January
27,
2004
Parables:
An Anthology is now available!
The wait is over! We just received our shipment of Parables:
An Anthology and I gotta say, the book looks great...
but then again I'm a little bias.
Even
though it doubled our paper cost, I'm glad we chose to print the interior
pages on cream instead of white paper. It gives the book a very classy
feel. Both versions of the book, hardcover and softcover, feel solid
and very well bound. Our printer, Friesens,
did an excellent job.
The
book will be in stores nationwide by mid to late February but you
can order it from us right away. As a bonus, I will be signing all
copies ordered from the website until the end of February.
It's
so cool having my first four books collected in one snazzy volume.
I dig it!
Click
here to find out how to order.
January
26,
2004
The
second Insanely Twisted Rabbit Statue is now available for
pre-order!
I
Just got words that our second collaboration with Sideshow, the Scarab
Rabbit Statue is now available for pre-order. I'm delighted
to see how good the piece has turned out and I'm sure you will be
too! The polystone collectible sells for $40.00 and measures approx.
5.75" H (146mm) x 6.5" W (165mm) x 4" D (101mm). It
weights an impressive 3.00 lbs (1.30 Kg)! Mat Fals, who sculpted the
first Insanely Twisted Rabbit statue (the Demon Dog Rabbit)
worked his magic again on this new piece. It is expected to ship in
May/June 2004.
Click
here for more details.
For
some odd reason, the Demon Dog Rabbit which had been
sold out for a while is now back in stock on the Sideshow
website. The sculpture has been selling on ebay for double its
retail price so I was a bit surprised when I learned that Sideshow
still had a few copies stashed away at regular price. This is your
last opportunity to acquire the first piece of the ever-growing Gagné
collection of twisted collectibles, so don't miss out. Click
here for more details.
January
24,
2004
Illustrations
from The Great Shadow Migration Added to the Gallery
The
story from my third book, The
Great Shadow Migration, is about to be re-released in my new anthology,
Parables, which
will be available from this site in about one week. To whet your appetite,
I've posted some illustrations from it. Note: The text has been
omitted from the images
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January
11,
2004
New
Interview on SilverBulletComicBooks.com
Tim
O'Shea is a leading comic journalist who has interviewed
many of industry's top talents. Last year, I had the pleasure of discussing
my Batman back-up and other projects with him in an
interview for the ORCA website.
Tim now works with SilverBulletComicBooks.com,
one of the best comic book site on the web. Upon reading the press
release for my upcoming book, Parables: An Anthology,
Tim contacted me about doing yet another interview to get the scoop
on my current and upcoming projects. Click
here to read the interview.
January
9,
2004
"Disney
Project" is Put on Hold
A
couple of days ago, I got a call from the Production Manager at Disney
who was working with me on the "unnamed project" (see January
3 update for details). I was told that the project has been
put on hold - indefinitely. Although there's still a possibility that
work will resume at a later date, it's not looking so good at the
moment. I was very disturbed by the news.
I've
been doing some of my best pre-production work for this project and
it really saddens me to think that all the images I created will now
end up in limbo. I've kept copies of all the work I've generated during
my brief stint and hopefully, I will get permission to include some
of it in my upcoming "The Art of Michel Gagné" book.
January
3,
2004
A
Look Back at 2003...
Another
year has gone by and I barely saw it. Time flies when you're having
fun. 2003 has been a year of adjustments as we settled in our new
house in Washington State. Being the workoholic that I am, I kept
busy with several projects.
2003 kicked off with the release of Batman:
Spore, my first foray into the world of mainstream comics.
It was serialized in Detective Comics #776
(Jan 2003), #777 (February 2003), #778
(March 2003), #779 (April 2003) and #780
(May 2003). The reaction from the comic community was highly controversial
to say the least!
From
February til June, I designed the special effects for Star
Wars - Clone Wars: a series of 20 three-minute short films.
It was a very fun experience and the fullfilment of a fanboyish dream.
The first 10 episodes premiered on Cartoon Network in November. The
other half of the series will be shown this year.
In June, I released my latest baby. A hardcover full-color storybook
called The Towers
of Numar. I got a lot of great reactions from fans. Our
pre-order sales for the title were our best ever! The story of Meeka
had been in the work for quite a while and it was a great feeling
to finally wrap up the book!
As
usual, Nancy and I participated in a few conventions and trade shows.
We started the circuit in February with the Seattle's Emerald
City Comicon. A very nice mid-sized Convention. One of
the best we've done. In April, I was a special guest at the Atlanta
Comicon. While there, I did a lecture at the ASIFA Atlanta
room and participated in a discussion panel with other artists (Read
more). The San-Diego Comic-Con as usual, was
a lot of fun but exhausting (Read
more). My last convention appearance was at the Vancouver
Comicon in October. A small but fun event (Read
more).
Our
first collaboration with Sideshow,
the Demon
Dog Rabbit Sculpture, was released in July. We premiered
the sculpture at the San Diego Comic-Con and it was a smash hit, selling
out very quickly. It surpassed our expectations! We will be expanding
the line in 2004 with several new pieces.
Last November, I received an email from an old friend who's an animation
director at Disney. He asked if
I'd be interested in designing a project for them. The deal was made,
and on November 10, I started creating characters and environments
for the yet unnamed project. It's been fun. I see a lot of potential
here. I will continue to be involved with the project throughout 2004.
Looking
Ahead at 2004...
Besides
my continued work on the "Disney project",
I have a few books scheduled to be released in 2004:
Parables
- An Anthology: A 128-page collection of my first
four limited editions storybooks. I'm very excited to have these stories
back in print. The book comes out in February and will be available
in both softcover and hardcover.
Freaky
Flora - From A to Z: A 32-page full-color, hardcover
alphabet/art book coming out in May. It's sort of a sequel to my 2002
release, Frenzied Fauna:
From A to Z. Same concept except that this time it deals
with vegetation instead of animals. It's very wacky!
ZED
#5 - Resurrection: Finally, people will see how
the crazy cliffhanger at the end of issue 4 gets resolved! I like
where the series is going. The issue is all roughed out and I started
inking it. It's slated for a June or July release. At any rate, we'll
have the issue ready for the San Diego Comic-Con.
My
Insane Childhood: This is my pièce de résistance.
A weird and surreal 136 pages auto-biographical graphic novel. I'm
aiming for a December release but it could change. I don't want to
rush this. By the way, this one will have a "Mature Readers"
disclaimer on the cover!
As
usual, I'll be doing signings and conventions throughout 2004. To
be updated on where I'll be appearing, just go to the Upcoming
Events page. If I'm in your neighborhood come and say hi. I love
to meet people!
I
hope all of you have a great year ahead. I will close by thanking
every one who has supported my work. Because of you, I can keep doing
what I love! Thanks a heap!
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