Rick Remender is one writer who doesn’t hold back — in either his stories, or his interviews.
Chatting with the writer of Uncanny X-Force, Fear Agent and The Punisher about the course of his career, you realize that he’s got just as much to say about marketing yourself as he does about the nuts and bolts of the writing craft. MORE
“Easier said than done” – it’s a commonly used phrase. Perhaps too common. But a close second would have to be “There really are no bad characters in comics; it just takes the right writer and the right pitch”… and isn’t it funny how the two kinda go hand-in-hand? MORE
A few months ago, one of the X-Universe’s biggest secrets was revealed: a mutant team known as X-Force had been sanctioned by Cyclops to go out and “eliminate” those individuals and groups that threatened the existence of the mutants of the Marvel Universe. Once that revelation came to light, Cyclops decided to disband the team; moments later, however, a new, even more secret X-Force was formed. MORE
The Venom symbiote has been a lot of things in its nearly three-decade history in the Marvel Universe — with Peter Parker, a superhero and sprurned partner; with Venom, a vengeful threat and lethal protector; and with Mac Gargan, a Thunderbolt and Dark Avenger. He’s been featured in a movie (Spider-Man 3), several cartoon series and multiple video games (“We are Venom!”). MORE
January 26th, Los Angeles Retailers and fans who missed The Last Days of American Crime #1 the first time around now have a second chance to pick up the newest critically acclaimed title from Rick Remender (Punisher, Fear Agent). Radical Publishing is pleased and proud to announce that the second printing of Remenders newest sold-out crime masterpiece, featuring series artist Greg Tocchini (Marvel 1602: New World), will be hitting shelves again alongside the highly anticipated second issue.
The Last Days of American Crime takes place in the not-too-distant future, where the U.S. government plans in secret to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts as a final response to terrorism and crime. To keep this from the public, the government creates a distraction, installing a new currency system using digital charge cards. Graham Bricke, a career criminal never quite able to hit the big score, intends to steal one of the charging stations, skip the country and live off unlimited funds for the rest of his life. But the media has leaked news of the anti-crime signal one week before it was to go live… and now Graham and his team have just a few days to turn the heist of the century into the last crime in American history.
Critics and fans have raved over The Last Days of American Crime #1.
“From cover art to opening pages, Last Days hits readers with an unflinching dose of pulp noir seediness and doesn’t let up.” John Geddes, USAToday.com
because there are no new stories, writers must perform a magic act in order to make the reader believe he is reading something new. Well, someone get Rick Remender a top hat and a wand because he accomplishes it in the down and dirty Last Days of American Crime. By infusing a classic noir heist with the tension of modern American politics, Remender gives us a great opening to a comic series perhaps even on the level of Criminal or 100 Bullets.”
Andy Bentley, IGN Comics
The Last Days of American Crime #1 is a good first issue that sets up the world and the crime at hand well. If you enjoy Criminal and other crimes books, you’ll probably get a kick out of this.
Chad Nevitt, Comic Book Resources
Remender paces this first act with just enough information, bravado, and grizzled noir to keep a hungry reader satisfied. Noel Bartocci, Broken Frontier
This is crime fiction at its best. Remender totally immerses you in their world, and it’s a hell of a ride.
Sebastian Piccione, Project Fanboy
Don’t miss your chance to join the heist of the century! Check out The Last Days of American Crime #1 second printing (Diamond Code: DEC098036) alongside The Last Days of American Crime #2 with covers by Alex Maleev (Diamond Code: DEC090978) and Greg Tocchini (Diamond Code: DEC090979). To find a comic store near you go to www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comic-book.
Some answers to many of the questions we have been receiving:
Fear Agent: We still have one more arc of Fear Agent to wrap the big story up (issues 28-32) and put the book on hiatus while Tony, Jerome and I go and do our very best work possible for Marvel. This arc is well underway with Mike Hawthorne, Tony Moore and John Lucas working as a tag team supreme. It’s the best looking arc yet.
It’s important to give every project your 100% all — no matter if it’s creator-owned or not. The readers deserve our very best work, not something we rush out after over committing. So in that spirit we are devoting all of our time and energy to these Marvel projects.
It’s not something we take lightly. The readers deserve our best; we are lucky to have them and will do our best to never produce a diluted and voiceless product. Comics are expensive, it’s our job to see to it the comics with our names on them are worth the cost of admission. Regardless of this fact, Fear Agent, The End League and Gigantic were coming to their endings at these points anyway.
As for some reader’s feelings towards our Marvel work (most of those complaining have not read any of it) — Contempt prior to investigation is low thinking.
This isn’t a war you need to choose a side in. Mainstream/indy… it’s comics. Made by people. Some people can’t translate what they do from one side to the other, sure. But before you decide we’re among them, read the issues.
We are making the exact same books at Marvel that we make on our own. That’s why they wanted us at the company, to do what we do.
I stand behind our Punisher work as much as I do Fear Agent. Fear Agent will be back.
Gigantic and The End League are both ending as planned. Nothing has changed. The story you get by the end is the story I wanted to tell. They are both complete.
Fear Agent as well. By issue 32, when the book goes on hiatus, we will have hit the end of the original series bible outline. And if you ask me, 32 damn fine issues that were never compromised. Late, yes. But looking at the work, I’d rather see the books as our best foot forward every issue than look back at perfect shipping.
Marvel gave us a clause to continue these books if we desired to, but as I said, the books were reaching their conclusion. It’s not Marvel telling us to wrap these up. Marvel has simply allowed us to work on the characters in their stable that we’ve always wanted to — we couldn’t be having more fun. If you like Fear Agent, you’ll love what we’re doing in Punisher. If you like Strange Girl, You’ll love Doctor Voodoo.
I still have a new creator-owned series in the works. Last Days of American Crime will launch in October from Radical Comics. It is amazing, Greg Tocchini is the next big thing in comics, his pages are works of art. Alex Maleev turns in some of the best covers of his career.
Anyway, it’s important people not misunderstand this stuff of take a cynical point of view about it. If you have a jones for my creator-owned books, there are over twenty trade paperbacks worth you can find on Amazon right now.
I’d recommend Night Mary or Black Heart Billy.
Thanks for the support,
Rick
