#gabriel martin escher

[firstdraftpod]

Using the Skills of Friendship With Arthur Levine

Arthur Levine is the legendary children’s book editor, including of series such as Harry Potter and The Golden Compass. He is founder of publishing house Levine Querido, and formerly President and Publisher at Arthur A. Levine Books at Scholastic, as well as author of picture books, most recently The Hanukkah Magic of Nate Gadol.

I used portions of Arthur’s interview in the Track Changes: Inequality in Publishing episode, and I encourage you all to listen.

This episode is brought to you by Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar, a debut YA novel that blends shades of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust and a breathtaking landscape of Hindu mythology into a radiant contemporary fantasy. Available wherever books are sold now!

This episode is sponsored by Revision Season, a seven-week, virtual master class in revising your novel, led by Elana K. Arnold, author of Printz honor winner Damsel and National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and more.

Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode

Susan Hirschman, editor and founder of Greenwillow Books

Ursula Nordstrom, legendary editor of children’s books at HarperCollins

Margaret Frith, long-time editor at G.P. Putnam's Sons

The Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine

The Babysitters Club by Ann M. Martin

The Magic School Bus by Joanna Cole

Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell

Levine Querido is partnering with Chronicle Books for printing

Everything Sad is Untrue: A True Story by Daniel Nayeri

Elatso by Darcie Little Badger

Illustrator Rovina Cai

The Wanderer by Peter Van Den Ende

Illustrator Shaun Tan

Illustrator M.C. Escher

This Old Dog by Martha Brockenbrough, illustrated by Gabriel Alborozo

Kevin Hawkes, illustrator for The Hanukkah Magic of Nate Gadol

Karen Lotz, president and publisher of Candlewick

  I want to hear from you!

Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998 or send an email to mailbag @ firstdraftpod dot com!

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Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Jason Reynolds; Creator of Sex and the City Candace Bushnell; YouTube empresario and author Hank Green; Actors, comedians and screenwriters Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham; author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast Linda Holmes; Bestselling authors and co-hosts of the Call Your Girlfriend podcast, Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow; Michael Dante  DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish and co-host of the Sciptnotes podcast; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works.

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Track Changes

If you’re looking for more information on how to get published, or the traditional publishing industry, check out the Track Changes podcast series, and sign up for the Track Changes weekly newsletter.

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Listen now!

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1270

Monday, July 15, 2019

 I'm not much of a gardener even though I worked for two years at a garden centre. Penny does most of the work and I am around for the heavy lifting. I try to be a supportive spouse and I assisted with some of the weeding yesterday. I get the same feeling of satisfaction after cleaning up a flower bed as I do after reading a pile of comic books. The added hubby points are a bonus.

 Detective Comics #1007 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Kyle Hotz (art) David Baron (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). The team-up with the Spectre concludes with the rescue of Jim Corrigan. This was a nice 2-issue story and now the Spectre leaves Gotham City. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.

 Black Hammer/Justice League: Hammer of Justice #1 - Jeff Lemire (writer) Michael Walsh (art) Nate Piekos (letters). I thought this was going to be a tam-up story but it's the old switcheroo where the two super hero teams wind up in each others' universes. I'm guessing the rest of this 5-issue mini will be each team trying to return home. This is good exposure for Jeff Lemire's Black Hammer characters which I liked, so you should check it out.

 Catwoman #13 - Joelle Jones (writer) Fernando Blanco (art pages 1-14, 19) Hugo Petrus (art pages 15-18) Joelle Jones (art pages 20-22) John Kalisz (colours pages 1-19) Laura Allred (colours pages 20-22) Saida Temofonte (letters). That crazy Creel woman finally gets her hands on the artefact but the rest of the story will have to wait until Selina gets through the "Year of the Villain" (YOTV) tie-in. Catwoman is made an offer that she can refuse, or not.

 Thor #15 - Jason Aaron (writer) Mike del Mundo (art) Mike del Mundo & Marco D'Alfonso (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Four Thors and seven realms ago this whole thing started. Now that it's over find out what happens to everybody in this epilogue to War of the Realms. I particularly liked the fate of Malekith. I am so looking forward to the next story arc with art  by Esad Ribic.

