ESSEX COUNTY HEADED TO TELEVISON

FIRST GENERATION FILMS CLOSES DEVELOPMENT DEAL

TO ADAPT JEFF LEMIRE’S BEST-SELLING GRAPHIC NOVEL

“ESSEX COUNTY”

TORONTO, December 14, 2015 - First Generation Films (FGF) announced today it has optioned Jeff Lemire’s critically acclaimed and best-selling graphic novel ESSEX COUNTY to adapt into a scripted television series. Writer Aaron Martin has been signed to pen the pilot script and showrun the series currently in development with the CBC.

Based on award-winning cartoonist Jeff Lemire’s much-loved graphic novel trilogy, published by Top Shelf Productions, this series intricately weaves the genealogy of a family’s origins across generations. The novel is an intimate study of an eccentric community and a tender meditation on family, memory, grief, secrets, and reconciliation.

Ted Adams, Chris Staros, Jeff Lemire and Aaron Martin will Executive Produce along with Christina Piovesan of First Generation Films.

“ESSEX COUNTY is a vivid and haunting book that has inspired a dedicated and distinguished following. We are thrilled Jeff has agreed to collaborate with FGF to bring his vision to the screen” says First Generation Films President Christina Piovesan.

This will be the first deal under the direction of Julie Di Cresce, VP scripted programming. Regarding the project, Di Cresce adds, “With Aaron Martin's wealth of writing and production experience, we hope to break new ground with this material. We are excited by his vision for adapting the novel and can’t wait to bring it to the screen."

ESSEX COUNTY has won multiple literary awards including the American Library Association’s Alex Award, the Doug Wright Award, and the Joe Shuster Award.

New York Times bestselling author Jeff Lemire is currently writing Marvel Entertainment’s “The Extraordinary X-Men”, as his original graphic novel series “Descender” is being adapted into a major motion film by Sony Pictures.

Award-winning screenwriter Aaron Martin’s previous credits include CTV’s “Degrassi: The Next Generation”, CBC’s “Being Erica”, CTV’s “Killjoys” and most recently Super Channel’s Slasher”.

Today’s news comes less than three months after FGF announced the launch of the television division.

ABOUT FIRST GENERATION FILMS

With a decade record of success, First Generation Films (FGF) is a leading independent production company, responsible for award-winning, internationally distributed productions.

FGF is focused on growth and its commitment to working with the most innovative creative storytellers from around the world.

DESCENDER CONTINUES THIS WEEK!

Issue 7 of DESCENDER, the first part of our second arc, entitled "MACHINE MOON", is out this week.

This issue will have 2 covers; one by Dustin Nguyen and another by my talented wife, Lesley-Anne Green (who also did the cover for this week's BAT-MITE from DC Comics!)


DESCENDER VOLUME 1: TIN STARS is available now for only $9.99. 

The first issue of DESCENDER is available over at BOING BOING for free right now! 
CLICK HERE TO READ DESCENDER #1

ORIGINAL COMIC ART FOR SALE

There are some new pieces of my original artwork for sale at CADENCE COMIC ART including TRILLIUM, my Jack Kirby/Fantastic Four variant cover for ALL NEW HAWKEYE #1 as well as new SWEET TOOTH art from the recent CMYK Vertigo anthology.

CLICK HERE to visit the store.

Lemire and Smallwood Launch MOON KNIGHT in 2016!

I will be launching a new Moon Knight series in 2016 for Marvel along with amazing artist Greg Smallwood and Colorist Jordie Bellaire.


Read an interview about Moon Knight here!

Upcoming Appearances in Columbus and Kitchener

I will be doing a Book Club talk and Q&A at the Kitchener Public Library in Kitchener, Ontario on September 30, 2015.

The event begins at 6:30 pm. I will also be signing. Click here for details

I will also be a guest at CXC in Columbus, Ohio, October 1-3 

READ THE 1st ISSUE OF DESCENDER FOR FREE!

The first issue of DESCENDER is available over at BOING BOING for free right now! 

CLICK HERE TO READ DESCENDER #1


Go check it out and if you like it, remember the first graphic novel collecting issues 1-6 will be available in September!

LIMITED EDITION DESCENDER PRINTS and SKETCHBOOKS AVAILABLE NOW!

3 LIMITED DESCENDER PRINTS are now available through CADENCE SELECTS

The Prints are signed by me! Click here to order



My sketchbooks are also still available. They feature rare short comics, variant covers, sketchbook material etc. Also all signed by me.  Click her to order


And original artwork from Sweet Tooth, Trillium and other projects is also for sale via Cadence Comic Art

Click here to browse the artwork

DESCENDER 6 and VOLUME 1 COMING SOON!

