Robert Venditti - Writer, Graphic Novels, Comics, and more.

X-O Manowar #1 in stores!

Robert Venditti — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:53:12 +0000

The first issue of my ongoing series is here at last, available in both brick-and-mortar comics shops and digitally at comiXology. I’ve been working on X-O Manowar for nearly a year, so it’s a great feeling to finally have it out in the world. I can’t thank the rest of the creative team enough. Cary Nord (pencils), Stefano Guadiano (inks), Moose Baumann (colors), and Dave Lanphear (letters) all put their hearts into their work, and it shows. And lest I forget, huge thanks are due to the crew at Valiant HQ, who beat the drum incessantly for the past four months to ensure the world would know of the book’s arrival.

A quick roundup of some reviews, interviews, and other news about the book:

MTV Geek (Review)

Ain’t It Cool News (Review)

IGN (Review)

Comic Book Resources (Interview. Spoilers ensue, so read the issue first.)

Only the Valiant (Podcast interview. Even more spoilers!)

7 Days Until X-O Manowar

Robert Venditti — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:36:44 +0000

Next Wednesday, May 2, will mark the release of X-O Manowar #1, my first ongoing monthly comic book series. Advance reviews are already popping up online, and—happily—there’s been a positive response:

Comic Book Resources

Multiversity Comics

Broken Frontier

I’ll be spending next week in New York, where Valiant has scheduled a series of events celebrating the relaunch of the Valiant Universe:

May 2, 6:00-7:00 p.m.: Midtown Comics (Fulton Street location)

May 4, 6:00-8:00 p.m.: Brave New Worlds (Philadelphia)

May 5 (Free Comic Book Day), 12:00-2:00 p.m.: Jim Hanley’s Universe (33rd Street location)

If you’re in the area, stop by!

The Summer of Valiant

Robert Venditti — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:41:18 +0000

It was almost two months ago that Valiant Entertainment announced their relaunch of X-O Manowar, written by me and with art by Cary Nord. Since then, there have been a slew of additional announcements, culminating with last week’s series of “Summer of Valiant” teaser images revealing the three remaining titles to be relaunched, as well as the creative teams who will be bringing them back. USA Today handled the Friday wrap-up, recapping the week’s announcements and compiling all of the teaser images and preview pages.

Interviewers have asked what drew me to the project, given that the majority of my previous work has been creator-owned. There are several reasons, but one of the biggest was the opportunity to work on a book that existed as part of a larger publishing universe. Writing can be a solitary endeavor by necessity, and I wanted to change things up a little. That isn’t to say I won’t continue to do creator-owned work—I have several of those projects in the pipeline, too—but I look forward to working with other writers as we plan the ways our individual books will impact the Valiant Universe as a whole.

The list of Valiant’s new writers is below. I’m humbled to be part of team that is so rich in talent and experience (click the links to learn more about each writer):

Joshua Dysart (writing Harbinger)

Duane Swierczynski (writing Bloodshot)

Fred Van Lente (writing Archer & Armstrong)

The Comics Reporter

Robert Venditti — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:45:03 +0000

Veteran comics journalist Tom Spurgeon recently posted an interview with me over at his website The Comics Reporter. It’s by far the most extensive text interview I’ve done to date, covering everything from my start in comics to my thoughts on the collaborative process to my reasons for writing The Homeland Directive. Tom is a thorough interviewer, and I appreciate his invitation to have me “sit down” with him. My career in comics began almost ten years ago, and my approach to writing has evolved considerably since then. If I’m fortunate enough to still be earning a living as a writer ten years from now, I’m sure it will have evolved further still. But this is probably as precise a snapshot of me as you’re likely to get at this moment in time.

X-O Manowar!

Robert Venditti — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:51:15 +0000

Associated Press breaks the news today that I’m teaming with artist Cary Nord to relaunch X-O Manowar for Valiant Entertainment. This will be my first ongoing monthly series, with the first issue arriving in stores May 2. I’ve been working in secret on the project since June—five issues are already written, and I’m currently plotting the story’s second major arc—and I’m having a great time with it. To learn more about what we have in store, check out this interview over at Comic Book Resources with me and editor Warren Simons. CBR has posted some of Cary’s amazing pages, too, which you definitely don’t want to miss.

Sneaky Peeking: Cover for The Sea of Monsters

Robert Venditti — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:24:30 +0000

Hyperion has released the cover for The Sea of Monsters, the second installment in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians graphic novel adaptations:

Written by me, and with art by Attila Futaki and colors by Tamás Gáspár, the book is slated for release in early 2013. Attila just finished penciling the scene where Percy and Annabeth encounter the Sirens, and he did an amazing job as usual. The Sirens didn’t make it onto the cover, but many of Greek mythology’s other iconic monsters did. Can you name them all?

A Very Good Year

Robert Venditti — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:12:31 +0000

The Homeland Directive ended the year on a high note, making it on to several lists highlighting the best comics and graphics novels of 2011, including USA Today, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Complex, and CNN. Thanks go out to everyone who thought to include the book among their selections. I’m truly honored.

There are more than a few things in store for 2012. I wrote 296 pages of comics last year, and not one of them has been published yet. So stay tuned for announcements about new stories set in the world of The Surrogates, the next two installments of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians graphic novel adaptations, and my first-ever ongoing monthly comic book series.

Happy New Year!

A Slew of Reviews

Robert Venditti — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:26:28 +0000

It’s been three months since The Homeland Directive arrived in stores, and it’s been the same span of time since I posted anything to this blog. What can I say? Launching a new book eats up a lot of time. Happily, it wasn’t all in vain, and there have been a number of positive things written about the book. If you haven’t read it yet, maybe one of these fine folks can convince you:

Boing Boing

IGN

School Library Journal

Page 45

Daily Blam!

Think Progress (interview)

Robot 6 (interview)

**Bonus! Rick Marshall at IFC.com thinks The Homeland Directive should be adapted into a film.

The Homeland Directive in Stores!

Robert Venditti — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:55:17 +0000

Today is the day my new graphic novel with Mike Huddleston arrives in comic book shops everywhere (and maybe regular bookstores, too—it’s hard to know what their shipping schedules are).

Helping us get the word out, the pop culture website PopMatters is doing more than its fair share of heavy lifting. It posted a glowing review of the book yesterday, and today it posted the first installment of a three-part interview with me. All told, this will be the longest interview I’ve ever done in print. Here’s hoping I don’t run out of intelligent things to say.

Robot 6 Review

Robert Venditti — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:14:14 +0000

Over at Comic Book Resources, Graeme McMillan from the Robot 6 blog has some high praise for The Homeland Directive and Mike Huddleston specifically. I know I speak from a position of bias, but I couldn’t agree more. In an email dated February 19, 2010, Mike asked if I was okay with the direction he was taking the art in. Here’s my response:

“It’s completely unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and in a good way. Sometimes I feel weird doing mainstream books for Top Shelf, but the way you’re handling the art makes it feel the way a mainstream book from Top Shelf should. It’s energetic, eclectic, experimental, but all still within the confines of what the story needs, so it doesn’t look out of place. So yeah, I’m happy.”

Here’s hoping the rest of the comics community agrees.