Michael Abels is the composer behind Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us, who recently scored Bad Education, an HBO film directed by Cory Finley (Thoroughbreds) and stars Hugh Jackman as the head of a proud education system that’s built on a swamp of corruption.
Bad Education director Cory Finley grounds the narrative in the true story of a corrupt school administration. The realism is thanks to writer Mike Makowsky who experienced these events unfold in real-time as a middle-schooler. Jackman is Dr. Frank A. Tassone, the head administrator of the Roslyn school system, whose veneer shimmers with that of a forthright educator. Allison Janney plays Pamela “Pam” Gluckin, who handles the finances for the proud and successful school system. However, beneath it all, just under the surface of hard-working educators on the verge of becoming the best around, is a cauldron of chaos.
PopAxiom discussed a life-long journey in making music music, working with Jordan Peele, and the contrasting styles of Bad Education with composer Michael Abels.
See It Through
Michael began creating music at an early age. “I was always interested in music. When I was eight, I was trying to write music. I figured out the first part, and then I couldn’t figure out what came after that. When I was 13, I managed to stick with a piece and finish it.”
Michael explains a bit about the process of becoming a creative professional. “Anyone can have an idea, but then what happens? What are you doing to do with it and where are you going to go? It’s like telling a story.”
For Michael, these stories should have a specific impact. “I’ve always thought of music as taking a listener on a journey; it’s just that they get to decide what that journey means to them because it’s not written in words.” Michael continues, “Any good piece of music takes you on a journey and being able to figure out all the different stages of that is important to being a good story.”
There was never a question about becoming a musician and composer. “I always knew. I love a good puzzle. To me, writing music is this really great puzzle where you get to decide how the pieces fit together.”
Michael further explains, “The bonus of that is you fit them together, and it touches people’s emotions in a way that no other art does. So, on the one hand, it’s very ‘left brain,’ but where it touches you is very ‘right-brain’ in that way that it makes you feel things that can’t be put into words.”
It was a matter of that first burst of confidence that propelled Michael into the career he enjoys today. “Once I figured out that I could see it through I said ‘this is what I gotta do.’”
Road To Film Scoring
After high school and college, Michael spent time, “… scoring student films … TV and radio commercials, but I didn’t really get any traction in the industry.”
Instead, Michael found another area eager to showcase his talents. “I found more receptive ears in the concert music world, so I wrote a lot of concert music and was teaching music.”
Michael’s big break into cinematic scoring came from Get Out and Us director Jordan Peel. “… I got my first real entry into full feature film scoring.”
How exactly did Peele come to hear Michael’s work? “He heard a concert piece of mine on YouTube.” Michael shares his thoughts about working with the acclaimed filmmaker. “He’s seen every horror and suspense film ever made. Also, he knows their scores and understands why the scores work in the film. Peele is a big fan of composers like Penderecki … 20th-century concert composers. I think he heard in my work that I was familiar with that sonic palette and those particular colors would match the world he was trying to create in his films.”
About Bad Education
Like Peele’s films, Bad Education is an expertly crafted story. The film’s narrative is patient and poignant, and the music often serves as compelling interludes between dramatic sequences that consistently raise the stakes. “On Bad Education, I got to use a much more traditional, old-school classical sound to depict the school and it’s stuffy, high achievement at any cost world.”
The intro to Bad Education features Hugh Jackman’s Frank receiving adoration for his work as an administrator. “Cory wanted to make sure when we meet Frank on stage, and the people are cheering, he wanted viewers to have that suspicion that this is not where we’re going to end.”
Bad Education is like watching a car wreck in slow motion. “He’s got this great sense of human morality versus what’s socially acceptable. It’s kind of where Cory lives. It’s always the edge of dark comedy and tragedy.”
Michael shares more about the goal of Bad Education’s score. “Cory loves for the music to really play. He loves music to be central in a scene, but he knows where there needs to be silence. There aren’t many cues in Bad Education compared to other kinds of films, but each one is really crucial to the scene that it’s in.”
Indeed, the music is powerful when present, playing over static images that become like well-dressed ghosts and harbingers of the chaos to come in the film. “Cory loves doing sequences like that.”
Contrasting Styles
In one sequence that’s a bit more traditional, Michael uses slowly unraveling minimalism as we follow Rachel, the high school reporter through the archives room. She ultimately uncovered the story in real life. “It’s very simple. In some ways, it’s the opposite of classical music or concert music, which can be very full-blown.”
Michael explains the use of contrasting styles to elevate the narrative. “The idea of that music, it’s the beginning of the unraveling of Frank’s elaborate world. It starts with a drip. We wanted the audience to know that ‘this is the thing,’ but where’s it going? Little drips that add up and before long it’s a puddle and then the dam breaks. That’s where that idea came from.”
The juxtaposition between styles is present through Bad Education. The music is powerful, bombastic but also pared down and simplistic. “Those different styles of music are separate [in the film]. Until there’s one cue near the end, Frank’s addressing the mob of parents in the auditorium, that’s the only cue where both styles of music meet. The dam is broken.”
Michael admits his influences are many and in a constant state of flux. But he mentions two key composers who are part of his creative DNA. “Count Basie has to be one of them and Prokofiev.”
What remake would Michael love to do if it ever happened? “Vertigo.”
Bad Education comes out on HBO on April 25th, 2020. So, what’s next for Michael? “I’ve got a film I did for Netflix coming up on May 1st. It’s called All Day And A Night. It stars Ashton Sanders (Moonlight), and it’s directed and written by Joe Robert Cole, who co-wrote Black Panther.”
Is Bad Education on your watch-list?
Thanks to Michael Abels and Costa Communications
for making this interview possible.
Want to read more interviews like this? CLICK HERE.
If there’s anyone who has the potential to go on bizarre comic adventures, it’s Superman. He’s an all-powerful hero that can travel to dimensions and planets beyond our imagination. This gives famous Scottish comic writer Grant Morrison the perfect hero for a story. In the early 2000s, DC wanted to create a new imprint called All-Star that would get to the core of the heroes we’ve grown to love. Grant Morrison was tapped to make one for the Man of Steel, and thus All-Star Superman was created. It has been 15 years since this series’ first issue was released, and many still find this tale today. Can it stand the test of time as one of the greatest stories for the Man of Steel?
