"Making of" video for the PUNKS wrapper (aka hat) for MTV Geek.

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SWEETS: The Casting Call

It seems like every convention I attend, the topic of a SWEETS movie adaptation comes up and everyone has their own idea on which actors would be great for each particular role. Sometimes those ideas are fantastic, other times, no so much. I thought it might be fun to hear your opinion on the subject.

Who would you cast in the roles of Curt, Jeff, The Killer, and Palmer? And which director would you pick? What about Gabrielle, Dr. LeFleur, Maurice Culpepper or any of the other supporting cast?

Just remember, I make comics not movies, so this is just all in good fun and will have no impact on actual casting if we ever do make a movie. Those decisions would be up to whoever decides to write the check.

My favorite list overall will get a signed copy of the SWEETS paperback, and I might throw in a few more winners in various categories if I feel inspired.

NOTE: To qualify for the free paperback, your list MUST be posted as a reply directly to this blog post.

Upcoming Appearances for Oct and Nov.

Appearances!  I've got three events coming up in the next few weeks, here's a quick rundown.

October 23, 2011 (Sat)
Book signing at Acadiana Comics
From 1 to 3 pm
2506 Johnston Street
Lafayette, LA 70503-3238
(337) 234-9639

October 29, 2011 (Sat)
Panel Discussion and Book Signing

Pens and Pistols: A Roundtable featuring today’s Crime Comic All-Stars Panel discussion focusing on Crime Comics with special guests Howard Chaykin (Black Kiss), Kody Chamberlain (Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story), and Victor Gischler (Punisher Max). 

Panel discussion at 2pm followed by a book signing at 3:15pm
State Museum, Auditorium - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
660 North 4th Street, Baton Rouge, LA, US
http://www.louisianabookfestival.org

November 11, 12, & 13 (Fri, Sat, Sun)
Austin Comic Con
Austin Convention Center
500 East Cesar Chavez Street
Austin, TX 78701
http://www.wizardworldcomiccon.com/home-tx.html
http://www.austinconventioncenter.com

We're close to locking down a book signing in Dallas for December. Details soon.

Bookstore release!

I'm VERY happy to announce the release of the paperback edition of SWEETS: A New Orleans Crime Story to all major bookstores around the globe.

If you'd like to purchase the printed paperback edition of SWEETS at your local comic shop, use this handy Comic Shop Locator.

You can also buy the book online or in person at your favorite bookseller:

• Amazon
• Abe Books
• Alibris
• Barnes & Noble
• Books·A·Million
• Forbidden Planet (UK)
• Indie Bound
• InStockTrades
• Midtown Comics
• My Comic Shop
• Powell's
• TFAW

You can also read the entire SWEETS graphic novel on your computer or mobile device, or sample the first chapter of SWEETS for FREE on ComiXology.

Accolades:

SWEETS earned a 4.25 out of 5 on Goodreads!

Winner of the 2011 Spinetingler Award for Best Mystery/Crime Comic or Graphic Novel.

Have a look at some of the reviews.

Bio

Been working on a new BIO for an upcoming event. It's always tricky to walk the line between brevity and shameless self promotion. Here's what I've got so far, feel free to give it a read and offer up any tweaks.

Kody Chamberlain, a native of Thibodaux, Louisiana, relocated to Lafayette in 1993 to attend the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he earned a BFA in Advertising Design. After working for several top advertising agencies, he started his own design studio in 1999 where he offered a diverse set of client services for print and web. Early in 2004, he started his career as a professional comic book artist and hasn’t looked back. 

Chamberlain is known for working in a diverse range of styles and will often adapt visually to better suit the tone of the story being told. This is most obvious by comparing the award-winning SWEETS to his first creator-owned series PUNKS: THE COMIC with co-creator Joshua Hale Fialkov, a project that was recently picked up by MTV for their new line called MTV COMICS. Chamberlain's journey through comics has been rather unique, often focusing on passion projects or offbeat and unusual opportunities. One project in particular was a collaboration with Grammy Award winning singer Trace Adkins on an original four issue comic titled LUKE McBAIN published by 12 Gauge Comics, which the publisher says is in the tradition of exploitation classics like BILLY JACK and WALKING TALL. Adkins appeared on THE LATE LATE SHOW with Craig Ferguson to promote the comic series on network television to a national audience, something that rarely happens in the world of comics. His publishing credits include Marvel Comics, DC/Wildstorm, HarperCollins, Image Comics, IDW Publishing, 12 Gauge Comics, BOOM! Studios, and Digital Webbing Press.

