Whats up with Femme Noir?

[ratm1966]

Maybe I missed something a while back, but every time I go to see if Femme Noir has been updated, I get the same strip; the one that ends with the reporter in the hallway saying, "Who the..?"

Have Mills and Staton quit writing it, or maybe they have been on vacation for a few weeks?

Oh, and before anyone says I need to clean out my temporary internet files or hit refresh, I have done both on numerous occasions.

[Razorback]

Maybe it's one of those "DUNH! DUNH! DUNHHHH!!!" endings. /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

[Dave]

you are right, we haven't had a new strip in several weeks. I think this was a planned vacation or something, I think Mills came on here an said he was taking a few weeks off.

dave

[C_Mills]

Sorry I haven't been around for a while – and I'm even more sorry that FEMME NOIR hasn't.

It's been a rough few months for me. My day job had been slowly becoming more and more intolerable to me, and a few weeks ago, I quit. But before I finally took that step, I was suffering from considerable stress and physical illness caused by that stress. I suffered some pretty severe writer's block, brought on by anxiety over my job and the mental and physical exhaustion that accompanied it. On top of that, I was struggling to complete the GRAVEDIGGER one-shot crime comic book (drawn by Eisner Award-winning Batman Adventures artist Rick Burchett), which had to be delivered to the publisher (Rorschach Entertainment) at the beginning of June. (Both variant covers can be seen in this week's Mail Shoot – thanks, Ryall.)

On top of that, Joe Staton experienced a number of personal situations that required him to back-burner the FEMME NOIR strip, while he knocked out SCOOBY DOO pages for DC and attended to various family crises.

Ultimately, what I thought was going to be a three-week hiccup has turned into an indefinite hiatus, and I deeply apologize.

The good news is, things seem to be falling back into place now.

Since quitting my job, I'm emotionally and physically (if not fiscally) much healthier. I've completed the scripts for "Chambers of Horror" and delivered them to Joe. He expects to start churning them out again any day now. I've also completed half of the next continuity, "Beast of the City," and the 30+ page script for the first issue of the FEMME NOIR print miniseries, which we just signed the contracts on, and which should be out next year.

The FEMME NOIR series will be four issues, drawn by Joe and inked by South American artist Horacio Ottolini.

Additionally, Rick Burchett and I are doing a graphic novel for Moonstone, which should be out in 2005 or '06, and I'm pursuing other freelance writing assignments.

I apologize again for the long hiatus. "real life" kinda kicked our ass there for a while. But I'm optimistic that we'll be back on track in a month or so.

[ratm1966]

Wow! And to think I was upset at not getting my Femme Noir fix. Well, I sure do hope that all works out for the best and you guys get caught up on everything. I really am not much of an actual comic book reader anymore ****ducks to avoid all of the bricks thrown my way****, but I will be on the lookout for the print mini series of Femme Noir.

Oh yeah, and I will try to be more patient in waiting for an update to the online strip.

[C_Mills]

Hey, I'm just pleased to know that somebody missed us!

Thanks!

[Dave]

A Femme Noir Mini? That's great news! It's not too early to tell us who will be publishing it, is it?

[C_Mills]

The FEMME NOIR miniseries will be published by the same up-and-coming company that's releasing my GRAVEDIGGER one-shot: Rorschach Entertainment, out of Washington.

Their website is http://www.rorschachentertainment.com

It's tentatively scheduled for the middle of next year, and is planned to be a 4-issue, B&W series of stand-alone stories. Considering the constantly shifting nature of the comics market, however, we're keeping open the option of doing the four stories in a graphic novel format instead of seperate issues. It all depends on which we think will do better at the time.

The four stories are titled: "Blonde Justice," "Killer In Steel," "Dead Man's Hand," and "Concrete Jungle." The first script is completed, and I start work on the second next week /forums/images/icons/grin.gif .

[Dave]

excellent, you can count me in on this.

[C_Mills]

Here's a sneak at the cover of the second issue/story, "Killer In Steel":
http://www.supernaturalcrime.com/Art/FNCoverP.jpg

[Omaru]

That's just too cool for words.

[C_Mills]

Thanks.

The big metal guy is Vic Tobor, the Robot Mobster.

[Razorback]

That looks badass.

[RobinHoodDaffy]

What? Vic Tayback, Robot Mobster! Count me in!
http://www.grudge-match.com/Images/VicTayback.jpg

[C_Mills]

Until the new strips start up again, I'll try to drop by here every once in a while and give you guys some peeks at the upcoming NOIR stuff (like that Robot Mobster cover).

Here's a new character that'll be popping up in the miniseries, in the story "Concrete Jungle."

http://www.supernaturalcrime.com/Art/Mara.jpg

[ratm1966]

Ummmmm....yeah......She is a hotty, but don't you think you can make her skirt shorter? ha ha....just kidding.

[C_Mills]

Okay...

Femme Noir will be back here, shooting on the Shoot in the next couple of weeks. Both Joe and I seem to have worked our way through the various nasty real-life obstacles that had been plaguing us of late, and I'm feeling good about our recent progress. Keep your fingers crossed.

In other news, I've just re-launched my personal website, Atomic Pulp (http://www.atomicpulp.com), with my personal blog/journal, previews of upcoming comics projects, some of my old short fiction, and other cool stuff. Check it out.

And here's another of Joe's character sketches for the upcoming miniseries:

http://www.supernaturalcrime.com/Art/Mastiff.jpg

Patience, my friends... the long wait is nearly over...

[ratm1966]

Okay, not the "HOt Barbarian Babe", but pretty cool.

[C_Mills]

We're back. And while this week's episode may not be particularly nail-biting or pulse-pounding, it's leading to some pretty cool stuff over the next few weeks.

Thanks for your patience!

[RobinHoodDaffy]

Yea! Your back! Welcome, have a seat and stay a while.

[Razorback]

Welcome back!

[C_Mills]

Yeah, we were away too long. We'll try not to let it happen again.

[ratm1966]

Woooo hooooo! Welcome back. Not to hurt anyone else's feelings or anything, but this is the main strip I like to keep up with. I like the others, but I prefer a li'l mystery.

[C_Mills]

There's a new strip up today. Two weeks in a row... Wow, we must really be back!

Enjoy.

[ratm1966]

Woo hoo! I say, abandon all hope and enter.

[C_Mills]

Well, "Scoop" seems to be in the thick of it now, doesn't he?

Hope everyone's enjoying this adventure!

[ratm1966]

Yes, another good installment. It is getting curiouser and curiouser.