WHAT IS “DEAD DUCK?”
“Dead Duck” is the first graphic novel from cartoonist Jay Fosgitt. “Dead Duck” chronicles the story of an undead duck of mysterious origin who, with the help of his sidekick, Zombie Chick, delivers the recently deceased to his boss, Death.

WHO IS JAY FOSGITT?
Jay Fosgitt is the creator of “Dead Duck,” published by Ape Entertainment. Fosgitt is a member of the National Cartoonists Society. He lives in Ann Arbor, Mich. with his wife, Laura.

WHAT IS APE ENTERTAINMENT?
Ape Entertainment is the publisher of “Dead Duck” and other graphic novels such as “Teddy Scares.” Ape Entertainment is based in San Diego.

HOW MUCH DOES “DEAD DUCK” COST?
The cover price for “Dead Duck” is $12.95.

HOW MANY PAGES IS “DEAD DUCK”?
“Dead Duck” is 148 pages.

WHERE CAN YOU GET A SNEAK PEEK OF “DEAD DUCK?”
You may view select pages of “Dead Duck” at www.apeprinting.com/preview/DEAD_DUCK_PREVIEW.pdf 

OK, so that was part of the press release that was sent to me in September.  The following is what was posted on Jay's Facebook Wall and emailed to persons like myself on Thursday:  

"This is a call for help, folks. I need to get sales up on pre-orders for Dead Duck, and fast.

I know many of you have already ordered Dead Duck for yourselves through your area comic shops. And I know many of you plan to buy Dead Duck at the signings I've been mentioning. That's still great, and I can ask no more of you.

But there are many, many more of you who are waiting for the day that Dead Duck is intended for release to buy your copies. Here's the problem with that: Dead Duck is an independently published comic book. Unlike Spider-Man or Batman--mainstream, audience-proven comics which bookstores keep in stock because of their guaranteed salability--Dead Duck does not have an assured audience, since it's relatively unknown to the public. That means that most book stores will NOT immediately stock Dead Duck unless YOU contact them in advance and pre-order your copy.

Now here's the figures: I need to pull in at least 400 more pre-orders to make this all work out. So here's what I'm asking….

I need people to start ordering Dead Duck from either your local bookstore, on Amazon.com or directly from Ape Entertainment. Each order will increase my sales, and will assure Dead Duck's success come November 25th. If you order now from the above-mentioned venues, and encourage anyone you can think of to order one as well, here's what I'm prepared to offer:

For each new order I get as of this blog posting, I will send a personalized Dead Duck or Zombie Chick sketch on a postcard to every person who notifies me of their purchase. You can e-mail me at: fourpanelhero@hotmail.com with notification of your order (if I don't know your personally, please include some proof of purchase), as well as a mailing address for you. In the meantime, here's how you can order Dead Duck:

TO ORDER DEAD DUCK THROUGH A BOOKSTORE:

This is Dead Duck's ISBN number: ISBN-13: 9781934944721
Any bookstore (Barnes and Noble, Borders, Waldenbooks, Etc…;) should be able to order Dead Duck for you with this number. If they need additional information, just tell them Dead Duck is by Jay P. Fosgitt and published by Ape Entertainment. That should do it.

TO ORDER DEAD DUCK THROUGH AMAZON.COM

Just click HERE http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_1_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dead+duck+jay+fosgitt&sprefix=dead+duck

TO ORDER DEAD DUCK DIRECTLY FROM APE ENTERTAINMENT

Just click HERE http://www.ape-entertainment.com/store.htm

No pun intended, but I'm dead serious here, people. I've spent my entire life trying to get to this point in my cartooning career, and your help can push me to the top of the summit. So please, if you can, order now, encourage others to order now, and I'll do my damnedest to show my appreciation to each and every one of you. I hope to hear from you soon with news of your purchases.

Much love and appreciation, friends."

--Jay

Note From Michael:  I normally don't do these kind of blog posts... but I have seen part of the work that Jay has put into this project and feel that it deserves some mention here to make sure the graphic novel is printed, and in the quantities that should be available for readers once they hear about it.  That is is the reason for this blog post today.  Plus take advantage of Jay's offer to send You a personalized post card sketch that he mentions above!