**Some Spoilers Below**
Story:
During an experiment involving orbiting the sun, Dr. Leo Quintum and his team are attacked by Parasite at the behest of Lex Luthor. Superman flies in and saves the scientists, but at a cost. When they return to Earth, Quintum analyzes the Man of Steel and learns his cells have been overcharged. Superman has become more powerful than ever, but he only has a year to live. With that in mind, Clark begins to settle his affairs to prepare for a world without Superman. His first thing on the To-Do list is to reveal his secret identity to Lois Lane.
This story stands out for a variety of different reasons for different readers. Some might find the oddball scenarios appealing, such as Clark’s escape from the Bizarro world. Some might like the action sequences between Superman and Lex Luthor epic. This reviewer, however, knows the reason this story stands out is the main character himself. In this story, we don’t see him as just Kal-El of Krypton, protector of Earth, or as Clark Kent, the superhero of Metropolis. We see him as a cross between the two. We get the humanity of Clark Kent, who has accepted his imminent death, as he puts his affairs in order while still facing the out of this world threats as Kal-El.
In most stories with this plot, the hero would go through hoops to save their lives. Here, Superman is at peace with all of this as he ties up loose ends in his life. For a comic that had invasions, tests of strength and wit, as well as a time travel plot at one point, it felt strangely relaxing. The action was epic, with iconic scenes of Superman facing off against giant monsters and twisted Kryptonians, but that was nothing compared to the slow moments. Seeing Clark prepare for the end is heartbreaking yet inspirational.
Art:
The illustrator for this story, Frank Quitely, is a frequent collaborator with Morrison. His unique style usually compliments the bizarre tales that Morrison comes up with. The problem is that it works only part of the time. Frank’s design on how to make Clark and Superman two different people worked well. That said, style doesn’t exactly translate well to the more common aspects. The people who work at the Daily Planet have a strange, clay-like texture to them. It’s not terrible in any aspect, but it’s just not this reviewer’s cup of tea.
Conclusion:
All-Star Superman is the perfect ending to the Man of Steel. If there were a day where Superman comics would need to stop publishing, this tale would be the final story. It gives us the story of the Man of Steel as both a hero and a man. We see him face off against the greatest threats while coming to terms with his mortality. It’s a tale that can inspire those to try to become greater than one’s self. We can all be the good man that Clark Kent is.
Comics have historically presented a complex relationship between superheroes and their costumes. The Amazing Spider-Man #50 famously sees Peter Park dump his costume in a trash can, leaving his life of crime-fighting symbolically behind. In Watchmen, Nite Owl II apparently can’t maintain an erection unless he’s in his cape and cowl. Costumes clearly have a range of influence on their owners. They can be a burden or a drug. Writer James Robinson and artist Paul Smith center their graphic novelJSA: The Golden Age around this influence.
The story takes place at the end of World War II. Various things kept the capes out of the war, things that were beyond their control. Their costumes, which once symbolized heroism, became the things that barred them from entering the fray. At the point that we join this story, the war has ended and the heroes have gone into retirement. Maybe out of embarrassment. Some went mad. And so JSA: The Golden Age is a graphic novel with very few costumes. Except in stock footage, where we learn of the “Golden Age” that makes the characters’ present-day feel so inadequate.
A Better Self
Smith and Ory, don’t shy away from depicting the costumes vividly and romanticly when they’re seen. In old photographs and flashbacks, the heroes look downright majestic. But their present-day counterparts are bedraggled. It hurts to call them pathetic, but more because you know that’s the perfect word for them. Once the flashbacks and catch-ups are over, the costumes come off and for most of the comic, they stay off. The comic itself almost seems to have an aversion to superhero costumes. Flipping through it, you’d be hard-pressed to know it was a superhero comic at all.
Our narrator, Johnny Chambers is the secret identity of the speedster known as Johnny Quick. But we mostly know him in his civilian garb. He spends weeks working on the documentary which frames our story, a documentary called “The Golden Age.” His superhero alter ego could splice the whole thing together in minutes. But becoming Johnny Quick again means putting on the red spandex, and that’s something Chambers refuses to do. His costume, to him, represents his best self. So if he’s not his best, he doesn’t deserve the ol’ red and yellow.
Trauma
Other characters, like Starman, didn’t willfully give up their superhero careers. Instead, the pressures of war and his part in it, drove him mad. Ted Knight, Starman, is a shadow of his former self. He can barely hold conversations with other characters before losing his concentration. He has become trapped by the past, quite literally. His costume represents his own inadequacies and the things that brought him to an insane asylum. The Starman costume is a physical manifestation of his mistakes.
Paul Kirk, the Manhunter, has a similar trajectory in the graphic novel. He is haunted by dreams. Nightmares in which he wears his costume, like a claustrophobic skin that keeps him trapped. We learn later that Kirk’s nightmares are a result of horrors he witnessed while fighting crime. And so his costume has become a kind of trigger for his paranoia and fear. It was beneath that mask that he saw things he can never unsee. Robinson hides secrets of the past in Kirk’s nightmares, adding to the legitimacy of Kirk’s trauma.
Addiction
One very notable exception to the costume ban is Rex Tyler, the hero known as Hourman. Rex stands out like a sore thumb. While everyone else hung their cape up a long time ago, he’s still swinging his fists in a bright yellow cape. It’s not that he hasn’t gotten the memo. It’s that he is addicted to the lifestyle and refuses to give it up.
Rex gets his powers from a drug called Miraclo. He becomes super-powered for an hour after taking a Miraclo pill. His addiction to the drug and his addiction to the adrenaline of the lifestyle is immediately concerning. We get the sense that he doesn’t take the dangers seriously. Through Rex, Robinson and Smith put those dangers in perspective. The costumes these heroes wear are given an air of lunacy.
Naivety
Green Lantern, Alan Scott, is perhaps the most grounded character in the story. He seems to have adjusted the best to the new times they live in. Yet the new world Alan lives in is a world that is vastly more complicated. Robinson discusses the Red Scare through Alan’s character. As the leader of a newspaper, Alan is asked to throw his writers under the bus to spare himself scrutiny.
Rooted in the present, unlike many of the other heroes, Alan fights the good fight in his civilian persona. He sees the time that he flew around, fighting crime in a purple mask, not as a simpler time, but as a more naive time. A time when the world seemed simple enough that you could punch it to make it right. With the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities breathing down his neck, he knows the world isn’t that simple. Nor has it ever been. He uncomfortably twiddles with the green ring on his finger. It’s both part of his costume and the source of his power. To him, it represents how simple-minded he once was.