Chamberlain spends most of his time writing and drawing original comics and graphic novels, but he's also an accomplished commercial, storyboard, and conceptual artist having recently contributed concept work to Warner Brother's WATCHMEN: TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER, original card artwork for Topp's INDIANA JONES Heritage line of trading cards, and promotional illustration work for MTV's JERSEY SHORE and WARREN THE APE. His work has been featured or reviewed by Print Magazine, Tripwire Magazine, Ain't It Cool News, Crave Magazine, G4TV, and over 50 other international media outlets. He was a guest speaker on the floor of MACWORLD in 2008 & 2009 where he performed live artwork demonstrations using Axiotron's Modbook pen tablet, and was a featured guest and panelist at the 2010 MIAMI BOOK FAIR INTERNATIONAL. Although several of Chamberlain's comic book collaborations have already been optioned for feature film development by major studios including Universal, Paramount, and Landscape Entertainment, he's also working on two original screenplays he hopes to develop sometime in 2012. 

Chamberlain's most recently project, SWEETS: A NEW ORLEANS CRIME STORY, will be released in graphic novel (trade paperback) format in late August. SWEETS is described as a noir-inspired five issue comic miniseries from Image Comics set in New Orleans in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina. Sweets paints a dark portrait of a down-and-out detective seeking to bring a killer to justice before his city and evidence are washed away by the impending storm. The book has already earned over 70 stellar reviews and is the winner of the 2011 SPINETINGLER AWARD in the category of Best Mystery/Crime Comic or Graphic Novel. The SWEETS graphic novel will be available in September from all major bookstores including Amazon.com, and is already available for digital download from ComiXology in a format that can be read on almost any digital device like iPhones, iPads, Android devices, and any laptop or personal computer.

For more information on Chamberlain, please visit his website: KodyChamberlain.com

Interviews galore!

Three new interviews to report. First, a MASSIVE interview with Newsarama about my entire creative process. Anyone that's ever wondered about my step-by-step comic-making process should read this one, it's jam packed with info.

Second, MTV Geek has a slightly shorter interview up about Sweets and Punks, and the upcoming relaunch of Punks through MTV on their geek imprint. Some good info here about what's coming up in the next few months.

Third, a detailed audio interview with Amber over at Comic Book Page. This one goes into great detail about process, philosophy, and more. Worth a listen.

And if you missed this one posted earlier this month, I did an interview with On The Page screenwriting podcast with Pilar Alessandra, who happens to host one of my favorite podcasts on the subject of creative writing. I like the podcast so much, I actually hired Pilar to consult on the original Sweets script before I started drawing. HUGE help, and I think the story improved greatly because of it. And buy her book The Coffee Break Screenwriter, it's awesome.

SWEETS is Previews Pick of the Month from Comic Geek Speak!

"A phenomenal graphic masterpiece"
— Comic Geek Speak

Interesting juxtaposition of articles

Interesting connection here about the Comic-Con audience, and its influence on movies (if any):  http://ow.ly/1tVuXX & http://ow.ly/1tVuXW

Quick, go bid on this Gene Colan drawing I inked for charity!

Here's a scan of a Gene Colan Dracula drawing I inked for charity. Please support this great cause. Details and auction here.

Notes on Kickstarter

A lot of comic creators are getting interested in Kickstarter, and for good reason. It's a fantastic service. I used Kickstarter to fund my marketing efforts for Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story. I already had a publisher at Image Comics, so my funds were used exclusively for marketing and promotion. Things like convention expenses, advertising, printing, Facebook ads, etc. I'm told Sweets was one of the very first Kickstarter funded comics to hit shelves nationwide, and that's pretty cool. With a successful Kickstarter project comes lots of questions about my experience with the service and lots of requests for advice on the subject, so here are a few notes for those interested in my experience. And here is the original Kickstarter project listing for those that haven't seen it.

