It's Chip Zdarsky's Newsletter, Okay?

So, I just spent a week on the set of SEX CRIMINALS. PRETTY FUN, I GOTTA SAY I obviously can’t say much, except that it’s very wild seeing a lot of people working to bring your book to life. SUPER special shout out to the incredible Nia DaCosta, who is the director of our pilot (and more)! She’s so damned good and wonderful and the show looks absolutely gorgeous. The level of care and love put into this project is unreal, from the hair and makeup to the incredibly charming acting.

The fun part about being a comic book writer is the research. ”Honey, where should we bring the kids on summer vacation?” Thanks, Tripadvisor!! You may have heard the rumblings, the shift in reality, the tingle in the base of your spine, and yes, it’s true. This week is … a TRIPLE CHIPPLE That’s right! I have THREE books out this week! Aren’t you lucky???

Okay, there are dream jobs and then there are DREAM jobs, you know? I’m writing the first-ever crossover between MARVEL and THE MUPPETS this September with THE MUPPETS TAKE THE MARVEL UNIVERSE! The unbelievable Pete Woods is joining me on art and the pages he’s turned in have been truly special. So much love and detail in every panel. You will truly believe that Spidey and Fozzie can be best friends. The press release is here, with many more details, and some quotes from me, like the one below.

Good god, after, like, a year of teases, AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON #1 is finally out today. I think it’s some fun, cool, big comics, but what do I know? It’s undeniably gorgeous thanks to Delio & Frank with Jesus Aburtov. Welcome to NEW AMERICA I think that’s it for this week? Honestly, I’ve been keeping my head down and working and planning ‘cause boy oh boy this summer is a lot. SEX CRIMINALS starts shooting in a couple of weeks and I’ve been seeing what they’ve been cooking up and … fuck.

And there you have it. Myself and Marco Checchetto, back together, taking on EARTH’S MIGHTIEST. There’s a whole press release here with some quotes from us! Obviously I can’t say too much just yet, but trust me when I say that our goal is to make THE AVENGERS the coolest, biggest book on the shelf. Every issue goes hard and I can’t believe Marvel are letting us do it. One of the really fun parts has been thinking about the Avengers logo.

I just watched this new Marvel trailer for AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON and thought “wow, I want to read this” and then realized I wrote it?? First issue drops next week! Wild times. Of equal importance: MAD ABOUT DC’s second printing is out today!! So for those of you who missed this #blessed event the first time around, you can finally read some “jokes”! Also, Kagan McLeod is putting his originals from the issue up for sale! They’re very cool. I think a few have actually sold already???

My true legacy That’s Matt Fraction alerting me to the fact that the new Lego Batman game has the option to turn Commissioner Gordon into JIMBO THE SKELETON GORDON: Yup! That’s right! From my second BATMAN arc with the amazing Mike Hawthorne! In a lot of ways, I think we peaked with Jimbo. I should’ve had him become Bruce’s new butler. Oh well! No regrets! I would play the game if I had any spare time but my life is COMICS! COMICS! COMICS! With some KISSING! every once in a while.

Okay, so, big news! Our leads are LOCKED IN for the SEX CRIMINALS show! And I gotta tell you, they’re pretty amazing. Seeing them play off of each other has been super delightful, just genuine affection and charm. I remember watching John in SEARCH PARTY and thinking “wow, this guy’s so funny and sweet he should be Jon in a Sex Criminals show” and, wouldn’t you know it, here we are. And Imogen is an INCREDIBLE actress. A few months ago I watched the movie HEDDA and she blew me away.

Some fun news: we’re all sellouts! At least all the fine creators in MAD ABOUT DC are! It’s true! And I have the second printing cover by Rafael Albuquerque to prove it! Can I be real for a moment? Like, genuine? Please? I’ve been pretty moved by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to this dumb project. The signings I’ve done since it came out have shown me how much people want fun in their comics.

Just sent this bad boy to the printer, my collection of ill-advised promotional bits and bobs. When people ask me how you make a comic book, I usually say that you start with one page, then make another, then make another, and eventually you have a comic. That’s basically what happened here. One day I made a four-page pamphlet of marketing gags, and eighteen months later I had 160 pages of them. OOPS.