of great stuff, it helped me narrow it down. Are these the best 120 pages of comics ever to appear at the ChemSet? No. Are they the 120 pages that fit together best as a book? I think so.”

NO FORMULA will feature 12 stories from the two-year history of the ChemSet, in both black-and-white and color, all under a gorgeous color cover by Hyeondo Park. The story contents, most of which can be previewed online at www.chemsetcomics.com, are:

“The System” by Tony Goins and Tom Williams

“Night’s Plutonian Shore” by Neil Kleid and jamesmith3

“Rest Stop” by Jim Dougan, Dean Haspiel and Michel Fiffe

“Red” by Elizabeth Genco and Kevin Colden

“Snowblind” by Chris Arrant and Jessica Hickman

“The Legend of Caraboy” by Andrew Drilon

“Yes, Mother” by Elizabeth Genco and Sami Makkonen

“I’m Madly in Love” by Vito Delsante and Michel Fiffe

“Grinwit” by Andrew Drilon

“Dinner Date #9″ by Steven Goldman and Rami Efal

“Come the Dawn” by Jim Dougan and Hyeondo Park

“Rosa” by Steven Goldman and Rami Efal

“Joe Pruett has been an extraordinary supporter of the ChemSet virtually since its inception, and NO FORMULA is just an outgrowth of that,” said Dougan. “At least half a dozen issues of NEGATIVE BURN have featured ChemSetters, and in July we’ve got the graphic novel BLUE (Diamond order code MAY083778) coming from Elizabeth [Genco] and Sami [Makkonen], who also have a short story together in NO FORMULA. The relationship with Desperado is something we’re thankful for, and hope will continue to grow (thus the perhaps-optimistic ‘Vol.1′ in the title). For that to happen, folks need to go out and buy the books, though – so please pre-order your copies!”

NO FORMULA is found on page 256 of the June PREVIEWS (for comics shipping in August) - conveniently right next to the short order form.

Official Solicitation Text:

Haunting. Humorous. Harrowing. Those are just some of the words to describe the short stories compiled in this inaugural collection from the international comics collective the Chemistry Set. Founded in 2006, the Chemistry Set has served as the breeding ground for tomorrow’s comic all-stars and includes three Xeric Award winners. Combining talents from America, Australia, Europe and Asia, their chemistry together is seen in stories that range from the heartfelt to the horrifying, from the mythological to the macabre.

NO FORMULA: STORIES FROM THE CHEMISTRY SET, VOL.1
Color / B&W, 120 pp. 6in x. 9in.
Price: $16.99
Diamond Order Code: JUN083849
ISBN-10: 1935002090
ISBN-13: 978-1935002093

–
For further information, please contact Jim Dougan at chatterbox.comix@gmail.com

www.chemsetcomics.com
www.desperadopublishing.com

As an added bonus today, Tom Spurgeon, one of the best and most renowned comics journalists in the industry, did a series of Holiday Interviews for which I was asked to be a part of. I was honored and I’m pleased to present it to you all. Plenty of stuff about retailing, writing, and FCHS pops up in there too!

Hey everyone, prodigal son Vito Delsante here. If any of our faithful readers are going to be in San Diego this week (I wonder what for…), then why don’t you try to find me:

THURSDAY - 5:30-7:00 Comic Book Podcasting: One Year Later— Since the first gathering of comic book podcasters last year, podcasting has become a mainstay in the comic book community. With more showing up every day, podcasts have become just as big a part of reading comics as going to the shop on Wednesdays. Hear from the voices behind some of your favorite shows. This year’s panel includes podcasters Scott Hinze (Fanboy Radio), Jon Towry (Comic Talk Cafe), Jimmy Aquino (Comic News Insider), Mr. Phil (Indie Spinner Rack), Josh Flanagan (iFanboy.com), Ian Levenstein (Comic Timing), John Mayo (Comic Book Page) and will be moderated by comic book writer and retailer Vito Delsante (Stuck, JSA Classified). Room 8

Also, I’ll be signing at the DC Booth throughout the weekend. Times will be posted on site. Come by and I’ll sketch Scooby Doo or a pulp character of your choice (based on my limited abilities as an artist). I look forward to seeing you there!

Congratulations to Chemsetter Tom Williams (Stuck), who was just announced as part of the line-up for the forthcoming anthology Lifelike for respected publisher IDW. In an article on Newsarama.com, publisher Chris Ryall describes the book as “a diverse collection of slice-of-life stories… and beyond. Each vignette presents a glimpse into a different corner of the world outside our window. From the sentimental to the shocking, the familiar to the unknown, it’s all here.”

The anthology OGN is written by Dara Naraghi, and Tom illustrates one of the stories. Look for it in stores December 2007.

It’s out!

Appearing in this week’s Negative Burn #9 is a comic I did with Eric Adams called Stuart. Previously published in Four Stories, it is a 6 page story about a young boy who brings a little bit of his precocious personality to a cold hospital’s halls that he calls home. Did I mention it’s running in the Image Comics / Desperado Publishing’ book Negative Burn #9?

