ANT Q&A Thread...with Mario Gully!

[Mario Gully]

Hey, Everybody else has one. I thought why not?

ANT drops at Image. It will hit the shops 3 MONTHS EARLY! Hitting in JULY and not September. We have some great things lined up for you guys. Very exciting to have team-ups and such. Being the new guy on the block,I just hope to make some good comics at Image and hopefully turn some heads.


Newsarama Ant Press (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26515&highlight=ant)

Thanks guys,

[matt levin]

Hey!
Well, Image could be good for you-- I'm a happy ANT fan, and hope your production will be as slick from Image as your previous issues. I'll for sure be looking forward to the solicitations. Plese keep us posted as to when they'll appear. wouldn't want to miss it, no, not at all!

best wishes,
Matt L.

[Doug W]

so would it be correct to think of the Arcana ANT mini-series as the origin of ANT?

Will the journal/childs fantasy element be returning? From the Newsarama article it seems like the new series will be a more traditional super hero series. To be honest I think it may be better that way, it worked in the mini as sort of an origin story with that cool double twist at the end, but I think the same element could get tiresome after a while.

one last question: Mini or ongoing?

[Mario Gully]

Thanks Matt. I will keep everyone posted on the news tip.

Doug- Series one was actually a bit of an origin story, So it is safe to say that. But alot of the story will be brought to light in the issues to come. The Journal is still a big part of the Ant universe but the fantasy is now the reality. I am pushing the new series as a more traditional hero story. Actually, the story was all along a hero story with a twist. I just told the story from a point where the hero was eight years old. And this series will be ongoing.

[Ravengregory]

What['s your favorite comic series your reading right now?

[Mario Gully]

That's a hard question for me to answer Raven. I get ALOT of comics these days and I can't say there is ONE issue or monthly comic I like over all others. I buy comics for many many different reasons. And I'm very bias when it comes to my friends in the industry that has books on the stand.

Crazy I know. I am taking meds. :rolleyes:

[_ender]

Alright...sell me on just why I should be picking up Ant, Mario. I'm the quintessential anti-men-in-tights reader, so what about this series is going to appeal to me?

I do think the art looks really good, but art without a story to grab me might as well just be a poster on the wall. What makes Ant so special? I've passed up a good many 'superhero' titles from Image in the past, because they just didn't appeal to me.

Regardless of whether or not I pick this up, I do wish you luck on your venture!

[Mario Gully]

Ender,
You know It sounds to me that you want me to try and sell ANT or any superhero book that Image does to you. Which is cool, but that is simply not my bag. If you don't like hero books you will probably not like Ant at all.

What is so special about Ant? Truthfully, because it's done by me. Because I'm the real deal. No smoke and mirrors. No gimmicks. I'm the guy that started from the bottom of the heap of rejection after rejection and has worked my way up all the way to Image. And now I have something to say. That something is Ant.

Give it a try, if you think the concept or whatever is appealing to you. You might like it. If you don't that cool too. But If The news on this book or the books sucess isn't enough to peak to get you to pick it upt. Then I don't see it getting done by me telling you it's the "next big thing".

[SuperJ]

Hey, Everybody else has one. I thought why not?

ANT drops at Image. It will hit the shops 3 MONTHS EARLY! Hitting in JULY and not September. We have some great things lined up for you guys. Very exciting to have team-ups and such. Being the new guy on the block,I just hope to make some good comics at Image and hopefully turn some heads.


Newsarama Ant Press (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26515&highlight=ant)

Thanks guys,

I love ANT and the art is just gorgeous!

[ChildOfTheDarkholde]

I have seen many issues of ANT at my shop...what is it about?
Is it a comedy superhero book? (yuck)
Straight superhero action /adventure? (yay!)

Could someone give me a little info, I might give the book a try if I only knew what it is about...

[SuperJ]

I have seen many issues of ANT at my shop...what is it about?
Is it a comedy superhero book? (yuck)
Straight superhero action /adventure? (yay!)

Could someone give me a little info, I might give the book a try if I only knew what it is about...

It's straight-up action, dude. The artwork is freaking gorgeous and I love seeing Ant, in costume, and in action (the more scenes like that the better)! I don't think you'll be disappointed by this one. It doesn't get a whole lot of buzz from the hype-machines (and programmed fanboys) but that's just one extra thing that makes it cool because it's flying right under their radar. It's definitely worth a look.

[matt levin]

I like Ant because it has a heart.

The first series is about a little girl with big dreams she scribbles and draws on notebook pages. Her dad's trying to give her all he can, and the world just gets in the way. She's doing her best, and when that's not enough, there's her hope and imagination.

That's what I like about Ant.

Oh yeah: the words are well chosen, and the art is very, very engaging.
I like that, too!

Matt

[Mario Gully]

Thanks for the kind words guy!
Child-Just pick up the first issue man and see if you like it. I'm sure you will find something good about this series. And as a bonus most of the Ant's are worth like 10 to 20 bucks aready. If your shop has them for cover price I would consider that a good investment. Check Wizards guide on them.

Matt- you nailed it. That's what Ant is about. The new series droping in Aug takes palace in the future where volume 1 left off.



Here's a sneek peak:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/antguy/ANT-CVR-LOGOS.gif

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/antguy/ANT-1-P-2-e-3final2.gif

[miss5050]

And this series will be ongoing.

And this are great news!!!

I checked this thread like...this name rings a bell :rolleyes: I'm sry :o
then it hit me!!! (i misread thread name too-ok 2am and i got no sleep in 2days)
Totally great stuff - I love the end & whole idea - gives You lots of thinking...

I consider Q&A a bit pathetic, but...this lil precious of You-now I kinda understand. It's like me-when I go to tennis match and I see my fav player-I cannot talk about anything else :)
~good luck~ and here is smiley4ya http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/animal/1/animal32.gif

[Doug W]

So, Mario probably isn't even cheking this thread any more but I thought of a few questions:
-What exactly are ANTs powers?
-How do her powers work? whats the deal with that spray on stuff? If I got some of that stuff could I be Ant?

[Mario Gully]

Doug W- Why don't you think I got come around here anymore? I'm hurt.

To answer your questions you have to wait and see for yourself. I know that reply sucks but There is a lot of suprises in the Ant series and things are not what they apear to be.

But I did talk to a couple scientist and it is possible to transform your skin to a hard surface like an insect. No kidding.. So If you wanted to be an Ant I'm sure you could pull it off. I just hate to see you with an ass like that though. It could attract the wrong attention to ya if you know what I'm saying.. :eek:

[Egg]

Not to steal any readership from ComicBookResources.com, but BrokenFrontier.com (http://www.brokenfrontier.com/lowdown/details.php?id=158) has an article up on Mario's move from Arcana Studio to Image Comics!

http://www.brokenfrontier.com/lowdown/details.php?id=158

Enjoy,

Egg Embry
Editor - www.ArcanaStudio.com & ANT from Image Comics

[Egg]

ANT has resurfaced in this month's Previews! Enjoy!

ANT #1
August 4 o 32 pg o FC o $2.95
written by MARIO GULLY
art & cover by MARIO GULLY

Imagine losing everything you once held dear, then waking up from that long, dark nightmare to find yourself confined to a mental institution. This is Hannah Washington's life. Her sanity shattered, she's been told all her memories are the result of a coping mechanism described as a "juvenile power fantasy." Or are they?

http://images.comicbookresources.com/solicits/image082005/big/ANT1-CVR.jpg

Egg Embry
Editor - www.ArcanaStudio.com & ANT from Image Comics

[Mario Gully]

Here's an ANT update gang. Some info about the story of the new series, the creative team behind the comic etc.

I like to think George for this nice piece. My first CBR interview.


ENJOY!
ANT INVADES IMAGE IN AUGUST (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=5260)

[Borgking]

Does this mean Image will be selling Ant #1 down in San Diego then? I'd like to pick one up down there...

http://www.mundogasol.com/foro/banana.gif

BorgKing

[Mario Gully]

I'm not sure about that one. I know when creators show up at cons we sell our stuff. But I don't know about Image Central selling comics. I'll ask and let you know. :rolleyes:

[Bakema NL]

Ok, I was a little too late with this series, just got back into the comics thing around that time and didn't get it. I saw some pages on the internet and mmmmm, that looked attractive..........of course I saw somewhere you are a black man Mario and otherwise I could have known looking at that Ant's butt, total give-away, hahahahahaha, looks damn good my man ;) .
There was some positive buzz going on and my lcs had this little digest-sized book on the racks, I liked what I saw, but didn't buy the book, maybe I could get my hands on the single issues, which I really like better....but for what prices, there certainly is some buzz on this title. Well, I found issues 1 (Campbell cover), 2 (b) and 4 (a) at a Dutch mail order company for almost the cover price, only the Campbell one was a little more, but certainly not too much and it's a cool cover too. Now I only have get my grubby hands on the 3rd issue, but I will come across it.
You have some cool stuff going on Mario and I'm on board for the regular series from Image.

[Mario Gully]

Bakema-Thanks for the hook up man! That's great! I'm glad that you tracked down the first series of Ant. It's so nice to hear from someone like yourself that has RETURNED to comicbooks again. That's music to my ears. Comic books are a great form of entertainment. It's one of the best in my opinion. I

Ant#3 for some reason is hard to find in most cases. I don't know why but that issue flew off the shelves pretty quick. I hope you track it down.

The new series is gonna be badass man. I'm glad that you will be aboard!

[Bakema NL]

Bakema-Thanks for the hook up man! That's great! I'm glad that you tracked down the first series of Ant. It's so nice to hear from someone like yourself that has RETURNED to comicbooks again. That's music to my ears. Comic books are a great form of entertainment. It's one of the best in my opinion. I

Ant#3 for some reason is hard to find in most cases. I don't know why but that issue flew off the shelves pretty quick. I hope you track it down.

The new series is gonna be badass man. I'm glad that you will be aboard!

