Message from JMS

[Jan]

This is pretty unusual for JMS, so I'm plaicing it here as well as in the General Discussions forum. If you've enjoyed JMS' work in the past, how about jumping on board and helping to ensure that Studio JMS and Joe's Comics get off to a good start?

If you’re someone who has followed my work over the years, then this note is for you. If you’ve been moved or touched or affected by Babylon 5, Changeling, Jeremiah, Midnight Nation, Silver Surfer Requiem, Superman Earth One or any of my other projects, or know someone who has, then this note is for you.

Last July, Studio JMS was founded as a safe haven for unfettered creativity, allowing us to launch projects that we believed in, spanning television, films, comics, web series and other mediums. In less than a year, we’ve had terrific success. Our first feature film, The Flickering Light, is slated to go into production in November, our first web graphic novel for MTV.com has finally gone into production, and we have some very exciting news about our first television series that will be announced next week.

Which brings me to Joe’s Comics, the imprint we’re publishing through Image. As a writer in the comics field, most of the time you’re working as a hired gun in someone else’s universe. Only rarely do you get the opportunity to create your own characters, your own stories, your own world. And while I enjoy working with the Big Two publishers, this is a joyous return to a world free of editorial mandates and corporate-driven events. A place where it’s just about the storytelling.

We’ve pulled out all the stops to mark the return of Joe’s Comics (which previously created Midnight Nation and Rising Stars), enlisting the talents of some of the best artists in the business: Ben Templesmith, Bill Sienkiewicz, Jae Lee, Tom Mandrake and others. With our release of Ten Grand, the first title from Joe’s Comics, we’re reaching out to retailers, taking risks with our storytelling, helping to pioneer the use of full-performance audio tracks alongside the published comic, and we have a trailer for issue one of Ten Grand that will go online shortly.

We want the launch of our first title to be something special, that can go toe-to-toe with the Big Two in the marketplace of free ideas. And that’s where you come in. That’s where you can make a profound difference.

Ten Grand goes on sale in May, but orders are being taken right now, today, with the window for orders closing at the end of this month. The bigger that debut, the more we can make Joe’s Comics a refuge for strong independent storytelling, and in time bring in other voices, other writers, to expand on that universe.

If you’re a comics fan, and miss books evocative of the Vertigo line, or even if you’ve never read a comic before...if you’re a Babylon 5 fan and you want to see us create a new universe...if you’ve read or watched or listened to any of the work I’ve been associated with and want to help us fight for a new creative venture free of outside interference...then give a call to your local comics shop (or pass this along to your comic-reading friends) to order Ten Grand from Joe’s Comics/Image Comics. The Diamond order code is MAR 130432. Give the first few issues a try. I think you’ll be pleased.

I’ve rarely called upon the Group Mind in this fashion, and only when genuinely important. This isn’t just about one issue of a comic, it’s about helping to establish Studio JMS and Joe’s Comics as a force empowered to create the kind of smart, challenging stories that fans of the genre want to read and see and hear. You can be a part of that process today, right now, by giving us the clout we need to elbow our way into the marketplace with a real mandate.

I invite you to come with us on this remarkable journey. It should be a pretty wild ride....

J. Michael Straczynski

A few days ago, after seeing some of the lettered pages for TEN GRAND I Posted online:

Why do I get the feeling you're gonna break our hearts a few times with this title, JMS?

...and he replied:

Experience...?

So it's probably safe to say that if you liked the emotional core of B5, you'll enjoy this first product of Studio JMS.

And a trailer, a taste of the audio drama of Issue #1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yPWLH3sW_o&feature=youtu.be

Jan

[Babel-17]

On JMS's page, http://www.jmsnews.com/, a colon is left out on the youtube link. It shows correctly but if you hover your mouse over it or click on it it comes up as "https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yPWLH3sW_o". Without the ":" after "https" the link won't work.

Nice comic, I might buy it.

[Jan]

On JMS's page, http://www.jmsnews.com/, a colon is left out on the youtube link. It shows correctly but if you hover your mouse over it or click on it it comes up as "https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yPWLH3sW_o". Without the ":" after "https" the link won't work.

Nice comic, I might buy it.

Fixed it. Thanks for pointing it out.

Jan

[JoeD80]

Did anyone sign up for that Studio JMS e-mail list? I haven't seen any of these notifications in my e-mail; I usually just see them on the Studio JMS twitter.

[Jan]

I've been wondering the same thing myself. I just posted a question on the StudioJMS FB page to ask about it. I suppose it could be that not enough people signed up to get it.

Jan