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JUNE 2016
Heyo, Ambassadors! Okay, maybe -- just MAYBE -- you’ll notice something different in this month’s issue. Number Seven. After six months of, let’s call it “test marketing.” These last six issues were a lot of work (which I hope you might recognize and appreciate), but we’ve learned and gleaned a lot from those issues. Some things we were doing right, things you liked, and things that, MEH, just weren’t landing. So this month we’re doing a first-semiannual REVAMP. And we’ll start the gauge once again. So what’s changing? First and foremost: MORE COMICS. That’s right -- we’re gonna feature more previews of upcoming titles, with a run of preview pages for spotlight titles long before they hit shelves. Second: we’re going to start giving you FREE COMIC STORIES on behalf of SEQUENTIALINK! 20-25 pages EVERY MONTH of original comic book stories, originally featured on Sequentialink.com, by topnotch creators like Francisco Ruiz Velasco, Caio Oliveira, Lucas Marangon, and many, many more! Let’s repeat that: FREE COMICS in a FREE COMIC eZINE! :) SO what are we losing? Well... The “Let’s Make a Comic” initiative, which produced THE LEVIATHAN’S DAUGHTER (wonderfully illustrated by Caio Oliveira), wasn’t generating a whole lot of feedback. There was an interesting story growing there, but not getting a lot of community interaction, so we’ll put that in retirement for now. We’re also going to take a one-month break from WHAT WE’RE DIGGIN’ ON, not because it wasn’t a cool section, but... well, frankly, we’re so busy this month that we haven’t had much time to watch, play, read, or listen to anything! It’ll be back next month, we promise! So dive into this NEW magazine, featuring a spotlight on the upcoming RE*PRO*DUCT by Austin Wilson and Logan Faerber, a first look at hybrid graphic novel/RPG HUGO BROYLER, and a showcase gallery by cover artist MATTEO DE LONGIS. We think it’s filled to the brim with too much awesome. Hard to believe this is still FREE. Mahalo!
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THIS ISSUE: pg 2..... WELCOME pg 4..... NEW AND NEXT MONTH!
LOVE: THE LION and WARSHIP JOLLY ROGER
pg 6..... NEW IN PREVIEWS!
Announcing RE*PRO*DUCT and HUGO BROYLER!
pg 7..... FEATURED INTERVIEW:
Author Austin Wilson on robot drama RE*PRO*DUCT
Including a 6-page preview!
pg 19... SHOWCASE: A look at the upcoming hybird graphic novel/RPG, HUGO BROYLER! pg 21... SQUINK PRESENTS: The start of monthly comic awesomeness from SEQUENTIALINK! pg 22... BATTLE GODS 2 (pages 1-11) by Francisco Ruiz Velasco pg 33... UNBOUND SAGA (“HyperCrisis”) by Mike Kennedy & Cliff Richards. Cover by Lenil Francis Yu! pg 43... ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: MATTEO DE LONGIS pg 54... WHAT’S IN THE BOX? COVER ART - “Ittogami Racing”, illustrated by Matteo De Lognis for HUGO BROYLER
“Van Der Waals” by Renato Guedes, colors by Lucas Marangon, for HUGO BROYLER
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IN STORES
THIS MONTH
LOVE: THE LION
by Frédéric Brrémaud and Federico Bertolucci A young lion wanders the Serengeti in search of a pride to call his own. But being alone, he is watched with cautious eyes by those families he encounters along the way, including a coalition of rival males in search of their own pride to conquer. So the nomad searches patiently, waiting for the opportunity to claim his territory and find a new family. But loneliness can breed ferocity… The third volume in the lavishly illustrated, award-winning series of wildlife graphic novels, each depicting a day in the life of different wild animals, told through the dramatic lens of Disney-esque storytelling, like a nature documentary in illustration. Written by Frédéric Brrémaud and illustrated by Federico Bertolucci. Get more details at www.magnetic-press.com/ love-the-lion
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IN STORES
NEXT MONTH
Warship Jolly Roger
by Miquel Montllo and Sylvain Runberg In a gritty, star-spanning future, where mankind has colonized planets throughout the galaxy, former Confederation Commander Jon T. Munro was serving a life sentence for a war crime he was forced to commit. When a prison break runs amok, however, he seizes the opportunity to escape with a ragtag team of cons to form a small crew of pirates with one goal in mind: vengeful justice. And the first step in their plan is to steal the battle cruiser he once commanded, a state-of-the-art warship they call “The Jolly Roger”. BOOK ONE: NO TURNING BACK contains the first two chapters in this visually stunning scifi adventure, with breathtaking artwork by series creator Miquel Montllo and written by Sylvain Runberg (Millennium), this epic tale of space pirates and political intrigue combines the emotional depth and excitement of sci-fi favorites such as “Battlestar Galactica” and “Starship Troopers”, with a visual style that leaps off the page like an animated feature film. Get more details at http://www.magnetic-press.com/warship-jolly-roger/
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NEW IN PREVIEWS!