I agree, comics are a great form of entertainment, the greatest for me I think, although I like movies, music, games and books too of course :). I was out of comics for 5 1/2 years, due to a combination of things. I became a dad, got hooked on videogames (again) and computers and around the time I left I just was less interested in comics, maybe oversaturated or the quality of comics/stories bugged me, some of all these things I guess. The itch was always there, my son grew and started to really like Spiderman and Superman (the movies/characters' appearance, as he can not actually read yet) and one day I came across a comics store with the little guy, went in, talked with the owner (little guy fancied himself in some kind of heaven with all the action figures hanging around), took a preview home and finally I couldn't hold out any longer, it was time to get back into it and I'm glad I did. I needed this break I think, things are totally fresh again, a lot has changed, other things didn't, but most important, I really like to be reading/collecting again.

And I'm sure the new series will be bad-ass. I got the latest Previews today and saw the first Image Ant issue sollicited. Looking bad-ass to me and not to suck up or anything, the art looks like a step up too, as far as I can tell from the few pics featured inside the mag. Good luck with the series.

[Mario Gully]

Thanks for the convo Bakema I feel you might be with us for the long haul!


For all the eyeballs outthere here is a AMAZING ANT 5 PAGE PREVIEW!!

No drooling on the keyboard! Them babies get expensive after a while! :rolleyes:

ANT PREVIEW (http://www.imagecomics.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?main=previews&sub1=previews&sub2=Ant_1&dim=500x770&cover=1&doubles=2-3)

[Elektrick Hellfire]

Are you tied up with Ant or do you have capacity for other ventures(i.e movies, other ideas etc.) enquiring mind want to know. Don't know how else to reach you( or if you were still with Arcana) I am located in Orlando. reach me at elektrick_hellfire@yahoo.com or check out our' website at www.rmuzik.com

[Mario Gully]

Are you tied up with Ant or do you have capacity for other ventures(i.e movies, other ideas etc.) enquiring mind want to know. Don't know how else to reach you( or if you were still with Arcana) I am located in Orlando. reach me at elektrick_hellfire@yahoo.com or check out our' website at www.rmuzik.com

I do have the capacity to work on other projects when the right thing comes along. I am in the middle of developing Ant in different mediums outside of comic books. More will be announced this year. I just don't want to fall in to the trap of having the tail wagging the dog. My MAIN focus is comics. I love comics and all I ever wanted to do was to draw comic books. So having these other developments with Ant is exciting but I just don't want to be too distracted and take time from the drawing board. It's my humble opinion that a lot of these comic guys try to develope properties for the single purpose to get movie and toy deals etc. I think you cheat comic fans that way and it shows in the final product.

I'm not gonna be one of those guys.

[Mario Gully]

The new ANT will hit the shops August 17th! It's a tad bit late because of some files that had to be sized and fixed up.


Sorry.

Anyhow I hope you guys that are interested go check it out. I'm very proud of the finished funnybook.


:D

[matt levin]

Nope...here it is August 18th, and my shop didn't get it (western Massachusetts); they're pretty good about getting me what I've ordered. Actually it was a very light week for me all around, and I don't think any of my non-marvel/dc stuff came in, now that I think about it.

ah well, waiting til next week. She's all grown up, our little ant-girl, isn't she? What's happened in those intervening years? What's happened to her Dad? Is all of this only to be answered next week in the new issue 1?

ah well, then, waiting til next week,
Matt

[Mario Gully]

Nope...here it is August 18th, and my shop didn't get it (western Massachusetts); they're pretty good about getting me what I've ordered. Actually it was a very light week for me all around, and I don't think any of my non-marvel/dc stuff came in, now that I think about it.

ah well, waiting til next week. She's all grown up, our little ant-girl, isn't she? What's happened in those intervening years? What's happened to her Dad? Is all of this only to be answered next week in the new issue 1?

ah well, then, waiting til next week,
Matt

Sorry Matt. Ant#1 was delayed at the printer. It will be out this coming Wed Aug 24th. You hit a few nails on the head. You will find out the answers to your questions in the up and coming issues!

The ANT hole is deeper then you might think....

[BigBaddy]

I was able to see a copy last week. It came from a signing somewhere in Orlando. Looks very slick. Is Mario going to be doing any more signings in the near future. If so, when and where? Thanks for putting out a great story.

[Mario Gully]

I was able to see a copy last week. It came from a signing somewhere in Orlando. Looks very slick. Is Mario going to be doing any more signings in the near future. If so, when and where? Thanks for putting out a great story.

Thanks for the props man. Here is a link to the signings I got coming up in Fla:

Gully signing schedule (http://www.imagecomics.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=6571)


Holler at me if you are able to make one. :rolleyes:

[Mario Gully]

Heres a good review for ANT#1




SILVERBULLETS.COM (http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/reviews/112471528871412.htm)


One more

PAPERBACK READER (http://www.paperbackreader.com/review.php?ReviewID=887)

[BMo2xl]

Hi Mario! I picked up "Ant" #1 last week on a whim...and I'm glad I did! Great art...great story. I'm looking forward to seeing future issues. If you're ever doing a signing in the Albany, New York area let me know.

Bob

[Mario Gully]

Hi Mario! I picked up "Ant" #1 last week on a whim...and I'm glad I did! Great art...great story. I'm looking forward to seeing future issues. If you're ever doing a signing in the Albany, New York area let me know.

Bob

Thanks for the support Bob! Let me tell ya the best is yet to come from us on the book. I'm glad you picked it up. Spread the word!

If I'm ever around your area to do a signing I'll let you know. If you ever want updated to the latest thing me or any other Image creator is doing just pop a look at the Image message board!

IMAGE MESSAGE BOARD. (http://www.imagecomics.com/messageboard/)

[miss5050]

got my copy of new ant
it was nice and worth :)
2things
1. guy's neck tattoo
2. ant has bear foot rooooooooooooooofl :D

[Mario Gully]

got my copy of new ant
it was nice and worth :)
2things
1. guy's neck tattoo
2. ant has bear foot rooooooooooooooofl :D



Thanks. Ant 2 comes out tomorrow,


:eek:

[matt levin]

Hi, Mario,

Just read issue two! If you're trying to create a sense of confusion in the reader, to evoke the sense of confusion in Hannah's mind, you're doing ok-- if not...well, it's been pretty confusing.

Arachnid, for instance, and Jessica Mime, create little echoes of 'do I know these characters or not' in my mind, and the question of 'why do I think I know them?' Since basically my Image reading is along the lines of "Case-files" and "Age of Bronze", I'm not sure what I'm seeing. And, questions underlying characters, (for instance, why is Arachnid such a patchwork creature?), run along unexplained and without suggestion that they will be explained, as if expecting that I already have the explanation.... hmmm: did I mention things are a little confusing?

The appearance of the big green guy was a surprise, and the 'guest star' next issue, another surprise, and kind of odd to meet here, but I suppose (boy, I sure do hope--) you've got a plan of some kind. Is there an Image Universe (so to speak) Hannah/Ant is working in now? (Heh--will we see Agamemnon or Paris soon? Ant vs. Helen, the Trojan? I do, here, put in my bid to have her meet up with Sam and Twitch, though...!).

Not so sure I like the direction you seem to be taking (am very willing to follow along, though, while you travel this way--hey, I'm a very trusting soul and trust yer gonna make it worth m'while!). But--

"The first series is about a little girl with big dreams she scribbles and draws on notebook pages. Her dad's trying to give her all he can, and the world just gets in the way. She's doing her best, and when that's not enough, there's her hope and imagination."

And that's what really, really attracted me to your Arcana issues. They seemed much more down-to-earth-reality oriented, dealing with real human situations and emotional issues. Feel that was the true strength of those Ant stories.

Hoping to see more like them,
and waitin' on next issue, regardless,
best wishes,
Matt Levin

[Mario Gully]

Hi, Mario,

Just read issue two! If you're trying to create a sense of confusion in the reader, to evoke the sense of confusion in Hannah's mind, you're doing ok-- if not...well, it's been pretty confusing.

Arachnid, for instance, and Jessica Mime, create little echoes of 'do I know these characters or not' in my mind, and the question of 'why do I think I know them?' Since basically my Image reading is along the lines of "Case-files" and "Age of Bronze", I'm not sure what I'm seeing. And, questions underlying characters, (for instance, why is Arachnid such a patchwork creature?), run along unexplained and without suggestion that they will be explained, as if expecting that I already have the explanation.... hmmm: did I mention things are a little confusing?

The appearance of the big green guy was a surprise, and the 'guest star' next issue, another surprise, and kind of odd to meet here, but I suppose (boy, I sure do hope--) you've got a plan of some kind. Is there an Image Universe (so to speak) Hannah/Ant is working in now? (Heh--will we see Agamemnon or Paris soon? Ant vs. Helen, the Trojan? I do, here, put in my bid to have her meet up with Sam and Twitch, though...!).

Not so sure I like the direction you seem to be taking (am very willing to follow along, though, while you travel this way--hey, I'm a very trusting soul and trust yer gonna make it worth m'while!). But--

"The first series is about a little girl with big dreams she scribbles and draws on notebook pages. Her dad's trying to give her all he can, and the world just gets in the way. She's doing her best, and when that's not enough, there's her hope and imagination."

And that's what really, really attracted me to your Arcana issues. They seemed much more down-to-earth-reality oriented, dealing with real human situations and emotional issues. Feel that was the true strength of those Ant stories.

Hoping to see more like them,
and waitin' on next issue, regardless,
best wishes,
Matt Levin

Matt thanks for picking up the book. I'm glad that you are willing to stay along for the ride to see the method to the madness. Let me see If I can give some clarity.

Ant is an Image character now, So Yes she is playing in the Image universe. We are establishing that with the guest stars and such. This will be explained in issues to come trust me. But I'm afraid after issue 3 we don't plan to have more established characters for a while. There are some new heros and villians I want to introduce in the Ant universe that will take the stage soon enough.

On another note I'm glad you liked the first series of Ant. You will see more of that down to earth writing in future issues. I loved writing like that and we will mix more of that kind of drama in the new series. I hope things are not too confusing for you and I hope things are cristal clear for you when this story arc is wraped up. If not we didn't do our job right.

Thanks man, Sorry it took forever to reply to you thoughtful comments.

