This Wednesday, there are two comics release parties in Portland:
From 6-8 pm, Floating World Comics is hosting Graham Annable, celebrating the release of his new Grickle book.

Then, jump on the MAX for a short ride to the Hollywood transit station, because from 8-10 pm, Things from Another World will have Jeff Parker and I will signing our just-released UNDERGROUND trade paperback. Buy a copy and I’ll draw a free sketch in it. More importantly, there will also be free beer and free food. Free sketches. Free beer. Free food. I expect to see all of Portland and half of Gresham.

Issue #5 of Underground- that’s the conclusion, the finale, the last act, the end- comes out this Wednesday!
I did a short interview about the book at Impulse Creations. Jeff Parker even jumps in to answer a question.

Comic Book Resources has a five page preview of Underground number four. It’s our most disturbing and uncomfortable issue so far. Honestly, this one had me squirming as I drew it. We should probably ask readers to sign a waiver before taking a look.

We’ve started seeing great reviews of the first four issues of Underground. (Preview copies of issue four, which hits stores December 16th, went out to critics a few weeks ago.)

“This is storytelling that grips you and envelops you in a world that is so completely realized and populated with characters so thoroughly fleshed out, it’s not an exaggeration to call it one of the year’s best offerings.”

Ain’t it Cool News

“Boy do Parker and Lieber deliver – it’s one of the most gripping pieces of action that I can recall recently, mostly in the way that they really make you feel the tightening of the cave around the characters – as their air gets tighter, you almost feel YOUR air getting tighter – there’s rarely a better compliment than noting that a comic book made you practically share the experience of the characters in the book, but that’s exactly the reaction I had in #4, which I found to be the strongest issue of the series yet.”

Comics Should Be Good.

I’m going to be a guest at Baltimore Comicon this weekend! Look for me in Artists’ Alley. I’ll be sitting near Jeff Parker, sketching and signing and dodging perfectly reasonable questions about recent movie releases. Catch me at an unguarded moment and as time permits, I’ll be happy to doodle you a free quick sketch of Wes or Seth from UNDERGROUND.

P R E S S   R E L E A S EBridge City Comics is proud to present
Underground #1 signing event and release party!
Bridge City Comics is proud to announce a special release party for Underground #1 on Wednesday, September 23 from 6pm – 8pm!

Underground #1 is written by Jeff Parker (Agents of Atlas, Interman), drawn by Steve Lieber (artist and co-creator of Whiteout, now a major motion picture adapted from the graphic novel) and colored by Ron Chan (Guy Ritchie’s Gamekeeper). All three are Portland locals and will be signing copies of Underground #1 (available for sale at Bridge City Comics) during this event!

In addition, original artwork from Underground #1 will be on display!

This event is open to the public and free to attend. Please come down and support our local comics talent!

Bridge City Comics is located at 3725 N. Mississippi Ave in North Portland. Please call 503-282-5484 or e-mail info@bridgecitycomics.com for more information.

About Underground
Park Ranger and avid caver Wesley Fischer is on a one-woman mission to stop Stillwater Cave from being turned into a tourist trap, but public opinion is not on her side. When locals begin blasting in the cave, Wes and a fellow ranger investigate – and a confrontation spirals into a deadly chase deep under the Kentucky mountains! http://www.undergroundthecomic.com

Time to put the weirdness behind me.

Jeff Parker and I talk Underground, moral ambiguity, trusting your reader, and limestone water eating away at your face. There’s a new interview up at Comic Book Resources.

And here are some of the reviews for the first issue. Underground arrives in stores September 23, but it looks like the buzz is getting started early. Thanks everyone!
The Comic Addiction | Hypergeek | Comic by Comic | Central Comic Zone | Phoning it in | Cin City 2000 | Comic Overload | Comic Book Revolution | Steven Grant | Inside Joke Theater | Augie De Blieck | Comic Related | Comixtreme | Scoop | Pop Culture Zoo | The Johnny Bacardi Show | Comics Worth Reading | Trusty Plinko Stick | Stumptown Trade Review | Comics Waiting Room | About.com

Artists Alley: FF-16, between Colleen Coover and Ron Randall. Come by and see if I’ve sold out of the Underground #1 ashcans yet.

Let’s face it, I’ll be pushing UNDERGROUND like a crazy man all week. No one will escape my mighty hype. The Elite Security steroid guy who screams at me every night at 7:00pm to get out now? He’s gonna go home thinking “A comic set in a cave? Sounds kinda cool.”

Just two panels this year:
Thu, July 23, 2pm – 3pm
A Darker Shade of Ink: Crime and Noir in Comics— Crime comics are back with a bang! Darwyn Cooke (Parker: The Hunter), Greg Rucka (Gotham Central), and Steve Lieber (Whiteout) join moderator/noted mystery and comics writer Max Allan Collins (The Road to Perdition) to talk about the new incarnations of crime and noir in comics. Room 5AB

Friday the 24th:
11:30-12:30 Comics Arts Conference Session #6: Can College Prepare Creators for Comics Careers?— Hope Larson (Chiggers), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Nick Langley (Rocket Llama), Jaque Nodell (Super Human Resources), Marko Head (Marko’s Corner), and Steve Lieber (Whiteout, Underground) discuss whether college education can really help people pursuing comics careers. Room 30AB

Now here’s a fine way to start the day: not one, but two great reviews of Jeff parker’s and my new comic from Image, Underground:

Great writing, strong character development, good art, and a story worth reading is always something that I am in the mood to check out and Underground delivers. For those that were on the fence or might have missed this one I suggest you give it a second thought and check this book out – it is worth your time and money.

Michael Smith, The Comic Addiction

 

It’s a good action story, the characters are either likable, interesting, or both, and the dialogue is real…The art is not only technically very, very good, it is well-suited to this setting and story. It’s easy to relate to the characters Lieber and Parker have created. I’m guessing that if you read the black and white preview you’ll want to buy the comic. And, once you buy issue #1 you’ll buy #2 — to find out what happens next.

Sigrid Ellis, Fantastic Fangirls