Want to see some great comic book art--for free? The entire first chapter
of my anti-Bush 9/11 graphic novel, DIES IRAE, drawn by the great Spain
Rodriguez, is now online at http://diesirae911.com/
For the past three years, I've been working with legendary underground
cartoonist Spain Rodriguez on a graphic novel entitled DIES IRAE, about
9/11
and its aftermath. Spain is the creator of the famed revolutionary
Sixties
superhero Trashman, and with Robert Crumb, he's one of the founders of Zap
Comix. Spain's adaptation of William Lindsay Graham's 1946 noir classic
NIGHTMARE ALLEY is considered by many to be the best graphic novel ever
produced. DIES IRAE features some of Spain's best work ever.
I'm the creator and author of DIES IRAE. DIES IRAE is my story about
America since 9/11, an America under George Bush. The hero is Steve
Kirby,
a martial arts instructor for the NYPD who loses his wife and son in the
World Trade Center attack on September 11th. Steve embarks on a crusade
against the Bush Administration when he realizes that President George W.
Bush is cynically exploiting 9/11 for his personal gain and for the
purpose
of instituting a dangerous right-wing agenda.
I was living in New York during 9/11 and its aftermath, and I originally
conceived the idea for DIES IRAE in response to the invasion of Iraq in
May
2003, well in advance of Michael Moore's FAHRENHEIT 9/11 and the current
spate of 9/11 movies. I asked myself, why isn't there a comic book hero
who's
fighting Bush in the same way that Captain America was fighting Hitler and
Trashman was battling the Establishment in the Sixties?
I copyrighted the idea for DIES IRAE in June 2003 and wrote the first
issue
in the summer of 2003. In July 2003, Spain said he very much wanted to
illustrate DIES IRAE, and in April 2004, I created and launched a website,
http://diesirae911.com/,
to showcase the story, debuting with the first 15
pages.
Last October, acclaimed artist Peter Kuper published the first nine pages
of
DIES IRAE in his magazine, World War Three Illustrated #36, the leading
journal of political art in America today, and reader response has been
overwhelmingly positive. The entire 26-page first issue-the first chapter
of the graphic novel-is online now.
I am currently seeking a publisher for DIES IRAE as a comic book series or
as a graphic novel, and I'd appreciate any leads concerning specific
editors, literary agents, or publishers. Spain and I are also seeking
magazines or newspapers that might like to serialize DIES IRAE, and
considering how many people hate Bush around the world, I believe that
there
might be comic book publishers in Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world
who would be interested in publi****ng DIES IRAE, either as a graphic
novel,
a comic book series, or as a serialized story. Any suggestions or leads
would be most welcome.
As a graphic novel, DIES IRAE will provide the reader with a fresh look at
the recent events of post-9/11 America. Future chapters will deal with
such
themes as the search for the anthrax killer, the war in Afghanistan and
the
hunt for bin Laden, the Patriot Act and Guantanamo, and of course a
multi-issue story arc leading up to the war in Iraq.
Back in May 2003, I chose to make the story of DIES IRAE a graphic novel
because I knew its subject material was much too radical to get backing
either as a mainstream novel or a film in America at the time, and because
I
feel that the graphic novel form is a highly effective way to reach
people.
With the world's increasing hatred of Bush and his policies, I believe
there
is a huge audience worldwide for an illustrated political story like DIES
IRAE. The graphic novel also happens to be the most prosperous sector of
the publi****ng industry today, and I believe that a comic book/graphic
novel
about a fearless hero who openly fights Bush could be very successful.
Best regards,
Justin Wertham
justinwertham@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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