And check out a PREVIEW of ISSUE 6 at AV CLUB!

Order PLUTONA #1 Now!

The first issue of my next series from Image Comics, PLUTONA, will be released in September. Plutona is the story of five kids who find the body of the world's greatest super hero, PLUTONA in the woods one day after school, and how this discovery will change their young lives forever.

Written by me and Emi Lenox and drawn by Emi and coloured by Jordie Bellaire, PLUTONA #1 is available for pre-order at your local comic book retailer until MONDAY AUG. 10. 

Plutona #1 Ordering info: 

Item Code: JUL150545

In Shops: 9/2/2015

There is an advance Review of Plutona 1 over at THE NERDIST.com  @NerdistDotCom review! http://tinyurl.com/nbvv5ok 

Here's PREVIEW at CBR

And Emi is having a contest to win a signed Plutona postcard on her twitter https://twitter.com/emibot

Deluxe Edition Essex County Now Available!

Essex County -- LIMITED SLIPCASE EDITION (SKETCH CARD EDITION)

by Jeff Lemire

$150.00 (US)

Add to Cart

Also available -- a few copies left of the Signed & Numbered Limited Slipcase Edition - SKETCHCARD EDITION (Limited to 50 copies) that was released at Comic-Con! Get them while supplies last.

IN PRINT! (PUBLISHED JULY 2015)

Essex County -- LIMITED SLIPCASE EDITION

by Jeff Lemire

$75.00 (US)

Add to Cart

Also available -- a few copies left of the Signed & Numbered Limited Slipcase Edition (Limited to 500 copies) that was released at Comic-Con! Get them while supplies last.

IN PRINT! (PUBLISHED JULY 2015)

LIVE FAN CHAT TODAY @ 2PM EASTERN

I will be answering questions live TODAY at 2pm-3pm Eastern at the MILLAR WORLD FORUMS http://forums.millarworld.tv

Ask me anything!

EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN Coming in OCTOBER!

As announced today on Comic Book Resources, I will be writing the new flagship X-Men book this October for Marvel Comics! Humberto Ramos will be drawing the book. It would be an understatement to say that I'm excited about the project.

The Extraordinary X-Men team will include STORM, NIGHTCRAWLER, COLOSSUS, ICEMAN, JEAN GREY and, making his Marvel Universe debut, OLD MAN LOGAN!

The first promo image by artist Humberto Ramos, inker Victor Olazaba and Colorist Edgar Delgado.

Click here to read CBR's exclusive interview.

Essex County — Deluxe Slipcase Edition (Comic-Con Exclusive)!

Jaw-dropping Comic-Con exclusives from Top Shelf IDW and Jeff Lemire!

June 22, 2015

July approaches, so it's time once again to prepare for the biggest convention of the year — but this year marks a special landmark: Top Shelf's first Comic-Con since joining the IDW Publishing family! To celebrate, we've teamed with IDW to bring you some gorgeous premium editions of Top Shelf's most beloved books, developed exclusively for San Diego Comic-Con International!

These exclusives are available for pre-order from IDW’s webstore beginning today, June 22. Fans that preorder will be able to pick up their books throughout the show from the Top Shelf booth #1721, the IDW booth #2743, or for the first time from the San Diego Comic Art Gallery located in Liberty Station in the Point Loma area of San Diego (Wednesday, July 8 through Monday, July 13).

Essex County — Deluxe Slipcase Edition (Comic-Con Exclusive)
Top Shelf celebrates the award-winning masterpiece that made Jeff Lemire a household name. This elegant, foil-stamped slipcase edition features an exclusive letterpress bookplate signed & numbered by the author! Don’t miss the chance to get a deluxe version of this intimate study of an eccentric farming community and a tender meditation on family, memory, grief, secrets, reconciliation — and hockey.
$75, Limited to 500 copies, 3 per person.

Also available in a super-limited edition with an original sketch by Jeff Lemire!
$150, Limited to 50 copies, 2 per person

New Essex County Cover Art Being Auctioned for Shannen Kootstachin Monument

I am currently auctioning this brand new original artwork from the upcoming deluxe edition of ESSEX COUNTY.

The artwork will be used as a limited edition plate on a signed and numbered edition of Essex County and the original artwork is 15 x 20 inches.

ALL PROCEEDS from the sale will go to support the SHANNEN KOOTSTACHIN MONUMENT https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shannen-koostachin-monument

Shannen was one of the inspirations of drew from to create the EQUINOX character in my Justice League United comics, but she means so much more to so many people.

