Hey, it’s Zack!
I just got back from Thoughtbubble and had an amazing time meeting so many creators and talents, but none more special than to spend the week with my Mindset collaborator and partner, John Pearson, who is as lovely as he is talented. I’ll have to share some more on Thoughtbubble another time, because today I’m focused on the release of the collected series - METAL SOCIETY!
I first conceived of Metal Society back in 2018, although it didn’t fully come together until fall of 2019. I’ve told this story before, but it was NYCC and I was watching the McGregor v Khabib UFC MMA fight at a NYC bar. Fight stakes can be political. That was the discovery. After that, my idea about a world in which robots fear humans taking their jobs, well, it suddenly had an arena to explore the conflict. An MMA ring.
Top Cow was interested in another series and this seemed like a perfect follow up to the hard sci-fi tales of Port of Earth and Eclipse, continuing in the pedigree of imaginative sci-fi world-building. It was an ambitious vision for a comic, both narratively, with dual protagonists, non-linear structure and a mix of fight drama and social angst, but also visually dynamic. It required artists who could pull off futuristic cityscapes, robots and fight arenas as well as heartfelt character moments. Guilherme Balbi, wow, what can you say? Guilherme is relatively new and he knocked it out of the park. Marco Lesko brought so much life with his dystopian and dynamic colors. And Troy Peteri fulfilled the near impossible task of varying lettering styles in a fluid seamless manner.
The book came out of the gate very hard with the biggest #1 sales of my career (until Mindset), and it’s had a pretty committed cult following since. But I’m so excited for more readers to check it out, especially since so many readers already have responded to the ending. I’m very proud of this ending. So if you haven’t read it yet, I hope you’ll consider checking it out.
I have so much going on right now, I can’t even tell you! The next year or two are going to be crazy. But right now, it’s so many secret things. Ahhh! Let’s see what I can tell you…
Mindset #5 and Forever Forward #3 are both out next week. Another double dose of Kaplan sci-fi on new comic release day. I don’t want to say too much about either, no spoilers here, but I think both will hit hard. Mindset is a 6 issue series, so this is 5 of 6. Forever Forward is 3 of 5.
Break Out #4 finale has been moved but locked down for December 23rd, just in time for the end of the year holiday break! I can’t wait for you all to see this final issue! I know it’s been a long time coming.
Alright, that wasn’t much. I actually am looking forward to the down time before new things announce, because I really want to revaluate my use of this newsletter. Maybe I’ll have time to switch gears and talk more about the process and business of making comics. Is there anything you’d want to hear me chat about?
Until next time…
Thanks for reading!
Zack Kaplan
11.16.22