Counterfeit
A common use of costumes in the superhero franchise is as a kind of award. When the heroes have passed their initial trials, their rites of passage, they earn the right to wear a costume. And so in The Golden Age, when ex-hero Dan Dunbar is taken in by Tex Thompson, the Americommando, and is given a new suit, something feels off. The cameras and the speeches before a fawning public, all adding to Thompson’s campaign for president, makes the transformation feel disingenuous.
The creative team removes the trials Dunbar must face to earn his new duds. Not only is the transformation mysterious, with hints of the sinister, but it feels entirely unearned. We immediately distrust the boy in the shiny new suit. More so, we distrust his puppeteer. When we’ve seen a hero struggle before getting their superhero identity, we trust them. If we don’t see that, we’re suspicious.
A New Beginning
Finally, The Golden Age ends with an ushering in of the new. With the Silver Age, these sparkling new costumes speak of a new beginning. Maybe these heroes won’t make the same mistakes, maybe they will. Either way, it’s a fresh start. As the series comes to a close, the heroes tip their hats to those who are taking their place. They’re relieved of their watch. The torch passes on.
With the creative team’s ending to the graphic novel, the costumes which have at times represented failure, naivety, trauma, addiction or redemption, are given less weight. They’re lost in an influx of new threads. As new costumed heroes come into play, the Golden Age heroes are less worried about their roles. They are no longer the only ones with the responsibility; it is now a shared burden.
Costumes have historically carried symbolic weight in the superhero franchise. And in a graphic novel with few costumes to speak of, they carry more weight than ever. Robinson and Smith explore in JSA: The Golden Age why a hero’s costume casts such a large shadow. Ultimately, this theme has lived on because it resonates. We all suffer from the reputations we’ve created or the responsibilities we’ve taken on. Through JSA: The Golden Age, Robinson shows us why the Green Lantern can relate.
We had the pleasure of revisiting legendary writer Neil Gaiman’s work THE BOOKS OF MAGIC #1 recently, and we want to share some of its best features. After the comic book world had time to digest the unique story within, the landmark series set the bar for what a good comic could be throughout the nineties. And as fans know, few books came close to matching the originally and sheer breadth of Gaiman’s storytelling. This tale in particular weaves together elements of the traditional hero’s journey formula, but refashions it into something far greater.
Story
Timothy Hunter, the star of this story, isn’t your typical hero. In fact, one might hesitate to call him a hero at all. Readers are introduced to the 13-year-old on an abandoned London street, only to notice a group of men following him just seconds later. Things progress even faster and soon one of the strangers, Dr. Occult, asks him if he would like to enter the world of magic.
This is the place in most heroes’ journeys in which there comes a period of deliberation. And indeed there is for Tim. But unlike those popular tales of heroes coming from poor circumstances, Tim is relatable to the average reader in the sense that he has plenty to lose. He is a relatively well-off boy living a normal life. But when pressed, the teen thinks to himself, “If I could do that stuff they’d have to treat me different. That’s for certain. I wouldn’t have to take any crap from anybody. Not ever.”
In a masterful stroke of narrative brilliance, Gaiman’s hero forgoes all consideration of the dangers of magic, accepting Occult’s offer solely for self-centered purposes. And just like that, Tim’s reality is changed forever.
Tim (and readers) are whisked away into the great unknown in a moment of exhilarating fantasy made possible by a brilliant storyteller like Gaiman. Knowing little of the character, we are nonetheless drawn into the adventure with him through his uncanny relatability.
Artwork
John Bolton’s penciling, ink work, and coloring is the perfect visual match for Gaimain’s dark fantasy storytelling. The boundaries between Tim, Occult, and the other characters seem to blend in with their surroundings, representing the nebulous nature of the magical realm itself. Adding to this effect are the dark hues mixed with those that are unsettling bright. These panels are also covered with a grainy texture covering everything to complete the tone. What’s more, Todd Klein’s lettering fits in well with the illustrations; they’re strategically placed so as not to distract readers from the scenes’ grandeur.
Conclusion
THE BOOKS OF MAGIC #1 opened up a whole new world of magic. It added many new features to the DC/Vertigo landscape, and its consistently referenced as one of the greatest dark fantasy comics of all time.
What was your favorite part of this issue? Let us know in the comments below!
Back in 2004, the team behind the award-winning Vertigo series, 100 Bullets put their noir spin on the Caped Crusader in the five-part Batman: Broken City.
Following the 12-issue, Bat-Epic Batman: Hush – Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso teamed up with colorist Patricia Mulvihill and letterer Clem Robins to tell a more grounded tale in Batman #620-625. Instead of having a huge cast, the team kept it centered in Gotham. As great as Batman is in teams and world-ending threats, the team took him back to his small roots. Solving the case of the murdered Elizabeth Lupo, Batman focuses more on his detective skills. Batman: Broken City (hereafter Broken City) uses Azzarello’s and Risso’s noir background to dramatic effect.
Gotham – Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso, Patricia Mulvihill
BROKEN CITY MURDER MYSTERY
Broken City begins with Batman investigating a murder by questioning Killer Croc. From there, Batman follows a constant trail of crumbs to figure out who killed Elizabeth Lupo. But, Gotham never sleeps, nor does violence. During his chase with Lupo’s brother Angel Lupo, the suspect kills a mother and father out with their son, mirroring the murder of the Waynes. This senseless killing furthers his reasons for figuring out what all is transpiring. Nonetheless, Broken City is full of tales of broken people in a broken Gotham.
This darkness is where Azzarello’s writing knocks it out of the park. Having an excellent noir resume, he can write Batman as a detective and not a hero who fights world-ending threats. Yes, we all may love Batman fighting Darkseid, but Batman works best in a contained ground-level story. Azzarello nails this by keeping the story tight, fast when needed, and no earth ending threat. Azzarello can write Batman as a detective that is hard-pressed to learn the truth. The plot itself unfolds amazingly, yet Batman’s characterization is the scene-stealer.
