Not to get all, “I’d like to thank the Academy” on you, but with Ides of Blood coming out, there are a few people who deserve official recognition for their contributions. Were it not for their help, Ides would not exist as it does now–or more likely, not exist at all except as a script I once wrote that seemed like a neat idea. They are, in no particular order:
- My parents, who have always been supportive and never once questioned whether their son deciding to write stories for a living was a wise course of action.
- My manager, Rich Demato, who thought me writing a screenplay about vampires killing Julius Caesar sounded like a good idea.
- Will Hackner, who championed a writer with no published comics and convinced Wildstorm to publish his comic (and refused to take no for an answer), and whose creative feedback was invaluable.
- Gregory Noveck, who said yes.
- Jim Lee, who also said yes.
- Hank Kanalz, whose name you can find on the inside cover of Ides of Blood under “Publisher.”
- Julian Zajfen and P.J. Shapiro who got me paid.
- Shannon Eric Denton, my editor, who taught me many things about writing picture books.
- Johnny Lowe, Ides’ letterer whom I have never met but put up with an endless series of revisions to the first issue.
- Tom Hass, Rebecca Peterson, Jan Epstein and Bryan Gonzalez, who read the original 200+ page first draft and did not complain nearly as much as they deserved to.
- Phil d’Amecourt, who introduced me to DC and who convinced me to change the title from the unpronounceable “Vaempire” to Ides of Blood.
- Trent Reznor, John Frusciante and the DeLeo Brothers, whose music was playing in the background for the majority of the writing process.
- Tami Brennan, who introduced me to my first and still favorite Shakespeare play, Julius Caesar.
- Christian Duce, whose talent continues to amaze me with every new page, who understood the world I was trying to create and brought it to life better than I could have possibly hoped.
- My wife, Liz, who suffered through the many drafts and many moods it took to get here.