FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Gary Scott Beatty, Owner, Aazurn Publishing
Done-in-One, Comic Book Short Stories the New Aazurn Publishing's Goal
The new Aazurn Publishing's Owner and Publisher, and recent Xeric Foundation grant winner, Gary Scott Beatty said he is through following the many plot threads in today's comic books. "You have to know the back story for nearly every comic book published. As much as I love continuity and history, it's getting tiring trying to keep up. I just want to be able to pick an interesting looking comic book off the shelf and, you know, read a complete story!”
With this goal in mind, Beatty, who colors and letters comics for Students of the Unusual, Omega7, Kaso, Viper and others, contacted artist friends to draw him a couple of done-in-one stories. "These are great illustrators I've known for years but never had a chance to work with,” said Beatty. With their abilities in mind, he wrote Aazurn Publishing's first two books, "Adam Among the Gods” and "Seductions.” Studying ‘50s album cover design lead to Beatty's self-illustrated jazz club murder mystery, and Xeric grant winner, "Jazz: Cool Birth.”
The vampire tale "Seductions” features impressive pencils by "Oz,” "Dark Oz” and "Land of Oz” illustrator Bill Bryan and computer-over-pencils coloring by Beatty. For a unique twist, the "hero” is caught in a maddening cycle - he wakes 10 years after each feeding. The world changes around him and only two things remain: his desire to feed and a yearning for a long lost love.
"This allows me to play with the theme of barroom seduction over the last 70 years,” Beatty explained. "The hero has to decide if he's going to feed or invite woman into his world. And the women's personalities reflect the thoughts and fears of their own decades.”
"Adam Among the Gods,” is a science fiction, done-in-one, comic book short story drawn by Saint Germaine artist James Lyle and computer enhanced by Beatty to be a comic within a comic. "Adam” takes classic science fiction concepts, turns them inside out and incorporates new science to create fiction for a modern age.
In "Adam Among the Gods,” the lead character is an ugly, deformed creature surrounded by a race of beautiful, immortal humans. Adam was an early mistake by geneticists before they perfected the process that lead to a perfect world. "This tale allowed me to ask big questions, like the great science fiction short stories I read in the ‘60s,” said Beatty, "What is beauty, and who gets to decide what it is? What are the psychological ramifications of belonging to an undying society of perfect humans? What must it be like to be the only troll among all of this perfection?”
Beatty said another book is in production for 2009, with "Adventures of Aaron” and "A College Girl Named Joe” creator Aaron Warner. "I'm looking at publishing a couple of self contained stories a year. Readers will come to expect a good read from Aazurn - with nothing else to buy.”
"Seductions” and "Adam Among the Gods” can be previewed and bought at http://www.aazurn.com.
"Jazz: Cool Birth” can be ordered through your local comic book shop from September 2008's Previews order magazine under Aazurn Publishing. To find your local comic book shop call the Comic Shop Locator Service toll free at 1-888-COMICBOOK (1-888-266- 4226) or go online to http://csls.diamondcomics.com.