Robin "Dirty Stankin' Bird" McConnell has posted the INKSTUDS interview he did in October with Mariko Tamaki, wherein they discuss her graphic novels SKIM and EMIKO SUPERSTAR. I was also there. At some points I talk, at some points I don't.

And here's a good Emiko review that Mariko pointed out the other day.

Here's a collection of links and short excerpts of some more EMIKO SUPERSTAR reviews I've come across...

Rachelle Goguen @ Living Between Wednesdays
"What I loved about Emiko Superstar is that every character in the book just seemed so familiar to me. Emi is a fantastic teenage female character, awkwardly straddling wanting to be responsible and grown-up, and wanting to drop out of her boring life altogether and do something truly unique and wild."

Rachelle also has a short Q&A with Mariko.

Chris Lamb @ Comic Book Junction / Comics Are Expensive
"It’s a coming-of-age story, obviously. And while the same can be said of much of the Minx line up, Emiko Superstar is easily one of the most touching, realistic, and ultimately important ones around. While DC’s Little Graphic Novel Line That Could has produced all manner of stories I’ve enjoyed, this is the first to hit me square between the eyes with something I could relate to beyond the usual teenage drama."

Chris has some rather thoughtful appreciation of Mariko's realistic depiction of a teenager discovering her first social scene and trying to find her own creative voice.

Jennifer Hubert @ Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!
"Poppy, with her multi-colored dreads and multiple piercings, is everything Emi is not—loud, brash, beautiful and totally uninhibited. With Poppy as her motivation, Emi finds the dubious courage to do things she never thought she’d do."
"...hopefully artists and authors will continue to produce and promote more girl-rrific graphic novels for us fangirls who still need an occasional rriot grrl fix!"

John E. Mitchell @ North Adams Transcript (scroll down)
"The thrill of belonging to an enthusiastic, no-holds-barred creative tribe is well presented, but so is the unnecessary competitive side, the egos, creative dishonesty and laziness and, most important, the occasional incidence of sleazy older guys who just want to insinuate control over creative young gals."

Marty Nozz @ Duck And Cover
"This is not a story for just teenage girls. This is for every person who wants to create and throw their work to the masses. Its for the wannabe artist. The people who know they have something to express but are either to afraid to do it or are struggling to find their voice. It's a look at fifteen minutes of fame for such a person. It's an absolute gem."

And, to be fair, here's a link to the one negative review I found:
Ralph Mathieu @ Ich Liebe Comics

You can't please everyone all the time and it's especially hard to please the kind of person who first claims a work is too preachy and then complains it wasn't preachy enough.

====

Also, in case you don't have a good enough comic shop or book store in your area, I thought I should mention that Emiko Superstar is 30% off at Khepri.com. Same goes for all three volumes of the Queen & Country: Definitive Edition.

There's a nice article by Sigrid over at Fantastic Fangirls about how the Minx line was, if nothing else, an artistic success.

But you know what I really wanna mention?

EMIKO SUPERSTAR IS IN STORES NOW!!

I really like this book and I'm extremely proud of the work that Mariko and I put into it. But rather than ramble on about it, I'll just post the first five pages from the book:

While informing people of the demise of the Minx line, I ended up going on a bit of a rant. So, in case you're not on my mailing list, here's what you missed:


Most of the comic news blogs and their comment sections have been filled with theories on what DC did wrong or why the initiative failed. Plenty of it doesn't even merit debate. But I've read so much about it all that I feel compelled to comment on a few things.

Some people have been blaming DC for not shelving the Minx books better in bookstores. And I know this was a major factor. But I don't think it was DC's fault. It's not that simple. Let's be honest: bookstores are still figuring out what to do with graphic novels in general. For them it's a new beast that's yet to be domesticated. Things are just as, or more so, confusing when you try to place the Minx books, which could potentially fit in 3 or 4 different sections of the store. But none of those current sections are perfect. There is no perfect solution.

I've read comments from bookstore employees about where they think the Minx books should have been racked. But the different employees contradicted one another, which really emphasizes that there is no correct answer right now.

