McNAMARA, TALBERT'S CONTINUITY DEBUTS FROM AiT/PLANETLAR IN JUNE

[MattBrady]

Press Release

Local froot-loops somehow complete 120-page graphic novel

AiT/Planet Lar creative executive Josh Richardson announced today that he’s the head lunatic in the asylum take-over. "I’ve been shepherding Jason McNamara and Tony Talbert through the sometimes painful process of getting a book out from concept to completion. With Larry Young and Jon Proctor finishing up The Black Diamond, it’s fallen to me to let you know about the sheer awesomeness of Mac and Tony’s book," Richardson said. "You’ve probably seen the twenty-five pages of Continuity that I gave our pals at the Isotope to premiere up on their website and you couldn’t walk five feet without tripping over a mention of the book."

"Mac is one of the craziest guys I’ve ever met," continued Richardson, "a man nearly impossible to keep up with in conversation because his sharp wit is just all over the place. Two or three things that don’t seem related end up being the funniest story you’ve ever heard and his work on Continuity is cut from the same cloth."

Writer Jason McNamara uncharacteristically flutters his lush eyelashes: "Coming from the self-publishing arena, it's exciting and daunting to be picked up by AiT/Planet Lar. I see that logo and think Demo, Last of the Independents and Hench. Not only have they published some of my favorite books but they've helped launch some enviable careers. It's been an awesome experience. Larry and Mimi have been like a pair of New Jersey parents to us. When they’re not making us sleep in a cat carrier
underneath the basement stairs, then they’re locking Tony and me in a hot car with the windows rolled up."

Continuity is the story of Alicia, a teen whose dreams alter reality. Her own internal struggles accidentally cause a pharmaceutical police state to arise. "Mac is so mentally deranged that I think Continuity is his autobiography," said Richardson. "I really believe he thinks he’s a straight-edge punk rock half-pregnant reality-altering seventeen year-old girl. And sure, Tony looks like the normal one, but he’s just as bat-____ loco, too."

"The book was drawn at a sidewalk table in front of a cafe that I worked at during a biting winter in San Francisco's man-eating Tenderloin District," says artist Tony Talbert. "The junkie scum and heavy-handed cops that worked my block translated right onto the page, and I feel it gives the book much of its guts and integrity. Mac's writing, to me, is a combination of the Velvet Underground's music, Jim Thompson's work in prose, and Stanley Kubrick motion pictures. AiT/Planet Lar, in publishing Continuity, is no longer simply an insightful and dynamic company, but is now a refuge for felons and runaways."

The co-creator love-fest continues: "Tony Talbert is my best friend and my creative life partner," McNamara proudly claims. "How did I end up with such a great collaborator? Some say Karma. If that's true I must have been Richard Speck in a previous life. Tony gave this book everything he had. And when that wasn't much, we asked him for more and he kind of came through. Then we asked him to redraw a page and it was perfect."

"I want people to read Continuity and feel like I did when I made my first fake ID and saw the Ramones play at the Ritz in New York," McNamara boasts. "It's going to kick you up a flight of stairs, organize your mental sock drawer and put blood in your stool. Ya know... in a good way."

[mrhelm]

This sounds good and looks pretty cool. I might just check it out.

[Santiago Casares]

And you can find the preview that Josh talks about here.

[Egg]

They have hit on how to sell me a comic! I'm there!

[EMeadow]

As much as I look forward to this book and support AIT and plan on getting it, I do have to ask:

How long until Image publishes it?

[J.McNamara]

Hey there varmints! Thanks for the kind words for Continuity. I haven't felt this loved since I went looking for a hand job at an amputee convention. Rest assured the book will be released in June.

By ait/planet lar.

I'm going over a proof of the book this morning and f-me, they did a great job on it. Josh Richardson is a lettering god. Someday birds will crap on his statue.

As awesome as it is to have a book I wrote published, I'm more excited for everyone to finally see Tony Talberts work. The man thinks, eats, loves and sleeps in a six panel layout. Really one of the most dynamic people you could ever meet. If your going the San Diego Comic Con please stop by the ait booth and introduce yourself.

[SD Johnny]

I plan on picking this one up. Seems like "Lathe of Heaven" meets William Gibson, if you will.