Dragonsnakes In The Top Ten

Diamond have released their list of the top 100 Graphic Novels for February and Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes is right up there in some pretty illustrious company.

A HUGE thank you to everyone who bought the book and to everyone who’s planning to.

TOP 100 GRAPHIC NOVELS
Based on Total Unit Sales of Products Invoiced in February 2010

‘A4 To A3′ Gets Its First Words In Leaves.

That’s right.  The little musical I wrote with Simon Barlow has one of these logos attached to it now.

Producer/lead Joe Main and Director Dean Codrington are flying over to LA and heading to the Newport Beach Film Festival for the screening of this in April (I will be home with a newborn baby).  Here’s hoping it will be just the first of many words in leaves for this film.

Announced – Rombies – The Series!

So, last week was huge.

After happily announcing that I was the new writer of The Authority on Wednesday, I was then flown to Perth on the Thursday (Thursday morning… I don’t do morning) by Gestalt Publishing for Gestaltapalooza!

Comic Book Jesus posted about the night right here.

And the night was capped off with the announcement that our one-shot ‘Rombies‘ was just a teaser.  Yep, Rombies is set to be a series!  The Dead will walk again… in sandals.

The depth and breadth of the story Skye Ogden and I have planned was not even hinted at in the first publication.  This story is tied to real-life historical events and crosses the path of real-life historical figures.  It weaves through theologies and empires and leaves no one untouched, be they citizen, soldier or senator.

It will be fun.

A great celebration of the first five years of Gestalt also included a sneak peek of the incredible ‘Changing Ways‘ by one of the fine artists working on my upcoming Brief Cases, Justin Randall.  Gestalt asked if I could provide a pull-quote for this incredible book.  Which meant that I got to read an advance copy.

“Changing Ways grabbed me by the eyeballs and wouldn’t let go until it was done. The art demands you stop and admire every extraordinary rendered panel while the tension of this perfectly-paced thriller forces you to turn the page. Justin Randall balances beauty and terror on a rusty razor’s edge.” – Tom Taylor, writer of Star Wars: Invasion and The Authority.

Tom Taylor – Writer of The Authority.

Huh?  Serious?

Getting my first ongoing professional comics gig writing Star Wars was like being put on a ‘big-boy’ bike for the first time, and having the training wheels ripped off just before the really steep hill.  It has been an incredible experience and, so far, I haven’t gone over the handlebars and left half my face on the pavement.

But then being asked to follow that up by writing the Authority… well, that’s like thinking you’re getting your first car and, instead, being handed the keys to a flying battleship that runs on the fury and the sex drive of one hundred caged dragons.  I haven’t thought of an analogy for ‘going over the handlebars’ in this but I imagine it would end with a large explosion, a lot of death and a bunch of people suddenly discovering that ‘RAAAAAGHHH’ is dragon-speak for ‘do you come here often?’

The Authority has been written by three of my top ten favourite writers.  Being asked to add to their creation is about as mind-blowing as it gets.  If I was able to go back in time and tell a young me discovering Warren Ellis’ Stormwatch for the first time that I would one day be writing those characters… actually, young me would probably be more impressed that I had a time machine… and would want to think of ways we could use it to see boobs… young me was a bit of a caged dragon.

Anyway, a huge thank you to Ben Abernathy at Wildstorm for letting me in the door, to Jim Chadwick and to Shannon Eric Denton.

THE AUTHORITY #22
On sale MAY 5
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art by MIKE MILLER
Cover by PETE WOODS

Acclaimed writer Tom Taylor (Star Wars: Invasion) takes the helm for a 4-issue arc. The Authority’s journey through space on The Carrier’s unknown mission continues. Their mysterious voyage takes an even more terrifying twist than anything they’ve experienced so far when they discover stowaways of the worst possible kind. Facing a hideous mutiny by overwhelming odds, only one person can possibly save them. But will this reluctant hero break his own vow and return to action?

Another Signing In Perth. Comic Zone.

Next week, Gestalt Publishing are flying me to Perth for GESTALTAPALOOZA! While I’m over there I will also be signing on Saturday 20th at ‘Comic Zone’ – 572 Hay Street from 11am.

I’ll be signing any Star Wars: Invasion, The Example, Rombies, Flinch and Star Wars: Adventures anyone wants to shove in my face.  If you have anything else you’d like me to deface, that’s cool too.

My new DC/Wildstorm writing gig should be made public by then (should be early next week) so feel free to ask me questions about that (most of which I won’t be able to answer).

Gestaltapalooza! If You’re In Perth, Come And Join Us.

