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Paul Levitz

Nice moments at NYCC
Nice moments at NYCC 150 150 Paul Levitz

I always enjoy seeing old friends at cons, but Saturday evening had a nice twofer: the reception for Michael Uslan’s new T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS project gave me a good smile for my old friend (and an even bigger one for his wife, Nancy, who got to tell me about her new project to bring optometry to Rwanda), and an inner grin for my 9 year old self, recalling when I sent a shiny quarter in the mail for an early issue of the series. An added plus at the event was catching up with Athena Finger, and getting to congratulate her on Bill’s new credit on BATMAN comics and media. The first time I had lunch with Athena some years ago I was able to give her one of Bill’s original scripts which I had salvaged to study, the first artifact of her grandfather’s life she touched. She felt good about that, but I’m sure even better about seeing his name honored. The view from the United Nations dining room across to Newtown Creek and the Pepsi sign was beautiful that night too. Holding it at the U.N. was fitting, yet a little worrisome–given the side effects the Agents often suffered (e.g., death, premature aging and the like) were we being summoned there to celebrate or to be selected as the next team? Hmmm…

Retro-reading
Retro-reading 150 150 Paul Levitz

People always ask writers where they get their ideas. It’s mostly an
indirect process, and often we don’t really know where we get our
ideas. But once in a while we do, or we can at least talk about works
that inspired us. For my current project, DOCTOR FATE, I went back to
re-read Roger Zelazny’s CREATURES OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS. Zelanzy was
a master of taking elements from mythology and twisting them into
science fiction settings, and CREATURES dove deeply into Egyptian
myth. He was an extraordinary wordsmith and a brilliant writer in
many ways I’ll never equal, but jealousy aside, it was a pleasure to
re-read his treatments of Thoth, Anubis and a host of the Egyptian
pantheon set in a far future.

WILL EISNER: CHAMPION OF THE GRAPHIC NOVEL
WILL EISNER: CHAMPION OF THE GRAPHIC NOVEL 400 374 Paul Levitz

Cover
A lavishly illustrated coffee table book traces (and contextualizes) Eisner’s career as groundbreaking cartoonist, businessman, educator, graphic novelist, and ultimately, evangelist and champion of the comics form as art and literature. Intro by Brad Meltzer, text by Paul Levitz.

Doctor Fate #4
Doctor Fate #4 900 1384 Paul Levitz

DoctorFate-04

 

Life is getting harder for the new Doctor Fate. Now, an ancient god wants to destroy him, a mystical flood threatens to drown him, and the riddle of the Sphinx eludes him. Also, homework.

Doctor Fate #3
Doctor Fate #3 1041 1600 Paul Levitz

DoctorFate-03

With art by Sonny Liew

It’s literally raining cats and dogs as the mystic forces of Anubis and Bastet use a tidal wave to settle an ancient score, and only the new, hopelessly inexperienced Doctor Fate can save a city from drowning.

 

 

Doctor Fate #2
Doctor Fate #2 600 922 Paul Levitz

CI_SGvcUYAA4Mxx

With art by Sonny Liew

The new Dr. Fate is already having trouble controlling the power of Nabu – and time is of the essence because he’s about to be tested by an ancient evil!

Doctor Fate #2 / cover B
Doctor Fate #2 / cover B 1987 3056 Paul Levitz

DoctorFate-02-B

 

With art by Sonny Liew

Welcome
Welcome 960 301 Paul Levitz

Welcome. Crawling slowly into the digital age. Looking for something that can replace the contact and conversation that I had with my fanzines (back in the dinosaur age of comics), or the almost 20 years of writing lettercols. I know this is a very different platform, but I’m hoping it can satisfy some of the old itch and I can enjoy some of the new freedoms.

If you’re here on day one, I assume you know who I am…if not, the propaganda can be found under “Backstory” (write comics long enough and you start thinking you’re a fictional character). If you’re one of the thousands of folks who enabled me to spend my life playing with my childhood toys and obsessions, thanks. If you’re not, welcome anyway—maybe you’ll find something interesting.

If you’re here waiting for the nasty revelations, you’ll be disappointed. I’ve been insanely lucky in my career, and this isn’t settle scores, and I have no taste for mean spirited gossip. You will get anecdotes that take you behind the scenes, but my memory is kinda cluttered with nonsense like Legionnaire home worlds, so it’s often fuzzy, or at least skewed to what I found interesting. And there’s plenty of things I can’t or won’t discuss.

But if you’re curious about nuggets of comics history, or observations about the field, popular culture, or my worldview, hang around. This is a new toy and I’m not certain how often I’ll play here, but I’ll try to keep it interesting.

The design team tells me that we are only in BETA mode, and there are glitches to be debugged, copy to be finalized, books to be added to the ones already posted and the like. But please jump in, join the conversation!

-Paul

 

Paul Levitz Returns To His Roots To Write Brooklyn Blood For Dark Horse
Paul Levitz Returns To His Roots To Write Brooklyn Blood For Dark Horse 960 300 Paul Levitz

FROM BLEEDING COOL: Paul Levitz is returning to writing comics now that his tenure at DC Comics has come to a close, and while he’ll continue teaching, which takes a fair amount of his time and attention, this represents a new phase for him creatively. Last week we saw the arrival of Doctor Fate from DC, and readers might have wondered what’s coming up for Levitz. We’re happy to announce today that his next project, appearing in December 2015 will be the detective, occult series Brooklyn Blood. Serialized over as much as a year and a half in as many as 15 installments in the anthology Dark Horse Presents, the story will be illustrated by Tim Hamilton and be set, as the title suggests, in Levitz’s native Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Blood will feature Irish cop and Iraq/Afghanistan war vet Billy O’Connor and a fellow female Arabic-American detective Nadira Hasan. The series will focus on experiences that will challenge their perceptions of the explained and unexplained, all turning on Brooklyn’s history, the mysteries of which initially inspired Levitz to create the story.

We’re happy to have Paul Levitz here today to talk about this phase of his career, the impetus behind Brooklyn Blood, elements of genre, and a generational shift in comics which he finds very promising indeed.

READ FULL INTERVIEW —

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/06/25/exclusive-paul-levitz-returns-to-his-roots-to-write-brooklyn-blood-for-dark-horse/

Brooklyn-Blood

 

 

Doctor Fate #1
Doctor Fate #1 645 996 Paul Levitz

Doctor-Fate-1-Cover

With art by Sonny Liew

PREMIERE ISSUE — You thought global warming was bad? Anubis, the Egyptian Lord of Dead, is preparing the flood to wash the world away. Standing in his way? An overwhelmed Brooklyn med student who’s been handed the helmet of Fate, without an instruction manual.

© 2022 Paul Levitz. All rights reserved.

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