Bidding starts at $500 and ends in 7 days.

BID HERE, it's for a good cause! http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Jeff-Lemire-Essex-County-Original-Cover-Art-/271871318019?

BLACK HAMMER POSTPONED

Black Hammer has been a labor of love for me. It's a project that I've been working on, in various forms, for seven years. And as excited as I am to share it, sometimes life gets in the way of comics.

On March 26, my amazing collaborator, Dean Ormston suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on the left side of his brain which has effected his whole right side. Dean is now at home and recovering. 

As a result we have decided to post-pone the launch of Black Hammer until Dean is able to work regularly again. I'd like to thank all the fans and retailers for their patience and understanding as Dean recovers and promise that Black Hammer will be worth the wait! The important thing now is Dean's health, and making sure he has the time he needs to make a full recovery.

Limited Edition DESCENDER Print debuts at Emerald City Comicon!

I will be attending Emerald City Comicon in Seattle, WA this week. My table is located at Y-05 and I'll be sitting with my DESCENDER collaborator DUSTIN NGUYEN and my PLUTONA collaborator, EMI LENOX.

We will be selling and signing brand new, Limited Edition DESCENDER and PLUTONA prints at the show as well as DESCENDER buttons.

The DESCENDER PRINT (above) is a unique collaboration featuring art by both Dustin and myself and is limited to 500 copies.

The limited SEAN GORDON MURPHY ECCC EXCLUSIVE DESCENDER #1 Cover will also be for sale at the IMAGE COMICS BOOTH

When I'm not a Y-05, here's where you can find me:

Friday, March 27

1 - 2 pm Signing IMAGE BOOTH 

2-3pm: Signing VALIANT BOOTH

6:30– 7:30 p.m: DARK HORSE CREATOR-OWNED PANEL Hall D

Saturday March 28

12p-1p: Signing VALIANT BOOTH

5 - 6 p.m: Signing IMAGE BOOTH 

Sunday March 29

1:00pm DARK HORSE SIGNING.

2:30-3:30: IMAGE STORYTELLING PANEL

BLACK HAMMER IS COMING! ORDER NOW!

The extra-sized first issue my next creator-owned series BLACK HAMMER featuring art by DEAN ORMSTON (Lucifer), Colors by DAVE STEWART (Hellboy) and Letters by the legendary TODD KLIEN (Sandman) will be released in June! Make sure to ask your local comic book retailer to pre-order you a copy! 

I will also be providing variant covers for the first 6 issues, coloured by Dave Stewart...

HEROES NEVER DIE—THEY JUST GET RETCONNED!
Black Hammer #1
Jeff Lemire (W/Variant cover), Dean Ormston (A/Cover), and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale June 10
FC, 32 pages
$2.99
Ongoing
Once they were heroes, but the age of heroes has long since passed. Banished from existence by a multiversal crisis, the old champions of Spiral City—Abraham Slam, Golden Gail, Colonel Weird, Madame Dragonfly, and Barbalien—now lead simple lives in a timeless farming town. Even as they try to find their way home, trouble has a unique way of finding heroes wherever they are!
• From the prodigious brain of Jeff Lemire (Descender, Animal Man, Sweet Tooth)!
• Amazingly realized by Dean Ormston (Lucifer, 2000 AD) and Dave Stewart (Hellboy)!
• Extra-long first issue—26 story pages!
New from Jeff Lemire!
"With Lemire, readers know they’re always going to get a tight story with spot-on dialogue."—USA Today

DESCENDER #1 FAST-TRACKED TO SECOND PRINTING

LEMIRE AND NGUYEN’S DESCENDER
FAST-TRACKED TO SECOND PRINTING
New science-fiction series launches to critical acclaim

“Gorgeous.” —Vulture.com
“The best new comic book of 2015.” —Vox.com
“Your new sci-fi obsession is here, and its name is Descender…”
—Entertainment Weekly

Writer Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, Hawkeye) and artist Dustin Nguyen (Batman: Li'l Gotham) take the comics scene by storm with the launch of DESCENDER #1—already optioned for film before even hitting the shelves—and an outpouring of advance praise. In order to keep up with customer demand, Image Comics is pleased to announce a second printing of DESCENDER #1.

DESCENDER follows one young robot's struggle to stay alive in a universe where all androids have been outlawed and bounty hunters lurk on every planet. A rip-roaring and heart-felt cosmic odyssey that pits humanity against machine, and world against world, to create a sprawling space opera.