Which brings us to my only real disappointment with how DC handled things: they pulled the plug too soon. The first Minx books hit store shelves a little over 16 months ago. That is not enough time to capture a specific audience that isn't already in place, that doesn't already have an established category. What Minx offered wasn't manga and it wasn't YA novels. It was something in between. And I think that in-between category can exist and SHOULD exist. But it's something that needs time to take root and find its place.

I had thought DC was going to make that commitment. Maybe I was wrong all along or maybe the accountants just got edgy and freaked everyone else out. I don't know.

And don't get me wrong; I know there are similar types of graphic novels being produced by other publishers. And I love them for it. But what excited me about Minx was that they were going to make a concentrated effort to raise the profile of the genre and actually promote them to the target audience outside of comic shops. But, again, they pulled the plug too soon. There are copies of Seventeen and Teen magazine on stands right now with prominent Minx ads filling their back covers and inside front covers, respectively. Not to mention other events they lined up with Seventeen magazine to get Minx in front of teenage girls. But now things are ending before we have a chance for those marketing plans to pay off.

However, aside from their decision to end it all, I have to applaud DC Comics for their efforts and for giving it a shot. I specifically tip my hat to editor Shelly Bond for the energy and enthusiasm she put into it.

Hopefully the types of graphic novels that Minx was striving for will continue to be produced under other imprints and at smaller publishers who are willing to put in the dedication to build that audience. But it will probably take that much longer without Minx around.

If you want some more commentary, The Beat has a good round-up of who's saying stuff:
http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/09/25/breaking-news-minx-line-cancelled/
http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/09/25/more-minx/

The Comics Reporter in particular has some worthy thoughts:
http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/cbr_dc_comics_ends_minx_imprint/

And remember, EMIKO SUPERSTAR is still coming out in October:
http://steverolston.com/emiko/

I'm awake hours too early due to sleep paralysis and monsters attacking me from under the bed.

And I see the East Coast is wide awake and reporting the demise of DC's Minx imprint. I got the news yesterday and am quite bummed. I'd be bummed even if I wasn't involved, since I think Minx could have been a great thing for comics.

EMIKO SUPERSTAR, the graphic novel I did with writer Mariko Tamaki, will still be released from Minx on October 8th. What I hadn't announced yet was that we had already begun work on a spin-off graphic novel. DC has invited us to re-pitch it as a Vertigo book.

In the meantime, I'll most likely be diving into work on GHOST PROJEKT, the supernatural thriller Joe Harris and I have planned at Oni Press. So at least I won't be twiddling my thumbs and wandering the streets. Shouldn't be, at least.

Yesterday I sent off my final corrections for EMIKO SUPERSTAR, the graphic novel that Mariko Tamaki and I did for DC's MINX line. So, on that note, here are links to some advance reviews. Maybe you'd like to use them to inform your friends and acquaintances of this fine comic. It hits stores October 1st.

Greg McElhatton @ Read About Comics:
http://www.readaboutcomics.com/2008/08/06/emiko-superstar/
     "Emiko Superstar was just the right size for me to slip into my bag and take on the subway. Well, I almost missed my stop because of Emiko Superstar, but it was absolutely worth the sudden scramble if it meant I got absorbed by Tamaki and Rolston’s story of a geeky girl who tries to find herself on the stage of a freak show."
     "...Tamaki does a stellar job. She’s able to write Emi as not only someone who’s smart, but who is also still just a teenager and capable of making mistakes. So sometimes she succeeds admirably, sometimes she makes reasonable mistakes, and every once in a while you’ll slap your forehead at something she does because it seems so incredibly stupid—perhaps because you can see yourself having done the exact same thing as a teenager."

Jamie S. Rich @ Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/28763542
     "...the sheer confidence and the consistency of style in Emiko Superstar totally outranks anything [Rolston] has done before. Each panel is as perfectly drawn as the ones that surround it, and his layouts are deceptively simple. He breaks the panel-grid all over the place, but with a clarity that keeps you from noticing or losing your place."
     "Emiko Superstar is not false advertising: superbly stellar, indeed."