 Naomi #6 - Brian Michael Bendis & David F. Walker (writers) Jamal Campbell (art) Wes Abbott (letters). Origin story complete. From the looks of things on the cover, Naomi is going to meet up with Young Justice and that's okay with me. This book is every bit as good as Ironheart used to be.

 Ironheart #8 - Eve L. Ewing (writer) Luciano Vecchio (art) Geoffo (layouts) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Riri goes to Doctor Strange for help in finding out what's been happening in her life for the last few issues. There's s portal of power that she needs to track down so she goes from Chicago to New York City to who knows where else. This is so exciting and I've got to say I like the slightly more mature Riri that Eve is presenting.

 Symbiote Spider-Man #4 - Peter David (writer) Greg Land (pencils) Jay Leisten (inks) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). A new and different element is added to make things fun and exciting in this Spider-Man versus Mysterio story. This reminds me a lot of the old Amazing Spider-Man plots where Peter gets ambushed by some super villain while on his way to see Aunt May. Will our boy make it to breakfast? Find out in next issue's thrilling conclusion.

 Young Justice #7 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) John Timms & Dan Hipp (art pages 2-3) David Lafuente (art the other pages)  Dan Hipp (colours pages 2-3) Gabriel Eltaeb (colours the other pages) Wes Abbott (letters). Lost in the Multiverse part 1. This was a lot of fun. I really liked Doctor Fate.

 Second Coming #1 - Mark Russell (writer) Richard Pace (art) Leonard Kirk (finisher earth pages) Andy Troy (colours earth pages) Rob Steen (letters). Holy bible Batman, this is some weird super hero comic book. Here we have a wisecracking God and his hapless son Jesus trying to make sense of humanity. God sends Jesus back to earth to learn from a Superman-like super hero. I like this parody. It reminds me of Herbie and the Inferior Five. I will be getting s second helping of this book when #2 hits the racks.

 Invisible Woman #1 - Mark Waid (writer) Mattia De Iulis (art) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Did you know that Sue Storm was a part time spy for S.H.I.E.L.D.? Me neither. That fact sets up her mission to find her former partner, fellow spy Aiden Tintreach. Y'know, I was thinking that this story would have been better suited to the Black Widow and I was right on when I got to the last page. Mattia De Iulis's art was the main reason I read the latest Jessica Jones graphic novel and he's why I will add the rest of this 5-issue mini to my "must read" list.

 Batman Universe #1 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Nick Derington (art) Dave Stewart (colours) Josh Reed (letters). There's another Batbook on the racks and this one's a 6-issue mini. I think Bendis is going to throw as many DC heroes and villains into this story as he can with the Riddler starting things off, leading to Jinny Hex. If you don't know who she is you should go read the most excellent Young Justice. The story goes international and this issue ends in Amsterdam with the appearance of Deathstroke and Green Arrow. I want to know why Oliver Queen is way over in Europe. Going to read the rest of this one too.

 War of the Realms Omega #1- If you're wondering about the spin-offs and changes wrought by the War of the Realms then this $4.99 US epilogue is the comic book for you.

 Daredevil played a significant role while wielding Heimdall's sword and his story continues in "God and the Devil Walk Into a Church" by Jason Aaron (writer), Ron Garney (art), Matt Milla (colours) and VC's Joe Sabino (letters).

 The double-page ads for "Jane Foster: Valkyrie" has me looking forward to the first issue hitting the racks so reading "The Job I Have to Do" by Al Ewing & Jason Aaron (writers), Cafu (art), Jesus Aburtov (colours) and VC's Joe Sabino (letters) was a nice prelude.

 The God of Mischief and now King of the Frost Giants has been a favourite character of mine for decades so I am also anticipating the release of Loki #1. Daniel Kibblesmith (writer), Oscar Bazaldua (art) David Curiel (colours) and VC's Clayton Cowles (letters) gives us a hint as to how Loki will rule in "Born Small".