"To a generation, Knight Rider represents more than just a sophisticated talking car and its driver. It represents the vision of Wilton Knight and what technology can accomplish when combined together to invoke the belief that one man can make a difference. Michael Knight and K.I.T.T. defied the odds inside a sleek, black, Trans Am that could turbo boost, drive on two wheels, repel bullets, race through treacherous terrain, and crash through any obstacle thanks to its molecular bonded shell which made the car virtually indestructible. Devon Miles, Bonnie Barstow, April Curtis, and Reginald Cornelius III (RC3) operated in the background to help Michael and K.I.T.T. battle criminals who operated above the law.

The Knight Rider Companion is the ultimate guide to original Knight Rider mythology. From the pilot, Knight of the Phoenix to the made for TV movie Knight Rider 2000, this book tells the story of this hit television classic through interviews with its cast, crew, and hundreds of rarely seen photographs, press shots, and other promotional materials presented in full color and high resolution print.

The Knight Rider Companion features: a new Foreword by creator Glen A. Larson, Introduction by Robert Foster, Hall of Fame Autograph Guide, Knight Equipment Guide, Vehicle Specs Guide, Knight Gallery Featuring Posters and Promotional art, Episode Guide covering all Four Seasons of Knight Rider, and much more!

Interviews with: Glen A. Larson, Michael Scheffe, Stu Phillips, Don Peake, Tom Greene, and many more!"

I have mentioned a few times in earlier blogs that I was reading this book, at the bottom right (featurette) section of those posts. 

Tina, who wasn't a fan of the first series, or the latest series, thought highly of this book when just thumbing through it at the LBCC.  She called it a 'high end book', and with her many years in publishing, she knows her stuff when describing books!

I found that the Foreword by Glen A. Larson, the Introduction by Robert Foster, and the opening chapters to totally immerse me into the World of Knight Rider, even though I had missed viewing most of the 84 episodes that comprise the series.

The black and white photos interspersed with the color photos were hi-lights to what was covered on the pages.

I mainly enjoyed reading the background stories by those involved with the production of the show.  Along with the stories by those that were the main characters in the show.  The additional nuggets of knowledge inserted by Nick into the episode guides were though provoking.  Makes me want to go out and rent the DVDs to watch this show after the current TV Season is over!

You know, the subtitle under the Book's Title on the front cover says: "One Man Can Make A Difference".  Well in putting this Companion book together, One Man has made a difference for sure!  That would be Nick Nugent, who put together a well crafted book for those that have even a little bit of knowledge of Knight Rider history.   This Companion book is a definite 'buy' for those that are real fans of the TV Series, or even David Hasselhoff fans from his other shows!

You can find out more about this Companion book and how to purchase it by going to their Web Site by clicking here!

"Silver Comics #1: $2.95, 32 b&w pages, cover by Frank Brunner

The End: "The Snake and The Zombie!" Johnny Ortiz (writer, artist) Crime boss The Snake attempts to kill rival crime boss The Zombie, and learns The Zombie is actually The End in disguise. The End stabs The Snake and throws him into the water, apparently killing him??

Sea-Bolt: "The Reign of the Sub-Humans!" Johnny Ortiz (writer, artist), Dan Beltran (co-writer), Mark Prudeaux (inker) Sea-Bolt disrupts Zarro's torpedo attack on a cargo ship. Zarro captures Sea-Bolt.

Dr. Monster: "The Origin of Dr. Monster, Part 1: The Cosmic Crime!" Johnny Ortiz (story, layouts), Dan Beltran (writer), Vince Musacchia (penciller, inker) Count D'sa tricks Man-Star into killing an unarmed peace officer. Planetary sentries arrest Man-Star for murder.

The Man Called Santa: "'Twas The Night Before Doom!" Johnny Ortiz (writer, artist), Chris Roberts (co-writer) A Martian flying saucer digs underground in the Nevada desert, then resurfaces. Santa and his mighty reindeer chase the saucer in their orna-copter. Santa jumps onto the saucer and is captured by Satan, who is under the control of the Martian Nodge.

Cloud Buster: "Cry, The Bedeviled Planet!" Johnny Ortiz (writer, penciller), Dan Beltran (co-writer), Mark Prudeaux (inker) Cloud Buster battles a cybernetic dragon. As Zeta Base is evacuated, Professor Rendell reveals himself as a traitor and kills Karl. As Fog Wraiths enter Zeta Base and attack, Gail detonates a nuclear bomb to destroy the base and protect its secrets."