[Dwight L. MacPherson]

Hey, buddy!
I'm really digging the new book!
You just keep up the good work! ;)

[Mario Gully]

Hey, buddy!
I'm really digging the new book!
You just keep up the good work! ;)

Thanks man. You too.

[Mario Gully]

Hey gang.. ANT#3 comes out this Wed! Here is a 5 page preview in addition to some other Image funny books.


ANT#3
History in the making....

ANT VS. SPAWN!



ANT#3 PREVIEW (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6239)

[Black Atom]

Is there a TPB available of the first series? Also, if I start with this #1, will I not know what's going on?

[Mario Gully]

Is there a TPB available of the first series? Also, if I start with this #1, will I not know what's going on?

There is a trade of the first series avalible. It's about 10 bucks and you can still find them. If you start with the NEW issue#1 you WILL know what's going on. You don't need to read the old trade at all, But if you want to know abit more about what Ant is all about reading the first trade would be a good ideal.

I hope you enjoy the books! :)

[Rosie]

Hey man, good to see you here, I'm the same Rosalie from the Spawn forums you talked to :)

Is there anywhere I can buy the trade online?

[Mario Gully]

Hey man, good to see you here, I'm the same Rosalie from the Spawn forums you talked to :)

Is there anywhere I can buy the trade online?

Hey girl. I found a couple for ya.

http://www.scottscomics.com/

http://www.milehighcomics.com/

Let me know if you can't get one. ;)

[Rosie]

Hey girl. I found a couple for ya.

http://www.scottscomics.com/

http://www.milehighcomics.com/

Let me know if you can't get one. ;)

I'm sure I'll be able to get them., thanks. Hopefully someone will give me money for christmas.

[st2arkham]

Mario,

First off, I'd like to say how much fun I've had following 'Ant' since its inception. The originality and in-your-face storyline gives me that euphoric nostalgia of the vintage Image comics days and even a bit of the Marvel days too. Maybe some day down the line Ant could team with the Webslinger--I know that one-shot would knock our socks off! I'll get to the point since I know you're extremely busy: I'm a writer and 'Ant' recently inspired me to write a poem. Enjoy and God Bless!

Daniel Mobley www.artwanted.com/theinfinite



'Way Of The Ant'

Though I am small--I am much stronger than
I look, my skill lies in a cranny: my
Victory in a nook,
There are many like me
But I am alone in my mission, My soul born
To survive, endowed with nature’s body of Invention
Wherever I crawl, I am impossible
To find, Sliding under my enemies radar as if they were blind
I take what I need and only as much as I can handle
my spirit burns at both ends-- Brightest of all candles, I am me
And I will not dismay,for this life is my
Destiny: my one and only way.

[Mario Gully]

Mario,

First off, I'd like to say how much fun I've had following 'Ant' since its inception. The originality and in-your-face storyline gives me that euphoric nostalgia of the vintage Image comics days and even a bit of the Marvel days too. Maybe some day down the line Ant could team with the Webslinger--I know that one-shot would knock our socks off! I'll get to the point since I know you're extremely busy: I'm a writer and 'Ant' recently inspired me to write a poem. Enjoy and God Bless!

Daniel Mobley www.artwanted.com/theinfinite



'Way Of The Ant'

Though I am small--I am much stronger than
I look, my skill lies in a cranny: my
Victory in a nook,
There are many like me
But I am alone in my mission, My soul born
To survive, endowed with nature’s body of Invention
Wherever I crawl, I am impossible
To find, Sliding under my enemies radar as if they were blind
I take what I need and only as much as I can handle
my spirit burns at both ends-- Brightest of all candles, I am me
And I will not dismay,for this life is my
Destiny: my one and only way.

That's a cool poem man. And Daniel it's pleasure to meet ya. Do you mind if I put this poem in the Ant letter colum?

Verrrry coool!

[st2arkham]

That's a cool poem man. And Daniel it's pleasure to meet ya. Do you mind if I put this poem in the Ant letter colum?

Verrrry coool!


I'm flattered, man. Thanks!!! I wish you and yours the Happiest New Year possible and urge you and your team to continue the phenomenal work! Take care and God Bless!

-Daniel Mobley

[matrix]

hey mario, i didn't see a solicitation for ant this month. is it going toa different schedule :cool:

[Mario Gully]

hey mario, i didn't see a solicitation for ant this month. is it going toa different schedule :cool:


Nope. Just getting back on a monthly schedule. Had to skip a few solicitations to do that.

[matrix]

:) ok cool, thanks

[Dilutral]

Where is issue 4??? I'm getting desperate hear...
Ok let me play nice... I love your book!
the way U used spawn n fam was great and totaly blew me away!!!
not at all what I was expecting
and much better than savage dragons apearance
cant wait to see how the book settles without the guests...
will U be putting up fan art?
cause I would like to post something if U will!
well great work
keep it up!!!!

[Mario Gully]

Where is issue 4??? I'm getting desperate hear...
Ok let me play nice... I love your book!
the way U used spawn n fam was great and totaly blew me away!!!
not at all what I was expecting
and much better than savage dragons apearance
cant wait to see how the book settles without the guests...
will U be putting up fan art?
cause I would like to post something if U will!
well great work
keep it up!!!!


I'm glad you dig the book man. ANT#4 will be in shops March 1. And issue 5 is also done and ready to roll, so it looks like we will be back to a monthly schedule. I do put good pin-ups in the books. Just send your art to the letter colum and it wil probably make it in.

If it's a nice drawing. :)

[Mario Gully]

Ant 4 is now at your LCS!


http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/antguy/ANT4.jpg


I would like to hear your guys thoughts on the issue.

[Citizen V]

I decided to see what Image had these days,so i decided to buy the Ant.I have to say...i bought issue 4 and it was a little bit better than i had thought it was.The art reminded me of Gen 13,and ill be buying this from now on.Im going to search around my dealer for the previous issues.

[Sharcque]

I just saw where some issues of Ant had been cancelled.....what's going on?

[Mario Gully]

I decided to see what Image had these days,so i decided to buy the Ant.I have to say...i bought issue 4 and it was a little bit better than i had thought it was.The art reminded me of Gen 13,and ill be buying this from now on.Im going to search around my dealer for the previous issues.


Man that makes my day!!! That's so cool of you. The good news is that the ANT TRADE:Reality Bites will be out this WED. So you don't have to hunt down previous issues if you don't want to. The first few issues sold out and they are kinda hard to find. The trade has issue 1-4 for 12.99.

I just saw where some issues of Ant had been cancelled.....what's going on?

Yeah, I got a bit behind and we had to make some order adjustments on some issues. Ant is now back on tract.

[Mario Gully]

some big Ant news!


And an ANT#8 PREVIEW!

http://www.newsarama.com/ImageComics/Ant/G_K_Ant1992.html

1992 is coming....

[CMBMOOL]

Mr. Gully,

I really like your Ant series

Since she has connections with Image adult heroes: Savage Dragon & Spawn will we ever see Ant met with some of Image teen heroes:

Darkhawk, Invincible, or the Noble Children ?


Will she gain a love intrest in the future or does she have one now ?


Will we ever have a crossover storyline with another Image series in the Future ?

Since you write comics do you like them and if so what others do you read ?

Also have you heard of the Civil War event from Marvel comics ?



Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon. :D

[Mario Gully]

Mr. Gully,

I really like your Ant series

Since she has connections with Image adult heroes: Savage Dragon & Spawn will we ever see Ant met with some of Image teen heroes:

Darkhawk, Invincible, or the Noble Children ?

You know, I don't know. It's all about making a solid story and I'm not
really out to team Ant up with as many Image characters as possible. There are some New characters coming out in future issues of Ant, that has their own voice. I would like to focus on them. But like I said, You never know.
I know for sure that Invincible won't be appearing in Ant.

Will she gain a love intrest in the future or does she have one now ?

She don't have one at this point. But that is a subject I want to pursue in the book.

Will we ever have a crossover storyline with another Image series in the Future ?

Yes. But who, what and where I'm not allowed to say. It's gonna be awesome though, keep and eye out.

Since you write comics do you like them and if so what others do you read ?

I love comics. I read a great deal of books every Wed. The list is long but I mostly get: Moon Knight, All Star Batman & Robin, Savage Dragon, Girls, Bomb Queen, The Walking Dead, Spawn, Lion Tigers and Bears, Godland, Wonder Woman and a bunch more.

Also have you heard of the Civil War event from Marvel comics ?

Yep, But I haven't brought a CW book yet.


Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon. :D

No prob!;)

[bodie_3_7_ci5]

I just finished reading issue # 8 of your fantastic Ant series. As much as I love Hannah, I also think the book has a strong supporting cast. Coldburn is a seriously bad ass villain and I look forward to seeing him as a thorn in Hannah's side. How did you come up with Coldburn? Is he a mix of a few villains you have read in comics?

[Mario Gully]

I just finished reading issue # 8 of your fantastic Ant series. As much as I love Hannah, I also think the book has a strong supporting cast. Coldburn is a seriously bad ass villain and I look forward to seeing him as a thorn in Hannah's side. How did you come up with Coldburn? Is he a mix of a few villains you have read in comics?


Thanks man!

I came up with ColdBurn because Ants don't like cold. I thought it would be a nice villain for Ant.


ANT#9 hits in December!

Preview!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/antguy/ANT9PGweb1.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/antguy/ANT9webPG2.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/antguy/ANT9PG3web-1.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/antguy/bucket1-1.jpg

PRESS:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=8992



Mario Gully

[Big Red Spider]

The newest issue of Ant was awesome as always. I'm kinda sad to see the ant spray leave, but I guess that's just evolution of the character. I really liked how you mentioned the delays on the back cover, but come on, it's not like Ant's schedualing is as bad as Marvel's Civil War. Thanks again.

[Mario Gully]

The newest issue of Ant was awesome as always. I'm kinda sad to see the ant spray leave, but I guess that's just evolution of the character. I really liked how you mentioned the delays on the back cover, but come on, it's not like Ant's schedualing is as bad as Marvel's Civil War. Thanks again.