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AUSTIN WILSON writes prose and comics, and has co-hosted the Hideous Energy comic book podcast with David C. Hopkins for over five years. It is most definitely not safe for work. His short story ‘THINMANLITTLEBIRD’ was included in the ‘Mythic Indy’ anthology, and his short comic ‘ROTH’ was included in the sci-fi anthology ‘Fearless Future’, edited by Marvel’s Chris Robinson. He worships Ray Bradbury and Nora Ephron. And this August, Magnetic Press will release his first full-length graphic novel RE*PRO*DUCT VOLUME ONE: SELF-APPLIED, a tale about life in a world co-populated by robots, illustrated by LOGAN FAERBER. Part SLACKER, part BLADE RUNNER, it’s a slice of Philip K Dick existentialism viewed through a Richard Linklater-style lens of humanity. And that’s where Austin loves to play. HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR DAYS, AND HOW DOES WRITING FIT INTO YOUR DAILY PROFESSIONAL LIFE? I currently work at an animal hospital as an administrator, which means I order medications, vaccines, and food, but I also get to carry puppies and kittens around. It’s emotionally soothing and worth the struggle of cleaning up messes. I fit writing into my days whenever/ however I can. It’s not always easy, or successful. I’ve been writing since I was a kid, so it’s an old habit, one I’ll never abandon. June 2016 - page 7
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YOU’VE WRITTEN A NUMBER OF SHORT STORIES AND COMIC SHORTS. IS RE*PRO*DUCT YOUR FIRST FULL-LENGTH GRAPHIC NOVEL? It’s my first published! I’ve written two other full-length graphic novels, one about a family’s struggle to navigate a single night and all the emotional roadblocks they find (some random, some placed by their own hands), and another revolving around hacking personal finances. I’m toward the beginning of another, but it’s too early in the process to mention too much. YOUR STORIES TEND TO CENTER ON A SKEWED FUTURE, WHERE THINGS TEND TO BE RECOGNIZABLY CONTEMPORARY EXCEPT FOR ONE BIG OBVIOUS EXCEPTION THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING. HOW DO YOU USE THIS TO EXPLORE QUESTIONS IN YOUR WRITING? If I’m working on a story set in a futuristic world, especially one with new technology or an aspect of our culture that has been altered, the most important question I ask over and over is “Why?” That usually helps me get started on figuring out how things may be. There were more than a few aspects of the world (ours) I forgot when building the fictional version containing robots walking around and being all emotional. I was lucky though, because story beats happened, either in plotting or re-writes, where I saw a glaring omission. I’m sure there are plenty left though. HOW DID RE*PRO*DUCT COME ALONG? WHAT WAS THE IDEA OR INSPIRATION? It actually came along thanks to an idea that is hinted at in SELF-APPLIED, small pieces here and there. I came up with an idea of the first robots ever, the development of their intelligence, and what that would mean, but rather than focusing on how it may affect all of humanity I looked at how it would impact a single person. It led to a lot of different story possibilities. And that first story is on its way at some point!
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HOW DID LOGAN FAERBER COME TO THE PROJECT? I wrote a short 16 page script, which would form the majority of the story’s first part. After getting it to a place I was happy with I went looking for artists. This was a tad before the internet turned into the collaboration machine it is now, and heck, even that’s different from what it was like back then (I wrote those initial pages sometime around 2009 maybe?). I saw his art on Facebook after he’d clicked “Like” on Becky Cloonan’s page, and was instantly in love with his style. I sent him a message and asked if he’d like to do a short comic. He said yes, and we went from there! WHAT WAS COLLABORATION LIKE WITH LOGAN? DID YOU FIND YOUR IDEAS EVOLVING ONCE THEY STARTED TAKING VISUAL SHAPE? Even trying your hardest to visualize a page, it becomes far easier to grasp the limits of space and size a comic is truly working with once you can actually see it. I knew Logan was capable of populating a page, in metaphorical and literal senses, so I would leave notes about who we may see in the background, or what, and his skills at bringing that to life are amazing. The short backup illustrated by Seth T. Hahne features a background character Logan put into a scene of the main story, one I loved immediately, and practically had the story land directly on my head due to that character’s design. I also worked closely with letterer/designer David C. Hopkins to help create another important aspect of the visual narrative, the lettering and pacing of the literal reading process. I learned so much from everyone I was lucky to work with here, for sure. June 2016 - page 9
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WHAT MORE DO YOU SEE IN STORE FOR THE CHARACTERS? So much! The other short backup illustrated by Sabrina Scott shows some other nuances of the reality I envisioned when robots are being created using human “building blocks,� one I plan on exploring much further. I have part two of Self-Applied written, along with the outlines for two other graphic novels following Carb into plenty of new problems. I have stories outlined (and some written) for every major character seen in Self-Applied, along with some who only appear briefly, like Sheena, the club-goer Carb and his friends come across in the beginning of the book. I wanted to bring a world to life where there is no uprising, where the status quo continues, and we all have to deal with what that means.