News, and more news.

Lots of stuff going on these last few weeks, here are a few highlights:

The first issue of Sweets is now FREE on ComiXology, grab a copy and see what everyone's been talking about.

I'm thrilled to announce I just received a very nice foreword for the Sweets trade paperback (collected edition) from comic book legend Duncan Fegredo! This really made my day. If you're not familiar with Fegredo's work, pick up the new issue of Hellboy that hit last week, I highly recommend you pick some up today, and since it happens to be new comic Wednesday at your local comic shop, pick up the new issue of Hellboy that came out last week.

I recently did a new audio interview with Comic Book Page Podcast, hosted by Elizabeth Amber. Give it a listen. Please note, There are a few strange stuttering pauses during the conversation, that's just a little bug in the recording process and we had to restart a few times.

6 Easy Ways to Buy SWEETS!

1. Your Local Comic Retailers — Visit your local comic shop retailer and have them order you a copy of the Sweets trade paperback (collected edition).* Most shops are happy to reserve your copy, just be sure to pick it up when it comes out in late August, or it may get sold to someone else. Some comic retailers may even have the original issues in stock! They're getting very hard to find lately. And remember, when you buy from your local comic retailer, you don't pay shipping.

2. Online Comic Retailers — If you don't have a local comic shop in your area, try one of these fine online comic retailers.* TFAW, MidTownComics, MailOrderComics. Many online retailers offer a STEEP discount if you order BEFORE July, 2011. Sometimes up to 30% to 50% off (plus shipping).

3. Digital — Get high quality digital copies for your desktop computer, laptop, digital tablet, smart phone, etc.

4. Booksellers — Use your favorite online bookseller like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Powells, or drop by the actual bookstore for a visit. You should be able to place an order for the trade paperback at checkout.*

5. Auction — If you're the competitive type, give eBay a try. This is often a great way to find rare single issues, multiple issue sets, signed copies, etc. However, I can't guarantee those signatures are authentic. There are some shady people out there, so buyer beware!

6. Kody's Website — I am not taking advanced orders, but the trade paperback of Sweets will be available in my webstore this August, but there will likely NOT be a discount because shipping is a pain in the you know what. I also have a few single issues in stock :)

* Please note, this book is currently available for Pre-Order, meaning, it's not available to retailers yet. The collected (paperback) edition of Sweets ships August 2011. Therefore, all orders placed with retailers before the release of the book will be held until the book is available.

10 Questions

Enjoying the 10 Questions series by Time. Some of them have movie trailers or commercials in front, but they're worth the wait. Here's the full list, and here are a few favorites:

Kody goes On The Page!

While visiting Los Angeles about two weeks ago, I was asked to be a guest on the 'On The Page' podcast, one of my favorite screenwriting podcasts. Give it a listen (episode 193), and don't forget to subscribe free on iTunes, it's the bombdiggity.

SWEETS just won the Spinetingler Award!

Wow, SWEETS just won the Spinetingler Award! thanks to everyone that voted, there was some very stiff competition in that category including a few books that outsold Sweets by a significant margin. I think they did a damn fine job picking out some of the top crime books on the shelf today, I actually read (or have read) the bulk of these. And it was a real pleasure to see my pals Fialkov and Johnson on that list, but I figured none of us had a chance against Darwyn Cooke. I owe all of you a great big hug.

Dark Rain by Mat Johnson and Simon Gane (Vertigo Comics)
The Executor by Jon Evans and Andrea Mutti (Vertigo Crime)
Greek Street by Peter Milligan and David Gianfelice (Vertigo Comics)
Last Days of American Crime by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini (Radical Publishing)
Parker: The Outfit by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
Pug by Derek McCulloch and Greg Espinoza (Image Comics)
Sam and Twitch: The Writer by Luca Blengino and Luca Erbetta (Image Comics)
Scalped by Jason Aaron and R. M. Guéra (Vertigo Comics)
Sweets by Kody Chamberlain (Image Comics)
Tumor by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Noel Tuazon (Archaia Studios Press)

—Kody