Dematteis as a form of catharsis over the series cancellation. The dreams of cody sunnchilde under the pseudonym wally lombego due to changes made by lucasfilm to his original plot. You can leaf through two of the titles and examine special pages and illustrations with an online magnifying glass. Dematteis and mike cavallaro travel with impossible, incorporated june 21st, 2018 6. Dematteis has worked in the comic book business for more than 30 years, writing the adventures of such marvel and dc icons as spiderman, superman, batman, and captain america. In the entire pantheon of comicbook superheroes, only sup art spiegelman, spiegelman, art 1948 spiegelman, art 1948 personal. Augusta wind blows dematteis and gogtzilas to idw cbr. Via email, we spoke to abadazad cocreator and series writer j. Dematteis and mike ploog that its based on, is part comic book, part enchanted diary. Theres probably no project in my career that im more emotionally connected to than abadazad, dematteis said. One of the most famous spiderman stories of alltime, dematteis working with artists mike zeck and bob mcleod tells the story of kraven the hunter, who has become so depressed over his failure to defeat spiderman finally comes up with one final extremely twisted plan to truly and utterly defeat his spidernemesis. Jul 02, 2007 a groundbreaking mix of fiction and fullcolour comic strip that follows a headstrong girls journey into the bizarre fictional world of abadazad to rescue her younger brother. In addition to his work on spiderman, superman, batman, and many other pop culture icons, he is the author of an acclaimed autobiographical graphic novel, brooklyn dreams, as well as the abadazad series for young readers.
The weirding spoke to author and comic book creator, j. The idea was pulsing through my blood, my bones, my soul. Abadazad, our allages comic book series that nearly drowned in the tsunami that was the crossgen collapse, had been miraculously. Mike ploog has created art for a wide variety of comics, books, and movies. Oct 31, 2012 although hes written many wellknown superhero comics, dematteis resume also contains a number of fantasy books, including abadazad, moonshadow and stardust kid. How will going from comic book to more formal childrens book change your approach to writing abadazad. If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author. Its a good example of how the two medium can complement each other.
Dematteis s 2009 graphic novel, the life and times of savior 28, was called one of the finest superhero stories of the decade by newsarama. He got his start in comic books at dc comics in the late 1970s. So, view our 2,000 comics or other abadazad comics. After disney acquired abadazad, along with the rest of crossgens intellectual property, the story was reborn in june 2006 in a unique hybrid format. Fans of oldschool childrens fantasy from authors such as l.
Imaginalis, a young adult novel written by series writer j. Kate needs all the help she can get when she encounters the lanky man. It was later released as a trade paperback currently entitled the compleat moonshadow. Abadazad is the place where sorrow has no home, where time has no meaning, where joy lives forever. A while after that it was revealed that disneyhyperion had cancelled the series, and further that they werent even going to release the completed third book in north america, but did release it in the uk. They have entertained readers since the time of the great batman, batman batman is one of the most popular and important characters created for comic books. Written by wizard magazine favorite annhilation and 52 creator keith giffen and the creator of moonshadow and abadazad j. Dematteis and mike ploog that was one of the best things crossgen ever released. M dematteis is a comic book writer famous for many things, including the classic is a comic book writer famous for many things, including the classic. Abadazad, our allages comic book series that nearly drowned in the tsunami that was the crossgen collapse, had been miraculously resurrected as a childrens book series, thanks to the benevolent spirit of walt disney and the brilliant efforts of hyperion books for children vicepresidenteditorin. He began drawing at a young age, and was accepted into the school of the visual arts. As many of you know, the first two books in the abadazad seriesthe. Not many comic creators can say theyve worked on series starring such iconic characters as batman, spiderman, and wonder woman.
I read this book immediately after reading the first in the series the road to. Born and raised in brooklyn, new york, eisner award winner j. He is perhaps best known for the intensely personal visions of moonshadow and brooklyn dreams, as well as with cowriter keith giffen the superhero comedy of justice league. The books concern a modernday girl who discovers a. Crossgen, 2004 full color comic book jdv add to cart. When their publisher closed shop, disney bought the series over.