Colleen AF @ Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23920626

Van Jensen @ ComicMix:
http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/06/13/review-emiko-superstar-by-mariko-tamaki-and-steve-rolston/


I've got more info and artwork at my website: http://steverolston.com/emiko/

Today I received an advance reader copy of EMIKO SUPERSTAR. I spent the afternoon on the sofa and read the whole story, trying to keep my creator-brain shut off and absorb it as a regular reader. And I gotta say... it's damn good. Of course, I always knew Mariko's story was great. But holding the (mostly) finished book in my hands and reading it as a complete entity has confirmed that all those tender/funny/sad/inspiring little moments we worked on have added up to a really solid reading experience. Huzzah.

All this talk may seem like I'm just teasing you, since the book won't actually hit stores until September. Sorry. But today I also learned about the marketing plans for this year's Minx books. In the bigger picture, the wait will totally be worth it so that the marketing machine can do things properly and get these books in front of the teenage girls they were made for.

Oh, and if you haven't seen the 20-page preview from the Minx Sampler, it's been posted at Myspace Comic Books (note: the final book will have greytones).

Last night I finally finished greytoning EMIKO SUPERSTAR, the Minx graphic novel by Mariko Tamaki and yours truly. So, aside from several more months of proofing and nitpicking, I'm done.

It took longer than I'd planned, primarily because I put more into the artwork than I had planned. The story deserved it. To me, the details of the environments and the uniqueness of every character--even those only in the background--seemed just as important as any other aspect of the artwork. I'm hoping I managed to capture the sense of "overwhelming" that the main character experiences.

Although, for my own sanity, I think I need to break free from my OCBDCD (obsessive-compulsive background detail continuity disorder).

Anyway, here's a two-page spread from the book (click for bigger):

There is a free Minx Sampler that I believe made it to comic stores last week. You should check to see if your store got any. It has a load of preview pages from this year's Minx releases:
BURNOUT by Rebecca Donner & Inaki Miranda
WATER BABY by Ross Campbell
THE NEW YORK FOUR by Brian Wood & Ryan Kelly
JANES IN LOVE by Cecil Castellucci & Jim Rugg
TOKEN by Alisa Kwitney & Joelle Jones
and
EMIKO SUPERSTAR, which (along with Token) is shown without greytones because they weren't done yet

I haven't read all the previews yet but I have to say Water Baby is one to keep an eye out for when it hits stores in June. And, of course, Emiko Superstar once September rolls around.

Just a quick peek at a character from EMIKO SUPERSTAR, the Minx graphic novel I'm drawing. Pink added for extra flavour.

I like the look of an in-progress comic panel when only the foreground character has been inked. It's got a nice pop to it.

This is from Emiko Superstar, the graphic novel I'm drawing for Minx / DC Comics.

As announced at Comic-Con International in San Diego, I am currently illustrating a graphic novel for the DC Comics MINX line. Written by novelist and performance artist Mariko Tamaki ("Skim," "Fake ID," "Cover Me"), the book is entitled "EMIKO SUPERSTAR" and will be released in 2008.

Emi, a 16-year-old babysitter, is desperate to break out of the suburbs and become part of Toronto's vibrant art scene. When she takes the stage "borrowing" passages from her boss's diary for her performance, she becomes Emiko Superstar: an instant success with the art crowd and a keeper of secrets that could ruin her and her boss's lives.

For those not in the know, Minx is a new imprint devoted to publishing graphic novels for teenage girls. On Saturday I attended a Minx panel at Comic-Con, which included a discussion of their releases for 2007/2008.

The DC website has an MP3 podcast of the panel online, where you can hear me stumble and stammer and say "um" more times than anything else. The Emiko Superstar bit is about 3/5ths of the way through the podcast: http://dccomics.com/media/podcasts/DCComics_2007-07-29_MINX_Panel_San_Diego_Comic_Con_2007.mp3



They also have a slide show of photos from the panel (which is where I pulled these ones from):
http://dccomics.com/slideshows/sdcc07_panels_saturday/?slide=90&no_slide=true

You can also find write-ups on all seven newly-announced 2008 titles at the LA Times website:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/comiccon/2007/07/minx-announces-.html