	Purveyors of comic and graphic novel goodness. Gestalt is Australia’s foremost independent publisher of comics and graphic novels. Book Launch Rome wasn’t built in a day…  but it may crumble in one! The Rombies book launch is part of Gestaltapalooza! Can’t make it? You can always buy it online… We’re celebrating FIVE YEARS of Gestalt and we’d love for you to join us! In preparing to  launch Rombies, our zombies-in-ancient-Rome book, we realised that February 2010 marked FIVE YEARS since we first decided to start these shenanigans! And so, to mark the occasion, we’re flying in the creative team behind Rombies: Tom Taylor Melbourne-based playwright who writes  Star Wars: Invasion (for another publisher) alongside Gestalt titles Rombies, The Example, two stories in Flinch, and the upcoming Brief Cases. Skye Ogden Tokyo-based writer/illustrator responsible for Vowels, ‘The Daemon Street Ghost-Trap’ in Flinch and, of course, Rombies! Skye is also Art Director for Gestalt, responsible for our book design and trailer videos. Both Tom & Skye will be discussing their vision and creative process and signing books! Plus: LIVE MUSIC! Experience the musical stylings of Gestalt’s own Anton McKay and the immensely talented Tracey Read! Care to join us? We hope so! Where: Clancy’s Canning Bridge 903 Canning Highway, Applecross Western Australia Find Clancy’s on Google Maps When: Thursday, 18 February 2010 From 7pm We’ll also be celebrating ALL of our 2009 releases at Gestaltapalooza: Flinch Shaun Tan, Justin Randall, Colin Wilson, Terry Dowling, James Barclay & many more! The Example Tom Taylor & Colin Wilson Digested #1 & #2 Bobby.N We look forward to seeing you there, and unveiling some of our plans for the NEXT five years — including the creepily beautiful world of Justin Randall’s Changing Ways… Cheers, Wolfgang Bylsma Managing Director

Star Wars: Invasion Returns!

Just announced at Star Wars.com -  Star Wars: Invasion returns in May!

Star Wars: Invasion — Rescues #1 (of 6) Written by Tom Taylor; Art by Colin Wilson; Colors by Wes Dzioba; Cover by Jo Chen On Sale May 26. 40 pages.

The Yuuzhan Vong invasion spreads death and destruction across the galaxy, leaving behind ravaged worlds with little hope of survival . . . Artorias, the homeworld of the Galfridian family lay in the path of the Yuuzhan Vong armada — and now, though separated, Finn, Kaye, Nina, and Caled work to fight the invaders with the hope that one day they will again be together on their peaceful planet.

Finn studies at the Jedi temple with Luke Skywalker and the grown Jedi children of Han Solo and Princess Leia! Kaye and Nina use a Yuuzhan Vong slave ship to attack their former captors! Caled raises forces on Artorias — not knowing the danger from one of his trusted allies!

Star Wars Adventures Vol 3: Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes Reviews (updated)

So far, Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes seems to be ticking boxes for everyone and the first, quite kick-ass, review has surfaced over at NJOE.com

“Tom did a great job of capturing the feeling of Luke and Yoda, it felt like the characters I have seen on the screen for the last 30 years, nothing felt forced with their dialogue.”

“There’s danger, excitement, humor, and a good dose of Luke’s determination all brought to the forefront with this story.  I highly recommend this digest if you want to see more of what Luke endured on Dagobah and what helped shape him into the Jedi he became.  Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes is an excellent story and a great way to kick off the thirtieth anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back.” – NJOE.com

Click the image below for the full review.

Another review has surfaced over at Fancore Daily

“Didn’t you always want to see more of that training, and what it takes to become a Jedi Knight? Well, then this comic was written just for you!”

“The writing, by Tom Taylor, manages to flesh out one of the greatest stories ever told on film, while not trampling all over it, and that is a feat unto itself.”

“The plot is only part of what makes this story great. What this book does better than most Star Wars comics, is that it takes you back to that familiar place, and delivers in a way that matches up to what you remember. I’m a pretty hardcore Star Wars fan…And I’m pretty harsh on Dark Horse and the comics they choose to publish sometimes. Heck, I’m hard on the entire Expanded Universe of Star Wars.  But where those comics fail, this is one of the ones that succeeds!” – FANCORE DAILY

Luke Skywalker And The Treasure Of The Dragonsnakes – Spoilerific Hint

Wednesday the 3rd of February sees the worldwide release of Star Wars Adventures: Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes.

As readers may know, this book is set on Dagobah during Empire Strikes Back but surely the movie covered everything… right?  Nope.  A big question has been constantly asked about the movie and the answer could lie in the pages of this book.  As a teaser to the release, I’ve sent a cryptic message to theforce.net about Yoda and R2 D2 which you can read right here – “Yoda and R2 D2 speak on Dagobah! Tom Taylor makes an announcement…”

If that’s not enough to get you excited, Daxiong’s art is incredible and this book is still about Yoda training Luke Skywalker!  Release your inner fanboy/fangirl – pick this up!

Bruce Willis And I Hang Out On The Cover Of Arcana #1

Today sees the worldwide release of the first Arcana Magazine.  I’m not entirely sure why, but an interview with me turned into the feature article (and hogged the cover) of this new magazine devoted entirely to comic books.

Although the magazine is published by a Canadian company, it is the brainchild of Kris Bather and Dave Lapsley who are both based in Perth.  It’s always nice to see fellow Australians making great things and Arcana is a very nice looking publication, with an overall design more suited to skate mags than ‘book publishing’.  Click the picture for a preview.

Go support two Australians and buy this magazine… who knows when I’ll appear on a cover with Bruce Willis again.