 Finally, we can't forget Frank Castle the Punisher. His never ending war will continue in "Punisher Kill Krew" and the calm before the firestorm is chronicled in "War Orphans" by Gerry Duggan (writer), Juan Ferreyra (art) and VC's Cory Petit (letters).

 Marvel's mega crossover events may be predictable now but I like that this one makes some interesting changes to characters that I have followed for a long time. I loved when (spoiler alert) Jane Foster was Thor. Ditto when Loki was a good guy with the Young Avengers. I'm hoping that their new books are worthy of my time. I doubt that Daredevil having magic Asgardian billy clubs will change much in his book but it would be cool to see what they can do and how he uses them. And as always, the Punisher will continue to kill bad guys.

 Miles Morales: Spider-Man #8 - Saladin Ahmed (writer) Javier Garron (art) David Curiel (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). When last we left Miles he had been captured by some unknown super villain. This issue details the extremely dangerous predicament that he's in. I know Miles will survive these tests and experiments but boy, they sure put him through the wringer this issue. The creative team did an excellent job of making me feel immersed in the story.

 Avengers #21 - Jason Aaron (writer) Jason Masters (art) Jason Keith (colours) VC's Joe "Jason" Caramagna (letters). It's practically an all Jason issue. The team relaxes in the aftermath of the War of the Realms. I don't like She-Hulk speaking monosyllabically but she thinks in proper sentences in her thought balloons so that assuages my annoyance. Black Panther didn't get the memo and confronts Phil Coulson and his Squadron Supreme of America. I think this is Jason Aaron's dig at the current administration in the White House. I'm waiting to see where the next global threat will come from. Will it be domestic or alien?

 Batman #74 - Tom King (writer) Mikel Janin (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). "The Fall and the Fallen" concludes. I'm not a fan of Thomas Wayne being in this reality so I hope it's the last we see of him for a while. Comparing what Bruce and "his father" are doing with the story of the animals in the pit was very clever and the inconclusive ending heightens the suspense for the next issue.

 Black Cat #2 - Jed MacKay (writer) Travel Foreman (art) Brian Reber (colours) Ferran Delgado (letters). The Cat will burgle while the Sorcerer Supreme is away. Felicia and her crew break into 177A Bleecker Street in this weird heist. Getting in was easy. Getting out will be a problem. There was a double-page spread featuring an M.C. Escher staircase that could have had the word balloons and captions arranged better. I had to read the things a couple of times to get the flow right. Other than that minor annoyance this is another fine issue. The last page by Clay McLeod Chapman (writer), Alberto Alburquerque (art), Brian Reber (colours) and Ferran Delgado (letters) was a bit of a puzzler. Is it a teaser for the next story, or what?

 The Amazing Spider-Man #25 - Don't judge a comic book by it's cover. Case in point, this issue looked good so I saved it for last. We've got Spider-Man front and center with Mary Jane, Mysterio, Electro and Kindred in the background. This issue sets up a lot of stuff so let's have a look see.

 The main story is called "Opening Night" by Nick Spencer (writer), Ryan Ottley, Humberto Ramos, Patrick Gleason & Kev Walker (pencils), Cliff Rathburn, Victor Olazaba, Dexter Vines, Patrick Gleason & Kev Walker (inks) Nathan Fairbairn, Edgar Delgado, Dave Stewart & Laura Martin (colours) and VC's Joe Caramagna (letters) has a brief appearance by Kindred and Mysterio but it's mostly about Electro (the new female one) holding an actress for ransom at a theatre. Mary Jane is the one who comes to the rescue. The Spider-Man subplot has Peter rescuing Doctor Curt Connors from depression. A set up for future stories happens on the last page where a new team of super villains is introduced called the Syndicate. They want Electro to join. Then we have 5 pages that ends with the appearance of Spider-Man 2099. I wonder where Miguel has been? Then there's a 10 page story leading towards a team up with Doctor Strange. The issue wraps up with a 5-page cartoon for the kiddies by Keaton Patti (writer), Dan Hipp (art) and VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Yes, it's 60 pages of Spider-Mania but even a Spider-Maniac like myself cringed after reading this.