DESCENDER #1 remains available for purchase across all digital platforms, including the Image Comics website (imagecomics.com), the official Image Comics iOS app, Comixology’s website (comixology.com), iOS, Android, and Google Play.

DESCENDER #1, 2nd printing (Diamond Code JAN158232), arrives in stores on April 1.

DESCENDER #2 (Diamond Code FEB150601) will arrive in stores on April 8.

More praise for DESCENDER:
“Your new sci-fi obsession is here, and its name is Descender… a gorgeous, moody story about a future where a lonely robot boy searches for a home in a galaxy that hates and fears him.” —Entertainment Weekly

"Jeff Lemire has dreamt up an emotional, imaginative new universe, lavishly brought to life by the great Dustin Nguyen. I can't wait to see where they take TIM-21 next." —Brian K. Vaughan

“The best new comic book of 2015.” —Vox.com

 "Lemire and Nguyen just pulled the curtain back on the medium's new best science fiction heartbreaker." —Matt Kindt

“Between Lemire's penchant for building sweeping yet personal stories and Nguyen's gorgeous, painterly art, the book is stunning to behold.”
—Comic Book Resources

“Epic, intelligent, and full of heart.” —Comics Alliance

“Gorgeous.” —Vulture.com

“An epic sci-fi tale with a huge heart.” —Scott Snyder

“Remarkable…. Descender #1 truly takes you on a journey that’s so gripping, you’ll be begging for more..” —Bleeding Cool

“Exciting.” —The Los Angeles Times’ “HeroComplex”

“ ​Jeff Lemire has a real talent for ​drawing me into cold, alien worlds that I'd never dream I'd care about and then having me not want to leave them.” —Mark Waid

“The craft on display in this first issue of Descender is tour-de-force stuff.”
—Greg Rucka

“Descender by Jeff Lemire & Dustin Nguyen is hauntingly beautiful sci-fi that manages to be both epic and powerfully intimate. Masterfully done.” —Jason Aaron

"What a beautiful, beautiful book. Descender is worth buying for the artwork alone, so it's almost a bonus that it tells such a compelling story about the future of humanity in a universe filled with terrors (planet-sized killer robots, for one). I can't wait to see where it goes." —Charles Soule

“A beautiful cosmic opera and nuanced think piece, balancing the fear of the unknown with the spirit of adventure. Driven by the gorgeous visuals of artist Dustin Nguyen, Descender is a book on the rise.” —IGN

“I love Jeff Lemire. I love Dustin Nguyen. But believe me when I say Descender #1 is the best I've seen from both. This is a 5 star book!” —Mark Millar

“Like the best sci-fi, Lemire’s script transcends the fantastic to dissect such universal issues as fear, acceptance and hope… From the same scribe behind such reflective graphic novel touchstones as the Essex County trilogy, The Underwater Welder and Trillium, we’d expect no less.” —PASTE Magazine 

“Bloody hell, Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen's Descender looks fantastic... “
—Declan Shalvey

BLOODSHOT REBORN TRAILER DEBUTS

As we edge closer and closer to the series' debut, CBR presents the exclusive premiere of Valiant Entertainment's video trailer for Jeff Lemire and Mico Suayan's "Bloodshot: Reborn."

"[A]t the end of 'The Valiant,' something very dramatic happens to Bloodshot. It completely and utterly alters his life, and everything we know and everything we've ever seen of Bloodshot is really turned inside out" Lemire told CBR when the series was first announced. "I can honestly say that I've read every Bloodshot comic published now, and this Bloodshot story is unlike any that's every been published."

"[I]t's tremendous. It really is a masterpiece," Valiant CEO/CCO Dinesh Shamdansi told CBR News of the creative team's new take on the classic character, while Editor-in-Chief Warren Simons describes the book as "all new, and it's all innovative, and it's all f***ing amazing."

"Bloodshot: Reborn" debuts April 15.

TRILLIUM named of of YALSA's 10 Great GNs for Teens!

Trillium has been named one YALSA'S (The Young Adult Library Services Association) Top Ten Graphic Novels for Teens 2015!

YALSA LIST 2015

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT DESCENDER...

