The Black Coat will be set up in the Small Press Pavilion at this year’s San Diego Comic Con International July 23rd – 27th. We’ll be at booth L12 with lots going on. Black Coat artists and writers will be signing books and doing sketches all weekend.  The brand new 52 page special will also be on sale! If you miss us in Small Press, be sure to stop by Ape Entertainment’s booth in the IP Pavilion (#2203). Besides more BC books, Ape has all kinds of coolness going on. Books like “Femme Noir”, “Bizarre New World”, and “Athena Voltaire” are all available in one form or another with lots of other great titles just waiting to be discovered — by you! Swing over to their website for a preview! See you in San Diego!

Good news for Black Coat fans everywhere! Ape Entertainment is pleased to announce the up-coming release of the 52-page Black Coat Special! The Special will contain two unique, self-contained stories that shed some light on the history of Colonial New York’s masked hero. The first story, “Heart of Ice”, is written by Black Coat co-creator Ben Lichius and features art by the incredible Gabriel Hardman (War Machine, X-Men and Spider Man 3 films). The Black Coat ventures into the untamed New York wilderness to do battle with the legendary Chenoo – a man-eating beast from the North. As he prepares for a fight with the unknown, The Black Coat finds allies in unexpected places and enemies that are too close for comfort. The second story, entitled “First Blood,” is reprinted from its initial appearance in issue #2 of “Comics Now” magazine. Written and drawn by Ben Lichius, it follows The Black Coat, Josiah Morgan, and his wife Ursula, as they defend the city from a mysterious new threat – dragons! “First Blood” features the first color (yes, color!) Black Coat story to date! Black Coat fans have been patiently awaiting the continuation of the second series, “…Or Give Me Death” since last Spring. “We’re still working on it,” said Lichius. “It’s not dead. We appreciate everyone sticking with us and we’ll put out more information as we have it. As soon as we get the chance, we’ll get the rest of the series out there.” “In the meantime we hope everyone enjoys these new stories,” continued Lichius. “They’re full of all the swashbuckling, action, and adventure you’ve come to expect from The Black Coat and should be a lot of fun!” The Black Coat 52-page special is available for preorder now (Diamond Code: MAY3590) and will be in stores this July. The book will retail for $6.95. Visit the forums for preview pages!

Boy, it’s been a while! But I’m (finally) back with some good news! If you pick up this month’s issue of Comics Now Magazine (issue 2), you find a nifty little gem tucked in there. A while back the editor, Bryan, asked me to do a short story for an upcoming issue to go along with an (awesome!) article on the resurgence of pulp comics. I couldn’t resist! So I wrote and pencilled a 14 page story that should be a lot of fun! As I eluded to it last Fall, it’s called “First Blood” and tells the story of the Battle of Golden Hill – an armed skirmish between New Yorkers and Redcoats 5 weeks before the Boston Masacre. Oh, and there are dragons! (It is a BC story after all… 🙂 ) It was inked by Jeremy Colwell, colored by Joe Suitor, and Lettered by Chris Studabaker. And we’ll have more info about this later, but we are also getting ready to solicit a brand new 48 page special! In addition to reprinting “First Blood”, a new 30-page story called “Heart of Ice” will be included. It’s written by me and drawn by the incredible Gabriel Hardman (War Machine, X-Men and Spider-Man 3 films). Swing by the forums to take a sneak peek at both of these stories! The 48 page special should be in stores in early July. 

 It’s getting about time to let the cat out of the bag! 🙂 Here’s a sneak peek at the upcoming BC one-shot titled “First Blood.” It’s a 14-page backstory that’s set against the Battle of Golden Hill – an armed conflict between colonists and British soldiers that took place in NYC about 5 weeks before the Boston Masacre. And oh yeah,  BC fights a dragon! The one-shot is going to be printed in an upcoming issue of Comics Now magazine (www.iwantmycomicsnow.com – I think it will be in issue #2) and should be available next spring. I’m doing the writing and pencilling chores. I’ll post more as we get closer to completion!