Huge thanks to @katiekubert and @mariejavins for helping Ambush Bug steal this story from the vaults so everyone can finally read it.
It's my first DC Comics release in 7 years, and I hope there's more to come in the months ahead. :)
I had so much fun working on this that I bought Tradd's original art for the splash page with Harley and Deadshot when he drew the story in 2016.
It's been framed and on my wall for years, but I haven't been able to show it until now.
Here's the original cover (with space for the Suicide Squad logo) and Tradd's wonderful design sketches he did to warm up before he started pages.
This was the very first script I ever wrote for the Big Two!
Editor Pat McCallum hired me to write a Suicide Squad done-in-one as a possible fill-in issue during the New 52 in case the series ever fell off schedule.
The first draft was just Deadshot on his own.
The issue was never produced, but it did give me the chance to pitch on other DC projects.
In 2016, @bcunningham71 found the script when he was organizing the Suicide Squad relaunch around the first movie.
He really liked it and hired Tradd to draw it.
I went back through the script at that point, adding Harley Quinn into the mix. Her antics helped create even more contrast between the breakneck violence and dark humor I wanted the story to have.
The issue was completed at that point, but never released...UNTIL TODAY!
Man oh man, what a trip.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
In the same vein as @BizzareComics DC 10 Title challenge, if I had to pare down the Marvel publishing line to only 10 series per month, here are the iconics-
1) SPIDER-MAN - with back-up stories of Spidey-related characters
2) THE AVENGERS - big cast and big threats
3) FANTASTIC FOUR - with cosmic-related back-up stories
4) X-MEN - includes a Wolverine back-up and one other back-up story each issue
5) CHAMPIONS - Teenage heroes, with other teen hero back-up stories
6) JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY - Thor, with magic/supernatural back-up stories
7) TALES TO ASTONISH - Captain America + Iron Man
8) MARVEL KNIGHTS - Black Widow, Daredevil and other espionage /street-level heroes
In simplest terms, in order for you to get work doing art for other people, you need a portfolio that grabs attention and gives potential clients a clear path for contacting you.
It's that easy and that difficult.
A portfolio is _not_ just a social media feed or a blog.
It's _not_ a gallery/archive of everything you've ever done.
Focus and clarity are key. Don't make it hard for people to figure out what you do or how they can hire you to do it for them.
An online portfolio is ideally something you control that’s not platform dependent (Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, etc.)
Social media for showing off work is fine, but they're _not_ a portfolio.
Platforms and tastes change.
Don’t be dependent on one source for your outreach.
Remember six months ago when I mentioned that comic piracy numbers were easily 20x legitimate buyers and it was a real problem?
Sometime yesterday a bunch of other comic pros looked closer, saw the numbers and the cold chill of it really hit.
Yup.
In the early days of online piracy, media that went viral in those channels could benefit from the visibility boost.
Nowadays most of it is rapid consumption that never leads to support. Digital content is quick and disposable. On to the next show, game, comic. Rinse and repeat.
The piracy sites will ask for donations to "support" their efforts, they'll repackage content that's already available for free through legitimate means. It's a relentless stockpile of content they're leveraging to make money because they can.