Comics

Ben Templesmith MIA And Off ‘Ten Grand’

Published

11 years ago

September 5, 2013

Ben Templesmith is known for his moody and kinetic artwork, which has helped to bring so many projects to life, including his most recent work with J. Michael Straczysnki on “Ten Grand”. Early this morning, the JMS facebook page issued this peculiar note, stating the Ben Templesmith has been completely MIA and as a result he will be replaced by CP Smith for the rest of the series. We’re just glad to know that Ben is doing okay, as the letter states below. Whatever he is going through, we wish him the very best.

The Letter:

We have a pair of announcements regarding Ten Grand….

As I’ve stated many times in the past, I’m a massive fan of Ben Templesmith’s work. He’s one of the truly unique voices working in comics today, and we’ve been blessed to have him on board for the launch of our flagship title.

When we reignited the Joe’s Comics imprint, we took a blood oath that our books would come out on time, no matter what. We owe no less than that to both the retailers and the readers. So each title launched with a buffer. As I write this, with issue two of Sidekick coming next week, Tom Mandrake is about to roll into the script for issue 4, and Gordon Purcell is finishing up issue two of Protectors Inc. which won’t officially debut until November, and all of Protectors is already written in its entirety. We lost a little time on all of the titles here and there, due to illness and other factors, but that’s what the buffers were for, so we continued pressing forward to keep the books coming out on time.

With Ten Grand, once the script went out to Ben, we would often hear nothing back, despite repeated requests for updates. Most recently, we gave Ben a full script on July 26th. It is now September 4th, and we have still not heard anything back from him, despite repeated emails asking where things were, nor have we gotten any pages. I even tweeted him on August 25th just to make sure he was okay, and though we still didn’t hear back from him, we did hear through others that he’s all right, which is the important thing.

From time to time, every artist and writer falls behind or runs into trouble with the work; I am not only marching in that parade, I am carrying a banner. But there still has to be some level of communication so that all parties can plan out publishing schedules and make adjustments where needed.

So on August 27th, I emailed Ben to say that if we didn’t hear something back by the end of that week, even just a text to say he was underwater, that we would have to find another artist. I wanted to give him every possible opportunity to come back and make this work. No reply. Finally, and with tremendous reluctance, I sent him a note on the 31st saying that we were moving on. Our obligation to our readers and the retailers has to come first.

To be clear: we are and remain big fans of Ben’s work, and wish him every best. His art was magnificent and a perfect fit for the storytelling. If we were doing a graphic novel we’d hire him again in a heartbeat.

So that’s the unfortunate news.

The good news…the great news, really…is that we’re pleased to announce that CP Smith has come onto the book as our regular artist. He is of the strongest and most dynamic voices in the field, and his most recent work on Wolverine Noir has been rightly hailed by reviewers as spectacular. His dynamic, visually compelling style is totally consistent with the Ten Grand universe, and we are lucky to have him on board. Quoting CP: “ I am honored and thrilled to be working with JM Straczynski on this ground breaking independent book. Expect Awesomeness.”

CP is diving in immediately to catch up and will move heaven and earth to bring the book back into a regular schedule as quickly as possible. For retailers who are taking orders now for the trade paperback of issues 1-6, we will ship that book as soon as we get all the pieces needed to make that happen.

Related Topics:Ben Templesmith Comics Industry CP Smith Straczysnki Ten Grand

Lonnie Nadler

2 Comments

Comics

‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

Published

2 weeks ago

April 18, 2024

Meagan Navarro

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.