WHOA! Lots of stuff going on since my last update. I have too many darn blogs.

Anyway, my first graphic novel is coming from Desperado Publishing in July!

All the details on BLUE can be found at the BLUE blog:

http://bluecomics.blogspot.com

BLUE by Elizabeth Genco w/art by Sami Makkonen, coming July 2008 from Desperado Publishing. Available for pre-order in MAY 08 PREVIEWS (MAY083778):

A fresh, fantastic take on the bloodiest of classic fairy tales. When Blue’s ex-boyfriend appears on her doorstep, he says he wants to make things right. His true intentions are far more sinister. Blue’s shape-shifting powers can help her outrun him, but to survive, she must face him as herself.

There will be lots more over at the blog, and that’s where all updates will be, so go have a gander and add it to your blog/RSS reader thingamabobbies.

I’m not all that great at keeping up with announcements, am I? Oh well.

Let’s see… done and up and coming:

Leland handed off 120 pages to Simon & Schuster, the first of his two books for them. I don’t know if I’m allowed to reveal the title yet, so I won’t. But it’s cool!

I finished and handed in a story for the forthcoming Tori Amos anthology from Image. Not only is this a surreal, giddy honor for my inner fangirl (the impact of Tori’s music on my work and psyche can’t be understated, really), the story will be rendered by Carla Speed McNeil.

Oh yeah - and I got to do one of my favorite songs ever. Someone pinch me.

I also handed in a story for an as-yet-unannounced (I think) anthology for SMITH magazine. The artist is a bitchin’ talented newcomer whose work is just perfect for it. The story is a bit of a departure for me in that it’s 100% autobio, something I never would have done without being asked. It required me to dig deep into some very embarrassing writing from 17 some-odd years ago. And yet, I thought it would be a lark! Seriously!

Also, being 100% autobio, it has no shapeshifters in it - which, the way things have been going for yours truly, is a departure.

Also? I now have some serious respect for good autobio.

What else? I haven’t announced every ish of WEIRD TALES that has hit the stands, but the magazine is lookin’ great. Check out the blog and pick up some back issues. Current ish, 347, is out now. Next ish will have a grand 85th anniversary wrap-up, 85 WEIRDEST STORYTELLERS OF THE PAST 85 YEARS, which I’ll be working on. Not to be missed.

Lastly, that’s a new self-portrait from Leland up there, in case it wasn’t bleepin’ obvious. (Which it may not be!)

The Interstitial Arts Foundation’s next online salon will be all about The Chemistry Set, home of many wonderful comics (including mine — ahchachacha…)

First things first: What is the Interstitial Arts Foundation? From their mission statement:

“The IAF was founded by a group of literary, visual, musical, and performance artists for the purpose of creating and promoting Interstitial Art. What is Interstitial Art? It is art made in the interstices between genres and categories. It is art that flourishes in the borderlands between different disciplines, mediums, and cultures. It is art that crosses borders, made by artists who refuse to be constrained by category labels.”

What is an online salon? Just a fun term for an online discussion.

Here are the deets:

WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 8-Saturday, Dec. 15
WHERE: http://p081.ezboard.com/finterstitialartsfrm2.showMessage?topicID=323.topic
WHAT: Discuss The Chemistry Set – we call ‘em interstitial; do you?

The IAF is loaded with very cool, very talented folks, many of whom I’ve crossed paths with at cons, online or in my work with The Endicott Studio (lots of cross pollination there). If you’re a fan of genre fiction of any sort, there’s a fine chance that your favorite book was written by someone in IAF-land.

Anyway, good times. Personally, I’m tickled pink.

Anyone is welcome to join in the discussion, so drop by after the 8th.

Want to know more about interstitial art? Check out the IAF’s website (and the Wikipedia page is pretty good, too).

Leland has started posting Chapter 3 of Vulcan & Vishnu over on ACT-I-VATE. And I’ve just created new navigational pages to match!

There’s also a plain HTML page.

New to V&V? Catch up on previous chapters:

Remember, you can always get around using the sidebar to the left, too.

Lastly, a new installment of V&V will go live this week, most likely.

Nobody tells me anything. Here are more pix of ACT-I-VATEers, including one of Leland standing in front of the montage I was talking about a minute ago:

Click on thru to see the rest of them… there are some amazing pix of the rest of the creators. Then check out this post for yet even more, including my favorite pictures ever of two of Streetfables’ bestest friends, the husband& wife team Kevin Colden & Miss Lasko-Gross of RED fame.

Woo! Leland just posted the last of Vulcan & Vishnu Ch 2 over at ACT-I-VATE.

In honor of this stupendous occasion, I’ve updated the archive page so you guys can actually, oh, I don’t know, read it all in one place.

Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Catch a glorious V&V montage (complete with watercolor) live and in person at MoCCA’s ACT-I-VATE exhibit. Read about our adventures at the opening and get links to pictures here.

“Chapter 3 begins tonight!” - lp

“Cooling” is a short story I wrote last year about a girl arsonist gone awry by a hot, strapping water elemental. Illustrations by Leland:

Check out the rest of that masthead! Then read the stuff in the issue because it’s great.

Very, very proud of this one.

Endicott Studio’s Journal of Mythic Arts Summer 2007

All my stuff, this time. Lots to announce; I hate stuffing it all into one post like this but I’ve been somewhat lazy about updates. I’ll post reminders as things hit.

SCHEHERAZADE continues, with a new story and new art by my good pal Valerie Reupert. These pages look really good, so check ‘em out (each of these thumbnails links to the appropriate page):

….

Finnish artist Sami Makkonen recently finished up “Yes, Mother,” one of my standalone short stories. It was subsequently picked up by Joe Pruett at Desperado and will be in Negative Burn #13. Huzzah! It’ll also be serialized on Chemset shortly. Here’s a bit:

Do check it out, either in print or on the web. Sami’s art is simply amazing and nothing short of perfect for this. And I’m pretty happy with the writing, too.

Earlier in the year I wrote a short adaptation of Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN for editor Chazz DeMoss (Cryptic magazine, a bunch of other stuff) and artist Jason Ho (AGNES QUILL). Here’s a sample page from Jason (check out his Comicspace page for more):

Two more of my stories will be dropping soon, too. Jeff Zornow (you’ll remember him from WEIRD SISTER) and I do a bloody send-up of an obscure Detroit urban legend in Cryptic #5. “The Dog Lady” is one of what I hope will be my many homages to old skool short horror stories and combines my sensibilities with Jeff’s special blend of XXX-TREME splatter/gore. And Leland’s lettering!

I don’t think I mentioned the WEIRD TALES thing, either. I’ll be taking the From the Library interviews to WEIRD TALES, starting with their next issue (June/July, I believe). Don’t worry, there will still be plenty of interviews on Chemset (though there will be different subjects in each venue). First interview in WT will be with Jacqueline Carey. I’m working on a Mike Carey interview now.

Last, and probably the most exciting for me, my prose short piece, “Cooling,” will be in the next issue of the Endicott Studio’s Journal of Mythic Arts. This would be more than enough reason to flap my arms around and scream like Kermit, but even better, it’ll have watercolor illos by Leland and will share space with over-the-top-amazing YA authors like Will Shetterly and Holly Black.

So, I’ve been getting a lot of orders lately (yay! makes me wonder if we got written up somewhere or something) and our stock is very-slim-to-none on, well, some important stuff:

* PORTRAITS OF 22 KEYS is SOLD OUT
* PLATFORM 1-2 is SOLD OUT

Yes, the first two issues of PLATFORM are all gone and it’s unlikely that we’ll be printing more any time soon. Wow… it’s like the end of an era.

(”I’m getting old” note: July marks PLATFORM’s 5th anniversary… holy smokes.)

So, I’m going to update the pages to get rid of the order buttons, but I also wanted to let everyone know here.

Thanks for the continued support, everybody. It means the world.

Hey, everyone!

A deep and hearty thank you to everyone who has come on by and spread the V&V love over the past few weeks. We have been really floored with all the comments. Positive feedback is fuel for the creative heart, so thanks. The strip is pretty awesome, yeah?

In addition to the thank you, here are a couple of things we wanted to share:

First off, go go Gadget ACT-I-VATE! Them cats n’ kittens snagged some insanely great AP coverage that went live today. The whole piece just shines, but of course I get a special glow in my cockles reading Leland namechecked as a “veteran” and seeing his stuff in the gallery. And there’s a little nod to my own crowd of webcomics ruffians, the Chemistry Set. Do check it out.

The next bit ‘o news concerns one of our favorite people, artist and superpeach Rami Efal. Rami is another ACT-I-VATE member and worked with my pal Steven Goldman on STYX TAXI and sweet Lady above, do I ever hope to get lucky enough to work with him someday. Not only does he rock the sequentials back n’ forth, he’s an amazing painter, too. And now you can check ‘em out yourself! Rami says:

Through the past two years I have been drawing and paintings to local jazz and blues music spanning Tel Aviv, Tokyo and New York City. Starting March 15th through April 11th 2007, these paintings and drawings will be on display at the Park Slope Tea Lounge in Brooklyn. Come and enjoy a cup of tea or a glass of red wine and view the works. Artwork is for sale and 50% of proceeds will go to Children International in support of impoverished children and those affected by recent floods in central Asia.
A reception will be announced so stay tuned!

Tea Lounge Park Slope @ 837 Union Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues, Brooklyn, NY. Subway: R to Union Street; 2,3 to Grand Army Plaza