Ka-boom – Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso, Patricia Mulvihill, Clem Robins
A BROKEN GOTHAM
Although Risso’s name has only been attached to a few Batman issues (usually teamed with Azzarello), his art matches Gotham perfectly. Risso’s style is rough in all the right places that give Batman, Gotham, and his rogues a certain charm. Nonetheless, that’s not the only significant aspect of Risso’s art. Risso can nail so many things that make Broken City interesting. At times he’ll show the gruesome violence in Gotham, yet other times he’ll hide it behind onamonapias and other objects. Another factor is fantastic pacing. During some scenes, Risso will have multiple small panels that slowly zoom in/out of character to help the pace, and set the mood.
But, one huge area that helps his art are the colors.
Ouch – Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso, Patricia Mulvihill, Clem RobinsWhak – Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso, Patricia Mulvihill, Clem Robins
Mulvihill’s colors go hand in hand to Risso’s art. Funny enough, Mulvihill joined Azzarello and Risso for issues 15 through 100 of 100 Bullets. So, her teaming up with the duo makes absolute sense. Mulvihill’s colors can seamlessly change to benefit the tone. On one page, she can have a mix of darker greys for Gotham, and the bottom shades of light blue for Bruce’s house. Then on the next page at a strip club, her colors will change to bright and poppy. Yet, one of the more fascinating moments is when her colors and Risso’s art mirrors Sin City.
Sometimes Mulvihill will drop colors and either go with silhouettes or heavily draped in shadows. When these minimalist moments happen, they remind you of Sin City for all the best reasons. Batman is a creature of shadows, which the team thoroughly understands.
Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso, Patricia Mulvihill, Clem RobinsShadows – Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso, Patricia Mulvihill, Clem Robins
THE COLOR OF DEATH
Narration box colors may not be something you think about often, yet it’s an element that is quite important. After reading another Batman story recently, one thing that stood out was how badly the narration boxes colors did not match the theme or other colors. Luckily Robins lettering works wonders in Broken City. The narration boxes are a mix of grey and sometimes a lighter blue. These match the plot perfectly and never takes you out of reading.
A great example is down below. Robins’ narration box colors blend in, not too much, but just enough to where it doesn’t ruin the panel. But, compare that to the “CONTINUED” box that is bright yellow. It pops off the page and grabs your attention, instead of letting you take in the art and story.
Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso, Patricia Mulvihill, Clem Robins
BROKEN CITY/ANOTHER DAY IN GOTHAM
Broken City is impressive not only for its noir setting, lingo, vibe, and art but the humor as well. Azzarello never forces humor but adds it in to help build up the story. Nonetheless, the team behind Broken City makes so much sense for a Batman story; it’s a tragedy they’ve only worked on a few in the past years. The fact that the team can craft such a great noir, small scale story that has a ton of readability is a feat. If you’re in the mood for a noir tale, give this storyline a chance, or any other comic the team has worked on.
We leave on an exchange that had me spit my coffee out.
I wish Batman would pinch me – Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso, Patricia Mulvihill, Clem Robins
If one were to combine the biopic Party Monster with Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, the result would look like Fallen, a Kickstarter-produced comic created and written by Matt Ringel and drawn by Henry Ponciano. Several gods from the pantheons of the Greek, Norse, Shinto, and Aztec mythologies are banished to Earth and cut off from their kin while retaining their power and immortality.
The first issue introduces us to some of the now-earthbound Olympians, including Zeus, Athena, and Apollo, and a contingent from Asgard, such as Loki, Thor, and Odin. For our divine friends, it is on Earth as it was in the heavens, i.e., spending much of their time drinking, womanizing, and collecting wealth. Here, though, it’s 1986 New York City, and they’re celestial mobsters running nightclubs and the like. So, same stuff, different century.
One way the gods keep power is imparting some of their might and immortality to a human ward. This is done as a condition of their exile is, they can no longer directly affect the world of people. The wards can step in and influence the rabble on the gods’ behalf, so the gods can still be, well, gods. This all changes when Zeus is murdered in his penthouse. His right-hand man, Casper Clay, is now on the hunt for the killer.
(Bad news: Zeus is dead. Good news: Hercules isn’t on the hook for a Father’s Day gift.)
As I’ve said here before, I love indie comics, especially ones that have been crowd-funded. Even books not at the level of a Big 2 product are still pieces of art requiring a village to create. It also represents a level of courage, putting your vision out to the public and asking them to fund it. For many creators, it’s their first foray into publishing and placing work in front of an audience is daunting.
Fallen is well-done on several fronts. It looks and reads like a book published traditionally. The storyline of gods on Earth isn’t new; very little under the sun is new. The key is adding enough variables to make it original, and Matt Ringel did that. It’s not a stretch to imagine the gods as mafioso, but turning them into club kids and drug dealers and inserting them in NYC in the mid-80s is a unique premise.
Ringel’s dialogue is excellent. The gods talk like ordinary people. They have normal emotions. It feels like reading about regular folks because the script is well-written and doesn’t go all-in on heavy descriptors and flowery prose. It’s straight-forward. It’s a gritty story with a gritty feel. These beings are doing shady things, and you feel that sensation of being on the outside of the law and the establishment.
The art is stellar. Henry Ponciano not only provides a well-drawn book, but the layout and framing are well done. Too many times in self-published books, creators try to reinvent the wheel and do crazy layouts with a tendency to be more distracting than creative. The pages of Fallen are laid out in a way that provides more detail, allowing the reader to better feel the environment while following most of the basic rules of comic book layout.
The story is dark, and the scenes and colors represent that. Fallen doesn’t feel like a breezy Marvel production or one of DC’s epics. This book has a back-alley feel dripping from every page. The immoral dealings of the gods are represented with noir-infused beauty.
(Tom Hiddleston & Chris Helmsworth they ain’t.)
It’s a quick read because the story moves fast. The plot is lean with no extra fat. It gets where it needs to be with efficiency, but that doesn’t mean it lacks detail or depth. You get a strong vibe from each character as to who they are, what they’re about, and the methods they’re willing to use to achieve their goals. Toben Racicot’s letters fit perfectly. While sticking to the basic all-caps tradition, Racicot adds just a touch of flair, allowing them to shine while not detracting from the art. For me, the best letterers are the ones following the rules while standing out amongst their peers. Racicot’s letters are recognizable the same way a Jim Lee- or Adam Kubert-drawn panel is.
Fallen provides a new spin on an old tale and does it by infusing the story with dirt, grime, and some godly magic. Fallen is a must-read for lovers of mythology, crime dramas, or well-constructed comics.