The only thing that was different in reading the above stories from the 'Good Old Days', is that the stories here in 'Silver Comics' were in black and white.  Which was OK to me, because the storylines and art were pretty darn good!  (I have mentioned before that I don't like the 'Essentials' format because they are in black and white, but that's because I originally read them in the color format!)

Here's my thoughts on each feature:

THE END:  This feature was more pre-Code style to me.  That is to say the heavy usage of black inks in the panels, and the way the panels were 'cut up'.  Altho it was a little out of chronological order for 'Silver Comics', it was a good feature, and the Silver Age of Comics did start in 1956, so OK, it was an 'early' Silver Age story...

THE SEA-BOLT:  Yeah!  Like I was reading a Subby story in Tales To Astonish... very enjoyable!

DOCTOR MONSTER:  Good Origin Story!

THE MAN CALLED SANTA:  What a concept!

CLOUD BUSTER:  Reminded me of some of the early tales when the MoNSTer comics were evolving into Sci-Fi and then Superheroes comics!

I truly enjoyed this first issue of the series!   This would be a good introductory issue to start off tweens into reading comics!  Plus it is a good issue for those that grew up in the 'Marvel Age of Comics', to remind them that comics can be Fun!  No 'Grim n' Gritty' in these pages! 

Silver Comics #1 truly is a 'homage' to the 'Silver Age of Comics'!  It is a refreshing alternative to what I mostly see on the stands nowadays!  And the front cover by Frank Brunner definitely is just a 'taste' of the goodies you'll find inside this issue!

You can find out about the latest updates plus what you can purchase from the Silver Comics folks by going to their Facebook Fan Page by clicking here!

Since that last blog post, there has been a major revamp of one of the better databases for comic books, and their creators.  That revamp makes it easier to sort by individual what works they are credited for, (but still not complete).

Here are most of George Tuska's pencil jobs (1,106) as shown at the GCD: click here!

Here are most of George Tuska's ink jobs (662) as shown at the GCD: click here!

The news of George's passing was known earlier this morning, but I was looking through my photos of previous comic cons trying to find a photo of George at one of them.  Since I was unsuccessful at that, I thought I should go ahead and use the one that most news people and bloggers will be using, that of George with his big smile as seen above, which is a good one to remember him by...

So what is the concept of this graphic novel about?   Here's what the web site that Gerimi has says about the concept:

"EYE OF THE GODS is a psychological thriller about a man who's life spirals out of control when he is cursed with the ability of remote viewing.

It combines the high-tension paranoia of ENEMY OF THE STATE with the foreboding chill of THE DEAD ZONE.

Sean Black undergoes surgery, cloning his eyes to restoring his failing vision. After the operation, he "dreams" of a murder, only to discover that it really happened…

…But the death isn't being reported as a crime. When his curiosity gets the best of him, he uncovers a conspiracy and sets off a chain of events that unravel his life."

Here are the credits for this first issue:

By:                Gerimi Burleigh (creator / writer / artist/ etc.)
Type:           Graphic Novel  5 1/2" x 8 1/2" 
Genres:        Psychological Thriller / Sci-Fi 
Publisher:    Optic House 
Pub. Date:   February 2009
ISBN:           978--=9823320-0-9
Cover Price: $10.95

Okay, with all of that out of the way, what did I think about this graphic novel?  Well first, let me say this.   For such a nice guy at the LBCC that I met, he had a lot of emotion and story pent up within him to tell!  And tell it he did in this graphic novel!

Yeah, the interior pages may be black and white, but the action, scenery, and characters portrayed were colorful!   I didn't read this all at one sitting, so I was appreciative that the graphic novel was separated into chapters.

Chapters I may add, that were easily picked back up on when I came back!

Since Gerimi created, wrote and drew the graphic novel, I'll make mention of his different responsibilities and whether he accomplished them or not in my opinion here... 

The storyline was very suspenseful, and kept building.  The dialogue was not over the top, and seemed plausible for each character to speak.  There are a few curse words, but were not used for shock purposes.

The penciling was well done, and I immediately liked his style.  The use of grays and blacks in the story were well done. 

The lettering was where he wanted the balloons placed as an artist.  So the lettering never interferred with the art.

This graphic novel kept me interested, and was a good read. If you are into this type of genre, this is definitely a graphic novel that will be one that you will want to read.