ALTER EGO cover reveal, SECRET IDENTITY Strand Award, DICK TRACY and more
Hi friends!
I hope you're doing great. Happy New Year. Can we still say that a few days from February? I think so! It's been a minute, huh?
About that - I've put a housekeeping note at the end to let you know why we're here on Buttondown. But, in short, nothing should change for you! If you have any issues, just email me directly. Cool? Cool.
Okay, onward...
SECRET IDENTITY WINS BEST NOVEL AT THE STRAND CRITICS AWARD
The headline says it all, I guess? I was completely gobsmacked when I heard my name read aloud during the Strand Magazine Critics Award ceremony on Zoom, and so flattered that the judges - ranging from outlets like The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, and more - selected my comic book noir novel as the best of 2022. There was some major competition, too, including many friends and idols. Thanks to all the readers who've supported this book over the last year or so, and to the entire team at Flatiron and HG Literary for pushing so hard for it. Special shout-out to all the other Strand winners, particularly Best First Novel winner, Stacy Willingham, who is an amazing writer and person. What a wonderful way to kick off the year!
ALTER EGO IS COMING
As you may have seen already, Graeme at Popverse unveiled a first look at the beautiful cover for Alter Ego, my next crime novel, hitting in November from Flatiron Books. The cover was masterfully designed by David Litman! You can even preorder it here (B&N orders, with order code PREORDER25, get 25 percent off)! But what's Alter Ego, you ask?
Alter Ego is a thriller set in the modern day comic book industry, starring Annie Bustamante, a former comic book artist who returns to the medium she grew up loving when she gets the chance to relaunch an obscure, little-known 1970s superhero, The Legendary Lynx. On paper, it's a sequel to Secret Identity, my bestselling 2022 novel that won the LA Times Book Prize and Strand Critics Award for Best Novel, and was nominated for a Lefty, Barry, Anthony, and Macavity. But Alter Ego is very much its own book - a story about attaining your dreams and grappling with what that means, parenthood, generational trauma, and what happens when the people who control the characters we love might not know what to do with them.
Anyway, here's that cover!
DICK TRACY IS ON HIS WAY
As if that wasn't enough, we had a lot of Dick Tracy news break over the last week! Most importantly, our publisher Mad Cave debuted variant covers for the first issue, which is slated to hit in April. You can catch most of the covers via GamesRadar - they include images from rock stars like Francesco Francavilla, Michael Walsh, Tula Lotay, Thomas Pitilli, Geraldo Borges, Shawn Martinbrough and Chris Sotomayor, Brent Schoonover and more! Co-writer Michael Moreci and I also spoke to CBR about the series launch, and ICv2 has a preview of the first issue - including this jaw-dropping page by series artist Geraldo Borges and colorist Mark Englert.
We've been blown away by the buzz and response to the series and we cannot wait for readers to pick up Dick Tracy #1! Please let your comic shop know you want a copy!
NEW MARA LLAVE
There's a new installment of Mara Llave: Keeper of Time over at Comics Kingdom by me and artist Nickolej Villiger - as the pot thickens and Mara gets to destroy some robots! We hope you're enjoying our little slow-burn story. If you want to see more, please let King Features know. We'd love to get it out more if the readership is there!
BLOOD OATH COLLECTION - OUT NEXT MONTH
Last but certainly not least, the print edition of Blood Oath - the horror/noir comic I created with Rob Hart, Joe Eisma, Hilary Jenkins, Jim Campbell, and Heather Antos - will be out via Dark Horse Comics next month! You can preorder your copy here or wherever you buy your comics. Nice to see it featured in this Publishers Weekly roundup of notable Spring adult comics releases, too.
BUTTONDOWN?
Y'know, I had a long piece written up to explain the move from Substack to Buttondown, but I think I'll spare you? Needless to say, especially when folks like Jonathan M. Katz said it much better. You can get the full download there. In the meantime, if you're having any trouble with your sub, let me know and we can figure it out!
Until next time,
Alex