You're welcome.

:D

[Big Red Spider]

When is another issue of Ant coming?

[Mario Gully]

When is another issue of Ant coming?


It might be a while man. I'm penciling a mini for Marvel right now, and I still have about 3 1/2 months of work before I'm finished.

I am working something out with Ant though, keep your ear to the ground.

;)

[JadeDragon]

Wow, that stuff's looking great as always, Mario!!!

And congrats on the Marvel work again, if I forgot to mention it. :)

Beautiful pencils....

~~~Patrick

[Maj]

I suppose I have a pretty important question to ask. What does the future hold for Ant? Just recently your Ant subforum is no longer around on the imagecomics.com messageboard, and when a thread was posted, asking about what happened with it, it seems that the only answer is "it seems Ant has left the building...don't know why".

Is Ant still going to be around? If so, will it still be with Image?

I recall an announcement a while back, regarding a new story in Ant that spanned the entire "Image Universe," is that bunk as well?

[Mario Gully]

I suppose I have a pretty important question to ask. What does the future hold for Ant? Just recently your Ant subforum is no longer around on the imagecomics.com messageboard, and when a thread was posted, asking about what happened with it, it seems that the only answer is "it seems Ant has left the building...don't know why".

Is Ant still going to be around? If so, will it still be with Image?

I recall an announcement a while back, regarding a new story in Ant that spanned the entire "Image Universe," is that bunk as well?


Here's the deal.

I've decided to end the Ant series at Image. For a number of reasons. But, the important thing is that we are doing a brand new Ant series under the Big City Banner.. an no holds barred Ant series. love it or leave it type of thing. Myself and my partner Jeff Kaufman decided to run run our own show. The new Ant series is already underway. It's written by yours truly and penciled by a new talent that is great. Big things are going on for Ant.

I'm busy at Marvel doing my thing penciling and never been happier. Right now, I'm doing Marvel Illustrated: Treasure Island! If you guys care to know what I'm up next to go to Marvel.com and click my name under "pencilers.or myspace/MarioGully or the blog at Bigcity.

BIGCITYCOMICSSTUDIO.COM


Peace out!

[Allen Klingelhoets]

I have been over at Big city site.
I know Jazma has couple interviews in works.
I am going to also get involved with interview. Tom and you though will be done by Richard.

[The Scribe]

Will you be getting a new sticky thread in the Independent comic forum, since you have left Image? I'd like to see a new thread. Either under Ant or Big City Comics.

So, the new Ant series will start from scratch?

[The Scribe]

I guess no one is going to comment now?

I started a thread about Ant leaving Image on DigitalWebbing.com and it didn't go very well. If someone is going to say that a certain book wasn't any good, they should at least explain why. :evilangry

Ant leaves Image. (http://digitalwebbing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111929)

[Allen Klingelhoets]

I noticed Eric Larson closed down Ant forum and thread on Image board.

[Robo Ape]

I cannot find a prior thread on this so I shall start this one.

I just wanted to ask why has title been re-launched at 1 again with a new publisher, what happened with the old series that came out on Image & then suddenly stopped?

[jim1175]

I cannot find a prior thread on this so I shall start this one.

I just wanted to ask why has title been re-launched at 1 again with a new publisher, what happened with the old series that came out on Image & then suddenly stopped?

I was wondering the same thing!!!

Do you know if the Image Books are ongoing or is this book published with Big City onlt now?

[diablo7]

it's only going to be published through bigcity now...the image series is over.. i'm not sure but the reason for the change could have to do with low sales

[jim1175]

it's only going to be published through bigcity now...the image series is over.. i'm not sure but the reason for the change could have to do with low sales

I picked up the new book... It's pretty good but very graphic. Perhaps they were not able to do this type of story telling over at Image.

How did the other series end? After a certain number of books I was not able to find it on the stands anymore & attributed it to typical Image shipping delays. What issue number ended the series?

Has anyone else read the new book yet? What are your thoughts? To me it appears to take place some years after the Image series.

[Robo Ape]

I picked up the new book... It's pretty good but very graphic. Perhaps they were not able to do this type of story telling over at Image.

How did the other series end? After a certain number of books I was not able to find it on the stands anymore & attributed it to typical Image shipping delays. What issue number ended the series?

Has anyone else read the new book yet? What are your thoughts? To me it appears to take place some years after the Image series.

I thought it was good, better than the Image series in some ways, because the storyline seemed more interesting. The creators seem to be feeling more free in what they can show & do in the story since their move.

[GreatLakesAvengers]

Here's the story on the move away from Image (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=131691)

[Robo Ape]

Here's the story on the move away from Image (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=131691)

Thanks for the info.

Anyone know when the next issue is due out? It's just the place I get my comics from doesn't have any info on this.

[delgado]

Ant actually started with another company then it went with image and now it's with big city comics. Now if memory serves me right the first company he came out with try to rip him off, image was asking roughly $3000 per issue and now he went with big city comics. I met some of those guys in the chicago con last year (big city comics), they seam to be pretty cool guys! lets hope mario like's them enough to stay....hope this help-JEFF

[Mario Gully]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the interest!

Robo, Jim-I'm glad you like the new Ant:Unleashed. It's my aim to
work on my writing chops.It's my plan to make a better story driven
tale about a reluctant hero. Yeah, it's kinda gritty. I like grit!

I'm a try to answer some of the questions here.

Ant 11 was the last that was published through Image Comics. I had a rocky road in that time of my life and things just got hard for me to put
out stuff. Yeah, me and Erik bumped heads a couple of times
but it was no biggie. I kinda put Ant on hold and pursued Marvel pretty hard.
That's the short of it. And just for the sake of clarifaction, it
wasn't about the sales. Ant's sales has pretty much always held her
own at any publisher she happened to be with. It's a book
that hardly never had the sale problem many Indies. Please don't
take this as bragging. I'm just trying to squash that rumor. the
top 300 books are public record. Go check out AUG 2005 and foward.
I think some may be suprised how Ant was and continue to do.

Anyhow,-- Later Jeff Kaufman (Big City) made me a
great offer to come aboard with an Ant title. I decided to do
something different then what I did at Image. I wanted to do a
no holds bard Ant with no breaks. That's where Ant:Unleashed
comes from.

Ant: unleashed issue 2 come out Jan 23rd.

for more info you can always check out:
http://www.bigcitycs.com/default.htm

Or hit me up on the message boards. I'm usually around there somewhere.


Thanks again for the post Robo. I really appreciate the interest.


:D

[Robo Ape]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the interest!

Robo, Jim-I'm glad you like the new Ant:Unleashed. It's my aim to
work on my writing chops.It's my plan to make a better story driven
tale about a reluctant hero. Yeah, it's kinda gritty. I like grit!

I'm a try to answer some of the questions here.

Ant 11 was the last that was published through Image Comics. I had a rocky road in that time of my life and things just got hard for me to put
out stuff. Yeah, me and Erik bumped heads a couple of times
but it was no biggie. I kinda put Ant on hold and pursued Marvel pretty hard.
That's the short of it. And just for the sake of clarifaction, it
wasn't about the sales. Ant's sales has pretty much always held her
own at any publisher she happened to be with. It's a book
that hardly never had the sale problem many Indies. Please don't
take this as bragging. I'm just trying to squash that rumor. the
top 300 books are public record. Go check out AUG 2005 and foward.
I think some may be suprised how Ant was and continue to do.

Anyhow,-- Later Jeff Kaufman (Big City) made me a
great offer to come aboard with an Ant title. I decided to do
something different then what I did at Image. I wanted to do a
no holds bard Ant with no breaks. That's where Ant:Unleashed
comes from.

Ant: unleashed issue 2 come out Jan 23rd.

for more info you can always check out:
http://www.bigcitycs.com/default.htm

Or hit me up on the message boards. I'm usually around there somewhere.


Thanks again for the post Robo. I really appreciate the interest.


:D

Thanks for the info & keep up the good work.

[jim1175]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the interest!

Robo, Jim-I'm glad you like the new Ant:Unleashed. It's my aim to
work on my writing chops.It's my plan to make a better story driven
tale about a reluctant hero. Yeah, it's kinda gritty. I like grit!

I'm a try to answer some of the questions here.

Ant 11 was the last that was published through Image Comics. I had a rocky road in that time of my life and things just got hard for me to put
out stuff. Yeah, me and Erik bumped heads a couple of times
but it was no biggie. I kinda put Ant on hold and pursued Marvel pretty hard.
That's the short of it. And just for the sake of clarifaction, it
wasn't about the sales. Ant's sales has pretty much always held her
own at any publisher she happened to be with. It's a book
that hardly never had the sale problem many Indies. Please don't
take this as bragging. I'm just trying to squash that rumor. the
top 300 books are public record. Go check out AUG 2005 and foward.
I think some may be suprised how Ant was and continue to do.

Anyhow,-- Later Jeff Kaufman (Big City) made me a
great offer to come aboard with an Ant title. I decided to do
something different then what I did at Image. I wanted to do a
no holds bard Ant with no breaks. That's where Ant:Unleashed
comes from.

Ant: unleashed issue 2 come out Jan 23rd.

for more info you can always check out:
http://www.bigcitycs.com/default.htm

Or hit me up on the message boards. I'm usually around there somewhere.


Thanks again for the post Robo. I really appreciate the interest.


:D

Thanks.... There is nothing like getting info right from the source!

Does this new title take place a couple of years after the Image run or is this a whole new story direction?

[TomStillwell]

And just for the sake of clarifaction, it
wasn't about the sales. Ant's sales has pretty much always held her
own at any publisher she happened to be with. It's a book
that hardly never had the sale problem many Indies. Please don't
take this as bragging. I'm just trying to squash that rumor. the
top 300 books are public record. Go check out AUG 2005 and foward.
I think some may be suprised how Ant was and continue to do.

If that's the case then why were you not paying the freelancers involved in creating Ant at the time? Why did Jeff Kaufman have to come along and settle payments with freelancers before Ant came to Big City?

It seems to me if the book was doing so well you would have had the money to pay people what was owed.

[diablo7]

i remember reading something about the book being late and sales started to decline because of it...

[Robo Ape]

