Now It Can Be Told
by Sarah A. Hoyt
https://accordingtohoyt.com/
Special to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise
Around the end of 2020, I got an email. Believe it or not these emails aren’t unusual. They also usually come to nothing. It goes something like We’d like to buy x rights to your short story/novel/series and/or we’d like you write for our awesome comic/movie/game.
Usually these are students, or young people, and they are trying to start something on shoestring, are not prepared to pay, and I’m not prepared to either give them a property I then have tied up (I might be willing to give short stories, limited rights, but so far it’s either never happened or I didn’t understand what they wanted) forever, or do work for no pay. (The money flows to the writer, d*mn it.)
So, I got this email saying, “Hey, would you write a script for our comic?” and I pretty much ignored it. I paid a little more attention when I got the email that said, “Hey, we’re willing to pay!” but—I don’t remember why—I was in the middle of personal drama, so I didn’t answer.
Next day I got an amusingly sullen “Okay, we’re not the biggest company but…”
At which point I looked at who the email was from and started paying attention.
Would I have chosen Barbarella as a place to make my debut in comics? What, the woman who doesn’t even have her characters kiss, because she forgets?
BUT— But of its kind, Barbarella is great fun, it being a space ranger/ambassador, and I could put my own imprint on it. Besides, in the climate we’re living in, writing a sexy girl comic is something a bit revolutionary and daring.
Doing the actual comic was more fun than I ever thought. For one, the editors are much nicer—or at least mine was—than any traditional book editor and far more respectful of the author’s opinions and time. Second, my particular editor was awesome and taught me so much about how to do comics. And just thinking in a different/visual way was fun, and a new thing.
Still, you guys know me, right? I’m really skittish. I’ve been burned. So I wasn’t going to announce ANY of this ever until it was set in stone.
They announced it, so I guess it’s safe. It comes out in July.
Barbarella Finds Love & Mystery in New Spacefaring Adventures
April 23, Mt. Laurel, NJ: Barbarella, the sensual siren of space returns for a series of all-new adventures by a dynamic new creative team!
Dynamite is proud to welcome writer Sarah Hoyt for her big debut in comic books with the new series starting in July. The longtime author has written over 34 novels in science fiction, fantasy, mystery and more, including her fan-favorite Darkship Thieves, and garnering Prometheus and Dragon Awards. For this space-faring journey, she’s joined by rising star artist Madibek Musabekov (Vampirella vs Purgatori). Colorist Ivan Nunes and letterer Carlos Mangual round out the crew at the controls.
In this exciting new series, Barbarella sets out on a mission filled with danger, duplicity, and a dose of romance as she travels through multiple inventive sci-fi locales. Fans of the character and genre can expect deep dives on questions of class, romance, sexuality, and more in the classic Barbarella style.
“Writing the Barbarella stories was more fun than is probably legal in most states,” said writer Sarah Hoyt. “The work of learning a new format was overshadowed by the fun of being able to think big and play with someone else’s no-holds-barred character. I’ve also loved the art I’ve seen so far from Madibek!”
Traveling from planet to planet, the tale starts in Camelot, home to the rich and powerful class seeking escape from a crowded and decaying galactic empire. Intercepting desperate transmissions from the underclass, Barbarella sets off to investigate, unravelling a string of secrets. Along the way she will visit the underwater world of Encantado, the carnival-like Rio, and even more. All painstakingly designed by Musabekov.
On her escapade, Barbarella is joined by two fun new characters that readers will love to meet. Her shiny new ship comes packed with an advanced A.I. named Taln, and their relationship may be more complicated than it seems… While Vyx is her new fennec fox-like talking pet. Who may have a few twists of her own…
Not only is Hoyt making her Dynamite debut, so is legendary artist Brian Bolland! The Batman: The Killing Joke and Wonder Woman master is a long overdue perfect match for this iconic character. For such a beloved and beautiful character, a diverse range of talented cover artists is needed. Bolland and Musabekov are joined by Lucio Parrillo, Derrick Chew, Dani, and cosplayer Rachel Hollon.
BARBARELLA #1 is solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ May 2021 Previews catalog, the premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in July 2021. Comic book fans are encouraged to preorder copies of the issue with their local comic book retailers. It will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Kindle, iBooks, Google Play, Dynamite Digital, ComicsPlus, and more!
### About Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite was founded in 2004 and is home to several best-selling comic book titles and properties, including The Boys, The Shadow, Red Sonja, Warlord of Mars, Bionic Man, A Game of Thrones, and more. Dynamite owns and controls an extensive library with over 3,000 characters (which includes the Harris Comics and Chaos Comics properties), such as Vampirella, Pantha, Evil Ernie, Smiley the Psychotic Button, Chastity, and Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt. In addition to their critically-acclaimed titles and bestselling comics, Dynamite works with some of the most high-profile creators in comics and entertainment, including Gail Simone, Christopher Priest, Leah Moore, Kevin Smith, David Walker, Vita Ayala, Danny Lore, Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Mark Russell, Brandon Thomas, Amy Chu, Reginald Hudlin, Nancy Collins, David Walker, Steve Orlando, Greg Pak, Jenny Frison, Matt Wagner, and a host of up-and-coming new talent. Dynamite is consistently ranked in the upper tiers of comic book publishers and several of their titles—including Alex Ross and Jim Krueger’s Project Superpowers—have debuted in the Top Ten lists produced by Diamond Comics Distributors. In 2005, Diamond awarded the company a GEM award for Best New Publisher and another GEM in 2006 for Comics Publisher of the Year (under 5%) and again in 2011. The company has also been nominated for and won several industry awards, including the prestigious Harvey and Eisner Awards.
Reprinted from According to Hoyt for April 24, 2021
Was that worth reading?
Then why not Pay Sarah Hoyt:
|
Support this online magazine with
|
AFFILIATE/ADVERTISEMENT
This site may receive compensation if a product is purchased
through one of our partner or affiliate referral links. You
already know that, of course, but this is part of the FTC Disclosure
Policy
found here.
(Warning: this is a 2,359,896-byte 53-page PDF file!)
L. Neil Smith‘s The Libertarian Enterprise does not collect,
use, or process any personal data. Our affiliate partners,
have their own policies which you can find out from their websites.