Last September, FOX premiered Prodigal Son, a crime drama series starring Tom Payne (The Walking Dead) as a former FBI profiler with a serial killer father who’s now working for the NYPD. Elevating the tension and emotion is composer Nathaniel Blume.
On Prodigal Son, Michael Sheen (Good Omens) plays Dr. Martin Whitly, an incarcerated serial killer known as “The Surgeon.” In a Silence of the Lambs-Esque turn of events, Martin’s son, Malcolm Bright (Payne), is investigating a series of copycat murders and needs his father’s help in stopping the crimes. At the same time, Bright is living with the fear that he might one day follow in his father’s footsteps.
PopAxiom spoke with Nathaniel Blume about working under quarantine and the evolution of the score for Prodigal Son.
Composer Nathaniel Blume
Working While Quarantined
When last we spoke, Nathaniel had just scored the first episode of Prodigal Son. That was six months ago. “I feel like I’ve aged 10 years.”
Thankfully, in these trying times, Nathaniel and his family are healthy and safe. “Typically, I woke out of a studio with Blake Neely and other composers in North Hollywood.”
Fortunately for Nathaniel, he can work from home. “A couple years ago, I built a home studio which basically matches the work studio. It’s been great to be able to do things from home in the morning or evening or weekends and not always having to be at that studio.”
New productions in Hollywood have come to a halt but, as Nathaniel explains, “Post-production hasn’t stopped on either Prodigal Son or The Flash. We’re still working on those.”
Season Finale
Flash did not complete three episodes,” Nathaniel says that Prodigal Son, “… did not complete two episodes.”
Both The Flash and Prodigal Son were just episodes away from completing their seasons. For Prodigal Son, “… they had to shoot the last two episodes out of order to accommodate some scheduling issues. So, there’s an ending to the season which will air this month.”
However, not all shows are in the same beneficial spot. “Unfortunately for The Flash, there’s no ending to the season. They may film the end as the start of the next season.”
Michael Sheen in Prodigal Son on FOX
About Prodigal Son
Prodigal Son is a textured show with layers about father-son relationships and personal demons. “There is the main theme of the show usually used for Malcolm and sometimes Martin as well.”
About the themes, Nathaniel says they were “… really fun to play with throughout the season. You hear it in tidbits and various styles. Some episodes took on their own character and stood out a little bit different musically than the others.”
Nathaniel explains, “… when we got into the ‘Junkyard Killer’ stuff, those scores tended to be really dark. Some episodes were more fun, “Internal Affairs,” where there’s an event that happens at the beginning of the episode. Still, you’re not aware of the context. That’s all uncovered throughout the episode during an interview with an internal affairs officer. You’re learning bits and pieces of the story.”
Nathaniel dives more in-depth into another example. “The one that just aired, Scheherazade, it took place at a ballet company, and they happen to be rehearsing for a production of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. So I used it sometimes while the dancers were dancing on screen but also as a piece of score or as a jumping point for the score to come in or out of the episode. It was a fun puzzle to figure out.”
The use of a classical piece and new work blends beautifully throughout the runtime. “It gives the show a different character. For instance, when Gil and Malcolm are interrogating the lead performer in the ballet, in her dressing room, I would play it a certain way in a typical scene like that. But in this case, I actually used one of the themes from Scheherazade with a solo violin. It took on a different mood than it typically would for the show.”
A Week In Scoring
Work starts on a Monday where Nathaniel, “… spots the show with either one or both of the show-runners and the music editor, the editor, all in all, usually about eight people in the room. We talk about where music is going to come in, go out if there’s a particular story point that needs highlighting. I go back to the studio and jump through the episodes myself deciding what cues I’ve already written may apply. Not necessarily to edit in but to bring back the musical material and use it differently. A lot of times, you change keys … timing is everything.”
Over the years, Nathaniel’s put his process together. “A lot of pre-planning goes in before I start writing. I like to know what I’m going to do. Over the course of the week, little-by-little, it’s almost always a slow start, and then it goes faster.”
For Prodigal Son, Nathaniel says, “… there were four episodes where we actually went to a big recording stage and had 40 musicians. For those, I have to be done by a certain time to send the music out to the orchestrater and copier. You have to build in that time. A couple episodes here and there have a violin soloist or a cello soloist. That’s quicker and easier to do.”
In the pre-pandemic days, working on a weekly TV show is a grind that composers like Nathaniel love. “Often, you’ll have a stretch where it’ll be an episode a week for four or five weeks in a row. It feels like an Olympic event.”
Tom Payne as Malcolm Bright
New Normal
COVID-19 is still holding the world hostage. In the meantime, the working world adapts. “Now, in the age of Coronavirus, for these last couple episodes, what I did was hire a string quartet, send all of them the music to their home studios. They recorded themselves and sent it back. I sent it to the mixer who worked with the string quartet and samples.”
Fortunately, today’s technology allows us the freedom to adapt. “We’re making due to still get those live musicians in there. It turned out really nice.”
Wrapping Up
Nathaniel credits part of his success as a film and television composer to the man behind a million shows. “I wouldn’t be where I’m at if not for Blake Neely. He taught me so much about efficiency and organization. It takes time, too, to build your toolbox.”
The grind of creating music on a weekly basis isn’t for every composer. “It’s a whole skill-set, and for 99% of the composer population, it takes time [to learn]. Fortunately, I acquired that learning from Blake Neely.”
In the age of remakes, what would Nathaniel like to be a part of? “Growing up, my absolute favorite TV show was X-Files. They kinda have kept going with that. If they did a legit reboot on that and Mark Snow didn’t want to do it, I would 1000 percent in.”
I always end with the same question. What’s next? However, that’s a bit difficult to answer considering the near halt in productions. “This was one of the rare summers where I might actually get a summer off which would be nice. If production doesn’t start up until August or September, then post-production won’t kick in until much later. It’s a waiting game. It’s going to be interesting.”
Are you watching Prodigal Son on FOX?
Thanks to Nathaniel Blume and Rhapsody PR for making this interview possible.
Want to read more interviews like this? CLICK HERE.
NOVA ANNUAL (2008) #1, written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, was an enlightening celebration of Richard Rider. For decades the character fell into obscurity, wandering in the shadows behind the bigger players and events. But that all changed with the Annihilation crossover event that launched in 2006. This storyline featured a universal threat known as Annihilus and its army of warships that were poised to destroy all that they find. And it is this story that sets the stage for 2008’s NOVA ANNUAL #1.
