VPE is on the air!

The first episode of the "Via Pony Express" podcast went up a few days ago, and folks are liking what they hear (by the by, this lovely pic here that we're using to promote it is by co-host Arreah Bihary).  At the moment, the podcast is only available for download on Podbean, but we're working on other venues.  One step at a time, kids!  Between this and my Bleeding Cool article, I've got a bit more than usual to promote at Bluewater International Comic-Con this weekend, which hopefully will translate into more book sales.  I've got 29 copies of Swords & Sixguns: An Outlaw's Tale on hand, so let's see if I can have my first sell-out!

UPDATE: Due to copyright restrictions, we had to change the name/web address of the podcast.  The link above has already been changed to reflect this.  Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.

I'm Famous on the Internet, Thrice Over

In case you hadn't come across it yet, I managed to get cited in an article on Bleeding Cool yesterday.  As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I've been picking up Jonah Hex's appearances in DC's Walmart-exclusive comics for the past 6 months, and I've been eager to see where this is all heading, so I was very excited to get my hands on the newest issues last Saturday.  That double-page spread up top from Batman Giant #9 kinda threw a damper on things for me, though, because seeing Bats call Jonah by the absolute wrong friggin' rank just knocked be right outta the story.  I actually stewed over this for a few hours, thinking, "How could they screw up such a well-documented piece of information?  Hell, I wrote an entire entry for my Jonah Hex history project about his military service!  It ain't exactly a secret that Jonah only made it as far as lieutenant!  Why in blazes would Bendis bump him all the way up to colonel?"

So I eventually did what I always do when it comes to inconsistencies in Hex history: I researched the heck out of it.  I'm still not 100% sure if Brian Michael Bendis did this in error or not, but I did find him a loophole in case this was a legit mistake (read the article if you haven't already), and I figured the best way to make it official was get the info out to one of the comics news websites, none of which were talking about this yet.  I tried Bleeding Cool first, and they loved it and put it up on the site within 24 hours of me sending it in.  I don't know how far or wide the info will spread, but if y'all could do me the favor of sharing the article around, I'd greatly appreciate it.

By the by, I plan on putting a sign up on my table at Bluewater International Comic-Con that says, "Ask me about my article on Bleeding Cool!"  I'm gonna exploit the heck outta this!

Upcoming con appearances and random Hex news

Haven't posted in a while, so I reckoned I should catch y'all up on some things...

Not doing many con appearances this year -- I plan on buckling down to get the next Swords & Sixguns novel done -- but I do have two scheduled.  For those of you in the Port Huron, MI area, I'll be appearing at Bluewater International Comic-Con March 30-31.  I had a great time last year and managed to sell 10 books (a one-day record for me), so I'm hoping to do even better with it being a two-day show this time around.  Advance tickets are still on sale, or you can buy 'em at the Bluewater Convention Center the day of the show.  Stop by my table and say hello!  Also, I will be out and about again on Free Comic Book Day, this time setting up my table at Comix Corner in Fraser, MI.  I'll post more details about that gig when we get closer to it.

In other news, I'm partnering up with some other Hex-nuts to start a podcast called "Jonah Hex, Via Pony Express" (yep, same as the Facebook page).  We've done a couple of recording sessions, but nothing has posted yet.  I will let y'all know as soon as episodes become available.

Speaking of Hex, if you're unaware, the old buzzard has been popping up quite a bit in the last 6 months.  First there was the news that Brian Michael Bendis was creating a new great-great-granddaughter for him named Jinny Hex (though we don't now much about her yet, I've already given her an entry on the Hex family tree).  She debuted in the Walmart-exclusive Batman Giant #4 back in October 2018 then moved on to Bendis's revival of the Young Justice title in January 2019.  From what I hear, we'll get the full skinny on her lineage around YJ#5 due out in May, so there's that to look forward to.

After her debut, I figured that'd be the end of Hex-related stuff in those Walmart books, but nope, the next month I got word that the old man himself popped up in Justice League Giant #5, fighting alongside Wonder Woman of all people!  Turned out Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner were writing that one, so I guess Jimmy just couldn't resist picking up Jonah's story from where he left off in 2014: the boat he and Tallulah bought is mentioned, and though his facial scar is back, I reckon the plastic surgery he received might've gotten undone somehow.  That story is still going on, having recently moved over to the new Wonder Woman Giant.

The same month WWG#1 hit Walmart, Batman Giant #8 also featured Jonah, in connection to the same story that saw the debut of Jinny Hex, and it appears he'll be in at least one more issue before moseying on.  Basically, if you're a Hex-nut and you don't live near a Walmart that stocks these, you're screwed (for that reason, we've been posting scans of both the Wonder Woman stuff and the Batman stuff over at VPE, though I've heard they may be available in regular comic shops soon).  Oh, and it appears that a possibly-robotic version of Hex will be appearing in Adventures of the Super-Sons #9 this April...so for those of you keeping score, Jonah Hex and/or folks related to him in some fashion will be featured in four separate titles over the next couple of months, a rare occurrence in his 5 decades of existence.  Hey, DC, howsabout ya take the hint your own writers are dropping and give the old man his own series again, eh?

Okay, that's abut all I have to say at the moment.  See ya 'round the Interwebs!