Happy Holidays! (also? Kings and Canvas is IN STORES!)
Hey, Kids! It’s Nice Jewish Words & Comics!, the latest installment from Neil Kleid's bi-monthly newsletter with updates and info about his latest projects!
Surprise!
One last quick note from Neil before we all start saying “let’s just deal with that on January 2nd”, to note that Kings and Canvas—the fantasy boxing adventure comic I co-authored with Jake Allen and Frank Reynoso—is in comic book stores TODAY from Outland Entertainment / CEX Publishing (and in some next week, depending on delayed shipping schedules), and I couldn’t be happier!
Jake, Frank and I made this comic digitally a decade ago, and before Jake came on board I went through three artists that did not work. I never thought that I'd ever see this book on shelves—either my own or in comic book stores. As many of you know, it’s about a guy who has to rethink his career + life after TEN years in prison...which is about where I was in comics at the time...and sometimes get there again. It started as a crime story, inspired by the words “Frank Miller dinosaur,” and evolved into one of the best and most enjoyable stories I've ever written. I love these characters, and I hope you do too, and I also hope I get to tell more of the story sometime in the near future.
I'd like to thank my co-authors, Jake & Frank, for going on this crazy adventure with me; Jeremy Mohler at Outland for believing in te book, getting it funded and in stores; and both Chris Roberson and Allison Baker for helping us make it in the first place back when the book was at Monkeybrain Comics (a publisher that I dearly miss.) I also want to thank anyone out there who's ever read, reviewed, or shared Kings and Canvas—and especially those of you who helped fund it and bring it to life. Maybe one day we'll get to do more story (oh, there's a LOT more story, trust me), but for now, this feels like a huge victory to me. Thank you all for checking out our fantasy boxing book.
If interested, I was interviewed by my pals at the Comic Book Club about the book (and about Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt, the novelization I wrote adapted from the seminal Marvel Comics storyline by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck, available from Titan Books. Check out the video:
Comic Book Club: Ed Brisson And Neil Kleid | Comic Book Club
On our final live show of 2024, we're welcoming guests Ed Brisson ("SilverHawks") and Neil Kleid ("Kings and Canvas")!
Thanks again for picking up Kings and Canvas…and also, thank you for subscribing to this newsletter. I truly appreciate every single person who reads what I have to say every month——and also the books I promote and publish. Without the folks who read my words (Jewish or not), I really would just be telling stories to no one. To that end, I want to wish a happy, healthy, creative, successful and peaceful holiday season to every single person who reads this newsletter or anything I write——whether in comics, prose or just nonsense on social media——and I hope you get to spend some time with the people you love, and the people who love you, as well.
Below please find this year’s Kleid family holiday card, inspired by some movie that will hopefully put a song in your heart about pushing back against conformity / authoritarianism, and being exactly who you are despite some people in this world telling you to be someone else, believe in something else, and not stand up for others.
Happy Holidays. Seasons Greetings. Happy Chanukah. Merry Christmas. Feliz Navidad. Joyous Kwanzaa. Merry Winter Solstice. And a Happy New Year to one and all, from Nice Jewish Words & Comics.
MIGDAL: Neil Kleid's Nice Jewish Words & Comics is free! Tell your friends, enemies and interested dragons. If you enjoyed this email, you can show Neil that his writing is valuable to you by checking out his books here and supporting independent comix: https://bookshop.org/shop/neilkleid