If that's the case then why were you not paying the freelancers involved in creating Ant at the time? Why did Jeff Kaufman have to come along and settle payments with freelancers before Ant came to Big City?

It seems to me if the book was doing so well you would have had the money to pay people what was owed.

It seems this whole issue has been dealt with elsewhere so I think it's best not to cover old ground again as I saw what happened to that other thread.:eek:

[TomStillwell]

It seems this whole issue has been dealt with elsewhere so I think it's best not to cover old ground again as I saw what happened to that other thread.:eek:

Well, your original post asked what happened with the book. Did you want to settle for the spin answer from the creator or the truth?

[Mario Gully]

Jim- Yes, the new story,Ant: unleashed takes place years after the Image series.

Tom- Good question man. And the answer is very simple. Kinda- Ant sales was always
good. Having said that, that don't mean the title made a huge profit. Most Indy
books are lucky to break even. I consider a book that sales over 5,000 on a consistent basis a good selling book. Some may argue that. Ant does. But, the money returned
from the book wasn't enough to pay my crew on a regular basis. Plus, every body knows that
Image payed on the back-end. With all the problems I had--like being late and the book coming out after I did gigs to pay my bills and such--it was very hard to keep going and getting paid very little somewhere like 60 days or even longer AFTER the book hit the shelves. And let's not forget that Image got a flat fee from the purse. So, once again..take into consideration that the return from any Indy isn't that much in addition to Image taking a fee out--you don't have much candy to hand every
one and the end of the day. And remember, most of the run, I was writing and penciling the title. I only had to pay for color and lettering. It really boggles my mind how books that sales lower then 5,000 keep a float. People are in dept all over the place. I made moe money with 3 Marvel books then
I did with almost 10 books at Image. Sad, but true.

Oh, and yeah, Sales did decline on the book. It went from 15,000 Ant#1 to 8,000 copies Ant#2-6 down to around to 5,000 copies. I'm not counting re-orders and all that jazz. Now, you can argue that it's contributed to the book being late. But honestly, I think it's because of the story I did at the time. Or it could be a combo of the two..But, a lot of Indy titles sales dropped and continue to drop. It's just how it is. Spawn was selling 85,000 copies many years ago. Now it's around 25,000 copies. We all know that right? Well, if it happens to Spawn why are we surprised when Ant's sales drop!? Marvel and D.C are monsters and it's hard to get a foot in the door on the sales chart. That's the way it is. It's reality and I don't see it changing--ever.

So, yeah, I made a deal with Big City to pay my creators. I didn't want to
go out like that. People should get paid for hard work. Paint me crazy! Big City pays creators on a weekly basis, not back-end. So guess what? Creators are working better and books are meeting deadlines. I guess that's why some of my problems got resolved. I'm dumb, and got a ton to still
learn but I'm getting there. You will find that there are multiple sides to this story on the net. At the end of the day, I just wanted to do MY CHARACTER; MY WAY! I wanted to do it my way or no way. You won't believe how hard that has been for me. This is a crazy biz!:rolleyes:

[Robo Ape]

Interesting second issue, I would hope she isn't going to put up with that harsh treatment for long & she isn't known for her forgiving nature.

[darthdad]

i'm definetly digging this series. issue 2 was very good, and i can't wait for more. this was the big city book that i had talked myself out of getting, but i'm really enjoying the hell out of it.

if you'd like to hear our review of the big city books or our interview with jeff kaufman then you can click on the links in the email signature.

[boshobosho]

I've only read the trade for "Ant: Days like these" but plan on picking it up again, probably starting with these two issues from Big City Comics.
Can you please bring me up to speed on what has been happening since the trade that I read? Thanks!

[Mario Gully]

I've only read the trade for "Ant: Days like these" but plan on picking it up again, probably starting with these two issues from Big City Comics.
Can you please bring me up to speed on what has been happening since the trade that I read? Thanks!


boshobosho-Thanks for the interest.

Here we go--

After "Days like these" Hannah (now grown up ) has realized that Ant wasn't
just in her imagination. She was this well know hero but somehow lost her
memory. Well--since then (Ant: reality bites-Image comics) people have been
trying to take advantage of her by keeping her in a state of confusion and
ignorance to get her to willingly reveal the secret of her powers. That pretty
much sums up the second volume.

The new series Ant:Unleashed is designed to be self contained and to answer
the questions that has been unanswered in the previous versions. If you jump
on board now, you won't be lost at all--in fact you will pretty much be up to speed with the whole Ant story (past and present) in the first 4 issues. That's
a guarantee.

cool?

[boshobosho]

boshobosho-Thanks for the interest.

Here we go--

After "Days like these" Hannah (now grown up ) has realized that Ant wasn't
just in her imagination. She was this well know hero but somehow lost her
memory. Well--since then (Ant: reality bites-Image comics) people have been
trying to take advantage of her by keeping her in a state of confusion and
ignorance to get her to willingly reveal the secret of her powers. That pretty
much sums up the second volume.

The new series Ant:Unleashed is designed to be self contained and to answer
the questions that has been unanswered in the previous versions. If you jump
on board now, you won't be lost at all--in fact you will pretty much be up to speed with the whole Ant story (past and present) in the first 4 issues. That's
a guarantee.

cool?

Definitely. thanks for the fill in.

[Robo Ape]

boshobosho-Thanks for the interest.

Here we go--

After "Days like these" Hannah (now grown up ) has realized that Ant wasn't
just in her imagination. She was this well know hero but somehow lost her
memory. Well--since then (Ant: reality bites-Image comics) people have been
trying to take advantage of her by keeping her in a state of confusion and
ignorance to get her to willingly reveal the secret of her powers. That pretty
much sums up the second volume.

The new series Ant:Unleashed is designed to be self contained and to answer
the questions that has been unanswered in the previous versions. If you jump
on board now, you won't be lost at all--in fact you will pretty much be up to speed with the whole Ant story (past and present) in the first 4 issues. That's
a guarantee.

cool?

Sorry if this has been answered before but how much time has elapsed story wise since the Image run, is this new title set a long time afterwards or only a fairly short time after the events in the Image series?

[Mario Gully]

Sorry if this has been answered before but how much time has elapsed story wise since the Image run, is this new title set a long time afterwards or only a fairly short time after the events in the Image series?


Not a prob.

The new series takes place about a year and a half since the Image run.
Just enough time for Hannah to get a decent job and build relationships with
characters that will be brought to light later down the road.

[Robo Ape]

Not a prob.

The new series takes place about a year and a half since the Image run.
Just enough time for Hannah to get a decent job and build relationships with
characters that will be brought to light later down the road.

Thanks for that, so not too long a period then.

Will we be seeing any of the other super-hero characters from the Image run in this one, as in a way I kind of feel it's better without any of them cluttering up the title?

[Shameless Fanboy]

Interesting second issue, I would hope she isn't going to put up with that harsh treatment for long & she isn't known for her forgiving nature.

Yeah, the humiliation factor is quite high there. I just know this isn't going to end well for somebody...

I've kept up with this series from the first issue over at Arcana, and while I did have a few problems with the storyline towards the end of the Image run, I do feel it's finding a solid voice with Unleashed.

Um, I just hope we don't see that giant cockroach again that was in the initial Arcana run. Man, that freaked me out--and still does to this day...

[Mario Gully]

Thanks for that, so not too long a period then.

Will we be seeing any of the other super-hero characters from the Image run in this one, as in a way I kind of feel it's better without any of them cluttering up the title?

This time around I'm focusing on telling a good story about Hannah's life as
this former hero. Right now, I don't have plans for other characters to appear in Ant. Jeff, is writing 2 issues of Ant:Unleashed/ crossover entitled "Tainted" that will feature some Big City characters. But, as for me and my style of writing right
now, I don't see that happening. And you right, it did clutter up the book and in the end we had a big mess.


Yeah, the humiliation factor is quite high there. I just know this isn't going to end well for somebody...

I've kept up with this series from the first issue over at Arcana, and while I did have a few problems with the storyline towards the end of the Image run, I do feel it's finding a solid voice with Unleashed.

Um, I just hope we don't see that giant cockroach again that was in the initial Arcana run. Man, that freaked me out--and still does to this day...


Thanks for the vote of confidence man. I'm glad that my writing has gotten better and it's my hope to present a clean clear series with this new book.

Oh, and yeah--Cockroach will be coming back. Sorry...:eek:

[Shameless Fanboy]

Oh, and yeah--Cockroach will be coming back. Sorry...:eek:

Argh!

Gonna need a bigger can of Raid...

[Robo Ape]

This time around I'm focusing on telling a good story about Hannah's life as
this former hero. Right now, I don't have plans for other characters to appear in Ant. Jeff, is writing 2 issues of Ant:Unleashed/ crossover entitled "Tainted" that will feature some Big City characters. But, as for me and my style of writing right
now, I don't see that happening. And you right, it did clutter up the book and in the end we had a big mess.

Thanks that's good to hear. As you have something of a 'seven' vibe going on with this title in it's tone, if you know what I mean & a load of super hero types would not fit in.

Anyway keep up the good work.

[Excelsior]

My LCS owner led me to Ant, And Im sorry to say I havent picked up this book earlier. I have gone and got the back issues and I am enjoying the new Unleashed story arc. Im glad to see your work being published and some of your other stuff at Marvel---much success to you and to every indie creator.

[Mario Gully]

My LCS owner led me to Ant, And Im sorry to say I havent picked up this book earlier. I have gone and got the back issues and I am enjoying the new Unleashed story arc. Im glad to see your work being published and some of your other stuff at Marvel---much success to you and to every indie creator.


Man, to have your LCS turn you on to Ant is really cool. I'm glad you are enjoying the series. I've actually gotten more positive feedback from this new
series then my previous ones. It's funny because this is the series where I decided to write the story I wanted to write. It's great to do something from
your heart and mind and have people dig it.

Thanks again guys. It's truly a blessing to be able to do this and I greatly
appreciate the support.It's the fans that makes or breaks any title.

[jim1175]