Read the first 8 pages of the upcoming graphic novel on the following pages!
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PREVIEW PAGES - RE*PRO*DUCT, by Austin Wilson, Logan Faerber, and David Hopkins
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THIS FALL, CYBER-PULP SCI-FI ERUPTS IN THE HYBRID GRAPHIC NOVEL / TABLETOP RPG
HUGO BROYLER,
BRINGING YOU A WORLD OF HIGH-SPEED RACING, SPLIT-SECOND HACKING, AND ENOUGH CONSPIRATORIAL VOICES TO DRIVE A HARD MAN CRAZY... June 2016 - page 19
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HUGO BROYLER was a top racer in the World Static Velocity Levitation circuit when a tragic accident on the track left him injured mere feet from the finish line. Returning to the curcuit two years later, he finds a lot has changed, with new obstacles to overcome beyond standard league rivalry: shady corporate sponsors, criminal debt collectors, mysterious implant hackers, and a voice in his head claiming to be the ghost of his dead rival... This action-packed, 84-page future-noir adventure set the tone for a world covered in smart-tarmac, where high-speed, selfcontrolled vehicles are commonplace. This all-too-forseeable future opens the door to a world of cyber-crime and conspiracy that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Reading about the excitment is only half of this book, however. Flip the volume upside down to find another 60 pages of rules and source material to role-play your own tabletop version of SVL racing. Roll your own racer stats, design your own car, join a corporate team, layout a track, and compete in a highspeed race against friends and NPCs to gain circuit status. Featuring illustrations by top-talent such as RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE (American Vampire), BENGAL (Batgirl), MATTEO DE LONGIS (VOX), LEANDRO FERNANDEZ (Punisher), MARCELO FRUSIN (Hellblazer), RENATO GUEDES (Wolverine), ZACH HOWARD (Wild Blue Yonder), DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON (Space Mullet), and FRANCISCO RUIZ VELASCO (Pacific Rim)!
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SEQUENTIALINK.COM was a website created by a group of passionate writers and artists, to showcase stories that just wanted to be told, worrying more about completion than publication. With dozens upon dozens of completed pages on file, it only made sense to start sharing them with the world. Workshop pieces, done for the enjoyment as much as anything else. After over 1000 pages of content produced. we decided to start collecting them here, each month, in the Ambassadors Club magazine. Starting with this very issue, we’ll include chapters from two different featured stories by creators like FRANCISCO RUIZ VELASCO, CAIO OLIVEIRA, CLIFF RICHARDS, DENIS MEDRI, LUCAS MARANGON, and our own MIKE KENNEDY. It’s still up and running, if you wanna check out more FREE comics! This month we kick off BATTLE GODS 2, by Francisco Ruiz Velasco, a pseudo-sequel to his original Dark Horse series BATTLE GODS, as well as a short story fro UNBOUND SAGA, chronicling the hijinx of 4th-wall breaking comic anti-hero Rick Ajax, based on the video game brawler of the same name (available for Playstation and XBox on PSN and XBLA respectively)!
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HOT ARTIST SPOTLIGHT:
MATTEO DE LONGIS
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Italian artist MATTEO DE LONGIS may have been one of Marvel’s “Young Guns”, identified as an ‘up & coming artistic talent’ in 2010, but it wasn’t until he released his eyepopping, jaw-dropping art album VOX last year that the world truly realized what an absolute rock star he really is. With his unique blend of hard and soft elements and materials, often fused in a beautiful biorganic blend of flesh and metal, rendered in lush, detailed lines and tones, he has developed a style unlike anyone else in the business.
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HOW DID YOU START DRAWING? DID YOU DRAW AS A CHILD, OR DID IT COME LATER? I started drawing when I was child, it has always been a kind of game to me. I never kept my drawings because they only had meaning while I was playing. My first approach to comics started with manga because they seemed to be perfect to keep playing: creating wonderful things and then destroying everything. After my “artistic” schooling, I understood that becoming a comic artist and an illustrator was what I wanted to do in my life so I made it come true and... Here I am!
TITLE PAGE :
Cover image “ORFANI: NUOVO MONDO vol.2” Recchioni / Mammuccari / Sergio Bonelli Editore
PREVIOUS PAGE:
Album Cover “Muroc” by Airacomet (available on iTunes!)
