“Curses! Foiled Again”, the sequel to “Foiled” by Jane Yolen and I, is set to be released on January 8th, 2013 by First Second Books. A bunch of very good advance reviews are already in from Kirkus, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal and Voya, and the book’s been awarded a 2012 Junior Library Guild Selection. That all adds up to a great beginning for the New Year. Check out the reviews on the “Foiled” page, HERE.

Meanwhile, I’ve been working on a few things, including a project at Aaron Augenblick animation studios here in Brooklyn, where I was able to learn quite a bit of Flash, spent some time working on a Cintiq tablet, and met a bunch of very awesome animators and cartoonists. Meanwhile, I’m still plugging away at Decelerate Blue, my current graphic novel with author Adam Rapp for First Second Books, making my way through the pencils, a little slower than I’d like, but getting good results, I think. Also, just finished writing, penciling, inking and (hand!) lettering a new Nico Bravo story for The Phoenix Weekly Comic Magazine in the U.K.

The Phoenix is a British weekly anthology comic magazine for kids with contributions from cartoonists like Nick Abadzis, Patrice Aggs, John Aggs, Gary Northfield, and many others, including myself. The comics themselves are beautifully produced, funny, silly, sometimes even educational, and (stunningly) are all creator-owned! I can’t think of another comics magazine that’s even remotely similar. I don’t normally rave about something I’m actually contributing to, but every so often you get the opportunity to participate in something that you know is special and unique, and almost too good to be true. The Phoenix is one of these.

This week, The Phoenix launched their iPad app and are offering a pretty amazing introductory subscription rate — six months of weekly comics for £9.99 (UK) / $13.99 (US) if you place your order during the first week of the app’s launch.

It’s a great way to introduce yourself and some lucky young comics fan to the variety, fun, and quality The Phoenix has to offer.

The link to the iTunes app is:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/phoenix-weekly-story-comic/id583824799?mt=8

You’ll get the whole first book of CORA’S BREAKFAST by Nick Abadzis and future episodes of NICO BRAVO by me, plus many other stories by top-notch British cartoonists. Please lend your support by sharing the link, especially with parents of kids who are into comics.