just read issue 3 and the story is rolling along nicely as the events in Hannah's life are being put together to make some sense. This series is great so far and I'm looking forward to each new issue... Mario keep doing what you're doing man; great work!

Question: how many issues in the original run at Arcana?

[Mario Gully]

just read issue 3 and the story is rolling along nicely as the events in Hannah's life are being put together to make some sense. This series is great so far and I'm looking forward to each new issue... Mario keep doing what you're doing man; great work!

Question: how many issues in the original run at Arcana?


Jim,

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you liked this particular issue. I'm
trying to mop up the mess that was done on Vol.2 and give you
guys a simple yet exciting cohesive story.

The best is yet to come..trust me! :D

To answer your question, there were 3 books to the Arcana story.

-Mario

[jim1175]

Jim,

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you liked this particular issue. I'm
trying to mop up the mess that was done on Vol.2 and give you
guys a simple yet exciting cohesive story.

The best is yet to come..trust me! :D

To answer your question, there were 3 books to the Arcana story.

-Mario

You’re definitely doing what you set out too.

Just for your own marketing information, I would never have bought Ant if I hadn't gone to the comiccon in NY a couple of years back. It was there that I picked up a "trading card" give-away with your art work advertising the Ant. I was very impressed with your art and character design so I went to my local shop and the rest is history. I guess the point is that those promo's do work and if not for yours I would have missed out on a really cool book.

[jeff808]

Ant (Vol 1) 1-I FX 2007 Sketch Cover
Hey, Everybody else has one. I thought why not?

ANT drops at Image. It will hit the shops 3 MONTHS EARLY! Hitting in JULY and not September. We have some great things lined up for you guys. Very exciting to have team-ups and such. Being the new guy on the block,I just hope to make some good comics at Image and hopefully turn some heads.


Newsarama Ant Press (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26515&highlight=ant)

Thanks guys,

[jeff808]

[Mario (Vol 1) 1-I FX 2007 Sketch Cover[/QUOTE] Or is there anyone that can help me find this gem>

[Mario Gully]

[Mario (Vol 1) 1-I FX 2007 Sketch Cover Or is there anyone that can help me find this gem>[/QUOTE]


Humm...I don't remember doing a sketch cover for FX. There was an black sketch/ convention cover we did for Vol 1. Is that what you are talking about?


-Mario

[Mario Gully]

You’re definitely doing what you set out too.

Just for your own marketing information, I would never have bought Ant if I hadn't gone to the comiccon in NY a couple of years back. It was there that I picked up a "trading card" give-away with your art work advertising the Ant. I was very impressed with your art and character design so I went to my local shop and the rest is history. I guess the point is that those promo's do work and if not for yours I would have missed out on a really cool book.



Thanks for much for the encouragement man! Sometimes, when all the pain we suffer..in addition to all the long hours-- and not to mention years we invest into making a small object that can be read in about 15 min. As creators we wonder why we do this at all sometimes. I can only speak for myself and say that in most cases we give to this "dream" way more then it ever gives back on the best of days.

It's nice to know that the copious efforts are not in vain!

Thanks man. You made my night!:)

[jeff808]

Yes it is the black cover I am looking for, will you be at MEGA CON tommorrow? I can pick it up there if you have one. You are the greatest artist in my opinion and BTW, you you must have seen my wife. Because ant's ass is a spittin image of her's :O) lol
jeff
unionrigging@cfl.rr.com

[Mario Gully]

Yes it is the black cover I am looking for, will you be at MEGA CON tommorrow? I can pick it up there if you have one. You are the greatest artist in my opinion and BTW, you you must have seen my wife. Because ant's ass is a spittin image of her's :O) lol
jeff
unionrigging@cfl.rr.com


Yes, I will be there and I will bring one If I have one. Those puppies are rare!

LOL, Your wife has an Ant booty...how cool is that!

[JohngPR]

Mario,

Hey my name is John. Not sure if you remember me but I met you yesterday at Megacon. You did a bad ass Wolverine head sketch for me. I have to say that you really made an impression on me when we talked about the ridiculous amount of money some artists charge for their sketches and pages.

You kind of made my day at Megacon because before I went up to you to ask for a sketch, I had just gotten back from someone that was kind of a jerk to me when all I wanted from him was for him to sign 3 books because I was a fan. It seemed like there were a few guys I met this year that made me realize that some people aren't in the comics biz because they are passionate about it...otherwise they would probably treat their fans better.

Anyway, it was refreshing to meet you and see that your fans mean something to you. I probably should have asked you more about the Ant while I was there, but since I didn't, I decided to do what anyone else would do...google it! ;)

It seems like The Ant has had a checkered past with some things that went public, and a few starts and stops, but it seemed to me that you've been honest about what's happened. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I meant what I told you and I'll definitely be looking for The Ant Unleashed when I go to my LCS from now on. I hope that they carry your book! You definitely made a fan out of me. You're from Orlando, FL too? Cool to see a local guy doing his thing!

Hopefully I'll get to meet you again at another convention sometime soon.

John

[jeff808]

Yes, I will be there and I will bring one If I have one. Those puppies are rare!

LOL, Your wife has an Ant booty...how cool is that!

Mario, thank you so much for the Ant sketch eddition, your work is unbelievable. It was great meeting you and your wife at Mega Con. You two are so down to earth and such good people. Besides you're awesome talent, you treat your fans like they are family, and that's what it's all about. While I was looking for you I had seen many artist sitting there like they had a chip on their shoulder. Then when I spotted your wife you were laughing, signing, takling, shaking hands and joking around with all your fans. No chip on your shoulder, just a smile from ear to ear. Thanks for making my day and all your other fans.
Jeff808

[Mario Gully]

Mario,

Hey my name is John. Not sure if you remember me but I met you yesterday at Megacon. You did a bad ass Wolverine head sketch for me. I have to say that you really made an impression on me when we talked about the ridiculous amount of money some artists charge for their sketches and pages.

You kind of made my day at Megacon because before I went up to you to ask for a sketch, I had just gotten back from someone that was kind of a jerk to me when all I wanted from him was for him to sign 3 books because I was a fan. It seemed like there were a few guys I met this year that made me realize that some people aren't in the comics biz because they are passionate about it...otherwise they would probably treat their fans better.

Anyway, it was refreshing to meet you and see that your fans mean something to you. I probably should have asked you more about the Ant while I was there, but since I didn't, I decided to do what anyone else would do...google it! ;)

It seems like The Ant has had a checkered past with some things that went public, and a few starts and stops, but it seemed to me that you've been honest about what's happened. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I meant what I told you and I'll definitely be looking for The Ant Unleashed when I go to my LCS from now on. I hope that they carry your book! You definitely made a fan out of me. You're from Orlando, FL too? Cool to see a local guy doing his thing!

Hopefully I'll get to meet you again at another convention sometime soon.

John

John,

Sure I remember you pal. It was a pleasure meeting you and I 'm glad you dug
the Wolvie sketch. I'm happy that my silly butt was able to contribute to your
Megacon experience. I can't speak for any other creator or artist but, I really enjoy what I do and I know if it wasn't for you guys-- I would be back to
flipping burgers and burning fries. Anyhow, man that's cool that you are gonna
jump on the Ant bandwagon! I work really hard on her and It's good to know that she can be appreciated. I hope to see ya again man..What comic shop do you go to? I'm always jumping to shop to shop in Orlando. Who knows? We might bump into each other on a Wednesday!

Mario, thank you so much for the Ant sketch eddition, your work is unbelievable. It was great meeting you and your wife at Mega Con. You two are so down to earth and such good people. Besides you're awesome talent, you treat your fans like they are family, and that's what it's all about. While I was looking for you I had seen many artist sitting there like they had a chip on their shoulder. Then when I spotted your wife you were laughing, signing, takling, shaking hands and joking around with all your fans. No chip on your shoulder, just a smile from ear to ear. Thanks for making my day and all your other fans.
Jeff808


It was a pleasure meeting you too Jeff! I still can't believe you didn't read
One More Day or even knew about the story but you knew what Ant was all
about!?! LOL! That was mind blowing to me. Man, it was cool hanging with you and talking to you about comics, Ant--real estate and how Grove land used to be. Your a cool guy as well and you are the kind of guy that motivates me when the times get tough! I just want to tank you for digging
Ant the way you do and I think it's awesome that your wife digs her as well. That's so cool!

[JohngPR]

John,

Sure I remember you pal. It was a pleasure meeting you and I 'm glad you dug
the Wolvie sketch. I'm happy that my silly butt was able to contribute to your
Megacon experience. I can't speak for any other creator or artist but, I really enjoy what I do and I know if it wasn't for you guys-- I would be back to
flipping burgers and burning fries. Anyhow, man that's cool that you are gonna
jump on the Ant bandwagon! I work really hard on her and It's good to know that she can be appreciated. I hope to see ya again man..What comic shop do you go to? I'm always jumping to shop to shop in Orlando. Who knows? We might bump into each other on a Wednesday!


I go to Bad Apple Comics off of South OBT across the street from the Florida Mall. I've been going there for years now and they treat me good. Hopefully I'll see you there one day. It's good to see that you are also a fan of what you do. What books do you regularly read?

I'm actually on my way over there now. Wish me luck on my Ant quest!


UPDATE: Well, I just got back from my LCS and picked up my books for the week. Damn it was an expensive week for me! :p

I was able to get Ant Unleashed #2 but they didn't have #1 or #3 so that kind of sucks. I want to read Issue #2, but I'd prefer reading # 1 before reading #2. Anyone know where I can find it? I did add Ant Unleashed to my pull list though. ;) I also picked up Marvel Adventures Hulk #6 so that I can read to my son (he's 5 years old).

Also speaking of One More Day, what do you think about it Mario? Personally, I disliked the fact that they explained everything away with magic, but at least most of all the issues aftwards in BND have been pretty solid. Not sure it was worth what they did to get there though.

[Mario Gully]

I go to Bad Apple Comics off of South OBT across the street from the Florida Mall. I've been going there for years now and they treat me good. Hopefully I'll see you there one day. It's good to see that you are also a fan of what you do. What books do you regularly read?