The notion of doing kidfriendly comics, at least for a mainstream audience, was looking more and more hopeless. Mike plooghas created art for a wide variety of comics, books, and movies. Jm dematteis is aflutter about new project with mike ploog in. John marc dematteis born december 15, 1953 is a comic book writer, usually credited under the name j. The puppet, the professor and the prophet was released in the united kingdom in 2007. Great format, going between the old original books, kates enchanted diary and the world of abadazad.
The last project he mentioned was abadazad, which started as a comic he could read with his daughter. He is perhaps best known for the intensely personal visions of moonshadow and brooklyn dreams, as well as with cowriter keith giffen the superhero comedy of justice league and hero squared. The road to inconceivable, june 2006 book 1 paperback. I wish everyone i havent seen in thirty years could come up with such a great concept. Dematteis and drawn by mike ploog, with color by nick bell. One of those very rare fantasy works that can enchant preteen kids and 40year old fanboys. There are a lot of people getting into comics as a steppingstone to film work. Six comics whose creators would bring them back via kickstarter. The first book in this series, the road to inconceivable, opens with kate trying to come to terms with the disappearance of her little brother, matty.
Comic books, comic books are an essential representation of twentiethcentury american popular culture. Dematteis lives in upstate new york with his family. Elder brother tells me that this series, which started as comic books, originated because the author wanted to do something that his young daughter could read. Dematteis and illustrator mike ploog are the creators of a.
Michael ploog while looking for her missing brother matt in the world of abadazad, kate needs all the help she can get, especially when she encounters the lanky man, a heartless individual who wants to steal. Hes currently in talks with disney to finish up the series in some way. He wanted lando calrissian to accept cody sunnchildes pacifist views but lucasfilm overruled him and had the ending. John marc dematteis is best known for writing the justice league international, the deaths of harry osborn and may parker who actually was an actress hired by norman osborn and kravens last hunt. The comic was inspired by the cat stevens song of the same name. Milne, susan cooper and all the great childrens literature that has nurtured my soul.
The abducted brother of 14yearold kate has been missing for five years. Dematteis has worked on all three, along with comics starring green lantern, justice league, and a rebooted version of the scooby doo gang. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Dematteis comes on board to help out regular writer dan didio. Entertainment weekly abadazad contains all the elements for a comic book classic. Abadazad is reborn as a high quality and beautifullyillustrated childrens book. M dematteis is a comic book writer famous for many things, including the classic kravens last hunt storyline that ran on all the spiderman titles of those days. Jm dematteis on the end of abadazad, new novel series cbr. This june hyperion books for children is publishing the first two volumes of abadazad, the superb fantasy series by j. Dematteis answers questions about katie, the lead character in his new book abadazad. Dematteiss 2009 graphic novel, the life and times of savior 28, was called one of the finest superhero stories of the decade by newsarama. Dematteiswas a professional musician and rock music journalist before entering the comic book field, where he worked on such flagship marvel and dc characters as superman, spiderman, batman, silver surfer, and the justice league. Dematteis, planetary brigade is a two issue miniseries with a series of artists on different chapters, including hero squared artist joe abraham, blue beetle artist cynthia martin, comic book legends eduardo barretto.
Dematteis, who also writes for television and film, lives with his family in upstate new york. But then she finds out that matt is trapped in the world of abadazad. One of the most creative, beautiful, and regrettable victims of the crossgen implosion was j. Dematteis talks cowriting phantom stranger with didio. A groundbreaking mix of fiction and fullcolour comic strip that follows a headstrong girls journey into the bizarre fictional world of abadazad to rescue her younger brother. In may of 2006, mike ploog and i were in washington, d. At the time i was fairly immersed in the marvel and dc comic book.