Story
The story opens up in a peculiar spot (given the current stage of Annihilation): Rich’s pre-Nova time in high school. What’s more, the hero seems to have no knowledge of his alter-ego, which is made entirely apparent when the school bully takes him down with little difficulty.
Following the traumatic experience, Rich meets up with his friend Ginger bemoans the fact he’s so extraordinarily average. He notes how talented his family members are, showing us how much of a failure the poor boy believes himself to be. But before he can complain any more, an odd energy explodes from his body and places him in a coma.
It is here where the story gets particularly interesting. Instead of waking up in a hospital bed, Rich finds himself starring into the depths of space from a Nova ship. On top of that, the warrior realizes he’s over fifty years older and in charge of leading an attack on Annihilus. This time jump startles readers, making them question which version of Rich’s life is the “present.” But before he can learn anything about the new Nova Corps our hero faints and immediately finds himself right back on Earth in his “past.”
The narrative gives readers a sobering take of the hero of the stars, showing how far he’s come over the years at tremendous cost. We see a direct comparison between his humble beginnings with his future as Commander of the Nova Corps. But is Rich’s situation set in stone, or is there more than meets the eye?
Artwork
The artwork within this issue was extremely well-done. Mahmud A. Asrar, Klebs, and Wellington Alves’s penciling, along with Juan Vlasco and Nelson Pereira’s ink work, brought our galactic heroes to life with the perfect blend of sleekness and sharp angles to make their Nova suits stand out against the backdrop of space. Guru-eFX’s coloring compliments these features well with a range of hues, from dark blues of deep space to the bright yellows representing Nova energies. In addition, VC’s Cory Petit’s lettering does a great job of varying font sizes to emphasize characters’ tone of voice, especially each time Rich shouts “Blue Blazes!”
Comic Cover
Nic Klein’s cover illustration shows readers Rich in all of his power with a recreation of his first issue’s cover. The blast off pose is reminiscent of his first appearance decades ago.
Conclusion
NOVA ANNUAL (2008) #1 was a nostalgic trip to the past, equally mixed with a bleak future. Fans of Rich and the Nova Corps. will enjoy this sobering take on the history and his history.
Were you expecting the conclusion to this issue? Let us know in the comments below!
Two of the last surviving males take center stage on this cover of Y: The Last Man Vol. 1
Y: THE LAST MAN VOL. 1 originally released back in January of 2003, as hard as that may be to believe, is still as heavy-hitting and impactful as ever. If not more so, given the current events we’re facing.
Y: The Last Man is a series that continuously shocked and thrilled fans, thanks in part to the massive concept it ran with. It took a post-apocalyptic event (or nearly so) and used it to comment on politics and human nature itself.
When fans think of a series that was bold and brave, while carrying a more profound message, they’ll probably put Y: The Last Man somewhere on that list. And with good reason. That being said, the series now carries new weight, thanks to the pandemic we’re facing. Perhaps it is no longer a theoretical and fun escape to be found, but that hasn’t lessened its value in the least.
Another irony this series has faced is the struggle to get a television or film adaptation. It isn’t unheard of for a comic adaptation to appear almost cursed, continually coming up against one problem after another. Unfortunately, that is also true for Y: The Last Man. While fans have been eagerly hoping to see it on the big or small screen, we’re going to keep waiting a while longer yet. Thankfully, it still is in the works, so there is always that hope to cling to.
And so it all begins, with blood and near death.
Story
Written by Brian K. Vaughan, Y: The Last Man Vol. 1: Unmanned is the traumatic and dramatic introduction to a series. The whole premise of the series is that nearly all of the males on earth have died. That includes all of the animals. There are a couple of iconic exceptions, most notably Y (Yorick) and Ampersand, his monkey.
Naturally, that means this is a world full of chaos, as well as more than just a few bodies. It’s a post-apocalyptic graphic novel, but with an interesting perspective. With half of the world suddenly dead, those left behind have to figure out how to pick up the pieces.
Unfortunately, that is a task easier said than done. Not only is there a lot of clean-up that needs to be done, but there are significant power vacuums left behind (thanks to the tendency to have males higher up in ranks).
The first volume takes the time to establish Yorick, as well as his plight. It then rapidly moves readers forward, showing us the disaster (while not yet explaining the why), as well as the fallout of it.
Meanwhile, Yorick’s introduction is at a completely different speed.
Why We Love It
Y: The Last Man hit so many fans for a variety of reasons. There’s the plot, of course. The whole concept of a post-apocalyptic world has always engaged readers. But it’s more than that. It was the mystery of what happened – as well as this vision of a world with only women (mostly).
The fact that the series wove in politics and wasn’t afraid to make commentary on the matter was huge. The statements made were poignant, and made to feel all the more real thanks to the very human feeling characters involved in the series.
That being said, there are some criticisms to be found in the series. These elements bother some fans more than others, so it’s all about perspective. Some readers were less than thrilled about the concept of the leading character being male when the whole point was to show a world of women. Others were concerned about the negative light that was shined upon the surviving humans. Both are valid complaints, of course. But most fans choose to see it in another light.
You can probably guess where this is going.
Artwork
Y: The Last Man Vol. 1: Unmanned had a variety of artists working to make it the iconic masterpiece we know it as. Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan Jr., Jose Marzan, and Goran Sudzuka all had a hand to play here.
While the plot of the series is often brutal and bold, it would never have had the same impact without the artwork to support it all. There is a raw feeling to the art style within these pages, and somehow that further exposed readers’ nerves, forcing us to acknowledge this world that Vaughan, Guerra, and the rest created together.
Unsurprisingly, one of the highlights for this series is the ability to evoke emotion. Yorick faces trial after trial throughout ten volumes, and yet we can still read him as clearly as a book. His emotions are clear for us to see and to experience alongside him. It makes for a powerful impact.
Of course, we can’t forget about dear Ampersand and the rest of the characters, either. Ampersand is frequently a moment of chaos, action, or humor, depending on what was needed. His antics helped to break up the dire portrayal, giving the artists a little bit of levity to play with. Something we will always appreciate.
Agent 355 is looking fierce on the cover of Y the Last Man Vol. 2.
