Saturday, February 25, 2023

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AVATAR MEHER BABA!


"To penetrate into the essence of all being and significance and to release the fragrance of that inner attainment for the guidance and benefit of others, by expressing, in the world of forms, truth, love, purity and beauty—this is the sole game which has intrinsic and absolute worth. All other happenings, incidents and attainments in themselves can have no lasting importance."
Avatar Meher Baba


 

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

ALERT!

Every once in a while, some imposter accounts show up on Instagram pretending to be me, so let's keep this short and sweet:  My ONLY Instagram account is jm.dematteis.  That's it.  Any others are fakes.  Please BLOCK and REPORT them.  Thanks!

Friday, February 17, 2023

COMIC BOOK COSMOS


I’ve been thinking about comic books these past few days.  I know, I know, it’s what I do for a living, so I’m always thinking about comics—but I’m thinking specifically of the incredible impact they’ve had on my life.  

As a kid, comics (and I include the comic 
strips that were my introduction to the form; reading the New York Daily News comics section every Sunday was a Weekly Event of Major Magnitude) entertained me, nurtured me, provided an escape from family dysfunction, exploded my imagination, inspired my creative self, and helped transform me into a voracious reader.  For that alone, the gods of comics deserve my eternal gratitude.

The icing on the cake is that, as an adult, they’ve provided me with a still-flourishing career, introduced me to an extraordinary group of friends, fans, and collaborators, opened doors into creative opportunities in television, film, and
prose—and so much more.



Not bad for a form of entertainment that, for a good part of my life, was looked down upon with mockery and disdain by many, if not most, adults.  Of course, comics have gone on to completely conquer the worlds of film, television, and video games, absolutely dominating our pop culture consciousness; but, for me, it all comes back to a kid sprawled out on the living room floor in his Brooklyn apartment—eyes wide, mouth agape—so entranced by those colorful pages that, like Alice down the rabbit hole, he fell headlong into other worlds and dimensions that quite literally transformed his life. 

So I raise a glass and give thanks to Dondi and Dick Tracy…Casper and Hot Stuff… Superman and Batman…Sgt. Rock, Sgt. Fury, and Sad Sack…Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and, well, the entire population of the Comic Book Cosmos.
 

What a wonderful place to live.
 



©copyright 2023 J.M. DeMatteis


Monday, February 13, 2023

THE PENULTIMATE HUNT

Spider-Man: The Lost Hunt #4—the penultimate issue in the series—is out Wednesday. Here's the hype, along with some preview pages. Enjoy!


DEATH AND REBIRTH! As Peter finds himself beaten and broken, all seems lost. But who stopped Gregor from landing a killing blow? Find out as we learn about the secret history of the Kravinoff Legacy and the mysterious figure who taught Sergei all he knew!

Written by: J. M. DeMatteis
Art by: Belardino Brabo, Eder Messias, Travis Foreman, Cris Peter, Marguerite Sauvage, Neeraj Menon, Dee Cunniffe
Cover by: Ryan Brown






Wednesday, February 8, 2023

DeMULTIPLYING!

The other day I shared an image of all the DeMultiverse single issues, and today I have the pleasure of sharing an image of the printed proof for our collected edition that includes all four first issues, a foreword by Tom DeFalco, intros to all the stories by yours truly, development art, scripts—and an amazing Liam Sharp cover.

So proud of this!  I can't wait for our Kickstarter backers to receive their copies!


Monday, February 6, 2023

DeMULTIVERSE DeLIGHTS!

Doing a Kickstarter is kind of like having a pregnant wife. You're so focused on the pregnancy, on the care and comfort of your mate, you sometimes forget that an actual living human being will be in your arms at the end of the process.

Today, thanks to Spellbound Comics' head honcho David Baldy, I received the first printed proofs for our DeMultiverse Kickstarter books and I feel like I just became a father.  To quintuplets!  So let's welcome Wisdom, Layla in the Lands of After, Anyman, The Edward Gloom Mysteries, and Godsend into the world.

I should have a printed proof of the collected edition tomorrow, David will be sending final orders off later this week, and our backers should have books in their hands by early April.  Thanks to David (the hardest working man in show business), to all my extraordinary creative collaborators on these stories...

...and, of course, all the folks who supported the Kickstarter with their hard-earned cash.  This really is a dream come true and we couldn't have done it without you!



Wednesday, February 1, 2023

MY WITS END

Had a wonderful chat with the Wits End podcast—talking about Jack Kirby, the DeMultiverse, and many other things.  It's embedded below,  Enjoy!