Alterna Comics to publish "Bee Sting" and "The Curse of Stranglehold"!

I've dropped hints to people the past week about my BIG news, so here it is...

"Bee Sting" and "The Curse of Stranglehold" 
have been picked up by 

NY Times best-selling publisher Alterna Comics 

to be released in early 2013!!

That's right, BOTH stories will be compiled into one flip-book style graphic novel entitled  

"BLOOD-DRENCHED 

CREATURE DOUBLE-FEATURE"!!

There's much more info to come about this, but I can say it will be featured in the December issue of Previews magazine and on-sale in February 2013! For everyone not too familiar with it, that means it'll be in comic stores, book stores, Amazon, etc!!

Look for a major Kickstarter campaign coming in October 2012 where you can help donate to the book, pre-order a copy, and have a chance to get all kinds of awesome bonuses!

Oh, yeah, baby!

Til next time,
Matthew

Greatest Hits 1: No Knife, Silverchair, Def Leppard

I decided to start a new column on my blog related to music. Working on "Simon Says" has proven to be the inspiration for it, because there are so many music references in the comic. It's made me go back and recall some GREAT albums from the past. So, every entry in this column, I'll share my thoughts on three past albums, and while they aren't necessarily the band's "Greatest Hits" collections or even necessarily their most known LPs, they are some of my favorite releases by these particular bands.

No Knife's "Riot For Romance" - I first heard this band when my wife and I saw them open up for Sunny Day Real Estate on the "Rising Tide" tour in 2000. I had no idea who they were, but they were absolutely awesome and I immediately "special ordered" their cds (I was working for a music store at the time). "RFR" was their last album before their break-up (booo!), but honestly, it's probably my favorite album by them. Maybe it's because I listened to is so much when it came out in September 2002. My wife had gone back to work at this time after taking some time off following the birth of our first son. I have fond memories of driving around with Christopher on the weekends, going to comic stores or the park, and blasting this cd in the car.

Silverchair's "Frogstomp" - This was one of those cds that I could listen to over and over as a teenager and never get tired of it. It came out in the summer of '95 and the radio station 99X (based out of Atlanta) was one of the first stations to play Silverchair in the US. Hearing "Tomorrow" (their first single) always reminds me of driving to Atlanta with my sister to go hang out at Little 5 Points (shopping at Criminal Records, Wax N Facts, & Junkman's Daughter, and eating some Fellini's Pizza). Definitely a good, alternative/grunge sounding album that has a very mid-90s feel!

Def Leppard's "Hysteria" - I was much younger when this album came out, but the videos from it were constantly on MTV..."Rocket", "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Women", "Love Bites", and of course, the title track. Being one of the only kids in elementary school that was really listening to hard rock/heavy metal back then, this release was like the breakthrough for others. The constant airplay made Def Leppard cool in the eyes (or ears, rather) of my friends and we could agree on music (finally!). My best friend at the time, Todd, was a HUGE Def Leppard fan and dreamed of being like Joe Elliot one day, haha. This album takes me back to living in downtown Macon, GA and everything associated with that time in my life!

Check back for some periodic "Greatest Hits" columns!

Til next time,
Matthew

5 Page Preview: Simon Says #3

As promised, here's your 5-page preview of "Simon Says" #3, featuring pencils by Rebecca Fedun and inked/lettered by me (hey, my skills get better by the end of the issue, trust me!). This issue turned out GREAT! Rebecca cranked out some quality pages and this issue actually wraps up the first story arc (getting us 1/3 of the way through this 9-issue series). The book should be back from the printers in mid-August. Enjoy...

Til next time,

Matthew

RobCon 2012 recap

Normally, I wait awhile to report on a comic convention...multiple days of doing the con plus a car ride home can be fun, yet draining, so I need a breather. Well, today was different with RobCon in Bristol, TN/VA. It was a shorter drive for us (only about 3 hours), so I made it there and back all in one day. This was my 2nd year setting up at RobCon, and I was extremely pleased!

RobCon moved to the larger venue of Viking Hall this year, and there were easily twice as many vendors, writers, and artists there. I got to see fellow indie creators and friends Todd Goodman and Shannon Smith, Battle Babies masterminds Brad and Stacey Rader, Roanoke Valley ComiCon organizer Chris Garbee, and new pals Brett Marcus Cook, Neil Bramlette, and Ashley Raburn, and of course, the main man Robert Pilk. The show had a good vibe all day, filled with enthusiastic creators and fans. The costume contest was much larger than last year and featured some pretty wild outfits, like an adorable little boy dressed as Link, a detailed Arnold version Terminator, and an incredible home made Transformers Bumble Bee!