I'm actually on my way over there now. Wish me luck on my Ant quest!


UPDATE: Well, I just got back from my LCS and picked up my books for the week. Damn it was an expensive week for me! :p

I was able to get Ant Unleashed #2 but they didn't have #1 or #3 so that kind of sucks. I want to read Issue #2, but I'd prefer reading # 1 before reading #2. Anyone know where I can find it? I did add Ant Unleashed to my pull list though. ;) I also picked up Marvel Adventures Hulk #6 so that I can read to my son (he's 5 years old).

Also speaking of One More Day, what do you think about it Mario? Personally, I disliked the fact that they explained everything away with magic, but at least most of all the issues aftwards in BND have been pretty solid. Not sure it was worth what they did to get there though.


Hey man. I used to go to Bad Apple a lot. Now, I go to the shop up the street
though because they open like an hour earlier. That's cool you were able to get Ant and Ma Hulk. I can try to remember to drop Ant#1 and 2 at Bad Apple when I go that way and have them hold it for you and just give'em to ya. I'm pretty busy though, but I can try. Thanks for putting Ant on your pull list. I think that is awesome! Can't get any better than that! :)

What did I think of One More Day? Honestly, I thought it was great. I thought
the whole concept was pretty cool because it gave Spidey some flair and a
much talked about event. I'm all about that. The same with the death of Cap..It got people talking about comics and most of it was positive and I think it's cool to shake things up a bit. I enjoyed Joe's and Miki's art.That's what I like the best I have to admit.The way the story was told was cool in my humble opinion. Was it perfect? Naw, I really thought it would be a bit more explosive and less predictable-- but, I can live with it.

[JohngPR]

Hey man. I used to go to Bad Apple a lot. Now, I go to the shop up the street
though because they open like an hour earlier. That's cool you were able to get Ant and Ma Hulk. I can try to remember to drop Ant#1 and 2 at Bad Apple when I go that way and have them hold it for you and just give'em to ya. I'm pretty busy though, but I can try. Thanks for putting Ant on your pull list. I think that is awesome! Can't get any better than that! :)

What did I think of One More Day? Honestly, I thought it was great. I thought
the whole concept was pretty cool because it gave Spidey some flair and a
much talked about event. I'm all about that. The same with the death of Cap..It got people talking about comics and most of it was positive and I think it's cool to shake things up a bit. I enjoyed Joe's and Miki's art.That's what I like the best I have to admit.The way the story was told was cool in my humble opinion. Was it perfect? Naw, I really thought it would be a bit more explosive and less predictable-- but, I can live with it.

Yea, the Bad Apple on OBT opens an hour early now at 10AM, I guess you weren't the only one that went elsewhere because they didn't open as early as some places. ;)

Wow, that would be awesome if you're able to drop off Ant #1 and 3 over there. I'm sure you're a busy guy so I totally understand if you can't find the time. Either way it's a nice gesture. In case you find some time, my name is John Nieves. Thanks again!

That's cool that you dug OMD. Personally, I think the stories that came after OMD in Brand New Day are a lot better. I will admit though Joe Q and Miki did some good art on One More Day, although I don't really agree with the whole Mephisto thing, I can appreciate how much time it took for him to get that done. I also give him props for doing the art himself because he knew that it would be controversial.

I agree that Cap's death was handled great. I really love the story that was told there and the new Captain America is a perfect fit. I don't think that story could have been handled any better.

Seeing as this is Ant Q&A, I guess I should ask an Ant related question; I remember you telling me that Ant is part of Omega one (oh yea, I put that on my pull list too and managed to find Issue #1 at Bad Apple). So after the Ant Unleashed and Omega One mini's wrap up, is there any future plans for Ant?

[Mario Gully]

Yea, the Bad Apple on OBT opens an hour early now at 10AM, I guess you weren't the only one that went elsewhere because they didn't open as early as some places. ;)

Wow, that would be awesome if you're able to drop off Ant #1 and 3 over there. I'm sure you're a busy guy so I totally understand if you can't find the time. Either way it's a nice gesture. In case you find some time, my name is John Nieves. Thanks again!

That's cool that you dug OMD. Personally, I think the stories that came after OMD in Brand New Day are a lot better. I will admit though Joe Q and Miki did some good art on One More Day, although I don't really agree with the whole Mephisto thing, I can appreciate how much time it took for him to get that done. I also give him props for doing the art himself because he knew that it would be controversial.

I agree that Cap's death was handled great. I really love the story that was told there and the new Captain America is a perfect fit. I don't think that story could have been handled any better.

Seeing as this is Ant Q&A, I guess I should ask an Ant related question; I remember you telling me that Ant is part of Omega one (oh yea, I put that on my pull list too and managed to find Issue #1 at Bad Apple). So after the Ant Unleashed and Omega One mini's wrap up, is there any future plans for Ant?

Good question. I honestly can't answer that. It's all up in the air tight now. I do have a couple of ideals on what I would like to do with Ant but, I have to
wait and see if things pan out. Sorry to be so tight lipped..That's all I got right now.

[Mario Gully]

Hey John,

I got those book dropped off at Big Apple for ya. They are in your pull box.

[JohngPR]

Wow, thank you so much. You are awesome!

I just read Omega One #1. I know you didn't write or draw this issue, but I saw that you co-created it and are doing some issues later. I think it's pretty cool that Big City Comics is local to me.

I dug it. It has a Thunderbolts feel to it and I enjoy the added dynamic of mixing the good guys with the bad guys. I think that's a cool dynamic. I also liked the scenes with Ant and Coldburn. I'm looking into getting the older Ant series so I can read the Ant/Coldburn backstory. Looking forward to future issues Omega One as well.

One thing though, I think the Big City guys need to hire an editor. I caught a few misspellings and grammatical errors in Omega One. Nothing huge though, I just notice because I used to be an editor for a videogame site. lol

Thanks again, I might go today or tomorrow to get them since I'll be near Bad Apple tomorrow (Wife works near there and I'm meeting her for lunch). Looking forward to reading them!

[Mario Gully]

Wow, thank you so much. You are awesome!

I just read Omega One #1. I know you didn't write or draw this issue, but I saw that you co-created it and are doing some issues later. I think it's pretty cool that Big City Comics is local to me.

I dug it. It has a Thunderbolts feel to it and I enjoy the added dynamic of mixing the good guys with the bad guys. I think that's a cool dynamic. I also liked the scenes with Ant and Coldburn. I'm looking into getting the older Ant series so I can read the Ant/Coldburn backstory. Looking forward to future issues Omega One as well.

One thing though, I think the Big City guys need to hire an editor. I caught a few misspellings and grammatical errors in Omega One. Nothing huge though, I just notice because I used to be an editor for a videogame site. lol

Thanks again, I might go today or tomorrow to get them since I'll be near Bad Apple tomorrow (Wife works near there and I'm meeting her for lunch). Looking forward to reading them!


That's cool man. Just for the record, I didn't actually co-create Omega One. I still don't know why that is in the book. I just own most of the characters in that book. Issue 1 and 2. Ant, Coldburn, Rundown and Caliente. I have nothing to do with the book other then those are my characters. I'm glad you dig it and I think the book is being noticed. Also, Omega is kind of it's own world as far as I'm concerned concerning the characters relationships and how they use their abilities and such. I know it's kinda messed up but it isn't in any continuity with the Ant world at this point.

[JohngPR]

That's cool man. Just for the record, I didn't actually co-create Omega One. I still don't know why that is in the book. I just own most of the characters in that book. Issue 1 and 2. Ant, Coldburn, Rundown and Caliente. I have nothing to do with the book other then those are my characters. I'm glad you dig it and I think the book is being noticed. Also, Omega is kind of it's own world as far as I'm concerned concerning the characters relationships and how they use their abilities and such. I know it's kinda messed up but it isn't in any continuity with the Ant world at this point.

Ah ok, gotcha. That was going to be my next question (about the continuity). LOL Thanks for clearing that up for me. hehehe. Well since you'll be taking care of the art duties for some of the issues in Omega One, at least I'll have your art (and your characters) to look forward to.

I'mma check out the old Ant series though because the characters seem interesting. Even though you said the Omega stuff isn't canon, it would still be fun to go back and see how Ant and Coldburn went back and forth when you did have more to do with those interactions. Also, is Caliente Puerto Rican? Being from PR myself, how can I resist? :cool: Tomorrow will be a lazy Sunday for me...chilling out with my son....reading my stack of comics. Good times.

So aside from Comics, what other interests do you have (music/movies/tv)?

[JohngPR]

Thanks so much for the Ant goodies, Mario! Thanks for signing the issues too, you're the shit, bro! I just read the original Ant series (Arcana) and really liked it. It has this rawness to it that I really enjoyed. It just had a special something to it that really made me want to keep reading it until I finished it. I also dug the idea of a little girl that daydreamed to escape her reality. I thought it was very well done, and the ending was surprising and was a cool twist.

Now this might end up being a long post and if so, sorry to take up so much of your time with it, I just find the story interesting. Also, SPOILERS to anyone that hasn't read the Ant series yet...you have been warned!

So from what I understand...the story we read in the Arcana series was the version of reality that Hannah remembers that happened to her when she was 8 years old (What really happened to her as a kid was a lot more cruel).

At the end of the Arcana series, she snaps out of it and you realize that Hannah is actually a young woman that was reliving her childhood (to cope with it) while in a mental institution. Still, the fact remains that when she was 8 years old, she somehow knew what the future held for her with a frightening amount of detail. I like that you've kept how she knew the future ambiguous because it's kind of like a "chicken or the egg" scenario. Was she able to see the future or did her future self somehow tell her past self what was to become of her life?

Anyway, I just read Ant: Unleashed #1-3 and although it was a lot more adult oriented than the Arcana series, I really loved it. One of the things I liked about it is that you got the "hood talk" right. It seems like sometimes people that don't really know the lingo try to write a character speaking all hood and it just sounds like a "white guy version" of someone that talks that way. I liked the fact that you nailed that. Sorry that's the only way I could explain it. LOL

