Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Dragons vs. Dinosaurs – It’s a fantasist’s fantasy at Shooting Star Comics

P R E S S R E L E A S E
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For Information, Please Contact:

Sean Taylor, Editor-in-Chief of Shooting Star Comics
editor@shootingstarcomics.com

Scott McCullar, Creative Director
mccullar@shootingstarcomics.com

Alpharetta, Ga. (August 25, 2004) – Dragons versus dinosaurs. It’s a fantasy fanboy’s (or girl’s) dream battle. And thanks to fantasy/sci-fi writer Jayme Blaschke, it has found a home in Shooting Star Comics Anthology #5. “Dracosaur,” written by Blaschke and drawn by Lori Krell is available now in stores.

“Jayme and Lori’s story is our first real foray into fantasy,” says Editor-in-Chief Sean Taylor. “And it’s a great first foray to have under one’s belt. I have to admit that I’m a big Ray Harryhausen fan, and when I saw the script to this story, the 12 year old inside me who saw Ray’s movies late nights on midnight TV almost went back and tried to track down my model dinosaur kits from days gone by.”

While Jayme is a regular over at RevolutionSF magazine, “Dracosaur” is his first trip into published comics writing.

Says Jayme: "I'm extremely excited to have this opportunity to work with Shooting Star. I've followed their publications since issue one of the Shooting Star Comics Anthology, and I have been impressed with the enthusiasm and creativity contained within the pages of the books.

"It's simply amazing to me that nobody has done the Dracosaur concept before now. Dinosaurs and dragons -- it practically begs to be written! Of course, I say that knowing full well some walking comics encyclopedia like Mark Waid will immediately point out that Igor Messerschmidt did indeed do a dragons and dinosaurs story way back in the 1967 Wacky Tales of Wonderment Arbor Day Special. To which I can only reply: Yeah, but was his dragon French?

Jayme continues: "The best part of King Kong was when Kong fought the dinosaurs. That's why King Kong vs. Godzilla is so fun to watch, even though it's the biggest accumulation of cheese in the history of cinema. The best part of Jurassic Park was when the velociraptors and T. Rex went after it. Forget knights and wizards -- I say, if you're going to write a dragon story, have some fun with it. And dinosaurs are lots and lots of fun.

Says Jayme of the experience of writing for comics: "It's been an interesting learning experience for me. My fiction's been published in a number of different places, but scripting comics is quite a different animal. I knew it would be, but you never quite understand the differences of the mediums until you actually apply yourself to the task at hand. That said, I found the comic scripting process quite fun. I ended up storyboarding out each page to help me structure the script as I wrote it.

"I count myself very lucky indeed to have Lori Krell handling the art on Dracosaur. I first encountered her work at Texas State University, and she blew me away with her versatility. I managed to talk her in to doing some illustration work for RevolutionSF.com where I'm fiction editor, and the work she turned in was beyond what I'd hoped for. When it came time to select an artist to illustrate Dracosaur, she was my first and only choice. She illustrated the entire story on computer--her 'digital painting' is unique as anything in comics today. Each page she sent me cried out to be framed and hung on the wall. I'm forever spoiled now."

In addition to debut of Dracosaur, the book also features:

· A brand new sci-fi tale from X-Files writer, Stefan Petrucha—introducing the comics debut of artist Jeziel Sanchez Martinez!
· The debut of Yankee Doodle, the living sketch, by Scott Hileman, Chris Franklin, and Ethan Colchamiro.
· One of the most fun Bedbug adventures you’ve ever seen, brought to you by Scott Rogers.
· A new 70’s-themed martial arts tale in Scott McCullar’s Thrill Seeker Comics.
· A Jazz Age horror tale from Sean Taylor and Erik Burnham set in the off-kilter universe of Chicago Twist.
· A brand-new Aym Geronimo tale from J. Morgan Neal and Todd Fox.
· A brand-new Rex Solomon tale from Gregg W. Noon, J. Morgan Neal, and Sinclair Elliot.

For new readers, Shooting Star Comics Anthology #5 is a good starting point to get on board to see what is happening at what Steven Grant at comicbookresources.com calls, "...one of the best anthologies you are likely to find from small independents..."

The book is now available in fine comic stores everywhere.

SHOOTING STAR COMICS, LLC is a new comics publisher, committed to publishing a wide variety of genres and styles. Including both new talent and longtime legends in the industry, Shooting Star Comics produces a quarterly anthology series and will also be releasing new titles this year.

Shooting Star Comics is a proud member of the Small Press Association. More information about Shooting Star Comics can be found at the company’s website, www.shootingstarcomics.com.

A .jpeg of the cover to SHOOTING STAR COMICS ANTHOLOGY #5 and samples from the book can be downloaded from the website.

For additional sample artwork and other inquiries, please contact:

Scott McCullar, Creative Director
mccullar@shootingstarcomics.com

Shooting Star Comics
5665 Hwy. 9 Suite 103-140
Alpharetta, GA 30004
404.429.7663

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