THIS PAGE:
Harpy sketch (personal)
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WHAT INFLUENCED YOU TO DRAW? Anime and Manga, first of all. I started learning that style and only later became influenced by western comics.
So I can surely say names like Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Katsuya Terada, Range Murata, and also Ashley Wood, James Jean and many others... Recently I’ve started to get inspired by many things besides comics, such as design, fashion, photograpy or movies. WHAT PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND PROJECTS HAVE YOU WORKED ON? Many know me as an illustrator because of VOX, because I have done less “pure” comic art! I’ve done a lot as a cover artist, graphic designer, and designer for books and merchandise. In the past I have been a designer for stationary products, maybe not so exciting but it has been really useful to learn how things are made, to overstep the “limit” of a drawn page to consider a book as a “thing”, a designed product that can express beauty and personality itself,
I mean, not only in the inside. Design is ALWAYS essential to me. THIS PAGE: “Low” (Personal) NEXT PAGE: Japan Sun Festival 2015 Poster FOLLOWING PAGES: (bottom) “3-2-1 Fast Comics Vol.2 Cover” Timberwolf Entertainment (right) Cover image “ORFANI: NUOVO MONDO vol.3” Recchioni / Mammuccari / Sergio Bonelli Editore
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I’ve also made vinyl toys which has been really amusing. Right now I’m working as a concept artist for movies and games.
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WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND VOX? HOW DID THIS PROJECT COME TO LIFE? Before telling stories, I felt the need to create this artbook first. VOX is most of all a concept album, my artistic declaration to show my visual world. It is full of my inspirations, my interests: rock music, design, flight and
WWII planes, outer space and sci-fi, symbolism, birds, and obviously girls! Sexy and tough girls. Everything that will come later will be born from a seed planted in VOX. Also in this artbook, my rule [about design] is valid, of course: its shape has meaning with the subject itself.
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WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW? + WHAT WILL YOU WORK ON NEXT (OR SOON)? Right now I’m working on the last covers of the amazing sci fi comic ORFANI, here in Italy. I’m also working on a boardgame I’ve invented with a friend so we are making the prototype. The most important step is the next one that i’m going to make: comics. I have skirted around for year but now the time has come. It will be surely tough because i want to be a “complete” artist, writing and drawing everything by myself. I’ll put all my efforts in this, doing my best to make it come true. I hope to tell you more really soon!
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(bottom left) “Sebastiana” (Personal) (bottom right) “Tribute to Shadow Planet” by Blasteroid Bros. Radium (Personal)
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(right) Cover image “ORFANI: NUOVO MONDO vol.8” Recchioni / Mammuccari / Sergio Bonelli Editore
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(top) “Saturn” (Personal) (bottom left) “Ulo” (Personal) (bottom right) “Oniba” Tribute to Oniba Sword of the Demon, Pantalena, Aspen Comics
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(right) Cover image “ORFANI: NUOVO MONDO vol.5” Recchioni / Mammuccari / Sergio Bonelli Editore
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WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO SOME DAY? After making comics, everything can happen. If I won’t explode like a supernova in the sky, I could make comics for the rest of my life! But I’m still interested in so many different things, to explore all the opportunities that could come after this project. Music, for example, will always be part of my artwork... I’d like to create some merchandise derived by my designs, you know, model kits, figures, clothing... Right now the only thing that I have to do is to keep myself down to earth and build this new, awesome world step by step.
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ARE YOU A REGISTERED AMBASSADOR YET? Subscribing members get an assortment of quality Magnetic Press cargo shipped to their doorstep every month, not the least of which is a new book!
Plus, new members receive the previous month’s BOOKMARKS, POSTERS, AND MYSTERY ITEMS included in their welcome shipment, in addition to the that month’s load of new stuff! That’s nearly twice the cargo when you first sign up!
If you’re not already on board, head to our website and join TODAY!
JOIN TODAY! www.MAGNETIC-PRESS.com/ambassadorsclub
Every member at a physical shipping tier of $5 or more gets a plastic Ambassadors Club card with unique member ID# good for discounts and referral bonuses!
JUST LOOK AT WHAT MEMBERS GOT THIS MONTH!
This month’s members got a copy of WARSHIP JOLLY ROGER... a month before stores! Plus a sweet Jolly Roger/Vox 2-sided poster and gold-stamped Meka bookmark! This month’s sweet Tee features NAJA by Bengal! Well-rounded and above Ambassadors also got a sweet pair of Magnetic Press mirrorshades! Signature and Connoseurs also received a Static Velocity Racing League cap from HUGO BROYLER! Connoseur Set members also received a limited edition 12x12” VOX lithograph by Matteo de Longis!
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Also shown: the Official Envoy shirt earned FREE when you reach 200 points! www.MAGNETIC-PRESS.com