The nook book ebook of the i, vampire nook comic with zoom view by mark j. Sep 22, 2006 the new abadazad book series stays true to the original vision of the writerartist team, d. May 30, 2006 elder brother tells me that this series, which started as comic books, originated because he wanted to do something that young kate could read. Dematteis and ploog essentially started over and incorporated the work they had already done for crossgen into the new prose comic hybrid format. Going sane, august 2008 paperback the puppet, the professor, and the prophet, march 2007 abadazad book 3 hardcover abadazad. In 2008, dematteis became editorinchief of ardden entertainment, guiding the launch of a new flash gordon comic book series. M dematteis is a comic book writer famous for many things, including the classic kravens last hunt storyline. Kates narration and the comic parts of the book flow smoothly in and out of each other. Dematteis has been working in the comic business for nearly 30. When cody dimarco went to bed, his life was the same as it had always been. Years were passing and the comic book landscape was changing rapidly, skewing ever older. Jm dematteis is aflutter about new project with mike ploog. Image comics and desperado publishing are proud to reunite the creative team from the popular series abadazad in this original fantasy destined to become an instan.
Oct 12, 2015 i, vampire nook comic with zoom view by mark j. Barr has written in every one of the first four incarnations of star trek. Dematteis and illustrator mike ploog are the creators of a series of graphic novels called abadazad. The books concern a modernday girl who discovers a 19th century novel and the. The book, mostly illustrated by watercolors, goes back and forth between two plots. Dematteis, author of moonshadow, abadazad, and more. In the puppet, the professor and the prophet, kate teams up with more strange characters to continue her quest to rescue her brother matt from the evil lanky man. Dematteis is one of my favorite comic book writers, a man able to bring both humour and.
Dematteis got on the phone with us to explain how imaginalis has its roots in his previous childrens graphic novelbook series, abadazad, moving from comics to prose, how the magic of. Assisting mainly on dialogue, dematteis joins the book with. Still grieving five years after the mysterious disappearance of beloved little brother matt, she finds herself transported from brooklyn to the land of abadazad, the distinctly ozlike setting of a supposedly fictional. Abadazad was coowned by dematteis, ploog, and crossgen but in the stories the historical author is franklin o.
It began as a fantasy comic book series about a petulant teenage girl. Hes mean and heartless and he wants to steal childrens dreams. While he enjoys both types of writing, dematteis says, theres tremendous joy to be found playing in previouslyestablished fantasy universes, but nothing beats building new. Crossgen only managed to publish three issues of the abadazad comic book before folding, but disney acquired the property see disney steps into graphic novel fray and is now publishing it in. Abadazad is the mystical land in a fictional beloved series of centuryold childrens books. But the deeper i got into abadazad, the more i fell in love with it.
His most famous personal works include moonshadow and brooklyn dreams. Dematteiss earliest aspirations were to be a rock musician and comic book artist. Dematteis and mike cavallaro travel with impossible. Dematteis has also written creator owned works for marvels epic and dc comics vertigo. Dematteis was a professional musician and rock music journalist before entering the comic. Abadazad began life as a crossgen comic book before morphing into a threebook series published by disneys hyperion books for children. Six comics whose creators would bring them back via. Feb 12, 2011 i remember the first time i heard about abadazad. A tale is a fourissue comic book limited series first published by marvel comics under its epic imprint in 1988 and later rereleased by dc under its vertigo imprint in 1996. Abadazad began life as a crossgen comic book before morphing into a three book series published by disneys hyperion books for children. Expanded from a wellreceived comic into a hybrid textandgraphicnovel format, this first of a planned four episodes introduces sullenbutsensitive teen diarist kate jameson. Film is very much sequential and youve worked in both television and movies. While looking for her missing brother matt in the world of abadazad, kate needs all.
Abadazad 3 the puppet, the professor and the prophet. Dematteis on the end of abadazad, new novel series. Dematteis and mike ploog, abadazad was a victim of the crossgen collapse. Dematteis justice league, amazing spiderman and mike cavallaro the life and times of.