Hey, it’s Zack!
I just got back from my second con of the year, second con since the pandemic began. I was at Emerald City Comic Con, which was a great time, especially since I got to be in Artist Alley and connect with readers a bit more! I also got to do a Comic Writing Panel with Jim Zub, Amy Chu and Jim Kruger; I thought we had some real pearls and insights - you can watch that with a ReedPop subscription to their Popverse. I’m currently writing Mindset #6, the finale of the series, as well as starting in on a new thing, which I’m so excited for. And I’m off to Rose City Comic Con in just two weeks!
But it looks like FOREVER FORWARD has jumped forward in time and is no longer releasing this Wednesday, Aug 24th, but has time traveled to August 31st. That is exciting because BREAK OUT is returning with Issue #3 on August 31st after a couple month hiatus. So August 31st I will have these two awesome comics on the shelf!
BREAK OUT #3 is basically the pay off of this series. The first two issues are setting up the world, the dilemma, the characters and their plans to break in and out of these mysterious Cube spaceships. Issue #3 is the heist in and the entire operation. And Wilton Santos and Jason Wordie (and Jim Campbell on letters) decided rather than rush this operation, they wanted to pull off something amazing with the artwork. It does not disappoint. I cannot wait for you all to check it out.
And then, I have the last release of the FOREVER FORWARD #1, published by SCOUT COMICS, written by myself, drawn by Arjuna Susini (Heist, Replace), colored by Brad Simpson (Stray Dogs, Join the Future), letters from Jim Campbell (Giant Days, Break Out), and logo/design from Tim Daniel's Second Rocket.
And there are some stunning covers by That Texas Blood/Newburn's Jacob Phillips, Last Day's of Black Hammer Stefano Simeone, DC Round Robin winner and Superboy artist Jahnoy Lindsay, and incentive covers from superstar cover artists Ivan Tao and Alan Quah!
A personal note about this story: Over the past couple years, I've had this feeling that maybe the future is not going to get better, that maybe this era in the twenty first century is as good as it gets. A bummer, I know! And I try to be a positive person. I think we're all guilty of the opposite of this on a personal level, hoping our future will get better while we neglect our very own present day lives and relationships. I'm guilty of that, anyway. So my inspiration for this story was to explore that concern and search for some hope in the future. Are we all destined for a brighter tomorrow or is this as good as it gets? I do think I found the answer in this narrative, but you'll have to read the comic and go on this imaginative and stunning journey to find it too.
The story of FOREVER FORWARD is an Odyssey-style mythic journey through "the future", in the similar vein of PAPER GIRLS or BLACK SCIENCE, as a scientist and his friends try to make their way home.
Image/Top Cow’s METAL SOCIETY #5 is set to have the big finale on Sept 5th, and we are so excited for you to witness it. Robots v Humans. Get ready!
Then Mindset #3 has moved to release on September 14th, so get ready for that one. I say with absolute confidence that if this issue takes the series to a whole new level! Get ready to have your mind blown!
For Comic Cons, I’ll be at Rose City Comic Con, New York Comic Con and later this November, Thought Bubble. So I’d love to see you!
I’m ready for a break, but sadly there is no rest anytime soon. I’m prepping another killer slate of comics for next year. But as I opened with, I am writing Mindset #6 right now, and Metal Society, Break Out and Forever Forward scripts have all already been completed, so it feels very fulfilling to be putting one chapter to bed and preparing for another one. Here we go!
And thanks for reading.
Zack Kaplan
8.24.22