It was REALLY cool to read the Arcana story and then read this because so many questions are answered. The way it works out too is that by answering some questions, other questions are brought to the reader's attention, which is cool and makes you look forward to future issues of the series. Your art has come a long way from the Arcana series to what it is now. You can tell you worked hard to improve and just wanted to let you know that it shows.

Although I loved mostly everything about Ant Unleashed, I do have a few complaints:

First was the art. In reality, I really enjoyed the art. Turini draws a beautiful Hannah. The problem I had was how Christie and Hannah were drawn during "emotional" moments. The scene where Hannah was telling Christie how she's saving up money for the both of them to get the hell out of dodge is supposed to be emotional, but when you look at the facial expressions on the characters during that scene, it doesn't really match the serious tone that was trying to be established. That and a few times it seems like Turini was posing Hannah in all these "covergirl" poses while she was just talking normal to someone which seemed a little goofy. He didn't have any of these problems in issue #2 so maybe that stuff was addressed. It was just something that stood out to me.

Another thing is, bro you need to find more Boriqua friends. LOL :D Some of the Spanish that Inez was talking came off a little awkward because it's not what I would think a Spanish person would say in that situation. I know you're not latino so I won't hold it against ya. LOL :cool:

But yea, overall I really enjoyed your books and you've definitely made an Ant fan out of me. I have so many ideas and theories about how the series will play out. I can't wait to see what happens next!


Here's where the Q&A happens I haven't read the Image series yet so I might be missing some stuff that you may have already answered:

1) How long was Hannah in the mental institution between her blacking out in the last issue of the Arcana series and you seeing her grown up for the first time in the last few pages of the Arcana series?

2) So Steven had access to her while she was in this mental institution? Is this how he added memory triggers to her mind? Will "how he had access to her while she was in the mental institiute" be explained later on?

3) Ok, my guess is that Steven is Cockroach. It makes so much sense to me. I'm looking forward to seeing how it happened and if I'm right.

Anyway, sorry this post is long as hell, but I guess you can take it as a compliment, I'm really digging your stuff here and it's fun to talk about it!

[JohngPR]

Bumpity bump

[Robo Ape]

What the hey the third issue is out?

I have kept a careful watch & haven't seen it any of my usual shops. When did it get released?

[JohngPR]

I dont know when exactly, but it came out about 3 weeks ago.

[Robo Ape]

I dont know when exactly, but it came out about 3 weeks ago.

It's quite a difficult title to get hold of, my normal place doesn't even list it. And where I got hold of it last time only had one copy of it of which I was just in there at the right time to get hold of.

[JohngPR]

That really sucks bro. Try talking to your LCS shop to see if they would carry it if you put it on your pull list.

[Robo Ape]

That really sucks bro. Try talking to your LCS shop to see if they would carry it if you put it on your pull list.

My usual place that didn't have it listed didn't even to seem to know why it wasn't listed, is their some issue with it's distrubtion?:confused:

[JohngPR]

I don't know, did you ask them if they were able to get it somehow?

[Robo Ape]

I don't know, did you ask them if they were able to get it somehow?

Got hold of it now, finally found a shop that had a copy. Heck of a lot of back story in the issue & possible the better for it.

[jim1175]

when do we get issue#4... This seems to be a hard series to pin down at the comic store.

[Robo Ape]

when do we get issue#4... This seems to be a hard series to pin down at the comic store.

I wonder if it's running late as I haven't seen any info about & we are effectively into April for the releases now.

[JohngPR]

Another weird thing is that the Big City forums has been down for over a week and there hasn't been a new update in weeks. Hopefully everything is still going according to schedule. :(

[Robo Ape]

Another weird thing is that the Big City forums has been down for over a week and there hasn't been a new update in weeks. Hopefully everything is still going according to schedule. :(

Now that's not a good sign at all. Though I could have sworn I still saw them soliciting future releases fairly recently.

[FrogMan]

I have a question to anyone who knows.

And Days Like These reprints the Arcana 4 issues, correct?

Does the Reality Bites trade reprint the entire 11 issues of the Image series?

[JohngPR]

No, Reality Bites only reprints issues #1-4. I just got it a few days ago and read it. I like it so far. I don't think that Image ever collected any of the other issues in TPB form. :(

[Robo Ape]

Another weird thing is that the Big City forums has been down for over a week and there hasn't been a new update in weeks. Hopefully everything is still going according to schedule. :(

Seems their site was hacked & they lost their forum. They are back now.

Link. (http://www.bigcitycs.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3)

[JohngPR]

Mario must be busy, he hasn't posted on here in a while.

Good to hear that they're back, was wondering what the hell happened.

[Robo Ape]

Mario must be busy, he hasn't posted on here in a while.

Good to hear that they're back, was wondering what the hell happened.

Still no sign of issue #4 which is concerning, I wonder just how late this issue is now running?

[jim1175]

Still no sign of issue #4 which is concerning, I wonder just how late this issue is now running?

You’re echoing my thoughts!

[Robo Ape]

You’re echoing my thoughts!

Be interested to see if it gets re-solicited soon.

[jim1175]

Be interested to see if it gets re-solicited soon.

oh I hope not. I thought that we were really getting somewhere this time. Of the 3 series which did you like the best?

[Robo Ape]

oh I hope not. I thought that we were really getting somewhere this time. Of the 3 series which did you like the best?

I never saw the first series unfortunately, I am liking this series better than series 2 at Image. They was something off about the Image series, you could kind of tell compromises had been made content wise. You can certainly tell that by looking at series 3.

Which of the 3 do you rate the best?

[JohngPR]

It's hard for me to choose because I've only read the first 4 issues of the image series. So far, the Image series seems more mainstream and loses some of it's charm, but it's still a good read.

For me it's a tie between the original Arcana series and the new series. It all depends on how this new series plays out.

[Robo Ape]

It's hard for me to choose because I've only read the first 4 issues of the image series. So far, the Image series seems more mainstream and loses some of it's charm, but it's still a good read.

For me it's a tie between the original Arcana series and the new series. It all depends on how this new series plays out.

Is the original series available in trade paperback form do you know?

[JohngPR]

Is the original series available in trade paperback form do you know?

Yes it is. I'm sure you could find it on ebay if you can't find it anywhere else.

[jim1175]

I never saw the first series unfortunately, I am liking this series better than series 2 at Image. They was something off about the Image series, you could kind of tell compromises had been made content wise. You can certainly tell that by looking at series 3.

Which of the 3 do you rate the best?

I'm with you on this... I like the most current one. Things were just getting good and then?

[jim1175]

Be interested to see if it gets re-solicited soon.

Did you check out Omega One? Ant is part of the team, looks like it takes place after the most current arc. The first issue was a very good build up issue, I hope that issue 2 keeps the same level of quality.

[Robo Ape]

Did you check out Omega One? Ant is part of the team, looks like it takes place after the most current arc. The first issue was a very good build up issue, I hope that issue 2 keeps the same level of quality.

I wasn't even aware it was out, when did it come out & I will see if I can track it down as I did with issue 3 of Ant.

[jim1175]

I wasn't even aware it was out, when did it come out & I will see if I can track it down as I did with issue 3 of Ant.

I picked it up this past wednesday, but I get the impression that it came out 2 wednesdays ago. Let me now if your having trouble finding it and I will see what I can do.

[jim1175]

I spoke with my local shop owner yesterday, and unfortunately it looks like it will be quite some time before we see a new issue of ANT. According to him he has the previews of all books being published until July and ANt is not listed.

[Pil]

Does anybody know what's happening at Big City? None of the comics from March and April have been published. I know their site was hacked and they had to start over, but the site in general seems have gone the way of the dodo.

[Robo Ape]

I spoke with my local shop owner yesterday, and unfortunately it looks like it will be quite some time before we see a new issue of ANT. According to him he has the previews of all books being published until July and ANt is not listed.

Yikes that's not good at all & the title got off to such a good start too.

[jim1175]

Yikes that's not good at all & the title got off to such a good start too.

Yeah I know.

Did you check her out in Omega One? A second issue will be coming of this title.

[Pil]

Yeah I know.

Did you check her out in Omega One? A second issue will be coming of this title.
The second issue was published weeks ago. I think I've had it for about a month now.

[jim1175]

The second issue was published weeks ago. I think I've had it for about a month now.

sorry I meant third issue coming, according to the preview list

[JohngPR]

Supposedly, some new BCC will be coming out this Wednesday. Let's hope that's true. *crosses fingers*

[Robo Ape]

Supposedly, some new BCC will be coming out this Wednesday. Let's hope that's true. *crosses fingers*

Thanks for the info, but no news on which titles I assume.

[JohngPR]

Totem and Omega One I think.

[Pil]

It looks as if all the series are coming back except Ant. I couldn't see what was going to happen to the book, but I assume it's only moving it to another publisher. While I enjoy Ant, I have to say that I look more forward to getting Tempest and Totem.

[Robo Ape]

It looks as if all the series are coming back except Ant. I couldn't see what was going to happen to the book, but I assume it's only moving it to another publisher. While I enjoy Ant, I have to say that I look more forward to getting Tempest and Totem.

I notice in their recent solicit for the publisher their was no sign of Ant.

[Jakelin]

I just saw an announcement at the BCC website that they are no longer doing Ant although Ant will appear in some of their other titles.

[Robo Ape]

I just saw an announcement at the BCC website that they are no longer doing Ant although Ant will appear in some of their other titles.

Thanks just seen that. What a shame, I wonder what the inside story on that is. Must track down issue one of Omega One.

[Jakelin]

I don't follow Ant but I really likeI their Dragon Cross comic. The real shame is that it sounds like they only had two more issues to put out to complete the current series so the people who are reading it aren't going to get a finish to the story. I always try to look to support independents and it is stuff like this that always makes it so chancy. It sucks to get wrapped up in a series and have it come to an sudden end before the story is wrapped up.

[JohngPR]

I can only hope the series gets a proper ending with a different publisher at the very least.

[Robo Ape]

I don't know why but a lot of shops don't even seem to list BCC stuff.