The long-running horror magazine Fangoria (I read my first issue in 1994 - wow) has published a glowing review of the first four issues of North 40. There’s an overabundance of blurbable quotes in this review alone - check it:

“NORTH 40 is one of the top horror books of 2009.”

“NORTH 40 brings together an intriguing cast of characters one might find in a TWIN PEAKS episode.”

“Williams writes with an unbound passion, dipping into so many tasty sauces at once that it doesn’t bother the reader so much that the overall story itself is crawling along. It’s kind of like watching an episode of LOST”

“It’s real. It’s raw. And it’s intriguing to read.”

“Aaron Williams and Fiona Staples have a hit on their hands”

How’s THAT for praise?

I could say nice things on here about North 40 all day - but, thanks to the great love it’s been receiving all over the web, I don’t have to do it all myself. Ready for more? USA Today has a great interview up with Aaron and Fiona over on their website. Wanna know which characters resemble their creators? This story has the scoop.

And, did I mention they’ve got an exclusive preview of issue #5? Now hurry on over there.

There’s a reason why I waited until after lunch to post this North 40 sneak peek. Nothing really does a number to your appetite more than a mouth full of maggots, y’know what I mean?

Few artists make the disgusting look so good like Fiona Staples does. North 40 #4 hits stands next week.

North 40 continues to see a lot of love, especially from our friends in the horror blogosphere. I know I’ve been raving on here about it a ton, but if you can’t trust my word on it…

“So horror fans, if you have been looking for some new comics to check out, keep your eyes out on this one. It’s Heroes meets Evil Dead II, My Name is Earl written by H.P. Lovecraft. Either way, for me, it’s looks like some damn good horror.” - The Dreamin’ Demon

“It’s a really amazing thing when a comic comes along that is the perfect fusion of storytelling and originality. In those cases, you get classic books like The Walking Dead or 30 Days of Night, and joining those series now, North 40.” - Brutal as Hell

“North 40 flips the black flavors of American Gothic’s relationships and characters, salt’s them with the simplicity of The Walking Dead’s direness, and then runs amok with monsters, mayhem, and a Stephen King’s worth of darkness stretching across the landscape. And with all of this powered by Lovecraft’s leviathan from the stars, the reading experience is exhilarating.” - Zombo’s Closet of Horror

“Finally, a REAL Horror Comic” - Vault of Horror

“I suggest you jump on board now before it’s too late.” - Cinema Suicide

“You can’t not like a comic that opens with a giant stepping on a bug-man.” - Blood Lines

“A creepy, funny thrill ride!” - Comic Attack

“Cthulu in the midwest – what’s not to like?” - Mad Gadabout

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Dukes of Hazzard.” - High Five Comics

Zombies. Vampires. Witches. Mutant high school students. Telekinetic teenagers. Eyeball-monster-guys. Cthulu. (Freakin’ CTHULU!)

After the first two issues, I thought I’d seen it all. That is, until I opened up my copy of North 40 #3 and saw this:

Yes, that’s a giant robot. What more could I ask for from a comic, really?

Thank you, Aaron and Fiona, for never failing to surprise me.

The film crew over at Pop Culture Shock caught up with Aaron Williams and Fiona Staples at Comic-Con to discuss their series, North 40. Check their piece here!

If you’re following The Bleed, you’ll know I’ve been talking up Aaron Williams and Fiona Staples’ new North 40 miniseries quite a bit here. I love it - I really do. But, if you don’t want to take my word for it, how about Steve Niles’, of 30 Days of Night fame? Here’s what he had to say:

“I love this book. Great story, cool art and monsters. What more can you ask for in a comic?” - Steve Niles

No faint praise at all. (And here’s a preview of issue #2, on sale today - it’s not too late to jump in to this one!) Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been craving the next installment of North 40 as soon as you finished reading the first issue. You DID read it, right? If not, these pencils by Fiona Staples from issue #2 should make you want to go back and catch up. I mean, really. Zombies!

The WildStorm & DC Comics offices are closed on Friday - we’ll be returning to our normal schedule on Monday. Have a good weekend!

[For Part I of Scott's post on North 40, click here.]

I’d worked with Fiona Staples on the adaptation of TRICK ’r TREAT, the Michael Dougherty Halloween film which was, at that point, awaiting a release date. It was, I believe, the first full-length comic Fiona had ever drawn, although she’d colored some stuff, and it was insanely great work on her part. So great I immediately offered her a project which could not have been much more different than the claustrophobic horror book she’d already done for me: this time I offered her a superhero book that spanned the globe, hopped back in forth in time and, oh, yes, was actually a film noir tale in disguise. Pretty much the polar opposite of her previous gig. And yet I had not the slightest doubt she’d hit it out of the park.

Which she did. She teed off on SECRET HISTORY OF THE AUTHORITY: HAWKSMOOR like it’d just insulted her mother and then ran over her puppy. She smacked the bejeebers out of it and left it sobbing in the corner, begging for mercy as though it were a minor Mafioso and she were a Robert DeNiro character in a Scorsese flick. Which is to say, she did a really, really nice job.

So when NORTH 40 came around, I immediately thought of Fiona. Oh, sure, she hadn’t yet drawn a small town. And she hadn’t had to design many new characters. And NORTH 40 is essentially a western with fantasy and horror elements. In fact, basically, except for not having funny animals, NORTH 40 is pretty much everything Fiona hadn’t yet drawn for me. And did I have any doubts this time around?

I did not. One glance at any NORTH 40 image will illustrate nicely why I was as sure she’d be perfect for this as I am quite confident the sun’s going to rise in the east and set in the west tomorrow. (Well…except perhaps in Conover County. You can never tell for sure what’s going to happen there.)

I sent Aaron’s proposal to Fiona and a day or two later I got some preliminary sketches. Aaron and I conferred on what changes we’d like done and concurred that they’d look a bit better without the saliva we’d accidentally drooled on them (quite independently and several thousand miles apart, mind you), and that beyond that they needed no tweaking. A few days after that I received the colored versions. Aaron designed a tasty little presentation and I submitted it. A few days later I got the green light.

Needless to say, this is not the way projects normally go. The entire birthing process is usually a much more arduous one—not always, but generally. I mean, a comic book series is a serious investment of time and energy and resources. Everyone involved in the decision-making takes it mighty seriously, and evaluates each property from a bunch of different angles. And all that’s a good thing, and it takes time to do it right.

But it’s been apparent to everyone at both WildStorm and DC Comics that NORTH 40 is a most unusual book, in the best sense. It’s unusually original, unusually well written and unusually well illustrated. Even the response has been (very pleasantly) unusual, in that I’ve been getting emails and calls from pros who’ve gotten sneak peeks and gone out of their way to rave about it.

Which is extremely pleasant and very gratifying but, I must say, not really as surprising as it might normally be. This book has been in the works for a while and we’ve known pretty much exactly what we’ve had for a year now. And we could not be happier to finally be able to share it with the rest of you. Or, given the subject and tone of the book, mayhap it would be more accurate to say we’re pleased to finally be unleashing it upon the world.

NORTH 40. Grab it while you can. But some caution is advised. Because there’s somethin’ mighty big and bad lurking just around the corner and you’re gonna need all the help you can get. And used properly NORTH 40 might be just what you need.

Or…it could just be the beginning of the end…

[Below: Pages 3 - 5 of the North 40 proposal.]