Don’t take my word for it…. ask my gorgeous wife and spokesperson:

Need further proof?

And behold the power of alphabetizing when it comes to two creators with last names starting with “A”!

We got top billing, over such luminaries as Dean Haspiel, Michael Gaydos, Michel Fiffe, Shannon Eric Denton and fellow Chemsetter Jim Dougan! Just kidding, guys!

Negative Burn #9 is in stores now. If you don’t see it, berate your comic store owner mercilessly!

New York City, NY – Webcomics collective The Chemistry Set is please to announce that it will be displaying at the 2007 New York Comicon taking place at the Javits Center in New York City on February 23rd through February 25th at booth A239 in the Artist Alley.

The Chemistry Set members scheduled for attending New York ComicCon are: Neil Kleid and Kevin Colden of Todt Hill, Vito Delsante of Stuck, Steven Goldman of Styx Taxi, Elizabeth Genco of Scheherazade and Hyeondo Park of Come The Dawn. There will be copies of the group’s various print comic work, as well as review copies of the webcomics online. Stop by the booth for specific hours for each creator.

The Chemistry Set is thrilled to announce that there will also be a grand prize giveaway of a complete set of print comics work by all members of the collective – numbering over 35 single issues, graphic novels and even a Come The Dawn art print from Hyeondo Park. Entry details will be at our booth, and the winner will be announced after the convention at chemsetcomics.com.

“Stop by The Chemistry Set’s table at the New York Comic-Con and you could win a cornucopia of comics, minicomics and zines from every contributor on the site!” said Steven Goldman, writer of Styx Taxi, which appears each Thursday. “From urban fantasy to politics, from autobiography to bear suits, from art comics to crazy papers, you couldn’t get more entertainment without taking one of them home.”

THE CHEMISTRY SET is a collective of creators bonded together to bring free independent comics to the masses. Every day at www.chemsetcomics.com, readers will be treated to new comics by some of the hottest and most talented up-and-coming creators in the medium. Counting two Xeric Award winners and over 30 years of comics writing experience between the group, members of The Chemistry Set have written for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, Puffin Graphics, Random House, NBM Publishing, Oni Press, SLG Publishing and many more. Observe the chemistry between writers, artists, and across teams as we combine individual creative elements to build dynamic compounds through the art and science of collaboration. The readers will be part of the equation as well, with the ability to comment on the comics as the stories progress. Join us at THE CHEMISTRY SET, and be part of the experiment.

Tom Williams, the fantastic artist of STUCK and THE SYSTEM (and a great co-collaborator to boot) gets profiled on Newsarama by 1 WAY TICKET’s Chris Arrant!  Read and tell the world how much you love Tom!

I just received the information for the panel, set to go live on the New York Comic-Con site today:

The Jewish Side of Comics
Sun., Feb. 25, 2007
4:00-5:00 PM
Room 1E04

Moderated by Steven M. Bergson of The Jewish Comics Blog
http://jewishcomics.blogspot.com

* Rabbi Simcha Weinstein (author of Up and Oy Vey : How Jewish History, Culture, and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero) will be talking about Biblical archetypes of superheroes.
http://www.rabbisimcha.com

* Danny Fingeroth (author of the still-forthcoming Disguised as Clark Kent : Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero) will be talking about the Jewish writers of superhero stories.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Fingeroth

*Josef Rubinstein will talk about two books he’s working on for Mahrwood Press :Balm in Gilead and Journeys : The Collected Edition.
http://www.myspace.com/joerubinstein
http://www.mahrwoodpress.com/

*Stan Mack will talk about a series of Jewish historical fiction graphic novels he’s working on.
http://www.stanmack.com/

*Neil Kleid will talk about the cartoon memoir about his Orthodox evelopmentally disabled younger brother, titled Migdal David, to be published by Seraphic Press.
http://www.rantcomics.com/
http://www.seraphicpress.com/

I’ll also be appearing at the Chemistry Set table in the Artist’s Alley along with many other ChemSetters throughout the weekend. A release will shortly follow with appearance/signing times. Stop by and say hello!

So it’s the Sunday after Thanksgiving and you’ve had your fill of leftovers. You hate football. You’re stuffed and bored. What next?

If you’re in NYC, head on down to KGB Bar, where I will attempt to read SCHEHERAZADE out loud, live and in person:

Graphic Novelists at KGB

Start: Nov 26 2006 - 7:41pm
End: Nov 26 2006 - 9:00pm

Margo Dabaie will be reading from her work about growing up Palestinian Christian in America.

Given that I’ve never attempted to read a comic aloud in my life, it should be interesting. There will be some fab ACT-I-VATErs presenting as well, including Steven’s brother, Dan.

There will be no interpretive dance, I promise.

Be there!