The show lasted from 9 to 5, and despite sneaking out around 4:30, it definitely didn't seem like the show lasted that long! We were having so much fun, the hours flew by. And even better, I sold several books during the show, especially "Bee Sting", "The Curse of Stranglehold", and "Simon Says". I even managed to sneak away from the table for a few minutes to buy the boys some TMNT figures, get the two most recent issues of Todd Goodman's "The Book On Me" series, the graphic novel "Red Light" by Devin Hylton, and a kick ass print from Neil Bramlette's Out of Step Arts table featuring art by Paul Maybury and Alexis Ziritt!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the table to chit-chat and/or shop! I'm definitely looking forward to RobCon 2013!

Check back here in the next few days for a 5-page preview of the upcoming "Simon Says" #3 and a MAJOR comic announcement!

Til next time,
Matthew

RobCon is tomorrow (7/21)

Hey, guys,

A quick reminder…RobCon is this Saturday in Bristol, TN/VA! This year marks its 27^th anniversary (only 2^nd year for me) and is set to be the biggest yet, moving to Viking Hall and boasting a nice guest list! So, come by and see me, buy some comics, and have fun!

Also, early next week, I’ll be posting preview pages for the upcoming “Simon Says” #3 and making a MAJOR comic announcement. Stay tuned…

Til next time,

Matthew

LAST CHANCE to purchase "The Adventurers of Liberty City" #1-5!!

Happy Friday the 13th everyone...I hope you all plan on kicking back and watching some of Jason's mischievous antics tonight!

I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone for all the support and feedback for "The Adventurers of Liberty City" over the years. That's the first self-published comic we started, and we have many more plans for the title (hopefully, we'll get to them all!).

But, if you haven't taken advantage of getting the individual issues of "The Adventurers of Liberty City" #1-5, NOW is the time to do so! Those issues are about to be "retired" and the only way to get them in the future will be to order the Volume 1 trade paperback!

In fact, issue 1 is already SOLD OUT (I sold the last few copies I had at HeroesCon), but there's no reason why you can't pick up other issues and catch-up on all the action! Go to mdsmithcomics.bigcartel.com to order yours today...remember, those are coming directly from me, so they ship out in 1 to 2 business days! And each order comes with a FREE "The Adventurers of Liberty City" trading card!!

Thanks again!

Til next time,
Matthew

I love comics...

...that’s pretty much all there is to it. Ever since I was a toddler, when my older brother introduced me to comic books, I’ve been hooked. Any comic I could get my hands on back then, I flipped through it a million times until they were falling apart. Spider-Man, Hulk, X-Men, Batman, Teen Titans, Richie Rich, Dennis The Menace, Captain Carrot & His Amazing Zoo Crew, Avengers, Fantastic Four, Dazzler…all early comics I stared at for hours as a kid. Once I learned how to read, I started walking with my brother to the local convenience store to buy something new every week. I wasn’t interested in really collecting consecutive issues of a certain title, I was buying something different each time to check it all out. I still picked up stuff like Spider-Man, X-Men, and Avengers, but I also started getting Justice League of America, Super Powers, New Mutants, X-Factor, Mighty Crusaders, and numerous Star Comics and New Universe titles.

When I started getting a weekly allowance a few years later, I begged my mother to take me to the local comic store (Komix Kastle in Macon, GA) every Saturday. That’s when I started getting into regular titles like the family of X-Men and Avengers books, along with Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Tales, and Marvel Comics Presents. Eventually, I expanded outside of Marvel and started picking up Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Usagi Yojimbo, The Tick (before the cartoon, thank you), and Ninja High School. The rest, as they say, is history.

I was, obviously, a fan of the superhero stuff that Marvel & DC put out, and I still love the characters. But as a young teen, I started to discover all these amazing comics that weren’t centered around caped adventurers (ha, an unintentional pun). And that continues today, as I’m in constantly in awe of the insanely good books I buy every month or find at a convention. I find myself picking up more and more creator-owned books, and I love their uniqueness and creativity. All of this is just fuel for the fire…it feeds the desire I have to keep working on my own comics, in hopes that people enjoy them as much as I’ve enjoyed so many others over the years.

The next few months will be crazy busy with putting out multiple issues of “Simon Says” and “The Adventurers of Liberty City”, as well as debuting “Black Metal Record Store” and “Culver”. I always tell people at conventions is that I have a little something for everyone…whether you like superheroes, humor, horror, autobiographical, slice-of-life, or whatever, I’m throwing it out there. So, sit back and enjoy the ride…there’s much more to come!

Til next time,

Matthew