"Jeff Lemire has dreamt up an emotional, imaginative new universe, lavishly brought to life by the great Dustin Nguyen. I can't wait to see where they take TIM-21 next."  - Brian K. Vaughan, SAGA

"I am already rooting for poor Tim, theorizing about the origin of the Harvesters and gripping the cross bar of the roller-coaster begging for another ride."-- Damon Lindelof- co- creator of Lost, and HBO's the Leftovers

“Two largely separate aspects of your own fandom have just come together to create the comics version of a superweapon.”-BLEEDING COOL

“Jeff Lemire has a real talent for ​drawing me into cold, alien worlds that I'd never dream I'd care about and then having me not want to leave them.”--Mark Waid, IRREDEEMABLE

“The craft on display in this first issue of DESCENDER is tour-de-force stuff — Lemire’s ideas are, as ever, as potent as his prose, and Dustin Nguyen’s art is deft and delightful, running from warmth to chilling, gentle to brutal. A wonderful start that makes you immediately want more.”-Greg Rucka, LAZARUS

“No question, a large part of the emotional success of the book is due to artist Dustin Nguyen, whose familiar pencils punctuated with watercolor finishes lend a stunning wash to the entire world of Descender and its occupants. . . . 

A remarkably subtle beginning to what is clearly going to be Image Comics’ next great space epic, Descender #1 has everything you need to get hooked — political intrigue, social unrest, planet-level danger, and, most importantly, a boy with his dog. If you’ve been a fan of Lemire and Nguyen’s work, you won’t need any convincing of Descender’s greatness. And if you haven’t had the pleasure yet, there’s no better place to start.”-COMICOSITY.COM

“I love @JeffLemire. I love @duss005. But believe me when I say Descender #1 is the best I've seen from both. This is a 5 star book!”--Mark Millar, KICK ASS

"What a beautiful, beautiful book. DESCENDER is worth buying for the artwork alone, so it's almost a bonus that it tells such a compelling story about the future of humanity in a universe filled with terrors (planet-sized killer robots, for one). I can't wait to see where it goes."-- Charles Soule (LETTER 44)

“DESCENDER dazzles. . .One hell of a creator-owned debut by Nguyen, who looks like he’s on the verge of taking his art to another level by taking it in a different direction. You won’t want to miss this comic, folks..”--MULTIVERSITY

“The real deal.”--Joshua Hale Fialkov (THE BUNKER)

“Bloody hell, @JeffLemire and @duss005's DESCENDER looks fantastic... “--Declan Shalvey

“Really really good.”--COMICVINE

“INSANELY good.”--Ray Fawkes

“There's a lot of imagination in this book.”--CBR

“When considered within comics culture, it’s easy enough to see in Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen’s DESCENDER the strands of creative DNA that reach back to classics like Tezuka’s THE MIGHTY ATOM or Urasawa’s PLUTO. But when considered within the broader context of popular culture, Lemire’s writing and Nguyen’s art usher us into the presence of a work every bit as powerful as 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY or ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN.” —Dr. Shathley Q, PopMatters Comics Editor.

SONY PICTURES PICKS UP LEMIRE AND NGUYEN's DESCENDER

Sony Pictures Entertainment announced today that it acquired the feature film rights to Descender, the forthcoming comic book series from New York Times bestselling author Jeff Lemire and New York Times bestselling comic artist Dustin Nguyen. Josh Bratman will produce the film with Lemire and Nguyen attached to executive produce. The first issue of the eagerly awaited series will be published by Image Comics on March 4, 2015.  

"Jeff Lemire has dreamt up an emotional, imaginative new universe, lavishly brought to life by the great Dustin Nguyen. I can't wait to see where they take TIM-21 next."  - Brian K. Vaughan, SAGA

"I am already rooting for poor Tim, theorizing about the origin of the Harvesters and gripping the cross bar of the roller-coaster begging for another ride."-- Damon Lindelof- co- creator of Lost, and HBO's the Leftovers

“ ​Jeff Lemire has a real talent for ​drawing me into cold, alien worlds that I'd never dream I'd care about and then having me not want to leave them.”--Mark Waid, IRREDEEMABLE

“The craft on display in this first issue of DESCENDER is tour-de-force stuff — Lemire’s ideas are, as ever, as potent as his prose, and Dustin Nguyen’s art is deft and delightful, running from warmth to chilling, gentle to brutal. A wonderful start that makes you immediately want more.”-Greg Rucka, LAZARUS

“Two largely separate aspects of your own fandom have just come together to create the comics version of a superweapon.”-BLEEDING COOL

“I love @JeffLemire. I love @duss005. But believe me when I say Descender #1 is the best I've seen from both. This is a 5 star book!”--Mark Millar, KICK ASS

“Bloody hell, @JeffLemire and @duss005's DESCENDER looks fantastic... “--Declan Shalvey

“INSANELY good.”--Ray Fawkes

DESCENDER #1 is on sale MARCH 4, 2015. An EXTRA-SIZED first issue for only $2.99. Please pre-order from your local comic book store.

ORDER CODE: JAN150567