Conclusion
Y: The Last Man Vol. 1: Unmanned was the start of something larger than life. Yorick’s tale is not a pretty one – not by any means. Yet it carried with it something real and substantial. This theoretical post-apocalyptic world is one that can be easily pictured by the readers, and surely our imaginations made the scenes all the more horrific or terrifying.
Yet there’s also this sense of lingering hope. Yorick’s quest to find his love, halfway across the world, is both beautiful and heartbreaking. Who among us didn’t have hope for his success? Who didn’t fear his failure?
All these reasons, and more, are precisely why this series still lingers so strongly in our minds and our hearts. There’s no doubt that it will linger for even more time to come, especially if the adaptation continues to make progress.
Joe R. Lansdale is one of the most prolific writers in any genre. He’s written everything from horror to crime fiction, historical fiction and even some non-fiction. He’s also written a bunch of comics (like the excellent Jonah Hex series for DC/Vertigo) and is a die-hard comics fan. With that in mind, we at Monkeys Fighting Robots tapped Champion Joe (as his fans call him) for a chat about what else but comics! Read on and enjoy.
Monkeys Fighting Robots: Joe, first of all, thanks for taking the time to talk to us during this national crisis. How are you and yours holding up? As a writer has social distancing changed your day to day life?
Joe R. Lansdale: We are holding up very well. I hate it for others, but for us, it’s really no different than when there isn’t a pandemic. We’re home as usual, and I write in the mornings as usual. I always read, but I might be reading a hair more, and we watch films. I exercise at home. Only thing missing is my martial arts class that I teach. I only teach private lessons these days, but I miss that. I do travel from time to time for fun or for business, so we’re not doing that, of course. Otherwise, nothing is really different for us. I’m one of those peculiar people who likes being with people, but I like being home with my wife and a routine as well. When the virus passes, I will be glad to go to the bookstore and visit with people, and we have a couple of trips we’d like to make, but again, for us, it really isn’t bad. We have food stocks anyway, just because we tend to do that, and of course, we have the essential, toilet paper. Special items our son picks up for us and delivers. He goes early in the morning, dressed in his mask, looking like a bandit, and he buys us anything we might need once or twice a week, but we don’t need much. Thanks for asking. I hope you are well.
MFR: I’m holding on strong, thanks for asking! So apart from being an acclaimed novelist, short-story writer and screenwriter, you have also written many comics. What was your very first comic book writing? JL: My first comic gig was BLOOD AND SHADOWS. It was an original comics I wrote and Mark Nelson illustrated. Only problem was, Mark was slow. So by the time he finished I had written and seen published TWO GUN MOJO, the Jonah Hex comic. That did great. BLOOD AND SHADOWS finally came out, but by then the wind had blown out of its sails and it never got the attention it deserves. It’s creator-owned, so someday it may see the light of day again.
Cover to ‘Blood and Shadows’ #1
MFR: How do you approach writing a comic book as compared to a short story, or prose piece? JL: Ishow up. It used to seem very different for each concern, but less so now. I do have to spend a day or two becoming comfortable with the comic or screenplay format, but then it’s about telling the story in that form, and story is the thing. I also try to write scripts that do more than tell you what happens next, but are fun to read. Prose is always natural for me, as I do a lot more of it, but comics and screenplays after that initial readjustment to form, are pretty much the same. Scripts have the time limit factor, or in the case of comics, the page limit factor. Tim Truman and I did a Hex series where we started out doing five comics, but they cut it to four, so I always felt it was truncated more than I liked. So there are limitations like that. Requested short stories can have a limit, but mostly they don’t have a drop-dead number. Comics do have that as far as page count goes, so that’s something to keep in mind and the thing I have the hardest time with.
MFR: Were comics a huge influence for you growing up? How about as an adult? JL: I started reading comics in the fifties, and they are to this day the most important thing, along with parental encouragement, that led me to my career, and for that I am deeply grateful. Like most kids, it was the superhero stuff that excited me. I read the kid comics, the ones with talking animals, Casper the Ghost, Hot Stuff, and so on, but it was Superman who moved me first, and then I found Batman, and that was a sure-fire fit for me. I read all the DC comics heroes. Loved The Flash, Wonder Woman, and I read comics and collected them right on up until I was sixteen. And during that time I also read Classics Illustrated, which are the flip side of comics. They led me to reading a lot of the books they were based on. They have been revived, and they are reprinting and adding new comics to their line, and I buy them. I read them religiously as a kid. They led me to so many books, and since I never graduated at the University, they were a great source of my education. Without them there are so many novels and stories I wouldn’t have discovered. There are other influences, early television shows, all the reruns they did of Hopalong Cassidy, as well as new shows they made for TV. The Superman TV show, Lone Ranger, showing old serials like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. And the Tarzan movies were a big influence. But that’s getting off the comic subject a bit. Bottom line, they are what made me want to be a writer. I was trying to write and draw my own comics when I was four years old. My mother stapled them for me after I finished. As an adult, I read fewer comics. Like a lot of teenagers, I was dating and learning about myself. I was reading still, but comics were less and less a part of it. I would now and again buy a batch, as everything wasn’t continued. The stretched out stories that went issues and crossed over to other comics, sort of sucked the wind out of it for me in the nineties. But before that I would read them in patches, so to speak. Friends would suggest a run of comics, and then I would buy the whole run, so as not to wait for each issue. I could read a comic in fifteen to twenty minutes, so I preferred to have the whole storyline to sit down with. But I wasn’t reading them nearly as much by the time I was sixteen, and only begin to pick them up on a regular basis at the end of the eighties and into the nineties, and then, as I said, the multiple crossovers burned me out. I read a number of comics that weren’t superhero comics during the nineties, and then I dried up on the new ones for a while, even though I was writing comics. In the last ten years, I’ve gone back to reading a few new superhero comics, but the stuff I’ve really enjoyed, are comics like Capote in Kansas, and the To Kill A Mockingbird adaptation, Richard Stark Parker novel adaptations–there weren’t many, as it’s a long series. SAVAGE SEASON based on a novel by me was adapted but printed way too dark, but I enjoyed reading the artist’s interpretation. It was almost exactly the novel. MUCHO MOJO has been done, and it’ll be out in the wild eventually. What I really enjoy reading these days is rereading the DC archives, the ones before I was reading comics, the ones during my time growing up, the Silver Age, as well as gatherings of later periods. I buy nearly DC exclusively. Marvel was better in the sixties, but DC caught up, and though I like Marvel, it was always the DC characters that thrilled me. I buy a lot of old comics I used to read that have been collected. Stuff like Brothers of the Spear, Tarzan, Korak, anything to do with John Carter of Mars, and I’m once again buying the Classics Illustrated. I order a few every few months, and they are a treat.
MFR: Do you have a favorite comic creative team? A favorite writer or artist? JL: If Tim Truman is involved in a comic, with anyone, I try and read those. I loved a lot of different comics, so I don’t know if I had a favorite team. Gardner Fox was always a name I looked for when I started seeing his name on comics. The Julie Schwartz edited comics with so many different creators were really important to me when I was young. I got to know Julie and we became friendly. It was quite an honor for me. The comics he edited were important to my childhood, and the making of my career.
MFR: Do you have a favorite comic book character? JL: Batman. Duh.
MFR: Did you have a favorite title? JL: I still love Batman, though I don’t read the comics regularly. I watch animated films with Batman in them, and I wrote for Batman the Animated Series, as well as wrote the script for Son of Batman. The animated series is a highlight of my career. It was like being a kid again, but with adult sensibilities. That is my favorite version of Batman, comics, film, or otherwise. I also wrote a plot outline, or that’s how I was credited, for a Superman episode. I wrote a stand-alone, unnamed Jonah Hex short, that was on the blu-ray of Under the Red Hood, and was in a DVD collection of short animated films about a variety of DC characters. I love writing for animation and would like to do more of it.
MFR: I actually discovered you through comics, in a back door kind of way. I first read Preacher in trade and the edition of volume one I had contained a forward by you. I was so taken by how you wrote about the comic that I looked up the rest of your work and read the first ‘Hap & Leonard’, Savage Season, novel shortly after. How did you end up writing that forward to Preacher? JL: Garth was a fan of my Jonah Hex comics, and he and DC thought I’d be the right person to write it since I was a reader of the comics. It was a lot of fun, and interestingly enough, a lot of readers tell me they came to my work through that introduction, or through the comics I wrote.
MFR: You mentioned Tim Truman a few times. I wanted to get into your relationship with Tim, who I think is one of the best artists in the industry. How did you first get linked up with Tim? Were you a fan of his work like Grim Jack or Scout? JL: I love Tim. He’s a brother. DC comics put us together. I think Tim had read something of mine and suggested it. I’m not certain, to be honest, but it is always great fun to work with Tim. There are a lot of great artists out there, but Tim is a great one with a unique style that really knows how to tell a story through his art. They aren’t just pictures in panels, they manage to tell the story by the way they are constructed. He’s my favorite artist to work with, and my favorite comic book artist, period.
Cover to DC/Vertigo Jonah Hex: Two-Gun Mojo.
MFR: How did the development of Jonah Hex: Two Gun Mojo come about? JL: That was Tim and DC, I think. They teamed us up because as someone said: “He draws like you write”.
MFR: What led to the sequel, Riders of The Worm and Such? JL: Popularity of the first series of Hex comics, TWO-GUN MOJO. Success breeds sequels. I like all of the ones we did, but the first, TWO-GUN MOJO is my favorite, hands down. Each time we did a Hex series we tried to do something different with it.
MFR: Now you guys also worked on Topp’s Lone Ranger & Tonto series in the 90s. What was like that? Was it working on Hex that led to that gig? JL: Topps was trying out comics, and Hex led us to that gig. I actually wrote two scripts for the Lone Ranger, but by the second Tim had to move on as he had another gig, the artist who worked with me on the second was great, Ted Naifeh. It hit right when Topps decided it was cutting back on comics, perhaps cutting them out altogether, I don’t remember exactly. Anyway, that one, which was a Gung-fu Western in San Francisco Chinatown, was never published.
Cover to Topps’ Lone Ranger and Tonto
MFR: One of my personal favorite comics of yours is Dark Horse Comics Dead In The West adaptation, which was illustrated by Jack Johnson (Jaxon). Johnson who has a history that goes back to underground comics as, well drawing historical and war comics. Did you have a choice in him as an artist? Were you aware of his work? JL: I always liked Jack’s stylized work. I knew Jack a little, and my friend Neal Barrett Jr. did the adaptation. It was cool. Would love to see a new version of it done. I did have a choice, and I was aware of his underground work. I read a few underground comics here and there and thought it would be an interesting idea. It was.
Jaxon page from Dead In The West from Dark Horse Comics
MFR: Avatar has also adapted some of your work in the past, what was it like working with them? JL: We made a deal, they did the comics. Pretty much it. I liked the comics, though the artwork, good as it was, sort of got monotonous on THE DRIVE-IN. Good stuff, but being more suggestive than specific, the white space began to feel like a brain wound after a bit. Again, that’s not the artist, it’s just that the sort of art wears without color over long spaces. I like black and white a lot, but most comics need color. That’s one of the tools that makes them comics. Film black and white is a different matter, and certainly, specific comics in black and white are great, but if there was a comic that needed to be in moody colors, it was THE DRIVE-IN.
MFR: How involved are you in those comic adaptations of your work? JL: I was very involved in some, less in others. BY BIZARRE HAND was a comic series based on my stories, first done by Dark Horse, later by Avatar, who I think added a few stories. Anyway, I like the idea of that and would love to see it as a TV series.
The Drive-In from Avatar Press.
MFR: Do you have a favorite comic adaptation of your work? JL: I’m pretty damn fond of several. ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE CADILLAC DESERT WITH DEAD FOLKS that Tim did for Avatar was a favorite. There have been some Italian adaptations I really love. Western material of mine, and horror/sci-fi adaptations
MFR: What are you working on now, comic or non-comic related? Anything you want to talk about? JL: There’s a possible comic that isn’t quite up to bat, yet, but is waiting in the dugout. We’ll see. I’m writing another novel for LITTLE BROWN/MULHOLLAND. I don’t normally talk about something unless I’m finished with it, so nothing to say yet. I do have novels and short story collections coming out. JANE GOES NORTH is out from Subterranean, and a short story collection of Hap and Leonard stories, about their youth, is forthcoming, as well as the stand-alone novel in July, MORE BETTER DEALS from Mulholland Books. And then a collection from Subterranean Press titled FISHING FOR DINOSAURS.
You can check out more information on his official website, The Orbit.
